Failure At Parenting

Former NFL player Brian Holloway (no, not the former Ohio Bible quizzer) won't forget Labor Day 2013 any time soon. While he was at his home in Florida, 300 teens decided to break into his vacation home in upstate NY and party. Before the police could break up the party, over $20,000 in damage was done to the home.

It was bad enough that the teens nearly destroyed the house, most of the also posted pictures of themselves on social media sites while doing it. That's where Mr. Holloway became proactive. Armed with the social media evidence, he began to identify the teens and post their names along with the pictures they took. All that evidence is going to the Sheriff's department.

Here's the kicker. Several of the parents of the teens have threatened him. They're angered that he posted the pictures. Excuse me, didn't the kids post them first? I know if I had done anything like that, I would have been a senior citizen before I could sit down again.

He tried to be nice and posted an invitation to all the teens to come help him clean up. Zero showed up. However, six teens that weren't involved did. Perhaps there's some hope for the future generation.

You can read the full story here http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/23754594/teens-trash-home-of-exnfl-player-teens-parents-threaten-player

Kickalicious

An amateur rugby player put out a YouTube video of his trick kicking. This video lead to a contract by the Detroit Lions. Too cool.

Let The Madness Begin

Yesterday, The brackets came out for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Ohio State & Pittsburgh are in the West bracket. Duke & New Mexico State are in the Mid-West bracket. Michigan & UCLA are in the South bracket. UNLV & Colorado are in the East bracket. I'll bet the selection committee got a big, fat F in geography while in school.

Not Safe To Be A Buckeyes Fan Outside Of Ohio?

Being a big Ohio State Buckeyes fan, this article on Yahoo caught my eye. An elderly couple were pulled over in Tennessee because they had a buckeye leaf sticker (like the ones the Ohio State players wear on their helmets) on their back bumper. The police thought it was a marijuana leaf. They obviously were rusty on the 4th amendment and botany. You can read the full story here. BTW, while we were parking cars at the county fair, I spotted something that looked like a pot plant and called a deputy over. He took one look and assured me that it wasn't one.He said a pot plant has seven leaves, that only has five. It turned out to be mint.

OSU Halftime against Nebraska

on Saturday, OSU (GO BUCKS!) pasted Nebraska 63-38. The halftime show was phenomenal. Here it is via YouTube:

The NFL didn't want another black eye like the last Monday night game. The regular refs are back and the replacements are gone.

An Update to an Earlier Post

On October 31, 2009, I did a post about scary stuff. Actually they were about sports uniforms that were frightening. Here's a new one for the list. The 1979 Tampa Bay Rays.


Wait a minute. The Rays weren't around in 1979. They came into the league in 1998. How can there be a uniform for a team that didn't exist? I'll explain. The Rays annually have a turn-back-the-clock-night. In the past, they've worn their original, expansion team uniforms. Other times, they wore the uniforms of nearby minor league teams. This is sort of a mix between the '79 Padres and the '78 Mariners. I hope they are giving out sunglasses with each paid admission. BTW- They're only wearing these for one game, June 30, 2012 against the Detroit Tigers.

A Fine Mother's Day Gift, Indeed!

Yesterday, was Mother's Day. I hope all of those who are mothers had a wonderful day. I heard a story about one mother who did not have a good time on Mother's Day.

In 1936, Bob Feller was pitching for the Cleveland Indians. It was Mother's Day, and his mother was in attendance at Comisky Park in Chicago (the Feller's were from Iowa). During that game, one of the White Sox batters, 3rd baseman Marv Owen, hit a foul ball off of Feller. The ball hit Mrs. Feller in the face.She spent the next two weeks in the hospital with cuts & bruises on her face along with two black eyes.

When she was discharged from the hospital, an apologetic Owen reported said to Feller "Gee, Bob, Now she looks as purty as you do".

Talk about adding insult to injury.

Amazing Quarterback Video

I saw the most amazing video on Sports Illustrated the other night. This guy can do things with the football, that if I hadn't seen the video myself, I never would have believed. This video led the Buffalo Bills to recently offer him a free agent contract, seeing that nobody had drafted him after his college career was over.

Another Prize In The Mail

Recently, Diet Mt. Dew sponsored the Fuel The Frenzy sweepstakes. During every weekend of March Madness, the gave away a prize a minute. I was the recipient of not one, not two, but three of these prizes. The first was a $50 gift card to the ESPN store. The second came today.

It's a Nerf door/cubicle basketball set. I still have one prize left to receive. They've not told me what any of the prizes were. My wife thinks it will be a hat. I'm thinking it might be a hoodie. We'll find out when it gets here.

OSU Spring Game

Saturday I, and four other friends, made the trek to Columbus to attend the OSU Srping Game. The weather wasn't what we were hoping for (chilly & damp) but we had a good time nonetheless.

Of course, you can't have college football without the marching band. In the end zone sat TBDBITL.

I didn't know until after the game that my lens had a smudge on it. If there's the least amount of sunlight (which yesterday was the least amount of sunlight), you can barely see the screen. Nevertheless, these pictures cannot be replaced, so I'll just have to live with the results.

There was some good football played. OSU's starting QB, Braxton Miller led the Scarlet Team. Back-up QB Kenny Guyton led the Gray Team. Head Coach Urban Meyer has said that all positions were up for grabs and he'll play the best players. There were guys trying to impress the coach yesterday.

The final score was 20-14 with Team Scarlet being victorious. On a cold, damp day, the announced attendance was 81,112. To compare that number, Boston College had an attendance of 275 for their Spring Game.

There were signs posted that said "NO PASS OUT". I guess no matter how excited you are at being at the game, you're not allowed to faint. Seeing that there was one of us in the party that had NEVER been to the Horseshoe, He had a hard time obeying the signs.

I sent this pic to NinjaJohn. I added the tag "I couldn't find Butthead Hall". He sent the message back "LOLZ, but the didn't spell Beavis right".

At dinner, I amazed the guys by balancing my silverware several times. I told them this drives my wife crazy.

One Man's Trash Is This Man's Treasure

You never know what you might find sitting out to be picked up by the garbage truck. The other day, my wife spotted something across the street as we were leaving the house. The next morning, it was still there. That was a sign that I needed to go investigate it. It came to find a new home in my house. What is it, you may ask?


It is a vintage Bobby Hull tabletop hockey game.

I'm assuming that it is from 1968/69 since there is a placard from the Oakland Seals. In 1970 they were renamed the California Golden Seals. None of the players are wearing helmets, including the goalies. The last maskless goalie was Andy Brown who retired in 1974.

Nobody In Either City Knew the Heimlich Maneuver

Going into September, the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox held commanding leads in the wild card race in each division of MLB. Throughout the month of September, they were absolutely putrid. Last night, both teams choked to death.

Going into last night's game, both teams were tied in the wild card race. The Braves were up by 8 1/2 games on the Cardinals on September 6. The Red Sox lead the Rays by 9 on September 3. They both needed a win. Both lost.

The Red Sox were 76-0 after leading in the 8th inning this year. Their closer not only blew the save, but lost the game. The Rays were down 7-0 in the 5th, tie the score in the 9th, and win it it in 12th with a home run.

The Cardinals soundly thumped the Astros while The Braves were leading the Phillies in the 9th. A Braves win forces a one game play-off. The Phillies made a comeback and beat the Braves in 13 innings.

Epic historic choking.

Who would have thought?

It looked like everyone in the NFC East was firmly set at quarterback except for one team. The Eagles had just signed Michael Vick to a HUGE contract. Tony Romo is a rising star & fan favorite in Dallas. Eli Manning signed a long term, large contract after his Super Bowl win. Only the Washington Redskins, with has-been Rex Grossman and never-been John Beck, were shaky at the quarterback position. Oh, how quickly things change.

Sunday, Vick received a concussion and Romo received fractured ribs & a punctured lung. On Monday Manning as booed in his home stadium on just the ninth play. In Washington, the redskins are 2-0 and at the top of the standings.

2011 Church League Fantasy Draft

Friday night, the guys at church got together to hold the 4th annual Punt, Pass & Praise Fantasy Football draft. For the second year in a row, everyone was present. If some one isn't present, their players are picked proxy, and some one winds up with players they don't want.

During the draft, there were some funny things said:

(Upon seeing that Cleveland wasn't among the top 15 team defenses that were listed on our draft sheet) "I noticed that the Browns defense is conspicuously missing from the list" "I noticed that it is conspicuously missing from the field. Bwhaaa."

"We will finish the draft tomorrow after _____ makes his pick."

"In the time it took you to make that pick, that league over there conducted it's entire draft"

"I don't think those who brought their laptops are really researching player information. They're probably surfing porn between picks."

"(Player's name) is off the board." "Was he really even on it. Hahaha."

"Dude, you've drafted three quarterbacks. Are you rooting for an injury?"

We had a fun time. We went to Frozen Rock Ice Cream afterward. I am way too spoiled by our local ice cream shop. The portions are MUCH bigger for half the price.

Game 7 of The Stanley Cup

There is nothing more exciting than game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals (unless it is overtime in game 7). In this years Finals, the home team has won every game. Game 7 was in Vancouver . One would think that it was inevitable that the Canucks would hoist the Cup at the end of the night.

The Boston Bruins had other plans. The Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas, absolutely stood on his head in posting a 4-0 shutout of the Canucks. No other goalie in NHL history has had a shutout, on the road, in a game 7. There have only been 16 game 7 since the NHL began in the early 1900's. Thomas also set a record for the most saves during the playoffs. This record was set in 1942. He also won the Conn Smyth Trophy (Finals MVP). He is the first American born goalie to do so. Only one other American has won this trophy, Brian Leetch, Defenseman of the NY Rangers.

Boston is also one the second team ever in sports history (that' ALL of sports) to win three game 7s in a single playoff. The beat the Canadians in 7 in the first round. They beat Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Finals in 7. They then beat the Canucks in in the Stanley Cup finals in 7.

Boston won their first Cup since 1972.

Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated

Thank You Dallas Mavericks!

Ever since last summer, when a certain unnamed player took his talents to South Beach, I have been rooting against the Miami Heat. My favorite team was whoever was playing the Heat.

When the playoffs started, Miami was the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They first played the Philadelphia 76ers and won that series. Then they played The Boston Celtics and won that series too. They then had to play #1 seed Chicago Bulls. Again they won and off to the NBA Finals.

They played the Dallas Mavericks in The Finals. I like The Mavericks. Many people have a problem with their owner, Mark Cuban. He is vocal. He is a supporter of his players. He wants to win. He is a fan, not just an owner hoping to make a buck.

The Mavericks were the underdog. Everyone expected Miami to sweep. Miami was destined to win the Championship because they now had three superstars on their roster. All they had to do was throw their jocks out on the court to win. If any team had a sense of entitlement, it was the Heat.

Dallas beat the Heat in six games to win the NBA Finals. They were, by far, the better team. They have been through some difficult times in the playoffs. They came back from large deficits in each series. There were some long time veterans on that team that have never been on a championship team. MVP Dirk Nowiski won his first ring.In fact, everybody on this team won their first ring. He could have whined and left for greener pastures because he had no superstar help like the above mentioned player who will not be named. He stuck with his team and was rewarded with the Championship.


picture courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

So Long Tress

Today, Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel resigned. The man was a great coach. If you put any big time school under the microscope the OSU has been under, you will find NCAA violations.




I, for one, will miss him.

Fodder For Conspiracy Theorist

Last summer, The Cleveland Cavilers lost mega star MeBron James (yes, I spelled it correctly). Yesterday, the NBA held its draft lottery. Each teams has ping pong balls in a hopper like you see in a state lottery drawing. The more losses you have, the more balls in the hopper.

Cleveland wound up with the first overall pick, although the Minnesota Timberwolves had the best shot at it. The ball chosen was the one received from the LA Clippers in a mid-season trade for Mo Williams. This ball had a 2.8% chance of being picked. The last time Cleveland had the first pick was in 2003 when they picked the above mentioned Mebron James. Cleveland also wound up with the #4 pick with their own selection.

Many people think the NBA draft lottery is fixed. The Timberwolves have been in the lottery 15 times. They have never wound up with the 1st pick.

Cleveland has a chance to draft two of the top four college basketball players. Hopefully this will jump start the woeful Cavilers.

Spring Has Sprung

Thursday I picked "The Boy" up from school. I had a surprise waiting for him. He came out of the building, and his eyes got real big when he saw the bikes in the back of my truck. "Cool", he shouted, "Were going biking". I had promised him that when the weather was warmer an the weather nice, I would take him to the nearby bike trail. It was sunny & 68. Our bike trail used to be railroad tracks. It is nestled between rolling hills and a small river.

Although it looks barren in these pictures, there was proof of Spring all around us.

Here is a picture of "The Boy" at a bridge that was about 1 1/2 miles up the trail.

From this vantage point, you could see how high the flood waters were earlier this year. We were under flood warnings quite a bit. If you can look closely at the next picture, you will see leaves, grass & other vegetation in the upper parts of the trees on the banks of the river below us. From my estimation, the water was only about 5 feet below the bottom of the bridge. It's about 20-25 feet from the bottom of the bridge and the water currently.

Looking at this picture, I would estimate that the water was near the top block in the center support beam. That's a lot of water.

We rode up the trail for about 2 1/4 miles and "The Boy wanted to go even further. He wanted to venture to the next town, which is a college town about another 4 1/2 miles up. I looked at my watch and told him we need to get back because it was near 5 o'clock and supper would be soon. He sighed and reluctantly headed back down the trail for the truck.

I can count the number of times I have ridden on a bike in the last five years on both hands. 4 1/2 miles did a number on my seat. What added insult to injury was Friday at work, the job I did required me to sit 6 1/2 hours.