among the injured as well. we'll have more on that coming up. >> such a sad story. sarah palin making quite a splash at cpac convention. the former governor of alaska taking on president obama, new york city mayor michael bloomberg and the republican establishment. the day wrapped up with its annual straw poll of likely contenders in 2016. we'll take a look at who made the cut. >> a bit later, great story. two facebook friends discover they have a closer connection than they ever could have imaged, and it all start with one simple post. plus, if you have wondered what it's like to work as a roady for a rock band, wonder no more. jenna spent the day setting up for the show. she'll tell us all about it in our next half hour. we want to begin at the vatican where pope francis wrapped up his first sunday blessing before a massive crowd. kier simmons is at the vatican for us again this morning. kier. >> it was a spellbinding performance by pope francis. you can still see there lots of

people here, but there were thousands hereby in st. peter's square to see the pope for the first time from the papal apartment. the window of the papal apartment up there, and he really didn't disappoint. once again showing that relaxed style that we have seen in the last two days. beginning by saying bon journo and then good morning, and then it's nice to be here to say hi to you all. even when he was talking, joking again, the theme of his sermon was about forgiveness, and he talked about cardinal -- a book he was reading by one cardinal, and then he looked up and said to the people, he says, you know, i'm not making a commercial for this book, just so you know. people laughed. that was another example of how he is very simply talking directly even to those of people here in the square. let me give you another example. look at this. this morning before he appeared at the window, before mass, he saw a group of a few hundred

people and went over because he saw a couple of priests that he knew in the crowd. he went over. everyone was cheering, and he embraced these priests before going to mass. once again, pope francis showing a real man of the people. >> what kind of reaction are the people offering him, this personal touch that he is extending? >> well, you know, they do seem to absolutely love it, lester. people were laughing right from the beginning, smiling, really enjoying. i suppose you would expect the people in the square here would be here and would enjoy it because it's the kind of people they are, but at the same time there seemed to be more people to see him than when pope benedict was here saying good-bye just a few weeks ago. >> he seems to be getting off to a pretty star. kier simmons, thanks very much. a brief programming note. tuesday on "today" matt lauer will be live at the vatican can complete coverage of the installation mass for pope francis. now, here's erica.

>> lester, thanks. it is judgment day for two high school football players accused of rape in steubenville, ohio. the judge in the case plans to issue his verdict later this morning. ron allen has been monitoring the testimony, and he is outside the courtroom this morning. the defendants will learn their fate. ron, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, erica. the trial came to a sudden and bankrupt end last night after the 16-year-old accuser told her dramatic and emotional story in court. she said she went to a party with some friends and drank so much that all she remembers is waking up the following morning naked and in a strange house with no idea what happened. prosecutors insist she had been sexually assaulted and abused. in closing arguments last night the defense said there was still reasonable doubt a crime had been committed, but prosecutors said the case against 17-year-old trenton mays and 16-year-old malika richmond is quite simple. >> a 16-year-old girl who was

taken advantage of, toyed with, and humiliated, and it's time that the people that did that to her are held responsible. >> reporter: mays, who the a'cuzzor spent much of the night with, allegedly attacked her in the back seat of a car. then later along with richmond while she was laying naked on a basement police officer. earlier the girl had testified she woke up after a night of party hopping with no idea what had happened. i didn't know what to think, she said, adding, i didn't remember mying, and it just freaked me out. the defense tried to convince the judge the alleged victim was not as unaware as she claimed and that eyewitness accounts of what supposedly happened had been exaggerated by images and stories on social media from that night, like the widely circulated picture of the two defendants holding the girl. >> it does not tell the story. now, you heard a variety of explanations for this photo. it was a joke.

>> the accuser had burst out in tears when shown images of herself in court from that night. in text messages after the alleged incident as she pieced together what happened with friends, the accusers said the defendant, mays, why the [ bleep ] would you let that happen? seriously, you have no expletive respect. she also testified that mays pleaded with her not to tell anyone that anything had happened. the trial lasted just four days, and we're told it's taking place over the weekend to accommodate the judge's schedule, but there's also speculation that the court system is trying to deal with this emotional case as quickly and efficiently as possible. erica. >> ron allen. ron, thank you. now here's lester. thanks. this morning investigators are trying to figure out why a bus carrying a college women's lacrosse team ran off the road and crashed in pennsylvania on saturday. the team's pregnant head coach, her unborn baby and the driver all died. michelle franzen is here now with the latest.

michelle. >> well, leggser, it was christina quigley's second season as seton hill university. she was nearly seven months pregnant, traveling with her team to play in a big game when tragedy struck. >> reporter: holding back tears, seton hill university officials spoke out for the first time following the deadly bus crash that claimed the women's lacrosse coach who was also pregnant. >> we're mourning the loss of our head lacrosse coach and her unborn son. the university extends its deepest sympathies to christina's family and husband. >> reporter: 23 women lacrosse players and three coaches from the private catholic university were on their way to a game saturday morning at millersville university. police say the bus veered off the pennsylvania turnpike mere harrisburg and slammed into a tree. the bus driver died at the scene. 30-year-old quigley and her unborn baby died at a nearby hospital. the tragedy hit home on this

close knit campus. >> i had tears in my eyes. >> passengers were seriously injured. 19 others were treated for minor injuries at nearby hospitals. the charter bus is owned and operated by malaker transportation. the company says it's cooperating with police and the university and offered its sorrow and sympathy to those impacted by this accident. this is the latest in a series of bus crashes around the country involving various tour bus companies. last summer congress passed tougher safety measures, including adding seat belts, changes that will be phased in over the next five years. police say they'll look at road conditions and talk with witnesses to determine the exact cause of this crash. >> seton hill will hold a memorial mass for quigley tonight. she is survive bid her husband and young son gavin. lester. >> michelle, thanks very much. once again, here's erica. >> thank you. with the presidential election now four months behind

them, republicans are looking ahead to 2016. on saturday sarah palin serbed up plenty of well received one-liners on the final day of the conservative conference known as cpac, taking jabs at morning city mayor michael bloomberg for the proposed ban on soda and also president obama. >> and background checks, i guess, to learn more about a person's thinking and associations and intentions. more background checks. should have started with yours. now, he is considered a good politician, which is like saying bernie madoff was a good salesman. >> the day wrapped up with a result of the cpac presidential straw poll which shows senators rand paul and marco rubio as the early favorite of those who were in attendance. david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." good morning. >> good morning. >> what do we take away at this point from sarah palin's speech?

what does it tell us about her plans for the future, do you hi? >> i don't think we take a lot of -- take away a whole lot. i mean, i think she can give a speech that can right up a conservative crowd with jokes and comparisons to bernie madoff that a lot of people would find offensive, frankly, but you hear -- i think whatever lasting impact sarah palin has is not as a future politician, but it is as someone in the conservative movement who still can really work the grassroots. you know, senator cruise, who is now a controversial senator from texas, gives palin credit for him becoming senator. i think it's in that way that she still wields some influence. >> she had a number of things to say about him when she first took the -- very complimentary of him. there's a straw poll, of course. how indicative are these results of what we could see in 2016? >> oh, i don't think these mean very much, although i think it's interesting that rand paul and marco rubio and their speeches really represent different wings of the republican party.

with paul, a libertarian streak, tea party supported. rubi rubio, a little more mainstream and demographically trying to speak to more latinos in the party. they both had messages about they were different about what the party immediate to do. i think how you define what it means to be a conservative in the republican party is very much the middle of the debate that they're going to be trying to sort out here over the next couple of years. >> one that has many of us talking to in terms of what will define the republican party. david gregory, thanks. look at a preview of meet the press coming up a little later. >> thanks. >> now let's get a check of the rest of the morning's top stories from jenna wolf. good morning. >> good morning, everyone. hi. terrible accident in northern california race track has left two people dead. it happened during a warm-up lap at the raceway park. police say a car lost control and went off the track into the pit area. a 68-year-old man and 14-year-old boy who were part of the pit crew were both killed. the 17-year-old driver who

according to his website has taken part in hundreds of races was not injured. >> new this morning, the troubled carnival cruiseship legend is back at court in tampa. the ship had been slowly headed there after a problem with its propulsion system. many passengers who sailed on the dream, which is another carnival cruise that had problems, are still making their way back home after that ship's backup genlator stopped working midweek. nfl free agent dante stallworth is recovering from a hot air balloon accident. his agent says he will be fine and should be playing football again in a couple of weeks. stallworth was in the balloon with two other people when the basket hit some power lines and crashed in florida. stallworth and another person were taken to the hospital. g again, both are expected to be okay. for anyone whose cultures do not include st. patrick's day, taking a casual swim in a particular river or two today in the united states might be somewhat of a shock.

no it's not a severe and disgusting algae problem. it's instead st. patrick's day. both chicago and tampa celebrating today by dyeing their rivers green. take a dip. it's all okay. the annual st. patrick's day parade steps off in grand style on saturday in new york city with hundreds of thousands of people braving the chilly weather to watch, to drink, and to drink, and also to drink. finally, the institute of medicine says that men should drink 13 cups of water a day. women should drink nine cups of water a day, and koala bears should drink whatever they can take from passer-by cyclists. now pictures to match those weird words. in australia a bicyclist saw this little guy on the side of the road and decided to get him hydrated. i don't know. did he look thirsty? i don't know what the international sign for thirsty is for koala bears. it only took a few seconds for the koala to dig in. the friends spent about 20 minutes together before the biker went on his way. no word on what the koala did for snacks shortly thereafter.

>> are they like raccoons in austral australia? do they show up on the side of the road? >> only when bikers are passing by. i don't know if it's with runners. >> you don't know that. you don't know that. >> just going to throw it out there. >> should i google? >> yes. i'll get to the google and go right back -- >> here's she's got our first check of the weather. >> a little closer to home we're talking about a very slippery morning down across the ohio river valley. we're not going to see a lot of accumulation, but it's icy, it's slippery, and especially down across southern illinois, indiana, ohio. that is going to move into west virginia and virginia as we go through the morning. heavy rain is also just a little south of that. we do have winter weather advisories posted in that area because of the slippery conditions this morning. we're also watching a second storm that is going to move into the dakotas later on today. it's more of a tonight thing into monday where we do have blizzard watches because of blowing snow. not so much a whole lot of

cooler temperatures inland as we have clear skies, breezy in the hills and 40s in livermore and you'll see high clouds at times as we head through the afternoon and temperatures today a little bit cooler than yesterday and still managing 70s inland and mostly 60s from oakland to san francisco and tomorrow we'll see more clouds and still on schedule to see rain from tuesday and early wednesday and a cooldown from the middle part of the week and things will wrap up and clear out heading into next weekend. . >> i have a theory about the whole raccoon and koala thing. she said, sorry, i didn't get that. >> i figured she didn't really answer. >> just throwing it out there. some good samaritans come to the rescue after the girl scouts get scammed. we'll tell you more about that after this. [ male announcer ] if you stash tissues

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don't miss out download the app today! i'm a big kid now! are made with sweet cherries and the crisp, clean taste of our cranberries. i cannot tell a lie -- 'tis tasty. okay, george washington, did you take my truck out last night? 'tis tasty. a girl scout t zoorchlgts a girlro scout troops learning a valuable lesson about the importance of community. mark potter reports, here seeing firsthand just how much people really do love girl scout cookies. >> reporter: for a girl scout troop in portland, oregon, it was a dream come true. a massive cookie order believed to be from a woman at a local company for 6,000 boxes of girl scout cookies worth $24,000. >> peanut butter. >> it was really exciting.

>> the only problem, they say, is that it was an expensive fraud. the bogus order not actually placed by the woman at the company. >> apparently it was a fraud lent order placed by her daughter who was assuming her mother's identity. >> reporter: so the scouts were stuck with all those cookies. their troop facing debt, and the girls potentially unable to earn enough credit to go to summer camp. >> i think it's not nice to the girl scouts at all. >> being very little, some of them are brownies which means they're between 6 and 8 years old. it's a hard lesson to hear. >> reporter: but quickly in another lesson they may never forget, the girl scouts found they had lots of friends. members of the community now forming long lines to buy up those cookie boxes. >> within 25 minutes we had at least ten orders for multiple boxes each, which is an unusual circumstance, and really appreciated. >> reporter: the girl scouts are back on track again in plenty of time for summer camp.

for "today" mark potter, nbc news. coming up in our next half hour, two facebook friends discover they're a whole lot closer than just friends. first, these messages. waiting, waiting... feel like you're growing older... waiting to look younger? don't wait. [ female announcer ] get younger looking skin fast. with new olay regenerist micro-sculpting cream. the next generation with 2 new anti-aging ingredients. it penetrates rapidly. visible wrinkle results start day 1. and you'll see younger looking skin before you even finish one jar. ♪ new olay regenerist. the wait is over. thanks to jif chocolate flavored hazelnut spread. ♪ with jif, anytime of the day can be delicious time. ♪ choosy moms choose jif.

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today st. patrick's day, a chance for everyone to pretend they're irish. unless you really are. >> minor details. might really be irish. you can pretend. there are hundreds of st. patrick's day apps. we found a great one that generates your leprechaun name. >> i don't like my leprechaun name. botox o'callahan. >> i don't know where the botox came from. >> nothing. no. >> i was going to say, you have great skin. very smooth. >> yeah. >> sneaky o'connor here.

i kind of like mine, you have to be honest. >> what is mine? underpants o'sullivan. >> at least you're not cabbage lips. >> can you switch. >> how do you come up with it? >> you hit a button. you put your name in and then hit submit. if you keep hitting submit with the same name, you're probably going to get a different leprechaun name. >> let me make sure i understand this. nbc went in and decided underpants was the best name for me. >> i have no idea. just saying. >> when in rome, we'll tell you the best way to avoid traffic jams and crowded sfrooets streets. a golf prodigy -- ♪

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good morning to you. looking live at the twinkling lights high atop the transamerica building in san francisco. we are still a bit away from sunrise, can you tell i have not woken up yet? >> i'm chris sanchez. >> we can show you san francisco this morning and we don't have a lot of the clouds that were socked in. 40 degrees right now. breezy in the hilltops. 49 in san francisco and during the day today you will see sunshine and high clouds trying to spill in from the west which will eventually bring us the chance of rain, but not until tuesday. by lunchtime, it still looks like 60s and mainly out toward the east bay and around fairfield for today. tomorrow just a little bit cooler, then tuesday we'll see rain at times and wednesday,

heading up to next weekend and mid to upper 70s approaching next saturday. it was a long day for missing morgan hill teenager sierra lamar and an encouraging one as an overwhelming support. yesterday marked one year since sierra lamar disappeared while on her way to school. >> two, three. sierra! >> hundreds of people showed up at the search center named in her honor to release red and white balloons into the sky in morgan hill. each balloon had a message attacked and then the volunteers as they do every saturday set out on another search at a nearby reservoir and still no sign of sierra. >> some nights i sleep good. some nights i don't sleep hardly at all. >> do you see her in your dreams? >> yeah. i've had many -- wake up crying.

>> when i see her i'm going to hold her in my arms and just never let go. >> the emotional day ended with a fund raiser in fremont where sierra was born and raised. the man accused of kidnapping and murdering sierra lamar still has not entered a plea nine months. andie they found her dna in his car. legal experts say a long delay is not unusual in a case like this in an active investigation and no body. garcia torres has been charged with trying to kidnap three women in 2009. garcia torres is scheduled to enter a plea april 4th. a woman is now behind bars this morning accused of beating up another woman and stealing her purse at a light rail station. police arrested josett eries on. she's seen on the left hand side of her screen.

police are still looking for her brother, jonathan rios. they got off the train at the race street station saying rios allegedly punched and kicked the woman until she fell to the ground and rios allegedly took the victim's purse. we have all of the day's news coming up at 7:00 including a new 49er taking on a new endeavor. we'll see you in 30 minutes.

we're back on a sunday morning. it's march 17th, 2013. happy st. patrick's day, everybody. a smattering of green in our crowd out here this morning. we want to thank them for joining us outside on the plaza, i'm lester holt alongside erica. where did she go? >> she got lost. >> she's around here. don't worry. >> still to come in this half hour, two friends that make a startling discovery on facebook. two women in iowa who have known each other for years figure out they have a closer connection than they ever thought. we'll bring you their touching story coming up. and, also, you're get to meet owen, about a week shy of his second birthday. could possibly be one of the cutest kids on the planet, next to my kids, of course. he has a mean golf swing. he can sink just about every shot from over 10 yards away. so we know what you're thinking. how does he do it? can i get some tips? >> there he goes, oh, in there!

>> good job, owen. >> very impressive. >> did you see that? >> he is a smart guy. >> remember his name. we'll hear a lot from him. >> and remember who found you first, right? >> yeah, yeah. plus, jenna, if she were here, she would tell you she went down to austin, texas, to check out the south by southwest music festival, but instead of attending third eye blind's show, she set it up, moving gear, tuning instruments, and her day spent working as a rody. and i was in rome for the conclave, but i did have an extra time here and there, and i did find the best way to get around on a scooter, a vespa, and quite popular. for a very good reason. >> it's a good way to carry a lamp. >> exactly. so i'll take you on my little adventure coming up. >> i love it. we're looking forward to that. would do want to get you a final check of the weather on this st. paddy's day. >> yeah, you know, like last year, it was really warm.

but this year, not so much. we're actually going to see the chance of more snow in some areas, especially up across the dakotas, where we do have winter storm warnings posted. and those are not so much for accumulating snow, but more for blowing snow. we could see wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour. as far as snowfall accumulation, we're looking for two to five, three to six inches in they're area. that's mostly tonight into tomorrow. we'll see onto other side of that, closer to the ohio river valley, the snow and ice through this morning. that should turn over to rain. again, not a whole lot of accumulation. but it is still very slippery out there early this morning. and then, tomorrow, for the east coast, it does turn into more of a rainstorm. we could even see severe weather down across the southeast, and icing is possible, especially back into pennsylvania and some of the higher elevations back into west virginia, too. we will see heavier snowfall across portions of minnesota and into wisconsin, and that's mostly on monday itself. and, again, the rain is going to make its way into the eastern

theria a nice start to the morning looking at the toll bridge plaza approach. we can see clear skies there. 49 degrees and chilly 40 in livermore and they should be 30 degrees warmer this afternoon and close to 70 in livermore. 60s closer to the inner bay and coast and we'll see more clouds as we head into tomorrow and rain off and on into tuesday and into wednesday morning and things clear up and warm up for the second half of the week. and for your forecast anytime, go to weather.com. we have a sweet 16 for st. patrick's day. where you from? >> florida. >> and a nice cold birthday for you today, this time around. yeah. erica? >> the good news is, it helps to wake you up in the morning. millions of people use facebook to reconnect with long lost friends, but as a story first seen on our davenport

affiliate, kwqc, two facebook friends realized they had a much closer connection. once again, here's michelle franzen. >> reporter: when abbey met her a couple years ago, they became fast friends. >> they said we looked alike. >> reporter: a connection that would not be fully known until paula shared a painful family memory when she was just 10 years old. >> when i was 11, my family gave up a baby for adoption. >> reporter: thanks to facebook, a reunion became possible when paula posted her thoughts on her status page, saying, on september 19th, 1982, my very first niece was born and given up for adoption. the date clicked with abbey. >> i read it, and i was, like, september 19th? that's my birthday. how crazy would that be? >> reporter: suddenly, the exchange between friends -- >> she told me the birth parents' names, and i was, like,

it's me. >> reporter: it turned into a discovery they were family. >> funny. >> it was just surreal thing of, is this really happening? did i really just accidentally find my first family? >> reporter: an accidental surprise. >> i always knew i was adopted. i never actually felt the need to go out and search for my biological family, because i was loved so much. >> reporter: and a missing part of paula's family she had always hoped to find. >> my family had prayed for this opportunity for years, and for 29 years, we dreamed of this day. and it's here. don't ever give up hope. because your prayers will be answered. >> reporter: a niece and her aunt now catching up on lost time. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news. >> such a great story. now, here's lester. >> erica, thanks. there's a never-ending battle going on across america

to rid neighborhoods of street-level drug crime. tonight on "dateline," a community desperate to reclaim its streets goes to an unconventional drug program. this unlikely pairing results in remarkable success and some heartbreaking failure. >> going to go down commissary road. >> reporter: the detectives are chasing down a tip that durr. ll butler, the leader of his peers in a stand program, is dealing drugs. they watch as officers go through durrell's car on the side of the interstate. inside, they find his fiancee, two children, and $3,000 worth of cocaine.

>> reporter: durell asked to say good-bye to the guys now left in the program. they are stunned to see their leader in handcuffs. >> i'm going to let durell explain to you what happened and why he is wearing handcuffs. >> got caught up with a drug trafficking charge. coming home, i don't want to see you all in the predicament i'm in. >> all the guys were in tears. you know, it was very hard, i think, for everybody to just acknowledge that we lost him. >> and the community, the officers and these eight guys, were extremely skeptical that this could work, that this would really play out and obviously, they wanted to save all eight guys. they don't.

we follow along on this year-long process of the officers who originally didn't want to do this. these are narcotics cops. they put people in jail, and suddenly asked to help along these dealers. and the bond they form is really touching, and they have some incredible success. >> which is a great reason to tune in. looking forward to seeing more of that tonight. >> yeah, tonight on "dateline" on nbc. it airs at 7:00, 6:00 central time. when in rome, i'll show you one of the best ways to get around the city. ♪ [ telephone rings ] hello. [ man ] jen, there are a lot of beauty brands that want you to represent them. really, who? no. they add too much fragrance. no, they make you wear pink. are you kidding? no. nah. [ telephone rings ] no. not my style. no. [ cellphone rings ] [ man ] you might like this one. aveeno®. aveeno®. let me think about it. [ male announcer ] the beautiful jennifer aniston

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this morning, another postcard from lester's trip to rome where he was, of course, covering the papal conclave last week. and, also, exploring the city a little bit, as one does. it turns out the best way to navigate perhaps on two wheels? >> yeah, because it's a hard city to get around, the way it's shaped, the streets. riding a vespa through the city streets turned out to be quite the adventure. take a look. from this point of view, this city is an eye-opener. so like the old saying goes, when in rome -- it's as if the vespa made famous in the 1953 film "homen holiday" was made just for rome's narrow streets. the scooter plays to the carefree italian image, but is

more practical than just a stylish ride. >> in rome, we've got a lot of traffic. >> reporter: traffic is not the only problem for romans. mass transportation is another issue. the city only has two subway lines, thanks to the likes of caesar and a few others. >> we're building a third line, but the problem in rome is you seem to start digging, you find something. i don't know, you find the head of you a gus it's. you don't want to destroy it. but you have to leave it. >> reporter: you could upgrade to a small car for a fortune. the average price for a gallon of gas topping well over $9 has forced many italians to roll with it, literally. >> for the traffic and also for the movement, it's very important to go with bicycle. >> it's an easier way to move. >> reporter: romans are going green now. the use of electric bikes has also increased. valetto owns an electric bike

shop near the colisseum. >> we go from 18% in 2010. >> reporter: even the police in rome have added about a dozen to their force. >> mostly, we ride in the center, because the center is forbidden for cars to enter. and then it's easier to ride a bicycle. >> reporter: requiring only a five-hour charge, electric bikes are cheaper to operate than a scooter, yet still able to tackle rome's famous hills. it's an interesting mix of the cars and the motorbikes. do they get along, or is it difficult sometimes? >> they get along, but you can't really get through the traffic. >> reporter: as i found out, riding a scooter through rome can be both harrowing and fascinating. are you ever afraid driving a bike in rome? >> no, no. it's okay. >> reporter: it must be very difficult sometimes to -- >> yeah, sometimes it's very difficult. i think in the morning, when

people going to work, a whole stretch of beep, beep, beep. >> reporter: for many romans, there is no choice but to get around on the chariots of a modern era. by the way, it was a vintage bike. i think a 1966 model. >> really? >> great fun. remember, a lot of the streets there, cobblestone, and you can get stuck when it's moist, so a little dangerous. >> you do have to be careful on that especially when you're on -- >> but if you've been to rome, what you think are alleys or sidewalks, turns out they're streets. >> they're that narrow? >> yes. >> i've never been. >> it makes sense. >> we're happy you're back, but glad you had a good trip. >> yeah. just ahead, jenna spends the day working as a roady. first, these messages. vacation is a precious thing. so this year, make the most of it.

fly like you've never been grounded. scream like you've never been shushed. let go like you have nothing to lose. and hold on to what matters most. it's your vacation. don't just take it. mean it. universal orlando. vacation like you mean it. are made with sweet cherries and the crisp, clean taste of our cranberries. i cannot tell a lie -- 'tis tasty. okay, george washington, did you take my truck out last night? 'tis tasty. to help eli start potty training,! the pull-ups team surprised him with a first flush party. celebrate your first flush with pull-ups! and for more fun, check out our pull-ups big kid app at pull-ups.com i'm a big kid now!

for most, you show up, you listen, you applaud, you head home. but it's all the things we don't see that really makes that experience possible and takes a lot of work. >> it does. thank you, guys. the work comes from people called the roadies. they're the technicians who work for bands and travel with them on tours. they get the stage and equipment ready before each show. i recently had an opportunity to spend the day as part of a roadie crew for third eye blind at the south by southwest music festival. it's 10:00 a.m., two days into the south by southwest music festival. and the streets of austin, texas, are still asleep. but not for long. inside this tour bus is mul multiplatinum rock band third eye blind. ♪

but there's a lot that needs to be done before they take the stage. a lot. and that's why i'm here. i signed on to be one of their official roadies for the day, or, in other words, i begged and they said yes. do roadies wear this around their neck? i just want to be -- >> you can wear it around your neck or tie it to your belt. >> reporter: don't want to be the door. i may have gotten off to an awkward start, but i don't see a roadie road book anywhere. >> we're going to walk to the venue. >> reporter: i don't know what they're talking about. this is so easy. this is a good stage, a bad stage? >> it's really tiny. >> reporter: not a lot of personal space tonight. >> no. >> reporter: so now what happens? >> now that we know that we have this, we're going to go and look. >> reporter: good. so that was a wasted trip upstair, and now maybe a hundred real trips upstairs. >> exactly. >> reporter: will you be smiling an hour and a half from now? >> probably.

>> reporter: all right, you ready? let's do it. inside this trailer are 2,600 pounds of gear. >> you ready? >> reporter: stretching. and we're about to unload all of it. what is all this stuff? >> guitars and drums. >> reporter: to get the job done, i'm going to have to go up more than just stairs. i love this job. the band travels with hundreds of cables and cords, 53 road case, and 20 instruments. all of which needs to be checked. so i said, fine, identify take on the unenviable task of tuning all the instruments. you're good to go. all this work for a 30-minute performance. >> put the base caps on like this. >> reporter: i am monitoring all of this. looks good. and that doesn't even include

the band's 84 hours of rehearsal, or the 2,100 miles they drove to be here. let me tell you something, i did a lot of pushing, a lot of lifting, a lot of carrying. if it wasn't for me, you guys wouldn't even have equipment up there. tell me about a roadie. >> sky's the limit. best friend to the crew. they're pirates and just kind of run up, storm the village. >> reporter: i mean, have you put your set together for this afternoon? when does that happen? >> no. >> reporter: you haven't? >> no, keep it real loose. >> reporter: real loose? you guys are playing in a half hour. enough chitchat. it's 30 minutes before showtime. there are 7,000 buttons here. let's be real. do you really use three-quarters of the buttons? >> i don't know what any of them do. >> reporter: after making sure kelly doesn't need any more of my help, we are ready for a quick sound check, and then the moment the fans have been waiting for.

♪ so the next time you go to a concert, show a little love to the rock stars behind the scenes, the roadies, who do all the grunt work to make the music look and sound perfect. no small feat. >> no. >> what about load out? they load in, and then they load out. how'd that go for you? >> i don't know. >> that's called fly out. >> i did have to actually make a flight to get out. i'm sure they found a way to get everything off the stage. these guys were awesome. third eye blind, they're sort of making this comeback right now, even though they've still been touring and playing. great guys, young, fun, happy. just love making music. they were so welcoming. so next time they come to town, definitely go check them out. >> and have the roadies come by. >> and appreciate the guys that are behind the scenes. >> and watch the summer concert searry, and an incredible work. >> yeah, a lot of work.

impressive. >> all right. >> thank you to my roadie friends, who are on camera on a lot of the tours. up next, we meet a 23-month-old for about another week, but he can golf like the pros. [ man ] with a cold or flu, nighttime nasal congestion can be the worst part. my medicine alone doesn't always give me all the congestion relief i need to sleep. [ female announcer ] adding breathe right nasal strips can make all the difference. it instantly relieves nasal congestion symptoms caused by cold and flu. [ man ] and because it's drug free, it's safe to use with any medicine to relieve my nighttime stuffy nose. so i can breathe better and sleep better. [ female announcer ] go to breatheright.com for special offers. mr. wiggles and curling irons. for the little mishaps you feel, use neosporin to help you heal. it kills germs so you heal four days faster neosporin. also try neosporin eczema essentials.

♪ time to jump in to something new ♪ ♪ ♪ the best part of wakin' up ♪ is folgers in your cup

he can punt, he can swing, and he's just under three feet tall. >> oh, a good one. >> he's only 23 months old and he's already a golf sensation. look at him go. >> i love it. owen is here with his dad keith this morning. boy, not too shabby. >> no, not at all. >> how long has he had these moves here? >> for about six months. he started out the end of last fall and picked up the club and really hasn't put it down since then. >> you were putting around one day and he was watching you. >> he was watching, grabbed my club. when it got cold out, we went indoors, and he picked up the putter and he's been putting and hitting ever since. >> is this actually practice? or he's just out here playing and doing his thing? is this play time for him? >> it's play time. when he saw the green out here this morning, he wants the club right away. he'll sit out here all day.

>> he's driving now. but we saw him early yes, he was making putts. >> yeah. >> on a fairly regular basis. >> yeah, he does. he makes them from all distances. he's got a good perception of how far to hit it already at this age. >> and, you know, of course has some comparisons to tiger woods, started around the same age. >> yes. >> where do you see this going? >> i don't know. you hope it goes down the same line as tiger, but we'll see. >> does he -- so you are obviously a golfer? >> yeah. >> do you see any of your -- you know, any of your swing in his swing, or do you wish you had his -- >> yeah, i wish i had his. i like the way he trps. >> he has a good grip it and rip it mentality. >> i told him, that's what i they tell me, tell him to hit it hard and have fun. >> and you can't really start teaching until 7. >> yeah, that's what they tell me. if you tell them to do something, they just --

>> well, he might actually hurt himself. >> that's right. with a regular grip, because he's so young, it might hurt his wrist. >> now he's doing a little putting. >> and your dad is here, too. >> my father-in-law. grandpa. >> and mom's watching from home. >> yeah. we have another baby due in another week. >> maybe another golfer coming. >> so she can't fly right now. >> does he talk? >> he says golf ball and hi. two words. mama. >> important words. >> well, owen and keith, thanks for being here. what a great story. we will look out for you guys. >> thanks for having us. >> good luck with baby number two. >> thank you. >> yea! a good one, owen. david gregory is back with us now for a look at what's coming up on "meet the press." good morning again. >> good morning, erica. coming up on the program, we're joined by the archbishop of chicago, george live, from rome. and plus the debate here in washington -- in washington, about the budget. the debt duel. two leading voices, chris van hollen and kevin mccarthy, and

wisconsin governor scott walker on the roundtable. >> all right. we're looking fooshd to all of that. david, thanks. that'll do it for us on a sunday morning. happy st. paddy's day. >> and i'll see you on "nbc nightly news." until then, enjoy your sunday.

it hit me down in the heart. i don't want to see something like that happen to anybody else. >> stepping up to help put an end to drunk driving. a former san francisco 49er wus aunt and uncle were killed by a drunk driver right after the super bowl is speaking out for the first time about the tragedy and a deadly night at a california raceway. what witnesses say they saw moments before a car went crashing into pit row. plus -- >> when i see her i'm going to hold her in my arms and just never let go. >> refusing to give up hope. the emotional tribute honoring the memory of missing morgan hill teenager sierra lamar. "today in the bay" starts right now. >> from nbc bay area this is "today in the bay." i think we found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow on this st. patrick's day looking live at san jose and a beautiful

sunrise to get you started. i'm kris sanchez along with meteoral gist rob mayeda. >> we had misty skies and this morning we have clear skies and kind of a chilly start without the extra cloud cover. 42 in levermore. 46, and partly cloudy skies and the notice heading into tonight we'll see increasing clouds which will eventually lead up to the chance to seeing rain in the seven-day forecast. mostly 60s by lunchtime and a few spots still managing low 70s and not quite as warm as yesterday and we're talking about the chance of seeing rain and snow coming back. we'll see rain and how much of that in the seven-day forecast. >> thank you very much, rob. for a lot of folks the st. patrick's day weekend it is not only about an irish tradition. it is an exc