Eric and Lisa

Today I took Ian to his first game in Assembly Hall. Although we lost, it was still one of the most fun IU games I've ever been to because I was able to share it with my son. During the first half, Ian seemed in awe of the place; however, by the second half he was yelling when we were on Defense, and clapping along to the band during timeouts. I took him down to the court after the game, and I had to carry him kicking and screaming out of the arena (he kept pointing to the basketball goals and crying "ba-ba!!!! BA BA!!!!!").



There is a certain joy in conditioning your child.

--Eric

I have to take a minute to brag a bit about my husband; I hope you all don't mind! On Saturday, we participated in Bethel's Homecoming 5K race, and Eric accomplished the awesome feat of running over three miles in 21 minutes and 35 seconds! That's more than two minutes better than his time last year, and is a very competitive pace. I am so proud of him! Even though he's been really busy with research for his dissertation, he's gotten himself out of bed early in the morning several times a week to prepare his body to compete, and he did an amazing job! My father-in-law, Nate, also beat his time from last year and came in at a little over 26 minutes. (Not too shabby, Nate! Good job!)

I ended up walking the race, while pushing Ian half the time in his stroller. (I was walking with my mother-in-law, Pam, who pushed the stroller the other half of the time.) We finished in about 42 minutes and Ian had a great time. By the end of the race, he was clapping his hands and singing as we fast-walked to the finish line.

Eric and I have pretty much decided that we're going to try to find a 5K to run in every year, no matter where we end up. It's just such a fun way to keep in shape as a family and have some sort of measure for our health. We have so much fun participating in the race that it makes all the work and sweat leading up to it completely worth it!

--Lisa

To me, this is one of the most beautiful pictures I've seen in a long time (I pieced this together using multiple shots from my humble little Nikon COOLPIX 2500):



There is something special about a nighttime college football game. This one was particularly meaningful given the passing of Hep this past June, as well as ongoing construction of the North endzone enclosure. It was nice to see the team come out and destroy Indiana State 55-7 on a day when #5 Michigan lost to 1-AA Appalachian State.

Kickoff for the IU-ISU game was after 8:00 pm, and it didn't finish until nearly midnight (curse you TV timeouts). Ian tailgated with us until 5:00pm. At that time, some friends from church picked him up and watched him until church the next day. Lisa and I took advantage of being Ian-less and went to BW3 for some hot wings after the game (mmmmm.....wings at 1:00am...it is wonderful).

Speaking of Ian, much to Lisa's dismay it appears that he is already showing signs of wanting to be a QB. I can imagine Lisa wanting to charge on the field and slug anybody who tries to sack her son.




--Eric

We thought some of you might find this interesting. Jane Hoeppner had a 2007 media guide sent to us this week, and look what we found on the first page.



Recognize anyone?

Today, the world lost a great man...but heaven gained one. Indiana's head football coach, Terry Hoeppner, passed away this morning due to complications from a brain tumor that was discovered a year and a half ago. While we don't know Hep very well personally (we only met him once, briefly), we feel the loss. He was an energetic, tough-nosed, yet compassionate man who led IU football for a mere two seasons. He had the ability to breathe hope and fire into a lifeless program, creating excitement that had not been felt in some time. As far as we know, he was also a follower of Christ, and that conviction showed through in his actions. It is encouraging to know that he is no longer feeling pain. However, his family, friends, and players, as well as the IU community, are experiencing hurt due to his passing. Our prayers go out to them, especially to his wife Jane, who will surely miss him. The two of them were a great team and their unity was obvious. We are thankful to have "brushed elbows" with this man while he was alive, and hope that the legacy he started here at IU will continue in the future.

We just had a crazy weekend of basketball! We put on our annual March Madness Extravaganza party, which started on Thursday at noon and ended yesterday (Sunday) at 8pm. We had a free online account with March Madness On-Demand, which allowed us to hook up one TV to a computer (patching the video through), use our regular TV with cable, and be able to watch two games at once! We could have hooked up more computers to be able to watch four games at once on Thursday and Friday during the first round of the tournament, but there wasn't really a need. At any rate, Eric was able to see large portions of all 48 games that were shown from Thursday to Sunday, which he enjoyed, but he's actually pretty ready to get back to work now! We had fun with all of the guests that came to watch with us, and a LOT of food was consumed over the course of the four days.

Highlights from the past four days:
-- Indiana beating Gonzaga on the very last game of the first day -- Yeah Hoosiers!
-- Purdue beating Arizona in the first round, and very handily at that -- Good job, Boilermakers!
-- The Big Ten going 5-1 in the first round (stinkin' Illinois was the one who lost)
-- Duke being kicked out in the first round (we don't like them Blue Devils)
-- Both Indiana and Purdue playing hard in their close losses to UCLA and Florida, respectively

All in all, it was a fun four days of basketball, friends, and food, and while we're sad that it's over, it will be nice to get back to "real life." It's nice to know we've still got two weekends of good college basketball before the summer sports drought begins.

--Lisa

PS: I'll let Eric update you all on the results of his pre-season predictions (see the blog for November 13th, 2006)

Just a few quick thoughts concerning why I think there should be a Ohio State - Michigan rematch for the national title.

1. Since we do not have a playoff system, Michigan should not be punished for losing to Ohio State during the regular season. Our current format is designed to pit the top two teams in a championship game. If Michigan is arguably the 2nd best team, then they should be in the title game.

2. So, what happens when you look at the other 1-loss teams, Michigan's only loss was to the #1 team in the country on the road by 3 points. How does this compare to USC, Florida, Notre Dame, and Arkansas?

USC: Lost to 7-4 Oregon St. by 2
Florida: Lost to 10-2 Auburn by 10
Notre Dame: Lost to 11-1 Michigan by 26 (at home!)
Arkansas: Lost to USC by 36

What makes things interesting is that Arkansas and Florida will meet in the SEC championship game, and USC and Notre Dame will play next week.

3. Basically, regardless of how Notre Dame plays, they shouldn't get the nod over Michigan given how Michigan destroyed them. This may sound like the logic for not letting Michigan have a rematch with Ohio State, but it isn't. In deciding who should be the second team in a BCS title game, we have to compare the 1-loss teams relative to one another. If there is a direct head to head result, then the comparison is made for us. Remember, the BCS title game is about pitting the two best teams against one another. That's it.

4. Now, if LSU beats Arkansas, and Arkansas beats Florida, this would leave the winner of the USC - Notre Dame game as the only other viable one-loss team besides Michigan. Given my comments on Notre Dame, as well as USC's bad loss in a mediocre Pac-10, I think Michigan should get the nod. However, I don't think they will have a chance unless Notre Dame beats USC, and the pollsters vote honestly.

All in all. This year is yet another reason why the BCS needs to go.

Well, it's basketball season again (finally), which means that it is time for my predictions. Here we go:

1. Indiana will win 20 games and finish in the top 3 of the Big 10.
2. Ohio State will finish no better than 4th in the Big 10, despite all of the hype.
3. Duke will be a fairly ordinary top 25 team (i.e. somewhere between 10-25), although they will be ranked much higher for much of the season.
4. Florida will not make it back to the Final Four.
5. Duke will not make it to the 2nd weekend of the tournament (that's right, they will not make it to the sweet 16).
6. Michigan will self-destruct (again), and Tommy Amaker will be looking for a new job.
7. Purdue returns to the big dance.
8. NCAA tournament teams from the B-10 (no particular order): Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio St., Michigan St, Purdue.
9. Kentucky will miss the NCAA tournament.
10. D.J. White will return to Indiana for one more season.

--Eric

Yeah, I noticed that it's been over three weeks since I posted in this blog, but really, nothing very interesting has been going on to talk about. It's definitely fall now -- Eric's favorite season -- and so we've been watching a lot of football and enjoying the cooler weather. Apple cider has made an appearance in our fridge, and will continue to be regularly stocked until the end of November (per Eric's request). The trees in our neighborhood are beginning to turn shades of red and yellow, and we love being able to have the windows open to welcome the cool breeze during the day.

We've continued to train for the 5K that we're going to run as a family at the end of October during Bethel College's homecoming weekend. Eric is having no trouble whatsoever (because he was in shape before we even started training), but I'm still chugging along in my training program. I'm using a running program created for "couch potatoes" that slowly works you up from not exercising at all to running a full-fledged 5K. It's been perfect for me since I had 12 weeks after Ian was born where I was unable to do any exercise at all (not even yoga) due to the healing process following his delivery. I highly recommend it for anyone who is wanting to get in shape without worrying about over- or under-doing it. (Here's the link: http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml) Ian, of course, will not be running the 5K due to his lack of walking skills, so he'll be pushed in his jogging stroller by one or both of his grandmas, who will be participating in the 5K walk. Both of our dads are thinking about running with us. We're really turning this thing into a family affair! I'll try to remember to give an update about how the whole thing went after it's over.

--Lisa

On Saturday (Sept 2), Ian got to experience his first-ever sporting event. We took him to the IU-Western Michigan football game and tailgate at IU's Memorial Stadium. We went to the tailgate with some of our friends beforehand, where Ian met AJ, one of our friends' babies who is just two months older. Ian enjoyed being carried around in his "Snugli" carrier most of the day and took a nap on a blanket in the grass at one point. Eric and I enjoyed the barbecued ribs and the good weather! Two hours before the game, we have a tradition called "The Walk", where the coaches and players walk through the tailgating area toward the stadium. Ian got to "high-five" a lot of the players as they walked past, sucking his thumb the whole time. At the game, he took great glee in screaming at the top of his lungs (happy screams) at random moments. It seemed like he liked the loud band and the crowd. We had to leave the game early because it started at 6pm, and by halftime, Ian was starting to get really tired from the whole day. On our way out, we stopped by Uncle Jeff and Aunt Judy's seats to say hello. As we drove home, we listened to Don Fischer's call of the game in the car and picked up Aver's pizza for supper. It was a really good day.

--Lisa

On June 3rd, I had the chance to participate in IU's second annual Women's football clinic at Memorial Stadium. It was a great opportunity to learn more about football (about which I'm fairly clueless, still) and run around with a bunch of other women who love sports. At the end of the day, Eric came to pick me up with Ian in tow, and we had the chance to meet the head coach Terry Hoeppner (a.k.a. Coach Hep) and get a picture taken with him. Eric was sitting in the shade with Ian on the edge of the field while we were finishing up with our drills, and Coach Hep's daughter came up to take a look at the baby. She mentioned that her dad was a "sucker" for babies. Her mother, Jane, saw the baby from across the field, too, and had to come over as well. They both thought it would be a wonderful idea to get a picture taken, and called their dad and husband over to us. He was very excited about meeting Ian and was happy to stop for a minute to talk to us. The picture is catalogued in both our "Us" photo album on this website, as well as Ian's photo album. It was a fun experience. We joke that it was Ian's first "unofficial visit" to IU.

Reports came out about an hour ago on ESPN that Kelvin Sampson will be the next basketball coach at IU. This has been a six-week long ordeal in the "Hoosier Nation" that has finally come to an end, and Eric and I are VERY happy about it. We've liked Sampson and his teams ever since IU played them in the 2002 Final Four, and for the past year or so, we've been talking about how much we would like it if he someday came to IU. He's a quality coach and a good guy, and IU will be lucky to have him, I think. We're so pumped!!!

For more information on the IU hire and general Kelvin Sampson info, check out the following links.

News reports:
http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/5451938
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2387372
http://oklahoma.scout.com/2/514202.html

Kelvin Sampson Bio:
http://www.allcoachnetwork.com/sampson/bio.html