On the road. I???m about to hop in the car for the drive down to Atlanta, where I will take part in the festivities surrounding the Men???s Final Four during the next few days. Most folks believe that the Final Four is only about the games, but believe me, there are a whole host of events that take place and it all begins tonight. This evening, the four teams remaining in the bracket will be honored at the Men???s Salute, an annual dinner celebrating the success of those particular student-athletes. I attended the Women???s Salute in Boston last year and had a marvelous time. It???s a great way to get the weekend rolling and I???m actually looking forward to getting all dressed up. I will bring as much of the action as possible to the Double-A Zone, through first-hand accounts, photo blogs and video clips. I hope you???ll spend the weekend with me!

Let???s go Maine! I am officially on the Maine bandwagon, as I will embed with the Black Bears during the upcoming Frozen Four in St. Louis. I???ll spend time at the team hotel, eat with the players, attend practice and try and get a feel for what big-time hockey and the Frozen Four are all about. I???ve never been to this event, but I???m really fired up about the experience. When I was 12, I gave roller hockey a bid, but it took me so long to put on all my body guards that the games were usually over by the time I started moving. Additionally, I couldn???t turn around, so the puck was always moving in the opposite direction as I was. My experiences have given me a great respect for the game and this will be a good opportunity to get up close and personal with some of our best student-athletes. Maine will take on Michigan State in the national semifinals on Thursday while Boston College and North Dakota match-up on the other side of the bracket.

Appalachian State gives back. Student-athletes from 12 different teams at Appalachian State gave back to the High County community earlier this week at the annual Celebrity Serve event, which benefited the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The student-athletes volunteered their time to wait on tables at local restaurants, as a portion of every bill and all tips were donated to local Make-A-Wish efforts.