Less Than an Hour to Go!

As we sit here at Spokane Arena, the Terps are directly in front of us warming up and stretching, and there's about 41 minutes or so until the tip. We'd normally have some sort of fancy pictures here, but the wireless here in the arena seems to be kinda flaky, and the images aren't loading. Sorry. We'll try and get a bunch of pictures up later, once we get back to the WMUC Pacific Northwest Bureau.

We're going to take off our blogger hats and put on our broadcaster hats (note: we do not actually own these two hats). Not that you should be too terribly upset - the pregame is going on RIGHT NOW on WMUCSports.com. Go listen!

EDIT: We're back, photos are up. See? Fancy, shiny photography!

"All of them."

Interesting note that we found funny from checking into the hotel yesterday afternoon. (By the way the Red Lion Hotel at the Park is a fine establishment and a 10 minute walk to the Arena, as well as a 15 minute walk to Sonic.)

The gentleman that was getting us our keys to our room started asking us questions when he noticed our "Terps" gear. He must not have thought we were a part of the media, which is strange because this hotel is the "Official Media Hotel" of the Spokane regional. Anyways in a simple question he asked us:

"Do you guys know someone on the Maryland team?" My response to this could not have been any more deadpan and to the point:

"All of them."

Of course we then explained that we were the radio crew for the Terrapins and we were gearing up to call the action tonight (and hopefully Monday). We'll be back with more throughout the day so keep on refreshing this page!

"Happy Days" Icon Loves WMUC

The celebrities have begun to roll into Spokane for the 2008 NCAA Tournament Regionals. Henry Winkler, better known as "The Fonz" (or Barry Zuckerkorn for you Arrested Development fans), sought out John for a photo-op. You wouldn't believe the kind of response celebrities have when they meet a WMUC personality live and in person.

Henry didn't want to pay the special fee I charge for pictures and/or autographs, so unfortunately there is no visual evidence that I personally saw "The Fonz."

Apparently later on Winkler ran into the Terrapins at the team hotel and save for Emery Wallace, no one knew who this man was.

Well it is only 11:18 PM here in Spokane, but to us it feels like 2:18 AM after that whole time change phenomenon. We will check back in tomorrow, as we plan to wake up at 9 AM (PT) to watch North Carolina take on Jeff Walz's Louisville squad.

Be sure to check in for more from WMUC's Pacific Northwest Bureau.

Ode to Sonic

So if any of you reading out there know a WMUC broadcaster personally, you might know that Sonic (America's Drive-In!) has a little bit of a cult following at our station. Why? It's really simple, if you think about it.

First, consider that we are talking about college students here, and cheap food is always good food. And while it may not be gourmet cuisine, it's really freaking good for what it is. Besides, you haven't really lived until you've had a cherry limeade with your burger and tots (tots!).

Since there isn't a Sonic within an hour's drive of the WMUC Sports studios (high above the South Campus Dining Hall!), it's almost required that we make a stop at a Sonic whenever we take a road trip that takes us near one. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, we usually go all out. It's not unusual for us to eat two meals there during one day.

Imagine, then, how excited Scott and I were to discover that there was a Sonic within half a mile of the hotel (or, as it will now be known, the WMUC Pacific Northwest Bureau).

So, despite the elements, Scott and I trudged out in a driving snowstorm to eat at our beloved drive-in. I won't mince words here - it wasn't pretty. It was cold, wet, and pretty miserable. It was also completely worth it.

Even compared to usual Sonic standards, Scott was rather impressed by his Chicken Club Toaster Sandwich (as you can see from the picture to the right), which was washed down with his tots (tots!) and the always sublime Cherry Limeade. My Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster was just as tasty. Yeah, it's fast food, but I know I've paid more money for lower quality food in traditional sit-down restaurants.

Are we crazy for our devotion? Yeah, probably. OK, certainly. But hey, don't knock it until you've tried it.

The City that Spring Forgot

Don't adjust your monitors - that's snow. From where, you ask? Just outside Scott's and my hotel room here in Spokane, Washington. Meanwhile, the high in College Park was apparently 75 today.

Anyways, the two of us will be checking in multiple times a day during the weekend to bring you tons of analysis and amusing anecdotes from the weekend (and trust me, there will be plenty of both). All in all, it should be a pretty good time. Make sure to follow along, and of course make sure to listen in tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. on WMUCSports.com - or 5:30 p.m., for those of you also up here in the Northwest.