Kelley L Cox

5K Champions

2012-02-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

After a late night in Sacramento made it back to San Francisco a bit before 1am to stay with my friends Nicole and Dan who conveniently live near Golden Gate Park - where we were racing at 8am this morning!

Having never ran more than 1.5miles in my life, and having complained very much when I did, I'm not sure how I let Nicole convince me to do a 5K with her. Other people call this a fun run... I call it torture. Turned out to not be that tortuous, Nicole helped me keep a nice pace so I didn't tucker out. And you can see how happy/ridiculous we look crossing the finish line. Ignore that a small child is finishing the race right behind us.

Then we got to enjoy the free goodies while we waited for Dan who completed the 1/2 marathon in under 2 hours. Way to go Dan!

Then we enjoyed some yummy brunch with Dan's parents who were in town, before I headed back to Vacaville to watch the superbowl with my dad/stuff my face and completely counteract my running.

NBA: Kings defeat Warriors 114-106 in OT

2012-02-04T22:50:00.000-08:00

Headed back to Sacramento for match up between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.

In a bit of a quandry (not that it makes a difference) I was torn on which team I personally wanted to win. I consider myself a fan of both, probably more so Warriors, but since Warriors had defeated the Kings in Oakland, it would be nice for Kings to win at their home.

Also, there would be some poetic justice for former Warriors head coach turned Kings assistant coach, turned Kings head coach to beat his former team. Though both Keith Smart and Mark Jackson seem happy in their current positions.

It was also going to be exciting to see Isaiah Thomas, to battle against another Washington Husky alum, the one he modeled himself after, Nate Robinson.

Such an interesting dynamic to want to beat the person who's footsteps you tried to follow. But I'm sure he's watched enough film of Robinson to know his tendencies and know where he could be beat.

All I really wanted was for it to be a tight and close game. And I got that!

Warriors were up by 9 going into halftime.

But Kings came out and meant business

Tyreke Evans going up for the shot against Andris Biendrins

Then showing off his muscles... really? I think every player on the court is pretty muscular, no sense in trying to show off.

In the fourth quarter I was thinking man, this game is so exciting, I don't want it to be over at the end of this quarter!... And be careful what you wish for because the game went into overtime. This would have been awesome if I didn't have to drive back to San Francisco and run my first ever 5K the next morning at 8am... but let's face it, it was still awesome!

Kings were able to control the ball in overtime for an exciting 114-106 win at home!

NBA: Kings defeat Trailblazers 95-92

2012-02-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

Headed back to Power Balance Pavilion for the game between the Portland Trailblazers and the Sacramento Kings.

Before the game, the fans behind me asked Portland's Gerald Wallace, a Kings player from 2001-2004, if he missed Sacramento. He didn't say anything, just kind of put his head back and laughed. Ouch!

As the game got going, DeMarcus Cousins picked up two fouls before the first timeout and I thought Kings were going to be in trouble.

Later he was asking the ref to "clean up" the game, after some rough and tumble in the paint.

A foul sent Kings leading scorer Marcus Thornton to floor - in his first game back from injury.

At the half, Kings were trailing the Trailblazers by nine points - thanks in part to leading scorer for the Trailblazers LaMarcus Aldridge.

But with 3:39 left in the third Tyreke Evans put up a huge breakaway dunk to tie the game, and fired up the Kings.

With Kings up by three in the final seconds, Portland got the ball and scrambled, shooting/rebounding for three three-point shots, but none of them went in, and Kings came up with the 95-92 win.

I'm super impressed with Isaiah Thomas, who is 5'9" which might be average for a guy in everyday life, but is about a foot shorter than all of the guys on the court. You might be able to guess that by his speed. But you wouldn't guess that when he goes up to block shots.

Or takes jumps shots against the giants on the court.

Also impressive, he was picked dead last in the 2011 draft and logged 17 minutes in this game... compared to first round pick Jimmer Fredette who never got on the court at all. Not to say Jimmer isn't working hard, but Thomas sure makes ya believe in hard work, chasing your dreams, and cheering for the little guy.

I also like Keith Smart. I'm not basketball savvy enough to argue that it's his coaching style, for me it's his expressions.

And that he puts players where he wants on the court... literally. Haha.

Great win for the Kings and I'm excited to go back Saturday as Keith Smart will face his former team, the Golden State Warriors!

BKC: Cal defeat Stanford 69-59

2012-01-30T20:14:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Haas Pavilion for my fifth day in a row of shooting basketball as the California Golden Bears faced off against the Stanford Cardinal.

The game was part of Coaches vs Cancer where the coaches wear white sneakers for cancer awareness.

I thought I'd join the cause and wear one of my favorite pairs of white shoes. As I've been tweeting my feet via instagram to try and get people interested in the events I'm covering... I find more are interested in my shoes haha, oh well!

Cal came out and battled against their rival.

Both the plays and the mascots.

And though Jorge Gutierrez pretty clearly did indeed foul Josh Owens on this play...whups

Coach Mike Montgomery wasn't entirely happy with the officiating on some other calls.

Cal and Stanford went neck and neck for awhile with Cal eventually breaking away for the clear win.

Holding the ball in the final second, Brandon Smith faked like he was going to drive for the basket, but contained himself and the game ended 69-59 for a Golden Bear victory!

BKW: Stanford defeat Cal 74-71 in OT

2012-01-29T19:49:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Maples Pavilion for the California Golden Bears against the Stanford Cardinal.

Statistically, with Stanford being ranked #4 in the nation and Cal unranked, you would think Stanford would have easily blown past Cal. Especially considering it's nearly the same team which last year ended Connecticut's NCAA record winning streak, but with one more year for the dynamic duo sisterhood of Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike to play together, and the team had one it's last 72 games at home.

But statistics don't mean much when you are pairing an upcoming young Cal team against their rival.

When players make clutch three point shots, normally Tara VanDerveer is expressionless and will just sit on the bench and make a small comment to an assistant coach. But boy she was animated as her team was threatened to fall in what would have been a crazy upset.

But Cal was definitely animated as well with the whole bench calling out to their teammates on plays!

Cal gave Stanford a run for it's money... and as we know, that's quite a lot of money!

With Stanford not quite knowing how to handle freshman stunner Brittany Boyd flying through their defense.

And some brave playmaking by Layshia Clarendon... Cal sent the game into overtime!!

Ultimately Cal fell to Stanford 74-71 as Chiney Ogwumike scored a career high 27 points. But boy, what an exciting game!! Definitely a game that makes me proud to be a Cal alum!

In the aftermath of the game, both coaches spoke on being proud of their players, but emphasized the bigger picture - or lack there of.. why was this game not televised!?! Women's sports never receive as much coverage as mens, but in a rival game, one team ranked #4 in the nation, and the other threatening to upset them... let's get some cameras on these female athletes!!!

NBA: Thunder defeat Warriors 120-109

2012-01-27T22:33:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Oracle Arena for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Golden State Warriors.

I was super excited because this was my first Warriors game. Before I was even photographing for Cal, I would bring my lil Canon Rebel and a consumer grade 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 and absolutely ZERO knowledge of what I was doing, and would shoot the games from the stands. Though I'm embarrassed to share these raw/horrendous (and they are the best of the takes) images, I hope it will serve something to show how much your life can change in 5 years, and that dedication, hard work, believing in yourself, support of family and friends, and a number of other sappy catchphrases - can put you in places you once only dreamed of!

Pretty cool to see some of the guys in the background of the pictures who at the time were "photographers in the background" and now are my friends!

Speaking of which - a huge thank you to Ben Margot who shoots for AP. As I was getting to the game, trying to find media will call and circling around Oracle Arena, I ran into him walking from the parking lot. I caught up to him and asked him where media will call was, and he let me follow him into the media entrance, waited for me while I picked up my credential (he has season credential) showed me where the media work room was, where the food was, introduced me to some of the regulars and even though he had no need to until the game started, walked me through the underground hallways to the court so I could get some pre game shots. Basically sparing me from looking like a lost puppy dog roaming around. Though on the whole I'll admit, myself included, photographers are a strange breed, they are also really cool people!

Oh, did you want some actual photos of the game? ;-)

Though the team is pretty much all new from when I was shooting from the stands - Monta Ellis and Andris Biendrins are still around.

But there's a lot of new and exciting faces like Stephen Curry. Who apparently just wears his mouthguard for looks.

And David Lee, who the other team liked so much they hugged (aka fouled) him

I was excited to see Kevin Durant for the Thunder who are leading the NBA right now.

With the help of Russell Westbrook.

Thunder proved to be too much for the Warriors as they came away with a 120-109 win.

Allowing Nick Collison to laugh off the comments from heckling fans.

I laugh at myself because I claim I have to take cheerleader photos because my editors request them, which is true.

But I can't use that as my excuse because I definitely didn't have editors in '06 shooting from the stands... and I was still taking their picture!

I also laugh because I spotted Raiders owner Mark Davis courtside. In faded jeans, white shirt and tennis shoes, he sure doesn't dress the part of a millionaire.

And I guess some things never change!

BKC: Weber State defeat Sacramento State 75-60

2012-01-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

Headed up to Sacramento State for their game against Weber State.

Normally I wouldn't be sent to cover a Sac State game. But since they were playing Weber State who happens to have the NCAA's leading scorer Damian Lillard, they figured it was worth covering.

It worked out great because after having a Kings game the night before I was able to stay with my parents in Vacaville instead of having to drive to Sacramento and back two days in a row =)

Though Damian Lillard didn't match his average, he definitely proved he knows how to get to the basket and draw fouls and had a significantly better game than he did when Jorge Gutierrez was guarding him at Cal (blog post here)

But as with any leading scorer, there has to be a complement to him, and that complement is Scott Bamforth, who while Sac State was double covering Lillard was able to be second leading scorer.

Sac State put up a great effort but wasn't able to defeat Weber State as they came up with 75-60 win.

NBA: Nuggets defeat Kings 122-93

2012-01-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

Headed up to Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento for my first NBA game of the year between the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.

I was excited to see the Kings newest superstar rookie Jimmer Fredette.

It was also exciting to see Isaiah Thomas since he was a Pac-10 (now 12) player I've been photographing since he played at Washington.

And of course Chris "Birdman" Anderson who still kind of terrifies me. Fear the beard? Fear the bird!

Unlike Al Harrington who was grinning and cracking up along the bench.

It was a rough game for the Kings as the Nuggets had 92 points in the paint, and Kings had 93 points total as the Nuggets defeated the Kings 122-93.

Danilo Gallinari had a great game for the Nuggets, knocking down 23 points.

In the fourth quarter as fans gave up, left, and started reading the newspaper?

And Andrew Miller took off his shoes knowing he wouldn't have to come back in from then bench.

During a timeout some of the guys from PBR, professional bull riders who will be competing at Power Balance Pavilion the next few days, partook in a friendly competition. They are used to riding bulls, so to see them on tricycles is pretty entertaining =)

Tough game for the Kings but hopefully they can bounce back and be a little more competitive against their next opponents.

CSUEB Cheerleaders Portraits

2012-01-24T21:08:00.000-08:00

While taking the Baseball headshots for Cal State East Bay, I received a call to see if I could hop over to the gym to photograph the cheer team.

Though it was last minute, thankfully I didn't have any other assignments that day and was able to take some extra time to photograph these girls.

The cool thing is, there is no official cheer squad, these group of girls organized themselves, coach themselves, pay for their own uniforms and other expenses, all to support the Pioneers!

Full set up at: collegiatephotos.com/11-12/csueb/cheer/headshots

BBC: CSUEB Portraits

2012-01-24T18:51:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Cal State East Bay for head shots of the Pioneers baseball team.

Though I love shooting action, I also really enjoy shooting these quick head shots of college athletes. It's what I miss the most about no longer working for Cal, so it's great to be able to take them for Cal State East Bay.

Full set up at: collegiatephotos.com/11-12/csueb/baseball/headshots

NFL: Giants defeat the 49ers 20-17

2012-01-22T21:04:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Candlestick for the NFC Championship game between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

There was so much excitement leading up to this game. From the season, to the week, to just the hours, minutes, seconds before kickoff.

Bailey was back with the niners anthem of sorts "Who's Got It Better Than Us?"

Train was on hand to perform "Save Me San Francisco" before the players came storming onto the field.

Kristen Chenoweth was there to perform the National Anthem, while Travis Air Force Base brought out the largest American flag I've ever seen at a football game!

Brad Pasiely even performed at half time! Not sure if that was an agreement with NFL in general, because I wouldn't otherwise predict a country artist for a San Francisco game. But the country girl in me appreciated it!

NFL Fox Sunday Live was there with all our favorite commentators.

With their studio set up wrapped in plastic to avoid the drizzle.

Even the skycam was in place ready to capture that video game angle.

Prepared for the rain, I was thankful for a persistent but light drizzle. And thanks to Sister Cox letting me borrow her purple raincoat so I was nice and dry and warm throughout the game.

Bundled up, I was impressed the cheerleaders performed through the elements, not appearing to care how the rain was ruining their perfect hairstyles, and still looking great!

Niners put the first points on the board with a nice catch and run by superstar Vernon Davis.

Who proved he wasn't done after catching another touchdown in the third quarter.

Giants were matching the scores and trading touchdowns and field goals with the niners.

Regulation ended without much fanfare at 17-17.

After both teams trading back and forth for three and out I really thought niners were going to be able to pull it off, because Manning just didn't look the part of confidence.

But I supposed if I had listened to this literal little birdie, he might have known otherwise.

Giants punted. And on the punt return Kyle Williams fumbled the ball. And in a flash, the game changed. Giants were able to drive and kick for a field goal.

And just like that, Giants defeated the 49ers and are headed to the superbowl.

Though it was a bummer end to an amazing season for the niners, congratulations to the Giants.

As all the wives and girlfriends joined the players on the field.

And you see Victor Cruz speaking to the media, an undrafted free agent, (who guess what... dropped his first career pass and also experienced a twitter backlash like Kyle Williams)

But let's not forget that this team was 6 and 10 last year, spent summer not knowing if they'd have a coach... or even a job. If you can overlook this difficult loss, it was an amazing season and everyone should be proud, and motivated to continue, the impressive play that got them to this point to begin with!

I keep hearing reports of death threats on Kyle Williams... Really?!? Maybe this game isn't part of the highlight reel he's looking for, maybe he was the last player to touch the ball for the niners and made a mistake, but the opportunity to win and lose is throughout the game, as a team, not on the shoulders of one person or play. Sport is a glorious part of our culture that provides fun camaraderie between us everyday folk as we watch our teams win and lose which they inevitably do both of at some point.

Yes, Ace Ventura is one of my favorite movies because it's a COMEDY that someone would steal a dolphin and threaten death based on "laces out Dan!!" To hear something similar is happening in real life with threats from supposed fans?... not funny! Let's encourage Kyle Williams, a kid younger than me, to have a long, successful career! As with many things in life: it gets better!

In happier news. Before halftime I was in the southeast corner of the stadium and I spotted Terry Bradshaw standing near me. I took a quick picture and thought oooooh celebrity status!

Then Bradshaw came closer to the field and was standing RIGHT next to me. I thought "OMG, Terry Bradshaw is standing next to me! Terry Bradshaw is standing next to me! Terry Bradshaw is standing next to me!" There was no cool segeway for me to start a conversation. So I just reveled in my proximity. Then he made some comment like "wow, you guys really need a new stadium!" I tried to be witty and retorted "at least the lights are still on." Then he was asking me about what I was shooting, how many pictures my camera could take and we had a legitimate mini conversation before he was taken away by a producer to prepare for the halftime show. Celebrity Status!!! My dad even spotted him chatting to me on the TV too, haha!

This has been an incredible season for me. The new people I've met, and the people I've gotten to know better, the images I've been able to make! I can only hope that next year not only do the niners come back bigger and better, but I do too! =)

BKC: CSU Stanislaus defeat CSU East Bay 93-82

2012-01-21T21:32:00.000-08:00

Stuck around again for the men's basketball game between Cal State East Bay and Cal State Stanislaus.

It's different for me to have the men and women play back to back but it's kind of nice because the fans who show up early, get to cheer on the end of the women's game... or attend both.

As the men got in their huddle and one player started chanting. I thought hmm, I wonder if I could get my wide angle in to get a shot of him.

So I just reached my camera between two of the guys, and got the shot I was looking for. Sometimes shooting without looking works out!

It was an exciting game, but my favorite competition was the musical blow up chairs.

This is what competition should be like =)

After a neck and neck game Cal State Stanislaus was able to pull away with the win over Cal State East Bay, 93-82.

Full set up at: www.collegiatephotos.com/11-12/csueb/mbb/vsstanislaus

BKW: CSU East Bay defeat CSU Stanislaus 67-59

2012-01-21T19:18:00.000-08:00

After a fun hike at Point Reyes and a quick stop to grab my free burrito from Chiptole, headed back to Cal State East Bay for the woman's game against Cal State Stanislaus.

This time the Pioneer women came up with a win defeating Stanislaus 67-59.

Full set up at: www.collegiatephotos.com/11-12/csueb/wbb/vsstanislaus

Travel: Point Reyes - Tomales Point Trail

2012-01-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

As part of my New Year's Resolution I wanted to be more outdoorsy. Taking quick hikes whenever I can. Today was one of those days.

Despite the rain, decided to go hiking with my friends Nicole, Dan and Lucy at Point Reyes.

Though it was pouring on the drive, turned out to be a beautiful day in Point Reyes.

Even with a little rainbow!

Lucy (a non-Californian) was very excited to see her first live snail.

The Tomales Point Trail is the perfect quick hike, it's pretty flat and offers a great view of the coast. Though it is a little windy.

And there's Elk along the trail, but thankfully mainly at a distance.

Though some were a little close as we were driving back!

When the rain started coming down a bit, we were able to huddle under some trees and eat some tasty treats prepared by Nicole.

But the rain quickly passed as we were back in action, champions!!

Thanks so much to my buddies who helped me make good on my resolution... I'm so outdoorsy!! ;-)

BKC: Chico State defeat CSU East Bay 93-76

2012-01-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

Stuck around for the men's basketball game between Chico State and Cal State East Bay.

It was great to see an even bigger crowd show up for the men's game.

It's funny because normally I'm looking for shots that have relatively clean backgrounds that would be easy for an editor to stamp out. But I was specifically asked to get photos of fans in the background.

Which wasn't too difficult because they reached over 1,000 people which meant everyone received a free burrito from chipotle... including me, yum!!

Unfortunately the Pioneers fell to the Wildcats 93-76 but a great effort and great showing for Cal State Easy Bay.

BKW: Chico State defeat CSU East Bay 60-51

2012-01-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Cal State East Bay for the women's basketball game between Chico State Wildcats and the Cal State East Bay Pioneers.

After not having done work for Cal State East Bay since a volleyball game in October, it was a great to get a call to shoot back-to-back-to-back-to-back basketball games (you'll see what I'm talking about in the next three posts)

Cal State East Bay is such a great environment for a game with Pioneer Pete, cheerleaders, electric pulse dance team, and even a local dance school put on a show at halftime.

After a close and exciting game, the Wildcats defeated the Pioneers 60-51.

Full set up at: collegiatephotos.com/csueb/wbb/vschicostate

BKC: New Mexico State defeat San Jose State 79-63

2012-01-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

Headed over to the San Jose Event Center for the San Jose State Spartans against the New Mexico State Aggies.

Despite living relatively nearby, I'm pretty unfamiliar with San Jose. I was thankful that Dan Helms at US Presswire sent me a quick email about where the arena was, where to park, pick up media pass and all that. As I was walking towards the Event Center, I thought hmmm why does this look so familiar. Then I figured it out, and confirmed with my sister, I had seen a Weezer concert there (this part makes me feel old-->) over 10 years ago! This was probably during the phase when I wore non-prescription black rimmed glasses and tried to be like my sister who I thought was soooooo cool. Throwing Stacey under the bus here with this photo, but if I can find a picture of myself will add it later <--- lying ;-)

It's always fun to photograph in new arenas as light and white balance present new challenges and it's funny because it doesn't always correlate with league or money.

San Jose State battled against New Mexico State but the Aggies were able to defeat the Spartans 79-63.

One thing I like about Spartans head coach George Nessman, is when I spotted him sitting on the bench amongst the players. I wonder if that's a tactic, or just where he found an available seat.

NFL: Candlestick Field Painting

2012-01-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Candlestick Park to photograph the field being repainted for the NFC championship game.

We had an hour window to photograph the painters from the mezzanine.

In that hour - they painted two NFL logos and some of the sideline.

This gave me some time to photograph my surroundings, though I would love for the San Francisco 49ers stay in San Francisco, I can understand that there is certainly a need for the niners to have a new stadium.

At the same time, it's kind of romantic and nostalgic to be playing in the same stadium that has seen so much action over the last 40 years.

Perhaps it wasn't the high action I've enjoying this season at the Stick, but it was neat to see a little behind the scenes!

NFL: Niners defeat Saints 36-32

2012-01-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

WHAT a crazy game!!

Headed over to Candlestick Park for the 49ers playoff game against the New Orleans Saints.

This game has been all the buzz with talk of how Alex Smith would prove against an "elite" quarterback like Drew Brees and even the video cameras were closely covering... no pressure!

Such a big game they had acts including Sean Kingston at halftime.

And Future performing "Tony Montana" throughout the game.

The game got off to an exicting start with niners making key turnovers and scores.

Including an early score by Vernon Davis for the catch and run.

Then leaped over photographer line to celebrate with fans.

Before going to celebrate with Coach Jim Harbaugh

Niners fans were going crazy!!

Saints fans not enjoying the game quite as much.

Despite a 17 point deficit, Saints weren't easy to shake as they put up their own points.

And with Drew Brees at quarterback, always gotta watch your back.

With 4:02 left in the game Drew Brees connected with Darren Sproles for a 44 yard touchdown. And the crowd was in shock!

I was worried niners wouldn't have enough time to even the score - until Vernon Davis caught the long pass along the sideline.

Then with 2:11 to go - Alex Smith ran for a 28 yard touchdown thanks in part to great blocking by Joe Staley.

I couldn't believe it! Was so happy for Alex Smith and impressed with his composure on the drive and score.

But if anyone can make a comeback it would be Drew Brees.

He threw a 66 yard pass to Jimmy Graham which he ran for a touchdown with 1:37 left in the game.

But after another long ball to Vernon and with 9 seconds left, Alex Smith threw a 14 yard pass to tight end superstar Vernon Davis one more time for the win!

After celebrating with teammates, Vernon fell to the ground, overwhelmed with emotion.

Niners quickly stopped the kickoff return and Saints didn't have enough time to put together a drive as Niners won their first playoff game since 2003!

Final score, the 49ers defeated the Saints 36-32 and are headed to the NFC title game!

Alex Smith didn't have a perfect game....

But he took risks, didn't lose the ball and most importantly, won the game!

This was such an amazing game, as they say "instant classic" and I am so glad I had the opportunity to not only see it live but photograph this bit of football history!!

Who's got it better than us? No Body!!!!

On a random note: A Zac Efron look-a-like was hanging around the photo area under the stadium where we set our gear and grab food. I was trying to explain the similarities to other photographers but, turns out, most sports photographers don't follow the High School Musical alum, go figure! But when I got home, saw it was actually Zac Efron himself! The girly-girl in me is a bit excited about my proximity to the handsome celebrity but also a bit embarrassed that the entire time he was standing near me I was stuffing my face with fajitas and talking about the poop in the nearby porta potties. I don't think he'll be asking around "who was that really cool female photographer?"... but that's ok, he's a Saints fan ;-)

BKC: St. Mary's defeat Gonzaga 83-62

2012-01-12T21:38:00.000-08:00

Headed over to McKeon Pavilion for Gonzaga Bulldogs against the St. Mary's Gaels.

An exciting WCC matchup that proved St. Mary's has the best fans of all bay area teams I photograph.

They really packed em in!

No really!

And St. Mary's didn't disappoint coming up with an impressive 83-62 win as the fans rushed the court to celebrate.

I'm looking forward to covering their games again next month in the WCC tournament!

NHL: Sharks defeat Capitals 5-2

2012-01-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

Headed over to HP Pavilion for the San Jose Sharks against the Washington Capitals.

With Capitals on a four game win streak, I wasn't sure how the Sharks would hold up.

And despite being indoors, you would think it was snowing from this shot, haha!

After a scoreless first period Sharks came up with the first goal.

Which was shortly answered by the Capitals.

Brent Burns scored another in the final seconds of the period to put the Sharks ahead again.

While I was still transmitting between periods, Sharks and Capitals both scored within the first minute of the third period. But thankfully there was still plenty of action to shoot when I made it down to the ice.

Including a little tussle between Alex Ovechkin and Brad Winchester.

But Sharks weren't done scoring. Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored an impressive perseverance goal off his own rebound.

Capitals Tomas Vokoun left the goal as is common for the trailing team, to put as many offensive players on the ice as possible in the final moments. But with the goal unattended, Torrey Mitchell took the long shot and scored again for the Sharks 5-2 victory over the Capitals.

Mavericks Invitational Opening Ceremony

2012-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Half Moon Bay for the Mavericks Invitational Opening Ceremony.

It was such a beautiful drive down the coast! Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in and around such a beautiful place!

The ceremony was supposed to start at 2pm. But since film crews for "Of Men and Mavericks" which will be staring Gerard Butler were doing some B-roll and the surfers were out on the break so things didn't get started until a little later.

But a sunny day on the beach isn't a terrible place to have some time to kill. So I roamed around, looking to photograph sea shells or creatures, including the rare crustaceous sock ;-)

Since Mavericks was named after a dog of one of the surfers who first paddled out (but didn't dare try to catch a wave) in 1961, it's only suiting that a dog photobombed my picture of the Half Moon Bay Surf Team.

As the competition has been under a bit of drama, restructuring, ownership, sponsorship, etc the one constant is the surfers.

The cool thing about surfers, especially these big wave riders, though they are legends in the surfing community, they are otherwise low key guys and are all buddies.

For this year's opening ceremony, instead of just having the invited surfers paddle out, they invited the community to paddle out with them. Which also meant anyone could be at the beach. As women and strollers mingled among the surfers.

I could have paddled out with them and heard what goes on in this exclusive circle in the lagoon.

But thankfully there were GoPro cameras EVERYWHERE so hopefully that footage will pop up somewhere and we can experience what they experience.

Though I highly doubt any of them will allow the camera to be attached during the actual competition.

As the surfers all came back in, it was cool to see some of the surfers interact with the kids. Like my buddy Anthony Tashnick.

To be anecdotal, in 2009, a year the competition never actually went off, I was walking to the opening ceremony, about a mile from the closest place I could park. As I was walking down the trail to the beach, a truck pulled up next to me and the guy asked if I wanted a ride to the beach. Now NORMALLY I wouldn't take a ride from a stranger.

But his truck had a Mavericks sticker on it so I figured no one would otherwise be cruising around the area unless they were there for Mavericks, took up the offer and hopped in. En route to make small talk, I asked about his relation to Mavericks, he replied he was a part of Mavericks. Assuming he was some kind of PR guy I naiively asked what he did for Mavericks, and without any ego, he replied, "I'm one of the surfers"... turns out it was Anthony Tashnick, a Mavericks regular who won the competition in 2005. Boy did I feel like a dummy! Can bet that I knew his name after that!

But still, other reporters were approaching him (and all the other surfers) with their list of surfers, "which one are you?" so I guess it wasn't tooooo terrible that I didn't know who he was.

A number of invites weren't there since Jaws is breaking over in Hawaii. But there were some great surfers present for the ceremony.

Including 2010 winner Chris Bertish from South Africa.

The Brazilians

Carlos Burle

Danilo Couto

and Alex Martins.

Santa Cruz local Shane Desmond.

Ken "Skindog" Collins.

And surfing great, who has since retired but still out to show his support for Mavericks, Darryl "Flea" Virostko.

At opening ceremony, ran into my buddy, reporter for the San Jose Mercury News and author of the book "Surfing, Mastering Waves From Basic to Intermediate" Elliott Almond, who was interviewing a couple of the surfers.

He also took some photos of me at work.

photo by Elliott Almond

People may think my job is somehow glamourous and I'm really cool. But truth be told I have a variety of cameras and lenses hanging off me, a press kit file folder I wasn't anticipating receiving but didn't want to miss out on tucked into my waist, crouched down to get the angle I want, jeans rolled up to avoid getting too wet as my feet get wet at the edge of the water. I don't look glamorous or cool!

photo by Elliott Almond

But truth be told, I love what I do =)

photo by Elliott Almond

Thanks Elliott for sending these over!

BKW: Stanford defeats Oregon 93-70

2012-01-05T21:17:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Maples for my first game of the New Year to watch the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball battle against the Oregon Ducks.

Before the game, the guys in the media workroom were guessing what the point margin would be, debating between 20 and 25.

They were just about right as the Cardinal defeated the Ducks 93-70.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 32 points... and Tara VanDerveer said she didn't have a great night! (I consider 32 points a GREAT night! )

But the story of the game was Bonnie Samuelson who scored six 3 point shots. As they were draining she just started to smile as if she couldn't believe it either.

Her hot hand cooled and those six 3 pointers were her only of the night. But it was quite enough for the Cardinal win.

BKC: Stanford defeats USC 51-43

2011-12-31T18:04:00.000-08:00

Headed over to Maples Pavilion for Stanford Cardinal vs USC Trojans

This was my first game covering Stanford Men's Basketball this season and though it's always exciting to see new faces I barely recognized Andrew Zimmermann (last year) with the new beard and shaggy hair he's sporting.

As with the spirit of all my other assignments the past few weeks, another close and exciting game!

Stanford was able to pull away with the 51-43 win.

The star of the show was the floor mopper who had to mop a near mid court sweat puddle and narrowly avoid a fast break!

BKC: Wagner defeats Santa Clara 64-62

2011-12-30T23:31:00.000-08:00

After a quick hot dog break, stuck around Leavey Center for the Cable Car Classic Championship between the Wagner Seahawks and Santa Clara Broncos.

In an exciting game where Wagner's Tyler Murray scored his 1,000th career point.. and then some.

Santa Clara was able to tie the score after a great three point shot by Evan Rocquemore after a foul for a rare - and 2 - for 62-62.

Pleasing to the fans including Santa Clara alum Brandi Chastain

One fan was going so crazy he was sweating through his shirt!

Just as I thought the game was about to go into overtime, Kenneth Ortiz shot the ball, the clock expired, ...and the ball went in!

Wagner went crazy!

Santa Clara head coach went crazy too, but in a different way questioning the referees call to call the shot good for the 64-62 Wagner victory.

Referees confirmed and Wagner went home as champions.