NBA Opening Day

Sorry to revert back to a sports related post, but the greatest month for sports fans is coming to a close, and the NBA is about to get going, so it is more than appropriate. (October is the greatest month in sports because it is the month that leads up to the fall classic-the World Series in baseball, football is in full swing and on television all day Saturday and Sunday, basketball gets going, and even Hockey gets underway. All sports fans have something to look forward to in October. Every sports columnist has made this comment at one point or another in their career.)

So on to basketball. NBA basketball specifically. When Rebecca and I met, we were huge basketball fans. We both loved the Jazz. (The Jazz were an easy team to be fans of, since we both grew up in Utah, and the Jazz represent Utah's only true professional team.) We went to a couple of games a year, and we even dressed up in jazz paraphernalia and made a Jazz themed jell-o trying to win some season ticket contest. So yeah, basketball was in our blood.

I have always enjoyed playing basketball as well. I have never been very good. This always perplexed me because of all the sports, it is probably the sport I have played the most. Practice makes perfect right? Well, as my brother pointed out, Perfect practice makes perfect. All these years I was just practicing being horrible at basketball, says he. Point taken. I would rather ski anyway.

I have great basketball memories, like when my college roommates and I drove down from Logan-after the Jazz beat the Rockets to go the 1997 finals-just to meet the Jazz team at the airport. We were all watching the game as Stockton hit the shot at the buzzer to win the game. Then the announcers mentioned they were flying home tonight and if fans wanted to greet them to "come on down to such and such gate at this address." I'm not even sure we turned our TV off, we all knew we had to go. Minutes later we were driving, never mind our morning classes or whatever we had going. They landed at around 2 in the morning. Our friend BJ played the accordion and paraded around the area creating an impromptu parade and getting live on 1320 KFAN (albeit at 2 in the morning) with his crazy antics. We were loving it. Besides the fact that the Jazz were going to the NBA finals, we spontaneously drove 2 hours just to get a glimpse of them getting off an airplane and driving past thousands of fans in their cars. That and the impromptu parade led by my friend playing the accordion.

I lost interest in basketball in 2004 when a huge fight happened between players and fans. The NBA suspended a couple of players, but not civil charges were pursued. It made me sick. Never had I personally witnessed a free pass being given to professional athletes. I am not naive enough to pretend it doesn't happen in all sports, but this was too much for me.

I am slowly coming back as a basketball fan. I have an idea that would make me like basketball more though. It drives me absolutely nuts when a professional basketball player misses free throws. There should be no excuse. These cagers (why do they call them cagers?) have played hoops since they were 2 years old in most cases, and free throws are part of the game at every level. To shoot less than 95 percent should be unconscionable. I see two options here. First: If a player drops below 75 percent, they should be suspended from games and not allowed to enter until they can certify to league officials that they have brought their average up. This could be achieved by having the player shoot 100 free throws in practice until the average is reached. My second idea would be to pay the player the percentage of his salary that corresponds with his free throw percentage. So if someone like Shaq is signed for 100 million dollars this year, with his free throw percentage of 61, he only gets 61 million dollars. Just a thought. If any of you have connections with the league, send them my way.

All this said, the Jazz open their season tonight. Has the NBA instituted the blackout rule like college sports and NFL have done? I haven't heard, but I will be watching game 1 of the World Series anyway.

They're playing "our" show

For the sake of accuracy in blogging, I need to clear up a few things:

1. We have all the fixings for rootbeer floats in our kitchen. Chad, did you look in the freezer? That's where we usually keep the ice cream.

2. Chad only watched a Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) results show

with me so it doesn't really count. He has to watch the entire performance show to get the full, glitter-ball impact.

3. I find it amazing that Chad knows so much about a show he so rarely watches. It seems he's well acquainted with Bruno and his "excited" voice. And, no, he didn't google it for the purpose of his blog post because he made the same comment to me as we were watching the show.

Hmmm...Curious.

All that being said, there is no need to worry that we will adopt DWTS as "our" show. I prefer to keep that, along with all other reality dancing shows, as my own personal guilty pleasure. I'm lobbying for Trauma to become our new show. Chad's pushing for Friday Night Lights. I think either would be a good choice.

So do you have a show (or shows) that you watch together as a couple? Or as a family? Aside from sports, Chad and I almost never watch TV together. The kids love to watch the dancing shows with me. I'm on my own with Lost, although sometimes Tierra will join me. I kind of prefer watching Lost by myself. What about you? Do you prefer to watch your favorite TV show(s) alone or with company? And who has a hankering for a rootbeer float right now? I know I do!

If Only...

250 years ago (give or take), Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." I can't but help but think how much different my life would be if he had said, "A root beer float a day, keeps the doctor away."? Ben Franklin was an amazing man, and I do not want to lessen any of his huge contributions to our Country by throwing root beer floats out there, but you gotta wonder don't you?
I don't know if it is true or not, but in looking at stuff about Ben Franklin recently, I found a website that did credit him with saying, "Root beer is proof that God loves us." Despite Mr. Franklin's great advice, I don't eat an apple a day either. I actually like every other form of apple. Apple sauce, apple pie, apple juice, dunking for apples, Apple Jacks, etc. I do not like a plain old apple. I think it may be due to the apple skin getting between my teeth, and as a kid I was so scared that if I swallowed a seed one of two bad things would happen: 1- a tree would grow out of my body, or 2: I would have a life long duty to be the new Johnny Appleseed. These things terrified me. This post is not about apples though, or good health. This post is not about root beer floats. It really isn't about anything. I just wanted to write. You have to wonder though, if vegetables were really the name for candy, would kids still have to be forced to eat them?

As a reader you do not realize the time span between paragraphs, but I just spent the last 10-15 minutes first looking through my cupboards to see if I could whip up a root beer float, and then another 10 to 15 minutes talking myself out of going to the store to buy the stuff to have one. If I hadn't been too lazy to find a shirt and my shoes, I may have been typing this while enjoying one. Other than a root beer float or 10 here and there, I gave up soda pop 2 years ago. Actually, it has been 2 years and 4 months. This was very difficult for me. I loved my Cherry Pepsi breakfasts. I gave up all caffeinated and carbonated drinks. My Lent, I suppose-though I am making it last longer than 6 weeks. I still drink the lemonades and fruit punches that are probably just as bad for you, but that is next on my list. I could not believe how hard it was to give these up! Seriously difficult. I am 12 percent suspicious of the fact that cocaine may still be in colas. I have loved my freedom from soda pop. I break my rule for root beer floats though. Is this wrong of me? Funny as this may sound, due to my cessation of all things soda, I feel empowered to the extent that I can accomplish anything in life that I set my mind too. (Totally stole that from Dr Emmett Brown.) It is this same strength that I am calling upon to give up my fantasy sports addiction that Rebecca and Heidi challenged me to do. (I am not segwaying this into a sports post) Right now is sign up time for fantasy NBA, and it is killing me. I am going to stay strong though. Side note and off topic somewhat: I still haven't been able to regularly attend Sunday School either.

My free time that would be occupied by fantasy sports research has led me to watching more TV. I am now on the verge of having a few TV shows that I follow. (They just don't make them like Night Court anymore.) I watched an entire episode of dancing with the stars last night with Rebecca. I do admit that I was also playing around on the computer, but the show was on, I was listening, I watched a few of the dances of the girls I thought were hot. ( I have a crush on Samantha Harris.) Then it hit me, "I just quadrupled my lifetime exposure to this show in one sitting."

Rebecca and I used to have "our show." For some reason we got into a show called Third Watch. We both liked the first several seasons. We even named our dog after one of the cops on the show that Rebecca thought was cute. It was a fictional show based on firefighters, police, and doctors in New York City. Rebecca wants us to have a new show. I will admit that it was fun to have a show together. However, I struggle now because of a couple things: DVR and TV on DVD. I like watching an entire season in three or four sittings rather than waiting week to week to see what happens. So this is what has ruined my TV watching. I love DVR though. I just wish they still did reruns of night court. Back to Dancing with the Stars...(did I really just say that?) I think it would be a much more entertaining show if Bruno, in his excited voice would just yell, "Your Out!" to the couples that get voted off. All this suspense and drama by Tom Bergeron is lame. Bruno doesn't necessarily have to use the Major League Baseball catch phrase, but something equivalent.

So to go full circle, leave us a comment, or bring me a root beer float.

Best Job In The World

Rebecca and I have decided to lay off the sports talk for a while, though I do have a great idea for a post revolving around basketball for a few weeks from now. So during the sports break, lets start a new topic... Work.

I always tell people that I have the best job in the whole world, and I honestly believe that I do. The ironic part of this though, is that my good day at work means that someone else has to have their worst day. Sometimes "worst" can mean bad luck, sometimes tragedy, and often both. Take these next two pictures for example. The driver of this car was not also the owner of this car. Nope. The owner was his girlfriend's mother, who didn't know the boyfriend was going to "borrow" the car for the afternoon. So he takes the car for a little joy ride, probably just to run to the Quik-E Mart, or perhaps to the video store to rent a copy of Ghostbusters 2 for the night. Too bad he didn't make it and the car burst into flames!


But his misfortune became a great time for me. Car fires are so fun to fight. Especially when there is a little bit of a crowd and the tires explode loudly and everyone runs away faster than an audience running from a Tom Cruise missionary moment. My favorite burning car is a any Volkswagen built before 1980. They made their engines out of Magnesium. Burning magnesium, when it comes into contact with water, creates quite a neat light display. Not quite comparable to the Bellagio Fountain show, but maybe like a 4th of July in Moroni, Utah. Magnesium, and other metal fires, can not be extinguished very easily with just water. This is especially fun when you are with a brand new firefighter, that hasn't learned that about burning metals. So, fun day for me. Bad day for boyfriend. I have often wondered if the relationship lasted. Probably not after coming home with a charred car and a copy of Ghostbusters 2.



Then this sad story. The owner of this house was working in his garage, making his own home made fishing flies for the family vacation that was coming within a few days. Something distracted him, and he left the welder he was using to near something that was too flammable. Before he realized it, the fire was raging. A lesson here for readers, fire doubles in size every minute. So call 911 first, grab the hose, or extinguisher second. Not saying this guy made any of those mistakes, but the huge fire became a bad day for him, fun times for me.



This often makes me sound terrible. I do not wish these tragedies or moments of bad luck on anyone. Our standard mantra among firefighters is that though we do not wish this on anyone, we like to be there when it happens. My job is to show up on people's worst moment, and do whatever can be done to lessen that, or make it better.

It is also comical when we get called to the most ridiculous of emergencies. What some people deem as their "worst day", is really a comedy show for us...after the fact of course. One particular call that made me laugh all the way to the next emergency was a guy that called us over to his apartment for a strange smell. At the apartment was a college age couple trying to sit down and watch a romantic movie. (It may have been Ghostbusters 2, but I cannot confirm!) The guy thinks there is something wrong with his furnace, because every so often he keeps getting a whiff of a strange smell. We investigated everything we knew how to do, but could not find anything wrong. This poor kid was so concerned, that we really tried hard to think of everything. Well, when one of our crew members was in a back room alone with his date, the girl admitted to having "gas" and trying to blame it on the furnace. I can't believe she let this kid get freaked out enough to call the fire department before fessing up! We kept her secret safe from her date.

I have thought about other jobs that would probably be wonderful jobs too. The first one that came to mind was the job of protesting. Have you seen those people that hang up the "Shame On" signs?

I am sure they are being paid to sit out there by the signs with their shade tents, water coolers, and endless snacks. This seems hard to beat to me. How does one get such a job? And who chooses who to call down the shame upon? Maybe that would be the better job, finding companies and businesses to "shame!" Does it have to stop with businesses? Could I make a "Shame on my neighbor's dog for pooping on my lawn" sign? This next one is a cause I can get behind, no matter the reason.


I have also thought about a job that isn't a job, but if it were would be fun. I would love to work for the "False Advertising Department" of a company. Seriously, if it were legal, moral, and all other applicable standards that this idea violates, sign me up. The possibilities are more numerous than the times Dwight Schrute has been passed up for promotion.

Seriously though, if there was not a requirement to have truth in advertising, think of the fun possibilities. I have some ideas that I will post in the comments section, but I want to hear some from you guys for about a week first.

Monday Morning Quarterback

I'm going to be "monday-morning-quarterback" to Chad's decision to proclaim himself a Jets and Packers fan.

My observations and thoughts, in no particular order:

• The Jets and Packers both had losing weeks that exposed their weaknesses. This is the test of a true fan. Will you stick with them through thick and thin? Through the good and the bad? Through wins AND losses? Will you Chad?

• We watched the Packers lose to the Vikings last night, and while I can say that Chad was none too happy (especially with Rodgers and his penchant for holding the ball too long), I didn't sense the frustration and emotion that comes from a true fan.

• I did sense a tiny bit of uncertainty. It might have something to do with the whole confusion of rooting FOR the Packers but AGAINST Brett Favre. (Seriously, how can you not like the guy?) But maybe it was a glimmer of doubt and regret for picking the Packers as his team. I'm not sure I see the conviction in Chad's fanmanship.

I think Heidi makes a valid point when she says if you really want to be a fan of a specific team you have to give up fantasy football. So Chad, would you be willing to give up fantasy football for your team(s)?

As a final note, I'd just like to extend a welcome to all the BYU fans who became Colts fans this week thanks to Austin Collie's breakout performance. Your stay with the Colts may be short, but it will be enjoyable. It's good to be a Colts fan!