Podcast: Mother’s Day, American Idol, and Pacers versus Knicks

Good to have you with us! We’re going to do a lot more than basketball today. I originally thought of Anne as a regular based on the conversations we’d have in the car when I’d drive down to Charlotte to pick her up at the airport. Anne, do you think we are a fun hang?

Thought of the Day:

I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen. -that comes from Ernest Hemingway. Anne, I want to show improvement in listening to you today!

JOKE REQUEST: We had a request for a joke an episode. Let’s see if I can deliver on that for a few episodes in a row: What do you call a selfish basketball player? A ball hog! (that certainly qualifies as a “dad joke” right?

1. I told the joke wrong on the podcast. It should have been this: What do you call a pig who plays basketball? A ball hog!
2. When it comes to that joke request… I want to get to know those of you who join us for these conversations. It’s great to get suggestions, feedback, or just hear your thoughts on what we talk about.

Look back: today’s episode of the Torg Stories Podcast features the brother-sister combo of Bill and Anne. Here is where they catch up and you get a glimpse into what they have been up to.

1. We did a family Duck Doughnuts taste test this afternoon.
2. This afternoon I attempted the Christopher Newport Women’s Basketball Team Fitness Test. One rep is down/back and down/back the length of the court. You have 24 seconds to complete the rep. 48 seconds to rest. You do that 12x. I was not able to complete it, yet!
3. The App State semester wraps up this week. Grades are due Monday. I need to start building the “Moodle” based course on what we call asUlearn. I teach a course called Writing Across the Curriculum. Anne, what do you think we do in there?
4. I started working my way through a LinkedIn Learning course on WordPress. I’m trying to improve the substandard formatting I’m doing on these posts. I’d like to just get paid to take these courses, at least for awhile. That’s not a thing is it?

Look ahead: Anne and Bill talk about what’s coming up in the next week…

1. Capping ceremony for Charlotte. I don’t really know what this is. I think somehow my sophomore daughter Izzy is capping my senior daughter Charlotte, something to do with graduation. Anne, we didn’t do this in the 80s and 90s in Winamac, Indiana, right?
2. Next weekend in an NCAA live exposure period for high school women’s basketball players. Have you heard of that? How far is this from what we know about this as high school players?
3. I’ve been wishing I would have went to 5-Star basketball camps.

What’s got our attention that is not basketball?

1. American Idol: I think I’ve seen at least 10 episodes in a row of American Idol. We’ve seen how different “America’s” opinions can differ from the opinions of who is good at our house. Emmy Russell is Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter. Jack Blocker seems like a more cheerful Noah Kahn who was cut but brought back when the crew objected. Triston Harper is a soulful 15 year old kid from Alabama. Will Moseley seems in the Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton lane. We were sad to see McKenna Faith Breinholt and Kayko get cut.
2. Mother’s Day! I want to celebrate my mom Sue for the way she’s cared for two of our loved ones. Our grandma Olga lived into her 90s and mom went over to grandma’s house daily for years and took care of her. Now she’s in what seems like a decade of being the primary care giver for our dad. I also want to celebrate my wife Megan for the incredible mom she is. Megan is a really unselfish, outwardly loving, and cheerful wife and mom and those characteristics of hers really spread into the rest of our family. She came into our family and changed the tone of how things feel and work in a good way.

What’s the NBA Story of the Week for You? For me, it’s Pacers vs. Knicks. Here are some observations:

1. The intensity at which these games are played. The players and the crowds.
2. The Pacers don’t really know what they want at the end of games. There’s a bunch I love about the Pacers’ Haliburton. He’s scored 35 and 34 in the last two games, but he looks a little nervy late. I think he is most comfortable setting up teammates. I love how often the ball is in his hands for less than a second. His scoops around the rim and his step back seem like he can get those at almost anytime.
3. The Knicks seem to be playing over their heads, above the norm, the past week. They might come down to earth a little bit. The down side is that Brunson is the man who gets the ball in the end who makes things happen with some very specific bread and butter actions while the Pacers are more of a concept lots of spacing, driving, and shooting the three.

Fashion Find:

Anne’s fashion finds of the week:

Bill chose the way Spike Lee dresses going to the Knicks’ games:

1. Spike Lee’s costumes and just how good Spike Lee is for the Pacers vs. Knicks rivalry.

NBA Box Score of the Week: Pacers 111 and Knicks 106

1. Knicks go 14-27 from 3 and lose. Knicks DiVincenzo goes 7-11 from 3 and scores 35 points and the Knicks still lose. Hart gets 18 rebounds and Knicks still lose. Knicks outscore the Pacers from the line by 1 and still lose.
2. So what stat/s do I point to for a reason maybe the Pacers won? Whew, it’s slim pickings to find any reason the Pacers won! They got 9 more total shots and shot the same percentage as the Knicks. So with a 5 point win, maybe that’s the only stat I can point to. They made 3 less turnovers and got 3 more offensive rebounds than the Knicks.
3. The series is so close!

The Basketball Reference Individual and Team Stat of the Week:

1. Individual: The Knicks Josh Hart, who is listed at 6-4 and weighing 215 pounds, is the 4th leading rebounder in the playoffs behind Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, and Jarrett Allen. Those guys are 6-10 and taller.
2. Team Stat: I went with offensive rebounds per game. The Knicks lead all playoff teams with 13 offensive rebounds a game. The Heat were last with 5.6. Pacers are 7th. The Cavs were lowest of any team still playing at 13th.
3. I wondered about what stat was most reflective of teams still playing. Lakers were #1 in FG% and are out. 6 out of the top 7 in 3P per game are still in. So that’s a big one. The Suns led all teams with FTs made. That’s surprising!

What story is catching my attention outside of the NBA?

1. This is my what’s catching my attention and a recommendation. I subscribe to The Atlantic. I’ve been reading about Israel, Gaza, and protests. We’re a country that has as members people who are loyal each side of that conflict. Seems like college admins in some impossible positions.
2. I’ve been following the Trump trial.
3. I read writer Jonathan Franzen’s 1996, 28 printed pages essay titled “Perchance to Dream.” It asks why even bother writing novels? As depressing as it was for Franzen to think through it, and depressing in a good way that brought clarity, the novel probably means even less today. Novels?!!!

Thanks for checking out this Torg Stories Post! We’d love to hear from in the comments section!