This is an awesome article for anyone who loves basketball or likes Kevin Durant.  I realize it is long, but it is definitely worth the read if you have time.  It made me think of myself - growing up taller than the other kids, having a 72-inch wing span, going to basketball prep schools and then on to D1 hoops.  Oh wait.  That was someone else...Kevin Durant. 

I'm just kicking myself now for not making it out to any of the Horns games this year.  Tonight could be the final opportunity to see Durant play here in Austin, unless I find a ticket to the tamu game through some miracle.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2581868&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

Pretty classy if you ask me.  This does not surprise given how the UT fans were treated up there last year.  I think I'll be a Michigan fan the rest of the year.  Heck, at least West Virginia only trashes their own town!  If I were the City of Austin, I would send the bill for all of the damage and police/fire fighter time straight to Columbus.  Ridiculous.

Contributor's Note (added 9/12/06): I should have read this closer as these events happened in Columbus and not Austin.  Still, it is stupid to burn things when your team wins, or loses for that matter, no matter where it is. 

I'm sitting in Bennigan's in northwest San Antonio waiting for my ESRI training course to start back up.  Thought I would take advantage of the free wireless and rekindle my knack for monte cristo.  Oh my goodness!  Has anyone ever been able to throw one of these down without breaking out in grease sweats?  I should have tried to order the half order version like I used to.  Back in high school when I had a buddy that worked at Bennigan's in Tyler we would get our ticket "comp'd" which would usually result in half-price or free Death by Chocolate!  Man, this place is seriously good and seriously unhealthy.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are lawsuits from fat people unions across the country that pop up, kind of like the cigarette lawsuits in the late 90's.  I won't be a part of that, so I'll just use this blog here to coordinate my ranting. 

Jan and I are excited about the weekend coming up because her bro and sis-n-law are coming in and are brining their baby girl, whom I have not met yet.  Looking forward to some possible kayak time at Town Lake and a trip up 35 on Sunday to see the return of the attitude when Baylor plays against TCU.  It should be a fun game to watch as TCU is a top 25 team and Baylor is confident for the first time in a while.  Sic 'em.

I took my new kayak for it's maiden voyage on Monday night with my bro-in-law and dad in Town Lake.  I love it!  It was so peaceful being out there (in the shade for the most part).  We went around Red Bud Island a couple of times so I was able to get a pretty good feel for how it handles.  Now, I just need to find a way to transport this sucker.

Here are some pics of my new "The Ride."  The metal/wood piece sticking out is to mount a trolling motor onto if I wanted to, but I will probably be taking it off. 

So, I've been looking for a new hobby and have been considering buying a kayak.  My dad got one a couple of years ago and has really enjoyed a new passion for fishing.  In fact, he's been to the coast (Port A/Rockport) several times to do low water fishing.  Well, I have the opportunity to buy a used one for a really great deal and am close to taking the plunge.  The model I'm looking at is from Wildnerness Systems and is called "The Ride."  They claim that it is sturdy enough to do a half gainer off of it, assuming you can actually do a half gainer.  (Chance is the only one I know who can do one of these.)  It is wider and a bit more sturdy then a lot of sit-on-tops but I'm not trying to set any water speed records so the lack of speed is not a huge negative.  The one I'm looking at has a lot of accessories (that's where it gets expensive fast) such as a rutter (great for windy days), padded seat (not cheap), rod holders (would come in handy if I pick up the fishing side of this), and even a custom add-on that would make it easy to attach a trolling motor (that could be fun to zip around Town Lake with.) 

Look here for a few pictures of The Ride.

Baylor is just down the road and will extend forgiveness for your past...just a thought...

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2529138&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

For the last few months I've been at a point in my life where I have been looking to start something new or pick up something old again.  I have found myself having more time on my hands thanks to my less stressful job for no other reason.  So, I have been eyeing different opportunities to pick up a hobby for a lack of a better word.  Should I take up tennis again?  Should I buy a kayak and start riding on the area rivers and lakes?  Should I take guitar and singing more seriously?  Should I start a southwest Austin legoes competition club?  I'm not sure what the answer is exactly yet, but I am pretty close to getting back into basketball officiating.  It makes sense: A. I enjoy it; B. I did it for 6 years; C. I can earn extra dough doing it; D. I get exercise doing; and E. I could fix all of the problems with the officiating in the professional ranks.  Okay, so E is probably stretching it but you never know.  So, come about October you may find me at your favorite middle school or high school game getting booed and cussed at with the best of 'em.  Bring it on Mark Cuban!

It was a long drawn-out series that will be one of the best in history and the Mavericks deserved to win.  I'd like to thank my wife for putting up with the late night games and the yelling at the refs.  You put up with a lot over the last two weeks, and now it will be nice to get back to a normal schedule again. 

To Chance, Kyle, TJ, and all of my other Mav friends:  you almost pulled a Houston Oilers last night.  Glad you didn't because it would have been difficult to listen to Cuban whine about the refs for a whole offseason.  Congrats!  I hope you guys win it all!  Now go get the ring!

Dear Mavericks Fan,

This is what a championship ring looks like. 

How bad do you want it?

The Mavericks just beat the Spurs again, this time in OT and of course the game lasted until midnight!  I'm getting too old to watch these especially ones that will put you in a cardiac arrest if you're not careful.  That's why I would switch to Conan during timeouts, just to catch my breath.

It was a great basketball game.  I am disappointed with the outcome but I know that you can't rule my Spurs out until the other team has 4 wins.  Hopefully there will be at least a few more late nights for the Spurs...if not, then I hope the Mavs win it all.  Of course, the playoffs won't be over for at least another month! 

I have thoroughly enjoyed the NCAA basketball tournament this year for a number of reasons. 

Here are some top reasons (in no particular order) I have enjoyed the tournament:

- Duke lost last night

- UT is still in it and had an awesome buzzer beater last night. 

- UT is looking good and playing like they should have all year long.

- Bradley made a good run and I found out that my grandfather on my mom's side went to college there.

- Upsets by teams other than George Mason (see below)

- CBS offering live streaming of games, complete with the "boss button"

- Seeing the Aggies play good.  I actually rooted for them against LSU which felt weird and wrong.  I guess I want basketball to be a bigger deal in Texas as a whole.  So, I figured that ATM can help with the cause.

- All buzzer beaters!

Things that I have not liked as much about the tournament:

- TV timeouts (too many of them)

- Gonzaga losing a heartbreaker.  I really felt sad for them, especially Adam Morrison.  I hope he comes back for his senior season.

- UNC losing to George Mason (see above)

- Big 12 as a whole not representing the conference very well.  (Maybe Baylor will be there soon!  They do have the 17 rated recruiting class in the nation for next year, including a McDonald's All-American.)

- Missing tomorrow's UT game vs. LSU and perhaps the entire Final Four due to some camping trips.  I'm so torn!!!

Last Saturday night, we had the privilege of going to a Dallas Stars hockey game, courtesy of our friend Jason's season tickets.  We had a blast and the game was really good!  Dallas won 5-4 and Mike Modano (the only Stars player I know anything about as well as the only American on the team) almost pulled of a hat trick!  Our seats were on the Platinum level center ice, which meant we had access to some of the nicer restaraunts and we could order from our seat via a concierge service.  We only ordered some what's it called...like ice cream...but not ice cream...man, I can't think of it but obviously not important.   To top everything off we were entertained before the game and in between periods by a Kiss cover band.  I never did like Kiss.  (end paragraph)

So, thank you to Jason for a nice gesture.  Jan has now seen a hockey game in person and appreciates it more.  We both agree that watching it in person is awesome, while watching it on TV not quite the same. 

Listening to: Aberfeldy - Summer's Gone

Starting to Read:  Re-Understanding Prayer - Kyle Lake

Jan and I are headed to Greensboro, NC this weekend to see her brother Kevin and sister-in-law Summer (who is a UNC grad and sent this picture to me.)  We are hoping to go to the ACC basketball tournament while we are there and possibly see the Heels beat Duke again!

I'm ready for somone to knock off Duke, especially after tonight's game against UNC.  The Heels were down by 17 in the second half and came back to take the lead, but couldn't pull it out.  The Heels have a team full of youngsters but they are really playing well this year.  So, I think they represented well tonight, but it's never fun to lose to your arch rival.  J.J. Reddick is good, but like most, if not all Duke players, I don't like him.  He's the best shooter I think I've ever seen, so I'll give him that.  It will be interesting to see what happens between now and March.

On a similar note, Jan and I will be in Greensboro, NC visiting Kevin and Summer (bro and sis-in-law) in March during the ACC tournament.  We will definitely be trying to get tickets...I'm stoked about that!  Go HEELS!

Well, now that the summer is almost half-way over, I can now finally claim that I have completed quite an acheivement.  This was in no way because of me directly, but I completed my first basketball trifecta this year.  In this, I mean that for all three major basketball leagues that I follow - men's college hoops, NBA hoops, and out of nowhere this year, women's college hoops - all three of my respective favorite teams won championships.  So, hats off to three great teams:  University of North Carolina men's team, Baylor University women's team, and the world champion San Antonio Spurs!

Go Heels!  Sic em Bears!  Viva Spurs Viva!

On Sunday, Jan and I met up with her new boss Jason and his wife Kellye and went to the AVP Austin Open.  I had been thinking about going all week after seeing the stadium set up at Auditorium Shores on my way home from work every day.  I'm sure glad we ended up going.  We saw the men's final and saw an incredible match that featured the underdog team winning in a 3 game match (we pulled for the underdog because they had not won an event and were playing the number one team on the tour.)  Then, we saw the Olympic gold medalist women's team of Misty May and Kerry Walsh beat the team from China in another 3 game match.  It was cool to see them play because we enjoyed watching them in the olympics last year.  They really are a great team.  Next year, I'd like to go on Saturday as well to catch some more games.  I highly recommend going if you get a chance...it's highly entertaining!

In my bracket, which is suffering but holding up compared to some of the others in my group, I have Illinois winning it all.  But...if I were repicking today I would choose North Carolina, because I don't think Illinois has the consistency it takes and UNC is better than some pro teams out there.  For the record, my Final Four is Duke vs UNC (please Lord, let this happen) and Wake Forest (out) vs. Illinois.  Illinois vs. UNC in the final.  I should have picked Bucknell.

Who did YOU pick to win it all?  I'd love to hear your picks.