Rio Grande Valley

There are only two things to do when you go to the Rio Grande Valley: go to 8th grade science classes and check out a Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees' ice hockey game. Just kidding. But that's what I did during one of the days I was there. And between one and the other, there was the obligatory trip to Whataburger.

I truly became a fan of the Killer Bees when I found out that they serve dollar beers if the home team scored during a power play. It happened, and we sprinted to concessions because there was only a ten minute window to take advantage.

Shout out to Nate and all four periods of his science classes that we sat through. His students presented power point slide shows about measures we should take to save the environment.

I Told Ya'll...

But I'm not moving back, I'm only visiting. Yesterday I spent a total of 7.5 hours either in an airport or on an airplane, just to get to a little town near the border called McAllen. No more snow and coats...it's now 70 degrees with cacti. Shout out to Tony Kornheiser and Upton Sinclairwho kept me company on the plane.

Baltimore Washington International

Houston - Hobby


En Route to McAllen, TX

I'm moving back to Texas...

not built for this.

VillaSNOWva

Lame, I know. I started the trek to the Verizon Center at about 10am. After I took my fourth step into knee deep snow, I thought this might not be a good idea. But I kept it moving and decided I'd have a better trip once I got to some driven over (not plowed) snow. I did. I also saw lots of people frolicking in the streets. Yep, right in the middle. No cars, just skis, dogs, storage bin lids and happy bundled up people.

I didn't expect there to be a lot a folks at the game, but I was surprised and relatively impressed with the Hoyas following, especially the student section. Anyway, after the huge let down against the Bulls of South Florida, the Hoyas gave the #2 team in the country quite a spanking. Payback for 1985? Shout out to myself. I think I hate snow.


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I always feel like...

I was sitting in traffic on Irving St. and I felt like someone was watching me.

The Letdown at Georgetown

Coming off of a huge win against Duke in front of President Obama, the inevitable happened. The Hoyas lost to a team that they weren't supposed to. The University of South Florida Bulls (15-7 and 8th in the Big East) came to Verizon and stole a win 72-64 with great second half play and a lights out performance from Dominique Jones who had 29 points. Oh well, the Hoyas have Villanova on Saturday. A win should ease the pain. Shout out to USF coach Stan Heath who said that last nights victory was "the biggest in USF basketball history." Wow.

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Gonzaga vs. DeMatha basketball

Last year, they competed in a thriller for the championship. Last Friday was no different, except it was still the regular season. Gonzaga and DeMatha will most likely play two more times this year: once in the regular season and once again for the championship. I'll check back later this month if my prediction holds true. If not, then I never said it.

Gonzaga was loose before the game but was able to pull it out in the end. Read about it here. Shout out to the next two times these teams play.


Purchase Prints Here

Obama, Georgetown and Duke

Last Saturday Duke visited the Verizon Center to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. I've been to more than a few Hoya games this year and nothing about this one was remotely normal. Beside the fact that a very well known and storied ACC basketball program came to Verizon in the middle of the Big East season, the President was in the building.

I started the event by arriving at 10:30am for a 1pm tip-off. The press entrance had been transformed into mini airport security and these guys with suits and policemen with dogs wanted to examine my camera equipment piece by piece. I obliged without making any exploding camera jokes, obviously. And I passed some of the 2.5 hours by trying to spot the Secret Service agents in and around the arena.

Minutes before the game was to start the atmosphere was truly electric. Fans were packed to the ceiling and everyone's eyes were focused in one corner of the building waiting for Barack Obama to emerge from corridor between the stands. The same hallway I usually walk through to get to the court, but with slightly less anticipation. He appeared, shook a few hands, stood for the National Anthem and two teams played a basketball game. The combination of Obama, Georgetown, Duke and CBS was almost too much to handle and way too much to capture. I got a few though.