Day 2: Things Picking Up

MOBILE, Ala. — Today was one of those days of why being a sportswriter is great.

We'll start that we could hear the people upstairs most of the night in the hotel. But Morning in Mobile brought a refreshed crew ready for day one of action. Down here, the lights are a little brighter, the claps a little louder, the games a little more important. We received our credentials without incident and proceeded into the arena.

We were greeted by a large workroom with all the necessities, media guides, game notes, internet hookups, and most importantly food. A few slices of pizza later it was game time. It was a game that featured a slow start for the Lady Toppers and foul trouble for Crystal Kelly. Both things not good if WKU wanted to advance onto the next round.

We stuck around the arena for the second game between Arkansas State and South Alabama, purely for the purpose of being able to update Western's opponent on Monday in our stories. In the meantime of waiting we sent the unofficial intern of the trip, Luke Sharrett because he is the youngest, for slices of chocolate cake that got us wanting dinner even more.

We agreed to head to the Brick Pit, not knowing what to expect, it was pretty much a house on the side of the road, but served up a great BBQ Pork sandwich on very thick slices of Texas Toast. The best part of the place was all the writing on the wall and ceiling. We were sure to leave our mark writing our names and things like "College Heights Herald," and "WKU Photojournalism."

From there we decided to venture around Mobile, after a trip through Downtown we headed on I-10 towards Pensacola, but decided to stop at the USS Alabama, and have decided to head back that way tomorrow to check out the ship. Of course there was plenty said in the car ride all night long, much of it not to be repeated because when you put four college kids in the car, things get down right un-family friendly.

Our final two stops of the night, included Marble Slab Creamery and a quick stop at Kinkos. Apparently the conference is too cheap to a) laminate, and b) give the media covering the tournament a decent lanyard. We were given B-league credentials for what apparently wants to be an A-league conference. So we made the best of the situation and laminated them. BRILLIANT.

Tomorrow will include more exploring thanks to a 9 p.m. tip-off for the Toppers over at the Mitchell Center. Look for an update before the game because things will be down right hectic well into the night tomorrow night!