It's on every one's mind. Who is it going to be? The former 5-Star USA Today's Player of the Year, first year Wildcat, sophomore starter who hit the pine after a few games?
Or Jonathan Wallace, the consensus 3-Star and one time commit to UCF turned last second addition to Auburn's class of 2012, turned starter in the back third of the season?
If you follow me on Twitter or FaceBook, you have undoubtedly seen my opinion on the matter. Are they that close in competition? Can Malzahn transform either or both into winners? Is there some preconceived notions despite what was said? Yet, as much as I have harped on it, many people have fired back that I shouldn't be so judgemental on past performances. After all, the new coaching staff isn't giving any thought to them. Why should I?
Ok. We are getting ahead of ourselves. Truth is....Frazier has given me...and many fans...a VERY sour stomach. And it's like this one time I ate a pack of pop-tarts and made myself sick. One event defined my opinion of brown sugar and Cinnamon pop-tarts forever. Even if it wasn't the pop-tarts fault I got sick. In the same way, Wallace has been somewhat a surprise. You know, like eating Krystals at 3am when you are starving. It's so good when there was nothing else to look forward to. But, all else being equal...was it THAT good, or was it the circumstances.
Is it possible, then, that I have in my mind what I think of both Frazier and Wallace and that I have struck the gavel forrrr eevvvvvveeee eeerrrrrr ("The Sandlot" reference, thanks Alyse.). Possibly. Probably.
So, I admit that I could be tainted. So be it. Let's get down to quasi-facts, shall we.
The coaching staff at Auburn have stressed that no one's past performances will give preconceived notions of future stocks. Ok. I buy that. Just kidding. No, really I don't. But this isn't Bielema coming to Arkansas to the first time, players unknown and unseen. This is a coaching staff that has been around Auburn...in the last 2 years. Specifically Malzahn and Lashlee...the only ones that matter.
It's a great thing to say all that. And I truly believe that Malzahn and Lashlee will always do what is best for the University. But I, at ZERO time, have seen anything out of Frazier that leads me to believe that he is an SEC caliber QB. Conversely, Wallace has shown me that he at least has the mindset to be an SEC QB, and even has made plays that ARE SEC caliber plays.
Is this opinion or fact, you say. Let's talk about it.
I said that Frazier, at no point, has shown me SEC caliber play. Truth. Fact. Both. Dr. Indiana Jones would say that there is a difference, but there isn't. The stats AND the technique show it.
2011 Stats say that #10 was 0/2 TD/INT ratio. That's a skin deep fact. But more interesting to me was this: He had 5/12 completions all year. At that point, he was a QB in name only, being used as a runner. 76 rush attempts as a wildcat vs 5/12 passing. All of us Auburn fans recall those 2 pics against Arkansas and how that sealed the game for the Hogs. Again, until that point, Frazier had really yet to throw a pass, making all of us Die Hards wonder...why? The game could have gone either way until that point, but the choice to let him throw proved to be the two nails needed to bury the Tigers that day. He had a 32 passer rating for 2011, though he did have 320 yards and 3 TDs rushing to show for it.
So, he was a true freshman that year. He didn't have a full year in the system. How did he do in 2012? Well, again, the stats say.....Bust. 62/116, 750 yards, 2/8 TD/INT ratio. While that's very telling, the biggest stat was this: 18 sacks. 42 rushing attempts and -35 yards. Yikes.
Now, guilty by all reasonable doubt? No. Ex-Coordinator Loeffler proved that he could not win at Auburn. Reflection of him, the program, or the players? Jury is out. I will say that his play calling, in my opinion, was beyond horrible. It was like calling from the pages of Madden 2013.
Except that in Madden, most people like to throw the deep ball every once in awhile, which was a glaring issue in play calling or execution early on.
Stats are stats. And any statistician will tell you that stats can say whatever you want them to say.
The most telling thing to me wasn't on paper. Watching Frazier's game play...even from a complete novice like me's viewpoint....was painful. The decision making was terrible. He tucked when he shouldn't. He scrambled when he shouldn't. But, even worse, were the mechanics. He threw off his back foot falling backwards more often than I could count, usually landing in the arms of an opposing player. He missed wide open receivers deep in exchange for check down routes that went nowhere. Heck, his long pass of the year was a 54 yarder hail mary at the end of the half against Mississippi State! That was his highlight of the year! Ws and Ls? 1-5 and his win was against La-Mo.
Ok. Was I too hard on him? That's up to you to tell me. You are probably going to say that I was too soft on Wallace here in a second.
So, Jonathan Wallace comes to Auburn as a footnote in the 2011 recruiting class. I admit that I didn't know anything about him until he signed. But, as I read about him, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. So, 2012 goes to pot. Literally, if you believe the hype. Wallace gets put in at the halfway point against Texas A&M, which was future Heisman Jonny's real break out game. How does the true freshman respond? 6/9, 127 yards, 2TDs. Granted, it's in garbage time. I said it. You said it. Everyone did.
How would he do against real competition? New Mexico State isn't it. Georgia came to town, perhaps the second best team in all of college football. 15/22, 181 yards. 0/1 TD/INT. He wins against Alabama A&M handily. Gets blasted by Alabama. But...the mechanics were so different. Wallace tucked and ran when he should. He ate it when he should. The rush and sack stats show it. 7 sacks on the year. He never had a problem throwing down field. Even in face of a rush, he stood tall and threw.
Again, stats are stats. Let me throw some more.
How many games with negative rush yards did Frazier have as a starter? 5 Wallace? 0.
Multi turnover games? Frazier? 2. Wallace? 1.
150 yards plus games? Frazier? 1. Wallace? 3.
What about the level of competition faced? Frazier played really only 2 teams with "successfull" records in Clemson (11-2) and LSU (10-3). Wallace played Georgia and Alabama. The top two teams in the NCAA. Period.
Your next question. Malzahn can turn anyone into a winner despite their past performances. Maybe. Maybe not.
So, all of history says that QBs only do better under Malzahn then under anyone else. Right? But this is not the first time he has had a true QB battle. And, history says that his teams don't do well without an established starter out of spring practice. At Arkansas in 2006, he had capable starters in Dick and Mustain that battled it out. The result? Combined 19/15 TD/INT. He did terrific at Tulsa. Then he came to Auburn. Kodi Burns was never going to be a winner at Auburn. Face it. And Todd was hurt in 2008. The man couldn't throw away a paper wad by midseason. Healed in 2009 and named starter early, he set single season records. There was ZERO question that Cam was going to start in 2010. In 2011, Malzahn faced a QB battle between Trotter and Mosely that went through fall practice. The result? Not good. 16/9 and a complete lack of offensive fireworks despite having a fantastic running game duo of Dyer/McCaleb. He went to Ark State where Aplin was an established starter. Ryan Aplin in 1 year under Gus went from 19/16 to 24/4. That's huge. But, to be fair, he had a junior slump as he was 21/11 his sophomore year.
So that brings us to today. We have a QB battle raging on The Plains. We've already been told that a starter won't be named this spring. History tells us this is not a good thing....unless....Nick Marshall, the JuCo transfer.....channels his inner Cam Newton this summer. Possible? Yes. Auburn has a pretty rich tradition of 1 year JuCo/Transfer stars at all positions, but specifically at QB under Malzahn. Though 2 data points aren't much to go on.
I don't like waiting that long. After all, Cam and Todd both went through spring ball, though they were named starters afterwards. That leaves really me asking this: Is the competition that close? Or is Frazier getting some bonus points to keep it close? It's well known that Frazier was the coveted recruit of Malzahn's 3 years at Auburn. He is from Springdale, Ark. He was brought up in the same offensive system. He spent 1 year under the Head Coach. He's as close to a coach's son as it will get. And I think that is playing into the decision. Everyone is human. Even at NASA where lives and billions of dollars are on the line, many decisions are based upon the human dynamic rather than data points. Sure, the word around Auburn is that "It's a Brand New Day." Yes it is. Work ethic and attitudes can change. Changing everything else, like leadership, footwork, mechanics, bravery, and decision making takes a lot of time...or never.
No one asked for my opinion, but here it is: Even under Malzahn in 2011, Frazier was never the firebrand he was sold as. 2012 was a travesty of poor quarterbacking, even with the shoddy play calling and offensive line. Wallace showed everything needed to win in the SEC in his short tenure as starter. I already think he is good enough to be named starter. Having the position solidified now will pay much more dividends than fighting it out in the summer and fall. Gus certainly knows best. It's his job and he does it great. Yet, you know what they say about polishing a turd. I'm ready to be proven wrong, but from my seat in Section 39, if it looks like it and smells like it, it probably is.
What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The Auburn Realist: Overview
You can find links to all of my Auburn Realist Blog posts here.
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I have been talking about doing this for a long time at the behest of a lot of friends (and foes) who are fellow football fans. You don't have to look very far to find out where my allegiance lies. I am an Auburn Man through and through, of that, there is no doubt.
I guess it's the 25% genetic makeup from my maternal grandfather, retired lawyer, who causes me to take a subjective look into even my greatest passions....Auburn Football.
Part of my every day routine is reading the articles, blogs, and other multi-media avenues regarding all things Auburn Athletics. And while good journalism is always subjective journalism, it also lacks the dissected substance that REAL fans want. I use the term "REAL" lightly. There are fair weather fans. There are apathetic fans. There are football season fans. There are rabid fans. Then there is us.
What do I mean by that? Well, fans that are in it until death. Have real connections to the University. Are vested into the team and the community. Know the intricacies of the game. Know most of the 2-deep on both sides of the ball. They care about losing and winning, but care much more for the how and why. These type people want more substance in their reading. They want to think. They want to ask questions. I know I get tired of the skin deep reporting. I don't want to read about the every day things the players are doing. I dont' want to hear about how so-and-so knows this year will be different. I don't care if Coach says practice was good or bad. I want to know who is performing. Who is making moves. Why is this player here. Why isn't so-and-so getting reps. Why are certain choices made. Why is the play calling this way. These things are important to me.
No fault to those writers, but sometimes I don't think the right questions get asked...probably because they won't get answered. What separates me from them is that they are there, on site. Initially, I avoided sports writing, mostly because....hey, there are there and I am not. How can I deliver something people want to read that is better or different from these reporters? Yet, their writings are for a more generalized audience. They can't afford to be specific. Most football fans don't care about the Xs and Os. Only the Ws and Ls. Nor do readers care for opinionated sports writers in newspapers. And, opinionated sports writers are frequently outcast....and that's a bad thing if you are getting paid to do it. Unless you are Scarbinski.
I want to read about Xs and Os. I want to talk about technique and strategy. I want to talk about real world recruiting. These are things you won't read about because of the reasons listed above. So, if I can't read it...I can certainly write it. And since I have a great job and don't make any money (yet) writing a blog, I can afford to speak my mind on the game. I am secure enough in my Auburn Fandom that I can and happily will question things.
Blogging (and my related social media like my FaceBook Page and Twitter) make it possible that similar and like minded fans can interact. That's what I want. Interaction. I want questions asked and opinions shared. This isn't a new concept, even for Auburn football. The writers themselves do a GREAT job using their Twitter and Facebook as well. But, again, they are getting paid to not be opinionated fans.
Again, I have great respect for my Auburn beat writers. I encourage you to read their articles. In fact, I will be using their articles as the base for most of my articles.
So, let's talk football.
Monday, April 15, 2013
NABA Poker Run to Benefit UCP!
Hey folks! Here is a great event for everyone to get behind! The North Alabama Boaters Association is holding a great event for United Cerebral Palsy of Huntsville and Tennesee Valley, Inc!
This event has a special place in my heart because my mother has worked at UCP my whole life. I have seen, first hand, the GREAT THINGS being done for disabled children. They need your help to keep up the good work!
The North Alabama Boaters Association (NABA) presents the 2013 River Poker Run to benefit UCP of Huntsville and Tennessee Valley, Inc. on Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. at Ditto Landing.
The Poker Run will begin at 10 a.m. (starting points are Ditto Landing, Decatur, and Guntersville), card turn-in is at Ditto Landing 4-5:30 p.m., and the awards banquet is 6-9 p.m. at Kingston Pavilion at Ditto Landing. Family fun will take place throughout the day at Ditto Landing (more details to follow!).
The NABA River Poker Run is not a race, just a great chance to spend a day on the beautiful Tennessee River with family and friends while supporting UCP! Cash prizes will be awarded ($2,500 prize purse based on goal of 400 hands sold).
Pre-register and begin the run in Decatur, Guntersville, or at Ditto Landing. Pick up four cards on the river and the final card at Ditto Landing. Three card boats will be located along a 10-mile course with a card stop at Butler Basin.
Don’t have a boat? Don’t worry! You can get all of your cards at Ditto Landing after the run and still enjoy the fun. Any size boat or watercraft is welcome, from PWCs to ski boats and cruisers.
Participants may buy as many poker hands as desired for $25 per hand. Attendance to the awards banquet is free. Poker hands and corporate sponsorship opportunities are tax-deductible.
The awards banquet will include non-alcoholic drinks, music and fun. Alcoholic beverages are not provided by NABA or UCP but are allowed at the event. If you choose to drink, drink responsibly and at your own risk.
NABA and UCP are inviting a variety of vendors to sell food, arts and crafts at Ditto Landing for the duration of the event. For vendor participation information, contact Tracy Cieniewicz at tracyc@ucphuntsville.organd 256-859-4900.
The run will take place rain or shine and no refunds will be issued for this charitable event. If you can’t make the run because of imperfect weather, be sure to get your cards at Ditto Landing after the run.
Vendor Information
Sponsorship Information
Mystery Tackle Box Review for April 2013
I was about falling down tired when we got in from softball practice Saturday. In fact, so tired that I made Aubree go get the mail. She came RUNNING back in the house with the April edition of Mystery Tackle Box. Recall that Aubree hosted last months edition of the Box to rave review. I have something to admit too...
Here are other MTB Reviews
Anyways, this month features baits by Backwater, Strike King, Rage Tail, Mustad Hooks, and Kopper's Live Target. Check out the vid! Show her the love!
Rage Tail Recon Worm. $4.99
Here are other MTB Reviews
- March 2013 Review
- February 2013 Review
- January 2013 Review
- December 2012 Review
- November 2012 Review
But, Aubree kept asking me. She was so excited about doing it again. There were a TON of my Twitter followers and comments on my YouTube channel saying how awesome she was. I got to thinking...you know, $15 a month is nothing to share in a hobby with my 8 year old daughter. So, I kept it open.
Anyways, this month features baits by Backwater, Strike King, Rage Tail, Mustad Hooks, and Kopper's Live Target. Check out the vid! Show her the love!
Specifically, we check out:
Backwater Reef Stik, $3.97 and comes in 19 colors.
Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Game Hog, $4.89
Live Target Frog, $7.48
How to Install a Recessed Trolling Motor Tray on a ZX202C Skeeter for Motorguide/Minn Kota
Even at 30 and spending limited time(what can I say, I'm lazy) on the front deck, I still get a sore back from standing on the trolling motor in my limited time. Most of the problem is that most trolling motor panels aren't recessed on old boats and it causes the operator to stand at a weird angle that backbones and muscles really don't like. While the Skeeter certainly isn't old, these ergonomic trolling motors are really just now becoming standard equipment on boats. Our old Stratos certainly didn't have one.
We bought one probably 2 years ago, but discovered we would have to cut in to the front livewell if we wanted to install it. That wasn't something we wanted to do, so we shelved the piece.
When the new Skeeter came home, we KNEW it was something we wanted to do. But, both dad and I were a little hesitant to cut in to the deck of a boat we had just bought. But, we got over it....
Here are the tools and equipment we needed and used:
- PPE (safety goggles, latex gloves, masks)
- Carpenters Square
- Tape Measure
- Masking Tape
- Exacto Knife
- Power Sander
- Dremel
- Sawzaw
- Butcher Paper
- Sharpie
- Silicone
- Sprayable expanding insulation foam
- Drill and drill bits
- Wood Screws and washers
- Small machine bolts with lock washers
- We installed the Pro Pole and seat, moving the tray around until we located where we wanted the pedal. We then used masking tape to note the location front and back
- We then used a square to align it properly, then marked this with a Sharpie. As you can see, Griffin decided to help us...and get in the picture
- Before we cut the whole hole, we cut a smaller hold in a location that knew would end up being cut regardless of the front to back location. First, we used the exacto knife to remove the carpet. You don't want to catch the carpet with your dremel or sawzaw and rip all the carpet on the deck off. We did this to see if there were anything under there we needed to avoid cutting. We used a Dremel tool to make small precise cuts. ***Don't do what my dad and I did! Wear long sleeves, gloves, and mask! He is wearing safety goggles, at least.***
- After we removed this small square, we felt around under the deck to check for wires, beams, and stiffeners. Naturally, Skeeter has fiberglass stiffeners every six inches across the deck. They run from the front bulkhead to just behind this small square. So, if you are squeamish about cutting into structural members....too bad. You are in it now. We were also nervous about it, too. Believe us. Being NASA engineers, we started over thinking the problem. Luckily, boats are not rockets and carry significant amounts of safety margins. Furthermore, the metal tray will carry load too. So, it's not like you are removing all the load bearing structure. Lastly, the stiffeners aren't load bearing for the load on the boat itself. Just the deck. So, don't worry about the end of the boat falling off. Just tell yourself: This has been done on thousands of boats.
- After we had an idea of where the stiffeners were, how to avoid them as best as possible, we adjusted the square and marked the large square. ****Remember not to think of the total dimensions based upon the top of the tray because it has a 1 inch lip around the whole tray. You need to cut for the inner mold line.**** We cut the rest of the carpet off and got the sawzaw. The stiffeners you have to remove are over 3 inches tall, so the dremel won't cut it. They are thin fiberglass Pi bonds (whoot for composite manufacture classes!) and are foam filled. Honestly, judging by the relative resin poor structures, they were never meant to carry much load. In fact, I believe the deck is stronger with the metal tray than without it.
- Now that the basic hole you need is cut, its time for final fitting. Undoubtedly, your hole isn't exactly square despite your best efforts. That's ok. Just try to err on the size of caution. We noted that several areas weren't straight and rather than go to cutting on them, we pulled out a power belt sander. We knew we needed to use it to smooth it down anyway. So, we sanded down the edges around the square hole. You don't want sharp edges and you do want it straight...for several reasons. We sanded a little, then tried to fit the tray. Then sanded a little more. Eventually, with some elbow grease, the tray dropped in to place.
- Now, it's time to mount the pedal to the tray. This tray was a universal design, so, with the help of my wonderful wife, we used butcher paper to map the mounting holes of the pedal. Then we transferred them to the tray. With a drill press, we cut the holes.
- We then mounted it using 1" long, 1/4" machine bolts and lock washers. You could also use Lok-Tite...or both. After all, you don't want it to come loose. Ever. Get these tight, but not too tight. The tray may be metal, but the pedal is still plastic and you dont' want to bust off the mounting feet.
- Everything look good? Great. Pull it back out. Now comes one of the most critical steps that I don't think anyone would ever tell you to do. Luckily, your good buddy BFZ has a lot of experience with high performance composites at NASA. What's the worst thing you can do to a fiver reinforced polymer composite? Leave exposed fibers bare to the elements....notably, water. Now, this is where sanding will do you a great service. If you didn't sand it, you will be sporting a lot of fiberglass splinters after this. So, sand it good. Alright.
- Now, look at the exposed stringers. I bet you will notice that there are gaps in the foam inside of those stringers. Get you some spray insulation foam. Fill in these gaps in the stringers. While we will silicone in the next step, you can't fill these large gaps with silicone. Expanding foam is the key. Get your gloves on.
- Get your silicone tube and rub a very thin layer of silicone around all the exposed fiber glass edges. Don't over do it. Just a very light layer all the way around.
- After you let the foam and the silicone dry, drop your tray back down. Get your drill and wood screws. I applied a dab of silicone on the threads of the screws to seal against the fiberglass. I also applied some to the filleted head of the screw that will be resting on the lip of the tray. You don't want it to rust.
- Clean up time! And clean good. Not just the carpet, but the gel coat. Don't wipe it. Vacuum it or blow it off first. That fiberglass is just like sandpaper and if you go wiping it, it will scar up your gel coat. Not enough to notice right now...but over time....And lastly, go jump in the shower. Now. You will thank me later.
Well, that's it. Here is our finished project. I hope this helped you!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
2013 New Year's Resolutions Update
Can you believe that the year is a quarter gone? Hard to believe. It's been a terrific year for our family, that's for sure. I thought we would revisit our resolutions. How are yours? Everyone makes them. Let's see how I am doing.
Here is my post for my 2013 Resolutions.
Let's take a look at the ones that really matter:
Here is my post for my 2013 Resolutions.
Let's take a look at the ones that really matter:
- Loose 20 pounds...or convert to muscle
- Down from 176 and 275 body fat to 159 and between 19.5-20%
- Make studying the Bible a priority instead of "what to do when I am bored"
- We have done a good job at reading the Word and having a discussion with the kids at least every other night. It gets missed sometimes. But, the kids do a fantastic job of reminding me.
- spend more time with the kids developing their skills. My dad played football and baseball with me almost daily. As a result, I was a fantastic athlete, despite being vertically challenged.
- This one has been tough. I'm not doing such a good job with Griffin. I am doing ok with Aubree, but mostly because I HAVE to, as coach of her team.
- Spend more time working on our house and landscaping. I did a much better job this last year and it really showed. Turns out, it's pretty fun!
- Garden has been started, brush piles are getting burned, taking care of the grass. Already way ahead on this.
- Start playing bass guitar again
- Complete fail. Sigh. Not enough time in the day. May have to get drastic and bring a guitar to work.
- Get my kids more involved with the outdoors
- Doing pretty good here. We turned the cable off and have been throwing the kids outside as soon as they get home.
- Be the person I should be in front of everyone. I do a good job around acquaintances but a terrible job around my close friends.
- Still not doing well with this. I am getting better about talking openly about my spirituality and my struggles, but seem to backslide around my non Church friends.
- Make more friends, especially at Church
- The Madison Church of Christ can take credit for this for starting "Connect Groups". It's forced us to do this.
- Watch less TV
- Big Success here. The only TV we watch is the news and MAYBE 20 minutes after we get in the bed. The kids hardly ever watch TV. We turned the cable off a few months ago and hadn't missed it. I recommend it.
- Save more money this year. Last year we actually paid down debts and didn't add any new debts. This year I want to actually save some!
- Well....good and bad here. Dont' have any credit card debt anymore, but we have a car payment and now a boat payment. But, it's reasonable.
- Make my garden better this year. Sure, it was So-so. I learned some lessons like....
- I need a rain water collection system for my garden. I learned this year how chlorinated water will KILL your veggies
- Start my own seeds instead of buying pre-grown plants
- Done
- Build an AR
- No chance. Anything gun related is ridiculous
- Read more books about gardening, self sufficiency, etc.
- Failure so far.
- Take a weekend survival camping trip (or a few!)
- hadn't done it yet
- Start a EOTWAWKI vehicle build
- eh. been looking around.
- Find a way to Beta test stuff. Same as above. Maybe if I get more traffic, I can convince companies to let me review their stuff!
- Trying....
- Continue to accrue the tools I need. Not just for survival, but for around the house. Which also are good for EOTWAWKI....
- Start writing post apocalyptic stuff again!
- Hadn't done it
- Get my fruit trees to produce better
- Doing a better job and trimming
- Kill a deer and eat it at the kill site. Just sounds fun!
- We shall see...
- Don't be pressured to fish every big money tournament out there. Fact is, I fished 4 big tournaments last year and cashed a check in only 1....and in all honesty, that was Uncle Tony's doing...not mine.
- Not a problem. I am B-R-O-K-E.
- Go to the finesse baits earlier. I usually wait too long to throw the finesse baits.
- Doing as great job with this. 30 minutes without a bite and I am throwing a stick bait
- Don't loose any rods and reels this year. I lost 2 combos this year, totalling in around $500.
- So far so good
- Be adventurous. Try new spots.
- Still struggling with this. A lot.
- Spend more time using my electronics finding the fish. In late 2012, I started doing this REAL well and it paid off.
- Well, sold the old boat with the good fishfinder. Don't have a good one on the Skeeter
- Learn some new methods. Doesn't have to be a lot of new methods. In 2012, I learned to throw the jig, spoon, and shakey head. This year I want to flip. A lot. I want to learn the drop shot.
- I am trying pretty hard on this one.
- Fish with new people. Seriously. Email me. I want to fish with some new folks and learn some new things.
- Doing pretty well here.
- Find a way to Beta test stuff. I don't know what I have to do to convince bait companies to take a chance on me....
- Nobody has any interest in sending me stuff
- Do a MUCH better job managing this blog. People take time to read it. I need to do a better job designing and managing. If you have comments, I would love to hear them!
- I think I am doing better.
- Weigh in 20+ pounds in a tournament. Sadly, I haven't done this yet. I seem to win on tough days, but I can't compete on good ones.
- Only fished 2 tournaments. The SNUFISH tournament was OH SO CLOSE to this goal.
- Get to fish with my wife and kids more. My oldest and middle are old enough to really start fishing. I need to be less selfish with my time.
- We have been out several times as a family.
- Find ways to get the blog out there more. While I blog because I enjoy it, I also enjoy seeing the post count go up. I'd like to get invites to fish with bait companies and pros.
- Alabama Mountain Lakes and Alabama Bass Trail have REALLY come through for me. Also, my Facebook page is helping.
- Find other people like me with blogs and other social media and share!
- I'm trying....
- Not get skunked ANY this year
- Eh......already failed.
- Get a GoPro and make some webisodes!
- Going great!
- Fish Table Rock this year and do well.
- Haven't gone
- Fish more NASA tournaments
- Hadn't made any yet.
- Fish more Ditto Wildcats
- Just started last week
Monday, April 8, 2013
Weekend of 4/5-7/2013
Welp, I am sure many of you read about my Friday Fishing trip. Tough day. Even tougher when you loose 25 pounds of fish due to brakes and throws. Oh well. It's just fishing. The weekend didn't slow down for long!
Friday night we had softball practice for the 8U Killa Kupcakes. Practice time has been very hard to come by because of the weather and limited field time. I guess MPRA has millionbillionz (thats a Metalocalpyse joke) teams needing to practice.
After getting DRILLED Thursday, we needed to practice somehow. Luckily one of the parents volunteered their home for practice. My assistant coach worked 1-on-1 batting...which we desperately needed after averaging 11 strikeouts a game. Meanwhile, me and the other coaches worked on situational fielding. The bulk of the other teams scores have been due to "aggressive" baserunning. What that REALLY means is, if the pitcher doesn't have the ball inside the circle and the Ump hasn't called time, the opposing coaches are sending their base runners. Against the rules? Not at all. But not sporting, in my opinion. Especially when you are winning 10-0 in the bottom of the 2nd. So, we were teaching these girls to get the ball to the pitcher and forget trying to make plays. Which I think is counter productive...but so is getting hammered. But, I digress....
As soon as practice was over, the buyer for our old Stratos was on his way to pick it up. Naturally, he arrived after 8pm and promptly got stuck in the yard. But, the sell went through and the Stratos went to a new home.
Up and at them early Saturday...mostly due to an 11 month old who decided it was time to bang on my head. Alyse ran the "Lead Me to the Cross" 5K at Mount Zion Church. She met her goal and did a great job! All before 10am!
She took this picture because she thought it was speaking to her.
When she got home, I stepped outside for about 3 seconds before I realized how GORGEOUS it was. Time to get some yard work done! I cut our 1.5 acres of grass, did some weeding, played with our infant garden.
Also, managed to burn one of the 3 piles of limbs and leaves....and it doesn't matter HOW many times I do it, I am ALWAYS nervous about big fires. Of course, it may be mostly because I used gasoline to start them and my dad nearly killed himself when I was about 13 doing the same thing!
Work Work Work. Even had Aubs and Griffy out working. Man, is THAT nice!
After a short nap, it was ball game time. Boy, was it OBVIOUS that the work had paid off. Aside from a big first inning by the other team and a 1-2-3 out inning for us, we played AWESOME! In fact, I think they scored 2 runs in the last 3 innings! That's awesome! But, in the end, we came up short 9-8 despite a 2 run rally in the bottom of the 5th.
What's awesome about little girls is that they RARELY know who won and who lost. And those that know don't really care as long as they had fun. Thanks to great article I was sent last week due to my frustrations with opposing coaches, I approached losing a little different. So, I will pass along some info: tell them how much fun it was to watch them play. Only talk about things that were done right, then move I completely away from talking about the game. Go back to being a fun parent.
Some of the improvements I saw were so vast that I can't really even explain it. Explaining situational awareness in the field sounds easy until you try and explain it. When I left practice Friday, I really questioned if I had done any good or if I had just confused the girls. But, a few plays aside, they all knew what to do. More importantly, everyone on our team has now hit a coach pitched ball, which was a goal I had.
We were DEAD by 9pm and hit the hay.
Sunday, we were right back at it! Off to Sunday School and Church services. We are using a new thing at Church called "connect groups" where you are put in classes with only people in your stage in life. So, ours is the "primary" group, which is for families with kids in primary school.
Alyse and I have really struggled with being active in our Church. Don't get us wrong, we have lots of friends and we go to Church every Sunday. But, it' tough to find people in our situation to hang with. In fact, on our class, we only have 2-3 other families with more than 2 kids. And we are the youngest in the room. But age is just a number, as we are learning. So, the class has literally been a Godsend for us. It's really paying dividends for us as well as the other families. I can't wait until the weekend cookouts between our families begin! In fact, its hard to believe that the 45 minute class goes by SO FAST! I am literally heart broken when the bell rings!
Service was excellent...at least I hear...since Griffin had to go to Bible Hour and Gavin had decided to be social and let everyone know what he thought. It wasn't until after I smelled the poop in the cry room that I realized that I had no diaper bag. I had to text Alyse to bring it to me. By then, we might as well leave. the sermon was over and 4/5 family members were out of the auditorium and the 5th wasn't even going home with us!
On to lunch!
We had BIG plans for this afternoon. Something we have all dreamed about. You might have guessed it with all the talk of selling boats.
Yep, my REALLY AWESOME Unkie Jeff is selling us his Skeeter ZX202C. Me, my wife, and my dad that is. I am some fortunate to have both a wife and a dad that share my hobby! Sure makes life easier on all of us! We just had to test drive it and make sure everything was ready! But before that, we had a few errands to run, most notably, buying balls for for Sunday Night Softball league. Turned out, buying the girl size balls were harder than we thought. It took several stores to located them.
Anyway, off to Ditto we went! Dad and Jeff met us there. After a quick ride, show and tell, they left me, Alyse, and Griffy to fish. Josh and Emily brought the Bullet out to hang with us!
Griffin was Chunkin' and Windin' a Crank!
Well, we only got to fish for a few minutes before we had to dump the kids off to play softball....at 9pm. Whew! Some of us are in bed asleep by then!
We met up with our team, mostly made of our NASA League team. We watched a game before ours and it looked like the competition was a little lower than we were.....
Boy were we wrong! The opposing team put up 12 runs in the first and we really never had a play. In fact, the first pitch of the game was a homer! They were absolutely KILLING the ball. I had one hit to me at short that actually scared me. It was too fast for me to get a glove on. Next batter crushed another that I had to dive at. I did make the play on it, but couldn't make a throw. Next batter hit a 3rd that I did snag and made a play on. But, the throw was terrible. My really awesome and talented wife was playing 1st and she made a FANTASTIC play. .But, we got out of the inning and got up to bat. I was the lead off. First pitch I saw, I CRUSHED. First step out of the box....fell flat on my face. I turned it into a double. As I was standing there, one of the players said:
"Why yall using cheap balls?"
That took my by surprise. We bought them from Dick's. I just filed it away. It wasn't the first time I had heard something like that said. I just assumed that other people used hot balls while we used legal ones. Wrong. Check out the flat spot. Just crappy balls.
And, that was the way it went. When we DID put a bat on the ball, it didn't go anywhere. In the last inning, they pitched Josh one of their balls, which he hit into a homerun. Then, the game was over. After the game, the other team went into depth on the balls. While I seriously doubted that I could have scored the 27 + runs to catch up, we could have made it look close. Fact is, they hit the balls low and flat and we never had plays. <Shrug> I HEAR they are a travel ball team and they are just THAT GOOD. I sure hope so. We have a very good team and we got CRUSHED! So, don't buy the Dick' Sporting Goods Softballs..here are the SKU's:
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Terrible. Seriously. I don't hit THAT hard and I flat spotted them. We could get ZERO power. If you bounce these, then bounce a GOOD ball, you can hear all you need to hear.
But, hey. Fun times with great friends and my wonderful wife.......
And we spent $120 on new balls today.....
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