Free Afternoon, What to Do?

Tournament tidbits from a lazy Sunday afternoon ...

With our only game of the day finished by 11, the girls and their families enjoyed some down time. Some went to the movies, some enjoyed a laid-back evening with friends who live in Cincinnati. The consensus is "Evan Almighty" was pretty funny and at the least a good escape from the rigors of basketball, while "License to Wed" was not Robin Williams' best work but had some awfully funny scenes, nonetheless. The mechanized robot babies were a hit with the girls.

Before we took in "License to Wed" we drove to a dog park on the other side of Cincinnati to let Bella have a good run. Of course she had a great time and Hannah and I played with an old frisbee we found. It never ceases to amaze me how you can have the best time when you do something spontaneous, that doesn't cost a ton of money, or involve a bunch of intricate planning.

Observation about this city: it's easy to get lost here. When this area was founded, a whole slew of townships sprung up, each with their own streets and street-naming systems. So, nowadays, you can drive from one township to another and into another in a matter of minutes and the street you're on will change names. Plus, the street signs are often difficult to read, with very small letters. It was a bit of a challenge finding the dog park at Mt. Airy Park. But it was worth it.

A few other tidbits:

-Sugar-free items are flying off Cincinnati store shelves. What with the team's no-sugar rule, families and girls are scrambling to find sugar-free versions of their favorite foods: sugar-free cookies, sugar-free fruit drinks and sugar-free pancake syrup.

-There are no Sonic drive-ins here, so one parent in particular is a little frustrated. Seems he goes for a large Sonic Diet Coke every day. And no, it's not this author.

-On just about every block you'll find a chili restaurant. Cincinnati is famous for Skyline Chili, often served over spaghetti noodles. Kansas City has its barbecue, Cincinnati has its chili. We haven't tried the chili yet, so I guess I'm in no position to say I prefer barbecue.

Today's game, the first in bracket play, is at Courts4Sports. (We have yet to play in a real high school.) It's a manic sort of place, with six basketball courts and at least four games going at once. With a lofty metal ceiling, you can bet this cavernous place can get awfully raucous. Parents and siblings will have to cheer loud to be heard.

Our opponent is the Memphis Elite, winner of Pool N. Two pool winners squaring off, two good teams. Expect a very good game. --Big Daddy