1 photographer.
1 sports reporter.
19 hours traveling.
25 hours in New Mexico.
44 hours total.
1 NCAA tournament appearance for the Fresno State women̢۪s basketball team.

Friday
9:38 a.m.
Juan and I hop on a flight out of Fresno, headed to Phoenix. On the plane a baby starts crying. It doesn̢۪t stop. I̢۪m wearing a red sweatshirt. Gotta represent, even though I am a reporter. As we get off the plane the woman with the baby silently apologizes to everyone as they walk past her.

12:07 p.m.
We take off on our next flight. This one̢۪s to Albuquerque. For some reason I̢۪m reminded of a bad Motel 6 commercial that happens to name the cities Phoenix, Albuquerque and Fresno in it.

2:04 p.m.
We check into Motel 6. The Pit is the arena where Fresno State will face Baylor. Juan and I get to our room. It is being remodeled. On a positive note, everything is new in the room. On a negative note, it smells like paint. Strongly. Also, there is still tape on the door. It is covered in wet paint. Juan discovers that the hard way.

2:29 p.m.
Juan and I eat at McDonalds. It’s kinda gross, but there was nothing else. As we walk there, people keep honking at me. I think it might be because I’m wearing red. Juan says “uh oh.â€Â I become scared.

3:30 p.m.
Juan and I walk to The Pit and get our credentials. We receive them and explore. Ralph Wood from KMPH is editing video. He̢۪ll be sitting behind me during the game. I check out my nametag courtside. Juan and I watch the Vanderbilt women practice. They miss nearly 20 three-pointers in a row.

4:58 p.m.
Juan and I watch the NCAA men̢۪s tournament on television. I watch Oregon lose and am amazed that North Carolina scored 60 in the first half. Juan falls asleep, angry because Motel 6 doesn̢۪t have wireless internet. Apparently, they̢۪ll only leave the light on. But that̢۪s it.

7:12 p.m.
I̢۪m still watching the NCAA tourney. Now I̢۪m angry because I can̢۪t check my bracket. Sigh.

7:43 p.m.
Juan and I get dinner. It̢۪s Domino̢۪s. The room still smells like paint. I think that it might be affecting my ability to study up on the Fresno State women̢۪s basketball team.

11:11 p.m.
Bed time. It’ll be another long day of basketball and traveling tomorrow. Unless the ‘Dogs win. Then we’ll stay and watch the next game on Monday. I notice that the new comforters on the beds in the room are Motel 6-themed. Nice.

8:43 a.m.
Juan and I wake up. Juan takes a shower. He tells me that there is no shampoo. Not cool. We get ready to walk over to The Pit. The media workroom opens at 9 a.m. so we watch Mythbusters to pass the time. It turns out that CSI lies about its science.

10:17 a.m.
The game starts at noon in Albuquerque, 11 a.m. in Fresno so we are nearly two hours early. The media room is very professional, and the people are likewise as professional. On one wall, there are hundreds of media guides stacked up for each team. On another wall, there are telephones and other media information. There is also a variety of snacks that are free, which is awesome. The media room is actually a gym with curtains separating the “rooms.â€Â On the other side of the curtain there is the press conference area.

11:39 a.m.
The Fresno State women̢۪s basketball team runs onto the court, with around 20 members of the Fresno State band playing the Fresno State fight song. Timeout comes out a few minutes later. He hilariously high-fives Baylor fans, who look confused. The Baylor team runs out. Baylor̢۪s fight song sounds like a circus song. Baylor̢۪s women are very tall.

12:22 p.m.
It looks like Wilson is on the brink of taking the game over. It̢۪s interesting to watch Emma Andrews play defense because she̢۪s moving her mouth. I think she̢۪s talking. I wonder what she̢۪s saying. Wilson just drew another offensive foul.

12:50 p.m.
Timeout̢۪s sitting down. He must be tired. Maybe it̢۪s jetlag.

1:17 p.m.
Halftime is over. Dogs commit a foul and are down by 17. The Pit is slowly filling up with more and more fans. The loudest cheer came from when the Wyoming team came in to watch. The refs sure are call-happy. On a positive note, the ‘Dogs have already scored more than Mississippi Valley State did against UCLA in the first round of the NCAA men’s tourney this year.

1:36 p.m.
There are nine minutes left and the ‘Dogs are down by 19. On another positive note, the Bulldogs have scored 50 more points than they ever have in the NCAA tourney. I’m sitting directly across from President Welty. He doesn’t look happy, probably because the ‘Dogs are losing and he will be forced to leave Albuquerque today. I wonder what flight he will be on.

1:51 p.m.
The Bulldogs lose, 88-67. They played hard until the end though, which was inspiring. Adrian Wiggins looks sad walking up the ramp to the locker room. Timeout pats him on the head.

2:31 p.m.
Juan and I eat an early dinner at a (New) Mexican restaurant inside the airport. I order a chicken burrito. Juan tells me his enchiladas are not like the ones in old Mexico. His words — not mine. Although I did give him that clever catchphrase.

2:31:30 p.m.
I wish there was a Chipotle here.

3:39 p.m.
Juan and I spot President Welty sitting at a desk inside the terminal. Juan dares me to go sit next to him. I do. I put out the Fresno State women̢۪s basketball media guide on the table next to him. He keeps glancing over at me, trying to be discreet and wondering if he should say something. When he gets ready to leave, I tell him to have a nice flight. He realizes that we̢۪re from Fresno State and tells myself and Juan to have a good flight also.

6:45 p.m.
Juan and I are sitting in a plane outside the terminal in Phoenix. Our next flight leaves at around 8 p.m.

7:35 p.m.
Juan and I finally get off the plane. We have 15 minutes to catch our plane. We check where our terminal is. It is the farthest terminal away from the one we exited. I wish I were exaggerating.

7:41 p.m.
Juan and I are still running. They have those conveyor belts, which helps us run crazy fast. I feel like I̢۪m in Home Alone. I tell Juan that. He doesn̢۪t answer. Probably because of the wind rushing past us. He̢۪s a fast dude. So am I.

7:44 p.m.
We get to the door of our plane bound for Las Vegas. The door is locked. We pound on it and someone lets us in. Apparently we made it within 30 seconds of the door closing forever.

8:33 p.m.
Juan and I finally have Internet in the Las Vegas terminal. There are slot machines in the lobby. I lose a dollar. We are sitting there and a kid walks up to us. “Where are you staying?â€Â he asks. “Here,â€Â I say. He’s confused and says he’s “from Philly.â€Â I explain about layovers. We have a three-hour one.

11:19 p.m.
There̢۪s just been an announcement that our plane will be 30 minutes late. Not awesome. I̢۪m also guessing that when Juan and I get to Fresno, our luggage won̢۪t be there. I seriously doubt that they sorted our luggage in the 10 minutes that it took us to run to the other terminal.

3:01 a.m.
My brother picks up Juan and myself from the airport. We had to wait over an hour for our luggage because there were only two people working. Good news though. We actually had our luggage. I fall asleep. I don̢۪t think it was from jet lag. More like a lagging jet.