Post by XFLBlitz on Jan 22, 2008 22:06:29 GMT -5
Once again, XFL Blitz is reporting to you from the Senior Bowl, where today's All- Americans try to become tomorrow's Pro Bowlers.
Sunday
• 4:30am - Gotta love these early flights! Just getting ready to head out to the airport and apparently it is -17 degrees farenheight out and who knows how much colder with the wind chill. It's not like Mobile is going to be 80 and sunny but whatever it is it'll be a heck of a lot better than Minnesota, at least when it comes to temperature!!! I will do my best to post one more time while I'm waiting for my flight
• 12:00pm - I am in Mobile!
Travel went relatively smooth and we actually landed in Memphis a half hour ahead of schedule. Unfortunately there was a problem with the jetway so after sitting in the plane for about 30 minutes we finally had to move to a different gate. Needless to say the one hour cushion between our connecting flight had evaporated and by the time I got to the gate for the flight to Mobile on the other side of the airport there was only about 5 min. to spare. No big deal though, it could have been worse and I have actually been pretty lucky when it comes to travel over the years, unlike by buddy Colin Lindsay from the GBN Report. Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge was actually on my second flight and it sounds like he's here just to meet with teams and network, although I believe he's the first alternate so should someone get hurt or drop out he will be ready to take their place. Ainge was the only player I saw at the airport this time, unlike last year when there were seemingly dozens waiting at the baggage claim when I arrived. There were a handful of autograph seekers staking out the area though. It is real sunny here and I believe they said the temperature is 41 degrees but it's supposed to get warmer the rest of the week and you certainly won't hear me complain about the cold after what I just left.
The plan now is to unpack and then head over to the Riverview Hotel, which is kind of the home base for the Senior Bowl every year. Once there I will be picking up my media credentials, grabbing a copy of the official roster and then finding a television to watch the conference championship games. The Riverview should be hopping with players, scouts, coaches, agents, etc. milling around so I will check in from there in a little bit and give you an idea of what the scene is like.
• 2:30pm - It is actually pretty quiet at Riverview. There are still a good number of scouts walking around but I think for the most part everyone is in their rooms watching the games. I did see a few players as I was registering though, including Cliff Avril, Carl Nicks and Tom Zbikowski. I also checked and the official rosters have not been released yet... Hopefully soon. I think am going to settle in and watch the game myself but I will check in if I see or hear anything noteworthy.
• 4:00pm - No rosters yet but I did see Heath Benedict, Red Bryant and Justin Forsett in the lobby and Colt Brennan is actually sitting right next to me eating and watching the game as I type this. You can tell he's definitely a "Type A" personality and he seems extremely nice and personable. He even put his cell down right in the middle of a call to sign a couple of autographs and take a picture with some fans. He also killed two plates of food so he must be either real hungry or he's trying to bulk up.
• 4:45pm - New Mexico WR Marcus Smith came up to me in the lounge while I was trying to get an internet connection to see if I had any luck. I did not. They are charging for WiFi here this year but so far we are both being cheap and looking for other options!
• 4:45pm - I am looking forward to this Packers / Giants game. I am not sure most people understand just how cold it is going to be there. There is cold and then there is dangerous cold and tonight in Green Bay it's going to be the latter. I am picking the Packers but I wouldn't bet the house on it, especially after seeing how bad they played against Chicago in cold / windy conditions in Week 16.
• 5:30pm - I moved upstairs to the ballroom where they have big TV set up to watch the next game. Mike Singletary is sitting at the next table and Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan just walked through too.
• 8:00pm - The players are all in a meeting now so I think I'm going to call it a day here at Riverview and head back to my hotel. One last note though: I walked by Nebraska offensive tackle Carl Nicks and that is one big dude. Now obviously there are a lot of big guys here and I have been around my fair share of football players but this guy is truly huge and very impressive close up. I will check in one more time tonight.
• 10:00pm - Well, it's been a long day and with the travel factored in I am beat so I'm going to hit the sack and get an early start in the morning. There is a lot of fun stuff on the slate tomorrow so be sure to check back early (literally) and often.
Good night from Mobile, Alabama!
• 10:15pm - One more update! The official roster was not released today and this is the first time since I've been coming down here that it wasn't out Sunday afternoon. Now we might know why. Word is Brian Brohm has pulled out of the game and I can only assume Erik Ainge will be replacing him since I saw the Vols signal caller in town this morning. I can understand Matt Ryan pulling out because he had more to lose than gain but I think Brohm is making a mistake and it will be very interesting to hear the reasoning behind his decision. Unless he has a very good excuse I think this is going to hurt his draft stock...
Sunday
• 4:30am - Gotta love these early flights! Just getting ready to head out to the airport and apparently it is -17 degrees farenheight out and who knows how much colder with the wind chill. It's not like Mobile is going to be 80 and sunny but whatever it is it'll be a heck of a lot better than Minnesota, at least when it comes to temperature!!! I will do my best to post one more time while I'm waiting for my flight
• 12:00pm - I am in Mobile!
Travel went relatively smooth and we actually landed in Memphis a half hour ahead of schedule. Unfortunately there was a problem with the jetway so after sitting in the plane for about 30 minutes we finally had to move to a different gate. Needless to say the one hour cushion between our connecting flight had evaporated and by the time I got to the gate for the flight to Mobile on the other side of the airport there was only about 5 min. to spare. No big deal though, it could have been worse and I have actually been pretty lucky when it comes to travel over the years, unlike by buddy Colin Lindsay from the GBN Report. Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge was actually on my second flight and it sounds like he's here just to meet with teams and network, although I believe he's the first alternate so should someone get hurt or drop out he will be ready to take their place. Ainge was the only player I saw at the airport this time, unlike last year when there were seemingly dozens waiting at the baggage claim when I arrived. There were a handful of autograph seekers staking out the area though. It is real sunny here and I believe they said the temperature is 41 degrees but it's supposed to get warmer the rest of the week and you certainly won't hear me complain about the cold after what I just left.
The plan now is to unpack and then head over to the Riverview Hotel, which is kind of the home base for the Senior Bowl every year. Once there I will be picking up my media credentials, grabbing a copy of the official roster and then finding a television to watch the conference championship games. The Riverview should be hopping with players, scouts, coaches, agents, etc. milling around so I will check in from there in a little bit and give you an idea of what the scene is like.
• 2:30pm - It is actually pretty quiet at Riverview. There are still a good number of scouts walking around but I think for the most part everyone is in their rooms watching the games. I did see a few players as I was registering though, including Cliff Avril, Carl Nicks and Tom Zbikowski. I also checked and the official rosters have not been released yet... Hopefully soon. I think am going to settle in and watch the game myself but I will check in if I see or hear anything noteworthy.
• 4:00pm - No rosters yet but I did see Heath Benedict, Red Bryant and Justin Forsett in the lobby and Colt Brennan is actually sitting right next to me eating and watching the game as I type this. You can tell he's definitely a "Type A" personality and he seems extremely nice and personable. He even put his cell down right in the middle of a call to sign a couple of autographs and take a picture with some fans. He also killed two plates of food so he must be either real hungry or he's trying to bulk up.
• 4:45pm - New Mexico WR Marcus Smith came up to me in the lounge while I was trying to get an internet connection to see if I had any luck. I did not. They are charging for WiFi here this year but so far we are both being cheap and looking for other options!
• 4:45pm - I am looking forward to this Packers / Giants game. I am not sure most people understand just how cold it is going to be there. There is cold and then there is dangerous cold and tonight in Green Bay it's going to be the latter. I am picking the Packers but I wouldn't bet the house on it, especially after seeing how bad they played against Chicago in cold / windy conditions in Week 16.
• 5:30pm - I moved upstairs to the ballroom where they have big TV set up to watch the next game. Mike Singletary is sitting at the next table and Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan just walked through too.
• 8:00pm - The players are all in a meeting now so I think I'm going to call it a day here at Riverview and head back to my hotel. One last note though: I walked by Nebraska offensive tackle Carl Nicks and that is one big dude. Now obviously there are a lot of big guys here and I have been around my fair share of football players but this guy is truly huge and very impressive close up. I will check in one more time tonight.
• 10:00pm - Well, it's been a long day and with the travel factored in I am beat so I'm going to hit the sack and get an early start in the morning. There is a lot of fun stuff on the slate tomorrow so be sure to check back early (literally) and often.
Good night from Mobile, Alabama!
• 10:15pm - One more update! The official roster was not released today and this is the first time since I've been coming down here that it wasn't out Sunday afternoon. Now we might know why. Word is Brian Brohm has pulled out of the game and I can only assume Erik Ainge will be replacing him since I saw the Vols signal caller in town this morning. I can understand Matt Ryan pulling out because he had more to lose than gain but I think Brohm is making a mistake and it will be very interesting to hear the reasoning behind his decision. Unless he has a very good excuse I think this is going to hurt his draft stock...