1. It's been a rough week for the guys I eat breakfast with on Friday mornings. Their work removing snow from properties up and down the Silver Valley has been intense this week. In fact, only three of us could make it this morning, Ed, Buff, and I. We had plenty to talk about: the snow, the temporary repair of the dip in the freeway between Kellogg and Smelterville, the crab feed this weekend at the Elks, well digging, pickup maintenance and repair, and the pros and cons of ordering pie for breakfast at Sam's -- which none of us has done.
2. I got some simple cooking done today. I had thawed out a small package of ground beef and dreamed up a way of preparing it that I thought I'd enjoy. I sauteed chopped garlic, onion, and celery, added the ground beef, seasoned with Montreal steak seasoning. Once the meat had cooked up, I drained a can of black beans and added them in, seasoned with cumin and oregano. I also cooked a pot of rice and, when done, folded some of it into the beans and ground beef mixture. I imagined this mess would taste good folded in a heated corn tortilla with melted cheese, topped with Frank's RedHot pepper sauce. I was correct.
3. About midway through the first quarter, I flipped on the University of Oregon's women's basketball team hosting Oregon State in a Civil War battle at the Matthew Knight Arena (the Matt) in Eugene.
What a night!
The Ducks came into this game the third-ranked team in the nation and the Beavers came in ranked ninth. The Matt was sold out, so this game was played in front of 12,364 fans. I attended quite a few women's basketball games back in the Mac Court days and not one of those games was sold out. In my imagination, I transported myself from my tv room into the Matt, pretending I was a part of the throbbing enthusiasm I could see on television.
Suddenly I thought: I'll bet Linda and Wayne are in attendance.
I texted Linda at halftime and, sure enough, they were there, with end zone seats. Linda and I texted back and forth about the first half and she texted me a picture of the action from their vantage point. It was thrilling to feel the closest I could to actually being in the Matt.
Oregon State proved to be a fierce opponent, never backing down. Oregon kept building small leads of four, seven, even nine points thanks to clutch shooting by Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, strong inside play, both rebounding and scoring, by Ruthy Hebard, and relentless defense in the backcourt by Maite Cazorla. The Beavers kept fighting back and it wasn't until the game's closing minutes that that Ducks' lead grew and they secured a 77-68 victory.
These two teams play each other again on Monday in Corvallis. Oregon State's Gill Coliseum is sold out (9,604 seats). The game will be telecast on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. I'll be tuned in with my text machine in hand, ready to share insights and emotions with Linda. Go Ducks!
No comments:
Post a Comment