Well, shoot!

 So, I haven't blogged in a few days cause my laptop is on the edge of dying.  Therefore, I'm writing this on my music laptop that I use for games.

 I'm sure some folks are asking, how do you know that your laptop is on the edge of dying?  Well, when you can't keep it running for more than five minutes, it doesn't take much to figure it out.

 Over the last couple of days, I've done some heavy research and put together a solid HP computer.  The same size as my old laptop (17") and will be smoking fast.  The hard drive is a 1TB SATA, 16GB of RAM and I went a little big time as I got a backlit keyboard, with the numeric keypad (after having it for so long, and as many spreadsheets as I do, I won't have a keyboard without it).

 While waiting for the new laptop, which by the way had great discount of over $130, I won't be uploading any videos for the new channel. Which honestly, is a good thing.  I went down to the Gaslamp Quarter this past Saturday to do what was supposed to be going up tomorrow.  I was waking up and down Fifth Ave, not bothering anyone that was dining, from 8:30p until 11:00p and got TWO folks to actually answer the question (What is your most unique talent?).

 Going in, I thought that with drunk folks and a simple question, it could be an interesting episode.  Now, I'm not even sure that I will release the episode.  I might go back down and try and get more people.

 This weeks question is, "Mayo or Mustard? and Why?"  I am going to a bonfire with a group that I'm in on Facebook.  I'll be asking the question there to see if I can't get some answers.  I'll also be going to Balboa Park on Sunday and try and get some more folks there.

 In other things, I've begun golfing again.  I'm going in the same way that I did when I first began golfing,  Going to executive courses to sort of dial in my irons and wedges.  Then mixing in full courses to get the driver and woods out of the bag.  Back on the 19th I went to Pine Glenn at Sycuan.  For the first time, I got back to back pars!

 I was supposed to go tomorrow (Wednesday, March 3) but since there is a 70-90% chance of rain while we were going to be golfing the three-some has decided to rearrange and go on Monday the 8th at 11a.

 So, now while we wait for the new laptop, I'll practice my golf game and work a game or two.  Speaking of which, the reason (besides money) why I didn't golf last week, I worked eight games in six days.  It would've been 11 in 10 days but a soccer match and a basketball game were cancelled due to the opposition catching the virus.  I had a really good hang out session with a couple of co-workers after the game last Tuesday.  The highlight of that eight game stretch was being able to step in and do the senior day activities and starting lineups on Saturday for the Men's Basketball team. 

NASCAR, Soccer and some YouTube learning

Ah.... one of my favorite days on the Sports calendar was this past Sunday.  #DAYTONA500 Day.  It took awhile, like 8-9 hours, because of a FIVE hour rain delay.  Duh, it is February....  Michael McDowell was the first to cross the finish line for his first Daytona 500 victory.  Some good and bad news comes along with this win.

The bad is that he will not be able to use the car ever again.  I say ever again cause next year NASCAR goes to a new style of car.  One of the perks (depending on your point of view) is that the winning car of the 500 goes into the Daytona museum for an entire year.  He gets the car back on the Saturday prior to the next Daytona 500.

The good news is that he has already qualified for the "Chase for the Cup."  So he doesn't have anything to really worry about until September.  That is when the playoffs begin.  All the winners of the 26 races that lead up to the playoffs and then some wildcards based on points.  The top 16 in the season long points battle qualify for the playoffs.

Tuesday saw another soccer match on the schedule.  It was the season opener for the men's soccer team.  The match against California Baptist University (cbu (that is how they stylize their school initials)) out of Riverside was scheduled for March, but was moved up.  Prior to the match, I swung by Gaglione Brothers in the Sports Arena area.

For those that have never heard or (gasp) never had them before... they are DELICIOUS!!!!  They primarily specialized in Philadelphia Cheesesteaks.  I had the mushroom cheesesteak without onions.  I took the sandwich and stopped by a 7-Eleven that is between the restaurant and USD to get a beverage.

I got to the press box and enjoyed the sandwich prior to the match, but not prior to getting yelled at for eating in the press box.

The match was rather easy, with one exception.  Live stats was having a hard time staying current.  It would not update the time when I inputted different fouls or corner kicks.  Heck, it didn't even update on a few of the goals that were scored.  USD ended up losing 4-1.

Today, I went to the chiropractor, like I do every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  It was a pretty normal adjustment... except for the neck.  He really went deep on that part of my body.  After I got my adjustment, it was time for lunch.  Mom and I went to Firehouse Subs.

On the way home the Matriarch of the family had me stop at my LEAST favorite store in the World. Bed, Bath and Beyond.  I hate that store, most of this hatred stems from my early days as a security guard.  A post that was assigned to me was the very store that we went to, the Mission Valley Center location.  It is a story for another time.

Once we got home, I watched the ending to one of my favorite movies "Rounders."

At the conclusion of the movie, I loaded up the USD softball game that was being played.  Not good news for the Toreros.  They began the season 0-2.  They will be back in action when I'm on stats on Saturday in a doubleheader against Grand Canyon University.

I finished the night by watching some YouTube videos on how to get better at editing.  I've picked up a few tidbits so hopefully, the videos for San Diego Street Talk will be getting better.  Speaking of San Diego Street Talk (now available on YouTube here) I will be out shooting our next episode tomorrow (Thursday, Feb. 18) on the Embarcaderro between the Star of India and the Midway between 12:30p and 3 or 4p.  I will also be in the Gaslamp Quarter on Saturday night after the USD Soccer match to record for episode 3.

For those that are wondering, I have already set out a shooting schedule (hopefully things get opened up this Summer) through September (which will get us to about the episode 25-30 range).

Until next time my friends, Adios.

Yikes.... that was tough, but we are one day closer to the DAYTONA 500

 Greetings,

So I worked my first USD Soccer match today.  My initial reaction is OY! or YIKES! if this was a regular season, it could be long.... But this is a short season, so it might not be that bad.

From my not very educated knowledge of collegiate soccer is they need more speed!  The Toreros are lacking in that aspect of the sport.

Now, as for my purpose at the match.  I was learning how to do the stats.  I had never stated soccer before.  Yes, of all the sports that I've done stats for, I've never (prior to today) done soccer.  In retrospect, it is very appropriate that today is Lunar New Year.  So I started a new journey at the beginning of a new year!

I picked up the program very quickly as it is not that hard to figure out.  Once I got home from the match, I texted a good friend that is an SID at a local university and asked him why hadn't told me how easy stating soccer was?  His response was "Hahaha. Easiest of all." Yeah, it is.  In just a month on March 20th, I'll be doing the hardest of all the stat programs, Football.

On the journey home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend.  I got a couple of salads, some strawberries and blueberries, some sunflower seeds (cause what's a salad without them?) and both fried and grilled chicken for the weekend.

Once I got everything ironed out after dinner, I recalculated and formatted my hockey power ranking sheets.  With all of the COVID rescheduled games, I needed to reformat the spreadsheets.

Now, I am getting ready to go to bed.  When I wake up in the morning, it will be time to go work a pair of NAIA Basketball games as the San Diego Christian College Hawks host William Jessop University.  The Warriors will invade the Kroc Center tomorrow (later today) with a 10:30a women's game, followed by a men's game.

If you are looking for me on Sunday, it won't be hard to find me.  Look in the living room, it is not Valentine's Day as many think.  It is DAYTONA 500 Day!  Along with Singles Awareness Day.

On Tuesday, it is looking like I'll do my first men's soccer game.

Off to bed to get ready for the final two games of the week.  It's been almost like "normal" times this week.  Six games across six days and a trip up to Burbank for good measure.

Volleyball replay and Networking

Well, I didn't really like today's assignment.

I don't often say that, but it was true.  Not a fun day at the office.

The Toreros hosted the Portland Pilots in a West Coast Conference volleyball match.  I was assigned to be the replay official for the match (today as well).

Got to the arena around an hour early.  Went and made sure that the equipment was working correctly.  At the time it did....I'll explain later.

First set, everything is going ok... then late in the set (22-13 San Diego), Portland thought the call of in was wrong.  The assistant coach went crazy thinking that it was out.  He damn near ran on to the court and said "You'll see in just a second that you were wrong!"  I really wanted to find an angle that proved the referee correct.  On the angle that I saw and showed to the down referee, it looked to me like the ball was out.  The down referee looked and said nothing to me (I have to fill in some paperwork on the screen when there is a review).  I wait to see what he signals and he signals that the ball was out (Gee, thanks for letting me know what was going on).

Second set, we had two reviews, one for each team.

For San Diego, they thought the ball was in.  The problem was that upon looking at the video, only one of the two angles that we were supposed to have at our disposal was working.  The one angle was skipping over the two to three frames that we needed for confirmation, so the call "stood" because it was inconclusive.

Portland had another review late in the set (I'm noticing a trend....).  It was another in/out call.  On the opposite side of the benches (and the table).  Looking at the video again it looked in to me.   However, the original call was out and that is what the referee confirmed.

In the fourth set (as it turned out the final set) San Diego on the bare eye looked like they just missed a pancake (slipping your hand under the ball and having it bonce off the hand).  That call was confirmed that it did hit the floor and not the hand.

The final set scores were: San Diego 3-1 (25-15, 28-30 (nothing like over points), 25-14, 25-14).

On Tuesday, I was invited by my friend Callan to join him as we went up to Burbank to meet up with Sean Pebbles.  If you don't know the name, you might know the position that he holds.  Public Address Announcer for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sean is in SoCal doing something with Warner Bros.  He said that he could tell us, but then he'd have to kill us.  We kinda like living, so we just let it lie.  Really cool guy.  After we had dinner at BJ's Restaurant in Burbank.  After dinner, we went back to his hotel and talked for a bit.  He offered us drinks but I just took a water as I was driving (do your own thing, but if you drink and drive.... don't expect me to be at your funeral).  Hope to hook up with Sean again when his plans are to come back out to San Diego in August.

Basketball and videos

 Well, talk about a day!

First on the docket was running the Instant Replay for the USD Toreros Women's Basketball game against Pepperdine at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.  Game time was two in the afternoon.  I got to the arena at 11:30.

Most people are reading this and wondering, why so early?  Well there is two reasons for being there two and a half hours early.  One, I haven't done this position in about a year.  Two, I did a little example video on how everything works.  That will be compiled with the other mini videos that I'm making for all the positions at the table and will compile them all into one video and then post it.

The game went very smoothly.  When USD wins by 25 points that helps.  Also, when the referees only come over one time for a clarification and no real reviews, it is a good game!

I also found out that I'll be working the scoreboard on Monday for Women's Volleyball (I promise to keep all comments to myself!).  The comment in parenthesis is an inside joke that a couple of people know about.  Also, the good ladies in the SID office must really trust me with stats, as they have asked me to come learn/do the stats for Women's soccer this coming Friday.  Of course in 2021, I won't be counting goals until there actually is a game.  In this time, a game on the schedule is just a suggestion.

After the game, I walked around the main portion of USD and asked folks the opening question on San Diego Street Talk.  Which is "what would be the worst movie sequel ever made, and why?"  I interviewed 12 folks.  The final video is coming in around the six and a half minute mark.

Alright, I'm going to head to bed now so that I can get up and enjoy Super Bowl LV.  My pick? The over (more than 56.5 combined points)!

A few Top 5's from 2020

 Here we are a full month into 2021.  So why not look back and see what a few categories top five results on Google were in 2020.

First let's look at the top five in "Why's".

1. Why were Chainsaws invented?  That is a very good question.  But at the same time, why did that particular question get so high in the rankings?  So apparently there was a meme going around Social Media.  Twitter user Darco (@Natu76108249) asked on November 15th  ...

For those that don't want to search, it was invented by two Scottish doctors that wanted to speed up child births.  Prior to caesarian sections, the doctors in the 19th Century used a version of this tool to help free the child when they were either too big or breeched.

2. Why is there a coin shortage?  This is just a common question that came to light after signs were seen all around businesses.  It is a simple question with a simple answer.  With fewer people going out to restaurants and stores, the circulation of coinage came to a screeching halt.

3. Why was George Floyd arrested? This is another question that is kinda obvious.  On May 25th George Floyd was arrested and death in Minneapolis.  People were asking why was he being arrested.  When enough people ask this question, it ranks high.  It was the top search for most of the year.

4. Why is Nevada taking so long?  This question started popping up after Nevada officials were taking too long for some people.  The results didn't come out for 10 days as they were going after accuracy over speed.  There are a hare over 1.4 Million voters in the State (including my sister and niece) so it will take a while to make sure everything is good.  For the record, Nevada was not the last state to certify their election.  That title goes to California (Dec. 11), Maryland, Missouri and New Jersey all came in on Dec. 8th.

5. Why is TikTok getting banned?  This was a question after then President Trump started floating ideas about banning the app because the company that owned it was not following the correct policies for security of users information.

Of course since this is my blog, you know that sports will be at the forefront.  Let us take a look at the Top Five teams that were searched.

1. Boston Celtics: The Celtics finished 3rd in the NBA's Eastern Conference during the 2019-20 season.  But they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in August against....

2. Miami Heat: The Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals and would lost to the LA Lakers in six games.

3. Kansas City Chiefs:  Your defending Super Bowl Champions, and looking for back-to-back rings as they will be taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday in Super Bowl LV.  The first Super Bowl that will feature a team playing in their home stadium.

4. Los Angeles Clippers: The LA Clippers (one of my favorite NBA teams) finished the 2019-20 season at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Semifinals in seven games.

5. Dallas Stars: The runners up in the NHL for 2019-20.  Also the team that knocked both my team (the Colorado Avalanche, in seven) and my sister's team (Vegas Golden Knights, in five).  They would end up losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.

Finally, lets take a peek on who the most searched players were in 2020.

1. Ryan Newman: Who would think that a NASCAR driver would be the most searched athlete in 2020?  Well, after the wreck that he was involved with at the 2020 Daytona 500, it is no wonder why he's here.  Check out the wreck here.  Just a couple of days later, he would walk out of Halifax Medical Center just two days after the wreck.  He would be back behind the wheel when the circuit returned after the shut down.

2. Tom Brady: When you win six rings with one team (my favorite New England Patriots) and you decide to sign a free agent contract with a different team, people will search for your name.  That's what happened in March.  Just a little after the Pandemic started he signed his two-year $50 Million completely guaranteed deal.  In his first season in Pewter and Bay Orange he is in the Super Bowl.

3. Bubba Wallace:  NASCAR's only African-American driver had several newsworthy moments in 2020.  First was during the Pandemic break NASCAR went digital.  During the Bristol race, Bubba quit mid-race after wrecking on just the 11th lap.  The Mobile, Alabama native lost one of his sponsors due to his response to fans over how they were getting upset over a video game.  His sponsor pulled their name as they said his response was the same as a 13 year old boy being upset over breaking his controller.  After seeking a spotter for the Talladega virtual race, he ended up opting out.  On Sept. 21 Mr. Wallace signed with the new 23XI (pronounced 23 Eleven) team that is co-owned by Denny Hamlin and "His Royal Airness" Michael Jordan.

4. Mike Tyson: In July of 2020, Mike signed a contract to face Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round bout in September of 2020.  The bout was scheduled to be at Dignity Health Sports Park on the campus of CSU Dominguez Hills in Los Angeles County.  The bout was pushed back to November and went the entire length and was declared a draw.  One judge scored it 79-73 for Tyson, the second judge scored it 80-76 for Jones Jr., the final judge scored it 76-76 draw.

5. Rudy Gobert:  The Man that should've received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.  I say this as it was Gobert was the player that tested positive for COVID-19 and shut the entire NBA and further, the entire sports world for more than five months.

Another game.... and another positive test....

 The USD Toreros were scheduled the byu Cougars.

Scheduled being the important term there.

I got an email around 11a this morning saying that the game was cancelled and the bosses would be in touch with a makeup date.  The way that the email was written I thought that it was a byu player that was the guilty party.  As I would later find out, no it was a USD player that was the guilty party.  STAY IN YOUR ROOMS TOREROS!!!!!!!

Today was the day where I was to get my truck back.  I took it in on Friday to get it fixed.  The front wheel bearings and brakes needed to get fixed.  So, I called yesterday and talked to my High School classmate who happens to own the place.  He said that the truck was ready.  I go in at like 11:30 and find out that nope, it wasn't ready.  No biggie, they were just waiting for the rotors.

So, while they were finishing up the truck, I went into work with Mom.

I knew they were going to need me as the office needed to get a new all-in-one printer.  Mom, her boss and I all went to Staples to get a good deal that they were having.  While at Staples, they also got Turbo Tax, a folder to hold the 2021 tax info and extra ink for the new printer.

We get back to the office and I begin doing my thing.  First I get the old rather large all-in-one out of the way.  It was being replaced as my mom's boss gets a lot of faxs and the old machine (which they got back in 2016) was not receiving faxes anymore.  So a new all-in-one it is.

I get the old one unhooked the telephone line from the old one, I unboxed the new one and got it out of the bag.  I place it in the spot and it takes about half of the space the old one did.  I hooked the telephone line into the new machine.

I then sat down and started doing the setup on my mom's work laptop while she was working on some paperwork on the other side of the office.  Once I got everything taken care of on her laptop, I began on her bosses laptop.  It was during this setup that they both went to the bank to do some (brace yourself) banking.

After I got all of that done, it was time for my mom and I to leave.  On the way home, mom and I stopped for lunch at Arby's.  We took our lunch over to the plane spotting parking lot at Lindbergh Field.  My family loves to go down to the airport and watch planes take off and land.

As mom and I left the airport, I called to check on my truck.  I was told that the mechanic was just about to torque the lug nuts down and take it for a test drive to make sure everything was good.

It takes about 15 minutes to get from the airport to the mechanic.  When we arrived, I noticed that my truck was still in one of the bays.  As I was paying (this is where the "Ouch" tag comes from) he was just then taking the truck for its test drive.  Maybe two minutes later he was back.

I got into my truck and started driving home.  Admittedly, I took a long cut to get home.  About a quarter of the way home I thought I had heard a noise from the left front wheel.  Keeping in mind, I had the front wheels worked on.  So, I went into a really quiet neighborhood to see if I could hear it there.  I didn't so I chalked it up to hearing it from someone else.

Once I got home, it was about 4p.  I sat down and started working on some computer work.  Really, just watching some YouTube videos on how to fix my valve cover gasket (another item that needs to be fixed, if I were to do it at the mechanic it would cost over $400 for labor).  For some reason, I fell asleep for a nap for about 30-45 minutes.  By the time I woke up, it was time for my Colorado Avalanche to hit the ice.  Actually the game had already started when I woke up.

So, I started typing this blog out while listening to the Birthday Boy Conor McGahey (tonight it was "Natural Disaster vs adjective).  The other birthday boy Marc Moser (the TV voice of the Avalanche) was not able to be viewed on NHL.tv this evening for some reason.  I eventually had dinner during the second intermission (rice with leftover meatloaf balls).  The game finished and as I was about to go back to watching YouTube videos on how to grow my channel, my main laptop decided that it wasn't going to play well with others.

So, I got my mini laptop out (the one that I usually work on at games) to finish this blog.  Well, since I haven't used the mini laptop for about a year, it was time for updates.  That took about an hour to get through.

So here it is midnight and I'm finally finishing this blog.  When it was looking like I was going to finish it around 9:30'ish.  Oh well.  Good night.

YouTube.com/c/ChrisDavisCDinSV

Twitter.com/CDinSV

Welllll Poop!!!!

 Greetings my friends.  Hope your Sunday was well.

I got out of bed around 10:30 and made a quick trip to Sam's Club to get milk, paper towels and kitchen sponges (I know not your prototypical Sam's run).

Got home around 10:50-10:55 and put everything away and sat down to watch a little bit (less than what I was thinking) of the 24 Hours of Daytona.  I get a text at 11:10 from the SID over at St. Katherine's saying "The game was a GO for today hope you are almost here".  I look at the text from a few days ago and it said Noon... I thought it was at 2p.   OOOOOOOPS!!!!!!!!

So I hop into the car and get going to Northeast Carlsbad/Southwest San Marcos.  I plug the address in to Google Maps.  It says it will take me 46 minutes to get there (11:57a ETA).  I call him and let him know.  I absolutely book it up to the gym.  Actual arrival: 11:55a.  I arrive at the scorers table at the exact moment that he is saying "Good Afternoon...."  I was only scheduled to run both clocks, so no big deal about not being there early enough to get pronunciations.

The game went rather smoothly.  A couple of extremely minor screwups, nothing was major.  Well, except for the fact that everyone told me that halftime was 15 minutes.  I always start the halftime clock when the referees leave the court.  St. Kat's coach pretty much ripped me a new one since it was running and he was still at the table.  So, I set it again and wait for his entire staff to walk to the locker room.

Second half was a piece of cake.

On the way home, I had a good talk with my friend Daniel.

Went to Jersey Mike's for dinner and enjoyed my regular number nine.

Came home and turned on the Colorado Avalanche game against the Minnesota Wild.  Twice in the first period the Avs hit the goal post (that my friends is called foreshadowing).  At the end of the first it was 1-1.  Both teams scored a goal in the second period as well making it 2-2 at the end of 40.  When the start of the third period came a major disappointment.  Nathan MacKinnon, only the greatest player in the NHL, was not on the bench.  While the Avs are a very talented team, when you don't have your best player, it screws with all of the lines.

The Avs did take a 3-2 lead after Brandon Saad made sure that all of the Avs fans weren't sad.  See what I did there???  About five and a half minutes later, Minnesota scored to tie the game back up.

Free hockey (overtime for those not familiar with alternate titles) lasted less than 20 seconds.  on their second shot of the bonus period, Minnesota scored.  See what I meant by the two goal posts???

I'll finish out the night watching either TV or YouTube.

Speaking of YouTube, I'm thinking of starting a series on YouTube of me going out in San Diego and while using the product Pod Decks (a deck of cards that has different Podcast subjects and interview questions) and asking like 15-20 people the same question and see what the answers are and post it up on YT in a series called Street Talk.  What do y'all think?

Third time is a charm.....right????

 Well, back on Thursday I was thinking I was going to be doing three games in three days.  What was I thinking this is 2021 and we are still dealing with Covid-19.  Fool!

So just as you can guess, I didn't have three games in three days.  Not even close.

The game that I thought was going to be on Friday is actually today (Sunday).  I was leaving the house I called my contact at the game.  He answered and let me know that the game was actually going to be on Sunday.  So, I got off at the next off ramp and came back home.  Watched TV and enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to drive 45 miles in the rain!  I live in San Diego, just by living here you can guess if I like rain or not...spoiler alert, I hate rain!

So on Saturday (yesterday), USD was scheduled to play Loyola Marymount University or as we call it here in Southern California LMU.  I woke up to an email from my new boss saying that LMU had a positive test and the game would be called off for today.  I emailed him back saying OK.  Now, because I'm kind-of superstitious I have to wear the same thing if one of my teams is on a winning streak.  Well, that is where we are with the Colorado Avalanche.  The Avs played a game last Tuesday (beat San Jose 7-3) the same day that USD women's team lost to Saint Mary's.  So, the Avs played again on Thursday also against San Jose.  The same day Gonzaga and USD were on the court (check out that blog here to see how that went).  Well, Colorado was nice enough to wait until I got into the truck before they scored and they did so three times on the way home for a 3-0 win.  With all of that said, I couldn't screw up a winning streak by changing something up (See even Kevin Costner in Bull Durham knows).  So, I wore the same outfit that I wore on Tuesday and Thursday; blue jeans, sleeveless undershirt, light blue USD polo shirt, my light blue sweater and my Nike shoes.  I wore this as Mom, Dad and myself went to Point Loma Sea Foods (if you live in or near San Diego, you really should go and have some great Sea Food there is you already haven't) and then watched airplanes (can say multiple cause we saw three) takeoff from Lindbergh Field.  We came home and I watched the Avs take down the Minnesota Wild (or as I refer to them, Mild) 5-1.

Looking ahead to today, I have an issue.  The Avs are playing Minnesota again tonight, but the game that was supposed to be played on Friday is being played today at 2p in East Carlsbad/West San Marcos.  I really wouldn't mind wearing a hoodie with USD on it....but I don't want to mess with Colorado's winning streak. Dilemas Dilemas.

So, I think I will wear the hoodie and not the polo shirt and sweater and just hope that the Avs can take care of business like they should be able to.  If I screw up the streak, I'll take responsibility before the game even faces off.

Until next time.

Oh, and tell me in the comments if you would be interested in seeing me go around San Diego and asking random people their thoughts on different questions on YouTube.  I'm thinking of calling it Street Talk.  Let me know.

The top team in NCAA Men's Basketball and the plan that wasn't to be...

Well as the Scottish proverb says "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

This happened twice on Thursday.

I started out Thursday by playing a little NASCAR Heat 3.  Finished a couple of races and then it was time for me to leave the house for the day.

First stop was the chiropractor.  Been going to him since May of last year when I tweaked my back.  Things were aligned and so it was a quick visit.  Then I made my way over to Jenny Craig Pavilion to work the men's basketball game against Gonzaga.

Tip for the game was 6:00, but I got to my parking space for the night before 4:00.  So, instead of going in very very early, I sat in the car.  I'm glad I did as my sister (who is going after her bachelor's degree at UNLV) called me for some computer help.  We talked about her classes for a little bit and then got to her problem.  No biggie, just needed some help uploading a file to share with one of her classmates.  Got that all knocked out and then she had to go to get ready for her next class.

I went in around 4:45'ish, just as Gonzaga was arriving to the arena.

The plan was for me to go in and do a video for my YouTube channel on how I run the scoreboard as that was the position that I was working.  But by the time I got in, I didn't think the sound would be good as the music was already playing.  So, when I work the game on Saturday, I'll take my lapel microphones and hook them up and knock it out that way.  Look for that video and the one I'm going to do at the game tonight (Friday, Jan. 29) next week on the above mentioned YT channel.

As for the game....

The Toreros came out of the gate HOT!  But all streaks come to an end.  Just 2:30 into the game, USD was up five points.  The Blue and White held the lead throughout the game for a total of 7:28.  The top team went on a 15 point scoring run in the first half over a course of 5:46 seconds.  At the break they were up 40-29.  The second half was more of the same as the Bulldogs would win 90-62.  For those "Guys in the Desert" the Zags did not cover by just two points. 

Once the game was over, I checked my phone to see what messages I missed (unlike others that I know, I don't look at my phone during the game).  It was at this point that I found out an acquaintance of mine had passed away on Tuesday.  He couldn't have been more than 30 years old #RIPSeth

I don't really like to end things on a downer like that, so I'll leave you with this joke.  Where do cows go on Friday nights?  They go to the moo-vies!

Be safe everyone and remember to love each other!

Let's relaunch this Huh?

 So what's gong on Blogger?  Been awhile hasn't it?

Let's say we relaunch this blog huh?  Maybe even combine it with a YouTube channel and really have some fun.

So Tuesday, I did a Day in the Life video of running the scoreboard for a USD women's basketball game (oh yeah, since I last blogged, I've been picked up to help on the Toreros game day management crew).

Started the day by running some numbers to see who had a good chance of winning the NHL games (kinda got into some sports wagering on a website that you don't use real money).  Turned out that there were a few games that really had some advantages, so I placed some wagers.

Around 11, I left the house and went to USD.  Stopped off at 7-Eleven to get a Pepsi and a Kit Kat (since I didn't have anything before leaving the house).  Got to USD about 11:45, needed to start the pregame clock at Noon.

Had to park in the lower parking garage and walked up.  Didn't have my mask on as there was no one within six feet of me so I was all clear.  Once I walked in, I put on my mask and got my temp taken.  Walked onto "The Slim Gym" Jenny Craig Pavilion's floor.  With the Covid-19 setup, you have the Shot Clock, Game Clock/Scoreboard, Official book and the Instant Replay system on the table right at courtside.  On the riser that is located roughly where the expandable "lower" bowl would be is Stats, Photographer, Announcer and music.  On the other side of the court is the play-by-play spot.  Everyone that is working the spots I just mentioned is "Tier 2".  Coaches, players and the Sports Information Directors are all in "Tier 1".  Tier 1 can go pretty much anywhere they want.  Tier 2 can only go to Tiers 2 & 3.  "Tier 3" is the camera operators and anyone up in the control room.

So, I get inside and see the head of marketing for USD, the one and only Robbie Hill.  Robbie is really cool and has a bunch of passion for USD since he went there (and his Dad is the head baseball coach).  Side note on Robbie, he is a professional trumpet player and does a great National Anthem.

Went over to the scores table and double checked some of the settings (minor things that the shot clock guy likes to have checked like making sure that the shot clock doesn't show tenths of a second).  I started the pregame 60 minute clock about 45 seconds late, but since the game was starting at 1p and wasn't on National TV, it didn't really matter.

About five minutes into the pregame, I found out that the guy that was scheduled to work the scorebook was going to be running late as he was getting his first Covid shot.  I was asked, and was going to do it anyway, to get the scratches from both teams and get the names into the book.  Simple enough, got it taken care of in about 10 minutes, but was interrupted by the referee coming over to the table and having the pregame talk with everyone at the table.  We go over the simple things and ask some questions on things that are odd and don't happen very often.

About 15 minutes before tip, the scorebook got to the table and I let him know that the book was all filled out and starters were about to be inputted by the coaches.  The coaches (usually the second assistant coach) have until 10 minutes before the game to get their starters in the book and initial that everyone in the book is correct.  This way, should it happen that a team puts a player into the game that wasn't listed in the book, the referees can say "Hey, you initialed" before assigning a technical foul.  In addition to that, for some reason the play-by-play guy hadn't shown up yet.  So, the PA Announcer was flipped over to the p-b-p seat and the SID filled in on PA Announcing.  If I was in a different seat (shot clock) I probably could've done it, but not when I was on the big clock.

The Toreros had a really good start as they led at one point 16-4.  They ended up finishing the quarter up 22-13.  They also closed out the game with a good fourth quarter with 19 points.  In the bookend quarters they scored 41 points....the problem was they only scored 15 in the second and third quarters combined.  They ended up losing to St. Mary's College 63-56.  SMC coming into the game was 4-10!

After the game, my friend Callan (originally scheduled to do PA, ended up on p-b-p) and I went down the hill to Round Table for some pizza and a beer (after that game, we needed one!).  We caught up with each other as we hadn't hung out (gee thanks Covid) since early December.  I took him back to his house and went down to PB.

On the way down to PB I got a sudden need to go to the bathroom.  I ended up going in a porta potty at the foot of Fiesta Island.  Then made my way over to PB to get gas.  After that I came home.  On the way home my beloved Colorado Avalanche were playing San Chokse in Denver.  I turned into the game on XM and listened to the Great Conor McGahey.  Once there was a commercial break after I pulled into the driveway, I came inside and watched the rest of the game on NHL.TV.  Avs would win 7-3!

After the game, I started editing the video and posted it overnight as I slept.

So I'll come back tonight after the Toreros and the #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs are on the court tonight.  It isn't on National TV (shocking!) so if you watch on WCC Network (Look on Facebook) you'll see me at center court again running the big clock and scoreboard again.  Tip is at 6p.