March 3, 2007
BARCA BLOG – LIFE ON THE ROAD – DAY THREE
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SEC TOURNAMENT
Friday, March 2, 2007
Well, day three finally arrived… I was excited because after being in Duluth for two days, I was ready for the Commodores to hit the floor. The team had about an hour for a light shoot-around in preparation for their second round game against Florida. Today’s blog will consist of the gameday scene.
First off, can you believe they let me have one of these? I can proudly say that I only got in trouble one time Friday by arena staff for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not sure if this qualifies me to make it on an episode of Court TV airing in Atlanta (if you’ve read the past two blogs). I guess bad press is better than no press.
Speaking of press, here is one of the behind-the-scenes media rooms. It can be pretty intense at times, especially if someone is working on a tight deadline, which is usually the case when your game starts at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Got to get that story in so it makes print! If you are ever around these areas during post-game, the best way to gain acceptance from your media peers is to talk in your very loud voice (okay, I didn’t tell you that). Amazingly, I still have my press credential.
This image provides you with another great example about why I love college sports. It gives fans an outlet to wear head gear like this….
and these awesome pants on the right….
Outside of Halloween, when else can you go out in public with this look and not get a funny reaction? Sports give us the opportunity to bring out our inner child…. LSU fans maximized this opportunity. Although, the Commish may not be too happy about the megaphone noisemaker in her left hand.
Back to the mascots.. I love them. By the way, this may be my best picture all night… look closely – no blurs!
The team watched the closing minutes of the LSU/Ole Miss game… It was a nail biter that went down to the final few possessions. The dreaded thought of overtime popped into my head…
Catastrophe avoided. LSU held off Ole Miss in the third game of the day … the top three seeds of the tournament have now advanced to the semifinals (UT, Georgia, and LSU). It’s our turn next to continue the trend.
Finally- it’s our time to shine. The team runs onto the floor from the corner entrance of the GC.
Caroline has that “senior” look … What time is it? Game time.
Adam Bernick leads the Spirit of Gold in a pre-game version of Dynamite.
The first three days of the tournament are televised on Fox Sports Net. The talented FSN broadcasting team of Dave Neal (right) and Van Chancellor (left) called Friday night’s action for fans watching from their living rooms.
Commodore faithful are jubilant following our quick start out of the gates, which has become a trend this year… I was impressed with the back and forth “black and gold” cheer within our one seating section at the first media timeout. Only in post-season play will you see this pulled off successfully from only one section. Gotta love it.
Halfway into the first half, Florida’s Sha Brooks leaped into the first row of the press trying to save a loose ball and nearly took out our radio play-by-play man Charlie Mattos (center). Charlie was okay, but a team trainer told me post-game that he will be listed as “questionable” for Saturday’s contest. The guy on the right of the picture is still trying to figure out if what just happened, really actually happened. Plus, I think I made the Fox Sports broadcast after the play. I expect my agent to get a few calls about it today. I told him I needed more face time. He delivered.
Saved the best mascot for last. Mr. C.
Now, I may get some heat for this picture, but there’s a reason for it. Florida’s dance team – the Dazzlers – were the half time entertainment. They had a creative twist (or at least I originally thought) to their performance and went with the Tom Cruise spoof from a scene in the 80’s movie Risky Business. You know, the scene where the young Cruise dances around the house to the tune of Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll.” I thought this was a good way to add new life to a routine, until I was told that the Georgia Tech dance team did the exact same performance against North Carolina just one night prior at a men’s basketball game here in town. One thing you’ll learn about sports entertainment is that a lot of the ideas are copied from other schools, or revised with a new twist.
The two hardest working people in show business…. Vanderbilt women’s basketball media contact Chris Weinman (middle) and Coach Melanie Balcomb. We do love Coach B (see the background sign). And by the way, Chris explained to me a concept yesterday that blew my mind (and I will probably mess up this explanation). Apparently, every shot attempted in a game has a rebound associated with it on the stat sheet in some manner, whether it’s a team rebound or an individual player rebound. Okay, stay with me. You sports nuts out there will think I am an idiot for not knowing this (even though I have totally overlooked this after following sports for twenty years as a fan). Everything must balance out in the stat books (of course). From what I gathered, rebounds are credited on the stat sheet even when a player misses the first free throw of a two-shot foul (when no one technically grabs a board). Or when an air ball goes out of bounds and no one secures the ball, a team rebound is awarded. Also, the total number of team rebounds does not have to equal the amount of total individual player rebounds at the end of the game… When it’s all said and done, the only thing that matters is that the total shots missed for both teams equals the total rebounds for both teams (combined – offensive and defensive). If I explained this wrong, let me know. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Florida coach (and Vanderbilt alum) Carolyn Peck, coaching her final game for the Gators, was very classy during her post-game press conference. Best of luck to her in the future.
Coach Balcomb talks to the media in her post-game press conference. The gentleman to the far right is the moderator. Caroline Williams and Tina Wirth (not pictured, but to the left of Caroline) joined Coach to talk about their second round victory. I know it’s not fair for me to say this now (and I don’t what to be “that guy” who knows all, because I clearly don’t based on my stat debacle listed a few pictures above), but right when the game started, I told Will Matthews (one of our reporters) that Wirth would have a huge night. I had this feeling after watching her in practice Thursday and early Friday. I didn’t want to jinx it in the blog, so I stayed quiet until game time. I had no idea she would be perfect from the floor for the entire game! What a night indeed. Next up for the Commodores: Saturday’s semifinal contest with Georgia. The game is scheduled to tip at 8:15 p.m. CT and will be televised on FSN South. Can’t wait for tonight!
Brandon Barca is the online director for VUcommodores.com. If you’d like to see something specific on the site during this tournament trip, he can be reached by email at brandon.barca@vanderbilt.edu.
