In the midst of an unpleasant economic situation, I find myself somehow unaffected by it. Well, that is not entirely true; my 401K is feeling. However I remain optimistic. I think that whomever earns the presidency will help ensure that the bailout money is used well, and that the country is moving the right direction.
Anyway, I remain optimistic and in general quite happy.
Why am I happy?
- I get to sit at home and watch football all weekend, with my biggest concern being whether or not a given game is broadcast in HD.
- I have a wonderful family.
- my kids are awesome.
- Jackson is really catching on to this thing called school. In preschool he wasn't in to reading and such, but as a first grader he is driven and doing very well.
- Alex, who was a sickly premature baby, is NOW a strong kids who turns 5 years old tomorrow. It is hard to believe he is the same child who spent the first days of his life with his head under oxygen in a contraption that looked like a casserole dish over his head. He is now strong and healthy and happy!
- I have a happy strong marriage with a wonderful wife.
- I'm getting better at golf.
- I am regaining my drive in athletics. Stacy and I have started doing road races and I'm loving it. I'm in shape and constantly improving.
- I have a good job. Perhaps this is part of the reason the economy is not making me worry too much. I have what feel to be a secure position and am happy to be with Southeastern Freight Lines. I'm also optimistic about our company's future.
What would make me more happy?
- If my kids continue to excel.
- If Stacy and I continue to do well at Southeastern.
- If my high school (Ninetysix), which my brother coaches for, continues it's good run and wins the state championship.
- If Furman continues it's good season and makes the playoffs.
- If I won the lottery. :-)
- If a friend won the lottery and decided that I was such a good friend that he/she felt i deserved to retire too. :-)
- If I continue to get better at golf.
- If I get to play golf more frequently.
- If Barack Obama continues to soar and wins the presidency.
- If our economy makes a permanent turn for the better.
- Did I mention the lottery?
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
That Other Division
As the nation follows Division 1, Bowl Subdivision football (wow, that is a mouthful), you hear arguments about which team or conference is the best and there are many solid arguments... many of which remain at the end of the season. Much could be decided if they would just adopt a playoff system....but I digress, and that is not the point of this post.
Meanwhile, there is That Other Division, the division previously knows as Division 1, AA, now verbosely dubbed Division 1, Playoff Subdivision. I may be biased since I spent my college years playing for such a program, but I happen to believe that there is a lot of quality football played at that level. Of course you've all heard about App State's upset of Michigan last year. Perhaps that sent a message that these smaller programs are for real. Whether or not you agree with this, I'd like to take a moment to share the rankings of this division:
Team (First-place votes)
1. Richmond Spiders (49)
2. James Madison Dukes (37)
3. Appalachian State Mountaineers
4. Montana Grizzlies (12)
5. Northern Iowa Panthers (2)
6. McNeese State Cowboys
7. New Hampshire Wildcats (1)
8. Elon Phoenix
9. Cal Poly Mustangs
10. North Dakota State Bison
11. Eastern Washington Eagles
12. Central Arkansas Bears
13. The Citadel Bulldogs
14. Wofford Terriers
15. Southern Illinois Salukis
16. Furman Paladins
17. Delaware Blue Hens
18. Massachusetts Minutemen
19. Villanova Wildcats
20. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
21. Eastern Illinois Panthers
22. Western Illinois Leathernecks
23. Tennessee State Tigers (1)
24. Georgia Southern Eagles
25. Liberty Flames
I list this because I am very impressed by, albeit surely shortly lived, the showing of the Southern Conference. Notice the teams in bold. App St, Elon, Citadel, Wofford, Furman, and Georgia Southern. 6 of the 9 teams in the Southern Conference found themselves in the top 25 this week. That is incredible. Much like the SEC of Division 1, Bowl Division, the Southern Conference is a historically strong conference, with a high level of play. Once conference play begins, the teams beat up on each other and some find themselves knocked out of the rankings and playoff contention. For this one week though, I'm enjoying sitting back and seeing the Southern Conference at the top.
I think I'll end on that note.
Meanwhile, there is That Other Division, the division previously knows as Division 1, AA, now verbosely dubbed Division 1, Playoff Subdivision. I may be biased since I spent my college years playing for such a program, but I happen to believe that there is a lot of quality football played at that level. Of course you've all heard about App State's upset of Michigan last year. Perhaps that sent a message that these smaller programs are for real. Whether or not you agree with this, I'd like to take a moment to share the rankings of this division:
Team (First-place votes)
1. Richmond Spiders (49)
2. James Madison Dukes (37)
3. Appalachian State Mountaineers
4. Montana Grizzlies (12)
5. Northern Iowa Panthers (2)
6. McNeese State Cowboys
7. New Hampshire Wildcats (1)
8. Elon Phoenix
9. Cal Poly Mustangs
10. North Dakota State Bison
11. Eastern Washington Eagles
12. Central Arkansas Bears
13. The Citadel Bulldogs
14. Wofford Terriers
15. Southern Illinois Salukis
16. Furman Paladins
17. Delaware Blue Hens
18. Massachusetts Minutemen
19. Villanova Wildcats
20. South Dakota State Jackrabbits
21. Eastern Illinois Panthers
22. Western Illinois Leathernecks
23. Tennessee State Tigers (1)
24. Georgia Southern Eagles
25. Liberty Flames
I list this because I am very impressed by, albeit surely shortly lived, the showing of the Southern Conference. Notice the teams in bold. App St, Elon, Citadel, Wofford, Furman, and Georgia Southern. 6 of the 9 teams in the Southern Conference found themselves in the top 25 this week. That is incredible. Much like the SEC of Division 1, Bowl Division, the Southern Conference is a historically strong conference, with a high level of play. Once conference play begins, the teams beat up on each other and some find themselves knocked out of the rankings and playoff contention. For this one week though, I'm enjoying sitting back and seeing the Southern Conference at the top.
I think I'll end on that note.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Gamecocks vs Terriers
Tonight we did a few new things:
(1) went to the USC game.
It was fun and a much closer game than I had ever anticipated that it would be. I have to give it to Wofford. Their offense played well. USC's...not so much. They had some good plays, but really couldn't get it together. In the end they won and I was happy about it.
Having played at Furman, I was asked if I would route for the Southern Conference team (Wofford). Honestly, I like for the conference to perform well, but that doesn't mean I always pull for them. Also, I think Wofford is the one team that I'd be least apt to pull for out of all of the teams in our conference. I'm not sure why. I'm just not a fan.
Strangely enough, Stacy having gone to USC for law school, somehow missed out on ever going to a game. Tonight was her first USC game and she enjoyed it.
Back to USC. If they do not start playing better, it's going to be a long season.
(2) to go to the game we used a baby sitter for the first time. We oft have a problem finding a sitter. We decided to try a baby sitting service. It was very convenient. We liked the sitter we had and would definitely use the service again. That also made the game more enjoyable for us.
(1) went to the USC game.
It was fun and a much closer game than I had ever anticipated that it would be. I have to give it to Wofford. Their offense played well. USC's...not so much. They had some good plays, but really couldn't get it together. In the end they won and I was happy about it.
Having played at Furman, I was asked if I would route for the Southern Conference team (Wofford). Honestly, I like for the conference to perform well, but that doesn't mean I always pull for them. Also, I think Wofford is the one team that I'd be least apt to pull for out of all of the teams in our conference. I'm not sure why. I'm just not a fan.
Strangely enough, Stacy having gone to USC for law school, somehow missed out on ever going to a game. Tonight was her first USC game and she enjoyed it.
Back to USC. If they do not start playing better, it's going to be a long season.
(2) to go to the game we used a baby sitter for the first time. We oft have a problem finding a sitter. We decided to try a baby sitting service. It was very convenient. We liked the sitter we had and would definitely use the service again. That also made the game more enjoyable for us.
Monday, September 8, 2008
TGIFS
Thank God It's Football Season.... the NFL is awesome.
Yesterday: Huge upsets, unfortunate big injuries, rookies stepping up to play well, Favre making his mark in New York.
Tonight: 2 big games, some big plays already, Aaron Rodgers playing well filling Favre's old shoes.
TGIFS!
Yesterday: Huge upsets, unfortunate big injuries, rookies stepping up to play well, Favre making his mark in New York.
Tonight: 2 big games, some big plays already, Aaron Rodgers playing well filling Favre's old shoes.
TGIFS!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
watching the games
I'm sitting here watching the football games. Giants vs Redskins. No surprise there. I suspected the Giants would win by 17 or so. Right now that looks about right. Plaxico Burress is a beast. If he stays healthy.... it will be another good year for New York.
We flipped to the Carolina/Vandy game. I am a Carolina fan and route for them in all but 1 game every year...that one game is the Vandy game.
Have I always loved Vanderbilt? No. I have always respected teams that have athletes that must meet very high academic standards, yet they also achieve on the field. Vandy is one of those teams. For the past few years Vanderbilt has been on the verge of being really good. Unfortunately, they lost a lot of close games the past few seasons. Hopefully this year, the close games will go their way. Oh, and the real reason that I cheer for Vandy is their coach. Coach Bobby Johnson was my head coach during my 4 years playing for Furman University. I really like him and think that he is a good coach. I wish him the best where ever he coaches. Right now that place is Vanderbilt, so I say "Go Commodores!"
We flipped to the Carolina/Vandy game. I am a Carolina fan and route for them in all but 1 game every year...that one game is the Vandy game.
Have I always loved Vanderbilt? No. I have always respected teams that have athletes that must meet very high academic standards, yet they also achieve on the field. Vandy is one of those teams. For the past few years Vanderbilt has been on the verge of being really good. Unfortunately, they lost a lot of close games the past few seasons. Hopefully this year, the close games will go their way. Oh, and the real reason that I cheer for Vandy is their coach. Coach Bobby Johnson was my head coach during my 4 years playing for Furman University. I really like him and think that he is a good coach. I wish him the best where ever he coaches. Right now that place is Vanderbilt, so I say "Go Commodores!"
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