With a heavy heart, I want to share with my Boneyard family that Patriarch of the DM family passed away this morning. He was a World War II vet who would have turned 93 this coming August. My daughter, son and I were schedule to visit him in Montgomery AL at the end of the month. He lived a long a happy life. We had thought we lost him about 6 weeks ago, but he bounced back like one of our great UConn point guards, and actually played golf a couple times before he went into the hospital again. Team DogNabbit, the two time Boneyard Classic champions, thanks partly to my high handicap,

would have been proud to have him on our team. Even in his 90s, I'm pretty sure I still would not have been able to beat him. By the way, he too was a writer, for those wondering where my propensity for long posts comes from.
I was afraid that he was going to pass away yesterday, the same day we received the wonderful news that Sterling Gibbs chose UConn for his 5th and final year. I didn't want to cast any sadness to what was a happy day for Husky Nation. Since I knew what was looming, it did understandably take some of the joy personally out of the Gibbs' news.
One quick story that I felt might bring a smile to some since we all have dads and hopeful fond memories: Many years ago back when I was a teenager, I walked into the house holding this long aluminum handle and proceeded to tell my Dad that the rest of the roof rake was stuck on the roof and that bolt and wing nut that held it to the other end were missing somewhere in the deep snow. Somewhat angry he said, "You should have made sure the wing nut was tightened!" I then asked him, "Well how did you know that?" He paused and then replied, "Because the same thing happened to me!" We both began to laugh, realizing how funny that whole situation and conversation went down.
Like all Dads, he wasn't perfect. But he was a good husband to my mom, and after she passed, to his current widow, a good dad, and a very good man. He will be missed.
Anyhow, I wanted to share this news with my fellow Boneyard friends. Similar to family where you share happy and sad times, don't always get along, though usually do, the Boneyard is like a second family to many of us. My immediate family and most of my extended family aren't UConn fans, so it's here where I go to share my thoughts, feelings, impeccably accurate analysis

, and rare but occasional crow eating, the few times I'm...gulp...well...wrong, when it comes to all things UConn Hoops.
I'm now looking forward to the 2015/16 team raise up banner #5 on the walls of HGP to turn the page on what was a challenging year for our team and household, and to a new one filled with great celebration. Okay, 2015 wasn't all that bad. The Pats, who are my and my Dad's team, took the air out of other NFL teams by becoming XLIX Super Bowl champs. Don't anyone dare add a negative Pats' deflategate reply to this thread! This one is all about my dad. Yeah, that's a low blow for those Patriot Haters, but deal!!