Final Four Visitors: Move Along, There’s Nothing to See Here!

So, here we are in Detroit busy welcoming fanatical basketball friends from Connecticut, North Carolina, Philly (Villanova) and our own Sparty fans from around Michigan.

Yesterday, the Detroit Free Press set up a camera in the corner of the court inside Ford Field and streamed a great video of MSU’s practice. There were 30,000 people in attendance after waiting in a snaking entrance line in the rain on a 50-MPH day.

Amazing.

I watched the practice on the web on my lunch time. Today, I realize I should have done something else.

Instead of chewing contentedly on a hammy sammy in the comfortable confines of my downtown office, I should have been concerned for the masses. I should have had about 100,000 little cards printed up with the following message:

“If you see anything about the Detroit City Council on freep.com or detnews.com or any local television broadcast or hear about their shennanigans on radio, ignore it. It’s merely an extension of our own little April Fool’s joke that we in the media like to play. Surely you know no no real governing body could be so ridiculous — Please come back in five years.”

Then, I should have set out on the task of distributing the cards throughout the weekend.

Not in on the joke? Check it out here

Seriously, folks, this cannot be real!

And Now, for the Main Event: Nothing!!

Photo, Vince Kern -- All Copyrights Reserved 2009

(Pinckney — MI) Every morning Google Calendar sends me a blank email at about 4:36 a.m. while I cling to my last hour of sleep.

“You have no events scheduled today,” the subject line informs my ever-alert Blackberry.

I sleep on, unaware.

Usually, around 5:38 a.m. , I see the memo and say “Thank you!” as I’m waiting for my first cup of Kuerig coffee.

“No events”  is a wonderful proposition, indeed.

I set up my Google Calendar to track personal items such as dentist appointments, work out days, pay days to look forward to, birthdays and other such things that relate to the more important and familial parts of  life. Work is excluded. It has its own inescapable nagging Outlook reminders.

 I love reading that Google email first thing in the morning. Today, I didn’t see it until noon.

It’s been a grueling last two weeks of transforming the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News and Detroit Media Partnership for all of us. Last night I had to hit the sack at 8:30. It took all the energy I had left to make it up the stairs. And I clocked an adult-record 14.5 hours of sleep. Aside from the mandatory trip to the dry cleaner before closing time at 3 p.m.to retrieve my clean and snappy business duds, nothing is going to get me off my property today.

About 1 p.m., I tweeted to the 28 folks who follow me on Twitter :“Daring anyone from work to call or email me today! Go ahead, but this will be my blanket response “zzzzzzzzzzzz” — & crickets chirping.”

It’s now 4:12 p.m. and I haven’t done too bad with that challenge. One email from an Advertising person returned accidentaly (I forgot) and one incoming phone call from a colleague. Scratch the phone call off the list because it was his butt that dialed and I’m back to one email returned for now.

Michigan State in the Final Four tonight means if they win I’ll be up till 1 a.m. or later Tuesday directing production for the Championship game. “Go Spartans!!” I say, but I’m going back to my Google Calendar to schedule an event for tomorrow.

Google. Calendar. Open Sunday, April 4, 2009. New Event. Time? All Day Event.

Subject?

Take Another Day Off On Me, The Vinman.

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