The Greatness of College Football

With a little more than a week until the 2009 college football season begins, I think every red-blooded American male (and some females in my family) are looking forward to (in my opinion) the greatest spectacle of sport in our country.

Think about the games every year:

Ohio State-Michigan

Alabama-Auburn

Florida-Georgia

Texas-Oklahoma

Texas-Texas A&M

Army-Navy

USC-Notre Dame

More often than not, these games and other big rivalries often decide the #1 team in the land.

So in preparation for the opening kickoff, I'm not sure if the following quotes are all accurate, but they are at least entertaining.

(PS--Mary---we need to have a wager on the Ark-A&M game)

#1. 'Football is only a game. Spiritual things are eternal. Nevertheless, Beat Texas ' Seen on a church sign in Arkansas prior to the 1969 game.

#2. 'After you retire, there's only one big event left... and I ain't ready for that.' Bobby Bowden / Florida State

#3. 'The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.' Lou Holtz / Arkansas

#4. 'When you win, nothing hurts.' Joe Namath / Alabama

#5. 'Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.' Lou Holtz / Arkansas

#6. 'If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, 'Roll, tide, roll!' Bear Bryant / Alabama

#7. 'A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall.' Frank Leahy / Notre Dame

#8. 'There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you.' Woody Hayes / Ohio State

#9. 'I don't expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation.' Bob Devaney / Nebraska

#10. 'In Alabama , an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in Bear Bryant.' Wally Butts / Georgia

#11. 'You can learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life.' Paul Dietzel / LSU

#12. 'It's kind of hard to rally around a math class.' Bear Bryant / Alabama

#13. When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world. 'No, but you can see it from here.' Lou Holtz / Arkansas ....

#14. 'I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in practice, not in a game.' Bear Bryant / Alabama

#15. 'There's one sure way to stop us from scoring-give us the ball near the goal line.' Matty Bell / SMU

#16. 'Lads, you're not to miss practice unless your parents died or you died.' Frank Leahy / Notre Dame

#17. 'I never graduated from Iowa , but I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's.' Alex Karras / Iowa

#18. 'My advice to defensive players: Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor.' Bowden Wyatt / Tennessee

#19. 'I could have been a Rhodes Scholar, except for my grades.' Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

#20. 'Always remember... Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David.' Shug Jordan / Auburn

#21. 'They cut us up like boarding house pie. And that's real small pieces.' Darrell Royal / Texas

#22. 'Show me a good and gracious loser, and I'll show you a failure.' Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

#23. 'They whipped us like a tied up goat.' Spike Dykes / Texas Tech

#24. 'I asked Darrell Royal, the coach of the Texas Longhorns, why he didn't recruit me and he said: 'Well, Walt, we took a look at you and you weren't any good.' Walt Garrison / Oklahoma State

#25. 'Son, you've got a good engine, but your hands aren't on the steering wheel.' Bobby Bowden / Florida State

#26. 'Football is not a contact sport - it is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport.' Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State

#27. After USC lost 51-0 to Notre Dame, his postgame message to his team: 'All those who need showers, take them.' John McKay / USC

#28. 'If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education.' Murray Warmath / Minnesota

#29. 'The only qualifications for a lineman are to be big and dumb. To be a back, you only have to be dumb..' Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

#30. 'Oh, we played about like three tons of buzzard puke this afternoon.' Spike Dykes / Texas Tech

#31. 'It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it.' Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

#32. 'We live one day at a time and scratch where it itches.' Darrell Royal / Texas

#33. 'We didn't tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking.' Wilson Matthews / Little Rock Central High School

#34. 'Three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad. Darrell Royal / University of Texas

#35. 'I've found that prayers work best when you have big players.' Knute Rockne / Notre Dame

#36. 'Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football.' John Heisman

Update!!!!

We went for another "picture" last night of Preston's insides. There was no dime, hooray, it's gone!

No allowance for Preston until he is 20! Who knows what he would do with a dollar!

Who knew dimes tasted so good....

So while we were in the Bahamas Preston developed a love for money. Every night when we went to dinner, he would gather his "monies" (a few coins) so that he could pay for dinner. We thought it was cute how he wanted to pay and the waitress would kindly take his payment. So on Saturday when I was unpacking our bags and pulled out several coins I didn't think twice about him playing with the dime he took from me.

Look ahead about an hour and imagine a small boy up in his room trying to take a nap. I hear some crying, which is normal when he doesn't want to take a nap, but I appease him and go check any way. When I walk into his room he is saying, "I'm sorry Mommy that I put the money in my mouth!" Of course I start frantically running my hands all around his bed and under his pillows looking for the dime he was playing with earlier, but it is nowhere to be found. I reluctantly ask Preston if he swallowed the dime and he says in a whimper, "yes." Oh Lord, what to do now!

Expecting the worst we head off to the dr. to have pictures taken of the dime. It had already passed through his stomach and was in his intestines. So now we are on the lookout for that stinkin' dime (no pun intended).

Please see the lovely picture below of my crazy boys insides and the shiny dime just sitting there. ONLY BOYS! Kate would never have done this!

Saskatchewan

(Dixie---the greatest dog ever---and I hunting for Snow Geese in 2003)

The next Countdown has begun......58 days until duck season opens.

For the 5th time since 2000, 5 friends and I will make the 30 hour drive from Texas to Central Saskatchwan, Canada in October. Yes---30 hours.....no stopping. 2 diesel pickups, 6 hunters, 18 shotguns, 3,000 shotshells, 2-16 foot trailers, 500 decoys and an awful lot of beer and food will leave North Texas at 4am Oct 15 and return Oct 25. Sasketchewan, Land of the Living Skies, is the Mt. Everest of waterfowl hunting. It is common in Saskatchewan to see 10,000 snow geese feeding in a harvested rye field...their honks so deafening you literally can't hear your buddy talking next to you. Or 2,000 mallards blackening the face of a 3 acre pond as they migrate south before an arctic blast turns the prarie pothole region of North America into frozen tundra. Or setting your decoys in a frigid marsh with only the Northern Lights providing your "night light".

For me, Saskatchewan represents the way duck hunting surely used to be generations ago. The landscape is an endless rolling plateau of wheat, rye, corn, lentil and grain farms dotted with hundreds of thousands of tiny ponds we call potholes. Here, each spring, millions of mallards, gadwall, pintail, teal, and widgeon hatch the estimated 20-30 million birds that will migrate south each fall.

But what's made this trip more enjoyable, by far, are the hosts. The spirit and humor of the farmers of the prarie provinces in central Canada is unmatched. In the roughly 40 days we've spent in Saskatchewan, we have met some of the most humble, hard working people that have invited us into their homes, allowed us to hunt their expansive farms, and shared more than just a few pilsners and Crown Royals....commonly known as a "pour" in Canada, eh.

How did this addiction occur? I owe a huge debt to my father-in-law and brother-in-law for introducing me to a miserable, windy, rainy 36 degree Thanksgiving first duck hunt, knee deep in underinsulated half wet clothing in Lonoke AR in 1992....and I loved every minute. For 17 years now, I have assembled a small fortune in equipment and supplies in pursuit of ducks and geese and as I sit here writing this, I'm still trying to decide what exactly I'd like for my 37th birthday.....from Cabela's.

So with 58 days left until the big trip, you can bet I'll be strategizing on things like: how to shave an extra 15 min off of that 30 hour drive (each way), consulting with my buddy Scott on decoy counts (we always need more!), menu planning, studying weather patterns, and staring at catalog after catalog of Bass Pro and Cabela's!

Summer + Tradition = Baseball

I, like many Americans, have a love/ hate relationship with America's pastime: baseball.

The Big Red Machine

LOVE---Some of the best memories I'll ever have will be of the July trips we would take to Ft. Thomas, KY to see both of my grandmothers when I was a young boy. It was roughly 100 mi. from Louisville to Cincinnatti and it seemed like it took an eternity....an eternity to get to my Granny and Grandma's house....where on a few special occasions we would take the bus into downtown Cincy to Riverfront Stadium and see The Big Red Machine (Cincinnatti Reds) play baseball. Names like Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, David Concepcion and Ken Griffey...SENIOR.....all led by manager Sparky Anderson would dominate the National League throughout the 1970's. For the games we didn't attend, we would sit on the screened-in porch and listen to the Reds on AM radio into the summer night.

HATE-Strikes, steroids, unions, selfishness, agents, scandals, money, salary caps, tv rights, owners, money, and more money. These are the things that divide Americans from the its baseball passion. We all get upset when the MLB players and owners continually screw up, but find ourselves buying jerseys and rooting for teams in the playoffs each October.

LOVE-When we moved to Dallas, on occasion, I would wander over to The Ballpark in Arlington to watch the lowly Texas Rangers trip on their own feet......but after all, it is the AMERICAN LEAGUE.....home of the DH....where a pitcher doesn't even bat! And it was fun......not like when I was a kid....but fun. However, tonight.....it's all changed.

Tonight, my business partner and I hosted 2 customers at a shrine to baseball: Fenway Park.

Put this on your "bucket list" if you haven't been.

We sat approx 50 ft from home plate, drank warm beer, yelled at the Oakland A's, ate Fenway Franks and drank more warm beer.....it was the greatest! And....the Red Sox lost!!! And it was still great!!!!!!

PS---Granny---if you are watching, don't worry. I haven't gone over to the DARK SIDE (MLB AL), but I figured Boston Red Sox fans (like all Cinncinnatti Reds fans) hate the Yankees, so I could support the Red Sox for 1 night.

Batter Up! PLAY BALL!

Captiva - Update 2

Wednesday PM - we lounged at the beach as usual. It's been the best weather we've ever had while in Captiva.......best in the 7 trips we've made since 1990. Days were cloudless with literally 1/2 ft waves and aqua blue green clear water. Aunt Ellen Davis bought everyone dinner (thank you Ellen) at Key Lime Bistro and we went to Jensen's Marina http://www.gocaptiva.com/ and watched the manatees that will let you get within few inches of them!!!!!
(Aunt Mary and Preston playing in the surf)


(Kiddos at Jensen's)

Thursday - I actually got Stacey to go fishing with me! This never happens. Dad, Stacey and I left Jensen's at 7am and ran north 6 miles in the Intercoatal Waterway and I got to prove I really can't throw a castnet......which is alot harder than it looks. But truthfully, I threw it well enough to catch 30+ big pinfish and we headed to Redfish Pass to fish the outgoing tide for snook.

(castnetting is an artform)

Apparently the snook were'nt hungry. But Stacey did catch a mangrove snapper and a catfish.

(mangrove snapper)

So we ran to the beach and picked up the kids to watch dolphins which will let you idle right up to them. The kids love watching flipper.

(flipper & son)

I decided since it was very very calm, we would all (Me, Stacey, Kate & Preston) go offshore. We went to a close reef called Pace's Place and anchored. Immediately Kate hooked up something HUGE. My big Star trolling rod almost doubled over as something BIG ran with the bait. I was so proud of her for not dropping the rod....then snap! whatever she hooked must have had teeth because the line broke! Within 15 minutes Stacey caught her first ever Jack Crevalle-----and had a HUGE SMILE!!!



(Jack Crevalle? I think I went to high school with Jack Crevalle!!??)

AND THEN about 2 minutes after Stacey caught her jack, I hooked up on another nice kingfish......THIS TRIP HAS BEEN UNBELIEVABLE AS FAR AS FINDING AND CATCHING OUR OWN FISH!!!!!.

The kids loved riding in the boat all week. We went back to the beach and all played before heading back, swimming in the pool and cooking a big dinner. Dad, Stacey, Mary, Mom & I all stayed up late polishing off Corona's and laughing about a million stories growing up----some I remember----some I don't!!!!


(The perfect boat for the week)


Friday - Not looking forward to leaving, Dad and I made bait again with the castnet and fished Helen's sunken barges by Boca Grande. We caught some nice gag grouper, spanish mackrel, red grouper, and broke off a few fish we never saw. We bagged a nice legal red grouper and headed to the beach. After playing in the sand witht the kids, we regretfully took the boat back to Jensen's and cleaned it thoroughly. Here are a few pics of this great week.....a week we'll all remember for years to come.

(Friday night dinner -Red Grouper)





11 months and we get to come back.....this time with Scott, Deborah, Hunter & Nathan Cummings....our good friends from Frisco, TX.

Happy Birthday again to Mom & Dad......we 3 kids may give you a hard time, but you've earned many great vacations (including this one) for raising us.

Captiva - Update 1

Our Nightly Routine: Watching the sunset on Captiva

Friday--Travel day. Got to Ft. Myers without incident, nailed BassPro for some last minute NEEDS for fishing. Had a nice dinner at Outback Steakhouse (one of the few chain restaturants that still care about quality) and checked into Sanibel Harbor Resort & Spa. http://www.sanibel-resort.com/ I would recommend this resort. Built in the early 90's, still very nice.

Saturday - Took delivery of the rental boat while Stacey & the kids ate bkfast and waited to hear from Grandma & Grandpa who picked up Mary & Derek Prosser at 10am from D.C. We ate lunch at The Lighthouse Restaurant and shopped at Publix----racking up the ususal $1,100+++ on groceries. Our drive to Captiva and checkin to our house was easy and we were at the beach by 5pm. Mom made KILLER enchiladas and we swam in the pool.

Sunday-Dad & Derek golfed early at The Dunes seeing 3 alligators and a water moccasin---one gator was 10++ ft!!!!! I was ready to go try the 29' Wellcraft center console I rented so I loaded up and bought bait and headed thru Redfish pass trying a few casts for snook. After was comfortable running the boat, I ran out to a few spots I know. BAM!!!! First cast, red grouper, BOOM! Another and another and another......none were 20" legal but I was having fun. All of the sudden one of my rods started screaming so I dropped my grouper rod and after a brief fight I saw I had a nice kingfish who I lost right at the boat. I moved a few miles and repeated the grouper routine then headed to the beach at noon where we anchored and swam with the kids.

Monday---Derek, Dad & I met Capt. Larry Iacofano and his 1st mate and fished the ARC reef catching a MONSTER 30lb kingfish (Dad), 2 snappers and an amberjack (Derek), and I caught my first permit......helluva a fight. Dad's king was HUGE! A great day fishing and we smoked the kingfish----it was a great dinner

.

Tuesday-Derek, Dad & I bought bait, caught bait and headed offshore. After searching a few spots, we headed to the place I fished Sunday. As we were leaving to head back, I started reeling in our last rod and felt a small hit then a huge hit from this nice kingfish which we also smoked Tuesday night. We also loaded up the boat with everyone and headed to Cabbage Key for a great cheeseburger. http://www.cabbagekey.com/

Wednesday---Dad and I fished with guide Capt. Nelso Diaz and broke off a dozen or more snook, jumped a baby tarpon, landed a dozen ladyfish, and landed 2 huge snook.

More to come later!