C Milton Wright Mustang Varsity Basketball dominates Bel Air

Avenging the earlier loss by the Junior Varsity team....

Mustangs Basketball downs North Harford

Success at North Harford

Mustangs dominate Southside Tourney

C Milton Wright Mustangs Varsity Basketball crushes the competition in Southside Tourney in Baltimore.

Mustang Basketball First Scrimmage at Hereford

C. Milton Wright Mustang Varsity Basketball kicks off the season with a scrimmage at Hereford.  Well played, none of the scoring or setup would be consistent with claiming that either team won or lost, but we played well.

CMW JV Basketball Game 2 pics and notes

Early game vs North County. Anne Arundel county I think. It might not be quite fair to say that the game wasn't really competitive, but CMW JV Mustang Basketball walked away with this one. Don't recall the score.

A Quick Change of Seasons

In the blink of an eye, Corinne left Hershey Park Ice Breakers for Shenandoah; auditioned, and was given a role in The Caucasian Chalk Circle, a main stage play at Shenandoah. Yay Corinne!!!

Thursday, September 18, 2008 -through- Sunday, September 21, 2008
The play “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” is presented at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday in the Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children. FREE for SU students and employees with I.D. Call the box office at 540/665-4569.

Football season started a few weeks ago, but we just hosted the 15U Maryland Elite Basketball end-of-season party. The party primarily featured volleyball and cheeseburgers.




Meanwhile, since the first scrimmage Chris has been practicing with the C. Milton Wright varsity football team. I am not privy to who made that decision and why, but C. Milton Wright is not a small school, enrolling 1746 in grades 9-12, and historically they don't make a habit of bringing Sophomores onto Varsity. Yay Chris!!!

And today we got confirmation that Laura is fully recovered, ahead of schedule and is doing very well. Yay Laura!!!

As a PS: Super Bowl Champ, 4-time NFL Pro-Bowler, Washington Redskin legend Joe Jacoby joins Shenandoah University Football Staff. No lie.

My Final Hershey Pics Summer 2008

This is my last Hershey trip before Corinne goes back to school. Weather forecast was for scattered thunderstorms throughout the morning, 70% chance; Thundershowers throughout the afternoon, 70% chance; Thundershowers in the evening, 80% chance. Not great odds, but we didn't have more than a sprinkle, and that didn't slow things down at all, let alone close any rides.

We caught up with Mom and Steph and Laurie and boys (T and J), who had been up for a three day trip. We brought along Andrew, a neighbor who has played travel basketball and football with Chris in recent years. Andrew did not go to C Milton Wright High School with Chris for their Freshman year, opting for John Carroll's superior baseball program. He will return to C Milton Wright High with Chris for their Sophomore year. Andrew would be a dominant force playing JV football with Chris, but will instead play a fall baseball league. We'll look forward to seeing him play for the high school in basketball season.



This is a very poor quality recording. It was recorded with a camera. Not a video camera, just a camera. There's not much to see, not much to hear. It was recorded to capture a defect in the audio system. It's there, but it's hard to tell because this is a poor quality recording. I just don't want you to think that either a) this is the best recording I can make, or b) this is how the group sounded. The group, if I haven't mentioned, is the Ice Breakers, performing at Hershey Park. They have an exceptional a capella mix and a wonderfully clean balance of tones. None of this comes through in the video. Oh well.

Just the audio: Hint: hit the power button to turn the player on :)

Season closes for 15U Maryland Elite

A long and very active 2008 basketball season closes for the 15U Maryland Elite with a home tournament.

The schedule was very fluid this year, with the coach always maximizing the number of games and the level of competition. Going into this tournament, we had one tournament remaining, scheduled in Williamsport, PA. However, the momentum that was built through the season evaporated in the summer heat as the roster became thinner and more ad hoc. The players became less able to play as a team at a time when solid team play became more critical to winning--or even competing--in tournaments.

The final two games of the tournament, and the year, saw the Maryland Elite falling in double digit losses. Our Coach then decided that we were no longer in a position to compete effectively at Nationals, and canceled our participation.

PGMS July 4 Tournament

Caution: Apparently I totally confused which teams we
played when. But if you're not worried about those details, the rest of
the entry is OK, please read on.
Maybe someone will leave a note to correct the names of the opponents.

Happy Independence Day! With only 6 players available, Maryland Elite 15U dominated Southern Maryland Mustangs. Fortunately, only one game today.



Day 2: Two games scheduled to finish pool play. First game pitted the Maryland Elite against the Hoyas of, well, somewhere not Georgetown. Game time was 10am, first game of the day. We had four players, and only three of them were truly regulars. To start the game we brought up an up-and-coming 10 year old, only playing up by 5 years. He was very small on the court, but played well. He was a little slow to recognize that he really couldn't post up a 15-year-old center. About 10 minutes into the game some more of our regulars showed up, and our young man sat, but returned to play with about two minutes to go and the game well in hand. He showed excellent hustle and game awareness, contributing four points, one assist, drawing a charge, and forcing a turnover. Excellent productivity.

Chris played all but about two minutes in this game, and anchored the game offensively while shutting down the opponents main scoring threat on defense. It will take a while to get photos up.

In the end, the team won their pool, but with only a skeleton crew available for the championship game (Chris was not available, there were only 6 available in all) the Elite fell 86-73.

Charm City Champs!

Maryland Elite 15U wins the Charm City Basketball's Atlantic Coast Tournament! Congratulations to Coach James and all the players. I was absent for the game, I hope that wasn't good luck. No pictures until after Chris got home:

National Tune-Up at The Park School

Blah blah blah, here's the pictures from Game 1.

Our Maryland Elite 15U basketball team was scheduled in a "National Tune-Up" tournament at The Park School in Pikesville. This is a very nice facility with five full-size basketball courts (I only actually saw three) on a campus to rival that of a small college. In our three team pool, Game 1 was a blowout in a good way, Game 2 was a blowout in a bad way. Seeded second in our pool, we were scheduled to play the third seed of the opposing pool, but that game was forfeited. Counting that as a win, we advance in the bracket to face the first seed in the opposing pool, which would effectively be a semifinal game for the two-pool bracket.

I missed the games, but the Maryland Elite 15U basketball team defeated the top seed for the opposing pool (Maryland Mavericks) to advance to the finals to face the same team that defeated them in Game two yesterday. Having had a chance to regroup, we went on to defeat the nemesis from New York to earn the title 2008 Champion!

Congratulations to the 15U Maryland Elite Basketball team!

2008 Maryland Invitational

Day 2 facing Walter P Carter in Pool Play. This in the "Auxiliary" gym at Parkdale: just room enough for a row of chairs for the players, and a row of chairs for the parents. The rims were ridiculously loose.


Day 1 facing the TICKS from North Carolina, last year's AAU National Classic Bracket Champion.

New Camera

On the eve of the next tournament (and still a few days before Fathers' Day) I tested out my new camera. It looks like I'll have fewer fuzzy pictures :)
A little fun at the Maryland Elite 15U practice:



A link to the album:

First Practice Stars

Maryland Elite 15U Wins USBA Jersey Shore Championship

So on a brutally hot weekend, we traveled to Lakewood, New Jersey to watch Chris's team play in the USBA Jersey Shore Championship. Saturday pool play had our Maryland Elite winning Game 1 67-37 and Game 2 by 91-34 They advanced to Sunday's bracket, which featured MUCH more competitive teams, winning by margins of 2 and 5 to take the championship. Team information maintained here.

Pictures? Did I mention that I accidentally left my camera at a Fuddruckers near Hershey, and when I called back they "hadn't seen it?" Come on folks, a camera is not a tip! It was a Nikon CoolPix L3, which was about a $70 camera. Not disposable, but I was particularly disappointed to lose the photos and video I took of the Ice Breakers.

But as it turns out, I have a really cool family. For an early Fathers' Day, I got a brand spankin new Nikon Coolpix P80, a SIGNIFICANT step up from my L3. I'll add a photo of the cool people that gave it to me, but first I have to charge the battery...

Next week, a major Maryland championship tournament with lots of heavy competition. I'll try to get a few pic :)

Home Tournament

This tournament, held at our home court, had lots of complexities. Due to cancellations, our 15U team played in both the 15 bracket AND the 16 bracket. They made it to the championship game in both age groups, winning the 15U title.






16U Finals:

YBOA Tournament

Some pics from the YBOA tournament in Pennsylvania. This was a national qualifying tournament, as I understand it. We got three games in. Lost the first one in a tough, evenly matched game. The next two teams were NOT 15U teams. The tournament officials could not verify their ages, they had birth certificates, but nothing to tie the birth cert to the particular player on the court. Not a worthwhile tournament.

York Tournament

Just the pics. And a comment or two. This is a tournament where we played well. The host team fielded a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old team in the same category--some tournaments are age (AAU is age) others grade, others not terribly specific. The championship pitted our 15's against the host 16's. We played hard, got down, re-established our game and had the game knotted with loads of momentum in the second half. The home team was tagged for multiple technical fouls in the game to this point, including two on the coach. The officials felt the game slipping away, and called the game. We left undefeated.

Pics from AAU 15U Maryland Championship Tournament

Just the pics:

Arise from thy slumber

I've got a bit of catching up to do.

Last I told anyone, Christopher's 15U AAU basketball was making a run at the Maryland Championship. And a good run indeed, although they ran out of gas at around 8pm in their third game of the day on a sweltering Sunday, that just happened to be the semifinals. Their performance was enough to garner them an invitation to the AAU National Championships in Little Rock, Arkansas.
We've since had a tournament in Virginia that went well (not terribly strict on the age requirements...), and another in York. The York tournament was interesting: we won all the games up to the last, where we were pitted against the host team, which also happened to be a year older than the other teams. We played them even in the first half, then started pulling away in the third quarter. The York team didn't take well to getting beat, and they responded. The officials ultimately called at least 5 technical fouls, ejecting a York coach and a York player, then finally when order could not be restored, called the game in the third quarter. This weekend the boys go to a YBOA tournament in Pennsylvania, where they could conceivable receive an invite to the YBOA National Championships in Florida.

Corinne made it back from college for a full week before heading off to Hershey for summer work. If you're up in Hershey, be sure to catch the Ice Breakers

As for me, Godspell opened last week, and runs through May 25. It's got a very strong cast, but was slow to come together, due to all the various conflicts. However, now that the show has opened, I can say with certainty that I recommend it. Hopefully not too late, so far this is the best show nobody has seen--attendance has been poor. Blame it on poor advertising, or Mother's Day weekend, or something. Come if you can, tickets are $15, see tidewaterplayers.com.

Getting Ready for Basketball

Chris has made the 15U Maryland Elite basketball team. First tournament is this weekend in York, PA. I think there are a total of 13 tournaments this year, with Nationals in Little Rock, Arkansas in July. There are a few kids I know from last year, including Monte, who has taken to dunking the ball, but there are lots of fresh faces also.

Revenge of the Mustangs

The CMW Mustangs crush Joppatowne 81-47 revenging their 1 point loss in OT in the previous meeting. The game was very exciting and the team did very well. CMW took control early and won the game with ease. Jake even got his first dunk!

CM Wright JV Basketball ends skid

CMWright JV Basketball ends a 4-game skid defeating Perryville 105-53. Perryville pulls from a student body of 989, compared to CMW's 1834, and didn't have talent to match the Mustangs.

The game was never close, despite the Mustangs having Sophomore starting center unavailable for play, and being tagged for 12 fouls in the first quarter (double-bonus with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter). The officials appeared to try to "manage" the game, which peeves me to no end. What they ended up doing in fact was to stop the clock so often that the scoring opportunities skyrocketed, as did the score. The 53 Perryville Panther points--nearly half of which came in fouls shots--were almost doubled by the Mustangs' 105 point effort.

The Mustangs played aggressively, and loose--easy to do with a comfortable lead. With 30+ (estimated) accumulated fouls in the game, it was surprising that only one player fouled out.

Chris played well: good control of the offense, very low turnovers, exceptional deny defense, shot well from the field and from the stripe. Hopefully this will trigger a more positive streak.

Big game Friday with Fallston visiting CMW. I am told tickets are only available in advance. Maybe this time I can manage to get a few pictures...