Breakfast with the TWU gymnastics team...

Greetings from the fair burg of New Haven, Connecticut!

Well, the first competition of the 2009 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships - the team semifinals - is just over eight hours away! The Pioneer ninjas seem relaxed and ready to go. That's a good thing!

I just had breakfast with a few of our gymnasts - Brittany Parker, Alexa Brennan, and Marcella Fallon. Brittany and Alexa concentrated on the baseball highlights being shown on ESPN News on the TV in the dining room. Brittany was bummed that Jon Lester and the Red Sox got drilled last night. Alexa was quick to point out that the Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki hit another homerun on Wednesday. She's a huge Rockies, or more specifically, a huge Troy Tulowitzki fan, so she likes to keep up with all the action. Marcella seemed content just to listen to the baseball banter. Typical Marcella - always happy!

After I finished eating I walked over to visit with the Kingsbury crew. Jen, of course, is a senior on our TWU team. This weekend will mark the end of her outstanding gymnastics career. Jen's mother, Lori and her twin sister Jamie (bet you didn't know that Jen had a twin, see the info you get when you read this blog) were sitting with her, sharing a bit of family time. Because it's Easter weekend, Jen and bought a package of Peeps and an Easter card to give to her sister.

So when I sat down, I commented on the fact that it was nice of Jen to get a gift for her twin. The Kingsbury sisters kind of giggled and said the Peeps were not to eat. Me - slightly confused now - asked "then what are they for? Come to find out, it's a Kingsbury tradition (OK maybe a Jamie Kingsbury tradition) to find creative ways to destroy Peeps at Easter season. Jamie amuses herself - and Jen - by bringing the Peeps to an untimely death. The photo above shows a Peep passing on to the next plane by drowning in a cup of hot chocolate. Evil? Yes. But definitely funny and deserving of a place in this blog.

Now we sit and wait. The team will leave for Moore Field House and SCSU at 3:00 p.m. Open stretch starts at 3:50, timed warmups at 4:25, and then it's go time at 5:00 p.m. There's no live stats or video for this meet, so be sure to check this blog for score updates. I'll also be using the SMS (text message) service on our website to send out scores. If you haven't signed up for that, go do so right now. It's easy - click on the SMS graphic on the lower right hand corner of our home page. Follow the simple registration procedures, choose the sport you want updates about, and then enter the confirmation code that is sent to your cell phone.