The NBA Draft: Do You Really Have to be 6' 11"?
June 26, 2008 9:51 AM | 0 Comments
This morning my 10-year-old son Austin woke up with a new obsession. After performing quite satisfactorily in a Little League Baseball District game last night (particularly in light of the fact that he was recovering from a nasty flu), for some reason he was seized with anxiety over his future as a professional basketball player.
Austin asked: "Do you think I'll reach 6' 11"?
What am I, some height forecaster? I replied: "I don't know; you've always been in the 100th percentile for height, weight and head measurements. (Believe me, when you're giving birth the latter data is all that matters, and if I could do it all over again, my ideal husband would have a pinhead.) Your father is 6' 3", so I'm putting my money on 6' 6" at least."
This was not encouraging to Austin. "But that's not 6' 11"; I'll never be able to play Center or Forward, he said, collapsing on the stair landing." Since it was breakfast time, his thoughts naturally turned toward nutrition. "Are there any foods I should be eating that will make me taller?"
I replied, not being a nutritionist, "How about milk, fruits and vegetables? Those should do the trick. Anyway, what's wrong with being a Point Guard? That's what Michael Jordan was, and he wasn't 6' 11". I have know idea what a Point Guard does, but I always like to bring up Michael Jordan because I have a ring of authority. Everyone knows that M.J. and I were classmates at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and that we shared a Jazz Appreciation class. The fact that he wouldn't know me if he trampled me on the basketball court is insignificant. In my dreams, delusions if you will, I am convinced that Michael Jordan tells people he shared a Jazz Appreciation class with Nan Smith (maiden name) Hall, but even I know this is C-R-A-Z-Y T-A-L-K. At minimum, M.J. has fond memories of me when he listens to his Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz.
So, I don't know about Austin's final height or his future as an NBA player, but I think I'll go listen to Coleman Hawkin's rendition of Body & Soul and daydream about the day I challenge M.J. to a game of H.O.R.S.E. Just don't wake me up.
Do your children have any sports obsessions right now?
The Sports Widow
(aka Nan Hall)
Tell me what you think of The NBA Draft: Do You Really Have to be 6' 11"?...
From the Basketball Archives
Out With College Basketball and in With Baseball
April 4, 2008 4:07 PM | 0 Comments
This Monday night one of the defining annual features of my Sports Widowhood will have concluded: The NCAA College Basketball Tournament will end. This is my husband and sports fan Bryan's passion. What's different this year, however, is that we've already segued into baseball, which has slided into second-place prominence with the two major sports fans in my household, Bryan and my 10-year-old son Austin. As I blog, I am listening to announcer Dave Niehaus narrate the Seattle Mariners playing the Baltimore Orioles. Groan. Is there any mercy?Here are a few of my deep thoughts on this season which truly never ends.
Sports Widows Guide to March Madness
March 23, 2008 11:22 AM | 0 Comments
For many Sports Widows, March is the time of year when their sports fans emerse themselves in the College Basketball Championship Tournament, otherwise known as March Madness. The NCAA Mens and Womens tournaments are single-elimination tournaments held each spring featuring 65 teams. Also referred to as the Big Dance, the tournaments take place over a three week period at four sites across the country.
It's Real Simple: March Madness is Here
March 7, 2008 8:31 AM | 0 Comments
It's March and the madness is setting in. My sports fan/husband Bryan is an ardent fan of NCAA basketball, and the tournaments will begin soon. He will fret over brackets, and basketballs will fly across the television screen. The picture in this entry is circa 1950s. It's my Uncle Lee, who is one of the contributors to my Sports Widowhood. So here's a salute to my Uncle Lee and my beloved fan, Bryan.
Seattle Supersonics Promote Lust for Reading (& Hooters)
December 11, 2007 7:19 AM | 0 Comments
My husband Bryan and 10-year-old son Austin went to the Seattle Supersonics basketball game on Friday night. Austin won a ticket to the Sonics vs. The Milwaukee Bucks because he completed the NBA Read to Achieve challenge, which is aimed at fostering a lifelong love of reading. In turn, my husband had a good excuse to buy a companion ticket and indulge his lifelong love of basketball. Ironically, literary zeal isn't the only thing Austin won.
The Season Never Ends: How to Survive the NBA Basketball Season
November 5, 2007 8:26 PM | 0 Comments
If you listen to our Sports Widow Blues theme song, you'll hear the lamenting phrase, "I'm a Sports Widow, baby, and the season never ends." The plaintiff stylings of composer/vocalist Chris Sharp ring particularly true this season. The Boston Red Sox just swept (won the first four games of) the Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series, the ballpark seats aren't even cold yet, and professional basketball and college basketball are bouncing into our lives. And, not just for a few months, but until June 2008 in the case of pro basketball. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! That's the sound of Basketball Widows hurling themselves off their widow's walks in abject despair.
Sports Widow Plays Shake n' Bake Street Basketball
April 9, 2007 11:30 PM | 0 Comments
We have just made our annual Spring Break pilgrimage to Wapato Point, which is a small community in Lake Chelan, Washington. This is our seventh year of traveling to Wapato Point, and it's a recreational haven for us. We play basketball, tennis, Putt Putt golf, swim in an indoor pool and generally commune together. Tonight I was conscripted into playing basketball with Austin on what has to be one of the prettiest outdoor courts ever, and it's in clear view of the condo we are staying in and there is a view of the mountains behind the court.
The Tarheels Loss to Georgetown Brings Back NCAA Memories
March 25, 2007 11:45 AM | 0 Comments
Last night, the University of North Carolina Tarheels lost in overtime to Georgetown. This reminded me of my halcyon days as a young Sports Widow and UNC Journalism student. It also revives a story about one of my greatest claims-to-fame in the realm of sports, my brush with greatness.
In 1982, the year I graduated from UNC, the Tarheels competed against Georgetown and won the Men's NCAA College Basketball tournament, which I witnessed from the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. Actually, when the final shot was made, I believe my back was turned to the TV, as I was refilling my plastic beer cup at the Budweiser pony keg, but this is just a detail. (Hey, I grew up in Milwaukee, where hops are king.) What followed the deciding shot was a tremendous roar of fan appreciation and an all-night party. I recall viewing the enthusiastic crowd from a rooftop on the main drag, and the throng looked like amoebas.
Go Tarheels! I Think.
March 23, 2007 11:13 AM | 0 Comments
First of all, let me say that the guys in my neighboring cubicles at work are positively evil scam artists, who enjoy taking advantage of a poor, innocent Sports Widow. When I came into the office last Thursday for the first time following my daughter's spinal surgery, I asked them if they had been watching the Men's NCAA College Basketball Tournament, and they both nodded. I asked if my alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was still a contender and they said the Tarheels were out. THEY WERE WRONG. THEY WERE MESSING WITH MY HEAD. THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY. On Saturday, I discovered that the Tarheels were playing USC, which is either the University of Southern California or the University of South Carolina (I'm not sure), so I decided to join my fellow sports fans and watch the last 10 minutes of the game.
I'm a Tarheel Bred, But I Have to Be Careful
March 12, 2007 9:39 PM | 0 Comments
While at Children's Regional Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle with my 12-year-old daughter Kit, I met lots of nurses. Today, I became aquainted with 64-year-old Alice, who is a no-nonsense, clinical caregiver. In an effort to lighten things up, so that she would forget about the fact that my daughter had not passed the stool test, I tried to initiate a little light-hearted chitchat. During the course of the conversation, I discovered that Alice's two sons both graduated from Duke University. I told her that I graduated from Chapel Hill, and the animosity was immediate. She was a BIG basketball fan, loved the Blue Devils, and couldn't believe that I didn't know that Chapel Hill was a first seed. I know what a bad seed is, but the term first seed never did make any sense to me.
Preparations for March Madness: The NCAA College Basketball Tournament
March 12, 2007 8:18 PM | 0 Comments
While I was in the hospital with my 12-year-old daughter, preparing to return home after her spinal fusion, my husband Bryan apologetically explained that he had to make a slight modification in our Master Bedroom in order to accommodate the NCAA College Basketball tournament. The 10-year-old Magnavox TV, which only has a 27-inch screen, was too far away on its perch on our chest of drawers at the opposite end of the room, so Bryan cleverly prepared a make-shift stand for it. It now rests on a hunter green Rubbermaid container at the foot of the bed. Much greater clarity and poetic placement. Directly behind it is an easterly view of the Cascade Mountains.
Basketball Blues? The Sports Widow Mom Experiences a Rare Victory
May 17, 2006 6:43 AM | 0 Comments
Today, there was a 2-hour early dismissal from elementary school. I'm still not sure what the teachers do with this time, but I am glad they have it, AND I planned to take a day off from work in order to enjoy the extra time with my children. As it turned out, Caroline had a playdate, Kit was home sick (after vomiting all over the school bus and parts of a nearby county), and Austin returned home full of energy. Since my wings were clipped by Kit's illness, we needed to stay close to home and Austin proposed that we play a 20-point basketball game in the alley and check on Kit's status every 5 points. I agreed.
The Madness May Be Over, but the Season Never Ends
April 3, 2006 7:09 AM | 0 Comments
March Madness is Just the Beginning for the Sports Widow
It's time to break out the champagne or at the minimum some box wine with a good nozzle. The sporting event that has turned my husband and 8-year-old son into the equivalent of a painting, entitled "Still Life: Man and Boy With Snacks and Beverages in Front of Tube," has concluded. Yes, tonight, the Florida Gators clamped their jaws on the UCLA Bruins, wrestling them to the finish and thereby mercifully ending the 2006 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Basketball Tournament.
How I Became a Sports Widow
March 2, 2006 7:11 AM | 0 Comments
The only math formula I ever memorized was: Tragedy+Time=Comedy. When I apply this to my relationship with sports, believe me, comedy is the operative word.
