The NCAA needs to get a clue

There has been an awful lot of well deserved grumbling about the FBS this year. What I never hear in any of these is a shout out to the NCAA to make a change in their rules for eligibility for a bowl/championship. Why should a team like Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Rutgers, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech or Wisconsin, all of which have open games on their schedule, be penalized/rewarded by a loss/win over a FCS team? It's stupid and it's elitist. For crying out loud, we're ranked at #34! The Appalachian State Rule needs to be more comprehensive. If it were maybe we could fill up our schedule and the nation would see some fine football.

I am forced to opt for basketball

I thought I was going to be in a quandary tomorrow. Should I watch and record (because I don't know how to watch one thing and record another) the ASU v Chattanooga basketball game or watch and record the senior bowl game in hopes of seeing Dexter Jackson impress the NFL scouts? It turns out there is no decision to be made because I don't get the NFL Network. Poor Dexter. He will have so much going against him...I can't watch and he doesn't get to wear his number. Why should he have to give up #2 and wear #19? He is, after all, faster than those guys from Houston and 'Bama who ARE wearing #2. Anywho, I imagine Dexter will do just fine without me. I hope I will get to see the Mountaineers take their 8th straight win on the hardwood.
It looks like the state's other black and gold will have a staff shakeup. WFU assistant Jeff Mullen decided he wanted to be a Mountaineer of a different flavor. I feel certain Coach Grobe will find a worthy replacement. What I don't understand is why three assistants have now left.

My new best friend Brandon

I received 2 DVDs in the mail today. My man Brandon , who lives in Japan, sent me the Michigan game and the 2006 championship game. He wants me to send him a certain brand of licorice in return. No, I'm not kidding.

Reminder: Having your house painted is painful

I have lived in my townhouse for almost 12 years and I have never had the interior repainted until now. Call me cheap, call me lazy.

My painters showed up today to do a few "preliminary things". I retreated to the basement so they could work. When I came back upstairs 2 hours later I was faced with the stark reminder of the exact reason I HATE having to go through this process. Here's all my living room stuff shoved into the center of the room. And yuck - you should see the dust bunnies!

Do you have things that you just absolutely hate having to spend your money on? Here's my top 5 list:

1. Homeowners Association Dues
2. New appliances (fridge, ac/heating, washer/dryer)
3. New mattress
4. Car repairs
5. Taxes

NFC Championship Game

It's difficult, at best, for me to embrace professional football. However I am trying really hard. Our own Jason Hunter is the lone Mountaineer and SoCon representative playing in the NFC Championship.

I'm all about the Packers tonight!

I think I will have reached true fan hood when I can get equally excited about players with high profile positions (quarterback/Armanti, safety/Corey, wide receiver/Dexter) as I can with the "blue collar" positions (defensive end and special teams/Jason Hunter.)

Atlanta Homeless, cont...

After a day of dealing with too many Persians at the Atlanta Rug Market, my co-worker and I are standing outside the downtown Ritz-Carlton when a gentleman (and I use that term loosely) approaches... "Ladies. Might I recite one of Dr King's speeches to you and in return you will give me some money? I am hungry."
Once again, I recognize that the homeless in Atlanta want to "work" for your donations. Not only do they want to "work", they are acutely aware of holidays.

Sucka! A Tale Of Two Cities

I'm not sure why but I evidently have this tattooed on my forehead, the SUCKA part that is. However, it's only visible to people who want something from me.
Last night I made the mistake of going to the ABC Store in the hood. There was a man standing outside the door asking for money. I thought I was being crafty by blocking his access to me through an unsuspecting big guy leaving the store.
I get in the store and start feeling guilty. Here I am buying booze and this poor man is probably homeless and some pocket change might make a big difference in his day. Shame on me, shame on me! I decided I would scoop up all the change in my purse and give it to him. That made me feel better, like I was doing the right thing. After all, he is just like me in all the important ways...He is also a child of God and probably the only thing that separates us is a few mistakes in life.
On my way to the counter, I see said man AHEAD of me buying a mini bottle of something and paying for it with quarters and dimes and nickels. After I check out and exit the store there he is. "Miss, I am a homeless individual and sure could use your change." What I wanted to say..."Hell Frigin NO! I already pay for your sorry ass welfare! Go get a job and pay taxes and become a productive member of this society and then maybe we'll talk. You can start by checking in at The Samaritan Inn or The Rescue Mission where they will give you some food and a clean bed." Of course I took the weenie way out. "Sorry I don't have any." I added an apologetic smile and shoulder shrug to accentuate this. Go ahead and call me a wus. I deserve it.
I couldn't help but contrast this with my recent experience in Atlanta.
On my first night there I didn't have a client dinner (Hooray!) and I wanted a sandwich or something light to eat. I find out where the closest deli is located and head out of the hotel. I'm maybe 50 feet from the door when this man approaches me. He wants to walk me to the deli because he doesn't want anybody to mess with me (OK, what is HE doing?) and to make sure I don't get lost (it's a block and 1/2 away!). His name is Derrick and he's my new friend.
Derrick lives at the homeless shelter where he was headed for supper (doesn't want me to buy him anything to eat) and he has just gotten a job at the Georgia World Congress Center (he pronounces it Jaw-ja Werl Con-ress Cenna). He waits while I get my food, although I have already "tipped" him, because he doesn't think I need to walk back by myself. Derrick really IS my friend. At least he offered a service, albeit an unnecessary one, for his money. You have to admire that.

Yeah, I can run pretty fast. Put me in coach.

Dexter sports his OLD GOLD pants in Wednesday's practice. Fellow So Con star Jerome Felton of Furman is looking good.

Dexter, Dexter He's Our Man

Here's a photo from www.collegefootball.rivals.com/ of our man Dexter Jackson in Monday's East West Shrine Bowl practice. They reported " On the first day of practice, he was one of the fastest players."

For all interested, the game will air on ESPN2 at 1:00am Sunday 01/20/08. I'll have to figure out the new dvr to catch this. Yikes!

The youngsters

According to the W-S Journal, we signed two new ones.

The dude magnet

About a month after our big win at Michigan I had to go to various spots in Florida to attend a trade show, visit clients, etc... As I was still beaming with pride over our conquest, I decided that all of my after work hours attire would consist solely of Appalachian State gear. I wanted to conduct an experiment of sorts. I wanted to know how many people would comment, how many people would comment positively or negatively and how many people would say Appa-Lay-Chian State.
My first two nights I was in South Beach at a hotel that was way too hip for me and I was probably the oldest human being on the property. This didn't seem to matter because as I crossed the lobby a couple of beefy boys wanted to ask me if I saw the Michigan game. Ummm, I was there. They had instant respect and awe. But BLAST these boys could be my children.
The third night I was in Orlando at the Sea World Hilton, where I was of median age, and Shamu asked me if I could get him an Armanti Edwards autograph. OK, not really. I was approached by a husband and wife team. The hubs told me they were Ohio State grads and they just LOVE Appalachian State. OK, well that's wonderful but you are married.
Night number four I am in Boca Raton at yet another Hilton where I am the youngest hotel guest. This great-grandfatherly ex jock looking gentleman eagerly approaches me and wants to know if I went to AppaLayChain State. I didn't have the heart to correct him so I simply answered, "Yes I did." He told me that I should be proud to wear that shirt and I reminded him that I was proud to wear it long before September 1.
Too young, taken or too old. That's ok. It's nice to know that ASU finally commands recognition.

Number 34 in the Nation

I guess we'll take it. One has to wonder though, if we were ranked in the AP Top 25 would WFU, ECU, NC State or UNC step up and give us a game? I'm thinking they would NOT but maybe Ohio State, USC or Hawaii would. Scratch Hawaii, they like easy schedules.

http://www.goasu.com/article/11424/

Promise: I will learn how to post links in a proper fashion once I get back from my winter travels.

Top 4 - not bad for a Southern Conference Team

Appalachian State University placed in the top four of the" Pontiac Game Changing Performances" for the 2007 college football season with the Corey Lynch block at Michigan!

Traveling is a dirty business

I will be going to Atlanta on Wednesday for work. Take a look at this and you will know why I'm taking a jumbo tube of Clorox wipes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3OWE2Lx0dk

Why did it have to end?

For several weeks now I have been bemoaning the fact that football season is over. I tried to console myself by going to the Meineke Bowl in Charlotte to watch the Deacs (helped a little but ended up being depressing because, well, you know) and by watching some of the other bowls (no help what-so-ever). So I had this bright idea that I would google around and see if I could get recordings of any of our 2007 games to extend the season sort of. Of course I have NONE because I don't know how to work the timer feature on my dvr. Well lo and behold I found this guy who will trade out recorded games! Oops. I have nothing to trade. What do you think I did all weekend and I'll be doing tonight...sitting in front of the TV recording games. I have emailed "Brandon" at http://www.myfootballdvds.com/ and have high hopes that he wants to trade. Can you see it? I have this image of Brandon...he's a 14 year old super fan with a ton of ingenuity and a boat load of audio/video equipment. Or maybe he's a 20 something hey big guy who has the same qualities. Whatever. I'll let you know how it works out.

The good news...almost a month after our season ended the Mountaineers continue to be in the news. Check out these articles:

http://collegesportingnews.com/article.asp?articleid=89669

http://sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/indexpic.htm

Getting the show on the road

For some reason I think an initial blog post should be like a preface to a great work of literature or a libretto of a beautiful opera. Well guess what...you will not find that here. I have started this blog to, well, keep up with the Joneses. I have several friends with blogs and I'm feeling the peer pressure.

I'm thinking that I will mostly write about ASU football but other things might crawl in.

I know a lot of Appalachian football fans have their collective panties in a wad because Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe has gone on record stating he does NOT want to play the Mountaineers. I'm bummed about his insistence but I can't find any fault with him for it. Granted I am a bit prejudiced with Wake being my number 2 team, but you have to give Coach Grobe credit for being honest about it. To my knowledge no other ACC coach will even address reasons for not playing us.

Take a look at Lenox Rawling's column in today's Winston-Salem Journal. http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_ColumnistArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354101767&path=!sports!lenoxrawlings!&s=1037645509484
This is a great article about the lame BCS, but my favorite part is the Grobe quote talking about Armanti He's So Awesome Edwards..."You watch that kid play, and he does both so well that I'd be hard pressed to name someone who does it better. I'm not sure he isn't the best quarterback in the country." Oh, my second favorite part is Mr. Rawlings response to Grobe's statement that he wouldn't be too smart if he scheduled Appalachian State.