Epic Fail Day!

Do you ever have a day that holds so much promise? That could just be soooo good if things just work out right? That you just roll out of bed to get started?

Well - today could have been that day. Instead, it turned into Epic Fail Day '09. We should have had a BBQ in it's honor. Sheesh.

First, Michigan breaks my heart by tieing - then losing to MSU. I am pleased for Julie - genuinely. And, begrudgingly I'm happy for those oddballs in my family that actually like MSU and root for them. But, come on! Julie spent the afternoon trying to find someone in Michigan that could buy her a 'three peat' shirt.. for next year. Epic Fail.

Then, our beloved Washington goes into South Bend to play the Neutered Dames. They, too, end up tied after regulation and go down hard in OT. Epic Fail.

Finally, Cal gets Epically spanked by USC.

But, as I sit here typing this... I have to admit the day wasn't really all so bad. After all, I got to spend the day with Julie and I just love being able to do that. And, I got to text and phone all sorts of family and friends. I'm grateful to have such a great son, sister, nephew, father-in-law and friends that I can experience defeat in community. Defeat suffered alone can be debilitating. Defeat surrounded by love. Well, it's just not as bad, now is it? And I'm thankful we got to see Hannah and Maggie. They are so fun to be around and we had a great chance to laugh and enjoy a meal together. That was great! And I love that God provides so lovingly for us. We really do get to enjoy some fun times - things some people don't get an opportunity to. And after all - these games aren't meant to define us; but to entertain us.

So, this Epic Fail Day - it ain't so bad. But - let's not make a habit of it! Okay?

Are You Ready for Some Basketball?

Making it into the final four was bittersweet for Julie. On the one hand - MSU defeated the defending national champions - Kansas! On the other hand - we watched the game at the Scott's house. Remember - the Scotts went to Kansas! So - we kept the celebration to a minimum.












Next, they went on to defeat #1 nationally rated Louisville.. so now it's time for the Final Four! And it's time for MSU to keep upsetting folks! Next victim #1 seeded Conneticut!


















She wishes that this was her at the stadium - getting drinks and heading to her seat. However, since we can't be there.. we'll just cheer from here!



















So - here's to the Spartans! Go MSU!

From Green to Maize and Blue - Name that Belly!

All this talk about Green is making me think of MSU.. which makes me sick ;)

So, I needed an infusion of Maize and Blue!

Who's belly is this?

Blog Browsing by Labels

Did you notice?

Check out the left column of the blog. You know, the one that includes "Who are we?", "Blogs you should check out" and more.

Scroll to the bottom of the column. There's a new feature there called "Select Blog Entries by Topic". Under that header is a number of 'labels' with parentheses () that include the number of blog entries that include that topic.

As an example: basketball (5)

That means there are 5 blog entries that have been posted as of today that include references to basketball. If you just want to read the basketball related entries... click on the 'basketball'. It will bring up a blog page that includes all the related articles. How cool is that?

Julie's the big winner so far (as she should be!). Oh, and that second julie.. 'julie l' - is julie logan!

And which school has more posts.. UofM or MSU?... actually neither. It's Berkeley - Go Bears!

My personal favorites? hmmm... try out 'sarcasm' ;)

Enjoy.

Saturday Night

When Hannah first chose to go to UC Berkeley - we had hopes that our football teams might play against each other one day - since Berkeley is in the Pac Ten and we're from the Big Ten. Of course, we hoped that it would be in the Rose Bowl - or perhaps a BCS playoff game!

However, the schedule makers actually delivered the first head-to-head meeting in the form of The Golden Bears vs Michigan State at Cal last night!

It was Momma vs Hannah and we were all on hand to witness the epic (and I do mean EPIC.. because the game took for-ev-er - given the number of TV time outs that occurred!). Of course, Grandpa Bill was connected by cell phone and the fact the game was on national TV as well. So, we all got to enjoy the game together!

Before talking about the game - let me just say that Berkeley REALLY needs to kick those kids out of the trees so that it can rip down and rebuild its stadium. I'm sure that it was once a beautiful place. However, it really is long in the tooth at this point. Imagine Michigan Stadium with 2x6's for seats and port-a-potties for guest facilities. And those are generally the high points! It's time for a change! We miss our cushy seats at Stanford.

One of the cooler aspects of the existing stadium is that there is a wonderful hill right behind the stadium that people flock to to watch the game on the cheap (free!!). It's called Tightwad Hill and - as with everything it seems at Berkeley - there is a lawsuit going on to prevent Berkeley from making modifications to the stadium that would impare the view from the Hill. I think first on the court docket is to get the tree people out of the trees on the other side of the stadium so they can rebuild.. Then, perhaps when that is started they can worry about whether the seats are too tall.

Okay.. back to the game - which was an extremely entertaining.

First off, I give the Spartans and their fans a lot of credit. I don't know if you can tell by the picture.. but their were four entire sections full of MSU fans in their white and green! That, in addition to all the fans that were interspersed with the Cal Bear fans throughout the remainder of the stadium.

It was a close game.. and we definitely got to see the MSU flag run through the end zone a number of times after MSU scores. There were many awesome plays.. and it was good to have Bill on the other end of the phone when there were plays that required instant replay to determine challenges on the field. I called Bill a couple times asking 'did he really drop that ball?'. Alas, there were a couple too many drops by MSU. However, at the end the final score was 38-31 Cal!

Speaking of drops (how's that for a subtle transition?).. there was a spectacular precision diving demonstration at half time. It started when we noticed a drop plane circling above the field. Suddenly, a number of divers jumped out and fired up their smoke dispensers as they dropped toward the field. The aereal acrobatics where very artistic and got the crowd pretty excited for the landings on the field. All in all it was pretty sweet!

































I will say that the Cal students really know how to have a great time during the game. Here's a picture of the student section participating in half time - by orchestrating different cards into patterns that can be seen by all within the stadium.

At first they put up a nice sign Cal and MSU together to honor them playing. However, shortly after that display.. they put up a lone MSU sign... then crossed out the MSU.. to the delight of the Cal fans (and sneers from the MSU'ers).

After the game we met up with Hannah for some post game taunting - which Julie accepted graciously. Hannah and her peeps really did have a great time and it's fun to see her in her element and enjoying herself.

So - until next time.. that's Cal 1 - BigTen 0 ;(

Excellent Joke

The following was sent to me by a colleague at work (obviously, not one of our finer people)...

A farmer was walking in his fields near Ann Arbor, Michigan and he heard the sound of distant singing. Confused, he tried to follow the sound. It led him to a group of his cattle and surprisingly to the rear end of one little calf. He bent down and lifted the tail so he could hear clearer and it was the University of Michigan Fight Song!

Amazed, the farmer loaded his calf into a trailer and drove into town. He went to see his vet and explained what he had discovered. The vet said "well, bring em out and we'll take a look." So the farmer led the calf out of his trailer and up the vet. The vet bent down, lifted the tail and calmly stood back up. "Sure enough, that is the University of Michigan Fight Song."

The farmer was ecstatic. "Doc! Why aren't you more excited!? This is amazing! Unheard of! We gotta tell people!"

The vet, a third generation Michigan State University grad said, "Hell Bud, I'm a Spartan - I have been listening to buttholes sing that song my whole life."

PS - okay, that's funny.. but remember the reason you keep hearing the song is we've been kicking your butt for years!

My Sister Has No Game

My sister's name is Lurinda. I must admit she was a pretty good athlete in her time. However, that time is way past at this point although she insists on pretending that it isn't.

She also is normally pretty bright. Please note this is a relative analysis and I am giving her much credit due to the fact she lives in Michigan, has a child, likes Michigan State.. and many other factors that might diminish normal capacities.

Now, my sister is getting into photography. She has a friend, Lori, who is helping her (her mentor). In any event, that excites me because I like photography.

So, when I asked her to send me a picture from her visit to Tennessee.. I kind of expected that she might actually send a cool picture. You know, one that included people. One where you could tell it was her. That sort of thing.

Instead, I got this picture that looks like they broke into the arena, snuck into the bleachers.. set their camera timer on.. and ran to the opposite side of the court for the picture. I'm reasonably certain that my sister is on the right. But, who could tell?? It might even be Lori on the left.. but God only knows.. and He had to use a microscope to figure it out!

Lurinda - you have no game!!

PS...

12/22/07

Stanford vs. Tennessee

Stanford, CA

Stanford 73 - Tennessee 69 (ot)

Cow Palace Dog Show

Every year I love going to the dog show in San Fransisco. This year I went with Dana from work and we had a great time. Seeing all the breeds at the show and being able to buy lots of "dog stuff" is fun. Here are some of my favorite breeds. This Mastiff had the biggest tongue. The poodle was nothing but dreadlocks. The bulldog was so cute in a ugly way. The Duck Tolling Retriever is my new must have dog. I love the size and playfulness. He kind of reminded me of Smiley ( a dog I adopted from MSU - that was years ago)

I love having pets.

Peace, Love and Harmony

For some reason this Christmas the Michigan dude's head was falling apart. Thanks to my craft skills and lots of glue we are back on the tree. Wow that was close. I hope the other U of M ornaments stay healthy.