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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Flyers get red-carpet treatment upon arrival in Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS — The Dayton Flyers basketball team arrived here at about 3 p.m. local time on a charter fight that included the pep band, cheerleaders, boosters, school officials and media.
There has been much discussion about how the Flyers will be able to enjoy the full NCAA tournament experience this time, as opposed to 2004 when their first-round game was in Buffalo. Nothing against that fine city, but the team hotel was about a 50-minute drive from the arena. The Flyers played the last game of the night, lost in double overtime to DePaul and headed for home.
This year, they’re staying at the Renaissance Hotel, which is less than a mile from the Metrodome, where the games will be held. They were given the red-carpet treatment when they arrived. Hosts and hostesses offered the 120-person travel party complimentary beverages and assistance to their rooms. Don’t know what it’s like in the rest of the city yet, but the hotel staff certainly is in March Madness mode.
The Flyers practiced at UD Arena this morning, and both reserve point guard Stephen Thomas (rib) and back-up center Devin Searcy (knee) looked fully recovered from their injuries. The Flyers went through drills and a half-court scrimmage at a high level of intensity, as usual.
They’ll practice at nearby Augsburg College on Thursday morning, go straight from there to the Metrodome for press conferences and then take their allotted 40 minutes on the actual arena court after that.
