Arrived in Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon with little trouble. I cruised from New Haven to JFK in just over an hour, during what would have been a normal Friday's morning rush hour. Since Black Friday occupied most everyone, some punching each other out over quilts at Kohl's, I made it to the airport in roughly two hours less than it would have taken with traffic. Flew Jet Blue for the first time, an absolute joy thanks to the DirectTV and XM Satellitte Radio at every seat. Watched VH1 Classic's top 10 frontmen videos, and it was a treat to see some great music videos I hadn't seen since MTV stopped showing videos and became a 24-hour reality show crapfest. Bruce Springsteen's live Born to Run circa 1978, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Zeppelin, U2...fantastic. I was actually wishing the flight lasted longer than an hour and 10 minutes.

Got to the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott, and wasn't even that annoyed that the place has been overrun this weekend by midget hockey players from around the country (and Canada) wasting their parents money for a big tournament over at Robert Morris University. I wasn't annoyed, that is, until this morning.

Aside from not being able to get seated for breakfast, there was this doozy which I'll file under the "I wish I could have seen that discovery" drawer. I took a quick look at the indoor pool, which I figured would be oveflowing with 10-year olds. But as I approached, I could see that it was oddly empty. Then I noticed the sign on the window, which stated that due to human feces found floating in the water, the pool had to be shut down until Sunday per the health code. I imagined a draining, scouring and disinfection scene with a guy in a white Haz-Mat suit, just like Carl Spackler in Caddyshack (Here it is!! It's no big deal). Unfortunaltely, I doubt it was a Baby Ruth in this situation. The lesson? If you're ever staying at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott, for God's sake avoid the swimming pool.

Doody!

I'll be off to Morgantown in about an hour, and will check in with some pregame notes.