The game for Goon and B.o.a.D.M...

Being as I was way too intoxicated at Saturday night's game (Blues vs Wild) with FREE Beer, Food, and the love for the game of Hockey, I didn't take any pictures from the club seats I received Free again from my old college friend Mark, whom now works for the Blues. BUT on a plus side, a fellow Blues Talk Forum friend did call me on Sunday to ask me if I wanted to sit 5 rows off the glass for the Bruins vs Blues game.

So in lieu of that, here's some photos from the game: (and no I'm not quiting my day job to take action pictures at hockey games with my shitty camera phone)

(This was taken during the 2nd period, my hangover was just starting to remove the fog in my vision)
(I can see clearly now the fog is gone... Not really just my camera sucks sometimes)
(the start of the 3rd, and the Blues are getting to the net hard, Bruins fan population: 1 ) (You know Blake Wheeler was a big baby when he was in college, I don't know what happened to him, maybe he hit puberty, but he's huge now, and looked really good last night. Sorry that's just a rarity for me)

Congratulations.... Graduate

In honor of my Brother completing a great chapter in his life, I'm dedicating this post to the newest of College Grads from the Accredited University of North Dakota. (Fighting Sioux) This man is an Iraqi War Hero, a veteran of almost all drinking games, and a soon to be Certified Public Accountant doing International Tax for Deloite (after all the man has visited quite a few countries it just fits).

In lieu of this great honor I'm going to talk about one of my brother's favorite baseball players:

I went searching online for some funny Rickey Henderson quotes and anecdotes. Who doesn’t love Rickey? I know Rickey loves Rickey. My brother loved Rickey. I found what I was looking for at chiefsplanet.com.

Here are five of my favorites, but you can check out Chiefs Planet’s Top 25 by clicking on the link above. Well, onto Rickey:

1. In 1996, Henderson’s first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, “You have tenure, sit wherever you want.” Henderson looked at Finley and said, “Ten years? Ricky’s been playing at least 16, 17 years.”

2. Trying to get back into baseball, Henderson reportedly called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message on his answering machine: “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball.”

3. A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.”

4. Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.”

5. When he was on the Yankees in the mid-1980s, Henderson told teammates that his condo had such a great view that he could see, “The Entire State Building.”

Well brother my gift to you was a little humour of sorts, and a few ladies have a couple words to say to you as well:
Marissa says, "Don't forget your ipod you borrowed to me before you leave to Minny"
(Can't you see she's really excited for you, and sad all at the same time?)
And Jen says, "Eric you really should wear this tie to your 1st day of your 'Big Kids Job'"
(No Jen, I'll be happy to take that tie off your hands....)
Congratulations again Graduate!

I am NUMBER ONE..

HEY.... HEY... WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE NUMBER 1......So Last year a team went 14-2 in the NFL. Another team went 4-12. So one team decides that their Quarterback is too old, and they want to start with a fresh young Quarterback.

Well if I was a Packer's fan, (which I'm not) but I'd be kicking myself right now. I mean the Pack is 5-9, and are on a 4 game waterfall.. Does anyone remember when people were laughing at Brett? Do they remember when they were praising A-Rod (the NFL version) about how he was the next one? I do.. The reason for this post is simply the folks on the racing forums back home whom called me out at the beginning of the season, saying that the Pack's going places, and that the Vikes will be good, but will struggle when the games get bigger.(I have no problem with that assessment on the Purple Queens, I mean they deserve 10-15 years of bad luck for making that horrible song about going to Miami, remember that circa '01?) (I still laugh every time I see this video game cover)

In lieu of today's games. The Pack is stumbling, and the Jets went from a 4-12 team to now 9-5 and PLAYOFF BOUND.. Does a Quarterback make that big of a difference?? In this case yes..
Happy Sunday, Hope everyone catches T.O.'s team playing the Giants tonight. I hope Dallas loses so there can be more Drama for "America's team". Tony Homo is just going to run home to Jessica Simpson in her Daisy Dukes. (I mean I know I would. Fuck it I got paid)
Payton Manning is giving the Cowboy's 2 more games until they dismiss their coach, shop T.O. to another team, and maybe Romo might actually grow some balls..

When your coaches voice goes hoarse...

It's tough when you're coaching a team plagued with injuries, but yet you're still proving the media pundits wrong. The media in almost every publication basically declared the Blues a top 3 pick in the '09 Draft. Not a bad deal considering who's going to be up in that draft. But I didn't think the Blues would stay down there at all. With 3 scoring lines, and some freshy's that can and will make a huge impact I thought this team was going to scare and make a lot of people eat crow. They did for the 1st 6 games, then the injuries started, and its been treading at .500 ever since.

ONTO THE FACTS:
Did you know the last team to take San Jose (who's currently on a 26 game home unbeaten streak) in OT at home, was the St Louis Blues (Nov. 6th'08). Which brings me to my next hopeful thought:

"THE BLUES WILL TAKE SAN JOSE INTO OT." Garnering a point. I say the King's are the Blues Kryptonite, and the Blues are the Sharks Home Ice Kryptonite. (Or I could be dead wrong about my gut feeling, and watch the blues tonight get demolished by the Fish Eating Beasts.)

Last thought on this topic, "the Blues will have a huge uplift when everyone returns to the lineup from injuries, thus making it so much easier to watch a team barely lose, win, and then get demolished by teams." Also tonight is the Blues 6th game in 9 nights.. (hope they have better recharging machines then my energizer one I plug into the wall, cuz that takes at least a day and half..)


COLLEGE NEWS:
I'm excited to see my patience with the Fighting Sioux start coming to fruition. As they have scored lots of goals in the past the 5 games. They are on a winning streak, and a second consecutive sweep with a win tonight will prop them into the national rankings again. Hopefully all the people who were jumping off cliff's earlier this year, landed in those huge foam pits (god, I loved going to my ex-girlfriends sister's gymnastics practice to pick her up, because every time they'd let me jump from the trampoline into the foam pit.... ahh... to be a 16-18year old again...sigh...) For more info on the UND Men's team check out Goon's World, Sioux Yeah Yeah, and The Great Hockey Blog over on my dailies tab...

Best League in the NCAA is....

In lieu, of my previous post I decided that since UND, or a WCHA team wasn't on the top of the list, I devised a way to show a different perspective. Scroll to the bottom for quick analysis..

WCHA had 81 players, playing the NHL in 07-08, having all 10 of the teams contributing:
18(Wisconsin)16(North Dakota)13(Minnesota)12(St. Cloud State)8(Denver)8(Colorado College)4(Minnesota State)4(Minnesota Duluth) 3(Michigan Tech)1(Alaska Anchorage)

CCHA 71 players, with all 12 teams contributing:
22(Michigan)6(Bowling Green)3(Alaska)1(Ferris State)5(Lake Superior State)13(Michigan State) 5(Miami)4(Nebraska-Omaha)1(Northern Michigan)5(Ohio State)4(Notre Dame)2(Western Michigan)

Hockey East 58 players with all 1o teams contributing:
15(Boston College)12(Boston University)10(Maine) 2(Massachusetts)5(New Hampshire) 1(Merrimack)3(UMass-Lowell)6(Vermont)3(Providence)1(Northeastern)

ECAC 32 players, with 9 of 12 teams contributing:
8(Clarkson)4(Colgate)4(Cornell) 5(Harvard)3(Dartmouth)2(RPI)2(Princeton)2(St. Lawrence)2(Yale)

AHA 2 with 2 of 10 teams contributing: 1(Holy Cross)1(Army)

CHA:1(Bemidji State) Only 1 team of 7 teams in conference contributing.

DIII Hockey: 2(Norwich,VA)

1st: WCHA has 2 less teams, which is averaging sending 8.1 players per team to the NHL. CCHA has 2 more teams, and is averaging a bleak 5.9 players into the big show per team... So CCHA saying they're "close"... Are they really?? If the WCHA expanded to 12, they'd probably put out 97 players.. (I can't wait to see what this looks like at the All-Star break or at the end of the year.. )

2nd: Is it just me or is the AHA and CHA getting better street cred, then the EZ league?? Look at these stats, and you'll see why the WCHA doesn't want to add BSU to the WCHA (They'd obviously bring down the avg's and I'm not talking attendance levels..) and why was Air Farce getting wrote up as the Next NCAA Tourney Champs?!?!?!? Looking at this, it's embarrassing to have thought that.. (Good thing I never did)

3rd: Norwich? 2 Kids played D3, and went on to the Big League.. Air Farce, has yet to do that, oh wait there's 18 other D-1 schools that can't say they've ever progressed a kid into the NHL..

4th and Final thought:
How bad-ass would the WCHA still be if they still had Michigan, Michigan State, and Notre Dame?!? Granted to take these 3 back, they could deal away Alaska, and keep it a 12 team League. But the NCAA needs a little bit of parity..... so we'll never see that happen again..

Happy Friday, Sioux will sweep the Cloudy Red HuskyWolves or whatever.. (How are they ranked over the Sioux?.. Guess we'll find out if its the truth or if every one's dead wrong about the tribe)

So the NCAA isn't a place to develop into the Pro's?

In lieu of some idiot that told me the NCAA isn't the best place for future NHL players, and then for the sole argument of which school has developed more players into the NHL? I decided to compile some stuff. Now keep in mind this list is of NCAA Schools that had the most players who played in the NHL in 07-08, which by the total of players is 253! 253 players, meaning I could field 11 and half teams in the NHL with former NCAA players :

22(Michigan) Andrew Ebbett, Matt Hunwick, Aaron Ward, David Moss, Eric Nystrom, Danny Richmond, T.J. Hensick, Marty Turco, Andrew Cogliano, Mike Van Ryn, Mike Cammalleri, Jack Johnson, Mike Komisarek, Josh Langfeld, Jed Ortmeyer, John Madden, Mike Comrie, Andy Hilbert, Jeff Tambellini, Mike Knuble,Mike Brown,Brendan Morrison (Most NCAA titles, but haven't won lately, I'm kind of miffed at this... Maybe 4 great NHL'ers in this crowd?)

18(Wisconsin)Curtis Joseph, David Tanabe,Rene Bourque, Adam Burish, Jake Dowell, Jack Skille, Chris Chelios,Brian Rafalski, Tom Gilbert, Sean Hill, Ryan Suter, Steve Reinprecht, Brian Elliott, Kyle Turris, Dany Heatley,Andy Wozniewski,Robbie Earl,Joe Pavelski
(Not surprising they've won a NCAA title recently, but today's day and age, they're over recruiting, and it'll start to show later I'd give them 6 Great NHL'ers in this crowd)

16(North Dakota) Drew Stafford,David Hale,Ryan Bayda, Jonathan Toews, Matt Greene, Brady Murray, Brandon Bochenski, Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Jason Blake, Matt Smaby, Ryan Johnson, Matt Jones, Brian Lee, Mike Commodore(Shocked at the low count, but understandable they rebuilt from their last championship, and 11 of them joined the NHL within the past 4 years. I'll go with 7 Great NHL'ers in this crowd)


15(Boston College)Andrew Alberts, Bobby Allen, Chuck Kobasew,Patrick Eaves, Marty Reasoner,Brian Boyle, Jeff Giuliano, Peter Harrold, Brian Gionta, Mike Mottau,Bill Guerin,Ryan Shannon,Scott Clemmensen,Brooks Orpik,Rob Scuderi (3 Great NHL'ers)

13(Minnesota) Phil Kessel, Thomas Vanek, Jordan Leopold, Wyatt Smith, Paul Martin, Barry Tallackson, Johnny Pohl, Erik Johnson, Jeff Taffe, Alex Goligoski, Keith Ballard, Ryan Potulny, Kyle Okposo (Shocking with how many times this teams considered a contenders, they don't have more? 6 Great NHL'ers)
13(Michigan State)Drew Miller, Jim Slater, Ryan Miller, Rod Brind'Amour, Duncan Keith, John-Michael Liles, Justin Abdelkader, Shawn Horcoff,David Booth, Bryan Smolinski,Mike York,Adam Hall,Mike Weaver (4 Great NHL'ers)


12(St. Cloud State)Casey Borer,Tim Conboy, Matt Cullen,Bret Hedican, Joe Jensen, Tyler Arnason, Jeff Finger, Duvie Westcott, Mark Hartigan, Mark Parrish,Ryan Malone, Joe Motzko (Who would've thought that a school that has never won an NCAA game would put out more NHL players, then a team that has won numerous titles? (No offense Denver) 4 Great NHL'ers)
12(Boston University) Joe DiPenta, Adrian Aucoin, Jay Pandolfo, Shawn Bates, Rick DiPietro,Tom Poti, Chris Bourque,Keith Tkachuk, Ryan Whitney, Chris Drury, Freddy Meyer,Mike Grier (4 Great NHL'ers)

10(Maine)Brett Clark, Ben Guite, Jim Howard,Dustin Penner, Ted Purcell, Keith Carney, Greg Moore,Mike Lundin,Doug Janik,Paul Kariya (Weak they've only put out 1 Great NHL'er)

8(Denver)Kevin Doell, Paul Stastny, Gabe Gauthier, Wade Dubielewicz, Ryan Caldwell, Matt Carle, Connor James, Matt Pettinger (With that many titles recently you would have thought more right? Me too, only put out 2 Great NHL'ers)
8(Colorado College)Brett Sterling, Colin Stuart, Mark Stuart, Curtis McElhinney, Toby Petersen, Tom Preissing, Noah Clarke,Jack Hillen (1 Great NHL'er)
8(Clarkson) Kent Huskins, Todd Marchant, Todd White, Craig Conroy, Erik Cole, Randy Jones,Willie Mitchell,Chris Clark (Shocking Clarkson is in this group? No NHL Greats, sorry Conroy)

6(Bowling Green)Ken Klee, Rob Blake, Greg De Vries, Mike Johnson,Alex Foster,Kevin Bieksa
6(Vermont) Eric Perrin, Tim Thomas, Patrick Sharp,Aaron Miller,Martin St. Louis,Torrey Mitchell

Flying 5... Getting close to becoming top tier:
5(New Hampshire) Mark Mowers, Darren Haydar, Garrett Stafford,Daniel Winnik, Ty Conklin
5(Lake Superior State)Doug Weight, John Grahame, Brian Rolston, Jim Dowd,Bates Battaglia
5(Ohio State)Rod Pelley,R.J. Umberger, Nate Guenin,Dave Steckel,Ryan Kesler
5(Harvard)Craig Adams, Noah Welch, Tom Cavanagh,Craig MacDonald,Dominic Moore
5(Miami)Kevyn Adams, Andy Greene, Randy Robitaille,Dan Boyle,Mike Glumac

Four's a group:
4(Colgate)Joey Mormina,Cory Murphy, Jesse Winchester,Andy McDonald
4(Minnesota State) Ryan Carter,Tim Jackman, Steve Wagner, David Backes

4(Minnesota Duluth)Matt Niskanen, Craig Weller,Junior Lessard,Mason Raymond
4(Nebraska-Omaha) Jeff Hoggan, Dan Ellis, Greg Zanon, Bill Thomas
4(Cornell) Matt Moulson, Ryan O'Byrne,Doug Murray, Mike Iggulden
4(Notre Dame)Brett Lebda, Rob Globke,Mark Eaton,Yan Stastny

Three's company:
3(UMass-Lowell)Ron Hainsey,Dwayne Roloson,Ben Walter
3(Michigan Tech) Clay Wilson, Chris Conner, Andy Sutton
3(Providence)Fernando Pisani,Hal Gill,Jay Leach

3(Alaska)Jordan Hendry, Aaron Voros, Kyle Greentree,
3(Dartmouth)David Jones, Tanner Glass,Lee Stempniak

Dynamic Duos:
2(Massachusetts)Jonathan Quick,Thomas Pock
2(St. Lawrence)John Zeiler, Rich Peverley
2(Norwich)Keith Aucoin, Brad Winchester
2(Western Michigan)Joe Corvo, Jamal Mayers
2(Yale)Jeff Hamilton, Chris Higgins
2(RPI)Matt Murley,Bruan Pothier
2(Princeton)George Parros,Jeff Halpern

Lastly, the Lone Rangers, where the schools have dedication walls setup for these individuals:
1(Merrimack)Matt Foy
1(Holy Cross) Pat Rissmiller
1(Northeastern)Michael Ryan
1(Army)Dan Hinote
1(Alaska Anchorage)Curtis Glencross
1(Northern Michigan)Dallas Drake
1(Ferris State) Chris Kunitz
1(Bemidji State) Andrew Murray

Also I'll update with how many teams currently have the most NHL draft picks. Also one thing to remember is this is just last year only, not overall the years. I'm sure it's going to be a lot different by the end of this year..

Bad Publicity is always good publicity...

This afternoon I had a great thought come to me as I was typing away on the Blues forum..

If a reporter were to come up to you and say they had some BREAKING NEWS about a player in the _____ League, I could probably guess what the issue is going to be based on the league...

If it's the:

NFL: It's there weekly run-ins with players getting shot or arrested. (type in a google image search of nfl player and the 1st 20 images will be players mugshots)
Baseball: It's always their drugs (Its their kryptonite)

(If you look closely this guy looks like Lance Armstrong before he competes in the 2018 Tour De France)

NBA: According to the Sports Law Blog I just read NBA player's love Marijuana, assaulting females, crack, more marijuanna, and a little battery to go along with it.

(Kobe Wants you to know, that he just wanted to say, No.)

And all the NHL can muster up is: "SLOPPY SECONDS?" How weak is that..

(Type in NHL Sloppy Seconds, and this is the 1st pic)

Sicks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me...

I guess Avery's comment of "sloppy seconds" in the locker room, is worse then some player shooting himself in the leg at a night club.
Weird that my mom told me to get thick skin when it came to people cracking jokes towards me. Gary Bettman's mom obviously had the kid who made fun of him expelled from school..

I think there must be like a secret society of NFL Players that's so secret you can't join and be happy until your initiated by getting arrested. See look Deion Sanders said it was one of the best days of his life:

NBA Fans are just ticked...

Well I guess it's starting to make waves, sports bloggers are getting into arguments and the stats are backing up the NHL...

It's a good read, it has NBA's debate on it too..

You got PEPSI to mix with Morgan?? What the..

Sometimes I wish I was a NHL Hockey player at a nice young age of 21, temporarily hurt and having to do autograph signings at stores and different locations.. I mean I like to talk to people, I'm a people person damnit!! Here's a nice pic sent in from my friend who I told to run an errand to the Walmart down the street from my house.. Hopefully he starts skating this week, and the Blues can get their scoring back on track..

Blues gutted out a win last night, by not scoring any goals in the game, or in overtime, but instead decided to put on a show in the Shootout to get their 9th point out of a possible 10 pts. So they've won 4 of their last 5 games. Mainly the goaltending duo has carried the load.

Like I tell all my college buddies who are freaking out in Sioux country right now. "If your team doesn't score 2 or more goals, your team won't be in contention most nights." So don't blame the goalie. Hockey isn't like Football or whatever those sports that have them coaches that says: "Defense wins championships!" Last time I checked a 0-0 game is always decided by someone scoring. Goalies aren't given points for saving so many shots.. (Although the NCAA, and WCHA, should look into that, as a way of getting more points on the board! HA HA... Every 40 Shots per game = 1 goal?) Maybe then "defense might win you something???"

ANYWAYZ, back on topic... This heated trade, that to me isn't much to talk about.. But to some Blues fans, they're acting like the team just traded of Sid the Kid for a couple of has been's!! Get real folks! Whoever thinks the Maple Leafs got a great deal is sadly mistaken. And now more and more these high paid sports writers are starting to agree with me.. Bernie thinks its a great move for the Blues, and Damien the Leaf's writer thinks the Leaf's soon to be fired GM is screwing the franchise in more then 1 way.. So again my take is it's win win for both teams.... But the Blues have a better opportunity in the future.

Tonight, the Blues are going to get them some Nordiques! Errr Colorado Avalanche's..... With the help of their 2 newly acquired players in Alex Steen and that Coli guy (I'm too lazy to copy and paste his name. Carlo Colaiacovo There I did it.) I found it humorous that the Pred's got beat by 9 rookies last night.

And tonight, will be a mile stone for Sr. Tkachuck (Walt's great, but this is kinda cool)... You know you’re getting old when . . .

Tkachuk played with Thomas Steen, Alex’s dad, in Winnipeg.

Tkachuk has played in 1,074 NHL games. The combined total of the other 11 forwards in Tuesday’s game at Nashville . . . 1,105.

Here’s the breakdown: Brad Boyes (265), Jay McClement (248), David Backes (140), Cam Janssen (125), Brad Winchester (122), David Perron (80), Yan Stastny (66), B.J. Crombeen (26), Steve Regier (22), Chris Porter (6) and Cam Paddock (5).

Onto the analysis of the game tonight:

It's tough to say the Av's are on their heals, and the Blues have momentum, but have 2 new players in the lineup..... Brother's Paul and Yan Statsny play against eachother for the 1st time ever in the NHL.. Yan the elder, and Paul the younger.. I'm reminded that this morning my brother and I faced-off against eachother for the 1st time in Wii, and the younger got the better of the elder.. I'm going to say the elder gets the better of the younger tonight.. JR interviews the 2 here, and the closing of the interview has some nice sibling rivalry:

Any last words for each other?
Yan: “Keep your head up.”
Paul: “I will.”
Good Stuff.

Blues continue to win, as Manny Legace is 12-3 against his former team..

Brother vs Brother, an epic battle

When Holidays come around, and family and friends come together, the best tool any host can have these days is simply one word: Wii

That's right, the shit talking that has gone on for over 24 years between my brother and I, when it comes to sports the shit hit its pinnacle last night... errr this morning..

Everyone is aware my older brother has kicked the crap out of me for years when it comes to most sports. He's taller, older, stronger, faster, quicker, smarter, etc etc... So times are tough for this young guy when it comes trying to compete with the Iraq War Hero..

Then last night happened.. Time of day close to midnight my brother and mother pull in to mi casa for the week.. My sister and I earlier that day went out and bought some Super Fresh Budweiser Products for the family..(That's what the Literature folks call "Foreshadowing")

Well needless to say my mom decides its really late, and she's off to bed, but my sister's still up for some boozin with her brothers. Then my brother decides its time to bust out the Wii, and get our games on.. First on tap was "Big Brain Academy" and needless to say, my Wii IQ is better and quicker then brother's... (A 3 game domination of him, he's cussing and ready to play Wii Golf)

So we move on to Wii Tennis, and it's just more of me giving him a thorough beat down.. So we move on to Wii Golf. (FINALLY, my brother's been claiming he can school me in this game, and I concur because I SUCK ROYALLY, at Wii Golf, its my kryptonite..)

Mind you we've been playing Wii and pounding beers for a three hours, yep it's 3am and I work at 7am..

I start getting the hang of Wii golf, and the shit talking is getting pretty serious, were busting out lines from way back when we were teens hustling each other for Subway food on the putting greens. Finally after about the 3rd round, I'm finally shooting somewhat close scores to him.

Enter the 4th 9-Hole Contest.... It's getting serious, and this time I'm not screwing around.. Brother's confidence is back up after dominating me for 3 rounds, when I seriously outclassed his ass in Tennis, Brain Buster, and Boxing (Forgot to talk about the 2 times I knocked his ass out)..

Moving on... This 9 hole contest should've aired on ESPN, as it would've made All-Time Greatest Golf Grudge Matches ever..

The First Hole I get off to a bad start and bogey, 2nd hole brother birdies, and I struggle to save par... I'm getting a little down, so I turn up the shit talking and see if I can knock my brother off his game like I can do so easily when playing REAL Golf..

Brother doesn't disappoint, and he double bogeys and I par the 3 hole! "What's that, you're 2 stroke lead is now nothing!? That's right bitch move the fuck over I've got honors."

So were both 1 over going into Hole 4, and I continue to barrage my brother with my ever so great shit talking.. He bogeys again on a "Pressure Cooker Putt".. And boogow's lips out, after he started his premature fist pump... I sink the par putt, and that puts him at 2 over, and me still holding strong at 1+.

Here comes that damn par 5 #5. Brodog birdies the bitch, and I continue on the Par Parade.. Shit talking picks up in his corner as were back to tied.. Then he goes and birdies #6 and I par, and then we both par #7.
Hole #8 is the worst par 3 ever!!!! It's like we go from 0mph winds to #8 and its 80mph winds on an island green that you use damn near a driver to make it over the water!!! I bogey, and brother pars!

I somehow went from being 2 strokes in the lead to now 2 strokes down entering the last hole.. I'm actually excited because its probably the closest I ever got to beating him the whole night.. So here it is the last hole.. Brother's shit talking, and might have been busting out Rick Flair "WWWWHHHHHOOOOOAAA's" like it wasn't 4:30am, and we weren't drunk...

Hole #9 is a Par 5 445 yards of pure pressure, and you can either play like David Simms in Tin Cup (Play like a pussy and don't go for it, play it safe protect your lead, "just make Par Roy"). So Brother has honors, and decides to lay up on the lower island, and not press his luck to try and make the green in 2... (At that point I was pulling out Tin Cup lyrics mixed in with some Baseketball lines. Mainly calling my brother a panzy.)

(Brother playing it safe)

So I'm down 2, and if you know me when it comes to golf, I ALWAYS GO FOR IT! Playing it safe is not even in my mind, I don't know the definition... I LET THE BIG DOG EAT!

Brother's next shot is a nice solid lay up... (Way to puss it up brodog, did you forget to clean the sand out of your vag?)

So I'm next, and it's a nice 219 yards to the pin..... With a crosswind of about 17mph.. I decide to pull a few pieces of carpet out of my floor to help me adjust for windage... Take my 3 practice swings (Yes, we had to set a limit of how many practice swings at one point, it was a gong show.) and I just give her smoke...

The ball is in flight, looking good, looking good.......

Ball lands just in front of the green then another hop, and then..

KER PLUNK!!!!! WWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

THE TV ERUPTS!!! : DOUBLE EAGLE!!!! DOUBLE EAGLE!!!!! CHIP IN!!!

My brother's gigantic mouth drops to the floor, a silence becomes us!!!!

I stop to really think???? "DID THAT JUST HAPPEN??"

Yes, yes it did!!!! After about 5 seconds of nothing we both start uttering something I don't really recall....

All I know is that brother just had a 2 stroke lead disappear, and is now down a stroke!
He hits his 3rd on the green, and misses his birdie putt!

ITS ALL OVER FOLKS!!!!!!!

Happy Tin Brett HAS DONE IT!!! Happy Gilmore ain't got shit on me!! Tin Cup, who's he???

(Here's the proof, and yes that really is a 2!)


After that round, we both pretty much blacked out, but I do recall we ended up bowling, and playing Baseball. (I won in bowling, and we tied in baseball)

Well everyone it's the holiday's so in lieu of that I'm sure there will be more to come...

It's not that the NHL is that Cool, it's just that the NBA isn't..

So, stop me if you've seen the graph on your right before. Oh you have?

Everywhere, you say?

Yeah, me too.

And since everyone and their mom feels the need to comment on it, that's what I am prepared to do. It's easy to give in to peer pressure so, what the hell, let's do it. There aren't any drugs or pop music involved, so it can't be that bad to post about.

Anyway, last week the folks over at Supersonics Soul posted up the aforementioned graph on the right. It caused quite a stir in the blogosphere (Imagine that - bloggers riled up about something). The story even, eventually, found it's way to Deadspin. I guess that's a good barometer for how many people are riled up (i.e. a lot).
So hey, hockey is more popular than another sport. That's news now-a-days. What with MSN declaring us irrelevant and what not. Good times, really. I don't really see what all the fuss is about.

OK, so the NBA isn't doing so hot. And, as a hockey blogger, I should be happy about that?

Frankly, as a hockey blogger, I don't really care what the NBA is doing. Now I shouldn't have my head in the sand either, but I'm not about to start some kind of victory parade. Remember, it wasn't so long ago that my sport was, um, sitting out an entire season.

And what's the most concerning thing about this graph? That the NHL's attendance line hasn't soared as much as the NBA's has dropped. The reason we're winning this attendance is battle is because, yeah, the NBA's attendance has declined so sharply. Meanwhile, the NHL's attendance is kind of puttering along. Getting a little higher here, a little lower there.

The crazy thing too, is that I'll occasionally find myself watching basketball. (Pistons vs. Celtics) I have watched 2 qtrs this year, up 200% from this time last year. That's what happens when AI gets traded to the Pistons (they should be good), and then they play last years 3 Champions (Granted Rondo, and that Powe fellow or whoever had good games during the championship run).

But untill EA Sports comes out with a NCAA Men's Hockey Video Game, hockey will never get the recognition it deserves as a major sport.. (Please EA Sports, make my dream come true!)

My monday melting pot

Where to start, since I took the weekend off to get my house ready for my first ever attempt to have the family for the Holidays.

Let's start with Saturday:

I thought for sure the Blues were going to get worked by the Wild... Turns out if you play half your minor league team, and tell them if they don't produce for you, they will never play in the "Big Time" again for as long as they live!!

So the Blues continued their assault on the league taking 7 of 8 possible points the past 4 games.. As The Wild were simply out Boyes'd.

Meanwhile, the sister-kissing Sioux, took it to a new low, and just flat-out lost.. Don't worry I'm not in a panic, because it's still in the 1st half of the season. But the next 2 weeks, they need to beat their non-conference EZ League teams.

This morning Blues traded the under-performing Lee Stempniak for 2 young raw players. A center Alex Steen, and a defenseman. The reasoning behind the trade was to make more money, and playing time available to Rookie Standout TJ Oshie. (They're thinking big picture. Because right now he's hurt, and is locked in with his contract for 2 more season's but still...) Also, the Blues want to be deep at Center, and their D have been under the microscope as being "overpaid and overplayed." This is Steen's happy face:Also how about the NFL. I love to watch the Rams get dominated, mainly because these players are overpaid CLOWNS! And guess what? The STL Today's Post Dispatch #1 Sports Journalist agreed with me!!!!! Bernie is telling everyone in the Lou to "Send in the Clowns" (I guess he did like my email about "putting a tent over that circus".) The best part about the Send in the Clowns article, is that he called Richie "Immature-O", but to Richie's defense, he did call out the STL fans this past week, and when they boo'ed him, he decided to show all the Hulka-maniacs that he still CAN'T hear them! Brutal..
As Incognito left the field, one of the signs hoisted by a fan above the tunnel read: "Richie, I Don't Cheer For Bums."

It's just tough, very tough love here in St Louis... (Just can't wait to start hearing all the bashing of Stephen "overpaid/underplayed/out of shape" Jackson and Marc "I'm scared to play/overpaid because I had 1 pro-bowl year" Bulger) Ha Ha, the things I look forward to...

On a positive front:
If you give my favorite NFL player/Future HOF'er the last 90 seconds of a game to put some points on the board he's going to do it everytime! (It was that much sweeter, because Philip Rivers is the biggest D-Bag in the League. Never should the QB's be allowed to talk shit, because you lay your finger on them, and your team/coach/ref's will be all over you.) Ahhh yes, did you hear out in Philly, finally Coach Reid decided he's had enough of Donovan McNabb?
Finally we'll stop hearing his mom's damn commercials! Maybe that's a good thing for all parties involved??? I think they need to get on the bandwagon with the Swami, and get some Nutrisystem commercials... YOU CAN DO IT TOO!!

It's simply ironic last night..

I went home from work, and decided to not go to the Blues Home Game. (The 1st one I've missed this season)

I decided to take in the tv version, and see what the crying was all about this Bernie feller..

As I was watching the game, I was getting great text updates from my buddy Abar. (He decided to partake in UND's travel to Duluth, I believe its his 1st endeavor at the DECC.) The ironic thing was he would text me that the ref's were horrible, and I laugh, but noticed the ref's were horrible last night for the Blues as well.

Then a minute or two later he texts:
Sioux GOAL!

As I receive his text, the tv erupts,
"Backes down low, feeds it to the net, GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

Blues go up 1 simultaneously with the Sioux going up 1.

Then later he texts:
1-1

As I receive that, the tv bellows:
"And the Ducks get one by Manny!"

I laugh as I text him back, ya same here. Weird....

Next text I get, I just focus on the tv, and sure enough GOALLLLLLLL!!!

I laugh, and open the text, and sure enough Abar's telling me Gregoire gets the Sioux up 2-1.

Then I get a text from him saying the Bulldogs tied it up with the Sioux, and I start cursing.. Thinking and knowing the Blues are now going to lose the lead..

BUT then with about 1:45 left in the game, the refs call a BS call against the Blues. I'm now cursing at the tv, and my phone. Looking for my bad call brick!

Knowing in the back of my head, this team should have lost, and that they actually led the game is good for the team. But the game is going, and the Ducks, are sucking it up, and there is :45 seconds left in the game, and I'm thinking they can get it done..

With 10 seconds left the Ducks are putting great pressure, and with .09 seconds left and about 6 bodies on top of Manny and laying in the crease, and the net off its moorings, the Refs whistle a goal for the Ducks to tie it up!!!!!! UNNNNNNNNNNBELIEVABLE!

I'm even more pissed because tv replays and replays and replays the goalie interference and player in the crease when the puck isn't.....

I mean how terrible of a missed call is that.. Don't even get me started about the missed call about a minute before that.

Well OT starts, and then Stempy scores! So the Blues win, unlike the Sioux who decided to Sister Kiss the Bulldogs. (I wish the WCHA would go to shootouts, it guarantees someone leaves with a smile on their face.) That was the game winner in OT, right between the legs of the "Great Pronger" (I'm so sick of reading about how this guy shouldn't have been traded in the Blues Forums.. It's sickening.

Check out the Blues New 3rd Jersey in action here. I like them.

And the injuries keep coming...

Scroll down three posts, and you'll see the latest decimation of the St Louis Blues. Well were going to need to add more to that list here shortly..

Add the Capt. Eric Brewer, and Rookie Forward Patrick Berglund, and of course Paul Kariya was supposed to come back a few games is now out for another week or two...

I've tried to grasp this and try to explain it in terms of football so here's my best way:

You're starting QB is out. (Paul Kariya)
You're starting #2 Line Backer is out for the year. (DJ King)
You're #1 Draft pick #1 overall in the draft that year Safety/Dback is out for the year. (EJ)
You're #1 Draft pick Running Back who dominated the games is out (TJ Oshie)
You're #1 Wide Receiver is lost for the immediate future (Andy McDonald)
You're #1 Draft Pick Tight End is lost and you don't know when he'll return (Patrick Berglund)
You send your other #1 draft pick Quarter back down to college after playing in 9 games (if it was possible) so he can develop and get his strength up to play in the big league.. (Mainly because this team is decimated with injuries so his coming out party would be better next year?)
You send your #1 Point producing Full back(Chris Porter) down to the practice squad to make room for a veteran because the coach likes vets (Dan Hinote)
Your #2 Fullback (Dan Hinote) is injured so you sub in your Fullback who barely made the practice squad (Reiger, I don't even know the guys 1st name that's how unheard of he is)
Now you're Captain who's your#1 Line Backer goes down in practice(Eric Brewer)
Move you're #5 Dback, and turn him into your #3 wide out (Steve Wagner from Defense to Wing)

I think I covered them all, I'm sure I missed 1 or 2, but as of now that's the way the Blues go in to tonight's game against the Ducks! Quack! Quack!!

You might as well call them the Peoria Rivermen (Blues Minor League team)
Here's the chart for tonight barring anyone else gets hurt while getting to the game tonight..

Regier(Started in Peoria)-Tkachuk-Boyes
Stempniak-Backes(Hasn't played center since College~4years ago)-Perron
Winchester(Started in Peoria)-McClement-Stastny(Started in Peoria)
Crombeen(Didn't even play with this team till this week, was picked up off waivers)-Paddock(Started in Peoria)-Janssen

Not to slam this team at all, but I'm pretty sure some AHL teams have more skill on their team then this team does.. Oh wait that might be a bash..... Wait.... Truth hurts...

I mean the Blues have 4 legit forwards playing tonight:
Tkachuck, Backes, Perron, Boyes/Stempniak (These 2 together make 1 legit player)

Oh well, I'll still watch, and hope they make it a game..

"Media Malpractice... How Obama Got Elected"

Here's a great piece on media malpractice that was conducted for a forthcoming documentary on how the news media impacted the 2008 election.

Please, click the link, and just watch the video. You'll laugh a lot, and realize how manipulated people can be from the news, and maybe find out some things you didn't know or were wrong about..

"Promote then as an object of primary importance, Institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened."
George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

I make $50k/yr to jack a racecar

NASCAR is getting ready to layoff over a 1,000 in the industry..

Not that it got out of control, I mean the pit crews back in the 60's-90's like these:

Took 30 seconds to change 4 tires, fill it up with fuel, and get the car back out. These guys worked at Auto repair shops during the week, and by weekend they were helping their buddy maybe win a race or two on the weekend.

Then NASCAR got big, and now they have crews like this:
Each crew member has 1 job to not screw up. Most make anywhere from $40k-50k depending on how crucial their job is. For an example Front tire carriers are also responsible for checking tire pressures before they get put on the car. But after its the tire specialists who examine the tire. Totally different guy. Plus add in the actual tire changer. All this for just 1 tire.. I just read this article about this, and that's why I'm fired up. A jackman makes $50k a year traveling 40 weeks a year all over the country, and his one job is to just jack the car up using 3 quick motions up and down. Sometimes doing it twice in sub 14 seconds. His job's biggest pressure is on raceday, and the rest of the week, they say is for practice and working out..

Did you also know that pit crews also have pit crew coachs.. That's right they pay a coach anywhere from $25k-$75k just to coach their pitcrews on how to do their one job better and faster!! AMAZING!!

I knew about how many people were apart of this, but I didn't realize they were getting paid handsomely while doing it.. Makes me rethink college education for my kids..

Oh ya so to justify spending a few million a year on pit crews NASCAR came up with the Pit Crew Challenge:

Just another great way to justify spending more money on top notch athletes..

My take, all these guys are getting fired, and those that stay are going to have to be able to multi-task, like change tires, be a tire specialist, cook on the grill, build the pit box, organize the trailer, and fabricate or fit in somewhere back at the shop. No longer will they have 6-8 extra guys just changing and making pit stops.. They'll need these guys to pony up, as the sport goes through this recession..

Ouch, I wonder what that guy's going to do with his resume that only says:

"I can change the right front, and left front tire on a racecar in under 14 seconds"

Or that poor bastard, who relied heavily on his ability to carry a jack around a car, jack it up on both sides of the car in under 14 seconds...

Well the democrats are in office, so the unemployed will be taken care of..

OT on loss', and I'm not talking games

Here is the picture of Kovy beating Manny in the OT Shootout last night. The story about the game is here.

My 1st rant, will be about Manny, everyone seems to love this guy here in STL, but I've watched him let in weak after weak goal. Not bashing, as I've been able to meet Manny, his wife Gi, Chris Mason, and his wife Courtney. All are great people. But right now Mason has looked a bit more solid, lets try to give him more playing time as Manny recovers from his injury and stuff..

Not that this hasn't been dead more times then Eight Belles.. But is it really possible to have this many injuries?!?!

Right now fans in the Lou are ranting and crying about how STL teams have the worst injuries in all of sports... I didn't think it was all that bad, but now its getting ridiculous..

1st, the Blues #1 Defenseman tears both sides of his knee up exiting his golf cart on the team bonding golf outing before preseason. 2nd, the Blues lose their #1 Right Winger to a knee injury in preseason. 3rd, the Blues #1 enforcer/best fighter pops his shoulder off his body checking someone. Then here comes an emergency appendectomy to our #2 Goalie, the next night the #1 goalie is injured. So now were starting our #3 and #4 goalies, and low and behold the #3 goalie is injured in his game as he was proned for a shotout..

Then a few weeks later the Blues #1 Rookie Center is injured. A few games later their #1 Left Wing (who's #1 on the payroll might I add) is injured. The next game their 4th line Grinder/Vet is injured (no shocker as he's always injured).

Which brings us to last night, where in the 1st period the Blues lose their #1 Center/Forward/Point Producer with a fractured leg out for 2-3 months..

For those keeping track that's:

7 - #1 players in categories.. For those that don't know a lot about hockey, only 5 players are allowed on the ice and 1 goalie. Also you're only allowed to dress 20 players.

Plus a #2, #3, and a #4.. According to depth charts... Every player lost so far were starters in previous games...

That's 10 players of 20. Exactly half the team...
Here's the list:
Currently out:
EJ-#1 D
Kariya- #1 Forward
King- #1 Enforcer/Figher
McDonald- #1 Forward
Oshie- #1 Forward/Rookie

Recovered/ing:
Stempniak #1 Forward
Legace #1 Goalie
Jackmann #1 D (Due to injury)
Pietrangelo #1 D (Moved to #1 due to above)
Mason #2 Goalie
Berglund #2 Forward/Rookie (Now moved to #1 due to above)
Woywitka #3 D
Bishop #3 Goalie
Hinote #4 Forward
Stastny #4 Forward
Junland (off team due to injury)

And people wonder why they're in last place. They're not a hockey team, they're a freakin' M*A*S*H* unit!

Can someone say ouch!?

I typed St Louis Blues Injury in my search on Google Images, and this popped up:

Gotta love the internet on Mondays....

A Dynasty.... And he's not even my favorite driver..

Jimmie Johnson is unbeatable under any points scenario. Let me divulge a little:

And while Johnson’s dominance in the Sprint Cup Series has called for changes to the way the champ is determined, it really wouldn’t have made much of a difference this year.

Whether it was the Mulligan plan lobbied for by owner Jack Roush, the old points system or a radical playoff idea thrown out by Texas Motor Speedway director of media relations Mike Zizzo, new ways of determining the champ wouldn’t have changed the outcome.

In fact, the most competitive Chase of all would have been not to have one. In the old points system, Johnson’s lead heading into the season finale would have been 57 points over Carl Edwards.

Under the new way of doing things, Johnson lead by 141 points and had to finish 36th or better to clinch the title regardless of what Edwards does.

Here’s a look at how the race for the title would have looked going into the final race under five different systems.

The Chase
1. Jimmie Johnson 6,561
2. Carl Edwards 6,420
3. Greg Biffle 6,358
4. Jeff Burton 6,292
5. Kevin Harvick 6,233
6. Clint Bowyer 6,226

The simple plan
43 points for first, 42 for second, etc.; 1 point for leading lap, 1 point for most laps, 1 point for pole
1. Jimmie Johnson 368
2. Greg Biffle 340
3. Carl Edwards 324
4. Jeff Burton 316
5. Kevin Harvick 309

The No Talladega Plan
Keep the points system the same, but take out Talladega and make it a nine-race Chase.
1. Jimmie Johnson 6,418
2. Carl Edwards 6,339
3. Greg Biffle 6,262
4. Jeff Burton 6,127
5. Kevin Harvick 6,125

The Mulligan Plan
Once the Chase ends, a driver gets to pull his lowest Chase finish and use the points from the other nine races.
1. Jimmie Johnson 6,443
2. Carl Edwards 6,356
3. Greg Biffle 6,262
4. Jeff Burton 6,183
5. Kevin Harvick 6,125

The Old Plan
Points are not reset and all 43 drivers are in the hunt for the title. The 10 bonus points Chase drivers received for winning races would also be eliminated.
1. Jimmie Johnson 5,097
2. Carl Edwards 5,041
3. Kyle Busch 4,878
4. Jeff Burton 4,666
5. Greg Biffle 4,638

The Zizzo Plan
A playoff with 16 cars cut to 12 after three races, then to six after six races, and four heading into Homestead. The points reset after each cut, with five points being awarded for seeding and five points for victories during previous round.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Greg Biffle
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Clint Bowyer

In conclusion, well done Jimmie, no matter how you look at it, no one can say you shouldn't have won your 3rd consecutive Championship..

Also props to my favorite driver Kevin Harvick, as he finished 4th in the points in every scenario this year. This was his 1st year since 2001 (won 3 races as a Rookie) that he went the entire year without winning at least 1 race.. Also coincidentally, this was the highest he's ever finished in the standings.. Weird..

4 Goals 4 Fights all in 1st period of this Rivalry matchup:

Blues won here's the story here. Brad Boyes is the worst forward at defense I've ever seen. He reminds me of Brandon Bochenski circa 2002. Where all he does is sit around and wait for the other forwards to pass him the puck, so he can shoot. Since Andy Murray is quoted as saying, "Brad needs to get the puck more, so he can shoot it, he's got the best Shooting %age.." I've witnessed Boyes get dominated way too many times at both ends of the ice in the corners... Just disappointing..

Well I predicted defeat. My reasoning:

Chicago's just going to out University of North Dakota the Blues...

The Blues have Oshie, who is hurt, and they have Porter waiting in Peoria... So going into last nights games, the Blues need to fill 3 Forward spots, as Hinote-4th line, Karya-1st line, Oshie-1st/2nd line are injured...

Instead of calling up Porter who scored his 1st Career NHL goal against the Hawks, while playing wing on the top line that night.. They decide to put in both enforcers, and call up Cam Paddock, a career AHL'er who's played some 6 years in the AHL, never playing a single game in the NHL.

So the Blues do the exact opposite of what they've done all year, which was play good in the 1st period. McD scored a shorty to start it off, and the Blues led 3-1 going into the 2nd period. Where they played crappier and crappier as the game went on.. I fell asleep in the 3rd as I have a bad flu, but the Blues went on to win in OT... I guess I predicted wrong, I thought Toews was going to breakout, and walk all over Manny.... (Giving him nightmares, that's how bad)

Yan Statsny battles with Sharp, I dislike Statsny mainly because everyone thinks he's great because he's from St Louis, and his brother is Paul... Also doesn't help he's taken up Port's spot on the roster from what JD and JR tell me... Grrrr....

So for those keeping track:

Blues may have a crappy record overall right now, but have a 2-0 record against the Hawks who are 2nd in the division.

When it rains it pours

I'm back from my extremely long hunting trip. Moral of the story:

When it rains in North Dakota in November, it pours. I wish it was snow, as the hunt would've been a tad bit easier. Instead almost every good hunting road was impossible to get down. My brothers 4-wheel drive truck, doesn't have the tires, or the ability to go where we wanted to go. Thus, I was the only one of 11 hunters to harvest a deer on Friday. That's right of our 28 tags we needed to fill. 1 was filled on Friday, which according to our beer drinking records on Friday night, might be take the cake as the shittiest 1st day effort my Great Uncles can remember. Even more weird was Friday morning my brother and I went to sight my rifle, dad's rifle, Abar's rifle, bro's rifle, and my backup rifle in, and we saw 10 deer that morning!!!!! All were gone come noon.

So for those keeping track:

Deer 1 --- Brett 1 --- Hunting Party 0

Saturday morning, we saw nothing, walked a few places, and nothing. Later at night, we saw maybe 1 or 2 all were out of reach. (And when I say out of reach I mean if they are over 600 yards, because if they are within 600 yards I'm shooting at them) Oh ya, we did spot a Moose, and its calf, when the Moose finally stood up, and the calf started walking, they kicked up a Buck that was bedded down about 15 yards away.. Weird I know..

Deer 2 --- Brett 1 --- Hunting Party 0

Sunday brings about new life, and many are thinking today's the day we start filling tags.. Well that became a dream. Saw nothing in the morning, and so I take command of the hunting party. That day we had about 14 hunters with us, and around 30 tags to fill. So I bring us to a place where I think we should push. Sure enough we walk it, and kick out one of the nicest bucks we've seen in the past 10 years. So what does the Buck do?? He runs straight at the truck that has the only single shot rifle, and it's my uncle who has the worst Buck Fever Shakes you'd ever seen. So I hear 2 shots, obviously they missed, and give chase, but said it was long gone, by the time I get done with the push.. We went back and pushed where I saw that Moose and calf, and Buck lay down. But nothing was there, as the Moose was across the road today.. That night, my cousin shot a doe late at night.. So we only have about 28 tags left to fill..

Deer 3 --- Brett 1 --- Hunting Party 1

Monday Morning ahh yes... My dad decides he's not going to get up real early, and so my brother hops into my truck, and we blaze on. That morning I see 2 deer about 500 yards off the road, and so I shoot 3 times at each deer (they were about 200 yards away from each other).. Since it's just me and my bro. We decide were going to walk this big half mile square grass land, because I know I hit one of them deer... Well we decided to walk it, and sure enough we kick up 2 deer. But these deer were in a different area then where I was shooting at. So we walk on, and I spot a huge blood trail. This must have been the 1st one I shot. So we tracked it, and you could see where it stopped to lick itself, and tracked and tracked, and without any avail, the trail went cold.. That deer was gone.. The rest of that day sucked, as we did see about 10 more but they were all on posted land... Later that night I ended up kicking up a doe that one of our hunting party members shot, and tagged..

Deer 4 --- Brett 1 --- Hunting Party 2

Alas, my final day back home. I woke up around 5:45am. About a half an hour earlier then I had all week. I knew that today was my last shot at getting my buck, and filling both my doe tags... Never, would I have thought that I would have gone 4 days and only harvested a doe... Never has that ever happened to me.. This deer season has been brutal!!!
So Tuesday I'm on a mission. If it has a white tail, and is moving I'm killing it.. Plain and simple. So my brother and party can't seem to wake up early, and I venture it alone. Within the 1st 10 minutes I'm already shooting at 7 deer. I get my doe early in the morning. Later we walk and I shoot my buck.. Then we go back to a place where we saw a nice buck Friday morning, and I walk the cat tails, and I shoot 2 more does. Then we get 2 trucks stuck, and that eats about 4 hours of our day, as we had to get a Farmer, and his big 8 wheel tractor to come pull them out. Everyone decides to call it quits, but not me, I convince my bro, and dad to continue the hunt. So we do, and low and behold we get stopped by our friend the Game Warden. Gary knows my family pretty well (not in a bad way) we chit chat, and drive on. Only seeing a few deer out of range we call it a day. My deer season has ended..

Deer 5 --- Brett 5 ---Hunting Party 3

Bad news.. Then Good News..

Well the people wanted change... Change is what we've been given:

This is what buying an election looks like:

OBAMA'S OCT 1-15 SPENDING = $105,599,963.76
That's more than $293,000 an hour

It's also 49% of EVERYTHING McCain has spent the entire time he has been running for president ($216,769,840)

By contrast, McCain's Oct. 1-15 spending was $9,246,618.70 (or $26,000/hr).

As Allah at Hot Air notes, spending $293,000 an hour means you have to be taking in three $25 contributions every second.

Which seems, well, pretty ludicrous to me. And when we add in to the mix the fact that Obama’s online contributions forms have had some serious security problems letting in all sorts of fraudulent contributions, and that about 50% of Obama’s total fund raising is under the threshold for required disclosure you run into a situation which would seem to require someone, somewhere to be asking some pretty serious questions.

You’d expect that someone to be a member of the media, but they’re all too busy covering Palin’s wardrobe.

Well call me sour grapes or not, but I ask all Obama supporters. Please tell me how much did he spend? Where did he get his money from?? Many add up the projected value of all the ads he placed, and cities he visited, all come up with around $5.3 BILLION Dollars was spent to win this election compared to McCains $0.216 Billion!! (Ouch you'd think if you spent that much you'd at least win by more then 6% of the popular vote..)

Also I saw Obama's downtown Chicago party.. I wonder who's paying for that? Oh wait... We are.. Welcome to Change.

Some more bad news. Turns out this Decker guy out in Wisconsin harvested the world record buck with his bow this past week... I'm not too entirely disappointed as I don't try to compare my bucks to others in different states, that "juice" their deer.. I go for all-natural North Dakota style.. Here's the pics:
Onto some good news! Tomorrow morning I'll be back home in the land of the Sioux! So in lieu of that I'll post some pics from last years hunt..

From Left: My Old Buck, Me, Dad, Bro, His little Buck (with longer horns)

I shot the older buck, and that thing led us around on one of the wildest deer chases of my life for a good 3 hours that day. Then hit the stream and swam away from us, but thank god my brother was back from Iraq and still in shape to run about a mile down stream.. Later we found out that I did shoot it about 6 times...
Notice the weapons of choice: My .270 Tikka T3, and my bro's Winchester 30-30.
I think these two are related because we both harvested them within the same 3 square mile. And according to the stuff I read. That means they are in the same core area.

My "Old Bast" that wouldn't die, 5X5 on left, and my brothers "Youngster" 4X4 on the right..

Breaking the law!!!! Breaking the Law..

So this morning Starbucks decided they would give out Free Tall Coffee's to people wearing "I voted" stickers. Ben & Jerry's said it would give away a free scoop of ice cream from 5 to 8 p.m. today. California Tortilla, said they would give out free food and sweets today to customers displaying an "I Voted" sticker. Krispy Kreme was giving away Free Donuts to anyone wearing the sacred sticker..

Well around noon today, the U.S. Gov't decided that this was highly illegal to compensate and reward people for voting.. I mean how many millions of dollars did Obama spend on buses running from the shelters to the polls, then off to all 3 companies! I mean talk about Christmas coming early for these guys!!

But such freebies might be a violation of election laws -- they could be viewed as bribes even after a vote has been cast.

Leave it to the law to spoil all the fun for the voters..

To comply with similar election laws nationwide, businesses have devised a work-around.
For instance, Krispy Kreme has tied its voting promotion to its famous "Hot Doughnuts Now" signs that glow in store windows when the circular treats roll off the assembly line, freshly bathed in warm glaze.

"Anyone who visits a participating Krispy Kreme shop today and simply mentions our 'Hot Vote Now' promotion will get a free doughnut," company spokesman Brian Little wrote in an e-mail today. "No one is required to show an 'I Voted' sticker."

Ben & Jerry's said it would give away a free scoop of ice cream from 5 to 8 p.m. today to customers displaying the sticker, but then learned about the law. "Originally, we planned to give free scoops away just to those who voted," said Walt Freese, chief euphoria officer of the wacky Vermont ice cream maker. "We found out afterwards that certain laws may not allow it. So instead we're celebrating our election with a national party," he said.

At Starbucks, which promised a free "tall" coffee today to anyone displaying the "I Voted" sticker, free joe now flows for all, voter and non-voter alike. "To ensure we are in compliance with election law, we are extending our offer to all customers who request a tall brewed coffee," Starbucks spokeswoman Diana Fullerton wrote in an e-mail. "We're pleased to honor our commitment to communities on this important election day."

So today's lesson is: Vote or don't vote -- either way you get free food. Probably not quite the message the companies had hoped to impart. See Jim, even if you don't vote, you still get perks.

Now go out and get your freebies IT'S THE AMERICAN WAY!!!

I'm starting off my night with a coffee:


Then swinging by to grab a donut:


Drive home to drop off my dry cleaning, and grab my list of errands I need to run, oh and stop by here to grab dinner (free of course):


Then follow it up with desert: