Heating Up in OKC, Shaved Ice, Billy Sims BBQ and Yard Dawgz Football

Haven't posted anything on here for 17 days so I figured it was time to blog even if I don't have too much to report. Have to admit that it has been a rather uneventful last couple of weeks however there are some exciting things coming up so the next blogs will be better.

The temperature in OKC has been very hot lately, even by midwest standards for June. Sunny and in the 90s have been common over the last couple of weeks and now we are up around 100. Makes running very interesting. I've been doing longer runs on Sunday mornings as I prepare for my next marathon which means I've been getting out early to avoid the heat. Finished up my run on Sunday at around 8:30 am and the temperature was already up around 85. A few Sundays ago I started running at 6am and couldn't believe how hot and humid it already was. I've been doing a lot of evening running lately but usually wait until the sun starts going down. Ran at 9pm a few days ago and it was still 90 degrees out. It has been hot.

One thing that I've discovered around here are shaved ice stands. The stands are very similar to the latte stands that you see in every parking lot in Seattle. I don't want to sound like a complete idiot, yes I've had shaved ice before, but you don't see stands all over in the Pacific Northwest that are devoted to it (would probably only do decent business for a couple of weeks a year). I've become somewhat addicted and it is the ideal treat during a hot day.

One eating spot I tried last week was Billy Sims BBQ. Sims is a football icon in Oklahoma. He was a running back for the Oklahoma Sooners and won the 1978 Heisman Trophy. Oklahoma doesn't forget you when you win a Heisman. I even ordered the Heisman Sandwich which contained pulled pork, a hot link and topped with a slice of bologna. Sims has a few restaurants in the area. I went to the one in Edmond. The food was good and it was fun to look at all of the football memorabilia on the walls. http://www.billysimsbbq.com/

Saturday night I went to check out my first Oklahoma City arena football game. I went to the Cox Convention Center and watched the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz beat a team from Corpus Christi 95-43. The game wasn't close and quite frankly was kind of boring but it was fun to hang out with some friends. The Yard Dawgz have 4 costumed mascots and a couple of the guys worked with us at the Thunder so one of them came into the stands to say hello. Of course I got a picture. This particular character's name is Deizel and I can't say it is the most attractive costume that I have ever seen. Oh well.

Partying with the 2009 Softball National Champion Washington Huskies

Posing with UW National Champions Danielle Lawrie and Ali McWherther hours after they won the title.

2009 National Champions!!! Monday the Huskies played the Florida Gators in Game #1 of the Best 2 out of 3 Naitonal Championship Series and it wasn't even close. The Huskies jumped ahead early and star pitcher Danielle Lawrie held the Gators to only 2 hits as the Dawgs won 8-0. The funny moment in the game was when the umpires prematurely called the game over after the 6th inning. College softball has a "mercy" rule that states that the game is over if one team is ahead of another team by 8 runs or more at the end of any inning once 5 innings are completed. Apparently that rule doesn't apply in the Championship Series but the umpires weren't sure. The players were celebrating and the grounds crew had already removed two of the bases from the field when the public address announcer let everyone know that the game wasn't over. The bases were put back in and the teams finished off the game. Attended the game with my Thunder buddies JB and Stephen as well as my newlywed friends Pam and Sam (the same ones that were on my last blog, got to respect the devotion of going to a softball tournament 48 hours after your wedding).

Tuesday evening was the 2nd game of the Championship series but before I could head over to the softball stadium I needed to make an important trip to a going away party. Two of my Thunder friends, Maddie and Jayquin are leaving the organization and heading back to Seattle so I wasn't going to miss saying goodbye. Both are great friends that will be missed so it was worth going to the softball game late (picture of the three of us above).

On my way to the game my friend Nick texted me to let me know that Florida scored two runs in the first inning so my immediate thought was that we were probably going to lose the game which would mean a 3rd and final game the next night. I met up with my other friends, Pam (this time without Sam as he decided to watch from home), Todd and Pete (both also arrived late to attend the going away party) in the stadium parking lot and we could hear applause coming from the field. Turns out the Huskies scored 2 runs and tied the game before the end of the first inning. Apparently most of the scoring was done by the time we walked into the stadium. The Huskies scored another run in the 4th inning and that was all that was needed. Final score UW 3 Florida 2 and the 2009 National Champions of softball are from Seattle!!!

We stuck around the stadium for what seemed like 30 minutes after the game watching the team celebrate their championship. There was a trophy ceremony at the pitcher's mound and then the girls took turns posing in various groups with school's newest prize.

On my way back to my car I got a text from my buddy JB telling me I should head downtown to have a drink since the going away party from earlier was still going on. Normally I probably would have declined but I was still pumped up from the Championship so I said yes and that ended up being a GREAT DECISION.

I got to the bar and was told that a couple of family members of the softball team had been around earlier but left. I was hanging out with 8-10 of my co-workers that eventually ended up trickling down to 3 of us. Two guys walked into the bar, one of them wearing UW gear so we started celebrating with them. Turns out the guy wearing purple and gold was a Shorecrest grad who now lives in Dallas and drove up to watch the UW win a Championship. A few minutes later 4 or 5 other people walked in wearing Huskies attire and we started yelling and cheering for them. One of the guys was part of the group that was in before my arrival and he came over to talk to us. His name was Brian and he ended up being the brother of one of the players and informed us that the girl at the bar was his sister along with one of her teammates so we started chanting their names and bought them a Washington Apple shot. We figured that was the drink that made the most sense for a Washington championship team.

A few minutes later a couple more players walked in and we gave them the same treatment. Brian was standing with us and I think he got a text, he informed us that most of the junior and senior players that weren't already at the bar were on their way and would be there any minute so we ordered more shots, suddenly a bus pulled up and in walked most of the team including Head Coach Heather Tarr (she is the one posing with me in the picture below) and UW star quarterback Jake Locker. Locker's girlfriend is starting right fielder Lauren Greer, she is the one below in the purple shirt.

The next hour or so we awesome!! There was plenty of drinking, cheering and general celebrating. The girls were really cool and we even made it a point to get some pictures. It was fun watching the players and their families get excited when ESPN SportsCenter started showing highlights of the game. Everyone stayed until closing time. The team had a 9am plane to catch the next morning and I have to think that they didn't get much sleep that night. There might have also been a few hangovers but why not, it isn't every night that you win the National Championship.

Huskies Advance to Championship Series, Pam Marries Sam and WSU Cougars Baseball in Norman

Jake Locker visits OKC!!

The Washington Huskies are playing for the National Championship!!! Okay this isn't my beloved football team or Lorenzo Romar and the hoops team but it is still exciting. Especially since it is the one sport that plays their National Championship each year about 15 minutes from where I live. Tonight the UW softball team will play the Florida Gators in the first game to decide the title. It is the best 2 out of 3 series so no one will get a trophy tonight but a win would put them in a good position.

Friday night I went to two games of the softball tournament and learned that college softball is not always the highest scoring sporting event. The first game was Washington vs Arizona State and after 7 innings (regulation length) the score was tied 0-0. Fortunately the UW was able to score and win 1-0 in the 8th. The next game was Florida vs Michigan and again I got to watch a 1-0 game as the Gators hit a 6th inning home run to win the game. 15 innings and a total of 2 runs. Very exciting. I went to the game with a couple of friends but they decided not to stick around for the second game and I did. I ended up sitting next to and talking with a guy that is the manager of a pro softball team. There are only 5 teams in the pro league and he talked about the team's salary cap and how it is tough to get the better players to join the league after college. He was also telling me all about the players we were watching and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Definitely made the game much more interesting.

Saturday night my friend and former co-worker Pam got married in Wynnewood, Oklahoma which is about 70 miles south of where I live. Norman is about halfway to Wynnewood so I decided to stop off at the University of Oklahoma to check out the college baseball tournament. Going into the weekend there were 64 teams left in the college baseball tournament. 16 different schools throughout the country were hosting double elimination tournaments of 4 teams to determine which 16 teams would be left to play next week. The tournament in Norman consisted of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Washington State and Wichita State. The Cougars of Washington State were playing the Wichita State Shockers at 1pm so I decided to go check them out on my way to the wedding. I am getting more than my share of baseball and softball lately and wouldn't have gone to the game if a team from my home state wasn't playing but I figured I should go support the Cougs. I was hoping to get there in time to see the last 4 or 5 innings but it was a quick game and was in the 7th inning by the time I arrived. I bought a cheap ticket and watched the end of the game from the outfield. The good news was that Washington State won the game 3-2 which ended the Shockers season. The bad news for the Cougs was that Arkansas ended up winning the tournament and gets to continue playing while the other schools are done.

Had a great time at Pam's wedding on Saturday night. Pam worked on the Sonics Promo Crew from 2000-2005 and took at job in Oklahoma after graduating from Washington (Pam and her Mom were both on my last blog as they and the maid of honor went to the softball tournament with me on Thursday). I also got to meet the groom Sam, an Oklahoma native. Seems like a great guy and I wish the two of them all the best. The wedding was short and sweet and then we all headed over to a local winery for the reception. Pam's brother Felix also worked under me on the Sonics Promo Crew and it was nice to hang out with him and meet his wife as he just got married less than a year ago. Also got a chance to meet some other great people from both Washington and Oklahoma as well as see Pam and Felix's parents whom I've been fortunate enough to meet in the past. Great time!!

Sunday was a day of sunshine, outdoors and softball. Met my co-worker Ron at 7am and went for a 16 mile run at Lake Hefner. The weather was perfect for running when we first started but was really warming up by the time I stopped. Would not have wanted to run any later than we did. Summer is coming quickly and it is only going to get hotter. Went home afterward just long enough to shower and head out to watch Washington play Georgia in the softball tournament. The game started at noon and the scenario was that Washington would advance to the Championship if they won the game. Lose and they would have to play Georgia again later that night to determine which team would get into the finals. The game started at 12:00 and an average game takes right around 2 hours, this was not one of those games. Washington got a home run early to take a 3-0 lead and at that point I thought the game was pretty much over. Washington's star pitcher Danielle Lawrie was the national player of the year and averages giving up less than 1 run a game. I figured a 3 run lead was enough and that I wouldn't have anything on my schedule for the rest of the day. The unthinkable then happened and Georgia quickly scored a bunch of runs and was suddenly ahead 8-4 in the 5th inning. It was 90 degrees out and the sun was beating on all of us. One of my friends, Nick decided that he had had enough and left the game figuring it was over. The very next inning the Huskies loaded the bases when Freshman 1st baseman Nikki Williams came up and tied the game with a grand slam. She only hit 2 home runs during the season but has aleady hit 3 in OKC. The game ended up going into extra innings and Georgia finally won it 9-8 in the 9th inning. The game ended at 4:20. What is normally a 2 hour game went for 4 hours and 20 minutes. The combination of the game in the 90 degree heat and my morning running in the hot weather zapped me so I headed home while trying to decide if I wanted to return for the night game.

The final Washington vs Georgia game was originally scheduled for 6pm however the tournament was running behind since our earlier game took so long and the Florida vs Alabama game that was played right after also went long (Florida advanced to the Championship game by hitting a grand slam on the final out of the game for a 6-5 win). Our game ended up starting at 8:30 and I decided that I wanted to be in attendance if the Huskies won so I went back to the stadium. This game was much different in that I couldn't get anyone to go with me and apparently many of the other fans felt the same way. The game I attended earlier in the day had around 8,000 people and I'm guessing that there were around 2,500 for the night game. The one nice thing about fewer people is that you can buy a less expensive ticket and casually move over to the better seats. I sat next to the section where all of the Husky friends and family were located so pretty much everyone around me was wearing purple. The game was also nothing like the other one in that the Huskies jumped to an early 4-0 lead on Danielle Lawrie's home run in the 1st inning (I included a picture of her hitting the home run) and went on to win 9-3. I finally got out of the stadium at around 11pm. Long day.

I also managed to get a picture with UW star Quarterback Jack Locker. Locker is dating Lauren Greer, the starting right fielder on the softball team and was cheering her on. He was having a lot of fun and holding up a shirt with her number on it every time she came up to bat (included in one of the pictures). He was very friendly when I asked for the picture and I told him I would be rooting for them from afar this year. Hopefully I can look at that picture someday and say that I took the picture right before he went on to win the 2009 Heisman Trophy. That would be great.