Incoming (Charlie Riedel/AP)
When the camera can no longer focus on a player, that player is too close. Time to bail.
That is Texas forward Gary Johnson heading right for the Lawrence Journal-World’s Nick Krug and me Saturday during the Big 12 Championship game won by Kansas. Associated Press photographer Charlie Riedel made the image which was an AP Top Pic of the day.
Laura from her high angle captured a series of images of the landing which wiped Krug out. You can see his legs up in the air and then his head popping up to the surface to assess damage. Johnson caught me with a forearm to the neck and landed on my left leg resulting in two small, mysterious scrapes as I rolled away from the impact with my cameras in hand. Nick and I were fine. Most importantly, no cameras were damaged in the filming of the crash landing.
Crash Landing (Laura Jacobsen)
Whoa! Top pic of the. We’re famous!
Meant to write Day somehwere in there
Jeff,
Glad you and Nick are okay. I always wonder how many fotogs get blasted during the course of a season/tournament. BTW, son’t you think Johnson looks incredibly like former KU asst coach neil Dougherty? When I first saw him on TV, I actually thought it was Neil!
Wayne Zachary
Wayne, thank you for this and the other recent comments. You are right about the similarity between Texas’ Johnson and Neil Dougherty. Thanks always for taking time to read the posts.