First of all I want to thank oldharry for dusting off old shorty and allowing me to sit in for him today. I'm an infrequent visitor to Mo's , but when I drop in for a visit I always get a warm welcome from the regulars that support this fine establishment. When Sully asked me to come out of softball coaching for a day and tap the keyboard with my out there thoughts, I was at first flattered, then nervous, and finally wondering what the heck am I going to write about? Well folks, strap yourselves in. It's going to be a rough ride inside of last's mind...

So last night I'm wondering about some numbers. We've all heard the "give 110%" adage from coaches, fans, friends and good ole mom and dad. Well, this always had me wondering. Where does the extra 10% come from? If all I can ever give is all I got, and all I can possibly muster is everything I have in me, which by the way is 100% (as far as I know); then what's the use in giving more? Think about this; if I only gave 10% which is the extra I'm asked to give, well that's not enough. Or is it? If anyone here received a 10% grade in any case, let's say in school or at work; we'd be 100% outta luck. But wait a tick.

The greatest baseball hitters have hit over .400, right? Well, they're 50% short of the requisite goal. Teddy ballgame only gave 34.4% effort at the plate over his illustrious career. Where's the other 75.6% Mr. Williams? And don't tell me it's frozen in some chamber somewhere. What about Ty Cob? My understanding is Mr. racist has the highest career batting average in MLB history at .367. You're still 73.3% short. Not even close, pal!

Ok, so how about teams? Right now the Yankees and Red Sox have the best winning percentages at over .600 each (as of this writing anyway) in MLB. OK boys, where the hell is the other 50%? You're all demoted to the minor leagues until you get that extra percentage up. I'm tired of the half-assed work out there in sports. I don't know about you, but if we only performed at 60% efficiency on the job my ears would be ringing like the referee in the commercial where the coach is screaming directly in his ear. Plus, I'd likely be unemployed. Unless I'm a weatherman, but that's a story for another day.

Speaking of half-assed; how about the whole (or should I say part) "glass half full/half empty" stuff. So thinking again on efforts, wouldn't it be true that Mr Williams only saw his glass 34.4% full? Or would that be empty? Perhaps 65.6% empty? I dunno. But wait another second. Where does the extra 10% go when speaking of glasses? Not the ones I have sliding down my nose either. If my estimation of gravity is correct, then the extra 10% in the whole glass thingy is right on the floor. Mo, please bring a mop because you're 100% sewed if one of your patrons slips and falls. Or does the "extra 10%" not apply here. I'm confused.

And what of the empty part of the glass? Is it still 50%? Or is 100% of the glass that's half full (I'm an optimist) empty? Or better yet is the empty part 100% empty? Ok, now I'M being negative. But, I'm 100% positive my numbers are adding correctly. Does that make me wrong? If I add those two conflicting thoughts together, then there's 200% to be had. So, then, in the glass half full of half empty adage, we're falling 90% short of our goal. You're NOT giving 110% in either case, glass; so back to the factory for you! Meltdown will ensue.

Speaking of meltdowns and staying with my half-witted theme, what happens to a team or player when he/she has a meltdown? Is said player/team 100% crazy or partly nuts? I can assure you that everyone who witnesses the outburst is 100% certain to stay the hell away from the nut job. Well here you go again not giving 110%. If you could only put forth that extra 10%, then maybe you would be clairvoyant enough to see 10% into the future to stop this silliness from happening. And with that, I'm 110% done with my thoughts. I must tell you though, that 10% of me is very tired. I think I'll only go 100% next time.

Thanks harry and Sully for the platform. Or should I say stool. I hope I didn't drive too many of you into the bathroom or the dark corners of the bar with may half-brained ideas. Heck, from what I'm told, I only use 10% if it anyway. So technically, I'm 1/10th brained, but we won't get into that...

Final thought: if all the haves and have not's went to battle, would there be anything left? Have a great day everyone! Or a crappy one, if that's your preference (thanks George Carlin!)  

Comments?(0)

A quick post today. I'm getting ready for the trip to Canada and with the good (vacation) comes the bad (working to get ahead).

Our baseball team's season came to a close this past Thursday. We were drubbed 18-0 by a better team. We started the game with 3 walks and an error where all 4 runs scored. We were down 5-0 before we batted. The worse stat of all was our SP gave up 9 runs, 8 were unearned! The loss put us at 18-19 for the year which was worse than projected but better than realized during the course of the season. We won Regionals for the first time in 16 years and that was bitter-sweet by the pounding we took at the end. However, there is a building block; we started 4 sophomores and a freshman so the future looks bright.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next, I saw this video on a radio website and thought I'd share.

I LOVE this kid!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I most likely won't be able to do much posting and commenting and I'll see all of you in a couple weeks. Take care...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Memorial Day. My profound thanks to all Veterans who served, are serving or who have given their lives in the name of freedom.

REMEMBER.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading.

Comments?(0)

 Hello again everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend. All went well with Miss last and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers! They really helped and are much appreciated. It's nice to have the support of friends. There's that moment of helplessness when you say your goodbyes with the fear of the unknown deeply entrenched in your gut and then the wait seems to last forever! 

We had to stay over which wasn't expected but as a precautionary measure ordered by our doctor. He's the kind of man that has befriended my family moreover than simply "the family doctor". He takes the extra time to converse with us and makes sure the patient, in this case my daughter, is doing ok. We were not expecting to stay, but did throw tooth brushes in a bag just in case beforehand. My wife stayed with Miss last to make sure all is well. My baby girl is not always the best patient and she had some complications with the first surgery, so we wanted to make sure she had all the support she needed. I quickly found a nearby hotel and crashed there for a few hours.

The next day (Saturday) we headed home. The ugly snow had to rear its head once more. I groaned when I woke and opened the curtains to a white, wet and windy snow fall. The roads were good since the temperature stayed slightly above freezing. We made it home in time to see my youngest in the play Fiddler on the Roof. He had a small roll and Miss last was up for going. We all sat back and enjoyed the show. It was great to see sister and brother share a smile during the opening curtain.

I took her back to school yesterday. She's doing really well. She's barely taking the prescribed pain med's and that's a great sign. We parted ways with roommates watching over her. Thank God everything worked out well.

Not so for my brackets...oh my goodness! I had Kansas in all 4 of my brackets. 3 of the 4 brackets I had the Jayhawks National Champs. So much for listening to the "experts" and not watching many teams myself...I would suppose there are many better educated basketballers out there with the same busted brackets as I. But, who has Cornell? N. Iowa? How about St Mary's?

Now I can just sit back and enjoy the games. I don't have to gripe about teams like Northern Iowa winning. Heck, if I didn't pick Kansas, I would have been rooting for the Panthers all along. I always root for the Midwest. It's too bad the Big East has taken their knocks and the one that I thought would stumble (Syracuse) has played well. I haven't seen Duke play yet, and the remaining #1 seeds 'Cuse and Kentucky look really good so far. I say "so far" because you don't know what's next: this year for sure. The only teams in the Final Four I have left in all 4 brackets are Duke, Kansas St. and West Virginia. West Virginia is my only National Champ hopeful. I think I'll root for Michigan St, Ohio State and Purdue since I'm a Midwest guy and all. I really don't think N. Iowa will continue to wear the glass slipper, but I'll root for them just the same. If the first weekend is any indicator, there will be many more surprises. Enjoy the games! 

If the weather permits we'll have our first baseball game today. I'm so excited! We haven't been outside much since the warm weather has been gradual. It will be interesting to see how our kids gel. It may take some time, but the good thing is we have depth. We are much more of a baseball team than last year. Today's game is against an across the river rival and they are a solid team. We'll have to play our best to beat them. We also are scheduled for a double header on Saturday so we'll find out early what kind of team we have. My youngest will play for a couple weeks. His surgery is tentatively scheduled for April 14th. It should be a fun week!

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out all the blogs. Support our Gabbers!

Comments?(0)

First of all I want to thank oldharry for dusting off old shorty and allowing me to sit in for him today. I'm an infrequent visitor to Mo's , but when I drop in for a visit I always get a warm welcome from the regulars that support this fine establishment. When Sully asked me to come out of softball coaching for a day and tap the keyboard with my out there thoughts, I was at first flattered, then nervous, and finally wondering what the heck am I going to write about? Well folks, strap yourselves in. It's going to be a rough ride inside of last's mind...

So last night I'm wondering about some numbers. We've all heard the "give 110%" adage from coaches, fans, friends and good ole mom and dad. Well, this always had me wondering. Where does the extra 10% come from? If all I can ever give is all I got, and all I can possibly muster is everything I have in me, which by the way is 100% (as far as I know); then what's the use in giving more? Think about this; if I only gave 10% which is the extra I'm asked to give, well that's not enough. Or is it? If anyone here received a 10% grade in any case, let's say in school or at work; we'd be 100% outta luck. But wait a tick.

The greatest baseball hitters have hit over .400, right? Well, they're 50% short of the requisite goal. Teddy ballgame only gave 34.4% effort at the plate over his illustrious career. Where's the other 75.6% Mr. Williams? And don't tell me it's frozen in some chamber somewhere. What about Ty Cob? My understanding is Mr. racist has the highest career batting average in MLB history at .367. You're still 73.3% short. Not even close, pal!

Ok, so how about teams? Right now the Yankees and Red Sox have the best winning percentages at over .600 each (as of this writing anyway) in MLB. OK boys, where the hell is the other 50%? You're all demoted to the minor leagues until you get that extra percentage up. I'm tired of the half-assed work out there in sports. I don't know about you, but if we only performed at 60% efficiency on the job my ears would be ringing like the referee in the commercial where the coach is screaming directly in his ear. Plus, I'd likely be unemployed. Unless I'm a weatherman, but that's a story for another day.

Speaking of half-assed; how about the whole (or should I say part) "glass half full/half empty" stuff. So thinking again on efforts, wouldn't it be true that Mr Williams only saw his glass 34.4% full? Or would that be empty? Perhaps 65.6% empty? I dunno. But wait another second. Where does the extra 10% go when speaking of glasses? Not the ones I have sliding down my nose either. If my estimation of gravity is correct, then the extra 10% in the whole glass thingy is right on the floor. Mo, please bring a mop because you're 100% sewed if one of your patrons slips and falls. Or does the "extra 10%" not apply here. I'm confused.

And what of the empty part of the glass? Is it still 50%? Or is 100% of the glass that's half full (I'm an optimist) empty? Or better yet is the empty part 100% empty? Ok, now I'M being negative. But, I'm 100% positive my numbers are adding correctly. Does that make me wrong? If I add those two conflicting thoughts together, then there's 200% to be had. So, then, in the glass half full of half empty adage, we're falling 90% short of our goal. You're NOT giving 110% in either case, glass; so back to the factory for you! Meltdown will ensue.

Speaking of meltdowns and staying with my half-witted theme, what happens to a team or player when he/she has a meltdown? Is said player/team 100% crazy or partly nuts? I can assure you that everyone who witnesses the outburst is 100% certain to stay the hell away from the nut job. Well here you go again not giving 110%. If you could only put forth that extra 10%, then maybe you would be clairvoyant enough to see 10% into the future to stop this silliness from happening. And with that, I'm 110% done with my thoughts. I must tell you though, that 10% of me is very tired. I think I'll only go 100% next time.

Thanks harry and Sully for the platform. Or should I say stool. I hope I didn't drive too many of you into the bathroom or the dark corners of the bar with may half-brained ideas. Heck, from what I'm told, I only use 10% if it anyway. So technically, I'm 1/10th brained, but we won't get into that...

Final thought: if all the haves and have not's went to battle, would there be anything left? Have a great day everyone! Or a crappy one, if that's your preference (thanks George Carlin!)  

Comments?(0)

A quick post today. I'm getting ready for the trip to Canada and with the good (vacation) comes the bad (working to get ahead).

Our baseball team's season came to a close this past Thursday. We were drubbed 18-0 by a better team. We started the game with 3 walks and an error where all 4 runs scored. We were down 5-0 before we batted. The worse stat of all was our SP gave up 9 runs, 8 were unearned! The loss put us at 18-19 for the year which was worse than projected but better than realized during the course of the season. We won Regionals for the first time in 16 years and that was bitter-sweet by the pounding we took at the end. However, there is a building block; we started 4 sophomores and a freshman so the future looks bright.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next, I saw this video on a radio website and thought I'd share.

I LOVE this kid!!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I most likely won't be able to do much posting and commenting and I'll see all of you in a couple weeks. Take care...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Memorial Day. My profound thanks to all Veterans who served, are serving or who have given their lives in the name of freedom.

REMEMBER.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading.

Comments?(0)

 Hello again everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend. All went well with Miss last and thanks for all the well wishes and prayers! They really helped and are much appreciated. It's nice to have the support of friends. There's that moment of helplessness when you say your goodbyes with the fear of the unknown deeply entrenched in your gut and then the wait seems to last forever! 

We had to stay over which wasn't expected but as a precautionary measure ordered by our doctor. He's the kind of man that has befriended my family moreover than simply "the family doctor". He takes the extra time to converse with us and makes sure the patient, in this case my daughter, is doing ok. We were not expecting to stay, but did throw tooth brushes in a bag just in case beforehand. My wife stayed with Miss last to make sure all is well. My baby girl is not always the best patient and she had some complications with the first surgery, so we wanted to make sure she had all the support she needed. I quickly found a nearby hotel and crashed there for a few hours.

The next day (Saturday) we headed home. The ugly snow had to rear its head once more. I groaned when I woke and opened the curtains to a white, wet and windy snow fall. The roads were good since the temperature stayed slightly above freezing. We made it home in time to see my youngest in the play Fiddler on the Roof. He had a small roll and Miss last was up for going. We all sat back and enjoyed the show. It was great to see sister and brother share a smile during the opening curtain.

I took her back to school yesterday. She's doing really well. She's barely taking the prescribed pain med's and that's a great sign. We parted ways with roommates watching over her. Thank God everything worked out well.

Not so for my brackets...oh my goodness! I had Kansas in all 4 of my brackets. 3 of the 4 brackets I had the Jayhawks National Champs. So much for listening to the "experts" and not watching many teams myself...I would suppose there are many better educated basketballers out there with the same busted brackets as I. But, who has Cornell? N. Iowa? How about St Mary's?

Now I can just sit back and enjoy the games. I don't have to gripe about teams like Northern Iowa winning. Heck, if I didn't pick Kansas, I would have been rooting for the Panthers all along. I always root for the Midwest. It's too bad the Big East has taken their knocks and the one that I thought would stumble (Syracuse) has played well. I haven't seen Duke play yet, and the remaining #1 seeds 'Cuse and Kentucky look really good so far. I say "so far" because you don't know what's next: this year for sure. The only teams in the Final Four I have left in all 4 brackets are Duke, Kansas St. and West Virginia. West Virginia is my only National Champ hopeful. I think I'll root for Michigan St, Ohio State and Purdue since I'm a Midwest guy and all. I really don't think N. Iowa will continue to wear the glass slipper, but I'll root for them just the same. If the first weekend is any indicator, there will be many more surprises. Enjoy the games! 

If the weather permits we'll have our first baseball game today. I'm so excited! We haven't been outside much since the warm weather has been gradual. It will be interesting to see how our kids gel. It may take some time, but the good thing is we have depth. We are much more of a baseball team than last year. Today's game is against an across the river rival and they are a solid team. We'll have to play our best to beat them. We also are scheduled for a double header on Saturday so we'll find out early what kind of team we have. My youngest will play for a couple weeks. His surgery is tentatively scheduled for April 14th. It should be a fun week!

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out all the blogs. Support our Gabbers!

Comments?(0)

Good Friday to everyone. Quick & short today (I'll explain).

How are your brackets doing? I lost 2 Sweet 16 teams already! The Hoyas got slain by O-hi-o and Vanderbilt got demolished by Murray State. I have to admit, there's conflict with my picks and geographical bias. I was rooting for N. Iowa even though I had UNLV picked in a couple brackets (I have 4). Also, I was rooting for Marquette against all my picks going the way of the Washington Huskies.

Regardless, the dance started fast paced as 6 games were decided by 3 points or less; one went into double OT. I'm saddened by my Irish loss to Old Dominion and I had to watch on CBS Sports online since I was working and we can't watch TV at work. Yeah, I know...but that's one perk in March that would make high marks for the company morale!!! Of course, I kid. Seriously, I clicked out of curiosity the "My Boss" button while watching...why the hell do I do that? You know, if I saw a button on the wall stating, "Do not push"...well, I'd push the darned thingy. Anyway, my computer didn't melt down or anything and I didn't launch a missile or nothing like that. Check out the site if you have the chance.

OK, so much for short & sweet...I want to let you know I'm out early today. My daughter is having her defibrillator replaced this afternoon in Chicago. I thought I'd let you all know since you are my friends and all...please send your prayers her way, she's a great girl and owns my heart. Next up is my youngest which took me aback a little. I wasn't expecting his to be replaced just yet. Nevertheless, he's on the schedule but we don't know exactly when...my daughter has the disease (Long QT if you don't know) and her defibrillator has gone off many times over the last 10 years. Some were settings that needed to be tweaked and some were life saving, so she absolutely needs the replacement. My youngest is borderline Long QT, but it's still a safe-guarding feature for him. The bad part is he'll miss baseball for a couple weeks which bums him out, but I assured him he'll still have a place to play (it's nice having connections ;) ). Anyway, I thought you'd like to know.

Have a great day everyone. Enjoy the sunshine if weather permits!

Check out all the Gabs if you have time!

Comments?(0)

Photo from nishimusic.com

Irish Prayer

Murphy was staggering home with a pint of booze in his back pocket when he slipped and fell heavily. Struggling to his feet, he felt something wet running down his leg.

"Please Lord," he implored, "let it be blood!!"


You've Been Out Drinking Again

An Irishman had been drinking at a pub all night. The bartender finally said that the bar is closing. So the Irishman stood up to leave fell flat on his face.

He tried to stand one more time; same result. He figured he'll crawl outside and get some fresh air and maybe that will sober him up.

Once outside, he stood up and fell on his face again. So he decided to crawl the four blocks home.

When he arrived at the door he stood up and fell flat on his face.

He crawled through the door and into his bedroom. When he reached his bed he tried one more time to stand up. This time he managed to pull himself upright, but he quickly fell right into the bed and is sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He was a wakened the next morning to his wife standing over him, shouting, "SO YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING AGAIN!"

Putting on an innocent look, and intent on bluffing it out he said, "What makes you say that?"

"The pub just called; you left your wheelchair there again."


Water to Wine

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut.

The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?"

"Just water," says the priest.

The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?"

The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!"

Being Irish Means

 you will never play professional basketball

• you swear very well

• you think you sing very well

• you have no idea how to make a long story short

• you are very good at playing a lot of very bad golf

• there isn't a huge difference between losing your temper and killing someone

• much of your food was boiled

• you spent a good portion of your childhood kneeling

• you're strangely poetic after a few beers

• you're poetic a lot

• you will be punched for no good reason.

• some punches directed at you are legacies from past generations

• your sister will punch you because your brother punched her

• many of your sisters are Catherine, Elizabeth or Mary...and one is Mary Catherine Elizabeth

• someone in your family is incredibly cheap it is more than likely you

• you don't know the words but that doesn't stop you from singing

• you can't wait for the other guy to stop talking so you can start talking

• "Irish Stew" is the euphemism for "boiled leftovers from the fridge"

• you're not nearly as funny as you think you are, but what you lack in talent, you make up for in frequency

• there wasn't a huge difference between your last wake and your last kegger party

• you are, or know someone, named "Murphy"

• if you don't know Murphy, then you know "O’Brien"

• you are genetically incapable of keeping a secret

• your parents were on a first name basis with everyone at the local emergency room.

The Test

An American walks into an Irish pub and says, "I'll give anyone $100 if they can drink 10 Guinness's in 10 minutes." Most people just ignore the absurd bet and go back to their conversations. One guy even leaves the bar. A little while later that guy comes back and asks the American "Is that bet still on?" "Sure." So the bartender lines 10 Guinness's up on the bar the Irishman drinks them all in less than 10 minutes. As the American hands over the money he asks, "Where did you go when you just left?" The Irishman answers, "I went next door to the other pub to see if I could do it."


Parking Spot

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord, take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey".
Miraculously, a parking place appeared.
Paddy looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one."

Last Hand

Six retired Irishmen were playing poker in O'Leary's apartment when Paddy Murphy loses $500 on a single hand, clutches his chest, and drops dead at the table. Showing respect for their fallen brother, the other five continue playing standing up.
Michael O'Conner looks around and asks, 'Oh, me boys, someone got's to tell Paddy's wife. Who will it be?'
They draw straws. Paul Gallagher picks the short one.
They tell him to be discreet, be gentle, don't make a bad situation any worse.
'Discreet??? I'm the most discreet Irishmen you'll ever meet.
Discretion is me middle name. Leave it to me.'
Gallagher goes over to Murphy's house and knocks on the door.
Mrs. Murphy answers, and asks what he wants. Gallagher declares, 'Your husband just lost $500, and is afraid to come home.'
'Tell him to drop dead!’ says Murphy's wife.
'I'll go tell him.' says Gallagher.

Fllies in the Drinks

An Englishman, Frenchman and an Irishman met in a bar for beers. One day & as luck would have it after ordering a round of drinks, three flies fell into each man's drink at the same time.

The Englishman refused his drink.

The Frenchman picked the fly out of the beer & began to drink his.

The Irishman picked out the fly & said

"Spit it out! Spit it out, you bastard!"

Comments?(0)

First off, I’d like to say hello to all the friends & acquaintances out there. I feel like the offhanded Uncle that nobody hears from unle$$ they need $omething. Sorry for being away so long. The past few weeks have been busy what with preparing for vacation, vacation and coming back from vacation. Yes I’m lucky, but there are no harder work weeks than before or after taking time off. It could be worse, though, I could be working for Sea World. Too soon, I know….bad story, but they do call them Killer Whales for a reason. My heart goes out to the deceased trainer & her family.

I had a great time in Costa Rica last week. My wife and I stayed with her two brothers in Samara Beach on the west side of the country near the Pacific Ocean. In a word, HOT! I suffered some form of heat exhaustion the first two days we were there.  Of course, stupid me and my not thinking of how close we were to the Equator didn’t help. I literally got very red skin being in the sun for ½ hour the first day. Day #2 consisted of a long beach walk and way too much sun. 

  On the way down, our flight was delayed in Chicago which then shrunk our original 3hr layover to 10 minutes! We had to go through customs in Mexico City Airport and didn’t quite have the documents filled out all the way (we were in a hurry!). The unforgiving customs agent made darned sure we pompous Americans filled them out completely & CORRECTLY! The mad dash from customs to the gate became longer since our gate moved about 11 more terminals away! I wound up leaving my wife behind (at her request) and literally sprinted for 5 minutes to reach the gate. As I approached, my wife’s and my names were loudly proclaimed over the airport PA system. Sweaty, red faced and winded; we made our connecting flight.

 We arrived in San Jose Costa Rica at about midnight. We waited for our luggage at the turnstile…NO LUGGAGE!!! We filled out forms with about 12 other passengers from the same delayed connecting flight (how the hell did they get to the gate faster than us was my first wondering). Anyway, we filled out claim forms with a young non-English speaking Costa Rican. We all wondered aloud if we’d ever see our baggage again! Haggard and smelly, we reach our Hotel Barceló in San Jose to rest before we leave on a bus to Samara Beach the next day. A young adventure advisor at the hotel helped us greatly by calling the airport and taking our information so he could contact us to let us know if our bags would get to us.  

 Undaunted and lighter than feathers, we left on the bus in a seedy part of town the next day all the while wondering if our luggage would find us like a long lost pet left behind mistakenly. We stayed at the Tico Adventure Lodge in Samara and wound up buying a few basic warm weather clothes. We received a call the first day from our friend our bags were found and were on their way…three days later and with much help from our Hotel Barceló friend, our luggage arrived!

 The town itself was slightly impoverished. The people were friendly and everywhere we went was a warm experience with the locals. We ate very well and spent a lot of time in the ocean. My wife even tried learning to surf which was great for laughs. She got the hang 10 of it eventually. Anyone who likes the local domestic feel of an area when traveling should stay in Samara. Sadly, my sunburned skin is shedding faster than a reptile’s! I’m blessed and thankful for the experience. I even learned a little about traveling light.

I’ve been watching what I can on the Olympics and I’m mainly interested in hockey. I’m not a fan of Ice Skating or Ice Dancing and I certainly am not on the edge of my seat about curling. I actually thought maybe that sport was a derivative from frat boys’ weekend imbibing. Now that could be interesting to watch. Seriously, the hockey games have enthralled me to say the least. I was once an avid NHL watcher until TV changed and hockey was not televised out here in the sticks where I live. In the 20-some years since I once watched, I’ve never really gotten back into NHL. But the Olympics have drawn me in, in a big way. Again, I’m very much a casual fan, but the games seem fast to me and exciting to watch. More so since teammate and countrymen are involved, I suppose. The pride is brewing for my home country USA team. I hope we meet the Canadians in the gold medal final. How fitting would that be!

The NFL combine is today? Is this true? Is anyone going to watch? Not me. I’d rather watch Tiger Woods’ concubines crying at the microphone than watch the NFL combines.  How stressful would it be if one was a prospective draft pick and have your 4 years of college football success brought down into a few days of running, jumping and answering some supposed intelligent questions? I know it’s a gauge for players, but there’s a little too much emphasis for my tastes.

Last, on the way back to work from lunch today I saw a “Mobil Pet Grooming” trailer pulled behind a van. Now this has my mind wondering…is there a dog or cat being groomed in said trailer as it whizzes by me? I don’t know about you, but I scarcely carry the dexterity to groom myself in front of a stationary mirror with both feet firmly planted on the floor. Some people amaze me.

Thanks for reading.

Comments?(0)

 There have been so many changes in the coaching ranks since the regular season ended. I’m a little behind the times with a few, but I figured it’d be OK with lumping the current coaching changes into one post. I’ll try & touch on a few and, of course, each of these is only my opinion. As always, your thoughts are appreciated and please feel free to leave comments on your way out.

First, I’d like to start with Urban Meyer. I know there are those who think Urban is trying to gain headlines with taking a leave of absence. I felt it hasty to say the least when he at first said he was retiring. The nature of the coaching beast is first & foremost competitive. And, of course, there’s an ego synonymous with many if not all coaches. With that line of thinking, I felt there’s no way heir Meyer could stay away forever.
The other side of his issue is coaching burnout which I can understand. I believe any coaching job in NCAA or NFL is year round. With that comes travel and long hours. I think there comes a time when a coach can find himself coming & going at the same time. Hence, the stresses increase and can have a direct impact on health. I think Urban’s mind & body was worn out.
I read somewhere that it served Meyer right; he makes a ton of money. Yes, that is true, but making tons of money does not correlate to the amount of stress. Sure, we can argue coaches are overpaid, but I don’t see the similarity when we can argue the amount of stress a coach can have; only the stressed out coach surely knows.

Next up is new USC coach Lane Kiffen. Frankly, I’m surprised at the hire on the basis Lane has been a NCAA head coach for one season. He’s leaving Tennessee with some NCAA violation allegations in his wake. From what I’ve read since Lane was the Raiders head coach, it appears Kiffen is an abrasive and dishonest person. I read he told Volunteer players not to worry about going to class since they’d follow him to Southern Cal. Seriously? How full of himself is this guy? Of course USC is a fine school and a great football program, but to dismiss Tennessee like that is appalling. 
TSN's Hippi-Kat likened the hire to that of ND’s Charlie Weis. At a moment’s notice it looks that way. I don’t know who the other candidates were at USC, but it took one day to hire Kiffen so the list couldn’t have been that long. If Lane is the dishonest smarmy character he appears to be to me, it will only be a matter of time before he comes crashing back to earth.

Then there’s the recently departed Trojan head coach Pete Carroll. Another surprise to me; I thought Pete had it made. Yes, this past season was a down year for USC but Coach Carroll brought the Trojans back to prominence. They certainly belong in the talk of teams of the last decade. I don’t know what kind of pressure came to Pete’s doorstep with a down year, but I’m guessing it had something to do with his leaving.
My feeling on Pete is he’s not a Pro Football coach. He’s a vibrant personality and at least in USC’s case, he had a passion in him that players and coaches bought into. I don’t think the same animal exists in the NFL ranks. I could be wrong, but at the very least he has his work cut out for him in Seattle. Plus, Pete couldn’t make it at 2 NLF teams.

I already talked about the new Notre Dame caching hire and you can check that out here. The bad thing was Kelly left Cincinnati fans and players very upset over his choosing not to coach the Bearcats in the Bowl game. I mention my thoughts on recruiting in that blog also sure check it out if you wish. (I don’t want to repeat myself with my next lines of thinking.)

So here we are, coaches departing for their own benefit. Again (as I mention in my Kelly blog), but what of each program left behind? I think a portion of their contracts should be given back to their departed schools. Sure there are buy outs and I don’t know what Meyer’s, Kelly’s or Carroll’s were. I did see Kiffen had an $800k buyout. I heard on the radio a college coaching contract is passé; it should be called a money agreement. The real people that suffer are the lost coach’s recruits. With the move, there should be money given back and maybe scholarships given up from the new school to the old school.
Sure each recruit has an education if used to its fullest. However, the new coach may have different schemes that might change a recruit’s ability to fit into the program. Also, stretching that thought, is what if there’s personality conflicts with the recruit and the new head coach? Imagine getting recruited by a coach that you really like and maybe playing for him. Then here comes Mr Jerk coach from hell and you’re stuck with either no playing time or being miserable with your experience. (I know, I know…we all have to learn how to deal with jerks, but the recruiting coach is why you went there in the 1st place, right?)

Thanks for reading.

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 Hello fellow Gabbers, I hope all is well with all of you starting out the oh-ten year. Should we call it 2k-10 twenty-ten or just plain 'ol "ten"? The last household is settling back to normal with young last & miss last heading back to their respective schools. Young last is doing great with school having made high honors his first 2 HS semesters. He's busy with basketball and gearing up for the play in March: Fiddler on the Roof.

Miss last is learning the hard way with struggling grades in her 2nd year at college. Mom & pop had a little talkin' too with her in hopes to lessen the stresses she encounters. You see, she's a hard worker & wants to go about her studies on her own. That's great, but when struggling she neglects to seek the help she obviously needs...part stubbornness-part shyness. She wants to follow mama in the Nursing profession but is finding out how hard the classes are & how difficult the program is to get into!

My oldest & more "hands on" is settled into his job. This marks the longest he's held onto a job. I think he's FINALLY getting it, but there's still much maturing to go! We're helping him with budgeting since the paycheck cannot burn a hole is his pocket fast enough. That's teaching him, not doling out any cash from mom & dad. He moved back in last fall & things are better. For those that don't know, he moved out by mutual argument, er..uh agreement, and lived by himself in an apartment he couldn't afford for 6 months. Needless to say, he learned the importance of a job living on his own for awhile. The home stay is temporary (HOPEFULLY!) until he's back on his feet and gets back to school next fall.

Christmas was great although I must admit it's a little different from when the kids were little. I love the time together and I've always enjoyed the season, but it felt different this year. Not in a negative way, just different. Still I enjoyed spending time with the family. My own siblings and mother get together before Christmas. Since there are so many kids, grandkids & now the greats are populating the family, we rent a hall for the get together. There's always a story or 12 told and the night seems to go SO fast.

On Christmas morning, I put together the ping-pong table for the "family" gift. Now, the first thing is to try & figure out where the hell the English version is...then, unpack all the parts to ensure nothing is missing, finally to read all the directions entirely. NAH! I unpack the sucker, look at the pictures and tear into it like I know what I'm doing! After I put the second set of legs on...actually, I put the first set on wrong...back up, put them on right...then after the 2nd set, I somehow bolted down the directions onto the table flipped upside down on the floor. RRRIIPPP, goes the directions & I'm left with an scarcely intact version of the French instructions! Parle vous what?! Finally, I have the legs on & flip the table upright (by myself-DUH!) & she stands for about 3 seconds only to come crashing down to the floor, BOOM! I failed to set the stop that keeps the legs from swinging! "Are you alright" was that call from upstairs after I bellered a few expletives. Never the less, she's up and the ping is ponging full swing.

Last but not least, I'm getting back into the workout routine. I've been on again, off again for the past few months with one ailment or another…nothing serious, just the pain that seems to find a new home every week. About 6 weeks ago I started back on the treadmill. I had some leg problems way back in May last year that kept me from running. I was training for a 1/2 marathon & developed some nagging pains that kept me from any more running. I made due with walking, biking & swimming since but I was disappointed at the very least. I don't have any aspirations to do any training of that sort anytime soon. It's really time consuming and HARD!

I have a pretty cool workout that's more cardio focused. The exercises are mostly light or body weight. The good thing is the movements are continuous so I get outta' the gym fairly quickly, albeit very sweat inducing. I'm forcing myself to do this to trim some belly fat before the wife & I go south for a week in February. That's it, no really huge goals, but its motivation enough to get me going. I gotta' have the swimsuit figure ready for the sun!

That's all from my little world. I have a question for all the Gabbers out there: I'm a wine drinker & cigar smoker. Not a connoisseur by any stretch, but I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in talking about wine &/or cigars? I don't want to bore anyone if it's not an interest. Let me know what you think?

Take care everyone!

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 I resolve to decide the conclusion to be resolute in reducing my determination to settle conversions in making up my mind to minimize my past. In moving forward through 2010, I affirm my belief that all things undone will now be done in the next calendar year. These things will take in my estimate 12 months to solve or resolve, as it were. I promise to take not more than 365 days to hit the path I choose. If in effect, I fail in any way, I resolve to be resolute with minimizing my everyday life from 2010 in 2011.

I resolve to wake up every morning unless there are causes that determine my demise…

I resolve to wear pants (or covering of some kind) and put them on one leg at a time…

I resolve to cover my chest with either tank-top, T-shirt, polo, sweat shirt or apparel in some fashion of my wife’s choosing…unless there’s sand, warm sun above say 75 degrees, or if I’m directly involved in a “Cops” episode…

I resolve to eat every day…I may not eat what I should or how I could, but rest assured, some form of nourishment (or non-essential nourishment) will be digested, expunged or expelled…

I resolve to further my mind by either engaging in mental stimulation or simply staring at the wall…

I resolve to lose ten pounds or gain ten pounds…

I resolve to exercise or embark on mind numbing wall staring previously mentioned…

I resolve to do my job to the best of my ability or…well…you probably know the alternative by now…

I resolve to bring a smile, frown or furrowed brow to any reader…

I resolve to let others achieve success or compare their greatness to my inability to manage my fantasy teams effectively…or maybe I’ll resolve to be better? Nah!

I resolve to smell the roses as I trample though them…

I resolve to go to sleep almost every night…

I resolve to wish all my friends, cohorts, or even those I do not know or haven’t yet been born a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Picture of a beautiful looking City: Aboutalltravel.com

I heard yesterday NIU will play South Florida in the International Bowl on Jan 2, 2010 in Toronto. My daughter informed me she'll be able to travel with the team as well (if she gets her passport). She's pretty pumped and I don't blame her. It should be some great exposure being able to travel to our Northern neighbors.

South Florida concerns me in the matchup against the Huskies. I watched a little of the Bulls' game vs U-Conn in a snow packed and cold contest. They were unfazed by the weather which surprised me quite a bit. No way did I think a warm weather team would be able to withstand the elements in Connecticut. The other Huskies (U-Conn of course) won by a field goal over their Big East foes with no time left.

I was impressed with how QB B.J. Daniels ran and threw the ball in the cold. He looked effective in what little I saw. One thing for sure is the Bulls can score points. The young NIU defense has its hands full up north. The Jeff Sagarin ratings from USA Today show South Florida #51 rated at 75.08 and my #87 Huskies rated at 66.39.

NIU has had its troubles defensively against the pass-run QB style. The losses NIU had were against good quarterbacks-mainly throwing. I can only hope the Huskies have the right personnel in place come game time. The good thing is the International Bowl gives NIU some much needed notice. Coach Jerry Kill is quietly building a decent program. This marks the second straight year NIU will play in the post-season.


Photo: grfx.cstv.com


The other part of my concern is personal. My wife and I would love to go up to Toronto to see the game. I've long been a fan of Canada, specifically the fishing variety. The last visit a few years ago we met some great young lads from the Toronto area. They were all college age kids. I cannot recall which school they were attending at that time...anyway, they all stated how great of a city Toronto is: the friendliness and the atmosphere gave the city a great feel according to the youngsters.

I'm pretty excited about going...but I fear the cost we'll need to expend if we decide to go. It would be awesome celebrating New Year's Day in another country! Plus, of course, my daughter would be there! I looked into flight-hotel packages and that could run up some serious dough for only a few days (I'm thinking Thursday-Monday). So, I looked at driving. The bad part is my car has quite a few miles on it and it's around 600 miles (967km to my Canadian friends). I can't decide what to do...it would be an unusual New Year's celebration for sure.

The cost compounds itself because the wife and I are going on vacation in February to Costa Rica. It's great when the kids grow up, BTW ...Also, my wife suggested maybe that’s our shared Christmas gift (way more than we usually spend on each other). The other factor is my 2 sons and I embarked on our "All Baseball Parks Tour" 2 years ago. Eventually, we'll make it Toronto (hopefully!)...So, my traveling friends, my Canadian friends and my American friends (oh, I can't forget NIU supporters)....what should I do?

Thanks for reading.

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