Football Frenzy

I dove/dived in head first to football over the last 3 weeks and have not been disappointed. The most amazing part of that sentence is understood by UNLV football fans and "not disappointed" in the same sentence. Yes, I was frustrated when they bent over and got their butts spanked in the second half against Utah, but the other 5 halves they have played made up for it. Sitting with my dad in our living room on saturday still seems as if it was a dream. Coming from 10 points down in the fourth quarter? Still no turnovers this season? A one-handed catch in the end zone? By a freshman? From Las Vegas?...I could go on for a while on how surprised I was to even be in that game, much less win! Here are a few highlights.



The Colts almost got off to a 0-2 start, which may have caused me to go into depression. Even though they ended up winning yesterday's stinker against Minny, I had dreams last night of Greg Gumble saying, "Peterson, still on his feet" while I was being dragged by Adrian Peterson for 5 extra yards. That bent but dont break defense will not work against the big guns! I am not worried about the offense. Peyton should be rusty after knee surgery and no snaps in the preseason. Add to him losing half of his offensive line, including the rock Jeff Saturday, and his favorite check down receiver, Dallas Clark, the rocky start is not a big surprise. They looked a lot better in the second half yesterday, hopefully they can put it all together in the coming weeks. I am a bit worried about the defense. Adrian Peterson is good, but I dont know that he was ever tackled for a loss. Bob Sanders needs to step it up!

I am very excited for the Monday Night game. Philly-Dallas. Shay got lucky this weekend that Keith has been taking his meds, or else her questions of, "What city do the eagles play in?" may have led to a homicide in the Las Vegas area. After the boring Sunday Night game, the boys and eagles should provide enough fireworks for the whole weekend.

One thing to think about. With the way Aaron Rodgers has started, do you think the browns are in any hurry to get Pretty Boy Brady Quinn off the bench? They were in similar situations coming out of college, possible lottery pick, but slid to late in the first round. Hopefully teams will start to see the value of a young qb sitting on the sidelines for a few years soaking up information before throwing him into the fire. I think this is a major reason the NFL needs a rookie pay scale, so teams dont feel bad about letting a guy develop instead of having to guarantee 30 mil, only to see him bust out because of the pressure.

Well, thats about it for the first few weeks of football. We planned our flights to and from NY on Jetblue, enabling us to watch the thursday night college game on the flight out there and the nfl games on the way home...thats dedication, homes.

Stuff White People Like

I have a new favorite website (I had to find something new once Keiths blog went all Politically Correct), called Stuff White People Like. Here is the link. http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/

Basically, they have a big list of things that white people like, with an explanation for each one. Also, they have running features like, White People in the News and White Spots.

White Spots highlights places around the world commonly frequented by us crackers.

Honestly, I dont know why I never came up with this idea. The funniest part about it is how much white people love it. The site has become a huge hit very quickly. It was started at the beginning of the year and has received almost 18 million hits.

I love how something like this can be covered in the New York or LA Times as a great or fantastic website, while a site called Stuff Black People Like would be labeled as racially insensitive if links to it were forwarded constantly day after day.

In fact, I think there should be a site called Stuff Black People Like just to educate all people that have grown up in Utah! How else are they supposed to understand their culture when only 57 live in the whole state?

Ok, enough about the color of skin...

For some reason, I have had writers block every time I try to express my feelings on this years NCAA Tournament. The good thing is I am pretty sure I know the reason why, which was my vague recap of the Mountain West Tournament. I have decided to censor myself publicly on the subject so as not to arouse feelings of hatred in myself or from other people. I NEVER censor myself, especially on this blog, which I started to express my feelings and opinions on whatever I feel like writing about, as no one is forced to read, much less agree with me. But in this situation, it felt like the right thing to do. Now, I just need to get over my pride so I can continue to entertain all my fans! :)

Anyways, I will maybe try some live blogging during this weekends action to see if that gets me out of this funk.

Hugs and Hand pounds,
Wink's greatest fan

Championship Week

Only 4 more days until I can enjoy my spring break! Not only that, this weekend we saw the beginning of my favorite sports time of year, "Championship Week."

This is a marketing device created by ESPN for the college basketball conference tournaments that decide who gets the automatic invites to the NCAA Tournament. Mind you, it lasts about 9 days, but ESPN isn't CNN, they don't have cool devices to crunch numbers! (Quick side note: How can these news channels "declare" winners of political races when 1 out of 2500 precincts have reported?) I think the purpose of the marketing blitz is the fact they show the Women's NCAA tournament and the NIT for the next month and know the ratings will be lower than the NHL, which is saying something.

I think there have 5 automatic berths handed out up until now, but the big conferences don't have their tournaments. The greatest part about all of this is the perfect timing of spring break. Now, I don't have to skip class Thursday and Friday for the 32 games played in that time period. Plus, I will be at my parents house in Vegas, which means 62 inches of pure High Definition! Hopefully Keith and Janae can come through with HD this year, they choked worse than anyone paired up with Tiger! In addition to all this, SUU is dedicating 2 new buildings, 2 remodeled buildings and a clock tower on Friday afternoon, which means classes are canceled starting at noon. I still haven't gotten my hopes up too high for this, as it wouldn't surprise me if my stats professor didn't even know about this and gives us a Friday test.

My blogs will focus on the big dance for the next month or so. We are less than 7 days away from the CBS Selection Show. All I need is for the Rebels to come through in their tournament this weekend so I can watch the show without suffering a stress related death. Depending on how BYU does, and our own performance in the tournament, I am expecting a 9 seed...maybe 8 if we beat BYU in the finals. That will be another win over a top 30 RPI team. My word of the month is bracketology...do you read it? I think it moves to daily updates this week, which will cause me even more stress because of the daily movements of my rebels. As long as we can beat TCU first round, I think we are in.

That brings me to something else, but very closely related, that I am excited for. The Mountain West Conference Tournament. Another weekend of exciting games, and grumblings from the other fans about home court advantage.

Here is what I have to say on that subject. Yes, we get a home court advantage, and I have no problem with that. They do all they can to make it feel like a neutral court, i.e. UNLV logos are not seen on the court or in the arena, the rebs use a different locker room, they have to stay at a hotel instead of at home. But all in all, the Vegas fans show up in droves. Any team would give up all those things to host the tournament! To anyone who wants to make comments or complain about this, I would like to direct you to your favorite teams coach and athletic director, they voted in favor of it. As one assistant athletic director said last week, "No one is complaining when the revenue check comes in the mail!" Every team knows from day one of the season the tournament will be in Vegas...deal with it. On a related note, UNLV went to the finals of the tournament 2 of the 4 years it was held in Denver...although not many people would know that since there was no one actually at the game.

Anyways, back to what I was talking about. The Wyoming fans are definitely the most annoying. WYO, WYO, they chant staggering around to find the right seats, since they cant read their tickets through the massive buzz they are enjoying. I will go out on a limb and say the conference has liked the fact they made mini runs through the last two tournaments, it definitely boosts alcohol sales! Since I cant get to Vegas until Thursday afternoon, I was hoping to miss the Wyoming game, but they will probably be BYU's sacrificial lamb in the late first round game.

New Mexico has a crazy tattooed guy that always comes. I expect a big number of NM fans, since they need a good run to lock up a tournament spot. And Air Force always has the few cadets that make the trip. As always, BYU will have their fair share of fans, but since it is a football school, they wont really show up until the finals. AS for the other teams, I don't think San Diego State really has any fans. TCU is just too far away for them to play in our league, although they make our football seem better. Colorado State hasn't won a game yet in conference, which equals a play in game exit wednesday morning. I don't know who would pay to see just that game. Utah will have a smattering of fans, but they wear red and will blend in with the UNLV and New Mexico fans.

I will make predictions later in the week, but let me just say this. The one team I do not want to play is Utah. Luke Nevill is a much better NBA prospect than Trent "I am such a horrible free throw shooter my wife is addicted to pain killers" Plaisted.

All in all, it is shaping up to be a great month. Wedding plans are gliding along smoothly, Shay will even be joining me for the conference tournament. As will one of my good friends, who just happens to be a BYU fan. Trevor "Cosmo" Tripp and his fiance Lauren will be staying with us.

To end, I have one complaint, why does this all have to happen in March when the weather starts getting warmer and it is absolutely beautiful outside?

Signed,
Bracketologist in training

An empty mind

I have a huge desire to write a great blog today, but nothing is coming to me. Its been that kind of week. I guess I will just give some updates since my last post.

Wedding plans are coming along great. We went to Vegas this weekend to get a few things done. Our open house in the backyard is going to be very fun. I shouldnt even call it an open house, it will be a big party. We were looking into putting a plexiglass dancefloor over the pool, with floating lights underneath, but it ended up being too expensive. A custom floor needs to be made...too bad.

The best part of the weekend was a Full Ho feast. No, Full Ho is not one of those vegas clubs...it is a great little chinese place off Jones and 95. I think I had a whole takeout box of Kung Pao beef.

I am currently sitting in my Geology Natural Disasters class. I dont think I have ever taken a more worthless class, but it count for the same GE credit as Chemistry. Our labs have been identifying rocks and minerals...stuff I did in junior high. The Professor is really cool though, that is what keeps me coming to class. He gets so excited about hot spots and earthquakes. There are a few guys in my class who suck up to him daily, which only makes him more excited to teach.

I recently discovered the game that Keith and janae have on the tops of their blogs, something like travelpod. Talk about an addiction! I still havent matched keiths high score, but I am getting there. Geology is a great time to practice. My sudoku is also improving rapidly. I will be taking alec to school soon! Wow, I sound like such a dork...but im not scared to admit my sudoku addictions. In fact, I always have one little book in my backpack, one in my car and another in the living room. Whenever I feel the urge, I can satisfy my brain. Monday, I had a two hour break between classes and didnt have any homework to do. I didnt feel like going home, so I went to the library and broke out the sudoku. Those two hours passed so fast!

Well, thats it for this rambling post. Hopefully I will have a more interesting topic to blog about later this week. March Madness is only a few weeks away...

Moving to Brazil

I made the decision today that i am moving to Brazil each September through the first week of February. Thats what it takes for my Colts to win the Super Bowl. They broke my heart again today against the Chargers. 3 turnovers inside the 20 yard line. It should have been a blowout. I am kinda jealous of Keith and the Eagles...but I am sure that will only last for a few days. At least the Colts are a playoff team!

Another thing that influenced my decision to move to Brazil was hearing the beautiful portuguese language in church today. There is a girl from Rio in my ward and she has only lived here for a month. She was asked to give the closing prayer, but was given the choice to do it in either languages. It was amazing! I was able to talk to her for a few minutes after church. My portuguese is still pretty good!

I made it!

The week is over! Once I get through the first week or so, the hopeless feelings subside. I was actually one of the few that understood our stats homework this week, although Im sure that will not be a normal thing!

A miracle happened last night! Shaylee came over and we watched the Jazz-Suns game. Let me say that again in different terms, a cute girl came over just to cuddle on the couch and watch an NBA game! Not only that, but she knew who each and every one of the players were. One of my dreams has now been fulfilled! At halftime, I told her I was living a dream...I wasnt joking. Dad and Alyssa were sitting front row on the baseline about 3 steps away from the jazz bench and even got some tv time on TNT.

The second biggest thing that happened this week was my huge Madden victory over Justin. We have had some epic battles since coming back up here. The other night I beat him 72-34! Yesterday he beat me to gain back some dignity, but the damage was done.

I would like to give a shout out to Uncle Keith for publicly announcing to the world my disdain for dogs. Now, maybe people will stop being so surprised about that fact when it inevitably reveals itself!

Thats all for now. I got Justin and Shaylee into Friday Night Lights so we will probably spend most of the weekend watching that!

This Fishbowl Life is All They Need

Let me start by saying I am glad I dont live in a fishbowl. If you dont know what I am talking about, listen to Into The Airwaves on my music player.

Anyways, my SLC trip has come to an end. I have had such a good time, but am ready to head home for the holidays. Let me recap the last few days.

Sunday we were able to relax and enjoy life. Keith got a bit worked up by the Miami victory, which was funny for the rest of us to watch. Alec and Janae love to play Pinochle on yahoo games, but Janae doesnt have a great rating. They decided that they would play together, and I would play against them at the same table with someone else. Once the first hand was over, I would quit which means a forfeit, and their ratings would go up. Tiff got a great picture of all of us on the couch with our laptops. That night, I talked Kadee and Troy into coming up and chilling with us for the night. Shaylee came up also and we had a good time playing Guitar Hero and watching The Bourne Ultimatum. I defended my speed crown against Shaylee, which I dont let her forget!


On Monday, I drove up to Logan with Shaylee and her twin Kylee to visit Lindsey and Richard. Lindsey, Richard and I went to lunch at the restaurant where Lindsey works. Her rooommate, Anne, was our waitress. When Richard and I get together, we have a good time, especially at restaurants. Poor Anne got the brunt of our jokes, which included Richard asking her to wipe the ice cream off the sides of his mouth! After, we went back to Lindseys house and watched the Jack Johnson DVD while having a discussion about lifes deepest, darkest secrets. Shaylee, Kylee and their friend Leslie Ann joined us for a while, which somehow led to a discussion about the 7 wonders of the world. We looked them up on Wikipedia (speaking of wikipedia, does it bother anyone else that wikipedia get such a bad rap from educated people?) and found out that there are many more than seven wonders, in fact there is a world panel whose only purpose is to define the seven wonders of the world!

From Logan, we headed back to Shay's house for her families annual visit from Santa. This was my first time meeting her family and I was very impressed. We had a great dinner and then it was time for santa. He loved giving me and James (Kylee's boyfriend) love advice! Overall, it was a very fun night.

Tiff's little brother Austin flew in yesterday so he has been partying with Alec and I. Today we decided to go to the zoo. Austin had never been and so we went. We actually had a pretty good time. We were one of maybe 10 people in the whole place. Following the zoo, we headed to the Gateway so I could finish up my Christmas shopping. I was able to get everything I needed, which is a record for me because there is still a week before Christmas. One side note on the trip. Alec has gotten me addicted to Sudoku. I got a Sudoku book today because I am hooked.


Tonight, Shaylee and I went to Temple Square to look at the lights. I had not been there around Christmas time for so long! Temple square was decked out and so was the plaza between the Joseph Smith building and the church office buildings. They had a bunch of paper bags with different Christmas related words punched out in different languages. It was really cool. We sat in front of the Christus statue for a few minutes, which I really enjoyed. After we were done there, we went to Starbucks for some hot chocolate. Shaylee had never been inside of a starbucks...what a utah girl!

When I got back to Alec and Tiff's house, we sat around talking for a while. I called Jessica to ask her about the Chris Brown concert and while I was on the phone, Alec started doing different dances. He started out with the Soulja Boy and moved on to different mission inspired dances. He ended by performing a cheer in front of the tv. I was literally on the ground laughing!

I have really enjoyed my time up here. This is really the first time I have been able to spend a lot of time with Alec since he has been home. Also, I spent a lot of time with Shaylee, which has been amazing. She is such a cool girl and I enjoy getting to know her. Hopefully I can convince her to come down for New Years! I cant believe there is only another week until Christmas. I cant wait to go look at lights with the fam. That is one of my favourite traditions, right behind Christmas Breakfast at Grams, but I will save those things for another day.

Remember, its gonna be a hard day, so hang on, dont panic, there simply is no need. We are hanging here.