It was the first Saturday in Autumn for this year. Where I'm from that usually means that the chill starts to return to the air. We start to break out the jackets and scarves and gloves. But, thank God, I'm not in that kind of setting anymore. Here we prepared for the sizzle. The expected high today in the Inland Empire was probably 102 degrees.
The turnout was good again this week. Two courts going at full blast. So, hats off to you all for coming out and being a part of the morning games. Hopefully, next week we'll have three courts going with folks waiting to get on. There is potential for that because so many regulars weren't present on this Saturday morning.
It still took me a while to get on the courts. Of course timing is everything. And I somehow timed it so that when I stepped on court I was number 21. For thise who don't know, the dreaded numbers to be when you step on the courts are 11, 21 and 31. What it means is that you are the odd man out, because a full game has been seeded already with two teams of 5. So it's a bummer when you are the first man out.
The wait was not too long though. And, I was soon on court with DeAndre running circles around me and pretty much everyone else on my team. It was a happy mix of the Eveready Bunny and the Tazmanian Devil from Warner Brothers Animation. All I know is that when all the dust cleared, his team was up by about 30 points. So, what that means is they beat us about three times in ine game alone. Well, we did manage to score once or twice, so there.
Okay, all of you USC fans, the Pac10 - NCAA Football world may have corrected itself. SC beats up on Washington State and Washington falls to Stanford. Take comfort in the multitude of Top Ten teams that fell; like #5 Penn State (another one of my favorite teams) loses to Iowa; #21 Georgia barely gets by Arizona State; #9 Miami (Florida) loses to #11 Virginia Tech; #6 Cal gets beaten up by Oregan. So, by the end of the season having one loss may be a norm rather than an unhealing scar.
By all I can tell, this should be a great week to live in Southern California. So, have a great week and I'm expecting to see you here on court this coming Saturday morning.
Another tremendous day here in Southern California. So many of the regulars did not show up this morning. However, there were several participants to take there place. Again, two courts were active. Fortunately, we had the reemergence of Rudy that helped our numbers early on. And even though he has been an infrequent patron of the morning festivities, he did not miss a beat in keeping his team in the game. There’s nothing like having the talent. Maybe, Rudy, Nick, DeAndre, Mondo, Virgil, Steve, Danny, Bill and all of you others can tell me how it feels to be blessed with a natural talent for the game. My only hope is that I am a displaced jogger.
It was a great morning though. Nick pulled out his arsenal of three point shots and amazed us all. Then there was Steve and his inside game and Virgil with his steady offense. DeAndre continued his impression of the Eveready Bunny and ran us into the ground, with energy and he pulled out his inside/ outside game – with drives to the basket coupled with a deadly outside jumper. Eric, who has just recovered from an ankle injury, hit an amazing shot to end the last game of the day. The opposing team claimed he didn’t call the bank shot, but I’m sure I heard it because I was on the same team – yeh.
I goofed today. Didn’t have the battery to my camera fully charged. So, there aren’t many pictures today. Then our good friend, Robert, is in Taiwan enjoying time off from work, I’m sure. We miss you Robert.
Special thanks goes to Jaime for clearing the dust nd dirt from the court with his yard blower. Who remembers when Mike Fox was the yard blower guy? Of course Bill helped out with his broom too. Thanks Commish! There is lingering debris from the summer construction activity and on going landscaping.
The NCAA Football world is disappointing this day. I’m watching UCLA struggle against Stanford. The University of Washington is struggling against Notre Dame. They just held against the Irish on a goal line stand. Currently, UW 27, ND 22 – come on Huskies. UW just can’t tackle today for some reason; they can’t blame it on the rain in South Bend though. Well, at least Penn State is beating up on Illinois. SC fans, Top Ten teams continue to lose games, so the end of the season could be real interesting – you might have a shot still at the championship game. I just want the Pac 10 in the mix.
The NBA season begins this week with pre-season games. Let’s hope that the Lakers can repeat with the addition of Ron Artest and the cast of familiar faces. Like Lamar Kardhasian. I’m hoping he isn’t distracted this season. I have seen polls on the potential duration of his recent marriage to Khloe, but I won’t go there. I am wishing him and his bride all the best with their union. A happy man is a productive man. So, I want this marriage to work for our good buddy Lamar Odom.
Early evening last week, the family visited Huntington Beach. Here are a few pictures. It was real contrast with the day. It was sunny in my neck of the woods (Chino Hills), but frigid, overcast and foggy at the beach. See the surfers, that’s our buddy Tim Ross and friends out there. Just kidding, but that’s his new past time. He has become a championship caliber surfer. I’m hereby calling out for some pictures from the Timster.
This week I put another notch on my birthday belt. Glad to live to see another birthday and I thank God for good health, family and friends. All of you in the WBA world have a great week and do something positive in the world no matter how small the deed; be kind with a stranger, allow someone in the lane in front of you on the freeway and when I drive the lane, just let me score – just let me score (lol). Peace. 
