Bird Droppings

In November of 1978, I attended the Oregon State at Creighton game as a Creighton student. It was much different than that game I watched from the upper reaches of Civic Auditorium six years earlier. As a student, I felt much closer to the game.

Tom Apke’s Bluejays opened the 1978-79 season with six straight victories, including a 78-61 drubbing of in-state rival Nebraska. Things changed when they went on the road and by the time Larry Bird’s #5 Indiana State Sycamores came to town in late January of 1979, the Bluejays were stumbling along at 9-6.

The Sycamores were undefeated (15-0) and on cruise control headed toward their March championship game against “Magic” Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans. The Bluejays and Omaha were nothing more than a bump in their road coming in. But the sellout crowd of just under 9,000 fans in the old Omaha Civic Arena had different ideas.

Bluejay Baptism

The first “big-time” basketball game I ever remember seeing was a game between Ohio State University and Creighton University at Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha on December 30, 1972. Our family was visiting my grandparents during the holiday season.

My Uncle Mel came over and said he had some tickets for the Creighton basketball game and asked who wanted to go. I was 12 years old and had never been to a college basketball game so I was in immediately!

Even though it was a mid-major Creighton team, the visiting Big 10 Ohio State raised the profile of the game considerably. Ohio State dominated the Big 10 in the 1960's. Under Fred Taylor, they won three outright conference titles, shared three others, won the the 1960 National Championship, and finished national runner-up in 1961 and 1962.

Hating on Ribbons in the Garden

As I have documented in the past, I am an avid college basketball fan. I have attended 34 consecutive Final Fours. Over the years, I have attended over twenty Big 8, Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conference tournaments. I have also attended many NCAA first and second round games and regional games.

I have followed college basketball across the country and have been fortunate to see many games in many different venues. I've had the opportunity to visit with fans from schools across the country.

Two years ago, when Creighton University joined the Big East Conference, we attended the mens basketball tournament as a family. When purchasing the tickets, we were told that the Big East used a "ribbon seating" format in Madison Square Garden. In all of my college basketball travels, I had never heard of "ribbon seating". In fact, a Google search does not reveal any results that are relevant to this definition.

When I inquired with the Creighton ticket office, I was told that rather than seating fans of different schools in a "block", where they all sit together, tickets are distributed in "ribbons" or strips of two to perhaps ten seats in a row. Fans sit with and among those from other Big East schools.

The goal of "ribbon seating" is to not have big blocks of empty seats appearing on television. But the “ribbon seating" is not fooling anyone. Madison Square Garden looks empty on Wednesday night of the tournament because it is empty. The four lowest seeds are playing. There is no seating configuration that will change that.

Treating the fans well and making their experience positive, however, will do more than anything else to resolve the issue of empty seats. There are dozens (hundreds?) of prime seats (lower level at mid-court) that were empty for the first four sessions of the tournament this year. How did "ribbon seating" fix that?

I offer a couple ideas for why the Big East Conference should consider traditional block seating for fans of the Big East tournament:

First, and most importantly, traditional block seating offers a better game experience for the fans who are paying the bills. I don't know any fans that wouldn't prefer to sit with other fans of the same team. I believe the conference would take some of the pressure off the member schools because fans are not as sensitive about their priority seating if they are seating with fans of the same school.

Secondly, if all fans from each institution sit together, they will not have to be bothered by other fans sitting in front of them who don't care about the game going on and are up and down to the rest rooms or concession areas. There is nothing more annoying when trying to watch my team's game than some fan that disrupts the entire row at the least opportune time because he doesn't care about the current game. I experienced that many times during the two Big East tournaments I have attended.

Third, you would prevent animosity between fans of different schools sitting in the same section when some fans want to stand and other want to sit. Block seating circumvents this issue because fans of the same team tend to stand as a group and sit as a group. My family has been called some very special names in the "heat of the moment" the past two years. We also had our view of the court obstructed by fans holding signs and flags in front of us. Why not avoid the conflict?

Finally, it would be nice if the conference did something that is good for the fans in the arena rather than letting television dictate their every decision. I recognize the importance of the television contract. Madison Square Garden is a unique arena in that the lighting contrast between the floor and the seating is dramatic (perhaps the most dramatic of any major venue). It is difficult to see the seats because they appear quite dark on television.

I can attest to the fact that the empty seats from losing teams will find their way into the hands of basketball fans. The experience of wading through oceans of ticket scalpers on the way in to the Garden ensures that. Those blocks of seats will fill in when a school loses. The tickets are expensive. If fans choose to go home after their team loses, they will sell their ticket prior to their departure. But when a team loses, there is a better chance fans will go to remaining tournament games if they can sit in the block of fellow supporters of their school rather than among fans of other schools.

This is not the old Big East where most schools were a short drive away. Five schools, Creighton (1,100 miles), Marquette (900 miles), DePaul (800 miles), Butler (700 miles) and Xavier (600 miles) all required air transportation to get to New York for a weekend tournament. Add the cost of four nights in the hotel and four days of meals in the city and you have a considerable investment by a fan of any of these schools to attend the tournament.

The fans in the arena are customers. Please treat us as such. Make our experience a better one. Let us sit with each other after we make that investment to support the Big East Conference.

C'mon Big East. I urge you to consider changing the seating for future Big East Men's Tournaments to a tradition block configuration. If the only reason you can give for utilizing "ribbon seating' is that "it is the way we've always done it", then it's time to re-think it.

P.S. I received a response to the letter I sent to the Big East commissioner.  "The BIG EAST Conference is always searching for ways to improve the fan experience and we are spending the summer working with MSG staff and our institutional ticket and marketing representatives to review our current ticketing practices and methods.  We will be certain to incorporate your thoughts into our discussions." It was copied and pasted very neatly into the email.

Kindness, Like a Boomerang, Always Returns.

Our local paper, the Chamberlain-Oacoma Sun, recently did a feature story on volunteering and local volunteers. I was flattered to be interviewed for the story along with my friend, Susie Geiseler, who is a wonderful servant of our community.

Because volunteering is something that I am passionate about, I thought I would share that interview and the article from the paper. Because my space here is not limited, I have added some additional commentary that was not part of the interview. Those comments are italicized below.

Sun: What are some of the ways you volunteer?

HDK: I coach, teach religious education, serve as advisor for Explorers (junior high boys service club), serve on several local, state and national boards and various other things around our community and in church.

Sun: How or where can people volunteer in Chamberlain?

HDK: There are many organizations that are always looking for volunteers. Schools, churches, hospitals and retirement homes are good places to start. It depends somewhat on what you would like to do. Find someone who is volunteering in an area that you are interested in and ask them how you can get involved.

Sun: How did you get started or find information about how to volunteer?

HDK: My parents were both good examples to me. Both volunteered in the Chamberlain area and on statewide boards and projects.

My father was civic minded. He started the Chamberlain Chamber of Commerce in 1963. Dad realized the importance of a small community working together. He served on the city commission for nine years (anyone who has done that in a small community will recognize was a service that is!). He organized the school's athletic banquet for many years and taught religious education at St. James Catholic Church. 

My mother belonged to a local ladies service club, taught religious education at St. James and served on the South Dakota Easter Seal Board of Directors. She volunteered in many other ways at our church. 

Both of them showed me, by example, how to serve others long before the Jesuits ever got a hold of me.

In high school, they encouraged me to volunteer and to look for ways to serve others. I carried that interest in serving on to college. I went to school at Creighton University where volunteering was encouraged by the Jesuits. I had many opportunities at college to volunteer - through the school, the church and my fraternity.

After college, I really felt a need to serve others. I remember I started coaching a tee ball team in Omaha. I have some priceless stories from that time. That tested my patience but I really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed serving as a Big Brother in Des Moines as well. I have some great experiences and stories from that period as well.

I naively thought that I would be teaching baseball when I coached tee ball. No, not so much. But I learned so much from those kids. Just because I showed them what to do or how to dot did not mean that they learned. That was a valuable lesson for me as I have continued to coach young people.

My Big Brother experience in Des Moines was great. I am reminded of the first hockey game I ever went to. That will be material for a later post!

Sun: Do you think volunteering is important?

HDK: Yes, I think it is very important.

Sun: Why?

HDK: There is an element of "giving back" that I think is very important. At some point, everyone has been on the receiving end of volunteerism - especially if you live in a smaller community like ours.

Additionally, I think anyone who volunteers can tell you that there is some self satisfaction that goes with serving others.

Sun: You seem to volunteer quite often, what drives you to do this?

HDK: Much of my volunteer work is with young people. I really enjoy coaching and teaching young people for what I would guess are the same reasons our professional teachers do. It is rewarding to watch them learn and grow as a person.

I think any volunteer is at least partially motivated to do so by a desire to "give back" to either a community, a cause, an industry, etc.

I believe that giving one's time is perhaps the most valuable thing anyone can give. We all have just 24 hours in every day and so that time becomes a very precious commodity.

Sun: How does it make you feel?

HDK: I guess it makes me feel pretty good. I can tell you that I have received far more than I could ever give in almost every situation in which I volunteered. So I feel a certain gratitude for the opportunities as well.

I feel fortunate to have all the wonderful relationships that I have made by volunteering.

Sun: Any tips? Should people tie volunteering to things they already like to do? For instance, say you are a talented cook, singer, or something like that, could volunteering be more fun if it plays on strengths? Or is trying something new equally fun?

HDK: Volunteering is a very personal thing. I encourage people to find something they enjoy and stick with it. Don't limit yourself though. If you have the time, volunteer more.

Sun: Anything else you'd like to add?

HDK: A community like Chamberlain-Oacoma thrives on volunteers. There are so many programs that exists only because of volunteers. Sometimes we forget that people are volunteering for things that we take for granted. Tell them thanks and that you appreciate what they do. If they didn't volunteer, we probably wouldn't have that program.

Unless you live in a small community, you don't realize how many great events and activities depend on volunteers. Volunteers are important in every community but they are the life blood of small communities!

We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.         —Winston Churchill

Baby Jay Takes Flight!

We dropped our youngest child (of three) off at Creighton University in Omaha this past weekend. I am a Creighton Alum (BSBA '83) and our two older children hold degrees from Creighton. We are a  Creighton family. We build family gatherings around Creighton events. We spent last New Year's Eve at the CenturyLink Center for Creighton's inaugural Big East Conference basketball game. We all traveled to New York for the Big East tournament and our older daughter, her husband and our son joined me in San Antonio for Creighton NCAA tournament games.

So it was no surprise when Sarah told us she wanted to attend Creighton. But she had no interest in even visiting another school. Her senior year visits to Creighton only solidified her decision.

While taking a child to college is always an emotional event, at Creighton it is a spiritual event as well. The Creighton "Welcome Week" mass, this year on Saturday night, is always moving. One can see parents throughout the church wiping or holding back tears. At the end of mass, when parents are asked to say a blessing over their children, it's hard to hold back. I never can (or do).

Rachel with Grandpa Harry and Grandma Pat

When our oldest, Rachel (BSBA '08), left for Creighton in 2004, it was the whole "first time" sentiment. She was the first to leave, we didn't know what to expect and so there was apprehension as well. Though our daughter was leaving for school, we still had a high school son and an eight year-old at home. We knew that we would be busy parenting.

When our son, Alex (BSBA '11), left for Creighton in 2007, I knew there would be no one with whom to watch college football and basketball games at home any more. My deer hunting partner was leaving. All my regular father/son activities would be drawing down. (We would, however, make it to church each week on time since we didn't have to wait for Alex each Sunday!) But we still had an eleven year-old at home who would soon be getting busy with junior high and high school activities.

Now, seven years later as Sarah leaves for school, I have different feelings. I will miss being a parent on a daily basis. I will miss chasing Sarah from one corner of South Dakota to the other watching her volleyball, gymnastics and fine arts events. I will miss her friends at our home with there youthful energy (and naïveté). I will even miss the perpetually messy bedroom.

I know Sarah will be educated in the Jesuit tradition. She will be challenged academically, socially and emotionally. She will learn how to serve others. She will make wonderful, lifelong friends that will shape her as much as or more than we, as parents, did. These are the reasons we are sending her to Creighton. They are also the factors that makes this process a bit easier. 

Last Friday night, we got her settled in her dorm room (with a ton of help from the "Welcome Week" crew). We made "Target runs" on Friday and Saturday.

We met Sarah's roommate and her family. We met several friends that Sarah knew - either from high school activities or from Creighton's "Admitted Student Day" or "Summer Preview". We attended a luncheon where we learned about the Creighton Students Union Presidential Fellowship in which she will participate (and about which we are very excited!). We partook in all the "Welcome Week" activities to which parents are invited (before they are shown the door and encouraged to use it!).

On Sunday morning, we took Sarah to breakfast at Lisa's Radial Cafe, part family tradition, part Creighton tradition and part great food. Rachel introduced us to Lisa's shortly after she started at Creighton and we have been making Sunday morning treks there ever since.

After breakfast, we took a couple of photographs and then we set off for home knowing Sarah was ready to hit the ground running. It was a long quiet drive - too quiet. But it was even quieter at home. My first stop when I got home was Sarah's bedroom.

The hard wood floor, normally carpeted with clothing, was visible. There were some empty nails on the walls from which she had taken favorite photos of family and friends. There were no half bottles of water on the dresser or breakfast bar wrappers on the floor. Those irritations seem so insignificant now.

It was quiet. Even her dog, Snickers, was not there, having been checked in to the "Marriott for Mutts" for the weekend. It was just quiet. We had silence before, but we always knew it would not be long lasting. I'm sure I'll get used to the quiet (might have to turn on all the TVs in the house for awhile!).

Judy and I look forward to trips to Omaha to visit our "Baby Jay", to see the Creighton family or to watch Bluejays basketball. We will enjoy a dinner at one of Omaha's many outstanding steakhouses or catch a musical at the Orpheum.

We are now looking forward to the next family gathering - which, ironically enough, will be the marriage of two great Creighton friends at St. John's church on the Creighton campus. The we'll look forward to Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.

I always find it to be a challenge to come up with a topic and start a new blog entry. But I think starting that this starting a new chapter will be an even greater challenge.

March Madness and My Road to the Final Four

As you may know, I am a regular attendee of college basketball's pinnacle, the Final Four. This year, my road to the Final Four at AT&T Stadium in Dallas may be a long and winding one.
I am a Creighton University alumnus and Bluejay basketball fan. I also represent South Dakota's new automobile dealers on our national association board of directors. These three interests converge over the next month to create a crazy, hectic road for me from Chamberlain, SD to Dallas, TX.
I have decided to blog daily about my road trip. It starts with a day at National Automobile Dealers Association committee meeting in Washington, DC. My family will then join me for the 4-day Big East Mens Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.
From there I will trek across the county to Redondo Beach, CA for three days for a National Automobile Dealers Association Retirement Trust meeting. Following the NADART meeting, I plan to hit first and second round games wherever the Creighton Bluejays play. That will be 3+ days in one of eight cities - Buffalo, Orlando, Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Antonio, Spokane, Raleigh or San Diego. I won't know until Selection Sunday which is March 19. I currently have rooms booked in each of these cities.

So I will pack my bag for two weeks. It will be full of suits, dress shirts, ties and Creighton Bluejays apparel. Unfortunately, that is just a bit too long for me to travel by carry-on. I'll probably have to pack a little laundry soap as well!
I hope to update this blog at least daily and perhaps more often if events warrant it! So check back for updates.

GO JAYS!!!

Update: 10:30 AM EDT, 3/16/2014

So the trip to Washington, D.C. went fine and my meeting ended a bit early. I went to Union Station to see if I could get on a train for NYC earlier than the 5:00 PM train on which I was booked. I had read that Amtrak will allow you to move your time up and that's what happened to me.

I got on the 2:00 PM Acela Express and arrived at Penn Station in NYC shortly after 5:00 PM. After a rain soaked walk from Penn Station to my motel (about 4 blocks), I checked in, unpacked and checked on the arrival times of the rest of the family.

The South Dakota delegation was experiencing some delays but the DC group was set for an on time arrival. I call an old classmate that I knew was coming in for the games and we met up at on of the Bluejay bars.

Eventually we made our way to the Garden to watch the end of Seton Hall's victory over Butler and then saw DePaul upset Georgetown. After the games, we met up with daughter Rachel and son-in-law Andrew for a cocktail before calling it an evening.

The South Dakota delegation did not make it in on Wednesday evening and were scheduled to arrive late Thursday morning after another Delta disaster.

Thursday brought the late morning arrival of wife Judy, son Alex and daughter Sarah. After lunch at Greek Corner near our hotel, we decided to go the second afternoon game. We watch Seton Hall's upset of tournament top seed Villanova while at lunch. Providence out-battled St. John's in the second afternoon clash.

We grabbed some dinner between games and headed in to watch the Blujays' game with DePaul. The Jays took care of business and Xavier beat Marquette to set up a third Creighton/Xavier class of the year.

We did not get out of the basketball games until after midnight. Judy and Sarah we tired. Alex was ready to rally with a bunch of friends. We turned in for the evening while the night was just getting started for the rest of them.

On Friday, we played tourist. We walked up 7th Avenue to Times Square and then over to Rockefeller Center before making our way over to Brooklyn for our late afternoon dinner reservation at Peter Luger's steakhouse, which is one of my all-time favorite places.

Our group of 15 had a great meal and a wonderful time and unique dining experience. The steakhouse lived up to my very strong billing!!

It was off to the Creighton/Xavier game from there. The Jays had another strong performance and took care of the Musketeers before Providence ended the Seton Hall season. Again, Judy, Sarah and I were tired and the rest had to rally!

On Saturday morning we went to the 911 Memorial and Battery Park before making our way to Broadway to see an afternoon performance of The Book of Mormon. We all enjoyed the musical very much.

We hustled back to the Creighton team hotel (eventually taking 2 pedi-cabs) from the show to go to the Birds of Pray Creighton mass.

After mass, it was a quick dash through the pizza parlor on our way to the Garden for the championship game. Providence was in a "must win" situation to get into the NCAA tournament and they played like it. They executed a very shrewd game plan, slowed the game down and hit crucial shots.

Meanwhile, the Bluejays had tired legs and could not hit the crucial shots. The result was a disappointing 65-58 loss for the Jays.

The Creighton fans had nothing to hang their heads about though as their team played hard and in front of a staggering number of Bluejay faithful. Every other team in attendance was surprised and the number of fans who had made their way from Omaha and other points around the Midwest to follow their beloved Jays. It made it a lot of fun for all Bluejay fans.

We headed back to the motel to pack, knowing that the 6:00 AM wake up call would come too early. It did but we made it to Laguardia in plenty of time for Delta to delay our flights - mine to Minneapolis then Los Angeles and Judy, Alex and Sarah's to Minneapolis then Sioux Falls.

We all had a great time despite the championship game loss. It was great to spend time together as a family. It was fun to renew friendships with CU buddies for all of us. Especially enjoyed seeing my classmate Bryan Beam and his sister. Also had the son of another great Creighton friend join us for the weekend.

I am hoping to catch my connection to LA as I write this having sat at the LaGuardia gate for 45 minutes while mechanics were fixing the intercom.

Update 7:00 PM CDT, 3/25/2014

So I made my connection to Los Angeles in Minneapolis. I arrived in Los Angeles about 1:30 pm local time.

That gave me enough time to watch some basketball and time for a workout and before our dinner that evening.

We ate at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Before dinner, we enjoyed quite a show. God was entertaining with a beautiful sunset, whales and dolphins. It was magnificent.

After a very nice dinner, we made our way back to our motel, The Portofino, in Redondo Beach. I was exhausted and ready to call it a night.

I had a golf game at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles the next morning. Trump National was a spectacular course in a breathtaking setting but it probably wasn't the place to play your first golf game of the season. Every teebox had a view of the ocean (and very little view of the fairway!).

We played on a perfect day, 72 degrees and a breeze blowing off the ocean. The huge American flag can be seen from every point on the golf course. I like that. The golf course is a true gem. It is everything you would expect in a championship course overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It did kick my ass!!!

That evening brought another nice dinner and an early bedtime - which was greatly appreciated as I was still somewhere between Eastern and Central Daylight time!

Wednesday was an all-day meeting followed by dinner at Jay Leno's The Comedy and Magic Club. It's a comedy club, so the tables are small and the food is mediocre. That seems to always be the case at these places. But the entertainment was great. I laughed for two hours straight.

The next day was a meeting until noon and then more golf. This time is was historic Palos Verdes Golf Club. Built in 1924, this course had beautiful ocean and mountain vistas throughout our round of golf. It was a much more forgiving course as well and I appreciated that so early in the golf season.

My golf partners for the two days were great. I enjoy golfing with someone who loves the game but does not take themselves too seriously. Jim, Jason and Jim were just that - great partners who loved golf and played quite well.

After an informal dinner with some NADART friends who were still in town, I moved to the Hampton Inn near the airport since I had a 6:00 am flight the next morning.

My flight to San Antonio was early but went well. I made my connection in Salt Lake City and arrived in San Antonio about 1:30 CDT. I rode to our downtown hotel with cabbie Martin who turned out to be our escort for the weekend.

I knew that rides to and from the AT&T Arena were going to be a challenge so I talked to Martin about taking care of us. He did just that for our entire stay in San Antonio including a ride to the airport for Alex and then me on Monday after the basketball games.

Since Rachel and Andrew and Alex did not arrive until later that evening, I had the day to myself. After doing some laundry (a must on a two-week trip), I headed for the Riverwalk. I found a sports bar and planted myself at the bar for the evening.

While patrons would come and go, I could strike up a conversation with anyone about college basketball as I sat there watching three televisions. The cocktails were good, the food was adequate and the view of the basketball games was tremendous. I was happy!

Both of the flights made it in on time and we all met up at the Doubletree Hotel bar where we were staying. Everyone was tired but ready for some Bluejay basketball.

We got going late the next morning and took off for the arena at about 10:30 am. Nebraska and Baylor tipped at 11:45 and we wanted to watch it all.

Baylor beat Nebraska in a very ugly basketball game. Creighton took care of business against Louisiana-Lafayette to set up a matchup on Sunday against Baylor which scared me right after seeing Baylor play. They were long and athletic, just the combo to cause a matchup problem for the Bluejays.

After a break at the only sports bar for miles between sessions, Alex and made our way back for the Providence/North Carolina game. That was a great game as UNC pulled it out at the end. Iowa State took care of business against North Carolina Central setting up a UNC/ISU matchup on Sunday.

We met up with Rachel and Andrew, who went out to dinner with some friends who drove down from Austin, for a nitecap at the hotel bar. We caught the last two games of the evening on TV.

Saturday was a fun day in San Antonio. We started at the Alamo, followed by lunch at a other sports bar on the Riverwalk with some Creighton friends. Next we went to the smoke shop to get some cigars (which we never smoked) and then to Pat O'Brien's piano bar for music and mint juleps.

Then it was back to the Riverwalk to the Creighton bar for a pep rally followed by a walk to Mi Tierra, a rather famous San Antonio Mexican restaurant. By then, we had all had enough to eat and drink and we turned in for the evening.

Sunday was game day - Bluejays and Baylor. We had lunch and watch games at a great bar called The Esquire. Excellent traditional cocktails and original cocktails were their specialty. The cocktail perfectionist would appreciate the big square ice cubes that started every drink. I enjoyed watching the mixologists who only mixed cocktails - they were not distracted by taking orders from the patrons. Other servers handled that task. I highly recommend The Esquire if you get to San Antonio.

From ther, we made our wat to the AT&T Arena - the site of the masacre. Unfortunately, the Baylor Bears mauled the Bluejays. It was a tough matchup for Creighton but they did not have their "A" game that night and the final 30-point margin reflected that.

I will save my reflections of the Bluejays magical season for another post but you can find Coach McDermott's post-game talk to the team here and a good analysis of how most Bluejays fans felt after the game here.

We had a post-game meal at Mi Tierra and then back to the motel. Alex had an early 6:00 AM flight and Rachel and Andrew had a 9:00 AM flight. I did not fly out until 2:40 PM and went home by way of Atlanta. I arrived back to Sioux Falls at 9:20 PM completing my 13-day junket.

Delta had totally destroyed my bag on the NYC-LAX leg of the trip but I felt more wiped out than my bag looked. It was great to sleep in my own bed!

First Time for "Arch Madness"

March came in "like a lion" for me as I attended my first "Arch Madness" Missouri Valley Conference Mens Basketball Tournament in St. Louis. The main reason for the junket to St. Louis was a wedding shower for our oldest daughter and her fiance. But someone did some wonderful planning and planned the shower over the MVC tourney weekend for all the Jays fans.

I have seen 93 Final Four games, over 150 Big 8/Big 12 tournament games and many, many other college basketball games through the years, but I was really looking forward to watching the beloved Creighton Bluejays attempt to "double down" on their MVC regular season championship.

I was in Omaha the prior weekend for the regular season finale showdown between the Bluejays and the Wichita Shockers for the regular season title. It was a classic game as Creighton star and National Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott scored 41 points to lead the Jays to a 91-79 victory. I believe we saw one of the greatest single-game performances in Creighton history by McDermott,

When I was a freshman at Creighton, I was lucky enough to witness a classic Larry Bird performance in 1979 (the year Indiana State went to the national title game). The Omaha World Herald article below from that game said Bird's performance that day "what might be the best performance ever by a college basketball player in Omaha".

But McDermott's was better because the stakes were so much higher. McDermott was not going to let Creighton lose. I have never witnessed a more spectacular offensive performance than McDermott's in person. It was simply amazing and I'm pretty sure most of the 18,600 fans in attendance don't realize how great it was.

So it was great fun as more than 6,000 Bluejay fans invaded the Scottrade Center in St. Louis for the "Creighton Invitational". The Bluejays brought their "A" game as they disposed of Drake by a count of 65-53 in the first round. They overwhelmed Indiana State 64-43 in the semi-finals setting up a third game of the season between the leagues two best teams.

Wichita State won the first game of the season between the two squads in Wichita 67-64. Creighton had missed two three point shots at the end of that game. As I mentioned above, the Bluejays beat the Shockers in the final regular season game of the year.

So in front of a national television audience, the Jays played great and the crowd was electric. Creighton (27-7) won its 12th MVC Tournament title pushing its record to 9-0 all-time in MVC Tournament championship games in St. Louis.

Wichita State threw a late scare into the Jays, as they drained consecutive three-pointers to trim CU's lead to 66-61 with 2:28 to play. A free-throw, followed by three-pointer cut CU's edge to one with 43.4 left. But a Bluejay basket with 11 seconds left pushed the lead to three, and WSU's contested three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark. Jays win 68-65.

While the basketball was great, what really made it fun was sharing the weekend with our family and friends. Our daughter, Rachel, and her fiance, Andrew, had their group of about 13-14 friends that they have been reuniting with at this event for several years. Our son, Alex, and his five former roommates have made "Arch Madness" an annual reunion. We enjoyed our weekend with all of them and it wasn't a bad Creighton recruiting weekend for our daughter, Sarah, who is a junior in high school!

So as the nets came down, I was grateful for the opportunity to experience my first "Arch Madness" and the Jays success. I was grateful for a wonderful wedding shower on Saturday morning. It was fun to be with our family and friends.

It's a good thing we didn't procrastinate a trip to the MVC tournament any longer. It looks like this may have been the Jays' swansong in this conference tournament. Maybe we'll make the trek to Madison Square Garden next year for the Big East Conference Tournament!

Bleeding Bluejay Blue!!

Knust Bluejays

If you know me, you know I have a passion for college basketball. (If you don't, check out the links.) March is typically my least productive month (unless you measure productivity by how much basketball one can absorb in 31 days!).

Another of my passions is Creighton University, where I earned a business degree thirty years ago and to where our two oldest kids matriculated. They both earned business degrees and all three of us "bleed" Creighton blue.

So you can imagine what happens when you take two of my passions and combine them in the month of March. It makes for some “white knuckle” fun!

The Creighton Bluejays have had a great year and aside from a three game streak in early February, they have been a lot of fun to follow. The coach-player, father-son team of Greg and Doug McDermott have brought Creighton’s family theme to the basketball court.

Oldest child Bluejay Rachel is making her way from Washington, DC to Greensboro, NC, where the Creighton will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon. She will be rallying with the DC Creighton Alumni and cheering the Jays on to a win!

Bluejay son Alex spent his birthday earlier this month in St. Louis, cheering on the Bluejays in their "Arch Madness" run to the Missouri Valley Conference title. He is trying to figure out a way to make the two-hour trek from his work in Sioux Falls to our home in Chamberlain, where we'll have the projector and three other TVs tuned in to all things Creighton, in time for the 1:40 PM EDT tip-off.

Honorary Bluejay wife Judy has CU degree in Motherhood. She is a University of South Dakota Coyote but she spent her share of time at CU during her college days. Judy cannot watch the Creighton games - the pressure is too great. Anything less than a twenty point lead sends her to the next room to do a couple laps around the rosary with a favorable outcome for the Bluejays' as her intention. She could be the Bluejays' MVP (Most Valuable Prayer).

Youngest child Sarah will be cheering on the local high school basketball team in the state tournament. Though she attended a Bluejay game in Omaha with us earlier this season, she probably won't be losing any sleep over the Bluejays' fate.

The Lady Jays will give us Jays fans some bonus basketball as they earned their way into the women's version of March Madness. They will take on St. John's in Norman, OK on Sunday afternoon. So Jays fans will have a rooting interest in a Sunday game regardless.

I have been heard this week to complain about the Bluejays' eight seed and their potential second round matchup against the top seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in the Heels' backyard. I am over all that now (NOT!) and ready for the boys to lace 'em up, take the court and kick some Crimson Tide ass! GO BLUEJAYS!!!!!