Good morning and greetings, World Cup fans. As I child growing up in the Garden State of Tony Soprano, I was in love with sports. Whether it was football, baseball, basketball, kickball, stickball, tether ball, bocci ball or Lucille Ball, I was totally on board.

Sun up to sun down on weekends and summer months, you could find me on a field or some asphalt, bonding with the neighborhood crew while not having a care in the world. I enjoyed the feeling of competing and winning, as it had the same taste as a chocolate shake. Or as another Jersey guy, Coach Vince Lombardi, once said, ‘If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?”

So during my childhood wonder years, sports was my number one priority. But for some reason, the game of soccer never came across my radar. As a youth, I never recall playing this international game which is called football around the world. This led to later developing the theory that if God had wanted us to play soccer, he wouldn’t have given us arms.

Now I know that this is not the world view, as soccer fans are as passionate and crazy as mad dogs. I’ve seen very little of the World Cup play, as I am still coming to terms with the NBA having gone into summer hibernation.

But word on the street has people buzzing about the Cup. Last week, the USA beat a very tough team from Ghana, a country the size of Rhode Island on steroids. The soccer nation swelled with national pride, while I was still contemplating the championship proclaimed by the San Antonio Spurs and the mental state of LeBron James.

People around the planet take this sport very seriously, or in the words of English soccer manager Bill Shankly, “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I’m very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” I say, the more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.

So one night last week, after my wife and I had finished watching an episode of “Halt and Catch Fire,” the new AMC series that replaced ‘Mad Men,” she remarked that time seems to be flying by. I thought to myself, when does it ever not?

Our son is now halfway through his undergraduate college career, with two years down and two to go. He did not follow in the footsteps of his father, who thought four years would be nice, but seven would be heaven. I was living the good life on West Cliff Drive, and was in no hurry to leave the academic world of the hardwood floors up at UCSC’s East Fieldhouse.

So I’m now in my seventh decade on the planet. Hitting the 60th birthday was fairly trumatic, as telling people I was that age was just nuts. 60! Now that I’m 61, all of a sudden I’m Roger Maris.

I don’t want to say I’m getting old, but in today’s mail I received a letter from the Trident Society, informing me that “cremation just makes sense,” as there would be no need for embalming, funeral homes, cemetary property, caskets, tiskets and taskets. And I would be helping the environment. Or in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift: that’s why the call it the present.”

So yeah, time is racing by. We’re more than halfway through June, and soon the July 4th holiday will be history. My daughter is going to be a senior in high school, but I’m not worried about any empty nest, as I believe she is determined to convert our house into a rabbit rescue haven.

Right now, she has two bunnies, Marvin and Scarlett, who are currently residing in her room. They’re pretty easy to take care of, as they only demand hay 24 hours a day. They are actually very cute, and if Aimee is lucky, one day within the next century she will actually be able to hold the grumpy Marvin.

So I’m hoping for a solution in Iraq and for them to stop pooping on Aimee’s floor. We all have our hopes and dream. As either Aimee or writer Jarod Kintz once remarked, “You know what I like most about people? Pets.
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We are all on our own paths. Time keeps rushing by faster than the speed of my DVR, and I’m just trying to hang on for the ride. It’s not always easy, as life is full of everyday challenges.

But remember, you know what they call the person who finishes last in their medical school class? Doctor.

All I know is “Life lives, life dies. Life laughs, life cries. Life gives up and life tries. But life looks different through everyone’s thighs.

So for today’s photo funnies you’re getting two January sunrises for the price of one. The first is from January 24, where I was shooting from Bird Rock along West Cliff Drive. There wasn’t any great color in the sky, but waves were pumping and the clouds were puffy enough, so it worked for me.

The second, which was from January 24, was kind of like a sunrise lite, with the muted red clouds briefly lighting up the sky above Lighthouse Point. The last two shots brought out shades of orange and yellow, and I enjoyed that, because in the words of Monty Python, “I’m always looking on the bright side of life.”

On to some good late night humor. “Congrats to the U.S. soccer team for beating Ghana in the opening round of the World Cup. Yeah, they did the impossible — getting Americans to watch soccer. “Alex Trebek has broken a world record for game-show hosts, after hosting 6,829 shows in his career. When asked how he’s made it through so many shows, Trebek said, “What is Scotch?” – Jimmy Fallon

“Yesterday, the Iranian president tweeted a picture of himself all alone watching a World Cup game on television. Yeah, then he watched his favorite show — “It’s Always Sunni in Philadelphia.” This morning the Pentagon announced that the United States has captured a leader responsible for the Benghazi attacks. Republicans were ecstatic and said, “So, they finally got Hillary?” – Conan O’Brien

“Match.com is charging $5,000 to set you up with someone who looks like your ex. You wouldn’t believe how many guys on Match.com once dated Kate Upton.” – Conan O’Brien “Rob Ford is running for re-election. He’s got a very catchy campaign slogan. You’ll see it on bumper stickers all over Canada: “The crack stops here.” – David Letterman “Kourtney Kardashian is reportedly pregnant. Just this morning I was thinking to myself, “There just aren’t enough Kardashians.” – Craig Ferguson

“Starbucks has teamed up with Arizona State University to create a program that will pay for Starbucks employees to get a college degree. Starbucks is doing this because without an educated workforce, nobody will be able to afford $10 for a cup of coffee.” – Jimmy Kimmel “Over the weekend Starbucks announced a new program that will pay employees to take online classes at Arizona State. Said Starbucks employees, “We already went there. That’s why we work at Starbucks.” – Seth Meyers

So that’s my report. Congratulations go out to my parents, and particularly my mother, as they are celebrating their 64nd wedding aniversary on Wednesday. I don’t want to say they rushed into it, but they were registering for gifts on their first date.

We’ll catch you leaving the announcing table at TNT and taking the head coaching job with the Golden State Warriors. Aloha, mahalo and later, Steve Kerr fans.

Good morning and greetings, cap, gown and tassle fans. Well, it’s June and diplomas are in the air. I’ve never looked forward to this ceremonial experience as it meant the end of the high school days for my favorite son. He is matriculating on to UC Santa Barbara, and if I weren’t unpaid for this blog, I would give up four years salary to join him in South Beach.

His graduation from Pacific Collegiate School was last Friday, which brought to an end twelve years of his education at the site of the former Natural Bridges elementary school. Yes, time has flown by and in the words of author Harvey McKay, “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.”

So what is it about time? Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care? Does anything fly by faster with the exception of LeBron James or Russell Westbrook in the open court? I believe it was either Jerry Garcia or Spanish philosopher Blatasar Gracian that said, “All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.”

The most important thing we don’t know in life is how much time we have. Or if the home team is going to cover the spread. But it seems no matter how much time you have, it still flies by faster than a 747. The only place where it would seem that time isn’t in a hurry is in prison, or as businessman Malcom Forbes once said, “There is never enough time, unless you’re serving it.”

Writer Robert Orben said, “Time flies. It’s up to you to be the navigator.” I remember Jason as a small child growing up in southern California. He loved playing with any kind of ball, and spent his preschool years hitting jumpers and whacking line drives down on the strand in Hermosa Beach.

The South Bay is the birthplace of beach volleyball, and it definitely rubbed off on him, as last week he was once again named a first team, all-SCCAL selection as an outside hitter. For a hitter, it’s all about the spectacular kills. To paraphrase author Tom Robbins, “There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and the only thing worth killing happens on the volleyball court.”

So this is a child that I started thinking about missing back when he was just eleven years old. Just the thought of him one day leaving was not my favorite thought of the day. So I tried to savor my time with him and not to sob uncontrollably in his presence. As either Frank Sinatra or author Kay Lyons once said, “Yesterday is a canceled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have – so spend it wisely.”

So Jason’s high school years have gone by in a blur. Fortunately, it included a host of basketball games and volleyball matches, where as a parent, I truly got to enjoy the talents of my child. I don’t get to see him acing math, science or English tests, but I’ve haven’t missed many no-look passes or jump float ace serves. I won’t say I lived semi-vicariously through him-it was totally vicarious all the way on the athletic front.

Not too many things are greater than watching your child excel at sports or the stock market. This decade as his parent and sometimes coach has been beyond priceless. Or as Jimi Hendrix or poet Carl Sandburg once told me, “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”

Either sportscaster Jim Rome or author Jim Rohn once said, ““Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” My favorite inventor, Ben Franklin once remarked that “Lost time is never found again.” French composer Louis Hector Berlioz said that “Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.” Stay thirsty, my friends.

But my favorite sayings about time comes from author H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein and Mel Brooks.” Or in the words of Lili Von Schtupp from Blazing Saddles, “Hello, handsome, is that a ten-gallon hat or are you just enjoying the show?

So I”ve got a few more months of at-home fun with my son, who penned his college essay about the first time he beat me playing one-on-one. Then he’ll be heading down to his oceanfront dorm with the two full court basketball courts and sand volleyball court. I’m going to miss him but to see how excited he is about the next chapter in his life makes it more than okay. After all, he’s just down the coast, not at the University of Kiev. And while he’s doing neuroscience research, I’ll be researching the new fall shows on the networks. Busy, busy, busy.

Now the fun really starts, as I get to focus all my attention on my soon-to-be sweet fifteen-year-old daughter. We are going to be doing some major father-daughter bonding, which I know for her, will be a dream come true. Let the games begin.

So in honor of my National Honor Society son heading to the Honors Program at Santa Barbara, I thought some roses would be appropriate. It’s too bad these pictures aren’t scratch and sniff, as they smell lovelier than success. But remember what author Henry David Thoreau said about these beauties. “Truths and roses have thorns about them.” That’s why I always like to thistle while I work.

On to the late night. “This Facebook fiasco is one of the biggest clusterf**ks ever on Wall Street. Regular people got screwed and the banks and the insiders did okay. Or as Mitt Romney calls it, ‘The American Dream.’ Mitt Romney was attacking Obama about our failing education system. He has a point. We are graduating millions of people in this country who are so lacking in basic analytical skills, they are considering voting for Mitt Romney. As George Bush once said, ‘Our kids is not learning.'” –Bill Maher

“Mitt Romney has begun vetting his vice presidential candidates. This is a tough thing because they want to appeal to the Republican base. They want a strong conservative there, but someone who will not upstage Mitt Romney. So the search is on for a strong conservative in a coma. “Mitt Romney is trying to get the Latino vote … He maintains he’s always had a great relationship with the Latinos in his life, as long as they don’t wake him up with the leaf blower.” –Bill Maher

“Former President Bill Clinton posed for pictures with his arms around two women, both of whom turned out to be famous porn stars. See, this is why we miss Clinton. He was like a president and a Secret Service agent all rolled into one. A Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden has been convicted of high treason in Pakistan. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison for helping us. Think how much worse the sentence would have been if Pakistan wasn’t our ally.” –Jay Leno

“First lady Michelle Obama said that if she could trade places with anyone in the world, it would be Beyoncé. Of course it got awkward when Barack was like, ‘I’m ame!'”–Jimmy Fallon “Next week Mitt Romney will campaign in Las Vegas with Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich. Did somebody say ‘The Hangover, Part III?'” –Jimmy Fallon

So that’s our first blast for June 2012. Enjoy the conference finals and we’ll catch you putting up one of the most amazing performances in NBA playoff history. Aloha, mahalo and later, Rajon Rondo fans.