What a Game!

I should have known what time it was when I noticed a total of 8 spectators on hand for this game. The gym was so quiet that it might as well have been a practice and the cheerleaders left after halftime. Coolidge went into the locker room at the half with a 47-9 lead. Oh, and they continued to press the entire game. So I guess it was pretty much a practice. Shout out to coach Jones for that entire game full court pressure. That's my new strategy in NBA 2K9.

Coolidge 79, Bell 34

2-1 in league play

The Real Orange

Last Friday, the Colts (orange and gray) took on longtime rivals Theodore Roosevelt High School (orange and blue) to see, according to Dr. Maurice Butler, who is the "real orange". The players were pretty hype before the game preparing to play before a packed crowd at the Frank Williams Gymnasium on the campus of Coolidge High. The contest was really close all the way until the end when Darin Drakeford (#1 in the blue and orange, below) caught an alley-oop at a critical moment and the Roosevelt fans went nuts. And so went the momentum of the game.

The Coolidge players didn't shoot very well and took way too many three pointers. The coaches knew exactly why they'd lost.

1-1 in league play.

The Second Season

When one ends, a new one begins. This time the Colts of Coolidge High School are playing basketball. I've started photographing this team after their preseason games against teams from other states and after all of their holiday tournaments. We are now down to the nitty gritty of league play. Or as coach Vaughn Jones says, the games that matter.

The League: DCIAA West.

The goals: Win the West. Win the league championship. Win the City Title against Washington DC's top private school.

First opponent: Cardozo High School.

The Colts were matched up against Cardozo High School that boasted Raphael Guthrie who scored 31 and 40 in two previous games. At halftime the Colts trailed 26-25 but ended up winning the game after outscoring Cardozo 56-16 in the second half. So far so good.

1-0 in league play.

Like it's 1987

Whenever I fly south to my parents house for a week or two every winter, I inevitably examine my room and look through drawers, closets, boxes and shelves to find the same things that I left there last Christmas, only with a little more dust. This time I found Paul Pierce and Shaq (in his prime) just kickin' it in a drawer. These relics of my teenage years had been in the dark and lonely for a little less than a year. So I dusted them off, kinda, and put them in some window light. Shout out to Todd McFarlane.

Looking Familiar

Ahhhhhh...high school basketball. Now I know I'm back in DC. First game of the year for me was Georgetown Prep vs. Gilman. I must admit that Georgetown Prep has one of the best high school gyms/facilities in the area and not to mention a pretty hefty tuition tag. Cal Ripken, Jr. was in attnedance. His son is allegedly on the basketball team. But it looks like the point guard from Gilman (below) was a little miffed that his team was playing so poorly. Shout out to hall of famers' sons playing different sports than their parents excelled in.

Skateboard Key

My 13-year-old niece, Nekeita, is quite the athlete. I tossed the football around with her and she's got some hands. She stars on her 8th grade basketball team and claims she can beat me in a game of one on one (which would be quite the feat). She got a skateboard for Christmas and has pretty much been rolling on in the street everyday since then. So I gave her the nickname Skateboard Key which closely resembles the moniker of one Pharrell. She sure learned how to do an ollie faster than I ever did. Shout out to my grandmother's son for leaving a ladder in the garage.

Periodically

Almost. Almost a month between blog posts. I'd say that's pretty good seeing as how I intended to post daily when I first started this thing in May. Now it seems like the blog is turning into Untitled Monthly, but I've got my reasons. I've spent the last two weeks in Houston (and a few days in Austin) relaxing with my family, taking pictures and not doing much else. So to kick off this blog in 2009, I leave with a few day-after-Christmas shots of my nephew and twin nieces. Shout out to Tichara for making them happen.