SAN JOSE, Calif. - What a great ending to a great college basketball game on Thursday at Utah State. That's a very good team with an excellent coach and outstanding fan support.
But Brett Olson hit a 30-footer at the buzzer, and only about 25 of us left the arena happy. If you missed the ending, here it is, complete with Mitch Hyder's radio call, thanks to Brendan Loy at Mile High Mids.
The Pioneers were loose and happy, as they took a bus to Salt Lake City after the game and flew out to San Jose the following morning.
When highlights of the game appeared on SportsCenter and College Basketball Live, cheers could be heard throughout the hotel. The players were pretty excited to spot Peter Dante, star of many Adam Sandler movies, in the Salt Lake Airport.
They also got a kick out of seeing a quidditch tournament, complete with Harry Potter costumes and broomsticks (albeit not the flying variety), being played in the San Jose State quad, as they walked into practice yesterday.
When asked, Chris Udofia said that he would be a bludger and Cam Griffin would be a seeker due to his speed. Most agreed, however, that they should stick to basketball and leave the quidditch to the trained professionals on the quad.
But when they walked through the doors for practice, the mood changed, as the players and coaches put the last game behind them and focused on the Spartans.
With four conference games to play, the final three of which are at Magness Arena, the Pioneers have made the final stretch extra important, beginning with the final home game tonight in San Jose.
Denver is tied with New Mexico State, just 1.5 games behind Louisiana Tech, and those teams roll into the Mile High City on the final two Saturdays of the regular season.
The Pioneers are pleased with what they've done so far this season, but the team has not quite reached their goals, and they're looking forward to finishing the regular season off strongly, beginning tonight.
About San Jose State - To say the weather changed drastically when the team flew from Utah to California is a major understatement. After some frosty temperatures in Logan, the weather is absolutely perfect today in San Jose.
SJSU's campus is right in the heart of downtown San Jose with the headquarters to major technology companies looming in the skyline.
Founded in 1857, San Jose State is the oldest public university in California and now houses nearly 30,000 students.
Not far from the arena is a campus library that houses the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, the only North American institution solely devoted to Beethoven. Beethoven enthusiasts can learn about the musician and even catch a glimpse of The Guevara Lock of Beethoven's Hair.
Like Utah State, San Jose State is heading to the Mountain West Conference next season.
Among the many alums that have walked the SJSU campus are legendary football coaches Bill Walsh and Dick Vermeil, as well as quarterbacksJeff Garcia and Steve DeBerg.
Former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth was a Spartan. He was later named Time Man of the Year in 1984 after heading the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Former Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, who served in Washington from 1993-2005, graduated from here in 1957.
On the entertainment front, San Jose State can boast about Stevie Nicksof Fleetwood Mac, as well as the Smothers Brothers and Jerry Juhl, the head writer for The Muppets and Fraggle Rock.
Finally, fans of competitive eating will be happy to know that world record holder Joey Chestnut went to school at San Jose State before inhaling 68 hot dogs on Coney Island.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 19
Total Mileage by Air - 15,711
Total Mileage by Bus - 2,264
Total Number of Hotels - 16
Total Number of Different Airlines - 6 (Southwest, United, Frontier, Alaska, American, Delta)
Total Number of Different Airports - 12
Total Number of Airline Delays - 5
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost - 2
As always, please feel free to send any questions or comments tomichael.kennedy@du.edu.
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