The Think Tank

The NBA Playoffs have officially arrived, and our #6 Portland Trail Blazers are set to face off  against the #3 Dallas Mavericks at 6:30PM tonight.

This is the match-up that I wanted to see, not because of the Mav’s history of First Round departures or because I think we are that much better than them, but simply because I think our players and strengths match-up better against Dallas than any of our other possible opponents, and therefore give us our best chance to move on to the Second Round.  That isn’t to say that it will be easy.  Dallas didn’t rack up 56 wins be accident.

This series has captured the attention of the whole league because the two teams are so well matched, especially since the Gerald Wallace trade.  Predictions from the top sportswriters  are about 50/50, with a razor thin edge going to Dallas, despite Jason Terry’s comments that he feels his team is the underdog in the series.

What does that mean to you?  It means you have to get yourself in front of the nearest television, don your luckiest Blazer paraphernalia (or least something red and black) , hoist your favorite beverage and cheer our boys on with all the furor you can manage!

The game will be aired on ESPN and locally on KGW.

Joel and I are going to ride in Reach the Beach this year on May 25th, one the northwests premier cycling events.  There are four routes of varying length, but we will be doing the whole enchilada: 104 miles, from Beaverton to Pacific City.

The ride is a benefit for the American Lung Association, and the proceeds go to the ALA to help fund research into various kinds of lung disease.  Given that Grandpa Rich passed away from lung cancer, this ride seemed like a no-brainer.  Good ride, good food, and a good cause.

Part of the registration requirement is that each rider needs to raise at least $100 dollars in donations to the American Lung Association by the beginning of the event.  To that end, I am hoping that some of you can help me in reaching that goal.

You can donate online via my personal Reach the Beach webpage, or you can download a form by clicking here if you would prefer to send a check.

Thanks!

My shiny new Hoyt Contender Elite arrived today!  As you can probably tell, I’m pretty excited about it.  I slapped my stuff on it and shot about 20 arrows through it tonight, and so far it seems quite nice.  The GTX cams are awesome!  They feel much better than the Fury cams on my old bow.

I have a lot more fine tuning to do, but from the little bit I shot it today I am pretty sure I am going to like the bow a lot.

As an added bonus, I think its kinda pretty too!

Today was the second and last day of the NFAA Indoor Sectionals.  I wound up shooting 1 X worse than yesterday, finishing with 300 and 49 X’s – and a weekend-total of 600 with 99 X’s.  (Perfect is 600-120X).  This makes twice in a row now that I have set a goal of shooting 100+ X’s for the weekend, and twice I have fallen short.  That is very disappointing to me as the 100 X bar is pretty low.  I know I can shoot better than this.

Oh well.

Debbie accidentally went Smurf huntin’ again today (which means she shot an arrow in the blue, costing her one point).  She was a little bummed about that, but she improved on her X’s from yesterday, so that is good.

This tournament pretty much finishes up the indoor season.  The next few weeks won’t have much going on, and then the outdoor season will start up in April.  My new bow should be here around the first part of April, so I am excited to get it and take it outside for a while.

Today was the first day of the NFAA Indoor Sectionals (regionals). Our region includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Alaska.  There are shoots being held in each state this weekend, and will be combined for the final results.

Debbie came up from Sweet Home to shoot this weekend, and since we got to choose our own shooting lanes we shot  next to each other, which is fun.  Very much like old times.

I shot a 300 with 50 X’s, which is 1 X better than I did two weeks ago at State, although I shot a much higher concentration of really good arrows today (shots that were right on the X and in the same hole over and over again).  That made me feel good, but I am a bit disappointed as I’ve been practicing more in the 52-54 X range the last week or so.  In my head I feel like I can do better.

Debbie finished up with a 299 and 38 X’s.  She was in much the same boat as I was: she shot a lot of good shots, but struggled through more than usual.

I guess that’s what we get for playin’ hookey for so long.

We shoot tomorrow at 1:30PM.