Happy birthday to my Dad, Jody Lowe. This is a good time for Pops. He is just a month removed from retirement, and he's gained another year of knowledge. I especially think this birthday could be positive for Dad, because it is an opportunity for rebirth, so to speak.

Since he was in high school, he's been working his butt off in some form or fashion. Our family has always been very comfortable, and that is due to both mom and dad. Their care and support has been tremendous. But Dad has an opportunity to take back his life. He is retired! That must be such a great feeling, but now he can take time to do things for himself. He can take more time to spend with his family. He can take more time to simply take better care of himself. Working your ass off for all those years can lead to some bad habits, but this is his chance to take his health, his family and his time. I'm thrilled for my Dad on his birthday, but more excited about how his life can evolve over the next year.

I sound like a broken record I know, but the last few weeks have been very hectic. The weekend of April 15, I was fortunate enough to travel to the SEC Women's Golf Championship in Tunica, MS. Coach Freitag was kind enough to bring me along. We host next year, so it was a good opportunity to take notes and see what we should expect in the future.

In case you didn't know, Tunica is more famous for its gambling. We stayed at a casino resort, so of course we were going to find our way to the main floor. I'm not a big gambler. Actually, I'm the type that will go on gambling trips and play nickel slots just so I get the free drinks. It works. Trust me. However, this time I decided to give the game of craps a shot. I should have figured what I was getting into just based on the name of the game. Regardless, I played for a few hours over two nights. At the most, I was up about $40 at one point. That total quickly was erased, along with the money I had brought in. It was fun though, and it made me feel a little more comfortable in a casino. Now I just need to learn how to play the card games.

I've still been feeling the high of being at the Final Four earlier this month. Despite the craziness that transpired, watching the Heels win was such a cool feeling. Since I never saw the broadcast of the game, I was looking for a way to obtain a taped copy. Granted, I haven't owned a VCR in about five years, but I figured it could hurt to have a copy. And then along came this dude on the UNC message boards, promising a DVD copy of the game and a second disc with all of the pre-game, half-time, post-game and Dean Dome celebrations. So I decided to go out on a limb and pay the guy $25 for a copy. Let me just say, it was WELL worth it. The DVD is great quality, and I know it really is illegal to have this, but it is something I can watch years from now and say, "My mom and I were there." Just a cool feeling. So, CBS, if that pisses you off, take it up with someone else.

My buddy, Steve Ekhoff, and his lovely wife, Kim, are in town this weekend for the Music City Marathon, or as I like to call it, The Music City Find Another Way to Work-athon. Ek should be close to finishing the half marathon right about now. I plan on seeing them tonight, but we've got a double header of baseball vs. LSU today. We were supposed to play game one yesterday, but the weather caused some problems. The DH won't be too bad though. It is great baseball ... one, a storied program and another which is just in the beginning of its true prominence. So after the long day of ball, it'll be time to hang out with friends and enjoy some cold beers and good stories.

Speaking of Ek, I'll be traveling up to Illinois this summer with Flippen and Ward. We'll stop off and hang with Ek in Champaign while we are up there, and then make our way to DeKalb and Chicago. I really am looking forward to the trip. I've got some smaller trips planned this summer, most of which evolve around work, but that will be a vacation. Not to mention, I'll spend some time in the car with some good buddies.

I'm also trying to talk the family into making a Nashville trip this summer. Everyone seems to stay busy over the summer, and I hate to say this, but I guess now is the time in life where Mom and Dad have to start planning family vacations and around the kids. Crazy, I know. It is an odd role reversal. I mean, Mom and Dad still will have plenty to do, but Sis and I are the ones with the careers now. Again, VERY SCARY. But hey, it's life.

The next time I write may be after the SEC Track and Field Championship, which we host May 12-15. That is going to be a long week. Pray for me.

Many apologies for the delay in updating. Since my return from the Final Four, I've been trying to catch up. Work can be very draining at times. So draining, there are days where I question why I do what I do. It just so happens today is one of those days. It is no ones fault. It is just a day where everything seems to break and nothing goes right. It is frustrating, but you have to learn to live with it, change what you can and move on.

Actually, I haven't had a day like this in a long time, so I suppose that is a good sign. We have a baseball game tonight, so hopefully seeing the team end a loosing streak will help matters. I need these kind of days to help remind myself why I love what I do. Otherwise, it would just be another job. That wouldn't be a good thing.

So anyway, for those of you not in the know, here is a long excerpt from an email I sent to some folks. It basically tells of my Final Four trip and everything that transpired. It is hard to believe, but worth the read:

Tuesday March 29, I was very fortunate to obtain two tickets to the 2005 NCAA Men's Final Four, held in St. Louis. Our Vice Chancellor was kind enough to offer some extra tickets with me, and I jumped at the chance. I'd never been to a final four before, and for those of you that do not know … I grew up watching Carolina. Actually, I grew up wanting to BE Carolina basketball. I loved Coach Smith and idolized all of those players I grew up watching. So to have a chance to watch them win a national title was very exciting.

So my mother flew into Nashville from Winston-Salem, NC, April 1, and Saturday morning we drove up to STL. Easy drive, and as soon as we arrived, we found a parking spot near the Edward Jones Dome, and started wandering around. We met up with some of our friends, the Blixts, a family with Carolina daughters and Illinois parents. I believe they all received funny looks throughout the weekend.

After hanging out on packed 2nd Street for awhile, we all made our way to the dome. As we approached the Dome, the lines to get in were outrageous. It looked as if it wasn't even moving. We finally made our way to the mass of people, and began to wait in the mob. Mom went through her purse, and couldn't find the tickets. Now, if you know my mom at all you know she gets a little crazy if things aren't exactly in order. Growing up with this for the past 28 years, I know sometimes she just gets a little jumpy. So I told her to look carefully, and after another search through the purse it was confirmed … our tickets were gone.

Mom was a mess … she felt like it was her fault and was so upset. I'm not sure if I was just really calm or just not believing what I was hearing, but I steered us back to the car to check and see if the tickets had been left inside. No luck. We made our way to the box officer, where we were told to file a police report. Did that. We returned to the box office, and a supervisor came up and told me the NCAA had decided to no longer reissue tickets for those lost or stolen. I felt defeated. I wasn't sure what to do. We were at the building doors, ready to watch the Tar Heels, and no such luck. I immediately called a good friend of mine, Tom, who works for the NCAA. This guy is the man. No question. He gave me a few numbers to call, but eventually Saturday's games were viewed by jay and momma lowe at a bar close by. As much fun as that sounds, it really wasn't. We watched as Illinois took it to Louisville and then the Heels pulled away from Michigan State.

We then drove to Glen Carbon, IL, where we stayed with my friends Nikki and Tracey. I woke up Sunday not sure if we should just give up and drive back to Nashville or to keep working on these tickets. After several phone calls to folks back at VU and several talks with Tom, I decided to stick it out. Mom and I did some sight seeing … of course the Arch was on the list. Tom felt so sorry for us, he gave me a VIP pass to the Dasani Fest, a large outdoor free concert … Joss Stone, Gavin Degraw … the VIP pass allowed us to enjoy some free beverages while taking in the music. We ended Sunday evening with a very sub-par meal at KC Masterpiece. So sub-par in fact, we were told we didn't have to pay. The food was horrible and the service was worse.

Monday morning rolls around and good old Diane is able to fax in a letter to the Jones Dome stating yes in fact I was a VU employee and yes I was given tickets in section 338. The box office manager calls me and tells me we have "seat locators" for the game, but if the people with the actual tickets show up we are to leave the building … WHAT?!?! So I phone Tom again and actually run into him and his family at lunch. While there, Tom makes one more call which seals the deal. Mom and I are in the dome for the national championship.

So we spend the rest of the afternoon just taking in the atmosphere of STL. We make our way to the game about 2 hours prior to tip-off. We are about 30 minutes from tip when this very old gentleman (and I use the term gentleman loosely) walks up and asks me to move from his seat. I immediately wave for the guest services employee, who then radios her supervisor. While we are waiting on the bosslady, this guy proceeds to tell me his son bought the tickets Saturday and he did in fact sit in one of the seats Saturday night. He tells me how he's gone to every UI homecoming football game since 1643 and how they can't just kick out an old man. So the super comes around and goes through her manual. After reading what she assumed to be correct, she pulled me and my mom from the seats. She was ready to escort us out of the building, but finally I was able to persuade her with a few name drops. So she kept us in the concourse and called her supervisor. This lady was awesome. She came in, asked me my side of things, had the older man removed and called the ticket office for confirmation. Once she had done so, she pulled me aside, told me all was right in the world and we returned to our seats. As we walked back, another person with the other ticket had shown up. At this point, I was so tired of dealing with the mess my conversation with him was pretty much like this:

Me - "Hey buddy, I hate to tell you this but you are about to be removed from the facility."
Him - "WHAT? I have the ticket for this seat."
Me - "And I respect that, but these seats were stolen on Saturday."
Him - "We'll I'm not moving."
Me - "Yep, time to go."
Him - "No."
Me - " MA'AM! Need a little help here."


From that point on, although a bit rattled, mom and I were able to watch the Heels almost give away the championship. It was a great game, a great atmosphere and a wonderful experience. I was thrilled to see my mom's team win a national title, one she'd been cheering for since she was a baby. She actually said she wanted to cry at the end of the game, but I think the emotional rollercoaster that was the weekend pretty much took everything out.

So that was my experience with the final four. I wish it had been a little more enjoyable to start, but it was worth it in the end to see UNC win the title. That really is the truth. To see a team be successful, one you've been following for years, is a great feeling. I wish our circumstances could have been different for the semifinal games, but alas it created a story for the ages.