Random Thoughts from the Southern Outpost - Day 2

Some random thoughts from Day 2 of the ACC basketball tournament in Atlanta...

• North Carolina, Florida State, and Duke all had to come back in the last minute of their games today to advance to the semi-finals. That means all three are still alive to be the NCAA champion in 3 weeks. Why? Because no team has ever been bounced from the conference tournament in their first round of play and gone on to win the big dance. So...when you fill out those brackets, leave Pittsburgh, UConn, Clemson, Wake Forest, Kansas, and Oklahoma out of your Champion slot. Then again, maybe it just means they're due...

• For the second day in a row, ticket availability here has been easier than Lindsay Lohan after some drinks and a couple of lines of coke. This would be great if my friends and I were only buyers in this market...however, because of the continual upgrades to our seats that we have made we now hold 8 extra tickets for the rest of the weekend. I can't tell if it's the location (Atlanta compared to the more ACC-centric North Carolina venues), the stadium (the Georgia Dome compared to basketball-only arenas), or the dismal state of the economy. Whatever the reason, all the scalpers here are taking a bath...at least until Duke & UNC make the Sunday final.

• Toney Douglas got jobbed in the ACC Player of the Year voting. North Carolina's own Ty Lawson topped Douglas to win this year. However, Douglas was the leading scorer in the ACC and was voted the Defensive Player of the Year. And after sitting through a painful Florida State/Georgia Tech game today it became crystal clear that Douglas single-handedly carries this team. On top of all that FSU is coached by the perpetually inept Leonard Hamilton and for Douglas to carry them to a #4 seed in this conference tournament is remarkable.

• Apparently a new mini-feature from this trip will be debatable topics from my friend Kyle...today's issue is: what is the most boring job? Kyle contends it's the person responsible for sitting at the no re-entry point at an airport. They have to sit there without a book or a tv and with minimal contact with another human being (since when's the last time you actually tried to re-enter the gate area?) Please share your most boring jobs in the comments below.

• Speaking of airports...how come for carry-on luggage we have to limit our liquids/gels to 3 ounces per container, yet I could probably fit about 6 items in a clear ziploc bag making a total of 18 ounces? So I have to throw away a 4.5 ounce container of shaving cream but I can have a cumulative of 18 ounces of flammable/ignitable/destructive gel and/or liquid? I'm glad this makes sense to the TSA, because it makes no sense to me...

• Does anyone else remember when hotel pay-per-view would let you view a movie for a minute before they would charge your room for the flick? When I was younger than I am today and could take care of business in a hurry, this feature was a godsend for the fiscally responsible masturbators of the world. Needless to say, this "perk" is no longer available in today's hotel rooms (or at least the one I'm staying in).

• Here's the previously promised picture from my seats. Keep in mind this was taken from a crappy camera phone that has absolutely no zoom feature (or at least one that I can find). This picture shows Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt gathering his squad around him for a late-game timeout. Based on the Yellow Jackets' performance, one can only guess Hewitt is doodling penises on the white board for the team.


Check back tomorrow for more random thoughts from Day 3 of the ACC tournament.

Thanks for coming and suckling Daddy's Sugar Ball...