HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - The Pioneers are in Hot Springs, Ark., exactly where they want to be.
Denver beat South
Alabama last night and heads into the semifinals against Western
Kentucky tonight. It was a strange day yesterday, as DU was the only
higher seed to advance.
The team actually headed
down on Friday afternoon, stayed in Little Rock that night and
practiced at UALR on Saturday morning before making the hour-long drive
to Hot Springs.
The players and coaches
were in good spirits during the trip. The Pioneers generally travel in
khakis and polos, or the equivilant, so when freshman forward Marcus Byrd walked to the bus wearing a tie, head coach Joe Scott asked him what he was doing.
"Looking good, Coach," was Byrd's smiling reply, and he kept walking onto the bus.
When you travel as much
as we do, you expect to run into hiccups every once in a while.
Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often, but both junior guard Chase Hallam and trainer Pat Hoxsey spent
a little extra time clearing security at DIA. Hallam is wearing a back
brace, which required some extra screening. With as many medical
supplies as Hoxsey carries, it's surprising he doesn't get pulled aside
more often. This time, it was a thorough screening, but he just made the
flight.
The Sun Belt Tournament
makes things a little different for the participants. Since so many
teams are playing in one place, practice times are often a little
creative, and the teams do what they can. Generally on the road, the
team heads to whatever court they're going to play on and shoots around
for an hour or so.
This morning, like
yesterday, the Pioneers went to the arena, where they were allowed
exactly 20 minutes to shoot around. The moment the first player walked
on the court, the timer starter, and right when the buzzer sounded,
everyone was ushered out.
Everyone returned to a
nice breakfast at the hotel, and in a few hours they will load back onto
the bus and ride to a local high school to work out for another hour.
About Hot Springs - It seems like we've covered everything in Hot Springs over the past four years.
Of course, it's the
boyhood home of Bill Clinton, and it has numerous bath houses that
utilize the natural hot springs (hence the name). And there's a horse
track a few miles down the road.
It's also in the middle
of Hot Springs National Park, filled with trails throughout the
surrounding hills. According to the local Chamber of Commerce, "In 1832,
President Andrew Jackson made Hot Springs the first Federal
Reservation. It was the first piece of America protected for future
generations. Hot Springs was, in essence, America's first national
park."
Walking through town, it's nearly impossible to ignore the gangster influence of the town in the early 20th century.
From the Gangster Museum, complete with an "escape tunnel", to the Ohio
Club, where Lucky Luciano and Bugsy Siegel were known to gamble and
enjoy libations during Prohibition, there are references to gangsters
just about everywhere along Central Avenue.
In fact, the Pioneers
have stayed every year at the Arlington Hotel, a favorite of Al Capone,
who was known for booking the entire fourth floor when he would come to
visit.
These days, the town is considerably tamer with more family-friendly entertainment.
And Hot Springs does an
excellent job of hosting the Sun Belt Tournament. This is the last one
for the Pioneers, as the team moves on to the Western Athletic
Conference (WAC) next season. That postseason tournament is played in
Las Vegas.
While it's exciting to
think about playing there next year, everyone with the Pioneers are
enjoying their time in Hot Springs and their final days in the Sun Belt
Conference.
Denver's goal is
obvious, and the Pioneers will be playing tonight for the priviledge of
staying in Hot Springs for one more day. Right where they want to be.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 29
Total Mileage by Air - 17,161
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 543
Total Number of Hotels - 16
Total Number of Different Airports - 13
Total Number of Airline Delays - 9
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Extra Pat Downs This Trip - 2
Monday, March 5, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Florida International - 2/11/12
MIAMI, Fla. - This is it. Tonight is Denver's final Sun
Belt Conference road game.
There are worse places to end it, of course. The weather has been rather pleasant, despite the occasional rain showers. At least nobody is slipping on the ice, as they walk down the street.
Thursday was another tough one. The Pioneers have lost four games this season in the final 1.1 seconds, but they are learning from each one and making themselves better because of them.
After breakfast yesterday morning, the team checked out of the hotel in Boca Raton, piled on a bus and traveled about an hour south to a new hotel in Miami.
All things considered, it was one of the easiest travel days of the year, since most of them include a flight and being on the bus at least as long as yesterday's trip. This also is DU's first and only combined trip to both FAU and FIU.
The players spent a few hours studying - or perhaps relaxing - before heading to the University of Miami for a 90-minute practice. There was a nice meal at the Macaroni Grill, and everyone called it a night.
Shoot around at U.S. Century Bank Arena is a little later than usual, so the players ate breakfast in the hotel around 10 a.m. and had some time before a 12:35 p.m. departure.
There was the tiniest bit of confusion outside the hotel, because four buses that looked exactly like ours were waiting to take people to various cruise ships. It seemed to take some will power by "The Voice" Mitch Hyder, as he boarded the team bus instead of the one to the islands.
About Florida International - It's been two years since the Pioneers have played at FIU, which means this is the first time the team will take on the Golden Panthers in Miami under the direction of head coach Isiah Thomas.
Florida International is a mostly commuter school with 46,000 students. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of notable alumni from FIU, other than Andy Garcia.
However, there have been some notable television shows filmed on campus, including several episodes of USA Network's Burn Notice.
And, of course, those of us who lived through the 1980s (i.e. - not the players) have made a few allusions to the stylish action from Miami Vice. Well, one particular episode was actually filmed in the very arena that the Pioneers are now practicing in.
Little has changed since this show, "The Fix," which was filmed just after the arena opened in 1986, except FIU changed their mascot from the Sunblazers to the Golden Panthers in 1987.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 27
Total Mileage by Air - 14, 694
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 376
Total Number of Hotels - 14
Total Number of Different Airports - 13
Total Number of Airline Delays - 9
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Cruise Buses the Players Passed to Get to the Team Bus - 4
There are worse places to end it, of course. The weather has been rather pleasant, despite the occasional rain showers. At least nobody is slipping on the ice, as they walk down the street.
Thursday was another tough one. The Pioneers have lost four games this season in the final 1.1 seconds, but they are learning from each one and making themselves better because of them.
After breakfast yesterday morning, the team checked out of the hotel in Boca Raton, piled on a bus and traveled about an hour south to a new hotel in Miami.
All things considered, it was one of the easiest travel days of the year, since most of them include a flight and being on the bus at least as long as yesterday's trip. This also is DU's first and only combined trip to both FAU and FIU.
The players spent a few hours studying - or perhaps relaxing - before heading to the University of Miami for a 90-minute practice. There was a nice meal at the Macaroni Grill, and everyone called it a night.
Shoot around at U.S. Century Bank Arena is a little later than usual, so the players ate breakfast in the hotel around 10 a.m. and had some time before a 12:35 p.m. departure.
There was the tiniest bit of confusion outside the hotel, because four buses that looked exactly like ours were waiting to take people to various cruise ships. It seemed to take some will power by "The Voice" Mitch Hyder, as he boarded the team bus instead of the one to the islands.
About Florida International - It's been two years since the Pioneers have played at FIU, which means this is the first time the team will take on the Golden Panthers in Miami under the direction of head coach Isiah Thomas.
Florida International is a mostly commuter school with 46,000 students. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of notable alumni from FIU, other than Andy Garcia.
However, there have been some notable television shows filmed on campus, including several episodes of USA Network's Burn Notice.
And, of course, those of us who lived through the 1980s (i.e. - not the players) have made a few allusions to the stylish action from Miami Vice. Well, one particular episode was actually filmed in the very arena that the Pioneers are now practicing in.
Little has changed since this show, "The Fix," which was filmed just after the arena opened in 1986, except FIU changed their mascot from the Sunblazers to the Golden Panthers in 1987.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 27
Total Mileage by Air - 14, 694
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 376
Total Number of Hotels - 14
Total Number of Different Airports - 13
Total Number of Airline Delays - 9
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Cruise Buses the Players Passed to Get to the Team Bus - 4
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Florida Atlantic - 2/9/12
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Yesterday's trip to Florida was completely uneventful, which is the way everyone prefers it.
The Pioneers practiced early Wednesday morning before heading to DIA for the four-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale.
For most of us, it was an ordinary flight, but freshman Royce O'Nealewas thrilled to catch a glimpse of the ocean and beach for the first time as the plane descended.
This trip also marks the first (and possibly only) chance that redshirt sophomore Blake Foeman will play in front of his hometown crowd.
Foeman grew up about 45 southwest of FAU in Weston, Fla. As a high school senior, Foeman attended the only game DU previously played in FAU Arena in 2009.
The Pioneers have actually traveled to play the Owls twice, but their first game during Joe Scott's first season in 2007-08 was played across town at the Count & Countess de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center on the campus of Lynn University, due to the Republican Presidential Debates being held at Florida Atlantic.
In addition to a Foeman contingent, the Pioneers are expecting to see a few more familiar faces in the stands tonight. The parents of Rob Lewismade this final regular season trip in the Sun Belt Conference, as did the parents of Chase Hallam and Travis Hallam, and the parents of head coach Joe Scott spend their winters nearby.
Getting Back from Lafayette - In case you missed it from the various Twitter feeds reporting the situation, the Pioneers were a little concerned about getting back to Denver after playing at Louisiana-Lafayette last Thursday.
With the snow storm raging in Colorado, a lot of flights in and out of DIA were being canceled. The team didn't have a lot of options other than flying from Lafayette to Dallas-Fort Worth and hoping to make it home.
When the team approached the gate, there was a surprise waiting. Middle Tennessee, which was also flying to Denver for the game against the Pioneers, was on the same flight.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg did a nice job of capturing the somewhatawkward situation.
Needless to say, both teams ended up making it to arguably the most exciting basketball game in Magness Arena history.
The players (and everyone else in the DU Athletics Department) were ecstatic about the atmosphere surrounding the game and remain thankful for everyone that put in so much hard work to make it great.
It was exciting to have ESPN2 in the building, but it was even nicer to see so many fans having such a good time.
About Florida Atlantic - Sports fans will recognize a couple of head coaches at FAU. Men's basketball coach Mike Jarvis guided Boston University, George Washington and St. John's to the NCAA Tournament before taking over the Owls three seasons ago.
And until December, Howard Schnellenberger roamed the sidelines as football head coach. Schnellenberger guided the Miami Hurricanes to the 1983 national title and served as offensive coordinator for the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.
Florida Atlantic was founded in 1964 and now has about 28,000 students. As a fairly young university, there is not an overwhelming list of notable alumni. However, Don Brewer, the drummer and founding member of Grand Funk Railroad, received a degree from here in 1990.
More Restaurants - Friend of the Blog Jason Plotkin wrote in to suggest a restaurant we omitted from the Best in the Belt Restaurant list.
The Pioneers practiced early Wednesday morning before heading to DIA for the four-hour flight to Fort Lauderdale.
For most of us, it was an ordinary flight, but freshman Royce O'Nealewas thrilled to catch a glimpse of the ocean and beach for the first time as the plane descended.
This trip also marks the first (and possibly only) chance that redshirt sophomore Blake Foeman will play in front of his hometown crowd.
Foeman grew up about 45 southwest of FAU in Weston, Fla. As a high school senior, Foeman attended the only game DU previously played in FAU Arena in 2009.
The Pioneers have actually traveled to play the Owls twice, but their first game during Joe Scott's first season in 2007-08 was played across town at the Count & Countess de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center on the campus of Lynn University, due to the Republican Presidential Debates being held at Florida Atlantic.
In addition to a Foeman contingent, the Pioneers are expecting to see a few more familiar faces in the stands tonight. The parents of Rob Lewismade this final regular season trip in the Sun Belt Conference, as did the parents of Chase Hallam and Travis Hallam, and the parents of head coach Joe Scott spend their winters nearby.
Getting Back from Lafayette - In case you missed it from the various Twitter feeds reporting the situation, the Pioneers were a little concerned about getting back to Denver after playing at Louisiana-Lafayette last Thursday.
With the snow storm raging in Colorado, a lot of flights in and out of DIA were being canceled. The team didn't have a lot of options other than flying from Lafayette to Dallas-Fort Worth and hoping to make it home.
When the team approached the gate, there was a surprise waiting. Middle Tennessee, which was also flying to Denver for the game against the Pioneers, was on the same flight.
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg did a nice job of capturing the somewhatawkward situation.
Needless to say, both teams ended up making it to arguably the most exciting basketball game in Magness Arena history.
The players (and everyone else in the DU Athletics Department) were ecstatic about the atmosphere surrounding the game and remain thankful for everyone that put in so much hard work to make it great.
It was exciting to have ESPN2 in the building, but it was even nicer to see so many fans having such a good time.
About Florida Atlantic - Sports fans will recognize a couple of head coaches at FAU. Men's basketball coach Mike Jarvis guided Boston University, George Washington and St. John's to the NCAA Tournament before taking over the Owls three seasons ago.
And until December, Howard Schnellenberger roamed the sidelines as football head coach. Schnellenberger guided the Miami Hurricanes to the 1983 national title and served as offensive coordinator for the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins.
Florida Atlantic was founded in 1964 and now has about 28,000 students. As a fairly young university, there is not an overwhelming list of notable alumni. However, Don Brewer, the drummer and founding member of Grand Funk Railroad, received a degree from here in 1990.
More Restaurants - Friend of the Blog Jason Plotkin wrote in to suggest a restaurant we omitted from the Best in the Belt Restaurant list.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Louisiana-Lafayette - 2/2/12
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
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
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Arkansas-Little Rock - 1/28/12
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A
lot of people ask about the challenges of traveling in the Sun Belt
Conference and how the team gets from Denver to places like Monroe, La.,
and Troy, Ala.
The truth is that most of the places DU travels are not terribly difficult to get to. The flights are a little longer than they will be next year in the WAC, but many of the Sun Belt trips require just a direct flight and short bus ride.
Sometimes, however, things don't go as planned. Like yesterday.
The team practiced at the Ritchie Center yesterday morning, grabbed some lunch and then jumped on a bus to DIA. We would be connecting through Dallas, but nobody anticipated a problem.
Everything was going smoothly, and everyone was settled into his seat in the plane. That's when we heard the crackle of the pilot's voice over the intercom.
"Folks, everything was working fine on our flight in, but the directional gyro is no longer working," he said. "We need to get it fixed, and then we'll be out of here as quickly as possible."
The first attempt at repair failed, the pilot announced 20 minutes later. The second attempt failed, too, another 30 minutes later. The third and final attempt should work, the pilot said, but if it didn't the plane was not taking off until morning.
We sat and waited a little longer. Meanwhile, the flight attendants were calling names of people who were not going to make their connections, asking them to take their belongings and head to the counter to rebook their trips.
Knowing we were a rather large group, the flight attendant made a point of coming back to inform us that we were already booked on the late flight out of Dallas to Little Rock. More than a few people in the travel party were on their smart phones identifying alternatives, just in case.
Fortunately, the third repair fixed the problem, and we were off. It was 90 minutes after the scheduled departure, but at least we were on our way.
With a slightly extended stay at DFW, everyone in the travel party went in search of some food. The original plan was to have chicken sandwiches at the hotel, and that would still happen but not until about 10 p.m.
Everything worked fine after that, including some purchases at an old school candy shop by members of the coaching and support staff, and the team arrived safely in Little Rock.
About Arkansas-Little Rock - The players and coaches know the situation. Denver has never won in 10 previous trips to Little Rock. The Trojans beat the Pioneers at Magness Arena on New Year's Eve. Everybody on the team knows it, and they want to reverse both of those trends this evening.
The Jack Stephens Center is one of the nicest venues in the Sun Belt. It opened in 2005 and still looks brand new. Of course, according to some reports, the best part of the facility is the elevator with the inexplicable use of "S-M-L-E" on the buttons. There's still a debate whether they were trying to make an allusion to "SMILE" or perhaps they were going with "Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large" (although it seems strange that small would be the highest floor).
UALR is roughly the same size as DU with about 11,000 students, and its most notable alumnus is probably Derek Fisher, who has won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Snapping a Streak, Sort of - In the men's basketball team's past four trips to Little Rock, at least one person's luggage was lost. It was a streak that nobody wanted to see extended.
Fortunately, it did for the men's team.
Unfortunately, women's basketball trainer Becky Ball may have extended it by proxy, when the airline left Denver without her bag.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 20
Total Mileage by Air - 9,987
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 299
Total Number of Hotels - 10
Total Number of Different Airports - 12
Total Number of Airline Delays - 7
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Times Asked Whether the "Directional Gyro" is anything like a "Flux Capacitor" - ∞
The truth is that most of the places DU travels are not terribly difficult to get to. The flights are a little longer than they will be next year in the WAC, but many of the Sun Belt trips require just a direct flight and short bus ride.
Sometimes, however, things don't go as planned. Like yesterday.
The team practiced at the Ritchie Center yesterday morning, grabbed some lunch and then jumped on a bus to DIA. We would be connecting through Dallas, but nobody anticipated a problem.
Everything was going smoothly, and everyone was settled into his seat in the plane. That's when we heard the crackle of the pilot's voice over the intercom.
"Folks, everything was working fine on our flight in, but the directional gyro is no longer working," he said. "We need to get it fixed, and then we'll be out of here as quickly as possible."
The first attempt at repair failed, the pilot announced 20 minutes later. The second attempt failed, too, another 30 minutes later. The third and final attempt should work, the pilot said, but if it didn't the plane was not taking off until morning.
We sat and waited a little longer. Meanwhile, the flight attendants were calling names of people who were not going to make their connections, asking them to take their belongings and head to the counter to rebook their trips.
Knowing we were a rather large group, the flight attendant made a point of coming back to inform us that we were already booked on the late flight out of Dallas to Little Rock. More than a few people in the travel party were on their smart phones identifying alternatives, just in case.
Fortunately, the third repair fixed the problem, and we were off. It was 90 minutes after the scheduled departure, but at least we were on our way.
With a slightly extended stay at DFW, everyone in the travel party went in search of some food. The original plan was to have chicken sandwiches at the hotel, and that would still happen but not until about 10 p.m.
Everything worked fine after that, including some purchases at an old school candy shop by members of the coaching and support staff, and the team arrived safely in Little Rock.
About Arkansas-Little Rock - The players and coaches know the situation. Denver has never won in 10 previous trips to Little Rock. The Trojans beat the Pioneers at Magness Arena on New Year's Eve. Everybody on the team knows it, and they want to reverse both of those trends this evening.
The Jack Stephens Center is one of the nicest venues in the Sun Belt. It opened in 2005 and still looks brand new. Of course, according to some reports, the best part of the facility is the elevator with the inexplicable use of "S-M-L-E" on the buttons. There's still a debate whether they were trying to make an allusion to "SMILE" or perhaps they were going with "Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large" (although it seems strange that small would be the highest floor).
UALR is roughly the same size as DU with about 11,000 students, and its most notable alumnus is probably Derek Fisher, who has won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Snapping a Streak, Sort of - In the men's basketball team's past four trips to Little Rock, at least one person's luggage was lost. It was a streak that nobody wanted to see extended.
Fortunately, it did for the men's team.
Unfortunately, women's basketball trainer Becky Ball may have extended it by proxy, when the airline left Denver without her bag.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 20
Total Mileage by Air - 9,987
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 299
Total Number of Hotels - 10
Total Number of Different Airports - 12
Total Number of Airline Delays - 7
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Times Asked Whether the "Directional Gyro" is anything like a "Flux Capacitor" - ∞
Saturday, January 21, 2012
North Texas - 1/21/12
DENTON, Texas - Friday
was a fairly easy travel day for the Pioneers. Everyone woke up and had
breakfast around 8 a.m. before loading on the bus for a 90-minute ride
to the Shreveport Regional Airport.
After a short (delay and) flight to Dallas-Fort Worth, there was a slight delay after landing. The plane missed the mark at the gate, and the worker on the ground directed him to try it again, so the plane made a 360 and pulled in again. Unfortunately, the same thing happened again, and the worker gave the disappointed look of a teacher after a student answers the same incorrect answer twice. To the amusement of most aboard, the pilot circled one more time before stopping and turning off the "fasten seat belts" sign.
The team loaded back on a bus for the 25-minute drive north to Denton, which is actually shorter than the drive from DIA to DU.
There was a spread of roast beef and turkey at the hotel for a light lunch, followed by a 90-minute practice in the North Texas volleyball facility.
Later, the team headed to dinner at a restaurant just across the parking lot from the hotel and then the players headed to their rooms to rest up for today's game.
While this blog does not delve much into what the players do during their free time, Blake Foeman has been carrying a camera with him to document this road trip, and the highlights should appear on an upcoming segment during a DU basketball game on ROOT SPORTS.
About North Texas - The University of North Texas may conjure up images of a former player that shares a nickname with the teams (Mean Joe Greene) or perhaps albino squirrels, but there is a connection between this campus and Denver basketball.
Actors swarmed to the campus here in Denton in 1991 to film the movie "Necessary Roughness." Among those actors was former DU basketball player David Atkins, known more commonly these days as Sinbad.
According to the always reliable Wikipedia, which thankfully is back online after a day-long hiatus, Necessary Roughness was about a fictitious football team at Texas State University, which did not exist at the time.
Twelve years after the movie was made, however, Southwest Texas State changed its name to Texas State, and Denver fans can look forward to welcoming that team as part of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) next season. Strangely, Southwest Texas State was also the first team that Sinbad and company faced in the movie.
Denver South - With Travis Hallam, Chase Hallam, Royce O'Neale,Chris Udofia and Cam Griffin all hailing from the Lone Star State (or Whataburger State, according to Chase), the Pioneers are expecting quite a bit of support this evening.
The team's ticket list has long been maxed out, and rumor has it that buses and caravans are heading this way from Killeen, Mesquite and Irving. And the Pioneers are looking forward to having the support of those cheering sections.
Tonight also likely marks Travis Hallam's final basketball game in the state of Texas. Travis will be playing in his 111th career game tonight and is on pace to finish just behind Brian Stafford for the most and second most games anyone has played during his Denver career.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 16
Total Mileage by Air - 8,395
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 161
Total Number of Hotels - 9
Total Number of Different Airports - 12
Total Number of Airline Delays - 6
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Attempts at Parking the Plane at the Gate - 3
After a short (delay and) flight to Dallas-Fort Worth, there was a slight delay after landing. The plane missed the mark at the gate, and the worker on the ground directed him to try it again, so the plane made a 360 and pulled in again. Unfortunately, the same thing happened again, and the worker gave the disappointed look of a teacher after a student answers the same incorrect answer twice. To the amusement of most aboard, the pilot circled one more time before stopping and turning off the "fasten seat belts" sign.
The team loaded back on a bus for the 25-minute drive north to Denton, which is actually shorter than the drive from DIA to DU.
There was a spread of roast beef and turkey at the hotel for a light lunch, followed by a 90-minute practice in the North Texas volleyball facility.
Later, the team headed to dinner at a restaurant just across the parking lot from the hotel and then the players headed to their rooms to rest up for today's game.
While this blog does not delve much into what the players do during their free time, Blake Foeman has been carrying a camera with him to document this road trip, and the highlights should appear on an upcoming segment during a DU basketball game on ROOT SPORTS.
About North Texas - The University of North Texas may conjure up images of a former player that shares a nickname with the teams (Mean Joe Greene) or perhaps albino squirrels, but there is a connection between this campus and Denver basketball.
Actors swarmed to the campus here in Denton in 1991 to film the movie "Necessary Roughness." Among those actors was former DU basketball player David Atkins, known more commonly these days as Sinbad.
According to the always reliable Wikipedia, which thankfully is back online after a day-long hiatus, Necessary Roughness was about a fictitious football team at Texas State University, which did not exist at the time.
Twelve years after the movie was made, however, Southwest Texas State changed its name to Texas State, and Denver fans can look forward to welcoming that team as part of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) next season. Strangely, Southwest Texas State was also the first team that Sinbad and company faced in the movie.
Denver South - With Travis Hallam, Chase Hallam, Royce O'Neale,Chris Udofia and Cam Griffin all hailing from the Lone Star State (or Whataburger State, according to Chase), the Pioneers are expecting quite a bit of support this evening.
The team's ticket list has long been maxed out, and rumor has it that buses and caravans are heading this way from Killeen, Mesquite and Irving. And the Pioneers are looking forward to having the support of those cheering sections.
Tonight also likely marks Travis Hallam's final basketball game in the state of Texas. Travis will be playing in his 111th career game tonight and is on pace to finish just behind Brian Stafford for the most and second most games anyone has played during his Denver career.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 16
Total Mileage by Air - 8,395
Total Mileage by Bus - 1, 161
Total Number of Hotels - 9
Total Number of Different Airports - 12
Total Number of Airline Delays - 6
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Attempts at Parking the Plane at the Gate - 3
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Louisiana-Monroe - 1/19/12
MONROE, La. - The more experienced members of the travel
squad had some flashbacks yesterday when we arrived at the Monroe Regional
Airport.
Three years ago, the Pioneers landed, went to baggage claim and stood idly while two suitcases circled the conveyer belt. Nobody in the DU travel party got their luggage until the next afternoon (see blog from 2009).
Last night, the team landed about 9 p.m. after a stop in Dallas, and half the team - including four starters - stood at baggage claim with anxious looks and no bags in sight.
It was a strange scene, too, because Monroe just built a brand new terminal with every tile sparkling. However, they have not gotten around to building a baggage claim yet, so there's a roped off area in a corner with a sign, and the baggage handlers drive a cart up and carry each bag in.
The airline representative indicated that there were no more bags on the plane. She made a short call on her radio and discovered that there were indeed a few more in the cargo hold, so 15 minutes later, everyone was happily wheeling their belongings to the team bus.
Monroe is without a doubt one of the more difficult places in the Sun Belt Conference to reach from Denver. It involves a flight to either Dallas or Houston, followed by a regional jet to Monroe.
Actually, regional jet was not the correct descriptor yesterday. After the team piled onto the small plane, the propellers started.
Freshman Jake Logan leaned forward and asked senior Travis Hallam, "It's not going to be this loud the entire flight, is it?"
Hallam smiled and replied, "It will stop in an hour or so." He didn't mention that the flight was only 40 minutes.
As we make this final tour of the Sun Belt, there's somewhat of a mental checklist of towns to which DU likely will not return.
Monroe, however, might be in the travel plans in the future. Future WAC opponent Louisiana Tech is in Ruston, La., which is roughly 35 miles west of Monroe. The next closest airport is Shreveport, about an hour farther than Monroe.
In other words, the Pioneers may enjoy the amenities of the Monroe Regional Airport, including its old school baggage claim, for years to come.
As mentioned in previous blogs, the team generally stays in West Monroe at a nice, well-maintained hotel across Mane Street (yes, that's spelled correctly) from the Ag Expo.
Aside from a John Deere dealer and miniature golf course, which has been closed all but once in our many visits, there's not much around the hotel.
Sophomore Chris Udofia said that he went looking for a gas station to buy some snacks last night. He took two steps outside the hotel exit, did a complete 360 and then walked back inside after he realized he could see miles of emptiness.
Celebrity Among Us? - While walking through TSA, the agent took the driver's license from "The Voice" Mitch Hyder and checked the information. As he handed it back, he said almost under his breath, "I enjoy listening to you on the radio." Then he quickly took the ID from the next person in line.
About Louisiana-Monroe - On Joe Scott and his coaching staff's first trip to Monroe, La., five years ago, Scott turned around on the bus and asked Hyder and trainer Pat Hoxsey how to get to Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"Take a right at the turquois and pink, drive-thru daiquiri stand," the both said in unison.
They weren't kidding. That's the landmark, which is easy to spot even though nobody in the group has ever actually been there.
About a mile later, you take a left over a bridge on a part of a tributary that the ULM club water skiing team uses for practice. One year, we noticed a fairly gigantic water moccasin sunbathing on the ski ramp.
Needless to say, this place is a little different than Denver. However, like every place we travel, the people of Monroe are exceptionally friendly.
And a few alumni from ULM have gone on to pretty big things.
Ben Sheets pitched here before winning an Olympic gold medal and advancing to a career in Major League Baseball. Tim Brando earned his undergraduate degree here before heading to CBS Sports. Tim McGraw was here before moving on to country superstardom and marrying Faith Hill. (And, as the blog pointed out last year, Hurricane from American Gladiators went to Louisiana-Monroe.)
More recently, as the electronic message board outside Fant-Ewing Coliseum excitedly lets everyone know, Miss Louisiana Hope Anderson finished in the top 15 at Miss America last week. In fact, the last three Miss Louisianas are ULM alumnae.
As for ULM basketball, they have struggled this season and are hoping to break a 15-game home losing streak against the Pioneers tonight.
The team that started that streak? You guessed it. The Denver Pioneers, who hope to stretch it to 16 games this evening.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 15
Total Mileage by Air - 8,205
Total Mileage by Bus - 994
Total Number of Hotels - 8
Total Number of Different Airports - 11
Total Number of Airline Delays - 5
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Bags Almost Lost - 11
Three years ago, the Pioneers landed, went to baggage claim and stood idly while two suitcases circled the conveyer belt. Nobody in the DU travel party got their luggage until the next afternoon (see blog from 2009).
Last night, the team landed about 9 p.m. after a stop in Dallas, and half the team - including four starters - stood at baggage claim with anxious looks and no bags in sight.
It was a strange scene, too, because Monroe just built a brand new terminal with every tile sparkling. However, they have not gotten around to building a baggage claim yet, so there's a roped off area in a corner with a sign, and the baggage handlers drive a cart up and carry each bag in.
The airline representative indicated that there were no more bags on the plane. She made a short call on her radio and discovered that there were indeed a few more in the cargo hold, so 15 minutes later, everyone was happily wheeling their belongings to the team bus.
Monroe is without a doubt one of the more difficult places in the Sun Belt Conference to reach from Denver. It involves a flight to either Dallas or Houston, followed by a regional jet to Monroe.
Actually, regional jet was not the correct descriptor yesterday. After the team piled onto the small plane, the propellers started.
Freshman Jake Logan leaned forward and asked senior Travis Hallam, "It's not going to be this loud the entire flight, is it?"
Hallam smiled and replied, "It will stop in an hour or so." He didn't mention that the flight was only 40 minutes.
As we make this final tour of the Sun Belt, there's somewhat of a mental checklist of towns to which DU likely will not return.
Monroe, however, might be in the travel plans in the future. Future WAC opponent Louisiana Tech is in Ruston, La., which is roughly 35 miles west of Monroe. The next closest airport is Shreveport, about an hour farther than Monroe.
In other words, the Pioneers may enjoy the amenities of the Monroe Regional Airport, including its old school baggage claim, for years to come.
As mentioned in previous blogs, the team generally stays in West Monroe at a nice, well-maintained hotel across Mane Street (yes, that's spelled correctly) from the Ag Expo.
Aside from a John Deere dealer and miniature golf course, which has been closed all but once in our many visits, there's not much around the hotel.
Sophomore Chris Udofia said that he went looking for a gas station to buy some snacks last night. He took two steps outside the hotel exit, did a complete 360 and then walked back inside after he realized he could see miles of emptiness.
Celebrity Among Us? - While walking through TSA, the agent took the driver's license from "The Voice" Mitch Hyder and checked the information. As he handed it back, he said almost under his breath, "I enjoy listening to you on the radio." Then he quickly took the ID from the next person in line.
About Louisiana-Monroe - On Joe Scott and his coaching staff's first trip to Monroe, La., five years ago, Scott turned around on the bus and asked Hyder and trainer Pat Hoxsey how to get to Fant-Ewing Coliseum.
"Take a right at the turquois and pink, drive-thru daiquiri stand," the both said in unison.
They weren't kidding. That's the landmark, which is easy to spot even though nobody in the group has ever actually been there.
About a mile later, you take a left over a bridge on a part of a tributary that the ULM club water skiing team uses for practice. One year, we noticed a fairly gigantic water moccasin sunbathing on the ski ramp.
Needless to say, this place is a little different than Denver. However, like every place we travel, the people of Monroe are exceptionally friendly.
And a few alumni from ULM have gone on to pretty big things.
Ben Sheets pitched here before winning an Olympic gold medal and advancing to a career in Major League Baseball. Tim Brando earned his undergraduate degree here before heading to CBS Sports. Tim McGraw was here before moving on to country superstardom and marrying Faith Hill. (And, as the blog pointed out last year, Hurricane from American Gladiators went to Louisiana-Monroe.)
More recently, as the electronic message board outside Fant-Ewing Coliseum excitedly lets everyone know, Miss Louisiana Hope Anderson finished in the top 15 at Miss America last week. In fact, the last three Miss Louisianas are ULM alumnae.
As for ULM basketball, they have struggled this season and are hoping to break a 15-game home losing streak against the Pioneers tonight.
The team that started that streak? You guessed it. The Denver Pioneers, who hope to stretch it to 16 games this evening.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 15
Total Mileage by Air - 8,205
Total Mileage by Bus - 994
Total Number of Hotels - 8
Total Number of Different Airports - 11
Total Number of Airline Delays - 5
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 4
Total Number of Bags Almost Lost - 11
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