Bryce Brown: The future...

Woo! Hoo!

Just landed the first pick in tonight's 16 team(!) fantasy football draft.

Debating smart pick (Aaron Rodgers) versus sentimental pick (Shady McCoy).

Hmm.

Avalon pictures -- two dolphins

Double workout...

Soccer, followed by hoops.

Inevitable...

Definitely back to real life today.  Ugh. 

Phillies...

Slowly creeping back into the (second) wild card race.  After sweeping (and intimidating) the first place Natties, we are 7 out.  And we're doing it without bums like Pence and Polanco.

Up from The Basement...

Got up at 4:30.  Left Wawa at 5:45.  Was home was by 11:45, including stopping to pick up The Dog.

The Basement, 14.0 -- Final Edition for another year...

Heading home tomorrow after 14 fantastic days.  Things we're looking forward to: Our dog, the grill, the 50 inch HD TV and the deck.

The Basement, 13.0

Best day yet for waves.  In fact, they were the biggest ones we can ever remember. Spent 2+ hours getting tossed and turned by them.  Great stuff, indeed.

The Basement, 12.0

Today we saw more dolphins at one time then we ever have before.  Yes, ever.  There were easily 15 or more in the water just past noon today.  The best was a baby who continuously flapped its tail in the water.  Check out the
video.

The Basement, 11.0

Heading to The Bank to watch Cliff Lee and the Phillies tonight.  Will first hit the Eagles Pro Shop at The Link across the street and then go to Tony Luke's in Ashburn Alley in center field.

The Basement, 10.0

Mychal Kendricks = future star.

The Basement, 9.0

Took The Playmaker to work out on the legendary 8th Street Courts after dinner tonight.  Google it.  Place was the spot back in the 1980s.

The Basement, 8.0

Another great day today. With Hamels in control, we're off to bed early to read some more Lucas Davenport.

The Basement, 7.0

Annual dinner at Busch's tonight -- always the first Friday of the vacation. Pictures to follow.  Needless to say, the meal was great.

The Basement, 6.0

Got to the beach at 9 AM.  Stayed in water for an hour.  Around 10:30 a school of dolphins came by -- must have been a dozen. Got some pics, but don't have correct wire to connect camera to laptop.

The Basement, 5.0

The Wife arrived this morning.  Woo! Hoo!  Totally psyched!

The Basement, 4.0

The Basement, 3.0

Got up and put in another four miles (.75 walking and 3.25 running).  Foot/heel felt pretty good. At least good enough to do it again tomorrow.

The Basement, 2.0

Four hours on the beach.  One nap. Part of a Phillies game (Pierre!). Fresh chicken and veggies for dinner.  Now ready to start our annual Shore Tradition.  The new Lucas Davenport book.

The Basement, 1.0

Went to the Blue Rocks minor league game last night.  Got up early and hit the road this morning at 7:30.  After a stop at ... wait for it ... Wawa, we arrived in The Basement around 10 AM.  Raided a store for Phillies 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 hit the local market on 29th to get cold cuts before taking the kids for a quick dip in the ocean at 6:30. 

W-O-W!!!

The e-mail came Wednesday, saying there would only be six players at last night's Metro Summer League game.

Then early yesterday morning we got a text.  Get him ready. Only have 5 tonight.  He'll be the 1.

Fourteen hours later, we could have been prouder or more pumped.  Playing with just five kids, The Playmaker led his team to a 29-17 victory to improve to 8-0 for the summer.  He scored the first hoop of the game on a shot fake that allowed him to take the ball down the lane and hit a lefty layup.  The Playmaker played the entire game at the point, scoring 6 points (3-5 shooting) to go with 6 assists and just 2 turnovers.   

It was a great way for him to head into The Basement for the next two weeks.

Do not disturb...

Watching U.S. Women's Gold Medal Game.

Bill Simmons

Bill Simmons moment: Our Dad sent us this a while ago and we've been meaning to post it.  Amazing!

R.I.P.

Drug addict or not, no parent ever wants to bury their son.  All the best to Andy Reid and his family.

W-O-W

Caught the final 30 minutes of the women's semi-final game between the U.S. and Canada.  Great stuff! Can't wait for Thursday's payback game against Japan.

The good son...

Treated everyone (seven total) to lunch at Cheesecake Factory today to celebrate our mom's 68th birthday.

Best we can do...

TGIF...

Long day.  But a good one.  Topped off with a dinner planned and 100 percent cooked by The Playmaker and The Playmaker's Sister.  Pictures and menu tomorrow.

NBC's Olympic coverage sucks...

 

2013

Thoroughly enjoyed watching the Phillies start their 2013 comeback season last night by absolutely bitch-slapping the Washington Nationals.  Best part was the final at bat when thousands of Phillies fans stood and cheered in the Natties home field.  We may stink this year.  But we still own that park.