Sixers top the Knicks

Just when the Sixers were on the verge of starting a big losing streak with a 4-game skid, they turned things around and won two in a row. On Wednesday they took down Washington, and last night they beat the Knicks in New York. I listened to some of the 4th quarter on the radio, and even though the Sixers led, it sounded like the Knicks had come back from an even bigger deficit. The Sixers led 29-11 at the end of the first quarter but were then outscored in each of the remaining three. Fortunately the Knicks were so cold at the beginning of the game that they dug a very deep hole. By the end, the Sixers had come out on top by a score of 108-103. Their record is now 29-28, which is good enough for second place in their division (though they're way behind the Celtics). Tonight they'll host a very tough Orlando Magic team, so it would be great if they could pull off an upset.

Starting to run again

After taking a couple weeks off of running, I went out for about a mile yesterday. Everything felt fine, which was expected. I ran again this evening with no problems. My Achilles is a little sore, but it's nothing major. I've been icing it after running just in case that helps it to heal. I'll try to gradually increase my mileage from here, and with a little luck maybe I can get back to 40 mpw without any injuries.

Buzzer beater dooms Sixers

I listened to some of the Sixers-Nets game on the radio last night, and it sounded like a good contest. The score was close, but I couldn't manage to stay awake for the conclusion. This morning I found out that they lost by 2 points. They had a one-point lead with very little time left on the clock, and the Nets scored a miracle half-court shot. I'm sure it's no fun to lose a game that way, and to make it worse, that was the Sixers' fourth consecutive loss. They're now one game below 500 with a record of 27-28. I hope they turn things around tomorrow when they take on a woeful Wizards team.

Trip to Springfield

I returned from Iowa yesterday and am now back to the old routine. I had a blast out there. On Thursday I went with my parents to Springfield (Illinois) to see Abraham Lincoln's house and museum. We took part in an organized tour of the house, which was not very long but fascinating nonetheless. Lincoln apparently bought the place for $1500 and lived there with his family for 17 years before moving to DC. He was a lawyer for the majority of that time and had an office nearby. After becoming president, he never returned to Springfield (alive, anyway). The museum had lots of detailed exhibits and displays, and we even saw a short movie depicting the notable events in Lincoln's life. There was also plenty of information on the Civil War, including a very cool "Civil War in one minute" film which showed the day-by-day progression of casualties throughout the crisis. The number of deaths was astounding, and most of them occurred not on the battlefield, but rather due to sickness, disease, and malnutrition. Near the end of the museum was a recreation of Ford's Theater, where one could clearly see how John Wilkes Booth entered and shot Lincoln. Apparently Booth was quite a big-name actor, and everybody in the 1860s knew who he was. Now everyone knows him as an assassin. I think that anybody who has an interest in history would find that place informative and very enjoyable. I sure did.

Iowa, here I come

This was a short week for me. I'm on vacation for the rest of the week so I can fly out to Iowa and spend some time with my parents. I haven't been out there since last summer. So, I'll give this blog a little break and not write anything until I return. I'm sure it will be a fun trip.

Roddick falls to Stepanek at San Jose semis

The SAP Open tennis tournament was held this week in San Jose with Andy Roddick as the top seed. I think I read that he's won this tournament three times before, so he was undoubtedly the favorite this time around. Unfortunately for him, he lost a tough 3-set match to Radek Stepanek in the semis yesterday. Stepanek went on to win the tournament today with a 3-set victory over Mardy Fish. Elsewhere, Andy Murray took down Rafa Nadal to win the Rotterdam tournament. It sounds like Nadal injured his knee during the match, so I'm not entirely sure he was at the top of his game. But Murray remains a solid player and adds another championship to his resume.

Rupp gets indoor 5k AR

Even though I'm a big track fan, I have to admit I don't follow the indoor season very closely and am not familiar with what good indoor times would be. I did not even know what the 5k American record was -- until today. Galen Rupp ran a 13:18.12 at the Tyson Invite in Arkansas to break Doug Padilla's 27-year-old mark of 13:20. Rupp took second place in the race (behind Bekana Daba, who is obviously not an American), finishing just ahead of Liberty's Sam Chelanga. I've always known that Rupp is one of the country's top runner's, but this effort still impresses me. 13:18 is a time that few Americans can run even outdoors. I can't think of a whole lot of people who have done it. Kennedy, Lagat, Tegenkamp, Goucher, and Webb. Also Ryan Hall and Ian Dobson, I believe. So Rupp is in select company. I tend to think of him as more of a 10k guy, though, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of times he runs outdoors this spring.

Sixers over Memphis

The Sixers have been playing some stellar basketball lately, and now they find themselves with a record of 27-24, which is good enough for second place in their division, behind Boston. Last night the Sixers played the Grizzlies at home. I tuned in to the game during the fourth quarter, and it was a close one. But once again, the Sixers came through in the clutch and won 91-87. This is a very good trend, and I hope they can keep it up once the second half of the season begins. The All-Star game is on Sunday, so all the NBA teams get a little bit of a break now. The next game for the Sixers is on Tuesday in Indiana.

Running again

I've been running every day since last Friday, and I'm still not sure what to make of my Achilles pain. I can feel it when I'm walking around work, but it doesn't seem bad and is definitely not excruciating. I can also feel it while running, but it's not even bad enough to cause me to limp. So, I guess I'll continue to take things one day at a time. Tomorrow will be an off day, and then on Friday I'll try to go about 4 miles. Sometime in the near future I plan to see an orthopedist just to hear what he has to say. Might as well take advantage of my health insurance.

Love and War

A couple of days ago I finished reading John Jakes' novel Love and War. It is the second book of a trilogy that takes place during the Civil War and focuses on two families -- the Mains of South Carolina and the Hazards of Pennsylvania. The main character is arguably Charles Main, who serves in the Confederacy and sees some of the worst action of the war, including Antietam and the Wilderness. His cousins Cooper and Orry also serve the Confederate cause. Cooper travels to England to help design a warship, but his son is killed on the trip home while they try to run a Union blockade. Orry has a desk job until late in the war and is eventually killed by a wounded Yankee he tries to help. On the other side, Billy Hazard serves as an army engineer, is captured, thrown into Libby Prison, and ultimately escapes. His brother George also works for the North. This novel does a good job portraying all the different aspects of the war, and I enjoyed reading it (as expected). The final book of the series is Heaven and Hell, and I am in the middle of that one as I type this.

Aggravated Achilles

After my run last Sunday, my Achilles really started to bother me. It wasn't too noticeable that day, but on Monday at work there was quite a bit of pain when I would walk around. After some consideration, I decided to take the day off of running. Shortly after that I decided that I would just skip running altogether until the pain became manageable. Yesterday was the first day I felt completely normal, but I didn't run just for good measure. This afternoon I went out for about a mile, and, although I could feel the Achilles, it didn't cause me to limp or bother me when walking. So far so good. I'll keep going day by day and hopefully ramp up the mileage again without further problems.

Celtics squeak by Sixers

I haven't been following basketball much these past couple of weeks due to my preoccupation with the Australian Open, but the Sixers have actually been doing very well. They clawed their way back to 500 and went into last night's game against Boston with a 23-23 record. I turned on the radio sometime in the 4th quarter and was pleasantly surprised to hear that the Sixers had a sizeable lead. I drifted off to sleep before the end of the game, but I think I remember hearing the Celtics get within 2 points. This morning on the news I saw that the Sixers ended up losing 100-99. It was still a quality effort, but it's disappointing that they couldn't seal the deal after amassing a lead against one of the league's best teams. Oh well. They'll have another chance to get back to 500 tomorrow night when they play the Pacers.

Nadal wins his first Australian Open

The first thing I did after waking up yesterday morning was get on the internet and check out the live scoreboard of the Australian Open final. The match was in the second set, with Nadal having won the first one. The official website actually had a live broadcast, so I was able to listen to that for the rest of the match. It was some great tennis, at least for the first four sets. The final one was kind of lopsided, as Federer fell apart, ultimately costing him the title. Final score: 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2. Apparently it was the first 5-set final in 21 years. I admit that I'm surprised Federer lost. He has always been such a great player under pressure, especially in Slam finals. There is something about Nadal that gives him problems mentally. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future. The next big tournament is Indian Wells in March, and I assume all the big names will be there.

In other news, there was kind of a big football game last night. I was on my way home from my brother's place when it started, so I heard some of the first quarter on the radio. I watched the second quarter on TV when I was home, and then I saw Bruce Springsteen's halftime show. That was about it. I had the game on the radio when I was in bed, but I fell asleep before hearing anything decisive. Turns out it was an exciting game. I still don't think it would have been worth missing sleep, though.