PSoTD

Yesterday was the last game of the season for my daughter's coed "8 years of age" basketball league. I coached the team this year, and it was a blast. We ended up 5-3, and of the ten kids on the team, all but three of them scored this season. And one of the three had some illness issues that kept him out of several games. So, we did get everyone pretty well involved. (note: picture isn't our team, just from the web)

There's something about coaching kids this age that is very rewarding. There is an attention span issue that you have to work with, practice can't be so focused on any particular skill that they lose interest, which can be easy to do because everything needs a LOT of work. But the kids are earnest in their effort to play, and there's a great feeling when you see one of your kids score their first basket or play the point for the first time (successfully) or determine to dig the rebounds out. Today we had all of that, plus trophy distribution and goodbyes and thank-yous to and from all the players. Good, good, good stuff. I'm going to miss it until next season.

Bill Ingram is Executive Editor for Basketball News Services. That's right, he writes about basketball. But he also writes about politics from time to time, particularly when it invades basketball, such as the Sebastian Telfair incident. Some basketball fans don't appreciate it, but Ingram writes:

One reader wrote to ask me if I shouldn't differentiate between hoops and politics. This is a "hoops site," after all, and I should stick to that. I couldn't disagree more. Here's my response:

If only we could seperate our lives into such categories as "hoops" or "politics." One necessarily affects the other. Many of the people who should be paying attention to politics are often too busy paying attention to entertainment. That's how people who do not have the best interest of our country at heart get into office. Voters aren't paying attention.

So here it is. One writer doing what he can do to get the worst offenders to pay attention to more important issues. Take it as you will, but I'm not willing to criticize privately when I fail to do so publicly. That's called hypocrisy - and too many Americans are guilty of that.

Thank you, Mr. Ingram. You are correct. TOO many people refuse to spend much time considering the situation the country is in, preferring to bury themselves with entertainment. But politics invades everything, and reporters of entertainment need to keep their marketplace apprised of the impact of that invasion. There needs to be more people like Ingram in the entertainment reporting industry.

Is NCAA Selection Sunday.

Curt Gowdy passed away today. He and Tony Kubek were the first voices I associated with baseball and the World Series. Some of the greatest baseball games I watched as a kid had these two, and later, a little Joe Garagiola mixed in as well.

Mr. Gowdy has a state park named after him in Wyoming, which is a rare achievement for a sportscaster. His home state was proud of him, and for a kid growing up in the 60s, I understand why. Happy trails to him.

In basketball, check out the Bucknell Bison. They crack the AP Top 25 in NCAA basketball, and it is a school of 3500 students. Our local high school has more students.

Interesting. Today Bush honored the 2005 Chicago White Sox for winning the World Series, and manager Ozzie Guillen was a no-show. He chose to stay home and vacation with family.

Gotta love his priorities. And this is a bit telling also...

"Ozzie has been on a whirlwind this winter. He has done everything that everybody asked him to do," Reinsdorf said, pointing out that Guillen went to the Illinois Legislature and the Chicago City Council as part of his offseason appearances.

I See Invisible People has an interesting bit on viewership of the Olympics. Do American "sports fans" watch it? I consider myself an American sports fan, but I really couldn't care less about the Winter Olympics - even the hockey. Give me NCAA basketball, give me NBA basketball, I'll watch either before I'll watch the Winter Olympics.

Happy Birthday, Babe.

What is today?

Super Bowl Sunday.

Has any other sport ever dominated Americans' calendars like this?

Our daughter's basketball game today was scheduled for 6 PM today (EST). Last week they rescheduled it to noon - so it wouldn't compete with the Super Bowl.

A local coffee shop I usually go to is closed today because of the Super Bowl. Now, they close at 2 PM on Sundays, so it wasn't a business competition issue.

What else? Governor Ed Rendell postponed this week’s budget address by a day, bumping it from Tuesday to Wednesday, to accommodate politicos who are planning to be at the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Sunday dominates America's calendar like no other unofficial holiday of the year. What a commitment our country has made to the NFL.

In 2006, Kentucky Derby will have corporate sponsorship for the first time in 131 years. From Facing South.