4.30.2008

Stuff

Sigh.

Before tonight's A.I., I said aloud that I'd only be shocked if either of the Davids went ...

And it ended up being Brooke ... Oh, sweet, adorable Brooke.

Dang.

Her style was too tame and indie-ish for me to ever truly believe she could win the whole she-bang. But it was that same style that had me admiring her big time from the first moments I heard her Carly Simon-ish voice (who, by the way, gave her a big endorsement today). I've rooted for Brooke more than any other contestant in my measly two seasons of Idol-watching ...

My first thoughts after she was eliminated tonight were I can hardly wait to get her album.

(And for the record, I barely care about "Paula-gate" and all the conspiracy theories. It was just another amusing moment of Paula being Paula in my book.)

* * *

... I spent $40 filling my little tank of gas today. Kates spent $50 on hers ...

... Makes my memories of complaining just a few years ago of $1.20-a-gallon gas in Independence, Mo., seem really distant ...

... It also makes me think of my favorite gas-related political cartoon of all-time. Every time.


* * *

I returned to my office space yesterday. Had to get back some time, I've been telling people.

I had 432 e-mails to sort through. Yeah.

* * *

I got started with a story about Sheryl Crow's tour swinging through the region and spent some time pulling up some good stuff on YouTube ...

Here's Big Hair Sheryl singing "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" with Michael Jackson on the "Bad" tour. Classic!



I also stumbled across this cover of "All I Wanna Do" from English singer/songwriter Amy Studt. I kind of like it ...






* * *




The Onion


Commas, Turning Up, Everywhere


WASHINGTON—In the midst of a crisis that may have reached a breaking, point Tuesday afternoon, linguists, and grammarians, everywhere say they...



Idol chatter

... Not that I ever lost respect for David Archuleta -- his goody-goody attitude and goofy humble smile are just a bit much sometimes -- but tonight, he got my admiration back ...The moment he said he was pulling out "Sweet Caroline" and "America," he had won the night ...

His "Sweet Caroline" was the performance of the night in my book, and his "America" -- like Kristy Lee Cook's "God Bless the U.S.A." -- was just smart ...

Yes, it was Neil Diamond night, which meant a plethora of good tunes to pull from for the Idol clan ... Even while most of the performances were a little so-so, it was the most I've enjoyed a Tuesday night Idol in weeks ...

I still think Jason Castro needs to be the next to go. "Forever in Blue Jeans" and "September Morn" are great songs ... But I'm tired of his doped-down versions, those dreadlocks and those glazed-over-duuuuuuude-eyes. No energy. BOR-ing.

Then there's Syesha who really does have some talent and a wonderful voice. But I don't disagree with Simon who said last night she could be in trouble ... Her "Hello Again" was nice and strong. And her "Thank the Lord" was cool and Motown-ified. But her personality is showing up too late in the game and she hasn't shown the umpf to get her to the top ... But hey, I liked the hair down last night.

And Brooke. Oh, Brookey ... "I'm a Believer" is one of my all-time favorite songs, period. But when she said she was singing it, I groaned. I knew before she picked up the guitar it was not the song for her. And it was horrific. ...Her "I Am I Said," however, was a complete turnaround -- brilliant. She was emotionally attached to it, she was at her piano and I thought that was the second-best performance of the night ...

Which leaves rocker David Cook. Yep, he's still a sure bet for the finals in my book ... I didn't think his performances were as good as the last few weeks, but he's staying consistent -- which is something only he and lil' David have done.

4.28.2008

Onion reads

Jason Giambi Day-To-Day With Sore Groin, If You Know What He Means

The Onion

Jason Giambi Day-To-Day With Sore Groin, If You Know What He Means

NEW YORK—Jason Giambi will miss the next several games due to soreness in his groin, if you catch the Yankee first baseman's drift, because in...

4.27.2008

Sunday reading

It's so cold and dreary here today, the weather people are predicting snow tomorrow ...

My ball team played a practice game today. We won 3-1, but our team was so cold and miserable, we convinced the other team to stop it after six innings. Plus, I struck out twice ... The season starts in less than a month, and I'm nowhere near the shape I should be in ...

And Phoebe did not give us a good night of sleep. So far, she's been an excellent sleeper, but not last night ... We also learned on Friday she's a few ounces underweight and we were told to bulk her up this weekend with a lot of feedings ...

But hey, we'll keep going.

I know you've missed them. So here they are, several weeks worth of good reads ...

Baseball...
a Bill Buckner welcomed back by Red Sox
a Cedeno: Cubs 'thinking about' World Series after beating Mets
a For centenarian Cubs' fans, 'the first 99 years are the hardest'
a How in the world did this guy win 347 games? ... A good read from my friend Tom about Greg Maddux.
a Mr. Cub in Sosa's corner
a Reporters on scene recall Elia's meltdown ... listen to the meltdown here.
a Now is the time to appreciate Ken Griffey Jr. and Frank Thomas
a Touring New York's Yankee Stadium before the walls tumble
a Red Sox "curse" jersey fetches $175,100 in charity auction ... Now this is a great prank!
a Baseball needs to pick up where Canseco left off
a Heat Reaches a Boiling Point

TV ...
a Neil Patrick Harris: Say No to Britney!
a How They Get Each Other ... another good read about "Mother."
a
'The Office': Jim's Best Pranks!
a Rainn Wilson and the real officea Why 'Men in Trees' and 'Old Christine' should come back ... Never been a fan of "Men in Trees." But Kates and I do really enjoy "Old Christine."
a Where in the World Isn't Ryan Seacrest?
Music ...
a Mariah Carey has a winning formula with 'E=MC2'
a Mariah is a pop queen, but don't forget Elvis is still the King
a Come away with Wong Kar-wai: director persuades Norah Jones to try acting
a Sara Bareilles talks about her hit song, going commercial and writing

Politics ...a Chelsea Clinton Finds Her Voice
a Cheney's shades: A 'Naked Lady?'
a Why Obamamania? Because He Runs as The Great White Hope
a Obama picks up support and calories

Media ...
a At Sparkly Newseum, The Glory Of the Story Goes Above the Fold
a The Katie-Hillary Bond
a Tough Question For CBS: Who'll Follow Couric?

Life & other stuff ...
a Cops kill cougar on North Side

4.26.2008

Two weeks, baby!

We’ve survived two weeks of parenthood now.

And we still like her. We’re gonna keep her.

Knowing some of the obstacles we faced along the way, and the complications during Kates’s labor, we are reminded over and over again how lucky and blessed we are to have a healthy baby girl. And we can only hope and pray these good things continue …

Each day, brings a new wonder. A new face. A new sense of curiosity in her wide eyes. Another nuance of Phoebe.

She gets the hiccups a lot. Which is pretty common for babies -- or so we’ve heard and read … But the funny part about it is that they can be the most-painful sounding hiccups you’ve ever heard -- and they don’t phase her. She just keeps staring -- hiccup! -- intently -- hiccup! -- at whatever has got her -- hiccup! -- interest at that -- hiccup! -- moment …

Sometimes she folds her hands while she’s sleeping. Like she’s praying.

She doesn’t suck her thumb. Instead, she sucks the back of her hand.

And when she stretches, she throws her arms up and beyond her head so fast and mightily she could knock over a lamp. She doesn't care who or what is in her way.

She stares. And she pouts. Already, she’s a little drama queen.

She’s a squirmer too. Now we know what she was doing all those nights when I had my hand on Kates’s belly, and it felt like a laundry machine tumbling inside her …Now, there’s nothing inside Kates. Suddenly, it’s really weird to hug her, or feel her belly with nothing moving. I almost forgot what that felt like.

And oh, the nicknames, we’ve dropped on her … The most common, and the one that appears the most likely to stick, is Pheebs … But we’ve also dropped the P.J. a few times. Sweet P. Phoebe Jo. Peanut. I’ve called her Phebalicious …

And we’ve been calling her Floopy quite a bit -- because of her cuddly and floppy tendencies. And we’ve dropped the Phoebo. Avid fans of “Friends” should get the origination of those last two nicknames.

In the last two weeks, we’ve mused a couple times that it seems as though nothing’s changed in our lives -- and we’re thinking maybe that’s a good thing. Like we must’ve been good and ready for this …

And we’re loving every minute.

4.23.2008

Idol chatter

Ah, American Idol ...

Where were we before the expansion of our family ...

Ah, yes. Michael Johns had just been dismissed (no shock to me, America), and then there were seven.

Then, Phoebe arrived a couple days later. And we watched Mariah Carey Week from our hospital room ...

When David Archuleta sang “When You Believe,” Kates and I were with Simon -- We could’ve bet a million bucks he was going to sing that song. And we still weren't impressed. The shine on ‘lil David has rusted. We also were turned off by Syesha's “Vanishing” and Jason Castro's “I Don’t Want to Cry.”

We liked Brooke's version of “Hero.” But we loved Carly Smithson's brilliant “Without you.” And David Cook's “Always Be My Baby” -- Awesome. No, we didn’t like David Cook those first couple weeks. But week after week, as the competition has progressed, again and again, he has proven his ability to be, as Simon said, daring and imaginative. He did one of my favorite Mariah songs and his rocked-down version of it was an ace. He's beginning to leave any doubts he's going to win this thing.

On the other side, Kristy Lee Cook's dismissal after her awful “Forever” (another one of my Mariah favorites) had to have been one of the most predictable exits of the season ... But I will say her exit performance, seated in front of Simon, was a gem.

And that brought us to this week. With six Idols left. Andrew Lloyd Webber Week ...

Eh.

My mother will scoff at this one, but I'm hardly an Andrew Lloyd Webber fan. Which made this week a little less exciting to watch -- along with the idea that these next few weeks have everyone going through the motions to get the Idols whittled down to the David Cook vs. David Archuleta final.

Before tonight's show I predicted it was Jason Castro's night to go. ... A surprise to me, Jason didn't even make the bottom two, but I can tell you Carly -- who did go -- would have been my next guess. All season long, given her record label past, the expectations and buzz around her seemed to be unrealistically high and I think that, combined with the notion she never really got it (She admitted herself last night she had been choosing songs to please the judges and fans, not for her own fun.) led to her perhaps-earlier-than-deserved demise. (Here's a good read from the LA Times: Seeking closure with Carly Smithson)

At the same time, Syesha hardly deserved to be in the bottom two. Though she's likely to go any week now too, her fantastic “One Rock n’ Roll Too Many” was arguably the best performance of Tuesday night. And it was even better last night during her possible exit performance ... (And seriously. What was up with Carly and Ryan yapping in the background all through Syesha's time? Tacky indeed.)

And what's with everybody beating down Brooke for starting and stopping her song, "You Must Love Me," when she flubbed the lyrics ... Geez people, everybody was totally praising her for it and complimenting her maturity when she did it earlier this season. What changed!? She was only a few notes into the song and I've seen and heard dozens of top performers do the same thing. It shows professionalism for wanting to get it it right and I'll never blame them for doing it ... And extra kudos to Brooke for sticking with her descision last night ...

One more thing: I called it that David Archuleta would sing a song from “Phantom,” and he sang “Think of Me.” Kudos to him for trying to turn it into a pop song. But I agree with Simon, it was forgettable. I'm so bored with 'lil David ...

4.22.2008

Holy Mother

... Another great episode of 'Mother' last night ...

Though not quite as good as its predecessor, it was sort of a sequel to the classic Robin Sparkles episode ...

And oh yeah, Robin and Barney are hooking up. Believe it.

(And yes, folks, that really was Tiffany.)

Doubt I will be watching this one as much as the first video -- it's pretty cheey -- but here you go ... "Sandcastles in the Sand"



For good measure, here's the first (and way cooler) single, "Let's Go To the Mall."

4.19.2008

Home sweet home

We’re finally home. And it feels so good.

This first week as parents has gone nothing like the way we had imagined.

Kates and I were discharged from the hospital on Monday afternoon, and we were so eager to get Phoebe home and start our new lives together …We played with her, threw in a pizza for dinner, I watched my first ball game with Phoebe and Kates rested. That night, Phoebe did pretty well sleeping for her first night at home. She woke up for her first early morning feeding at about 2 a.m., and then freaked us out a little when she didn’t stir again until 6 a.m. …

But looking back now, and comparing that initial homecoming to the one we had yesterday -- we should have known something wasn’t right …

Shortly after we woke Tuesday morning, that severe head pain Kates had during the early hours of labor last weekend had returned. We made a call to the hospital about it and tried doing some quick research on our own to figure it out … But when it didn’t subside after a couple hours, we were packing up Phoebe again, and driving back to the hospital …

In a short while, Kates was being carted into the emergency room, being put back into a hospital gown and a couple nurses circled her, hooking up IVs and monitors. They took her blood pressure, and it had skyrocketed again … And eventually came the news we were hoping we didn’t have to hear: The doctors were putting Kates back on the magnesium and we were spending another night at the hospital.

Frustrating and scary hardly seems like it describes Tuesday. Some good tears were shed … For hours, nurses and doctors were in and out of our room to monitor Kates, and they were wheeling her in and out for tests. Fortunately, a CT scan and an MRI showed no serious problems …

All the while, there was Phoebe by my side, content as could be in her car seat. With Kates out, suddenly I was flying solo, feeding her formula, changing her diapers on hospital chairs and rocking her to a better place. Some called me Super Dad … Cool.

And by late Tuesday afternoon, Kates and I were back in the place we had left barely 24 hours earlier -- in the Birthing Inn. “You just couldn’t get enough of us, could you!?” one of our favorite nurses said to Kates as the ER staff brought her back to the infamous fourth floor …

Maybe we couldn’t get enough of the birthing staff. Truth is, we really enjoyed our time on the floor and probably got to know and admire the staff better than most couples during our week there. As frustrating and tough as some of those hours were, we did have our fun and knew we couldn’t have been in a better place … It became a second home. We had all the care we needed at our fingertips. Our entire network of doctors was constantly checking in (Until last week, I hadn’t realized how many different doctors we have or needed … And Kates did a fabulous job picking them out …) … Phoebe took it all in stride too, with the exception of Tuesday night and Wednesday morning (We think she was sensing our frustrations that night …)

I did manage to get out for a couple hours each day to run errands and spend some time at home. Kates’s cousin came to visit Wednesday and Thursday also and was an enormous help …

For a time, it looked as though we were going to be discharged Thursday morning. Kates looked a lot better, her swelling was way down and she was losing her extra fluids pretty rapidly ...But just before the doctor was set to release us, another blood pressure check showed Kates was up again. We were staying until at least Friday. More tears.

But it did happen … I had gone down to the cafeteria Friday morning for breakfast and returned to our room to find Kates wearing the biggest smile she’d had in weeks. “We were just discharged!” she said … So I finished my breakfast, and we began packing for home one more time.

Kates has been put on some blood pressure medication and she’s been instructed to eat a low-sodium diet … Though we’re hearing a lot of talk that this might only be a pregnancy-induced condition and she could be back to her old low-blood-pressure-self in a few weeks …

Finally, around noon on Friday -- after a stretch that had us in the hospital for six of the last seven days -- Kates, Phoebe and I finally headed home … But not before the staff misplaced her shoes. We think they got lost somewhere in the transition from the ER back to the birthing floor. But it’s ok -- they were $10 Wal-mart shoes, which Kates got only to soothe her swollen pregnancy feet …

There are more important things than shoes. Being home and a happy, healthy family of three is one of them.

4.14.2008

The faces of Phoebe

So we've made it through another day ...

And we still like her.

Kates and I are amazed at how alert and aware she is above her surroundings. She was born wide-eyed and that's pretty much continued during these first two days ...

During her waking hours, she's remarkably quiet and content and happy with the world. And we've done a lot of marveling at the times she gets this blank stare on her face, sort of a mischievous look -- likes she's done something wrong and she's avoiding eye contact with us so as to not give away her supposed wrong-doing ...

Her cone head is retreating. I love her baby smell. And she's got long boney fingers like mine -- perfect for playing the piano.

Last night we got some good face time with her ...

4.13.2008

Saturday night & Sunday morning

... By last night, both Kates and Phoebe were doing wonderfully well … We had a few visitors during the morning. But by noon, both of us were exhausted and we were taking the nurses advice again, this time on discouraging any more visitors …

Kates slept all afternoon. And I had a long nap, too, with Phoebe in my arms …

As the evening arrived, I helped Kates feed Phoebe … And then I went out -- to the Counting Crows concert.

Now before some of you go accusing me of being a terrible husband and abandoning my newborn daughter …

I’d bought a ticket to the Crows show with a complete understanding of the situation, and knowing that if I was unable to go, there were a few people waiting in the wings to buy my ticket … Kates understood the situation and was totally fine with it, too.

I had it in my mind that if there were any doubts about Kates’s health and well-being, or Phoebe’s, there was no way I’d be going to that concert. If we were discharged and home by ourselves, there was no way I’d be going to that concert … But as Saturday went on, both girls were doing well and I couldn’t say enough good things about the care our nurses were providing. I knew they would be just fine, and if I had stayed with them, all I would’ve done was watch TV. Or blog …

Going to the concert was totally worth it ...


It was my third Counting Crows show, and probably the best of the three. Good crowd. Fantastic music. And Adam Duritz was all over the stage, exhibiting his theatrics as usual …

Going in, though, I was a little weary of what to expect. As much as I would've liked to hear all of the hits, a lot of my favorites -- "Anna Begins," "Rain King," "Mrs. Potter's Lullabye" -- were nowhere to be found Saturday night ...

I sort of expected a good dose of songs from the new album, which after all is what they're heavily promoting right now ... And that's what we got. And, though, I have yet to get a hold of the new album, I was definitely impressed with what I heard ... Among the songs played Saturday night were “Los Angeles,” “Insignificant” “When I Dream Of Michelangelo” "You Can't Count On Me” and “Come Around.”

In the meantime, the old stuff that they did play was as tight and fresh as I'd ever heard them ... The Crows opened the show with “ Goodnight L.A,” before going into a sweet “Have You Seen Me Lately,” and an electrifying rendition of “Mr. Jones.” “High Life,” one of my favorites off the "Desert Life" album, “Colorblind” “Long December” and “Hard Candy” also were very good. And the band ended the night with “Holiday in Spain.”

Great show.

Check out my friend Sean's Web site for his pics from the show ...

Now for the rest of the story

I’m sitting in my pajamas, beside our hospital room’s window on a sunny and beautiful, but chilly Sunday morning. Kates is feeding Phoebe, and all is well. So, so well …

Now that I have a little downtime, here’s a little bit more on how this whole thing went down …

… Luckily, we got a good night’s sleep Thursday night, which had been a little rare in the days leading up, given some of our last-minute preparations and the fury of the Kansas game. But on Thursday night, we could barely stay awake long enough to watch our favorite shows (By the way, both "30 Rock" and "The Office" were classic ...). And by 9:30, I was zonked out on the couch and Kates was rustling me to go to bed with her …

On Friday, we both went to work, knowing it would be our last days before the baby was born. Both of us were set to begin our leave time on Monday, even though we really didn't expect the baby to come for another couple days…

We figured we’d be waiting through another weekend, and maybe she’d come Monday. If not then, we were set to go to the hospital at 6 a.m. Tuesday for an induction, which neither of us were thrilled about. Not only did we want to avoid our child being labeled a “tax baby” for the rest of her life, we desperately wanted to have the baby naturally …

But at about 4:15 Friday afternoon -- as I was trying to wrap up some of my last assignments and leave the office with a clean slate -- Kates called. She had just gotten home from school, and her water broke … After I hung up the phone, I shared some sweet moments with some of my office cohorts. And then I was off to become a father ...

At the house, Kates was waiting. With all the bags packed, all I had to do was gather them and load them into the car. Then, at 4:45, we were making the five minute-drive to the hospital …

We quickly got settled into a delivery room and at around 6, Kates was being hooked up to an IV. That, however, was when things went a little awry …

Kates normally has really low blood pressure, but it skyrocketed soon after she got the IV. She also started having severe pains at the base of her skull -- pains that were worse than the contractions, she said … As the nurses and doctor began to understand what was happening, we were hearing a lot of dreaded words like seizures, preeclampsia and c-section. The nurses would tell us later how nervous they and the doctor were; they said Kates was a “ticking time bomb.”

At about 8 p.m., the nurses began feeding her magnesium to ease the headaches. The nurses also had convinced her to lay on her side, which she had resisted initially. And we darkened the room … At about 8:20, she was still just 4 cm dilated, but the positive effects of the magnesium were starting to kick in. By 9 p.m., Kates’s contractions were starting to pick up, becoming stronger and more consistent.

At around 10:15, Kates got the epidural administered -- by a good-humored anesthesiologist, who compared its effects to driving with the cruise control on a highway. Pretty cool.

At 10:45 p.m., another check showed Kates was 6 cm dilated. And by 11, both of us were taking the nurses’ advice and trying to get some sleep. I did get a little, but every time I was about to get into a deep vibe, a nurse came to check Kates …

I also was getting the feeling the next hours were going to go fast, and they did. Once she got past those first difficult hours, Kates mental state and focus seemed to only get better as time passed. I was absolutely amazed, impressed and proud of how well she handled all of it … Even when the nurses were willing to give her a break, she refused and kept pushing with each contraction …

Then, at 3:44 a.m., Phoebe was born … As they say, it’s hard to explain the experience until you’ve been through it. That’s true. After nine months of planning and anticipation, those moments of finally hearing that first cry and seeing her … Amazing to say the least.

Kates and I were so sure we were having a boy. So sure … So when doctor laid her on Kates belly and announced we had a daughter, it made our decision to keep her gender a surprise so much sweeter ... Sure, a boy would have been great, too, but we really wanted the experience of having a daughter, and we badly wanted to use the name Phoebe ...

Of course, now a lot of people are asking how we came up with the name … Phoebe actually was the name of one of Kates’s great aunts, and Joanne comes from Kates’s mother. We adored the name from the first moments we started talking about it, and never looked back … For those of you interested in the bible reference, she can be found in the New Testament in Romans 16:1. … That Kates and I are huge fans of the show "Friends" is just a bonus ... And already a few people have referred to her as P.J., which Kates and I had discussed as a nickname we would welcome …

We've only just begun ...

4.12.2008

Introducing ....

Ladies & Gentlemen ...

Kates and I would like to introduce to you ...

Phoebe Joanne.

Born at 3:44 a.m. this Saturday, April 12, after about 11 hours of labor.

She was born at 7 lbs. and 4 ounces, and 20 inches long.

She's got a cone head and she can't stop sticking her tongue out at us.

The first song she heard was "Here Comes the Sun."

And we love her.

We'll fill in the rest of the story later.

In case you missed any of it, here's a look back at some of the highlights in our journey ...

a The announcement
a The names game: Still debating
a I thought I wrecked the baby
a A Christmas story
a The new car
a Repainting the baby's ceiling
a Painting rooms, going to birthing class and shopping sprees
a A conversation with Baby
a Baby dreams
a Our first hospital stay
a Week 36: Getting closer
a My haircut
a The names game: Hints
a The new and improved guest room
a Baby's room

4.10.2008

Goodbye Michael Johns, Hello Michael Scott!

And Michael Johns has just been dismissed from "American Idol."

I can honestly say I wasn’t as surprised or shocked as everyone else in Hollywood appeared to be … Good lord, Ryan Seacrest announced Carly and Syesha were safe and the cameras seemed to focus on Michael’s dead eyes and the audiences dropped jaws for what seemed like a half the show …

As tonight’s elimination show started, I predicted Carly, Michael and David Cook in the bottom three. Actually David’s performance was the only one I really didn’t like in what was a pretty uninspiring week. (I seriously considered not even watching the “Idol Gives Back” special on Wednesday… Don’t get me started … ) But let’s face it, we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty and the cuts are going to be harder and harder each week. And, added to David’s poor performance, I’m getting the impression that Carly and Michael are on the lower rungs of the popularity ladder …

For awhile, I was rooting for Michael as hard as the next guy. But the dude roared on “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Hollywood Week and never topped it. Since song choices were good, but not perfect. His vocals had a similar fate. And because of that I never figured him to win the competition. It was his time to go, fair and square.

Now let’s get to the real good stuff -- “30 Rock” and “The Office” are returning!

D-Day

So today’s our due date.

And still no baby.

Kates is getting more uncomfortable by the day. Her legs are the size of tree trunks. She can barely walk.

But Baby doesn’t seem to care.

So much for worrying the baby was coming early and not being ready.

He's staying!

Not that I ever doubted whether Bill Self would bolt for Oklahoma State ...

But getting confirmation tonight was good to hear ...

4.09.2008

Coming down


... I think the high of Monday night is finally wearing off. I'm beat today ... But it sure has been a fun ride ...

After the game ended Monday night, I soaked up all the postgame coverage and read a multitude of stories about the game. It was 1 a.m. before I was settled enough to try to sleep ...

And on Tuesday, nothing could tear me down. I proudly wore my KU sweatshirt to work and there were times I wondered if my cohorts thought I was smoking pot because I was so smiley and giggly ...

Every time I read an e-mail from a Kansas friend telling me about his or her experience watching the game, I'd giggle a little. Or an image from the game would pop into my head while I was walking through the office, or driving, and a random smile would break over my face. I was on air.

In the hours since Mario's Miracle, I've been reading a whole lot of stories and e-mails about people's hearts stopping, the atmosphere inside Allen Fieldhouse during the game, the throngs on Massachusetts Street, grown men getting emotional, the wrenching comparisons to the Syracuse game in 2003 -- and, of course, the missed opportunities by Memphis -- in what certainly appears to be going down as one of the greatest games in college basketball history ...

A lot is being made of the missed free throws by Memphis, and the chaos of the last 10 seconds in regulation. That Memphis players didn't foul. And that John Calipari didn't call a timeout ... I'm not buying any of that stuff. There's no telling how it might have played out had Memphis committed a foul or Calipari called the timeout. The bottom line is Kansas showed their experience, balance and held their poise and willed themselves to win. They were the better team. Period.

Here's some of the lines that have made me smile ...

Mike Freeman, CBSSports.com ...
Holy crap. How many times did you breathe into a paper bag during that one?
Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times ...
The game was over, Memphis had won on a Monday, freshman Derrick Rose was going to be the star and Coach John Calipari was finally going to get his due.

Cue the confetti and the CBS theme music.

But then it wasn't over.

Mark Snyder, Detroit Free-Press ...

Kansas, which rallied against Memphis on Monday to grab the national title, might have been the nation's most talented team in each of the past three years. But an NCAA tournament first-round loss in Auburn Hills two years ago and a regional final loss in San Jose last year showed the team needed more seasoning.

It wasn't until Monday's national championship, at the latest possible moment -- in overtime of the season's final game -- that those lessons paid off.
Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World ...

It didn’t come without first dragging such a passionate fan base through agony, because that’s just the way it works. Down nine points with less than two minutes remaining, the team with nine lives had one left.
My friend Glen ...

I am still in a bit of disbelief that we pulled that off. Being down by 9 with 2 minutes to go, it felt like KU vs. Syracuse and another punk freshman (Carmello Anthony then, Rose now) somehow pulling off a win that we should have had. Then the steal and 3. Then missed free throws. Then Mario's Miracle shot. I like the fact that when we win championships, they are games for the ages...
Dick Jerardi, Philadelphia Daily News ...
You can watch hundreds of games and never see another like it. There has never been anything like it in the championship game.

In the final 2 minutes of regulation, I counted 10 things that had to happen for Kansas to come from nine points behind to tie the game - six on Memphis' side, four for Kansas. If just one of those things goes the other way, Memphis wins the title. None did and KU won it, 75-68, in overtime.
My friend Tom ...

... I mean, how many times have we seen a KU game come down to a helter-skelter last-minute dear-sweet-christ-go-in shot, and how many times have we seen it clang off the rim, or get blocked (like KU vs. Syracuse in 2003...) ... THIS time was different ...
My friend Liz ...

If that miracle three-point Kansas basket doesn't bring out this baby, I don't know what will!!! I thought Memphis had 'em for sure; then the big shot. Whew! Memphis deserved to lose, since they couldn't hit a free throw to seal the win in the final moments. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals.
The Wichita Eagle ...
The Jayhawks' wonderful run all the way into April gave us the precious experience of coming together to cheer and marvel at the team's performance and to revel in hearing our underappreciated state's name spoken with awe.
Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated ...

When it was over, as confetti cannons belched and chants of Rock Chalk, Jayhawk echoed through the Alamodome, Rush and Manning, player and assistant coach, met at half-court for a long embrace. Talk about your college hoops flashbacks. On a glorious spring night 20 years ago in Kansas City, a transcendent number 25 in Kansas blue (Manning) led the Jayhawks to a national title. On Monday night in San Antonio, another number 25 in Kansas blue (Rush) helped take over a championship game that appeared lost and put KU back into the history books. The calendar may be different, and the uniform shorts a little longer, but that championship feeling?

It's timeless.
And here's a few more good reads ...
a One of the best title games ever? KU better believe it
a It takes 20 years, but stars align again for Kansas
a Chalmers sends Kansas to OT, championship win
a Chalmers' last-second three highlights amazing final
a Kansas coach Bill Self moves from the bench into the driver's seat
a With newly minted national title in hand, Bill Self looking for 'security' from Kansas
a Musing On A Miracle ... And A Top 10 for 2008-09

4.07.2008

A night to remember

So patient for 20 years, Kansas had no problem working an extra five minutes to bring a long-awaited championship back to the heartland.
-- The Associated Press

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.

The thoughts are barreling through my head so fast right now, I’m not even going to try to keep up …

I had never felt more confident going into a Kansas game than I did tonight. I've been so impressed with their play throughout this year's tournament, most of all their defense, and Saturday night’s win over North Carolina had me really believing there was something special about this team …

Once tonight’s game started, I was parked. On the couch. Wearing the same KU shirt and cap I’ve worn for every one of their tournament games. And a blanket to hide under when the going got rough

My confidence only got heavier as Kansas took the first half lead … But I started using that blanket again in the second half.

Finished with her school work, Kates -- wearing a Jayhawks T-shirt, too -- joined me midway through the second half. Together, we yelled and screamed and scoffed at the TV as the Jayhawks appeared to be letting it slip away …

They were down by nine points. Nine points! With barely two minutes left to play …

Then Memphis started missing free throws. Kansas grabbed the rebounds, and they turned those into points … and then. Then. Mario Chalmers hit the three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left to send the game to overtime …

When the shot went down, both my feet and my arms shot straight up in the air, while my butt remained planted in the couch cushion -- and the blanket probably hit the ceiling. I spent the ensuing commercial break lumped over our coffee table in exhaustion …

It was all Kansas in overtime …

And then, as the final seconds ticked away and the championship was in the Jayhawks’ grasp, I raised my arms once more and rose to my feet … I could stand for only a few seconds before I fell back into the couch crying. Tears streaming down my cheeks. Overcome with the emotion of finally living that moment …

Remember I had Kansas in Baby’s bracket -- for luck … And as the weekend began, I said the ultimate scenario would have been Kates and I having the baby and then being able to watch the Kansas game with him/her tonight …

That didn’t happen. But I’ll take what I got.

And figure this: Kates started having her first significant contractions during the waning minutes of the game.

Truly, a night to remember. Truly, one of the best games ever.

I'll be checking the Lawrence-Journal World a lot in the the next few days ... There's some great photos here and here.

And how great was it to see Roy there with a Jayhawks sticker on his chest!? We still love'm ...

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, go KU!

They're introducing the starting lineups now ...

I’m feeling good. I’m feeling like we can do this. I’m feeling like this might be the night.

The text message and e-mails have been flying for the last hour ... My friend Jocelyn sent a good one:

You have been hit with the JAYHAWK wave. Keep it going till they bring the championship home. WAY TO GO KU!!!

Nice. I promptly forwarded it to all the KU fans I know.

Ok. I'm a little nervous …

But we can do this.

Deep breaths.

Here's a good read from the New York Times this morning ...

Go KU.

4.05.2008

It's a beautiful day!

It’s been a gorgeous day.

The long, hard, cold winter is over. Today we enjoyed 60 degrees and sunny.

I spent almost all of daylight doing yard work and listening to the Cubs on WGN. And the few hours that I didn’t spend working on my own yard, I was down at the ballpark helping the guys prepare it for the season … Yardwork. Listening to the Cubs on WGN. And being at the ballpark -- three of my favorite pastimes.

Even better, the Cubs pulled off a fabulous comeback win.

* * *

And at 7:58 p.m., I was parked in front of the TV for the Kansas-North Carolina Final Four game ...

Wow.

Going in, I knew if they could shut down Tyler Hansbrough, they could get North Carolina out of sync. And that's exactly what they did ...

Barely two minutes into the game I was on my feet and standing in front of the TV ...

The Jayhawks were getting every ball. And hitting every shot, no matter how difficult ... As my good friend Ben, who taught me just about everything I know about the game of basketball, used to say, “They picked ‘em like a booger.”

There was just nothing but blue around the basket … Seriously. I think it might have been one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my years of watching basketball.

Midway through the first half, with Kansas leading 33-12, Kates, who was grading papers and not paying close attention, looked up at the score and said, with a laugh, "Wow!"

And shortly after that, Billy Packer boldly said, “This is game is over.” ... Not Yet! Kates and I screamed. We're well aware of the Jayhawks ability to crumble ...

Then, of course, they started getting sloppy in the last five minutes of the first half ... And when it continued into the second half, I could only sit with my hand to my mouth. With my eyes glazed over. Hoping they could hold on.

They did. And Jayhawk nation rejoiced.

We're playing on Monday night folks.

4.04.2008

Onion laughs

Stop Making Movies About My Books

The Onion


Stop Making Movies About My Books


On the fourteenth of March, in towns nationwide, In every cinema, multiplex, on every barnside, Gleamed another adapting of...





9/11 Conspiracy Theories 'Ridiculous,' Al Qaeda Says

4.03.2008

Baby tips

My good friend Tom sent me the link to these baby tips ...

I'm hoping Kates and I know better.

Goodbye, Rami!

As expected, Ramiele finally went on last night's Idol. I wasn't surprised she went, and I wasn't surprised she was so emotional about it ...

I was surprised to see Brooke in the bottom three, where I thought it should have been Syesha ...

Then again, we're getting down to the heart of it, and the rest of the cuts are going to be tough ones no matter how you look at it ...

4.02.2008

Baby's room!

As we continue to celebrate Week 38 here at Horniculture ...

Last night, we gave you the new guest room ... and tonight we give you Baby's room!

First, here's what it looked like when we moved into the place a few years ago ...

Eventually, the room became Kates's office space ... It was the last room we painted after moving here, and after thinking long and hard about the color, Kates wanted it orange ...

It was a great, cozy office space, and it served its purpose well ... But it was time to move on ...

Ultimately we decided to stay with the orange. (And there was a fleeting moment when we thought it would be good to paint the ceiling yellow, too, but we won't talk about that ... ) We had a clear vision of how we wanted the room to look. Kates picked out a swell theme that featured animals and the alphabet, and we went with it ...

This is the view from the door ...

... There's a funny story to that bare wall above the bed, to the left of the window ... Kates and I registered for a set of wall art that matched the bedding and the quilt we got (see picture below). We almost bought the art ourselves during a trip to Babies R' Us a few weeks ago, but after looking at them again in the store we decided they were unecessary ... Then, we got the wall art for a gift anyway, and started thinking that bare wall would be a great place for them. We got excited to put them up and thought they would be the final touch on the room ... But when we took them out of the package and began placing the pieces on the wall, Kates noticed the word "giraffe" on one of the pieces was missing the "ffe." ... They were completely gone, like that car commercial were the "h" has disappeared from everything to find a new home ...

The room also has lots of stuffed animals and books -- two elements that were really important to Kates and I. Over the years, both of us had held on to boxes of our childhood books and animals, in hopes that we could incorporate them some day and share them with our children ...

The shelf below includes Kates collection of Classic Pooh characters along with my musical lamb, which has lost a lot of its stuffing, but it still winds up and plays a great lullabye! ... Also on the shelf is my beloved Ernie doll, whose ears are falling off. He got so much wear and tear that Grandma Horns had to sew him up for me countless times ...


And finally a shot of the changing table and Kates's antique dresser, which I refinished with a little help from my pops ...

4.01.2008

The guest room

Ok. We said there would be pictures of some of the things we've been working on ...

So tonight we're showing you our new and improved guest room ...

First, this is what it looked like when we moved in four years ago ...

A few months in, we painted the room a creamy yellow and then waffled for the next two years on the rest of the decor. On the bed was a checkered duvet cover of Kates's that had blues and yellows, and for a time we had blue curtains to match it ...

But it still wasn't right (Sorry, I couldn't come up with the pictures to prove it) ... So when we found a new set of curtains with reds and golds and yellows we tried those. And bought a new, beige duvet cover to pull it together. ... It all looked good in a picture we had seen, but it still didn't look right in our guest room ....

Finally last fall, when we started making preparations for the baby, we decided to turn Kates's former office space into the baby's room and move some of Kates's things into the guest room. Thus we were going to have to make some alterations and it gave us the perfect opportunity to finally get this whole guest room thing right ....

We repainted the walls -- again -- this time to Red Ochre (I drove through a snowstorm to finish the job) ... and we picked up some lamps from IKEA ...

And this is what we came up with ... Much better.

Here they come again

It’s Idol night again …

Tonight it was Dolly Parton doing the mentoring … Ok, cool. Should be sort of fun, right?

Eh. My excitement seems to be lessening with each week as the lines between the talented and the wannabes grow finer. Then there’s others we're just getting sick of …

Brooke White started it off with “Jolene.” I really liked it, again. I loved the band … Kates and I continue to love her style, her song choices and everything else about her. We’re totally getting her album …

Carly Smithson did “Here You Come Again.” … And whoah, did Carly regain her footing! Yes, she was smiling. Yes, she appeared to be having more fun this week. And her slowed-down arrangement was soaring. Performance of the night, no doubt.

Jason Castro with his version of “Travelin’ Thru” kind of got us liking him again, too. I think when he’s got that upbeat Jason Mraz / Jack Johnson thing going he can be really entertaining and fun to hear …

In the second tier tonight, I start with David Cook and his “Little Sparrow” … It was all right. He’s been getting more exciting with each passing week, but this week I thought the electricity was lacking …

I expected Syesha Mercado to kill on “I Will Always Love You” … and she did -- for the first half of it. But the second half was pitchy and it really slipped …

And David Archuleta … Whatever. The moment he said “The song reminds me of when I‘m singing…” Kates and I burst out laughing with Archuleta mockery: (Said in dreamy David Archuleta voice) The song reminds of when I’m singing about roses and sunshine and rainbows and pretty little things that make me so happy I just lick my lips over and over … Now little David’s sweetness is just plain annoying …

Then there was Michael Johns' vocals, which I totally didn’t like. And Kristy Lee Cook who should’ve knocked it out of the park this week, but didn’t. And Ramiele Malubay, who just needs to go home …