Illini begin new season with exciting win

It may not have been as thrilling as last season's one-point Illini win in Evanston, but Wednesday night's Big Ten opener in Champaign had the elements of a memorable battle between in state rivals Northwestern and Illinois.

It had a contrast of styles, odd records and career nights for Illini juniors Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis. Illinois turned a slow start into a tight game, and eventually a 89-83 overtime win.

"It was a great game," Illinois head coach Bruce Weber said. "We could have given up at a few different points, but we were able to find a way to win the game."

It was Mike & Mike night at Assembly Hall. Both posted double-doubles. Tisdale had a career high 31 points and 11 rebounds, while Davis recorded 20 points and a career high-tying 17 rebounds.

"We told them we could go inside," Weber said. "We struggled a little bit against their 1-3-1, but once we got it to baseline, we were able to attack it much better."

Before Davis and Tisdale made their presence inside, Northwestern made an opening statement by lighting up the arena from beyond the arc. The Wildcats jumped out to a 12-4 lead on four consecutive three-pointers.

Marist High School alum Jeremy Nash (5-for-12), John Shurma (4-for-9) and Alex Morcotullio (4-for-9) were on fire in the first half, but struggled down the stretch and in overtime.

Northwestern opened up a nine point lead (42-33) at halftime, but it was Illinois that failed to hold on to a pair of four point leads in the final minutes.

Tied at 72, the Illini had a chance to win the game in regulation with the ball and 15.4 seconds to play. But freshman D.J. Richardson lost the ball as time expired.

The Illini made up for it in overtime, leading the entire way and outscoring the Cats 15-9.

Richardson's turnover at the end of regulation was one of few giveaways Wednesday night. Northwestern broke an Assembly Hall record, only turning the ball over three times the entire night. Illinois only had 11 turnovers themselves.

The Wildcats also took 84 shots in the game, something Northwestern head coach Bill Carmody said he had never seen before.

The Wildcats may have had the odd statistical outputs, but the night belonged to Tisdale.

"They were on fire to begin with and they were tough to guard," Tisdale said. "We just started putting the ball in the hoop and kept fighting."

Tisdale also took exception to anyone calling the Illini a "soft" team.

"If you think 31 is soft, then there isn't much you can do about it," Tisdale joked. "We just keep playing our game and not worry about people calling us soft. I love it to be honest, any time I get a challenge, it's fun to shut people down."

The Illini will play their annual game at the United Center in Chicago, Saturday, January 2, 2010 against Gonzaga.

NFL Power Rankings - Week 16

1. Indianapolis Colts; 2. San Diego Chargers; 3. New Orleans Saints; 4. Philadelphia Eagles; 5. New England Patriots; 6. Arizona Cardinals; 7. Dallas Cowboys; 8. Minnesota Vikings; 9. Cincinnati Bengals; 10. Pittsburgh Steelers; 11. Green Bay Packers; 12. Baltimore Ravens; 13. New York Jets; 14. Houston Texans; 15. Carolina Panthers; 16. Denver Broncos; 17. Tennessee Titans; 18. Miami Dolphins; 19. New York Giants; 20. Atlanta Falcons; 21. Jacksonville Jaguars; 22. San Francisco 49ers; 23. Chicago Bears; 24. Cleveland Browns; 25. Oakland Raiders; 26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 27. Seattle Seahawks; 28. Buffalo Bills; 29. Washington Redskins; 30. Kansas City Chiefs; 31. Detroit Lions; 32. St. Louis Rams

2009 Fantasy Football Champion

Before 2008, I was never interested in fantasy football. I only cared about the outcomes of the games. But as 2009 comes to a close, I am the fantasy football champion of a competitive 14-team league. 

This is my second year of competing in fantasy football. My team's name is Holy Roller, named after the famous Raiders-Chargers play from 1978. 

Right after the draft I had a great feeling about my team. With the top overall pick, I selected Adrian Peterson, an obvious choice. I surrounded him with solid picks in Roddy White, Kurt Warner and the Arizona defense. But my best picks were Ray Rice (Round 8) and Miles Austin (Round 10). I had a feeling those guys were going to have a good year because of how the finished in 2008. I also remembered Rice's days from Rutgers. 

Santonio Holmes was a risky pick, but panned out with a few big games in the fantasy playoff weeks. 

The only weakness on my team was JaMarcus Russell, the backup quarterback. But once Brett Favre finally signed with the Minnesota Vikings, I quickly dumped Russell for Favre. Having two old guys (Favre and Warner) as my QBs was fun. 

Fantasy Football is a fun game. If you take it seriously, you will gain more knowledge on players. It's good to know the QB, RB, WR situations all the teams are in. It makes meaningless games like Oakland-Cleveland matter. 

My fantasy football championship comes just three months after the St. Paul Saints, my fantasy baseball team, won the title in the same league. In that league, my team made the playoffs as the six and final seed by one game and pulled three upsets in the playoffs to win the title. 

2009 was indeed a great year for my fantasy teams. 

My Three Cents

1. Lakers fans have short memories - During the Los Angeles Lakers Christmas Day loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, fans of the NBA champions were frustrated over a few calls that benefitted Cleveland and specifically star player LeBron James. To show their displeasure, they threw all the foam fingers that were free giveaways that day onto the court. James also said he saw a full water bottle being tossed on to the court. Their clear targets were James and the refs. The idea of L.A. Lakers fans protesting the officiating is laughable. The Lakers have been the benefit of every big call since Magic Johnson was drafted. In Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference Finals, the officials clearly handed the game to the Lakers, keeping them alive in a series they would eventually win against Sacramento. The foul disparity in the fourth quarter of that game was ridiculous and former official Tim Donaghy has said that the NBA fixed that game. Lakers star Kobe Bryant has his own set of rules. No team beneifts from the officials more than L.A. Yet they are the only ones to throw their free giveaways on the court. (Of course, the malice at the Palace was much worse, occurring in Detroit). The lesson here is that Lakers fans are unclassy and uninformed. They are all about looking good on camera and being seen at the game. It's not even the playoffs, why do they care about a regular season game against Cleveland so much? I guess their jealous that the refs may like LeBron more than Kobe now. Don't worry, Lakers fans you will get the calls come playoff time. You will have another championship to celebrate in June. All the hollywood stars will be happy. Hopefully that does not happen, but it will.

2. Will Mayweather back out now? - It looks like the International Fighting Commission (IFC) has said that urine drug tests will be given prior to the March 13 bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. This is clearly a win for Pacquiao, who refused to take a blood test within two weeks of the fight. I agreed with him that Mayweather was just looking for a way out. Now it looks like Mayweather will have to play by the rules. It doesn't look good for him either. Pacquiao is in his prime and the best pound for pound fighter in the world. This is the fight everyone has been waiting to see and may be the first one I watch live. For the first time in my life, I am looking forward to watching a fight. It would be great for the sport to return to the prominence it had before the 1990s.

3. Always against the NCAA and their coaches - I was pleased to hear on ESPN that former Arizona State and Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller was suing the NCAA and EA Sports for using his likeness in their video game highlighting college football. One of Keller's hopes is to get each player whose likelness is used by EA $1,000 for each game they are portrayed in. I would love for that to happen. College players deserve to get paid. Period. Football players bring in the most money at a number of Division I schools, but don't see any of it. The coaches and administration gets all of it, even though they don't do any of the work. Why not give the players some rights? I got paid in college to work for the school newspaper and radio station. That is a lot easier than showing up to practice every day and bringing in millions for the school on gameday. I think all college athletes should get paid a small stipend each semester. $1,000 would even be an improvement. That way, there will be less illegal negotiating going on and the player level will be fair. But the NCAA has a lot of problems and is a sham in many ways. No playoff system, coaches that lock their players in small dark rooms because they got a concussion (Mike Leach needs to be fired and banned from coaching football), coaches that get paid millions (Mack Brown), coaches that think they are the star of the show and can do whatever they want (Urban Meyer) and college presidents that see the financial benefit of what the players are doing. The only league I can think of worse than the NCAA? The NAIA.

Caldwell's decision puzzling; Colts lose

The streak is over. The pursuit of perfection has ended. But it didn't have to. 

For the first time since October 27, 2008, the Indianapolis Colts have lost a regular season game. It was the New York Jets that pulled out a 29-15 decision at Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis on Sunday. 

Losses happen. But the way they lost this game will have Colts fans around the country wondering "what could have been" for years. Leading 15-10 in the third quarter, head coach Jim Caldwell pulled Peyton Manning and a number of other starters. The Jets quickly took the lead and easily held on. 

Rookie QB Curtis Painter was awful in relief of Manning. He had more turnovers (2) than first downs (1). His third quarter fumble was returned for the go-ahead touchdown. So much for going for 16-0. I guess the Colts really meant it when they said that 16-0 means nothing and the real goal is later on. 

That's fine. But how does sitting your best players on December 27 help you win the big game in February? Do the Colts really need three weeks of doing nothing to prepare for the first playoff opponent? 

Caldwell's decision was conservative, but if history says anything, he was wrong. In years in which the Colts had their seeding already locked up with regular season games still to play (2004, 2005, 2007,2008), the Colts have lost all but one playoff game. In 2005, they took the same approach, resting players the final two weeks, and lost their first postseason game to Pittsburgh.

The one recent year in which the Colts did not clinch anything prior to the last games (2006), they rode the momentum they had to a Super Bowl title. 

I know each year is a different set of circumstances, but why not and go for it if you are undefeated? Caldwell, were you that afraid someone would get hurt? If it was so important to get rest, why did the starters play against Jacksonville last week and why did they play more than a half Sunday? 

All of this is puzzling. 

Caldwell's decision did not help Painter. Him and the second team were booed loudly almost each time they got on the field. It wasn't fair to a rookie, who was drafted in the 7th round and had never played before, to be put into a game against the NFL's number one defense. 

Manning wanted to play. Caldwell cheated his players out of the chance of a perfect season (if starters played, Colts would likely have won and beat Buffalo next week too). Worse, he cheated the loyal fanbase out of something special. 

And for what? Just in case Peyton got injured they needed to rest him? Peyton has been playing every game for 12 years and was never injured during a game. Why would you think that was likely in the fourth quarter against the Jets? He hadn't been touched all day.

The first half of the game was filled with almosts. The Colts almost connected on a number of long pass plays, but drops and overthrows prevented them from taking  a big lead into halftime. Now I know why they wanted that big lead. 

They should have tried to win the game - with the players that were most likely to win that game. The Jets are in the middle of the playoff race and Caldwell and the Colts have tainted that race by giving the NYJ a win they more than likely would not have had if the starters had played. 

Although I am against the decision against the Jets. Caldwell and I agree on something: 16-0 is not the primary goal. The primary goal comes in the postseason. The story of the 2000s Indianapolis Colts comes down to this year's playoffs. 

No one will knock them should they win it all twice in a decade. If they don't, they will seem more and more like the 1990s Atlanta Braves, the 1980s Chicago Bears and the 2000s Detroit Pistons. How in the world did they only win one? 

It's all about playoff match-ups now for the Colts. They anxiously await their opponent of the Divisional round of the AFC playoffs. Hopefully it will be a good match-up for Indy. 

'It's Complicated' a simple, funny movie

One of my newest hobbies is going to the movie theatre on holidays. I've never been much of a movie-goer, but my interests are expanding and there are a lot of great movies out there.
Last night, I went to see "It's Complicated," starring Merryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. I've always been a fan of comedies, and this, was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. It's the kind of movie where you take the characters somewhat seriously early on, but then you are hit with wacky moments that seem to come out of thin air. The plotline is easy to follow. Although parts of the movie are somewhat pointless, the out-of-line humor is great. The stroy of Baldwin and Streep having an affair years after their divorce was interesting too.
Despite it's title, the movie is quite simple. A bunch of shallow people looking out for their own needs in a number of hilarious ways. Once I saw the preview and found out Steve Martin was in the movie, I knew I was going to have to see it. But Martin wasn't his usual "wild and crazy guy" character. He was one of the more normal characters in the movie. When Steve Martin is the normal character, you know it's going to be a funny movie.
I liked the Alec Baldwin character as the funniest, but I thought all characters contributed to this being possibly the funniest movie of 2009. It's not the funniest movie of all-time, but one of the funniest I've seen. After being somewhat bored during "New Moon," when I went to see that on Thanksgiving, it was good to see a movie I could follow and enjoy.

NFL Power Rankings - Week 15

1. Indianapolis Colts; 2. New Orleans Saints; 3. San Diego Chargers; 4. Philadelphia Eagles; 5. Minnesota Vikings; 6. New England Patriots; 7. Dallas Cowboys; 8. Cincinnati Bengals; 9. Green Bay Packers; 10. Baltimore Ravens; 11. Arizona Cardinals; 12. Tennessee Titans; 13. Denver Broncos; 14. New York Giants; 15. Jacksonville Jaguars; 16. Pittsburgh Steelers; 17. Miami Dolphins; 18. Carolina Panthers; 19. San Francisco 49ers; 20. Atlanta Falcons; 21. New York Jets; 22. Houston Texans; 23. Oakland Raiders; 24. Seattle Seahawks; 25. Chicago Bears; 26. Buffalo Bills; 27. Washington Redskins; 28. Cleveland Browns; 29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 30. Kansas City Chiefs; 31. Detroit Lions; 32. St. Louis Rams

Colts win shootout

What a fun game to watch. With home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs already clinched, the Colts continued what they have done all season - win a close game.
The Colts-Jaguars game last night in Jacksonville was a shootout, the complete opposite of the season opening game between the two teams. The Colts won 35-31 in a nearly puntless game.
Maurice Jones-Drew ran over the Colts defense. But Peyton Manning was back to his MVP self, answering every Jaguars score. The Jags would go up by three, but the Colts would respond with a TD to go up by four.
The Colts defense was not as tough as usual, allowing Jones-Drew to accumulate a number of yards after first contact.
What I will remember most about this game is Chad Simpson's 93-yard touchdown return. NFL Network had shown the play on an odd angle, making it even more surreal. The Colts are not known for kickoff returns and our returners are usually down as soon as they run into a defender. But Simpson found the open holes. It was a big play. The angle on TV showed him coming at you while he was scoring.
I remember yelling out during the return, "Is this real?"
Manning hit Wayne for a 65 yard strike just when they needed to on 3rd and long with 5 minutes to go in the game. Then the defense came up with two big stops on Jacksonville's last two posessions just like they had done all year.
Eric Foster had a sack on the penultimate Jags' drive, while Jacob Lacey came up with the game-clinching interception with a minute to go.
It was a relief to watch such a great game with little on the line in terms of seeding for the Colts. It was a game the Colts didn;t need to win, but they did anyway. They are determined to win each game, taking it one game at a time.

Down time in Chicago sports

In six months, everything has changed. From promise to pity. It was not too long ago, April 21, 2009, when I wrote a colum in the Clinton Journal on how great of a time it is to be a Chicago sports fan.
Why wouldn't it be a great time? The Bulls were matching wits with the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics, tied at a game apiece heading to Chicago. The Blackhawks led Calgary 2-1 in their first round series. The White Sox and Cubs were both in first place. And the Bears were still happy and glowing about the acquisition of quarterback Jay Cutler.
Now it is December 15, and all of that has changed.
Chicago's two baseball teams were equally disappointing. The Sox finished third behind teams that on paper were worse than them, while the Cubs failed to win one of the easiest divisions in baseball.
The addition of Cutler may have given them a more talented quarterback, but for some reason it also shut down the Bears' run game and prevented the offensive line from blocking well. Cutler himself has been a disappointment, leading the league in interceptins. No one could have anticipated them being out of the playoff race with three weeks to go.
The Bulls look awful right now. They are not even among the top eight teams in the weak Eastern Conference.
The only bright spot at this point would be the Chicago Blackhawks. Who would have thought that three years ago? But even they aren't tearing it up. The only reason they lead their division is because the Red Wings are having an off year. But in the Hawks' case, the postseason is all that matters. It seems like they are the one team that brings Chicago sports fans together, nowadays. Bizzare.
So much hope at the beginning of 2009. The city was a favorite to host the 2016 Olympics. Even better, their sports teams were going to have extended postseason runs and bridge the way to a brighter future.
Some many headaches now. Coaches are on the hot seat. Sox fans are forced to be excited about Juan Pierre coming to town.
Sportswise, it's not that Chicago has it worse off than Detroit, Cleveland, Seattle or even Houston. But there was so much hope and now, we will just have to hope for a better year in 2010.

NFL Power Rankings - Week 14

1. Indianapolis Colts; 2. New Orleans Saints; 3. San Diego Chargers; 4. Minnesota Vikings; 5. Philadelphia Eagles; 6. Cincinnati Bengals; 7. New England Patriots; 8. Green Bay Packers; 9. Miami Dolphins; 10. Baltimore Ravens; 11. Denver Broncos; 12. Arizona Cardinals; 13. New York Jets; 14. Dallas Cowboys; 15. Jacksonville Jaguars; 16. New York Giants; 17. Tennessee Titans; 18. San Francisco 49ers; 19. Houston Texans; 20. Atlanta Falcons; 21. Pittsburgh Steelers; 22. Carolina Panthers; 23. Chicago Bears; 24. Seattle Seahawks; 25. Buffalo Bills; 26. Washington Redskins; 27. Oakland Raiders; 28. Kansas City Chiefs; 29. Cleveland Browns; 30. Detroit Lions; 31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 32. St. Louis Rams

Record-breaking day for Colts

There was no shortage of record-breaking performances during the Indianapolis Colts' 28-16 victory over the Denver Broncos today at Lucas Oil Stadium. In addition to clinching home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, the Colts broke the record for most consecutive regular season victories (22), most wins in a decade and it was also the first time in quarterback Peyton Manning's career in which the Colts won when he threw three + interceptions.

For the Broncos, wide receiver Brandon Marshall broke the NFL record for receptions in a game (21).

The game could not have gotten off to a more perfect start for the Colts: An 80-yard drive that was capped off by an Austin Collie touchdown reception, the Defense forcing a Denver three-and-out, and then another touchdown drive capped off on a 10-yard pass to Dallas Clark. The Colts then went up 21-0 in the second quarter on another Clark touchdown.

At this point, it seemed like the route was on. There was no way Kyle Orton was going to lead Denver back from this many points down. Even though it was still the first half, no one thought Denver had a chance. The Colts were playing great, and Denver was panicking by going for it on two first half fourth downs.

But then the Colts let the Broncos back in the game. Peyton Manning and the offense had five consecutive bad drives, three ending in interceptions. I remember thinking that I never witnessed five drives in a row as bad as that, for the Colts, anyway. They weren't even gaining any yards and until the 9 minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Colts only had one first down in the second half.

But whenever the Colts absolutley need to, they come through. The defense stalled a number of Denver drives into Colts' territory with a Tim Jennings interception and a good stop from the D-line on a fourth down. Another bullet was dodged when Broncos kicker Matt Prater missed a field goal.

Denever finally cut the lead to one score, 21-16. But whenever the Colts offense needs to come through, they do. Even after 5 bad drives, Peyton Manning led the Colts on a 7-minute touchdown drive that essentially iced the game. Good throws to Collie and Reggie Wayne put the Colts in Denver territory before Clark reeled in his third touchdown reception.

The Colts 'D' then closed it out when Denver was unable to convert a 4th and 18.

Indy was in control from the start, but sloppy play let Denver back into it. But when it really mattered, the Colts offense and defense came through.

With the entire conference wrapped up, it is still uncertain how much the Colts will play their starters over the next three weeks. They have constantly found new ways to win games this year, but only the postseason matters.

The largest small town in Central Illinois

As Mayor Ed Wollet said, "Clinton is the largest small town in Central Illinois."

Located less than 10 miles from the geographic center of Illinois, Clinton is a Lincoln town with a ton of history. The town is located at the center of a diamond of big cities on the map. To the east is Champaign, Decatur lies 26 miles to the south, Lincoln is about a half hour drive west on Rt. 10 and Bloomington-Normal is just a short drive up 51.

Clinton has over 7,000 residents, but the feel of a small town. Historically, it is most known for being the site of President Lincoln's famous speech where he said "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

The center of the town is a square that reminded me of the set they used to film the 1950s scenes in Back to the Future. Clintonians know it as the downtown square, or just "the square."

The Square is the center for many prominent businesses such as Watkins Jewelry, The Yak Shak, The Loft, Brady Realtors and Snapper's Bar and Grill. The old courthouse was located at the center of the square.

Snappers is the most popular bar in Clinton, catering to sports fans. Snappers is a nice place, but I prefer Breaker's, a bar on Madison Street. Instead of sports, they often have Headline News on television. But the most appealing part of the place is the fact that it is the only place in Clinton that serves breakfast all day.

It has a beautiful lake and state park within miles of the town. It is also home of the central Illinois landfill.

Many contraversies have come through Clinton over the years. It was the DeWitt County prison that escapee Clayton Lee Waagner made his break in 2002. It is also the home of Amanda Hamm, a local woman that served 5 years in prison after being found guilty of child endangerment when her three children were drowned in Clinton Lake.

Although it may be known as a small town, Clinton has produced people who went on to accomplish great things. Gene Armstrong worked for NASA, Gene Vance played in the NBA and was one of the University of Illinois "Whiz Kids," Joe Axelson, Jr. became general manager of the NBA's Sacramento Kings and was named the first ever NBA Executive of the Year in 1973.

In the mid 20-th century, Clinton was a booming railroad town. It's famed Clintonia movie theatre was destroyed in 1989 after an abundance of snow forced the roof to collapse. The town just recently built a new theatre in 2008.

It seems like no matter where you go in Clinton, you will run into someone you know. The atmosphere is much more laid back than in Chicago or the suburbs. Friendlier for sure.

SXU women three?

In the latest NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Poll, the Saint Xavier University Cougars are ranked third overall, matching the highest ranking they have ever attained in school history.

At first, this seems like a positive for diehard SXU fans like myself. But in all reality, they should be number one. Not only should they be the top ranked team in the nation, it should be unanimous.

Ranked number one for the 27th consecutive week is the Union Bulldogs, who play in the mecca of NAIA Women's Basketball - Jackson, TN. This is the same team that SXU beat this year, in Jackson, by three points. SXU is currently perfect in regular season play (10-0), while Union boasts a 10-1 record, with the lone loss coming to Saint Xavier.

So how does a 1-loss team that lost a head-to-head matchup with an undefeated team at home get ranked ahead of them? The NAIA is not even trying to cover up their bias this time. They favor the teams that have been there before. Union has three national titles and is the winningest team of the decade. But why should that matter in a weekly award? SXU clearly has been the most impressive team in the country to this point.

It's not like the Cougars had an easy schedule either. In addition to beating Union, Coach Hallberg's bunch has beaten Lambuth and McKendree, both of whom are ranked in the Top 25. The Cougars also played tough in exhibition losses to NCAA Division I Loyola-Chicago and UIC.

SXU and Point Loma Nazarene are the only two unbeaten teams in the top ten and the Cougars have had the tougher schedule.

What will it take for the NAIA to recognize that SXU is going to be a force this year? This could very weel be the best team in program history. They return four starters and have added a talented transfer.

Being ranked third at this point really does not matter. It's all about Tennessee in March. The Cougars will cruise through the CCAC, but this year they are looking to prove themselves as an elite team at the national level.

Lady Maroons impressive in win over Shelbyville

Over the last two years, the Clinton High School Girls Basketball team won a combined six games. At the rate they are going now, they may have more than six wins by the end of the month. 

Shelbyville isn't the toughest competition in the Okaw Valley this year by a long shot, but for Clinton, Thursday night's 57-41 win over the Rams was a blowout. And not the kind they are used to. This time, they were in control. 

Meghan Matthews had 15 points, which is no surprise because of the experience she has. But Alicia Mitchell, who may be the hardest worker on the team had a career night, totaling 13 points. 

A 15-0 run during the late first and early second quarter erased a 5-0 Shelbyville lead. 

Will Clinton win the conference this year? No. Will they be above .500? Iffy. Are they better than they were last year? Absolutely.  And most importantly, are they headed in the right direction? Without a doubt. 

Josh Williams has done a great job as head coach so far but even he will tell you "they have along way to go." 

The team does have a long way to go, but they are off to a good start. 

First Post

This is my first blog post. 

My name is Tim Moran, I am a sports writer, photographer and American traveler. I always thought that having a blog would be a great way to express my thoughts on current issues in sports and news and also to tell everyone of the traveling I do. Most of my road trips are sports-related, but I love being a witness to this beautiful country. 

I hope you all enjoy my blogging.