IS IT ROCK BOTTOM

Is the Detroit lions going 0-16 rock bottom for the state of Michigan? i really hope so. Michigan has had the shortest end of the stick since this whole "recession" started its always something in Detroit. i think that they have hit rock bottom by going 0 for whatever. the only way to go know is up. Right know in this point in time i don't think that they are the worst team in the NFL right know. Detroit always get the bad wrap for having the worst economy and the worst weather, the worst sports teams. i have a feeling that this is what is going to pull Detroit out of the worst of it. I am probably being very naive about this whole thing but really can they get any worse? they can lose any more games in a single season. They only have up to look up down is not an option.

Ending of an era and the turning of the page!!!!!!!!!!!

As of this morning on Monday December 29, 2008 there is know a new era in Cleveland browns football history. That 's right folks Romeo Crennel got the boot after a 4-12 record and failed to win the last six games of the season. To be fair i know that it is not all of his fault but you cant fire an entire team. if you could than anybody not on the ir should get fired. The head coach always has his head on a chopping block. He is the first one to go when the team seems to move backwards instead of forwards. As a true sports fan i feel like romeo got a raw deal in the fact that he did what he could with what he had. three qbs get hurt two are on the ir your best receiver had a staph infection that nobody knew about. Your general manager brings in the right personnel but with a guy that cant capitalize on the talent that he has it is very hard to put together a winning strategy and let alone great team chemistry. Phil Savage also got his pink slip he actually got his before the season finale on Sunday. Who is going to be the next browns coach. Definitely not Bill Cowher who played and coached in Cleveland before going to the steelers. I think somebody with head coaching experience is a must. The Cleveland fans are to prideful to have another offensive coordinator come over and not know what to do the first three years he is hear. A college coach will not suffice either because this is a totally different game than the ones they play in the FBS. just go ask Butch Davis or "Nick I'm not going to Alabama Saban". In my opinion the Browns have the right players they just don't have the right dog running their pound. In my mind i think that the browns will look back at their history of coaches and will get a good idea of what coach they want to pursue. (Marty Schottenheimer) until next time.

Writing What I Know

Here is what i know I am a die hard Cleveland sports fan why you ask? The answer to that question will always be a little blurry. but this year the city of Cleveland has hope for a championship not the Browns or the Gladiators or even the Indians but the Cleveland Cavaliers have the chance to put Cleveland on the map and make this city in to a true believeland. The NBA season could be bitter sweet for fellow clevelanders as we may see greatness slip by us once again. after the 2010 season Lebron becomes a free agent and "wants to be a global icon" will probably move to New York and play for the newly acquired by Jayz Knicks (currently an owner of the nets). The bright side is that Dan Gilbert said he will match any offer by any team to keep Lebron in Cleveland. That is what i know. So in 2010 it could be abright Year or a really dark year.

Writers Block

Sorry to the three people that read this. I have not had any interesting thoughts lately or when I do I don't know how to type them out. I suppose that I have writers block. I have alot of ideas but when I start typing my mind goes blank. I think about what i am going to say and than when I get home ready to type nada. My blank slate stays a blank slate for another day. I don't want to force any writing out because than that is unnatural. I write what i know and very rarely do i not have any thing to say. If anybody has any advice about writers block please pass it along. Thanks and Merry Christmas. : )

OIC!!!!

if anybody who reads the title of this and knows what it means than we need to talk. This is the phrase Cleveland sports fans have been saying since 1964 that's Right almost 45 years since we have had any type of championship. OIC means Only In Cleveland. Cleveland is know the most tortured sports. There even more tortured than Detroit at least they have the pistons and the red wings.

What is it about for you?

Christmas is only 15 days away and i want to get some thoughts about what it means to you and to your family. Christmas before i was married was about getting gifts that i wanted and getting the best things. know that i have been married i have realized that that all those wants are just things and in the end we will have the greatest present ever eternal life. But besides all that Christmas is not about the gifts for me i could care less if i have gotten any or not its about the expression on my wife's face when she opens her presents on Christmas day. Gift giving is my "gift". I don't really like receiving gifts because i have a bad expression for opening gifts. Christmas is also about family time for me since we have moved away and we don't get to see our families very often Christmas is the time where we can put all differences aside at least for one day out of the year. this year we are not going home for Christmas and this will be our first Christmas alone since we have been married. I am also big on traditions i like to do the same things every year leading up to Christmas. We have to get a real tree, We have to build a ginger bread house, we have to watch it's a wonderful life, on Christmas eve you get to open one present, on Christmas eve attempt to go to a candlelight service. A new tradition is we have to read my favorite Christmas book of all time the polar express. My mom used to read this book to me when was a little kid for Christmas and someday i will read it to my kids.

You root for who?

Is your favorite team headed to post season play? Do you have high expectations year after year and they always let you down? are you a fan of the Lions or the Browns? I am in fact a fan of the latter. Why do I root for them? that is a question that I keep telling myself every Monday after a heart breaking loss. I root for them because when they left in 1995 there was no team there. the city had lost hope they had nothing to root for. after they came back in 1999 the city got excited and got behind them 150% selling out games and bringing back the DAWG POUND. But know to answer the Question of why i root for a team that i know will not go anywhere anytime soon. for the simple fact that i love my town and the browns are part of what makes Cleveland, Cleveland. I also don't want to see them leave again. It is also very nice to see a team that is so passionate about there sports still continue to watch and go to games even in this economic condition. Let me know if this falls in your thoughts the way it did mine. Live well love alot.

Rules of the Road !!

This post is in no means has anything to do with my friends. Amanda and i were driving to and from Ohio this holiday season and I came up with a couple of things in need to let out. ( I don't have road rage so this is my rage.)
1. DO NOT DRIVE IN THE FAR LEFT LANE AND NOT GET OVER WHEN SOMEBODY IS TRYING TO PASS YOU.
2. DO NOT TALK ON YOUR CELLPHONE WHILE ON THE HIGHWAY.
3. PLEASE USE YOUR BLINKER WHEN YOU CHANGE LANES.
4. WHEN YOU MERGE KEEP GOING DON'T STOP THE YIELD IS NOT A STOP SIGN

These are the majors ones that tick me off. i do drive for a living o see all of these on a daily basis.
so when you are driving be aware and pay attention because someone else might not be.

ARK (act of random kindness)

I woke up this morning after driving after being up all night driving to ohio and I was thinking why do we perform random acts of kindness. I was thinking about this because we drove someone home that lives in ohio back to her house and we didnt even think twice about it. It was amandas boss whom i never met and amanda barely know except for work stuff. i can personally say that i know her alot more than amanda does know. it also helps that when i drive 9 hours that someone is there to talk to you for the whole 9 hours. is it really random or do we think about what we are going to act on. are you going to THINK about buying somebody behind you a 4$ cup coffee or will you just give them the paper when you are done reading it. to me ARK is one of those things that you cant really think about. we are wired way to confusely to think about such a simple thing. if we think about performing an ark than its not really random. So know for this holiday season i challenge you to buy someone behind you a cup of coffee without telling them or filling up your wifes gas tank with no pun intended or even buy lunch for a stranger. if we all did a little bit more the world would be a better place. happy thanksgiving and safe travels.

Fanhood

Do you root for a team that is always on the losing end. Is your team good one year and terrible the next? Does your team have high expectations but never live up to them? Do you feel like denouncing your loyalty to a losing team and root for a winning one. Before you do that please read this post. You are not alone in your feelings. Your feelings of your team is what make this so much harder. I am a fan of Cleveland sports and as long as i can remember there were always high hopes and dreams in the beginning of any training camp or Summer camp. i can remember when people who actually came to the stadium wearing another teams jersey would get spit on and swore at. know its just as humble as any other stadium. The Dawg pound used to be like a bunch of pitbulls (cleveland fans) against a bunch of pomeranians (other teams Fans). After they left in 1995 and than came back in 1999 they just werent the same team. Yeah they had the same records and the same colors but they have a new stadium with no expectations and a town that was ripped of its pride in 1995 was biting at the bit to get the beloved browns back but what we didnt know was what kind of browns team were we going to get. ever since september of 1999 all i hear i theres always next year or next game. I as a fan am tired of hearing this and seeing all these losses pile up on one of best franchises in the league prior to 1999 really puts a knot in my stomach. I will never denounce my fanhood to a team in which i am so loyal i guess its just a matter of time before we get the right coach, system and management where they belong. Than and God willing maybe just maybe they will be the browns of old. So if you are thinking about denouncing your fanhood dont cause once you do its so much harder to go back.

Lifes Little Detours

If you haven't heard i have gotten a job offer back in Ohio. The job is with the same company and the position but with a much better situation. its not that i don't like North Carolina i really do but this is an opportunity that i just cant pass up. We have put our house on the market to see what happens. we are not moving until we sell our house so we could still be here for a while. The plan that i had coming down here in my head wasn't the right plan. I know that we don't have any control over this but i feel like he as put this opportunity in front of us and is teaching us a great deal of patience and faith. Regardless of what happens i will always remember Raleigh as the place i really grew up in my faith and my relationship with my wife and with those great friends around me. i want to thank so many people that i have met along the way. So if you know anybody that is looking to buy a house contact www.nealpettijohn.com

Friends

Do you have some body that you can count on to do anything for you? Is this your best friend or just a really good friend. One of my best friends i don't get to see except when we go home for vaca. For some reason we just have a special bond that we share. its one of those relationship where if we didn't see each other fora couple of years and than we saw each other on the street it would be like we just saw each other last week. I do talk to him at least once a week and he keeps me filled in with things going on back in Ohio. I was thinking what if we didn't have friends like that. what would your life be like if willy wasn't in my life. My life would be really different. I feel like hes in my life fora reason and a purpose and i am in his for the same reasons. Willy and i played football together in middle school and than high school and we just never lost contact. The great thing is that we can rely on each other to come through in certain situations.In 2006 i asked willy to be in my wedding. i felt really honored to have him a part of our wedding. This past summer willy asked me to be one of his best men (he has 2) an once again i felt really honored to be a part of this experience. So if you have a friend like that never lose contact because they only come around once in a life time.

The Sweet Smell of revenge or is it??

Have you ever played a sort where you had a rival or was part of a rival? was it in college or high school and in what sport. on the eve of the greatest college football rivalry in all of football i think back to a time where rivalries were near and dear t my heart besides this one of course. I played high school football and every time August rolls around i get a little feeling in the back of my throat about the ways things used to be. not that i don't like what has happened but this is a different aspect. for me going to battle against someone across from me on a different team was a feeling i can never take away. the rival i battled with was not a rival of my school but of my family. I played high school football for North Ridgeville. My family on my moms side all went to Westlake high which is the next city over. My team played them for four years and i never won a game i guess its not really a rivalry if you don't win. the feeling that you get after you lose a game like that is terrible especially one that has an outcome like that. The Game that is going on tomorrow is one of the most storied rivalries in all of college sports. the game itself has been going on since 1897 and has decided many of the last 40 big ten championships and rose bowl match ups. This rivalry is as harsh as they come the week this is played is circled on every one's calendar. is there a rivalry that you remember having and will never forget.

i Want to leave a legacy

Do you know how you are going to be remembered? I have no idea how i will be remembered. i was thinking about this on my way to work yesterday as i was listening to the David stein show he always finish with a line that goes something like this. leave the gun, take the canolli, now you know none of the story, relax and find a friend, always keep your fork cause something better is on the way, and always always live don't just think outside the box. Every time i hear this radio show i get a feeling that im not doing enough to leave a great lagacy behind for my wife and my family. this makes me really think about where my legacy will end up and where it is right know. Another quote i am gonna refer to is "memories can be forgotten but legends never die". this to me is the key i want to be remembered not only as a great husband and father but also a great person, a leader, and a great friend. Where do you think your legacy will stand if you had been taken from this place earlier than you had hoped. would your legacy alone make you change the way you live or would it be if you could see in the future and you saw your life would that be a mojor indicator about what you had to do to your legacy.

Very powerful stuff

Do you have plan? do you like plans. I think that we all awesome sort of plan in our lives whether its for work or for our personal life. the plans that people have vary from person to person. Did you have a plan that didn't go as "planned", or was it just a detour that took you away from your plan. ever since i graduated high school i felt like i have had a plan. i had a plan for my job, i had a plan for my relationships. i now know that a plan is only a guideline in life and it only guides you along the way. i had a plan for everything. lets fast forward did any of my plans workout? absolutely some had a detour and some happened a little earlier than i had planned. My "tentative" plan was to go to college find a job get married buy a house and than have a family. My plan actually happened that way but the way that it happened did not go directly by the book. i have learned that plans and guidelines can lead you to some great times and it can also lead you to some not so good times. I know that i really have no control over the plan of my life. Ultimately God has control and he will show me my plan soon enough. i know that i have to trust in god in all my endeavors because my decisions affect how good he will actually make my plan and how quckly that plan will be granted.

Chestnuts Roasting?

Well it's the holiday season once again. its the time where traditions go far spirits are high and everyone is happy. What is your favorite part of the holiday seasons. what is your least favorite part? My least favorite part of the holidays is when retail stores start putting up Christmas decorations on the 1st of November. Now i love being in the holiday spirit but this is getting ridiculous to the point where we don't even decorate for thanksgiving its just kind of an after thought. i remember when stores didn't decorate until after thanksgiving or that toys r us didn't send out the biggest toy book aver before thanksgiving day we got it two weeks ago. i think that its really sad when stores think about just money for the holidays instead of giving their customers a very homely experience. On another note my favorite part of the holidays are the traditions. What are some of your families traditions. Some of the traditions that we do are we have to go to a midnight service at a church, we also make a ginger bread house every year as well as read the book (original) the polar express, on Christmas eve we also open one gift a piece. The holidays are such a humbling time for me mentally because we can all put our differences aside and enjoy this time.

Fear!!

I don't have many fears in my life but the ones i do have are pretty serious. My first one is failure. i am afraid to fail so i work that much harder and take risks along the way so that nobody can call me a failure. The other thing i fear i GOD. this is a tough one. Amanda and i started a proverbs study and the first chapter talked about how we should fear god. and to fear god is the beginning of knowledge. so in my thought i know nothing until i understand how much power god actually holds over us. He holds all power over everybody. when we talk about fear you hear people say that there scared of spiders or small spaces but nobody ever says I'm scared of god. i think we need to really sit back and think about whats at stake here. God is in control and he has the power to do anything he wants and lead us in any direction, but he wants to save us so he gives us fear. fear is not a bad thing in this case. i never thought about it this way before.

next year!!

There is always next year is a saying i hear all the time being a sports fan from Cleveland. when you haven't won any significant championship of any sort since 1964 than you start to get tired of hearing this year in and year out. the Tampa Bay Rays season came to an end on Wednesday and I was thinking about how they are going to say there is always next year is it different for a team that had no expectations about this year but to win more than 75 games? this year was a miraculous story and almost a fairytale ending. but since they are capable of getting to the ship are there expectations going to be higher now or will they be the same as they were the previous nine seasons. being a Cleveland sports fan i feel like i have had my heart ripped out of my chest from time to time because the city came so close to not being able to say this and yet year after year our expectations are so high and we sell out stadiums and nothing this is probably why we are the most tortured sports town in all of America. OIC (Only In Cleveland)

Motivation??

This is a subject that we have been talking about in my Business class for a couple of weeks now and i wanted to share a few of my thoughts and also to get a few of yours. Motivation to me doing something someone tells you that you cant do. this just makes me work a little harder to reach this point. For me motivation is the key to success, its not about how much money i can make its about my legacy and how people perceive me as a person and the positions that i hold in life, whether its being a good husband, or a good father (someday), maybe its in my job to become a manager, or start my own business. The main point is that the motivation that drives me is because i am scared to death of failure. Some people have a different aspect of failure, mine is this if you try something and work hard at it and take a risk you are not a failure you are a risk taker an entrepreneur as some may call it. so than if you open a business and than it closes because it didn't make any money are you a failure? no you took a risk and it didn't work out that doesn't make you a failure.

Why are you a fan??

Do you have a favorite sports team. Why are they your favorite team and why that sport. are you a fan because of your childhood or because an athlete that you looked up to played on that team. my Favorite team is the browns. i feel like i have become a bigger fan of the Browns since i moved to Raleigh since i don't get the opportunity to watch them as often and i feel like i took my fan hood for granted. i also used to be a fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but that was just because my favorite player played on that team Mike Alstott who was the same number as i was. As i get older i feel like i become more of a sports fan and not just football but all sports i find myself watching all kinds of sports? maybe this is gearing me up for fatherhood? who knows. Do you have story about your fan hood and why it is your favorite team or athlete.

Cont.

Its Truly Magic

More Pictures

St. Augustine

My Bride is sick

My Wife Amanda has Tonsillitis and i feel really bad. there is nothing i can do. i am not sick and probably wont get it. i wish i could take her sickness away and do something with it. she does look really cute when she is sick though. anybody have any suggestions about tonsillitis?

Could they be the best!

I'm Talking about the Boston RedSox. Could they possibly be the Best postseason comeback team ever? it is definitely a possibility. the past two years they have come back from being down 3-1 in the series against the Indians in 2007 and the Rays in 2008 respectively. the Momentum in both of these series did not go for the RedSox in either, except when they had that ridiculous day off in the middle of a home stand between game 4and game 5. The So called much needed day off has been the difference in the series for both years. i don't know why they have this day off but they do and every time after the day off they just find a way to win and keep winning. is it because there experienced going up against inexperience of is it luck from the baseball gods not wanting to see another drought in Boston for another 86 years. i feel like the RedSox are turning into the evil empire spending tons of money and trying to run everybody out of town. There is still one more game to be played tonight so we will see if they are that good are just run out of luck. Go Rays and Phillies World Series!!

There's always next year!!

I have heard this phrase alot living in Cleveland and being a Cleveland sports fan. i have had to deal with high expectations that suddenly turn into a nightmare. cubs fans i know what your a re going through. you have one team that hasn't won a championship in over 100 years. Cleveland on the other hand hasn't won a championship in any sport since 1964. the last title Chicago won was the 2005 world series. so yeah i know that it sucks not to win a title but at least you have hope in your other sports. all Cleveland has is the choke, red right 88, the fumble, the drive, the move, and so many others. the sports gods definitely don't like Cleveland sports.

Its That Time of Year!!!!!

Well as you all know its that time of year again. what is that time of year you ask. well this time of year is October through February which are heavy sports months. i love sports not just football but baseball, and also hockey. this brings me to my next point, playoff baseball where the fun really begins. this year has been 100 years since the lovable losers last won a world series championship. that's right since 1908. People say that there is a curse( The Curse of the Billy Goat ) . I kind of think that there is more to this drought than people expect. i think that it has to do with karma. yeah i know that it sounds crazy but maybe what they need is a name change to something iconic like Wrigley Field Wrigley Field . maybe they should rename it Mars field, after all Wrigley's did get sold to the Mars company. Look at what happened to the American league east champions the "Devil Rays" all they did was drop the "devil" in their name and the so called baseball gods were happy. wait maybe they just play really good baseball. Wrigley Field wasn't even built when the cubbies last won the series. Wrigley was built in 1914 so maybe they need to go play at the old west side park 2 West Side Park (II) .

Two years of Marriage Bliss

If you were to ask me in the summer of 2002 if i would be married and had a house in Raleigh in 2008 i would have told you you were crazy. but the fact of the matter is that this really happened. i Married my high school sweetheart in the fall of 2006 on the 14Th day of October. i still remember it like it was yesterday i woke up went to the gym with Bob Bauer who was in the wedding. the Crazy thing about this day is that i wasn't nervous until people started coming in to sit down at the church. not a cold feet kind of thing i just don't like being in front of 100+ people who will be staring at me for about an hour. since that day my life has been flipped upside down. i will be forever connected to the love of my life Amanda Jane and to all the wonderful people i have met along our journey together.these are the greatest of times and i know that there are gonna be tough times as well but i know that i have love and a bond for my wife that I cannot explain.and anything that we come face to face with in our journey will be a blessing and a lesson. My Wife has been so motivational to me and so inspirational in so many ways. This is just one chapter of my life that will never end. this one chapter will keep going and going and going. Amanda Jane will always and forever be my beautiful bride. someone very close told that every time i look at you i fall in love all over again. and Amanda that is how i feel each and every day.

Cool, Calm and Collected

i woke up this morning with a chill on the back of my neck. we slept with the windows open last night. i love fall because it brings back some many great memories. my anniversary s in the fall only 12 days from today wow two years i can believe it that will have to be another post. it also brings back those chilly Friday nights under the lights were it didn't seem to matter how cold it was because steam was always coming off your head. the leaves are beginning to change( the leaves change much later down here which is a good thing). fall is the time of year were it reminds me of so many different things in life and also so many things that you can do. bonfires is another great one during fall you can have people over huddled up to a bonfire with smores, apple cider and coffee. fall is also great because it gives you and excuse to bundle eith that sweatshirt or a blanket on the couch in front of a fireplace.

Live well, Love a lot and laugh often

All i have to say is that life is good and i am so glad that i am American. i am truly living the American dream. someone once said "live well, love a lot, and laugh often" when i heard these it really hit me in a weird kind of way because a lot of days we don't realize what we have and what others don't have. i am going to try my hardest to live these out in my everyday life whether its in my Job or church or my personal life. it really makes you think about all the stuff we complain about like our jobs or school. a lot of people don't get the opportunity to go back and get an education or even finish their diploma. this is why America is so great. America gives us opportunities to live the American dream, have a house, a car, kids, a dog and to own your own business if you so choose. i think we as Americans take a lot for granted because we have all this disposable stuff like TVs computers cell phones. and when we are done with them we throw them away. but kids in other countries don't have any of these things. i am really going to try and make an effort to live these things out.

First few weeks

The first few weeks of school are done and i got to say that i comes back to you like riding a bike. yeah the initial week or two your hung up on how brutal it is but after that you kind of get in a rhythm and its kind of fun. you get to meet new people and find out where they came from as well as what there doing in school. its a nice change of pace and it will surely payoff in the end. I have never been a big fan of school i kind of surprised myself when i decided to go back because in the beginning i did not know what i wanted to take. but since i have been in management and want to got back to it again someday i figured i might as well make my future a little brighter than it already was.

How about a drink and a shot????

No not really i went to a hospital the other day and i noticed that you can more services than you bargained for. You can get a flu shot and than have a glass of port wine or maybe some sherry. yes that's right alcohol in a hospital fridge. In the pharmacies fridge no less. i wonder what those pharmacies are doing. on second thought remind me not to go get anything at that hospital. why they have this I do not know but i just thought that it was very interesting that they have alcohol at the hospital. If anybody knows why this is please let me know. i just thought that this was very interesting.

The First chapter of my life

is done and has been for along time. this part of my life was my pre- Amanda chapter. it was good a little gray none the less but i don't have any regrets about my life and how i grew up. and i am also not bitter at anybody about my up bringing. than we get in to the next chapter of my life where i met my beautiful smart endearing Amanda, she changed my life the moment i laid eyes on her as soon as we started dating i knew we were going to get married someday. with her in my life i was no longer depressed and was living life to the fullest. we went to concerts to together started traditions together; we decided from the start that we would never forget about the little things and that these little things would never get in the way of the worldly things around us. like take for example we try to have a date once a week, and i still try to hold the car door open for her when i remember (i have short term memory loss i think!!!!). with out her in my life i would not have done all the things i have accomplished these past 5+ years. i am eagerly waiting for the next challenge we are going to face with one another. maybe well climb Mt. Everest or something. j/k babe. if you were asked this question about the chapters of your life what would they be?

School!!!!!

went back to school for the first time in 2 years and i got to say its brutal. its true what they say if you don't use it you lose it literally. i don't remember allot of certain things but most of the stuff came back like riding a bike. i have to admit that allot of my life experiences have/are going to help me in the long run in school. especially with the homework. have a great day live well love allot laugh often.

an Athlete is an athlete......

No matter what??? is it when you cant run a 400 meters, is it when you can't bench 135 pounds. What about is you can't touch your toes. When are you considered a non athlete? when you receive the diploma in the mail,or should you try and keep this thing going for as long as you can. being an athlete constitutes any number of things like riding a bike playing a team/individual sport, golfing believe it or not. so when do you draw the line if there is a line to be drawn. i have been out of football for 5 years and have kept busy for the most part with other things, am i still considered an athlete. ill be the first to tell you I'm not in football shape but i am in shape to run a half marathon does that constitute as being an athlete. So know does yoga count as being a sport, are you yogathetic than??? let me hear your thoughts.

the Unofficial Five year high school reunion????

Well one of my best friends is getting married next summer which is great. i have the great opportunity to be one of the best men in his wedding. which I'm syked about. willy was in my wedding. the unofficial high school reunion is going to take place at Will's wedding. its not that i don't like the people that i went to high school with some of them just did dumb things and i cant fault them for that. i stated in an earlier post that i spent the better part of six years with these guys. and every single one of them are my friends. i think it will be a great time to catch up and see what everyone is up to or not up to. when all this happens the guy they thought would never get married willy is getting married to a great girl with a good head on her shoulders. so i want to wish the man early wedding bliss before anybody else cause its definitely the ride of a lifetime and I'm always willing to wait in line for this one. and as for the reunion it should be fun as long as harnish and knox do do ranger jacks. it will be an experience of a lifetime.

Sports Monopolies???

I was doing a little bit of research and i decided that most major professional sports are monopolies. (I'm not surprising any of you though am i.) i think sports monopolies are not a good thing for the American public. i think if you love the game than the professional ranks force you to watch what they have on TV whether it's a good product or not. take for example the NBA and the ABA. the ABA really challenged the NBA for ratings back in the 60s and 70s. you also got allot of prominent stars from the ABA like Dr. J, Larry Brown and Moses Malone. there is no competition for the NBA only if Lebron James goes over to Europe for 50 mill. a year. which takes me to my next point the USFL was a far superior league than the NFL it just didn't have the financial stability because the NFL takes the lucrative TV radio deals from the little guys. the USFL instituted the two point conversion and a simple kind of instant replay. this is nothing like the AFL that merged with the NFL they wanted to compete on a different scale and have there schedule run on a march thru June dates. i guess I'm just saying that we need a little more competition between the leagues maybe the AAFL will have better luck than the USFL or for that matter NFL Europe.I just think that we as Americans need a little more competition stimulation in our minds. when it comes to watching and playing sports.

Between a weight and a run????

I am currently training for a half marathon in Virginia beach over labor day. i have not lifted a real weight since i started this silly thing called running. i know that running is good for me but i just don't enjoy it. so i am up for a new challenge in my fitness sector. i want to hit the weights really hard and bulk up with out gaining to much!! its kind of been a nice little vaca... from the pounding of the joints and the the throwing of the weights but i feel like i don't get that good of a workout in if i run. i like that feeling where your right on the verge of going over to the trash can but than your lifting partner tells you its your turn. i long for that once more. if anybody has any good ideas or wants to workout with me at peak let me know.

My Wife

What can I say about my beautiful bride? she is the butter on my bread, and the sweet in my tea. if it was not for her i don't know where I would be in my life right know. she has done so much for me in the past 5+ years that i don't even know where to begin to thank her or repay. she really saved my life emotionally and spiritually (though shell deny that she did) she has made me realize that life is not full of glamor and sunshine but a real life relationship takes dedication and hard work at that. So dont worry im dedicated to you and our relationship. maybe this it the best way to tell her that she is my foundation and to the credit of Andy Griggs she thinks she needs me but the truth is i need her more than she will ever need me. Amanda keeps me grounded and in touch with reality. I have become a better person emotionally and spiritually because we moved to Raleigh together. if we were not together i do not know where I would be at this point in my life. so baby when you read this I just want to say that I love and I owe you ten thousand times over. Have a wonderful day.

My story pt.1

Some of you may know my story some of you may not. well stay tuned and your about to find out. I was born on June 15, 1985 in Cleveland Ohio to my father and mother. i was exactly 2 weeks late and a 10 lb baby (which probably explains a lot). my parents divorced when i was real young i don't remember it. i don't remember a lot of my childhood just Lego's and falling asleep in my height chair. skipping ahead i was never a small kid i was 5'11'' in the fifth grade. i was kind of shy and a loner. i was the brown noser. never played an instrument but did sing in the choir until the beginning of sixth grade when i didn't like it anymore. i was the narrator in the school play in fifth grade. i didn't play sports until middle school. i only saw my dad every two weeks along with my grandma. Christmas we would go out to breakfast to Denny's and than go see a matinee movie than go to my aunts house for Christmas eve dinner. On Christmas eve i would go home to my moms an open one present. middle school i started to play football. it came natural to me especially with only one year of Pop Warner. in 7th grade we went undefeated for the last winning season of my career bummer! my career was good though i played all the positions except k,p, long snapper QB, Center and DB, Wr.. Middle school was a tough time for me. i didn't have a lot of friends but the Friends i did have were great and am still friends with till this day. I kind of felt like i didn't fit in Middle school is a big adjustment period for any body who was unsure about themselves. Everything changed that day in the hallway of our high school though....................................................................................Stay tuned next time for the continuing story of my life.

Pet peeves!!!

Do you have a pet peeve how often does it happen to you? mine happens everyday that i go into a building with an elevator. My pet peeve is when people push the arrow for the elevator when it is already lit and they expect it to come faster because they pushed it again. its not gonna get here faster so chill!! its gonna get here when it is our turn to get on. i have to wait for the elevator a lot with the big cart i carry around so i see this a lot. i used to be that guy until i realized that it doesn't work. though i could tell these people that its not gonna do anything but that would just be to easy. anyway let me know what your pet peeves are. thanks for tuning in. see you next time.

Whats good in your life??

Some of you may know that i drive allot for my job. this requires a little bit of getting up early. but when i get up early i get the opportunity to listen to a sports talk radio show show by the name of The David Stein Show. he is a very wise man in my opinion but he doesn't talk about the sports score or the outcomes of games. David stein talks about Whats good in your life and a celebration of life through sports. well every time i listen to it it makes me think what is good in my life? i have the woman of my dreams at such a young age that's a good thing. we just bought a house together. and we are gonna celebrate 2 wonderful years of marriage together this October. Have you ever celebrated life through sports? like take your son to his first State football game or throw the winning touchdown pass to win state. i have celebrated my life through sports with a bunch of guys whom i called brothers for 6 years those truly were the best years of my life at that point in my journey. in the future i am going to celebrate life through sports with the family we have down in North Carolina.

Bucket List

Amanda and myself enjoyed a really great movie this past weekend (its in the title). with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. the movie was about two older gentleman who were dying and only had about 6 months to live. well they made a list together about things that they wanted to do before they kicked the bucket. Nicholson's' Character was rich so it made it allot easier. so I challenged Myself to think of ten things we wanted to do before we kicked that rusty old thing. I know it doesn't mean as much because we are so young, and as we get older our list is gonna change (drastically) but we thought it would be fun. I know that some of these are a little wacky and even unorthodox but i thought it was interesting to think about it for a while.

My 10 Items:
1. See a major sporting event (Super Bowl or BCS game)
2. Retire on the beach with my wife
3. Vacation to Australia
4. Take a rod trip across country
5. Backpack through the grand canyon and climb a mountain
6. Disney World
7. Vacation to Germany
8. Have beautiful kids
9.Teach kids how to do something (this country or another)
10. live each day with my wife to the fullest.

So know I have shared my thoughts know let me challenge you to think about what you would do before you kicked the bucket.

Earth Hour 2009

Some of you may have gotten an email over the weekend regarding earth hour. DON'T DELETE IT!! this day is very important to global warming and the earth. this event started in 2007 in Australia and has spread through the world. if we turn off our power in our homes for one hour we can reduce the amount of emissions going into the atmosphere.(from http://www.earthhour.org/ About Earth Hour
On March 31 2007, for one hour, Sydney made a powerful statement about the greatest contributor to global warming – coal-fired electricity – by turning off its lights. Over 2.2 million Sydney residents and over 2,100 businesses switched off, leading to a 10.2% energy reduction across the city. What began as one city taking a stand against global warming caught the attention of the world.
In 2008, 24 global cities participated in Earth Hour at 8pm on March 29. Earth Hour is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions on an ongoing basis. It is about simple changes that will collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby.) I cant tell you everything but go check this out. http://www.earthhour.org/ and read additional information. I will be in contact.

Lifes Little Languages

I noticed something very interesting that happened this past weekend when we hosted a dating couple over for dinner. that the way they communicated was totally on a differnet wave length than us. why is it that we all have different languages when we are around different people or places. this is very intriguing to me because you would think that some people wouldnt care what others thought. Why is it that we can understand one anothers code like guy to guy or woman to woman, but we cant understand the others code. that probably where the phrase men are from mars and women are from venus came from. Everybody has a different language but they may hot be so indifferent after all. yeah we all think on our own and we talk on our own but do we decide on our own. not if your married. a married language is totally different than any other language because it pertains to two people joining together in one language and making decisions together. i guess you could say its a joint language. Which is not abad things byany means. the both of you have to think about the pros and cons before you make a decision which is a good thing. so i guess all these little languages are critical to our development to one another.

If you had one chance???

If you had one opportunity to change one thing in your past or present what would it be and why?? If i had one opportunity to change something i dont think that i would change anything at all. Now dont get me wrong my Past isnt all just a bed of roses, in fact if it wasnt for my wonderful wife i dont know where i would be in my life right now. i think that i learned alot from my past that helped me grow up alot and become a man. Back when i was younger i wanted to change my past so bad that i lost focus on the positive that it really brought out in me. i have worked since i was 15 1/2 not only because i wanted to but because i had to. So I learned real early to grow up and that if you want something you have to work for it. I dont think that i would change anything if i had the chance, because when you grow up so early you learn very valuable lessons in life. and you never want to lose sight of that.

What is it about sports????

What is it about sports that makes us all act a little wierd to those who dont participate. Is it the competitive nature of us all or is it deeper than that. when people say it is not about winning it is always about winning (my opinion). Why would i want to play a game of Kickball and not want to win? Of course im out there to have fun and all but i want to win i am a very competitive guy. I am competitive not only in sports but also in my job and in certain areas of my life. call me crazy but i think that alot of us are wired like that in one way or another.when it comes to sports and being competitive i think we have the opportunity to be that guy/girl that is on the kick ball field and cheering there team on even though they are losing 8-5 and not get judged for it. that does something for me not just for me but its a bonding time with your self or your teammates.it is very comforting for me to know that i am hopefully going into battle with someone who shares the same passion as i do. lets go back to high school i played fooball and i was fullback i think about those days when everyone else had summer jobs and having fungoing to the beach and parties. what where me and 50 other guys doing? training for a battle not only on the field but in our minds. you never lose those memories. i went to battle with most of the same guys for the better part of 6 years. yeah we complain and we hated it at the time but we got through it and became a family and men.During those 6 years there was victory, heartache, hardwork and so much respect for each and everyone of us for what we have done. why do people put there selves through hell so they can enjoy it??? i dont know they do but i know why i did. because sports is where its all about. its the one place where you can have differences with another person and still watch the game together. or where historic rivalries are replayed years later. its what you do at the water cooler on monday morning? Sports has a totally different set of rules. maybe that why we like them so much? Because we follow so many rules in life as it is like traffic signals, stop signs, due dates, office visits, deadlines etc..... this way with sports we have an opportunity to let loose and see the glass as half full. thats it for this week. let me hear your thoughts.

Why do they have asterisks * in sports???

Why in the world do they have asterisks in sports. I mean what does the * mean anyway? What the does the public opinion view and what does it say about the record or the milestones that was reached. Correct me if im wrong but doesnt Mr. Roger Maris have an asterisk after his 61st homerun?? why because he had a couple extra games to do it.the game evolves and so does the players do you think roger maris could hit 61 homeruns against eeerrrrrr roger clemens in his prime and in 162 games?? I dont believe that he could. I agree that Barry Bonds should only get an * But only until he is proven innocent. What about the other sports situations that get asterisks but dont deserve them. Houston Rockets: 1994 and 1995 NBA Champions. The point is that Michael Jordan wasn't around in '94, and that he wasn't "all the way back" in '95. So if he wasn't "retired," but just hurt, would you still put the asterisk on it? The Rockets were a very good team in '94, and with the addition of Clyde Drexler, they were a great team in '95, sweeping the Shaq-Penny Orlando Magic. Do the '94 Knicks and '95 Magic get asterisks for beating the Bulls, as both had to in the Playoffs? They shouldn't, and neither should the Rockets. take the new england patriots for example imagine if they never got caught with spygate. than there would be no * but because someone got caught they now have an asterisk on their perfect REGULAR season. but what about the people that are really achieving these milestones clean errrrrr i mean legit. the asterisk i believe will always over shadow the clean anyday of the week.