Where There's A Will

Allen and I live in upstate New York, less than 20 minutes from Syracuse.

Which means, the NCAA basketball game between Syracuse University and Arizona State is a big deal. We don't want to miss the game, but some things are more important. Like family.

We've driven all the way across country to see Allen's kids and grandkids and they expect us this afternoon. We can't, we just CAN'T take the time to go watch the game somewhere. And anyway, we're on the West Coast. Is the game even televised here? (We are woefully unprepared for this ...)

We're on Interstate 5 just south of Portland, OR, in our Navion when the game begins. I know I can stream TV shows online while on the road, so why not a basketball game?

I fire up my Mac and fail miserably to install all the software required by CBS to pick up the March Madness live action coverage. (I can't figure out how to do it and Allen is driving and can't help.) I can't even find a radio station  carrying the game live. OK. Maybe I'm trying to hard or too fast, but I'm eager to catch up with the game. I'm watching the score tick higher and higher on a scoreboard I found. But it's not the same. I want to know more.

Then it dons on me to head to my hometown paper's Web site for a live action feed of some kind. I retired from that paper, The Post-Standard, two years ago and Allen still writes a weekly technology column. So we know the paper is dedicated to online news reporting and to SU sports.

Voila.

I find immediately what I need. Two sportswriters, Donna Ditota and Mike Waters, are providing nearly minute-by-minute accounts of the game in update form and photographer Dennis Nett is posting stills from the game.

FANTASTIC! I read each post out loud to Allen and described Dennis' fabulous action shots. While we ride along Interstate 5, heading north. The only annoyance is I keep forgetting to update the page.

OK. I admit. It was NOT as good as being there or seeing it on TV. Or even listening to it on the radio. But we followed right along, edge of our seats, and could roar with the crowd (well, I imagine there was a crowd roaring) when SU won, 78-67.

What a game. What GREAT coverage.

So now we know if, on Friday, when SU and Oklahoma go at it, if we can't watch it on TV, we'll be there on syracuse.com. We hope to see Donna, Mike and Dennis there, too.