Media Day Experience
Oviedo High School students Diego Blumberg and Brentley Romine attended Magic Media Day in early October. Both students are sports editors for the Oviedo High newspaper. Below is Diego's description of the Media Day experience.
By Diego Blumberg
I have always been a big fan of the Orlando Magic. So when the debate on whether or not high school seniors should jump into professional sports was the hot topic in the sports world, it made sense that I should try to do a story on this from the perspective of NBA players. The summer came before anything solid happened and the topic died down. However, still wanting to do a story that involved the Magic, I switched my focus to the Magic’s involvement in the community. After many phone calls and e-mails to many people, I was invited to the Orlando Magic’s media day.
I waited in the media entrance to RDV Sportsplex for ten minutes for my photographer Brentley Romine. I was already surprised to see Orlando Sentinel columnists Jerry Greene and Mike Bianchi walk past me with a ‘what’s up’. Inside the building, Sentinel Sports editor Lynn Hoppes showed us where the media day was taking place. On the court, WFTV sports anchor Dan Hellie greeted Brentley and I. It felt good to be recognized by accomplished sports journalists.
I felt a lot of feelings of excitement and awe when first walking onto the floor. Mario Kasun was at the free throw line, newly acquired Felipe Lopez was doing an interview for a Spanish TV station, and Keyon Dooling was at a photo shoot. Walking across the court were some of the other new free agents the Magic recently signed. I turned around to see Brian Hill standing with Hedo Turkolglu. Turkoglu remained on the court for interviews, but it was very difficult to get close enough to him for a question. Turkoglu’s line quickly grew short and Pat Garrity walked onto the court. Both of these factors allowed me to ask Turkoglu four questions for my story.
While waiting for Garrity, Lynn Hoppes introduced me to Alex Martins. He heads a lot of departments for the Magic, including community development. After speaking with him, I caught Pat Garrity standing against a wall. I got quality time with him and a nice posed picture. I was intimidated at first when it came to getting the players to talk to me. If they were just walking away, I felt like I should not bother them. With a little pushing from Brentley I got Jameer Nelson to stop and answer a couple of questions. Right after Nelson I caught Bo Outlaw doing a radio spot for ESPN radio Orlando. When he was done, I went over and spoke with him. He was very nice and even started small talk before the interview; he was the nicest of the players there. Team president Bob Vander Weide was also pleasant; he seems like a nice guy.
I was a little awe struck to ask Grant Hill my questions. I caught him just goofing off with Jameer Nelson. They posed together for a picture that we took. Grant had Nelson in a headlock. I even talked to Brian Hill for a second. Maybe I got a little over aggressive when I went to talk to Mario Kasun as he was leaving for lunch. He was ready to leave, but he answered my question. By the time I met Dwight Howard, I was not nervous or in an awe of the players. It was weird, because Dwight is one of my favorite players in the league and talking to him was like talking to any other regular guy. Magic Media day was an experience that I will not forget any time soon. It was nice to meet the players, but it was also nice to make some connections with media and gain real sports reporting experience.
By Diego Blumberg
I have always been a big fan of the Orlando Magic. So when the debate on whether or not high school seniors should jump into professional sports was the hot topic in the sports world, it made sense that I should try to do a story on this from the perspective of NBA players. The summer came before anything solid happened and the topic died down. However, still wanting to do a story that involved the Magic, I switched my focus to the Magic’s involvement in the community. After many phone calls and e-mails to many people, I was invited to the Orlando Magic’s media day.
I waited in the media entrance to RDV Sportsplex for ten minutes for my photographer Brentley Romine. I was already surprised to see Orlando Sentinel columnists Jerry Greene and Mike Bianchi walk past me with a ‘what’s up’. Inside the building, Sentinel Sports editor Lynn Hoppes showed us where the media day was taking place. On the court, WFTV sports anchor Dan Hellie greeted Brentley and I. It felt good to be recognized by accomplished sports journalists.
I felt a lot of feelings of excitement and awe when first walking onto the floor. Mario Kasun was at the free throw line, newly acquired Felipe Lopez was doing an interview for a Spanish TV station, and Keyon Dooling was at a photo shoot. Walking across the court were some of the other new free agents the Magic recently signed. I turned around to see Brian Hill standing with Hedo Turkolglu. Turkoglu remained on the court for interviews, but it was very difficult to get close enough to him for a question. Turkoglu’s line quickly grew short and Pat Garrity walked onto the court. Both of these factors allowed me to ask Turkoglu four questions for my story.
While waiting for Garrity, Lynn Hoppes introduced me to Alex Martins. He heads a lot of departments for the Magic, including community development. After speaking with him, I caught Pat Garrity standing against a wall. I got quality time with him and a nice posed picture. I was intimidated at first when it came to getting the players to talk to me. If they were just walking away, I felt like I should not bother them. With a little pushing from Brentley I got Jameer Nelson to stop and answer a couple of questions. Right after Nelson I caught Bo Outlaw doing a radio spot for ESPN radio Orlando. When he was done, I went over and spoke with him. He was very nice and even started small talk before the interview; he was the nicest of the players there. Team president Bob Vander Weide was also pleasant; he seems like a nice guy.
I was a little awe struck to ask Grant Hill my questions. I caught him just goofing off with Jameer Nelson. They posed together for a picture that we took. Grant had Nelson in a headlock. I even talked to Brian Hill for a second. Maybe I got a little over aggressive when I went to talk to Mario Kasun as he was leaving for lunch. He was ready to leave, but he answered my question. By the time I met Dwight Howard, I was not nervous or in an awe of the players. It was weird, because Dwight is one of my favorite players in the league and talking to him was like talking to any other regular guy. Magic Media day was an experience that I will not forget any time soon. It was nice to meet the players, but it was also nice to make some connections with media and gain real sports reporting experience.
