Dom and Basketball

  For Christmas Dominic received a new bedroom basketball net.  You know the small kind that fits on the back of a door.  His previous one was broken a while ago and then became a casualty of the move.  We placed his new net in the Florida Room (aka the kids play room) strategically situated over the toy chest (for dunking) and he will go in regularly and practice both his skills and game calling.  When he first started doing this, he would present us with tickets to his games.  The first time I attended one, he stood at the door sort of hunched over.  He explained that he was an old man because the ticket takers are old people (fact check: mostly true).

After attending an area baseball game where we received a program with the names of all of the players, Dom started to request I look up various rosters so that he could make programs for his future games.  He will sit at the table for an hour diligently copying players' names and numbers.  Then he will fold it over and hand it to me so that I have a program for the game.  Daily he will request that I come watch a game.  He even said I could get in for free as attendance is generally pretty low.  The other night, as we had finished dinner early and had cleaned up as well, Eric, Molly, William, and I sat down to watch Dom play a game.  KU versus Texas Tech.  It was his dream come true.  We whooped and hollered and chanted the Rock Chalk Chant in the final seconds.  And let me tell you, we are impressed at how many baskets he makes.  Clearly his hours of practice have paid off (Scholarship!).   He told us immediately afterwards and the next morning how much he appreciated us coming.   I've explained to him that he needs to choose his game times a little more wisely than right as I sit down to do something or 5 minutes before bedtime or during a televised KU game.  But, I also know that I need to be more accommodating.  Maybe if we can find a way to compromise there is hope for Washington, D.C.....

Oh, and anyone who follows KU basketball will appreciate that in Dom's world KU's starting lineup is:
Ben McLemore, Elijah Johnson, Jeff Withey, Kevin Young, and.....Tyler Self!!!  Yup, the walk-on got moved up. 

Rock Chalk!