LAFAYETTE, La. - The number of road trips in the Sun Belt
Conference is quickly dwindling for the Pioneers.
As the team waited through a two-hour
layover in Houston yesterday, someone commented that this likely was our last
trip to Louisiana for the foreseeable future.
But while DU's entrance to the WAC is
just around the corner, the Pioneers are focused on finishing their time in the
Sun Belt in the right way.
The team is going through shoot around
in the CAJUNDOME right now. DU has had some battles with the Ragin' Cajuns here
with the last five being decided by seven points or less, including two of the
last three in overtime.
The returning players all remember
watching the ball hitting every part of the basket except the bottom of the net
after a tip attempt at the buzzer last season. It would have been an
unbelievable play, but instead the game went to overtime.
The Pioneers will look to turn the
tables tonight in their last trip to Lafayette.
About Louisiana-Lafayette - This blog ruffled a few feathers around
here last year. Rumor has it that Jay Walker, the iconic voice of the Ragin'
Cajuns, directed fans to it and they took offense to a few things that were not
meant to offend.
It seems that a few people were most
upset that Richard Simmons was called the most famous alumnus of this fine
institution.
One creative reader was so enraged
about the Simmons reference that he responded, "I will never forgive you for
that...I hope an ornery bear gets loose in your garage, sir."
My hope was that those readers might
provide me with ULL alumni that are more famous than Simmons, who seems to have
done a lot of good work encouraging people to become healthier over the years.
Unfortunately, nobody could do better
than former Yankee great Ron Guidry, Dorito girl Ali Landry or Houston Texans
quarterback Jake Delhomme. Certainly, all are noteworthy but perhaps not as
famous as the exercise guru.
The city of Lafayette has some good
things going for it, including some of the best restaurants in the Sun Belt
Conference, which leads us to a question that "The Voice of the Pioneers,"
Mitch Hyder, received during the last Joe Scott Radio Show but did not have
time to answer during the show.
With the last run through the Sun Belt, I know that Mitch
is spending extra time in the Sun Belt cities calling the men's and women's
games. Is there a restaurant in the Sun Belt that he will miss when we move to
the WAC? - Tim Thompson, DU '77
It's a great question, and Hyder,
trainer Pat Hoxsey and I discussed it last night as we ate at what we all
agreed was our favorite.
The Blue Dog Café in Lafayette is a
couple blocks away from the hotel we always stay at. The Cajun food, especially
the seafood, is outstanding and the restaurant is packed with George Rodrigue's
coloraful paintings of - you guessed it - a blue dog.
To be fair, this question would be
completely different if you asked the players, who almost always eat at either
the hotel or in chain restaurants, like Outback Steakhouse last night.
For Hyder and Company, here are the top
five. Keep in mind, these are limited to places we have actually been, so there
very well could be better ones out there (we have heard that Prejean's in
Lafayette is incredible, too).
1.
Blue Dog Café -
Lafayette, La.
2.
Omar's 501 Club -
Jonesboro, Ark.
3.
Roosters BBQ -
Denton, Texas
4.
Mariah's -
Bowling Green, Ky.
5.
Rudy's BBQ -
Denton, Texas (It's a chain - and there's one in Colorado Springs - but Hyder
has to have their turkey every trip to Denton)
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 24
Total Mileage by Air - 11,996
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 282
Total
Number of Hotels - 12
Total
Number of Different Airports - 12
Total
Number of Airline Delays - 8
Total
Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total
Number of Bags Lost - 4
Row
Numbers Missing in the Plane From Denver to Houston -
13, 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19
Total
Number of Prison Road Crews Spotted Doing Lawn Care in Lafayette -
1
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