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Thursday, February 18
6:39 PM – We are at the arena and set up. Degs called about a half hour ago and said that he was on the ground but I don't think he will make it in time for pre-game so it's just me to kick things off.
In addition to Bonner mentioning Doug Hauschild here at Dayton - we also get to catch up with one of our favorite opponent broadcast crews in Larry Hansgen and Bucky Bockhorn. Class acts and good buddies over the years. OK - better get ready to go live. Sorry if there are typos on this - I will catch them later
3:57 PM – I am just about to start getting changed to head to the arena. As we were wrapping up team meal George Levesque popped in the room. He is doing some work in the lobby after making a sales call in Cincinnati so I am going to get ready early so I can spend some time with him before we head out.
Before meal I got a call from Degs who told me that his layover flight out of Detroit has been bumped and he won't be in the air until 4:00 PM. Looks like he is going to be arriving to the game right under the wire. Bonner better get the pipes tuned up just in case. . . - Kale
3:07 PM – NO!!!!!! We lost in the eleventh end! Shuster!!!!!
2:29 PM – The slump continues . . . Rodney and I just can't catch any cards. Spades is like any other card game. . . if you don't have the high cards . . . there isn't much you can do. We got set back in the second hand and that was the difference:
Parrish & T.T.: 376
Kale & Rod: 233
That's four straight losses and no fun.
The guys let me watch curling while I was in there. T.T. thought it was interesting. Parrish couldn't believe it and wondered how you "prep" for match. He also couldn't believe there were people cheering and screaming in the crowd. Right now, U.S. is tied 5-5 with the last throw in the 9th end . . .- Kale
1:22 PM – I just got off the treadmill after about a 50 minute workout. It was supposed to be just 45 but I got preoccupied (I will explain later).
The workout facility is remodelled and very sharp. They have these tremendous treadmills that have TV's and you can dock your IPOD into the console and then it displays your playlist.
My plan was to listen to music while reading a Rolling Stone story on Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. It took me exactly one paragraph to realize that I wasn't functionally capable of doing this. So, I flipped through the channels on the TV while listening to the iPOD and settled on watching CURLING. U.S.A. vs. Denmark. Seriously. So, even though my workout was done, I had to stand on the treadmill and watch the end of game 5.
I only somewhat know the sport and I didn't have audio so I could only guess what was happening. However, if I recall correctly, it's basically a human-sized version of shuffleboard . . . on ice. So, I am watching, and listening to tunes and next thing you know I am cheering out loud when the U.S. makes a nice throw/sweep. Honestly. At first, no one was in the room so it didn't matter but then a guy got on the treadmil next to me. It didn't matter - I was still cheering . . . out loud . . . over the headphones. This stuff is really fun. I'll say it . . . I want to try curling. I love shuffleboard . . . I wish I was talented enough to play ice hockey . . . this seems like the perfect match!
Does anyone know where I can get a "Shuster" U.S.A. Olympic Curling jersey?
Just before I headed to the gym Bonner called me and told me that Rodney was looking for me for a game of spades. As soon as I got back to the room he knocked on my door. I will head over there as soon as I am done with this but I am making them put the curling match on while we are playing cards. Right now, it is tied at 3-3 in game 6. That request ought to go over well.
Here's the iPOD list (IT WAS A GREAT MUSIC DAY):
Crowded House "Tombstone", Pete Yorn "For Nancy", Midnight Oil "The Dead Heart", Foo Fighters "Generator", The Police "Next to You (Live)", Social Distortion "Through these Eyes", Weezer "The Good Life", Editors "Lights", Twilight Singers "Teenage Wristband", The Pretenders "Mystery Achievement", Eric Johnson "Trademark", Manic Street Preachers "Rendition", Screaming Trees "Nearly Lost You"
PS - I concur fully with Kevin's comments on Tommy Mac and Doug Hauschild. - Kale
11:47 AM – The team had a spirited walk-through at UD Arena this morning. It was light to conserve the legs, but I really thought the team looked good. Coach agreed when he addressed the team on the bus when we arrived back at the hotel.
I spent most of practice talking with Tom McCarthy, who is doing play by play for tonight. Tom is one of the great guys in the business and has worked hard to move up from being the PR guy for the Trenton Thunder to calling the Phillies. We go back from my days at St. Joe's and it is always good to see him on the road.
I will also get to see one of the best SIDs in the business, Dayton's Doug Hauschild, tonight. He's been at UD for over 25 years (I think) and received the Bob Kentworth Community Service Award from CoSIDA this summer, which is when I last saw him. Will be good to see, and learn from, one of the best around this evening.
Going to try to get some work done before pre-game meal at 3 PM. With only one business day to turn around notes and prepare for St. Bonnies, I'm trying to get ahead today.- Kevin
10:20 AM – After a 10:00 AM breakfast in the hotel -the team is off to shoot-around at UD Arena. I opted to stay back as there is a boatload of email to catch up on and calls to make. Maybe Bonner will give you an update from the arena.
We are looking forward to seeing good friend George Levesque later today here in Dayton and Steve Degler is also scheduled to arrive some time today. This should make for a good experience. George has been with us in Charleston, Oklahoma State, Kansas City and now here. We love seeing him.
I think Kevin did a real nice job on the air with me Sunday and I am sure we will have him do it again if the need arises but it will be nice to have my partner back on the headsets tonight. Steve is so solid and really has a great eveness that he brings to my at-times mania on the air. It also takes a lot off my mind when I know he is there to help wth the set-up, break-down and pre and post game shows. I think we have Degs with us the rest of the season now - which is great.
I will get my run in later and give the anticipated (by some anyway) IPOD report but I have to tell you that the hotel restaurant at breakfast had a great soundtrakc kicking this morning . . . if you like 80's pop-rock . . . that is. As my good friend and Penn SID Mike Mahoney likes to say - DJ on Fire! - Kale
Wednesday, February 17
10:35 PM – Finally checked into the hotel . . . doesn't look like any spades game tonight as things ran so late and it's been a long day.
Dinner was at Longhorm steak house and very good. Sean Neal took everyone's order ahead of time so when we got there we had assigned seating and the meals were fast to arrive. I sat next to Devon and Kevin Bonner and across from Rodney and Parrish. These guys are really funny. Probably my highlight came from the end of the table where T.T., for some reason or another, asserted that you can eat stingray. Devon and Rodney felt like it was not edible and when looking for verification from me and Kevin we could only say, "maybe". Rod, simply concluded; "He can eat all the stingray he wants . . . but you won't catch me eatig any."
7:21 PM – We are in the practice facility at the University of Dayton. I am just now uploading the last four posts because my Sprint wireless card is not responding. I am not sure what the issue is but it is showing a red light just as it did on the Richmond trip. I am guessing that means bad news but I don’t know why or how to fix it. It self-corrected in Richmond – hope it does the same here.
I am glad I came in early this morning to get a swim workout in because I intended to run when we got here tonight but our delay has prevented that. Now, I will just run longer tomorrow since we are going right to dinner after practice.
Rodney and Parrish approached me in the airport and asked me if I brought the deck of cards. This inquiry was followed by speculation of whom Parrish would team with - since the injured Kimmani Barrett is not on the trip – and who I am going to take as my teammate next year when Rod is gone. One thing I know for sure, with Kimmani not on the trip, Rod and I won’t suffer our third straight loss to that team . . . as Rod said in the airport “We need to stop a couple of losing streaks out here.” . . . - Kale
4:13 PM – More airport problems . . . our plane was supposed to take off at 4:05 but was late coming in from Columbus and then had some maintenance. As I began this posting they just announced pre-boarding for the flight. It’s going to be tough to get to practice in time when we arrive at Dayton . . . - Kale
3:15 PM – Just wrapped up lunch with the standard bourbon chicken. I fasted until now and was very hungry by the time we finally got to the airport. I decided to mix it up a bit and add pepper steak as my second item – Coach G. added orange chicken as his second. Very good representation of the timeless classic – the pepper steak was a great complement! - Kale
2:15 PM– Navigating the snow-packed side streets in the immediate La Salle neighborhood with a shuttle bus was challenging . . . add in construction at the Wayne Junction intersection and it took a lot longer to get out of Germantown than usual . . . - Kale
2:05 PM - We are heading to the airport in the shuttle. Interesting thing happened before we departed . . . I stood in front and waited for the bus to fill before taking a seat. I don’t mind cramming in next to someone or sitting askew as long as the players get seated. If worse case scenario happens and we don’t have enough room, I can always just drive myself or get a ride. So, I was standing there and waiting for the shuttle to fill up because it usually is a tight fit depending on who is travelling . . . and the Sean Neal announces to the driver that we are prepared to leave. It didn’t make sense because there were still a few unoccupied seats . . . then I realized . . . there is a significant number less bodies than the last time we flew . . . - Kale
9:18 AM - One quick follow-up to last night's show - thanks to Owen Black of the swim team who called in from Buffalo where the Explorer men and women are kicking off A-10 championships today. GO GET 'EM! Best of luck to our swimmers for a great meet and hopes that they come home champions! - Kale
8:45 AM - I want to send a huge shout out to the many fans and friends of Explorer Basketball who came out to what was the best Dr. John Giannini Show of the season last night at the Ugly Moose. We usually budget for about three commercial breaks but are not obligated to take any. Last night I took only one and that was only because there was a backlog of incoming mail that I wasn't able to pre-read and needed the time to catch up. Otherwise, we could have kept live for the full hour.
We got to see a lot of our good loyal friends that haven't made it out in a while and, of course, our regulars were as reliable as ever. Thanks everybody for a great time. Oh - also Tuesday's are crab leg night at the Moose and Suz and I attacked a whole pile of them after the show. I believe the deal is all-you-can-eat for $18. We are back there on March 2 for the final show - so come out for the hoops talk and the crab legs! - Kale
7:30 AM - Got in early for a quick swim since we will be leaving for the airport later today and will have an abbreviated day in the office. There is lots to do before we head to the airport with an upcoming Explorer Club Officers meeting, a Gold Rush, and Alumni Athlete Day this Sunday for the St. Bonaventure game.
I know the Blogs have been a little lame of late but Kevin and I have been adapting to new roles and I just am not as accessible to a laptop as I once was. This trip looks like it will give us more opportunity to keep the blog updated.
- Kale
