The Fall of the Texas Empire

Remarkable.

The Texas Longhorn football program from mid-October of 2004 until mid-September of 2010 was quite simply remarkable. They posted a 68-8 record during that time. They played in back to back Rose Bowls winning both against Michigan and USC. They beat Ohio State in a Fiesta Bowl. They won the National Title in 2005 and lost the National Title game in 2009.

After a loss to Oklahoma in 2004, Texas won their next 20 games. They came down to earth with back to back 10-3 seasons that were followed up with 12-1 and 13-1 seasons. They were 3-0 in 2010 and then the program suddenly crashed and burned.

Texas won only 2 of their remaining 9 games last season resulting in a losing season and no bowl game. The fall of the Longhorn empire looked similiar to a cyclist cracking. His legs push the pedals around, but they have no power left in them. Texas bonked.

What now? Will I look back on these recent teams like Texas fans used to about the teams of the 60's? Will it take 35 years to win another National Title? Gosh, I hope not.

As far as I know, football is not an elective at Texas, so please get rid of the track guys and the other proven losers Mack. I do not want to hear anymore NFL potential crap about players. Prove it to us on the field or please get off of it for goodness sake.

Mack you better wake up and smell the coffee or you'll be wondering what happened to your job like we are wondering what happened to our team this past season. Texas is one of the best programs in the country and should be easy to turn around with all the advantages it has.

Mack, the question is do you have it in you to do what is necessary for the good of the program or not? Time will tell.

Memories of Christmas

The Lionel train that chugged up the trestle tracks on its way to sudden impact with the living room wall when the kid at the controls sped into a turn that couldn't be navigated at high speed...unpurpose.

Hiding under the Christmas tree, buried under the presents on Christmas Eve...

Watching the neighbors 4-color wheel rotate on their artificial tree through our living room window...

Hoping for snow for a white Christmas...

Realizing one Christmas that we didn't have a fireplace and wondering how Santa delivered the toys...

Listening to Christmas albums on the RCA stereo cabinet turn table...

Wrapping Christmas presents after midnight mass...

Driving to Chicago on Christmas Eve to visit my Mom's 2nd cousin who we called Aunt Jeanine and Uncle Frank...

Looking at Sears and Wards catalogues to make our wish list for presents from Santa...

Making a Christmas card holder out of a Reader's Digest magazine...

Playing hockey in our kitchen...

Being told not to bring a toy car to church on Christmas because you could lose it and then, you guessed it, losing it...

Having to wait until after dinner on Christmas night to open presents at one of our grandparents houses...

Sliding down carpeted stairs on our butts as we played guess-which-hand-the-penny-is-in game with our Uncle Conrad...

Driving our mom crazy by turning off all the lights to see the Christmas tree lit up in the dark...

Sitting under the Christmas tree and staring at the patterns of color reflected on the ceiling...

Saving money and depositing it in the bank for Christmas presents...

Not having to go to school the whole week before Christmas and the whole week after Christmas...

Rolling the TV stand into the kitchen so we could watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" during dinner...

Feeling like the air got let out of your tires when you realized Christmas afternoon that it was over, for this year...

Merry Christmas.

4 is the Magic Number

My stepdaughter came up to me and said, "Give me a number." I said, okay, 7. She said 7 is 5, 5 is 4, and 4 is the magic number. Say what?

She said give me another number. I said 10. She said 10 is 3, 3 is 5, 5 is 4, and 4 is the magic number.

My mind took the bait and I was off to the races in problem solving mode.

Numbers. Since I have used math most of my career, my mind was programmed to think in terms of numbers. What was this riddle 4 is the magic number? Do I add the numbers together and then divide by something and then subtract by something else?

Any number I would give her, she would think momentarily and then rattle off a chain of seemingly random numbers that culminated in the phrase "and 4 is the magic number." My brain kicked into overdrive, but I was not able to solve this riddle.

Seeing my dismay, she then gave me an invaluable hint about the riddle. She said that it had nothing to do with math. Say what?

Okay. Back up the truck and dump out the garbage cluttering my mind. Suddenly, the answer to the riddle popped into my head. With math out of the equation, I quickly formulated that if I counted the letters in the word that represents the number, I came up with the answer to the riddle.

For example, the number 7 is spelled s-e-v-e-n. That's 5 letters. The number 5 is spelled f-i-v-e. That's 4 letters... and 4 is the magic number.

Light bulb.

What if people with opposing views could find common ground by figuring out that what they were trying to communicate to one another was not getting through because of the way they were approaching the problem? In other words, what if math had nothing to do with it?

Just look at the way our government approaches problems like out of control spending and you'll see that...

...math definitely has nothing to do with it...

Cubs Logic

8 months ago, they had a great idea. Let's play a college football game between Illinois and Northwestern in Wrigley Field. It will be the first football game played in Wrigley since the Chicago Bears left for Soldier's Field 40 years ago.

What's the problem? Oh, you say there is a brick wall at the back of the east end zone? And maybe somebody could get hurt? Welcome to mamby pamby land. The monsters of the midway never complained...

No problem, we'll just change the rules a little bit. Both teams will now play toward the west end zone. What?

If you have ever been to Wrigley Field or just Chicago for that matter, there usually is a breeze off the lake. That's east to west for all of the geographically challenged out there. So, if there is a breeze tomorrow off the lake in Chicago, every kickoff is going right over the third base dugout and into the stands. All passes will be with the wind. And if you have seats in the right field area, all action will be going away from you. Sounds great.

Also sounds like the new owners of the Cubs and the Big Ten Conference are a little spacially challenged...and did I mention that the sun sets in the west?

Purple Passion

Northwestern University is located on the North Shore of Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. It is by most standards a very prestigious academic institution. Northwestern also fields a football team and is part of the Big Ten conference.

I was born at Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Illinois and grew up on the North Shore. Northwestern was the doormat of the Big Ten until the late 90's when they had a miracle season and went on to play in the Rose Bowl. One of the players on that team was an All American linebacker named Pat Fitzgerald.

Today, on a rainy day in Evanston, Illinois, Northwestern played host to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa came into the game ranked #13 in the country still with hopes of winning the Big Ten title this season. Northwestern played a solid defensive first half and led 7-3 going into halftime. Iowa came out in the second half and re-established themselves taking a commanding 17-7 lead. Northwestern's undersized defense was wearing down and Iowa was driving to put the game away in the 4th quarter when it happened. A simple mistake. Iowa's quarterback threw deep down field into the waiting arms of a Northwestern defender. Still, with the ball on their own 15 yard line and with no evidence of being able to move the ball, Iowa looked in command. Not so fast my friends...

Northwestern's Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald is a fighter and a winner. He was not hanging his head on the sidelines. He was into the game, coaching and encouraging his team on. Northwestern proceeded to drive the ball 85 yards with a hurry up offense that had the much bigger defensive players gasping for air. Touchdown. Northwestern's defense made the necessary stop the next series of downs and once again, Northwestern drove the length of the field. They went 91 yards to take the lead with just over a minute and a half to play.

Northwestern won the game. The fans ran onto the field. The players were happy. The coach was happy. And all of this when things really looked bad for Northwestern.

The last 2 weeks, Northwestern had given up big leads and lost. It looked like this game was going to be no different. But it was different. The Northwestern kids never gave up. They fought and clawed and pulled the win out. It was nice to see and the reason I love college football. No game this season have I seen my beloved Longhorns come close to that kind of effort and determination.

Northwestern played and won a game today. Texas needs to get back to this same type of effort and determination if they want to earn the right to be an elite team again.

Texas Wrong Horns

No, this is not a blog written by an Asian trying to speak English...

I think aliens from another planet have kidnapped the Texas Longhorn football team, lock, stock and barrel. What we have now are some scabs dressed up as coaches and players that the athletic director has thrown on the field while he searches for the missing team.

The head coach who is pretending to be Mack Brown is a bad replica who looks older than Joe Paterno. The players are all way too small, too slow, and too stupid to be real Texas football players. And the losing is a dead give away. I mean come on, 5 losses this season so far? Isn't that how many times a Texas team loses in a decade?

I have seen a lot of players who look like longhorns playing on Sundays, so maybe I'll just start watching football the second day of the weekend until the team is found. Maybe they are all on an island somewhere like the show LOST...or maybe they are all vampires who can't be seen in bright light...come to think of it, the Oregon team is good this year...maybe the team has been hiding in the Twilight of Eugene all season...

The Old College Try

Out of habit, I turned on the TV this morning to tune into college football. My team isn't scheduled to play until this evening, so the game that was on was the Miami Hurricanes at the Virginia Cavaliers. Not exactly a marque match up, so I played casual observer and went about fixing some breakfast. The game basically would just be on as white noise.

As the morning wore on, every once and awhile I would check in on the score. Miami was ranked, so it came as a surprise to me that the score was 24-0 Virginia in the 4th quarter. The game wound down and in spite of a valiant comeback by Miami, Virginia won 24-19. So what?

Well, Virgina's head coach fell to the ground at the end of the game because he was so overcome by emotion. Yes, I believe he was crying. The students rushed the field in jubilation. I began to tear up as well as they celebrated on the field.

This spirit of college football, the old college try, is lacking in so many contests across the country week in and week out. Virginia's season record moved to 4-4 with the win, so it was just the fact that their team...won. How odd. To play a game and win and be overcome with joy. I haven't seen that in quite a while.

As a student at Texas, I remember rushing the field my first year to celebrate a victory over Arkansas at the end of the season. It was cool walking amongst the fans and players. The players actually conversed with you. I felt like I was part of something special. So today, when I saw Virginia's reaction to their victory, it reminded me why I like college football. The underdog pulling it out. Kids acting like kids celebrating a win. The old college try...

A Sign of the Times

Here in Colorado, it has been real windy lately. The kind of wind that moves your patio furniture around. The kind of wind that batters your campaign signs in your yard.

Years ago, we had a neighbor who was involved in the political process. She asked us if we would place yard signs on our lawn in support of some candidates she believed in. We liked this neighbor (still do) and figured what could it hurt, so we pushed the wire frames into the ground and pulled the plastic sign over the frame like a pillow case. We came home one windy day and found only metal frames on our lawn. We figured that the wind had blown away the signs. Not exactly. Our political neighbor informed us that people from the opposing political party actually go around and steal the signs. I was shocked.

The next election, I once again placed yard signs in our yard. Once again they all disappeared. This time I fought back. They took 4 signs, I replaced them with 12. My entire front lawn was covered. There was no doubt who I was supporting when the trick or treaters came by before the election. Some of the kids actually made brainwashed comments trying to please mom and dad. Go! No candy for you!

A guy down the street was running for a local office position. My neighbor saw him stop his car, walk across a field, and take down all of my signs that I had lined up facing a road on a greenbelt behind my house. I remember being at work at the time and being so upset that I called a radio station and told them all about it. The guy carefully placed all my signs on the ground within my yard and drove home down the street into his garage. Needless to say, he lost his bid to be elected.

In a democracy where we have the freedom to vote for individuals to represent us in our government, why do people have to lie, cheat, and steal to try and so call win elections. There are rampant claims of voter fraud already in this upcoming election. Candidates pre-checked on voting ballots, military personnel denied the right to cast votes for the very people they are serving to protect, intimidation, faulty electronic voter counting programs, and entire organizations created for the sole purpose of getting out votes of people that are dead or alive.

All of this going on in America. Have we as a society stooped so low that the very people that are supposed to decide the election by their vote cannot be trusted to vote the right way? This corruption must be stopped.

My yard signs have been up since May. That's right, May. Not a thief in sight. We do have a few days left until the election though and that is when these lunatics usually strike. The next thing you know, these people will be stealing American flags from people. It is all madness, utter madness, and thankfully it will end for this election cycle on Tuesday. Until then, I will stand my post and do whatever is necessary to guard my freedoms and liberties from the enemy. God Bless America.

Beat

I recently wrote that in college football, players making plays is what wins football games. So, if you are a coach, to win games you recruit players who make plays. Let me restate that, if you are a coach, you better recruit players who make plays. There is no grey area here. Either the kid makes plays or he doesn't.

In today's information age, evaluating talent in order to recruit the best players should be easy. Every move these kids make is recorded. So, if evaluating the talent is a given, why are the powerhouses of college football having so much trouble remaining powerhouses?

It's because the stars want to play immediately, not in a year or two. This has changed everything in college football.

Time was that kids wanted to play for a certain school, now they just want to play as soon as possible. It isn't about tradition and history, maybe never was, but these kids want the big money they will get at the next level asap. If a kid can get a guaranteed 50 million dollar contract (Sam Bradford) then tell me again why I need to be a player on the taxi squad until I earn my spot as a Junior or Senior in one of the powerhouse programs?

When I was a student at Texas, their coach was Fred Akers. He was accused of being too arrogant with recruits with an attitude of this is Texas and that should be enough. The kids went elsewhere and Fred was shown the door.

After players like Vince Young and Colt McCoy, the Texas program looked invincible, no pun intended. The media and the coaching staff all figured it was the program that had won all of those games. No, as I've said before, players making plays wins football games. So, now the program at Texas is in a rapid decline because they do not have enough players who make plays.

I think Mack Brown is terrific, but he has come out and said that his players are playing with a sense of entitlement and arrogance. These words sting Texas fans particularly because people who are not Texas fans use them regularly to describe Texas fans.

The coaching staff at Texas and the Texas fans have been the beneficiary of some great players in recent times. The program however sabotaged itself by being so good. Players who wanted to play immediately went elsewhere and are playing against Texas instead of with them.

5 star recruits who stink are rare, but it happens. Some players skills and talents do not transfer to the next level. This happens from college to pro all the time. I think it is happening from high school to college as well. If the very best players go to the powerhouses, then they would always be good, not 4-3. The arrogance might be that just because we have a Longhorn on the helmet, doesn't mean that what we hope to be inside the helmet lines up with reality.

Texas has had a remarkable modern day run of success, but that is in the past now. And it seems that the past is all that Mack Brown wants to talk about these days. He is constantly talking about his 13 seasons at Texas as a body of work that should speak for itself. Hey Mack, you better wake up. You do not have the talent to be Texas right now. You don't have the talent to beat Iowa State right now. These are facts.

If Mack doesn't change the players he has on the field, he is gonna keep getting what he has been getting this year, beat.

Forty-Four

I think about things that are important to me. I collect evidence in my brain like an archaeologist trying to uncover secrets about ancient civilizations and then download these thoughts from my head into this blog. It feels good to organize these thoughts and give them some purpose. Each blog is similar to an episode of the Simpson's, with a diversion of humor built in to entertain, while disclosing some facts or opinions that are important to me. The result is a cross between Reader's Digest, Field and Stream, and The National Enquirer.

But why bother?

I guess it is in response to the saying, we heard you and we choose to ignore what you said. To me, this blog, if only read by me, is a way to communicate what is important to me. It reaffirms why I like or do things. It is like a reminder that who I am matters, to me.

So it feels good to get it out, to express myself. If photographs capture moments in time, these words try to capture my thoughts in time. As is with my photography, it is my hope to communicate meaningful and/or entertaining thoughts with those I know and care about.

This is my 44th blog in the past 14 months. It is my hope that you have enjoyed the majority of them and will continue to tune in.

Nebraska

In the following blog, it is not my intent to bash or belittle Nebraska in any way, shape, or form. This blog is about reflecting on Nebraska and their college football team throughout the years from my perspective.

As a kid, my earliest recollections of Nebraska's football team was that they won all the time and they won big. Scores like Nebraska 60 Iowa State 0 were annual events.

By the time I got to college, Nebraska was still good. I think they won like 9 games a season for 40 years in a row...wow. My senior year at Texas, my biggest gripe with Nebraska was that the two schools would not get to play each other after being ranked #1 and #2 for the entire 1983 season. The irony of that season was that both teams lost their final game and Miami won the National Title.

When I moved to Colorado, I was introduced to the rivalry between CU and Nebraska. These teams clearly did not like each other. Texas was now playing Nebraska fairly regularly, with the introduction of the Big XII conference in 1996. The games between the two schools were very competitive, but Nebraska's teams weren't nearly as dominant as they once were.

I actually watched some Nebraska games with a Nebraska alumni group in Fort Collins. I enjoyed the enthusiastic support for Big Red. Unfortunately, Nebraska was on the short end of some USC beat downs in those games. The Nebraska fans thought I was alright until they found out I was a Texas fan, then they just tolerated me.

From their perspective, Texas was a team that halted their 47 game home winning streak, somehow won the first Big XII Championship game against them, and basically beat them 6 out of the last 7 games the two teams played.

I have some Nebraska fans that are neighbors across the street. In the recent past, when I would see them it was always "tough loss last Saturday, you guys are getting closer." Face it, they hate me, but are polite enough to humor me to my face.

Last season the two schools met in the Big XII Championship game and there was some controversy. Texas was heavily favored going into the game and ended up escaping with a win on a last second field goal. The clock keeper screwed up and ran the time out on the clock prematurely and Texas was blamed for getting a homer call that put them into the BCS title game. All nonsense.

Reality was that Suh had a monster game that cost Colt McCoy the Heisman Trophy. Texas won the game because a kid kicked a field goal. The .01 second myth is just hype and motivation for this years team. I don't blame them. Texas used the same motivation when they lost to Texas Tech via one Michael Crabtree. The guy made a play and we lost. As did Nebraska.

So here we are. Nebraska is leaving the Big XII. Texas (The Big XII) is charging them for leaving early. Bad blood, sure. Will it affect the game? You betcha. Big Red Nation is angry. They want revenge. They just might get it too.

Nebraska has an exciting running quarterback with a nickname. Texas has an awful team that they have been trying to hide for the past 5 games. It is not the best combination if you are a Texas fan.

But, they will play on Saturday. This game will be the last scheduled game between the two schools. So, we have come full circle, back to the day when we wanted to play each other to prove it on the field, but won't be able to.

Whoever makes the most plays will win the game on Saturday and I have a feeling nobody will be blaming the clock keeper this time.

The Season of Light

My 13 year-old nephew Jesse recently wondered aloud what the equinox was. I was more than happy to explain what I knew to him as I am now with you.

As the earth rotates, creating both day and night, it is also orbiting the sun. This orbit affects the angle of the sun and how it shines on the earth. The more direct the angle, the more light we have. This phenomenon creates the seasons as we know them in the Northern Hemisphere.

The earth has an imaginary line around it's middle called the equator. This line is where the sun shines for 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night on or about both March 21st and September 21st. What happens the rest of the year and the travels the light angle makes annually is what this blog is about.

The seasons are outlined by the journey of the sun angle as it moves both away and toward us as the days go by. In the Northern Hemisphere, the autumnal equinox is on or about September 21st. This is what people usually refer to as the first day of fall. The sun angle is lowering in the sky and will continue to lower until the Winter Solstice, December 21st, the first day of winter. After that, the sun angle will slightly raise until it reaches it's apex of the Summer Solstice on or about June 21st, the first day of summer.

Now I am what is referred to as a natural light photographer. A natural light photographer is a person who basically uses the available light to present and capture moments in time. This form of photography is usually outdoors and is ruled by the relationship of the sun and the earth's orbit around her, so I divide the seasons by the months of the year to define my seasons of light.

The months of September, October, and November make up my season of fall light. The months of December, January, and February make up my winter light. The months of March, April, and May make up my season of spring light. And finally, the months of June, July, and August make up my season of summer light.

What is interesting to note is that each day has a reciprocating day of equal sun angle light. So, for example, today is October 10th. The sun angle equivalency for October 10th is March 2nd. This means that the angle of the sun now going away from us is the exact same as the angle of the sun on its journey back towards us on March 2nd. This is both fall light now and its equivalent of spring light then.

This thought process can be a little disheartening. In just 2 days we will be in winter light until the middle of January...yuck. But as you may have experienced, the feeling of fall light comes back by mid-January and believe it or not by mid- April we are back to summer light equivalence.

I also divide the year into two seasons, a season of light and a season of darkness. I personally prefer the season of light which runs from March through September. The days are longer and the light is brighter. I think we generally feel better about things during this time of year.

So what of this season of darkness? We must make the best of it I guess. In Colorado, we are lucky to have snow skiing to get us through. It gets us outside and moving. We all have the holidays to look forward to and then by spring break, well we will all have made it through to yet another season of light.

Making Plays

You hear all the time in college football that so and so is such a good coach. Truth is that players making plays make all coaches look good. Schemes and trick plays are nice, but the players have to execute them. Simple math really, the team that makes the most plays wins.

Since Texas did not play yesterday, I had an opportunity to watch other teams from around the country play and I saw "legendary" college coaches teams lose. Nick Saban at Alabama, Urban Meyer at Florida, and Joe Paterno at Penn State all lost. The teams their team was playing made more plays. Period.

Which brings me back to my point. A coach or coaching staff gets a lot of credit when their team wins, but the players are the ones that play. My beloved Longhorns were the benefactor of guys that made plays for the last 6 seasons. Vince Young made the coaches look good during a 30-2 stretch that included a National Championship. Colt McCoy went 45-8 and carried Texas on his back for 4 years. He WAS the team.

And when Colt went down in last season's National Championship game, the back up generator failed to click on and the excuse machine was activated. Garrett Gilbert came into the game and was horrible. A guy who throws 4 interceptions and has 1 fumble is BAD, not a poor guy thrown into the fire too soon. And the plays he supposedly made to bring the Horns back were executed by Jordan Shipley, who somehow was forgotten in all of the chaos.

This season, Texas is BAD. The players are not making plays. Coaches are still making excuses 5 games into the season and the fans are still waiting to see any resemblance to a good team. The offensive coordinator who with Vince Young and Colt McCoy looked like a genius, now looks incompetent. The defensive coordinator looks average at best to me, even though he has the head coach in waiting tag on him. And the head coach, the 5 million dollar man, spends a lot of time these days telling people what has happened in the past instead of what he expects to happen in the future.

The teams that I saw yesterday making plays are in a different league than Texas right now. These teams look like football teams executing at a high level, teams that are making plays, teams that are winning games.

And I believe it is harder to make plays when you play good teams. Teams like Boise State, Oregon, TCU, and Utah are making plays against bad teams, so in my opinion, they are getting more credit than they deserve right now. Put Boise State or Oregon in the SEC and see how many games they win when half of their play makers are hurt due to competing against better players who compete at a higher level than their current schedule allows.

If Nebraska continues to make plays and execute at a high level, brace yourselves, because it is gonna be a long, long afternoon in Lincoln this Saturday.

Time Marches On...

Time marches on...

It was a year ago this week that Oklahoma's Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Sam Bradford sustained a season and college career ending injury against Texas in the Cotton Bowl at the annual Red River Rivalry game in Dallas. Texas won the game dropping Oklahoma to 2-3 for the season.

Fast forward a year. Sam Bradford is now in the NFL and leading his team, the St. Louis Rams, to a 2-2 season so far. Bradford signed a record 50 million dollar guaranteed contract after being selected 1st in the NFL draft back in April.

His counterpart last season at Texas, Colt McCoy, is also in the NFL. He is currently 3rd on the depth chart at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns and has seen no action in the regular season so far. Colt signed a contract for something like 650 thousand dollars a year, not bad, but not even in the same stratosphere as the money Bradford got.

Oklahoma beat Texas this season and they are currently 5-0. Texas with the loss drops to 3-2 and out of the polls for the first time in 10 years. I wonder what this year will bring?

Time marches on...

Bozo-worth

I was introduced to this game back in 1981 while attending Eastern Illinois University. I had talked a friend of mine into joining me for an insane road/plane trip to Dallas in the middle of the semester to visit a friend who attended SMU. I guess I was a little impulsive...anyway, I was in a frat house on a Saturday wondering why everybody was watching this game. Texas and who are playing? What is the big deal?

Fast forward a year. I am now a student at The University of Texas and I am once again in Dallas. I now sleep on the floor at that frat house at SMU for the weekend, but now I am going to the game with my roommates. Texas loses the game. As I am leaving the stadium, an Oklahoma fan jokingly says to me, "I'll give you a nickel for that shirt." (I had on a Texas t-shirt) Since I was already almost bawling because they lost, this hit a nerve.

The next year, I was in Dallas once again at the game, and this time Texas won. I searched high and low for that Oklahoma fan who had injured my pride the year before...but no sign of him. So, it has been GAME ON ever since. I do not like them and they do not like me. (I got into it today with some Sooner fans on facebook, imagine that...)

There was a particular player in the 80's at Oklahoma who embodied this rivalry. His name was Brian Bosworth (We called him Bozo-worth because he was such a clown.) The guy was from Texas, but played for Oklahoma. He wore a Mohawk and wrote weird messages on his shoes about his dislike for the Longhorns. Problem was Oklahoma was pretty good when he was there and they were able to back up the taunting. I remember feeling rather helpless as then #1 Oklahoma pounded Texas. All the Sooner fans were rabidly giving the upside down Hook'em Horns hand signal. It was ugly. I remember telling myself that someday, Texas would be better and beat those stinking Sooners.

I think it took like 5 years, but Texas did finally win again. I jumped for joy when a player named Johnny Walker caught a touchdown pass with like a minute to play to beat them.

Since then, the series has gone back and forth with each team winning in streaks. The last streak was 5 in a row by Oklahoma back when people called Mack Brown "Mr. February", a nickname given to a great recruiter, but poor coach. At the same time, Oklahoma's coach Bob Stoops got the nickname "Big Game Bob", as he enjoyed his success over the Longhorns.

But Texas has won 4 of the last 5 games with a National Title thrown in there for good measure in 2005, so Oklahoma fans are hungry for victory now more than ever. Texas fans found out last week that our run of excellence has come to an end. So now, not only does OU SUCK, but Texas sucks as well. Should be an interesting game. Might be a 49-0 butt kicking by OU, might not. As an old-timer from Oklahoma once told me in a bar on a Friday Night in Dallas on OU Weekend, "We'll see tomorrow on the field son." How true.

Flying Monkeys

It's over. The recent run of excellence for Texas football is over. It had to happen someday and that day was today down in Austin. The fall from grace was sudden and swift like an accident nobody saw coming. The entire program imploded right before our eyes. This team could not hold up to the weight of expectation and greatness any longer. They quite simply cracked. They came apart at the seams like the scarecrow in the wizard of oz, the invincibility aura torn to pieces by the flying monkeys of UCLA. It was an ugly sight.

In this media era of untruths fabricated to look like reality, the team showed it's hand and there was nothing behind those pair of deuces showing. There was no miracle comeback in the works for this one, no all-time NCAA wins leader to rescue the sinking ship. And it sunk like the Titanic.

Head Coach Mack Brown looked as white as a ghost. Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp looked like he was watching a horror movie, he was. In a game where the Texas players bodies had no heads or hands on them, they were easily beaten. Nothing fancy, just a straight up whipping like we haven't seen since I can't remember when.

The run is over. The dominance enjoyed by Texas fans for so many years is over, for now. This season will be painful to watch. Gone are the days of Vince Young and Colt McCoy, long gone.

It was a very weird feeling watching the ineptness and one that Texas fans haven't had to endure for years. But there it was, that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach as your team beat nobody but themselves. There were fumbles, interceptions, missed tackles, and a general disinterest in preserving the tradition at The University of Texas. Yes, I am questioning the effort here folks as well. Oh the horror, I can't believe I just wrote that!

We Texas fans have become so complacent with winning that none of us saw this coming, or we just kept telling ourselves that somebody would step up, that superman was in the building, he wasn't, but over 100,000 fans were and they witnessed the beating in person. Ouch! 13 years ago was the worst loss ever in Austin at the hands of these very same Bruins. Double Ouch! This revenge that never came is unheard of in Texas football lore.

There will be no spin for me on this one. It quite simply was the end. The end of an image of a top caliber college football team, of a top 5, top 10, or even top 25 team...it is bad folks, really bad.

The last time something like this happened, Mack Brown quite literally said that every position on the team was up for grabs and that nobodies job was safe. I expect the same line of thought any second now coming out of Austin. How could this happen?

A team with no running backs, no tight ends, no offensive line, no sure handed receivers, no proven winners, how could they stink up the field so badly at home on national tv? I guess our Jimmy's and Joe's aren't as good as their x's and o's.

Reality was a hard thing to watch today...and next week we get to play Oklahoma in Dallas...oh my gosh...

Color-ado

Finding color in the state of Color-ado is sometimes a bit of a challenge. Those of us who live here are all too aware that our geography can be a little bland. Oh sure we have beautiful blue skies a lot and the contrast of the snow capped mountains is breathtaking, but in late summer most rocks are grey or brown and our semi-arid climate bakes the annual vegetation into a wheat color. Fortunately, there are aspen trees in the high country to quench our thirst for color when September rolls around.

So I visited the high country yesterday in search of fall color. I had to climb up into the hills to get a better view of the gold rush. The country was very rugged with boulders and dead trees. Then, I spotted them, dead ahead. Brilliant gold and yellow tassels waving in the wind.

As I got closer, the aspen leaves gave off a distinct smell. If firewood burning is the smell of winter in the mountains and a cool snow melt breeze is the smell of spring and wildflowers are the smell of summer, then aspen leaves are surely the smell of fall.

I am alone on the mountainside as I capture my moments of color. I look up and enjoy the contrast of the gold leaves with the blue sky. Time seems to slow down. I enjoy the moment. There is warm sunshine on my face. The soft breeze cools my skin just a little. The sound of rustling leaves surrounds me.

After a while, it is time to head back down the hill. But like the promise of spring after a long winter, I too will return to see next year's show.

Dumbfounded

My wife and step daughter are dumbfounded. They don't get it. Why do I bother to watch Texas play college football games? As they see it, I am not enjoying the experience.

Just last night, I was glued to the television as my beloved Longhorns were struggling to win a football game. I was dumbfounded at how inept my team was playing. How can a team with the ways and means of a powerhouse like Texas, play so poorly? What are these kids, human?

I do not enjoy it when they lose. I do not enjoy it when they win, but not by the odds makers in Las Vegas point spread prediction. I do not enjoy it when they play an over matched opponent and look mediocre winning the game. Why?

It has got me to thinking. What is it exactly that bothers me? Is it the potential of greatness unfulfilled or is it my unbalanced allegiance to a team, whose results which I cannot control, I illogically feel good or bad about?

When I was a student at Texas, I would attend home games and yell until I was horse and clap my hands until they were numb. For some reason, I felt I was able to will the team to victory by my fan-dumb. So, it is no surprise to me that I yell at the television set during games. My step daughter reminds me quite often that "they can't hear you!" and "will you stop!". My wife then chimes in with, "I don't know why you watch these games, you don't enjoy it." Yes I do.

It just appears that I am living and dying with each incomplete pass, each fumble, each missed tackle, each bonehead play call, each time perfection is not attained. And maybe I am. It's just not in my nature to passively sit in front of the television and act like I just got a lobotomy. In the end, I win exactly nothing.

To some men, a sports team that they follow becomes a small part of them. What the team does in some strange way reflects what they are or maybe what they wished they were capable of. Maybe in watching the possibility of something great happening each Saturday, we validate our humanity in realizing our limitations. Maybe my frustration is ultimately not with the team and their performance, but in my life and what I can or cannot control.

Unemployment Dilemma

I am currently unemployed. I was a Chief Estimator for a commercial general contractor before I got laid off. The dilemma I have run into is that if I am lucky enough to find another job, any job, the money earned will be deducted from the amount of unemployment I am eligible to receive. It turns out that I am eligible to receive roughly half of my normal take home pay. So unless I get a job paying a minimum of say $18 per hour, I will actually be getting less money by working?!

Being unemployed is no longer a what's-wrong-with-you type of thing. Like a divorce or getting some counseling, people accept the reality of it these days. There are roughly 14,900,000 people unemployed in this country today. Let me restate that. There are nearly 15 MILLION people out of work and looking for a job.

People are desperately searching for a job these days. Applying for ANY job has become the norm in today's job market, no matter if you are qualified for the position or not. There is also a large pool of overqualified workers flooding the market and competing for the few job openings that are available.

Most employers that are hiring are overwhelmed with the volume of responses to their job openings making your chances of being hired even more remote. And recruiters who used to find and weed out candidates for employers aren't being used because businesses can't afford to use them, especially for the lower paying jobs.

Today, there are jobs to be had, but the majority of them are jobs that pay $12 per hour or lower. So what do you do? If you can even get one, do you take a dead-end job that you are way over qualified for?

I am required to keep a work log for my unemployment. A work log is a record of your work search while you collect unemployment. A job contact in your work log can be a phone call, an e-mail, a resume, a job application and/or a job interview. You are required to make 5 contacts per week in my state in order to be eligible to collect unemployment.

My first entry in my work log is dated May 26, 2009. For the next 68 weeks, I have logged 670 contacts in my quest to secure a job. 68 weeks times 5 equals 340 mandatory contacts. I have exceeded my requirement by 330 contacts and I am no closer to gainful employment than when I started.

As I write this, it all sounds like science fiction to me. The economy is bad. Our outlook is bleak. We need to get a hold of ourselves. We are Americans. We need to improvise, adapt, and overcome. But when? Perhaps after the election in November...

The Summer Wind

Horsetooth Reservoir is just west of Fort Collins, CO. It covers 1900 acres and is 6.5 miles long.

31 August 2010 - Horsetooth Reservoir, Fort Collins, CO

I loaded the kayak onto the Jeep around noon and headed off to the lake (reservoir). It was the last day of August. I had been kayaking all summer long and this was to be a sort of farewell to summer paddle. No agenda really, just fun in the sun. When I put in at the dock at the south end of the lake at South Bay, it was 12:40 pm.

There was a nice breeze blowing from the south and the lake was virtually empty of motor boat traffic. I decided to paddle into the middle of the lake and let the wind carry me where it may. Where it may is a bad combination with an I want to go on an adventure today attitude.

I was sailing away down the lake checking out the shoreline as I went. There were now exposed sandy beach areas that had been covered by water months before. I saw sandstone boulder formations and dams with roads on top of them.

Since it was a relatively cool day for the last day of August, I had not brought any water with me...note to self...not a good idea in Colorado on any day of the year. The sun was bright and warm and I was enjoying the day. Normally, I would paddle just enough to realize that I had to paddle just as far back. Today was different. Today I just felt like seeing how far to the north I could go.

After about 2 hours, I began to recognize the surroundings of the north end of the reservoir. Wow, that south wind must have really been pushing me. I began to get excited. I was going to paddle all the way from the south end to the north end of the lake, cool.

Since I was tiring, my mind began to start to rationalize a minor detail, that of how I was going to get back to the south end of the lake. There was a pay station at the north end and maybe I could get the ranger to give me a lift back to my vehicle at the south end, 6.5 miles away. Or maybe a friend of mine could come and give me a lift. Either way, I was close to the north end and I was going to make it.

I docked my kayak at 3:03 pm. The whole place was empty. The sign said nobody works here on Mondays and Tuesdays, doo! Plan B. Nobody answers my phone call, double doo! What am I gonna do now? My wife was working a 12 hour shift and my step daughter was at a movie with her dad. Son, you are either going to ask a stranger for a ride or paddle back 6.5 miles against the wind and with shoulders and arms that are feeling it already...I did not like this option one bit.

Time waits for no one and the afternoon was moving right along. My mind was like...hey buddy, you just paddled the entire length of the lake with a stiff breeze at you back and it took you 2 hours and 23 minutes. How long do you think this is gonna take going against the wind and waves with tired body in tact and 6.5 miles in front of you?

3:53 pm. I push away from the dock and tell myself that I need to pick small incremental goals and just not think about the task at hand. My shoulders are telling me that this is not my idea of a good time.

I select targets on the horizon to aim for like: buoys, rock outcroppings, trees, and fishing boats. The sun is bothering me as I failed to bring a hat as well. I am grateful for the shadows on the lake as the afternoon wears on. I realize that no one is going to offer me a tow, after all I am out for a bit of exercise, aren't I? I paddle on.

I begin to think about having hot dogs and a beer when I am finished. By this time, I have begun to count my stokes to keep my mind off my pain. Counting to 100 seems to work and I press on. People on the lake fishing say hello as I pass by. I am making progress.

The south end's familiar surroundings come into view and I am close to being done. I continue to count as I dock at the south end. At 6:02 pm it is over. Surprisingly, I make it back in 2 hours and 9 minutes.

I throw the kayak up on the Jeep and tie it down and am home by 6:45 pm.
Because of errands and other duties, I would not get those hot dogs and a beer I had been hallucinating about until well after 9:00 pm. It is then that it begins to sink in that I had paddled the equivalent of a half marathon on this last day of August both with and against the summer wind.

Night of the Raccoons

27 August 2010 - Windsor, CO

Night of the grizzlies was a horrifying tale of marauding bears creeping in under the cover of darkness and killing campers in Yellowstone National Park. Last night in my backyard, it was night of the raccoons.

Under the cover of darkness and guided by the light of a full moon, they came. It was no huge surprise that these beasts would find my treasure of corn. The ecosystem created by our sump pump had drawn all sorts of wildlife to it. The cornfield was just a stones throw away from where the water flowed out of the pipe.

During the summer, we had heard eerie screeching and squawking noises in the middle of the night. A neighbor had told us she thought it was the sounds of a raccoon in heat. Confirmed.

So there they lay, corn stalks torn down by the savages. There were corn cobs stripped clean of all their bounty tossed around like rag dolls. Nature had come full circle.

I planted the field late because we had snow on May 15th this year. It grew slowly and we did enjoy 8 nice ears before the carnage. Now, all we have left is the old corn stalks standing like tombstones reminding us of a season gone by.

We will let the stalks dry out and blow in the wind until around Halloween. Then, they will be used as decoration. Finally, we will burn them and return the ashes into the soil with the promise of another crop next season.

As for the raccoons, we have never seen them. These ghosts will continue to remind us that like the bunnies and the butterflies, these creatures need to eat too. I know they enjoyed it.

From Passion to Profession

The economy. It is a word that is perceived by many as the reason their life is not exactly going the way they had in mind. The economy is bad. People are out of work. Stress is everywhere and there seems to be no time or place for having fun.

The service sector of the economy consists of activities where people offer their knowledge and time to improve productivity, performance, potential, and sustainability. I aim to help the service sector of this economy by launching an outdoor guide service to improve the peace of mind in all of us. The ultimate goal, to have fun.

Fun is who I am, it is what I do, it defines me. Why not share my knowledge of it with others? Case in point, this summer's new activity, kayaking.

Kayaking on lakes and reservoirs is a blast. Imagine yourself: exploring hidden shallow coves, seeing wildlife, making anywhere on the shoreline your own private beach, packing a floating picnic of your favorite foods and beverages, and getting a beneficial core workout while paddling on your adventures. The stress of the day will fade away and you will end up feeling refreshed and renewed, ready to take on the challenges of everyday living.

If being on the water is just not your thing, hiking adventures on land in the mountains await your restless steps. Imagine walking through fragrant spruce forests, seeing cascading waterfalls, discovering beautiful wildflowers, feeling the breeze off a high mountain lake, and becoming the explorer you once were and still can be.

Pictures of your adventures will be taken by a professional photographer and put on a CD for you. A massage therapist will be available after your adventure for an additional fee as an option. Food, clothing, and gear requirements and recommendations will be available on the website as well as links to other adventure information sites and sponsors.

We hope to see you soon either on the water or on the trail when you are in the Northern Colorado area. For more information, e-mail T.A. Nielsen at scorenielsen@gmail.com.

It's All About the Bike

June 14, 1974. The day I got my first road bike. I remember it well.

It was a bike that I had wanted for some time. I had seen it in a pamphlet I got from the local bike shop, George Garner Cyclery in Northbrook, Illinois. I spent months doing odd jobs and scraping together money in order to buy this bike.

When the day came, my mom took me down to the bike shop and they brought it up from the basement. I looked it over and told the guy who brought it up to get me another one because this one had a scratch on it. The adults then looked at me like I was crazy and said this is your bike. All righty then.

I got on the bike just outside the store and told my mother I would see her at home. There is nothing quite like the sound of a new bike. It is so quiet and charged up with the adventures that lay ahead. When I got home, my friends were all waiting there to see the new beauty. Russ Williams decided that we should try it out so we all went for a ride down to Glencoe Beach. It was sweet.

When you're 13 years old, a bike is your way out into the world. My family did not go on vacations, so this was it. Freedom baby. Within a year, my friends and I were charting courses as far away as Fox Lake, Illinois. For a 14 year old kid, 62 miles round trip was pretty good. We stretched one trip intended for Wilmot Mountain into an 80 mile ordeal. Oh the places you will go...

As I got older, I hung on to that bike. It made it's way to The Woodlands, Texas when I was 18. It visited Eastern Illinois University when I was 20. It found its way down to Texas again when I was 24. It returned to Illinois when I was 30. It traveled to Colorado when I was 38 and remains with me today.

Today, I have had that 1974 Schwinn Sprint bicycle for 36 years. It was in my basement this morning and I pumped up the tires and took it for a spin this afternoon.

It no longer is my primary road ride. Back in 2003, I bought a Lemond Tourmalet that I will have had 7 years already this fall. Why do I keep the old Sprint? Is it a symbol of my journey out into the world? Or is it a tangible part of my past that illustrates if you want something bad enough, you will and can attain or achieve it. I don't know. Time will tell.

Spoiled

I was in college in the spring of 1983 and I dropped by the ballpark at The University of Texas at Austin to see my first Longhorn baseball game. I had started listening to games on the radio and their history had perked my interest.

Texas was playing a Southwest Conference game against TCU. It was the seventh inning and I noticed on the scoreboard that TCU didn't have a hit. Then, the Texas pitcher went into his windup and delivered the ball. There was a loud ping sound. The Texas outfielder backed up and went to the wall and the ball just cleared the fence for a home run. The Texas pitcher (Calvin Schiraldi) let out a yell and whipped his glove down on the mound. At the time, I was like bummer, but hey, we got a ways to go here dude. Well, Texas came up in the bottom of the 7th and went in order and to my surprise the game was over. You see in those days, the first game of a double header was a scheduled 7 inning affair. Being new to Texas baseball, I did not know this. So, Texas lost the game 1-0 on a 1 hitter by Schiraldi.

I went to other games that spring, Then I went home to Chicago for the summer. I followed the team in the Chicago Tribune's box scores in the back of the sports section. I went over to my friend Chris Kennedy's house every morning to look at his newspaper. Texas had made it to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska and were playing for the championship. In those days, without ESPN, the only way to find out if they won in real time was to call a Sports Information phone number. Anyway, I remember calling and hearing that the score was Texas 2 Alabama 2 in the 7th inning. A guy by the name of Roger Clemens was on the mound for Texas.

Later that night, I called again and was informed that Texas had indeed won 4-3. They had won the National Championship. I was excited and proud and had absolutely nobody to celebrate with because I was in Chicago.

So that was the beginning of my obsession with Texas Baseball. The next season, Texas lost the National Championship game to Augie Girrido's Cal State Fullerton team 3-1. Ironically, Augie is the current Texas head coach and has led Texas to 2 National Championships. And the season after that, Texas lost the National Championship to the Miami Hurricane's 10-6. It was quite a run of excellence.

And now you now why I expect so much from my Longhorns. At the time I thought they would play for the National Championship every year. Could you blame me?

Texas lost the National Championship to the Wichita State Shockers in 1989 and then struggled to be competitive until Huston Street grew up and won the National Championship for Texas in 2002. Texas was runner up to Cal State Fullerton in 2004 and won it all the next season in 2005 when they beat Florida for their 6th National Championship (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002, & 2005). Texas was runner up AGAIN last season to LSU.

That brings us to this past weekend. Texas was playing in what is called a Super Regional down in Austin. They had lost the first game of a best of 3 series to TCU 3-1. Then, Texas bounced back with a 14-1 victory to even the series. But yesterday, Texas lost to TCU 4-1 ending their season. Texas will not be going to Omaha and the College World Series this year. For TCU, it will be their 1st trip to Omaha and the College World Series. They earned it and they deserve to be in Omaha. They beat Texas and they made school history.

As for Texas and me, we'll be back. History is on our side. Funny thing is that I had just finished celebrating the Stanley Cup Championship with the Chicago Blackhawks, which took a lifetime to achieve. Sports most times is a way to mark time, which inevitably keeps ticking by. Enjoy the highs and remember them because championships don't come along every day and when you win one, it is as much for the here and now as it is for all the times you came up short.

Schooled

Ok, it's reality time for the Chicago Blackhawks and their fans. After storming into the Stanley Cup Finals against inferior Western Conference opponents, the Blackhawks have more than met their match in the Eastern Conference Champions, the Philadelphia Flyers. (The Flyers not only touched the Conference Championship trophy, they carried it around because they earned it.)

We have seen this rodeo before. An overconfident, young team told they are great and that they are going to win it all falling short of expectations. Right now, the Flyers are putting on a clinic on how to beat a superior opponent by doing all the little things that win games.

Somebody forgot to tell the Hawks that this is the Stanley Cup playoffs where grit and determination usually prevail over pure talent. The Blackhawks can skate like nobodies business. They are uber talented. They are also very young and inexperienced. Right now, they are being schooled by the Flyers.

Did we forget already that: the Flyers won their last game of the season on the road in a shootout just to make the playoffs, that the Flyers beat Martin Brodeur and the #2 seed New Jersey Devils in 6 games, that the Flyers came back from three games to none to win in game 7 on the road after being down 3-0 in the game, that the Flyers shut out the Canadians 3 times after the Canadians beat the #1 seed Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, and that the Flyers have Chris Pronger, who is being allowed to play as dirty as he is capable of and not be penalized for it.

You bet we did. The fans of the Blackhawks want the Stanley Cup. They have waited 49 years for it. So, while we were all fixated on winning it, we forget to respect the opponent, who by the way wants it as bad as we do. If the Hawks don't wake up and start playing hockey again, I'm afraid that we will all be saying "wait till next year" like the true Chicago fans we are.

Quest for the Cup

1961 was the last time the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. That was 49 years ago. Since I was less than a year old, I don't remember it. I do remember being one period away from winning the Cup back in 1971 though.

I was 10 years old listening to the game on the radio sitting at our kitchen table. The Hawks took a 2-0 lead into the 3rd period of game seven and lost 3-2 to the Canadians. That one hurt.

The Hawks returned to the Finals in 1973 and lost in 6 games once again to the Canadians. I don't remember much about that series.

It wasn't until 1992 that the Hawks returned to the Finals after reeling off something like 10 straight playoff wins. They were abruptly swept by the Penguins and Mario Lemieux that season.

I then fell off the hockey bandwagon of my youth until I moved to Colorado. The Avalanche were a dominant force in the NHL back then and in 2001, the Avalanche exorcised some demons of mine and won the Stanley Cup. They too went into the 3rd period of game seven with a 2-0 lead. This time, 30 years later, the Av's closed the deal and won it all. We went to the victory parade down in Denver and it was something special.

So here we are, just 5 wins away from the Chicago Blackhawks winning Lord Stanley's Cup. I wish all the fans of the Blackhawks far and wide best of luck in your quest for the Cup. I'll be tuned in and rooting like hell as well.

Random Acts of Kindness

There was a man hanging around the backstop of our little league field. This man was a fan. He stood directly behind home plate and encouraged kids. The backstop consisted of a tall, chain-link fence enclosure and I remember the man leaning against it with his fingers wrapped around the fence. I was up to bat and he encouraged me to keep my eye on the ball and so forth. I got a hit. Actually, that day I got 3 hits, a double and 2 singles. It was my best day in little league. Neighbors and people in our town stopped my mom and I on the street saying they heard I had a really good game. It was special.

What was special to me was that this guy encouraged me and I fed off of it and performed. Not to sound like a poor kid, but nobody else had. Don't get me wrong here, my mother would go on to be a great 5:00 am hockey mom, but I don't remember her going to my little league games. My sisters? Nope. My brother? Well, actually he was an assistant coach, but he was busy helping the pitchers warm up, etc. And my dad, well let's just say the only time he ever spent any time with me as far as baseball was concerned was the day of little league tryouts, my mom made him try to give me some hitting tips in our backyard while I was standing on our patio. Nice.

So, yesterday I was walking our yellow lab Molly and we walked to a baseball field that only had a backstop. I stood behind the backstop and remembered the unidentified stranger who had encouraged me that special day. I am pretty sure he had no idea of the impact his encouragement had, but I do. Thanks man.

Is Denver Dumb?

Money...money changes everything.

The 1st round of the NFL Draft was on a Thursday in prime time this year. My wife and I tuned in and I began to explain to her that the higher you got drafted, the more money you got. Well it wasn't until a few days later that I realized just how much money we are talking about. After researching last year's 1st round picks, I was amazed at the dollar amount of the contracts these people got. For example, last year's #1 pick in the Draft signed a contract for 72 million dollars?! And get this, 41.7 million dollars of that contract is guaranteed! He gets hurt, he still gets paid.

So take the first 4 quarterbacks selected in this year's Draft and let's do a little cost analysis: Sam Bradford out of Oklahoma was selected first in the Draft, so let's give him 72 million dollars for starters. Tim Tebow out of Florida was the next quarterback selected at twenty-fifth in the 1st round, so based on last year's 25th pick's contract, he'll get a mere 13.3 million dollars.

Now Jimmy Clausen out of Notre Dame fell considerably in the draft all the way to the 2nd round, and he is looking at about 3 million dollars. And Colt McCoy out of Texas, who was selected in the 3rd round, can expect a measly 650 thousand dollar contract. Wow!

Here is the rub. Speaking strictly from a financial standpoint, how wise was it for the Denver Bronco's to select Tim Tebow in the 1st round? By most NFL scouts, Tim was the 5th best pro prospect at his position. In other words, unless Denver knew something and knew another team was about to pull the trigger and select Tim Tebow, they could have easily gotten him in the later rounds for a ton less money. Now, is the perception that this guy is worth it, worth all those millions of dollars it is going to take to sign him? You decide.

facebook alien

The musical group Simon and Garfunkel had a song that went something like this:

Time it was
and what a time it was
it was
a time of innocence
a time of confidences
long ago and far away it must be
for I have a photograph
preserve your memories
they're all that's left you...

The facebook phenomenon has got me to think'n, so before you read this post, you better put your hip waders on because this is some pretty deep (insert word of your choice that begins with s).

If we are all sitting in our own private movie theaters watching our own version of how we perceive the world to be, how bizarre it must be to use facebook to connect with people. Here are some observations:

Using facebook sometimes is like being a time traveler from somewhere in the past. You suddenly appear out of the blue and completely freak people out. I am sure it is unsettling and unnerving. You might as well be an alien from another planet. Like a pair of shoes you wore when you were 10 years old, you no longer fit and/or serve any useful purpose as a friend. But we try them on anyway don't we...nope too small.

Our friendships are like a commuter train moving along the tracks. The train stops and picks up and drops off people along the way. It has a destination, but that destination is different for each passenger. Some people miss their stops and fail to get off. Maybe facebook is like that? Maybe some passengers are lost, do not know where they are going, and/or do not want to be found. Can you say blocked?

Friends may be like leaves on a tree. They bud, grow into leaves, serve their purpose, then change color in the autumn of their life and fall to the ground, possibly to be blown away by the wind or raked up, bagged, and thrown out with the trash. One mans trash is another mans treasure. If we are all in our own little worlds, who knows how that is gonna work out?

Sometimes we press the leaves and iron them with wax paper for keep sakes...I think these are what they call high school reunions...

More often than not, friendships that are supposed to be two-way streets end up being one way streets that dead end into a cul-de-sac...seems pretty cynical huh, but when was the last time somebody from your past contacted you totally out of the blue, not on facebook?

The Forearm Forklift

Our story begins nearly 3 years ago when the movers broke our sleep number bed. An oak sleigh bed frame weighs a lot and a sleep number bed system should not be set up by 3 tired guys making minimum wage. Bad combination. Anyway, we of course didn't realize they actually broke it until after we signed the damage release form. Thus, we began our journey into pain and suffering night in and night out.

Oh we tried to fix our bed, but it kept breaking. The beautiful oak sleigh bed frame broke, many times. We gorilla glued it, nailed it, screwed it, well forget it. I even invented a hanging bed frame solution that broke as well. So, a couple of weeks ago, I took the whole thing apart and hauled it down to the basement. Oh, what did we sleep on?

I forgot to mention that someone we used to be friends with dropped off a king size mattress system back in November when I was in Chicago. Just leaned it up against our garage. I came home to a problem a lot bigger than I realized at the time. What are we gonna do with it and how do we move it? My wife and I dragged it inside the house, barely on that November night and it ended up in our dinning room where it had been until yesterday, February 5th. Yup, a king size bed just sitting there in the dinning room. We wrapped Christmas presents on it, slept on it, etc...

My wife and I tried twice to get the king size mattress upstairs, but we were denied. No handles and a 7'x7' blob with the rigidity of sand bags is a lot to ask for 2 people to move up 16 steps. All of our friends already have back problems or used them as excuses so we were in a pickle. We needed a bed. We had a bed. The bed was downstairs. Our bedroom was upstairs. You get the picture.

We needed a tipping point. We got it. Without getting too graphic, our 14 year old Labrador had a little, no a big accident, a bout with violent diarrhea on the bed with us in it the other night. I know too much information and gross. After cleaning up the Slum Dog Millionaire outhouse scene, my wife went upstairs to sleep with our daughter and I got the couch. Did you know that infomercials at 2:00 am can actually benefit you? All of a sudden, there it was, The Forearm Forklift. It was like a prayer had been answered.

The next day I looked on-line and found that Ace Hardware actually carried The Forearm Forklift. Got it half off too. So, all we needed was to try it out. Surprisingly, our daughter wanted to give it a whirl so we strapped her up like an Egyptian slave in The Ten Commandments and off we went to take on the dreaded steps. With all 3 of us, it was game on and that darn thing was going up those stairs whether it liked it or not.

We made it up to the first landing and then the next and then it was in our bedroom and the war was over. We did it.

Last night was the first good nights sleep I have had in months, maybe years. Thank you Forearm Forklift. Thank you, thank you, thank you...

Unlockable Doors

Dateline: Northbrook, Illinois January 7, 1999 - 7:00 a.m.

I opened the front door of my mom's house and was greeted by zero degree weather. The garage door slid up and my 1985 Buick Regal Ltd. sat waiting for the adventure ahead. The trunk was full with golf clubs, clothes, and a vacuum cleaner. The back seat was filled with home stuff. The front seat had a TV on it. I was ready to shove off. Time to depart to parts henceforth unknown. Destination: Fort Collins, Colorado.

I was moving. I had gotten a job in Greeley, Colorado. Day one was an eight hour drive to Omaha, Nebraska. The Days Inn in Omaha was ready for me when I arrived in the afternoon. My first floor room however had a problem with the toilet. They moved me to the second floor. Problem.

The lock on the passenger side door of my car was broken, unlockable. Everything I was moving was in that car. I had asked for a first floor room so I could keep an eye on my car out the window. Now, I had an outpost view from above and I was nervous. I fall asleep and somebody walks off with my TV at minimum. Easy pickings. There was hope though.

It started to snow. I figured if it snowed enough to cover the car it would hide it's contents. Snow baby snow.

Darkness fell and I was anxious. With every car door I leaped from bed and looked out the window down at the broken car door scenario. 1:00 AM 2:00 AM 3:00 AM Stupid late arrivals.

Morning breaks with dark circles under my eyes from zero sleep. Contents of car intact.

The day goes well, except for the cop that tells me to move my car or get a ticket as I am holding my TV in front of my new apartment. By 3:00 PM, I am sitting in my new apartment on my rented couch sitting in wonder and amazement. The apartment was all set up. The rented furniture had arrived and was already set up. The carpet hadn't even been walked on. You could see the cleaning rake marks still. I had landed. One journey was over and the rest as they say is history. 11 years worth now...

Victory Parties

When I was 12 years old, we played street hockey. Street hockey was basically ice hockey without the ice, skates, and puck. Most of the neighborhood kids played street hockey, some more than others. We spent hours and hours blocking cars from easy passage down Big Oak Lane. It was our street after all. How dare they interrupt the game!

When we got tired of playing against each other, we sought out others that played our game. A couple of streets down from us was a team called Redwood. Besides being a street, Redwood was a team of really good ice hockey players, most of them all stars. We were just a bunch of hackers from Big Oak, or so they might have thought.

But we lived and breathed this game of street hockey. One year, we destroyed our front lawn and wore it down to bare dirt playing so many games. Numerous garage doors were also obliterated from constant barrages of slap shots. This was our sport.

So, when the gauntlet was thrown down and we were challenged to play against Redwood. there really was only one thing to do before the game. Victory Party!

We went to the grocery store and bought Cheetos and pop and celebrated our upcoming victory against Redwood in our treehouse. We just believed we were going to win.

The game was held and we won 7-2. Redwood was stunned and really mad. How could a bunch of nobodies beat an all star team? Rematch. OK.

After another Victory Party, we routed them 14-2 this time. They were convinced and we were as well, only for us it was before we played the game.