So despite getting a high number of games wrong during the first week of the NCAA tournament I'm not doing too bad overall. I have 14 of the 16 teams remaining, and have some confidence that I can still get 7 of the 8 teams into the elite eight. (Washington totally hosed me, last time I listen to a professor when picking my brackets) I have Louisville winning it. Although they haven't looked the strongest in their wins over the weekend, the tough win against a feisty Sienna team makes me pretty sure they have what it takes to make the run at the championship. Other than that, the weekend wasn't as exciting as some years. There were some close games and some controversy, but the teams that were supposed to win did, and that makes March Madness kind of lame. Don't get me wrong, I loved every second of it and will continue to watch until the championship game concludes, because it's college basketball and the emotion this time of year is better than anything else on TV.
I didn't get to watch as much as I would've liked because I was playing some basketball of my own in Noxon this weekend. We ended up getting second in a tournament full of some pretty decent teams. The whole weekend was a blast, and was full of great stories and awesome memories. I am always shocked everytime I go to Noxon because the people there are unbelievably nice. When I bring people home to hang out in Sunburst I know that they will feel welcome because my family is welcoming and all my friends are nice people. In Noxon though, the people honestly make you feel like it has been your home town for years. People remember me and come up and talk with me although my last visit was in July. There aren't many places like that left in this world, and I'm glad I found one in Noxon. I totally recommend going and visiting sometime. It's gorgeous country and you will leave with more friends than you came with. Guaranteed!
Spring break is finally a week away! I'm so excited to get to go home and hang out in Sunburst for awhile. It has been too long since I have been home, and the last trip home was filled with so much activity I didn't get to spend the time I wanted with my grandma and parents. I live on a farm that has my house and my grandma's house about 50 yards away from each other. That means that I am just as close with my grandma as my parents. When I needed advice, or was fighting with my parents my grandma and grandpa were always a short walk away to freedom. Plus, my grandma is the greatest cook on the face of our great earth and I cannot WAIT to have a week's worth of lunch and dinner with her. People say that I'm a grandma's boy, and I'm OK with that. If you had a grandma like mine you would be too.
Another great thing about going home is getting to see all the new cavs that we have running around our pastures. In the middle of January we start having our first sets of new babies, and I never get to see them because I'm normally back to college. But then over spring break I get to come home and see them when I go out to feed. That is a way better time anyway because they are way cuter acting and the mom's have calmed down enough for you to get close to them without constantly looking over your shoulder. It's a great time of year on the farm. Things are starting to melt and the grass is beginning to turn green. Hopefully we'll be getting ready to seed and start another year watching our fields of barley, wheat, and canola like they are young children in a crowded mall. It is always a nerve racking few weeks waiting to the crops to come up, but once they do it's a huge relief and exciting to wonder what will come in August.
This is a short post. It's been a busy busy week but I had been away for a long time so I wanted an update. Stay classy!
SHOUT OUT FOR THE DAY: Marcus Jordan. Son of Michael Jordan. THE Michael Jordan, this poor kid has to deal with being the greatest basketball player of all-time's son. He won his state tournament over the weekend in front of his crying father and thousands of people. To deal with the pressure of being Marcus Jordan everyday must be difficult, but when you are out on a basketball floor with everyone knowing who you are and watching to see signs of His Airness, it has to be one of the hardest things to do as a prep athlete. Congrats on pulling through and taking the championship, and good luck on trying to fill the shoes of your father for the next four years at whatever college you choose. You're gonna need it.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Duke Hater For Life
Like I knew it would, it's cold again. Not just a little cold, I'm talking real cold. I knew this was going to happen because as I mentioned previously, I said out loud that I was enjoying the nice weather. This happens yearly. Last year, it got nice for one day and then was cold for the rest of the year. I'm kind of hoping for some sun and what not in the next week or so. It has been six weeks since groundhog day, I think it is time for spring. On a positive note however, I haven't had to wash my pick up in a long time because it has been so miserable out. When it's warm out, everyone feels the need to wash their vehicles because no one wants a dingy looking vehicle when the sun is out and shining. When it is cloudy all the time and feels like it's on the verge of snowing, no one has to wash their vehicles. That's finding a positive out of something that is normally viewed as a very not positive thing. Some people are like, oh the snow and the cold is nice because it extends the ski season. I don't ski, I don't snowboard, I'm not even a real big fan of sledding. I think that rolling down a hill covered in snow isn't that cool. I don't like being cold and I don't like spending money so that immediately knocks skiing and snowboarding off my list for things to do.
One week away from the NCAA tournament. Selection Sunday is on at 4 p.m. this upcoming Sunday and I have been putting a lot of thought into my team that I'm gonna pick to win it all. I have spent a ton of time watching games, reading online, and trying to determine whether it's smart to trust a team that runs up and down the floor and might get upset in a high scoring game (North Carolina) or to trust a team that works through the inside but is sometimes stagnant on offense and could get upset by a team with a great game plan (Oklahoma). Really it won't matter because the best part of March Madness is that no matter what everyone expects, something unexpected will happen. Last year it was even unexpected that the top teams did as well as they did. There weren't as many upsets, and that made it just as exciting. My college hoops team is the Maryland Terrapins. I don't believe I'm going to have to worry about having a conflict of interest when I'm picking out my brackets this year because I can't see them being part of the 65 teams unless they go deep into the ACC tourney this week. And by deep I mean they are the team holding up the trophy at the end on Sunday. Don't see it happening but I will be rooting for them. Speaking of the ACC, I was reminded of how much I hate Duke and North Carolina once again yesterday. I think they are both on my top ten lists of least favorite sports teams of all-time. Well I know they are, and I also know there is a number 1 next to one of them that starts with a D and rhymes with puke. Year in and year out Duke becomes overrated and gets a top ten ranking in the nation despite never being that good on the road and getting more calls at home than any other team in the nation. They underachieve in the tournament and have the most annoying fans out of all sports teams. Furthermore, who was the last ultra-successful former Duke player in the NBA? I'm a Duke-hater, and proud to say it. I will continue to be on until the day I die.
I have respect for North Carolina, only because a certain Michael Jordan came from there. However, they are also annoying, but at least they produce some pretty great NBA players and aren't so annoying. (With the exception of Tyler Hansbrough, he just has that look like you need to constantly tell him, don't cry I was just kidding) The Duke-North Carolina rivalry is great and passionate. I just could care less who wins, but I think I've made my point on that.
Top Ten Least Favorite Sports Teams:
10. North Carolina Tar Heels-The retro Heels with Jordan, Worthy, and even up to Jamison were kind of cool. However, the new Tar Heels that whine all the time and have the previously mention Hansbrough drive me insane. I don't even enjoy watching them play (especially since they win all the time)
9. Utah Jazz-I think a lot of the hatred stems from the late 90s when Jordan and his Bulls had to beat out Utah for their last two championships. John Stockton was a great player and I have a lot of respect for him, but Karl Malone was a punk and he is the reason I'm a Jazz-Hater. The new Jazz with 185 year coach Jerry Sloan play the game like they are an undersized high school team just trying to keep the score close. They win a lot of games, and that's fine; just don't expect me to watch them.
8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets-They are Miami Hurricane KILLERS when it comes to college football. There is nothing I love more than Miami Hurricane football in sports so I just have to hate them. In 2005 they ruined the Hurricane season and the Griz lost to the Cats on the same day. I have never forgiven them for that, in fact I feel some tears whelling up, I have to stop.
7. USC Trojans-They finished second in having the most pseudo-fans in sports to the Boston Red Sox with their recent success. Now it's cool to bust out USC apparel but 9 years ago no one would be caught dead in it. Just seems pretty lame to me.
6. New York Yankees-They spend and spend and spend, and that's just annoying. Now with the recent scandal with A-Roid it just makes me laugh.
5. San Antonio Spurs-Unfortunately for the Spurs, they were just eclipsed as the most boring team in the NBA by the Utah Jazz. Luckily for them, they held the title for a little more than a decade. Tim Duncan is the best player in the NBA that everyone hates. He is a whiner, and seemingly not liked by any of the players in the NBA either. But he is a hall of famer without question.
4. New England Patriots-After they overstayed their welcome as the team that was fun to watch because they beat the Rams in a huge upset in Super Bowl XVI. I think there was a conspiracty because it was after 9/11 and the PATRIOTS come out of no where to win an America Rocks themed Super Bowl? After that, they felt it necessary to add two more championships and the annoying run at a perfect season in which the New York Giants became my favorite team for the week of the Super Bowl and the month afterward when everyone talked about how they couldn't believe it. I'm smiling right now actually.
3. Boston Celtics-Sorry to the northeast but I have to hate on the Celtics too. Kevin Garnett's response to winning the championship last year was not only awkward for everyone around him and watching at home, but it established that I will never root for the Celtics again. (Actually that's not true, I'll explain in a second) They also beat out the Hawks (favorite NBA team) and the Cavs (2nd favorite NBA team) on the way to winning the championship last year. That's like the guy the not only spills his drink all over you at the bar, but he also goes home with your girlfriend.
2. Los Angelos Lakers-Remember when I said I wouldn't root for the Celtics. I sure as heck would if they were pounding on the Lakers and making Kobe Bryant get that look he had on his face the whole game six of last year. I will never forget that look. In fact, it cheers me up daily just to think about that look. Hopefully this year when the Lakers come up short again to LeBron and my Cavs he will get that look again, or maybe just cry. I'm already excited.
1. Duke Blue Devils-I hate them so much I don't even want to talk about it. (except for the rant above)
Shout Out For The Day: Bill Simmons. If you like sports, even if you don't like sports that much but just enjoy fantastic writing, check out his columns on ESPN.com. It's amazing, he has the best sense of humor and way of writing that he can actually make me laugh out loud in public as I'm reading his articles. He knows sports better than most, but that doesn't matter really. He writes about just about anything and then somehow at the end of the article ties it all together to the point where you are like wow that actually made a lot of sense. He's great, and his podcasts are equally as awesome if not better. Check him out!
One week away from the NCAA tournament. Selection Sunday is on at 4 p.m. this upcoming Sunday and I have been putting a lot of thought into my team that I'm gonna pick to win it all. I have spent a ton of time watching games, reading online, and trying to determine whether it's smart to trust a team that runs up and down the floor and might get upset in a high scoring game (North Carolina) or to trust a team that works through the inside but is sometimes stagnant on offense and could get upset by a team with a great game plan (Oklahoma). Really it won't matter because the best part of March Madness is that no matter what everyone expects, something unexpected will happen. Last year it was even unexpected that the top teams did as well as they did. There weren't as many upsets, and that made it just as exciting. My college hoops team is the Maryland Terrapins. I don't believe I'm going to have to worry about having a conflict of interest when I'm picking out my brackets this year because I can't see them being part of the 65 teams unless they go deep into the ACC tourney this week. And by deep I mean they are the team holding up the trophy at the end on Sunday. Don't see it happening but I will be rooting for them. Speaking of the ACC, I was reminded of how much I hate Duke and North Carolina once again yesterday. I think they are both on my top ten lists of least favorite sports teams of all-time. Well I know they are, and I also know there is a number 1 next to one of them that starts with a D and rhymes with puke. Year in and year out Duke becomes overrated and gets a top ten ranking in the nation despite never being that good on the road and getting more calls at home than any other team in the nation. They underachieve in the tournament and have the most annoying fans out of all sports teams. Furthermore, who was the last ultra-successful former Duke player in the NBA? I'm a Duke-hater, and proud to say it. I will continue to be on until the day I die.
I have respect for North Carolina, only because a certain Michael Jordan came from there. However, they are also annoying, but at least they produce some pretty great NBA players and aren't so annoying. (With the exception of Tyler Hansbrough, he just has that look like you need to constantly tell him, don't cry I was just kidding) The Duke-North Carolina rivalry is great and passionate. I just could care less who wins, but I think I've made my point on that.
Top Ten Least Favorite Sports Teams:
10. North Carolina Tar Heels-The retro Heels with Jordan, Worthy, and even up to Jamison were kind of cool. However, the new Tar Heels that whine all the time and have the previously mention Hansbrough drive me insane. I don't even enjoy watching them play (especially since they win all the time)
9. Utah Jazz-I think a lot of the hatred stems from the late 90s when Jordan and his Bulls had to beat out Utah for their last two championships. John Stockton was a great player and I have a lot of respect for him, but Karl Malone was a punk and he is the reason I'm a Jazz-Hater. The new Jazz with 185 year coach Jerry Sloan play the game like they are an undersized high school team just trying to keep the score close. They win a lot of games, and that's fine; just don't expect me to watch them.
8. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets-They are Miami Hurricane KILLERS when it comes to college football. There is nothing I love more than Miami Hurricane football in sports so I just have to hate them. In 2005 they ruined the Hurricane season and the Griz lost to the Cats on the same day. I have never forgiven them for that, in fact I feel some tears whelling up, I have to stop.
7. USC Trojans-They finished second in having the most pseudo-fans in sports to the Boston Red Sox with their recent success. Now it's cool to bust out USC apparel but 9 years ago no one would be caught dead in it. Just seems pretty lame to me.
6. New York Yankees-They spend and spend and spend, and that's just annoying. Now with the recent scandal with A-Roid it just makes me laugh.
5. San Antonio Spurs-Unfortunately for the Spurs, they were just eclipsed as the most boring team in the NBA by the Utah Jazz. Luckily for them, they held the title for a little more than a decade. Tim Duncan is the best player in the NBA that everyone hates. He is a whiner, and seemingly not liked by any of the players in the NBA either. But he is a hall of famer without question.
4. New England Patriots-After they overstayed their welcome as the team that was fun to watch because they beat the Rams in a huge upset in Super Bowl XVI. I think there was a conspiracty because it was after 9/11 and the PATRIOTS come out of no where to win an America Rocks themed Super Bowl? After that, they felt it necessary to add two more championships and the annoying run at a perfect season in which the New York Giants became my favorite team for the week of the Super Bowl and the month afterward when everyone talked about how they couldn't believe it. I'm smiling right now actually.
3. Boston Celtics-Sorry to the northeast but I have to hate on the Celtics too. Kevin Garnett's response to winning the championship last year was not only awkward for everyone around him and watching at home, but it established that I will never root for the Celtics again. (Actually that's not true, I'll explain in a second) They also beat out the Hawks (favorite NBA team) and the Cavs (2nd favorite NBA team) on the way to winning the championship last year. That's like the guy the not only spills his drink all over you at the bar, but he also goes home with your girlfriend.
2. Los Angelos Lakers-Remember when I said I wouldn't root for the Celtics. I sure as heck would if they were pounding on the Lakers and making Kobe Bryant get that look he had on his face the whole game six of last year. I will never forget that look. In fact, it cheers me up daily just to think about that look. Hopefully this year when the Lakers come up short again to LeBron and my Cavs he will get that look again, or maybe just cry. I'm already excited.
1. Duke Blue Devils-I hate them so much I don't even want to talk about it. (except for the rant above)
Shout Out For The Day: Bill Simmons. If you like sports, even if you don't like sports that much but just enjoy fantastic writing, check out his columns on ESPN.com. It's amazing, he has the best sense of humor and way of writing that he can actually make me laugh out loud in public as I'm reading his articles. He knows sports better than most, but that doesn't matter really. He writes about just about anything and then somehow at the end of the article ties it all together to the point where you are like wow that actually made a lot of sense. He's great, and his podcasts are equally as awesome if not better. Check him out!
Monday, March 2, 2009
March Already
It didn't seem to take long for February to fly by. The shortest month of the year always seems to be crammed full of stuff to do. I don't really know why, but every weekend there was something to do, and of course, as a college student I had to try and do it all. Now it's finally time to settle down and start taking school seriously again. For me, the first few weeks of school each semester are kind of laid back and fun. Then all of a sudden, all of the teachers realize that it's six or seven weeks into the semester and we haven't actually DONE anything so everyone panics at once and the students end up with four tests in one week. Every semester is like this and professors don't seem to catch on, or don't care. I'm afraid of which it is.
So the Sunburst Refiners have completed another basketball season. Yes, the nickname of my hometown sports teams was the Refiners. Back in the day, we used to have a refinery and that was the best anyone could come up with. It has been put under consideration to change the name, but I don't think I would like that because it has too much meaning now to too many people. But I think unofficially we have one of the LAMEST nicknames in the state of Montana. It's the Refiners or the Terry Terriers. That one is pretty bad too. Anyway, so our boys ended up getting second place at districts after an overtime loss in a game they probably should have won. It was one of those games when everyone in the stands could see the momentum shifting and no one could do anything about it. After the game went to overtime, it looked like Power (the Pirates if you were wondering, WAY better than the Refiners but kind of cliche) won already. After that they played a challenge game and made it into the divisional tournament after the win. So off I went to Great Falls to watch them play. The boys played hard but lost their first game by three, then won their second, and lost out Saturday morning to who else but the Power Pirates. It was still a fun season, and I hope the town will remember this team as one of the most talented to go down in school history.
We're approaching the most exciting time in the sports year with March Madness on the horizon. The first weekend of the tournament is the best I think. The games are on all day, no one wants to be in school and everyone that is in school is on their phone trying to check scores and update their brackets. I may be the worst bracket filler-outer there is. I put way too much thought, logic, and research into it. I give it a go and I get beat by the girl sitting next to me that doesn't know what March Madness is, but likes the name of the Cinderella team on their way to the Final Four. This is a yearly disappointment for me. I'm slowly learning to get over it, but just once I want to be the guy that can tell everyone he picked the Final Four and won the money for whatever pool he entered. Just one year. Maybe this will be the year. I'm not laying out my picks yet, but I know who I like. I'm not jynxing that poor team already though. I'll wait for the actual tournament to start to do that.
March is another time for independent basketball tournaments to start. I love playing basketball as much as I love watching and coaching it. These tourneys are a blast. We just go out and play, party, and try to be competitive each game. My buddies Nick, Danny, and I go to Noxon, Montana and play in a yearly tournament there. I also plan on traveling back home and playing with my old ball coach, Griff Bye. Griff knows everything there is to know about basketball and he and I can sit around and BS for hours about the game. He's still coaching in Sunburst and has been an important part of the program there for a lot of years. It shocks me how much he cares about the kids and how sad he is to the see the season end year in and year out.
It's finally starting to get nice out. I love shorts, and wear them whenever possible. So as soon as the sun was out this morning I was wandering around campus in my shorts. I love spring time and am looking forward to the sunny days and snowless walks around campus. Just watch, it's snowing tonight now.
Shout out for the day: My shout out goes to Ken Griffey Jr. this week. He's my favorite athlete of all-time. More so than Michael Jordan, and that's saying a lot. Growing up watching Griffey was amazing. He got traded away from Seattle and things went downhill for him. WAY downhill. But he's coming back to where it all started and I am hoping that his signing with the Mariners will somehow give his career a huge resurgence and he'll become the player we all remember. He's 39 now, so I'm not expecting big big numbers but just something to help me remember the days of 'Junior'. I'm an optimistic person, I'd even just take a full season injury-free. Griffey and I both need that I think.
So the Sunburst Refiners have completed another basketball season. Yes, the nickname of my hometown sports teams was the Refiners. Back in the day, we used to have a refinery and that was the best anyone could come up with. It has been put under consideration to change the name, but I don't think I would like that because it has too much meaning now to too many people. But I think unofficially we have one of the LAMEST nicknames in the state of Montana. It's the Refiners or the Terry Terriers. That one is pretty bad too. Anyway, so our boys ended up getting second place at districts after an overtime loss in a game they probably should have won. It was one of those games when everyone in the stands could see the momentum shifting and no one could do anything about it. After the game went to overtime, it looked like Power (the Pirates if you were wondering, WAY better than the Refiners but kind of cliche) won already. After that they played a challenge game and made it into the divisional tournament after the win. So off I went to Great Falls to watch them play. The boys played hard but lost their first game by three, then won their second, and lost out Saturday morning to who else but the Power Pirates. It was still a fun season, and I hope the town will remember this team as one of the most talented to go down in school history.
We're approaching the most exciting time in the sports year with March Madness on the horizon. The first weekend of the tournament is the best I think. The games are on all day, no one wants to be in school and everyone that is in school is on their phone trying to check scores and update their brackets. I may be the worst bracket filler-outer there is. I put way too much thought, logic, and research into it. I give it a go and I get beat by the girl sitting next to me that doesn't know what March Madness is, but likes the name of the Cinderella team on their way to the Final Four. This is a yearly disappointment for me. I'm slowly learning to get over it, but just once I want to be the guy that can tell everyone he picked the Final Four and won the money for whatever pool he entered. Just one year. Maybe this will be the year. I'm not laying out my picks yet, but I know who I like. I'm not jynxing that poor team already though. I'll wait for the actual tournament to start to do that.
March is another time for independent basketball tournaments to start. I love playing basketball as much as I love watching and coaching it. These tourneys are a blast. We just go out and play, party, and try to be competitive each game. My buddies Nick, Danny, and I go to Noxon, Montana and play in a yearly tournament there. I also plan on traveling back home and playing with my old ball coach, Griff Bye. Griff knows everything there is to know about basketball and he and I can sit around and BS for hours about the game. He's still coaching in Sunburst and has been an important part of the program there for a lot of years. It shocks me how much he cares about the kids and how sad he is to the see the season end year in and year out.
It's finally starting to get nice out. I love shorts, and wear them whenever possible. So as soon as the sun was out this morning I was wandering around campus in my shorts. I love spring time and am looking forward to the sunny days and snowless walks around campus. Just watch, it's snowing tonight now.
Shout out for the day: My shout out goes to Ken Griffey Jr. this week. He's my favorite athlete of all-time. More so than Michael Jordan, and that's saying a lot. Growing up watching Griffey was amazing. He got traded away from Seattle and things went downhill for him. WAY downhill. But he's coming back to where it all started and I am hoping that his signing with the Mariners will somehow give his career a huge resurgence and he'll become the player we all remember. He's 39 now, so I'm not expecting big big numbers but just something to help me remember the days of 'Junior'. I'm an optimistic person, I'd even just take a full season injury-free. Griffey and I both need that I think.
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