“Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful…” —Wonderful by Jason Mraz
Sometimes life is as good as you would always hope it would be. I have had a few days in a row like that.
![Jason Mraz from the 2nd Row](https://i0.wp.com/photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v358/9/53/666295601/n666295601_4731430_955.jpg)
On Friday, Megan and I went to Spokane to see our third Jason Mraz concert. As always, Mr. A to Z delivered a show that was high energy, funny and so sing-a-long-y that my throat was sore by the end of the night. Add all of this to the fact that we were sitting in the second row and I’ll put this concert experience right up there with seeing Springsteen from the sixth row when he was touring the Ghost of Tom Joad album.
A few highlights:
- The second song of the night was Clockwatching, off of the Mr. A-Z album. I have to admit that I didn’t give this song, or whole album, really, the credit that it deserves. When I picked up our tickets a couple of months ago I went back and listened to A to Z and enjoyed it more than I remember. This song particularly has some of the cleverness that I really appreciate in Jason’s music:
I’m off like an aeroplane
I’m licking your postage stamp again
I’m using my right brain and I’m praying that we don’t crash
Who knew I’d come so fast?
So what if a two pump chump can’t last
But I made it to three and I foreclosed a five-minute fantasy
On a short lived flight making love on economy
- Peg by Steely Dan is a great song and one that will get stuck in your head if you aren’t careful.
- At one point in the show, Jason asked the audience if anyone had some chap stick that he could borrow. A girl a few seats down from us obliged and Jason returned the Burt’s Bee’s Wax to her when he was done. Every girl in the place swooned.
- I’m not much of a dancer but even I stood and clapped and danced during Dynamo of Volition, especially during the “give me the low dough” part.
- Butterfly, Jason’s tribute to strippers, or “shoe models” as he has been known to call them, closed the show out.
I have written about how super’tastic I think Mr. Mraz is in the past and I will continue to say it again and again.
The following morning, which came way too early after getting back to Pullman at 1 o’clock in the morning, was Cougar football and a basketball scrimmage by the New Look Cougar Men’s Team. My quick scouting report, player by player:
- #0 Marcus Capers: This young player out of Florida looks ready to back up Taylor Rochestie right now. He always played the team opposite of Taylor (they ran three 10-minutes scrimmages) and while he wasn’t particularly aggressive on the offensive end, he handled the ball and played tough man-to-man defense. Long arms and court vision.
- #1 Klay Thompson: Looks like the son of former NBA’er Mikael Thompson will be our starting shooting guard, at least early in the season. He dropped a shot or two but what was impressive was how willing he was to put shots up. Derrick Low was the same way last season, a shooter who can catch fire in the flow of a game.
- #3 Mike Harthun: A shooter out of Medford, OR. And he shot the ball well, sinking a couple from deep. But looking at this roster I’m not sure that he’s going to see the court this year.
- #4 Nik Koprivica: Someone tell Nik that Derrick Low wants his haircut back. Playing for the first time in over a year without a knee brace, Koprivica looks once again to be a slasher on the offensive end and a stron on-ball defender on the other side of the court. He reminds you of Kyle Weaver last year, I’m just not sure he has the intangibles that Weave had.
- #5 Abe Lodwick: I rode an elevator with this kid last spring in Palo Alto so you could sat that we’re close. He sunk three from behind the (now extended) arc and will be a spark off the bench.
- #10 Taylor Rochestie: Will be First Team All Pac-10 this season. There, I said it.
- #11 Aron Baynes: The big Australian doesn’t look as big as he did last season and that’s a good thing. A trimmed down Baynes, as long as he can stay out of foul trouble, will be the barometer of our success as a team this year.
- #14 James Watson: I’m not sure if this true freshman is going to see the court this year but I wouldn’t be surprised if he does. Probably the most athletic player I saw all day, he impresses especially at the defensive end and on the glass. And if you know Bennett Ball then you know that these are two skills that cannot be understated.
- #23 DeAngelo Casto: This year’s wildcard. Casto has a muddy background coming out of Spokane (almost didn’t qualify academically) and looks like his game can get a bit shaken when things don’t go his way. There were a couple of times that veterans, and the more mature freshmen, had to put their arm around him to calm him down a bit, but the upside on this kid is WAY up there. On both ends of the floor Casto has the potential to be a game changer. Thompson might have been more highly touted than Casto but don’t be surprised when this in-state player is the best Cougar at Washington State in a couple of years.
- #32 Daven Harmeling: Do you remember when Harmeling was the Pac 10 Player of The Week, twice, two seasons ago? Pencil him in as a starter right now but I won’t be surprised to see him sink back to the bench as a sixth man type of player. And this isn’t a bad thing. A veteran off the bench, who can shoot and defend, might be what this team needs once we hit conference play.
- #52 Caleb Forrest: Forrest has maybe two moves on the offensive end and is a little slow on defense. Not to say that he is a horrible player, he will definitely see some playing time, at least early in the season, but he’s well short of spectacular. On a team full of youth you’ve got to think that Forrest’s real value will come on the practice court teaching the younger players the proper way to play Cougar basketball.
After the basketball scrimmage my brother and I went to the football game. I have no desire to break down game film or rate the players but I will say a couple of things. Yes, we scored 28 points, but we also gave up nearly 60. Defensively, something has to be done. I don’t know if it is a matter of our players being out classed (which we are, particularly on the defensive line) or needing a new scheme but expect some type of shake up come spring camp and next season.
And, two, finally some effing effort by our players. You could see it in their body language that this game mattered to the guys on the field. For the first time this season, Cougar pride was alive at Martin Stadium.
Like I said, a pretty good weekend. Cap all of this off with taking Monday off and a Tuesday holiday and I have not a thing to complain about. Hope you are all doing as well.
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