Bayou, DDS was not needed to remove K's tooth yesterday. He lost the tooth to the right of his missing front teeth. So, he now has a 3 tooth gap! I told him he will need to eat dinner through a straw. He was playing on a float toy in my parent's pool. Thankfully, the tooth was sitting on the float and not on the bottom of the pool.

My back is feeling much better. The meds are doing their job. I hope I will be able to swing a golf club this weekend.

The kids are in Bible school this week. They are having a good time so far. B went to the Great Lake Science Center today. Tomorrow she is working at the Calvary Mission.

Of course with this warm weather, we are spending more time in the pool. This is the weather we have been waiting for all summer along.

I went to BW3 tonight and won more glassware for the TX Hold'em tournament. It is fun going out with my brother and meeting some new friends.

Til next time,

Bayou

No trip to Atwood seems complete without some rain. After having a nice dinner with the Buss's, a t-storm rolled in. It lasted about half an hour but it was long enough to flood everywhere. Then, more fun on Sunday morning. I sprained my lower back to the point I could not move. T had to help me get into the camper. I could not help her pack up and head home or unpack when we got back home.
I did go to the doctor's this afternoon. He gave me some anti-inflammatory drug and a pain killer. I hope I am able to golf this weekend. I will be staying off my feet for a couple days, except for some exercises the doc wants me to do every day.
The kids have Bible School this week. I am sure they will have fun.

Here are a couple pictures from my last two games at Progressive Field. The Indians beat the Rays in a 4 game series.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080710_004.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh172/bayousteeler/20080711_013.jpg

---Bayou

K and I went to the Indians-Rays game last night. The Tribe scored 13 runs, en route to a 13-2 victory. It is by far the most runs I have seen the score all year. I will post a picture of me and K with our Tampa Bay hats and Indians jersey when I get a chance. My brother was also at the game with Marc and his mom and step dad. Marc is not a blood relative, but we have called him a cousin. So my aunt in Texas had her sister, brother-in-law, 3 nephews and a grand-nephew at the game, while she was home in Fort Worth.
Speaking of Texas, the San Angelo Colts made the playoffs. They tied for second place in the first half of the ULB season. But the league awarded playoff spots to both teams in second place. Who knows, I made end up travelling to TX for a championship series like I did in 2005.

Til next time,

See you Down by the Bayou

Week in Review.

Wednesday. We headed down to the camper earlier than we originally planned. Dad was not going down because he picked up an extra day at work. We made it to Atwood in time for dinner.

Thursday. We had a nice family boat ride in the early afternoon. We were going to swim, but the rain started and did not ended after dinner time. The Buss's came over and enjoyed our fire after the rain.

Friday. Happy Fourth of July. B marched in 2 parades. I went to the first parade. T's parents drove down to see her march. I then went and shot a fraternity brother's wedding. The weather was great. It was at a local golf course. I made it back to Atwood about 11:30pm. T let the kids stay up until I returned. They made it back to Atwood to see their fireworks.

Saturday. The weather was fantastic. Sunny and in the 80's. We went to Boater's Beach on the Buss's boat. I enjoyed riding in the pontoon boat. I'm normally the driver and don't get to just relax and let someone else drive.

Sunday. The Necko's came down for the day. We had fun with them. Christy is one of just a handful of friends from Perry I see and talk to on a regular basis.

Monday. The boys and I did some fishing in the morning. I was the fisherman of the day with 4 fish. K and J did not catch anything this time. We packed up and made it back home by 3. B went to baton and I went to golf in the evening.

So there you have a recap from last Tuesday to today.

I was not surprised when I heard the Indians traded CC. I was surprised it was to the Brewers. I figured it would be the Cubs. I figured the Cubs would do just about anything to win a World Series this year. It has only been 100 years since their last championship.

Our cruise documents have not arrived yet. They should arrive soon.

--Bayou

Picture Time

I took my mom to see the Indians play the SF Giants.

B and her baton troupe in the Bolivar parade.

This was not J's first fish he caught, just the largest. He did catch his first fish today at Lake Muncy. It was a small bluegill he named Nemo. So, I guess you can say...J found Nemo. J was the fisherman of the day. He caught 10 fish. K caught 2 and I caught 3. I was too busy baiting hooks and taking fish off hooks to do much fishing.

Til next time,

Bayou

Wednesday. K's team lost their playoff game. They did not play well. But, they have improved from week one. The team's end of the season party will be here next month. I will take K and his friends to the field and let them play.

Friday. K and I went to see the Indians beat the Reds in the Battle of Ohio. CC pitched 8 great innings, 4 hits and 10 strikeouts. The fireworks show afterwards was spectacular. I am not sure when I last went to a fireworks night in Cleveland, but it wont be my last. Uncle Jared drove down for the game. Thanks to a rain delay, he was able to make it to the game before the first pitch.

Saturday. We headed to Atwood for the night. It was more to get ready for the 4th of July camping trip. We boated for a little bit before heading to the regular beach. We got to swim for about 15 before we headed back to the camper. I am glad we left when we did. It started to rain as we were pulling into the dock. The storm hit in full force a few minutes after we got back to the camper. It was so bad a tree near our camper fell into the lake. Tent campers near us had their tent flatten and stuff blow all over the point.

Today. T got up early and went to work. She was back about 3:30. We had rain on and off all day. Nothing as bad as yesterday, but enough to keep everything soaked. We did have a fire and pie irons for dinner. We could of had fish. K catch a nice size white bass.

---Bayou

I am sorry I haven't posted picture lately. There is something wrong with our computer and we need to get it checked out.
Monday, I went golfing at 3. It was to play next week's match early. The weather did not look good for us to complete the 9 holes. However, after some rain on the first hole, we did not get wet. There was bad weather all around North Canton, but none on the golf course. During the round, I received a call from T. She told me K's game was moved to Tuesday due to the weather. I thought great, I can golf at my regular time as well tonight. I don't know the last time I golf 18 holes of golf at one time. But wait, if K's game is moved to Tuesday, then I can't take my mom to see Omar Vizquel return to Cleveland for the first time since he signed with SF in 2004. I never finished the second 9 holes due to a thunderstorm rolling across the area. I did shoot a 43 for the first 9, much better than the 48 from last week. Shortly after I arrived home from the golf course, Coach Tom called and let me know K's game was being moved to Wednesday. Yea, I can take my mom to the Indians game.
Tuesday was my mom's b-day. I took her to the Indians game. It was nice to spend time with just her. Omar received a nice ovation when he was introduced to the crowd. The Giants went on to beat the Indians 3-2.
Tonight is K's game, but the weather might PPD it again.

-Bayou

Has it been 10 years already? My sweet little girls hits double digits in age. We has a small gathering to celebrate B's b-day. Right about the time the storms hit, T took B and her friend to see a movie as part of her birthday. She is saving her birthday money for a Nintendo DS system. K used his Christmas and birthday money for his, so B is following his lead.
I will post a picture of B from her party in a later post.

Happy Birthday B!


Love,

Daddy Bayou

K had his first baseball tournament game tonight. They scored 2 runs in the top of the 7th inning and held the other team scoreless in the bottom of the 7th to force extra innings. We went on to score 7 runs and needed each of them. We got the 3rd out after they scored 6 runs. K through the runner out at first for the last out. He did not have a great game at bat, but he was real solid in the field. We play again on Monday.

Final Score
Gold 24
Grey 23

Welcome to Bayou's Travel Service, or the latest baseball trip I have scheduled. This will be the first baseball trip without my buddy from Michigan, but he has prior plans the week I am planning this trip. I am taking my 2 boys and going to NYC with a friend and his boy. We will be seeing two day games, one each in Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. It is the last year for both stadiums. My sons have both been to Yankee Stadium, but not Shea. My friend has never been to NYC at all, so it will be 2 new stadiums for him and his son. We are heading to NYC in July for this trip.

Here is the list of stadiums I have seen a game in, plus any other family who were there as well. The word retired by a stadium means baseball is no longer played in that stadium or the stadium is no longer standing.

Tampa (T,B,K,J)
Boston (T)
Baltimore (T)
NY Yankees (T,B,K,J)
Chicago White Sox (T)
Minnesota (T,B,K)
Cleveland-retired (T)
Cleveland Progressive Field (T,B,K,J)
Detroit-retired(T,B)
Detroit Comerica Park (T,K)
Kansas City (T)
LA Angeles (T)
Oakland (T)
Texas-retired
Texas Ameriquest Field (T,B,K)
Seattle-retired (T)
Florida (T)
Atlanta-retired (T)
Atlanta Turner Field
Philadelphia-retired (T)
NY Mets (T)
Washington-retired (T,B,K,J)
Chicago Cubs (T)
St. Louis-retired (T,B,K)
Houston-retired
Pittsburgh-retired (T,B)
Milwaukee-retired (T,B)
Cincinnati-retired (T)
Arizona (T,B)
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado
San Fransisco-retired (T)
San Diego-retired (T)
Montreal (T)

T: 34 stadiums
T: 29 stadiums
B: 11 stadiums
K: 8 stadiums
J: 4 stadiums

Toronto is the only major league I have never visited. T and I will increase our stadium count on our Labor Day trip this year. Maybe next year I will plan a trip to Chicago and Milwaukee and get my boys to Wrigley. We'll see.

--Bayou

This week T and I did most of the landscaping we wanted to complete before our party next month. Speaking of the party, we are hosting K's baseball team post-season party the same day. The baseball team will be here from 1-4 and then the 80s party from 4 til ??? It will be a busy and fun day. T said "We might as well have both parties on one day, because I have clean the house once before the party and once after the party".

Saturday. We went to the Bolivar Strawberry Festival. B marched with her baton troupe. Afterwards, we went back to the camper with some friends.
Sunday. It was both Father's Day and my wedding anniversary. T and I have been married for 12 years now. The kids gave me a card and my new gas grill. The grill was also part of my anniversary gift. K and I went to see the Indians beat the Padres 7-3. T, B and J went to T's brother store in Cuyahoga Falls. There was an Irish Festival going on along the river walk. We went back to the camper for another night at Atwood.
Today we made it into Nana's pool for the first time this year. I went to golf from there. I was rusty and shot 48.
Tomorrow went are going to plant grass in the back yard and put mulch in the front yard. So, if you are not busy and want to help...come on over.

--Bayou

Friday was the last day of Cub Scout Day Camp. K caught 2 good size catfish. We could of had dinner with what he caught. He ended up having a fun time all week and is looking forward to camp next year.
We had less than a hour after camp to get ready for the season ending baseball game. We only had 9 players show up for the game. But the nine who showed up came to play. K went 2 for 4 with a couple of RBIs and fielded his position well. Then, the lighting came. With 1 out in the top of the seventh, the ump called the game.....with K's team holding onto a 2 run lead......YES, WE WON!!!!!!!! We scored 5 in the bottom of the 6th to take the lead and held on to the lead.
But with the thunderstorm in the area it meant the after game party here at the house was cancelled. We will try to rescheduled it after the tournament game next week.

Happy Flag Day (today)
Happy Father's Day (tomorrow)
Happy Anniversary to Mr. and Mrs. Bayou, 12 years! (tomorrow)

One last thing, the big announcement will not happen. SD Myers called me last week and wanted to know if I would consider working for them over the summer. I said I would think about it. However, they would want me to do some training. With this training it would not be worth me going to work for them this summer. My old boss said I could do the training in December this year and work next summer. I am open to the idea as long as it is not every week. So, we will see what happens later this year.

-Bayou

Here are a couple of pictures from Cub Scout Day Camp. I did not attend on Tuesday and Thursday, but I did "walk" Monday and Wednesday. I am planning on going tomorrow. Here is K's den for the week. We are at the North Industry Sportsman Club.

K has caught 3 fish so far this week. Here is #1 and good size largemouth bass.
You can't go to camp with out learning to use a bow and arrow. Today they used a bb gun.

Tomorrow is the last regular season game. We are hosting snack time here at the house after the game. We are going to have a campfire and smores. It should be fun.
T and I did landscaping on Tuesday and today. We are getting things in shape around the house. I will post pics after it is all done.
Til next Blog, Bayou

Tonight, K's team snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. They were up by 7 runs going into the top of the 7th inning. The other team scored 8 runs, including 3 after 2 were out. K's team did not score in the bottom of the 7th. It was very frustrating as a coach. The defense look like we were playing our first game. K had another solid game at bat, 3-4 with a double and a couple of RBIs. He did good in the field, minus one play in the 7th. We have one more regular season game on Friday.
K also spent the day at Cub Scout day camp. It was fun for him, but not so much for the adult "walkers". The highlight of the day for him, was catching a largemouth bass. He is going back tomorrow, but I am taking the day off. We need to do some things done around the house.
I have updated the San Angelo Colts standings in the ULB. Check out their website at sanangelocolts.com They are a game or so about .500 but in second place. The top two teams in each half of the season make the playoffs.
Also, no new news on my big news. I hope to find out something tomorrow. Stay tune.

---Bayou

Time to get caught up.

B had 2 teeth pulled by Dr. G. Her orthodontists wanted them out to help her adult teeth moving into place. It was not the way she wanted to start summer break, but it needed done sooner or later.

K had another game on Thursday night. They lost, again, and looked good in the first couple of inning but things went downhill fast. K had an ok night at bat 2 for 4 and scored a couple of runs. He did a good job at 3rd base. We went to Kremeland in Navarre after he game. (The game was in Navarre)

Thursday was my last day of school. T came up and helped me move all my stuff in storage for the summer or home. Earlier in the day, 2 of my wrestling mom's brought in some gifts for me. They wanted to thank me for the year's coaching.

Friday, Jerry S. arrived at the house at 7 and we were on the way to Columbus. We arrived by the start of the 4x800 relay. It was hot and sunny. It was the first 90 degree day of the summer. Presley did not advance to the finals of the shot. She is only a freshman and hopefully, will be back in Columbus next year.

Saturday was a better day for track. It was overcast, 80s, and breezy. We left about 6 and were back here by 8. It was a fun couple of days watching the best in Ohio run track.

It is summertime on the Bayou.

---One last thing, keep checking back for a big announcement and no Mrs. Bayou is not pregnant!.

K's team lost another game last night. It might have been K's best game, both in the field and at bat. He threw out a couple of runners at first and he caught a pop fly. He played 2nd base the entire game. Coach L is letting the players keep the same position to help them understand how to play the position.
Yesterday was the kids' last day of school. I am still in school til Thursday. We have exams tomorrow and Thursday. I have been cleaning up my classroom the last couple of days. It is difficult to "store" stuff when the maintenance department has taken over my shop and storage space. I am promised it will be out of there by the start of school. We will see.

Here is an action picture from Thursday night. K beat out an infield grounder. They lost the game and are on a 5 game losing streak. They have 2 games next week.
In track action last night, Presley did not advance to the state meet in the disc.
Today is going to be busy. K had practice this morning and B has a parade in the afternoon. We also have a family graduation party for cousins on my dad's side. Today is the first day T has worked in a few weeks and she might have to work tomorrow as well. I get some quality time with the kids.
B and K are down to one day of school. I have 4. I will miss the teacher in-service on Friday, as I will be in Columbus for state track.

See you next time--Down by the Bayou.

K' had a baseball game last night. They lost 22-20. But, K had a good game both at bat and in the field. He played catcher and pitcher's mound. He caught a fly ball and got two batters out at first. He hit the ball well. He reached based with 3 solids hits and one grounder he beat out. They have another game on Thursday.
Track season came to an end tonight. The 4x200 relay team finished 6th in their heat and Ryan finished 7th in his heat. The top 4 in each heat advance to Friday's finals. However, Mogadore will have a state qualifier. Presley Destro finished in 2nd in the shot put.
6 days of school left!

What a beautiful weekend at the lake. We made it to the camper about 2:30pm. K had baseball practice and we left after lunch. The weather was great. We got to see our friends from the campground and catch-up on the winter. The Moore's neighbors bought a new fifth wheel camper and it is beautiful. They must have spent a pretty penny on it. They bought a Salem at the same time dad bought his. But, they were have problems with it from day one. We did have a big picnic on Sunday. the entire family was down at some point. The Moores came down as well. We ended up sitting by the campfire til midnight. It would be nice to have the Moores back down camping again. Monday, B had her first parade with her baton troupe. It is one of twenty or so on the schedule. She will not be able to all of them, but she will be in many of them. On a sad note, K's fish died over the weekend. He was heartbroken. It was his fish in his room. He had to feed it and clean the tank. He was responsible for it. Swimmy was buried at sea, well in Atwood Lake.

This is the photo finish of the 100M dash last night. My guy was in lane 4 and he advanced in 4th place edging out lane 3. It is an amazing shot and by less than half a foot, he runs next week and the other runner doesn't.

The track season will go on for another week. We had the 4x2 team advance to next week along with a 100 meter sprinter. They will run next Wednesday and if they are the top 4 in their heat they will advance to the regional finals on Friday. Here is a link to all the results: http://baumspage.com/tf/ne/2008/norwayne/res08.htm

We are down to 8 days of school left!

K and I are off to baseball practice, so til next time,

--Bayou Out!

B's class sang the National Anthem at the Akron Aeros game today. It was a chilly day for baseball but it sure beat going to school. The picture is from our seats in section 102 Row A seats 1-3.

After the game, we went to AAA and paid off our cruise. It is hard to believe it is in 80 days.

Last night after the track meet I went to BW3. I won the final game of texas hold'em. I won a BW3 hat! The track meet had its ups and downs. I thought my disc guy would advance, but he threw 20 shorter than normal and missed going to the finals. However, we have runners in all events except the 110HH and 3200 meter run. Hopefully, we can get someone to advance to next week. Here is the link to the results http://baumspage.com/tf/ne/2008/norwayne/res08.htm

The final results will be posted after the meet tomorrow night. I will post it in a later blog.

It was golf night last night. I hit the ball well until I reached the green. I shot a 47. It is not too bad. I have not golfed since April due to rain and K's baseball games.

When I got home there was a package from the National Marrow Program. I sent away for it last week. There is a student from Perry HS with a rare type of cancer who could be help with a marrow transplant. I could not make a marrow drive at the high school, so I went on line and had a kit sent to me. Here is the link to the site http://www.marrow.org The kit is free, for the first 10,000 people who sign up. I checked today and there is another drive at Perry on May 30. Check the website for details. I have tried to donate blood as often as possible and this is another way to help others.

Bayou

The PTC Finals were yesterday. We finished 7th (out of 7) in both boys and girls divisions. But, even with that results, we still had several guys set personal best in their events. I am hopeful someone will advance to the regional. Here is the link to the results http://baumspage.com/track/portage/county/res08.htm

K's team lost its game yesterday. Their only game this week is on Wednesday. Of course I will miss it due to track. We went down to his field this afternoon for a little practice with a teammate.

Til next time,
See you Down by the Bayou

Last night was the first night of the PTC League meet. The semi-finals in the sprints and the field events were contested at East Canton. We did advance 1 guy to the finals (top 8) in the 100, 200, 300 hurdles and 400. Steve and Zack placed in both the shot and disc. Steve was 2nd in the disc and 3rd in the shot. They both hit personal bests. Steve almost hit 46 feet in the shot. He could advance to the Regional meet with a 46 foot put. (It is actually called a put not a throw.)
K played a game last night. According to our scorekeeper, the team did not look good in the field or at bat. He has another game tomorrow morning. I am upset I will miss the game. This is the make-up game from Monday's PPD. I hate missing his games.

Bayou

What a beautiful day! It was almost 70 degree and sun. I had to mow today. If I did not mow today, it might be 5 days until I would get a chance to mow again. It is going to get cold, rainy and overcast for the rest of the week.

$3.95----Unbelievable!

Today was Opening Day for the San Angelo Colts. I was able to listen to the game over the Internet. It was good to hear Frank call the game. He is on his way up the ladder to the big league. He must pay his dues just like the players. I am not sure I like the 2 man booth the Colts have this year. I am sure I will enjoy it once I am use to it. Here is the link to the game recap http://sanangelocolts.com/news/?id=6272

Did you see Asdrubal Cabrera turn the unassisted triple play last night? I can't find a link to the play. I was talking to my aunt in Texas and did not realize it til after the commercial break. It is the second unassisted triple play I have seen on TV. I saw on back a few years ago. It was the Fox Saturday game of the week.

Mike Wagner stopped by after practice. He is getting married next year and graduating from Akron in August. I am happy for him. I am glad he was able to use his talent to help pay for a college degree. I may try to get him as a volunteer coach next season.

Til next time, Bayou.

Bayou, DDS was at it again today. I ended up pulling K's other front tooth. It was hanging by a thread. I think K is done losing teeth for awhile. Heck, if he lost anymore, he might not be able to eat.
Today was a crappy weather day. But, it was a day to clean the house. I went through some old clothes and got them ready to donate.
The kids got me up early to make T breakfast in bed. Thankfully, she only wanted an omelet, bacon, and juice. I can handle making those foods. I am planning on getting T a new camera before the cruise. The kids made cards for her as well.

If you need any teeth pulled give Bayou, DDS a call.

A couple of things to blog about today.

Thursday. The Wildcat track team did not fair well at Dalton. But, we did sweep the throws events. (Girls shot and disc and Boys shot and disc). It was a soft rain most of the night. K's team won 16-9 in the rain as well. T said K did well in the field and bat.

Friday. I went to see my nephew play 12 year old baseball. His team lost, but I enjoyed watching him pitch.

We are heading down to the camper today. We are not staying the night, but it is a beautiful day to enjoy being outside.

I forgot to let you know, I stepped down as the Mogadore Wrestling coach. The time away from the family was the biggest factor to step down. It was not fair to my wife to drive the kids to all their stuff (girls scouts, boy scouts, baton, etc...). I missed a father daughter dance again this year, and I feel bad about missing stuff. I have offered to stay on as a volunteer assistant if the new coach wants me to help. I will miss somethings about wrestling, but I wont miss the bs that happened this year.

--Bayou

PICTURE TIME!

It is not even October, but we have a Jack-o-lantern in our house.
There were not too many people in Section 414 last week.

This brick is located in Heritage Park at Jacobs Field. The Anderson's are friends of the family. T worked at the Subway Rich owns. Heritage Park is a walk down Cleveland Indians history. On your next visit to Jacobs Field, take time to visit it. It is located behind the centerfield wall.

These picture were taken with my camera phone. I can take better pictures with my "real" camera. Speaking of photography, I finally sent in the paperwork for my own LLC. On April 14, 2008, the state of Ohio granted me T and T Photography, LLC. I feel so official. I hope to make some money doing something I love. I have 4 weddings booked this summer so far and all have been word of mouth referrals. So, if you know anyone looking for a photographer, let them know about T and T.

Thank you, Bayou

WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN!
K's team won its first game of the year tonight. 22-21. The scored 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to win. The fielding and batting were better tonight versus last week. However, they could have been better. It is very tough to get a team of 7 year olds to listen during every pitch of every at bat. I tend to get into the game more than the other coaches. One parent wants to get me blood pressure monitor. K's next game is Thursday, which is his actual birthday. I will miss it due to the Dalton Relays.
I was absent from school today. I finally went to see a doctor about my sinuses (sp?). They have been bothering me for about 10 days. I tried everything under the sun, but nothing work. I went to see Dr. Bruno. She is very nice. My former doctor, Dr. Rowley, left NCMF last year. I need to establish a relationship with a new doctor.

The track meet Friday night was delayed about 45 minutes due to thunderstorm. We were able to finish the meet before 10:30pm. The Wildcat boys finished 5th. The highlight was the 4x200 meter relay team breaking the school record. However, the times is not that impressive. But, for now, the four guys own a school record.
Here is the link to the results:
http://baumspage.com/track/mogadore/res08.htm
Saturday was prom. It was held in the same place as my wedding reception. It is located just a mile down the road from MHS. T and I had a good time. It looked like the kids had a fun prom as well. I have been to 8 prom and I had never danced with a student, until last night. The DJ played Tom Jones' "It's not Unusual" and one of girl's from the dance line come over and asked me to dance. I really can't say the last time I danced to a "fast" song, but I think I held my own.
Today, we had K's birthday party. It was about 60 but sunny. It was just family, but that is a big party. We had baseball food and had a Cleveland Indians cake. K got a couple of baseball gifts, a tent, and a rocket. Uncle Kevin gave him the rocket. I can't wait to launch it. We will need a large space for launching the rocket. We are told the rocket can go up 400-600 feet. Stay tune.

I mowed the grass on Wednesday. I will need to mow it again before K's b-day party on Sunday. Speaking of K, he had his first coach pitched game last night. His team lost, but got better as the game went on. He played RF and 1B. He did field and ground ball and ran to 1B for the out. He did ok at the plate. The one time he was called out, the ball was not in the 1B's glove, it was on the ground touching it. It was the ump's first game and I guess I can cut him some slack. But he did not know some of the basic rules of the game. The team has a practice tomorrow and we will work on some basic baseball.
Tonight is the Wildcat Invitational. The weather is not looking good right now, but I hope it clears up. I did all the preliminary work last night and I am finishing things up during study hall and lunch. I will post the link with the results when I blog next.
I also booked another wedding for later this year last night.
-Bayou

The game last night was cold as advertised. Jeff and I were the only ones in section 414. The usher who watched over sections 414-418 made sure anybody who had a ticket in the 500s stayed there and not in his 400 sections. While I am glad he kicked 10 or so people out of our section, you really have to think--Does it matter? There were less than 20,000 fans at the game last night. All the fans could have filled the lower bowl and the bleachers, so why not? the game was on ESPN and I am sure it look very empty on TV. I think it would have looked better to fill the lower bowl and give the appearance of a full crowd. Anyways, the Indians managed to score only 2 runs in the 18 innings I saw over the weekend. They are now 1-3 in games I attend. Thankfully, I am not planning another game until June. Hopefully by then the weather will be warm and stay warm....Bayou

I felt the need to post this picture of me and K. We went to see the Indians play the Yankees today. We finally had a beautiful day for baseball. It was sunny and upper 60s. The tribe lost the game 1-0. It broke their 5 game winning streak. I am going up tomorrow night with T's cousin. It might be another cold game. There is a cold front moving through the area tonight.
Bayou, DDS was not needed to remove K's front tooth. He was waiting to run the bases after the Indians game and it fell out. He was wiggling it during the game and finally came out. The other front tooth is loose and will fall out before long.

The Wildcat track team was at the Aurora Invitational. We finished 7th out of 8 teams. That is big news. We were the smallest team invited, but managed to score enough points to beat Berkshire. Here are the results. http://baumspage.com/track/aurora/res08.htm

Happy Birthday to my sister, Dawn. I am not allowed to write her age, but it rhymes with morty.

It has been a beautiful week so far. I golfed Monday. Butch and I won our "best ball" match 2 and 1. We shot a 41 between us. We both hit the ball well. We made a few key putts to win or halve a hole. I will miss next week's opening night because I am going to see the tribe play the Yankees.
Last night the wildcats lost both of their dual meets against Rootstown and Garfield. But, we did manage to lower a couple of times in the running events. The field events saw a couple of personal bests. I think the weather being so nice for practice and meets has helped us get better as a team. I can only hope that will continue for the rest of the season. I can get use to sunny and 70 each day.
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/TeamResults.aspx?Cal=73323
I don't think I can put it off any longer. I will mow my yard for the first time tonight after practice. With my busy schedule, I don't have many night available to mow. If I can't do it tonight, then it will be Saturday afternoon or Sunday.

Call me Bayou, DDS.

I think I miss my calling as a dentist. I pulled 2 of B's teeth in the last 24 hours. She let me pull one last night and another this evening. They were next to each other and now she has a big gap on her left side. She will be losing another tooth, next to the gap, in a few days. Then, she will have a monster gap.
We had a busy Saturday. K had his first scrimmage in the morning. He looked ok batting, but dropped a fly he should have caught. He needs to remember to use two hands. His hits were solid hits into the outfield. The rest of the team did ok. We still need to improve our defense. I have been given the job of "left side defensive coordinator" and 3rd base coach. I get to stand in left field and position the fielders. We have a few more practices until our first game on May 1st.
We left the game and headed to Atwood to set up camp. Dad already had the camper on the lot when we arrived. We launched the boat and set the dock into place. We will need to go back and level both the camper and deck. I am happy camping season is finally here. I am not sure when we will spend our first camp, but I can't wait.
Til next time, the Dentist is out of the office.

I have a little catching up to do with my blog.

Monday. K and I went to the Indians game. I could use the same picture from 2 weeks ago. The weather was the same. Clear skies and cold. The tribe lost to the Red Sox.

Tuesday. We ran against Woodridge and Streetsboro. It was a beautiful day again. We lost to both schools by 100 points. It wasn't even a fair fight. We did have a few kids do well, but even that was not good enough.
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/TeamResults.aspx?Cal=73322

Wednesday. The junior high held their first track meet of the year. They had a few bright spots. Again the weather has been beautiful. I guess the bad weather will be here by the weekend.

Now it is my time to rant about the Indians. I am glad that Joe Borowski is on the DL. He can try to find the missing mph on his fast ball. I am not a big fan of his. He did convert 85% of his save chances last year. It just seemed like he needed a 3 run lead in order to earn the save. Now, the rest of the bullpen baffles me. They were the best in the league last year, now they can't get anyone out. The reigning Cy Young winning is 0-3 with a 13.5 era. How ugly is that stat? C.C. will be a free agent at the end of this year. He is pitching himself into a smaller contract each and ever start. If he wants the $20 million per year for 6 years, then he better wheel off 10 straight wins and get that era down under 3. Of course, I can't forget the position players. The left field and right field players (Michaels, Gutierrez) are both under .200 with only 1 HR and 6 RBIs. The infield has Blake and Cabrera batting under .200 with 0 HR and 12 RBIs. The team is 4.5 games back of division leader Chicago. I don't think it is time to make a change (fire wedge), but if things don't improve then something must be done. There is too must talent on this team to win 5 games.
The NFL released their schedule this week. The Dallas Cowboys return to Cleveland on Sept. 7. It is their first trip to Cleveland since 1991. I went to that game. It was Labor Day weekend and the Cleveland Airshow was going on at Burke Lakefront Airport. The crowd was about 200,000 people in the downtown area. The football game and the airshow ended about the same time, so there were a ton of cars on E. 9th St trying to get on 77 and 71. I should be able to get some tickets for the game. I would like to get to a Cowboys game in Dallas this year. I would like to see them play in Texas Stadium during their last season. but, it doesn't look good. I can wait to see them in the new Texas Stadium in a few years.

Til next time,

Bayou out.

To my Akron Zips friends.......Kent State beat Akron in baseball last night.

I had a wonderful birthday dinner on the 8th. T and the kids bought me a new gas grill. I can't wait to use it. The weather stayed nice for the track meet last night. We did not win either meet, but we had several guys improve their times/distances. Here are the results from last night:

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=52301

--Bayou

I know you are asking why I have a picture of a golf ball on my blog. Tonight was the first practice night of my golf league. I played like I haven't play since the end of October. I shot a 47. I did manage to par 2 holes. You can figure out there were a couple of 6s and 8s on my scorecard. So, why would I post a picture of a golf ball after that bad a round of golf? One word: EAGLE! I hit my second shot on the par 4 #15 at the Sanctuary into the cup from 125 yards out. It was my first eagle in a non-scramble round of golf.
The sun was out today. The temperature was over 70 and I made an eagle. It is not a bad way to start celebrate my birthday, albeit a day early.

The entire Bracken family (minus my wife) gathered to celebrate a couple of April birthdays. April is a birthday bonanza. Josiah, Micah, Tim, Dawn, Steven and I celebrate our birthdays in April.

Here is a website for the track team's result from last night.

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/MeetResults.aspx?Meet=49213

Here is the team page for the track team.

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/School.aspx?SchoolID=7941

You can check out the results the day after the events.

Here we are bundled up for the game last night. Tonight was not to bad for Mogadore's first track meet. We lost to Manchester but beat Lake Center. I don't have the results in front of me, so I will need to post them later.

Today was my first game as a season ticket holder for the Indians. Ok, I actually have a partial ticket plan, but I do get playoff tickets before the general public. The tribe won 7-2 and are tied with KC for first place in the AL Central. I took K to the game. I know my uncle would be upset with me, but we left after 5.5 innings and 2 hours. It is a school night after all. There were 6 people, including me and K, in our section and a total of 17,000 fans in Progressive Field. It was 34 degrees for the first pitch. I will post a picture tomorrow from the game.

Bayou out!

Spring Break will end in a few short hours. I think I packed plenty into my break. It is only 10 weeks until summer break.
Here is a recap of the last couple of days. Friday, I picked up a rental car for my weekend in Detroit. Thrifty gave me a 300 to drive. I enjoyed driving in style. The Sweet Sixteen games at Ford Field were not that good. Davidson took control over Wisconsin and Kansas pounded Villanova. But, we had a great time at the games. I had to get up early Saturday and drive to Austintown for a track meet. It was a "pre-season" meet. They did not keep score or post time. Coaches needed to time their own kids. We looked ok. The throwers looked good. We might have some competition for the top two spot in shot and disc. My brother came over and watched UNC and UCLA advance to the Final Four.
Today was just a relaxing day. It is back to the grindstone tomorrow.

We had a fun time at Great Wolf Lodge. I think the water park was just right for our kids. I have heard some other water parks have "better" water slides, but for us, this was the place to be. We were upgraded to a big suite with a fireplace. We had plenty of room for everyone, but we were not in the room too much. It was great to spend time with Craig and his family. We are going to have a great time on the cruise with them. We are going to look at going again next spring break.
We left around 3pm, but we could have stayed until 10pm if we wanted. However, K and I went to see the Cavs play the New Orleans Hornets. I had won the tickets through Continental Airlines on-line auction. We (k and I, plus 28 other people) had dinner with Cavs GM Danny Ferry before the game. It was neat to talk to him about the state of the Cavs.
Today is a rest day. There is not much on the schedule which is nice. I put plenty into this spring break and it is not over yet.

Til Sunday,

Bayou

Papa helped J find his Easter eggs Saturday morning. There was a covering of snow overnight, so finding the eggs was a little bit harder than other years. After the hunt and brunch, we drove to Austintown for a family gathering on T's side of the family. We went to Easter service at Trinity and my niece was baptized. All the kids did really well at church. J did announce, loud enough for everyone to hear, that he had to go pee. We made it to Streetsboro after we had lunch at my sister's house. It was a busy couple of days.

The yearbook staff got a late start to State College. We even had to go back and pick someone up who overslept. We made it to Jostens around 12:30. We did the plant tour. I thought I knew how they printed books, well, I was wrong. We have a 4 color book, so they print it 4 times. One time each for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Then we had lunch near the campus of Penn State. We did tour the campus and visited the Joe Pa statue and the Nittany Lion shine (above). I bought a shot glass to add to the collection. We made it back to Mogadore around 9:30. I will gladly take another group again in the future.

Bayou out, for now.

Well, Kent State looked like a high school team in the first half of their game against UNLV. They scored 10 points in the first half---yes, I said 10 points. They did manage to make the game close in the second half. The lost 71-58. UNLV will take on Kansas tomorrow. I am doing ok in my bracket at school, I got 14 of 16 picks correct. Hopefully, I will do that good or better today.
Today started spring break. We will be busy over the next 10 days. I will be heading to the Jostens printing plant in PA next week as well as taking the kids to Great Wolfe Lodge in Sandusky. I will also be heading to Ann Arbor to see the NCAA South Regional games. Plus, I have an earlier season track meet on Saturday the 29th.
Before we can do all that stuff, we have a couple of gatherings this weekend. Tomorrow is an egg hunt at my parents house, plus a birthday party for my 1 yr old niece. Then, it is on to another party for T's cousin's little boy's first birthday party. On Easter, my youngest niece will be baptized. After the brunch we will head to T's parents for Easter dinner. So, you can see we will be busy for break. But, after break there will be about 50 days of school left til summer break.

I don't think I will be going to see the Flashes in Omaha. They are playing at 2:55pm. I doesn't look good for me to travel 14 hours to see them play. They need to beat UNLV and Kansas and I will be able to see them in Detroit the following week.
The OSU Buckeyes will host UNC-Ashville in the first round of the NIT tomorrow night. I might head to C-bus with G. The tickets are only $20. Akron will head to Florida St for a game tomorrow night in the NIT.

KENT STATE IS IN! They will be one of the 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament. They won the MAC Tournament tonight with a 19 point victory over the Akron Zips. This is the fifth time the Flashes have played in the tournament. The closest location is Washington DC, so I am not sure I will be able to attend the first round game. I did talk to Uncle Gary and he said he would go if it is close and I wanted to go. I am going to the Detroit Regional semi-final games on March 28th. Jared is going to get tickets for us.

Happy Pi Day! (3.14). It is a math thing and I am not a math teacher. During my first few months of teaching one of the math teachers told me I was not a "real" teacher, I was just the "shop" teacher. It is one of those things that stays with you. I know she was kidding, but I still played along as if I was mad about the comment.
Gas has gone down to $3.29. The snow has melted to the point I can see grass in my backyard. I also see a small pond back there as well. I am sure rivers will be flooding soon.

$3.45 a gallon. Unbelievable!

We all survived the storm. We got about 19 total inches of snow at our house. The airport said only about 14.5 fell there. We did go out Sunday and picked up B from her overnight on Friday night. K went to a birthday party for a neighborhood kids Sunday afternoon. He had a fun time. The weather was sunny and warmer. T did make it to work both days. Track practice starts today.

There was 18" of snow in my backyard at 2:00pm. The snow is still falling and we could get 8 more inches. T went to work after the snowplow finally went our street and I could dig the car out of the driveway. Several people got stuck in the street before the plow made its way here. It is time like this I ask myself....Why in the bald-headed hell, don't I live somewhere else?

It has been a relaxing week. Well, almost. The wrestling team rolled up the mats on Monday and Tuesday and then we had the end of the year awards night last night.
The was a busy week for birthdays. J turned 3 on 3/4 and my niece, Leighah, turns 1 today. This week also marked the 5th anniversary of my uncle's passing. It is hard to believe it has been 5 years. It seems like it has been just a few months. I can remember so many times I spent with him and my aunt. I take time, when I hear the National Anthem, to remember time spent together.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from my uncle:
"Why in the balded-headed hell didn't we go to San Diego?" He said this to my aunt when we were in Chicago in May of 1991. I do recall the temps in the 50's when we went to the 'new" Comisky Park. We did end up in San Diego a couple of years later.

Here is my aunt, cousin, uncle and myself at Superbowl XXVIII. The Cowboys defeated the Bills for the second straight year.

66 degrees and sunny. Now, we will see what tomorrow brings. I did not mention yesterday I went to a volleyball tournament at Jackson HS. I meet a family from the Youngstown area that will be on our cruise in August. We meet up on Cruise critic and have been chatting for a few months. It was fun to meet them and watch their daughter play some volleyball.
We also celebrated J's birthday. He will be 3 tomorrow. We had a "small" family party. But, we still had 30 people at mom and dad's house. There is no way we could have held the party here.
Tomorrow is election day. I will be happy to see all the TV ads stop til later this year.

Here are a couple of pictures from this past weekend. Shayne went 2 and out. He got a taste of state wrestling, hopefully, he will take a big bite next year.

He is a champion! Dustin Carter won 1 match in Columbus before losing his next two. He finished his senior year 40-4. The entire arena gave him a 3-4 minute standing ovation. He lost his limb when he was 5 due to a rare blood disease.
Saturday afternoon, we headed to downtown Columbus to attend the Arnold Classic. This is a sporting event that over takes the Columbus Convention Center. It was packed. We only stayed a couple of hours, but we did get a chance to shake "The Governor's" hand.

I got word today, around 2:30, that my wrestler would be able to compete in the state tournament this weekend. He was able to get an injunction allowing him to wrestle. It has been a busy few hours getting everything ready for the weekend. I will give you an update when I get back from Columbus.

SNOW DAY

The kids and I went out this afternoon and played in the snow. "Snowy" came to life with the hard work from all the kids. We stayed outside for about an hour. It is still snowing and isn't going to stop anytime soon. This is the kids' fifth snow day. They will have to start making them up in June if school is called off anymore. I still have 1 more day in the bank.
I haven't heard anything today about my wrestler. I will call him later tonight if I don't hear from them by dinner time.

Picture Time

Here is the clock at Maple Heights HS. I took this picture as we left the gym Friday night.
During 12+ hours at a wrestling tournament you can get bored. Someone tried to connect the dots on Ryan's head.

We went to see Enchantment at the Palace Theatre. I don't think I have been in the Palace since the Perry Symphonic Winds played there senior year.

This is Seymour. He lives in the Winking Lizard in Independence. The wrestling team wanted to take him home. He lives the high life. His enclosure is huge and he has his own TV.

Recap of the weekend.
Friday. Every wrestler won at least one match today. We did not leave Maple Heights until 11:20pm. We did stay at a Holiday Inn Express. The moms are going to pay me back the money for the rooms.
Saturday. I got a call from Rich that one of my wrestlers will be ineligible next week. Well, that wrestler advance to the state meet. I had to tell him before we left Saturday night. It was a crazy day trying to help his parents see if there is anything they can do to get him to wrestle.
Sunday. The family went to see Enchanted. It is a cute movie. The first part of the movie was a very classic Disney cartoon, then it turns into a "real" movie. T then went to work. It was nioce to spend time with the kids.
Today. It was filled with a couple of meetings with the AD and principal. I don't know if anything can be done to help my wrestler. I am very disappointed with him. He has worked his but off and earned a spot in Columbus. It is too bad he can't get his grades up.

I did it! I am now a season ticket holder of the Cleveland Indians. Well, a 20 game plan anyways. It was the Pronk Flex plan. I selected the 20 games I would like to attend and in the price range I wanted. I purchased 2 tickets in the Upper Reserve sections. One of the benefits of being a season ticket holder are playoff tickets. I will be able to purchase them when the Tribe makes a run to the World Series.

--Bayou Out.

Snow, wind and low temps returned today. It was 15 degrees on my drive to school. I thought it was going to be good day. Well, it turned to crap quickly. I will spare you all the details, but today was one of the days that would drive anyone out of coaching. The AD was all over the wrestling program. It ended up with me at the Board of Education meeting with some of my wrestling moms. Hopefully, things will work out.
I have not written much about the Kent State basketball team. Tonight they won the school's 1,000 game. They also won 20+ games in a season for the 10th straight year. They are heading to California to play St. Mary's in the BracketBuster game. The game is on ESPN2 at midnight, Saturday. I hope to see them play again this season, either in the MAC tournament, NIT or the NCAA tournament.
The position player reported to Winter Haven today. The tribe looks strong again this year. I am thinking of getting a partial season ticket plan, so I can buy post-season tickets.
For now, Bayou is out.

Saturday.
The Mogadore Wildcats finished in 6th place in the sectional tournamenet. This by far is our highest finish in many, many years. We finished with 103.5 points, just 3 points behind South Range. Joe, Shayne and Phil all lost in their championship match and Josh lost the 3rd place match. However, they all advance to the district meet this weekend. Bretton and Dan finished in 5th place and will be alternates at the district meet. If you are counting at home we placed 6 wrestlers out of the 8 we entered...75% of our team placed.
Sunday.
We went to a family birthday party. I had to leave early to head back to Rootstown for the All-PTC voting. Joe (112 pounds) and Shayne (160 pounds) were voted to the First Team. Dan, Josh and Phil were voted to the Second Team. Zach and Bretton were Honorable Mention.
Monday. The was reading 60 degrees F on my drive home last night.
Today is the last scheduled day off until spring break. We are heading to the movies today with the Tolins and T's cousin's family. I am sure it will be packed. After that, I think we all will head to bed early. The temp when I got up this morning 32 and snow, only in Ohio.

No school today. It was a planned day off. But, I had a dentist appointment this morning. Fun Fun Fun. I needed to be at school by 3 to get ready for the sectional tournament. We wrestled well tonight. Joe, Shayne, Josh, and Phil are still in the Championship bracket. Dan and Zach won one and lost one tonight. They will need to battle back go reach the consolation finals. The top four in each weight class advance to the district meet next week.
We did not do anything for Valentine's Day yesterday. We did go to Cheeseburger in Paradise on Wednesday with the kids. We are going to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge over spring break as a Valentine's gift. We are going to meet up with Craig and his family. We are sailing with Craig and family later this year. Craig and I were roomates back in college. I have know Craig since first day of freshman year. We had 2 or 3 classes together that first semester. We later had flight ground school together and I had my first solo flight before him. But he is the airline pilot and I can only dream about flying planes. Maybe I will hit the lottery and I can start flying again.

SNOW DAY

Today was a snow day for both the kids and me. The kids had a snow day yesterday, but I had to go to school. The weather was terrible for the ride home. It was icing the entire drive home. It took about an hour to get home. It snowed about 5 inches last night. Our road did not get plowed til the afternoon. The main roads were clear and drivable, but the side roads are still covered with snow. We did go out and finished getting our taxes done :) Then, T and I donated blood at Aultman Hospital. It looks like everyone will have school tomorrow. But, good news, we have Friday and Monday off.

Bayou out!

SNOW DAY

Ok, I needed something warm to think about today. The wind chill factor is -20 degrees below zero F. Mogadore waited until 5am to call off school. Perry called off last night.

Here is a recap of the weekend. The wrestling team was third in the county divvision. This was the best finish by a wrestling team in many years. We had two 2nd place finishers and two 6th place finishers. K joined me on Saturday to watch the Cats in action. Joe was 2nd at 112 pounds and Shayne was 2nd at 160 pounds. Dan and Zach were both placed 6th. I thought they both could and should have placed better.

The team will work this week towards state sectional tournament, which starts on Friday. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to the district meet. We should get two guys advancing to districts. We might slip a third into the mix.

Til next time---Bayou out!

This is the view of the pool deck on the Enchantment of the Seas. T was scrapbooking our cruise from 2006 over the weekend. The kids and I had an "ice" day on Friday, so I helped her some. I have joked with T, that if she doesn't scrapbook this cruise, then she can't go on the next one. The kids enjoyed not going to school. The weekend was fun a well. K and J built and rebuilt a fort in the living room. Jared came down to see Akron play Eastern Saturday night. It is always good to see him and Alex. We talked about our Labor Day trip. We are thinking about Houston or Vegas. If we go to Vegas, then we would drive to Anaheim to see baseball. This year we are going without kids. We loved taking them to New York, but this trip is generally, always adult only.
We went over to my sister's for my brother in laws b-day and the Super Bowl. I was glad to see the NY Giants win. I am not a big fan of Bill Belacheat. If I was a betting man, I would have taken the Giants plus 12.5. I guess it is time to focus on college basketball. Kent State is only 3 wins from 20 wins again this season. It would be the 10 straight year the Flashes had 20+ wins.
My two week wrestling layoff ends this Thursday. I will be spending many nights at Rootstown HS in the next 2 weeks. The PTC and Sectional Tournaments are at Rootstown, plus a couple of seeding meetings and an All-PTC league meeting. I think I will forward my mail there!

It was a homecoming of sorts tonight. Even though I live less than 5 minute from Perry HS, I don't get back to the alma mater to often. Tonight the wrestling Panthers hosted Lake with the Federal League title on the line. The Panthers came up big with a victory over the Blue Streaks. It was a big and loud crowd inside the gym. The picture below is a view from our seats. K wanted to sit near the floor.
When the acton got interesting, we had to look around a 7 footer. Perry's big, Kenny Frease, was on hand to root on the team. Kenny has the Panthers on the verge of their own league title. He will playing for Xavier next season.

Ok, it is a bad picture, but if you go into the Perry gym and look above the doors into the vistors side, you can see then 1987-1988 basketball team picture. I was the video guy on that team. When the team won the Federal League, the team picture was placed in the gym. One day, I will need to get a real good picture of the picture. I did receive one aftert the season, but I would like to have one.

Not much has happened this week. The wrestling team has the weekend off. We have had a few sick wrestlers this week. Hopefully, they will be 100% next weekend.

The weather has been the biggest news. We have had a high of 50 one day, then 16 the next. One night there were wind gust over 50 mph. There is a winter storm warning for tonight. Ice and snow is predicted. Some students think we will have a snow day. As I write this, nothing is failing from the sky.

When Friday night ended, I thought both Matt and Bubba would ended up being eliminated quickly in the Junior High PTC Tournament. Well, Matt did losing two times ended his 7th grade wrestling season. However, Bubba, who up until Thursday night had never won a match went on to pin two more opponents on his way to a 6th place finish. The thought of him placing in this tournament never crossed my mind. He is now talking about wrestling in high school. I hope so. He needs to stay active. Bubba is the wrestler on the far left.
Because Bubba did so well Saturday, I never made it out to Austintown to see the varsity team. Joe (4th) and Shayne (5th) placed. This is the toughest tournament we are entered in all season. It is loaded with a couple D1 powers, plus a couple of D2 powers. However, it gives us tougher competition than we will face in our league meet. It is a great warm-up for the sectional tournament next month.
We did not do much today. T got called off work today. No big surprise there. I did clean the fish tanks. K new beta fish moved into his bigger tank. The picture below shows the 5 fantails that reside in the tank in the living room. You need to look close to see the fifth fish, but they are all there. 3 of them have been living with us for over a year. Lately, J has been asking to get a puppy. Thankfully, the other 2 have not got on that bandwagon. I would love for them to have a dog, but with my allergies there is no way. I saw what my mom went through on a daily basis with Sadie and I don't want to go through it. So, I am more than happy with the fish. There is a nice big tank at Petsmart I would love to have. If it goes on sale, it might just end up here.

See you Down by the Bayou!

Brenna made her entrance into the world today. I now have 3 nieces. My parents have 11 grandchildren now. Everything went well today. She arrived shortly after 2pm.

In other news, J got his braces off today. He did really well again. The dentist said there is a good chance he will lose his tooth early.

The wrestling Wildcats defeated the Rootstown Rovers 28-25. It come down to Phil Everett at 215. He won 8-2. We ended up 5-8 in duals this year. The match of the year was between Troy Spiker and Josh Bailes. Josh went up a weight class to wrestle Troy. Troy is a top ranked wrestle at 189. Josh was 25 pounds lighter than Troy. Josh fought hard, but lost 6-5.

My junior high wrestlers did well tonight as well. Matt pinned his opponent. But, Bubba won his first two matches of his junior high career tonight, both by pin.

It will be a busy weekend, so my next update will be Sunday.

Tomorrow my younger sister will give birth to a little bundle of joy. According to the ultrasound this bundle will be a girl. Early reports have the first name as Brenna. I am not sure if that is what they settled on, but it was a favorite of Nick. Kerri will be induced in the morning. I am will not be able to see them in hospital until after my wrestling meet. Even then, it might be too late to visit. I pray everything goes well for everyone tomorrow.
In the sporting world, Kent State scored 50 points in the second half to beat Akron 75-69. Kent has won 15 games this year. They are looking to win 20 games again this year for the 10th straight year. I am still hoping to go see them play a couple more times this year.

Yesterday, I had a busy day for a day off school. I had a dentist appointment, followed by a meeting with Jose. I am going to shot Jose's wedding this year. He looked over my other wedding photos. Then, if was off to Garretsville for the Junior High PTC wrestling tournament seeding meeting. It was 112 miles round trip. It is a good thing I get paid mileage for stuff like that. I was home by 8pm.
Today was the first day of the new semester. I have a couple of new classes this semester. It is only 89 school days til summer break.

Just for fun today, I tried to log into my blog from my classroom and guess what? It worked. Of course, I don't have much to say on this Friday. Today is the last day of exams for the high school. Right now, I don't have any students. So, I have been cleaning up my classroom. I have already finished grading my exams and entering them into the computer.
I am not sure what I am going to do this weekend. I don't have any sporting events to worry about this weekend. The wrestling team is off til Thursday. I really don't care about the NFL games this weekend. Maybe I will head over to NC to see Perry play some basketball on Saturday. I would like to head to OU and see Kent State play, but I will be gone most of next week, so I want to spend time with the kids.

Bayou out.

While I was sitting in the stands at the Northwest Tournament, I had an idea. Why not start a "trophy" for our wrestling team. We were wrestling our neighbors to the east (Field HS) and to the west (Ellet HS). I started calling the match "The Backyard Battle." I made up a small fence-like trophy and had a MHS student paint the fence in each schools colors. Ellet defeated Field in the first match of the night. Then we went on to defeat Ellet 35-30. The match was tied 30-30 going into the last match. My 103 pounder scored a tech fall 20-5 to win the match for the Cats. Then we cruised to an easy win over Field 35-22 to win the first Backyard Battle.

The Cats pose with "The Fence" after the Backyard Battle.

I know you can't see the license plate real well, but it is a Browns vanity plate that says "NXYEAR". I guess the seems the same can be true for the Cowboys. I am not talking to anybody right now. I am sick how the game ended, really the entire fourth quarter. The playing calling, quarterback play, drop passes, penalties and did I mention the play calling? Jason Garrett just coached his way out of a head coaching job. Wade Phillips better be licking Jerry Jones's boots to keep his job. It has been a real crappy week in sports for me....First the Buckeyes and then the Cowboys. I could really careless who wins now. I guess I can root for KSU alum Antonio Gates and the Chargers, but really I don't care.

My busy week came to an end tonight. We wrestled at Garfield on Thursday night. We won 6 of 8 matches against Kenmore and 5 of 7 against Garfield, but forfeit cost us the victories. The team was at the NW Invitational the last 2 days. We placed 4 guys, 2 Seconds, 1 thirds and a 5th. I am not sure we could have had anybody else place.
We are hosting Field and Ellet for the "Backyard Battle". I am going to make up a small trophy that will go to the overall winner. It will be senior night as well.

Go Cowboys! beat the giants.

It seems to take an Ohio born coach(es) to beat Ohio State in the championship game. Both the head coach and the defensive coordinator were born in Ohio. Their defensive coordinator played at OSU and was a captain his senior year. But, the sun will rise tomorrow. The Buckeyes had another good season. I would rather have a chance to win the BCS game, than not play in it.

J had his stitches removed today. T said he was as good getting them removed as he was when they put them in.

It was a record high temperature today. My car said 64 on the drive home at 5:30pm.

I am going to bed.

Congrats to the Bayou Bengals from the Bayou.

Yesterday, K tied for 3rd place in his boy scouts den's pinewood derby. He was upset he did not win a trophy. But, we had fun making the car together. Next year, he will do more. I would rather him do this with as little help from adults as possible. It seemed like alot of fathers build the cars without little help from the scout. K used a band saw, with my help, to cut his car. He sanded it himself as well. We will try harder next year.
My brother came over for the Pittsburgh game. We had a fun night even though the Steelers lost.
Tomorrow, we are having a small gathering for the BCS Championship game. I am sure the Buckeyes will not be blown out like last year. They might not win, but they will be in this game. Coach Tressel won't let that happen. Now, I also think the Buckeyes will win a close hard fought game. It will be a low scoring game 13-10. Buckeyes win with a late field goal.

Go Buckeyes!

Update on J. He went to the dentist this afternoon. The dentist moved the tooth back in place and placed a metal brace on the front of J's front 6 teeth. I would put another picture up on the blog, but you really can't see the brace too well. T said he did great in the dentist chair. The dentist has TVs on his ceiling so his patients can watch DVD while getting work done. J watched episode of Blue's clues. I wish Dr. Cohen would have something for me to watch while I am getting my teeth cleaned.
The wrestling team won their first match of the year tonight. We beat Youngstown Ursuline 30-18, but lost to South Range 27-23. It was a tough close match all night long. I think we wrestled better as a whole, but some guys need to focus during practice. We are off until next Thursday when we travel to Garretsville Garfield.

--Bayou

OUCH!

T called me at the beginning of practice today. J bit his lip as he fell off his bed. He was helping K put sheets on his bed and fell off the side. He needed 6 stitches to close up his lip. He did wonderful. He did not fuss or cry while the doc worked on him. He will go to the dentist in the next couple of days. His front teeth were pushed back when hit hit the window. I guess we will meet our deductible early this year.

Hopefully, this will be our only trip to ER this year. K was the only one to avoid the ER last year. Maybe he and B can avoid it this year.--Bayou