Spokane Hoopfest 2010!

Hoopfest, on the last weekend of June every year, is the Octoberfest of basketball. It’s absolutely nuts, the statistics from 2010 are appauling:

• 27,110 players
• 6933 teams
• 200,000 people came from mainly the Northwest to participate in the festivities
• Forty downtown city blocks are transformed into 450 basketball courts
• 693 people play from states other than WA, OR, MT, and ID (that includes me and Collin)

Hoopfest is a 3 on 3 outdoor basketball mecca. There are divisions for every age, shape, and size of basketball player. It’s awesome and everyone should check it out, even just for the people watching and all the other activities going on. The weather is always great and the atmosphere unlike any other. To top it off, the Hoopfest Association donates a lot of money to Special Olympics and generously gives back to the community. Everyone wins.

2010 was my fifth Hoopfest. This year we had the usual team of Chris “Maverick” Powers, Collin “My Dog Ate my Homework” Parker, Pat “Hot Sauce” Nicholes, and me. As usual, the weekend was full of adventure.

The trip got off to a troublesome start with Rohit and I missing our flight; that’s a story for another blog entry though. Let’s just say that I wasn’t impressed with Alaska customer service and should have flew Southwest!

After making it to Spokane, all the usual suspects began to assemble. Maverick, Hot Sauce, and I played some Friday afternoon golf and enjoyed some tasty Northwest beers. We picked up Collin from the airport and headed downtown to fuel up for Saturday’s basketball. I was a little over-zealous in ordering a burger with two six ounce patties, ham, pineapple, swiss, and all the vegetables. It weighed as much as my arm and I didn’t come close to finishing it.

We met Reid, Dennis, Andy, and Tim at a local pub for some more drinks. Reid was in fine form, sporting his latest prized possession, a Kyle Busch NASCAR t-shirt. Embarassing for the family!!! Priceless picture Reid!  Although the vibe was good and we could continue fueling, we decided to sacrafice further drinking for a sober awakening on Saturday morning and ideally basketball glory.

Despite our impeccable preparation, the basketball on Saturday did not go as planned. Our team, Bardo’s Best in the West, was stunned in our first game, in control and leading 15-12 BUT losing 18-15 in overtime. We went cold. It was the one that got away and a big momentum swing. Still reeling from that loss, we faced a difficult team in our 2nd tilt and lost 20 – 14. Our efforts earned us a 10 AM game on Sunday in the consolation bracket. The silver lining was that with the important basketball out of the way we could let loose and drink it up. Bardo’s headed over and watched Rohit’s team, Team BK, in a thrilling OT victory. We celebrated by drinking delicious Mexican beers at the Azteca with Reid’s hooligan crew.

One of the highlights of the weekend followed after the copious amounts of Mexican cerveza. Bardos matched up against Reid’s crew in a wildly hilarious 3 on 3 game on the unused Hoopfest courts. It was a blast, those guys crack me up.

After showering and relaxing for a bit, Pat, Collin, Chris, and I decided to meet up with Rohit and his posse at a downtown bar. We had a sweet taxi driver named Ralph whose van had reclining back seats. Maverick and I enjoyed a 15 minute siesta on the reclining seat and woke finding ourselves at a local Spokane taco joint, the pit stop before the bar. This was the site of something spectacular.

Pat was working on applying hot sauce from a ketchup-like plastic bottle to his burrito when something became lodged in the nozzle. Pat thought to use the brute force approach and squeezed the life out of it; out came a Mt. St. Helens sized explosion of hot sauce once the obstruction was cleared. Collin was directly in the blast zone!

Collin's response was 5 seconds of silence at the shear amazement then a "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" We all laughed uncontrollably.

The Sunday basketball went extremely well with our team winning two games quite easily, 20-6 and 20-4, winning the Consolation Bracket and restoring hope that we could one day bring home the Championship T-shirts.

That capped another good Hoopfest year; we’ll be back for more in 2011!

More pics:

http://picasaweb.google.com/bbero82/Hoopfest2010

Hoopfest Website:

http://www.spokanehoopfest.net/

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff ...

I am not an avid reader, but when I do find the time to sit down and get into a book it usually pays dividends.  I enjoy mainly reading non-fiction that helps me live life better, understand something new, inspires me, or is just a great story.  I am that guy who reads Men's Health from cover to cover as well as my car manual and mutual fund prospectuses on occasion.  Fiction can be great too.  Some of my favorite fiction from the past is The Life of Pi, All the Pretty Horses, and Atlas Shrugged (well, didn't finish Atlas Shrugged but it was 1200 pages and ultra-small print!).

I recently finished this book called "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff ...".  It was definitely worthwhile and is something I will keep around and refresh on once in a while.  It's full of short chapters (100 total) with quick life lessons.  I get the impression that the author, who is from the San Francisco area, has done lots of study on Eastern philosophies like Buddhism and Confucianism because a lot of his lessons follow these teachings.

These lessons resonated with me most:

Once a Week, Write a Heartfelt Letter -- I actually started doing this, writing with pen and paper is something I've always been fond of but never consistent with.  I hope my recipients can decipher my semi-legible handwriting!

Practice Random Acts of Kindness -- Kindness is really what makes the World go round.  Everyone can make a difference and the kind act can mean so much to those who both give and receive.  I would be extremely pleased if I can perform one random kind act every day.

Choose Being Kind over Being Right -- This is an area that I often struggle with, but it's something that I am committed to changing.  Being right is usually no fun, and having fun isn't about being right.

Breathe Before You Speak -- Erv, a former manager at Intel, taught me something very similar to this that I still practice.  He taught that you can't control the action, but you can always control your reaction.  Someone can be furious with you but you can choose how to respond, either in anger or in some other way to diffuse the situation.  To me, breathing before you speak is taking that time to fully listen and then considering a response before just letting it fly.

Read Articles and Books with Entirely Different Points of View from Your Own and Try to Learn Something -- Whew, I think finding different viewpoints can be a difficult task to accomplish at times.  But, I definitely see the value in having multiple perspectives on life.  If we view the world around us through only our limited lenses, we are bound to miss a lot.

Develop Your Compassion -- Compassion is an area I know which is not my strongest point, but it is something I have improved upon.  I will continually strive to be more compassionate. For me, being compassionate is about being more open and understanding then relating to others and their unique situation.  Putting myself in others shoes really helps me feel compassion.

Take Up Yoga -- I actually started a weekly yoga class before reading the book.  Flexibility is healthy and I often neglect this part of the workout regimen.  Loosen up hammys!

Transform Your Relationship to Your Problems -- What?  This one caught me by surprise, especially because the chapter title's meaning wasn't obvious.  This chapter instructs that true happiness isn't solving all the problems in one's life but rather acknowledging them and using them as a source of learning and growth.  As someone who strives to achieve near perfection, this is a wise lesson.  Problems and challenges are a part of a fulfilling life and not all of them need to be solved.  Our problems make us unique and can be the source of great growth.  Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Think of What You Have Instead of What You Want -- As a society, we as Americans really struggle with the idea of being content with what we have.  It's easy to lose sight of the great things right in front of us as we look on the horizon for the next big thing.

Fill Your Life with Love -- Yes!

Thank you JD for letting me borrow this book; that's one random act of kindness for you!

Aldean's Greatest ... so far

Jason Aldean Rocks!  He blends traditional country sound with southern rock and just a touch of twang.  Most of all, I like his music because his songs tell a story and are full of emotion and meaning, not to mention they are easily sang at the top of one's lungs.  His "Relentless" and "Wide Open" CD have been spinning in my car for months now; I think they're wearing out!  His first CD, "Jason Aldean" is also full of hits and you can't beat "Amarillo Sky".

Out of all the songs, recently I've been trying to choose my favorite.  Reid thinks top track is "Keep the Girl" ...  It's good brother, but my favorite is "Laughed Until We Cried". 

Going through my closet the other day
Found an old yearbook, flipped right to the page
Of that senior trip down there on that Panama strip
We all started yelling when we smelled the beach
Just couldn't wait to try our fake ids
We only had a few days, and a whole lot of memories to make

Oh man we were livin, didn't waste one minute
We talked and drank and danced and said goodbye
We laughed until we cried

This past year my family
Was sittin cross-legged 'round the Christmas tree
Listenin to granddad, we all knew it would probably be his last
He was crackin jokes and we were takin turns
Tellin stories bout fishing or lessons learned
Out on the porch with him we all felt like kids again

Oh man we were livin, sittin' there reminiscin'
Yeah, we sang and talked and traveled back in time
We laughed until we cried

It's like the best days under the sun
Every emotion rolled into one
A little of this, A little of that
Kinda happy, Kinda sad

Just the other night the baby was cryin
So I got out of bed rocked her awhile and I held her tight
And I told her it would be all right
My mind went back to a few years ago
We tried so long, we almost gave up hope
And I remember you comin' in and tellin me the news

Oh man we were livin, goin crazy in the kitchen
We danced and screamed and held each other tight
We laughed until we cried
We danced and kissed and thanked the Lord that night

Give it a listen.

I remember my college trips to be so fun with friends and the happy memory of grandparents.  That last verse about the baby, it really gets to me.  It's something I haven't experienced yet but I've seen it in others' eyes.

Not too distant podium finishers are "Relentless" and "This I Gotta See". 

Keep spinning those tracks Jason!

Oakland Overnight

My Uncle Greg and Aunt Kate live in Oakland, and they are the closest relatives to Folsom.  Our visits are infrequent but always memorable.  This past weekend I decided to make the drive down and just have a chill weekend with them.

Two things I wanted to capture from this trip.  First, here is what I saw as I pulled off the highway into Oakland: 

Hilarious -- just what you'd expect in Oakland right?  :)  Hopefully you are noticing the two sedans in the right lane with monster-truck sized tires.  No whistle tips though!

Secondly, Kate made a fabulous dinner on Saturday night with fish and butternut squash tacos with mango salsa, fresh corn, chipotle coleslaw, and queso fresco.  Yum ...  the butternut squash ones were VERY, VERY good.  I hope to get the recipe and replicate.