Krunch Time at the CAA Tournament - Day Four

8:31PM -
I just got out of the postgame press conference with Hofstra. I have to tell you, I like their attitude going into tomorrow's championship game. Tom Pecora, Hofstra's head coach, seemed to think they may already be in the tournament, with two wins over GMU late in the season. The question is whether or not Mason is in. Selection Sunday is going to be intense if you're a CAA Fan.

I'm going to post a few pictures and then head on out. A bunch of us media types are going to dinner. I don't want to get left behind.
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8:06PM -
Well...this one is pretty much over. Hofstra vs. UNCW tomorrow in the Championship Game. A thought just crossed my mind. UNCW may need to win tomorrow more than Hofstra does. More later.
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8:01PM -
A little drama late here in the game. Apparently, Stokes went down with a mysterious injury. From the looks of the conversation going on between GMU coach Jim Larranaga and his guard, Tony Skinn, I think he might've done something to him. Either way, Skinn is on the bench and Hofstra is on the verge of winning this game.
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7:46PM -
Hofstra has completely shifted the momentum in this one. They now hold a five point lead with 3 minutes left. GMU just lost to these guys a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if that's creeping into their minds as we come down to the stretch of this one. They just look out of sync.
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7:31PM -
I just had a dreadful thought. If UNCW and George Mason wind up meeting in the CAA Championship game, undoubtedly, ESPN will uncover footage from the 35-33 debacle of a few years ago. Just when I thought I had that game completely erased from my memory, ESPN is going to force it back in my head. Damn them!!

9:21 left and this game is by no means, over. GMU leading by 4, and Hofstra looking like they are poised for a run. Just as I typed that, Loren Stokes with a fast break lay-in, and the foul. A chance to cut it to one, coming up.
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7:12PM -
What the hell is George Mason's mascot suppose dto be? He looks like a green Grover from Sesame Street...but with white hair tied into a ponytail...looking...colonial or something. I have no clue.

I talked to Brad Nessler at halftime. He's going to come on our show live tomorrow, so be sure you tune in for that. Maybe I can get he and Jimmy Dykes on together. That'd be nice.

I'm going to have a whole host of other interviews on for the show tomorrow as well. I'm in the process of recording a lot of them today, so make sure you keep your ears peeled.

I just discovered that I've yet to post UNCW's postgame audio, so I'll do that in a few minutes. Go check the Audio Section on am630.net if you're interested.

Oh...and incase you were wondering, Mason leads Hofstra, 33-31. This is a pretty close one, thus far.

One last note here in this posting. I think I mentioned it in a previous blog, but the CAA had a former player whose into country music now record a CAA Song. It was kind of cool the first time I heard it, but they're playing the hell out of it here at the Richmond Coliseum. Personally, I'm sick of it.
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6:54PM -
At the half, it's 33-27, George Mason. Nice three pointer to end the half for Hofstra.

I was about to make my move over to Brad Nessler, when Mike Vacarro, the voice of the Seahawks, swept in and stole him from me. I felt like I was back in HS, at a party, scoping out a girl to ask to dance with me, only to have some bigger better looking guy come in and take her before I even had a chance to ask.

Okay...too much information.
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6:23PM -
The celeb's are starting to roll into Richmond here, folks. In the postgame press conference for UNCW, I saw Pat Forde of espn.com and....my man....Brad Nessler!! I WILL get an interview with him before the day is done.

Goldsberry wound up having to get stitches in his chin, after a little elbow from Jose Juan Barea. I believe it was four stitches that he wound up getting. You'll see'em on ESPN tomorrow night.

Speaking of tomorrow, I'll be doing the show again from courtside here at the Richmond Coliseum. Hopefully, I'll have interviews with Nessler, Forde, and Tom Yeager, the commish of the CAA. I want to know how many teams these guys think the CAA should get into the Big Dance. Brownell said three in the postgame press conference. I tend to agree with him.

George Mason and Hofstra are going at it right now. A 14-12 lead for Mason after a little Hofstra run.
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5:17PM -
1:15 left and UNCW leads by 15. Looking like they'll be moving on to play in the CAA Title game tomorrow night on ESPN. I cannot WAIT!! Not because of the game, but because I'm going to get to meet Brad Nessler!! hah

The second game should be pretty good also. Hofstra versus George Mason. I think if Hofstra wins, the CAA gets three teams in the NCAA. Seriously. Mason is getting in regardless, UNCW is getting in now with this win, and if Hofstra upends Mason, I think that's enough for THEM to get in. How funny would it be for the CAA to get three teams in this year, when they haven't gotten two teams in, in over 20 years?
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5:OOPM -
How lame am I that I'm chatting with my fiance, Aimee, right now on AOL Instant Messenger, trying to see if she can see me on TV? Yeah...I know. I'm a dork.

Anyway, we have a TV timeout right now. UNCW leads by 16 with 7:58 to go, and Jose Juan Barea has four fouls. Looks like coach Ron Everhart doesn't care though, as he's put him back in the game. If Barea fouls out, this ballgame is over. Shawn James is a nice player, but Barea is their team.
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4:44PM -
This is pretty amusing. The crowd has officially turned on UNCW. Hofstra fans, leftover VCU fans (why are they still here?), nad George Mason fans are all rooting against the Seahawks. They just started up a "Let's Go Huskies!!" chant.

Another note. The sideline reporter for the CAA Webcast of this game just TOTALLY copped an attitude with me. He was asking a guy in front of me to tell him what Northeastern's shooting percentage was for the half. I said, "Crappy", and laughed. He just kinda gave me the Heisman, and then copped an attitude with the kid he asked. My thinking is....dude. You're the sideline reporter for a WEB CAST!! Get over yourself. You're not THAT important!
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4:33PM -
The halftime post never happened because I found the network guy and had him reset the whole thing. I was able to access the wireless network, no problem, after that.

So...the second half is underway. By the way, I forgot to mention that my good friend from the Wilmington Star-News, Andrew Jones, has arrived here in Richmond. He'll be here tomorrow too, assuming UNCW is.

Speaking of UNCW, they lead by 11 right now and really seem to be in control of this game. I think part of it may have to be attributed to the fact that this is Northeastern's third game in three days. Jose Juan Barea has been carrying this team on his shoulders, but still seems pretty fresh. That kid probably doesn't get tired....ever.

Wow! T.J. Carter just got his dunk totally stuffed...for the second time this game. A quick score by Northeastern and now, they've cut the lead to 7. Maybe this game isn't over, afterall.
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4:08PM -
Well, I'm at the Richmond Coliseum. UNCW is beating Northeastern pretty good right now, at 37-25 with 2:49 to go in the first, but that's not what I'm worried about.

I'm worried about the fact that this crappy wireless network connection here in the coliseum is preventing me access with my laptop. Thankfully, the guys at Richmond.com who are sitting right next to me, are allowing me to use their laptop for this quick post.

I don't know how it's looking on TV or sounding on the radio, but to me, the Seahawks seems like a team that knows what they need to do to win this game. Meanwhile, Northeastern kind of looks like an overmatched team.

Kudos to a few of the Northeastern students though. They made the long trek to Richmond from Boston to be here for this game. Yesterday there were about 4 Northeastern fans. Today, there's at least 15. Nice job, guys!

I'll write more at halftime, when I can hardwire my laptop to the network from inside the press room.
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11:20AM -
I wound up hitting the Denny's next door to the hotel for breakfast. Scrambled eggs with cheese, sausage, bacon, and an English muffin later, I was all set. I ran into a few UNCW folks over there. A father and his probably 13 year old son, both decked out in Seahawk gear. You gotta love how sports can bring families together like that. Reminds me of the days of my dad and I sitting down and watching the Bills on a Sunday.

I am so bored in this hotel room. I fired up the XBox 360 and started to play some NBA2K6 but then a friend of mine sent me an IM on the laptop, so I've stopped to chat with him for a while.

Interesting how ESPNU is only carrying the second of the two semifinal games today. No respect for the 'Dub! Hopefully, I'll have a reason to stick around and watch that second game, because if UNCW loses, it'll be I-95 South within the hour for me, my friend.
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8:42 AM -
Day four begins here in Richmond for the 2006 CAA Tournament. Today, UNCW takes on Northeastern in one semifinal. George Mason and Hofstra meet in the other one. Both games will be televised nationally on ESPNU (all 5 people who actually can get that channel will be watching), and I'm glad that these matchups will make for good TV.

Think of this. How bad would the CAA have looked if we had Georgia State (who almost beat Mason) taking on Hofstra in the other semifinal? Even worse...what if it was VCU in the semi's? All this talk has been about how the CAA how so many teams in the top-50 in the RPI, and it would've been extremely embarrassing to see those teams not even reach the semi's. It is, for that reason, that I'm glad to see Hofstra-GMU in the other semi.

As for the game UNCW has today...I don't know how I feel about it. I'm telling you guys, watch this game on TV. (It's going to be on WWAY). Jose Juan Barea is special. In my opinion, he's even better than Brett Blizzard, simply because of his quickness. He also has a little attitude and swagger about him that I like.

How about that Duke-UNC game last night, huh? I gotta say, I didn't think there was any chance in the world for the Heels to knock off the Devils in Cameron on Senior Night. I have to think it makes a lot of Tar Heel fans happy that they sent J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams off of their home floor with a loss.

First game of the tournament isn't until 3pm today, so I've got a lot of time to kill. I'll probably wind up playing a few games on my XBox. Right now though...it's breakfast time. I think Waffle House down the street is calling!