Sadly, we have said "so long" to our friend Dave. The team he was here to cover, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, are one and done in the NCAA's, having lost to Texas. What a terrific bonus to see him, though. It was an unlikely and welcome reunion.
The Longhorns will play Duke on Saturday. The Blue Devils held off a pesky squad of Binghamtom Bearcats to advance to the 2nd round..jpg)
The Greensboro Coliseum took on a darker tint of blue this evening. Somehow, the crowd from Carolina seemed a little larger and a little louder. I suspect on Saturday, when the Tar Heels' and Blue Devils' opponents are LSU and Texas, it will be pretty raucous in there. I'm really looking forward to it.
There is life in Greensboro outside of basketball, I suppose, even though I haven't found it yet. We have spent two evenings in a downtown landmark called Natty Greene's, a bar/ restaurant where they sell fifteen microbrews along with the steak, crab cakes and a big pile of nachos. It has HD big screens spread liberally around both floors, so how can you go wrong?
I feel a little out of place, an SEC guy in ACC country.
The scarcity of LSU fans isn't helping. Hopefully, more purple and gold people will show up in time for Saturday.
Maybe until then there will be time for sightseeing. Since we are neither on the coast nor in the mountains, the challenge will be figuring out what sights to see. I mean, Natty's is nice, but a little Greene goes a long way, especially when we're surrounded by blue.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
What's Going On in Greensboro
We're Sticking Around
(Greensboro, NC) - The LSU Tigers beat Butler in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and this means we get to hang around Beautiful Downtown Greensboro until Sunday morning.
LSU played well, but their next opponent is North Carolina, widely considered to be the best team in this region and one of the top four teams in the nation. So, we will enjoy the LSU season while it lasts.
As teams lose, the media following them start to clear out. So, there's a little more elbow room around here, even now. 
This is good, because close quarters and a lack of food were a sticky combination. A media person from Indianapolis got into a sarcasm match with a guy from New Orleans, which was simultaneously unsettling and amusing.
The cultural contrasts are worth noting. Midwest values versus South Louisiana sensibilities made for some interesting comparisions. The schools' cheer squads were remarkably different. Butler's girls were in traditional shirts and skirts, bascially in black and white. LSU's women were quintessentially golden, complete with skin-tight pants, bare midriffs and sparkle.
There's nothing to complain about here. We were sitting on the front row at center court, and you can't beat that. Now, the question is: can anybody beat the Tar Heels?
One more "small world" moment: we were sitting there in our center court seats and we noticed a guy nearby who looked really familiar.
We quickly realized it's Rick Hall, who used to be the head coach of the Continental Basketball Association team in Shreveport. He lived in our town in 1995-96. Now, he's an assistant coach at Radford, the team that lost to North Carolina. We got to spend time time with him catching up on his career. You never know who you'll run into on the road.
Quick Hitter from Greensboro
(Greensboro, NC) - We're less than a half-hour from the start of the NCAA basketball tournament, and the energy is picking up here in beautiful Greensboro. We had the opportunity to watch the LSU and Butler teams warm up on the court, but no photos were allowed. This is interesting, because there were fans in the stands firing away with their digital cameras. Go figure. You want to follow the rules, though, because who wants to get kicked out?
In the bowels of the coliseum where the media are forced to dwell, folks are getting a little cranky. There's no food available. Before you break out the tiny violins, keep in mind that everybody's working, they're stuck outside the arena in a cinderblock fortress and there's nowhere to go.
A reporter from Baton Rouge took the bold move of going into the arena to buy some "chicken fingers" at a concession stand. How daring. Soon, the basketball will begin and all of this hunger-induced angst will be forgotten.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Feeling Two Shades of Blue and a Little Purple
(Greensboro, NC)-Madness, indeed. How else would you describe driving fifteen hours overnight non-stop to watch basketball? That's exactly what my friend Tim and I have done, and so far it seems worth the trouble. The LSU basketball team is here for the NCAA Tournament.
So are the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Duke Blue Devils, the Texas Longhorns, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Three other schoools you probably never heard of are represtented here, too. I mean, everbody needs an opponent. All eight teams were in one building today, which means legendary coaches were prowling around.
We're here primarily for the Tigers, of course; but LSU is completely overshoawed by Duke and Carolina. Each of those teams attracted more than 5000 fans to the Greensboro Coliseum today for shoot-arounds. A shoot-around isn't really a practice; it's more of an exhibition. The players take to the court wearing shorts and practice jerseys in team colors and basically, well, shoot around.
Duke fans and Carolina fans hate each other's teams, so their appearences were well-spaced, with a Texas or a Radford or a Butler thrown somewhere in between. The players barely broke a sweat, but the cheers of their assembled faithful were ear-splitting nonetheless. The most piercing screams were for the Tar Heels' tough-as-nails senior Tyler Hansbrough, who seems to enjoy celebrity status on a level with certain rock stars.
To his credit, after the event he mixed in with the students and fans and signed autographs for an impressively long time.
Things get serious on Thursday with four games in one day in this building. LSU goes first, but we certainly plan to stick around to watch everyone.
If the Tigers win, they will likely play North Carolina next. That game would be on Saturday. If LSU loses to Butler, we will turn around and drive home Friday morning. Frankly, I hope LSU wins because I'm not looking forward to another fifteen hours on the road. At least pushing it back a couple of days would give us a chance to rest. Geaux Tigers.
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Tim and I ran into our old friend Dave, who is a sportcaster in Minneapolis these days. He's here to cover the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who play Texas. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to spend down time together. For that to happen, LSU and Minnesota would both need to win. Geaux Geauphers. 
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Digital TV Revolution
It took a couple of dry runs and an annoying number of phone calls to my technophile buddy, but I figured out this tangle of TV cables in my attic and actually added to it. The idea was to get the best possible "over the air" (OTA) signal to my fancy high definition (HD) TV's.
I am convinced that satellite TV is vastly superior to cable, but sadly satellite providers are not offering local stations in HD on their service. Now, don't go arguing with me that the cable companies do have local HD's, because there's no dispute. Point conceded. I can tell you, though, that a good, strong OTA HD signal is much better than the one provided after the signal is squeezed down and sent across miles and miles of cable. 
To meet my own HDTV demands, it was necessary to set up a Sattelite/ OTA combo. Thanks to the technophile and no thanks to the satellite installers, I was able to service three HDTV's with one antenna in the attic (with capacity for a fourth.) Awesome awesome awesome. This invloved using six little gizmos calls diplexers, two or three splitters and who knows how many jumpers (short cables), but it's all working fabulously and I have magnificent satellite and OTA High Definition. As a bonus, I'm even picking up some distant OTA signals not offered on the satellite service.
Trying to explain what's over the air and what's coming across the satellite dish to the rest of the family has proven to be a challenge, particularly for the young adults in the house who have never known life without cable or satellite.
All they know is since I moved the antenna from the living room into the attic (diplexers, whatever!), most of their favorite shows are reliably in HD. As long as they know what button to push and which remote control to use, that tangle of cables in the attic is just Dad's problem. 
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Afternoon Manliness
While these pixellated cell phone photos appear to be clandestine images of some militia training compound, nothing is further from the truth. What you see, instead, is a monumental event. These are hastily captured images of my first experience with firearms. Yes, I lived almost fifty years without firing a weapon.
Today, under threat of emasculation from my friend Andrew, I tagged along with him, his son and one of his friends to a shooting facility out in the country.
I am inclined to believe that calling these guys well armed would be an understatement, but I'm not sure that's true. Since I'm not really a gun guy, I have no real frame of reference on the degrees of individual armament. I know they brought along a vast array of weaponry, from handguns to old style rifles to semi-automatic assault weapons.
Determined to go big and then go home, I pulled the trigger on every single one of them. Along the way, Andrew's son asked me if I was excited. Hmm. No, I wasn't. I was absolutely neutral on the whole experience. I wasn't scared. Aside from being cold out there, I was comfortable. Those guys exercised an abundance of caution, perhaps because they had an utter novice in their company.
Interestingly, it appeared that I have better aim using my left eye. Now, I have loaded and emptied guns, an everyday event for some but a milestone for me. I'm not planning to spool up and start packing heat, but I'm glad I have some experience. You never know when it might work to your benefit.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
I DIdn't Get My Nap
This being the first day of Daylight Saving Time in 2009, I planned to nap in the afternoon to offset the "lost hour" of sleep. Instead, I wound up in the Great Outdoors rescuing young pine trees.
A couple of years ago, out on the land, we planted a stand of pine. We have been patiently watching them grow and they've been doing so reliably. It's starting to smell piney out there in the woods.
Some kind of weather phenomenon blew a few of them over. It was intersting to see, because there was a discernable pattern in the fallen saplings. I assume it was weather. It might have been a supernatural force similar to that which forms crop circles in England, but that seems farfetched. 
So, instead of sleeping, I spent an afternoon staking trees. My father and I straightened them and strapped 'em up. At one point, it dawned on me that I was using skills I learned long ago: making ropes, tying knots, lashing: Boy Scouts!
Maybe in a few years, we can camp out under those pines. I guess that's when I can catch up on my sleep.
Best Commercial ever
If I didn't already have a MasterCard, I'd go get one because I love the latest commercial so much. How did they do it? I don't know. But the idea of a dinner party including The Gorton's fisherman, Count Chocula, The Morton's Salt girl, Charlie the Tuna, Mr. Peanut, The Vlasic stork, and Chef Boyardee is just inspired. Throw in Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury doughbhoy walking around on the table, that's just plain funny. And then, the idea that the Jolly Green Giant is so big he can't come in, but waves at everybody through the window...That just floors me. I guess he can't say "Ho Ho Ho" if he leaves the valley.
While the MasterCard narrator goes through his list of prices on his way to saying "Getting everybody together for dinner: Priceless," the dinner table conversation goes on. 
At one pause in the narration, the Gorton's fisherman (off camera) asks Count Chocula, "How's Frankenberry?" That is so subtle yet so brilliant. I'm just a little disappointed they didn't bring up the lightly-regarded BooBerry.
When dinner is over, Charlie clears the dishes and takes them into the kitchen to discover Mr. Clean in there ready to was them.
I'm not sure what they're serving. Creepily, tuna casserole, I think. Pickles, dinner rolls and meatloaf seem to be on the table. I guess they had peanuts with the drinks, and there was probably some kind of pasta in there (unless the Chef is just a guest, but he has hit hat on!). There has to be some kind of fish. Everything is salty enough, to be sure....even the vegetables from the valley.
If anybody spends the night, they're having chocolaty cereal for breakfast, to be sure. It's a party I wish I had been invited to.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Who's That Guy With the Camera?
Over the last couple of years, I've snapped a few photos. I've grown fond of saying "I'm not a photographer. I'm just a guy with a camera." This certainly is true. There are many fine legitimate photographers who produce magnificent art with their cameras. I occasionally stumble onto a moderatley pleasing image.
This week, I was thrilled and honored when a local facility rounded up a few of my photos, had them matted and framed, and hung them in a hallway. 
The images seem to be serious business. They are protected by some kind of special glass which minimizes fading and the nice man who mounted the photos used 'security" hardware, whatever that means. As if anyone would stroll by and lift one of these things to hang above the sofa.
All that being said, I have to admit it's a neat feeling to have my little hobby affirmed in this way. It makes me want to walk down the hall.
Hot and Steamy
The house "update" project is ongoing. New curtains have been ordered. Can complementary bedding be far behind? Until all of this is properly in place, many of the newly painted walls remain bare, a Spartan circumstance which occasionally leaves me feeling somewhat like an inmate (but just a little). Even the kitchen feels a little naked, despite new floors, countertops, backsplash, sink, and fixtures. The cabinets have been stained, giving the place a completely new look and feel. We're really pleased with all of it. There is one little gizmo which stands out, though.
It's a dispenser for "nearly boiling" water, an innovation we had to push our contractor to install.
There's a little self-contained water heater under the sink and from this faucet comes water which is perfect for tea or instant coffee. The water is also hot enough to help with stuff baked onto pots, pans and plates.
In an instant gratification kind of way, this is a real bonus. No more waiting for the water to boil. Sadly, the kettle has been rendered superfluous. It is exiled to the dark reaches of the pantry, where it waits in lonely silence longing for a day when it can again produce enough steam to produce a low whistle. This has long been a clear sign that an energizing hot beverage or maybe a batch of dumplings can't be far away. But now, thanks to 21st-century thinking, we're sipping something steamy a little sooner.
My Wife the Scofflaw
Never one to be bound by "rules" or "laws," my wife threw caution to the wind and boldly parked on the street outside a local nursing school this week. As this photo clearly shows, she is in violation of the local parking ordinances. Thank heavens for the alert officer who spotted this flagrant transgression and alertly dropped a ticket on her windshield.
Hang on a second. Which way is the arrow on that sign pointing? "No Parking Anytime...." Thisaway, not thataway! Would any reasonable person not come to the conclusion that, if you are parking on the non-pointy end of the arrow, you should be okay?
All sarcasm aside, she thought she was well within the Rules of Society parking where she parked. This whole thing has her flummoxed, miffed even. When I saw her, she wasn't exactly flush with anger, but her ears were a little pink. The fact that she took the time to snap photos of the crime scene with her BlackBerry should tell you everything you need to know about her reaction to this miscarriage of justice.
It's a fifteen dollar ticket. The easy thing to do would be to just pay the fine and move on. That usually would be her way, but this time she is stung by the injustice of it all. She plans to go "downtown" and press for an explanation. I've got her back on this one.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Shiver Me Timbers
You've got to do what you've ogt to do if you're trying to make minor league baseball successful in this town, as it was wildly so in the late 1980's and early 1990"s. Believe it or not, that was a long time ago.
I have stayed silent on this since they revealed this guy and announced his name, but I remain silent no more. The history of the name "Captains" has nothing to do with pirates or Johnny Depp movies. It has everything to do with the guy our city is named after, Captain Henry Miller Shreve. He was a riverboat Captain who history tells us was perfectly honest and honorable, not to mention reliable.
It's clear the baseball team's management has no sense of our city's history. This incarnation of The Captain flies in the face of all of that.
I hope my feelings don't matter. I want them to be successful. We're all better off if they are. In order to be so, the guys who are running the enterprise need to learn a lot more about the place they now call home.
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Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Fish Out of Water
The 2009 Bassmasters Classic is behind us, and we are told it was a record setting week. More than 100,000 people saw some part of the event over three days, according to the event's organizers. To me that is just incredible. I read in the paper that on Saturday, the fire marshall would not let any more people into our arena, which seats 12,000 or so and holds even more with people on the floor. Although this kind of thing doesn't interest me at all, I had to see it to believe it. So, I used my familiarity with the arena to shoehorn my way in and I was just blown away..JPG)
Aside from the sheer numbers, it was interesting to observe the demeanor of the attendees. They were thrilled to watch their angler heroes roll in and present their day's catch to be weighed. It was that simple: Ride in your boat as it is towed behind a pickup truck, put your fish on the scale, get the weight, get interviewed and get on your way. Next! Do it again...and the breathless thousands were having the time of their lives..JPG)
More power to them. I left after five fishermen and was happy to get home.
I had also read that more than 60,000 people went into our convention center on Saturday for a bass fishing expo. So, I had to see that, too. Having been there for about a half-hour, seeing the crowd and the cars and the vendors, I believe it.
Let me rephrase: I can accept that figure as true, but I still can't really believe it.
As long as I had decided to be out and about, I decided to immerse myself in full citizen participation. I went to an affternoon Mardi Gas parade..JPG)
The atmosphere was lively and light-hearted. People were having a great time. So, it was a positive day and I was about to assuage my guilt about my own abject apathy.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
It's a Really Big Event, They Tell Me
It's a multi-day fishapalooza, "the Daytona 500 of Bass Fishing," and it's happening right here in the home town this weekend. Since the Daytona 500 is "the Super Bowl of NASCAR," the logic linkage tells me something. So it is that tens of thousands of people are showing up in our nice arena to watch fifty men and one woman weigh fish.
The 2009 Bassmaster Classic is getting Shreveport and Bossier City a lot of attention. We are in a "twin cities" situation and the Red River runs through it. In the Red River are trophy-class bass and these 51 competitors aim to find them, hook them, weigh them and take home untold riches because of it.
I actually understand all of that. It's pretty straightforward. I understand the incalculable benefit of having an inernational event of this magnitude in our towns. It means international multimedia exposure, including many hours of coverage on ESPN2. There's nothing wrong with that and there's a whole lot right with it.
What I don't get is why people, thousands of people, stand in line eagerly awaiting the opening of the doors to the arena so they can jam into the place to watch the Fabulous 51 flash their fish.
I have been to this sort of thing before. This weekend's event is the most significant of its kind, but when you get right down to it they're just weighing fish! I didn't grasp the attraction on a smaller scale. Now that it's as big as it gets, the only thing that's larger for me is my puzzlement.
Shuttle buses are running between multiple locations. Visitors have come from near and far to be a part of this like...well, the Daytona 500 or the Super Bowl.
I have been unsuccessful in my quest to muster up any enthusiasm about this. I'm feeling the guilt of being a Terrible Citizen becasue I am not participating in this in any way.
I will celebrate our area's success from the comfort of my house, check the internet for photos and turn the TV on to make sure the ESPN people are saying good things about us. I have several buddies who are just breathless about this thing and have been all up in it. I will go to lunch with them next week and let them tell me all about it. Maybe we'll eat fish.
Friday, February 20, 2009
What's Wrong With This Picture?
So, the first lady of the Great State of Louisiana, Supriya Jindal, came to town today. She's the front person for the admirable "Shots for Tots" program, which promotes immunizations for the state's children. Why she appeared at a Wal-Mart escapes me, but okay.
Even in that peculiar setting, things could be okay...but some people just don't get it. The Wal-Mart braintrust set up a stage, a podium, a microphone and big speakers. They anticipated media coverage, and they got it. So, why...WHY would you set up the lovely, well educated, well spoken, highly respected first lady directly in front of the restrooms?.JPG)
By the way, she was accompanied by the state secretary of health and Human Services. It was kind of a big thing. To prove I'm not making this up, here's a shot of the set-up, pre-arrival: 
This is so shockingly stupid that I can barely wrap my head around it. Mrs. Jindal was gracious and probably didn't even notice. I mean, her back was to the bathroom sign. .JPG)
Still, someone needs to receive a sternly worded memo or something. Better still, next time let's send the first lady of Louisiana, who might be the first lady of the United States someday, into a significantly more dignified setting.
For God's sake.
Monday, February 16, 2009
An Excellent Nap
As a lifelong sports fan, I make an annual attempt to watch NASCAR. I want to give the thing a chance by tuning in its biggest event, the Daytona 500. I saw more of it this year than I ever have before. But, I have to confess that once again I fell fast asleep somewhere in the middle of the telecast. We're talking sitting up, mouth open, drooling snoring sleep. The people in my house did things to try to keep me awake. My son, on his birthday, commandeered the HD and surround sound for an afternoon of Guitar Hero. While "Junior and them" were turning left on other TV's in the house, the living room was rockin'. I got up and played in a little Guitar Hero round robin with The Happy Couple and my daughter and that held my interest. 
But once I returned to The Great American Race, Heaven help me I was sawing logs. This is despite the consumption of large amounts of Diet Coke and iced tea in a genuine effort to make it through the race while remaining conscious at all times.
I did see "Junior" wreck everybody, which as a non-NASCAR afficianado seemed to me to be a jackasss thing to do. Who knows? It might have been brilliant strategy, I couldn't tell you. I'm happy for the guy who won because he was so emotional about it.
That's it for me and the stock car circuit for another year. See you in February when once again I will try to avoid a long winter's nap.
There's Your Bloodline, Ladies and Gentlemen
My daughter landed at home long enough to join us for a celebration of her brother's 19th birthday. The gang was all there: The girlfriend, both surviving grandparents, mom and me. It was a low-key day. 19 is an odd number: technically a man, but still kind of a boy. He got presents and his longtime love interest made him a cake. We went to his favorite restaurant for lunch. The highlight of the day was watching his 82-year-old grandfather attempt to decipher a Chinese food menu. He said, "I'm not acquainted with Chinese food," which I call B.S. on, by the way. I personally have eaten Chinese food with the man dozens and possibly hundreds of times, but you go with the flow.
The highlight for him was being with his immediate "blood relatives," the entire collection of which is assembled in this photo.
It's Theater of the Hair, wouldn't you agree? I've told Mr. Nineteen to "grow it while you've got it," and now you know why.
For a nondescript birthday, things went rather well. Two years to 21, when the prospects will be decidely more interesting.
Father-Son Bonding
My son and I both have failed to acquire what I call "Man Skills." We're not hunters or tool guys. We don't work on cars. The women in our lives will tell you that we have our strengths, one of them being a clear reconginition of our deficiencies. Macho, we are not. So, it was simultaneously disconcerting and amusing to see My Main Man repairing a power tool.
I guess there are latent man skill tendencies. A recent storm created quite a mess in our back yard. While our daughter was off conquering the world on one of her many out-of-town excursions, the rest of us cleaned up the homefront. This led to the wearing of eye protection and the cacophanous production of prodigous sawdust. 
All of which was worth it to get this hysterical photo which to me is reminiscent of John Belushi's samurai character from Saturday Night Live.
All snickering aside, the day was well spent. We spent time in the not-so-great outdoors as a family, working together to put things back in order. My son used a chainsaw. The dog was thrilled because we spent hours in her domain, giving her the best of all her worlds: Her yard, her food, her cat, her toys and her people all together.
Plus, we have new firewood for the anticipated early spring cold snap. My son and I can sit around together and enjoy the warmth. That's a skill we definitely share.
Home Is Just a Base
You never know where my daughter will show up, it's just usually not at home. Most recently, she was spotted on the floor of the state legislature, introducing a bill.
This was all part of a "Youth in Government" excursion during which she and her peers get hands-on experience with how the state house works. At 17, this girl has been places and has even more plans.
She has been heard to say "The south is a bubble. You live inside it or outside it, but there's a huge difference in atmosphere." She aims to pierce it. With trips to L.A., New York, D.C. and Atlanta in her recent experience, she has a basis for her statement. There's more to come. She's off to Colorado the day after her last final exam to staff a church camp. She has recently announced her intention to take a mission trip to Mexico in July.
Grass does not grow under this girl's feet. I just hope somewhere along the way she's heard the lyrics to that ancient song: "It's good to touch the green, green grass of home."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Radio Daze
The opportunity to guest host a local sports radio show presented itself. How could I turn that down? It's a semi-regular deal. I'm the "third host" of a show hosted by two brothers. They only need me when they both can't be there. So, I never get to interact on the air with either of them. This means when I'm on, the show takes on a completely different personality.
This used to be easy stuff for me. Sports was my life and my livelihood. These days, I am not forced by my profession to pay attention to sports which do not particularly interest me. This means on the odd occasion I have the opportunity to speak extemporaneously about sports on the radio for a couple of hours, my focus has changed.
I never was a "break down the game" kind of host. My presentation was more philosophical than clinical. Nowadays, it's news driven. This means I got really lucky. The Alex Rodriguez steroid revelation is still fresh. This means it's generating interest and conversation, two things which are vital to the success of sports talk radio. Happily, there was plenty of sports news to discuss, despite the absence of football.
Being back on the air was not like riding a bike. Being able to talk about sports for a couple of hours used to be second nature to me. This time, I had to study. I was happy to do it, though. This will help lunchtime conversations. I'd prefer to talk about sports anytime. I'm sick of politics, economic troubles and octuplets.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Reapplying for My Man Card
Having spent the previous weekend in the company of my two favorite women doing decidedly non-manly things, Super Bowl weekend presents itself as an opportunity to muscle my way back to the masculine coordinates on the gender axis.
Saturday was spent enjoying a local sports twin bill: college basketball in the afternoon and hockey at night.
Centenary College boasts an NCAA Division 1 athletic program, but hardly anyone notices. It is the smallest school in the NCAA's most prominent level of competition, which could be a badge of honor for the school and the community. It has sent two players, Robert Parish and Larry Robinson, to the NBA. Both earned league championship rings. Parish has five of them , in fact. Now, the city has essentially forgotten about the Gents although there was a nice crowd on hand for this game against Oral Roberts University.
If Centenary's team could find a way to win consistently, it could capture the area's imagination. We really have something special here. People just need a reason to drive into the heart of the city and experience it.
Conversely, the minor league hockey team seems to be thriving. For more than a decade, the Mudbugs have attracted impressive crowds. On an ordinary Saturday night in January, traffic leading into the arena was so significant that police shut down nearby traffic lights to manage the flow themselves. It seemed like a special event, and I suppose an argument can be made that it was.
The team wins consistently and seems to always be in contention for its league championship. It gives people something to cheer about which is always a good thing. This was the first game I've attended this season. It was a pleasant way to spend an evening.
It did get me into a little pinch with my bride. There was a show downtown at the same time featuring Broadway stars singing memorable numbers from the Great White Way. She really wanted to go to that. We had dropped a chunk of change on the lodge and the spa the weekend before. The hockey game cost significantly less than the theater. Faced with the prospect of paying bills this weekend, that got her attention. Broadway can wait. Manhood sufficiently reasserted, I can strap in now for the last football game of the season.
