We made it!!!

For obvious (read: work) reasons, we despise the end of summer. But the best part of fall (along with the autumn weather) is the return of college football. The season starts tonight, with eight games being played, six of which will be televised.

6:00 North Carolina @ South Carolina We love following SC because we love (love!) The Head Ball Coach. We love his visor. We love his shades. We love when he goes all "I don't give a sheet!" and takes his shirt off during practice on hot days. We love when he speaks into a microphone. And we love the fact he eats at ... wait for it ... Arby's. (If you don't know what we're referring to, you're NOT a college football fan.) And we love that The Cocks always seem to play in the first game of the year every August.  SC 27 UNC 16

7:00 Tulsa @ Bowling Green Reason we'll flip here during commercials: A starting D-lineman for BG went to our high school. Tulsa is getting 4 points on the road. Kids from Oklahoma are tough -- tough enough to cover. BG 35 Tulsa 31

8:00 Utah State @ Utah Reason we'll miss skip this game: It's on Fox Sports 1.  That means having to endure "analyst" (giggle) Eddie George on the pre-game show. Fox's college football coverage will NEVER be taken seriously as long as they employ stiffs like him. Reason you'll skip this game: You probably still haven't figured out what channel FS1 is on your box.  The Utes will Win One for Majerus. Utah 42 Utah State 38

9:15 Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt This will actually be the best game of the night. Ole Miss needs an opening night W before it embarks on a killer schedule. Vandy needs to prove it's a top 25 team by closing the deal at home. Can't wait for this one. Vandy 21 Ole Miss 20

10:30 Rutgers @ Fresno State The Bulldogs are 10 point favorites. Hmm... Rutgers 24 The Fighting Chris Herrens 21

11:00 Southern Cal @ Hawaii We know one thing: @billpear will be watching, cold one in hand. The Sons of Lane Kiffin need to show some stones/maturity and pound the crap out of Hawaii.  USC 49 Hawaii 24  

Coming soon...

Pictures from our two week stay in The Basement.

Fact...

The Phillies have the worst offense we have ever seen.  

E V E R.

Different day, different sport

Yesterday, field hockey. Today, basketball. We put The Playmaker through a 45-minute shooting and ball-handling driveway workout today. Finished with a game of '21' -- we lost 21-17.

Field hockey?!?

Took The Playmaker's Sister to the local high school and rand two miles with her.  After that, we ran three 100-yard gassers.  Um, she beat us in all three. Ugh...

Field hockey tryouts start Thursday.

Oops...

Forgot to talk about yesterday's playoff game. We lost by 5.  The playmaker had 6 points (3-8 shooting) and led the team with 3 assists.

And we're back...

Left at 5 this morning. By 10:30 we were picking up The Dog.  At 12:30 we were coaching The Playmaker's summer league team in its playoff game.

The Basement, 14.0

Heading up from The Basement tomorrow.  Been a great 15 days. Two Phillies games. Just one day of rain. Tons of gear to hold us over the next 12 months.  And a plethora of pictures, videos and tweets to preserve the memories.

The Basement, 13.0

We talked about it last summer, how getting a MacBook Air would be suh-weeet to take into The Basement with us. We got a Great Deal at Best Buy during a Black Friday on-line sale. And we kept it locked away in our home office for 9(!) months. We surprised the kids with it the day before we left.  And we absolutely love it.

The Basement, 12.0

Watched Brett Brown presser on the iPad at the beach.  How great is that?!?

The Basement, 11.0

Swam all morning.  Took The Family to The Boardwalk in the afternoon to go on rides and introduce the kids to pinball. Followed that up with pizza at Mack & Mancos Manco & Manco. 

The Basement, 10.0

Davenport

The local business magazines estimated that he'd gotten out with around forty million dollars.

So he was smart and rich.

And the first batch of clips demonstrated that he was, without a doubt, a killer.

Somebody, she thought, that she might like.

The Basement, 9.0

Had the biggest J U M B O shrimp we've ever seen for dinner tonight. Picked 'em up (1.5 pounds) from Avalon Seafood. $22 a pound -- totally worth it.

The Basement, 8.0

After eight days, we finally caved and ...... wait for it ...... went to 96th Street for ice cream.

The Basement, 7.0

Had a spectacular dinner at Busch's tonight. Blackened swordfish with crabmeat. Pictures to follow.

The Basement, 6.0

Took The Wife and The Playmaker to The Bank to watch the Phillies smash the Cubs today, 12-1.  Home runs for Ruf and Ashe.  Solid 5 innings from Ethan Martin.  After the game we hustled back to The Basement and swam from 6-7:15.

The Basement, 5.0

Knocked out 43 and 44. That's how we roll...

The Basement, 4.0

Took the kids out for pizza tonight -- our annual tradition the night before The Wife comes down.

The Basement, 3.0

Quick Hitters:

• Shaved 13 seconds off our 4.25 mile time this morning.

• Body-surfed for over an hour this morning.

• Split a wiffle ball double header (3 inning games) with The Playmaker.

• Bought a new pair of Avalon Nike Dri-Fit shorts to run in.

The Basement, 2.0

In the olden days we'd get up in The Basement and rip off 6 miles in under an hour and not even feel anything.  One hundred years later, we have bone on bone in both knees -- and that's why we now hump the elliptical every morning. But down here, we still get after it.  We can push out 10 or 11 days of running. Instead of six miles, we now jog four every morning. And our splits are much (much!) slower. This morning was 4.25 miles in 45:47. That's about an 11 minute mile -- clearly not great.  But who cares?!?  That's the point of The Basement; there is no point down here! That's the beauty of vacation. And that is the beauty of The Basement.

The Basement, 1.0

Went to the Phillies game last night. Got up early and hit the road this morning at 7:45. After a stop at ... wait for it ... Wawa, we arrived in The Basement around 10 AM. Raided a store for Eagles gear, then did the grocery shopping. Although the house comes with a cleaning service (and was spotless), we still put our own touch (read: OCD/anal) on it from 1-5 PM. Wanted to make it absolutely perfect for the next 14 days. Then took the kids for a dip in the ocean from 5:30 - 6:30. 

Stay healthy. Stay safe.

Here we go ...

Into The Basement.  A week earlier this year, on account of The Playmaker's Sister entering the high school sports world. Check back tomorrow.  We are back on our every day posting schedule.

Stay healthy. Stay safe.