1. I arrived at the Fitness Center early enough today (it closes at noon on Saturday) to get in about 80 minutes of exercise. It felt good to have left the house early enough to not only get in a longer workout, but to give Debbie a lift to Pinehurst Elementary School where she worked for about five hours, further preparing for the students' return on Monday.
2. After Debbie and I dropped in for a quick, no alcohol visit at The Lounge, I went to work preparing a dinner I was hungry for. When Debbie taught in Eugene during the 2018-19 school year, she often made herself a dinner similar to what I made tonight, but I added a variation. I made Stewed Zucchini with Tomatoes and Chickpeas -- all I had to do was cook some onion and garlic, add sliced zucchini and mushrooms and when they were tender pour in a can of diced tomatoes and a can of chickpeas and season it with paprika. That's the stew. Usually we would serve this stew over rice, but I was scanning the food we have stored in the basement and realized we'd never opened the package of Teff we had down there. Teff is an edible grass seed, grown mostly in Ethiopia. Preparing it is similar to how I've prepared couscous over the years. I thought it had an earthy quality and enhanced our stewed zucchini.
3. I don't know what to think of Gonzaga's men's basketball team after watching them play two weak teams, Pepperdine and the University of San Diego. The Zags won both of these games by a wide margin. They were the far superior team in both cases. Coming into the Pepperdine game, I'd heard and read analysis about the play of point guard Ryan Nembhard, most of it negative: he was dribbling too much, turning the ball over too frequently, and shooting poorly.
Knowing this, I gave Nembhard a lot of my attention, especially because I'd very much enjoyed the Creighton teams he played for during his freshman and sophomore years.
The Zags had eight days without any games before the Pepperdine game. Watching Nembhard against Pepperdine, I wondered if the Zag coaching staff instructed Nembhard to dribble less, pass more, and be more selective with his shots. Against both Pepperdine and the University of San Diego, his mindset seemed to be to pass to teammates early in each possession, shoot only after the ball had moved around and he was in better position to take shots, and he had many fewer turnovers.
BUT, these improvements came against inferior competition.
All the same, I hope it's a sign of better play to come as the season marches on.
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