On the Fly: A (Not So) Typical Day in the Life of YES Network

On an unseasonably warm day in mid September, the YES Network team gathered at Stamford, CT, headquarters for what promised to be a typical night game. The storylines were set: the Yankees, in a race to claim the final American League Wild Card spot, faced the third of a four-game set in Baltimore, with an aging Andy Pettitte on the mound.

Then, with a 4 p.m. text message, all that changed.

The text - from YES Network clubhouse reporter Meredith Marakovits, on-site at Camden Yards in Baltimore - informed Jared Boshnack, lead producer for YES Network's pre- and post-game shows, that both Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Derek Jeter would be addressing the media.

Which could mean only one thing: Jeter, hampered by injuries, was officially out for the season.

Jared Boshnack (front bench, left) serves as lead producer for YES Network's pre- and post-game coverage with director Michael Cooney (front bench, center).

At that point, I started to mobilize, recalled Boshnack, speaking during the fourth inning of the Yankees-Orioles game on Sept. 11. I started to walk around the office, make phone calls, and address all the appropriate people. First and foremost was John Filippelli, our president of production and programming. Talked to him, told him what was going on, and tried to formulate a plan.

That plan began with Mike Francesa, whose WFAN radio show was being simulcast on the YES Network. Because Francesa had a contract segment with New York Mets head coach Terry Collins coming up, he passed on discussing Jeter, allowing Boshnack to pull his troops together for a 5 p.m. breaking-news update.

Senior Producer Bill Boland, also on-site in Baltimore, fed sound back to Stamford, starting with Cashman. Because the interviews were recorded on tape (rather than a live camera feed), the on-site team fed the full-length interviews back to Stamford as they concluded. At 5, studio host Bob Lorenz came on with the breaking-news update.

From left: Bob Lorenz, Jack Curry, and David Cone handle pre- and post-game duties.

We came on at 5, we had Brian Cashman sound first, [but] we didn't have Derek Jeter in hand, said Boshnack. Bob, as he's so capable of doing, was able to take very little information at that point and make it into a very compact and powerful lead. Once we had Jeter in hand, we made the decision that that's what's most important here: Jeter's most important. It was a collective decision.

Following 12 minutes of Jeter sound, Lorenz led to Joe Girardi for the remainder of the half-hour. At 5:30, Boshnack again spoke with Filippelli, and the two decided to return to the Francesa simulcast, not only giving Francesa the opportunity to chime in but giving the on-site and in-studio teams a chance to regroup, collect information, and prepare for the night ahead.

At 6 p.m. ET on game nights, YES Network airs Yankees Batting Practice Today as a preamble to its pregame show at 6:30. On Sept. 11, the show title (and sponsored elements) remained the same, but the show was cut short in favor of an extended pregame show with Bob Lorenz, now accompanied by analysts Jack Curry and David Cone. The pregame rundown - with its Wild Card storylines, its Andy Pettitte projections, its Orioles scouting reports - was scrapped. There was a new lead story.

Everything from that point on was on the fly, because we knew that the story ahead of us was Jeter, says Boshnack. It was a great day if you relish those moments, and I think most of our crew does, because, as sad as it is [that] Derek is lost for the year, it gave us a chance to punctuate a very powerful story and also gave us a chance to show what we are capable of when all of us work together.

Prepping for Pregame

Not to be forgotten amid the Jeter hoopla was the day itself: September 11. At 6:30 p.m., after a truncated Yankees Batting Practice Today (anchored by Chris Shearns and produced by Josh Isaacs) and short weather report, YES Network began its daily half-hour program with a reflection on Patriot Day.

The stars and stripes - our own enduring symbol - flies proudly, said Lorenz, to open the pregame show. Not just on Sept. 11 but everyday.

A large screen, located off-camera, can be used to preview graphics for the on-air talent.

The pregame adhered to the template originally created by Boshnack - including number of segments, on-site reports from Marakovits, and sponsored elements - but content was created on the fly.

As Brian Cashman's interview played again, Curry informed Lorenz that he wanted to discuss Brendan Ryan, Jeter's replacement. This story is much more about Jeter than it is about the team, explained Curry. Jeter's next meaningful game is in 2014. Sure enough, when the pregame returned from the prerecorded interview, Lorenz teed up Curry to say exactly that.

After a harried three hours, the game was finally set to begin.

It's Game Time

Throughout the game, Boshnack watches from his office while Lorenz, Curry, and Cone gather in Lorenz's office to watch the game together, share observations, and take copious notes.

You're looking for pivotal moments. You're looking for key plays. You're looking for trends, explains Boshnack. Why has Andy Pettitte given up three runs in four innings? Was his curve ball or his cutter not working effectively? Where was he throwing it? Was location there? Was it not there? That's a trend that we probably would spotlight because we'd be examining the effectiveness of certain pitches that Andy's been throwing. The most powerful trends are the ones that we will go back to in the postgame to tell the story as to why the Yankees may have ultimately succeeded in their goal or failed.

After the last of Lorenz's live in-game cut-ins, during which he shares highlights from other games in action, Boshnack e

LINK:	http://sportsvideo.org/main/blog/2013/09/on-the-fly-a-not-so-typical-d...
	See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines