Rec Center Basketball Schedules

Both boys are on the Hoosiers this session. Games started on the 21st. Jackson's team won 22-7 and Jeremy's team won 22-6. The following is the remainder of their schedules.

January 28th
Jackson 9:30 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 3

February 4th (Picture Day)
Jackson 8:45 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 1

February 11
Jackson 9:30 Court 1
Jeremy 11:45 Court 2

February 18
Jackson 10:15 Court 3
Jeremy 12:30 Court 3

February 25
Jackson 8:45 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 1

March 3
Jackson 9:30 Court 3
Jeremy 11:45 Court 3

March 10 (Trophy Day)
Jackson 8:45 Court 3
Jeremy 12:30 Court 3

March Madness in January!

This is a fundraiser for Jackson's travel baseball team. You are assigned 8 teams (2 in each bracket) that are represented by their seed numbers and regions in the tourney. The 45 highest scores win and the 4 lowest scores win. The cost is $10. The $10 comes in the form of downloadable music at charitystudio.com The best news is you do not have to keep track of your scores. There is a website that does this for you. All you have to do is type in the access code of your card and your score will come up. If you have a team that is eliminated the team gets a zero for any future rounds. Jackson (I) have 20 of these things to sell by the end of the month. If you are interested please respond to this post. You can also call, email, text, or reach me on facebook.

R.I.P. MIKE HARRISON 1958-2012

MIKE IN HIS BAR

MIKE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING

VINNY, ME, AND MIKE AT MY 40TH

MIKE AND CHERYL AT MY 40TH

MIKE AND HIS SON MATT AT MATT'S WEDDING

MIKE AND HIS GRANDDAUGHTERS- BAILEY & RILEY

MIKE AND MAUREEN- MARRIED 30 YEARS

Here I am again. Staring at a computer screen trying to figure out what to say after losing another friend unexpectedly. The last unexpected loss, Heather on August 20th, was a little over 4 months ago. Mike always greeted you with a smile and an offering of a beer. I always looked forward to hanging out with Mike because I knew it would lead to good times. Mike was my concert buddy. We attended AC/DC, Van Halen, and saw Sammy Hagar twice. Mike, along with Maureen, threw the best Halloween parties. We, the Cresties, would circle the date on our calendar in anticipation of all the decorations and to see what cool costume Mike would be wearing this year. The stories from those parties have stood the test of time. There were enough stories to last until the next party where we would make some new memories. The best part was getting together after the parties to look at pictures and fill holes in stories we may have missed. Things may never be the same again. Mike fell victim to a Pulmonary Embolism. He had a blood clot travel from his lung to his heart.

I have a deep admiration for Mike. Something I wish I would have expressed to him. Mike enjoyed having a drink, sitting around, and B.S.ing with friends. Mike also liked to play darts and bags. Mike also enjoyed a good cigar every now and then. Mike also liked to rock and roll. Mike also shared his love of Cabo Wabo tequila, which may have not been a good thing, partially owned by Sammy Hagar. Then he also enjoyed a little Jimmy Buffet. I wish I could put a finger on what I liked about the guy. The guy was like an older brother to me. Mike was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. His granddaughters, Riley and Bailey, are sure going to miss their paw-paw. I am grateful for Mike's presence in my life and I am proud to call him my friend. In short, I want to be like Mike when I grow up.

Here is a link to his obit:http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailyherald/obituary.aspx?n=michael-j-harrison&pid=155322336&refsvce=facebook#.TwSisxEHxiw.facebook

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Random Cool Video

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The Packer Stock Fiasco

ANDY AND I COMMISERATING BEFORE THE GIFT OPENING


POPPA AND HIS PACKER STOCK

NANNA AND HER PACKER STOCK

The Green Bay Packers decide to put up for sale some useless stock to sell their fan base. The stocks sold for $250 and proceeds from the sale are going to building more end zone seating. The stocks went on sale December 6th. I received a call from dad the previous weekend to buy a share of stock for my mom from him. He did not trust his computer skills. I told him I would look into it and found out the stock would go on sale around 9 am. The problem being I'm on the road all day and don't have computer access until 5 pm or so. With the rabid fan base of the Packers I wasn't sure I would be able to get one. I called Andy and asked if he could do it. He then told me mom had called him and asked him to get stock for dad. So, each parent called a different kid to get the same gift for each other. A new problem arose when Andy was out of town for work when the stock was going for sale, so the duty fell to Michelle. Michelle was able to get 2 shares of stock. End of story. Happy ending, right? Not so fast.
Apparently, there was a miscommunication between mom and Andy. Mom wanted info on how to purchase the stock which Andy sent her. Andy thought he was to purchase the stock for mom to give to dad. So, you guessed it, they both got a stock for dad. Dad received 2 shares from mom. So instead of thinking they were paying $250 total. They ended up paying $750, maybe closer to $800 with fees included.
Here is where the fiasco really takes off. Mom sends the share she bought to her own house instead of sending it to me or Andy. Of course dad gets the mail and sees his name on a stock. He calls Andy and says there is a problem. Andy calls me and thinks we have to spill the beans on the whole thing. Not so fast I say. We should be able to lie our way to Christmas. I instructed Andy to call Dad and tell him to wrap the gift as is and we will fix it after Christmas. We also told him to go into the email and delete any tracking from UPS so mom doesn't know its coming. Basically he was deleting the tracking from his own gift and wrapping his own gift. Mom already saw the tracking email and started to worry when the stock didn't arrive when the email said it would. Little did she know it did arrive, but dad got it first. Andy got there on Christmas, dad gave him the "misprinted" stock and mom pulled him aside to complain the share never showed. Mom did tell dad not to open anything from the Packers. This was his clue the stock was really for him, but he was not expecting another one. If she didn't tell him not to open the mail we really could have gotten him good. It all ended in a good story as Andy and I made sure the stocks were the last gifts open. We told the story from our perspective, with numerous interruptions from mom trying to defend herself, which resulted in smiles and laughter. Andy and I can sure tell a good story. If this whole thing confused you at all, trying being in the middle of it.

Championship Game

POST GAME HUDDLE. BASICALLY ME TELLING THEM WHAT A GREAT SEASON THEY HAD WHEN ALL THEY WANTED WAS THEIR TROPHIES.

2011 FALL LONGHORNS! 5TH/6TH GRADE CHAMPIONS 7-1 RECORD!

I normally don't write about individual games in rec league play. Mostly what it comes down to is who has the most top tier players. The bottom two-thirds of the 10 man roster is basically the same for all teams. A couple sessions ago I had an undefeated team that was stacked. I had number one pick so I was able to team Jack with the best player in the league. My undefeated team would have beat this team. However, this team was special in a different way. I had the 8th, last, pick in the draft. By the time it got to me the impact 6th graders were gone. Luckily, I had Jack with me at the draft who knew more kids than I did. I decided to go with 5th graders who could play rather than lower talent 6th graders. I also got a boost from the waiting list when I was assigned Edwin and Chris, who both came up big all year long. I did not have a full roster when the draft was completed. In fact my roster was at 9 all year. That was OK with me. That meant I got to play my two best ball handlers, Jack and Joe, 3 quarters of the game. Enough about the makeup of the team. Now onto the game itself.
We were playing the Wildcats. The team we played week one and the only team to beat us. We lost week one 26-24 and had gone on to win 6 in a row. A win week 7 meant two things: A championship and revenge of our only loss. I made sure those points were not lost on my boys. The boys were keyed up and we got off to a quick start. This forced the other coach to use one of his 2 timeouts in the first quarter. Things were going our way! Then potential disaster struck. Our inside scorer and best interior defender, Edwin ( the kid barefoot in the team pic), rolls his ankle. He comes down with a rebound and steps on another kid's foot. He is rolling on the ground in pain and it totally deflates our team. Me and his dad help him to the bleachers. He can't put pressure on his foot. I know immediately he is done for the game. Down to 7 kids. One kid, Ryan (kid sitting next to Jack), is on the court ready to go before I get back to the bench. One guy goes down another ready to take his place. Love it! We had an 8 point lead at half 22-14. The Wildcats put in a 3-2 zone to stifle our guards and begin to battle back. Midway through the 4th the score is tied at 24. Thankfully, 4 of our wins have been under 5 points so a tight game does not faze the kids at this point. We grab a basket and Jackson hits a 3 pointer to put us up 5 at 29-24. But it was not to last. The Wildcats come back and tie the game at 29 by stealing an inbound pass and laying it in. 13 seconds remain and I call our last timeout. I tell the boys our main goal is to get the ball inbounds and past half court. If we don't score it's no big deal because we are tied and we'll just win it in overtime. I told them to abandon the offense and play some street ball. In other words, move around and set some picks. Some meaning more than one.Here is where the Wildcats helped us out. They had 4 defenders in the back court defending the inbound pass and only one defender down by our basket. We run a line play and get the ball into Jack. My last guy, Miles (2nd from left), set a pick so all Jack did was run down the line and he was open. I saw him get open and at the free throw line he heaves the ball down to center court past their defenders. Our center, Chris (3rd from left), provided a big target. Chris caught the ball, dribbled to the 3 point line drawing their one defender to him, and threw a beautiful cross court bounce pass to Joe. Joe is sitting 2 left of Jack and was my other ball handler. Joe was wide open. He kept his composure and laid the ball up and in for a 31-29 lead with 6 seconds to go. The other team was out of timeouts. They got the ball in with 2 seconds left and threw a desperation heave that fell way short. We finish 7-1 tied for first. But since we gave the other 7-1 team it's only loss I consider us the champs. I was proud of these guys and how well they worked together. We were solid, deeper, than other teams. They came a long way in 8 short weeks. This championship was special because it was done with less talent, but the chemistry was outstanding. These kids were hungry to learn and gave me every thing they got every time out. As a coach, you can't ask for more.