Monday 12/29/08

I’ll be landing at LAX at 9:30 Monday -- Expect live reports beginning Tuesday!

Tuesday 12/30/08

Photographer Erik Grant and I arrived in Los Angeles 9:30 p.m. local time Monday night and found our way to the Marriott Downtown by 11:45----that's 2:45 a.m. Eastern. We're trying to adjust to the change, but I prefer to work using EST. For the most part, an uneventful trip from Pittsburgh to Phoenix and then L.A., but other media members tell me they weren't as fortunate. Long delays, lost luggage and a missed flight were among the setbacks. Why do airports overbook flights?

Anyway, our highlight was running into Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, who joined us on our flight from Phoenix. Erik Grant was the first to spot him, but I was quick to come to the rescue when Dickerson dropped his Sharpie while signing autographs. Dickerson still looks as though he could run for 100 yards in a game.

It's media day today at the Marriott. Joe Paterno says he would like to be back on the sidelines Thursday after undergoing hip replacement surgery after the regular season. He's spent seven full games coaching from the press box. I'll have more on that coming up today on WJAC-TV News at 5.

Wednesday 12/31/08

Joe Paterno was entertaining during this morning's news conference at the Downtown Marriott. Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll suggested that the 82-year-old coach was the embodiment of Benjamin Button, the Brat Pitt movie character who ages in reverse. A reporter relayed that to Paterno, who had reporters laughing when he replied, "I've seen two movies in 40 years---'E.T.' and 'Titanic.' And I wonder when I saw the Titanic, it felt like I was in the bath. I don't go to movies. I'm sure Pete meant it in a very nice way."

Erik Grant and I spent most of the day in the bright warm sunshine at the Rose Bowl. We had a chance to meet with many fans as well as members of the Penn State Blue Band. On the way back to our hotel, we traveled along Hollywood Boulevard. There are certainly a lot of strange characters there. Erik was busy snapping pictures of everyting along the Walk of Fame, including a Michael Jackson impersonator.

It's 6 p.m. as I write this in Los Angeles, and that means many of you will celebrating the New Year back home in just three hours. I'll celebrate in six more hours---if I'm still awake. Happy New Year!

Thursday 1/1/09

Happy New Year from Los Angeles! Not really. Not ony did Penn State fall to Southern Cal 38-24 in the Rose Bowl, but I, like most of you, watched it on television. Yes, photographer Erik Grant and I had our media credentials, but I was too sick to attend the game. I called Erik early this morning to see if he could go get something for my discomfort only to learn that he, too, was suffering.

We later learned that more than 20 media members in the Downtown Marriott were suffering from food poisoning. I spent the day in bed and tried to stay hydrated with sports drinks. Solid food has consisted of Saltine crackers and melba toast. That's quite an L.A. cuisine. We hope we'll be fine by the time we fly home tomorrow, but for now, I'm a little hungry.

I think I'll have another cracker.

Friday 1/2/09

Erik and I thankfully left the cozy confines of the Downtown Marriott this morning for our trip home. We left LAX at 12:45 Pacific for Phoenix. Our Phoenix stop was our only airline hiccup of the week. After a 50-minute maintenance delay, we took off for Pittsburgh and touched Pennsylvania soil at 10:27 p.m. Eastern after a 3 1/2 flight. We were in Johnstown about two hours a later and a stop at Sheetz provided my first real food in two days.

By the way, Phoenix must be the place to see NFL Hall of Famers. You'll recall we was saw Eric Dickerson on our way to Los Angeles. On the way home, former Steeler great and Johnstown native Jack Ham was on our flight from Phoenix to Pittsburgh. The difference between an NFL Hall of Famer and a small town sportscaster? First class and coach---for starters. Jack worked the Rose Bowl with Steve Jones on the Penn State Radio Network.

Our food poisonng experience had become well known. Jack said that he knew of others who were ill. I ran into former WJAC reporter Jon Meyer, now at WNEP in Wilkes-Barre, who introduced me to one of his colleagues who also was flattened by the illness. Even several passengers on our flight heard of our misfortune.

The 95th Rose Bowl game will certainly go down as a memorable trip, but for the wrong reason.

Anyone looking ahead to the Super Bowl?