Thanksgiving Highlights

Peace to all from Kamryn the ice skater

Family photo in front of the Reston Town Center Christmas Tree

The Big Tree Lighting Ceremony

Time for some skating

Kaylin getting the hang of it

Another graceful Steelers Fan

Kodie letting it fly

Deep contemplative thought

My brother-in-law Nick and I surveying the scene at the Punt, Pass, and Kick competition

Pumpkin the Cat and Jake the Dog watching traffic

Ricky and I in the nation's capital

Another misty day on the east coast

Heading out for a Sunday walk

Coming out of retirement for the Punt, Pass, and Kick Competition-- Somehow we won the corporate competition and took home the trophy for Rite-Aid Corp.

We had a nice holiday weekend hosting one of my former players from Trinity, attending Thanksgiving dinner at my in-laws, and visiting our friends Darryl and Alex in Virginia. Ricky Robinson arrived for his visit on Monday evening. I picked him up at Reagan Int'l Airport in Washington D.C. and we then spent the night with our friends in Reston, Virginia. Ricky played football for me for 3 straight seasons and during that time we developed a very special bond. I have always rooted for the underdog in life and Ricky certainly fits that description. Those who know Ricky are familiar with the various struggles he endured while growing up in the inner cities of Detroit and Chicago. We are very proud of all that he has accomplished, and the caring person that he has become.
Ricky enjoyed our time in Washington last year during our Trinity football trip, so I decided to take him into the city on Tuesday to spend some time at the Smithsonian. We ended up spending about 2 hours at the Museuem of Natural History. The highlight was getting to see the original Stars and Stripes flag that Francis Scott Key viewed at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. This flag would serve as the inspiration for Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner."
After returning to Havre de Grace, we visited some of the local sites around our place including the Chesapeake Bay and boardwalk area. On Thanksgiving Day, we watched the annual Detroit Lions loss and then sat down for a wonderful dinner with Estalita's family. Ricky then left early Friday morning for the long bus ride back to North Dakota.
On Friday, we drove back down to the Washington D.C. area and spent the day with Darryl and Alex. Darryl and I have been friends for more than 25 years, although we have rarely lived in the same state or country during much of that time. I have known Darryl's wife Alex for about 20 years and they are very special friends to us. They are probably the most giving and kind hearted people I know. While visiting them, we walked over to the Reston Town Center and browsed around the quaint shops. We took the kids ice skating and watched the lighting of the Town Christsmas Tree. Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance on a horse drawn carriage as Christmas carols and excitement filled the air. Our first holiday back in Maryland proved to be a very special time for the whole family.

Lights out.

Monday Night Sleeper

Monday nights game between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens certainly didn't turn out to be one for the ages. The play of both teams was lackluster in the 1st half, as evidenced by the 0-0 score at intermission. Baltimore appeared to be sleepwalking through this game early on and somebody forgot to tell the Browns offense that this was an actual game and not a scrimmage. Cleveland did show some intensity on the defensive side of the ball, but their fans probably showed the greatest passion of all on this rainy Monday night in the Rock'N'Roll city. Browns fans booed repeatedly throughout the contest, and after watching this team perform, I can feel their pain. The Browns look like a ship that is lost in the night and without a rudder. They are spending millions of dollars compensating staff and coaches who don't even work there anymore and their recent fiasco with the ousting of their GM clearly illustrates why this team is going nowhere soon. This just goes to show you that money can't buy everything. Even their future hopeful franchise QB looks like a deer in the headlights. On the final drive last night, two of his 'Hail Mary' passes were thrown at least 15-20 yards out of bounds where the receiver has no chance of doing anything. To add insult to injury, the Brownies decided to try a gadget play at the very end and their star player Joshua Cribbs was hurt while trying to make something happen. All in all, this game was a debacle for this once proud organization. Would somebody please call Cowher, Holmgren, or Shanahan, and see what they are doing next year before this team sinks any lower! Okay, now that I got that off my chest, here are some pics from our trip to Pennsylvania this past weekend.

Shot of St. Vincent College in my hometown of Latrobe, PA (Latrobe is the site for the Pittsburgh Steelers summer training camp)

Celebrating John David's birthday

Here is Jake just chillin out

Everybody under the parachute

Kodie waving that Terrible Towel

A quick stop at our favorite Steelers souvenir store in Breezewood, PA

Bobblehead Wall of Fame

"Home Sweet Home"

This store has just about everything under the sun for a "Steelers Nation" fan

Lights out.

Not the year of any given Sunday

We are halfway through the NFL season now and it has been an interesting season to say the least. There is the normal pattern of a handful of teams who are underachieving such as the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, and San Diego Chargers. Some teams who are playing better than many thought possible are the New Orleans Saints, Cincinnati Bengals, and Denver Broncos. The one difference I have observed in the league this year is the lack of competitiveness by a rather large number of teams. Bottom line, there are a lot of bottom feeders in the NFL this season. I don't remember watching so many teams struggle to even score one touchdown during a game. Just two weeks ago, I can recall 4 teams who lost by combined scores of 148-16. I should also mention that these 4 teams (Browns, Chiefs, Raiders, and Rams) were all playing at home! It used to be that even the weaker sisters in the league still found a way to step it up and be competitive on their home field. Some of these front offices need to start thinking about giving back to the fans. I mean this quite literally. Here is my suggestion: Fans attending an NFL contest should receive a 25% refund on the price of their ticket if their home team fails to score a touchdown in the game. And, if your team is shutout at home, then you are entitled to a 50% refund. Does anybody out there think this is unreasonable? Clearly, the cost of attending a sporting event has spiraled out of control in recent years and fans are entitled to some return compensation when the product on the field is substandard. I am still struggling to get a grasp on things like the NY Yankees payroll, NFL rookie signing bonuses, and 125 million dollar NBA contracts. Maybe the quality of the games will pick up before the season draws to an end. If not, fans can only hope for better results next season.
Lights out.