World Series- Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia

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

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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The Cougars Falter at TCU and the Packers Break the Colts

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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Report on The Cougs and the Pack

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 Cougs and the Pack

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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The 2008 Summer Olympics

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

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

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

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

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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