2012 Was A Very Good Year

First off, I would like to acknowledge the fact that I am a Doritos junkie. Seriously…as I sit here and type, I can barely manage a thought without eating a chip. What IS it with these things anyway? I’m a 44 year old man with a serious love for Doritos. Is it weird? I dunno. I DO know I’ve been eating these damn things since I was a kid and they NEVER get old!!! They keep adding cheese and flavors and I have to eat them ALL!!!

Ok…with THAT out of the way…let’s get down to the brass tax of this post.

2012.

What can I say about 2012? What do I NOT say about this amazing year? So much to say, so little time. So you want “highlights?” There are too many. So…let’s get started…

Ava has had a remarkable year which started out with her playing violin. She then decided to opt out of that for a bit to concentrate on swimming, volleyball, basketball and her artwork. After taking a week-long horse-riding camp in early summer, she has been bitten by the horse bug and now she is taking horse-riding lessons. She also enjoys hanging out with her many friends and playing on our neighbor’s trampoline. To say she has an amazing sense of humor would be doing my daughter a disservice. Her laughter is contagious and I can only hope she manages to keep it as she prepares for next year and the dreaded 4th grade.

Christopher turned the BIG 1-0 this year and double digits has been good for him. Although he’s been incredibly busy with a full baseball schedule in the summer, another season of Spartan football (in which he was the starting QB and got them to the Junior Youth Super Bowl) in the fall and now with 3 basketball teams, he has managed to keep his grades up and is still as animated as ever. He’s growing quickly though (and so are his friends) and so there have been some interesting conversations we’ve had but that’s all to be expected. Life goes by too quickly for Christopher (who is now called Chris at times or “Fer” when playing sports) but he does enjoy the occasional hang with his mom or me, and those times are awesome!

Stephanie continues to work at Sephora as well as being “Team Mom” for Christopher’s baseball & football team. She also has been involved in many school-based activities and manages to have a strong interest in our small community here. A lot of people in our area know Stephanie and she has become involved in many activities on many different levels. I am proud of all the hats she wears and I am glad that she has seemed to find a great niche for herself.

As a family, we had some great times this year! We went to Gatlinberg, TN for a tournament with Christopher’s baseball team and we all went zip-lining for the first time! We also took a trip to Destin, FL with many of our friends and their families. I wasn’t able to stay the entire trip but I DID manage to get a nasty sunburn on the top of my feet! OUCH! And we watched the Kentucky Wildcats win the NCAA Final Four with a decisive victory over Kansas! The highlight of the tournament though was watching Ohio University get to the Sweet 16 before getting beat in OT by North Carolina. Still…a pretty great run for my Bobcats! We also went to Patrick & Katie’s wedding in Williamsburg, VA. What a beautiful wedding and the reception was a blast! It’s always good to see family and on Thanksgiving we went home for turkey dinner and lots of dessert!

In MY life, I’ve never been so busy! And the events were bigger this year than they’ve ever been! I can only believe that this year will go down as my most successful of my career. Here is a list of the events I was a part of this year…

1. The AFC Championship game (Baltimore @ New England)
2. The Super Bowl in Indianapolis
3. The Senior Bowl
4. NCAA Basketball Tournament (Louisville & Boston sites)
5. The NFL Combine
6. The NFL Draft
7. The Masters
8. FOX Reds Baseball
9. AT&T National
10. The John Deere Classic
11. The Olympics (Wrestling)
12. Navy vs Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland
13. NFL On CBS and Thursday Night Football for NFL Net

It was an honor to be involved with any and ALL of these events. Of them all, the Olympics will forever be a highlight of my career. I was lucky to be on a great crew that was televising the Wrestling events and I will always remember that particular trip. I also managed to squeeze a visit to Stonehenge out of that trip which was a thrill for me. I’ve always WANTED to see those druid stones! The AFC Championship is the most viewed event I’ve ever worked here in the U.S. and with a HUGE audience watching, Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff pulled a chip shot field goal attempt wide that would have tied the game but instead gave the Patriots a shot at Super Bowl XLVI. I also received my 2nd national Emmy for working with the FOX National crew on baseball this past year. So THAT happened…

On a more personal level, this year has been just as successful at home. We gained a new family member with the addition of our new kitten that was originally named “Reece Cup” but was soon changed to…well…”Kitten.” I hit the big 4-4 in December and got a new wallet out of it. We had our bathroom renovated after a water disaster that left me a little waterlogged in August. We also  stabilized our house by having steel pierings installed that will hold the foundation in place so there will be less shifting in our little house on the hill. I went on a mini-vacation with my best friends to New York City in May. I had my 25th Class Reunion in August and had a BLAST with all my former classmates! I’ve also somehow managed to have more family time even though I’ve been on the move quite a bit. My mentality on my job has changed this year. This year I’m accepting it for what it is. In the television industry, doors open and they close. With family, that door is ALWAYS open. Here’s hoping the upcoming year will find more doorways open and the continual growth and happiness of my family.

I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

GO 2013!!!

HEY!! What about ME?!?! I was BORN this year! Don’t forget about me!!!

Oh yeah…and we welcomed Ava & Christopher’s new cousin Drake into our family this year. Congrats to my sister and her husband, Chris, who seemingly know how to have cute kids!

Just ’cause…I love this shot!

Oh yeah…and I beat my brother at basketball on his OWN court! (And you thought I’d forget…didn’t ya Frank? LOL!!!)

In Stride

It’s not easy being 10, I imagine. When I was 10, I didn’t have the kind of pressure Christopher has on him these days. He’s in 5th grade and has homework and sports and friends and family and…well…maybe my life wasn’t THAT different, when I look at it that way…but yeah! He has it a LOT different than I did and I’m trying to adjust. What do I mean by ME trying to adjust? Well…

When I was 10, I don’t remember having the amount of homework that he has. I’m sure I had homework, but I don’t remember it taking me 2 hours to complete and then 20 minutes of reading time at the end of my day.

When I was 10, I wasn’t the starting quarterback for a football team. When I was 10, I wasn’t even playing basketball yet! Christopher has been playing sports since he was 4! So he has had THAT going on for well beyond when I got started.

When I was 10, I didn’t have a pack of friends to compete with. For me, living on a farm in the middle of nowhere, being able to have a single friend over to play was a treat. For Christopher, it’s normal for him to have 3 or 4 friends over at any given time. And they are all in sports. All the time. So it’s very competitive around here day in & day out.

When I was 10, my Dad was home every weekend. Christopher’s dad is not. Not making any excuses…just sayin’.

So there are a LOT of differences between my son and I at his age. But the most glaring difference is just how much faster he has had to grow up. I don’t know what it is…I can’t quite put my finger on it…but chatting with him the other day, it seemed almost as if he was 15. He has so much to learn and yet he is WELL above where I was when I was a preteen. I don’t know if it’s technology, or where he lives, or his schooling, or his mother or what. But when we have a really good conversation, I realize that he a lot smarter, a lot more athletic and a lot more advanced than I ever was.

I hear a lot about education and our social environment. There are a lot of things to worry about when you’re a parent. One of the things I worry about the most is that my kids are growing up in a society filled with pressure. Pressure to perform at the highest level in school, in sports, at home, with his friends. I want him to not feel that pressure. I want him to take his time growing up, to enjoy NOT having pressure. Unfortunately, I think it is in our culture now that kids his age have to grow up faster in order to stay ahead of the curve. Gone are the days of easy living in Mayberry. Now it’s all about getting ahead, being stronger, bigger, faster! The schedule my kids keep is exhausting to me. Just looking at their schedule gives me the shakes. It’s crazy but they both seem to enjoy it that way, especially Christopher who is besides himself whenever he has to stay in the house due to weather or illness. Today he received this note from one of his teachers…
Like any proud parent, I gush over this because a lot of times, I worry that he is falling behind. But he’s not. I imagine he is right on pace with all the other kids his age and doing very well for himself. He might not grow up to be an astro-physicist but he is doing a lot better than I did at his age, I’m sure. And who knows? The sky is the limit these days. I just hope he can keep his demeanor and his wit as time goes by. Don’t let things get to him and keeps a level head, even as the world seems to be exploding around him. He’s a great kid, an awesome son and one of the best friends anyone could ask for and it seems that as much as I worry about him…he’s doing A-okay on his own. He seems to be taking life in stride and, at his age, that’s really all I could ask for.

The Morning News_7.24.2012

I don’t know about you, but MY Facebook friends are going OFF! In some cases, people are discussing in a civilized manner the topics of the past few days. But in other ways, some people are just way outta line and it’s giving me a headache. If you happen to be reading this 5 years from now, here are today’s headlines on July 24, 2012…

Penn State accepted a $60 million fine, a 4-year post-season bowl ban, massive scholarship reductions and a Joe Paterno statue that was in front of the football stadium was taken down. This, in effect, has brought out all kinds of back & forth on whether JoePa has been found guilty without a trial, does the university deserve its sentence, do the students and athletes who have nothing to do with Jerry Sandusky’s molestations deserve to suffer the indignation of something a monster and a few select others covered up? Although I have no ties to Penn State, it saddens me what took place there and I feel so badly for those who are alumni, current students or athletes at that prestigious university . A college is a place for the young to learn and grow. For this kind of thing to happen, it takes away a huge part of what should be the best years of their lives. I can’t even imagine what I would have done if this sort of thing had happened at Ohio University in 1991. We had (and have) our share of issues (our campus was, once again, recently voted the biggest party school in the country) but nothing like what Penn State will suffer over the next decade or more.

Over the past weekend, Aurora, Colorado was the site of one of the most horrific shootings in our country’s history when James Eagan Jones walked into a midnight movie showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” covered in kevlar and killed 12 people and injured 58 others. This has sparked a debate on everything from the death sentence to whether or not the right to carry a firearm should include automatic weapons. It also has become a springboard for bored parents who have decided to take a stance on infants at midnight movies that are PG-13 or worse. What 15 people dying has to do with whether or not a parent brought their kid to sleep through a film is beyond me but I DID get involved in that debate and for my feelings on it, you can go HERE. As for Jones, I don’t get it. Following his story in the news, it appears the guy had a decent life. Regular family, former student at the University of Colorado, everyone said he was quiet but pretty normal so…what happened? Yesterday he appeared in court for the first day of trial. He hasn’t said a word about his motive. What moves a person to doing something so horrific? Did he just snap? Did he plan out this event for months or maybe years? Was he on some kind of medication that caused him to become depressed? WHAT HAPPENED? I want to know! It’s INSANE!

Sally Ride, the first American woman astronaut, has died. She was only 61. June 18, 1983, she was the first female to launch in Challenger. I was 14 years old and I remember that day. She was a hero and I hope that she is never forgotten.

Last week, President Obama made a statement that has oft been quoted as this…”If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that.” It’s interesting how many people have taken that particular quote and used it against him saying he is misguided and way off track. If you actually READ what he said at a campaign event in Roanoke, VA, the way he has been misquoted is laughable and it’s ridiculous how the news media will take a SINGLE line (and not even an accurate one) and spin it completely out of its context for any given reason. If you REALLY want to know what the President said, GO HERE. As far as I can read, the man is right. As a country, we all rely on one another in some way, shape or form. To think that we do anything on our own is a misconception. Doesn’t matter if you’re the President of the United States or if you’re a blue collar worker. We all need one another to make this great country work. I get what you’re saying, Mr. President. Too bad some saw it as an opportunity to take what I consider to be an honest & truthful statement and twist it into a slap in the face for so many Americans who are working hard to make ends meet.

In news of lesser importance, Mariah Carey is apparently joining the American Idol, Chad Ochocinco has officially changed his name BACK to Chad Johnson and Seattle baseball superstar, Ichiro Suzuki (who has been the face of that franchise for over 12 years) was traded from the Mariners to the Yankees on the same night that they were to start a 3-game series. The Yankees (leading the A.L. East) not only beat the M’s (worst in A.L. West), but Ichiro had a single in his first at-bat.

Oh…and the Reds are leading the N.L. Central, are 16 games over .500, have won 9 of their last 11 games and are winning despite having lost Joey Votto for a few weeks.

I guess there is SOME sunshine in this morning…


Flying high again!

Win, Win, Win! Or Not…

My kids are, first and foremost, the greatest thing I have done with my life. I have to imagine every parent feels the same way and obviously, as parents, we all want our kids to succeed. I’ve read articles about helicopter parents and how our generation is coddling our children and I have to be honest…I’m guilty at times. At times I get involved a lot more than my parents ever did with me when I was 10 or so. Not that my parents didn’t love me unconditionally because they did and they did everything they could do for me at that age however it was a different time back then. Now we know WAY too much. We know to buckle our seat belts. We know to wear helmets. We know to start a savings account pre-birth. We KNOW what happens when we don’t do EVERYTHING the books and the internet and all the experts tell us. And that’s fine. Having more information has got to be better than not having any information at all…right?

So now the idea of being a helicopter parent comes into play when we have situations like we have now. Currently Christopher is back to football. Baseball season came and went and so it’s time to strap on the helmet and go hit somebody. The thing is…well…these kids are BIG now. I mean, in some cases, REALLY big. A LOT bigger than Christopher is and so, being a parent, that is a concern. We tried asking the league to allow Christopher to play down an age group. He only missed the age cutoff by a few days and we thought if he played with the younger boys he might get a chance to play more. That was shot down. So now he’s playing on the Juniors team. A Junior Youth team is also in play which is for kids more his size and age, so he will, more than likely, play on that team. And that’s fine. But in my head, I was kind of hoping he’d play down so he could get a lot of experience instead of the amount of playing time he’s had the last couple years.

But here’s the thing, and this seems to apply with ALL the sports that Christopher has played in the last 5 years…the only one seemingly concerned about this is his mother and I. Christopher seems fine with whatever comes his way. If he plays, he has fun. If he sits, he gets to hang with his buddies and for him, that’s fun. He goes to practices, he works out with his friends, he has fun. At this point, as much as I think he’s being sat too much or that he’s being pigeonholed into a certain position, Christopher himself doesn’t seem to take issue with it. Doesn’t matter how much time he rides the pine or how often he doesn’t get the opportunities that some other kids get, he still loves being with his buddies and playing sports! So…as a parent…I am trying very hard to keep my yap shut and let him do what he wants to do. From that perspective, it makes sense!

Here’s the problem with youth sports today…they begin at such an early age. So many parents are pushing their kids to play at such a high level with AAU teams and with so many leagues and all the options available, it’s a little out of control. I remember when I was 10, I don’t think I played ANY sports. If I remember correctly, I didn’t pick up a basketball until I was in 6th grade (but I’m sure my Mom will remember better and I’m sure she’ll comment on here eventually). So Christopher is WAY ahead of me when it comes to athletic prowess. So for me to be “pushing” him into sports is a non-issue. I don’t “push” my kids to do anything they don’t want to do. And I certainly don’t see the point in taking him away from his friends to play at a “higher” level when it comes to this time period in his life.

I see so many parents who seem to be telling their kids that winning IS everything. In order to be something in life, you need to be the best. Well…I disagree. He’s 10. He’s never gonna be 10 ever again. In MY opinion, I want my son to have fun playing sports. The odds that he’s gonna go big time and be a professional athlete are so small that it is a ridiculous pursuit and one that is completely a parents’ pride at work. For me, I want Christopher and Ava to just enjoy playing sports of any kind. And if they decide they want to play 1 sport? Fine. If they decide they don’t want to play any sports? Fine. If they aren’t the best players on the team but enjoy being with their friends and want to put in the practice time anyway? Fine. I’m all good with any of the above. I think that, as a parent, I should be supportive and hope that the kids take away from sports something other than just the need to win. I would hope, as they go on through their grade school and high school years, that sports brings to them a sense of camaraderie, community and an ability to work towards a goal, even if they don’t fully succeed in the end. Sports is NOT the end all of their lives. I would hate for Christopher or Ava to be the star athlete on their varsity team, win a state championship, go to college and then end up back in my basement, unable to find a job and living on that one moment in their life where they were the “next big thing.” Yeah…screw that.

The thing that pushes me to write about this topic is that there is so many pressures and so many options these days that it’s just exhausting. I don’t want my kids to have the pressure. I don’t want my kids to worry about the options. I want my kids to ENJOY being kids. There are enough pressures in this world and, in time, they will have their own. For me to push them into high levels of competition because of a dream I once had would be the worst possible thing I could do. So I tell my kids…go have fun. And if it’s not fun, don’t worry about it. You can always take up golf.

Right Dad?

There’s Something To Be Said For A Guy Like Tebow…

This is one happy guy…

I’ve been working in the sports industry for some time now and I am trying to remember when a player like Tim Tebow has ever come around in sports. I’ve never seen so many people split down the middle about an athlete. You either love him or hate him and there are very few in between. I’m not gonna say either are wrong. As a matter of fact, I’m one of those rare individuals who can see a little of both sides. I don’t hate him nor do I think he’s God’s gift to football (crap…already breaking out the religious tones…) but I have to admit…I am just as fascinated with him as everyone else is. Every sports news source, whether it’s television or radio or newspaper or the internet, is SWARMING all over this guy, relentlessly pursuing his every move, hoping to either see him fall on his face or hoping that he becomes the next big quarterback of the future. For me…I have one thing that I’d like to see from him…

I don’t want him to be a fake.

Here’s the thing about athletes…they are a narcissistic bunch. They seem to have only one thing on their minds once they step foot on a college campus and that is money. Okay…and maybe girls. And possibly tattoos. But for the MOST part…they wanna make money. And they do. They make a TON of money playing sports for a living. Oh, I imagine most athletes and coaches and owners dream of winning a national championship or a Super Bowl…but for the most part, everyone wants to be rich. Now…let’s not kid ourselves…money makes the world go round. We all work for it. Some work harder than others and some are privileged enough to be born in it. Some have to work a LOT harder to get it. In most cases, I can watch a movie like “The Blind Side” or “Rudy” and feel good about the fact that some athletes really do come from a tough life and sports turns that life around for them. And that’s great! But it can easily be said that some teachers and mechanics and executives ALSO come from tough backgrounds and become quite successful and you don’t see movies made about them. Professional sports is a monster all in its own. We LOVE sports and we idolize athletes mostly for what they do on a football or soccer field or a baseball diamond or basketball court or golf course or whatever. We crave that competition. We love to watch the battle. It happened in the early 1st Century as stadiums were built to watch men fight to their death and it continues today every time a player takes a hit or lands a strong blow or survives a crash against the far wall. It’s an adrenaline rush and it takes us out of our mundane lives for a little bit and entertains us. But…just because we are entertained, does that make those that entertain us role models? In my opinion…absolutely not.

So then along comes this guy Tim Tebow. If you read about him (and who hasn’t lately) he has had an illustrious career. Won lots of high school accolades at Nease High School in Florida, went on to win a Heisman Trophy while a sophomore at Florida University, won a couple national championships, got drafted by the Denver Broncos and is now their starting quarterback and this year has created quite a stir with the way he’s been winning games. It’s reached pandemic proportions the way the media has been following his every move and it’s not without merit because the guy IS an interesting story. And we would love to see him fall on his face simply because…well…he’s almost TOO nice.

And that’s where I find myself fascinated with this story.

Tim Tebow likes to proclaim his love for God. He says a short prayer after every score. He slaps the other players’ helmets after they’ve just tackled him out of bounds. He smiles a lot. He seems to be a really, really nice guy and he’s winning in one of our nation’s most violent sports. So…we would LOVE to see him fail and get sent back down to 3rd string QB and then probably disappear into obscurity. But you know what…I don’t think it would matter one bit to Tim Tebow if that happened and maybe that’s what I kind of like about him. Because my gut feeling is that if Tim Tebow couldn’t make it in professional football, he would probably make a great high school coach or an excellent insurance salesman or an awesome teacher in a 3rd world country (he apparently has a  degree in “Family, Youth & Community Sciences.” Whatever THAT is…) or an amazing culinary chef. Whatever the guy’s vocation is…he’d probably do it well and you know why?

Because he has faith not only in himself but also in his religion, in his family and in those that he keeps around him.

Sometimes it’s not about who is bigger or badder or more pissed off or who can hit the hardest. Sometimes it’s just having faith in yourself and going out there, giving it 100% and be willing to take a hit until you get the job done. Sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes there is pain involved. But Tim Tebow isn’t just a player that seem to get off preaching about his faith and then doing the opposite as soon as he gets on the field. Actually…he seems very genuine in what he is does and what he says. Ya know…despite what MY beliefs are, you gotta respect that coming from a guy who is running from 11 200+ pound dudes who all want to body slam him to the astro turf.

So Tim Tebow can pray all he wants. He can praise the Lord in every interview and say that the reason he wins is because he went to church Saturday night. Whatever the guy wants to believe is okay by me. As long as he stays true to the way that he is…I’m all good with that. The last thing I want to see is that he’s a fake. I am tired of the Brett Favre’s. I’m tired of the Mark McGwire’s. I’m tired of the athletes who are only out for themselves and who only play sports for money. In 1993, NBA star Charles Barkley was interviewed and stated that professional athletes should not be role models. His statement came across as ignorant to some simply because, in our culture, so many think so highly of them and place them on a pedestal. But I TOTALLY agree with him. We should not look to these men and women as role models. It’s a PARENTS job to raise their kids. If anything, a child’s parent should be their role models. And so, in that regard, I get what he was saying. Unfortunately our kids DO look up to pro athletes and that is unfortunate, especially when I see how so many of them act. I’m disappointed in the way they are when they are in public, disgracing their talents by beating their spouses or girlfriends, acting as if they are above everyone else simply because they have a physical skill. It’s unsettling that professional sports allow athletes to act this way by letting them return to play again after having been prosecuted for any crime. And it’s amazing we still continue to be fascinated with it, spending millions of dollars to watch these grown men and women act so childishly when they are given so many opportunities.

Tim Tebow has been given an opportunity. As much as I don’t want my kids looking up to anyone but me and my wife, it is refreshing to see an athlete who I can say is doing his job on and off the field and who has an attitude I would love for my son to have when he plays sports. Playing sports can be a satisfying experience and can set a child up for many different aspects of life. Most professional & collegiate athletes seem to have forgotten why they play in the first place. Tim Tebow seems to be quite the opposite. He seems to be quite at ease with who he is and what he can do and because of that, he has become a unique success story that we have become somewhat obsessed with.

And maybe this time, we have found an athlete who is deserving of our attention?

I can only hope so…

Getting It Done

Safe to say that the 4th grade has presented some challenges for our oldest. He’s doing his best and learning that school is a full-time job and, even though it’s difficult, he can do it with concentration and willpower. He’s a smart kid but after a full day of school and then at least an hour of homework every day, it can be mind numbing! So…what kind of homework does he have? Check this out…

I know, I know…his handwriting isn’t the best. He’s working on that part but there’s just a lot to do in this assignment and on the day that he had this he also had 3 other assignments from other classes to do! Needless to say, he can be a little devil at times, muttering under his breath and (probably) cursing at no one in particular but he’s getting through it and I’m sure he’ll be getting straight A’s now that we’ve bribed him he’s starting to get used to all of it.

Along with his homework, he’s also got football which is 3-nights-a-week practices that are 2 hours long along with his games on the weekends. So THAT ties up a lot of his time also. But he’s doing great! One week he was voted the practice player of the week and this past weekend he ran a punt return for a TD, had a TD run and then had a TD called back due to a penalty. But he got lots of playing time and everyone said he played great! Unfortunately, I wasn’t there but Steph was very excited for him and when I talked to him after he was very excited and thankful to get the playing time. Word is that Christopher is great under pressure and is a perfect teammate. I think that is the ultimate compliment for a boy his age…

ADDITIONAL NOTE: On Tuesday night, the Spartans won a game that had been rescheduled by a score of 30-8. Christopher didn’t score but he played well and he was nominated by his coaches as the “Offensive Player Of The Week!”  Congratulations Buddy! That’s awesome!!!

News Flash! In Case You Haven’t Heard!!!

Please Lord…make it stop!

Brett Favre, the quarterback of the Green Ba…uh…New York J…wait…Minnesota? Right? Anyway…Brett Favre, superstar quarterback who is getting paid a gazillion dollars to play professional football at the ripe ol’ age of 40 or so has decided his next move. He has decided, with the love of his family and his teammates behind him, to return to playing football ONE MORE YEAR to help his team, the Minnesota Vikings, return to the playoffs where he will, once again, end the Super Bowl hopes of the 5,226,244 fans who reside in the state of Minnesota by throwing a hail mary into a pack of opponent defensive backs and thereby prolonging their agony ONE MORE SEASON until he, once again, cannot decide whether or not his tired old body has taken enough pounding by 300 pound linemen to return for JUST ONE MORE SEASON?!?!

Haven’t we been forced to sit through this sitcom one to many times? Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy and I totally understand his indecisiveness about this. It IS a wear on your body playing professional sports. Not that I have any experience with it, but I imagine it can be tough. And I cannot even imagine the type of pain he must have been in at the end of that game last season against the Saints where he was pummeled mercilessly all night long and ALMOST won the game! But nevertheless…I grow weary of this media dance every season for the past 7 years. Please Brett…do me and football fans all over the country a big favor…make up your mind BEFORE training camp next year. Say…maybe around the time the Super Bowl 2011 ends and you’re sitting on your couch somewhere pondering your future. Your future is is here! Go do something else with your life! I, for one, have appreciated your work ethic and your love of the game! But it’s getting tired and I’m over the endless breaking reports of you throwing a football on a high school field or you picking up takeout at Wendy’s or whatever else ESPN reporters can find to chat about. You’re taking up valuable tv time when ESPN or NFL Net or any other sports outlet COULD be talking about how good so many OTHER quarterbacks are in the NFL! So let’s just call it a day after this season…mmmmmkay? Thanks and if you ever wanna throw a little of this years’ salary MY way, I’ll take it!

Football Finale

A Long Season Ends

The past couple of days, we sat through gorgeous fall temperatures to watch Christopher play in his final 2 football games of the season. The first round his team didn’t play very well and they lost, so the next day they played for 3rd place in their league. They ended up winning that game 22-6 and Christopher had a touchdown and a few tackles. Here are some photos from the games!

Christopher got to ride WITH the police escort!

The Pee Wees cheered the Starters as we headed to the game

The Run On

It was a beautiful night for a game

The cheering section

All Done

The Last Practice

Christopher had his last practice of the season last Thursday. It has been a long season and he has learned so much from his coaches and the other kids on his team. I can’t remember a time when he has been so into sports. He has been playing sports since he was 3, but this was the first time that he was really INTO playing and football is his favorite. So a big thanks to the coaches and here’s to a great Spartans season! The Starter Bowl is Tuesday & Wednesday and I will be there to cheer the team on! Go Spartans!!!

The muddy practice field

Christopher (aka Clayton) waits to play

The coach gets in on the action

Uh…Christopher? Ya gotta get in the stance big guy…

The coach gives them the play

The last team post-practice meeting

Football & Family

A beautiful Saturday for football and today, Grandma, Grandpa & cousin Alarik made the trek all the way from Zanesville to watch Christopher take the field.

Proud grandparents.

Watching the action.

Truthfully…Christopher didn’t get many offensive touches. But he DID make a great TD saving tackle! It’s from a good distance, but hopefully you can see him catch up with the running back and bring him down!

Distracting the opponent with a quick game of thumb wrestling.

Taking his helmet off after the game.

The post-game meal.

A great day!

And his team pictures came back on Thursday. Check out THIS cool card…

Konversations With Kids: The One Where We Talk Football

On the walk to school today, Christopher told me about his football practice last night. I couldn’t go because I was working, so I asked him how it went. His coaches have been moving him around to different positions. And so then it went down like this…

Me: “So how was practice last night? They put you back at quarterback?”

Christopher: “No. I played a different position.”

Me: “Oh yeah? Where are they playing you now?”

Christopher: “Well…they had me playing cornerback. Which I like.”

Me: “Good!”

Christopher: “And I was also playing…uh…what’s the 2 positions in the back?”

Me: “Safety?”

Christopher: “No…in the back.”

Me: “Are you talking on defense?”

Christopher: “No. I mean yes. In the back…”

Me: “Well…there is the free safety and the strong safety.”

Christopher: “No. The other back.”

Me: “On offense? Are you talking about a running back?”

Christopher: “No.”

Me: “The Halfback?”

Christopher: “No.”

Me: “The Tailback?”

Christopher: “No…I don’t know.”

Me: “On offense BEHIND the quarterback…right?”

Christopher: “Yes. Back in the back. Behind the quarterback.”

Me: “Uh…a Fullback?”

Christopher: “No. I don’t know. Forget it.”

Me: “Are you lined up BEHIND the quarterback. You’re not talking a Wide Receiver are you? They guy that catches passes?”

Christopher: “No. The 2 guys BEHIND. In the back…”

Me: “Well ya got me bud. There are only guys who are running the ball behind the quarterback usually.”

Christopher: “Maybe it’s Linebacker?”

Me: “That’s defense.”

Christopher: “Oh. What was that first one you said?”

Me: “Uh…which one?”

Christopher: “That first one behind the quarterback.”

Me: “The Running Back?”

Christopher: “Yeah. That’s it…I think.”

Me: “Did you like it?”

Christopher: “Yes. But is he one of the guys in the back?”

Me: “Hey! Look at those birds in the sky….”

THE END.

Carson Palmer Can’t Do This

Christopher’s first game was scheduled for today. Unfortunately the other team couldn’t field enough players to play against his team (his pee wee league has 3 teams: green, white & black), so the black scrimmaged against the white team and Christopher made the most of it. He’s still working on his defense but his offense seems to have no trouble putting it in the endzone. He scored 2 touchdowns today, both on quarterback sneaks! Here are some pictures and a video of him scoring his 2nd TD. Watch as he heads outside, only to cut back, shake off a few tacklers and rumbles into the endzone for a TD celebration!

Ready to play!

Taking the field

The pregame CHARGE!

He came ready to play!

A beautiful day for football

The BIG play!

The end of the game (I gotta get a camera with a zoom lens…)

Great game dude!

Football Is For Boys…Right?

It’s that time of year again…Football Season! And we have it in full swing at our house. Christopher & all his friends are playing football (first game Sunday! I’ll post pictures!), I’ve been gearing up to work some NFL games (starting next week) and Steph and her friends are already looking at the high school, college & NFL schedules to see which games they can attend this fall.

And with school starting this week, so did high school football here in our little town. So we walked to watch the team scrimmage, just like last year at this time. And this year, Ava was just as excited as the boys! Except she was more excited about getting a snowcone than she was about football. Oh well…

Got her pigtails in and ready to cheer!

It’s not a long walk to the field

Hangin’ with the boys

Sleepyhead

Today Was A Most Excellent Day…Part I

If I could bottle up a day and keep it for myself, today would be one of those days. It was a gorgeous day, sunshine with a light breeze, temperature a little on the hot & humid side, but overall…as pretty as it gets here in Cincinnati. Although I had driven all night to get home from Canton (I arrived around 5:30am), my energy level was pretty high considering because I knew what I had in store for the day…football & a birthday party! And the day didn’t disappoint in any way.

First…football. As I have noted, Christopher is playing pee wee football for the first time and I’m not sure how many times I’m gonna get to see him play. With my work schedule, I might only get to a few, so I wanted to see him even if today was a scrimmage. And he was awesome! He played quarterback and led his team to at least 6 scores! And on one, he faked a handoff to the fullback and tucked the ball away for a quarterback sneak and scampered into the end zone! Amazing!!! And I didn’t get one picture. In all my excitement, I just wanted to watch it happen and remember it forever. But here are a few other shots at the game…

We are the green team…and Christopher is right in front of you

After the game…

The Starting QB

So Christopher started football practices 2 weeks ago. Except for a few learning experiences along the way (when he should eat, how to put his uniform on, which way the cup should go into his pants), it’s been a fun experience. He is playing with a good group of kids and the coaches seem great. For a while, the coaches had him playing with the older group of boys who had played last year. But the last couple of practices, it appears that they might be moving him back to the group one step below that squad to get him acclimated to playing and learning the plays. And yesterday, the news came…he’s gonna be the starting quarterback for that team!

Before the practices started, Christopher WANTED to be the QB. He LOVES throwing the football and really enjoys the idea of always getting the ball (much like his father playing basketball…). Unfortunately, this league doesn’t allow this age group to throw the ball. So now, he is basically handing the ball off or running QB sneaks. So…needless to say…that isn’t what he WANTS to be doing. Oh well…I still think he’s gonna have a blast. Now if only we could get the offensive line a little bit of time for him to get the snap. That MIGHT make the game a little more enjoyable for him. Because from what I’ve seen…he’s basically a tackling dummy. But we’ll work on that. For the meantime, Christopher is the starting QB for the white team!

GO WHITE TEAM! GO CHRISTOPHER!!! YAY!

And now we must study our plays….which look something like this…

And I’m NOT kidding…