Pacemakers and Defensive MVPs - Some Monday morning thoughts

I am a new man.  After years of having a heart rate in the low 40's, my heart rate dropped into the low 30's in May and I just had a pacemaker installed and I feel great.  I guess this is the year to fix everything after lying low for the last year.

So, after spending six weeks in a boot for corrective foot surgery, I was just getting into good golf form when the heart started acting up.  So now, with the pacemaker, I have to lie low for another six weeks before I can start swinging a club again.  Such is life.

This weekend, I was working on my Gramps Braggin Rights ratings and getting text updates on the MAYB Cape Girardeau tournament where my third oldest grandson was playing with Peewee Leonard's Magic 2024.  They have a pretty decent squad with about two-thirds of the team coming from Eureka's outstanding freshman group (16-3 last winter).  Peewee has an outstanding 16U team too.

The tournament was going well until Saturday afternoon.  In a very close afternoon game, playing with just six players, the Magic had the pockets picked.  Not by the other team but by a couple of 12-13-year-olds with empty ball bags who hung close to their bench and absconded with six team balls when all the action was in the other end of the court.  One of the parents had videotaped the game and went back through it to see where and how the balls disappeared.

At one point, the two were standing there next to the bench, supposedly intent on the action.  The next time the video panned past the two, the balls are gone, the boys are still there but their empty ball bags appear to be bulging with about $500 worth of basketballs.  Not too long after, the two slid out of video view.  Not bad.... six steals in the game.  Well, not in the game but during the game.  So I am awarding the Tournament Defensive Player of the Day to the two teens with quick hands.

The kids showed up on Sunday with the empty bags but saw some parents coming their way and ran for their lives.

It is disappointing to hear that the players all lost a good game ball.  How many tournaments do you go to and nothing ever disappears?  I am hoping MAYB organizers will keep a lookout for these budding burglars so that more teams headed to Cape Girardeau do not end up like the Magic.  Going home empty-handed.

And if you are headed down for a tournament, keep your balls bagged and close to the scoring table or you might end up like the Magic.

If you have not seen my ratings, take a look HERE and HERE.