Ok, so somehow I just lost the entire post, as I was trying to send it out. So I will reconstruct it, why not, I’m retired, I have the time.

Before we could get to the weekend, we had a couple of trying situations to endure. The heat in Diana’s car stopped working as she returned from her weekend road trip to Rochester and by Wednesday, it was no longer starting. She had a Friday morning appointment with the dealer and now had to have AAA Tow the car to the dealer, on Thursday night. It only took the dealer most of the day on Friday to actually find the vehicle and the keys that go with it, so as it turns out, the car was not even looked at this weekend. On Sunday our washing machine stopped extracting water on the spin cycle. Compared to the frustration of the Springfield Subaru/AAA fiasco, the washing machine repair was a breeze. Richie’s Appliance Repair came Wednesday morning, diagnosed the problem (a worn out belt, from overloading), ordered the part and came back to finish the job Friday.

I could not wait to hit the road for Springfield, Saturday morning, for the Home and Season Opener for the Springfield Pride as they would be taking on the Rams of Framingham State. Debi and I made great time and arrived at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field in time to watch both teams warm up (almost a must, for me). It was a bit chilly but the brilliant sunshine, made it a beautiful February day. The first half was back and forth as both teams battled early season sloppiness and first game jitters. After being tied 6-6 at half time, the Pride took control in the second half (half time coaching adjustments, no doubt!). The ball movement improved and they began to consistently find openings in Framingham’s high pressure zone defense. The defense was able to make a number of key stops as they built a comfortable lead en route to an 18-11 victory, to the delight of the impressive home crowd, and of course, yours truly.

The team and the coaches all seemed mostly satisfied with the outcome and they all appeared to enjoy the post game tailgate party. The Pride Parents put out quite the spread for the girls. As always the key ingredient is a heavy dose of TLC, which gives the players that soul warming taste of home. I think you can tell a lot about a team from their tailgating and from the look of it, this team will have full bellies and plenty of familial support, this spring.

After the tailgate party, we took Diana to the supermarket, since she still had no car. As I realized that nothing was really required of me, I tuned in to the livestream of the Mercyhurst Women’s Lacrosse Team’s season opener at Walsh University in North Akron, OH. I tried (mostly without fail) to avoid bumping into anybody or anything in the aisles, as I watched the Lady Lakers race out to a 9-1 lead, before I had to turn it off. They would cruise to a 16-6 win!

We picked up some Mexican take out at Bueno y Sano (Good and Healthy) for dinner. This was our second time getting food from there and it has been really good both times. It is becoming our “go to” in Springfield. The best part of the day, as always, was the visit with Diana. We did a little of our usual post game rehashing – I hope that never changes, and before dark we were back on the road, heading home. Once again, the traffic gods smiled upon us, as we made excellent time and arrived home early enough to enjoy several hours of Elise’s 25th Birthday Party, where I think a good time was had by all!

Sunday morning, I picked up the newspapers and a breakfast sandwich (Heavenly Bagels, so good!). I got about half way through the Crossword Puzzle before driving up to LIU Post to watch the Sharks (I cannot get used to that name) host the Quinnipiac Bobcats. It was warmer than Saturday but with the same brilliant sunshine, making it another beautiful day. It was very nice for me to see Jamie Alvino, Katelyn Politi and Payton Napoli on the Post team, as Diana and I coached all of those girls when they were younger. This was the second Quinnipiac game I have seen this season and first in person. Seeing Kat Henselder and Desiree Kleberg out there was great. It was an intense, physical and close game throughout, before Quinnipiac finally secured their first win of the season with a final score of 15-13. I have already seen improvement in the young Bobcats, and expect that to continue.

I had the unexpected pleasure, at half time, of watching the FLG 2026 and 2027 Teams take the field. Knowing many of those players, I was not surprised with the high level of play they displayed out there. They moved the ball up the field through the air, consistently found the open player, played hard but legal defense – just overall, very good lacrosse. Keep up the good work ladies!