THE FINAL FOUR!

After 23 years, Memphis returned to the FINAL FOUR - mecca in college basketball!

The Mighty Sound of the South was primed and ready for our big splash in the final four, and made the most of our stay!

We first stopped in to one of Nick's favorite Tex-Mex restaurants on the PLANET...
La Fogata...















We had a VERY busy schedule in San Antonio, but began our trip with our first free day...here are some images from one of the most beautiful cities I know...Here's the famous River Walk -






And of course, the Alamo!






I passed the time by feeding the pigeons in front of the Alamo, and actually had several land on my arm and eat potato chips out of my hand. That was awesome!






Our first official function for the Final Four was a TV shoot on the CBS "Early Show" Friday morning (and boy was it EARLY)! Later that day, we competed in the annual Final Four BATTLE OF THE BANDS. The winning band director received (and had to wear) the trophy - a GIANT sombrero. Guess who won, and see if you can spot me!








Finally came Saturday and our national semifinal game, against our tournament nemesis UCLA...finally we vanquished that bunch, and we celebrated our day off at Six Flag Fiesta Texas, and more fun on Monday.
Our favorite event was the Final Four River Rally, which had both bands in the championship and spirit squads load up on barges and float along the river walk, cheering on our schools. What a hoot!

We were mere seconds away from a national title, but fell short against a furious comeback by Kansas, which tied the game with a three pointer with 2 seconds, and then blasted us in overtime. We had to only make 2 of 5 free throws down the stretch to ice the game, but could only manage 1, which opened the door for Kansas. Hat's off to the Jayhawks...they love the Lord, and 2nd place isn't all that bad!

I am DEFINITELY exhausted, and incredibly happy to be home from March Madness. It certainly was some of the most fun I've ever had, but was also very difficult to do without my precious family. It's good to be home!

Hopefully we'll get 'em NEXT YEAR!