Civil War 2008 - DUCKS WIN 65-38

I really started following the Ducks closely after I got my masters degree from there in 2005... so this is really my fourth season as a Duck. Each year since then has felt so similar: start with great promise, then fizzle in the second half of the year...culminating in a Civil war loss (two of them have been at Autzen). This year was different. The Beavers were playing for the Pac-10 title and for a Rose Bowl berth. The Ducks, all things considered, have had a good season in their own right. Both teams were nationally ranked (rare) going into the game, making this a very meaningful game for both teams. Considering the Beavs lost their #1 offensive threat (Quizz Rodgers), this had the makings of a great game. The Beavers had a great defensive presence and Oregon had a high-powered offense. The Beavers were projected as 3-point favorites in the game and many thoughtful opinions put the game in the mid-twenties and would be decided by a few points. I predicted a ducks win at 31-24. Little did I (or anyone) expect such a Beaver-pounding in Corvallis, with a final score of 65-38. It was score after score after score. And JJ (Jeremiah Johnson) had his fingerprints all over this one. Now, it would appear that the Ducks will be headed to the Holiday Bowl again this year. That's good, all things considered. Overall, I think I am so happy about the win for various reasons:
1) RIVALRY: Beaver fans are upset about being so close to the Rose Bowl, but this kept them out. I am not happy about this in itself, but this game definitely serves to fuel the health of the rivalry in the future. The civil war just got a little more interesting.
2) FINISHERS: It was great to see that UO could finish a season strong. For the last few years, they seemed to peter out. It's been a frustrating cycle as a fan.
3) WINNER: Coach Bellotti wins a big game. Say what you will about him (he's not my favorite personality, that's for sure), but he's a good coach and I'm glad to see he can shed more of the stigma that big games are not his strong suit.

Go Ducks.

November 29, 2008 - Blazers vs. Hornets

Emery and I went to the Blazers/Hornets game Friday night. The night before, New Orleans had played the Jazz in SLC and won the game with a James Posey (in this pic in the yellow headband) buzzer-beater trey. Portland played a descent game, and it was great to see Brandon Roy so dominant. He had 25-ish points and 10 assists. On a night-by-night basis, he is simply doing what he needs to do in orderto contribute to the win. The dude is effective. Byron Scott was quoted that opposing coaches now look at Roy as an elite player, preparing for him similarly as they do for LeBron, Kobe and D-Wade. Those are the names Scott used. Wow. The team is 7-0 at the Rose Garden so far this year. It's a great game venue. The city has embraced the team and it is a blast just to watch them operate while feeding on the energy of the home crowd. Emery was in to it as well. It's fun to see them growing up and starting to "get it" during sporting events.

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a great thanksgiving. Mel's parents and sister came to our place, so it was a pretty small group, but the kids sure keep it lively. I did the traditional turkey-hoops in the morning and enjoyed a great meal in the afternoon. Thank you all for cooking such a great feast!

November 19, 2008 - CLARA TURNS 1!

It's hard to believe Clara is one year old. Time is flying. We had a simple family party and Clara went at that cake, man. She was diggin' the first tasts of having her cake and eating it, too. She is also starting to walk now. It is hilarious. I forgot how much fun this stage is...watching her wobble on unsure legs. It's a complicated thing to learn, man. Bones, muscles, ligaments, joints...all being directed by the brain to keep your balance and move forward at the same time. I call her "Franken-Clara" when she walks...those arms out like a mummy and all. She is such a sweet little thing. Happy birthday, sweetheart.

November 6, 2008 - Lock down defense on Oden

At the Blazers/Rockets game, Brooke and I took advantage of the Oden photo promotion. Check out the lock-down D. And Brooke? ...shoot, she's D-in' him up nice. And check out the Jordan concentration tongue to go with it. Good stuff.

November 6, 2008: Blazers vs. Rockets

Brooke and I went to the Blazers/Rockets game Thursday night. Wow. We just happened to be there for the thrilling overtime game. The final 2 seconds of overtime were the talk of the game. Brandon Roy hit what we thought was the game winning shot with 1.9 seconds left, then the Rockets ran an in-bound play to Yao, who hit the jumper and Roy fouled him, with the single free-throw to win the game. With 0.8 seconds left, Blake inbounds to Roy 6 feet behind the 3-point line and he drains the prayer. After that: insanity at the Garden. "For as long as the NBA has been including play-by-play information…neither of these things had happened before: eight points in the final 1.9 seconds (both teams combined) or five points in the final 1.9 seconds by a blazers player."
It was a roller-coaster of emotions with each final play. Then the 30-foot prayer going in…that was amazing. From high up in my nose-bleed seats, I could see the ball rip through the net while the horn blasted and the red backboard lights ablaze. Truly beautiful. That's one Blazer moment I'll never forget. And I was there to see it in person...with my daughter. 4-year old Brooke had long-since fallen asleep (just after the halftime ice cream treat, of course), so I was jumping up and down - screaming - with this sleeping child in my arms. Didn’t matter. She slept through the deafening noise, and daddy was more than happy to carry her all around the building and the half-mile back to our car. After a win like that, she felt just a little lighter, somehow.

Note: A couple of things lost in the craziness of the final moments: Joel Przybilla, somehow, shut down Yao Ming. That was my key match-up going into the game to give the Blazers a chance. It happened, and it happened. Also, it was a defensive battle between Artest and Roy. But even more impressive - and overlooked - was Aldridge's 27-point, 9 rebound night (followed by a 24-pt, 14 rebound effort in the next game). Solid effort, LaMarcus. Even as a minimal back-to-the-basket threat right now, the kid can straight ball. And he's working on the deficiencies of his game. The guy is going to be phenomenal.

(Photo caption: Roy's x-ray vision was in full effect during clutch-time).

October 31, 2008: Happy Halloween!

Halloween costumes this year:
Emery: "Hannah Montana"
Moriah: "Fifties girl" - poodle skirt and all
Brooke: "Snow princess"
Clara: "Butterfly"
http://melissaelton.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-halloween-here-is-picture-of-kids.html

October 29, 2008 - Bandon Dunes

I went on a business trip to southern Oregon and had the opportunity to play Bandon Dunes golf course, one of the world’s top rated golf courses. I finally got to experience it! It’s a beach course truly for fighting the elements. It is usually extremely beautiful and known for its windy conditions, but this was not my experience. The problem we had was F-O-G. The fog was so thick, we couldn’t see much of the beauty around us, and while we stood at most tee boxes, all I could see was a thick gray blanket just in front of us, no fairway, no pin, etc. So we had to trust the caddies, telling us which way the fairway/pin was. Then in an act of pure faith, I would proceed to pound my drive into the thick gray fog…hoping we could find it. Bummer that we missed out on much of the natural beauty of the course (massive oceanfront views, etc). On the bright side, I was glad the wind wasn’t much of a factor. All-in-all, it was a great experience and I hope to return again someday.

October 22-27 2008: Rollin' Solo

Melissa went to Boston for a week (http://melissaelton.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-trip-to-boston.html) to visit her sister and newborn nephew Matthew. All went well there - sister time and all. Meanwhile, I stayed home with all 4 daughters. It was interesting to say the least. I also worked from home while taking care of the kids. Man, I gained a better appreciation for what she goes through every day. The kids, the schedule, everything. It’s tough work. It takes effort to raise a family, man! And Melissa is great at it. I was amateur night, man. So happy to have "the real thing" back. And the kids are not shy to admit it. They missed mommy so bad!

October 20, 2008: Melissa is 30!

I had some relatively big plans for Mel's 30th party, but she quashed those and we ended up settling on a nice evening with a few friends (and their kids) at our house. Final tally: 18 kids between the 5 couples. That was full house. But it was great because the kids hung out watching a movie in the play room (mysteriously silent) while the adults chilled downstairs. It worked out great. That's what Melissa wanted: a simple evening with good company. We love you, Melissa. Happy middle-age!!

Mel's thoughts on the ordeal:

http://melissaelton.blogspot.com/2008/11/big-30.html

October 13th, 2008: Lakeridge memory lane

My sister Iris and my brother Barlow came to visit Monday, October 13th. We hung out at the house in the morning, and then decided to stroll down memory lane and visit the high school we all attended: Lakeridge. The school's had some significant remodeling and upgrades, so we wanted to check it out. We walked the new campus, then passed through the halls as well. We also went to the sports "hall of fame" wanting to find our brother David's golf picture. After we found it, I noticed a funny thing happen. Each of us being from different "eras" (class of 1988, 1995 and 2000), I noticed each of us gravitate to our respective areas for the hall and just checking out photos and standout athletes from our years. It was cool to see the new version of our old school. Warms the soul to mentally venture back into adolescence. OK, maybe not ALL of the adolescence experience, but generalities are nice! We also ventured down to George Roger's Park and checked out the new digs there. It was really cool to have siblings in town and have a couple hours to stroll down memory lane.

Note: in the picture of us in front of the Blazers practice facility, the trained eye can see the slight glistening of the Larry O'Brien trophy just over Barlow's left shoulder. That's the real thing - from the 1977 world championship, baby!

October 11th, 2008: Annie Warbucks

On Saturday, October 11th, we got to see something very special. My younger sister Iris was in the play: "Annie Warbucks" - about the little orphan Annie. The show took place at the Kirkland Performance Center in Kirkland, WA. Melissa and I went to the show with two of our daughters, Moriah and Brooke as well as my older sister Abbie's family. Iris played the Tennessee mother in whose home Annie ends up when she runs away. Iris' character teaches Annie what love is all about and helps return Annie to her family. She had a solo singing part and all… as well as a constant recurring funny line telling her child to "Please, stop playin' wich'yer feet!" There was also a part I didn’t expect: she affectionately kisses her husband good night. After the play I went to that actor (who was at least 25 yrs older that my sister) and said: Hey man, that's the first time a dude's kissed my sister in front of me. You better watch out." We got a chuckle out of that.

It was really cool to see Iris perform and we were really impressed with how well she did. She plans to continue pursuing roles and opportunities. Good for you, Iris. It takes a lot of talent -and guts- to get up there and do that. And you performed very well, even with somewhat minimal practice. Rock on.

October 10, 2008 - Powers Visit

The weekend of October 10th, we had some close friends visit town. They moved east in 2004 and live in Chicago now. The good thing for us is that his family still lives here, so there's always a slight chance we'll see them once in a while. For us, it's one of those relationships you only come across once in a long while. The women get along famously, the dudes like to hang, and even the kids have a great time together. It’s just a blast to get together with them. Summary: Powers family: We love you guys.

October 3, 2008 - Blazers Fan Fest

We took the whole family to Trail Blazers Fan Fest Friday night, October 3rd. Cool event. The whole family wore Blazers gear. As you can see, Brooke and Emery got their faces painted. The players were greeting fans at the door, so we got to meet Steve Blake and Steven Hill. Both were cool, (as can be expected with mandatory fan greeting). One thing that stuck out HUGE: The size of Steven Hill's hands. Man, when I shook his hand, I didn’t expect mine to be totally swallowed up. That was crazy. No wonder these guys are so good at handling the rock. Fingers and thumbs can touch when holding the ball!

The event was cool and all had fun.

Rrrrriiiiip Ciiiity!