Nike Las Vegas

Flying to Las Vegas for the Nike Championship Basketball clinic.
Looking foward to three days of basketball talk and a little warm
weather too. I'll try and post a few updates as the weekend moves along.

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Basketball Dry Spell

Just doesn't seem right to not have a college game on tv for 9 more months. Next basketball outing will be the Nike Championship Coaching Clinic in Las Vegas in May.

The Championship

Not looking good for Michigan State early. If MSU doesn't get some stops, take care of the ball, and knock down some shots this thing is going to be over by half. North Carolina is such a good spurt team and doesn't get enough credit for their defense.
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Final Four

One great game last night in Michigan State knocking off U. Conn. Nova and UNC had its moments, but fell way short of what I had hoped. Nova just couldn't knock down 3s and UNC pretty much played on cruise control. Hoping for a great championship game on Monday night. Hi Emma.
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High School Basketball

Watching Oak Hill play Findlay Prep. Wow! The talent on the floor for these two teams is amazing. Oak Hill appears to be going down for their first and only lose of the year. I can't imagine playing 40 games at the high school level. What a great advantage over the typical public school team.
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What a Ride

Great game between Michigan State and USC to end the day. We left the cities a few hours ago and should be in Fargo at 11:00. Driving in some pretty heavy rain and wind, so it is slowing us just a bit. Big decision is when I get home. Do I go to bed for two hours? We'll see.
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Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk, KU

Would love to hear the chant in the Phog someday. Rock, chalk, jayhawk, KU! 60-43 KU. Played terrible, but well enough to pull away.
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KU Up at Half

KU up 6 at the half, but shooting poorly and terrible from the free throw line. Need to get Cole more touches and knock down some shots in the second half. Dayton band director went and put his sparkled suit on. Amazing!
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Getting Ready

Dayton Pep Band is amazing. The director is nuts, but man do they have fun. Why can't MSU? Eyeing some better seats and will try and move up in a few.
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Sunday Madness

I have been reading all of the back stories that go into today's games in the Star Tribune this morning. We are leaving soon to catch the light rail to the Dome. Hoping for two great games today and even better roads driving the 9 hours home.
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Rest Day

Enjoying a day of rest between the first and second rounds here in Minneapolis. We slept in a bit and did some shopping before settling in and watching games on tv. Sunday brings KU vs Dayton and Michigan state vs USC. Hoping for good games as they have all been great so far.
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Long Day

Driving back to our hotel now. Long day, but a great one. Going to watch games on tv Saturday and just hang out. Two more games on Sunday and then the drive home through the night.
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Mouse in the House

There is a mouse running around in the row in front of us.
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Last Game of the Day

Michigan State and Robert Morris. RMU playing with a lot of heart and hustle and keeping it close. Michigan State really likes to push the ball.
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USC Moves On

USC pulls the upset and moves on. Taj Gibson has the best hops I have ever seen in person. Everything is above the rim. The added bonus to USC playing again is their dance squad. Oh my!
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Session 2

USC vs BC. Should be a good one tonight. We ran into the USC cheerleaders earlier. They score very high marks by the way. We ran to Burger King down the street a few blocks between sessions. Pretty quick turn around between games. This place has a pretty small crowd 20 minutes before the game. We should be able to move into some really good seats hopefully. You can tell who is for supporting USC. Yes, there's a look, but I suppose we look like four rubes.
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Upset

A little March madness with Dayton beating West Virginia. Wanted to see an upset this weekend.
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Song Selection

West Virginia band playing John Denver's "Take me Home". Is that song to play down 5 with 3:20 left? Ha ha
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Dayton

Dayton still leading and playing with a lot of energy. West Virginia has done nothing but complain and beg for calls. They have that we're big time attitude.
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Dayton?

Besides having a goofy band that keeps changing hats, Dayton looks like they want to pull the upset. Of West Virginia. 33-28 at the half. By the scoreboards around here it looks like some close games going on right now. Dayton's band is goofy, but they do have fun.
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Came Up Short

Bison lost by 10, but what an effort. I think they proved they belong and Woodside did more than that. NDSU couldn't stop the big guy. Almost a great story. Well, on to the next game. Dayton vs West Virginia.
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Down 7

3:52 to play. What a great game. Three more to go after this Scott just reminded me. Looking for a Woodside miracle. He has 32 points.
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Down 5

62-57 with 7:57 to play. This has to be the best game on right now. Ben Woodside is amazing. Need to stop the big guy.
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Still Hanging

11:48 56-52. Woodside just had an amazing finish with a foul. Crowd is carrying them and will explode soon.
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A run

A run to open the half. Not ready to come yet. KU timeout. Crowd is going nuts.
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Down 9

Down 9 at the half. Still a game and that's all the Bison could have asked for. KU can't guard Woodside. They have tried several people and he has turned the corner on every one of them. Need to keep shooting the 3 as they won't get many inside looks.
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Hanging Tough

Hanging tough so far. KU is freaking amazingly athletic in transition. Trail by 2 with 6:47 in the first half left. Anybody still reading this. Shoot me an email if you are as I can't see comments. Go Bison, every tourney needs a cinderella.
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Souvenirs

The answer to the question as to what souvenirs I have bought, the answer is a program. Not really in the budget to buy any for myself, let alone anybody else. I may buy a t-shirt too, but that will be it. Being here is the thrill.
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One Hour

One hour to game time and getting pretty excited. The seats aren't bad, but I doubt anybody would see us on TV. Bands have started playing and NDSU and KU have taken the court and started their warm-ups. You can feel the electricity in the air and you do see a lot of green and gold. I'm just hoping for good games all day today.
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Gates Open at 10

Gates open at 10, but Bison fans out number KU fans 10 to 1 easily.
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Light Rail

Sitting on the train now. Earlier post was sent before I finished. We got lost in traffic due to some road construction. Not a long delay, but a few extra minutes and a little sitting in traffic because of it. Need a GPS! We used Google Maps and the data connection on my cell phone to find our way, so it worked ok. Still want to buy a GPS! :-) Off to the dome to stand in line.
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Stuck in Traffic

Missed an exit due to road
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Good Morning

We were up by 6 for breakfast and are getting ready to head out here shortly. We are going to head to one of the light rail stations to park and take the train to the Metrodome. Going a bit early because they are expecting a crunch of people at the Will Call window. The Dome seats 33,000 for basketball. I doubt there will be that many people. I'm guessing 16,000-20,000. Will report more later. Should be an amazing day.
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A Few Wrong Turns

After a few wrong turns we made it to the hotel. Time to have a drink and maybe a trip to the hot tub to loosen up my muscles after sitting for 8 hours.
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Getting Close

A lot of driving, but with no women in the car we haven't had to stop much. Just kidding. Following games on our cell phones and getting close to the Twin Cities. We should be at our hotel in time to catch the end of the last games today and watch highlights.
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On the Road

Well, we are off and kind of in basketball withdraw. Games are on tv, but stuck driving for another few hours. I guess that's why they have highlight shows. In the mean time, we are using our phones to track multiple games and news. Will report our progress later.
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Hitting the Road

Upset stomach and all hitting the road in a few minutes for Minneapolis.

24 Hours and Counting

We leave for Minneapolis in 24 hours. I have a lot to get done before we leave, but can't seem to concentrate. I regret not leaving today a little bit and watching all of the practices sessions on Thursday, but that would have just been way to long to be gone.
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Test

Testing being able to post via e-mail. All posts on this blog will be posted via e-mail using a cell phone, so live with typing mistakes.
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Tickets, we got tickets!

Today, with a little planning and some begging, we landed tickets to the first and second round of the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Championship in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I'll be attending it with Pat Gerding, his son, and Scott DeLorme. It truly has been a dream to be able to attend the NCAA tournament and the reason for this blog. I want to try and capture my thoughts, feelings, and experineces at what I consider to be a special event.
Why is it special? Well for lots of reasons actually. One it will be the first time a team from North Dakota, NDSU, will compete in the tournamnet in theor very first year of eligiblity. Second, their opponent is the University of Kansas, which is my favorite team. Finally, it has always been a dream of mine to be able to attend this tournament. I have watched major college basketball games in person before, but never on a stage this large.
In treasured life experiences, such as getting married to a wonderful woman, having two beautiful kids, amazing family and friends, I know it seems silly to be this gaga, but this is one memory that I will cherish for many years.
We will leave on Thursday after work and drive to Coon Rapids where we will be staying during the tournament.