Nationals:Just Like Fine Wine...It Gets Better With Time

Another Nationals is in the books. And it seems as though each year we continue to say it was the biggest and best thus far. And each year, it seems to be a true statement. The camaraderie was spectacular, the games were exciting and according to most of the ballers the overall ambiance was unlike anything else they have ever seen.

I arrived at LAX early Wednesday. I wanted to get to the Embassy early and survey the room, get some rest before the ballers made it in, and take care of a few other details in Los Angeles so I would not have as much to carry on the plane with me. I was already traveling with 3 bags full of electronic equipment and cables, in addition to my laptop. So I left a hefty list of chores for me to complete once I arrived in LA.

I arrived at LAX at about 11:30 PST, and proceeded to baggage claim to pick up my bags. I was headed to the Hertz bus to pick up my rental car, not really expecting to see anyone affiliated with the tourney since I was so early. Well to my surprise, the first person I saw was Ron Wilborn of the BFL. We were both on the bus headed to pick up our rental cars. It was great to see each other. Ron is one of the few guys that has never missed a Nationals. And here he was back again, this time with his spouse, getting to the LA area early making a vacation of the trip.

This was the first Nationals that I noticed so many of the ballers making vacations of the trip. In the previous Nationals many of the ballers attended solo. But at Nationals IV you saw plenty of ballers with their wives and children. I think it is just the beginning of what we will see in the future.

Once I got to the hotel and checked in, I surveyed the arena. It seemed as though it would be big enough. Boy, was I off on that one. Once we put the TV's and a 144 ballers in the room, the room got small pretty fast. However, I liked the location of the arena. It was just off the breakfast/cocktail area, making it real convenient for the ballers, especially at happy hour.

While I was on the Hertz bus PC called and we immediately set up a meeting to get together and go over our final details. After checking in the room and relaxing for a while, I rolled out to KTLA where PC works and reviewed the final details, making sure we had all basis covered. We took a lunch break and walked over to Arby's and got on a couple of those market fresh BLT sandwiches. If you haven't had one, let me be the first to tell you, they are off the chain.

I rolled back to the hotel to chill for a minute, and on my way to the room, I ran into Mike Blaze and Coach K. I was like, whoa...its only Wednesday, what are these guys doing here? But as I said earlier, guys are starting to make vacations out of the Nationals weekend. Hmmm, can you say Nationals week? (Soon to come)

We sat down to take advantage of the Embassy happy hour, chatted and talked Nationals. Afterwards, I was kinda tired, so I headed to the room to work on the web site and get prepared for Thursday.

Thursday AM
I made sure I was up early to hit the breakfast buffet. I hit em hard for a bacon/cheese omelet with some pancakes, and the trimmings. After breakfast I decided to get back up the room and relax and get that after grub nap on. I finally started moving a little after noon as I went over to Kinko's to work on the oversized check, the poster for the brackets and to run some other copies. Once I returned to the hotel, the ballers begin to roll in. Mad Guru and the HOB crew made it along with DC and X and several others. We all met up during cocktail hour and did our thang. Bulldog met us down there, and after happy hour Bulldog, along with his lovely lady and myself, strolled out to Manhattan Beach pier to have our traditional Thursday night pre-nationals dinner, as we always do just before Nationals. Last year it was the spectacular buffet at Harrah's. This year we were grubbing hard while the sun was setting on the pacific ocean. Talk about taking advantage of SoCal.

After getting back to the hotel I ran into RC (Ryan Collins). He came by and we got a game in, where he gave me the foot (as we say in the PFL). My boy Wayne Allen got in about 10, so RC and I rode out to pick him up from LAX. Since we were out, we decided to make our traditional stop at the adult package store and pick up some adult premiums (AKA Hennessey). We headed back to the room where Wayne and RC put the finishing touches on their game plans, and I went to bed to get some rest for big Friday.