TORONTO

Toronto is one of my favorite sports cities to visit. Second to Chicago. BUT, when the Knicks played there Feb. 22nd, we weren’t even in Toronto 24 hours. What a waste!

On Saturday I went to Knicks practice at the MSG Training Center, to talk to the new players a little bit more … Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox … who BY THE WAY, is a TERP … and I’m a TERP. Go Maryland. And the first I said to Chris when I met him at the Garden Friday night, was … “Thanks for the National Championship in 2002!!”

After practice, I organized my notes and prepared some of the stories I wanted to report during the game Sunday. Since the game is at noon, I wanted to get everything done Saturday, so I could just wake up, read the newspaper, get dressed and go to the game.

The Toronto flight was short, one hour. I think our bus ride to the hotel was longer. After settling in and organizing my game notes, and unpacking, a couple of us from the MSG crew went to dinner. Spencer, our producer, Jim and Kevin our associate producers, and Mike Crispino, who was calling the game on 1050 ESPN Radio. I’m so MAD I did not have my camera with me. First, it was snowing … shocker in Canada, but we also saw these amazing ice sculptures on display. We could have had some fun with that. Oh well.

After dinner, I went back to my room, hey … we had an early game … but I did, FINALLY get to watch “Slumdog Millionaire”. Spencer said I should order the movie and watch it before the Oscars … I’m so glad I did. I was entranced by it. What a wonderful film.

Pre-game prep went well, I got sound (an interview on camera of just the player talking) from Wilcox, Hughes, and Coach D’Antoni. Then after doing my pre-game reporter talk-back with Al Trautwig, I had enough time to talk to Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh from the Raptors. I used that information in a couple of reports during the game.

And then … the Knicks lost.

So that’s it from our excursion North of the Border. But I’ve been getting some great questions from the fans! So I want to take this chance to answer them …

Cassie – I think you have the coolest job in the world! I am only 11, but can you give me some tips on how to follow in your footsteps?

Hi Cassie! I was exactly your age when I knew I wanted to work in sports and journalism. What’s important for you now is to get involved in sports in any way. Join a team, and try to play a sport every season if you can. Also, go to a sports camp in the summer if that’s possible. You want to gain as much experience as an athlete yourself … because some of us just won’t have pro careers at athletes. As far as school, read as much as possible, sports biographies, sports fiction, American History, or anything you want to read for FUN! But most important, read the newspaper every day. It’s a great habit to start. In high school, I took classes such as writing for journalism, public speaking, and you really want to do well in your English classes. Right now you’re young, but you can still get a jump start on what you want to do after college. By maintaining good grades, you can then choose a great college with a strong Journalism program. I went to the University of Maryland, and majored in Broadcast News at the College of Journalism. Plus, Maryland was a Division I school, so I worked at the campus radio and TV stations reporting on big time sports, and it was a great experience that still benefits me today.

Chad – How are the Knicks players different from the other teams your have been around?

Hey Chad, I’ve covered many different teams, from Arena Football, to the US Women’s Gymnastics Team. But I guess I would naturally compare the Knicks to the Boston Red Sox, because I had the same type of job in Boston, where I was a reporter for the team on their network broadcast and traveled with them. Basketball players in general, are completely different than baseball players. Baseball is EVERY DAY. Those players seem to get into their competitive zone on Opening Day and keep it through the last out of their season. In Spring Training, they are the best! Friendly, talkative, they’ll give you an interview at any time, they’re relaxed, and will discuss how much they love the game, but once the season starts … they sort of … change. With basketball, they do have days off, or at least, there isn’t a game EVERY DAY even though they may have practice. Also, the morning shoot around, before games, is still hours away from tip-off, so they’re a bit easier to talk too and get quotes or interviews. There are also less players on a basketball team, so it’s easier to get to know them, and get them to trust you. I’ve also noticed, I can ask a Knick a question right before the game starts, and we also do half-time interviews with players during games … in baseball … that wouldn’t happen.

Ryan - Who is the worst flyer on the team?

Ryan, I’m guessing you mean … who doesn’t like to fly? Well, I’m really not sure, nobody has “revealed” that to me. I might have to look into that. You fly soooooo much as a professional athlete and sportscaster, that even if you hated to fly … you have no choice, so you’d better get used to it!!!

Arvind and Danny (both sent in separate questions about this) – Are the hotels you stay at really nice?

This is probably the ONE benefit I never thought I’d experience … FIVE STAR HOTELS. Arvind and Danny, how’d you guys guess the Knicks and MSG stay in nice hotels??? When I was covering Arena Football in the very beginning of my career, we had to change hotels once, because there were unwanted guests in our room, and they had more than two legs, very small, but not very nice …. If you know what I mean. That would never be the case with NBA travel. But here’s a valid explanation: the players MUST get a good night’s rest because of the demands of their schedule and the impact of their games. Plus, the coaches need access to meeting rooms and large eating areas so they can have meetings, film sessions and team meals. And it’s a plus when the hotel has a full-service gym, not just a little workout space. Some players will do extra cardio or strength training at the hotel gyms on off-days, and some gyms even have a basketball court for the team to hold a practice. Only top hotels have all these amenities. So, you bet we stay in nice hotels!!!!

Catch up with you soon!

Tina

Posted by Tina Cervasio on February 23, 2008 at 3:20 p.m., ET

LOS ANGELES
Wednesday, February 11 Game Day vs. the LA Clippers

Being that we were staying right in the heart of Beverly Hills, I couldn’t resist but to wake up early to a long walk and take in the sights BEFORE the stores were open. (Because, as we have discovered … shopping on the road had become a problem.)

I guess I left the hotel around 8 AM, and went all the way down Wilshire Boulevard, down Santa Monica, and then looped down Rodeo, back up another street I don’t know the name of, back down Canal (I think) and then back to Wilshire. In that time, I had a latte, and saw Jamie Lee Curtis walking out of a restaurant, some gorgeous blonde model, and (I think) Clive Owen sitting at an outdoor café. Now, I work and interview some of the greatest athletes in the World for a living, we get to see some of the hottest stars in entertainment every night at the Garden, but it was just funny seeing these celebrities in their element, going about their Beverly Hills day.

Back at the hotel, I bump into Gus Johnson, who was heading out for his own excursion. I then went to the hotel gym for a bit. This place was pretty sweet. It was two floors looking over the pool. The weather was very crisp, and much cooler than the norm for LA, but the sun felt soooo good.

On the strength training floor of the gym Coach Greg is again, hard at work, this time with Eddy Curry, who is desperately trying to re-hab his knee and get back to basketball and away from what’s been a tragic time for him. Then on the cardio floor, we all end up on the bikes next to each other. Eddy was doing some crazy interval cycle.

Since it was a back-to-back, I had a lot of reading up to do on the Clippers. So I put together this big to-do list:
1. One-on-one with Zach Randolph (ask him about trade … who he keeps in touch with … injury … going against D.Lee in practice in previous seasons… get take on what he thinks of D. Lee’s game now):
:
2. Mike Dunleavy Meeting at 6 … :
a. November trade …:
b. What do you think of Zach?
c. Have you talked to Mobley? … what was your reaction to heart probs and retirement?:
:
3. For in game-reports: Talk to::
a. Tim Thomas INJ will play?:
b. Update on Duhon:
c. Marcus Camby … 10 years since final, talk to A.Houston today? What was your fav moment as a Knick? Still talk to guys from ’99 Finals team? You and Kurt Thomas only ones still playing … at 34 what’s the biggest challenge to body when playing?:
d. Baron Davis … played in Steve Nash’s Celebrity Soccer Game in Chinatown last July … do you think Nash would come to Knicks, take pay cut in 2010 to play for D’Antoni again?:
e. Eric Gordon … what was workout for Knicks like? Who did you think was going to draft you? What did Knicks staff tell you? What have you learned in 1st half of season about NBA that is so different than one year in college?:
f. Al Thornton … played in Summer League vs. Wilson – get thoughts

OH WELL … my check list by the opening tip was not very complete.

After a very long Dunleavy meeting, in which I got GREAT stuff and answers to my questions … we had to get Coach D’Antoni on tape, and that went long too because of all the injuries, and talk about Nate Robinson running the point, and probably playing 48 minutes. SO … got the coaches … Zach of course was very nice … gave me a great interview, but I did have to wait until the writers were done talking to him. This killed SO MUCH TIME, that after chatting to Ricky Davis a little bit, I had to run out to the court and do my live hit for pre-game. I did get an update from Duhon, and talked to Donnie Walsh about Eric Gordon, but once those players go to the court to warm up … it’s hard to really talk to them.

OH YEAH, and Marcus Camby wasn’t even there! He had a migraine. Thanks for coming Marcus. I was looking forward to talking to him, and so was Allan Houston. I did get to talk to Allan about the 10th anniversary since the Knicks went to the Finals. He couldn’t believe it was that long ago. He said, “My daughter’s about to turn 10, she was born the night we beat Miami, I can’t believe the time has gone by so fast.” Allan said he keeps in touch with Kurt Thomas through texts, and is really hoping to get in touch with Latrell Sprewell again, but has no idea where he is. I would have told this story during the game, but since Camby wasn’t there, the whole 98-99 story sort of loses steam without pictures to go along with the story.

This was a frustrating game for both me … and the Knicks. You saw what happened to them with :25 seconds left and a 3-point lead. On my side, we had soooo many issues with my microphone. It went dead in the 1st quarter, luckily I was able to get my report in on why the Knicks selected Danilo Gallinari over Eric Gordon. But then, even with new batteries, it went dead again in the 2nd. So I’m running around most of the quarter looking for our audio guy to get me new batteries. Before you know it, it’s the half, Knicks by one … and good thing we got the new battery, because I was able to interview Nate at the end of the half, who was having a spectacular game with Duhon out. MSG will interview a Knick at the half ONLY if the Knicks are leading or if the game is tied. I also interviewed Al Harrington at the Golden State game when they were tied at 65.

Things went well at the half. But the ENTIRE 3rd quarter, while my mic did have enough juice and the green light was on … the truck couldn’t hear me. I was calling my producer every minute with my stories that would fit in with what Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier were talking about … but no response. I was even texting him, but because they were in a huge garage under the Arena, he wasn’t receiving my texts either. So I had to run around again to find the audio guy, who realized some frequency was turned the wrong way. Great. I missed two good opportunities for stories on Zach and how the Clippers were aggressively inquiring about trading for him last summer, and Mike Dunleavy’s contact with Cuttino Mobley during his decision to retire. It was new information, that was in the papers the next morning, but I had a chance to report them during the game, but couldn’t … because of lovely technical problems. The game was very intense in the fourth, so we just wanted to stay with the game.

I finally got to interview to Eric Gordon, but under the circumstances that the Knicks lost. This trip was BRUTAL for the Knicks. Very evident in my post-game interviews, but I have to give the Knicks this: they answered all the questions asked of them. Al Harrington was honest about getting a bit fired up and out of control when he was hit in the face by someone going in for the dunk. So he held on and hit the glass out of frustration, which then ended up with a technical. Malik Rose and Nate Robinson both said that while it “looks” like that technical could have cost them the game, they should have done a better job defending the 3, especially the way Novak and B. Davis were hitting from downtown.

After talking to Al, Malik, D. Lee, and Nate … who also gave me some hints about he Slam Dunk contest … it was off to the bus to finally go home. I was a little lost for a second, and Chris Duhon noticed, and pointed me in the right direction towards the bus. He found it amusing that I was asking a security guard where the buses were, and the guy had to pull out a map. Chris seemed a little antsy because the minute he was to get off the plane, he was heading straight to the training center for an MRI on his ankle. He was glad the break was coming when it did. These guys take a pounding on that court, and some really needed the rest to heal their bodies. Especially after the mental pounding they also took over these last 6 games.

Half of the team stayed in LA. Some live there in the off-season and returned home, Mike Breen was heading to Phoenix, with Nate, Wil and some of the assistant coaches, and the rest, back to New York for the break. The plane flight was interesting. I finished up my blogs, changed out of my TV clothes into SWEATS, took about a 3 hour nap, and then the sun was up. It was VERY turbulent when we got back to New York, because of the high winds. VERY. But our crew got us on the ground safely. Both Clyde and D. Lee said that was the most turbulence they ever felt on a Knicks flight. Back at my house by 8:30 AM, even earlier than expected. The Break Begins. Hopefully, the Knicks will get some rest, and be rejuvenated when they return to the Garden on Tuesday. But it doesn’t get any easier with the Spurs coming to town. Nice welcome home. I’m going back to sleep.

Talk to you guys next week when we head to Toronto!

Tina

Posted by Tina Cervasio on February 14, 2008 at 5:30 p.m., ET

SAN FRANCISCO / OAKLAND:
Monday, February 9 Off Day

Flying from Portland to Oakland was a breeze, under 2 hours. After arriving around 9:30 PM Pacific time, at our hotel, I unpacked, watched some TV and went to bed. Another exciting night … I know.

Wake up … morning workout … blah blah … this morning though, it was a full Knicks contingency … Assistant Coach Herb Williams, Greg (read previous blog) and more … but Greg was hard at work with his players. Both Danilo Gallinari and Eddy Curry were getting in extra rehab workouts before the team practice at 9:45. This was a pretty sweet set up, because a Sports Club LA was attached to the hotel. The Knicks practiced at the gym basketball court there as well. So, after practice and the media session about the “foul up” … I went back to my room to transcribe Coach D’Antoni, and some of the assistants I talked to after practice. I also jotted down notes from talking to players about their health, the aftermath of the buzzer beater, and getting ready for the Warriors.

When I was finished, I celebrated with some Shopping in Beautiful San Francisco, then later in the afternoon, I laced up the sneakers again, and hit the road for a run with one of the Knicks performance specialist David Hancock. He’s a marathoner … but MUCH faster than me. He held back and slowed down to run my 9 minute pace, when he actually runs a 7 minute pace. We went down to the Fisherman’s Warf and along the water out to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a 6 mile trek, and a BEAUTIFUL one … running past the Bay Bridge first, then the landmarks, museums, mountains, parks, along the water. But I had enough after 6. So at the base of the Golden Gates, I hopped on a bus back to the hotel. David … he logged another 10 miles. I’ll have plenty of those long runs when I start training again in April, so I passed this one up with no guilt.

I was exhausted when I got back, so after watching A-Rod’s interview for the 9th time … I hit the sack. Another thrilling day on the road with Tina. I know … I really need to go out one of these nights so I have some good stuff to write for you. But don’t hold your breath.

Tuesday, February 10 Game Day vs. Warriors

I wanted to take advantage of working out at a Sports Club LA for free, so I got up early to take a 6:30 “Definitions” Class. As I hopped on the elevator at about 6:25 AM, Assistant Coach Herb Williams was there, heading to the gym as well. Meanwhile, he looks like he can still play … and he does play … a lot of GOLF! And he utilized that day-off in California by playing some golf. Smart man.

The Knicks had a 10:45 shootaround, again, at the Sports Club gym. It was a popular place to be, besides the beat writers and myself, there was a local TV crew there to talk to Al Harrington about his return to Golden State after leaving under some tense conditions. And, much of the Knicks front office and ownership was there to watch the shoot around. Everyone was on this road trip … and why not … Portland, San Francisco and Los Angeles … great cities!

Picture this … it didn’t happen to me, but I’m sure it happened to somebody. You’re at a beautiful hotel, you’re returning to your room and you go to the elevator. The doors open and as you step in, you are surrounded by 5 NBA players, all towering over you, and sopping wet in sweat from their morning shoot around. A couple players may even have bags of ice wrapped around either their ankle, calf, knee, quad, hamstring, back, chest, shoulder, or elbow. It’s true, the guys basically just leave practice at the gym, and head right to their hotel rooms to shower. It’s pretty funny, and random if you think about it.

After heading out to grab some lunch, I hit a few more stores. (This shopping on the road can get dangerous … and if you watched the Warriors – Knicks game, I was wearing one of my new White shirts I purchased in the Bay area!) After pounding away at my computer to catch up on blogging, and to prep and write for tonight’s game, I packed, got ready … and headed off to the Oracle Arena.

The Bay Bridge is fascinating to travel over. There’s such a beautiful and vast view of the San Francisco skyline, and if you’re lucky and it’s not foggy, you can see all of Alcatraz and it’s glory. Someone yelled out from the back of the bus … “If you can escape Alcatraz … you’re a beast.” Very true, because there are usually beasts swimming out there in the bay ready to eat you first.

Not very scenic after the bridge into Oakland. This is a very familiar place for me, because I’ve covered many A’s games at the MacAfee Coliseum next door to the arena, back during my baseball reporting days.

From the minute we sat down for our production meeting a lot of my focus was on Jamal Crawford. He was such a fan favorite AND media favorite in New York. Jamal was out there on the court early saying hello, hugging and visiting with his old teammates. Everyone on the Warriors staff and beyond was raving to us about how great he’s been. And it’s true. Jamal is one of the nicest guys in sports! I did an interview with him at his new Warriors locker, and he couldn’t have been more reflective about his time in New York.

Meanwhile, when I walk into the Knicks Locker room, Quentin Richardson looks like a mummy. He’s wrapped from his neck, across his chest and around his left arm, down to his waist in ACE bandage, and right where he suffered a pectoral bruise, there’s a mound of ice under the wrap. I say, “Q … that doesn’t look good” … he says … “nope, doesn’t feel good, not going today.” We talked about how he got the bruise from Travis Outlaw in Portland, and what they were going to look for in the X-Rays he was waiting to get any moment. Needless to say … that was the big story to start the game off Tuesday.

And just like pre-game … after the game, I was interviewing Jamal Crawford yet again. Which means … I wasn’t interviewing a Knick on the court for a walk-off interview … for the 5th straight game. Not good for Knicks nation.

Off to LA. By the time I get to my room it’s after 1:30 AM. I can barely keep my eyes open to unpack. Again.

Tina

Posted by Tina Cervasio on February 11, 2008 at 11:00 p.m., ET

PORTLAND:
Saturday, February 7, Travel Day A shade groggy from going out after the Knicks-Celtics game with my friend Jessica Camerato, a writer for WEEI.com in Boston, I still manage to get a workout in before a long travel day to Portland, Oregon. I always try to get a solid hour of Sports Center in, along with reading the papers, so I watched while doing a walk, run, hill interval workout on the treadmill, and read the NY papers in the car on the way to the airport. The team was leaving earlier than usual, because of the cross country flight. So … being that I COVERED the Knicks game, read the papers, etc, I thought I was all caught up. Needless to say, before going through security, my phone starts buzzing about A-Rod. You know the story from there, and on my end, that was the topic of conversation between mostly everyone getting on the plane, and across the country! Since I’m new to the MSG Traveling crew, I’m the one who gets my seat switched around from trip to trip. Today I was sitting next to The Legend … and when I told Clyde about A-Rod, he let out a big …. “Ooooooh Boyyy.”

During a quick layover in Montana, everyone was firing up their BlackBerrys and phones to get the latest news and fall out. It was a welcomed distraction, following the Knicks previous night’s loss to the Defending Champs. A game I really thought they could pull out, after leading at the half. That … until “off the bench” Eddie House unleashed some nasty 3’s. And Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, did, well … what Champions do.

Meanwhile, I’ve never been to Montana … so on the decent, my breath was taken away by the vast terrain of mountains, plains, rivers, and crystal clear air and sky. Spectacular.

FINALLY … after about 7-plus hours of flying and layover, we land in Portland safely. I love Portland. It’s a fun and unique city to visit. I’m a New York Girl through and through, so I could never live there, but its eclectic mix of stores, restaurants and local businesses really adds to the personality of the city in the Pacific North West.

OKAY … He’s one of the perks traveling with an NBA team. From the airport, we were able to pick which bus to get on. The one going to the Hotel, or the one going to the NIKE campus. Uh … yeah. You can guess where I went. With that, we were allowed about 90 minutes to shop in the NIKE Employee store. Everything in there is about 50% off regular store. Outlet shopping, Tina’s second love after sports! I have to say, I’m proud of how controlled I was. I have a great supply of workout gear, after training and running the NYC marathon last year, so I kept it to some yoga and cross training gear. I also picked up a sharp golf vest for my husband. (Good Valentine’s Day Gift.)

After that, I was feeling a bit jet lagged, but forced myself to get outside in the crisp air and get some dinner. Our MSG crew of Howie, Spencer, Jim, Kevin (you’ve met these guys in my first blog from Indiana) and I walked over to a wing joint they love going to every time they’re in Portland. We watched more A-Rod stuff, and talked a lot about Steroids in baseball. Good times.

Sorry, wish life was more exciting on the road. The NIKE thing was cool though, wasn’t it?! After dinner, I just organized my things and notes for the next day’s game … and it was off to sleep. Hopefully something exciting will happen tomorrow.

Saturday, February 8, Game Day

My number one story today was going to be Nate Robinson, and his gazillion family members coming to the game, plus, his relationship with the Blazers’ Brandon Roy, whom Nate knew since they were in the 4th grade. (brutal foreshadowing)

When the team arrived at the hotel after our NIKE shopping spree on Saturday night, there was a good dozen family members waiting for Nate at the hotel. It’s so cool to see players just be themselves with their family. To their family members, they’re not super star NBA players, they are their sons, brothers, nephews, cousins, childhood friends … and the expressions on their faces when they saw Nate in person, after probably a long period of time, is just so real.

This is another great advantage of traveling with the team, and it allows me to paint a better picture when I’m reporting some of my stories during a game.

Today was an early game, 3 PM Pacific time, so there was no morning shootaround. It’s a little surreal being at a hotel for such a short period of time. This was less than 24 hours. And it’s too bad … because some of these hotels are fabulous!!

Only once in a blue moon do people in sports get to function on normal work-day hours. Today was one of them. Up around 6 … which is like sleeping in because that’s 9 AM Eastern Time. A workout. It’s so much easier to work out on the road, because all you have to do is roll out of bed and take the elevator to the gym. No driving or dealing with the bitter New York Winter mornings. It’s usually a guarantee that I’ll see the Knicks Strength and Conditioning / Player Development coach Greg Brittenham working out every morning in the hotel gyms. Today, was nothing different. By 9 AM, I’m at my hotel desk buried in morning clips from both teams, while I also read and highlight game notes, updated stats, and organize the stories I want to report during the game.

Today, I splurged and ordered room service for a brunch. It was a little rainy outside, (shocker – in Portland), and I didn’t have as much time to prepare, so it was worth the extra $$$.

Before you know it, I’m checking out and trying to beat the clock to get to the team bus. I had a streak going, for about 5 road games, where I would always end up checking out in line with Chris Duhon. Today it was Danilo Gallinari. I find it a little surprising that the players don’t get noticed more often. Especially when you have Gallo standing up there at 6-10. But like clockwork, when you walk out of the hotel’s front doors and head to the bus, there are fans lined up … most of the time behind a make-shift barrier … waiting to see their favorite Knick, maybe snap a picture with them, and get an autograph. And there we were, 3,000 miles from Madison Square Garden, and there was almost 20 people braving the drops, wearing the Orange and Blue.

Now for the game… this one’s gonna hurt for a while. So after Brandon Roy put a dagger in the Knicks heart with a drive and lay-in at the buzzer, I had to scramble to find a Blazer to interview. Because everything happened so fast at the end of the game, and everyone was expecting the Knicks to foul whoever got the ball after the inbounds, I had to just keep my question open and not lead the player. The home TV show always gets their star of the game … it’s a given. Usually, the winning team’s radio will get the next impact player. But I was fortunate to get Greg Oden, who had a season high 6 blocks, for my walk-off interview. He immediately said … “we thought the Knicks would foul us, Coach McMillan had us set up to get fouled.”

Post-Game Sunday … and Monday Morning Practice.

Alright, we know how the story goes … Coach D’Antoni didn’t realize the Knicks had a foul to give. When he was answering our questions after the game, you would not have noticed … but it was then, when he realized the foul situation. What I did notice as we made our way on the bus and onto the team plane, was that Coach D’Antoni was pulling the players aside one by one and talking to them. That’s why, when Coach told the media the next morning that he had made the error, I asked him, when he explained this to his players and how they took it. He went on to answer about telling each of them on the plane, and explaining the situation, and taking the blame. The great line to come out of this was … I’ve lost this one, but you’ve lost 28. Coach D’Antoni is one of the best communicators I’ve seen on any level of sports, in business, in life. He is very honest, to the point, and he does it all with his true emotion, but without any sense of negativity.

Catch up with you in Oakland!

Tina

Posted by Tina Cervasio on February 9, 2008 at 11:30 p.m., ET

So I’m all ready to write my first blog entry about what life is like on the road with Knicks, and while I’m waiting to get in line at security to board the team plane, Al Harrington comes roaring through the waiting area with a hand-held mini-video recorder in his hand, held about 9 feet in the air, yelling, “Hey, smile, you’re on nyknicks.com.” All I can think of is “great, who could beat that.” Al Harrington returning to Indiana, where his NBA Career started as a teenager, and he’s got a camera to record it all. No competition. Apparently, he is videoing a couple of road trips and for a video-blog, so be on the lookout for that!

Meanwhile, I hope to at least share with you some insight into what goes into the TV production of a Knicks Telecast on the road, and how the Knicks and the MSG crew go about their days away from the Big Apple.

Background: I’ve been traveling with the Knicks to all of their road games as the on-site reporter since the December 30th game in Charlotte. A nice win over the Bobcats, BTW. I’m no stranger to the road, before coming to MSG in March of 2008 as a host and reporter on “MSG,NY”, I spent the previous two years traveling and covering another professional team that plays about 215 miles north of the Garden. The travel demands with that team were about 200% more of what I do now, with double the games, and road trips sometimes reaching 19 days a clip. But I do have a beautiful, gleaming, World Series Ring, with my name on it as a remembrance. It’s a story for another time, but I wanted to give you an idea of my experience traveling with pro sports teams.

Indiana: Here’s a glimpse into how the Knicks road game shaped up. The team plane takes off around 4:30 PM on Friday. Two issues of S.I. and a salmon dinner later, we land in Indianapolis, and it’s about 7 degrees. The front office, coaching staff and players board one bus, and the MSG crew boards another. This weekend, Al Trautwig is on the trip, doing the play-by-play, Kelly Tripuka is the analyst, and I have full hosting duties for pre-game, half-time, post and any in-game reporting and interviews if needed. Usually, when the Knicks are on the road, Al and Kelly are in studio back at the Garden, I’ll report any news and notes during pre-game, file a few interviews, and then resume my in-game reporting duties. The rest of our MSG crew includes director Howie Singer, producer Spencer Julien, and associate directors/producers Jim Gallagher and Kevin McHale.

And there’s my excitement for the night. We settle into our hotel rooms, just as the Pacers and Heat were tipping off down the street at Conseco Fieldhouse. I unpack, read newspaper clips on the Pacers from the last week, watch a combo of the Celtics/Pistons game, Pacers/Heat and Larry King. Thrilling night in Indy … right?

Saturday morning Shoot around: I get up for a good morning workout and then at 10 AM, I meet Spencer and Mike Crispino who is doing the radio Play-by-play, in the hotel lobby and we walk a couple of blocks to the Conseco Fieldhouse practice court for the Knicks morning shootaround. There we meet our ENG … which is a camera operator based in Indy, and we watch a bit of the shoot around, gauge who’s healthy and starting, status quo, except we did notice David Lee wearing a sleeve on his elbow from a nasty hit during the Hawks game … and when practice breaks we, along with New York and Indy writers, and a crew from Pacers TV and their game host, Stacey Paetz (who’s one of the nicest people in the industry) all gather around coach D’Antoni. If you watched the pre-game show on Saturday, you know what coach said: the team is playing well because everyone is healthy, but most important the defense is playing together, and getting stops late in close games, when they need them.

From there we all break and interview players individually. The team was in a great mood, coming off a solid victory at the Garden over the Hawks, and the two days off sure helped! Spencer wanted me to ask the guys their Super Bowl predictions. The Knicks are all very BIG football fans. Everyone has their team, and during the Eagles/Giants playoff game … Malik Rose let you know where he was from. Malik is a ridiculously faithful (and vocal) Eagles fan, was all chummy with Donovan McNabb when he was sitting courtside in Philly last week, and took great pride in the Eagles victory over Big Blue to eliminate them from the Post-Season. Oh … but those Eagles didn’t last much longer. So I noticed both Malik and Quentin sitting on the floor together. I told the camera operator, “I’m going to interview them together to get their reactions because this could be interesting.” It was. Q was ripping the Eagles for the way Larry Fitzgerald ran all over them, and Malik was adamant about how he’s not even going to watch the Super Bowl. Q kept getting on him … and the exchange was priceless. Meanwhile, I think Herb Williams could be a football coach. Hope you got to see the segment … Al Harrington’s reaction (Giants fan) was priceless as well.

On our walk back, Spencer and I discuss the pre-game format, because I will be interviewing Knicks President of Basketball Operations, Donnie Walsh in a pre-taped segment … because it would be too crazy to interview him on the court while the teams are warming up before the tip.

Preparing for Game: From there, for me … is all prep. I get back to my hotel room, eat a little lunch and sit at my computer and compile any important stats on both teams, write out my interview topics for Donnie Walsh, read up on updated notes that the Pacers left for the MSG crew at our hotel, write out a few leads and tags to the sound-bites and segments that will be on tape. I’m at my desk for a good 3 hours. I tend to over-prepare when I host pre-games, because you never know when you have to fill-time, or transition into something. I want good stories, anecdotes, and stats on the top of my mind if I need to talk about them.

After packing up my things, getting into my “on-air” clothes, check out … and hop on the team bus. I know it’s a 10 minute walk, but because I was all ready for the game, and it was about 19 degrees, if there’s a free ride … I’m taking it.

At Conseco Fieldhouse: When we pull into the garage, or better yet, park down the ramp under the arena, our camera guy is waiting to shoot the team as they get off the bus. Of course, Nate was talking away about something in the shot we got of him. A few minutes later, we got money shots of both Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger parking their cars and walking into the area. Meanwhile, those were the shots YOU saw on the pre-game. Our crew pretty much got every player, but the key is to use video that coincides with our story lines. Dunleavy coming off a season-high 30 point game … will Granger play with his sore knee … Nate coming off a thrilling 20 point 4th quarter in the Knicks last game, and while Lee was riding his 34 double-doubles into the game, he wasn’t selected as an All-Star Reserve, a story and interview we cover later in the pre-game show.

If you are still reading, you’re a die-hard. And as you can see … this is not quiet as glamorous as some might think! So I’ll get you through to the tip. At 4:30 we have a crew meeting in the Media Dinning room. I barely get to eat, because I have to get mic’ed up for my interview with Donnie Walsh. Spencer gets sound from D’Antoni in front of the Knicks locker room for any last minute lineup changes, and after some running around by Al and myself, we find out that Granger IS starting, despite pulling up and running off the court favoring his right knee during warm-ups. I try to do some legwork so I have material to report during the game. And even though I had about 5 good stories, from Jim O’Brien’s pre-game speech about Dunleavy’s performance the night before, and Nate’s confession that he was just “thinking too much” during his shooting slump … I only got one in game hit in, because the game was moving at such a fast pace, with both teams playing a similar running style.

On the air: Finally, 6:30 hits and we go live!!! If you watched MSG … you know what happens from there. One behind the scenes bit … with about 5 minutes to go before the anthem, I’m going through my last segment; this is when you usually see Al in the MSG studio with a final thought on the game. My final thought was that D’Antoni was a little bit concerned the players were looking past the Indiana game to the “Hell” or “Dream Week” games coming up at the Garden. So no secret … we have to read a lot of sponsorships. Our pre-game is not scripted, I have tons of notes, at stats to look at, but I’m never really “reading a script” until we get these promo reads. So I’m live, going through my Panasonic Read, and D. Lee puts his hand right over the script. He tells me later, he thought I was practicing … funny (sic) … it’s so important for us to get these reads right … and I can’t EVEN see it. I started laughing, a nervous laugh, trying not to let it through on air (thank God I was off-camera), it was only a second but it felt like 5 minutes. After the game, on the plane, Lee literally said, “I could tell you were freaking out.”

I will check in with you guys about the next road trip we have when we travel to Portland, Golden State and Los Angeles.

Drop me a line if you have any questions about life on the road that you would like answered!

Tina

Posted by Tina Cervasio on February 6, 2009 at 12:00 p.m., ET