Sports

Cup Qualifiers to be 'visually exciting' with new camera angles – NHL.com

Published

4 years ago

July 25, 2020

The NHL is planning to show fans camera angles they’ve never seen on a hockey broadcast when the Stanley Cup Qualifiers begin in Edmonton and Toronto on Aug. 1.

“Many times the considerations of where cameras go in arenas are based on where our fans are because we don’t want to block our fans from the viewing experience,” Steve Mayer, NHL senior executive vice president and chief content officer for events and entertainment, said Thursday. “We have no fans here, so we are able to walk around an arena like this and find the perfect, most ideal positions for every single one of our cameras.”

The NHL Return to Play Plan, which has 24 teams competing for the Stanley Cup — 12 in the Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto, and the 12 Western Conference teams in Edmonton — does not include fans in the arenas because of health and safety regulations related to the coronavirus. Mayer said that means the NHL must create a made-for-TV product to showcase the race for the Cup.

League broadcast partners Sportsnet and NBC will be using 32 cameras in each arena, 12 more than normal for a national broadcast. They will also be using a JitaCam, a camera on a large, 360-degree crane that can be positioned over the ice.

Sportsnet will control the live broadcast feed from Rogers Place in Edmonton, which will host all of the Western Conference games in the Qualifiers and first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as well as every game of both conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final.

NBC will control the feed from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, site of all the Eastern Conference games in the Qualifiers and first two rounds of the playoffs.

In the Qualifiers, the top four teams in each conference will play a round-robin to determine seeding for the playoffs. The remaining eight teams in each conference will play best-of-5 series, with the winners advancing to the playoffs. The loser of each series will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, to be held Aug. 10.

“It is our goal to be able to show a hockey game in a manner that shows off the speed and you feel like you’re part of the game, you’re watching with the energy that sometimes doesn’t come from the play on the ice,” Mayer said. “We all want our game to translate better for television. We think that in this tournament, we’re going to be able to accomplish that in even greater ways because of the way we can bring our fans right inside the game, down low, show the speed, hear the sounds.”

Each game will also look unique to the television audience based on the set design the NHL is using in each arena, including LED screens, monitors and stages.

The NHL also worked with game presentation representatives from each of the 24 participating teams to gather audio that is unique to their home arenas, including goal horns, in-arena music compilations, motivational videos and specially produced clips from fans to replicate chants unique to each market.

“The energy of the set design and some of the things that we’re planning on doing will make it visually exciting,” Mayer said. “I’m super excited about the broadcasts, to be able to do some different things throughout the whole tournament, and giving our fans an amazing experience if they can’t be here, at home.”

Microphones will be placed throughout the arena, including at ice level, to pick up more of the sounds of the game.

“You’ll hear more of what’s taking place on the ice without the crowd noise,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “And in terms of set design, and what the arena’s going to look like from a broadcast standpoint, if you see and recall what we do at all our outdoor games and our other events, Steve and his group are extraordinarily creative. We think this will make for a compelling television product.”

The League will not be using virtual advertisements at the start of the tournament, Mayer said, though the regional networks covering games in the Qualifiers and first round of the playoffs will be able to use virtual advertisements on the glass behind each goal.

“We’re looking at our environment in some ways as virtual, but we also, as we’ve talked about, are looking to grow this and be fluid,” Mayer said. “There are possibilities as we get in later rounds to add a virtual component to the environment for the conference [finals] and the
Final.”

Commissioner Bettman said the idea is not to replace the normalcy of an NHL game, especially a playoff game, but to instead give a different look and feel on TV.

“There’s nothing better in person from sporting standpoint than an NHL game,” the Commissioner said. “The energy, the noise, the excitement of our crowds may be irreplaceable from that standpoint, but this is going to be made into a very entertaining and compelling experience.”

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DeMar DeRozan scores 27 points to lead the Kings past the Raptors 122-107

Published

6 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points in a record-setting performance and the Sacramento Kings beat the Toronto Raptors 122-107 on Wednesday night.

Domantas Sabonis added 17 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his third triple-double of the season for Sacramento. He shot 6 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 at the free-throw line.

Keegan Murray chipped in with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and De’Aaron Fox scored 21.

The 35-year-old DeRozan has scored at least 20 points in each of his first eight games with the Kings, breaking a franchise mark established by Chris Webber when he reached 20 in his first seven games with Sacramento in 1999.

DeRozan spent the past three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. The six-time All-Star also has played for Toronto and San Antonio during his 16-year NBA career.

RJ Barrett had 23 points to lead the Raptors. Davion Mitchell scored 20 in his first game in Sacramento since being traded to Toronto last summer.

Takeaways

Raptors: Toronto led for most of the first three quarters before wilting in the fourth. The Raptors were outscored 33-14 in the final period.

Kings: Fox played strong defense but struggled again shooting from the floor as he is dealing with a finger injury. Fox went 5 for 17 and just 2 of 8 on 3-pointers. He is 5 for 25 from beyond the arc in his last three games.

Key moment

The Kings trailed 95-89 early in the fourth before going on a 9-0 run that gave them the lead for good. DeRozan started the spurt with a jumper, and Malik Monk scored the final seven points.

Key stat

Sabonis had the eighth game in the NBA since at least 1982-83 with a triple-double while missing no shots from the field or foul line. The previous player to do it was Josh Giddey for Oklahoma City against Portland on Jan. 11.

Up next

Raptors: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, the third stop on a five-game trip.

Kings: Host the Clippers on Friday night.

___

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Whitecaps take confidence, humility into decisive playoff matchup vs. LAFC

Published

6 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps are one win away from moving on to the next round of the Major League Soccer playoffs.

To get there, however, the Whitecaps will need to pull off the improbable by defeating the powerhouse Los Angeles FC for a second straight game.

Vancouver blanked the visitors 3-0 on Sunday to level their best-of-three first-round playoff series at a game apiece. As the matchup shifts back to California for a decisive Game 3 on Friday, the Whitecaps are looking for a repeat performance, said striker Brian White.

“We take the good and the bad from last game, learn from what we could have done better and go to LAFC with confidence and, obviously, with a whole lot of respect,” he said.

“We know that we can go there and give them a very good fight and hopefully come away with a win.”

The winner of Friday’s game will face the No. 4-seed Seattle Sounders in a one-game Western Conference semifinal on Nov. 23 or 24.

The ‘Caps finished the regular season eighth in the west with a 13-13-8 record and have since surprised many with their post-season play.

First, Vancouver trounced its regional rivals, the Portland Timbers, 5-0 in a wild-card game. Then, the squad dropped a tightly contested 2-1 decision to the top-seeded L.A. before posting a decisive home victory on Sunday.

Vancouver has scored seven goals this post-season, second only to the L.A. Galaxy (nine). Vancouver also leads the league in expected goals (6.84) through the playoffs.

No one outside of the club expected the Whitecaps to win when the Vancouver-L. A. series began, said defender Ranko Veselinovic.

“We’ve shown to ourselves that we can compete with them,” he said.

Now in his fifth season with the ‘Caps, Veselinovic said Friday’s game will be the biggest he’s played for the team.

“We haven’t had much success in the playoffs so, definitely, this is the one that can put our season on another level,” he said.

This is the second year in a row the Whitecaps have faced LAFC in the first round of the playoffs and last year, Vancouver was ousted in two straight games.

The team isn’t thinking about revenge as it prepares for Game 3, White said.

“More importantly than (beating LAFC), we want to get to the next round,” he said. “LAFC’s a very good team. We’ve come up against them a number of times in different competitions and they always seem to get the better of us. So it’d be huge for us to get the better of them this time.”

Earning a win last weekend required slowing L.A.’s transition game and limiting offensive opportunities for the team’s big stars, including Denis Bouanga.

Those factors will be important again on Friday, said Whitecaps head coach Vanni Sartini, who warned that his team could face a different style of game.

“I think the most important thing is going to be to match their intensity at the beginning of the game,” he said. “Because I think they’re going to come at us a million miles per hour.”

The ‘Caps will once again look to captain Ryan Gauld for some offensive firepower. The Scottish attacking midfielder leads MLS in playoff goals with five and has scored in all three of Vancouver’s post-season appearances this year.

Gearing up for another do-or-die matchup is exciting, Gauld said.

“Knowing it’s a winner-takes-all kind of game, being in that kind of environment is nice,” he said. “It’s when you see the best in players.”

LAFC faces the bulk of the pressure heading into the matchup, Sartini said, given the club’s appearances in the last two MLS Cup finals and its 2022 championship title.

“They’re supposed to win and we are not,” the coach said. “But it’s beautiful to have a little bit of pressure on us, too.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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PWHL unveils game jerseys with new team names, logos

Published

6 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Professional Women’s Hockey League has revealed the jersey designs for its six newly named teams.

Each PWHL team operated under its city name, with players wearing jerseys featuring the league’s logo in its inaugural season before names and logos were announced last month.

The Toronto Sceptres, Montreal Victoire, Ottawa Charge, Boston Fleet, Minnesota Frost and New York Sirens will start the PWHL’s second season on Nov. 30 with jerseys designed to reflect each team’s identity and to be sold to the public as replicas.

Led by PWHL vice-president of brand and marketing Kanan Bhatt-Shah, the league consulted Creative Agency Flower Shop to design the jerseys manufactured by Bauer, the PWHL said Thursday in a statement.

“Players and fans alike have been waiting for this moment and we couldn’t be happier with the six unique looks each team will don moving forward,” said PWHL senior vice president of business operations Amy Scheer.

“These jerseys mark the latest evolution in our league’s history, and we can’t wait to see them showcased both on the ice and in the stands.”

Training camps open Tuesday with teams allowed to carry 32 players.

Each team’s 23-player roster, plus three reserves, will be announced Nov. 27.

Each team will play 30 regular-season games, which is six more than the first season.

Minnesota won the first Walter Cup on May 29 by beating Boston three games to two in the championship series.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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