Flight Senior Day

Flight basketball honored their Senior Class last Saturday. There were a total of eleven seniors, who averaged over four years in the Flight program.

Flight played Crown, a rival Christian home-school program from Woodstock. There were six games played…Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Middle School…Boys and Girls. Crown only won one game, when our friend’s daughter Lyla made the game-winning last second shot for the Crown Middle-School Girls. Connor led the Flight Middle-School Boys to a 44 – 16 blowout win, scoring about half the points. Will’s classmate Matthew led Crown with ten points. The Flight Jayvee Girls had an easy win as well.

Earlier in the season the Flight Jayvee boys beat Crown by about ten points, though it was a hard fought game. Many Living Science students had shown up to cheer for Flight, allowing the Flight/Living Science parents time to visit. This time the visiting Crown parents came to the Flight gym ready to cheer. The game got off to a slow start, especially when leading-scorer DJ was whistled for three fouls within the first two minutes of the game. He sat out the rest of the first quarter. Isaac took his place, but quickly turned his ankle. Things didn’t look good for the home team.

The two young referees were calling an inconsistent game, one minute calling touch fouls, letting guys hack away the next. This infuriated the Crown coaches, who constantly roamed beyond the coaches box complaining and badgering referees and players. There were issues with the possession arrow as well. Late in the first quarter the clock-keeper was slow to start the clock, and just before the quarter ended Jonathan was fouled shooting a three-pointer. The Crown assistant then spent the entire quarter break harassing the clock-keeper. Jonathan only made one of the three foul shots, and Flight trailed by a point.

In the second quarter Flight surged ahead, outscoring Crown 16 – 11 to lead by four at the half. Besides DJ, by halftime Jonathan, Josh, and Conner each had three fouls. For every good play Flight would make, someone would commit a thoughtless turnover, foul, or defensive lapse. Several times a Flight player had the ball upcourt and passed across to a teammate, without seeing the defenders close by…who made easy steals. Coach Hoffer kept the team in the locker room until the half was almost over.

Despite the close game, all the Flight players got to play. Max only handled the ball two times, both times on passes out on the wing. The first time he took his usual step, then shot…for two points! The next time he immediately passed to a surprised Josh, standing at the foul line. Josh turned to discover he was wide open, so he took one step toward the basket and banked in the shot.

After sitting out, DJ had a fine game, finishing with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and an assist. Once, though, his three-point attempt was short, and the chant “Air Ball!” rang out. Nothing wrong with that…except the chant was being led by the Crown Head Coach!

The third quarter ended with the score tied at 31 all, though both Jonathan and Josh had fouled out. Jonathan scored 3 points, with one rebound, assist, and steal. Josh scored 5, grabbed 6 boards, and had 2 steals. He also had a great block, swatting into the stands the three-point attempt of one of Crown’s better players.

Conner played well, with 4 points and rebounds, 2 steals and an assist.

Kevin scored a basket and grabbed 3 rebounds, with 2 steals.

Holt scored 2 points, with 3 boards and a steal.

Isaac came back to grab one rebound and steal.

Going mostly with DJ, Conner, Holt, Kevin, and Isaac, Flight barely stayed ahead, using all their time-outs. DJ was fouled with three seconds remaining, with Flight up by one. DJ only made one, but the ensuing full-court inbounds pass was easily intercepted by Holt, securing the 43 – 41 victory for Flight.

The Varsity Girls started and played their seniors in the first quarter. They played well, but every Flight shot just missed, while it seemed like every Crown shot went in. By halftime Flight had crept back to within a basket, 23 – 21, and Catherine quickly tied the score when the third quarter began. The third quarter ended with Flight leading 43 – 35, and they extended the lead in the fourth, winning 57 – 41. As the clock wound down the seniors were taken out one at a time, to the cheers of the overflow crowd.

Between games the seniors and parents were honored. Then the Varsity Boys played a close game. Flight kept extending their lead, from 24 – 22 at the half, to 41 – 31 after three, before winning 55 – 44. Willis played well, despite being guarded closely. The scoring as spread out among several players, and four or five different Flight players drained three-pointers. The Crown Varsity has never beaten Flight, and after the game a senior player cried, knowing it was his last chance.

Wednesday

Got a letter from Dekalb County, that they had some of my possessions that I could pick up. Didn’t know what it was, and there was no phone number, so I went down there today. I couldn’t identify any lost items, and it appears that recently someone, perhaps even a homeless person, was arrested on public intoxication…and gave my name and address! Someone losing their hair on top, according to the arrest photo, they said. The items included a clothes bag. We could’ve given a travel bag to Goodwill that still had some ID in it, but I’ll be checking my credit reports. The officer involved works the night shift, so I’ll call him tonight.

Found a 1988 white Braves jersey, similar to the current jersey. Thought it might’ve been a callup or minor league jersey, but couldn’t find the name anywhere (I forget the name). Nice number 37. Had a small “88” tag on the lower front, along with the regular Wilson tag, size 42. The sleeves were pretty short, as was the style back in the 80’s. What was most interesting was the extra layer of non-polyester fabric on the inside collar, going all the way down the front. I guess to make that part of the jersey heavier, to lay flat, and perhaps to absorb sweat and be more comfortable. Boever was number 37 in 1988, by the way.

I guess Kotsay should fill the bill for 2 million. Mike Cameron only got a one-year deal for what, $8M, which may have been too much for Wren. Plus he had the 25 game suspension.

Looks like the Hawks are starting to gel.

Drove up to Richmond, and listened to two books on CD…one on JFK Jr supposedly written by a longtime friend, and Michael Creighton’s Next. Now I’m listening to a book on J. Edgar Hoover, and after that a Lincoln book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin, the lady from the PBS Baseball series.

Our small group meets on Friday nights. This past Friday we all had a long discussion about the future of the group. Looks like we’ll finish the school year as a group, perhaps before then we’ll be closer to knowing what will happen after that. There are a few couples that could be added, so it would be possible to split into two groups.

Golf Channel Suspension

Had Tiger been white, there probably wouldn’t have been a fuss. As it was, she undoubtedly said it without any thought to race, which is the way things should be. Generally, younger generations are much less prejudiced than older generations. I get emails from Christian groups detailing attacks against Christianity. Sometimes they are slights you might not notice, and most aren’t reported by the media…O’Reilly and Hannity are two that do. I could go on and on…it’s a different world. When bad things happen people wonder why, but the same people celebrate all the violent movies and loosened morality on TV. And spanking…I’d better stop!

Spring training would be fun, except these days my perception is that it’s so crowded, why mess with it. That’s why I like weekday games…there’s not much of a crowd.

Thursday night Ceil had a Bible Study in Buford, so I had to go straight from work to pick up Will at school in Woodstock. If he had remembered his basketball uniform, he could’ve caught a ride to practice. He would’ve enjoyed riding with a friend. Instead I had to take him home, then to Sandy Springs. This is why we put 40,000 miles on our vehicles last year. If we can cut that by 10% we would save over $700.00.

Punt, Pass, & Kick

As a kid my dad entered me in Punt, Pass, & Kick, back around 1970. I was no athlete, but it made my day when my place kick sailed low but good enough for third place in my age group. A cheap tee had come with my football, and I began kicking down the driveway. By 9th grade I was good enough to kick for the team, and I kicked all through high school.

One of my favorite things about PP&K was the little tip booklet that was passed out at Ford dealerships. My first year it was illustrated with great cartoons, of the Cardinals Jim Baaken, the Vikings Joe Kapp, and the Falcons Billy Lothridge. Other years they had cool photos of Jerral Wilson and Garo from the Dolphins. Sure wish I had held on to those booklets!

The kids that made the regional competitions wore those replica unis, complete with colored socks. They even wore replica helmets! To this day, I’m a sucker for those helmets, when I see one for sale for a dollar at a thrift store. Got dozens in my attic…last month I just bought a 1960’s era UNC youth helmet.

Viewer Mail

Thanks for the comments, Missy! See...I usually post emails like this.

I did mail the letter, to both the new Head Coach and the Athletic Director. Let you know how it turns out. Back in 2000 I wrote a similar letter to then Coach O’Leary, and added the comment that I worked with his daughter. I later received a response in the mail, saying he disagreed with my uniform comments but agreed that his daughter was a good girl. Funny.

I’m like you about recap letters. I have written one the last few years almost as a writing exercise, to put on the blog. This year and last I sent it to people who send us their Christmas letter, figuring they must be into that kind of thing. This year I mentioned my blog, the first time I’ve actually shared the link. So the pressure's on to produce! Up til now only a handful of friends had stumbled across it.

Something got me thinking about the Mighty Mite days, which was one of my first forays into the SPdL family. Wrote that on the couch while the family was watching a DVD.

Ceil took a bunch of great Christmas pictures, but they’re now on a disk, so I’ve got to work to pull them over to the blog. And now I’m blocked from blogging at work, and my laptop is temporarily not working at home, so I have to email myself to be able to post. Technologically challenged, I am.

Thursday

Got involved in cleaning out old paperwork and stuff I accumulate from my desk today, and I kept going and going. Now I have more space. Have to organize all my 2007 bank statements, medical bills, etc and sort out all the stuff for taxes…perhaps when I’m in Richmond, but I doubt it.

Also cleaned out some lingering emails that I needed to work through. Still have plenty of work to do, and the programmers have yet to fix the average costing problems. I reduced that 17 page report down to 9 pages, which was good. It’s helped me develop more of a system in this new “everything on one report” world.

Any tax return and bonus will be spent paying off the second half of last year’s home repair bill.

Nice that the Hawks beat the Cavs last night. Guess it will be a long year for the Tech hoops team.

Adidas Tour Traxion

Didn't get the Pumas, but I did score these decent golf shoes...this photo dosn't do them justice. Sure, I only play a few times a year at best, but I had these cheesy golf shoes that really needed replacing.

I always buy too much in January...I've already bought a not quite authentic red Cardinals McGuire jersey and a teal Marlins jersey.

First Day of School

Anna and Matthew started their Veritas School today. Matthew was excited, had his huge new backpack full and by the back door last night. Said he needed an alarm clock, which is hilarious because of what a late sleeper he is. One of his teammates from last baseball season is in his class, who has a similar temperament.

Things have changed so much with the orders I review, that this week I’m going through all 850 open orders, cleaning them out so it’s not so confusing. In the past different types of orders were on different reports, but now they’re all jumbled together. I’m on page 15 of 17. We’re just figuring out that the year-end change from standard costing to average costing really messed up the type items I handle. The programmers and purchasing went about things in a complicated way, which didn’t help things.

Finalizing plans to be in Richmond Monday & Tuesday.
Doubt I’ll make it up to Fredericksburg to see the friends.

The next two weeks Will had weekday afternoon games in Southwest Atlanta and Douglasville, so I’ll probably miss them. Ceil may go. I’ll make the Saturday game in LaGrange in February.

Rowland sure has slacked off in the off-season, though there’s not too much he can write. FanFest would be kinda crowded for a little one, though the games would be fun, though the lines probably long.

In Martian Child the John Cusack character talks to a counselor about his adopted son. The counselor was only in one scene, but the clean-cut older actor looked familiar. The scene passed quickly, so I didn’t figure it out. Turned out to be Howard Hessman, the DJ from WKRP in Cincinnati. Interesting that they worked baseball into the movie…wonder if that had to do with Cusack.

We haven’t sent any more Christmas cards since the first batch, though we did send one to the Freunds and I think the Coleys. Tonight Ceil suggested we make them Valentines Day cards, like Sallie once did.

Good to hear from Missy, who I'll update tomorrow!

Letter to Tech

Dan Radakovich, Athletic Director
Paul Johnson, Head Football Coach
Georgia Tech Athletic Association
150 Bobby Dodd Way NW
Atlanta, GA 30332-0455

Gentlemen,

Congratulations to both you guys on this new hire. As a Tech grad, I count this very much a step in the right direction, and am quite excited about the next football season.

I consider this perfect timing for y’all to put your stamp on another important aspect of the program: the Uniforms. Tech has been wearing the same basic uniform for almost forty years. What began as a simple, classic look was tweaked over the years with the latest football fashions.

Dan, when you came on board one comment you made hit home to me: tradition is not very important to today’s recruit. Much more important is a slick uniform. Tech has a wonderful slate to work with, and I’d like to offer a few suggestions to set the Jackets apart from the crowd:

1. The Mustard Throwback Uniforms worn in 2006 would be a great start.
The unique jersey color would set Tech apart in the sea of gold & black teams.

2. That White Helmet with the bold stripes is a rare look for a gold team,
and the Grey Facemask keeps the look uncluttered and focused on the rest of the helmet.

3. One improvement would be to use the shoulder-loop “UCLA” stripes favored by Tech teams in the 60’s. While the current two sleeve stripes have been a great tradition, the look is lost on today’s tight-cut jersey sleeves.

4. The simple bold pants stripes worn with the mustard jerseys look much better than the current late-70’s trendy stripes, and better than no stripes or the weird stripes favored by many Nike teams…that make player’s legs look fat (like Clemson!).

5. The Jersey Collar should the same color as the jersey, since any contrasting color
(or stripes) looks awful stretched out by shoulder pads and neck guards.

6. Please leave off as many Patches possible; last year I counted five. This isn’t NASCAR! The jersey is easily identifiable as Tech’s, so both GT and YELLOWJACKETS are unneeded. The ACC logo is already on the helmet…
...does the conference require it on the jersey as well?

I could go on, but you get the idea. Keep the changes in house,
as uniform manufacturers tend to go overboard to make their own statement.
It is Georgia Tech’s uniform, so Tech should have the final word. I’ll be happy to help.

Thanks for listening!

Shoes

Career High

Will scored a career high 8 points yesterday afternoon, and his Flight JV team beat the young Bridgeway team 42 – 8. Earlier the Flight Girls JV won their game 49 – 1 (In contrast, Kansas State recently outscored Savannah State 46 - 4 in the second half).

I left work early and drove to Alpharetta in plenty of time for the 4:45 start, but walked in as the first quarter was ending. The girls game had ended early, so the boys started shortly afterwards. Both Flight coaches couldn’t make the game, so Josh’s dad, a long-time Flight board-member, filled in. He divided the ten Flight boys into two not quite equal teams, and let each play half the game.

Flight controlled the opening tip and the ball was passed to Will. He didn’t want to run the point, so he signaled for Isaac to come back and get the ball. Isaac brought the ball upcourt and passed inside to Will, who made a short shot for the first points of the game. Will made another lay-up late in the first quarter. In the second quarter Will made a short jumper and a third lay-up. He finished the game shooting a perfect 4 – 4, and was the team’s second-leading scorer.

Besides speedy little Isaac, Will played with Holt and Joel. Isaac scored one basket, grabbed a rebound, and had a steal. Holt scored six points and had 3 rebounds.

The first half ended with a 16 – 7 score. The second half team featured the top three Flight players. Jonathan was his aggressive self, stealing the ball 6 times and scoring 4 points. Max also had 6 steals to go with 2 rebounds. Kevin added 10 points and 3 boards. Connor ran the offense and scored seven. Big man Josh scored an inside basket, then was encouraged to shoot a 3-pointer. He made his second attempt.

After the game I took Will and Joel to get haircuts.
Saturday all six Flight teams play arch-rival Crown.

Weekend

My parents were up Saturday, so we ate lunch at O’Charleys. Will went to David’s birthday party Saturday night…they had a house full of boys and girls, mostly from basketball. The girl’s team planned most of it. There's a game at 4:45 Monday.

Sunday afternoon we ate at El Porton. The younger two went over to a friend’s house to jump on their new trampoline, and Will went to the airport with the Normans to meet Willis, returning from Brazil with a group from Living Science. With no kids, we discussed goals and budgets for the year. We’ll see if we spend less!

Didn’t see much of the games this weekend.

Virginia

When our Virginia friends were here on New Year’s Eve both Ceil and I separately said 2008 could be the year we go spend a few days with them. I had just begun to formulate the idea over the holidays. We’d stay with them in Virginia and spend the days in Washington. When we did our budget, we doubted if we could still go. I had forgotten about the new park until my friend reminded me.

She was Ceil’s roommate and best friend in Columbia when they were single. He was an accountant until he joined the government. He’s a lot like me detail wise, but whereas I’m into sports, he’s into home repair. He seems like he would work on the house all weekend as opposed to going to his kids games. Their 15 year old son is a lot like Will, in personality and athletically. Both love Clemson. His roommate in Columbia was our former NP small group leader...who travels a lot and often visits them. When we went to Washington a few years ago, he was good about getting everyone up early and out the door to see the sights. It’ll be tough to get early starts if we go.

I was adding to a report today and realized the numbers weren’t right. Also, my boss had said he would look into something, then I figured out an easy way to find out for him. I forwarded him the entire email showing how I found out, and copied Damon because it involved him. My boss wasn’t pleased.

This whole hiker story brings back Jenny memories…fortunately we don’t listen to the news very much.

Like changing batteries when the time changes, I need to check my credit reports as well. Since they extended daylight savings to longer than six months, that’s not the best time to change batteries now, huh?

The BCS was watchable because I don’t like the Buckeyes, but I was in and out. After everyone went to bed I was flipping between the game, Seinfeld, MASH, and Letterman being shaved.

Mighty Mite Memories

During fall quarter of my sophomore year at Tech my older friend Wayne Price enlisted me to be his assistant coach for his coed Mighty Mite basketball team at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church. We coached the 8 – 12 year old Knicks. The other coaches were mostly made up of other older Tech friends, including Fred O Pitts and Steve Norman.

That 1978-79 Knicks team included Robin Brady, Elizabeth Flack, Patricia Starnes, and Stephanie Dukes, who I later taught in high school Sunday School and at youth camp…along with their younger brothers and sisters. Robin now serves in Waumbaland at North Point, in the class next to Ceil and Will. This past July I ran into Stephanie’s father in Buckhead. Almost thirty years later he still calls me “Coach” and remembers the time I protested an extra-early Saturday morning makeup game by coaching in a housecoat and bedroom slippers, holding a teddy bear. Young Knick Scott O. Seydel always had a big smile.

The next season I was given my own team, and for the next several years I coached the Celtics. Not knowing much about basketball, my Tech buddy Sharon Langley assisted me for two seasons before moving on to her own team. David Hurt coached every year, and our pal Don Head ran the league from his recreation assistant position. More of our Tech friends joined the coaching ranks, including roommates Wayne Smith and Mike Kirkland, as well as Steve Givens and Charles Vaughn. Throughout the Tech year our conversations were often devoted to Mighty Mite memories, statistics, and strategies.

Early standouts included Kelly Curran, Spencer and Val Goetz, Wynne Jarboe, Richard Lea, Marnie Mullen, Lee Starnes, Robin Ramsey, Mary Elizabeth Teem, and Tracy and JaDon Taylor. Most of the girls grew up to sing in the youth choir musicals. Kelly was crowned UGA’s homecoming queen and returned to become a youth leader herself, where we shared many fun misadventures. She later sang at North Point and Buckhead Church. In 1999 my children got to know Patricia and Lee’s father “Mr. Danny” when he painted our house.

Wynne, Kelly, Robin, and Tracy were tall enough to dominate the boys inside. Val, Marnie, and Mary Elizabeth were complete, full-court players. Little JaDon’s amazing dribbling acumen allowed her to weave through the defense for easy lay-ups. Unfortunately, shooting wasn’t her forte, and she often missed. Though she didn’t play at Lovett, she was later asked to play at Rhodes College (later renamed the University of Memphis).

After these girls grew out of the program, the league was then dominated by young guns Lang Whitaker, Chad Eaton, and John Flack. Lang’s family had “adopted” me, but for some reason I was never able to get him on my team. Instead I wound up with Chad or John. They were the leading scorers on offense and always guarded each other on defense. It was great to get to know the kids and their parents – we would stay close for most of the next decade as the kids grew through their high-school years. It’s hard to imagine that most of these kids now are parents with children themselves.

Several seasons my Celtics would be crowned Season Champions, but every year I would lose in the Tournament. One Celtic player went on to make the Parade All-America High-School Soccer team at Westminster. Tiny red-head Roberta Lea didn’t want to join in the on-court action, so at first her playing time was made up of standing next to me, just barely on the court. We devised a play where all the boys would screen out the other team so she could shoot, and it was heart-warming to see the young boys try to make the play work in the game.

One constant through the years was referee David Downing, the Minister of Recreation at the church. His experience and love for the children allowed him to call games fairly in good humor, never allowing things to get out of hand. He served as a coach on the floor, instructing the kids on what they did wrong and what the correct thing to do was. His son Danny now serves in the same position at Johnson Ferry Baptist.

Sharon and I started a tradition of team-building extracurricular activities, which included roller-skating at JellyBeans and trips down to Georgia Tech and the Varsity. SPdL always had a bid season-ending basketball banquet, complete with an inspirational speaker, like diminutive Charlie Criss of the Hawks. The SPdL jackets and duffels given as awards were badges of honor, worn until threadbare.

Don eventually bequeathed me a key to the old SPdL gym, and it was a great place to hang out in my early twenties single days. It was torn down in the late 1980’s, at the same time Ceil and I were renovating our Morningside kitchen. Our contractor friend Bill Collier stopped by one day with a brilliant idea: he salvaged enough hardwood from the gym floor to put in our kitchen. When it was first installed you could still see the lines from the court!

Puma Elite

These were the Pumas I passed over at Perimeter Mall. Black with white trim would've been better.

This is the most viewed post on my blog. While you're here, check out all the other shoes. Feel free to comment!

God Works In Mysterious Ways...

While Ceil’s parents were here and we were eating at Moe’s, out of the blue Matthew started talking about how he’d like to go to Veritas School, “but my mommy is broke, and we need a thousand dollars.” It could do Matthew some good to take classes, and the whole reason we looked into it in November was because Ceil’s mother said she’d help. This has happened in the past, with no follow up. Budget-wise, there’s no way we could manage Veritas without help.

But after Matthew’s speech, her parents agreed to pay the way. Ceil talked to Veritas yesterday, and Anna will also go, at a greatly reduced rate. Ceil agreed to pay Anna’s way out of her budget money and cut back in other areas, but that didn’t stop her from buying a $25.00 bathmat at Anthropology.

Last night I didn’t think much was going on, but Will had practice, so the rest of us ran to Perimeter Mall so Ceil could return something. I got Anna And Matthew ice cream at Chick-fil-A. Saw another pair of Pumas on sale that I craved, but I resisted. Had they been black or red or blue instead of white I might’ve caved. Actually I think I saw those shoes cheaper on eBay.

I’m glad the Stews got syndicated and moved to what, 1 – 4 pm? I’d much rather listen to the big guy, the King, Chuck Oliver. Still, it might not be as good as Buck & Kincaid. Read yesterday’s AJC article on the new crew at Star 94, and listened a little this morning. The Murphy girl dates the lead singer of Reliant K, a Christian rock band that Will saw at the Tabernacle. Fred Claus is at the Picture Show…I’ll have to read a review.

Spent most of the day creating 2007 reports to help my boss’s decision-making, which is more interesting than most of what I’ve been doing. My parents are coming up tomorrow. Will has a science project he needs to finish, as well as basketball practice.

Back to Work

Didn’t think it was a big deal when they opening up a new Sears just up the street that we’d be going much, but Ceil took Will and Anna up there last night. Anna needs more clothes. Will only got Clemson stuff for Christmas, so I’m sure he’ll need more jeans soon.

Watched a lot of the bowl last night just because I didn’t want to do anything…I had been on the go for days!

Today I’ve eaten a banana and a bagel. Last night we had some good chili. Easier not to eat when I’m working, but it’s too cold to exercise.

My new boss had me running some last minute reports today for his afternoon meeting. Met his new boss Dave today, a bloke who seemed like a nice guy. Last week I stumbled across an old company magazine article…his wife also carried the Olympic Torch.

I mailed out that Christmas letter to a few people and mentioned my blog…just when I haven’t been doing a good job of posting stuff.

The old magazines I got this time included a Bob Horner joins to Cardinals article, photos of Strawberry’s family (now Junior plays at Maryland, right?), and a list of highest paid athletes…Marvin Hagler was first with $15 million.
...Basketball: Kareem was first with $2.5 million
...Baseball: Ozzie Smith $2.34 million (Dale was 9th with 2 million)
...Football: Bo Jackson $1.391 million (plus $537,000 from the Royals)
...Hockey: Gretzky was still with the Oilers and was tops at $948,000

Off With Just a Warning

Driving out of the neighborhood the Friday before Christmas my headlights seemed dimmer than usual, but my mind soon drifted to other things (like how all the sports-talk morning guys are on vacation). As I was crossing Peachtree Industrial I noticed a car was waiting to turn…it could’ve gone before me but waited.

Turned out to be a police car. It turned in behind me a turned on it’s flashers. As I searched for a place to pull over, I was having a hard time finding unfamiliar curbs in the darkness. I pulled into a lot and parked in front of a building, and flashed my brights…I had a burned-out headlight. The young lady cop took her time, but only gave me a warning.

Most of the things I look at on the internet are now blocked at work, so I hardly go online at all there any more. So I’ve been spending more time online at night, which hasn’t sat well with Ceil (it has effected these blog postings for sure!).

Haven’t gotten into TV basketball yet this year, but I am more interested in the Hawks.

Will went to the varsity game last night and spent the night with the Normans…today he’s going to see National Treasure.

People relate to John Daly because he is so open. At the Masters he wasn’t in the field, but Hooters had him park his RV in the lot. He would sit out in front and talk to everyone who came up. Sometimes I feel more like Kobe Bryant at work and Daly at places where I’m more comfortable.

New Years Weekend

The in-laws arrived Saturday, along with Anna’s 12 and 9 year-old nieces. Watched most all of the Pats/Giants game, it was a pretty good game. Could’ve watched more of the Sunday Colts/Titans game, but was on the internet instead. Nice to get the house cleaned up. PaPa John’s, Moe’s, KFC.

Saw the “Magic Emporium Movie” Sunday, which was not bad. Yesterday we saw Martian Child…I liked all the actors, but the story wasn’t that great. It got out just before 7 pm, so we probably just missed you guys.

Then I had to drive past Discover Mills to pick up Will from a party…luckily someone else took him. That’s when it hit me that work started today. Got there right when they were eating. I need to just say no! Listened to the WSB radio pregame of the Sugar Bowl driving out there. Only got to watch the end of the first half and most all of the second half.

WSB interviewed the commissioner of the SEC, who’s currently serving as BCS commissioner. He’s in favor of an expanded playoff. Seems like the Rose Bowl is blocking the whole process. They must like their time slot and money they’re making, and don’t want to change.

In this political BCS age, I think Richt did what he had to do last night…dominate Hawaii. They were in a no win position: expected to win big…if they lost or barely won the “experts” would’ve blasted UGA, as it was there was talk they ran up the score. But Hawaii made several comebacks this year, so UGA had to play hard the whole way. Richt cleared the bench the whole fourth quarter…Hawaii was no match for Georgia’s speed. They also had to win big to help with next year’s preseason ranking, so they’d be best positioned to compete for a spot in the national championship game.

Exciting Chick-fil-A Bowl. Francoeur gave the Opening Prayer (the last time Clemson played in the bowl Bartkowski did it). Truett Cathy’s son Dan, who runs the company, belted out the National Anthem on his trumpet. Clemson could have won, but the kicker missed two he should’ve made, and the QB had his worst game of the season. I still think they could use their talented running backs better. Traffic wasn’t bad. After the game I kept zagging right and south while everyone else zigged north. Wound up getting on the interstate at Fulton Street, near Turner Field. The clock struck midnight as we sped through downtown/midtown on the Connector…saw Atlantic Station fireworks.

While we were at the game all the women are at California Pizza Kitchen at North Point Mall…along with Matthew and Ceil’s friend from Virginia. Must’ve been a table of eight.

Of course the Falcons win their last game. Nice that they won the tie-breakers to pick third. Had the Falcons lost, would they not have picked second, since the Rams beat them this year? We’ll see if the Dolphins and Rams both pass on McFadden, though one of them could trade their pick.

Not starting off good on my New Year’s diet!

MyCokeRewards

MyCokeRewards has been a nice diversion / hobby...my most recent thing to do. I buy so few real Coke products, but I get caps from co-workers and friends. The program started about the time I won the year's supply of 2-liter Cokes, which I guess was my previous diversion.

Haven't really hit a home run with what I've cashed them in for, though.

1330 points...adidas microride running shoes for W...he wasn't that crazy about them, and they were a tad small for me. Since then he's come into several pairs of shoes, but he wears them occasionally.

364 points...Taylormade Golf cap...navy and white. Nice, but these days caps look too small on my head!

1054 points...adidas watch...I needed a sports watch, and it's ok, though not exactly as pictured. W talked me into getting the 1054 point watch over a 2400 point adidas watch.

2050 points...adidas sunglasses. Nice shades, though just a little too cool for me. Again, not quite as pictured...they were more grey than black. Site said the points would expire on January 31, and there weren't many good rewards left, so I jumped. Picked the shades over a confusing gift certificate.

350 points...28 weeks of Sports Illustrated. A safe pick, extending my current subscription. Again, i was spending points before the deadline. Five minutes later I discover the program is extended until the end of 2008.

The Week That Was

Monday I played Will one on one at the hoop down the street and beat him, even with an aching shooting shoulder and a touch of asthma. Thursday Will’s team scrimmaged, and Will said he scored 16 points over 3 games. They scrimmaged again Friday afternoon.

The big football game at Thanksgiving and Christmas is what Will lives for. He’s the second best young guy, but us 4 old guys make up for athletism with experience. It’s more of an argument than football game…I only play to make the sides even. Ceil took some good pictures that I may post on my blog. There were 6 youngsters ranging from 18 to 13…Matthew was the only cousin not to play, but this was the first year 2 of the non-athletic boys played the whole game.

Usually the van gets 22 MPG going 74 MPH. At 69 MPH it got 26 going east and 27 going west.

ESPN interviewed the Bull’s Ben Gordon about Skiles being fired…Gordon’s eyes and ears made him look like a Vulcan. I remember when Skiles played a Michigan State!

We had some ups and downs…
…Saturday we went to a fun caroling party.
…drove to SC Sunday after a good Christmas service at NP.
…Monday not much happened…dinner at an uncle’s. Will, Matthew, and I went early to hit golf balls in his back yard, which was fun.
…fun football game on Tuesday afternoon, but Matthew got into a scuffle with a 14-year old cousin. At least he stood up for himself, for that I was proud. I’ll tell you the rest of the story next week.

Took our time and got back around 6:30 last night.

Will’s Guitar Hero Wii game is hilarious…lots of old heavy metal songs. Better than Anna’s ‘sing-along with High School Musical’ game.

After Cropping

Is this an improvement?

Blank Quick On the Hire

Blank has had a bad run, but Jeff Schultz may be right, has he been too quick to jump? Firing Reeves, hiring Mora, extending Vick, Petrino, Parcells. While Dunn has worked out, he’s been overpaid. Guess Blank wants to play with his money, but it seems like the word will get out that he looks over your shoulder a lot.

DOB said Blaine Boyer would be in the bullpen mix this spring. Think he’s got a chance?

The Pink Pig wasn’t crowded when they went early Tuesday afternoon.

Late Night Action in the Hood

Wednesday night at 2:15 am Ceil and I were awakened to a loud boom. I looked out the window and saw a car slowly going up the street toward the cul-de-sac, already several houses past ours. At the end of the street another car was pointed in our direction. When I returned from the bathroom I saw a new white Civic driving out the other way, going pretty slow.

This morning when I left home I saw that a car had run over the fire hydrant across the street from us. Luckily the hydrant hadn’t erupted. The car had then run over the large bush next to the hydrant. Playing detective, I turned around and drove the cul-de-sac. The car had leaked fluid (and tracked some dirt) up the street…and into the driveway where these twins in their early twenties live.

They had moved their dad’s pickup out on the street, and parked their mom’s SUV behind their wrecked car in the driveway. This morning Ceil called to say the police were visiting their house. Anna said they led someone away in cuffs. Ceil didn’t call the police, but Anna said they led someone off in handcuffs. She likes mysteries and wants to be a detective, and spends a lot of time looking out the upstairs windows.

The Middle-School Team Does Exist

Got to see the Flight boys middle-school team for the first time, for only a quarter. They held their 10-point lead throughout and easily beat the Gwinnett Barons 46 – 35...even without rebounding maven Holt.

...Charles may have been nursing a sprained ankle, as he didn’t play.
...Spencer made a steal while I was there.
...Connor committed a good rough foul, and later drove in for a lay-up to put the game out of reach. He blocked a 3-point attempt, then made 4 straight foul shots down the stretch.
...Kevin got a big rebound with 25 seconds left, then made 2 straight foul shots. Later in the JV game he missed two key foul shots late in the game.
...Isaac also had a nice drive for a lay-up, got a rebound with 14 seconds left, and made a foul shot.

Overtime!

The Flight JV team lost an exciting overtime game last night, barely beat by a tough Sound Doctrine Christian Academy team. Flight played their best game in several weeks on both ends of the court. Sound Doctrine played a disciplined offense, working the ball around inside and out, with two small sharp-shooting guards and two big men: one looked like Shaq…very big, just not the most talented or athletic; and another not quite as big, but effective in the paint.

Flight countered inside despite the absence of leading rebounder Holt. Josh played one of his better games, with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 steals. Kevin had 9 rebounds, 3 points, and a steal. But what kept Flight in the game was the guard play: DJ, Connor, Isaac, and Jonathan all played aggressive defense and combined for 13 steals.

Will started the game and also played in the third quarter, attempting two good shots but missing both.

Flight shot well in the 1st quarter and led 12 – 11, but then Sound Doctrine outscored them 10 – 5 in the 2nd to lead at the half by 4 points. In the 3rd it was Flight going on a tear…with just a few seconds remaining in the quarter they had outscored SD 14 – 4. A SD player attempted a 3-pointer, and DJ fell on top of the shooter after he attempted to block the ball. The shot was good, as was the foul shot…4 point play. But Flight inbounded the ball to Connor, who dribbled up the middle of the court. Halfway between the halfcourt stripe and the 3-point line he made a running shot, that swished the net just before the buzzer ended the period.

Since we were the home team, I kept the “official scorebook.” Next to me was clock-keeper Linda, one of the organizers of the Flight basketball program. She and her family have been tirelessly leading the program for many years. Josh is her youngest son; he has several older brothers that played many years of Flight basketball, so Linda has probably run clock in many games. Next to her was the SD’s scorekeeper. We all chatted about the game and got along well, helping each other with 3-point calls, fouls, and the possession arrow.

I was having a good game, having figured out a way to count missed 2-point shots as well as missed 3’s and foul shots (in addition to rebounds, steals, assists, fouls, blocks, and team score and fouls). But I got in the made habit of catching up on writing down the extra stuff when the ball was whistled dead, as the referee usually took his time organizing players before turning to me with the number of the player committing the foul.

Two of the tree refs were familiar: an older, humorous man we’d seen at home and on the road, a young guy who may have once played for Flight, and a new, 30-ish ref we’d never seen. Sound Doctrine had a few players who would stay in the lane too long, and soon shouts from the stands got the refs calling 3-seconds quite often. Flight also got whistled for it, but not nearly as often. The SD coach didn’t complain. Other calls and non-calls did bring loud reactions from the crowd, at one point the new ref warned a spectator to keep it down. Still, the game was far from being out of hand.

The 4th quarter started with Flight leading 34 – 29. Just after the 4th quarter started we heard shouts from the crowd that the clock hadn’t been started…perhaps 10 or 15 seconds had elapsed. No big deal, it happens from time to time. At one point in the quarter as the fouls slowly added up, the SD scorekeeper said the Flight foul was the 6tth, putting SD in the bonus. I only showed 5 fouls…he showed 2 straight on Kevin when I only showed one. Had I missed one? He thought I had, but made no big deal about it. It may have cost SD one foul shot, I’m not sure. As Kevin walked past I asked him how many fouls he had, he thought two or three (but he was playing his second straight game; earlier he played in the middle-school game).

Flight fought hard to keep their lead, but SD crept to within 2 with one minute to go. Few timeouts had been called up to that point, but in the last minute 3 were called. Flight was to bring the ball in underneath the SD basket. All the players were in that halfcourt, and Connor threw long, hitting a wide-open Kevin breaking for the goal…but he walked. SD brought the ball back up and attempted a three, but Connor easily blocked the shot, due to the low release. The new ref blew his whistle – then the buzzer sounded. Down two, SD was awarded 3 foul shots.

With the game on the line, the kid made the first, missed the second, then made the third to tie the game…forcing overtime. DJ fouled out, and Flight missed several shots. With 9 seconds remaining, Jonathan was fouled. Jonathan had played his best game of the year, going most of the way, making a great steal and driving down to make an open lay-up. Now down by two, he made the first but missed the second…BUT a lane violation! But Jonathan couldn’t sink the extra shot, and Flight lost 49 – 48.

DJ: 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, one block.
Connor: 14 points, 2 rebounds, 5 steals, one assist.
Isaac: 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals.
Jonathan: 3 points, 2 steals.
Jordan: 2 rebounds.
Max: one rebound and steal.

Will played much more than Jordan, Joel, and Max, though the coach worked everyone in. Connor, Isaac, and Kevin played most of two straight games, and must've been tired.

Underdog Was One

Friday night I almost forgot to go pick up Will at his Living Science school. Got there 15 minutes late, but people were still there. He played Joseph in a Christmas play the ballet troupe put on. I didn’t realize it was such a big production, with a live baby for Will to hold, and shepherds and wise men.

Saturday I cleaned out the garage and utility room, which was surely needed. Now I can park both cars inside. Will had baseball practice, but I didn’t stick around to watch. Took Anna and Matthew to see Underdog at the Picture Show…it had Jim Belushi, the Seinfeld mechanic “Pookie?”, and the midget from elf. ‘Martian Child’ is already at the Picture Show…Ceil wants to see it.

Ceil spent most of Sunday out running errands…I didn’t do much except for some housework.

The new GM says his 13-year old son is a Cubs fan, and they go to several games a year at Wrigley. Said his son wanted to go to a Bears games, but dad balked when he saw the ticket prices. Thought he could get some corporate tickets, but perhaps they’re scarce. Several more re-organization memos have come out, including a re-organization of the rest of the Atlanta operations…what had been two big operations is now under one GM.

On 680 this morning Mike & Mike were saying that had it been an informant from some other part of the country, the players named could’ve been completely different.

Hey! As we were leaving North Point yesterday, Will said I walked right past John Smoltz and his family. I never saw him.

Read the Clemens section of the report…how can he deny all that? Wild that it’s 490 pages…I won’t be printing it. Read some on Neagle and Justice. Probably a lot of guys who weren’t on the report…perhaps just as many? Lots were probably smart enough to get someone else to buy it for them.

Swamped at work. Saw a guy just now at a luncheon where I used to work, that grew up living next to the Eaton family…Chad, Howard, and Deidre. Have you gotten any updates on those guys lately? I think I had a dream this week that Arden Starnes was in!

Great Photo: Before Cropping

Another nice photo by Ceil that I ran across. I'll try cropping it to make it nicer...my latest plaything/pet peeve.

Will he ever tuck his glove in for better balance / more strikes?

Conspiracy of Hatred?

Falcons conspiracy theory – could it be that Blank was OK with Petrino leaving immediately, and Blank said what he did Monday (and yesterday) as cover? What else could he have said either day? The only hang-up was that Blank shouldn’t have been so media-assessable during this time. I’m not all that enamored with the players calling him a coward…they’re the ones who appear to not be giving it their all. Not that I’m a Petrino apologist. Interesting that Jerry Jones alerted Blank to the Arkansas interest. Blank could learn some media savvy from Schuerholz, though they’re in different roles.

They say Cowher will only take the job if he gets McKay’s personnel position is well. McFadden is a back worth taking. They need offensive linemen, but have to draft a QB to sell tickets. I hope they stay away from a Vick-type…luckily the Mizzou QB and Dennis Dixon aren’t coming out this year. I wouldn’t take Woodson or the Louisville guy. If it were me I’d take the Boston College guy.

Didn’t drink any Diet Cokes for three days, and in the afternoons and evenings I didn’t have any energy. Broke down this morning and stopped at Chick-fil-A for one because I had a free coupon.

Coaching – I always considered PJ Carlisimo a college coach, but he’s hung around the pros for a while…though mostly as an assistant. Paul Hewitt has often said he wants to coach the Knicks…you wonder if he wouldn’t do better in the pros. But is he a better recruiter than game coach?

Richmond just asked me to come train on our current computer system. Like us, they’re going on SAP in May.

My mortgage was sold to WaMu and it’s been ok…but I opened a checking and savings account and have had finance charge problems. Got them worked out, but it was a hassle. The branch on 120 near our house closed, but I had never used it because of the hours.

Nativity

All the wise men and shepherds seemed more interested in baby Jesus than Joseph did!

Will as Joseph

I am told Joseph/Will executed the handoff to Mary/Julia when baby Jesus started crying!

Christmas Letter 2008

Christmas Greetings! 2007 was a year of vacations for the Murphys, more so than past years.

In April the whole family joined Will on his five-day Living Science Spring Expedition to Jekyll Island. The weather was chilly, but the kids enjoyed checking out all the sea creatures on the beach. We took a boat to Cumberland Island to see the ruins and wild horses, and toured the St. Simons Island Lighthouse.

The July Miller-family Myrtle Beach vacation was another fun time. It was the first year Anna and Matthew ventured out into the bigger surf, meaning Dave also spent lots of time in the water!

IThe big trip came in August, when we flew out to San Francisco for a week. Yosemite National Park was overwhelmingly beautiful, the sequoias huge. We hit Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, Golden Gate Park, the University of California in Berkeley, Napa Valley, and saw the seal rocks in the Pacific. Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s record on a Tuesday, and three days later we saw him hit number 758 against the Pirates.

Matthew turned nine, and continues to entertain our family with his creativity and humor. He still loves to play with Playmobil and make videos, and is looking forward to taking classes at Living Science. His favorite coach selected him again for baseball, and Matthew responded with his best season yet, consistently collecting extra-base hits and making key plays in the field, helping them win another championship.

Ballet became just one of Anna’s activities. Now eleven, she enjoyed sitting with the older Living Science girls on the spring expedition, then began 5th grade there in the fall. She helped Ceil repaint and remodel her room, and has begun cooking as well. Visiting Chinatown was her favorite part of the San Francisco trip. She snapped all kinds of pictures on her new digital camera, and with Matthew was all over the Webkins craze.

Will (14) became even more involved at Living Science, taking several classes and training to become a Servant Leader. He took up basketball for the first time, playing on a competitive home-school team with several good friends. In baseball Will had perhaps his best year ever, playing 80 games & leading all three teams in most hitting and pitching categories. Against one tough team he struck out eleven in 4-2/3 innings. After Thanksgiving he paintballed & attended the Clemson/Carolina game in Columbia, then the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Ceil squeezed in time for many of her favorite things: a women’s Beth Moore Bible Study, a knitting class, cooking for others, snapping pictures, & sewing Halloween costumes and Christmas presents. Home-school preparation and running the kids around takes up so much time, but she was still able to keep up with girlfriends near and far. She & Will still help in the 4-year old class at North Point.

Dave enjoyed coaching Will in the spring, especially making out batting orders and positioning players on defense. He work tripped to Birmingham and Orlando. In Houston he visited a college roommate and saw the Astros play. He ran his 20th Peachtree Road Race with Will and the Broadwell men, visiting from Virginia. In October he saw Georgia Tech beat Miami, in one of the last games ever played in the Orange Bowl. The next weekend he chaperoned Will’s Living Science Senior Retreat to Tybee Island and Savannah. One hobby is compiling family events and photos at www.sacrificefly.blogspot.com

We were fortunate to be able to complete several home-maintenance projects, though there’s always more to do. In this age of activity, we struggled to balance events with time with family and friends. We were also able to squeeze in cherished time at home as well.

Bird

She's been making several of these little guys, stuffing them with wool. On line they sell for twenty dollars, though I'm not sure we'd recoup our time and material at that price!

Angel Ornament

Something Ceil made for Christmas.

Another Loss to North Cobb

The Flight JV team rebounded better and played more aggressively, but still was no match last night for North Cobb. They lost their third game in eleven days 47 – 19, though hopefully the boys gained valuable experience playing a higher level of ball…surely one of the main reasons the games were scheduled.

Will played well, grabbing four rebounds and playing aggressive defense. With most of the players on the left side of the court, the shot bounced of the rim to Will, almost alone on the other side of the lane. He grabbed the rebound and put it right back up, making the basket for his only two points in the game.

North Cobb only led by 4 after the first quarter. Despite a flurry of turnovers early in the second quarter to swell the lead, Flight hung tough and only trailed by ten at the half. In the third quarter North Cobb turned on the full-court press again, and Flight only scored one basket the rest of the game. Late in the third quarter North Cobb began putting in substitutes, and in the fourth quarter Flight did the same.

DJ scored six, but hit the boards hard, grabbing ten rebounds before sitting out the last quarter. He had a nice blocked shot.
Connor was called for his 4th foul late in the first half, and fouled out early in the fourth quarter. This game he penetrated more, and finished with 6 points and 4 rebounds.
Josh had 3 points, 7 rebounds, and a steal.
Isaac returned from a back injury and sparked the team, making both his foul shots. He had 8 rebounds and a steal.
Holt only had 2 boards and a steal, and sat the fourth quarter.
Joel got the start and had a rebound and steal.
Jonathan enjoyed the aggressive game, playing a lot of minutes.


The game was over in an hour, and the Varsity needed a scorekeeper, so Will and I stuck around to avoid traffic. North Cobb had played a tough Greater Gwinnett team the night before, so they let a few of their top players sit out. NCCS Coach Motta let his entire JV team play in the varsity game. Flight lost 62 - 40.

NC had a 6’10” center that led both teams in scoring, with all his points coming under the basket. Willis did an admirable job defending him, but he wasn’t always around to make the play. With the big man on the bench in the fourth quarter, Willis sat and Flight went with a smaller lineup.

Willis had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Josiah scored 9, with 5 boards, 3 steals, and an assist.
Walker scored 9 as well, with 3 rebounds and a steal.
Ben had 7 points & one rebound, assist, & a spectacular blocked shot…before fouling out.
DJ scored 5, with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block.
David N scored 4, with 2 rebounds and a steal.

NC…23…39…59…62
FL…10….17…22…40

How It Went

Finally spent a few rushed minutes with our Southeast Region Vice-President. I have been reporting to him since my more immediate supervisor moved to Florida. He had been reporting to the SE VP. Both he and I always find it a challenge to gain face time with the busy VP, since our profitable department had been not his greatest priority.

Next Monday the new GM reports, as my immediate boss. SE VP wants to involve the GM in any other decisions, which is understandable, and said we would address these issues together then. When I welcomed him last week I outlined my qualifications, and he seemed impressed. Now that I think about it, I think I’ll float them a couple of questions.

The “Life Well Spent” book we’ve been reading really dovetails with the way things have worked out for me. Though I’m not as purposeful as I should be with career matters, I believe God has taken good care of our family.

This morning Ceil asked how she should pray about the meeting. I had really been wrestling with all this stuff the last 24 hours, so I could have told Ceil any number of things running around in my head. My heart’s desire is for God to provide for our family through me, and in a way where I’m somewhat flexible time-wise, so I can be home and participate in watching our family grow.

The main thing he wanted to discuss with me today was next year’s SAP computer conversion. I had been tapped to spend NINE straight weeks in Little Rock learning and helping, followed by 9 weeks of long hours doing the same thing here…from February into June. Learning SAP inside-and-out would be beneficial in some ways, but it wouldn’t enhance my position with the company. The one SAP trainer based in Atlanta was just laid off.

From the way he approached it, it was evident he didn’t want me to go to Little Rock. He said what I’m currently doing is more important, particularly as our business increases these next few months. Travel can be fun in shorter doses, but Ceil would have a hard time, without a break for such an extended period. So this is good news!

I could wave my hands and demand more power, authority, money, and attention. It doesn’t seem like now is God’s time for that. Positions may open up that I’m qualified for, but they’d mean more hours without more money. They know my value from previous projects we’ve worked on…he’s more of a nuts and bolts guy like me, as opposed to a big talker. The new GM’s background is similar to mine, so hopefully we’ll work well together.

Like you guys, our family is not swimming with money. Matthew certainly needs a scholastic change…Veritas could be that answer to prayer. We need to review everything we do, as we’ll have many financial decisions to make for 2008…like getting Ceil’s teeth fixed. I’m confident God will provide.

December Baseball

Saturday Will had baseball practice. I went by to see this high school baseball team work out Monday night that Will might play on…most are home schoolers that attend a school similar to Will’s Living Science school. They go to class different days, so they might have games when Will has class. Supposedly the team is halfway decent…they have 9 returning from last year they’re happy with. Even though he might not play as much, he would be challenging for him to play with these guys.

It’s ok when half the bowl teams lose their last game…but they shouldn’t advance like the teams on winning streaks. This Sunday night I took a lot of notes comparing Tim Teabow to Darren McFadden, that I’ll eventually type up and organize.

Sports Bits

Mark Richt wins 80% of his games, and is in the top 5 or 6 of winningest active coaches, and still gets heat from UGA fans. Same thing in many other places. I heard Houston Nutt say that growing up Arkansas was his dream job, but then he said ten years was long enough to stay at one place. He could’ve been run out had he not quit, so a good move with McFadden leaving.

Think either of the two Josh’s will re-sign next year? The Hawks can match any offer, right? Smith continues to improve, but still has a ways to go maturity-wise. Still might be the best option to retain him. Childress is mature, but may want to return to California. I watched one game where they needed him to run the point, and he didn’t do that bad.

What quality coach would want to coach the Falcons? Perhaps a career NFL assistant, perhaps minority, who has been passed over for other jobs. Like Eugene Robinson, the interim. Can’t blame Petrino considering the hand he was dealt, and for realizing that the NFL wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. What do you tell your boss when he asks if you’re committed to you job? I see what you mean, that it could be best for the Falcons. I’m not that confident in Rich McKay these days. Pro sports personnel is tough these days…money, personality, character all factor in…not just can you play!

I was told today I don’t have to go to Little Rock for 9 straight weeks in Feb/March, which wouldn’t be greatly beneficial. Still a tiny chance I could go.

Will Plays With the Varsity

Flight Coach H knew Saturday night’s varsity game was against a young, undermanned Atlanta Christian Academy team, so he invited the JV players to play. Seniors Ben Hoffer and Willis Norman didn’t even suit up. With 14 Flight players to work with, Coach H played seven in the 1st & 3rd quarter, and the other seven in the 2nd & 4th quarter. Even then the better players forsook shooting, instead working the ball to less experienced players.
In the first quarter varsity substitutes David and Walker led the way, playing with JV players Connor, Josh, Isaac, Max, and Joel. Connor continued to struggle from the outside, and the quarter ended with Flight leading 13 – 11.

DJ and Josiah then helped extend the lead to 13 at the half, though they often fed Will, Holt, Kevin, and Jonathan. Coach H made sure to give more playing time to the JV players who hadn’t gotten as much time in the last two competitive JV games…so Will only played about one full quarter in total.

Will had two nice steals…one in the frontcourt while guarding his man one on one. He had a rebound and swished his first foul shot of the game. Will made several nice passes, but had no assists because shots were missed. He only took one shot from the field.

David had 8 points in the third quarter, and Flight’s lead swelled to 18. The team ended up scoring 53 points, despite not making a single three-point shot.

The 1st and 3rd quarter team…

…Walker had 9 points, making both the three pointers he attempted…and 4 rebounds.

…David had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals and blocks.

…Connor only had 2 points, missing all 8 three-point attempts.

…Josh had a basket, rebound, and steal.

…Isaac had one basket and 2 boards.

…Max had 2 points, 3 rebounds, and a steal…all in the 3rd quarter.

…Joel added an assist.

The 2nd and 4th quarter team…

…Josiah had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.

…DJ had 7 points, 5 boards, and an assist.

…Kevin had 4 points and 6 rebounds.

…Jonathan had a rebound, assist, and steal, but missed all his shots.

…Holt had 3 points and 7 rebounds.

I sat with Connor’s dad Brett. He and Connor went to the Friday night game between the # 2 and # 3 teams in the state, local teams Wheeler and Centennial. Wheeler won easily. Brett noticed that Lefty Driesell was sitting in front of him, there to watch his grandson play. He got to talk to him, but Lefty wasn’t making a big deal of himself.

During halftime the varsity girls team played “Ring Around the Rosey” with the little team mascot Cassie. Middle-schoolers Charles and Spencer joined in. Living Science founders Lance and Penny Davis attended for the second week in a row.

Rematch Replay

Saturday afternoon Will’'s Flight JV team lost again to the powerhouse North Cobb team, this time by a 53 -– 24 score. Flight only managed 16 rebounds, and leading scorers DJ and Connor shot a combined 1 for– 16 from three-point range.

It was good competition for Will, who grabbed two of the rebounds. He attempted two shots as well.

The 29 point loss may have been an improvement over the previous week’s 45 point loss, though North Cobb didn’'t press this time. They did play their top players until only three minutes remained. Several of the boys were 11th-graders unable to crack the varsity lineup. As a contrast, the Flight JayVees had at most two 10th-graders, and four 8th-graders get considerable playing time. Had DJ and Connor made even 40% of their threes the game would'’ve been much closer, though then North Cobb would’ve been motivated to press.

…DJ scored 9, going 5 for– 10 from the foul line. He had a rebound, block, and 2 steals.

…Connor had 11 points, with 2 rebounds and steals.

…Kevin’'s shoulder is finally healed, and he played tough inside, gabbing 4 rebounds and a steal.

…Josh had 3 points, 4 boards, and one steal and block.

…Holt had 2 rebounds.

…Max had a steal.

North Cobb led by 8 after the first quarter, 20 at the half, 21 after three, and won by 29 points. The teams play once more Tuesday evening.

The Flight JV girls won their game against North Cobb, with a similar outcome as they had last week. I saw Abby make at least one basket.

More Pieces to the Puzzle

More on NCCS: They must see themselves as the northwest suburban Atlanta equivalent of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy, the basketball powerhouse that recently produced NBA players Dwight Howard and Javaris Crittenton. Nothing wrong with recruiting players and playing a strong schedule, or hiring competitive coaches. Giving kids opportunities to get college educations is a noble goal.

The varsity boys coach is the brother of Ohio State’s head basketball coach, Thad Matta. Having such college contacts help recruit blue-chippers: two of the varsity boys have already signed letters of intent, one with Georgia and another with Indiana. I was told that during last Saturday’s blowout varsity game the varsity coach got so out of line that the referees told the athletic director he was close to being thrown out.

Matta’s nephew plays on the JV. Last Saturday he made about half of his three-point attempts, and this Saturday in made three or four straight three-pointers in the second quarter to put the game out of reach. He's skinny, athletic kid with an unorthodox jump shot, featuring a low release. He has undoubtedly been raised in a competitive environment…at one point Saturday he grabbed a loose ball, but Connor made a good play to also take hold of the ball a split second later. Jump ball. But before the ref could whistle the call the Matta boy turned with the ball, making it appear the slighter Connor was going over Matta’s back for the ball. When a foul wasn’t called, the boy grimaced and look to his JV coach for support.

This past week North Cobb traveled to Chattanooga to play the Mccallie School, the private boarding school where Ted Turner graduated. The JVs lost by five points, though the varsity won. With this tough game looming on their schedule, it makes more sense now why North Cobb played a hard pressing game last Saturday in preparation.

In both games the young JV coach remained animated and loudly worked the referees, regardless of the score. In his view whatever DJ did was illegal: walking, fouling, etc. Halfway through the fourth quarter DJ earned his fourth foul. Seconds later a North Cobb player went in for a layup. Sitting at the scorer’s table I had the same view as the coach. DJ was in the area, but the offensive player quite obviously moved not to the basket, but sideways into DJ. The ref made the correct call; an offensive foul. The coach erupted, and angrily berated the ref the rest of the game. At the time of the foul Flight was losing by 29 points.

Say "Merry Christmas"

More and more I notice people saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. I understand, but it still irks me. I’m going to have to tell my favorite clerk at Kroger where I stand on the issue.

Appeared to be right about Andruw. The AJC says they was a good chance he would’ve accepted arbitration, which would've been too expensive for the Braves, even with their bigger budget.

All day Monday through Friday I stare at my work email, so it’s more convenient. I sometimes give out my personal email in some situations, but actually right now my computer is messed up and I can’t send an email from that account. I can get busy and forget to check it for days at a time, but rarely do I get anything important on it. I have a third email that I use to enter contests with…so I get a lot of junk there.

Been working to correct one of the biggest screw-ups I have ever seen, though it wasn’t my fault. They just named my new boss, so the next few weeks are going to be interesting. Ever since my old direct boss moved to Florida in July 2006 there hasn’t been a hands-on boss on site until now. Our organizational structure is changing somewhat, and I have a meeting Monday morning with my current boss which may help define what my future duties will be.

The massive Chicago operation is being dismantled, and many in that corporate office are being let go. Things are much different here in Norcross, where jobs could be added. Still, a few people have been let go here in other departments. I have no idea what’s going to happen to me…I could get a promotion or be laid off. Should know more on Monday. People a chatting up a storm.

Will’s JV plays that team that blew them out tomorrow. Later in the day the Varsity plays an inexperienced team, so the coach is letting Will and other JV players suit up and play. Eventually we’ll get up our Christmas decorations. We’ll see about cards…at the very least I’ve started a Christmas letter that I’ll post here.

Two Friends

My son with two of his best friends.