Nobody picked a worse NCAA bracket than me.

I had Winthrop winning the NCAA Tournament. They lost Thursday night by 31 points.

I had Baylor playing them. Baylor got trounced in their first game.

I picked Cornell. I picked the Ivy League team, from my home state and a place best known for its scholars and not athletes, over whomever they played. Cornell got waxed by a thousand points.

USC? I Picked 'em, they lost.

Kent State? Crushed.

There is nothing to raise a glass to in a toast tonight in Denver.

Winthrop got pummeled. 71-40.

Nobody in the sporting press is seeking out Gary McCann, the great sports writer I rode to Denver with, to ask him if Winthrop can win the next one, like last year when Winthrop beat Notre Dame. Last year McCann was the pied piper.

McCann will write great stories about this brutal beating that comes after a good season. I do not know a single person who can do it better, does it better, than McCann. He was worth the trip, as always.

Seattle Times blog entry here.

The first game here in Denver broke my bracket, and broke my back.

Like so many millions I filled out a NCAA Tournament Bracket. I don't know sports like many know sports. I pick who I like. I pick against who I hate. I pick against favorites hoping those big shots get slammed. I pick with my gut.

I now have dysentery.

Found out Winthrop fans in Denver spent a part of Wednesday at the Coors brewery. Free samples, I hear. Wish I knew. I might have stopped in, Report on it, you know.

Met a lady last night named Michelle who remembered us from the drive to Spokane. She roots for Washington State but now says she roots for us. McCann said he isn't rooting for anything except me riding home with somebody else.

"You guys were all over the place!" she said about Spokane. "Everybody was talking about you."

Denver at dawn, the sun on the Rockies, pretty stout for sure. Three coffees, a walk down Colfax just like Dean Moriarty in On The Road. Will I run into Sal Paradise?

Winthrop has practice at 6 our time, 8 your time. I'll check in from the arena around then.

DENVER — We made it! After 37 hours, Sports Editor Gary McCann and his sidekick, me, made it to Denver. I am too tired to type anymore. I am too tired to do anything but bend an elbow in celebration.

Send McCann some encouragement through this blog so he doesn't throw me out of the hotel. Anybody out there knows Denver, where to quaff and nosh and what to see, send it along here.

Thanks for coming along for the ride with us. Now, the game on Thursday.

Check out the newest podcast from the Road to Denver here.

SOMEWHERE IN MISSOURI -- We're approaching Kansas City, and we'll be in Kansas in about 10 minutes

We should be in Topeka about 11 a.m. (eastern time) and through Kansas by 4 or 5. After Topeka, there's not much. A lot of prarie.

We'll be passing through Salina, which, if I recall my history classes from 30 years ago, was the hometown of Eisenhower.

There was a guy last night in Missouri who told us there are two things in Kansas: Wind and rain.

Editor's Note: The Herald's Gary McCann and Andrew Dys are on their way, via rented car, to Denver to cover Winthrop's first round NCAA Tournament game against Washington State. Like last year's trip to Spokane, Wash., Andrew will be detailing the trip through this blog

JUST OUTSIDE KNOXVILLE, Tenn., 11 a.m. -- We just passed a billboard for Pigeon Forge Radio (Motto: "Comedy, info, free stuff"), but we can’t get a signal.