Great new airline booking site

When planning your flights based on the slowly accumulating schedule, be sure to try out a very useful new site: hipmunk.com.

You enter your starting and destination cities and your travel dates, and in very short order up pops a table listing all the flights for all airlines.

Each row of the table is a flight, and the flights are ordered by price from least expensive up.

Each flight is shown in a compact but highly informative way, a single color-striped bar showing you at a glance when it departs, where you lay over, and when you arrive. Clicking the bar opens a pop-up with full details. In the popup is a "buy now" button that sends you to one of the standard travel sites, such as Orbitz, to complete the purchase. There's also provision for round-trip scheduling, so naturally designed there's no need to explain it.

Great site. Book your trip to the Final Four now! If that link gives only the basic search page, get fresh results by entering from: SFO; to: IND; depart: 04/01/2011 (that's a Friday, enter 04/02 if you can't leave until Saturday, missing attractions like the high-school All American game); return: 04/06/2011.

Some Texas Wildflowers

On our off-day we went for a drive south of San Antonio to see the fabled Texas spring flowers. There were flowers blooming along most roadsides and in the median of main roads. Here are a few pictures.

Typical roadside flower patch. The blue and white ones are the famous Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis). The yellow ones here are Sneezeweed (reckon somebody had allergies? Helenium elegans).

More Bluebonnets mixed with White Evening Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)

Evening Primrose, pink version Oenothera speciosa

Flax Linum rigidum var. berlandieri

Primrose, Verbena, one dandelion

Primrose-eating donkey

Indian Blanket, Gaillardia Pulchella

Winecup Callirhoe involucrata

Final Four Notes and Events

Gitcher Tickets

You can pick up your pre-ordered tickets at any of three times: At the Alamodome will-call during Stanford's Open Practice (see below), at the Hotel Contessa during the reception (see below), and of course at the 'dome before the first game.

Saturday Fun

Saturday April 3, 11am to 12:30 in the Alamodome is Stanford's open practice period. It will be followed by an autograph session.

Then, if you can make that event, stay around the Alamodome until 3:45 for the Battle of the Bands, when the four team's bands have a play-off judged on musicianship and showmanship. In Tampa, the LSJUMB won this event.

Pregame Reception and Sendoff

Stanford hosts a reception Sunday April 4, 3-5pm, in the Hotel Contessa (see map below). Cash bar, free tex-mex nibbles. You must RSVP to Lisa Ortiz (Lortiz@stanford.edu or 650-723-7415).

One Game at a Time, But...

If the Cardinal advance to the Championship game, Stanford will host another reception, from 4:30 to 6:30pm at the Rio Rio Cantina, across the street from Hotel Contessa. The Rio Rio is the "official" Cardinal gathering place.

NCAA Info

The NCAA is providing a wealth of online clickables, starting here. Sort of buried in it is an 8-page PDF, the (right-click and download) Final Four Fan Guide.

Downtown Map

From the fan guide we have extracted a very useful one-page map. Click to biggify, then print.

Note especially #4 on the map; that's the Hotel Contessa where the reception is planned. Also note the route of the NCAA shuttle; almost all downtown hotels are within a short walk of its route.

Heading to Sacramento

(Updated 3/22 with bus and social info)

Suh-weet Sixteen

The Cardinal move to ARCO Arena in Sakamenna (homage to Herb Caen) to play the "Sweet Sixteen" game against Georgia and then possibly the "Elite Eight" game.

Game tickets from the Stanford ticket office (1-800-STANFORD) starting tuesday morning. Or, if you can stand to wait, you can order them from Ticketmaster beginning Wednesday noon. Click here for Saturday tickets, click here for Monday. In both cases, use the promo code CARDINAL.

The round of 16 games will be on Saturday 3/27. The Stanford-Georgio game begins at 6:04; Xavier-Gonzaga at 8:30. Prior to the first game, the BB office will sponsor a no-host Social. If you are an FBC member you've received email with a link to register for this $20 event. If not, here's the link. You have to create a name and password registration, ho-hum. But don't do that if you plan to take the bus!

The BB Office is also organizing a bus from campus. Just email h.owen @ stanford.edu to reserve bus seats. The bus will leave campus at 2pm and return after the second game. Bring something to read; it's a long ride. Your $55 ticket (for non-FBC members) includes the social, and you can skip the online registration. Game tickets are separate.

Leet Eight

The Elite Eight game will be on Monday 3/29 at 6:07. The Office will sponsor a bus for this game also; $45/seat for you non-FBC members (cheaper because no Social is planned). Will leave campus at 3pm.

Arco and Sacramento

If you've not been to Arco Arena (many FBC members were there last year to see a Monarchs/Lynx game), it sits in the middle of a vast flat agricultural plain just off I5. Here's a Google map (also available by clicking the Arco link on our Schedule page).

There are few amenities near, although there are a couple of chain restaurants near the Del Paso/Commerce intersection. We ate at the Outback Steakhouse there and it was not bad.

Drive up or spend the weekend?

Some Bay Area fans will no doubt expect to drive to Sacramento on each separate day—especially since Stanford is organizing a bus from campus (see above). Out-of-town fans and some locals may consider spending the long weekend in Sacramento.

If you will stay the weekend, you can look for a hotel at either tripadvisor.com or at yelp.com (click 'em for a list of hotels).

That settled, you only have to figure out what to do with a Sunday and most of a Monday in Sacramento. Here's a list of links to things to do:

• Old Sacramento is a historic district with shops, eateries and museums.
• Sutter's Fort is a State historical park with lots of kid-friendly activities.
• The California State Railway Museum has dozens of beautifully-restored steam locos and cars.
• The California Auto Museum has lots of beautifully-restored old cars to admire.
• The California State Capitol Museum gives you access to the historic capitol building
• The Leland Stanford House is a restored governor's mansion once occupied by Stanford's founder.

Besides these, Sacramento has a large number of performing-arts venues: ballet, orchestra, theater and others. We aren't going to comb through and figure out what's on for that Sunday night. But you can open the Yelp Performing Arts listing and look for something that piques your interest.

PAC-10 Meetups and Events

For Your Reference

Here's the complete PAC-10 tournament bracket which includes game times.

And here's the FBC Travel Page with a long list of things to see and do in L.A.

Also, here (thanks, Eileen!) is a Chowhound thread on "Good east walking distance from USC?"

Band Send-offs

If you haven't seen one before, what happens is the LSJUMB plays loudly and the Dollies dance on the hotel porch or portico while the team is filing out to get on the bus. If the band plays well, team members are sometimes inspired to dance with the dollies. This will be happening in front of the Downtown Marriott, 333 Figueroa street before each game, assuming the team keeps winning:

• Friday at 11am (conflicts with the Cal-ASU game)
• Saturday at 12:15 (plenty of time to get to the meetup after)
• Sunday at 12:45

Saturday Meetup

If the Cardinal win on Friday (in the post-season, you can never be sure of anything) join Heather Owen and other fans for an informal meetup prior to Saturday's 2:30pm game.

Gather starting around 1pm 12:30pm in The Lab, just up the street from the Galen Center.

Sunday Brunch

Strictly uncoordinated, but if you want to see other fans and have a nice brunch, make your way to Canter's Deli between 9:30 and 10:30 am Sunday. It is located west of city center, and a convenient walk from a big cluster of museums and parks described on the Travel Page above. Here's a map...

View Larger Map

PAC-10 Logistics Updated

The PAC-10 tournament bracket is up with times for all games so we can finalize our plans for a weekend in LA!

Thursday 3/11

Two play-in games, at 6pm and 8:15pm. If the tournament was held this weekend, these would be UW v. WSU at 6 and AZ v. OSU at 8:15.

Friday 3/12

First session of two games begins at 11am. The #1 seed (guess who?) plays in the second game at 1:15.

Second session features the #2 seed at 5pm (as of today, that would be UCLA, which would draw a decent crowd), and the fourth game of the day at 7:15.

Saturday 3/13

Happily you have all morning to amuse yourself in L.A.; check out the extensive list of things to do on our Travel page.

The two-game session begins at 2:30pm. Be on time, the #1 seed plays in the first game. Second game, featuring the #2 seed, at 5pm.

Sunday 3/14

The championship game is at 3pm. Allow 2 hours for the game and 30 minutes of trophy-awarding and net-cutting. It would be a bit tight but security lines should be short on a Sunday night, so you could book a flight home from LAX for 9pm or later.

Who's going to the PAC-10 Tournament?

We need to get an idea of how many FBC members are going to the PAC-10 Tournament this year. If we know people are going, we can plan some activities. Last year there were some fun meet-ups with drop-ins by alumni. Please send email to travel@stanfordfbc.org if you are going!

If you haven't decided whether to go, or for what days, here is a run-down.

Thursday

The tournament starts on Thursday March 11. There will be two games that evening (6pm and 8:15pm) in which the four lowest-seeded teams play each other to see who gets into the real bracket. While these aren't the premier teams, they are evenly matched and the games are competitive and entertaining.

Friday

We like to call this "iron-butt" day because there are four games in two sessions: 11am and 1:15pm, then 5pm and 7:15pm. It's eight hours of squeaky sneakers and loud horns, with a break from 3 to 5 to find an awkwardly late lunch or early supper.

Rather to our surprise, according to the official PAC-10 schedule (scroll to the bottom), the #1 seed—and you know who that's going to be—plays in the first session at 1:15pm. Sorry, worker bees, you need to take Friday off to see the Cardinal play this game.

Saturday and Sunday

On Saturday there is one session with two semi-final games. The #1 seed will play in the first of them. Times have not been set for these games, which is awkward because until they are set, we don't know what part of Saturday will be free to enjoy Los Angeles.

The Sunday championship game is scheduled for 6pm, so we definitely have all day Sunday at liberty.

Logistics and Amusements

We're putting our info on travel logistics and on things to do in LA on the Travel Page but we can always use more info.

• What will you do to pass a day and a half in LA?
• Will you fly in and out of LAX, or use one of the smaller regional hubs like Anaheim or Long Beach?

Meet-ups for the L.A. Trip

This coming weekend the Cardinal play at USC at 7pm Friday, and at UCLA at 2pm Sunday. Following the Friday night game at the Galen Center, fans might like to meet for a post-game drink at McKay's Cocktail Lounge in the next-door Radisson Midtown hotel. If you are stuck for things to do on the free Saturday between games, good news: Pepperdine is playing at home! It's a WCC league game against Loyola Marymount, so both teams will be playing hard. The game is at 4pm in the Firestone Fieldhouse on the beautiful Pepperdine campus (click for directions; print out the main campus pdf map for reference).

Fresno Bus Needs Boosters

As an experiment the WBB Office promoted fan buses for two games: this Sunday's game at UC Davis, and the 12/30 game at Fresno. It costs several hundred dollars to rent a bus and driver for a day, and the WBB program doesn't have the budget to subsidize our rides. A minimum number of commits are needed to ensure that the cost will be (nearly) covered. This weekend's Davis game didn't make the cut. Only 19 FBC members handed in applications, well below the minimum needed. So the Davis bus has been cancelled. Will there be a Fresno State fan bus on 12/30? That will depend entirely on how many sign up. Remember, that game is on a Wednesday night and it's a 175-mile drive:
View Larger Map Without the bus, any fan who wants to attend the game has the choice of either staying overnight in Fresno, or driving home over Pacheco pass in the dark. With a bus, you can see the game and then catch some z's while the bus rolls along home. To help ensure a fan bus rolls to Fresno, sign up now!

Wet Day in Norfolk

The remains of Hurricane Ida put a lot of rain and wind on Norfolk, VA on thursday. One thursday news report of Tara's comments on the signing of Chiney Ogwumike mentioned that she was speaking from the team bus which was in "knee-deep water." When our flight arrived at Norfolk airport at 9am there was only light rain but a stiff 25-knot breeze. As we drove to the ODU campus through city streets, we had to drive around one large downed tree that was blocking half a street. We noticed several other downed trees. Norfolk is threaded by "rivers" which are all really estuaries of the Hampton Roads bay. We drove alongside and crossed a couple of these, and the water seemed quite high, up close to the top of the bank. High tide is around 6pm and with a strong breeze off the Atlantic, some of these may flood. Power is out in sections of the city, and several traffic lights were dark. Traffic was light and most people were handling the missing lights properly (treat them as four-way stops). However, there are lights on in the Ted Constant arena, and the Lady Monarchs' website (linked from the FBC schedule page) confidently says the game will go on at 7pm. There will be at least 7 cardinal fans in the seats, so we'll see!

Who's Going to UCONN 12/23???

Are you going to follow the Cardinal to Hartford for the 23 December game? If so, two notes: One, the game location, which until recently was on the campus in Storrs, has now been announced for the larger XL Center in Hartford. This makes your travel logistics a bit easier, as described on our Travel Page. Second, we have a note from Greg Louden, who is the chair of the Stanford Band Alumni Board, and says he...

happens to have family in central Connecticut. I'll be visiting them this holiday season, and naturally wanted to go to the UConn game. Being the chair of the Alum Board and knowing of the enthusiasm of band alumni for the women's b-ball team, I'm trying to put together, if not a band, at least a small cheering section to support the team in Hartford.

If you are going on this trip, contact Greg right away to see if you can meet up or coordinate with him in some way.

Help transition Mac to Matt

By our special correspondent in Eugene, H. Benson

This year the Cardinal play in the Beaver's orange-and-black arena in Corvallis on Thursday, Jan. 21st. Then, Saturday Jan 23rd, we play for the last time ever in the historic Mac Court.

If you haven’t attended a game at Mac Court (also known as The Pit) at the University of Oregon, you really should do so this season. It is this arena’s last year, to be replaced by the resplendent Matthew Knight Arena next season. As nice as Matt will be, Mac Court has a uniqueness that should be experienced. It is a true home court advantage for the Ducks.

Then, when you learn your way around Eugene this season, you’ll want to plan for the next season as well. While I’ve been in Eugene this month, Matt reached a construction milestone. The bulk of the concrete work is ending, and the workers are turning to raising the structural steel. Here is a picture of the general scene with large tower cranes... And here is the arena in the rough. The really good news about Matt is the large attached parking garage, which will eliminate the haphazard street parking that was a less-pleasant part of the Mac Court experience.

For trip-planning advice, see the Travel Page.