A funny thing happened at the Seminole County Courthouse today

I became a father today for the second time as I adopted my son, JR. What has been a long time coming finally became official sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 EST this morning.

I expected everything to be exactly like two years ago when I adopted his sister Chawney. During her adoption the judge asked me some very poignant questions, most notably, “Mr. Weis, why do you want to adopt this young lady?”

I didn’t need any rehearsed speeches to answer that one; all I had to do was answer from the heart.

I was ready to do the exact same thing today.

This time, however, there was a different judge. Instead of asking me why I wanted to adopt JR – and giving me the chance to profess to everyone there why I was there – his line of questioning was entirely different. They really weren’t questions at all; in fact, they were more like warnings.

“Do you understand, Mr. Weis, that by adopting this young man, it will be as if he was your child from birth … and that, heaven forbid, you and your wife ever get divorced, he is still your son?”

“Yes, your honor,” I said.

Wow, your honor, you are really throwing a wet blanket over an otherwise happy occasion, I thought.

Eventually, the judge granted the adoption and I officially gained a wonderful son.

That brings me back to JR, the real point of this blog. Upon meeting him for the first time about nine years ago, it didn’t take long for me to figure out he was going to be an engineer. The first time he and I went somewhere and it was just us, we went to McDonald’s to get some lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

As I finished ordering our food, I looked to my right and noticed JR disassembling a life-sized Ronald McDonald display. He is testing me, I thought to myself.

Wanting to let him know that wasn’t acceptable – but not wanting to alienate him so quickly – I turned to him and said, “JR, can you please put Ronald McDonald back together? I don’t think he needs surgery today.”

He turned to me and laughed.

I was to find out later that JR was not testing me. Instead, he was genuinely interested in how Ronnie was assembled.

As his knowledge has increased, so has his personality and his character. These days he’s taking apart and putting together much more complicated things.

I am proud of the young man he’s become and I am proud to call him my son.

MY SON! That has a nice ring to it. I love you, son!

Today, everyone under our roof is a Weis. The lifetime of tomorrows to come will be fun. Look out, world!

Watch for a big announcement

On Monday, something will happen that will change my life – yet things will remain the same. I’ll tell you all about it after it happens.

Florida Flight to host “And 1″ Tour April 6. Be there!

You may recall that last season, I served as PR Director and play-by-play announcer for the Florida Flight, a minor-league professional basketball team here in Central Florida.

We did very well last season, and we’re back for our sophomore campaign. This year, we are playing in the Continental Basketball League (CBL) and will be playing our home games in East Orlando … specifically Avalon Park.

We’re cranking up our pre-season in style next Wednesday, April 6, at 7:30 pm. That’s the night that the And 1 Live Tour makes its way to Avalon Park, where their team will square off against a team of “Free Agents” (not Flight players) who were selected by Flight personnel during an open tryout earlier this month. Giving a youth basketball clinic prior to the game will be former Duke University and NBA standout Christian Laettner.

If you are unfamiliar with the skill sets of these And 1 players, you owe it to yourself to do a Google search on “And 1 Mixtape.” It’s street basketball at its very best; the very same playground legends who brought their games to ESPN in the famed “Streetball” series a few years back. Think conventional basketball meets the Harlem Globetrotters, except nothing is scripted … and the unconventional is encouraged.

We are just a couple months from the start of the regular season, but for now please come out on April 6 if you love the thought of watching one highlight-reel play after another. For ticket info, go to the Florida Flight website at www.flighthoops.com – or just ask me.

If you do, stop by and say hello!

What do you get the guy who has everything?

As Christmas Eve wound down last Friday night, I crawled in bed. A feeling of complete peace hit me.

I had just left my two grown kids in the living room; they were still up playing video games. I looked next to me and saw the face of my incredible wife. Even Morris the Cat was laying at my feet.

This is exactly how it’s supposed to be, I said to myself.

Several days later, I am still filled with the same joy.

Here’s my point: Stop and smell the roses every day, not just during the holidays. Savor every precious moment you get with your family and friends … because they won’t last forever, no matter how much you want them to.

That and, of course, the real meaning of Christmas, are the two things I will carry with me going forward.

Tuesday Weisblog: A day without baseball is a good day

When I was a kid, I played Little League Baseball and watched Major League Baseball religiously. I went to the local minor league games as often as anyone would take me to them. I used to be able to spew out players’ batting averages and earned-run averages like nobody’s business.

As I got older, I played baseball on my high school team and even did the beer league softball thing for two years.

As a 20-something adult (and even into my early 30s), I went to two Spring Training games every year.

Today, however, I want nothing to do with baseball. Each year, I rejoice the moment the World Series is over because SportsCenter won’t be wasting large chunks of their 60 minutes on baseball highlights and commentary.

You’re probably wondering what changed. If you know the answer to this riddle, you’ve figured it out: What do the years 1972, 1973, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1990, 1994 have in common? During each of these years, there was a Major League Baseball work stoppage. That’s eight – count ‘em, EIGHT – work stoppages in a 22-season span.

The last one (in 1994) continued into 1995 and the World Series was canceled that year. So was my love of the game. I’d had enough.

Some people waste their time trying to figure out who’s responsible for this nonsense. “It’s the owners’ fault” or “It’s the players’ fault,” they say, but when there are eight work stoppages in 22 years there’s plenty of blame to go around for everyone – including the fans for being gullible lemmings and coming back to the stadiums each time. At the end of the day, the answer is simple: It all boils down to the almighty dollar and sheer greed.

Yes, other sports have had strikes or lockouts, too … and the NBA and NFL currently have labor issues that are causing serious doubt that agreements will be reached in time to start next season for both sports. If they are truly that arrogant, self-centered and idiotic, they deserve what they’ll get … reduced attendance and increased fan apathy. I can’t imagine either sport really going through with something like this in today’s economic world, because people like me and you might discover they can live just fine – thank you very much – without them. It took me all of about a week to figure that out with baseball.

Since the World Series was called off in 1995 I have not watched even one game, except for a very small handful I’ve tolerated simply as a courtesy to my friends who still actually care. I did let a friend of mine take me to Miller Park in Milwaukee on a non-game day to eat in a restaurant at their stadium, but that’s the closest I’ve gotten.

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants, World Series Champions. Congratulations to me, too … baseball season is over!

There’s a new team in town … and its name is the Florida Flight

I apologize that it’s been a little while since my last post. Today, though, I have some exciting news to share with you.

The Florida Flight is a brand-new professional minor-league basketball team that will be playing its games in the Kissimmee Civic Center (near Orlando). They are part of the World Basketball Association (WBA), a league that is in its seventh year. The league serves as a sort of feeder system to not only the NBA, but other minor leagues and the best European teams.

And I am the new Director of Media and Public Relations for the team.

Each game will offer a wonderful chance for a couple hours of great family entertainment. The opening-day roster will be finalized sometime Friday, and it will feature several players with connections to Central Florida, be it playing at a local university or high school, being born in the area, or whatever the case may be.

I will continue with Weis Words Writing, my freelance writing company; in fact, it’ll be business as usual. This new position will take some time each week to be sure, but it is not an all-consuming kind of thing.

I’ll mix in some Flight news with the regular blogs as time permits. If you want to know more, please visit www.flighthoops.com. Right now, it is a work in progress but it’ll give you an idea of what to expect.