Black Friday

Oh Yeah! It's time for the first installment of duelling running-diaries with Bookie Q. Santa. Don't worry, I don't gamble, but if you ever saw Book with a santa hat on and a stogie in his hand, you'd know that the name fits. You can see his version of these events at his blog under Links "By the Book."

We decided to each try to keep a running diary of our experience watching the Colorado-Nebraska football game at Old Chicago's. Unfortunately, there's a lot of Cubs merchandise on the walls, which doesn't help karma... without further delay...

10:05- The waiter sees my CU hat and says, "You're going into the lion's den." I look up and see a sea of Red ready to watch the game. Not too worried this year, though, because by just walking into that den, I became the 10th back this season to rush for 200 yards on the Cornhuskers. Time to rumble.

10:12- Eric Cartman introduces the CU team for ABC and makes hippie jokes. That's still better than having Larry the Cable Guy like Nebraska had against USC. Both are funny, but Cartman isn't a redneck. Advantage: CU.

(In a related note, one of the Nebraska defensive players goes by "Big Sexy." Do you think if Larry the Cable guy is booked next year they should just cut to the chase and call legendary wrestler Hillbilly Jim? Tim Allen? Cletus from the Simpsons?)

10:24- 7-3 Nebraska after a Joe Ganz TD run. Book roots for CU, but leaves me to cheer openly alone. He picks his spots.

10:30- CU finally starts running the ball and Hugh Charles breaks a long one, prompting the Nebraska fan sitting behind me to glare and say "Bastards." Like CU wouldn't have figured out you can run on them eventually. That 'N' stands for Nowledge.

Meanwhile, Bookie mentions that someone has 69 yards rushing and we giggle. Welcome to our world, folks!

10:41- I observe that with white pants and white shirts, the Nebraska defense now not only plays like marshmellows, they look the part, too... I'm now semi-openly goading the Nebraska fans.

10:45- Dusty Sprague runs the slowest reverse that gains yardage in college football history. Nice to see Hawk decided to "refine" that annoying habit of running reverses by doing it with the slowest wideout on the roster. This only works against Nebraska. 17-7 CU

11:20- While showing a stat about a CU player from Alabaster, Alabama, one of the commentators says, "Alabaster Alabama is not much like Boulder, Colorado." That's why he makes the big bucks! Way to go out on a limb. In a related note, NBA players would rather play in Miami than Utah.

11:31- CU goes cold. Damnit. Nebraska takes a 21-17 lead. As a bonus, however, a commercial featuring Bookie's college football nemesis Steve Spurrier (the Old Ball Coach), leads to this exchange:

Me: Hey, look, it's Steve Spurrier!

Bookie: Damnit, FSU is going to lose to Florida, then to the Old Ball Coach in a crappy bowl game.

Me: Are you in pain?

Bookie: (Glares).

I'm feeling better now, but the Husker faithful are venturing into optimism, but they remain cautious. This is new to me. Those folks don't seem as confident as usual. Thank you Bill Callahan, I'll miss you.

11:35- I remember when Nebraska fans took pride in pounding the football. Now, because they are new to throwing the football, they have been reduced to whining for pass interference calls whenever it would be helpful. That gets old quick.

11:42- 28-17 Nebraska. This feels like it's slipping away. Maybe I started goading too early. Bookie is stoic.

11:50- TD CU... it's 28-24 and we're back in business. Seems like 1:34 is a lot of time considering how those Huskers are moving the ball.

11:55- 35-24 at the half. Sigh.

12:12- John Saunders just says that the slew of upsets just goes to show that there is no need for a college football playoff "because the whole season is a playoff." I think he has a roomful of Tostitos waiting for him in his room back at the hotel. Maybe a free Nokia phone, too. In short, he's officially on the BCS payroll. And, the only man with that opinion in America.

12:30- PICK 6! CU picks off Joe Ganz and takes it in for the score. 35-31 Nebraska. The Buffs keep reeling me back in.

By the way, I'm torn on Callahan as NU coach. On one hand, I love watching Nebraska stink. On the other hand, he keeps beating CU. I babble about nonsense when the game isn't going my way.

12:36- Another INT. Dusty Sprague duplicates the slowest end-around in college history. It's like Blake Ezor had a reincarnation of his football career!

12:40- The Buffs score to take the lead. 38-35 Buffs. I just realized Shawn Watson (former CU O-coordinator) is now the O-coordinator for Nebraska. Traitor! He never called plays this well while in B-town.

12:46- Momentum is turning fast and furious. Blocked punt by CU!

12:51- Hugh Charles makes the score 44-35 (missed XP). I have decided that the gangly bearded guy on the Allstate Commercials is best represented by my buddy Chris. Good to see Gangles the Rodeo Clown getting endorsements.

1:00- The TV commentators just compared Callahan's first four years to those of Bill McCartney back in the day. Huh!?!?! McCartney took over a dead program. This sets me off on a number of loud proclamations that Bill needs at least 4 more years to turn this around! Just like Alberto Gonzales, he deserves as much time as possible to fix the trainwreck he caused. Nebraska's a red state, right? That logic might work, right? No need to fire him, right? (Please don't fire him!)

1:07- Bookie and I just discussed the possibility of a West Virginia v. Kansas BCS title game. Bookie asks how many tractors one stadium can accomodate. We might find out this year!

1:14- TD CU. 52-35... The Husker faithful are turning into the Husker frustrated. This is a new feeling and I could get used to it. (Chanting) Keep Your Coach! Keep Your Coach!

1:20- CU linebacker coach Brian Cabral is wearing a traditional Hawaiian... um... dress-like thing. Hey, I call it how I see it and I don't know the proper term.

1:30- 58-35. CU needs to hang 60 on them.

1:50- Bookie convinces me not to chant "keep your coach." How's this for a fact: My sports conscience is named Bookie. Better to win with class while the Huskers are down. I can still enjoy this, though. 58-43.

2:00- the Network prematurely cut away from the action and we miss the final CU score. Nebraska scores another junk-time TD and the final is 65-51.

That was fun.

Most Dominant Performance Ever!

I found this video and had to post it right away. I will add a post later to be a description of my evolution as a sports fan... for now, just enjoy the best performance I've ever seen in the world of sports (at least for one half). Pay particular attention to the 4:10 mark (the -2:55 if it counts down) and beyond. Although there are many impressive plays before that, the crowd just goes wild for those two baskets. It starts with a steal by Pippen, Jordan cleaning up Pippen's miss with a monster dunk, an airball by Portland and the sixth three of the half for Jordan in a moment where you wonder "How is this possible?"

Lesson: Never tell MJ he can't do something. I admire that kind of determination. Not everyone in life has it. It was suggested to let MJ shoot to slow him down and he proved that he can excel in whatever way he wishes.

Of all the sporting events I wish I could be in the stands for, the first half of this game tops all others. Just imagine if Portland would have kept this game close and Jordan would have played actual minutes in the second half. He barely played in the second half. He could have dropped 70 in a finals game.

I will always remember this game also because I watched it on a very small TV in my dad's hospital room when he was very sick with a big infection in his back. We were just mesmerized by the amazing performance. Michael Jordan was the only non-home-team player who turned me into a pure fan of one player's raw talent and desire to win.

I would describe Michael as a "cold-blooded killer" on the basketball court. He really had ice water in his veins. This is the best video yet of my favorite performance by the greatest to ever wear sneakers. Enjoy. I've already watched it 5times today.

Jacob!

Here are some pictures of Jacob at Halloween and getting into some trouble with his amazing climbing skills... I have attempted now many different ways to post video of him, but I just can't get it to load onto blogger. In the meantime, here's Jacob:

Messy Face:

On Halloween

Climbing:

That's it for now. I will try to get some video up sometime soon.

In the meantime, I will probably try to explain the new video I have uploaded to the left of this post very soon.... That one may also be my first attempt at a bi-lingual post. Anything written in German will also be written in English... we'll see how this goes (I will welcome grammer corrections).

Tortured Logic

I can't believe this country is even debating the topic of torture.

Here's what we know:

1. Torture often leads to "false positives" in the intelligence world. In short, a person will admit to anything, even something that is not true, to stop the infliction of severe pain or fear. The prisoner will especially admit what he or she thinks the torturer wants to hear.

2. Military leaders cringe at the idea of our side torturing because it opens up our troops to being tortured. Having American troops tortured is a bad thing.

3. TORTURE IS IMMORAL!!!

The Geneva Convention was established as a world-wide contract between nations acknowledging that the practice is immoral and agreeing not to do it to each other. If you think about it, that worldwide contract can be boiled down to an application of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The idea that we are dealing with savages who "want to kill innocents" and therefore must torture to "win the war on terror" is a ridiculous argument. It dismisses the importance of maintaining morality in a struggle, lowers our nation to the level of cold-blooded killers and compromises our principals.

I am not willing to compromise our principals. Our values have been our biggest asset in every struggle we have encountered, have kept us above the dirt as much as possible in war and has served as an inspiring example.

It offends me that this country tortures. I know we torture because this debate continues. Our new Attorney General won't say water boarding isn't torture. Bush says we don't torture, but he is evasive and vague when pressed about what he means by torture and has defined torture in various memos (written by YOU Mr. Gonzales) that essentially allow it. (The Geneva Convention is NOT quaint, Mr. Gonzales!!)

A president with any morals would step up and shout to the world, "this country does NOT torture under ANY definition of the term; our methods are and will continue to be moral and we will ALWAYS err on the side of humane treatment. We welcome the Red Cross into EVERY detention area we hold. We will never torture because it is wrong, unjust and unbecoming of a civilized people and because we refuse to win dirty!"

Anyone who suggests that the above statement from a president would embolden the enemy is foolish. If anything, such a statement would make clear that America would hold the moral high ground, which is every bit as strategically important as holding a hill in physical battle. Our enemies would cringe at the reestablishment of American moral authority.

Such a statement would do a lot to re-establish some moral authority and take off some of the smudges from our previously white hat.

For God's sake, why is this even being debated? America is supposed to be better than this.

Interview with Chris

Ladies and Gentlemen, your future pastor!

I moved to Colorado in 1991. My pattern has always been to find a few good friends and stick with those guys. In San Diego I was close to a neighbor named Daniel; in Virginia I met Wally (and later Alex); and in Colorado I met Chris, Tom, James, Book and Baggs. I'll stick to first names and nicknames to protect the innocent.

In Colorado, I pretty well latched onto one group of great guys, made a few additions in college and law school, and haven't looked back. We all went to high school together (except Baggs, who I met at CU) and have remained tight for many years. Just Friday night, four of us sat down and discussed how we all met and talked about some of the good old days.

Things change with time. People move, get married, etc. Chris is studying at Seminary School in Iowa and stopped by for a visit. He stayed at our hotel (i.e. basement) while in town for a wedding. As usual, he had a busy schedule, but I managed to grab hold of him for a few discussions.

Chris passed through town this weekend. You can find his musings by clicking on the "ganglylove" link on this page. I met Chris not long after moving to Colorado from Virginia and he and Tom were the first two friends I made here. I originally intended to create a "mutual post" in a conversation format, but it just felt better having one of our usual conversations and trying to summarize it.

You might say that I sat down with Chris for an impromptu interview Sunday night. My notes are scattered, but I attempt to reconstruct it the best I can. The rest I will summarize from memory. My dad always told me I made good decisions in picking friends, and I always took that as a big compliment. I have the greatest group of friends a guy could have and thought it would be fun to give the reader a taste of what we talk about and how we interact.

Chris is my Guinea pig.

Chris is in the second of three years for Seminary School and will be a full-fledged pastor when it's all said and done. Unfortunately for us, we're not sure he'll ever live close again. But, we hold out hopes.

ON COLORADO AND FRIENDS

Can we expect you back in Colorado?

"I don't know. As far as permanently, No. I hope I can come back, but to pin hopes and dreams on that is not reality. I like that I am in a place in life where my life is an open door. "

You don't have many reasons to come back here locally now that your mom is in Arizona and your dad is in Denver. I don't imagine we'll be seeing you too many more times for these visits.

"Someone once said that the family you are born into is there to prepare you for the family you eventually become a part of. I think we spend most of life with the community we surround yourself with as adults. I have grown to consider my friends like family. I always love spending time with close friends from my life."

You think that even though I used you for your car in High School? I mean, I needed a ride home and you were convenient.

"Hey, I used you for your video game system (Sega Genesis). You think I would have given you a ride if you didn't have a video game system? You think I'm that nice?"

Not really. Afterall, I had to worry whether your piece of junk would get me home in one piece. What kind of car was that anyway? I mean, it had a coat-hanger keeping the muffler on.

"It was a Grenada. 1981 Ford Grenada. The clothes-hanger was probably from 1993."

Some find it weird for high school buddies to stay so tight for so long. Thoughts?

"Most people meet friends for life in college. For me, I went to college at home. Tom, Dave, and James were still around... still close. That's probably why none of us made too many college friends. Although you were tight with Baggs and he's kinda become like the 6th Beatle. It was kinda instantaneous with him."

You were social butterfly in high school.

"I was never all that popular. I had 2 or 3 distinct groups. I helped lead James over to you guys. I had various groups of friends."

ON HANGING OUT / WORK

Free rides for video game fodder, that was a good deal for me.

"I will always remember 'Barkley for three!' (NOTE: video Charles Barkley beat Chris at the last second with an inconceivable three-pointer that sent Chris to the floor with grief circa 1992). We also played a lot of Joe Montana Football and Goldeneye. Those were some real fun times. I loved the 'one shot, one kill' settings on Goldeneye."

Your mom probably wondered what happened to you in those days.

"Mom always wondering where I was. She spent a lot of life wondering that. She worked and I worked."

Speaking of which, it was you who got me my job at KFC.

"Will you ever forgive me for getting you a job there? Then again, you owe me for getting you a job there. You owe me, because if you hadn't gotten a job there you wouldn't have that little guy on your lap there (little Jacob). You wouldn't have met that wonderful wife of yours."

I don't know if you remember, but you were taking me to a Rockies game when I first saw Jen. We stopped at KFC for free drinks for the road when she served me a Pepsi. I had worked at KFC the previous summer and was getting ready to start that summer (1995) as well. I made note to find out more about the cute one who fixed my drink. You gave me the 4-1-1. My first question was, 'how old is she.'

"I knew she was an engineering major at CSU."

I was secretly happy that she was in my age range because she looked possibly too young. I was glad she was my age.

"As opposed to the 17-year-old you asked for the under-12 buffet?"

Yeah, you will never let me live that down! That girl looked 12.

The pranks were the best there.

"I still remember throwing the roto-bird to you. 'Joe, go deep.' April (the manager) was so relieved when you caught it... until you spiked it on the floor."

Do you still do pranks at Seminary?

"I took the doorknob off a friend's door, turned it backwards and then was able to lock her in her room. But, she had actually done me a favor earlier that I wasn't aware of at the time, so I felt bad about that one."

"She got back at me by putting Rainbows and 'Just Married' on the windows of my car when Me and Ryan were going to drive to Colorado. We cleared that off before leaving."

ON SEMINARY SCHOOL

How has school changed the way you think?

"It has challenged the way I think, but given me a lot of answers to why I believe what I believe. It takes the blinders off of my faith. Also, it's helpful to learn of the history and how the bible was translated."

Has the process changed any beliefs?

"I know there has been some change, but can't say exactly what off the top of my head. I have a deeper feeling that community is more important now than before. Communal faith as well. Specifically First Corinthians."

NOTES

As usual, our conversation took many other turns after I stopped taking notes. We talked about how we have all changed and grown and how each of us have gone through a variety of life experiences.

We talked about how life is like a movie; how fun it was for the others to try to get me to drink when I was dead-set against it; how none of us made any of the parents nervous or suspicious and just how much fun it was growing up together. It was fun to look back on that and to once again talk into the wee hours about life. I never get over new perspectives on old memories. Chris' theory about my loosening up was that I finally learned to "come out from your dad's shadow." Only tight friends can make such observations.

Chris likes to say he'll always have a lawyer, and I think I've found my pastor. So, I guess you could stay, we're still just using each other. First it was video games and beat-up cars, now professional services. Can't beat it.