Catholic Soccer 1-0 win over Bearden

Just home from a great soccer game. Crisp spring evening. Knoxville Catholic v. Bearden. Both regional and state power teams. Well played by both teams, and physical. The field was miserable, though, after a long tough weekend of soccer in the Bearden Invitational.

Catholic scored in the 57th minute. Kosta Nassios passed ahead to Tyler Gibson. Gibson laid a perfect inside pass to Ricardo Martinez, who finished very strong in the back net. Both teams had opportunities to score. Catholic built more plays forward, but Bearden's strong and accurate North-South passing worked well to give them opportunities. A very close match and well played and well refereed.

The game was marked by the return of Joey Delarosa, goalkeeper for Catholic, who played very well, though not 100% back.

Life of a goal-keeper parent

The life of a parent of a goal-keeper is too stressful for me to keep up with. My son, Marty, got the nod for starting keeper for our team (Knoxville Catholic) in the local Bearden tournament this weekend, when our starting keeper was sidelined with a foot injury. While I am proud of my son's ability, but would like to have warning next time.

My wife texted me during the first game of the tournament and indicated that our son had started. I immediately blew out of work with a short word with my boss. After three games this weekend, I now have no fingernails left.

One of the other parents summed it up best with "Marty played well. No mistakes." The goal-keeper position is one of the positions where every mistake is clearly visible and usually results in very bad for the team. I need to check into fingernail implants, I guess....... Prayers to our starting keeper for a swift recovery.

Dallas Cup 2008 - Wrapup

Day four and five finally led to the recover of soccer. Novo Brazil lost to Guadalajara 0-3 in a good game, but the fast and slicing Mexican team had a good crossing game. On Day five, Novo Brazil won against FC Milwaukee 1-0, as the Texas wind returned to influence the game. Time to return to Memphis for Easter. A good week in Dallas for Novo Brazil. Two good games played and improved overall.

Dallas Cup 2008 - Day Three Update

The rain is coming down in buckets, as they say in Texas. Games and activities for today are canceled. More details to follow. Practice and the Mavericks game tonight.

Dallas Cup 2008 - Day Two Update

Day two of Dallas Cup 2008 is ending with one of the best soccer games we have witnessed. Today's game pitted Novo Brazil against the Texas Longhorns, in the U14 bracket. The game began horribly for Novo Brazil, with a goal scored by the Texans in the first minute. Novo Brazil rallied and played extremely well the remainder of the game, with the game equalizer early in the second half. There were opportunities for the win by both clubs, but neither team could gather enough to score a second goal. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Kudos to the referees and to the parents of the Texas Longhorn team. Both were excellent.

Tomorrow's game at noon CST will have Novo Brazil playing the FC Milwaukee team. Will be an exciting game, with the level of competition great!

More pictures at flickr. Further updates tomorrow.

A quick video survey of Tornado Damage in Jackson

On our way to Dallas Cup, we stopped at my parents home in Jackson, TN. Their property was subject to tornado damage, during the tornado on February 5, 2008. My brother had indicated the extent of the damage, but until I had a chance to see the damage, it was difficult to understand the scope. I took still pictures and some video of the area, to give some level of the damage. The pictures are after logging activity has started, so it is not of the original damage. Nevertheless, the scope of the damage is clear.

Southern Cooking

On our way to Dallas Cup (see blog entries), I got a chance to stop and see my parents for a few minutes. We had an early southern dinner of pinto beans, collared greens, pork tenderloin, rolls and milk. I am partial to good southern cooking (as evidenced by my girth). Enjoy.

March Madness - Again

It is that time of year, March Madness. That time of year which is combination of fan feeding frenzy on basketball, combined with what has to be one of the best long term marketing strategies of all time. Let's address the last point first. The NCAA Basketball Program has done a great job of combining a great game, emotionally connected fans (in the extreme), television, intensity and that most American of things, a single Champion Team! I admit my addiction and revel in it.

Now on to the details re: this family blog. My older sons have whooped me, no doubt about it, for the last "few" years (I have lost count). Each year we fill the brackets and debate. The job gets easier and easier with the availability of electronic brackets available from ESPN, Yahoo, CBS Sports, etc. We use Yahoo!, as I have been a Yahoo! user since the beginning of Yahoo!. See our group at this link (may not be visible until Thursday). This year, I am true to my team and have Tennessee going all the way. They had better amp-up the defense, but I have faith and hope that they can do it!

The trick, as most bracketologists know, is to pick the early upsets and the length of the upset runs. We shall see how far we go!

Dallas Cup 2008 - Day One Update

Novo Brazil is in the Dallas Cup 2008 in the U14 bracket. We arrived in Dallas, TX today, after a two day transit via Jackson and Memphis with family visits. The drive from Knoxville to Jackson, then Memphis was full of rain. The drive from Memphis to Dallas was flat. Dallas Cup is one of the premier tournaments in the country and the team is happy to be here twice in the last three years. We have a tough pool play, with games against Texas Longhorns, FC Milwaukee, and CD Guadalajara. Early evaluation of the Longhorns team are that we can be competitive, but will have to play very well to win.

Day One was interesting. There were two supergroup games and the Opening Ceremonies for the teams playing in the tournament. Supergroup game 1 had San Paulo v Andromeda, TX, with Andromeda winning handily 5-2. Supergroup game 2 pitted Liverpool v Bosnia. Liverpool dominated with a 6-1 win. The opening ceremonies were also very interesting, with all the teams congregating on the Main Pizza Hut Stadium field, for a meet and greet.

More photos at flickr.

Volunteerism - A Call to Leadership

Volunteers are the lifeblood of scouting. First and foremost, the efforts that the parents make to bring their scouts to the meetings and help with advancement through the ranks is awesome. The Den and Pack leaders organize the activities and bring together everyone to achieve the learning and leadership development which is the heart of scouting. The scouts themselves make the efforts to ensure the learning is not in vain (though it may not seem this way, at times). The energy and drive from all is what makes scouting possible. It is very fulfilling to be a part of this in a leadership role.

Cub scouts is truly blessedwith a great group of parents, leaders and, most importantly scouts. Leadership in scouts is fulfilling as an exercise in leadership and as an exercise in teaching our young men. I ask all to truly consider leadership in scouting and in all activities where this dual opportunity exists.

Charlie wins the Pinewood Derby

Today we held the annual Pinewood Derby for Pack 22. After an exciting race, Charlie won for the entire Den and Pack. The Pinewood derby is a delicate balance between the scout and the father (generally). The balance between the child learning and what they are capable of accomplishing needs to be honored. The competitive nature of the event can also bring out a lot of Dad interference (no news here....).

Anyway, we have a great organizer for our Pinewood Derby, in Dr. Sam Maynard, who helps with test track setup, great advice for all participants (and dads). We work hard to keep the competitive element to a minimum.

Since he is in 2nd grade, I had him design the car layout. I cut the wood with the bandsaw. He painted and we put the wheels on together. I will leave it to you to judge whether we had a good balance or not.

With that said, though, I am happy with Charlie's win.

Water Rights Dispute - More Reporting

There has already been a lot reported on the Great Georgia Water Grab (see knoxnews.com and other sites for information). The attempt by Georgia to move the Tennessee border also made more national news as an also ran by Georgia in its fight with Alabama and Florida. The story was on NPR this morning at the following link.

The radio story related to Georgia's continued 20 year fight for water with Alabama and Florida. Its nice to see that they are fighting with others, as well as Tennessee. Conservation is the first key.


knoxnews stories:
Water War story
TN Lawmaker response
Sam Venerable commentary
"They're Idiots" Story
Venerable "Too Late"
Bredesen response to Georgia
Chattanooga Response

there are other stories on knoxnews.com, but thought this was enough to get started.