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An insider's view (12/11)

It takes a team effort and many hours to produce a Stars broadcast

10:31 PM CST on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

By RICHARD DURRETT / The Dallas Morning News

Jason Walsh sees himself as the coach of his team. He's the producer of the Stars' television production, and it's his job to oversee and make sure fans are treated to a professional broadcast every game. His team captain is director Mark Vittorio, who turns a bunch of camera angles into a seamless package that brings the fans close to the action. Associate producers Dave Keeney (graphics) and John Sponsler (replay) are Walsh's top assistant coaches. But it's what happens in front of the cameras that fans see, making play-by-play broadcaster Ralph Strangis and color analyst Daryl Reaugh, the top scorers and fan favorites on the squad.

Dozens of other folks work 10 to 12 hours in the production truck or behind the cameras to make sure the show runs smoothly. A look at some highlights from a day (Nov. 19) in the life of the Stars on television:

1:30 p.m.

Crew call for a 7:30 p.m. game. Cameras are lugged to their positions in the arena. The setup, including the wiring to the truck, takes up to four hours.

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2 p.m.

Audio engineer Tim Record, known to the crew as Toast, patches the audio for 11 on-ice microphones, 16 microphones permanently in the ceiling at AAC and four mounted on cameras. He's standing in front of a huge bank of cords. "Don't worry. I know where each one of these goes."

2:46 p.m.

Walsh opens what he calls the $10,000 bag. ("Needless to say, I always carry this bag on airplanes.") In it is high-tech equipment that allows him to edit on a laptop the 30-second segment that begins the broadcast. He lays down music first and then matches the images saved on his hard drive to the music. It takes 30 minutes.

4:02 p.m.

Reaugh huddles up in the quietest area he can find, an interview room across from the Stars' locker room. Most days, Reaugh stays at the arena from morning skate through the end of the game. He'll grab a quick lunch and work out in the Stars' weight room before putting his notes in an organized notebook. "I'll probably use 20 percent of what I write down because we don't have time."

5:23 p.m.

Strangis is in his seat, located just above the lower level area at AAC. He's looking over his notes and spotting board. "I like knowing I'm not rushed," says Strangis, who arrives more than two hours before the puck drops.

6:03 p.m.

"Do you want a cue?" Vittorio asks Strangis, who has written his voiceover for the open and is ready to tape it. "No, I'll hit it," Strangis says. "OK, Costas," Vittorio replies.

6:45 p.m.

Vittorio is calmly drinking coffee in the truck. A sign four feet to his right reads: "Food and drink prohibited in this area."

6:55 p.m.

Reaugh waits on Stars coach Dave Tippett outside the locker room and does a mock interview with Stars media relations director Mark Janko. Reaugh calls him "dunce boy" and asks if the Stars' "bikini calendar" is done. "Yep, and your picture is not pretty," Janko says.

7:22 p.m.

Following warm-ups, Strangis and Reaugh rehearse the open. They do it live eight minutes later.

7:29 p.m.

As the countdown from 60 seconds begins, Vittorio tells everyone good luck as Toast plays a quacking noise in honor of Dallas' opponent, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Vittorio laughs. "Cut that audio," he says. "It makes me nervous." The open begins to start the show.

7:59 p.m.

Mike Modano scores in the first period, and Vittorio and Walsh are nearly yelling over each other to get all the replays and camera shots in place.

8:45 p.m.

"Welcome to Dallas, Jon Klemm," says Strangis, who pumps his fist as Klemm scores in the second period. Reaugh describes the goal using the TelePrompTer, located on the flat screen monitor in front of him.

9:03 p.m.

Reaugh sees a graphic before it goes on the air and hits his button that allows him to talk directly to the truck while Strangis is on the air: "Don't put the Fedorov graphic up unless you spell his name right." They don't fix it in time, and it goes on the air. Reaugh shakes his head.

9:36 p.m.

"Oh no," yells Vittorio as an unexpected shot from center ice gets past Stars goalie Marty Turco to tie the score in the third period. Vittorio starts barking out instructions to get closeups of Tippett. "He's not happy."

9:58 p.m.

"Let's figure out what we're doing for overtime," Walsh tells Vittorio. "Just a reminder, we can't miss a faceoff in overtime. The second we do, someone will score."

10:10 p.m.

The game ends in a tie, and the broadcast comes to a quick close. Strangis and Reaugh stay where they are to tape additional updates for the postgame show and overnight radio.

10:30 p.m.

Reaugh leaves his broadcast position and wipes off his makeup. "I don't have to look pretty anymore. That was a full day."

GLOSSARY

Some terms used by the television crew:

Cluster: The portion of the pregame show handled by the game crew. That's the segment where Strangis and Reaugh do their standup and discuss the keys and storylines of the game.

Day of air checklist: A list of billboards (like the Southwest Airlines scoreboard) and other sponsor-promoted features that must get in the broadcast. These are in addition to the commercials.

Elevator: An animated graphic that is inserted over the action. For example, FSN promoted a poker tournament and showed a deck of cards getting shuffled with the time of the tournament. Then the graphic danced off the screen.

Fax: The process the network goes through to make sure the audio and video signal from the truck is reaching them (and home televisions) without any problems.

Fox box: The graphic strip on the top of the screen that lets viewers know the score, time remaining and if a team is on the power play.

Hot promos: Promos that are read live on television, but are not on radio. Strangis or Reaugh usually have 15 seconds to read the spot while radio (WBAP-AM) breaks for a station identification.

TRUE OR FALSE

Marty Turco should get some more time off.

TRUE

Turco is on pace to start 75 or 76 games. Few goalies come close to those types of numbers, and even the top goalies, for the most part, need more breaks. Turco isn't even playing like a top goalie. He isn't playing close to what he was last season. Ron Tugnutt has played well in substitute duty so far this season and deserves more time. And maybe sitting on the bench for a few games would allow Turco to recharge physically and mentally. It couldn't hurt.

Richard Durrett

FALSE

Turco has worked hard over the last two seasons to improve his conditioning, and he has played 60-game seasons in the minors, so this is nothing new to him. There are two choices a coach has in this situation: Give the guy loads of time off and practice time (a la Jean-Sebastien Giguere) or let him work it out on the ice (a la Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy). While Turco leads the NHL in minutes played, he has company. Atlanta's Pasi Nurminen, Toronto's Ed Belfour, Nashville's Tomas Vokoun and Washington's Olaf Kolzig are also being leaned on heavily. Turco can handle it and probably wants the ice time.

Mike Heika

UPCOMING GAMES

Chicago Blackhawks

Friday, 7:30 p.m. (FSN), American Airlines Center

The Stars, desperate for some wins, get a chance twice in three days against the Blackhawks, who have struggled this season. The Stars won all four meetings last season, with Marty Turco and Ron Tugnutt winning two games each.

Chicago Blackhawks

Sunday, 6 p.m. (Ch. 27), United Center

For Stars defenseman Jon Klemm, this should be an interesting game as he returns to Chicago for the first time since he was traded to Dallas on Nov. 17. Klemm, a defensive defenseman, was acquired in exchange for Stephane Robidas. The Stars outscored Chicago, 8-0, in two games at United Center last season.

TRENDS

Well-traveled

Defenseman Trevor Daley has racked up approximately 8,910 frequent flier miles going back and forth between the Utah Grizzlies and Stars. Here's a look at Daley's travels:
Date	Trip	Miles
Oct. 6	Dallas to Utah	1,409
Oct. 25	Chicago to Columbus	355*
Oct. 30	Dallas to Utah	1,409
Nov. 7	Utah to Boston	2,371
Nov. 9	Dallas to San Antonio	274
Nov. 10	San Antonio to Dallas	274
Nov. 14	Dallas to Utah	1,409
Nov. 20	Utah to Dallas	1,409
* Utah was in Grand Rapids the night before

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