Wishlist

I really, really like Pearl Jam. Their old stuff mainly. I stumbled upon this song in my play list today and wanted to share with all of you. I'm also including the lyrics below, though they are really pretty straight forward and easy to understand.

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky

I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood

I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down

I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish...
I wish...

My favorites are the "pedal brake that you depended on" and the "full moon shining off a Camaro's hood". I would also wish for Eddie's good looks and incredible talent, or at least 1/10th of it because he is incredible.

What is on your wish list?

Ten Years

I felt it important enough to write about today, however I questioned what I should write about. I could tell everyone where I was 10 years ago, the emotions running through me as I watched the plane hit and the towers fall. I decided though to let my friends say it all with the posts they put up today on Facebook. So below you find what people you may know have been saying.

God Bless America on this important memorial day.

God Bless America.

- John O.

Never forget......

- Heath W.

10 Years. A thousand tears cried. That day still etched in my mind. The day that changed us all forever. We will remember ALL who were lost on 911 and those lost fighting for our freedoms since.

- Diane M.

¤*¨¨*¤.¸¸ ...¸.¤\
\ 9/11 AMERICA \
.\¸.¤*¨¨*¤ .¸¸.¸.¤*
..\
☻/
/▌
/ \ NEVER FORGET!!!

- Amanda C.

Like every American who remembers the events that happened on September 11, 2001, I spend part of this day reflecting on what happened on that terrible day. However, this year is different. This year I do it knowing that the last breath Osama Bin Laden took was when he was staring down the barrel of a gun that was held by a U.S. Navy Seal. I thank everyone who had anything to do with that mission, including the President, for making that happen.

- Drew H.

Burkey and I had just landed on a red eye flight from LA, 45 minutes before the tragedy began that day. We landed we went home to sleep after our overnight flight across the country. I woke hours later to find out our world had stopped! With uncertainty of where the transcontinental flights had taken off from in the early hours, it became quite a scare for those who didn't if we were home safely or not!

- Chad L.

BREAKING: The better question to ask is, "Where are you now?"

- Fake Dispatch

(I include this one not because I feel it's important to forget what happened 10 years ago but rather to reflect on how you've changed since then.)

Heading to Church this morning... Thankful to be able to live my life w/ my wife and 4 children... On this day it saddens me to think some TERRIBLE people decided to ruin thousands of lives they NEVER meet... I will be praying for all that were damaged by this tragic event... I truly LOVE being an American and thank God he has given us Americans what we have today... God bless us ALL...

- Trevis M.

Not sure how you all are feeling today, sad is one way I feel but also very, very grateful and proud to be an American. It is good to remember even if it hurts. I was working 09/11/01 and all I wanted to do was flee and gather my sons and other loved ones by my side. May God truly Bless The USA!

- Sherry M.

I remember 3 days of silence.

- Troy S.

In remembrance- 911. We'll never forget..........

- Jean P.

I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive to turn on the TV this morning. I can't believe it has been 10 years. May we continue to heal.

- Kathleen S.

Look back. Remember the sorrow, hurt and pain but also the unity, strength and resolve. Look present. Thankful for those around you and those that serve to keep us safe. Look forward. Never forget.

- Victor P.

‎"10yr Anniversary of 9/11 that day showed the worst and best in humanity all in the same day that out of complete chaos and tremendous loss there is always HOPE & LOVE to be found" God Bless America...

- Jared T.

No American will ever forget the horrific events of September 11, 2001. I am praying today for the families who lost loved ones on that day, for the emergency response heroes that gave unselfishly to help the victims and for our military heroes who fought for justice and to preserve our freedom. I am also praying for the spiritual resolve of our Nation, to look to Jesus Christ for salvation, peace and comfort....

- Eric C.

To all that served during in the attack but mostly to and the people that lost there life on that horrible day. I will never forget and I will make sure my children know too. (Video was included in her post, but I did not include it here.)

- Barbara B.

I can't not watch these 9/11 ceremonies. 10 years ago seems like yesterday on this date. We lost many lives that sad and frightful day. America will never forget and we will persevere! Bless America!!!!

- Brett F.

"Gone but never forgotten." Remember all the brave souls who sacrificed themselves to save others. And remember that tragic day 10 years ago but know that there is hope and there will always be hope.
Remember 9/11 ♥

- Meagan G.

GOD Bless America!

- Ron T.

To those who died 10 years on this day that shook the entire world, you will never be forgotten. You and your families are in the hearts of millions of people you never even knew their prayers go out to your loved ones and their tears are cried for every innocent life taken due to this tragedy.

- Harley M.

Every firefighter and police officer who died trying to save the lives that they could save are true heroes along with the men and women who have been fighting for our country to prevent more acts of terrorism for years. Don't take your life and the lives of others for granted, you never know when they will take their last breath. Never forget 9/11/01 ♥

- Harley M. (She put up two.)

 

Freedom isn't free...god bless America......

- Charlotte P.

Seasons Greetings

Before the season starts in 37 minutes I wanted to write down some of my thoughts on what to expect in the upcoming run for the title.

NFC East
- Teams who made significant changes at key positions will not fair well this year. This means the Philadelphia Eagles. Did you know they replaced 80% of their offensive line? And one of those guys is a rookie. Vick is not known for his durability (he has yet to play a full season) and with a weak O-Line he will probably be knocked out at some point during the season. Given this, I don't think they will make the playoffs.
- If the Cowboys remain healthy they should be a shoo-in to win the division. Don't look for them to go far in the playoffs though.

NFC West
- I don't see anything changing from last season. All four teams look dismal. That being said I think the Rams will separate themselves enough from the rest of the pack to win this division.

NFC North
- Love the Packers. I'm a Cheesehead though, so of course I love them. They are healthy, very little changes in the off-season and have one of the best QB's in the game right now. They are my pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
- I believe the Bears will once again do enough to earn a wild card birth. I only say this because I feel bad for my brother and my dad who are die hard Bears fan (and I will admit I loved the '85 Bears team - probably the best team I've ever seen take the field).
- The Lions will be much improved but still won't have enough to get into the playoffs. And just forget about the Vikings. Much of their playoff team with Favre a few years ago is gone.

NFC South
- Atlanta is the darling pick of most people to go to the SB this year for the NFC. I don't think they'll have the fire power to take down the Pack, but they will be tough. They have one of the best up and coming QB's in the game.
- Saint's ain't the Aint's any more. They are good. And probably even better with Bush gone. I don't know how it was legal for them to draft Ingram, but I have to say it just wasn't fair.

AFC East
- New England is getting old, thank God. Just not old enough to not make the playoffs. They will get one of the wild card slots.
- The Jets are my other pick to make the Super Bowl this year. Yep, an all green game and it doesn't include Phily...
- Miami is a mess at QB and picked up Reggie Bush - hahahaha.
- Buffalo, they still have a team?

AFC West
- This is a tough division for me. I don't know much about any of these team. I will say the Raiders looked really good in the one game I saw of them this year. I heard San Diego was picked by one ESPN'er that I listen to in the morning so maybe. If I had to guess though, I'll go with Oakland.
- I hope Tebow gets to start this year. I like the guy (though I have no idea why - he did beat up on OSU while with Florida). At least lets see if he can or can't play and get all of this guessing out of the way.

AFC North
- This should be a hotly contested division. I've already given away one of the wild card slots so that only leaves one left. The Steelers should be solid this year, despite their QB (well, he's good - he's just a d'bag).
- I really like the Browns as my dark horse team to make the playoffs. That means they'll have to beat up on the Ravens, but they deserve to get it handed to them by the Browns. Revenge is sweet.
- The Bengals are a joke. Unfortunately it's not a laughing matter.

AFC South
- Last year I thought the Titans would go to the Super Bowl. My pre-season match up was them against the Packers. I got that one 1/2 right. This year everyone seems to be gone from the Titans except for their running back, but even Chris won't be enough to carry this team anywhere.
- With Manning out and the Colts being dumb enough to go with Collins, this division is ripe for the Texans to finally do something. They (the Texans) are my pick to win this division.

Can't wait for the game to start (which is in one minute) and we get this season underway. I wrote at the end of last season that we probably wouldn't see this season at all. I'm glad I was wrong on that one. I'll be interested to see how wrong I am about my predictions above as we go through the season.

I encourage you to add your thoughts on this season in the comments on this blog!

Poison Nut Nation

Being a Cubs fan, this summer has been a brutal one. I am so happy to have football back again. I admit I was rather apprehensive of what I might see from those Buckeyes I love so much. After all, they lost several key players from last year to suspension (or defection). They also lost one of the best coaches to ever walk the sidelines for The Ohio State University. (Perhaps the position is cursed?) My fears were for not as was proven with today's game.

Here are some of my thoughts and observations from today.

Coach Fickel
I didn't think it would be possible for the Silver Bullets to get better. One of Coach Fickel's best moves since taking over was to bring Mike Vrabel on to the staff as Linebackers Coach. Vrabel was a dominate player as a Buckeye, a New England Patriot and I'm sure learned a lot from one of the best run organizations in the NFL. Bringing that knowledge to OSU will make this defense possibly the best in the the Big Ten and maybe even in the NCAA. Ohio State could already recruit top picks with their reputation as an excellent defensive team but adding a Pro Bowl caliber and Super Bowl winning defensive beast should ensure strong recruiting classes on defense for years to come (given both Fickel and Vrabel stick around).

Second was his handling of the transition from Tressel to himself as head coach. I love that he is not addressing the past. He can't do anything about it so he is focusing on now and the future of the program. I feel confident OSU has done enough to self sanction that the NCAA should not step in with any more penalties. The recent suspension of 3 players for accepting gift bags at a charity function shows they are on top of the players and not afraid to do what is necessary when wrong doing is discovered (regardless of how ridiculous I think situation was).

Finally, the man looked like he was having fun and enjoying himself on the sidelines. Granted this was just Akron and the Buckeyes were expected to win. But everything went right today, and that is a show of great leadership and planning on his behalf. I'm very excited for the direction coach Fickel is taking the program.

Defense
90 Yards. 0 Points. Doesn't that say it all? Again, it was only Akron, but how many times in the past have we seen a team like that break out and have one or two drives because the defense falls asleep. Didn't happen today. Stand out player to me: Andrew Sweat, Sr. LB. The Linebackers at OSU always seem to just reload and Sweat looks like he's going to be the one to watch this season.

Offense
Joe Bauserman is the man. That was made clear today. Unless he breaks something or has some kind of meltdown there should be no calls for Freshman Braxton Miller to step up as the starter. During the next few weeks though it will be important for Braxton to get a good share of time on the field, shoring him up as the solid number 2 and getting him ready to take the helm next year. Stand out player to me: Carlos Hyde, So. RB. Haven't we seen great running backs at OSU named Carlos before? (Carlos Snow baby!) This guy is a sophomore and looked dominant today. One other area that stood out to me was the offensive line. I know I keep reminding myself that it was only Akron but in years past I've watched the O-Line get pushed around by these lesser teams. There was none of that today.

Conditioning
Watching a lot of football today one of the things that really stood out to me is that OSU's strength and conditioning during the off season was outstanding! I know they have one of the best training centers in all of sports (not just college) but it shows that they were taking full advantage of it. Remember it was easily 100+ degrees on the field during the game. In other games I saw so many players going down to cramping and injuries, not so with the Buckeyes. Kudos to the strength and conditioning folks.

I know it was just one game and it was just Akron (haven't I said that already?) but I feel really good about what I saw from the program today. Everything was executed with high precision and that speaks volumes for the coaching staff and the mindset of the players.

My prediction for the season - 10-2 and a Bowl Game if the NCAA allows it. Nebraska and Wisconsin are going to be the class of the Big Ten this year.

GO BUCKEYES!