only backgroundI'm a wife, mother and grandmother. I'm opinionated. I contradict myself frequently. Most of all, I love my kids. I believe in them. I fight for them. They're weird and wonderful. If you want to know more, here's a bunch of other stuff from my old site.
Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category
I’m a football fan. My Steelers are out of the running for the Super Bowl but I still love football and will keep watching. My feeling is that only Green Bay has a chance of taking down the Patriots. These next weeks should be interesting. Of course, there was a good game last night, watching LSU beat Ohio State.
My mom prefers basketball but the last time I really enjoyed the game was when my youngest sister played. Until now, that is. My youngest son is playing and I’m actually enjoying the games. I guess it has something to do with the knowing the kids who are playing, huh?
I wanted to get some pictures at the game and maybe even a video clip but my camera wouldn’t turn on. I really need to do a little research so I can get the best digital camera battery with the best life. I’m tired of running out of juice right when I need my camera the most!
This is Levi’s first year playing basketball. They’ve won one game and lost 3 but that’s okay. In order to give all the kids a chance to play, the school split up the boys into two teams with about 7 or 8 boys on each team. The other schools have double that number. Our boys get tired out but they get more play time and that’s good for the kids who might not be as good.
There’s plenty of time for winning later in life. Right now, the boys are having fun and learning the game. And I’m learning to like basketball again. (Not love; that’s reserved for football.)
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First, I’m going to state the obvious. I love football. If you’ve read here before, you ought to know that. Especially at this time of year, when my favorite sport is in full swing. Football is one of the few good things about this cold time of year.
My son Levi, though, is playing a different sport this year. He’s on his school’s basket ball team and has been attending practices for the past month. On Saturday, Levi will play in his first real game. I think he’s excited. I know I am.
I’ve never been able to sit at home and watch a basketball game on TV but I have been known to lose my voice cheering at a game when I know the players. It’s true I lose interest during baseball games, whether on TV or in the stands; there’s not enough action for me, I guess. But I like the non-stop action of basketball enough to get involved if I’m right there. I’m sure Levi will find out about that on Saturday.
I don’t have a picture of Levi in his uniform yet so here’s a shot of him with Belle, cuddled up on the living room floor. This is actually a semi-normal shot of my sleeping beauty - you wouldn’t believe some of the other places and positions we’ve found him sleeping!
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I’m not much of a TV person. My kids watch movies and some favorite shows; Kendyll has Dora and Diego DVDs. I could probably get by with one small TV, though. Well, except during football season, that is.
This is Monday so that means football. And tonight the Steelers are playing. Okay, a scoreless game into the 4th quarter isn’t good. Still. I love watching. For this, I’d spring for a Bose home theater set up. Now wouldn’t that be great?
Actually, when all my kids are grown and gone, I want to convert my living room and family room into the ultimate entertainment center with a pool table, comfortable seating and everything. Should would be nice to have something else to do while waiting for Pittsburgh to get it together. I just don’t think the husband will go for it. Of course, I have a few years to work on him.
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It’s no secret that I love football; I’ve blogged about it many times. It’s no secret that I love my kids and my niece and nephews. I’ve blogged about all of them. Let me tell you now about one of my nephews, a special kid who inspires me.
Jake is a middle child, the younger brother of my godson, Luke and older brother to my beautiful niece Stephanie. His mom is my sister. Jake and my son Nick were two of the most mischievous kids ever; I can’t even begin to list all the mind-boggling antics these two devised together. They certainly kept us on our toes!
Jake and his brother have played football, first for the city league and then for their schools, since they were in grade school. As they got older, they also began to cut grass for extra spending money. Their dad instilled in them a powerful work ethic that is evident in every aspect of their lives. From attaining straight A’s through high school and college, to spending every weekend, even while in college, cutting grass, to their dedication to the team on the football field, my nephews give every obligation everything they have.
Jake’s high school football career was exemplary. He’d played on the same team with his older brother but it wasn’t until Luke graduated that Jake really began to shine. In his senior year as running back, he rushed for 2100 yards. He broke school records that will probably stand for quite some time. He took his team to the State championship, where they hadn’t been in over a decade. Their opponent, the largest single A school in the state, was a powerhouse; the Madonna Blue Dons were the 3rd smallest high school with a football team in all of West Virginia. Jake and the Madonna High School team believed they could win. So did the fans.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget that game. I stood in the stands next to Jake’s brother, Luke and we watched together as, with a 0-0 score in the first quarter, Jake got hit hard and went down with a knee injury. I thought Luke was going to leap over the railing and onto the field. Jake had to be helped off the field and we just knew it was bad as we watched him limping up and down the sideline a few times. We spent the rest of the game cheering for the team and checking on Jake’s knee.
Our beloved Blue Dons did lose the game but they fought hard despite worrying about Jake. You see, these young men were not just teammates; they were best friends for most of their lives. They’d all played football together, gone to school together, hung out together for the past dozen years. This was never about one player; it was about them doing this one last thing as a team, before heading out into an adult world of college and work.
Jake’s football career has been sluggish since those glory days in high school. He’s been plagued with an extended illness and several injuries. Nevertheless, any time he did play at West Liberty State College, he excelled. No one can ever deny Jake’s talent or his work ethic.
Tonight, the Madonna High School Blue Dons will again meet the powerful Wheeling Central Knights. This semi-final round game will be played on that same field where Jake ended his high school career. According to Rich Stevens from the Charleston Daily Mail, the Class A semifinal means more to Dons than Knights. I have to agree. It’s like a battle between a Doberman Pinscher and a Chihuahua. No one expects the Chihuahua to come out on top. Well, no one except for the Chihuahua, that is.
It’s a mismatch, to be certain.
“I love Madonna and I’m pulling for them hard, but Wheeling Central is a powerhouse,” said Myers, utilizing realism, not negativity, on his alma mater.
These schools are separated by 30 miles, but they don’t play - Wheeling Central is AAA in the OVAC with an enrollment of 330. Madonna is A with a meager 110 students in grades 9-11.
This is a classic example of the haves and have-nots.
I still remember the let down of that game in 2004 because we really believed that we could win it. I also remember how quickly Jake put it all into perspective and accepted the outcome. Again, he amazed and inspired me with his attitude. I thought about it all and remember saying that there had to be a reason that the Blue Dons didn’t win. At the time, I couldn’t imagine what that reason was but now I think I might know. That game was the last for Wheeling Central’s late coach Jim Thomas. Perhaps it just had to be that way.
And this year? Well, things are different, that’s for sure.
Not a whole lot has changed, except that Wheeling Central is a heavier favorite than it was that December three years ago.
Actually, Madonna is nothing more than tumbleweed as Central tornadoes toward the title, but Myers hopes to provide some inspiration for his Blue Dons.
Almost three years later, Myers provided some pep to Madonna’s step in practice this week.
His speech to the team, well earned after his senior season, included advice on having fun because he wish he “would’ve embraced it more.”
This task is taller for the players who, three years ago, hailed the 17-year-old Myers as a working-class hero among Weirton’s working class. The gap between the tiny Dons and mighty Knights wasn’t as large when Moorefield and Wheeling Central dominated the state’s small school ranks.
I can’t help but consider, though, that the thing that made Jake and the 2004 Madonna Blue Dons real champions was their attitude and their belief in themselves. If the 2007 Blue Dons have that same attitude and believe they can take down the might Knights, then they might just make believers out of all of us. As Rich Steven says in his article,
There aren’t enough metaphors to describe the potential one-sidedness of this game.
There also won’t be enough hard hits and Maroon Knight touchdowns to overcome the energy and enthusiasm that Madonna brings to the clash.
That’s because this is just another game to the Knights, but it’s much more than that to the Dons.
Yes, it is more than just another game to the Blue Dons. And yet, Rich is right on the money when he mentioned in an email to me that the players from 2004 probably learned more from the loss than they would have from a win. In fact, that loss taught them how to be real champions.
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I start them young around here.
Okay, actually, I have never forced a single one of my kids to follow the Steelers. Chris is more interested in college football; Jesse and Boomer both love the 49ers. Nick likes the Steelers and Levi likes Philadelphia. Maggie like the Steelers because she wants to wear my Steeler clothes. The important thing has never been the favorite team but rather that each kid understand and love football. Because I do.
Kendyll is on her way to being another Steeler fan, though. She loved her new black and gold cheering uniform that her daddy bought for her. She and Belle even did a little cheer for all of us. I’m still not sure how Kendyll got Belle to join in, but here’s the closest thing to proof that I have.
And consider this your Girl and Pibble picture for the week, too.
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Once again, I have good news and bad news. Once again, the bad news first. The West Liberty Hilltoppers lost their football game today. Now the good news. My nephew Jake scored a touchdown!
The Hilltoppers played Mars Hill in North Carolina. Another good thing, I got to listen to the game online because West Liberty broadcasts it on their site. Very cool! I haven’t talked to Jake yet but I think his brother, Luke, was flying in for the game. Luke is working in Virginia right now.
I would have loved to travel there to see the game but it is kind of far. I believe it’s located in or near the Blue Ridge Mountains and is a beautiful area. Okay, I admit, Brian would enjoy that area more than me. I’m more of a coastal person. I’ve always been more interested in the Wilmington NC real estate since it’s near the ocean.
Nevertheless, I wish I could travel to see Jake’s games. I love to travel, I love football and I love my nephew. I’m checking the schedule for the next away game and making plans. You think I can talk Brian into a trip to Buckhannon, WV?
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Someone should have told Michael Vick that there are two I’s in “criminal” which is why it’s no surprise that Vick’s cohorts in the Bad Newz Kennel dog-fighting gang are beginning to turn on the Quarterback. When it comes to crime and a lack of ethics or common decency, everyone is out for himself. There is no honor among thieves, so they say and there’s definitely no loyalty when the money well is about to run dry.
According to The Smoking Gun, Tony “T.” Taylor has entered a plea agreement on the charges against him and has implicated Vick in doing so.
While Taylor admits to executing two dogs, he never states that Vick participated in that activity. However, he does point to Vick as the money man, putting up the cash for the betting that took place during the fights with the Kennel’s dogs.
The only question I have now is How long before the NFL boots him from the game completely?
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I don’t listen to much radio but Nick and Brit do. They have one of the Satelite radio services and listen to all kinds of programming on it. I’m more into local stuff when it comes to radio, though.
I’m not sure what they’ll do now, but Brit called in to a radio station and won st louis cardinals tickets. How she intends to get there to see the game is beyond me. Nick is brainstorming to find a way to go, not because he’s a fan but because he’s always looking for a new adventure.
Wait, that sounds like me in my younger days. Okay, if they go I’ll offer to babysit Kendyll. It’s the least I can do for the sake of adventure.
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I have a love-hate relationship with the Fall season. On the one hand, it means the end of summer, my favorite season, and the beginning of the harsh, awful, frigid winter. Can you tell I don’t like winter?
On the other hand, it’s the season of my birthday (and I love presents!) and the beginning of football season. You see, we are a family of football fanatics. That’s a step beyond simple fans. The end of August means the first high school football games on Friday evenings, College football on Saturday and the as many NFL games as we can squeeze in on Sundays. Yes, it’s football heaven!
We can’t get to every high school game, of course, so we listen to several on the radio and watch the recap of all the local schools on the Sports Report at 11:30 Friday nights. We usually attend a college game on Saturdays then stay glued to the all the recaps the rest of the day.
And then there’s the NFL. As long as Pittsburgh’s playing, I’m good. I stuck with them through the 80s and 90s and even kept loving them when a certain quarterback appeared to throw the SUPERBOWL. (I’m not accusing, just saying.) The rest of my family, though, are not so fortunate. My husband enjoys the Browns (yeah, Sundays can get a little heated around here) while my kids all have various favorite teams: the 49ers, Dallas (no comment), Philidelphia, Vikings. Way too many Sundays come and go without any of those teams playing on channels in our area.
Everyone has been pushing me to look into a better service for our TV viewing and I think I’ve finally found something that will suit us. I’ve just read about DIRECT TV NFL Sunday Ticket Deal and it looks like it was made for our family. Besides being able to see up to 14 NFL games every Sunday, we’ll also have access to the entire NFL network, Pregame Coaches’ Show, Highlights-on-demand and Sunday Snap with real-time stats and scores. This is exactly the package we’ve been waiting for.
If you love football but don’t think you need the DirectTV NFL Sunday Ticket Deal, then just check out the upcoming season schedule. Look at those great match-ups! I’m almost anxious for the summer to end and cooler weather to usher in the pigskin party.
Okay, maybe that’s going a bit far. No hurry to get another year closer to that big birthday number or to drag out the sweaters and heavy coats. But I can’t deny the excitement about Sundays with so many football options from DirectTV. Yeah, this is going to be one fantastic football season.
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Congrats Colts!
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