Tough day at the office for sports writers

RALEIGH, N.C. (Map, News) - My latest assignment for the Examiner sure was a tough one: I had to sit two rows from center court and watch four first-round games of the NCAA Tournament at Verizon Center on Thursday.

I saw Xavier beat Georgia, Purdue really, really beat Baylor, Duke get lucky to beat Belmont and West Virginia beat up on Arizona.

Four games, 14 hours and all of the soda, bottled water, chips, popcorn and pretzels I could eat.

But during my stay, I became one with the people. It was my goal to interview at least one fan from several of the teams, and about an hour before Belmont played Duke, I heard a loud applause — obviously not for me — and noticed the subject of my interview had just taken his seat.

It’s not every day you get to chat with a former member of Pure Prairie League and 16-time Grammy winner, Vince Gill.

TG: Hi, Vince. Nice jacket. Is that real leather?

VG: Raised the cow myself.

TG: That’s impressive. I’m going to give it to you straight Vince. I’m not a huge country music fan, but I sort of dig you. Congrats on your induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year.

VG: Well, I appreciate it, I guess. How can you not like country music?

TG: I’m more of a hip-hop/death metal guy myself, Vince. Thanks for asking. So, are you a big Belmont Bruins fan or did somebody tell you University of Tennessee was playing here tonight?

VG: That’s a good one. Actually, I’m very good friends with Head Coach Rick Byrd and I’m a huge Belmont fan, believe it or not. That’s my team. I’m here to show my support for the program. I guess I’m sort of a poor man’s Jack Nicholson.

TG: Is basketball your sport?

VG: Golf and basketball are my things. The difference is I can actually play golf.

TG: So, who do you have in your Final Four?

VG: I actually didn’t fill out one bracket this year. The crazy thing is anyone can win it this year. Everyone is beating everyone, so it’s hard to say who is going to win it all. There just isn’t one dominant team out there, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a couple No. 1 seeds get knocked off.

TG: Would you be willing to trade a Grammy for a Belmont win over Duke?

VG: [Laughing] I sure would, absolutely. I would give up a couple of them to be honest.

TG: Last question: Which league is the toughest: The Atlantic Sun in which Belmont competes, the Atlantic Coast Conference in which Duke plays or the Pure Prairie League?

VG: [Laughing] That is one of the best questions I’ve ever heard. Hands down, it has got to be the Pure Prairie League — days of drugs, debauchery and rock and roll. You make it through that league, you’ve done something.

TG: Thanks for your time. You gave the people what they wanted.

VG: You got it brother.

Click her to read all of Tony’s blogs from his big day at the NCAA Tournament.

Tony Giro is a lifelong Baltimore sports fan who blogs on examiner.com for fans. If you subscribe — it’s free — you’ll be e-mailed each time Tony posts a column. He can be reached at timeout@baltimoreexaminer.com. And yes, he’s still bitter about the Skipjacks and Bullets leaving town.

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