MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - It's
been a fun couple of weeks for the Pioneers. The guys are in good
spirits as they shoot around at the Murphy Center, getting ready for
tonight's game against Middle Tennessee.
There was a confidence and looseness in the players that we saw in Spain last summer, and it's made a welcome return.
The team practiced at DU
yesterday morning, had some lunch and then loaded onto a bus for the
airport. We always try to arrive early enough to make sure we don't run
into any problems, which leaves some time at the gate for the players to
hang out and make each other laugh.
When Chase Hallam was
asked if he wanted to do a phone interview with a reporter so that he
could get it out of the way, he said, "Let's do it later. I'm playing
Family Feud here, and I'm in a zone." Sure enough, his computer screen
showed a battle being waged."
Always looking to take a quality photo, Andrew Hooper roamed the area looking for unsuspecting teammates that might be napping.
The flight to Nashville was
uneventful (even if it was a tad delayed), and after checking into the
hotel around 8 p.m., everyone walked to a restaurant next door for a
good dinner.
This is a fairly familiar arena for most of the players. In fact, Kyle Lewis is playing here for the third time in his four years. He's hoping for more favorable results tonight.
About Middle Tennessee: Murfreesboro
is a town of 101,753 people about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. As
the name of the university might suggest, Murfreesboro is smack dab in
the middle of Tennessee.
During the Civil War, the
Battle of Stone River was fought between the team hotel and campus.
There is a nice greenbelt running through a couple of the battlegrounds.
Oddly, a full dog team was pulling a man on a sled with wheels along
the greenbelt, mushing the dogs along the way.
Middle Tennessee (or Middle
Tennessee State, as the sign outside still says) has a fairly rich
basketball tradition. The men's team has six NCAA Tournament banners
hanging from the rafters, and the women's team has 13, including six
this decade.
We always try to come up
with a few notable alumni from each school we visit. For some reason,
the list from MTSU always seems shorter than expected.
Albert Gore Sr., the former
senator and father of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, went here.
Longtime NFL quarterback Kelly Holcomb played for the Blue Raiders. And,
of course, Music Row is just up the road, so there are a few country
music stars. Both Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott and Nashville Star
winner Chris Young went to Middle.
If any of our loyal blog readers know any more MTSU alums, please send them our way.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 10
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 8, 634
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 18,912
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 968
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,528
Total Number of Hotels - 7
Total Number of Different Airports - 7
Total Number of Airline Delays - 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 1
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