Dad 143: The Final Four

(Because of all my Kansas friends, I'm rooting for Wichita State in the men's tournament. But "Go, U. Conn. women!" Enjoy Dad's post! -- Tracy)

Derf Here! Enjoying a beautiful, sunny April day in the Northeast. Still snow on the ground and temperatures are quite cool. Below freezing each night. The wind doesn't help to warm you up as you venture outside. But the calendar says "Spring." Must be Spring as I saw a few robins in the yard yesterday. Please turn the heat on! Thanks!

Trust that all of you had a joyous, glorious Easter. My church had a beach sunrise service which was attended by over 100 guests. I must admit I was not one of them, however.

A note on sister Jean. She is now in a rehab facility. Hopefully she gains the strength necessary to have any procedure needed in the future to correct her condition and get her back to full recovery. Your thoughts and prayers are still welcome.

Grandson Josh made the high school freshman baseball team. His brother Zack is getting ready for the lacrosse season. He will be on his sixth grade team. Good luck to both. Hope to see as many games as possible! I'll be there!

Our local AA baseball team (Portland Sea Dogs) opens its season tomorrow. Hope the fans still have their winter clothing available. The Sea Dogs' parent team will play their second game of the season tonight. Hopefully they will go to 2-0 for the season by beating the Yankees again. They must if they plan on an undefeated season. I can dream, can't I? Go Red Sox!!

Looking forward to the weekend collegiate basketball games as the Final Four are now in place for both men and women. I've watched most of the games and I'm really thinking the officiating has not been good. One thing that stands out in my mind is the upset of Baylor by Louisville in the women's bracket. I believe there was an all-out "mugging" of Baylor 's 6-foot 8-inch center. It looked like a street brawl. The intimidation worked to perfection. Baylor was beaten despite a remarkable comeback. I now want the winner of the Notre Dame/Connecticut game to win it all. First choice is U. Conn., but will not be too sorry if Notre Dame comes through. Watch out for the street brawlers from Louisville!

Great to see Louisville's Kevin Ware out of the hospital and back to school. Witnessed his broken leg live while watching the game. Caused nausea just seeing the accident. Hopeful that he'll return to 100-percent and will be able to play basketball again. Probably not next year, though!

For excitement, you may want to watch the remainder of the tournament this Saturday through Tuesday. I plan on doing just that. My choices are: Syracuse (men); U. Conn. (women). My betting would be: Louisville (men); Notre Dame (women).

What a great time for sports. Baseball is in season. College basketball is winding down. The Celtics will make the playoffs, if lucky. Won't last long, however.

And to top it all off, the temperature is supposed to continue on a warming trend. Warm up! Please!

Rambled long enough. My editor-in-chief probably agrees! Only she knows for sure!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!