Monday, December 29, 2008

Favorites of 2008




Click here to check out some of
my favorite photos from 2008. I'll have them put together as a slide show with music and post it when
I can.

If you like the pics, drop me a comment. If you think I should start looking for a new line of work, well,
then you can go to ... Uhhh ... I mean you can go ahead and say so.

Stay safe and have a Happy New Year!

Sorgi shines

Jim Sorgi makes the easiest money in the NFL. His only significant playing time comes in December when the games couldn't more insignificant. But Sunday, Sorgi took his time on the field and turned it into a 23-0 win over the Tennesse Titans. The score could've been more lopsided, but the Colts' practice squad offense couldn't quite punch it in on three trips inside the Titans' 10-yard line so kicker Adam Vinatieri tacked on nine points.

Here are a few pics from the game.














Monday, December 08, 2008

Random thoughts at 505 mph

So I’m sitting here on the plane, writing this as I fly back to Indy to shoot the Colts game against Cincinnati before heading home later tonight and I’m thinking I have a much better appreciation for the conditions photographers who shoot in cold-weather climates like Green Bay face.

The weather in Sioux Falls would have been great if not for the wind. It was chilly at 17 degrees. That’s not terrible, but the wind chill was a killer. Unfortunately to shoot with good light, I had to sit facing directly into a 20-30 mph breeze all game. The wind came straight from one end zone to the other and it was miserable at some points.

It gets cold in Indiana, to be certain, but it rarely stays that cold for long stretches. One other thing about the cold is that it kills camera batteries. I missed one big play because I was fumbling around trying to change a battery with gloves on and hand warmers in them. It would have made a great photo, but that’s the way it goes, I guess.

So here’s to those photogs in places like Green Bay, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and other places where it gets so cold you end up with icicles hanging off your nose. I sympathize.

As I say that, now I’m off to shoot in the nice and warm indoor confines of Lucas Oil Stadium. Have a good game.

Didn't see that coming

I thought this was going to be their year. Covering the Saint Francis football team all year, I believed the Cougars were going to break through and finally win their first national championship. I was wrong.

I was wrong, and it wasn’t because Saint Francis didn’t do the best it could in the NAIA Football Championship Series semifinals against the University of Sioux Falls. The Cougars just ran smack into a defense that is as tough as there is in small college football.



Sioux Falls had the No. 1 defense in the NAIA while Saint Francis had the No. 1 offense. I figured surely Saint Francis would put points up on this defense that shut out 7 of it’s 12 previous opponents. Who wouldn’t? They average 48 points a game.
If not for a trick play in the fourth quarter, Saint Francis would have been shutout victim No. 8, which would have set an NAIA record for shut outs in a season.



I say trick play, but it was a halfback pass that worked to perfection as Saint Francis quarterback Jeff Wedding handed off to wide receiver Mickey Cassidy, who then tossed a 26-yard strike to receiver Jared Clodfelter with 10:24 left in the game. It looked like the Cougars would get something going, but Sioux Falls tightened the clamp.

Saint Francis tried the same play again but with Clodfelter throwing. Sioux Falls sniffed it out and sacked Clodfelter.

So another season ends with a loss. I tried to ask Donley about whether he though the travel was a factor or whether Sioux Falls’ play calls and decision to use the wind (sustained 20 mph north to south winds) to their advantage got in his players’ heads. Donley told me after the game there was no reason to get philosophical about it.

He said Sioux Falls was bigger and tougher, and his team just got whipped – plain and simple.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Colts beat Cleveland - barely



November 30, 2008: Indianapolis Colts defensive end Josh Thomas, #91, and linebacker Freddy Keiaho, #54, combine to stop Cleveland Browns running back Jamal Lewis inside the Browns' 5-yard line during the second half of the Colts' 10-6 AFC victory at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, OH. Photo by Chad Ryan

***Update - this photo appeared in the Dec. 8 double issue of Sports Illustrated on page 140.
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November 30, 2008: Indianapolis Colts defensive end Robert Mathis, left, and defensive tackle Eric Foster, center, celebrate Mathis' fourth-quarter sack of Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, OH. Anderson left the game with an injury after the play. Photo by Chad Ryan.
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November 30, 2008: Indianapolis Colts offensive lineman Charlie Johnson, #73, lunges to tackle Cleveland Browns cornerback Eric Wright after Wright recovered a fumble on the Colt's first play from scrimmage in the first quarter at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, OH. Photo by Chad Ryan.
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November 30, 2008: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning calls an audible at the line of scrimmage inside the Cleveland Browns' 2-yard line in the third quarter of action at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, OH. The Colts failed to score on the drive, but they came back to beat Cleveland 10-6. Photo by Chad Ryan.