It's For Real

In the picture on the right, you'll see our view of the court nearly an hour since the Lady Wildcats won the national championship. No one wants to leave - parents, coaches, fans, administrators - people who have followed this team to end of the earth, or at least to Iowa. When you think about all that goes into a moment like this, it really is overwhelming..so many stories on that court...so many ways they will remember this moment. I'm not a working journalist anymore, but I'll always be a storyteller and those who have been here this week have tried to faithfully tell this story, that now has the perfect ending.

Here's one more shot of some of the team that has brought you this week of special coverage on Wildcat Central and WIWU-TV. And we're not done yet. Check out this website Wednesday for tons of postgame coverage, lots of photos and video highlights. We'll also have a special edition of Wildcat Week on Thursday where we'll recap some of the euphoria. So Wildcat Central is not done yet. Thank you for staying with us and thanks to this media team for working hard more than 7 days now (another late night is coming and then a long van ride home. Thanks most of all to the Wildcats, men and women, for giving us such a great journey and honoring God with their talents.

Oh Ye of LIttle Faith (and few clothes)

Two years ago, I was privileged to cover another NAIA tournament with the women's team from Point Loma Nazarene University. During a postgame interview after a quarterfinal game, PLNU's head coach Bill Westphal said on-the-air that the good news was his team was in the Final Four, the bad news was he was out of clean underwear because he didn't pack enough clothes to stay through the weekend. Those comments were in the San Diego newspaper the next morning.

Here I am with a team in the Final Two, and I realized last night I wasn't going to make it with the clothes left in my suitcase. Either I can't count, or in my subconscious I didn't really think I would be gone this long. So there I was this morning, hunting for a laundromat in Sioux City. I deserve that inconvenience for doubting what was possible with this team that has met every challenge this season. I don't know basketball that well, but after seeing last night's contest, I don't see how they lose tonight.

Sorry to bore you with my "dirty laundry", but wanted you to know the WIWU-TV team will be there again tonight for all the action. I'll be there too, confident, and clean.

Go Wildcats!

As The Saying Goes

“Seeing is believing,” but I’m still not sure I believe quite yet what we witnessed tonight. It was a clinic! Absolutely stellar defense and lights-out shooting were all on display tonight by the Wildcats. They put together the best game of their season. The ladies of IWU are heading to the national championship game after beating Cedarville University. Wow, that sounds kind of nice.

All season long Coach Brooks has been telling us that this team was able to shoot better but we just haven’t seen it, until now that is. Thankfully though, they have been the best defensive team in the country and it carried them to undefeated season. In sports they say “defense wins championships,” and that old adage rings true. (Coach Brooks would say that comes from Woody Hayes, I credit Bo Schembechler.) A little bit of offense doesn’t hurt though and we saw a whole lot more than a little from the ‘Cats in this one.

Here’s the one saying though that has come to my mind the most often tonight. In Isaiah, we read that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Tonight we saw Bre Miller soar. When she entered the contest late in the game and scored a basket our hearts were lifted as well. Her life and the beauty of her testimony as she has battled leukemia for the last year and a half are both a blessing and challenge to each of us. No one deserved this victory tonight more than Bre.

Together Again

The WIWU-TV field teams reunited Sunday to bring you the final days of the women's championship tournament. Those of us from Missouri are mostly just trying to help out when we can, since Stephanie, Ryan and Ben have already developed some very efficient systems to get content back to you. Branson was great, but from a media standpoint, Sioux City really has this tournament down to a smooth machine. It's great to have our own location in the arena and places to work while watching the game.

We thought you'd like to see the team that brings you all the action on Wildcat Central. I'm proud of these folks and the staff back home in Marion. It's truly been a special week.

Hotel California

Okay, we aren't in California, but I wish we were. Last night we decided to create a set out of our lovely Hotel Lobby. I'm tellin ya...the Americ-Inn has some potential. We had a crowd hovering on the second floor balcony screaming and clapping at 10:30 at night...that probably wasn't the smartest idea. Nonetheless, they did it for tv. And let me tell you, our show turned out awesome.

Katy, Kat, and Sarah joined us for a special edition of Wildcat Week. We sat down with the girls for the evening in front of the fireplace and they went through the highlights with us for Monday's edition of the show.

I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't an easy setup. We used 3 lights and a lamp from the hotel to light the set. We had 6 XLR cables, at least 4 BNC, 2 RCA cables, 4 lapel mics, 2 cameras, a switcher, audio board, 4 pairs of headphones, record deck, 2 Macbooks and a great digital camera that Roger used to capture the moment on. Needless to say, we had whispers and questions when the Ozarks team walked through the lobby. It really was one of the most fun things we've done so far, though. Its great to have an audience thats so excited. On top of that, we had some fun with the set. Ben and Ryan walked in and set the stuff down and turned to me with an expression that screamed "go!" They told me to work my magic and create a workable set. Not only was that encouraging that they believed in my creative strengths, but fun since I had complete reign over the look of it all. I had a lot of plant stands and blankets to put back after all said and done, though.

Thank you seniors

It’s somewhat sad to see the season come to an end for IWU men’s basketball team. It’s not so much that they lost the game but rather a matter of knowing that this very special season for them has come to a close. This group has been a joy to cover for WIWU TV and this tournament experience was truly that. The guy’s played hard and gave great effort, however the Pioneers of Mid-America Nazarene were just too much.

We’ll miss Joel, Eugene, Jared, Lance, and Brandon. These five seniors, each in their own way, helped lead the Wildcats to the most successful season in the history of IWU men’s basketball. Their accomplishments are worth repeating: most wins in school history (30); most wins in conference play (14); first ever conference regular season championship; and first appearance in the national championship tournament. Not only will these guys be missed on the court, we’ll miss them as members of the campus community.

So now we pack up our gear and head to Sioux City, IA to join our colleagues to track the Lady ‘Cats as they make their first ever Final Four appearance. What an incredible season they have had! Now matter how it finishes, just like the guys, we are extremely proud of them and what they represent.

For now we say "so long Branson." Thanks for a great experience. Oh, before we go though…we look forward to being back next year.

The Perfect Spot

WIWU-TV launched Wildcat Week this year with the help of a great staff, some hard-working student producers and IWU's athletic department. This week, with the show on the road, we've been looking for the perfect backdrop and today, at least in Branson, I think we found it. (take a look at our third show to see the least perfect location for a television show).

Each day, while driving on the campus of College of the Ozarks for the tournament, we passed a beautiful fountain. Once I saw we had patio furniture nearby, electrical power and a day without rain, I knew we just had to try shooting one time in this spot before leaving town. Coach Tonagel was his usual gracious self, waiting around after the final game of the season to analyze and answer our questions. You can see the results in these photos (and how it looks just out of camera range - see if you can spot Dr. Mike Fratzke sitting nearby).


Anyway, TV geeks like us get excited when we can make a little magic, working under adverse conditions. And when you try to do TV on location, Murphy's law is always operative. Unfortunately, we can't show you the final result on video yet, because technical recording problems caused us to lose our segment from Sioux City. We will fix the problem and bring you this edition of Wildcat Week on Monday, so you can see just how hard the ladies and men played in their third-round games. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the content here on Wildcat Central and this brief glimpse behind the camera of the people working hard to bring these tournaments home to you.