COMEDY CENTRAL

Matt Millen continues his love affair with the wide receiver. Millen just cannot help himself. He drafted another WR, Calvin Johnson, with the Lion's overall second pick in the draft, even though his head coach insisted he didn't want to "stack" players at individual positions. The Lions sent one player to the pro bowl last year - a wide receiver - so it makes all the sense in the world to draft and hold on to another top quality wide receiver...right? I wonder if they told Calvin that he would be needed to help with the pass blocking?

First of all, the Lions lost the chance for the number one draft choice, simply be winning a meaningless game at the end of last season. Then they once again squandered the 2nd pick overall. There's even rumor that Ford is putting the Edsel back into production to save the day for their failing company. I wonder if that was Millen's idea? Maybe they deserve each other?

The Lions had an opportunity to finally shore-up their sieve-like offensive line, so a mediocre Lions quarterback will finally have an option of handing the ball off to a running back who would actually be able to run through a hole created by the offensive line. An offensive line anchored by a premier lineman like Joe Thomas would have helped the Lions move closer toward being a mediocre football team, simply by providing protection for the QB.

The Lions' second round pick made almost as much sense at their first round pick. Drew Stanton is a fine young man, but he lacks the discipline to be a first rate NFL quarterback. Wasn't there another wide receiver available for the Lions to draft/stack in the second round?

I'm glad I'm not a football fan. :)

SEPTEMBER WOODS

September Woods is my favorite casual hangout. The relaxed, quiet atmosphere allows me opportunity to do a number of things away from the office. I love tagging into their wifi at times, and sharing some interesting blogs with the owners Tim and Sheila, who by the way, are great people. The coffee and specialty lattes are awesome, their quiche is great, cinnamon rolls are the best in the country, and their wraps are extremely tasty. As I look around the comfortable space, I see a mom taking a short latte break with her two young children, two sisters sharing some time over a cup of coffee, another couple deep in conversation, and a number of individuals reading or accessing the internet. Then there's me...a SWS - September Woods Squatters - slowing down Tim's internet connection after enjoying a great cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. If you have not been to September Woods and you live in the Holland/Zeeland area, you're missing out on something special!

Thanks Tim and Sheila!

TIGER BALL IN APRIL

Friday evening I surprised my favorite date by "surprising" her with an overnighter to Detroit. To enhance this special weekend event, I purchased tickets for the Friday evening Tigers and White Sox game. The Tiges lost a tight one due to a bullpen breakdown, but it was a fun game to watch with a sellout crowd. Tiger Stadium used to have obstructed view seats where a support post would limit your vision of the field of play. Comerica Park, being a new ballpark, is designed in such a way so that there are no obstructed view seats. However, we found that when you sit on an aisle in a packed stadium, your view is often limited as fans move up and down the aisles to and from concessions and the restrooms. It made for some interesting people watching moments, especially late in the game. It was great to enjoy a ballgame in April in a sweatshirt.

Tigers will beat the Red Sox for the American League pennant and prevail in the world series against the Mets. You heard it here first.

INCONVENIENT LIE

Have you ever lied about something because it was inconvenient to tell the truth? Have you ever plagiarized and turned that work in as your own? Well I did, and I'm not too proud of it. I was given an assignment in my high school English Literature class, to compose a poem. I am not a poet and I know it. Unsure of what I could do to fulfill the assigned request, I came up with a grand scheme. I pulled the lyrics off a Simon and Garfunkel standard - The Sound of Silence. I turned the lyrics in as my "work" and was given a 'C' for my effort. There, it's now off my chest and I can go on with my life. I just hope that Simon and Garfunkel decide to overlook my indiscretion.

I feel better already...

Global Warming....Nuff said.
I just want to play golf!

GLOBAL WARMING AND DEFICIT SPENDING

What does the possibility of global warming and Michigan's extreme debt resulting in deficit spending, have in common? Absolutely nothing...other than all the hype I regularly hear, surrounding these two issues. It actually becomes a bit comical when certain folks talk about global warming while I'm snow-blowing my driveway one week into April! C'mon...bring me some warming! My heat bill has never been higher, and on top of that, I can't keep up with these green neutral carbon credits (or whatever they're called), I'm buying to make myself feel good about my massive, indiscriminate energy consumption. Is it really helping?

And what about the state of the economy in Michigan? I thought everyone knew we were hurting financially as a State...at least until I read a report in the Detroit Free Press that despite our State's $1 billion deficit, there is a move underway to offer a spending plan that would make it possible to purchase an MP3 player or an iPod for every school child in Michigan! Is this a classic disconnect or what? It wouldn't be that bad of an idea IF the MP3's or iPod's were made in Michigan...but they're not.

I'm going to add another layer. It's going to be a cool, tax heavy summer.

My Celebrity Look-alikes

http://www.myheritage.com

BASEBALL

I love this time of year! The weather begins to warm up a bit, the tulips starts sprouting out of the dirt, the grass begins to turn green, golf courses begin operations, and baseball begins again in America.

There's something about the game of baseball that brings back great memories from the past. My introduction to the competitive game of baseball was when I was 10 years old. I played third base for the Bricklayers for two years, and we won the championship in my second year. I remember our coach organizing a trip to a Cub game at Wrigley as a celebration for winning the championship. Coach had connections with the Cubs after spending a few years in the minors with them. I can still remember walking into the ballpark that day, and hearing the crack of the bat during batting practice, the smell of hotdogs and beer, the green grass in the infield and outfield and the ivy on the outfield walls. It was so exciting to see some of my favorite players in the National League. Guys like, Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Lou Burdette, Del Crandal, Joe Adcock, Eddie Matthews, and of course, Ernie Banks the All-star Cub.

Ever since that first major league game I can remember attending, I get that same childlike excitement every time I enter a major league ballpark before a game. I probably enjoy the memories more than I do the game itself!

My favorite team in the Amercian League: Detroit Tigers....and in the National League: Arizona Diamondbacks.

The photo above is from a spring training game in Tucson in March.