Clay is "in the can"

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — Greetings from Rhode Island, which is not only the smallest state in the union, but apparently also the slowest-moving!

I swear to you, the trip from Poughkeepsie seemed to take forever once I left the three-lane, 65 mph highways of New York and Connecticut for the one-lane, 40 mph roads of Rhode Island.

It's all good, though, for once I arrived here at the Days Inn, I pulled out my trusty laptop and I finished writing my story about Clay Aiken (feel free to applaud here) and then I filed it with my editor back at the Poughkeepsie Journal newsroom.

In the newspaper biz, we say that the story is "in the can" until it runs; see ... "Sean's Space" isn't just entertaining, it's educational, too! You just learned what "in the can" means! What did you think I meant in the title?! (Oh, that's nasty!)

In the case of the Clay story, it's "in the can" til Friday (12/7) as it's running the day before he brings his "Christmas in the Heartland" tour to the Mid-Hudson Civic Center. (You've heard he's coming to town, no?!)

Then I jaunted over to the Thomas M. Ryan Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island to watch our hometown star, Will Daniels, lead all scorers with 18 points as he led the Rams to a victory against intrastate rival Providence.

As always, Will (No. 25, seen here blocking a shot in an AP pic from tonight's game) and his family were a pleasure to deal with. I've been covering him since he was a freshman in high school, and talking to him and his parents is always a treat.

We all had such a good time talking after the game, we were literally the last people to leave the Ryan Center. I mean, we could've turned the lights off and locked the doors.


Welcome to my world, where empty arenas are my office; where I'm surrounded by thousands and thousands of fans, all of whom go home long before my grunt work has concluded.

It's actually pretty cool 'cause how many people get to see all those empty seats before and after they've been filled? I mean, have you ever stood in the middle of 56,000+ empty seats at Yankee Stadium just hours before covering the World Series? Didn't think so. Seeing the proverbial calm before the storm is one of the perks of the jobs, I suppose.

I'm sure, though, there won't be a single empty seat when Clay comes to the Civic Center and Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday and Sunday, respectively; not to mention when my GF and I (and our pal, Corinne) see the incomparable Barry Manilow at the Izod Center in NJ on Monday.

Signing off from Rhode Island. Next stop: home!