I thought that once school was over I would have an abundance of time to spend on the blog, but alas, this hasn't been the case. But here are a few notes just to keep the blog up-to-date:

1) Last night Brooklynne and I had dinner with Kristy Kent who was as fun and great as always. We have almost talked her into a blog of her own, so watch out! Other topics of conversation included her possible return to school, Team Beautiful, Mr. Wesley, and the recipes for cheese and sausage balls.

2) Wednesday was a momentus day because the Travis Web Journal turned one year old. In the first year, there were 161 total entries posted and 507 comments (not including spam). My goal is to better these totals next year, and I'm announcing a five dollar gift certificate to your favorite ice cream parlor for the lucky person who posts the 1000th comment.

3) I also received a phone call from my old friend Tajiki friend Furuh, who is now visiting Baltimore. Brooklynne and I plan to meet him in DC this weekend to catch up and find out more about life in Russia, Tajikistan, and Finland--the three places he's lived since leaving the US two summers ago.

4) I didn't have time to post comentary about the US-Czech soccer match on Monday, but the second game for the US is tomorrow vs. Italy. Although the Czechs essentially brutalized the US team, I'm still marginally hopeful. Despite what the commentators said about the team looking "flat," really the US looked better than I've ever seen them look (I didn't see the 2002 world cup because Montana tv doesn't offer quite that same level of international programing), and poor offensive effort was not as bleak as it looked. If anything, the US should be worried about its defense. The poor defensive play that led to the first Czech goal essentially allowed the Czechs to play 9 men in the box the rest of the game. If the US allows Italy to score early, look for the Italians to do the same thing and don't expect the US to score any goals of their own. The US needs their defense to play well, so the Italians will have to spread the field. Finally, we should all pay attention to the Ghana game on saturday also. If we lose to the Italians, we'll be eliminated. But if we tie the Italians, then we will need the Italians not to lose against the Czechs to give us the best chance of advancing. But if the Czechs beat Ghanna, then they will have already clinched a birth in the elimination round before playing the Italians. They could rest their stars, play for a tie (which would still allow them to avoid meeting Brazil until the finals), and essentially hand Italy the second Group E bid.