Soccer

In our U-12 game we tied it up in the last quarter on a penalty kick. We got the call when one of our players went down on the ground as he was defended by two players in front of the goal. I thought he was going to get a good shot at the goal and the opposing team had been pushing quite a bit during the game, but I didn't see the foul. I know that the referee in the game is one who rarely calls anything and it usually requires a player on the ground for a call.

Suns - Lakers

I turned on the Suns - Lakers game last night near the end of the third quarter hoping to see the Lakers close enough to make it a game down the stretch. It was a real shock that they were up by more than 20 at that point and then as many as 33 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers looked good and the Suns didn't. I don't know if you can learn anything from that game or not. I don't expect it to happen again the next time they play.

Celtics will be tough to beat in the East

I don't know how good the Wizards are, but they were a playoff team last year and Boston handled them very easily tonight. It's just the first game, but the Celtics look like a real contender in the East. There are not too many teams with three scorers like they've got, so they will be tough to beat.

Halloween pictures

I took pictures of the trick or treaters who came to our house last night. The pictures look good and I hope to get them online tonight. What surprised me was that no one said no to having their picture taken. I don't think I would have gotten the same reaction without the costumes. The other surprise was actually how few kids were out last night and how few houses were participating. There seemed to be fewer of both -- maybe the fires or maybe the foreclosures had something to do with it.

Air is getting close to normal

They said on the radio today that the air quality today was moderate, so that's a step in the right direction. I think it will be another week at least before it doesn't look smoggy, but today we had some fog and a little bit of precipitation and I'm sure that helps clean things up a little. Fires are still burning not far away, so things could change, but it seems safe to resume outdoor activities. I've seen more people walking the past few days and even though the schools have not resumed PE, I think it's time to get back outside. There may even be some good sunsets with all the particulate in the air.