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!