We are just wrapping up an amazing Day #11 here in Omaha (yes 11 as in eleven) -- that is exactly 10 more days than I ever wanted to spend in Nebraska, but I can't imagine a better experience anywhere than the one we have had here. In those 11 days, we have only played four games, but the games are only part of the story at the College World Series. While on one hand it is eerily like the movie "Groundhog Day" with Bill Murray, where you get up every day and re-do yesterday, it is strikingly different in that we get to know our own kids better, meet new friends, develop close ties with other player parents and coaches, and generally have in common with a bunch of people what only a very few ever experience -- that is the College World Series and it is unique. It is Disneyland for baseball fans and is an incredible way to spend June. We are so grateful and humbled by the experience -- following are a few more of my thoughts as I journal through the happenings of what to me is one of the really great sporting events out there (thanks for indulging me, again):
> FRIDAY began with us knowing that our game for that day had been postponed to Saturday and that we would play the winner of a Friday elimination game between North Carolina and LSU. It would be an unplanned day off and we would catch a little but of this game along with the Friday game between Stanford and Georgia. Many asked who we wanted to face between UNC and LSU and while most wanted to see LSU's weaker pitching, no one really cared too much -- UNC won sending LSU packing and Georgia beat up Stanford, sending those eggheads back to Palo Alto.
> Thinking we had a Friday game, Kyle flew into town from Wake Forest and joined us -- with 10 days to go before he graduates, we were glad that he made it here to share the experience with us and glad to have him as no one despises UNC more than Kyle!
> Friday marked the start of our second week in the Hilton Garden Inn in Omaha -- we had to send out laundry and the beautiful peonies our good friend Sally bought on a street corner for us right after we arrived had already died and were in need of replacements. The great thing is that you can send out laundry in Omaha for $6 per load and get it all ironed for an additional $1! What a deal.......
> We passed the time here that idle Friday with the thing we are best at -- eating -- and went with 4 players, and friends and girlfriends, to Zesto's across from the Stadium. Zesto's is an institution and has been around for more that 40 years serving hamburgers and shakes. The burger patties there were as thick as hockey pucks and I am never ceased to be amazed at what a baseball player can eat -- most had a double, and several had two! I got the bill here though and it was over $150 -- for burgers, fries and shakes! Wow!
> After lunch, we sent the kids over to the Doorly Zoo, which is really a pretty incredible place. They loved it a spent a few hours there while we (Karen and Sally) shopped up and down 13th Street where all the tents are with logo gear and other stuff. There are decent spots along the way and it is pretty easy to get a cold beer there. Crowds were intense and everything was still pretty muddy from a huge storm that had gone through on Thursday night and made a mess of things. Florida State and Rice gear was selling pretty cheap at that point as they had already left Omaha.
> We ended the day with a late dinner at Stokes, a great Mexican restaurant in the Old Market area with the best chicken enchiladas we have ever had. Gavin walked over to meet us there and it took 5 extra minutes as we was stopped a half dozen times by autograph seekers -- not that anybody knew who he was personally, other than a Fresno State player. We have gotten used to this and it is commonplace everywhere for people to come up and say hello and ask for autographs. Gavin turned 21 on the final day of the Long Beach regional tournament, and it is still taking some getting used to by me to hear him order a margarita or a beer. One of the great joys of the last two weeks though has been hoisting a beer with him in a low-key celebration of a victory or other milestone.
> SATURDAY started as groundhog days usually do -- on a first name basis with all the maids, waitresses and front desk staff at the hotel -- lots of time sitting around with a 6PM game that night -- we usually leave around 3 PM to go over to the stadium and kick around and wait in line for our passes which for some reason can't be given out until an hour before game time. We watched the Stanford team drag themselves across our line on the way to their bus after getting dispatched by Georgia.
> Boys seemed a little tight and not as loose before this Saturday game but maybe it was just me, or maybe they really did get the impact of where they were and were feeling a little pressure -- that is what the media has been predicting in their slightly less than respectful ways
> Security is an interesting thing here and it is just everywhere you look -- in addition to the 4-motorcycle escort to and from each game, there are security guards everywhere. And they are all armed -- "Bugeaters with Berettas" -- very scary to me. We also notice police on the roof of the stadium -- Karen calls them "sharpshooters", but I think the "sharp" part of that title is giving anybody from Nebraska too much credit. Our team bus is met everyday by a bomb-sniffing dog when they unload at the field and before they re-load to come home.
> the game was a close one and our guys played Saturday very well, and probably good enough to win. Easy for us to forget that UNC is the #2 team in the country and there is a reason they are there and have been runners up for the last two years. One bad pitch and we get behind 4-3 and they bring in the flame-throwing sophomore who fans 5 of our guys. Game over and we are now done to one do-or-die game on Sunday.
> Team was a little dejected to lose a close one, but, put in perspective, they thought having a chance to play one game for the right to play in the championship bracket was something they would have been elated with a week ago
> We had a quick post-game dinner in the restaurant and watched the ESPN webgems where a play from our game was #1 -- our 1B makes a great catch in foul territory and fires to 3rd to get the guy who is tagging from 2nd -- one of the best plays we have ever seen and both those guys are the real deal. Kyle was the most upset as he had to go home and back to school with only seeing a loss to the gumfeet tarheels.
> Injury report -- this starts with Kenan who was pitching in practice Saturday afternoon and took a grounder off the mouth, cutting his lip and busting a tooth. I got this message during the game but had to hold onto it myself until afterward instead of telling his mother immediately who would have had the game stopped and us on a bus back to the OC in the 5th. He is fine and we are so grateful for our friend and babysitter, Jenny, and her family for taking such good care of the boys while we are gone and this little emergency was handled. Gavin has a nagging problem on his side from sliding and has reopened the scabs several times now and it extends almost 8 inches down his right side -- it actually bled through his pants (ala Curt Schilling) on Saturday night after the slide into home -- seems to hurt less after wins.
> T-shirt update -- this thing has taken off unbelievably -- "Underdogs to WonderDogs" is the biggest thing going. In Fresno, there was a line around the block at the Bulldog Shop and combined with online, sold $15,000 in the first four hours. And that was before Sunday night. While we were walking back from the stadium we saw racks of our T-shirts in several shops and they were going like hotcakes for $20 each. It is another incredible story but fewer and fewer are buying the underdog thing at this point.
> SUNDAY started out at the First Presbyterian Church of Omaha -- got Kyle to go with us but Gavin was sleeping in. It was a really nice experience and a chance for us to take a rest and focus on these blessings as well as to pray for so many others. Nothing in Omaha is far from the CWS at this time of year but on the way out, the pastor at the door greeted us and learned why we were in town and told us that he has roots in Fresno and is a big Bulldog fan. We held up the line at the door for 5 minutes, but nobody in Omaha is in too big of a hurry.
> Had to take the Tarheel-hating Kyle to the airport to get back for his last 10 days before he graduates -- he was bummed to miss the game, and with delays, never even made it home to see anything on TV. Instead, as he drove home from Greensboro, he called Kenan who gave him the play-by-play by phone -- he said Kenan was so excited he could barely talk.
> We had lunch at the Twisted Fork and saw more of the boys before the game. They were maybe the loosest we have see them and really felt like, win or lose, it would be great and I think this attitude really helped in the game.
> We got to the game around 3PM again to wait in line but since there was no game before us, we got in a little early and were able to watch all of batting practice. This field and stadium is so incredible, and there is so much history, you just sit there being absorbed in it all. I've tried not to do it here, and I am humbled by it all, but the feeling of seeing our son out there is indescribable and almost surreal, knowing he is living what will surely be the memory of a lifetime with friends and teammates he will have forever.
> The game began and had that old familiar peaceful feeling at the outset -- it was a truly gorgeous afternoon weather-wise and the game was one of the best we have seen. We had a heroic warrior-like performance from a pitcher who was just barely able to go, clutch hitting (but still left 12 on base), and the best defensive plays I have seen ever in college baseball. Their only run was on a walk and we had a world-class effort all the way around for the third time against the number #2 team in the nation, for the third time. I suggested that they call ASU and ask them how they recovered from a drubbing by the mighty Bulldogs -- don't know if it was evident on TV but the Tarheels were doing a lot of whining throughout the game which is just an indication of how much on the ropes they really were.
> My good friend and hero, Ken Scavo, who I love like a brother, called for the second ass-whipping in the CWS after calling it against Rice. He called it against UNC last night questioning the tarheel manhood and their powder blue, pinky drinking ways. Bulldogs delivered on this call again and Gavin carried the message on the field to the entire team.
> We met the players again at the bus in pandemonium and chaos with TV crews, media and radio everywhere. They are still signing autographs and having their pictures taken (often with young girls) and were just enjoying the moment -- lots of hugs and kisses to go around. We met for dinner with about 30 players + family and had a nice Omaha Capital Ale to celebrate.
> I was woken by a phone call from home this AM to say that we had a broken window at home -- fearing a break-in, Jenny called me but as we talked through it, she found the remnants of a water balloon stuck in a bush, which I chalk up entirely to a disgruntled Tarheel fan in the neighborhood (or Klug).
Virtually everything that has transpired here has been unexpected and surprising. We are living something I never thought possible which should be a lesson to me and all of us to dream bigger I guess. I have spent 11 days in the same hotel room in downtown Omaha, maybe 20 hours in a very narrow seat at Rosenblatt Stadium, and some very precious times with Karen and Gavin that can never be taken away no matter what the outcome from here on out. I have watched Gavin perform on national TV, and in front of what is now a crowd totaling more than 75,000 people at Rosenblatt Stadium. Through it all, I am proud of many things, but most impressed by the sincere humility he (and his teammates) exhibit and the true child-like love they have for this game of baseball. I will never see him quite the same though as this baseball experience has made him mature beyond his 21 years -- many of you know that this has not been an easy road for him but God cleared the path and, as we have said to him many times, he is exactly and precisely where he belongs.
I think I have received literally hundreds of emails and messages from all of you and we have read them together and many with Gavin and friends. Your care, good wishes, enthusiasm and excitement for Gavin and the Bulldogs is just so heartwarming and we are overwhelmed with the outpouring by you all. We are just so incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for your support and we love all of you. We have no idea, as usual, what is to come over the next few days -- God only knows -- but we look forward to it and to sharing this wonderful experience with each of you when we return home soon.
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