What else would I title this? It's quite simple really; I hate Nebraska. The state itself is one thing (the College World Series and Omaha steaks are the only two positives I can think of right now), but I HATE the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Growing up as a little kid, I knew no better than to root for CU (boy have times changed, eh? I still find myself casually wanting them to be successful, but ONLY in sports and even then I cringe at times), so that's what got this whole "I hate Big Red" going.
Tonight's ASU-Nebraska game only stirred those emotions up and reminded me of why I hate them so much.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Random Thoughts, Con't.
No rhyme or reason for making a second post, I just know that as a personal rule I tend to read more thoroughly if the posts are broken up and spaced out.
Moving on, props still go out to my brother. I'll be missing him big time over the next two years and can't wait to hear all the awesome things he'll be doing. What a stud.
No real sports news to delve into. The Rockies are absolutely atrocious and I find myself secretly hoping they unload Helton. The guy is the ultimate work-horse, a class act wasting away his best years stuck in the middle of a terribly managed franchise that is going nowhere (maybe in three-five years, but nowhere until at least then). Helton is one of the few players I'll follow and cheer for no matter WHERE he goes (even if it is to the hated Yankees, the overrated Cubs, or the annoyingly over-played Red Sox). I'm a fan of Barmes, but his groceries/deer meat/ATV accident/incident has kind of simmered any positive vibe he had going.
I'll be intrigued to see (or hear rather, I'll have no idea firsthand) what the Nuggets do next week, and also to see where the big names (if that's possible in this year's draft) end up. Oh, and quite possibly the most hilarious early-entry since (and there's no irony here) William Avery has to be one Shavlik Randolph (click here for the story). I mean, I guess I can see why he did it, he averaged over 6 points a game in his 36 career starts. Nothing like a little Duke-ness to remind me why I love college basketball.
One final parting shot for the night. While at school, my comptuer was almost a part of me. I lived on it, I breathed on it, I even ate on it. Now I'm at home, and it's not just the fact that my notebook is no more. I stay away from it. It's like kryptonite. I come to check ESPN.com, email, a blog or two, and any AIM-ness that awaits, but then I quickly retreat and get away as fast as possible. Even ESPN.com's Bill Simmons has been replaced by Jim Rome as my favorite all-time sports journalist (if you could call either one that). Rome is amazingly witty, smart, funny, sarcastic, and downright logical. Plus, it's easier to listen to him at work then to try to come home and sift through Simmons and his 80's movie/song mentions.
Until tomorrow....
Moving on, props still go out to my brother. I'll be missing him big time over the next two years and can't wait to hear all the awesome things he'll be doing. What a stud.
No real sports news to delve into. The Rockies are absolutely atrocious and I find myself secretly hoping they unload Helton. The guy is the ultimate work-horse, a class act wasting away his best years stuck in the middle of a terribly managed franchise that is going nowhere (maybe in three-five years, but nowhere until at least then). Helton is one of the few players I'll follow and cheer for no matter WHERE he goes (even if it is to the hated Yankees, the overrated Cubs, or the annoyingly over-played Red Sox). I'm a fan of Barmes, but his groceries/deer meat/ATV accident/incident has kind of simmered any positive vibe he had going.
I'll be intrigued to see (or hear rather, I'll have no idea firsthand) what the Nuggets do next week, and also to see where the big names (if that's possible in this year's draft) end up. Oh, and quite possibly the most hilarious early-entry since (and there's no irony here) William Avery has to be one Shavlik Randolph (click here for the story). I mean, I guess I can see why he did it, he averaged over 6 points a game in his 36 career starts. Nothing like a little Duke-ness to remind me why I love college basketball.
One final parting shot for the night. While at school, my comptuer was almost a part of me. I lived on it, I breathed on it, I even ate on it. Now I'm at home, and it's not just the fact that my notebook is no more. I stay away from it. It's like kryptonite. I come to check ESPN.com, email, a blog or two, and any AIM-ness that awaits, but then I quickly retreat and get away as fast as possible. Even ESPN.com's Bill Simmons has been replaced by Jim Rome as my favorite all-time sports journalist (if you could call either one that). Rome is amazingly witty, smart, funny, sarcastic, and downright logical. Plus, it's easier to listen to him at work then to try to come home and sift through Simmons and his 80's movie/song mentions.
Until tomorrow....
Is this thing on?
Yeah, I know - it seems like forever and a day ago that I last wrote. For a while my computers (yes, plural) were down. My laptop has been retired and sent out to the scrapyard (although not before extracting all he data) and all that's left is the old Windows ME operating system: no way to access iTunes on that. Not that that really mattered anyway, my iPod's click-wheel stopped working the the replacement (at least SOMETHING is still under warranty) also was defective, thus I am living off of a computer that had it's pinnacle reached back when Ray Bourque was hoisting the cup for the Avalanche (oh, what a day that was) with no iTunes, no iPod, not even a radio in my brother's (quasi-my) car.
What am I doing to fill the void? Nothing, unless you include making something of my life and actually being a productive and contributing member of society. I have a job working maintenance at a golf course, something which requires me to be there at 6 am every single day (something that was absolutely terrible for the first little while and is now nothing but habit for me now). Couple that with Church at 9 am on Sundays and you have a kid that hasn't slept in for over a month (that's really saying something for me - I needed to break that terrible cycle that was my ASU sleep-schedule). Now I'm actually remembering why it is that adults don't stay out forever and also am seeing my bank account go in another (the right) direction (for a change).
So sad to disappoint my one reader out there who is next-blogging, but I'm afraid my return may be short lived. It all starts on Wednesday morning at 9. That is when my first name will be retired for two years (as will my casual wardrobe). I will attempt to enlighten my dad as to how to post exerpts (or entire) letters from the mish, but I make no promises. It's a risky way to be, but with a brother that's tearing it up on a Connie Mack team in Denver, Plan B must shift into action (and I know the entire cyber-world will be holding its collective breath to see how it will all turn out).
Speaking of my brother:
GJHS TIGERS (24-2) - 2005 CLASS 5A STATE CHAMPIONS
Ryan Bernal (jr.) - .403 avg., 27 H, 25 R, 26 RBI, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 2 SB, All-State Honorable Mention (Denver Post)
What am I doing to fill the void? Nothing, unless you include making something of my life and actually being a productive and contributing member of society. I have a job working maintenance at a golf course, something which requires me to be there at 6 am every single day (something that was absolutely terrible for the first little while and is now nothing but habit for me now). Couple that with Church at 9 am on Sundays and you have a kid that hasn't slept in for over a month (that's really saying something for me - I needed to break that terrible cycle that was my ASU sleep-schedule). Now I'm actually remembering why it is that adults don't stay out forever and also am seeing my bank account go in another (the right) direction (for a change).
So sad to disappoint my one reader out there who is next-blogging, but I'm afraid my return may be short lived. It all starts on Wednesday morning at 9. That is when my first name will be retired for two years (as will my casual wardrobe). I will attempt to enlighten my dad as to how to post exerpts (or entire) letters from the mish, but I make no promises. It's a risky way to be, but with a brother that's tearing it up on a Connie Mack team in Denver, Plan B must shift into action (and I know the entire cyber-world will be holding its collective breath to see how it will all turn out).
Speaking of my brother:
GJHS TIGERS (24-2) - 2005 CLASS 5A STATE CHAMPIONS
Ryan Bernal (jr.) - .403 avg., 27 H, 25 R, 26 RBI, 8 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 2 SB, All-State Honorable Mention (Denver Post)
I'd been meaning to do that for a while, but prohibited myself from mentioning anything about their playoff run for fear or freakishly jinxing it and robbing the Western Slope (and Junction in particular) of any glory and respect. Not that Cherry Creek has any for us anyway, as they all got in the Lexus' and Escalades and drove home to the 10,000 square foot homes anyway (with any and all of their "transfers" [kids that creatively snuck into Creek through their parents getting "jobs" in the district]). But on that day it didn't matter, they could have said whatever they wanted. I don't know if it's me living vicariously through my brother or me just loving to watch him succeed, but that day will be one I will never forget. I was as nervous as a parent, and I did an all-out, full-on hug (full embrace, not the one-armed tapping of the back variety) with Brandon Berguin after Mark Novotny's GRAND SLAM in the 7th to give the Tigers the lead, and again after that final out to win GJ their title.
Perhaps I should make a list when these type of hugs are appropriate; rest assured that if I do, any situation involving a sporting event (especially one where said person has a vested interest in the team, be it through attending the school having a family member on the team, I don't care - you pick and include whatever other reasons [excuses] you want) will be reason number three (behind any sort of funeral/wedding [funny combo to include together, I know] circumstance and any extended absence sort of thing (I'm talking of the long variety, let's say two years as an example). Okay, maybe I threw in number two as a crutch should I break down from my normal stoic stance when it comes to goodbyes and other would-be emotion-provoking moments, but you've got to give me some slack here.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Technical Difficulties
The culmination of the school year perfectly coincided with the destruction of BOTH BOTH BOTH BOTH of my conmputers. Thus, as I wait to get both fixed, the site (as you can tell) will be down. Hopefully it'll be up and running again here in the next week or so.
Until then: I hope all of you are sleeping as much as I have been. Es muy bueno.
Until then: I hope all of you are sleeping as much as I have been. Es muy bueno.
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Too much wasted time.
Inefficiency is death.
Time to step it up and crank out a few essays.
As always, enlighten me with your comments (and further contribute to my inefficiency).
Time to step it up and crank out a few essays.
As always, enlighten me with your comments (and further contribute to my inefficiency).
Thursday, May 05, 2005
QOTD
grs1624: you've got a good perception on things-at least i think so
grs1624: and im always right-so i guess you do
TWMHIT.
grs1624: and im always right-so i guess you do
TWMHIT.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Prince....
>150,000 vs. <25
If this scenario plays out, then we both win.
But if I must choose only one, I pick < 25 .
Now let's "GET our Red Lobster!!!!"
If this scenario plays out, then we both win.
But if I must choose only one, I pick < 25 .
Now let's "GET our Red Lobster!!!!"
Six
That is the total number of hours of sleep I have had since Saturday night. Two all-nighters in a row with a six hour nap on Monday has been the week for me.
The good news is that finals don't officially start until Thursday and I will have two done by the end of today.
The really good news is that I'm all caught up and won't have to sleep on London time anymore.
The good news is that finals don't officially start until Thursday and I will have two done by the end of today.
The really good news is that I'm all caught up and won't have to sleep on London time anymore.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Guess-the-Google
So I found one good link from psycho's blog: Guess-the-Google.
I've decided this is an acceptable way to pass 15 minutes of time, especially when such time includes procratinating on finals studying.
My high in seven games was 383 (including a "how do we do this?" Game One).
And I beat Baker 4-3 in our series of Guess-the-Google high scores, capping off a remarkable early 3-1 series deficit.
I've decided this is an acceptable way to pass 15 minutes of time, especially when such time includes procratinating on finals studying.
My high in seven games was 383 (including a "how do we do this?" Game One).
And I beat Baker 4-3 in our series of Guess-the-Google high scores, capping off a remarkable early 3-1 series deficit.
I feel violated
So it's finals week, and I am doing all that I can to balance studying with staying awake. About 3:45 a.m. I decide to take a break from consequentialism and browse a few sites, including my own to see if Prince has logged his rebuttal to a prior post.
Then I come across this comment regarding my post-it on finals:
"KINGSPAWN said...
Then I come across this comment regarding my post-it on finals:
"KINGSPAWN said...
Schiavo, Terri. What a goddess. Ahh, the sweet nectar of her loins, it doth rival ambrosia, no? Forgive me Terri, only for loving thee too much."
The first thing I think is, "Wow, who just saw that South Park episode for the first time this weekend?" But then I clicked KINGSPAWN's link and saw they had a blog, so I decided to click it and see what this was all about. I thought maybe it might be someone I know that was just trying to mess with me or somethign: what followed was downright creepy.
As if the latest entry (about starting a Shiavo chant during a moment of silence at a Celtics playoff game) wasn't weird enough, I read the following and literally lol'ed and did a double (triple?) take. Here's the link to his site if you want to read it all (BEWARE of clicking some of the links, they are weird/inappropriate/just play psycho), but here is an excerpt:
"So today I was next-blogging and ran across what looked at first glance to be an ad-blog, which pissed me off, so I had to hit back and comment "Schiavo, Terri. What a goddess. Ahh, the sweet nectar of her loins, it doth rival ambrosia, no? Forgive me Terri, only for loving thee too much," on some Mormon kid's blog. But then I realized what I had just read as the title of the first post on the ad-blog, "white pimple on -----," and I was highly intrigued."
"Next-blogging" is a link on the top right of each page where you are taken to a random blog that you can read. Apparently this nut thought my blog was what's called an "ad-blog," which shady companies use to post nothing but advertisements about their product. Anyway, this guy apparently didn't like that so he posted his comment, only to realize after what he'd done (but he still left the comment up - TIMHIT).
The part that was really weird is how long he must have waded through this site to figure out it was "some Mormon kid's blog" (the only real reference I could find to this is in my seventh ever post [21 Feb 2005] , which is wwwaaaayyyy back in the archives for someone who's just perusing).
Anyway, I just had to share this. Time to grind for Philosophy.
I think I feel better now.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Look what you made me go and do Chops (pelegray)....
Original comment by pelegray from my "Long Overdue" (27 Apr) post: "Didnt u say the other nite u thought the Nugz would win the series over SA???? See and then you hop back and forth with, that was my fan side, this is my rational side. And your love of cheering for the Rockies, you might as well be a Cubs fan too. Rational fans cheer for goods teams, irrational fans hope and pray, but don't use your "objective side." So are you a fan, or an objectional veiwer. I think playing both sides of the coin is worse then choosing a couple of teams you like. Besides you cheer for teams, which is a colection of player, and players change so sticking with CO teams just doesn't make since. If it is state pride your after your mistaken, their privatly owned, most likely by people outside of CO."
*NOTE: The second half of this post deals with Blake's claim that it's better to value the individual and not the whole (I know that may be better in dealing with capitalism vs. communism, but the Cold War is over buddy). If you don't feel like reading all of it, I've moved a link I talk about below to the top for the sake of convenience. It's from Dan Findlay's blog after UNC won the NCAA Championship. Click Here to read it and skip all of my boring blabbing.
Firstly, I would like to begin by expressing my anger. I had a long response typed under my "comments" box in the original post, but because of it's length I decided to turn it into it's own post. However, in copying and pasting it over somehow the comment became lost in the exchange and I'm forced to try to recreate what I already had (that's like trying to reinact anything MJ ever did, the feeling when one of your teams wins a championship [think Avalanche Stanley Cup here], any Duke loss ever, or that feeling I'll probably have when I become a dad someday: it's just not happening.). Anyway, here is my best attempt.
Chops (pelegray), I must first say that no, I never said I thought they would win, instead that I thought they could and wanted them to. Next, I must assume that (based off of your comment) you know between nothing and absolutely nothing about being a fan and also being a rational, functional human being capable of interaction with other human beings of such likeness. Now, I'm not saying you can't be one or the other at any given time, but after that comment I am convinced that there is no way you can be both at the same time.
You know "that guy" - the one who loves his team and will yell about them all night long, but then does the whole proverbial "cover your ears and start screaming 'la la la la la' when anyone tries to have an actual discussion of any sort of merit about 'that guy's' team?" Well, I know two of those guys (Kellen Gustavson, Mike Pacini: UNC basketball), and they drive me absolutely crazy in this regard. See, I'm all about being a fan. As a fan, I hope the Nuggets beat SA 4-0, Phoenix 4-0, Seattle 4-0, and Miami/Detroit 4-0 en route to Denver's first professional basketball championship. Do you know what else I want? I want the Rockies to go 162-0, beat the Braves 3-0, the Cardinals 4-0, and the Yankees 4-0 to win the World Series. (We're not done yet.) I want the Broncos to go 16-0, then steamroll their way through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl for the third time. (One more still Chops). Finally, I want the NHL to come back so the Avalanche can go 82-0 before completing Lord Stanley's quest 16-0 and bring back the Cup for a third time. And those are just my pro teams....
Do you see how unreasonable that is? Now add in that annoyance factor where everytime you criticize or bring up a weak point or fault in my team, I just plug my ears and don't listen; you would get pretty annoyed and think I wasn't reasonable right? Which is why I like to separate the two. I have always had a thing for sports journalism (see my role on my high school newspaper to know this isn't just some out-of-left-field comment) and I've always had a thing about being a fan, I just like to do my best to keep them separate. See, I wanted UA to win the National Championship and picked them to do so in every single bracket I filled out, but I also talked with others about not feeling like UA was quite good enough to be championship caliber and hoped that they would at least get to the Final Four (didn't happen). With my two aforementioned UNC buddies (note the satire), this conversation would have never been possible. You see, according to them, the last two years UNC has had the best basketball team the world has ever seen. Granted, they did win the National Championship, but this started WAY before that (and to be fair: I gave them the props they deserved on 04 April). Every single loss had a tired excuse, every comment (aka "I'm in jail") was unfairly spun by the media, every clock malfunction (even the one in the Michigan St.-Duke game) was somehow an effort to let Duke win and have UNC lose. Even the second round loss to Texas last year was somehow a good showing by UNC, despite the fact that I was told all year UNC could and would be anyone. You see Chops, I have no problem with people being fans and cheering and hoping your team will do anything you want it to do, but I do have a problem with unreasonable people that think if they yell loud enough or act naive enough then they will be "right." I could go on longer but I don't want this to turn from a weblog to a webnovel (bnovel doesn't have the same ring as blog anyway).
As for your "rational fans cheer for good teams," I hope so much that that was a failed attempt at humor and nothing more.
Also, I'm not "playing both sides of the coin." All year I thought New England was good enough to beat Indy (and predicted it as well), and as a fan of cheering against Peyton, I was firmly on the NE side of things back in January (Want proof? Ask anyone that knows me even a little bit.) Sometimes my objective side lines up with my subjective side, sometimes not: it's all in how the cookie crumbles.
Finally, your comment about cheering for teams versus cheering for individuals is quite possibly the worst statement I've ever heard from anyone regarding anything that is sport (including what I've heard from girls). Have you ever heard of a thing called pride? Not that negative hubris pride but that "I live in America so I'm going to support my country and my troops" sort of pride. You pick an entity and follow it because of pride Blake. This pride can come from anywhere (parents, alma-matter, living in the state, someone you know socialized you, etc.), but the fact remains that it must be there. There is one person I have ever cheered for (MJ), everything else has been T-E-A-M.
(I honestly feel like I'm at a loss for words on how to describe this; it's like having a little kid tell you that he doesn't believe grass is green and trying to prove to him that it is.)
Of course I cheer for teams Blake, because I'm a fan of the whole being bigger than any one piece. Jack Parkman might get traded to the White Sox, but you know that unless Rachel Phelps gets her way the Indians will always be from Cleveland (and Cleveland [NFL] and Charlotte [NBA] proved you can get them back if you care anyway). John Elway might play 16 years and have a great career, but it's awesome to know that the Broncos will go on, even when he doesn't. Cheering for a team unites one with another. Go to any game in person to see what I mean (especially if it's a big one); you'll probably end up high-fiving and/or hugging a complete stranger. Being a fan of the whole also gives a sense of belonging, almost like you are interwoven with the organization, an actual part of the whole (something which cannot be felt by idolizing a mere individual). It makes you feel like you actually are a part of the team, like your being a fan might actually have made some sort of difference. This may sound weak in print but emotions were never meant to be read anyway, there are words for that; emotions are to be felt.
I may want to play like A-Rod, but I don't want to cheer for the M's for a few years, then the Rangers, and now the Yankees (although I do remember you saying you're a Yankees fan, so this all is making at least a little more sense to me now....). Nobody likes someone that jumps ship. People like something they can depend on to be the same now and always. The bad times suck (see my life as a Rockies fan), but the good times are amazing (Click Here to see how it feels when your TEAM finally comes out on top). In fact, I'm moving that link to the top of this post, and with it I shall be done.
--END--
*NOTE: The second half of this post deals with Blake's claim that it's better to value the individual and not the whole (I know that may be better in dealing with capitalism vs. communism, but the Cold War is over buddy). If you don't feel like reading all of it, I've moved a link I talk about below to the top for the sake of convenience. It's from Dan Findlay's blog after UNC won the NCAA Championship. Click Here to read it and skip all of my boring blabbing.
Firstly, I would like to begin by expressing my anger. I had a long response typed under my "comments" box in the original post, but because of it's length I decided to turn it into it's own post. However, in copying and pasting it over somehow the comment became lost in the exchange and I'm forced to try to recreate what I already had (that's like trying to reinact anything MJ ever did, the feeling when one of your teams wins a championship [think Avalanche Stanley Cup here], any Duke loss ever, or that feeling I'll probably have when I become a dad someday: it's just not happening.). Anyway, here is my best attempt.
Chops (pelegray), I must first say that no, I never said I thought they would win, instead that I thought they could and wanted them to. Next, I must assume that (based off of your comment) you know between nothing and absolutely nothing about being a fan and also being a rational, functional human being capable of interaction with other human beings of such likeness. Now, I'm not saying you can't be one or the other at any given time, but after that comment I am convinced that there is no way you can be both at the same time.
You know "that guy" - the one who loves his team and will yell about them all night long, but then does the whole proverbial "cover your ears and start screaming 'la la la la la' when anyone tries to have an actual discussion of any sort of merit about 'that guy's' team?" Well, I know two of those guys (Kellen Gustavson, Mike Pacini: UNC basketball), and they drive me absolutely crazy in this regard. See, I'm all about being a fan. As a fan, I hope the Nuggets beat SA 4-0, Phoenix 4-0, Seattle 4-0, and Miami/Detroit 4-0 en route to Denver's first professional basketball championship. Do you know what else I want? I want the Rockies to go 162-0, beat the Braves 3-0, the Cardinals 4-0, and the Yankees 4-0 to win the World Series. (We're not done yet.) I want the Broncos to go 16-0, then steamroll their way through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl for the third time. (One more still Chops). Finally, I want the NHL to come back so the Avalanche can go 82-0 before completing Lord Stanley's quest 16-0 and bring back the Cup for a third time. And those are just my pro teams....
Do you see how unreasonable that is? Now add in that annoyance factor where everytime you criticize or bring up a weak point or fault in my team, I just plug my ears and don't listen; you would get pretty annoyed and think I wasn't reasonable right? Which is why I like to separate the two. I have always had a thing for sports journalism (see my role on my high school newspaper to know this isn't just some out-of-left-field comment) and I've always had a thing about being a fan, I just like to do my best to keep them separate. See, I wanted UA to win the National Championship and picked them to do so in every single bracket I filled out, but I also talked with others about not feeling like UA was quite good enough to be championship caliber and hoped that they would at least get to the Final Four (didn't happen). With my two aforementioned UNC buddies (note the satire), this conversation would have never been possible. You see, according to them, the last two years UNC has had the best basketball team the world has ever seen. Granted, they did win the National Championship, but this started WAY before that (and to be fair: I gave them the props they deserved on 04 April). Every single loss had a tired excuse, every comment (aka "I'm in jail") was unfairly spun by the media, every clock malfunction (even the one in the Michigan St.-Duke game) was somehow an effort to let Duke win and have UNC lose. Even the second round loss to Texas last year was somehow a good showing by UNC, despite the fact that I was told all year UNC could and would be anyone. You see Chops, I have no problem with people being fans and cheering and hoping your team will do anything you want it to do, but I do have a problem with unreasonable people that think if they yell loud enough or act naive enough then they will be "right." I could go on longer but I don't want this to turn from a weblog to a webnovel (bnovel doesn't have the same ring as blog anyway).
As for your "rational fans cheer for good teams," I hope so much that that was a failed attempt at humor and nothing more.
Also, I'm not "playing both sides of the coin." All year I thought New England was good enough to beat Indy (and predicted it as well), and as a fan of cheering against Peyton, I was firmly on the NE side of things back in January (Want proof? Ask anyone that knows me even a little bit.) Sometimes my objective side lines up with my subjective side, sometimes not: it's all in how the cookie crumbles.
Finally, your comment about cheering for teams versus cheering for individuals is quite possibly the worst statement I've ever heard from anyone regarding anything that is sport (including what I've heard from girls). Have you ever heard of a thing called pride? Not that negative hubris pride but that "I live in America so I'm going to support my country and my troops" sort of pride. You pick an entity and follow it because of pride Blake. This pride can come from anywhere (parents, alma-matter, living in the state, someone you know socialized you, etc.), but the fact remains that it must be there. There is one person I have ever cheered for (MJ), everything else has been T-E-A-M.
(I honestly feel like I'm at a loss for words on how to describe this; it's like having a little kid tell you that he doesn't believe grass is green and trying to prove to him that it is.)
Of course I cheer for teams Blake, because I'm a fan of the whole being bigger than any one piece. Jack Parkman might get traded to the White Sox, but you know that unless Rachel Phelps gets her way the Indians will always be from Cleveland (and Cleveland [NFL] and Charlotte [NBA] proved you can get them back if you care anyway). John Elway might play 16 years and have a great career, but it's awesome to know that the Broncos will go on, even when he doesn't. Cheering for a team unites one with another. Go to any game in person to see what I mean (especially if it's a big one); you'll probably end up high-fiving and/or hugging a complete stranger. Being a fan of the whole also gives a sense of belonging, almost like you are interwoven with the organization, an actual part of the whole (something which cannot be felt by idolizing a mere individual). It makes you feel like you actually are a part of the team, like your being a fan might actually have made some sort of difference. This may sound weak in print but emotions were never meant to be read anyway, there are words for that; emotions are to be felt.
I may want to play like A-Rod, but I don't want to cheer for the M's for a few years, then the Rangers, and now the Yankees (although I do remember you saying you're a Yankees fan, so this all is making at least a little more sense to me now....). Nobody likes someone that jumps ship. People like something they can depend on to be the same now and always. The bad times suck (see my life as a Rockies fan), but the good times are amazing (Click Here to see how it feels when your TEAM finally comes out on top). In fact, I'm moving that link to the top of this post, and with it I shall be done.
--END--
Friday, April 29, 2005
QOTD
"I wonder if guys wore makeup if I'd be a lot more gorgeous." --My roommate Evan (does this come as a surprise to anyone?), thinking aloud to me the other day.
The worst part? He wasn't joking.
At all.
The worst part? He wasn't joking.
At all.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
QOTD (it's baaaaack baaaaaack baaaaack....)
GOCATS5: It's snowing in Boulder
GOCATS5: the Rox game was rained out
GOCATS5: last night it was rained/snowed out
GOCATS5: crazy CO weather
Gohuskers14: haha
Gohuskers14: so whenever we get clouds....they get snow
Gohuskers14: we sip cris...they drink piss
Phoenix weekend weather:
Friday - 75/54 (Sunny)
Saturday - 80/58 (Mostly Sunny)
Sunday - 82/57 (Mostly Sunny)
Boulder weekend weather:
Friday - 38/30 (Snow)
Saturday - 53/34 (Partly Cloudy)
Sunday - 49/37 (Rain/Snow)
It's good to be the king....
GOCATS5: the Rox game was rained out
GOCATS5: last night it was rained/snowed out
GOCATS5: crazy CO weather
Gohuskers14: haha
Gohuskers14: so whenever we get clouds....they get snow
Gohuskers14: we sip cris...they drink piss
Phoenix weekend weather:
Friday - 75/54 (Sunny)
Saturday - 80/58 (Mostly Sunny)
Sunday - 82/57 (Mostly Sunny)
Boulder weekend weather:
Friday - 38/30 (Snow)
Saturday - 53/34 (Partly Cloudy)
Sunday - 49/37 (Rain/Snow)
It's good to be the king....
Long Overdue
The title of this post speaks volumes for me, I don't really know how else to say it, but it's true. I've noticed that not having your own computer really inhibits the availabilty (and motivation) for blogging. Back in the good old days (pre-computer-crashing), I would get a thought, hop on the laptop, and post it right up. Now it actually takes effort, as I have to get up and walk all the way over to the lab my dorm has.
Needless to say, that is why the post frequency has decreased immensely.
Also, this blog is primarily sports-based, and what do I have to write about this time of year? The Nuggets snuck a W out of Game 1 (SA's shooting down the stretch couldn't have had anything to do with it, as evidenced by their 28 point demolition which was close for approximately zero seconds tonight). The best way I can describe it is this: I don't think the Nuggets will win. Now, I am a fan of them and will not stop cheering and hoping and getting excited if it looks like they have a chance, but I still say this team is about one piece away from really putting it all together. Maybe it's a shooter, maybe it's something else, but you just have to think the Nugs are about one player and one full George Karl season away from being an actual threat. Until then, I'll be subject to hoping for a miracle.
Sticking with my NBA theme, I'm kind of feeling conflicted here. I am in no way a Suns fan, and could really care less if they win or lose. But should I root for them because it's interesting being in a city where there is so much hype and hysteria (and because the Suns are fun to watch because they play about 30 seconds total of defense each game and shoot about 45 three's)? The hysteria is a double-edged sword: I like reading and seeing and feeling the pulse of the city, but the problem is that the city isn't Boston or Philly or some actual sports town, it's Phoenix. These are the fans notorious for being fair-weathered. They sold out SIX games last year at AWA: SIX. Now everyone loves the Suns - EVERYONE. I even know people who are cheering for the Suns AND the Heat (how does that even work?). So part of me wants to see the Suns, a "regional" team for me, do well just so some East coast team doesn't win (I have the bias, yes), but another part of me wants to see Phoenix get destroyed Indianapolis Colts style (I don't like seeing teams that break the basic championship-caliber rules ever succeed). That's another thing, it's not just the fans: teams that don't play D should never succeed in the long run. They should be awarded the "Peyton Manning Annual Regular Season Statistical Champs" award, which should consist of front-row tickets to the ACTUAL Super Bowl/Finals, along with obligatory trips to Mexico under the alias of Javier Lopez (Click Here if you don't know what I mean by this).
Here's another topic that encompasses the two most important things in my life (temporally, anyway): Girls and Sports. I was talking with E.Dubb today, and I have a dilemma. Growing up, I always thought it would be so cool to meet a girl that was in love with sports, a girl that knew a lot about it and would love to sit down and watch SportsCenter with me. In my mind, the more she knew, the better. But now I feel like I need to backtrack a little: perhaps about four or five steps actually. See, after actually MEETING a few girls that are crazy-good with sports, and getting to know their personality in ADDITION to the sports thing, I'm not sure if I should be in love or be running away plugging my ears and changing my phone number. I liken it to the age-old debate on whether some guys feel intimidated/uncomfortable when their girlfriend is smarter than them. It's gotten to the point now where it's almost like I want the girl's knowledge of sports to be equal to the education level an oppressive dictator desires from his subjects: enough to understand how to function, but not so much where she wants to rise up and overthrow me. Now, the whole oppressive thing might set off alarms of sexism here, but that's not what I'm getting at in any way. I would love it if she liked sports, enjoyed SportsCenter, and even knew stuff about sports (team cities and names are an absolute MUST, and names and basic facts are cool too). But once it gets to the point where she starts challenging things, telling YOU news from ESPN, almost knowing a little TOO much for her (and my) own good, that's when it gets scary.
See, I have a friend with a girlfriend that is the former one described (knowing enough to where she's cool), and just the other day we were watching TV and she made some awesome comments and just knew what was going on, but she never tries to correct us or make us look/feel stupid about sports. And it's almost refreshing if she ever rolls her eyes or makes a "are you still talking about that?" comment/face. I've known other girls that try to correct or get in way over their heads, even going so far as to challenge me unprovoked. This problem is made 1,000,000 times worse if the girl: a) has no clue what the heck she's talking about, or b) if her stat/opinion is blatantly wrong, being exact by both sexes is a must - mistakes are not taken well by me.
Well I'm not quite sure what prompted what will definitely be perceived as the most sexist post of all-time, but perhaps only the most stereotypical would be in order. I wouldn't mind being friends with and hanging out with the afmorementioned sports girl, but I would be scared/annoyed out of my mind if she were ever my girlfriend. Now, if you think I'm totally wrong and completely off-base, don't freak out on me. Instead, click the little "comments" box and tell me where I have erred and I will consider such advice and re-adjust my stance as necessary.
Now, I feel like this post will suffice for the next day or two, but I'll try to sneak back on when I get the chance/motivation and give some more from the world that is mine.
Needless to say, that is why the post frequency has decreased immensely.
Also, this blog is primarily sports-based, and what do I have to write about this time of year? The Nuggets snuck a W out of Game 1 (SA's shooting down the stretch couldn't have had anything to do with it, as evidenced by their 28 point demolition which was close for approximately zero seconds tonight). The best way I can describe it is this: I don't think the Nuggets will win. Now, I am a fan of them and will not stop cheering and hoping and getting excited if it looks like they have a chance, but I still say this team is about one piece away from really putting it all together. Maybe it's a shooter, maybe it's something else, but you just have to think the Nugs are about one player and one full George Karl season away from being an actual threat. Until then, I'll be subject to hoping for a miracle.
Sticking with my NBA theme, I'm kind of feeling conflicted here. I am in no way a Suns fan, and could really care less if they win or lose. But should I root for them because it's interesting being in a city where there is so much hype and hysteria (and because the Suns are fun to watch because they play about 30 seconds total of defense each game and shoot about 45 three's)? The hysteria is a double-edged sword: I like reading and seeing and feeling the pulse of the city, but the problem is that the city isn't Boston or Philly or some actual sports town, it's Phoenix. These are the fans notorious for being fair-weathered. They sold out SIX games last year at AWA: SIX. Now everyone loves the Suns - EVERYONE. I even know people who are cheering for the Suns AND the Heat (how does that even work?). So part of me wants to see the Suns, a "regional" team for me, do well just so some East coast team doesn't win (I have the bias, yes), but another part of me wants to see Phoenix get destroyed Indianapolis Colts style (I don't like seeing teams that break the basic championship-caliber rules ever succeed). That's another thing, it's not just the fans: teams that don't play D should never succeed in the long run. They should be awarded the "Peyton Manning Annual Regular Season Statistical Champs" award, which should consist of front-row tickets to the ACTUAL Super Bowl/Finals, along with obligatory trips to Mexico under the alias of Javier Lopez (Click Here if you don't know what I mean by this).
Here's another topic that encompasses the two most important things in my life (temporally, anyway): Girls and Sports. I was talking with E.Dubb today, and I have a dilemma. Growing up, I always thought it would be so cool to meet a girl that was in love with sports, a girl that knew a lot about it and would love to sit down and watch SportsCenter with me. In my mind, the more she knew, the better. But now I feel like I need to backtrack a little: perhaps about four or five steps actually. See, after actually MEETING a few girls that are crazy-good with sports, and getting to know their personality in ADDITION to the sports thing, I'm not sure if I should be in love or be running away plugging my ears and changing my phone number. I liken it to the age-old debate on whether some guys feel intimidated/uncomfortable when their girlfriend is smarter than them. It's gotten to the point now where it's almost like I want the girl's knowledge of sports to be equal to the education level an oppressive dictator desires from his subjects: enough to understand how to function, but not so much where she wants to rise up and overthrow me. Now, the whole oppressive thing might set off alarms of sexism here, but that's not what I'm getting at in any way. I would love it if she liked sports, enjoyed SportsCenter, and even knew stuff about sports (team cities and names are an absolute MUST, and names and basic facts are cool too). But once it gets to the point where she starts challenging things, telling YOU news from ESPN, almost knowing a little TOO much for her (and my) own good, that's when it gets scary.
See, I have a friend with a girlfriend that is the former one described (knowing enough to where she's cool), and just the other day we were watching TV and she made some awesome comments and just knew what was going on, but she never tries to correct us or make us look/feel stupid about sports. And it's almost refreshing if she ever rolls her eyes or makes a "are you still talking about that?" comment/face. I've known other girls that try to correct or get in way over their heads, even going so far as to challenge me unprovoked. This problem is made 1,000,000 times worse if the girl: a) has no clue what the heck she's talking about, or b) if her stat/opinion is blatantly wrong, being exact by both sexes is a must - mistakes are not taken well by me.
Well I'm not quite sure what prompted what will definitely be perceived as the most sexist post of all-time, but perhaps only the most stereotypical would be in order. I wouldn't mind being friends with and hanging out with the afmorementioned sports girl, but I would be scared/annoyed out of my mind if she were ever my girlfriend. Now, if you think I'm totally wrong and completely off-base, don't freak out on me. Instead, click the little "comments" box and tell me where I have erred and I will consider such advice and re-adjust my stance as necessary.
Now, I feel like this post will suffice for the next day or two, but I'll try to sneak back on when I get the chance/motivation and give some more from the world that is mine.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
I really am still blogging, I swear....
It seems like I really haven't had anything to say on here other than the obligatory QOTD. I wish I had more time to say what's on my mind, (because there really is plenty there) but life is really made more difficult when the hard drive that was replaced last October goes bad on you (so much for it being a "software failure"). I guess the only consolation is that it's under warranty so the money I thought I'd have to spend fixing became a sunk cost on the debacle that was supposed to be the Nuggets-Suns game at AWA last night (a 44-25 first quarter will do that to you).
But "when the Suns win, so do I!!!!" $50 for parking, good seats (1st row on the second level, center court), free large fry from McDonalds (Suns W), two free tacos from Jack In The Box (Suns scored over 99 - I think they're going to have to change it to over 120 next year), "The Gorilla" bobblehead (fan appreciation night), and some idiot guy (who knows absolutely nothing about basketball but has a wife that did actually) who played the role of "that guy" for the night.
All in all, it was a good night. We got to sit outside and "people watch" while waiting for Ticket Master to release their seats back to the Suns box office 30 minutes before game time, try to get hustled by three of the dirtiest people on the face of the planet (or at least anywhere outside of Apache Junction), laugh at the scalpers as they futilely tried to rip people off (that's harder and harder to do these days with your run-of-the-mill sort of sporting events, and guess the ages of the girls that "I'd allow my mom to see me walking with" sort of way, there were plenty of girls that dressed the part of somone you'd see on Van Buren (or Colfax for the Colorado folk); Youngest girl to pass (guestimate here): 15, Oldest: 40 (remember, not someone I was actually into, just someone that was good-looking but had on enough clothes to cover up at more than 1/16 of their body).
Anyway, the game itself was still entertaining and fun (watching the Suns is like watching the Colts, love 'em or hate 'em you'll at least get to see a bunch of numbers get thrown up on the scoreboard. The Nugs lost, but thanks to some trash buckets in the final couple of minutes (and the Suns ninth-thirteenth guys), the final score was 128-114 (could have easily been 180-95 though). All in all, it was a much-needed respite that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Now it's back to the grind for a big econ. test before "I'm going going, back back, to Cali Cali."
But "when the Suns win, so do I!!!!" $50 for parking, good seats (1st row on the second level, center court), free large fry from McDonalds (Suns W), two free tacos from Jack In The Box (Suns scored over 99 - I think they're going to have to change it to over 120 next year), "The Gorilla" bobblehead (fan appreciation night), and some idiot guy (who knows absolutely nothing about basketball but has a wife that did actually) who played the role of "that guy" for the night.
All in all, it was a good night. We got to sit outside and "people watch" while waiting for Ticket Master to release their seats back to the Suns box office 30 minutes before game time, try to get hustled by three of the dirtiest people on the face of the planet (or at least anywhere outside of Apache Junction), laugh at the scalpers as they futilely tried to rip people off (that's harder and harder to do these days with your run-of-the-mill sort of sporting events, and guess the ages of the girls that "I'd allow my mom to see me walking with" sort of way, there were plenty of girls that dressed the part of somone you'd see on Van Buren (or Colfax for the Colorado folk); Youngest girl to pass (guestimate here): 15, Oldest: 40 (remember, not someone I was actually into, just someone that was good-looking but had on enough clothes to cover up at more than 1/16 of their body).
Anyway, the game itself was still entertaining and fun (watching the Suns is like watching the Colts, love 'em or hate 'em you'll at least get to see a bunch of numbers get thrown up on the scoreboard. The Nugs lost, but thanks to some trash buckets in the final couple of minutes (and the Suns ninth-thirteenth guys), the final score was 128-114 (could have easily been 180-95 though). All in all, it was a much-needed respite that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Now it's back to the grind for a big econ. test before "I'm going going, back back, to Cali Cali."
QOTD
"Have a good night....good luck with the whole life thing." --My friend Jenni , before going to bed Tuesday night.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Awesome....
So another great happening regarding the investment that has been my computer. After paying a nice little chunk of money to fix a hard drive failure last fall, now the operating system (XP) has decided to malfunction and force a full system recovery scan. However, due to documents that cannot be lost and a few other technical things that need to be done in addition to restore (all of which I am clueless on how to do), I will have to take it in to a tech shop and have them do it for me. So I lost a full afternoon yesterday and all the money I'm about to spend fixing this baby. Gotta love it right?
So since I haven't had a laptop to surf through ESPN.com and I was busy yesterday on the phone with tech support, I feel like I've lost a full day in the world of sports. All I know is that the Rockies lost yet again (go figure eh?) and the Nuggets won again (another go figure eh?). In their last 22, Denver is freaking 22-0 against teams not named the Phoenix Suns. Karl is an absolute stud. My question though: why? Why did it take so long? Management wasn't behind Bizz last SUMMER, and I told Brandon (Prince) last summer/fall that we needed a new coach. Then, when Denver was obviously struggling (sinking is more like it), they sat back and tried to see if Melo or K-Mart could right the ship on their own (not happening). Karl is JUST what these guys needed. They are a great group of talent, but were clearly lacking the "crack the whip" type of coach to get them to bust their butts and live up to expectations.
Now do I think they would have had what it takes to overtake Seattle if Karl would have been here from the start? Too hard to tell - Seattle got off to a quick start and didn't really look back for a while (although I would LOVE a first round matchup against Seattle right now), but it sure would have been a fun battle to watch down the stretch. Still, as it stands right now, Denver still has a shot at the six seed and that coveted first round matchup against GK's old team of the Sonics. And, as any Denver fan should know, the Nuggets do okay against Seattle in the playoffs.
So anyway, that's about all I feel qualified to comment on at this time. I don't even want to touch the issue of Jorge Piedra and his steriods -- errrr -- "painkillers." I'm just happy that I'll be gone for the next two years of the Rockies new direction of home-growing their talent. I just hope Heloton's still here when I get back (and maybe ONE other good free agent signing or trade aquisition wouldn't hurt).
I don't know when I'll get the chance to drop another post on here (thanks to the computer issues), but hopefully I'll find some time. Until then, school school school school school school (sucks huh?).
At least it's 84 here today.
And I'm going to California next week.
So since I haven't had a laptop to surf through ESPN.com and I was busy yesterday on the phone with tech support, I feel like I've lost a full day in the world of sports. All I know is that the Rockies lost yet again (go figure eh?) and the Nuggets won again (another go figure eh?). In their last 22, Denver is freaking 22-0 against teams not named the Phoenix Suns. Karl is an absolute stud. My question though: why? Why did it take so long? Management wasn't behind Bizz last SUMMER, and I told Brandon (Prince) last summer/fall that we needed a new coach. Then, when Denver was obviously struggling (sinking is more like it), they sat back and tried to see if Melo or K-Mart could right the ship on their own (not happening). Karl is JUST what these guys needed. They are a great group of talent, but were clearly lacking the "crack the whip" type of coach to get them to bust their butts and live up to expectations.
Now do I think they would have had what it takes to overtake Seattle if Karl would have been here from the start? Too hard to tell - Seattle got off to a quick start and didn't really look back for a while (although I would LOVE a first round matchup against Seattle right now), but it sure would have been a fun battle to watch down the stretch. Still, as it stands right now, Denver still has a shot at the six seed and that coveted first round matchup against GK's old team of the Sonics. And, as any Denver fan should know, the Nuggets do okay against Seattle in the playoffs.
So anyway, that's about all I feel qualified to comment on at this time. I don't even want to touch the issue of Jorge Piedra and his steriods -- errrr -- "painkillers." I'm just happy that I'll be gone for the next two years of the Rockies new direction of home-growing their talent. I just hope Heloton's still here when I get back (and maybe ONE other good free agent signing or trade aquisition wouldn't hurt).
I don't know when I'll get the chance to drop another post on here (thanks to the computer issues), but hopefully I'll find some time. Until then, school school school school school school (sucks huh?).
At least it's 84 here today.
And I'm going to California next week.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
QOTD
"No, I don't like her (that way) - I treat all attractive girls like that!" --My roommate (who else) Evan, on why he was so nice to a good-looking girl from our Ward.
Contradiction?
Since I may have a new influx of readers meandering on over to see if dantheheel knew what he was doing when he linked my blog from his I thought I might take this opportunity to clear up what might be seen as a huge contradiction.
One reading this will quickly pick up on two themes: 1) I love Arizona basketball, 2) I hate Duke basketball.
While I am sure the latter will resonate well with about 95% of my readers (sorry E.Dubb, Daner, and Grant), it's the former that may be perplexing and hard to register for some. For as one looks at my location, it is quickly noted that I reside in Tempe, AZ and not Tucson, AZ. I am a huge sports fan and know that such is similar to going to Nebraska and cheering for CU when they come to town, but I can explain (really I can).
You see, UA has been my team from the start. My late grandmother used to live in Phoenix, and we always used to come visit her down here when I was little. For some reason I thought the STATE school had to be in the smaller city, so I thought UA was in Phoenix. Thus, I equated going on vacation to Phoenix with UA, and coupled that with watching UA on TV. I was sold, and by the time I was in third or fourth grade and figured out ASU was the local school, it was too late: I was a Wildcat fan.
Now, I hadn't even planned on going to school in Arizona, so I thought I'd be alright. But when things changed course, ASU came calling with a scholarship. So that and the fact that I wasn't going pre-med, UA was pretty much ruled out. And I really feel like a stiff because I never even liked UA in anything other than bball (that's all I ever saw on TV), so I cheered for ASU this year in everything else (and in bball when they weren't playing UA). Luckily this whole problem will be resolved soon enough: I'm heading out on a two-year Church mission and will be transferring from ASU when I return, so I'll be able to unabashedly cheer for the Cats again.
So now that I have that off my chest, I'll move on to my two Colorado-sports motivated tidbits of today:
1) Don't drink from DU Goalie Peter Mannino's water bottle (See SportsCenter for reasoning)!
2) Nuggets: 21-2 in their last 23, 28-6 (15-1) Overall under Karl. Everyone better steer clear of Denver in the playoffs!
And finally: Max-X is a really funny show. Nothing funnier than people doing crazy/stupid things and a sarcastic/snide announcer to narrate. Gotta love it!
One reading this will quickly pick up on two themes: 1) I love Arizona basketball, 2) I hate Duke basketball.
While I am sure the latter will resonate well with about 95% of my readers (sorry E.Dubb, Daner, and Grant), it's the former that may be perplexing and hard to register for some. For as one looks at my location, it is quickly noted that I reside in Tempe, AZ and not Tucson, AZ. I am a huge sports fan and know that such is similar to going to Nebraska and cheering for CU when they come to town, but I can explain (really I can).
You see, UA has been my team from the start. My late grandmother used to live in Phoenix, and we always used to come visit her down here when I was little. For some reason I thought the STATE school had to be in the smaller city, so I thought UA was in Phoenix. Thus, I equated going on vacation to Phoenix with UA, and coupled that with watching UA on TV. I was sold, and by the time I was in third or fourth grade and figured out ASU was the local school, it was too late: I was a Wildcat fan.
Now, I hadn't even planned on going to school in Arizona, so I thought I'd be alright. But when things changed course, ASU came calling with a scholarship. So that and the fact that I wasn't going pre-med, UA was pretty much ruled out. And I really feel like a stiff because I never even liked UA in anything other than bball (that's all I ever saw on TV), so I cheered for ASU this year in everything else (and in bball when they weren't playing UA). Luckily this whole problem will be resolved soon enough: I'm heading out on a two-year Church mission and will be transferring from ASU when I return, so I'll be able to unabashedly cheer for the Cats again.
So now that I have that off my chest, I'll move on to my two Colorado-sports motivated tidbits of today:
1) Don't drink from DU Goalie Peter Mannino's water bottle (See SportsCenter for reasoning)!
2) Nuggets: 21-2 in their last 23, 28-6 (15-1) Overall under Karl. Everyone better steer clear of Denver in the playoffs!
And finally: Max-X is a really funny show. Nothing funnier than people doing crazy/stupid things and a sarcastic/snide announcer to narrate. Gotta love it!
Friday, April 08, 2005
I love it....
Now, I created this blog for anyone to read. It's a fun way to just put my thoughts, post things I find to be funny, and just an all-around way for me to vent at times. I very much enjoy getting comments and think most of them are hilarious (sometimes because the person meant to be funny and sometimes because humor was the last possible intention of the post). Frankly, I don't care who reads the post or what they think of it. My goal, of course, is to make it entertaining and fun for all to read. But what's awesome about this whole internet deal is that if you don't like it, you can just move right along (or post a comment as to why you don't like it or why you don't like me - lol).
However, one thing I hate about this site is that it allows you to post anonymous comments. For example, in the course of a post (from 07 April) designed with rhetoric meant to be taken in a satirical manner, I posted how happy I was to have another Duke hater in the house (and a smart one at that). Of coure someone immediately took issue (in anonymous form of course) and posted something which I took to be in just the same satirical form. I responded with a quip about Duke and Coach K, and logged on this afternoon to find this:
"keep on getting disappointed in life so you can continue to be an a**h*** to everyone you know "
Now I've long since learned to develop a thick layer of skin, so the words themselves incite no disdain within and in fact evoke nothing more than a passing grin. So it is not the message sent within the words that bothers me, it is the message sent by he who wrote them. You see, I am a big fan of First Amendment rights and would love for anyone to say whatever he feels prompted to, and trying to censor said rights in an open forum such as this one would be both hypocritcal and juvenile. So I make no effort to impede or abase those that wish to write any disdainful or unkind thing about me or what I have to say, whether they be of merit or incredulous makes no difference to me.
So what is the problem? Well, if you will notice, I attach my name to everything which is written on this site. I consider myself a man of principle and feel I would be going against my ways if I did not. And it was one of the first matters of business that was explained and taken care of by Mr. Mark Newton in both his journalism class and on the school newspaper. In fact, it is standard principle and goes without saying in the world of journalism. What credit can be given to one who will not step up and have the confidence to put his name and reputation on the line in regards to what he is saying.
I love criticism; for one, it makes me a better person because I can work to change what it is that is not favorable about myself. Also, it makes the compliments given by the same person mean so much more and gives them more merit.
Even when it is not criticism but an all-out attack on me that is designed not to be constructive or funny but instead serves a sole purpose of attempted to encourage me to become agitated, such is okay. I don't respect it but will not pass judgement on the person for doing so. Instead, I will be grateful for their showing of character, for it will allow me to see who I do and do not wish to associate myself with and spend time with. Life is very short and I know I live an already blessed life, and I love my friends and feel so honored to have them as spiritual and motivational rocks in my life. And I would greatly appreciate someone being so honest and to show his dislike for me so I could know to love them, as we are all children of God, but to know to avoid such poison in my life and ensure I am around only those that will help me to grow.
As a result, I will not publicly dignify such comments unless there is a name attached and there is a rhyme or reason for me to respond. I use this post only as a reflection for what this entire blog was designed for, as a way for me to express and convey my thoughts on the many issues of my life. I guess the one thing I am grateful for and pleased about is that this person hiding cowardly behind this cloak of anonymoty has caused me to reflect and ponder much about this subject on what is an absolutely gorgeous and relaxing Friday in the Desert. It's great because this has also caused me to reflect on those that really DO mean a lot to me and has even prompted me to ensure that they know just how much they mean to me and how much I love having them in my life and what great examples they are to me. So I hate to disappoint and mean this in the most sincere manner, but I'm afraid your comment had an adverse effect contrary to that with which it was originally intended. It has left me stronger, happier, and even more steadfast in my system of beliefs than before. Your rudimentary form of (attempted) aggravation instead made my Friday even better!
To all of my friends and family: Thank You. Thank you for being the people you are, for being the support you are, the breaths of fresh air, and the great examples for which I can only hope to aspire.
To the contrary (not all others, just the contrary): Thank You as well. Thank you for being the people YOU are, for being the support YOU are, and for setting forth an example as to which I never want to aspire. I have no personal bad feelings toward you and instead pray hard that one day your hearts may be softened and that I can love you even more in spite of how my temporal mind might want to feel. It is you that makes me want to work harder and get better and get rid of all that is negative about me. And mostly, without evil how might man know good? It is because of you that I can appreciate and love my friends and family that much more and can more easily distinguish that which is positive from that which is not in my life. ¡Muchos gracias a Ud.!
That is all for this beast of a post. I commend all of you who made it through and encourage any and all to comment on this as you see fit. You do NOT have to register to put your name, and if you can't figure out how to do it the other way, still click anonymous but just affix your name within the text of the comment box itself. Thanks and I cannot wait to see what (if anything) this will generate.
¡Es el fin de semana!
However, one thing I hate about this site is that it allows you to post anonymous comments. For example, in the course of a post (from 07 April) designed with rhetoric meant to be taken in a satirical manner, I posted how happy I was to have another Duke hater in the house (and a smart one at that). Of coure someone immediately took issue (in anonymous form of course) and posted something which I took to be in just the same satirical form. I responded with a quip about Duke and Coach K, and logged on this afternoon to find this:
"keep on getting disappointed in life so you can continue to be an a**h*** to everyone you know "
Now I've long since learned to develop a thick layer of skin, so the words themselves incite no disdain within and in fact evoke nothing more than a passing grin. So it is not the message sent within the words that bothers me, it is the message sent by he who wrote them. You see, I am a big fan of First Amendment rights and would love for anyone to say whatever he feels prompted to, and trying to censor said rights in an open forum such as this one would be both hypocritcal and juvenile. So I make no effort to impede or abase those that wish to write any disdainful or unkind thing about me or what I have to say, whether they be of merit or incredulous makes no difference to me.
So what is the problem? Well, if you will notice, I attach my name to everything which is written on this site. I consider myself a man of principle and feel I would be going against my ways if I did not. And it was one of the first matters of business that was explained and taken care of by Mr. Mark Newton in both his journalism class and on the school newspaper. In fact, it is standard principle and goes without saying in the world of journalism. What credit can be given to one who will not step up and have the confidence to put his name and reputation on the line in regards to what he is saying.
I love criticism; for one, it makes me a better person because I can work to change what it is that is not favorable about myself. Also, it makes the compliments given by the same person mean so much more and gives them more merit.
Even when it is not criticism but an all-out attack on me that is designed not to be constructive or funny but instead serves a sole purpose of attempted to encourage me to become agitated, such is okay. I don't respect it but will not pass judgement on the person for doing so. Instead, I will be grateful for their showing of character, for it will allow me to see who I do and do not wish to associate myself with and spend time with. Life is very short and I know I live an already blessed life, and I love my friends and feel so honored to have them as spiritual and motivational rocks in my life. And I would greatly appreciate someone being so honest and to show his dislike for me so I could know to love them, as we are all children of God, but to know to avoid such poison in my life and ensure I am around only those that will help me to grow.
As a result, I will not publicly dignify such comments unless there is a name attached and there is a rhyme or reason for me to respond. I use this post only as a reflection for what this entire blog was designed for, as a way for me to express and convey my thoughts on the many issues of my life. I guess the one thing I am grateful for and pleased about is that this person hiding cowardly behind this cloak of anonymoty has caused me to reflect and ponder much about this subject on what is an absolutely gorgeous and relaxing Friday in the Desert. It's great because this has also caused me to reflect on those that really DO mean a lot to me and has even prompted me to ensure that they know just how much they mean to me and how much I love having them in my life and what great examples they are to me. So I hate to disappoint and mean this in the most sincere manner, but I'm afraid your comment had an adverse effect contrary to that with which it was originally intended. It has left me stronger, happier, and even more steadfast in my system of beliefs than before. Your rudimentary form of (attempted) aggravation instead made my Friday even better!
To all of my friends and family: Thank You. Thank you for being the people you are, for being the support you are, the breaths of fresh air, and the great examples for which I can only hope to aspire.
To the contrary (not all others, just the contrary): Thank You as well. Thank you for being the people YOU are, for being the support YOU are, and for setting forth an example as to which I never want to aspire. I have no personal bad feelings toward you and instead pray hard that one day your hearts may be softened and that I can love you even more in spite of how my temporal mind might want to feel. It is you that makes me want to work harder and get better and get rid of all that is negative about me. And mostly, without evil how might man know good? It is because of you that I can appreciate and love my friends and family that much more and can more easily distinguish that which is positive from that which is not in my life. ¡Muchos gracias a Ud.!
That is all for this beast of a post. I commend all of you who made it through and encourage any and all to comment on this as you see fit. You do NOT have to register to put your name, and if you can't figure out how to do it the other way, still click anonymous but just affix your name within the text of the comment box itself. Thanks and I cannot wait to see what (if anything) this will generate.
¡Es el fin de semana!
Thursday, April 07, 2005
QOTD
GOCATS5: and the genius is on our side
GOCATS5: beautiful
Gohuskers14: hahha....he knows better than to join the scumbags
Gohuskers14: he appaluded me...i feel smart
Yes yes boys and girls, dantheheel has entered our realm.
And as he is still undoubtedly in the midst of utter eupohoria from that one game some of you might have seen on Monday, he was feeling generous enough to remind Dane (and all the other apologists for that American Express endorsee/sellout) that the Devils really are still Blue (but at least Monique Curry is coming back!).
And no matter what anyone says in rebuttal, all I say is this: he is smarter than you.
GOCATS5: beautiful
Gohuskers14: hahha....he knows better than to join the scumbags
Gohuskers14: he appaluded me...i feel smart
Yes yes boys and girls, dantheheel has entered our realm.
And as he is still undoubtedly in the midst of utter eupohoria from that one game some of you might have seen on Monday, he was feeling generous enough to remind Dane (and all the other apologists for that American Express endorsee/sellout) that the Devils really are still Blue (but at least Monique Curry is coming back!).
And no matter what anyone says in rebuttal, all I say is this: he is smarter than you.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
QOTD
"It's okay, it's cold outside anyway." --Amber, Jennifer Hawkins' (a girl I recently hung out with for the first time in 9 years) friend last weekend, as to why she was putting up with hanging out with us instead of going to a party down the road.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Arizona owns Duke
Final rankings from the 2004-2005 NCAA Men's Basketball season:
6. Arizona
7. Duke
That is all.
6. Arizona
7. Duke
That is all.
Monday, April 04, 2005
QOTD
Blind Guy (to my roommate Evan): "Hey, can you tell me how to get to the (Memorial Union)?"
Evan: "Yeah, make a right and keep going that way."
Blind Guy (obviously perterbed and more than a little annoyed): "Man, there's a FENCE right there!"
Evan: "Oh, well then go up like 200 yards and THEN turn right."
Who needed help from who?
Evan: "Yeah, make a right and keep going that way."
Blind Guy (obviously perterbed and more than a little annoyed): "Man, there's a FENCE right there!"
Evan: "Oh, well then go up like 200 yards and THEN turn right."
Who needed help from who?
Saturday, April 02, 2005
QOTD
"She wasn't fat, she just didn't have a 'pop culture' body!!!!"
--Another anonymous QOTD....people really need to step up and take some responsibility here huh?
--Another anonymous QOTD....people really need to step up and take some responsibility here huh?
Monday, March 28, 2005
QOTD
"Gosh, I don't want you to think I'm some kind of hand slut!" --A friend (that begged to remain anonymous) describing her hand-holding tendencies with guys.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Heartbreak Hotel....
Arizona: No words can really describe how I feel. Of course I was incredibly disappointed at the way they choked that game away. However, that's the problem with Lute's teams, they are a double-edged sword; they are FULL of talent but have that "on/off" switch I talked about earlier (when I was talking about how I was worried the same could happen to UNC). Still, that loss is one of the hardest losses to take as a fan EVER. You think you have it all locked up, and aren't even REALLY worried until there's about 0:45 left in the game. Then, when you have a chance while it's tied 80-80, you feel like Salim just HAS to take it, then he gives it up. Even though Illinois had the big MO, it was still a 0-0 game with five minutes to play.
The OT period was a great, hard-fought skirmish with neither team willing to relinquish the game. I would even argue UA had the better situation on that final possession, down 1 with the ball (and the most clutch guy this season). But that last play really perplexed me. It wasn't like it was mistake in the heat of the moment, they TOOK A TIMEOUT TO SET SOMETHING UP.
1) How does Hassan get the ball off the inbounds over Salim? I don't care if all of America knew the ball was going to Stoudamire, I don't care if he hadn't had a great game, MAKE ILLINOIS STOP HIM IN CRUNCH TIME. At the very worst he could dribble-drive and kick to Channing for the final shot. There is NO EXCUSE for not giving your seniors a chance to win or lose the game.
2) Getting over the fact that Hassan got the pass (boy did he have a great game, does this guy have upside or what?), what was he waiting for? He just SAT there. I even did a double-take on the clock to make sure I really did know how much time was left. They didn't even run ANYTHING. He ultimately had to throw up a(n) (unanswered) prayer that ended the game, UA's season, Salim and Channing's UA careers, and the last Arizona game I'll see for two years. I kept waiting for Salim to come off a screen or for a lob pass in for Channing. I'm still waiting....
As I said before, this is easily one of the toughest losses to swallow as a fan that I can remember. This is right up there with Richard Park's OT goal against the Avs (Roy's last ever play) and far surpasses the 2001 loss to Duke (I heard more about that one, but this one hurts way more). I thought UA had their tickets PUNCHED and was already looking forward/getting excited for next weekend (so were the Cats I guess). So as it stands now, I'm hoping Francisco Garcia and L'ville SMOKE Illinois next week and am now officially pulling for UNC. Go on Roy, go get that championship....
The OT period was a great, hard-fought skirmish with neither team willing to relinquish the game. I would even argue UA had the better situation on that final possession, down 1 with the ball (and the most clutch guy this season). But that last play really perplexed me. It wasn't like it was mistake in the heat of the moment, they TOOK A TIMEOUT TO SET SOMETHING UP.
1) How does Hassan get the ball off the inbounds over Salim? I don't care if all of America knew the ball was going to Stoudamire, I don't care if he hadn't had a great game, MAKE ILLINOIS STOP HIM IN CRUNCH TIME. At the very worst he could dribble-drive and kick to Channing for the final shot. There is NO EXCUSE for not giving your seniors a chance to win or lose the game.
2) Getting over the fact that Hassan got the pass (boy did he have a great game, does this guy have upside or what?), what was he waiting for? He just SAT there. I even did a double-take on the clock to make sure I really did know how much time was left. They didn't even run ANYTHING. He ultimately had to throw up a(n) (unanswered) prayer that ended the game, UA's season, Salim and Channing's UA careers, and the last Arizona game I'll see for two years. I kept waiting for Salim to come off a screen or for a lob pass in for Channing. I'm still waiting....
As I said before, this is easily one of the toughest losses to swallow as a fan that I can remember. This is right up there with Richard Park's OT goal against the Avs (Roy's last ever play) and far surpasses the 2001 loss to Duke (I heard more about that one, but this one hurts way more). I thought UA had their tickets PUNCHED and was already looking forward/getting excited for next weekend (so were the Cats I guess). So as it stands now, I'm hoping Francisco Garcia and L'ville SMOKE Illinois next week and am now officially pulling for UNC. Go on Roy, go get that championship....
Friday, March 25, 2005
Good Stuff!
Saturday's SWEET score from the Sweet 16:
Michigan State - 78, Duke - 68
"Go home JJ, clap clap clap clap clap, go home JJ...."
Michigan State - 78, Duke - 68
"Go home JJ, clap clap clap clap clap, go home JJ...."
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Brandon Allen Poe?
This is from one Brandon (Prince) Berguin, written while he was obviously usuing his time to do better things this morning during class. The last line is a reference to the great fans of Maryland and can be found in Sports Illustrated's article on that punck J.J. Now, on to the magic:
Ode to Cameron
There once was a team, whose name was Duke
Who made everyone in America want to puke.
They got all that publicity,
for little efficiency,
All from Shelden Williams' first career juke!
Their coach resembled a commie,
Whose scowl is alarming,
But Dickie V admires it too!
And JJ DRINKS HIS OWN PEE!!!!
--B.A.B.
Monday, March 21, 2005
QOTD
This QOTD is a little bit different that most, but it really happened nonetheless:
FallOutGirl26: Have you heard the Garden State soundtrack?
GOCATS5: no
GOCATS5: what's that movie about?
GOCATS5: Who's in it?
FallOutGirl26: Natalie Portman and Zach Braff
FallOutGirl26: I don't know if you would like it
GOCATS5: She's hot
GOCATS5: But not American
GOCATS5: so that hurts her rating a little bit
FallOutGirl26: wow, that's an interesting comment
GOCATS5: lol
FallOutGirl26: anyway, it a movie about two people finding each other
FallOutGirl26: very artsy
GOCATS5: finding each other?
GOCATS5: Explain
GOCATS5: artsy = GAY
FallOutGirl26: meeting each other, and hanging out, and falling in love, and being with each other
GOCATS5: Isn't that called dating?
FallOutGirl26: Have you heard the Garden State soundtrack?
GOCATS5: no
GOCATS5: what's that movie about?
GOCATS5: Who's in it?
FallOutGirl26: Natalie Portman and Zach Braff
FallOutGirl26: I don't know if you would like it
GOCATS5: She's hot
GOCATS5: But not American
GOCATS5: so that hurts her rating a little bit
FallOutGirl26: wow, that's an interesting comment
GOCATS5: lol
FallOutGirl26: anyway, it a movie about two people finding each other
FallOutGirl26: very artsy
GOCATS5: finding each other?
GOCATS5: Explain
GOCATS5: artsy = GAY
FallOutGirl26: meeting each other, and hanging out, and falling in love, and being with each other
GOCATS5: Isn't that called dating?
Saturday, March 19, 2005
QOTD (19 Mar)
We have two today, but related and from the same place, just in different places of the column.
"After Gus Johnson rattles off Julius Hodge's career records at NC State, House beats me to the, 'Well, you're gonna have those stats when you're in college for eight years' joke. Didn't Hodge room with Lorenzo Charles and Sydney Lowe as a freshman?"
"As Gus Johnson rattles off Hodge's stats (19 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds), House adds, 'Yeah, but what about his receding hairline?'"
--Bill Simmons, from his "Running NCAA tournament diary" from ESPN.com. This makes the cut only because these are things I've said for some time, and I JUST TALKED ABOUT BOTH to E.Dubb last night on the phone and now - viola - it makes it into The Sports Guy's column. How am I NOT destined to do something with sports....?
"After Gus Johnson rattles off Julius Hodge's career records at NC State, House beats me to the, 'Well, you're gonna have those stats when you're in college for eight years' joke. Didn't Hodge room with Lorenzo Charles and Sydney Lowe as a freshman?"
"As Gus Johnson rattles off Hodge's stats (19 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds), House adds, 'Yeah, but what about his receding hairline?'"
--Bill Simmons, from his "Running NCAA tournament diary" from ESPN.com. This makes the cut only because these are things I've said for some time, and I JUST TALKED ABOUT BOTH to E.Dubb last night on the phone and now - viola - it makes it into The Sports Guy's column. How am I NOT destined to do something with sports....?
Friday, March 18, 2005
And one more thing....
After getting the link from Claire to her brother Dan's blog, I've become addicted to reading it. It's funny (or sad?) because although I've said hi to him (I think?!) a few times, I definitely don't know him. But everything he says makes sense and I really do laugh, understand, and thoroughly enjoy virtually all of it. Claire is right, I think we are a lot alike. Anyway, here's my point with this, I saw this linked from his page, and have spent countless hours (unsuccessfully) trying to figure it out. Go ahead, I dare you to click it for yourself and see how long YOU spend on it.
So to recap: I can't figure out a puzzle I found from a blog I read about in my friend's brother's blog (a guy I don't even really know), my bracket sucks, and I'm giving up sports for soccer (yes, I meant to put it that way). And I think I'm going to take it a step further. Not only will it be soccer, but it will be EUROPEAN soccer. Email/IM with any suggestions on which team/players to root for.
At least my brother's baseball team (GJHS) won today 16-7 over Rangeview to improve to 4-0 on the season. Ryan's line: 3-4, 3 R, 2 2B, 4 RBI. His stats through four games: 5-12 (.416), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI. One more game here in Denver (against Skyview) tomorrow morning at 10:00 and then it's back to good ol' GJ (and a chance for me to see some of my friends that are FINALLY home).
One last note (could this be any more ironic?): as I'm typing this, a team of girls staying on my floor just walked by. Guess what sport they play? Yeah, they don't play a sport, they play soccer. Will I be going out to talk to them tonight (would I have anyway?), I'll let you figure that one out. Although I guess it could have been worse, they could have been a girls' team full of basketball players (being short is one thing, but being the shortest person in a group of 14 girls is just terrible). Alright, that is all, I think I'm going to go make myself feel better by doing something productive, like reading "The Sports Guy's" running NCAA diary on ESPN.com's Page 2. Until tomorrow....
So to recap: I can't figure out a puzzle I found from a blog I read about in my friend's brother's blog (a guy I don't even really know), my bracket sucks, and I'm giving up sports for soccer (yes, I meant to put it that way). And I think I'm going to take it a step further. Not only will it be soccer, but it will be EUROPEAN soccer. Email/IM with any suggestions on which team/players to root for.
At least my brother's baseball team (GJHS) won today 16-7 over Rangeview to improve to 4-0 on the season. Ryan's line: 3-4, 3 R, 2 2B, 4 RBI. His stats through four games: 5-12 (.416), 6 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI. One more game here in Denver (against Skyview) tomorrow morning at 10:00 and then it's back to good ol' GJ (and a chance for me to see some of my friends that are FINALLY home).
One last note (could this be any more ironic?): as I'm typing this, a team of girls staying on my floor just walked by. Guess what sport they play? Yeah, they don't play a sport, they play soccer. Will I be going out to talk to them tonight (would I have anyway?), I'll let you figure that one out. Although I guess it could have been worse, they could have been a girls' team full of basketball players (being short is one thing, but being the shortest person in a group of 14 girls is just terrible). Alright, that is all, I think I'm going to go make myself feel better by doing something productive, like reading "The Sports Guy's" running NCAA diary on ESPN.com's Page 2. Until tomorrow....
Day 2 Sucked
It happens every year, so it shouldn't surprise me. Yet, after going 14-2 to begin the tourney yesterday, I somehow conned myself into thinking, "Wow, this could be my year" and that my start was a sign of good things to come. How much better could it have gone? The 2 losses were a 12 seed over a 5 and an 11 seed over a 6, and all of my Sweet 16 teams were still alive. I was golden.
So today I left for Denver and was relegated to radio-only coverage (which was spotty at best for most of the day), but I was up to 17-3 and still had all of my Sweet 16's alive. Then came the first wave of the night games and all heck broke loose. Let me begin with this: I hate Taylor Coppinrath. I hate Vermont. I hate Catamounts (I don't know nor do I care what a Catamount is exactly, all I know is that I hate them all).
And now I must root for them.
Why? Because they beat Syracuse. Yes, the same Syracuse Orange that I had going to the FINAL FOUR. I got caught up in the hype (and coupled that with my hatred of Duke) and thus Syracuse was the pick. So what now? Well, I can assure you this: your bracket is not good when one of your Final Four teams is out IN THE FIRST ROUND. Not only am I not winning any of the three tournament challenges I'm in, but even worse, my $100,000 Grand Prize from ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge is gone. I just knew I was going to win too (how could I not with a 14-2 start!??!?!?).
Now I must edit this post because freaking Bucknell just decided to take out my SECOND Sweet 16 (and second Elite Eight) team of the night in beating Kansas 64-63. So now I go into the second round with a bracket that has been crushed and a record that is a mediocre 24-8, meaning I went a solid 10-6 today. All of this with an AlbeQUIRKY region that was a perfect 8-0 (maybe because I lived there for a year?). now 24-8 doesn't sound bad, and most years I'd be happy, but 14-2 to 24-8 is nothing special, espcially considering I have only SIX of my Elite Eight teams left and we're only done with the FIRST ROUND. Now it's time to REALLY strap yourself in and just HANG ON for the ride.
My conference (the Pac-10) went a weak 2-2, and my regional conference (the Mountain West) didn't do any better in going 1-1. At least my other semi-regional conference (the Big XII) went 4-2 (I hate the east coast).
Actually, this is my own fault. I take full responsibility and all of the blame. Last night, while talking on the phone with E.Dubb, I made the mistake of saying, "Dude, there really weren't any upsets today. There wasn't anything cool, it was almost....boring." Uhhh....what else could I EXPECT to happen? That was an infinitely stupid thing to say. So today (invariably) my bracket went where all of my other brackets have always gone (yeah, there). But here's what is so cruel, for 1 1/2 days I was tough, standing tall, and naive enough to think that maybe I really did have this thing conquered.
So here is what I've decided, I NEVER WANT TO SEE AN UPSET AGAIN (unless UA is playing and they aren't favored). I WANT EVER HIGH SEED TO WIN. I WANT DUKE, UNC, WASHINGTON, AND (here's my exception to this rule) ARIZONA in the Final Four. I want UA to avenge its two losses to UW and I want Duke to beat UNC, just so I can have the pleasure of yelling and screaming into Daner and E.Dubb's phone (they won't answer, it'll be their voicemail) after UA wins 74-70 and makes up for that 2001 National Championship game (which is why Mike Dunleavy is in the same group as Taylor Coppinrath - see above if you don't know what this means). So since I have this in print, that means I've just guaranteed a Wake Forest-UNC championship, with UNC winning and me being subjected to Mike Pacini and Kellen Gustavson telling me how UNC is the best team in the history of the world for the next thirty-five years.
Maybe I should just give up the excitement (now I see why it's March MADNESS) and find some boring sport that puts me to sleep, has no excitement, and is really really boring to watch. Maybe I'll go see when ESPN's next showing soccer....
So today I left for Denver and was relegated to radio-only coverage (which was spotty at best for most of the day), but I was up to 17-3 and still had all of my Sweet 16's alive. Then came the first wave of the night games and all heck broke loose. Let me begin with this: I hate Taylor Coppinrath. I hate Vermont. I hate Catamounts (I don't know nor do I care what a Catamount is exactly, all I know is that I hate them all).
And now I must root for them.
Why? Because they beat Syracuse. Yes, the same Syracuse Orange that I had going to the FINAL FOUR. I got caught up in the hype (and coupled that with my hatred of Duke) and thus Syracuse was the pick. So what now? Well, I can assure you this: your bracket is not good when one of your Final Four teams is out IN THE FIRST ROUND. Not only am I not winning any of the three tournament challenges I'm in, but even worse, my $100,000 Grand Prize from ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge is gone. I just knew I was going to win too (how could I not with a 14-2 start!??!?!?).
Now I must edit this post because freaking Bucknell just decided to take out my SECOND Sweet 16 (and second Elite Eight) team of the night in beating Kansas 64-63. So now I go into the second round with a bracket that has been crushed and a record that is a mediocre 24-8, meaning I went a solid 10-6 today. All of this with an AlbeQUIRKY region that was a perfect 8-0 (maybe because I lived there for a year?). now 24-8 doesn't sound bad, and most years I'd be happy, but 14-2 to 24-8 is nothing special, espcially considering I have only SIX of my Elite Eight teams left and we're only done with the FIRST ROUND. Now it's time to REALLY strap yourself in and just HANG ON for the ride.
My conference (the Pac-10) went a weak 2-2, and my regional conference (the Mountain West) didn't do any better in going 1-1. At least my other semi-regional conference (the Big XII) went 4-2 (I hate the east coast).
Actually, this is my own fault. I take full responsibility and all of the blame. Last night, while talking on the phone with E.Dubb, I made the mistake of saying, "Dude, there really weren't any upsets today. There wasn't anything cool, it was almost....boring." Uhhh....what else could I EXPECT to happen? That was an infinitely stupid thing to say. So today (invariably) my bracket went where all of my other brackets have always gone (yeah, there). But here's what is so cruel, for 1 1/2 days I was tough, standing tall, and naive enough to think that maybe I really did have this thing conquered.
So here is what I've decided, I NEVER WANT TO SEE AN UPSET AGAIN (unless UA is playing and they aren't favored). I WANT EVER HIGH SEED TO WIN. I WANT DUKE, UNC, WASHINGTON, AND (here's my exception to this rule) ARIZONA in the Final Four. I want UA to avenge its two losses to UW and I want Duke to beat UNC, just so I can have the pleasure of yelling and screaming into Daner and E.Dubb's phone (they won't answer, it'll be their voicemail) after UA wins 74-70 and makes up for that 2001 National Championship game (which is why Mike Dunleavy is in the same group as Taylor Coppinrath - see above if you don't know what this means). So since I have this in print, that means I've just guaranteed a Wake Forest-UNC championship, with UNC winning and me being subjected to Mike Pacini and Kellen Gustavson telling me how UNC is the best team in the history of the world for the next thirty-five years.
Maybe I should just give up the excitement (now I see why it's March MADNESS) and find some boring sport that puts me to sleep, has no excitement, and is really really boring to watch. Maybe I'll go see when ESPN's next showing soccer....
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
QOTD (15 Mar)
"'If the NHL cancelled their season would anyone notice?' has now replaced the hearing the tree in the forest question." --ESPN.com's Page 2 (via Nicky B.)
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Quote of 11 Mar - 21 Mar
IT'S SPRING BREAK!!!! --Every single one of the more than 54,000 ASU students (along with countless others all over the country).
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
QOTD: We all have 'em
"I don't know if I've ever had it; but if I have, I didn't like it." --Me, when talking to my hallmates about whether or not I like cauliflower.
Monday, March 07, 2005
QOTD: Only Evan....
"No, he still does them - I've seen him do them even when I wasn't there." --Evan, my roommate (or "that Asian guy" from a previous QOTD), on the success of his pushup plan for our Zambian hallmate Nikhil.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Quote of the day? More like quote of the week!
Barry Bonds. Love or hate the guy (I lean closer toward the latter), he is a monster at the plate. However, do his accomplishments deserve a little *asterisk next to them? I'll leave that for another debate, this post is all about his most recent tirade to the media. Some of the stuff he said was a bit...colorful? So instead of taking his best comments, I'll just link it here for you. Be sure to scroll down the page to see what hasn't changed about Barry....
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
QOTD (My new favorite rookie)
"I said, 'Take me under your wing. I'm a good person. It's not all about the money.'" --Celtics rookie Al Jefferson on why he gave No. 8 back to Antoine "I've never met a shot I didn't like" Walker without any compensation (as is usually the custom in the NBA).
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Gotta check it out....
This is about the coolest link ever - definitely worth the few minutes it takes to watch it. How awesome are those men and women?!?!
QOTD (01 Mar)
The following exchange really did take place - these really are the people I live with:
Tim: I almost bought some Mizuno golf clubs today.
Me: Good thing you didn't.
Tim: Actually, I bought some Mizuno running shoes about two years ago and they were great.
Anyone that can draw a parallel to that, feel free to comment. Maybe I'm just not seeing it....
Tim: I almost bought some Mizuno golf clubs today.
Me: Good thing you didn't.
Tim: Actually, I bought some Mizuno running shoes about two years ago and they were great.
Anyone that can draw a parallel to that, feel free to comment. Maybe I'm just not seeing it....
Monday, February 28, 2005
QOTD (28 Feb)
"They're coming out of hibernation Bernal - and it's a beautiful thing." --Dane(r) Swenson on the joys of Spring.
Friday, February 25, 2005
QOTD (25 Feb)
"So tell me, what do you know about that Asian guy?" -- Dave from "Dave's Auto Body" in Kanab, UT (a VERY small town) asking my mom about my roommate during a telephone conversation about what to do with my truck.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
QOTD (24 Feb)
"Man, I'm tellin' you right now - I'm going to class (tomorrow), but I might not bring my A game...(and) you can post that on your website...I realized that's a great quote." -- Brandon "Prince" Berguin.
Yep, these are my friends....
Yep, these are my friends....
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
QOTD
This one comes from Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy) via Chris "Birdman" Anderson (former Nugget turned Hornet) in his ESPN.com article on the NBA All-Star Weekend:
"'It's time for the Birdman to fly.' -- Chris Andersen before missing 47 straight dunks in the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest."
"'It's time for the Birdman to fly.' -- Chris Andersen before missing 47 straight dunks in the 2005 Slam Dunk Contest."
I hate him now
Well, first he provided the soundbite of the year for the NFL, and now he's officially on my hated list. I was never a big fan anyway, but just the thought of Moss in Silver & Black is enough to push me over the edge. I already can't wait for Champ Bailey light him up as he's coming across the middle next fall....
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
QOTD (Quote of the Day)
This is in honor of a little thing my friend Neil Okey used to do during high school. Here's the one for 23 Feb 2005:
"I don't know Jose. I was better than Jose then, and I've been better than him his whole career. If he wants to go make money, go ahead. ... For somebody who brags about what he did, I don't see any of your records." -- Barry Bonds, on former MLB'er Jose Canseco and his allegations from his new book.
"I don't know Jose. I was better than Jose then, and I've been better than him his whole career. If he wants to go make money, go ahead. ... For somebody who brags about what he did, I don't see any of your records." -- Barry Bonds, on former MLB'er Jose Canseco and his allegations from his new book.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Where am I going?
I need some guesses as to where I'm going to go on my mission (I should get my call the third week of March). Either guess which state in the U.S. or the country. Either leave me a comment or email me at gocats5@bresnan.net and let me know.
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Thursday, February 17, 2005
"I'd rather be golfing."
Actual quote (not surprising) from my Microeconomics teacher. This is obvious when, after five full weeks of class, we just had our first test which covered ZERO - yes ZERO - new material from Macroeconomics. To top it off, Dr. Boyes didn't feel like making two tests, and thus our "sample test" online turned out to be the real thing. I'm not sure if I should be happy about this or scared to death for accounting....
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
And so it begins....
What's up all - this site was introduced to me by one Claire Findlay. The goal is to make it into something that is a cross of what's going on with me and a forum for me to still pass along my thoughts and views on life, sports, politics (I hate LIBERALS) and anything else I see fit to my friends scattered around the best country in the entire world. Feel free to contact me for any suggestions and/or comments.
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