Happy Thanksgiving

A Happy Thanksgiving to all. I'm very thankful this year for a lot of things. My family and friends foremost. I don't know what I would do without all of you. My health, my job and all the wonderful students I get to work with every day. I hope and pray that all of you have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.

“By seeing the seed of failure in every success, we remain humble. By seeing the seed of success in every failure we remain hopeful.” -Mel Ziegler

So I was a bit off. Okay, not even close. Sometimes your gut is just wrong. In this instance I’m glad I was off. Not only did the Packers beat the Vikings last week which I predicted so inaccurately but in that win A-Rodg and Greg Jennings got me 72 points combined. Enough for me to score 183 points in fantasy. It was one of those perfect storm days where everything just goes right. 8 of my 9 players scored over 14points. Ridiculous. One of the reasons I love Fantasy Football. One week you score 50points and the next week you score 183 points. The person I beat this week scored 80 some but I kind of wish he would have scored like 150. Too beat someone when they score 150 points is a great feeling. So much for me being humbled. Anyway, I degress. Back to the predictions. While I missed on the Packers/Vikings game I was correct on the other 3 in depth predictions. The Steelers, Patriots and Eagles all won their games. In the overall predictions this weeks winner was Timmy who was 14-2, followed by Topher who was 13-3 and Ford who was 12-4. Sadly I finished the week at 9-7. The overall scores are listed below. On to this weeks games.

Picks for Week 12
NE @ DETROIT
The Patriots are rolling right now and I don’t see how the Lions are going to be able to stop them. The Lions have been competive in most of the their games this year but I don’t see the Patriots stumbling today. Even if Tom Brady who is questiable for the game doesn’t play. In the last 6 Thanksgiving Day games the Lions are 0-6 and have been outscored 213-74. They’ve scored over 13 points just once in that time. I think the Patriots pour it on today. 35-10.

NO @ DAL
Both teams come into today on a roll. The Saints have won 3 straight and the Cowboys are 2-0 after changing coaches. The Cowboys are 9-2 all-time against the Saints at home all thought the Saints had won 5 in a row against the Cowboys until last years 24-17 Cowboys win in New Orleans. I think the Cowboys winning streak comes to an end against the Saints. One more interesting stat. Over the last 2 seasons the Saints are 5-1 in national TV games. Their one loss coming to the Cowboys last year. Saints win 35-21.


CIN @ NYJ
T.O. said this week that Darrelle Revis is an average cornerback. We’ll find tonight just how average he is. Or perhaps we will find out how average Carson Palmer has become. The Bengals have the 23rd worst rush defense in the league. The Jets have the 4th best offense running the ball. I don’t think Mark Sanchez will have to do much in this game for the Jets to win. I think it will be close as most of the Jet’s games are. Jets 24-20.



GB @ ATL
This game should be a lot of fun too watch as 2 of the best teams in the NFL match up. The Packers defense has given up 1 touchdown in the last 3 games. The Falcons are averaging 31.5 points in their 4 game winning streak and Matt Ryan is 18-1 at home. Something has to give. Falcons win 21-17.

_____________________SPA____Topher___Timmy____Ford
N.E. at Det______________N.E.___N.E.______N.E.______N.E.
N.O. at Dal______________N.O.___Dal______N.O.______N.O.
Cin at NYJ______________NYJ____NYJ_____NYJ______NYJ
G.B. at Atl______________Atl_____Atl______G.B.______G.B.
Pit at Buf_______________Pit_____Pit______Pit_______Pit
Car at Cle ______________Cle_____Cle______Cle______Cle
Jac at NYG______________NYG____NYG____NYG______NYG
Min at Was______________Min____Min_____Was______Min
Ten at Hou______________Hou____Ten_____Hou______Hou
Mia at Oak______________Oak____Oak_____Oak______Oak
K.C. at Sea______________Sea____K.C.______K.C._____K.C.
Phi at Chi_______________Phi____Phi______Phi______Phi
STL at Den______________STL____STL_____Den_______Den
T.B. at Bal______________Bal_____Bal______Bal______Bal
S.D. at Ind______________IND____Ind______Ind ______Ind
S.F. at Ari______________Ari_____S.F.______Ari______Ari

_________________________________________________

Last Week ______________9-7____13-3______14-2_______12-4

Season Total_____________18-11____20-9______14-2______20-9

You Know What Really Grinds My Geers

This might come as a surprise to some people but I am fairly competitive. I also tend to get agitated quite easily. I decided for this week’s blog to list some of these things in sports that really irk me. I would love to hear about anything else in sports that irritate you. Below I’ve also listed my picks for this week. My buddy Tim has joined the picks segment of my blog. I told him that he would be a week off but I believe he is confident he will catch the other 3 of us in wins by the end of the year. Have a great end to the week.

Analysts who say a particular game is “A must win game” when it isn’t.

The NHL

People who say small market teams can’t compete in Major League Baseball. Rangers, Padres and Reds were in the bottom 11 of payrolls at the beginning of last year. That’s 2 division winners and another who led their division most of the year.

People who say there is no parity in baseball. Since 1980, 18 different franchises have won the World Series. Since 2000 half of the MLB teams have made the World Series. Since 2000 nine different teams have won the World Series. How much more parity can we have?

People at sporting events who scream things like, “I could do a better job blocking then these guys.” Really? You weigh 120 pounds. I would like to see you try and block a 350 defensive lineman. Really I would.

People who say, “How can you watch Professional Wrestling? Don’t you know it’s fake?” You know what? It is scripted. You know what else is. Law and Order: SVU, Criminal Minds and How I Met your Mother. I probably shouldn’t watch hose shows either?

Any time Shannon Sharpe speaks

People who say NASCAR is lame because all they do is go around in circles. It’s the same things as saying football is boring because all they do is run up and down the field.

People who talk during the National Anthem

Announcers who can’t pronounce New Orleans correctly. Learn how to say it Al Michaels.

When I’m all excited to watch my NFL or college team play and they replace it with another game half way through because my team is ahead by so many.

When a caller calls into a radio show and asks a question. The announcers spend 5
minutes trying to answer the question but never actually do.

Anytime Jim Rome speaks

When someone is speaking about a different team sucking and then they refer to the Oakland Raiders in the same article.

Bob Stoops. Period.


PICKS FOR WEEK ELEVEN

Green Bay @ Minnesota
I don’t really see how the Packers lose this game. Minnesota has everything working against them. The player are revolting against the coach. Their 57 year old quarterback (who I still believe is the “Man”) has a bum ankle and a bum shoulder. The Packers defense has given up 2 touchdowns in the last 10 quarters. I just don’t know how the Vikings win this game. But they will. Vikings 24-21

Oakland @ Pittsburgh
The Oakland Raiders are in first place in their division after 9 weeks of football. The last time the Raiders were 5-4 in a season was 2002. That season they won 9 out of their last 10 games and went to the Super Bowl. Not quite sure this team is at that level yet but they are playing much better as of late. Steelers win at home but it’s close. Steelers 35-34

Indianapolis @ New England
This is the 8th straight year these 2 teams are playing. The Patriots hold a 4-3 advantage over the colts with the average margin of victory being by only 2 points. Both teams are coming off close games. With the Colts missing many key players and the game being at Gillette Stadium where the Pats are 4-0 I see this contest going in the Pats favor. New England wins 31-28.

Giants @ Philadelphia
Which Giants team are we going to see. The team who won 5 in a row or the team that got destroyed by the Cowboys at home. The Giants wins this year have come against Carolina, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit and Seattle. The best 2 teams they’ve played record wise, the Colts and Titans both beat the Giants and outscored them 67-24. The Eagles were rolling on offense on Monday night and I believe it will continue on Sunday night. Eagles 40-28.

_____________________ SPA____Topher___Timmy___Ford
Chi at Mia______________ Mia ____Chi______Chi______ Mia
Buf at Cin_______________Cin ____Buf______Cin______ Buf
Det at Dal_______________Det ____Dal______Dal______Dal
Was at Ten______________Ten____Ten_____Ten______Ten
Ari at K.C._______________KC____ KC______KC_______KC
G.B.at Min ______________Min____GB______GB______GB
Hou at NYJ______________NYJ____NYJ_____NYJ_____NYJ
Oak at Pit_______________Pit_____Pit______Pit ______Pit
Bal at Car_______________Bal_____Bal______Bal______Bal
Cle at Jac_______________Cle_____Jac______Jac______Cle
T.B. at S.F.______________SF_____TB______TB_______TB
Sea at N.O.______________NO____NO______NO_______NO
Atl at STL______________Atl_____STL_____Atl________Atl
Ind at N.E.______________NE_____NE______NE_______Ind
NYG at Phi______________Phil____ NY______Phi ______Phil
Den at S.D.______________SD_____ SD______SD_______SD

_________________________________________________

Last Week ______________9-4____7-6______0-0_______8-5

Season Total_____________9-4____7-6______0-0_______8-5

Good week to be a sports fan

Sometimes the stars a line and all seems right in the world. My high school won their 26th straight game and their 2nd State football championship in a row, Nebraksa beat Kansas to move closer to a trip to the Big 12 Championship game and the Raiders beat the Chiefs to go into the bye week only ½ game behind Kansas City for the division lead. Life is great in Pat’s sports world. I also had the privledge to play “Arena Football” and some outdoor football this week with kids from the Boys and Girls Club. At first this group of 6th graders wanted to play tackle. I’ve always dreamed of plaing tackle football with a 12 year old and lighting him up but when it came down to it I just couldn’t do it. I had my chances but for whatever reason I didn’t think flatting a 95 pound kid was in the best interest of my job.

So I’ve decided to make some predictions weekly about the upcoming NFL week. I’ve never really tried to make predictions before or at least not where others could see it. To make this more interesting I’ve decided to seek the help of a few friends in giving their predictions as well. Each week my buddies Ford and Chris will be helping to give their predictions. For a few games I will also be giving a more in depth prediction. Onto this week’s games.

DET @ BUF
Buffalo has lost the last 3 games by 3 point each and all of them have been against potential playoff teams. Detroit will be out Mathew Stafford this week and possibly the season. Bills win 28-17

MIN @ CHI
The “Man” brought the Vikes back last week and may have helped save their season. Cutler was only sacked once last week but it was also against the Bills. Chicago has the 3rd ranked defense against the run. With Adrian Peterson limited I think Favre puts up a lot of passes which will cost the team a few interceptions. Bears 35-31.

NYJ @ Cle
Peyton Hillis will have a hard time running against the Jets defense. The Jets will pressure Coly McCoy all day. Mark Sanchez will do enough for the Jets to win. Jets 21-10

CIN @ IND
While the Bengals have been competitive in most of their games I don’t see this one being that way. Colts win easy and send the Bengals to a 6th straight defeat. Colts 38-17

TEN @ MIA
Chad Pennington gets the start for Miami. He doesn’t have the arm strength that Henne has and it will show. Miami is 0-3 this year at home. That record will go to 0-4. I believe Moss will have an impact on the game even if he doesn't catch a lot of balls. Titans 24-17

NE @ PIT
New England gave up 230 yards rushing last week to the Browns. Theri defense will play better but their offense won't do enough against the tough Steeler defense. Steelers at home 28-24



____________________ PAT____ TOPHER____FORD
DET @ BUF__________BUF____BUF________BUF
MIN @ CHI__________CHI_____MIN________CHI
NYJ @ CLE__________NYJ_____CLE________NYJ
CAR @ TB___________TB______TB_________TB
HOU @ JAC__________JAC_____JAC________HOU
CIN @ IND___________IND____IND_________IND
TEN @ MIA__________TEN____TEN_________MIA
KC @ DEN___________DEN____KC__________DEN
DAL @ NYG_________NYG____DAL_________NYG
SEA @ ARI__________ARI_____ARI__________ARI
STL @ SF____________SF______SF___________STL
NE @ PIT____________PIT_____NE___________PIT
PHI @ WAS__________PHI_____PHI__________ PHI

Back in the Saddle

Recently I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about which NFL quarterbacks we most resembled. This got us into a debate which led to the following senerio. If I was to make a Camp Gray football team using last years male staff what positions would everyone be. So alas I have made 2 teams where each staff member plays both on offense and defense. For those that know any of these staff members I would love to hear you thoughts on who would win?

Team Strong
QB Sam
RB Andy
FB Emilio
WR David
WR Tim
TE Ryan
LT Josh
LG Michael
C Kevin H.
RG Joseph
RT Tyler

LE Emilio
DT Ryan
RE Tyler
LOLB Michael
MLB Andy
MLB Joseph
ROLB Josh
SS Sam
FS Kevin H.
CB Tim
CB David

Team Bushy
QB Topher
RB Jim
FB Jeff
WR Father Greg
WR Brian
TE Doug
LT Sean
LG Bill
C Pat
RG Kevin E.
RT Eric

LE Doug
DT Sean
RE Jeff
LOLB Kevin E.
MLB Pat
MLB Jim
ROLB Brian
SS Bill
FS Father Greg
CB Topher
CB Eric

Alan Dietzenbach Memorial Softball Tournament

With the 2nd Annual Alan Dietzenbach Memorial Softball Tournament a mere month away I thought I would a share a column from last year's game. All credit must go to my good buddy Skip Carlson. One of the greatest sports feature writers in Sauk County.


Green Battles Back For Dramatic Win at 1st Annual Alan Dietzenbach Memorial Softball Game, Alvarez Named MVP

By: Skip Carlson



Reedsburg - Softball. In my 22 years of covering sports, I've never once had any desire to write about softball. That was until I got word of an assignment to travel to the legendary Fr. Cassidy Athletic Field of Camp Gray in tiny Reedsburg, WI. The 1st Annual Alan Deitzenbach Memorial Softball Tournament was to be played, making this veteran sports writer giddier than the H1N1 virus overtaking a Catholic Summer Camp like a destructive rebel force.



With temperatures hovering in the mid-80s on this near perfect, cloudless morning, teams took to the CAF in advance of the 10am kick off to loosen their cannons and to find the sweet spot on their Louisville Sluggers.



Matched up today were bitter rivals, The Red Team vs. The Green Team.



Before the game, Red Team 3rd Baseman (and sometime color man) Doug Ulazcek lost a heartbreaking Best 2 out of 3 Rock/Paper/Scissor Match with Green Team 1st Baseman Topher Aderhold to determine the home team. This shocking come from behind victory for the Green turned out to be a foreshadow of things to come.



Green Team clean-up hitter Nicky Kaehler got things rolling patriotically for the teams by singing her unique rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.



Play Ball!



The Red Team, led by Derek Behnke and Colleen Schmidt, jumped out to an early and demanding 9-1 lead that had many onlookers fearing the worst: a slaughtering reminiscent of the Pathfinder - Trailblazer Capture the Flag game during session 1. But led by Emilio Alvarez (who, unbeknownst to teammates, was suffering from Class V Swine Flu) and the tree trunk arms and rabid eyes of Andy Schindhelm, the Green team battled back with an 8-run 4th inning to even the score at 9. Green Team 2nd basewoman Corey Seilaf and DH Jenna Keller helped the cause with 2 RBI's apiece.



With the Green Team holding on to a 12-10 lead to start the top of the 6th inning, there was no question whom the Green would send in at pitcher to close the effort: Alvarez. Alvarez, who came in with a 1.26 ERA, brings an unwavering confidence to the hill.



In the top of the 7th inning, the Red Team failed to capitalize on an excellent opportunity to score two runs when Red 3rd Base Coach (and sometime Short Stop) Kyle Gus mistakenly sent base runners home. A terrific throw with laser-like precision from Green centerfielder Mo-T Wilks was snagged by catcher Leanne Tracy. Tracy tagged runner Kelsey Greenwood and then threw out Michael Pennington at 3rd.



After a 4-run top of the 9th to knot the score 16, the Green simply needed one run in the bottom of the 9th to win.



With chants of MVP echoing through the nearby pines, Alvarez stepped to the plate with the winning run, Tracy, on second base. Alvarez waited and watched on the first pitch: Ball One! In what appeared to be a slight miscommunication between Red Pitcher Tyler Thrune and Red Catcher Mary Scanlin, Thrune delivered the second pitch, a floater (when Scanlin no doubt called for the heater). Alvarez's eyes grew to double their normal size as he stepped into the pitch and crushed it back, back, back, back, GONE! A two run walk off blast to win the 1st Annual ADM Softball Game!



Euphoria! Pure, unadulterated Euphoria!



Following the spectacular on-field celebrations came the awarding of the Inaugural ADM Softball Game MVP Trophy to Emilio Alvarez. With tears of joy streaming down his cheeks, Alvarez exclaimed, "Today, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the planet!"



Immediately following the presentation, Ulazcek was overheard saying, "Erroneous".

Dreams

I love dreaming. Whether it’s day dreaming or at night I love it. The reason I love dreaming so much is that you get to go to these wonderful places and experience things you would never get to do in real life. An example of this is a dream I had the other night. I ended up at a Notre Dame football practice with Brian Kelly. Granted I hate Notre Dame football and am in different about Brian Kelly but it was still a pretty sweet dream. Day dreaming is even better because I get to create situations that I would like to see. With the NCAA tourney just getting over it made me think of how sweet it would be to take players in their primes from all of the schools and have one big tournament. As not to have to come up with all of schools rosters I have made a tournament with 4 all-time programs and put them into a bracket with the starting 5. I would love to hear who would win this tournament, what great teams I might have missed and which players I missed on these teams.

UNC vs.
KU

DUKE vs.
UCLA


UNC Starting 5
G: Ed Cota
G: Michael Jordan
C: Sam Perkins
F: Phil Ford
F: Tyler Hansbrough

Duke Starting 5
G: Bobby Hurley
G:J.J. Redick
C: Elton Brand
F: Shane Battier
F: Christian Laettner

UCLA Starting 5
G: Ed O’Bannon
G: Reggie Miller
C: Kareem Abdul Jabbar
F: Bill Walton
F: Kevin Love

Kansas Starting 5
G: Jo Jo White
G: Jacque Vaughn
C: Wilt Chamberlain
F: Danny Manning
F: Raef LaFrentz

W.O.W.

“Hey we should get a bunch of camp guys together in the Spring.” Wise words from a wise man. A buddy of mine had this brilliant idea a few years ago. 4 years later I’m happy to report that the W.O.W. is still going strong. For those that don’t know what the W.O.W. is I will explain. It is a weekend (week) for a bunch of camp guys to get together in the Smokey Mountains to enjoy some male bonding. This includes some adult beverages, a possible cigar or 2 and something called the Father Cassidy Competition. This competition is made up of 4 events. In the past these have included a doubles pool tournament and a combine, loosely based off of the college combine run every winter in Indianapolis. We compete in these events and then depending on what place you take in that event you are awarded a certain number of points. This year’s competition included the following competitions. Singles pool tournament, a Baggo Tourney, Poker tournament and a whiffle-ball home run competition. The competitors for the Cassidy competition included myself and my buddies, Dave, Ford, Miller, Kiq, Timmy, Sean, Blaine, Tyler, Hurley, and Joe.

The first competition was a Texas Hold-em poker tournament. I myself was looking
forward to this event but some were a little disappointed it was scheduled at the same time as “The Office”. Thankfully for him he was the first one out and didn’t have to miss much of the show. The finally four came down to myself, Blaine, Kiq and Sean. Sean was the first to go followed by Kiq. After an hour of battling back and forth with some screaming over poker rules Blaine went all in. Thinking Blaine was bluffing I called his bluff. I was dead wrong and Blaine was victorious.

The Top five scores after he first event:
1st place: Blaine 300 pts
2nd place: myself at 250 pts
3rd: Kiq with 225 pts
4th: Sean with 200 pts
5th: Joe with 175 pts

The 2nd competition on Friday afternoon was a Baggo tournament. Baggo it is a brilliant game made up of a slick board and bean bags you toss at the board. Included in the field of 11 players were 4 former American Camp Association Baggo champions. Joe (2007 winner), Miller (2008 winner), myself (2008 winner), Sean (current champion). I had brought two Baggo sets on the trip but unfortunately my baggo set had been eaten by mice. Awesome. So we were down to one set. The game of Baggo is best played on a flat surface. Finding this flat surface while staying at a resort in the Smokey mountains can be a bit of a challenge. Thankfully were able to find some flat ground. The first game of the day pitted Joe vs. Dave. After battling back and forth for about 45 minutes Joe finally beat Dave. The rest of the afternoon was a tournament filled with beers being thrown down, players screaming obscenities, and 2 of the greatest come backs ever seen in a Cassidy tournament. In games played to 15, Ford came back from a 14-0 deficit to beat his opponent. We also got to witness Dave losing the very first game of the day and then coming all the way back to face Joe in the Championship. Dave beat Joe in the first championship game but because Joe still had to lose twice faced him again. Joe finally put an end to Dave’s winning streak and beat him to take the Baggo Tourney Championship.

Top 5 after the 2 events.
1st: Joe 475 pts
2nd: Blaine at 463 pts
3rd: Kiq with 425 pts
4th: Dave with 325 pts
5th: Myself with 300 pts

The 3rd competition on Saturday afternoon was to be knife throwing. Unfortunately after a few worries of getting arrested and the cheap knives breaking we decided to go with the safer Whiffle-ball tournament. This event was fun but a little sloppy. One of the contestants found out how wet the field was when he went to retrieve a ball and ended up muddy one side of his body. The rules for this competition were fairly simple. Each participant had 10 outs to get as many home runs as they could. Since it was whiffle-ball we designated a home run as getting the ball out of the in-field on the fly. Any ball not a home run or a whiff when swinging consituted an out. The top 3 scores would advance to the 2nd round. Dave and Joe advanced with 4 home runs. Sean and Tyler both had 3 home runs so they competed in a hit-off to determine who would advance. Sean was able to defeat Tyler and move on to the finals. After each of the competitors hit one home run they each took another 5 outs. Here Dave was able to defeat the others with 5 home runs while Joe and Sean weren’t able to hit one out.

Top 5 after 3 events.
1st: Joe with 713 pts
2nd: Dave with 625 pts
3rd: Blaine with 526 pts
t-4th: Kiq and Sean with 488 pts

The 4th and final event was the singles pool tournament. It was an exciting event with crazy shots, huge upsets and the first appearance of the “Purple Monster” on the weekend. Much suspense though was taken out of the event when Joe locked up at least a 4th place finish in pool. This allowed Joe to take home the Father Cassidy Trophy and mark his place in the history of the W.O.W. Kiq ended up beating Joe in the finals of the pool tournament. Thanks to all the guys who made it a great weekend with a lot of great competition.

The final standings for the Father Cassidy Memorial Trophy Competition
1st: Joe at 963 pts
2nd: Dave at 850 pts
3rd: Kiq at 788 pts
4th: Sean at 688 pts
t- 5th: Blaine & Pat A. at 576 pts
7th: Timmy at 514
8th: Hurley at 501 pts
9th: Ford at 463 points
10th: Tyler at 400 points
11th: Miller at 389 points