AU Wins National Championship

Wouldn't this be funny if it happens. GOlf Digest would have been right all along

AU Wins National Championship!!

Catching Up

Let's enter the speed round and hit some topics from the last couple of weeks...

SABAN TO BAMA
I honestly didn't think he'd do it. I couldn't understand what he saw in the job, with all the meddling power brokers (their crew is worse than Lowder in my humble opinion) and lack of talent on campus right now. I also didn't think he'd just quit on the Dolphins so easily. Spurrier I could understand. He didn't like the long hours it takes to succeed in the NFL. He wasn't a workaholic in college and you knew he wasn't going to magically turn into one in DC. Saban on the other hand, was a control freak at LSU. He is known for staying at the office all hours of the night, going over film dozens of times. That seemed suited for the NFL. So I was wrong. He wanted the job and he's got it...and all the crap that comes with it. It won't be long until he comes up against some of the shadowy powers and it'll be interesting to see what happens. It's also going to be interesting to see how his recruiting will go. There are already a couple of stories surfacing about him trying to strong arm some in state recruits...one in Mobile in particular who is committed to LSU. He made some comments to the player and dad (at the high school because they refused his request to come to campus for an official visit) about how Miles was only winning because he had Saban's recruits. I wonder if the player asked how come Miles could have back to back double digit win seasons with Saban's players and Saban couldn't do it with his own players? Anyway...Saban is a good football coach. He's going to make Alabama better than they were with Shula. He's not going to make them into a team that's going to Atlanta every year. LSU and Auburn are too far ahead of them right now. I give him four seasons at the Crapstone...five tops. I think he'll win one SEC title and no BCS championships. He'll leave Bama, either for the NFL or a better college job. And make no mistake, no matter what the Bammers tell you, there are better college jobs out there.

KEVCOCK AS A DAD
Saw the pics he sent out. Good stuff. I'm ready to join this club. Well, I'm enjoying my last few months of sleeping through the night and not getting puked on twice a day, but I'm pretty darn excited about meeting the little monkey that's messing with the wife's emotions right now.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Larry, I concur. We went and saw it a few months ago and we both liked it a lot. Steve Carrell is one funny dude. And he can act too. You can't see Michael Scott as a Proust scholar, but his character in the movie makes you believe it. Also, the 40 Year Old Virgin is the shiznit as well. I'll never be able to listen to Michael McDonald without breaking out in laughter.

NIGHTAT THE MUSEUM
Very appropriate. Great evidence for you Larry. I haven't seen the movie but I can only imagine how much it plays into your theory.

HENLEY AS A FOREST FIRE FIGHTER
Hands says only you can prevent forest fires! I hope he's able to get what he wants but I want him to stay safe as well.

TROJANS BUSTING OUT
I'm too slow...I was going to write that your boys would break though soon and sure enough, Coach D brought home a victory. Way to go Coach.

SABAN REDUX
Saban is a liar. But he didn't have much of a choice during the season. He made a mistake by saying "I'm not going to be the coach at Alabama". He should have just said, "I'm the coach of the Dolphins and that's all I care about now". After the season was over and he took the Bama job, he could have said something like, "the college game is really where I wanted to be. Yes, the Alabama job intrigued me when they approached me but I was focused completely on the job here with the Dolphins until the season was over". Instead he played the denial game when everyone knew it wasn't over. He played it wrong and came out looking like a tool. I agree with James that he won't be in Tuscalooser for the long haul. I disagree with James that Arky will be solid next year. I hate it for McFadden but they won't have any passing game. Everyone will absolutely stack the line and McFadden is going to have to work like a fiend just to get decent yardage. He won't tear it up like he did this year. Things in Fayettenam are falling apart fast. Hard to believe it was just over a month ago that they were in the top five and riding a ten game winning streak. Almost everyone picked them to beat Florida in the SEC Championship game. That looks pretty funny now.

BECKHAM
I think it was a great move for MLS. Beckham is still a big enough name in international soccer that this will garner attention for the league in the international press. He's a big enough pop culture name (even here in America) to get the casual observer interested. All Galaxy games will get their highlights on SportsCenter now. Their jerseys will be all over the place. There will be all kinds of free PR for the league. The real question is how will they follow this up? Can the New York team pull off a purchase like Renaldo? Can they convince younger players who aren't in their prime yet to come here? They still have to develop young talent. And I'm afraid it's going to have to come from overseas. We are still a few generations from having a large percentage of the top tier of athletes focusing their skills on soccer. Let's face it - there is just more money in football, basketball, and baseball. And I don't see that changing. Sorry.

JAMES' BURGER KING STORY
How true, how true. The high school I've been subbing at has a rather large Hispanic population. There's a lot of kids that can barely speak a word of English. Also, every time I give a quiz or test the kids ask me how to do the problems. I just kind of laugh and say, "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you how to do the questions. That's why it's a test. Didn't you study?" I've stopped being surprised when the honest answer is "no".

MADISON MARATHON
I think you will definitely be the man if you run that bad boy. I'd love to join you in the training, but I'm struggling to run three miles at a time right now. I sprained my ankle Thanksgiving day and it still doesn't feel right yet. It takes me three to five minutes of slight limp/running before I start running close to normal. I would go to the doctor but I really can't afford it right now and there's no way I could get around in a boot, driving the five speed in Atlanta traffic, sometimes 20-25 miles one way to a school. I know, excuses are like belly buttons and a-holes, but this one is kinda valid. Besides, I've been telling myself that if I run one it will be the Rocket City. Larry, when are you thinking about running that one?

AUBURN HOOPS
I really wish I'd seen the game Tuesday night. I also think it's been replayed on ESPNU a couple of times already. Coupled with the win over UT last week and dare I say a possible upset of number 1 Florida this weekend, the Tigers are definitely on the rise. I am really excited about the progress made on the new arena. I truly believe that if we get the arena done on time and get Lebo the resources he needs (and deserves) he could stick around and build an amazing legacy on the Plains. I'm just afraid that as soon as he gets us into the tourney two to three times in a row someone in the ACC will come and offer him two to three times what we pay him. Only time will tell. But I'm excited about what he's got going on right now.

I guess that's it for now. I'll try and be more of a regular contributor in the coming weeks.

FOIL

Ah yes, today we reviewed FOIL in both Calc and Trig. It's the perfect time to break out the t-shirt that Ryan gave me. I received comments such as, "that is the coolest shirt ever", to "where did he get that, at the math geek store?"











Speaking of Trig, at the end of the semester there were 17 students, now there are only 10. Hmmmm, is it me? I'll take some of the blame, but if you aren't willing to spend 30-45 minutes outside of class working on homework, then I'm sorry, it is going to be a hard class.

War Eagle

So I had 3 different kids come up to me today and say, hey nice win. I was a little unsure what they were referring to, only to have them tell me that Auburn spanked #12 Alabama. Wow, I guess I should start keeping up with AU hoops.

Let's be honest

Raise your hand if you wish this was the view out your front window.




















What, no hands up?? C'mon it's great for your back. It is kind of fun to drive in if your only going around town and you have 4-wheel drive.

Hard to believe, but the first semester ended on Friday. We have report and planning day tomorrow, also known as, try and avoid other staff so you can get work done day.

What's up fellas??

Hey, I'm going to write more tonight and address some of the recent posts (I can't believe it's been so long since I've written anything on here!). But for now, I give you the greatest commercial in the history of mankind...and it's from the Great State of Alabama! Behold...the Flea Market Montgomery...it's just like...just like...a mini...mall!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3oHpup-pk

Do you believe in miracles?

After an 0 - 6 start the Freshman Men of Troy got their first win tonight. I'd love to say that it was my motivational pre-game speech, but I can't. We actually had one of our starters come up to me about 8 minutes before tip, holding his nose with blood all over his jersey. Apparently the ball hit him in the face and now he was gushing blood. So I ran around frantically trying to find someone to help stop the bleeding...literally. Anyway, he eventually jammed some gauze up in his nose and came back to play like a beast. Sure winning isn't everything, but it makes it a lot more fun.

Old man winter

Well, I thought, just maybe we'd get through winter without any major snow. Wrong. We finally got a fairly significant amount of snow. Enough to be a pain in the rear, but not enough to warrant a snow day. Needless to say my back is screaming from shoveling.

It looks like I'm going start playing some soccer. One of Jen's classmates is putting together a team and I told them I was interested. I'm a little nervous since the last time I walked off an indoor soccer field it was under two friends arms on my way to ACL reconstruction. Oh well, I guess it's time to give it a go.

No plans for May 27?? I'm very seriously considering signing up for the Madison marathon. I think it would be an excellent reason to have boys weekend in Madison. It's Memorial Day weekend, so its even a long weekend. C'mon, who's with me?

For the mathematically challenged

I got this as an email and thought it quite funny and unfortunately accurate.

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents from f my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help . While he tried to explain the transaction
to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this?

Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

2. Teaching Math In 1960: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980: A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990: A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of $20.What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class discussion after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers.)

6. Teaching Math In 2006: Un hachero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

I actually did have a student last year who did not speak a word of English. It made it very tough for him to take notes.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me as a teacher. First, my trig class had a test and I had given them two class periods to prepare, study, ask questions, etc. What did they do most of the time? Play on their calculator, talk about the weekend, or just gossip in general. When the bell rang at the conclusion of the test yesterday, all I saw were looks of shock. When I glanced through the test, no one had finished, as a matter of fact, most had 3-5 problems left. They were mad, and to be honest, I was a little glad. We tend to spoon feed these kids more than we should. I haven't quite decided how I'm going to handle the grading.

So then later that day, during an 8th grade test, a girl calls me over and asks, "for #1 when it says to list the factors, does that mean to list the numbers that go into this number?". I respond, "I can't tell you that, but it is on your study guide that you were supposed to complete and I'm letting you use on the test." She then proceeds to burst into tears, put her head down on the desk and I'm unable to talk with her for about 10 minutes. Nice.

Bend it like Beckham

While I think it's pretty cool that Beckham is bringing his celebrity status to the MLS and I believe that initially people will tune in to see the show, but ultimately people will realize that it's still soccer. I'm afraid that he's setting a precedence for money that the league will not be able to afford. I still say that if you are a great young athlete, soccer is going to be about 4 or 5 on your list of sports to pursue. Think about some of the contracts that legitimate stiffs are getting in the NBA and MLB. It just ain't happening in the MLS. I believe we have to build the program from within and have more success on the world level. How long have people been saying that soccer is on the verge of exploding? Sure, tons of kids play soccer, but that's because it's an active sport that pretty much anyone can play when you're young. Just stand off to the side and watch the mob move up and down the field.

Am I being pessimistic?

Friends, Romans, Countrymen lend me your ear

Wow, you're right Larry. Things have gone dormant on the Vegas blog. I have been checking it, but just haven't had much to say lately. I've been in a real funk after the Christmas break. Basketball has been rough this year. My team (freshman) are 0 - 6 and the varsity are 1 - 8. It's amazing how the talent changes from year to year at small schools. Still, we've got 7 games left to turn it on.

Saban comments...he's a liar and I wouldn't let my 18 year old spend 4 years under his direction. Of course, his track record doesn't indicate that he'll be there 4 years. Still, the SEC West is going to be great next year. LSU is preseason top5, Arky should be solid again, we'll compete and we'll see what happens with Bama. I think he's in for a rude awakening. He doesn't know pressure until he loses on the Plains next year.

We had a great New Year's celebration in Madison. A group of friends gathered to celebrate the upcoming birth of baby Luedke, then we rocked the house until after midnight. Ok, it was pretty low key with no good stories to tell Ryan's son one day, but it was still fun.

I tried to update the blog, but it said that all owners have to participate, so maybe there is something you guys can do when you go to the main blogger page. I don't know what all it will do, but maybe one day I'll play with it.

No comments ????

Where have we all gone?

Boner, any commentary on Saban? Or Petrino to the Falcons (Almost a bigger shock to me than Saban to Bama)? I now think Bama will be competitive again pretty quickly, which is good in the national media sense. The Iron Bowl will not be a laughable hindsight in the national scene any more if we are both 10 win teams. I know, they won't be 10 wins for a few years, but I but they get there. Saban is a pretty good recruiter.

Tell us about the new house.

Oh yeah, Kevin and Angie had their baby. Julian Michael Lowe was born on December 26, 2006 (tax break). 8lbs, 3ozs and 19 inches long. Mom, Dad, and Julian are doing well.

Little Miss Sunshine is a great movie.

Ben Stiller's name in A Night In The Museum is Larry. Exhibit P in my trial.

Eveytime the Weatherman talks about El Nino I wait for them to say, "that's Spanish for The Nino"

I had a good time hanging out with Henley over the Holidays. The boy is doing well and will graduate next December. He wants to jump into the middle of Forest Fires and fight his way out.

That's all that comes to mind right now.