Even better than the drubbing the Cougars put on the Bruins was helping Miles get autographs after the game. They were all really nice to him, asked his name, and made sure rugby was his favorite sport. Miles was just in awe.

Ben put it best as we climbed back in the van: “Mikey’s looks really big and mean on the field, but he’s actually really nice.”

Here’s why he was worried that Mikey might be mean:

Update: BYU won a close match at Life U today to move on in the tourney. They’ll play Arkansas St. for the national championship at Rio Tinto in Sandy, Utah, next week. It will be broadcast online on ESPN 3.

So, I loaded all the kids in the van, but I only dropped Miles off at the ballpark.

When I came back ninety minutes later, Miles had already collected two foul balls and one home-run ball. How? Well, most of the fouls land in areas that are restricted to the spectators, but not to the grounds crew. They had literally spent the first five innings tracking down balls as frustrated pre-teens looked on. “Hey, how did you get down there?!?”

While I was there, they got two more, but gave one to a sad looking little boy.

The silver lining is that only one collegiate player was invited to Team USA’s camp: Taylor Sander of BYU. It was just announced that he made the team, which bodes well for next year’s Cougars. They’ll also get Ben Patch, a high school senior who has a chance at making the Junior National Team.

So, why is Sander so good? Take a look at this pic Brooke snapped of him during the fifth set against Long Beach State. If my math is correct, he’s about three-feet off the ground and, as I look at the video of this spike, he’s actually coming down.

Two days of family over, plenty of presents, cake, and ice cream, made for an awesome celebration. He was so set on it never ending that he wouldn’t get in his pajamas or climb into bed. He ended up curled on the floor clutching his new youth-sized rugby ball.

This episode showcases the twins’ unique personalities. Asher will win at all costs, including taking a swipe while in retreat. He also will gloat as evidence by his triumphant yell at the 26-second mark. Isaac just wants to have fun and is too sweet to be competitive.

We parked ourselves up high so the twins would have room, and we had a great time finding Tom Holmoe and Lavell Edwards in the crowd, coaxing Cosmo to come high-five the twins, and watching a 4-set victory for BYU.

The twins’ favorite part was after the match when they went through the stands and put up every seat. The janitors were very appreciative.

I think it may be a sign of my growing old maturing, but I didn’t have the slightest desire to skate fast, dart in-and-out of the crowds, etc. I was very content to coast backwards in front of Ben and Miles, encouraging them and giving evil eyes to the punk kids who were being reckless.

We only had one bad fall, when Miles tried to grab the boards and missed. He slammed his noggin pretty hard. There’s a picture of the bruise below.

I should also mention that Miles was wearing our double-runners.