Monday, Monday

Since most of you reading this will probably be reading it on Tuesday, I guess I should stop paying homage to the Mama and Papas with the title. Anyway, as is the custom, a few things on my mind today...


Anytime I hear about an athlete (doesn't matter the level) of any calibur getting into some kind of trouble, I have to wonder if they are criminals are heart, or just stupid. Don't these people realize that no matter how big of a star they are, people are going to watch their every move? For those of you who went to La Crosse, or know what transpired two Oktoberfest's ago, you know exactly how I feel about these types of situations. For those of you who don't know the story, I'll summarize, I think high profile people who perform criminal acts, or don't hold themselves to higher standards are just plain stupid, and deserve everything that comes to them as far as punishment, and probably even more.

This brings me to Badger running back, Booker Stanley and his activities this past Saturday night. Apparently, at a party which saw 20,000 people attend on Saturday night, Mr. Stanley got a little out of control and was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, battery, and resisting or obstructing an officer. For more on the story, read this. There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. If I was a coach and one of my players was arrested for, among other things, battery, I would kick him or her off of my team, no matter how big of a star they were. Of course, this is easy for me to say, because I am not, nor will I ever be a coach and face this dilema.

Athletes and people in the public eye are held to a higher standard, it's just the way it is. They need to act like it, and should be held accountable for their actions. Sure, Stanley will have to pay a fine, may land in jail for a few weeks, but will most likely be put on probation. That doesn't matter to young athletes who see this kind of thing, all they see is that he will still be on the team next season. The coaches of these players need to start making the tough decisions and severely punish these actions. Suspension isn't enough.



According to the city of Boston, Victoria Snelgrove's life was worth $5.1 million. That's what the city will pay her parents after her death in October from being hit in the eye with a pepper-spray filled projectile, which was fired toward a crowd by a Boston City Police Officer. If you haven't heard of this tragic story, click here. My qyestion is this, how is the decision made that $5.1 million is fair? I know there are many suits like this every year, how do the people who make this decision arrive at that amount of money? Is there a formula such as; person was this many years old, they were in this profession, they would have averaged this much money, their death was this atrocious, and here's the money? I don't get it, and it infuriates me when juries award this much money to families of people who were killed, and that's supposed to make things right. Do I have any idea what would make situations like this better? No, I don't, nor do I know what a better settlement would be. However, basically what settlements like this mean is, hey, here's how much your son or daughter's life was worth to us, now take the money and don't bother us anymore. I know why families accept the money, it's money, but what does it do for them? I DON'T GET IT.



I know T-Mac is doing silly things in the playoffs, but I haven't watched a single second.


Big Zeldar (my cousin, Jon) asked why we don't email Darren and Bill and try to get The Keg some legs that way. Good point, and I encourage everyone to email them about this during every game for the rest of the season. We can all start tomorrow, well, everyone but me, because I'll be at The Keg enjoying the game.


I will leave you with this little nugget. I went golfing for the first time of the season this past weekend with John, and friend of his, Ryan, and a friend of Ryan's. We went to Whitnall Park Golf Club in Greendale. Not only was it the first time I went golfing, it was the first time I swung a club all season. Let me say this about the course, it sucked, absolutely horrible. You can't expect great things from courses this early in the season, but the $42 I paid for uneven tee boxes, uncut fairways, and dead greens with so much sand on them I thought I was putting in a sand trap, was far too much. Even with all of the bad conditions on the course, not to mention the cold temperature and the wind, I still had quite an enjoyable time. Hit a lot of good shots, hit pretty much every hole in regulation, and minus putting because, well, we talked about the greens, I was right around par. I probably took between 15-25 putts on the front nine (which is not good AT ALL), but given the conditions of the green and the fact my lines were all pretty much on, just off on speed, I was pretty pleased with my round. On the back nine, John and I played a scramble and finished 1 over par.

I also had the greatest shot of my life on the back nine, number 16, 400 yard par 4. After we used my drive on the hole because John hit his ob, we were left with quite a difficult shot to the green. The ball was lying inbetween two sticks, about one foot from the trunk of a tree on the right. Three more trees were on the right within 15 feet and were in direct line with the hole. There was also a tree to the left about 10 feet away, so a simple punch to the fairway would have been difficult. With the trees right in line with the hole, and low branches, I figured the best shot I would have would be to play a knock-down 4 iron, to keep the ball low, and try to cut it, start it out left and bring it back right, to have it go near the green. There was also a bunker between us and the green, in the front right. The ball was on a slightly up hill lie, so this was going to be tough. I took my stance, no practice swings, because I don't take them, and hit the shot I wanted to hit. The ball stayed low enough to miss the branches, and I shaped it perfectly around the trees. As the ball was traveling through the air and following the fairway, I thought we would have a pretty good shot at par. At the time we were 2 over and wanted to finish even for the day, so birdie would have been great. The ball hit once before the green and I saw it hit another time on the green, then it went behind the bunker and was lost. John said, "That is going to be an outstanding shot" and I replied, "Yeah, are you even going to hit?" Basically because we knew my shot was near the green, if not on, and in a scramble you both play from the best shot. As we approached the green, we did not see my ball there, so I wonder aloud if maybe it rolled off or, "It's probably in the hole". We stopped the cart behind the green, and while I tentively approached the hole, John sprinted there and started giggling uncontrollably. I was about 5 feet from the hole when I began to see the white of the cup, I took one more step and the dimpled glory which was my white Slazenger number 4 appeared at the bottom of the cup, resting comfortably after a long journey, with an ending no one saw.

My first ever Eagle on a par 4. It was great. After that, I swung and missed when I tried to get Katie, the bartender's number in the clubhouse. I will say this about her, she works at a golf course and is one of the 5 best looking women I have ever seen in real life, by far the best looking woman I have seen in this state. Not even kidding, she deserves her own column, I could've hit the jackpot, but of course she has a boyfriend. Only good thing is; her 21st birthday is May 9th we found out, and considering how good I have been in the past with girls and their birthdays, christmas, sweetest day, valentine's day, st. swithens day, and whatever other holidays they expect gifts for, it's probably good she had a guy already. Plus, you never want to start seeing someone with a major gift giving event in the near future. All-in-all, a great day.

-Until next time...