Weekend Basketball Action

I saw this sign in a restroom recently and the wording struck me funny as my first thoughts were wondering if it was a subliminal propaganda message to "buy American"...

Friday afternoon Dale and I jumped out on the Frisco as the temps were a bit chilly and we wanted to stay out of the wind. With a couple inches of snow the ground was still pretty froze so we were able to cruise along pretty easy with just an occasional slipping and sliding. Solid 2hrs on the SS which was just enough as the temps were dropping as the sun did likewise.

Got back home just in time to change up clothes and head to SGF for Ian's basketball game at The Courts. Frustrating game as Ian hit a shot with 4 seconds left to put us up 17-15 before one of our players let a kid catch a long pass at the free throw line and he made it to go into OT. The 'frustrating' part was not the play, but the clear fact that the buzzer went off as the kid caught it (buzzer was off as he released the shot) and they still counted it. When I asked the ref for an explanation he said it was too good of a shot to take away from the kid so they were going to count it. We lost 20-17 in OT.

Saturday morning it was back to SGF for the a couple b-ball games in SGF as Ian was asked to play up in a 5th grade tournament (Ian is 4th grade). We, and he, totally expected for him to play a couple minutes here and there, but mostly ride the pine; to our surprise he ended up playing way more than sitting and ran point quite a bit. He wasn't outstanding in any of the games, but wasn't bad; he made no turnovers, passed the ball to open teammates, box'ed out well, and took a couple of shots (missed 'em, but were good attempts). E-ball was by far the smallest kid out there as there is a huge difference between his age (9) and the 11yr olds he played against. His team won both games so they played for the championship on Sunday. Deb, Jake, and I (and obviously the coach) thought he played well. Afterwards it was Chipotle then home.


***In fairness to Ian his layup was blocked - he doesn't shoot that bad EVER***

Saturday evening I played some cards with a group of friends and came out with a little 'fatter wallet' then when I walked in. I like playing poker from time to time, but nothing I would consider 'high stakes'. Typically our crew plays $5 or $10 buy in and we typically have around 10 playing. For us it by far more about hanging out and laughing than it is about the cards.

Sunday morning I caught the 'cross World Cup race while knocking out an hour of core work then Ian headed back to SGF while Deb and Jake took in church and Jake's Academic Awards Banquet. I hated to miss Jake's event as we try to emphasise grades as much as sports, but since that is mostly Deb's expertise and mine is... well let's sum it up as I went to SGF.

I am super proud of Jake's academic accomplishment as he really struggled with several aspects of reading/comprehension early in school and if you would have told me and Deb that he would have a 3.85 GPA after taking numerous honors/college credit classed I would have called you a liar. His determination (along with Deb's 'motivational' talks) to do well does not go unnoticed.

Championship game against Lamar didn't go so well as our team got spanked. Ian played way more than he sat (like the day prior) and went 1 for 2 from the field and played solid. Lamar had some quick guards and it was a bit intimidating as E did a bunch of the ball handling. Overall it was a great experience and helped Ian see how ball handling at his age is key to getting playing time. I would like to see him play 'up' a couple more tournaments this year and after his solid performance I imagine he'll be asked without a question.


***Easy to see how small E-ball is in this team picture. Always nice to leave with some bling***

I was graced (much sarcasm) with the following on the way home...



I got out for a couple hours in the afternoon and worked on a 'special project' (location undisclosed) cutting in some trails not too far from the house. It is unused land in a heavily tree'd area (not private property). In the end I expect to have nearly 2 miles or twisty single track perfect for 'cross bike handling work since the ground 100% dirt with little to no rocks (flowing smoothness). The nice thing about this is absolutely no cutting down anything, but simple trimming and clearing of some lower limbs and mostly removal of scrub growth. I figure a couple hours here and there and by before summer I'll have it done.

Sunday night was spent on the trainer (first time for '11) instead of the rollers while watching the Steelers .vs. Jets game. January has worked out well for me as I've been on the bike quite a bit simply rolling out some prep to get ready for a more focused 'training regiment' in February.