Fear of Flying

Am I scared to fly? Nope. Am I scared to be flying to Florida while Stanford is playing in the Regional Final on Monday night? Absolutely! WHAT WAS I THINKING when I made reservations many months ago? *sigh* We're off to Orlando tomorrow and, later in the week, to Tampa. Planning to meet up with our team there! The plane ride will be pretty squirmy, wondering what is going on in Spokane. I'm sure we will be the first ones off the plane upon arrival and straight to a TV set to get the GOOD NEWS!

Hope to see a whole bunch of you there!

Mascot Mania and More

OK, I admit it. Nobody loves a good mascot more than I do. I bow at the alter of the Phillie Phanatic. I lament the demise of the San Diego Chicken. I squeal at the sight of the Oregon Duck.

So the NCAAs at Maples was a treat, not just because of the great basketball, but because of the appearance of Big Red, the Hilltopper from Western Kentucky. I have been captivated by that thing since the 1992 Final Four, but have never been in the same Arena since.

It got me to thinking--what is it? Google failed to give much of an answer--just this: Big Red was born in 1979 and was the brainchild of a WKU student named Ralph Carey. Rather than have a Hilltopper costume (anyone associated with WKU is a Hilltopper because the campus sits on a hill), it plays off of the primary WKU color. Legendary basketball coach E.A. Diddle was famous for waving a red towel on the bench during games.

Other sites are not so generous on the origin, suggesting that Big Red is the love child of the Kool Aid Kid and Oscar the Grouch, but that did not deter my excitement when the little blob hit the floor. I spent a lot more time watching BR's antics than I did the game.

At which point, Judy says to me "we're going to get our picture taken with it." A shudder went up my back. This always happens and I hate it. I feel like a real goober trying to get access to the mascot involved and then trying to get someone to take the picture. I crab, I complain, I say my phone's battery is running out--nothing works, though, once Judy has her mind set.

So we waited until halftime and struck when BR came back after what I presume was a potty break. "Oh, Mr. Hilltopper, Mr. Hilltopper. Can we have a picture?" Can you believe two grown women acting in such a manner? The little thing turned and acted delighted, well, I think it was delighted--how can you tell? One of the cheerleaders was more than happy to take the photo and we managed to get done before a security guard could scurry us away.

I know I said I hate it, I hate it, but now that I have it, I love it!




Emboldened by our success, Judy set her sights on Monday night. I put my foot down firmly--NO OSKI!--but was pursuaded to pose with the Father of our Country--it seemed like the patriotic thing to do.



George was happy to pose (I think)and our Eileen was passing by and took the photo. There were no signs of wooden teeth and GW smelled good--a real oddity in Mascotville. When I asked him about the upcoming election, he just smiled--oh, wait, he always looks like that.

What could have been better than all this?

Oh, just a little thing called Stanford Basketball! Speaking of legendary characters, I am ready to add Candice Wiggins to Mount Rushmore right now! How often do we hope for a storybook game, wanting everything to be glorious because it is some sort of last time? And how often does it ever happen? Hardly ever, but Monday night was a rare night where the stars aligned and Candice delivered. As terrific as Jayne's performance was on Saturday (heck, she might have gone for
50 had she been in longer), Candice's night was one for the permanent memory bank. I always thought that the fact that Ted Williams hit a home run in his last major league at bat was just the perfect way for him to exit Fenway Park, but I think, for me, CW surpassed that with her last game at Maples.

And kudos to Tara for leaving her in a little longer than she might normally, just so that we could have a few more gasp-worthy moments. I suspect that Coach was reveling in the moment herself.

There is a great quote--"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we
take, but by the moments that take our breath away." Anyone who was there will remember those breathless moments for a very long time.

Shootathon Results

Just wanted to recap the Shootathon that was held last Sunday. A great time was had by all! First up was the team shooting for pledges and the good news was that both Mel and Michelle were able to participate! Here are the results-

Ashley 240
Candice 255
Cissy 238
Hannah 257
Jayne 261
Jeannette 255
Jillian 263
JJ 276
Kayla 258
Mel 227
Michelle 273
Morgan 264
Ros 232

If you sent in a pledge form, you will receive a recap of the $$ that you need to send in. If you didn't pledge, there is still time! Just send in this form along with your donation.

Next up was the 3 point shooting contest. Each player went through preliminary rounds until the final 2 were determined--Candice and Morgan. The winner was--
MORGAN!

All of the players then took half court shots until one was made. Many close calls took place including an Appel rim out, but finally HANNAH drained one.

The fans were able to participate in these events by buying raffle tickets and selecting who they thought would win the contests. Two lucky fans got a great prize--a picture with the entire team!

We wrapped up the day with a silent auction that raised over $500 and a tour of the locker room. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Special thanks to Lynne Klaevemann and Nancy Sabbag for pulling the event together and to the scorers and helpers that made the event run smoothly. When we get a recap of the total amount raised, I will pass it along.

I hope everyone is planning on heating up Maples this weekend. Time to clear out some old bad kharma and we can help make it happen. Wear your Cardinal and scream real loud!

Shootathon!

I'm sure you are all reved up for the PAC 10 tournament--I know I am. This will be our last rodeo in San Jose so we need to go out with a BANG! Remember that we need to make the Arena into Maples South, so let's get rowdy!

For the fundraising committee, our next event is coming up on Sunday, March 16--The Shootathon! This is our 2nd biggest fundraiser of the year, so we hope you will join in by pledging and attending. Lynne Klaeveman and Nancy Sabbag are doing a terrific job in putting this event together.

How does it work? You select the player(s) that you want to support with your pledge amount. Each player will take 200 shots with a maximum total of 300 points awarded. Players receive 2 points for a made outside shot (200 possible points) and 1 point for a lay-up (100 possible points). So as an example, if you pledge $1.00 per point and your player scores 245, your donation will be $245. Easy stuff! You will be notified after the event of the amount due for your pledges.

The event will begin at 1 pm with the players shooting for their pledges. While that is going on, we will be selling raffle tickets for the 3 point shooting contest. You pick the winning class and you will have a chance to win a picture of you with the entire team! A once in a lifetime opportunity with this terrific group that we have this year. In addition, the Locker Room will be open for tours, so you can see some of the results of our past fundraising. As Tara notes in her letter to the FBC--

Many of our recent fund raising efforts have been focused on our state of the art locker room. With your generous support in the past, we have been able to make our facility more comfortable and more tech-savvy - a place where our players are happy to be on a daily basis. I cannot underestimate how much great facilities enhance the entire college experience while helping Stanford recruit at a very high level.

I am happy to announce that along with the regular shooting and 3 point contest that we hold on Shootathon Day, we will also be opening the locker room for tours so that you can all see the benefits of your generous support. We have recently added a mural celebrating our rich history, which I think you will all enjoy.

We hope that you can join us for a fun day, but, if you can't, remember that you can pledge anyway--and we hope that you will. We will have pledge forms available at the PAC 10 tournament reception and be glad to take them from you any time during the tournament--find Lynne, Nancy or me anytime!

You can find the pledge form here. We hope that you'll participate in any way that you can and that the nets are on FIRE so we maximize the pledges!