Detroit and Austin...

Welcome back to the Underdogs ladies and gentlemen. It's been a while, I know :) 
During our brief hiatus (inbetween posts) the 101D crew played Detroit (at the Fox Theatre, directly across the street from the Lions' And Tigers' stadiums, oh MY) and the great city of Austin Texas where the LongHorns rule, and the music scene is aLways pOppin! 

So chillin and "slackin" in Austin for Thanksgiving week was a whole lot of fun.  I got to hang out with my old friend Brian Snyder for the week while he showed us a lot of the local spots.  Aaaaaand for those of you that don't know... BumBumBumBUUUUMMM...  In an incredibly cooooL recent twist of fate, my girlfriend Lakisha booked a replacement role in the show and joined our tour in Detroit... (No indication yet on how much this development will effect my sports watching opportunities from town to town, although it is becoming clear that I don't own the remote control anymore :)  Aaaah, what a wONDerful problem to have!!! (Actually Kisha is usually very understanding and kind to me in this regard... AND, I daresay she even enJOYed herself on Friday night when we were fortunate enough to catch Kobe's Miracle Buzzerbeater to beat Miami by one in the StaplesCenter, All those Championship banners easily visable in the wideshot... Um, Lakers Banners, not Clippers... Incase there was any confusion ;) I mention this also because my availability to watch NBA games this year has been so limited, that i felt an odd satisfaction that night while actually watching a game LIVE... Breem, Jackson, and VanGundy on the call too! First time since June! Felt GooD... Anyway Austin was her first full week with the company, and we are HAPPY to HAVE her!!!  And by we I mean ME :)  Hi Kisha!!!

The last time I was in Austin, almost three years ago, I was able to go to my first ever NBA Developmental League game; the Austin Toros vs the Colorado 14ers. While watching that game I sparked up a conversation with some guy, who turned out to be David Kahn, one of the owners of the team, and former GM of the Indiana Pacers.  He asked me if I would write a testimonial for their website to promote the team and the fan experience, y'know, something like 500 words or so... I think I wrote 3000 :) anyway, you can read it here if you like. After the game, while with the Toros PR director Perri Travillion, I had the opportunity to meet Dennis Johnson, the great Boston Celtic point guard who was coaching the Toros at the time. Sadly, he died very unexpectedly shortly after that in February, following a practice.  While talking and laughing with Travillion in the parking lot, he suddenly collapsed and never regained consciousness. DJ was finally inducted, posthumously, to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 after years of being left out.  I'm currently reading Jackie MacMullan's book When the Game Was Ours about the great Magic Johnson/Larry Bird rivalry of the 70's and 80's, and in that book Magic says that DJ was the best defender he ever had to play against.   

This time around in Austin however there was no opportunity to see the Toros run or any UT sporting events while in town, but I am proud to say that some 101D cast members ran in the Annual Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot.  
(Um... I didn't run in the race, but I did root for my fellow 101peeps and cheered them on while they ran...  From my bed :)

ANYWAY, Currently we are in the Big D... Dallas, Texas for three weeks playing the Music Hall at Fair Park (right next to the Cotton Bowl!!!)  The Big 12 had their championship game here over the weekend, and those previously mentioned UT LongHorns from Austin squeeeeeeked past my boy Steve Barth's Nebraska Cornhuskers to claim a spot in the BCS Championship game... Against, who you ask?... the Alabama Crimson Tide. Ugh. The same Crimson Tide that Blasted my Gators in Atlanta this weekend in the SEC Championship. Ugh!  It was certainly a devistating loss for UF, and for our senior quarterback Tim Tebow, but it was also clear to every Gator watching that our arch-rivals really deserved it this time. There I said it. UGH!!! That was weird. Moving onnnn :)


The Plan for this weekend is to hopefully hit up the Dallas/San Diego game at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday inbetween shows. Just being in that stadium for a few quarters would be sweet.
I'll let you knoooooow ;)

Thanks for Dropping by
All the Best,
Underdogs OUT