TOURNEY PICK’EM BUMP

The staff here at 3SIB would like to invite you to join us in a Yahoo tourney pick’em.

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/

Click join a group

here is the required info

 Group ID#: 124736
Password: tsib

they’ll have to win without me

In the past couple of years, Tennessee’s basketball team has persevered through personnel losses. Last year, SEC Player of the Year Chris Lofton was lost for a portion of the season with a high ankle sprain, and the Vols kept the ship steady for a couple of weeks. This year, Duke Crews’ heart condition left UT a big man short down low for half the season.

Now, though, the Vols are going to be forced to win a couple of games without somebody who has been there through thick and thin:

The Ghost himself.

Anybody who knows me knows it is completely out of character for me to miss even a portion of any Vols football or basketball game. My entire life — and I’m not saying this is a good thing — is planned around UT’s schedule in those two sports. If I have to work, I take extended lunches during game times. If I have something planned, I either break plans or stay away from all forms of media, DVR it and watch it when I get home — usually on that crystal-clear Raycom-quality broadcast. It is the same way with 162 Atlanta Braves games per year.

Well, this weekend is a little different.

If you are an avid reader and remember this post, then you’ll know me and the Mrs. were expecting a little one. I won’t go back and read the post, because, frankly, it’s a little hard to relive. But we lost our baby about a month ago because it wasn’t the Lord’s time for us. It’s been the toughest thing we’ve ever had to go through, but we’re trying to accept God’s will and know we’ll have a baby soon enough. We have, and we will, but it doesn’t make it any easier.

OK, wipe away the tears because this isn’t meant to be a sob story. Basically, from here on out, this falls under the “Ghost is an idiot” category that I added simply for this blog. Where most people would, you know, look at the schedule (like I ALWAYS do) in planning a trip, I neglected.

A couple of buddies on this blog suggested that after a little time had passed, I should plan a trip to kind of get away from everything, hang out with each other, come back and start fresh. You know, put the tragedy behind us and move forward.

Great idea, I thought. So, after working some channels and re-planning and taking a couple of twists in the road, I got us into Disney World at a discounted price. So, we’re leaving tonight and sticking around through Sunday. Looking at the calendar — which, by the way, should freakin’ have Vols basketball games on it as holidays … sigh — I realized we’d miss Good Friday and Easter at home. I don’t recall missing but one Easter Sunday at church in my life, so we battled that and elected to go anyway, chiefly because our work schedules lined up, and it made sense.

So, I planned it. We booked it. Then, a couple weeks ago, it dawned on me. OH MY DEAR LORD! THAT’S THE FIRST WEEKEND OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!!! OH NO! OH NO! OH NO!