ATLANTA — Well, as the public address announcer just said, “Welcome to Alexander Memorial Coliseum, the alternate site for the 2008 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament.”

Indeed.

Welcome.

We’re here, and we’re alive. What more can you ask for?

Kentucky and Georgia players are going through pregame warm-ups here in the Thrillerdome — a 10,000 seat arena that is different in every way from the Georgia Dome, and not just because it’s fit for the public after last night’s nasty weather.

Like I said last night, I’m no meteorologist, but what tore through downtown Atlanta sure felt like a tornado. It was loud. It was scary. The metal washer Tim Brando displayed on television last night — the one that came screaming down from somewhere in the roof’s support structure — smacked down on the press table about two feet from my head.

And judging by what I saw walking about the CNN Center, Philips Arena and Centennial Park last night, and from aerial views taken all over metro Atlanta, we in the Georgia Dome were some of the luckier people.

The few fans filing in here had their names on lists outside the arena. I’ll echo what University of Tennessee and SEC officials have said to fans: If you don’t have a ticket, don’t bother coming down here the rest of the weekend. I’ll be stunned if you’re able to get in here.

Let’s see what happens the rest of the day.

You never know what might happen next.