Man, I had to deal with full-on screaming tonight. M. has cried hysterically, shrieked, yelled exceptionally loud, and I probably even characterized some of her outbursts as screaming in the past. But tonight, there’s no doubt it was a scream. She literally stopped crying so she could scream for five minutes, then started crying again. Some non-parents out there are probably saying, “What’s the big deal? Babies scream.” Yes, but my daughter has proven to be pretty tough so far.
Why is Liza Minelli always on TV? I did some checking, and while she won an Oscar and is the daughter of famous people, it’s not like she’s done much to generate all the media attention she gets. There are some people that older generations are gaga about, and while people our age may belittle their talent, we at least understand they were once huge stars. I’m not sure I understand what Liza did in her career that makes her so interesting.
Arriving in today’s FedEx shipment, my Valentine’s Day gift from my wife: The Jack Stack Barbecue BIG Taste of Kansas City package. Included: A bottle of Jack Stack sauce Hickory Pit Beans Barbecue Sausage Chopped Beef Brisket Pork Burnt Ends Cheesy Corn Bake Yum!
To the basketball team of my alma mater. Gentlemen, In the future, if you plan on losing a weeknight game that begins at 9:00 PM my time, please do so in regulation rather than taking two overtimes to do so. I’m not as young as I used to be, and now I’ve got a kid. Who is teething. It’s not in the interest of my health to be awake until 1:30 rethinking every play.
Selection Sunday is four weeks from yesterday, so we’re down to crunch time. Many smaller leagues have only two weeks of play left, so the mid-majors should be solidifying their at-large credentials. The heavyweights are playing for top seeds. Will Kansas and Oklahoma State be playing not only for the Big 12 crown, but also a #1 seed? Or, with no giant in the West, is there a second #1 seed available for someone from the Big 12, ACC, or Big East this season?
Some random bits in advance of the weekend. I’ve not talked much about school since class started. Things have been going quite well so far. As my professor warned me last fall, the class is very basic and at times a little slow for someone who’s already got a degree. But I have been learning some good rules about print journalism writing that are different from academic writing. As we get deeper into the class, I’m sure there will be more things I learn that are new and useful to me.
…next year. Snob Hill 22 (30) Silo Tech 0 (0) KU will have one or perhaps two more wins over K-State this year to continue their long, insane winning streaks (22 straight in Manhattan, 30 straight overall) and next season the ‘Cats will finally knock off their bully cousins from Lawrence on their home court. I see Jason Whitlock has already written the same thing. Other than his unfounded praise of Tyler Hughes (great body?
S. and M. are out with Baby Henry and his mom at a movie. Apparently there are theaters that have kid friendly flicks during the day. They’re regular movies, but parents are welcome to bring their small children. They keep the lights only half-dimmed and no one cares if your child cries, talks, etc. Pretty cool concept when you think about it. Anyway, before S. left she started giggling and said she imagined my fellow new fathers and I taking the kids out to a movie together on our next trip to Kansas City.
(Posted at 2:30 AM because I’m still waking up with coughing fits. What is this, emphysema I have?) Super Bowl Sunday was a Mr. Mom day for me with S. working a 24 hour shift. As an added bonus, not only is M. teething, but she’s also fighting what appears to be her first illness. In other words, there are parts of the game (along with the corresponding commercials) that I just didn’t see.
A pretty crazy weekend in the Big 12. Five of six road teams won. The single road team that lost was Missouri, who lead by one at halftime while their best player served a one-half suspension (or at least that’s what I was told). Kleiza comes in for the second half, Mizzou loses by 28. Strange. What to make of two other games? Tech wins at OU. Does this mean Tech is much better than we thought, or OU not nearly as good?
Tonight is the big matchup between Carmel and Lawrence North. Or, for the hypesters, Duke-bound Josh McRoberts and future phenom Greg Oden. Hoops fans will enjoy the references to past matchups of top flight talent in Indiana history. The game is on TV on tape delay. I’ll try to remember to record it and share my thoughts next week. Super Bowl Prediction: New England 28 Philadelphia 17
I was indeed sweating it, cursing, and attempting to throw things last night during the Kansas-Missouri game. Rivalry games are nerve racking enough. When your team is supposed to win by a lot (18 point favs, I believe) and they start kicking the ball all over the gym to fall behind by 11, well, tensions tend to rise a little. We just happened to be baby-sitting for some friends last night.
Over a week late, finally a chance to put a summary of our trip to Puerto Rico together. Probably a good thing that it was delayed, as that will automatically edit it down by 50%. To refresh, we went down for the wedding of S’s neighbors in Kansas City, who now live in Hoboken, NJ. They’re kind of non-traditional, so decided, “Let’s get married on the beach!” They rented several houses on the beach in Rincon, PR and invited a select few people to join them.
I stayed home, as I had a relapse of my cold last night, but the numbers for M’s doctor visit were: 18 pounds, 8 ounces. 90th percentile. Head size was 90th percentile. Look at the big brain on M! 25 inches and change, 25th percentile. I still don’t trust the height measurement. She really feels like she’s lengthened out a lot since November.
Crazy week, with half of last week’s dozen picking up losses. Complicating matters, some of those same teams had notable wins to balance the losses. Thank goodness I know what I’m doing and can make sense of all of this for you. 12) Michigan State. Will cracking my poll jinx them for their battle with Illinois Tuesday? Quietly playing some very good ball. 11) Oklahoma State. A brief drop, as I think they’ll be fine.
An afternoon with the daughter, a remote, and ESPN FullCourt. Good things can happen on a day like this. Unfortunately, I was working on about 4 1/2 hours of sleep so I napped throughout the day Saturday. I tried to watch the Nebraska-Texas Tech game. Damn near put me into a coma, though. Why will Bobby Knight sell space on his ugly ass sweaters but not let 19 year old kids put their names on the backs of their jerseys?
I try to keep these updates high on the descriptive and low on the boastful. However, I must tell you, my daughter is the most delightful baby the world has ever seen. I say that despite the fact we’re in full teething mode and we’re battling fits of tears and anger with Motrin and Little Teethers gel. In between bouts with gum pain, M. is as funny as I can imagine a kid her age being.
Some tidbits from the weekend: I’m not sure what that was that went on in the KU-Villanova game. I do know this: that game will be looked back at as the turning point for this KU team. They’re either going to take it as a wake-up call, start performing more consistently and get past whatever off-court issues might exist within the team. Or that’s going to be the moment we look back at and say, “They were never really that good because they never recovered from that game.
A lot happened in the two weeks since my last update. Hopefully I’m keeping everything straight. Arizona. Little known fact: I’ve always kind of been in love with Arizona, going back to 1988 when they were in the Final Four in Kansas City. Us kids from the plains always pine for the girls who have tans year-round. Louisville. Pounding people. Just pounding them. Oklahoma. Even without Texas' troubles, they’re playing well enough to be a conference title contender.
I’m working on my vacation wrap-up, but that probably won’t get posted until tomorrow. However, there is this one M. story that demands immediate sharing. As I have mentioned in the past, she’s really into Hide and Go Seek with us. It starts just saying “Boo!” and tickling her, and eventually one of us is hiding behind a door or wall and then jumping out. That’s when she really gets her laugh going.