Delightfully Weird

Took the boys to the Hollywood Bowl yesterday. Lisa and my first trip to the Bowl had been just last week, when a friend had a couple of extra tickets to the Tom Petty concert... so the kids didn't have to wait 30 years to get their first experience of the Bowl.

We bought box seats for a world music series, and last night's was Brazilian (and -influenced?) music. The boys enjoyed it... especially the delightfully weird Devendra Banhart... his CD doesn't come close to the inspired... energy? fun? goofiness? chemically-altered performance? His last song inspired a near riotous orgy of dancing, singing and shouting in the walkway behind our box (I'm pretty sure Jack was a little freaked out... he sat backwards in his canvas folding chair, slack-jawed, watching the crowd.

Here's an example of the lunacy that is Devendra...

Very cool.

The headliner, Gilberto Gil, was also very good (and he too caused the crowd to dance, much to the chagrin of both the ushers--who couldn't control them--and Lisa--who couldn't get her husband off his ass to dance)... but by midway through the performance, the boys had had enough (Jack was beginning to doze on Lisa's lap and Kyle was mentioning that he had 6am practice in the morning).

Late night, fun night.

Cancer Anniversary

Two years ago, Leroy Severs began a blog (and for a while, a podcast) on NPR entitled, "My Cancer."

He was going through his battle. Reading his blog during Ma's battle... well, let's just say it was therapeutic. But the podcasts stopped. And my visits to his online blog dwindled (it was therapeutic for me dealing with my mom's battle... not so much for her loss).

Today, his podcast reappeared.

I launched the file with great hope.

Foolish.

Or as Leroy himself puts it:

For some reason, I felt optimistic.

I was wrong.

My last scans showed that my cancer has exploded. New tumors in my brain, liver, lungs, bones. Well, you get the idea.

Hearing his voice, still fairly lively, but now so much more fatigued, saying those words... well, it was like being hit with a ton of bricks.

The words that followed were of no more comfort:

So I've been going through the process of, quote, getting my affairs in order. Doing all the paperwork, all the legal things you need to do.

No one really knows what the next step will be ... how my disease will play out. But we know it's serious.

I had radiation on my brain and my pelvis for pain relief. That's about all I can do. From here on, we're gong to be worried about comfort, about relieving the worst side effects.

It hurts. Two years ago, we left for Maui, knowing that my mom had cancer. That vacation was filled with risk-taking... it might well have been all about denying the inevitable.

But it WAS inevitable, a fact.

So too is Leroy's sign off:

I've learned something far more important, too. No matter what happens, we're all in this together.

None of us walk this road alone.

True.

Good Luck, Leroy. May you feel our presence with every step.

A week.

That's what it's been since I last blogged. Sorry for the delay... life just gets in the way.

Last weekend took Kyle up to Santa Maria for the 16 and Under Junior Olympic water polo qualifiers. HOT... 114 on Friday, 108 on Saturday... just brutal. Kyle played more than I expected (which was a total of a game over the course of the weekend... he got in the cage for six quarters). Acquitted himself nicely in those quarters, allowing only 5 goals total, and making well over 8 saves, plus some great steals and some pretty good passes. Of course, he got beat on a number of occasions, but this was against the big boys... who are MUCH bigger not just in physical terms but in experience as well. But he'll get better. I did like the way the 16U goalie worked with Kyle (in much the same fashion as Kyle worked with the 12U goalie a few months back).

But more on the "fraternity" of goalies in a later post.

Kyle had his first high school workout on Monday. Now THOSE are kicking his ass. It's the first time he's worked out with weights (or ran more than sprints [other than at PE at Green])... so the house was filled with my laughter on Monday as he slouched around the house, unable to life his arms up, even to eat. He ended up taking a 2.5 hour nap on Monday.

School now is officially over. Jack is running rampant. Lisa is finally out of her classroom (and REALLY out... she's moving into a new room for the fall). Pa is back from his reunion trip to Kansas, filled with some pretty good stories and some very bizarre ones as well. Seems like were descended from slave owners. Which makes their nearly unanimous support of Obama, even the more welcome and exciting (both Pa and I figured they'd be a little "working class" "white" and maybe bitter).

Hmmm, descended from slave owners... and supporting Obama... maybe Nader was right.



Jeez, what a tool.

"People are Counting on Us"

Rock on, baby...

Blue and Gold and Grad

Not to belabor that whole gutless/gutty thing from yesterday, but the old (80s) nickname for the Bruin football program was the "gutty little Bruins"... well, here's some great info re: the blue and gold...

After the 07-08 school year, we now have 103 NCAA Team National Championships. In the last six years, we've won 17 championships, more than anyone else in the country. The 17 were won in eleven different programs (only three programs won multiple NCs: both Women's Gymnastics and Softball went back-to-back in 03 and 04; Women's Water Polo has won FIVE National Championships in the last six years [uh, Coach Krikorian... what HAPPENED in 04?... oh, that's right, you coached the Men's Water Polo team to a National Championship... all's forgiven!]). Now if that wasn't amazing enough, here's the killer stat:

In those same six years, Bruin squads have finished in second place THIRTEEN TIMES... we were that close to having THIRTY National Championships in the last six years

... no wonder those trojies hate us.


Other news:

Yesterday, Kyle graduated ... er, was promoted from Junior High School:

Though he still has one more day at EO Green (go figure), he's a high schooler now!

[note: while I was thankful there wasn't a tribute to the fallen Larry King, I was also amazed (and not in a good way) that there was no mention at all of the tragedy. And given what I heard from a teacher on campus (that the teachers have been told not to talk about the incident, not even amongst themselves in an attempt to heal after the trauma), I'm wondering how much of this is just some lame attempt by the district to cover its ass WRT any upcoming lawsuits... is this another reason why the completely inept principal is being kept on (with any firing/reassignment being seen as an implicit statement that all wasn't done that could have been done)?]

Gutless vs. Gutty

Look for "gutless" in the dictionary, and you'll see the Lakers.

Fucking quitters. The single most gutless display in athletics that I can recall.

But as for gutty, check out this interview with Lara Logan of CBS News.



That, my friends, is one badass reporter. Did you see her "been there so don't fuck with me" attitude and demeanor? Wicked dry--almost gallows--humor ("A few components of suicide bombs, you know, a couple of useful things"). Her dissection (er, complete evisceration) of American broadcast journalism ("If I were to watch the news that you're hearing here in the United States, I'd just blow my brains out, because it would just drive me nuts."). Her salty tongue:

Logan: You know, often I work until 8 in the morning. I woke up one morning and I looked at the clock, and it was like, 11:00 a.m., and I thought, "Shit! I've got to get up!" and then I thought —

Stewart: Uh — I don't allow that type of language on this program. I don't care that you've just spent the last 5 years in a war zone, we have standards here.

Logan: Usually that's a good way to break the ice. You get in a Humvee with soldiers, they're all on their best behavior, they've been told not to swear about you, and you say, "Yo, what's up, motherfuckers?" and then it's all done.

And finally, that matter-of-fact proclamation that we have "lost our humanity."

Kick ass. And the fact she's not hard on the eyes with a cool accent doesn't hurt either.

Why do I get the feeling if she'd been playing center for the Lakers... they might be the champs and not simply the [s]lackers...

Damn that Colbert!

Wow, that hurt!

The Prince is Gone

Luc Richard has stayed in the NBA draft. He gave us some great moments (not the least of which were the many times I could chant LUUUUUUUUUUUUC, and almost feel like I was at a Springsteen show). I personally think his departure is a mistake... I'm not sure he's ready for the Association ('specially given his proclaimed desire to be thought of as a shooter, as opposed to the defensive demon that he is), but young guys make mistakes sometimes... he'll end up all right... because he's a good guy.

How do I know this? He signed an autograph for Jack once... and was very gracious and kind.

--------------

btw, at last night's polo practice, I was informed that there's a big statewide tournament next weekend for the 16's and they want Kyle for that, too. Not sure about this one... would love to have the whole family together for more than a couple of weekends in a row...

Jim, Tim, Media, and Fathers' Day

Jim McKay died last week. A guy from the pantheon of sportscasters and newsmen. In my head, I can still hear from my childhood his opening to ABC's Wide World of Sports (Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition... This is "ABC's Wide World of Sports!"... I'd link to the YouTube snippet, but those bastards at ABC had it yanked... fuckers)... it used to be a Saturday afternoon mainstay at our house growing up. I have vague recollections of his coverage of Munich... but I really remember his coverage of Montreal in 76.

Tim Russert died Friday. The news came as a shock. I'd been watching him, Matthews and Olbermann cover this primary season, and he looked so vibrant just last week. Listening to all the accolades, it was quite touching. Of course, yesterday I watched the tribute on his show Meet the Press.

By the end, I was crying pretty hard. Don't know if it was their discussion of his integrity. Or his being a Springsteen fan (and Bruce of him). Or the knowledge that his family (and son would miss him). But I do know the clip from last year's Fathers' Day show killed me.

Battlestar Galactica ended its final season mid-season Friday night.

Wow.

[spoilers]

The episode moved very quickly. I know I had complained about that two episodes ago, but this just felt like a thrill ride. While Starbuck's run through Gallactica to get to Lee before he airlocked Tigh into the vacuum of space was somewhat cliche... it was still damned effective. And when we made the jump to Earth... well, my first thought was ... "Damn, did Sci-Fi pull a fast one on all of us, saying that this was series finale, not just a mid-season one?" But in my heart, I knew that couldn't be the case since we still didn't know who the Final Fifth was. But that ending shot. Adama grabbing that handful of Earth, just as Roslin had wanted him to. The pulling sound of ticking, and the pulling back of the camera to reveal a Geiger counter going crazy over that handful of dirt. Moving over the faces of all involved, human and Cylon (including a seemingly devastated Deanna), the Six going over to comfort Tigh in the background... and then the final reveal of the ruinous landscape. Well, the only thing missing was the Statue of Liberty tits-deep in sand, and Starbuck dropping to her knees, screaming: "You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!"

Lisa felt it was a little predictable, but I thought it was fitting and perfect, and it sets up what could be a VERY interesting final 11 hours (the finale is now slated to be a three-hour mini-movie)... the wait for its broadcast whenever it may be will be interminable.

Not so interminable, however, was Kung Fu Panda. That was our Fathers' Day outing. And it was fun... from the opening Samurai Jack-influenced dream sequence ("There is no charge for Awesome-ness") to the closing strains of "Kung Fu Fighting," it was a blast, with Kyle laughing, Jack giggling, and even Pa having a good time. It was a great afternoon.

Last night, we ventured over to the neighbors to have a couple of Zen-tinis and watch a couple of episodes of Weeds, in a vain attempt to catch up before tonight's season four opener.

Remember how I said I had the big-time crush on a certain eyeglass-wearing brunette... well, this brunette is pretty hot, too. A little skinny for my taste but damn those legs go all the way to the floor! and remember that Golden Globes speech [sorry, no linked clip] about those golden globes a few years back... yowza.

So a new week begins... the last week of school. Pa takes off on the train tomorrow for a trip to a family reunion. Kyle "graduates" from junior high on Wednesday. On Friday, we head up to Santa Maria for the 16U J.O. Quals. Yep, a busy week.

So Say We All

Finally got around to watching the last couple of Battlestar Galacticas over the last couple of nights.

The episode "Sine Qua Non" seemed to me to be rushed... too many things happening at once, none really given its due. Spoiler: I understand the whole, men fight then bond thing, but would Adama really leave the fleet in Tigh's hands after learning that he had impregnated Six? If this happened over the course of a couple of episodes, then I'd buy it more readily... but this just seemed too quick, too easy, too tidy. It started me to wonder if the producers had started to realize, "oh crap... we need to wrap this up... let's shoehorn this stuff in." Especially given the fact that tomorrow night's episode "Revelations" is the half-season finale (with the second-half-season and series finale given no public date for broadcast [though the series finale--according to Ain't It Cool News--is shooting this week in Vancouver]).

This feeling of the writers letting the show run away from them disappeared completely after watching the latest episode "The Hub." Wow. Very powerful, especially in regard to President Roslin's visions of her own passing. This is the first death on tv or film that got it right. On her deathbed, she had the death-rattle. I actually gasped when I heard it. Lisa even asked if I was OK with this. How could I be? How could I not be? It hurt to see, but it was powerful, very true. I've always respected the show for its ability to use this fictional world as a metaphor for what's going on in the world today (terrorism, suspicion of terrorists amongst us, Iraq, provisional governments, presidents without public mandates, just to name a few)... and just as BSG has gotten it right about life, it seems to have nailed down death pretty well as well. And then the final image of her own demise, the slow shallow no longer rasping breaths fading to nothing. If I hadn't been so locked into the episode and story, I probably would have weeped. And I did get a little misty-eyed at the end when [spoiler alert] Rosin and Adama were reunited. Her "I love you" and his "It's about damn time" fit so well together... sure it had a bit of the Princess Leia and Han Solo thing working, but that's OK, it fit the characters. Did Adama have to say the words to her? No. He's a man of action... the fact he would out there, alone, without his fleet, drifting in space in hope of being reunited with her... those ACTIONS said it all. Great ending.

Then the trailer for this week's half-season finale had that same rushed feel from the previous week's episode... but it's only a trailer, so I guess it could just be the editing. But any fears or misgivings about it disappeared quickly this morning when I read this preview of the show on Ain't It Cool, which called it the biggest episode yet (bigger than the end of season one, when Boomer put two into the chest of Adama, bigger than end of two, when the show jumped forward a year, bigger than the end of three, and the revelation of the "Watchtower" Four)... and if that's true (especially the part about "handprints will be permanently squeezed into sofa arms across America"), then this is going to be VERY VERY cool indeed.



I may have to watch it earlier than live on SciFi.com...it streams every hour tomorrow. I know it's a slight betrayal of Lisa and my never-spoken but always-assumed pact to watch the episodes together... but man, that will be hard to pass up.

-----------------------

Some quick notes:

Josh Shipp is coming back for his senior season! With he and Collison returning, and the addition of Morgan and the talented band of freshmen... well, let's just say I'm thinking four Final Fours in a row... and could the fourth be the charm? The one that puts us at One Hundred and FOUR National Championships?

Football looks to be a struggle this season... but at least we're moving in the right direction.

Kyle turns fourteen tomorrow.

Exhaustion and Insanity

It's been a while.

Wednesday was ... interesting. We had club water polo practice... now we've been practicing with the 16 and Unders (though Kyle plays for the 14U team), under the direction of the head of the team (a gruff but likeable old guy, a huge Bruin--his late son played on the 95 Championship Team). Kyle had attended a couple of practices so far. His 14U assistant coach attends the practices as well (so do about five or six members of that 14U squad), and he called me over with an almost unsure head tilt at the beginning of practice... uh, oh, I thought... here it comes: "We really like Kyle, but we think he'd be better suited practicing full time with the 14's"... And the coach started his comments with "OK, don't know how you feel about this, but it's something we would like you to consider..." (yep, here it comes) He said that after practice on Monday, the head coach of the 14s and 16s, the wife of the head of the team (who was in Russia training with one of their top teams) and the assistant coach had met. While the 14U Junior Olympic Qualifying tournament was this coming weekend, the 16U tournament was in two weeks. And they wanted to know if Kyle wanted to "play up" with them in the tournament. "He wouldn't get as much time as he will this weekend, but he'd see some." The starting goalie flies in from New Mexico, and Kyle in the three practices he's attended has demonstrated that he's better than the current back-up. The assistant said that they were asking four of the 14U's to play up and gain some experience, and that they'd like Kyle to be one. I said I'd talk to Lisa and Kyle and let him know. It's a great opportunity, but it would mean yet another weekend away from home. So some thought did need to be put into this.

Thursday was Kyle's band concert... very good but a late night.

Friday, he went to Disneyland with his band... he didn't come back with the band, we picked him up instead... because this weekend was the water polo Junior Olympics Qualifying matches (if we qualify, we are in the JO Finals at the end of July, but more on that later). He would have returned around midnight, and we needed to be at Cal State Long Beach at 6:45am to give him time to warm up with this team before his 7:45 game... leaving him maybe four hours of sleep. So we picked him up and headed to the hotel. Lisa and I left the boys (Kyle, Jack and Pa) in the room, while we scoped out Wal-Mart for breakfast stuff and to head over to campus to search out the pool and parking. All three were asleep by the time we got back at 10:30.

We woke at 6, threw some light pastries and chocolate milk down our throats and headed to the pool.

The tournament is a two day affair, with 16 teams playing between three and seven games over the weekend, depending how well they do. We had three games on Saturday, 7:45am, 3:15pm, and 7pm... a long day. If we lost all three games, we could go home. If we won one, we'd be guaranteed one game on Sunday. If we won two or all three, we would have at least three games on Sunday, maybe four (if we made it to the championship or consolation game).

We won the first two games by wide margins, and so we were guaranteed at least a top 8 finish, which qualified us for JO Finals. I'm not sure if we didn't make some tactical errors at this point. Coaches told the kids about qualifying (and I'm not sure there wasn't a little emotional let-down for the next game), and we bought Kyle an orange (his team's color) and black checked swimsuit after the second game, and he wore it instead of his solid orange team speedo for the next game (when it comes to sports, I'm a superstitious guy... if the Bruins are winning, I wear the same shirt to games... when I was playing and we were on a streak, I'd make damn sure that every game was the same pregame rituals, same clothing etc). Now it didn't help matters at all that our third game of the day was against the best team in our bracket, an all-Armenian team who has quite the reputation ("You have to drain the pool and clean it after their games... they play so dirty"). Well, I'm not so sure that they play dirty, but they certainly are physical. And Kyle had his best game of the weekend, with seven saves, a steal, and an assist (this last is particularly good for a goalie), but we still lost. There were a couple of bad calls, but not enough to account for the five goal deficit at the end of the game. Kyle took it hard, shouldering most of the blame for the loss (he had only allowed a total of six goals in the first two games, and allowed 11 in this loss), despite the fact that we never mounted much of an offensive attack all game. So the long day was over. We went back to the hotel with KFC drive-thru, exhausted bodies, and the knowledge that we needed to be back at the pool at 6 in the morning for the first of Sunday's games.

[oh, yeah: we had talked to Kyle about the 16U opportunity on Friday, and he was--of course--all for it... and we were leaning toward going for it]

So we get to the pool at six for our 7 game. And no one is there. The pool is locked and there's one other truck in the parking lot. And no other teammates. By 6:30 the pool is open, and other players are arriving, but still no teammates. As it turned out, a revised schedule (I had been given one on Wednesday) had been posted yesterday, and I failed to look at it closely enough to see the changes: our game wasn't at 7 but 7:45. So I wasted an hour of Kyle's rest. Damn.

He was exhausted. Between late night Thursday (concert), early morning Friday (catching the band bus to The Happiest Place on Earth at 7), all day (on his feet) at Disneyland, another reasonably late night Friday, early morning on Saturday, three games on Saturday (over the course of a 12-hour period)... well, he was pretty spent.

And I get the feeling so was his team. The entire team came out flat in the first team and dropped the game, 2-8. The second game was even more sluggish, and we lost again, but much tighter this time at 4-6. Kyle's legs were gone, and he was tired (and cranky), but he was able to stop a penalty shot (though the team gave up two extra man goals). The final game, for a 7th place finish, was tight but again resulted in a loss, 7-9. The boys simply came up against teams that were mostly better, played more as a team (both Lisa and I think that the fact we have a player who flies in from Arizon, but otherwise doesn't train with the team, hurt us overall), and didn't look as sluggish. And weren't wearing a new checked speedo. Afterwards, I told him that the speedo would be great for practice. It made him laugh and raised some of his spirits. As did the knowledge that he's going to JO Finals at the end of July.

Of course, the more I learn about that tournament, the more I dread the experience. The Finals are FOUR days long, with 48 (rather than 16) teams. Because of its length, it's going to interfere with the last week of summer school... not good. And since it's in Irvine, it's even further away (of course, not as far away as 16U JO Quals in San Luis Obispo, but still...). And at the end of July, it will be hotter, with probably no shade like this tournament. The lack of shade and the length of the days resulted in a fairly nasty sunburn:

[the pic doesn't do the burn justice: there are blisters on his nose, and his checkbones are fire-red]

So even after a good night's sleep, we're exhausted. Lisa's dragging, I'm yawning, Pa's sore (and both Lisa and I firmly believe that though he's a gamer, Pa has to limit his days at these tournaments), Jack's tired, and Kyle's got an upset stomach. Of course, at least today, he's awake... unlike yesterday:


So Lisa and I have finally become one of those obsessive sport parents, shuttling their kids off to some far-off city for competitions. It's gotten so bad that as we drove onto the CSULB campus with the boys on Saturday, Lisa said, "Guys, this is a nice campus. This would be OK to play at." Not "go to" ... not "attend" ... not "get a quality education" but PLAY. She looked at me after it slipped with a self-aware appalled look. All I could do is laugh... because I had the energy then.

On to November

And now it begins.

Kick ass speech last night...

Of course, it won't be easy... especially if my survey (see right) is any indication... damn, McCain trounces Obama 15-6 (even if all the Hillary supporters [and the Nader one, too] come over to Obama, it's still 15-10)...

But as Kyle prepares for 8th Grade Graduation, I'm reminded of another public appearance Obama made back in '05: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me (check out in particular the section between 4:00 and 6:45)

Musical Notes

Bo Diddley passed away... a true guitar god.


Inspiration to Bruce and many others.


Also, got to admit... in an attempt to wrest 8-year old Jack from the clutches of Guitar Hero, we've re-introduced the Arthur CD to him. It's a huge hit... and not just for Jack.

Lisa and I have been geeking out over it.

[just wished that clip didn't clip the cooking song... sigh]

And how could we not...


Great musical parodies of Broadway genres and witty lyrics (come on, that Jeckyll/Hyde song with the discussion of a test taken in semaphore, with the narrator later throwing down his flags in anger, is great...)

Gotta love that stuff (I just wish I could have found "Night Light").

-------------------

oh yeah, and by the way... chalk up number 103 for the Bruin Nation...

Pride and Prejudice

OK, it's been a few days... and big ones. The DNC Rules Committee met on Saturday, but more on that later.

This weekend, Kyle played his first tournament with his new club team. Kyle, Pa and I stayed out in Pomona for the event. On Saturday, he played for the usual coach, a parent of one of the other players. Kyle played well, aggressive in the cage and throwing some great long outlet passes (a la Kevin Love)... so much so that when a shot was taken by the opposing team (or when the shot clock was running down), the coach would yell out to the point player to release, to allow Kyle a better target down the tank. And it worked, we won both games. Kyle took a fist to the mouth at one point, but played through it. After the game, he expressed sorrow that when he was taking the ball to the corner and was being chased by a defender, he accidentally kicked the kid in the chest. When one of his players heard this, he said, "Fouling the goalie's bad form, man." The coach supported this with a smile and said, "Chase a goalie, you get what you deserve..." The coach also took me aside and expressed for the second time in less than a week that Kyle doesn't play goalie, but IS a goalie (more on that distinction later), and said that "Kyle certainly is cut from goalie cloth." He talked about how he liked playing with Kyle because he makes stops when he has to, isn't afraid to charge out of the cage for balls (but is rarely out of position), and makes the usually defensive position an OFFENSIVE threat.

Sunday was slightly different. We worked with a different coach with some different players (some of our better players, including the coach's son, played Sunday for the 16 and under team in Santa Barbara). Kyle started the first game in the cage as usual, but at halftime, I noticed he was changing caps. Another kid (one who wasn't there on Saturday) was put in the cage. Kyle looked a little confused, and a little bummed as he sat on the bench. I smiled to him and tilted my head as if to say, "What can you do? Coach's Decision, kid. CD..." But midway through the third quarter, Kyle was put into the field. He acquitted himself well, running the offense at point and moving the offense around through drives. At the beginning of the fourth, he was still in the field, and to our surprise was even with the sprinter on the opening sprint (Kyle is known for his speed, or rather lack of it). On offense, he began by running the point, and when no one would take the set (hole) position, he filled that spot. He tussled in set and had a good time. We lost, but we were behind when Kyle left the cage, so I wasn't too upset.

But Kyle was on the bench again at the beginning of the second game. The other kid was in goal. Kyle didn't look upset as much as bored. In five seasons of water polo, these were the first moments he has EVER spent out of the water in a game (he was the one and only goalie for his youth team, and when they pulled him out of the cage, it was to rotate him into the field so everyone on the team could score). But within a couple of minutes, Kyle was in the game, and within seconds he drove with the ball to the left on offense, faked to right, spun left, got the goalie up into blocking position, and waited just long enough for the goalie to begin his descent, and tossed the ball into the corner of the net. He swam back down the tank with a great big grin on his face. On defense he was even more impressive... the opposing team had a big hulking set who was dominating. Until Kyle took control. I had never seen Kyle play set defense before, and it was fun to watch... he shut the kid down. The kid never got another pass. Then at half, Kyle put the goalie cap back on. Pa and I looked at each other. WTF? The other goalie was doing a good job... why break his rhythm? Kyle did a great job in goal. This coach didn't want him to pass as much, but he still got off a couple of good ones. Near the end of the third quarter, after stealing the ball and while swimming it to the corner, he was fouled from behind. The ref blew the whistle, but the player didn't stop, and so Kyle stopped swimming and pushed back. His head came in contact with the opposing player's face. And the buzzer ending the quarter went off. And chaos ensued. The opposing player had to be taken out because of a bleeding mouth (it's possible he lost a tooth), the parents of the other team (who happened to be the tournament host team... so there were lots of them) were screaming for Kyle to be kicked out of the game for brutality (yep, that's the "technical" term), and our coach was imploring the ref to call an exclusionary foul on the opposing player. The ref sorted it out with one giant non-call. And Kyle kept playing while rubbing his head through the cap. Kyle had another good quarter in the cage, and we won the game.

I had never been prouder of Kyle in any athletic endeavor. And I told him so. When he was pulled for the cage, he didn't argue, didn't hang his head, didn't sulk, didn't quit. When he went back into the game, he played hard and did the things his team needed from him, even taking over set when no one else would. When he didn't start the second game, he didn't let that affect him, either. When he went in, he became an instant offensive threat and defense stalwart, shutting down the other set. And back in the cage, he did his usual great job. He didn't phone it in when he was asked to take a subordinate position, and even helped out the goalie at the end of the first half, by dropping back to help him defend against a long, last-second shot. No one expected him to do that, but he did it. It shows that he didn't care about whether or not he was in the cage, he just wanted what was best for the team.

So like I said, I'd never been prouder. Now I wasn't thrilled with the coach, but wasn't about to make that know to either the coach or Kyle. [didn't want to be one of THOSE parents...] But when I learned that the other goalie was the 12 and Under goalie, who was "playing up" for experience, I even lost my "non-thrill" with the coach (after all, Kyle is now practicing with the 16 and Unders, prepping him to "play up" when the opportunity comes). Yep, that was a good water polo weekend.

On the electoral front, not as good. They seated the Florida delegation, all of its members (so they all get to party in Denver), but with only half a vote per delegate. This didn't please the Clinton camp, as it means less of a net delegate win. The Michigan delegate solution was even less amenable: the DNC decided to go with the Michigan compromise--69 to 59 delegates--as opposed to the Clinton proposal (73 for her, and none for Obama, with 35 for "uncommitted") or the Obama proposal (an even 50-50 split, as Obama wasn't on the ballot, and thus the primary was flawed to begin with). The Clintonistas felt that the Michigan compromise was a "highjacking" of their delegates... and they made their displeasure known.

And here's the weird part:

I agree with them. She should NOT have any delegates taken away. It should have been 73 for Clinton and the rest to Obama.

Look, those four delegates mean nothing in the big picture. Everyone knows Obama will wrap up the nomination in the next few days (with today's final primaries in South Dakota and Montana, and the expected flood of superdelegates who statyed out fo the fray in deference and respect for the Clintons)... he's only 41 delegates short of the new finish line, and he'll get that easily. So why give him four of "her" delegates. It serves no purpose. Except for pissing off her already bitter coalition.

This will not be pretty. I can only hope he has NO intention of putting her on the ticket... but will announce before the convention that he will ask her to be some cabinet post (say, Health and Human Services).

I'm pretty burnt out on this whole election thing: I'm starting to hate the whole thing.