ResQgeek

Its springtime and a weekend, which means, in part, that we had soccer games. My younger daughter's team played as well as they every have, but couldn't manage to get the ball in the goal. Still, it was progress. The big news was my older daughter's game later in the day. Her team thoroughly dominated the game, playing long stretches on the attack in the other teams end. My daughter scored her very first goal (!!), which turned out to be the game winner (and the only goal in the match). It was great to see all her hard work pay off.

That evening, we drove down to Lorton to look at a pinball machine my wife was thinking about buying. The machine was built in 1978, but is beautifully maintained. Given the condition of this machine, I think the price being asked was more than fair, and we ended up loading it into the van and bringing home. It is now set up in our big family, and the kids are loving their friend's reactions when they walk in and see it.

This morning, the older daughter ran in her first 5K race. She joined a running club at school at the beginning of the year, and this was their first big event. She didn't have a remarkable time, but she did finish. She was thrilled when she got home, but went to bed aching and sore. I suspect that the training for this run has helped her soccer game, building her stamina and speed. I don't expect she'll seriously pursue running, but the training seems to be doing some good.

This afternoon was mine. I put some ribs in the smoker, turned on the TV to watch the sixth game in the first round NHL playoff series between the Washington Capitals and the NY Rangers. The Caps were trailing in the series 3 games to one, but on Friday night dominated the Rangers in a 4-0 shutout to begin a rally. This afternoon, the Caps continued to carry their momentum in front of a hostile crowd in NY, winning the game 5-3 to tie the series at 3 games each. The series finishes here on Tuesday evening, winner take all. Here's hoping it will be the Caps.

I've spend much of the last month listening to my colleauges around the office discussing the NCAA Basketball tournaments (mostly the men's, but there has been some talk about the women's tourney as well). The problem for me is that I'm not really a big fan of basketball. What I do enjoy is ice hockey, both professional and colligiate. It has been a pretty dismal year for me on the colligiate level, though. My alma mater was in the basement of their conference standings through much of the season, and were eliminated from their conference tournament in the first round. Needless to say, they did not get a bid for the 16 team NCAA tournament.

Interestingly, the final rounds of the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey tournament (i.e., the Frozen Four) are being held here in DC this weekend. I checked a few weeks ago, and found that the games were officially sold out. Not a bit deal, since my school wasn't going to be there and the games are available on the ESPN family of cable channels.

Then a co-worker told me that he had a friend that was looking to unload a couple of tickets and that he didn't have anyone to use the second set. So yesterday afternoon, I caught the Metro downtown and watched the two semi-final games. The first game, between Miami University (Ohio) and Bemidji State University (Minnesota), wasn't the most exciting hockey game I've ever attended. Both teams had been number four seeds in their respective regions for the tournament and had managed back-to-back upsets to reach this stage. However, the first and third periods were pretty flat, with all the scoring (except Miami's empty netter at the end) occuring in the second period. Miami eliminated Bemidji State (final score 4-1).

The second semi-final was MUCH more exciting. Number 1 ranked Boston University is looking for its fifth National title, while the University of Vermont (a number 3 seed in its region for the tournament) that had a winning record against BU this season. BU took an early lead, 2-0 after the first period, but Vermont controlled much of the second period with three unanswered goals. But Boston University didn't give up, tying the game at 3 by the end of the second period. While Vermont briefly regained their lead in the third period, it was pretty clear by the middle of the period that Vermont was simply running out of energy. BU regained the lead and were able to control the puck until time expired.

Saturday evening, I'll be back downtown to watch the championship game between BU and Miami. I'm not confident that Miami can manage another upset, but if they play as well as they did when they eliminated Denver (the number one seed in their region) in the first round they might just have a chance. We'll see...

UMass 1, Clarkson O

:-(

The audio feed was working fine until about ten minutes into the game, but then the connection started dropping every minute or so and eventually, I couldn't connect at all. So, I've got the NCAAsports.com GameTracker up on my screen, which isn't quite as good, but at least I can get a feel for the flow of the game.

Currently, its about the halfway point in the third period, and there still isn't any score. I'm not sure if I want this thing to go to overtime, or not...

Clarkson escaped the ECAC semi-finals with a 5-4 win over Dartmouth, and then went on to win its first ECAC title since 1999 with a 4-2 win over Quinnipiac. The NCAA brackets are now official...Clarkson has the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Regional of the NCAA tournament in Rochester, NY, next weekend. Looking at their competition for the regional, it looks like they hav a pretty good shot at making the Final Four in St. Louis!

I hadn't really missed the NHL season, or so I told myself. In part, I find the arguments between millionaire players and even richer owners to be obnoxious. Couple that with the fact that the local Washington Capitals aren't exactly a cream-of-the-crop team, and I've been feeling extremely ambivalent about the lack of hockey this season. Last fall, I held out some hope that following my college hockey team would satisfy any cravings I had for hockey. Unfortunately, the Golden Knights haven't been so golden this season (or last season, for that matter), finishing 9th in a twelve team conference.

I made the mistake of checking the playoff scores earlier this afternoon. The Knights won (in overtime) on Friday night and then lost last night (another overtime game). The series is tied, and a little while ago, I realized that it should be the middle of the third period in the decisive game in this series. I suddenly find myself really wishing I could watch this game. I just checked the score, and the Knights are winning 3-2. Another close game. I could keep refreshing my browser to keep up with the game status until its over, but that would be a drag. I'd much rather watch the game. Actually, at this point, I'd be happy watching any hockey game.

Anyway, I hope the Golden Knights win. This is their last chance to redeem a terrible season (12-21-3), though I can't really expect that they'll win the conference title from the 9th seed. I only wish I could actually watch some of these games.