Come On Irene

I have bought all the 2x4s at Home Depot and Lowe's to board up my windows, hired a company to raise my house six feet off the ground, stocked my pantry with nothing but 100 loafs of bread and 50 jards of peanut butter, purchased 25 10-gallon water jugs, filled 20 gas cans with premium unleaded and cleared out every bag of gummi worms in the state

 so I say ...

Come on Irene too-loo rye-aye
Come on Irene too-loo rye-aye
Toora toora-too-loora

Now you have grown, now you have shown, oh Irene
Come on Irene, these things they are real and I know
how you feel
Now I must say more than ever
things round here have changed
Too-ra loo-ra too-ra loo-rye-aye

With this super, mega hurricane coming our way tomorrow I have almost come to the verge of evacuating the city. Unfortunately I filled so many gas cans for my house, the Circle K is now out of fuel and my truck has gone from F to passed the E and is almost to say see ya to the D on the fuel guage. I am also not sure where I could go because the waves are sure to swallow half the United States and I don't think I can get to the Mississippi river by tomorrow afternoon. They say this storm may claim more victims than Hurricane Shapiro recently did to the University of Miami.

HURRICANE SHAPIRO

I am afraid of going into shock with all of these natural disasters of late. In back-to-back days my home state of Colorado was rocked by an earthquake that could have put true meaning to the Continental Divide and split the state down the middle. It could have done two things: create a new Grand Canyon or give the U.S. 51 states. Of course most people out here in the East don't know Colorado is not just one big mountain that people ski on so the Rocky Mountains would have stayed Colorado and the rest would be called Western Kansas. The other huge earthquake was claimed to take place in Virginia but I think it was the effect of the entire U.S. trying to blast New Jersey into the Atlantic Ocean. The "earthquake" was also felt here in North Carolina by many. There are t-shirts for sale that say "I survived the 2011 Earthquake". The tremors moved Duke's four national championship banners just enough to make room for No. 5. I also heard the basketball team was awakened over in China from the tremors. It was either that or Georgetown fighting the housecleaning staff at the hotel. Maybe the entire thing wasn't an earthquake after all and was really the Graboids from the great Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward film "Tremors".

 
 I am sure these rash of natural disasters will bring up more talk of the apocalypse. Well with my stash of gummi worms I am ready to go with a smile on my face if that happens.

Music and War ... What Is It Good For???

So last weekend I had a couple of hours of free time believe it or not and was chillaxing on my couch watching TV when I came across a great movie ... The Patriot with Mel Gibson. I have always been interested in the Revolutionary War and especially the Civil War. I was watching one of the battle scenes and the British were marching forward with drums and flutes a blazin. I started wondering "why in the world did they play music during battle?"

I started reading up on the history of music during war and it goes back a long ways. Apparently it has always been used to help build morale and as a psychological weapon against opponents. Dating all the way back to the Old Testament when they used ram's horns which are also used by the orcs in Lord of the Rings. The Greek and Roman armies both used brass (tuba and trumpet type instruments) and percussion during war. Of course Scotland used bagpipes which were somehow banned by the British after Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Scottish army was defeated in 1746. What I want to know is who is the governing body of war. Do you think they are like the NCAA and dish out suspensions when you hire mercenaries to hide in the bushes and use unfair tactics during battles or are they like the NFL and hand out ungodly fines to people who do not obey the gentleman's rules of combat?

It has always baffled me that two foes used to line up straight across from each other in a wide open field so they can easily gun down a large percentage of each other's forces but that could be another blog all together. In the middle ages military bands were used to transmit orders sort of like a morse code I guess. I also like that after fighting another country soldiers would bring back new ideas of how they could improve their military band. It eventually became where trumpets were not used in combat as much but more as a wake up call or like a buzzer to assemble the troops. Drums and flutes became the battle instruments to help soldiers march to a certain beat and stay together during infantry maneuvers.

Just think about how it would be now if music was used during war. They would probably design an AKA47 with a built in speaker and a place you could plug your IPOD into. How would the Afghanistan soldiers feel about hearing Miley Cyrus' Party in the USA or Toby Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue coming from the bushes? Some may even stand on the sidelines and play Edwin Starr's War (What is it Good For, Absolutely Nothing). I would think they could also advance their strategies and include dance fighting like in Zoolander or South Park. Our troops could do the Dougie or break out the sprinkler and yell "You Got Served!!" when dominating another soldier with our sweet dance moves.



Back during the Gulf War why didn't soldiers carry boom boxes on their shoulders during battles. Why don't soldiers install subwoofers and high dollar stereo systems in the humvees and fighter planes? The government already spends a boat load of money on the military so might as well go all out to provide some great music for the troops during battle. If nothing else I think they should get this group of soldiers to perform during combat because the girl is really good.

Taking Off the Helmet is My Hard Knocks

I invite everyone to visit GoDuke.com or click on the link below to see the first edition of my own version of HBO's Hard Knocks called Taking Off the Helmet: A Behind-the-Scenes look at the 2011 Duke Football Training Camp.

Taking Off The Helmet

First off I would like to say we had fewer members on our staff then HBO had makeup people but in a week's time myself, Chad Lampman and Mike Cappetto were able to piece together a pretty good show if I do say so myself. I also give special thanks to Tom Long and Adam Barkley in our football video department for working with us and letting us borrow a camera. It was great how we worked around only having one handheld video camera, one set of wireless mics and three computers to edit on. All this with our staff doing a lot of work with basketball as they get ready for this China trip. I am not going to lie, I am ready for them to leave already so we can focus on this football show.

Working on the show has been great for me. It took me some time to get used to doing video work again since I haven't shot any video or edited any since my junior year of college in the spring of 2003. It was a quick transition back after eight years as I picked things up pretty quick and started remembering bits and pieces of my classes and training. Who knows how great the show can be if I actually become halfway decent at it again.

The show is definitely our own and different than Hard Knocks. Being in a college environment we can't do the types of storylines such as position battles or coaches speaking about players individually as much. However we do have such things as guys still taking classes during camp which most people don't realize. Our coach David Cutcliffe will give us some great audio and is a gem to work with so the show was really fun to work on this first week. It almost made me forget about my real job at Duke as I was in my office for a combined 20 minutes this entire week. I did enjoy hanging out with Chad and Cappetto however.

I hope everyone likes the first show and will tune in the next two Fridays for the last two episodes. I will try to make them entertaining for all.

Maybe the Greatest Tattoo Idea Ever

For some of my friends this will come as no surprise to you since I have had a hard time keeping it a secret. I have an idea for a tattoo that will be lifelike, scary, original and imposing all in one. The placement of the tattoo is on the neck. First reactions are usually "wouldn't that hurt?" and the answer is probably since I have never gotten a tattoo. To best describe my tattoo here is a picture of something I would have in mind only in closer quarters since there is not as much space on your neck.

Now the tattoo would mostly be outlined except for the teeth, ears, eyes, nose and claws. The rest would be filled in with human neck hair to bring a 3D look to it. Depending on if you have brown or black hair will determine the type of bear obviously. The greatest thing is that it defends everyone's tattoo argument about what happens when you get older. Well with age the bear just becomes a polar bear when your hair turns white. Problem solved.

If you are judging me for this idea and think it sounds similar to a chia pet well my answer to you is it is just an idea because I will never in my life get a tattoo. I can't stand tattoos about as much as I can't stand smoking. The closest I ever came to a tattoo was in Hawai'i when I had a tribal tattoo drawn on my entire arm with a marker at a Luau. The bartender at a local bar thought it was amazing until it started rubbing off when I spilled beer down my arm.

My two biggest turnoffs with females is smoking and tattoos. I don't care if people have them, I won't judge, but for my personal preference I could not date a female with tattoos. I had a hard time in Las Vegas earlier this summer because some of the most attractive females I have seen up close and personal became very average when I saw they had tattoos - and most of them did. There were tattoos up and down their legs, covering arms, all over their stomach and back - you name it. I would take a less attractive girl with no tattoos any day (and I have to because lets be honest I am not much to look at).  To me tattoos take away from a person's natural beauty.

A lot of my friends have tattoos as do three of my sisters. I think some of them are pretty cool but obviously not as cool as my bear tattoo idea. I don't know if you can see it but one of our football players, Donovan Varner, has my favorite tattoo.

It is a mobster with a tommy gun and it says "You need people like me." Donovan also probably has the best hair of anyone on our team but I will leave that off of this blog.

For the most part though I do not like tattoos but if anyone wants to steal my idea for the bear tattoo please do. All I ask is that you take a picture of it and sent it to me for my office wall of heroes. You will go right up next to Donovan.

How I Think Youth Sports Should Be

A conversation in the office this afternoon sparked an idea for this week's blog. While I should be writing a paper for my class I decided to instead grab an ice cold beer and write about how youth sports would play out if I were in charge of things. I will look at it from a variety of different perspectives.

The Kid

First of all the kid is the most important part of this process because it is all about them. I don't think any parent should force their kid to do something they don't want to do. I am OK with them trying to get them to try something out to see if they like it but if they say they don't then don't force it. I also hate money being involved with kids. If it were up to me I would get rid of all the AAU organizations, eliminate fees to play and ban paying coaches for anyone under the age of 13. Once they get to high school you can get your greedy hands on them but before that let them have some fun. 

The Coach

The coach should be a volunteer. It should be a parent or a person who loves the sport and has a little free time to help out in afternoons and on the weekend. As a coach the rules would be:

1: During the season every kid gets a chance to start

2: Equal playing time for all kids

3: Each kid gets to play in every game

4: You teach the fundamentals and don't drill them into the ground

5: Never yell at a child on the team

6: Make sure the kids have fun by playing games at practice and joking around

I took this approach when I was a coach back in the day. I am proud to say I retired with a perfect record in my career as a head coach. I was 12-0 and knew that it was the right time to call it quits. I led the Lopez Elementary 4th and 5th grade girl's basketball teams to 6-0 records each. I would like to point out that one of my star 4th graders, Paige Applegate, went on to average 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals per game in 2009-10 at Rocky Mountain H.S. On the other hand I am depressed that she has now graduated from high school.

Here is a picture of my two unbeatable squads in the Fort Collins recreation league

The Dad

My version of the dad would be really laid back. In fact all of the dads would not care about the outcome of the game. They would all hang out together and cheer on their kid but wouldn't put any pressure on them at all. I remember in high school when the dads all parked their trucks along the fence on each side of the field and some would sit on the tailgate and watch the baseball game. I think if they should all bring a six pack and just chill in the stands, drinking beer and talking about women and sports. There would never be any fighting or yelling at players, coaches and officials. 

The Mom

Don't hate me ladies for writing this but I would make sure the moms take turns each week bringing snacks and juice boxes for the kids. Every game becomes like a little kids birthday party. The moms all did this for my teams and it was amazing. They even chipped in to buy me a gift card after the season for volunteering. During the games the moms could sit around and talk about American Idol or Dancing With the Stars and decide who the Bachelor or Bachelorette is going to give the boot.

The Venue

People should chip in to take care of fields and gyms so kids would have a free place to go and play but when I was growing up we didn't need any of this. My buddies and I would get 10 guys together and head to the park with a nerf football. We spent hours playing out there and having fun. During recess at school we either played football or kickball for the most part. Most of the kids joined in be it girls or boys and we all had a blast. We weren't seven years old, paying $500 for a personal quarterback coach and several thousands more going around the country to play in basketball tournaments all summer long. Instead our parents were buying us snack packs with that money and teaching us good values and about hard work while letting us be kids and have fun.  

Movin On Up to the East Side

My blog is getting out late this week but for good reason. I have spent every evening this week moving from my apartment to a new, much nicer place. I have a hard time staying in one place which is why I went to two different colleges and moved to a different state each of my first four years out of college. Now that I have been at Duke for an eternity (four straight years) I needed some kind of a change. I did not change jobs or move to a different state but I did graduate from my one bedroom apartment to a beautiful townhouse.

My townhouse is almost everything I have always wanted. It has two bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and large closet. There is an upstairs loft as well with big glass windows on each side looking outdoors. Downstairs there is a large living room/dining room with hardwood floors and a fireplace. The kitchen is spacious and has a bar overlooking the living/dining room. One of my lifetime dreams was to own a refrigerator with an icemaker in the door and now that dream has come true. To many of you it might be sad that one of my dreams consisted of this but I always said small dreams are attainable, big dreams are just that ... dreams. My place also has a garage and outside the back door is a walking/running path that leads around the townhouse community and around a lake just down the road. The only two things that would make this place better is a downstairs with a pool table and it being in the mountains.

In the words of the Jeffersons ...

Well we're movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

I have never taken anything I have had for granite and have worked my way up to where I am today. I think back to some of my early places through college and after. My first two years at Colorado State I had a studio apartment with a Murphy bed. For those who don't know what that is, it is a bed that comes out of the wall. My first year after college I lived in a 3rd floor place in New Hampshire. It wasn't much to look at and I had zero furniture. I moved out there with only what I could fit in my truck. For the first several months I slept on a sleeping bag on a hardwood floor. Then people I worked with found out about it and donated several furniture items including a bed. My intern year at Duke I lived in the basement of a house where the son of our Athletic Director lived. I had my own kitchen and bedroom and advanced to a futon. My first full time job was at Alabama where I slept on an air mattress for four months in a nice one bedroom apartment until we received a month's paycheck as a bonus for making a bowl game. That bonus went to a new bed and couch which are two of the best purchases I ever made next to the washer and dryer I bought right away in Tuscaloosa. All of this has never been bad because through it all I remembered my dad's story about living in a bread truck in Oregon after he finished college. He didn't think that was so bad and for me I figured I always had it better than that because of what my parents instilled in me.

Now I am living large with my new place. I don't make a lot of money and will have to scrape by to afford this new lifestyle but to me the money is well spent because I know I will enjoy going home every day. Happiness is greater than money any day of the week.     

What Happens in Vegas ... Goes in My Blog

For the second time this summer I took a trip with the help of a free hotel from the ESPYs. This time it was myself and my buddy Forman taking our talents to Las Vegas AKA the City of Sin, the Entertainment Capital of the World, the City of Lights and Glitter Gulch. It was a two-man wolfpack with hopes and dreams of striking it rich or at least finding some good looking girls to spend the weekend with.

I would like to start with the girls. About the only way to keep from blowing through your life savings in the casino is to go to the hotel pools. We had three in our hotel, the Cosmopolitan, but one charged a cover (dumb) and the other we briefly looked for but could not find. Thus we spent our time at the Bamboo Pool. This is where we did the bulk of our socializing with the ladies. Oddly enough all of them we talked to were from other countries. There was a tremendous Canadian who was told to leave the pool by her brother because he wanted to hang with us and drink beers. A large group of Australian girls who were defensive about their country despite us only saying positive things. My favorite was two french girls who were talking back and forth. I said "You are speaking French right?" and the reply I got was a head nod yes. Unfortunately the only thing I can say in French is "It is beautiful outside isn't it" and at that time it had just poured rain and was still really cloudy.

Away from the pool my favorite girl was the one who asked me for my hotel key so she could get into a club. I said "as long as you drop it back by the room". She never dropped by but I wasn't back in the room until 3:30 a.m. so in that four hours she could have tried to. There was an Asian girl who wanted her picture taken with Forman but he had many drinks in him and at that time couldn't get out any real words. One of the great things about Vegas is there are always girls dancing on tables, in boxes or serving you drinks. I would have to say some of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen were in our hotel. One night when the tables were turned and it was me who was feeling the alcohol affects more we were walking to dinner when a parade of Planet Hollywood girls came by us singing "Vegas, Vegas, something something". I don't remember all the words but one of them tried to throw beads on me because I was dancing alongside of them. I am not sure why they were all laughing though.

On to the gambling. I lost quite a bit of money and was depressed for about 30 minutes but then realized that in the grand scheme of things I knew I would lose and was really just paying $50 per rum and coke. That is about the price of a drink at the bar in Vegas anyway (kidding it is really only $20). Once I was down a few hundo after the first day and morning of the next day I wised up. I started playing a horse racing game in the MGM that took quarters or penny slots the rest of the weekend. I probably broke even or won a little bit by doing this. I hit several big bonuses and will now stick to the penny slots even though I never really know how I am winning.

Vegas was not all gambling and girls, however. We had some impecable timing. We were riding an escalator to go eat at Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay when we saw a sign advertising a Pete Rose appearance at noon. We checked the time and it was 11:55 a.m. About 10 steps further and there he was. I took a picture of him while he was talking on his cell phone and Forman struck up a short conversation about Jeter's 3,000th hit. Ironic that we met Pete Rose in a casino.

Forman had never been to In-N-Out Burger so we ventured to try it out. The Fire Marshall would have closed the place down if he saw how many people were in there. It was worth the wait but we had to eat outside where it was really hot. Literally 30 seconds after we threw our trash away it started to pour rain ... again really good timing.

Two other quick mentions about our trip. We love Earl of Sandwich because the food was cheap and tasty and it was across the street from our hotel. We ate there every night for dinner. Also I have to mention the show Recycled Percussion we saw. The great thing about it was they gave everyone in the audience a drumstick and a selection of a pot, pan, bucket or other household item in one of four big trunks. They allowed us to be a part of the show which was pretty cool. I never got to play drums on pots and pans growing up so it was like going back in time to right my childhood in a way.