Well the NCAA Tourney is up and going strong and my braket couldn't be in any more disarray! Very strange tournament so far we had 2 games in the second round of 12vs13 seeds. That's just insane! Way to go Villanova, Siena, Western Kentucky and San Diego. All four number one seeds are still alive but UCLA and Memphis had tough second rounds. Hopefully for UCLA my champion pick it was just a fluke and they'll run over the rest of the way to the Final Four. Two 2 seeds both lose. Too bad Duke was one of them I was really looking forward to two freshmen from the state of Oregon to face off for the right to reach the Final Four.
As for my Ducks nothing new to report yet again they have a double digit lead in the second half of a game only to lose yet again! Both UCLA and USC games were that way and we couldn't pull those out either. They just don't seem to be able to put people away when they should! Oh well now it's waiting time for the Maui Invitational next season for which I'll be there to root them on! Go Ducks!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Baby Shower PDX Edition
My Wife's good friend threw a baby shower for her and many of our family and friends in the Portland, Oregon area.
My friend Dawg picked us up at the airport and we started the weekend off right with a great meal at Fat City. Hmmm do I miss the food from back home. Note the food will be a common thing for the weekend not as much as I wanted but enough to satisfy me of some of my cravings. The Wife then went to her hair appointment with her stylist up in the area while the Dawg and I headed back to the house to relax a little. The Dawg and I went and saw the movie No Country For Old Men. I was really disapointed in this film. While cinamatography for the film was elegant and epic the story and acting was just so sub par I don't even know where I'd begin bashing this flick. I don't see why it's getting such a huge response. But did provide some levity in the sense when talking to my friend Bar trying to plan out the next day we told him that we felt that Rambo had a chance at being the better film. So bad but it just might be true.
The day of the shower the Dawg and I waited with his son for Bar and Wrench to show up. After that Bar, Wrench and I went to stop by the shower so I could make sure to see my Mom, Grandma and my old co-worker. I also got to see a few other people that made it totally worth sticking around until the shower was about to start. Then it was off to Fire On the Mountain in order to get my fix of their heavenly wings and especially their Spicy Peanut Wing Sauce. Hmm just thinking about it is making me go all Homer Simpson on the keyboard! Hmmmmmm Spicy Peanut Wing Sauce........ After an evening of some game action back at the house Bar, Dawg and I went off to see Rambo. And yes after coming out of that movie the Dawg and I both agreed it was better then No Country For Old Men.
The next day we met up for some breakfast with the Wife's Father, Step-Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law and our Nephew. Man he's getting so big now. Hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving and boy has he grown.
My friend Dawg picked us up at the airport and we started the weekend off right with a great meal at Fat City. Hmmm do I miss the food from back home. Note the food will be a common thing for the weekend not as much as I wanted but enough to satisfy me of some of my cravings. The Wife then went to her hair appointment with her stylist up in the area while the Dawg and I headed back to the house to relax a little. The Dawg and I went and saw the movie No Country For Old Men. I was really disapointed in this film. While cinamatography for the film was elegant and epic the story and acting was just so sub par I don't even know where I'd begin bashing this flick. I don't see why it's getting such a huge response. But did provide some levity in the sense when talking to my friend Bar trying to plan out the next day we told him that we felt that Rambo had a chance at being the better film. So bad but it just might be true.
The day of the shower the Dawg and I waited with his son for Bar and Wrench to show up. After that Bar, Wrench and I went to stop by the shower so I could make sure to see my Mom, Grandma and my old co-worker. I also got to see a few other people that made it totally worth sticking around until the shower was about to start. Then it was off to Fire On the Mountain in order to get my fix of their heavenly wings and especially their Spicy Peanut Wing Sauce. Hmm just thinking about it is making me go all Homer Simpson on the keyboard! Hmmmmmm Spicy Peanut Wing Sauce........ After an evening of some game action back at the house Bar, Dawg and I went off to see Rambo. And yes after coming out of that movie the Dawg and I both agreed it was better then No Country For Old Men.
The next day we met up for some breakfast with the Wife's Father, Step-Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law and our Nephew. Man he's getting so big now. Hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving and boy has he grown.
Weekend Getaway to Whistler
In January the Wife and I went on a nice Weekend Getaway to Whistler, BC. This was our last big Excursion before the baby comes, well other then the Baby Shower in Portland, OR. We flew up to Vancouver, BC on the 25th and took a bus up to the Delta Whistler Village Suites. The bus trip was a great way to get up there. No rental car to worry about driving in the snow conditions. You could just sit back and relax for the 2-3 hours it takes letting someone else who does it on a regular basis deal with the road conditions.
We spent the next couple of days doing some shopping, eating and I even got in some runs down the mountain. Boy was I out of shape so wasn't able to get much in. The first day I got in one nice long run but was so worn out by it I was done. The second day I got in the same run and felt like I could have done it a couple more times but with the Wife being alone felt I should get back and do some stuff with her instead. I've got to get in shape so I can do more snowboarding then this.
We flew back home on Monday. The whole trip was quite refreshing and relaxing. Nice to just get away. This will have to serve us until our next trip. For right now that isn't until Thanksgiving week when we'll be off to Maui to try and attend the Maui Invitational with some good friends and their family from back east. The Ducks and Tar Heels will be attending so it should be great as I'm a Duck along with a friends wife and everyone else will be pulling for the Tar Heels as that's where the family is from.
Some Pictures from the trip:
Me in the Gondola Ready to hit the slopes
View from our room's patio
(Mountain in picture is Blackcomb)
The Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, BC but some events will be held at the Whistler/Blackcomb area.
Our third trip to Whistler happened to be the most snow we had seen before. This is a picture in the Village.
We spent the next couple of days doing some shopping, eating and I even got in some runs down the mountain. Boy was I out of shape so wasn't able to get much in. The first day I got in one nice long run but was so worn out by it I was done. The second day I got in the same run and felt like I could have done it a couple more times but with the Wife being alone felt I should get back and do some stuff with her instead. I've got to get in shape so I can do more snowboarding then this.
We flew back home on Monday. The whole trip was quite refreshing and relaxing. Nice to just get away. This will have to serve us until our next trip. For right now that isn't until Thanksgiving week when we'll be off to Maui to try and attend the Maui Invitational with some good friends and their family from back east. The Ducks and Tar Heels will be attending so it should be great as I'm a Duck along with a friends wife and everyone else will be pulling for the Tar Heels as that's where the family is from.
Some Pictures from the trip:
Me in the Gondola Ready to hit the slopes
View from our room's patio
(Mountain in picture is Blackcomb)
The Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, BC but some events will be held at the Whistler/Blackcomb area.
Our third trip to Whistler happened to be the most snow we had seen before. This is a picture in the Village.
Bask Season Not Going Well
Well as many of you out there especially those who have no Idea who I am probably don't know is I love the sport of Basketball. Have always loved playing, watching and attending games.
This year what was a very hopefull begining has turned out bad for my Alma Mater the Oregon Ducks. After only losing a couple of players only one of whom started I thought we'd be able to get back to the tournament again this year. Early season stumbles were due to injuries more then anything. The second half season collapse though has me baffled, since I don't get many of the games down here in the Bay Area I don't get to see for myself what's going on. It seems we're winning most games until the very end. And games we're not in are due to a fall off of shots being made. Under Kent the team has always relied on being able to shoot the outside shot especially from 3 range. So if we struggle from there we have tough times. Another staple of the Kent era is defense. While some years we've had great defensive teams most others seem to be lacking. I'm not sure if this is just due to lack of talent or motivation on that end of the floor. I like Kent and what he has done for the program which probably puts me in a minority of Alumni who do as he always seems to be on the hot seat. However, I'm not sure what to make of this ever couple of years break down the team seems to have under his leadership. Is it just cockiness of the players who've been winning that cause the collapses? Or being told you're good by the media causes them not to fight like they do when they are being written off. Without some kind of Miracle or another Conference Tournament Title I'm don't think there is much chance of getting into the Big Dance and might have to settle for the NIT.
The Pac-10 is strong this year. UCLA and their traitorous big man Kevin Love (note: for those of you who don't know his old man played ball for the Oregon Ducks) have the most talent of the bunch but I don't think they'll win it all. They should get close to another Final Four appearance but not sure if they'll get much past there. Stanford is just a seriously dangerous team for anyone as the season moves along. With the twin Lopez brothers leading the way they should go deep into the NCAAs and probably have the best shot at making the Final Four of any Pac-10 team. WSU is just baffling they look so good one game then so bad during another. Until they can get settled down I don't think they'll make it out of the second round. USC is a team I don't understand how they have won that many games. Yes Mayo is a star player but I don't see much team in his game reminds me of Luke Jacksons Senior season at Oregon. They will bow out first or second round of the tournament. Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Cal all have shots at making the tournament. I think Arizona is probably on lock because of who they are. The other teams need to win out and/or make a statement in the Conference Tournament. As for the Pac-10 Player of the year I would vote for Ryan Anderson of Cal followed by Jon Brockman of (ugh hate to give them any props) Washington and Kevin Love of UCLA.
One thing that is really great for the State of Oregon is that two Freshman, Kevin Love and Kyle Singler, are shining so bright after all the hype they've had coming from Oregon. It's a great thing to see. Hope we don't have to wait this long again for some super star players to come again. Way to go Kevin and Kyle!
As for my Orangemen of Syracuse yet another year where they are a bubble team who will probably be kept out of the Big Dance due to lack of quality wins. Ugh so diapointing. I'm hoping one day to see a game in the Carrier Dome before Coach Boeheim calls it quits which I hope is a long way off.
The Portland Trailblazers are having a decent season with an excellent stretch of games that they had for a while there. They are back to being where I thought they would be but the sudden burst they put on there for a while bodes well for the coming years as these young players with talent and more importantly heart and the ability to listen to Coach McMillan. Next year they get Oden back to complement and allow LaMarcus Aldridge to move over to a PF position. Those two down low will be a beast of a duo that will put Portland back into the Playoff picture and along with Roy a potential run at a title in the next 5 years. Keep up the good work guys!
This year what was a very hopefull begining has turned out bad for my Alma Mater the Oregon Ducks. After only losing a couple of players only one of whom started I thought we'd be able to get back to the tournament again this year. Early season stumbles were due to injuries more then anything. The second half season collapse though has me baffled, since I don't get many of the games down here in the Bay Area I don't get to see for myself what's going on. It seems we're winning most games until the very end. And games we're not in are due to a fall off of shots being made. Under Kent the team has always relied on being able to shoot the outside shot especially from 3 range. So if we struggle from there we have tough times. Another staple of the Kent era is defense. While some years we've had great defensive teams most others seem to be lacking. I'm not sure if this is just due to lack of talent or motivation on that end of the floor. I like Kent and what he has done for the program which probably puts me in a minority of Alumni who do as he always seems to be on the hot seat. However, I'm not sure what to make of this ever couple of years break down the team seems to have under his leadership. Is it just cockiness of the players who've been winning that cause the collapses? Or being told you're good by the media causes them not to fight like they do when they are being written off. Without some kind of Miracle or another Conference Tournament Title I'm don't think there is much chance of getting into the Big Dance and might have to settle for the NIT.
The Pac-10 is strong this year. UCLA and their traitorous big man Kevin Love (note: for those of you who don't know his old man played ball for the Oregon Ducks) have the most talent of the bunch but I don't think they'll win it all. They should get close to another Final Four appearance but not sure if they'll get much past there. Stanford is just a seriously dangerous team for anyone as the season moves along. With the twin Lopez brothers leading the way they should go deep into the NCAAs and probably have the best shot at making the Final Four of any Pac-10 team. WSU is just baffling they look so good one game then so bad during another. Until they can get settled down I don't think they'll make it out of the second round. USC is a team I don't understand how they have won that many games. Yes Mayo is a star player but I don't see much team in his game reminds me of Luke Jacksons Senior season at Oregon. They will bow out first or second round of the tournament. Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Cal all have shots at making the tournament. I think Arizona is probably on lock because of who they are. The other teams need to win out and/or make a statement in the Conference Tournament. As for the Pac-10 Player of the year I would vote for Ryan Anderson of Cal followed by Jon Brockman of (ugh hate to give them any props) Washington and Kevin Love of UCLA.
One thing that is really great for the State of Oregon is that two Freshman, Kevin Love and Kyle Singler, are shining so bright after all the hype they've had coming from Oregon. It's a great thing to see. Hope we don't have to wait this long again for some super star players to come again. Way to go Kevin and Kyle!
As for my Orangemen of Syracuse yet another year where they are a bubble team who will probably be kept out of the Big Dance due to lack of quality wins. Ugh so diapointing. I'm hoping one day to see a game in the Carrier Dome before Coach Boeheim calls it quits which I hope is a long way off.
The Portland Trailblazers are having a decent season with an excellent stretch of games that they had for a while there. They are back to being where I thought they would be but the sudden burst they put on there for a while bodes well for the coming years as these young players with talent and more importantly heart and the ability to listen to Coach McMillan. Next year they get Oden back to complement and allow LaMarcus Aldridge to move over to a PF position. Those two down low will be a beast of a duo that will put Portland back into the Playoff picture and along with Roy a potential run at a title in the next 5 years. Keep up the good work guys!
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