1. LabCorp posted the results of my Monday lab work today. One year ago, my kidney function was at 12%. Today it was 16%, the best it's been for quite a while. My other numbers, aside from BUN and creatinine, which are always out of range, were also in range. Conclusion? When I see Dr. Bieber on Friday, we'll talk about how my kidneys are doing their job despite a low percentage of function. I'll remain inactive on the transplant list. The best news I can have is that things are stable -- and, for now, once again, things are stable.
2. I've written before that I enjoy college basketball in November because it's a chance to see how teams have restocked their teams, how returning players have matured (or not), and how different teams are performing at this early stage of the season.
I watched quite a bit of today's two Big 10/Big East matchups in the Gavitt Tipoff.
Most of my focus was on the Big East teams. I watch a lot of their games once the conference season begins. I was very interested to see how Creighton would look. All five of their starters either graduated, went pro early, or transferred. Well, the new players and the returning players who came off the bench a year ago seemed very comfortable for much of the game tonight with Coach Greg McDermott's "let it fly" philosophy of basketball. Creighton screamed to a nearly 20 point lead over Nebraska by midway through the first half, but Nebraska roared back, never took the lead, but made the game competitive and exciting to the end. Creighton won the game, 77-69.
Two players from Creighton stood out to me: freshman point guard Ryan Nembhart (younger brother of the Zags' Anderew Nembhart) and a super senior transfer from Division II national champions, Northwest Missouri State, Ryan Hawkins. Nembhart is quick and a sharp shooter. Yes, he turned the ball over a bit too much, but Coach McDermott trusts Nembhart will clean that up. He looks like a solid leader at the point. Hawkins bring maturity, experience, and a knack for making big shots and making great plays on defense. He's already made the transition adeptly to Division I level basketball and will be a source of stability and production for Creighton going forward.
After his Seton Hall squad staged and late game comeback and clipped the Michigan Wolverines, 67-65, Coach Kevin Willard told the studio analysts at FS1 that he thought his team's offense had work to do, but that he's very pleased, at this point in the season with his team's defensive effort.
I kept thinking how Seton Hall, Creighton, Marquette, and Providence have all won their Gavitt tipoff games. The Big Ten hasn't one one of these cross conference tilts yet. I don't know what this says about the Big 10, but I am eager for the Big East season to get underway in January. It looks like it will be an exciting and competitive conference once again.
3. It was a bad night for the Oregon Ducks. Brigham Young crushed the Ducks, 81-49. The Ducks had a terrible shooting night and their defense had no answer for Brigham Young's talented scorers. The only comfort I could take from the game is knowing that in past seasons Dana Altman's Duck teams have sometimes started slowly -- they have several new players to work into their system every year. My guess is that Altman will be steamed this week in practice and the team will be put through some rigorous paces. We'll see how this squad responds.
For most of the game, I had the television on mute because tonight was Bill Davie's 65th Tree House Concert. All of us in the virtual audience were totally supportive of Bill's announcement that he is taking some time off from giving these concerts so that he can focus his energy on writing new songs.
Bill was on top of his music tonight and performed an energetic, splendid concert. I not only enjoyed the songs a lot, but also enjoyed that he read from Ursula K. LeGuin's translation of the Tao Te Ching. In fact, I was so transported by Le Guin's take on the Tao that I didn't listen very well to Bill's reading of Linda Gregg's poetry -- but, then, that's the impact the Tao often has on me.
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