Great Atlantic Travel and Tour Company Blog

We are now 166 days away from the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Games in London. The finishing touches are being applied to the many stadiums, the locals are preparing for over 3 million visitors, and the athletes are preparing to compete for the pride of their native country. Such an awesome experience that Great Atlantic Travel can provide hotel and packages for. Currently, most nations are going through their qualifying stages that make up their national teams for the various events. Some events such as Gymnastics and Swimming may be more difficult than others such as weightlifting and boxing, however none can be considered an easy feat. In 2008 Michael Phelps was a lead story with his record eight gold medals. The beautiful Dara Torres also made news by qualifying and competing in her 5^th Olympics (first was in 1984) - at the youthful age of 40. Simply amazing for a tough sport, especially when up against fellow competitors younger than her own children. Word comes out of Japan that sets up for a similar story that can make any sports fan proud. Equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu qualified for the London Olympics at age 70 for Japan. Now, it's not yet clear if he will actually compete but this is still quite the accomplishment. This wouldn't be his first Olympics either as he competed in the 2008 Beijing Games at age 67. In 1988 he qualified for the Seoul Olympics but unfortunately had to miss because of injury. The Japanese equestrian officials will make an announcement on March 28^th as to whether Hiroshi will ride in London. Lets hope we seen him there. Great Atlantic Travel has super deals and last minute package and hotel only options available. Be there and enjoy the experience with us!

The 2012 NFL year has officially begun with the start of free agency! Since we last saw the Giants take home the Lombardi Trophy again, this has been one incredibly crazy month of an offseason. There was the release of Peyton Manning that just had to happen followed by the current game of several teams arguing their cases of why one of the top 3 QB's ever should finish his career in their city. Miami, Denver, Arizona seem to be the front runners. Then there was the stupid case of the Saints and "Bounty hunters" defense. This is the most overblown NFL issue ever. Its not like this is the first case of a little bit more incentives given to players to knock the hell out of the opposing offense. They certainly aren't trying to hurt anybody else, its just a more fun and competitive way to make sure you get the most out of defensive players who may take some plays off. I can assure you the players aren't busting their ass for an extra $1,000 - its just more for bragging rights. Anybody who doesn't understand this clearly has never played sports or watched any type of physical competition. For me personally, the highlight easily came late Friday night when the Redskins sold the ranch AND took a mortgage out to swap 1^st round draft picks and trade 2 future 1^st rounders for the right to get the #2 pick presumably for Baylor QB Robert Griffin III. Some people think they gave up too much, which can be argued, but not by Redskins fans who have seen 20 years since they have had a top tier NFL QB. Jason Campbell was good but far from great, same with Brad Johnson, Brunell, Grossman, Banks, Collins, Wuerfull, Beck, Matthews, Ramsey, Frerotte, Shuler, and 10 others since 1998 haven't been worth a darn in DC or any other NFL city. The Redskins are the only team to win Super Bowls with 3 different quarterbacks and even those guys were good at best and fit perfectly with Gibbs offensive systems. Most people think best Redskins QB ever was Sammy Baugh WHO PLAYED IN 1937-1952. The Heisman Winner RG3 can transcend play in the NFL just like Cam Newton's impressive rookie season. Vick's athleticism, Newton's arm strength, and an all-for-team humble personality that would come from a graduate son of a former 30 year Army officer. I have never been this excited in March for the next NFL season and the Skins still have several more players to get and improve at - well besides at Quarterback FOR ONCE!!

The NFL schedule will be released in mid April and will have tickets, day trips, overnight packages available for all NFL teams especially for the Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and all others.

We are less than a week away from the glorious spectacle that is NCAA March Madness. A time where full time, nothing-beats-sports fans like myself lick their chops filling out their brackets (all 4 of them) just to watch some friends wife who couldn't tell you what state UNC plays their home games in, end up winning the bracket pool. Never fails. Yet there is always that hope that the countless hours watching games, listening to sports radio, reading the NCAA section of sports websites and even watching small college games from the West Coast at 2AM will sometime pay off. Contrary to popular belief, college basketball starts in October, not after the Super Bowl and this year I am prepared. This is finally the year I will win the bracket challenge and get to annoy the piss out of everyone I know bragging that nobody else's sports knowledge comes close to comparing to mine. Or at least I can have all 4 Final Four teams still alive past the second round. In order to get to the final 68 teams, we have to finish the Conference tournaments. Some of the mid-majors have already found their winners but the biggest conferences will showcase their schools this week and weekend.

Atlantic Coast Conference
Thursday-Sunday, Phillips Arena, Atlanta
Attendance problems in the ACC led to its tournament being moved from the cavernous Georgia Dome to Phillips Arena, home of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. The seedings point to another Duke vs. North Carolina classic in the final on Sunday, with a top seed in the NCAA Tournament likely going to the winner. The Tobacco Road rivals split their two meetings this season: Duke won a buzzer-beater and UNC won easily this past Saturday. Miami and North Carolina State could use tourney wins to boost their NCAA chances.

Big East
Tuesday-Saturday, Madison Square Garden, New York
Outlook: As the tournament celebrates its 30th anniversary at MSG, the mecca of basketball, it bids farewell to one of the conference's charter members, Syracuse. The Orange (30-1), who with Pittsburgh will join the ACC next season, could earn the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament by running the table in New York. Ninth-seeded Connecticut, which began its improbable run to a national title last year with an unprecedented five victories in five days in the Big East tournament, could use some wins this week to punch another NCAA ticket.

Big 12
Wednesday-Saturday, Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO.
Outlook: Another realignment exit could be the story of this tournament. Missouri, which along with Texas A&M, is leaving for the Southeastern Conference. That means an end to its rivalry with Kansas. The Jayhawks, a likely No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, beat the Tigers in overtime Feb. 25. A rematch, and the finale of the Border War, could come in the Big 12 final. Look for ticket prices to soar if that match-up becomes a reality. Meanwhile, Texas (19-12) could use a strong tournament run to make its NCAA case.

Big Ten
Thursday-Sunday, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Outlook: With five schools among the top 15 in the Associated Press poll and a three-way tie for the regular season title among No. 7 Ohio State, No. State, 8 Michigan State and No. 10 Michigan, this tournament appears to be wide open. In its 14-year history, eight Big Ten tournament champions have reached the NCAA Sweet 16. Keep an eye on Northwestern (18-12), which has never made it to the NCAAs. A couple of tournament wins could have the Wildcats in the dance for the first time.

Pac-12
Wednesday-Saturday, Staples Center, Los Angeles
Outlook: UCLA, rocked by a Sports Illustrated story last week that portrayed disarray in the once-storied program, will take on cross-town rival USC in its tournament opener Wednesday. The fifth-seeded Bruins (18-13) will need some tournament wins to reach the NCAAs and perhaps save coach Ben Howland's job. Top seed Washington (21-9) edged California (23-8) for the regular season title. Those two are track to meet in the final.

Southeastern Conference
Thursday-Sunday, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans
Outlook: It's No. 1 Kentucky (30-1) vs. everyone else in this tournament. The Wildcats stormed through the SEC regular season at 16-0 and are a top seed in the NCAA Tournament no matter what they do in New Orleans this week. No. 2 seed Tennessee, No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 4 Florida are among those who will try to slow the Cats down. Tennessee (18-13) has won four in a row and will likely need to keep the streak going at least to the final Sunday to get an NCAA bid.

Lets Get Ballin!