Mary took the boys out to the park to play some basketball this week and got some great photos of the boys working on their hoops skilz!

Will only grunted but we're pretty sure he was saying, "Holy four-fingered hand that rim is high!"...even if it is only an 8-foot rim.

Drew getting ready for his two and one-handed jump shots.

Check out Drew's jump shot and the air he's getting! He's already got the same vertical leaping ability of his father. And, look at that follow through...the kid's got potential. (Great camera work by Mama.)

Today we all went to see the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes play the University of Houston Cougars at TU's Skelly Field/Chapman Stadium, the last game before a $20 million renovation begins. Coming into the game Tulsa was 6-3 (4-2 in league) while Houston was 6-3 (5-1 in league). Houston would have clinched the West Division of the Conference USA with a win today. But it was not to be.

It was Senior Day and Tulsa's senor quarterback, Paul Smith #12, had the game of his life in a 56-7 blowout of Houston. Smith threw for 313 passing yards with 5 touchdown throws and, on a 37 yard pass in the third quarter to Dion Toliver #15, Smith broke the single-season passing record with 3,496 yards, broke the career-passing record with 9,367 yards and tied the record for most touchdown passes in a single season with 34. Paul Smith left the field, his last home game for TU, with a standing ovation.

Tulsa held Houston scoreless 56-0 until late in the fourth quarter when Houston scored their only touchdown against Tulsa's 2nd sting.

Here you can see wide receiver Jesse Meyer #84 about to make a catch; running back Tarrion Adams #25 on the run; quarterback Paul Smith #12 making a handoff to running/defensive back Dillon Brumbugh #23; and punter Paul Jurado #48 holding for place kicker Jarod Tracy #29 who was a perfect 8 for 8 for the day (49 out of 50 for the season).

We even got to see a handsome young man propose to his cheerleading future bride...she said yes. One of the reasons we attended today was that Aunt Catherine is on the University of Tulsa Dance Team, but she is out with an injury and unable to perform.

Click "Continue reading" to see a multi-photo stop-motion breakdown of a successful play by TU.

Finally, at some point I put the camera on continuous shooting and caught a nice sequence of photos showing the anatomy of a football play. Click the photo for a larger popup showing the ball in the air on the snap, quarterback Paul Smith #12 fake handoff to running back Tarrion Adams #25, the handoff to running back Dillon Brumbugh#23 and his progress up the line behind some textbook blocking. It's interesting to focus on different players throughout the sequence to see how everyone carries out their own individual task and how it all comes together to accomplish a desired collective goal. Teamwork in action!

It was an absolutely perfect day today; 70 degrees, no wind, not a cloud in the sky. After lunch, we all headed out to the backyard for some t-ball.

Drew is just a week shy of 4 years and has mastered keeping his eye on the ball.

Will is just 15 months old and while Drew, mom and dad were distracted doing something else, Will picked up a bat, put a ball on the tee and whacked it right off. We grabbed the camera and got some video of him doing it again but, of course, it's never as good as the one you miss.

YouTube version after the jump.

I know what you were thinking, I wish Don would post some more videos of his kids playing soccer. I aim to please, and so here is Will who also got some kicks in yesterday while at his big brother's soccer practice. Oh, and if you don' t like the football club music from the two prior videos, don't worry, this is more mainstream...but still not exactly on the American airwaves, at least not yet.

Will had a little bit tougher time than at home since he had to deal with shoes, turf and distractions all around. But, considering he's only been walking about a week and half, I think he's doing incredibly well. I'm amazed at his desire to kick the ball. You can't hear it, but he laughs or cackles many of the times he kicks the ball.

The music is Heart Full of Pride by the Swedish band Perkele. [Update: I checked out some more music by Perkele and let's just say that Heart Full of Pride is the only song of their's that interests me.]

(YouTube version after the jump.)

After soccer practice today, I filmed Drew dribbling and scoring some wicked goals.

Drew has improved quite a lot from just a year ago.

The music, There's Only One United, is a song of the Manchester United Red Devils.

(YouTube version after the jump.)

ME: Hello, my name is Don.
YOU: Hello, Don.
ME: I'm addicted to European soccer...sorry, European football club music.

So, I went looking for some background music for Will's debut soccer video and did a Google search for "soccer music" not realizing what I would find. Wow! A click here, a click there, and the next thing you know, I'm hooked. Sure, it's not high brow, but it is high energy. I'm definitely going to make a workout playlist (I was going to say mix tape, I'm so old) from my downloads.

Anyway, this is Will at 13 months. He's only been taking serious unassisted steps for about two weeks and truly walking for one but he wants to kick the purple ball (play soccer) just like his big brother. We've been trying to get as much video of Will's drunken sailor stage as possible...it's already starting to fade. They grow up so fast.

The music, Stand Up for the Champions, is a song of the Arsenal Gunners.

(Inferior YouTube version after the jump.)

The title says it all, 755 is greater than 756*.

Oh, and if you want to see the all time Major League Baseball home run king, click "Continue reading."

My sister Donelda Danz was inducted today into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame as a player.

Three thousand were in attendance at the annual ceremonies which recognizes outstanding achievement in news media, friends of basketball, coaches, teams, officials and players.

Donelda was a four year starter and star of the 1977 Fremd High School girls basketball team that took 3rd place in the first ever Illinois girls state basketball tournament where she was selected for the All-Tournament Team having scored the second highest number of points of all the players in the tournament.

Congratulations Big-D!

Drew and Aunt Donelda all dressed up and ready for the Bears game. Daddy, Will and Drew watching football...perhaps it was a good thing that the Bears weren't on TV here in Tulsa since they lost, bringing an end to their undefeated season.

Here is my first attempt at making a music video montage. The clips are all from today's soccer practice. The song is the 1971 hit Hocus Pocus by the Dutch rock group Focus which reached #9 on the charts in the US in 1973. Don't even think of criticising the musical selection if you're under 40.

Drew loves to play basketball on the lawn. Like a true big man, he has no need for dribbling. Nothing good ever comes from bringing the ball below your shoulders. And Drew knows, it's never too early to start practicing your free throws. Drew has the form down but it looks like he's thumbing the ball a little with his left hand. Fortunately, we have time to work on that.

Enough shooting from the outside, time to take it to the hoop. This layup turned into a slam dunk!

Drew had the greatest time this weekend playing baseball with Pa. Here he is hitting a line drive right into Pa's hands.

After a good hit, Drew will run the bases (tree-retaining wall-other tree) in order to get a home run. Pa tried his best, but just couldn't tag Drew out.

Every home run is capped off by Drew's his own patented "slide" into the t-ball home plate which he developed all by himself. Probably because he's watched major league players barrel through home plate no matter what was in the way, he does the same thing.

Writing this post was difficult until I realized it was about two different overlapping stories: one unimportant all about me and one, the opposite, very important about people thinking only of others. The meaningful story follows immediately, while the me-me-me part, can be seen by clicking on "continue reading" at the end.

There are some sick twisted people in this world, but you wouldn't think there would be people so sick and twisted that they would protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers, yelling slogans and holding signs like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." While families are simply trying to say a final goodbye to their child, spouse or daddy, these protesters are in their face laughing, cheering and spewing their hatred. At least they were...until the Patriot Guard Riders stepped in.

The Patriot Guard Riders are a nation wide group of motorcycle riders with the mission of attending the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family where they show their respect for our fallen heroes and their families while shielding the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by protesters using strictly legal and non-violent means.

In conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of Rick Monday Saving the American Flag in center-field, Rick Monday's wife, Barbaralee Monday "Flag Babe," and her brother, James Casciari "Helmet Killer," are taking the actual flag that Rick Monday saved on a cross-country motorcycle tour while stopping to meet families which have been assisted by the Patriot Guard Riders. This is all being done to raise awareness and support for legislation to ban protesting near funerals. Some states have already passed laws, other states have pending legislation and there is also legislation pending in the U.S. Congress.

I met up with some Patriot Guard Riders early this afternoon in Claremore, Oklahoma. The riders there subsequently received word that the already delayed procession, then still in Missouri, was further behind schedule and would not be stopping in Claremore, but would still be stopping in Chelsea, Oklahoma, although much later in the evening. The Chelsea stop couldn't be bypassed because they were scheduled to meet with the family of a fallen soldier for whom the Patriot Guard Riders had previously attend the funeral. We all regrouped after two hours and headed for Chelsea.

After a little wait, the Patriot Guard Arrived. The first order of business was getting out the flag that Rick Monday had saved from being burned as a protest in center field of Dodger Stadium on April 25, 1976. It was a little faded and a little tattered but still beautiful. Barbaralee and James posed with the flag and the family of the fallen soldier. Next everyone was given the opportunity to sign a banner which will be displayed on July 4th at Dodger Stadium before being presented to Rick Monday. Barbaralee and James then signed posters commemorating the 30th Anniversary of Rick Monday's save. Barbaralee even called her husband Rick on her cell phone and he spoke to the family of the fallen solder.

It was readily apparent why the tour kept falling behind schedule. Everyone who wanted a picture either with the flag or with Barbaralee was given the opportunity. The same for autographs with personalized messages, hugs and thank-yous. Despite being woefully behind schedule, no one went away disappointed.

It should be noted that neither Mrs. Monday nor her brother, Mr. Casciari, are "riders" and that the tour has been incredibly exhausting on them both physically and emotionally. Despite this, they were very friendly and genuinely cared about all the people they met. They are passionate about getting legislation passed to protect families from protesters at funerals. They both proved themselves to be terrific people. Likewise, every one of the Patriot Guard Riders I met was friendly and helpful. It's people like these that make America great.

I've uploaded all of the photos I took to Flickr. Everyone is free to download and make copies as they wish.

I can't help but wonder how much an impressionable ten year-old Chicago Cubs fan who grew up to love the American flag was influenced by a certain center fielder who thirty years ago saved the American flag from being burned? From that boyhood moment to just two months ago seeing the heroic event for the first time to now holding in my hands the actual flag that Rick Monday saved. It was an amazing thing...then and now.

Barbaralee Monday signed a copy of the commemorative poster: "To the Danz Family - Thanks for being such terrific fans! Go Cubbies! God Bless." James Casciari signed: "To the Danz Family, True Fans! Cubs Rule!!" And, Barbaralee signed for Rick Monday: "Glad to see we have such wonderful fans."

After Rick Monday spoke to the family of the fallen soldier, they handed the phone back to Barbaralee who turned to me and asked if I wanted to talk to Rick Monday. The look on my face must have been something as some of the bikers around her cracked some pretty big grins. Yes, this ten year-old in a forty-year old's body would very much like to talk to Rick Monday. I told him about being a Cub fan and how much it meant to have one's childhood hero turn out to be such a great person and to be working for such a worthy cause. Monday said that it was simply wrong what they wanted to do the flag thirty years ago and it's wrong what the protesters want to do at funerals today. He also said that the true thanks go to the families of all the fallen soldiers.

So, if not for hate filled protesters and jihadist madmen, I would not have gotten to meet a great group of Americans, talk to my boyhood hero and touch a piece of history. What an odd cross-road of people and events.

It's t-ball time! We picked up a tee, bat and ball this week and now, everyday, Drew wants to: "Go outside, play t-ball?" Sure, he hits the tee once in a while but, just as often, he whacks one farther than you'd e