If you didn't see the Alabama, LSU football game shame on you. Les Miles, the crafty, brash and sometimes zany head coach of the #1 ranked LSU Tigers led his team into Tuscolusa where a powerful Crimson Tide team led by the reserved genius Nick Saban eagerly awaited. Everyone knew the importance of this game and how much would be riding on the outcome. The National Champion picture had began to take shape as the true contenders had begun to separate from the pack. This game would go a long way in determining whom the front runners would be. The stadium's atmosphere was electric as all the anticipation that built up during the week had reach it's limit. #1 vs #2, Miles vs Saban, the former apprentice vs his former master. Nobody had to tell each coach or their respective teams how important this game would be. The loser could very possibly find themselves out of the National Championship race. The fact that both teams where in this position at this point in the season is a testament to the strength of their programs-surviving their brutal SEC schedules. On paper both teams appeared evenly matched, stout defenses and powerful running games. Bama appeared to have a slight edge in the running department behind the nifty running of Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy. Given the home field advantage I thought that Alabama would win but three missed field goals in the first half would be too much to overcome.
Despite their loss Alabama only fell to the number 3 spot in the BCS which means they could very well get another shot at LSU but we'll just have to wait and see as nothing is set in stone. There are still tons of games to be played and besides I'm not in love with either team's QB situation. Which brings me to the remaining top 10 teams with the exception of Virginia Tech. Oklahoma, Oklahoma St, Boise St, Stanford, Clemson, Oregon and Arkansas all have QBs that seem to get it done on a weekly basis without the benefit of a lights out defense. I couldn't help but think just how much more awesome Bama or LSU would be if they had such outstanding QB's under center. Imagine if your a Bama or LSU defensive coordinator and you have the luxury of complimenting a offense that's puts up 30 plus points a game. No team in the country would stand a chance. If AJ McCarron develops like he should I think that we will see just that in the next two years. It would be a huge disrespect to the Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 14 to say that the SEC is the best conference in football but five consecutive BCS tiles don't lie. But!!! I must say as intriguing as a Alabama, LSU rematch is I would much rather see the SEC champion face a undefeated Oklahoma St team if nothing more than to see a high powered offense against a dynamic defense. A small part of me wants to see Boise St(rolling my eyes) sneak into the title game and either give credence- to the notion that they don't belong- or shock the world and win it all. Sorry Boise but you have to add better teams to your schedule to be taken seriously. I think that since you went to Blacksburg in 2010 and Athens in 2011 that those teams should come to you in 2012. Beat them both at home, throw in a USC or Texas at mid-season and then and only then can you honestly think about playing for the BCS title.
With all that being said LSU AND Alabama still have to win their remainin games. Like I said before I don't trust either teams QBs- especially LSU's.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Control your situation
At one point I was a missed paycheck away from being homeless and it seemed no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get ahead. I even tried to find a second job but no such luck. Let me tell you that necessity breeds innovation as I found many new ways to stretch my dollar. Of course a great many things had to be cut out. No more buying video games, no more weekend getaways and I even had to stop buying some of the food I liked. My new job didn't pay much and I didn't have much money put away and things were tight. Some months I just barely scraped by. For a two year period there were so many overdraft protection fees I had to pay my bank. My power had been disconnected twice. My situation wasn't pretty and often it was downright stressful but I couldn't give up. What was I going to do? Go live with my mom?! Not if my life depended on it! I had gotten myself into this situation and would get myself out because that's what I do. How did I get by you ask? Prayer, lots of prayer. I ate a lot of beans and rice. A close friend of mine taught me how to cook a lot of food and then freeze it. I got a raise from my job and that helped out a great deal. Now I'm able to keep food in my fridge, stay current on my bills and I'm also saving money now. You can go anywhere and get financial advice but only you know your truth and only you can decide what's best for you. The major thing is to realize that your on the verge of financial hardship. For some of you, financial hardship may be all that you've ever known. Like most of people your parents just never really taught you how to be fiscally responsible and that's not their fault as they had bigger concerns like keeping food on the table and the power turned on. While I still have a long way to go I feel that I'm finally on the road to financial security and well being
Stay healthy
You can't work and earn money if your always sick. So it's important that you eat healthy and stay fit. Add a salad or fruit to your diet. Go for a two mile walk four days a week. Start taking vitamins so that your immune system stays strong.
What's the plan?
You need to have a plan as you move forward. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate or complicated. Just remember there is often genius in simplicity so don't be afraid to keep things simple. Also remember that the biggest tasks are often broken down into manageable parts. So give yourself small goals to begin with and build off of that. I found daily goals to be helpful. Like getting up at a certain time or getting myself to work fifteen minutes early.
Find your truth
Find out who you are. Know your strength and weaknesses. Seek out people who are successful and find out what they did to achieve their success. Find out what you really want out of life and work towards that goal.
Goodnight and God bless
Stay healthy
You can't work and earn money if your always sick. So it's important that you eat healthy and stay fit. Add a salad or fruit to your diet. Go for a two mile walk four days a week. Start taking vitamins so that your immune system stays strong.
What's the plan?
You need to have a plan as you move forward. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate or complicated. Just remember there is often genius in simplicity so don't be afraid to keep things simple. Also remember that the biggest tasks are often broken down into manageable parts. So give yourself small goals to begin with and build off of that. I found daily goals to be helpful. Like getting up at a certain time or getting myself to work fifteen minutes early.
Find your truth
Find out who you are. Know your strength and weaknesses. Seek out people who are successful and find out what they did to achieve their success. Find out what you really want out of life and work towards that goal.
Goodnight and God bless
It's been while
Followers I want to a apologize for taking so long to post but this program wasn't compatible with my iPhone, until now. And since I don't own a laptop I wasn't able to access this site via my aforementioned smart phone. Funny thing is I only found out about this occurrence recently and by accident. I never said that I was a smart man . Shut up! I am really giddy about this people. You just don't understand. This is my first post of 2011 so I'll just give you a quick recap. I got another raise at work! It wasn't much but it helped me out a great deal. There was also the $500 the state owed me! Where was my interest?! It's funny how when the government owes us money they don't pay interest. I got to call bs on that one. So with this extra money I brought a dyer but my apartment didn't have washer/dyer hookup. In June I moved into a better apartment with washer/dyer hookup and here's the best part. My rent is $37 dollars cheaper
I haven't bounced a checked once all year!!! For me that's huge considering the amount of money I had to burn in overdraft protection fees the last two years. It feels good to be actually saving money now. I just have to keep the ball rolling. I upgraded my checking account and now I actually earn interest on my money in the bank. Who knew?! I should be fine as long as I don't do anything stupid which I almost never do. This year I've also started eating healthier and combined with my existing regimen I'm starting see results I've really committed myself to reading more and right now I'm reading the Odyssey and I have to say it's even better the second time around. The message of the epic poem truly resonates with me. I would advise anyone to read it. Well that's it for now. I promise there will be more to come. Later for now
I haven't bounced a checked once all year!!! For me that's huge considering the amount of money I had to burn in overdraft protection fees the last two years. It feels good to be actually saving money now. I just have to keep the ball rolling. I upgraded my checking account and now I actually earn interest on my money in the bank. Who knew?! I should be fine as long as I don't do anything stupid which I almost never do. This year I've also started eating healthier and combined with my existing regimen I'm starting see results I've really committed myself to reading more and right now I'm reading the Odyssey and I have to say it's even better the second time around. The message of the epic poem truly resonates with me. I would advise anyone to read it. Well that's it for now. I promise there will be more to come. Later for now
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
end of NFL season
The end of another great NFL season is nearly upon us. We had better enjoy it because there might not be any football next season as the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2010. For those of you who don't know this is a process if voluntary negotiations between NFL team owners and NFL players association. The Bargaining Agreement sets wage scale, work conditions, work hours, training, health and safety etc. As of right now both sides are so far from reaching an agreement that player reps have advised players to save their last four game checks in preparation for next season's lockout.
Both sides can make a case for why they are right but in the end it is the fans who pay the ultimate price. Owners pay player outrageous sums of money and to cover the cost they merely jack up ticket and concession prices. Are you kidding me? These are grown men being paid outrageously to play a game. When you really think about it the whole concept is ridiculous. It's not like these guys are curing Aids or cancer. The players want more money, the owners want to play them less money and that is what it all boils down to. Seriously, why in the world are there so many preseason games? Because owners realized it was just another way of generating income. Still fans pay close to regular season ticket prices for meaningless games. I would never do it. Now the owners want to add two more games to the regular season schedule, to generate more income. Even in this economy they are trying to suck the fans dry and it's a cry in shame. Of course the players see this and they want more money as well which further strengthens my opinion that it all boils down to money.
Then there is this NFL Direct Ticket. For yet even more money you can watch all the NFL games on Sunday. If you can't afford or just don't want to pay you can watch the matchup scheduled for your local channel. In my case I live in the south eastern region and I'm forced to watch the hapless Carolina Panthers week in and week out. I shouldn't be forced to watch then play and I'm certainly not paying for NFL ticket, it's just not worth it for me.
Both sides have valid points but the fans are the ones who suffer. if there is indeed a lockout and I certainly believe a lockout is eminent a season won't be all both sides lose. I think that the fans will have had enough and many of us won't come back to the game of football. If they think that attendance in many stadiums are down now then wait until they try and come back after a lockout. We the fans deserve more then what the owners and players are giving us. If they really cared about the fans both sides will put their own self interest aside and do what's best for the fans. Otherwise there may not be many fans to come back to. What needs to happen is for a new and rigid pay scale be set into place. Salary caps remain relatively the same but the extra money the franchise earns through attendance and sales is evenly distributed to each of that team's players. It ensures that every player gives maximum effort and it allows for more competitive games. As supposed to paying one single player so much money that you can't afford to keep any surrounding talent. This also allows for the franchise to ease the ticket prices for the fans. Times are tough and the last thing we need is for our favorite teams to screw us over.
Both sides can make a case for why they are right but in the end it is the fans who pay the ultimate price. Owners pay player outrageous sums of money and to cover the cost they merely jack up ticket and concession prices. Are you kidding me? These are grown men being paid outrageously to play a game. When you really think about it the whole concept is ridiculous. It's not like these guys are curing Aids or cancer. The players want more money, the owners want to play them less money and that is what it all boils down to. Seriously, why in the world are there so many preseason games? Because owners realized it was just another way of generating income. Still fans pay close to regular season ticket prices for meaningless games. I would never do it. Now the owners want to add two more games to the regular season schedule, to generate more income. Even in this economy they are trying to suck the fans dry and it's a cry in shame. Of course the players see this and they want more money as well which further strengthens my opinion that it all boils down to money.
Then there is this NFL Direct Ticket. For yet even more money you can watch all the NFL games on Sunday. If you can't afford or just don't want to pay you can watch the matchup scheduled for your local channel. In my case I live in the south eastern region and I'm forced to watch the hapless Carolina Panthers week in and week out. I shouldn't be forced to watch then play and I'm certainly not paying for NFL ticket, it's just not worth it for me.
Both sides have valid points but the fans are the ones who suffer. if there is indeed a lockout and I certainly believe a lockout is eminent a season won't be all both sides lose. I think that the fans will have had enough and many of us won't come back to the game of football. If they think that attendance in many stadiums are down now then wait until they try and come back after a lockout. We the fans deserve more then what the owners and players are giving us. If they really cared about the fans both sides will put their own self interest aside and do what's best for the fans. Otherwise there may not be many fans to come back to. What needs to happen is for a new and rigid pay scale be set into place. Salary caps remain relatively the same but the extra money the franchise earns through attendance and sales is evenly distributed to each of that team's players. It ensures that every player gives maximum effort and it allows for more competitive games. As supposed to paying one single player so much money that you can't afford to keep any surrounding talent. This also allows for the franchise to ease the ticket prices for the fans. Times are tough and the last thing we need is for our favorite teams to screw us over.
my 2010 in review
My year in review.
My little sister turned a year older. In January I flew to Las Vegas to see an old friend DS, only to lose that old friend later. Reunited with another special friend from high school and it was great to see that person but everything felt wrong, oh well.
:-(
My mom turned a year older the following month. I turned a year older the following month •35• I switched back to the night shift because I could no longer deal with the public. It turned out to be a wise decision and I'm happier for it .
Took a week off in June to spend with my nieces and nephew, I love them very much.
In August my younger brother moved in with me only to move out a month later, oh well. In August I hooked up with another friend from long ago and it was just as good as I remembered. I still hope to see her again :-).
September my mother asked me to care for her dog Sheba and now she lives with me, it's a work in progress. I couldn't ask for a better friend and companion. She watches over me all day, everyday.
In November my best friend flew in from California to visit me and my family, we hadn't seen each other in almost 5 years. We had so much fun and we are so much food, i wept when she left. Yes I actually wept. This year was really good for and to me for a linty of reasons. For one my financial situation improved a great deal.
I learned how to let go...when to let go..... to embrace change....to welcome new opportunities...to be open...to be more comfortable with who I am... to know how lucky I truly am... to appreciate what I already have...
All in all 2010 was a very good year for me and I look forward to 2011. Good luck. I hope that everyone has a great 2011.
My little sister turned a year older. In January I flew to Las Vegas to see an old friend DS, only to lose that old friend later. Reunited with another special friend from high school and it was great to see that person but everything felt wrong, oh well.
:-(
My mom turned a year older the following month. I turned a year older the following month •35• I switched back to the night shift because I could no longer deal with the public. It turned out to be a wise decision and I'm happier for it .
Took a week off in June to spend with my nieces and nephew, I love them very much.
In August my younger brother moved in with me only to move out a month later, oh well. In August I hooked up with another friend from long ago and it was just as good as I remembered. I still hope to see her again :-).
September my mother asked me to care for her dog Sheba and now she lives with me, it's a work in progress. I couldn't ask for a better friend and companion. She watches over me all day, everyday.
In November my best friend flew in from California to visit me and my family, we hadn't seen each other in almost 5 years. We had so much fun and we are so much food, i wept when she left. Yes I actually wept. This year was really good for and to me for a linty of reasons. For one my financial situation improved a great deal.
I learned how to let go...when to let go..... to embrace change....to welcome new opportunities...to be open...to be more comfortable with who I am... to know how lucky I truly am... to appreciate what I already have...
All in all 2010 was a very good year for me and I look forward to 2011. Good luck. I hope that everyone has a great 2011.
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