3 On 3 For All The Marbles: Part II

Since last years tournament for 'all the marbles', I've kept in touch with the car club that organizes the day of festivities. Usually at the beginning of the summer, they host the tournament, with no entry fee, and dole out a $600 cash prize to the last team standing. This day was no different.

A grueling afternoon of intense 3-on-3 action was both the fuel and the fatigue of each team. Competition was fierce and the players were clawing for not only respect, but also $600 for winning basketball games. It's ALMOST like being in the NBA, right?

Just like last year, the champion hailed from "The Heights" and they were very vocal about it (you probably even recognize some familiar faces). The defenders of the crown made it to the final game but lost to a younger version of themselves from the same neighborhood. Shout out to everyone who kept it civil in a game where at times it can be hard. Especially when you throw some greenbacks into the mix.

Tale of Two Diamonds

This spring, I put in practice time a couple of days a week shooting sports that I can't say I've spent a whole lot of hours shooting. The diamond sports. I'm not particularly inclined to enjoying either (watching, or playing) but always look forward to the opportunity to get a good shot. The only thing is, you've really got to pay attention. If you blink, you might miss one of the few chances for action. Shout out to the Houston Astros, the 2013 AL West Champs. Count on it.

DSTAR in Houston

I was so very fortunate to spend a good chunk of time in the greatest state of Texas last month. Initially for my brother-in-law's wedding in Austin (congrats Nate and Martha!) and then down to Houston to spend some time with the family. During that time, I photographed a kid who I've known for about 25+ years. An enterprising young hip hop artist by the name of DSTAR who also happens to be my cousin. We roamed the streets of Downtown Houston, mainly around the theater district, to make some promo images.

And if you're so inclined...have a listen to some of his heat. I am biased, but it is HEAT!

Shout out to H-Town.

Baseball Practice

Hung out with the Mustangs at baseball practice earlier in the week and took a few pictures. It's definitely a different experience than photographing games because the games are totally unpredictable. And if you're not careful, you just might miss the few spurts of action that occur. But at practice, you can count on a few good frames. Shout out to repetition.

After The Storm

Usually when I'm driving, I always notice the sky after a brief rainstorm has passed. The sun is coming through the clouds behind me and the dark clouds are ahead of me...retreating. It makes a cool canvas of light shining on a dark background. Am I the only one?

Anyway, that happened to me yesterday but this time, I was shooting baseball. It was still a little bit cloudy so the light was pretty even. The sun was shining just enough to get some light on the faces and you can see the dark clouds in the background. Pretty cool right? Or am I still the only one who thinks so? My adopted school, Monterey Trail, was 2 hit and lost 11-0. The sun'll come out...tomorrow.

Georgetown, Syracuse and Big East Basketball

My earliest memory of Big East basketball was the 1996 conference championship game between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Connecticut Huskies where a couple of guys named Allen Iverson and Ray Allen went at it in Madison Square Garden. After that, I didn't pay much attention to that conference unless I saw their teams advance deep into the NCAA Tournament. Then there was the 2007-2008 college basketball season. 

Thanks to my man Ron Bailey from i95ballerz.com, I got the opportunity to cover the world famous Hoyas. For three years, I was all about Big East hoops. I went to most games, and trust me, they weren't all barn burning, full capacity, television worthy contests. There were some duds against South Florida and games against the likes of Seton Hall where aside from the student section, most of the arena was empty. But there were a few dates on the Georgetown schedule that put butts in almost every seat, but none more so than the annual home game against Syracuse.

The Syracuse / Georgetown hoops rivalry was classic in that either team could be having shitty seasons (which didn't happen very often) but whomever won that Hoya / Orange game could feel great about themselves for about a week and a half. Fans packed the Verizon Center to the tip top, wearing heather gray, blue and yes, even blotches of orange. We photographers were shoulder to shoulder in our positions with an extra row of photographers behind us. Against St. John's, I could stretch out and take a nap on the baseline...but not against 'Cuse. Against 'Cuse, the atmosphere before the tip already made the experience incredible and there were still 40 minutes to play. These games were usually competitive but if it didn't show in the score, it damn sure showed in intensity. 

Alas, all good things come to an end. The Big East as we know it, is crumbling. Syracuse is off to the ACC and 7 teams from the Big East's current incarnation are forming their own conference. Now, I don't want to sound like I'm longing for the days of the old rivalry too much because I only witnessed three seasons and I don't think anyone is allowed to be nostalgic about the 2000s. But I sure will miss it. Farewell ye olde Big East as we knew it. Shout out to JT III, Jim Boeheim, Roy Hibbert, Donte Greene, Jessie Sapp, DaJuan Summers, Jonathan Wallace, Scoop Jardine, Jonny Flynn, Austin Freeman, Arinze Onuaku, Paul Harris, Rick Jackson, Greg Monroe, Jason Clark, Eric Devendorf, Kristof Ongenaet, Chris Wright (whew, all pictured) and all the other Hoyas and Orange I've photographed. Conference re-alignment sucks.