NEW ORLEANS – Greetings
from a crowded Big Easy, and Happy New Year.
The Pioneers travel to UNO at least once a year and ever
since Hurricane Katrina devastated this city, we have not seen a whole lot of
progress in rebuilding New Orleans.
Perhaps it’s just that the progress has reached the places
we travel through, but even last year the number of houses with broken windows
and spray paint on the front door outnumbered the habituated houses by at least
five-to-one. As we drove to Lakefront Arena this morning, that number appeared
to be closer to every other home. Certainly there are still areas that are virtually
empty, but it is nice at least some rebuilding.
Speaking of Lakefront Arena, UNO has finally moved its games
back into the 8,933-seat venue. For the past few seasons, they have been
playing in the Human Performance Center across campus. To say this place is an
upgrade would be a vast understatement. The “Chamber of Horrors,” as the Human
Performance Center is nicknamed, is smaller than some high school gyms with
bleachers set up to hold about 1,200 people. Lakefront, on the other hand, has
been completely refurbished, complete with a new court. Needless to say, the
improvements since March seem to be greater than the previous two-and-a-half
years combined, and that’s great to see.
The team flew from Denver yesterday in a flight that was jam
packed with Utah football fans who were heading down here for the Sugar Bowl against
Alabama tomorrow night. A few of those fans recognized head coach Joe Scott
from his days at Air Force, and Coach Scott seemed to enjoy talking to a few of
them about the great battles between the Utes and Falcons on the hardwood.
After landing and checking in, the players ate grilled
chicken sandwiches at the hotel, and that was pretty much the extent of their
crazy New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. There were no French Quarter tours for the
student-athletes.
Alumni Update: When
the Denver Nuggets traded for Chauncey Billups, the University of Denver
benefitted, too, because it meant the return of his brother Rodney, who was a
standout point guard for the Pioneers from 2003-05. In fact, Rodney still
stands fourth in DU history with 418 career assists. Rodney was at DU’s game
last week and said that he’s moved back to Denver fulltime after splitting his
time between Denver and Detroit while helping run his brother’s foundation.
Also stopping by the game against UC Riverside was Joe
Jackson, who is on a two-week holiday break from his team in Finland. As I have
mentioned in previous blogs, Joe is having a great season with BC
Jyväsklä, and he reports that he is thoroughly enjoying his time in Europe but
was pleased that he has some time at home.
Shirt
Update: There have been quite a few comments since the blog about
Mitch Hyder’s shirt. First, importantly, I’m happy to report that it has
officially been dubbed the “ShamWow Shirt.” More importantly, the shirt remains
undefeated this season and currently stands at 14-2 since last season. Most
importantly, Mitch is wearing the ShamWow on the sidelines in Lakefront Arena
as I type this. In no way are we
implying that the shirt has anything to do with the current five-game winning
streak, but there’s also no reason for Hyder to test it.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 11
Total Mileage Flown
– 7,655
Total Bus Miles –
1,021
Total Number of
Hotels – 7
Total Number of
Different Airports – 7
Total Number of
Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled
Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags
Lost – 1
Number of Times a
6-foot-9 forward was asked if he was at least 15 years old – 1 (Flight
attendant asking whether Justin Coughlin was old enough to sit in the exit row)
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