Goodbye 2009!

Here is to 2010, hopefully it will be a better year. 2009 wasn't a very good year for me. I had a couple of personal issues to deal with, another rib injury, a bout with the Swine Flu, car problems and I could go on and on.

On the writing side things went pretty good. I moved up to clout 9 on Associated Content. I started writing a little on Bukisa. I was also named as a Business and Finance Contributor on Associated Content. Not bad stuff at all...

I also became very involved with a non-profit group called Hope Alive. It is a transitional shelter for woman and children in Frederick County, Maryland. The experience has kept me both busy and has been very rewarding. I plan to be even more involved with them in 2010.

I hope to ski more in 2010. A lot of 2010 is up in the air as I have decisions to make. However, I hope to have more positives in 2010 than I had in 2009.

Football Wrap Up

Ironic as always my Fantasy Football team had the biggest win of the week. They would have beat any of the other teams by a good margin. That is all great except it is a week to late. Losing last week means I play the final week coming up only for fifth place. Even though I did better this regular season than last I will not finish 3rd like I did last year. Oh well! Those are the breaks.

The bowls are wrapping up, which means my final college rankings will be coming out soon. I should have it up shortly after the National Championship Game. Already teams are getting knocked out of the rankings and some are working their way in. It should be fun to see where the pieces fall.

I submitted 3 articles today. Two are pending review so I am not sure when they will be published. Oh well I will keep you posted...

Reached a milepost

I haven't pimped an article in a while here. Don't worry I am not going to pimp one today. Those of you who read my articles, I thank you. I moved up to clout 9 today on associate Content. It is a nice accomplishment and it does mean a few more pennies for me.

I'm not complaining. My writing has a long way to go before I can give up the day job. I know that and you know that. On the other hand it does provide enough to buy something extra or to pay a bill for a month. It is a real way to make some money on the Internet and is something which is not a scam.

I've accomplished a few things with my writing. Hopefully, I will accomplish a few more. Hopefully, I will write something which interests you.

Skiing Again

The good news is I'm skiing again. I went skiing today. The snow was pretty good, tin in some spots. We have had a lot of rain the last few days which has washed away much of the natural snow. It was nice to get back on the slopes and race again. It was nice to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen since March and some I haven't seen since July. Friends make it a little bit more fun. I also got my first crash of the season out of the way. So, I am a little banged up but I will brush it off and be back on the slopes soon.

George Michael Died on Christmas Eve

No, not the singer from Wham! George Michael was a local sportscaster in the Washington, DC area for years. He was known nationally for his Sportsmachine show. He was one of the greatest sportscasters in the Washington area. The Sportsmachine was a highlight, sports entertainment show. The shows heyday was pre-ESPN. George Michael would have the best highlights from the big sports and the smaller sports. He would throw in car race wrecks, rodeo high lights, you name it he found the spots viewers wanted to watch. He would also do features on athletes, things that have gone by the wayside now. Now we live in an era of highlights on demand on ESPN Sportcenter or FSN. However, they all can say thank you to George for what he did. George Michael died at the age of 70 from cancer. A sad day to go on Christmas Eve but we can celebrate what he did as sports fans.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. I hope you were able to spend it with friends, family and love ones. If you have plenty, I hope you thought about the ones who don't. I hope the thoughts of the homeless, the hungry passed through your mind. I also hope you remember the fire fighters, the police, and the military who might not have been home due to duty. I hope you remembered their families. If your Christian I hope you reflected on the true meaning of Christmas. If your religion is something different I wish you the best for your winter holiday, your love ones and I hope you were able to think about the ones mentioned above. Blessings to all..

Any Given Sunday..

Just like any football teams, fantasy football teams, like high school, college, or pro teams can fall to lower teams. My team was the top seed in the league. In the first week of the playoffs, my team fell to the 8th seed. It was close, but a loss is still a loss..bummer. Oh, well I can go for 5th place.

Well I submitted my interview, I also submitted a cd review. Now, I am waiting. Wow, it has been a week. Patience is a virtue I know. I just would like a decision, yes or no. Or maybe it needs this or that. Something..anyone. Instead I wait, like an impatient child waits to open their Christmas gifts.

Oh well I did get a lot of writing done last week...

Snow!

We have well over a foot of snow on the ground and it is still coming down. Not only is it the biggest December snow fall ever around..it may be closer to two feet.

My daughter said the understatement of the day "Daddy there is snow" ..really, I would have never thought that. Hee, hee...oh well we were able to get groceries..water, toilet paper, and milk. There was a limit on the milk yesterday, you could only buy two. I only needed one.

It should be interesting to see how much snow we end up with..

Ready for Some Country

Well I have broken out of my writer's block and I have written a lot of articles this week. I really want to finish out the month strong and close out 2009 on a good note writing wise. Things are going well write now in my writing world and I would like to keep that momentum!

Lately, I have been writing a bunch about country music. Mostly because those were the assignments available. On Associated Content I mostly write assignments.

The first one was "10 Must Have Country Albums" and I put down some of my favorite legends of country music. Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Loretta Lynn and more. Then from legends I went to 2009.

I wrote one about the top country albums of 2009 and one about top country songs of 2009. A lot of different artists were included from Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift just to name a few. It was fun to write a little about country!

Will have more published soon so stay tuned...

Did my first interview!

I interview the artist I mentioned on Monday's blog. I will give more information when it is published. It was fun and he was a great guy to interview. I had been struggling to write of late. I appear to be getting out of that funk. I sent out the interview and I completed two more articles today.

I know it is supposed to be a vacation. However, I had a meeting on Tuesday and tomorrow. I was supposed to have a dinner to go to today but it was cancelled closed to the last minute. Plus my parents came up. So, it isn't like I was going anywhere for the week. Oh well, it is use it or lose it time. So, I might as well use it and get some writing done.

Well that was a quick update. More to come soon...

Things are looking up!

Things are looking up! Well at least in my writing world. I have my first ever interview scheduled for this week. I am excited about this because it is with a local musician who has won a Grammy award.

I would be writing more but I have been suffering with a bad case of writer's block. Hopefully, I will break out of that soon. I have a bunch of new articles on tap. I am also re-working a website which will be about my writing.

There are also some small things there and if they work out that will be great!

Well this is just a quick update!

First Snow

We had are first snow storm of the winter today. We got 2-4 inches where it got past the trees.
Not a big storm but definitely measurable and it does count. I was thinking it wouldn't get cold enough for it to stick until tonight, however I was wrong.

It is a pretty snow and happened on a day I didn't have to go anywhere. It is getting close to the Holidays so hopefully it will put people in the holiday mood. My stepson was supposed to march in a parade today. However, that parade was cancelled so my wife got to sleep in, he got to play on the computer, and I got to snuggle with my daughter. It's pretty cool she likes to watch football with me so I can't complain.

Weekly Football Update

Wow, the New Orleans Saints showed they were for real last night on Monday Night Football. My fantasy football team rallied back to win their match up. I had four players involved in Monday Night Football. Drew Brees and Colston won it for me. The New England defense and Tom Brady didn't help me. However, most weeks they do so I won't complain a win is a win. I am now 9-3 and in first place all by myself. However, this week I have a match up with the #2 team which beat me in week two.

Down a level in college football there are some very important games this week. The Obvious is Saturdays SEC Championship between the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide in Atlanta. The winner of this match up most likely will play in the National Championship Game. Thursday's match up between Oregon and Oregon State is important as well. The winner will play Ohio State in the Rose Ball. See all the big game match ups and my latest rankings here.

More to come so stay tuned...

Can't ski yet..

It is the 29th of November and it got up to 70 degrees that isn't good for the prospects of an early ski season. Ski resorts around here and as far away as New York have pushed their opening days back. It looks like the end of this week, some ski areas should be able to make some snow. However, I don't see much being opened before the second week in December..at least in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Oh well, I have been pretty busy with writing, work, the other organizations I am involved in, and family so I guess I haven't missed to much time on the slopes. I really didn't get out on the slopes as much as I wanted to last season so I kind of want to make up for it this season.

Well I will keep everyone posted..

Turkey Day Football

Ok, I published my thankful thanksgiving post in the wee hours..which blogger.com still called Wednesday. I've been writing about serious matters in this blog for the last week about the homeless.


So it is time to talk about something else to change it up. Are you ready for some Turkey Day Football? The NFL is going to offer you three games for your gridiron feast. The first game is Green Bay at Detroit. The Packers are 6-4 and fighting for a playoff spot. The Lions are 2-8.



Second game features the Oakland Raiders at the Dallas Cowboys. The Raiders are 3-7 and the Cowboys are 7-3. The Cowboys are fighting to win a division title.



The third game features two 6-4 teams. The New York Giants meet the Denver Broncos. Denver has been sliding with 4 straight losses in a row.



A more in depth preview can be found here. I just needed to update the records since it was written 20 days ago.



There are college games too!

Texas at Texas A&M today.



On Friday there are a ton of games. Like Alabama-Auburn, Illinois at Cincinnati's, and Pitt at West Virginia.

Check my rankings for my rankings and full schedule here.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on what you are thankful for and sometimes it is easier to find than others.

I am thankful for the opportunity to help with Hope Alive. I am glad we are able to help all of the woman and children which we do help. I am thankful for the positive people I have met through Hope Alive.

I am thankful I am not homeless. I am humble enough to know I don't have much. I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. I am aware I am only a few steps away from being homeless.

I am thankful I have food to eat and so does my family. I am thankful I am able to help people through SHARE. I am thankful for the people I have met through SHARE.

I am thankful for my daughter. I am thankful she is healthy and beautiful. I am thankful for her mother, who helped create this beautiful child with me. I am thankful for the blessing to have such a beautiful child.

I am thankful for my stepson. I am thankful he is bright. I am thankful he is healthy (for the most part). I hope I have helped him, I have tried. I wish it was easier. I am thankful he likes to read. I am thankful he was able to win a writing award for being a gifted writer. I am thankful for the positive things we have heard about him. I am thankful that we have the future. We have a chance to unlock horns and improve are relationship. I am thankful he has a dad. I am glad he able to do things with his dad, just like I am thankful for the times I have been able to do things with him. I am thankful he was able to have a great birthday. I am thankful for his mom, since she is my wife as well. I am thankful he likes music. I am thankful he gets to travel. I am glad he is having a better school year so far. I am thankful he is able to take the gifted classes he takes.

I am thankful for the people who have helped us. I am thankful for the people I have helped. I am thankful for the little words of advice which mean a whole lot. I am thankful for the things I take for granted everyday. I am thankful for the things I never have said thanks for, or at least not to the right person.

Abe Pollin Dead at 85

Abe Pollin, the man behind the old Capital Centre and the new Verizon Center is dead at 85. He was the long time owner of the Washington Capitals, through the 1999 season. He was the owner of the Washington Wizards(formally of the Bullets). He was also the owner of Washington/Baltimore Ticketmaster. (I won't hold that against him)

Abe Pollin wasn't afraid to make bold moves. In basketball he changed his teams name from the Bullets to the Wizards due to the conotation of violence in a city with a high crime rate. Abe had the guts to fire Michael Jordan. He appeared to have Washington's best interest in mind in most of his decisions.

The Verizon Center did revitalize part of Washington DC. Both the Verizon Center and the Capital Center have played important roles in the sports and entertainmnet history of Washington DC>

How do you end the homeless problem?

I went to a workshop tonight in Frederick on helping the homeless. I know homelessness is not confined to Frederick. I know it is in Hagerstown, from volunteering at the cold weather shelter. I have seen the homeless in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. I am pretty sure it happens where you live.

It is National Homeless Awareness Week, that is why my last two blogs have been spent on this topic. It is an important topic and you and I are only a few small steps of being homeless.

There were people from social services, churches and organizations trying to solve the homeless problem. The question I have is how to we end homelessness?

It is more of a question to reflect on, there isn't a simple answer. Well, there is house them. Simple, short answer until you get the how questions, the where questions and so on. Hopefully we will find an answer.

Busy Thursday

Tuesday was busy with work and two meetings to follow. Thursday will be the same kind of day. Work, followed by a board meeting, followed by a meeting.

Oh, well it will be one day closer to the weekend. The second meeting is about helping to solve homelessness in Frederick, Maryland. I'm aware of the problem and am trying to be part of the solution. Volunteering for Hope Alive is part of the solution. Going to see a wonderful concert by the California Guitar Trio for another organization is part of it. However, there is so much more to be done.

In the past I have also volunteered for the REACH Cold Weather Shelter in Hagerstown, Maryland. Homelessness is everywhere. We all need to work for solution.

Weekly Football Update

My Fantasy Football needed Monday's game to win. My team won and beat the commissioner's team. My team is still in first place after the humbling loss last week. That team that beat me is back to .500 and won big again this week so they are on a roll.

In the college ranks, I ranked Temple. They have won 8 straight. Yes they did lose to a Division 2 team(or whatever they call that division) and they lost to Penn State. However, they did beat a decent Navy team (which beat Notre Dame the following week) and are in first place in their conference. Falling out of my rankings were Houston and USC. Check out all of my rankings here.

I published two more articles yesterday. I have two more articles which are pending. So far I have 12 articles published this month. I plan on writing at least three more articles. It is going to be a busy week as I have a couple of meetings as well. A free lance gig I was excited about a while back which had grown cold is warming up again. So the future looks pretty bright.

Featured Business & Finance Contributer

I was named a "featured business and finance contributer" at Associated Content. It is a nice recognition and has some perks to it. Needless to say I will be writing more articles related to business and finance in he near future.

Since, I joined Associated Content I have published a few articles in business and finance category.

My most recent one was published this month. It was "Five Ways to Save Money on Business Travel." Sharing was part of a few of those ways. Such as sharing car rentals and hotel rooms.

In September of 2007 I wrote about the hard times the mortgage industry was having in Maryland. The article is just over two years old, however the mortgage industry in Maryland is still suffering. You can read the article here.

I wrote an article on Kiva back in 2007. A friend of mine was involved in lending monety to Kiva and I signed up and started loaning to people through Kiva as well. The title is a mouth full but you can read it here.

Also in late August of 2007 I took a stab at The Healthcare Problem of Fraud. It is still a problem today and has been for sometime. Today people are really looking at health Care and ways they can lower health care costs. One sure method way would be to reduce health care fraud.

I hope you enjoy those articles and more articles will be on the way soon.

Grizzly Bears!

Lately, I have been stretching out in my writing away from sports. Don't worry I still plan to write about sports. Just branching out a bit. I have blogged about my recent shark articles and my recent dinosaur articles.

Well staying in the animal kingdom I wrote an article on grizzly bears. The article is here.

Dinosaurs, sharks, bears and other animals were things that interested me as a boy, growing up. So, it is kind of neat as an adult to reconnect interests, kind of reconnecting with the boy inside the man. The boy who knew all about the dinosaurs, the boy who drew all the fishes, the boy who played with the snakes and gators. The boy was a pretty interesting kid...

The day the music died..

A friend of mine hooked me up with free tickets to see Roger Daltrey of the Who in concert at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. I thought I was off the hook for my anniversary which was the next day. However, the concert was cancelled! Just my luck...

Well we had the babysitter lined up so we had an enjoyable evening out watching a movie. The next day on our actual anniversary we decided to go see a reggae band playing in Washington, DC. We drove down to the Metro station. We walked in the cold rain down to the club. The club was completely empty. The band had cancelled. The combination of it being a weeknight and the rain had kept everyone away. So, my wife and I listened to some club remixes spun my the DJ and had a drink at the club. It was strange being the only people in the club who did not work there.

Lucjk at going to see live music was not with me this week. Very strange to shows I was planning to go to were cancelled. Oh well, I did get to say I emptied the club out for us on our anniversary.

Monday Football!

My fantasy football team was doing poorly yesterday. I probably lost this week but I think I should still be in first place or close to it. Oh well it happens, it was just a team that on paper I should of won easily. However, like real football on any given Sunday anything can happen...

Well talking about the NFL, I did some early predictions for Thanksgiving Day NFL football, you can check out my predictions here.

Also my college football rankings are out for this week. You can see the rankings here. There were a bunch of upsets including Iowa, Oregon, Notre Dame and Penn State so the rankings were shook up a bit.

I wrote 5 articles last week and I am up to 8 for the month. I will probably have 4 more this week, so a lot to blog about.

A Pretty Good Day

The weather was seasonable and the sky was blue. I sent most of the morning playing with my daughter and watching youtube videos with her. Then I took a nap with her and took her out for lunch. Then I went to a very nice dinner with my wife. I had the surf and turf and it was delicious, Salmon and Fillet Mignon.

Then when I came home a friend of mine had called and he had a air of concert tickets from somebody he couldn't use. Lucky me for a change! So, like I said a pretty good day for me!

It has been a busy week. A dinner and two meetings last week. Plus work! However, I was able to publish 5 articles this week, though one isn't showing as of yet. I also have a couple of articles I have signed up for, so that will mean more on the way. Of course I will be plugging some of those articles on here soon!

Congrats to The Yankees!

Congratulations to the New York Yankees for winning the World Series. The Yankees are the 2009 Major League Baseball Champions and are without question the best team in baseball.
The New York Yankees had the best record in baseball

The New York Yankees swept the Minnesota Twins and went on to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games. Then the New York Yankees beat the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies in six games in the World Series. The Yankees beat the best of the best to prove the Yankees were the best team in baseball.

November Album Releases!

One of the article I wrote was about upcoming album (CD) releases. You can read the article here. I guess I could have mentioned the upcoming Carrie Underwood album but I didn't.

I focused on Them Crooked Vultures, the CD I am most looking forward too! I will probably buy it on the 17th. It features Dave Grohl, from the Foo Fighters, on drums (what he used to play in Nirvana). It also features legendary Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age on vocals and guitars.

Dave Grohl is busy as his band, The Foo Fighters release their Greatest Hits collection this month.

The popular bands such as Bon Jovi and John Mayer also get mentioned in my article. I also mention the seasonal release by Tori Amos.

Some great new music is headed out this month!

Dinosaurs

Last month (last week) I wrote a couple of articles about sharks! Now that is November, I have written a couple of articles about Dinosaurs!

I actually I had a busy weekend writing quite a few articles. We also had a Halloween party to go to, and surprise visitors. Needless to say my weekend was very busy. Of course I was able to come up with My Rankings for this week. No big surprises on the top, the bottom teams have been rearranged. Two more articles besides the dinosaurs were published since my last blog, however will hold back on them.

Dinosaurs!
The first article about dinosaurs was about the Spinosaurus. The Spinosaurus is a large, carnivorous dinosaur which was actually bigger than T-Rex (the dinosaur not the band).

The second article about dinosaurs was about the Diplodocus. Diplodocus was one of the larger plant eating dinosaurs. I guess I kept my writing balanced, one big meat eater and one big vegetarian.

Sports

Well the World Series starts on Wednesday. It features the New York Yankees against the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies. It should be great series. I didn't get around to writing a preview of the Philadelphia Phillies, however I did write a preview of the New York Yankees which you can read here.

In college football I mixed up the rankings once again this week. You can view the new rankings here. It is a great time of year for college footbal since their are great conference match up games and rivalry games. Boise State and TCU look like they are getting ready to give their best efforts to break into the BCS bowls.

My Fantasy Football Team had another blowout win. A lot of my success is that I have been able to fill in for injuries and prepare for bye weeks. However, next week looks like I will be down one quarterback and a running back. It still looks like my team should win, however it will be closer than the last two weeks.

Sharks!

I have just published two more articles on sharks! Moving away from normal sports writing. The two sharks I wrote about were quite different. The first shark I wrote about was the False Catshark. This shark lives in the deep water. The shark grows to about 8-9 feet and has over 200 rows of teeth. This shark is not considered a threat to humans.

The second shark, I wrote about was the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark. This shark is small growing between 2.5 to 3 feet long. However, this shark is considered a threat to humans since it lives in coastal waters.

They were a little rushed since I came down with Bronchitis this weekend. So, I spent most of the evening in a clinic and a pharmacy. Oh well, I have a few more articles on the way. I will talk sports later in the week.

The weekend is here, are you ready for some football?

Thought I would plug my rankings for this week. This week I have a new number one, which is Alabama. Why? Simply put Florida has not paid like a number one team. They won ugly against Arkansas with some help from the zebras.

Well here is my rankings for this week. they are a lot different from the rankings the week before. A lot of this was due to the weekly upsets. Virginia Tech lost, Ohio State lost, Nebraska lost and Kansas lost. Also I had South Florida ranked higher than Cincinnati. The other polls had it right, and I was wrong. I can admit it, but that is some of the fun of having your own rankings.

TCU at BYU, South Florida at Pittsburgh, and Oregon State at USC highlight this weeks football action. However, I am sure there will be some surprises.

My fantasy team won big last week. Mostly since Brady and Brees had field days. I am in second place in my league at 4-2. We will see how I do this week.

A night for Hope

Tuesday night was a night of hope. It was a recognition night for the woman at Hope Alive. Hope Alive is a non-profit ministry providing shelter and so much more to homeless woman and their children. The evening brought together supporters of Hope Alive from across the region. Supporters ranged from owners of foundations, local clergy, local business leaders and concerned citizens.

Homelessness is a big problem in Frederick County, Maryland and the Nation as a whole. The shaky economy is certainly not helping. I have been fortunate to help where I can. I have volunteered with the REACH Cold Weather Shelter in Hagerstown, Maryland and I volunteer at Hope Alive. A couple of weeks ago, I was able to enjoy a night out with my wife and we saw a concert. The concert was the California Guitar Trio who performed a benefit concert for another shelter in Frederick.

More information about Hope Alive can be found at www.hopealiveministries.org.

I don't want to jinx it

I have been away from this blog because I have been laying the ground work for a new writing opportunity. I don't want to say to much about it because I am waiting to see how it pans out. The opportunity does involve live music and more exposure for my writing. But until it pans out I don't want to say to much. As the optimist I am very excited. As the realist and pessimist, I have the wait and see attitude.

If it works out I will have a bunch more to blog about. In the meantime, my normal writing activities will continue. The college football rankings (this weeks is out, and I will have a new one on Sunday or Monday) and I do have a winter beer article scheduled are the articles I have on the radar.

Well this is a quick update, I will blog more later.

Angels in The Outfield

Well I squeezed out one more preview. I was able to preview the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before their series with the Boston Red Sox starts. I won't be previewing the other teams just because they would no longer be a preview since the series has started.

The preview of the Los Angeles Angels is here.

This is a team that has had more names than Prince. The California Angels, The Anaheim Angels and currently the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I was impressed with the Angels depth in the outfield. They have Torrii Hunter, Vladimir Guerrero, Gary Mathews Jr, Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera.

The Angels are going up against the Boston Red Sox, which should be a good series. The teams have identical records. The Angels have been ousted by the Red Sox the last few years. Is this the year the Angels get past the Red Sox? We will find that answer soon.

Previews of the Yankees and Red Sox

I know most of my sports writting lately has been about football. Since summer has given way to Fall, it means the boys of sukmer will be playing the Fall Classic soon.

I'm running a little behind schedule on these. However, I have a preview of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox just in time for the playoffs.

New York Yankees here.

Boston Red Sox here.

I also have my weekly football ranking here.

Well it is late, I will post a new blog soon.

Can't hold onto Summer Forever

September is coming to an end. The leaves here are starting to change. Football is in high gear. Baseball is getting their playoffs set. The weather is getting cooler. Flues and colds are going around. Life goes on, the world keeps turning and the seasons change.

It was a good month for my writing. I wrote a lot of articles on beer and my football rankings which are doing better this year. The blog is going in full force. The question now is what will October bring?

Well there will be the weekly football rankings and I will probably snag an article or two to write about. I am working on a new writing venture, but no details yet. I have a lot of volunteer work and events lined up next month. I am also going to a concert. So, there are few things I can blog or write about.

Stick around and see what the blog has in store for Fall. If nothing else there is still some summer beer left to enjoy!

My New Rankings and Tim Tebow

With a weekend full of upsets my rankings were rearranged. First with the Old Ball Coach getting his South Carolina Gamecocks to upset Mississippi on Thursday. They continued on Saturday with Penn State getting shocked by Iowa, California getting crushed by Oregon, Stanford beating Washington, and South Florida besting Florida State.

My rankings can be found here.

Of course Tim Tebow suffered a concussion, don't worry Coach says he will play against LSU. Arguments could be made on either side for keeping Tim Tebow in the game late in the 3rd quarter against Kentucky. However, the safety and well being of the player should come first in deciding to play him against LSU. If Tim is not medically cleared he should not play. Yes the Gators might lose if Tim Tebow doesn't play in Baton Rouge. The Gators might lose if he does play. The Gators could win without Tim Tebow, though LSU likely would be favored. My point is a line needs to be drawn, a persons health now and the future, is more important than a win, a SEC Championship or a National Title.

All About Beer

This blog is for any beer drinker who stumbles across my blog. Recently, I have been writing quite a few articles on different kinds of beers. I enjoy a nice cold beer now and then. Feel free to check these articles out. If I missed your favorite let me know. I am up to trying new beers.



The first beer article I wrote was about "Top Five Mexican Beers." Corona is on my list. However Sol, Dos Equis, Negra Modelo, and more.



The second one is "My Top 10 Pale Ales" includes great Pale Ales from Troegs, Sierra Nevada, Three Floyds Brewery, Deschutes Brewing, Flying Fish Brewery, and Fordham Brewing to name a few.



The third is "My Top 10 Ales" included ales from Troegs, Samuel Adams, Samuel Smith, Fordham , Anchor, Newcastle, Deschutes, and Three Floyds.

My beer articled didn't stop there! My fourth article was "Top 10 Amber Ales" which included selections brewed by Deschutes, Troegs, Bear Republic, Cameron's, Alaskan Brewery, Full Sail Brewery, and Full sail Brewery. Some of the brewery names and beers in these articles have some pretty interesting names.

Covering beers from everywhere. My next article was on China's Top Beers. Snow Beer, Tsingtao, and Yanjing Beer are discussed.

My sixth article came back to the United States where I discussed "The Best Beers from Oregon". Deschutes, Full Sail, Widmer Brothers and Rogue are discussed.

And finally, just in time for Oktoberfest. I wrote an article called "My Top 5 Beers for Oktoberfest." Most are German here. I did include sam Adams due to its ease of availability. However, I did include Hacker-Pschorr, Paulaner, Ayinger and Wolnzacher Marzens.

Cheers! I hope you enjoy these articles.

Latest College Rankings

As my wife would say who is not an avid sports fan "let me guess there was an upset." Well, like every week there is one, or two or three. Notable upsets this year, in week one BYU over Oklahoma. In week two, the Houston Cougars over Oklahoma State was a pretty big upset.

Week three had plenty. The Washington Huskies over USC, FSU over SMU, and Oregon over Utah. Who will be weeks four upset or upsets? I don't know. If I did I would be moving to Las Vegas. Oh well, that is part of the fun of college football. Unless it is one of your favorite teams that gets upset or you are in Vegas betting on that can't lose game.

These upsets are mking it harder to come up with My College Rankings. I did them anyway, you can check them out here. Don't worry they will change again next week.

Just Peter and Paul

It has been a tragic week for celebrities with Patrick Swayze passing away and now Mary Travers passed away. Mary Travers was a member of the folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary. The group famous for Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind", Pete Seegers "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and covers of "Lemon Tree" and "If I had A Hammer." There most successfull song "Puff, the Magic Dragon" will be the song I will remember them through.

It was a song I probably wore the vinyl out on the LP. Back from the days a turntable was a way of listening not a musical instrument. She was 72, which now a days sames to be a life cut somewhat short. However it isn't 57 like Swayze. Nor, was it 27 like so many other musicians in the past. This week Cancer claimed two celebrities.

When will there be a cure? When will cancer be a forgotten disease?

Football!

Yeah! My fantasy team won their opening match up. A big part of this was Drew Brees! Also thanks to Tom Brady in the last 2:30 minutes or so of the Monday night game. Wow! What a dome back by New England against Buffalo. It looked like the Bills were going to win for sure! Of course my bench did good! Who new Heap would score more fantasy points then Whitten or Owens at Tight End. I guess I should have used Clayton from Dallas as one of my starting wide outs. My running backs are a big weakness. Willie Parker only had one point. Johnson of Kansas City didn't do to well for me. Oh, well it is nice to get a victory.

In the college ranks, there should be a good game on Thursday night as Georgia Tech travels to Miami. My new rankings for this week have been published and they can be seen here.

Dancing in Heaven

The AP is posting actor Patrick Swayze has passed away from cancer. One more celebrity lost this year. He passed away from cancer at the age of 57. Swayze is most rembered for his role in the movie "Dirty Dancing." His second biggest role would probably be in the movie "Ghost" starring opposite Demi Moore. He also starred in several other movies.

I will remember him best from his Saturday Night Life skit with Chris Farley. In the SNL Patrick Swayze and the heavy set Chris Farley are trying out to become a Chippendale dancer.

He battled pancreatic cancer for 20 months. He supposedly died peacefully according to reports. At least he died peacefully and he won't have to suffer.

9.11

The last two years I have wrote about 9/11 this year I do the same. I was a guest speaker in Silver Spring, Maryland today for an organization for whom I volunteered. I know today was a day of in service, but I had signed up to do this speak not based on that. I do a lot off volunteering, which means I get to be apart of some very worthwhile organizations.

I am rambling though. On 9.11 I was working a short distance from the pentagon where a plane had crashed. I had some car problems and I had taken the day off. So, I missed the chaos. I was living in Hagerstown, Maryland at the time. In reality I was probably about half way between the Pentagon and where the other plane had crashed in Pennsylvania. The thing about 9.11 for me that will always stay on my mind was the god awful stench in the air in the predawn hours of 9.12. That stench was the stench from the crash. I worked closed enough to smell it.

I started this blog about me volunteering. Volunteers are among the heroes of 9/11. Citizens volunteered to give blood. Firefighters tried to rescue people and put out fires. Police tried to rescue people. I am sure I am missing other organizations. I want to thank everyone who volunteered for their efforts on that day. I hope everyone remembers 9.11 and it is never forgotten. Feel free to search my other blogs about 9.11

My Latest College Football Rankings Are Up

I have to say I really enjoyed ESPN360.com this extended weekend. I was able to watch a lot of football due to it. I watch Georgia at Oklahoma State. I watched Charleston Southern at Florida. Parts of the Maryland at California game. Then I just finished watching the thrilling Miami at FSU game. Yes football is back and I got to watch some games. Anybody know where I can watch some NFL games online let me know as am sure I will be online following my fantasy team.

Anyway I have my second college football rankings of the season published. You can see the rankings here. The teams moved around quite a bit compared to my first rankings. Oklahoma falling to BYU. The outcomes of the Virginia Tech-Alabama game, and the scares Ohio State and Iowa were some of the reasons. In just a couple of days week 2 will start with Georgia Tech and Clemson on tap for Thursday.

The NFL kicks off Thursday as well with the Tennessee Titans visiting the Super Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. I am ready for some football.

Beau Torbert Wrap Up

Beau Torbert was named player of the week for the final week of the American Association season. Here is a link to the article. Beau batted .400 for the week. Congratulations to Beau on the award and the strong finish.

Beau finished 3rd in the league in batting hitting .346 and second in the league with a .538 slugging percentage. The Sioux Falls Canaries finished 40-56 for the season. Beau played in 65 games. Beau led the team in batting average, slugging, triples and home runs.

Torbert batted .346 with 12 home runs 60 runs driven in and scored 35 runs. I will try to keep everyone posted with Beau news in the off season.

Football Starts Tonight

The college football season starts tonight! I am getting ready for the NFL season which starts next week. Last night the Fantasy League which I play on had their draft. So, I am ready to kick things off...

College football has Utah State at #19 Utah(15 in my rankings) and #16 Oregon(18 my rankings) at #14 Boise State(17 in my rankings). Sounds like a great way to get the season started with more games coming up!

The fantasy league I play on is run by a college sports reporter who interned at XM sports. I think I have pretty good team. My teams strength is quarterback, the league plays 2 and I have Drew Brees and Tom Brady as my starters. I also added Chad Pennington for my bench. Oh, well I will review more of my fantasy league as we get closer to the regular season kickoff.

Talking about the NFL, the NFL has a bunch of preseason games on tap tonight. It is also a slow night in baseball, so enjoy.

Beau Torbert Update 1 Game Left

There is one game left in Beau Torbert and the Sioux Falls Canaries season. So, I will give another update later this week. Beau has played in 64 games in a season hampered by injuries. Beau is third in the league with a .345 batting average. Torbert leads the team in home runs with 12 and is tied with the team lead with 2 triples. He also has 10 doubles. Beau has driven in 60 runs, one behind team leader Cory Harris. Beau has stolen 5 bases in 7 attempts. He has a team high .541 slugging percentage and an on base average of .396 which ranks him 3rd on the team. Beau's one bad stat is the 8 errors, which ranks him 4th on the team.

The Sioux Falls Canaries are 40-55 overall(thru 7/29) and 19-28 in the second half. Needless to say the Canaries will not be in the post season this year. Hopefully, Beau will have a great game to wrap up the 2009 season.

Stats: American Association

My First Top 25 Rankings This Season

The 2009 College football season is right around the corner! Last season I did my 25 rankings all through the season, this year I plan to continue.

I have the defending champions Florida ranked number 1, I have some teams you would expect and a few surprises. Check out all the rankings here.

If you want to compare this season's first rankings to my final rankings last season, those rankings are here. I had Florida as the champs, followed by Utah, USC and Texas.

It was fun to have a rankings through out the season, as I was able to see teams climb up and other teams fall out. I am sure this season will be the same. Well here is to the 2009 college football season kicking off.

Weekly Beau Torbert Update

Beau has played in 57 games and is finally able to be listed among the league leaders. He is 4th in the league in batting with a .342 average. Beau leads the Canaries in batting, home runs with 9, and tied for the team lead in triples with 2. Torbert is second on the team in runs batted in with 50. He has scored 28 runs and stolen 3 bases.

Beau had another error. Errors are the only bad stat for Torbert as he is up to 6 for the season in 57 games. He has one more error than the rest of the outfielders have combined. The Sioux Falls Canaries are 16-24 in the second half and 9 games out of first. They are 37-51 for the season. The Canaries only have 8 games remaining on the schedule.

next sport: rock climbing?

Well this summer I have been doing more hiking. Well, I wanted to get in better shape and it is pretty cheap. Especially, when you live as close to the trails as I do. This is very good in these economic times. I want to do more fishing, heck I want to do a whole lot more.

If I had more money, time, and all I think a sport I would pick up is rock climbing. I've been repelling, I have done a climbing wall, and I have done a bit of caving. There are some great rocks to climb close to me..

Also the sport is growing because there are more places to climb indoors. That is pretty cool. People can use it for fitness or improve their skills. They also don't have to worry about the weather.

If you live close to Washington or Baltimore(or plan to visit there) I wrote an article about some of the indoor rock climbing areas nearby. Check out the article here.

Weekly Beau Torbert Update

Beau Update:
Beau has played in 50 games now! Injuries really have cost him this season, in terms of games played and a trip to the American Association All-Star game. However, Beau Torbert deserves a lot of credit to continue to put in some great offensive numbers. He has a lot of errors (5) and I wonder if that was due to his injuries or lack of playing time? He hasn't added to that total in a while which is good.

Beau leads the team in batting, and would be fourth in the league if he had played enough games. He is batting .347 68 hits in 196 at bats. Torbert has scored 24 runs while driving in 40(which is 3rd on the team).

He has 7 home runs, which is tied for the team lead. Beau is tied for the team lead with 2 triples. Beau has 5 doubles as well. He has a slugging percentage of .500(which leads the team) and an on base percentage of .401.

Beau's team the Sioux Falls Canaries are 13-20 in the second have and the Canaries are 7 games back. Beau will have a hard time being MVP this season and his team probably won't make the playoffs.

Sail away with a mad man! boater safety

I spent last week writing like a mad man, I just sent out four articles to be published Friday. I already have 6 published this month. I am signed up for two more. So, there will be a lot of fresh stuff coming out. This is great stuff to feed the blog with...


I wrote an article on safe boating tips for Labor Day. However, the safe boating tips aren't just for Labor Day, The tips are pretty useful for any time you are on a boat. Some of the tips were basic like wear a life jacket and don't operate a boat while your drunk. Some were about boat inspections and making sure the operator course. The article was packed with some powerful statistics. You may want to read it before you go boating. Here is the link.

The thought of sailing away does sound good! Heck, I'd settle at just using my inflatables at this point. Float around the pound in the raft with my fishing pole and a box of worms...or go explore down river where the water is flatter in the inflatable kayak. Oh well until next time be safe!

Les Paul has passed away

No one lives forever, and 94 is a nice long life. I am sad Les Paul has passed away today. His music will live on. People will event more things. However, there won't ever be another Les Paul. The innovator of muti track recordings and amplification. Not to mention the beautiful Les Paul line of guitars made by Gibson.

One of my favorite bands is Led Zeppelin. I know musically we would be comparing apple and oranges with Led Zeppelin and Les Paul. Not that Jimmy Page and Les Paul could find musical common ground, they did and they have played together. However, without Les Paul's inventions on multi track recording and effects Led Zeppelin would not have been the same. Zeppelin is just a good example that comes to mind but the same could be said about any band from the birth of rock and roll to now.

I am thankful to his contribution to the music I like. I am thankful for the music he created. I am thankful for Les Paul guitars. I am sorry for his families loss. As a fan I hope their will be tributes for him so we will be able to appreciate his life and music some more. As a fan of his life, I offer this bit of appreciation and I am grateful for his contributions to the world.

Baseball Top Five Lists and a Beau Update

I am still waiting for two articles to publish which aren't baseball related. In the main time I published two baseball top five lists.

The first one, My List of Top 5 Hitters of All-Time, list the top 5 hitters of all-time in baseball. Of course these are debatable. The five I chose were Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Pete Rose, Tony Gwynn and Joe Jackson.

The second one, The Top 5 Outfielders of All-Time, could be just as debatable if not more than my list of hitters. My list of top 5 hitters could also be exchangeable except for Pete Rose. I chose Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Ty Cobb, Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr.

In both articles I know I left out a lot of great ones. It is tough to narrow those two categories down to 5 with so many years of baseball history.

Since, I am on the subject of baseball I might as well give an update on Beau Torbert, the greatest outfielder in the American Association. Beau's batting average has cooled down a bit to .339, however he has played in 44 games now. He is tied for second on the team with 6 home runs. Torbert is third on the team in runs batted in with 34. Beau does lead the team in batting and would be fourth in the league but hasn't played enough to be ranked among the leaders. It is August so I will try to keep the updates coming more often on Beau as his season winds down.

No Hitters

After a six month break from publishing anything I started writing again. As you know if you read the blog my first article I wrote since returning was about Mark Buehrle's perfect game. I followed that article with two more articles about no hitters.

The first one was the top 5 perfect games of All Time. List like these are always debatable. The gems I chose to include were by Lee Richmond, Don Larson, Cy Young, Randy Johnson and Mark Buehrle.

The second article was the top 5 no hitters of All Time. I decided to exclude perfect games from this list since I had just written an article on perfect games. The no hitters I chose were by Mike Scott, Allie Reynolds, Nolan Ryan, the Astros 6 pitcher no hitter of the Yankees, and George Bradley.

I am currently working on an article about indoor climbing walls near Washington DC and a boating article. Those articles should be a nice break from baseball. However, I will be back with upcoming baseball articles on the top hitters and top outfielders soon so stay tuned.

Play Till You Drop

I came home from work yesterday and took my daughter to Chick-Fill-a. Where she had diner and was able o play on the playground. She also got a balloon toy. After about 2 hours there we stopped and checked the mail at the Post Office. The girl saw he park and wanted to play at the park. Who am I to say no? (yes I know I am the dad, the parent..) So we ended up going to the park for another hour. She was able to swing, climb on the fish, go down the slide, and spin around on the merry-go-round. When it was all said and done, the girl was a sleep in the car before we were home. When you are 2 you are supposed to play hard and have fun. When your a Dad your supposed to watch your daughter having fun and enjoy the moment.

Beau Torbert Update

July has ended so I thought it would be a great time to give an update on Beau Torbert. Beau has now played in 38 games, is hitting .355(55 hits in 155 at bats). Beau is third on the team in runs batted in with 32 despite missing 31 games. He has scored 16 runs and stolen 3 bases in 4 attempts. Beau has 5 doubles and 5 home runs. He has also hit a triple.

Overall, the Sioux Falls Canaries are 27-42 for the season including 6-15 in the second half. The Canaries have dropped 7 straight games and are 6.5 games out of first place. Hopefully Beau can stay healthy and finish strong.

sources for stats:
american association website

Take A Hike

Well I published my article on day hikes yesterday. The artilcle is linked here: Best Day Hike's Near Harpers Ferry. The article highlights two hiking routes one fairly easy and another one a bit more difficult. It was pretty easy for me, since both trails are local to me and both routes I have hiked recently.

I did a lot of hiking as a teenager when I was growing up. Then I did some in college. Then my hiking has been here and there. The last couple of years I really haven't done much. This year it has been renewed a bit since I live so close to the trails. Prior to that I had been doing more biking. This bike trail could be an easy hike as well..the Western Maryland Rail Trail.

Being so closed to Maryland and having lived in Maryland as well I did write an article a while back on Helium about Best Day Hikes in Maryland.

Other articles on hiking I have written on helium include:
Hikes in Point Beach State Forrest, Wisconsin

A look at good hikes around Salem, Oregon

Now is the time to go hiking, taske a break and enjoy the outdoors.

Are you ready for some football?

I just published two more articles and this time they were on football! I think this is where I left off in my writings way back in January. I did short previews on the NFC West and AFC North. In the NFC West I made the prediction the Arizona Cardinals would win the division but it would be a tight race with the Seattle Seahawks. In the AFC North I predicted the Pittsburgh Steelers would repeat as division champions.

Here is the link to my NFC West Preview article.

Here is the link for my AFC North Preview article.

I have a deadline of tonight for an article on day hikes, and I have signed up for two more baseball articles.

Finally I Write Again..

Almost as rare as a perfect game..I wrote another article! It is actually about Mark Buehrle's perfect game for the Chicago White Sox and how the event ranks in White Sox history. It was neat to look up some of the historic events in White Sox history.

The article is here. Hey, it is only my second article this year. However, I think I am going to get some done this weekend so stay tune.

Beau Torbert Update at the All-Star Break

The American Association is on there All-Star Break as the first half has ended. The All-Star game will be played tonight in Fort Worth, Texas. Beau Torbert who has had his playing time interrupted by injuries did not make the All-Star team. However, four Sioux Falls Canaries did make the team. Those players are second baseman Joe Anthonsen, third baseman Trevor Lawhorn, outfielder Corey Harris, and shortstop Tim Hutting.

Beau Torbert has played in 30 games and is batting a team high .358 with 5 homers and 27 runs batted in. Beau has 43 hits n 120 at bats. Torbert offensive numbers have improved a bit from the last update playing in four more games. Defensively Beau has committed 3 errors in 30 games. Hopefully, Beau will stay healthy for the second half.

Stats and info from canariesbaseball.com and americanassociation.com.

40 years ago..

A short one today about Walter Cronkite and the mission to the moon. Forty years they put a man on the moon. The man who probably told a lot of people passed away over the weekend, Walter Cronkite. He is the first newsman I remember. News people have come and gone but no one will ever replace Walter Cronkite. There have been other anchor men (and woman) who do a great job. Just like the space program has launched more rockets, and sophisticated shuttles. However, none of them will will ever compare to putting the first people on the moon.

Could have been worse..

I let my daughter play a little longer at daycare. Let's face it, I know she loves me, but even at 2 kids like to play with their friends and have fun. Then I decided to take her out to dinner and enjoy some valuable father-daughter time. Mom had an appointment anyway so it wasn't like I had anything pressing to do. Then my daughter was ready to go home. No fuzz when I put her in the car, no wanting to play some more..it was simply time to call it a day.

Thankfully, I buckled her into her car seat. As we were going up the hill, a deer decided to cross the road. I slowed down, stopped waited for the deer. I looked for other deers before I proceeded. I had done everything you are supposed too. As I was driving away. I heard a thump against my car. As I drove off..I saw the deer rolling on the ground.

We were fine. Was it a second deer, I don't know. Perhaps the first deer had tried to cross again. Fortunately, there was no damage to my vehicles and both my daughter and I were safe. She didn't even know anything was wrong and her juice didn't spill.

I did look for deer carcasses the next day and did not see one. I felt bad, since the deer may have been injured. However, I do feel lucky since lots of incidents with cars and deer result in much more damage and injuries.

The Substitute

Tough morning. Both my wife and I are working today. Our regular daycare person is taking the day off for the Holiday. Our normal backups fell through so the scramble was on..I ended up finding someone.

It is tough enough to leave your child with a total stranger. I am sure she is fine and there will be no problems. She did have references and provided a website where I could search her out. However, it is still tough to drop a child off.

My daughter didn't make it easy either. She acted very shy in this persons apartment. She was very clingy. I walked her through the place. Showed her the puppy. However, she was still clingy. I waited with her 10-15 minutes and she was still clingy. Then I handed her off at the door, my daughter was not happy and I saw the big old tears coming. She did not make it easy.

I will pick her up early today since I am not working late. So, she won't be gone as long as usual.

Celebrity Deaths

Wow..Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died yesterday. Farrah Fawcett of "Charlie's Angels" fame. She also made guest appearances on other shows and had some movie roles. In the 70's she was what people today call a "hottie."

Michael Jackson passed away yesterday at the age of 50. Details were a little vague but he was in cardiac arrest. I know many entertainers have died younger, but 50 sounds real young to pass away in these times. (Perhaps it is because I am getting closer to 50) Michael's star shined brightly from the get go reaching fame in the Jackson5 and then becoming the King of Pop. Yes he may have been strange at times, there were rumors, but Michael Jackson was a heck of an entertainer. The moon walk will always be associated with Michael Jackson. His song "Beat It" was turned into "Eat it" by Weird Al. He had one of the top selling albums of all-time(Thriller).

The world lost two very recognizable entertainers yesterday...

Beau update

Beau suffered a pulled muscle on June 10th which caused him to miss a few games(has been out since). Beau Torbert who has played in 26 games, leads the Sioux Falls Canaries in batting(.352 average) and is second on the team in home runs with 5 and RBIs with 24.

Beau has 37 hits in a 105 at bats. He has scored 14 runs. He has walked 8 times, stolen a base and has been caught stealing once. Stats are from the American Association Website. I haven't been able to find out how long Beau will be out but we wish him a speedy recovery.

Ed McMahon Passed Away

I guess he won't be knocking at my door with a check...Ed McMahon passed away. Ed will best be remembered for his years working with Johny Carson on the Tonight Show. He had is trademark intro for Mr.Carson by saying "Here's Johny."

He was 86 years old. He had a lot of health problems. In recent years he had financial issues which made news when Donald Trump bought his home and let Ed McMahon live there. In better days he hosted game shows, and was the host of the show "Star Search." He will be remembered for his television career.

June Champions

A little late on getting this out here. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers for winning the NBA Championship 4 games to 1 over the Orlando Magic. Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson for his 10th NBA title as a coach. Some may knock him, that he won the titles by being surrounded by superstars. The Jordan Era Chicago Bulls, with Jordan and Pippen sure had their superstars. The Kobe-Shaq Lakers and now Kobe Lakers had at least one superstar. However, I give him credit to be in the right place at the right time. I give him credit for being able to manage superstars in a way to win championships, and his latest team had fewer superstars. Superstars help and anyone would admit it.

On the ice, the Pittsburgh Penguins gave their city their second championship of the year in major sports by winning the Stanley Cup 4 games to 3 over the Detroit Red Wings. Hats off to both teams. The Penguins are a very good hockey team, which I have blogged about a couple of times when they were playing the Capitals in the playoffs. The Detroit Red Wings same to always have a winning team.

Now baseball takes center stage. The Major League trade deadline is July 31. The Atlanta Braves have made a trade already with the Pittsburgh Pirates for OF McLouth. The Braves have also made news by saying no thanks to Tom Glavine. More sellers and more buyers coming up.

Pros and Cons of Tom Glavine Being Released

Tom Glavine will probably end up in the Hall of Fame, the pitcher has won 305 games, a World Series, and will be remembered for his success he had with the Atlanta Braves. Tom Glavine made a choice to leave the Braves and join the New York Mets via free agency. Now he is upset because the Atlanta Braves released him.

The Braves made their choice thinking going with rookie pitchers instead of Glavine they would have more success. If you can still pitch successfully in the major leagues, then go play for another team. If Tom signs with another team we can see if he can pitch effectively or not in the big leagues. The Braves have made their choice. Baseball is a business.

Yes many say Tom Glavine deserves better. He will get better treatment when he goes to Cooperstown. In the main time Tom should pitch or retire. If Tom can't pitch anymore than he should retire.

Half way through the year

It has been a tough a year but I hope it gets better. It has been a tough year for a lot of people with a lot of things going on in there lives. The economy hasn't been great. On the plus size gas prices are less running less than last year. However, I have seen them slowly rise as the summer travel time approaches.

This blog is up and running strongly again. Lately it has touched on books, Beau updates, hockey, NBA, the NFL, and whatever I feel comfortable writing about. Which is great, but there are ideas for blogs that never get written just because I am not comfortable.

I hope to blog about some articles I have written soon, and I have been saying that for a while now. The fact is I haven't written anything new. Sure, I have wanted to write new articles and I do have some ideas. I just haven't been able to get them out yet. I've also missed the boat on a few articles s well.

Some good news is over the first half of the year I have read more than I normally do (probably in a year). This has allowed me to have some new blog ideas, hopefully better myself and situation, and made me a little better read. I have started a work on a certification. Is it the right certification? Does it have the right accreditation? I don't know. I hope it will help my day job career. If not I don't feel it can hurt it. I have also started volunteering for another great non-profit organization. It is something positive in my life and I think it came around at a right time in my life. A lot can happen in six months. May they be better things for me, the blog and for you. Even if things have been great for you over the last six months they can always be better.

Lakers-Magic NBA Finals

The Los Angeles Lakers are back in the NBA Finals this year they will meet the Orlando Magic. The TV ratings probably won't be as high as last years ratings with the Celtics and Lakers. However, with Boston and Los Angeles storied history it is quite understandable. The ratings probably won't be as high as if Cleveland had made the finals. The superstar pull of Lebron James, who is well on his way to becoming an NBA great.

However, the Los Angeles Lakers are coached by Phil Jackson, who coached the Bulls to glory with Michael Jackson, and some more titles with the Kobe-Shaq Lakers. These Lakers don't have Shaq, but they still have a very talented Kobe Bryant still. Pau Gasol may not be Shaq but 18.9 ppg and 9.6 rpg are not a bad compliment from the 7' center.

The Orlando Magic have a star in Dwight Howard who averages 20.6 ppg. The Magic also have balance scoring from Lewis, Turkoglu and Nelson. Viewers should turn into this series since the Magic did eliminate the Celtics and the Cavaliers. The Lakers have a storied history and the Magic are working on building there own history. It should be a fun series to watch. The NBA appears to be filling up with stars.(Stats from Fox Sports)

T.O, Romo, Twitter and Breaking News

It must be May for the NFL, the draft is over and still about 8 weeks until the preseason opens. This week the Associated Press made a story "T.O. doesn't mind going nameless with Romo" on Wednesday May 27. I read the article on Fox.



Apparently the story got Terrell Owen's response at the Bills practice to Tony Romo not mentioning his name after his practice with the Cowboys. Tony apparently only referred to Terrell as he. They play on different teams now. What T.O thinks of Tony Romo doesn't matter. What Tony Romo thinks of T.O. doesn't matter. Great job AP, now referring to someone only as he is news. Heck there are times I would rather be referred to as he.



However, in the same article the Associated Press dug deep for some of the best in depth T.O. coverage by quoting T.O.'s twitter page. Maybe, I should check Twitter for breaking news or exclusives. It is funny the media digs so hard to make up some sort of meaningless rifts. When they could fill the same same space with a positive article about a player's charity or youth camp.

Beau Torbert Update-5.27

The Sioux Falls Canaries continue there slow start 4-8 so far in this young season. However, Beau Torbert's bat has begun to sizzle. Beau is batting .362 with 17 hits in 47 at bats. Beau has two doubles and a homer. Beau leads the teams in runs batted in with 9. Torbert has a stolen base and has scored five runs.

On the negative side Beau has committed one error. Stats are from Americanassociationbaseball.com. He is 10th in the league in batting. The season is still young so it is a little early to look at where he is among the league leaders. It's still early to look at standings, too. However he is hitting well in this young season. More Beau Torbert updates to come..

Memorial Day

This blog will probably read like the blog I wrote last Memorial Day. I hope everyone has a safe Holiday, and have had a safe weekend so far. I hope between the cook outs, gatherings, and other good times that yo have the opportunity to reflect on the Holiday.

I'd like to say a thank you to those in the armed forces. Thank you for those sacrifices you all make. I know lots of them are still in places where it is not peace time. I hope peace comes to those areas and those who are there can come home safely. Even in peace time, these brave men and woman, make sacrifices to attend deployments, trips, trainings often leaving behind their families for days, weeks, and months. When the orders come they answer the orders.

Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard I am thankful for each and everyone of you. Some of you are lucky to have really cool jobs, some of you have the jobs that need to be done, you face the dangers most of us will hopefully never have to face(thanks largely to what you do), some of you do important research that makes the world better, you all make impacts on your communities (Toy for Tots-comes to mind but I know there are other programs), you help fight terrorism, you help with law enforcement, rescues, humanitarian efforts, and more. Even the part timers, the Reserves, I am proud of what you do. I am proud that you answer the Nation's Call. I am proud you step up in times of natural disasters and other emergencies and help so many. I am thankful and proud of the job you all do everyday.

To those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, I humbly thank you. I offer my condolences to your family and Brothers and Sisters in Arms.

First Beau Torbert Update

Keeping the Blog Alive, I decided to go ahead and write my first Beau Torbert update. Stats are from canariesbaseball.com and are through 5/19/2009.

The Sioux Falls Canaries are off to a 2-3 start. Beau is hitting .333, getting 7 hits in 21 at bats. Beau only has one extra base hit so far a double. Torbert has scored two runs and driven in a team high seven runs. Beau also has a stolen base.

The season is still young for Beau and the Sioux Falls Canaries. More updates to follow.

A Pretty Good Resume

I didn't know John Furia Jr who died Friday at 79 according to the AP. But he must have had a good resume for a screen writter. It is old school TV by today standards, but the shows he wrote on bring back a lot of memories for me. Yes, I am sure some of his shows I watched were reruns years after they first aired.

His resume included Bonanza, a show I remember watching over at my Grandfather's house in the summers of my youth. We watched a lot of westerns and baseball. He also wrote on The Walton's. I used to watch the Walton's after school when I lived in Florida. It would have been one of my favorite shows. He also wrote on Hawaii-Five-O and Kung Fu. I watched Hawaii-Five-O more than Kung Fu, but I remember watching Kung Fu with my older brother. He also wrote on The Twilight Zone, a show I still enjoy watching.

His career touched my life a little through the TV screen, if by nothing else providing some memories of TV watching from long ago.

Another Writer In The House

My step son is on his way to Charleston, West Virginia today to find out if his short story won the state competition! Way to go Ben! He has already won for his school and county. This is quite an accomplishment for him. I can remember he had struggled in the past writing things and apparently this story came to him quite easily. I know things are already decided but I wish him the best of luck. I hope he has a wonderful day in Charleston!

Simple Music

I bought a CD yesterday, a rare event these days, but something I evidently did quite a bit of in the past. It was "Shady Grove" by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. It is a collection of folk songs recorded between 1990 and 1995 between two musicians(occasionally more). Songs from long ago, played on guitars, banjos and mandolins. The CD was incredible in my opinion.

Yes, I am a fan of Jerry and the Grateful Dead. I also listen to a lot of different music. But this disc is simply, two musicians, playing old time music. Great music and the music performed in a way that you feel the emotion of the song. I like that in music when you can feel it.

"Shady Grove" was a CD that had been on my radar for a while, but for some reason or another I never bought. It was definitely worth the wait, and I wish I had purchased it earlier. It wasn't what I expected, but that is fine. It is a wonderful collection of songs.

Crosby-Ovechkin show

Hats off to Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby! The Capitals went up 2 games to none on the Penguins due to Ovechkin's hat trick. Washington won 4-3. However, Crosby scored all of the Penguins goals.

Two of the most promising stars in the NHL delivered in this playoff game. Hat tricks are not that common and two in one game is even rarer. Many times match ups featuring two stars don't live up to the hype. In this game the two stars exceeded the hype. Ovechkin and Crosby were obviously the games first and second stars.

More Classic Reads

Updating a theme from this post http://mikespainwrites.blogspot.com/2009/03/what-ive-been-readingfiction.html, I thought I would update anyone who cares on what I have been reading. I have been reading a lot lately 9 books this month, 18 for the year. They range from self-help, to some Buddhist reflections, to stories of the seas, business and fiction. The linked post was more about classics and I would like to keep on that subject.

First up is "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. The short book written in 1886 is definitely a classic. I enjoyed the read but it was a little slow for me to get into since it was written in 1886, not the authors fault..just a time fault. I did enjoy how the book took a look at the dual nature of man(probably true for woman as well). This book is supposedly a darker side of the author as well from his other books. I am sure I will check out some of his other books in the future.

The second classic is Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five." This book is a bit more modern having been published in 1969. Again I was slow to get into this book, but once in I was definitely locked in. The book is mainly about war, but there is time traveling sci-fi theme too. The book takes on flaws in humans. Considering when the book was written America was in Vietnam, the book shows the dark side of war and how unfortunately war will continue.

Again both of these books and authors were new to me, so it was like discovering something new.

Caps Win Good For Hockey

Hats off to the New York Rangers for making the series 7 games, however they blew the series after being up on the Capitals. Hats off to the Caps for battling back, but they have to be disappointed that it took seven games to finish out a first round series.

Yes, New York is a bigger market. The Rangers have more of a following then the Capitals will ever have. However, Washington's match up in the next round with the Pittsburgh Penguins is great for the NHL.

The series will pit to of the leagues major stars against each other. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, the 21 year old center who had 103 points in 77 games for the Pens. Washington's Alexander Ovechkin, the 23 year old left wing who had a 110 points in 79 games for the Caps. Both teams have more talent as well. The teams also have playoff history to add to the playoff excitement. Hopefully, the series will be a great one.

Tony Gonzalez Trade

Fox Sports reports Tony Gonzalez was traded from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Atlanta Falcons for a second round pick in 2010. Kansas City may make another deal packaging the pick or they may hold on to it to use next year. The deal appears to be the winner for the Atlanta Falcons.

The past two seasons Tony has gained more than a 1000 receiving yards. He definitely becomes another target for Matt Ryan. In my opinion, if Ryan and Gonzalez stay healthy the trade makes Matt Ryan a better quarterback. The Falcons offense should improve. The Falcons don't loose anything this year and still have draft picks to improve the team as well.

The Falcons were 11-5 and should contend for the playoffs again this year. The Chiefs were 2-14 last year and are rebuilding their team. Sometimes in order to rebuild you need to let talent go. However, looking at this trade the Falcons got the best deal.

Reflections on Earth Day

Earth Day is a day of awareness, to be really effective everyday needs to be Earth Day. I was greener, more active for the environment in my youth. What happens? Where does it go? I think the answer is we get busy in life, the everyday, other concerns become a priority.

I try to stay green. My blog in January pointed out some of the Green things I did in 2008. Some of the Green things I did in January as well. Some of those things are on hold right now. I do fish and I have blogged about it a few times. In West Virginia, when you buy a fishing liscense(or hunting liscence) you have to buy a conservation stamp, which is like $5, which goes to support conservation efforts throughout the state. So, yearly by enjoying the outdoors, I help make my state a little greener. It is a small effort, but combined with the other hunters and fisherman throughout the state it makes a different. I also support a local outdoor festival which helps efforts to clean the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, which ultimately helps clean the Chesapeake Bay. I recycle when I can. (Sometimes, I slip).

I am fortunate my employer has made green initiatives. I enjoy National Parks, State Parks, and Wildlife Management areas. I like to see wildlife(most of the time, sometimes they can be kind of scary) and I like to share those moments with my family. I hope wilderness areas around the world are preserved so my family and other families are able to enjoy them. I hope the environment is preserved so I can live, my family and generations to come will be able to live. Also I would like it preserved so I can continue to fish, and so can future generations or hunt if they prefer. I hope we are able to preserve the world for all to enjoy for generations to come. However, it takes more than one day.

Laptop on the way!

Yesterday morning I made a spur of the moment order of laptop. It is refurbished, but with a Pentium 4 processor. It doesn't have my familiar MS office applications but it supposedly has some sort of spread sheet program and word processor application.

The great thing about the laptop is it means I will be able to write more. Sure, I will be writing out in the "field." Kind of like those romantic places you would picture a writer writing out in the past, which in reality will be whole in the wall coffee shops, libraries and anywhere else I can find free Wi-FI hot spots.

Besides my writing I also plan to use the laptop for my volunteer commitments. Plus a portable PC will make sense down the road as well.

A Day at the Circus

Over the weekend I took my two year old daughter to the circus. I had planned to take her to a smaller circus a couple of weeks ago but some how those plans did not work out. Saturday, we decided to have a family day and I was able to get tickets to Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth circus.

The circus had two acts, an intermission, and last about 2 and a half hours. I was impressed the circus was able to keep my daughter's attention for the most part. She just turned 2 this month so it was a bit long for her. However, she was really into the first half. It was a joy to be able to watch the circus with her and from her point of view. She is an awesome daughter, it was so nice of her to share the experience with me "look daddy, look."

The clowns were entertaining. It was her first chance to see real live tigers and elephants. They also had puppies and horses which are two of my daughters favorite animals all that was missing for her was cows. All and all it was a pleasant evening.

Beau Torbert A Canary Again

MLN Sports "The Raw Feed" www.mlntherawfeed.com report Beau Torbert has signed with the Sioux Falls Canaries for 2009. Also pitcher Kris Regas, was signed by the Canaries. Both Regas and Torbert were signed by the Detroit Tigers organization but were cut at the end of Spring Training.

The Canaries should be a lot better with the return of one of their top pitchers and the return of the leagues MVP. Hopefully, Beau will have another great season and have an other opportunity to join a MLB organization's system.

I will follow Beau like I did last year and provide occasional updates on how he and his team are doing. Stay tuned for more on Beau...

The Weekend

Saturday my daughter turned two. She is still adorable. I ended up getting her a toy tea set, with cups, plates, silver ware, pots and also a toy microwave set. She almost got a guitar, but the wife talked me out of it. (It's not like I don't have one set aside for her when she is older, or that I wont get her one later.). She went to another birthday party in the mid afternoon and it rained all morning. We did finish the evening off with a German chocolate cake.

Easter, we went to church as a family. Evelyn-my daughter was able to participate in an Easter Egg hunt. Then I gave her, her own Easter Egg hunt.(It was a lot of fun to load them up for her.) Then we had lunch at Applebee's. After lunch I gave her two more Easter Baskets. ( Again a blast to load up, with Candy and Stuffed critters.) We took a long nap and had snuggle time. Then we played outside, first in the yard and then at a park. She was able to do a swing by herself for the first time and she sat on my lap in another. It was great to here her going wee as we swung. She was so happy.

A Good Samaritan

I have been fortunate in my life to run into my share of good Samaritans when I have needed one. Not always, but more than my fair share. Late last night on a multi lane highway, we saw a car in front of us loose control and smash int a jersey wall.

How the driver did this I don't know. The pavement was dry. Maybe she was distracted, maybe she was tired, maybe she was on drugs, medication or was drunk. Maybe it was just bad luck. Anyway the how didn't really matter. Was the driver OK? Were there other passengers? I instructed my wife who was driving to pull over.

I dialed 911 on my cell phone. The dispatcher transferred me to the state police..while this was taking place I had started walking toward the vehicle. I saw the vehicle start to move a little bit and the driver got out. She was a young lady probably in her 20s. She said she was OK and was going to drive away..

So she was gone before I could give all the details to the police. However, the important thing is I decided to stop and see if I could help. I was amazed she was not injured and was able to drive away. A tribute to safety features in newer vehicles.

Spring Fever Put on Ice(Snow)

Yesterday there were snow showers. Here the ground has already warmed up so the snow did not stick. In the mountains I heard they had some accumulating snow. It sames like every year we get flurries in April. Mother Nature has her mood swings where the temps are all over the place. I new Monday when the cold wind was blowing the weather would be changing...

The flurries were big at times looking like white flakes of pollen which will be falling soon. One could confuse the two except pollen doesn't melt on your windshield. However, the weather will warm up again. Even for you readers in the colder areas..where you may still be scraping ice and shoveling snow..the seasons are changing.

I like snow flurries myself..especially when they are harmless and you know they won't coat the roads. I find them calming. Especially when it is warm enough where you are not freezing. The flakes falling down from the sky..

North Carolina Tar Heels 2009 NCAA Hoop Champs

Congratulations to the North Carolina Tar Heels the 2009 NCAA Men's National Champions. The game was not close. The Tar Heels pulled out to an early lead. At the half the Tar Heels held a 55-34 lead over the Michigan State Spartans. The Tar Heels won 89-72.

Michigan State can hold there head up high for getting to the Championship game. In the first round the Tar Heels destroyed Radford 101-58, beat LSU by 14, 84-70, whipped Gonzaga 98-77, Oklahoma fell 82-70, and Villonova lost 83-69 in the Final Four. The Tar Heels were on a mission this year in the tournament and they were successful.

It is amazing to think almost 73,000 were able to watch the game live at Ford Field in Detroit, a massive crowd compared to most basketball arenas. I wonder how the view was from the nosebleeds?

Beau Torbert Cut

Disappointing news for Beau Torbert, he was cut but the Tigers organization on April 1st. When Beau was signed last fall there was hope he would land a job in AA or AAA for Tigers.

There wasn't much news on Beau's cut. I did confirm at TigsTown on Scout.com and Take 75 North (another Tiger Blog).

The questions remain will Beau still play ball? Will another organization sign him? Will Beau play Independent ball? The answers I don't know, however I will continue to look for updates and share whatever I find. Personally, I wish Beau the best on whatever he decides.

Cutler to the Bears

The Chicago Bears got a starting quarterback. The Denver Broncos rid themselve of Jay Cutler. The Broncos did pick up Orton in the deal, however to me it appears the Broncos do not have a quarterback on their roster as talented as Jay Cutler.

However, I think the Broncos will come out better in the trade long term. Two number one picks, a third round pick, and a quarterback who can challenge for the Broncos starting job this season. The Chicago Bears paid a steep price, but did land a quarterback better than anyone on their roster. Orton was made available by Cutler's arrival. Giving up the 2 first round picks, is going to hurt and a third round pick. However, there are always future trades and free agency to pick up the missing pieces as well.

I think wih the trade the Chicago Bears are better now. I think the Denver Broncos took a step back maybe for this fall. However, I think they felt Cutler had to go and they have the picks to improve the team down the road.

My Day! April Fool's Day

As Aaron Neville sings "everybody plays the fool" some of us like me play the role quite often and well. Rejoice people like me for today is our day!

Am I planning to pull any April Fool's jokes today? No. Do I want any pulled on me? No. Sorry some parts of my life resemble an April Fool's joke gone to far.

Even though it's raining the lyrics to Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" don't quite fit. The lyrics to Robert Plant's solo song from 1988's Now and Zen album called "Ship of Fools" is more fitting.

"Turn this boat a round back to my loving ground"

Oh well fun with lyrics, hope everyone enjoys their April Fools Day

Coming Attractions...

This month marked the return of the blog. In the return of the blog it has been mainly about books I have been reading. This will continue. My reading matches my mind and can truly be called scattered brained. Hopefully, some of what I read you may find interesting. I know some will find it boring. The good news is I've read nine books so far this year and have only blogged about 3 of them, so there is material to blog about. I am sure I will read even more.

I know some of you read my blog for Beau Torbert updates, which I hope to be able to add a few in here. As far as I know he is still in the Tigers organization but I don't know where he will end up. When they purchased his contract he was projected either in AA or AAA. I will keep you posted as soon as I know.

As soon as I write something somewhere else I am sure I will pimp it out here on the blog. I will probably drop a few sports related blogs in here as well. If something interesting happens I will blog about that as well. It will be a strange brew and not on a regular basis but it will be rambling...

What I've Been Reading..Fiction

One day I will get the list of books I read last year out on a blog. This year I might as well right about the books I read as I read them.

A short fiction book, The Pearl by John Steinbeck is one I recently read. I had already read The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden by John Steinbeck so another book by him made sense. Plus I enjoy reading a book considered a classic or by a classic author. One there is usually a reason it is considered a classic, two it makes me feel more well read, and three I enjoy reading a lot more now that I am not in a school setting. I know my second reason is just trying to stroke my ego, and I do realize their will always be someone one who is better read than I, and I do know people can be well read by reading other stuff as well(heck I may be better read by the other stuff I read than by the classics). The book is about a man who's young child is bitten by a scorpion, the struggle to find a pearl to get the medical treatment for the child, and how a large pearl becomes a source of trouble for this man and his family.

Swine Not by Jimmy Buffett. It is no secret I am a Parrot head. It is also no secret a lot of my reading has nautical themes to it. I read Swine Not simply because I had read all of Jimmy Buffett's books. This book is a tale of pig, which moves from Tennessee to New York City with her family. This book has Jimmy Buffett taking the sea out of his writing. The book deals with a single mom and her children as they make the move. It also deals with a pig, who is a family pet who searches out her long lost brother. The far fetched ideas from Jimmy Buffett's imagination are present in the book with the disguises and the pigilantes(which appears to be from Jimmy's love of flight). However, it is quite different from his other books.

Well, that is an update of where I am at. I have read two other books and working on two more that I haven't written about so there will be more to ramble about later.

The Right Book At The Right Time

I know I am behind on writing about the books I read in 2008. I will get to those eventually, hopefully before 2010. I'm currently reading a few books and have finished a couple of books already.

I bought Spencer Johnson's book "The Present" at a library sale for fifty cents. I had read Spencer Johnson's book "Who Moved My Cheese" and I figured this book would be a good, quick read. I was suckered in by the titles and notes, thinking what could this Present be that could be so helpful in the workplace.

Not only was this book helpful in the business world it was also helpful in my personal life. As my previous post eluded too, I have had some crazy stuff going on in my life. Little did I know this was the right book for me at the right time.

Spoiler alert..the present in the book was the present! People tend to stay in the past or spend too much time in the future and not enough time in the present. It was also helpful to read that you learn from the past but don't dwell in it. You plan for the future but don't spend the present worrying about the future. You live in the present! Great advice.

Where's The Blog?

Well recently my home life has resembled a Warren Zevon song "send lawyers, guns, and money the (explicit) has hit the fan." So unlike the song, I did not go home with a waitress who was with the Russians. But anyway, as I work through a curve ball life has thrown at me.. the blog and a lot of my other writings have been placed on hold. Don't worry eventually I'll get a pitch I can handle and everything will be back in play..or something along those lines.

Weird writing a blog with no articles to plug. I haven't published anything in a couple of months. However, I am proud of how they are performing on their own merits. They are still able to generate a few coins which is great considering I haven't been pimping them out. No sports blog here today, missed the time line for the Super Bowl. There is the consistent things in my life like work and my volunteer projects.

I have had an opportunity to read a few books. I have orders from a medical professional to play more guitar(read actually pick them up). I've gone back to where it really started for me in writing, writing a couple of poems and lyrical stuff. Actually gone back to writing on paper.

Just wanted to ramble into the blog...
I'll post another blog soon...hopefully.

The Death of Saint Nick's Wife

More people that I knew died in 2008 than any other year. On Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve Dolores Weibel passed away. Her husband Dick, had passed away earlier in the year. He was the reason the church had cancelled their Saint Nicholas Day Festival. The obvious reason was Dick, volunteered to play Saint Nick and he naturally looked like him.

In a perfect after life, or after world I hope they were brought together again for Christmas. Perhaps, there is a Santa. As the Holiday's fade away, I hope they find another boat to sail calm waters which remind them of their beloved Florida Keys.

God bless and sail on sailors!

Problems with the BCS

The Utah Utes deserve all the credit in the world for defeating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. USC may have a legitimate gripe too. The Trojans conference picked up for the Bowls. USC beat Penn State by 2 touchdowns in the Rose Bowl which looked like a pretty good match up. Better on paper than Texas match up with Ohio State.

The Bowls are turning into December or January Madness. The "Mid Majors" are showing up in force and they are winning. TCU beat Boise State in a battle of two teams that deserved a better bowl.

If no playoff, at least allow the Mid Majors to compete on a level playing fair. Give them more of a chance.