The following is Lindsay Czarniak's blog from the Final Four. She will share her thoughts and images from George Mason's trip to Indianapolis for the men's basketball tourney. And George Michael may even make a random thought or comment along the way ...

April 3, 2006

Despite the Patriots loss, the Final Four was a tremendous experience. I know the players feel the same way. The pomp and circumstance around Saturday's game was exhilarating.

Earlier in the afternoon, I took a chance to get out in Indianapolis and witness the crowds getting ready for the game. I stumbled upon a local restaurant/bar that was dedicated to George Mason with signs and green and gold and fans making plenty of noise. Inside the RCA Dome, it seemed there wasn't a free seat and the noise was deafening, but it was cool to hear George Mason's rendition of "Living on a Prayer" blasted throughout the arena.

George And Lindsay's Indy Images

The players had told me that Coach Larranaga used a poem to pump them up before the game, and at breakfast on Saturday morning, he had sung out loud the theme for "Hawaii 5-0." He told his team that they had to think about what it meant and come back with an answer at the pregame shootaround. Turns out it stood for what Mason wanted to be in the tournament -- 5-0.

Even though the Patriots couldn't beat Florida, I watched closely as they walked off the court and it was quite extreme. Senior Lamar Butler wiped tears from his eyes, but the coolest reaction I saw was sophomore Folarin Campbell. He didn’t hang his head once. He walked off and actually seemed to slow a bit before he went into the tunnel -- taking in the scene before him. He will have a chance to attempt to lead his team back to this stage, but even if he does, I think everyone would have to admit it would be hard to top the magic that has been these past three weeks.

When we got back to the hotel, we were getting ready to do our live 11 p.m. sportscast. Coach Larranaga was to be our live guest, but about 10 minutes before we went on, we were told that there was a problem, that Coach was getting a much needed rest and bite to eat with his family (he had seen his new grandchild for the first time earlier that day because his son had made the trek from Italy to support his dad).

You can imagine what happens when you find out you lose a guest just before you are to go on live. However, we certainly understood and were preparing to go on without him. That's when, with less than two minutes to go, George Michael turned his head and said "Oh my goodness..." Coach Larranaga was standing feet from our set. He had left in the middle of dinner with his family to join us live on television after his team had lost out in the Final Four. This is the kind of person he is. You can learn a million things from Coach Larranaga, but most importantly, it's how to treat others and to be the best you can be. He taught his players not only how to get to this level -- to this stage where no one thought they could be -- but he taught them how to embrace it and how to celebrate it once they got there. He made sure they thanked everyone that helped them along the way.

This has been the one sports event I've covered where you can actually "feel" the history being made as you're covering it. And no matter who plays each of these characters the day their movie is made, there can't possibly be enough glitz in Hollywood to capture the magic that our entire local area became a part of. This is why sports are such an important vehicle for inspiration and why, even if you don't play yourself, witnessing these stories can change lives.

April 1, 2006

Making The Impossible Possible ... and George In The Kitchen

We have about eight hours until tip off of the Mason/Florida game and still, every time I run into a player or coach, they seem like they have just arrived at Disneyworld.

Friday, George Mason held a shootaround inside the RCA Dome, where the Colts play, in front of thousands of fans (Mason, Florida, LSU and UCLA fans). Coach Larranaga waited about 15 minutes into practice to rev up the Patriots band to create the atmosphere they need. And think about this: The patriots are playing in a dome for the first time. It's so different and the energy you feel in there is one thing, but it is so big and so high that it does become a challenge to get accurate perception.

Patriot Jordan Carter told me yesterday that his team will be fine in the new environment and that while he was on the court, he looked into the crowd and saw one of his relatives looking back at him. Coach Larranaga says that both teams are having to deal with the challenges of a dome, that's how he looks at it.



Which brings me to another subject -- Florida. The Gators are like a machine. Packed with talent, but when I went in their locker room yesterday, the dynamic is much different. They seem very businesslike and, for example, where the Patriots are just wide-eyed and excited, the Gators do carry a different vibe -- a chip on their shoulder.

Joakim Noah may be the most talented player on the floor come 6:07 p.m., and it will be one matchup to see him and Jai Lewis working against each other on the court, but Noah made it clear yesterday he isn't just happy to be here. He said he can't worry about what we all say (we being the media) because otherwise, the Florida heads would explode.

It sounds like he's bothered by the media, that he's letting them get to him. He could use some Mason mojo. Here's the difference, even if the Patriots are tired of us asking similar questions over and over, we would never know. They are enjoying the moment. I love to see that.

And of course, that is started by Coach Larranaga. Last night, Coach joined Mike Wilbon, George and Mike Wise for Full Court Press. Coach pulled off a jacket change about 15 seconds before the show went on the air and he had the guys hanging on every word with his amazing stories.

George says he is so impressed with Coach because he is for winning, but he realizes that it's more about playing 100 percent, about putting your all into it and if you win, that's tremendous, but , if you lose and you gave 100 percent, then as long as you are having fun, that's what matters.

After the show, we went to dinner. There was an open kitchen near where we were sitting and you may not know this, but George Michael is a great cook and really enjoys watching the process. So, I told him he should get in the action with the chefs. I was a little surprised when he did.



But here's one of the coolest things: He was getting a picture taken with Chef JP Jones and it turns out, Chef JP Jones could hardly breath when he realized it was George Michael. He is originally from D.C. and has been watching George since he was a little kid. You gotta love it when that kind of thing happens. For the record, Chef Jones makes a mean salmon and it's great that we didn't follow the team's suggestion and head to Outback. : )

- Lindsay

Friday, March 31

GM -- George Mason, George Michael and the Final Four

My high school graduation was held at the Patriot Center, but I, like millions of Americans, couldn't have told you much about the university until the team started making its mark in the NCAA tournament.

It's so exciting -- what this tournament is doing to put George Mason on the map and the story of how this team is doing it -- loosely, with heart and with passion -- I believe makes so much sense. Even if you're not a huge college basketball fan, there is likely some way you can relate.

So here we are, the News4 sports team, in Indianapolis at the Final Four!

We arrived yesterday and let me tell you, the Final Four madness begins when you get off the plane. There were big "Final Four" stickers on the floor when we walked from the airplane to the terminal, "Final Four" banners hanging from the televisions -- even "Final Four" sandwiches at the airplane restaurants.

When we got to baggage claim, our "G.M.," George Michael, spotted Tom Yeager, Commissioner of the CAA (Mason's conference, and the one coach Jim Larranaga creatively referred to as "Connecticut Assassins Association" to ramp up his team for their win against UConn). Anyway, Mr. Yeager was saying how this is so odd for him because normally he's at the Final Four for conferences and such anyway, but to actually have a team represented in Mason, it's a whole different ballgame. Everyone at baggage claim seemed to be somehow affiliated with college basketball, whether they were just super-tall or carrying bags from Final Fours of years past.

After grabbing our bags and the many pounds of photo equipment from the belt, we jumped on our Hertz bus. That's when my photographer, Dan Buckley, gave me the opportunity to, as he says, "put the 'porter' back in reporter" -- hefting lightcases onto the bus, which actually does wonders for the triceps.

George And Lindsay's Indy Images



Hey, I'm all for it -- but seriously, those guys deserve serious credit for hauling their stuff to make our jobs easier. That stuff is heavy!

When we drove from the rental car place to our downtown hotel, it really started to sink in. For starters, workers in the city center were hanging up giant, life-size brackets and camera crews were waiting for a team outside of the Hilton hotel. People were buzzing all up and down the city sidewalks and then we passed the RCA Dome. That's when I saw the giant "George Mason" right above "Florida" on the banner draping down. It's cool enough to give you chills.

We are staying downtown -- our set is in the center of a hotel here. We have a gorgeous flat-screen television behind us on the set which actually doubles as a conspicuous cover for a scantily clad statue (we had suggested just throwing a Mason jersey on her but felt the plasma was needed anyway).

I was able to talk to George Mason's Lamar Butler yesterday for a bit. He was also telling me about how loose this team feels, how challenging Florida will be, but that this team has the right mix of talent and heart to make it happen. They do have to work at it, but they are the only team staying downtown. The team yesterday explored the city, stopped at Steak and Shake and tooled around with video cameras. They were looking forward to today's first RCA Dome practice, and I am interested to hear how they feel in the dome environment.



Last night, we saw the team leaving their hotel dressed like they were going to the Oscars. They bounded onto a bus and, it turns out, they were getting fitted for their own Final Four rings. Gabe Norwood told me he hadn't been fitted for anything since his senior prom. Anyway, the city here is buzzing, the Patriots have a practice in about three hours and it's going to be an exciting day.

I'm going to go take a jog around the city and snap some photos.

I'll write more later, but want to leave you with George Michael's thought: Our crew was chatting over dinner and George says he hasn't felt this much excitement and electricity about a local team since the Redskins and Dolphins played in the 1983 Super Bowl. He added: "No school in the history of the NCAA has taken a school on a better ride. It's a tribute to the city, to the school and to Coach Larranaga. It's one hell of a ride."

- Lindsay