Feb 19, 2009
Taylah beats the buzzer to put SJM over St. Norbert 18-17
Going into our first round of playoffs yesterday the expectations, admittedly, were not to high. The SJM Basketball team did not fair very well at the Mater Dei tournament this past weekend, and I thought there would be some hangover going in. Round one of the playoffs was held at St. Jeanne in Tustin, and we didn't know what to expect. The Kids seemed pretty relaxed during warm-ups and proceeded to goof around as usual.
The Game started off slowly as both teams were feeling each other out. We struggled to score (as usual), but we were able to put up a good number of shots, they just weren't falling. St. Jeanne had only one stand out player that we had to worry about, so we ran a box-and-1 defense on her which slowed her down a bit. At the half we were down 6 points, and in a low scoring game, that feels like a lot. Taylah did a very good job in the second half of securing almost every rebound. She picked it up on defense, as did the rest of the team. We never led the entire game, but were slowly creeping back into it. The two teams really got after it defensively, and it was a battle just to get a shot up. With 1:08 left in the game we called a timeout because we had to remind the kids that it was do or die. If we don't score, we go home. After a couple of broken plays and turnovers on both sides, we had the ball for a final shot. Sunny had it at the top of the key and just before she hoisted up a desperation shot from there, Taylah cut to a open spot under the basket and Sunny delivered a perfect bounce pass. Tay caught it and layed it in as the clock expired to win the game!
This buzzer-beater reminded me of her days playing club soccer, when more than once she scored a last second goal to either tie or win the match. It's safe to say I'm very proud of both Sunny for making the perfect pass, and Taylah for finishing the shot...whew...we get to do this again on Tuesday...
Feb 7, 2009
Ethan's 1st Basketball game
It was a rain-soaked drive to the downtown Anaheim YMCA gym Saturday morning where Ethan was scheduled to play his first game with the Timberwolves. He really looked the part with his new Nike Air Zooms and Nike Dri-fit basketball shorts, and he was noticeably excited/nervous. During warm-ups he made 2 out of 3 layups and I think that helped his confidence. He is probably one of the youngest, shortest, most inexperienced on his team but I think his coach sees something in him (as we do) because he started him at point guard. The game was very close and the two teams exchanged leads countless times. I was really impressed with how easy going his coach was in contrast to the other teams obnoxious, overly boisterous coach. Ethan was admittedly confused on where he was supposed to be on defense, and I was encouraged to see him ask his coach for direction. Ethan was not excited about his debut because he rarely handled the ball, and had no shot attempts. I told him that he did fantastic for his first game, and that it would only get easier for him over the course of the season. His team lost 26-25 and had a chance to win with a buzzer-beater. It is going to be fun to watch him develop and he always makes me proud.
Lakers make a trade
"Space Cadet" as Phil Jackson so lovingly called Vlad Radmanovic, has been shipped to the Charlotte Bobcats for college standout Adam Morrison and 3rd year player Shannon Brown. It sucks that Phil decided to go with Luke Walton over Vlad. I'm not the biggest Luke fan, and I thought Vlad at the least had potential to score consistently from the three point line. I know the Lakers have no problem scoring whatsoever, but I thought he gave the team a lift in the 1st quarter as the Lakers tend to pick it up more in the second half of games. One good thing about the trade is that Vlad will probably get a lot more PT, and be able to show off his Super-arc jumpshot.
Jan 31, 2009
Ethan does Sacrament of Penance
Ethan went into the confessional for the very first time today and said that he "confessed six sins!" Hahaha...Anyway, he would only tell us one of them, and that was he asked for forgiveness for biting his big sister ;)
Afterward, we went for a celebratory lunch at BJ's (his request, he has good taste) we enjoyed Pizza, and Dad enjoyed a beer.
SuperBowl Movie Trailers!!
Catch the Transformers 2 clip in Hi-Def during the 3rd quarter of the Superbowl. You can get a head start by watching the low-res clip below...
I was a huge fan of GI Joe as a kid, and never thought there would be a live action movie. I was wrong...
Gotta love Judd Apatow movies, especially 40 year-old Virgin and Knocked Up. Year One is directed by Harold Ramis and stars all of the funny guys that Judd usually puts in his movies...
Jan 29, 2009
St. Justin defeats Our Lady of Guadalupe
The game was a nail-biter. These two schools have a history over the last 2 years because of SJM's dominance over them in volleyball. This is the first time we've played OLG in basketball and the rivalry continued. OLG was ahead most of the game, but SJM's relentless defense kept us close and eventually we squeaked ahead because of our ability to get to the line. If we would have made more of our foul shots, we would have had a comfortable lead. Thanks to our defense, we were able to make a 4th quarter run, and win a close game 27-26.
Jan 13, 2009
Ethan's 1st basketball tryout
Ethan had basketball tryouts this weekend at the YMCA in downtown Anaheim. I can tell by his demeanor that he was extremely nervous. As a parent, you tend to ride that anxiety roller coaster along with them because you remember what these moments were like when you were young and doing something for the first time with everyone watching. He was second to last in line for the kids waiting to go through the gauntlet of basketball drills, many of which we had never practiced before. The kids before him came off like seasoned veterans, no doubt they had played organized ball before. I think that kicked up Ethan's anxiety a notch. Well, when it came to Ethan's turn, he did very well. He made 2 out of the 4 shots he took and tried his best to score in the 1-on-1 drill they had, where he was matched up against a kid that was easily 6 inches taller than him. He struggled dribbling through the cones a bit, and unfortunately he is tending to dwell on that portion of the tryout. Of course we took plenty of pictures and video, but at his request, he does not want them posted. So instead, I put up the handsome picture I took of him just outside the gym.
Jan 7, 2009
St. Justin defeats favored St. Joes
Dec 18, 2008
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Dec 14, 2008
Merry Christmas from the KP Galaxy
This year we decided to put up our artifical tree that we purchsed at one of those after-christmas sales at Target. As you can see it's quite impressive, however, it lacks the pine smell that makes it official. It had been a tradition to go and seek out a noble fir tree from different lots in and around North Orange county, but this year we skipped out on that tradition and took the easy route. We usually have a theme for decorating our tree i.e. gold ornaments, Disney Princesses, Marvel heroes, etc. This year we went with the "random" theme. We just threw a bunch of different ornaments up on the tree, and we let the kids do all of the decorating. Merry Christmas everyone!
Dec 10, 2008
Buyer beware
When it comes to eBay shopping, I learned a very important lesson this week. Ask a lot of questions prior to bidding. If the the seller doesn't respond promptly, then be suspicious of the items for sale.
I recently won an auction for a xmas gift I was excited about. Turns out the item was a counterfeit and sold on the gray market. The seller didn't want to take responsibilty for this, but to his credit, he caught the forgery prior to shipping it to me. I'm waiting or my full refund, and hope it comes soon. His lack of communication led to me contacting him several times therefore I believe it put pressure on him to be more forthcoming...Anyways, I've been using eBay for a long time and this is my first problem I've come across...
Happy Holidays!
Dec 4, 2008
Anthony Daniel Padilla
Dec 2, 2008
In loving memory
Daniel Henry Garcia left this world to soon at the tender age of 13. He is survived by his parents Nancy and Tony and siblings Anthony, Salina, Krystal, and Tiffany.
Daniel fought brain cancer for the better part of his life, and for sometime he looked like he was going to beat it. Unfortunately it was not meant to be, and this sad day reminds me too much of when we lost our dear friend Kathy McDonell to the same insidious disease.
We will miss you little guy...
Nov 15, 2008
Ethan's Baptism
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