Thursday, 6:03 a.m.
Good morning, good friends.
It’s early in the morning. My alarm went off at 4:15 a.m.
I know, I know. I’m going to Los Angeles for the All-Star Break. You feel super bad for me.
The Wolves won last night against the Lakers at Target Center, closing out things on a solid note before a week or so off.
A few observations from this morning:
- When I woke up this morning, my cat (KAT) was just standing on the fridge. I don’t know what he does at night and I’m not quite sure if I want to know.
- My Uber driver and I played 20 questions this morning at 4:45. His favorite color is blue, his name is Hank and he likes the morning shift at Uber because it’s a good mix of people. You do you, Hank.
- If you’re a parent and you can keep your kid from crying at 5 a.m. at the airport, you’re the real MVP.
We have three of us on this trip to handle all of your content needs. We land in Los Angeles around 11 a.m. your time, 9 a.m. LA time. We have two community events to cover today and possibly another top-secret event that you won’t know about if it doesn’t happen.
I’ll check back in when we land in Los Angeles, the Mile High City.
Thursday, 9:43 a.m.
How time flies.
We have landed in Los Angeles and we are currently in a taxi. Technology allows me to type and connect to the internet while in a taxi. Wait until I tell my Grandma Darlene about this.
We are going to a community event with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jimmy Butler. I’m not sure what kind of player access we’ll have, but you can expect some content later this afternoon, after we check into our hotel and everything.
The internet on the flight didn’t work, so that stunk. But I was able to watch “Thor: Ragnarok” and I can tell you that it’s a phenomenal movie. Cate Blanchett is freaking unbelievable in it.
I’ll check in later this afternoon.
No snacks yet today. Or coffee.
Thursday, 1:49 p.m.
Community work is done. Well, not for us. We were just there covering it, but for Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns.
After that, we got our media credentials and got some grub. My room was the only room available for the three of us, so we are all just chilling here. It's super cool and I definitely don't want my own space after traveling all day.
Just kidding.
We are heading to a Jimmy Butler event soon. Hoping to get all of our content up after that.
Our Uber driver invited us to a party that she's going to tonight with a cheap cover. That's great and all, but what happens when it rains?
Friday, 6:47 a.m.
Happy Friday.
I'm up pretty early because I'm a party animal and this is how I live my life (I was in my hotel bed watching "Spiderman: Homecoming" at 9:15 last night).
Let's recap yesterday before previewing today.
We ate at Qdoba for lunch yesterday which I'm 98 percent gave me food poisoning. I feel better now and I don't want to gross you out, so let's move along.
Last night, Jimmy appeared at a Jordan event in LA, which had a lot going on, and nothing going on at the same time. There was a room full of sneakers, flashing lights and a DJ dropping beats. Did I buy a pair of Jordan 32s that I definitely didn't need? Yes, yes I did. I was laughed at because I didn't know the name of shoes I was buying. Whatever.
Butler arrived, looked around the place and then went upstairs for some interviews and to look at a recreation of Dr. Dre's first studio, which was actually super cool.
We'll have a video, photos and story on this later today.
Today, the big event is the All-Star practice availability. That will start around 2 p.m. your time and will air on NBATV. We'll have plenty of coverage on that up later tonight after a few side events with Towns.
I plan on going to the gym at some point today and I might even dabble in a JFK book that I got for Christmas. Live your best life, everyone. I'll check in this afternoon. Will take lunch suggestions.
Saturday, 9:31 a.m.
So, apparently I don't know what day it is.
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Thanks for the heads up, Jace.
Saturday, 9:40 a.m.
Snack update: Just had a handful of chips.
Saturday, 6:29 p.m.
What a day.
We had the media day for the All-Stars today and we got a ton of really, really good content. You can expect to see it trickled out throughout the next few days on our social channels and website.
These media scrums are okay for getting content, but at the same time so weird. A lot of it is people asking All-Stars about other All-Stars. But such is life. One guy asked Kyrie Iriving if he was the best NBA actor, which I can't imagine Irving really cares about. But maybe. Maybe that's what makes his world go round.
We ate at California Pizza Kitchen and it was good. I had fish tacos. Our crew talked about ghosts for a good 30 minutes and the kid sitting next to us will definitely have nightmares for the next month.
Finishing up stories for tonight and tomorrow. I'll check back in tomorrow morning. I miss my cat. I hope he's doing okay.
Sunday, 9:59 a.m.
Good morning!
Before we get into some Ratke on the Road content, we have some celebrating to do.
Congrats to former Lynx star Katie Smith on becoming a 2018 Hall of Fame Finalist.
And congrats to Cole Aldrich on having his jersey retired at Kansas.
What did I do last night? Caught up on a bunch of work and fell asleep by 10:30 p.m. I'm lame. I'm going to try to do something fun tonight after the festivities here. But I also really enjoy sleeping. So we'll see.
Today, I've got a few things to do before getting all fit at the gym. I'll probably go get some coffee after that. I don't know. There's really nothing going on before we go to the arena around 3 p.m. for tonight's All-Star Game. That will air at 7 p.m. CT on TNT.
I'll check back in after my workout.
I bought a bag of chips upon arrival on Friday, and there are still chips left. I'm afraid I'm out of my peak snacking days. Not only have I disappointed myself, I feel like I've disappointed my family.
Continue to check out the site and our social platforms for pretty cool content from us.
Sunday, 2:39 p.m.
Yo yo yo.
I'll be on WCCO Radio in about 10 minutes if you want to listen. Of course, you'd have to be reading this as I'm typing this to actually listen, so that's kind of a pointless warning.
We are going to head to STAPLES Center in 20 minutes for the All-Star Game.
As far as content, I'm not really sure what to expect. I was just reminded that this is my first All-Star Game I've covered, which is pretty awesome.
I still need lunch. But I have a $20 voucher for the arena, which I'm definitely using for candy.
I'll try to check in before the game.
Monday, 8:57 a.m.
Happy post All-Star Day!
A very, very entertaining last night. Props to the NBA for the best All-Star Game in a while. Players actually played defense! What a concept!
Snack update: I had nachos and Twizzlers at the game.
We have plenty of content up from last night, especially from Towns' double-double performance, and we'll have more later today and in the next few days.
We don't fly out until 6 p.m. tonight, so we have some time to kill. I'm going to head to the gym shortly (elliptical only) before packing up and doing some exploring around before we need to head to the airport.
We saw team photographer David Sherman last night for a split second, which was nice. He's one of THE BEST guys around.
I'm probably going to get coffee and breakfast after the gym.
Have a great Monday. And if you're back in Minnesota, drive safe today!
Talk to you soon.
Tuesday, 11:40 a.m.
We are back in Minnesota!
We got in around midnight. I watched "Murder On The Orient Express" and I can tell you it was not a good movie at all. So don't watch it.
I went through a sharable bag of M&Ms on the flight. I'm feeling really great about myself right now.
I have the day off today, so I'm just hanging out with my cat and going grocery shopping in a bit.
As far as the Timberwolves go, they play again on Friday against the Rockets in Houston, and if I had to guess, they'll have some sort of practice tomorrow. We'll keep you updated.
Overall, though, another great trip.
As always, thanks for reading. Until next time.