>I would think that traveling east would be easier than going west, because
>if you go east, you play an hour or three earlier, hence getting done an
>hour or three earlier, so you may not be as tired.  If traveling west, you
>start playing an hour later, or in the case of Alaska, you're playing when
>you're usually getting done.  Just my opinion, though.
 
==========Reply=========
I live in Fairbanks and travel often to my ancestral home (Boston). The
time difference is 4 hours. The trip West is MUCH easier for me, but that
may be a function of my personal biochemistry.
 
When travelling with the UAF Hockey team, I notice that the players seem to
have little initial difficulty going East. They hit the destination city
and start skating. Might be the fact that they're younger than I am, or
that college students sleep irregularly anyway. On a long road trip, they
seem to get more tired the longer they're out.
 
Teams who fly to Fairbanks to play rarely seem to have much difficulty
related to the time travel, at least if you measure their adjustment by
their record against UAF. Red Berenson at Michigan, Ron Mason at MSU, and
others have figured this out. They'd just as soon play at Fairbanks every
year, to take advantage of the exempted games, and to build toughness and
team spirit.
 
--jeff partnow
 
--Jeff Partnow ([log in to unmask])
UAF-- Getting great in '98!
 
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