Stormy Petrels

After two straight nights out on Wednesday and Thursday I hedged my bets and went out Friday night, most of the day Saturday, and some on Sunday.

Late Friday afternoon I checked my 2015 calendar for one of the first times all year, and noticed that Oglethorpe had a home game. Matthew needs to get out more, so we went down to see our friend Connor Smith play. Going into the game he was Oglethorpe’s leading scorer. He also leads the team in free throw percentage and probably other categories. We arrived in time to see the end of the girl’s game. Connor’s family arrived, as well as my friend/neighbor Lee Bates, who said as a new empty nester comes to many of the games. The Stormy Petrels were playing conference foe Rhodes College from Memphis. 

Oglethorpe had no answer for Rhodes’ tall center, but kept it close throughout the first half. In the first seven minutes of the second half Oglethorpe could only manage one free throw, and Rhodes pulled out to a double digit lead. Everything was going Rhodes’ way. The Petrels did a great job drawing fouls, sending several Lynx starters to the bench in foul trouble. But Oglethorpe missed 7 or 8 foul shots, which turned out to be the difference in the game. Even the normally reliable Connor missed one. Last season as a freshman Smith had torched Rhodes, and Oglethorpe had beaten Rhodes both in Atlanta and Memphis. This year Rhodes closely guarded Connor and limited him to less than ten points. Connor helped out in other ways, with deft passes and a team leading seven rebounds. As the clock ticked down Oglethorpe pulled close but ran out of time, losing 66-60.

We hung around after the game to greet Connor, then Matthew drove home. We stopped by McDonalds to get Matthew a McFlurry. We had stopped by Taco Bell on the way. I finally had one of those dollar crunchwrap sliders at Taco Bell Friday night. Not as good as the dollar beefy frito burrito or the cheesy chicken burrito. The Lower Roswell Taco Bell did toast my beefy frito burrito longer than usual, making it better than usual. M got his regular five layer burrito with no sour cream. We didn’t get home until almost 11:30. Oglethorpe hits the road until February, but I’ll keep you in mind in case I try to attend another game.

Saturday morning I drove Ceil and Matthew downtown near the old Georgia Baptist Hospital to help out at Matthew’s Legacy School service project, taking food to the poor, sharing the Word, and playing with kids. The children were thrilled to see us, wanting us to hold them and give them piggyback rides. I got to know two Legacy dads. Fred and I got to share with two men in their 20’s. One was 28 with 8 kids spread out across the country, aged 3 to 14. He had fathered a child in 9th grade. Later he went to prison and got out at 21. Said he worshipped in an African church who believed God manifested himself not only in people but also animals and other objects. Smelled marijuana in several apartments. Not sure many in this area attended church. A group of college kids from the University of Idaho were on a two week mission trip in Atlanta, and they helped out as well.

The bitter cold turned out bright and sunny, so being outside wasn’t bad. On the way home Ceil ran in a couple of stores and we grabbed a late lunch at Nuevo Laredo Cantina, which was packed. Took home two to-go boxes and didn’t need dinner. M drove home – his first time on the interstate. I crashed on the couch and saw Cam Newton seal the loss with the late game pick-six. Watched some of the Patriots/Ravens. C and M went to the grocery store.

Sunday morning we went to the marriage class at Johnson Ferry, then Ceil went with her friends to Rays on the River to celebrate birthdays. Back home M made an instant cheesecake and ate a quarter of it. I turned on the Packers/Cowboys then rode as M drove down to Passion. I had him take Johnson Ferry to Sandy Springs, then Lake Forrest to Buckhead, then Piedmont the rest of the way. Takes twice as long but there’s less traffic. Will was home when I returned, having spent one last weekend with MC before taking her to the airport. After I cleaned the kitchen M repeated the drive home. He ate Moes, the rest of us ate grilled chicken strips, rice, and salad.

I was rooting for the Packers. Many people were saying that Dallas – and Dez Bryant in particular - got paid back for the calls last week. Had Dez not tried to stretch the ball out over the goal line and instead tucked it close to his body it might’ve been ruled a catch. It was less of a catch than Calvin Johnson’s ill-fated touchdown catch that was ruled incomplete a few years ago. Hoping for a Packers/Patriots Super Bowl, but Seattle appears to be a team on a mission. 

Considering that some called the Packers/Cowboys game The Ice Bowl 2 (or 3), Tony Romo’s balaclava looked remarkably similar to the one worn by Dallas starting QB Don Meredith back in the original Ice Bowl.

Revised 36 day MLB Trip

Just put a map of the US on my wall, which will provide hours of unproductive time. To celebrate I just had to re-map out a new 36 day trip to see the MLB teams, based on the interstate highway system. Six days with nine hours of travel but these days can be split up if needed. Travel through every continental state except eight (Arkansas, Maine, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Vermont). Can add states if weather or schedule permit. Additional minor league stops at cities noted can be added if required by weather or MLB schedule. Some MLB cities can be easily flip flopped if needed due to schedule.  

miles to city hours pass thru state/city

400 Pearl 6 GA AL MS Bham Jackson

450 Houston 7 MS LA TX Baton Rouge

250 Dallas 4 TX Fort Worth

625 El Paso 9 TX Abilene Midland

435 Phoenix 7 TX NM AZ Tucson

2160 mi 33 hr – avg 435 mi  6.6 hr

355 San Diego 6 AZ CA Yuma

100 Anaheim 2 CA Long Beach

025 Los Angeles 1 CA Beverly Hills

380 San Francisco 6 CA Bakersfield

010 Oakland 1 CA Berkeley

870 mi 16 hr – avg 175 mi 3.2 hr

525 Eugene 8 CA OR Sacramento

300 Seattle 5 OR WA Portland

600 Butte 9 WA ID MT Spokane

575 Mt Rushmore 9 MT WY SD Billings Rapid City

375 Denver 6 SD NE WY CO Cheyenne

2375 mi 37 hr – 475 mi 7.4 hr

600 Kansas City 9 CO KS MO Topeka

440 Minneapolis 7 MO IA MN Des Moines

350 Milwaukee 5 MN WS Green Bay

100 Wrigley Field 2 WS IL Racine

015 White Sox 1 IL Chicago

1505 mi 24 hr – avg 300 mi 4.8 hr

300 St Louis 5 IL MO Springfield

350 Cincinnati 6 MO IL IN KY OH Louisville

275 Detroit 4 OH MI Dayton

175 Cleveland 3 MI OH Toledo

135 Pittsburgh 2 OH PA Akron

1335 mi 20 hr – avg 275 mi 4 hr

475 Toronto 5 PA NY OT Erie Buffalo Niagara Falls

550 Fenway Park 9 OT NY MA Rochester Syracuse Cooperstown Albany

205 Yankee Stadium 4 MA RI CT NY Providence New Haven

010 New York 1 NY Queens

110 Philadelphia 3 NY  NJ PA Newark Trenton

1350 mi 22 hr – avg 275 mi 4.4 hr

110 Baltimore 2 PA DE MD Wilmington

040 Washington 1 MD

575 Savannah 9 VA NC SC GA Richmond Raleigh Florence

485 Miami 7 GA FL Jacksonville St Augustine Daytona Ft Lauderdale

275 Tampa 4 FL Naples Ft Myers Sarasota

1485 mi 23 hr – avg 300 mi 4.6 hr

480 Atlanta 7 FL GA Ocala Valdosta Macon

11080 total miles – 182 hours – 36 days

Average 308 miles and 5 hours per day

$800.00 @ $2.52/gallon for 317 gallons @ 35 MPG

3500.00 for 35 nights in a hotel

1800.00 for meals @ $25.00 per day

1440.00 for tickets etc @ ballparks at $20.00 per day

7540.00 total cost of trip for two people

5 states in one day

6 days in California

5 days in New York

4 days in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, & Pennsylvania

Masks of Many Colors

Did Deion Sanders wear more different-colored face masks than any other player in football history? Perhaps so, thanks to his nomadic existence in pro football.

Though a wife-beating loudmouthed braggart, he was perhaps the greatest cornerback in pro football history. Never a great or fierce tackler, he always went for the big play interception. You never heard about all the times he got beat or ran over or missed the tackle, but you always heard about it when he broke up the pass or interception.

FSU garnet, Falcons black, 49ers and Cowboys grey, Redskins yellow, and Ravens black. Just missed out on Falcons white and 49ers red. No telling what color mask he wore in high school.

I recently learned that Deion once tried to stage a late-season career comeback with the Raiders, but the stunt was blocked by the Chargers who claimed him off waivers.

Deion always looked good in a football uniform, white his long sleeves and white socks pulled up higher than the rest. 

I usually try to find Sports Illustrated cover shots of my subjects. Deion made at least three SI covers - once with the Falcons/Braves, once with the Cowboys, and once with the Reds. Two were posed and didn't show Deion playing in helmet and full uniform.

Sanders also started a baseball fashion trend with the Reds, wearing his sleeves cut short like Jackie Robinson’s. Or was it to honor Ted Kluszewski?

Flats & Fouls

WEDNESDAY: Went out to my car and thought of my friend Frank who yesterday morning posted “a touch of bronchitis and a flat tire – and a flat spare. But hey, it’s a beautiful dry morning and not near as cold as it will be Thursday – and my son Luke just happens to have the day off – to help me” I was thinking of something funny to post about his good attitude.

Pulled out of the garage and something sounded funny. Got out to close the garage door in the dark. Looked but didn’t see anything, so backing out realized my tire was flat. The lug nuts were too tight so I went to NAPA to get some Fix a Flat. NAPA was reorganizing their store so I had to go to Advance Auto, which didn’t open until 7:30. Back home the fix a flat didn’t work, so I drove on the flat tire up to the gas station. They put on the spare, and I made it to Tire Deals by 8:45 and work an hour later.

TECH / SYRACUSE: Cold walking from our car. Traffic from Buckhead to Midtown/Downtown was terrible at 6 pm – all routes were jammed: 85 south and the Connector, Peachtree, Spring, Juniper. Took 30 minutes to go 5 miles. Good thing the Braves are moving out of downtown. Lang’s brother-in-law was with us, the father of 2 sets of twins aged 5 and 2. Andrew is a big basketball fan and had brought his Syracuse friend with him. Good to see Andrew but I didn’t talk to him as much as I should have. Also saw GT senior / basketball marvel DJ.

Tech does seem to have a good team that for some reason keeps it close the whole game then wins or loses at the end. Like Reid says it could be the coaching. Seems like back in the day the field goal percentage was higher. Then again it always seemed like Dennis Scott missed a lot more than he took (unlike Mark Price). That point guard number ten was more judicious with his shots. Both teams shot poorly. Tech tries to slow the game down. They seem to be improved since last year and have played most games down to the wire and losing on the last shot. Wednesday they had the last shot and missed. Ralph Sampson’s son is on the team. His photo was on the pocket schedules, though he’s not a starter.

Meetings meetings meetings. Driving me crazy. Had one from 10 – 10:30 and another from 11 to 11:20 then a third from 1:15 – 2:05. Some people have to spend all day in meetings but us worker bees come out of those meetings with all our normal stuff to do, plus emails and quotes to research and phone calls to return. My customer has been off for Christmas since Dec 18 and I still have piles of work to do. I did take off 6 of the 20 days. People don’t report to me but for some reason I have to supervise and think for them and make sure their work gets done. Without the ability to fire them or give them raises I’m not sure how I am supposed to motivate them. Never used to have to do this. You’d think I’d get a raise with all this additional responsibility.

THURSDAY: Warmed up my car for 5 minutes this morning before leaving, while making my lunch and getting bundled up. Nice that I didn’t have to freeze so much. Emily was over with Anna and M was sleeping, so Ceil and I ate at the new Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Alpharetta. I had been given a gift card for Christmas and Ceil loves steak. First time either of us had been there. Ceil had the filet, a baked potato, and salad. I had stuffed chicken, salad, and sweet potato casserole. All very good. When our waitress packed up our leftovers she included a small cheesecake sample. The gift card was for $100.00 and I thought we would be well over it, so I handed the lady the gift card and my credit card. She came back looking confused. I thought we may have been given a gift card with zero value, but our bill had only come up to $99.50. I said I could tip in cash but instead the ran the credit card for one cent and I put the tip on there. Guess we should’ve ordered more!

It was a fancy place so I wore my sport coat. I thought Ceil was changing but she went in her grey cords and orange socks – but her long winter coat. Saw several men in jeans. One had on a grey sweatshirt. There was a good looking couple dressed nicely that could have been fashion models. Did not see Arthur Blank and Thomas Dimitrof interviewing a head coaching candidate.

On the way home I had to get air in the CRV tires (the low pressure light was on) and fill up with gas. Ceil fell asleep on the way home. I was worm out as well. When we got home I worked on the computer. This morning the alarm went off at 5:45. As I often do, I decided to stay in bed for another ten minutes. Not only did I fall back into a deep sleep but I also had a vivid dream.  

Last year Reid and I picked all the bowl games and the worst record had to pay for dinner. I won and he and his wife took Ceil and me to Bonefish. I picked the team with the highest Saragin rating. This year I forgot my method and lost, so I’m on the hook for dinner. Biggest bet I ever made. This year is the Whitaker’s 50th anniversary so all 11 of them are going on a cruise. When their kids were young they’d go on cruises and all four would wear matching outfits. I suggested they do that this time.  

Saturday Ceil and I may go with Matthew on a service project with his school. At the doctor this week he had lost 15 pounds. Just doesn’t eat. I think that woke him up.

See the story about the time capsule from the 1700’s? Cool that they will bury it back in the building. I love stuff like that. When we were renovating our kitchen in Morningside I stashed some items behind a wall we were closing in, creating a little time capsule. Forgot what I left – some worthless baseball cards. I know the house has been renovated, so I wonder if they found what I had left.

My friend Rob’s opinion of the Hawks: The Hawks are good - really good.  I would compare them to the 2004 Pistons.  The prevailing thought is that you can't  win an NBA championship without a HOF caliber player as your centerpiece.  That has been true for every season in the Bird/Magic era except for '04 when the Pistons won with a perfectly matched team that fully bought into the same concept.

I haven’t gotten into the NBA or the Hawks bandwagon yet but know I should. Most of my info comes tweets.

Smoltz: Lots of people were thinking four could be inducted this year. I watched the roundtable discussion on the MLB Network and have been reading DOB. I knew Biggio was on the cusp and could go either way and felt Smoltz wasn’t quite a lock, though he has about as much goodwill with the writers as any recent retiree. Smoltz should have an interesting speech, as well as a 2015 Braves bobblehead. Still waiting for that list of promotions to come out. My old roommate Tom says he’s going back to Cooperstown this July. He went last year as well. He lives near Louisville and attends lots of basketball games, concerts, and a few Reds games. Sounds like Johnny Pearce and his friend Marshal (friends of Charles Qualls) will wait until Chipper’s induction.

As popular as the NFL is, there’s much more discussion about the baseball HOF selections. The most discussed NFL HOF debate was resolved when punter Ray Guy was finally voted in. Now no one will care if another punter ever gets inducted. This morning on 680 they were saying Morten Andersen may make the HOF this year. No arguments about what team logo since no helmet on the bust. The NFL elects more per year than Cooperstown. I always say if I were sitting next to Peter King on an airplane I would talk to him about the HOF selection process. What was the deal with Curt Schilling? Anything?

I pinned a map of the USA on my office wall and immediately became less productive. Already re-mapped out a cost to coast 36 day driving tour of the MLB parks (weather and schedule permitting). Even calculated the cost of the trip.

Taco Bell: Will says those new dollar crunchwrap sliders are good, but I haven’t tried them.

Manning's Many Masks

Archie Manning owns a record unmatched in the history of football, that until now has never been written about or even discussed. No player before or after him wore so many different facemasks. Almost every year Archie would take the field wearing a different facemask. Some were only slightly different from the previous version, but other changes were more profound. As a youngster interested in such things I found the changes fascinating - though I dislike several of his choices. Here are samples of most of the facemasks Archie wore.  

As a sophomore at Ole Miss Archie wore what many college and pro quarterbacks wore: the single bar.

As a junior in 1969 Archie wore 
a somewhat rounded cage.

As a senior in 1970 Archie wore 
the squared off version of the cage.

A great mask worn Archie only wore for a short time.
For all I know this could have been the mask
he wore in his rookie year. 

Later Archie changed to one
of the more popular cages of the era.

Then he changed to a slightly different style.

Later Archie changed to a Dungard mask
similar to the one worn by Terry Bradshaw.
By noting the Rams old uniforms above and new unis below it is easy to determine chronology.

When more and more quarterbacks were ditching the single and double bar masks in favor of the cage, Archie went old school with the single bar. Besides Joe Theisman of the Redskins, Archie was the last NFL quarterback to wear the single bar.

The ugliest mask ever worn by Archie.

Archie models the mask later worn by Kenny Stabler.

The mask above is quite similar to the mask below - though they're not an exact match.

One of the last masks Archie wore in New Orleans was the style he also wore in Houston and Minnesota.

Even these count as different masks, since the Oilers wore red masks and the Vikings white.

Selecting From the Buffet

Over the holidays I watched the movie The Wedding Pact, a charming low budget movie starring Haylie Duff which I recommend. You may be better acquainted with her little sister Hillary. As I sometimes do, afterwards I checked Haylie's Wiki page to learn about her background, career path, and beliefs. She turns 30 next month. Describes herself: "I am a Christian, but I don't see myself as a religious person. I see myself as more of a spiritual person. There are things I agree with in Christianity and things that I don't agree with. I'm not a regular churchgoer, but I do think that I have my own beliefs that I feel strongly about." Don't we all.

This is not to pick at Haylie in particular. In fact she should be commended for proclaiming her Christianity (especially in today’s mostly anti-Christian society). None of us are perfect. But more and more people take issue with this Bible issue or that Christian belief. While some issues are a matter of doctrine or interpretation, the basics of God's word are not to be tampered with. Some commandments are harder to follow. That doesn't mean they are to be thrown out. Picking and choosing only certain beliefs from the Bible - this but not that – is this not foolish and even blasphemous? Can someone successfully assemble a thousand piece Lego Star Wars Death Star by only following SOME of the directions? Can someone drive from New York to Los Angeles while consulting the road map only some of the time? Can a pilot fly a plane for very long when observing on just some of the rules of aviation?

Considering all that God has blessed me with and done for me, I have no problem following Him on His terms. I fall short in so many ways - but not because I deliberately set out on a different path.  

Deuteronomy 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

Deuteronomy 12:32 See that you do all I command you; do not add or take away from it.

Revelation 22:19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God will take away from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

On social media more and more articles are posted about why people are leaving the church. Some think the church should not change with the times, others think that it should. Same with the music - some like the older hymns and hate guitars and drums. Can one way appeal to everyone? When Jesus walked the earth and taught his followers, His ways were new and revolutionary. What Jesus said and how He said it weren't the same old ways the people in His time were used to. Many were looking for the coming messiah prophesied in the scriptures, but many did not recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of those many prophesies.

Perhaps Miss Duff is on to something. Whereas she clings to her version Christianity, so many people today angrily reject the Christian Church -  and therefore reject God and Jesus. You see the outright hatred so clearly on the internet and social media, in their comments to articles on different topics: evolution vs creation, global warming/climate change, homosexuality and gay marriage, Chickfila, various articles about the church. While there was always a relatively silent slice of the population that didn't believe in God, now they have a platform to express their hostile opinions. What made these people so anti-God? Events that happened in their childhood? Rebellion against parents? Churches that delivered the wrong message? Someone at a church that hurt or abused them? Some non-believers think anyone who believes in God is an ignorant fable-believing fool. How can these non-believers be brought back to God?

They will have to see Jesus' love lived out, but God will have to open their hearts and minds. To break it down, there seems to be a growing divide in the church - cool vs uncool. Polyester vs. Denim. Why doesn't anyone get a tattoo of Leviticus 19:28? Thank God that Jesus' sacrifice freed us from the old law.

I just finished a book about being an introvert in an increasingly extroverted world, and it has me thinking. While it may be easier for an introverted parent or parents to deal with an extroverted child, I could see how extroverted parents could struggle to raise an introverted child. Would these parents who push their introvert kids...to greatness? To do things and stick with things they might have given up on themselves...is this always good? Does every fish need to swim in a big pond?

Should a parent encourage their child to make an unchangeable, irrevocable decision that could impact the child's future - just because the parent is enthusiastic about the decision? Everything isn't for everyone. Profound, I know. Some parents allow their children to continually let their children experience things at a younger age than recommended. Some tweenagers have been attending the Passion Conference for years. While it is a great experience for everyone, the kid will be tired of it by the time their age group can attend.

It starts with being the youngest at a skate park. Riding extreme roller coasters when they're an inch shorter than the height requirement. Parasailing. Wearing teenager clothes at seven and skanky twenty-something clothes at 13. Haylie Duff started young, first taking dance lessons then appearing in the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company's The Nutcracker Suite at the age of eight. She starred in Addams Family Reunion at 13 and won an award for her performance (not sure if she's an introvert or extrovert).

But if a child grows up constantly experiencing things at a much too early age for their maturity is the result a constant hunger for even more daring and dangerous adventures? Could this lead to eventual rebellion, premarital sex, or perhaps drug use? What is wrong with waiting sometimes?   

One answer: following a well-rounded diet of God’s word – both the ecclesiastical broccoli and brownies, the spiritual steak and sweets.

Hall of Famer John Smoltz

Today John Smoltz was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Lots of people were thinking four could be inducted this year. I watched the roundtable discussion on the MLB Network and have been reading DOB. I knew Biggio was on the cusp and could go either way and felt Smoltz wasn't quite a lock, though he has about as much goodwill with the writers as any recent retiree.

Smoltz should have an interesting speech, as well as a 2015 Braves bobblehead. Still waiting for that list of promotions to come out. Did the veterans committee vote anyone in? Wasn't that something that happens before the end of the year?

I pinned a map of the USA on my office wall and immediately became less productive. Already re-mapped out a coast to coast 36 day driving tour of the MLB parks (weather and schedule permitting). Even calculated the cost of the trip.

ROB ON SMOLTZ: Are you surprised about the Hall of Fame vote? I was not certain Biggio would get in, but I thought Piazza would come close. Last year, I did not think Smoltz had a shot to be first ballot, but it became apparent over the last few months that he had more support than I originally thought.

Future Years:
2016 - Griffey and Piazza
2017 - Vlad Guerrero (Manny and Pudge Rodriguez will be eligible, but I think they will be banished to the steroid list)
2018 - Chipper
2019 - Rivera
2020 - Jeter

Over one of these years, I think Bagwell may get in. I am for keeping the steroid guys out, but I don't want to repeat the no inductee debacle of 2 years ago. I am not a "big hall" nor "little hall" guy, but I just like to see someone inducted every year.

I would love to go to the induction this summer. The veterans committee voted during the winter meetings. I think Dick Allen and Tony Oliva missed induction by a few votes.

Did you read that book 'I Dont Care If I Ever Get Back' written by the 2 guys who took a cross country MLB parks tour. It came out last year. I read a sample but have not had the desire to read the entire book yet.

ME: Years ago I started a spreadsheet with 2 rows for every year of my life…grade, where I lived, what car I drove, and some major events of the year. Later I added columns for the kids…what team Will was on, etc. I keep it up but moved it to the blog tab. Eventually I saw the need to have a separate tab for each kid. I'd like to think they will eventually read it to look back on their childhood. My parents and sister read it every day and comment about it when we visit. The kids are only interested in what I have to say about them in the Christmas letter I write every year. I only mail it to the people who send us Christmas letters.

Since October I've done a good job at posting to the blog every day. I was worried about the holidays and some of the posts were just pictures, but it worked out ok. Got some ideas I've wanted to research/write about so I've got a few posts stored up, like that MLB trip yesterday. Doubt I'll win a Pulitzer but I'm having fun with it and it doesn't take too much time. This year perhaps I'll post more on Christianity and really make a fool of myself.

Been following a blog called The End Time by a lady who lives near Athens.

Haven't gotten into the NBA or the Hawks bandwagon yet but know I should. Most of my info comes from Lang's tweets. Tomorrow night I'm going to the Tech / Syracuse game with his dad.

Today we had a big Taylor Swift conversation here in the office. One mom is sick of constantly hearing her songs on every radio station. Anna still is a big fan.

"Merit" Stickers?

Question: In the Sugar Bowl the third string Ohio State QB Cardale Jones was making his second start of the season – yet one side of his helmet was completely FULL of buckeye merit stickers. How did he earn so many stickers in such limited playing time?

See Jones above in his first start against Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game, then below with even more stickers in the Sugar Bowl.

Answer: players can earn stickers just sitting on the bench! In fact a player could spend the season in the hospital then dress out for the bowl game with a helmet containing merit stickers. Sounds like a sham to me.

COWBOYS/LIONS: Colin Cowherd may have a point. I missed most all of the second half so I was taking the word of the talking heads. The officials have a tough job and have to be careful and judicious. Many said Dez Bryant should have been penalized for illegally (1) coming off the bench (2) without a helmet (3) to argue. Not sure how often that penalty is called, like it is in the NBA playoffs. Is Bryant even a team captain? The NFL usually doesn’t allow such anarchy. Will be interesting to see if Bryant is fined for his actions. Still thought the NFL should’ve upheld Suh’s one game suspension for twice stepping on Aaron Rodgers.

I do like the Lions (Stafford and Calvin Johnson – NOT Suh. Over the years I have liked the Cowboys but not this incarnation. Not a huge fan of Jerry Jones and Tony Romo and especially Dez Bryant. They are a hot team, so you have to give them that. The Lions had a tough task beating Dallas. They did well in the first half but couldn’t hang on.

WEEKEND: Saturday night M and I drove down to pick up Ceil after midnight (the view from her box above). Didn’t get to bed until after 1:30 am. Bad rain on the drive down, but it let up by the time we got to the CNN Center. Sunday morning I dropped off C at 9:30. Took a different route home on the wet roads downtown. Was on Spring Street looking at the interstate signs when I realized I was about to run a red light. There were no cars in the intersection but I slammed on brakes and slid through the intersection even though my tires were new.

Drove up to Perimeter Mall after stopping for a Hardees omelet biscuit. Noticed the REI parking lot was full and a line wrapped around the building. It was 10 am and the store had just opened. I was going into the store next door but decided to go in REI for their garage sale – up to 70% off on returned items. Huge crowd. I poked around a little but didn’t get anything. Saw five people I knew – brothers Andrew and Nathan and sisters Alyx and Addie and their dad Steve. Back home I folded more laundry. Will and MC arrived and started packing Will’s Jeep.

At 2:30 I left with Matthew, dropping him off downtown and picking up Ceil (her view while waiting on me above). Stopped by Trader Joes on the way home. Watched some of the Cowboys Lions game, homing Detroit could hang on to win. Anna came home and went to bed – she had a total of six hours sleep the previous two night. At 6:30 I made my seventh round trip of the weekend downtown to pick up Matthew. Back home I watched the discussion of the bad calls benefitting the Cowboys. W and MC had gone out to eat and were now watching Jack Reicher. M wanted to watch We Bought a Zoo. Ceil was watching Dontown Abbey on the computer. I went to bed early, but M and the dog kept waking me up. Finally went down and slept on the couch.

This morning W drove to Athens for class. MC went back to Cartersville. M and Anna had school as well.

Beauty or the Beast

Two interesting pictures of Ceil. Above she was in a store dressing room trying something on. Guess she wanted Anna's opinion. Below she was cleaning her mother's house on Christmas morning. With the bunny slippers and pink socks and nightgown and apron and disheveled hair I just had to take the picture. She'll kill me for posting it.

Friday I delivered C downtown at 9 am then headed to Macon. Traffic was light. Grabbed two Egg McMuffins in Hapeville and a nice Columbia PFG fishing shirt on the way. My mom cooked burgers and I visited until 1:30.

Traffic on the way back was terrible, starting in Griffin. I got off in Locust Grove and cut over to the speedway, then up 19/41. Much better. Traffic past the airport and downtown was crawling as well. Took three hours door to door.

Changed clothes and drove up to Forsyth County to pick up Matthew. He'd been staying with a friend since Tuesday. On the way home we picked up two PaPaJohns pizzas. Didn't get home until after 8 pm.

Crashed for a little while. At 11 pm M and and I drove downtown and picked up Ceil at CNN Center just after midnight. On the trip down a police car did a U turn and followed me five miles through East Cobb. Crawled into bed at 1 am.

Saturday morning I cleaned Anna's room, walked Barney, and started a load of clothes before driving Ceil back downtown. On the way home I grabbed a Hardee's biscuit, got a haircut, deposited a check, and shopped at Dollar Tree and four thrift stores. Got a ton of laundry to do.

On the Farm

Some of the pictures Ceil took on Uncle Lennie's farm.

New Years Bowl Notes

Sugar Bowl: the Buckeyes came to play and refused to quit. Both teams made costly turnovers. How many teams have three elite quarterbacks? Not Bama, FSU, or Georgia. But Ohio State sure does. But how did the third string QB get a helmet full of merit stickers after playing in just one game?

Bama was running the ball well and pulled to 34-28, then went back to passing and had to punt. Great Bama punter...at least four punts inside the ten. The Bama D holds and a terrible punt and bounce give the Tide the ball on the 23. Does Bama run? No, and the Sims interception kills a golden opportunity. Sims started the season slowly but shined down the stretch. He picked a bad time to have a bad game. Friday morning the guys on 680 were saying the same thing.

An early sack looked like a safety to more than just me. At midnight there's still ten minutes remaining. No reason for that. The great Alabama pass rush narrowly misses another safety. Urban Meyer disliked the non-roughing call so much that he threw his headset.

Bama was winning the field position battle but running out of chances. OSU QB Jones was taking a beating. Bama DB playing hurt may have had an effect on the 85 yard TD run with 3:24 remaining, pretty much icing the game for Ohio State.

Bama's deep completion sets up a Sims to Cooper TD pass with 1:58 remaining. Great onside kick but an even greater recovery. Inexplicably OSU throws a deep incompletion and is only able to run 25 seconds off the clock. Baja gets the ball back and threatens, but comes up short.

Rose Bowl: Five FSU turnovers and counting. The toughest opposition the Noles faced during their undefeated run by far. Total Duck domination. FSU scored at the end of the first half and on their first possession of the third quarter. They had momentum but then it all fell apart. Georgia Tech would've played a more competitive game.

Rose Bowl records for most points in the game and most points in a half (41). Oregon will be a formidable foe in the national championship game. Wonder what uniforms they'll wear.

Cotton Bowl: I missed the end (nap) but was so glad to hear that the Spartans broke Baylor's hearts. Great clip of the kicker getting his block knocked off (above).

Citrus Bowl: great double hurtling TD run by the white Golden Gopher tight end (above). Great hit given by Missouri QB Maty Mauk (below).

Outback Bowl: a different Wisconsin team than who played Ohio State. Different coach for sure. Or the Buckeyes are tons better than Auburn.

Auburn can't stop Melvin Gordon, but the Badgers can't stop Auburn, who retake the lead with three minutes to go. Did the Tigers score too early? Without a good QB, Wisconsin had to run the ball.

Easy to call a late hit out of bounds but never for the ballcarrier continuing to run after stepping out of bounds just asking a defender to hit him.

Good call by usually bad announcer Matt Millen that the Badger QB made a terrible pass that resulted in a second Auburn interception. Later after incorrectly saying Wisconsin would run on a crucial fourth down play, Millen had to praise the QB for his first down completion.

In OT Gordon takes himself out on third & goal and Wisconsin has to settle for a field goal. Questionable play calling on the Auburn possession loses yardage, and the Auburn kicker just misses a 45 harder - his second straight miss.

NEW YEARS EVE: Went to bed just after midnight. Cleaned upstairs until noon Thursday AM. No plans except to watch football. Maybe get a haircut. Work on eBay. W and MC made pretzel bread.

MC is in a wedding this weekend so Will has that to do. Anna will go to Passion with Emily and Ceil. M is up in Forsyth County with a friend making music. Drew Kelly has been pulling my chain about posting more UGA stuff than GT.

Orange Bowl Notebook

First quarter couldn't have gone much better for Tech, except for the very questionable non-fumble call late in the quarter. QB Justin Thomas seems to be ratcheting his play up to another level.

MSU DB holds the GT receiver all the way down the field then claims he was pushed, making him look even more foolish. On a successful screen pass a MSU lineman clipped but it wasn't called. Tech defense bends but doesn't break, holding the Bulldogs to a field goal. Tech's number 28 makes yet another key play.

Brent Musburger had more personal anecdotes about GT than most announcers due to the access granted leading up to the game. These so-called experts always say that when a team has time to prepare for the option they can shut it down, but Tech's dismal bowl record is more a function of uninspired leadership and poor play from previous GT QBs.

Great Visio commercials featuring Herschel, Bo, Flutie, and Montana. Still hate those Dr Pepper playoff commercials.

In the second quarter the momentum turned. MSU began to drive on offense and stuff GT's option. Johnson called one too many pass plays. Scrambling backward to avoid the rush, Thomas throws an interception. When the MSU RB leads with his helmet, effectively targeting the GT DB, Tech is called for face masking  At least that's what I saw. Still MSU is held to another field goal. 14-13 with five minutes to go.

Jessie Palmer carries the GT banner in the broadcast booth. Thomas passes best when he throws quickly to his primary receiver but now completes a pass to his third option. His diving TD run capped an 82 yard drive with 29 ticks left in the half. 21-13.

Quite unfortunate that MSU was able to pull off the Hail Mary to end the half. Dan Mullen seems like a good coach. He's got a good thing going there in Starkville but you wonder when he will move to a bigger stage. Perhaps he'll wait and replace Saban at Alabama. 21-20 Tech at the half (take away the lucky Hail Mary and field goal off the non-fumble call and Tech leads 21-10).

My favorite Belk Bowl play was the long UGA interception return when the DB reversed field and ran backwards five yards, confusing the tacklers and springing for even more yards. While starting QB Hutson Mason struggled his backup Bryce Ramsey overcame a first pass interception to complete the blowout.

The few first quarter carries by Chubb worried me, but Richt & company were saving the freshman for the second half. Glad he was able to break the bowl record and tie Garrison Hurst with the fourth most yards rushing in a season. The Dawgs will be tough in 2015.

Talk that TCU's Trevor Boykin will be the leading Heisman candidate next year. What about Alabama's Sims, UGA's Nick Chubb, or even Tech's Justin Thomas? Clemson's Deshaun Watson didn't see enough playing time this year so he will be starting over in 2015.

Great third quarter. Loved how Johnson called six straight fullback dive plays. That made Thomas' subsequent keepers all the more effective. A real sign of respect for Mullen to call for an onside kick so early in the fourth quarter. Was key that Tech recovered. By this point Tech's defense had at least three starters out (maybe four) as well as Zenon and Smelter out on offense.

Thomas didn't see an open receiver in the back of the end zone on second & goal but Days rambled in on third down - 49-27 with 11:54 left. Days was dancing but that's still lots of time left. MSU promptly drove down to the ten in less than a minute and knocked another Tech defender out of the game, and converted another first down...but then for at least a third time the Tech D holds. 9:45 left on the clock.

MSU breaks Days' chinstrap. Fans chant ACC! Thomas rips off another nifty run on third and long - pushing Tech's rushing total well over 400 yards. The first chop block penalty of the night equalled those called earlier in the evening against Boise State. Thomas pulls up lame, but only after running five minutes off the clock. Still time for a Bulldog comeback?

Another Tech defender limps off field. Thomas is named MVP with over three minutes remaining. Bulldogs convert on fourth down and score with 2:20 left. 49-34.

GT recovers the onside kick and Thomas returns to run out the clock. Three Days runs secure the first down at 11:47 pm. Happy New Year!