The teams have to raise their own money to get here and of course all had to charter planes to fly in. They are camping out at the school and I'm sure it is a blast for them to be able to travel and see other parts of the state they otherwise may have never seen before.
Unfortunately Sand Point was out of the single elimination tournament Thursday, when they were beat by New Halen. There was a great turnout for the games even in the middle of the day. Of course the fisherman were in good attendance since the weather is at it's peak of nastiness this week. Cod season was supposed to open Sunday, but Saturday night the winds hit gale force and the snow has been blowing all week. Yesterday the temperature started out at 14 degrees on my way to work and by 5 pm it had climbed to 37 degrees, we had a blizzard, snow/rain showers and we got another 2-4 inches of snow on top of the 4-6 inches on the ground. The roads are solid ice and this is stay home and bead weather for me.
The games were fun to watch and I hooted and hollered like any faithful fan. I only had one emergency to attend to and the kid was quickly cleared to get back in the game.
King Cove played New Stuyahok (don't even ask how to pronounce that one) and lost the battle. There weren't as many supporters that hung around for this game, and even my attention started to wander after a while.......not only was I people watching, but something else caught my eyes.........the new style of players shoes... 
The games were fun to watch and I hooted and hollered like any faithful fan. I only had one emergency to attend to and the kid was quickly cleared to get back in the game.King Cove played New Stuyahok (don't even ask how to pronounce that one) and lost the battle. There weren't as many supporters that hung around for this game, and even my attention started to wander after a while.......not only was I people watching, but something else caught my eyes.........the new style of players shoes... I remember playing ball in grade school and having different shoes cause no one cared, then high school came and everyone had regulation converse shoes and everyone matched. Of course I think tube socks and SHORT shorts were very common, too.
Then the style changed and the shorts thankfully got longer, the socks got shorter and now a I think anything goes!! 
I saw everything from plain white, to pink and white, black and white, plain black, purple and
blue and these that did everything but blink when they walked.............
And then my personal favorites....................
It wasn't just the shoes, it was the entire ensemble....mismatched socks, shiney plastic looking yellow shoes...and the incredible nerve it took for a guy to actually wear them out in public!!
The players just played side by side in the shiney shoes and funky socks and they didn't seem to notice anything other than the ref's calls.
blue and these that did everything but blink when they walked.............
And then my personal favorites....................
It wasn't just the shoes, it was the entire ensemble....mismatched socks, shiney plastic looking yellow shoes...and the incredible nerve it took for a guy to actually wear them out in public!!
The players just played side by side in the shiney shoes and funky socks and they didn't seem to notice anything other than the ref's calls.As I watched, I was reminded of cartoon characters and coloring books and vivid colors and found myself daydreaming about the good old days. My how time changes, clothes change, shoes change......but basketball remains basketball and even here on this island everyone forgets the change and the bad weather and the surrounding ocean just for a few hours life goes on in the Aleutinas just like everywhere else....
