JROD ON A BIKE?

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My Early Present To Tikes

I didn't want to do this, but I just can't keep it in any longer. Tikes, this is your Christmas present from the wifey this year. A-Jo is probably going to be pissed I told you, but she'll just have to get over it. We all know (or so I've heard, never confirmed with my own eyes) Tikes has mad skills on Guitar Hero, so we'll have to wait and see if he can master the accordion in similar fashion. I also hear that Tikes is planning a party with all of Team Awesome invited to battle it out on the old accordion. Should be an epic night.

Does Anyone Else Feel Like This?

Am I the only one who feels like this is what they are doing right now by putting money into their 401K? When this whole financial crisis started, I would occasionaly look at mine to see what the damage was. Now I'm just to scared to even look. I'm sure the losses are in the 10K-20K range as of now. Which doesn't seem like a whole lot, but that's my hard earned cash we're talking about. Not only this, but the market continues to bounce up and down more than Hub's man boobs while he's running down the field in one of his football games. On top of all of this, the company that I work for is now cutting all matching funds to my 401K because of the down turn in the economy. So as it now stands I'll be working until the day I die. Should be sweet.

Maybe P. will have an extra room for me down in 'Zona when retirement rolls around.

What do you say P?

Lady (Ri-Bone) & Gentlemen It's On!

After a great game on Saturday, the Gators will now be playing for all the scones in Scotland. I hope all of you got a chance to watch Alabama vs. Florida, what a game. Both teams played awesome and it could have gone either way. There for a little while in the third quarter I was starting to get nervous. Florida had just been stopped several times in a row, and Alabama seemed to be moving the ball at will. Alabama's running back Coffee was running all over the place. Florida somehow buckled down on D and the offense got rolling again (you can only stop them so many times) and as Emeril would say "Bam, they kicked it up a notch". There was a critical face mask penalty that kept a Florida drive going and they ended up scoring a touchdown. I thought that was huge in this game. After that, the momentum swung Florida's way and they cruised to victory. I was very impressed with Alabama, they gave the Gators all they could handle. It's too bad we couldn't get a match up with them and Texas. Game would be sweet. Instead they get Utah (P. I'm praying for your Utes).
So now it's on to Oklahoma. I think they are a very good team, with an offense as explosive as they come (except for Florida's). I don't think they have faced a defense as good and fast as Florida's is, so I guess we'll see how good they really are. I think there is a pretty big discrepancy between defenses in the SEC and defenses in the Big 12. I have never liked Stoops, so I hope Florida murders them. I hope they show no mercy, even when they're up 30. Just keep piling it on like he does. Florida could have scored 60 on most of their opponents, but Meyer chose to pull the starters. I guess Oklahoma kind of had to with the way the BCS is, but I still hate Stoops. I do like Florida's chances to win the national title. As far as I know Percy Harvin is still questionable, but even if he can't play, the Gator's have proven they can win without him. The worst part is I have to wait until January 8 to see them play.

By the way, Tebow was awesome. Pretty much put the team on his back and carried them. And yes Tikes I know my Dukies lost to Michigan, but it's still early and they'll be fine.

The Table Has Been Set.

I'm happy to report that my beloved Gators did not have a let down this past week. They took care of business by handling Florida State pretty easily (they are an ACC team, honestly) 45-15. The game was played in a quagmire, making it not all that fun to watch, but the Gators looked strong. This victory sets up the game that everyone has been waiting for #4 Florida vs. #1 Alabama. The winner of this game is pretty much guaranteed a spot in the national title game against the winner of the Big 12 title game (i.e. Oklahoma). The Gators did have some bad luck this last game with my boy Percy Harvin injuring his ankle, leaving him questionable for this weeks game. Florida will also be missing two defensive lineman out with knee injuries. Even with these injuries the Gators should be ready to go. Harvin would be missed (hopefully he can play), but Florida has 3-4 other guys that can step in and be effective. This should be a great game, Alabama's defense is as stingy as it comes, and you won't find a more explosive offense than Florida's. The game starts at 2:00 mtn. time on CBS and I would encourage all to watch and enjoy a great game, and hopefully the Gators will come out on top.

One More Until The Big One

Florida just barely squeaked by this week against a tough Citadel team 70-19. I don't know why Urban scheduled this game, but hey whatever. This week the Gators play at Florida State which this year doesn't seem like much, but the Seminoles are 8-3 coming off a strong win against 25th ranked Maryland (if any ACC team can be called "tough" this year, and yes I include the weak cheese Tarheels in that Tikes). I think this will be a closer game than people think. FSU has been up and down all year and always shows up to play against Florida. I still think the Gators will take care of business without any problems, but it might be close early (like the first 5 min.). If business gets taken care of this week it will be for all the scones in Scotland next week against Alabama. I can't wait.... (Yes I know you like Citadel's Uni's Tikes).

My Curse From Above... Or Below...

This past Sunday morning I was blessed with another. No, not a new child or something new and cool. No, I was blessed Sunday with the passing of another kidney stone. By another I mean number 8 or so. After the first two or three I started trying to repress the memories. These have ranged in size anywhere from a couple millimeters to the last couple have been 6-7 mm. Now this may not seem like it is very big, but anyone who has had a kidney stone before knows these are pretty good sized. They say when they get as large as 8 mm they are probably not going to pass on their own. By not on their own I mean the only way is with the assistance of lithotripsy (electronic sound waves used to break them into smaller pieces, I've heard it's painful) or surgery done retrograde (i.e. instrument put up your unit through the bladder and into your ureters to extract the stone). Neither of these options seemed very fun to me so I opted to pound the water and hope for the best. The first of these larger kidney stones took me several months (and numerous UTI's later) to pass. This most recent stone took me only 3-4 weeks, and a UTI for about a week until it passed. Nothing like peeing fire and dreading going to the bathroom for a week to make you appreciate the "normal" functioning of the body (if you've ever had a UTI you know what I'm talking about). And no I have never gone to the doctor for all of this. That costs too much money. I work in healthcare, I know how expensive it is and what they are going to tell me. What am I getting at with all this whining? I don't really know, I just wanted to let all of you know how tough the Preacher really is. God be with those fellow kidney stone producers. I feel your pain brothers and sisters. I feel your pain....

On Our Way...

Another week has past and the Gators just keep getting better. Just like P. I feel like a broken record. I really thought the Gamecocks would give the Gators more fits. Their defense was ranked in the top ten in all of college football, and the Gators come out and hang 56 points on them with the starters not even playing the fourth quarter. If the defense can continue to play at this high of a level, the Gators should be playing for the National title. Alabama is going to be tough, don't get me wrong, but Florida is solid in every facet of the game. Hopefully they won't trip against The Citadel this week. By the way, who in the h@$!* schedules Citadel in the middle of the season. Come on Urban, your a stud, but Citadel! Pretty weak..
Oh, and if any member of Team Awesome has not seen Percy Harvin play, shame on you. Make it a point to see him play. Dude is off the hook. One more thing. Does anybody else hate coaches who sit and rotate QB's every other play like Steve Spurrier does? Even when he was at Florida he did it and it drove me nuts.

Best Ice Cream Ever!

I just wanted to share with all of you one of my new favorite treats. Now I'm not a big dessert guy(obviously), but this stuff is as good as it gets. If you have not yet tried Private Selections Fried Ice Cream flavor, you need to go get some now. It is the most DELISH ice cream ever made. I don't even eat Ice cream that much, but I single-handedly dusted of two pints of this heavenly stuff, by myself, during one movie. So if there is a Smith's (that is where I got it) nearby where you live, I suggest you go pick it up and give it a try. You won't be disappointed!

BCS Championship Game Here We Come... I Hope

It was another great week in college football. Not only because my beloved Florida Gators decimated another foe, but because I am now the Iowa Hawkeyes' newest fan. Somehow they came out and beat the Nittany Lions 24-23 and made my dream of the Gators playing for a national championship closer to a reality. It may have happened down the road at Michigan State, but now I don't have to worry about it. Before I get ahead of myself, the Gators still have some tough games ahead. Next week at South Carolina is no cakewalk, Florida State to end the regular season will be tough(the Noles' are always pumped when they play the Gators), and the SEC title game against Alabama is going to be a battle. I think the Gators are playing as good as anyone in the country, and are going to be tough to beat. They looked on point against Vandy this week with a 42-14 thrashing with the starters getting pulled after the 3rd quarter. Should be an interesting next couple of weeks. I don't even want to think of the the complaining that is going to happen if Oklahoma beats Texas Tech and three teams in the Big 12 South all end up with one loss. Who is going to play Missouri in the Big 12 Championship? The highest BCS ranked team of the three. Good luck BCS!

Eugoogoolizer Bnut

This is an official Eugoogooly for one of my good friend Tikes' favorite authors (I don't even know if Tikes knows he died). Michael Crichton author of books such as: Jurassic Park, Lost World, The Andromeda Strain, Rising Sun, Prey, and many more intelligent and entertaining books, died November 4, 2008 after a private battle with cancer. I usually don't read, but I have read a couple of his novels (Tikes convinced me to read Jurassic Park and The Lost World) and they were very well written. I know this will be a big blow to Tikes and he will probably go into "recluse mode", but he should pull through. With his vast collection of Michael Crichton books, his memory should live on in Tikes' life for a very long time. I just want to let you know that I'm here for you Tikes. And Amanda, you may want to hide all sharp object from your husband for a week or so.

Things Just Keep Getting Better

Wow, what a difference a week can make. Not only does Florida come out and straight up work Georgia, but Texas Tech pulls through and beats Texas. Florida's chances for playing for the national championship keep getting more realistic every week. Florida has been playing better and better every week, and I don't think there is a team in the country that they can't hang with. The defense holds Georgia to 10 points (putting the scrubs in with 10 min. left), including holding Moreno to well under 100 yards. I don't need to say anything about the offense. They are really good right now. Does 49 points against Georgia mean anything to you (with second stringers in with 10 min. to play). Texas Tech still has to play Oklahoma State and Oklahoma and could very well lose one or both of those, while I hope Michigan St. can somehow beat Penn St. If Florida can then win out, including SEC title game against Bama. We're in. Here's hopin....

Out Of Their Minds?

En fuego, out of their heads, luckier than sh*$!, asleep, etc... These are all adjectives that could have described two members of Team Awesome last Thursday. This was the day of the last golf outing with Tikes, Hub, Ri-Bone, and Myself. The plan was simple, Tikes and I would take on Hub and Ri-Bone in a friendly golf match for beverages. Only our team was giving up some serious strokes. The deal was made to give Hub/Ri-Bone either a stroke per hole or a mulligan per hole (their choice) in a scramble/match play format. While it may seem Tikes and I were trying to give away the match, we were confident in our superiority on the golf course (has anyone ever seen these two play?). On the first tee it was evident Tikes/JROD might be in trouble when both Hub and Ri-Bone were both in play (that doesn't happen very often). JROD came through with a birdie by himself on the first hole to match their par collectively and remain all square (they chose a stroke this hole). Tikes had a par of his own on the second hole to keep us even after two holes (mulligan this time). The third hole is where it really got twilight zonish. Not only were Hub and Ri-Bone both in play, but they both striped it down the middle of the fairway. They were quickly back to normal on the next shot when each of them duffed it 20 yards. Tikes and I were unable to capitalize however, as a misclub by myself left us with a tough third shot and a loss of the hole.

Down a stroke going into the par 5 fourth hole we were still confident in our ability to come out on top. Fate was with the two youngsters, however, and they amazingly won this hole as well (courtesy of a free stroke again). Down two and wondering if this complete and utter display of luck would ever end, we trimmed it to only down one after a 300+ drive by JROD and a solid approach by Tikes won us the fifth hole. Down only one hole and coming into the par three sixth hole, we were feeling good about our ascension back to the top. I don't know if Hub did his hometeaching or what, but miraculously he sticks it a foot and a half away (he did miss the putt though..sorry Hub). JROD and Tikes are down two again.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, Ri-Bone and Hub both hit it in the short grass again (repent now everyone, the end is nigh). This is where it starts to get a little foggy for me. I can only handle so much when it comes to the golfing gods giving a little too much to two people. I do know I shanked consecutive shots on the next hole, and was about ready to impail myself with my sand wedge because I was done. Then it occured to Tikes to see if they wanted to go double or nothing on the last hole, and I threw in the no stroke or mulligan clause. Foolishly (or out of mercy), they agreed and Tikes and I squared things up with a par to their bogey.

Although Ri-Bone and Hub were not victorious this day, it was a moral victory and one they can cherish forever. The day they almost beat JROD and Tikes at something.




Official cereal of Hub and Ri-Bone.

Impressive Again

Although it was only Kentucky, The Gators looked extremely tough this week. With Timmy Tebow starting to look like the Tebow of last year, the offense is rolling now. Special Teams was sweet, blocking the first two punt attempts inside Kentucky's 10 yard line and resulting in two quick TD's. The defense was solid only giving up 5 points. If anyone wants to see what real speed is, watch Demps and Rainy with the ball. Dudes are unreal. Unfortunately for Gator fans, Ohio St. was unable to step up and beat Penn St. Leaving the Nittany Lions a virtual cake walk to the national title game. Without some serious help from the Big 12 my Gator's title hopes are hanging by a thread. Nonetheless, I am still as happy as Hub at a Backstreet Boys concert with my beloved Gators. With a tough game against Georgia this week, we'll see if Florida can keep it going.

Where have all the good fries gone?

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but have all the fries at fast food places gone down the tubes? McDonalds used to be the best, but their's have been bad for a while now. Wendy's are alright. Burger King's were my next favorite, but a few weeks ago they changed their's too. I know the culprit of this taste degradation is this new "healthier" oil they are using. I know greasy fries are bad for me and will decrease my life span, but can't I choose for myself. If I want to die of cardiovascular disease it should be my business. Am I all alone on this? Are my taste buds the only ones fine tuned enough to tell the difference?

Greatest Sport Ever!

It is known by most that I love just about any sport known to man. Baseball-check, Basketball-check, Football-check, Golf-check, Tennis-check, Badmitten-check, Pickleball-check, o.k. you get the idea. The one that most of you probably didn't know I love is motocross. Shortly after I was married my brother-in-laws got me into riding motorcycles, and I will never be the same. This sport is one of the most fun and exciting sports to watch or participate in. I follow both the AMA Motocross series and the AMA Supercross series (motocross in stadiums) religiously, and check websites daily for news, highlights, results,etc... I have even participated in several races myself, and have never experienced a bigger rush than being on the starting line with 35 other riders getting ready to do battle on a jump laden, rough motocross track. It was more fun than I can even describe. I know some of you are probably thinking JROD has gone redneck. Well if liking motocross makes me a redneck, then that's exactly what you can call me.

Look out for the Gators....

After a rather lackluster start for the Gators, including a loss to Ole' Miss, it looks as though the Gators are back to their dominant ways after shalacking of #4 LSU 51-21. The offense has been mediocre at best all year, but broke out this week led by my boy Timmy Tebow and Super-human Percy Harvin. Up until this point the Gators have seemed out of sink offensively, trying to spread the ball around to so many talented players has been a struggle for Urban Meyer. It seems for now he has figured it out (I hope). With the Gators running game racking up 265 yards with Jeff Demps (freshman) and Brandon James, this could spell trouble for the rest of the toughest conference in the nation the SEC (only Big 12 can even attempt to argue this). With a little help from some teams in the Big 12, the Gators chance for playing for a national title again just got alot better.

Alexander's Disease?

This morning during a meeting at work, a rare genetic disease was brought to my attention which no doubt hits home to Team Awesome. This rare disease is called Alexander's Disease and is obviously named after Team Awesome's youngest contributor. "Alexander's disease is a slowly progressing and fatal neurodegenerative disease. It is a very rare disorder which results from a genetic mutation and mostly affects infants and children, causing developmental delay and changes in physical characteristics." Clinical features include: "Delays in development of some physical, psychological and behavioral skills, progressive enlargement of the head (macrocephaly), seizures, spasticity, in some cases also hydrocephalus, dementia, clumsy movements." Is this not our very Ri-Bone himself? I especially enjoy "delays in development (i.e. he's a little slow), macrocephaly (big head), spasticity, and clumsy movements". I realize Ri-Bone and his parents have probobly been keeping this information to themselves, but I thought it my duty to share this with all of you so you might spend sufficient time(or rejoice in this fact) with Ri-Bone before it is too late. "The prognosis is generally poor. With early onset, death usually occurs within 10 years after the onset of symptoms. Usually, the later the disease occurs, the slower its course is." Peace Out!

Lets Try That Again....

In breaking news, JROD has officially arrived on the scene in the blungle to take Team Awesome to levels never before seen. With his quick wit and humor, not to mention supreme skills on the golf course , he will no doubt make a major impact in the blogging world from the get go. Highly touted as the next "BIG THING" in the farm leagues of blogging, many teams were drooling over the young prospect. However, in an unexpected move he signed with Team Awesome earlier this week. When asked to comment JROD replied "I had some other options for more dough, but I decided to help a childhood friend out and come here. I'm pretty much the Lebron James of blogging and expect to strap up and put this team on my shoulders." We'll be following this young rookie and his progress and keep you posted.

I guess I'm going to give this blogging thing a go , and officially join Team Awesome. My birth into the blogging world has come. After much reluctance I have heeded Tikes call to repentance, and pledge to do my best to represent Team Awesome. I'm not the most creative of chaps, but I'll do my best. Give me a math problem or something scientific and I'll run with it, but English and writing is not my strength. I guess this will just give me a chance to become more well rounded as an individual AND have a little fun laying down my patented smack. So I guess as my bro.-in-law Epp always likes to say "JROD is in, now let the fun begin" (from the movie Can't Buy Me Love for those who didn't know). Sorry no photos, I'm still figuring this out.