HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The
Pioneers are ready to start the Sun Belt Conference Tournament tonight.
It's a late start with an 8:45 p.m. local tip (7:45 p.m. MT).
The team left Denver on
Friday morning and headed straight to Philander Smith College, where the
team practiced for a couple hours.
Hot Springs is about an hour west of Little Rock, and the bus ran into some rush hour traffic on the way out of town.
However, the interesting
part of the trip involved the bus going up a hill, when everything
electric shut down and the bus rolled to a slow stop on the side of the
highway. It turned out to be a minor issue, as the driver apologized,
got out and went to reboot some sort of computer system. After that, the
bus cruised without incident (although the company did switch buses
after dropping the team off).
Everyone walked down the street and had a nice meal before the players went back to the hotel to rest up for tonight's game.
With 10 games taking place
between Summit Arena and the Convention Center Court, the team did its
shoot around at a local high school.
More on Philander Smith College: Hanging
from the rafters of Philander Smith is the number of a highly
recognizable player, even though he never played in the NBA.
Hubert "Geese" Ausbie
graduated from Philander Smith in 1960 and immediately joined the Harlem
Globetrotters and played with the team for the next 21 years,
eventually becoming the "Clown Prince of Basketball" after Meadowlark
Lemon.
Those of a certain age will
also remember Geese from his role in The Harlem Globetrotters on
Gilligan's Island. He was also portrayed a few times on The New
Scooby-Doo Movies, although he did not perform his own voice.
About Hot Springs:
The boyhood home of Bill Clinton is surrounded on three sides by the Hot
Springs National Park. The hotels are all within walking distance of
the arena, and the downtown section is lined with restaurants and other
establishments.
And, of course, there are
taps in the middle of town, where people bring bottles to fill up with
natural spring water. We were told last night that people come from
miles to fill up on the water. Some even use it for bathing, and some
have said it has healing powers, whatever that means.
Even though it's only an
hour from Arkansas-Little Rock, Hot Springs really has the feel of a
neutral site - a place where fans from every team can gather and cheer
for their teams. Based on the number of team shirts, there are plenty of
fans for every team.
In fact, there appear to be
a lot more fans than last year, which could be because all 13 men's
teams and 13 women's teams made the trip, meaning that fans knew their
team would be here.
Thanks to trainer Pat Hoxsey,
we have also learned more history about the area. For example, in the
late 1800s and early 1900s, the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates,
Brooklyn Nationals, Chicago White Stockings and Boston Red Sox held
spring training here, according to the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Among those people who vacationed in Hot Springs were Babe Ruth, Joe Louis and, of course, notorious gangster Al Capone.
According to the Garland County Historical Society:
Our most famous visitor
down through the ages.... must have been Al Capone. During the
prohibition era, Capone came from Chicago to strike deals with
bootleggers in Hot Springs to stock his clubs in Chicago with alcohol.
Not only is Hot Springs a remote town located in the middle of the
Ouachita mountains, but the pine trees provide "cover" for the moonshine
stills year round. Capone would ship his bootleg liquor in tanker
railroad cars, and for protection, he had the words "Mountain Valley
Water" painted on the side of the railcars!
In Chicago, Detroit, New
York - when the heat was on because of a robbery or murder, the
overlords knew where to come to relax in safety. Hot Springs was a
sanctuary from prosecution and enemies. Gangsters could enjoy the
entertainment of gambling, and be pampered with the hot mineral baths
and massages.
At one time, Capone and his
entourage occupied the 4th floor of the Arlington Hotel. (Legend has it
that Capone always stayed in room 442, and that the Arlington Hotel has
locked that room up and will not rent it to anyone to this day)
Capone's arch enemy Bugs Moran and his gang were checked in at the
Majestic Hotel, just one block away. There was no conflict, and no
violence - both gangsters were on vacation!
Without giving away the
location of the Pioneers this week, let's just say sightings of Capone's
ghost are not out of the question.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 21
Total Mileage Flown - 16,609
Total Bus Miles - 1,752
Total Number of Hotels - 15
Total Number of Different Airports - 14
Total Number of Airline Delays - 2
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
Total Number of Times the Team Bus Has Broken Down - 1
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