Travel Calendar

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has scheduled eight open-house public scoping meetings to gather public comments and recommendations on the preparation of environmental assessments for eight travel management areas (TMAs) within the West Mojave Planning Area.

Area residents and interested members of the public encouraged to attend. The BLM will solicit public input relative to local area knowledge, issues and opportunities, including changes to route access.

Barstow meetings: Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA 92311

• Thursday, Jan. 26. TMA 3: Juniper, Rattlesnake, Morongo, Wonder Valley and Joshua Tree signing sub-regions
• Thursday, Feb. 9. TMA 5: WEMO North Barstow Desert Wildlife Management Area signing sub-regions north of I-15 and SR 58
• Tuesday, Feb. 14. TMA 6: El Mirage (including Edwards Bowl area), Fremont, and Iron Mountains signing sub-regions south of SR 58
• Tuesday, Feb. 21. TMA 8: Lands adjacent to Stoddard and Johnson OHV Areas, and other signing sub-regions south of I-40 and north of SR 247 including east of Interstate I-15

• Wednesday, Jan. 18. TMA 2: Sierras, Darwin, and North and South Searles signing sub-regions
• Monday, Feb. 6. TMA 4: Jawbone, Middle Knob and Lancaster signing sub-regions
• Thursday, Feb. 16. TMA 7: Ridgecrest, El Paso, Rands and Red Mtn signing sub-regions

The areas addressed in each of the eight travel management meetings are identified on the attached map. Your scoping information will be used to compile travel management area information and develop preliminary route network alternatives for the West Mojave planning area.

Preliminary alternatives will be posted for review and public comment after scoping for specific areas are completed. Additional public meetings will be held by the Desert Advisory Council Subgroup currently being formed for the West Mojave Route Network. The public will have the opportunity to participate in these subgroup meetings.

The BLM will consider public comments, as feasible, until the BLM proposed Travel Management Plans are published. For more information or to submit a comment contact: Edy Seehafer, West Mojave Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA 92311, by email at cawemopa@blm.gov, or by phone at (760) 252-6021. Additional information is also posted at the West Mojave Amendment Website at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd/west_mojave__wemo.html. Please respond by Apr. 15, 2012 with scoping comments and/or to be added to the mailing list.

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Metro Detroiters are throwing off their gloom, opening their wallets and traveling again for winter and spring breaks, travel agents and travel watchers say.

AAA Michigan reports its 31 travel agencies have seen substantially higher traffic in the last two months. Among those booking winter and spring break trips are college students and families heading for Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean.

“We are absolutely swamped. We have over 100, maybe closer to 200 families, going on Easter break with high school seniors to Mexico,” said Laurie Pelko, owner of Shamrock Travel in Rochester. She is busier than she has been since 2008 for winter-spring bookings.

Leisure and business travel among Americans overall has been on the upswing in the past year as the country climbs out of recession. International travel was up 3% through September 2011, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. And leisure travel should rise 5% this year, according to the Travel-Ticker Travel Intentions Survey of 2,300 U.S. consumers. Eighty-six percent of respondents said they plan to take the same number or more leisure trips this year compared with last.

And 24% of those planning trips credit the economy.

Chilly Michiganders escape to warm locales this year

They’re packing their bags and bathing suits.

Jerry Schleicher, 60, of Ann Arbor will loll on a Dominican Republic beach in February.

Deborah Bryant, 50, of Romulus will lie under a palm tree in Hawaii in March.

And Ron Harwood, 64, of West Bloomfield is headed on a blues music cruise Sunday out of Ft. Myers, Fla.

“Generally speaking,” he said, “in this economy most of us are looking for a place that is warm and reasonable.”

As the long, cold arms of winter, otherwise known as a Michigan January, clutch tight, its shivering citizens are dreaming of warmer climes.

Stay-cation? That’s so 2011. Real vacations are back.

“Spending money on something discretionary like spring break travel indicates people are feeling brighter about their finances,” said Carol Wagner, owner of Travel Plus/Travel Leaders in Commerce Township. “We are starting to see people plan further ahead because they are feeling more confident.” She’s seeing fewer high schoolers going alone on spring break; instead, the whole family is going to places such as Negril, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

At AAA Travel offices in Michigan, spring travel bookings are brisk.

“People have a little more money and are planning ahead to get the best prices on airfares and hotel deals,” said spokeswoman Nancy Cain. Fewer customers want a stay-cation and more want Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. But they are still controlling costs by requesting all-inclusive resorts.

Michigan travelers also may be spending money on travel instead of spending it on something else, valuing experience over possessions.

“We live in Michigan, but spending all of winter here at some point becomes a little intolerable,” said Harwood, who also took a family trip in December to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, near Cancun.

Most people think Christmas is the airport’s busiest season. It’s not.

“Spring break is typically our busiest period — this year, I’d expect we’ll be busy between late February and the first week or so of April,” Detroit Metro Airport spokesman Scott Wintner said.

One lucky break: With Easter falling on April 8 this year, most college breaks in March and most public school winter breaks in February, couples, families and partying college students won’t have to overlap beach space.

But even though there’s an uptick in spring break travel this year, some of us still aren’t going anywhere just yet.

“Consumers remain cautious about discretionary spending in the months ahead, including spending on travel,” said Peter Yesawich, vice chairman of MMGY Global travelhorizons. An October survey by MMGY and the U.S. Travel Association showed just 52% of U.S. adults planned to take a trip between October and April.

What if you have to stay home this year? What if everyone except you seems to be taking a fabulous vacation this winter or spring?

If you are one of those people, take heart.

“There are lots of things it would be nice to have — a fancy car, killer shoes, a wonderful spring break trip,” said Jennifer Crocker, who studies self-worth issues as a professor of social psychology at Ohio State University. “Focusing on those desires can either make us feel envy, lead us into debt or cause us to fall behind on responsibilities.”

One way to cope with envy of others’ cool vacations, she added, is to count up a vacation’s costs, not just its benefits.

“Vacations have costs associated with them, and those costs have consequences for other priorities,” she said. “Once I’ve considered those costs I may conclude that it’s not that I can’t go on an awesome vacation, it’s that I choose not to.”

Contact Ellen Creager: 313-222-6498 or ecreager@freepress.com

More Details: 2012 school breaks

Michigan schools’ winter/spring break weeks vary. Here’s a look at the weeks some fall this year:

• Feb. 5: Kalamazoo College

• Feb. 12: Some public schools, such as Grand Rapids

• Feb. 19: Most public schools, such as Detroit and Warren Consolidated, as well as Oakland University

• Feb. 26: University of Michigan, Alma College, Oakland Community College

• March 4: Michigan State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Michigan, Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State universities, Albion College and Macomb Community College

• March 11: Wayne State and Western Michigan universities

• April 2: Some public schools, such as Grand Rapids and Troy

• April 8: Most public schools, such as Dearborn and Birmingham, plus Wayne County Community College District

More Details: hot spots

1. Cancun, Mexico

2. Panama City, Fla.

3. Miami Beach, Fla.

4. Europe: Netherlands, London

or Paris

5. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

6. Acapulco, Mexico

7. Bahamas

7. (tie) Jamaica

9. South Padre Island, Texas

10. Puerto Rico

More Details: Unusual spots

1. Belize

2. Whistler, British Columbia

3. St. Lucia

4. Death Valley, Calif.

5. Stowe, Vt.

6. Barcelona, Spain

7. Puerto Morelos, Mexico

8. Big Island of Hawaii

9. Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala

10. New Orleans

If you take a trip, don’t forget to take the D with you! See www.freep.com/travelwiththed for more details

Residents were looking to travel with Metro North’s help because of the snow.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

Eileen and Jimmy Duggan were going to see St. John’s take on Villanova in Madison Square Garden.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

Jimmy Duggan’s uncle is a St. John’s alum and they go to one game a year together.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

Tom Weber was dropping his wife off at the train station so she could travel to Manhattan.

Photo Credit: Patrick Stapleton

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – With snow blanketing Westchester County on Saturday, residents flocked to the Metro-North train station in White Plains and put their faith on the rails instead of the wet and slippery road.

Eileen and Jimmy Duggan traveled from New Fairfield, Connecticut because they were unable to catch their local train. They were heading into the city to watch St. John’s face off against Villanova at Madison Square Garden. The two St. John’s fans were not risking an accident by driving from Connecticut into the city.

“We had to drive to White Plains because there were no other options to go to the city.” They were catching the 10:41 train to Manhattan.

While the game was not set to begin until 1:00, the couple was going to the St. John’s sponsored pre-game festivities because Jimmy’s uncle is an alum of the New York City college.

It was a special occasion for Eileen, Jimmy, and his uncle because “we usually go to one with him a year,” Jimmy stated.

After the game, the two should not have to worry about the snow, according to the National Weather Service forecast. The snow is expected to stop around 1:00. The temperature will dip to 23 degrees around 10 and continue to plunge overnight to 18 degrees.

While the sun will not help those who are shoveling and snowblowing until Monday, when the temperatures will hit the 50s, their is no snow expected on Sunday. The temperature will also reach the 40s on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

While most people drove to the train station, there were others who braved the elements and walked. Dave Walters and David Holroyd, visiting from London with two other friends, were all staying at the Crowne Plaza and walked 1.1 miles, according to Google Maps. The 24 minute walk did not deter their excitement for sightseeing in Manhattan.

“Throwing snowballs and tourism,” Dave Walters responded when asked what they would be doing in Manhattan. The four men, who work in radio, were in New York for four days and headed back to London on Sunday.

Patricia and John Mincey of White Plains decided against taking the car because of the accident-prone weather and were taking the train to 125th Street.

“We’re catching the train to go to Mount Sinai to visit my son [who had surgery],” said Patricia.

Tom Weber of North White Plains was on driving duty for his wife who was traveling to Manhattan.

“She’s headed to Manhattan to get eyelashes put in,” Weber said. “Nothing will stop her.”

Weber did not think the roads were good enough to drive on, but thought the train was the better option regardless of the weather.

“A little bit slippery,” he said. “I thought we’d definitely miss it [the train], but that’s also par for the course with my wife.”

While the roads are treacherous because of the snow, that certainly did not stop many Westchester residents from traveling to their destinations. 

voxy.co.nz The Dotcom Mansion raid was real overkill. Seventy New Zealand Police and American FBI personnel – that’s way overboard. The raid was conducted in such a way that it would send a message to pirates everywhere that copyright infringement was worse than drug dealing or murder.

PHUKET: A daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective, plus relevant reports from national and international media.

bangkokpost.com China has revoked its travel warning for Thailand, issued last week amid fears of a possible terrorist attack, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said. Travel advisories issued by other foreign embassies remained in effect, he said.

nationmultimedia.com Police have discovered that the foreign suspect who has been detained over his alleged links to a terror network had been planning to send bomb-making materials to three countries in the Middle East, a source revealed.

bangkokpost.com Since the arrest, about 20 governments have retained their security warnings about a possible terrorist attack in Bangkok. The US insisted it will maintain its alert even though another arrest warrant has been issued. Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva suggested the government issue an official statement stating there is no reason for the security warnings.

msn.com Kim Dotcom, the megamind behind Megaupload, was arrested in New Zealand, his panic-room door busted down by officials, who found the hacker clinging to a sawed-off shotgun. Accused of costing the entertainment industry $500 million through pirated content uploaded to his popular file-sharing site, this Kim [no relations in North Korea] has a taste for shotguns, black Benzes, and wraparound shades.

nzherald.co.nz A team of 76 police staff including armed offenders squad members went to the sprawling $30 million property at about 6.45am. luxury cars with the licence plates KIMCOM, HACKER, STONED, GUILTY, MAFIA, GOD and POLICE were loaded on to transporters. Arrested with Dotcom were Bram van der Kolk, 29, from the Netherlands, and Finn Batato, 38, and Mathias Ortmann, 40, both from Germany. The FBI will now seek to extradite the men.

nationalpost.com Also known as Kim Schmitz or Kimble, the hulking German-born multi-millionaire was at the centre of the FBI’s battle against the piracy of music and movies. Nearly 50 million daily users streamed TV shows and movies from Megaupload.
In 2002, Hong Kong-based Mr Dotcom was arrested in Bangkok and deported to Germany, where he was put on probation and fined $140,000. The Internet mogul watched Auckland’s New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration – for which he dropped $500,000 – from his own private helicopter.

nytimes.com The arrests were greeted almost immediately with digital Molotov cocktails. The hacker collective Anonymous attacked the Web sites of the US Justice Department and several major entertainment companies and trade groups.

Phuket Update Hopes are ”high,” according to Transport Office sources, for Phuket’s new bus terminal to be open at last in February. The terminal has been complete since 2010 but opposition from one local resident has prevented construction of a median strip u-turn for buses in Thepkasattri Road, Phuket City.

telegraph.co.uk The captain of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship “cried like a baby” for 15 minutes as he hugged its chaplain just hours after the boat hit rocks, the luxury liner’s priest revealed.

nationmultimedia.com Nalinee Taveesin, the newly appointed Prime Minister’s Office minister, is a major shareholder in 25 companies that run businesses ranging from cleaning services and air ticketing to spas and telecommunication. Critics have noted that many of the sectors that Nalinee has focused on during her meetings with foreign leaders are the businesses that her 25 companies are involved in.

aljazeera.com The Thai government has drawn up a $9.4 billion plan for water-management and flood-prevention schemes along the Chao Phraya river basin to prevent a repeat of devastating floods last year. The plan includes reforestation, dam construction, and city planning.

smh.com.au Among the many tantalising questions surrounding Burma’s flirtation with democracy is this: might Kim Jong-un be enticed to try something similar in North Korea?

bbc.co.uk An Indonesian man who said that God did not exist in a posting on a Facebook page for atheists could face jail. Civil servant Alexander Aan, 31, is now in protective police custody after he was attacked by an angry mob earlier this week.

smh.com.au According to an analysis by the US-based Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network (aviation-safety.net/index.php), there were 507 aviation deaths last year as a result of 28 fatal accidents. The ASN says 2011 was the second-safest year by number of fatalities and the third safest by number of accidents.

reuters.com Passenger traffic at Singapore’s Changi Airport jumped 11.4 percent in December and hit a record in 2011, boosted by increased travel within the Asia-Pacific region. A prime destination mainly for bankers and businessmen, Singapore has been drawing tourists with a slew of new attractions, the most popular being two casino-complexes built at a cost of more than $10 billion.

puretrend.com After a short holiday away from London to Phuket specifically, Kate Moss restored her reputation by appearing in a leopard skin coat at the famous Arts Club near Piccadilly Circus.

scmp.com A day of sudden twists on the US campaign trail culminated with Newt Gingrich lashing out angrily at the news media for probing his failed second marriage, ahead of the pivotal Republican presidential primary in South Carolina.

cnn.com For the first time, China’s urban population now outnumbers the rural population, with 160 cities topping one million. China hopes to avoid mass unemployment, over-crowding, water and power shortages, and slums.

news.com.au A wild crocodile has swallowed a 10-year-old girl while she played in a river with her father in eastern Indonesia, the second death in the same place in two months.

cnn.com Cypriot tennis player Marcos Baghdatis broke four rackets in anger – two without taking off the wrapping – at the Australian Open. Women’s champion Serena Williams said: ”I’ve never done that. That’s impressive, wow.”

dailymail.co.uk Sir Alex Ferguson is bracing for a backlash on Sunday from Arsenal after Manchester United hammered them 8-2 in August in a jaw-dropping result.

goal.com Rio Ferdinand is a major doubt for Manchester United’s trip to Arsenal after breaking down in training with a back injury, Goal.com has learned.

nationmultimedia.com Already out of contention for the title, Thailand are aiming to end their King’s Cup campaign on a high when they take on defending champions Denmark at Rajamangala National stadium today. The match follows the title showdown between Norway and South Korea.

football.co.uk A new football scandal has erupted in Malaysia. Nine players with the northern Perlis state admitted having contact with a bookmaker who offered them up to $32,000 each before they lost 7-2 against a weak team on January 9, the New Straits Times said.

January 23 Chinese New Year

January 28-30 Old Phuket Town Festival

February 24-25 Phuket Blues Festival, Laguna Phuket

March 29-April 1 Phuket International Boat Show, Royal Phuket Marina

April Opening of Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, three waterfront gardens that will dwarf Kew in London and provide ”green lungs” for the city.

May 26-June 5 National Youth Games, Phuket

November 14-21 Fourth Asia Beach Games, Phuket

The Obama administration believes it can create 1 million new jobs by promoting international tourism, boosting nonimmigrant visa processing capacity and expanding the Visa Waiver Program.

The White House initiative is aimed at drawing more tourists from China and Brazil. The government plans to increase visa processing capacity in those fast-growing countries by 40% this year.

The Visa Waiver Program allows participating nationals to travel to the United States for stays of 90 days or less without a visa. President Obama signed an executive order directing the Homeland Security and State departments to make sure that tourists who do need visas get them quickly. He wants 80% of all visa applicants to be interviewed within 21 days.

The travel and tourism industry represents 2.7% of the gross domestic product and sustains 7.5 million U.S. jobs, according to the White House. In 2010, 60 million international visitors came here. But the share of spending by international tourists has fallen from 17% to 11% during the last decade, largely because of restrictions put in place because of the 9/11 attacks.

The administration plans to appoint a group of corporate chief executives to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board. The Walt Disney Company currently draws about 25% of its visitors from outside the country, and company officials say that figure has ample room to grow.

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — I took a deep breath, positioned my skis and shot down the hillside, whizzing through a forest of trees covered with thick, feathered layers of ice.

I focused all my energy on not crashing into one, but my left ski kept slipping off the trail. Knees quivering and blood rushing in my ears, I willed it back and leaned into the curve to find my wife waiting on the trail ahead.

Somehow I stopped without crashing into her. We just stood there, our labored breathing the only sound in the frozen forest.

After a moment, we continued toward our destination, guided by the smoke signals rising from the pools and geysers in the distance.

My wife Beagan and I are new to cross-country skiing. After moving to the Rocky Mountains about two years ago, we figured it would be a good way to experience the backcountry in winter and stave off cabin fever. So we decided to learn in the wildest place we knew: Yellowstone National Park.

Yellowstone’s wilderness is reclaimed when the throngs of summer tourists leave and the temperature drops below zero. Most of the park’s roads and services shut down, and the landscape is transformed into an otherworldly land of ice and snow.

Relatively few people venture into the park at this time, just 17,262 overnight visitors last winter compared to the nearly 1.2 million overnight stays between June and September 2010.

The wildlife reemerges with the people gone, and wolves, foxes, swans, geese, eagles, bison and elk are more frequently seen at this time of year.

It’s also a prime time for cross-country skiing. Yellowstone in winter has plenty of trails for novices like us and experts alike. No matter the skill level, a ski trip in Yellowstone leaves you with a sense of the park’s beauty that is completely different from the busy summer months.

Beagan and I aimed to insert ourselves into this scene through what we pictured would be an unobtrusive means of transportation. For $40 each, we got a two-hour lesson and were outfitted with skis, boots and poles for 24 hours.

We spent the first part of that lesson in the Old Faithful parking lot. A groomed trail about a third of a mile in diameter had been cut there, and we practiced kicking and gliding. I was soon sweating through my layers even though the temperature was stuck at minus five degrees.

We moved on to a series of progressively steeper hills to practice stopping and turning. The last one was our final exam. It was the steepest and involved making a left turn at a high rate of speed to avoid plunging into an icy stream.

Halfway down, my hips lurched, my knees knocked and my arms pinwheeled. I collapsed into a pretzel of limbs, poles and skis. My wife swished past as I picked myself up. I watched as she made the turn effortlessly. We were as ready as we were going to be.

We planned our first outing in our room back at the lodge. The Old Faithful Snow Lodge and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel near the northern entrance are the only accommodations inside the park during the winter season from mid-December until the first weekend of March.

There’s usually plenty of space throughout the season, with Old Faithful normally running at about 70 percent of capacity and Mammoth about 60 percent full. The exception is Christmas, when the lodges are usually full.

Once you get to Old Faithful in winter, you’re pretty much stuck there unless you pony up another $62 to take the three-hour snowcoach back to West Yellowstone. The rooms at Old Faithful are $206 a night, there’s no television and reservations are a must at the one restaurant.

But the adventure begins just outside the door with the iconic geyser as the main attraction. I watched alone as Old Faithful hissed, gurgled and finally spewed in the twilight. Mother Nature was putting on a show and the only other attendee was a disinterested fox hopping on and off benches in search of some forgotten scraps.

Most wintertime visitors choose to tour the park by snowcoach or snowmobile. But there’s really no better way to become immersed in the park than with a pair of skis. There are the easy outings, such as the trails around the Upper Geyser Basin just outside of the lodge. Then there are the tougher ones, including arduous trails to the Continental Divide.

For those who don’t want to waste any more time than necessary, and have an extra $16.50, a shuttle is available to take skiers to more distant trailheads.

After the ski lesson and an afternoon of testing our new skills and fighting to stay upright on the easiest paths among the geysers, we woke up the next morning to sore muscles we never knew existed. Regardless, we decided to leave the training wheels behind and take a nine-mile out-and-back trek into the wilderness.

The first couple of miles to the Lone Star Geyser is a series of undulating hills in the forest. Beagan scooted up those hills using the herringbone technique we’d learned the day before, then glided back downhill with seemingly little effort. I fell farther and farther behind as I waddled the ups and resisted the urge to close my eyes on the downs.

Upon reaching the Kepler Cascades, the path becomes a level, groomed trail that follows the Firehole River. It is easy enough for a beginner, but provides a taste of the wild that lay just beyond the lodges.

Beagan quickly moved ahead and I reveled in the ease of following the river in the sunshine, alone with my thoughts on a crisp day.

When we reached our destination, the forest opened into a wide valley and the Lone Star geyser stood like a giant dirt dauber’s nest. Like most of our excursions from the lodge, not another person was around.

I had thought Yellowstone in winter would be too extreme, too daunting for the novice skier. It wasn’t. There was plenty of comfort and just as much adventure as I cared to taste.

We congratulated ourselves and had a celebratory snack of salami and granola just 20 yards from the smoking geyser. We then headed back before the already sinking sun slipped too far below the horizon.

If You Go…

YELLOWSTONE IN WINTER: Yellowstone National Park’s winter season begins in mid-December and lasts until the beginning of March; http://www.nps.gov/yell . Winter package deals from concessionaire Xanterra: http://www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com.

SKIING: Rentals, $15 half-day, $24 full day. Lesson and 24-hour rental, $40. Snowshoes, $12 a half-day, $20 full day.

GETTING THERE: The only year-round access for private cars to Yellowstone is through the park’s north entrance at Gardiner, Mont., to Mammoth Hot Springs. The rest of the roadways are closed in winter. Visitors to Old Faithful can take a snowcoach for $62 from West Yellowstone or the south entrance. Within the park, snow coach and snowmobile tours are available.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Old Faithful Snow Lodge Inn nightly rates: rooms, $206; cabins, $96 or $149. Mammoth Springs Hotel: room with shared bath, $87; room with private bath, $120.

FOOD: At Old Faithful, Obsidian Dining Room is the only restaurant open (reservations recommended), while the Geyser Grill offers more fast-food fare. Mammoth Hot Springs’ Mammoth Hotel Dining Room is open in winter.

EAST LANSING — It took Purdue nearly a day to get to East Lansing.

Three planes and one long Saturday morning bus commute later, the Boilermakers found themselves at Breslin Center.

They looked as if it made the trek by foot.

Michigan State, meanwhile, had been waiting more than three days to rid itself of the taste of Tuesday’s defeat at Michigan.

Eventually, it was no contest. Whatever steam Purdue had, it ran out of by the second half, with what looked like a competitive matchup turning into a 83-58 Spartan rout.

Michigan State (16-4, 5-2 Big Ten) outscored the Boilermakers 30-12 coming out of halftime, ending all hope for a Purdue club that played a spirited 20 minutes, despite bags under its eyes.

Michigan State shot 60 percent for the game (30-for-50), led by freshman Branden Dawson’s 14 points in 19 minutes.

Senior Draymond Green finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Purdue (14-6, 4-3) made just 29 percent of its attempts from the floor, including 3 of 20 from 3. The Boilermakers’ day was perhaps exemplified by Robbie Hummel. Purdue’s senior star, slowed by two ACL surgeries, missed all 11 of his shots — one wide-open layup, six from beyond the arc.

It was the first time in Hummel’s career he hasn’t made a field goal, his two points tying a career low.

The Boilermakers’ road-weary legs appeared to impact their shooting immediately. But it didn’t lessen their lift on rebounds or their willingness to chase down their many misses through the first half.

Purdue shot just 25 percent in the opening 20 minutes (8-for-32), hitting 1 of 9 3-pointers, but only trailed by seven because of 14 second-chance points.

The Boilermakers out-rebounded the Spartans 20-11 before halftime, including 12-1 on the offensive glass.

Michigan State, though, didn’t have much to rebound offensively, hitting 57 percent of its shots.

By the second half, the Spartans either figured out their issues on the boards or Purdue lost its will.

In the final 20 minutes, Michigan State out-rebounded Purdue 22-13.

Derrick Nix (12 point), Austin Thornton (11) and Keith Appling joined Dawson in double figures.

Lewis Jackson led Purdue with 10 points and six rebounds. Eight of those points came in the first half.

Follow Graham Couch at twitter.com/Graham_Couch

Fresh off of a defeat of the Starkvillian Bulldogs, the Rebels will travel to Athens to take on the Bulldogs of Georgia this afternoon in a crucial road SEC match. At first glance, this seems like a game the Rebels should be able to handle considering Georgia’s 10-8 (1-3) record, but Ole Miss has struggled mightily on the road giving cuase for caution even amongst its most optimistic basketball fans.

Georgia has played a pretty tough schedule. Losses to Cal, Xavier, Cincy, Florida, and Vanderbilt aren’t exactly terrible. Losses to Colorado, and Georgia Tech though, aren’t too impressive. Neither are victories over Tennessee, Wofford, South Dakota State, and Delaware State. Judging by their schedule alone, Georgia is a mediocre basketball team, and their wins and losses serve as evidence enough of this.

In scoring, the Bulldogs are led by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (14.2 ppg), a 6’4″ guard out of Greenville, GA. Gerald Robinson Jr., a transfer to Georgia from Tennessee State, also averages double-digit points for Georgia (13.5 ppg). Donte Williams, a 6-9 forward, rounds out the three most productive players on the Georgia offense, averaging 8 points, 5 rebounds, and a block per game.

Georgia, philosophically, is similar to Ole Miss this season in that defense seems to be a higher priority. They are currently forth in the league in total defense, with their opponents averaging 63 ppg. They are more guard oriented than Ole Miss, though, which is exactly what Ole Miss needs to consider schematically in order to win. The gameplan against Mississippi State – assuming it was a plan – saw the offense flow through Reginald Buckner and Terrence Henry. If those two, along with DeMarco Cox and Murphy Holloway, can have active roles in controlling the offense, with Jalen Kendrick and Nick Williams in the guard spots, Ole Miss should take this one.

The game’s on at 3:00 PM Central on the SEC Network. Watch it and join in on the open thread fun.

SCORE PREDICTION: Ole Miss 71 – Georgia 70

link

Golf.com: Tiger Woods On Tony Romo, Eating Brains

blogs.golf.com

Want to get a break on your spring break trip? Consider the Travel Diva’s top 10 cost-cutting tips:

1. Grab student perks: If you’re still matriculating, look for deals just for you. STATravel.com offers five nights in a London hotel for $206 or a trip to Egypt for $949, excluding airfare. StudentUniverse.com offers deals to 12 or more students traveling together.

2. Get the group discount: Airlines like Delta cut ticket discounts for groups of 10 or more travelers flying together (call group sales at 800-337-4777). Hotels also have group rates. If planning a whole vacation with a group, a travel agent is your best friend.

3. Don’t pay retail for car rental: Always use a coupon or discount code from the Entertainment Book or other source to book a rental car. And watch out for car rental firms that charge spouses extra to drive.

4. Negotiate hotel rooms: When booking hotels and resorts, call the hotel directly, not the 800 number. You can sometimes negotiate better rates and rooms than you find online.

5. Try Europe: February to April is low season. Fares that can be $1,500 in the summer can be as low as $800 round-trip this time of year. Check www.farecompare.com/maps to get a quick picture of flight prices.

6. Rent a place: Don’t be afraid to try a spring vacation rental through a reputable company like www.greatrentals.com or www.homeaway.com. Rent from an owner based in the U.S. to make payment easier.

7. Count your miles: Have the family sit down and do an inventory of everyone’s frequent-flier miles and companion certificates on all airlines and credit cards, then figure out if they can get you anywhere. Yes, you can book a flight for someone else using your frequent-flier miles.

8. Be flexible in your destination: Chicago, Tampa, Atlanta, Baltimore, New York LaGuardia and Denver are good spots for Detroiters. Why? Competition on most of these routes has cut airfares, though flights to many other cities routinely top $400.

9. Get on the deal lists: Yes, they are annoying, but while searching for spring break travel deals, sign up for travel coupons at www.dealchicken.com (disclosure: It’s owned by Gannett, owner of the Free Press). Also sign up for deal notification at www.travelzoo.com, www.travel-ticker.com , www.lastminute.com and www.bestofhawaii.com.

10. Set up airfare alerts: This will allow you to see when the price comes down on certain routes you want to book. One choice is www.airfarewatchdog.com/fare-alerts . I also like Travelocity’s low-fare alert feature.