Final Four

It is that time of year already.  March is such a great time of the year for hoops fans like me.  April however, seems to be a little bit of a letdown.  Sure golf season and baseball season get going.  But, college hoops will be done for 6-7 months.  Yikes.  That's okay though.

I think this year's final four will be pretty fun.  Granted it doesn't have the teams in it that everybody predicted, like Kansas, Kentucky, and Syracuse.  But thats fine with me.  I think there are some great stories.  Butler going for the title in their home town.  Michigan State trying to win Tom Izzo another title.  Nobody has been better in the last 10-12 years than Izzo.  6 final fours is very Krzyzewski-like.  Speaking of Coach K, he's back for the first time in 6 years.  Duke is going for their 4th title in 19 years.  That is more than anybody in that time frame.  Then you have West Virginia and Bob Huggins.  He spurned those K-State fans a few years ago after leaving Manhattan after one season to coach at his alma mater.  He is back in his second final four after a long absence.  Huggins is going for his first title and his place among the super elite coaches in the country.  You could argue he is the best coach without a title. 

Granted we don't have a long list of superstars or future NBA players playing this weekend.  And we only have one 1 seed remaining, along with a 2 and two 5's.  I still think the games will be close and I wouldn't be surprised if any of the four win it all.  I personally am hoping for a Duke-Butler final.  Butler trying to take down the giant in their own backyard and Duke trying to re-establish themselves and the best team over the last 2 decades.  Their seem to be a lot of great stories floating around.  I can't wait for Saturday night and then Monday.  Get ready for a fun weekend.  Oh, and it's opening day in baseball.  Get ready.

Fall Jamboree - 2009

Well, my dad and I just finished playing in the City of Wichita Fall Jamboree.  It was a pretty fun tournament.  It is a two-day, two-man tournament.  The first 6 holes each day were best ball, then 6 holes of alternate shot, and 6 holes of scramble.  I didn't play very good on Saturday, but we managed to shoot a 73.  We were tied for first in our flight.  The alternate shot is a tough format.  There is a lot of pressure on each guy to hit a good shot.  We just didn't hit very many greens.  Sunday, I played a lot better.  I relaxed and tried to have a good time.  I hit my driver a lot better and my irons we much more under control.  We hit a few more greens and I actually played the best ball in 1 or 2 over.  We still struggled to make birdies.  We had a couple of bad bogeys.  We managed to finish strong though.  I hit about a 20 foot birdie on 17.  That was our first birdie all day.  Then one 18, I hit an 8 iron to about 2 feet.  We birdied that as well.  We ended up shooting another 73.  We'll take it.  We didn't hang around to see how we finished.  My guess is probably not good enough to win anything, but you never know.  It was a fun weekend anyhow.

Fantasy Football in the 21st Century

The days of posters and stickers for a fantasy football draft are over. Sunday we had our football draft, which was Season IV of our league. (Roman numerals just look more manly). It was the first time we tried something other the old school draft format. I purchased some draft software from Fandraft.com. It allowed me to hook up my laptop to my TV and project the draft throught a digital format. It came with a draft clock for each pick as well as a scrolling ticker, just like ESPN. Sounds pretty cool, huh? But to top it off, we had theme music playing for each person in the league when it was their turn to pick as well as team logos. There were one or two minor glitches, but it went smooth for the first time. I think next year, we will borrow a projector and put it up on the wall as big as we can get it. I think everybody is already trying to come up with a theme song for next years draft.

About the actual draft itself, I employed the same strategy of the last few seasons. One solid running back early and then a bunch of good receivers. I know this isn't the conventional draft strategy, but it has worked okay for me. I got Steven Jackson, Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Wayne, Antonio Gates, Donovan McNabb, and a few other good players. I think I did fairly well, I can see a WR for RB trade in the near future. Any takers?

Mini Golf and a 75

My wife and I were alone for a few days with our kids staying at my brothers house for a few days, so we decided to go play some miniature golf. I love mini golf. It's been a long time since we have been out and got to relax like that. There were no hole in ones, but a few close calls. I did manage to escape with a victory. After the mini golf, we went to the arcade for a few minutes. The first game we played was some skee ball. What a weird game, but I guess it was fun. But, Pop-A-Shot is were my true passion lies. At one point I even considered making my own pop-a-shot at home. I think my wife would pack up the kids and leave if I tried. I went to the machine with the best score on it. I love a challenge and I'm pretty damn good at it, so what the heck. The high game was 59. The first game I played I scored a 63. That earned me a free game and I scored 63 again. My arm was sore for about 20 minutes. Hey those weren't mini balls, they were like, almost regulation size. It was a fun night and I can't wait to do it again.

Saturday morning I had a tee time with some good buddies. We had a fivesome, which was pretty entertaining. I wasn't sure how things were going to go after I missed a one foot putt on number one for par and bogeyed number two. I turned it on after that. I went 3 over for the rest of the round and shot a 75. That is three shots better than my career low round. I was crazy. I sank two birdie putts that were each about 30-35 feet and another one from about 8 feet. After a round like that, you just want to keep playing. You don't always play good and when you do, you don't want it to end. I can't wait to play again this week.

Busy Times

Well, you've probably noticed I haven't written any new material in a while. It seems like things have gotten even busier than usual. Wednesday night golf league is still going strong. I did have one good week with a 38. My best 9 of the season. Things have been up and down while I'm still trying to master my driver. Those damn things. I can't figure why its so hard to duplicate your swing when you have a good drive, but when things go bad it's real easy to duplicate a bad swing.

I've started going to the gym a couple times a week, for about a month now. In addition to running and working out, I've taken up racquetball. Sort of. My cousin and I have been working out together and one night there was an open court. We gave it a shot and I loved it. A few days later I was online researching the rules of the game. What a cool game. I still don't really know if I'm playing the right way or not, but its fun. I always thought it was similar to tennis, but it's really a completely different type of game. Very interesting.

On to the British Open. I couldn't bear to watch Tom Watson lose it on 18 and then fall apart in the playoff. I hope I'm still competitive at 59. He sure put on a great show all weekend long though. At least Stewart Cink got the Claret Jug instead of Tiger or some other yahoo. Cink has put in his time and been close in several majors. It was good to see him finally win one.

And lastly, the Kansas City Royals. I think its fitting I choose this topic last, since thats where the Royals have gone lately; into last place. I watched them blow the lead in like 4 straight games. They are pathetic. Their bullpen has look attrocious lately. I thought they would actually be competitive this year, but I guess not. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to stomach watching them in the last 3 innings of a game. I hope they trade off about half of the team, rip it apart, and rebuild it. Sign some quality free agents for a change, instead of washed up bargain free agents way past their prime. I'm about to become a Twins fan or something.

Thats all for this time. I am going to try and keep up so everyone out there knows what I'm thinking. Scary thought isn't it?

2009 Tulsa Golf Championship

Thanks to a good buddy of mine, I got to play 54 holes of golf last weekend. It was a long couple of days but well worth it. It was a 2 man tournament and we played 3 different courses in 2 days. We fought through some pretty soggy conditions. Saturday morning we teed off about 7:30 and the people at the course told us they had rain for 21 straight days prior to our tournament. Needless to say they course played a little longer since we didn't get much roll off the box. I played okay in the morning but not so great in the afternoon. I shot 86 and 94. It was hard to get in a rythm, plus I had never played any of the courses. I can use that excuse right? We had a steak dinner after our round on Saturday night. We found out were starting Sunday in first place in our flight. We had a one shot lead over the second place team. It was going to be a showdown on Sunday. We pulled out our matching green Masters polos. I guess you could say we played pretty good on Sunday. We ended up winning our flight by 30 shots. I shot an 80 on Sunday and it really should have been better than that. I'm not complaining though. It was a fun weekend and now I really have the itch to play more golf. Remember, 3 putts are bad.

NBA Playoffs - 2009

What is up the NBA playoffs? It seems like they keep getting longer and longer. Why not cut the NBA regular season in half and let everybody in the playoffs, that way, the playoffs will last 4 months instead of 2. The NBA playoffs are about the only time I ever watch NBA at all. It's just hard to get into it, with so much time between the first round and the finals, even the conference finals. It seems like each series goes on for about 2 weeks, then you have travel days and rest days and TV days to schedule. It is such a joke. I actually like some of the young players around the league, but the season drags on so long, I just about can't handle it. The problem is, I will still watch. I like the drama and the history and waiting for something special to happen. I'm such a sucker.

Spring Football

I've never been a big fan of football in May. What's the point? You are still 5-6 months away from the start of the real season. With all that being said, I did attend the Kansas State spring football game on Saturday. It wasn't a big turnout that you would expect at a place like Ohio State or LSU, but it was okay. It was pretty tough to get super excited about the game, considering nobody wore names on their jerseys and I don't follow KState football much. That and the fact that half of the players switched sides several times during the game. I realize this is just a public scrimmage for fans to get excited about their teams, but why make it public? Keep us in suspense. Plus, do you really want to watch an organized practice for 3 hours? It was only $5, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. We will still hear plenty about our favorite team between now and September. The media coverage is getting pretty out of control. Next thing you know, players will start blogging about playing in spring football games. Geez, what is the world coming to.

Golf Season

It's that time again. My wife may not be too happy about it, but once the weather warms a little, there is nothing like hitting the links. Sorry honey. What's not to love about golf? The sun, the challenge, the wind(here in Kansas), the constant tinkering with your swing, all of it. There is nothing like nailing a perfect drive off the tee box or sinking a birdie putt. There is something magical about hitting the perfect pitch shot right up to the stick. I'm excited just thinking about it. Too bad its raining right now.

The company I work for has a golf league for employees, customers, friends, just about anybody. I have played in it about 10 years in a row. I was even the commissioner of the league last year. It was a lot of fun. I hadn't planned on playing in the league this year, due to the fact that my kids are growing and l love spending time with them as well as the fact that I am going back to school to get my masters right now. But three days before the league was scheduled to start, I got the call that they were a team short and needed somebody. I took one for the team and told them that I could do it. I got a customer to be my partner and we have played two weeks already. It took me a while to get my mindset right after telling myself I wasn't going to play this year and then all of a sudden playing. Don't worry, I'll be okay. I'll let you know how we do as the season continues. But for now, keep your head down and never lay up.

My Georgia Experience

Well, I don't really know where to start. Last week I had one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken. Last Monday, my best friend and I, along with two of his friends flew into Atlanta. We picked up our rental car across the street from Turner Field. I always love seeing where stadiums are located and how they look in person. It was pretty cool. We drove about an hour and got checked into our hotel in Madison, Georgia. The Super 8 was a dump, but who cares. Then we bundled up and went to play golf at The Creek at Hard Labor. What a cool name for a golf course. It was a classic southern course tucked into the woods. There was some old water wheels and creeks that lined one side of the course. They even had a mini waterfall on one hole. It was cold, about 48 and windy. But it was a lot of fun. We split into two-somes and played a scramble. We won by about 9 shots, but after all the sidebets it ended up about even. We had a great time though. That was just the beginning of the experience.

Tuesday morning, we got up at 5:30 and got ready for our drive to Augusta, Georgia. Thats right, we went to a practice round at the Masters. Wow. What a place. It was so much nicer than I ever could have imagined. We parked by a rear entrance which wasn't too crowded. We walked in and spent some money at the gift shop. Some of us spent more than others. The gates opened up at 8:00 and we were ready to walk around.

We walked through the gates and walked through an area, that looked like some kind of garden. It was beautiful. The next thing we knew, we were on the course and staring down Amen Corner. We were staring at one of the most famous places at any sporting venue in the world. It was incredible. The great thing about the practice rounds, is that you can bring your camera. I took advantage of that with almost 300 pictures and videos. We saw quite a few players, including Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Fuzzy Zoeller, Fred Couples, Greg Norman, Padraig Harrington, and the eventual champ, Angel Cabrera. The course was immaculate and it didn't disappoint. I would go back anytime. It makes things a little different when you watch on TV. You can understand the course better and see how things are layed out. It was something I will never forget. Hopefully I get the chance to go back.