Sunday, March 10th, 2013

Today is a quiet and relaxing Sunday that I will try to enjoy as much as I can... soon enough Elizabeth & my life will get a lot more hectic and less quiet :)  Today Elizabeth is 5 months along, and July will be here before we know it!  So today I will try to relax as much as I can while it lasts.  We just made homemade pizza for lunch which was delicious as always.  Elizabeth had a sausage and pepperoni pizza while I topped mine with green peppers, mushrooms, and sausage. 

Another thing that I am looking forward to is next Sunday.  Also known as "Selection Sunday", it will be exciting to see where my Cyclones end up in the NCAA bracket and to see who they will play.  Right now, Joe Lunardi on ESPN projects ISU as an 11-seed, and he has them playing Wisconsin in the first round.  I could see ISU being anywhere from a 10-seed to a 12 seed... meaning that they would play a team seaded 5, 6, or 7th.  Let's see what teams ESPN has as those 5 through 7 seeds:

• 5th seeds:
• Arizona
• Notre Dame
• Pittsburgh
• Oklahoma State
• 6th seeds:
• VCU
• Wisconsin
• North Carolina
• St. Louis
• 7th seeds:
• Colorado State
• Butler
• Oregon
• UCLA

Chances are that ISU will end up playing a team that I didn't even list just because so much can change in a week.  ISU still has to play Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament.  Of the teams above, I would really like to see ISU get a crack at North Carolina or UCLA... just because those are teams that have beaten ISU multiple times in the tournament before (of course we did beat UCLA in 2000 when we went to the elite eight).  It's also worth noting that ISU cannot play Oklahoma State because they are in our same league.  The anticipation of March Maddness is so much fun!

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

WE JUST BEAT, O-S-U!!! 

That chant has a very special place in my heart... mostly because it was what we were chanting after our huge upset in football a couple of seasons ago.  Today it has another meaning :)

I just got back from Hilton Coliseum where Iowa State defeated the #13-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, 87-76!!  This time I took Jeremy with me, and we both enjoyed ourselves quite a bit watching this one.  Iowa State led by as many as 15 points, although there were  couple of times in the second half that OSU made it a close ballgame.  I was getting nervous when Marcus Smart's steal and dunk closed the gap to 70-68 with about four and a half minutes to play.  Luckily Iowa State responded with threes by both Clyburn and McGee within the next minute to push the lead back to 10 points.  This was a huge win for Iowa State, not only because it was the second ranked team that ISU has beaten this year, but because coming in to today the Cyclones were square on the "NCAA Bubble".  ESPN's latest bracketology had them predicted as one of the "last 4 in" the tournament, so hopefully this puts them over the hump into safe territory.  This marks ISU's 20th win of the season and 10th conference win.  Of course, we still have to play well in our next couple of games (at West Virginia, and likely against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament). 

There were small pom-poms placed on every seat inside Hilton.

Jeremy and the back of some bald guys head after the game :)

Also, in honor of senior night, check out this dunk by senior Chris Babb!

 

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Ok, so I've been pretty mad for the past day and a half now... and it's probably time that I "get over it".  On Monday I took my friend Tim Nevins with me to watch the "Big Monday" basketball game between Iowa State and Kansas that was aired on ESPN.  It was an epic game.  Really the atmosphere inside Hilton was hard to describe.  Everyone was decked out in gold apparel as it was "Gold Rules" day.  Of course it was a sell-out crowd.  But the deafening noise that persisted throughout the course of the game is what was amazing.  This was the loudest and best crowd that I've seen at a sporting event.  It helped that ISU made a school-record 17 three point baskets because every time one would go down the place would erupt.  The game itself was back-and-forth the whole time... until overtime. 

What has me upset is just how close ISU came to pulling off the upset.  Kasas came into the game ranked #6 by the AP and #5 in the USA Today coaches poll.  If only one of what I thought were many bad calls had gone the other way, or if Kansas would have just missed one of their two desperation three-pointers in the last minute, ISU would have had a great win.  Two specific calls come to mind.  The first was towards the end of regularion when Jeff Withey clearly (because he was the only person close enough to make contact) fouled ISU's Korie Lucious, but the officials charged the foul to another Jayhawk that raised his hand.  This would have fouled-out Withey, who ended up having a big impact in the rest of the game. 

The second was at the end of regulation when there was a curious no-call as Elijah Johnson appeared to charge into Georges Niang.  It appeared like Niang had position to draw the charge when ISU was leading 90-88 with under 10 seconds to play.  Ballgame.  Except after the no-call, as the players were both laying on the ground, the refs decide to call a reach-in foul on Niang.  This allowed Kansas to make two free-throws and tie the game which they would end up winning in OT.  Check out the video yourself.  Would you call the block/charge, or let that slide and call a foul as the palyers are both rolling around on the floor afterwards?

I just hope that ISU can use this as motivation to play well for the rest of the season.  They still have a chance to make the NCAA tournament if they play well.  Go State!!

Saturday, February 23rd, 2013

I'm happy to announce some good news... check out this video that Elizabeth made :)

Yesterday I put together a crib for our little one, and today (with the help of cousin David) we rearranged some furniture in the house to make room in the "baby room".  We're definately looking forward to July!!

Today I also took David to the ISU men's basketball game where we watched the Cyclones defeat Texas Tech, 86-66.  Iowa State now has a 22-game home winning streak which is the 2nd longest in school history.  It was good to see them avenge their terrible loss earlier this year at Texas Tech.  Will Clyburn and Chris Babb each scored 17 points to lead Iowa State.  One thing that I will remember about this game was the 46 fouls that were called... it made the game really drag out.

Cyclones win again!!

Sunday, February 17th, 2013

This weekend Amy & Brandon came over to visit from Omaha, and we had quite the fun time.  Of course the highlight of the weekend was Elizabeth & my trip to the doctor's office on Friday... where we FOUND OUT THE GENDER OF OUR BABY!!  Right now I'm still not going to reveal the news on here because some of our close family still doesn't know.  Elizabeth & I mailed out a special package to our parents and siblings that is filled with either pink or blue candy. 

On Friday we gave Amy & Brandon a tour of our house, as it was the first time they have seen it.  Then we went to the Memorial Union to watch The Vagina Monologues.  It was a different kind of play, but it was still very enjoyable.  Basically it was a collection of different women's experiences (good and bad) as they relate to their lady parts.  It also raised awareness for violence against women around the world.  Then after the show we went out to eat at Oddfellow's Burger Kitchen here in town.  Amy had the "Sunday Mornin' Burger" which among other toppings had a fried egg and bacon, Brandon had the "Ring of Fire Burger", and I had the Green Chile Burger.  I'm not sure if Elizabeth had a burger or something else...

Then on Saturday I took Amy & Brandon to watch the ISU men's basketball game against the TCU Horned Frogs.  The game itself was a laugher, as Iowa State won by a score of 87-53.  This is TCU's first year in the Big 12, and they are definately the worst team in the conference (1-11 conference record currently). 

Tip-off between ISU and TCU.  The Cyclones controlled the tip.

Amy & Brandon after Iowa State's big win.

My usual scoreboard photo :)

Later on Saturday we met back up with Elizabeth and went out for supper at Hickory Park.  Needless to say, but we had plenty of good food there as well!!  This weekend we also took a few family pictures at a nearby park, went out to sing karaoke (well, Elizabeth and Amy sang at anyways), and we played a board game called Settlers of Catan.  All in all, it was a very fun weekend to share with family (and to find out more about our future family)!!

Friday, February 8th, 2013

Check out what I just received in the mail today...

This year the ISU men's basketball team is officially tracking every three-point basket.  For each three that is made they are giving out one of these mini-basketballs.  Last year they gave out numbered t-shirts, and our friend Erick Ude caught one.  Our seats are so far up at the home games that there is no way they would ever throw one of these things up that high.  However, for each away game they post a picture on facebook.  If you comment on the picture they enter you for a chance to win a mini-basketball... and I won this one!! 

My basketball represents the 176th three-pointer of the season for the Cyclones.  It was made on Wednesday, January 30th, against Oklahoma State.  I searched ESPN's play-by-play game log to see that Will Clyburn made this exact three-pointer with 15:22 left in the first half.  The basket put ISU on top by a score of 13-4.  Unfortunately for ISU, the Cowboys would eventually rally to win the game 78-76. 

I think that this is a pretty cool souvenir as far as ISU sports memorabilia goes.  However, one aspect of this is a little sad.  Wednesday the 30th was the same day that LaVonne had her stroke.  According to Gary's facebook, he said that her stroke was around 7:40 that night.  The ISU basketball game started at 7:00, and this was made 4 minutes and 38 seconds into the game (shortly after the first TV timeout).  It's hard to tell the exact time, but this was probably within 30 to 40 minutes of her stroke. 

Saturday, February 2nd, 2013

The last couple of days have been pretty scary and sad for myself and a lot of my family.  On Wednesday of this week my aunt LaVonne suffered a major stroke.  We're all wishing her the best, and our thoughts are with her!  We love you very much, LV!!

I haven't gone down to visit yet just because there have been a lot of family at the hospital so far, and I don't want to overwhelm her & Gary.  Elizabeth and I might stop by tomorrow if it seems like the time is right.

On that note, this really has been a Groundhog's Day that is one I would not like to re-live.

I did end up going the the ISU men's basketball game with Jeremy, and it was nice to watch them defeat Baylor.  At least it got my mind off of other things.  Will Clyburn ended up having a big game for the Cyclones, with 28 points and 10 boards. 

The view of Hilton from our seats in section 216.

ISU won the tip-off...

Cyclones win again!!