The Last Day of Work

Ahhh....

....so sad, think I'm gonna cry....

I just get a kick out of it -- these upper management people are always telling me that "it's going to be sad to see you go," and etc. and so on -- give me a break. I keep telling them "thank you" for giving me what is basically a two-month vacation.

Time to do whatever! I'm planning on hitting Kate's younger brothers' basketball games this fall, since their school won the state championship last year. They still should have a pretty good team this year.

Also, heading out early on Friday to go to northern Minnesota to do some deer hunting -- gravy time!

Weekend Plans -- Oct. 30-31

Tomorrow night is "Cock Night" downtown in Mad-Town, so I'll be there for sure. "Cock Night" is my little nickname for karaoke.

Katie wants me to dress up for Halloween. Some ideas were floated around, like "Barney and Betty Rubble," "Popeye and Olive Oyl," and "Ketchup and Mustard."

What a hassle! Just to get my "costume," I have to drive down to Sioux Falls on Saturday and pick whatever up at the Mall, throw it on and I'm going to get drunk.

"Nah," I replied. "I'll go as Tony."

The final IROC race is on the SPEED Channel Saturday night -- Ryan Newman has a great chance of winning the championship and the million dollar prize -- although he has to start at the rear of the field because he has the points lead.

Sunday -- Vikes vs. Giants. BIG game. Also on, the NASCAR race in Atlanta. Newman should get the pole, he's won three straight there.

But on the other hand, I still have lots of work to do. Big presentations and tests fill up next week, so I'm going to prepare for them this weekend.

Acceptance into Student Teaching

This morning during my 8:00 a.m. class, my history methods professor "let the cat out of the bag," and stated that I was a "no-brainer" to get accepted to student teaching in the Spring of '05.

Well, I'm on my way -- bags are packed, ready to go. I'm finally going to be done with college, graduating in May.

Pictures Developed

I picked up my photos yesterday, four rolls worth. Fairly expensive!

The pictures turned out great -- I've got all of my Primghar Figure-8 race pictures back, all of my Michigan NASCAR trip, a few of the softball tournament back in Minnesota -- plus pictures of Lacey's banged-up car.

I've still got two cameras at home with some exposures left, probably waste them up this weekend for karaoke at The Cock. I know I've got some pictures from Mike and Lacey's Housewarming party on them, they should be fun to look at.

Hopefully next week I should get them scanned and posted on my college server, then I'll link 'em.

Great picture: Mike, holding a beer, laughing at lil' Zach and Seth fighting while a bunch of us were tossing bean bags.

BoSox FINALLY Win the World Series -- 4 Games to Zero

The Red Sox Rejoice -- World Champions of Baseball

The Impossible Dream is over -- the Red Sox have finally won the World Series for the first time since 1918. That year is huge in the hearts of all New Englanders and BoSox fans across the world -- just to think that generations of Red Sox fans have passed on and never seen their beloved Sox win the World Series. Even the great Ted Williams could not give them one.

The Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3 to 0 last night, completing the sweep. The Red Sox pulled off the impossible -- down 3 game to nothing against the Yankees, pulling off 4 straight before sweeping the Cardinals. 8 wins in a row, in the playoffs!

Manny Ramirez won the World Seires MVP award with his .400+ batting average. In my opinion, the MVP should have been shared with every BoSox pitcher on that team, because they successfully shut down the highly-touted offense of the Cardinals throughout the Series.

I feel good for David Ortiz and Doug Mientkiewicz, former Minnesota Twins ball players who are part of a team who won the Series. The Twins have been trying to get there for the past three years with their playoff runs, but always come up short.

As the saying goes, "wait 'til next year."

Pictures -- Being Developed

Just a few minutes ago, I dropped off 4 27-exposure cameras at a photo development store downtown. The guy says, "stop by in a hour or so and I'll have them done."

Hopefully they'll turn out -- so I can come back, scan 'em, and finally get them posted.

About time, you say!

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Released

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (picture from IGN.com)

The Game of Games is released. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas makes its debut with its intentions of putting the previous two GTA's to sleep.

It's bigger, for one. I guess the maps on this game are completely huge. This game also licensed more music than any other video game up to this point, bringing back many, many nostalgic '90s tunes.

IGN rated it a 9.9. Very rare of a game to get that sort of rating.

Gamespot rated it a 9.6. Still, an unheard of rating from that gaming web site.

Will I pick it up? Most definitely -- but not now. Maybe later in a couple of months. I'm still busy with the likes of NASCAR 2005 and MVP Baseball 2004.

Fantasy Football -- An Epiphany

When I was at work last night, my brain was racked with the thoughts of trying to re-gain Ontarrio Smith when he returns to the NFL for Week 9. Then lightening struck.

Through many sources, I've been reading that Smith will return to be the starter for the team, sharing carries along with Mewelde Moore and leaving 3rd down and short-yardage situations to Moe Williams. As far as Michael Bennett goes -- a small factor. In my opinion, he'll follow the same fate as other Vikings great, Robert Smith.

I was looking over my roster, thinking who I should drop. My first choice was Ashley Lelie. He has been slow at first, with most of the receptions going to Rod Smith -- but then I noticed HIM.

Kyle Boller.

I haven't played him all year after I drafted him late during our Draft Day. Good thing -- because he sucks BIG TIME. Michael Vick and Tom Brady have been carrying me all season long. The only reason why Boller was still on my roster is that Atlanta faces a bye week in Week 9, so Boller would pick up the slack. Final thought: forget it.

Boller was dropped, Smith was picked up. When Week 9 rolls around, I'll probably have somebody to drop, then pick up a less-talented quarterback to pick up a few points.

BoSox Up 3 Games to Zero!

Jeff Suppan is tagged out at third base on a throw from David Ortiz.

Now this is exactly why the American League implements the designated hitter rule: pitchers should not be allowed to run on the base paths.

In an odd play in Game 3, Larry Walker hit a ground ball to first baseman David Ortiz. Ortiz fielded it, tagged Walker, and saw a "skittish" Jeff Suppan, the Cardinals' pitcher, dancing down the third base line.

In watching replays, the Cardinals' third base coach is hollering at Suppan to go, but instead, it's a back-and-forth game to see what Ortiz will do. Although Ortiz is not known for his defensive prowess on the field, he gunned the ball over to third baseman Bill Mueller and tagged out Suppan.

Stupid.

My faith in the Cardinals is dwindling away, with Game 4 being played tonight. The big bats of St. Louis have been silenced.

The Game To Watch: Redskins vs. Packers

Troy sends me this e-mail about a web site that has documented the similarities between the Washington Redskins and the presidential election. In summary, if the Redskins lose the Sunday before Election Day (Tuesday), the incumbent president will lose the election. It's been well documented back to 1936.

The Dems will be cheering for the Pack, the Repubs will cheer for the Redskins. Knowing how the season is going for the Redskins ... the Pack might win, coming off a huge offensive performance against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.

For the article, click here.

Voter Registration Card

Got mine on Monday. Now I just have to figure out where I have to vote.

I'm particularly proud of my "political party affiliation," where it says, "R."

In the voice of John:

"Ooooh! W!" (with hand movements)

Eh ... Still Getting There ...

I'm still slow moving, still not having recovered from the festivities that myself and other went through on Saturday night - early Sunday morning.

So rough, in fact that I took my first afternoon nap in years. I usually do not take naps, since I think it's a big waste of time. But after I got done with class at noon yesterday, I grabbed something to eat, drove home, and crashed for a couple of hours before I had to go to work.

Still a little sore from bowling, but that's my fault for not staying in shape. It's not going to get any better when I have to play some racquetball this afternoon for class.

Winding down, this is my last week of work until my lay-off kicks in. This means more free time, but on the other hand, there goes my main source of income until January. I still haven't stopped into the unemployment office to see what my benefits are, probably on Thursday I'll stop in and see what's what.

Fantasy Football -- Lelie vs. Elam

Monday Night Football was pretty stressful for me to watch, considering I add Ashley Lelie to chalk up some points for me -- and my opponent had Jason Elam as his kicker.

Obviously, I had the upper hand. Lelie is a starting wide-out along with Rod Smith on the Broncos offense. I listened to the first half of the game on the radio at work, and all I heard was that Lelie was dropping balls, including a huge 40+ yard gain that was reviewed and overturned. I also later found out that Smith scored the only touchdown of the night for the Broncos, so I had to worry a bit. Elam kicked the extra point, then later nailed a short field goal.

It wasn't until after the game when I saw the stats that Lelie had 6 catches for 82 yards. Enough for me to get the win!

I ended up winning 132.06 to 124.50. This improves my record to 4-3 and I'm currently 4th in the league of 12. I'm currently riding a 3-game winning streak -- making my presence known!

Next week for Week 8, I'm up against another 4-3 team -- but this time, my opponent has Daunte Culpepper as his quarterback. I'll need huge outputs from my players to make up for what Daunte can do, although the Vikings are playing the Giants. My opponent has some great players, but lucky for me, 4 out his starters are out for bye weeks, so he'll be scrambling to pick up some key players from an already strapped available roster.

Fantasy Football -- Update

Good thing I did not start Randy Moss.

Moss only played two downs and that was it.

I got nothing out of Michael Vick yesterday. I also had Atlanta's defense, who gave up 56 points to Kansas City. I managed to pull out 0 points instead of negative 8, since they returned a defensive touchdown and blocked a kick.

Another solid week for Mewelde Moore, David Givens, and Brandon Stokley.

As far as the match-up goes, I'm currently 4 points behind my opponent, but I still have Ashley Lelie to play tonight against the Oakland Raiders. My opponent has Jason Elam as his kicker, so this is going to be close. I need a huge game out of Lelie to make up Elam's possible points plus a few more to take the win.

More on this on Tuesday.

Penske Teammates Battle -- Newman Finishes 3rd

Ryan Newman and Rusty Wallace, battling at Martinsville.

An interesting and bittersweet day at Martinsville.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, crossed the finish line first for his second straight win. Newman ended up finishing 3rd behind Jamie McMurray, but there were a few fireworks between Newman and his Penske Racing teammate, Rusty Wallace.

With 8 laps left in the 500-lap event, Johnson spun his tires on the re-start and Rusty was making his moves to pass. Johnson blocked, and in the meantime, Newman dove low into Turns 1 and 2 while Rusty was on the outside. The beating and banging continued down the back stretch and into Turns 3 and 4, where Rusty was eventually washed up the track and Ryan took the 2nd position.

After the race, Rusty gave Ryan a shot -- then Ryan returned it with a bump of his own in the pit lane.

Although Jimmie Johnson, a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race, it was learned that a plane from Hendrick Motorsports on its way to Martinsville crashed sometime during the race. There was no Victory Lane celebration.

10 people died in that plane crash and the list is staggering. Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, was at the track when he heard the news.

• Ricky Hendrick, son of Rick Hendrick. He was a Busch Series driver and was being groomed to take over the company when his dad retired.
• John Hendrick, brother of Rick Hendrick. He was the president of Hendrick Motorsports.
• Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John Hendrick's twin daughters.
• Randy Dorton, chief engine builder at Hendrick Motorsports.
• Jeff Turner, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports.
• Joe Jackson, an executive with DuPont (Jeff Gordon's sponsor)
• and pilots.

NASCAR.com article, click here.

Oog...What a Night...

On Saturday, I headed home to Minnesota.

What I was supposed to get done was done -- I was supposed to get a family and friends list together for the wedding invitations, just to see what kind of number I was going to deal with. My mom had already taken care of it, so I just looked and over and it was fine.

Then Dad has this brillant idea of "cleaning out the barn." He is going to throw a party up in the old hay loft for Halloween, so he wanted to make it look "clean." So, I ended up sweeping out the whole barn -- kicked back a few beers -- played with Cody, and then showered.

All was well, up to this point.

I ran (or drove) into Hanley to see what was what ... Mike was washing the dishes and jammin' out to some old school Beatles action. Sean and Tami were on their way into town, already deciding to head to Marshall to go bowling. Thus, the fun begins.

We get down there and all the lanes were packed, so we pimped out in the lounge area and played video bowling for an hour or two, in the meantime we were drinking pitcher after pitcher of tap beer.

Mind you, tap beer + Tony = CRAP.

We finally got on a lane at around 10:30 p.m. and bowled, and bowled, and bowled. Did I mention that we still kept drinking?

It was about Midnight when I actually started to gag from drinking, so I pretty had enough of that. I was three sheets to the wind -- dancing like a fool, cocking off to Mike and Sean -- and not coming close to my normal 200 average.

On our way back from Marshall, it was decided that a "road trip" would be the plans that night. Stopped in Wood Lake (wink, wink) and drove, and drove, and drove. Okay, I was literally sleeping half the time in the back seat, dozing on and off and listening to loud music and singing when I could.

I simply could not keep up. With the week I had last week, I was simply burned out. The minutes clicked by and I started to rebel.

"Take me home ..." said Tony, wearily.

Did they? Nah.

Mike and Sean pissed off some bridge and Lacey -- being drunk that she was -- took control of the car and drove off, leaving Mike and Sean with their ***** in the wind and off we went. She later turned around and picked them up, then it seems all hell broke loose.

Since it was around 3:00 a.m. by this time, people were coming off their buzzes and basically we were all going for the jugular. F-Bombs left and right, and Sean! He was on the money with his one-liners, then he would change the subject without taking a breath. Mike and I were in tears, but I cannot tell you what Sean said because WE SIMPLY DO NOT REMEMBER!!

Other extracurricular activities occurred (unmentionable, but not "naughty"), and finally after Lacey almost put us in the ditch twice -- we finally got back to Hanley and I wearily drug myself to my truck and left. Finally in bed at around 3:45 a.m. -- the latest I've been out in years.

I was still feeling it -- the tap beer was not agreeing with me. I did not vomit, didn't want to -- but when I woke up around 11:00 that next morning, my knees were literally shaking and I was simply (now here's a South Dakotan term) a pile. I made some last minute adjustments to my fantasy team before the Vikings played and flipped back and forth between the game and the race at Martinsville.

It was slow moving all day -- I stopped in Hanley to say my good-byes to Mike and Lacey, and they weren't much better. They were also slow moving, cannot blame them! I had to get back to Mad-Town to get some stuff done, since I had to teach a lesson this morning at 8:00. That went well, although I ran out of time.

But, I'm still sore, dog-tired. Ah, the life of being me.

High School Football -- Minnesota

Section 6AA Football Bracket -- Minnesota

With my interest in education and the possibility of teaching at the high school level, my interest of high school football has made its leaps and bounds. From that, I'm looking back on my old team.

Looks like the old team made the playoffs.

YME finished 5-3 overall, with a 3-2 record in the 212 Conference. I haven't watched my old school play a football game in a few years, so I really do not know how good they are. West Central is always a pretty good program, so I'm guessing that they'll make State.

BOLD is in another section, ranked #1 in state AA. They're the #1 seed in Section 3AA, obviously.

Prediction: YME may make it to the finals! Last year, they were shut out in the first round. Things are finally looking up for the program, so it seems.

Chase Race #6: Martinsville -- Subway 500

Martinsville Speedway

This Sunday, 43 drivers will test their skill -- and their brakes -- at this half-mile paper-clip shaped track in the hills of Virginia.

Good news for Ryan Newman -- he has finished 5th in the last two races here at Martinsville. His average start here is also 5.0, the best among all the drivers on the NEXTEL Cup circuit.

But Ryan faces an uphill battle, sitting 271 points behind "Chase" leader Kurt Busch. Ryan is capable of finishing in the Top 5, but will his brakes hold up?

Martinsville is always a tough track to run at, with drivers revving the engines up to near 140 mph speeds then braking hard for the tight corners, which are usually run at around 65 mph. Brakes heat up and cool down constantly, and if a driver is too hard on them -- they will eventually fail.

Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace usually run very well here, but watch for Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Word of note: they've re-paved this track, since the track was literally breaking apart during the spring race earlier this year. With the new pavement, watch for record-breaking qualifying speeds on Friday and some fast-paced action on Sunday.

Heading Home to Minnesota

Yep, heading back this Saturday to take care of a few things while I'm there:

• Deer license
• Family and friends list for the wedding
• Drink some beer

Although Michigan plays Purdue in West Lafayette, I'm willing to pass that game up. But, it's the start of the 2004 World Series, as Game 1 will be played in Boston. Fun, fun, fun!

I will also be Kate-less, since she will be on her way to Sioux Falls to look at bridesmaid dresses. Like I've said before, she is on the ball with this whole wedding thing. She's leaning towards pink and she had the guts to ask me last night if my groomsmen would like to have pink vests.

"Are you crazy?" I asked.

"Well, you will be wearing a white vest." Katie replied.

"I will not let my groomsmen suffer! They are not wearing pink!" I exclaimed.

I'm thinking silver vest for my guys. No long-tail tuxes either -- makes your butt look big.

Katie is still up in the air about how many bridesmaids and groomsmen we should have. Of course, we'll have the best man and the maid of honor -- how many more? We're leaning towards three, with four ushers.

My brother Dan is penciled in as my best man (haven't asked him yet), and Katie's two younger brothers will serve as ushers. After Katie decides how many people we want in the wedding party, I guess I'll have to make my decision.

I really haven't thought about it much. I do not want to offend anyone -- with me picking some people and having other friends say, "I'm more of a friend to Tony than he his," and all that crap. I've seen it before in other weddings and that kind of talk makes me sick.

I've been in weddings before and I've been to friend's weddings in which I was not a groomsman or an usher. To me, it's no big deal. To others, I think they just want to be in the spotlight. For heaven's sakes ... it's a wedding!

Whoever I choose to stand with me at the altar of my wedding, I want people who have meant a lot in my life, people who have made an impact in the way I live it. I just want them to know and to realize that they are special people ... so I can look back and say, "He's my friend, he was in our wedding."

Anyway, to you Minnesota guys -- if you got nothing going on, give me a holler on the cell phone. We can probably kick back and do whatever.

St. Louis Cardinals to Face the BoSox in the World Series

St. Louis, NL Champions

After the Cardinals were down 2-1 going into the 6th inning, I had my doubts.

Roger Clemens was pitching well for the Astros. Before I knew it, the Cards scored 3 times in the bottom on the 6th to go up 4 to 2 and chalked on another run in the 8th ... Cards win!

The Cardinals will play in the Fall Classic for the first time since 1987, when our Minnesota Twins defeated them 4 games to 3 that year. St. Louis has not won a World Series since 1982, when they defeated the Milwaukee Brewers.

My prediction? St. Louis in 6 games.

What ... ?

This ol' Blogger must be messin' up.

I noticed this today when I was posting -- it was giving me the incorrect times when I posted, so when I posted like a hour later, my posts were getting all messed up.

The Hello program (that imports photos into my blog) was also messed up, it usually took 4 or 5 tries to have my pictures successfully posted on here.

So far, I'm missing 3 posts from this morning. I had a nice little Daschle picture (take notice of the comment on the "How About a Cup of..." poster post, plus I commented on the Red Sox win over the Yankees.

Don't see 'em now! Hopefully this'll clear up.

Hell, Yes!

Yet Another Great War Poster

My brother forwarded this to me a while back, shortly after the U.S. began to bomb the hell out of Baghdad.

I rolled when I saw this, but afterwards, hell yes! Stop that madman before doing anything stupid! This world does not need another Munich!

A Nice WWII Poster

Damn, That's Funny

It's obviously been re-done in Photoshop, but I remember seeing this at my brother Dan's house in Brookings. His roommate, Regan, was in the National Guard and he had this hanging up.

Life Is Good

Sean, Jarrod, and I at Mike's House

Yet another Classic picture from back in the day. It was Summer 2001, I believe this picture was taken in June, when we had a little kegger at Mike's house.

This was during my Smirnoff Ice days, when I let the cretins drink that God-awful keg beer. Severe GUT-ROT drinking that stuff!

Just think now, Sean's married, Jarrod's engaged, I'm engaged ... and Mike is engaged. Holy shit, we're getting old.

But at the time, my hat says it all in that picture: "Life is Good." It still is.

Man, I look really intelligent.

Hot (Cul)Pepper, Plus a Fantasy Update

"At his current pace (18 TDs and 1,766 yards through five games) -- yeah, we know, that word again -- Culpepper would finish with 432 completions in 598 attempts for 5,651 yards and an astronomical 58 touchdown passes. That would break NFL marks for completions (Rich Gannon, 418, in 2002); passing yards (5,084 by Dan Marino in 1984); and touchdown passes (Marino, 48, also in '84). 'I've never, in all my years in the league, seen a quarterback as hot as he is right now,' conceded New Orleans 13-year cornerback Ashley Ambrose."

-- Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com.

Yeah, Daunte's on steriods. No question about it. That's why I'm lucky enough to pick up Minnesota players for my Fantasy team.

Looking forward to Week 7, Randy Moss is hurting with a strained hamstring, so he's listed as questionable. I do have back-ups in Brandon Stokley or Ashley Lelie (Marcus Robinson and Nate Burleson are already taken), so it'll be a game-time decision for me and see what's up.

A huge tight-end question ... I picked up Jermaine Wiggins from the Vikings to start for me last week because Jeremy Shockey of the Giants had a bye week. Wiggins ripped it up, catching two touchdowns. Do I have some trade value in Shockey? Who should I start? As it seems right now, Wiggins should get the nod, because of Culpepper's insane play.

Another question is yet again, my running back situation. Mewelde Moore is getting the start against the Titans in Week 7, Michael Bennett should be good to go (although I no longer have him) and I do have Moe Williams as a back-up. I'm debating whether or not that I should start both Moore and Williams. I will not get as many points, but again, I'm playing the 11th ranked team in our league. After the Titans game, I'm considering of picking up Ontarrio Smith again, just for depth, although he'll still have one more game left on his suspension.

There are not too many good running backs left in our league, so it's a little stretched to find a good one.

PS2 Update

No, no new games. I probably will not pick up NHL 2005, Tiger Woods 2005, or NBA Live 2005 this year -- tight budget, plus I have plenty of games to keep me going throughout the winter.

In the meantime, I've been busy with NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup -- but lately I've been bustin' out MVP Baseball 2004 and yesterday I played NCAA March Madness 2004, a game I haven't played since last March.

I'm finally past the All-Star Game in MVP, and to my surprise, my created guy was selected to start left field. My little dude is batting around .440 through 20+ games (I called him up from AAA) and is currently hitting 21 home runs. "Tony" got the All-Star MVP award with two home runs, including a 553 foot shot out of Minute Maid Park in the second inning.

In NCAA March Madness, I've fired up my Gophers dynasty, currently in the second season. I played against this low-caliber team, Wagner, and beat 'em up pretty good.

But all-in-all, I've been trying to get through my NASCAR dynasty (had to start over due to file corruption), so I've been updating my Dynasty Manager page. Sometimes, I have lots of time on my hands!

And I see that ESPN has come out with their basketball game for this year and of course, it's only $20. Geez...

The Unemployment Line

It seems like I was up shit-creek when I found out that I was being laid-off from work due to changes in the products that we were manufacturing. After I had told Katie, I thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown, especially with the wedding coming up in June and our tight budget.

Well, I've got an option. Although I do not agree with our current welfare system, I'm going to get unemployment pay for the next couple of months until they hire me again in January. One of the main requirements to get unemployment benefits is that I have to look for work each week, unless I have a definite re-call date. It's all confusing.

We do have a definite re-call date, but it's only part-time. According to my HR director, I will be receiving benefits. Questions, questions, question. At least here in Mad-Town they have a South Dakota One-Stop Career Shop where I can go in and find out what the hell is going on.

On the other hand, this lay-off is sort of like a God-send, where I can actually get lots of my things accomplished for school, since I'll have plenty of time to do it all in.

How 'Bout Them BoSox?!

Boston Wins!

This is getting nuts. And this is why I love playoff baseball.

Last night, behind the gimpy ankle of pitcher Curt Schilling, Boston comes from a 3 game to NONE deficit to now tie it up 3 games a piece with a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

After getting their butts beat in during Game 3 (19-8 Yankee win), the BoSox have won three straight and the people of Boston are now starting to think the impossible. I'm just glad I do not live in Boston!

The Curse of the Bambino has been well documented -- Babe Ruth and other Red Sox players sold to the Yankees in 1920 for cash and ever since then ... the Red Sox have not won a World Series. They were one out away from winning it all in 1986 against the New York Mets, but that's another story. DO NOT BLAME BUCKNER.

Greatest ALCS ever? Probably. How about the NLCS? What about the Astros and the Cardinals? They've taken the back seat for the Yankee-Red Sox series, and that's simply a shame, considering what's been going down in that series. The St. Louis Cardinals won the first two games at Busch Stadium, then Houston won three straight at Minute Maid Park. If Houston should lose this series (pending if St. Louis wins two straight at home), Carlos Beltran should get the NLCS MVP award, since he has the hottest bat in the playoffs with all of those home runs.

I'm still standing by my prediction -- a Red Sox-Cardinals World Series.

ALCS Game 7 tonight, NLCS Game 6 this afternoon.

Oh, by the way ... I've got my 2004 Twins Homer Hankies. Shame.

Ryan Newman Die-Cast Collection Complete

Ryan's Sony Wega Dodge -- Ran at California Speedway on September 5, 2004.

Just a few weeks ago, I have now completed my Ryan Newman die-cast collection for the 2004 season with the addition of the Sony Wega Dodge, including its Pearl Chrome.

Simply put, it's a nice lookin' car!

Here is my list of my Ryan Newman collection:

• 2004 ALLTEL Dodge -- Owners and Pearl
• 2004 Mobil 1 Dodge -- Owners and Pearl
• 2004 Mobil 1 30th Anniversary -- Owners and Pearl
• 2004 Justice League Dodge -- Owners and Pearl
• 2004 Sony Wega Dodge -- Owners and Pearl
• 2004 Crown Royal IROC Pontiac Firebird (Action)
• 2003 ALLTEL Dodge -- Owners
• 2003 Mobil 1 Dodge -- Owners
• 2003 Sony DVD Handycam Dodge -- Owners
• 2003 50 Penske Wins Dodge -- Owners
• 2002 ALLTEL Ford Taurus -- Owners
• 2002 Mobil 1 Ford Taurus -- Owners
• 2002 Sony Wega Ford Taurus -- Owners
• 2002 ALLTEL Rookie of the Year Color Chrome -- Owners
• 2001 ALLTEL #02 Ford Taurus (Busch Series) -- Owners
• 2000 ALLTEL #27 Ford Taurus (ARCA) -- Owners

All I need to get is one mirrored display case and I'll hang that puppy on the wall!

I Miss Hockey

This NHL lock-out is damned awful. Can't these guys just get along and play for the fun of the sport?

No Wild this year -- but hey, we've still got college hockey! It's quickly taken a front-row seat with me, reading up on the Gophers and the Fighting Sioux. Lucky me -- I might actually be seeing the Sioux in Grand Forks in December at the new Englestad Arena, then from there, a trip to Winnipeg to watch some minor league hockey.

Yet again, South Dakota has their own USHL team in Sioux Falls, the Stampede. I'm actually thinking about buying tickets for the November 11th game. Last time I was there it was two years ago and I went for free ... and I loved every minute of it, especially with a cold Miller Lite in my hand.

The Art of the Lay-Off

This sucks butt.

Starting on October 30, I will no longer have a job.

Reasons? Well, two wonderful companies that outsource to us to do their dirty work decided to make a few changes for 2005. Changes in design -- so we have to make changes to our machines. Orders are down to 11,000 parts a week, compared to nearly 30,000 just a few weeks ago.

We were told about it right away at 3:00 this afternoon. Our HR director would talk to us individually and let us know about the situation. It wasn't until 5:00 when she tracked me down (what a cutie) and we talked about it. It's not a really big deal, I've been through lay-offs before. I understand business and capitalization, so it's a way of life. I'll just be done with manufacturing once I graduate from college next May.

My reaction? Again, it sucks butt because I lose my income for the rest of the year. They probably will call me back in January -- which is fine -- but I just hate going into that "mode" where I have to be the "penny-pincher" and I really cannot buy the things I "want."

And with this wedding next year, purchasing LP for our furnace ... man, it's going to be a tight winter.

Cody's First Pheasant

Cody's First Pheasant

My dad shot this pheasant just north of the farm on Saturday. Cody is our new yellow lab ... quite the dog! He is still working on retrieving the roosters after they've been gunned down, but he'll be a good one.

A Possible Wedding Day Change

It seems like June 25 is a no-go ... since there is some kind of reunion that weekend in Mad-Town and all of the hotel rooms are booked that weekend. So, we're currently looking at June 11 for the date, since everything is open and we've already reserved blocks of rooms.

More on this later!

Tough Night for Newman, 14th at LMS

Ryan Newman (#12) and Kasey Kahne (#9) run side-by-side during the running of the UAW-GM Quality at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC on October 16, 2004.

Ryan had a great, great car going into Lowe's Motor Speedway Saturday night -- especially after we won the pole on Thursday.

As the night wore on, Ryan was up and down, fighting a loose condition for most of the night until Lap 313 (out of 344), when Ryan's teammate Brendan Gaughan had a flat tire. Ryan and other driver Mark Martin were fighting for 2nd place, with lap-car Jimmy Spencer right in front of them. Spencer hit Gaughan, and in turn, Martin slammed into Spencer, with Spencer's car brushing Newman's front bumper, causing minor damage. But it was that damage that really slowed him down, since this track depends so much on aerodynamics.

Ryan re-started 5th after the caution, but the damage tightened his car up so bad that by the time the race was over ... he finished 14th.

Ryan is hurting BIG TIME in the points championship, dropping one spot to 9th overall and he currently sits 271 points back from leader Kurt Busch.

Next week, Martinsville.

Weekend Wrap-Up -- Ice, Ice, Baby

Friday night ... heh, heh.

I get done with work and while we still did not have any hot water, I went over to Katie's parents house to shower and get ready to head down to The Cocktail for karaoke. Katie was already down there -- she called and she sounded a little drunk. I told her I would be down in a while, since I was talking to Katie's dad about basketball and stuff.

I finally got down there around 10:30 p.m., and immediately I get called up there to sing a song.

"Cripes, I just got here!" Tony yelled.

"Just get up here!" Katie shot back, along with her friends.

I get up there and I don't know what song they're about to sing, then I see it on the teleprompter -- Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby."

Talk about Junior High. I've got to admit, Vanilla Ice was the first tape that I had ever owned, since "Ice, Ice, Baby" was such a popular song back then. I memorized it then ... and for God's sakes, it's stuck in my long-term memory. So, when the song busted out, "Yo, VIP ... let's kick it!", I was gone.

I was shaking. The crowd in The Cocktail that night was going absolutely crazy. There were a bunch of the older crowd there who probably never even heard of the song ... and they were cheering on. I just kept going ... laying down the song to a 'T', getting into it.

After the song, hell -- I had so many offers for drinks, it wasn't even funny. The man who was leading the karaoke said that I would be a tough act to follow. That's one hell of a compliment.

After that, I managed to stay low, busted out a Neil Diamond tune along with the Soggy Bottom Boys. I didn't get too drunk, just had a few beers, then I was on my way to take care of Katie ... who was absolutely bombed.

On Saturday, I slept in late and eventually watched Michigan play Illinois. Michigan won. Later that night, I watched the NASCAR race. I'll talk about that later.

On Sunday, Katie was gone to some bridal show in Brookings with her mom and my mom, so I took the time to clean the house and did my English test (9 pages long), all the while just passing the time checking the scores on the games, checking my fantasy players, and waiting for the Vikings to start that Sunday night. More on that later!

During halftime, I drove into town -- and realized that my "Service Engine Soon" light was blinking at me. "Shit."

I submitted my test over the Internet, and then stopped at a buddy's house in Mad-Town to visit, so we tuned back and forth from the Vikings game to the Yankees-BoSox game. Boston won, baby!

As for next weekend, I'll be heading home on the 23rd to visit and get my family's list ready for the wedding, just so we know how many people are going to pile into Mad-Town for the wedding. All of this planning sucks, but it's gotta get done.

Fantasy Football -- Yeah, Baby!

Going into Sunday, I knew it was going to be tough going for me, since I'm ranked 8th and I was going up against the 2nd ranked team in the league.

Just looking through his stats, all of his players were solid -- he had Pennington, Harrington, T-O, Ahman Green, Brian Westbrook, and Alge Crumpler. All of his players, including his kicker and his defensive specialists, but excluding Harrington and one of his wide outs, had over 10 points. The thing that hurt him was that he did not start a tight end due to a bye week.

As for me, Michael Vick finally stepped up, scoring 28 points (3 TD's). I also got touchdowns from Randy Moss (although injured), Ashley Lelie, and two TD's from Minnesota's tight end Jermaine Wiggins. Mewelde Moore had yet another solid game for the second week in a row, giving me an extra 25 points.

Point totals for Week 6:

Nine Years: 148.16
Vikings year ... again: 137.92

Luckily for me, my opponent has no players playing tonight -- both of us are done!

As for roster moves, I picked up Moe Williams again, since I had lost Michael Bennett to another team. Ontarrio Smith still has two more weeks to serve on his suspension, so I might consider picking him up next week, all depending on how Bennett plays against the Titans next week.

For Week 7, I will be playing the 12th (and last) ranked team in the league, who currently sits at a 1-4 record. Things are lookin' good.

Weekend Plans -- Oct. 16-17

Oh, I don't know. Sit on my ass or something.

Probably plop down and watch some college football on Saturday, while Katie and her mom are going to a bridal show in Brookings to look at a few things, namely dresses.

I'll probably pass the time to play a little PS2, something I haven't done in a while since I've been so busy with other crap, like homework and plain old work.

And then there's the race on Saturday night. Already talked about that -- Newman HAS to run well to stay in contention, hopefully some of the leaders like Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. can both fuck up and lose a lot of spots.

Sunday -- hell, the Vikings do not play until the evening, when they play the Saints. Blow-out by the Vikings, that's my prediction.

On top of all that ... I have an English 450 test to do (due by midnight on Sunday) and some quizzes for CIS 328 that are due on Monday.

Busy, busy boy, that's me.

Still, No Hot Water

Yeah, we're still showering in town at Katie's parent's house. We told our landlords about it yesterday and they checked it out, but still, no hot water.

Then, they got all pissy when they found out that we have not 2 cats, but 5.

"No more," they said.

They're just freakin' out because they think that the cats will piss and shit everywhere, but they're trained. Nothin' to worry about, except for the occasional stink from the litter box.

I'm Havin' Fun!

A Couple of Bums -- myself, Jeff, and Sean

This is what we do: sit around and drink. This picture is from Mike's house when he lived in Granite back in 2001. Just look at the dumb looks on our faces ... well, I'm smiling, at least -- but Jeff and Sean ... what the hell are they lookin' at?!

Pictures on the Blog!

Super-Mike

As you can tell, I've finally figured out how to send pictures to my blog. About friggin' time!

I have selected one of my favorite pictures of Mike at Apple River, 2001. I know he does not like this picture ... since he's all bombed and stuff, but hey, it's all good. I gotta have fun with it once in a while.

That reminds me, I should get my cameras developed from this past summer. It's been a few months, so maybe I should get on that! I've got some great pics from Michigan and from the softball tournaments in Minnesota, so that should be gravy.

Newman Wins Pole For Saturday's Race

Ryan Newman and his ALLTEL/Mobil 1 Dodge

Newman, Newman, Newman. This guy is absolutely fast on qualifying days, and yes, once again, he captured the pole and the new track record (188.887 mph) for the running of the UAW-GM Quality 500 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.

This is Newman's 6th pole position of the season, tying him with Jeff Gordon for the series lead.

In Tony's words: Ryan's got to get back on his horse! He crashed out at Kansas last Sunday, dropping him BIG TIME in the points for "The Chase." Ryan's got some strong tracks coming up, so he'd better get goin'. Ryan had a really good run at Lowe's last year, finishing second to Tony Stewart.

Sign Bandits -- Reponse From Tony

I got the full scoop from Troy via e-mail yesterday.

If I were there (and not having to pass out), I would've paid good money to film it.

I've already got TONS of footage on John and his antics ... but the "Sign Bandits," would have made a great movie, although John got caught!

Better luck next time, bud!

Fantasy Football -- Update

I made a few changes to the team this week, besides dropping T.J. Duckett.

I picked up Atlanta's defense, since they've been strong on the defensive side on the ball, and besides, they're playing San Diego. LaDainian Tomlinson is still a little banged up. He is listed as "probable" with a groin injury, but he'll play.

As far as kickers go, Mike Vanderjagt has a bye week -- he didn't play last week due to a bad hamstring, so I am not missing out on much.

With Jeremy Shockey and Giants on their bye week, I picked up Jermaine Wiggins, the tight end for the Vikings. He had a solid game vs. the Eagles in Week 2, but suffered a broken hand and has been out for the last few weeks. I'm hoping that Daunte will give him a few balls for some valuable points.

Other than that, I'm also starting Ashlie Lelie -- he hasn't been getting the looks that he deserves, but he's been hauling in a couple of touchdowns and hopefully will have a big week vs. the Raiders.

The big disappointment -- I may have touched on this before, but I lost Michael Bennett to another team. He will not be back until the Vikings play the Titans in Week 8, but still, it would have been nice to keep him. But, I still have Moe Williams and Mewelde Moore ... and maybe, I'll pick up Ontarrio Smith once his suspension is about over so I can have a pretty good backfield. It sucks ... I really do not want to depend on an all-Vikings backfield, but all the rest of the great running backs are already taken, so I gotta take who I'm familiar with.

The Presidential Debates

There was another one on television last night at Arizona State University. I didn't watch, like the rest of them.

I already know who I'm voting for -- I mailed in my voter registration yesterday to the Captiol in Pierre.

Thank God, I do not live in town. I would have people hounding me about if I want their damn signs in my yard. I cannot believe it around Madison, it seems like every yard has a sign or signs -- for who they are going to vote for. It's almost ridiculous. It's my opinion that whoever you vote for should be kept to yourself, only if you want to. Apparently, there are people who love to show off to others who they are affliated with (a certain political party) and it's been generating a lot of "hate" phone calls, especially in Sioux Falls. I was listening to "Viewpoint University" on KSOO yesterday when a caller called in and complained about people taking signs out of their yards. The hosts on the show suggested that it may be kids who do not have a clue about the local elections, but the caller replied that it could be their own neighbors who have a problem with the candidates they are supporting.

Interesting...

And John! Boy, you've really started something with your little "Thune!" e-mail about voting registration thing in Brookings -- replies left and right about how Thune is the liar. No comment from Tony.

College Election results: Bush wins the Presidency, Daschle returns to the Senate, and Herseth and Dietrich are tied!

Episode III Trailer Details

My God. Can this get any better?

In my book, Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite Star Wars movie. After reading the spoilers on TheForce.net (okay, I've finally broken down), I am all but convinced that Episode III -- The Revenge of the Sith will be the best of them all.

But is this truly a spoiler? A few people have actually seen the trailer and they are just giving the details. It's not like it is anything surprising -- Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader. Simple as that!

Otherwise, a few prominent Jedi will die, like Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) ... get to see what happens to Yoda (Frank Oz) and Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor). The trailers do not go into detail on that, so that's okay with me!

Voting in South Dakota

I'm mailing in my form today so I can vote out here. Yep, I'll be voting for the President -- who will most likely take the 3 electoral votes from South Dakota (oooh!), but the big race is between Daschle and Thune, and maybe Herseth vs. Dietrich.

Conserative all the way, baby!

And John, thanks for the article about Thune "cheating." Yeah, right. "Dooschle" is just starting lies, kind of like Kerry and CBS (Dan Rather).

What Next?!

Katie and I are having some difficulty with our own house. Last Sunday, just as soon as Katie got out of the shower, our microwave started to freak out. It was beeping left and right, flickering on and off -- so I unplugged it. Plus, our phone was out.

Okay ... have you ever seen "Poltergeist?"

I guess it all stems down to the motor in our sump-pump in the basement. It's shot, no good. It was sucking so much power, that we are experiencing a brown-out. So far, we got no washer (dryer works), no oven (as I discovered last night), and now -- no water heater. I found that out yesterday morning. Major "shrinkage."

The landlords do know about it, so hopefully they can figure out something today.

New DVD's

On Saturday, I picked up 3 new movies:

• Clerks. 10th Anniversary Edition
• Jersey Girl
• Oscar

Of course, being a huge fan of the Kevin Smith films, I had to run out and get Smith's first flick "Clerks.," and his newest one, Jersey Girl.

The special features that comes with the "Clerks. 10th Anniversary Edition" are staggering. So many featurettes, including how Smith got the inspiration and just his general background in how he got into movie-making. The highlight is the 10th Anniversary Q&A, where Smith is teamed up with Scott Mosier, David Klein, and cast members as they are asked questions from an audience. Hands down, the funniest thing I've ever seen.

And Jersey Girl ... a little "chick-flick-ish" and sappy, but it's showcases some of the best dialogue ever written by Smith in a non-Jay and Silent Bob-type of film. Some of the moments are laugh-out loud. Overall, a great movie -- plus the special features. Smith's Roadside Attractions that were shown on "The Tonight Show w/Jay Leno" were hilarious.

Oscar ... well, not a movie that was well known throughout the film industry, but it's one of the funniest stories in a film that I have seen. It's got Sly Stallone in it plus a great gaggle of characters, but overall, a fun film.

ALCS -- Red Sox vs. Yankees

Before I get into the ALCS, let me comment on Game 4 of the ALDS between the Twins and the Yankees.

You're up 5-1, going into the 8th inning. The Twins had Grant Balfour on the mound during the 6th and 7th innings, shutting them down -- retired the six batters he had faced.

8th inning -- let's bring in the set-up man, Juan Rincon. Before you know it, it's tied 5-5 after Ruben Sierra's 3-run home run to tie the game.

Seriously, what the hell happened? Why ditch Balfour and put in Rincon?

Eh...

As far as the ALCS -- as I'm writing this, the Yankees are up 6-0. Crap.

I want the Red Sox to win and move on to the World Series, just because I'm sick of tired of this whole Yankee Dynasty that people are talking about. Sure, they've been tough since '96, but let's have another team get a shot. The Red Sox suffered last year, but it's their year this time.

But ... I'm not going to contradict myself. The Red Sox will make it to the World Series, only to lose! I'm picking the Cards over the Astros in the NLCS, and the Cards will move on to beat the BoSox in the Series. The Curse of the Bambino will come alive once again.

Sign Bandits?

Troy or John -- you've got to clear this one up!

Troy e-mailed me a few days ago saying that "things didn't go so well," after I left the bar early that Saturday "Homecoming" night.

You're still going to have to fill in some details there, don't leave me hangin'!

Fantasy Football -- Win!

Not a bad week for me, as I beat my opponent by roughly 15 points. I now improve to 2-3, sitting in 8th place. I need to get up to 6th to qualify for the playoffs, so I'd better get my butt movin'.

Again, T.J. Duckett did not play, so I'm finally going to get rid of him. He is an absolute joke!

Big move of the week: Mewelde Moore! I picked him up and he simply mopped up. Although he didn't score a touchdown vs. the Texans, he had enough yards to give up roughtly 30 points.

Next week, I've got a few players who have a bye week, like Brandon Stokley, Mike Vanderjagt, and Jeremy Shockey, so I'll be hurting a bit. I'll have to make some moves this week and see what's available to fill those positions, and go to work with it!

It's Official -- TonyLove Is Off The Market

I can rightly say, or pronounce, that last Saturday was a pretty big day in my life. That was the day I pretty much committed myself to one box of cereral for the rest of my life.

It's just an analogy, do not worry! Katie and myself would like to pronounce our engagement. Yep, I have finally jumped off that cliff.

Right away, it seemed like it was no big deal. Katie and I have been dating for over 2 and half years, living together for a 1 and half, so getting engaged to be married really no biggie. But last night and today, the feeling is slowly creeping over me -- shit, I'm going to get married!

Katie was asking me all of these questions -- she's on the ball on this stuff, getting things planned -- and I tell her to "slow down!" I don't want to deal with it, yet!

But it's inevitable, we are planning on a June 25 wedding day in Madison, so we really got to get things set up way ahead of time so everything turns out.

Her family knows, I called my family on Sunday, I'll be e-mailing friends soon (or they will be reading it on here), but I really do not want a lot of attention over it. Katie loves it -- she actually revels in it.

Twins vs. Yanks -- Game 3

I will not comment much on Game 2 for obvious reasons. The Twins should have had that game in the bank after Hunter's home run in the 12th.

Now -- Game 3 at the Metrodome tonight. I'll be a work as usual, listening on the radio. Damn, I hope they win. I just hope that Silva can pitch well enough and the Twins can hit Kevin Brown easily.

Although I hate to admit, I've got my money on the Yankees. They're pretty tough all of the way up to the World Series. But whoever makes it to the World Series, the National League is going to win it this year.

My bet: the St. Louis Cardinals and their explosive offense. 'Nuff said.

This Weather!

Damn, I wish I was young again.

Out here in no-man's land (eastern South Dakota), the weather is simply perfect for October. Not a cloud in the sky, the tempurature is hovering near 70 degrees, my God!

This is perfect football weather. And of course, it being Friday today, all of the high schools are playing their games tonight, so they should have some fun and not worry whether or not it is going to be cold out.

I remember back at Mike's house when we'd play our 3-on-3 games in his backyard. The weather would be nice in the late afternoon, just when school got out, then when the sun started to set ... it would cool off pretty quickly. We'd pile on our sweatshirts and hooded zip-up jackets, don a stockin' hat and some gloves and go at 'er again. I just wish I was back in shape again...

I love Fall. Some peoeple hate it, "ooh, it's getting cold!" C'mon! I hate Summer. Summer sucks in Minnesota and South Dakota ... it gets too hot, too humid, and you're never comfortable. Fall ... gimme that season every day of the year.

Weekend Plans -- October 9 - 10

Katie and I are heading to Sioux Falls early tomorrow to get some shopping done, and possibly buy:

"The One Ring." She'll have all the power.

Yeah, it's about that time. Am I excited? Not really, although she'll think the world of it. But I have to work that night, so we won't be able to go out and "celebrate."

Sunday -- the race is in Kansas (Ryan Newman won there last year) and the Vikes play the Houston Texans (without the backfield).

I'll let you know more on this later. I gotta head to class!

Classic, Part II

While I was working last night, I started to laugh out loud. Why? Well, I thought of yet, another funny story that had occurred back in high school.

Since it is the month of October, this was an appropiate story. It was Halloween -- we had our eggs, our face paint, and we were ready to go to have some fun. Put somebody comes up with this 'brilliant' idea about filling up Ziploc bags full of pig shit. Yes, PIG POOP.

Robb, Mike, and Kevin all come back with about 5 bags of pig pucky, ready to throw at somebody. Then Mike decides to fill up a Ziploc bag full of 'liquid waste.'

What the hell were we thinking?!

We stood on top of my roof in town back in Minnesota - and threw the piss-bomb at a couple of neighbors. They couldn't figure out what it was.

Tim: What is it?

Ryan (picking up bag): Oh, my God! It's piss!!

Then Jeff showed up with his Caprice. Big ol' boat of a car. That thing got a couple of shit bags across his windshield. Again, what the hell were we thinking?!

Simply Exhausted...

I sure do have my work cut out for me. Whether it's school or work, I'm always on the run. I'm thinking FINALLY, it's starting to get to me.

Am I surprised? A month of school already and I'm dead-tired? Nope, considering that I'm putting in neartly 30 hours a week in at work. To top that off, they're expecting me to show up on Saturday night to work a few hours.

Complaining? No, not really. It's a cry for help, or better yet, sleep! After I finished my English 450 paper last night, I drove downtown to meet Katie at The Cocktail. She was down there for "Drown Night," but I needed something to eat. Then I realized how tired I was. I still needed to get something done for my secondary education/history class for Friday morning. Andy showed up later, and dumb ol' me, we ended up having a couple of beers. That really didn't help -- I decided to drive home.

I showered and hit the sack, not even doing my assignment for my history class (gave him a pretty good excuse today). Up at 7:00 a.m. this morning with huge, dark sacks underneath my eyes -- ah, the life of a college student!

Young and Dumb

For the past couple of days, I have been noticing a nice, fall weather that we have been lucky to have in South Dakota. With that, it sure brings back the memories of old, especially the days with the boys in Minnesota during our high school years.

Watching that Highlight tape sort of sparked an interest about the past. Up to that point, I took those memories for granted. Hell, it was only a few years ago, but now, some of those images on that video are 10 years old now. To me, it puts things in perspective. Watching the tape, I grew sad, thinking that we'll never re-live those moments again, but at the same time, I laugh -- because we were young and dumb.

But there is always something about the fall season that makes me a little bit excited. I do not know if it was football season at school, playing our 3-on-3 games of football at Mike's house, or simply road tripping up to Dawson to visit the ladies over there. The fall season has always been an enjoyable one in my mind -- with deer hunting around the corner and the trees turn color, it's just been wonderful.

Thinking back on all the dumb things we've pulled back in the day, I cannot imagine doing the same thing again. I mean, "what were we thinking?!" Some of that stuff, we could have easily gotten thrown in jail for -- now we've somewhat matured, it's just uncomprehensible to think that we did those things. Now days, whenever I head to Minnesota to visit, we get drunk (now legally) and talk about the old times.

Some examples:

"The Pizza Ranch" incident. Some were involved, others weren't -- but it all came down to the mixings of different salad dressings and somehow, SOMEHOW, somebody plugging the toliet with paper towels. Robb will argue to this day that we had nothing to do with that and I believe him. But the salad dressings -- guilty by association. We all got hit up with that -- Rick crying and we each had to pay $5. What a joke.

"The Abandoned House/Sanitorium" runs. Okay, maybe we were illegally trespassing here. But God, what fun! The Abandoned House was just a few miles where Mike lived, and this place was right next to the river. It was a beautiful place to have a farm -- sprawling pasture to the river, just sort of isolated. We used to take young freshman girls out there and scare the crap out of them -- of course, this was all planned ahead of time. The basement of that place was creepy, kind of reminded me of "The Blair Witch Project." The Sanitorium, well, that place is torn down now, but it used to be this huge hospital which treated TB patients back in the 1920's through the 1960's. This place was empty for years when we used to run around in there, spray paint on the walls, broken glass everywhere. Again, we used to set things up where people would go there ahead of time, paint their faces, and we'd bring people out there to scare them. Mike even had the balls to run up on the roof and run around -- but again, the basement of that place...

"The Dawson Trips" -- Ha, yes. We went up there because Robb wanted to get hooked up with "Spuds," and Mike once dated a girl up there. A couple of these trips were well documented on videotape, once for fun, the other when Sean, Robb, and I got stranded up there for the Super Bowl when it began to snow like hell. Classic moment -- "Spuds'" boyfriend was coming to Dawson and we were all there, so when he showed up, we hid behind the garage and when the boyfriend got inside,

Mike: "Make a break for it, Sean!"

Robb and Tony: "Go, go!"

(Everybody runs, jumps into Sean's car)

Mike: "Don't spill the beer! Don't spill the beer!"

Robb: "Haha, we made it! Woo-hoo!"

Everybody: "Yeah!!"

I'm not sure about the beer thing, since it was frozen anyway!

"The Raft Trips" -- okay, this was the epitamy of everything we had done when we were younger. The first year, Mike, Kevin, and Robb all took off down the river on a make-shift raft. It took them a while to get home (wasn't it 3 days?), but the boys documented the trip through a journal, which I actually have a web site of. The second year, I joined the group, so we had four people on a raft, but Kevin spent most of the time being pulled, hanging with the coolers. We encountered some heavy rains on that trip, especially when we were by a bridge. I jumped out and tried to steer the raft towards the shore underneath the bridge -- all this time my dad and brother were out looking for us, they were actually on the bridge but we couldn't hear them since the thunder and rain were so loud. After the rain stopped, the river really flowed, and we got hung up in a tree that fell into the river. Robb and Kevin got out so they could get the raft out of the tree, but the river was gushing so fast, they had to hang on to the tree to avoid getting swept away. During this time, Mike and I were taking pictures of them and eating animal crackers...yeah!

There were so many more memories of the past, too many to list them all. But if I can think of a good one, I'll post 'er.

Some Thoughts

I'll type a little bit here before I have to go to a meeting at 10:00 a.m., so here goes.

I'm REALLY, REALLY getting sick of all these political ads on the radio, tv, and the newspapers. Yesterday in the Mad-Town papar, Daschle and Thune both took up 1 full page of ads, basically bashing each other on stupid topics, like gay marriage and taxes. I also love the radio ad (by A Lot of People Supporting Tom Daschle), where it has some guy talking about oil vs. ethanol, where it was all Daschle by putting up 10 ethanol plants in South Dakota. Plus, this guy says that Thune is a follower, not a leader and he cannot get things through. Here's my gripe: NO SHIT. Thune has been out of the House of Representatives for over 4 years! How can he get things done?!

On a brighter side, let me holler up the Twins. Damn, even though they lost Game 2 in extra innings, they are playing the Yankees like they are their bitches. I'm really impressed by the Twins' defense, which basically won the game for them in Game 1. Now, they're going to play in the Metrodome on Friday and Saturday, so hopefully they can finish them off there. BTW, I did order my 10-pack of the 2004 Homer Hankies off the Star Tribune web site. I should have them all now -- '87, '91, '02, '03, and now '04.

Should I grow a beard? Fall is here -- and though the weather is still really nice (although it's overcast today), but deer hunting season is around the corner and I usually sport of sort of facial hair that'll make me look rugged. My only concern is that how are the rest of the College of Education faculty here at college will think of it. We're supposed to look 'professional,' but as long as the facial hair looks nice, I'm going for it. I've got a pretty good crop of stubble going now.

My meeting here at 10:00 is with the Director of Field Services at the College of Education. She'll just go over a few things with me -- like my program evaluation, my letter of introduction, my application -- just to make sure I'm good to go to student teach next semester. I'm confident -- that's no problem there -- but I'm just really looking forward to moving on and finally getting out of the college. But those student loans, ouch.

My health right now is not the best -- I'm fighting a sore throat. I've been sucking on some Halls for the past couple of days, but what a pain in the ass. Sure, they make my throat feel better for like 5 minutes, then it aches again. Of course, there's that reflex that YOU HAVE to swallow just to make sure it doesn't hurt anymore.

Well, that's just a few things ... I'll be back at 11:00. I still have to find another article to analyze for my English/SEED 450 class, then type that sucker up tonight after work.

Twins vs. Yankees -- MLB Playoffs

Tonight, the Twins go to the Bronx to play the Yankees in the American League Divisional Playoffs.

Do the Twins have a hope? Besides Johan Santana? The Twins have lost to the Yankees 17 times in the past 19 games. I don't think they have a prayer.

I keep getting offers to buy Twins playoff tickets. I went to the playoffs a couple of years ago when the Twins beat the Athletics. That was fun! But now, I'm going to try it, since they're playing the Yankees again.

This is actually one of the only times I actually can sit and watch baseball on television, whether it's Opening Day, watching a game at the Metrodome, or the post-season.

But who knows -- hopefully the Twins will prove me wrong and they'll beat the Yankees.

Classic -- Highlight Tape, Vol. 1

Last week, I decided to pop in my old "Highlight Tape, Vol. 1" with all of the old b-ball games at The Owl Garden. At the end of the tape, is my "Greatest Moments, Vol. 1" where there is a compilation of videos all mixed together to show some of the good times that we had back in day (mainly our senior year).

One moment on the tape, although I have watched it over and over again, made me cry from laughter. For some reason, it was just so funny to watch. I call it "The Argument," where Sean, Robb, Mike, Jake, and Kevin were all riding in Sean's old beat-up car on their way back from a weekend in the Twin Cities.

Everybody was simply yelling at each other. Jake and Robb were arguing, Mike was yelling at Sean to "keep his drunk-ass on the road," and Kevin was videotaping the whole time. But the moment that made me cry was when the boys were driving through Buffalo Lake and Mike -- he sticks his head out the car window and starts yelling,

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!" Mike pops his head back inside the car. "Wooo! That was great! Robb, you try it!"

Although Robb and Jake were yelling back and forth, Robb takes the cue from Mike, hollering out the passenger side of the car.

"FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"

Jake pipes up. "Just jump out of the car, Robb."

Robb makes like he's trying to get out. "Sorry, Jake. Car door's locked."

A CPI Classic Moment!

Should I put more on here -- or will I get in trouble?

New! Dynasty Manager

Okay, I've got a lot of time on my hands.

Here is this little web site called "Dynasty Manager" (.com) where you can write newspaper-like articles tracking your teams that you play on your console. It can be NFL football, NCAA football, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, whatever. All you need to do is keep track of the stats, type them into your "web site," type up and article, and you're good to go.

I talked about this a while ago, by making up a story as I went along playing "NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup," but now, with this Dynasty Manager, it does it all for me.

Check out my link at the right -- I'm doing NASCAR, and yes, I had to start all over again. I guess I did find the heart to do it again.

I'll be adding in "people I know" to help out in the operation, so keep checking!

Newman Settles for 16th -- Up to 7th in Points

The Talladega race on Sunday was a little boring. It was obvious right off the start that the DEI cars of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Michael Waltrip were going to dominate. In the end, Earnhardt, Jr. beat out Kevin Harvick for a run to the line. This is Earnhardt, Jr.'s 5th Talladega win.

Newman, on the other hand, played it safe. He wasn't aggressive at all during most of the race, keeping in the back with Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, making sure he could stay out of "The Big One" if that should happen. As it turned out, "The Big One" never happened, although there were a few minor accidents on the grid that day. Ryan did get up into the Top 10 at one point, but during races at Talladega, cars are so "aero" important and drafting is the key to make your way up to the front. If you're not in the lead draft, you can go to Top 5 to back of the pack in just a couple of laps.

Ryan finally settled in 16th as he crossed the line, almost missing out of Elliott Sadler's roll across the finish line. Although Ryan loses points to the leaders, he moves up one spot in the Championship point standings to 7th, thanks to Jimmie Johnson's engine troubles.

UPDATE! Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is docked 25 points and fined $10,000 for swearing during a post-race interview in Victory Lane. This means that Kurt Busch now takes the points lead, 12 points ahead of Dale Jr. Implications down the road? You bet! Watch for some serious shit to go down in Miami (last race of the season).

Fantasy Football Update -- Yet Another Loss

Last Sunday, I had a team with some players who played very well, and some players who played like shit -- meaning that they barely had the opportunity to touch the ball.

"Nine Years" falls to a 1-3 record, losing to "Yankthis," who improves to 3-1. The points total for last Sunday's game:

Yankthis: 160.56
Nine Years: 123.74

I'm currently in 10th place out of the 12 teams playing. Points-wise, I'm 7th overall. It's always something or the other, like bad luck. I play teams where their players are playing at their peak, but when the next week rolls around the same players are hurt and don't play very well. I'm just getting a bad rap this season so far. All I can do is to hope that things will turn around for me.

As for my team, I'm disgusted at the play of Michael Vick. He isn't as solid as he should be, since his coach is telling him not to run the ball as much as he used to. That stupid West Coast offense! It's amazing to see that the Falcons are 4-0!

My running back woes continue, since the Vikings had a bye week in Week 4, I had to scramble and find some guys to fill in some roster spots. I started Justin Griffith of the Falcons and Mike Alstott of the Bucs, and both of them played piss-poor. Both of them combined to give me 7.7 points.

My worse pick up for Week 4 was WR Ashlie Lelie of the Broncos. He only had one catch for 3 yards. That's 1.3 points. Thanks, big guy.

I made a few big changes for Week 5. I finally let Michael Bennett go -- they figured he'll be out until the end of October because he had knee surgery. Ontarrio Smith will most likely get the start (for one more game until his suspension) against Houston, so for a back-up, I got Moe Williams. Also, after dropping him, I re-gained T.J. Duckett of the Falcons. He had a pretty good game after Warrick Dunn got banged up again, but I really don't see Duckett playing much. He's just insurance.

Other than that, here's the outlook for Week 5.

I play "Ole_Master40," who's record sits at 2-2, winning 2 straight after losing Weeks 1 and 2. Although I do have more points than him, he currently sits in the 7th spot in the standings. His key players that I have to watch for: Brooks and Plummer at QB, Marvin Harrison and rookie Roy Williams at WR.

The Weekend Wrap-Up

I suppose many of you want to know what exactly went down on a crazy, up-and-down weekend in Mad-Town. Although the night ended short for me, overall, I had a pretty good time -- for what I could remember.

Katie did not remember to set the alarm that early Saturday morning. Good thing for me that I'm pretty much "trained" to wake up early, so when I noticed the clock reading "8:22 a.m.," I asked her if we were going to the parade or not.

"Shit!" Katie exclaims. "Of course we're going to the parade!"

So, out the bed we went, showered REAL QUICK and got going. We didn't get into town about an hour later, and from that point I decided to make a run into Mickey-D's for a couple of Egg McMuffins, just in case I run into a little alcohol drinking downtown early that morning. Lucky for us, the parade did not start until 10 a.m., and since the downtown area is pretty much at the end of the parade, the police cars didn't make their way down until around 10:30 a.m.

After I woofed down my McMuffins, I'm talking to Katie's younger brothers outside and I hear Andy hollering. This kid shows up wearing "Charmin - Big Squeeze" pajama pants and I just gotta shake my head.

"Tony ... Let's drink!" Andy yells.

I turn to Katie's brothers. "Well, gotta go!"

The main drinks on tap at Rumors were Bloody Mary's and Jungle Juice. But, I strayed to another direction, Captain Morgan. After a couple of those, Katie was getting cold, so I had to "warm her up," a little bit and then we went to the Cocktail, where we hit up a few more drinks. All before 11:30 a.m.!

You may be thinking, "who's this alcoholic?" Well, you gotta understand, it's Homecoming in Mad-Town, and on top of that, it's my Last One. Gotta make it somewhat memorable, so that's what I did.

Andy, his roommates Brad and Evan, myself and our girlfriends, made way for the local cafe for a little brunch and then we'd hit it up some more. We had a drink or two downtown after that, then walked to Andy's place so a couple of guys could shower up (since they were going all night the previous night). We were all preparing to go to the Blue Team game, a place where I haven't been in around 5 years. While sitting there waiting, I had a couple of Bud Heavys, then Evan gets the idea about mixing Gatorades with Bacardi and bringing them in the game. I declined, since I'm not a huge Bacardi fan. I figured I'd sober up a little bit so I could go a little bit longer. That didn't work out!

We arrived at the football game with a couple of minutes left in the first half. The Blue Team was down 7-0, but before I knew it, it was halftime and somebody had given me their Gatorade/Bacardi mix and I was downing those suckers. The 2nd half was a blur, all I remember is losing my voice from hollering at The Blue Team (they went on to lose, 32-31 in OT). During the game, I was getting phone calls from my old roommates, John and Troy, saying "hey, we're in town," so I hollered back that I'd be downtown soon.

We stopped by the liquor store and picked up a couple of cases of beer. A few fellas showed up over at Andy's place and we played "dingleballs" and "washers" for a little bit. But when I attempted to drink a Michelob Light, I damn near barfed and fell over at the same time. "Oooh, my God." Things were starting to spin at that point, but then John called again and said he and his gang were at The Happy Hour. So, I put it upon myself to walk the four blocks in a straight line to The Happy Hour.

When I got there, John, Troy, Ben, Jared, and their lady friends were all there. The second I get there, they've got tequila poppers lined up and I sucked one of those down. It was nasty. From this point, I started to slow down -- my functions seemed to shut down one by one, and things were beginning to get a little hazy. About this time, Katie called and said that she was heading downtown (she had to take a nap), so I told her to pick me up at The Happy Hour so we can walk across the street to The Cocktail to get some supper.

All I remember at The Cocktail was that I was eating prime rib and drinking yet another Morgan Coke, then it was pretty much lights out. I asked Katie to take me home (it was 9:30 p.m. now) and she denied my request! She wanted to stick around for another hour and a half for a couple of her friends to show up. So I wanted to compromise. Take me home and drive back into town! It didn't sound much like a compromise, but it made sense to me! She replied that she didn't want to drive back into town after we got home.

Well, upon hearing that, my behavior started to get a little "nasty." I just got pissy. I'm damn near passed out on the bar, and Katie's got some friend of hers calling me "a weinie" because I won't stay out. Apparently, she didn't understand that I wanted to go home and sleep it off. I remember Troy talking to me and all I said was something about that I'm pissed off and not in the best mood. (You fellas might have to fill in the blanks).

Katie caved after a while and drove me home. I tried in vain to stay up for a little bit to let the effects wear off a bit, but all I wanted to do was sleep. All I can say is that I did not throw up, but I had a good case of the ol' gut rot that night and all Sunday. My body took a pounding, but I had fun, while I could remember.

And that ends Homecoming '04 in Mad-Town. I made the most of it, although I was done by 10:00 p.m.

Stupid

I was currently running in my Third Season of NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup on my PS2, then all of a sudden when I fired it up last night after work, my save file was corrupted.

I lost everything. Damn, was I mad!

All that time and work for nothing. I was running full-time in the Busch and Truck series, owned a Modified team and even got an offer to test drive a Nextel Cup car. Well, fuck. It's all gone all, and I don't know if I have the heart to start all over again.

Weekend Plans -- Oct. 2-3

Well, it's Homecoming.

I was torn about what I was going to do, I could have:

1. Drove back to Minnesota and go to a friend's going away party who's getting shipped out to Iraq.

or

2. Stay here and party with old roommates and friends from our previous college years.

I have decided to stay in Madison for a couple of reasons. One, I haven't heard anything about the going-away party. It was mentioned at a wedding dance a couple of weekends ago when we were all bombed from loads of alcohol, so who knows if it's this weekend or not. I can at least send a card back to Minnesota sometime here this next week. Two, it's my final Homecoming here at college. Might as well go out with a bang, plus the old school fellas are heading up for a gay ol' time. Katie will most likely offer a place for these guys to shack up and provide them with breakfast on Sunday morning, since she loves to do that sort of thing.

Overall, it'll be fun here this Saturday, the weather is hopefully going to improve (instead of this rain we are getting now).

Money!

My refund check is finally here. Thank God!

I can finally pay for stuff I need and WANT. There's lots of things I want, very little that I need ... but thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm rich again.

With that, I'll be getting my summer pictures developed (finally) so I can post them on my school's server, and I'll post the links on here.