Organizers of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am are reportedly toying with the idea of inviting Tebow to play in the event — and then pairing him with Tiger Woods.
Off Wing Opinion is happy to announce that we're working with Cisco's Flip Video to help launch the introduction of 30 uniquely designed NHL team Flip video cameras. And in the process, we'll be giving away the Washington Capitals version of the camera to one lucky reader here at Off Wing Opinion.
Normally I turn down offers like this one, but given that I've used the Flip myself before to cover the NHL, I was inclinded to participate. I've owned a Flip Mino since December 2008, and used it to cover the 2009 NHL Winter Classic in Chicago for FanHouse. The Flip went wherever I went when I was at Wrigley Field. It was easy to use and it performed flawlessly, especially during the game when I was shuttling between the press box and the stands in between periods to interview fans.
Here's an interview I did with Detroit's Darren McCarty after his first time on the ice at Wrigley. News of Claude Lemieux's comeback with the Sharks had just hit the news, and given their history, I felt I had to ask McCarthy what he thought about it.
So how can you get your hands on one of the Flip NHL video cameras? One, you can buy one by going to theflip.com/nhl and plunking down $149. Barring that, you can always enter the contest here at Off Wing Opinion. Here are the rules: Tell me via the comments section below, on my Facebook page or to my Twitter feed how you would use your Washington Capitals-branded Flip NHL team video camera. I'll select a winner at random from all of the entries that I receive by 6:00 p.m. U.S. EST tonight. And yes, entries from spam bots will be disregarded.
Below is the official announcement from my new friends at Flip about the NHL branded cameras. They'll be sending me one as well, so look for a review of the camera here at Off Wing Opinion sometime in the next few days.
One of hockey’s most iconic phrases – “he shoots, he scores” may soon be replaced by “he shoots, he shares” - as Cisco’s Flip Video™, and the National Hockey League® (NHL) team up to offer 30 uniquely designed NHL team Flip video cameras. In addition, Flip Video will offer Facebook fans a chance to win Flip cameras and a trip to the 2011 NHL All-Star Game presented by Discover. Select NHL.com reporters will also receive NHL-branded Flip video cameras to capture all the hockey action on and off the ice.
Beginning December 7, fans can choose their own official NHL Flip video camera with a custom design from any one of the 30 NHL teams from the U.S. and Canada. A perfect gift for hockey lovers, the new Flip designs are available through the Flip Video online store: theflip.com/NHL. The NHL-branded Flips will be offered on all of the latest Flip video cameras including the Flip UltraHD, MinoHD and SlideHD*, starting at $149, for anytime shoot and share fun.
Edmonton Oilers right wing Jordan Eberle and Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin are among the many celebrities and sports icons featured in the Flip Video 2010 holiday campaign ‘Do You Flip?’
“Flip is the only video camera on the market that consumers can customize and select from thousands of unique designs. Our ability to offer customization has enabled us to team with the NBA and now the NHL, which was a natural extension for our brand,” said Jodi Lipe, director of marketing for Cisco’s Consumer Products. “Whether it’s at the Stanley Cup Final or an afternoon snowball fight with friends, Flip video cameras are a fun and simple way to capture and share videos with friends and family.”
“Hockey fans are in a class of their own when it comes to diehard loyalty,” said Dave McCarthy, NHL Vice President Integrated Marketing. “Owning a Flip video camera representing their favorite team is a great way for fans to show support and more importantly have fun sharing their passion with fellow hockey fans and friends around the world.”
To help promote the new NHL designs, Flip is hosting a contest called the Flip Video Fan Face-off that will give away one grand prize trip for two to the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina, January 30, as well as daily prizes of NHL-custom designed team Flips every day in December. Hockey fans can face-off for these cool prizes starting on December 9, 2010 at www.facebook.com/flipvideo.
Flip Video is the only video camera line to feature official designs from the NHL and all 30 NHL teams so fans can show their affinity for their favorite NHL team while shooting and sharing video with others at games, parties or events. Flip video cameras make it easy to share video via email, Facebook™, YouTube™, Twitter™ and even on a TV.
Cisco is also equipping the team of 20 NHL.com reporters with their own NHL logo Flip video camera to use as they travel to NHL games around the U.S. and Canada. With their official NHL Flips, the on-the-scene reporters will be able to greatly enhance their coverage by capturing video footage to post to the NHL.com web site.
All NHL team designs are available at www.theflip.com/NHL starting today at $149.
If there's one thing that professional sports leagues don't like, it's seeing players get into altercations with fans. With that in mind, I think it's safe to say that Vancouver's Rick Rypien is staring down the likelihood of a major suspension after attacking a fan last night in Minnesota.
The incident came in the second period of a 6-2 Wild win, after Rypien was assessed a double minor for roughing and a game misconduct for a scuffle with Minnesota's Brad Staubitz. As Rypien headed for the Vancouver locker room, he reached into the stands and attempted to grab a fan who was apparently heckling him.
In this clip, you can see the aftermath of the clash with Staubitz, followed by the actual incident. Afterwards, the fan and a companion of his were removed from the seats near the Canucks bench, but were allowed to stay in the arena and watch the game from some other choice seats.
While nobody should reach premature conclusions about exactly what happened between Rypien and the fan, the video shows that the fan was doing nothing more than applauding Rypien's exit from the game—and that in fact it was Rypien who initiated the contact. That's something that's a little easier to see in this fan video that uses a DVR to slow down the action:
Despite the fact that the NHL rulebook says that any altercation with a fan will result in an immediate ejection, Rypien actually returned to the Vancouver bench, though he never got back on the ice. Safe to say, it'll probably be a while before Rypien gets to watch the game from that close for a while. Expect a lengthy suspension, and we probably won't have to wait long before Colin Campbell lays down the law in this case.
Edmonton took its home opener from Calgary last night, 4-0, a victory that was punctuated by the following tilt between Steve MacIntyre of the Oilers and Raitis Ivanans of Calgary.
Back when I was still at FanHouse, I used to post video from the hockey fight that received the best rating from the users over at HockeyFights.com during the previous weekend. This weekend, the tilt that pinned the meter was this clash from last Friday night between Raitis Ivanans and Steve MacIntyre.
I'm a little late with this, but here's the unedited version of my appearance yesterday on The TV News. Apparently, I was a little long-winded, so some of my comments wound up on the cutting room floor in the original version. In any case, here's the original edit, restored in its full glory thanks to my benevolent director, Jeff Grimshaw.
Here's some more footage from Saturday's "canal" hockey game. You won't see me in this footage because I'm the one behind the camera this time. More details here from John Keeley.
Life can't be terribly easy when anything and everything you do and say could possibly end up on worldwide television. Everyone ought to be entitled to get angry once in a while, but when you're a celebrity, losing your cool comes with a cost. Just ask Dennis Green. Or Jim Mora. Or Tommy Lasorda. The fact is, if you lose your cool, the moment may very well follow you around for the rest of your life.
Well, one of my favorite athletes, Serena Williams, now has her very own moment of shame. If you haven't heard it yet, Williams was assessed a penalty point on match point in her semifinal showdown with Kim Clijsters at the U.S. Open. The problems began with Williams serving to Clijsters at 15-30, trailing by a set and down 5-6 in the second. It was then that the linesman called back-to-back foot faults on Williams, sending her to the brink at 15-40, and apparently over the edge:
As you can see from the video, the officials weren't terribly happy with Williams abusing an official, especially after she had already smashed her racket after dropping set point in the first set. If you listen closely, even John McEnroe, the king of the on-court tirade, couldn't find it in himself to defend her.
Apparently not satisfied with the damage she had done to her reputation on the court, Williams decided to keep digging with a supremely smug performance in the post-match press conference:
Excuse me, but what planet is this young lady living on? Take another look at the video, where Williams tells the linesman that she's going to "shove this ball down her f****** throat." I don't care how angry you might have been. I don't care even if the linesman was wrong on the call, which was apparently the case. You don't physically threaten an official in any sport. Ever. One wonders whether or not this message will ever be received on Planet Serena.
Over the course of just a few months, I've managed to compile a nice archive of video clips. Click here for my archive at Dailymotion and here for the clips I put together for FanHouse TV over at AOL Video.
I guess the most fun I had all Summer had to be wandering around RFK Stadium before David Beckham's MLS debut here in Washington a few weeks back. One clip I haven't had much of a chance to share was the footage I shot of his postmatch press conference. As it turned out, I started out trying to shoot from a podium in the back of the room, a distance my lens really couldn't handle. So in between interviews, I was able to make my way to the front of the room and grab a seat in the second row in an area reserved for photographers.
Normally I wouldn't have sat there, but there was somebody else in the first row with a camcorder, so I figured why not? I set up my tripod and waited for Beckham. Here's one of the clips I captured where Beckham tries to finesse his criticism of FieldTurf while admitting that he had purchased three separate pitches of it for his American Soccer academies:
For the curious, I've been using a nice digital camera I picked up in the Spring to shoot these. It's a Casio exlim 8.1 megapixel camera, and the video quality has been more than good enough to get me to hold off on buying a stand alone video camera. I generally edit the clips in Windows Movie Maker, though I've also played with a few using iMovie. As for the future, it looks like a class in Final Cut Express might be in order.
It's not uncommon for me to get some curious looks when I set up. As I mentioned, the exlim is just a regular digital camera you could probably carry in your pocket. So when I show up for a press conference with one mounted on a tripod it can't help but draw some doubletakes.
