The Days of Summer

Today, the high temp was 89 in Oxford with the Heat Index reaching 95. I don't mind, especially working out in it because I drop extra calories due to the humidity. It's supposed to be like this all week, so SW Ohio has seen the "oven" return.

The summer has been splendid so far, even if it has been a little dull. It's reminiscent of high school a little bit because my days revolve around work (in this case my paper and searching for jobs), working out, and basketball. I've been able to get into some pickup games recently and I've held my own. When I walk back from the Rec Center as I let the sun burn me up, all I can think of are the hot summer days I used to spend playing either at Centerville, Fairmont, Alter, or Chaminade-Juliene, playing against the cream of the crop of the Dayton area. You might've heard of some of these guys: Adam and Keith Waleskowski, Brooks Hall, Andre Hutson, Carl Edwards, Robert Siwo, John Meeker, Yuanta Holland, Romain Sato, and Ryan Hawk just to name a few. I'll never forget my first coach, at Alter in the summer. His name was Jeff "Spud" Collins. I hadn't played organized basketball, just playground, so Spud taught me how to score inside and rebound since I was tall. Then, he gave a number of things to work on over the summer to get better. I still have that packet and a letter he later wrote me at home home. Spud was a great guy. He wasn't a special player, though he started at point guard for Alter on a team that went to State, which says a lot. But he was tough and he knew how to play, and I was grateful he bestowed some of that knowledge on me.

Alright, time for the Weekend Update:

• The Miami University baseball team went 1-2 in NCAA Regional play down in Austin. The Hawks opened Friday losing to Arkansas 9-5. But, they bounced back in a big way Saturday beating poor Quinnipiac 35-8, yes 35-8. The Hawks set multiple NCAA Regional records, including largest margin of victory ever and most runs scored. Miami though was eliminated by the host Longhorns of Texas today 12-5, hanging tough for 8 innings before Texas pulled away with 4 runs in the 9th. Congrats to the team, they tied a school record with their 45 wins.
• Bart Bryant held off Fred Couples to win the Memorial by 1. Tiger Woods finished tied for 3rd, 4 off the pace. Tiger's my favorite to win at Pinehurst in 2 weeks, with Phil right behind, but I'll still be rooting for Phil. He has a really good chance since he played well at Pinehurst 6 years ago.
• Rafael Nadal and Justine Henin-Hardenne are the Kings of Dirtball, aka French Open Champs. Henin-Hardenne easily took care of Mary Pierce in the women's final. Meanwhile, Nadal took down Roger Federer in a 4-set thriller, then held off a very game Mariano Puerta in another 4-set match to win the championship. Nadal is very fun to watch. He gets the crowd into it and is very animated. And he wants every point, something Andy Roddick needs to learn to do.
• Lance Armstrong's last tuneup, the Dauphine Libere is underway as teammate George Hincapie won today's prologue, which was an 8km timetrial. Lance took 5th, just 6 seconds back, looking very strong. The Dauphine is a good measure of where a rider is in his Tour De France conditioning because the week-long race is basically all mountain climbs with a time trial and some flat sections. Lance isn't looking to win the race overall, but he is looking to win a stage, possibly the finish up Mont Ventoux, the giant of Provence known for it's lunar-like landscape and the death of British rider Tom Simpson, who died during the 1967 Tour while climbing it due partly to steroids being in his system.

Be forewarned, before and during the Tour de France, I will be dropping a lot of Tour and cycling knowledge on you, so you will know everything there is to know about cycling by the end of July.

27 days until the Tour. 16 days until my birthday!!!!!