The Man of the House

One of my earliest memories of my childhood - and I mean early, my sister was not even born yet - was one where my Dad was packing for a business trip.  He kneeled down to me, looked me in the eye, and told me that he would be gone a couple of days.  As such, it was my job to be "the man of the house" until he got home.

I remember when he said it how it struck me.  What a daunting yet important responsibility for me.  Even at the age of 4 or 5, I desperately wanted to be up for the task, and to be counted upon to take care of things for the family.

Now I know Dad had no intention of putting a little kid in charge of things.  His only intention was to put something into my head which might make me behave for a couple of hours and provide my Mom with some much needed relief.  But that fleeting little conversation has stuck with me for over 40 years now.  I still think about it more than I'd like to admit.

Perhaps that's the reason that for my entire life, everything I've ever truly cared about I ended up leading.  Perhaps that's the kernel that eats at me to do a little more or work a little harder.  Perhaps that's the thing that has yoked me to always being "responsible." 

Maybe, ever since my Dad tasked me with it, I'm just always trying to be "the man of the house."

Hockey Day in Minnesota

Man, this makes me homesick...

Bad Lip Reading - The NFL Version

The guys that make these are absolute geniuses.

"Orange peanut!"

   

Minnesota Wild on Fox Sports Wisconsin

The last two years, Fox Sports Wisconsin has picked up some Minnesota Wild NHL games.  Between the nationally televised games in which the Wild played, plus the handful that FSW picked up, I was able to see about a third of the team's total games.

With the Wild's significant upgrade in talent for this season, I was not going to be content to just a third of the games.  Hence, I stated to look at the NHL Game Center Live; a way to watch out of market games through the NHL.  It is the same type of service that I use to follow the Twins through the MLB service.

But then the team published it's media schedule, and I was able to see how many games FSW would pick up.  Yahtzee!

This is a big year, as with a short schedule, anything can happen.  And with the new talent the team has acquired, along with a return to health of some important players, the Wild has a chance to do some good things.

And the beauty of it all is that I'll be watching most of it from the comfort of my basement recliner here in Green Bay.

Go Wild!

Wrong About Gopher Basketball

Eight days ago I wrote about how this year's Gopher basketball team was different.

Boy, was I wrong.

Since then, the team has suffered two humiliating losses to ranked teams; one at Indiana and one last night in the Barn against Michigan.  In both games the Gophers were out-disciplined, out-shot, out-hustled, and out-classed.

This team, while deep, does not have the talent level to take on top 10 programs while coasting.  It can't take nights off.  But that is exactly what they've done the last two games.

Coach Tubby Smith has a big task ahead of him in terms of getting this team's attention and stopping its sloppy, uninspired play.  Those last two losses were brutal, and the guys likely need to feel how brutal via some heavy doses of cardio via running baselines ala Herb Brooks.

This program is a hot mess right now.  Smith needs to fix it immediately, because his NCAA seed number is falling by the day.

Thankful

I personally know four people right now that are battling cancer - two friends, a buddy's son, and another buddy's daughter.  One of those buddies just about died two months ago after heart surgery.  Another childhood buddy took his own life two weeks ago.

All of this makes the crosses I bear trivial in comparison.  I pray for those above, as well as all others that have a much more difficult road than I.  

And I also offer a prayer of thanksgiving that my lot is the way that it is, and that I maintain my perspective and do what I can to help.

Mills Fleet Farm's Gun Video

A pretty darned effective open letter to legislators.

This one is long, but worth it:

Gravity Rock Sculpture

This is amazing...