Welcome to the Jungle

Twin Brother’s Disease Lights A Fire In Ellenberger

2011-02-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

Twin Brother’s Disease Lights A Fire In Ellenberger

Link to my Picasa web album

2010-04-27T15:36:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, here is the link to my Picasa web album where you will find photos from (in order):

-Olomouc

-Prague

-Train rides

-Dresden

-Vienna

-Bus rides

-Venice

-Rome

-Soccer matches

-And much more!

Please enjoy them, there are over 1600 photos and more to come. Keep this page bookmarked, or the link I give you bookmarked to see when I publish something next!

LINK!

Garrett's Semester Abroad Twenty Ten!

Continuation of the ash-kissing

2010-04-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Bear with me ladies and gentlemen, instead of writing a whole new blog for the 2nd part, I have copied and pasted the journal entry I wrote for my advisor. It still contains all the key points.

Instead of starting this journal on Monday of this past week, this entry claims its origins on Friday April 17, the day we were to begin our epic Spring break adventure by flying out of Venice and making our way to Rome. That morning, I woke up with pep in my step, re-packed my bag, and met up with the group of us heading to the airport. In order to get to the airport we needed to take a waterbus from Venice to the airport, a brief 30-minute ride. While we were standing in the waiting area for our bus to arrive, it was mentioned that our flight was in jeopardy because of some volcano. This can as big news to me because that was the first time I had heard any news of the volcano that would haunt our vacation for the next week.

We boarded the waterbus and jetted off to the Venice airport where we would find our fate. Cancelled. In fact, I have never seen so much red on an airport departure list. Where there was one cancellation, there were 100. There were lines all over the airport of ragged, scrappy travelers who bore the expression of frustration and exhaustion. With our route to Rome now in the toilet, it was time to enact a plan B. Only problem was that we had no plan B. It was decided that we needed to go to the train station and find out about trains to Rome from Venice, which is what my real group was taking. I was the only one flying, with a different group of classmates. We all dragged ourselves on the bus, unsure of our travelling future and just what would happen next. Needless to say, our perfect batting average continued when the bus broke down not two minutes after leaving the airport. After a 10-minute wait for an empty bus, we continued our journey to the Venice terminal. 73 Euros later and we possessed a train ticket that would take us to Rome in just over three hours. Total price thus far for my journey from Venice to Rome: 153 Euro. Regardless, we boarded the train and I was off to meet my group at the Rome train station – if I could find them.

The train ride was interesting as we went through Italian countryside and rain showers. A brief delay on the tracks got us into Rome at around 3:30 p.m. With our arrival, I said goodbye to the group I had arrived with and attempted to locate the group I would be travelling with for the next few days. I looked for 45 minutes before eventually finding them and we were off to our hostel. On the walk to the hostel, we crossed a busy intersection where we had to run across the road. Well since I only had my carry-on bag with wheels, I was dragging it behind me and attempted to hoist it over the oncoming curb. With my amazing luck continuing, the left wheel caught the curb and snapped off, leaving me a rolling suitcase with one wheel. Just awesome. Anyways, we arrived at our hostel and proceeded on with what sight seeing we could accomplish in the next couple of hours before daylight died. We managed to walk around the neighborhood when we stumbled upon my dream of dreams. It was the one piece of history I have been dying to see since I was a kid. I had read about it in books, seen it in movies, marveled at its beauty in pictures, and gawked at the pure magnitude of its existence on our history.

The Colosseum.

It appeared just over the horizon as we entered a park and it was visible between two lines of trees and it was breathtaking. So much history has taken place in that very building and it made my jaw drop at the sight of it. After snapping what seems like 500 pictures of the ancient building, we took some time walking around it before heading back for free pasta (our hostel had free pasta on Friday and Saturday nights). The next morning we would be mobile tearing up the city of Rome before leaving on a jet plane, or so we thought, on the 19^th for Paris.

The next day in Rome consisted of visiting the Vatican, the Forum, Circus Maximo, and various other landmarks that have made Rome the history capital of the world. You spend so much time in school history classes learning about the impact of Rome and how much they are responsible for architecture and art and everything. It really just blows you away when you get to see it up close. We also got to go inside the Colosseum, which was probably my most favorite moment. We covered a lot of ground in a short period of time and left ourselves time at night to hit up a local wine bar with live music. After an enjoyable time there, it was time to go back and get some shuteye because the next day we were to head to Paris. Not so fast my friend.

That night when we got back, we had received an e-mail that our flight to Paris was cancelled. The next few hours were spent with a bottle of wine, some kebabs, and a couple computers, as we were completely rerouting our Spring break trip. We toyed with the notion of heading to Croatia, my nationality, for a couple of days to hit up some party beaches. Believe it or not, Croatia contains some of the most popular beaches in all of Europe. Eventually, after some research, we decided to head 20 minutes to the coast of Rome in a suburb called Ostia, to spend a day on the beach as we regroup. After arriving at Ostia the next day, we were in love. It was near 70 degrees each day and for the entire day, seven to eight hours, we got to lay on the beach next to the Mediterranean Sea and soak in some rays. This was absolute paradise. During my time on the beach I collected seashells, swam in the sea, played volleyball with locals, goofed around, and got a chance to become closer with the six people that I accompanied on the trip. Ask any one of them and you will not hear one say that they missed Paris while feeling the sand between their toes.

The beach was an endless horizon of sand and sun. The sand shone like glass, warm from the midday sun, moving between your toes as you sunk. The water, which stretched for miles and miles, was colder than a ice cubes in December, but enticed you in. You could look at the sea and it just beckoned you to take one-step in it, to forget the rest of your worries and wallow in this vast space of water – nothing but water. The sun gleamed off the water and gave it a sparkle as the waves crashed on the rocks just short of the shore. The tranquility of the sea rocking you to sleep as you dig your fingers and toes into the pure grains of sand, closing your eyes to the sounds of waves, faint music playing, and people enjoying life.

The beach made me realize something during my time there. While we were spending our second day on the beach, Cody and I were approached by the cutest 3-year-old girl who was playing with bubbles. She came up to us, smiled, and blew some bubbles for us. I looked at Cody and I said, “remember when that’s all that it took to make us happy? Bubbles? Now we are so worried about plane tickets and whether or not we will have enough money. Why can’t we just go back to being care free? Bubbles.” And right then everything that had been bothering me, the trains, the flight cancellations, the bank account, all popped, just as the bubbles that were floating before our very eyes.

The next day we had a flight scheduled from Milan, Italy to Prague in an attempt to get home. It was only Thursday, but most of us were physically and emotionally spent from this vacation, so it was decided that Olomouc was the place to be. We hit a train from Rome to Milan and found our way to the airport, which would become our cheapest hostel on the entire trip. The bench was not all that comfortable, but it was free. The next morning we awoke to find out that our flight was still scheduled and we prepared for our journey home. After a short hour-long flight, we were in Prague at roughly noon. A 2 p.m train brought us home to Olomouc by 5:30 and I cannot tell you how good it felt to be back. I never thought I would say that at the beginning of this trip, but it happened. I was overjoyed to be back in Olomouc.

It will be a trip that will last in my memory forever. Never again will I get the chance to visit these places and I got to spent it with some great people. The whole journey was worth every cent, every minute worrying what would happen next, and every step. In a way, I would like to thank the volcano for sending us to that beach because I don’t know if I could have had a better time just relaxing as we head into the final home stretch of classes and paperwork. With a 20-page report due May 15^th and still no laptop, this will be interesting to see how I can get it done. Regardless, I will let time tell its tale and just remember one thing: bubbles.

The volcano can kiss my ash..Spring Break Twenty Ten!

2010-04-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Well hello everybody. Greetings from Olomouc where I have just concluded an epic, nine-ten day adventure that saw me catching some rays on the beach, getting a taste of the Mediterranean Sea, sleeping in an airport, and logging over 20 hours of travel time between trains, planes, and buses. Oh where, oh where to begin.

Well our trip began on Tuesday April 13th as we packed up from Olomouc and departed on a bus to Vienna, Austria...a mere three hour drive away. The bus ride was about as thrilling as a Twilight book (I hate Twilight, for your information) and last what felt like an entire day. We arrived in Vienna to our hostel, the HappyHostel, located conveniently a couple of blocks away from a strip club. Anyways, we rolled into town around 1 in the afternoon and proceeded to find our rooms and get ready for an afternoon of touring. We walked and walked and walked until we reached the city square where we saw the museums we would be visiting the next day. The rest of the afternoon seems like a blur as nothing really caught my attention. That night, a bunch of students went out to the bar, but I stayed in on the free internet, printing off my boarding passes for the next week or so. Without knowing where everyone went, I walked to get a quick dinner in the steady rain and walked back to my room, which felt like it was in the ghetto. In order to get to our room one would need to walk through this creepy passageway between two walls and then cross through a darkened courtyard with no feel of any lights. Not to mention it took you forever to unlock the door, looking over your shoulder with every creek. I spent the rest of the night in my room listening to music and reading part of my Rick Reilly book. The next day we went to the treasury and to the Mozart museum, which was located in his apartment that he lived in. The treasury was cool. It was filled with ancient artifacts, including the spear that is believe to have killed Jesus Christ, a piece of wood from the cross, and one of the spike used to put him on the cross. While this could all be debated, it was pretty cool just to see this stuff. The Mozart museum was a snoozefest, but what else did you expect? The rest of the time in Vienna was spent going to shops, eating, and hanging out with the group before retiring to bed. The next day we would be taking a bus seven hours to Venice, Italy.

That next morning, after getting my laundry done, we all hopped on the bus at 7:30 a.m. for our trip to Venice. The first half of our trip took us through beautiful countryside and through the Alps...or what I believe to be the Alps. Regardless, the scenery was breathtaking combining the green of the grass, the blue skies, and the towering mounds of rock behind them. Throw in a small town with a lake and that same background and you have a postcard my friends. Anyways, the bus ride was extremely loooooooooong, which is why during our stop I decided to get a liter of orange juice and some vodka and turn this boring ass ride into a party. Needless to say I went through my liter of screwdrivers in four hours, but it wasn't enough to do anything. Some other people on the bus bought an orange soda called Slam, plus a liquid known as gropa (spelling?) which is made of distilled grapes. So essentially, it was wine. I have never been a wine guy and I never will be after tasting this. I kept drinking it because the bottle was being passed around, but not without a grimace each time the liquid cleared my tastebuds. We arrived in Venice close to night time, but boy was it beautiful. The city is intersected thousands of times by canals and the only way to navigate is with boats or gondolas, there were no cars. We walked from the train station to the hostel and settled in. At 5 p.m. we met to walk to the square at San Marco before dispersing to have dinner and navigate our way back. Our dinner consisted of pasta, strawberry wine, and ice cream and of course, most people stopped on their way back for a few adult beverages. Our hostel had a weird rule about closing at 1 a.m. This meant that if you were at the bar, saw it was 1 a.m. and got to the door at 1:01, the door would be locked and you would be forced to sleep outside somewhere. Needless to say, I was in early and asleep by 1:30. The next day, our final in Venice, we went to a couple of museums that I don't really remember because I didn't pay close enough attention. We did visit the museum that houses the original Da Vinci "Balanced Man" drawing, but the museum said it was "too delicate for the public", whatever the hell that means. That night we went on a gondola ride and it was beautiful, right before it started pouring on us. From there, we all got dinner at various locations before ending up in our hostel before the 1 a.m. curfew. The next day was the official start of our Spring break and I was excited. I had my flight ticket printed off for Venice to Rome and we were all ready to start our amazing vacation.

Little did we know, something had just happened thousands of miles away that would alter our Spring break forever.

More to come after I get back from going to see Clash of the Titans...stay tuned!

Spring Break-ing it down

2010-04-10T03:26:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am alive. Barely. But I'm alive. I know I have people who are following this blog and while I must apologize for not writing in it every day like I said I was going to, the problem is finding the motivation to do so. I have been fighting a cold ever since we landed in Olomouc and today is the first time it feels like it is getting better. I have spent countless hours coughing, sneezing, hacking up anything, and it has really wore me out. So blame it on the cold for me not wanting to write a blog entry for the past week and a half or so. Another reason why I find it difficult to write a blog entry is that I am still working without a computer. Apple is taking their sweet ass time sending my operating system discs to my dad and then I have to wait as he sends them to me, since Apple couldn't do it themselves. But whatever, I'll be getting baked goods and other stuff when my discs are sent so it'll be worth the wait.

There really has not been much of anything going on in this city since my last blog post. We have yet to go on a group trip since our venture to Prague and Dresden, and out schedule has been filled with Czech language classes and our lectures that everyone enjoys oh so much. Our group did have our first Czech language "test" the other day, to gauge where we were at with what we had learned thus far. The test wasn't officially graded, although I'm not 100% sure about that. I did manage to score a 94.5%, so I am fairly happy with what I am able to regurgitate from my memory banks. This is just like Spanish class all over again...spend 9 weeks learning about the language, study for the tests, take the tests, forget what you've learned. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to need the Czech language when I leave on May 30th. I will remember certain phrases and food items, but other than that, I will not know how to put a sentence together, nor should I need to. The language classes go by quick, so they are by far my favorite out of all we do in the mornings.

It's hard to believe that we landed in the Czech Republic on March 15th and that it's already April 10th, basically a month overseas. There are certain things I'm craving desperately back home, like a Chipotle burrito, pops with refills, not paying for water at a restaurant, and my puppy Tank. I am enjoying my time here in the Czech Republic, but don't think I'm not ready to go home yet sitting in the back of my mind. I do love it here, I love the group, the friendships, just know that May 30th is circled on my calendar. The amazing part about this is that we have roughly 50 days left until we leave the dorms we have called home now for a month, but only half of that time will be spent in Olomouc. Including weekends and our last free week, we will be in this city 27 days out of those 50, the rest will be spent travelling on Spring Break or on our group trips. Our group trips still remaining include:

1) Vienna, Austria

2) Venice, Italy

3) Krakow, Poland

4) Auschwitz

5) Kutna Hora, Czech Republic

6) Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

plus any day trips that our coordinators want to throw in there.

This upcoming week will be the start of our Spring Break and everything is planned and ready to go. We will have one class and lecture on Monday and then Tuesday we are off to Vienna for a two day group trip on the 13th and 14th. After that, we will continue on to Venice for another two day group trip on the 15th and 16th. Immediately after that is when our Spring Break officially begins. My Spring Break will consist of me hopping on a plane the 17th in Venice and heading to Rome, where I will spend the next two days visiting the Colosseum (always wanted to see it) and other Roman landmarks. Then on the 19th, my group (7 of us) will get on a plane in Rome and take off for Paris, where we will spend 3 days visiting the Eiffel Tower and enjoying some of their wonderful toast. On the 22nd, our group will get on the underwater train from Paris to London to enjoy 2 days with Big Ben and the Queen. On the 24th, we will head to the London airport and fly back to Prague with 2 days to either go back to Olomouc or go around the country. It will all depend how much money I have, because right now it's looking pretty tight. All in all, my Spring Break has cost me over $650 just for travelling and lodging, not to mention I will need food and souvenirs, we'll see just how far I can get with the money in my account.

Needless to say I am super excited about these upcoming couple of weeks. I am in the process of getting an online photo album account so I can post all of my pictures up from the first few weeks, plus our trip to an Olomouc soccer game. I hope everyone in the States is having a good time and being safe. I would also like to send my prayers and best wishes out to my Uncle Dave who is undergoing tests for possible cancer. You're in my thoughts and I hope everything turns out okay.

Until next time, watch out Europe!

Has it been 2 weeks already?

2010-03-29T03:29:00.000-07:00

Class. Class. Prague. Dresden. Prague. Olomouc. Since my last blog entry on March 20th we started our official class schedule that will fill up time between our group trips. As many of us have coined it, "it's not so much classes, it's something that we have to be at in the mornings." Our day normally begins around 7:30 in the morning when the roommate and myself attempt to wake up through alarms and pressing the snooze button several times to avoid the inevitable fact that we will have to pull our ass out of bed and get ready for class.

After our zombie routine, we haul out to catch the tram that takes us to the center of Olomouc by 8:15, for our Czech language class that begins at precisely at 8:45-ish, or whenever the last person walks through the door. In our Czech language class, we are going over the basics of the language without really learning the basics. It's like learning to drive with a blindfold..yeah, you might hit some shit and cause some damage, but eventually you'll get it. Our professor, Tomas, pronounced Toe-mosh, essentially smiles the whole class period, but we all know he is cursing us on the inside for our inept ability to pronounce the words. At the end of the class, he always announces that "time is coming," and everyone snickers like pre-teen school children.

I can only hope that time is wearing protection.

After our language class ends at roughly 9:45 am, we sit through an hour and a half of a painstaking lecture by different professors that are from either here in Olomouc, or from surrounding areas such as Prague. I would love to describe to you what we have learned thus far but I was too busy thinking how much I would rather drink antifreeze than listen to how the Czech Republic ousted communism and it's inception in the European Union. Needless to say, I spend the entire time taking a few notes here, zoning out once or twice, but mostly drawing inanimate crap on my paper. These lectures are long and monotonous, but thank God they are in English. However, some of these professors still have a very thick accent, so understanding of the words is hard to come by when you're half asleep dreaming of life outside of the University. Our professor today pronounced the word "focused" and it sounded as if he said "fuck you" and it got a tiny laugh from the peanut gallery. These are the things we looks forward during lectures to provide any sense of entertainment.

After the lecture is over, the group is free to roam the city. Four to five times during the semester, we have an afternoon lecture that begins at 3 pm, but other than that, we are free to spend the rest of the day sleeping, shopping, eating, or drinking. And many of the people in the group prefer the latter in mass quantities. Anything from beer to vodka to absinth has been consumed immediately after class, setting up the group for a myriad of fun later that night.

Class was on hiatus this week as the group took it's first trip, a three day rendezvous to Prague, with one day in Dresden, Germany squeezed into the Prague sandwich. On Thursday morning we loaded onto the train at roughly 9 am to make our way to Prague, which is located about three hours to the west of Olomouc. This was my first train ride, at least that I can remember, and I must say that I enjoyed it. It was relatively smooth and allowed you to see parts of the country that you wouldn't see otherwise. The train arrived in Prague, or Praha, at about noon and we were led to the hostel that we would call home from the next three nights. The hostel was tucked away in the bowels of Prague, a hop, skip, and a jump away from marijuana and cocaine dealers. We had to enter some passageway and the hostel could be found a few meters inside.

My first impression of Prague was that it was one giant shopping mall. The part of Prague we stayed in could be confused for shopping centers all over the world, Nike store over here, clothing stores over there, and everything inbetween. A person could easily blow hundreds of dollars in this location, as long as you avoid the cocaine dealers. I keep mentioning these drug dealers because there seems to be an abundance of them swarming the tourists in Prague. It's the most subtle move ever.

Drugie: "Do you speak English?"
Unsuspecting Tourist: "Yeah, why?"
Drugie: "You want some weed, maybe coke?"

Unsuspecting Tourist: "What, are you serious?"

And they vanish into the alley like a crackhead Batman. Anyways, we were only bothered a couple times to purchase drugs. The first day in Prague we walked across the city, over the Charles Bridge, a bridge only open to foot traffic and street vendors. We made our way up a massive hill to a castle...that we wouldn't be visiting until the next day. Smart. I know, right? Regardless, at the top of this hill, just short of the castle we were able to take some breathtaking shots of the Prague skyline, which extended as far as the eye could see. The rest of the day was free for us to shop and look around. My night ended early after walking around for hours searching for shit I wasn't going to buy.

The next day was our trek back to the castle. We woke up that morning (I say we and I mean my roommates for the trip, Kane, Caleb, and Cody) and went to go get an American breakfast at McDonald's. You can never have too much American. Anyways, after our climb to the castle, we got to wait in a very large line to enter. At 125 Czech crowns (their currency), this place has got to be pulling in some serious coin. The castle was enormous and provided for many picture opportunities, which will be available once I get a computer to download them onto. The rest of the day was free to rummage through the city and blow money on. I ended up getting a postcard for Laine to send to her and made my way back to the hostel. Another early night for Garrett.

The next morning we got on the 9:05 am train to Dresden, Germany. Apparently, Dresden is a city in Germany that the Allied Forces made their bitch in World War II. Tired of Germans bombing English cities, these Allied Forces decided to exact some revenge by attacking this military hub during the early 40's. Essentially the forces came in waves. The first wave was small explosives, to break windows and move foundations, to create instability. The next wave was giant fire bombs, which engulfed the city in flames. The next wave dropped more explosives and then the damage was too much to control. Temperatures were so hot, that people caught on the street or in buildings combusted into dust. It was estimated that these flames reached 1000 degrees Celsius. Anyways, the city that we saw on Saturday was a town that had to be completely rebuilt after the second World War, but it still had the look of an old European city, using the architectural styles of the early 1900's. We arrived in the city at around noon, possibly, and made our way directly to the town center, which happened to be a church with a status of Martin Luther in front of it. A quick tour of the church left us with two hours before we were to meet again to take our final tour. A few of us had lunch at a local restaurant and it was pretty good. I shopped around for a little bit, buying another postcard for Laine and a mini-beer stein shot glass for my sister. I spent the rest of the time taking photos, trying to capture the lore of the city.

Our final tour in Dresden was of an art museum, not my cup of tea. We had two and a half hours to look at these pieces of work and I was done after 20 minutes and outside taking pictures of the surrounding area, attempting to bring out my artistic side. I took a couple of pictures that I really like and will eventually get those on here. During my excursion outside, I saw a married couple getting wedding/engagement photos in the courtyard, some other girl with her own photographer, and people from all walks of life enjoying a beautiful day. As the group met up again, it was time to get back on the train and head back to Prague for the night. Another early night for me with no partying involved.

The next morning we met at 10 am, well, we met at 10:15 after a very frustrating experience at McDonald's where I watched eight people order their food after me and walk out the door with food in hand and me ready to break something. Anyways, we made our way to a Jewish cemetery/memorial part of town where we looked at Jewish remnants left from the second World War, as well as a Jewish cemetery with tombstones piled on top of tombstones. It was quite the scene. After the cemetery, we were free to roam the city until 2:40 pm, the time we were supposed to meet up and head to the train station. After a walk in the rain, we made our way to a pizza shop to eat before we left. We boarded the train at 3 and it was goodbye Prague and hello what we call home. Our train pulled into Olomouc around 6 pm. The end of a very fun trip and my first excursion into another country besides the Czech Republic.

That night I decided to do laundry for the first time and, let me tell you, it was so emotionally frustrating. First of all, the basements of these buildings we live in have one washing machine. One. Not a bank of them, nor are there any dryers. One load of laundry, correctly done, takes three hours to get done, if you don't want clothes that feel like you just swam in the Atlantic. Anyways, after three miserable hours and two loads of laundry done, you have to hang them up on your balcony and hope they dry. Ugh, I will never take a washer and dryer in the States for granted again.

Anyways, a late night on the computer talking to Laine ended my weekend and we had class this morning, which I could care less about. One funny moment was when our advisor asked us how our weekend went. A few sheepish answers were faded out when I said "bonerrific" a little louder than I wanted to say it. The advisor repeated the word back and it made me laugh for a good five minutes. I don't think she knows what it is.

I am still without a computer and it is growing more frustrating each day. I am thankful that my roommate lets me use his to get stuff done, but I am dying for the day I get a working computer again. My dad sent me a new hard drive to replace the shit one in my laptop now, along with my external hard drive with all of my photos, documents, music on it, and it is nowhere to be found. Needless to say I am beyond freaked out. It has been sitting in customs in Prague since March 21st and I don't know what to do about it. I got a letter from the Prague post office today, as it had been sitting in the office since last week. The entire letter is in Czech and no one can tell me what it says. I got the gray copy of the receipt that my dad filled out to send the package, so I don't know what's going on. I was told to go back in tomorrow to check on what they could find out for me. I'll travel to Prague and demand the god damn package myself if they aren't going to send it.

Anyways, I feel this has been long enough and that you are probably getting tired of reading. Pictures will be coming soon. I miss all of you back in States and I hope you're staying safe and STD-free. Until next time, stay classy, United States.

Feeling the lag

2010-03-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

As I type this to you, I am currently sitting in a near empty lobby, looking out of a window at the pitch-black night as time creeps up on midnight in Olomouc. It's a Saturday night, shouldn't I be out having the time of my life? I sit here wondering that and I must admit, if I wasn't feeling jet lag before this weekend, I sure am now. This weekend has seen me falling asleep at 11 pm last night and more of the same tonight once this lobby closes at midnight and I am forced to stop watching my beloved March Madness games.

Now once my roommate and I get internet service in our room, I can be on as late as I desire, so that will be nice. But as for now, I am attempting to squeeze this post in before they shut off the lights and kick me out. This will be a quick update for those of you following my progress here in the Czech Republic.

The past two days have been absolutely beautiful, as opposed to the weather I heard about back in Omaha. It has been in the 50-60 degree range with some light winds and the warmth has continued into the night, making walks and wandering easy to do. Yesterday, our group had its second Czech language class followed by our first lecture about Central vs. Eastern Europe and just where exactly we thought we were. I was trying to pick up on the meaning of the lecture as it pertained to our trip, but the pieces just weren't fitting..the wheel was spinning, but the hamster was dead. Anyways, upon the completion of our lecture, a few of us went to one of my favorite restaurants called Husa. I order the Fettuccine Malianese, which is essentially chicken alfredo. It is a large portion and tastes quite good when you're craving it. After lunch, we came back to the dorm and split up to do various activities. I walked to Globus to purchase a couple of laundry baskets and walked back, jamming on my iPod both ways.

I don't care if I looked like a spaz.

Anyways, I spent almost the rest of the night watching NCAA basketball on the internet in the lobby, taking time out to have dinner in a cellar-type location. Great atmosphere, a pure "Czech" restaurant. After that I came back, had a couple shots of vodka with some flat mates and then called it a night after I passed out. I woke up around 6:30 am and hit the lobby for some internet action, to check the rest of the scores from the following night. I went back to bed around 7:30 am and woke up again at 11 am, looking forward to renting some bikes and riding around town. Much to our dismay, the bike shop closed at noon and we were running late. Whoops.

So instead of riding bikes, we walked around the square and stopped at a local pizzeria where we gobbled down some delicious pepperoni pizza. It had very thin crust, however, so it did little for the appetite. From there, my roommate and new friends, Samantha and Valerie, took a scenic route through Olomouc, walking through the more neighborhood part of town, rather than the downtown/shop aspect. Along the way we ran into small bars and even a locally owned winery, where a famous artist was drinking wine. I had some win myself and I must say, I think that will be the last time I drink urine.

Anyways, we continued on our walk home and managed to find our way back while enjoying the company of one another, taking in the city as we traveled. From there, I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with my mom, watching basketball and talking on Facebook. And now, here I am, 11:56 at night and the lobby about to close. Tomorrow should be rather uneventful and Monday will be our first official full day of classes. But until then, may your brackets be blessed and I hope you are all enjoying the snow, I sure as hell don't miss it.

As the schedule heats up..so does the weather

2010-03-18T09:08:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my second installment of "Garrett's Adventures In the Czech Republic." Last time we spoke, I was coming off of a great party that didn't end until 4 am and, well, this time I am writing after a great party that didn't end until 4 am.

Now, when I say "end" at 4 am, I don't mean the party ended at that time. That is the time that I had to tap out and say "no more." The dancing was still raging on by the time I left the club with dead feet, ringing ears, and a sweat soaked shirt. I don't know how these people do it. It seems as though they have a party every single night that NEVER ends. I must admit though, that I love it. I love being able to just spend the night, a weeknight nonetheless, with a group of growing good friends and turn it into memories that will last a lifetime.

I will admit, I'm not the greatest dancer, but last night I was "en fuego" (or "on fire" for those of you who no absolutely no Spanish). I was bustin' moves even I didn't know I had and displaying them for that club to see, whether they liked it or not. I was so dehydrated and sweaty, I felt like I had just run a marathon in dress shoes and a tie. It was a great time, even if the rest of the group did bail on my roommate and I early, just like they did on Monday night. It's whatever, we know we are warriors and it will continue to be that way until the day we leave on that plane back to the States.

I do miss the United States. I miss the currency, I miss the routine that I had become accustomed to, but most of all, I miss the English language. While I am embracing the differences that do exist over here, it is so frustrating to have questions, but in order to get them answered, I need to pray the person who can answer them, knows just a little bit of English. We have taken our first two Czech language classes and I have learned a little bit. I have learned how to say hello (ahoj) and where are you from (odkud jsi), but the rest is filling in slowly. I can tell it will be difficult to piece together the puzzle that is the Czech language, but I know I can do it, especially after taking four years of Spanish.

I know you are asking yourself, 'Hey, Garrett..I thought you went overseas to study and do schoolwork, not party?" I assure you, we are just about to start lectures next week and we are already beginning our language classes. Take that, naysayers. Anyways, to kind of recap the past two days:

Yesterday started out good. It was St. Patty's Day and I had just gotten seven hours of sleep. We woke up and hit the tram to go take a tour of city hall. Once we were in city hall, we learned a lot about the history of Olomouc and then got to climb the clock tower where we were treated with a bird's eye view of the city. It was breathtaking, nonetheless. Pictures will be posted as soon as I get my computer fixed. From there, we had a lunch break where I had roast beef and potato dumplings. It was exactly like salisbury steak, but it was damn good. Once we finished lunch, we headed to Globus, a humongous Wal-Mart type place a few blocks away from our dorms. I purchased some chocolate, apples, bananas, pringles and other goods to munch on in the room. From Globus, I hurried back to my room because it was 2 pm and I had class at 3..I had to call my dad to let him know I needed a hard drive mailed to me for my computer. I made class at 3 and after that was relaxing and the aforementioned party.

Today has been laid back. After getting home at 3 am, I read a little bit of my book and hit the sheets to wake up at 8 am. I had brackets to fill out. We were to meet at the University courtyard at 10 am to get initiated with the library. This turned out to be a 15-minute tour and we were set free until our language class at 3 pm..what a waste of sleep. It was, however, the nicest day yet here in the Czech Republic. The temperature got up to about 55, maybe warmer, and I was able to bust out the shorts and feel really comfortable. The group had lunch at McDonald's and then it was back to Globus to get things I forgot yesterday. After that, I hit the room for a quick nap before our class and now here I am, typing to you and watching some NCAA basketball on the internet, since I am missing it in the States.

Well, I'm gonna keep watching basketball and then enjoy a quiet night in my room. I miss you all and hope you miss me too. God bless!

The First Encounters

2010-03-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

Oh how the time is flying here in Europe. Hello everybody, welcome to the up and down adventures of Garrett Ritonya in the Czech Republic. Sorry I didn't blog it up yesterday, but circumstances and time kept me from sharing with you what I did during my time here thus far. I last left you with myself getting ready to depart for the airport for what turned out to be the longest day of my life. We departed from Omaha at 12:30, due to the plane being overweight and imbalanced from top to bottom. To correct this, they had to move carryons from the bottom to the cabin of the plane and if they couldn't accomplish this, then people were going to have to be kicked off.

Their final solution?

All of the bags on the flight that were going internationally (mine) could stay on the plane. But for those who were making domestic flights within the US, their bags would be re-routed on different flights. Definitely a sure-fire clusterfuck to start off the trip. I did get to sit in the first row and enjoy some extra leg room. In no time, about an hour to be exact, we were landing in Minneapolis and preparing for our next flight. A few of us stopped at a Subway near our gate and as we were finishing our last bite, a student came to inform us that they were currently boarding the plane and that we were the last ones left. Whoops. Well it was about time for my first-ever trans-Atlantic flight, and I must say, it was one of the best flights I have ever had. The flight covered roughly 5100 miles from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, but there was entertainment all around you in the form of a small 7-10 inch screen on the headrest in front of you. On this screen you could find everything from movies, to television shows, to music, to games, to business talk.

First I watched The Blindside. I can see why everyone says this is a good movie. I really enjoyed the storyline and the performances of the actors, definitely a deserving candidate for best movie. After listening to music for a little bit on the screen, I saw that they also had Law Abiding Citizen on file, so I watched that for the fourth time and it was just as good as the first. I must admit that during this movie, I started fading in and out of sleep. I got to the point to where I turned the movie off so I could sleep and restart it again. So after my sleep/movie time, I looked for something to do, and that came in the form of dinner that was served to us on the flight. I remember choosing chicken and it wasn't that bad, especially the chocolate chip cookie bar. The guy sitting next to me was in some type of Australian get-up, wearing a leather vest and some type of boomerang cowboy hat. He didn't talk much. So after dinner in the sky, I decided to take a stab at Inglorious Basterds. I must admit that I only watched a quarter of the movie and stopped because I just could not follow it anymore. My next viewing adventure came when I found the plane had a Family Guy episode, Meals on Wheels, where Peter opens a restaurant and it becomes inhibited by cripples, much to his dismay. I lost track of time, but the plane had a cool feature on it where you could view a map of just where you were in the sky, kinda cool. Anyways, I ended up reading a little bit of my book by Rick Reilly and had breakfast and before I knew it, it was 5:30 am and we were landing in Amsterdam.

With a second burst of energy, it was only 11:30 at home, we were on our plane to Prague. Nothing interesting happened here and the three hour bus ride from Prague to Olomouc was very uneventful. We got to the city at roughly 3 pm local time here and moved into our dorm rooms. I'm rooming with a fifth year senior from Wilbur, Neb, named Kane. He currently attends the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a blast to be around in the room. The rooms are small, with two very stiff beds, a small fridge, some shelving and one desk. In the middle of our pod is a kitchen, with three more rooms surrounding it, accompanied by two bathrooms.

Our first adventure was to find food. We ended up hitting up a pizzeria and I ordered a ham, sausage, and egg pizza, good way to start off the trip. We then hit up a couple more places before coming back to the dorms, tired as all hell. I sucked up it, however, to hit the bars with a group of friends, drinking shots and partying it up. We hit up a local club and had a good time dancing and goofing around until we left at 3:45 am..we had orientation at 9:15 that morning. So we set our alarm for 8:20 am and it went off at that time.

Or what we thought was that time.

Apparently the clock I brought from home is now running slow. So for each 4 minutes or so, it would lose a minute of time. So when we woke up at 8:30, it was actually 9:30, but luckily they were waiting for us downstairs in the lobby. From there we had an orientation meeting at the University. An hour or so of blabbing, I was drawing pictures in the back. After that meeting it was off to find lunch and take photos for our tram passes. Everything in this city runs through a tram system. So we got our pictures and three of us went to find a place to eat. After an unsuccessful attempt, we hit up a hamburger stand on the street. It was here that I separated from the group and came back to the dorms to put on longer pants and grab my camera. It was 1 pm and we were to meet back at the University at 1:45 to go on a tour. I grabbed my camera and gloves and got back on the tram at 1:30.

I don't remember how to get back to the University.

So after going too far, I walked and walked and walked, eventually retracing my steps back to the University to get me there at about 2:10 pm. No group. So I looked and looked and looked, but nothing. So I walked back to the center and waited until 3 pm with no luck. By now I was so cold I decided to head back to the dorms and call this day a loss. I slept until 8 pm and here I am now, typing to you.

I forgot to mention that last night, the hard drive in my computer crashed, sending me into a panic, because now I have no laptop. I find it frustrating not being able to contact anybody here if you are lost, because we don't have phones. The biggest barrier here has to be the language. Almost all of the vendors speak no English and it's impossible to ask questions and get answers. I feel this will be a problem until the day I leave. As for now, I'm going to work on my computer and let my roommate have his computer back. Until then, wait for pictures and I will gladly post them once I have them. We have a tour tomorrow at 10 am and then a class at 3. Tomorrow night there is a St. Patty Day's toga party at 9:30 pm that we are attending. Thursday we make our first group trip to Prague.

I miss all of you back at home and I can't wait to be back, but for now, I am going to enjoy my time here. God bless and check back soon!

Ready for Takeoff

2010-03-14T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well, it is nearing that time where I must pack my life away into two suitcases and a carryon, shovel those items inside of a car and drive to the airport. This is where my future awaits me. Today is the beginning of my semester studying abroad in the city of Olomouc in the Czech Republic, and I have mixed emotions as I type this entry into my blog this morning. I still have materials to pack and papers to print off before I am to arrive at the airport in 72 minutes. But really, who's counting? I am not the biggest fan of flying, especially trans-Atlantic flights, as this will be my first. I can normally handle short two-to-three hour departures, but needless to say this is my total trip:

Omaha to Minneapolis - Noon to 1:20 p.m.

Minneapolis to Amsterdam - 3;30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.

Amsterdam to Prague - 7:25 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Prague to Olomouc - ?

So needless to say, I am looking at a 19-hour adventure today that will take me from the midwest, where the weather is overcast and the mornings are brisk, to the middle of Europe, where...the weather is overcast and the mornings are brisk. Well, it'll be like I never left home. To all of my family and friends who will be following this during my time abroad, I wish you the best in all that you do while I am gone; I will truly miss your company and companionship while I'm overseas. It will be difficult adjusting to life with family so far away, but it will be good to learn how to manage my life on my own. I will be updating this blog with entries everyday (at least I will try) with my encounters and my experiences through my typing and my photographs.

Well, I must be getting the final preparations made before we leave and I say goodbye to my family for the final time for just over 10 weeks. To the rest of you, keep me in your prayers and in your thoughts as I put my life in the hands of a big piece of metal with propellers.

Update later once we make our arrival in Europe. God bless.

The Road to Redemption: Richie Ross' Journey to Football Salvation

2010-02-22T22:05:00.001-08:00

Some say the path to greatness comes from traveling a road less taken. For Richie Ross, that path has sent him from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the ocean, and everywhere in-between.

Ross, a 2006 graduate from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, recently made his debut with the Omaha Beef of the Indoor Football League, catching a touchdown pass and solidifying his position on the team. But it wasn’t that long ago that Ross was donning the NFL logo on his jersey instead of the Beef logo.

During his career at Kearney, Ross set multiple school records and impressed not only the coaches, but NFL scouts as well. Upon graduating, Ross entered himself into the NFL draft and the whirlwind that was to be his NFL future was set to begin.

“When the draft came around, I got a couple looks. In the seventh round, the Houston Texans were looking to draft a wide receiver and they were looking at myself and David Anderson from Colorado State,” Ross said. “Unfortunately, they chose him over me, but decided to sign me on as undrafted free agent a couple of weeks later.”

So Ross traded in his Loper gear for a Houston Texans helmet, where he eventually was signed to the team’s practice squad. The marriage between the Texans and Ross was short lived, however, as he was waived from the team half way into the season. Despite the heartbreaking news, Ross’ NFL dream continued when the Tennessee Titans picked up his rights only a couple of weeks later.

With a new start and a new team, Ross packed his bags and headed for Tennessee. Team management informed him that while he was on their top priority list, that he was to be sent to the NFL Europe for developmental and evaluation reasons.

Then all four walls came crashing down on top of Ross’ NFL aspirations.

“During training camp for Europe, I was running a vertical route against one of the cornerbacks. The pass was underthrown, so I cut off my route and jumped up to get the ball; it’s something I’ve done thousands of times in my football career. When I was up in the air, the back came forward and his knee hit my knee and it broke my patella in two,” Ross said. “The doctors say it was truly a freak accident in the way it went down.”

So instead of heading over to Europe with his Tennessee teammates, Ross was on his way to Birmingham, Ala., to take care of his broken patella. Doctors told Ross that the contraction in his quadriceps from jumping up to catch the ball, combined with the force of the contact between knees, forced the break of the bone, something that is not too common in football injuries. For the next three months Ross was on crutches watching and wondering if his team would still want him.

Once Ross was able to ditch the crutches, he began working out and rehabbing with a new metal plate that was essentially screwing his leg together. As time progressed, however, the pain didn’t subside, even though team officials thought the rehabilitation process should be going quicker than it had been.

“They kept telling me during my treatment and workouts to fight through the pain, but the pain never went away. About seven to eight months after my procedure, I started developing a knot in my knee that shot pain throughout my leg. Doctors in Birmingham couldn’t explain to me what this knot was and all of the X-rays I had done showed nothing,” Ross said. “So I continued to push through the pain, but I knew something wasn’t right.”

Eventually the pain became too much for Ross and he demanded an answer from the staff that had been treating his surgically repaired knee. He was told that the knot in his knee could be a bone growth, but that it shouldn’t be affecting him nor should it be painful. Doctors then suggested to Ross that they go back into his knee, shave the bone growth, and hopefully that would relieve him of any pressure.

This was his third procedure on his knee in just over a year from the time it happened. What doctors found in his knee wasn’t a bone growth, nor was it anything that Ross was doing wrong in his rehab.

“After the third surgery, the doctor came in and said to me ‘I think we finally have this thing beat.’ He then told me that the painful knot in my knee was a stitch that the surgeons had left in my knee, which formed scar tissue around it. It was a very simple mistake, but it cost me a year of pure playing time,” Ross said. “I was going on almost two years in this Birmingham facility and I wanted to be back playing football.”

Not only did the surgical mistake cost Ross practice and playing time, but it also cost him his spot on the Tennessee roster.

“Tennessee looked at my progress and felt that I should be further along than where I was. They basically thought that I had given up and that I had nothing left,” Ross said. “They thought I was milking the injury so I could keep getting a paycheck from the team, which is completely untrue. Why would I go through all of these surgeries and rehab so I could make $600 a week? I wouldn’t do that.”

So the team released Ross in 2008 and he was left to wonder what would become of not only his NFL, but also his entire football future. Ross eventually left the confines of the Birmingham facility to attempt a comeback into the sport that he had made his living for years.

Within the next year, Ross would compete in tryouts for teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and other leagues, and came away with nothing positive to show for his efforts.

“Some of these tryouts had 600 wide receivers and my tryout consisted of me running two routes and one 40-yard dash, and that was it. These tryouts were also ones that players paid to be at and the whole situation was just bad,” Ross said. “I was living out of my suitcase and I was running out of options. It was then that I had to think about what I wanted to do with the rest of my career and where it would go from here. I knew I had something left, but I felt empty, like something was missing.”

Ross said that he even had thoughts of coming back to the college where he re-wrote the record books, to help out with the coaching staff. But with that thought behind him, Ross made the decision to move back to Lincoln, Neb., to be with his family that had been waiting for him during his NFL career.

That empty feeling, however, wouldn’t go away and left Ross wanting more as life continued to tread through murky waters.

“When I came back to Lincoln, I just wanted to find a job, to work and support my family, but everywhere I looked, the door was closed,” Ross said. “I was of no worth to anyone, including myself.”

That is when the opportunity to play for a team from up Interstate 80 came knocking on Ross’ door. The Omaha Beef were holding open tryouts and Ross, with nothing on his plate and a chip on his shoulder, wanted to prove that he could still play.

Ross made his way to Omaha and played his way onto the team’s roster for their exhibition game against the St. Charles Cyclones. Only the players who stood out in this game would be offered a spot on the team’s official 2010 roster.

On the field, Ross was easily noticeable as one of the team’s tallest wide receivers. Early in the second quarter, Ross went in motion and ran a fly pattern up the middle of the field, finding open space for an easy touchdown catch and a celebratory back flip in the end zone to cap off his first career IFL touchdown and first career touchdown celebration.

His play earned him a spot on the Beef’s 2010 roster and gave Ross a glimmer of hope that he could once again become the receiver he once was.

“Right now I am nowhere where I used to be, my route running is very rusty and my feet are pretty clumsy when working against corners. I mean, it has been close to three years since I have had any type of football action,” Ross said. “But one thing hasn’t been lost is my ability to go up and catch the ball. I can still do that with the best of them.”

While looking back on his short-lived career with the NFL, Ross said he has no regrets with how his life has gone, but he did accredit some of his downfalls to a bad attitude and offered some advice to fellow Division II players with pro football dreams.

“If I could say anything to the kids coming from a small school, I would say that you need to continue to get better every day and work constantly on becoming the best player you can be,” Ross said. “That was one of my problems when I was signed by an NFL team. I assumed that once I was in the NFL, that only the best players play in the league. So instead of working on my route running and physical conditioning, I was too worried about the players ahead of me who were getting more opportunities than I was. In the end, my bad attitude about my playing situation set the course for where I am now. Regardless of your position, you can’t let your spot in somebody else’s shadow affect who you are”

“You can ask anybody, any quarterback I played with at UNK, that I was always the first to blow up their phone in the summer trying to get them to go to the park, go to the field, to work out routes and just throw. Somewhere along the line, I lost that in myself and I’m trying to get it back.”

The road to redemption for Ross has been filled with potholes and obstacles, but it’s nothing that he hasn’t dealt with already – and he isn’t taking anything for granted.

“I’ve seen up close that you can be here today and gone tomorrow. It’s something that has been on my shoulders and I want to take my time with the Beef day by day, using the practice time to become the receiver that I once was and the one that I know I can be,” Ross said.

For now, the former Lincoln High and UNK star will don the orange and black and suit up in front of 5,000 fans shaking cowbells. While it’s far from the bright lights of the NFL, something is better than nothing, no matter what league you play for.

The "List": Why Does It Exist?

2009-08-10T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a solid two or three months since the end of the JMC 425 class and my last blog. I have taken a sebaticle this summer because I wanted to relax from everything that was school. I probably should have been blogging more to work on my writing, but it is what it is. This is why I am writing now, to work on my writing as school is no more than two weeks away. Today I am going to write about a topic that has been bugging me lately and does not seem like it will go away any time soon, and that is the phantom 2003 steroid "list" compiled by the MLB Union to determine if they needed stronger testing in baseball.

This list first became public issue back in March/April, when an SI report flooded the sports newswires stating that Alex Rodriqguez, star third baseman for the New York Yankees, was on this list of 104 players in a 2003 voluntary testing session who tested positive for a perfomance enhancing drug. Now there are a couple huge problems I have with the release of A-Rod's name, and his only at that time, from this supposed "secret" list which was only compiled because players volunteered to get tested for the sake of baseball: 1) the players agreed to be tested on the basis that once the research was complete, that the list would be disposed of and no one would know and 2) what some or most of the players tested positive for during this 2003 test, was not illegal to take according to MLB testing policies during that time. So with the leak of Rodriguez's name to the media, someone knew the contents of the list and they were releasing that information at their own will.

Since then more than a half dozen names have been leaked from this list of 104 players, culminating with the names of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, two key components of a Boston Red Sox team that captured World Series glory in 2004 and again in 2007. I remember sitting in my hotel room in Las Vegas when I heard of the news on ESPN and I brushed it off as nothing that surprised me. As time passed, however, I started to think about the contents of the list and those who have been thrown under the bus at the expense of the media. It wasn't until I listened to Mike Greenberg this morning on "Mike and Mike In the Morning" that it struck me that while these names were released as supposedly being on the list, that it was never reported what they tested positive for. In the case of Ortiz and Ramirez, an anonymous individual who is leaking names reported that these two names were on the list, without any information as to what they tested positive for to trigger the positive test.

The response has been curious to a spectator such as myself. Ortiz was immediately approached and questioned by members of the media as to why he would be on the infamous 2003 list, to which Ortiz responded that he wanted to gather facts before he addressed the media. Because just like the rest of us, Ortiz had not been told what he had tested positive for, let alone that his name was actually on this list. When Ortiz came out this past Saturday, it was just him, no agent, no left-hand man telling him what to say, no piece of paper to read off of. He also had the backing of the MLB Union president who stated that he was tired of this list and that the 104 was an inflated number to the real number, which is more around 83-96. Ortiz maintained his innocence, claiming that he was careless in purchasing LEGAL vitamins and supplements, but that he never purchased or took anabolic steroids. Now the talk of the town is whether or not to believe Ortiz and his reasoning for being on the list.

My question is, where is Manny Ramirez and why is no one on his dreadlocks asking for a reason why he was on the list? As far as I'm concerned the whole steroid talk has been about Ortiz and none of it has surrounded Manny, who was already suspended 50 games this season for a positive test, in which he tested positive for a female fertility drug, commonly used by males coming off of a steroid cycle. But for some reason, people don't want to put 2 and 2 together and put Manny under the spotlight.

Regardless of whether or not this occurs, I feel that no names should have been leaked from this 2003 list where players tested with the promise that nothing would become of it. I also have a problem with players being accused of using PEDs when they weren't illegal to use in baseball. Back in 2003, the supplement ingridient "nandronine" was legal to purchase and ingest according to baseball policy. Since 2003, it has become illegal and is now on the list of banned substances. For example, Mark McGwire was accused of taking an anabolic steroid during the peak of his career in the late 90's and early 2000s, but what people don't care about is that this steroid was not illegal to take during this time period. This means nothing to the public, however, as any use of a PED constitutes instant infamy, a bold "x" stamped on their forehead, a cheater for eternity.

As for this list, it needs to be demolished and the person or people responsible for the leaks needs to be prosecuted and sent to jail. The players who agreed to test for this list agreed to do so with the protection that it would be vaporized once completed. But once the federal government became involved with baseball, steroids, and BALCO, it confiscated the list and ever since then, has been responsible for the leaks. Destroy this list and get it out of baseball because it is a disgrace that players who thought they were safe now have to fear for their reputation because of an individual hellbent on ruining baseball, one name at a time.

Where Has Everyone Gone?

2009-05-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

This is what I thought would happen to the blogging class as soon as summer hit. I know it has been hectic, with people moving and getting back with old friends, but I am still surprised that there hasn't been a post since May 7th.

Well I will be the first to post back and just give an update on my summer. Omaha has been very boring, but I am currently conducting research for a 10 page paper due May 20 for my online class. Wow, someone here forgot that summer was a time to relax, especially after taking 19 credit hours. But what can I say, I want to graduate in four years.

So I hope everyone is having a safe summer so far, I have already seen my fair share of tragedy while here in Omaha and may I send my prayers and condolences out to the Ford family of Ainsworth. Not only did the Ford's lose their 16-year-old daughter, Ashley, in a car accident, but two days later, their son Andrew, 21, died in a car accident. I don't know how anyone can handle that. My prayers and wishes to their family.

Mission Accomplished

2009-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Well, this semester was an overwhelming success in my eyes. Coming into the semester, I was registered for 22 credit hours, before dropping my Meteorology class (don't ever take it), to still leave me with 19 credit hours..which is more than I have ever taken. Well finals was a culmination of hard work and dedication in the classroom as I pulled out a 4.0 for the semester, with almost as many A+'s as I had A's (3 compared to 4).

Now I am just 30 credit hours away from finishing my degree and it has not struck me yet that I am officially a collegiate senior and it's scary. It's scary that this time has gone by this fast, as it was just yesterday, or so it seems, that I pledged to be in Alpha Tau Omega. Just yesterday that I was elected as president of that very organization. Just yesterday that I was a member of the UNK Golf team, living out a high school dream. There is so much I have accomplished in three years, 4.0's, member of a collegiate athletic team, photographer at nationally televised games, interviewed nationally known comedians and bands...the list could go on and on. But yet I still have so much more to do with my life and I thank God that I still have a year left to sort it all out.

As for this summer, I am going to relax. I turn 21 at the end of July and already have a trip booked to Vegas, so let the good times roll.

Dallas Cowboys Facility Collapses: Video

2009-05-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Text for my video commentary

2009-04-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Every year, video game consouers around the country begin clamoring for the release of one game that begins its hype in April and climaxes with the release of the game in August. That game, of course, is the coveted, and haunted, Madden series.

Now I know those of you who don’t watch sports and read up on your video game twitter accounts, are asking yourself, what does he mean by haunted? How could a video game be haunted?

Well for years, pundits and critics have claimed that whoever graces the cover of the new Madden game that year is doomed to fail and fall under what sports enthusiasts everywhere have coined as the “Madden Curse.”

Let’s take a look at past cover boys and how the success of becoming the face of the video game industry’s best-selling franchise has affected their season that year.

The first was in 1999, when San Francisco running back Garrison Hearst was pictured on the cover of the game. He had a solid regular season (3rd in rushing), but in the NFL playoffs against the Atlanta Falcons, he suffered a severe broken ankle that required Hearst to miss two full NFL seasons. In 2000, Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders was featured over Madden’s shoulder and how did Sanders fare that season? Well he retired abruptly in July before the start of the season.

In 2001, Tennessee Titans running back Eddie George was selected as the Madden cover boy and responded by failing to break 1,000 yards and his team missing the playoffs. Ex-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper flaunted his arm on the cover of the 2002 Madden game and during that season, he missed 4 games with injury, threw for 1300 less yards and 19 less TD's then in 2000.

See a trend yet? No? Well let me give you some more food for thought.

In 2003, St. Louis Ram’s running back Marshall Faulk had his picture plastered across the cover and during that subsequent year, Faulk rushed for 430 less yards and had 4 less TDs compared to 2001. Faulk's worst season since 1996. Coming into the 2004 version of the game, no player was hotter than Michael Vick, which gave the cover spot to the Atlanta Falcons signal caller. That year, however, Vick suffered a broken leg in the preseason and missed the first 11 games of the season, all stats were down from the previous year.

As for the 2005 season, the curse seemed to be broken with the installment of Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis. His numbers were slightly down from the year before but were still above the league average. He did, however, miss one game and failed to record an interception for the first time in his career. Also, he dropped a crucial interception in a playoff game against the Tennessee Titans that season which cost his team the game.

For Madden 2006, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and savior Donovan Mcnabb suffered a hernia and was lost for the season after appearing on the cover. Mcnabb threw for more interceptions and his yards per attempt and completion percentage were down from 2004. The Eagles finished 6-10, in last place, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999

Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was featured on the Madden 2007 cover of the game after a record-breaking previous season. That year Alexander missed 6 regular season games with a broken foot. He finished the season with 896 yards and 7 touchdowns, which were the lowest since his rookie season. For Madden 2008, the dubious title of Madden cover boy went to Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Vince Young, who proceeded to have a ratio of 2 interceptions for every touchdown he threw that season.

Then for Madden 2009, the video game figured it would get around the curse by featuring Brett Favre, a recently retired Favre, in his Packers uniform. Well, the trick was on them as Favre un-retired and returned to play with the New York Jets. Favre and the Jets started the season hot, but after Favre injured his throwing arm, the season collapsed quickly. Favre threw 6 less TD's and 7 more int's then in 2007. The Jets finished 9-7 after starting 8-3 and missed the playoffs.

So what will happen with the release of the brand new Madden 2010 game, as Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald were selected as the first ever duo cover boys. Is there really such a thing as a Madden Curse?

When thinking about it using general common sense, there is no way that becoming the poster boy for a video game series can affect your career. But when looking at the track record of the past players to grace the Madden cover, it is almost too spooky.

Critics have been talking about this ‘Madden Curse’ for years now and it continues to happen with each player. Is it really fate or is it merely a coincidence?

While people worry about whether Polamalu will get the hair yanked out of his head or if Fitzgerald will tear an ACL, the real video game fans are looking forward to the release of the game and so am I. In a recently released interview with “Madden NFL 2010” senior producer Phil Frazier, he gave a few hints as to what to expect with the new game, building the excitement for one of the most hyped games of the summer.

The first new feature of the game is a program called Pro-Tak. This new technology system “is a new animation technology that helps drive several new features in the game," Frazier said. "This includes nine-man gang tackles, a brand new pocket for the offensive line, steerable blocks, steerable tackles and the fight for the fumble feature that really lets you fight for that ball at the bottom of the pile.”
That’s right. a fight for the fumble feature. In perhaps the most exciting new feature to come about in any NFL franchise football game is this new piece of heaven. The fight for the fumble will allow you to scrum on the bottom of the pile, fighting for that elusive turnover, mashing buttons on your controller to keep the ball for your side. Never before have players been able to fight for the ball and Madden 2010 will give gamers the opportunity to do that.

Another sweet new piece of technology making its debut in the Madden 2010 game is the quarterback avoidance system. This system will allow you to continue to look downfield for receivers as the pocket collapses around you. When you have a defender breathing down the back of your neck, your controller will begin to rumble and you have a second to flick a button to hopefully avoid from becoming that player’s sack lunch.

Other features in the game include the introduction of the “Wildcat” offense which, for those of you who have no idea what a wildcat is, is when the running back assumes the position of quarterback and then with a running back next to them can either hand off or run it themselves. They can also throw the ball if you have a really athletic quarterback.

The whole purpose of these new features is to make the game as real as possible, to bring what you see during games on Sunday into your game console. The Madden franchise has continually provided excellence in the field of sporting games, proving to be the leader in technological advances in the field, making the game as real as possible. The series has been able to remain a mainstay in popular culture and continues to be a giant in the video gaming industry.

Madden 2010 looks to build on the previous success of the franchise and with these new features, there is no doubt that the 2010 reincarnation of the game will prove to be the best yet.

The jury is still out, however, in regards to the curse, but we’re only 3 months from release and 4 months away from seeing if the Madden Curse will strike again.

Final Project: Madden 2010 Curse/Preview

2009-04-28T22:57:00.001-07:00

Thank God for that catchfence

2009-04-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Countless lives were saved yesterday by a fence.

That's right, a fence. But this isn't your common, everyday white picket fence, it is referred to by NASCAR officials as the "catchfence". This fence surrounds the track, particularly in front of the massive crowds that venture their ways to the speedways to cheer on their favorite drive. These fences were created to stop large pieces of debris from becoming unattached from cars and ending up in the crowd's lap. The fact of the matter is this, take a crash at 200 miles per hour, have a wheel come off and shoot it into the crowd and it is a fatal projectile sure to take more than a few lives.

It's not common for crowds to show up in numbers of excess of 100,000 to these events, making a crash into the stands a potentially tragic and horrific scene. This is why NASCAR and safety researchers created the catchfence to be put around the track and reinforce it where there are fans. But with nothing to really test it, as 99% of crashes stay on the track, it is almost impossible to tell what a full speed crash would do to these fences. Would it hold against the weight of a car? Sure the fence might be strong enough to take a tire or something that isn't a two ton hunk of metal spiraling through the air. Well let's set the scene for Sunday's NASCAR race at Talledega and show you how a fence turned certain death for hundreds of fans into minor injuries for only 8 spectators.

Carl Edwards and rookie Brad Keselowski are bumper-to-bumper during the final lap of a wreck filled race. Already there has been two accidents that have involved at least ten cars and what was about to occur next would have fans kissing the feet of the men and women who designed this fence. Edwards was in the lead going into the final turn as Keselowski was hooked onto his bumper, looking for that one opportunity to make a pass.

Keselowski went down. Edwards with the block. Keselowski went up. Edwards went for the block. But as Edwards went for the block, Keselowski made his move back down to the inside part of the track, poised for the pass on Edwards. As Edwards came down for the block, Keselowski was already inside of him, pitting his back side against the other driver's hood, sending Edwards sliding to the left.

In order to slow cars down during a crash, racecar engineers installed flaps on the roof, much like on the wings on an airplane to slow it down during the landing. Well these flaps caught the air flow around his car moving sideways and lifted his back end up off the ground. This would've been fine except for the car behind Edwards had too little room to do anything and ended up being a catapult to Edward's car. Edwards's car began to fly through the air end over end and it was going toward the crowd for almost certain death.

But a metal fence stood between the crowd and Edward's flying car taking the full force of the accident, bending back as this car hit it going 140 miles per hour in the air.

It didn't break. It did it's job.

Edwards was able to climb out of his car as it came to a rest short of the finish line and he ran across it to get the points, alas shades of Ricky Bobby. But looking at his car and watching the crash from all different angles has to leave fans wondering what if. What if that fence didn't hold, what if the car made its way through that barrier and ended up crushing many helpless fans on the front row?

All of that goes back to thanking their lucky stars that individuals were able to create a fence strong enough to take the blow of a carsh this intense and not break. Now, each driver and fan has their own opinion of the crash and the safety equipment, but the bottom line is this: Edwards was able to walk away from a crash where his car flew through the air and hit a metal fence at 140 miles per hour. Fans in the path of this metal tornado were able to go home and tell the story of their survival, about the fence that saved their life.

Countless lives were saved by a fence yesterday. Who knows what would've happened had it failed to stay standing.

And the with the first pick...

2009-04-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

Teams begin planning for today the day after their season ends, going through team inventories and grading each area. General managers, coaches and scouts replace their 24/7 study of game film with game film of the next great college prospects. Sports stations across the country turn to covering today more than three months in advance, covering everything from the athlete's 40-yard dash time to their barber's name when they were a kid. If that's not enough, they dedicate their own show to the next two days, instead of incorporating it with the other highlights.

For fans, these two days are where hope can be found in your team, camping out in front of the television, awaiting who will become the next possible future face of the franchise. These next two days will determine how your team's season will begin and can you give you more or less reason to hate other teams.

I am, of course, talking about the NFL Draft, which began today to a less than climatic boom, as the No. 1 pick was already signed by the team two days before the draft began. Georgia QB Matthew Stafford was selected and signed by the Detroit Lions with the No. 1 selection in the 2009 NFL Draft. Last season the lowly Lions finished a dismal 0-16, the first team in NFL history to not win a game in a season (since the schedule was changed to 16 games in the mid 1980's).

But as for the rest of the Draft, it was a mystery. Each team has needs to be filled, but there is always one question that must cross the minds of every coach and general manager as the time becomes theirs to pick: do I pick a player that fills the needs of our organization or do I draft the best available player when it becomes our turn? Rarely do those two ever meet one another and if they do, it is only because the team is so terrible and has so many needs, that it is inevitable that the best available player will match-up with their needs.

My favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, faced this similar situation in today's first round of the Draft. The Packers were very raw on defense last year and need help, giving up game-winning drives in the last minutes to finish 6-10 on the year. So defense was a main concern going into the Draft and with the number 9 pick, they could address it. But no one saw it coming when perhaps the best player in the draft fell directly into their laps in Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree. The only problem was that their main target, Boston College defensive tackle B.J. Raji, was still on the board and would fill in a huge need.

So what is GM Ted Thompson going to do? Is he going to go with the sure fire need for a defensive tackle to help the league's 26th worst run defense, or does he draft the explosive Crabtree to improve a wide receiving corp that doesn't really need help?

Well I guess this is why they get paid the big bucks to make decisions like this, because I would have selected Crabtree in a heartbeat. Crabtree is a playmaker who can be a game changer, while Raji can be the same thing, but on a less consitent basis. While Raji will be the anchor of a defensive line that is switching from the normal 4-3 base defense to the new 3-4 defense that so many NFL teams are now going to.

The Packers ended up with two first round selections and went with defense both times, Raji at No. 9 and USC linebacker Clay Matthews at No. 26. Both of these picks will help the Packers transition into that 3-4 defense.

I still will always wonder what it would've been like to see Crabtree on the back of a Packers jersey as he makes the Lambeau Leap. *sighs*

Column 3 Rough Draft

2009-04-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the clock to strike Midnight: An After Midnight Project Review

“You will hear us on rock radio.”

Those were the words of Danny Morris, a drummer for a little known band called the After Midnight Project. AMP is a group that hails from Los Angeles and is on a hellbent path of destruction to future rock band stardom.

The After Midnight Project describes their music as catchy and edgy, using their lyrics to pull in the listener and never let them go, beating them over the head with hard rock riffs and screaming vocals but then bringing them back down to earth with melodic choruses and soothing verses. This creates a musical mix that gives them a sound all their own - and they know it.

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel when we create music,” said lead singer Jason Evigan. “We combine all of these different elements to make the listener want more.”

On Saturday April 18, the After Midnight Project brought their high energy circus act to the Health and Sports Center to kick off the party in regards to the release of their new album, Let’s Build Something to Break, scheduled for release on July 14. It will be the band’s first album release with major label Universal records.

As an opening act, their name was nowhere to be found on the promotional items and was an underscore next to the two other groups set to perform that night. But being an underdog before has never stopped this band from living its dream of making music.

“We started as a band in 2004, and while there have been several reincarnations of the band, we have never lost sight of our main goal,” Evigan said. “And that goal is to keep making music as long as we can and enjoy every minute of it while doing it.”

After watching this band roll up to the venue in a van and U-haul, dwarfed in comparison to the extravagant and luxurious tour buses provided by the other acts, it was hard to tell what this group would bring to the table. But after interviewing them in their locker/dressing room, it was easy to tell that this group of five musicians had confidence - and a burning desire - to absolutely blow this crowd away.

The stage was set and floor was filled with students eager to hear great music, unaware that this little rock band was waiting in the back, ready to put their hearts on their sleeves and give it to the crowd. As the lights dimmed, the crowd erupted into a nervous cheer, not knowing what to expect of the band getting ready to take the stage.

Immediately the band opened up with a track off of their 2006 EP, titled “Digital Crush”, which featured edgy singing by Evigan, magnificent guitar playing by Spencer Bastian and Christian Meadows and hard hitting sets from drummer Danny Morris. Being next to the stage, you could see the determination and emotion in Evigan’s eyes, pouring everything he had into that microphone.

Song after song, the band threw curveballs that even threw me by surprise. Before the show, Bastian has told me that to “expect a show that would get the crowd flowing because we pride ourselves on having a high energy performance, something the audience will remember when they go home.”

Boy, did they get the crowd moving. Looking at the concert through my camera, I could see the impact these men were having on the Kearney faithful. The storms going on outside at the time could not compare to the electricity flowing through the crowd during the band’s entire performance.

The After Midnight Project did something that no other band did that night: they connected with the crowd on a personal level. The words that flowed from Evigan’s mouth to the notes being strummed by Meadows, all implanted into the ears of everyone in the crowd. Just like a fish on a string, they were reeled into world the band wanted to create for them.

“The songs - the music and the words - speak to a lot of people,” Bastian said. “I think that is what the fans get out of it the most.”

With word spreading quickly of the band’s performance, don’t be surprised to turn the dial and hear the After Midnight Project coming through your speakers. It’s only a matter of time before people from Kearney can watch MTV and say, “hey, I saw that band live!”

Photoblog: Secondhand Serenade

2009-04-20T23:59:00.000-07:00

Here a few photos I selected from the Secondhand Serenade portion of the concert. These images will be smaller to save space, but click on them to make them larger.

Photoblog: After Midnight Project

2009-04-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

These are a few photos I selected from the first performance of the night, the After Midnight Project.

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Invades Kearney

2009-04-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday April 18, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus invaded Kearney for a show at the Health and Sports Center. They brought to the stage a blend of rock that they have made their own, with only two major label albums under their belt.

With over 500,000 copies sold of their major label record debut, Don’t You Fake It, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has established themselves as one of the premier rock bands in the country. Their lead single off that album, Face Down, catapulted the band to super stardom levels, reaching No. 24 on the Billboard 100 and No. 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts.

The band just recently released their second album, Lonely Road, which debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 music album chart.

“Personally, I love being in the studio, especially when you’re there with people who are there to create awesome stuff together. It’s the feeling of creating something that’s yours and that has never been done before,” said Ronnie Winters, lead singer of the band. “But you can’t compete with the live energy of a show, when people are together and they’re pumped.”

The band is comprised of members from around the western area of Jacksonville, Flor., an uncommon theme for most bands today. To have a band made up of performers that live within miles of one another has played into the band’s success.

“It’s cool because when we go home, we’re all literally right there next to one another and we can continue what we love to do,” said bassist Joey Westwood. “We love to meet bands like that because as you said, it is really uncommon to see that in music today.”

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is just kicking off their Lonely Road Tour, traveling across the country to showcase their music. They have recently made stops in Lincoln, before coming to UNK, and also in Wayne. But traveling across the country isn’t the real perk in touring. That would be when the band gets to play overseas and experience culture outside of the norm.

“We have played in the Philippines, Australia, Japan, Singapore, UK, Germany, France, Holland and Belgium,” Winters said. “What I enjoy about it is the culture shock, meeting people that were born in a different place and how they react to your music.”

During the show on Saturday, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus proved why they are one of the top up and coming rock acts in all of music today. With a combination of high energy music, crowd interaction and powerful lyrics, RJA is able to win over fans at every stop they make.

Success hasn’t come easy for the band, however, who offers advice to any musician aspiring to make it big in the industry or just make it in a band.

“The most important thing is just to play your instrument and nothing else,” Joey said. “Everything will fall into place, but music is the bottom line.”

“You have to know your instrument and be good at what you do. If you work at it long enough, you will find other people who are good at what they do and you’ll be in a band,” Winters said.

Drummer Jon Wilkes offered up a bit of advice in saying that, “if you want to make touring a part of your life, make sure that is what you want to do and don’t take no for an answer.”

After forming in 2001 and releasing their first EP in 2004, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has achieved what every band dreams of and that is to make a lasting impression on their fans. It’s not about the money for these guys, it’s about making music and enjoying what you do.

For more information about the band, visit http://www.redjumpsuit.com to learn more about the guys or to hear some of their music if you never have before.

Attempting to find time for a blog

2009-04-18T00:09:00.001-07:00

I never thought a time would come during the semester where I would be so busy that I wouldn't have time for the simplest of tasks, such as relaxing or even eating dinner. This is what I'm experiencing this weekend and I am struggling finding the time to post adequate blogs for this week. Let me give you a run down of what I'm attempting to accomplish by Monday night at midnight.

Well let's begin with my Sport Marketing and Sports Psychology classes, which I have on MWF at 9 and 12:20. It is with the same teacher so it is fitting that we are holding our end of the year research paper/marketing plan presentations during the same time period. But not to fear, the class sizes are large enough to spread out the presentation days from April 20 until May 1. Oh but hell hath no fury as by the "random luck of the draw" I was selected to give my presentation on the same day, the first day possible on April 20th. With each 6 minute presentation comes a paper to be done by the time you give your presentation.

Next, an e-mail from my online class told me that we had our finak journal synopsis due Monday April 20th, by midnight..oh great, another big time assignment due at midnight.

Added on top of that is my assignments for the Antelope newspaper which are due by noon every Sunday. Well for this upcoming issue I have three story assignments and those are:
1) feature on Joe Ellenberger, UNK Graduate mixed martial artist
2) story on UNK Spring football practice
3) story about the concert tomorrow at 7 pm

I really am excited for the feature on the concert tomorrow because I do get to interview the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus at 3 p.m., four hours before the show. So expect a blog entry with a column about the band.

So here was my schedule today until Monday at midnight and trying to find time to squeeze in some blog entries, let alone free time for myself.

Friday
1-5 p.m.: Writing Contest at the Holiday Inn

Saturday
noon-1 pm: Luncheon for conference
3-4 pm: Interview RJA
4-6 pm: write RJA column
7-10 pm: concert (photography)

Sunday
1-6 pm: fraternity recruitment seminar at the Student Union

Squeezed into there is the three news stories, two Powerpoint presentations, two papers, one journal synopsis...and a partridge in a pear tree. All due by Monday and after that I will be ready for a week long nap and who knows, I might just do that.

There will be a blog tomorrow featuring my RJA column and a photo blog of the concert tomorrow night!

Watching the Green Jacket Unravel Before Your Very Eyes

2009-04-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

They already his jacket size ready, the sleeves hemmed, the annals keeper already had his name written down at the champion of the 2009 Masters tournament after his tee shot on the par-3 16th.

But that glass slipper just didn't want to stay on Kenny Perry's foot.

Earlier in the day, fireworks were provided by two of golf's heavyweights as Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were paired together, the number one and two golfers in the world. They were perched at 4-under, seven shots back of the leaders going into the final round. Woods and Mickleson knew, realistically, to have a chance, they would need to post 65's and hope the leaders remained stagnant. The crowds that surrounded this group were absolutely incredible, lining the fairways of every hole they played, what looked like tens of thousands of people focused on these two legends.

Mickleson lit the course on fire in the first nine, pulling off incredible shot one after another, turning the front nine into his own personal playground. While Tiger struggled to get anything going, Mickleson fired a 6-under, 30, tied for the Masters record for lowest front nine score. Woods, however, with the help of an eagle on No. 7, fired a 3-under, 33. The gallery that engulfed these players exploded with every birdie, making the leaders full aware that they were on the prowl.

After Tiger birdied No. 16, each player went into the final two holes at 10-under par, two shots off the leader, Kenny Perry. A costly drive into the left trees left Tiger making bogey and Phil had an easy 4-footer for birdie. I say easy as though I wouldn't have blown it by 10-feet on those greens, which is like putting on glass. Mickleson missed the birdie putt, which would have pulled him to within one shot of the leader and the crowd let out a huge moan as that putt slid by the left edge. Also sliding by was Mickleson's chances at a third Green Jacket.

Both had an anti-climatic finish on the final hole, each one making bogey to put them at 9-under and 8-under, respectively, leaving the stage set for the current leaders to make their mark on history, whether it be that or infamy. Tiger shot a final round 68 and Mickleson a 67, a few shots short of where they knew they needed to be at the end of the day.

We join the action on the par 3 16th.

Perry had just almost holed his tee shot on No. 16, with a one shot lead, soon to be two with two holes to play, it was his tournament to lose. That is when the proverbial wheels fell off the proverbial wagon, with all of the momentum behind him from the birdie on the difficult 16th. But for anyone who has ever watched the Masters, they know that the tides can change on any hole, with a double bogey never far away and never out of reach.

Perry stepped up to the 17th tee box the owner of only four bogeys the entire week on perhaps one of the toughest golf courses in the world, Augusta National. Perry sat at 14-under, while competitors Angel (pronounced Ahn-hell) Cabrera and Chad Campbell lurked behind at 12-under. Cabrera was playing with Perry in the final group and Campbell was one group ahead. On perhaps the most important tee shot of the tournament, Perry hit a striper down the left center of the fairway, leaving him in position to at least make par. But that is when the Kentucky-native learned the hard way that major titles don't come without heavy pressure.

He second shot from the short grass took on bounce on the green and went over, leaving him with a difficult chip back towards the pin. Perry hit his chip a little too firm, sending the ball down over the mound and to the front of the green, making bogey a certainty. But all was well, Cabrera made par and Campbell missed his birdie putt on 18, leaving Perry still with a one shot lead making his way to the 72nd hole.

A drive into the left bunker put Perry at a disadvantage, but found himself on the upslope, away from the lip, making his shot a tad easier. But Perry hooked it just a little too much and left the ball down, off the green, and with a difficult chip to a pin that left little green to work with. He chipped it up to about 20-feet, with a par putt to win, the tournament essentially his since his birdie on the 16th.

He stepped up, this putt would define his career. It would give him his first major and it would come at the Super Bowl of golf tournaments, the Masters. A seasoned pro who had found success on the tour, but never when it mattered the most. He hit the putt and it began to slow down...and curl...towards the lower edge of the hole, no good. Inches away from immortality. There was going to be a three-way playoff between Campbell, Perry and Cabrera.

On the first playoff hole, Campbell was eliminated when he missed a short par putt and Cabrera and Perry making miraculous up and downs to save par. Cabrera made par after hitting his drive in the trees, hitting his second shot into a tree and receiving a lucky bounce back out into the fairway, instead of back further into the forest. So off to No. 10 they went, Cabrera and Perry, the final group of that day was having the final say on who would be crowned champion.

Both hit drives down the middle of the fairway, but a catastrophic mistake by Perry would leave Cabrera with the Green Jacket firmly with his sights. Perry, one again, hooked his approach shot all the way down the hill, virtually impossible to recover from, while Cabrera had a 12-foot putt for birdie. A subsequent missed par putt by Perry allowed Cabrera to tap in for par and claim his second major victory (U.S. Open in 2007).

One can't feel bad for Perry, who had the tournament slip from his hands in the final two holes. You can't help but root for the guy, who could be any one of us. He is a man who enjoys his muscle cars and is slightly overweight. He is laid back and gracious, a real "blue-collar" type of golfer who appeals to every demographic. Fans of golf have watched him win more times than anyone last season and lead the U.S. to a Ryder Cup victory in 2008 in his home state.

This was one of the greatest rounds in Masters history, whether it be two golfing giants making a Sunday charge and electrifying the crowd or a golfer collapsing underneath the weight of the Masters pressure. It had me glued to the television wondering what would happen next and surprising me around every corner.

One day Kenny Perry will find his prince, just the Masters wasn't his time to find it.

He Plays For A Different Team of Angels Now..

2009-04-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

He had just pitched the game of his young MLB career. Six scoreless innings, allowing only seven hits against a tough Oakland Athletics squad. Even though his bullpen let that lead slip away and cost him the win, it was still the most promising start of this budding young baseball superstar that no one had heard about. That night would be the last game he would ever pitch

He was drafted in the 14th-round of the MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels a couple of years ago out of a Baltimore high school, slipping that far because of arm problems. Some even viewed him as the top pitching prospect in the nation. But the Angels took a chance on this kid with a golden arm. He spent two seasons in the minors and made his first MLB start on May 1, 2008. He went on to make four more starts that year, picking up his first MLB win along the way.

To the Angels organization, they knew him as "Nicky" and to the rest of the world he went by Nick Adenhart. On Wednesday night/early Thursday morning Adenhart was one of four passengers in a Mitsubishi Eclipse that was sideswiped by a minivan running a red light, the driver, Andrew Gallo, a 22-year-old who has a prior DUI conviction and a suspended license. Early reports indicate that after he was apprehended (he fled the scene on foot), that his blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit.

Two of the passengers were killed instantly and Adenhart died later in surgery. The fourth remains in critical condition and in intensive care.

He was only 22 years old.

Shockwaves rippled around the country on Thursday after the death was made official by the Angels. The Angels postponed their game that night against the Athletics and players were there to console one another. Fans who watched the game that night before saw Adenhart pitch out of his mind for six innings, in line for his second MLB win, his promising future coming to fruition before their very eyes. The player that was ranked as the top prospect in their organization was finally making an impact, far from the high school player they drafted in 2004.

Fans from all over California drove to the stadium and began memorials against the fences, leaving hats and posters and flowers. The pain of the loss being felt throughout the Angels organization.

Perhaps the most painful part was that Adenhart was an only child and since he was making his first start of the season hours before his death, his dad was in the stands watching his every pitch in the last game he will ever see his son play. Jim, his father, had flown out from Maryland to watch his son live his dream, little knowing that within hours, he would be back. When he returned, he stood next to his son's empty locker, filled with memories and heartache. He was handed the jersey Nick had wore the night before. The flags were lowered to half-staff at the stadium and there stood Jim Adenhart on the pitcher's mound in a red Angels pullover, saying goodbye to his son in the best way he knew how.

This is just a reminder that those people in that car could have been any one of us and that life could end at any moment, you just never know when. Show love to those who are special to you and live life for today. Nick Adenhart did just that, playing baseball and making friends.

Now he plays for a different team of Angels...RIP Nick Adenhart

2nd Column Rough Draft

2009-04-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

Learning Life’s Lessons...All By the Age of 19

Sara is your typical college student, she goes to class, does homework, plays a little golf and hangs out with friends. When looking at her, you would never be able to see what has happened in her life that has made this girl so special.

When Sara was just 15-years-old she began experimenting with alcohol, going to barn parties and failing to realize the potential consequences. That is when she got her first MIP (minor in possession), a term all to familiar for college students, but not 15-year-olds. But Sara thought nothing of it, as most young teenagers would, took diversion and kept on drinking every now and then, but not excessively.

She began smoking pot at age 17 and it began to take over her life. Before she knew it, Sara was lighting it up when she woke up, on her lunch break, after school, at night and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning. It was that year that her best friend was killed in a car accident - he had huffed de-icer and froze his brain while driving.

“ After that, I hated God. I didn't believe in Him anymore,” Sara said. “I wanted to end my life, my best friend was gone and I didn't know why.”

That didn’t deter her from smoking as she continually skipped class to go blaze a couple. That was until she was finally caught by the school and was suspended from playing in her school’s golf conference tournament. She came back, however, and won Districts and even became the State champion that very year. Golf was the only thing going for her and she knew it.

It was that summer, however, when she obtained her second MIP and she knew enough was enough. She began going to church again to regain her faith in Jesus Christ, going on mission trips to Louisiana to help hurricane victims, to Romania to work in communist orphanages and teach bible study to kids, and to Chicago to work in homeless shelters.

What she saw on these trips changed her life immensely, but none more than her mission trip to Romania.

“ They were left in beds as children and fed maybe a spoonful of oatmeal every three days. So when I saw them, their real age was about 40 but they acted like they were two. Most couldn't talk and some couldn't even walk,” Sara said through tear-filled eyes.

The ones who couldn’t walk hopped around on all four’s to move. She became attached to these “kids”, some being adults. Sara put life in perspective when she talked of a young girl who she met while there.

“We brought them candy and their eyes lit up so big. I played patty cake with a girl for two hours and she laughed harder every time. It made you realize it’s just the little things that were so important and how much of an impact we made on these people.”

The Romanian government wants to tear down this orphanage to extract the clean water from underneath it, putting all of these people on the streets who have never been out there before. It is Sara’s goal to raise awareness about homes like these in danger of destruction. That is the kind of girl she has become.

She wants to complete the first four-year degree in her family and become the best women’s golfer in UNK history. She also has dreams of opening up her own beauty shop and get a degree in social work. It has all come full circle for Sara, who has come a long way from that little girl getting MIP’s, to a girl who is letting God lead the way.

“Knowing that I was strong enough to over come something like that led me to know I am strong enough to do anything.”

Fal-AWFUL: West Bank Story

2009-04-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

What happens when you take a giant pot and mix in a cup of West Side Story, a teaspoon of heated middle-eastern fast foot establishments and a pinch of quirky songs with full choreography? Well, stir well and bake on crazy for about 30 minutes and you get the 2006 Academy Award winner for Best Action Short Film, West Bank Story.

The first thing you will notice about the film is that two opposing restaurants, the Hummus Hut and Kosher King, break out into song on the dirt-paved roads of the West Bank. Now why would a Palestinian-owned hummus eatery and an Israeli-owned falafel establishment be feuding and exchanging lyrical bullets at one another? Well the story runs deeper than pastry and witty dance moves.

You find yourself lodged into a full fledged middle eastern love story that only West Bank Story could get away with. Fatima, a Palestinian clerk at the Hummus Hut, has fallen in love with an Israeli soldier named David. But the constant West Bank struggle between the two sides creates a forbidden bond between the two. An obstructed love that can only be solved through a series of cleverly placed songs and dancing menorahs.

This story will leave you laughing, crying and probably snapping your fingers. For the length of the film and the creativity in making a West Side Story, it is obvious this short movie is not for everyone. If you are a fan of obscure musicals that take an odd look at serious issues, then West Bank Story is right up your alley, or should I say strip...like Gaza Strip..nothing? Alright.

If you are looking for a quick laugh and a film that is the length of a bad sitcom, than this movie may catch your eye. It's available for just $1.99 on iTunes and that is a reasonable price for a feature that doesn't go over thirty minutes and will leave you wondering what you just watched. This film will suit you better if you have a general idea of what West Side Story is about and then be able to apply it to this movie.

Despite the off-color attempt at humor, this film takes a swing and a miss. But don't blame us if you walk away from it craving a falafel for supper while dancing to your kitchen busting out in song.

Perfection..Why You Never Saw It

2009-04-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

31 points per game in the regular season. 25.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.

That is how much the University of Connecticut Women's Basketball Team won on average against every single opponent. On Tuesday night, the Lady Huskies beat the Louisville Cardinals 76-54 to capture their sixth NCAA title and complete a 39-0 undefeated season. Perhaps the greatest team in women's college basketball history, the Lady Huskies won every single game by double digits, something never before accomplished, not just in women's college basketball, but college basketball - period. And get this:

During the regular season, the UConn women trailed for only one possession during the entire year in a game against Oklahoma. One possession.

The closest games the entire season for the Lady Huskies were two wins by a margin of ten points, that's it. There have only been five undefeated teams in the history of women's college basketball and UConn has three of them in the past decade, but none finer than this team. Their closest game in the entire NCAA Tournament, a field of elite college basketball teams, was 19 points.

Throughout the season, sophomore Maya Moore and senior guard Renee Montgomery have had a chip on their shoulder after being upset last season by Stanford in the Final Four. They bulldozed through each game with the same tenacity, same desire, same passion as the last, determined to capture that title.

What amazes me about this whole situation is the relatively lack of little coverage on the media's part. As the title game grew closer, ESPN began running more coverage on it, but it dwelled in comparison to the hype of North Carolina-Michigan State. Just look at massive differences in attendance between the two games (which also has to do with the size of the stadium).

Men's title game (sold out): 72,922
Women's title game (not sold out): 18,478

That is almost a 54,000 person difference between the two games and I don't know about you, but I would rather see a team make history by capping off an undefeated season in dominant fashion than watch a game with little meaning except to the fans of those two teams. Even more shocking was when I went to Yahoo's homepage and clicked on sports. UConn completing an undefeated season, winning every game by an aveage of over 30 points per game, has to be the featured story right? Wrong.

What came up was the story about how Michael Jordan's son chose to play college ball at the University of Central Florida. It has just within the past couple of hours changed to a story about the Masters. Why is this unbelievable story not on the front page of every sports website and newspaper? In a time when parity creeps into every single sport in America, a team that completely dominates every single opponent has to be worthwhile news. But, it is a fact that a majority of this country can be viewed as cynics and pessimists, who will view the glass half empty.

This country, who doesn't follow sports very closely will look at the dominance of this team and state that women's college basketball is a joke and that there is no good talent, that UConn basically had a free pass throughout the entire season. Try telling that to the girls who pour their heart and soul into these teams, the coaches who mold and develop this girls into women, whom 95% of us couldn't be in a game of one-on-one. Don't sit there and tell me that this undefeated season of dominance is due to no competition for the Lady Huskies because it is everywhere.

These girls simply outstrategized, outplayed, outthought, outhustled and beat everyone they faced into a bloody pulp. This is bigger than the Masters, which doesn't even start until Thursday, bigger than the MLB, which has a whole season to go, bigger than the men's title game, which is already done with and it is definitely bigger than what school Marcus Jordan decided to play college basketball for. This is a story about a group of girls who put everything that had into a season and turned it into one of the greatest seasons in sports history. Not just college history, but all of sports. When you can take your opponent, no matter if they are ranked or not, and make them tap out each and every game, with that big red bullseye tagged and painted on your back, it is truly something special.

UConn got the best from every single team they faced and hardly anyone knew about it. More people know about what color belt Roy Williams like to wear during Final Four games than they knew about this Lady Huskies team and it makes me sick, as a propriator of great athletes. Maybe if ESPN could change their titles of men's and women's college basketball to that, instead of "College Basketball" and "Women's Basketball", inferring that women don't deserve to have the college in their description, than maybe stories like this won't get buried behind the mediocre stories that "sell" the show.

Congratulations UConn Lady Huskies for all of your accomplishments this season. No one can take that away from you, not the media, not the public, not anybody. Enjoy it, you deserve every ounce of spotlight.

Baseball Diamond Blowout

2009-04-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

The box score of the game between Eastern Kentucky and Kentucky State looked like a misprint. If you were to see it in the newspaper the next day, you would swear that the editor must have missed something. Or maybe it was just some April Fool's joke that the fine people at Eastern Kentucky were playing on the newspaper.

But this was no laughing matter. Okay, maybe it was.

According to an article of foxsports.com, Eastern Kentucky put up 22 runs against Kentucky State in a baseball game - in the first inning. EKU ended up winning the game 49-1, a game called after only five innings of play. According to the article:

"After Kentucky State (2-16) got a run in the top of the first, EKU scored 22 times in the bottom half. EKU scored five times in the second inning and 19 more runs in the third, and finished with 38 hits including five home runs."

The teams were scheduled to play a second game in the doubleheader, but the game was canceled. And in an act of pure class, the EKU website held out the final score and game details in their recap. The really outstanding statistics came from the pitching staff of KSU, which produced nine errors.

According to the article, "Freshman Kendall Wilson started for Kentucky State and allowed 13 runs - albeit only four of them earned - while getting only one out. Reliever Jamaal Duncan didn't fare much better, surrendering 25 runs - 14 of them earned - in 2 1-3 innings."

And perhaps you were wondering if this was the largest defeat in Division I history, but oh the contrary. Kentucky State is a Division II school, eliminating it from being able to consitute as a Division I game. However, this blowout doesn't even hold the jock strap of the largest defeat in DII history, as St Francis defeated Robert Morris 71-1 in a game in 1996. 71-1!

My question is, how do you even let it get that bad? How can you let the other team score 71 times, let alone not even call the game. I applaud the officials who decided to call the game after five innings to avoid further embarassment to those kids from Kentucky State. Also, a pat on the back to EKU for calling the second game and not requesting a forfeit.

In another story of class from a university, it is buried by the final score and all that caught my attention was the 49-1 score. And that's all that people will care about. As for the Kentucky State pitching staff, perhaps they will bounce back and have great seasons.

Or maybe they should stick to teeball.

"It's Like Watching Your Parents Have Sex With Your Dog"

2009-04-01T21:52:00.001-07:00

"Hearing Escape The Fate slather Carlos Santana’s “Smooth” with teenage screams is like watching your parents have sex with your dog." - Blake Solomon

This is a review I found for a CD I recently purchased titled "Punk Goes Pop: Volume 2". I had been awaiting the release of this CD back in mid-March due to previous songs from Vol. 1. I am a fan of punk, screamo and hard rock music and this CD takes some of the up and coming punk bands and has them cover a variety of top-40 hits from the past few years. On this CD, everything from "..What Goes Around" by Justin Timberlake to "Toxic" by Britney Spears is covered by bands known more for their screaming then their vocals. When given this assignment, I knew I wanted to do this CD, just because of the possibilities for reviews and the analysis I found of the album definitely takes the cake.

I googled "review for Punk Goes Pop Volume Two" and received a calvalcade of hits, with everything from video blog responses to actual reviews from magazines and online sites. The review I chose was written by Blake Solomon of absolutepunk.net.

When I first read this review, I laughed so hard I nearly peed myself. It offers up a serious, yet hysterical view of this album from top to bottom. You can tell Solomon means business throughout the review, never meaning for it to be funny, but the way it comes off when you read it aloud makes you burst out with laughter. The review begins as a take on Solomon's younger days, relating the album to trying to maintain with his youthfulness, even though he has since passed that time. He then fires up his curveball by stating "I can no longer feign youth after hearing “in the name of fun” compilations like Punk Goes Pop Vol. 2. Don’t cry for me, though; cry for Fearless Records. They’re killing music and they don’t care."

This is where Solomon begins his case for why this album is god-awful, presenting to you the line at the beginning of this piece. It caught me so off-guard that I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. The rest of review goes over different songs and how they are an abomination to their respective original creator, stating how each song fails. In the following paragraph, he contends that a couple of the artists took completely different songs and made them sound exactly alike, leading him to question how this was recorded by "various artists".

He ends the review in the same manner he started, ripping apart Fearless Records for releasing this album to the general public. Perhaps the greatest atrocity of the album, according to Solomon, is the selection of the songs. It was believed these artists would venture out of the current age range and attempt songs from the late 90's. Solomon's last line caps off this review and it will still have me laughing from now until class tomorrow. His finishing line:

"14 year-old girls, eat your hearts out. Everyone else, blow your heads off."

I felt this review was really well-written and gets his point clearly across that this album sucks. I have to agree with him except for many 3 or 4 songs and that is because I like the bands performing the songs, so automatically I am biased towards their work. But I do agree with the review that the majority of the album leaves you wanting your money back from wherever you got it. Some of the songs are just plain unlistenable. But for a good laugh, I will let you read the review and just for those who are wondering who Solomon recommended this album for:

"Recommended If You Like: pop and/or punk, hickeys"

Does UNK Need A Baseball/Softball Complex?

2009-04-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

Last night on my radio show, "Double Coverage" with Josh Kaufman on 91.3 KLPR (the student radio station), a topic came up that I had never thought of before it came out of my mouth. We were discussing Loper Athletics and how much the athletic department here supports certain sports. The topic at hand was the Lopers Men's Golf Team and their first tournament of the Spring down in Arizona. It wasn't surprising to hear that after the first day the team was in 19th place out of 20 schools and being a fellow golfer and ex-member of the UNK team, I knew the first tournament of the Spring is following hardly any practice due to winter. There had always been talk of the university building a UNK golf facility, an indoor area with a couple of practice bunkers, some putting greens and maybe some other areas so that the golf teams could work on their games to compete against the schools that get to play year-round.

Well that conversation fired me off into this argument: that the UNK Athletic Department only focuses its money on a few select teams, at least it seems that way. The sports that I feel get a majority of the UNK sport budget are football, volleyball, basketball and just recently, baseball. This led Josh and I to have a conversation about where the money goes and why it isn't more spread out and going to the sports that can make this university a Division II powerhouse.

When I came to UNK in Fall of 2006, I was told by the head golf coach that he gets $7500 for the golf team for the entire year, which includes travel, practice and everything. That's hardly anything for an athletic program. Now, Josh said he doesn't see the UNK golf programs being a threat to ever compete for a Division II crown and I totally agree with the lack of funding for the program. Without a facility to practice in during the months that don't allow for play, UNK will always come out of the blocks slow during the Spring, leaving them at a disadvantage.

Needless to say, that talk led to a discussion about the baseball and softball teams struggling and Josh stated that poor fan support could be one of the key elements in their struggles. Low fan attendance equals low ticket sales which leads to budget cuts within the department for certain programs. I responded to that with a reason for low attendance being the fact that noone knows where the baseball and/or softball team plays. It's not on campus and it changes, it seems, every year. I bet half of the class or more can not give me directions on how to watch the softball team or baseball team play, except for Cody and Amanda. One thing led to another and it turned into a question of whether or not UNK needed its own baseball/softball complex?

I do believe UNK does need its own baseball/softball complex if they look to compete for an RMAC and Division II title in the forseeable future. A new complex will bring in better recruits and in a centralized location, will allow for more fans to come to the games. My idea for a potential area was the field past West Center and next to the Buckle Warehouse, with enough room for a baseball field and softball field, some bleachers...enough to build a nice facility that will be a mainstay in Loper athletics for years to come. But I know what you're asking, where is the money going to come from? Well didn't we just start a new women's soccer team? I'm not against the women's soccer team, don't get me wrong, I feel it's great that UNK is expanding its athletic horizon. My feeling is just that UNK could have done better things with the money that it would take to run a new athletic program, such as the new golf facility or go towards a new baseball complex.

I just wonder where the athletic department money goes since I know the wrestling team is mostly self-funded (except for 1.2 full-ride scholarships), the golf teams don't receive much money, swimming and diving could use some rejuvenating and other programs that could use some much needed rennovating. Now I know this is a hefty claim in an economy like the one we're in now, but somehow we found the cash to fund a new program altogether. Maybe it's cheaper than I thought, but I have a feeling that it's not. Some of my argument against the athletic department helping out its athletes was also built off of Callie's blog about her tennis roller-coaster every week.

So this is where I ask you, the viewing public and UNK students, how do you think the UNK Athletic Department treats its athletic programs? Do they all get treated equally or do others get left in the backburners for others? More importantly, I want to get a sense of how the idea of a baseball/softball complex is received by you, the UNK student body. I have a feeling that one day, this will become a reality, but it's not for sure when. If UNK wants to become a Division II power and bring in top dollar and top recruits, it needs to upgrade the programs it has now, instead of implementing new ones.

Do you think UNK could use their own baseball/softball complex in order to gain better recruits and make it easier for fans to find and attend games? I think they do and should begin looking into it as soon as possible.

UPDATE: Tiger Saving Golf

2009-03-30T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is an update to the blog I published after Tiger's heroics on 18 last night. In a paragraph down at the bottom and a subsequent blog last month, I made the case for Tiger Wood's return being the return of golf as one of the most viewed sports in the world.

Well after his breath-taking win yesterday, overcoming a 5 shot deficit and winning for the first time in nine months, all added up to major television ratings, according to this ESPN.com article. According to the article, the Bay Hills tournament provided the largest overnight television ratings for golf since the U.S. Open last year, coincidentally Tiger's last victory on the PGA Tour.

"NBC Sports said the final round drew a 4.9 overnight rating with a 10 share. According to Nielsen Media Research, that's the highest rating of any golf tournament since the U.S. Open in June. Woods won that tournament in a playoff."

What is even more amazing is that during that time period there were two more major golf tournaments. There are 4 major tournaments in golf every year, the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship.

"The Bay Hill rating was up 23 percent from last year and attracted more viewers than the British Open and PGA Championship last year when Woods did not play because of knee surgery."

This further proves that without Tiger, the PGA will suffer until it can find a comparable player. Woods has reinvented golf's popularity and can be credited for almost all of golf's success in the past decade, pulling in millions of viewers each tournament and encouraging many more to take up golf. Now I am clearly talking about golf within the United States, as many other countries have their own heroes where Tiger is still a large icon. The question is, how will the PGA market its tournaments once Tiger is gone? How will the PGA make up for the ratings and lost revenue once Tiger decides to hang up his golf spikes for sandals?

These are questions that PGA marketers should be thinking about now, looking for that next great talent that could one day take over as the PGA's main draw. That was the problem when Tiger took a leave of absence almost a year ago for knee surgery: the PGA didn't have a player that they could sell to get people to watch. They tried with young fireballer Anthony Kim and attempted to revive Phil Mickelson's popularity, but there wasn't a following like Tiger's.

Just look at the crowds following Woods all day long and tell me when on the tour last season that happened without him in that group. Never. The fact of the matter is is that golf needs Tiger here in the U.S. Without Woods, golf in the U.S. will falter and screech to a halt, without that player to idolize and fall in love with. I also believe that is the reason that soccer has never taken off in this country as it has in others and that is because we don't have a national hero to watch and follow as he takes on competitiors around the world.

So my question to you is, how will the PGA survive when Tiger Woods decides to call it a career? Where will those advertising dollars come from? With what we've seen in how much Tiger affects the ratings every single tournament and can single handedly be responsible for keeping the PGA afloat during these economic times, it's hard to imagine a replacement ever coming along who can have the impact he has had this sport. On any sport for that matter.

Hear me ROAR! Tiger's Baaaack!

2009-03-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

What a putt. What a tournament. What a beginning to the 2009 PGA Tour season!

No more than 30 minutes ago, Tiger Woods drained a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Bay Hills to defeat Sean O'Hair by 1 shot and cap off an incredible comeback, not only today but for the year. Woods came into the day five strokes back of O'Hair, (7-under compared to 2-under) and if Tiger were to win, it would tie his largest comeback ever in his career. As many of you may be aware of, Tiger had reconstructive surgery on his left knee, his plant knee, after winning the U.S. Open in 2008 and this was his third tournament since returning, just his second stroke play event.

I turned the golf tournament in time to watch Tiger tee off on hole number 1, part of the final group with the aforementioned O'Hair and Iowan Zach Johnson. The scene was being set by Tiger early on, after making birdies on 2 and 3 and a bogey by O'Hair cut the lead from 5 shots to 2 in just three holes. The lead would then fluctuate between one and two for the rest of the front nine and the beginning of the back nine, that was when Tiger turned on his magic.

It began on hole 14 where Tiger made an incredible up-and-down from the bunker, sinking a 15-foot putt that seemed to move both ways. Woods followed that up with a 25-foot birdie putt on 15, tying him with O'Hair at 5-under par with three holes remaining. The air was thick with tension, you could cut it with a butter knife. You knew once Tiger got it back to even with the leader that he had the ability and the prowess to put it into overdrive and run over those puny PGA players.

On hole 16, Tiger hit his drive into the thick rough and O'Hair hit a bomb down the middle, putting the advantage into O'Hair's hands due to the lake surrounding the front edge of the green. Before Tiger could lay up, O'Hair made the mistake of the tournament, misjudging the headwind blowing into his face, dropping his ball on the edge of the bank and watching what seemed like his tournament chances go kerplunk and sink to the bottom of the lake. Tiger had 101-yards to try to hit his third shot and save par and hit his approach to three feet - a shot you knew Tiger was going to hit, it's almost become surreal. He tapped in for par while O'Hair tapped in for bogey and Woods took a one shot advantage into the final two holes.

But, Tiger reopened the door for O'Hair by burying his tee shot on the par 3 hole into the front bunker, settling for a bogey while O'Hair two-putted for par. And so the story was set, Tiger Woods and Sean O'Hair were tied at 4-under going into 18. Here is how Tiger won this same tournament last year, tied on the final hole with a birdie putt to win (start at about 1:15):

So with the stage set, Tiger and Sean each hit drives down thw fairway and after O'Hair put his shot on the green about 35-feet away, Tiger stepped up and hit a high, cutting 8-iron that spun back on the green to about 20-feet. After O'Hair left his putt short, the pencil was on the paper, ready to write a conclusion to this storybook comeback. With the world watching as the sun disappeared behind the houses, Woods stepped up and hit a beautiful putt that rolled...and rolled...and...gone.

The crowd erupted, Tiger exploded, his caddy clenched his fists and with that putt golf is back. The PGA Tour struggled mightily last season after losing Tiger for the year with his knee surgery. It seemed to lose the excitement and thrill that Tiger Woods brought to the table. But now, just 3 weeks away from the Masters at Augusta, Tiger has single-handedly recaptured the flame that was lighting the path for golf's success. He has brought back in the crowd lost when he went away. Just look at the reaction Tiger Woods making the putt last year and the energy and enthusiam he brings to the table every single tournament. Him throwing the hat, the crowd rising up with cheers, it all adds up to an event that everyone has to watch.

Tiger is back and just in the nick of time. Congratulations Mr. Woods, you have been missed.

These videos give me goosebumps everytime.

Death By Hamburger

2009-03-25T23:10:00.000-07:00

According to an article on Yahoo! News, the West Michigan Whitecaps, a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, is offering a colossal snack that could have you dead by the 7th inning stretch. The snack? A 4,800 calorie hamburger that measures in at 4 pounds in weight and will set back a Whitecaps fan $20, more than the cost of admission to get in.

The hamburger features:
- a sesame seed bun made from a pound of dough
- five (5) 1/3 pound beef patties
- five (5) slices of cheese
- one (1) cup of chili
- lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and nacho cheese
- corn chips
- salsa

According to another article, "In addition to weighing in at more than double the US daily recommended caloric intake, the Fifth Third Burger contains nearly 300 grams of fat, 744 milligrams of cholesterol and more than 10,000 milligrams of sodium"

The benefit of eating such a behemoth sandwich? If you are daring enough to eat the burger in one sitting at the game, the Whitecaps are going to reward you with a free t-shirt. Maybe they should cover the emergency room fee and any impending artery replacement surgery that will need to take place after attempting to kill yourself with this treat. For those that want to split the bodacious burger, the concessions will cut it with a pizza cutter and serve it in portions.

When I first saw this, my jaw just dropped. My question is, is these economic times, who in the hell is going to spend $20 on a hamburger, let alone one that will put in a mini-coma if you attempt to eat it all. The burger weighs just a little less than that of a small newborn baby.

Secondly, how do you even approach this monster to eat it? From the picture, the hamburger looks to be the size of that intern's head and seems as though the normal human couldn't digest this thing even with a chainsaw and a pitchfork. It's no wonder these country has such a problem with obesity.

Well for one, this club has sure generated enough publicity with this hamburger story and maybe that was their plan in the first place. Needless to say, this whole article leaves me feeling bloated just looking at it.

Here is a look at how the Fifth Third burger is made...beware:

Fifth Third Ballpark Burger

Spring Break Rough Draft

2009-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

This is a rough draft for my Spring Break column about my trip and experience to Omaha for the Creighton-Kentucky NIT game.

After driving two and a half hours through high winds and tornadic thunderstorms, arriving at the much hyped Creighton Bluejays-Kentucky Wildcats basketball game seemed like a fitting end to a perfect storm of events to cap off a rather boring Spring break.

While most students enjoy exotic trips to South Padre or anywhere outside of Nebraska for that matter, I was stuck in Kearney for the majority of Spring Break working for the Tri-City Storm hockey team. After learning that my favorite basketball team, the Creighton Bluejays, would be hosting the all-time winningest program in NCAA history, the Kentucky Wildcats, I knew that I had to make a pilgrimage to the Qwest Center in Omaha to view a match-up that would almost never happen again.

Now, using my credentials as a sports photographer for The Antelope, I was able to take advantage of a couple of connections I had at Creighton and obtained a press pass to grace the court with my camera. I’m used to taking snap-shots at Division II games, but this would be by far the toughest assignment I had to date. The pure athleticism at the Division I level was going to be very difficult for a newbie.

I made the trip with a close friend and a friend of his, both of whom had tickets in the upper bowl, with myself having a seat within feet of the players. The journey there was perhaps the most difficult trip I have ever made from Kearney to Omaha, traveling through two thunderstorms and fighting winds of up to 60 miles per hour on the interstate.

The second storm we passed through followed us along the interstate and actually ended up dropping two tornadoes, one in Lincoln and one just past Omaha in Iowa. While waiting in a traffic jam in downtown Omaha, the storm had caught up with us, prompting a tornado warning, which sent people that were walking to the game into a full out sprint. We got inside before anything happened and everyone was ushered into the center of the Qwest Center.

After a short while, everyone was allowed into the arena and the spectacle began.

I entered the arena through the southeast corner and upon walking in, I took a look around in pure amazement. For as far as the eye could see, all you could see was blue and the word “Creighton” or “Bluejays”. Everyone knew the importance of this playoff match-up and the magnitude of this team visiting Omaha.

Even the god’s wrath of hell and fury from the skies couldn’t keep the Bluejay faithful from creating one of the most exciting atmospheres I have ever been a part of as a sports fan. There were students with paint all over, covering their faces as a type of war symbol, prepared to go into battle and fight for their team.

The first basket of the game was a three-point bucket from Creighton guard P’Allen Stinnett and the entire gym erupted in a thunderous explosion that put the small rumbling from the skies to shame.

Combining the energy of the student section and the electricity of the rest of the crowd, I found myself down on the court getting just as pumped up as the rest of them. It didn’t matter that this was just a college basketball game, people of all ages came and showed the rest of the country on national television that Omaha can create an atmosphere worthy of recognition.

Despite losing the game, the experience for me was one I will never forget, ranging from giving a high five to a player after he made a shot to a 70-year-old woman “raising the roof” during a timeout, the entire journey was worth risking my life on the road.

Creighton-Kentucky Photoblog

2009-03-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

I know in class we just discussed EB's photoblog she posted of Nebraska (sorry I don't have a link) and Dr. Hanson said this is something we shouldn't do on an everyday basis. But before we even mentioned this, I had the idea to take a bunch of pictures from the Creighton Bluejays - Kentucky Wildcats NIT game and post them in a special photoblog, for those who a) didn't see the game or b) didn't get to see the game from my perspective on the court.

This game was my first time photographing a Division I basketball game and I must say, the game moves at such a faster pace with players who havemore athleticism than DII players. The pace at which the players moved in their half-court offensive sets almost made it impossible to known where the ball was going. The game featured star SEC player Jodie Meeks, who is likely going to be drafted in the 1st round of the NBA draft this year. Meeks scored 54 points in a game earlier this year against Tennessee (a NCAA Tournament team) and that broke the school's all-time single game scoring record. At a program like Kentucky, that's a pretty big deal. So without further adu, I bring to you some pictures of my view from on the court.

The game began with the "Blue Crew" running out the flags before the game. This guy stood in the middle of the arena waving so much this giant flag as the crowd went wild. Shortly after, the Creighton Bluejays ran onto the court to begin their pre-game warm-ups.

After the conclusion of introducting the starting lineups, the Bluejays huddled together in a circle to get pumped for the battle they were preparing to fight with Kentucky. In the middle is guard P'Allen Stinnet, showing the pure emotion that had built up the week leading up to the game. In the background is center Kenny Lawson (25).

Center Patrick Patterson, one of the top centers in the SEC, threw down some monster dunks against a slighlty overpowered Creighton team. This was his first dunk of the game before sitting out the rest of the first half after collecting two fouls in the first five minutes of the game.

Junior forward Justin Carter (1) of the Creighton Bluejays drives the ball around No. 5 for Kentucky, Ramon Harris. Carter played huge for the Bluejays scoring only 8 points, but collecting a career-high 14 rebounds against a very tall Kentucky team. For most of the night Carter was flying all over the place grabbing rebounds from between the trees that the Wildcats have for players. However, it was Carter that missed two free throws with 36 seconds left that would have made the game 65-62, instead of keeping it 63-62 and having Kentucky win the game with a three-point play with 10 seconds left.

Another shot of Justin Carter (1) putting up a fairly uncontested shot, one of my better and clearer pictures of a Bluejay taking a shot. The lighting in this building was so much better than the Health and Sports Center here in Kearney.

Center Kenton Walker (41) of Creighton puts up a smooth low post hook shot that found nothing but the bottom of the net late in the second half against Kentucky. He fired the shot over Kentucky's Patrick Patterson (54), who Walker had the task of covering throughout the night, along with Bluejay Kenny Lawson.

We once again find the rowdy "Blue Crew" who pumped up the Qwest Center all night long. This was taken after a turnover and a media timeout late in the game with Creighton winning. You can sense the rush of pure energy going through these students as they cheer their team on. Take note UNK students...

This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. After Creighton guard Booker Woodfox missed a game-winning three point attempt and Kentucky star Jodie Meeks came up with rebound, the horn sounded and game over, 65-63 Kentucky. He ran down the court and was pointing to somebody, almost looks as though he is pointing to the next round of the NIT. Perfect picture for a future NBA player to autograph.

Freshman guard Antoine Young (30) shows the disappointment after losing the game to Kentucky 65-63, in a game that Creighton controlled most of the night. Young is just a freshman and played some big minutes for the Bluejays, but went 0-5 from the field after scoring 12 points in the Bluejays first round NIT victory.

Well there ya have it, some pictures I selected to show you all from my camera at the game. Below are some more images in smaller size, I believe you can click them and make them larger, but I hope you enjoyed the view from my eyes that I had on the court last night.

March Madness

2009-03-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

So how is your bracket doing?

To anyone else outside of America, this would seem like a crazy question and would be followed with the response, "what the hell are you talking about?" But that question can only mean one thing here, it's that time of the year. It's that time of the year when hoards of people join office pools, slow down internet servers across the country and cuss more than they ever have at the television, all for college basketball. It's that time when the pencil (or pen) meets the paper and average people's lives are being put on the line in hopes that a 12-seed will take down that 5-seed.

There are so many combinations and possibilities in each bracket that it can cause someone's head to explode with statistics. What is it about "March Madness" that brings out the inner fan in every American, not just sports fans. College basketball during this month can cause rifts between families and believe it or not, it is the number one cause for divorce in America. Okay, I made that part up, but harmless pride competitions between family members involving brackets can cause the most heated disputes that are sometimes worth of being televised on Jerry Springer.

As the games are being played over the next couple of weeks, bracketologists (members of society who partake in the bracket filling festivities) will take off work and lock themselves in their basements, surrounded by 8 television screens, each one playing a different game. As the games play out, they have all 42 brackets they filled out lined up in front of them, using bunson burners and schematics to score each one, prediciting what will happen in each game, down to the number of sweat drops that will fall off of the center's nose in the 4th quarter.

Now...this has all been exaggerated to the fullest extent, but for those who take this March Madness seriously, they know I'm not that far-fetched with this example. The NCAA Tournament, as Kelly put in her blog, create maniacs out of the most docile people and can even "make grown men cry". I am guilty of this, sitting on a futon the past three days following NCAA action, not sure which team to root for since I have 20 brackets currently filled out. I get asked which team I want to win and i can't legitmately answer because I filled out half my brackets with one team and half with the other.

With games getting down the wire, I find myself rooting for the underdog, even though them winning would destroy every one of my brackets. But March Madness has a certain control on our lives that persuades us to fill out these brackets, even if we have never watched college basketball before. We are three days into the tournament and people are already hanging up their Syraucse basketball shorts from 1984 and calling it quits.

So how is your bracket doing?

Oh and by the way, since they keep adding teams to the tournament, recently expanding the field to 65 instead of 64 to include one extra "play-in" game, this video gave me a good laugh at what the NCAA Tournament could become.

Selection Committee = Garbage

2009-03-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow will begin the week where office cubicles will become ground zero for what is known as March Madness. Today, the NCAA Major Conference Committee, I mean, Selection Committee, met and debated for hours as they figured out what teams would make it into the 65-team field for the Division 1 NCAA Basketball Championship. Louisville, Connecticut, North Carolina and Pittsburgh were determined as the four No. 1 seeds for the tournament, which was no big surprise. But I have a huge problem with one of the selections made by the Major Conference Committee and it deals with a school close to where I'm from, which may seem like a bit of bias, but I guarantee you that it is not.

The selection I had the biggest beef with is the committee's selection of Arizona over Creighton. Now let me defend it with a bit of research so it doesn't seem like this rant is coming from a diehard Bluejay fan, which I am. Let's take a look at the records of the two schools:

Arizona: Overall 19-13 (9-9 Pac 10), 6-10 against RPI Top 50, lost 5 of last 6 games, RPI 62

Creighton: Overall 26-7 (14-4 Missouri Valley), 3-2 against RPI Top 50, won 11 of 12, RPI 46

Now for those of you reading who don't know what RPI is, it stands for Ratings Percentage Index and it is a way to determine how teams should stack up against one another. The formula for calculating RPI is 1/4*(Winning Percentage) + 1/2*(Opponents' Average Winning Percentage) + 1/4*(Opponents' Opponents' Winning Percentage).

The NCAA Selection Committee selected Arizona as an at-large team to play in the NCAA Tournament, while Creighton was left out and became a No. 1 seed in the NIT, college basketball's "other" tournament.

It's like a tournament for the Island of Misfit Toys...teams that just didn't belong with the other schools in the bracket.

While watching College Gameday earlier this morning on ESPN, I had the opportunity to listen to analysts Jay Bilas and Digger Phelps attack Creighton as they compared them to Arizona. All that Digger could muster up was that Arizona had a better lineup, so that clearly made them the better team. Which Joe Lunardi, ESPN's Bracketologist, responded, "then why have they only won once in the past 3 weeks?" I got a good chuckle out of that one. On the other hand, Bilas was attacking Creighton, not so much against the Bluejays, but stating that due to the Pac-10 Conference being that much better than the Missouri Valley, that Arizona deserved the bid.

Well let's take a look at the conference's overall records:
Missouri Valley: overall record of 176-143
Pac-10: Overall record of 192-128

So with each conference having 10 teams, that leaves the average record in the Missouri Valley to be 17.6 wins and 14.3 losses, while in the Pac-10, the average season was 19.2 wins and 12.8 losses. A difference of only 2 wins and losses per team does not give enough credibility to say that that conference deserves a bid plainly on the status of their conference. The Pac-10 did have three ranked teams, but none of them ever really reached the top-10, nor did they have a consistant stay within the top-25.

And perhaps an even more telling sign of which team did better AWAY from their home court, Creighton was 9-4 on the road and Arizona was 2-9.

Arizona lost 5 of their last 6 games, including their first game in their conference tournament. Creighton was winners of 11 of their last 12, with their loss coming in the semifinals of their conference tournament. The facts are plain and simple, the selection committee gave only 2 of their at-large bids to "mid-major" conferences (Dayton and Butler), which Creighton defeated one of the two. Yes, Arizona played 16 games against the RPI Top-50, and that is the ultimate reason they were selected for the tournament. It's hard to compete against conferences that feature a couple of ranked teams, because when you play them twice in a season, that's automatically two games against the RPI Top-50.

Is the selection committee rewarding subpar performances over solid play over an entire season? Yes, finishing 9-9 in a "power" conference is somewhat solid, you have to look at the entire conference. So are you telling me that if Creighton had scheduled games against Duke and Kansas and Oklahoma, but lose, that they would have been selected with a worse record but a higher RPI for losing to teams ranked very high?

In the end, it all boils down to the money. The Pac-10 can generate more revenue than the Missouri Valley conference. When it comes to travel and merchandise, teams from a "major" conference will almost always win out over a school from a "mid-major". That is something that bracketologists forget to figure in when determining their projected bracket, and that is the almighty dollar, which team can generate the NCAA the most amount of money.

This is just my general opinion, but I feel it is pretty close to the truth. While both teams are worthy of being selected, when you can look at the overall body of work compiled by the teams, Arizona should have played their way out of the tournament, while Creighton couldn't have done much more other than winning their conference tournament.

I'm sure fans from Penn State, St. Mary's and San Diego State have the same arguments that I do for their respective teams and probably have a valid point, but I do feel Creighton was the biggest snub, based on the strength that they finished the season with and overall resume. Oh well, at least they can take down the NIT.

A Game for the Ages

2009-03-13T00:48:00.000-07:00

Fantastic. Amazing. Breathtaking. Spectacular. Spellbinding.

And those are just a few of the words that described the Syracuse-Connecticut college basketball game I witnessed on Thursday night. In a 6-overtime thriller, the No. 20 Syracuse Orange took down the mighty No. 4 Connecticut Huskies, 127-117 , to advance to the seminfinals of the Big East tournament, where they will take on Dr. Hanson's cinderella team, the West Virginia Mountaineers. Please, watch the highlights, either below or on the ESPN article to get a full feeling of what this game had to offer as you watched it live.

I started watching this game while finishing my dinner at Applebee's, catching it with just over 2 minutes left and the score tied at 64. The next two minutes of the game transpired and left me on the edge of my bar stool, teetering at the play that could happen next. What the game came down to was a three point shot by forward Kevin Devendorf off of an inbounds pass with 1.8 seconds remaining. The ball caromed off the hands of a Huskie and into the hands of Devendorf who released a 28-foot prayer. Swish. Nothing but net. He tickled the twine. But not so fast, replay revealed that as the clock hit double zero and the red light lit up, the ball was still on the outstretched fingers of Devendorf's miracle shot.

Only if he had trimmed his fingernails that morning..

So the teams began their marathon game exchanging punches and countering everything the other had to throw at them. Syracuse would never take a lead in the first 5 overtimes, before outscoring the Huskies 17-7 in the final frame to end the second longest game in Division 1 college basketball history (the longest game went 7 overtimes). Each extra period featured it's own final barrage of shots in the final minutes, resulting in fans displaying their excitement via Facebook, text messages and word of mouth. Before you knew it, everyone was watching one of the great games in college basketball history take place.

Now, one would take this for one of the March Madness NCAA Tournament games, but on the contrary. This game was merely a quarterfinal match-up in the Big East tournament, a quarterfinal match-up. The game became the only Big East contest to ever go past four overtimes in the 30-year history of the league. It featured the most combined points in Big East history and became a battle cry for what kind of March college basketball had in store for the fans.

The game between Syracuse and Connecticut wasn't about winning and losing - it was about surviving. And Syracuse was able to dig just that little extra from their fuel tanks to grind out a victory over one of the possible number one seeds in the nation.

For those that didn't watch it, please, watch the highlights to appreciate what these players gave for themselves and for the game of basketball. What you will have missed though, is watching players dive for loose balls in the 6th overtime, showing they were there to win, despite being down ten. This game got me pumped for what is to come in a couple of days when the bracket is announced for the 2009 NCAA College Basketball Tournament and the excitement that each tournament game will bring.

But until then, this will go down as one of the greatest games I have ever watched between college kids playing for integrity and pride, rather than a paycheck. What do you have to counter to that NBA?

And in other news, the West Virginia Mountaineers upset the No. 2 Pittsburgh Panthers, 74-60, to move onto the semifinals of the Big East Tournament. I report this score because after class this morning, Dr. Hanson and myself had a discussion about this very game and what it would take for the Mountaineers to win. Dr. Hanson said it would take Da'Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff staying out of foul trouble to get the job done and with 4 fouls for Butler and 2 for Ruoff, I would say they kept their foul trouble fairly controlled. Although I don't think West Virginia expected a season-high 20 points from forward Devin Ebanks.

Perhaps the Mountaineers have an easier task against the Orange..considering they just played a 4 hour game that got over just a little over three hours ago. Congratulations Syracuse, your prize for winning the second longest game in college basketball history? A game at 9 p.m. the following night against a streaking West Virginia team.

Good luck.

Bracke-TAU-logy..Together We Can Save A Life

2009-03-11T22:18:00.000-07:00

This week and next, my fraternity, Alpha Tau Omega, is hosting it's third annual BrackeTAUlogy tournament to raise money for the American Red Cross. What it is is a March Madness contest that feeds off the energy created by the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament every year. You can purchase a bracket for $5, with no limit on how many you can buy and just like any other bracket tournament, the best one wins. But, we have spiced it up a little bit, offering a best bracket prize and a prize for the worst bracket. Each bracket you buy will gain you one entry into a raffle for more prizes, so you have many chances to win.

We are attempting to make this our signature event and we feel it can be done with the support of all of you out there. I am asking you to please buy a bracket, even if you don't know much about basketball, it's still going to the American Red Cross, where we are working with them to save a couple lives. For more information on rules visit this page on our fraternity's site and if you are interested, please e-mail me at ritonyagm@unk.edu, I will meet you anywhere or inform you on how you can participate.

Please make a donation to the American Red Cross on behalf of Alpha Tau Omega. Together we can erase the Greek stereotype and show that we can really do some good for a great cause, if we just gain support from you, the students, the public, everyone. Good luck to those that have already entered and please enter if you have not. And with that I want to give big thank you from the bottom of my heart and everyone at Alpha Tau Omega, together we can save a life.

Wait..What the $%#@ ?

2009-03-11T22:01:00.000-07:00

Chalk this up to just a typical case of the Tuesdays, I guess. Show up to work at your car dealership in Scottsbluff, Neb., and get out of your car, ready for a fun filled day of selling automobiles...just to notice that nearly every car on the lot has disappeared and the desks of three executive employees have been cleaned out. Well, that was the case for a couple of works at Legacy Auto in Scottsbluff as per the Yahoo article that came out today. According to the report, 81 cars in all, all Fords and Toyota's were swiped from the lot and the desks of the general manager, a controller and the owner.

To update the report, some of the cars have been tracked down via their vehicle identification number and six were at the Scottsbluff airport, two dozen in Salt Lake City (where one dozen were sold at one auto auction) and the search and is still continuing. The total estimated value of the missing 81 vehicles in $2.5 million.

Perhaps the kicker to this story is that all three previously lived in Utah..making me believe that all people from Utah are car thieves. Well maybe not, but it sounds good enough for me. So word for the wise, don't trust your car to anyone who previously lived or currently lives in Utah. Of course I'm just kidding, but seriously...how does one pull this off with 81 cars? Even if you got 12 cars per semi, that would be 7 semis full of cars, where do you have that kind of manpower in Scottsbluff?

Well, despite the disappearance of the cars, Legacy stayed open...what a bunch of troopers.

Let's Play Ball!

2009-03-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

On Friday and Saturday, the World Baseball Classic kicked off for the first time in three years as countries dug up long lost rivalries and put them onto the baseball diamond. The 2009 WBC couldn't have asked for a better opening weekend for their tournament. I've heard multiple people say they are glad to finally see baseball on television, perhaps a sign that summer is soon around the corner. Baseball is only a couple days into its "season" the WBC has seen a major upset, deemed the biggest international upset ever, and a favorite cling on to a win in an back-and-forth game that pitted rival neighbor countries against one another.

In the game tabbed as the greatest international upset ever, David beating Goliath, Appalachian State beating Michigan..the Netherlands team, made up of mostly no-name players defeated the heavily favored Dominican Republic team 3-2. The Dominican Republic team was loaded full of MLB All-Stars, including Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz and many others. They came into the tournament the heavy favorites to win the WBC title and hit a major road bump in the Netherlands. The amazing part of the game was that the Netherlands only could muster up 3 hits, all in the infield. They only had four balls get out of the infield, all for outs. Everyone had already given a first-round pass to the Dominicans, with the first go around being double elimination. Now, the Dominicans have to avoid a loss in their next two games, in order to make it to Miami for the second round of the WBC.

The second game of the day featured two border countries with an unspoken hate for one another. In a thriller that went down to the final out, the United States defeated Canada 6-5 in a game that featured 5 home runs. The United States team, filled with MLB talent such as Derek Jeter, Dustin Pedroia, Jake Peavy and many more, came in with high expectations. But an equally talented Canadian team wasn't ready to back down to the Americans, especially with the game in Toronto. The game teetered back and forth, with Canada leading several times during the game, but leaving behind runner after runner with the chance to come back. The pitching staff for the U.S. bent but never broke to the Canadian lineup and improved to 1-0 in their Pool and need just one more win to move onto the second round of the WBC, where they met their match three years ago.

For those with a baseball void in their life, the WBC is a perfect escape until April 6th, when the MLB season kicks off. This tournament will be full of interest and intrigue, due to the match ups that are going to be created. Like the games today that pitted hated rivals against one another, it makes the intensity jump up a notch as the games get closer. The intensity of the game today between the U.S. and Canada had a World Series feel to it and already had me believing the baseball hype. Welcome back baseball!

"Mrs. Hockey" Was More than the Wife of a Hockey Player

2009-03-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

On Friday afternoon, Colleen Howe, nicknamed "Mrs. Hockey" for her marriage to "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe, passed away from Pick's Disease at the age of 76. This article on NHL.com provides an insight into her life, which was anything other than ordinary for the wife of a hockey legend. The two were married for 56 years and Colleen was a huge part of her husband's life. Here are some of her accomplishments in helping Gordie manage his career:

1) Managed Gordie's business, making her first female sports agent
2) Trademarked the terms "Mr. Hockey" and "Mrs. Hockey"
3) Dissatisfied with the state of junior hockey while her children were growing up, she helped found the Detroit Junior Red Wings, the first Junior A hockey team in the U.S.
4) She also helped develop the first indoor ice arena in Michigan
5) She was named the Michigan Sportswoman of the Year in 1973. In 2001 she and Gordie received the Wayne Gretzky Award from the United States Hockey Hall of Fame for their contributions to hockey in the U.S.
6) Other business endeavors included owning a travel company, an Amway marketing company and a management consulting company. She became a life insurance agent and ran for the U.S. Congress when the family lived in Connecticut

Now, when we honored her with a moment of silence at the Storm game tonight, I had no idea who she was until they said she was the wife of Gordie Howe. When I heard her list of accomplishments, I was immediately impressed because of her situation at the time. Colleen Howe did this when women weren't exactly accepted as business-type people. She obviously took her dreams and put them into action.

The sports world needs more Colleen Howe's who can see something that isn't working and do things to make it better. Hats off to you Colleen.

Off The "Charts": How Chartwells is Gouging Money From UNK Students

2009-03-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

With each swipe of a UNK ID card, students can transfer one of their meals via a purchased meal plan. What doesn’t go through their minds, however, is what kind of monetary loss they are taking once that card goes through the system.

For any UNK student living on campus, it is necessary to purchase a meal plan through the university’s food service provider, Chartwells, in order to eat. What most students don’t realize, however, is the actual cost per meal they are paying for through Chartwells.

There have been many complaints about the service Chartwells provides, but perhaps the biggest complaint that either goes unnoticed by students or students just don’t know about, is the transfer rate. On the UNK campus, Chartwells allows students to use up to $4.50 per meal for one transfer. While most students love being able to purchase a coffee at Starbucks on the way to class, a nachos grande from Taco Bell, or a candy bar from Loper Express, they don’t think twice about what the actual value of their meal is, due to the convenience of the food locations.

For some, this equals a great deal, so not much of a fuss is made about the transfer rate between what they are getting and what they really should be getting for their money. According to UNK Student Noise, a Web site devoted to voicing the student’s opinion, Chartwells is actually running away with the on-campus money at UNK.

Take a Chartwells’ 10-meal plan, which will cost $1,433 each semester. Students are actually spending $8.43 per meal, a mere $3.93 more than what they are getting in an actual transfer value. That figure is also if the student were to eat all of their meals. Any meal left untouched will make the actual value per meal go up.

At $8.43, that is allowing for a 87% overhead for Chartwells to up the prices. The numbers are absolutely appalling when calculating the true percentage. Now it is understandable that Chartwells would raise costs to allow for some money to be made, but a 87% increase is a little too extreme. With a modest 25% overhead, the cost per meal would be $5.63, that’s a difference of $2.80 per meal. Even with a 50% overhead, the meal plan would be $6.75 for a transfer for a grand total of $1,215 for the semester, instead of the aforementioned $1,433.

And this is just with the 10-meal plan, which isn’t even the worst plan. The worst plan in terms of numbers is the Block Plan which has you paying $11.04 per meal. That turns out to be a 145% overhead from the $4.50 that the students get per meal. Over a semester, a student should be paying $707 for this Block Plan, but instead will pay $1,590.

The statistics don’t lie. Chartwells is making a killing off their dining service but continue to have a stranglehold over the campus with their meal plans. There is no justification for such grossly overpriced plans, even if these plans cover the cost during the hours of operation.

With next year being the contract year for Chartwells, this is the opportunity for students to make their voices heard. The fact of the matter is, is that Chartwells needs to either increase their transfer value or lower the price of their meal plans. It is understandable that Chartwells, as a business, wants to turn a profit, but with the amount of overhead being collected, it is unreasonable the prices they have meal plans at now. It would be nice to see a consistent overhead percentage for each plan.

Since students are forced to purchase a meal plan if they want to live on campus, it is time for them to stand up and fight for their money during these tough economic times. Chartwells, as the lone food provider on this campus, has to be held accountable for their practices at UNK. While most students don’t realize the facts behind these prices, it is only a matter of time before the student body as a whole will rise up against Chartwells to bring forth the change that is needed on this campus.

Is the NFL Combine Overhyped?

2009-03-02T16:45:00.000-08:00

College stars, one and all, come to Indianapolis and show scouts your skills that weren’t shown on the field. Did you run for 4,000 yards in a season? Don’t worry, if you run a sub 3.5 40-yard dash, you’re an automatic top pick.

This is the feeling I am getting from the yearly NFL Combine, held every Feb. in Indianapolis to measure college athletes against one another in different skills. Such drills include the vaunted 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, shuttle drill and anything else that can combine a football field and a stopwatch.

The Combine has gotten so big, that it is no televised for its three-day duration on the NFL Network. Players from all over the country are chomping at the bit for their invitation to put on the Under Armour practice jersey and run wind sprints to earn millions of dollars.

During this time of year, in between the BCS Championship Game and the NFL Draft in April, the combine takes over mainstream college football news on every network sports channel. Even during the draft, the main statistics shown during the player highlights are from the combine, not the actual game stats which could prove to be more of a measuring stick for success than doing 20 reps at 225-pounds.

And if a player misses the NFL Combine for any reason and doesn’t participate in the warm-up drills that seem to make or break college football players, their draft stock will automatically slide and millions of dollars will disappear into thin air. Even if that player was an All-American and major award winner in college, the combine is turning out to be all that really matters in determining draft stock for NFL teams.

One of the most shocking instances of that this year is Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Crabtree, in just two years at college, has pulled in 40 touchdown passes and has won the Biletnekoff Award for the nation’s top receiver in both seasons. Now the disclaimer on this is that Crabtree needs surgery to repair a bone spur in his foot, causing some concern among draft “experts”. Crabtree also commented that he played most of the last year with the same injury, catching passes for over 1,400 yards and 18 touchdowns

Due to the injury, Crabtree refused to run the 40-yard dash in the combine and red flags everywhere were thrown in the air, claiming that if he didn’t run the 40-yard dash, that he would fall out of the top-ten in the draft. Read the above statistics if you forgot what kind of game receiver Crabtree has proved to be. The fact that a team would pass up on arguably the best pass-catching receiver in the draft because of not running a 40-time is simply absurd.

Now, sometimes the combine proves to be an asset, showcasing talent that might have otherwise gone unnoticed, such as a Joe Flacco of last year or a Brian Westbrook a few years ago. Another argument for the combine is that the interviews that take place are important in determining the player’s character. If that’s the case, then hold separate interviews with the players that have nothing to do with the combine.

As for the rest, it seems as though too much emphasis is being placed on a drill. There is too much hype going into and coming out of the combine, which in itself is a great asset in helping a general manager make that decision on draft day, but it shouldn’t be the main point. Just because a guy can leap 40 inches in the vertical jump, doesn’t mean he can make the plays on the field, unless he has proven it before.

The bottom line is, is that the NFL Combine doesn’t simulate gameplay at all and doesn’t show which player can make plays. The players don’t even do these drills in pads, so what good is it? Yeah, a guy can bomb the ball 70-yards in warm-up clothes, but put him in pads and with seven guys running down his neck and that’ll show who can really perform.

Maybe if I go out there and run a 4.1 in the 40-yard dash, that an NFL team will draft me, despite never playing any college football. The precedent set in the past makes me think I stand a pretty good chance.

Welcome Back Mr. Woods

2009-02-26T17:51:00.000-08:00

Whether the PGA Tour wants to admit it or not, Tiger Woods is bigger than the game of golf. Woods has single-handedly reinvented the game of golf, not just the PGA Tour, but the entire sport. Perhaps the greatest performance EVER in the history of sports was turned in by Woods last year at the U.S. Open, where playing on a torn ACL and fractured tibia, he not only played the 72 holes, but went an extra 19 to beat the field for his 14th Major tournament title. Now, if you've never golfed, it is impossible to fathom how much the left leg (where his injury was) is key in a golfer's swing, especially Tiger. Locking that left leg on the downswing and firing through almost makes it like a spring that can launch the club through the ball, giving a golfer that much needed club speed for the distance and accuracy they desire. Well after that tournament, Tiger underwent knee surgery to fix all of the problems and was out for the final six months of the 2008 season and the first two months of the 2009 season. That was until Tiger announced his return at this week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships, a message that sent both the golf community and sport community into a frenzy.

Woods, returning to competitive action for the first time in eight months, began his first round with birdie-eagle and ended up beating his opponent 3 and 2. Today, however, Tiger lost his second round match against a tough Tim Clark, who didn't make a bogey his entire round. This is definitely a blow to the rest of the tournament when considering television ratings, which were the highest the Golf Channel has ever had just yesterday. This leads one to realize, just how much does the game rely on Tiger Woods?

In the eight months that Tiger was gone, attendance at tournaments by the general public was severely down, television ratings were mediocre and the general buzz surrounding golf just lost some of its luster. This UK sport's blog talks about Tiger's return and how golf can not survive without his presence. While it is hard to debate that golf as a whole can not survive without Woods, it is easy to see that golf in the United States will surely lose interest without Woods in the game. Golf as a whole, around the world, ran smoothly without Tiger, but that was the European Tour and Asian Tour. As for the PGA Tour, ask any leading official and they are wiping the sweat off of their brows with the return of golf's idol. No one can deny that Tiger has transformed the game of golf and has created a new generation of kids interested in the sport. No other athlete can claim that in this day and age. With the return of Tiger, television networks will see increased revenue via advertising because of people wanting to watch Tiger. PGA Tour events will see increased revenue with ticket sales increasing because people want to watch Tiger. What is the common denominator in these equation? People want to watch Tiger. This is exactly why the game of golf, not just the PGA Tour, is selling the hell out of his return and is building up this season as the return of the Tiger.

Tiger's return just made advertising for the PGA Tour the easiest job in all of America. Even Nike has climbed on the return bandwagon, releasing a new commercial for the return of Woods to the locker room. It is one of the funniest commercials I have seen because while poking fun at it, the whole commercial is true. Basically, the fun all of the lower golfers were having in Tiger's absence is now over with because he's back and they know they don't stand a chance.

Welcome back Mr. Woods. Golf just hasn't been the same without you.

Don't Take Walking For Granted

2009-02-26T17:27:00.000-08:00

Well, this post doesn't have a link or even a cool story, but a reminder that you shouldn't take your legs or ability to walk for granted. Tuesday night at the Tri City Storm game, I was supposed to work the third camera, which is the camera in the tunnel and behind the goalie to give the fans that ice level look on the big screen. Well prior to the start of the game, I was carrying the cable down the stairs when I came to the little squeeze between the goal light operator's box and the railing, all while attempting not to tangle the cables on the railing. So, I lifted up the hoard of cables around my arm to go up and over the railing and make the final step down onto the tunnel...except I wasn't on the final step like I thought I was.

Next thing I knew, my foot caught the edge of the bottom step, rolled underneath my weight and I felt a pop, followed by excruciating pain throughout my left ankle. I dropped the cables where I stood and screamed in pain, hobbling towards a stone bench inside the tunnel. As I lay there in immense pain, everyone who just witnessed it...continued to stand there while I lay yelling in pain and holding my ankle. Within a couple minutes, it was swollen to about twice the size of my right ankle and I knew it was bad. So after waiting a while, I hopped my way to the Tri City Storm training room to get it taped. Needless to say, I could put almost no weight on it, but I stayed there and did my job, even standing on it all of the second period with a camera on my shoulder, dealing with the pain later.

So yesterday I went to the hospital to get it checked out, after not being able to walk on it at all in the morning, so I hobbled to my car with no help and drove to student health at 8:20 a.m to find out Wednesday is the only morning they open at 9 instead of 8. Long story short, I got x-rays and while there was no fracturem they do believe I slightly tore a tendon in there that won't require surgery, but now I am in a heavy walking boot until Monday. Walking around has been an absolute pain the past three days and it is making me appreciate two functioning legs and working ankles. Regardless, I'm in physical therapy every day to get it back to normal faster and advise everyone to watch your step, it could be your last haha.

Editorial 3: UNK/Local Issues

2009-02-22T13:31:00.001-08:00

For class on Tuesday we were supposed to find three local/UNK issues and although they should come to us juniors pretty easily, it was amazingly difficult to think of actual "problems" in our community. I've been trying to read other blogs to see their ideas to get a general idea of what was wrong with the UNK or Kearney area, but there isn't that much out there.

One idea I saw on Callie's post that I have had a personal problem with is the issue of having Chartwells cater to every event, even if you're organization can't afford their food. Just like Callie, this portion of the UNK website talks about the policy that says Chartwells must cater every event on campus that requires food service. This has been a personal problem of mine, but I will go into further detail if I choose this for my editorial.

The second issue I discovered is the Trayless Tuesdays on this campus. I have seen such a mixed reaction this issue and I like Chelsea's article from the Omaha World Herald about the issue and how other school's have dealt with it.

I will try to find a third issue later.

Day In Sports for Nebraska

2009-02-21T23:02:00.000-08:00

Well Saturday turned out to be an extensive sports coverage day for the state of Nebraska, with multiple hockey games, a State Wrestling Championship, BracketBuster college game and UNK basketball games. Let's go around the state for a Saturday review on Nebraska sports!

Starting on Saturday morning, the Nebraska State Wrestling Championships were held at the Qwest Center in Omaha. Millard South came into the final day the winners of the past four state titles in Class A and Omaha Skutt winners of the past 11 in Class B. Well unfortunately, my alma mater of Millard South couldn't capture a 5-peat as Grand Island ran away with the Class A title. Omaha Skutt pulled away for their 12th straight Class B title, Central City won the Class C title, and Howells took home the Class D title.

Next in the afternoon, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took on the No. 18 Kansas Jayhawks on the road and got clobbered by the Jayhawks 70-53. The loss by the Huskers is a serious blow to their NCAA At-Large considerations for the March Madness tournament. They were considered on the bubble going into their final games and a win against the ranked Jayhawks would have gone a long way in helping them getting in the tournament for the first time in over ten years.

As nighttime approached, the United States Hockey League in Nebraska took full effect when the Tri City Storm took on the Omaha Lancers in a heated rivalry game at the FirsTier Event Center right here in Kearney. The Storm came out in new jerseys designed for their annual "Pack It In Purple" event, where they auctioned off the game worn jerseys after the game. Tri City, coming into the game 7-35 on the year, took down the defending Clarke Cup Champion Lancers 4-3 in a hard-hitting, fast-paced game. The game saw great saves by Storm goalie T.J. Massie (48 on 51 shots) and the Storm come out and score three first period goals. There was also two fights for a rather docile Storm team that got the fans up on their feet. In all of the games I have worked in this season, this was by far the loudest I have heard the hometown crowd at the end of a game. In other USHL news, the Lincoln Stars were defeated by Waterloo 5-1 in Waterloo.

While the Storm game was going on, Omaha and the Qwest Center was prime location again for the ESPNU BracketBuster game between Creighton and George Mason. Both teams are on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament and Creighton came in winning seven straight games and is currently tied for 1st in the Missouri Valley Conference with Northern Iowa. Creighton came out strong in the second half and took down the visiting Patriots 76-63 for their ninth straight victory and at 23-6, are serious contenders to make the March Madness tournament. The Bluejays were led by Booker Woodfox with 22 points and left the 4th largest crowd in school history still tied for the lead in the MVC. I believe, as of right now, the Bluejays should be in the NCAA Tournament, with quality wins over Dayton at home and St. Joseph's on the road.

Then, at the same time on UNK's campus, both Men's and Women's Basketball Teams were taking on Regis University in the final home game of the season for the Lopers. The first matchup of the night saw the Lady Lopers, winners of nine straight, take down the Rangers 78-74 in order to stay a half-game behind CSM for first place in the RMAC. Seniors Jade Meads and Jonni Mildenberger, who combined for 46 points and 17 rebounds, played their last home game as Lopers and it is going to be hard to contribute for their production when they graduate. Also playing her last home game was Kassi Schuppe, who has played as the starting guard for the past two seasons, proving to be a key asset to the team's success.

The night matinee had the UNK men rolling past Regis 73-61 to keep their RMAC Tournament hopes alive at 10-14 overall. UNK was led by junior Drake Beranek with 22 points and his first collegiate dunk. I bring that up because Drake was a guest on my sports talk radio show on 91.3 KLPR this past Tuesday and we started talking about dunking and I asked him if he had ever dunked in college and he responded no. It was then we talked about what would have to happen for that first dunk to occur and most of it was a joke. But now just 5 days later, he throws down his first dunk and it was quite comical and ironic.

Anyways, a busy, busy day for sports in Nebraska. One that if you are a sports junkie like I am, allows you to lay your head down at night and thank God that you're a sports fan.

Affirmative Disaction

2009-02-20T11:48:00.000-08:00

Last November, voters in Nebraska took a step in the right direction in creating equality. They did this by passing Initiative 424, which will disallow colleges and universities from using Affirmative Action programs to grant scholarships to minorities only and using special recruiting methods to pull in minorities only. This is by far a major leap forward in establishing equality in the school system, especially during these economic times.

In Nebraska and five other states, measures have been taken to eliminate Affirmative Action programs, which allow for certain privileges to minorities in the academic and work fields. Back in the November election, Nebraska put the initiative on the ballot after the petition gained the 100,000 signatures needed to put it to vote. Nebraskans voted in favor of the initiative, banning minority scholarships and the use of minority practices in admissions at colleges. Colorado also voted on the issue, but voted against it. California, Michigan and Washington all have passed Affirmative Action elimination measures. Other states that brought the issue to petition but didn’t garner enough signatures to bring it to ballot were Oklahoma, Arizona and Missouri.

Affirmative Action was established to create equality in jobs and schools over 15 years ago. Since that time, the society as a whole has transformed into a country that is no longer needing of these programs. If a minority student is smart enough to make it into any college, then they obviously aren’t that underprivileged. But why should a minority student get scholarships worth full tuition and maintain a lower g.p.a, but students not eligible for those scholarships work harder to maintain a higher g.p.a for aid that is worth less?

Eliminating minority scholarships and other traditional race- and gender-based affirmative action programs is a step in the right direction for a country looking to turn a page in equality. In this country, it should always be about who is more qualified for the position, rather then granting it to a lesser qualified minority in order to fill a quota. When it comes to minority scholarships offered by universities, it is easy to see where the problems exist and why it has come under intense scrutiny under the past few years.

Any educated minority will tell you that in order for this country to fully overcome racism, that Affirmative Action programs need to be changed or erased. In this state, even though the initiative has been voted through and will be passed into law sometime soon, the debate continues in other states in the region, as well as Nebraska. Many believe that this won't be the only time in Nebraska that we see Affirmative Action on the ballot during an election.

Nebraska, on the other hand, is stepping outside the norm and is creating a lead for other states to follow. The reverse discrimination being caused by some Affirmative Action programs can be altered to make sure everyone gets an equal shot at earning that reward. If it is a scholarship, the winner should be chosen based on criteria, not by their gender or color of their skin. In today’s economic crisis, it is unacceptable to deny everyone an equal shot at a scholarship, just because the university wants to attract more minority students.

In a day and age where the United States just elected its first African-American President, the excitement for the end of racism and discrimination is very palpable in the air of change. It will be interesting to see what kind of leadership Nebraska will take in its role as an innovator in disallowing these programs.

This Is What Sports Is All About

2009-02-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

In a time where sports news is constantly filled with scandal, betrayal and dishonesty, when a story comes along that melts your heart, it reminds us what sport is really all about. Earlier this month, a little known high school game in Wisconsin took place that showed that true character and leadership still exists within sports. The game occured between Milwaukee Madison and DeKalb, two schools separated by about a 2 hour drive, but now bonded by brotherhood.

I'll let you read the article for yourself and watch the video with it, but when I first read it, my heart went out to Johntrell and made me smile as I watched continuous coverage of A-Fraud. These types of stories revive my love of sports and make me a believer that perhaps there are still credible athletes out there who care more about the game and the people playing it, then padding their own stats. Not only can other young athletes learn from this, we as humans can take a page from this team's book when looking at the bigger picture in life.

The A-11...No More

2009-02-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

So much for creativity in football. Last week, a State High School Association for football in the state, voted to make the new gimmick offense, the "All-11" or "A-11" offense, illegal from play in the upcoming season. The A-11 offense works like this:
According to the article, "The goal of the A-11 is maximum unpredictability, achieved by putting 11 players wearing eligible receiving numbers on the field at once -- only legal with one player at least seven yards behind the line of scrimmage and no one under center, as on a punt or field goal -- then shifting them on or off the line of scrimmage at the last second. The result is an essentially random offense with endless combinations of possible receivers, leaving the defense with no idea which five or six players are eligible to go downfield for a pass until a moment before the ball is snapped and no time to react."

Officials deemed it unsportsmanlike because the plays themselves were confusing referees and that it was too deceptive for defenses to figure out. What is wrong with deception? Wasn't the West Coast offense designed to deceived? What about the new spread option offense or the Wildcat offense run in college and the NFL? The inventor of the A-11 offense is pure genius for finding the loophole in the rule to allow for this offense to even be possible.

Enjoy the top ten A-11 plays of 2008 as it will probably never be seen again:

2nd Editorial Rough Draft: Affirmative Action

2009-02-15T00:44:00.000-08:00

Johnny took a look at the scholarship requirements for his college and there was an alarming statistic that took him completely by surprise. The fact is this, to earn and maintain the school's Chancellors Scholarship, Johnny, a Caucasian male, would need to maintain a 3.25 GPA every semester in order to earn the $1,000 a semester scholarship. When he looked further down the list, he found a scholarship only for minorities which would grant them full tuition and other benefits. The astounding stat that Johnny found was that in order to maintain this full tuition scholarship, they would only need to maintain a 2.75 GPA, for almost $1,000-$2,000 more per semester. He sat there and wondered, why should I have to work harder for a scholarship worth less aid than a minority to earn a scholarship worth double the aid?
Well in Nebraska and three other states, measures have been taken to eliminate Affirmative Action programs, which allow for certain privileges to minorities in the academic and work fields. Back in the November election, Nebraska put the initiative on the ballot after the petition gained the 100,000 signatures needed to put it to vote. Nebraskans voted in favor of the initiative, banning minority scholarships and the use of minority practices in admissions at colleges. Colorado and California are two other states that put Affirmative Action to the test.
For one, eliminating minority scholarships and other traditional race- and gender-based affirmative action programs is a step in the right direction for a country looking to turn a page in equality. In this country, it should always be about who is more qualified for the position, rather then granting it to a lesser qualified minority in order to fill a quota. When it comes to minority scholarships offered by universities, it is easy to see where the problems exist and why it has come under intense scrutiny under the past few years.
Any educated minority will tell you that in order for this country to fully overcome racism, that Affirmative Action programs need to be changed or erased. In this state, even though the initiative has been voted through and will be passed into law sometime soon, the debate continues in other states in the region, as well as Nebraska. Many believe that this won't be the only time in Nebraska that we see Affirmative Action on the ballot during an election.
Nebraska, on the other hand, is stepping outside the norm and is creating a lead for other states to follow. The reverse discrimination being caused by some Affirmative Action programs can be altered to make sure everyone gets an equal shot at earning that reward. If it is a scholarship, the winner should be chosen based on criteria, not by their gender or color of their skin.
In a day and age where the United States just elected its first African-American President, the excitement for the end of racism and discrimination is very palpable in the air of change. It will be interesting to see what kind of leadership Nebraska will take in its role as an innovator in disallowing these programs.
Maybe Johnny will have a chance to earn that scholarship he deserves after all.

So Favre Brett

2009-02-13T15:44:00.000-08:00

For over 17 years, the jersey number 4 was synonymous with one man, one legend. That one man brought more passion, more emotion and more fun to the game of football than any one single player in the history of professional football. When he walked through that tunnel at Lambeau Field, the crowd began to fill with electricity and excitement that even the strongest of thunderstorms couldn't compare with. That man is Brett Favre and a couple of days ago, Favre decided to call it quits after an illustrious NFL career.

Favre will always be remembered for his tough, but yet, child-like approach to the game. He started 269 consecutive games in the regular season and played with multiple injuries including a broken thumb on his throwing hand. There are so many things one can say about Favre, he is the reason I fell in love with the Packers. I had the privilege of going to see Favre play three years ago on New Years Day and it will always live in my memory. Favre will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, despite only winning one Super Bowl title, which is truly a testament to his character and passion for the game he played. His style of play will ultimately be missed, as well as his emotion, his smile and his love for the game. Brett is a legend and one whom words can only say so much.

Where is the money coming from?

2009-02-09T12:56:00.000-08:00

Times are tough in the current economy and the so called recession that this country is facing. We have felt the strains of the struggling economy here at UNK, with many programs losing funds and departments losing grants, as well as professors getting laid off because UNK simply couldn't afford to keep them on the staff. Well with this university struggling to make ends meet in the certain departments, UNK is somehow finding the funds to add a Women's Soccer program to its list of athletic teams. Don't get me wrong, I am all for adding new athletic teams and broadening our sports horizon here at UNK. The only question I have is where is the money coming from to fund another sport? I have thought about possible boosters and fund from the government for Title IX reasons, but it just doesn't make sense.

Let's look at what all costs money with a new sports team.
1) Equipment
2) Travel
3) Coach
4) League Fees
5) Possible scholarships

The list could go on and on, but the bottom line is, university's don't add a new team every year because of the cost of the move. Perhaps the university has been "saving" up for a move like this, I don't know, all I know is no one has questioned the university and the university hasn't come out and said anything regarding the issue. I'm sure the professors who got laid off at the beginning of the year would love to know where this extra money came from. It's also possible the money that is made during sporting events doesn't need to be shared with the university itself, which just sounds weird.

Maybe this isn't a big deal at all and I'm blowing it out of proportion, but it seems as though the athletic department should be questioned as to how this is possible.

Where is all the great Nebraska talent?

2009-02-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

The Huskers announced their 2009 recruitment class and while not a blockbuster class for Bo Pelini’s first class, they do address certain needs with the departure of some key players. Perhaps the top recruit was athlete Cody Green out of Texas. At 6’4, 220 pounds, Green has the physical prowess to be one of a multitude of positions, with a cannon arm and long strides when running. Green could compete for the starting quarterback position or could attempt to play wide receiver, linebacker or safety.
The total class for the Huskers was 21, but the most alarming aspect of the class is that only two of those 21 came from the state of Nebraska, the lowest number in the history of recruitment with the Huskers. That begs the question, where is all of the great football talent in this state? It is difficult to say that maybe the Huskers focus their recruitment efforts squarely too much in states such as Calif. and Texas, which make up 14 of the 21 recruits in the 2009 class.
For UNK, we just had one of the best kickers in the history of the school, Geoff Carnahan, graduate scoring over 250 points in his career. A kicker from Kearney Catholic, Carnahan showed his ability to knock through field goals with ease, even kicks from over 50 yards. If anyone who remembers the Huskers bowl game against Auburn, about three years ago, we had the ball on their 35-yard line with a chance to tie with a field goal, but due to a lack of kicking power, they went for it on fourth down and came up short. Now, how did the Huskers not even give Carnahan a look? Of course hindsight is 20/20, but it seems as though the Huskers are relying more on Nebraska talent to attempt to walk-on the program and are focusing their attention elsewhere.
While that may be the reason, it might also be that there is truly a lack of talent at the high school level here in Nebraska. One thing this state is known for is producing lineman, but nothing else. Take a look at Danny Woodhead, one of the most prolific rushers in Nebraska high school history. Maybe Nebraska gave him one look, but because of his size, it never materialized and he took his game to Chadron State, where he became the all-time leading rusher in NCAA history until this last year.
Nebraska has never been a hot bed for high school football talent, in fact, the state just had its first “five-star” recruit last year in OL/DL Baker Steinkuhler from Lincoln Southwest, which of course Nebraska signed. Steinkuhler didn’t play much for the Huskers last season, but should fill in well for an offensive or defensive line looking to rebuild. The fact of the matter is, is that Nebraska has some of the most intense players you will find in this country, but the lack of extensive coverage and great teams has this state scrambling to market its premier players.
The last great recruiting class this state had, that I can remember, would be in 2006. That year, Millard North saw its State Championship rushing trio get scholarship offers from iowa, Nebraska and Washington. But for as great of high school players as they were, one no longer plays football and the other two play minimal amounts of time, if any at all.
The question remains to be answered, but it doesn’t seem as though the talent in this state is going to change any time soon. For those that follow high school football in the state, it seems that we have the talent, we just need to market it better to schools across the nation. It is necessary to get the word out about our talent or recruits in this state will never get a chance to showcase their abilities at bigger schools. Take for example Silas Fluellan, the current quarterback for the Wayne State Wildcats. In 2005, his senior season for Bellevue West, he threw for an average of 250 yards per game and 37 touchdowns, both state records. As far as I remember, he did not garner any Division I attention and for the life of me I could not tell you why. Fluellan had a cannon arm and had scrambling ability. Maybe at 6’0 his size hurt his stock, but look at Chase Daniel who on a good day is barely above 6’0.
Nebraska has the talent to get nationally recognized but with the lack of marketing of our players, our talent will continue to go unnoticed. But with that dark storm cloud comes the silver lining. With Division I schools missing out on this state’s talent, they fall right into the laps of schools such as UNK, Chadron State, Wayne State and so on, for our viewing pleasure.
If we want our state to begin producing top of the line college football talent, it all begins of the advertising side.

Let's See How America Reacts to A-Rod..

2009-02-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well...looks like Alex Rodriguez got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Rodriguez, according to an SI.com report, found that back in 2003, when MLB held random testing to see if they needed stronger drug abuse policies, that Rodriguez was one of the 104 players who tested positive for anabolic steroids. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up this morning and my mind automatically began working to find out more about the subject.

According to the report, back in 2003 there were no penalties for testing positive for steroids..unlike the 50 game suspension for a first-time positive test now. All throughout my blog, you can see me defending the players against this steroid witch hunt, unless there were clean and concrete evidence against them and here you have it. In 2003, when Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids, according to the report, he won the AL Home Run title and the AL MVP while playing for the Texas Rangers. As I am typing this, it is constantly on ESPN and the announcers discussing it said, "while we don't know who is taking and who is not, Rodriguez got caught. As a Yankee fan you have to be saying 'say it ain't so Alex'. It is definitely disappointing."

I am anxious and curious to see how the American public and the media takes this news. If you need other opinions about this topic, read my previous blogs. When Roger Clemens was claimed to have been injected with steroids, it was in 2000, 2001 and 2003...all years that had no penalty for taking steroids, the same as Rodriguez here. Clemens has been thrown under the bus and a majority of the public has claimed he will never make the Hall of Fame because of his ACCUSATIONS. Rodriguez is arguably the greatest offensive power in the game today and the likely successor of Barry Bonds for all-time home runs. Now, with this positive test, no longer an accusation, but PROOF that he cheated, why should his case be any different?

All I can say is this, if the media and public let Rodriguez slide with this and continue to crucify Clemens despite no positive tests, I am going to lose all faith in baseball and will more than likely stop watching the sport. If Clemens is never going to make the Hall of Fame and must be subject to this hell, Rodriguez should never make the Hall of Fame and should also be thrown into the fire, now with a positive test. Sure. He can come out and admit, much like Andy Pettite did and the nation will forgive him, but these supposed "tainted numbers" should now automatically exclude him from the Hall of Fame, much like Bonds and Clemens.

Please, America, if you are going to subject some players to scrutiny, it needs to be one uniform backlash. Like I said, I am anxious to see what becomes of all of this and how Rodriguez is treated for testing positive for steroids. All I know is that with a positive test result bolstering his numbers, I will never think the same of him and that he should NEVER make the Hall of Fame.

Instant Replay...To Use or Not to Use?

2009-02-01T23:27:00.000-08:00

Back a few years ago, the NFL voted on and implemented instant replay into all games, where teams could challenge up to two calls a game, with no challenges coming after the two minute warning of each half. These challenges would be used to challenge the ruling on the field, to hopefully overturn the official's call in their team's favor. When the game reaches the two minute warnings of each half, challenges will come from up in the official replay booth, totally up to the discretion of the replay officials. Each game seems to have a play that gives a reason for certain fans to be upset with the outcome of the game...their key to complaining for the following weeks. Well enter the Super Bowl, the "game of games" when it comes to football. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals had battled throughout the game, with the officials making some favorable calls for the Steelers in the first three quarters. Arizona scored a long touchdown with 2:30 remaining in the 4th quarter, giving them the lead 23-20. The Steelers then stormed back down the field, where Santonio Holmes made perhaps the greatest catch in Super Bowl history, giving the Steelers the lead back with just 30 seconds left. It was then that the General Kurt Warner got the ball back with one final chance to lead this Cinderella team to the final part of the ball. This picture below is a play that transpired with just about ten seconds left on Pittsburgh's side of the field.

The result of the play had Kurt Warner fumbling the ball and Pittsburgh recovering with five seconds remaining, enough time to kneel on the ball and capture their sixth Championship. The problem I have is this, the play changed the game completely. If the play had been reviewed and overturned, Arizona would have had the ball on the Pittsburgh 29-yard-line with just about ten seconds remaining. The call in dispute is that his arm may have been moving forward in a legal forward motion and the pass could have been incomplete, but replays show that probably would not have been the case. Regardless of all that, the fact of the matter is is that the replay officials didn't review perhaps one of the biggest plays of the entire game.

What exactly did the NFL want to accomplish by installing this instant replay system if they didn't intend to use it the way it was meant to be utilized. Arizona fans deserve every reason to be upset that the play in question wasn't at least reviewed, to take away any and all controversy. The fact is, the officials dictated the entire Super Bowl, making it lopsided in Pittsburgh's favor. I'm not saying for an overhaul in the instant replay system, but when a play happens that could possibly end a game of this magnitude, maybe it's time to review how things are run.

The Greatest Pump-Up Speech Ever...

2009-01-31T23:25:00.000-08:00

Here we are on the eve of Super Bowl XLIII, pitting the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Arizona Cardinals. It is impossible to think what is going through these mens' minds as they prepare for the biggest game of their lives. I can only imagine the lack of sleep that these men are going to have tonight, pumped full of adrenaline and ready to tackle anything that moves. Thinking of this got me wondering, what kind of speech is the coach going to give tomorrow to top the adrenaline these guys are already feeling? How much energy is going to be flowing through that locker room tomorrow an hour before kickoff, as the coach stands before his players, talking to them as if they are warriors about to go into battle? Well, this got me looking on Youtube for some of the greatest movie speeches of all-time, and while the "Braveheart" speech is quite good, I thought of one that gives me goosebumps everytime I listen to it. For those that have seen it, Al Pacino's speech in "Any Given Sunday" is the quintessential adrenaline speech to get the blood flowing and it makes you want to run out of the room and tackle someone. As we prepare for the Super Bowl, I am going to present to you the speech that should be played for those men tomorrow, please excuse some of the language.

Now that is a speech...

The Sucker Punch...Almost 5 Years Later

2009-01-30T00:14:00.000-08:00

As a rabid sports fan, I have a following in every major sports league with a team I cheer for on a nightly basis. In the National Hockey League, my team of choice is the Colorado Avalanche and it has been for many years. We are approaching the five year anniversary of one of the darkest attacks in the history of the league, in my opinion. After coming across this article, it brought back the memories as I watched it on television, live as it happened. Let me set the situation for you: Forward Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche, just a few weeks earlier, had taken out the star of the Vancouver Canucks at that time, Markus Naslund with a legal hip check. The Canucks had come out prior to the following game with the Avs, March 8, 2004, claiming that the hit was out on Moore and that retaliation would be taken against the forward for his hit on their star. Below is the video of what transpired between Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore and the aftermath that followed.

Now, I watched this live, as it happened on March 8, 2004. Shooting up in my bed, I was outraged, I was furious...for lack of better terms, I was flat out pissed. I thought Bertuzzi should be fined, suspended and thrown in jail...how is that hit any different than what some thug does to an unsuspecting victim in a dark alley? The hit shattered a couple of Moore's vertebrae, leaving him unconscious and temporarily paralyzing him...he has yet to return to hockey after relearning how to walk. Subsequent charges were filed against Bertuzzi, the man who sucker punched Moore and drove his head into the ice. He was charged with assault, just as if it had happened on the street. According to the article, "Bertuzzi was suspended by the NHL and charged with assault causing bodily harm in June 2004 after a four-month investigation. He pleaded guilty, received a conditional discharge and was sentenced to probation and community service. Bertuzzi was reinstated by the NHL after 17 months -- time that also included the 2004-05 lockout."

Now, here is a problem I have with this. Bertuzzi pleaded guilty...guilty...to forcefully breaking another man's neck, costing him his livelihood, his career. Bertuzzi is back on the ice, playing the game he loves and making $2 million a year, while Moore gets to sit in a rehabilitation center, attempting a comeback at a sport he was already playing before having it taken away from him. Bertuzzi has since then claimed the hit came at direct orders of the coach, Mark Crawford, who coincidentally enough, had been a coach for the Avalanche just a couple of years prior. The article shows that Crawford has since then accused Bertuzzi of not following orders and yada yada.

The bottom line is this...Bertuzzi should have been permanently suspended from the NHL with no chance of return, unless Moore ever returned to play for an NHL team. The fact that Bertuzzi committed this act and willingly admitted it by taking the guilty plea and is still playing, making millions of dollars a year and Steve Moore is left to sit, watching this criminal live out his dream. If Bertuzzi was truly guilty of taking away Moore's career, the NHL should have done the same to him. Needless to say, on March 8th, it'll be another day that Steve Moore can look at his calendar and curse the name Todd Bertuzzi...just as I do.

American Bias At Its Finest..Final Editorial

2009-01-29T16:19:00.001-08:00

Roger Clemens. Before the beginning of last year, that name stood for one of the greatest pitchers ever in the history of baseball. He is among the all-time leaders in career wins, strikeouts and earned run average (E.R.A), as well as winning more Cy Young awards for being the top pitcher in baseball than anyone in history with seven. Just a couple of years ago, rumors began circulating about Clemens possibly using performance enhancing drugs to give him the upper advantage when pitching.
Steroids in baseball have become a continuing problem in the sport and multiple books and reports have been published throwing star after star under the bus all to make a quick buck.
Clemens has since faced a hell-storm of questions and accusations, while firmly denying his use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs. The problem is this, Hall of Fame voters have already come out and publicly stated that because of the allegations brought forth against Clemens, that they will never vote him into the Hall of Fame, despite no positive tests and no concrete evidence that can be used to find Roger Clemens guilty.
The public backlash against this man for denying his use has been unbelievable and shocking to the point of what seems to be a steroid witch hunt for anyone even suspected of taking these drugs.
Now, let’s bring American sweetheart and sports darling Lance Armstrong into the picture. Armstrong, for those that don’t remember, is the owner of seven consecutive Tour de France titles, more than any other bicycle rider in the history of the competition. Most everyone knows him for his courageous battle with cancer, overcoming it and the odds to not only race in the most grueling event in cycling, but win it seven times in a row.
What most everyone has forgotten is that during his stretch of titles, Armstrong was accused of taking EPO, a hormone enhancing drug popular with cyclists. Also during that time, Armstrong was connected to a crooked doctor suspected of supplying this EPO and there were also reports that he was throwing away trash bags full of syringes. Even more shocking than that is that Armstrong actually had a urine sample test positive for EPO, but because the sample was more than five years old and the French lab conducting the tests didn’t properly handle it, it became invalid. It still doesn’t take away from the fact that, indeed, Lance Armstrong tested positive for EPO.
But it seems as though Armstrong, being a cancer survivor and world-renowned charity fundraiser, has this halo over his head that allows him to obtain a pass, a “get out of jail free” card. The fact that he has overcome these odds and that he gives back so much to the world is great and should be acknowledged, but it shouldn’t be an excuse for an athlete to get away with steroid accusations. If we as a media are going to label one athlete a social pariah for the allegations against him or her, then it must be one uniform sentencing.
Roger Clemens should make it into the Hall of Fame despite these steroid accusations, simply because nothing has been proven and nothing has been cemented as concrete evidence to use against him. The motto in the country is that you are “innocent until proven guilty”, but no more. If we as a society are going to sentence athletes before anything can be proven, then it must be the same for every athlete. It is time for Americans, public and media, to realize when they don’t know as much as they think they do about a situation. We’re not saying whether Clemens or any other baseball star did or did not take steroids, we simply do not know, but when all is said and done, neither do you.

Mosh Pits...Why Pay To Get The $@!& Beat Out of You?

2009-01-27T01:06:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I braved the winter weather here in Kearney and all across Nebraska and traveled to my hometown of Omaha, where a concert of monumental proportions was about to take place. I was heading home to see Trivium and Slipknot, two of my favorite metal bands. While I am fairly new to the world of live metal concerts, I had always had an idea of what mosh pits were like...at least I thought I did. For the concert, we waited outside for an hour before the show in -10 degree weather in t-shirts and shorts, knowing how hot it was going to be when we got inside. Needless to say, we found a place on the floor and in the middle of all the action. This is where I got my first taste and view of a mosh pit up close and personal.

After viewing the first mosh pit, it came to me that all this was, was a legal to beat the hell out of another person...accompanied by some heavy music in the background. When I turned to watch the mosh pit (completely deterring me from the music) I noticed guys just going at each other throwing clenched fists, basically a bunch of fists attached to some bodies. It became a human Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots competition in the middle of the floor, first one to get their head knocked up loses. Now my question is why? Why would any man subject themselves to these mosh pits? Why would you pay good money to see these bands, only to just run around with your main goal to knock the other person out across from you? I was on the edge of three of these mosh pits throughout the night and even though I was never in a mosh pit, I left with my fair share of injuries, including a bum ankle, a bruised right arm and a sore left shoulder.

That's the only question I have, is why spend 34 bucks so you can go run around with your shirt off and attempt to take out other humans. Can't you do that for less than 34 bucks somewhere else? Just seems like a waste of money during these economic times. I don't get why mosh pits are so popular with some of the carnage I saw last night...I even saw 120 pound girls going at it with full grown men, it was insane. All I'm saying is find something more constructive with your money.

On another note, my heart goes out to the Nickels family. Corey Nickels, 29, died of a heart attack during the last song of the perfomance. He suffered the heart attack during the show, there was an attempt to revive him in the ambulance and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. I know he didn't think that going to that concert would be the last thing he would ever do...it just makes you think.

Bonds and Clemens v. Armstrong...everyone please rise...

2009-01-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

Nothing in this world (quite possibly nothing) has me more infuriated and upset with sports than the whole steroids fiasco between baseball, its players and Congress. Appearing on his first television interview, key source for the Mitchell Report (the document which led to over 50 baseball players being accused of steroids) Kirk Radomski stated that he believes his friend Brian McNamee over the accused Roger Clemens. A small excerpt from the interview and column, written by ESPN's Mike Fish, says:

""I don't believe him [Clemens] at all," Radomski said. "I believe my friend."
That's his story and he's sticking to it. That's what Radomski, an admitted steroids dealer, presumably told a federal grand jury considering perjury charges against Clemens in Washington last week. That's definitely the theme in "Bases Loaded" (Hudson Street Press), a book scheduled for release next week chronicling his decade of dealing performance-enhancing drugs to baseball players...Radomski said that he educated McNamee about growth hormone. He also said he was the source of the performance enhancers McNamee used with his baseball clients. Radomski said he shipped HGH directly to Clemens' house in Houston when McNamee went out to train him."

Well, well...isn't that amazing, Radomski comes forward for his first major television interview about the scandals a little more than a week before the scheduled release of his book. Can you say motive to lie? Anyways, if you watch the entire interview, Radomski states that he knows Clemens took the steroids because he sent the drugs directly to Clemens' house in care of McNamee and that McNamee had questioned how to properly inject the drugs. Radomski states this without a shipping receipt to prove the drugs were shipped to Clemens' house and secondly, just because the trainer had a tutorial on Steroids 101 from Radomski, doesn't mean that Clemens was the one he was injecting with the Human Growth Hormone (HGH). This whole situation of accusing Clemens of doing this without any proof is plain ascenine to me. Read my earlier blog about the situation about being guilty until proven innocent.

Throwing another baseball player in the mix is former San Francisco Giant superstar Barry Bonds. Bonds has been at the forefront of this steroid witchhunt, leading to all of the talk about other players using steroids. Bonds' link to Victor Conte, a salesman at a company called BALCO who sold steroids and HGH-type products. has been the catalyst as to why reporters and the public are burning Bonds at the cross. Bonds has admitted to using a cream substance containing a steroid without any knowledge of the substance. But let's keep this in mind, Bonds has NEVER tested positive during any one of his random drug tests. There has yet to be a clear connection between Bonds and BALCO in order to find him guilty of perjury and/or taking steroids. Clemens and Bonds are in the same boat, in that each have been the most dominant players at their position, possibly ever, in the major leagues. What each of them face as well, is that they are looking at a public backlash from these accusations, costing them shots at the Hall of Fame, even though Clemens is top 3 in strikeouts in his career and possibly the most dominant pitcher ever and Bonds has hit the most home runs in the history of the MLB. All because of an accusation that has yet to hold any water in any federal court. Each player has been sacrificed at the feet of the MLB for the sake of drug testing, so that the MLB can say, "look we cleaned up our act by taking away everything from our top players ever, who put butts in the seats and turned around a business that had a strike in 1994. We won't let anything slide."

Now as an American citizen, I have been able to sit back and watch Lance Armstrong win seven consecutive Tour de France's, making me proud to be an American at that time. I was sitting their watching a man battle back from cancer to win the most grueling bikerace ever...seven times in a row. But hold on just a second, wasn't Armstrong accused of taking HGH and steroids? Wasn't his doctor during the races linked to steroids? Wasn't he discovered taking out a bag of trash, several miles away, filled with used syringes? Yes, he was. While researching, I came across this article, which brings to light the difference between the public raping of Bonds' and Clemens' integrity and the sainthood that was granted for Armstrong. In another excerpt, the author, Selena Roberts, writes that:

"As the world's most famous cancer survivor and a significant fund-raiser, Armstrong has cultivated a halo effect. This has deflected the negative fallout from tell-all books, the links to a crooked doctor, the dogged pursuit by antidoping czar Dick Pound and the suit he filed against a company for making BARKSTRONG pet collars, which are sold by animal charities.
Clemens, who has mostly overcome pulled groins, has no such protective aura. Yet he tried to splash on a coating of goodwill last week as he told Congress about his generosity, his charitable works and his love of everything but kittens. (Note to Roger: Add kittens.) He presented his p.r. case with the same gusto he used to attack his accuser, Brian McNamee, whom he sued for defamation last month."

Note the term "halo effect" when I talk about Armstrong. Armstrong came back from cancer to take control of an event unlike anyone in the history of the Tour de France. When reports from France first came in about Armstrong's link to doping, there was a national outcry in favor of Armstrong. Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's back up here folks. Clemens, who had been a MLB darling for a decade, fell under the Mitchell Report bus and he thrown there by Brian McNamee. Clemens and Bonds were both accused of illegally enhancing their performance in their sport by taking HGH. Sure, signs can point to it, people can say what they want, but I used to think it was all about hard, physical evidence that can be proven. Lance Armstrong was embraced as an American hero after accusations were cast against him, leaving me to wonder why? Just because he battled back from cancer means his reputation and integrity should stay in tact while Bonds and Clemens are left to take every bullet from every angle? That's not right and most of you know it. In another article written by Millard Baker, it shows how the syringes and gauz turned in by McNamee (Clemens' trainer) had been kept by the trainer for seven years. SEVEN. He poses the question, what motives would the trainer have, if Clemens did take steroids, in keeping those materials for that long? At the end of the article, Baker states that this case could be similar to the Lance Armstrong urine sample case, that shows a positive EPO test could not be used against Armstrong because they had not properly followed procedures in testing the samples, which were five years old.

Needless to say, this whole situation has me in an outrage and something needs to be done. People are so quick to accuse and sentence innocent people before anything can be proven. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a cleaner game of baseball and drug testing, even though some of the Hall of Fame greats used their own form of performance-enhancers, whether it would be spit on the ball to give it more curve or tar on the brim on the hat that could be rubbed on the ball for different effects. Hall of Famers have publicly come out and admitted doing it, but not a soul has made a claim to have them removed because their numbers were tainted, much like the players of today. Journalists claim this country is a forgiving nation and that if Clemens and Bonds would come clean, the U.S. would eventually forgive them. Well this country is also a judging nation, sticking their nose in business that they have no idea about. How is it two great baseball players can have their reputation assassinated while a cyclist accused of practically the same thing can earn his wings before he even makes it to heaven?

There is no justice anymore in this country and people want to be on every body's side. Individuals can't cope with being wrong, so when a majority of people jump on one side of an issue, the rest of these low-life hethons jump on that side as well without knowing any of the facts. And that is the problem we have here concerning two of the greatest players in the history of the MLB. The MLB went through a strike shortened season in 1994 and was in jeopardy of losing the game. But stars like Bonds and Clemens, pitched and batted the MLB back into the national spotlight and this is what they get in terms of defense from Bud Selig (MLB Commissioner). Let me say this American public, please, please keep your mouth shut until you hear definitive evidence and clear cut test results that can place steroids in these guys' bodies. If this is the way it is going to continue, so many more great players are going to fall into the pit, whether they did it or not. Whether it is guys trying to increase sales on their books (Canseco and Radomski) or trainers looking to make a name for themselves (McNamee), it will continue to snowball into an annual witchhunt. So please, take off the halo from Armstrong's head. While I commend everything he has done, how do I know he has done it clean? Just like how do I know Bonds and Clemens have done everything clean? That's just it...I don't, and neither do you.

Get Consistent NFL

2009-01-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend in the Steelers-Ravens AFC Championship game, Ryan Clark (safety for the Steelers) laid out a hit on Baltimore running back Willis McGahee that sent him to the hospital with head and neck injuries. The blow was a helmet-to-helmet hit after McGahee made the catch in the fourth quarter. The hit jarred McGahee's head backwards, snapping his neck violently. Here is the hit below:

Well while watching ESPN this afternoon, I noticed on the bottom line where they list the stats and news of the day, that Clark was not going to be fined for the hit on McGahee. Now in a statement issued by a league spokesman, they said that, "[McGahee] had completed the catch and was a runner. Helmet-to-helmet contact is legal in that situation as it is for any ball carrier (running back, quarterback, or receiver). Helmet-to-helmet contact is prohibited against defenseless players (defined as a receiver in the process of making a catch or a quarterback in the act of passing)." I confirmed it by reading this article.

This all makes perfect sense to me, except for the question of, when the hell did ANY helmet-to-helmet contact become legal? Now, I played my fair share of contact football during high school and I played defensive tackle. We were taught that the proper way to tackle was to lower your shoulder and drive your head across their body, driving your shoulder through them, not lowering your head and leading forward with it. In the video, it is difficult to see whether he makes shoulder or helmet contact first, but the fourth replay or so gives a definitive view that the helmet contact happens first, snapping McGahee's head back. Now, I want to compare this to a hit on Arizona Cardinal's Anquan Boldin earlier in the year against the New York Jets, video below.

Now, this helmet-to-helmet hit falls under the defenseless player rule and probably should have resulted in a fine, which it did. The safety, Eric Smith, was fined $50,000 and the hit broke Boldin's jaw and several face bones. But take a closer look at the video. As Boldin goes up for the catch, he is contacted in the back by the corner back on the left, pushing his entire body downward towards Smith, who then contacts him helmet-to-helmet. Nowhere during the discussion of this hit was it viewed as incidental and it still has me mad 3 months later.

I know the NFL must crack down on helmet-to-helmet hits to prevent major injury, but when they decide to not fine a player for a hit that has much the same effect as another that did get fined, leaves me upset and scratching my head. Commissioner Roger Goodell has set his stance as a hardball commissioner, but this one leaves me baffled. Whether or not the hit can deemed "dirty", it still falls under the realms of helmet-to-helmet. I know football is a contact sport and I love big hits, but when you set a precedent by fining or suspending a player in some form and then let it slide for another, it seems unfair and/or playing favorites. Let the debate begin if Clark's hit warranted a fine, but according to me, his hit left me wanting more in the form of a fine coming from the league office.

Guily Until Proven Innocent?

2009-01-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

The title of this statement has been the way I have felt regarding the way athletes are treated in this country. My prime example came after reading this blog, written by one of my favorite ESPN analyzers, Buster Olney. The whole situation with steroids in sports has left me with mixed feelings and will more than likely result in a longer rant in the future. The problem I have with the whole Roger Clemens situation is that many are saying that when he comes up on the ballot for the Hall of Fame in a few years, that he will never get voted in because of his suspicion in using steroids and HGH. Now, while his former trainer and one other man have come forward, saying they have sold and injected steroids for Clemens, nobody has yet to PROVE any of this. There have been no positive tests, the syringes that McNamee (his former trainer) provided have yet to be tested positive with Clemens DNA and any of the stories fabricated against Clemens have yet to be proven true. Now, there is a problem I have when people begin to sentence you before you have been proven guilty. Since growing up, I have been taught that in this country, you are innocent until proven guilty, which is no longer the case. Clemens has never tested positive, much like Barry Bonds, but both are being placed in the public jailhouse because people "suspect" they did it. Listen people, don't pass judgement until something clear cut has been presented. Clemens had perhaps the most dominating career of any pitcher in the history of baseball, a sure lock for Cooperstown. But because the voters and pundits everywhere assume he did it, Clemens has to fight for his innocence, despite never being found guilty. Like I said, i have major problems with this and it will come up again in future blogs...soon to come, comparing the witchhunt for Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds to the sainthood for Lance Armstrong, accused of doing the same thing, with much different results and acceptance from the American public.

Anymore, you are guilty until proven innocent and there is nothing anyone can say to make me believe elsewise.

Just When We Thought We Were Safe...

2009-01-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

I know our assignment only had us do one article, but I plan on finding one article per day because let's face it, it's Kearney on a Saturday night and I don't feel like getting MIP'ed. Anyways, while looking at the website for the Omaha World Herald, the paper from my hometown, I came across this article about a nationwide recall of peanut butter products. Now I am a man who enjoys his food, with enjoy being an understatement. I always trusted the meals I was digesting to be safe and the one area in life I could be faithful in. Each day I read about e-coli this and salmonella that. Why is it that we can't go a decade, at the least, without recalling foods that make up a part of my daily diet? I feel really bad that the salmonella in the peanut butter has caused the death of 6 people, but what a way to go. One minute you're enjoying a PB & J sandwich and the next minute you're six feet under. There are fears that I have that I can overcome, such as heights and flying, but please, oh please don't add food to that list. Just make sure before you open up that next box of Peanut Butter Crunch or Ritz crackers, that you properly check your food. Lord knows we don't want our last meal to be a peanut butter cookie, that might have been mediocre at best...

Field of Dreams = Beer Pong Table?

2009-01-16T18:36:00.000-08:00

Coming to college, I was introduced very quickly to the party scene, however, I did not and still do not drink. So while at parties, one must find a way to pass the time and I discovered the game of beer pong. While scowering my favorite site, ESPN.com, I came across this article authored by columnist Rick Reilly, another of my favorites. Needless to say, I was astonished that this simple college game, where champions are made one cup at a time, is starting to become what poker became just a few years ago. How many of you knew there was a World Series of Beer Pong? Not just that, how many knew that the champion of this winner-take-all tourney would capture a grand prize of $50,000? Now, I'm all for new sports to cover as we head into this new generation, but perhaps we're stretching a bit too far with the inception of beer pong. Maybe I'm just in the wrong profession, where some middle-aged guy who can sink ping pong balls into tiny plastic cups can make more than I will in a year coming out of college. Also, it's possible the movie "Dodgeball" wasn't too far off when they created ESPN 8: The Ocho for all that is obscure sports. I guess dreams can come true...one tiny, white ball at a time.

Hello World

2009-01-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hey all, I have just set up this blog to give you a further, in-depth look at my thoughts, my opinions and quite possibly some humor, as I see fit. For more information about what means the most to me, check out my fraternity's website or my spot for all that is sports.