cto
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- Aug 26, 2011
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Wistful. I guess my mood is best described as wistful. Three weeks ago, like everyone else, I never thought we'd be in Atlanta. But once we were there, I really expected us to be playing tonight. But that was not to be, so here I am in Aiken, SC, visiting friends who have tickets for the Masters which takes place 20 miles from here. I do not consider the Masters much of a consolation prise for not being in Atlanta tonight.
As usual, one of the best things about such events is running into so many folks from syracusefan.com. While standing in the hotel lobby on Saturday, a man greets me and introduces himself as Ray in Va. While I am chatting with Ray, Goodroc comes over and says hello -- as does Suttree. So there I am introducing three guys to each other using both screen names and real names. And, in the midst of it all, I forgot to buy Goodroc the drink I still him from when he gave me his extra Sheraton room for the Georgetown game. Paul, I still owe you one.
Among other board folks I spent time with we're jurrie (or Moonfan or whitever he now calls himself), OrangePa, Brian Orange, King Otto, RF2044, NRF, Gilardino and many others I am forgetting.
As others hae mentioned, it was great to see so many former coaches and players there. They were everywhere -- Dave Bing, Allan Griffen, the omnipresent DC, Hakim, etc, etc, etc. Fun moment was when Suttree gave Hakim the orange cell phone case thar Mason had engraved with A picture of Hak in action. it's too bad that I and others were not able to get a decent picture of it. Fun moment. Hak was awestruck with it
It was great to see Sean McDonough and Mike Tirico there. Both had come as fans, on their own nickel, and Mike even brought his entire family
Local color story. On Thursday night, five of us wanted to go to a non-touristy restaurant for some good regional cooking. A couple of natives recommended a place called Colonade. They also cautioned us that it was not in the best of neighborhoods. They were not kidding...on both counts. It was located alongside strip clubs, "hourly-rate" motels and tattoo parlors. It also had a big sign on the door that said "no credit cards.". But the southern fried chicken was seriously delicious, the atmosphere inside the place was very pleasant, and huge meals were only $14.
Funny moment of the weekend. On Saturday morning, there was a brunch to talk about the indoor practice facility and how it could do for football what the Melo Center has done for basketball. In introducing Jim Boeheim, Daryl Gross referred to him as the best coach in America and a true treasure for the entire Syracuse community. When JB took the mike, he began his remarks by sayinng something like: "Thanks for the nice introduction, but did you see yestercay's USA story that said I was only the 17th highest paid coach in the tournament?". He was smiling and laughing, but I am not sure he was joking.
Compared to New Orleans, Atlanta is not a good place for a Final Four. It is too spread out, ground transportation is a gridlocked nightmare and MARTA could not handle the crowds. The SU team hotel was in Buckhead, and there was no good way to get between it and the Dome -- with one exception! A few hours prior to the game on Saturday, four fan shuttle buses was led to the Dome by a POLICE ESCORT. With sirens blaring, we went the wrong way on major highways, crossed medians, and roared through city streets as other officers cordoned off the side streets. The buses had darkened windows, so the thousands of pedestrians could not see who was in them. But they apparently assumed the buses were carrying the teams, so they all began cheering and waving at us. You should have seen their faces when the buses disgorged a bunch of random fans
Anyone who watched the game on tv saw it better than those in Dome, so I will make just one comment on it. That obscene offensive foul call on Brandon Triche happened right in front of me, so I did see that play pretty well. Pure BS. And it was instrumental in deciding the outcome of the game. A game as important as that one should not be decided by a call like that. I don't know what the solution is, but there really should be one.
As usual, one of the best things about such events is running into so many folks from syracusefan.com. While standing in the hotel lobby on Saturday, a man greets me and introduces himself as Ray in Va. While I am chatting with Ray, Goodroc comes over and says hello -- as does Suttree. So there I am introducing three guys to each other using both screen names and real names. And, in the midst of it all, I forgot to buy Goodroc the drink I still him from when he gave me his extra Sheraton room for the Georgetown game. Paul, I still owe you one.
Among other board folks I spent time with we're jurrie (or Moonfan or whitever he now calls himself), OrangePa, Brian Orange, King Otto, RF2044, NRF, Gilardino and many others I am forgetting.
As others hae mentioned, it was great to see so many former coaches and players there. They were everywhere -- Dave Bing, Allan Griffen, the omnipresent DC, Hakim, etc, etc, etc. Fun moment was when Suttree gave Hakim the orange cell phone case thar Mason had engraved with A picture of Hak in action. it's too bad that I and others were not able to get a decent picture of it. Fun moment. Hak was awestruck with it
It was great to see Sean McDonough and Mike Tirico there. Both had come as fans, on their own nickel, and Mike even brought his entire family
Local color story. On Thursday night, five of us wanted to go to a non-touristy restaurant for some good regional cooking. A couple of natives recommended a place called Colonade. They also cautioned us that it was not in the best of neighborhoods. They were not kidding...on both counts. It was located alongside strip clubs, "hourly-rate" motels and tattoo parlors. It also had a big sign on the door that said "no credit cards.". But the southern fried chicken was seriously delicious, the atmosphere inside the place was very pleasant, and huge meals were only $14.
Funny moment of the weekend. On Saturday morning, there was a brunch to talk about the indoor practice facility and how it could do for football what the Melo Center has done for basketball. In introducing Jim Boeheim, Daryl Gross referred to him as the best coach in America and a true treasure for the entire Syracuse community. When JB took the mike, he began his remarks by sayinng something like: "Thanks for the nice introduction, but did you see yestercay's USA story that said I was only the 17th highest paid coach in the tournament?". He was smiling and laughing, but I am not sure he was joking.
Compared to New Orleans, Atlanta is not a good place for a Final Four. It is too spread out, ground transportation is a gridlocked nightmare and MARTA could not handle the crowds. The SU team hotel was in Buckhead, and there was no good way to get between it and the Dome -- with one exception! A few hours prior to the game on Saturday, four fan shuttle buses was led to the Dome by a POLICE ESCORT. With sirens blaring, we went the wrong way on major highways, crossed medians, and roared through city streets as other officers cordoned off the side streets. The buses had darkened windows, so the thousands of pedestrians could not see who was in them. But they apparently assumed the buses were carrying the teams, so they all began cheering and waving at us. You should have seen their faces when the buses disgorged a bunch of random fans
Anyone who watched the game on tv saw it better than those in Dome, so I will make just one comment on it. That obscene offensive foul call on Brandon Triche happened right in front of me, so I did see that play pretty well. Pure BS. And it was instrumental in deciding the outcome of the game. A game as important as that one should not be decided by a call like that. I don't know what the solution is, but there really should be one.
Pretty good eats too!
