Roy Hodgson learnt a lot from his England side on a spectacular night in Berlin, but for the Sky Sports News HQ crew this was also a test of our Euro 2016 credentials. Red Schoendienst Cardinals Jersey . SSNHQ chief football reporter Nick Collins, cameraman Ben McNamara and production manager Steve Bone, together with myself as the producer, have followed England on their journey to France, and will be there with them in June, so this was just as much of a friendly challenge for us as it was for the players.The start of the trip was a test of stamina for Ben and I, as we met at Heathrow at 5.30am to fly out for the traditional news conference and training session the day before the game (Nick and Steve had travelled the previous day to see the German news conference and carry out recces). Heathrow was a hive of activity even at this early hour, but rather than flights being filled with people on business trips, Good Friday meant our fellow travellers were mostly off on holiday for the bank holiday weekend.As soon as we landed we were straight to it, filming at traditional tourist landmarks around the city to form part of the piece that would run on SSNHQ the following morning. These filming opportunities are often the best way for us to see the cities we visit, as there isnt much downtime. It was also a chance for me to educate Ben on Berlin a little, as I described Brandenburg Gate as Berlins equivalent of the Arc de Triomphe and told him the characters on their pedestrian crossings are famous...although I couldnt explain why. Gemma got straight down to filming with the rest of the Sky Sports News HQ crew following their arrival in Berlin We then went to see England arrive at their hotel - a beautiful five-star haven in the city centre with a doorman dressed in a traditional beefeater costume to welcome the visitors from England. At Roy Hodgson and Gary Cahills news conference Nick pressed Roy on what sort of line-up he would be selecting the following evening, but he wasnt keen to reveal many details. Unbeknown to Nick, as he was busy quizzing Roy on his options, Steve, Ben and I were being sent messages from back at SSNHQ querying the poor sound quality of the news conference. Unfortunately as this was from a single feed to all of the TV crews in the room there wasnt anything we could do about it. Thanks to the magic of the editors back at Sky, viewers wouldnt have been able to notice the problems once the clips made it to air.The team trained at the Olympic Stadium in the early evening and SSNHQ took the first few minutes live. Nick introduced the session and stepped out to show the players going through their warm-ups as he recapped some of the key lines Hodgson had told us in the news conference. A doorman dressed in a traditional beefeater costume welcomed England as they arrived at their hotel One of those newslines was that Theo Walcott had suffered a dead leg and would not be training. However, as Nick had progressed to talking about the battle between Butland and Forster to start in goal, I spotted Walcott in the group of outfield players, participating in the warm-up. I frantically grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled THEO across it before holding it in front of Nick whilst pointing to the area that Walcott was in. It might not have made seamless TV (live training rarely does as its difficult to predict where the players will be at any one time), but Nick managed to divert off topic to inform the viewers that Theo Walcott was now training with the group and we suspected this would just be for the beginning of the session (we later confirmed with the FA that this was the case).Open training lasted just 15 minutes, but that late change wasnt the only story we had to adapt to. The FA press officers informed us that during the embargoed news conference that Roy holds with the newspaper journalists, the England boss had indeed revealed his starting 11 and it would be appearing in the newspapers that went online around 2230. Roy Hodgson was given nothing away at his pre-match press conference Given that Hodgson had been so adamant with us that he would not be naming his team in advance, he had requested that the media officers informed us of what he had said, but under the same embargo. He also wanted to have a quick word with Nick on camera so we would have something fresh to run in the morning about the team. Cue a mad scramble to do a quick interview with Hodgson on the touch line at training, trying to hide from the prying eyes of other crews.Matchday usually allows us a lie-in before we make our way out around lunchtime to film shots of England fans in the city centre and conduct a few quick interviews with the supporters who have made the trip. We then head to the stadium around five hours before kick-off to do lives previewing the game. We were greeted on Saturday with airport-style security at the media entrance, with body scanners, police dogs and checks on all of our equipment. This was being trialled given events in Paris and Brussels. England comeback stuns Germany England came back from two goals down to beat Germany 3-2 on Saturday. During the game itself we send pictures and snippets of information to the online blog (when stadium wifi allows!), but in the main, as were non-rights holders, the match is actually the quietest part of our day. But this one was anything but quiet...You dont need me to tell you what happened in that 90 minutes, although Steve and Ben did need me to tell them about the final 10 or so, as they had to leave the game early to hold our spot in the post-match mixed zone. As theyre both Tottenham fans they were delighted to hear about Eric Diers winner!My route to reach them to tell them the news was somewhat convoluted as I took a wrong turn and ended up in the corporate hospitality area and someone from the German FA kindly volunteered to take me to the mixed zone...via the changing room area! So I walked in from the same direction as the players would for their interviews. I was greeted by the cameras expectantly awaiting the teams...I must have been somewhat of a disappointment. Nick Collins speaks to the England fans in the city centre ahead of the match We had quite a wait for England players to come out and do media as they all had waited in the dressing room, just savouring the moment. But when we did hear from them, it was a moment to savour for us. What a refreshing situation to be in a Roy Hodgson post-match news conference where journalists cant help but praise decision making and execution.This is Englands final away match before they travel to Marseille to face Russia in Euro 2016 (their May warm-ups will be in Manchester, Sunderland and Wembley), and if that trip is half as eventful as this the tournament will have got off to a flying start for England.Lets just hope Im writing about a dramatic win over a dominant European force on July 11, the day after the final of the Euros. Also See: Hodgson hails best night Rooney wont start at Euros England player ratings Butland suffers injury Fake Cardinals Jerseys . Now he has a complete game. Scherzer tossed a three-hitter in his 179th career start for his first complete game and Victor Martinez hit his 16th homer to lead the Detroit Tigers a 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Harrison Bader Cardinals Jersey . Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/904t-miles-mikolas-jersey-cardinals.html . Now Arizonas new manager is hoping Yasmany Tomas can have the same effect on the Diamondbacks.ORLANDO - Its been a rewarding season for Kyle Lowry, the Raptors most important player, but its also been a long one. The eighth-year point guard played in his 500th career game on Sunday, a 98-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Does he feel like hes played in that many games? "No," he said initially, before reconsidering. "I mean, this season, yeah." "This is a game I love to play," the 28-year-old continued. "Ive probably played 500 more in street ball games growing up. So this is a great accomplishment for me to say Ive made it that far." After missing 14 games last year, his first in Toronto, Lowry is the Raptors only starter to suit up in every game this season. Hes 10th in the NBA in minutes played and is fighting through a number of ailments, but with fewer than 10 contests remaining before he makes his first playoff appearance in five years, Lowrys still the engine that drives his team. Despite taking a 19-point lead into third quarter - their largest halftime advantage of the season - the Raptors began to come apart in the second half. The Magic, down by as many as 21 points, hit 22 of their final 33 shots and tied the game early in the fourth. With his team up by two, Lowry misfired on a long three-point shot, absorbing a fair amount of contact on the play, immediately turning to give official Eli Roe the trademark Lowry scowl. Scorned after the no-call, Lowry would get the ball back off of an Amir Johnson offensive rebound and drain the same shot he had just missed, shooting another look at Roe on the way down the court. Weve seen this before. Lowry was fired up. The Raptors point guard scored nine of his 16 points in the final quarter, holding off the Magic, who were coming hard. Dwane Casey continues to seek passable opportunities to manufacture rest for Lowry, but theyve proven few and far between. As he and DeMar DeRozan sat to end the third and begin the fourth, the lead dwindled down and in came Torontos star backcourt. Lowry logged 35 minutes while DeRozan - who scored 15 of his 28 points at the line - played 38. "Its tricky," Casey admitted. "Its tricky to make sure we cut their minutes and not give up leads. Its something we have to learn to do, but I thought the second unit did their job. They built a lead. Now its up to the starters coming back in. I wasnt going to play them a lot the second half, but they kept chipping away at it so I couldnt wholesale sub the second unit in." After a quiet first half, Lowry - to his own admission - began the second half lacking the "energy and effort" hes become synonymous with. St. Louis Cardinals Pro Shop. The wear and tear of a long season has taken its toll and he, understandably, has to pick his spots, but there he was when his team needed him most. The Raptors needed this win with games against the Heat, Rockets and Pacers on deck. "Were happy about the win but we cannot be satisfied about the way we got it," Casey said. "“The hardest thing to do in this league is to play with a lead and thats something we have to learn to do." Big night for JV In a tough matchup against the Magics Nikola Vucevic, Jonas Valanciunas did not back down and more than held his own. The Raptors sophomore centre got off to a hot start, scoring 10 of his 20 points in the first quarter. "They are two good, young players that are coming up in this league," Casey said of Valanciunas and Vucevic, who led Orlando with 22 points and 10 rebounds. "So you will see them go at each other a lot in the future." Bench comes through in second quarter Without Patrick Patterson - who could return Monday in Miami, but missed his 13th straight with an elbow injury - the Raptors second unit has under-performed. Beginning the second quarter with an unconventional lineup that included Nando De Colo running the point and Landry Fields, who hasnt played much since a spot-start early in March, the reserves gave Toronto a lift that ballooned the lead going into intermission. "They really gave us a great boost," Lowry said of the bench. "They pretty much won the game in the second quarter." Vasquez gets stitched up After getting hit in the face early in the game, Greivis Vasquez required five stitches to close a gash below his left eye. He return late in the first half with a bandage covering the wound and finished the game with five points in 15 minutes of action. The stat Toronto matched a franchise record with its 20th road win of the season Friday, one shy of finishing the season above .500 away from home for the first time in team history. They have four road games to go, three against losing teams. The quote "I thought he did a heck of a job of initiating the offence, being in attack mode," said Casey on De Colo, who played the point for the first time as a Raptor in the second quarter. "We know he can pass the ball but what he did tonight was get to the rim. He grew on us as a coaching staff tonight... not that he wasnt there in the beginning." ' ' '  |
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