The Eagles are Soaring

I am having an absolute blast lately coaching my YMCA basketball team. I've written about them on a couple of occasions before, so I figure it's time to share some photos of the Eagles. Erica took the pictures in the collage above during this weekend's game.

For as much as the kids get riled up (and occasionally out of control) during practices they're genuinely playing like a team during games with great defense and excellent passing. For me, those are the two most important skills they can take away from the season.

I'm so proud to see the kids apply what they've learned and work together to get everyone involved. All but one of the 11 team members have scored this season, which is a significant accomplishment. I get such a kick out of seeing each player's enthusiasm when the ball goes through the hoop, not to mention the genuine excitement of the parents.

In short, the Eagles are soaring. Here's to two more weeks of fun before we call it a season.

Alumni Clubs

We're 0-for-2 when it comes to recent basketball outcomes for our undergraduate alma maters. Nevertheless, we enjoyed Vanderbilt's down-to-the-wire loss to Kentucky on Saturday and Rutgers' failed comeback attempt against Seton Hall on Tuesday thanks to the good company provided by the members of our local alumni clubs.

The Kentucky game watch party was our first local Vanderbilt alumni event. We met some friendly people including one of Erica's former classmates and her husband, who played college basketball with a guy I know from Catonsville.

The Rutgers crowd was filled largely with familiar faces since we've been involved with that club from the start. I attended the group's formation meeting a week after moving to Durham and have served ever since as vice president and webmaster. (Check out our website: http://rutgersclubnc.com/. ) 

It turns out that one of our neighbors is a fellow Rutgers graduate. He beat me home last night by nearly two minutes according to his own - surely biased - estimate.

Fear the Turtle

After a busy midweek evening that included a Durham Literacy Center meeting, church activities, and YMCA basketball practice, Erica and I rushed down to the RBC Center in Raleigh on Wednesday to catch the Maryland - N.C. State basketball game. After a very sluggish first half the Terps found their rhythm in the second half and won 67-58. Fear the Turtle!

We attended the UConn - Kentucky game at Madison Square Garden earlier this season; however, this was our first local game of the season as well as our first visit to the RBC Center for a hoops game (we'd been there previously for, believe it or not, wrestling matches). Given that you can purchase two N.C. State basketball tickets for the price of one UNC ticket, it was too good of an opportunity to miss.

We had some Maryland fans in our section, which made us stand out less among the locals. It's such a mixed bag when it comes to college sports fans in the area, but most folks cheer for one of the many North Carolina-based teams, ACC and otherwise. Believe it or not, there is basketball played outside of the Tar Heel state.

Having missed the chance to see Rutgers play at Carolina earlier this season I was glad to catch Maryland in action as they passed through town. All the better that they earned the win.

Now if we could just get Vandy to play locally for Erica. The Dores scrimmaged UNC in the pre-season, but the game was closed to the public and NCAA rules prohibited any specific details about the game from being shared.

"All My Sons"

Erica and I visisted Playmakers Repertory in Chapel Hill on Friday to see "All My Sons," the third of the four productions included in the ticket package I received as a birthday gift from my father last April.

As has consistently been the case during each of our visits to Playmakers, the actors were fantastic. Many of them have appeared in all of the shows we've attended yet they manage to retain the authenticity of their respective roles each time. These are clearly very talented people.

During our previous show - two separate installments of Charles Dickens' (very long) "Nicholas Nickelby" - we marveled at one actress who, when she wasn't shuffling between multiple demanding roles on stage, also provided musical accompaniment on various instruments.

Whereas "Nicholas Nickelby" took a rather circuitous route to its alternately grisly and uplifting conclusion, "All My Sons" charged more directly to the point, reaching its forceful resolution in a relatively tidy two hours time.

Clearly Miller, who also penned "Death of a Salesman," wasn't one for subtlety as the the story illustrated the perils of greed and the related consequences that result when one measures his value in profits rather than integrity. Miller shows that though ideals may sometimes perish in relative isolation the effects of their loss extend well beyond the man himself.

My favorite line from "All My Sons" also served as something of a theme for the production: "Every man does have a star. The star of one's honesty. And you spend your life groping for it, but once it's out, it never lights again."

House Calls for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day came early for me this year. I was close to wrapping up my work day on Friday when I heard our doorbell ring. When I opened it, I was greeted by none other than Wool E. Bull, the Durham Bulls' mascot. He had a host of goodies for me, including a dozen roses, a pink Durham Bulls hat, and two tickets to Opening Day.


Wool E.'s visit to our house was short-lived but extremely memorable. I gave him a hug, talked to his handler, and snapped a couple of photos with him. As he was heading out the door, it hit me that a cartoonish, locally famous bull had just been in our house. The realization made me overjoyed, so I quickly grabbed my camera to get video proof of the events. As you can tell from the footage, the Valentine's Day surprise that Matt planned for me completely made my day.




I tried to return the favor yesterday by giving Matt a "Kissing Bandit" Snoopy, a gift card for a 60-minute massage at Massage Envy, and a mix CD of love songs. Our Valentine's Day celebration continued last night with a wonderful dinner at Pulcinella's (and some great conversation over cannoli and coffee) and a night at home watching the premiere of The Amazing Race and the Winter Olympics.

All in all, we had a great Valentine's Day weekend. We hope all of our family and friends did as well.

High Winds and Valentines

As others in our family deal with snow and rain, we're getting high winds here in the Triangle today. In fact, they're estimating gusts of up to 50 mph. The sights and sounds from our backyard tell me that those estimates are right. Our trees have quite a bend in them; I'm just praying they don't break. And when the wind rushes in, it sounds like I'm at a NASCAR race. It's crazy.

In other news, Valentine's Day is approaching this weekend. Matt and I plan to celebrate with dinner on Sunday night at Pulcinella's, a quaint little Italian restaurant near our house. Valentine's Day will cap off a fairly busy weekend for the Taylors; we'll be attending a Playmakers production on Friday night and Matt's YMCA basketball game and a friend's birthday party on Saturday.

We hope everyone is well. For those of you braving your second round of heavy snow, stay warm and be safe!

46-2

As we talked over breakfast late Saturday morning I shared with Erica my concern about the possibility that my YMCA basketball team might not win many games this season. I missed our first contest, a 16-8 loss that took place while we were in Colorado, so all I had to go on was the scrimmaging I saw in practice, which wasn't very promising. Would a .500 record be too much to ask?

My two primary objectives for the team are to have fun and to learn some basketball fundamentals. However, I feared the kids would become discouraged by losing and that somehow I might not be teaching them what they need to know. I suppose these are the anxieties of a rookie coach. (I don't count my 14-and-under coaching experience as part of this equation. Second- and third-graders are a completely different ballgame).

As it turns out, my concerns were very much unfounded. My kids suddenly morphed into the 1990 UNLV Running Rebels on Saturday, winning by a score of 46-2. One boy alone scored 24 points, i.e. 12 times as many points as the other team.

Suddenly I had a fresh set of concerns: What's the proper etiquette in a YMCA League blowout? Should I stop pumping my fists, giving the other team the choke sign, and yelling "Get 'em a body bag" a la Karate Kid? (All kidding, of course.)

We tried unsuccessfully to get the scoreboard operator to clear it to zeros once we went up by 20 points. (League rules for this age group dictate as much, not that anyone's actually following the league rules.)

I talked in team huddles about good sportsmanship and being nice when you're winning, which one of my players translated into non-coach speak: "We should take it easy on them because they're not as good."

Finally, at the wise suggestion of the parent who coaches with me, we instituted a "three passes" rule whereby the kids couldn't shoot on offense until they had made at least three passes. It sorta worked.

For all my concern about the other team, I will admit to being thrilled that my kids had such a good time. Also, the mismatched competition allowed some players to score who typically wouldn't have the opportunity to do so. Watching them raise their arms triumphantly and glance to the sidelines to make sure their parents were watching was great fun.

So we're 1-1 on the season, and I'll admit that I have no idea what to expect next.

A Taste of Home, and Away

An Old Bay bagel with egg and a Greek coffee. Every day should start so well.