Super Bowl prediction

So both of the Colts home playoff games were awesome atmospheres. It was nice to stick it to Baltimore (for like the 64th time in a row). The AFC Championship game was unreal. The stadium was ridiculously loud and if it wasn't official before, it definitely is now...Peyton Manning is the greatest QB to ever play the game. I'm not sure how you can argue for anyone else. The way he can pick apart defensive schemes is unbelievable. We've been spoiled for the last 10 years and I don't want to imagine the Colts w/o him.

Along w/ the NFL playoffs comes my annual betting on every game. the first round was awful as I went 0-4. I've since gone 3-3 on the past 6 games, w/ two of those victories being the Colts covering. So, I suppose I'll have to bet on them in SB...if it ain't broken, don't fix it. 27-23 on the year for a mediocre 54%...stupid first round of the NFL playoffs! And my head-to-head battle w/ Evan is officially over as he went 0-2 last weekend giving me a 2-game lead w/ one to play. He hates the Colts anyway, so don't feel bad for him.

Thanks to all of you who voted on my 3rd goal poll. the Thriller Dance won by 1 vote, so I'll have to start working on that. Babysitting fell short by one vote, so I suppose I'll throw my name out there to potentially do that for some family members...we'll see. Sports stadiums was 3rd and I'll try to achieve that anyway as it's definitely the most fun! Calling my mom once a week was near the bottom....sorry Mom.

Goal #1 for the year, Boxing, is progressing nicely. I've been to 4 or 5 classes and I can see improvement. I've taken a couple of decent punches in our light sparring sessions...nothing that is going to leave a bruise or anything, but enough to make me take a step back and gather myself. I did take one shot to the body that put me on my knee as I had to catch my breath. Unfortunately none of my friends (Matt sucks) have joined me for the class, but that's OK, I'm still enjoying it. And yes, it's true what people say about it being one of the best workouts you can do.

Went to see LeBron tonight against the Pacers, thanks to Andy getting his boss's tickets. We had 14th row seats, so great vantage point to see him. A ho-hum game scoring for LeBron (22), but he did have 9 assists...in the 1st quarter! He finished w/ a line of 22 pts, 9 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, and 4 MONSTER blocks. Good time for sure!

Busy season has officially begun for me as I'm starting to work Saturdays. I'm not happy about it. On a positive note, the Ritter Alumni Bball League starts up this Sunday, so I need to dust off the shoes and hit the hardwood again. Should be fun! Hmmm, nothing else too new. Dating life has been interesting, but as you all know, I'm not going to get into that here...

My prediction - Colts 34, Saints 20. Total domination. i'm out

a friday quickie

It's been a little while, so thought I'd post a little something. The voting is going strong w/ the two of the options neck and neck for my 3rd goal for 2009. VOTE VOTE VOTE if you haven't done so already. I think the poll is open for another 4-5 days

Started Goal #1 last night. Yep, went to my first boxing class, by myself as the two individuals who I think are going to join me couldn't go last night. To say that i'm sore today would be like saying Indy is a slightly better place to live than Elkhart...HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT. I got home last night and couldn't lift my left arm, my whole body ached when I got up this morning and I sorta felt like someone beat on me w/ a baseball bet for an hour. I wasn't really expecting to spar and take/throw punches w/ someone else on the first night, but hey, go big or go home, right? Let's just say learning to take a punch and get hit is WAY harder than actually throwing punches. Sounds fun, doesn't it?? Despite the pain, it was a GREAT workout and i'm looking forward to Matt & Kara joining me next week.

Haven't really done anything w/ the cooking goal yet, but i'll get on that here in the next few weeks.

Since Evan & I tied in our NFL picks against each other, we decided to pick every game of the playoffs. Well, we both picked the same games last week....and both went 0-4, ouch! So, we are still tied. I'm now 24-20 on the year in my actual bets and my quest for 11-0 in the playoffs was over before it began. Looking for a 3-1 or 4-0 this weekend to get off the schnied.

Heading to the Colts game on Saturday night...should be a blast! Yes, i bet on the Colts to cover at 6.5pts....no way for me to bet against them, right?!. Alright, I'm out

2010 Goal Update

Alright, so I've received numerous suggestions both via my previous post comment section along w/ a few that were passed along via email/text/in-person.

The first two goals I am setting on my own, although I have swapped the Thriller goal out w/ Katy's suggestion of increasing my culinary skills. So, the two goals that I have set for myself for 2010 are:

Goal #1 - Boxing class
Goal #2 - Culinary skills

As for goal #3, here are the suggestions for you to vote on via the poll on the right, PLEASE DO SO!:

• Be able to due the whole Thriller dance
• Begin to baby sit
• Visit 3 new professional sports stadiums in 2010 (1 down already thanks to my Buffalo trip last weekend
• Adam suggested running a half marathon, which I have absolutely no desire to do since I don't like to run. However, i'll tweak his suggestion to be to run a 5K in under 20 minutes as I do run one 5K a year. I think I ran it in around 21:45 a few years ago, so that'd be a lofty improvement for a non-runner.
• Call my Mom once a week
• Do a home improvement project that I would normally hire someone to do myself
• Travel to a new country
• Shoot a round of 5 over or better in golf

As for the dating/girlfriend suggestions, I am not making this a goal. Anyone who knows me understands that I'm not going to "settle" on a girl just to have a girlfriend. So those suggestions are being politely nixed. Thank you for caring though :)

General life update -

New Years Eve was fun. Craig was in town and we had a good time out at the bars w/ Dave & Mo, along w/ a few of her friends and another coworker of mine. Christmas was good as I got to spend some time w/ my sister and my niece, both of whom I rarely see since they live in Dallas. Good to see the rest of Dad's family as well. Mom was in Florida, so didn't get to see her & Rick over the holidays.

Spent this past weekend in Buffalo and went to the Colts/Bills game on Sunday. The Colts lost the game before they ever showed up as they weren't going to play their starters for too long. The game itself was a unique experience due to the weather. 10 degrees w/ wind chill of negative 2. It snowed more than 5 inches during the game and during the 2nd quarter was essentially a white out. Despite our hand warmers, blankets, and multiple layers of clothing, we still froze....just too damn cold. After the game we went to Anchor Bar, which is famous for "inventing" the chicken wing (hence, why they are called Buffalo Wings).

Evan & I called off our Week 17 picks against each other since the NFL lines were so jacked up this past sunday due to many teams not playing their starters. Good news is that I gained 2 games on him in Week 15-16 and we are all square heading into next week's playoff games thanks to me going 3-1 those weeks and Evan going 1-3. I also bet on a few additional games those weeks and won all of those, so overall i went 6-1 in Weeks 15-16, bringing my total for the year to 24-16, a respectable 60%!

No videos this week, but check my Facebook account in the near future for my Buffalo trip pics.