WAY TO GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Buckeyes defeated the Hoyas 67-60. They advance to the National Championship game on Monday. I have not finalized my travel plans yet. I think I still will drive to ATL, but I am looking into flying into the ATL area. What a year the Buckeyes have had. Coach Matta has returned the Buckeyes to a national power.
Earlier today, the Wildcat track team scored 9 points at the BCWR track meet. Sean Kirkpatrick scored 8 points. The 4x100 team scored the other. However, we did better top to bottom than we did last year. We had a few guy finish 9th, just out of the money.
I will let you know my travel plans, we I figure them out.

Good Luck OSU, from the Bayou!

Hello Springtime! 75 and sunny. Too bad by Saturday it will be rainy and 50 for our track meet at Western Reserve. I am feeling pretty good about this season. We have smaller numbers, but everyone wants to work. Coach Cat is really getting the throwers into shape. I am looking forward to a good season.
How about them Buckeyes! Final Four! I talked to Rick today and see if there may be a ticket for me in Atlanta. There is a chance, if/when the Buckeyes win Saturday night, I will be in Atlanta for the Championship game at the Georgia Dome.
If I was to see the Buckeyes play and win a National Championship, it would be in my top five all time sports moments. Here is a recap of my top ten.

1. Super Bowl XXVIII. Dallas over Buffalo.
2. Mogadore over Hardin Northern. After 2 loses in the state championship game, the Cats win it all.
3. Kent State beats Alabama to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
4. Cleveland wins the AL Central in 1995. It marked the first time the Indians would be in the post-season since 1954.
5. Ohio State beats Texas A&M in 1987 Cotton Bowl.
6. World Series Game 1 in 2006. It would be higher if Cleveland was playing St. Louis.
7. Playing in the Opening Ceremony for the World Series of Golf in 1987. The Perry Band was the official band of the NEC at Firestone CC.
8. 1985 HOF Parade. The Perry Band was behind Roger Staubach.
9. Watching Nolan Ryan pitch in old Arlington Stadium in May 1991. This was with Aunt Helen and Uncle Joel.
10. Kent State losing in the Elite Eight to IU. I still hate them, but it was amazing to watch the Flashes nearly make it to the Final Four.

Thanks to Aunt Helen and Uncle Joel, Jared, Rick and Teresa, I have been able to see some amazing sporting events. As I wrote them down, there are so many events that could be in the top ten. The one-hitter in Boston. Opening Day at the Jake in 1994. The final game at old Cleveland Stadium with my parents. Mogadore's 15 point come from behind win over Badger in the district finals in basketball. Seeing Michael Jordan play. Driving 3 hours to Houston to see Ozzie Smith play in the Astrodome. Flying to Texas to see the Colts play in the CBL Championship. (That would have been a top ten event, if they would have one it all) There is still more. Does fantasy football count? The Bayou Steelers have won 3 MNFLL Super Bowls!

Til the next great sporting event, See you Down by the Bayou.

I am just waiting for the Buckeye's game to start. It is going to tip off near 10pm. Maybe Oden and the boys can be up 20+ at half and I can relax in bed for the second half.
I just wanted to jot down about going to the dr yesterday.
We did book a cruise yesterday. We are currently on Explorer out of Cape Liberty in New York. The sail date is April 20, 2008. We will change the date once the summer of 2008 dates are opened by RC. The dates look like either 6/14 or 6/28. I am not sure what type of cabin we will book. I would like the RFS with my parents, but we may go JS or even aft ocean view. Jackie at AAA will have her work cut out for her when we show up during spring break to change our cruise. Once we have a date, then we can let others know when the ship leaves and they can book their trip. I am not sure we will fly to NYC unless their is cheap airfare to NY. I dont know if we will stay before the cruise or after. But I still have 16 months to plan. Plus, Philly has a new stadium or we can take the kids to Shea. Half of the fun of vacation is planning it.

Sitting out by the dock of the Bayou!

Thank goodness spring is on Wednesday. There was snow/sleet falling all day today. It is going to get into the upper 50's by the end of the week. We are going outdoors for practice on Wednesday.
What a weekend for basketball. Ohio State escaped defeat with the OT thriller over Xavier. I have 12 of 16 teams left in the tournament. I still have all my final four teams. T is in the top 1% of all pick'em players on yahoo.com. She is winning my pick'em contest. She has 44 of 48 games correct. However, she had Wisconsin in the championship game. That will hurt her point total. I talked to my buddy Rick yesterday. He has tickets to the San Antonio Regional, with the games on Thursday/Saturday, I cant make it to them. Plus, a short notice airplane ticket will cost big $$$.

Go Bucks!

--Bayou

Let the MADNESS begin!!! There is nothing like the NCAA tournament. I first went to the tournament in 2001. I was in Atlanta for a conference. I know MSU and Temple were there, but I forget the other two teams. The next year, I went to Greenville, SC with Jared to see Kent St beat Alabama to advance to the Sweet 16. We next went to Lexington to see the Flashes lose to IU. I still hate Indiana!!!!!!We were ready to head to Atlanta for the Final Four! Last year, G and I meet Jared in Michigan to see the Flashes lose to Pitt at the Palace in Auburn Hills. Even though the Flashes lost, it still was a fun time.
My Final Four: Oregon, UCLA, UNC and Ohio State. I have to go with the Buckeyes to win it all.
We have heard that RC will start booking for the summer of 2008 on April 2. We will book our "Cant Wait til '08" cruise. It looks like we will sail from Baltimore. I think it will be fun to sail from Baltimore to Bermuda. The ship is docked in Bermuda for 30 hours or so. Hopefully, we will have a group of family and friends on the trip.

See you out by the Bayou!

Congratulations to the Miami(OH) Redhawks on winning the MAC. They beat Akron on the 3 pointer with .6 seconds left. Jared drove down the see the game. We ate dinner at Gordons in the arena. We spent about hour in the bar area. We didnt go to our seat til after the 15 minute mark in the first half. I did fell bad for Mogadore grad Melissa Horak. She is a cheerleader for the Zips. I guess they will be going to the NIT.

Look who I ran into at Gordon's. Jared used my phone for this picture. Only 4 weeks til Opening Day at the Jake!

The NCAA invited 65 teams to the big dance. THE Ohio State University go a #1 seed. They could make a nice run to Atlanta this year. Jared and I might go somewhere next weekend. I will know for sure later. This Thursday and Friday are the 2 best days of the year. 32 games in 2 days. Basketball heaven.

GO Buckeyes from the Bayou!

Only ion Ohio can you drive to work and the temp be 21 degrees and on the way hom eit be 61 degrees. It was a beautiful day today. The sun glare was bad on the drive home, but it is better than gray overcast.

This is a look at the Mogadore High School. It is just a matter of time until I get my new room. It has been 23 months since I moved out.

This was the view of the sky on March 8. Due to atmospheric conditions, contrails from airliners marked up the sky for hours. This view is just south of Mogadore. I wish I would have had my "good" camera. This is a great picture. My students will see this pictures on a test in the future.

Sports Update: Went to teh Perry-Hoover game with Mike Necko. This was the first time I saw Kenny Frease play. He was as goos as advertised. Perry won and will play GlenOak for the district title tomorrow. Kent St will get another chance to beat Akron tonight. The winner will play Miami for the MAC Championship tomorrow. Jared is coming into town for the game. It will be good to visit with him.

Tonight the family went to the Perry pool for some swimming. Jarret had a blast. He did not want to get out. Briley's girl scout troup rented out the pool, so it was not crowed. Kent was better in the pool than in Hampton Inn. He had a noodle to play with. Briley jumped off the diving board a few times.

Til next time,

See you Down by the Bayou

Welcome Leighah Hope Bracken. She was born this morning at 5:57am. She, Heather and Jeff are doing fine. She is my second neice and my parent's 10th grandchild.

Tonight was the awards dinner for wrestling. We had a good time eating and handing out awards. Everyone was there but Zach Glagola. I am not sure why he was not there. Oh well.

Welcome Leighah, From Uncle Bayou!

Happy Birthday Jear-Bear! He turns 2 tomorrow. He is starting to talk more and more each day. He says thank you anytime he gets something from me or T. He is going on the potty. We are not pushing him to use the potty, but he wants to use it in the morning and anytime we change him. Hopefully, it want we too long before he is potty trained. We had a small party at mom and dad's. He got plenty of clothes and he loved them. K even got a present. Mom got them Cars bedding for their bunk beds.
After the party Jeff and the boys come over for a couple of hours. The kids played nicely. T went to visit Heather. She ready to have the baby anytime now. It will be their first girl.

This is the view from our seats at the state wrestling tournament. It is tough to follow the action. Nine matches going on at one time. K and I had a fun time. We didnt get back home until 11:30 or so. Hopefully, next year, Mogadore will have a wrestler inaction.

See you Down by the Bayou.

The weather warmed up today. It was in the 40's and the melt off. The snow look bad. I hate seeing piles of black snow melting away. I have enjoyed this week off. Track will start on Monday. If it is track season, then it must be near the end of school.
I am slowly, check that, fastly growing sick off my classroom. In a way I cant believe I have been in there for 2 years, but i am ready to get the h*ll out of there. Moving wont happen until the end of the school. It will be a happy day when I move into my new room.
I am heading to Columbus tomorrow for the state wrestling. I will take Kent after he gets home from school. We had fun last year. Hopefully next year I will be taking a wrestler or two.

See you Down by the Bayou.