for the scrapbook

the crew at the smoking musket do this so much better than me. but these are the stories i read in the aftermath of saturday's improbable, inspired and marvelous 73-66 victory against the storied university of kentucky wildcats:

from the new york times:
West Virginia Ends Half-Century of Waiting
just a well-written overview of the game from the biased east coast media.

from the lexington herald-leader:
Cats fall to West Virginia 73-66
this is the game overview from the kentucky perspective. if you look at the url, the hed originally read "mountaineers stun uk"

Freshman back court was no match for West Virginia's defense
an analysis piece from a herald-leader columnist mark story.

Biggest game of the year wrong time for UK's weaknesses to rear up
another analysis. this, from herald-leader columnist john clay.

a couple of national publications ran live blogs charting the ebb and flow of the game in goofy, wry or downright brutal one-line observations.

from espn's college basketball nation blog:

This was supposed to be a coronation for Kentucky. Guess not.

the quad blog at the times:

Based on uniforms alone, West Virginia should win this game. These black uniforms should add 5-10 points easily.

finally, there's the cleanup and impressions.

here's a pair from the sporting news:
What We Learned: Mountaineers' 'Truck' ready to run in Final Four
a three-point synopsis of the ball game.

Final Four teams make case for defense
analysis on the recipe for final four success from mike decourcy.

West Virginia now thinking national title after toppling No. 1 Kentucky
a troubling, potential jinx of praise by perennial wvu scold stewart mandel at sports illustrated.

The Talent to Contend, and the Experience to Win It All
more ego-stroking, albeit leavened, by venerable times columnist william rhodes.

this is what i scan for hours after big wins.

i suppose i do it for validation and to bask a little longer in the spotlight of attention for performance when it counted.

even as i write, it feels like resting on our laurels.

there are still two games to go before we can unequivocally say we've really done something.

i hope to God our boys aren't fawning over their press clippings the way i am.

hang time

i'm tired after a long, short-staffed work week.

tired, but happy.

we had a good week of papers, which is satisfying.

but after a lucky break from having to lay out another charleston newspapers publication after deadline, i'm happy to write that i was able to watch my west virginia university mountaineers advance to the ncaa east regional finals after defeating the university of washington huskies.

i just want to enjoy the moment, poised for a chance at completing a run to the final four -- not thinking about the goliath that awaits us saturday in seven-time national champion kentucky, not trying not to consider whether a seasoned defense can shut down an offensive juggernaut, and not dreaming about capturing a nation's attention with a show of grit and determination to somehow win it all. (yeah, especially not that.)

no. i have two days to fantasize and fret and finally watch, peeking through my fingers, my team give its best shot against the team favored to win the tournament.

i'm going to hang on to this for a little while longer.

i'll scan the web.

i'll post to my facebook.

then i'm going to go to bed.

happy.

the deal

not green
Originally uploaded by grumpnet

so kris walks in while i'm shaving after my shower this morning and asks if the boy and i have worked out a deal.

i stare. she starts washing her hands.

"you know, where you're conveniently at work or in the shower when he decides to deposit his body weight in poop into his diaper?"

she calls this a poop inequity. i call it the luck of the draw.

his food, my thought

late-night feedbag
Originally uploaded by grumpnet

all this boy's difficulties ultimately arise from gas.

as we haven't learned how to keep the disruptive effects of it or reflux consistently in check, these first 8 weeks or so have not been a cakewalk.

(it also causes us to overlook the obvious sources of discomfort, like leaky, wet diapers, constipation, fatigue or hunger).

on the other hand, he is a healthy baby boy with no other apparent problems.

i may be sleep-deprived, but i can rest easy.

thank you, Lord.

champs

and after focusing, grinding it out, and just about giving me a heart attack, my west virginia mountaineers are big east hoops champions.

ncaa tournament seedings? window dressing.

coach bob huggins wrote on the locker room board: 6 more, 240 minutes.

that could lead to something really special to celebrate.

hoopty doo

stuff like this makes me nervous.

Cincinnati freshman Lance Stephenson was guarding on the play.

"(West Virginia guard Da'Sean Butler) called it," Stephenson said. "He said, 'Bank.' I said, 'What?' and I looked and it went in."

i have to keep reminding myself we're only in the semifinals of the big east basketball tournament. and we play an annoying and pesky notre dame squad.

as excited and psyched as i am for the drama and attention over this win, to quote crash davis in bull durham as hotshot pitcher nuke laloosh celebrates a victory, "the moment's over."

we've still got work to do.

rolling up the red carpet

trolling the updates of friends and family on the facebook, i caught notice of one of our young reporters announcing his plans to hang out with friends at our venerable east end tavern, the red carpet lounge.

before the social media took hold of the newsroom, such an invite would have been e-mailed or simply issued by word of mouth on a thursday or friday afternoon. (obviously, in the pre-a.m. publication cycle years, ca. 1998-2009.)

one of kris' and my first social engagements was there, with friends at the end of a long, alcohol-soaked, chili-fested, house-partied day. i serenaded her years later on karaoke night -- an award-winning performance, it turned out.

thing about the place was that except for steak night at its outsized grill on warm thursday nights, you never went before 9 or 10. if it wasn't the only place you were going that evening, it was certainly the last.

i strongly suspect kris and i have seen our last night at the red carpet.

(red carpet lounge image by lauren henkin, copyright 2006.)

earning your supper

hunan shrimp
Originally uploaded by grumpnet

it can be a hollow feeling surveying your dinner knowing you pretty much pissed the day away.

so it was satisfying to sit down to a nice meal of chinese takeout and a cold beer after actually getting some things done.

while the work was by no means strenuous, it was due and needed to be gotten out of the way -- four loads of laundry, a load of dishes, insurance transfer started, trips to the shoe repair, lamp shop and grocery store

having the first thing out of bed be washing bottles -- rather than checking e-mail -- went a long way to setting the tone of the day.

i should remember that, especially as i consider the pile of recycling that needs to get out soon, but in general if i ever want to get anything done in whatever windows of time our boy deigns to allow us.

sun spot

the sun was out all day today for the first time in what feels like months.

personally, i've loved this season of unrelenting cold and snow.

after so many mild, barely worthy of the name winters, this one had real bite to it. kids will remember this one for the rest of their lives.

that said, there was an invigorating energy from a day that dawned clear and stayed bright and blue until the sun went down.

heading out for a sweep of errands downtown and the supermarket served up evidence of its power.

the stonefaced shopkeeper was jovial. the grocery cashier was bubbly. and i walked in parking lots with my face turned skyward.

i think even the cat appreciated it.

fat samoans

last of the samoans
Originally uploaded by grumpnet

as girl scout cookies made their way around the office this week, a colleague who used to work with the regional girl scout office told us the no. 1 seller nationally were the thin mints.

the no, 1 seller in west virginia, though, were the samoas, which she said were the worst ones nutritionally.

she wondered, then, why they would be so popular.

"because we're all fat," i said.