I can breathe again....

The Mighty Mighty Nuggets played their third game last night. It was a nail biter. I am just glad it is over.

There is a bit of history to be told about this match-up. Sure, the game was about the kids, blah blah blah. But, this ran deeper than the kids. There is some, um, history between the coaches. We knew when we first got the Mighty Mighty Nuggets schedule this year, that this was going to be the week of the Thomas/Otherguy showdown. Walking into the gym with mom and Emma Kate, I could almost see the tumbleweeds blowing by, the dust in my eyes and the tune that always plays when two cowboys face eachother in ol' Westerns.

On one side, Coach OtherGuy. Coach OtherGuy coaches his own son, who used to play for Mikey T in travel league. Mikey T beat Caoch Otherguy's rec team last year. Then, during travel ball, Coach Otherguy didn't like the way MikeyT coached. And so the rivalry was born.

There has been a lot more, but there is no need to go into that on the blogosphere. It should be left on the court, so............back to the gym.............

I was never worried about Mikey T's team, nor his temper. But Coack Otherguy can push Mikey T's buttons like no other. So I watched the game with bated breath. It was a defensive match-up and the score at half-time was a very low 11-6 (Nuggets leading). Coach Otherguy tried to call out MikeyT on some rules violations, but he was wrong. And so, the game continued.

Not one single point was scored in the third quarter. Not one. Either team, not one point. Mikey T and Unc looked relaxed and in control. I was shaking like a leaf. Spectators were pouring in waiting for the next game to start. A lady I have never seen before sat behind me and started making comments about Mikey T's coaching style. It was humorous. She would be devastated to know that she was talking about Mikey T right behind Mikey T's wife and biggest fan. But, I bit my tongue.

At one point, Mikey T and Coach Otherguy went from calm to, um, not so calm as the ref tried to decide if Coach Otherguy's son had five fouls, thus sending him to the bench. Mikey T said he did. Unc said he did. Coach Otherguy said he did not. As we waited, the two men showed their teeth like a scene from Twilight's New Moon. Mikey T was the over-protective Werewolf whose only mission was to protect his team's lead. Coach Otherguy was the bad vampire who just wanted blood and was getting desperate as the clock ticked away. It was tense.

The ref ruled. Coach Otherguy's son has five fouls. He's out. I held my breath as we all watched him walk to the bench. But there was time left to play and the Mighty Mighty Nuggets were holding on to a 12-8 lead.

Then, the Mighty Mighty Nuggets superstar player hit a three point basket and put the lead to seven with less than a minute to go. The clock ticked by as our players kept the other team in a desperate tizzy. The buzzer finally sounded and it was over. The Nuggets had won again, Mikey T did not get a technical and Coach Otherguy was miserable.

Thankfully, it does not look like we will have to play them again this season. Mikey T's team is the only team in the league with a 3-0 start.

Oh, and for the lady sitting behind me who said my Husband coaches like Bobby Knight, ma'am you have no idea what you are talking about. Mikey T is a passionate coach, yes. But Mikey T has never mistreated a player. He cares more about his players more than a lot of the parents. He knows how the kids are doing in school (remember, this is not a school league), he knows their family story, he knows their addresses. He personally picks them up from home or school if they have no transportation. They have slept in our home; they are friends with his daughters. Like I said, he is a passionate coach who loves the game, but loves his players more. But he cannot tolerate bad refs or bad coaches, and he will let them know it.