Things should be getting back to normal in these parts — we promise! But in order to tie a bow around what was a rather surreal last 24 hours in St. Louis, we have to at least take you through some of the high points with one more post about the Gateway to the West. Marthaler will be up next doing is college hoops due diligence. Then, back to our usual tomfoolery about the world of sports. But now:

First: Random sightings of people you might have heard of: actor William Baldwin was at the NCAA wrestling tournament. We introduced ourselves because we had interviewed him for an ESPN.com piece last year on his beloved Binghamton wrestling program that was on the rebound. We chatted for a few minutes. We even had the good sense to remember that he’s in that Lisa Guerrero movie. Also: Former boxer Leon Spinks was in the bar at our hotel Sunday at noon. We kid you not.

***

Deadspin editor Will Leitch, solicited for advice on where to go in St. Louis, told us to go here. It sounded like a grand plan for a Saturday night, but it ultimately lost out when your hungry and tired proprietor wanted something a little closer to the hotel and simpler. So instead, we ended up at an establishment called “The Feisty Bulldog,” which is probably one of four places in St. Louis serving some sort of food after 10 p.m. (seriously, does the “St.” before a city name dictate that all food must be prepared early in the day and held under lock and key for those who keep, by necessity, strange eating hours)? In any event, Blueberry Hill wasn’t the only place we could have seen some live music. Yes, there was a band at this joint, and they were called The Mandonnas. It was an all-male band dressed in drag, covering Madonna songs. This came much to the delight of a few specific ladies in the house. And, let’s face it: it was the perfect opportunity to not only grab a picture (above) but also grab little souvenir from the trip for the RBBH. Ten dollars and a few extremely jealous ladies later, we walked away with a hot pink “Mandonnas” tank.

****

The wrestling folks were starting to wear us out. The crowd is everywhere, and it’s the same people every year (a combined attendance of 94,000 for this year’s tournament). You can’t go anywhere without hearing about this match or that match or something that happened on a mat 40 years ago. Some of the fans can be fairly gruff when it comes to dealing with local waitstaff, etc., which when combined with it being a generally thirsty crowd is not always the best combination. (One unfortunate woman on Wednesday evening said to a coworker, “I guess there’s some sort of wrestling tournament in town” in explanation of a big crowd. The fact that she did not know this was the NCAA WRESTLING MEET did not sit well with several patrons). But we digress, and relent. It’s their lifeblood. And on Sunday, we got to know a little more about it when we had the good fortune of riding the MetroLink to the airport with a gentleman named Earl Fuller, who coached wrestling at the Rochester Institute of Technology for nearly 50 years before retiring about 15 years ago. He doesn’t do much traveling these days, but he still makes an annual trip to the D-I championships. We talked about changing urban landscapes and how Rochester has suffered greatly from companies fleeing downtown. We showed him how to print an E-ticket. And he talked about how this is his one chance every year to see all those familiar faces. Of course, we thought. It’s just like anything: it’s only partially about the event; it’s mainly about the bond. It’s their Great Baseball Road Trip.

****

We arrived plenty early at the airport Sunday, seeing as how it was Easter and we guessed that our best chance at finding a place for 1. lunch and 2. basketball might be there. Sad, but true. As Georgetown was in the early stages of ruining our bracket (is it bad when your champ goes out in the second round?), we chatted with a hockey player from UMass-Boston who was home for a few days after a playoff loss ended his season. We’re not positive, but based on pictures and the listed hometown, it almost has to be this guy. He was a major proponent of playing junior hockey and also seemed genuinely happy to be playing D-III instead of D-I in college. He also hates every New England-based sports team except the Celtics. Have to give him credit for that.

****

A final note: We have not been in a car since Tuesday, something that will change very shortly when we drive to the office. We took public transit to and from the airport here and in St. Louis, then got around via the MetroLink or foot the entire time we were gone. Try it sometime if you never have.

Fasola-link! Zubaz. Yes.

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