[
THE SCOOP] lifestyles
Vassallo, whose sons play lacrosse, is working with ESPN Emerging Technology on a device to capture “timer on” scenarios.
What’s your lacrosse background?
I’ve been involved in covering the sport for 25
years. I never played. My fi rst exposure was when I was with New England Sports Network (NESN) in Boston. We did a package called New England College Lacrosse. We did games at Brown. We did games at UMass.
How did you get into TV production? I went to Hope College in Michigan for my undergrad degree. I went to Boston University for grad school from 1982-84. NESN was launched in ’86. For a broadcasting/fi lm major, it was a dream. Bruins games at home, 100 Red Sox games, New England college soccer. I learned the business from the ground up. I edited, I did master control, I swept the fl oor, I learned to direct and I learned to produce.
Behind the Scenes
Y
Like lax on TV? Meet ESPN producer John Vassallo, the man largely responsible for how you see it at home.
ou see and hear Quint, Carc and Eamon on Saturdays in the spring on ESPNU. But what about the man behind
the scenes? That’s John Vassallo.
As coordinating producer of ESPN’s lacrosse coverage, Vassallo works throughout the spring from ESPNU’s Charlotte offi ce to ensure what shows up on game days — and Selection
22 LACROSSE MAGAZINE April 2013>>
Sunday — is of the highest quality. Vassallo, who also helps coordinates ESPN’s college football coverage, won the USILA’s Doyle Smith Media Award in Decembe r.
How would you describe your day-to- day responsibilities now? My job is to establish our goals for television. What do we want to prioritize? We have to capture the game for the person at home. Accuracy has to be our No. 1 mandate. We can’t miss action. We have to identify everyone accurately. Our statistical information has to be dead-on.
What are the challenges from a broadcast standpoint this year? How are we going to incorporate and help viewers understand the new NCAA rules without encumbering their viewing experience? When the stall- warning shot clock came up, and we found out how they were going to keep it on the fi eld, I talked with my colleague in Bristol, Tim Corrigan. He played at Notre Dame and is the brother of Irish coach Kevin Corrigan and oversees our MLL coverage.
What do we do? Do we just say, “Stall warning on,” and watch them count it out? Or do we actually want to come up with a device that can display the last 10 seconds of the 30-second timer-on? Then we realized it’s all going to be based on the offi cials’ count. If we’re going to show it, the worst thing we can do is show it and be inaccurate.
A Publication of US Lacrosse
©JOHN VASSALLO
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