Archive for March, 2007

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kwik-eThis blog mentions a pending deal to convert a dozen 7-Elevens into Kwik-E-Marts as a promotional effort for the Simpsons movie this summer. Available to buy: KrustyO’s cereal, Buzz Cola, and iced Squishees.

If you’re a Simpsons fan (and who isn’t), how ultra cool is that? 🙂

I’m hoping there’ll be one nearby in the Bay Area…

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Yesterday I made sure to give myself ample time getting to the regional final game between Kansas & UCLA. I also lugged my camera and my zoom lens. I was a bit worried because I was told that telephoto lenses are prohibited. I figured since I parked close by this time, it wouldn’t be too much of a walk if I have to go back to put away the camera. Luckily, I had no trouble entering HP Pavilion with it.

I first went down to the lower level to take some snapshots about 45 minutes before game time. I was trying to soak it all in before the crowd gathers and the craziness erupts. It was very neat; I was enjoying myself and happily snapping away. Kansas came out for their shoot around first, then out came UCLA. Luckily I was right ontop of the tunnel where the Bruins emerged, so I got a few shots of them coming out.

As tip-off drew near, I headed up to upper deck where our seats were located and settled in. Joe was already in his seat. The game started out pretty sloppily for UCLA. Kansas played tough defense and forced turnovers every other UCLA possessions. I was nervous but somehow the Bruins stayed close. The half closed with UCLA’s Josh Shipp nailing a 3 pointer as time expires, giving UCLA a 4 points lead.

UCLA played a much better 2nd half, forcing turnovers and playing tough defense. Aaron Afflalo was huge for the Bruins, making timely shots and stopping anything that resembled a run by Kansas. In the end UCLA won 69-55 in a prety exciting game. Here’re the some of the shots from the game.

Final Four, baby!

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I took off work early yesterday to watch the double header at HP Pavilion. The 2nd game with UCLA vs Pitt was the one I really wanted to see, so I left 30 minutes before game time and figured I’ll only miss the few minutes of the game.

Was I wrong. Downtown San Jose was like a zoo, swarmed with students everywhere. The parking @ HP Pavilion was full so I had to park in downtown 10 blocks away! I ended up missing most of the 1st half but still beat Joe to the game. It was a close game, Kansas ended up edging out SIU . The 2nd game was great to watch since the Bruins won and advances to Elite 8. It was fun rooting along with a lot of UCLA alums in the stand. I woke up today and found I lost half of my voice from screaming the nite before.

I’m looking forward going to Saturday game between UCLA & Kansas. Gonna give myself more time getting there and will be lugging my camera along with me!

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Despite the fact that the Bay Area is hosting the regional final of the NCAA basketball tournament this week, I was planning to catch the games on TV. UCLA is one of the four teams in this bracket, naturally I was looking forward to the games. Tickets are notoriously hard to get, so I didn’t think about going to the games until my friend Joe called and suggested getting tickets. Joe found out that tickets unused by some of the schools will be available the day before the games.

So Joe & I headed down the HP Pavilion to try our luck scoring tickets. We lined up and each got a wristband with a number which unfortunately doesn’t guarantee us tickets. It just means we’ll get a chance! We both headed to a local Cajun restaurant for lunch and returned 90 minutes later when the tickets start going on sale. To discourage people camping out and get ahead of the line, they don’t go with the sequence numbers handed out. Instead they pick a random starting number and start from there. With our luck, the random number is ended up something like 50 after our number. This means we are one of the last 50 people in a line of hundreds! Not good…

They wouldn’t tell us up front how many tickets were available. So with the line so long, we both decided our chances were slim. We decided to give up. I tore up my wristband in despair and drove back to work. Half an hour later, I got an email from Joe’s Blackberry– he’s decided to stay it out after hearing from somebody that there’re a large # of tickets available. Joe’s patience paid off as he ended up scoring a pair of tickets.

We’re going to the games. It has been years since I went to an UCLA game. Awesome!