The Tag

2012 Kings versus Clippers

Sharon, Janie and I went to the Sacramento Kings versus Los Angeles Clippers Basketball game. When we drew the season tickets in December, this game was actually my first pick. I was very interested in seeing Chris Paul and Blake Griffin play. It is probably only the second time in ten years that I have seen the Clippers live. With the season roughly half over, the Clippers are in third in the Western Conference with a record of 21 wins and 12 losses.

The game had an odd feel to it. The Clippers won the game by the score of 108 to 100. Although the score was tied at 57 at half-time and the Clippers only led 85 to 79 at the start of the fourth quarter, it seemed like the Clippers were toying with the Kings. The Clippers opened a 19 point lead with 2:34 left in the fourth quarter, before the Kings scored the last 11 minutes to make the final score look more respectable.

The Clippers played all 13 players on their roster. Three of the bench players played more than 20 minutes. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin played the most minutes of the starters with 32 and 30 minutes, respectively.

Chris Paul was the high scorer for the Clippers with 22 points on 9 for 18 from the field, 1 for 2 from three and 3 for 3 from the free throw line. He added 9 assists. Griffin had 14 points on 7 for 12 from the field; I swear that every one of those baskets was a dunk on an alley-oop.

DeMarcus Cousins was the high scorer for the Kings with 23 points on 9 for 17 from the field, 1 for 1 from three and 4 for 6 from the free throw line. He added 10 rebounds.

Jimmer Fredette played 13 minutes for the Kings. I focused on him when he was in the game. He had a nice series in the first half. Left open beyond the three point arc, he hit 3 three point shots in a row. At this point, the Clippers put Chris Paul on him defensively and Jimmer never got open for another shot. Jimmer played about three minutes in the fourth quarter. Chris Paul and Mo Williams stripped him of the ball on successive plays and the coaches took him back out. Jimmer looked so overmatched in the sequence that he looked like he did not belong on the court.

Robbie Hunter was sitting in Kurt and Bobbie's seats; he and I texted back and forth. Norma and her son were sitting in the association's second row seats. Sharon has those seats for the Clippers game in early April.

The Kings now have 2 wins and 2 losses in games that I have seen in the 2011-2012 season.

California Historical Landmark #72

I wandered by here while we were in San Diego for the USTSA World Series in last July.

Casa De Bandini
California State Historical Landmark #72
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This landmark is located at northeast corner of Mason and Calhoun Streets, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego, California. There are 71 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Diego County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 32° 45.276 W 117° 11.795.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

This adobe house was constructed about 1827 by José and Juan Bandini. The single story, thatched-roofed adobe was built on the plaza’s southeast corner. Originally, it had seven rooms, a zaguán or entrance hall, an enclosed courtyard, a corral, and several sheds.

The Casa de Bandini had built-in, adobe-layered cornices and unexposed roof rafters—Spanish Colonial architectural features usually found only in the designs of California’s missions. The rooms had thick adobewalls, ceilings of heavymuslin, and deep-set windows with shutters.

As headquarters of Commodore Robert F. Stockton in 1846, it was the place where Kit Carson and Edward Beale delivered their urgent message of December 9, 1846, calling for reinforcements to be rushed to the aid of General Kearny.

In 1869, ten years after Bandini’s death, Albert Seeley, a stagemaster, converted the old adobe into the L-shaped Greek Revival Cosmopolitan hotel. Funded with money from his wife Emily, Seeley renovated the first story and added a wood-framed second story and balconies.

The second-story balcony featured turned wooden columns and was enclosed with turned baluster railings. The clay tile roof was replaced with a wood-shingle hipped roof.

Cisco Healthcare Video Executive Briefing

I spent the day at a Cisco Healthcare Video Executive Briefing in San Jose. This was held at a different site than previous executive briefings: the old Webex headquarters. The agenda included: Solution & Mobility Demo; Product Roadmap; Intro to Advisory Services; HealthPresence 2.0 & Clinical Work Flows; Healthcare Clinical Demonstrations, and; VPOD Demonstrations. While Cisco is enabling video in a wide range of products and services and has some interesting capabilities, I am just not sure that the demand for video is going to be as high as they think it is. I am not sure that I see video as being as ubiquitous as data and voice services. I am going to try to leverage more the capabilities that we have in place.

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Snapseed [app]

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!


Snap it. Tweak it. Love it. Share it.

Code Expiration: May 22, 2012

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Sharon Van Etten - We Are Fine

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!


Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter continues to explore new avenues, here in tandem with members of the National, Beirut and Walkmen.

Code Expiration: May 22, 2012

More Civil Wars with Milo Greene

The Civil Wars (@thecivilwars)  2/4/12 10:37 AM New shows on sale now! Denver on 5/23 (bit.ly/Apu5Rx) & Salt Lake City on 5/24 (bit.ly/xGYSVH). @MiloGreene will be opening.

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus St. Ignatuis

After the Outlaws were eliminated from the baseball tournament, Jack and I headed to Jesuit High School. The SEAS Eagles played the St. Ignatius Tigers in the semi-finals of the PAL year-end basketball tournament. The Eagles have faced the Tigers three other times this season: the semi-finals of the Jesuit Tournament; the finals of the Presentation Tournament and the 3rd place game of the Christian Brothers Tournament. They had lost to them each time.

Jack played 27 minutes of a 28 minute game. He had 8 points on 0 for 3 from two point range, 2 for 3 from three point range and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Jack made a couple of very nice drives to the basketball, but each time the ball rolled around and out. He added 3 rebounds and 1 steal with two turnovers and a personal foul.

The Eagles trailed from the start. At half-time, St. Ignatuis led by the score of 25 to 15. The Eagles made a nice run at the start of the third quarter. Jack hit a three and SEAS only trailed by 3 with the score at 25 to 22. Unfortunately, they just couldn't make their shots. Excluding Jack and Andy, the rest of the team shot 4 for 24 (16.7%).

St. Ignatuis won the game by the score of 39 to 27. The box score is here. St. Ignatius moves on to the finals on Monday night, while SEAS's season ends.

The SEAS Eagles ended the season with 13 wins and 6 losses for the season. Four of those losses were to St. Ignatius. The game log is here. Of the 20 different teams that the Eagles have played in the last three seasons, the Tigers are the only team that they have never beat.

Jack was more upset after the loss than I have ever seen him after any other loss in any other sport. It is poignant to think that this may be the last time we ever see him play competitive basketball. With high school looming in August, I don't think that he is going to try out for basketball.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day #2

Very early Sunday morning, the Outlaws were back at the Woodland Sports Complex to play in the All World Sports Weekend Warrior tournament. Seeded 4th out of 9 teams, they played the 5th seeded Woodland Assassins. This is a newer team that includes a couple of players that the Outlaws have faced playing for other Woodland teams. It was a miserable morning: cold with a stiff wind out of the north.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with two RBIs and a strike-out. In his first at-bat with Greysen on third and Trevor on second, he grounded a 2 and 0 pitch to the third baseman to drive in Greysen and was thrown out at first. With Trevor at third, Jack grounded a 2 and 0 pitch hard to the right side in his second plate appearance. I was sure that it was through, but the second baseman made a great diving stop and threw Jack out at first. Trevor scored for an RBI. In his final at-bat, Jack struck out looking on a 2 and 2 pitch that was very low and outside. The umpire was calling a very low strike on the outside of the plate.

In the field, Jack started at third base. With no outs in the top of the first, they switched him to shortstop. Jack ended up playing four innings at shortstop; this is more innings that he has played at shortstop since Cal Ripken AAA almost four years ago. He also played an inning at third base and parts of the sixth inning at first and in left field. Jack had one error, one put-out and two assists. He handled two grounders to shortstop and threw the runner out at first. At first, Jack took one throw from the shortstop to record a put-out. In the top of the first, Jack handled a throw from the catcher to tag a runner trying to steal. The throw was high and the runner was called safe. In anger, Jack whipped the ball back to Cooper wide and the runner raced home.

The beginning of the game was a mess. The Outlaws committed three errors [including one by Jack in a fit of frustration] and gave up two runs in the top of the first. They then turned around and scored three runs in the bottom of the first and five runs in the bottom of the second. Committing six errors overall, the Outlaws held on to beat the Assassins by the score of 9 to 6. The box score is here.

The Outlaws turned right around and played the first seeded Sutter Storm in the semi-final game of the tournament. This is a team that the Outlaws have played several times over the last couple of years.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3 with a walk and a strike-out. In his first at-bat, he walked on five pitches and stole second, but ended the inning there when Josh struck out. Jack struck out swinging on three pitches in his second plate appearance. It is the first "bad" at-bat that I have seen him have this spring. He popped a 1 and 1 pitch into right field in his third plate appearance. The Storm had several pop-ups drop in front of the Outlaws fielders, but the Storm right fielder was playing in and made a nice catch to get Jack out. In his final at-bat, Jack crushed 1 and 1 pitch to deep center field. I was sure that it was going to be over the center fielder's head. The center fielder made a leaping snow cone catch for the out. At the time, the Outlaws were trailing by the score of 8 to 9. If the fielder does not make the play, it would have been a home run to tie the game.

In the field, Jack played six innings at first base. Jack had one error and six put-outs. He took throws from the shortstop and third baseman and handled a grounder to the right side himself. Jack took his eyes off a ball on a throw from Jordan for an error. With one out and runners on first and second in the sixth inning, the batter hit a grounder to the right side. Trying to get the double play, the Outlaws got the runner at second, but the runner at first beat the relay to Jack at first. The runner going from second to third took a big turn around third. Jack ran straight at him across the diamond. The runner was stuck in no mans land and waited for Jack to throw the ball before committing either to home or back to third. The runner looked like a deer frozen in the headlights of an oncoming car. Jack ended up tagging the runner out himself.

The Outlaws fell behind by the score of 6 to 0 after four innings, but rallied to make it a game. They ended up losing by the score of 8 to 7 and being eliminated from the tournament. The box score is here.

The Outlaws record for the Spring 2012 season is now 4 wins, 3 losses and 1 tie. The game log is here.

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus Sacred Heart

After two baseball games on Saturday morning, Jack and I took off for Jesuit High School. The SEAS Eagles played Sacred Heart in the second round of the PAL Varsity Comp year-end tournament. The Eagles beat the Panthers a little over a week ago in the last league game of the season. Sacred Heart is the lowest ranked team still in the tournament; they were seeded 11th, while SEAS was seeded 3rd.

Jack struggled with his shot both from the field and the free throw line. Although Jack will swear that it was not due to the baseball games in the morning, I can't help but wonder if that didn't take a little out of him. Jack played 26 minutes of the 28 minute game. He had 7 points on 2 for 6 from two point range, 0 for 2 from three point range and 3 for 10 from the free throw line. With his shot not falling, Jack started driving to the basket and getting fouled. Unfortunately, he missed the front-end of a number of 1 and 1's. Jack added 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals with 4 turnovers and one foul.

The game was very close through the middle of the third quarter. Sacred Heart hit their shots early and ran out to a 7 point lead. SEAS clawed back into the game and led by three at half-time. About two-thirds of the way through the third quarter, SEAS clung to a 2 point lead.

At this point, SEAS took a time-out. As the players turned to come back on the court, I was astonished by the feral look on Jack's face. SEAS immediately ran off several quick baskets and opened up a 9 point led at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles then buried them in the fourth quarter; they outscored Sacred Heart 17 to 2.

SEAS won the game by the score of 61 to 37. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 13 wins and 5 losses for the season. The game log is here.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #2 Day #1

The Outlaws played in the All World Sports Weekend Warrior tournament at the Woodland Sports Complex. They played the Norcal Thunder in the first game of the tournament.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 2 with a walk. He looks good at the plate and is making contact, but continues to hit it at someone. In his first at-bat, Jack walked on four pitches. He stole second, but ended the inning there when Johnny struck out. Jack grounded a 0 and 1 pitch to the first baseman and was out at first in his second plate appearance. In his third at-bat, he ran the count to full and then popped out to the second baseman. Jack was muttering to himself that he was just under the pitch.

In the field, Jack played seven innings at first base. He had 12 put-outs on throws from the pitcher, second baseman, the shortstop and third baseman. Jack also fielded two grounders to the right side and tagged the runner out at first himself.

In a back and forth game, the Outlaws led by the score of 3 to 2 in the bottom of the seventh. A triple and a passed ball tied the game at 3. The box score is here.

The Outlaws turned around and played the Tribe in the second game. This is not a team that the Outlaws have seen before. It often seems like Jack misses games in the early part of the season where the Outlaws romp. This time he didn't.

At the plate, Jack was 3 for 3 with a double, a triple, two runs scored and four RBIs. In his first at-bat, Jack crushed a 2 and 1 pitch into centerfield for a triple driving in Trevor. He scored on Johnny's ground out. Jack drove a 3 and 2 pitch into right center for a single and two RBIs [Bailey and Cooper] in his second plate appearance. He ended the inning there. In his third at-bat, Jack hit a 1 and 2 pitch down the first base line for a double to drive in Greysen. He went to third on the throw and scored on Johnny's single to right.

In the field, Jack played three innings at first base. He had four put-outs. Two of put-outs were extremely athletic. In the second inning, Jack was pulled off the base up the line by a throw from the shortstop; he cleanly picked the ball and tagged the runner charging up the line in the chest for the out. In the third inning, Jack made a sliding diving catch on a soft pop-up hit foul. I was sure that the ball was not going to stay in his mitt. With the mitt sliding under the ball, the ball popped up and settled back into his mitt for the out. Jack also had a put-out on a throw from the second baseman and on a ground ball hit to him on the right side.

The Outlaws exploded and won the game by the score of 15 to 0. The box score is here.

With a record of 1 win and 1 tie, the Outlaws finished the day seeded fourth out of nine teams. They will face the Woodland Assassins at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.

California Historical Landmark #53

I wandered by here while we were in San Diego for the USTSA World Series in last July.

Casa De Estudillo
California State Historical Landmark #53
See this location on Yahoo Maps in Flickr
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This landmark is located at the southeast corner of San Diego Avenue and Mason Street, Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, San Diego, California. There are 71 other California State Historical Landmarks in San Diego County. The GPS coordinates for this location are N 32° 45.254 W 117° 11.817.

You can log your visit to this landmark at waymark.com.

Three generations of Don José María Estudillo's family made their home in Casa de Estudillo. Rich in historical background, the casa is often pointed out, erroneously, as Ramona's marriage place.

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus St. Rose

The SEAS Eagles played St. Rose in the first round of the PAL Varsity Comp Basketball Tournament. I don't think that SEAS has played St. Rose since Little Dribblers in 2008. The Eagles are seeded 3rd out of the 16 teams in the tournament, while St. Rose is seeded 14th. The first round games are being played at St. John Evangelist this year.

Jack played 21 minutes of a 28 minute game. He had four points on 1 for 1 from two point range, 0 for 1 from three point range and 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Jack added 7 rebounds and 4 steals with 2 turnovers. He was the leading rebounder for the Eagles.

With Joe on the bench with a high ankle sprain, Jacob started and ran wild. Jacob scored 21 points on 3 for 4 from two point range and 5 for 9 from three point range. The coaches played everyone; the three bench players had between 15 to 20 minutes. Although the Eagles only led by the score of 13 to 7 at the end of the first quarter, the game was never really in doubt.

The Eagles won the game by the score of 49 to 22. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 12 wins and 5 losses for the season. The game log is here.

The SEAS Eagles will play the winner of the St. Roberts versus Sacred Heart game at 2:10 p.m. on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the tournament. They were warming up for this game after the Eagles versus St. Rose game. I had expected St. Roberts to win this game easily, but it looks like their best player is out with a broken finger.

Virtually Biking Across America - Day 8

On day eight, I rode 21 miles across Nevada from Dayton to Fort Churchill. I started from the Pony Express marker in Dayton and finished at the Fort Churchill Cemetary. Continuing to follow the route of the Pony Express across Nevada, I took Highway 50 to the Fort Churchill Road and followed the road along the Carson River to Fort Churchill. The route was almost all downhill and very fast.

The trip log for Virtually Biking Across America is here.

What Happened to You, Jimmer Fredette?

Several weeks ago, I sent several people the link to an excellent analysis on Grantland.com titled What Happened to You, Jimmer Fredette?

Since then, I have had a chance to see Jimmer play twice in person. While he was in the game, I made a point of focusing on him. Jimmer looked lost, afraid and overmatched on the floor.

I wrote the following post titled Bobby Hurley Redux last fall, but never published it.

Bobby Hurley was selected by the Sacramento Kings as the 7th pick in the 1993 NBA Draft.

Hurley was a point guard for Duke University's men's basketball team from 1989 to 1993. He was a first-team All-American in 1993, went to the Final Four three times, and led the Blue Devils to back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992, earning Final Four MVP honors in 1992. Hurley remains the NCAA all-time assists leader with 1076 assists.

As I mentioned before [footnote here], Larkin and I ended up dropping our season tickets after the Kings drafted Hurley. At the time, I was convinced that it was horrible draft pick. Between 1993 and 1997, Hurley played parts of five seasons in Sacramento. It can be argued that the traffic accident in his rookie year changed the course of Hurley's career. Nevertheless, I never thought that he had an NBA body or game.

In this year's draft, the Kings ended up picking Jimmer Fredette. After watching Jimmer against San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference championship game, I am very concerned that Jimmer is Hurley 2.0. I am very worried that Jimmer will not adjust to the speed and athleticism of the NBA game.

Only time will tell...

Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week - Leonard Cohen - Banjo

The complete list of Starbucks iTunes picks of the week is here!


A selection from Old Ideas, the consummate singer songwriter's first studio album in eight years.

Code Expiration: May 15, 2012

Milo Greene at SXSW

Milo Greene will be appearing in Austin at SXSW on March 17 at the Filter Magazine's Showdown at Cedar Street!

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus SI

For the third time this season, the SEAS Eagles faced St. Ignatius. This time in the third place game of the Christian Brothers Tournament. SEAS lost to SI in the semi-finals of the Jesuit Tournament and the Championship game of the Presentation Tournament earlier this year.

Jack got a quick foul in the first 45 seconds of the game. The coach then sat him almost the rest of the second quarter. He got another foul early in the second quarter and went back to the bench. As a result, Jack only played 16 minutes of the 28 minute game. The fewest minutes that he has played in any game other than the game against St. Patrick's when he twisted his knee.

Jack scored 6 points on 0 for 1 from two point range and 2 for 2 from three point range. He added 2 rebounds, 2 steals and a block with 2 turnovers and 2 personal fouls. In spite of the limited minutes, Jack ended up tying Andy as the Eagles leading scorer.

This was another hard fought, low scoring game. The Eagles trailed by the score of 11 to 8 at half-time and briefly tied the score at 11 midway through the third quarter on one of Jack's three point shots. Playing on a sore leg, Joe [the Eagles leading scorer] went 1 for 10 from the field and finished with only 2 points.

The game slipped away and the Eagles lost by the score of 34 to 23. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 11 wins and 5 losses for the season. The game log is here.

2012 Outlaws Baseball Tournament #1 Day #2

While Jack played basketball on Saturday afternoon, the Outlaws rolled over the Slammers by the score of 11 to 1. As Jack is juggling basketball and baseball this time of year, it always seems he makes the games against the harder teams and misses the easier teams where he would have a chance to pad his stats...

Up very early, Jack and I headed to Manteca for the second of the USSSA President's Day Super NIT Tournament at Big League Dreams. The Outlaws played the Sluggers. This is another team that the Outlaws have seen repeatedly over the last few years.

At the plate, Jack was 0 for 3. In his first at-bat, Jack grounded a 2 and 1 pitch to the second baseman and was thrown out at first. He hit a 1 and 0 pitch for a towering pop fly to the second baseman in his second plate appearance. Jack muttered to himself about how he just got under the pitch for the rest of the weekend. In his last at-bat, he grounded a 3 and 2 pitch to the third baseman and was thrown out at first. Jack's swing looks good. Unlike last spring where he started with lots of strike-outs, Jack is making good contact.

In the field, Jack played seven innings at third base. He had two put-outs and one assists. In the top of the first with the bases loaded and one out, Jack handled a sharp ground ball to the left side. He tagged third for an out and then threw to first to end the inning. Jack also caught a shoe high line drive for the last out of the second inning.

The Outlaws put up a good early fight. After four innings, they were trailing by the score of 1 to 0. They gave a run in the fifh, a run in the sixth and 4 runs in the seventh to lose by the score of 7 to 0. The box score is here.

With Jack heading back to Sacramento for the 3rd place game against St. Ignatius in the Christian Brothers Tournament, the Outlaws beat the East Bay Lookouts by the score of 10 to 5 in the Consolation Game at 4:40 p.m.

The Outlaws record for the Spring 2012 season is now 2 wins and 2 losses. The game log is here.

2012 PAL Varsity Comp Basketball SEAS versus SJE

The SEAS Eagles faced SJE in the semi-final game of the Christian Brothers Tournament. SEAS got hammered by SJE in the second round of the PAL Basketball playoffs last year and lost to SJE in the semi-finals of the PAL flag football playoffs in both 2010 and 2011. I am tired of playing SJE; as one of the SEAS parents said during the game, the SJE coach is not a member of the Positive Coaching Alliance.

Jack played 27 minutes of the 28 minute game. He scored 2 points on 1 for 2 from two point range and 0 for 2 from three point range. Jack added 5 rebounds and 2 steals with 1 turnover and 3 personal fouls. Jack struggled at forward against SJE's larger front line.

This was a very close, hard fought game. The Eagles led by the score of 14 to 10 at the end of the first quarter. The score was tied 22 to 22 at half-time. SEAS led by the score of 30 to 26 at the end of third quarter and briefly held a 7 point lead with the score 33 to 26 early in the fourth quarter. At this point, the bottom fell out. The Eagles made a couple of turnovers and allowed a couple of easy baskets. SJE scored 10 straight points to lead by the score 36 to 33.

Joe, the Eagles leading scorer, picked up a couple of early fouls and then took a hard fall. Joe ended up only playing 15 minutes of the 28 minute game.

The Eagles lost by the score of 46 to 41. The box score is here.

The SEAS Eagles now have 11 wins and 4 losses for the season. The game log is here.

SEAS will play SI in the third place game on Sunday, while SJE will play OLA in the championship game.