April 1, 2004 | ESPN.com's NCAA Tournament coverage
Final Four V-Previews: Connecticut-Duke | Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State

POSTCARD from SAN ANTONIO — I'm here at the Final Four and my journey has been pleasant. I arrived Wednesday night with my entire family, and it really is a lot of fun to have them here.

My family has grown so much in recent years as my daughters, Sherri and Terri, each have two daughters. They are here, as well as my wife Lorraine and my sons-in-law Thomas and Chris. Wow, it is so special to have the whole group here to take in the activities.

Word from the Georgia Tech people was that it looks like BJ Elder will be ready to play Saturday.

On Wednesday, when we arrived at the hotel, ESPN's Digger Phelps and Brad Daugherty greeted us in the lobby. We were holding court and it was a real blast. Among the discussions were the Final Four teams, and how Daugherty and Tim Duncan compared as players despite Daugherty's slight height advantage.

Later on it was off to dinner on the Riverwalk at a nice restaurant named Delores on the Rio. I had a wonderful time with my family and some good friends: Dick Weiss from the New York Daily News and his wife, Joanie; Digger Phelps; my agent from IMG, Susan Lipton; Jay Cohen, who helps make sure I get from place to place at the Final Four (and he does a super job); Ira Stolberger from Innersport; and our research expert, Howie Schwab.

We had a fun evening as we met several members of the San Antonio hospitality group. It's a lot of work to put together a Final Four and these ladies are doing a great job this week! Digger and I took pictures with them and we had a blast!

When we were walking back to the hotel from dinner, we ran into the Georgia Tech entourage as they were checking in. I got a chance to meet with many of their people, including Wes Durham, their outstanding broadcaster and the son of North Carolina announcer Woody Durham (congrats to Woody on getting into the North Carolina Broadcasting Hall of Fame).

Word from the Georgia Tech people was that it looks like BJ Elder will be ready to play Saturday.

Thursday morning the sun was shining and the Riverwalk was glistening. It was off to the zoo with my family in the morning, and then off to our set at the Rivercenter mall on the Riverwalk to see all of our beautiful fans. Our SportsCenter shows started on Thursday and run through Tuesday morning when we wrap up the championship game and look ahead to next season.

It should be an outstanding time down here. Four great teams with outstanding players and coaches, and anyone is capable of winning. They are ready to roar, and basketball fever has certainly hit San Antonio, baby!

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit in the 1970s before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979 (he's been an ESPN analyst ever since). Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.