Michigan Wins!

Michigan wins the NCAA Basketball Championship!

 Quite a tight game, and fun to watch them beat the U Conn Huskies. 

Saturday Sportsball Day

I got an invite to a tailgate at MSU on Saturday to watch them play Boston College.

So I met up with friends, and drove to East Lansing for the tailgate.

Passed by many places I remembered including my old place of employment. 

Got to the parking lot and parked the car, then walked to where the tailgate was held around 3:30.
 

 Everybody was in their best Greens and Whites for the game.

The tailgate had it all, food, beverages, and Sparty. 

Yes, the amazing fellow running the tailgate didn't just have music, he also had a TV to broadcast sports over the internet during the tailgate.  Rather cool. This tailgate had it all.

So, a lot of fun was had, chatted with quite a few people, ate some great food and drank some pre-game libations. I brought 100 doughnut holes as a contribution as that was on the sign-up list.

Then we helped close up the tailgate and get ready to go see the game set to start at 7:30.

I got some tickets on the 45-yard line in Seciton 9, for not too much, and they turned out to be pretty great seats except for two drunken young men right behind us that didn't just have outdoor voices, they had no setting but yelling at the top of their lungs the entire flipping game  You know you have the right to remain silent - these two lacked the ability for that completely.

Everyone else in the area was having a good time and enthusiastic and loud at the appropriate times.  There was one Boston College fan right in the row in front of us, and he was a good sport, and gave as good a ribbing as he got, and everyone was friendly and fun about it.

 The marching band began the opening festivities.

 Then the game was one.

Michigan got the first touchdown and easily made the extra point. 

 

For the touchdown and subsequent MSU touchdowns, fireworks went off in appropriate colors.
 

It was a nail-biter of a game finally going into overtime and then double overtime.

MSU won in double overtime with a 2 point conversion, 42-40.

 It was fun to watch live with friends.  It was a heckuva long game though. Then we along with the crowds headed out and I finally got home after 2 am.

 I managed to get to sleep and then sleep in a bit until 8am before my next weekend adventure on Sunday.

Florida Weekend

Went to Gainesville this weekend to show a friend's kid the University of Florida.

Got an AirBnB near the University which was very Gator.

A rather comfy place with all that was needed.

We hit some favorite eating spots like Cantina Anejo, Pho Hanoi, and Raisin Canes.

We had signed the kid up for a campus tour on Friday, and it was very well done.  He liked the campus and he's going to apply there.  Friday evening, we found out the Tigers were in Tampa for a series, with a game Saturday at noon, so why not go?

So on Saturday we got up and headed out to Tampa. We managed to get a screaming good deal on some great seats, so we did the two hour drive to the stadium.

The game was held at George Steinbrenner Stadium as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' regular stadium is out of commission.

 This will be the only season they are playing in there.  As a minor-league stadium hosting major-league teams, home runs were definitely on the menu.

It's a nice stadium and they've tried to have as many Rays logos over the Yankee logos as possible.

 

Interestingly enough, there were about as many Detroit fans in the stands as there were Tampa Bay fans and many Detroiters traveled to the stadium to watch the entire series. 

We got great seats, 5 rows back, right behind home plate.

 

Great seats. Real hot and sunny out, so lots of water was consumed.

We unfortunately got to watch the Tigers get eaten by the Devil Rays up close and personal. 

The Tigers in the first inning managed to leave men stranded on the bases without scoring. But, they did manage to load up the bases with Devil Rays and then walk in a run, and after striking the very next player walk in a second run! Then a base hit right after brought in two more runs for an early 4-0 lead for Tampa, with none of the runs counting as earned.  A rather inauspicious start.

The Tigers manged to get in a run in the 4th but by then it was 7-1, with some solo home runs smacked in by the Devil Rays. You knew they were homers just how they sounded coming off the bat - fun to watch it happen.

We got to see the major league debut of Devil Rays' pitcher Paul Gervase, at the top of the seventh inning, and in six pitches he retired the Tigers.  Not a bad welcome to the big leagues.

The game mercifully ended 8-3 for the Devil Rays. The game was still a heckuva lot of fun to watch, and that's a nice little stadium, even as Detroit lost badly. 

I then drove back from Tampa and we got some BBQ for dinner at a great BBQ place in Gainesville, Adam's Rib.

 A solid slab of ribs were rather happy-making.

Got up Sunday morning for breakfast in Gainesville and then drove back to Jacksonville. Flew home yesterday and after over an hour delay departing from Jacksonville, arrived home to find the power had been out for three hours and the place was sweltering.

It had been a great weekend getaway. 

A Bit More Canadian Content: Hockey

So tonight, we will see if the Toronto Maple Leafs can close the deal and beat the Ottawa Senators to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Playoff hockey is the best hockey. 

The Leafs took an early lead in the series winning the first three and then lost two in a row with Tuesday's loss in Game 5 being most especially egregious.

All that can be said about the 4-0 loss, including two empty net goals is:

 

So will the Leafs pull off a win tonight, or will the Curse of Harold Ballard continue? The game has now begun, so we shall see.

All I want is one Maple Leaf Cup Victory in my lifetime, which really shouldn't be too much to ask, but it hasn't happened yet, and it looks a long way still to go. 

Update:  And the Leafs win tonight 4-2 in a very hard-fought game.  Now to take on the Florida Panthers.

University Of Florida Visit - Go Gators!

So, this weekend I went to Gainesville to visit the younger child at University of Florida.

With the weather being sunny and in the low 80s it sure beat the wet and cold of Michigan this early April.

Flew into Jacksonville and drove the couple hours to Gainesville.

Met up with the kid and we watched the Gators advance into the finals.

Victory for the Gators was assured as Leah took us out that night to feed the campus feral cats. 

Quite a few ferals around and apparently it's lucky to feed them prior to exams for good results, and during various sportsball games to ensure the Gators do well.

The offerings to the cats must have worked, as the Gators ended up beating Auburn to earn a place against Huston for a shot at the national championship in b-ball. 

Much cheering throughout the dorm was heard when they game resulted in the Gator's victory.

The next day we did more sportsball, in this case Gator Baseball.

 Got some grass seats on the left berm, inside the foul ball danger area and had a great view of the game. Gators vs the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Initially during the warm-up, it appeared it was unclear to the Commodores as to what sport they were there to play.

 Yes, he's throwing a football around.

The game got off to a good start with hits by both teams in the first but no runs.

By the third inning it was tied 1-1.

 

That would change.

Sadly, an offering to the cats had not been made, as the Commodores swept the series and harvested the Gators 11-3 in the game we watched.

Still, even ending in a loss, it was a lot of fun to watch and the atmosphere at the ballpark was very family friendly and had great sportsmanship.  The crowd applauded for great plays regardless of which team made them, and it was a highly enjoyable time.

After that we head back to her dorm where she studied preparing for an exam that was set to occur tonight - right at the same time as the championship game - and I did some work.

She then found out via email that the prof, recognizing the historic nature of the championship game was offering all students the opportunity to defer the exam so they could watch the game as part of the college experience. This was happy-making and she'll be viewing the game with friends tonight and taking the exam another day.  Pretty cool on the part of the professor.

So she had three classes today so I did some work as she did and then took her to lunch. 

On the way to lunch we passed by the pond near her dorm.

 

They're serious about that sign.

Did you see the gator to the lower right in the picture?

 Gilbert, the dorm gator, was back from brumating for the winter.  He's been known to sunbathe on the grass and even hang out by the dorm entrance at times.

That he's back has been declared to be a good sign that the Gators will do well tonight. 

It was a great visit.  Good luck to the Gators tonight.

The Good Ol' College Hockey Game

Yesterday I went to East Lansing to attend the Big 10 Men's Hockey Tournament game of MSU v Notre Dame. First time I've been back to the Munn Ice Arena in years.

College hockey tends to be a lot of fun to watch.

We got there pretty early and before that got lunch at Raising Cane's the ne plus ultra of chicken strip restaurants. Yum. We then parked and headed to the arena, with plenty of time to wander around.

 Free rally rags were provided to all the fans.

 

We got to watch the warm up.

 

And the game began.

It was a very low-scoring game with a lot of action.

 A couple small fights, a few penalties and both teams were excellent at killing the power plays.

The Spartans won 1-0, with the single goal taking place in the third periods, with 46 shots on goal to Notre Dame's 19.  Should have been a much higher score, but defense on both teams were seriously on point. 

It often seemed the Spartans were taking shots when off balance and not ready to receive the puck after a pass to take a shot at the net.

Still, a win is a win, and they advance in the tournament to play again next week. 

A nice Saturday day trip.

Local(ish) Game

Went with a friend after work yesterday to the MSU v Purdue Football game.

With an 8pm start it made for a long night including the over an hour drive to East Lansing in quite a bit of traffic.

 Quite a bit chillier than Florida, with a fair bit of wind and temps in the 40s.

I'm not a football aficionado, but it easy to see that it was quite a rough game.

To say it was an ugly game of football is an understatement.

MSU started out with a 24-3 lead, and that lead kept narrowing as the game went on into the second half.

MSU narrowly won, barely, but only by making slightly fewer mistakes than Purdue.  At times it seemed MSU decided the strategy was to run the ball as they couldn't complete a pass if their life depended on it. 

The only saving grace for MSU was that Purdue was worse including suffering a blocked field goal, a fumble, and throwing interceptions, and couldn't capitalize on the many mistakes the Spartans made. 

Still for all that it was a fun time, and good to see the home team win 24-17.

Finally got back home around 1:30 am. Quite a long day, but fun.

A World Cup Soccer First

Did you hear that history was made at the World Cup this year?

Since I'm not a soccer fan, this did not get my attention until now.

NPR: The first all-female referee team makes history at the World Cup

Yes, it was a historic moment having an all-female ref squad for the Costa Rica v. Germany game. 

This really affected the game-play because:

Not only were these referees calling penalties that occurred during the game, they were penalizing the teams for what they did in past games over the last 20 years, too!

Tennessee Police Apparently Are Not Ohio State Fans

Either that or they can't tell the difference between Buckeye leaves and Marijuana leaves.

The Detroit Free Press: Woman pulled over after Ohio St. sticker confused for drug symbol

A 65-year-old woman was pulled over by police officers while driving through Tennessee after the officers mistook her car's Buckeye stickers - those commonly seen on the helmets of Ohio State football players - for a marijuana symbol.

"It's just amazing they would be that dumb," said Bonnie Jonas-Boggioni, which pretty much sums up this entire story.

Jonas-Boggioni and her husband, Giorgio Boggioni, 66, of Plano, Texas, were driving home through Tennessee from Columbus, Ohio, where they had attended a funeral for Jonas-Boggioni's mother.

The two were pulled over a few miles east of Memphis, along I-40, and were greeted by a pair of black SUVs containing officers wearing "body armor and guns," Jonas-Boggioni told Joe Blundo of The Columbus Dispatch.

"What are you doing with a marijuana sticker on your bumper?" one of the officers asked.

That led Jonas-Boggioni and her husband to explain the meaning of the Ohio State sticker, which is given as a reward to OSU players. To help the puzzled officers connect the dots, Boggioni stepped out of the car to show his 2002 national-championship sweatshirt, one "complete with a Buckeye leaf," Blundo wrote.

Chagrined, the officers excused the unwarranted stop by explaining that an officer in another jurisdiction had called in a report of the Boggionis' sticker - believing the older couple to be at the forefront of some sort of massive marijuana ring, it seems.

What's sadder? That the Tennessee Cops can't tell the difference between a buckeye leaf and a marijuana leaf, or the even lamer pretext for the stop that massive drug smuggling rings would advertise their presence by putting marijuana stickers on their cars?

Even those with the poor taste to be Buckeye fans have some constitutional rights.

Obama and the Heats

So President Obama in another presidential gaffe from the smartest president evah, congratulated the "Miami Heats".

Basketball is not my sport but even I know it's the Miami Heat.

But to be charitable, considering the NBA has players whose total fertility rate matches or exceeds that of Kenya, and the overall league average is 1.5 illegitimate kids per player, I can understand that he thought the players were collectively in heat and thus had to be pluralized as a team name as the Miami Heats.

Your Rule 5 Saturday Break

Wowza, that's one amazing world-record holding Pole Vaulter. And the music isn't bad either.