LARAMIE, Wyo. - After
a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage and pancakes at the Ritchie
Center, the Pioneers piled into a bus and took the 2-3 hour trip to
Laramie, Wyo., this morning.
Normally, the team
arrives a day early and settles in, but the coaches decided to mix
things up a little on this trip, and nobody in the travel party
complained too much about sleeping in their own beds instead of a hotel
room in Wyoming.
Of course, it did seem a
little strange when we checked into the hotel a few blocks from the
arena, knowing we were going to check out right before heading back over
for the game.
Senior Rob Lewis walked
into Arena-Auditorium a few minutes ago, looked up at the banners in
the rafters and said, "National champions? Who knew?"
Yes, the Cowboys won the
NCAA title in 1943, when they were led by a 5-foot-10 guard named Kenny
Sailors. Not a lot of people would recognize the name, which is too
bad. In addition to being the College Basketball Player of the Year
twice, an All-American three times and the NCAA Tournament Most
Outstanding Player, Sailors changed the course of basketball.
Sailors is credited with inventing the jump shot.
It seems that while
growing up, Bud Sailors towered about seven inches taller than younger
brother Kenny, so Kenny had to figure out a way to score during games of
one-on-one in the driveway. To Bud's surprise, Kenny leaped and sent a
jump shot flying through the air.
As the Pioneers fire up shots during shoot around, they have Kenny Sailors to thank for making it considerably easier.
About Wyoming: In
addition to Sailors, who played five seasons in the NBA, the basketball
world probably recognizes a few other names in Wyoming history.
NBA All-Star Theo
Ratliff is in his 16th professional season, currently playing for the
Lakers, which by the way is owned by Wyoming grad Jerry Buss.
Denver baseball fans
might remember Art Howe, who served as the Rockies first base and
hitting coach in 1995 when Colorado won the Wild Card, is a former
Cowboy. Another Wyoming alum
Hall of Fame baseball
writer Tracy Ringolsby, who received an honorary doctorate from Wyoming
and is an avid supporter of the Cowboys, was covering the Rockies that
year (and every other since their inception). Most recently, Ringolsby
has been working with our friends at FSN Rocky Mountain, including Jeff
Huson. Guess where he went to college.
Finally, the late
legendary sportscaster Curt Gowdy not only graduated from Wyoming, but
he was a three-year letterwinner in both basketball and tennis.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 6
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 5,166
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 15,409
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 568
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,213
Total Number of Hotels - 4
Total Number of Different Airports - 4
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
Total Number of Nights Spent in Wyoming - 0
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Portland - 12/11/10
DENVER - Wednesday night's game was a challenge, and St. Mary's proved why the Gaels were a Sweet 16 team in last year's NCAA Tournament.
The team was dragging a little early on Thursday morning until Santa Claus himself made an appearance.
The players and coaches were waiting for their plane at the Oakland Airport. Near the gate, Santa sat posing for photos with travelers of all ages, and a few of the players made jokes about going up and posing with him.
About 15 minutes later, as everyone was still waiting for the flight, Santa approached and insisted that the team join him for a picture. It took a little prodding from some of the guys, but not a whole lot. Even head coach Joe Scott got a smile on his face when Santa asked where the coach was. Scott shrugged and took his place on a stool in front.
Leave it to Santa to make everyone's day just a little brighter.
About Portland: The Pioneers take on another West Coast Conference team on Saturday, when the Portland Pilots come to town. The team is led by Preseason All-WCC selection Jared Stohl, who has 14.7 points per game. The Pilots also are getting a double-double out of Luke Sikma, who father Jack was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks.
UP is ranked No. 13 on the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, and the Pilots are 7-3 with losses to Kentucky, Washington State and Washington, two of which are ranked and the other is getting votes in the polls.
Portland has produced a fair number of professional soccer players, notably Kasey Keller and Conor Casey, who was named MLS Cup Most Valuable Player after scoring the game-tying goal for the Colorado Rapids in the championship game.
Other alumni of UP include former Major League journeyman catcher Tom Lampkin, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and Nunal Nayyar from "The Big Bang Theory."
The team was dragging a little early on Thursday morning until Santa Claus himself made an appearance.
The players and coaches were waiting for their plane at the Oakland Airport. Near the gate, Santa sat posing for photos with travelers of all ages, and a few of the players made jokes about going up and posing with him.
About 15 minutes later, as everyone was still waiting for the flight, Santa approached and insisted that the team join him for a picture. It took a little prodding from some of the guys, but not a whole lot. Even head coach Joe Scott got a smile on his face when Santa asked where the coach was. Scott shrugged and took his place on a stool in front.
Leave it to Santa to make everyone's day just a little brighter.
About Portland: The Pioneers take on another West Coast Conference team on Saturday, when the Portland Pilots come to town. The team is led by Preseason All-WCC selection Jared Stohl, who has 14.7 points per game. The Pilots also are getting a double-double out of Luke Sikma, who father Jack was a seven-time NBA All-Star with the Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks.
UP is ranked No. 13 on the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, and the Pilots are 7-3 with losses to Kentucky, Washington State and Washington, two of which are ranked and the other is getting votes in the polls.
Portland has produced a fair number of professional soccer players, notably Kasey Keller and Conor Casey, who was named MLS Cup Most Valuable Player after scoring the game-tying goal for the Colorado Rapids in the championship game.
Other alumni of UP include former Major League journeyman catcher Tom Lampkin, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and Nunal Nayyar from "The Big Bang Theory."
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 6
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 5,166
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 15,409
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 413
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,163
Total Number of Hotels - 3
Total Number of Different Airports - 4
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
Total Number of Team Pictures with Santa - 1
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
St. Mary's - 12/8/10
MORAGA, Calif. - As
we were driving through the drizzling rain in the hills of Northern
California on our way to McKeon Pavilion, the bus ride brought back a
few memories of Spain. Fortunately, despite the winding roads around the
St. Mary's campus, they were all two lanes and the bus could drive
through (non-hairpin) turns without blasting a warning honk.
Even so, Mitch Hyder commented that he was happy to work at Denver and not a place that might cause motion sickness every time he drove to campus, like this one.
St. Mary's is about 30 minutes north and a little bit west of Oakland, and the team bus drove through some of the legendary California freeway traffic on the way to the hotel in Walnut Creek. If that town sounds familiar to Pioneer fans, it's because it's part of junior guard Brian Stafford's introduction.
Stafford grew up on Walnut Creek and still calls it home. During a break last summer, Stafford returned home and played pickup games with St. Mary's players and some other players who live in the surrounding area. Head coach Joe Scott and the rest of the Pioneers are hoping Stafford's familiarity with the court and the rims will translate into success during tonight's game.
It's probably safe to say the 50 or so friends of family that are coming to watch Stafford are hoping the same thing. Junior guard Alex Pickert, who grew up in Carmel, Calif., a great town a couple hours down the coast in the shadows of Pebble Beach Golf Course, rounded up a few tickets for his family and friends, too. Rounding out the Denver connection to the area, assistant coach A.J. Kuhle is from just up the road in Concord, Calif.
Rumor has it that an impressive number of Denver alumni are planning to attend the game, as well, and based on the size of this gym - which lists a capacity of 3,500 but appears much smaller - the percentage of DU fans to Gaels fans might be significant.
For those unable to attend the game in Northern California, the live video stream will be available onPioneer Vision, although it will use St. Mary's commentators.
About St. Mary's: College basketball fans are sure to recognize St. Mary's, which has had some great seasons in recent years, including a run to the Sweet 16 of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Names like Patrick Mills and Omar Samhan became popular, as the Gaels became a major contender of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference played deep into March. (Side note: The first 2,000 fans tonight will receive an Omar Samhan bobblehead.)
But St. Mary's had some pretty good teams in the past. There's a banner hanging in McKeon Pavilion for the 1958-59 team, which went all the way to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. They lost one game shy of the Final Four to eventual national champion California, who had a player named Dave Stafford on its roster. Yes, that's Brian's grandfather.
Our good friend Brendan Loy, who started a blog about the Denver basketball team called Pioneer Pulse, pointed us Mid-Majority's "State of the Other 25," which ranks the top Mid-Major basketball teams in the nation.
As of yesterday, they had St. Mary's ranked No. 1, pointing to strong wins against St. John's and Texas Tech. They also pointed out that the Gaels are shooting better than 50 percent and is getting 1.23 points for every shot they take.
What's a Gael?: As shoot around was starting, senior forward Rob Lewis leaned over and asked, "What the heck is a Gael anyway?" A few of us kind of laughed and then realized that we weren't totally sure either. We were pretty sure it was some sort of Irish warrior. So we went to www.smcgaels.com to find out:
"The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which spread from Ireland to Scotland and the Isle of Man. Their language is of the Gaelic (Goidelic) family, a division of Insular Celtic languages. The word in English was adopted in 1810 from Scottish Gaelic Gaidheal (compare Irish Gaedhealg and Old Irish Goídeleg) to designate a Highlander (OED). Gael or Goídeleg was first used as a collective term to describe people from Ireland; it is thought to have come from Welsh Gwyddel (Old Welsh Goídel), originally "raider", now "Irish person". Many people who do not speak Gaelic consider themselves to be 'Gaels' in a broader sense because of their ancestry and heritage."
Where There's Smoke: This morning's shoot around was going great until a shrill fire alarm blasted throughout the gym. Despite the faint smell of smoke, it was a false alarm, and the players and coaches did their best to ignore it. Maybe it will work as a drill to drown out the hostile crowd this evening.
Travel Partners?: As the Pioneers were heading to baggage claim yesterday, the men's basketball team from San Diego State exited their flight a few gates away. The Aztecs will take on Cal tonight in Berkeley.
Happy Birthday: Redshirt freshman forward Blake Foeman is celebrating his 20th birthday today.
Back in the Bay: Denver radio voice Mitch Hyder and I landed at the Oakland airport for the third time in as many Pioneer road trips this season. Although we normally travel with the team, extenuating circumstances forced us to fly through San Francisco coming back from Eugene, Ore., and on our way to Boise, Idaho.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 5
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 4,209
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 14,452
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 351
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,101
Total Number of Hotels - 3
Total Number of Different Airports - 4
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
Total Number of Fire Alarms Ignored During Practice - 1
Even so, Mitch Hyder commented that he was happy to work at Denver and not a place that might cause motion sickness every time he drove to campus, like this one.
St. Mary's is about 30 minutes north and a little bit west of Oakland, and the team bus drove through some of the legendary California freeway traffic on the way to the hotel in Walnut Creek. If that town sounds familiar to Pioneer fans, it's because it's part of junior guard Brian Stafford's introduction.
Stafford grew up on Walnut Creek and still calls it home. During a break last summer, Stafford returned home and played pickup games with St. Mary's players and some other players who live in the surrounding area. Head coach Joe Scott and the rest of the Pioneers are hoping Stafford's familiarity with the court and the rims will translate into success during tonight's game.
It's probably safe to say the 50 or so friends of family that are coming to watch Stafford are hoping the same thing. Junior guard Alex Pickert, who grew up in Carmel, Calif., a great town a couple hours down the coast in the shadows of Pebble Beach Golf Course, rounded up a few tickets for his family and friends, too. Rounding out the Denver connection to the area, assistant coach A.J. Kuhle is from just up the road in Concord, Calif.
Rumor has it that an impressive number of Denver alumni are planning to attend the game, as well, and based on the size of this gym - which lists a capacity of 3,500 but appears much smaller - the percentage of DU fans to Gaels fans might be significant.
For those unable to attend the game in Northern California, the live video stream will be available onPioneer Vision, although it will use St. Mary's commentators.
About St. Mary's: College basketball fans are sure to recognize St. Mary's, which has had some great seasons in recent years, including a run to the Sweet 16 of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Names like Patrick Mills and Omar Samhan became popular, as the Gaels became a major contender of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference played deep into March. (Side note: The first 2,000 fans tonight will receive an Omar Samhan bobblehead.)
But St. Mary's had some pretty good teams in the past. There's a banner hanging in McKeon Pavilion for the 1958-59 team, which went all the way to the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight. They lost one game shy of the Final Four to eventual national champion California, who had a player named Dave Stafford on its roster. Yes, that's Brian's grandfather.
Our good friend Brendan Loy, who started a blog about the Denver basketball team called Pioneer Pulse, pointed us Mid-Majority's "State of the Other 25," which ranks the top Mid-Major basketball teams in the nation.
As of yesterday, they had St. Mary's ranked No. 1, pointing to strong wins against St. John's and Texas Tech. They also pointed out that the Gaels are shooting better than 50 percent and is getting 1.23 points for every shot they take.
What's a Gael?: As shoot around was starting, senior forward Rob Lewis leaned over and asked, "What the heck is a Gael anyway?" A few of us kind of laughed and then realized that we weren't totally sure either. We were pretty sure it was some sort of Irish warrior. So we went to www.smcgaels.com to find out:
"The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which spread from Ireland to Scotland and the Isle of Man. Their language is of the Gaelic (Goidelic) family, a division of Insular Celtic languages. The word in English was adopted in 1810 from Scottish Gaelic Gaidheal (compare Irish Gaedhealg and Old Irish Goídeleg) to designate a Highlander (OED). Gael or Goídeleg was first used as a collective term to describe people from Ireland; it is thought to have come from Welsh Gwyddel (Old Welsh Goídel), originally "raider", now "Irish person". Many people who do not speak Gaelic consider themselves to be 'Gaels' in a broader sense because of their ancestry and heritage."
Where There's Smoke: This morning's shoot around was going great until a shrill fire alarm blasted throughout the gym. Despite the faint smell of smoke, it was a false alarm, and the players and coaches did their best to ignore it. Maybe it will work as a drill to drown out the hostile crowd this evening.
Travel Partners?: As the Pioneers were heading to baggage claim yesterday, the men's basketball team from San Diego State exited their flight a few gates away. The Aztecs will take on Cal tonight in Berkeley.
Happy Birthday: Redshirt freshman forward Blake Foeman is celebrating his 20th birthday today.
Back in the Bay: Denver radio voice Mitch Hyder and I landed at the Oakland airport for the third time in as many Pioneer road trips this season. Although we normally travel with the team, extenuating circumstances forced us to fly through San Francisco coming back from Eugene, Ore., and on our way to Boise, Idaho.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 5
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 4,209
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 14,452
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 351
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,101
Total Number of Hotels - 3
Total Number of Different Airports - 4
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
Total Number of Fire Alarms Ignored During Practice - 1
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