1. My challenge today? Seize the day while feeling sluggish. I tried to fire myself up watching Auburn defeat Kentucky in what could have been a barn burner, but when Kentucky's mercurial playmaking point guard TyTy Washington rolled his ankle in the first half, left the game, and never returned, Auburn exploited his absence, erased a ten point Kentucky lead, and powered their way to an 80-71 win. Auburn is a balanced team. Inside, today, they got strong play from Walker Kessler. Away from the hoop, Jabari Smith, Wendell Green, and the enthusiastic K.D. Johnson looked exceptional. I wish Kentucky had been at full strength. I didn't really care who won this game -- I just hate injuries and wanted to see these two superb teams go at it with all their players available.
Later in the day, I enjoyed watching Creighton come from behind and defeat the wildly inconsistent, but entertainingly talented DePaul squad, 60-47. You'd never know, given the lopsided final score, that DePaul dominated the first half of this game, but true to their team's erratic play, DePaul was outscored in the second half, 37-15, and, after looking like a sharp, superb team in the first half, they looked awful in the second half.
I keep an eye on DePaul and keep hoping they'll turn this season around because I'm rooting for their coach, Tony Stubblefield, to succeed. Coach Stubblefield served as an assistant to Dana Altman at Oregon for eleven years and worked at other assistant coach jobs for seventeen years before coming to Oregon. He's paid his dues. He took this job at DePaul knowing that the Blue Demons have struggled for years. It's been seventeen years since they earned a bid in the NCAA Tournament. I'm not sure Coach Stubblefield can get this wobbly program back on its feet, but, for whatever it's worth, I'll be pulling for him to do so.
Ah, heck! While I'm on the subject of DePaul basketball -- there's one player I wish DePaul could have kept forever and that's the goggle wearing, cheerleading, totally animated and excited walk on benchwarmer from a couple of seasons ago, Pantelis Xidias. If you ever watched DePaul play around 2018-2020, you know that however DePaul played, Pantelis Xidias brought his enthusiasm, encouragement for his teammates, and unmatched look every game, jumping up and down, raising his fist in elation after every good play the Blue Demons made. No one on the end of any bench on any team in the whole USA gave more effort and passion to cheering on his team than Pantelis Xidias. I don't think I ever saw Xidias play a second on the court, but along with Mark Aguirre and Rod Strickland, he will always be, for me, a DePaul Blue Demon I'll never forget.
2. Debbie cooked a batch of wheat berries and I sautéed chopped mushroom and zucchini in olive oil and garlic, combined it all, and seasoned in with Braggs Liquid Amino. It was a superb dinner in a bowl.
3. Early in the evening, Debbie and I cracked open a couple tallboys we bought at 16 Tons. We have these eight oz glasses we like to use to drink beer and, for me, 8 oz of each of these beers was a perfect pour.
We started with Great Divide's Yeti Macaroon Imperial Stout. It was a perfect beer. When I took my first sip, I was struck by what a solid imperial stout it was. The mouthfeel was full and it was smooth tasting, mellow. After about a second, though, the coconut and almonds, the subtle Girl Scout Cookie sweetness of this beer asserted itself. Oh my! I loved this pastry stout. As it warmed, the flavors were even more defined and I felt euphoric.
We waited a while, let the Macaroon Imperial Stout taste fade away a bit, and grabbed a New York beer that we purchased at 16 Tons: Bolton Landing Brewing Company's Georgie, a New England IPA. At first, we both thought this beer was a little bit more bitter than we are used to in a hazy IPA. I found, though, as the beer warmed a bit, the bitterness mellowed and I enjoyed my 8 oz pour of this citrusy juice grenade.
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