If Michigan’s mens basketball team was going to lose yesterday, it was perfect that Josh Langford was the guy who put the dagger in Michigan’s heart with his three point shot in the last seconds of the game. Josh Langford has been through so much at MSU. He was part of MSU’s top recruiting class. He was a star in the making. Then he was beset with injuries but he stuck it out and kept grinding. Due to his injuries he is not the player he once was, but he is still a force to be reckoned with due to his ball handling skiills, his shot making and his saavy. It was a great shot by a great player.
Looking at the B!G tournament bracket, there is a good chance that Michigan will have to play MSU for the third time in a row if MSU can get by Maryland, which will not be easy as both MSU and Maryland are fighting to secure a NCAA tournament bid. In all my years I have never heard of a college basketball team playing the same team three times in a row. Let the fun begin.
Yesterday, I attended my first umpire meeting for the upcoming season. It was great getting together with the guys. As I said at the meeting, we are a band of brothers who make up a different one percent, as only 1in 100 people have the skills and patience to do what we do. This year my focus is working with new and up-and-coming umpires and also helping to train youth umpires. This weekend, I will be working with four other umpires training many youth umpires in Northville. I started umpiring 52 years ago and I never get tired of it.
I was going to comment about Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, however, I will follow the lead of Prime Minister Johnson who said, “when it comes to matters to do with the royal family the right thing for a prime minister to say is nothing.”
As of this week it will one year since the pandemic hit Michigan hard. What a year it has been. It has made so many changes in our lives. It has caused me to appreciate the little things that I used to take for granted, like socializing with friends and being able to visit family whenever I felt like it. Not being able to attend high school basketball games is another thing I miss dearly. It is something I have done all my life. On the bright side, I think Zoom meetings are just as effective as in person meetings when done right. It has caused me to ride my bike outside all year long , since gyms were a no no. I even rode it in Petoskey this weekend. It even made me think I was a writer as I finally finished by book on the King’s Men Golf Group and I started this blog, which is now in its twelfth month. It has made me appreciate my health, which I will never take for granted again. It has made me appreciate Leah and all the little things she does, which before I was too busy to notice. There is a reason we have been together for over 50 years. I am looking forward to getting back to normal, however it is redefined.
Stay safe. Wash your hands regularly, Social distance. Wear your mask properly. Schedule your vaccine.
Quote of the day: “For the family, they very much have this mentality of ‘This is just how it is, this is how it’s meant to be, you can’t change it, we’ve all been through it,’” Prince Harry during the interview with Oprah
Orchid of the day: Michigan’s Naz Hillmon for earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors in women’s basketball
Onion of the day: To the majority leaders of The Lincoln Project. A good idea gone bad due to the greed of the leadership. I should have known it was to good to be true.