LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Winter
storms are covering most of the country. Denver, which reached 70
degrees last Friday, saw temperatures drop well below zero.
It's a little chilly in
Little Rock, but the team made it without too many problems, unless you
count a lost bag for a certain blog writer.
In fact, as the team
exited the plane onto the runway, more than one person commented that
the temperature was quite nice. It was 29 degrees. I guess it's a matter
of what you've been used to.
Life on the road can be
funny. While everybody tries to make everything run as smoothly as
possible, so that the team can prepare and play without added hurdles,
sometimes things like weather prevent that ease.
Last week the day before
their game with Denver, the North Texas team sat on an airplane at the
Dallas-Fort Worth Airport - less than 30 miles from their campus - for
nearly four hours. Their plan was to check into the hotel, practice at
Magness Arena and then have some dinner. After the delay, they arrived
after midnight. They may have grabbed some dinner, but they definitely
lost that day's practice.
The Pioneers' coaching
staff decided a few years ago that it was better to avoid such risks.
That's why the team practices at home and then flies out later in the
afternoon.
Yesterday was a typical
example. The team practiced from about 7:30-9:30 a.m., and then the
players went to their classes. At 1:30 p.m., everyone grabbed box
lunches and jumped on the bus for DIA. The flight landed around 7 p.m.,
we checked into the hotel, and we were eating dinner by 8:15 p.m.
That's pretty much life on the road.
Treasure Hunters Unite: The
Pioneers are sharing a hotel with Treasure Hunters Roadshow. Based on
their website, these appear to be the same people who offer to buy gold
on late night television.
Since we arrived,
hundreds of people have stood in line, holding stuff that they hope is
worth a lot of money. According to their website, people are encouraged
to bring things like silver, gold, paper money, guitars, trains and
sport memorabilia.
I'm not going to try to
understand whether paper money may be worth more than the amount listed
on it, or how anyone might bring a train to a hotel. But it seems a lot
of people are excited about the show, and sometimes the organizers buy
the stuff on the spot.
We thought maybe this
was a television show, like Antique Roadshow (which radio voice Mitch
Hyder can't get enough of), but there is no sign on truth behind that on
their website.
About Arkansas-Little Rock: The
Trojans have won a handful of championships with the banners hanging in
the Jack Stephens Center as proof. There's also a lone jersey hanging
from the rafters.
That one is Derek
Fisher, who starred for UALR from 1992-96, winning a Sun Belt
championship as a senior. Since then, Fisher has been better known for
winning NBA championships alongside Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles.
If any of our loyal blog
readers know of other notable alumni from UALR, please send them our
way. According to the good folks who work here, they really don't have
any other than Fisher.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights, regular season only - 12
Total Mileage by Air, regular season only - 10,417
Total Mileage by Air, including Spain - 20,695
Total Mileage by Bus, regular season only - 1,087
Total Mileage by Bus, including Spain - 2,652
Total Number of Hotels - 8
Total Number of Different Airports - 8
Total Number of Airline Delays - 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 2
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