Tennessee @ Gonzaga tonight

Tonight was supposed to be an ecstatic occasion for me, as I was to travel to Spokane, Wash. to see the reigning National Champions take on Gonzaga. But in a world that humans have squelched and molded to their liking more and more every year, one thing remains indomitable and that's the weather. Spokane has had 59 inches of snow in the last two weeks - almost two feet of which arrived since Sunday night. In fact it was just as the roads were looking better and I was ready once again to make the trip that the last snowstorm came along. Flying would cost $220, which is about $160 more than it usually costs from Seattle. Greyhound and Amtrak, if they're still running, would get me there right at game time. I was and am very sad.

But the going is rough even for Spokane natives. My friend Richard, who lives there, said it has taken him hours and hours to get around and do things that usually take minutes. The city hasn't seen this much snow in many, many years.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008571893_spokane30m.html

Another disappointment in tonight's game is that the anticipated showdown between Angie and Jami Bjorklund, aka the reason the Vols are there in the first place, is not going to happen. It was announced last week that because of Jami's knee injury, she'd be sidelined and unable to play against her sister. There was another bit about that in today's Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/collegesports/2008571794_whoop30.html

So while I sadly sit in front of the big TV at my brother's house tonight to watch this game, I will take a bit of consolation in the fact that I can at least get home to LA from here; Spokane is expecting even more snowfall during tonight's game.

On the humorous side, the joke in the Vol camp is that the team has tied a string to 5'2" point guard Briana Bass. As the snow levels approach five feet, they don't want to lose their floor general in the white stuff.