Catching Up

In case you're wondering if we're still serious sports fans... the answer is decidedly YES! In fact, over the last couple of weeks we've had the chance to attend a couple of college basketball games featuring the University of California - Irvine (UCI for short). That's were Brandon is playing on scholarship this year. Yes, we are EATER fans! (the UCI mascot is the anteater)

Now, as a freshman you can imagine the amount of hard work and skill it takes to break into the playing lineup. Knowing that, we've been impressed that Brandon has played in both the games we have attended. Way to go - B!

Here's some pictures from UCI vs. San Jose State - which is just down the street from us. Here's Brandon in pre-game warmups.











And here he is waiting for a break in the play - to go in.











Along with being one of the best natural passers I have ever had the enjoyment of watching - B is a very active defensive player.





























We are excited to spend time with our friends (B's parents) and to get the chance to watch his development and growth as a basketball player at this new level. Go EATERS!

Are You Ready for Some Basketball?

Making it into the final four was bittersweet for Julie. On the one hand - MSU defeated the defending national champions - Kansas! On the other hand - we watched the game at the Scott's house. Remember - the Scotts went to Kansas! So - we kept the celebration to a minimum.












Next, they went on to defeat #1 nationally rated Louisville.. so now it's time for the Final Four! And it's time for MSU to keep upsetting folks! Next victim #1 seeded Conneticut!


















She wishes that this was her at the stadium - getting drinks and heading to her seat. However, since we can't be there.. we'll just cheer from here!



















So - here's to the Spartans! Go MSU!

Senior Night

Julie and I love sports. And we love spectating at sporting events; especially when our children or kids we are close to participate. When Hannah graduated from high school our 'last hope' was Brandon who plays for Archbishop Mitty. I think it would be fair to say that Julie and I adopted Mitty and have been faithful supporters (at least cheer-ers) for the last couple years. It's been exciting - because Mitty has had some great players and teams.. but the truth be known.. I'm pretty sure we would have cheered just as loudly and faithfully no matter the result. The great thing about supporting Mitty has been the opportunity it has given us to hang out with our friends whom we love.

You can imagine, the emotions surrounding Senior Night at Mitty. Soon, Brandon's high school basketball days will be over and he will be moving on to college. So, it will be a bit of a transition for Julie and I as we try to figure out what to do with ourselves during Winter! Not to mention for his parents!

Speaking of his parents.. here's some pictures from the big night. I definitely had my money on Eileen tearing up a bit during the parent introductions before the game. I think she held it together pretty well.. or did a good job hiding it.. but I know Randy and Eileen are very proud of the job that Brandon has done and were excited to join him at center court!



















The parents received flowers and a couple gifts including a special t-shirt the team made up! Here's Eileen showing off hers.



















The game itself - against Valley Christian (don't get me started!) was hard fought - as evidenced by the huge scratch Brandon experienced towards the end of the game.



















Here's a picture that tells you a lot about Brandon. I have been impressed throughout his high school playing days with his ability to lead and encourage on the court. But in this picture you see just how encouraging he is even when he isn't on the court.



















However, as with all perfect Senior Nights.. Mitty dominated at the end and went on to an easy 52-41 win. Near the end of the game the big moment came - when the coach pulls the seniors - allowing the fans one more chance to shout their praise! And then it was over. Here's the student section celebrating and singing the Mitty fight song with the players.















As it turns out - this won't be the last home game for Mitty.. so we're not quite done saying goodbye. So, this hug from Julie isn't the last. Mitty will play in the West Catholic league tournament at home this Tuesday. But, sadly, the end is ever too close.

At Long Last!

Sunday afternoon I had the opportunity to go to the Stanford vs. Washington men's basketball game at Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus. Tim received the tickets from Julie L.'s boyfriend, Evan (a Stanford student), for Christmas and has been anticipating this game for weeks. For some reason.. he decided to take me along which was awesome.

Washington's been doing amazingly well in the Pac-10 this year and is looking at a definite NCAA tournament invitation. However, they've lost for 15 consecutive years at Maples despite some incredible efforts. In fact, last year Tim and I went and witnessed a heartbreaking last minute defeat at the hands of Stanford.

However, we were hopeful as we returned this year.. with Auntie joining us. And it was a great afternoon to witness Washington finally defeat the curse and crush Stanford in Palo Alto!

One of the heros leading the Washington victory was guard Isaiah Thomas (yes, named the same as the NBA hall of famer and former Indiana star and Detroit Piston). Here he is going inside. He made the basket.. but somehow the refs didn't see enough contact to call a foul!















And here's Jon Brockman - Washington's star senior forward scoring two of his 13 points (with his 12 rebounds!). Brockman is only 6'-7" but plays much taller. He is a tremendous inspiration to watch because he is a guy who never stops. He never slows down. And he never gives up. I have seen him play tons of games against bigger, taller, better basketball players. But, I've never seen him outplayed. Not once. He is, in every sense of the words, a basketball player.















The Stanford band and mascot are always a lot of fun and high energy. Stanford has a very unusual mascot; The Tree. The Tree has quite a history - having previously been banned at least twice by the NCAA. But it hasn't diminished The Tree's enjoyment. It loves to dance during timeouts! Also note the student section. If you look close you'll see some 'Beat Cal' t-shirts. They wish ;)
































Ahhhhh... 15 years of frustration come to an end!





























And finally, here's Tim and Auntie sucking in the joy outside the stadium!

19-Mitty!!!!

You know how when a team has won, say, 3 games and has lost 2 they say the team's record is '3-2' or '3 and 2'?

Well... St. Francis' record this year in basketball is now 19-Mitty! We just came from the most amazing high school basketball game we've seen in a very long time! Mitty, featuring our favorite high school basketball player.. Brandon (pictured playing this Summer on his AAU team).. just laid down the first blemish on the St. Francis schedule (until tonight they were 19-0). Final score 68-66.

Mitty played an intense game. Their defense was stellar. And then there was Brandon's offensive display! Yeah, he totally PWNED SF. He had two amazing dunks and 30 points in leading Mitty to victory.

I just hope the headline writers at the SJ Mercury News splash it in bold letters across the Sports Page:

St. Francis: 19-Mitty!

Monta's Back!!

That's right.. Monta (mon-tay) Ellis of the Golden State Warriors is back and he can still fly! He's been out nursing an injury he got while riding on a scooter. He's $3 Million lighter in the wallet.. as the Warriors were a bit bothered that he was ON the scooter. But that's all behind us.

Julie is very excited to see him back! That's her sitting on the edge of her seat enjoying the action.















We also picked up Hannah, Mike and Maggie from school and brought them to the game. And they were good luck because the Warrior's killed the L.A. Clippers! Mike's actually wearing an LA baseball cap.. but we're letting that go!














Thanks to our friend Randy for inviting us and making it an awesome night out.

P.S. Eileen.. your husband really misses you!

TKA Alumni Game

Wednesday afternoon the TKA Knights alumni took to the basketball court to play against the current varsity basketball team in this annual pre-Thanksgiving day event.

Hannah was among the returning alumni that played!

The alumni teased the varsity - even letting them get ahead early in the 4th quarter - before yanking the meat from their forks and nailing down a solid victory.


Just to tell you how seriously the girls take it... at one point the referee had to warn the alumni team to 'stop playing so aggressively' - or he was going to start calling technical fouls and throwing girls out of the game ;) I think he was scared for the varsity!

















































Here's one of my favorites! Hannah and Blair chest bumping after the victory. Ahhh.. how sweet it is to remember the old days!

In any event.. Hannah the rest of her friends were walking gingerly on Thanksgiving - nursing their wounds - but basking in the glory of their victory.

High Intensity

Julie and I were excited to be in Las Vegas last week to watch some basketball and see some of the sights. The basketball was focused on a huge national AAU basketball tournament featuring both men’s and women’s teams. We rooted for High Intensity – a team from the Oakland/Bay Area on which our good friend’s son, Brandon, plays.

This is basketball at a very high level! Let’s just say that many of the teams stayed at our hotel, the Orleans, and by the time the week was over I was feeling very small. You see, every time I would get on an elevator to go to our room I, at 5’11”, would pretty much be the shortest guy in the elevator. These boys are TALL.. and BIG.. and STRONG.

The games were played at a variety of area high schools. The high schools we were at usually had an A gym and a B gym. During our visit we got the feeling that A stood for air-conditioned.. and B stood for Blast Furnace. (Note: it was about 110-115 degrees every day.. with lows in the mid to high 80's at night!)

It seemed like most of the time we were relegated to the B gyms for some reason! High Intensity played great and made it all the way to the finals of the Gold bracket. In my mind, that was quite an achievement when considering the Blast Furnace gyms were easily over 100 degrees! I think I might have simply said.. ‘why don’t we lose so we can go lay around the pool’!

High Intensity is a very athletic team with a bunch of guys that can just get up and run the court! One of my favorite plays the entire tournament was when Damon (#32) took a made basket out of bounds and threw it in halfway up the court to a guard breaking towards the other end. A couple of passes later.. a shot was made. It bounced off the rim.. and who caught the rebound and STUFFED it back in? Yes, Damon! He had made the inbounds pass and ran the entire length of the court before the shot was off.

The final game was close fought.. but by two teams that were playing their third game of the day (3 games within 5-6 hours).. and they were TIRED. High Intensity just missed winning and settled for the runner-up trophies!

Griffioens - you will be pleased to hear that the winning team was from Terre Haute Indiana! They were just what you would expect from a midwest farm team. All midsized, fit, and great shooters!

Hannah also made the trek to LV with our friends and a number of her girlfriends. This is the social highlight of their summer as they all go – do tons of shopping, see shows and just have a great time hanging out. It’s a pretty busy and amazing schedule.

One night we had a special dinner at NOBU, Las Vegas. This is a premier restaurant made famous by many celebrities. The flavors are amazing as this is a traditional Japanese cuisine mixed with bold South American and Western flavors which create a whole new style. It is great to see the girls mature and enjoy a place like this. This is definitely NOT a place they would have enjoyed 5 years ago. However, they all had an amazing time trying the many sashimi, sushi, and tempora dishes we dined on that night. I think the consensus favorite were the lobster tacos! They were memorable.

Another night we enjoyed Le Reve at the Wynn Hotel. Le Reve is a spectacular performance by a cast of 85 performers in a circular ‘aqua theater’. This is a 360 degree, circular theater that, in the middle, features, essentially, a pool with a bunch of stages that come and go as the elaborate choreography is executed. It is more or less Cirque De Soleil meets marine world. There we so many spectacular moments. One such moment is when some of the cast members are suspended 50-100 feet in the air and then are literally dropped into the center of the pool. Your heart seems to stop for a second and you wonder if they are all right as the spotlight loiters over their point of entry – awaiting their return to the surface. It was very amazing.

The last night of our trip we went to see Jay Leno perform. He was pretty funny.. but with all the basketball, 115 degree weather all week.. and just running ragged having so much fun… I think it might also have been fun to be laying in bed and just fall asleep to his monologue!

We had a great time and appreciate the generosity and friendships that made it all possible. It definitely was a High Intensity week!

Go Warriors!!

Tod and I have GREAT friends. This month we got to go to two Golden State Warriors game and both times had box seats. In each suite they have food and your own bathroom!! To make it even better the Warriors won both games. I want to claim some of the glory because I wore my lucky sweatshirt both times.

I love Baron Davis and Monta Ellis. I'm thinking of changing Summer's name to Monta because they both can fly!!

Bizarre Saturday Night

One of our best friend's sons plays on Archibishop Mitty's basketball team (rated #5 in the nation in HS boys varsity). He's awesome and the team is awesome and we've enjoyed being spectators at many of his games. On Saturday, the Mitty boy's team was playing Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep (SHCP) which is in San Francisco. The girls varsity also played (right after the boys) and so we decided to stay for that game, as well, because the SHCP girls are the #1 rated womens varsity HS team in the nation.

So, Jules and I went to San Francisco, did some sightseeing, ate in Chinatown and headed for the basketball games. That was the normal part of Saturday.

The bizarre part came as we were in the stands of the girls game just after halftime. One of the Mitty parents came back to her seat just behind us - saying that one of the mom's from SCHP was all upset out in the lobby because she had just witnessed a shooting outside the gym. At first, our thoughts were that she must have been being dramatic. We were far from correct.

In fact, the father of one of the SCHP girls basketball players was killed right outside the gym. Unbelievable! The game continued as information was starting to trickle through the stands. The players remained uninformed, playing their hearts out until with 17 seconds remaining in the game a public announcement was made that 'an incident' had occurred outside the gym and when the game was over we needed to exit via alternate doors and not through the lobby.

It was a bizarre sight to exit and watch as the medical examiner's wagon was pulling up to the front of the gym. A truely sad, sad evening.

Please pray for the family of Tierra Rogers - as they lost a father and husband Saturday. While we watched an innocent high school basketball game - her father walked across the street outside the gym at half time while talking with a friend. Two men approached him - shot him 5 times - and ran off; forever changing Tierra's life.

At times like this I am grateful that we have a Heavenly Father who understands our world, is capable of comforting the needy, and is able to provide justice for the acts of evil men.

It's Raining Js!

The day before Thanksgiving is the traditional King's Academy (TKA) Alumni basketball game. On that evening alumni from all around the country return to take on the varsity womens and mens teams.

This year the Alumni women's team featured some of last year's varsity stars including our own #12 - Hannah '5 ft of fury' Henderson. Did the varsity stand a chance? I don't THINK SO!

The alumni OWNED the varsity women's team. And who led the ownage? Let's just say Hannah was UNCONSCIOUS. She was raining Js (that's making jumpshots for those of you in Michigan!) from all over the court. Official statistics were not available.. but Hannah was dropping 3-pointers like crazy. She had 6 for the night - and a couple other baskets and free throws.

The next morning she came out of her bedroom hunched over, limping and moaning. Being a superstar definitely hurts the next morning - especially when you've been off to college and studying instead of playing ball!

It was so fun to watch the games.. (the alumni boys won as well!). And it was fun to see Hannah dominate! She's still got it!

Can't wait for next year!