Sunday, March 30, 2008
We're Still Here
The good news is that the Spanko family is still in Kearney, Nebraska.
The bad news is that we are still in Kearney, Nebraska.
It’s not that Kearney is not an exciting. It’s not, but the area where we live is not exactly a cultural mecca. But the last two days were just so darn exciting that today seems like it is boring beyond belief. The University of Nebraska at Kearney and NCAA have been very nice to us. But it’s time to play already.
If you’ve correctly interpreted my foreshadowing, you already figured out that Maribel and her basketball team won their first two games and have secured a spot in the finals. After the energy of last night’s game, I was awake until almost 4 am talking basketball with whomever would converse with me. When we had out-talked everyone else, Bernie and I found ourselves watching film of Monday’s opponent with Coach E. and one of her assistants.
The first game was surprisingly easy for Maribel’s team. They hit their first seven shots, four of which were three-pointers, and had a 13 point lead before the game was five minutes old. The other team played valiantly. They pushed the tempo and were able to get themselves a lot of easy shots. But they had no answer for Maribel. She had 19 first-half points, including 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. The other team got within six points twice, the second time with about 9 minutes left, but no closer, and Maribel’s team gradually pulled away, winning 97 to 81. Maribel finished with 28 points, fifteen rebounds, and six assists.
In the second game, they had a rematch against the team that knocked them out of the tournament last year. They have a center who is six-foot-five with the nickname “Lady Shaq.” I asked Maribel on Friday morning if she was concerned about playing this big girl again, and she responded, “If she was really that good, she wouldn’t be playing in division II.” I didn’t mention that Maribel also played in DII, but I had been told more than once during the season that Maribel was playing at a Division I level.
The game was closer than the previous night. Maribel was harassed and bullied by Lady Shaq and several other opponents. However, my daughter kept her cool and found open teammates. She had seven first half points, but also had five assists, and her team lead 29-26 at the intermission. In the second half, Maribel moved away from the basket. If Lady Shaq didn’t come with her, she’d shoot over shorter opponents. If she did, Maribel would pass to teammates cutting toward the basket. The key sequence of the game came with about 7 minutes to go and Maribel’s team trailing by one point. Maribel stepped out and made a three-pointer. She them stripped the ball from Lady Shaq, which lead to a three-pointer by co-captain Amber. The next two possessions also saw three-pointers, one by Amber and one by freshman Kammi Kominski. It was a 12 to 2 run, and suddenly Maribel’s team lead by nine with just over five minutes left. Maribel’s team then played lock-down defense and made most of the free-throws, and finished with a 70-60 victory and a birth in the championship game. Maribel had nineteen points, seven assists, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
So today was spent nervously waiting for tomorrow. The game will be televised on ISPN2 (ISPN being the Imaginary Sports Programming Network), which is doubly exciting. Maribel said that she arose at 7 am this morning, and didn’t take a nap, because she wanted to be so tired tonight that she’s fall asleep. She probably won’t. To burn off nervous energy, after watching Maribel practice, we went bowling, then we played pinball for two hours. Now we’re just waiting.
So tomorrow Maribel could be on the best Division II basketball team in the country. I could be a champion’s father. I will be so proud, but I’m already so proud. But seeing her win it all, that would be really, really …. groovy. Still holding onto that “F” word until tomorrow.
By the way, Angela did find a way to spank me today, and it was a dandy spanking. Now, that, indeed, was fantastic.
The bad news is that we are still in Kearney, Nebraska.
It’s not that Kearney is not an exciting. It’s not, but the area where we live is not exactly a cultural mecca. But the last two days were just so darn exciting that today seems like it is boring beyond belief. The University of Nebraska at Kearney and NCAA have been very nice to us. But it’s time to play already.
If you’ve correctly interpreted my foreshadowing, you already figured out that Maribel and her basketball team won their first two games and have secured a spot in the finals. After the energy of last night’s game, I was awake until almost 4 am talking basketball with whomever would converse with me. When we had out-talked everyone else, Bernie and I found ourselves watching film of Monday’s opponent with Coach E. and one of her assistants.
The first game was surprisingly easy for Maribel’s team. They hit their first seven shots, four of which were three-pointers, and had a 13 point lead before the game was five minutes old. The other team played valiantly. They pushed the tempo and were able to get themselves a lot of easy shots. But they had no answer for Maribel. She had 19 first-half points, including 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. The other team got within six points twice, the second time with about 9 minutes left, but no closer, and Maribel’s team gradually pulled away, winning 97 to 81. Maribel finished with 28 points, fifteen rebounds, and six assists.
In the second game, they had a rematch against the team that knocked them out of the tournament last year. They have a center who is six-foot-five with the nickname “Lady Shaq.” I asked Maribel on Friday morning if she was concerned about playing this big girl again, and she responded, “If she was really that good, she wouldn’t be playing in division II.” I didn’t mention that Maribel also played in DII, but I had been told more than once during the season that Maribel was playing at a Division I level.
The game was closer than the previous night. Maribel was harassed and bullied by Lady Shaq and several other opponents. However, my daughter kept her cool and found open teammates. She had seven first half points, but also had five assists, and her team lead 29-26 at the intermission. In the second half, Maribel moved away from the basket. If Lady Shaq didn’t come with her, she’d shoot over shorter opponents. If she did, Maribel would pass to teammates cutting toward the basket. The key sequence of the game came with about 7 minutes to go and Maribel’s team trailing by one point. Maribel stepped out and made a three-pointer. She them stripped the ball from Lady Shaq, which lead to a three-pointer by co-captain Amber. The next two possessions also saw three-pointers, one by Amber and one by freshman Kammi Kominski. It was a 12 to 2 run, and suddenly Maribel’s team lead by nine with just over five minutes left. Maribel’s team then played lock-down defense and made most of the free-throws, and finished with a 70-60 victory and a birth in the championship game. Maribel had nineteen points, seven assists, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
So today was spent nervously waiting for tomorrow. The game will be televised on ISPN2 (ISPN being the Imaginary Sports Programming Network), which is doubly exciting. Maribel said that she arose at 7 am this morning, and didn’t take a nap, because she wanted to be so tired tonight that she’s fall asleep. She probably won’t. To burn off nervous energy, after watching Maribel practice, we went bowling, then we played pinball for two hours. Now we’re just waiting.
So tomorrow Maribel could be on the best Division II basketball team in the country. I could be a champion’s father. I will be so proud, but I’m already so proud. But seeing her win it all, that would be really, really …. groovy. Still holding onto that “F” word until tomorrow.
By the way, Angela did find a way to spank me today, and it was a dandy spanking. Now, that, indeed, was fantastic.
Comments:
<< Home
I like your blog. We propose an exchange of links between our blog. If you agree, escribeme a message on mine.
Greetings
Post a Comment
Greetings
# posted by 
: April 11, 2008 6:02 PM
: April 11, 2008 6:02 PM << Home
