Thanks to Grandpa Bob (I'm not telling you his last name, hackers) for these basketball-related -- or basketball-inspired -- quotations.
See y'all in April. Go Ohio State!
------
“Most people have the will to win. Few have the will to prepare to win.”
- Bobby Knight
“The truth is that many people set rules to keep from making decisions.”
- Mike Krzyzewski
“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust em.”
- Jim Valvano
“If all I'm remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I've done a bad job with the rest of my life.”
- Isiah Thomas
“Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.”
- Phil Jackson
“We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.”
- Weldon Drew
“My priorities are family, Lord, profession - And that's not the order it should be, but I think No. 2 understands.”
- John Wooden
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.”
- Tim Duncan
“Fans never fall asleep at our games. They're afraid they might get hit by a pass.”
- George Raveling
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- Hebrews 11:1
“It’s not what you tell them that’s important. It’s what they hear.”
- Red Auerbach
“God had a plan for me and I'm just fulfilling that plan, ... Just like HIV. I was the one that was supposed to go through that challenge and go through that period because that brought light to HIV and AIDS. They needed somebody and it was me, and I feel really good about what I have accomplished.”
- Magic Johnson
“First master the fundamentals.”
- Larry Bird
“The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets.”
- Al McGuire
“The strong take from the weak and the smart take from the strong.”
- Pete Carril
“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
- John Wooden
Friday, March 30, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
To My Niece
This is for Rose Lucille, my new niece. May she live long and prosper.
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose--
But were always a rose.
-- Robert Frost
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only knows
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose--
But were always a rose.
-- Robert Frost
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Weekly Weather Check
Okay, this is your weekly weather check. Below are the current temperatures from places around the globe:
(all listings are in degrees Fahrenheit, as of approximately noon Central)
Nashville, TN: 80
Kinshasa, DRC: 79
Lima, Peru: 77
Tripoli, Libya: 68
Los Angeles, CA: 61
Medicine Hat, Canada: 61
Minocqua, WI: 56
Modena, Italy: 50
Melbourne, Australia: 50
Base Bernardo O'Higgins, Antarctica: 26
Yakutsk, Russia: -6
Poor Yakutskians. It's like -50 there all winter long, and this is the start of spring. The funny thing is, they're sub-Arctic. If they're in Siberia, they're in far southern Siberia. So you look at a map or globe and think, "Yakutsk, wow, in the middle of nowhere... it must be beautiful there." And they enjoy like four minutes each year above freezing.
(all listings are in degrees Fahrenheit, as of approximately noon Central)
Nashville, TN: 80
Kinshasa, DRC: 79
Lima, Peru: 77
Tripoli, Libya: 68
Los Angeles, CA: 61
Medicine Hat, Canada: 61
Minocqua, WI: 56
Modena, Italy: 50
Melbourne, Australia: 50
Base Bernardo O'Higgins, Antarctica: 26
Yakutsk, Russia: -6
Poor Yakutskians. It's like -50 there all winter long, and this is the start of spring. The funny thing is, they're sub-Arctic. If they're in Siberia, they're in far southern Siberia. So you look at a map or globe and think, "Yakutsk, wow, in the middle of nowhere... it must be beautiful there." And they enjoy like four minutes each year above freezing.
Friday, March 23, 2007
March of the Buckeyes
The euphemistic title of this epic piece speaks volumes of the content that I'll provide forthwith: the winning ways of the Ohio State Buckeyes as they progress through the 2007 NCAA Tournament, and what it means to people like me.
The Shot Heard Round the Buckeye State
With just a few ticks left in the second half of their second-round game against the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, and with a three-point lead over OSU and control of the outcome of the game in hand, a Xavier player stepped to the line with a chance to put the game out of reach of the Buckeyes. If he hits one free throw, the Musketeers are up four. If he hits both free throws, Xavier would have a five-point lead. Either way, it would be a two-possession game, and there was not enough time left for Ohio State to score twice. The first free throw missed. Okay, fine, hit the second one, dude. Nope, not gonna do it -- at this juncture. The second also failed to connect. Ohio State got the rebound, flew down the court, and hit a clutch three -- from about 25 feet -- as the clock expired. Ohio State won the game, fairly easily, in overtime. The win propelled the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16 (regional semifinals).
Down 20
Ohio State faced Tennessee last night (Thursday, March 22) with a trip to the Elite 8 (regional finals) on the line. As the top seed in the region, Ohio State entered the game as solid favorites to defeat the Vols. And then the game started, and......Ohio State sleepwalked through the first half (I still yawn just thinking about it), while Tennessee shot something like 60% from three-point territory. The Vols made something like ten threes in the first half en route to a 49-32 halftime lead. Probably many, at this point, had written off the Buckeyes' drive for the Final Four. I, of course, figured that they still had a chance.
And man, I don't know what Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said to his players at halftime, but they came out positively smokin' to start the second half. The Bucks were so hot, and Tennessee was so shell-shocked -- "Coach, how do we play with a 17-point halftime lead?" -- that by the time the second half was halfway finished, Ohio State had nearly drawn even with the Vols. Ohio State took the lead with approximately six-seven minutes left in the game, and prevailed in the seesaw affair toward the end of the game. There were several lead changes after the Great Comeback was completed, and in the end, the Buckeyes came out on top by a point -- 85-84. Ohio State moves on to the regional finals, where they will face 2-seed Memphis.
Carrying the Flag
For the six NCAA Tournament entrants from the Big Ten, there was a mixed bag of expectations. Ohio State was considered a solid/decent pick to advance to the Final Four, and one of the favorites to take home the national championship. Wisconsin (my beloved Badgers) was an odds-on pick to advance to at least the Sweet 16, if not the Elite 8 and Final Four. Wisconsin's late-season loss of Brian Butch, their leading inside scoring threat, hampered the Badgers' outlook. Indiana, a 7-seed, was given about a 50/50 shot of winning the Hoosiers' first game, and roughly no chance of advancing further. Purdue and Michigan State were in flip-a-coin 8/9 matchups and 12-seed Illinois was expected to lose to 5-seed Virginia Tech. So when the Big Ten went 5-1 in the first round, many Big Ten fans were pleasantly surprised. Many "experts" were "shocked".
And then came the second round.
Wisconsin, who played about 15 minutes of good basketball out of their two games, was shocked by UNLV. Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana all gave good efforts against their opponents -- tourney favorites Florida, North Carolina and UCLA, respectively -- but eventually fell short and were ousted from the Dance. The only Big Ten team to advance to the Sweet 16 was Ohio State, who squeaked past Xavier by the fuzz on star freshman center Greg Oden's chinny-chin-chin.One day, the Conference was on top of the hill. Literally two days later, the Big Ten was lamenting a catastrophic string of second-round defeats.
To this point, it has been another disappointing Tournament for the Big Ten -- last year's performance was not worth discussing here. And yet at least this year, the Conference has a team in the Elite 8, with every chance to do further damage in the Tournament. There is at least one bright spot, one hero left to fight on, one single-combat champion with (perhaps) three more skulls to add to the pile.
So it is that Ohio State carries the hopes of a mob of basketball fans stretching literally from central Pennsylvania to the barren tundra of western Minnesota and the corn and pigs of western Iowa. Can Ohio State carry the projected -- from us to them, as their dreams become ours -- basketball dreams of millions of devout Big Ten fans?
This Buckeye-fan-of-the-hour says that they can. Go Bucks.
The Shot Heard Round the Buckeye State
With just a few ticks left in the second half of their second-round game against the top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes, and with a three-point lead over OSU and control of the outcome of the game in hand, a Xavier player stepped to the line with a chance to put the game out of reach of the Buckeyes. If he hits one free throw, the Musketeers are up four. If he hits both free throws, Xavier would have a five-point lead. Either way, it would be a two-possession game, and there was not enough time left for Ohio State to score twice. The first free throw missed. Okay, fine, hit the second one, dude. Nope, not gonna do it -- at this juncture. The second also failed to connect. Ohio State got the rebound, flew down the court, and hit a clutch three -- from about 25 feet -- as the clock expired. Ohio State won the game, fairly easily, in overtime. The win propelled the Buckeyes to the Sweet 16 (regional semifinals).
Down 20
Ohio State faced Tennessee last night (Thursday, March 22) with a trip to the Elite 8 (regional finals) on the line. As the top seed in the region, Ohio State entered the game as solid favorites to defeat the Vols. And then the game started, and......Ohio State sleepwalked through the first half (I still yawn just thinking about it), while Tennessee shot something like 60% from three-point territory. The Vols made something like ten threes in the first half en route to a 49-32 halftime lead. Probably many, at this point, had written off the Buckeyes' drive for the Final Four. I, of course, figured that they still had a chance.
And man, I don't know what Ohio State Coach Thad Matta said to his players at halftime, but they came out positively smokin' to start the second half. The Bucks were so hot, and Tennessee was so shell-shocked -- "Coach, how do we play with a 17-point halftime lead?" -- that by the time the second half was halfway finished, Ohio State had nearly drawn even with the Vols. Ohio State took the lead with approximately six-seven minutes left in the game, and prevailed in the seesaw affair toward the end of the game. There were several lead changes after the Great Comeback was completed, and in the end, the Buckeyes came out on top by a point -- 85-84. Ohio State moves on to the regional finals, where they will face 2-seed Memphis.
Carrying the Flag
For the six NCAA Tournament entrants from the Big Ten, there was a mixed bag of expectations. Ohio State was considered a solid/decent pick to advance to the Final Four, and one of the favorites to take home the national championship. Wisconsin (my beloved Badgers) was an odds-on pick to advance to at least the Sweet 16, if not the Elite 8 and Final Four. Wisconsin's late-season loss of Brian Butch, their leading inside scoring threat, hampered the Badgers' outlook. Indiana, a 7-seed, was given about a 50/50 shot of winning the Hoosiers' first game, and roughly no chance of advancing further. Purdue and Michigan State were in flip-a-coin 8/9 matchups and 12-seed Illinois was expected to lose to 5-seed Virginia Tech. So when the Big Ten went 5-1 in the first round, many Big Ten fans were pleasantly surprised. Many "experts" were "shocked".
And then came the second round.
Wisconsin, who played about 15 minutes of good basketball out of their two games, was shocked by UNLV. Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana all gave good efforts against their opponents -- tourney favorites Florida, North Carolina and UCLA, respectively -- but eventually fell short and were ousted from the Dance. The only Big Ten team to advance to the Sweet 16 was Ohio State, who squeaked past Xavier by the fuzz on star freshman center Greg Oden's chinny-chin-chin.One day, the Conference was on top of the hill. Literally two days later, the Big Ten was lamenting a catastrophic string of second-round defeats.
To this point, it has been another disappointing Tournament for the Big Ten -- last year's performance was not worth discussing here. And yet at least this year, the Conference has a team in the Elite 8, with every chance to do further damage in the Tournament. There is at least one bright spot, one hero left to fight on, one single-combat champion with (perhaps) three more skulls to add to the pile.
So it is that Ohio State carries the hopes of a mob of basketball fans stretching literally from central Pennsylvania to the barren tundra of western Minnesota and the corn and pigs of western Iowa. Can Ohio State carry the projected -- from us to them, as their dreams become ours -- basketball dreams of millions of devout Big Ten fans?
This Buckeye-fan-of-the-hour says that they can. Go Bucks.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
The Plight of Ketchup
Why is there such wide-spread hate for America's favorite condiment (with all respect to salsa, and yes, I've seen the numbers...) when it comes to applying it to hot dogs and bratwurst (and other 'wursts)?
For the life of me, I don't understand the ridicule ketchup (and ketchup-lovers) suffers in the fight to top the hot dog. And what's funny is that so many who persecute ketchup on its way to the top of the dog are the same people who pour half of a standard-size bottle on their burgers, fries... even eggs.
So why not top hot dogs, and other legendary links of the wurst family, with ketchup?
I am an equal opportunity hot dog topper. By that I mean that I do not ridicule anyone for his or her chosen toppings. Well, okay, I suppose marshmallows or chocolate syrup might be pushing it a bit, resulting in a lambasting for which I have become regionally ("regionally" = my street) known and feared.
(Also, come to think of it, such action might cause me to "accidentally" bump into said offensive hot dog devourer, causing the offensive hot dog to fall to its death on my weed-infested back yard.)
The battle lines are drawn thusly:
I and other ketchup-lovers, who enjoy it on burgers, fries, and wursts alike (at least... or for the purposes of this blog, at least on hot dogs).
Vs.
Those who use and praise the red stuff when it comes to burgers and fries, but who waffle when it comes to ketchup's application to wursts. If you try to get ketchup on a hot dog in Chicago, you will immediately know of whom I speak.
I'll give a slight break to those who universally revile ketchup. Mostly I am disgusted with the two-facedness of the ketchup-on-burgers-but-not-on-dogs group. That said, this is ketchup vs. mustard, so... all ketchup-on-hot-dog haters, this is your tent.
---
Ketchup is sweet, while mustard is bitter/sour/icky (hehe).
Some say that ketchup overpowers the hot dog's taste.
SAY WHAT?
Mustard, by volume, is far stronger-tasting than ketchup. The bitterness of mustard overpowers the sweet tomatoey goodness of ketchup when the two are paired in like amounts. If you think that ketchup overpowers the hot dog's taste, try eating one with only mustard. Ick. Hack. Spit. Blow chunks.
Advantage, ketchup.
Okay, that's a start.
Let me know what you think concerning the merits of ketchup as a topping for wursts, namely hot dogs and bratwurst ("brats" to native Wisconsinites like me).
Sincerely,
T.S.
P.S. - I admit to having nearly no idea how this works. Feel free to post random stuff on here as well. Please refrain from swear words worse than, oh, the "s-word" or the "b-word". In other words, try to keep it PG-13, so that everyone can read the words of wisdom deposited here.
For the life of me, I don't understand the ridicule ketchup (and ketchup-lovers) suffers in the fight to top the hot dog. And what's funny is that so many who persecute ketchup on its way to the top of the dog are the same people who pour half of a standard-size bottle on their burgers, fries... even eggs.
So why not top hot dogs, and other legendary links of the wurst family, with ketchup?
I am an equal opportunity hot dog topper. By that I mean that I do not ridicule anyone for his or her chosen toppings. Well, okay, I suppose marshmallows or chocolate syrup might be pushing it a bit, resulting in a lambasting for which I have become regionally ("regionally" = my street) known and feared.
(Also, come to think of it, such action might cause me to "accidentally" bump into said offensive hot dog devourer, causing the offensive hot dog to fall to its death on my weed-infested back yard.)
The battle lines are drawn thusly:
I and other ketchup-lovers, who enjoy it on burgers, fries, and wursts alike (at least... or for the purposes of this blog, at least on hot dogs).
Vs.
Those who use and praise the red stuff when it comes to burgers and fries, but who waffle when it comes to ketchup's application to wursts. If you try to get ketchup on a hot dog in Chicago, you will immediately know of whom I speak.
I'll give a slight break to those who universally revile ketchup. Mostly I am disgusted with the two-facedness of the ketchup-on-burgers-but-not-on-dogs group. That said, this is ketchup vs. mustard, so... all ketchup-on-hot-dog haters, this is your tent.
---
Ketchup is sweet, while mustard is bitter/sour/icky (hehe).
Some say that ketchup overpowers the hot dog's taste.
SAY WHAT?
Mustard, by volume, is far stronger-tasting than ketchup. The bitterness of mustard overpowers the sweet tomatoey goodness of ketchup when the two are paired in like amounts. If you think that ketchup overpowers the hot dog's taste, try eating one with only mustard. Ick. Hack. Spit. Blow chunks.
Advantage, ketchup.
Okay, that's a start.
Let me know what you think concerning the merits of ketchup as a topping for wursts, namely hot dogs and bratwurst ("brats" to native Wisconsinites like me).
Sincerely,
T.S.
P.S. - I admit to having nearly no idea how this works. Feel free to post random stuff on here as well. Please refrain from swear words worse than, oh, the "s-word" or the "b-word". In other words, try to keep it PG-13, so that everyone can read the words of wisdom deposited here.
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