Beavers In Fort Worth - Day Four (The Beavers Are 1-0!)
May 30, 2009
1:15 p.m.
Quick update. We have a gallery up from the game. The link is above. Enjoy.
Go Beavs!
May 30, 2009
11 a.m.
Well, the say is, "A win, is a win, is a win." That's certainly the case after yesterday's game. The Beavers came out with a 9-8 win over a very tough Texas A&M team. They were up 9-1 at one point, so there is some obvious dissatisfaction with the fact the Aggies were able to make it a close one. But we'll take it, and move on. Getting the first win at a regional is huge. Not only does it set up a good matchup with TCU, but it puts Texas A&M in a hole, which could help down the road.
Not a lot to report today. The players are in the middle of study hall. They'll have lunch in a bit, meetings later and then some of the coaches will go and watch Wright State play Texas A&M.
Below is the link to a notes supplement for today's game as well as the video and audio links. We're working on some pictures from Friday's game, and we'll have a photo gallery up sometime. We've just run into a few technical problems.
Go Beavs!
May 29, 2009
10:15 a.m.
It's gameday! It doesn't necessarily feel like the team has been here awhile, at least not just yet, but since everyone is anticipating the postseason, it feels like the hotel is getting pretty familiar. No one is on pins and needles, don't get me wrong, but we're all ready to get this thing going.
Not a whole lot is going on just yet. Guys came down to breakfast on their own and then they sat down for study hall at about 9:30 a.m. The team is scheduled to leave for the field at 11:30 a.m. It's sunny out, and I haven't been outside yet but I can imagine it's warm. Let's put it this way. We have to have the air conditioning on in the room. Having lived in Alabama for three years, I can tell you that air conditioning is a way of life in the South.
Stay tuned to osubeavers.com for more on the regional today and make sure to listen live or watch online (great deal - it's free!). The links are right below.
Go Beavs!
May 28, 2009
10:30 p.m.
Today was certainly a long day for the Beavers, hence why there is a 10:30 p.m. entry in today's blog. Oregon State woke up with a big breakfast and had a pretty big lunch too before heading over to Lupton Stadium. The practice lasted for a little more than an hour. It wasn't too warm and not too humid at that point, which is a great sign since the Beavers will play 2 p.m. local time Friday. Yet, it's bound to get warm later in the day. That was certainly the case today. When we returned at 5:30 for a coaches and administrators meeting, the temperature had raised six degrees to 90 degrees. Welcome to the South.
After the workout, the team had a chance to relax and have dinner before heading to a banquet sponsored by TCU, with chicken, brisket and pasta salad available to each of the teams. It wasn't a terribly long event, but had a guest speaker that got each and every player's attention in the room. The speaker was Nolan Ryan, he of seven no-hitters and 12 one-hitters, as the emcee of the night made sure to point out. He didn't speak long and couldn't stay afterwards (darn, no photo ops.) but it was quite impressive to see him on the podium. Ryan is a man of stature.
As expected, tomorrow's game will bring some attention for those in Texas, especially, but not just for the regular reasons. Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, will throw out Friday's first pitch, just minutes before the start of the game against the Aggies. Apparently, President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at a game in Omaha during his tenure. Perry is believed to be the second-highest ranking politician to throw out the first pitch at an NCAA Tournament game. So, we're helping make history every day at Oregon State.
Lastly, our historically curious play-by-play man, Mike Parker, did some research this morning. He confirmed with hotel staff that the Fort Worth Hilton, where the team is staying this weekend, served as President Kennedy's home base the day he was fatally shot in 1963. Named the Hotel Texas back then, the hotel is across the street from the Fort Worth Convention Center and is on the fringe of downtown. There are pictures in the hallway of President Kennedy walking out of the hotel amongst a throng of Texas residents hoping to get a glimpse of him. Jackie Kennedy Onassis is seen in one of the pictures just a few feet from the President in her pink outfit she wore that day. The President had given a speech right outside of the hotel prior to driving to Dallas.
It's rather eerie to look at the image as almost a "before" style photo. Very weird to realize that just a while later he would no longer be President. I've also seen the area in Dallas where he was shot. Each location, when you think about it, is almost surreal.
That pretty much captures the day for the Beavers. My camera skills got a little better today and there are a lot of shots from practice in a photo gallery. Click the link at the top.
Go Beavs!
May 28, 2009
12:30 a.m.
It's 12:30 a.m. in Fort Worth and just about time to get to sleep. The Beavers had a long day, getting into Fort Worth at 9 a.m. and getting to the hotal around 10 p.m. Then it was off to dinner for most everyone, but the catch was, not too much was open at that time. The Ruth's Chris next door was already closed, which was too bad since it's an absolutely great steak house.
The day began with the Beavers boarding a bus around 12:15. We got to the airport at about 2 p.m., leaving plenty of time for everyone to grab something to eat and relax before getting on the American Airlines flight to Dallas. Once on the plane, everyone settled in for a flight that lasted nearly three and a half hours. Sitting in the back of the plane, it was hard to determine just exactly what everyone was up to, but it appeared to be a mix of card playing, cribbage and just tuning out the world by putting on some headphones and relaxing to music. It turned out to be a pretty smooth flight. Once we got to Dallas, our bus driver pointed out The Ballpark at Arlington, home to the Texas Rangers, where we passed by as the club was playing the Yankees. And then he pointed out Cowboys Stadium, the new home to "America's Team." It's massive. Impressive is about the best way to describe it.
It turns out that the games this weekend will have a free online web cast. Check out the first game by clicking here. Once the first day is over, TCU, the regional's host, will provide us with new links so stay tuned.
Everything gets underway tomorrow as the Beavers practice at 11 a.m. PT. Make sure to check back on this blog to see what happens tomorrow. If my camera work gets any better, I'll even have a few photo galleries up from the first couple of days in Fort Worth. So stay tuned.
Go Beavs!
