Friday

Farewell Weekend

The Minnesota Twins and FOX Sports North will present a special 90 minute, commercial-free Final Farewell to the Metrodome on Sunday, Oct. 4 after the final game of the Twins vs. Kansas City series is televised on WFTC.

The special will be presented in HD and include the “top ten” Metrodome Memories, special guests, including former great players, the conclusion of the countdown to outdoor baseball and other surprises.

Thursday

FOX Sports North Wins 10 Emmy Awards

FOX Sports North received 10 regional Emmy Awards at the Emmy Gala for the Midwest Chapter of NATAS (National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) on Saturday, Sept. 26.

1. Board of Governors Emmy: Hockey Day Minnesota Celebrates the Minnesota National Guard
2. Sports-Program: Hockey Day Minnesota
3. Sporting Event-Game-Live Unedited-Series:
Minnesota Twins Baseball
4. Documentary-Topical: Spotlight: Carl Pohlad
5. Promotion-Program: Wild Image-"Unassisted Goal", Editor
Tod Lavanty
6. Director-Live or Live-to-tape:
Matt Gangl
7. Editor-Sports: Nicole Kunkel
8. On-Camera Talent-Anchor-Sports: Anthony LaPanta
9. On-Camera Talent-Program Host-Moderator: Ann Carroll
10. New Technical Achievement: FOX Sports North Alternative Method of Production

Photo: Executive Producer, Jeff Byle accepts an Emmy for "Sports -Program: Hockey Day Minnesota"

Wednesday

Board of Governors Emmy Presented to FOX Sports North, Minnesota Wild & Minnesota National Guard

FOX Sports North, the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota National Guard were awarded the "Board of Governors" Emmy, saluting broadcasters, non-profit organizations and corporations that partner together on programming that supports local communities. The special award was presented to the three organizations for their combined effort during Hockey Day Minnesota. The broadcast showcased the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade, the 834th Aviation Support Battalion and the 148th Fighter Wing as they played hockey during their deployment to Iraq in January 2009. A floor hockey game and special greetings from Iraq were featured throughout the day, informing viewers about the sacrifices of our Soldiers and Airmen.

Photo: (left-right) Mike Dimond, FOX Sports North; Matt Majka, Minnesota Wild, & Members of the Minnesota National Guard

Check it Out!
The National Gaurd's acceptance speech from Iraq:

Tuesday

Aquafina Kidcaster

FOX Sports North, Pepsi and the Minnesota Twins once again, partnered to present the Aquafina Kidcaster promotion for the 2009 Twins season. Kids from Twins Territory were encouraged to go to their local Cub Foods store to register to win a chance to be on TV in a special segment during the Qwest Twins Live pre-game show.

Kidcaster: Spanish Version
FOX Sports North also debuted two special editions of the Aquafina Kidcaster leading up to the Minnesota Twins Diversity Day on Aug. 30. The Aug. 28 and 29 kidcasters had the opportunity to interview Alfonso Fernandez, the Spanish play by play voice for the Minnesota Twins in Spanish.

Check it Out!

Monday

Wild on North

FOX Sports North and the Minnesota Wild will broadcast 45 games for the 2009-10 season. The telecast schedule begins with the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, Oct. 8 beginning at 9:30 p.m.

FOX Sports North's Wild marketing campaign features the Minnesota Wild’s “It’s in Our Blood” slogan.

Check it Out!
The first promo of the campaign that we'll feature this season:

Gopher Hockey on FOX Sports North

The 2009-10 Gopher Hockey schedule is set for the 89th season of men’s hockey at the University of Minnesota. FOX Sports North will televise 28 games beginning on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. when the Gophers face the University of North Dakota.

Former Gopher and NHL player, Tom Chorske will join the broadcast team this season. (photo)

Check it out! Behind-the-scenes photos from Media Day with the Golden Gophers: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=159126&id=25652590925

A New Season: Vikings Weekly

It’s officially fall and football season here. #4 is wearing purple and gold and Adrian Peterson is off to an explosive start. Tune in to Vikings Weekly every week for the latest Vikings news and go behind-the-scenes with host Ann Carroll. This season Ann Carroll will feature a new segment every week: “Street Meet” with Jared Allen. #69 is on a mission to meet local Vikings fans!

Check it Out! Behind-the-scenes photos & video on Ann Carroll’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Ann-Carroll/68990992177

Photo: Ann Carroll was the first Minnesota reporter to get a one-on-one interview Brett Favre

Wolves 2009-10 Schedule Set

FOX Sports North and the Minnesota Timberwolves recently announced a 40-game telecast schedule for the 2009-10 season. The telecast schedule tips off on Friday, Oct. 30 against LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Target Center at 7:00 p.m.

Wolves Weekly, a half-hour weekly show featuring news items and stories about Timberwolves players and coaches begins Tuesday, Oct. 27.

FOX Sports North at the Fair

The great Minnesota get-together is the perfect spot to meet Minnesota sports fans and FOX Sports North viewers. FOX Sports North recently set up shop for 12 days at the Minnesota State Fair. Fans were excited to record their own sports updates at the interactive “Be a Sports Anchor” booth. This year all sports updates were immediatly uploaded to YouTube so fans could share with friends and family online. In total, we recorded and posted over 650 sports updates. Check out a few of our favorites:

A Special Guest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btsYAgqkTho

Our Youngest Announcers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2jB7QOZuGc

Future FOX Sports North On-Air Talent?: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfLSvZvdvuU

Photo: FOX Sports North employees at the Minnesota State Fair

Social Networking Continues to Grow

The numbers continue to grow, hundreds every week. FOX Sports North currently has over 16,290 combined followers between Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook: over 12,775
Twitter: over 3,515

Sports fans continue to log on to follow their preferred sports network, proving they want to stay connected and receive bonus footage and breaking news regarding their favorite sports teams.

FREEZE FRAME

2009 Emmys: (left-right) John Maher & Matt Majka from the Minnesota Wild with Mike Dimond & Becky Ross from FOX Sports North
Guess the Stance: Batting Stance Guy recently made a special trip to Minnesota. Here he is hanging out with Robby Incmikoski before going live for Qwest Twins Live post-game

TCF Bank Stadium: Photographer Ralph Gasow & Anthony LaPanta shoot a segment at the brand new University of Minnesota football stadium
Updates from Target Field: Marney Gellner reports on the new green grass at Target Field

Employee Spotlight: Patricia Whitney

She’s the Operations Coordinator at FOX Sports North AND an Ironman (or woman). Patricia Whitney recently finished her first Ironman race in Madison, Wis. on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Finished time: 13:32:11
39/81 in age group

What is Ironman?
Ironman is one of the most grueling events in the world of sports, and also one of the most inspiring. Ironman features a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a complete marathon (26.2 miles), all in succession. Athletes have 17 hours to complete the event (from the 7 a.m. start until midnight).

Patricia says: “It was such an amazing experience and one that I will never forget. I’ve been asked if I would do it again. While the training was half the battle and the race was tough, I would never say never!”

Sunday

A Hole in One!

FOX Sports North hosted its annual golf tournament for valued team partners, sponsors and affiliates on Sept 28. It was a brisk and windy fall day, but it didn't stop Tom Bordwell from Mediacom from getting a hole in one. Congratulations Tom!


Photo: (left-right) Jean Edhlund, Tom Bordwell and Kate Schroeder

Saturday

Fun at Wisconsin Dells

FOX Sports North recently took Twins Live on the road to Wisconsin Dells for a weekend-long event including three live telecasts from various Wisconsin Dells locations July 17 -19. Twins Live from the “The Waterpark Capital of the World!®” was designed to celebrate the Dells and highlight some of the new and affordable options.
The regional network, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Dells Visitor & Convention Bureau, produced several special features and vignettes highlighting new attractions and “tips” to help plan a getaway to the Dells. These vignettes included: “How to Weatherproof your Vacation,” The New Vibe in Downtown Dells,” “The Return of Lake Delton” and “Exciting Options for Youth Sports”.FOX Sports Wisconsin was also on location to broadcast
Brewers Live programming from Wisconsin Dells over the weekend, providing the community with exposure across a five-state region.
Photo: Anthony LaPanta and Ron Coomer live from the Riverwalk Pub