Priorities When Prepping: What Should You Be Spending Your Money On

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I, like so many people across the country, can't walk out of my local sporting goods store without buying the limit of ammunition. Now, before you judge me, realize that most places limit you to small boxes of ammunition, and usually one two per caliber. Is it being prudent or just being obsessed? While the firearm and ammo situation is very much a media-hyped thing,  I have even talked about things you must buy every time you are out, like my article on Things Commonly Overlooked.  But what about those items that you pick up, look at the price tag, but pass on it saying "maybe next time."

In conversations with my other prepping type friends, it would appear that ammunition and firearms are the centerpiece of all of our preparations. While all of us love to shoot and none of us want to cut a good day of shooting short because it will take us weeks to resupply. the truth of the matter is that we are making firearms and ammunition the priority, both in the money and the peace of mind spent to assure our continuation in a world gone bad. But does it really do either of those?

After a few comments from my better half, I got to thinking about how much money I have sunk into my firearms and ammunition in the last year. I have bought at least a half dozen guns. I also make it to my local Academy at least once per pay period and have never walked out without buying the 2 box limit of 9mm or .45, or the limit in .223/.22. Which means the cheapest possible trip in and out is approximately $45. Commonly I buy an additional box of .38 special or .357, which is at least an additional $25. So, let's say I do that once a pay period or twice a month. That's over $1000 a year in ammunition. Again, that's a very conservative estimate. Truth be told, i don't shoot that much and my stock had grown such that I have...well...more than I need.

It was after the crisis in Syria became front page news that I started thinking: What COULD I have bought  instead of all this ammo. More importantly, what things could I possibly need in a split second that guns and ammo couldn't get me. The first thing that I thought of was the one thing that was all over the news. There were scenes of those killed by gas. There were scenes of those luckily to only be maimed by it, usually losing their eyesight. I don't know about you, but that's one sense I'd rather not do without. What did these people not have  that might have saved them? Gas masks.

All of the ammunition in the world couldn't help those people exposed. There was nowhere to run. Once within that poison cloud, you couldn't simply run or hide from it. You certainly couldn't fight out of it or buy/trade your way to safety. But, had those people had access to gas masks, what then? Chances are, they slip them on and escape to live another day. So, while I was on the treadmill at the gym, watching this horror, I got on Amazon to see what gas masks were selling for. In the back of my mind, I assumed that it was just another piece of equipment that I knew I might one day need, would love to buy it for piece of mind, but just couldn't afford to buy it. I'm like everyone else. I am middle class, and while I do believe in being prepared, the pragmatic part of me sets limitations.

What did I find? Amazon is covered up with Russian/Israeli/etc military surplus gas masks....to the tune of about $40 shipped to your door.

Now, I didn't forget about the kids. After all, life really isn't worth living if I can't get my whole family. So, still on Amazon, I looked for the same thing in kids sizes. To my surprise, they were also extremely affordable. I was able to buy 3 kids size military surplus masks for under $40 shipped. Not bad, eh?

So, that got me thinking....we spend all this time talking about things we may need, but can't "justify" spending the money on...even though we nickle-and-dime ourselves away prepping on other things. And while I did think of some things..I would LOVE to hear your ideas!

• At home water cistern/storage. I had been talking about doing this for a long time, specifically to my dad. See, they live on top of a mountain that's actually above the local water tank. So, there is a booster pump at the bottom of the hill to provide water pressure. It goes out CONSTANTLY. Well, he has chickens. And dogs. And tons of everything. Not to mention the need for water for himself. He elected to buy an off the shelf version that caught rainwater running off of his shop. I believe it's a 450 gallon unit and it filled up with the first rain. You can get pretty ingenuity with yours and do it fairly cheap (under $150) and go as far as you want to make it work for you. For example, putting it on stilts, adding a 2 way valve to your house water supply, and you can now use your house water system. 
• TYVEX suits are something that are relatively cheap and very useful to have ready. Will they protect you against many nasty chemical weapons? Will it stop radiation? No. But, it will do an admirable job against most chemical weapons and biological ones. They are water proof. They are easy to find, easy to put on, and cheap. 
• "Noah's Ark" seed assortments. Tons of places sell heirloom seed assortments. They are around $80-100 and will come with a large variety and assortment of herbs and vegetables. If you are like me and my wife, you normally buy your seeds annually from a catalog. What if instead, you bought one of these a year. And the next year, you planted your old one when you received your new one? This would ensure maximum freshness. While I understand that most people don't have that kind of room and couldn't use a whole set, you can at least use SOME of them. This way you can save yourself a little money on groceries, but most importantly, get into the practice of growing your own and learning all the little pitfalls. Even if you live in an apartment you can buy a .....
• Indoor plant growing station. Sorry, I couldn't think of a better name for it. The stands and the correct lights (you can't just use standard bulbs) DO cost a good amount of money, usually around $100. Maybe that's one of the reasons that I never bought one to begin with. Plus, Alabama has such a temperate climate that starting your own seedlings isn't usually necessary. This year, however, we experienced a TON of rain that kept me from planting. Plus, a friend was moving out of town and was selling his setup. So, I bought it cheap. With a cheap bag of soil, I was able to easily grow 30 tomato plants in a 48" long tray until they were big enough to separate and grow in their own pots. So, it cost about $125 counting the lights and stand, the soil, cups, and seeds. What would 30 half grown tomato cost you at Lowes? There you go. 
• A dirt bike. A used dirt bike can be found easily and cheaply around here. Especially an older one, you know...carburated with a non-electronic ignition. Why would you want such a thing? Well, in the case of an EMP, it would be one of the few rides left around town that ran. You couldn't put a price on being able to ride to and fro when the lights went out. Additionally, if you didn't get out ahead of everyone in another catastrophic event....say....you were in gridlock traffic and you just KNEW something really bad was about to happen. You could unload your little dirt bike off the back of your truck and take off. Paved roads, dirt roads, through the trees, doesn't matter. You could ride almost anywhere. Sure, it would cost you $1,000 up front. But, like we were talking about earlier, I spent that in ammo this year. This is a much more useful tool.

Again, these are but a few things that I thought of in a short thinking session. I hope that I will hear from some of you to point out others. The point is, you simply can't let a once time price stop you from buying semi-affordable things. Especially when you are dedicated to spending the money anyway. There are certainly things that I can't afford. But, I find myself spending money on things I CAN afford while ignoring things I COULD afford. So, put things in a price-perspective. Do you need another assault rifle? Another case of MREs? Maybe. Maybe not. But think of all the other things you could do with $1500 that could buy you precious minutes or hours.


Don't forget to check out some of my other popular articles like:
What's in Your Zombie Pack Part 1
What's in Your Zombie Pack Part 2
Choose Your Hand to Hand Weapon
The 5 Stages of Preparedness Part 1
Commonality: How to be Efficient


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The Auburn Realist: The Mississippi State Preview

I can't believe it is week 3 already! And, it is time to open up the SEC season. That's right. Things just got real. The Mississippi State game has come to define many Auburn seasons over the course of my lifetime. I have been to this game more than any other game. And each year, final records aside, this game has almost always been drama filled.

So, here we are off a fresh win against Arkansas State. No, the game wasn't as tight as I had expected in my Preview of the Arkansas State Game. My predicted score wasn't close, though the stats were. I gave myself a solid B- in predicting. I also wrapped up my visit to the Plains with the fam. I have a ton more pictures on my FaceBook Page.

Check out my other posts:
Washington State Game Preview
Washington State Game Review
Arkansas State Game Review

So, what can we expect from Mississippi State aside from cowbells? That's tough to say. They were soundly beaten by Oklahoma State for their opener and played a very outclassed Alcorn State team last week. The only things that jump out at me are:

•  that they have played 3 QBs and all 3 have thrown a pick. Two were thrown against OSU, a team not usually known for great defenses.
• a dual threat QB, Walsh, gave them all kinds of fits
• LaDarius Perkins is a fantastic RB. He can beat you up between the tackles and catch the ball out of the backfield

So, while I can't speculate with any authority on State, I will do my best with what I know about Auburn. While both sides of the ball really struggled at times, they showed great promise in others. For example, the defense gave up a lot of yards again Saturday, but the goal line was like an iron curtain. Likewise, the offense had it's good drives and it's bad ones. The first and last drives of the first half were gorgeous. But a lot of the stuff in between looked suspect. Lots of holding penalties and the like. To be fair, the flags came out very easily for both sides of the ball on Saturday night, so I'm not sure what to think. You've heard that someone holds on every play...I guess the refs just felt like calling it a little more this week. We finally saw a deep ball connection, though it took several tries to make it work. The running game was quietly excellent.

Offense
While not fully on the Grant Bandwagon, I do recognize that he is eerily similar in skillset to Onterio McCalebb and used the same way. He might be as fast and he appears to have even better hands. Likewise, McCalebb had good games against State. In 2009, Auburn blasted State and McCalebb wracked up 114 yards on 16 carries with a 48 yard TD. In 2010 he had 70 yards with no TDs in a very tight game. In 2011 again had a solid, yet scoreless game. In 2012, he took a kickoff to the house as the lone highlight in a crushing loss. I expect Grant to have a similar role. While I was optimistic giving him 125 yards and a TD last week, I am going to tempter my expectations of him and say that I expect a McCalebb-ish 70 yards and a TD....though I am waiting on a screen pass instead of a jet sweep. It's worth pointing out that with a guy like Grant, he is one play from posting those numbers. He just didn't have the explosive play Saturday.

Maybe I am just downplaying Tre Mason's role. I keep saying that I expect CAP to take his carries, but Tre takes his 15 carries a game and posts decent stats. I have to admit that his cuts against ASU were clean and his speed and elusiveness is hard to ignore. And while I want to give him his due, this game won't be won with an all-purpose back. I expect a pedestrian day for Mason as he prepares for LSU. Before you call me a hater....I said....he prepares for LSU. That will be his game.

CAP, on the other hand, will be doing work. Why? I'll get to that in a second, but let's just say that there will be a lot of short yardage situations in this game. I expect 2 TDs on 50-75 yards of rushing.

MSU will be expecting the ground game. Wouldn't you? Auburn has legitimately 4 guys who could go 100+ yards each in Mason/CAP/Grant/Marshall. I believe the stacked box will be the order of the day for the MSU defense, which will ultimately be their undoing. With the losses of two high NFL defensive backs from last year, MSU could possibly "reload", but you aren't going to replace Banks and Slay. This is a "rebuild year" in the best of terms. Consider that State lost the very coach who turned those guys into NFL picks in Melvin Smith....now making a head-turning unit with Harbison at Auburn. You can't expect to replace the players AND the coach.

OSU showed what will happen to this defensive unit with a mobile QB like Walsh. And while Walsh lit it up again this last week, he is not the runner that Marshall is. I don't believe there is a QB in college football than can run with Marshall. That being said, Auburn won't win with the run...in the simplest of terms. Do I think they will have success? Absolutely. I just gave my predictions on it and I just gave up 3 TDs between Grant and CAP. But I think the game breaker is the play action pass. The new secondary at MSU will get frozen feet at least twice and get torched by the Auburn receivers. The only question to me is: Will Marshall make a semi-accurate pass and will the receivers give 100% effort. Even against ASU, at least one long ball was given up on. It wasn't the best throw, but it should have been catchable. These receivers must learn that Marshall is the most deadly to throw down the field when he is extending plays. It's obvious that this coaching staff wants to go downtown. If they can do it to an appreciable extent, they can blow the doors off this MSU defense. Marshall  knows he can run at any point. The coaching staff knows he can run at any point. He could possibly, with help from Mason/CAP/Grant, win the day entirely running....but that won't beat the rest of the SEC-W. I can totally see him running one in, but I think he is being coached heavily to develop his touch and relationship with his receivers. Better to learn it now then try and learn it then. No that I think Marshall is in any way comparable to Cam, but I was questioning Cam's accuracy at this point in 2010. Again, the hidgepoint is...can Auburn establish a versatile running game early? I don't mean between the tackles. I mean, in all phases of the Gus HUNH run game. If they can get the corners up close to the line of scrimmage to stop the jet sweet and swing passes, Marshall will have plenty of opportunity. Since he will be throwing the ball more, I see quick drives down the field that will set up goal line situations for CAP.  Marshall has a decent game running, but throws for 200 yards and 2 TDs.

Parkey gets a field goal at some point. Possibly the last drive of the half in a 2 minute drill.

Defense
Still not sold on some aspects of our D-Line. They had trouble containing Kennedy, who led ASU in rushing. Not to worry, though, because Tyler Russell isn't a threat to take off and beat them around the edge. And heaven help him if he meets Therezie in the open.....Of course, that is if Russell plays...since he has been injured. What does bother me is that Russell is a very good pocket passer. He is also tough to bring down. Auburn has shown an inability to crash the pocket. Even if they get there, I am worried about being able to get Russell down before he throws it away, or checks the ball down to Perkins. If they can't get to him at all, it won't matter how much the Auburn secondary has improved.

It will be interesting to see how Auburn plays against Perkins. I think the D-line is perfectly suited to stop a power run. I also believe that the LBs are capable of playing well against a down hill back. The only thing that bothers me about Perkins is the same thing that has hurt Auburn the past 2 games, which you can bet Mullen has taken note: The RB checkdown out of the backfield.

In the rest of the offense, I don't see the weapons that State needs to beat Auburn. Without a Bumphis-type physical receiver, beating Auburn with the passing game just doesn't seem likely. Though I admit that the stats say that gaining yards in the air against Auburn is possible, it has to be short gains. And, Auburn has proven to be able to keep offenses out of the endzone, even after getting yardage put on them.  Their only chance would be out muscling the Auburn secondary, but I don't think  they have that man on their roster.

Then there are other things to consider. Mullen's record has fallen off since his entry as the MSU coach, and this year won't go any better. I expect MSU to finish dead last in the SEC-W. This game will be close at the end of the 1st quarter. It might be close at halftime. Auburn runs away with a win.


The BFZ Game Breaking Moment:
A read option play action pass early in the 3rd quarter. After getting beat around the edge by Grant in the first half, further beaten when Marshall pulls the ball and keeps it up the middle a few times, the MSU corners stumble out of the blocks when cheating up on the line of scrimmage and Marshall deep bombs MSU to go up 28-10.

BFZ's Player of the Game:
This one is easy. By the second half, MSU won't know if Marshall is coming or going.
Adam's on the defensive side of the ball will have the opportunity to use his instincts against a pocket passer. He has struggled with mobile passers or passers who flip the ball in the flats. Russell won't run on him and I think he will get a lot of LB help with Perkins. I see a sack in his future...maybe even a QB fumble.

Final Score: 
Auburn 38-State 17

Weekend of 9/7/13 The Arkansas State Game

I don't know about any of you other sports fans with kids, but a funny thing has happened as we have expanded our family.

When we had just Aubree, we made around 4-5 home games a year.
When we had Griffn and Aubree wasn't playing sports, the number dropped to around 2 games a year.
When Aubree started sports (which means, I started coaching) the number dropped to 1 game a year.
When Gavin was born last year, we went to ZERO games.

Which means that Aubree has been to approximately 10 games (she didn't go to all the games we went to, since it was easy to get a baby sitter for 1 kid), Griffin has been to maybe 2 games, though he was too young to remember, and Gavin has been to zero. I want to make sure that all my kids get to experience life equally, so I felt that Griffin was getting "middle-kidded" on football. By his age, Aubree knew all the cheers, knew what to cheer for, and had a good idea of what was going on. Griffin does not.

When I ordered season tickets this year, I knew that making it to a bunch of games wasn't feasible. But I was going to make every effort to take all the kids to at least 1. Well, that opportunity came this weekend. I couldn't find anyone to buy the ASU tickets, so instead of wasting them, I decided that we would load up and head to the game.

Of course, that's an effort in and of itself. Going to games back when we had no kids, or even just 1, was as easy as loading one small bag on Friday morning and hitting the road. We had a lot of friends who lived down there, so we always had a place to stay. In the old Camaro, we could make it to Auburn in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Don't do that math. Alyse and I would stroll in about 4pm and the weekend would start.

We've played that game since 2003. Of course, a lot has changed in 10 years. While we still have a lot of friends who live in Auburn, they all have kids. And we all have REAL jobs now that require REAL hours. Packing for a trip down there isn't one bag anymore. It's a bag for us. A bag for the kids. An inflatable mattress. A pack and play. Blah Blah Blah. And now we can't even leave on Friday. Aubree has soccer on Saturday mornings. And when you get on the road, you are lucky to make it in 4 hours.

So, we were up and packed Saturday morning and we hit the soccer fields. After getting DRILLED (as usual) we jumped in the Yukon and started south. Amazingly, we had little traffic and we only had to stop for lunch.

We made it to Auburn around 2:30 and got to my best friends house shortly after. After unloading our baggage, we loaded back up (plus 1 with Kevin) and headed to Auburn. our secret parking spot was open as usual and we journeyed to the Auburn Alumni Association's tent for free food, drink, and entertainment. Get all the hot dogs, chips, and coke you want, hang out with Aubie, meet the Cheerleaders. Now THAT's how you tailgate!

After stuffing our faces, listening to the band, and meeting cheerleaders, we made it to our seats. The game wasn't as close as I predicted in my ASU Game Preview, but that was ok. It made for a stress free game.
We got to our seats just in time to snap some pics and catch the War Eagle Flyover.

As expected,. Aubree was all into the game as usual. Griffin was....Griffin. He must have drank a gallon of water and Coke, which required him to visit the boys room a ton of times. He wanted this, he wanted that. He wanted to run and jump. But, he had a good time. Gavin, on the other hand, was perfectly content to sit in his stroller and watch the game. That was truly a blessing!

And when the game was over...the long walk to the car. Luckily, I didn't have to carry any kids!

The next morning, while the adults were recovering, I banished the kids outside to "build a fort". Since Kevin lives on his own spread, I could let them play outside without worrying about them playing in the street. This is what they built. Pretty impressive, I'd say!

Of course, on the way back home we stopped at Bass Pro Shops.....just in time to see them feed the fish! That was AWESOME!

The Auburn Realist: The Arkansas State Review

Well, it's not Monday. I would have had this out yesterday but I caught an awesome stomach bug that kept me in bed all day. The good news is, I got a jump start on losing that weight for flag football. I lost 6 pounds in 24 hours. Take that, fat rolls! 

Anyway, we are more or less half way through the week to the SEC opener for the Tigers who are fresh off a (convincing ?) win against Arkansas State. 

If you read my preview, what did you think? 

If you didn't, check it out here: The Arkansas State Preview

I made the mistake of going off at dinner Friday night with my dad and grandad about how ASU would scare Auburn. In fact, I went so far as to say that I was too scared to put down on here my TRUE feelings, that ASU was going to upset Auburn. They scoffed until ESPN put Auburn on "upset alert" 5 minutes later. Of course, that didn't stop the texts from rolling in about halftime asking me what I thought about it NOW. 

Let's examine the most important thing first. The score. 

So, I expected a score of 38-31 in favor of the Tigers. While I wasn't close, I at least got one of those numbers right....and it was the most important one. Auburn scored 38 points to secure the victory. Despite giving up 422 yards total , which SHOULD have indicated a closer score, what I didn't see was the Auburn defense shutting down the ASU offense in the red zone. That was REALLY impressive.

On the preview of the score breakdown for Auburn, I said that Grant would get a TD and 125 yards rushing, CAP would get a TD and 100 yards rushing on 20 attempts, Marshall would run for 2 and would connect with a deep ball, boosting his yardage to 150 yards of passing.

Danger close, all things considered. Let's see why I say that. 

1. Grant did rush for a TD, but his yardage was held to 40 yards on 7 carries. Not dead on, but pretty close. He didn't have a long run, which is really the only difference between my guess and actuality.
2. CAP rushed 19 times for 102 yards and a TD.  Dead on. 
3. Marshall didn't run for 2 TDs, though he did pick up over 50 yards of rushing. I was skeptical of his passing after the WSU game and while I DID expect him to connect on a deep throw at some point, I didn't see it being a perfect 63 yard strike for a TD. While it was the only one, it was gorgeous. He threw for 147 yards, 3 short of my guess. So, off on the TD throws, right on for the rest. 
4. Tre Mason quietly had a 100 yard game, averaging 7.4 YPC and a TD. He was used little down the stretch, I assume to keep him fresh for this weeks showdown. It's worth noting that his carries remained the same, while CAP's doubled. 

Defensively, I couldn't be more surprised...or more wrong, it would appear. McKissic never had a chance out of the slot, collecting only 2 catches, though they did go for 45 yards. He did have 1 carry for 12 yards. Oku found himself in the same situation, rushing for 48 yards on 16 carries, though he puled up 70 yards in receiving. Not impressive, all things considered, but they led their teams effort. Kennedy did show that he is indeed a player, piling up an impressive amount of stats himself. 

I guess the problem with being a prognosticator in such a sophisticated game is that you never know how teams prepare for one another. Either Auburn prepared for McKissic and Oku just right, or Harsin and Co knew to throw the ball around and open up running lanes for Kennedy. Fact is, Kennedy threw for 272 yards...which ain't shabby, while hitting 10 different receivers. Kennedy showed an explosiveness not expected when he escaped the pocket and ran for a team high 74 yards. Of course, none of it matters when you don't record a TD. In the end, that was the game breaker. Auburn allowed no long passes (that mattered). Other than McKissic's 40 yarder and an Oku 30 yard checkdown pass, the Auburn secondary proved they can play. 

While I was wrong on the score and on the playmakers ability to get free, I will attempt to bail myself out by pointing out that there were still only 2 sacks. And, the only big plays of the day were given up by the MLB, who was embarrassed while trying to make open field tackles on scrambles. It's one thing to just lose hold of a runner. It's another to get shook-en out of your shoes.  Like I had said, Therezie made the start over Garret again. And he played terrific. He was all over the field. I just can't see how the kid will find the bench if he keeps up this level of play. 

While the defense did give up some serious yards, the bottom line speaks loud. As does two stuffed 4th down attempts. Will it be enough against SEC offenses, specifically the SEC offensive lines? That remains to be seen. The interior D-line continues to worry me with their inability to collapse the pocket, as does the MLB play in almost all phases. The scariest thing, to me, was the inability of the D-Ends to keep Kennedy from escaping the pocket. 

The offense sputtered at times, but it was better than last week. Obviously hooking up on deep throws helps. But, again, it was only one of several attempts. And some of those attempts missed badly. 

I didn't talk much about special teams, though I felt they played well. The impressive returns keep piling up. 

How do I grade myself? Well, the score was pretty far off, though I did call Auburn's final score. I think I was pretty close on the offensive stats. While my playmakers for ASU were the highlights of their side of the ball, they were held largely in check. Defensively, the worries I expressed were still very evident. 

I'd have to give myself a solid  B- for this week. What do you think?

Labor Day Weekend on Wilson Lake

Man, I am just on a TEAR when it comes to under-performing when I expect to do well and over-performing when I expect to do terrible. Case in point, our trip to Table Rock Lake. Expect to catch fish over 4 days. Nope. Then, I fish a night tournament on Wheeler where I expect to do doodly squat? And...Breakout performance for me and my partner Josh.

So, the last few years my family has spent the long weekend at DoubleHead Resort on Wilson Lake. Here is last year's post.  I like Wilson Lake. A lot. It's been good to me. Like this tournament last year.

So, I get my new Hummingbird 798 CI combo installed on Thursday and we hit the water Friday. We loaded the boat up and I was STOKED.

There was nothing to stop me from loading the boat, right? Friday night, I really didn't spend a lot of time on the water. I don't even think I cast a line. My sister and brother in law were coming, plus we know about 10 other families there who wanted to hang out. Mostly, all I did was dial in the unit.

Saturday morning, Dad and I hit the water early and we hit it hard. I started out on places that I learned about from Currey Holley of Always Gone Fishing, whom I met at the Alabama Mountain Lakes Media Days on Wilson . He caught a NICE sack and really showed me things I had no idea about. It was a pleasure to work with another GREAT GUIDE.

But, the lake didn't yield anything to us other than a big ole drum that my dad caught.

Frustrated, I ran into Bluewater creek and fished some new areas. The only thing I caught was one squeaker to show the kids and another tiny bass.


The kids wanted to go out for a ride, so, naturally, I was happy. Alyse's aunt and uncle own a place down on Shoals Creek. I love fishing Shoals creek, so we made the run. About the time we crossed under the Highway 72 bridge, down came a flood on us! I told them to get their heads down and I laid the pedal to the floor. We arrived and visited for about an hour with her aunt, uncle, and grandmother. Boy were they surprised!

Here we are under the 72 bridge.

We settled in to watch football that evening, feasting on some hamburgers. I was pretty disappointing in the Tigers, especially considering my expectations for the game. But, when you only won 3 games the previous year, you should be happy about ANY wins. Right?

I didn't fish Sunday morning because we have a great church service with our family friends. We had 50 people! It was awesome. I got back at it that afternoon, this time taking my mom and wife. We didn't fish long since my dad had all 3 kids. A good thing, because I didn't have a bite.I dropped them off and decided to look at the lake with all new perspective. Where would I fish if I had never been here before? SO, I used the GPS and sidescan and found a spot, right before dark.

I pulled up on it, throwing a Silent Strike King 6XD on a submerged island. It had rock, a nice down river break for largemouth and it had fish on it. First two casts, I hauled in massive drum. They must have fought me for 10 minutes, but I wanted that plug back! The silent ones are hard to come by! Again, frustrated, I headed back in.

That next morning, I fished alone. I ran up to the dam. I was determined to catch something. And, I might as well go all out and catch some smallies. I was the first boat at the dam. So, I picked a spot, though I made the critical mistake of not using my sidescan to find THE spot. They turned on the turbines and I threw everything I had at the fish without a bite. A small boat slipped in just downstream of me and within a few casts, I saw him lay back on a fish. He worked it to the boat and hefted a 5+ pound brown back. HE called someone on his phone and within moments, another boat showed up to take pics for him. So, I fish for 3 days and nothing. This guy shows up and catches a wall hanger on his first 3 casts.

I chalked it up to luck. The other boat moved into position about 2 boat lengths down from me. Then THEY snagged a trophy smallie. I was disgusted. Literally ready to throw a rod in the water. Then they caught another one, which made me even more mad. I pulled the boat out of the current and sat down. I could do 2 things. I could let it make me mad and give up, or I could learn. So, I watched.

These 2 boats knew what they were doing. They sat on one spot. They threw their bait at the same spot. They worked it the same, every cast. And I watched them pull in about 20 pounds of smallmouth in 20 minutes. I filed it all away. Instead of getting frustrated, I am telling myself that I can do the same thing.


I took Alyse and Gavin out. That kid is such a water bug! He would try and jump out of the boat. We would dangle him off the side and when we put him in the boat, he would scream! I was tempted to tie a line on him and let him drift behind us!

Desperate to catch something, I got Alyse to come with me to the dam with a spoon and some chicken livers. That was a quick and nerve wracking trip. A cross wind had blown up 4-5 foot white caps. While it didn't seem so bad while we were riding, when I let off the gas at the dam, the bow would go under, then the stern. Like, buried. It was sketchy. So....back the pier.


Inside of Town Creek, the waves were nonexistent. So, dad took the kids bream fishing and finally they had some luck!

It wasn't all about fishing, believe it or not! We had a great time! The kids got to spend some quality time with their Aunt and Uncle! They were able to play lots of soccer, swimming, and tubing! Thanks to my wife for the pics!

Best5Zach's Year of Softball in Review

Well, softball is pretty much over for the year. It's tough to believe it's already over. I guess time flys when you play 4 games a week. HAHA!

I have to again thank my wife for getting me involved with softball. I have many new friends that I would not otherwise have if it weren't for her convincing me to get involved.

A little back story: 3 years ago, she found out that there was an Army/NASA softball league. She joined up and I watched the kids. Every few games, they needed a player to fill in and I would. I was very rusty, not having played in 15 years. But, I contributed.

The next year, I played on the team full time as well as an A-league team. Meanwhile, Alyse was already playing part time on a SportsPlex team, which also landed here on a Research park team. Our NASA Co-Ed team, which we played full time on, went to the Finals and came up 1 run short in the championship.

I fell in love with playing and this year we decided to play a little bit more. . Alyse decided that she wanted to coach a team or two. So, we put together a Sunday Nigh Co-Ed team of players that we knew from different NASA teams. This league started a few weeks before the NASA league, so it allowed us to get tuned up before competition started. What we found out was that the SportsPlex was just a LITTLE more competitive than we initially thought. We had terrific players all the way around, but we found that there is more to softball than good players. Everything matters, from lineups, to equipment, to strategy.

For example, in our first game, we were absolutely smoked. 22-2. After the game, one of the players asked us why we were playing with cheap balls. We didn't quite understand. So, he gave us a ball and told us to do our research. It turns out, we were using crap balls that kept us from hitting the ball hard.

The next few weeks showed us what real competition was like and it showed in the NASA league as we rolled out to an 8-0 start. Keep in mind that this NASA team was a traditionally .500 team that played well under pressure. Suddenly we were tops in the league. Alyse played between 1st and 2nd and I played a myraid of positions. Alyse was given the honor of playing on the All-Star Team at the halfway point of the season!

 Our Sportsplex team, sponsored by Madison Hospital, finished slightly above .500 and finished tied for 4th in the tournament. Not bad! Meanwhile, we spent the empty nights filling in at the Research Park league. Whew! 2-3 nights a week we were playing ball.


And then Alyse signed us up on a Tuesday-Thursday league with the Madison team. Suddenly, it was 5 nights a week. But, we were loving it. The kids loved playing at the ball park.


All that eventually took it's toll on me. The night before we left for the beach for Family Vacation 2013, I dove into 3rd and tore my labrum. Initially it was ruled a strain and I continued to play as I could. What that meant was, no outfield, no SS, basically a warm body on the bench. I also couldn't hit worth much. So, I drew walks as I could. The Tuesday-Thursday league was tough and we never did do much good.

When it ended, we got serious about playing in the NASA league again. I sat on the bench mostly while the MisFits went deep into the playoffs, coming up shorter than usual and finished 4th . I believe we finished with a 10-2 record, which is an all-time best for that team.

In the next to last game, I took some video footage, which I promised all season I would do all season.

In my guess, Alyse and I played in better than 75 games in 5 months. It was a blast, though I don't know if I would do it again. We had a great time getting to know new friends and getting to know the old friends better. Can't wait until next year!

The Auburn Realist: The Arkansas State Preview

So, we just got done wrapping up the Review of the Washington State Game. That was based on my blog post which was, obviously, the Preview of the Washington State Game. Go see how I did.

So, did I learn anything about our team this week that muddies up the crystal ball? Yes. I think we saw a LOT of things. How will it effect us going in to week 2? Let's talk it out. I am giving this post a lot of thought because I truly believe that this could be an upset special.

I think we all know the history here. This team is on it's 4th coach in 4 years, though coming off back to back Sunbelt Championships. They've won 10 games in each of the last 2 years, which is nothing to sneer at, regardless of the league. What did they lose this year from last year? Well, the easy answer is Ryan Aplin, arguably the best QB they have ever had. Obviously, the biggest loss, in my eyes, is Gus Malzahn. The Hugh Freeze to Gus Malzhan transition was a fairly easy one, in my opinion. While the actualy plays and verbage is undoubtedly different, the skill sets needed are very similar, as is the pace. Going from Malzahn to Harsin is a much wider leap.. He definitely has the pedigree however. He was a 2009 Broyles finalist and has coached with Peterson at Boise State and Mack Brown at Texas. But, in my opinion, he never proved himself at either place.


Last week, ASU rolled up 4 100 yard rushers, which was scary close to an NCAA record. The QB, Kennedy, had a 206 rating throwing the rock. They rolled on Arkansas-Pine Bluff big, to the tune of 62-11. But, it was Pine Bluff. While neither are the states premier schools by any stretch, ASU has deep talent that people probably don't consider. Freeze and Malzahn are excellent recruiters...some of the best in the country. And the roster shows it. The center piece is easily David Oku, whom I drafted early in fantasy football. He had pedestrian numbers last week and I think we know why. He is ASU's ONLY chance at an upset tomorrow. He was given 16 carries, averaged nearly 8 yards per, and was say on the bench after a 2 TD performance.

It is easy to think that their QB,  Kennedy, is an unknown quantity, having sat behind Aplin. He only attempted 1 pass in 2012 but was used extensively in 2011 at Utah State. He threw for almost 1,000 yards, 11 TDs to 4 picks at Utah State. Not bad for a kid coming off the bench behind Chuckie Keeton, one of the most Dynamic players in the country. Let's not forget that Utah State plays some stiff competition, so much of those stats weren't "garbage time" stats. They lost 5 games that year. 2 in overtime and 1 to the reigning National Champs...our Auburn Tigers.


And, they have JD McKissicc. While he didn't break out last week, don't expect that to continue. This kid is a play maker out of the slot. See his record performance last year. 1,000 yards. 5 TDs. And, he has something to prove to Auburn, who didn't recruit him at all.

Offensively, the team is built to give Auburn a lot of trouble. The question is, can they go into halftime with  lead? Can Auburn make adjustments?

Ok. That's enough back story. What can we expect?

Defense:
Defensively, I really don't know what to think. As stated by Johnson and Garner, most of the D-Line's woes were because of quick release passes. We won't see as many, but I can guarantee that ASU saw that the Auburn corners had trouble on inside release patterns. And who would they be throwing to? McKissic. And, the REAL problem is...with Holland in the middle, an inside release catch with a quick first step guy like McKissic is dangerous since Holland cannot tackle. Auburn has to force Kennedy to throw deep by taking away the inside releases and the quick bubble screens. Two reasons: it gives the D-line the chance to make an impact and it gives the D-backs the chance to make big plays.

With the combination of Oku running right at him and quick slants coming from both directions, I don't see Holland playing past the 3rd possession.

Speaking of Oku: If they can get him going, this could be a long game for Auburn. The defensive tackles MUST establish themselves behind the line of scrimmage. With Whitaker still hurt, I just don't know if they can. I am going out on a limb and saying that Oku breaks 100 yards. The soft spot of Auburn is the tackles and middle linebacker. That's the wrong place to be soft against a Top 10 RB.

I expect Auburn to give up some passing yards again, mostly to the inside lanes. I think the secondary rules the day again with 2 more picks. I fully expect Therezie to start. I will be sorely disappointed if he doesn't. And I expect him to have another breakout game. The prospect of meeting Oku in the open field much have him drooling. That will be the game breaking moment. Therezie on Oku on the sideline. Who will win? A TD will hang in the balance.

Offense:

I just don't know what to expect here. I was really taken aback last week, for the most part. Grant overperformed and the rest was just boring. Sure, Marshall made some nice plays with his legs. To me, the real question is whether or not the WRs will show us ANYTHING. I am just not impressed with the production of such "talented" receivers. The hands were loose. The routes were sloppy. The effort was low. ASU isn't built on defense like they are on offense. If things click this week, the sky is the limit, statistically. We also expect Tony Stevens to make his debut at receiver.It's the perfect storm for the young man. If he produces, he could find himself sitting real pretty. I still think they are overhyped and they underwork, and while they may come down with a deep pass this week...it's only because they will know it's coming and make effort.

The run game will be solid. I expect CAP to get those 20 carries. Simply because I feel that the staff has loyalty to Mason and wants to "keep him healthy" for the SEC showdown next weekend. In the meantime, CAP roles up the yardage. I know I know...I said the same thing last week. Call me stubborn. 100 yards for CAP and a TD.

I guess I should think that Grant has another big game. Based on how it shook out in 2009, the next 2 games will be big for him. 5 touches, 125 yards and a TD sounds about right.

I am on the fence on what to expect out of Marshall. I think the ground game will be good enough to keep him from having to run. He might have a designed play or two, but I don't think he will run for over 100 yards or anything. But, if I am wrong about anything,.....this will probably be it. I think he does connect on one deep route and throws for 150 yards. He runs for 2 scores.


Conclusion:
I know no one wants to hear it...but this game is going to be tight. I fully expect a tied game at halftime. Maybe I am just frustrated over last weeks game, but this Auburn team is very beatable, by anyone. While I DO want to give WSU a lot of credit, the fact remains that talent wise, they should never had led at any point after the first possession. They have ZERO breakout players. ASU, on the other hand, has a handful of players that could play anywhere. What's more, they have proven themselves against competition where as Auburn's talent has yet to do so.

I thought that Mississippi State was the make or break game of the year. Honestly, this is the game. Maybe I am too hard on Auburn. I am THIS CLOSE to calling an upset. I just can't do it.
38-31 Auburn.