21st

Jeff went to a seeding meeting for all the 6th grade basketball coaches around the state (but mostly from around the metro area) to rank the teams for the upcoming state tournament. After being probably 125 out of about 150 teams last year, we were happy to see our team has moved up to being ranked 21st this year. That's 21st out of ALL the 6th grade teams, A and B and C, that participate in the state tournament. The Woodbury A team was one of the top five teams and were placed in the bracket with the top 16 teams. The Woodbury B team is in the second 16-team bracket.

Needless to say, we're feeling more positve about our team's prospects in the state tourney compared to last year, when:

1. We were cut from the first state tournament after we lost our third game in the final 45 seconds. We were AHEAD by 5 points with 45 seconds left in the game... and lost. Ouch.

2. We placed dead last in the second state tournament. (In case you're wondering, the two state tourneys are run by two different basketball organizations). Here's the kicker with these tournaments: if you win a couple games and then lose, you're out of the tournament. But if you lose your first game and keep on losing, you play MORE games than if you'd won the first few games. It seems like a cruel and unusual punishment, especially when you're driving to the far opposite end of the seven-county metro area to compete in the loser's (excuse me, "friendship") bracket for a second day.

Incidentally, the second state tournament last year was when Jeff had his vertigo attack (or "vertical" as he's prone to calling it, although there's nothing vertical in his posture when this happens). We had to leave the team to play - and lose - their second game in Delano while I drove Jeff to the emergency room in nearby Buffalo for the IV medications he needed. Wheeling him into the emergency room, holding a bag of vomit, seemed like an appropriate finale for that weekend.