The Winter Meetings

There are many times I am glad I'm not a baseball beat reporter. The annual meeting is, annually, one of those times.

Meanwhile, the Gaylord Opryland is a nightmare of a hotel. They actually print out a map to get to your room when you check in. Here was my route:

Walk 100 yards to an escalator, go up a flight. Go to another escalator and up another flight. Take a specific elevator up two floors, take a right and your room is down that hallway.

It was there - once I walked past 110 rooms. In the time it took me to check in and get to my room here, I could have checked in and played half a shoe of blackjack at The Palms in Vegas.

There is good news, however. When you place your wakeup call, you can have a “popular country music artist” deliver the message. The choices are Trace Adkins, George Jones, Vince Gill, Pam Tillis, Kellie Pickler, Montgomery Gentry or Wynonna.

I have 4,072 songs in my iPod. None by any of those people. Is Montgomery Gentry a person or a department store?

Give me Steve Earle or Hank Williams. I’d settle for Tim McGraw even.

It’s going to be a long week.