Running

By the time I was finished running around Lake Calhoun I had realized why I hadn't run in a long time. Actually that is an inaccurate statement since I thought that about 5 minutes into my run. A more accurate statement would be: By the time I was finished running around Lake Calhoun I had realized that I was an idiot for betting my coworker $20 that I could run 3.1 miles at an 8 minute a mile pace.

You see back in the day I used to be a cross-country runner. It was only for a year and I primarily did it to get in shape for basketball, but for one season I did my share of 5Ks. During that time I ran an average of about 21 or 22 minutes for each 5K. My best was an 18:33, which just so happened to be an average around 6 minutes a mile. Of course that was 8 and a half years ago and a lot of things (college and working in a cube) have happened that have severely hurt my level of athletic ability.

It is a sign of my age that I thought I could do this, but unfortunately it is also a sign of my age that I failed. I ran a 5K (partially with a small rock in my shoe) around the lake in 26 minutes 45 seconds.

It's over

Things were going so well. Things were even for the most part of the evening. Then things progressed to the point where I thought that this could be the one. I was trying to keep myself from getting too confident since I believe the cliche that "anything can happen." Then one thing led to another and before I knew it instead of celebrating I was waiting for a sudden death overtime. Then almost just as fast a fluke play ended the game with the wrong team celebrating.

Hockey is over to me.

Maybe I will care again next year, but right now I need a long, long break. In the history of bad losses (Duke-UConn in 1999, Miami-Marshall 2002, etc) this one might be the worst and most improbable. I venture to say that a hockey team up 2 goals with a minute remaining it has at least a 98% chance of winning. Due to some bad breaks and some bad defense Miami fell in the other 2%. The fact that this same thing had happened earlier in the tournament (between UMD and Princeton) is statistically crazy.

To recap how the game went I think it is best to go through the texts I received in order:

• Friend from MS - "Found it and the game just started...tied at zero."
• Miami friend - "Boston scored 1-0"
• Friend from MS - "Miami losing one to zero....2nd period."
• 2nd Miami friend - "Miami just scored!!!"
• 1st Miami friend - "It (the goal) was legit. My whole family thought so."
• 1st Miami friend (an hour later) - "Goal!"
• 1st Miami friend - "2-1 us"
• Old boss -9:23pm - "Congrats to the redhawks"
• Old boss - 9:28pm - "Will the campus go up in flames?"
• Friend from MS - 9:29pm - "Uh oh"
• M - 9:29pm - "Miami is up!"
• 3rd Miami friend - 9:30pm - "Holy sh*t"
• Friend from MS - 9:31pm - "Holy crap....Are u watching?"
• Current boss - 9:32pm - "Uh-oh"
• Old boss - 9:36pm - "Sorry dude. This could make the win even more sweet."
• 1st Miami friend - 10:10pm - "We were jipped."
• Old boss - 10:13pm - "Now you can go back to ignoring hockey."

Hopefully that gave you an idea of the amount of emotional swings during the game yesterday. It was terrible and something that I wish I could zap from memory like Jim Carrey in that movie with Kate Winslet. I should have been celebrating last night, but instead I was a shell of myself because of a game where I barely understand most of the rules. Maybe next year hockey, but now I think I am going to rely on the Twins and baseball to disappoint me.

Miami hockey

Now that college basketball is mercifully over (and we have another Tyler Hansbrough SI cover because I don't know what the world would have done with only 4 Hansbourgh SI covers) it is time to focus our attention to college hockey. Never before did I think I would write about hockey, but that time has come now that my Redhawks are officially in the NCAA championship game. The reason they have a date with ESPN on Saturday night is because Miami beat Bemidji St. 4-1 in the Frozen Four in DC only a few hours ago.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to watch it because I was on a plane back to Columbus, OH to spend time with M's family over Easter. I had specifically agreed to this trip because I didn't think it would conflict with any sporting events since college basketball would be over, baseball would just be starting, and the NBA wouldn't yet be having their playoffs. However, I didn't cross-reference the hockey schedule and for that fault I have already missed out on one of Miami's greatest victories. Of course their greatest victory (bigger than any of the victories from the Roethlisberger or Szczerbiak eras) of all time would be if they won a national championship on Saturday. They will be underdogs against the top-seeded Terriers of Boston, but as I have found out in hockey (especially in this tournament) it is almost a coin flip when it comes down to one game.

Of course I am only a short 2 hour drive from Oxford, OH right now. Is it a bad idea to drive down through the corn fields, grab some Bagel and Deli and find a spot at Skippers to watch the Redhawks hockey team? I can reluctantly answer yes it is a bad idea because I already have plans for Saturday night. If those plans fall through (which they won't) I can guarantee you that I will make my way to Oxford and toast a team that has brought me into the fold of yet another sport. Hockey for this moment reigns supreme in my life. Go Redhawks!

My night

UNC won. Twins lost. BBQ tasted good. 1 out of 3 would get me in the Hall of Fame in baseball, but it doesn't quite cut it tonight.