Rewind 03/29/2026 - MLB, UT Basketball, WNBA

accurate!

Been a minute since we checked in.  

Jamie's Birthday

It was Jamie's birthday.  We have done nothing for it.  We're 51 now.  It is not exciting.  We'll have dinner with the parents tonight, and dinner with Steanso's family on Tuesday.

Baseball Starts

It's opening weekend for Major League Baseball.  Cubs have a really good lineup, and despite Opening Day jitters and a loss to the Nationals, I'm enthusiastic about our chances - especially as we bounced back and beat them 10-2 in the second game.  Bats are looking good, fielding shouldn't be a problem, and then it's up to the pitcher rotation.  

It looks like The Cubs org is also not being weird, and went ahead and locked up two favorites with 6 year contracts - Centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and 2nd Baseman Nico Hoerner.  Both produce on defense and at-bat, and are fan favorites, so its nice to not worry about contract nonsense through the season on two key players.  

I expect Happ will also retire a Cub one way or another, and I'd love to see Suzuki remain a Cub as long as he's playing the US.  

In addition to baseball, it's good to have my imaginary friends back for the post-game show.  Cliff, Elise and Cole.  And Anthony Rizzo seems to be living part time in Chicago, so I imagine he'll be on with other analysts like Dexter Fowler and Ryan Dempster.

  

Texas Basketball

Both Longhorn Basketball squads made it into the tournament this year!  Hooray!

The men's team played really well, but lost to Purdue after a close game, going down by two points in the last seconds.  No shame at all.  I'm excited about UT men's basketball for the first time since high school.

UT Women, however, have progressed to the Elite 8.  So far they beat Missouri State 87-45, Oregon 100-58 and Kentucky (who I thought of as a really good team this season) 76-54.  

This team is really, really good - and what's nuts is that as good as our seniors are, things look equally (or more) bright for next year based on our lower classmen and recruits.  

While we have our stars in Rori Harmon, Madison Booker, Kyla Oldacre, et al...  Sarah Graves is UT's secret weapon as someone who doesn't just ride the pine.  She's maybe the most enthusiastic player and has become an avatar of the positive vibes of the UT team - leading the bench in enthusiasm for her teammates.  Plus, when she comes off the bench it's a sign from coach Schaefer we have this locked up.  To top it off, Graves has scored multiple times in the tournament after coming in.  

 

WNBA

Sounds like the Connecticut Sun has been purchased as an organization and is headed to Houston.  Houston did have a team years ago, and it sounds like the Sun will reclaim that old team name - The Houston Comets.  No other word on what this means, but I am excited as the trip to Houston is easier than heading to Dallas.  

The contract negotiations are done, the players and WNBA both getting something, and I think it looks like the WNBA players will finally have real pro-athlete pay.  It's now tough to look back at the women who played in the league the past 30 years and know what they did so all of this was possible, but looking forward, it's going to be better for both players and the league. And maybe mean a longer season.

it's Jamie's Birthday

Today is Jamie's birthday!

I also realize this is the 31st birthday I've celebrated with Jamie, which is wild.  When you find the right person - stick with them.  That's my advice.

Y'all wish Jamie a happy birthday.

Venezuela WBC Champs, 2026 / UT men in the NCAA Tournament

Venezuela Takes Gold

Well, after many, many hours of watching baseball, Tuesday night I saw Venezuela beat the USA in the World Baseball Championship Final.  And, to be honest, I was kind of rooting for Venezuela.  It clearly meant something to them that it didn't to our squad.

Look, Venezuela was playing like their lives depended on it, and with joy.  The US was playing like they had to knock this out and get back to Spring Training.  If there had been a sense of fun to what they were doing, after the loss to Italy, the US had sort of lost the plot.  

Still Watching Baseball, The Oscars

Emmylou enjoys some fake corn

Baseball

Well, to my surprise, the US beat the Dominican Republic in the semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic, and now we're going to see if they face off against Italy or Venezuela.  I'm done making predictions, as I assumed Japan would sweep this year, and they're out.

It is very, very strange to watch what feels like play-off baseball in March, but it's also a heck of a warm up to the season.  Getting to see all the DR players pop off against the US was oddly satisfying, even if they lost (only 2-1), knowing the Dominican Republic has a population under 12 million, and a GDP of about $130 billion.  

World Baseball Classic in ON

If soccer has the FIFA World Cup, baseball has the World Baseball Classic.

The tournament started this weekend in four cities across the globe.  Houston, Miami, San Juan, and Tokyo.  There are twenty teams from 20 countries participating - so if you ever wanted to see how Czechia would stack up against, say, Aaron Judge, this is your tournament.

No, I am not sure why they aren't playing in Europe, because the aforementioned Czechia as well as the Netherlands, Italy and England are in the tournament.  I assume its because they know Americans and Japanese fans will show up, and aren't sure about the people in Brussels or whatever.  

But hear me out - Mexico is insanely good.  Let them play at home.

It is *a lot* of baseball to try to watch - so we've been watching Japan, Puerto Rico, USA and - last night - Mexico.  No, I don't know exactly why Puerto Rico has their own team, nor why Chinese Taipei has its own team, but not China.  

The make-up of the teams is fascinating.  Baseball is a big concern in some of the participating/ qualified countries, and less so in others.  The US has good participation from top-tier players, so look for Bregman, Schwarber, Bryce Harper, etc...  There's issues with getting pitchers to play, but one thing we have a lot of in this world is pitchers, so we're covered.  But, yeah, apparently there are insurance issues, etc... by saying you'll play a tournament before the official MLB season starts.  

You'll also see familiar players from, say, Mexico (Kirk is Mexican, for example, which I did not know).  

Japan has MLB marquee talent - you're going to know these guys.  Ohtani, one of the best to ever pick up a bat, is there.  My guy Suzuki from the Cubs is there (and hitting dingers).

But who are the players from Australia?  Italy?  Who picks up a baseball in Brasil instead of a soccer ball?  I know one team I watched play, they had a 17 year old kid out there pitching - and he was *good*.  Talk about getting scouted.

The mood in the stands is celebratory.  In Japan, between the acoustics of the Tokyo Dome and enthusiasm for the sport, it sounds more like a futbol game than a Sunday at the ballpark.  In Houston when Mexico was playing, it was a raucous crowd.  Italy has an Espresso maker in the dugout?  Everyone is bringing their own vibe to the games.

If you happen to see this on March 9th - you're going to want to tune in for the US/ Mexico game on Fox at 8:00 Eastern.  I promise, it'll be a good time.

Texas Woman's Basketball Wins the SEC Tournament

On Sunday, March the 8th, Texas Women's Basketball won the SEC Tournament.  

It's been a rip-roaring season, and we still have a whole Bracket to get through in the NCAA tournament - but this is huge.  The Longhorns beat Ol' Miss and Dawn Staley's mighty South Carolina to take the trophy.  

It's funny - I have different circles of people I talk to about different sports.  Jamie is there for all but soccer, Jill I text during WNBA games.  I have a group chat for UT football. But JAL is who I text during women's college basketball games.  And other times, my mom - who does not miss a minute of UT Women's Basketball.  And my cousin Sue will chime in sometimes.  

We had a birthday lunch for The Karebear today, and I think we were both looking at our watches to make sure we were out of there for a 2:00ish tip off.  

Jamie decided it was too stressful at halftime and went and sat on the porch with Emmylou.  

Anyway, just wanted to drop a note here and celebrate a huge win!  Texas didn't just win, they won decisively.  An astounding effort by everyone.  Longhorns played with so much heart, as they say, it was astounding to watch.  

Unrivaled (3-on-3 Basketall) Season Ends - Mist Doesn't Miss

The night of March 4th saw the finale of the second season of Unrivaled Basketball, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league. 

If I can be candid - I think they're really onto something.  I don't think it should replace the WNBA, I still like 5-person teams.  But it's like snack-sized basketball in a format that's easily consumable and makes a lot of sense - and is designed by actual WNBA players, not nerds beholden to interests off the court.  

Our champions were Mist who narrowly defeated Phantom, after narrowly defeating The Vinyl.  And that's the kind of spirit it takes to be a Championship team.  Because the season is so short, the bracket was played in single-elimination rounds, so no "best of seven".  If you don't win the game, you go home.

Happy Birthday, Ma!

The Admiral and KareBear drop by League HQ

Hey!  It's my mom's birthday!  I'm not allowed to discuss numbers, but it is a round number.

Emmylou Harris at the Paramount, 02-23-2026

Emmylou Harris, Verlon Thompson and Shawn Camp

The Paramount didn't really do much to push the fact Emmylou Harris was coming to Austin when tickets went on sale - because they didn't have to.  The show sold out pretty quickly as near as I can tell.

Some shows you know are going to just stick with you forever, and I knew from the minute this got underway - yes, this would be one of those sets.  With zero ceremony, Emmylou wandered out onto the stage like a stage manager and informed us "I know you didn't know this, but tonight we're doing a tribute to Guy Clark".  With the crowd that showed up - a bunch of old Austin music nerds - that was like saying "everyone here is getting a $100 bill and a bag of candy".  No complaints were lodged.

DITMTLOD: Ice Skating, Ice Capades and The 1992 Winter Olympics

We haven't done a DITMTLOD post in a long, long time, but here we go.

Gisela Head

I have a memory of the first time I saw a woman, who was not Princess Leia, as "attractive".  Who knows what word I had in my head?  I was probably around three years old, but it was such a weird idea at the time - that until I hit the ages where finding girls a great idea - I did not quite understand what that was all about. 

At the time, the Ice Capades were still very much a staple of American culture.  Younger readers will only know the post-Ice Capades world of "Disney on Ice" or "Muppets on Ice".  At one point, I know our family took in a mix of "The Ice Capades" and "Smurfs on Ice".  

The Ice Capades were essentially an odd relic of the Zeigfeld Follies/ Vaudeville shows that had died out decades prior with radio, film and television.  Why go out for singing and dancing and some comedy when Our Show of Shows was readily available or Ed Sullivan could show you Broadway, comedy and an opera star in one hour?  But on ice?  

For some reason, that lasted until the mid 1990's

Happy Lunar New Year - Year of the Fire Horse

They tell me it's the Year of the Fire Horse.  

I know nothing about any Zodiacs, from any culture.  So I am left to Google this.

Apparently a year for rapid change.  Good golly, do we need more of that?

Let's round up the Fire Mares, then.

Weekly Rewind - 02/15/2026

baby's first tooth brushing

Happy post Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day kind of came and went.  It's just not either my favorite holiday nor Jamie's.  It's expensive and a hassle.  We stayed in, had a pizza and watched a movie I did not like at all.  Jamie gave me a fun card.

This was our 30th Valentine's Day together, and every year we remember our miserable first Valentine's Day sitting in freezing weather outside waiting for a table, only to then be sat outside near one of those gas burners, which did nothing.  

It's a bunk holiday.

Steven and Lauren and young Alexander Come to Town

Weekly Rewind Week of 02/08/2026

Mayalsia arrives via BoomTube to the Winter Olympics

Well, the Olympics are Back

We'll be hiding out for the next two weeks or so while the Winter Olympics take front and center in Jamie's mind.  

I'm more of a track and field guy/ Summer Olympics fan, but I figured out well before we got married - Jamie loves the Winter Olympics, in part because she went years ago in Canada, and in part because she loves figure skating.  But I'll kind of watch whatever sport at least for a while.  And because we have Peacock, we've been watching lots of the games - but I admit, I have a rough time saying "let's watch 3.5 hours of a preliminary round of Curling".  

But I did watch, like, the US Women beat Finland in Hockey, some curling, some downhill skiing, some other stuff, and lots of skating.  And thanks to living with Jamie I know a whole lot of the skaters and what their deal is - especially as she's been watching all the competitions leading up to the Olympics.  

Weekly Rewind 02/01/2026 - Elliptical, Cooking, Movies, Basketball

Emmylou getting toasty

Exercise is Hard

I awoke Sunday morning, remembering - to my horror - that I'd told myself I'd start really exercising again on February 1. 

The goal is to get back to the gym 3-4x a week, use our home elliptical and do my little floor routine of weights and crunches and whatnot while also walking Emmylou in the mornings in summer and evenings in winter.  

Weekly Rewind - 01/25/2026 - Winter Weather and Failed Robots

Emmylou ponders a crunchy, white yard

Winter Storm 2026, #1

The big news, really, is that we're having a winter storm.

We've known it was coming since the start of the work week, and were able to plan ahead.  On Wednesday, we had some dry-goods delivered that we could eat if the power went out.  Peanut butter, bread, soup in cans, etc...  because if the power goes out, we really can't open the fridge.

And then you mostly walk around your house hoping the power holds.  

Folks from out of state want to point to the grid failure in Texas, and that is certainly a thing we all worry about.  But if you know *how* that happened, it seems ERCOT has that better managed.  The far greater problem is that power lines are hanging on poles, and those poles are near branches.  And if a branch is covered in ice, it might hit the power line, and... there you go.  No one in a few blocks has power.

Weekly Rewind - Week of 01/18/2026: Symphony, Pal Check In, Unrivaled Basketball, Reality TV

Jamie works on a puzzle while Emmylou watches over us both

Jamie is working on a puzzle I got her months ago - a 1000 piece picture of Wrigley Field from the press booth, I believe.  Emmylou has been less than thrilled that it means Jamie is not on the sofa with her.  She has made a nest on a different sofa to keep an eye on the world.

A Night at the Symphony

Weekly Rewind - Week Ending 01/11/2025

I have some reading to do

I got a Crown.  No, the un-fun kind

I've been going to the same dentist since about 2022, I'd guess.  They're very close to my house and I like all the staff and the owner-dentist.

Since I showed up, they'd been hemming and hawing over my back, left molar.  Before Christmas, I was in for a cleaning, and a tech said "the doctor wants to talk to you about getting that crown...".  

Pals, there had been no prior crown consultation, but I knew where this was headed.  Which... you know, I'm at the point in life where I'm throwing car-payment money at my body to keep it going, it seems.

My primary concern was that the last time I had to get a crown, which was at the start of COVID, it took *forever*.  I watched all of Into the Spider-Verse while they did the procedure.  During that time, I learned all about going to one's happy place when you're trapped and masked people are going Marathon Man on you.

Anyway - I left that dentist for a few reasons and found this new one.  

I am happy to say the procedure took, like, 13 minutes?  The dentist was timing herself and clearly got the blues that it took, in her words, so long.  She believed one should be able to do that procedure in under 10 minutes, but that tooth was weird (apparently not lined up correctly, and was more messed up than they assumed, so it was breaking).

I wore my own sunglasses instead of theirs.

Behind me is the tech who was making my temporary crown while I waited.  My face is completely numb here, and I can't focus the left eye properly.

Anyhoo...  I was in and out in under an hour with a temporary crown.  Back in a week for the final, actual crown.

If you need a dentist in South Austin, I have a rec.

Okay... NOW Christmas is over

We finally took down the outdoor lights on Sunday.  Jamie had unplugged them on Tuesday, deciding we were being ridiculous.

I am glad to have the lights down and a foot in working order so I could climb the ladder, help out more, etc...  It also led to some organizing in the garage.  

I'm also trying to get out with Emmylou for a mile and half every day and see if I can't get that foot in order.  Things seem okay?  And the more I walk on it, the better it seems to be.  I do think there's something about driving that the foot doesn't love, but that may be unused muscles pulling on the foot if I drive any distance.

With the holidays done, I am also looking to try to eat a bit better.  And Saturday night wrecked that as we had a lovely dinner at Nicole and Matt's for Juan's birthday.  Between the coquito and spice cake and food, it was a lot.  But!  Did better today and will hopefully do better tomorrow.

And I walked 3 miles, all-told, with the chores.

Currently reading:

Trying to start reading more again in 2026, and using this blog to hold myself accountable.

• resumed that 1960's Austin crime book as an audio-book
• picked up the collection I was given for Christmas and am reading Doll by Ed McBain
• I asked Howard for a rec on a sci-fi book, as no one will know more than him.  So after Doll I will read the doorstop that is Children of of Time

Sports report

Skating

I watched an inordinate amount of ice skating this weekend.  It's sort of Jamie's thing, and so it is my thing.  There will be more skating updates as the winter olympics are in February.

Football

How about da Bears?  I watched the second half of that game, assuming Green Bay had it in the bag.  When people ask "why watch sports?" I'd suggest "watch a game like this and tell me football can't be great."

UT Longhorns Women's Basketball

Lady Horns suffered their first loss of the season, 20 games in.  LSU is well coached, and they played at home.  It's two very good teams and UT just didn't look fired up in the first quarter - like LSU just knew how to shut them down.  Bit of a bummer, but you hope it's a learning experience and they get back to winning.

I never talk about comics or my comic shop anymore

I think I don't like to talk about collecting comics anymore as I am 99.999997% sure no one really cares.  It's just a thing I do, like how you do sudoku or chainsaw sculpture.  You're generally aware I hoard funnybooks, but it's background noise.

What I don't talk about is that my comic shop, Austin Books & Comics, is an ever-growing, ever-evolving sort of operation.  But, hey, they got named on MSN.com as one of 15 stores in the country you have to see.  And, I agree!  

I've been a customer at ABC since probably 1985 or 1986.  I am unsure when I talked KareBear into driving us into town so I could buy comics.  The same thing I could get at Piggly Wiggly and Skaggs Alpha-Beta (which I did as well), but I wanted prior issues.  

Shortly after we moved back from Phoenix, I put up a post about shopping at Austin Books, and Brad reached out to me.  We've been friendly ever since, and I like to check in with he and Brandon when I'm in.  These days I only hit the shop once per month - the need for the weekly haul is no longer what it was.  Plus I live 30 minutes away with no traffic.  I basically need a gap of 2.5 hours where no one is looking for me for a successful trip.

In the past twenty years, ABC has expanded and taken over most of the strip center where it's  been located since the 1970's.  There's (1) the main shop - comics, magazines, and the best back-issue selection I've ever seen.  And which is partially why I'm poor.  They have (2) Guzu Gallery, which is an art gallery, oddities and art-object store.  It's super fun.  (3) Austin Books and Games is where you can find vintage toys, and new and older games - role-playing, table-top and card.  It's nifty.  And, some time back, they re-opened the Sidekick Store on weekends.  Basically, it's unorganized back-issues, mostly unbagged and unboarded - it's stock they find from collectors, stores, etc...  the deal is, they sell it for less than market rate because you're essentially doing the hunting and finding.  

Anyway, stop on in.  It's a terrifically well run outfit, and I challenge you to talk to the staff and not find *something* you won't find super cool.

Weekly Rewind - Week Ending 01/04/2025

when you're being gently reminded it is time for walkies

Holidays are (Mostly) Over

In the pic above, you can see the boxes containing our Christmas trees waiting to be taken out to the garage.  

Welcome to 2026

Well, we're coming up on the 10th Anniversary of the passing of David Bowie.  

Here's to the inevitable nonsense this year will bring.  I wish us all the best.

I saw this as a joke online about how to approach 2026.  It's capturing my mood.