Tag: sports

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 23, 20269:22 pm

Susan Says Stop

A basketball hoop hung in a San Diego alley isn’t that an uncommon sight. I have seen several in my neighborhood of University Heights. But this one stands out for adornment: Black-eyed Susan vine. That raises question: Who would want to shoot baskets and ruin the lovely flowers?

The answer could be nobody. I haven’t seen any signs of activity around this hoop recently, which could mean something else: No aspiring basketball players live nearby, and that would easily explain how the vine climbed so high.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 1, 20258:50 pm

Winning Time

I do believe one of my neighbors successfully completed some level of marathon race in good time. During Winter (really late Summer in San Diego), we would occasionally see him training running in our neighborhood of University Heights.

B.A.A. refers to Boston Athletic Association. Boston Marathon took place on the 250th Patriots’ Day (a fine New England Holiday that I fondly recall)—April 21, 2025. I shot the Featured Image, using Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, nine days later. Vitals: f1/7, ISO 50, 1/8000 sec, 23mm (film equivalent); 11:10 a.m. PDT. Composed as captured.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 1, 20256:16 pm

State Champs!

An unusual and exciting circumstance came to pass today. Both my hometown (Caribou) high school basketball teams—girls and boys—played in the Maine State finals; Class B. They last advanced together in 1983, when the Lady Vikings won and the men lost.

The boys’ game was a blowout, as Caribou beat York 65-44. But the girls gave a show that people in Aroostook County will talk about for decades. Playing the Biddeford Tigers, the Vikings dominated until the last seconds of the fourth quarter, when their rivals tied the score at 40 and put the game into 4-minute overtime.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 28, 20246:42 pm

I Boycott the Paris Olympics

I am more than a little surprised to be writing this post. But here we unexpectedly are. I stand with those people criticizing the 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony’s mock Last Supper as mocking Christianity—and the almighty God, for that matter. In what appeared to be a live reenactment of the famous painting by Leonardo DaVinci, the actors were either drag queens or some simply dressed as such.

The Summer games officially began in Paris on July 26. Today, spokesperson Anne Descamp apologized to anyone offended by the, ah, banquet scene. If BBC reporting is accurate, explanation is as offensive, if not more. From the story: “The ceremony’s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, said there was no intention to ‘mock or denigrate anyone’ and explained the scene in question was designed to reference pagan gods”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 9, 20249:36 pm

The Son and Father Fishing

Dad is at his home on the family farm, in a hospital bed, and cared for 24 hours a day—mainly by the pastors of the local church, supported by (I think) hospice caretakers. He is lucid, but declining, which is his wish based on other health considerations. The man has proved to be physically stronger than the doctors predicted, however. Our Wilcox clan comes from hearty stock.

My parents eloped to Canada at age 16. The eldest child, I was born just as mom turned 18. My parents always seemed young to me, because they were. Only as an adult did I understand how much and the ways we kind of grew up together.

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 31, 20239:05 pm

Tennis This Time

San Diego’s three-season summer weather creates all kinds of outdoor activities that would be uncommon elsewhere. Consider public schools: Many are indoor/outdoor, meaning classrooms are enclosed but kids go out to move among them. Costco eateries are on the outside of the warehouses rather than within. The examples abound.

As such, I shouldn’t be so amused, but am, about the older gent watching sports programs out of doors. On Aug. 9, I passed him riveted to a baseball game—all by his lonesome. Tonight, it’s tennis—and he has a friend. “Say, could you pass a can of Modelo Especial?” (Because Bud Light is boycotted, the Mexican beer is now top-seller.)

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 9, 20238:38 pm

Batter Up!

The appropriate action would be to ask this gentleman why he watches television outside. But I instead chose to shoot stealthily from across the street because mystery makes the moment. The answer could ruin the curiosity.

Perhaps his partner or spouse doesn’t like baseball. Maybe he is lonely and hopes the outdoor game will draw some company. Perhaps ambiance is the reason: He wants a taste of remembered experience of going to the stadium and watching the game. I will never know and don’t want to.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 26, 20239:33 pm

Better Than Mardi Gras

The days when rain isn’t falling, but the ground is wet and the air sweet Spring fresh and moist, are delightful. Over on Louisiana Street, some young men made festive the late afternoon of Feb. 22, 2023. They skateboarded to boombox rock, and I absolutely loved the spirit and ambiance they created. Why not bang on doors and have an impromptu block party?

Pepto, who is among the “Cats of University Heights” sauntered through the mayhem, taking up observant position by a car. That’s his block, baby.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 22, 202210:51 pm

July in Christmas

Feel free to call me cruel, but gloating is not my intention so, please, don’t assign such motivation. The Christmas Day forecast for much of Southern California is unseasonably warm. Predicted San Diego weather is 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) and 23 C (73 F) on both the preceding and following days. Break out T-shirt and shorts for summer remembrance.

Meanwhile, much of the rest of the country expects something colder, which already creeps Eastward. As I write, it’s -17 C (2 F) in Amarillo. Texas! Oh, that’s before the wind chill. For Christmas, randomly-selected highs: Atlanta, Ga., 1 C (34 F); Nashville, Tenn., -2 C (28 F); Newark, NJ, -3 C (27 F); Ocala, Fla., 7 C (45 F); Raleigh, NC, 2 C (35 F). For more of a sense of what’s more typical, for the cities, respectively, the following Sunday forecast: 19 C (66 F); 17 C (62 F); 15 C (59 F); 26 C (79 F); 22 C (71 F).

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 24, 202210:38 pm

Are They a Rare Set?

One of my sisters is avid about golf. My interest almost reaches enthusiasm for root canals. Ah, the things siblings don’t share in common, eh? She was already on my mind, because of Thanksgiving Day, when I passed by a set of discarded clubs this morning; more so after I chuckled over them, thinking: How appropriate. Perhaps the previous owner and I share similar sentiments about the, ah, sport. Yuh. Let’s turn the TV channel to curling—another fine slow-moving competition.

Knowing absolutely nothing about golf, or the accruements necessary to play, maybe I missed a magnanimous moment of opportunity—like the yard sale buyer who snags a rare painting or Leica camera that turns out to be worth tens of thousands of dollars—even millions. What if the clubs are a rare set, put out by another non-golfer who is emptying the apartment of some aged relative recently passed away? Sometimes that which looks old and crusty is valuable. Are these clubs? I presume no more than any others in similar condition. But why not speculate?

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 13, 20226:24 pm

Game Night

As I write, Super Bowl LVI is still underway, with the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the Los Angeles Rams 20-16. At dusk in my San Diego neighborhood of University Heights, the cheering and clamoring of groups gathered rise from among the many residences.

Twelve minutes after sunset, 5:43 p.m. PST, I ventured past one of the many local breweries and shot the Featured Image—Leica Q2 Monochrom, from the hip. Vitals, aperture and shutter speed manually set: f/2, ISO 1600, 1/125 sec, 28mm. Photo is cropped about 98 percent.

Photo by Joe WilcoxFeb 9, 20228:42 pm

The Humiliation Games

On the same day the 2022 Olympics opened, February 4, I passed by something appropriate and timely: discarded pair of thirtytwo brand snowboarding boots. Their abandonment, along the North Avenue alley in San Diego’s University Heights neighborhood, could be a metaphor for what’s being chucked away in Beijing right now: fair competitive spirit, human dignity, and truthfulness. It’s all humiliating.

Let me count the ways: Humiliating that, because of surveillance, athletes were instructed to bring burner phones to China—and, for their own safety, not to publicly criticize the host nation. Humiliating that China presented as propaganda a token Uyghur during the opening ceremony; what genocide? Humiliating that Russian President Vladimir Putin joined Chinese President Xi Jinping, while Western nations, including the United States, chose not to send diplomatic delegations. Humiliating that Chinese officials dragged away a Dutch reporter during a live broadcast. Humiliating that athletes quarantined for positive SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 are mentally and physically impaired by poor food quality and living conditions. Humiliating, and convenient, that some foreign gold medal contenders test Coronavirus positive and can’t compete. Humiliating that most NBC Sports commentators and hosts are broadcasting from the United States rather than China.