Final: Butler 63, Kansas State 56

The Butler Bulldogs are going home to Indianapolis to play in the Final Four next weekend! When the game ended today, I laughed and cried at the same time. I've been this happy and excited before, but it has been a while.

In 2006, George Mason University made the Final Four, the last so-called "mid-major" school to do so. If you look up George Mason, you'll note that they have 32,000 students, and are the largest university in Virginia. Butler has 4,500 students, give or take, and is not the largest university in Indianapolis. There are at least 13 universities in Indiana with larger enrollments than Butler.

But as the old saying goes, It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

Butler will play either Tennessee or Michigan State in a semifinal on Saturday. On Monday, April 5th, the winner of the Butler game will face West Virginia, Duke, or Baylor. As Butler forward Gordon Hayward said, "We aren't satisfied just to be in the tournament. We figure somebody has to win it, and it might as well be us."

Well said, Gordon. GO BULLDOGS!

Coffee

During our walk around Pike Place Market on Monday morning, Sally and I ducked into Starbucks across from the market entrance for coffee with our Russian pastries. We don't always choose Starbucks, but the only alternative we could find nearby was "Seattle's Best", which I find really isn't.

Anyway, as we ordered our coffee a cheery faux-barista asked if we'd like to try coffee from their Clover machine. Perhaps you've not heard about the Clover. It's the automated press type machine that sells for $11,000, and which Starbucks exec Howard Schultz "discovered" on an east coast trip. It turned out that the Clover was manufactured in Ballard, WA, just across town from Starbucks headquarters. Schultz liked the coffee so much that he bought the Clover company, much to the dismay of non-Starbucks coffee shops who promptly stopped using their Clovers in protest.

Well, I couldn't pass up a steaming sample of the beverage at the heart of this brew-ha-ha, and so I requested something in a Sumatran vein. As the baristette brewed my cup, she explained that, unlike a French press in which the water is on the grounds for 4 minutes, the Clover brew extraction process lasts just 30 seconds. Sally mentioned that it sounded like our Presso. It was then that it hit me: I've been in Clover all along!

Our morning coffee (and afternoon and sometimes evening) is brewed in a Presso machine that Evan originally discovered. Manufactured in Canada, it is now sold through All-Clad on Amazon for $119. True, I have to create the pressure for pulling the hot water through the grounds manually, rather than it being automated. And true, it's pressure from above rather than suction from below that accomplishes the process. But in both cases boiling water is drawn through grounds in a process lasting about 30 seconds. One process is automated on an $11,000 machine at Starbucks in selected locations, and the other is manual on a $119 machine in my kitchen.

Pretty good coffee in both instances. In contrast though, mine is practically priceless.

Final: Butler 63, Syracuse 59

I'm really happy for the kids and coaches from Butler who are having this storybook experience: Undefeated in Conference play, Conference Tournament Champions, 23 wins in a row, and their first trip to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament. A win over Kansas State and a trip to the Final Four, in Indianapolis no less, seems too much to hope for. Yet these kids have already exceeded everyone's expectations, except their own. Apparently that speaks volumes.

Around the House

After our weekend away and meetings at the church yesterday, I was ready to do my domestic male thing today. Fixed breakfast for Sally and I, getting her off to work on her bike by 6 a.m.

I worked on the replacement top bracket for the bike rack, and got it installed. I rode to the post office with the tax returns for Sal's mother's estate, vacuumed the main rooms, and did three loads of laundry.

The most notable aspect of the laundry task was that this is the OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE OUTDOOR DRYING SEASON. We've actually dried a duffel bag and a camera case outside in the past few days, but those were just preseason events. This is opening day!

I hung out two loads of laundry, which is about as much as will dry this time of year, when the temperature is still moderate and the sun low in the sky. Still, its early for outdoor drying. I noted that I blogged on the same subject on April 16th last year. What a difference a warm winter makes!

The second most notable aspect of the laundry task was my ill-advised inclusion of my black Dockers with the other dark clothes. The problem wasn't the color, but rather, the fabric. These Dockers collect pet hair unlike any slacks I've ever worn. I can get pet hair on them by looking up the word "dog" in a dictionary. By the time I wore them home from work yesterday and sat down a few minutes, they were totally bedecked... festooned even. I tried to shake off the hair, and brushed the slacks as well. Finally I decided that they would have to be donated, as I can't wear them with so much hair on them, and am not planning to donate the dogs this week. I thought I'd better wash them before donating them, so into the laundry they went. Big mistake.

Well, at least the pet hair on all our other dark clothing is clean. And thanks to the opening of outdoor drying season, it even smells April... er.... March fresh.

Quick Trip

Sally and I took a quick trip to Seattle on Sunday, returning yesterday evening. Along the way we visited Megan in Kennewick, Sal's Aunt Margie in Bothell, and had dinner with Sal's nieces Tracy and Tricia in Seattle. In planning the trip I had originally looked at lodging choices out in the suburbs near Margie. Eventually I decided to approach things as I would planning a trip to Amsterdam or Auckland, where I'd never choose a hotel on the outskirts of town. We opted to stay at the Mediterranean Inn on Queen Anne Avenue, adjacent to Seattle Center. It was a great choice.

Our hotel afforded us the chance to walk to an Irish pub for a beer, to walk to Pagliacci Pizza for dinner, and to walk to Pike Place Market yesterday morning for a look see, Russian pastries, and interesting shopping, sights and sounds. The cinnamon and cardamom braids from Piroshky's Bakery were among the best ever. We'd do it again, in a caffeine-addled, jittery Seattle minute.

By the time we arrived back in Spokane last night we were feeling the pain of our quick, busy trip. Sally had a headache and I had a sore throat, so we made an early evening of it. Given Sally's work schedule, that isn't too unusual anyway.

Spring is here, at least according to the calendar. It wasn't difficult to accept the fact while walking about on the westside, given the sight of blossoming trees, and the displays of daffodils and tulips at Pike Place, doubtlessly from the Skagit Valley we used to call home. Spring will come to Spokane as well, and will find us ready and willing for its arrival.

Final: Butler is Graduation Rate Champion

Thirty minutes after the end of Butler's game against Murray State the university sent an email touting the Bulldogs' win. In that same email it was announced that Butler is already the tournament champion, if the winner were determined by federal graduation rates. Here is a link for the graduation version of the tournament bracket.

Final: Butler 54, Murray State 52

In the Sweet 16 for the third time in eight years! Next up, a date with the winner of tomorrow's game between Gonzaga and #1 seed Syracuse.