I spent the night at the inauguration of yet another church league basketball season. No, I did not play. I was there to support my friends CEH, JTH, and JCT in their debut as a team. I retired after last season for three reasons : 1. I may be the worst basketball player EVER (and I think I was getting worse) and as such it is not particularly fun for me; 2. I am less Christian on the court and perhaps my “way of escape” from this sin is retirement;, 3. My team won the league championship last year and I want to go out on top with all of the glory a slow break men’s championship brings.
The games were all competitive. The rules in the “slow break” league are that the ball cannot be passed over the half court line, but must instead be advanced by dribbling. The rationale is that this decelerates the game down for older, out of shape, or less experienced players. The last minute of the first half and two minutes of the second half are governed by traditional rules. Each time this mark arrived, the referee would inform the players that they could play “straight basketball.” Would that make the rest of the game “gay”? Don’t answer that.
As I watched the games, I felt so blessed as one of the benefits of never having been good at basketball as it is not as frustrating to no longer be good.
Afterwards, I talked to JTH about his game. He noted that he was surprised to discover how high scoring the final was after a low scoring first half. I attributed this to one player on the other team, whom JTH was guarding at times, putting on one of the finest exhibitions I have ever seen in the league, hitting numerous three-point shots in succession. JTH could not place which player single-handedly destroyed his team. It seems he only checks the score at the end of each half and tends to be oblivious otherwise. That explains so much - for instance, the fact that JTH was rarely tightly guarding the guy!
Most importantly, the league gave me a chance to reacquaint myself with some old friends. It was good to see league superstar DED fresh off an appearance on the Kiss Cam at the last Vols game! FHC and I caught up and he was as funny as ever. I had not seen BWM in years and he was so kind and made my day by seeming happy to see me. Thanks, guys.
Afterwards, JTH and I watched Employee of the Month, one of his favorite films. While this film clearly won no Oscars, it was fun. My review, as always, is posted under “A Veiled Tell - Nil Soli.”
Yesterday marked “Nature Boy” Ric Flair’s 59th birthday. Yes, he is still wrestling full-time. The only thing left to say is, “WHOOOOOOOO!!!”
I never thought Flair’s birthday would get upstaged but at 2:08 pm, Tennessee officially became the #1 men’s basketball team in the country for the first time in its ninety-nine year history. This fact alone fulfills the immortal words of Ice Cube, “It was a good day.”
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