When the Erie Bayhawks travel, there are many traditions that we all stick to on the road. When you are in the airport all day and are eating any kind of food you can find you have to makes things fun and interesting together.
Big Bad John Bryant and I always sit together in the same row (this way no one will sit between us during flights). Big John is also the GPS guide - when we all need a place to eat he has the iPhone and can direct us where and how far we need to go. Every flight that we get peanuts, I always donate mine to my man Kyle Goldcamp. I have no clue why, I just started it and haven't stopped. He might honestly still have peanuts from January in his bag from me. Ivan Harris and Cliff Clinkscales always share a row together as well (we always fly Southwest Airlines so no assigned seats by the way). I don't know if it is there prime goal or not, but they always seem to have a hot girl on that particular flight sit between them. Let me also mention that Ivan might have the most expensive phone bill of anyone I know. He literally talks on the phone ALL DAY!
Eating on the road in the D-League you pretty much have to settle for what's close and available. The D-League provides each player $40 per diem a day and with that amount you have to use it wisely.
Big John usually settles for a salad most of the time (yes that's right) but if we happen to go to an IHOP its the Big Steak Omelette for the big fella. Clinkscales and Frank Tolbert are seriously on all-candy diets. From Gushers to Jolly Ranchers - they have candy I have never even heard of before. Jarvis Gunter is the biggest eater on our team hands down! A month ago he ate 17 slices of pizza in 10 minutes in an eating contest. I witnessed him at IHOP with the all-you-can-eat pancakes with a total of 12. Jackie Manuel and assistant coach Ben MacDonald are HUGE fans of "Nuts on Clark," a popcorn place in the Chicago-Midway airport. If you like popcorn you need to try this place out. Keith Grubbs, our renowned athletic trainer, usually sticks with the pasta on the road. He must assume he has to try and set an example to us for eating healthy, right? Goldcamp might have the worst luck when it comes to food. I thought I had it bad with food allergies but Goldcamp is allergic to eggs and CHICKEN! Yes, no chicken. That really hurts. My Rockers tag-team partner Blake Ahearn is a big fan of the pasta bowls at Domino's and I tend to stay with the chicken sandwiches and breakfast food religiously. I failed to mention Coach Treloar, but he tells enough Bob Knight stories when he was an assistant coach for him at Indiana that I don't pay attention to what he eats. Big Mike Sweetney just joined the team so he gets an incomplete on this one.
Most bizarre eater in the group is Chris "Red" Hughes. Many might not know him but he is our radio guy that travels with us (maybe the only D-League team that has one that actually travels) and its quite the entertainment. He will buy a large pizza and just eat that pizza for the next couple of days out of the box! Its a smart way to save some money but I will have plenty to say about "Red" soon and might shed some light to explaining why he does this. Stay tuned, you will not be dissapointed. Trust me.
I thought about not mentioning this but since I love making fun of myself and you fans love me so much, here is what my tag-team partner had to say about me.
Mr. Ahearn has officially given me the nickname "Snuggles." Not due to the fact that I smell so great and feel (Pause) as soft as the Fabric softener but because of the way I sleep. Apparently when I go to sleep every night it is harder to find me than finding Jimmy Hoffa. I definitely use every pillow/blanket/whatever I can find for my sleeping use. I use two pillows for my head and all the other pillows on the bed surround me putting me in a little nook/cocoon. Then, to top it all off, all the covers are thrown over my whole body leaving just my eyes and above visible to see. My conversations with Blake are him talking to only my blinking eyes a la Mr. Wilson from Home Improvement. You're welcome Scott, have at it!
I have been hearing rumors I have a big fan of my blogs by the name Quin Snyder, (you might remember him from the Western Conference Lookalike's coaching staff) but most know him as the head coach of the Austin Toros. Coach Snyder does a great job in Austin and I always enjoy seeing and chatting with him when we play. However, he might have the best ejection exit of the year when we played them at Austin early in the year and it reminded me of Philip Wellman (okay, maybe not that bad, but was a close second).
The month of March is the best month of the year (not just because its my Mom's birthday) but because it is March Madness of college basketball. I am in numerous brackets this year (yes, I will be winning Matt Hubert's challenge) but my thoughts on this years Big Dance have been wanted for whatever reason.
Check out my thoughts on this year's tournament as I will be checking in with Men's Health, and also gave my picks to Neil Johnson as well.
Until next time...
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