Hoop, There It Is

Monday, July 26, 2010. If you ranked the things that the boys and I have spent the most free time on since last summer, at or near the top of that list would be our indoor ESPN SportsCenter. A friend from church called me one day and said that they had been cleaning out their garage and wondered if I wanted a sports set that was still in the unopened box that had been in their garage for years. Without more details than that, I skeptically said "sure." And thank goodness I did. Because that thing rocks the universe. We love it! It has provided hours and hours of entertainment and exercise - especially on those ridiculously hot Texas days (and during that horrendous Houston blizzard of 2011...). Thanks a bagillion to our friends for their generosity!

Peanut draining one. Back in July, they used to shoot from this normal distance. Now, they like to step back a ways and jack up the long ball "like Jimmer." So heads up if you're ever in a neighboring room. Or zip code.

Beeju bringing the heater. He's got some velocity and movement. And that's after only 3 months of getting regular "Roger Clemens" shots. And maybe a few rubdowns of "the cream" and "the clear."

Here's a wider angle view so you can see the full capabilities. When the black sleeve is down (like in these pics), you can play basketball, baseball and football. When you fold the sleeve down, you can play soccer, golf and hockey. There are dozens of options for different competitions, and it's all narrated by Stuart Scott (from the TV version of ESPN's SportsCenter). I still can't believe we own this bad boy.