They Won, They Won

Okay - another post about sports... The Central Little League 9/10 y.o. All Star team just beat the Eastern Little League All-Star team 16 - 12. It was a very exciting game. Lots of hits (and lots of errors) early on. Central was behind 10-12 before the 5th inning rally - then they came back. AOSB played right field and 2nd base. He was up only once - and he was hit by the pitch, took his base and was thrown out at 2nd when the next player hit. I went to the game. Curling Man was coaching Hockey girl in the last regular season Little League game at the same time. Red (her team color) won handily. She pitched. Playoffs for that league start next week. But first, semi-final game for All-Starts tomorrow night at 6 p.m.. Stay tuned.

I won, I won!!

You know how people always say they never win? Well, I can't say that, I win sometimes, but usually it's like that casino commercial on TV where they win a pork chop - I win a size XXL sweatshirt with some fugly logo on it, or I win 4 passes to the local Moster truck rally or some other thing I can't imagine wanting/using. This time I won something I ACTUALLY WANT! More importantly my kids really, really (as in they've been begging for it incessantly for the past many months) want it. I won a Wii!! Now, a few months ago, when I would have told you we're never getting a Wii, I wouldn't have been all that excited, but since I had now made a commitment to the kids that they could get one if they earned it - it's really sweet to save that couple hundred bucks! Of course, since what they had to do to earn it was not touch each other for 20 days (not in a row - just 20 random days), chances are they wouldn't have earned it until the Wii XVI came out. They have made it 6 days - since the end of May. Clearly, they like to bug each other more than they want a Wii. So now, I have to decide what to do with it. Part of me wants to stick it in the closet until they reach 20 days. The other, much meaner part, wants to set it up, play it, invite friends over to play it and make them just sit and watch until they have earned the right to play it themselves. Maybe it will give them the extra incentive they need to get those additional 14 days.

It's Baseball season

So July is not a time for hockey, well actually it is. We were in Breezy Point this weekend for a tournament. The Northern Wings, Hockey Girl's AAA team, was in a 10U (this means 10 and under, which really means age 10 as of July 1, 2007 since this is still technically part of last season), so lots of the girls were 11 years old - and many were the size of say 16 year-olds. That is everyone on the *other team. Our team has mostly 9 and 10 year olds. Yes, I am already making excuses for our pitiful 0-6 showing at the tournament. I felt so bad for our girls. They played some darn good hockey. They also played some not-so-good hockey, but they had fun!



We stayed in the dorms at the arena. As our coach repeatedly reminds me, I'm high maintenance (that's Chai Maintenance for all you Jews out there - we're not JAPs for nothin') - so I was not thrilled with the idea of sleeping in a dorm on those lousy mattresses they reserve for camp bunk beds. I was willing to sacrifice so that Hockey Girl could stay with her team (I did not consider for a minute the fact that we were saving $200+ dollars by staying there instead of at the local motel - lesson learned - do not enter hockey tournaments in the Lakes District of Minnesota in the summer). Since she's also CM - she also considered it quite a sacrifice. Dorms weren't awful - yes, the beds were pretty bad. Yes, we had to share a bathroom and showers (the kind where the floors never get a chance to get dry). Yes, there were mice running around the dining area when the first families arrived, but they weren't awful. They did have a nice common area with large TVs (on which the Dads could watch sports and the kids could watch Nick or the Disney Channel - for some reason it was never on TLC, TNT, Lifetime or any other channel the Hockey Moms might enjoy watching). They also had a great outdoor grill area and fire pit - which would have been so much fun, but for the 55 degree temps and the sustained 25 MPH winds. Being hearty northern Minnesotans, we built a fire and made S'mores anyway, but we all got headaches and sore eyes from the smoke. Coach has decided we need to do a winter tournament there and try the dorms in the winter - ummm - I don't *think so. Go ahead, call me Chai Maintenance - Hotel rooms will be a dime a dozen in the winter - no way am I sleeping with the mice who will have moved indoors full time when the weather gets bad.



While Hockey Girl and I were in the dorms, Curling Man was at his annual cabin party in Ely, MN. Since what happens in Ely stays in Ely, I don't really know what all he did. I do know what he didn't do, though. He didn't go to All-Other-Sports Boy(AOSB)'s 1st All-Star baseball game. What kind of Basebal Dad is he anyway? So, without any parental support, the Central Little League All-Star Team lost game one 17-9 (in extra innings). AOSB had a great time he said, but it's never fun to lose. Fortunately for him, it's a double elimination tournament, so they can still go all the way. Monday night they had game 2. Curling Man returned from Ely unscathed, and he went to that game, while I brought Hockey Girl to her regular league baseball game. That game ended in exciting 10-9 win for Central Little League. Last night they played again, and again - they rallied from being behind 5 runs to a 6-5 win. Grandpa Chuck and Grandma Nancy came all the way up from the Twin Cities to watch, and AOSB only played one inning, but what an exciting game! So, tonight is game 4 - GO Central!!!