Friday, Sep. 11, 2009

The perfect day

Y'all know that the perfect day just doesn't roll around too often.

You know, the one that just leaves you smiling from ear to ear. A day so memorable, it leaves you buzzing for several days afterward.

Your wedding day. The birth of your children. Those ones are no-brainers.

Well, the day I had Thursday ... if it wasn't perfect, was pretty darn close.

It started in the wee hours after finishing my shift, when I hopped in my car and drove to Portland. Thanks to no traffic, made the trek in under 4 hours, pulling into my mom's driveway at 5:08 a.m.

That left me about 5 1/2 hours to sleep before the 11 a.m. wakeup call. And I woke up totally refreshed. Always a good sign.

Shower, shave, then back in the car for the half-hour drive to Aloha and The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Course for the annual Jesuit High alumni golf tournament.

When I heard where it was going to be played, there was no way I was going to miss this. It's not often you get to play a course good enough to have hosted a senior major (The Tradition) as well as Peter Jacobsen's old best-ball tourney.

Shotgun start at 1:30 (pushed back half an hour because another tournament took longer than expected to clear the course), which left me plenty of time to check out the Nike store and spend my tee prize.

Got teamed for the four-man scramble with Paul, with whom I'd played before, Tom and Gavin. Tom was Class of '86, two years before me, and also went to Notre Dame before becoming (gasp!) a lawyer, and Gavin was our ringer -- Class of '96, 2 handicap, a financial advisor (so you know he's got plenty of chances to work on his game) who could crush the ball down the fairway every stinkin' hole.

First seven holes, typical scramble result for my teams -- couple of birdies, couple of pars, nothing that suggested what was to come. At least we got my two drives out of the way, including one of my specials that went into the wrong fairway, but was the only one on grass and actually had cut the corner, leaving us a short approach.

Finally, on the first hole, I made a birdie putt for the team -- my first real contribution, especially since I suddenly could do nothing more than pop up my drives. Embarrassing.

Then the third hole, another popup, so I could only watch as Gavin and Paul crushed their second shots on the long par-5 to within 25 feet for eagle. I'm feeling a little down about now and quite jealous.

My job on the green was simple -- go first, show the line, get the heck out of the way. But on this downhill 25-footer with some break to it ... BOOM! it goes in. The roar from our foursome probably could have been heard on the other side of the course. An eagle 3 -- the first of my life (shocking, I know). High fives all around.

And that started it -- the best putting roll I've been on in my life. Short birdie at 5. No problem. Another 25-footer at 8. Piece of cake. Shortie at 9. Walked it home. Same on No. 10.

And in between, on No. 7, with Paul saying how we were in a "dry spell" because we'd just parred the par-5 sixth and looked about ready for another par -- yours truly with a chip-in from about 30 or so feet, complete with the Tiger Woods hanging on the lip before dropping in.

With Gavin bombing it, Paul's laser irons, my unworldly putting and Tom ramming home a couple putts and a laser wedge on the hole he sponsored at No. 9, we came to our final hole with all three mulligans in our pocket and another 30-footer staring at us.

Finally, my putter cooled off, and I rolled it a couple feet by. Well, heck, we had six more tries at it ...

Then Paul let fly and center cut, baby ... our 12th birdie of the day, to go with the eagle. 14-under par.

That made the steak dinner afterward taste that much better. And Gavin (his eyes bugging out at the incredible performance the three hackers surrounding him just put on) is already thinking, we could finish pretty high in the standings, guys.

How about first place net? Would have taken second or third in the gross (depending on the tiebreaker), but I'll take being a golf champion (even if it's a fun-time alumni scrambler) for a day any time.

More swag from the Nike store. Not sure how it all fit in the trunk, but no way it wasn't coming home.

Best part -- no traffic leaving Portland either. Made it home in under 4 hours -- plenty of time to get my picks in for this week's high school football action.

C'mon, I know that's the only reason you put up with my recounting "the best game of my life."

Went 9-3 in Week 1, missing on Prep (Imbler), Walla Walla (Hermiston) and Kennewick (South Kitsap).

All right, let's hope that the mojo from this afternoon continues with the picks:

Eastmont at Richland

The Bombers put on an aerial show last season, and coach Mike Neidhold stressed all offseason that the team had to be better running the ball this year. Well, in the opener, the passing game struggled, and Jacob McKinney runs for over 200 yards. Looks like that emphasis paid off, and my guess is Neidhold will keep feeding McKinney the ball this week -- to the tune of 150+ yards and a couple scores. Richland 24-14

Eisenhower at Walla Walla

I'm told that Gary Winston, after watching the Blue Devils' Week 1 loss, couldn't stand sitting in the stands and asked Coach Yonts and the boys if he could please turn out. I don't think he'll be eligible for this game (not enough practices), but Wa-Hi should still be able to pull this one out. Wa-Hi 28-20

Hanford at Chiawana

The Riverhawks will be jacked up for the program's home debut, and the offense definitely looked good at times last week against Moses Lake. But the defense got worn down in the second half, and the Falcons offense is good enough to do the same thing to Chiawana this week. Hanford 30-21

West Valley at Kamiakin

Not an auspicious debut for Scott Biglin and the spread offense last week against Southridge. This week should bode better for the Braves. West Valley was shut out by Selah in Week 1 and is struggling. Kamiakin 24-7

Kennewick at Wenatchee

The Panthers rolled over Eastmont in their opener and may be the class of the Columbia Division. Another long road trip for the Lions, and another long bus ride home. Wenatchee 28-13

Pasco at Davis

Davis appears to be much improved, having pushed Eisenhower to overtime before losing in Week 1. The Bulldogs can't afford to look past them toward their Week 3 matchup with Wenatchee. Pasco 35-21

Southridge at Sunnyside

It looks like the Grizzlies are another improved team, one the Suns can't afford to look past. Southridge's defense looks as strong as ever, and the offense should again score just enough to win. Southridge 21-13

Ephrata at Othello

The Huskies offense sputtered last week in an opening loss to Connell. Playing at home, this is an opponent against which they can work out the kinks. Othello 32-12

Prosser at Quincy

It won't be the 76-0 massacre of a year ago, but the Mustangs are still just too good for the rebuilding Jackrabbits. Prosser 49-7

Columbia (Burbank) at Zillah

The Coyotes head back out on the road to take on a Zillah team that pushed Toppenish to overtime before losing. The difference in this game might turn out to be that the Coyotes actually have a field-goal kicker -- Jose Barajas. Burbank 24-22

Connell at Cashmere

This just might be the game of the night, regardless of classification. The Bulldogs are the defending 1A state champions, and the Eagles are expected to be one of the teams that pushes them. Connell is still working more pieces into its puzzle than Cashmere, plus the game is up north. That enough for me to lean toward the Bulldogs. Cashmere 28-26

Granger at River View

The Panthers started out with an OT win at Highland. They've got a balanced offense with QB Matt Wilhelm and RB Chance Watt leading the way. I still think they're the sleeper team in the East. River View 28-21

Kiona-Benton at Goldendale

The Bears offense looked mighty potent against Wapato, putting up 33 points. The defense, though, gave up 40. I think this time, Ki-Be comes out on the right end of a shootout. Kiona-Benton 34-27

Lewiston at Hermiston

I liked how the Bulldogs rallied on the road last week to knock off Walla Walla. Not sure if this can be considered an upset, since I know nothing about Lewiston. Hermiston 27-21

Moses Lake at Coeur d'Alene

The Chiefs finally put away Chiawana last week at home. CdA should be a much tougher foe. Coeur d'Alene 35-24

Lummi at Tri-Cities Prep (Saturday)

Another showdown between perennial playoff teams, this time at the 1B level. These are two high-powered offenses, and Prep QB Will Hoppes tries to become the first eight-man player with 10,000 career yards of total offense. This game will be at Prep's on-campus field and would be worth making the trek out there to watch. Prep 56-50

Whew! I am looking forward to getting some sleep and then catching WV-Kamiakin at the Lamp tonight.

Congrats to my classmate Erik Spoelstra (Class of '88) for getting into the JHS Hall of Fame on Friday. Wish I could be there to celebrate in person.

Til next time ...