Merrrrrryyyy Christmas... to all you rich folks

Santabama came to our House (and Senate) and agreed to some tasty new tax laws a week before Christmas.  Up to $10 million per family to pass down to the next generation, who, of course, won't know what to do with it. Maybe, they'll have enough left over to pay off the staggering debt that Santabama had given them last year.  Oh what fun it is, to ride and sing.... Cause that's all we'll have left--horse racing (can't beat Kentucky) and American Idol.  Somebody will be laughing all the way (to the bank) but it'll most likely be the Chinese.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm in favor of taxpayers keeping as much of their own money as humanly possible, it's just a sad tradeoff when we have to agree to support the huge pool of welfare gamers in order to keep a little bit of our own money.  Almost like the protection racket.  Hey, youse supports our boyz here, and we don't bust up your family business, ya know?

However you slice it, the new law is the best piece of conservative legislation to come out of Congress since, well, the Bush tax cuts.  Now, Mr. Economy, start your engines!

Will Muschamp...

...restore the Gators to their former glory? (True, we've only had one bad year--well, maybe two--in the last 5, but we want those National Championships, baby.)

I like him already--he looks good in Orange and Blue, and I think he looks a little like Pete.

There is some buzz going around, mostly by webheads who don't appreciate the difficulty of conducting a search in the public eye.  Lots of comparisons of this hire to Ron Zook.  But those are inapt, because Zooker was an assistant coach already, and they took the Zook only after being turned down by most other good coaches.  And that was a last minute, desperation move, as borne out by the results.  I'm sure part of the frustration stems from listening to the network talking heads and bloggers spewing forth all the big names they thought we could get--foolish, foolish.  Who wants Bobby Petrino, anyway?

Still, this seems odd and has an unusual sense of "Why him, why so quick, and why not talk to others who are head coaches and who might want to come--like Stoops?" but I think the jury needs to get empaneled first before pronouncing a verdict.  Who was this Urban Meyer character 6 years ago?  Did anybody know anything about him?  At least Muschamp has been well indoctrinated in the SEC, and used to live in G'ville, for Urban's sake.  And, lest we have to compare with our SEC West brethren, look how the Gene Chizak thing turned out at Auburn.... (True, he hasn't had to do much coaching this year--just give the ball to Cam--but at least he hasn't blown games for them.)

What we need as much as anything is some new offensive juice.  It's great that Will is a defensive kinda guy, he'll look out for that side, but without offense in this league, you're dead.  (Note comment above re Auburn.)  I hope we get a really good one (and I'm a bit biased against Major Applewhite, as I never thought he was as good as his hype--I'm holding out for Kerwin Bell!)

GO GATORS!!

Urban Flight

We've heard about Urban Legend, Urban Decay, and Urban Renewal, but this is the sad one.  Old Urbie has done gone and quit us--how could he do that?  He is too Type A for his small little family to fill up that huge need for activity and, most of all, validation.  Crimenently, Trigger, he had an 85 member family of active strong young men, just crying out to be fatherfigured!

But I guess he deserves to try to start a new life.  I suspect, however, that if he sits out a few years and then goes back to coach at ND, a lot of Gators will feel cheated and betrayed.  Let him do the TV commentating if that works for him, but we (UF) put a lot of time, effort and money into developing his rep and standing (not to mention retirement fund) and it would be a travesty if he took that somewhere else in a short hurry.  We can be happy for anyone who retires at that age--and a little jealous--but Urban, do the right thing and stick to your excuse.

Too little time for family? C'mon, why didn't you think of that 25 years ago when the kids were little? It's a lifestyle, you know...success at the level you aspired to costs something.  As the drill sargeant therapist would say, "Why don't we chug on over to mamby-pamby land and see if we can find you some family time, you Jackwagon?"

Hey, isn't that Nate in the background of the picture?  Think he'll want to be a once-was-a coach's son?  No more sideline passes?  Did you ask the boy first, Urban?  My guess is he'd rather continue to be part of the best team in the southeast than to suddenly have a new Dad who comes to his games.  Sheesh.

Probably the best thing we can say to Urban is Good Luck and Thanks for the Memories!  He did so much for the program, you can't really be mad at the guy for wanting a life.  He deserves it, even if it turns out not to be what he really wants.

Gator Football 2010

Gator Schedule 2010  -  We are now 7-5 (w/ a bowl game to go)

September 4 Miami (OH) 34-12

September 11 USF 38-14
September 18 @ Tennessee 31-17
September 25 Kentucky 48-14
October 2 @ Alabama 6-31 (ouch!)
October 9 LSU 29-33 (2x ouch!)
October 16 Mississippi State (HC) 7-10 (ineffable)

    and thus, "We shall grapple with the ineffable, and see if we may not eff it after all." — Douglas Adams
October 30 Georgia 34-31 (ef-able once more)
November 6 @ Vanderbilt 55-14

November 13 South Carolina 14-36
November 20 Appalachian State 48-10
November 27 @ Florida State 7-31
The ultimate low in a season full of them...I'm speechless.
December 4 SEC Championship (wait'll next year)

Bowl game... I think I must be dreaming--the Outback Bowl jumped 2 SEC teams with better records to pick Florida as a match for Penn State.  Wa-hoo!  Urban gets a shot at JoePa, and the Gators get to smear salve on a roughed up season.  Auburn gets the spot we should have had (at the beginning of the season)--a shot at the NC.  But at least the SEC can continue its dominance.   Go Tigers!!!!!

Semi-holed

There is a palpable sadness that afflicts me, and I believe I can say why.  This is an unfamiliar feeling, to be sure.  And, BTW, we suck.

Those Seminoles...you can't say enough good things about them.  No, seriously...there aren't enough good things to say.  Sadly, they were on a scoring binge Saturday and the Gators continued to stink up the field on offense.  This time it was the turnovers that killed us.  And whatever the offense has, it looks like the defense caught it too.  Of course, giving the Semi-holes the ball on our side of the field several times didn't help the D do its job.  What happened to their turnovers?  We didn't get none.

I am not as devastated as I thought I might be on those few occasions that I had entertained the thought of this tragedy occurring.... Tragedy? Say what?  I will quote from the tough but fair commentator/blogger out of Tampa known only to my EVO as Alligator Army (website) who poignantly said:

"...Florida had won six consecutive games in a series that had not had that level of domination in 20 years. Things happen.  Teams lose games.  In addition, it is not very flattering to be a fan and blow this game out of proportion.  There are a lot of tragedies in life and losing to Florida State is not one of them.  A tragedy would be attending Florida State, not losing a football game."

He also warns about FSU fans gloating (even though 1 out of 7 is not really that big a deal):

"Finally, brace yourselves for FSU fans taunting you for their 31-7 win when they fill your McDonald's order. (Ouch!) Kindly remind them that the numbers that matter are 30 and 51. Those are the differences between UF's (17, 53) and FSU's (47, 104) ranks in the US News & World Report rankings for public universities and national universities."


God bless you, whoever you are.

War Eagle!!!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

If it is broke, you better get busy fixin'.

App State--We All Need Some-one We Can Lean On

With no apologies at all to the Rolling Stones--the copyright has to have expired by now.

If only every game could be like this.  The Mountaineers were outmanned pretty much the whole game, and scored a TD only at the end with the scrubs in the game.  Ooops, I meant the underclassmen....

It was an offensive workout, of sorts, getting ready for FSU, but there was an air of ... of ... insubstantialness to it.  When the Ol' Ball Coach had a game like this--and Meyer early on--the score was more like 66-3 or 72-10.  Admittedly, Appalachian State is nobody's pushover, as Michigan found out a few years ago.  Hopefully they will win the Div 2 national title again this year.  But like the "old fashioned" girl at the end of year dance, we just couldn't have our way with them as we would have liked.  I hope that doesn't bode ill for the next game with the 'Holes.

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

If you are tempted to fight fire with fire, remember the Fire Department prefers water.

the Future will be here soon

I went to a Dreadnaughts game last night for the first time.  Aside from the many ways high school football has changed, I was astounded by the size of the players.  What have we been putting in our food the last 40 years?  One of the largest ones, and the fellow I had come to see, was the quarterback of the opposing Hagerty Hounds, who has committed to play for the Gators next year.  This man (in every sense of the word) is touted as the Second Coming of St. Tim.  And he was all that...and more.  Remember his name, because you may be hearing it for years to come--Jeff Driskel.

Certainly Jeff has the potential to be the greatest Gator QB ever, but then, Tim's high school highlight reel was just as jaw-dropping as what I saw last night.  The biggest difference I saw was in speed--Jeff is faster than Tebow (though Tim Terrific was deceptively fast, he relied more on bull-em-over) and has slicker moves.  Jeff singlehandedly kept his team in the game, and accounted for a total (running, passing, and receiving) of almost 500 yards! On two of his TD runs, he broke through and outran the entire LHS secondary, in one case putting on a burst of speed to get by a player who had taken an excellent angle on him. Unbelievable!  We will have to see if he develops all that promise at the next level, but he is scary good.
I ended up taking some video with my Droid, but missed the best plays.  This is the only one that came out, and is also the first video I have ever uploaded to YouTube. Ya-hoo!... or whatever.

The noise is pretty harsh, but none of that is me yelling; Jeff shows how hard it is to sack him.

Timmy Saves the Weekend (as usual)

Tim Tebow gets 2 TDs against the Chiefs, including his first passing TD!!

Tebow threw his first NFL pass, a 3-yard TD toss to fullback Spencer Larsen en route to a 49-29 win.

“I think we caught them off-guard,” Tebow said.

As Carl Weathers gets paid to say, "Here we go."

Cold Cocked

With apologies to the local paper for stealing that headline, it is once again time to bemoan the state of the Gator offense--it's beyond cold, it's frozen.  It's terrible. It's become Addazio'd. (Ah, a new adjective, used to mean incompetent, or in way over one's head.) What is the point in creating a 3 headed monster if you only show one head at a time?  Why not have them shift around before the snap, like the Georgia game? Stupid.  Beyond stupid, it's criminal.  Here is an opinion snippet from the Gainesville Sun:

"It was the UF offense we saw in back-to-back losses to LSU and Mississippi State. What happened to the hurry-up offense? What happened to Burton and Reed seeing significant snaps in the shotgun? It was almost as if the Gators forgot what got their offense cranked up coming out of the open date three weeks ago."

But, in fairness, we must also congratulate the University of South Carolina Gamecocks for a great game.  Obviously the two teams that played Alabama both showed up. Well done, Steve and gang. Props to Marcus Lattimore--he killed it.  And the post-game celebration and comments were very tasteful and reserved, under the circumstances.  Just because you broke our collective Gator hearts, don't let that bother you on the trip back to Columbia....

No, this is, as you said Steve-o, South Carolina's time in the spotlight.  About time.  What wasn't said, however, is that you get to go to Atlanta and have the same thing done to you in the Championship game. 

You've seen this guy before, and you should find him even more awesome by December.  He should be plenty pissed by then.

War Eagle!! 

The Gators must regroup now and practice beating up on App State, so they can whip our in-state rival FSU.  A win there would ease the pain a bit, and possibly keep us out of Shreveport for the holidays.  Gator Bowl?  We can only hope.  Maybe play someone easy, like Penn State.  Maybe even Utah...wouldn't that be a storyline?

No, no pictures, please.  OK, if you insist, just this one: Dubose returning the opening kickoff for a TD.

Our bright spot for the evening, lasting exactly 14 seconds.

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

(another one for Addazio)

Some cause happiness wherever they go. Others, whenever they go.

Oh Vandy, ....

This game reminds me of a play I read long ago:
"Oh Vandy, Poor Vandy, Gators Hung One on You and I'm Feeling so Randy"...no, wait that's not good....maybe "so Sandy"... hmm, "It Tastes like Candy"? Yeah, you see if you can think of a good rhyme for Vandy (although the Sad in the play's original title is probably closer--wow, if any more Vandy players had gotten hurt, the coach would have had to go up in the stands for replacements).
Appropriately, that play is from the Theatre of the Absurd, which is what the special teams were yesterday. Chris Rainey! 2 punt blocks! Where has he been all season? Oh, wait... never mind. But he's back now.
On the second blocked kick, I saw at the edge of the replay that Rainey wiped out some Vandy player as he gave [futile] chase; that makes for 2 blocks on the same play--the punt and then the player. Love to see Chris get a second chance--he is a good kid, just a bit quirky. He seems to be in better touch with reality now that Urban is sitting on him--gives him a chance to get his life back together. I respect Urban for that, because he knew he was going to take some shots for it. Outlaw program, stupid stuff like that. Rainey's football skills aside, he is well liked, even by the people he threatens. (Did you see the sick moves he put on the defense on his first few runs? It was almost comical. Reminded me of the insane move he made on the Oklahoma defender in the NC game. You remember ... the one he injured himself on and had to leave the game.)

And Jordan Reed... what a beast. And what an arm! That's what you get when you move your tight end to quarterback I guess. Not. This can't be the way Johnny Brantley had it scripted at the beginning of the season. Ah, well, if it works, don't knock it.

We might be able to solve the energy crisis--just put a harness on Terron Sanders and toss a football on the ground. Talk about force and momentum. Wow. Did anyone notice any of the Vandy players seriously trying to get close to him, much less try to tackle that moving mountain? I'll bet they could feel the earth move on the sidelines....

You have to feel bad for Coach Caldwell. The fact that his team was overmatched wasn't a big surprise, but he can't have foreseen the triage unit that his team became. Seemed someone was coming out for Vandy about every other play. Glad to see most survived the game. Good luck to the Commodores the rest of the season--it's almost over! (Basketball has already started.)

On to the most exciting week in a long time. A win next week sends us to Atlanta! Again. But even last year's lead up to play Bama in the title game wasn't so intense. Maybe we expected it last year and had given up on it this year after the MS loss. It is quite obvious that the Best of the East will have its hands more than full with the West Champion. How's this suit you: Two of the SEC western division teams are in the BCS top 5; and five of them are in the top 20. The first Eastern Division team to appear is the Gators at #22. (But then, the only ACC team in the top 25 is VaTech at #20, who lost to James Madison!) Oh, and the usual plethora of Florida ranked teams has dwindled to two--UF and (wait for it....) UCF. Seminoles and Hurricanes? Sorry, not this time. Ouch.
Spurrier had a great line a few weeks ago when asked about his team's chances to win the Eastern Division and play in the SEC title game. He remarked that certainly some team from the East will win it, because "they won't let two teams from the West play." Which, this year, is probably a better idea. (Just FYI, so far in games between ED teams and WD teams, the East is a whopping 2-14! And by the end of next Saturday, it's likely to be 2-16. I guess the ED abbreviation is more appropriate this year then ever.) Hey, how about UF playing the Newton-led Auburn Tigers for the championship? A scary thought, but it will happen if each team wins next Saturday....

Bumper Sticker of the Week:
(in memory of the Vanderbilt running game)

The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.

Halloween Again

What a strange time this is, every year. Last night was All Hallows Eve, when folks far and wide dress up in odd garb to ward off evil spirits, and people give gifts to strangers to do the same. I am amazed that, in a predominanly Christian nation such as ours, these pagan rituals are allowed to continue, indeed to flourish. Maybe this outpouring of simulated evil has its purpose as a purgative for the other side of human nature. And there's profit in the candy.

RIP: Lest we forget, Grossi died 5 years ago today, on All Saints' Day, the ultimate irony of her life.

Pics of the little Stockton progeny all dressed up:







Laura, please send me one of you, if you dressed for your party.

Brant? Shell?

Only 53 shopping days until Christmas....

Florida-Georgia O.M.G.!

These games are not good for my adrenal system!{pant}{pant}{pant}
But I liked this result a lot more than the previous two games. I didn't realize the Gators hadn't won in October--we were very close to going O for October, but thankfully dodged the bullet that went on to hit the 'Dawgs square in their SEC title hopes. My calculator says it is mathematically impossible for them to get to Atlanta, unless there is no winner in the UF-USC game. Not likely. How sad for Richt, but how wonderful for Urban and the Gators.
Now the East rep in Atlanta which will be served up as the sacrificial lamb for whichever Beast comes out of the tangle in the West will either be a Florida team, or a team coached by a Florida legend (who would have had to beat the Gators to get there). Gotta love it.

RAINEY...he's b-a-a-c-k.  Just in time.

Glad Burton had another good game..two TDs.

 
Stone Hands Thompson finally catches one.I think I know the solution to Deonte's problem--don't throw it to him.  Throw it near him so he has to fight somebody for it...

Will Hill finally wakes up and picks off 2 passes (though both were tipped), this one a critical turnover in OT

And...(drum roll, please) Chas redeems himself with the game winner

Man, that feels good.

(The cutest part of the game for me was when Pierce called to tell me he was rooting for the Gators. What a sweet little man. Fortunately, the Tigers also won, so everyone in Orange and Blue Land is happy.)

Bumper Sticker of the Week:                     (in recognition of Rainey's return, and perhaps in honor of athletes everywhere)
We never really grow up, we only learn how to behave in public.

Three strikes....MSU

Third loss in a row, second one that was preventable. Someone suggested that a loss to Mississippi State at home (homecoming, no less) counted double. I don't know what to say, so I won't. Not even any pictures...it's too painful to remember.
One thing I thought was appropriate, however, was a quote from Pat Dooley's blog/column/rant/whatever, to wit:

"'We're not very good,' Urban Meyer said in his post-game presser. He said it several times. He could have said it another 20 times and come well short of the number of times it was said in the press box. And that's just at my seat."

At least we won't lose next week.

It may be too early to shift allegiances, but if the Gators lose to Georgia in two weeks--a thought that was unthinkable at the beginning of the season--it will be time to become an Auburn fan. War Eagle!!! At least I have the family connection, and it would still be Orange and Blue.
Cam Newton for Heisman!

C'mon Gators, get up and go!!!

Bumper Sticker of the Week....
(maybe for Urban, but certainly for Addazio)

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

Luck of the ... Cajuns?

How can that happen? And to lose to that yahoo of a coach is even more painful, and certainly to lose that way really rips it. Got to admit, the fake field goal was clever--predictable, but clever, but still (a) the Gators should have been all over it (what were you thinking, Jenoris?), and (b) I can't believe the bounce they got, right back to the kicker. Sort of makes Urban's uberthinking about bounces and luck in response to a question before the game prophetic. Ouch!

This one will hurt for quite a while. Even though it doesn't knock us out of the SEC championship game, it means we have to beat the rest of the East to get there (especially the Ole Ball Coach, who deserves a mighty round of applause for beating the Tide today). It can be done, but it won't be easy. The games that looked like locks before the season started have become iffy now, starting with MSU and Georgia. Georgia!?! Who would have thunk it...?

On the good side, we found our kickoff returner--Andre's touchdown return was SWEET!  And we know that Johnny B can lead the team on a long drive to win the game.  Well, shoulda won it....

We can probably still count on a win at Vandy, and probably against App State, but I'd say every other game is a contest. Exciting that way; frustrating as hell, but exciting. I just hope we beat the Noles this year! I would hate to go into that game needing a win to get to a bowl... double ouch!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

Fortune favors the prepared mind.

Beaten by the Best (so far)

Not entirely unexpected, but sad for how it went down... and down... and down. Trouble early, and it got worse from there.
Here's a good way to tell you're going to lose--JB running!




And another?  The opposing coach jumping up and down telling his guys to watch out for the"surprise" play you've called.  Yeah, that works.
The bright spot? We held the two best runners in the SEC to under 100 yards combined. Small victories, especially when the major defeats are self-inflicted.

How about that LSU-Tennessee finish? That was amazing. Might have preferred them to lose, as we play them next week.
So, bring on the Tigers...I hope we're ready to rebound.
Bumper Sticker of the Week:
(dedicated to the offense)
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

Kentucky Schmentucky

What was supposed to be a challenge for the Gators turned into a rout pretty quickly. More like Barbie-tucky if you ask me!

And yet, this was the second week in a row that the Gators faced the SEC leading rusher (guess what? it happens again next week too) and held him to ridiculous yardage. True, we all knew that the Tennessee guy wouldn't hold up once the real season started, but it seems insane to hold any first string runner on an SEC team to 26 yards on 20 tries...that's stunning. And this week, Locke got his 100+ but most of that was after the second and third string D was mopping up. And how about those 2 interceptions on a team that had ZERO turnovers in the first 3 games? (don't burst the bubble by reminding me who UK played in those games, please). Go Gator D!!!! You rock!

Also, finally, the offense stopped being MIA and kicked some butt early. Let's keep our fingers crossed! Dubose got in...about time... Carl Moore was consistent and terrific...and Burton, what can you say? As they said in the G'ville Sun, "The last time a guy named Burton had a night this great he was honeymooning with Elizabeth Taylor."

Except that all this BS about scoring more touchdowns than Tim Terrific is preposterous. As marvelous as Trey's feat was, TT also had 5 rushing TDs against SC, and 2 scores through the air. Admittedly, Timmy didn't cross the goalline with the ball on those, but he should get some credit for getting it there. Same for Brantley--someone had to throw the ball to Burton. If we split the passing TD credit between thrower and catcher, TB is still 1/2 a score behind TT (as it should be). Let's hope Trey eventually breaks the record for real, but for now, a lot of hype has been prematurely ejaculated. (Don't get me wrong, we LOVE Trey already, but he needs to work really hard to pass our revered Tim. And I think he will. Someday.)

Another opinion from the G'ville Sun writers: "Big-boy football is here."

Here's a freaky stat, and I don't know where to look to check if it's ever happened before. During the game, there were 9 (count 'em, nine) touchdowns scored. Every one was scored (as in crossing the goal line) by a player wearing a jersey with the number 8 on it. Coincidence? I think not.

Demps again...does he ever have a bad game?

and the new guy, Dubose. About time.

Carl Moore has been playing well.  Good comeback.

And, once again, props to the defense for shutting down a high scoring team.  Bostic gets an early interception.

 Ahmad - hardest working Gator out there!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:
(here's one for the Democrats)
Ignoring the facts doesn't change the facts.

Though much is taken, much abides...

Had a meeting at the beach this morning and spent the rest of the day "working at home," or another euphemism for goofing off at the beach. The new lawn man came to give me an estimate--the old guy has to go, blew his last chance--and then the AC went out. Eventually the pump man showed up and fixed it, but it was nip and tuck. Poor Jane was sweltering most of the day! (as was Winnie) Lucky it wasn't the height of summer.

The waves...wow. Forecast at 8 to 9 feet, but it didn't look that big. Lots of surfers out, some really good ones. Not the usual rummies we get with the 2 foot swells. I don't have a surfboard anymore and I'm not sure I would have challenged the big breakers--though they weren't too rough, more rolling--I did decide you only go around once (well, that we remember anyway), so I dashed out about 6:30 to go body surfing with my relatively new Body Glove board (I bought it for Pierce over the summer, and it had never been out of the wrapper). I don't know if I was even on the right side of the thing, but, as I lay on it panting and cramping after about 20 minutes of getting beat to death by whitewater, I said "Lord, please let me have just one good ride." And I dropped right down the next big-ish one and into the best 30 second wave I've had in 40 years. Still can't hold a candle to snowboarding, but it was all I had at the time.

Jane and Winnie were watching from the beach, and the ambiance and situation made me think (for a fleeting instant) I was 20 again; my body disagreed, but I ignored it. Apparently Winnie started barking after me right as I went in and didn't stop til I came back. Who knows what she was on about, but what a sweetheart she is.

I hope the ocean is calmer tomorrow. I have to get some work done.

Tennessissy Falls Again

It's kinda hard to get all medieval on UT now that Kiffen has moved on (and Fulmer before him). That new coach seems like a nice guy. And pretty smart. Forget that he has a full pedigree from a Georgia football family, if you can.

The game seemed to lack some intensity. They were pretty pathetic, really...about time someone on the field was more pitiful than the Gators. But we didn't run them out of the stadium either...it's a sad thing when your offense is so impotent that it takes a fake punt to wake them up. But it's beautiful when it works!

After that, things seem to fall back into place.  It worked out as it should.

Gillislee, Hammond and Burton, Oh My!

And of course, there was some Defense...

Haven't said anything about Rainey, and won't.

But the best part of the game was at the end, when we found Waldo!

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure.

USF ... BullsNot Today

Ah, the same letters as those of another team that's going to get mauled by the Gators, just scrambled around. The South Florida Bulls--another pretender to the King of the Florida Hill! They didn't look so fake on that first drive, though--96 yards...yikes! Fortunately, they couldn't get much going the rest of the day. Their QB completed a lot of passes, but quite a few were to the guys in the orange pants.

Ahmad does it again!
 Justin gets a pick 6!
 Maybe this had something to do with the interceptions...
So, the D saved us again. Without Ammad's interception at the close of the half, we'd have been behind at the half! Outrageous! But at least the snaps were good.

Actually, the offense wasn't all that bad once they got rolling. First we used the 2 - 3 punch on them.

Then, when that got boring, we used the 23 punch.








And did I mention the D?
Bumper Sticker of the Week:

Take my advice...I'm not using it.

Guest Pass to Beach Week

The kids all (all but Shelley and Brantley) gathered at Anna Maria for the perennial Beach Week, and Jane and I popped over for the day. It was Labor Day, so it is appropriate they spend it with their mother. As to Brian and Pete, not sure what that connection implies, other than it's work to stay sane when the Stockton clan gets together.

I had just gotten my new EVO Droid phone and was dying to show it off to the iPhone crowd from out West. It has all the good stuff like a nav program, internet access, etc.  So we were rolling along on our way to Anna Maria using the nav function of the phone. As we turned west towards Bradenton, Jane asked me something about a song...I think it was who wrote "My Way" by Frank Sinatra.  Of course, I had to look it up on my phone, and though I ultimately found it, i was using the phone at a critical point in the navigation.  I was already irritated by the voice, so I had turned the volume down.  by the time we were on the big bridge, I realized something wasn't quite right, as we were heading back to St. Pete.  Pulled off, turned around, and cranked up the Tom Tom to head back over the bridge towards the island.  Made for a late arrival, but I learned a lesson about trying to use too many functions at once.

The house was lovely, and close to the beach. It was fun to see everyone again, though I wonder if the twins remembered us--they seemed preoccupied with the pool, as young children can be.  Pierce was a doll, as usual, and we had a smooth visit. I tried to let him beat me at ping pong, but I couldn't play that badly. Great to see everyone, even if only for a short while, and the absence of B & S was noticeable.  On to the wedding!!

Miami of Ohio

Who knew that would be so tough...or we would be so bad? Everyone looking for another blowout win (like last year) for the first game was treated to a W that just blew. (Or sucked, depending on your preference.) Bad snap...fumble...bad snap....fumble...etc. WTF?

Here are some pieces from the G'ville Sun that cam out before the game...very clever.

"Last season we knew what the present was. We knew what the team was going to look like, feel like. We knew what the players would say about the coaches and the coaches about the players. We knew that team would win big. We just weren't sure how big.

This year, we aren't really sure what's hidden underneath the fancy wrapping.

And that's what every season is, isn't it? A present under the tree, waiting to be opened and played with. Friday night is like Christmas Eve, butterflies trying to escape your belly. The stadium is your living room, the goalposts the tree. Let's see what Santa Urban brought us this year.

Happy season."

AND

"It's Opening Day, a day like no other. Miami of Ohio has been paid handsomely to be the Washington Generals. As great as it will be for Gator fans to finally see their team, they will also know the real tests are down the road.

It will be hot. It will be sticky.
Someone will pass out, for one reason or another.
You won't feel like your seat is wide enough or your drink cold enough.
You will get goosebumps when the video starts before this team, your new team, runs out onto the field.
You will second-guess and second an emotion.
You will eat food you wouldn't serve at home.
Typical Christmas."

Guess we all got underwear.

Dempsie looked good.

Pouncey looked horrible.
Odd that I can't find pics of Brantley scrambling back to recover the errant snaps from Mike.

Rainey did well.

The defense was pretty sharp, all things considered. 

Trey scored a touchdown short, but generally the offense couldn't do squat...no timing, no rythm, very frustrating.  Still, the Gators were never in danger, as attested by Urban's going for it on 4th down repeatedly. Would have been better to have made a few of them.

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

Shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

Welcome Caylee!!

Here she is ... Miss ...Los Angeles? She is a beautiful baby, just like her sisters. Jane and I went out a few days early, to be supportive, even if Andrea wasn't sure when our little angel would decide to arrive. It's always fun to be around the girls, even if they aren't entirely sure who we are at first.

The pier with the merry-go-round was a hit, and dinner was Italian with the whole clan. Paul let me borrow his Porsche again, so I felt very LA while we were there.

The big day came and Andrea went in early, while Jane and I found ways to turn a 20 minute trip to the hospital into an hour and a half adventure. Did find Rodeo Drive though.

Another beautiful baby, and a happy crowd all around. Here are a few pics, first day and beyond.

first picture and one of Grrpa and Caylee:

Jane was kind enough to agree to fix dinner the night before we left--I'm not sure exactly how that came about, but I seem to recall it was a bet or a challenge from Paul. Whatever. But she did her usual superb job, even with minimal time and a strange kitchen. All I did was buy everything (especially the wine and beer--imagine my surprise that I ended up drinking most of it). I wonder if there is something about Jewish tradition I don't understand...I thought there was a close tie between Judaism and wine. I seem to have all Jewish friends who don't like wine, or else I don't understand the procedure (or the proper type). Whatever...more for me!

Well, we'll look forward to seeing little Caylee again, in person and in pictures.



And now, your moment of zen...my favorite picture of the 3 cousins (so far)

Kids at the Beach

First week in April, we were blessed by a visit from Tracy and the "little ones." What amazing little gentlemen they were too. Pierce and I played much (way too much) Lego Star Wars, until we wore out two remotes. Then I showed him the various sword games in Wii Sports Resort, and he was entertained the rest of the visit. He wore out the other two remotes....What frosts me, though, is that he beat me one-on-one on the big tower!

There was also beach time, with Tracy trying to get a unique tan using silly string as a pattern. Later it was baseball time--what a slugger Pierce has become! If only I had friends who could field....There were some jigsaw puzzles with which Pierce could uphold the family honor, and he did so admirably. Iron Man was a gas! Hope the $ Store has some new ones in for the next visit!

Bryce was also amazing, not so much for what he did, but what he didn't do. I can count on one hand the times he was the slightest bit fussy, and then with good cause. In all my years of staring at babies--a recent development, to be sure, as before that it was babes--I have never seen a baby who will make and maintain eye contact as much as Bryce. Not sure what it means, but it's insane to lose a stare-down with a 6 month old! And he has no fear of strangers--we passed him around like...oh, well, nevermind, too much nostalgia...and he didn't bat an eye (literally). He just seems happy, no matter what. Let's hope that continues.

I tried out my new small HD video cam, so let's see if it worked. It's about the size of a PDA, and takes huge files. But very sharp. (It takes an eon to upload though.) Most of what I took is too big to post, but I will try to cut it back and add it in later when I get a chance, if I can find the software. I got some great shots of Bryce splashing in the tub, which are appealing if you're fascinated by infant genitalia (which, for the record, I am not). For the sake of posterity, I won't post those. You can thank me later, Bryce.

And the return of the long missing
Bumper Sticker of the Week/Month!
(In honor of the kids' visit, this one is dedicated to mothers everywhere.)

I'm not tense, just terribly, terribly alert.

Look Out Tahoe!

After agonizing over where to go to get my snow fix--Whistler, Colorado, New Zealand (oops, wrong season) I ended up cutting the baby in half. Went to California...well, that is if you can sayTahoe is in California completely. It's almost in a world of its own, really, though we stayed on the Cali side. I eventually chose Northstar, even though I had heard less than complimentary things about it, primarily because Dave's company owns it, and we thought we could get some perks from the management folks. Sort of yes and sort of not so much. I did get a few days of lift passes and some help with baggage transport, but it was pretty hectic the rest of the time.

We lucked out on the lodging, getting a 3 BD condo for roughly $150 per night. No, that is not a typo, nor is it a per person price. As the kids today say, s-w-e-e-t. It wasn't Interlude or Thunderwolf, of course, but it was very serviceable. I flew out earlier than the rest, so I got the big loft room; I had offered to share it with one of the guys, but no one wanted to get that personal. Waldo would be laughing up his sleeve. There were beds for everyone, though they were small and uncomfortable. A small price to pay for a small price.

The timing was off for the Stockton/Loescher/Schwartz clans (new jobs, new baby, soon to be new baby...all very understandable), so I solicited the Coyle clan. Of the group, only Dave could get away. It was, after all, a business trip for him, and my impression is that he will go anywhere any time if snow is involved. Dave brought his buddy from school, RJ, and his cousin Adam. A small but robust group. RJ hadn't been on snow in quite a while, and Adam was often struggling himself, but we managed to escape serious injury nonetheless.

Adam

RJ

I went out a few days early to get in shape (and because I could) and it was mucho funo.

I flew into Sacramento and took a quick sidetrip on the way to the slopes via the Bogle Winery just south of the city. It was gorgeous, very European feeling, and I got to sample a bit. Just a tad, as it was a 2 hr drive to the mountains.

 Of course, I got some paraphernalia and almost a case of various wines (red, of course) thinking the guys would help with it. Who knew?

The first day I piddled around and got out for a half day; success was measured by the fact I came home in one piece. I have no other recollection of it. The second day (Monday) I bopped over to Squaw Valley and found that this was the 50th anniversary of the Olympics there. Seemed pretty small to me at the time, and maddeningly unmarked. An interesting concept, they colored the lift lines on the map according to what types of terrain that lift served. Then you were on your own getting down. Crazy, but I hear the locals love it. The best part about it was that the lift ticket worked for night skiing also; I hadn't intended to push it that hard so early, but when I picked Dave up at the Reno airport late that afternoon, ... well, one thing led to another, and you know how boys are... we scurried back to Squaw for a few runs. It turned out it was only a few by the time we found the entrance to the tram and got back down (another story). The cable car was HUGE, holding I think over 50 people, though not that night.

As is the case with most night skiing, the snow was hard and often crusty. It was chilly, to say the least, but we managed. Dave was a bit rusty at first, but that soon passed and we piddled around the top for a bit, then headed down. Somewhere along the way, a funny thing happened. Dave slowed next to a sign that it was too dark to read, and which (as we found out later) pointed down to drop off that looked icky. Of course the only reasonable thing was to keep going straight. Also unbeknownst to us, that wasn't where the lighted trail was--we were on a regular blue trail that ended at the bottom during the day, but was closed at night. Shades of War Dance! We finally figured something wasn't right when we looked across the ravine and saw the light poles (and lights) way over on the other hill. Well, I sure wasn't climbing back up the few hundred yards we had come to get back to the trail--I had been down that run earlier and knew it was doable. Guess I forgot that "earlier" meant it was light then. It was kinda fun to have to turn blind, or by the scraping sound of the person in front (Dave), but a few of the sharp drops were, shall we say, exciting in the dark. Why is it I always end up riding with people who say "That's the last time I'm following you anywhere!"?

All was copacetic when we got to the bottom and we sturggled back to the tram. There was time for another run, and, at the indicated spot, we took the drop toward the lights in what was the most thrilling, fastest, and most uncontrolled 100 yards of the day. Thought I was dead, fer sure...or at least broken up a bit. But, in the end, neither of us fell, enabling us to cheat death once again.

The rest of the trip was a blur as RJ and Dave did all they could to injure themselves in the trees and the terrain parks, and on the ungroomed blacks. Now, Northstar didn't get the nickname "Flatstar" for nothing, and the blacks there are essentially blue or, at worst, dark blue in places like Colorado and Utah. But they still aren't to be trifled with if you're a mediocre rider. We trifled. My mistake was trying to follow the two pairs of 30-something legs down ungroomed, choppy slopes. My thighs and knees have seen too much other territory to hold up to that for very long. But...once we finally stumbled onto a groomed black run, (name) the tables turned dramatically. Even Adam liked those better, as proper technique is golden when it's smooth and steep. I have a fond memory of looking back uphill to see RJ on his ass cursing loudly. Technique, my man. Finally he and Dave took off into the woods to tease the reaper instead. All in all, a tiring and good day. And the ski-in part of the lodging was very much appreciated.



Tahoe is beautiful if you ride the lake side. Here's why.