Back to school, and this time, I'm jumping right in.

Well, I'm a second-semester freshman now. I had my first day of classes (and it was a full day) today, so the semester's already off to a rolling start. In 26 hours back, I've already

• Watched football with some great friends.
• Eaten three cafeteria meals.
• Reconnected with many, many people.
• Unpacked, completely.
• Made a CD exchange.
• Participated in a Rave.
• Lent a book.
• Attended three classes.
• Consumed copious amounts of caffeinated beverages.
• Requested three transcripts
• Purchased two books
• Prioritized.

I'm really excited about that last one. I've got a list going of things I need to do today (Should be headed to dinner in about ten minutes, so I've gotta hurry up writing this blog entry), and a list of "To Do" things in my free time. I'm hoping I can keep this up past day one, but a start is better than I've done in past semesters, both of college and high school (Middle and elementary schools too, for that matter).

Today started with a 7:50-ish wake up call. After showering, I found myself eating breakfast in the caf for the first time since September, and made it with ample time to spare to my CA class. I think I'm going to find it much less challenging than my last attempt at CA 102. My teacher is one of those that will sap up every last second of class time, though. Being a 9:15er, that will be a little tough for me. But I'll deal with it. After about a 75-minute break, I found myself right back in the same classroom for CP. It'll take another class to get a good feel for the class, but I like the literature we're going to be reading. After lunch, I got a really great price on one of my CP books, and comparison shopped for several others. Then for the 3:00 class. Ugh. But it's JMC, and it's my best bet for something so late. I shudder to think about CA at 3. Or CA at anytime for that matter, but I digress.

Anyway, the primary reason I'm writing this blog this afternoon is that one of my primary assignments in my JMC class is: writing a blog! Right up my alley, right? Chances are it won't be located here, but I might just use this one as much or more frequently from now on. I'll keep all six of you that might ever read this (if you are one of the lucky few, do leave a comment and let me know what's up with you! Or, have an idea of what I should blog about? Tell me!) posted as to where you might find this new, professional-like blog once it is created.

Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the big sports news of the day (Other than Jay "Ouch, that really hurt" Cutler), and that is Carson Palmer wanting out of Cincinnati. Hey, the Titans are looking for a new QB. One stipulation, Carson, you gotta switch your number back to the 3 you wore at USC (Incidentally, that's where Coach Fisher played his college ball, if you'll remember). Ain't nobody gonna take Air McNair's number. That's sacred. Well, football sacred at least.

Lastly, on the terrorist attacks in Moscow today, be in prayer for the family of those affected, and the Russian government as they try to deal with an unspeakable tragedy.

Well, that's it. I'll keep you posted on the new blog, and, in case you were the wondering, I'm pulling for the Packers to win the Super Bowl, although I have a feeling I'll be disappointed. Sorely disappointed.

-c

Instant Reaction: VY OUT at Tennessee

Well, this evening, Titans owner Bud Adams announced that Vince Young would not be returning to play quarterback for the Tennessee Titans in 2011, should there be NFL football next year. So, this poses several questions. First, what happens to Vince? Second, what happens to Jeff Fisher? Third, what happens to the Titans QB position? These answers and more, right now.

Now that everyone knows the Titans are getting rid of VY, it really does give Vince a leg up on the so-called "process", in that he more or less will be able to determine his value, and go to the highest bidder, so to speak. This means, if he or his agent think that there's a team willing to spend money, instead of a player or a draft pick or two, for him, it's going to be tough to trade Young away. Something tells me he's going to try to keep the Titans organization from getting anything for him if he sees free agency as a feasible possibility. As a Titans fan, I would enjoy if we could trade him to a team like Denver or Philadelphia for either of their respective backups. I'd even be satisfied if we could get some middle-round draft picks, or even a pick or two for the 2012 draft, from any team interested. As a realist, I don't know if it will work out best for the Titans. I do hold onto the thought, though, that Vince proved himself this year to not be the best leader, and still had to mature a lot. Other teams will look at that one of two ways: either he's not equipped to be on their team, or it was just an environment, and it's worth a player or a couple of draft picks to give Vince a second chance. Here are the top three places I see VY:

1. San Francisco--It seems to me that they have the most to gain from picking up a guy like Vince Young. The Niners will be starting over with coaching, and I daresay they'll be getting rid of both Alex and Troy Smith. At the very least, San Fran will give Vince a shot at earning the starting job. Plus, it wouldn't be a horrible situation if they trade the Titans one of the Smiths (preferably for me, Troy) for Vince.

2. Miami--Maybe Vince can follow the footsteps of LeBron James and take his talents to South Beach. Perhaps he'll be appreciated by a team that has a little bit of a question where the quarterback position is concerned. Hey, I wouldn't complain if I was throwing the ball to Brandon Marshall fifteen times a game...

3. Arizona--Like San Francisco, the 5-11 Cardinals were merely a couple of wins away from earning the NFC West's playoff bid. They drafted Matt Leinart the same year the Titans drafted Young, maybe the Cards were hoping VY would fall in their laps that year...now's a great time to take a chance on him. If Vince was traded, I definitely would rather get draft picks...much better than a guy that takes this s--t too serious.

Next, whatever will happen to Jeff Fisher? I think it is in everyone's best interest that now that Vince is out of the way, Bud Adams lets Coach Fisher run out his contract. He's got one more year; if the Titans have a great season, re-sign the man. If the season's not-so-great, the contract's up, Jeff and the Titans go their separate ways, and there aren't very hard feelings. My only concern is that Fisher will let it get to his head that he's coaching for a new contract, and that has the possibility of more conservative play-calling in certain situations where more aggressive tactics might be needed. But I sincerely think that the Titans should give Fisher at least one more year now that the VY situation is behind us. Quite honestly, I don't know who would be a good replacement should the team get rid of Jeff now, so that's an added incentive to keep him on for another year.

Now the Titans will more than likely be looking for a quarterback going forward. I say, definitely keep Rusty Smith on, and have him work for a possible starting job, but bring in a 5- or 6-year veteran QB that hasn't necessarily started a lot, but is a good talent, to compete with Rusty for the job. I'd like to see either Troy Smith (2006 Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State, formerly of Baltimore and currently with San Francisco), Kevin Kolb (benched for Mike Vick in Philadelphia), or Kyle Orton (the seasoned Purdue alum tossed around from Chicago to Denver, most recently benched for Timmy T) brought in for that purpose. I would keep Kerry Collins on in an advisory sort of role, maybe do some player-coaching if he's ok with it. The other option is to use that eighth pick in the draft and try to get another Quarterback of the Future. I've rethought my previous blog, and I'm not so sure the Panthers will want to draft a quarterback with the first pick, as they recently (see, last year) invested a rather high pick on Jimmy Clausen. So, that may open up the Titans (the second through seventh positions, respectively, belong to Denver, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Arizona, Cleveland, and San Francisco) to a good QB pickup (or a trade for the fifth or seventh spot, leading to said QB pickup) such as Ryan Mallett (should Carolina pass him up), Andrew Luck (same), Jake Locker (although, with two PAC-10 QBs in the same draft, one of them's gotta be a bust) or Cam Newton. I'm not a big fan of Newton's NFL prospects, but I've rethought my opinion on Luck after that Orange Bowl.

Of course, I'd rather we spend our high draft pick on a linebacker, but there really aren't that many LBs talented enough to be a top-10 pick. I say that with hesitation, there is almost always a defensive player taken high that no one could see coming (see recently: Jerod Mayo, Tyson Alualu). All I know is it will be an incredibly interesting offseason in Nashville. We'll see what happens.

I feel like I should blog again some more.

I think I need to catch you up on my life, and all its many twists and turns.

Number one: College. Many of my younger viewers may ask, "Why, Clayton, how's college?" Of course, now I think about it, many of my older viewers and viewers within my peer group may be wondering the same thing. And my answer to you is: College is great! Here's a flash of my typical Samford week:

Sunday: Wake up, 8:30ish. Why I am up this early after likely staying up until one or two reading Harry Potter or watching college football highlights is beyond me. There is a knock on the door and there is a friend who I arranged to take me to church. The church in question is massive, as are many of the Baptist churches around Birmingham. The service was nothing remarkable, and then was Sunday School. I have not attended a Sunday School session outside of HFUMC since, oh I don't know, eight or ten years ago, probably. It was a very enjoyable experience, I think I might go back just for the Sunday School hour sometime. Arrive back on campus around 12:30, grab some lunch in the caf, then back to the room for an afternoon of NFL football. That's basically what Sunday consists of every week. Lots of football. Then to sleep for class.

Monday: My first class, JMC 200, begins at 10:30. I wake up at about 9 or 9:15, hop in the shower, head to the food court for a chick-fil-a biscuit breakfast, and head on over to class. Take some notes, fight some sleep, and then to Latin. Much of the same, although instead of the "take some notes" part, it's more "try to figure out what in the heck this thing means". Latin ends at 12:50, and that's class on Monday. After Latin, I hit up the caf for lunch, and head back to the room. Once back in the room, I open facebook (which will remain open long into the night), check emails, and get whatever work I have to get done. Today I'll get all my laundry done. I'm thirsty, so I walk to the mini-fridge and pull out a can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale. On this particular Monday afternoon, I pull up the 104.5 The Zone radio broadcast online, because Randy Moss is holding his first media meeting as a Tennessee Titan. I listen to 3hourlunch until 3, and then turn on the TV to NFLNetwork. I throw on my freshly-laundered band t-shirt, a pair of socks, and some tennis shoes, and head over to the band room. I then catch a ride to the gym because I'm playing for the basketball game. I play some music, shout a lot, and eat some pizza. Four hours later, I go back to the room, where I'll play on the computer, watch TV, and do some reading until I fall asleep at about midnight.

On Tuesday, I have one class. However, I am determined to make Convo this morning, even if I sleep through it. I get a can of lemonade from the room, and a chicken biscuit from the food court (I'm trying hard to cut down on my Bulldog Buck spending, I'm fast running out from my Chick-fil-A consumption), and head over to Reid Chapel for the Convocation. Today's convo speaker was surprisingly interesting, a United Methodist clergywoman and yet another great storyteller. Having not gotten my nap or the last four pages of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in, I go to my Tuesday/Thursday class, CP. I get that essay back that I slaved over on the previous Wednesday night. "This is surprisingly well-written," I find Dr. Putt has written on it. "First semester freshmen usually do not write this well. I even suspected plagiarism at first because it is so clearly written! Excellent work!" This brightens up my day immensely, even more than my first convo credit in two or more weeks did. I take about a page-full of notes about Gothic architecture and culture, and then we get out of class at around noon or 12:15. I head straight to the caf for lunch this day, and then after chilling back in the room for a couple of hours, go to band practice. It's our first Christmas band practice, and as I note to the facebook world, "I am fully aware of the irony of the fact that we're practicing Christmas music, and I'm wearing a tshirt and flip flops." The music is different, and moderately challenging. After dinner, I come back to the room, and Patrick is watching the new 30 for 30 film on ESPN about former superstar running back Marcus Dupree. It's a nice little piece, and I enjoyed it. After that, I make sure everything's ready for my Wednesday classes, read some Harry Potter, and go to sleep.

Wednesday is the day I buy my Harry Potter tickets. There's some finagling with Fandango, but eventually everything works out and I'm ready to go. Both of my Wendesday classes included getting tests back. My JMC grade, though not stellar, is still a solid B, which I will take. In Latin, I was expecting bad things from the test, but I end up earning a similar B. While in Latin, unbeknownst to me, there is a bit of a flash-mob rave dance in the caf in order to advertise tomorrow night's freshman class rave. Sadly, I miss it. After lunch, I head to the library to put in a couple hours of work-study time. In the end, I am not able to continue, and I end up staying for only an hour and a quarter. Dinner is yet another caf affair, and I return to the room with just enough time to watch yesterday's episodes of both Glee and NCIS. After my hour and a half of online TV dosage, I head to my small group meeting. It's a particularly good group meeting for me, and I do a little more reading before I go to sleep.

Thursday is a triumphant morning. For the first time in over a month, I am able to wake up in time to get to the caf for breakfast! I also make it to Convo, which is a very nap-worthy lecture about the church in China. Perhaps it goes too long, for I am still in a lethargic state when CP rolls around. The Renaissance is the topic of this class, and it goes until about 12:10, I think. I go back to the room for a 30-minute power nap (haven't had a good one of those in a while, either...) and then lunch in the caf. An hour and a half after I get done with lunch, and it's band practice time again. I'm not really feeling too well during practice, but I manage, and suffer through a small dinner just to keep my appetite regular. By the time I get ready to go to the aforementioned rave, I'm feeling much better and ready for a fun night of dancing. Well, except for the fact that after about forty-five minutes of constant jumping and moving, etc, I felt like my lungs were about to explode, so I headed back to the dorm for a couple puffs of the asthma inhaler and I was generally back to normal. Great dance, then I feel like staying up even later to get in some Harry Potter reading. I decide that I'm not even going to eat breakfast Friday morning, as I only have one one-hour class that day. I go to sleep, exhausted from an exciting day.

On Friday, I stumble out of bed a little before ten, take a shower, and find my way to my JMC class. It's a nice lesson about cable, I jot down a few key points, and class ends. I head to the caf, and have about an hour-and-a-half long lunch (not so much eating as the social aspect of lunch in the caf). After lunch, I spend a while in the room, before choosing to throw in a little bit of work-study in the library before it closes at 5. After I finish in the library, I run into Corey and Clayton playing frisbee. I play with them for a while, and then we all three head up to the caf for dinner. There we meet the likes of Patrick and Josiah, and after a nice evening meal, we decide to head up to the volleyball game, Senior night, at the gym. We are joined by Jamieson and Red Sea points leader Throck (it's a nickname, his last name's Throckmorton). We watch the volleyball girls fall to Georgia Southern 3 sets to 1, but in a valiant effort nonetheless. Some fingerfoods follow, and then Patrick and I so choose to head back to the room and chill for the rest of the night. I find myself, once again, in the midst of a very good Harry Potter Book (Goblet of Fire, which I've been working on the majority of the week) before going to bed once again.

Saturday gets a late start from me. I wake up shortly before 11, shower, watch some college football, and then head to the caf for brunch. There are some conspiracies regarding a birthday party, and I head back to the room. Corey comes in, I end up taking a run to Taco Bell with him and Zach. After we get back and while we are consuming our Taco Bell, Jamieson enters, detailing us about a certain prank to go down. I spend a large part of my afternoon on that effort after my weekly phone call to the parentals. After dinner, I anxiously await the next step of the prank, but we are foiled by someone close to a victim. I have a nice facebook conversation with this un-named source, and find myself compromised somewhat in the war of pranks that is happening throughout Samford. I suppose it feels a little like when countries entered the World Wars a while after they started. I await my just rewards. Meanwhile, I watch the fourth Harry Potter movie, and end up having to stop after a while, because it is so horrendous. I then watch the South Carolina-Florida and Alabama-Mississippi State games before catching the ridiculously awful ending of the fourth Harry Potter movie. Around this point, Patrick returns from the dorm lobby, and we watch SNL and some football and basketball highlights before he calls it a night and I turn to this, my blog.

Well, that's a sample week. Now that you know that, I'll just go on about some trivial stuff...

1. CUPCAKES. And I'm not talking about that thing that looks like a muffin but is much better. I'm talking about teams, like Louisiana-Monroe, like Georgia State, like the University of freaking Notre Dame, that college football teams play two, three, seven games against each season. Those ones that scream "easy win, let's get in here, play a little ball, throw our bench in, and get the hell out of here" on the schedule. It disgusts me. Every team in the SEC has played at least three, and while I'm a big fan of the SEC, I think they need to play easy-win teams that are a little more competitive by name, like Big Ten and ACC schools. Those of you that have been following all my crazy facebook action know my obsession with cupcakes and their complete lack of benefit.

2. We've got Randy freaking Moss!!!! Thats right, boys and girls, Randy's a Titan. Get excited, it's going to be a great ride in Nashville for the second half of the season, and--dare I say it?--playoffs?!?

3. Oh, I gots me a youtube channel now! You can find me at http://www.youtube.com/user/churdle76. I may or may not eventually be posting videos, but it's really just a thing for me to use for comments or liking videos or stuff like that.

4. And I've also gots me a tweeter!! Although I myself am not a twit, and do not tweet, I felt like I should get a twitty-thing to follow some other twits that like tweeting. So if you want me to add you to my followees, tweet me up @churdle76. If you want to add yourself to my followers (or, as I prefer, twitstalkers), just do whatever you do to follow a twitty type by searching the same tweetie-name.

5. What else, what else? Oh, I'm annoyed by Christmas coming before and above Thanksgiving again, I'm in the middle of a little No-Shave November action, and I get some more money in the bank this week. Also, my midseason NFL Picks are as thus: Titans, Texans, Colts, Jaguars AFC South; Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Bengals AFC North; Chiefs, Chargers, Raiders, Broncos AFC West; Jets, Patriots, Dolphins, Bills AFC East; Falcons, Saints, Bucs, Panthers NFC South; Packers, Vikings, Bears, Lions NFC North; Rams, Seahawks, Cardinals, Niners NFC West; Giants, Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, NFC East. Playoff seedings will be Jets, Steelers, Titans, Chiefs, Ravens, Texans in the AFC; Giants, Falcons, Packers, Rams, Eagles, Saints in the NFC. Wild Card games: Titans over Texans, Ravens over Chiefs, Packers over Saints, Eagles over Rams. Divisional games: Ravens over Jets, Titans over Steelers, Eagles over Giants, Packers over Falcons. Conference championships: Ravens over Titans (you don't know how much it hurts me to say that), Eagles over Packers. To keep to my original pick of Super Bowl Champion, Ravens over Eagles.

Oh, last but not least, congrats to the San Francisco Giants for bringing home the World Series championship for the first time since your west coast move over fifty years ago.

That's it for now, folks, I'll be back with more action sometime later.

-clayton

NFL PREVIEW 2010!!!!!

It's football time again, which means it's time for me to throw out how I think everyone's going to do this season. You might find a surprise or two, let me know what you think's gonna happen!

We'll start off with divisional records and standings.

AFC East

Jets- 12-4

Patriots (WC)- 11-5

Dolphins- 10-6

Bills 5-11

The Revis Holdout ended last night, so the J-E-T-S-JETS-JETS-JETS are going to be your favorites in the division. Watch out for the Pats though, they've still got it. Miami and their Wildcat offense will contend as well. The Bills have a rough rebuilding year ahead of them.

AFC North

Ravens- 12-4

Bengals- 10-6

Steelers- 10-6

Browns- 4-12

The Ochocinco-T.O. marriage works well in Cincy, but not well enough. They miss the playoffs by a tiebreaker, and the Ravens win the division easily. The Steelers struggle early without Roethlisberger, but will make a push as the season progresses. Cleveland has a very tough schedule; they'll play competitively, but will fall short often. I say they're among the best sub-.500 teams in the NFL.

AFC South

Colts- 12-4

Texans (WC)- 10-6

Titans- 10-6

Jaguars- 6-10

The Colts continue dominating this division, as Houston makes its first ever playoff berth. The Titans play well, but fall short against Jacksonville, giving the Texans the tiebreaker they need to claim second in the division. The Jaguars, after another disappointing season, fire Coach Del Rio and begin to think more seriously about relocating.

AFC West

Chargers- 10-6

Broncos- 7-9

Chiefs- 4-12

Raiders- 4-12

There have been some great Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders teams to come out of this division, but as of late, it's been one of the worst divisions in pro football. San Diego gets the top spot in the West, and Denver continues to rebuild (Don't worry, Broncos fans, they'll be back within the next couple of seasons). The Chiefs have another bad year, and the Raiders, trying to regain some dignity, falter in a big way. Cable gets fired, and Al Davis will decide to go back into coaching. Not a good move.

In the AFC playoffs, the standings will look as such.

Colts

Jets

Ravens

Chargers

Patriots

Texans

In the wild card round, Houston will show how inexperienced they are in the postseason as they get clobbered by a very good Ravens team in Baltimore. The Patriots will be just too much for the Chargers, and they come out of SD with another big W.

In the divisional playoffs, the Ravens will take on the Jets in a defensive showdown. Ed Reed will provide scoring for Baltimore as they pull off a 7-6 victory in New York. In what could be the final chapter of a storied rivalry from over the past decade, Peyton Manning will find enough to get past the Pats once more.

The conference championship will feature Baltimore, who lost the game in the 2008 season, and Indianapolis, who made it to the Super Bowl last year. Of course, any time Baltimore faces the Colts, it's the entire city that opposes Indy. Peyton will be retiring within the next five years, and he'll want as many rings to his name as he possibly can. Ray Lewis will most likely call it quits at the end of this season, and he wants to go out on top. What fun those two will be, reliving old memories and making a couple new ones as they try to make it to the biggest stage in sports. The Ravens will prevail and be crowned AFC champions.

Now, to the NFC.

NFC East

Cowboys- 12-4

Redskins (WC)- 11-5

Eagles- 10-6

Giants- 8-8

The NFC East is not just the toughest division in the NFL, it is arguably the best in all of pro sports. Dallas is gearing up for a Super Bowl in its home stadium, while Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan, and the Redskins all make a resurgence. The Eagles have a good season, and the Giants struggle, but still do better than many second- and third-place teams in other divisions.

NFC North

Packers- 11-5

Vikings- 10-6

Lions- 4-12

Bears- 2-14

Brett Favre will come back should there be football in 2011. Because he won't even make it to the playoffs. The Pack will get this division, and Aaron Rodgers will win MVP honors. Meanwhile, the Lions will continue their rebuilding, and the Bears will have the most atrocious season in the NFL this year.

NFC South

New Orleans 12-4

Atlanta 12-4

Tampa 5-11

Carolina 3-13

Bye-bye, John Fox! Panthers will have a tough year, but they'll play well through it. Just not well enough to matter. Tampa continues to rebuild, and there's a battle for the top. New Orleans will repeat as division champs.

NFC West

San Francisco- 11-5

Arizona- 8-8

Seattle- 6-10

St. Louis- 3-13

A new group of a familiar team will get to the top of the West for the first time since 2002. The Cardinals will have struggles with a new QB, Seattle will be on the rise, but won't keep Hasselbeck when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season (Look for Mike Holmgren and Cleveland to pick him up). The Rams will struggle, but will do a little better than last year.

And now, my NFC playoff picks.

Homefield throughout, including potentially the Super Bowl, Dallas- 12-4

New Orleans- 12-4

Green Bay- 11-5

San Francisco- 11-5

Atlanta- 12-4

Washington- 11-5

In the wild card round, we see Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb traveling to a possibly snowy Lambeau Field to take on NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. I think the Packers will pull out of this one with the insanely close W. It'll be a incredibly fun game to watch.

Atlanta and San Francisco- I am a HUGE Mike Singletary fan, but Matt Ryan and the Falcons have been through the playoff ringer before, and most of Singletary's players have not. So I'm giving the edge to Atlanta on the road in this one.

Divisional round: Green Bay will visit New Orleans, and this year's NFL MVP will face the reigning Super Bowl MVP. This game will also be entertaining. The All-Pro foot of Mason Crosby will send the Packers into the NFC title game.

In Dallas, the top-seeded 'Boys will be put to the test by the 2010 version of the Dirty Birds. Just thinking about this matchup has one remembering (as well as one can remember not actually remembering for him or herself, being quite young at the time) the early 90s when these teams were both in NFC prominence. It'll be fun, but Dallas will advance with not much problem.

The NFC Chamionship game will be magnificent football. I don't think I've been more excited about the NFC ever. I can't even begin to analyze this one, or it'll take me forever to come to a conclusion. So I'll just say Dallas. Get it over with. They'll play the first legitimate home Super Bowl game.

In Super Bowl XLV, the Baltimore Ravens will travel to Dallas to face a blue-and-white washout crowd of 100,000 or more. Oh yeah, and the Cowboys. It will be the most one-sided NFL Championship, spectator-wise, in the history of the Super Bowl. But are you ready for this? The 2010 World Champions will be the Baltimore Ravens who will win by a score of 24-16. Ed Reed will intercept two passes, returning one for a touchdown, and be named the Most Valuable Player of the game. Ray Lewis will retire on top, much like Jerome Bettis five years ago.

This being said, prepare for me to be a HUGE Aaron Rodgers, Packers, Texans, Ravens, and Cowboys fan this year (Although, naturally, not quite as much as I like the Titans)

Comments? Fears, doubts, concerns? Got your own bold predictions? Or maybe you want to join my prognostication mailing list. If any of the aforementioned apply to you, leave me a comment, right down there vvvvv

-c

hmmm...well I said I'd be getting back to this...

Oh well, a lot's gone on in the past two months.

First, I graduated (yay). That was pretty sweet.

The birds flew the coop within about two weeks. But it was fun watching them while they were here.

Chicago won the Stanley Cup, and nobody cared.

Christopher was in Grease, and did a phenomenal job.

VY got in a bit of an altercation while I was at Orientation. And CJ still needs to sign a contract.

The college football world began a conference shakeup, with Nebraska going to the Big Ten, and the Pac-10 taking away Colorado. Now the Big ten has 12, and the Big 12 has ten...confusing.

Choir tour was absolutely Gleeful and amazing. Will never forget the experience, or the new TV musical comedy addiction.

Went to an Astros-Giant game. Tim Lincecum beat Roy Oswalt in a 3-1 pitchers' duel.

I got texting. Pretty sweet.

LA won the NBA championship again. They beat my Celtics in a very intense series.

The Red Sox got over their April slump and are looking at the AL Wild Card spot if the season ended today.

Lebron James signed with the Heat. Hmmm...about time for football season, right?

Just got done with VBS. Great week, good fun.

Also, the fam is doing well with our flood recovery downstairs renovation.

I'll blog separately about a couple of these.

Get ready, cause here we go.

-cth

well...not much...but...here it is in all its shining glory...blog number 23

i take time out of my busy schedule to honor all the great number 23's:

Michael Jordan (started the number's status as that of superstars)
LeBron James
Don Mattingly
Ryne Sandberg
David Beckham
Devin Hester
Marshawn Lynch
Ronnie Brown
Cadillac Williams
Erin Malone
Julio Lugo

i probably have missed many...but these are some notables....however, there is one more:

THIS BLOG!!!

so anyway, just got through espn's lastest tmq and found it an enjoyable read...lots of good stuff in it...also the new mayne street...not as good as some others but it's okay...it's got some pg-13 moments, but overall as long as you are mature enough to handle it...it's good.

go titans! i was thoroughly upset by the loss to the texans, and then by pittsburgh winning. my pick is still titans over panthers in the super bowl. we'll see...but i repeat GO TITANS!!!! AFC SOUTH DIVISION CHAMPS, BABY!!!!!!

how bout them celtics! i think that's all i have to say about that

baseball winter meetings...hope sox get away with texeira...that would be awesome.

my new favorite song: live your life by rhianna and t.i.

that's it for now

-cth

So…random nfl stuff

To start out, i discovered this video today of al davis discussing lane kiffin’s firing. Kinda redundant, kinda redundant (oh did i mention it was redundant?), kinda funny. It was interesting…al davis has def lost his brain

Also…how bout them titans! An amazingly hilarious yet pitiful 47-10 domination of Detroit was just the start of the routs to see that weekend, dallas 34-9 over seattle, philly 48-20 over Arizona, ole miss and Alabama shutting out msu 45-0 and auburn 36-0, respectfully in the egg and iron bowls. Texas ran over a&m and the gay-tors beat fsu 38-15 i believe…other nfl creaming were Baltimore 34-3 over Cincinnati giants 23-7 vs Washington, Pittsburgh beating the pats 33-10, and minnesota’s 34-14 defeat of Chicago.

So everything’s going great…just finished duty roster for room in the inn and final English paper…about the bcs and a possible playoff situation…cloning paper got a 100 so i was pretty pumped about that. Christmas tree’s up…not ornamented or anything…gonna wait til after Saturday (12/13) to do that. My schedule’s pretty much booked up til then.

Other than that i’m takin it easy not stressin to much…well, that’s a blatant lie. I’m totally worried about midstate Sunday…my sax teacher randomly decides he has something to do on the day of my lesson three days before auditions…so i’m freakin out about that…and practice didn’t go to well yesterday…so yeah…

Guess that’s it for now…

Until later

-cth

Turkey Day Blog

well...thanksgiving's going well...titans absolutely destroyed detroit, but i lost the family backyard football (in the front yard) game. what can i say, my brother's just more athletic than me...oh well

everything's going great


not much more to say

happy thanksgiving everyone!

stuff

titans are 8-0!!!!!! i'm super pumped and ready to see the bears get destroyed. it's gonna be no contest...grossman won the game for chicago last week, so naturally he's gonna suck this week. he's consistently inconsistent! so anyway, it's great...election's coming up today and i don't have a favorite i'm gonna go along with what everyone here says...mccain wins tennessee, obama wins the nation. i'll be playin around w/ the magic map on cnn.com...here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/calculator/. we'll see what happens...blog to come probably thursday on the result...all i know is that whoever wins, he's my president, and i will support him. so that's the long and the short of it.

iverson traded to the pistons, billups goes to denver...really i don't care about the nba until the playoffs...and then only with mild interest...so it's really no big deal to me.

otherwise, guess everything else is going just fine, visited tech on thursday and wasn't all that impressed...but i got out of school, so it was worth it! saw several mhms grads and that was nice. halloween was fun and so was this weekend....but now that i'm thinking saturday, i'm thinking college football, which reminds me...

FULMER'S LEAVING UT!!!!!! that was very shocking. that man has been the face of tennessee football for two decades now, and his leaving means that that will no longer be the case. i'm more of a vandy fan now, but it still hurts. firing a coach with several conference championships and two national championship appearances after one bad season...even though they tentatively have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation for next year...doesn't make sense...next thing you know they'll fire bruce pearl for not making it to the final four. oh, well, stuff happens...

vandy plays florida next week...make it four losses in a row...after a 5-0 start...classic vandy football in the second half of the season. until next time, i'll be rejoicing, comiserating, and remembering some more stuff to write about...

-cth

quick blog

titans are 6-0!!!! after dominating kc 34-10 with over 300 yards rushing, there is no doubt that the titans are once again the best team in the nfl. chris johnson and lendale both had career long td runs in the fourth, and i don't think the defense even tried like the last half of the fourth quarter cause we had such a demanding lead. so that's that point

next: vandy's dropped their last two, one expected, one not. this saturday's homecoming vs. duke, which i'm pretty sure we're gonna win. then we'll be bowl eligible for the first time in, well...quite a while.

got three a's and a b (chemistry) on my report card today, so i know what i need to work on.

backpacking was amazing. hiked in six miles and out six, so i was EXTREEMELY exhausted come sunday afternoon when i got home. other than that, not much more to comment on, so until next time...

-c

nfl mixups

so...the titans are one of three undefeated teams...and one of two that are 4-0.

they've also moved up to number two on espn's power rankings which is sweet http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/powerranking?season=2008&week=5

also vandy's number 19 in both new polls...and bama's 2...oklahoma's 1...no brainer...what i don't get is why lsu is above texas...ut creamed arkansas while lsu only won by 10 against miss st.

back to the nfl, i'm looking forward to next week...the ravens game...should be a good one. i predict 5-0 titans and bills, 4-0 giants....ravens are going to falter like last year.

big news stories. rams fire coach scott linehan, who went 11-25 in just over 2 seasons. also, raiders finally fire head coach lane kiffin after a 1-3 start, and a 5-15 career for kiffin. i don't think al davis had any class in his firing...it's kinda the opposite of last year, when a coach just walked out on a team w/ four weeks left, whereas coaches are getting fired four weeks into this season. this'll be a fun season...i can tell it already...more later...

-c