Family

Friday: After a rather hectic flight from Philly (delayed 2 1/2 hours) to San Francisco and a nail-biting, knee aching sprint from one concourse to another to make a (literally) last second connection to Portland (I was the final passenger to board and they were about to close the doors as I limped down the ramp after a half mile jog) we arrived in the wee hours of the morning with no place to stay. Found a room at a motel near where we had reservations and crashed for the night.

Saturday: Went to Rick & Sandy's home in SE Portland and visited/commiserated with them for a while before Sandy's mom and dad arrived. Sandy is still on some pain medication but she and Rick seem to have weathered the initial shock of losing their baby girl. The doctors at the hospital were unable to determine the cause of Aisley's death so she will be sent elsewhere for an autopsy. Eventually, she will be cremated and her ashes spread in one of Portland's parks where Rick and Sandy will have installed a bench dedicated in her memory.

Sunday: Sandy's sister, Jacki, will be arriving from Japan this afternoon and then, after dinner, we will be going to the hospital for a final viewing of Aisley Ceciela Faber. I don't know that I have enough tissues.

FYI on Family and Tragedy

There have been some sad days this week. Tuesday, my son and his wife discovered that the little girl, Aisley Cecilia, who was due to arrive the end of October, had passed away in utero. As you might imagine we were all shocked as everything looked great during the doctor's visit on the previous Friday .

The doctors were at a loss also and didn't want to state a cause until they could examine the baby. So, they started administering PIT to Sandy to induce labor. They did so in very low doses so as not to cause any internal damage to Sandy. It took two days before the medication worked and Aisley was delivered Thursday morning. She weighed in at 4 pounds 6 ounces and would have been quite a bundle--if she had made it to her scheduled delivery date 6-7 weeks down the road.

As for the cause of her demise, speculation lies with some sort of umbilical cord strangulation although I haven't heard more since Rick called on Friday with word of Aisley's delivery.

Sandy is doing fine physically but she and Rick are--as might be expected--emotionally distraught--as we all are. Sandy's parents arrived in Portland on Wednesday (the advantage of living less than an hour from Chicago's O'Hare airport) and are helping make arrangements for Aisley's burial. Terry sent a wee care gown for her to be dressed in via overnight USPS. Terry and I finally got our affairs in order and will be flying out from Philly this evening to do what we can to support our kids and to see our would-have-been first grandchild.

Never take anything for granted. Hug your kids and grandkids whenever you can. If you don't have any, hug your nieces and nephews--or their kids. Little children are a blessing not to be missed.

Forgive me if there is no college football results or polls early this week. There are far more important things on my plate right now. I may or may not even be online until we get back from Oregon next week.

College Football: Week 4 Polls and Schedule

Fall has (or soon will) arrived and with the crisp autumn days perfect football weather abounds. Unfortunately every game not only has a winner it has a loser, too. They do not give participation ribbons. There are several games that will be very competitive but there are also some that will be blowouts. In the past, there have been FCS teams that have surprised, but not this week.

The numbers on the left are the rankings in the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches’ Poll. (CBSSports does a preseason poll but then waits a few weeks to weigh in on a regular basis—or at least they did last year.) NR means the team is “Not Ranked” in that particular poll. The team’s current record is in parentheses following their name.

1/1 Alabama (2-0) The Crimson Tide will host the Colorado State Rams (1-2). Roll Tide!

2/2 Oregon (3-0) The Ducks have the weekend off before starting PAC12 play.

3/4 Clemson (2-0) The Tigers are on the road to play the North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-0) on Thursday night. The Tigers will devour the Wolfpack.

4/3 Ohio State (3-0) The Buckeyes host the FCS Florida State Rattlers (1-2). This one seems unfair. OSU by whatever they want it to be.

5/5 Stanford (2-0) The Cardinal host the #23 Arizona State Sun Devils (2-0). This will be a good test for the Cardinal. ASU has a tough defense. I’ll go with the home team, however in a squeeker.

6/7 LSU (3-0) The Tigers of LSU host the Tigers of Auburn (3-0). I could cheat and say the Tigers will win but I won’t. LSU has too much talent for Auburn. It will be a close game but LSU wins.

7/6 Louisville (3-0) The Cardinals host the FIU Golden Panthers (0-3). Bridgewater and company will again prove dominant.

8/8 Florida State (2-0) The Seminoles host the FCS Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (3-0). The Wildcats have been a force in the FCS but they are out of their depth in this one. The Seminoles will win but the Wildcats will score more than expected.

9/10 Georgia (1-1) The Bulldogs host the Mean Green of North Texas (2-1). Mean Green? Maybe but not against the Bulldogs.

10/9 Texas A&M (2-1) The Aggies will host the SMU Mustangs (1-1). Aggies have trouble on defense but that shouldn’t matter in this one. High scoring but A&M by at least 14.

11/11 Oklahoma State (3-0) The Cowboys are idle this weekend.

12/13 South Carolina (2-1) The Gamecocks are off this weekend.

13/15 UCLA (2-0) The Bruins will host the New Mexico State Aggies (0-3). UCLA has a powerful offense and a capable defense. They will be 3-0 when the day is over.

14/12 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners have the weekend off.

15/14 Michigan (3-0) The Wolverines head east to play the Huskies of UConn (0-2). UConn has hit a rough patch as they try to rebuild. Michigan will win in a rout.

16/17 Miami (Fla.) (2-0) The Hurricanes are hosting the FCS Savannah State Tigers (1-2). The Hurricanes will blow away the Tigers.

17/20 Washington (2-0) The Huskies are hosting the FCS Idaho State Bengals (2-0). If they keep their heads on THIS game and not the PAC12 competition coming up, the Huskies should be able to dictate the score.

18/16 Northwestern (3-0) The Wildcats will host the FCS Maine Black Bears (3-0). Maine has been a powerhouse in the FCS, but this isn’t the FCS. Wildcats win.

19/18 Florida (1-1) The Gators will host the Tennessee Volunteers (2-1). The Vols need to redeem themselves after the huge loss to Oregon. Unfortunately, I do not see them beating the Gators. It might be close, but this isn’t horseshoes.

20/19 Baylor (2-0) The Bears will host the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (2-1). The Warhawks need to play mistake free ball but they could provide this week’s upset. Another high scoring contest but Louisiana-Monroe wins.

21/22 Ole Miss (3-0) The Rebels are idle this week.

22/21 Notre Dame (2-1) The Irish host the Michigan State Spartans (3-0). The Fighting Irish need to win. They want to win. They won’t win this one, however. The Spartans pull out a close contest.

23/23 Arizona State (2-0) The Sun Devils will be on the coast against #5 Stanford Cardinal (2-0). See above. A Cardinal win.

24/NR Wisconsin (2-1) The Badgers will host the Purdue Boilermakers (1-2). The Badgers improve to 3-1.

25/NR Texas Tech (3-0) The Red Raiders play host to the Texas State Bobcats (2-0). The Red Raiders bag themselves a Bobcat.

NR/24 Michigan State (3-0) The Spartans are on the road playing the #22 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (2-1). See above. MSU by a field goal.

NR/25 Fresno State (2-0) The Bulldogs will play Friday night at Boise State (2-1). This isn’t the invincible Boise State of past years. Fresno State got flooded out last week when Boulder Colorado got so much rain. The Bulldogs are rested and restless. They’ve a very good offense that saves the weaker defense. FSU wins this one on the road.

College Football: Week 3 Results

Cha-cha-changes! There’s gonna be some in the polls this week. Several of the Top 25 lost to unranked opponents and others had closer games than they should have or lost to ranked opponents. How things shake out will be anybody’s guess, but here are the results from a high-scoring week of college football.

The numbers on the left are the rankings in the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches’ Poll. (CBSSports does a preseason poll but then waits a few weeks to weigh in on a regular basis—or at least they did last year.) NR means the team is “Not Ranked” in that particular poll. The team’s current record is in parentheses following their name.

1/1 Alabama (2-0) The Tide headed to Texas looking to avenge their only loss in 2012 against the #6 Aggies of Texas A&M (2-1) and they succeeded 49-42. Johnny Manziel won the statistics battle with AJ McCarron but A&M lost the war. McCarron completed 20 of 29 passes for 334 yards and four TDs. Manziel went 28 of 39 for a career best 464 yards and five TDs but he also tossed two INTs. Manzil and company opened with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but Alabama came roaring back for a 28-14 halftime lead of their own. Then one of Manziel’s INTs was returned 73 yards by Vinnie Sunseri for a Bama TD and a 35-14 lead early in the second half. A&M would fight back but couldn’t quite overtake the Crimson Tide.

2/2 Oregon (3-0) The Ducks routed the Tennessee Volunteers (2-1) 59-14. The Vols scored first and last but in between it was all Ducks—and Marcus Mariota. Mariota completed 23 of 33 pass attempts for 456 yards and four TDs as Oregon rolled up 687 yards net offense against an out match Tennessee squad.

3/5 Clemson (2-0) The Tigers had this weekend off.

4/3 Ohio State (3-0) The Buckeyes rolled over the California Golden Bears (1-2). Fifth year senior Kenny Guiton started at quarterback for the Buckeyes in place of injured Braxton Miller. It was his first career start. No matter, he threw for 276 yards and four TDs.  That included a 90 yard pass to Devin Smith on Ohio’s second snap of the game. That set a school record as the longest play from scrimmage. Oh, and he also ran for 92 yards. Jordan Hall rushed 30 times for 168 yards and three TDs for OSU. Jared Goeff tossed two TD passes and Cal used a fake punt to set up a field goal to keep things close at the half—if 31-20 can be called close.

5/4 Stanford (2-0) The Cardinal flew east to face the Black Knights of Army (1-2) at West Point and had their hands full…for the first half. Stanford led by just seven points at the half but both Army starting running backs, Raymond Maples and Larry Dixon) were injured and missed much of the second half as the Cardinal won 34-20. As a result, Army “only” rushed for 284 yards (they were averaging 329 yards per game). Stanford had 203 yards rushing and another 205 passing (Army had just 49 yards through the air). Kevin Hogan went 11 of 18 for 188 yards, two TDs and one INT for the Cardinal.

6/6 Texas A&M (2-1) The Aggies lost to the Crimson Tide of Alabama (3-0) 49-42. See above for more.

7/7 Louisville (3-0) The Cardinals beat the Kentucky Wildcats (1-2) 27-13. The offense was slow to show up but show up it did with 339 second half yards. Teddy Bridgewater completed 16 of 28 passes for 250 yards and just one TD. Senorise Perry rushed for 100 yards and a TD on 11 carries for the Cardinals.

8/8 LSU (3-0) The Tigers extinguished the Kent State Golden Flashes (1-2) 45-13. It was over in the first quarter when LSU took a 21-0 lead. Jeremy Hill rushed for 117 yards and two TDs—before the half. He finished with 118 yards. Zach Mettenberger completed 13 of 18 passes for 264 yards and three TDs—two to Jarvis Landry.

9/10 Georgia (1-1) The Bulldogs had the weekend off.

10/9 Florida State (2-0) The Seminoles trounced the Nevada Wolf Pack (1-2) 62-7. Egad! Maybe this kid Jameis Winston is as good as all the hype would have you believe! All he did this week was complete 15 of 18 for two TDs and run for a third. He did prove human, however, as he threw an INT early in the second quarter that allowed Nevada to take a 7-3 lead. No matter. FSU went on to score 59 unanswered points and Winston was a cheerleader for the last 20 minutes of the game.

11/12 Michigan (3-0) The Wolverines hosted the Akron Zips (1-2) and almost gave them a nice present, too. The Wolverines needed to score a go-ahead TD with 2:49 left and then hold on for dear life to stop the Zips at the 4-yard line on the final series to win 28-24. Michigan’s Devin Gardner completed just 16 of 30 passes for 248 yards, one TD and three INTs—one of which was returned 27 yards by Justin March for an Akron TD. Akron’s Kyle Pohl went 25 of 49 for 311 yards, two TDs and two INTs—one in the end zone to foil a scoring drive. Akron also missed two field goal attempts in the first half which allowed the Wolverines to go into the locker room with a 7-3 lead.

12/11 Oklahoma State (3-0) the Cowboys routed the Lamar Cardinals of the FCS (1-2) 59-3. I guess it’s true that a shutout is difficult. My alma mater, Rutgers, has pitched one in each of the last eight season, however.) J.W. Walsh was just 17 of 30 for 181 yards, one TD and one INT in a little more than a half of work. Jeremy Smith rushed for just 40 yards but scored three TDs and Josh Stewart returned a punt 67 yards for a TD for the Cowboys.

13/14 South Carolina (2-1) The Gamecocks beat the Vanderbilt Commodores (1-2) 35-25. The game was never in doubt as South Carolina jumped out to a 21-0 in the first quarter. Vandy made it interesting in the fourth but it was too little way too late. Connor Shaw went 21 of 29 for 284 yards and three TDs. After the first Gamecock series ended with a Shaw to Nick Jones 12 yard TD and the second ended in a Mike Davis four yard TD run—second stringer Dylan Thompson came in for the Gamecocks. All he did was lead the team down field and scored on a three yard run of his own. Shaw came back and played most of the game before Thompson returned in the fourth quarter to mop up.

14/13 Oklahoma (3-0) The Sooners rolled over the Tulsa Hurricane (1-2) 51-20. Blake Bell—making his first career start—did pretty well. He completed 27 of 37 passes for 413 yards and four TDs as the Sooners had 607 net yards on offense. Guess he’ll start the next game, too.

15/18t Miami (Fla.) (2-0) The Hurricanes had the weekend off.

16/17 UCLA (2-0) The Bruins headed east to play the #23 Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-1). The Bruins’ were playing with the receiver Nick Pasquale’s death on their minds.  He was struck by a car while walking home a week earlier. A memorial service was held Sunday, the day after this game. No one could blame them for coming out flat or falling behind the Cornhuskers, 21-3. Nobody but the Bruins that is. They proceeded to run off the next 38 points to defeat Nebraska 41-21. Taylor Martinez completed 21 of 35 for 203 yards and three TDs for the Cornhuskers but Nebraska never threatened once the Bruins awoke. Brett Hundley completed 16 of 24 for 294 yards and three TDs and Jordan James rushed 22 times for 105 yards and one TD for the Bruins.

17/16 Northwestern (3-0) The Wildcats exploded for 24 points in the second quarter against the Western Michigan Broncos (0-3) and won 38-17. Treyvon Green started at running back for the Wildcats and rushed for 158 yards and two TDs. He WAS third on the depth chart but that may be changing. QB Kain Colter ran for 106 yards and a TD and threw for another. Tyler Van Tubbergen tossed two TD passes for the Broncos.

18/20 Florida (1-1) The Gators had the weekend off.

19/23 Washington (2-0) The Huskies beat the Fighting Illini of Illinois (2-1) 34-24. Slow start (0-0 first, 10-3 at the half) but the Huskies posted 21 points in the third quarter to the Illini’s 14 and held on for the win. Keith Price threw for 342 yards and two TDs and Bishop Sankey rushed for a career-high 208 yards and one TD. It wasn’t easy but the Huskies will take it. Washington had 615 net yards of offense on 85 plays to the Illini’s 327 yards on 62 plays but they also had two lost fumbles (Illinois had none but did toss one INT) and 12 penalties for 104 yards (Illinois had six for 65 yards). Quantity vs. Quality.

20/18t Wisconsin (2-1) The Badgers were upset by the Arizona State Sun Devils (2-0) late Saturday night in a close one, 32-30. The Badgers had the ball on the ASU 13 yard line but a mix up allowed the clock to run out before they could attempt a potential winning field goal. Taylor Kelly completed 29 of 51 pass attempts for 352 yards, one TD and one INT while Marion Grice rushed for 84 yards and four TDs on 22 carries for the Sun Devils. Melvin Gordon rushed for two TDs on 193 yards on 15 carries including an 80 yard scamper for the Badgers. Beau Allen recovered a fumble for a Badgers’ TD also.

21/21 Notre Dame (2-1) The Fighting Irish came from behind to defeat the Purdue Boilermakers (1-2) 31-24. The Irish trailed 17-10 heading into the fourth quarter before running off 21 unanswered points in the fourth to jump ahead of the Boilermakers, 31-17. Tommy Rees hit DaVaris Daniels twice (9 yards and 82 yards) and Bennett Jackson returned an interception 34 yards for the final Irish TD in that burst. Rob Henry completed 25 of 40 for 256 yards and three TDs for the Boilermakers.

22/22 Baylor (2-0) The Bears had the weekend off.

23/15 Nebraska (2-1) The Cornhuskers lost to the #16 UCLA Bruins (2-0) 41-21. See above the details.

24/24 TCU (1-2) The Horned Frogs dropped a 20-10 contest to the Texas Tech Red Raiders (3-0) on Thursday night. Trevone Boykin rushed for a career-high 101 yards, completed 23 of 36 pass attempts but tossed no TD passes and two INTs for the Frogs. Freshman walk-on Baker Mayfield started for the Red Raiders and went 21 of 40 for 216 yards, one TD but three INTs before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury. That left the winning drive in the hands of freshman Davis Webb who went 3 of 4 for 77 yards and one TD. The Raiders won despite having fewer first downs fewer rushing yards (207 to 43) more turnovers (3-2) and almost 12 minutes less in ball possession. 

25/25 Ole Miss (3-0) The Rebels beat the Texas Longhorns (1-2) 44-23. Texas couldn’t stop Jeff Scott who rushed for 164 yards and a TD and returned a punt 73 yards for another TD. Bo Wallace passed for two TDs. Texas did hold a 23-17 lead at the half, but Ole Miss outscored the Longhorns 27-0 after the break. Unless they find answers on defense, it’ll be a long season in Austin.

A Few Things to Do With Company at the Aerie

We had company starting Wednesday afternoon when a couple we met on our Alaska trip came west from near the Cape Cod Canal to spend a few days here at the Aerie and the environs. Terry and I took them up to Corning to visit a couple of museums and then west into Potter County to visit some of the Lumbermen's Museum and some of the natural sights of western Tioga County. Terry enjoyed having company because she got a chance to cook for someone other than me.

Thursday afternoon, after I finished my morning physical therapy, we went up to Corning, NY where we were able to stay indoors while it was raining--often quite hard.

The Corning Museum of Glass is, perhaps the premier museum for the history of glass in the world. The exhibits are fantastic and educational. One thing that's always enjoyable to see is one of the "gaffers" (glass blowers) demonstrate his or her skills.There's a lot of new construction going on and the museum will be expanding in the next year or so.

New glassblower's demonstration stage.

Cameras and large screen TVs (upper right) give you
an excellent view of the details of the gaffer's work.

Today they made a flower vase.

We also visited the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. Their special exhibit at this time was of classic National Geographic photos. It was nice but I still like the art from Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. (I did not take any photos at the Rockwell. I've done so in the past but just enjoyed walking around and looking at the paintings and bronzes this time out.)

Both museums required a lot  of walking and I put my new knees through the wringer. But there was more to come....

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Friday the weather forecast was a bit better and we went west where the museums and state parks would have us outdoors much of the time. It was still overcast and cloudy with a few sprinkles but it was better than it had been on Thursday. The ride along Route 6 was enjoyable by itself, but our westernmost destination, the Lumbermen's Museum was under construction for a huge expansion. The main exhibit building was closed. It hosed a great exhibit about the CCCs and was the major reason for our visit. *Sigh*

New addition on the museum should be finished next spring.

The out buildings were (mostly--the mess hall was locked) open and we still got a chance to walk around to see some of the equipment used during the heyday of lumber activity in Pennsylvania.

Sue & Bruce at the Lumbermen's Museum.

Small shuttle engine at the Lumbermen's Museum.

Shay engine used to haul logs out of the woods at the Lumbermen's Museum.

Sue & Terry on the Shay engine.

CCC Cabin & statue at the Lumbermen's Museum.

Leaving the Lumbermen's Museum, we continued west to Coudersport to have lunch and then turned back east to visit Leonard Harrison State Park and the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania. Even with the leaves still green, the view is magnificent. In about three weeks when the fall colors arrive, it will be even better.

View North from the view point.

View South from the view point.

View West from the view point.

Afterward we stopped at the Mansfield farmer's market and went back to the Aerie for dinner. As we were eating, the skies opened up and it poured--despite the earlier forecast that it wasn't supposed to rain again this weekend. It rained all Friday night and into the wee hours of Saturday. In all we got 0.25 inches of rain--that wasn't forecast or even recorded by weather.com. That was on top of the 1.15 inches we got Wednesday night and Thursday. We seem to have timed our touring pretty well.

Sue and Bruce left early Saturday to wend their way back east. The sky eventually cleared and the sun came out after noon.