Steve's Sports Break

Gearing Up For the NBA Playoffs

2009-04-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

The 2009 NBA Playoffs have arrived. This time of year is very exciting if you are an NBA fan. The games get more exciting, the fans get more rowdy, and the teams seem to play at the highest levels of the season. All of this makes for some great game watching and will keep us fans entertained for hours each night over the next 2 months.

The team I will be cheering for and watching closely is the Utah Jazz. I have watched the Utah Jazz from the time I was a small boy. I remember the good old days when Stockton to Malone was the most common phrase in the games the Jazz played. Then there was Thurl Bailey, Mark Eaton, and many other players that would help the Jazz reach the playoffs most years, but would then fail to win the NBA Championship. There were two years where the Jazz made it to the NBA Finals and would play against the formidable Chicago Bulls. This was during the mid-nineties when Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen graced the court and were an unstoppable force. The Jazz lost to the Bulls in both of the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals and would not make it to the Finals again. Not too many years later both John Stockton and Karl Malone would retire with various NBA records, but never getting that coveted Championship ring.

Now, the team has the likes of Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and Ronnie Brewer. The Jazz still make the playoffs like always, but seem to fail each year to make it back to the NBA Finals for a shot at the crown. This year they square off against the almighty Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers boast arguably the most talented, most athletic, best team in the NBA. The Jazz will face the Lakers in a best of 7 series starting Sunday night April 19th. They will need the best games of their lives to make this a competitive series. One thing is for sure, the games will be fierce, fast, and full of energy. Whichever team comes out on top will advance to play against some team in the next series and the loser will be going home. The Jazz don’t have a very good chance, but I will be cheering for them and hoping that they can at least make it a close series.

Go Jazz!

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Service- A Gift to Others

2009-04-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

Spring is upon us with the beauty of the green grass starting to show, the colorful flowers are starting to bloom, and the cool rain showers are leaving the familiar scent in the air that reminds us why we love springtime so much. It is a time of renewal, a time of new life, and it also a time to serve others. Easter has been a time for us to think of our Savior and the gifts that he freely gave us of resurrection and of the atonement. These gifts Jesus gave us are eternal and will last forever. We too must give and freely serve those around us especially during this time of year.

In the Book of Mormon in Mosiah 2:17 we read: And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the bservice of your cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

And in Matthew 25:40 in the Bible we read: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have adone it unto one of the bleast of these my cbrethren, ye have done it unto me.

As we serve others, we are not only serving them, but we are also serving God. If we are to truly be happy and want to show our gratitude for the gifts he has given us, we need to serve others.

Here are some ideas of service that we could do for our neighbors, our family, and anyone around us:

Clean the House: A lot of service can be done in our own homes. Too often we think of a service project as being a large project or one done away from our homes. We need to take time to help those in our own homes and serve them and show them that we truly care about them. A great way to serve is to pick a few extra things to do each week cleaning the house that you normally do not do. Try vacuuming the floors, sweeping the floors, wiping the counters, doing the dishes, dusting the furniture. Get in the habit of doing these extra things each week and enjoy the feelings of the spirit of love and giving while helping your mother or wife. This will make a huge difference in your own life and in the ones you are helping.

Help your neighbor with yard work: We all have neighbors and many of us have neighbors that may have various reasons why they may not be able to keep their yard up during the spring and summer. Take the opportunity to help them right now to prepare their yard for the summer. Help them pull weeds, till their soil, rake debris from their flowerbeds and lawn, prune trees, and anything that they might need. Let them know that you love them and that you want to lend a hand once a month or however often you are able. Your relationship with this neighbor will increase and the joy you gain from serving will motivate you to serve others.

Clean a local park or empty lot area: In each city we live in, we may notice areas that are overgrown with weeds and bushes. Old houses or empty lots, or even parks may suffer due to lack of city funds to support grounds keeping or many places or just abandoned. Call your local city office and ask them regarding a particular place if you have something in mind, or ask them if there is a place that they are aware of that could use some yard cleaning. Get your local church group together or your scout group or even just your family and spend a Saturday afternoon pulling weeds, trimming bushes, painting, digging, moving and making a place that once was an “eye sore” become a place of beauty. You will enjoy the time working with each other knowing that you are making a difference and are serving your community. You will find that your love of where you live will increase in knowing that you are an important part of your town.

Conduct a service auction: Hold an activity in your church group or club and invite members of your church, neighbors, and relatives, and have a service auction. Each person in your group or club will have an idea or 2 in mind for service to give to others. Everyone writes down on a slip of paper the service they would like to donate such as babysitting, a hair cute, pulling weeds, making dinner, etc. Then everyone plays a game to earn points—the games can vary from getting to know you to trivia etc. Each person uses their points to “purchase” a service item from the auction. The service auction is lots of fun because everyone is able to give and get something.

Service is important for our individual growth. Even calling someone on the phone or sending a card could brighten someone’s day. Look for acts of service you can do each day to bring Springtime to your soul.

March Madness Comes to an End

2009-04-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

March of 2009 has come and gone as quickly as the weather changes in Utah. The Madness of the NCAA tournament is coming to an end tonight April 6th on the basketball court in Detroit, Michigan. The Michigan State Spartans will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in what should be an incredible matchup with several NBA prospects taking the floor in what is sure to be an epic battle. North Carolina is heavily favored, but Michigan State will have a favorable crowd and will look to feed off their enthusiasm. The Tar Heels speed and sharp-shooting will square off against the Spartans toughness and relentless rebounding ability in a showdown that will be one for the ages. The road has been long and difficult for these 2 teams, but they survived the madness to earn the right to play in the NCAA Basketball Championship Game to see who is crowned this year’s champion.

This year’s tournament had many maddening moments. One of the most notable being the last second shot by Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds to beat #1 seeded Pittsburgh and send Villanova to the Final Four. Michigan State also surprised many by upsetting the heavily favored Louisville Cardinals to reach the Final Four. As expected Connecticut and North Carolina made their way into the Final Four with wins over Missouri and Oklahoma. Along the way there were many upsets including 12th seeded Western Kentucky over the 5th seeded Fighting Illini of Illinois, 11th seeded Dayton over 6th seeded West Virginia, and my own alma matter Utah State seeded 11th almost pulled off the huge upset over 6th seeded Marquette losing by only 1 point.

My brackets didn’t fare too well in this year’s tournament. I had Pittsburgh winning the Championship this year and they lost in that nail biter to Villanova. My other picks didn’t do as well either. I only picked 1 team right out the Final Four teams remaining in the tournament. I will need to do a better job of scouting and research next year. Or I could try my wife’s method of guessing, which helped her bracket to beat mine in our own little competition. So much for all those nights of studying teams, matchups, and reading all the so-called experts picks. I think next year I might actually try the method a past co-worker of mine once used- heads or tails- with the team called as heads moving on to the next round. I think he probably did better than me that year, too.
Tune in next year in the month of March to start another round of Madness. There are sure to be upsets, nail biters, last second wins, and lots of entertainment. Remember to try your hand at filling out a bracket in next year’s tournament. Just don’t follow my lead by wasting your time studying too much. Many of you might do very well with the heads and tails or the guessing strategies. For me, I will continue to research and study the teams and spend all my extra time listening to the experts only to find myself losing to my wife again.

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Gardening- More than just a Hobby

2009-03-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

I remember as a young man working alongside my father each and every spring in the garden behind my house. My dad had a large garden that extended across the whole backyard behind the lawn area. I could see the excitement in his eyes and in his face as soon as springtime arrived. He would pull out his rusty old tiller, covered in cobwebs, and pull the cord to fire it up. Inevitably, it would take multiple pulls on the cord until it would finally sputter and smoke, and start up.

I still remember watching my dad push that roto-tiller back and forth through the garden while the soil turned from a dusty light, brown color, to a deep rich, dark, moist soil. I remember my dad letting me stand in front of him to help push the tiller while he stood behind me doing most of the work. I am glad my dad let me be part of the gardening experience every year. For me it wasn’t getting the garden prepared as much as it was being with my dad, working hard together and accomplishing something worthwhile. My dad instilled this love of gardening and hard work into me at an early age and it is still there.

I now have a wonderful wife and three kids of my own and often wonder how Dad had the patience and energy to work on that garden year in and year out. My wife grew up with parents who enjoyed gardening as well so we share our love of this hobby together. Over the years, I have felt that gardening has been more of a hobby than a way of necessity, but with the struggling economy, and the problems with produce being tainted with numerous pesticides, gardening has taken on a new importance in my life as well as for my family. Gardening is more than just a hobby, it is an enjoyable way to live healthy and enjoy the independence of growing your own food.

Not everyone grew up having the space or the time to grow a garden. Many people live in the city which can make it difficult to grow a large garden. As a child I couldn’t imagine not having a garden. For me it was a way of life and imbedded into the lifestyle of my family and where we lived. I grew up in Southern Utah County out in the country and enjoyed the vast openness of alfalfa fields and large cattle farms. Although I was in an area where we had the space for a large garden, those that do not, can still have smaller gardens of their own. Many people set up little garden boxes in their backyard and plant tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, and other items. They can still enjoy the fresh vegetables and fruits that they have grown themselves. Be creative and find ways to grow your garden in big or small spaces.

There is great satisfaction in growing a garden. It takes time and energy to prepare the soil, as I did with my father every spring, plant the seeds, water on a regular basis, remove the weeds, harvest the crop, and clean out the leftover dead vines and plants when the garden is done growing for the year. There is great joy in the knowledge that you have helped in growing this garden. You will enjoy the wonderful taste of homegrown vegetables and fruits year after year as you plant and care for your garden.

Nothing compares to the juicy taste of a sun-ripe tomato picked seconds ago off the vine or the crunch as you sink your teeth into a freshly shucked yellow sweet cob of corn slathered in butter. One of my daughters loves to eat fresh peas out of the garden. As I look down and watch her eating those peas and see the delight in her face, I remember why I love to plant a garden and why I love to have my children right beside me while I do it. Each year as I prepare my own garden, I reflect back on those sunny spring afternoons with my own dad and know that a garden is more than just a hobby, it’s a way of life.

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The 2009 NCAA Tournament 1st Round

2009-03-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited NCAA tournament has begun this past weekend. The 1st round of the tournament took place on Thursday and Friday. Games began at 10am and ended at about 11pm each night. There have been a few big upsets and close games and small college heroes. I stayed up each night enjoying the games and sitting on the edge if my seat for most of them.

The Utah teams didn’t fare so well in this tournament. BYU played Texas A&M, Utah played Arizona, and Utah State played Marquette and each of them lost.

BYU played first on Thursday morning facing the Aggies of Texas A&M. The Cougars were cold at the start not being able to hit very many of their shots. Texas A&M on the other hand was hot and got off to a good start. The combination of these two factors put BYU in a hole early and they were never able to recover. Texas A&M was bigger, more athletic, and just a better all around team than BYU. The Cougars tried to recover in the 2nd half and as close as 8 points at one time, but the Aggies hit a couple of 3 point shots to stop BYU’s run. The final score was Texas A&M 79 BYU 66.

Utah State played their game against Marquette on Friday morning. The first half was not good for Utah State, just like BYU’s game. The Aggies were unable to hit many shots and Marquette took an early lead in the first half. Utah State came out in the second half and played like a different team. They were making their shots, played a strong zone defense, and made this game a great finish. The Aggies held in there with Marquette until the very end where they trailed by 1 point and barely missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left for the win. Utah State played tough, but lost to Marquette by a score of 58-57.

The University of Utah played against the Arizona Wildcats on Friday night. The Utes were unable to hold in there with the Wildcats. Arizona was just too physical, too big, and too fast for the Utah Utes. Utah’s big man, Luke Nevill, got in foul trouble early and was taken out of the game early. Utah lost to Arizona by a score of 84-71.

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Brackets and Basketball

2009-03-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

It’s official, March Madness has finally arrived and will be here to stay for the next 3 weeks. These 3 weeks will be filled full of awesome basketball games, intriguing story lines, incredible upsets, fantastic finishes, buzzer beaters, great announcers (Gus Johnson), and “Cinderella” stories. I look forward for these 3 weeks all year long and love to see the day when the brackets are released.

On Sunday March 15th the field of 65 teams for the NCAA tournament will be announced and where they will be seeded along with whom, where, and when they will be playing. 32 games are planned to be played at various locations throughout the US on Thursday March 19th and Friday March 20th for what constitutes the 1st round of the tournament. The second round will feature the winners playing each other on Saturday March 21st and Sunday March 22nd to take the field of 64 teams down to the “Sweet Sixteen” teams. These teams play each other until they get to the “Elite Eight”, the “Final Four”, and then the Championship game to see who is crowned the champions of NCAA Division I basketball.

Each year I fill out a bracket for the tournament, which for those who don’t know is basically the format of all the games to be played in the first round. You start with all the games in the first round and then you guess the winners of that round and write in those teams and then keep guessing the games until all t first round projected winners are determined. You then take all of these teams and project the winners for the second round and so on until you reach the final round which is the 6th round. You gain points by picking games correctly and the higher the rounds the bigger the points earned. You then join with a group of other players and compete against one another.

If you have never filled out a bracket and watched the tournament then you need to try it this year. It is easy to do, lots of fun, and puts much more excitement into the games that are on.

If you do try filling out a bracket this year, here a few of my own personal tips to help you do well (and if you’re lucky, maybe even win in your group):

Decide if you want to be serious or a casual “bracketeer”. I am very serious and my wife doesn’t even know half of the teams. This will help you decide how much time or effort you want to put into filling out the bracket.
Most of the time the Final Four teams will be the 1 or 2 seeded teams. I usually pick these teams to be in the Final Four and to be the Champion. Your odds are better by doing this.
Look at who the experts and analysts are picking to win and then formulate your own ideas and opinions. This really makes it fun and interesting when you have put time and energy into picking winners and you get a bunch right.
Pick upsets. The most exciting thing to do in the brackets is to pick pretty big upsets like 12 over 5 seed and 13 over 4 and then watch it really happen.

Sharpen your pencils, print out a bracket, sit in your easy chair, turn on your big screen TV, and prepare to see why they refer to it as “March Madness”.

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Spring Time Activities

2009-03-06T20:13:00.000-08:00

Spring is right around the corner and day light savings is already here. After spending the last 4 winter months inside watching the TV and lounging around, it’s time to get outside and enjoy the beautiful spring weather. If you live in Utah you might laugh at the idea of spring weather because many years it snows until May and I remember one time it snowed in June. Spring has a lot of variety in the weather patterns so you need to take advantage of the 60 and 70 degree days. They will come and go all through the next 3 months. We need to plan ahead what kind of work to do and also what kind of activities and fun we can have for this time of year.

As much I despise working, I know it is essential and spring is a great time to put on those work gloves and get outside and enjoy the weather while working.

Here are some jobs that you can work on during the spring:

Prune the fruit trees. I learned that this can be a big job, but it isn’t so bad when the weather is nice. Be sure to brush up on some pruning tips on the internet and sharpen your pruners. This will help your trees yield a bigger and better crop.

Prepare your garden soil. To help your garden grow better this year, try putting some turkey manure or new soil in and mix it into the existing soil. It is good to use a roto-tiller to churn up and soften the soil and get it all ready to plant your seeds. A good portion of how well your garden grows depends on the time and preparation you put into the soil.

Plant flowers. Late March and early April are the perfect time to start planting your flower beds. Check various websites on the internet for the best varieties to plant. You can also buy flowers at your local nurseries where they can also offer advice on flower planting. Flowers will brighten up your yard and house.

Life can’t be all work and no play. Here are a couple of ideas for activities that you can try this spring:

Fly a kite. Flying kits is a lot of fun for kids and adults. Go outside with your kids on a windy day and help them get the kite up in the air (It seems harder to do as you get older). Try buying some of the more fancy kites and have fun flying them. They have some pretty cool ones now days.

Go for a walk. This seems like a simple activity, but the fresh air and exercise will be very fun and give you more energy. Your children will like being outside and being together as a family. Walk around the block or to a local park to play. The main point is being outside together.

Play Sports. I put up a basketball hoop this past fall and my 5 year old daughter loves to play already. It is fun for the kids and adults. You can also try football, Frisbee, and baseball.

Spring time is a great time of year. Go outside and enjoy the warm days. Get some yard work done. Play some games with the kids. When it rains and snows stay inside and hunker down in the basement watching basketball or movies.

Do anything you can to avoid the dreaded spring cleaning in the house.

yourLDSneighborhood has added exciting new things to its website. Please drop by and take a look, browse around, check out our vendors, our radio station, our authors, our musicians and more. Check out the Neighborhood. And while you're there, subscribe to the yourLDSneighborhood Newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources and interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

March Madness is Finally Here

2009-02-27T07:54:00.000-08:00

March is one of my favorite months of the year. Winter is finally winding down and the weather is heating up; I’m able to work and play outside more; the days are getting longer; and my favorite part is the NCAA College Basketball Tournament that takes place in mid-late March. If you have never followed or experienced a NCAA basketball tournament or filled out brackets, you are missing out on one of the most exciting sports events of the year. It is now March 2nd and in 2 weeks the teams that will make the tournament will be revealed. This is when the madness really starts up.

College Basketball is fun to watch all year long, but in March is when the games truly matter. Each college belongs to a conference with several other colleges where their sports teams compete with each other. In college basketball at the end of the season (which is in late Feb), the conference tournaments begin. The teams compete within their respective conferences to see who the conference champion will be. In many of the smaller conferences this winner is the only team that will go to the “Big Dance” (nickname for the NCAA tournament). In the larger, more popular conferences, they usually send 3 or 4 teams depending on their records and strength of schedule. All of these teams comprise the field of 65 teams that will make up the tournament. It was 64 teams, but was changed a few years ago to 65, which means there is one game that takes place before the rest of the games that determines which of 2 teams will be part of the field of 64. The 65 teams going to the tournament will be unveiled on Sunday March 15th this year. It is usually the 2nd or 3rd Sunday in March. Like I mentioned above, once these teams are announced on Sunday March 15th at 4pm MST, the madness has officially started.

If you know what brackets are, then you probably have filled them out for an NCAA tournament before. Once the teams are announced a bracket is created. This bracket is posted on all the major sports websites like CBSsports.com, SportsIllusrtated.com, etc… Each year I go in on that Sunday night and print out a few brackets and fill them out with which team I think will win. There are 6 total rounds which take the field of 64 down to a final team which is the NCAA champion. I study and read articles and spend many hours making sure my bracket has all the right picks. I usually join a couple of groups or pools to have a competition to see who gets the most picks right. It makes the games exciting and fun to watch.

The best part about the Madness is that every year there are huge upsets, last second winning shots, “Cinderella” teams that are winning game after game that they aren’t supposed to, overtime games, and all other kinds of things that will drive you mad if you are a sports fan and are watching your bracket slowly go to waste. So roll up your sleeves, sharpen that pencil, and be prepared because the Madness begins in less than 2 weeks.

Here are a couple of clips from game winning baskets over the years in the tournaments to get you excited:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_8z4uEGGls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAYiG3v60tA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpFOQXIvoLY

yourLDSneighborhood has added exciting new things to its website. Please drop by and take a look, browse around, check out our vendors, our radio station, our authors, our musicians and more. Check out the Neighborhood. And while you're there, subscribe to the yourLDSneighborhood Newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources and interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Making the Most out of Family Home Evening

2009-02-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Families are what matters most in our lives, but we seem to be so busy each day that we don’t spend the amount of time needed to teach and play with our children. There are probably many men (and women) that work jobs from 8-5 where they only see their children for a few hours in the evening. We need to make sure these few hours aren’t wasted on mindless and non-interactive activities. A perfect way to share some quality time is to set aside our Monday nights for a family night or as a Family Home Evening as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints refers to this night.

Family Home Evening can be an opportunity to share our time with our spouses, children, and possibly other relatives. This is a chance for us to focus our time and energy one night a week on teaching and playing with our children. Many of us grew up with the basic format of family home evening: having a prayer, song, lesson, and treat. I have a lot of fond memories of family home evening at my house. My Mom and Dad taught us not only gospel and righteous principles, but also many other ideas and lessons that would help us succeed as we grew older. My Dad taught us about money, how to be self sufficient, how to plant a garden, and how to work hard. My Mom taught us how to cook, clean the house, and how to always treat everyone with love and kindness. I am thankful my parents taught me the teachings of Christ and also the lessons of living happy and being successful.

Just as my parents made this family night special for me as a child, I want to do the same for my children and small family. I have 2 young daughters and 1 baby boy. It can be difficult to hold a formal family evening. The girls love to say prayers and sing church songs while Mom plays the piano. My wife usually teaches the girls with a felt story about one of the many scripture stories from the Bible or Book of Mormon. This is often a struggle for my 3 year old, but my 5-year old listens very intently and has great memory retention. We often read out of the Friend church magazine, too.

At times this process is very frustrating and many times have been tempted to skip family home evening, but as we realize that the most important part of family home evening is being with the family, we start to realize that it is alright if it becomes chaotic and we can’t get through the lesson. Our girls and baby boy know that we love them, value them, and want to see them be happy and succeed in life by spending one night completely devoted to them.

The way we can get the most out of our Family Home Evenings is to first of all hold them every week-no exceptions. Make this night the top priority of the week and let the children know that this night is special.
Second, we need to be sure we have the Spirit with us as we start the Family Home Evening. We need to get in a spiritual mode long before we meet to start family night. How we feel and our spiritual feelings during Family Home Evening will rub off on our children and will help them know this is a special night where they can feel loved and feel safe. This creates a better learning environment and will invite the Spirit of Christ into your home.
Third, don’t get too caught up in the lesson aspect of the family night, especially if you have small children. It is difficult for them to sit still very long and they like more interactive teaching where possible.
Fourth, always prepare some activity or game that can help reinforce your lesson and also prepare them a small treat or snack at the end.
Last, reinforce to each of your children that you love them and are thankful for them. Spend a few minutes while you eat your snacks pointing out things you like about each child. Make them feel valued with lots of praise. Too often during the week we get after our children and discipline them. This is a great time to show love, praise, and point out detailed talents or things you love about your child. This very well may be the most important part of the whole night.

Make your family nights special. Follow the tips above and watch children thrive in school, their personal lives, and everything they do. It is amazing what families can do together when they share one night a week teaching and sharing love with each other.

yourLDSneighborhood has added exciting new things to its website. Please drop by and take a look, browse around, check out our vendors, our radio station, our authors, our musicians and more. Check out the Neighborhood. And while you're there, subscribe to the yourLDSneighborhood Newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources and interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Dreams Really Do Come True

2009-02-12T21:47:00.000-08:00

On August 28th, 1963 a certain man named Martin Luther King Jr. stood at a pulpit in Washington D.C. and started his speech with the famous words “I have a dream”. His speech was considered one of the most famous and most notable in all of history. We all know the rest of this story—how the blacks were given more rights and were finally really treated as equals to the whites. His speeches along with the help of countless other great leaders, including Rosa Parks, went on to spark a movement that would help bring equality to all mankind. Martin Luther saw his dream fulfilled.

There are countless other stories where dreams have come true. I would like to share a few others. A couple of these stories you can read about in my past blogs. One is the story of a young man named Jason McElway. You can ready my blog about him by clicking on this link . Jason suffers from autism and is the basketball manager for a high school team. I am sure Jason dreamed many times of being the basketball star for his team and in my blog you will read the story of how he was able to fulfill his dreams. The story is incredible-be sure to read it again, if you have already heard or read about it.

Another story of a person fulfilling their dreams is the awesome story of Rick Hoyt and his father Dick. You can read this past blog of mine by clicking on this link . This is one of my favorite videos of all time. It is a tear-jerker and an inspirational video that will give you the inspiration to fulfill your own dreams. Rick was born disabled and is unable to talk or walk or do much of anything other than sit in his wheelchair all day every day. I am certain that he had countless dreams of being able to walk, talk, and just move around on his own. His father Dick made his dreams come true by taking him on his Ironman triathlons. He had Rick sit in a canoe while he swam pulling it, set up a place for him to sit in a cart that was connected to his bike, and ran while pushing the wheelchair in front of him. It is truly an awe inspiring story and video that will leave you in tears.

The 3 people I have described above all had their dreams come true. They had a dream and a vision of what they wanted to do and it eventually happened. We all have dreams, some big and some small. My wife is a big dreamer. She dreamed that she would have a book published and she is having her first book published this June. She dreamed that she would go to college and get a degree and she did. She dreamed that she would find a handsome young and intelligent man to marry and she most certainly did. She has many other dreams as do I. One of mine is to buy and run my own bed and breakfast in a beautiful place somewhere in the western U.S. I want to cook for the guests and do the yard work and make it a wonderful place for people to come and get away from life. This is my dream and just like the ones I mentioned above, who have fulfilled their dreams, I really want to fulfill mine.

Here is one last video to watch about dreams. So get to work and make your dreams come true because they really do. Click here

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Valentine’s Day Fun for Kids

2009-02-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

Valentine’s Day is this week and I am sure many of us adults have plans to go out that night to celebrate our love for one another. I hope you gathered some great ideas from my last blog. Most of us will be taking our children to a babysitter or will invite one over to take care of our kids. Valentine’s Day is not only a time to show our love for our spouses but should also be a time to show our love for our children. I’m not suggesting you take your children on your date, but to spend some time doing various activities with them during the week of Valentine’s.

Here are several fun ideas to make your children’s Valentine’s week special and show your love for them:

Make Valentine’s Cookies

Spend a night during the week before the 14^th and make a batch of sugar cookie dough and have your kids help you cut out shapes of hearts, lips, cupid, and other valentine’s shapes. I found various cookie cutters at the local grocery store for only a few dollars. Make pink, red, and white frosting to decorate the cookies and top with sprinkles, candy hearts, and other valentine candies. The kids will have a lot of fun and you can take some to their friends and some to their class at school.

Valentine’s Treasure Hunt

I did this idea 2 years ago and the kids loved it. I placed Valentine notes throughout the house and had different gifts with each note until they found the main treasure where I had red and pink balloons and new Valentine pajamas. They loved going from one place to the next and finding candy, little toys, and various prizes throughout the house. The kids still remember that Valentine’s Day. They knew they were special and that Mom and Dad loved them.

Make Homemade Valentine’s Card

Spend a night before Valentine’s and have your kids make homemade cards for their Mom and/or Dad and even have them make cards for their grandparents or other close relatives. Kids love to make things for other people. My five year old,Gracie, is living proof of this. She loves to draw pictures and make different things for us and also for her grandmas and grandpas. Get some construction paper in red, pink, and white colors. Let the kids draw pictures on them, write Happy Valentine’s Day, and have them cut out hearts and place them on the card. Place glue stick on the card in different Valentines shapes and then shake sprinkles on this area and shake off the excess. Your kids will love making these different crafts and will also cherish the time they are spending with you.

Have a Valentine’s Party

Every year my mom invites all of the grandkids over to her house to decorate Valentine boxes, make cookies, and make cards. The kids look forward to this party each year and have fun playing with their cousins and making neat boxes to put their Valentines in. My mom always makes a big batch of cookies beforehand and has the kids help cut the shapes, bake the cookies, and then frost and decorate them. My mom loves this time with the grandkids and the kids like being together and with their grandma. You can invite your own children’s cousins over or friends and neighbors to have a similar party at your own house.

Valentine’s is a fun holiday for kids and adults. Take the time to make your children’s Valentine’s Day a little more special this year and let them know how much you love them and want to spend time with them doing fun things. Create fun memories that your children will remember their whole lives. Most important is to make sure they know you love them more than anything.

Here is a little music video that I found about children. Enjoy. Billy Dean--Let Them Be Little

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ17tutZtd8

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Romantic Ideas for your Valentine

2009-01-29T19:54:00.000-08:00

February is the month for romance. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and most of us men need some ideas to bring some excitement into our spouse’s lives. When most people think of Valentine’s Day and romance they think of flowers, candy, eating out, jewelry, etc… These things are fun (I am sure most women wouldn’t turn them away) but I think most women also crave something more creative and thoughtful.

Here are some Valentine’s Day ideas that will help you men out there catch your wives’ attention and make her wonder where her husband has gone:

1. Do housework for her the entire week before Valentine’s

Starting on Feb 7^th every night you get home (or during the day) do a household cleaning chore that you usually don’t do. Try washing the dishes, vacuuming, mopping the floors, clean the microwave, clean out the fridge, vacuum in the couch, do that little job you have been putting off for weeks (or months in my case), or any other little job that would help your wife out. Be sure to do a little job every night for 7 days. Your wife will be amazed and will find your gift of service much better and more satisfying than roses or candy. After each night you complete a special job leave a little children’s Valentine’s card by that area and let her know how much you appreciate that she does this job all year long and that you really love her for all she does.

2. Plan a mini vacation the weekend right around Valentine’s Day

Take the time to book a hotel, plan the meals, and plan something fun to do for a night away from home and the kids (if you have any). The mini vacation doesn’t have to be far or expensive. The point is to have some alone time together to be able to talk and to show your spouse that you really care for her. You can make it a surprise for her by not giving away any details other than; you are going somewhere for the night and to get packed. In most of our mundane lives a little excitement and suspense even for one night can mean a lot.

3. Plan a Special Night at Home on Valentine’s Night

Send the kids to Grandma’s or a baby sitter on the night of Feb 14^th and make your wife her favorite dinner. You can pull out the candles, special dishes, and create your own little candle lit dinner. You can turn on some soft music and after eating show her that you can still dance (well, maybe some of us still can). Make her feel special by planning all the little details and be sure to watch her favorite movie when you are done eating and dancing. She will be impressed with the work you have put into this special occasion and after eating your cooking will be happy to be the one who cooks for the family in the future.

4. Take your wife to the Temple

One of our favorite dates has been going to the temple together. On Valentine’s Night is a great time to take your wife to show that you value your eternal marriage and she will love you for taking her. Just be sure to go out for ice cream or a treat afterwards to complete the special night together.

5. Plan a “Blast from the Past” Date

Take your wife on a date similar to one you went on when you began dating. Play the same music in the car as you drive to a restaurant that you have been to before. Be sure to open the door for her and give her lots of attention the entire night. Think of how you acted when you were dating and try to re-live that moment. Take her to a movie or bowling or something similar that maybe you haven’t done since you were dating or first married. Ask her out with an invitation that you make yourself. Bring flowers to her when you get ready to take her out. Ask if you can hold her hand and later on if you can give her a kiss. See if she can figure out what you are doing. It will make your Valentine’s night a lot of fun and re-living the memories will make it very special for her.

6. “Happiness in Sixty Seconds” Idea

This is an idea I read about a long time ago and have used it on my wife a few times in the past. Write/type at the top of a paper “Happiness in Sixty Seconds” and write “when you need a lift and something to brighten your day, read this paper and it will bring happiness to you in sixty seconds.” Then proceed to list numbers 1 thru 60 on your paper. Start at number 1 and list something that you like about your spouse like “I love your beautiful smile- it makes my day”. Then go to number 2 and write something else like “I love the way you cry during old movies”. List 60 different things. Here a few more ideas- “I love to kiss you in the morning before I go to work”; “I love how you are so stubborn and determined”; “I love to hear your beautiful laughter after my jokes”. This can be hard at first to think of ideas, but then once you get going the ideas really start to come fast. My wife and I have made each other lists like these and have looked at them many times and it always brings a smile to our faces.

Make this year’s Valentine’s Day special. Treat your wife special. Do fun things with her. Listen to her. Let her know you care.

If you women need an idea for your men you might just want to stick to the candy idea.

Throwing a Super Party for the Super Bowl

2009-01-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl is days away and the only thing more important than the game itself is planning and throwing an awesome Super Bowl party. This year the game will be between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburg Steelers. It will feature one of the top offenses in the league and the top defense in the league. The game will surely be a good one to watch. With the most popular event in the TV watching world on tap, all you need is a plan for a party to match it.

The most important part of any party is the food. Make sure and have plenty of it and have it all ready for when the game starts so you don’t get stuck in preparations during the kickoff or first few plays of the game. My favorite menu for the Super Bowl has always been home made subway sandwiches. I go to the store the day before the game and purchase some large Kaiser rolls or other large soft sandwich buns found fresh in the local grocery store’s bakery department.

Once you have picked your bread, make your way over to the deli to pick out either ham, turkey, or roast beef and have them slice it to your liking. I like mine sliced slightly thicker than regular sandwich slices. I like honey ham, smoked turkey, and Italian roast beef. If you don’t have any cheese at home, get some in the deli, too. Try Pepper Jack cheese, provolone, or Swiss cheese for a change of pace from regular cheddar (avoid the pre-sliced/packaged Kraft cheese slices). Purchase lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, banana peppers, and jalapenos (for extra kick) to top off your subway sandwich. When you are in the process of making your sandwich on Super Bowl Sunday, add oregano, salt, pepper, and vinegar and oil to add that extra bit of flavor. Then add mayo, miracle whip, and/or spicy mustard.

Now that your sandwich is taken care of, you need to buy the snacks and drinks to compliment your meal. Choose your favorite chips- mine is Salt and Vinegar potato chips and Lime flavored Tostitos. Purchase some dip for your chips or purchase the ingredients to make your dip. I always buy avocados and guacamole dry mix to make guacamole dip for the Tostitos. I also buy a variety of nuts including honey roasted peanuts, cashews, and almonds to snack on. For drinks, I usually just drink water, but popular drinks are soda and juices. Make sure the drinks are cold and there is plenty of ice. Salty snacks and cold drinks are a great combination. Make sure you have plenty of treats, too. M&M’s, cookies, ice cream, and candy are great to break out during halftime after you have had a chance to devour your subways and snacks.

Ask your friends, relatives, and even co-workers to come to your party. Let them know the time, your address, and anything you would like them to bring. When setting up your TV room for the big party set up lots of chairs, sofas, bean bags, tables (for the snacks and food), and TV trays. I have been to a few parties many years ago where there was hardly anywhere to sit. Plan your invite list according to how big your TV room is and also how big your TV is so that all those who come can get a good view of the game.

The party should be lots of fun if you invite the right people. You need the die hard football fans (like myself) so you can really get into the game, but you also need those cute girls who don’t know what a first down is (like my wife) to provide comic relief for the die hard fans. If the food is good, if you have a nice TV, and the game is close, then it will be an awesome party. Don’t forget the commercials either because those cute girls need something they can understand.

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The grand-daddy of sports: The Super Bowl

2009-01-19T20:26:00.000-08:00

The Super Bowl is the largest single annual event in the sporting world. Last year’s match up between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants had 130-140 million people tune into the game at one time or another. The Super Bowl is more than a football game; it’s a chance to get together with friends, watch the Super (expensive) commercials, eat good food, and watch the best teams in the NFL face off in the biggest sports battle in the World. The storylines will be plenty, the commercials will be talked about all night, and 2 great football teams will square off for 60 minutes in the biggest and best game of the year.

This year’s Super Bowl features the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. There are many interesting story lines this year that will make this game intriguing to watch starting with the fact that the Cardinals have not been to a championship in about 60 years. If you are looking for an underdog then the Arizona Cardinals would be the team you want to cheer for this year. Another storyline is the re-emergence of the Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner. Warner played for 5 years for the St. Louis Rams and was highly successful being voted as the league MVP for 2 out of the 5 years. He also took the Rams to, and won, Super Bowl XXXIV. Warner was released by the Rams and signed by the Giants where he struggled before going to the Cardinals where he had played average until this year where he broke out of his slump and had an excellent year leading his team to this year’s Super Bowl,

The final storyline, and probably the most interesting, has to do with the coaches. When Bill Cowher (head coach) retired from the Steelers 2 years ago, it was speculated that the offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, would take his place as the next head coach. The Steelers had other plans and decided to hire Mike Tomlin instead. Tomlin at the time was the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings. Once Tomlin was hired he chose not to retain Whisenhunt or the defensive coordinator Russ Grimm, who was also a strong candidate for the Steelers head coaching job. Whisenhunt was subsequently offered the head coaching job for Arizona and he hired Grimm as his defensive coordinator. The Arizona coaching staff now meets up against their former team and the coach who came in to Pittsburgh and stole what they thought should have been theirs in the biggest game of all. This scenario will provide for very interesting interviews and discussions among players, coaches, media, and fans during the 2 weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. It may also provide that extra motivation for the Arizona Cardinals team.

The Cardinals boast a high-powered offense with a strong veteran quarterback in Kurt Warner with one of the best up and coming receivers in the league in Larry Fitzgerald. The Steelers bring to the table one of the all-time best defenses with James Harrison and James Farrior leading a fierce attack at the linebacker positions, and Troy Polamalu providing hard hits from the strong safety position. The Steelers will look to shut down the Cardinals aerial attack and the Cardinals will look to take it straight into the teeth of the Steelers defense and show the Steelers who’s boss.

Will the Cardinals win with Kurt Warner slinging the ball down the field or will the Steelers smash the Cardinals into submission- Tune in Feb 1^st at 4pm to find out.

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The Jazz Look Inconsistent and the Cougars Continue to Win

2009-01-16T16:26:00.000-08:00

The Utah Jazz split this past week with one win and one loss. The Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers on January 12th by a score of 120-113. Mehmet Okur scored a career high of 43-points in this game. It is a good sign to see him coming alive as of this past week with the recent injury to Paul Milsap and Carlos Boozer with his injury. Deron Williams continues to impress with his shooting and passing ability. The Jazz are finding themselves relying more on Williams and the supporting roles of Okur, Brewer, and Korver over the last few weeks due to injuries.

The Jazz lost to Oklahoma City 114-93 on January 14th. Oklahoma City was one of the bottom feeders of the league and the Jazz blew this game that they should have won. Deron Williams scored 25 points to lead the team. The Jazz were outrebounded by 48-26 rebounds. The Jazz continue to struggle in this area due to Boozer and Milsap missing games from injuries.

I have tickets to the Jazz game on January 24th against Cleveland Cavaliers. The game should be exciting to watch considering “King” Lebron James is one of the premiere basketball talents in the country. The Jazz have been very inconsistent this year and may or may not beat the Cavaliers. The Cavs have only lost 7 games this year and the Jazz have lost 16. I am sure the Delta Center will be rocking and ready for this big game, but I think if the Jazz want to pull off this win they will need either Carlos Boozer or Paul Milsap, or it would be best to have both on the court.

The Cougars look very good this year and have only lost 2 games against ranked opponents- Arizona St (20th at the time) and Wake Forest (6th at the time). They started their conference play this past week with games against Colorado St and TCU. The Cougars beat up Colorado St by a score of 86-60 on January 10th. Lee Cummard led all scorers with 18 points and Jimmer Fredette had 15 points. The Cougars won this game by a good offensive effort and a great defensive game against Colorado State.

BYU then played against TCU on January 13th and again put in an impressive performance beating the Horned Frogs by a score of 73-61 with Cummard again leading the way with 22 points. Jonathan Tavarnari put in 15 and Jimmer Fredette added 11 points and 6 assists. BYU held TCU to a low 61 points showing their defensive prowes in their first 2 conference games.

BYU looks good this year and should be able to continue rolling through the Mountain West Conference. Their biggest rival is coming up in the University of Utah on January 27th. If BYU can beat the U of U this year then they should easily coast through the conference and should be able to make noise in the March NCAA tournament.

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Bad Things Happen to Good People

2009-01-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

My car broke down on the way to work this morning and then while we were towing it to a mechanic the battery went dead. The whole time I caught myself thinking; why is this happening to me? I have gone through this scenario far too many times, as I’m sure nearly all of us have at one time or another and in one situation or another. I have learned that bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, but that also good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. The one constant in all of this is that “things happen”.

We always hear the saying “why do bad things happen to good people?” I dare say that there have been many more good things which have happened to those good people than their memory can recall at the time something bad happens. For example, my car has been very reliable for many years and has had nearly no issues at all, but as soon as it breaks down on the way to work I quickly ask the Lord “why is this happening?” and become angry at the situation. I would be better served to thank my Father in Heaven that this was a minor breakdown and that he has allowed the car to run so well for so long.

We all face different situations daily that could be classified as bad or good. We can learn different things from every situation regardless of it being good or bad. My wife and I purchased a house a few years ago and after living there for a year there was a major accident where our hose broke while we were out of town and leaked through our basement, flooding our carpet, and ruining a lot of things in the basement. While replacing the carpet and fixing part of a wall that got soaked at the bottom, we noticed that our house had termites in it. We were able to get it treated and taken care of, but without this major “bad” incident of the flooded basement, we would have never known the problems our house may have had in the future. We were thanking our Heavenly Father when we found the termites that something bad happened to us allowing us to find out something that would save our house. The next time something bad happens, think of the possibilities that might have happened had your bad luck not stopped you or slowed you down.

Having something bad happen can also be good because it presents an opportunity for someone else to serve, give charity, or even say their prayers. How often have we been in a situation where we need someone’s help and a neighbor, a friend, or a relative is able to help? Have we thought about the impact this might have on their life? The one giving the service and helping will be blessed while helping you out and blessing your life. Therefore 2 blessings have developed because of a bad situation.

I helped someone recently with a flat tire on the side of the freeway. It was an older man and his wife and I could see that they were having trouble. I pulled over and found out the wrench they had did not fit the lug nuts on the tire they were changing. I retrieved mine and it fit their size and I was able to help them get on their way. The couple was from out of town and was going to Arizona to get cancer treatment for the wife. They were extremely grateful for my help and this left me feeling very good about myself that I stopped. I went home happier that day and probably helped my wife a little more that night making her able to complete something she wanted and helping her to feel better. I might have played with the kids a little bit longer, helping them to feel happier. The couple going to Arizona was thankful to have the stress of changing the tire removed and probably felt a little better about life because I stopped to help out. All of this came about because something like a flat tire happened to a very nice couple. Today my dad helped me out with my car. He gave me a tow to the local garage shop. It took a couple hours of his day to help me out. I know he felt good for helping me. I felt better that I could have someone to help me out and that I could get the car in the shop. All of this because, again, something bad happened to good people.

So the next time someone says “Why do bad things happen to good people?” be sure and tell them that something far better and far-reaching will come because of it. Don’t stress too much the next time something happens. Try to think of all the good that will come out of the situation and also think of the opportunities that will be presented to others. God loves us. He wants us to learn. He sometimes has to allow things to happen to us to help us to learn patience, love, long-suffering, and most of all to trust the Lord in all things whether they be good or bad.

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Budgeting Money; an Essential Tool in Today’s Economy

2009-01-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

Creating and following a well thought-out budget is essential with the slow economy that we are facing today. With a recession going on right now, and talk of a depression on the horizon, the only sure way to handle the financial pressures is to create a budget for the money that you work hard to earn every day.

Money is a limited resource. Most of us will claim that we don’t have enough of it, although the reality is that we have plenty of it and don’t know how to use self control and thriftiness to save it. Go and visit with anyone who lived during the Great Depression and they will let you know that all of us have plenty of money. We just need to gain knowledge to know how to control our money and the wisdom to use what we have learned.

The basic tool of controlling your money is to create a budget. This has been talked about for many, many years, and can be found in countless books, but many of us fail to take the time to sit down and create a thorough, well thought-out budget.
I have a 5-step guide to help you create a budget that will help you to track expenses better, spend less money, and take control of your finances. Remember that it doesn’t matter as much how much money you make, what matters more is how it is spent.

1. List all of your income resources at the top of a spreadsheet by month.
Listing your income and where it comes from will show what amount of money is flowing into your pool of money. Your stream of income may be little or may be small or you may have multiple streams going into your pool. It helps to actually draw a picture of a pool with a big stream going into it for the main income and smaller for other income sources. You can then get the idea that your pool is filling up with water/money.

2. List all of your regular monthly expenses a couple of lines below the income lines.
Listing your expenses will not only show how much expense you have going out it will also show you areas that are fixed or are variable. Fixed expenses may be mortgage payments, phone bill (unless you have teenagers), utilities bill, insurance, etc. Variable expenses might be food items, grocery bill, electric bill, etc…
Now go back to your picture of the pool with your nice streams filling it up and add some drains all around the pool. You could put a big one in middle for the mortgage as this is usually the biggest expense or drainer of your pool of money. You can then add other drains all around the pool depending on their size of money.

3. Add your monthly income and subtract from your monthly expenses to get your monthly profit.
The amount of money when you figure the difference between the income and expenses can be large, small, or in several cases a negative number. The point of the first 3 steps is to know what that number is so we can know what needs to be done with it. We can’t change until we know for sure what needs to be changed. We can’t keep our pool full and overflowing if we don’t know how big our drains are and how quickly the water/money is running out. The idea is basic but sometimes it helps to visualize something with a similar concept to help us gain that knowledge I spoke of earlier.

4. Make and follow a plan of action to either reduce the size or amount of drains in your pool or increase the amount or size of streams going into your pool or both.
Now is the time to act upon the knowledge you have just received by following steps 1-3. You now know what amount of money you are losing or gaining each month. You need to put plans in place to reduce your expenses or increase your income. Some examples of reducing your expenses would be to go shopping for groceries less often. For my wife and I, we have a large drain for the shopping trips for groceries. We know that this drain is large and we have made a plan to make it smaller. Maybe you have a subscription to satellite or expensive internet service or a myriad of other things that could be reduced or eliminated. As you make your plans, envision your pool with the drains disappearing or getting smaller, thus allowing your streams of income to stay in the pool longer making it fuller and grow bigger. Try making more income by taking on small local jobs, writing articles, starting a home business. Just like with the drains getting smaller, envision the streams getting bigger. A combination of reducing expenses and increasing income will make your pool of money grow very quickly.

5. The final step is to hold accountability meetings each month.
This step is one that many faithful budgeters miss and should be the most important. This is a time to review your expenses and to make sure those drains really are getting smaller and see if any have grown bigger in the process. It is a time to re-assess the budget and see if any drains need to be made bigger to make the budget more in line with reality so you don’t have any unplanned draining. A budget only works if you are accountable for what is in the budget and can adjust and revise areas that need to be on a regular basis. At the end of each month is the best time to asses the budget. You need to pull out a bank statement or other data to show what was actually spent so that accurate data is reviewed. This step will greatly improve your budgeting effectiveness.

Times are difficult right now and many of us may, if not already, fall on hard times where our streams may dry up temporarily. If that happens we need to plug as many drains as possible to slow down the draining of our pool of money. If we have been budgeting correctly and filling our pools to capacity and more, then when these hard times come, we will have enough pool left to cover us until our streams start running again. Take the time and effort to budget. You will experience a comforting and safe feeling knowing that you are in control of your money.

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The Utah Jazz and BYU Cougars Basketball

2009-01-06T09:21:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year when football is in the playoffs and starting to wind down and I start to turn my attention to the hardwood floor of basketball. This year my beloved Packers missed the playoffs so I am going to be paying more attention to the Utah Jazz and BYU Cougars basketball teams.

I have been a fan of the Utah Jazz for many years. I remember watching many games as a little boy on an old TV that didn’t get very good reception for the Jazz TV station- KJZZ. I can still remember watching John Stockton pass the ball in to Karl Malone for the fade-away jumper or big Mark Eaton blocking someone’s shot. I remember the “Golden Grif” and Thurl Bailey. The Jazz had an incredible team back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I got real excited to turn on the TV a couple nights a week to hear “Hot Rod” Hundley announce the Jazz games. I can still hear his funny sayings in my mind “he puts up a frozen rope”; “Stockton yo-yos at the top of the key”; “The Mailman delivers”; “You gotta love it baby”; and many more.

I am still a big fan of the Jazz and always will be. The faces have changed, now there is Derron Williams, Carlos Boozer, and others to watch. My TV now gets great reception and I now get excited to hear Craig BolerJack call the games. (For those of you that still like “Hot Rod” he now announces for the radio station that broadcasts the Jazz games, although I can never keep up with him). The Jazz are doing okay this year. They are currently 20-15 but should do better as they get some of their injured players healthy again. I am actually going to attend the game on Jan 24th when they play the Cleveland Cavaliers with “King” Lebron James coming to town. It should be an awesome game. The faces are different, the shorts are longer, and the announcer has changed, but it is still the same old exciting basketball game that I watched as a child.

BYU basketball is underway as well. The Cougars jumped off to a great start- they are currently 14-2 with the only 2 losses coming to nationally ranked teams- Arizona St and Wake Forest. BYU played both of these teams very close, though, and almost beat Arizona St at the buzzer. BYU fell to Wake Forest at home ending their nation’s best 53 home game winning streak. Wake Forest was ranked 6th and knew coming in that BYU would be very tough, especially on their home court.

BYU has some great players this year in Lee Cummard, Jonathan Tavernari, and Jimmer Fredette. They can score a lot of points, especially on three pointers, and have shown they can hang with the top teams in the league. BYU should go far this year and will play one of the biggest games of the year against Utah on Jan 29th. It will be payback time after the Cougars football team got hammered in SLC to the Utes football team.

Go Cougars!

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The Joy of Having Children

2008-12-31T12:31:00.000-08:00

I have two beautiful daughters and one handsome young baby boy. They are between the ages of 5 and 3 months. They have changed the lives of my wife and mine in many ways. They have made us better people and helped us to put the important things first in life. I wanted to share five important things that my children have taught me in the short five years that they have been in our lives.

1. Unconditional Love. You haven’t experienced true love until you hold a fresh from heaven baby boy or girl in your arms for the very first time. You watch this newborn child grow and grow over the years into their own little person. They will drive you crazy and make mistakes, but your love will never change; it is unconditional. My own daughters make my heart melt when they say they love me or give me a hug. Each night I sit my baby boy on our bed and look at him and he smiles back and makes little noises and I know that he loves me as much as I love him.

2. Pay more attention to the simple things. Something my daughters have taught me is to take more time to notice the simple or seemingly small things in life. They love to smell the roses in our front yard. Quite often I rarely spend much time looking at them, let alone smelling them. My girls love to watch the birds eat on the bird feeders, play outside in the grass, and just lay on a blanket on the grass, while looking up into the blue sky. They have taught me that some of the best times in life are the more simple things.

3. It is the quantity of time, not just quality. Too often we hear that it doesn’t matter the quantity of time, it is the quality of time spent. I have to say that my kids have taught me that it is both. I have spent many hours with my girls playing games, going for walks, playing outside, playing at the playground, and I can say that the time I have spent is quality because it is quantity. They have taught me that it doesn’t always matter what we are doing, it is just nice that Mom and Dad could do it with them.

4. The joy of being gone and coming back. The most exciting time of my day is driving home and anticipating my girls’ faces sticking in the front window waiting for me to drive in the garage. As soon as I walk through the door my 2 girls come running excited to give me a hug. When we return to heaven I know the long awaited reunion will have the same joyful excitement.

5. The importance of hugs, kisses, and your attention. My little girls like to give me hugs and kisses. They have helped me to understand the need to be loved and shown affection on a daily or even hourly basis. They also love to show me things and have me watch them do things like riding their bikes, coloring pictures, and doing various activities.

Children bring that certain magic to our lives. They are the lifeblood of our souls. Learn from them, love them, and help them to know their importance in this world to you and others.

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Cougars Late Season Meltdown and the Packers Miss the Playoffs

2008-12-29T15:15:00.000-08:00

The BYU Cougars finished the 2008 football season with a disappointing Las Vegas Bowl loss to the Arizona Wildcats by a score of 31-21. Arizona’s QB, Willie Tuitama, threw for 325 yards and 2 TD’s, adding a run for another touchdown, to key the Wildcats’ victory over the Cougars. Max Hall threw for 328 yards and a TD, and also ran for a TD, but also threw a costly interception. The BYU offense was not able to keep up with the WildCats. The Cougars running game got going as well with 116 yards total.

This loss and the disappointing loss to the Runnin’ Utes of Utah capped off a 10-3 season that began with high expectations, but finished with 2 difficult losses against very good teams. The Cougars only losses this year were against TCU (who won the Poinsettia Bowl against undefeated Boise State) and against Utah (who are set to play Alabama in the Sugar Bowl). BYU has both Max Hall and Austin Collie returning which should help their offense pickup where they left off this year. The defense has been the biggest problem for the Cougars and will hopefully improve this offseason and be stronger and more experienced to help the Cougars overcome some of the inconsistencies in that area this year.

BYU is a joy to watch with their high flying offense and strong passing game. They will be back in 2009 with a great team that will again have high expectations. Hopefully they can break into the BCS this time and face off in the national championship game.
Go Cougars!

The Green Bay Packers have just finished a disappointing season as well. They were able to win their final game against the Detroit Lions 31-21, but lost the last 7 of 8 before the season finale. They missed the playoffs this year after making it to the NFC Championship game in last year’s playoffs.

Green Bay, like the Cougars, featured a high-powered offense but lacked the defense to stop the opposing teams. There were some injuries that weakened the defense, but they should have been able to compensate for those losses. They were unable to and finished the season a measly 6-10.

The Packers will be returning all of their players next year and with a high number 9 draft pick along with a few key free agent signings, could very well be a team to watch next year. They should be able to make the playoffs in the 2009-2010 season. I will continue to watch and cheer for the Packers regardless of their season record.

Go Pack Go!

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Games for Kids and Adults

2008-12-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

Winter time is a perfect time to play games. It is too snowy and cold outside so the best thing to do is pop up some hot, buttery, microwave popcorn, and pull out some card games and board games. There are many games that your children can play that will keep them busy for hours on those frosty afternoons in January and February when the excitement of the holidays has past. There also many ideas for games for the parents and older children that can be played while the younger ones are playing their games or have gone to bed.

Here are a few ideas for children’s games that can be enjoyed any time of year, but are especially fun when it’s winter time and you are stuck inside the house with a big bowl of popcorn and a steaming, cup of hot cocoa by your side.

1. Chutes and Ladders/Candyland: These are a couple of classic games that are easy to play for younger children and are fun because of the little people used. In CandyLand the cards have candy on them. These games are some of my own kids’ favorites.

2. Memory games: These games are fun because the kids love to match the cards and see the different picture on each card. This game is available in all kinds including My Little Pony, Dora, and other themes.

3. Coloring and Activity Books: Kids love to color and show their parents how good they can stay in the lines and enjoy the praise that parents give them. They also enjoy the dot-to-dot and other activities that come in many of the coloring books that are sold nowadays.

Take time as parents in playing these games with your children to teach them how to play. At times you can let them play by themselves and their siblings, but all children like to play with their Mom and Dad every now and again. Play with them on any day, but it is a lot of fun to set a special night aside for the whole family to play games together.

It is fun to play with your kids, but parents and your older children need time to play games that are a little more challenging. Here are a few ideas of games that can be played with as little as 2 people.

1. Racko or Phase 10: These are a couple of my favorite games. These card games require little set up and can be played with 2 or up to 6 people. My wife and I have enjoyed many games of Racko over the years (I think I am the all-time leader).

2. Monopoly or Risk: These board games are a couple more of my favorites. I have spent many hours over the years (especially in my teen years) playing Risk.
Monopoly is a lot of fun, too. It is amazing how competitive we get even as adults when it comes to games.

3. Any new game: My wife’s brother is a game expert. He loves to play games and has a lot of games that I have never heard of. Take the time to learn some new games and find which ones you really enjoy. A couple of games that my brother-in-law introduced to me were Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Cataan. I have played the game Ticket to Ride many times now and it is one of my favorite board games.

Playing games together is a great way to spend time with your children, your spouse, your siblings, your friends, and your whole family. It’s important to spend quality time interacting with one another and enjoying something together as a family. Have a great winter and pull out those games to have lots of fun (at least until Spring).

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College Bowl Games and NFL Playoffs (these are a few of my favorite things)

2008-12-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

With the holidays here and soon to be gone, the fun things to look forward to and enjoy are far and few between. I love the holidays because of the time away from work, being with my family, getting and giving gifts, eating good food, and many other things. Once this time is over, there is a let down or what others refer to as post-holiday blues. I have the perfect cure for those suffering from such a problem----football.

January is the best month out of the year for football. First it begins with college bowl games. The bowl games are no longer just a New Year’s Day activity; they span over the course of a few weeks with the best games coming during the week after New Year’s Day. You have the BCS bowl games which pairs the top 10 teams in the nation against each other. This year on New Year’s Day the Orange Bowl features Virginia Tech and Cincinnati and also the Rose Bowl features Penn State and USC. On Jan 2nd is the Sugar Bowl which has Utah against Alabama (go Crimson Tide). On Jan 5th is the Fiesta Bowl which will be Ohio St. against Texas. On Jan 8th is the college championship game featuring No 1 Oklahoma vs. No 2 Florida.

The bowl games have always been exciting for me to watch. I remember growing up and watching the BYU teams always playing in the holiday bowl each year and now in the Las Vegas Bowl. I have also watched many of the BCS games and found them to be very entertaining and fun to watch although I am more of an NFL fan.

I did happen to be watching the best bowl game of all time 2 years ago when Boise State played against Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. This was one of the most exciting, fun to watch games, I have ever seen in any sport. Oklahoma was the big powerhouse team going against the smaller Boise State squad. Boise State started out playing fast in the first quarter and then Oklahoma caught up. Then in the second half the scoring started heating up really fast with both teams scoring at will. Boise State scored with 7 seconds left in the game tying it up to send it into overtime at 35-35. I was glued to the TV hoping that Boise State would pull off the upset. Oklahoma scored a touchdown with a 25 yard run to start the overtime period. Boise State scored on their overtime drive and opted for a 2 point conversion rather than the kick for 1. They faked the pass and the QB handed to his running back, on one of the best fakes I have ever seen, and the running back run in untouched for the 2-point conversion to win the game. It was one of the riskiest calls I have ever seen. The game is listed as my all-time favorite. Make sure you watch this year’s games so you don’t miss another one like this.

In addition to the college bowl games, the NFL Playoffs are upon us. If you want to see exciting, tough-nosed football, try watching some of the NFL playoffs in January. A lot of the games are played outside in very cold weather. Last year the Packers played the Giants in Green Bay and the wind chill was 25 below 0. The fans always show up and are as excited as ever. The hits are hard and the players are psyched up. This is the time of year where the game is a must-win to move on. This year’s playoffs start on Saturday Jan 3rd and will finish up with the Super Bowl on February 1st. The Packers blew it this year with a bad second half of the season which has left them out of the playoffs. Next year, they should fare much better after recovering from some injuries and adding a few more good defensive players to their team.

So turn on your big screen TV, pour up a cup of steaming hot cocoa, and watch some football this January. It’s the best show in town.

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Part 2 of the New Year’s Goal-Setting for a Better You

2008-12-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

3. Keep yourself motivated to reach your goals.
One of the biggest keys to reaching your goals, is keeping yourself motivated enough to continue working toward your goal. Lack of motivation prevents many us from reaching those things that we really desire in life. We need to think of rewards to give ourselves for meeting different sub-goals as I referred to in key number 2. If we are trying to lose 20 lbs, then a good motivator would be to reward yourself with a new CD or a spa visit once you have lost 5 or 10 lbs. Continue to give yourself rewards along the way for meeting your sub-goals. This will give you the motivation to continue along the path to fulfilling your goals and make yourself a better person.

4. Being accountable to another person on your progress on set times.
In addition to finding ways to stay motivated, being accountable to someone else for what you have done is another way to meet your goals. When you need to report to someone else regarding your progress toward your goals it helps give that extra motivation and shows that person that you are really trying to meet your goals. Report or show your progress to another person on a regular basis. Review with this person your goals and sub-goals and let them know that you will be checking in with them to report your successes and possible difficult times. You can be accountable to this person and they could also offer verbal and emotional motivation. This person could be a spouse, friend, parent, etc…

5. Review your goal setting success stories to give you confidence to achieve more goals.
At the beginning of each year is also the end of the previous year. This can not only be a time to set goals for the coming year, but also to review the goals that you had during the previous year. Don’t focus on the goals where you may have fell short, but focus more on the successes you had during that year and think of the goals that you did accomplish. See the changes that came about in your life because you have met your goals. The goals you accomplish don’t only change your life in regards to the goal you set but also show the strength and perseverance you have in character to accomplish your goals. This review will give you the motivation and strength needed to carry you through another year of goal setting. Another great motivator, in addition to those listed above is past successes.

Jan 1st, 2009 is almost here. Start thinking of goals for the coming year that will help you be a better person. Write down your goals and put them in places where you can see them daily. Break this goal you have written down into “bite size chunks” or sub-goals. Keep yourself motivated to reach your goals through rewards and be accountable to someone else. At the end of this year review the goals where you were successful and plan your goals for 2009. As you do these things, you will become a better person and will become a successful goal setter that will lead to a better “you”.

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New Years’ Goal-Setting for a Better You Part One

2008-12-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Eve is a wonderful time to review your past year’s successes and areas that need improved and also to look forward to a New Year to make improvements in your life as a father, mother, parent, brother, sister, co-worker, teacher, and countless other areas in our lives. Too many of us make our goals at the first of the year and then stop trying in a matter of weeks or even days. I have thought of a process that will help you to lose that weight, be a better parent, stop smoking, and achieve the countless other goals that are often set every year and perhaps not achieved. You can learn how to set goals and achieve them to be a better “you”.

The 5 keys to goal setting are
1. Writing them down and placing them in strategic places where you can see them.
2. Break the goal into “bite size” chunks that can be more easily accomplished so you can create and reach these sub-goals.
3. Keep yourself motivated to reach your goals.
4. Being accountable to another person on your progress at set intervals of time.
5. Review your goal setting success stories to give you confidence to achieve more goals.

1. Write down your goals and place in strategic places. The first step in setting goals is to decide what you want to do and then write it down. Most of us making goals decide what we want, but fail to write it down. This is an important step because it gives you something on paper to refer to over and over again throughout the year or goal timeline. Write your goal down on multiple pieces of paper and place them in strategic places, such as your kitchen if you are trying to lose weight; on your TV if you are trying cut down on TV watching; in your day planner; on your wall at work; even in your wallet or your purse. The point is to keep your goal on the forefront of your mind so you can be thinking of it always. The goal will become a part of you and will be your main focus as you go through each day.

2. Break the Goal into Bite Size Chunks.I am sure we have all heard the saying “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” When we set goals it is as though we are planning on eating an elephant for dinner. The goal can be extremely large and very complicated. We need to break our elephant or goal into bite size chunks so we can see progress not get overwhelmed by the size of the goal that lie before us.
I refer to these bite size chunks as sub-goals. These are smaller size goals that will help us achieve our main goal. If the goal is to lose weight we need to set up sub-goals such as different weights to achieve on the way to the main weight loss goal; you could set up goals for eating better at night and have goals for one week at a time. There are other numerous sub-goals that could be created. Be creative and find ideas that will help you keep motivated during the journey of meeting your goal. In the journey is the real learning and growing that takes place.

Check in next time to read keys 3, 4, and 5 of my goal setting process on your way to becoming a better you.

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It's Winter, What Do We Do Now?

2008-12-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

The holidays are winding down and the days are getting shorter and colder. In many areas, there is most likely a thick layer of snow frozen to the ground by now. The kids will be home for a couple of weeks for Christmas and New Year’s and will need something to do. I have 6 activities for your children (and parents) to chase away those post holiday blues.

1. Go sledding. Find a good hill that has been packed down by other sledders and take your children there to go sledding using tubes, tobbagons, and sleds. Your kids will have a good time and it is also a great time for parents to spend uninterrupted quality time with their children. Make sure to get bundled up real good and make hot cocoa at home when you get done.

2. Go to the Movies. The winter time is the best time to go to the movies. When it is snowing and cold outside there is no better place to be than the movie theatre. Take your kids to a Disney movie and order hot popcorn and candy and enjoy the show.

3. Make homemade cookies or brownies and take to neighbors. Your kids will love making chocolate chip cookie dough and then smelling the aroma as they cook in the oven. You can have them eat some cookies and milk and then take some of your warm treats to your neighbors.

4. Play board games with your kids. Kids like to play games and love to play with their siblings and also their parents. Set up Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders and play a few games with them. If you have older children try other games like Yahtzee, UNO, Phase 10, or Racko. This is a real fun activity even if you don’t have kids. Take some time to play different games and you will have a lot of fun. Be sure to pop some hot, buttery popcorn to enjoy while you play.

5. Put together a puzzle. Puzzles can be fun for both kids and adults. For children try smaller puzzles in the 20 piece range. You can get on the floor and help them and teach them how to put them together. For adults, try 500 or 1000 piece puzzles and spend a little time each night working on it. I have done this with my wife several times and we have always had a lot of fun working on it and talking with each other.

6. Shovel your neighbor’s driveway or sidewalk. There is nothing that makes a person feel better than when they are doing service for someone else. Take the time to clear your neighbor’s drive and have your children help by spreading ice melt or using a smaller shovel to push the snow.

Winter time may be cold, snowy, and hard to be outside for very long, but there is plenty you can do inside and with your families. Make this winter time fun by choosing any of the activities above and spending quality time with your family. The fun that you have will warm your hearts all winter long.

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Fun Activities for Christmas

2008-12-08T15:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is the most exciting time of the year for most children and also many adults. We decorate our houses, have parties, and think of Santa Claus delivering gifts to our homes. I have found that there are many things we can do in the month of December to make the month even more fun and special for our families and especially our young children.

Here are 5 activities that will make your Christmas and Holiday a special time and will make memories for you and your children.

1. Make a gingerbread house. This is a simple activity that can take place on a weekend or on a Family Home Evening night. It is as simple as making a gingerbread recipe, making frosting, putting the house together, and decorating it with candy. My wife has gingerbread molds that make the shape of the house so it is easier to put together. You can also just make graham cracker houses, which are even easier than gingerbread. Just make sure that you use a recipe for Royal Icing because that dries quickly like glue, so the house stays together. My wife and I have made gingerbread houses for our little girls the past couple of years and they get really excited to put candy on and create their own little candied house.

2. See Christmas lights. This is another easy activity that only takes up a few hours of one evening. Find a place nearby that has lights (Temple Square, Thanksgiving Point, etc…) and drive to it and either walk around and look at the lights or drive around to see the lights while in the car. My wife and I drive to a light display in Spanish Fork every year and the kids have a lot of fun and remember the lights and decorations from going the year before. You can also just drive around your own neighborhood or nearby city and see many lights in people’s yards that decorate. You will be amazed at some of the displays people come up with.

3. Go sledding. Once it has snowed, take your kids to a nearby hill or open lot and go sledding. My wife and I bought some plastic sleds a couple of years ago and go down every year on a small hill on an empty lot nearby. This is a lot of fun (for both the kids and parents) and children love to play and especially like spending extra time with their moms and dads.

4. Sing Christmas Carols in your neighborhood or at rest homes. Caroling used to be really popular but hasn’t been as much in the last few decades. Go caroling as a family to your neighbors and drop off a treat or get together with extended family or your church young men/young women groups and sing carols at a rest home or for others in your local town or neighborhoods. This is a lot of fun and it is interesting to watch people’s reactions when you sing them a few songs. This really gets you and those you sing to in the Christmas spirit.

5. Attend a local concert or play. Christmas is a time when many Christmas concerts are held and many plays are put on. It is a great time to attend the many group’s and vocalist’s performances that are put on. A few that we have attended in the past are Voice Male, Michael McLean’s Forgotten Carols, and the Rocky Mountain Christmas. You can usually look up concerts or plays on your computer or find them in the local newspaper.

There is never a shortage of activities and fun things to do around Christmas time. The only shortage we have is on the years we will have time to spend with our young children. Time always goes by too fast. Get out and do some new and fun things this year and make some memories that will last a lifetime.

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Celebration of our Savior’s Birth

2008-12-05T12:48:00.000-08:00

The month of December and the Christmas holiday is a wonderful time to get together as family and friends to have parties. These parties range from family parties, church parties, neighborhood parties, company parties, and my mom’s favorite; grandkid parties. This is a great time of year to see each other and to exchange gifts and to re-kindle relationships. This is also a time to be certain that our parties are focused on the real celebration; the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

My Mom and Dad host 3 different parties in the month of December. You may want to include some of these party ideas into your own families.

Party for the grandkids.
My Mom and Dad love to have the kids over to exchange gifts, make cookies, and give the children time to play with their cousins. I know my mom and dad love this party because nothing can duplicate the unbridled excitement of a child during the Christmas time of year. My children look forward to this party every year.

Party for the adults in the extended family.
This party is a time for the adults to get together and have more uninterrupted time to visit and to discuss the joys and hardships of the Christmas time of year. We also do a few Christmas gift exchanging games and have a chance to laugh and have fun together.
This is one of the most fun parties of the Christmas season for me.

Party for my parent’s immediate family (children and grandchildren).
This is another party to get together and have fun as a family. My Dad reads the story of the Birth of Jesus from the Old Testament while the grandchildren dress up and put on a nativity play. We then sing Christmas songs and open a few presents. This party really puts us in the mood for Christmas and really invites the Spirit into our lives. It is the most spiritual party.

At all 3 parties we are giving to one another, showing love for each other, and strengthening our relationships. Our Savior taught us the gift of giving through example when he gave His very own life for us. He taught us the gift of loving through the many miracles and blessings that He bestowed upon us and also from the willingness He showed to take our sins upon Him through the Atonement. He taught us how to strengthen relationships by teaching us how to pray and how to communicate with our Father.

Christmas is more than just giving. It is a time to love, be with family, have fun, and take some time to strengthen our relationships not only with our family, but also with our Savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. This year and every year, be sure to take time and teach your children that Christmas is a celebration of our Savior’s Birth.

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Green Bay Loses Another Close Game and Fantasy Football 2008 Playoffs start

2008-12-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

Now that the Cougars season has ended my focus has shifted to the Green Bay Packers. Although BYU still has one game left with a possible bowl game invite. BYU will need to play an awesome game to prove that their season wasn’t a fluke. Max Hall will no doubt be prepared to avenge the embarrassing loss at the University of Utah. Whoever BYU plays against I think they will win by a large margin with Max Hall and Austin Collie hooking up multiple times in the game. Make sure to stay in touch when they announce the bowl games next week to see where BYU plays and who they will play against.

The Packers hosted the Carolina Panthers this past week and didn’t do very well losing 35-31. The Packers offense played a great game with their QB Aaron Rodgers getting close to 300 yards passing and 3 touchdowns. The receiving combo of Greg Jennings and Donald Driver each had nice games with a TD each and 174 yards combined. The offense seems to be playing at a high level each week but the defense continues to allow big games by the opposing teams each week.

Right now the Packers are 2 games behind the Minnesota Vikings and 1 behind the Chicago Bears in a very tight division. The Packers still have an outside chance in making the playoffs this year if they win the rest of their games (which is doable) and also if the Viking and Bears each lose a couple. The Packers will host the Houston Texans this Sunday (Dec 7th) and are in a must win game. I think the Packers will be able to win this game and put some of their recent troubles behind them. I think the score will be Green Bay 31 Houston 17.

I am in a fantasy football league for the 8th straight year and am having a good year with some ups and downs. For those who don’t know what fantasy football is-refer back to my blog on September 5th titled “Fantasy Football Fanatics”. My season started out well- I won my first 4 games to take the lead in my league. I then went on to lose or tie the next 5 games before winning my last 4 games giving me a regular fantasy football record of 8-4-1(tie). Now we are on to the playoffs in the regular NFL season’s weeks 14, 15, and 16. I think my team will do well. Some of my players have come on strong as of late (McNabb, Westbrook, Welker) and I have picked up some great free agents. I feel like my chances are good for taking the title for the third time since I have been playing fantasy football.

The fantasy games are exciting and fun and every year brings something new. If you haven’t tried any fantasy games yet, try fantasy basketball, baseball, or even hockey. My personal favorite is fantasy football. I recommend trying this first as this is the most popular by far and is the shortest to play (based on only a 16-game season).

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Making Family a Tradition

2008-11-26T17:07:00.000-08:00

As the father of three beautiful children I have tried to make Christmas extra special by doing those extra little things that will help create memories throughout their lifetimes. Christmas is a magical time for young children and it is up to us fathers to make sure and do those things that we can to make it a memorable time. Our wives and mothers have a knack for making everything special throughout the year and have many opportunities to serve our children. Christmas is one time that fathers can take a larger role in doing something special and fun for their children.

My love for Christmas started for me as a young boy. My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of year and he made it very special for me and my four other siblings. The very minute that Thanksgiving ended my dad was pulling out what felt like hundreds of Christmas boxes full of decorations, lights, and many other Christmas items. While pulling out all of these wonderful decorations my dad would dust off his old Bing Crosby “White Christmas” record and put it on our ancient record player. I can still hear the record player churning out those Christmas songs in my mind and picture myself plugging in and testing the endless strands of Christmas lights. I start to feel nostalgic every year on the day after Thanksgiving.

My dad would string up lights on the house, have us kids help set up the nativity sets, put decorations on the mantle, hang up our stockings, and spend the whole night on the day after Thanksgiving making the house a Christmas wonderland. He would even boil cloves and apples to give the house a wonderful Christmas scent. It was a special day every year and as a little boy I would anticipate this day as much as Christmas Day itself.

In the week following the decoration of the house, we would make our way to the Christmas tree lot in town to find a Christmas tree. This wasn’t a lot where you just picked out a tree that was already cut down. This was a large field full of trees that were still in the ground. We were so excited to pick the perfect tree and thrilled with the opportunity to actually cut it down and tie it to the top of our car. We often flocked the tree making it appear as if snow were covering the tree. We then would take it in the house and start the tree decorating process. My mom would make fresh baked cookies or hot cinnamon rolls while we helped our dad string the lights on the tree, hang the little icicle strands, tinsel, and hundreds of other ornaments. My dad would make this night special, too, by playing more of his records, and later on reading us Christmas books.

My dad instilled in me a love for the holiday time of year. He taught me that it was a time for the kids. I am sure he saved extra money all year to be able to make this time special for us and do things to enjoy the whole month of December, not just Christmas Day.

It’s not the presents and the gifts that I remember the most, it’s that day after Thanksgiving spent with my dad hanging lights outside; it’s that night helping my dad decorate the tree; it’s that night he read us kids ‘Twas the Night before Christmas; it’s that afternoon picking out a tree and helping my dad cut it down; it’s the wonderful smell of the house and the sound of old Christmas records; it’s the happy feeling inside I had knowing that my dad loved me enough to do the extra little things to make Christmas a special time to remember.

When your children want to go for a drive to see Christmas lights this year, take them. When your children want to go cut down a real tree this year, take them. When your children want you to read them Christmas books at night, read to them. When your kids want to make a snowman, help them. You will never regret doing too much for them or spending too much time with them.

Make this year’s Christmas special. A father can offer a lot to his children and Christmas is a great time to start making memories that will last forever.

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The Cougars Get Ran over by the Runnin’ Utes and the Packers at the Saints

2008-11-24T14:52:00.000-08:00

BYU traveled to Salt Lake City this weekend to take on the University of Utah. The stands were flooded with red shirts and thousands of crazy fans cheering on the Utes. The Cougars had their fans spread out with Cougar blue shirts on hoping that BYU could take one in Rice Eccles Stadium. BYU would have no luck this year as they went on to lose by a lopsided score of 48-24 to the fired up Utes.

The first half of the game was very close with the score a manageable 27-17 lead for Utah going into the half. The Cougars running game looked great with over 200 yards rushing on the night and 3 touchdowns. Their passing game was just the opposite with Max Hall giving up 5 costly interceptions and 1 fumble for a total of 6 turnovers for the Cougars. He was held out of the end zone and barely had over 200 yards passing. It turned out to be the worst game of his career at BYU. He was not able to get the rhythm going in the passing game. The Runnin’ Utes shut down the vaunted BYU passing game and forced them to resort to the running game which BYU ran with great success. The only problem being as the Cougars got behind by too many points they had to keep resorting back to the passing game where there was no success at all. The game turned out to be a rout in the second half with Utah getting most of their interceptions in this part of the game and turning on their own passing game with Brian Johnson throwing for over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns.

It was an ugly game for BYU and was disappointing considering the great season that they had this year. They will now most likely receive a bowl game invite and somehow get over this loss so that they can play in December and win one last game this year. Max Hall has one more year left in his college career and with a lot of key players returning can be a top QB again the college ranks. He should learn a lot from this experience and will hopefully come out even better next year because of it. The BYU-Utah annual rivalry is in Provo next year and all I can say is look out Utah Utes, because next time the only running you will be doing, is in the other direction.

The Packers will go into New Orleans tonight to play the Saints in a Monday Night Football showdown. This game features 2 of the best offenses in the game and will surely be a joy to watch. I expect the packers to come out on top due to their superior defensive backfield and their emerging running game. The Saints are missing many of their start players on defense and will be suspect against the Packers deadly passing game.

I am predicting that the Packers will come out and score quickly and take this game by a score of 38-28. The Saints will hang close but in the end the Packers will be victorious and the only ones singing the blues will be the fans in New Orleans.

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How to Make the Perfect Turkey

2008-11-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is a day to watch football, get together as family, eat great food, and most important of all—eat turkey. It is vital that the turkey is cooked to perfection as this is usually the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal in most homes. I have cooked turkeys for a long time now and have discovered a recipe and method that has drawn many great reviews from family, friends, and others who have partaken of my roasted turkey.

• It is very important to thaw out your turkey in plenty of time before the big Thanksgiving Day. It is best to thaw out the turkey in the fridge or in a bath tub full of cold water. Make sure and change the water every few hours when using the bath method. If the turkey is not thawed sufficiently then it will make for uneven cooking making the outside over-cooked and the insides under-cooked.
• Once you have thawed the turkey out and have removed the insides, rinse it off and pat with paper towels.
• When the turkey is dried off, rub the whole body with real butter with your hands. Use a generous amount and make sure it is completely coated on the skin. Once the bird is covered in butter, you are ready to add the seasonings.
• Use Grill Mates dry rub for the seasonings on the turkey. You can find this in the spice aisle of most grocery stores. There are different flavors of seasonings (my favorite is Montreal steak). Choose whatever flavor you would like and rub it onto the skin and into the butter. Make sure and use generous amounts to cover the turkey completely and rub into the skin as much as possible.
• Once the turkey is covered in butter and seasonings, put into an oven bag which helps to keep the moisture and heat in the turkey and cooks it faster and better. The directions will be in the oven bag box.
• Put the turkey in the oven and cook for the amount of time listed on the oven bag instructions. Make sure and put several small holes on the top side of the turkey bag for some of the air to release from the bag.
• Once the turkey has finished cooking, let is sit for about 15 or 20 minutes to let the meat set up and the juices to settle into the meat. This also makes it easier to slice.
• To carve the turkey, it is important to use an electric knife. The electric knife makes for a better cut and is much quicker than with a regular knife. Start with removing the drum sticks and remove extra meat on the sides to make it easy to cut the breast on each side of the turkey.
• Cut the breast slices in large uniform slices with some of the seasoned skin on the edge of each slice if possible.
• Finish carving the turkey and place it on a large platter in a uniform pattern.
• The final touch is to sprinkle some of the grill mates seasoning on all of the slices (not too much, but enough to give it a little more flavor).

Hope you enjoy this recipe. This turkey should draw some great compliments.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to take some time to think of all the things that you are thankful for- including a great roasted turkey.

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The Cougars Continue to Win and the Packers Send the Bears into Hibernation

2008-11-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

BYU continues their winning ways with a 38-24 over the Air Force Falcons. The Cougars continued to use their air arsenal duo of Max Hall and Austin Collie to put up a lot of points against the Falcons. Hall finished the game with over 350 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, while Collie continues to impress with 7 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. Week in and week out these 2 are virtually unstoppable. The BYU running game got into the act as well with a total of 143 yards total rushing with Harvey Unga leading the way with 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Cougars defense only had 1 sack and 1 interception but was able to clamp down on the Falcons enough to hold them off from mounting a come back at the end of the game. BYU’s defense continues to do just enough each week to win the high scoring shootouts. Next week’s matchup against the University of Utah will present the toughest test this season for BYU.

In what will be one of the best matchups of the year in college football, BYU will travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Runnin’ Utes of Utah on Saturday Nov 22nd. The Utes are currently ranked in 8th place while BYU continues to hold on to their 16th place in the weekly AP poll. Utah continues to impress with their undefeated season and big wins while BYU has only lost one game to a great TCU squad and has really impressed with their high scoring passing game. Utah has the better defense and BYU has the better offense. This game comes down to the comparison of the BYU defense and the Utah offense. I believe this game will be high scoring and very close. I think the Cougars will come out running to try and open up the passing game for Hall and Collie. I expect these 2 players to have a great game and will score just enough points to win one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football.
I think the Cougars will win this one by a score of 38-34. The Utes try to move down the field in the final minutes but fall short of mounting a comeback. BYU knocks them out of the BCS rankings and relishes in this big win.

The Packers hosted the Bears in what turned out to be one of the biggest blow outs in a while in this huge rivalry. The Packers won this by a score of 37-3. Chicago had previously won the Packers 3 times on the “Frozen Tundra” (Lambeau Field) in Green Bay. This time the Packers would be ready and prepared to put a stop to the Bears winning streak. The Packers would push the Bear’s defense around to gain 200 yards on the ground being led by Ryan Grant who had 145 of those yards and 1 touchdown. Aaron Rodgers had a great game of his own with 227 yards and 2 personal touchdowns. The Packers kicker, Mason Crosby, had a good game with 3 field goals to redeem himself from last week’s potential game winner miss. The Packers defense held the Bears to only 3 points and 240 total yards.

This was a win that the Packers really needed after losing the last 2 very close games. The Pack now heads to New Orleans to take on the Saints in a Monday night game. This will be a great game that should be high scoring that will feature a lot of great plays and players. The offenses on these teams are about equal but the Packers defense is much better than the Saints which would mean that the Packers should be able to win this game. I am predicting the Packers to win this one by a score of 38-28.

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Thanksgiving Activities

2008-11-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is a great holiday to get together with family and enjoy a wonderful meal together and then spend an afternoon doing fun activities which help to strengthen relationships with some of those relatives that you may not see as often throughout the year. Here are 5 different ideas of fun activities and things that you can do after you are done eating that final piece of pumpkin pie.

1. Watch the Cowboys football game. Other than turkey, the thing most associated with Thanksgiving is football. The Dallas Cowboys play in the annual afternoon football game that starts after most people’s Thanksgiving meals are finishing up. There isn’t anything more bonding for men than to watch a good football game together. This also helps to get the men out of the way of the women so they can accomplish the projects they enjoy working on.

2. Cards, Scrapbooking, and Crafts. Women love to get together and create things and visit while they are working. I have seen this many times over the years since I have been married to my wife. Her family makes cards and crafts once the Thanksgiving feast has been finished. They clear the tables and sit out their card making equipment, pictures for scrapbooking, and other various crafts.
This also helps the men to get the women out of the way so they can watch their football game without interruption.

3. Board Games and other Games. The kids need something to do after Thanksgiving so that the men and women can do their thing. In my family we set out a whole bunch of board games and play with the kids and let them play by themselves. We also let them play dress up and other little games. The kids love seeing their cousins and playing together all afternoon long.

4. Shooting Guns. My wife’s family is not the sports fanatics that mine is, so the men shoot their shotguns at clay pigeons and target shoot following the big dinner. They enjoy being outside and watching each other miss (I mean hit) the target and clay pigeons.

5. Watch a Movie. One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving night is to put in a good movie, start a warm fire, pour up a cup of steaming hot cocoa, curl up on the couch, and put in a good movie to enjoy after the kids have gone to sleep.

While doing these activities we should remember how lucky we are to have a wonderful family to be together with, how lucky we are to have the freedoms we do, and also all of the blessings that we receive each and every day of our lives.

Make your Thanksgiving a fun one with the activities listed above and make sure that
you don’t eat too much food, because your New Year’s resolutions are coming up.

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BYU gets Back on Track and the Packers Lose another Nail-Biter

2008-11-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

The Cougars hosted the Aztecs of San Diego State this past Saturday. The players surely wanted to show the fans that they were ready to play this week and wouldn’t settle for another close finish. They finished off the Aztecs by a score of 41-12 making it a third consecutive unbeaten season at home. Max Hall was back at it throwing for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. Austin Collie was yet again his favorite target catching 9 balls for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. I doubt there is a better QB-WR combination in the league than Hall and Collie. They have been phenomenal this season.

BYU showed San Diego State no mercy by going up 20-0 at the end of the first half. At the end of the third quarter BYU was up 27-6 and then put up 14 more in the final quarter to end at 41-12. The Cougars running game looked impressive gaining over a hundred yards led by Harvey Unga with 37 yards. The Cougar defense also looked impressive with a first half shutout and holding the Aztecs to only 12 points for the entire game.

This was a game that BYU sorely needed to gain their confidence back. It was a great way to finish the last home game for the season. Three straight years without losing at home is very impressive and probably has not been accomplished by many other programs in college football. BYU has 2 more games left this season with next week at Air Force and then the big finale with the University of Utah, which looks to be one of the biggest and best games in years for this great rivalry. First, I need to pick the game against the Falcons of Air Force. This is a classic trap game for BYU after a big win at home and huge game coming up after this one against the Utes. Games like this are hard for teams because they look ahead to the big game and they might be coming down after the emotional win at home. I think Coach Mendenhall will keep his players focused and they will come out victorious against Air Force by a score of 31-20.

Green Bay fell short by a field goal for the second straight week. Last week they lost to Tennessee in overtime by a Tennessee field goal and this week was a similar fate but the Packers were the ones trying for the field goal and missing at the end of regulation losing to the Minnesota Vikings by a score of 28-27. The Packers offense struggled in this game and couldn’t get much going through the air or on the ground. Aaron Rodgers gave up 2 safeties in the opening half based largely on the Vikings ferocious defense led by Jared Allen. At the end of the first half Green Bay was trailing 14-10 in what was a classic defensive battle in the first. Green Bay had 2 interceptions in the first half and Minnesota had 2 safeties and a couple of sacks.

In the second half of the game Green Bay got 2 quick touchdowns- one on an interception return by safety Nick Collins and the other on a punt return by Will Blackmon. The Packers would take the lead by a score of 24-21 with only 1 quarter left.
Green Bay would score a field goal to go up 27-21 with only a few minutes left in the game. The Vikings marched down the field and scored on an Adrian Peterson 29 yard touchdown scamper to put the Vikings back up 28-27. Green Bay then got the ball with 2 minutes to go and moved it all the way to the Minnesota 35 yard line with seconds remaining on the clock. The packers kicker, Mason Crosby, lined up for the winning field goal and kicked the ball toward the goal post having it fade wide right by a few inches and missing the go ahead score for the Packers. This was an emotional loss for the Packers, but they must prepare for next week’s game against their other division rival, the Chicago Bears. If the packers can pull off the win against the Bears and the Vikings lose (playing in Tampa Bay) it will be a 3-way tie for 1st place in the NFC North division. I expect the Pack to come out and beat the Bears handily on the frosty field of Lambeau. The score will be Green Bay 27 Chicago 21.

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Thanksgiving Memories

2008-11-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that is very relaxing and enjoyable. The basic premise of the holiday is to eat a lot of food, watch football, and celebrate together as a family the many blessings that we have and receive daily. We are truly a blessed people to have the many blessings and luxuries of life that we enjoy on a daily basis.

As a child I have many fond memories of Thanksgiving. I remember preparing the night before the big day by setting up the tables and chairs and helping my mom get the house ready for the large group of extended family that would be coming the next day. When Thanksgiving morning arrived my brother and I would put on our clothes and coats and play the annual game of Thanksgiving football. We played the game one-on-one and would hold our little game in rain, sleet, or snow. I remember many years when the snow would be coming down heavily but we would still be out there running around tackling each other. We would then come in and have a cup of hot cocoa and get warmed up and start helping our Mom finish up the final preparations for the big dinner.

About this time, the relatives started to arrive. My uncles, aunts, and cousins would come over for the big feast. It was fun to visit and play together while waiting to start the meal. We would often watch football while waiting. I remember watching many games with my uncles and cousins on Thanksgiving afternoons. The nearby coal stove would warm the room while we watched and the aroma of the food being cooked in the kitchen filled the entire house. We would snack on appetizers of chips and dips and veggie trays.

My Mom made the best Thanksgiving dinners. If the smell of her homemade rolls didn’t delight you, the taste of the crisp buttery outside and soft inside would win you over quickly. Her golden basted turkey always smelled incredible and the slices were moist and would melt in your mouth. She always made the best mashed potatoes and gravy. She used potatoes right from our garden and made the gravy from the turkey drippings. To this day when I smell hot butter rolls or a large turkey cooking in the oven I often think of the Thanksgiving days growing up as a young boy.

After enjoying this incredible meal every year, we would then retire back to the TV room to watch more football. The Dallas Cowboys would play their yearly game and it always seem to be an exciting game full of long passes, hard hits, and close finishes. After the game the desserts would start making the rounds. My Mom made pies, cakes, cookies, ice cream, and every other dessert you can imagine. As a child I thought this holiday rivaled Christmas. What can be better than lots of food, football, and family?

Now I have my own family, and we trade off every year going to my wife’s family for Thanksgiving one year and my parents the next. I still enjoy the hot rolls, the moist turkey, and watching football. I still enjoy the family and visiting together. I no longer play my brother in the annual football game, but the memories will always be there and I will play it out in my mind every year Thanksgiving comes around.

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The Cougars Win a Shootout at CSU and the Packers Lose a Tight One to Tennessee

2008-11-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

BYU squared off against Colorado State this week and pulled off the big win in a classic shootout. When the dust settled in Fort Collins the final score was BYU 45 CSU 42. BYU had to make a late game comeback to win this game, but was victorious nonetheless. BYU’s QB Max Hall had 389 passing yards, 5 touchdown passes, and 1 interception putting him at 29 touchdown throws for the year. He was able to find his favorite target, again, Austin Collie, who had 9 catches for 156 yards and 3 touchdown catches. This week, the tight end, Dennis Pita, also got in on the action with 12 catches for 175 yards and 2 touchdown catches of his own, for what was probably the best game of his career. BYU’s offense was again hitting on all cylinders with the high flying act of Hall, Collie, Pita, and also Harvey Unga. The Cougars featured running back ran for 133 yards and 1 touchdown. The defense didn’t fare so well.

The Cougars defense allowed the Rams of CSU to score 42 points while allowing their QB, Billy Farris, to throw for 251 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Rams seemed to score with ease against the Cougars defense, which a few weeks ago, was holding good teams scoreless. BYU needs to get their defense going so that when a tough defense comes to play, such as the Utah Runnin’ Utes, they won’t have to rely on their offense so much to win these shootouts. Next week the Cougars will face San Diego St in the Lavell Edwards stadium. After posting back to back close games, I would expect them to shut down the Aztecs and hold them to a minimum amount of points. I predict the score will be BYU 38 SDSU 10.

The Packers lost 19-16 in a nail biting overtime game at Tennessee. The Titans were undefeated and ranked first in the NFL going into this game, but the Packers were getting players back healthy, riding a 2-game win streak, and coming off a bye. All of these factors were still not enough to overcome the defensive and running strength of the Titans. The Packers were able to throw the ball effectively with Aaron Rodgers posting 314 yards passing and 1 touchdown throw to Donald Driver, but had a hard time getting the ball into the end zone. The Packers settled for 3 field goals by Mason Crosby, who has proved to be a very reliable and effective kicker for Green Bay. The Packers had the ball with about 4 minutes to go and had a chance to go down the field and score, but ran out of steam and had to punt to the Titans with 2 minutes left in the game. Tennessee led by Kerry Collins as QB, drove down the field riding the hot feet of Chris Johnson, to put themselves in position for a last second game winning Rob Bironas field goal. He kicked the 47 yard field goal and it hit the right upright of the goal post and bounced off as time expired. The game then went into overtime.

The Titans won the coin toss and elected to receive as the Overtime session began. They then began to drive down the field just as they had at the end of regulation to put themselves in position for yet another field goal to win the game. Rob Bironas didn’t miss this time, hitting a 41 yard field goal to finish the game and keep Tennessee undefeated on the season. The Titans are now 8-0 and the packers fall to 4-4. It was a tough game and the packers played hard but in the end they came up short. Green Bay travels to Minnesota next week to take on the Vikings, their biggest division rival in what should be another close game. I am picking the Packers to win this one by a score of 27-24 on a last second Mason Crosby field goal.
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World Series- Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia

2008-10-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

World Series- Tampa Bay vs Philadelphia

For the past week I have been watching “America’s Favorite Sport” each night- The World Series. This year the teams that are playing for the MLB Title are the Tampa Bay Rays and the Philadelphia Phillies. I am not a big fan of baseball, but I do take the time to watch the World Series each year to see the best teams in baseball face off against one another. This year has been fun to watch. The Phillies are currently leading the Series 3-1 with the rest of the 5th game being played Oct 29th. The 5th game was originally played on Monday Oct 27th, but was unable to finish due to a rain delay and then the decision was made to finish the game 2 days later (which is the day I am writing this article).

The first 3 games of the World Series were close and exciting with the Phillies taking the 1st game 3-2, Tampa taking the 2nd game 4-2, and Phillies taking the 3rd game 5-4. Each game could have gone either way making it very exciting to watch. The 4th game was different with the Phillies hitting HR after HR and beating the Rays by a score of 10-2. Philadelphia was then primed and ready to play Game 5 and try to end the series when the rain started to come down. They played the first 5 innings and the Phillies were leading 2-1 when the Rays hit a ball to left center field driving home a player to tie the game at 2-2. The top of the 6th ended shortly after and that is when the game was called and decided to move it to another night to finish.

Now the teams will take the field in the first postponed game in World Series history to play the last 3 ½ innings. I think that the excitement will be a little more tempered for the Philadelphia fans and team and the Rays will come out and win this game by a score of 4-3 to send the Series back to Florida for games 6 and 7. It should be an exciting final few games of the World Series. I am cheering for the Tampa Bay Rays as they are the underdog and have also never won a World Series.

I will spend the next few nights watching the rest of game 5, and if needed games 6 and 7. The games have been exciting and for a guy that doesn’t watch baseball all year, it has been a nice change of pace from basketball and football. As for the phrase “America’s Favorite Sport” being used for baseball so much, I would have to say that this no longer applies, because football has become the sport of choice for most fans. I will always be a football first fan, with basketball being second, and baseball coming in at third.

***Update***
The Phillies won Game 5 to win the World Series 4 games to 1 over the Tampa Bay Rays. After the rain delay, the final 3 ½ innings were finally played at Philadelphia. The Phillies pulled out the victory by a score of 4-3 winning the MLB title for the first time since 1980.

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The Cougars Run the Rebels Out of Town

2008-10-27T18:21:00.000-07:00

BYU squared off against the UNLV Running Rebels last Saturday and when the dust had settled the Cougars won 42-35. Max Hall led the Cougars potent aerial attack with 4 touchdown passes and 245 passing yards with 0 interceptions. Austin Collie was, again, his favorite target with 7 receptions totaling 113 yards. BYU and UNLV exchanged touchdowns throughout the entire game with the game tied at 21 going into the half. At the end of the 3rd quarter the game was again tied at 28. The final quarter is where things got very exciting.
The Cougars marched down the field twice in the first 8 minutes of the 4th quarter hitting a Mitch Payne field goal on each drive making the score 34-28. UNLV countered back with a long drive of their own resulting in a 15 yard touchdown pass putting the Rebels up 35-34 with 6 minutes to go in the game. BYU then made a long, time consuming drive that used up 5 minutes and went 70 yards with Max Hall connecting on a 6 yard TD pass to Dennis Pitta. The Cougars were now up 40-35. BYU went for the 2-point conversion so they could try and gain a 1 touchdown lead and succeeded with a pass from Hall to Harvey Unga. The Cougars then proceeded to hold off the Rebels in tying the game by sacking their QB in the closing seconds and then intercepting the last second “Hail Mary” pass in the endzone.
BYU really needed this win to not only keep their confidence high, but also to show the country and the pollsters that they still belong in their current top 20 ranking. BYU faces off against Colorado State this week in Fort Collins. Colorado State should give BYU a tough game, but the Cougars should be able to gain another win with Max Hall and Austin Collie hooking up for more long passes and multiple touchdowns. The score will be BYU 45-Colorado State 17.

The Green Bay Packers have a bye this week. The Packers are flying high after a big win against the Indianapolis Colts last week. They are full of confidence and should have most, if not their full team, completely healthy for this Sunday’s game against one of the leagues best teams, the Tennessee Titans. This will be a great statement game for the Packers. They can show the league that they are one of the best teams with a win against the mighty Titans. I am predicting that the Packers really push the “Big Boys” with a pounding running game and an efficient passing game. The Packers win the Titans 27-17.

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Halloween Night Safety Tips and Last-Minute Costume Ideas

2008-10-22T15:06:00.000-07:00

Halloween night is just a few days away and in order to make it a fun night it is important for you and your children to follow some basic safety precautions.

Here are some tips to follow when you go out on the evening of October 31st:

• Make sure and only trick or treat at homes of people that you know.
Try going to neighbors, friends, people in your ward, relatives, and your parent’s place of employment. You could even go to stores and business that are reputable. A lot of them give away treats to children on Halloween night.

• Carry a flashlight and/or wear something on your clothes that makes you visible to cars when walking outside. It is important to be careful when walking from house-to-house at night because there a lot of cars around on Halloween night in the neighborhoods. Have at least one person carry a flashlight in your group and wear something that glows in the dark on the outside of your costume so that cars can see you better.

• If you are an adult who is driving kids around, be sure to watch for kids on the road and obey all traffic laws. If you are driving, make sure and go slower when traveling through neighborhoods where there are a lot of kids walking around. Don’t assume that kids see you and always let the kids cross the street, even if you feel like you should be able to go first. Pedestrians always have the right of way. Be sure to look when backing out of driveways as kids may be walking behind your car.

• Check your children’s candy for signs of tampering. I am sure all of us have heard the horror stories of candy that has poison in it or has been tampered with. Make sure and throw out any candy that looks suspicious or appears to have been un-wrapped and wrapped again. There is no such thing as being too cautious when it comes to your children’s safety.

One of the hardest decisions a child will have to make in their young life will be what costume to wear for Halloween. This is always a big deal for kids. They start thinking about these things when October 1st comes around. They have 30 days to decide what they want to be for Halloween. Some kids know right away and others will wait until the last minute to make a decision.
There are times when we as parents need to step in and make these difficult decisions for them. Due to the past month’s economic struggles, it is important to think of costumes that won’t cost much money if any money at all.
Here are 5 low budget costume ideas that most kids will enjoy and will be easy on your wallet:
1. Nerdy kid. When I was 15, the movie “Revenge of the Nerds” came out. This was a show about a group of nerdy kids who went to college and ended up becoming very popular at the college they attended. That year, me and my friends wore our Dad’s shirts from the 70’s, put on funny looking glasses, and bell-bottom pants. You could dress your kids up in some of your old funny-looking clothes, although the clothes I wore as a kid to be nerds are now in style again.
2. Newspaper Boy/Girl. Give your child a stack of newspapers and have him carry them around and act like a newspaper delivery boy/girl. Don’t tell your child that they really are a newspaper delivery person, just show them what a cool costume idea it is to have a big pile of newspapers and actually give them to the people who give you treats.
3. Football fan. Dress your child up in your favorite team’s clothes/hat and have them go as a football fan. I am a big Packers fan and I would have my child wear one of my shirts, my hat, and paint their face in the Packers colors of green and gold.
4. Borrow a Halloween costume. My mom has a closet full of costumes she has made for the grandkids and they’ve all been worn several times by different grandkids. Ask around, most people have a dress up or costume bin you could probably borrow from.
5. Politician. Have your child put on a dress or a suit and tie and be a politician. You can explain that politicians go door-to-door asking for free hand outs just like Halloween. Make sure you have your child promise the neighbors lots of things in return, like they won’t play their radio too loud anymore, won’t break your window with the baseball anymore, won’t bother you anymore, etc….you know, promise things like a politician does.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween and hope that the Newspaper boy shows up at your door rather than the Politician.

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The Cougars Falter at TCU and the Packers Break the Colts

2008-10-20T15:38:00.000-07:00

The Cougars were bound to have a let down game and it came this past week at the hands of the TCU Horned Frogs. Let me first say that the mascot, Horned Frogs, is one of the strangest mascots in all of college. You would think a Cougar could beat a Frog, but not this year.
TCU topped the mighty Cougars 32-7 in a rout. From the first snap to the end, the Cougars didn’t have a chance. BYU was down 23-0 at halftime and had no success against the Frog’s smothering defense. TCU had 7 sacks and 2 interceptions against Max Hall, who until this game has had a phenomenal year.
This game has hurt the Cougars chances at a BCS game, possibly beyond repair, but it should ignite a fire in them to finish out the season with this being the lone loss. The Cougars might have become too complacent or over confident due to their great success during the past 5 games. The Horned Frogs gave them a wake up call with a game that put the Cougars back in their place. The Cougars need to go into the next game and future games with a fire in their belly wanting to avenge this 1 loss that has most likely knocked them out of BCS contention. The Cougars still have the Utah Runnin’ Utes on their schedule, which should be the game of the year for the Mountain West Conference, but for this coming week they will play UNLV in Lavell Edwards Stadium. I expect a very fired up Cougars squad to come out and show the country that they are still one of the best teams in the country. BYU 42-UNLV 7

The Packers fared better than the Cougars this week. The Indianapolis Colts came into town and found out that the Packers and the fans in the NFL’s greatest stadium- Lambeau Field- were ready to rock their world.
Green Bay put on an awesome show of defensive force with 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns. They also held the Colts to only 7 points in the first 3 quarters of the game. Green Bay’s QB Aaron Rodgers played another mistake free game driving the Packers down the field time and time again for scores. Ryan Grant, the Packers RB, got going in this game and really tore up the field with his hard nosed and grinding style of play. The Packers won this game by a score of 34-14. They were firing on all cylinders and are in great shape heading into their bye week.
They have a record of 4-3 and are atop the standing in their division. After their bye, the Packers will be playing at Tennessee, who is currently undefeated and the best team in the league. It is shaping up to be one of the best games of the year. If you haven’t joined PackerNation yet, hop on board for the ride.

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Tips for a Happy Halloween

2008-10-17T16:37:00.001-07:00

Halloween is right around the corner this year. Most of us think of Halloween as a one night holiday that comes and goes quickly. I am actually not a big fan of the trick or treating on Halloween night, but I do enjoy all the many other fun things you can do leading up to the big night.

When I was younger, Halloween in my family was never really that popular. We carved pumpkins and went out trick or treating, but other than that we didn’t decorate much and didn’t do any other activities. As I have started my own family, and found that my wife grew up in a family that loves Halloween, I have found that there is a lot that you can do in the days leading up to Halloween. I have a list of 6 fun activities that you
may not have thought of, that you could do this year during the pretty autumn days leading up to the 31st.

1. Find a local farmer that is doing a hay ride to go into a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. Over the past 3 years we have gone to the Red Barn in Santaquin, Utah to go on their annual pumpkin patch hay ride to pick out our pumpkins. The kids love the ride and are amazed at all the pumpkins in their large patch. It is a fun family night idea and after the ride you can buy a treat to enjoy. Watch for similar ideas in the area where you live.

2. Decorate your whole house in Halloween decorations with your kids. As I mentioned earlier I grew up in a house that didn’t decorate much for Halloween. My wife has now converted me to Halloween decorating because she brought to our marriage a bunch of different decorations that have been a lot of fun to take out every year and have the kids put around the house. This year we put spider webs all over the outside of our house. We also have an 8 foot Halloween Mickey Mouse in our front yard. The kids love all of it.

3. Go to a Halloween party. Every year there are certain places that have Halloween parties. Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah has all different kinds of fun activities for kids, parents, and even a Halloween dance for teenagers. Another good place for a fun Halloween party is at Young Living Farms in Mona, Utah. This year they are having their “Fall Festival” on October 25th from 4-8pm

4. Buy some Halloween books and read one every night during October. Kids love to be read to, and probably haven’t read many Halloween books. This will really get them excited for Halloween and will also provide good quality time for parents to be with their children every night.

5. Don’t just carve pumpkins, paint faces and even buy plastic eyes, noses, and parts for younger children to put on. Carving pumpkins with your family is fun, but when you have younger kids, it can be difficult for them to be involved very much. This year I saw a little package of plastic eyes, noses, ears, and mouths that could be put on pumpkins to make faces. Our kids have really enjoyed making different faces this year on the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch on our hay ride.

6. Make home-made treats to give kids that are trick or treating. When I was younger and went trick or treating it was an annual tradition to go to my older neighbors, who would always give us a rice puff ball. We would then go to another neighbor who gave us decorated Halloween cookies. The times like this are long gone, but we could try doing this one year and see how the kids react to a fresh homemade Halloween treat rather than the average piece of store bought candy. My wife and I tried making Halloween cookies a few years back and had wonderful compliments and enjoyed sharing our cooking with the parents as well as the kids.

Whatever you decide to do for Halloween, make sure that you remember that you are making memories for your kids. Remember you are making fun and enjoyable memories for your kids to think of during the rest of their lives. The things you do for and with them today will be with them forever.

Happy Halloween!

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The Cougars Light Up the Lobos

2008-10-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

The Cougars do it again. After winning a tough game (in the final 3 quarters) against the Utah State Aggies, BYU comes back to beat the New Mexico Lobos in what was a tough defensive battle. Max Hall had his 3 touchdowns (which has now become the weekly norm for him) and a total of 265 yards passing. The Cougar running game got into the mix as well with 117 total yards rushing led by Harvey Unga with 95 yards. The Cougars displayed a balanced attack with a strong running game and an always potent passing game led by Hall at QB and his favorite target- Austin Collie. BYU also showed that their defense can rise to the occasion as well in the games that become a defensive battle. The defense held the Lobos offense to 155 yards passing and 130 yards rushing (which was good considering the Lobos have a powerful running team). They also had 3 sacks and 1 interception. The Lobos were able to only manage 7 points against the stingy defense of BYU.

In the past 4 games (including a game against Pac-10 UCLA) the Cougars have held opponents to 17 points while their high flying offense has put 158 points on the board. That is what I call total domination on both sides of the ball. I think it would be difficult to find a team that has scored more points and held the opposition to such low point totals for any 4-game stretch this year. With the offense and defense firing on all cylinders, the sky is the limit for the Cougars. They are ranked 8th place in the National Polls and if they can pull off another win against TCU, they should move up even further. The game against TCU will be at TCU and will be a great test for BYU to see how they fare against another tough Mountain West football team who is currently ranked 24th in the National Coaches Poll. My prediction is that BYU will pull out a close game with a strong running game and average passing game. TCU puts up a tough fight but the Cougars win this one 24-21.

On to the Packers. Green Bay finally awakens from their 3-game slumber to take down the Seahawks. The game against Seattle wasn’t the best game the Packers have played this year, but is one that they sorely needed to win. After losing 3 straight games, they knew going into Seattle that they had to take control and put this game away early. The Seahawks came into the game minus their top 2 receivers and their QB Matt Hasselbeck was out with an injured knee. With the injury situation, the Seahawks “were ripe for picking”.
The Packers came out a little flat and were tied at 10 with the Seahawks at halftime, but Coach McCarthy must have really lit a fire under the team during the half because the Pack came out and scored 17 points in the second half and showed off their passing duo of Aaron Rodgers and Greg Jennings. The Packers went on to win the game by a score of 27-17. The win was not much to be excited about, other than it gave the Packers a little extra lift as they play against the Indianapolis Colts next week in Green Bay. Any other year, I would think that the Colts would be victorious in this matchup but with the way the Colts have been playing this year, I have to give the edge to the Packers. With the Pack at home and the combination of a good defense and the hot arm of Aaron Rodgers, the Packers win this one in a shootout; 36-30.

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Opening Morning on the Annual Deer Hunt

2008-10-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Opening day for the general rifle deer hunt is coming real soon to Utah. It opens on Saturday morning October 18th. This is a very exciting time for many Utah hunters. There are thousands of men, women, and children who go camping over this weekend and hunt for the many deer that are found throughout the Utah mountains.

I recall as a child and later as a young man, going on many deer hunts. It was a fun time to go out with the “guys” and camp together and hunt together. During my elementary school years the deer hunt was so popular that the schools would adjourn school at noon on the Friday before the opening day of the deer hunt. I remember being very excited in my classes thinking about how at noon my dad would take me and my brothers to the store to buy all the groceries and food needed for the weekend camping excursion. We would buy all the good stuff: bacon, sausage, eggs, pancake mix, licorice, nuts, candy, beef jerky, and other goodies to bring while we were hunting; and a lot of other food to enjoy over our campfire the night before the hunt.

After buying all the food and treats that we could fit into our car, we would then go home to finish packing the trailer and get everything prepared. I think this must have been my Dad’s favorite time because he was always pretty excited and happy during this time of year and especially when we were all ready to drive up into the mountains for the weekend. We would make the annual, customary stop at the gas station to fill up the tank and us kids would run into the station to get treats and drinks for the drive to our favorite deer hunting spot- Eureka.

After all the stops, we were finally on our way to the mountain area in Eureka that we went to every year that I can remember. We camped in the same spot and hunted in the same big hills. These things never changed growing up and to this day I still think of those times when we were riding to Eureka in my Dad’s old forest green International Scout pulling our old camper/trailer behind us. We would make our way to our camping spot and set up camp and make dinner, tell stories and laugh together and watch as the campfire burned out before climbing into our warm sleeping bags thinking of the morning that awaited us.

6am rolls around really fast when you have been up late on a campout and have been sleeping in a sleeping bag in a camper/trailer. I remember waking up and eating a quick breakfast before pulling on the orange vest and orange hat, then stuffing beef jerky, candy bars, drinks, and more food than you can imagine into my pants. We then drove off to our hunting spot in the darkness of early morning. We trudged up the mountainside trying to get to the top before the sun came up. It felt like the climb took forever as a young boy. We finally made it to the top and the hunt would begin.

In probably 15 deer hunts I remember going on, I think I saw about 5,000 doe and maybe 10 buck. Needless to say, I don’t remember seeing my Dad or brothers get many deer, but the preparation and camping memories will be with me forever. I am no longer a deer hunter, but I still see an occasional doe while in the mountains on campouts and they trigger great memories.
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Climbing Out of the Dark Dungeon of Debt

2008-10-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

In medieval times many castles were constructed. These castles were very large and seemed very spacious to the outside world. The kings and lords frequently built them to show their power and prestige. In the basements of these castles were dungeons that were basically prisons that held those who were captured as enemies of the king, or those within the castle who were thieves or who had disobeyed the laws of the king. These dungeons were dark and cold and those who were imprisoned would be there for their whole lifetime. Life was miserable for those who lived in the dungeon. It was a wretched place to be with the absence of light, shortage of food, being chained to the walls, etc… I am sure the thoughts of “how did I ever get myself in this place?” crossed many a mind back in these days.

In these modern times, we don’t have the large, spacious castles that they did in medieval times; we actually have even larger ones. Many people today have their own personal homes or castles, that they enjoy flaunting to the outside world, showing power, money, and prestige. The one fundamental difference is that the kings who owned castles in times of old, actually had the power, money, and prestige. In today’s world we want to appear as kings and want to live a life of luxury but in doing so we end up in the dungeon of our castle; chained to the wall with a life of misery—having no light or hope to escape. This dungeon I speak of is the dungeon of debt.

Debt is one of the most destructive powers in the financial world if used unwisely. It is said that the love of money is the root of all evil, but I would add that the love of things without the money to pay for them, is also the root of all evil. For this type of lifestyle brings upon us debt. According to freedictionary.com, the definition of debt is the following:
1. Something owed, such as money, goods, or services.
2. a. An obligation or liability to pay or render something to someone else.
b. The condition of owing:
3. An offense requiring forgiveness or reparation; a trespass

The most common form of debt is to lend money to someone else so they can have something that they would otherwise not be able to pay for. The most popular debts are houses, cars, businesses, and education. In recent times this list has expanded to include electronics, furniture, vacations, everyday living expenses, boats, 4-wheelers, etc… These types of debt along with large, spacious homes, fancy cars, and other unnecessary things are what have put us in the financial crisis that our country is in today. We are not only living in our own personal dungeons by taking on such enormous debt, but have also put our entire country in a dungeon because now the country has taken on more debt to try to keep the citizens from sinking into further despair.

I think most of us realize the pain and problems that come with incurring too much debt but we aren’t doing much to get out of the dungeons and the walls that we have chained ourselves to. Just like the thieves in times of old thought “how did I ever get myself in this place?” we too, must have these thoughts as we look at the mountains of bills and debts that lay before us. It is possible to climb out of your dungeon of debt and be able to live free again. I would like to give 4 financial steps to climb out of that dungeon and get back onto solid ground where you can enjoy the light and feel free again.
1. Get out of current debts where possible.
If you can sell your expensive car and get something cheaper, do it. If you can sell your house and get into something smaller and more affordable, do it. If you can sell your furniture or electronics that you are making payments on, do it.
List all of your debts or things you own which you could live without, and see what you can replace. Sell it and buy something less expensive and take the money to pay off all the debts you can.
This will bring you 1 step out of the dungeon, with only 3 left.

2. Pay off Debts as quickly as possible.
Once you have done all you can to remove as many debts as possible, make every effort to pay the remaining debts off, minus the mortgage payment, as fast as possible. This includes the school loan, car payment, credit cards, etc… Concentrate on the smallest loan first and once you pay that off, roll that payment into your next loan and pay it off in half the time.
You are now halfway up the stairway on the way to freedom.

3. Live within your means.
List your living expenses and the minimum debts possible (hopefully just the house) that you can live on. Make another list with all of the income that you and your family are bringing in. Compare the 2 lists and make sure that your expenses are not more than your income. It seems basic but many of us sitting in our dungeons don’t take the time to make a budget and find ourselves sinking further and further into despair. We need to give up only a little in order to gain a lot in the future.
Only one step left, and we have freed ourselves from the chains that have bound us down into the dark dungeons of debt.

Find ways to make additional income.
Part of getting out of debt is not only cutting back on what we spend, but also finding ways to make more money. There are thousands of different ways to make money with little time involved. For example, I write blogs for an internet company twice a week and make some additional money to keep us out of unnecessary debt. This will help us to not only get out of debt completely but also help us start saving for those rainy days in life that might otherwise thrust us back into the dungeon of debt.

Now you have climbed out of the dark dungeon of debt. Life is fun and exciting and is easier now that we don’t have the chains shackled upon our lives. We may not live in a castle but if we are locked in a dungeon, what good is the castle?

For more tips on how to escape debt and an accelerated plan, visit financial expert Dave Ramsey’s website

Report on The Cougs and the Pack

2008-10-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

The BYU Cougars played this past week against the Utah State Aggies in Logan in a classic Friday before general conference game. I remember watching this semi-annual match up many times while going to school at Utah State. When I went to school in the late 90’s the Aggies actually had a team that could compete every year and even won a few games especially when they were in Logan. This year was a different story although the Aggies came back at the end to make an exciting finish for the folks in Cache Valley.

BYU came in to play the Aggies ranked 8th place in the National Polls. The Aggies were coming in as one of the worst in all of Division 1 football. The first quarter really amplified this difference in ranking. BYU had a 24-0 lead at the end of the first quarter with the help of 3 Aggie turnovers. It appeared the Cougars were on their way to another shut out like the previous 2 contests. The Aggies then went on to hold the Cougars scoreless in the 2nd quarter before yielding 10 more points in the 3rd quarter. The score at the beginning of the 4th quarter was 34-0. The fans from Utah State were out in force and the student section was true to their team and was rewarded with 2 touchdowns by their Aggies in the 4th quarter. They attempted an onside kick following the second touchdown and were very close to recovering it, but failed. BYU went on to win by a score of 34-14. The Aggies actually outscored the Cougars 14-10 in the last 3 quarters of the game.

Knowing the coach of BYU, Bronco Mendenhall, and the attitude of this team, New Mexico better be prepared for an onslaught of touchdowns and ferocious defense that wants to show that they are better than they played in Logan against the Aggies in those 3 quarters of the game they played. I expect the crowd to be rowdy and ready and the players to put on a great show when they take in the Lobos in the Lavell Edwards stadium on Saturday October 11th. My prediction for this game is for the Cougars to win the Lobos 45-7.

The Packers are the other team that I enjoy reporting on. Green Bay has had a very difficult year so far. They started out winning 2 games and then proceeded to lose the next 3 in a row starting with the Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and then this past weekend losing to the Atlanta Falcons. The Packers have a great offense which looked really good in the Dallas and Atlanta games, but not so good in the Tampa Bay game, where the defense did their job, but the offense faltered. The defense has looked good at times, but terrible at others including the Atlanta Falcons game giving up large amounts of yardage and yielding 27 total points. The Packers lost that game 27-24. I think the Packers have a pretty good team this year but due to some key injuries and also some inconsistent play it has lost them some games as of late.

The Packers go into Seattle this weekend to play the Seahawks. I think that with the problems Seattle has had with injuries and their poor running game, the Packers should be able to sneak out a win up there. My prediction is that the Packers will close one by a score of 24-21 on a Mason Crosby winning field goal.

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The Garden of Life

2008-10-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I stood in front of my garden plot and stared at the piles of dirt that lay there waiting to be plowed and prepared for planting the seeds that I held in my hand. I envisioned the juicy tomatoes and the crisp corn that would come later that summer and fall. Now it is October and I again stand in front of the same garden with the same pile of dirt, after enjoying a wonderful summer and fall of enjoying fresh vegetables.
My wife just recently gave birth to our third child, our first boy, Dawson. His life is similar to my garden. He is just starting his life out similar to the seeds that I held in my hand. He has incredible potential and can do a lot of good in his life if he is cultivated and given the proper nutrition both spiritually and physically. Just like the soil is prepared in the garden, my wife and I must have a strong marital foundation and happy, enjoyable place for Dawson to start his life in. The preparation that should be made prior to having a baby is vital so he can come to a place that is spiritually prepared and ready. In this state, he can grow and be the best possible person he can be. Cultivating and preparing the soil for the seeds to be planted in our gardens can surely also apply to raising our own baby seeds in the soil of life.

Once the soil is prepared in my garden, I then plant the seeds and apply water and sunlight. These seeds are very fragile and can be molded into a very productive and fruitful seed or a seed that will whither away and be taken away by the storms and winds that will surely come. My baby boy, Dawson, is fragile in a similar way. The things that we teach him by example will influence his life from an early age to be a force for good and will hopefully put him on the path to productivity, just like the seed that is cared for and cultivated. Just as water and sunlight are absolutely essential for the seeds in the garden to grow; unconditional love, lots of praise, and a happy home are the requirements of a happy baby and child.

Now that the seed has penetrated the soil and is growing above ground, the weeds start to descend upon the garden and attempt to choke out the sunlight and hoard the water from the young seedlings, which have now become plants. These weeds must be removed or they can take over each of the plants and eventually the whole garden. The weeds must be removed on a regular basis and the roots must be dug up completely or the weeds will come back as quickly as they are removed. In our child’s life there will be temptations and discouragements and times when it feels like the weeds of life are choking him and ruining his spirit. We need to teach our children that these can be removed, just like weeds, by repenting and partaking of the Lord’s sacrament each Sunday. We need to remember to repent fully or risk leaving the roots of sin embedded in our lives.

Once we remove these weeds from our lives we will find that our potential is great and that our fruits will bless the lives of others. Just like the fresh vegetables I enjoyed in my garden, we, too, can enjoy the fruits of our lives, and find the joy in sharing and giving of our lives to others. There will be a day when the harvest is complete and we will look back over our garden and have many wonderful memories of the sweet tastes of various vegetables and know that we overcame many different weeds in our life to be where we are today.

Life is very much like a garden. We all start out with an empty plot and can do with it what we please. Prepare your soil so that it will be ready for the seeds that you plant. Make sure and plant good seeds wherever you go in life. Give your seeds sunlight and water. Remove the weeds regularly and allow the seeds to turn into plants and to have a fruitful and productive life and allow them to give joy to others. We are all seeds in the Lord’s garden of life. He will cultivate our ground if we allow him. He will help us remove the weeds. He will be there through good times and bad. He will help us to be the best we can.

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Get Out and Exercise!

2008-09-29T15:15:00.000-07:00

This time of year is a great time to get in shape and exercise. The weather is cooler and there is plenty of yard work to do to prepare for the long winter. Autumn is a beautiful time of year and there is no better time to be outside enjoying the few weeks before winter starts to set in. I have tried to stay in decent shape over the years and have found that being outside and enjoying this time of year have always helped me to not only feel better but also to look better. Exercise doesn’t always have to be hard work and drudgery.
Here are several ideas of things to do this Fall with your family and also ways to get in some exercise while doing them:

Play games outside with your family. I have many fond memories of playing football in my parent’s backyard with my older brother. We had the most fun on the cooler nights in September and October. We would play one-on-one or just throw the ball back and forth. It was great because it didn’t even feel like exercise because we were having so much fun together. I now am able to play outside with my own kids, although my girls don’t like football much. We do kick the ball around, play tag, along with other games. The nights are as cool as when I was younger and watching the girls laugh and smile bring back the memories.

Rake Leaves Together as a Family. I love to rake leaves. I don’t know if it is more because I love this time of year or if I love to see the fruits of my labor or if it is just to be outside working. My wife and I live close to my parents and for the past few years have been helping them rake their leaves. They have many tall trees that produce massive amounts of leaves during this time of year. I always get nostalgic when we drive in on a cool late October afternoon to start raking those pretty red and orange leaves. My girls love to jump in them and go for rides in the wheelbarrow as I move the piles of leaves to the garden.

Cook a Meal Together and go for a Walk to Deliver it to a Neighbor. Making a meal together as a family really causes you to help each other and work as a team. My Mom taught me to cook from the time I was young and I enjoyed the many September and October nights making a steamy, warm pot of my Mom’s famous chili and then making several pans of the best smelling cinnamon rolls you ever “laid your nose on”. I remember playing outside raking the leaves or playing football and coming in to a house filled with the fresh aroma of homemade wheat bread. Once during each Fall make some extra soup and extra cinnamon rolls or another meal of your choice and walk them to a neighbor or someone that you know and let them know that you were thinking of them and thought they could use a nice meal and some treats. This will make a great impression on them and even more of an impression on your children and also give you a chance to get out of the house and be together while exercising.

Don’t wait any longer to get out and enjoy the fresh air. The days go by too fast this time of year to be inside. Take time to go outside, play together with your kids, make meals together. Get out and exercise!

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The Cougs and the Pack

2008-09-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the BYU Cougars posted another impressive shutout while the Green Bay Packers got beat by the Dallas Cowboys. I am a big fan of both the Cougars and the Packers so each week I am going to review the previous games played and preview the upcoming games for each team. I do have to say that BYU is looking very good this year and is currently ranked at 11th place in the AP polls. The Packers are looking pretty good as well despite their loss to one of the best teams in the NFL in the Cowboys.

BYU played Wyoming this week in Laramie. This has been a pretty heated rivalry over the years (although not even close to the rivalry with the Utes). Through the years the annual meeting with Wyoming Cowboys has been pretty rough and ugly and lots of big hits, and that is just describing the fans in the stands. BYU went up to Laramie this year riding a winning streak of 3 games including big wins over Pac-10 powerhouses Washington and UCLA. The Cougars shut out UCLA last week by a score of 59-0. BYU beat Wyoming in the same fashion by a score of 44-0 by using a strong defense and its power passing game. The Cougars forced 6 turnovers against the hapless Cowboys and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. Max Hall added to his passing touchdowns on the season by throwing 3 more touchdown strikes making it a total of 15 for the year. All of Hall’s touchdowns occurred in the Cowboys game in only 3 quarters of play. The BYU passing attack seems virtually unstoppable week after week this year. With an incredible offense with an outstanding coach in Bronco Mendenhall and an awesome quarterback in Max Hall along with an improving defense, the Cougars look poised to have a great year making a push for a BCS game and possible shot at the title game if they can go undefeated.

Next up for BYU is Utah State on October 3rd in Logan. Utah State is actually my Alma Mater. Yes, I am a true Aggie, for those of you who know about Utah State. Anyway, BYU should easily handle the under-manned Aggies. Utah State has struggled for many years in football. My prediction for the game is 45-7.

I have been a Packers fan for about 15 years now and have watched only one QB play for them- Brett Favre. I was able to attend one of his last games as a Packer last year when they played the Denver Broncos. It was incredible with the Packers winning in overtime with a Favre touchdown pass to receiver Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime. Favre is my favorite player and was set to retire this year before deciding to come back. The Packers had since moved on to the quarterback waiting in the wings for the past 3 years in Aaron Rodgers. So far this year, Rodgers has been pretty amazing. He has thrown at a high percentage, 4 touchdown passes, no interceptions, and has been more mobile than Favre ever was. I think that the Packers have a future with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers were able to beat the Vikings in week 1, get past the Lions in week 2, before losing to the Cowboys in week 3. Dallas was a far superior team in that game beating the Pack in every phase of the game. Green Bay lost that game by a score of 27-16. The Packers will be traveling to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers. I think the Packers will win that game 27-17.
Tune in next week to read all about the Packers ball game and more analysis on the BYU Cougars’ march to glory.

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Football and BBQ

2008-09-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Fall is my most favorite season of the year and September is probably my favorite month. Not only has football season arrived, but the weather is getting cooler, and the holidays are soon coming. One activity that a lot of people forget this time of year is barbecuing. For most people, summer time is the most popular time of year to fire up that old BBQ grill and throw on some mouth-watering steaks, but for me and other football fans September is the best time for a BBQ. There is nothing better than throwing on some marinated BBQ chicken or some T-bone steaks on the grill while watching your favorite team on the large screen TV in your living room.

I love to grill various meats and fresh, crisp vegetables on the grill. Here is one of my favorite recipes that I love to enjoy while watching the Green Bay Packers or the BYU Cougars play on the weekend.

Steak and Chicken ShishKabobs
1 large steak of your choice (cut into bite size cubes)
1 large chicken breast (cut into bite size cubes)
Cherry tomatoes, green and yellow squash (sliced thick), large mushrooms (pull stems off), red onions (peeled and cut into cubes), green, red, and orange peppers (sliced)

Marinade
2 cups Olive Oil
2 T. Worchestershire sauce
2 T. Soy sauce
2 Garlic (minced)
½ cup honey
4 t. chili powder
Fresh lime juice

Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinate the steak and chicken in a zip lock bag for several hours.
Thread the meats and vegetables on several bamboo skewers until meat and vegetables are gone.
Use a brush to spread marinade on the vegetables and meats. Spray the meat and veggie filled skewers with cooking spray (to avoid sticking to grill). Sprinkle them with your favorite BBQ spice such as Grill Mates and then sprinkle on Kosher Salt and fresh ground pepper.

Heat the grill to high heat and when fully heated, add the skewers to the grill. Use a glove on your hand to rotate the skewers around frequently to cook all sides evenly. Once all sides have been exposed to the high heat turn the grill on low heat to cook the food inside fully. Continue to rotate the skewers but not as often.

Remove the Kabobs from the grill, enjoy, and hope that your team is as successful as your BBQ’ing was.

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Classic Cougar Football

2008-09-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

It’s that time of year again when the football fans get excited because football will be playing for the next 4 months. The BYU Cougars have got off to a great start this year beating some good teams. I grew up in a household where the Cougars football team was the favorite sports team in the family. I have many fond memories waking up on a cool autumn morning hearing my Mom playing the BYU school song on the radio while making us a great breakfast for game day. I wanted to spend a few minutes sharing some more of my favorite BYU football memories while growing up.

On every Saturday during the fall, we would wake up and enjoy my Mom’s breakfast and then go outside to do our weekly chores in the garden and in the yard, before the game started in the afternoon. The games usually started at about 1 in the afternoon so we would prepare hoagie sandwiches and chips while settling into our regular places on the couches. My Dad would go get his old radio and set up in the TV room because he preferred listening to Paul James rather than the TV announcers. I can still hear Paul James in my mind when I think of these fun days from many years ago. It drove my brother and me crazy because the radio announcing came a few seconds after the play on TV. We begged to turn the radio off and listen to the TV, but my Dad was probably the biggest fan of Paul James in the land of the Cougars.

The game was finally ready to begin. Once that kickoff was underway it was time to enjoy 3 hours of watching the greatest team on the planet. We loved to watch not only because they are BYU, but also because they had the best passing attack in football. LaVell Edwards was the coach back then and he loved the pass play. He had long passes, short passes, and shotgun formations. It was fun to see the long passes for touchdowns. It was fun to watch LaVell on the sidelines. We all know his famous facial expressions of frowns and no smiles. He took the game very seriously and knew not to get too excited and not get too upset. He was the most even keeled coach I had ever seen. His record over the years proved that his approach to the game worked.

The players (especially the quarterbacks) that he recruited and coached went on to have great careers in the NFL. He coached Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marcus Wilson, Ty Detmer, and many others. Many referred to LaVell’s system and BYU as a quarterback factory and indeed it was. There were also great receivers; Glen Kowzlowski, Todd Christensen, Matt Belini, and others. They had countless amazing catches over the years. They had great defenses with one of my favorites being the defensive lineman Jason Buck.
It was a fun time for me growing up to be able to watch the awesome coaching and the great players on the Cougars football team. They had many great years and even received the national championship in 1984. Over the years they went to many Holiday Bowls and other bowl games and won the majority of them. Who can forget the incredible comeback led by Jim McMahon in the 1980 Holiday Bowl against SMU or the 1984 Holiday Bowl against Michigan that earned them the national title that year. The Las Vegas bowl brought some excitement last year when BYU blocked the field goal attempt by UCLA in the final seconds of that game.

The players may have changed over the years and now BYU has a young new coach, but they still have a passing game and a winning tradition. When you watch this year think of the great winning tradition and all the great games over the years and know that you are watching one of the greatest teams ever to play the game.

Just be thankful that you don’t have to listen to Paul James on the radio during every game.

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Fantasy Football Fanatics

2008-09-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

I admit it; I am a fantasy football fanatic. I am part of a yearly private league that every year participates in the fantasy football world that includes millions of players. I get excited every year when August and September come because I know that not only is football watching right around the corner, but so is playing fantasy football. For all of those who have never played fantasy football it is probably hard for you to understand why there’s such great excitement for just a game. I will fill you in on what fantasy football is and why there are millions and millions who participate in this game each football season.

Fantasy football has been around in one form or another since 1962. It started to really gain popularity when the computer and internet were more widely used and allowed fantasy football players access to the information they need to play the game.

Fantasy football is basically a game where usually 10 or 12 players get together to form a league. Then these players hold a fantasy draft or a time to pick their players from the actual players in the NFL. They decide a draft order usually by random chance, and then each take turns choosing players to be on their team. Most leagues have teams that consist of 1 starting quarterback (QB), 2 starting running backs (RB), 3 starting wide receivers (WR), 1 starting tight end (TE), 1 starting kicker (K) and 1 defense/special teams (DST). They then pick 4 or 5 players of any position as bench players to fill in during bye weeks or in case a player gets injured.

Once the draft has happened, each owner decides which of his players will play in the first game of the NFL. The players each gain points by how well they do in the actual NFL game that they are playing. For example, the QB gets 1 point for every 25 yards he passes, 6 points for every TD pass he throws, and then the RB’s and WR’s get points for yards gained and TD’s scored as well. The combination of all your starting players’ points that week determine your fantasy football team’s score that week. Each week you play another fantasy football team and the winner is determined by how well your players perform that week and what kind of score they get.

If you love football, then you will love fantasy football. It is very exciting to watch your players week in and week out and makes for watching football on TV even more exciting, if that is possible. It is also fun and challenging to pick your team each year during the draft and trade and pick up free agents throughout the year. I have been playing now for 8 years and have won the fantasy football super bowl twice. I am hopeful for another title this year because I have great players and I feel like I have the experience and knowledge to play the right players each week. The first weekend of football is right around the corner so join your first fantasy team before it is too late.

You will be amazed at the fun and excitement you will have when you join the millions of fantasy football fanatics.

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Football is Finally Here

2008-08-28T14:51:00.000-07:00

The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and it is sad to see that summer is starting to fade away, but the month of September is my favorite time of year. This is the time when the football teams take to the fields to play in the best sport in the world. On September 4th the Redskins and Giants will play in the NFL season opener. This is the day that I have been waiting on since the Giants won the Super Bowl back in February. I am not a fan of baseball and basketball is pretty good, but football is hands down my most favorite sport for many reasons.

Football starts during the most beautiful time of the year. The leaves on the trees are starting to change colors, the weather gets cooler and not so hot, and the kids all go back to school (my wife likes that part). I remember going to Payson High School football games and BYU football games with my Dad as a child. The air was chilly but we would bundle up and get hot cocoa and hot nachos at the concession stands. My wife and I are expecting a little boy (we currently have 2 girls) to be born in September and I plan on taking him to many football games over the years and will watch them on TV with him as well.

Football is the most team-oriented sport of the major sports. You need all 11 players on offense and all 11 on defense working together as one unit whereas basketball and baseball you can have a lot of one-man “showboats” on your teams. In football you need your blockers and your running backs and receivers working together to help protect and catch passes from the quarterback. It is fun to watch how the team interacts with one another and how they feed off each other’s successes and the support they give each other during the hard times.

If you enjoy action, suspense, big hits, and lots of unpredictability then you need to watch a football game. I have never seen anything to compare to a football game with seconds left in a game, the team moving down the field, Brett Favre as your quarterback throwing a huge bomb to a receiver in the end zone, the excitement of the win in the final seconds. I was witness to such a scene when the Green Bay packers traveled to Denver Broncos last year in October on a Monday Night Football game. My wife joined me on this monumental event in my life.

I had been waiting for 15 years to watch the Packers and Brett Favre to play in real life. It was finally my chance. The field at Denver was awesome. There were Packers fans everywhere. The game was exciting and thrilling and the Broncos scored a field goal in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. I couldn’t believe that I was in Denver on a cool October night watching my favorite team and my favorite player now going into overtime with the home team. The tension was mounting as the Packers received the ball first. Favre got under center and faked a hand off and heaved the ball about 50 yards to a streaking Greg Jennings down the left sideline. Jennings outran the defender to score an 80 yard touchdown on the first play of overtime leading the Packers to victory over the Broncos…and I was there to witness it.

Make sure to watch this year’s football…you never know what you might miss.

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The 2008 Olympics Finishes Up

2008-08-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

This year’s Olympics has been filled with exciting finishes, record setting performances, painful disappointments, and even accusations of poor judging and possible cheating allegations. It has been an Olympics that will be unforgettable. The Opening Ceremonies were incredible, Michael Phelps lived up to the hype, the gymnastics were tense and exciting, and many other sports events showed why the Olympics is one of the most watched events in the World.

It began with the Opening Ceremonies which was an awesome sight and feast for the eyes and ears. Beijing put on an incredible show to get the Olympics underway. The dancers and the costumes they were wearing was a treat to watch. The fireworks and awesome displays were amazing to behold. It was fun to watch the athletes enter the stadium each representing their respective countries and each full of hope and excitement at the thoughts of competing with one another for the right to be awarded the gold medal of their particular sport.

Swimming was one of the first events showed in the Olympics. The focus was on Michael Phelps as he would try to earn a world record 8 gold medals in 1 Olympics. He went on to accomplish this feat but it wouldn’t come easily. It started with the 4x100m freestyle relay where Phelps and others started the relay and then Jason Lezak came on strong in the final leg of the race to pass France’s Alain Bernard and win the relay in world record time. I thought this was the most exciting race of the Games this year. The other race that Phelps’ turned up the “excitement meter” on was the 100m butterfly where he won by a fingernail or 1/100th of a second. This was an incredible finish that was so close that the second place finisher had the judges take a second look to make sure that Phelps actually finished first. It was shown that Phelps indeed won by an incredibly short distance. Michael Phelps completed all 8 of his swimming events with the gold medal being hung around his neck.

The gymnastics events were exciting to watch as well. They were going on the same time as the swimming providing many late nights full of excitement and intrigue.
China went on to gain many medals in the gymnastics despite the many allegations of underage gymnasts which is currently under investigation of the IOC. The US went to win several medals with Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin leading the way. There were many events which featured what many felt like were unfair judging, but for the most part the gymnastics delivered one of the most exciting events in the Olympics. The performances were incredible and the way each of the athletes handles the pressure was amazing. When Nastia Luikin won the gold for the all-around competition, with Shawn Johnson getting silver, the U.S. couldn’t be prouder.

There were countless other events that took place that were fun to watch and some were painful to witness. The 100 meter hurdles featured a US woman LoLo, who was leading her race when she hit a hurdle and it slowed her down to make it so she finished without a medal.
The US basketball team has been astounding. Their level of play has been turning most matches into blowouts. There were many more events that took place that should be mentioned but I am out of time for this blog. If you missed the Olympics then all I can say is you missed a great year of the best athletes in the world putting on the best show in the world. It will be another 4 years until you can watch the Summer Olympics again. Don’t miss out on the excitement in 2012 in London.

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Michael Phelps- World’s Best Swimmer, Ever

2008-08-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Olympics are about half way over now and it has been exciting to watch the best athletes in the world compete with one another. My wife and I have been watching the swimming events every evening all week long having a particular interest in Michael Phelps. Michael has been amazing in every race that we have seen him swim in. He has blown away the competition in every race and received a gold medal for the 5 times that he has raced up to the point I am writing this article. He has 3 races left and if he gets the gold in each of those races he will be the first athlete in Olympics history to get 8 or more Gold medals in a single Olympics. He already has 11 career Gold medals which is an Olympic record for the most gold medals in an athlete’s Olympics career. I didn’t know Phelps very well and thought that maybe I should, where he is the greatest Olympic athlete in history and is from the United States. I did some quick research to find out who he was and share my findings on my blog.

According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia:

Phelps was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career. In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his restless energy. He blossomed quickly as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 where he competed in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens he went on to get 6 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.

It has been amazing what Michael has gone on to do in the Olympics throughout his life, with this year being the culmination of all his hard work and dedication. As you watch the Olympics this year, remember that you are watching history being made. You will be able to let your children and grandchildren know that you were watching the 2008 Olympics when Michael Phelps went on to set many Olympic records.

Just as Michael Phelps has gone on to make a difference in the Olympics by his hard work and determination; we can use the same type of effort in our own lives. We can be an Olympian parent, Olympian friend, Olympian co-worker, Olympian spouse, and all of us can be an Olympian citizen of our own countries. We can make a huge difference in the lives of family, friends, children, and neighbors by setting records in friendliness, kindness, or even a simple hello and smile. Make the Olympics part of your everyday life and you will find that you, too, can be the recipient of gold medals of love, trust, and appreciation from those around you.

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Let the Games Begin

2008-08-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Summer Olympics are finally here. The opening ceremony will start on Friday evening of 8/8/08. The excitement is starting to mount for the athletes, the countries, and the many fans throughout the world. I thought it would be interesting to review the history of the Olympics and talk about when and how it all began and how the Olympics got to be what they are today.

According to the online reference Wikipedia.org:
The very first Olympics were in Olympia, Greece from 776 BC to AD 393.
Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833. Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875. This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".

It is interesting to note that the games existed for almost 1,200 years and then disappeared for almost 1,500 years before being revived back near Athens, Greece.
The Wikipedia reference goes on further to say “The Games gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. After Emperor Theodosius I proclaimed Christianity the religion of the Empire and banned pagan rites, the Olympic Games were outlawed as a pagan festival in 393 AD.”
I studied further on multiple websites and learned that in 776 AD there was only 1 event—the sprint—a short run called the “stade.” In 1896 there were only 9 sports and 43 events were included in the program between April 6 - 15: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, weightlifting, tennis and shooting (rowing and sailing were also planned but were canceled because of bad weather). There were only 14 nations that participated and 175 athletes.
Today 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports from a total of 203 countries. There will be many gold, silver, and bronze medals handed out over the next 16 days. Make sure and tune in for the Games this year and cheer on your favorite athletes and support your country. It will be 16 excitement-filled days of watching the best athletes in the world compete with one another in the greatest event in the world.
Let the games begin!

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A Good Movie

2008-08-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Written by my wife who is locked out of her blog temporarily: Rachelle J. Christensen

Yep, it’s still summer and this 100 degree heat makes the air conditioned darkness of a movie theater very inviting.

My husband and I enjoy going to movies for a little date night once in a while. Of course, these days you have to be choos-y but I still think there are some great films available. Lots of us love going to the movies for the cool temperature of the theater and of course, the treats.

I enjoy being treated to the hot, buttery heart-attack popcorn you can only get in movie theaters and my husband loves frozen Junior Mints. It’s not really a movie experience without the treats, right?

We recently saw the second movie from The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. I really enjoyed it and there were some awesome special effects. There’s a great message weaved throughout which C.S. Lewis put in all his books. I loved reading these books, but it was so long ago I couldn’t remember all the details. My husband hasn’t read the books and he enjoyed the movie too. I’d recommend it for the whole family, because it’s clean, exciting, and best of all based on a good book you can all read too!

There’s another side of going to the movie too. It’s called taking your kids with you. Our kids are still pretty young so we’ve only taken them to three movies over the past couple years. It’s kind of fun to watch them watch the movie. I get a kick out of their reactions and questions during the movie. We save this for special events only and as our family grows larger it will probably stay that way, unless they start giving away free movie tickets! :)

On the 4th of July we took our kids to Disney’s “Wall-e” and it was a blast! I think my favorite part of the whole movie was when the robot Eve blew up something and my 2 year old yelled out, “Holy Cow!”

Wall-e was a fun movie with plenty of laughs for the adults and the kids. I loved the message that I gleaned from it, whether it was intended or not, that we need to take care of our earth and ourselves—stay healthy.

I’ve noticed that there are lots of different family events at the movie theaters during the summer. They have special “kid showings” several matinees offered, even deals for dinner and a movie.

I hope that you get a chance to visit a nice cool movie theater to escape the stifling heat and that you enjoy this form of recreation as much as I do.

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The 2008 Summer Olympics

2008-07-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

The World Summer Olympics will be starting on August 8th this year which is next week. I can’t believe another 4 years have gone by. As you grow older the years start to really go by quickly. When the next Summer Olympics take place, it will be 2012. I will be approaching the “hill” as I will be turning 38 years old. All of my kids will be in grade school, and hopefully our country has pulled itself out of the economic “rut” we are currently in.
Anyway, back to the Olympics…

This year’s Olympics will be in Beijing, China. It should be a great event to watch. I have always enjoyed watching the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. It signifies the opening of 16 days of the world’s top athletes competing to gain the title of the best in the world at that particular sport. It is fun to watch the athletes from the United States and other countries walk into the stadium of the opening ceremonies and see the excitement on their faces. It is also fun to see some of the smaller countries being able to participate and send their athletes and have them be part of such a large spectacle.

The Olympics exist for the athletes to share with the world their talents and show their many years of hard work and determination. One of the things I love most about the Olympics is to hear the stories of those athletes who have risen up to overcome different circumstances to be part of the greatest athletic event in the world and strive to take home that Gold medal. Who can forget Carl Lewis in track and field, Mary Lou Retton with her pair of 10’s in gymnastics in ‘84, the “Dream Team” basketball team’s dominance in ’92, Greg Louganis and the more recent star Michael Phelps in swimming, and countless other US athletes that have received medals for their respective sports.

My personal favorites are the basketball games, swimming races, gymnastics, and the track and field races. No matter what events you enjoy and what athletes or countries that you are cheering for, the Olympics will be exciting and a joy to watch and will be 16 packed days of awesome stories, awesome finishes, painful endings, and countless medal ceremonies where the athlete can enjoy his/her few minutes of fame.
Enjoy this year’s Summer Olympics because it won’t be back for another 4 years and you will be that much older, too.

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High School Hero

2008-07-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the Hoyt family- a story of a father with a son who was disabled from birth who made his son’s life joyful and happy by taking him along on his marathons and triathlons. Today I am writing about another disabled young man who had his own dreams come true. His name is Jason McElway.

Jason lives in Rochester, New York and was the team manager for the local high school basketball team. Jason suffers from autism. On the final game of the basketball season the coach asked Jason to suit up for the game. The coach didn’t know if Jason would be able to play or not but wanted to at least have him be part of the team for the last game. Jason ended up playing in the final few minutes of that game and had his dreams come true. I have posted the video of this amazing story below. Scroll down to see it.

I get goose bumps and shivers every time I watch this clip about Jason. The part that is most exciting for me to watch is his classmates and team’s reaction of him going in to play and every time he makes another shot. It is neat to think that these kids had such a great love for this young man and wanted to see him succeed. In a world where many kids are putting down others and making fun of children it gives me hope and joy to watch a story where the high school kids are cheering for someone who has a disability.

I hope that as we go through life we can be sure to watch for others in need and give them those opportunities to succeed. It might be fun to be successful at things but it is far more enjoyable to watch someone like Jason be successful at something he loves. I hope that we can teach our children to love and respect others and to be like the kids at Jason’s high school. We can start by being a good example and also watch for those little teaching moments.

Jason’s dream were made true not just because his coach gave him a chance to play in the basketball game, but also because he had the team, the coach, and the whole school cheering him on. What a difference it would make if we could all follow their lead and make every child’s dream come true. We could start by making our own family feel loved and giving them opportunities to succeed and to make their dreams come true. It may not be as dramatic as Jason’s experience, but we could start by cheering for those who surround us and help them to be the best they can be.

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Football Training Camp

2008-07-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

July is the month known for the 4th of July, 24th of July, hot weather, and…football training camp. I know it seems early to be talking about football, but for us die hard football fans talking football is a year round hobby. It all starts with the NFL draft in late April and then comes the mini camps in May and June. Then the real training starts in late July.

Training camp is a very hard and demanding time for the players. They have 2-a-day practices on the hot field; they learn and perfect the plays not only on the field, but also in the film room and the class room. The players move in together to eat and breathe football 24/7. (If you asked my wife, she would tell you that I eat and breathe football 24/7 all the time).

I am a huge football fan. I am also a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan. I love to watch football, talk football, and read about football. I love to read articles about training camp each year. All of the players come in to Green Bay to practice together and make themselves better as a team. I served a mission in Green Bay and was able to attend a training camp practice. You would think it was a live game by the amount of fans that would show up for these training sessions. People would line the fences and cheer and yell and act like it was a playoff game. I love this time of year because there is so much hope and optimism for the coming season. It is fun to listen to fans talk with each other about players, strategies, coaches, and anything football related. The amount of time and money that fans spend on football is astounding. When you factor in players and coaches salaries, game tickets, concessions, apparel, trading cards, fantasy football leagues, etc—it is easy to see why this is truly America’s favorite sport.

My anticipation for this year is already starting to build. The training camps are opening soon, the fantasy football leagues are starting to form, the football fields are being groomed and prepared for that day when the players take the field, and both the fans and players alike are full of hope that this season will be the one where their teams go on to win the Super Bowl.

(Of course we all know that the Packers will be the team this year to take home that honor.)

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Bowling, not yard work

2008-07-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

Summertime has finally arrived. This is most kid’s favorite time of year. No school. The days are longer and hotter. They can go to the pool, sleep in, play with their friends. For most men this is not our favorite time of year. Football has ended, the NBA Finals are wrapping up, there is yard work to do, and the kids are driving their Mom crazy so we husbands have to find creative ways to make them feel better, (like actually listening). What is a man to do during the summer to avoid losing his mind?

Football and Basketball may be over, but the one sport that will continue all year long and comes on every Saturday afternoon is……Bowling. Okay, I don’t know for sure if it still comes on every Saturday afternoon or not, but I do remember as a 10 year old kid watching this “sport” on late Saturday afternoons when my chores and yard work were done and it was too hot to go outside. I am sure many of us will recall those afternoons when the Pro-Bowling tour would come on ABC and we would be glued to the TV for the next 2 hours watching a bunch of guys in argyle sweaters and bell bottoms throw a ball down an alley to see if they would be able to knock down the pins or not. Here is a link that plays the music when it came on ABC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKug7fdX2Eo

I can still remember the tension in the announcer’s voice when the bowler was trying to pickup the spare to win the game—the excitement in the crowd when the bowler got the spare or the feelings of disappointment when he failed. Okay, it must have been pretty difficult to make bowling sound exciting, but as a 10 year old boy on a boring Saturday afternoon this was a lot of fun.

I was amazed when I googled the Pro Bowlers tour that in the Wikipedia it said “Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Pro Bowlers Tour typically outdrew college football and college basketball in the ratings.” In today’s sports world I don’t even know if they even have a Pro Bowlers Tour anymore and even if they did, it would be nowhere near the ratings that college football and college basketball get. It is hard to believe that back in the day, the guy wearing argyle throwing the ball down the alley beat out watching the helmet-wearing quarterback throw a successful 50 yard touchdown pass to his wide receiver with 10 seconds left in the game.

I don’t think you will have too many kids watching sports on Saturday afternoons in this modern world. They have their iphones, laptops, X boxes, cell phones, text messages, but maybe some of us older than 30 would enjoy watching some good old fashioned bowling rather than doing more yard work this Summer.

(When does the first day of football start again?)

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Sports Criminals

2008-06-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

In today’s sports world it is not uncommon to read a story weekly or even daily about an athlete that is in trouble with the law. We have all heard about the steroid use in Major League Baseball, drugs used in the summer and Winter Olympics, and all kinds of criminal activity in the NFL and NBA. This trend of behavior has got to slow down because at this rate, all the professional sports programs will be obsolete in 5 years because all of the athletes will be in jail or suspended from the sports programs.

I enjoyed watching sports as a child. I remember the great players in basketball- Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Dr. J. I remember the awesome football players- Joe Montana, John Elway, Tony Dorset, Eric Dickerson, and the great Chicago Bear’s defense. I am not much of a baseball fan, but I do remember watching Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, and Pete Rose play. What I don’t remember as well is all of the legal and criminal trouble that we see in today’s sports. I know that Michael Jordan got in trouble with gambling, but that arose when his career as a sports player had ended. I know that Pete Rose got in trouble for a similar problem. I don’t remember players being investigated for murders, robberies, assault and battery, illegal dog fighting matches (Michael Vick), drugs, steroids, and all kinds of other illegal and criminal activity.
While reading this list, you start to forget about sports and start thinking you are reading a New York City police arrest report!

My biggest problem with this type of behavior is that these athletes are rich! They don’t need to rob a store because they are out of money! They aren’t living in the ghetto! They are getting paid to play a sport! They are given millions upon millions of dollars to shoot baskets, throw footballs, hit baseballs, run. These are things that most of us enjoy doing on the weekends with our friends. We can’t even imagine being paid for it, let alone get paid millions. The biggest problem with today’s athlete is that they have turned into spoiled adults. If you think a spoiled kid is a problem, wait until you meet a spoiled adult. This is someone who gets a lot of money, spends it on a lot of frivolous things, has too much time on their hands, gets into trouble a lot, and basically can’t find any happiness because they still haven’t learned the old adage that money can’t buy happiness.

The biggest problem with athletes in trouble with the law is that they have the money to hire the best lawyers money can buy. Money may not be able to buy happiness but I think we have all witnessed it buying an athlete’s freedom. Remember the football player by the name of OJ? He was found innocent of the murder that he was on trial for, but I think most of us think that he was guilty.

I think that most fans would like to see a return to the old days when the biggest criminal offenses were gambling related. Those seem rather minor compared to today’s crimes. I don’t know that this will ever happen but I do know that if the current rate of criminal activity continues, the future of sports will change for the worse. Which reminds me of another old adage; crime doesn’t pay (unless you’re an athlete).
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Celtics and Lakers

2008-06-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Playoffs for any sport are always an exciting time. The NBA playoffs are no exception. Each team has a renewed sense of hope, a chance to win the Title, and they get 7 possible chances with each team they play. The players “kick up” their energy and playing level another notch. The crowd seems to get louder and more obnoxious. This is the time of year that most basketball fans look forward to all year long.

This year, the teams that made it to the NBA Finals were the Lakers and Celtics. What an awesome rivalry over the years: two of the greatest teams in NBA history squaring it off in 2008. 2 of the NBA’s best players will go head-to-head, Kobe Bryant (this year’s MVP) and Paul Pierce. I am not really a fan of either player, but those 2 should be able to make this year’s Finals pretty exciting. There are also 2 great veteran role players for each team- Kevin Garnett (Celtics) and Derek Fisher (Lakers).

This rivalry has a great history of awesome players from the past as well. I am sure all of us remember Magic Johnson and his unbelievable passing ability and drives to the basket. Who could forget Larry Bird and his awesome shooting ability and the way he played the game? Kareem Abdul Jabar had a hook shot like no other. Michael Cooper was a 3 point sharp shooter. Kevin McHale was a “beast” on the boards. And who could forget Kurt Rambis, with his curly hair and big safety goggles being a tough scrappy player who was so much fun to watch.
We all had our favorites and enjoyed watching each year when they would take center stage in the NBA Finals

The Celtics-Lakers rivalry has been renewed and even though the names and players have changed, the attitude and passion for the game still exist. Instead of Magic driving to the hoop, we now have the ultra energetic Kobe Bryant. Instead of having Larry Bird lighting up the scoreboard with his jump shots, we now have the high scoring Paul Pierce. We no longer have the super-short, tight shorts; we have the baggy shorts that hang down to your knees. We no longer have the afros; we now have the corn rows and shaved heads. The black and white television sets with the bunny ear antennas are long gone being replaced by the 60 inch Plasma big screen TV’s.

The one thing that still remains is the greatest rivalry in history- the Celtics and Lakers. (and the refereeing is still terrible).
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The Love of a Father

2008-06-12T18:28:00.000-07:00

Every so often you hear or read a story that makes you feel good inside and may even bring tears to your eyes. I came across such a story a few months ago. It is a story of a father who gave something to his son that was very special. His son was disabled at birth being strangled by the umbilical cord. His name is Rick Hoyt and his father’s name is Dick Hoyt. You may have already heard this story or seen the video on YouTube, but I was able to do a little research on this man and his son and found some other very interesting details that you might not be aware of.

When Dick first took his son Rick for a run, by pushing him in his wheelchair, he was sore for weeks. But then Rick typed “Dad, when we were running, I felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore”. That sentence would change both of their lives forever. Dick started with marathons and then moved up to triathlons, anything to give Rick that feeling of being alive and whole again.

Now they have together completed 212 triathlons, 24 Boston marathons, and countless other events. They not only have completed these events but have also placed very well in each event. Rick types “The thing I would most like, is that my Dad sit in the chair and I push him once”.

There are times in our lives when we are like Rick and we need our other Heavenly Father’s help. Just like Dick, our Father in Heaven will do everything he can to help us finish the race and to feel whole again.
There are times when we need to be like Dick and help our friends, spouses, children, parents, and grandparents get through the hard times by strapping them on our backs and doing all that we can to help them finish the race of life.

The lesson that needs to be learned is that all of us need to finish the race and not only finish but enjoy the journey. If we will help others to the end of the race, we will also find ourselves at the end as well.

Dick Hoyt would have never been able to accomplish all that he had without Rick, and Rick in turn would have never accomplished all that he did without the help of his father.

Here is a link to the video that goes along with this story and plenty more inspiring details about this father and son team.

Introduction

2008-06-10T07:10:00.001-07:00

This is my new sports blog.
I will be writing posts that are funny, inspirational, motivational, educational, and about anything sports related.

I love to watch football and basketball.
I am a huge Green Bay Packers and Utah Jazz fan!

Come visit my blog weekly to catch the latest stories and have a sports break.