What does one do the Sunday between games during the Final Four? If you are lucky enough to be in New Orleans on a day with temperatures in the 80s and a bright sun, there are few better cities in America.
This city should host the Final Four every year.
Start with the food. It doesn’t get any better. Sunday, for example, brunch consisted of crawfish (in season) and grits, followed by blue crab fin beignets. Add some roast beef debris from Mother’s and sweet potato hash, along with a Ramos gin fizz, and you are ready to start your day.
Up next, the free concerts in the park. Saw Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and New Orleans legend Dr. John, along with thousands of my best friends. But that was the beginning. Several thousand people tried to attend Sunday’s free Jimmy Buffett concert and were turned away. Lucky for me, I saw him from the seventh row just last month at the Shell. By the way, Buffett mentioned that he just returned from Hawaii and added a little hula and ukulele music.
This afternoon, I visited with former UH men’s basketball coach Riley Wallace at the coaches hotel. It seems that Riley knows every coach in the lobby, from present-day big-name coaches to coaching legends.
We spoke about how close Hawaii came to getting an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (one game away). He told me he met with Jim Donovan and the UH folks, and how well thought-of Jim is among college basketball folks.
Before that, I went to the fan fest at the biggest convention center I have ever seen. Thousands of folks shooting baskets and getting autographs. On Sunday, signings by Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas of ESPN, Steve Fisher of San Diego State, former UNC great Phil Ford, and for the NFL fans out there, Deuce McAllister of the Saints.
On Sunday night, after another unbelievable meal of Southern food of pulled pork, okra, more grits and Southern fried chicken, it was time for the casino. After an hour at the video dog racing machine, I walked away up $20.
I don’t think there is anybody left in Kentucky. It seems like every 10th person is wearing a Kentucky shirt. My guess is that 85 percent of today’s crowd will be cheering for Big Blue. By the way, Kentucky fans have long memories. Many are wearing shirts that say "I still hate Laettner" (remember the last-second shot he hit to beat Kentucky in a 1992 regional final?).
Ticket scalpers are everywhere, but it seems that the Louisville folks may be sticking around to root for their in-state university. Saturday night’s crowd was the second largest in NCAA basketball history.
Finally, a sign on one of the portable toilets at the concert. It read, "Our business stinks, but it’s picking up." Only in New Orleans.
And, oh yes, there is a game tonight. Not many giving the Kansas Jayhawks much of a chance. They will have to play their ‘A’ game and hope Kentucky plays its ‘C’ game.
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Jeff Portnoy‘s blog, Hoops Talk, can be read at staradvertiser.com.
