I love rain in the spring

I love the rain in the spring; it means that soccer and baseball are canceled for tomorrow. Sorry to be so happy when sports are canceled, but this will make two saturdays, back to back. It has been months since both my wife and I and all the kids are in town. Last weekend, we built one full rock wall for our landscaping and improved a second one. (pictures hopefully coming tomorrow). Same for this weekend. Only one activity, the district pinewood derby for Charlie!

The wall built (part of 3 tons of stone). The wall improved.

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.

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.

Tim on All-KISL Team

Congratulations to Tim, our second son, for a starting spot on the All-KISL team for basketball. Tim plays point guard for the Sacred Heart Eagles and had a great season, along with the whole team! Great job, Tim.

Soccer at Disney

Help!

We are stuck at Disney, with five children, for Thanksgiving. Thanks for Nickelodeon and ESPN.

At least the Thanksgiving Dinner was better then last year. Last year, at Disney, we had TGI Friday's for Dinner. No offense to the chain, but it sucked to have Thanksgiving there. This year, we at least had dinner with my parents, at a nice seafood place.

I at least understand the attractiveness of Florida. Most of our past visits were made in the Summer. Fun at the beach but very hot (July). Our trip was heaven. 65 degrees, ocean breeze, good books, sunny, Grandma with the kids.