Moon halo and more?

Things are getting back to normal around the old Journal as the LCT hangover fades away.

Yep, covered 20 games during the LCT last week. Four games a day times five (I took Wednesday off for the consolation games to rest my aching back and old knees).

I was close to being basketball’d out (notice basketball’d is not an actual word). After watching four games a day, it seemed like I was watching something on the DVR on Tuesday as I only saw two games. My, but it went by almost as fast as shows do when I can skip through the commercials and halftime stuff.

After the game was over, I was alerted to a halo (not the game, a halo) around the moon. I found this interesting and wondered how many people would see this as a sign for some end of the world crud or that…never mind. That would have been rude and we’re all about not being rude on this here blog!

Several people suggested that I take a picture of the halo. I tried, but it wasn’t light enough to show up. I looked up moon halo as a public service and found the following information:

The familiar 22° halo around the Sun or Moon occurs because of refraction in tiny hexagonal ice crystals in the air. With the 60° apex angle of the prism formed by extending the sides of the crystal and the index of refraction of ice (n=1.31) one can calculate the angle of minium deviation to be 21.84°.

I did not know that! Who says reading my blog isn’t educational?

Anyway, it was rather cool, but it was also cool outside and I did not spend near the time I would admire it longer if it was a balmy 60 degrees, but then I don’t think the halo would have appeared.

It is now time to switch subjects. We need to figure out how to get a gym like the Stubblefield Center in LeFlore County. Of course, it would have to pay for itself, but in addition to the county tournament, it could host district tournaments, regionals and areas, plus concerts, graduations, etc.

Prior to actually attending a game there, I was not in favor of the LeFlore County Tournament being played gasp, out of LeFlore County. But for the players and fans, it was a big-time environment.

I do hate the money leaving the county to be spent in Arkansas. But until we get something similar in the county, the semifinals and finals should be played there. There were record crowds on Saturday with over 2,600 for the girls’ finals and 2,800 for the boys.

We used to cram the fans in at CASC’s gym, but never got close to this number. Plus everybody had a seat during the past two years, at least those who chose to sit, and it didn’t feel like a bunch of sardines crammed together in a can and was a nice and cool environment.

Short of playing in the big house at the state tournament, nothing I have seen has topped this environment. I worry that Spiro will try to hold the finals in its new gym next year.

Spiro’s gym is awesome, but can only seat 1,500 unless some portable bleachers are arranged on the stage at one end. If they can seat 1,800, that would still be 1,000 less than attended the finals this year. Hmm, 1,000 times $5 a pop equals $5,000.

Sure, the rent on the Stubblefield Center is $1,000 a day, but that is still a loss of $4,000.

Enough for today. As Spock the sharp-eared one used to say, “Live Long and Prosper”!