Men's Basketball vs. Cleveland State

February 20, 2011 - This was the big bracket buster game for ODU and Cleveland State, where each team needed the win to have any hope of continuing their season. I worked this game and it was really good. The fans were going crazy as usual, especially since the Monarchs needed a win.

The game was pretty close going into halftime, and stayed close with about 13 minutes left. Then ODU just took off, outscoring Cleveland State 14 to 3 in the next few minutes. ODU held them off long enough, and won the game by a final score of 74-63.



This was my spot during the game. This pic shows ODU being introduced onto the court.



Frank Hassell and Ben Finney for ODU combined for 28 points and 22 rebounds, helping in the effort to beat Cleveland State, whose star player Norris Cole had 35 points. This was a really great game at the Constant Center, and was even shown on ESPN2.

Mike Epps Comedy Tour!

February 18, 2011 - The hilarious Mike Epps was at the Constant Center on a comedy tour with a few other comedian friends of his, as well as Sheryl Underwood as the special guest. He has starred in films such as 'Next Friday,' 'Friday After Next,' 'The Hangover,' and 'Lottery Ticket.'

I worked this event, and unfortunately I couldn't take any pictures with my phone because my boss said there were strict rules this certain night. I did however, get to see most of the show, and it was pretty funny. I'm not a huge Mike Epps fan as far as his stand-up acts go, so I wasn't sure what to expect. All in all though, it was good.

The crazy part is that there were only about 2,000 tickets sold the morning of the show, then they sold over 4,000 more tickets during that last day so the place was packed like we didn't expect it to be. The crowd was getting rowdy at all the jokes and people kept trying to get on stage. It was crazy. The highlight of the night was when he brought my boss Mike on stage, and made a joke about him. Everyone was cracking up and all in all it was a good comedy tour stop at the Ted Constant Center.

Monarchs vs. Georgia State (Men's Basketball)

February 15, 2011 - The Old Dominion Men's basketball team is on a roll, as they beat Georgia State tonight at the Constant Center by a score of 60 to 43. Frank Hassell and Ben Finney both recorded double double which helped to seal the win.

Chris Cooper gets fouled while attempting a shot vs. Georgia State

Georgia State pulled within six points with 4 minutes left, but then the Monarchs went on a 15-3 run. The crowd was going absolutely crazy during the last few minutes. It was such a good game all the way through. The Constant Center was electric at this game. I don't think I have ever heard it be so loud in there. I was working so I was right on the floor of the basketball court.

Also, the VA Wild cheerleading squad who is in a previous post in this same blog, performed at halftime for the crowd. They were the winners of JAMfest, which is a cheerleading competition that also took place at the Ted Constant Center earlier in the month.

ODU Wrestling vs. Greensboro/Binghamton

February 13, 2011 - This was another event I worked. It was ODU wrestling vs. UNC Greensboro as well as another school Binghamton. Basically it was a three way wrestling tournament as each team faced the other two on the night. There were about 200 people at the event, which was pretty boring to say the least.

Even though that's the case, the Monarch wrestling team beat UNC Greensboro with a score of 39 to 7. Unfortunately, they lost to Binghamton 29 to 10. It had to be tough though because the guys had to wrestle multiple times in in one night. They just sort of lost their steam after their first matches.

The standouts of the night were wrestlers James Nicholson and Kyle Hutter, who both had 2 wins in their matches on the night.

JAMfest 2011

February 12, 2011- This is a huge nationwide event that goes around and invites local cheerleader squads to register for it, and come out to perform and they compete for the top spot in a wide range of age groups and styles. I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I signed up to work, but it was literally nonstop cheerleading for a good 6 hours......

It was crazy at the Constant Center. There was about 4,000 people at the arena and there had to be at least 30 cheerleading groups there.


This was the Special Needs cheerleader squad that was at JAMfest. They did a great job and they got a standing ovation. I figured I would put this video of them on the page.



Not to be completely weird or anything, but this is the Virginia Wild cheer squad, and they got me hype!!!! They won just about every single category as far as age group and different styles of cheering goes. I didn't know there were different styles, but apparently there are, and the VA Wild are evidently the best there is.

 

 

ODU Wrestling vs. Virginia Tech

After the basketball game on February 10, the ODU wrestling squad faced rivals Virginia Tech at the Constant Center. Wrestlers James Nicholson and Joe Budi were the only two Monarchs to pick up wins for the team, resulting in a 31-6 loss to Virginia Tech.

Wrestler Joe Budi gets a win over his opponent vs. Virginia Tech

Lady Monarchs vs. Northeastern

This is a women's basketball game I worked on February 10th at the Constant Center. I worked this game and it was a very long, drawn-out, one-sided game. The Monarchs easily beat Northeastern by a score of 69-44.

The highlight of the game was when junior Tia Lewis became the 29th Lady Monarch to accumulate 1,000 points in her career. This easy win put the Lady Monarchs at 16-7 on the year as Northeastern is now 8-15.

Thomas and Friends Live!!!

Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends were live at the Constant Center on February 5th and 6th. It was a story for the whole family, teaching life lessons of discovery, friendship, and cooperation. I worked this event and it was crazy! They put on a really good show which included lights and lasers and fireworks. Imagine 4,000 kids, all in a trance, with their mouths open, not able to take their eyes off the stage. It was pretty fun, I can't lie.

Here is Thomas the Train Engine Live on stage!



Here is also an awesome video from the show when it was at the Constant Center

           

Men's Basketball Takes Down Delaware

 February 2, 2011 - Tonight the men's ODU basketball team faced conference rival Delaware. The first half was lopsided as ODU had a demanding lead. The second half was completely reversed and Delaware started to make an amazing comeback. It was tied up with about 4 minutes left, and ODU finally came back to win the game 67-59 in what can be described as a very electric and intense game that came down to the wire. The Ted Constant Center went absolutely nuts toward the end of the game and it was so loud that I couldn't hear myself talk. Kent Bazemore for ODU scored 20 points in the game, which included a clutch 3 point shot that put the Monarchs ahead for the rest of the game. The Monarchs are now 18-5 on the season.

(ODU basketball player getting ready to shoot)






It was also a special night at the Constant Center because some of the main people from the ABC hit show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition were in the arena. The show consists of workers and volunteers helping to make a difference in a family's life by rebuilding their home. They are currently working on a house in Virginia Beach and set up a food drive in the name of the family they are helping out. This food drive took place at ODU, specifically at the Constant Center.

Rapper Xzibit, and designers John Littlefield and Ed Sanders, who are all hosts of the show, came out at halftime to give thanks to everyone who helped out with the food drive, and also thanked the community for all the hard work they have been putting into the house makeover. The episode is supposedly set to air later in the year on ABC.

(Here is a picture of the hosts of the show that came out at halftime to talk to the audience. The worker in the light blue shirt in the background is actually me working at the game. If you're wondering, I shook hands with all of them prior to them coming out to talk)







All in all, it was a fantastic night at the Ted Constant Center as usual.

Game stats found at CBS Sports 

Constant Center

- My blog is on the Ted Constant Center. This blog will focus on anything and everything related to the Constant Center as far as events and updates go. I'm interested in this topic because the Ted is an important part of ODU, and I also work there on the event staff. I will use this blog to contribute to the community by giving new information on the Constant Center and it can be a place to go if anybody in the area has any questions about anything.
- This will be unique in the sense that I will be giving my own accounts of events that take place through the eyes of being both an audience member as well as being a worker in the building. It won't just tell you what is going on at the Constant Center, it will tell you how games, concerts, and all events actually were as I saw them.
- There are links leading straight to the official website of the Constant Center also.



OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.constantcenter.com/

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