I'm Back; Sono Qui

I have weathered ten days at sea without the usual barrage of sports talk, highlights, analysis, and that scoreboard thing that crawls endlessly across my television screen. I realize I am a part of the whole mess, and I recognize its value, but it was good to take a break. Everyone should-- I mean completely-- and not be ashamed of it.

My wife and I just returned from Europe-- a trip shared with seven members of my family. We did this before, in 2007, and for some crazy reason it works. No fights, plenty of laughs, lots of late dinners (the European way), and always a happy hour.

We started in Spain, visited some places we haven't been before (Malta; Cannes, France), and once again roamed the streets of Italy (Napoli, Pompeii, Roma, Lucca).  We've been to Italy five times-- enough to speak the language with some confidence-- even if I'm not always understood.

A few new things learned or experienced on this trip:  Europeans love to travel with their children- even infants-- nothing stops them. Road signs in Napoli (like one-way) are "merely suggestions". Those yachts owned by Middle East oil families are bigger than you imagined.

While I was gone, I expected the Lakers to win the NBA title in five games (they did). I felt the Red Wings would slay the Penguins in the Stanley Cup (they didn't). I wondered if Tyler Smith would really leave UT for pro basketball (he didn't).  I knew someone I'd never heard of would win the Knoxville Open (he did, but Kevin Johnson will likely win again on the PGA tour), and I realized no matter how long I was away-- the UT quarterback search story won't die (it hasn't).

And apparently Kyle Busch is still a punk. Except in Europe-- where nobody knows him.

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