7:16pm Update

I guess it's been there all season, but the Murray State website has a song put together by three of the Racers.  The collaboration could almost be considered the "We are the World" for the 21st century.  Almost. Of course without Lionel Richie leading off...Michael Jakcson wearing one of the top ten most amazing coats of all time...and Kenny Rogers showing off his phenomenal beard...the bar can only be set so high.

I listened to it, and I not only had my head bobbing a little bit...but I also caught myself doing the white man's overbite.  I'm a mess.

We're off to get some dinner.  I think we'll be hitting the world-famous Ledo's Restaurant in College Park for the second straight night.  Oprah recommended it.  And if Oprah likes it, well, the rest of us have no choice but to like it as well.

4:45pm Update

I just ran up to the other media room, where they house the newspaper folks, to grab something to drink.  Usually the food spread involves all the Coke or Sprite you can drink...and the chance to eat your body weight in pretzels.  This year they've upped the ante in College Park.

Next to the pretzels...a plate of Rice Krispie treats.  All you can eat, baby!  I've died and gone back to 4th grade.  Next to my wedding and the births of two children, this might be the 4th happiest day of my life. 

I know I can't be alone on this one.

The floor is yours.

4:02pm Update

"I'm not even sure they realize they're hosting this thing."

That, kids, was the quote of the day from my tag-team partner Chad as we rolled up to the Comcast Center this morning at about 8:45 to pick up our credentials for the tournament.  When we've attended the men's tournament in the past, it's pretty much a rule of thumb you need to be there as soon as the doors open so you can get a spot for your equipment.  Otherwise, you end up a mile away from where you want and need to be, and life gets a little tougher.

Today, that hasn't been a problem.

So back to 8:45am.  We pull into the parking lot and there are roughly 15 cars parked outside the arena.  Most of the seem to belong to a bunch of kids playing a game of cricket in a field next to the building.  We wandered up the arena and tried to figure out which door we needed to enter...but we couldn't find a sign ANYWHERE.  At most NCAA events, you can't go 6 feet without running into some sign or poster reminding you that you are, indeed, at an NCAA-sponsored event.  Today...nada.

We eventually find an open door at the top of the arena.  We walk in and it's a ghost town.  Eventually we bump into a security guard who points us toward the credential area...which happened to be the first unmarked door we walked by when we got out of the car. 

After picking up our stuff, we made our way to the media room to claim our spot.  The media room is in the Comcast Center's auxilary gym where the women sometimes play games.  It's much more spacious than some of the other places we've been.  We walked in...and we were the first people here.  8 hours later we're here working...and there are still no other TV people here.  Are we the only ones who got the memo the tournament was this weekend?

We just got back from the Racers' practice...and there might have been 10 people in the stands watching.  A grand total of 0 fans were wearing Murray State stuff.  Mind you, the practices are free to the public.  Even Duke, who practiced right before Murray, didn't have more than 25 people watching.  It's, frankly, pretty stunning at the lack of interest so far in an area that traditionally loves its basketball.

Murray did look good in their practice and looks ready to go.  They say they aren't in awe of the D-U-K-E written on their opponent's uniforms.  We'll see how and if that changes once the ball goes up tomorrow.

I'll be back a little bit later. 

The floor is yours.