Better Laettner than Never

I, for one, never hated Christian Laettner. Also, I’m no Duke-hater. In fact, I once owned a pair of Duke basketball shorts that I picked up during a visit to their beautiful campus. My favorite school teams were Georgia Tech and Michigan, but ultimately I was a fan of college basketball, and few teams were as memorable and skilled as the Blue Devils squad that featured Laettner, Grant Hill, and Bobby Hurley.

And so Gene Wojciechowski’s book The Last Great Game—an in-depth account of Duke’s and Kentucky’s seasons leading up to and beyond their epic battle in the 1992 NCAA East Regional—triggered all sorts of happy memories from the early 1990s. For those of us who watched the game live, it will forever be etched in our memories; for those who missed it, you have ESPN Classic to thank for this wonderful documentary.

For the uninitiated or the uninterested, please allow this fast-break summary: This contest between Duke and Kentucky has been called the greatest game ever played, and not just because of its incredible and improbable ending. It featured a villain (Laettner stomped on a fallen Kentucky player's chest during the game), a hero for Kentucky (Sean Woods hit a difficult bank shot over an outstretched Laettner to give Kentucky the lead with two seconds left in overtime), and a villain-turned-Duke-hero-remained-Kentucky-villain (Laettner and his final shot). But it was the incredible and improbable ending that clinched its status as the great game ever. Watching it still gives me chills. You?

Show of Strength

The kids demonstrate how a balanced diet that includes plenty of Chipotle soft tacos of rice, beans, cheese, and guacamole translates on the muscles front.

Iowa Great Deal of Gratitude

My thanks go out to my mom for recommending The Girls from Ames, a book about the lasting friendships of a group of women who grew up in Ames, Iowa. My thanks also to Jeffrey Zaslow, the author of this inspiring book. (Who, it must be noted, died tragically just a month ago in a car accident in northern Michigan while promoting his newest book.) And lastly, many thanks go out to the women featured in this book, who opened their worlds to Zaslow and his readers.

In this book, Zaslow chronicled the experiences that eleven girls had growing up in a university town in the Midwest, and how those formative years shaped their adult lives and relationships. The bonds that the women continue to share remain as strong as ever, and their unequivocal support and love for one another is the standard for which we should aspire in our own friendships.

Night and Date

Beni and I made a date night to watch Date Night, a comedy starring Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. It’s what you might expect from two accomplished actors/comedians, and the premise of a married couple with young kids in desperate need of a date night certainly resonated with this married couple with young kids in desperate need of a date night, but it was Mark Walhberg who stole many of the scenes as Holbrooke, the security expert and former real estate client of Fey’s character.

Biker Gang of Two

The kids ponder the possibilities that await them on the bike trails by our house. A mild winter has meant more time spent outdoors overall, and the forecast of a warm spring means an increased likelihood of our time outside being on the seats of our bikes in the upcoming season.

Chick Lit

The onset of spring means the return of various members of the avian community, whether those birds are in the flesh feather or of clay.

Can't See the Forest for the Tree

The Tree of Life is one of those films that we’re supposed to admire for its sweeping imagery and the director's grand vision, and so it left me frustrated because I was only able to appreciate it for its beautiful cinematography. My attempts to scratch the surface of director Terrence Malick’s genius resulted in rebuffed and bloodied fingers and a dizzied head. As a result, I can’t recommend it for everyone, but I would say it’s worth watching if you’re in the mood for a movie that attempts to explain the meaning of the universe.

Flat Character

Flat Stanley—he of the Flat Stanley enterprise—accompanied us on our trip to the big city this weekend. He had some pad thai and some flat rice noodles—of course—at our favorite noodle shop, and Olivia gave him some cover under the paper umbrella she purchased at a trinket shop in Chinatown.

Stanley moves on next via US Postal (although faxing must be another viable option?) to Michigan, where he’ll join my mom and dad in their lives of always busy semi-retirement.

Cape-able Combo

Olivia dressed as a Japanese warrior, and Reed as a global superhero, as the dynamic duo sampled the many flavors of the foods and exhibits at the annual international festival.

Out of the Bluegrass

Before we left for home, we hit up two Kentucky landmarks—the Lincoln memorial on Louisville’s riverfront and a frozen-yogurt shop that offered mocha and pop boba as toppings. Okay—granting landmark status to a fro-yo joint is a bit of a stretch, but I failed to mention that they also served milk teas.

Play D'Oh!

Reed’s toy cars and plastic dogs met a similar fate that the mastodons and saber-toothed cats did in La Brea Tar Pits.

Louisville Snuggler

We took a weekend trip to Louisville to see Erick and his family. They are living in Kentucky for a year as Erick finishes up his surgery fellowship before their move to our neck of the woods in late July.

Among the myriad games and scenarios my brother creates for his son Quintin, Human Burrito might have been the one best received by the visiting cousins. Here are the boys spilling out of the ends of the rolled tortilla/blanket, and Olivia’s off-camera searching for some salsa.