Winter Weather and the End of the H.S. Basketball Season.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Our (MTD, Jr., and me) basketball season is over except for the Ohio Special Olympics Final Four the last weekend of this month. And so we leave for Florida this afternoon after his last class of the week before the start of his Spring Break for one week of umpiring women's college and girls' H.S. fast pitch softball.

We are driving to Florida and will be staying at my sister's condo while we umpire. I have been monitoring the weather and we are going to have some tough driving later today. Southern Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, and Western West Virginia have Winter Storming Warnings until 01:00pmEST (07:00pmEST for WV). Cincinnati is expecting 3 to 5 inches of snow; Lexington, KY, is expecting 7 to 10 inches of snow; and Charleston, WV, is expecting 8 to 12 inches of snow. If we take I-75 (the route will most likely take, 99% chance of taking) we will go through Cincinnati and Lexington; and if we take I-77 we will go through Charleston. Oh well, we will just drive slow.

For all of my fellow basketball officials in the affected areas, take care and be careful. And for everybody (especially in the NE) just remember the two sweetest words to a Cleveland Browns fan: SPRING TRAINING!! Because the Indians are finally becoming a team to watch.

MTD, Sr.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

the two sweetest words to a Cleveland Browns fan: SPRING TRAINING!!

I thought those two words would be FREE BEER!!

[Bad Zebra]

Don't know where you're heading but I can tell you the Orlando area is flirting with record high temps today (mid 80's!). Hope you're bringing warm weather gear. That should be motivation enough to get ya through all that nasty stuff in the mid-Atlantic area today.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by Bad Zebra

Don't know where you're heading but I can tell you the Orlando area is flirting with record high temps today (mid 80's!). Hope you're bringing warm weather gear. That should be motivation enough to get ya through all that nasty stuff in the mid-Atlantic area today.

We are staying at my sister's condo in Ponce Inlet and umpiring at the Chain of Lakes Softball Complex in Titusville. It is 82F in both Ponce Inlet and Brevard County and 17F here in Toledo, as I type this post.

MTD, Sr.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

I thought those two words would be FREE BEER!!

You don't mean the "infamous" 10 cent beer night on June 04, 1974, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium do you?

MTD, Sr.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.

You don't mean the "infamous" 10 cent beer night on June 04, 1974, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium do you?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Cent_Beer_Night



Almost as much fun as this special night in the south side of Chicago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disco_Demolition_Night

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Almost as much fun as this special night in the south side of Chicago:

I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago but I left there 8 years before this happened to come to Portland. In retrospect, I would have given virtually anything I had to have been in Comiskey Park that night.

I have a cousin who is also a lifelong White Sox fan who was there and he told me then that it was one of the most most fun nights of his life.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

One of my roommates at Naval AOCS that summer was at the game. He said it was nuts. Everybody drunk and beating one another silly.

MTD, Sr.

[grunewar]

The winter weather is certainly affecting our end of season. Conference Games were postponed and rescheduled last week and with school's closed tonight and tomorrow, our HS Regional Semi-Finals and Finals are delayed again too. I pity our Scholastic Assignor, he's had a tough second half of the season.

Our Rec and Church seasons are also winding down with make-up games scheduled almost every day next week.

The season will end with a flourish!

Everyone be safe out there.

[Mark Padgett]

Here in Portland it's going to be in the mid to high 60's for the next 10 days at least, with light rain only on one of those days. All the other days it will be cloudy, partly cloudy or partly sunny.

Here at my assisted living center there have actually been people sitting outside for hours at a time the past few days.

[grunewar]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

All the other days it will be cloudy, partly cloudy or partly sunny.

You're starting to sound like George Carlin!

OK Billy, you're up!

[TimTaylor]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Here in Portland it's going to be in the mid to high 60's for the next 10 days at least, with light rain only on one of those days. All the other days it will be cloudy, partly cloudy or partly sunny.

Here at my assisted living center there have actually been people sitting outside for hours at a time the past few days.

Yeah, and I'm headed for New Hampshire on Sunday.......hope the WX moderates by then........

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Here in Portland it's going to be in the mid to high 60's for the next 10 days at least ... there have actually been people sitting outside for hours at a time the past few days.

Shut up Mark Padgett. This winter, I have been putting more gasoline in my snowblower than in my car. I'm really getting tired of walking the snowblower down to the gas station every few days.

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by BillyMac

Shut up Mark Padgett. This winter, I have been putting more gasoline in my snowblower than in my car. I'm really getting tired of walking the snowblower down to the gas station every few days.

Even though I know what a snowblower is since I grew up in Chicago, my kids have never seen one since they grew up here in Portland.

Oh well, time for breakfast. Maybe I'll eat out on the patio this morning.

BTW - I'm wearing a short sleeved White Sox T-shirt today.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Mark Padgett

Even though I know what a snowblower is since I grew up in Chicago, my kids have never seen one since they grew up here in Portland. Oh well, time for breakfast. Maybe I'll eat out on the patio this morning. I'm wearing a short sleeved White Sox T-shirt today.

Once again, and you really deserve it this time: Shut up.

Along those same lines, my Catholic middle school assigner retired to Florida a few years ago. While we're up here in Connecticut, freezing our you-know-whats off, he's sitting on a beach, wiggling his toes in the sand, with an umbrella adult beverage in his hand, assigning games, on his laptop, using Arbiter.

He can shut up too.