Krunch Time at the CAA Tournament - Day One

9:17 AM - I finally finished packing. I set the alarm for 8:00am, hit the snooze a couple of times, and wound up rolling out of bed at around 8:30. I love sleeping in!

I decided that it wouldn't be such a bad thing if I packed my XBox 360 along for the trip. Afterall, if UNCW makes it to the CAA Finals on Monday, that game doesn't tip until 7pm making it a very long day of sitting around a hotel room. At least now, I'll have something to keep me entertained.

Well, just about time to hit the road. I'm going to stop off over at the Original Saltworks to see Bob and to get some breakfast in my belly. Then, it's off to Richmond!
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4:04 PM - I arrived in Richmond at around 2:30 this afternoon. Before I go any further, I did not realize that Rocky Mount, NC was the Log Cabin Capital of the World. Driving through that town on I-95 today, I couldn't help but to notice the dozen or so Log Cabin Manufacturers in the Rocky Point area. Interesting.

Another interesting thing about the trip up were a few of the smells I encountered on the way. Wow! There are some SMELLY towns in this state! If you live there, do the nerve endings in your nose just eventually die?

You know how Kolby and I are always talking about how our radio station is the "Small Market Team" of our 6 station NextMedia cluster? That includes this crap heap of a laptop the company has supplied me with. It took me about an hour to get this thing to connect to the Days Inn Wireless Network, so that I could get online and write another entry here. Thankfully, they also have the option of a WIRED network here, so I could get online that way and download the software necessary to get my wireless network adapter to work.

As I've mentioned before, Mike Vacarro and the Seahawk Radio Network are going to allow me to use their broadcast equipment while I'm up here. Part of the deal is that I have to swing by Mike's hotel and pick him up every morning before heading to the Coliseum. Well, as luck would have it, according to Lafonda at the front desk, the Sheraton he's staying in is across the street.

Did I say luck? I meant dumb luck. I had no idea where he was staying when I booked my hotel. Hell, I didn't even know I was going to have to use his stuff when I booked my hotel. Dumb luck indeed.

I think I'll go play a quick round of golf on Tiger Woods 06 on my XBox 360. The awards banquet starts at 6, so I've got some time to kill.
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4:34PM - Well, so much for the XBox. Apparently, they have some kind of lock on the TV that prevents it from playing an XBox, DVD player, or anything of the sort. It's their way to force you to get PPV if you want to watch a movie. Those greedy bunch of @*&#$%@'s!!
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5:13PM - It's a damn good thing I have internet access. I logged into my e-mail to double check the time of the awards banquet, to find out it starts at 7pm, not 6pm. So...as it turns out, I have MORE time to kill than I thought.

I hopped out of the shower and decided to give the Playstation 2 a try on the TV. Eureka!! It works!! So...I'll have to live without the Xbox and just be happy with my good old PS2 and the two games I brought for it. (WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2006 & MVP NCAA Baseball 06).

Oh, and I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I'm quite the video game geek, since I brought not one, but two systems. You're right, I am a geek, and proud of it!
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5:19PM - For posterity sake, I decided to try the XBox 360 again. Maybe I did something wrong earlier, I thought. Turns out I did. There's a little switch on the plug that goes into the TV to go from HDTV to standard definition. I accidentally switched it to HD. I'm an idiot, but now both my PS2 AND XBox 360 are working, so I'll have PLENTY to do during my downtime!
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10:59PM - Downtime? What downtime? I am beat and can't wait to craw into bed!

The CAA Awards Dinner was nice...when we actually got to go inside. Upon my arrival at the Marriott Richmond, I noticed a bright, strobe-like light coming from inside the hotel, accompanied by a loud, piercing noise. Turns out that somehow, the fire alarm was going off. Everyone inside the hotel had to leave and go outside and across the street. So there I stood, waiting and snapping photos of the fire trucks.

When we actually got to go inside, it was very nice. I sat with the guys from WECT and WWAY at one of the media tables. (Yes, we all do get along in real life)

The food they had was....oh you don't care about that. Let's get to UNCW's award winners!!

Taking home All-Academic Team honors were John Goldsberry, Beckham Wyrick, and Dejan Grkovic. T.J. Carter was All-CAA 3rd team, Goldsberry was All-CAA 2nd team, as well as All-Defensive Team. Brad Brownell won the CAA Coach of the Year Award, and John Goldsberry also took home the prestigious Dean Ehlers Leadership Award. Nice lot for the Hawks, huh?

Tomorrow, I'll head out of here at around 8:45. I'll go pick up Mikey V from his hotel and head on over to the coliseum to set up the equipment for Krunch Time.

Be sure to check out our CAA Tournament photo gallery and audio section, as I've posted pictures and sound from tonight's Awards Dinner. Just go to www.am630.net, click on the CAA Tournament logo, and go from there.

Day One is in the books. Day Two is going to be another busy one with a three hour radio show and four basketball games to watch. I love this time of year!