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Needing Band, San Diego Hires Western Kentucky's

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 23, 2008

TAMPA - The University of San Diego had nearly everything it needed, except for one traditional component during its NCAA first-round game against UConn.

Its band.

School officials had to choose between sending their band to Tampa for a first-round men's basketball game or the Toreros' first-round women's basketball contest against Cal today in Stanford, Calif.

San Diego elected to keep its band in state for the women and hired Western Kentucky, which defeated Drake on Friday, to perform for its men's team in Tampa.

"I actually don't know much about either team. I've never heard of a Torero," Western Kentucky sophomore percussionist Josh Rios said before Friday's game. "All I'm going to do is just play music and hope they win."

The Toreros' cheerleaders typically perform dance routines to music at home games, rarely relying on their band, but they were informed it was against NCAA rules to perform with recorded music.

Instead, the cheerleaders asked Western Kentucky's band to play whatever music it desired and they would improvise.

"It actually ended up being just fine," Toreros cheerleading captain Jackie Leon said. "We number our dances, and we would listen to a song they played for about an eight count, call out a number, and then do our routine. We adjusted the speed of our routine to the music and we did not have any problems."

Of course, San Diego plays Western Kentucky today, so it had to find another band willing to substitute. This time, Siena's band will do the honors after playing for the Saints against Villanova in the early game.

FAMILY DECISIONS: Family members are key cogs in the stands during NCAA Tournament games, but Siena freshman forward Ryan Rossiter has to be feeling a little fortunate to see the faces of parents Steve and Patricia.

That's because Rossiter has an older brother, Stephen, also playing in the tournament. Stephen is a sophomore guard at Davidson, which earned an automatic berth after winning the Southern Conference Tournament.

So how did Ryan's parents choose to come to Tampa? It's a pretty simple explanation.

"They went to his conference tournament this year, so they said if we both make the tournament that they were coming with me," Ryan said.

However, the Rossiter family did catch a break. They had plenty of time to watch Stephen's game on television before making their way to the Forum.

Stephen's Wildcats, the 10th seed in the Midwest Region, defeated fifth-seeded Gonzaga 82-76 after a 12:25 p.m. tip-off in Raleigh, N.C., while Ryan's Saints did not face Vanderbilt until 7:20 p.m.

The family is fortunate again today, because Siena plays against Villanova at 12:15 p.m., and Davidson faces Georgetown at 2:50 p.m.

MONSTAH BUSINESS: Basketball fans should be careful not to shortchange anyone at the Monstah Lobstah stand outside the St. Pete Times Forum.

Allen Berube owns the business and is selling lobster rolls, fried shrimp, hush puppies, chips and soda. What most people do not know is Berube is a mixed martial arts fighter in Ultimate Fighting Championships, and he was a contestant on the UFC's reality TV show.

"I actually don't get a chance to watch the games. I'm outside the entire time," Berube said. "I have a phone and watch most of the games that way when we are not too busy."

FACES IN THE CROWD: Grammy Award winner Vince Gill was one of the many notables in attendance Friday. Other recognizable faces were Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio; Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms and defensive tackle Chris Hovan; and Rays President Matt Silverman.

Adam Adkins, Anwar S. Richardson

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