Saturday

Just a few lines today to make sure that I have three entries for the week.

Its unseasonably warm here today...now 54 and could get to 60.  I'm OK with that.  Sure beats shoveling and six layers of clothing.  El Nino.  I'm sure Al can explain it.  Most certainly is Bush's fault.

Lots of stories in the news since Thursday night when the 'Clones came back and beats the Hawkeyes in Ames.  One of the reporters for the Des Moines Register ended up with a broken leg when the students stormed the court after the final horn.  The reporter has really gone out of his way to not blame the students, but most of the stories on-line or in the papers are very critical of the situation.  My opinion is that the injury is a real unfortunate outcome, but I'm reluctant to have the powers-that-be legislate a barbed-wire barrier around court.

I'm not sure that I want to "blame" the students/fans for their actions.  How to more safely handle things is a fair discussion.  Adjustments/changes can be made.  (In a related issue, they have pretty well eliminated the old football celebration of tearing down the goal posts...which I always thought was an act of anal-intelligence...even if your team did beat ND.)    In today's world though, schools have to recognize their legal liabilities (love those attorneys!), and always the safest answer is to ban the activity.

Not to blame the victim here, but really, in that high-voltage environment, a person needs to have an exit strategy if they want to stay clear of the mayhem.  The injured reporter has been around Hilton for a long time.  He knows the drill.

Speaking of the thought/anti-Christian police, I saw this story this morning about schools in Naperville, Illinois.  http://www.startribune.com/naperville-schools-ban-prayer-at-student-sporting-events/361543891/  Now, as an adult, I've been turned-off more often than not when prayer or praising-the-Lord came too much in my face from athletes, coaches, drivers or politicians.  But it never offended me to the point that I thought it should be banned. 

The people who complained in this situation were not even locals.  The story suggests that they saw a picture in the paper.  Yeah, that would lead me to complain about something in another state involving people whom I didn't even know.  Really.  People are nuts.

My afternoon activity will include raking my neighbors' leaves out of my yard.  For the third time.

As I write this entry, I have ESPN on here in my office.  Its the FCS quarterfinals and features UNI and North Dakota State at the Fargo Dome.  Here's a shot of 1 and 1.1 in that arena when were there a couple years back to support 1 at the Fargo Marathon (which finished inside the dome).  I know 1.1 has a soft spot for Fargo.  Me, not so much.

(The Tommies are in the D-III football semifinals today. They get to host their game in St. Paul.  Home games in the play-offs are big advantages. At least 3 points.  Maybe more.)

The Winniferous and I are doing fine.  Her presence complements the exercise routine that I wrote about earlier this week.  She needs her walks.  That gets me out at least two miles a day, and more on the weekends.  With this warm weather, she'll get plenty of fresh air as I take care of the leaves.  Its a win-win program.  Really, win-win-win, as 2 gets face time with her new nephew.


OK.  That's all I have for today.  Hope it is a good day in your neighborhood.  Thanks for reading.


BCOT