Not Just A Hat Rack

Chris Klein Goal

Following up from Wednesday night, here's the video of Chris Klein's goal:

93rd minute bicycle kick!

Goals Don't Get Better Than This!

Chris Klein just scored the goal that they will talk about 10 years from now as the one that "put the SuperLiga tournament on the soccer landscape." Three minutes into second half injury time, he scored on a bicycle kick after several loose ball bounces inside the Pachuca box. The goal sent the game into two 15-minute overtimes to determine the SuperLiga champion - and the winner of $1,000,000.

I had watched Klein throughout the first half and felt he (and the Galaxy) were looking old and slow. Then Pete Vagenas scored an own-goal to give Pachuca its 1-0 advantage and David Beckham left the field with what looked like could be a serious knee injury. Could it get any worse?

Rather than fold, the Galaxy's veterans stepped up - big players coming up big in big games. Landon Donovan did everything in his power to carry the Galaxy to the title, twice forcing incredible saves by Pachuca's Calero that pushed shots just inches outside the goal. Then Cobi Jones came off the bench and brought his "I take my game up a notch against Mexican teams" attitude. Joe Cannon made a couple great saves. Even Abel Xavier jumped into the action, making one tackle to maintain possession at the edge of the Pachuca box that demonstrated impressive grit. But it was Klein, with tireless runs (including a full-length sprint to disrupt a Pachuca breakaway) and multiple dangerous crosses who refused to give up.

If the Galaxy don't find a way to win, the goal is relegated to "just another nice goal." But if they win, Klein deserves more than just his player's share of the $1,000,000. For those RSL fans who saw Andy Williams' 50+ yard goal vs KC tonight - it was nothing, nothing compared to Klein's magical, pressure-filled bike.

Postscript - Donovan and Vagenas had their PK's saved by Calero, but it was Xavier, missing the goal entirely, whose missed PK handed the victory to Pachuca. Oh well. Still, watch Chris Klein's goal. I'll like to MLS or YouTube tomorrow if I find it.

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I had no intention of posting about soccer for awhile, but since Klein inspired me, here's one in another vein entirely. Here the Catania coach takes issue with the Parma coach's slow departure from the field after being ejected. Watch to the end, funny stuff. (Who wouldn't want to see Steve Nicol and Sigi Schmid kicking one another on an MLS sideline?)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=w4zda9ju894

Reflection

I think that Tuesday is the cruelest day to Ironman participants. Mrs. 'Hat Rack will walk around with a bounce in her step today, medal around her neck, a true feeling of invicibility. The long journey home begins with 3,000 others on the roads and at the airport.

Come Tuesday, the harsh realization sets in that the rest of the world has not been quite as focused on your singularly lofty and personal achievement. Everyone else went to work on Monday morning, deposited children at school, resumed their household chores and, if they are lucky, fit in 45 minutes of exercise somewhere along the way.

- Ironman Canada start (from Triathlete.com)

Before we descend there, however, a few more reflections on the magnificence that is Ironman. The year-long training (mental and physical) almost always pays off. If you have survived training relatively unscathed physically, you have almost no doubt once you step to the start line that you will finish - barring unforeseen circumstances (mechanical failure, freak swim accident, serious injury). If you swim off-course, have three flats, strain a muscle running - most Ironman participants will find a way to finish. Crawling, hobbling, often crying - if that's what it takes.

Culminating with your approach to the start line, you've chosen a race strategy. "I'm going to race hard - no matter how much it hurts," or "I'm going to enjoy every step of the way, the journey is the reward," etc. In my case, Ironman Coeur d'Alene was a journey of self-discovery. If so many other "normal" (a relative term) people can conquer this race, might I have it inside me? Do I want to know if I have what it takes? Will I persevere? Might I quit? How do I motivate myself?

I have mostly run marathons for the cause - the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I like to run. I like knowing I can run faster than a lot of people. But the training, the sacrifice, the cost - they have to be really worth something in my mind. To bring awareness and raise funds for the Leukemia Society has been a more than worthy training mission for eight years.

But I did Ironman for selfish reasons. It was all about me. What am I made of? The culmination was a self-realization that has given me confidence in every aspect of my life. Ironman made me a better husband, father and employee. I chafe when limits are placed on me - because Ironman demonstrated to me that when I am in control of my surroundings, I can and will accomplish anything I set my mind to. That's a powerful feeling.

- Cyclists tackle Ironman Canada (from Triathlete.com)

Mrs. 'Hat Rack loves to cycle - the foundation of many triathletes. Swimmers and cyclists think they have found the ideal sport with myriad benefits - but they're outnumbered by legions of runners and joggers who think a 3-hour marathon is a supreme accomplishment in life. So, as Ironman lore goes, a swimmer, cyclist and runner got together in Hawaii about 30 years ago to test one another. I'm certain they never envisioned the lifestyle they created. So since Mrs. 'Hat Rack loves to cycle (100 miles on a Saturday is fun for people like her), and has been immersed in marathons with the same motivation as me - triathlons were a natural fit. (I still remember her in a copper-colored running top at Mrs. T's Triathlon in Chicago - maybe the first Olympic distance race she ever did. She is still irked I left before the end.) When you do more than one or to tri's, it's only a matter of time before you encounter people who go longer... Half-Ironmans. Full Ironmans. Off she went to Penticton in 2000 to register, and again in 2001 to compete.

Some naysayers suggest it's an unhealthy event - just too much wear and tear on the human body. That doesn't explain 77-year-old Sister Madonna from Spokane competing yet again yesterday. It doesn't explain 20-time finishers or the 2,000+ people who signed up this morning - filling up next year's Ironman Canada already. (My wife BETTER NOT BE one of them!) Is it hard? Many good things in life are. Is it taxing on your loved ones? Yes, but you can either fight it or embrace it.

Why does someone do it twice, though? That's a question she'll have to answer!

Any way you look at it, the Ironman Summer is over. From Moab to Burley, East Canyon to Emigration Canyon, Mrs. 'Hat Rack has traversed the intermountain west in search of her goal. It was my greatest summer also - full-time, stay-at-home Dad, chef, bike mechanic, driver and motivator. Although Mom missed a few family activities, we incorporated the race into our lives and thrived.

Lucca is off for his first day of kindergarten. Dec starts preschool Tuesday. Sophie's going to love the individual attention. And the 'Lil 'Hat Racks know Mom ran a BIG race yesterday. They know she "won" and will bring home a medal. They know to say, "Have a good run" when she puts on her running shoes. They echo me, "Be safe!" when she goes out on the bike. They love it when Mom's lap swimming coincides with their swim lessons. And they don't mind weekends in Burley, Idaho - watching Mom jump into the Snake River, waving at Mom as she crosses it on her bicycle - as long as there's some park time and/or a construction site to watch, too.

On balance, I think, that's not a bad thing.

Safe travels, Mrs. 'Hat Rack. We'll be at the airport when you get home Tuesday night.

- Women's Champ Lisa Bentley (from Ironman.com)

RACE DAY!

11:45pm: Go watch the last hour of finishers! These are the people who really, really, really need the support and prayers. I, however, am calling it a night. I'll have some final reflections tomorrow. Teri called and sounds as exuberant as you would expect.

First day of kindergarten for Lucca tomorrow - life rolls on!

9:20pm: 13:17:48 - beats her 2001 race by 1 hour, 14 minutes and 23 seconds - and beats my 2003 race by 14 minutes. I guess she followed the mantra I suggested last night, "Must Beat Steve!"

9:17pm: Teri Pastorino, from Utah, You are an Ironman!

8:48pm: The words "You are an Ironman" still give me chills. I had the special privilege of carrying one-year-old Lucca over the finish line with me at Coeur d'Alene. Teri says I have to do another one so I can do the same with the other kids. For the record... no chance. Once is enough.

Anyways, it's great watching all these people finish! Teri should be done in the next 30 minutes...

8:23pm: Just sat down to watch the finish line - and I got to see Lauren finish at 12:22:40. She didn't set a PR, but all things considered, I think she'll be happy with that time. Six years ago, Teri and Lauren finished the run together... discussing in the final feet of the race who would cross the finish line first, so they could each get their own finisher's picture. Lauren - We're proud of you, too!

If you don't get tears in your eyes watching these people finish, you are one cold person. Everyone should watch - it's inspiring!!

7:30pm: Teri's time is finally posted. 2hours 20 minutes for the first 13.1 miles. She tends to be very consistent on her runs. If she can match her first half with another 2:20, she would finish at 8:55pm mountain time... set a PR (personal record) by 1 and 1/2 hours, earn family bragging rights AND, it might even be about her fastest marathon ever. But there's a lot of pavement to cover still. The prayer to the bike-mechanic gods worked earlier today. Let's pray to the patron saint of ankle ligaments and assorted joints for this final stretch. Thanks everyone for following along and sending emails, calls and comments. I've got to try to get the kids to bed so I can watch the finish. What a day it's shaping up to be. Let's bring Teri home!!!

7:00pm: Teri is past the halfway mark in the run. Matt left a message that she looks great but misses her family. As soon as I see her official time, I will give another estimate of finish time.

6:40pm: Lauren has rounded the race midpoint and is heading home. Her 2:15 half-marathon is awesome. She could break 12 hours if she keeps this up - I'm impressed!

5:28pm: Teri is probably 5-6 miles into the course. It heads out for 13.1 miles along Skaha Lake, then retraces its route to the start. Matt will call me with an update at the halfway mark. If all goes according to form, Teri's marathon will be just about 5 hours... a few minutes under if it's a particularly good night of running. That would put her at the finish line between 9pm and 9:30p mountain time... (8-8:30pm if you're in Pacific time - parents ;)... I will try to revise that time after I hear from Matt.

By the way, he saw her just before the bike finish and she was doing fantastic!

4:21pm - TERI IS OFF THE BIKE! She biked 112 miles in 6:30:53, shaving 45 minutes off her time from 2001! I'm so proud (can you tell?!) She also has shaved about 2 1/2 minutes off in her transitions... so, cross your fingers, if she has any kind of a decent run, she will substantially improve on her previous Ironman.

She passed about 475 people on the bike (nothing beats that feeling!) and sits in 1476th place - almost exactly in the middle of the pack. She will be psyched! GOOOO TERRRRRRIIIII!

4:20pm - Kiernan Doe of New Zealand has won the race in 8:32:45... He is a first-time Ironman winner, headed to the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii later this year. Cool.

4:00pm - They are interviewing a Seattle woman cheering on 17 teammates from Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team in Training who are competing today. Most people know that Teri and I met when we were both training for the Anchorage Marathon in 1999 - and the cause remains dear to our heart 8+ years later. We've raised more than $50,000 for LLS in that time, and both of us swell with emotion everytime the Team in Training story is told. We remind you that the swimming, biking and running is NOTHING compared to the suffering and battling that children and adults endure when fighting blood-related cancers. I am sure that Teri will summon courage and strength from people like her training partner in Bountiful (you know who you are!), whose mother is fighting leukemia as we speak.

3:50pm: Lauren is off the bike... 6:05:35 total bike time, or 18.4mph. I think this bodes well for Teri, who is likely not far behind. In 2001, Teri's bike was 7:15:06 - so if she finishes in the next hour, it will be an improvement. Fingers crossed!

3:45pm: Just waiting for word (online or from Matt) that Teri has finished the bike. Also, I am stunned to learn that Teri did the 2001 race, not 2002. How quickly we lose track of time! She swam in 1:25:32 in 2001 - so one minute slower this year.

2:00pm: Matt left a message around 1pm that he saw Teri at the 56-mile mark of the bike and she was smiling, waving and calling it a great day so far. She was climbing up hill at the same time! Sounds good. It's amazing to me that the pros are off the bike (4 hours, 38 minutes for one of the top males on the bike) and well into their marathons already. Once Teri is in off the bike, we'll be able to begin to project approximate finish times... but you never know...

12:00pm: Wow. First 40 miles at nearly 18 mph. She's ready to climb!

11:00am: Talked to Lauren's boyfriend Matt, who is on the course. Both Teri and Lauren headed out of transition on bikes in good shape. (Teri made up about a minute on Lauren in transition... and is about five minutes behind her).) Matt is headed to legendary Richter Pass to watch them climb the race's most famous hill. With all of Teri's training in Utah's canyons, we have no doubt she'll eat it up. Pray to the bike-mechanic-gods that she has no technical difficulties. (Back here in Utah, I'm taking the kids out for a little while... next update about 2pm probably.)

9:30am: 1:26:54 for the swim. Lauren is in at 1:20 or so. Off to bike for 7 hours or so!... I think Teri will be very satisfied with the swim.

9:00am: One of the first amateurs out of the water was from Utah... small world... See the first comment below for a quick link to the Ironman athlete tracker.

8:05am: Race is underway. You don't always start an Ironman with a time goal - just finishing safely and healthy. But Teri did this race in 14 hours, 30 minutes in 2002 and we are hoping she will better that. If shes finishes before nightfall (8:30pm?) - that would be phenomenal.

7:45am (MT): Teri just called. She and Lauren were donning their wetsuits and headed to the beach to start today's odyssey. The 25th Anniversary Ironman Canada Triathlon. A year in the making.

It's overcast - shouldn't be hotter than 70-75 degrees today. Perfect weather. Follow all day here or at www.ironman.com. The pros are starting. Go Teri!

All Over But the Shouting

Exactly one year ago, Mrs. 'Hat Rack was camped out on the sidewalk in Penticton, BC. She had flown from SLC to Spokane, Wash., rented a car, driven 300 miles and rolled out her sleeping bag. All this just for the privilege of paying $500 the next morning for one of about 3,000 coveted slots in tomorrow's Ironman Canada triathlon. (These things aren't cheap, or easy.)

Last night, the Lil 'Hat Racks and I trekked into the SLC wilderness, pitched our tent, rolled out our sleeping bags and camped - in our backyard. Shhhh! - two out of three are still asleep here at 8am.

We talked to Mom last night and are really missing her - and the fact that we can't watch her leap into Okanagan Lake at 7am tomorrow... cruise the city streets, most of the way back to the USA and legendary Richter Pass on her bicycle... and finally agonize with here every step of the way through her marathon. She's missing us too - consuming her final 48 hours of preparation with easy swims, a quick jaunt on her Cervelo bike to make sure its ready to go, and countless other check and double-check processes. One year of training, planning, early mornings, prep races, protein shakes, energy bars and 3,000-calorie-consuming training sessions are done. It's all over but the shouting. Check in regularly on Sunday for updates. (Photo courtesy: www.rice.edu/ ~jenky/photo.html)

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Meantime, as September dawns, I invite you to flip to page 162 in United Airlines' Hemispheres magazine if you're traveling... a very short article about the NBA D-League Showcase in Boise in January is the first piece of published writing that I've ever been paid for. I'm a professional writer! (I find it interesting that mega-blogger, Dooce.com, wrote recently with similar enthusiasm for getting her first article in Real Simple magazine... it's a rush!)

Anyways, it's the first of 8 stories I've written for four different publications this summer. There is MUCH MUCH more to come in the coming weeks and I'll humbly point them out if 'Hat Rack visitors want to track them down.

Along these lines, I have accepted a contract with Fodor's Travel Guides to write the 2008 Pocket Guide to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks. My responsibilities are for Yellowstone NP and West Yellowstone, Mont. I will spend at least two weeks of September researching in the park. I can't wait! More on this in the days to come. (If you have Yellowstone experiences - good or bad - I want to hear about them!)

And on the last writing notes, I'm in conversations with www.snowlion.com to potentially do some work for them. They are a SLC-based adventure trip planner that takes the most incredible trips to 15 Asian countries annually. Anyone gone on a trip with them?

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Check back all weekend... GO TERI GO!

Canadian Doctors, Dead Wrestlers, Deer Valley... Once

Wow, busy week - and I'm not even the one drving half the night to a small town in British Columbia.

Mrs. Hat Rack departed this morning - sent away with bg "good luck!" signs on the door, porch and car courtesy of some of her training friends. She flew to Vancouver via San Francisco... before a 250+ mile drive tonight to Penticton for Sunday's Ironman Canada race. Not to sound alarm bells, but she slipped on her suitcase at SLC Airport at 7am today and sprained an ankle ligament. Worried, and slightly distraught, she soldiered on. While she was on the ground in San Francisco, we found her a walk-in clinic to go visit in Penticton tomorrow - and then, even better, a walk-in clinic in Vancouver Airport, where she had 4 hours to kill waiting for LL, her traveling and racing companion. That's where we got the "only one ligament sprained" disagnosis... and she's flush with prescriptions, bandages, referrals and a glint of optimism. Unlike in the movie Sicko, however, the great treatment by Canadian doctors is hardly free. Anyways, one ligament can't stop my wife after a year of training and planning. Onward!

So I took the 'Lil Hat Racks up to Deer Valley tonight to hear a friend of mine from college, Mary Beth Maziarz, and her band Wild Honey. They performed at the Deer Valley bandshell - and I really liked her stuff. She sounds a lot like Mary Chapin Carpenter... I met her husband (another NU grad) and saw their little baby... MB and I chatted briefly afterwards and made plans to catch up in the near future. Very cool.

Two nights ago, we FINALLY saw a movie, ONCE, that has been on our list for two months. Sundance's Managing Director, Jill Miller, calls it her "favorite movie EVER" - and it didn't disappoint. It's a modern-day musical romance, featuring an Irish busker named Glen Hansard and a Czech flower vendor, Marketa Irglova, meeting and finding harmony in music on the streets of Dublin. It earns four stars in my book - but doesn't edge Cinema Paradiso as my "favorite movie EVER."

Ok, finally, the dead wrestlers story. Frank Deford had an eye-opening story about deaths in pro wrestling on NPR this morning... Take a listen.

Ironman Week & The Fire comes to SLC

For the third time in 'Hat Rack family history, it's Ironman Week. On Saturday, Mrs. 'Hat Rack shipped her bicycle to Penticton, British Columbia. Wednesday morning, she flies to Vancouver to meet up with her Ironwoman co-conspirator, Loquacious Lauren (LL). Just after midnight on Thursday morning, they'll arrive in this farming community that is central to the Okanagan Valley wine- and peach-growing agricultural district. Sandwiched between two small lakes, the northernmost of which hosts the Ironman swim, and some impressive mountains - the setting is absolutely stunning for the 25th annual Ironman Canada.

Five years ago, during the 20th running, Mrs. 'Hat Rack mastered the same course with a steady 2.4-mile swim, a relaxed 112-mile bike (including two significant mountain passes) and a determined 26.2-mile jaunt through the flat town and adjacent lake. All prognosticators suggest she'll improve upon the 14 hours and +/- 30 minutes that it took her in the 2002 edition of the race - thanks mostly to the ideal (aka hilly) terrain for cycling training here in Utah.

One year later, I covered the same distance in the inaugural running of Ironman Coeur d'Alene. For the record, family bragging rights go to Mrs. 'Hat Rack in swimming and cycling, while running has sort of been my forte. But this week is all apart her, not me.

With her bike gone and her training drastically tapered, Mrs. 'Hat Rack will spend the week bouncing off walls, trying to avoid unlucky cracks in the sidewalk, and knitting away the hours until nearly 3,000 participants step into Okanagan Lake at 7am on Sunday morning. At this point, the race is a mental event - as nearly one entire year of training has ensured that her body is ready. Irrational fears like, "what if I get kicked in the swim" or "what if the derailleur falls off my bike" - but the reality is a surprisingly high number of racers who make to the start line on Sunday morning FINISH.

To finish is to win, so keep her in your thoughts all week - and all day Sunday. She thrives on, and truly appreciates, all the positive vibes.

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I visited with friends from both of my MLS lives this weekend as the Chicago Fire visited. For a team that came to town with many of the same ills as RSL (new coach, new players, lack of scoring), Chicago gelled quite well on Saturday night. Cuautemoc Blanco and Paolo Wanchope are the latest players to demonstrate how the talent level has taken a quantum leap in MLS this season. They also have an impact center back on the way this week from Colombia. Everyone is raving about Juan Carlos Osorio's studious and unique approch to guiding an MLS team. In a model more common outside of the USA, for example, Fire players and team staff eat EVERY meal together on the road. He's implemented a staggering number of new training techniques (including practicing discretely and briefly at West High School on SATURDAY MORNING before the game) - and he relies on technology and video innovation as much as any coach in MLS history. (Think Bob Bradley but even more so!) My prediction is that it clicks - and Chicago is a dangerous team down the stretch. Time will tell, in the long run, if his changes are isolated to Chicago - or a change in mentality sweeps MLS over the next few years.

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I caught up with various players and front office members from both organizations. Suffice it to say the culture, tradition and mentality of success that Chicago carries are a product of 10 years of consistency - something that RSL has unfortunately struggled with in its three years to date.

Consistency is a ironic term, however. Chicago had a seven-year journey to stadium ground-breaking, (compared with two for RSL) rife with false starts, ups and downs - including one winter where there was consideration to put the team on hiatus for one season. The Fire has weathered two coaching changes. The team had to ask its fan base to endure a 40-MILE relocation for two seasons - to a Division III football stadium. The Fire launched in the same year that Jordan won an NBA title, Sammy Sosa hit 66 home runs and the Blackhawks made the playoffs - and Chicago is historically known as a Bears' town first and foremost.

Wherein lies the consistency then? Assistant coach Denis Hamlett and team administrator Ron Stern were two of the team's first hires and have been there ever since. Chris Armas and CJ Brown have played every one of the Fire's 10 seasons. Former GM Peter Wilt created a legacy of professionalism that mostly endures today. And last, but perhaps most importantly, credit also goes to team owner Phil Anschutz - a rock of stability quietly behind everything. It will be interesting to see what the next 10 years hold for the Fire - as new ownership is slated to take over the team this Fall.

Empty Seats

The USA demolished New Zealand 6-1 in women's soccer at Soldier Field yesterday before 54,485... empty seats. U.S. Soccer reports the game attracted 7,015 sun-seekers on a pretty 84-degree day.

Wow. How far has interest in women's soccer fallen? Or is this a case of USSF being disinterested in promoting the women... eager to please a local venue (plausible in light of today's announcement of a USA-Brazil friendly there in September)... or stubborn refusal to consider other opportunities to build interest and generate dollars?

RSL tried repeatedly to bring a Women's National Team game to Rice-Eccles Stadium in the past three years. USSF's all-Sunday TV contract with ESPN was problem, but I am convinced that this market would have turned out in strong number to see the USA - not unlike 2003 (I think?) when a crowd of 20,000+ indicated to MLS and many others that maybe Utah was a soccer market.

Attendance for US women has deteriorated for several years now, but Utah is one market where Abby and company will still sell.

Lil Ol' Utah

Utah passed Vermont last Winter to become the third busiest state in the nation for skiing, trailing only Colorado and California. A half million or so of those skiers, including me once, went to The Canyons - a relatively new resort on the edge of Park City closest to I-80. The resorts are notoriously private about their "attendance" but the safe bet is that Park City, Deer Valley and Snowbird round out the top four.

I mention these because skiing (and the 2002 Winter Olympics) has finally put Utah on the map for something other than the state church, polygamy and the Golden Spike.

I've been talking to a lot of winter sports industry leaders for a series of stories I'm writing that will be published in various publications this Fall. (The Hat Rack will alert the world when they're available at your newstand or in your in-flight magazine. Everyone is bullish on Utah, where skiing, skating, sledding and jumping are more and more a vital part of the state's economy. (It's a billion dollars plus part of the economy!)

Anyways, this humble state with fewer people than Chicago had ZERO perception outside if the USA when the 2002 Salt Lake Bid Committee conducted an international survey in the 1980's during one of the state's many bids. Zero. Not good, not bad. No perception.

So, to attract 4,000,000 skier-days (the state's population is about 2.5 million) means the secret is out. Utah really has the "greatest snow on earth" with lots of science to back up that claim. There are 11 ski resorts within one hour's drive of Salt Lake City International airport. Nothing short of global warming or a national depression should stop this state's ski industry.

Which is good news, great news, actually.

Utah needs some good news. Because for the second time this year, the state is cloaked in sorrow. In February, it's was a renegade teenager killing six people in the shopping mall across from Real Salt Lake's offices. This week, it's the plight of six minors buried since Monday in a coal mine in central Utah. In crisis (which seems all too commonplace here for some reason), the state's residents seem to band together and support one another to an extent I don't recall seeing anywhere else. Hardly a night passes on the evening news without the establishment of some memorial fund at a local bank. Unfortunately, I think the funds are a reflection of the shallow social-service net to help this state's disadvantaged - and a deference to the state church which has significant welfare programs of its own for the 70+% of the state that adheres to it.

So, Utah copes and attempts a heroic rescue of its miners. The nation watches. Everyone prays for good news. More as the story develops, including thoughts on the two trapped Mexican nationals, whose plight has penetrated even the state's conservative, anti-immigration sentiment.

Photos: Lee Cohen/Ski Utah & Rick Bowmer/Salt Lake Tribune/The Associated Press

I'm Back.

Apologies to my loyal (and random) visitors, but I've been away. The Hat Racks went to Yellowstone via Jackson, and returned via West Yellowstone, although not until I caught the first 70 minutes of RSL-Houston on Satuday night. (Yup, have to admit it was the first RSL game I've ever left early... I certainly didn't see that fantastic Findley finish coming - but I was home to watch it live.)

So while we're counting buffalo and elk, musing over multi-colored hot springs and hanging out with about 30 Hat Rack relatives, my good friend and one of my mentors, John Ellinger, resigned from RSL. Good for him, I say. I haven't talked to him recently enough but I am sure he has some great opportunities in front him from his legions of friends in the soccer business. John is a quality human being who is respected universally by players and coaches at all levels - and I expect he'll fluorish in his next endeavor. His skin is too thick to worry about what his critics will say, but let me be the first to suggest that I think he will silence them in his next gig (without even knowing what it is yet.) Good luck, John.

So, back to family. (Indulge me!) I have two sisters... and we have three cousins close in age, courtesy of Grandpa Hat Rack's sister. It always felt like we were a small family (by Italian standards!), even though we did have a raft of second cousins and extended relatives. The six of us cousins (Steve, Shannon, Susan... Sean, Natalya, Lisa) probably got together a dozen times in my childhood as our parents shuttled us to Africa, Europe, Mexico and South America - and if we all happened to be in the USA at the same time, they were in California and we were in Washington D.C. I cherish the times the six of us had together and the permanence that our family's kinship had during what felt like a very impermanent time for me.

We managed to get FIVE of us together again in Yellowstone. Plus, our kids, our parents and a couple of our parents' cousins. My younger sister couldn't make it to Yellowstone, but she did visit SLC last week so that OUR family could be together for a couple days.

Anyways, all six cousins are married now. Five have children and the sixth is due to have her first child next month. For the record, we had nine kids in the campground under 13 years old - Tazio, Arianna, Bianca, Alex, Lucca, Declan, Sophia, Christian and Alaina (Ally). We missed only Robert and Abigail (the oldest and second-youngest of the second cousins). With Susan and Lisa both pregnant, by the next time we attempt this sort of family reunion, there should be at least 13 kids coming together.

It was chaotic and my kids had some issues with sleeping from 1am-5am. The concept of "the bathroom is not just outside your bedroom door" did not sink in the first night. We took the world's longest pit stop in Shelley, Idaho today. We were inundated with so much rain outside Jackson the other day that we had to pull over. I forgot the pancake mix (and about 12 other camping essentials). Mrs. 'Hat Rack missed a bunch of workouts. There wasn't nearly enough time to catch up with so many family that I hadn't seen in so long. It was a recipe for ... bliss.

NOTHING compares to family time and I return to Utah with a profound sense of satisfaction that the SIX of us who used to run around campgrounds in California, skateboard down Calmar Avenue in Oakland, compete in every imaginable sport, pastime and childhood dare - well, we're a pretty fine bunch these days, if I can say so myself. Well-intentioned parents holding down cool jobs (except me!), raising curious kids and trying to hold on to a piece of something permanent in an impermanent world.

Special thanks to Ranger Sean for hosting us in America's finest park... to Lisa and Tim for making the trek from Juneau to be there... to Mateo for rescuing Karen & Jim from the rented VW Bus when the clutch failed on the way out of the Bay Area... to Grandpa 'Hat Rack for not letting us forget that HISTORY WAS BEING MADE at Pac Bell Park last night... and to Bob, Fran, Craig, Robin, Lori, Kevin, Karen, Jim, Antonella and Francesca - because 28 family members, buffalo burgers and fresh-caught Alaska king crab is an incredible way to spend a few days in the woods.

I'll try to put down some more coherent thoughts in the days to come... I'm thinking about the coal miners and their families suffering in central Utah... I saw Ryan Adams and the Cardinals last week at Red Butte ... I've taken several different friends and family to RSL games recently... I want to espouse on John Ellinger's resignation and the dismantling of RSL as I have known it... This and more, in due time.

PS - How about a prayer for a little baby named Beckham?