Vince's Journey

March 'Madness' took on a new meaning for me this year. It looked like Ohio State was in line to capture their first national championship in basketball since 1960. In their first 2 NCAA games they had won by an average of close to 30 points and they were taking on a talented but inexperienced Kentucky team in the Sweet Sixteen. Surely the experienced play of John Diebler, David Lighty and William Buford would prove to be the difference in the game. Unfortunately, it was Buford who looked like a freshman - the Buckeye swingman who had played solid basketball all season long shot a dismal 2 of 16 and missed a 3 point shot at the buzzer which would have won the game to bring the Buckeyes stellar season to an end. It was a stunning loss. Going in to the game my worry was that the refs wouldn't let the players play - ironically they did and that proved to be the difference. Kentucky played with tremendous aggression and were very physical with Buckeye freshman, Jared Sullinger, who scored 21 points but had to fight for every one of them. During the season play like Kentucky's would have sent the Buckeye big man to the foul line on just avoyt every possession but not in the Sweet Sixteen. So it's wait until next year....again. This was a great Buckeye team. They were fun to watch and played the ultimate team basketball. Sometimes the best team doesn't win and I truly believe that was the case last Friday night. Unfortunately you don't win banners for being the best team, you win them for going undefeated in the NCAA tournament. This year it won't be Ohio State and I hope its not Kentucky. I'm hoping this is the year a true Cinderella takes it all - so I'll be backing the winner of the Butler/VCU game next Monday night. Go Bulldogs, go Rams...UK? Just go home.

I'm not sure if you've heard but Julie celebrated her 50th birthday on Monday. I threw a small pary for her last Saturday (neighbors, the Judd siblings, Ed and Jane and a few of our Buckeye friends). The night ended with a rousing game of flip-cup which is a very quick way to drink more beer than you should (as I learned the hard way). I was not in very good shape on Sunday but we sure did have a great time Saturday night!

Abbey has had a rough week. She started to feel bad Sunday night and I think she hit a low point yesterday when her temperature reached 103.5! Jules is out of town at a work conference so I've been trying to nurse Abbey back to health. I stayed home with her today and I think she's finally on the rebound. She still has a sore throat but her appetite seems to be coming back and I'm hopeful she'll return to school tomorrow after missing 3 straight days. I have to admit I feel pretty helpless with a sick child, it's very frustrating and when the temperature gets as high as 103.5 I tend to freak out. Fortunately a dose of Tylenol lowered her temperature to 99.7 and she was able to get a good night of sleep.

It was Opening Day today in Cincinnati and the game ended with a bang as Ramon Hernandez hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Reds to a 7-6 win over the Brewers. If you're going to go undefeated you have to win the first game so the Reds are on their way. Joey Votto and Drew Stubbs also homered for the Reds. Tomorrow is an off day and they'll play the Brewers Saturday and Sunday to complete the first home series of the year.

I guess that covers the past week. March is almost over and hopefully with it, all the chilly weather. Bring on the spring! Hope all is well with you and your family!