Draggin'

So yesterday was my first day back from California. Crazy time. My wife's father was in the hospital and we wanted to see him and help her half-sister with a HUGE storage unit he had filled there. Lots of work. A little sad.

But because I'm determined to be more positive this year, here are the good things about the trip:

* We were able to get away one day to take the kids to Disneyland for the first time. Disneyland is like Mecca for my family and I was so excited to share it with my sons that I barely slept the night before. January is a great time to go because it's not nearly so crowded (although there were still a lot of people and it made me actually fear going there when it was busy). We were there when the park opened and stayed until it closed. 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. HOLY COW! Lots of fun. Andy proved himself to be the crazy one. He went on every ride (he even stretched himself to meet the 46-inch requirement to go on Indiana Jones). He loved it. He ended each ride with a scream, "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!" Alex was not such a big fan. It was really my mistake. The second ride we went on was the newly redone Space Mountain and it scared him silly. The next one was the Matterhorn and he actually really liked it except at the very end as we we getting ready to get out, he was resting his chin near the front bar and our bobsled bopped into the one ahead and he hit his nose on the bar. But the place is still magical. I loved it.

* We got a new van. We are buying it from my father-in-law. Which meant, of course, that I had to drive it back from L.A. which meant ...

* I got to go to Vegas. Of course, I had no money and no energy which limited my craziness, but it was refreshing just to be on the Strip for one night and to play a little Blackjack.

So, I'm back and work. Sore, tired and brain-dead. TGIF!!!

Crud!

I just don't understand the HOF!
How do you pick Sutter over Goose!?!?!
OH Well!

Goosed

I love lists and other fun things people get to argue about. And I love baseball.

So, I love the annual Baseball Hall of Fame announcements.

I have three favorite all-time baseball players ... none of whom are in the Hall of Fame ... yet.

First, Pete Rose ... I don't care what he did after he played ... the baseball hall of fame is not a place for political statements, it's a place for baseball greats and Pete should be there.

Second, Rickey Henderson ... I'm sure he'll be in once he decides to actually retire. I love the guy's drive to succeed and be the best ... even now. I remember as a kid when I watched Rickey break Lou Brock's career record. I blew off several soccer practices just to see it happen on my little black and white TV in my room. He's just outstanding!

Now, you may be thinking that two of my favorite players are ... well ... ummm ... ok, I'll just say it ... JERKS. I suppose that's true. Neither Pete or Rickey are nice guys. But there's nobody I would rather watch play the game than those two guys in their prime.

My third pick is a nice guy ... although he wasn't on the baseball field.

Goose Gossage was scary. I mean really scary. He had the greatest stare down from the mound ever (although Dave Stewart later came close). He was a set-up man and a closer combined. He was ruthless and efficient. He was perfection.

For years, Goose has been overlooked for the Hall. I am truly hopeful that he finally makes it today when the HOF class is announced. I know everyone says Bruce Sutter is the only one who might make it, but Goose is far more deserving in my book. Sutter invented the splitter. Goose invented the closer position (coupled with the set-up guy). Which one had more of an impact on the game?

Anyway, hopefully, at noon today, I can finally say that one of my top three is a HOFer.

Off break

OK, so I'm back... It was a heck of a good break ... lots of time with the boys.
Here's a basic rundown...
* Had a great poker night with my friends Ross and Juli from California. We played until 5 a.m. and I lost about $10. Not bad. Had a great time, though.
* Found out my buddy Donovan is moving back to Greeley! Yeah!
* Rode the Poudre Trail with the boys (gorgeous!)
* Got to spend two hours of uninterupted time in Borders to spend my Christmas gift certificate (hanging out in a book store is one of my greatest pleasures (having more money to spend there would be high on the list as well))
* Signed up on an online poker site because my friend, Dan, is so into it. I was doing OK until Donovan lost a bundle of my play money after I went to sleep. But it is fun.
* Had a wonderful Christmas dinner at Ruth's!
* Ate WAY too much.
* Saw King Kong (very good!), Took the boys to Narnia (surprisingly excellent), Saw Family Stone with Tracy after a wonderful meal at Outback (our first date night by ourselves in months!), Saw Munich with Dono and Ross (pretty good ... very long ... but good).
* Watched the boys at their soccer clinic downtown.
* Watched DVDs-o-plenty ... the highlights: Star Wars Ep 3 extras were just awesome (Lucas' back info is like going to a film school), Airplane (classic Tracy gave me), The Island (just really fun ... brainless but fun))
* Didn't write anything, but I did think about it a lot. I have some cool ideas for where the rest of this book is going to end up and now I just have to get it back in my schedule.
* Took down all the Christmas decorations (two day job, but it feels good to have it done).
* Let the boys stay up for New Years for the first time and they loved it. (and they actually slept in the next day!)

Guess that's about it. Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday.