STUDS Racing, Inc.

With the release of NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup -- STUDS Racing, Inc. is now set to go.

More details on this later.

Tight Budget

Whoa ... I'm feeling the squeeze now that I'm running a little short on cash. I just handed in my financial aid reward sheet in and I'll probably won't get that until a few more days. In the mean time, I've still have to find a way to buy books and pay the rent, all this week. Luckily for me, I get paid on Wednesday and I still have a some cash leftover from my Michigan trip. I probably will buy my books tomorrow or Thursday, depending on how much I get on my paycheck -- otherwise, I'll just hope that my aid is going to come REAL SOON.

A New Beginning

It seems like I get to start all over again at work, starting my new job today working the bogie robot. Is it a bad thing? Hell, no! It's a fresh breath of air, finally moving off the floor so I don't have to deal with the stress of being around other people (and doing their work for them). I get to be by myself, controlling one machine and having full responsibility over it.

Also, my full-time days are over for the year, since school starts tomorrow and I'll be starting my 30 hour work week instead of the regular 40+. With that, although I'll be making less money than I did, I will be spending more time concentrating and getting my school work done, and above that, I'll be spending more time with Katie.

That's something that has hurt us over the summer, the lack of actually seeing each other except on the weekends, due to goofy summer hours at work. But now, everything will be back to normal and things are only going to get better as I have one more year left of school and Katie and I can move on with our lives.

Rusty to Retire After 2005 Season

Rusty Wallace, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing South, will finally hang it up after the '05 season.

It's a feeling of sadness for me, since Rusty was one of the first drivers that I had actually watched in the early 90's, when he drove the black and gold Miller Genuine Draft car and piled up the victories left and right. So far, Rusty's won 55 times, including winning the 1989 Winston Cup Championship. You just knew that with the direction that NASCAR is taking now, with its whole new points system and the new fresh faces in the sport, Rusty's days were numbered.

It is also my sheer luck that the driver I watch the most, Ryan Newman, is a teammate to Rusty. Because of that association, I also collected many of Rusty's die-casts and other Miller Lite memorabilia.

His Miller Lite Dodge next year will feature "Rusty's Last Call," a year-long celebration for Rusty and his accomplishments.

For the NASCAR.com article, click here.

Books = Money

Books are going to kill me this year at school. It is unbelievably nuts about how expensive books are getting these days -- what a racket!

So far, two books alone are going to cost me $95/each, while two other books will hit me up for $54 and $48.

And I still have to probably wait 3 weeks to receive my financial aid, since the paperwork was filed late (my fault).

Crazy!

Madden 2005 Update! In the Playoffs!

The Minnesota Vikings finished at an impressive 16-0 on the year, dominating on both sides of the ball. I was playing on "Pro" level, so next year, I might have to bump that up to "All-Pro." But then, I'm a stats man -- I love to dominate every catagory on both sides of the ball. Here are some of my stats from Year 1 on Madden 2005.

Daunte Culpepper

• 389 completions on 516 attempts -- 5,470 yards passing -- 55 TD's, 10 Ints -- 136.5 passing rating

Michael Bennett

• 260 rushes for 1,351 yards -- 28 TD's -- 90 yards/game

Randy Moss

• 100 catches for 2,174 yards -- 18 TD's -- 135.8 yards/game

Marcus Robinson

• 87 catches for 1,160 yards -- 15 TD's -- 72.5 yards/game

Defensive side of the ball:

• Chris Claiborne: 12 sacks
• Kevin Williams: 9 sacks
• Mike Nattiel: 8 sacks
• Chris Hovan: 8 sacks
• Brian Russell: 11 Ints.
• E.J. Henderson: 7 Ints.
• Brian Williams: 6 Ints, 5 def TD's

Kicking:

• Aaron Elling: 35/35 FG's -- long of 50 yards -- 100/100 extra points

Team Offense:

• 7,622 total yards (#1 in NFL)
• 6,661 total offense (#1)
• 5,076 total passing (#1)
• 50.5 points/game (#1)
• 33 rushing TD's (#1)
• 295 first downs (#1)

Team Defense:

• 2,655 total yards (2,133 passing, 542 rushing -- #1 defense in NFL)
• 7 points/game (#1)
• 39 Ints. (#1)

Other Impressive Stats:

• 62% conversion on 3rd Downs (#1)
• 92% scoring in the Red Zone (#2)

Moving on to the playoffs, the Vikings got the home field advantage. After Wild Card week, here's the line-up for the Divisional Playoffs:

• New York Giants (12-5) at Minnesota Vikings (16-0)
• Atlanta Falcons (12-5) at Seattle Seahawks (13-3)
• Oakland Raiders (12-5) at New England Patriots (12-4)
• Baltimore Ravens (13-4) at Indianapolis Colts (12-4)

Prediction? Vikings will win the Super Bowl, hands down!!

Fantasy Football Results

Talk about tension!

We were all shacked up in Rick's basement on Sunday night. Before you knew it, it was just exactly like a "War Room," just like they do on NFL Draft Days. There wasn't much ventilation going on in the basement and before long, we were getting frustrated and sweat began to appear on many brows that night.

Instead of the original 10 teams we had last year, we expanded it to 12 teams. My draft order was #9 out of the 12. If you are unfamiliar with how we draft our guys, we go #1-#12, then #12 picks again, then back down to #1, then #1 picks again, then back up, etc. and so on.

Our teams will start: 2 quarterbacks, 2 running backs, 3 wide receivers, 2 tight ends, 1 kicker, 1 defense, and new to this year, 1 individual defensive player. Also, each team can have 3 reserves.

Here's my team for the 2004 season as they will look for Week 1.

• Round 1: Michael Vick, QB -- Atlanta Falcons
• Round 2: Randy Moss, WR -- Minnesota Vikings
• Round 3: Tom Brady, QB -- New England Patriots
• Round 4: Michael Bennett, RB -- Minnesota Vikings
• Round 5: Jeremy Shockey, TE -- New York Giants
• Round 6: Mike Vanderjagt, K -- Indianapolis Colts
• Round 7: T.J. Duckett, RB -- Atlanta Falcons
• Round 8: Peter Warrick, WR -- Cincinnati Bengals
• Round 9: Jerry Rice, WR -- Oakland Raiders
• Round 10: Oakland Raiders Defense
• Round 11: Jason Taylor, defensive player -- Miami Dolphins
• Round 12: Daniel Graham, TE -- New England Patriots
• Round 13: Kyle Boller, QB -- Baltimore Ravens
• Round 14: Tyrone Calico, WR -- Tennessee Titans
• Round 15: Jerome Bettis, RB -- Pittsburgh Steelers

I do have confidence that this will be a tough team to beat in 2004. Hopefully I'll finish Top 6, so I can finally make the playoffs this year. I'll be heavily depending on Vick, Brady, and Moss to generate the most points. But I have to keep in mind of the bye weeks! I know that I have picked players from the same teams and I'll half to sacrifice or shuffle them around a little bit, letting go of my reserves and picking up other guys from the free agent list to fill those spots.

It is also nice that Yahoo! Fantasy Sports does all of this for us -- our commissioner will put our draft picks into the Yahoo! database and they will control the points, who plays who each week, etc. It's going to be yet another exciting year, and of course, the stories and the results will be published here on TonyTimes.

A "Clerks" Sequel!

This kind of took my by surprise, but a heads-up goes to my old roommate John in Dell Rapids who found this article on CNN.com.

I'm a huge fan of the Kevin Smith films, and his first movie, "Clerks," was shot only on a $27,000 budget. It's black and white, of course, but the constant dialogue and small plots throughout the movie made the movie what it was. Dante and Randal -- coming back!

The storyline of "Clerks" carried over into his next two movies, "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy," with "Dogma" in between (with familiar characters, Jay and Silent Bob) and Smith wrapped everything up with "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," noting that "Jay and Silent Bob have left the building" at the end of the movie's credits.

The new sequel will be named, "The Passion of the Clerks," in which we find out what exactly happened to Dante and Randal ten years later. Will they be working at the Quick Stop and RST Video, respectively? Jay and Silent Bob will also make appearances.

Filming starts in January.

Fantasy Football Update

I got my new guide at the Marshall Hy-Vee today, gearing up for tomorrow's Fantasy Football Draft at Rick's place in Madison.

For all of you other guys out there how are planning on fielding a Fantasy team this year, here are the top picks according to this guide from Pro Football Weekly:

Overall:

1. Priest Holmes, RB -- Kansas City Chiefs
2. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB -- San Diego Chargers
3. Clinton Portis, RB -- Washington Redskins
4. Ahman Green, RB -- Green Bay Packers
5. Randy Moss, WR -- Minnesota Vikings
6. Peyton Manning, QB -- Indianapolis Colts
7. Jamal Lewis, RB -- Baltimore Ravens
8. Michael Vick, QB -- Atlanta Falcons
9. Deuce McAllister, RB -- New Orleans Saints
10. Shaun Alexander, RB -- Seattle Seahawks

Other Top Notables (in order):

• Daunte Culpepper, QB -- Minnesota Vikings
• Marvin Harrison, WR -- Indianapolis Colts

Top Defenses:

1. New England Patriots
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Miami Dolphins
4. Dallas Cowboys
5. Carolina Panters

My Take: Shit, we'll see! Most likely my first pick will be Peyton Manning, I had him for my #1 QB last year and he carried me for three-quarters of the season. Then, I'll probably pick up a top running back. Last year, I had Ahman Green, but who knows -- he probably won't make it to the 3rd Round.

Like I said, updates on my draft will be posted on Monday ... and I'm nervous as hell!

"Second! Fuckin' Newman!"

That was my quote as soon as Ryan Newman crossed the finish line during the Sharpie 500 at Bristol.

It's a little brash of myself to use the vulgar language in my main topic title like that, but I hope to convey my emotions from the race. I was actually watching it at Mike and Lacey's in Hanley, going in and out of the house and catching a few laps, but I managed to watch the last 200 laps. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the race with a dominant race car, but Ryan -- great strategy and an improved handling car throughout the race, moved him up to second and he stayed there.

Being the Newman fan that I am, it has been a frustrating past couple of weeks. Ryan slipped out of the Top 10 in the standings, really hurting his chances of being in the Chase for the Championship. With Ryan's 2nd place finish, he moved up 3 spots and is now in 10th place, just barely in! There are two races to go until the Final 10 -- next Sunday night in California (Ryan finished 3rd there this past spring) and Richmond, the same race that Ryan is the defending champion in. With that going for him, how can he not make it?

I'm just praying for his well-being for his car these next two races, staying out of trouble and hoping for misfortune for the other guys on the "bubble," like Bobby Labonte, Kasey Kahne, Jeremy Mayfield and Mark Martin.

Get 'er done!

SPECIAL EDITION -- Hanley Falls Weekend

I've been back for a little while from Mike and Lacey's housewarming party in Hanley, deciding to give a little update!

First off, it was LOTS of fun, just seeing the old friends again. Mike got a 16-gallon keg of Miller Lite and the tap kept flowing all day and into the early hours of the night. It was gone by the time I wanted another cup of beer at around 10:00 p.m., Katie said it was gone by 9:00 p.m., so I just left the ol' cup on the pump, an homage to "Dazed and Confused."

We played your typical lawn games, bean bags and bocce ball. Shane and I teamed up to chuck the red balls around, but we seemed to come up short in the two games that I participated in. In my opinion, bean bags is the game to go -- Mike's lawn was just too lumpy and bumpy to try to navigate our throws towards the little white ball.

Then supper came, the all-out feast. I came prepared, picking up some American Cut pork chops at Hy-Vee in Marshall, including some shrimp, potatoes, and baby carrots. All of that went on the grill, and even got some compliments from Judy (Mike's mother) and others on the heads-up for bringing the shrimp and other food items.

"Wuz up ..." Tony replied.

But the night was a rough one for Katie -- she has been sick for the past couple of days due to a head cold and I could tell she wasn't having the best of times due to the illness. I tried to pick up her spirits, but she just called me "annoying," but hey, I gave it my try.

With the night winding down and everybody playing "President, Asshole" in Mike and Lacey's garage, Katie and I decided to pack it up at around 10:30 p.m. Katie was awful tired and I was a little worn out from the games and the constant keg drinking.

With that last party of the summer, there's a feeling of sadness that I will not be seeing some of the boys again for a while ... Mike, Robb, and Sean -- I'll be going to school and my visits back to Minnesota will be limited. Maybe one weekend there will be yet another "spur of the moment" when Katie and I will be heading home for another party with old friends again.

School Schedule Finalized

I finally handed in my registration sheet with my pre-req classes that WebAdvisor would not let me register for. I had to get the Dean of BIS's signature and he was goofing around as usual.

So, all in all, I've got 13 credits going for me this fall semester, and that should be it until I student teach next spring.

Here's a quick run-down:

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I have class at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 3:00 p.m.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have class at 1:30 p.m.

I'll give a full run-down on the classes that I will be slugging through on a link on this page later.

The Upcoming Weekend

Big plans are underway this weekend in Hanley Falls. Mike and Lacey are having their "official" house warming party, complete with everything you could imagine, according to Mike.

I gave him a quick call on Wednesday.

"We'll be having some yard games, a 16-gallon keg, grilling out -- so bring your meat." Mike said.

"Oh, I'll be bringing my meat," Tony replied.

"You know," Mike started to say. "You're right about ESPN Football, it sucks ass. It totally lacks the depth of what you're playing."

"I told you so, and did you listen?" Tony asked.

"No, I'm really sorry. Madden is still the game to beat. I'm going to get it this weekend!" Mike exclaimed.

"Good man." Tony said.

It should be fun for all, I'll be bringing my camera so I do a little picture taking so I can post them on here someday, again -- when I have the time.

A full report on the festivities on Monday.

Another Football Update

The Vikings continue to roll, improving their record to a league-best, 10-0.

I routed the Colts last night, while I beat up on divisional rivals Packers and Lions. Daunte is continuing to have his MVP-like season, passing the 3000 yard mark in passing against the Lions. Michael Bennett -- all he does is improve! He had back-to-back 100 yard rushing games against the Colts and Packers, while he only managed to scamper out around 75 yards against the Lions.

I've also implemented a new defense, the nickel. The 4-3 was working well, but during that Colts game, I decided I needed a change since Peyton Manning was whupping up my pass defense early in the first half. After I put in the nickel defense, I picked off Manning 5 times.

How 'bout that? Suck it, Trebek!

As for NCAA Football 2005, Missouri defeated conference rival Nebraska Cornhuskers BIG TIME, winning the Missouri-Nebraska Bell, the rivalry trophy between the teams. Ohio State lost to Purdue, so while they dropped in the rankings, I've moved up to #3 in both polls.

Star Wars Trilogy

I just pre-ordered my copy of the original Star Wars Trilogy (widescreen), containing Episodes IV, V, and VI. Being the Star Wars freak that I am ... BOO-YAH! They should ship out from Amazon.com on September 21.

Also, I pre-ordered one of George Lucas' early movies, "THX 1138," completely remastered. If anybody knows anything about Lucas' movies, he always references his first big movie in all of his other films. I've never seen it -- but hey, it's a George Lucas film!

Fantasy Football Draft -- Sunday!

A good buddy of mine here in the Madison-area, Rick, gave me a call last night and said he was setting up our Yahoo! Fantasy Football draft on Sunday. I was beginning to think that they were going to pass on Fantasy this year, since I haven't heard anything from anybody in a while.

Last year, it was a blast. I had a pretty good team, hanging around in the Top 5 (out of 10 teams) for the first half of the season, then I started to dwindle a little bit. I ended up finishing 9th overall, which was fairly disappointing considering that I had the NFL co-MVP's of Peyton Manning and Steve McNair, a strong rushing game from Ahman Green and tight end Tony Gonzales. The thing that hurt me was a poor receiving corp and not a deep backfield to back-up Green.

This upcoming weekend, I'm going to do LOTS of research and see who the top players of this year will be. Usually I pick up a Fantasy Football guide or two, read up and make my picks.

Results of the draft will be on here on next Monday.

A Little Football Update

In Madden 2005, I took on the Giants last night. I was a little scared, since I trailed 6-0 at halftime. I couldn't get nothing going, even though Michael Bennett was running the ball well and managed to squeak by the 100-yard rushing mark at the end of the game. In the second half, it was a different story. I'm not sure if Kurt Warner just got a little too careless or what, but I picked off 5 passes and ran back 2 of them for touchdowns. The final score, 55-13 -- improving my record to 7-0.

Pro Bowl votes and leading award contenders came out after Week 8, with Daunte leading the way for NFL MVP, Randy Moss taking the Best WR for now. As for the Pro Bowl leading vote getters, Daunte, Bennett, Moss, cornerbacks Brian Williams and Antoine Winfield, and kicker Aaron Elling are getting the nods (so far) to start for the NFC team.

In NCAA Football 2005, Missouri won the "Border War," beating the Kansas Jayhawks 45-0. I'm still ranked 4th in both Coaches and Media Polls.

My Long Hair Is Gone

This morning, Katie cut my hair, the first time that she has ever done that to me. My hair was getting ridiculously long.

She took a #1 to the back and the sides and did a really nice job on the top, whatever is left up there, but she did great. I was pretty surprised as she was a little nervous for attacking my full head of hair.

Now, I look like the guy I was back in high school, not much to mess around with and it still looks good.

Yes, We Have More Cats...

I got a nice little message on my cell phone last night from Katie, saying that when she was setting up a "nice little house" for the two kittens, something was moving around on the plastic underneath a newer addition onto our house. She calls it a "monster," so I'm going to check it out.

When I got home, I didn't see nothing. But it did get to meet the new kittens, Teddy and Franklin. It took me a while to figure that one out, named after the Presidents Roosevelt. They are the darndest things, though. We let them out of their cat carrier and they explored our bedroom, getting into everything. Katie almost started to cry, because "they're so cute," reminding her of our grown-up cats when they were kittens.

Outside the bedroom door, our big male Cass, our we like to call him "Bubba," wanted to get in and see what the fuss is all about. We decided to let him in, only to see the raised backs of Teddy and Franklin reach for the ceiling. Bubba sniffed around, but he clearly did not like the whole situation. Three male cats ... hmm, a little territorial? The second I picked up Bubba he finally hissed at Teddy and Franklin (the FIRST time I've ever heard him to that) and tossed him out of the room. Teddy and Franklin remained on-guard until Katie petted them and settled them down.

But the situation is that we are basically baby-sitting these cats for a long period of time. A co-worker of Katie's is overrun by cats, so she gave us these to take care of for a while, until she can get rid of a few more kittens. As it turns out, Franklin is going to be neutered in December, while Teddy is going to be the stud as he is hopefully going to hook up with some female cat on the farm to have more kittens. This co-worker wants the kittens, so she can sell them down the road. It really doesn't make a whole lot sense to me, but whatever. As long as Katie takes care of them, it's cool.

My "Thing" With NASCAR

As I look back upon my fascination of NASCAR, it was kind of like a "shot out of a cannon," a sudden obsession that took even myself by surprise. Was it something that was always there and I didn't realize it?

My own mother questions my fandom for NASCAR, saying "All you do is watch cars go 'round in circles." Well, yes! There is just so much that has to do with that car when it goes around in circles. The driver and the rest of the team has to keep in mind that other factors can make you successful or a fantastic failure in the sport. Teams have to pay attention to tires, the aero package, shocks, fuel milage, the handling (wedge and track bar), etc. It's unbelievable how difficult it is to drive a car up 20-some degree banks while still driving 150 mph. That's what really turns me onto the sport of NASCAR, the people dedicated to the team, to the number, doing everything possible to pull that car into Victory Lane at the end of the day.

First of all, NASCAR is super-competitive. It's entertaining but not fake, unlike the WWE, who myself had a short-lived interest in. There will occasions where drivers will argue and sometimes fist-fights will break out, like last month in Chicago where crew members from the #20 Home Depot team and the members from the #9 Dodge Dealers team got into a huge fight on pit road. My interest goes farther back than that, more deeper than I ever thought. I myself, am a competitive person, whether it's sports or plain discussion over certain issues, I want to win, I want to be that guy on top. I remember watching a few NASCAR races back in the late 1980's and the early 1990's, watching the boxy-looking cars run around and produce amazing wrecks. The car I really liked was Rusty Wallace's old #2, in which he ran an old black and gold paint scheme, promoting Miller Genuine Draft beer. I dabbled in and out throughout the mid-90's, I was still in high school and pick-up games at The Owl Garden was a priority.

Another great story was when a bunch of us people drove up to Alexandria, Minnesota during Waterama weekend in Glenwood. It was a boring year, nothing much to do, then somebody had the great idea to stopping at this small amusement park where they had bumper boats, mini-golf, and yes, a go-kart track. The go-karts were made in NASCAR fashion, where the driver was actually enclosed into the kart, sporting a popular driver from NASCAR. I took the #24 Dupont Chevrolet driven by Jeff Gordon, who was so dominant during the 90's (and I didn't know that I would grow to hate him later). Other guys, like Mike took the #18 Interstate Batteries Poniac, driven by Bobby Labonte, while others like Sean and Kevin took the #43 STP car and the classic #3 GM Goodwrech Chevy. Their main objective was to stay in tight packs and bang into one another. Yes, that's fun, but my competive nature told me to win the damn race! We've actually got it on video tape -- I've got such a huge lead that I'm damn-near lapping the field, while Mike, Sean and others are busy swiping each other out. Since I was missing out, I let up on the gas and joined in -- but we had workers there who was trigger-happy with their controls on the cars, who could shut them down at a flick of the switch if we were driving too carelessly.

It wasn't until 2001 in which I started watching NASCAR again. My roommate Josh and I almost missed the Daytona 500, the crown jewel event in NASCAR. We turned it on with 10 laps to go, not even knowing what was about to happen that would change the landscape of NASCAR forever. On the final lap, with Michael Waltrip in the lead and his teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. following closely behind, they looked like they would finish 1-2 for the race. In 3rd place, was Dale Earnhardt, the legend himself, a 7-time Winston Cup Champion who was pulling blocking duties to protect his drivers in front of him. Going into Turn 4 with Waltrip and Junior in the lead, Earnhardt Sr. got tapped from Sterling Marlin from behind, sent him down on the apron and that shot him back up the track and directly into the concrete barrier. Kenny Schrader hit Earnhardt's car from the passenger's side and the two cars slowly drifted to the bottom of the track while Waltrip took the checkered flag. The accident didn't look like much -- all I remember is Junior running from his car down to the accident scene and track workers working frantically to pry the roof off the #3. Josh and I shut the TV off, but later that night we learned that Dale Earnhardt, winner of 76 races and the all-time winner at Daytona, had perished.

I followed NASCAR for a few weeks afterwards, amazed at how all the fans of NASCAR had come together and showed their support for a legend. It was a unity that I have never seen in other professional sports, something that really touched my heart and my interest for NASCAR grew. But after a few races, my interest waned. It wasn't until the latter part of 2002 when my interest shot through the roof, thanks to EA Sports' NASCAR Thunder 2003 on the Nintendo GameCube -- simply by accident. Josh had ordered the game from Best Buy via online, and it took forever. He said "forget it," bought it at Wal-Mart or something like that, and I told him once he got it from Best Buy, I would buy it. I was hooked.

Usually fans have a favorite driver. Josh had Kevin Harvick, the driver who took over Dale Earnhardt's ride after he was killed and I had nobody until the 2003 Daytona 500. It was then I noticed Ryan Newman, a second-year driver who won the Rookie of the Year the year before, crashed big time during the Daytona 500. I said to myself, "if a guy can walk away from a crash like that, he's alright with me!" Through the first couple of races, Newman looked great, solidifying my loyalty with the #12 car, then he picked up his 2nd career win at Texas. Newman would go on to win 7 more races, thanks to some strategy and fuel milage, but he failed to win the championship due to some inconsistencies.

That's where I stand now, an undying loyalty to Ryan Newman, watching every race every weekend. I'm not sure that I can comment anymore about my obsession to NASCAR, only to others that are skeptical about the sport, you should give it a try.

More on this later!

Madden 2005 Update

I have extended my record to an impressive 6-0, with wins over the Texans, Saints, and the Titans.

As an Owner, I'm happy! I've got the Metrodome to fill about 97% capacity and I'm pouring money into advertising. I've got a huge surplus of money and I'm looking to upgrade the Metrodome during the off-season. I'll probably wait until a couple of seasons to ask the city of Minneapolis for a new stadium for the dominant Vikings.

New issues! I was toying around with different starting running backs. I started Ontarrio Smith vs. the Texans and the Saints, which of course brought the backlash from Michael Bennett and Moe Williams, saying that they should start. Smith really didn't do a whole lot against the Texans, so I started Bennett in the second half and he managed to put up over 100 yards against a weak defense. But against the Saints, Smith had a breakout game, just barely clearing the 100 yard mark -- which I think is pretty impressive to have consecutive 100 yard rushing games since my rushing game is just plain awful. Bennett started against the Titans and found some success, rushing 17 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. He'll get the nod to face the Giants in Week 8.

Daunte and Randy Moss are having Pro Bowl years. Already, Daunte has been named NFC Offensive Player of the Week twice in 7 weeks (including the bye week). I really haven't checked the stats, but Daunte is having a break-through year.

My punt returner sucks ass! Keenan Howry has already dropped three punts for fumbles, so I'm finally going to sit him down and put in Kelly Campbell to return.

Another nice feature that I have noticed in Madden 2005 that during Weeks 7, 11, and 17, the Owner can check a player's progression, meaning that a player depending upon his performance during the season, can have his attributes raised or lowered. After Week 7, a majority of my players have had their overall attribute raised a few points. The only bad guy -- Howry, who lost one point.

Still Have Not Adjusted ...

I think I'm still riding on Eastern Daylight Time. I'm waking up early, going to bed the minute I get home from work. I guess that's all right, since I still need to get adjusted for the upcoming school year.

But damn! I'm just so friggin' tired this week for some reason. Guess I just need to get over my "road-lag."

More Cats?

Yeah, this is Katie's brilliant idea -- to have more cats roaming the premises.

This time, she's going to experiment a little bit, take a couple of 2 month old male kittens, raise them in our basement, then after a little while, release them outside so they can be "regular" farm cats.

Oh, wonderful. Cat crap in our lawn! I was dumb enough to give consent. Katie is planning on bringing these kittens home today, so I'll have to judge them for myself tonight after I get home from work.

Keep the Comments Coming

I was pretty excited to see that some people have been commenting on my blog -- especially about the topic concerning Madden 2005. I about laughed, it was great!

Continue to stir the shit-storm!

How About Them Twins?

Johan Santana is the Man. Cy Young Award this year? Perhaps, if he keeps this up!

The Twins just won against the Texas Rangers last night behind Santana's pitching, and before that, the Twins swept the Cleveland Indians. The Twins are now 8 games in front of the Indians for the American League Central Division Championship, but they still have about a month of baseball left.

Playoff tickets in my future? We'll see. I denied them last year after I went to the playoffs in 2002 to see them beat the Oakland A's but lose to the Anaheim Angels. It depends on how my finances are this fall, pay off a few debts, get "something nice" for Katie, who knows?!

Madden 2005 Update

I have now improved my record to 3-0 after impressive wins over the Eagles and the Bears. My defense is stellar, helping out to return interceptions for touchdowns. The bad part about my team is my running game, I simply cannot get that going. I had Michael Bennett start against the Eagles and the Bears, but against All-Pros like Jevon Kearse of the Eagles and Brian Urlacher of the Bears, Bennett couldn't get it done. After the bye week in Week 4, I might have to start Ontarrio Smith for Week 5 against the Houston Texans and see what he can do. Moe Williams started bitching immediately after I benched him and Bennett praised me, saying he'll become one of the league's elite rushers. Well, he hasn't looked like that, yet.

As for the Owners standpoint, the impressive win over the Eagles helped me out big time, because it filled the Metrodome to 93% capacity for the game against the Bears. Earnings after the Bears game already put me into the black, so I increased advertising to TV, radio, print, and billboards to help fill it to 100% so I can maximize my profits.

Newman Salvages a 14th Place Finish at MIS

The race I watched was again a frustrating one, especially when I could hear everything on the scanner.

First, Ryan had to go to the back of the field for some reason, so he went from 12th to 43rd. Then, it was just his luck that for three times, he got trash stuck on the grill of his car, raising the water temperature of his engine up near 260 degrees (well above boiling point) and he had to pit each time to remove that trash. Ryan was lucky enough to keep winning the "Lucky Dog" award during the cautions and he did make up some ground, but not the ground that ne NEEDED to make up to stay in the Chase for the Championship.

After it was all said and done, he finished 14th. In the points, he slipped from 12th to 13th, after drivers like Jeremy Mayfield, Kasey Kahne, and Mark Martin had really good runs that moved them up a little bit. Three more races remaining for Ryan for his chance to get into the Top 10 in points -- upcoming race in Bristol on Saturday night, then California and New Hampshire.

What A Trip!! -- Michigan Int'l Speedway

You talk about an experience of a lifetime ... well, I just had one. It had its ups and downs, but overall, it was probably one of the highlights of my short life so far. Let's start from the beginning...

Thursday morning, I only had 3 hours of sleep. Woke up around 4:00 a.m., took a shower, made some coffee, and Katie was nice enough to get up and iron my ALLTEL Racing polo shirt, the shirt that I was planning to wear to Sunday's Nextel Cup race. Great thing that Katie was alert, otherwise I would have forgotten many things needed on my trip, like DEODORANT and extra pairs of boxer shorts. I finally left the Madison area at around 5:30 a.m. after getting some gas for the truck, then I was on my way to my first stop: Luverne, Minnesota to pick up a small television at my uncle's parent's house.

I made it to Spencer, Iowa probably around 7:30 a.m., where my uncle Al and two cousins, Brady and Casey, were still busy getting some stuff together. We didn't leave until 8:30 a.m. We drove through the big towns of Ames and Des Moines, turned east on I-80 and headed towards Iowa City/Coralville where we saw a huge accident. Brady, a CB buff, brought along a scanner and picked up many CB transmissions from different truck drivers driving along the interstate. Where I-380 meets up with I-80, there was a huge semi wreck in which a driver was killed -- the semi cab was completely ripped off the chassis of the rig itself (that was in the ditch) and the cab was laying in the middle of the east-bound lanes of I-80. When we drove past the wreckage, we didn't see any blood, but the word was out that this guy didn't make it. Another semi hit him somehow and he was pulled off the side of the interstate with moderate damage to his rig. We continued forth through Iowa City and headed for the World's Largest Truck Stop just west of Quad Cities.

We passed into Illinois with relative ease, then encountered the first miles of many of road construction on the interstate. It especially got worse when we approached the Chicago/Gary, Indiana area, where we only had one lane to drive in (by the way -- RUSH HOUR) and we were deadlocked for a while. I've never seen so many semi trucks in my life, and the whole time Brady had his CB on and all we heard was constant bitching and complaining about how they had to get their manifests to Detroit or Windsor, Ontario by a certain time. Also, they referred to regular cars and trucks as "four-wheelers," and semi truck drivers do not care too much for them.

The sun started to set as we passed through the wooded state of Michigan, where large coniferous trees lined the interstates in Michigan, reminiscent of northern Minnesota. We passed through large cities like Kalamazoo, Battle Creek (Cereal City), and Jackson. We finally pulled into Ann Arbor at around 9:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) and pulled into one of the largest grocery stores I have ever seen. This is a food chain called Meijers, and it looks like a Hy-Vee on steroids. It was just huge! After picking up some essentials (BEER), we drove back to the Comfort Inn, where we pimped out in style in a two room suite with a jacuzzi. We hit the sack early, all ready for a practice session back at Michigan International Speedway and qualifying on Friday.

On Friday, the weather wasn't very favorable. The skies were overcast and temps were cool, but we ventured the 40 miles to MIS (south of Jackson) and approached the speedway. Now, this was a sight that I have never seen, because I have never been to a NASCAR race before. But at the moment, MIS was my Mecca -- one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen, and this is only looking at the track from the OUTSIDE, looking at the impressive grandstands on the frontstrech and how they bend around Turns 3 & 4. My breath was literally taken away. I felt like a little kid again. With a passion like mine to watch cars run around in circles, this was simply stunning.

We stopped at a concession stand quickly to grab a couple of hot dogs, then we heard some engines start up and roar from inside the track. Brady, Casey, and myself entered the grandstand and stood as close as we could, probably 20 feet from the actual protective track wall. We saw Scott Riggs, driver of the #10 Vavoline Chevrolet, exit pit road and pull out onto the track. Brady had been here at MIS before, and he just looked at me and said, "Just wait until the car comes by." Riggs came through Turn 3 and came off Turn 4, close to where we were standing. Then, in a blur, he flew by with the most deafening noise and the fastest blazing speed I have ever experienced. The car's exhaust was so loud, that it left my ears ringing for some time. But the speed! It was amazing! The cars at MIS can approach 200 mph going into Turn 1, while they can maintain speeds at around 150-160 mph going through Turns 3 and 4. Then my boy, Ryan Newman, driver of the #12 ALLTEL/Justice League Dodge, took to the track. He was running a special paint scheme this weekend, sporting the members of the Justice League (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern, etc.) with his car painted in a patriotic red, white, and blue. After a while from standing there and going deaf, we walked up the grandstand and put our scanners to work, listening in to the communciations from crew chief to driver. Ryan and his crew chief, Matt Borland, really didn't say a whole lot, but just by switching the different channels to the other drivers who could pick up on who was doing well, or who was struggling with their set-ups. Then, it started to rain.

The rain never did stop, as the rest of the practice sessions and qualifying for the Busch Series and Bud Pole was washed out. The rest of the time on Friday was spent walking down Merchandise Row, where large semi trailers were set out selling driver's offical merchandise like hats, shirts, key chains, banners, die casts, you name it. This stuff was not cheap either. Of course, more popular drivers had more trailers. Ryan Newman had two trailers, Dale Jr. had two trailers, and Jimmie Johnson had two trailers. Most of them had only one. Then, across the road from the track was the retailers who sold older but cheaper merchandise. This place was absolutely huge, there were probably more than 300 tents set up selling tons of stuff. The Texas Bikini Team was also there, but due to the cool weather, they really didn't pose much in their skimpies (WAY too much make-up), but on Saturday and Sunday they showed their goods! These girls were hotties -- check out their website at www.texasbikini.com.

On Saturday, it was going to be a beautiful day. Sunshine was going to be in the forecast with temps into the mid-70s. We got there at MIS early to watch a practice session, while Al and I went down to pit road with our pit passes to get a glimpse of the cars in action up-close. It kind of sucked -- there were so many people down there, especially around the areas where the cars enter and exit the garage area and I really couldn't get a photo of the cars. Besides that, I had a headache from hell. I wasn't sure if it was from the noise of the cars up close on Friday or what, but I really didn't feel all that well. After the practice was over, Al and I went back and grilled out before the Busch race. We met up with Brady and Casey and ate, then went back to the track and watched the Busch race, in which Kyle Busch, a rookie in the series, won his 5th race of the season. It was fun, but the stands were not even close to full capacity, more people were starting to arrive for the Cup race on Sunday as we walked out to the vehicle.

Sunday was the Day of Days and the traffic reflected it. Cars were piling into the parking lots around the track -- it probably took us a good couple of hours just to get settled in. MIS was like the Minnesota State Fair, the grand opening of the Mall of America all rolled into one. They were predicting 175,000 people to show up. Brady and Casey took the pit passes and left, while I went to the cheap side to do some merchadise shopping. Al stayed behind and set up camp. Sunday was going to be a little warmer than Saturday, so I was smart in slapping on some sunscreen (many applications) to prevent any sunburn and not experience what happened at The Asche Bash a month ago. After all that was done, we went back to the campsite and ate, talked some football smack with some guys from Wisconsin, and headed to the track where the race was going to start at around 3:00 p.m. We had a decent view in the tightly packed grandstands, sitting 37 rows up in the middle of Turns 3 and 4. Scanning the frequenices was fun, although I didn't really hear any bad language. There wasn't many accidents, just a couple of spin-outs, but other than that, Greg Biffle, driver of the #16 National Guard/"The Flash" Ford, won the race in dominating fashion. After the race, we just kind of sat around in the stands for an hour to wait for some people to clear out, went back to the camp and ate some more, waited there for a couple of hours, then headed out.

Our main objective was to get through Chicago on Sunday night to avoid any heavy traffic. But yet again, road construction slowed us down as we passed through the suburbs and there were again a few minor traffic incidents. The CB was picking up a lot of colorful language, like "Shit, I just spilled my piss bottle again, damn!" Some of that stuff you just had to laugh out loud. We made it to Joliet, a western suburb of Chicago at around 11:00 p.m. and crashed there for the night.

On Monday morning, we left Joliet at 10:30 a.m. in the morning and finally arrived back in Spencer at around 6:30 p.m. I stayed for about an hour, eating some supper and made the final drive back to Madison and got back home at 10:30 p.m. Katie was sure glad to see me as I did miss her much, gave her a Ryan Newman blanket plus a couple of keychains. It was good to be home again, but then again, I have to work on Tuesday. It was an experience of a lifetime, one that we are planning on doing again next year. Talks are in the air about heading to a different track like Bristol or Kansas, but Michigan will probably be the most likely again. And for the awards:

Thumbs Up Award: to Brady for remembering the CB. It was lots of fun listening to the banter between the truckers, swearing at each other and all that sorts of stuff. Also, honorable mention to the Texas Bikini Team, simply because they are hot!

Thumbs Down Award(s): to my headache on Saturday. Plus, I had visited Ryan's merchandise trailer on Friday saying that Ryan would be there on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. to sign autographs for anyone who had a ticket (175 of them were given out) or whoever was a Fan Club member. When I got there on Saturday, the line was 7-8 trailers long. At 1:30 p.m., Ryan still wasn't there, so I decided to jump out of line and walk up to the front of the trailer to see him and take a quick picture. All this time, the Busch race had started. At 1:45 p.m., Ryan still wasn't there, so I left, never seeing him in person. I had payed $50 for a Busch ticket and I wasn't going to waste that. Instead, I got a picture of Jeremy Mayfield, driver of the #19 Dodge Dealers Dodge, signing autographs in his trailer.

The Land of Suck, Part II

I'm glad that I'm heading out for a few days, because I sure need it, after what myself and the rest of 2nd shift went through last night.

First, we didn't have one worker because he was up in Roseau, Minnesota to help fix a fuck-up on our part with some Polaris skis that we had made. That was understandable, but then we lost another guy because he had some lame excuse that he had to baby-sit his younger sister (all the while he had other family members there who don't have jobs -- as far as I know), so the bullshit flag was waved on that one.

Then, the powder mixer on 1st shift defined the word "lazy." He didn't start on any powder whatsoever -- no black, no green. Green is easy to make, which takes about 30 minutes to get one full barrel ready, but he didn't start that until 4:30 p.m., and we start work at 3:00 p.m. As for black, that is the powder that is used for the majority of our parts. That powder takes 2 hours to mix, and we didn't get our first two barrels until 4:00 p.m. We usually go through 5 barrels a night -- so we didn't get done weighing our powder for the machines until 9:45 p.m., about 3 hours later than usual.

Simply a disaster! But I still have my patience, only one more week of this bullshit and I'm off the floor and I move on to my new job at the bogie wheel robot.

Getting Packed, Ready to Go

Yesterday I got my scanner, so I was playing around with that for a few hours last night and today, just pumping me up even further to head out to Michigan to see the races. After I finally figured the thing out, I probably inputted more than 200 frequencies into the scanner, covering most of the field for Busch race on Saturday and the Nextel Cup race on Sunday.

This little thing is pretty cool -- I can pick up aircraft transmissions with it and also the fire and police departments. So far, just by searching the channels, nothing really is going on. I do pick up a few things once in a while, but it's nothing exciting. Otherwise, I pick up the Weather Alert channel and listen in on that.

Katie is being a pretty good help in getting things together for me. She's helping me pack, all the while complaining that I'm going to be gone for a few days. I just have to keep reassurring her that I'll be home safe and sound on Monday and I'll call her as often as I can, even though it's doubtful that my cell phone will pick up any signal whatsoever.

I'm off work tonight at 11:30 p.m. no matter what -- I'm not staying late to help out with anything extra (last night was a complete disaster), heading home and catching a few hours of quick sleep. I have to wake up around 4:00 - 4:30 a.m. and head out from here around 5:00 a.m. for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Spencer, Iowa where I'm hooking up with my uncle and two cousins. Then, we're finally on our way!

We'll be driving 12-14 hours straight to Ann Arbor, Michigan to a fancy hotel (we got a double-room suite) and on Friday we're heading to Michigan International Speedway for the Budweiser Pole Qualifying. Hopefully I can find Ryan Newman and ask him to take a few pictures with us -- cuz he's the MAN -- then afterwards, I'm going to SHIT IN MY PANTS.

Saturday is the Busch Grand National race, a sort-of minor league NASCAR series, which provides just as much action as the Nextel Cup race that will run on Sunday. After is all said and done, we're going to be on our way back home, probably shacking up somewhere in Wisconsin Sunday night and continuing our way home on Monday.

Full details to come, pictures included -- granted that I have the time to scan them all and post them on my college server.

NCAA '05 Update

I played a quick game this morning, with #4 Missouri taking on the Western Michigan Broncos.

My offense really didn't get going right away, but it picked up in the 2nd half with long runs and stellar defense. I beat 'em: 48-3. I move on now to my conference schedule, with my first game against the Kansas Jayhawks, a rival game known as the "Border War."

As for Madden '05, I haven't played the Eagles yet. That'll probably have to wait until I get back from Michigan and I'll give yet again another full report on Tuesday.

Reply to Mike's Comment

No, I do not suck. It's simply the Vikings -- you know that. Look at Daunte a couple of years ago!

Now that Michael Bennett is back, hopefully Daunte will give up scrambling and hand the ball off to this year's elite running back in the NFL.

Deion to Return to Football?

Sources say that he's ready for a comeback. He's had his turf-toe problems, but now his close friends, like Ray Lewis and Corey Fuller, say he's ready to play for hte Baltimore Ravens as a nickel back.

I say his days are over playing football. He was good in his early years with the Falcons, 49ers, and the Cowboys, but his head just got too big for his helmet. He tried to take on baseball as a second sport like Bo Jackson did, but he really didn't do that too well.

I could be wrong, but I believe he's better sitting behind a desk and being an analyst for CBS Sports.

Here's a link to the article on ESPN.com.

Madden Update

I've finally polished off my last two games in the pre-season, defeating the 49ers big time: 56-3, and taking down the Seattle Seahawks, a more difficult matchup, 42-21.

Through the Position Battles, Moe Williams took over the starting spot from Michael Bennett, while Kevin Williams, who had a huge game against Seattle, took over the #1 defensive tackle spot from Chris Hovan.

After I moved into the Regular Season, that's where I have the options of opening up the Owner's Box and set prices on everything and making sure everybody's happy. Well, I've been already getting e-mails through my PDA from Bennett saying that he's not very happy that he's the back-up running back. Well, Mr. Bennett, your dream might come true!

After playing Week 1 in the Regular Season against the lowly Cowboys (I won 54-7), I'm still having problems with my running game. Moe Williams rushed 13 times for 20 yards but managed to score a touchdown. When Moe was hurt for a couple of plays, Bennett stepped in and caught a pass for 27 yards that put the Vikings within the 5 yard line, then rushed it in on the very next play. Bennett will probably get the nod to start vs. the Eagles in Week 2.

As for the passing game, too easy -- especially with Randy Moss. Moss caught 6 passes for 167 yards. Marcus Robinson had a huge game, including new tight end Wiggins. The defense was stellar, creating fumbles and picking interceptions -- Brian Russell had two on the day vs. the Cowboys.

As far as the owner's point of view goes, I was pretty upset. Minnesota had great support for the Vikings, but the fans only filled 63% of the stadium. The upper deck was only half full, which kind of pissed me off. As long as I continue to win, I don't think I should have a problem.

Madden 2005 -- Finally

Robb put in some good words when he mentioned that this year's version of Madden NFL Football is something else. You know what? The kid's right!

I immediately delved into the Franchise Mode, taking the Vikings (for obvious reasons) and got to learn about what was new. This year, there's this new radio show which I really don't understand, because it basically gives out trivia questions, but you have to remember, I'm still in the pre-season so there's nothing really important to talk about. He (Tony Bruno) did give some good insight to an injury to Ted Washington, a d-lineman for the Raiders, about his broken foot in Week 2 of the pre-season and there's talk about letting him go (since he's out 12 weeks). I'm sure during the regular season, the radio talk show will get better.

Also, there's newspapers, like the national (USA Today) with headlines around the NFL, plus local papers for every football team (Vikings -- StarTribune). But what I really impressed with is that during the pre-season games themselves, certain players are battling for that top spot on the depth chart. After two games into the pre-season, there's a halfback battle between Michael Bennett and Moe Williams, and right now, Moe has the #1 spot. I get all of this news on my handhald PDA, where a person can get "e-mails" from players and coaches (kind of like in MVP Baseball 2004) and you can keep track of endless information. It's almost a little too much, but hey, that's fine with me!

As for the gameplay itself, the player models are more graphic than they were in last year's game. There really isn't much difference in the motions themselves. A big improvement is the defense. There's no way a running back can get 10 yards on a carry (unless the defense picks the wrong coverage), since the d-line and linebackers are super-quick now. That's the big difference between Madden 2005 and NCAA '05, if you pick a HB Dive play in NCAA, if the hole is plugged, you can usually juke and take it outside. No way that's going to happen in Madden, they'll sniff you out before you know it and you'll end up losing yards.

The passing game for the Vikings is all too easy. Daunte and Gus Frerotte both are probably chalking up 200+ yards per game just by themselves, which helps if you have great receivers like Randy Moss and Marcus Robinson.

And Mike, this game has more turnovers! I'm my first game vs. the Cardinals, I probably fumbled like 4 times. Also, if a passer throws a bad pass and it goes directly at the cornerback or safety, he's not just going to bat it down, he's going to catch it. Tackling has also improved, where there is more gang tackling and not just one-on-one. Mike made the comment that if a defensive player "bangs" into the offensive player with the ball, he'll fall down too easy. This year it is not the case, in which there is more broken tackles and like I said before, more defensive players will gang up on the ball carrier for more realistic tackling.

But I still need some experience on this game and it's only going to get better. I'll report more on Madden 2005, plus more on Missouri's season on NCAA '05, which by the way won big time over Iowa 56-0, and moved up one spot to 5th in the rankings due to a Miami loss.

An Expensive Piece of Equipment

When I was driving back to Minnesota this past weekend, I was in need for scanner to take with me on my trip to Michigan later this week. I wanted something cheap, but reliable, and Radio Shack was my destination. According to their website, they had what I wanted at the store in Marshall, but when I got there, they didn't have squat except for the headphones that I wanted.

Instead, on Sunday I just went on-line and bought it. The total came to be around $280, and that includes a $45 shipping fee for Next Day Air delivery (I'm leaving early Thursday morning). The headphones themselves cost $70, scanner $150, so it all adds up.

It had better be worth it, but from what I've heard, it is a lot of fun to listen in on all the banter between drivers and crew chiefs.

Newman Continues to Struggle -- 26th at Watkins Glen

It was just really frustrating for me to watch Ryan and his team struggle throughout the day at the road course of Watkins Glen. Ryan had always had the stats on his side, averaging better than 10th place at the Glen, but for some reason, Ryan didn't have a great car to begin with.

Brake problems troubled him early and affected him most of the day. He simply didn't have them -- without them, he couldn't speed up effectively and make the "slow-downs" effective enough to make the turns. And, you know he's had a bad day when old-timer and field filler Morgan Shephard blows in his passenger side of the car. Ryan eventually got lapped by winner Tony Stewart, finishing 26th with 1 lap down.

With that 26th place finish, he drops out of the Top 10 and loses his chance for run for the Championship. Lucky for Ryan, he's running at Michigan next Sunday and he's won that race two times in a row. He's got to get-r-done, finishing at least Top 10 at Michigan, Bristol, and California and hope that some of the guys at the bottom of the Top 10, like Jeremy Mayfield and Kevin Harvick to mess up a little bit.

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was slow moving out of bed on Sunday morning. I really didn't feel the ill effects from the alcohol, just the fact that I was tired and I was lacking the much needed sleep. I managed to roll out at about 9:30 a.m., my parents were off to church and I decided to get ready for the softball game at 11:00.

Woody's Bar was taking on the Hanley Falls Farmer's Elevator Feed Team in the consolation bracket, meaning one more loss and the loser was going home for the weekend. The Woody's team struggled throughout the day, mainly on hitting pop flys into an incoming wind from left field. Meanwhile, the Feed Team were consistent on the base hits, putting together small rallys and managed to get some runs across. When all was said and done, Woody's lost, 12-6, ending their hopes of playing again. Bitter disappointment was visibly there throughout the team, knowing that they could have beaten them.

But I have to give out a "Spur of the Moment" Award to Mike and Sean, which occurred right after the game. Sean just got back getting some hamburgers at the food stand and Mike thought of the idea of picking up the new Athens Summer Games 2004 game on the PS2.

"Okay, let's go." Sean said, with a laugh.

"Alright!" Mike got up from his chair.

"Wait, let me finish eating my burger first!" Sean replied.

I decided to head home and take a short nap and watched the race at Watkins Glen, which was another story.

After the race ended, I drove back into town and stopped by Mike's place where Sean and Mike were totally into their Olympics. It looks pretty fun, but yet it is another game where a person has to continue to smash buttons, like the 'X' and the 'O' button back and forth really fast-like, which can be tiring. I tried my hand at it, and I'll be the first to admit that I suck -- when it comes to that button-mashing crap. Swimming is extremely difficult. I'm good for the first 50 meters or so, then I just die.

I didn't get to see ESPN 2K5 for myself -- I just think Mike was too afraid to show it to me, because he knows that Madden is far superior.

I also hit a pretty good rainstorm when I was in South Dakota. It rained hard when I drove through Ivanhoe, then it was pretty much on and off, then I drove by Nunda, a small town which is about 5 miles from where I live. Then, it was a monsoon. I couldn't even see the road and I know for a fact I was hydroplaning there for a little bit. I had to slow down to about 20 mph just so I could see the road, but still that was a struggle. But I made it home safe and sound, and then I popped in a little Madden 2005.

NCAA Football 2005 -- Movin' On

After Michigan defeated Florida State for my second National Championship in two years, I came to the decision to move on in my college career to a new team. Here were my offers: Miami, Florida State, and Missouri.

I chose Missouri. I had the feeling that most of my best players at Michigan were going to the pro draft (or graduating) and I was right. Shawn Crable left early, and Pierre Rembert graduated. Missouri was going to be a tough task, although they were ranked in the Top 10 in both polls.

With Missouri during the off-season, I ended up having the best Recruiting Class in the nation, mostly picking up defensive players, specifically linebackers. I also ended up cutting a few "sucky" guys, players rated in the 50's or low 60's, players I really didn't need or really didn't fit into my grand scheme of things.

My first game was against the 16th ranked Virginia, which I won. The offense struggled (5 total turnovers) but the defense was dominant. I really don't have an outstanding player that can lead the team, but it's early. Looking down the schedule I see a tough schedule of Big 12 teams, like Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska. Nothing I should worry about, Missouri can take 'em!

Madden 2005 -- Picked It Up!

Yep, that's right, I finally got my copy of Madden 2005 at Wal-Mart on Saturday. I haven't played it yet, but I'll get around to it on Sunday night when I'm back home in South Dakota.

Mike was totally braggin' up ESPN 2K5 when we were sitting there watching the games. He says it's the most realistic football game he's played -- so be it. I'm going to stick with Madden though. They were ranked by most videogame sites to be pretty even, so nobody loses. Robb told me he played an exhibition game and he simply loves it. He hasn't delved into the Franchise Mode yet, but I'm sure he'll find a few more surprises there.

Can't wait!

SPECIAL EDITION -- Threshing Show

Look at the time. It is late! And I'm feeling .... good.

An eventful Saturday in Minnesota. I watched several softball games at Centennial Park in Hanley, all the while playing bean-bag game and drinking Miller Lite. Mike and Sean were on a roll ... they won like 10 straight bean-bag games. Lacey and myself really didn't have nothing, although we had a couple of pretty good comebacks but we'd always come up short. Mitch (Goofy) and Cody finally took 'em down, actually winning three straight at one point, but they (Mike and Sean) came up with the brilliant idea of winning the best out of seven. Mike and Sean took the match to the seventh game, which they won.

I was also surprised to hear the news about Lacey's car accident, which occurred sometime last Tuesday. She got rear-ended BIG TIME (I have seen the car) and the car's trunk is completely smashed in. Lacey was waiting to turn to the left off the highway, but had to wait until on-coming traffic had passed. But some guy in a truck behind her didn't pay enough attention and smoked her hard core. She's lucky ... although she is feeling some stiffness in her body (not you, Mike!).

As for the softball games, Woody's Bar lost big time to Helgeson's Insurance, 20-2 -- that including a rare Grand Slam by Robb himself! Woody's will play on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., while Helgeson's will continue on into the winner's bracket and will play at 1:30 p.m. I'm not sure if I'll make it for that game, since the race at Watkins Glen begins at 1:00 p.m.

The bar scene at Hanley was a funky setting -- sand poured on the streets to make it seem like a beach party, although the temp was in the 50's. I sailed with Captain Morgan, while Mike pimped with Michelob. Robb -- later in the night introduced me to Jim Beam ... but he ate the sand. Overall, a great time at the bar, talking to some people I haven't seen in a while (namely "Noodle"), and not having Katie there made it seem a little bland. She was having fun at that wedding in Madison, getting a little drunk but she made it home alright. I had to make sure.

Right now, it's time for bed. Of course, it's late and I'm a little drunk from feeling the effects from Captain Morgan's ship (rocking back and forth), but it's cool. I'll be tip-top in the morning, ready to cheer on Woody's Bar while I take more pictures.

Pictures! I took a butt-load. I'll have to get them scanned in and put a link up for them. I even got Robb's Grand Salami, when he was rounding third base. I wish I had a zoom lens, though...

Vikings Pre-Season

The Minnesota Vikings will take on the Arizona Cardinals at the Metrodome, opening their 4 game pre-season schedule.

My prediction? All too easy! The Vikings will roll, but with the amount of players that will be substituted into the game, who knows -- it might be close. It would be cool to see Brock Lesnar play, but I doubt it.

Dennis Green also returns to the Metrodome but this time as the new head coach for the Cardinals. What will be his reception? Boos or cheers? Most likely a few boos ... but who knows!

The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Central -- I'm not even sure if it's going to be on TV in Minnesota or not.

Threshing Show -- Hanley Falls, MN

Every year on the second weekend of August, the small town of Hanley Falls holds its annual Threshing Show, located on the old school grounds in the center of town.

I've been going to this since I was a little tyke -- my first memories were back in 1983, riding in tractors as they marched around in their "Parade of Power." Then we got a little older (past the "free admission for people under 12"), snuck in by climbing the fences, and checking out what the flea markets had in order. Every year, I would save up to buy a tractor or something, otherwise we'd buy novelty items, like stink bombs or fake Oakley shirts.

But the part I love the most is the museum itself, the old Hanley Falls High School building. It's so full of history about the surrounding area. I used to go in there during my summers in Minnesota and look at the old pictures of Hanley Falls and the surrounding farms, looking at the changest to certain buildings or other things.

Lately, I really haven't gone into the Threshing grounds, since my attention has turned to Centennial Park, neatly nestled in between the Threshing grounds and State Highway 23. For years I've played in the annual Threshing Show softball tournament. This year, hopefully I'll find a team to play on, but if I don't, it's no big deal. I'll just sit back and relax, get drunk, and just spend a couple of days in Minnesota.

Katie will not be heading back with me this weekend, because she's got her hands full dealing with a wedding that she volunteered to help with.

Conspiracy Theory -- Heisman Trophy

Talk about the biggest rip-off in college football.

It was a one-two race between linebacker Shawn Crable and halfback Pierre Rembert. They were going back in forth in the Heisman Trophy standings, then it seemed like Rembert got the upper-hand after Michigan crushed Ohio State, with Rembert's 5 rushing touchdowns.

Then after Michigan finished their regular season schedule with a win over Temple, Crable had 5 sacks and then took over the top spot for the Heisman. With only one game left and the conference championships left (SEC, MAC, Big 12), the Heisman was a lock for Crable. It would be unheard of -- a defensive player winning the Heisman -- with the exeption of Charles Woodson who actually did win it a few years ago while playing for Michigan.

Crable finished the season with 44 sacks, eclipsing McClintock's old school record of 38. Crable also took the career sack total -- in one season! The old record was 43.

After the conference championships were finished, I started to receive my hardware. Crable took home the Bednarik Trophy and Best Linebacker awards; Rembert got the Maxwell and Walker Trophies; Mike Moss got the Best Tight End award, and Grant Rivas got the Groza Trophy for being the best kicker in the nation. Where was my Heisman?!

Turns out some running back from Wake Forest got it. He edged out Crable in the first and second place votes, beating him by some 70 points. An absolute joke! Before the conference championships, the Wake Forest player was in 5th in the running. He never played a game under the actual awarding of the Heisman, in which case he won it. Talk about a conspiracy!

The Wake Forest running back actually had worse stats than Rembert, who finished 3rd in the voting. Rembert had over 1800 yards on the ground, while the Wake Forest player had 1600 yards. Stats usually do make the player on this game ... but by far, Crable should have won it.

But for right now, I'm going to concentrate on playing Florida State for the National Championship. Miami lost their last game, ruining their chances at playing Michigan. After my victory over Ohio State, I took over all of the first place votes on the Coaches and Media polls, being the undisputed top team in the nation.

Which brings me to this: I will probably not be returning to Michigan for the Fourth Season. Michigan is just too damn good. Like I said before, I'll be getting offers from other programs, and I'll probably take the lowest ranked team out of the list to build them up and make them a championship contender. It all depends on what the offers are.

Politics and More

Eariler today, a guy stopped by my farm place and offered me some free advice on why I should vote for Sen. Tom Daschle (D), the Senate Minority Leader who is the incumbuent, who will be running against former Rep. John Thune (R).

I nodded politely, but I said I'm a Republican. You should've seen the stupid look on his face. "Well," he says, "Maybe Sen. Daschle can change your mind on these views: health care, drought relief ..."

I interrupted him, saying I'm not even registered to vote in South Dakota, only in Minnesota. Besides, I don't vote for the person, I vote for the Party.

This guy knew he wasn't going to convince me. So he just gave me this little pamphlet on Daschle. It promptly went in to the garbage!

Also, this kind of shocked me: all of those gay marriages in San Francisco have now been voided. A California high court ruled that the Mayor of San Francisco overstepped his authority and ruled that nearly 4,000 gay marriages are now no longer considered to be legal.

As for my opinion, I do not believe in gay marriage. Gays get married because one, they're in love, which I can understand, but two, they want the benefits that go along with their jobs, just like when a man and a woman get hitched. I believe in civil unions for gay couples. Through that, they should get benefits -- civil unions should be seen as legal then! Not through marriage -- I don't agree with that. As a some-what spiritual man, I know the Bible frowns on homosexuality, and there are some people who say that church and state should not overlap. Whatever. It's just my opinion.

This argument will continue throughout the test of time. Nobody's wrong, nobody's right -- but sooner or later, the Liberals will eventually take over the government and ruin everything -- like another couple of airplanes in our country's skyscrapers.

Don't get me started!

Madden 2005 Officially Released Today

This isn't new news. Everybody knew it was coming today, but I'm going to wait until this weekend to get my copy.

BOO-YAH!!

Watch out, ESPN 2K5!!

Michigan vs. Ohio State -- #1 vs. #2

This biggest game of the year has come down to this. Michigan, ranked #1 in the both polls, will take on conference rival Ohio State, #2 in both polls.

Already, the game is setting it up for a huge National Championship showdown, but Michigan - Ohio State isn't going to happen. This is for all the marbles - The Big Ten Championship and the chance to play in the National Championship game at the Fiesta Bowl.

The game is at Ohio Stadium (aka "The Horseshoe"), but I don't think I'll have a problem with the Buckeyes. Michigan is simply rolling! Shawn Crable is over 30+ sacks on the season and is the leading contender for the Heisman, Bednarik, and Best LB trophies at the end of the year. Pierre Rembert is finally picking is up, although he sits second for the Heisman, but is the leading candidate for the Maxwell and Walker Trophies (offensive player and best running back, respectively). Michigan has only given up 14 points all year and is only giving up 42 yards a game, so I'm thinking that I will win this game pretty easily.

Although it is unprecedented, I still have one more game on my regular season schedule AFTER Ohio State, and that is Temple. They won't be much ... just to pad the stats and for my run for some more hardware at the end of the season.

Also, the rumors are floating again that I will be leaving at the end of the season, and this time, it might be true. It all depends on the offers from certain teams. Michigan is just getting too easy, and I have a feeling that Rembert, Crable, and the rest of my dominant offensive line will want to go pro. We'll just have to wait and see after I play for my second National Championship.

Playboy: The Mansion

(click on topic title for link)

I cannot believe that they're making a game based on the Playboy Mansion.

It's basically like "The Sims," but you get to be Hugh Hefner, doing what you want while controlling your publishing empire. You actually get to take pictures of women in the buff (top nudity only), selecting different backdrops and getting those pictures published in the videogame version of the Playboy magazine.

What really kills me is that you as Hef, you have the option of banging every woman in the Mansion, just as long as she likes you enough. Simply crazy ... but what else is new?

The Land of Suck

"The Land of Suck" refers to work. Yes, it just gets worse.

People have no responsibility whatsoever. 1st shift screwed us over royally yesterday on powder mixing, and it took us three guys until 7:30 p.m. -- 4 1/2 hrs -- to finish a job which is usually takes 3 hours. We were so far behind in everything last night. I was thinking because all of this stress, I'm going to die by the time I'm 35.

Also, I'm thinking that I won't get that bogie robot job. I guess seniority does not rule out there -- since I'm thinking that a less experienced woman will get the job. Apparently, I'm such an asset on the floor that they don't want to get rid of me, which really doesn't make sense, since our supervisor is retiring in a couple of weeks anyway. What would he care?

Just a couple of more weeks of this full-time stuff, then I'm back on part time. Plus, I've got next Thursday, Friday and the following Monday off for my trip to Michigan. Hopefully I can recover then. In the meantime, I'm going to gut it out and look forward to a weekend getting drunk in Hanley!

Scanner Shopping

These puppies aren't cheap!

I'm currently looking into buying a scanner for my racing experience when I'm out in Michigan. That's the big thing when you go to the racetrack, a fan can pick up the radio frequencies and listen in to the driver, the crew chief and the spotters and catch all of the language between them. Also, you can pick up the NASCAR officials channel, talking about possible debris on the racetrack, otherwise, talking about who they should black flag because the driver is doing something he shouldn't be doing.

Currently, I'm checking out the Radio Shack website. They've got a great scanner for $150, plus, you'd have to buy a good pair of headphone which run around $50. It gets a little spendy, but I do have the money and I have a feeling it'll be worth it.

The Radio Shack in Marshall has what I want in stock, so I'll probably stop through there when I'm in Minnesota this weekend.

A Critical Decision -- NCAA Football 2005

As the end of my Third Season appears with yet another enivitable National Championship, will I be approached yet again to coach another football team?

Afte this season, I will have three more years left on my contract. Already, I'm getting little messages from the AD saying, "Follow your heart, not the money." As far as I'm concerned, I've already achieved the highest goal at the game, winning the NCAA championship. Maybe it is time for me to move on to a lower-class program and build them up, see what I can do.

I did that with NCAA Football 2003 on the GameCube, leading Michigan to like 5 or 6 National Championships until I decided to go somewhere else after my contract was up. I went to Vanderbilt, a low-prestige team in the SEC. I never made it to the SEC Championship game, losing to Tennessee in my last conference game and eventually lost to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl -- the last game I played on NCAA Football '03.

I usually like it when they make me offers. I don't know if they'll do that again when my contract expires, but I'm thinking another couple of years at Michigan and I'll change conferences. Although I will have recruited great prospects for the Michigan program, it's time to move on to new challenges.

Minnesota vs. South Dakota vs. Iowa

Being a college student in South Dakota, I have faced a lot of adversity, or should I say "bullshit," from some of the other natives of South Dakota. Back then, I'd fight back and defend Minnesota to the death. Now, like I've said before, I've gotten a little wiser and more mature, and I simply could not care less anymore.

With that said, it gets sickening to listen to other people bitch about where they come from. "Ooh, you're from Minnesota, so you must be retarded." Whatever.

This has been a main topic at work with some of the other college go-ers, guys who are younger than me and think that their state is better than anybody elses. I'm way past that conversation. So, I just pack my shit up and LEAVE, because I have simply better things to do than to listen to that bullshit.

Also, one of my South Dakota friends heard that the term "bling bling" has entered in the English dictionary. He had a fit and could not give it up after bitching about it for a half hour. Again, this is where I got up and LEFT.

Sorry, stupid rant. But this is the world I live in.

A Possible Pictures Section

One of these days, I'm going to have to do this sooner or later when I've got the time. I'm going to have to get some pictures together on my DSU web server, then just post the links on here.

I'll have to bring a camera home this weekend and take some snap shots of the goings-on during the softball tournament. My focus of the pictures are going to take a different view of what I had done in the past. In the past, my main focus was partying and alcohol, but now that we've gotten a little older and much wiser, I've decided to focus on the social aspect of things.

A lot of pictures that I have taken in the past will still be seen, just as soon as I move them around. More to come on this later.

Unseasonably Cold!

Damn, it's freezing out there today. It'll probably won't even hit 60 degrees today. Hopefully by the end of this week, temps will hit up in the 80's again by the time I head back to Minnesota for the weekend. Playing softball and drinking beer in cold weather just doesn't work!

Crash Publishing, Inc. Update

Although I'm not currently writing anything down right now, I've got a million of ideas in my head to move my book along.

"The Hanley Falls Nuclear War: The New Threat" is coming along. Usually when I'm at work, sandblasting metal plates or something, my mind wanders off and I start to think about how I'm going to fill in some in the story. I want to have a lot of sub-plots involving the many characters in my book, and I've always said that I want a lot of detail. But at the same time, I don't want to bore the reader with mundane details and have nothing to do with the main plot of the story.

But I've been coming up with some great stuff, mostly emotional, and I've been writing them down on scraps of paper that I keep in my office. Also, the issue of continuity comes up -- keep the story flowing without a lot of confusing moments.

Overall, so far, so good -- hopefully this'll get done sometime this upcoming winter!

Long Hair, Short Hair

Currently, I'm growing out my hair. Is it a rebellion? No ... it's simply lazyness on my part.

There's going to be a point where it looks just bad. I don't want to grow it out into a mullet -- I'd fit in just a little too well out here in South Dakota.

I told Katie that she could cut my hair before my trip to Michigan, but now maybe I'll leave it until just before school starts. It'll be a last-minute decision, but for now, I'm lazy, and I'm going to keep my hair long!

Xenosaga: Episode II Coming in Feb. '05

I'm a huge RPG fan, dating back to the likes of the Final Fantasy games released on the Super Nintendo, PS One and PS2. This is worth mentioning, since I do have Xenosaga: Episode I for the PS2, which is an experience in itself.

Supposedly, Xenosaga is going to stretch through six episodes, so it will expand to the next generation in gaming consoles. The story itself is long and detailed, and the player will immerse him/herself into this jewel of a game.

I haven't exactly finished Episode I yet, although I'm pretty far into it, but after the influx of sports games coming this fall, perhaps I'll finish it then.

Madden 2005 Get Another Review

(click on topic title for link)

Gamespot.com, another great videogame site, has released its review for Madden 2005 on the PS2. Gamespot gave it a 9.0, compared to Gamespot's review of ESPN 2K5, which it gave a 9.1. Pretty even!

Either way, both games are winners, in my book. Choose which you want, but I'll probably pick up Madden 2005 when I head back to Minnesota for the annual Threshing Show in Hanley.

Madden 2005 comes out August 12.

Michigan Continues to Roll with Huge Wins

Michigan's defense is finally starting to pick up on my Third Season with wins over 6th ranked Minnesota 60-0 and against a weak Michigan State, 77-0.

Lucky for me, Florida State defeated Miami, so I now control the #1 spot in both Coaches and Media Polls. So far, it looks like Michigan and Florida State will play for the National Championship, if I continue my season undeafeated. Up next for me is 8th ranked Penn State, and my next toughest test will most likely be Ohio State once again, a game which will probably determine the Big Ten Championship and the Nat'l Championship outlook.

Shawn Crable, my strong side outside linebacker who took the place of Scott McClintock, has amassed 13 sacks in those two games vs. Minnesota and Michigan State, giving him the top spot for the Heisman on the year. I highly doubt that he'll actually win the award, namely because he's a defensive player. Also, my halfback Pierre Rembert is making some ground, finally showing up 2nd in the Heisman candidates. He's on his way for a 1500 yard season on the ground.

GTA: San Andreas Update

Remember when you fell into the water you'd always die?

Not this time!

This time, you can swim! About friggin' time!!

Seinfeld Coming to DVD

About time!

I loved this show when it was on (not counting the re-runs that networks continuously play), but when the show was new.

Two volumes of the DVD are coming out November 23, in which Volume 1 will contain Seasons 1 and 2, and Volume 2 will contain Volume 3.

Each will sell for $50.

Newman Crashes Late at Indy, Finishes 31st

What a depressing Sunday. Newman qualifying fifth last Friday and right away in the beginning of the race he looked good. That is, until he hit a checked-up Tony Stewart on pit road and damaged his nose of the car, and things went to junk after that.

Newman did a great job driving that loose car, holding his own in the Top 15, looking to gain some ground in the points (since Jimmie Johnson blew an engine). Then with six laps to go in the race, rookie Brian Vickers takes out Newman for good, spinning with around and slamming in the into the wall. Vickers, who last week took out Bobby Labonte at Pocono, could continue the race. Newman finished 31st, dropping him down 2 spots to 10th in the standings, just 31 points ahead of 11th place Kasey Kahne.

Lucky for Ryan, they're going to the road course at Watkins Glen next week, where Ryan always seems to run well. On the other hand, Kahne is still learning. He struggled at Infinieon so hopefully his road course abilities will continue to hamper him.

A Great Surprise

As my trip to Michigan nears for the NASCAR race, my uncle Al filled me in about what exactly we are going to do while we are there.

I had always had the impression that we were only going to see the Nextel Cup race on Sunday, but there's more. Apparently, I get to see the Bud Pole Qualifying on Friday, the Cabelas 250 Busch Grand National race on Saturday, and then finally, the Cup race on Sunday. I damn near crapped in my pants. On top of that, we've got a couple of pit passes, in which Al and I (since we're over the age of 18), can roam the pits during qualifying. I'm just praying now for great weather that weekend!

On top of all of that, we're shacking up in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan Wolverines. I at least get to see Michigan Stadium, which will be kick-ass, although I won't be able to see inside of it.

Yeah, I'm fired up. Just have to take a couple of days off work (Thursday, Friday, and Monday) and I'm good to go!

A Weekend in Iowa

It was an interesting weekend, spending time with some relatives in Spencer, Iowa. The highlight of the trip occured in Primghar, Iowa where there is a figure-8 track. My cousin Brady is a pit crew member of #3 Dale McGuire.

The #3 car didn't have a great night, the carburator was having troubles and the rear axle fell off during the "Trophy Dash," so all in all, a poor night for the #3 team. Dale said after the race that he's going to bring out the alcohol, just to make the car go a little faster. It'll be the last night of racing, so he really doesn't care, it's all about the run for the championship.

I took a butt-load of pictures. I'll have to get them scanned in and posted through a link. Overall, figure-8 racing is completely off its rocker. I've never seen anything like it. There weren't any collisions at all in the 'X,' but a lot of cars were taken out going through the high-banked corners, either by spinning out or actually going over the banking.

I might have to make a trip back there again next year. It was an interesting experience, to say the least, but these people who do this ... are completely crazy.

Michigan Starts Third Season

I started my Third Season with basically a new team. New quarterback, new halfback, new fullback, four of my offensive lineman gone from last year, 3 defensive lineman gone, 2 outside linebackers gone, and 2 d-backs. Although I have the best Recruiting class going into the Third Season, I red-shirted half of them, gearing up for the 4th season.

My first game was against Central Michigan. Although I won 31-0, my defense is nothing compared to the Second Season. My linebackers are slow and my defensive backs are already having trouble covering the pass. Also, my quarterback is a lefty, so that took some time getting used to. A bright spot though, is my new tailback Pierre Rembert, who is already averaging over 100 yards/game, having a great second game vs. Notre Dame for a 35-14 win.

Next up, the #1 Michigan Wolverines will take on their conference schedule with Wisconsin at Michigan Stadium.

Movie Watching

At work, a few guys I know usually have a "DVD swap meet" to trade movies and such. Since I have a pretty large collection, they usually want to watch some of my movies and I get a little taste about what they like. I usually have my judgements on certain movies through some of the teasers on TV, but I take my chances.

Last weekend, I watched "Eurotrip," which was supposed to be like "Road Trip" in a way, but it was worse. Also, I took a gander at "The Transporter" and "Brotherhood of the Wolf." "The Transporter" was a great action flick, although the dialogue was pretty poor. The reason why I like this movie was all because of Jason Statham, the lead actor. You've probably seen him movies like "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," "Snatch," and "The Italian Job." He's just a great guy to watch.

"Brotherhood of the Wolf," on the other hand, was simply a beautifully made movie. I loved of the camera techinques, like the sudden speeding-up of the film and the sudden slow-motion of the action. The story was simply suburb. At first, I was all confused, then it just came together in this one moment and I simply loved it.

Another movie that I have to give mention to: "Once Upon a Time in the West." This is an old spaghetti western, directed by Sergio Leone. He also did "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More," and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Leone's work in "West" was unexplainable. I never was a fan of the westerns until I watched Leone's films. The characters were great, it has Charles Bronson and Jason Robards -- and the music to match the characters was something else!

I know that Mike is a fan of the western -- he actually wrote up a screenplay to be set in Wood Lake in a western fashion -- too bad we haven't seen it on camera yet! I highly recommend "West" to anyone who wants to see a great movie.

Katie's Wacky Thursday

Katie had her ups and downs yesterday. Let's start with the "ups."

On Wednesday, she sold her Pontiac Grand Prix for $2000, which isn't so bad considering in my opinion, it needs a new radiator. So yesterday, she stopped down in Madison to a local car dealership and bought a '99 black Dodge Intrepid. It is a very nice looking car and it runs great with 85,000 miles on it. She picked it up for $5,200.

Now for the "downs." Katie works at the local Dairy Queen, passing her time until I can get out of school so she can do her thing at cosmetology school in Minnesota. She deals with a lot of wackos everyday, and I usually hear about it, until a couple of days ago when a really weird guy showed up in the drive thru.

This guy shows up at the drive thru window with a porn mag in the passenger seat, opened up to a centerfold. This is no Playboy magazine, but one of the more "hard core" magazines where a person can usually see a woman's kidneys through an opening in her body (kidding). This has happened two days in a row to Katie and rightfully so, she became a little worried. This guy has been telling Katie stories about driving to Salem (to a strip club) and trying to kick guys out of town so he has a shot at some of the ladies who live there. This guy is also employed within the city limits of Madison, and he's been going around telling guys there had he likes "younger women," and actually told our landlord's son who works there about how some of the girls who work at Dairy Queen are "hot." Katie told our landlord's wife about it and wouldn't you know -- the stories matched. Katie's all freaking out, so she is now locking the doors to our house and since I will be gone this weekend in Spencer, IA, she will be staying with her parents.

The Madison Police Department has been notified about this little pervert, and they're on the lookout for him. Katie really didn't want it to turn into this because she is afraid it'll get back to her that she's saying stuff about the whole situation. I told her that she shouldn't worry too much about it, but on the other hand it would be a good idea to keep the doors locked and be on the lookout for the guy at all costs.

I'm sure this little situation will blow over, but for right now, we're taking it a little seriously right now.

Madden 2005 Gets a Review

(click on topic title for link)

IGN.com give Madden 2005 a 9.5. It also gave ESPN 2K5 a 9.3. Pretty even, the only thing separating the two games is $30.

I'm still going with Madden, because of my loyalty to EA Sports. I'm sure Mike and Sean are happy with ESPN, but I'll be happy with my Madden.

Michigan Wins its First Nat'l Championship

12 - 0. How sweet it is!

I give all the credit to my defense. They gave on on average 47 total yards/game, giving up only 13 points all season. The defensive line was unbelivable, but the man was Scott McClintock, who re-wrote the record books for defense. He finished out his senior year with 39 sacks, setting school and NCAA records, plus he had 9 sacks in one game, another NCAA record vs. Indiana. McClintock also came in 5th in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Jerome Jackson - stud! Surpassed the 2000 yard mark on the ground during the National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl vs. USC (yes, a rematch!). Michigan won, 56-0, with a 200 yard performance from Jackson. Jackson also took home a lot of hardware at the end of the season, including the Heisman and Walker Trophies. Also First Team All-American and First Team Big Ten.

The offensive line was stellar yet again, with one of my guys winning best offensive lineman of the year and my center winning the Rimington Trophy for the second straight year. I narrowly missed out on winning the Best Tight End Trophy with Freshman Mike Moss, who ripped it up. Coach Lloyd Carr finished 3rd in the Coach of the Year voting.

There's so much about this team to be proud of, but I cannot list them all. I had a great senior class graduating, plus Jackson and couple of other guys who are surpassing their senior year to move on to the pros (Madden 2005, second draft class). I got a little smarter this time during Recruiting, giving more prospects more attention by using less points. During my first Recruiting session, I had only signed 9 guys, but this year, I got 19. Michigan was rated #1 in the nation as far as top recruiting classes go. I missed out on getting a wide receiver that I was after, so I had to accept a walk-on. Other than that, I got a pretty good incoming class of freshman coming in.

To top it all off, Michigan got the #1 spot in the Pre-Season Coaches Poll, while the Miami Hurricanes took the #1 spot in the Media Poll, with Michigan at #2. For toughest place to play, Michgian Stadium improved from its #12 spot to #6.

During the off-season, LSU and Florida State both offered me 3-year contracts to coach their programs. After winning the Nat'l Championship with Michigan and having already signed a 3-year contract with them, I'm going to be loyal for a while, maybe even possibly signing another deal after this contract is up. Otherwise, it would be nice to take on another program in another conference to see what I can do.

Recent Anger

At work, this sometimes happens. Anger -- just pure, pissed off at the world. If you worked at PPD, you'd understand.

Lately, there's simply no courtesy between the shifts. Everybody's pointing fingers at everybody. We follow up first shift, they don't do their jobs, and we have to make up for it and plus all of our stuff that we have to get done. But it's not just other shifts, it's simply some of the people on our shift that drive me up the wall. There's no work ethic with these people.

We have one guy to contines to get out as much work as possible. He complains that there is too much to do. The only way to deal with it is just tell him to let it be and let me to it (you have to do it yourself to get it done right!) otherwise, just let him complain and bitch and tell him that he has to get it done. Another situation with this guy is that we are continuously answering machines. Once the part is "done," an alarm goes off, we take the part out of the machine, pour in powder or place a powder pill in the mold, and hit the start button - simple as that! This guy just stands there and trims the parts, not even bothering with anything at all.

Then there is this girl, the gossip queen of the place. You thought the last guy was lazy, she is worse. Plus, she'll butt in on other people's conversations and ask stupid questions that don't even pertain to her. All you have to say is, "Shut up."

This is not normal for me. Generally, I'm a patient person, I'll take it as it is and I'll just do my job. Lately though, I'm getting tired of being the bitch. Some people just need to be put in their place.

I realize that this is a stupid rant, but this is what I go through day in and day out. With a little more patience, I'll be at PPD for another year and I'll be done with its bullshit.

Gearing Up for August

This is going to be one of my busiest months in history. Every weekend this month I have something going on, which is exciting, but it also has its downside.

This upcoming weekend, I will be heading to Spencer, Iowa to visit relatives who live down there. My cousin Brady has repeadedly asked me to come down because he is now part of a pit crew for a team that races in figure-8's. Yeah, that's right -- cars will sometimes collide in the 'X' of the figure-8, somehow making the whole race exciting. Who knows -- I've never seen anything like this, but Brady assures me that this is the real deal.

After that, it is the annual Threshing Show back in my hometown of Hanley Falls, Minnesota. I've been going to this thing like I was a little tyke, so this is nothing new to me. Lately, the effect has been wearing off. The only thing that I usually make it back for is the softball tournament, which is the premier tournament in the area that weekend, but yet again -- the tournament has lost some luster. Also, there is a street dance uptown at the "Pop Shop," but eh ... quite boring. But mainly it's to hang out with the old boys: Mike, Robb and whoever are partying into the late hours of the night. It's always quite the challenge to wake up on Sundays to drag yourself out of bed to take the field with a hangover, but it's all part of the experience. I will be available to play if anybody needs me -- I'm semi-retired, the knees aren't holding up too well anymore -- otherwise I'll be the drunken cheerleader for whoever.

On August 22, I will be in Brooklyn, Michigan to watch my first ever NASCAR Nextel Cup race, to see my favorite driver, Ryan Newman, take to the asphalt to seek his third straight win at Michigan International Speedway. Hopefully I'll get to meet him when we venture into the pits -- he'll be driving a special paint scheme on this car, the Justice League; with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and others to make the car look somewhat patriotic. In preparation for the race, I'm currently on the lookout for a scanner. As a fan, you can pick up the in-car communications between the driver, crew chief and spotter and occasionally hear some colorful language. I'm about ready to shit my pants, I'm so geared up for this.

And the last weekend of August, is Mike and Lacey's Housewarming Party. Yee-haw! It'll be Keg City I'm sure. I've been to their new house before in Hanley, so it's nothing new, but now they're engaged to be married someday so we'll have to make the house warming a little extra special. Maybe we'll just drink a little more ...

School starts for me on the 31st in Madison. I'm excited, since it's going to be my last year in college and then I'll graduate.

The downside: limited time to spend with Katie. Katie isn't coming along to my trips to Iowa, Michigan, or the Threshing Show, but she'll make an appearance at Mike and Lacey's house. It's been hard on us for the lack of time spent together, but soon I'll be working part time at PPD when school starts.

Overall, quite the busy month! Before you know it, it'll be September and football season will be here -- BOO-YAH!