June 3, 2005 -4:10 p.m. – enroute to the Marriott, Oklahoma City
Soooo breakfast turned into a late lunch, Mexican fiesta style,
with my current entourage – 2002 NCAA softball champs in former
Cal pitcher Jen Deering and former right fielder Kristen Morley,
their friend Karen, a former Cal professor and current hard-core
Cal softball groupie, and my self-appointed reporting mentor, Sports
Illustrated senior writer and Cal grad Mike Silver – at La
Luna right off the Northwest Expressway.
I knew it was going to be a good meal as soon as the chips arrived,
complete with salsa, guacamole, melted cheese, AND water with crushed – not
cubed – ice. And as soon as the Corona’s came, complete
with salted rims and two limes in glasses the size of my face I wasn’t
even sure I should order food, in the fear that the awesome eating
experience might be ruined. But, I went with my gut – the one
begging me to feed it for the first time in 20 hours – and
wasn’t disappointed. The taco plate was fabulous.
A few pictures with our waiter later, we were back on the road,
cruising in our rented Buick Century, rocking out to Sublime, hip-hop,
and Hendrix on our way to the team hotel, the Northwest Expressway
Marriot.
Upon entering the lobby I encountered my latest traveling hurrah – also
known as ANOTHER hurdle in my attempt to settle down in Oklahoma – the
receptionist doesn’t have a reservation under my name. So I’m
currently hanging out with Mike, both of us writing away – check
out his WCWS blog at (see below), if for no other reason than my
name being in it – waiting for my friend Renee back in Berkeley
to get off of work at 2 p.m., run back to my car, and find the reservation
number for the hotel that I oh-so-conveniently left in the cup-holder
of my 1994 Saturn. Smart Kate, smaaart.
Hopefully I made a reservation at the right hotel, as opposed to
the OTHER Oklahoma City Marriot that lies down the road about five
miles, wouldn’t that just complete the past two days of traveling
debauchery! Although at this point, I’d be perfectly fine with
leaving that on my list of things to NEVER complete. Then it’s
onward to a happy hour of sorts with the crew and some of the Cal
softball girls. Not to worry though, they won’t be drinking…at
least until next Wednesday night.
Speaking of spirits, word at the hotel this morning was that the
team was feeling good – catcher Haley Woods was all smiles,
shortstop Chelsea Spencer was a bit grumpy, but the crew attributed
that to it being too early for any sane human being to be happy to
be awake, and pitcher Kristina Thorson…who I am from here on
out referring to as K-Thor…was already itching to get back
to the field.
Hey! Look who just showed up! It’s the Goth Girl herself – which
I think is little more than an awesomely acted-out façade
to scare her opponents – K-thor, just back from practice at
the complex. Yesterday’s run producer is here too, Ms. Aloha,
also known as centerfielder Kaleo Eldredge.
Okay, on that note, I think it’s time for me to do some investigative
conversing. Keep sending good thoughts to the O-K. And if you haven’t
already, clear your schedule for tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT when our
Bears take on the ‘Cats from ‘Zona. The crew and I are
planning our outfits, insults, and seating arrangement – just
in case you didn’t know, superstitions are EVERYWHERE in the
softball world - now.
Until later tonight, GO BEARS!
Mike Silver's Blog can be found here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/
2005/writers/michael_silver/
06/03/wcws.postcard/index.html
|
La Luna
Restaurant
Kaleo Eldredge and
Mike Silver of
Sports Illustrated
K-Thor, aka
Kristina Thorson
|
9:52 a.m. – Downtown Sheraton, Oklahoma City
Man I tell you, even after four years of surviving on 4-6 hours of sleep
a night, and surviving quite well I might add, sometimes nine hours in
a bed so big I’m only familiar with it because of the few times
I’ve shared a King with three other Cal Bears on our annual LA
football road trip - feels so gooood.
The hot shower and in-room coffee are helping to make this morning rather
lovely as well. Minus the bill that magically appeared under my door
sometime while I was OUT! – you like the softball terminology there,
don’t you? – I’d say day two at the WCWS is going to
be another great one, hopefully with a few less traveling challenges.
Though I am car-less … and the fields are somewhere around 5-8
miles away … I’m sure my new best friend Candace and her
family will be able to help out. And if not, I imagine Oklahoma City
will be home to at least one taxi service.
Before I head off to the fields and move over to the hotel where all
the teams are staying – Marriot, here I come! - I’ve got
to get some food in me this morning. I guess clothes would help too.
Hmm…which Cal shirt to wear today?
Until next time…GO BEARS! |
|
| JUNE 2, 2005 - 6:42 a.m. - Oakland International Airport, Oakland CA
It’s
going to be one hell of a tournament for the Cal Softball team, I already know it. How?
Well, after reaching the Oakland Airport at 4:45 a.m. to give myself ample check-in time
for my 6 a.m. flight to Denver, I was greeted by the one word NO air traveler on a tight
schedule ever wants to see at the gate. Denver – DELAYED.
Upon checking with the United agent to make sure I was in fact awake and standing in
the Oakland Airport, which sadly, she assured me I was - I was hoping for the bad dream
scenario momentarily – she informed me that the flight to Denver wouldn’t be
leaving until a little after 7 a.m., touching down in Denver around 10:15 a.m.,
conveniently placing me all of ten minutes behind my connecting flight to Oklahoma City.
The next connection didn’t fly out of Denver until 12:25 p.m. – bless
Oklahoma for being such a well-traveled city – meaning I would make it to World
Series land around 3 p.m., an hour after the Cal vs. UCLA game was scheduled to begin. A
challenge. I love it. Bring it on.
Three trips to the United counter later – Tina H., I STILL love you for all your
help – with my newfound traveling buddy, former Cal standout third baseman and member
of the 2002 NCAA Championship squad Candace Harper in tow - I managed to find a seat on a
10:40 a.m. Frontier Airlines connection, set to let us off in the O-K a little after 1:20
p.m. |
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7:50 a.m. - United Airlines Flight 422, somewhere over Nevada
Now,
if we can just make the connection. We got out of Oakland at 7:15 a.m. and are on schedule
to arrive in Denver at approximately 10:15 a.m. Three escalators, a shuttle, and my flip
flops stand as the next hurdle in Candace ’s and my journey to the tourney. But as she
(pictured left at the flight counter)
sits attempting to nap herself into a calmer state in the seat in front of me – she
told me in the airport she’s more nervous about MAKING it to the first game today
than she EVER was about anything during her playing days – I’m relaxed and
smiling. Because every time I’ve been involved with an athletic team, whether I was
playing, cheering for, or reporting on them, every time something came up to set us back,
success was our reward for making it.
Plus, I heard the hot tub at the team hotel hasn’t been working since they got to
Oklahoma on Monday. In my opinion, the defending champion Bruins better be ready for the
game of their lives or things could get nasty, early. Being the Bears most hated opponent
doesn’t bode well for them either. Coffee and juice cart time. Here’s to the
game at noon going into extra innings. Go Bears! |
| 11:18 p.m. - Sheraton Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City,
OK Well, despite making it to Denver at 10:15 a.m., squeezing our way off of
the flight, onto the shuttle that would take us to the concourse containing our gate and
hailing a golf cart in full sprint once in the terminal, desperate to make the Oklahoma
connection waiting for us – to the stares and ‘whoas’ of numerous
nearly-avoided travelers - the amazing dash was all for naught. Upon reaching the gate out
of breath, but happy, the agents informed us the flight was booked. Guess our tickets
didn’t count because they weren’t blue. Damn white check-in passes.
So, it was back to the original flight scheduled to leave Denver at 12:25 p.m., which
would place us in Oklahoma around 3 p.m. Meaning we’d be late, at the very least, to
the 2 p.m. Cal vs. UCLA match-up. But to our surprise, the fun was just getting started.
With mouths open and tired bodies sagging over our suitcases we reached the departure
screens to find a disturbing yellow type letting us know our 12:25 flight to Oklahoma
City was scheduled to take off - at 2:30. The day
just couldn’t get any better!
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| Candace and I looked at each other, dejected at our lack of
living-on-the-edge traveling success and without exchanging any words knew exactly what we
needed. Within minutes we were plopped in front of a television watching the Arizona vs.
Tennessee 12 p.m. game at Lefty’s Bar and Grill in the B Concourse of the Denver
Airport, pints in hand. Four hours and too many beers later we were FINALLY on our way
to Oklahoma, after being forced to sit through UCLA grabbing a 2-1 lead over the Bears in
the top of the 6th inning. By the time we were buckled in, the game was over, UCLA 2
– Cal 1. So maybe I was a little too excited this morning. Despite the loss, the
feeling is still there though. Candace has it too.
And as I sit in room #603 – no phone calls please, I’m working – at the
Sheraton in downtown Oklahoma City tonight, exhausted from a ridiculous day of delayed
flights and unnecessary in-terminal exercise, it’s still there. That feeling.
Something good is going to happen and it’s going to happen to our Bears.
Word on the street following the game was that both Cal and the Bruins looked sluggish.
The fans needed help. The stands were half-empty. Looks to me like a job for yours truly.
Luckily, the Bears have tomorrow off to get their heads ready for another Pac-10
dogfight, as they take on Arizona at 11 a.m. Saturday morning, with the loser going home.
While I have a night of good sleep waiting for me.
As Candace said to me while gripping my right thigh and gasping for anything to calm
her down during our choppy descent into Oklahoma this evening though, it’s all about
the uphill climb. Down to our last out at Regionals, then battling back again at the Super
Regionals last week, now this.
It’s going to be a great tournament. Believe me. Things are just getting started.
Until next time, it’s bedtime. Go Bears! |
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