Once I pulled into the parking lot at the Overland Park Marriott just after 9:30 Friday night, the car sat there and sat there and sat there.

I did not leave room 1123 at all yesterday, except for the very short trip down the hall to the ice machine. Did not go down to the lobby. Nothing. Mostly slept and watched football. I was prepared for the situation with food I bought Friday.

Maybe I should not have watched the NFL playoffs. Both games produced outcomes I did not want.

I knew the Cardinals were screwed, but when they took the lead late in the second quarter at Carolina, it raised false hope. The Panthers dominated the second half and won 27-16. Arizona finished with 78 net yards, the lowest in a playoff game in NFL history.

The Ravens beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh 30-17. The Steelers were in a hole because they had to play without the AFC’s leading rusher, Le’Vion Bell, who had a hyperextended knee. Baltimore now gets to play at New England Saturday.

I was tired Friday evening and left at 8:30. I wish I would have stayed longer for Brittany and Lisa, and also for Alexandra Mullinax, since I hadn’t seen her in so long, but I decided I wanted to get back to the room and rest. I left Brittany a note on her car window since she was parked next to me. She loved it.

I was leery of going yesterday for two reasons.

FIrst, I figured it would be nuts the UFC had a fight card on pay-per-view. I’ve been here for more than a couple of those, and it gets stuffed to the gills worse than Charlie the Tuna. I really hated to stay away with Brittany ad Lisa working (although Liz had off to celebrate her birthday, and Tori had a da off at last, so I wasn’t alone in missing it).

Second, I knew the forecast called for snow, and the last thing I wanted to be is stuck five miles south of KCI facing the long drive to Overland Park, which is hectic enough on a perfect night. On a night with the roads snowpacked, it was going to be hell. The snow didn’t start until after midnight, but all in all, I made the right choice.

I thought about staying in today, too, but since I’m gong back to Russell Tuesday, I figured I had to get it in when I could. I should have scraped the front windshield more, but it was enough to get me to Zona Rosa in one piece.

The good news: I’ here. The bad news: the Buzztime network is down, so no trivia (or poker). Going to have to amuse myself with the apps on my phone and the Bengals-Colts playoff game

12:10 p.m. update: trivia is back online. Just ate the prime rib caesar salad at Buffalo Wild Wings. Tasty. Nice suggestion by Rue Jean-Klapproth, who’s serving me today.