Armstrong Hoops

Sawyer, dying to play organized ball like her big sis', when it doesn't conflict with hockey, plays in Armstrong's 7-8 y/o mini-camp.  It's mostly drills, but they wrap most sessions with brief scrimmage... and she puts it all out there.  Steals are banned, so she begrudgingly waits for a change of possession, or rebound, and then turns on the jets.  We're working on sharing the ball with teammates, but, as she puts it, "if they're not getting down there fast enough...", she's going coast-to-coast.

She tends to draw bigger, stronger, more physical defenders... which we hear about the whole car ride home.  Though, last week, her complaints were justified.  She took an elbow to the mouth, knocking out one tooth, and loosening one (that fell out later that day).

Blaine Classic

E's travel squad didn't fare quite as well in their third post-season tournament, going 0-3 in Blaine against some tough competition (Elk River, Rodgers and Blain, again), but continue to improve and gel.  They were dogs in every game (I mean, just look at Blaine's #52), but were just a few possessions away each time.  In the final game, Evie was 3 for 4 from the foul line, had a put-back with a minute to go, and rimmed a would-be game-tying jumper deep from the elbow as time expired.  A really fun finish for the girls (and the parents).

Two weeks until State!

Tubing

E's class field trip to Elm Creek Park's snow tube slopes.

DJ

My guy Dan, now in Boston (and a neighbor of the New England Patriots' CFO) and a few of his buddies flew to Minneapolis to watch their Pats in Super Bowl LII.  His crew was VIP'ing it all weekend, but I was able to catch them for dinner at George and the Dragon and drinks at Chino Latino the nights leading up to the big game.

Good to see you Danny Boy!

Farmington Classic

Another 2nd place finish for E's 3rd grade travel squad, this time at the Farmington Classic.  No 5'8" baby Shaqs this time, but our girls got physically whooped by the home team in the championship.  All but one E's teammates left the game in tears at during the contest, as Farmington's "amoeba defense" jumped passing lanes and darted through screens in attempts to steal the ball.  80% of the time it worked, 15% of the time they bulldozed our girls, and 5% of the time we slipped through for a basket.  

That game aside, the Trojans played so well... keeping their heads up and making the extra pass to a (more) open teammate.  And, defensively, they started to pick up the art of stealing... a practice not allow during the recreation season. 

Goalie

S got to take a turn in the net for the Wayzata Great White Shark Mites, and was begging for more after her first go 'round.

Princeton Classic

E's 3rd grade Wayzata travel team took 2nd place in their first tournament, the Princeton Classic, losing in the championship by just a couple buckets to a Blaine team whose best player (a 5'8", 100 lb forward that had everyone whispering "check her birth certificate") scored 24 of their 28 points!

It was fun to watch the girls start to gel on and off the court right before our eyes.  During games they were cheered each other on, strategized during timeouts, played help defense and were so genuinely happy when knock down a basket or get a stop.  And, between games they bonded over concession stand food, iPhone games (Heads Up!), and jump-roping with a tiara the found in a photo booth.  

Man, I remember those days (minus the tiaras and iPhones).

Bed buds

... and sometimes they even make room for us!

P!nk

Linds & Sam saw P!nk at the Armory in downtown Minneapolis Super Bowl week.  Sounds like P!nk was ill, and only was able to sing a few songs to completion, but put on a helluva show, nonetheless.