sports 'n weather update

SPORTS: After numerous years of not-quite, 2022 is looking like the year I resume my golf hobby. I've abused a few buckets of golf balls, practiced my putting stroke and wiped the rust off my long-forsaken chrome-plated shafts. I've even sent the irons in to have the grips replaced! Though I can't recall doing so, the grips of my metal/woods apparently were replaced in the not-so-recent past.

I've lived at this location nearly eight years but only played the front nine of one of the two local courses. That location also has a chip&putt 6-hole layout - which I haven't yet played. This feels like the year to revisit these old haunts. In the good old days I had an eagle at the local place, holing out a 140-yard iron on a par four; perhaps seeing that hole again will reawaken some good swing thoughts!

Clearly the long layoff means I have no handicap - but the memory of holding one near 13 around 1990. So thirty years ago I was pretty good! By now my aging swing needs to be supplemented by my vast experience and profound knowledge.. sounds like I need to get used to a mid-20s handicap for a goal.

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WEATHER: March was our first below-average rainfall month since August, though we still reached 94%. The next 36 hours are expected to contribute strongly to our 5" April average, and the forecast fetch of moisture comes from the Phillipines via Japan - so I'd expect two inches to be reasonable. Satellite image below was assembled at 7:20 pacific (daylight?) time. Impressive, but it will buckle and rearrange itself before Japan's weather hits our coast.. somewhere?

Also, we're within two inches of a slightly different rainfall record. The wet/dry seasons here (as everywhere else) are not often tied to calendar months. It's quite common for late October and early April to be damp, so I calculate our precip not just by Oct-Mar but also 10-16 through 4-15. Four years ago was the wettest of our six documented years at this site - but we're catching up!

True March madness

The covid-19 turmoil has led to orders to minimize large groups - and sports organizations have responded. NBA, MLS, MLB and NCAA games are either delayed into April or scrubbed completely. No March Madness basketball.. that's fine by me but a huge blow to casual gamblers who claim they don't actually gamble. Even the PGA is acting by removing spectators after today's first round of the Players championship! And my brother and grandson lost the Shamrock Run spring ritual that was to happen next week.

Add these to cancellations of concerts, Broadway plays, Presidential election rallies and other large assemblies (hmm, southern megachurches?) and it's time to self-quarantine and watch the effects on society.. and maybe some golf.

It will be a strange March. And probably April, and ..no one knows how much longer..

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Update - golf tournament stopped after one round, Masters 'postponed'. No watching golf either!

am I a sports 'fan'?

I really like sports. In several I like most to participate, but to some degree I enjoy many others as well. I'd much rather play golf than watch it, but to ignore it completely when I cannot play is difficult. I really like badminton and volleyball, yet I don't keep up with others who do those things. I visit sports sites frequently and read about soccer/football, US football, Aussie Rules football, and some baseball. I haven't managed to understand cricket yet, much less follow it - but I think about it now and then; maybe some day?

And yet - a fan? A sports fanatic? That's not me.

I enjoy the Trail Blazers as our local team and want them to do well; however basketball is just above badminton as a sport to watch. The Timbers are interesting yet I haven't seen one of their matches in decades, certainly not the MLS team (NASL? Yes!). College sports generally and football/basketball in particular do nothing for me; I may listen to a bowl/playoff game if a local team is playing, but probably not.

But now and then I should talk about sports when they merit it. Today is one of those days!

This past week has been almost unprecedented in Damien Lillard's excellent career. It coincided with the shock of Kobe Bryant's helicopter crash that took all aboard to a better place - and after postponing a game to compose themselves the Lakers played the Trail Blazers. This season Portland has been uneven with a mess of injuries but had added several good pieces, which (to the surprise of many) included Carmelo Anthony.

ESPN - the first Lakers game after Kobe's death:  In his past five games, Lillard is averaging 48.4 points, 9.8 assists and 8.2 rebounds.

ESPN - eleven things I like #7: Lillard is a bad, bad man. I would have included his stats from Portland's past six games, but my laptop caught fire when I looked them up.
Lillard has some Kobe in him, doesn't he?

OK that's all I have for now in the 'sports' column. Thanks for listening!