Morning Of

Can't stop humming this:

bah-da-da-dum dum-DUUUUM dum-dummm. da-da-da-dum da-da. da-da-da DA-DA-DA-DUM. DUM DUM!

It's gameday here and the vibe is good. Yesterday was an open practice and the Gaels took the CenturyLink Center floor for the first time. Coach and players talked to the media and the team held a light practice that was more like a shootaround. Players joking, laughing, holding a bit of a dunk contest. It was open to the public and about a hundred Jayhawk fans were in the hosue, cheering for the Gaels. But those cheers might turn to boos in a few hours.

The team was relaxed, enjoying the time in the spotlight. But stayed serious, knowing that this was a brief interlude of fun between preparing for the Boilermakers.

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Stephen Holt, the sophomore guard, says he's back to 100% and looked strong in the knee brace. He said he'll be coming off the bench, which is a change for him. Ever the team player, he says his role's changed but his attitude hasn't.

When asked about the extra national (and thanks to the Aussies, international) attention the Gaels are getting, he said it's what comes with being a successful program. But the Gaels are still in control of what comes next. "We're gonna keep writing our story."

Video here: http://bryaninmedford.blogspot.com/2012/03/stephen-holt.html

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What's different about this team than the 2010 Gaels is a loss of that wide-eyed, lucky-to-be-here feeling. Those Gaels had spent a few years building a team to dethrone Gonzaga and finally did it. There was a bit of an adrenaline rush from that achievement.

This team has 7 players from that Sweet 16 team who have been here. Who are hungry for more.

This year, we won the regular season outright and took the conference championship. We've earned this. We're not a cinderella. We're not here to get our name out there and show what mid-majors can do.

We're here to win.

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There's no Omar Samhan, a media darling with a mouth to brag and boost awareness. This team does it's talking on the hardwood.

Maybe it's better that way.

Omar's antics got our foot in the door and now people know that Saint Mary's existed. But the past two years have shown that we're a program that's growing and developing and should be taken seriously.

I think that's the focused motivation behind the Gaels this March.

We'll see how it plays out.

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The first games of the day are starting across the country and in about 90 minutes the game in Omaha will start. I'll be heading over to watch the action in person.

Florida takes on Virgina. Then, Mizzou against Norfolk State.

A great chance to see some great basketball in person.

But then it's our time.

Stephen Holt

Stephen Holt was sidelined for nine games after knee injury. He says he's back to 100% but won't be starting. "New role, same attitude."

That's the spirit of a Gael.

Videos

Saint Mary's Sendoff

An Unlikely Mascot

In Omaha

I'm here in Omaha, The Gateway to the West. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny, 80 degrees when we landed. A far cry from the rainy Moraga (and snowy Medford). I immediately changed into shorts.

We're staying in a Doubletree (cookies!) in the downtown/financial district. Beautiful office buildings, hotels, and convention centers. Wide roads and wide sidewalks with trees and street lights. Looking out from my 4th floor hotel room window, I can see the baseball field where the college world series is played. It's only about 5 blocks away. The CenturyLink Center, where we will play, is about 6 blocks away.

I've only got a small sample size, but I'm very impressed with the city so far.

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Staying here longer depends on the team. I shot and edited two features yesterday, but due to slow internet and a longgggg travel day, they've yet to go on the website. As soon as they do, I'll post a new article with the links.

Thanks for your patience, and your support.

Mike Bouve, Gaels Radio Announcer; Richard Kilwein, Sports Information Director; Myself, Team Videographer

Photo from SMCGaels.com

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Also, I'm working some pretty quick deadlines so blogging comes second. Expect fuller reports and more photos once the run is said and done. Hopefully later than sooner.

Cate the Great

It's a small world.

Yesterday, I spent a few hours on campus saying hi to professors and friends. People I lived with or took classes with and had a real good relationship with, but hadn't seen more than once or twice since graduating a year and a half ago. It was time traveling to the past when we got hang out.

Today, was the same-- professors, staff, and friends who I haven't seen in 22 months. But also, a good friend who I didn't even know 22 months ago.

Cate Cauguiran worked at another station in Medford until she moved to the City by the Bay earlier this month. This is her second week at KPIX CBS-5. Today, she's on my stomping grounds covering the Gaels sendoff.

She didn't know I'd be here, and I was hoping to surprise her. She was hoping to surprise me by sending me a link to her report (she thought I was still in OR).

Well, we were both surprised when we pulled on to campus at the same time!

At the send-off we caught up, had laughs, and a took a couple of pictures. Both loving that our worlds met despite being six hours away.

Hunted, not Hunter

I'm in Moraga, I've got my gear, and I've got my assignments.

The 354 mile drive from Oregon to California was slowed down by some snow on the border, strong winds near Shasta, and buckets of rain near Redding. But slow and steady wins the race and I had a lot of music.

Fast forward seven hours and now I'm on Saint Mary's campus. Met with the Sports Information Director, or SID, Richard Kilwein. He's the one hwo works with the media to set up interviews, pitch stories, and get them clearance. And he'll be my "boss" for the next few days (or more).

The current plan is to make at least one video a day for SMCGaels.com. I'll be working with the radio announcer, Mike Bouve, as the talent and producer for the videos, and I'll be staying behind the camera. We'll be showing the excitement surrounding the program and the NCAA run and some of the sights and scenes you'd see if you were in Omaha with us. Maybe a little of what the hotel is like, the arena, the band practicing, what the fans are doing. And of course the team during open practice, interacting with fans, talking about what they're expecting, and the game itself. Lots of up-in-the-airs right now, but that's what makes it fun.

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A lot of people peg us as the small mid-major, not expecting to do anything big. They think we must be happy just to be included.

For us, that is not the case.

We've been here before. We have been to the Sweet-16, knocking off a #2 in the process. We won our regular season conference title and the championship title, beating "the team to beat" twice in three times this year. We've got the WCC player of the year. We are the higher seed. We are the hunted, not the hunter.

It's time to show what Saint Mary's can do.

To the Tournament!

I don't know how I get this lucky. Sometimes things happen that make me shake my head in amazement and disbelief. But the good kind of disbelief.

I'm going back to March Madness!

Late last week, I got a call from Saint Mary's asking if I'd be willing to travel with the school and produce videos for the team. I just about jumped out of my shoes. Before I could say yes, I needed to my bosses to sign off on the work, which they did.

Selection Sunday brought a different kind of tension than it normally does. Where would we be? Pittsburgh? Greensboro? Nashville? Columbus? Nope, Omaha. Not my first (or second, or third) choice, but the Gaels could've been travelling to Alaska and I'd be onboard.

The brackets were revealed and, just like last time, we're in a 7/10 matchup, but this time as the favorite. We'll be taking on 10-seed Purdue, then likely taking on 2-seed Kansas. It seems like an infinitely more uphill battle than two years ago when we upset 7-seed Richmond and 2-seed Villanova. Maybe because we're less unknown, less under-the-radar, less of a "darling" than in 2010.

But maybe that works for us. We're this funky team made of Australians and transfers. We play in a gym that's the same size as most other schools' practice facilities. Other teams will bring more fans to these tournament games than we have students at Saint Mary's. How many people don't know what a Gael is? We're an oddity. And maybe that's what propels us.

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It's Tuesday morning, about 6:15, and I've been up for an hour and a half. I can't sleep because I'm so excited to get on the road and head back to campus. I'll be there meeting with my "clients" (I am a freelancer for the next few days), saying hi to friends, and sleeping on a couch.

It's a quick turnaround and all the plans just came together last minute and requires the six hour drive over the nasty Siskiyou Summit at the OR/CA border and through the rainy freeways of the East Bay. And though couch-crashing is far from glamorous, I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Come early Wednesday I'll be boarding a bus then a charter plane with the players, coaches, band, cheer team, and everyone else who's trekking eastward to "The Gateway to the West."

From there, I'll be making at least one video a day and posting it to Saint Mary's' website or to the Athletics website.

I don't know what these videos will be or how long or anything just yet. We'll be talking it over and I'm sure the plans will change in the middle of the day. But that's alright.

My hope is to post a link to the videos on this blog every night. If I've got some free time there even may be some anecdotes about how it was put together. But things may get busy (read: I'm having too much fun). And you can definitely count on a recap at the end of the whole experience. Hopefully it's later than it is sooner.

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Like Pavlov's dogs, I hear this sound and can't wait to see what's coming next.

My favorite song for the next month:

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I feel lucky and I feel excited to have this opportunity.

When I got to go senior year, I felt like it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I was wrong. Apparently lightening can strike twice.