Spokane....we're here! That's the vibe the Oregon Ducks are silently chanting.
My photographer (you know him as Brian "The Ace" Warner) and I drove the nearly 6 hours to get to the capital of the Inland Empire. Peaceful drive really. And, it happened to be my first trip back through my old stomping grounds in the Tri-Cities.

Geographically speaking....the Ducks are the closest of the 8 teams in the Midwest Regional. Today, (Thursday) was a psuedo combo of practice and media availability.
The Ducks were loose....but carried a certain swagger about them when they entered the arena. That's a good sign!! They are confident, yet very humble about being here. As Tajuan Porter told me....they are here on business. Spokane isn't really a city where you can lose focus (you hearing me UofO football players?). Oregon seems like this is their Regional to lose....and I couldn't agree more. You always want to guard against a letdown....especially the Ducks who are flying as high as anyone in college hoops right now.
Oh, I wanted to mention one other observation!! The NCAA tourney is BIG...and, mark my words, ONLY GET BIGGER!!
The media contingent here is incredible. Sure, I see everyone from Portland/Eugene....but every TV market is here. ESPN anchors, FSN reporters are in the house too! It's a real life "Who's Who?"

Since I'm relatively new to the world of "blogging".....I'm going to attempt to send new entries during the Ducks run through Spokane. Tune in during the Oregon-Miami game for updates....tip-off at around 2 pm PST Friday. Talk to you then...

Adam Bjaranson