So I'm slaving away at work tonight and while I am enjoying the internat access on my break they installed the barracuda networks firewall. It denies access to myspace and livejournal as "chat," but I'm able to get onto (e:strip)!!!!

I wonder how long it will last?

With all of the congestion going on with hosting part of the biggest sporting event in the nation, I looked like a supergenius to my friends from D.C. yesterday. As reported in the local media 18,000 visitors looking for somewhere to eat downtown to get in and out without reservations in 90 minutes was just not happening.

Then I had a plan of which to bypass all of this mayhem. I took my group with 5 minutes left in the Butler/Old Dominion game on the Metro Trolly. We stayed on until the Allen exit and walked 2 blocks down to K.Gallaghers. Much to our surprise the place was empty @ 5PM. We were just happy to get a place where we could get a beer, fast service and descent food. Unlike their suggestions to follow what the Buf/Niag partnership placed in their ticket package we stayed far away from the Pearl St. Brewery. As we were standing in a Japanese style subway metro train car on the way back to the arena I pointed to my friends from D.C. and displayed to them the chaos of people still 25 deep on the sidewalk outside of that place. The best part was the Allen St. stop was the last place where you could actually board the train. The cars were packed to capacity, there was no getting on @ the theatre district or Lafayette Sq.

Needless to say I was happy that Duke lost much to (e:carolinian) disppointment...

More on Duke later and the tournament later. I hve to meet my group and watch NU play KU.

I'm sorry but I just can't make it to St. Matty's Day :-/ since my out of town visitors from D.C. are here...

So we won that "play-in" game last night. I was just happy that the ended up winning, I just don't know how I would have reacted if they would have lost to a sleep deprived team. For the most part I'm guessing most of Western New York watched that Sabres game. Although I did contemplate going out for the game last nigth I just was supersitious. There is a new sports bar open across the street here in the Crown Plaza and from what I heard it's pretty nice and they would have had specials last night since it was during a Sabres game. Then I realized that back when my friend worked there and I would hang @ the bar NU would always lose. So I decided to just stay home and watch it on TV.

Now I am just like a kid in a Candy store for the real tournament. I ust can't wait to get up in the morning and head down to the HSBC for the Noon tip off. This is just going to be a days of fun strung together.

Now if NU can only do the improbable and be the first 16 seed to beat a #1 seed...

So I guess my gut feeling last week was right on about this time around not feeling as good as the last time. Niagara was totally disrecpected by being placed in the "Play-In" game tomorrow night in Dayton. I loved the reaction on Jim Rome this afternoon when he was paraphrasing NU, "I thought we got into the Tournament!" Yea, if I had a bookie I think I'd lay the -9 points and cash. They're quite pissed and I do feel sorry for Florida A&M, they're going to get crushed. Then likewise on Friday we're going to get crushed by Kansas in Chicago. I really do like Jerry Sullivan's analysis on the whole thing in his article today. Although all of this happened I think it may have made my year to actually hear Jim Rome 1. Talk about NU on his radio show and Rome is Burning on Espn and 2. To actually agree with the school that they got hosed.

I'll be watching that game tommorrow instead of the Sabres game for sure. I'm just really interested in what the ESPN crew is going to say in regards to the whole seeding fiasco.

On another front I'm feeling like uncut and writing a few blogs in my head that for some reason I just can't find time to punch out on a keyboard. I'm on break right now @ work. The only way I can justify working this much overtime this week is 1. I am going to spend quite a bit of cash this week during NCAA week 2. It's spring break so no class 3. After the week long tournament events it's quite dead.

So back to this whole blog in draft mode concept that has been on my mind. It can be basically summed up is I'm trying to find a common reason on why people on (e:strip) have really shitty luck in love. With such a diverse group of people pinning it to a single reason is a challenge. Not to be slip into the ether of visions of equations of life being revealed in a dream, but it's a really nasty linear regression problem in a way. What common variable can be blamed for all of us being in the same similar collective lonely boat?

Hard to believe that 2 years ago I was down @ the HSBC arena watching my Niagara U. Purple Eagles clinch their first NCAA appearance in 35 years. An event that I would never thought that I would have witnessed in my lifetime. The best part of it was I saw it live and in person. I guess the only sporting analogy would have been being a Ranger fan in '94 or a Red Sox fan in '04.

SO here I am on campus watching it with a bunch of other much younger students. Yea I'm pretty much gramps at this point but just being here to watch it almost feels like a duty. I remember the program when it was a doormat, I also remember the first time when I watched them play a NCAA Conference Championship Game back in '93 and getting screwed with a team that may hve won a game in the first round. It's just that I just don't have a good feeling with them being on the road. Pretty much 2/3rds of Siena is in Bridgeport, then agin they say it's only a 2 hour bus trip.

Then I'm thinking about this concept: "Has the sucess over the past 8-9 years spoiled the loyal fans or at least ME? What would I do if something happened and we were back to winning single digit games again? This year I really was a bit lathergic in my support. I guess being a bit removed from the whole student dynamic makes a bit of a difference. I shold be in the reserved seats as a season ticket holder, and not with the student section.

I remember 2 years ago when I caught the NCAA tournament game against Oklahoma. I watched it at the Sarasota Brewing Co. a place that had Directv and plenty of beer. I spent the whole day and the best part was I remember sitting at the bar and this guy came into the place. The bartender asked if he wanted to see any particular game and he said, "Yes, it's on right here" the game I was watching. He was a high school teamate of Brooks a senior starter. It was quite an interesting 2 hours as I was updating my buddy down in Virginia while he was teaching a class. They should have won that game, but that's another story...

Meanwhile Ch 7 is here with a camera. Julie Fine is here and she just doesn't look anything like I would have imagined her to be in person. He's about 5' in heels and wearing jeans and a sweater and blends in like one of the students.

EDIT: It was much sweeter this time with the "down to the wire" drama!!!!!

NCAA TOURNAMENT BABY!!!!!!