Decompressing from Tampa

Business…here’s a wrapup I did on the ACC Tourney.  It posted yesterday, which should tell you something about how I’ve been doing.
SSP…I’ll be doing my very first chat session with SportsNation on ESPN.com.  I’ll be on tomorrow at 3, so please come if you’ve got an Insider account.  Seriously–I fear no one showing up.  Please keep me company and spare me the embarrassment.
The tournament was a blast.  The best part, as always, were the Haagen-Dazs bars in the media area.  Of course, that bit me in the ass.  I’ve been told that i was captured on camera showing my affection for a Vanilla and Almonds bar.  It would be embarrassing…except anyone that knows me recognizes that not even a TV camera is gonna stop me from going to work on good ice cream.  Pride ain’t stopping me from giving respect to ice cream.  I’ve only loved my family longer than I’ve loved ice cream.
Also, I had an experience like no other–watching the brackets come out with a room full of sportswriters.  It was so cool to sit there with my peers–I think they’re my peers–and fill in the brackets, use process of elimination to figure out who was left, gasp at some of the committees choices, and break down what would happen next.  It was the sort of thing I dreamed about being in a position to do when I got in the job, and it was a blast.
Another interesting moment–people there actually recognized me and complimented me on my work.  Wow, man.  Talk about a flattering experience.  A guy at a student paper even asked someone to ask me if it would be okay to do an interview with him.
Are you serious?  Trust me–it’s a far bigger favor for someone to want to talk to me than it is for them to spend a few minutes with me.  I’m sure that dude realized that when excitement led me to talk his ear off.
And now, I rest.  Couldn’t even finish my workout today because I was so worn out.
I’ll be in Winston-Salem covering the Dance this weekend, so posts will probably be sporadic.  But seriously, check out the chat if you can.