MONROE, La. – What
would a basketball team do if it showed up for a road game and had no shoes or
uniforms? That’s the question the Pioneers face today after a certain airline
(let’s just say it flies the American skies) left all 25 of the team’s bags in
Dallas. In case you’re wondering, the travel party comprised 21 of the plane’s
50 seats, and there are only two daily flights between Dallas and Monroe.
After assistant coach Jon Jordan, quite possibly the most
patient man on the planet, sat on hold with the airline for two hours, there is
hope that the team’s equipment will arrive on the first flight at 1:33 p.m.
While that means the players have no shoes or practice gear in time for the
scheduled shoot around at noon, at least they would have uniforms and shoes by
game time.
That’s better than a thought by an airline representative,
who suggested the team buy enough shoes and gear for five players, since only
five are on the court at a time. Apparently, each substitute would then trade
clothes with the guy coming off the court.
In the meantime, everyone is hanging out, waiting at the
Hilton Garden Inn, which has been incredibly helpful in the situation, even
running out to get enough toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and contact lens
solution for everybody. We are open to suggestions on what to wear at the Fant
tonight. Feel free to send e-mails to michael.kennedy@du.edu,
if you have any ideas.
Who Wants Frozen
Custard?: As most Denver basketball fans know, the Pioneers ended “The Streak” on Saturday,
winning on the road for the first time in 43 consecutive road games. However,
it should be pointed out that the 2008-09 squad was responsible for only a
small fraction of that with a 12-game streak. In fact, only two people in DU’s
travel party have been there for all 43 games, and one of those guys is trainer
Pat Hoxsey, who also has seen an
awful lot of road victories in 15 years in the job.
People have asked whether the team reacted like they had won
a championship. The answer? They slapped a few high fives, shook hands with
Arkansas State and walked into the locker room, just like they always do at
home. Of course, the coaches did want to reward the players, so head coach Joe Scott told the bus driver to pull
into a frozen custard stand just down the road from the arena, and everyone
loaded up with milkshakes and malts. Needless to say, it could not have tasted
better.
Now, the torch of the road losing streak is passed on to
Sacramento State (36-straight) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (31-straight).
The Pioneers, meanwhile, are going for their second-straight road win and
four-consecutive win overall, at the Fant-Ewing Arena tonight.
About Monroe: Recently
Monroe, La., has found a name for itself on the HBO show “True Blood.” While we
have not run across any vampires, we can tell you that ULM is the alma mater of
country singer Tim McGraw, baseball All-Stars Ben Sheets and Chuck Finley, and Breaux
Greer. Who is Breaux Greer, you ask? That would be Hurricane from American
Gladiators. According to the NBC website, “Run for cover as fast as you can
whenever Hurricane blows into Gladiator Arena. Appearing without warning and
striking with enough energy to blow down a mountain, those contenders unlucky
enough to cross his path will experience a truly perfect storm of sheer
athletic prowess and destructive Gladiator instinct” (http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/bios/hurricane.shtml).
With the potential for a storm like that, the risk of vampires appears
considerably less fearsome. (Thanks to ULM sports information director Jeff
Hendrix for providing that vital piece of information.)
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 22
Total Mileage Flown
– 21,471
Total Bus Miles –
1,892
Total Number of Hotels – 18
Total Number of
Different Airports – 15
Total Number of
Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of
Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags
Lost Yesterday – 25 (of 25)
Total Number of Bags
Lost This Year – 28
Total Number of the
Travel Party that Showed up at Breakfast in the Same Clothes They Wore
Yesterday – 21 (of 21)
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