Congratulations to our Anaheim Ducks for getting a come-from-behind win in the NHL finals opener over Ottawa. Too bad I can't say much more about the game, since it was shown only on the Versus network. Even with our dish, we don't have access to Versus. I did listen to some of the game, sandwiched around a family outing, and had to leave with the score 2-1, Senators. It's good to see the Ducks' tenacity and their ability to overcome their tendency to take too many unnecessary penalties. I think they can win the Cup this time around, though another win on Wednesday would do wonders for the old confidence level. Until their midseason slump, they were the best team in the league, and I'd like to think what we saw back then was the "real" Ducks.
Here We Go Again, Angels?
Bartolo Colon gets lit up again tonight and complains of "triceps tightness." Is it going to be another injury-ridden, in-and-out year for the former ace, or just a fluky outing to be followed up by the reappearance of the old Bartolo? With Ervin Santana having a woefully inconsistent start to '07, it could be dangerous for the Angels to carry two weak links in the rotation. Lackey has become a real horse, Jered Weaver looks like he's found his form from last year, and with the consistent brilliance of Kelvim Escobar, three of the five spots are too much to handle for most opponents. I'm happy to see that Escobar is, for the first time in his Angel career, getting good run support. He's been pitching well for, basically, his whole career in Anaheim red, but this year his great stuff has been complemented nicely by the team behind him, and the change in results is obvious. The imminent return of Justin Speier, and the improvement of the slow-starting Scot Shields, could make the bullpen a force again. Stay tuned.
Memorial Day Doings
A very nice Memorial Day - our family went to a ceremony commemorating the sacrifices of those who have fought for our country. We try to do this every Memorial Day, but, with three little ones (9, 5, and 3) we don't always get to it. We were impressed by the larger crowd this year. Hopefully, little by little, our kids will get the idea that our freedom isn't something that everyone in the world enjoys, and it didn't come to us by accident.
Afterward, we had a great time at our church picnic - burgers, hot dogs, desserts, games, and near-perfect weather, then a trip to the park with the kids for some slides, swings, and throwing practice for my 5-year-old son, whose baseball season just ended last week. He's moving up to the 6-year-old ("Shetland") league next fall, and needs the summer to get ready. More about the kids later on.
Capped off the day with a chicken-to-go dinner and walk around the free section of Knotts Berry Farm. A minimum of fighting between the kids, and the realization that I don't go back to work until Wednesday helped make it quite a good day and night. Thank God for the blessings of days like these!
Scripture for the day: "For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Ps 100:5 (NIV).
