Post media party update

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. ----- Today was pretty uneventful from an Orange Bowl standpoint but ranked well up there in weird factor.

First, an update on the important stuff. Several more articles or blogs will be coming tomorrow, but I'm just too worn out to continue tonight. Tomorrow has several key Orange Bowl events - the final press conferences for both coaches, a photo op with both coaches together, a luncheon, the Hawkeye Huddle and the Fan Fest, but I plan on skipping at least one or two of those to get a good amount of writing done.

I officially check into the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort at 3 p.m. tomorrow, so I'll be living it up in about 12 hours.

I have noticed an interesting trend here in south Florida...There are a lot of Iowa people and nearly nobody from Georgia.

That goes for media and fans. I've seen so few Georgia media here that I could count the number on one hand, while there has to be 35-40 Iowa media, if not more.

A good chunk of the Iowa contingent was present at the Media Party tonight, which was in a huge room and featured plenty of good food, desserts and, most importantly, free booze. It was a casino night theme, so we were all given a free voucher which allowed us 500 in chips, I believe. All winnings were converted to tickets, which were used in a prize raffle.

Now, I didn't drink (had to drive back to Pompano) and I didn't gamble (not really my thing), so it would seem boring on the surface. It wasn't.

I talked for a long time with former boss and still Sports Editor of the Quad-City Times Don Doxie. I met and talked with the head of the football radio broadcasts at the U of I, Jordan (didn't catch his last name).

But most importantly - and here is where it gets weird - I ran into and talked with somebody I graduated high school with.

That may not seem weird to you, but I went to high school in Munster, Ind. I graduated in 2000. I haven't spoken to this person in nearly 10 years.

But there he was, at the Orange Bowl media party (he's not media, he was there with his girlfriend).

It was great talking to him, catching up, just reminiscing and talking about life in general. Most of all, it was freaking surreal. I still can't believe I ran into somebody from high school in Miami.

Alas, the night is over and tomorrow is a busy, long day. I have to be up at 5:30 a.m. central time to get back to work to bring you more news and updates, so I'll leave you with two things.

First, a "funny" from A.J. Edds that I forgot to include yesterday. When he was leaving practice and all the media was off to the side of the walkway, he made a crack about "Wow, nice to see they are paying you guys to stand around in Miami, now."

He likes to mess with us.

Finally, some pictures from practice today. Enjoy!