I'm suffering from Writer's Block, so instead you get a view of this little invention:
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Real Salt Lake Home Coming: 21 April, 2011
It's great being right out on the tarmac.
Ready to cheer on the home-coming heroes.
The only two I can readily identify: Paulo Jr. (First one off the plane); Will Johnson (In the black shirt).
Look at those smiles. You can tell that they played well in Monterrey.
The only purpose for the barrier was to keep us away from the planes, not Nat Borchers. 
Yep, Will Johnson's dog was excited to see him. 
Jamison Olave had some camera time. 
Coach, Jason Kreis, was a little hard to get a hold of him. But I caught a quick shot on his way out. 
Leo, Will, and the cutest dog in the hanger (oddly enough, he wasn't the only dog in the hanger).Friday, April 15, 2011
After Years and Years of Running . . .
I had a roommate that was trying to improve his running. He found a book and it listed the four types of runners (or non-runners): Type I - Those that don't have the desire, or the ability; Type II - Those that have the desire, but not the ability; Type III - Those that don't have the desire, but do have the ability; and Type IV - Those that have the desire and the ability.
We were quickly able to ascertain that my roommate trying to kick up his running was a Type II, my other roommate was a Type I, and I was a Type III. The only one we were missing from our group was the elusive Type IV (I would've figured that anyone having the desire to run would be elusive). The only running I really did at the time was in Frisbee games, and I was happy to keep it that way. (Speaking of which, it's getting to be that season again! Anyone know of some groups getting together?)
A short while later I met a girl, turns out that she's the Type IV. Apparently it only took a cute girl to get me into a little running. It's been over three years and 100 miles since I married that girl and to be honest, I'm still not the biggest fan of running (I'd much rather be running for a touch-down), but I keep doing it. Why? Oddly enough there are a number of reasons.
For one, it keeps me in shape for trash kicking in Frisbee (I love being able to out run the teens and twenty-somethings). Another, running actually does keep me in shape. Yet another, there's always great stuff to see when I'm running. In the summer I get to be outside and seeing all the nature around. In the winter I get to watch ESPN while I go a couple of miles on the treadmill. However, probably the biggest reason why I keep running is because it's quality time with that Type IV girl I met a few years back.
We were quickly able to ascertain that my roommate trying to kick up his running was a Type II, my other roommate was a Type I, and I was a Type III. The only one we were missing from our group was the elusive Type IV (I would've figured that anyone having the desire to run would be elusive). The only running I really did at the time was in Frisbee games, and I was happy to keep it that way. (Speaking of which, it's getting to be that season again! Anyone know of some groups getting together?)
A short while later I met a girl, turns out that she's the Type IV. Apparently it only took a cute girl to get me into a little running. It's been over three years and 100 miles since I married that girl and to be honest, I'm still not the biggest fan of running (I'd much rather be running for a touch-down), but I keep doing it. Why? Oddly enough there are a number of reasons.
For one, it keeps me in shape for trash kicking in Frisbee (I love being able to out run the teens and twenty-somethings). Another, running actually does keep me in shape. Yet another, there's always great stuff to see when I'm running. In the summer I get to be outside and seeing all the nature around. In the winter I get to watch ESPN while I go a couple of miles on the treadmill. However, probably the biggest reason why I keep running is because it's quality time with that Type IV girl I met a few years back.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Who to Root For, and Why!
I'm not turning this blog into a sports central, but it's just what's prevalent in my mind right now. Don't worry, the requested blogs are being worked on and will show up in the near-ish future. For those of you that didn't realize this, you can make requests in the comments area. (You could try telling me face to face, but most likely I'll forget what it was you wanted me to write about.)
So, on to today's topic: There are always rivalries in sports, it just makes the games more interesting. Many colleges take advantage of this by having rivalry cups, buckets, wheels, or other odd trophies. However, to my knowledge only one pro sport has actually turned this wonderful idea to a real marketable practice.
In Major League Soccer there's about nine rivalry cups (according to Wikipedia): Atlantic Cup (D.C. United/New York Red Bulls), Brimstone Cup (Chicago Fire/FC Dallas), California Clasico (Los Angeles Galaxy/San Jose Earthquakes), Heritage Cup (San Jose Earthquakes/Seattle Sounders FC), Honda SuperClasico (C.D. Chivas USA/Los Angeles Galaxy), Rocky Mountain Cup (Colorado Rapids/Real Salt Lake), Texas Derby (FC Dallas/Houston Dynamo), Trillium Cup (Columbus Crew/Toronto FC), and the Cascadia Cup (Portland Timbers/Seattle Sounders FC/Vancouver White Caps FC).
These are actual trophies that reside at the reigning winners stadium for all to see. Each season it's a big deal for the fans to have the cup in their team's possession and the rivalry games are usually some of the best attended.
Now many people will take these rivalries as an excuse to hate the opposing team and hope nothing but the worse for the entire season. But then how does this benefit your team? The best logic is to support your team and their rival team in all other endeavors. Because the success of your rival only increases others' views of your own team's success (assuming your team won the cup). There's nothing impressive about winning the cup if you took it from the lowest team in the league.
Let's put this into perspective. The top team in the MLS is the Colorado Rapids. They're doing great starting out having won all 3 games they've played and I expect them to make a good showing against FC Dallas to stay on top. After that game they get to come Rio Tinto Stadium and face off against their Rocky Mountain Cup rivals, Real Salt Lake. I'm planning to be there cheering on RSL the entire time hoping for a blow-out. Now tell me, could it be any sweeter than getting a solid win against your rival -the top ranked team in the league? I submit to you that it can not! Just some food for thought.
So, on to today's topic: There are always rivalries in sports, it just makes the games more interesting. Many colleges take advantage of this by having rivalry cups, buckets, wheels, or other odd trophies. However, to my knowledge only one pro sport has actually turned this wonderful idea to a real marketable practice.
In Major League Soccer there's about nine rivalry cups (according to Wikipedia): Atlantic Cup (D.C. United/New York Red Bulls), Brimstone Cup (Chicago Fire/FC Dallas), California Clasico (Los Angeles Galaxy/San Jose Earthquakes), Heritage Cup (San Jose Earthquakes/Seattle Sounders FC), Honda SuperClasico (C.D. Chivas USA/Los Angeles Galaxy), Rocky Mountain Cup (Colorado Rapids/Real Salt Lake), Texas Derby (FC Dallas/Houston Dynamo), Trillium Cup (Columbus Crew/Toronto FC), and the Cascadia Cup (Portland Timbers/Seattle Sounders FC/Vancouver White Caps FC).
These are actual trophies that reside at the reigning winners stadium for all to see. Each season it's a big deal for the fans to have the cup in their team's possession and the rivalry games are usually some of the best attended.
Now many people will take these rivalries as an excuse to hate the opposing team and hope nothing but the worse for the entire season. But then how does this benefit your team? The best logic is to support your team and their rival team in all other endeavors. Because the success of your rival only increases others' views of your own team's success (assuming your team won the cup). There's nothing impressive about winning the cup if you took it from the lowest team in the league.
Let's put this into perspective. The top team in the MLS is the Colorado Rapids. They're doing great starting out having won all 3 games they've played and I expect them to make a good showing against FC Dallas to stay on top. After that game they get to come Rio Tinto Stadium and face off against their Rocky Mountain Cup rivals, Real Salt Lake. I'm planning to be there cheering on RSL the entire time hoping for a blow-out. Now tell me, could it be any sweeter than getting a solid win against your rival -the top ranked team in the league? I submit to you that it can not! Just some food for thought.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Shout-Out to My Peeps!
In this episode, I'm just going to have to give out a few congrats.
Congratulations to my sister-in-law and her Pinoy boyfriend.
The Pinoy is no longer her boyfriend, he is now her fiancé. He's a good guy, served his mission in the Philippines; give me good competitions on the foosball table; and doesn't enjoy playing Rock Band. What's not to like aobut this guy?
Congratulations to Real Salt Lake.
What was supposed to be a Clash of the Titans turned out to be “clinical, undeniable, dominance” by RSL. Unless Galaxy gets their rhythm soon, they're going to drop from Supporter Shield favorites to middl of the pack and just hoping to make it into the playoffs. Then again, Real might just be that good.
Congratulations to Diggity.
I wish I had mor information on this one, but Diggity is terrible at responding to any of my inquiries, so I'm only giving the information I have: On the 29th, Bungie released their Action Pack Playlist for Halo, and his SkeeBall map is on it! They duplicated the entire map and put it back to back for teams versus.
P.S. Apparently writing from Open Office and transfering it to the blog doesn't work well, so I've been working on making it presentable, but that ain't happening. So live with it, and I'll try again next week. (I might have it figured out now . . . )
Congratulations to my sister-in-law and her Pinoy boyfriend.
The Pinoy is no longer her boyfriend, he is now her fiancé. He's a good guy, served his mission in the Philippines; give me good competitions on the foosball table; and doesn't enjoy playing Rock Band. What's not to like aobut this guy?
Congratulations to Real Salt Lake.
What was supposed to be a Clash of the Titans turned out to be “clinical, undeniable, dominance” by RSL. Unless Galaxy gets their rhythm soon, they're going to drop from Supporter Shield favorites to middl of the pack and just hoping to make it into the playoffs. Then again, Real might just be that good.
Congratulations to Diggity.
I wish I had mor information on this one, but Diggity is terrible at responding to any of my inquiries, so I'm only giving the information I have: On the 29th, Bungie released their Action Pack Playlist for Halo, and his SkeeBall map is on it! They duplicated the entire map and put it back to back for teams versus.
P.S. Apparently writing from Open Office and transfering it to the blog doesn't work well, so I've been working on making it presentable, but that ain't happening. So live with it, and I'll try again next week. (I might have it figured out now . . . )
Friday, March 25, 2011
The Big Five
Decisions, decisions . . . already I've come to realize that the hardest part of writing a blog is deciding what topic to write about. The choices really are endless. So, after a week of considering this, that, and the other, and the other, and the other, I've finally figured it out.
Last week my basketball season ended. The other day Michelle and I went to a hockey game. Tomorrow I'm going to a soccer game. I'm living it up with the sport's world. So, why not talk a little about sports. However, since sports is such a huge topic all it's own I'll limit it down to the fabulous Big Five. I'll let you know how I feel about them and try to explain why.
Baseball
Let's get started with the lowest on the totem poll. Pretty much, this game is funner to play than to watch . . . and I really don't like playing it that much. Of the Big Five, baseball takes the back middle seat. (But hey, according to some “The hump is good!”)
And why do I feel this way? Because I enjoy the team sports. In baseball the total amount of team play amounts to about 60 seconds. Usually there is a maximum of only three players involved in any single play. It could be the pitcher throwing the ball past the batter to the catcher. Or the batter hitting the ball, the outfielder picking up the ball, tossing to first base to get the batter out. Then there's the rare double play. Batter to the outfielder's glove, to the 1st basemen (I'll even go one more and say to the 2nd basemen,) A baseball game that makes the headlines is one where the pitcher throws a no hitter. Yep, the kind of game where nothing happens.
Hockey
OK, so there's a lot going on in hockey that I don't understand. Just the other day I learned a little bit about what those blue lines on the rink actually mean. Even though I don't always know why things are happening, but I still enjoy it.
Hockey is one a low scoring game so some people might not be interested in it, but for me the low scoring makes every play that much more intense. When the puck gets near the goal everyone is standing up and leaning in as close as they can to see what happens. Besides, who doesn't like the full speed impact? It's great to see the tactical use of a body check. Plus it's impressive how much those guys can do on a pair of skates. They are cutting and diving and pushing each other over just to get to the puck, all this being done in a pretty coordinated manner. Yeah, I said “pretty coordinated” cause sometimes it ain't so coordinate, those times are pretty fun to watch too.
Football
Another great contact sport. I would probably love it even more if the USU football team did better each season, but hey I still enjoy catching a game now and then. We just got season tickets for the Utah Blaze in a package deal, maybe I'll get more into the game.
Football keeps things interesting by giving a different amount of points for so many different things. When the game is drawing to an end everyone is talking about all the different combinations of scoring that can be used to get to the needed amount to win. Basketball is the only other game that actually has more than one point possible on any scoring situation. (Some might argue that baseball could fall into that category, but I beg to differ. It's one point for every player that passes the home plate, so even with bases loaded you still need to get all four players across that plate.) I guess that's part of what I enjoy so much about football, options. There are so many different choices to be made even before the play begins, rather they're going to devote themselves to a pass, a run, or the option. And then the defense needs to try and guess the play correctly, or just make the best out of the choice they made.
Basketball
As I mentioned earlier, my basketball season ended last week. When the USU aggies lost against KSU, It was called done till next season. When the aggies are playing I try my best to catch every game that's being played. Sometimes I can only listen to it on radio, other times I'm able to watch via the internet. Either way, I love USU basketball.
Hockey players on ice is pretty impressive, but basketball players moving the ball between and around different players to get it where it needs to be is awesome. This is a team sport at its finest. Every player needs to know what the plan is and what their part in that plan is. There are only 5 players out on the court, that's the fewest players involved in any of the games (unless a hockey team gets two of their players boxed, but that's a different matter), so one person makes a bigger difference in how the game goes. Basketball is the high scoring game, no other sport in the Big Five comes close. In basketball the stops and the scores can be a big deal.
Soccer
What can I say about soccer? It's known as The Beautiful Game. I have to agree.
Soccer has a flow that seems to appear in other games on occasion, and that's only with the best teams. Again, this game is a low scoring game and the ball spends a lot of time living in the midfield, but that's what makes soccer so exciting. When the ball moves into the 16 yard box everyone's eyes are glued to the field to see what is going to happen next, it always results in the whole stadium yelling and clapping or a mass gasp of disappointment. My theory is that the only reason some people don't enjoy soccer is because they don't understand it.
Guess that's all I'm gonna say for now, but maybe some other time I'll chit chat more about what those people who don't like sports are missing.
Last week my basketball season ended. The other day Michelle and I went to a hockey game. Tomorrow I'm going to a soccer game. I'm living it up with the sport's world. So, why not talk a little about sports. However, since sports is such a huge topic all it's own I'll limit it down to the fabulous Big Five. I'll let you know how I feel about them and try to explain why.
Baseball
Let's get started with the lowest on the totem poll. Pretty much, this game is funner to play than to watch . . . and I really don't like playing it that much. Of the Big Five, baseball takes the back middle seat. (But hey, according to some “The hump is good!”)
And why do I feel this way? Because I enjoy the team sports. In baseball the total amount of team play amounts to about 60 seconds. Usually there is a maximum of only three players involved in any single play. It could be the pitcher throwing the ball past the batter to the catcher. Or the batter hitting the ball, the outfielder picking up the ball, tossing to first base to get the batter out. Then there's the rare double play. Batter to the outfielder's glove, to the 1st basemen (I'll even go one more and say to the 2nd basemen,) A baseball game that makes the headlines is one where the pitcher throws a no hitter. Yep, the kind of game where nothing happens.
Hockey
OK, so there's a lot going on in hockey that I don't understand. Just the other day I learned a little bit about what those blue lines on the rink actually mean. Even though I don't always know why things are happening, but I still enjoy it.
Hockey is one a low scoring game so some people might not be interested in it, but for me the low scoring makes every play that much more intense. When the puck gets near the goal everyone is standing up and leaning in as close as they can to see what happens. Besides, who doesn't like the full speed impact? It's great to see the tactical use of a body check. Plus it's impressive how much those guys can do on a pair of skates. They are cutting and diving and pushing each other over just to get to the puck, all this being done in a pretty coordinated manner. Yeah, I said “pretty coordinated” cause sometimes it ain't so coordinate, those times are pretty fun to watch too.
Football
Another great contact sport. I would probably love it even more if the USU football team did better each season, but hey I still enjoy catching a game now and then. We just got season tickets for the Utah Blaze in a package deal, maybe I'll get more into the game.
Football keeps things interesting by giving a different amount of points for so many different things. When the game is drawing to an end everyone is talking about all the different combinations of scoring that can be used to get to the needed amount to win. Basketball is the only other game that actually has more than one point possible on any scoring situation. (Some might argue that baseball could fall into that category, but I beg to differ. It's one point for every player that passes the home plate, so even with bases loaded you still need to get all four players across that plate.) I guess that's part of what I enjoy so much about football, options. There are so many different choices to be made even before the play begins, rather they're going to devote themselves to a pass, a run, or the option. And then the defense needs to try and guess the play correctly, or just make the best out of the choice they made.
Basketball
As I mentioned earlier, my basketball season ended last week. When the USU aggies lost against KSU, It was called done till next season. When the aggies are playing I try my best to catch every game that's being played. Sometimes I can only listen to it on radio, other times I'm able to watch via the internet. Either way, I love USU basketball.
Hockey players on ice is pretty impressive, but basketball players moving the ball between and around different players to get it where it needs to be is awesome. This is a team sport at its finest. Every player needs to know what the plan is and what their part in that plan is. There are only 5 players out on the court, that's the fewest players involved in any of the games (unless a hockey team gets two of their players boxed, but that's a different matter), so one person makes a bigger difference in how the game goes. Basketball is the high scoring game, no other sport in the Big Five comes close. In basketball the stops and the scores can be a big deal.
Soccer
What can I say about soccer? It's known as The Beautiful Game. I have to agree.
Soccer has a flow that seems to appear in other games on occasion, and that's only with the best teams. Again, this game is a low scoring game and the ball spends a lot of time living in the midfield, but that's what makes soccer so exciting. When the ball moves into the 16 yard box everyone's eyes are glued to the field to see what is going to happen next, it always results in the whole stadium yelling and clapping or a mass gasp of disappointment. My theory is that the only reason some people don't enjoy soccer is because they don't understand it.
Guess that's all I'm gonna say for now, but maybe some other time I'll chit chat more about what those people who don't like sports are missing.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A New Level of Commitment
Well, yet again we've let a HUGE amount of time pass since posting something for our blog. I think the only person that still remembers this thing exists is my niece that likes to show up and feed our fish that lives at the bottom of this page. (If it wasn't for her it would probably be dead.) Now, I don't know how most people are, but I actually do have ideas running around in my head. I've looked at BookFace and decided that it wasn't for me. Guess I just feel that most of my ideas need more explanation than what is commonly acceptable to blurb about in the social network settings. Sure I keep my account so that I can . . . um . . . why do I keep my account? . . . hm. Anyways, the decision has been made: I'm making a goal for myself to have something posted here on a weekly basis. To make it even more likely to happen I'm using some of the “goal achievement standards”. Yep, I'm making it measurable, telling someone about it (you), and I'm writing it down so's I won't forget. Should be a fun ride for those of you that want to come along. I'm not promising that these posts will be interesting, or uplifting, or help you lose 30 pounds in two weeks. However, there will be something here. In fact I'll say that there will be something new here by Friday night at midnight. So in other words from Friday night at midnight to Friday night at midnight is will be one week. ( I was trying to think of some way to work in more “Friday night at midnight”, but just couldn't get ther.) No idea what all these posts will be about, possibly a lot of them will be about different rants that I have pent up inside of me. (Some future rants: People running with limp wrists; People riding bikes without using their hands; Swimming for exercise; Joggers and bikers that yell “left” as they run by; Blue poster putty. OK, I realized that my rants were taking on an exercise theme so I threw in that last one for kicks.) I might use this space just to post recent pictures of hikes/walks Michelle and I have been on. Posts might be reviews about books I've read or movies I've seen or even TV shows I enjoy watching. Maybe stuff will be posted about the last Aggie game I enjoyed or got upset about (that would probably mean I thought the refs were terrible, or it's football). Who knows, the choices are endless and I'll just try to keep going for as long as I can. If anyone was paying attention, I made sure not to say that I would be making a post on a weekly basis, this leaves the window open in case Michelle decides she wants to put something on here also. (Then my goal is met and I'm free for the week, wahoo.) With all of that being said, I'm going to leave you to ponder what might be coming in the near future, or just to just go on with life as you usually do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)