UK Vs NBA

Earlier tonight to the shock of virtually nobody the 5 starters from the National Champion Kentucky Wildcats unveiled the worst kept secret in college basketball, that they were ALL going pro. Coach Cal actually did the honor of giving it away twice before the kids announced it to the nation via press conference but hey whatever.....it's not like anybody didn't know anyways beforehand. 

After one of the greatest TEAM seasons in NCAA history in which they won 38 games and had a shot to set a record by winning 40, UK will lose 6 key players and 1 reserve who played a decent amount of time(Vargas) for next year. For most universities this would be a problem, but this is the new age, and THIS is Kentucky basketball where one and done isn't an exception....it's the new normal. Honestly it almost seems like Coach Cal would rather his "student athletes" hang out for a year, make a run at a title(or in this years case win Cal his first one) and then bolt for the greener pastures of the NBA to never be heard from again(anybody who isn't a Piston fan remember Brandon Knight, or not a Rockets fan remember Patrick Patterson?). I don't blame him or them, if I had the talent I think I might bolt too....but doesn't this open up the argument of never letting kids be kids anymore? It seems like that is a common pattern in America nowadays, and college sports are clearly not exempt from this theory.

With the wife being a HUGE Kentucky fan I've been forced to watch a LOT of Kentucky games this season, so here's what I was thinking about the group that Kentucky has leaving, and a couple of the guys they have coming in, enjoy(comments/arguments welcome):

Anthony Davis: You know all about how he grew 6 inches from a guard to a center by now so I won't bother to go down that road, but I will say this: I saw him play in person in Louisville in the tourney and he is an athletic FREAK. This kid is an EASY choice for the #1 pick in the draft for a reason, he is worth it and a once in a generation type building block. I just pray he doesn't go to Charlotte because as brilliant of a player as MJ was, he's the exact opposite of it as an owner/exec(and this coming from a HUGE tarheel homer).  Kid is legit and will do great things.....he didn't win EVERY award you can think of in college because he's a scrub. The one thing I think he will need to improve on is his weight and filling out his frame. Bigger guys will knock him around in the paint if he doesn't bulk up before his rookie year.

Michael Kidd Gilchrist: Due to his play on the offensive end and especially the defensive end the last month of the season I guess he's projected to be the #2 pick in the draft. I have no problem with that, kid has MAJOR skills, but I question where he will play in the NBA at 6'7, 232lbs. Will he be a 2 and handling the ball and trying to shut down the other teams shooting guard, or will he play the 3 and try to help out on small forwards like Melo and Pierce? He has good hands and could do either, but I think a LOT of his progression depends where he ends up being drafted, and if he's allowed to acclimate himself into the speed of the NBA off the bat or not. Statistically he was Kentucky's 2nd best rebounder at 7.4 so that should play well into his development. I see major potential in him and think he could easily be a Derrick Rose type player with his slashing ability.


Terrence Jones: The one guy in this group of starters that I never know what to make of. He's 6'9 and 252 playing PF in Kentucky's offense, but sometimes I think he thinks he's a 6'3 SG and tries to do too much with the ball. He needs a post game in which he can back guys down a little bit more to be truly effective in the NBA where guys are just as big and way more physical than he has shown himself to be. Sort of seems to suffer from a lapse in concentration at times as well. Still is projected as a Top 10 pick, but will need a LOT of coaching to become a big star in the league imo. I will give him this, he made a great decision to not come out last year and to utilize another year at UK and it improved his game, otherwise I think he'd be in the D-League right now had he come out last year.

Doron Lamb: Easily my favorite player to watch of this group. He's a kid you can just tell had a blast being on this team and being in college. He has good size at 6'4 and 210lbs, as well as good end to end speed. A couple of things I've seen have him going in the middle half of the first round and even being picked before Jones(which I'd agree with). Lamb in my opinion was easily THE best shooter in America without a doubt. Check out his 22 points and MULTIPLE big shots in the championship game and how smooth he played if you need proof. He's a guy who I think will be good in a couple of years as long as he can come in for the right team(think of sort of a Derek Fisher type for LA who always seemed to hit the big shot for a "little guy" but faster). I just pray he doesn't turn out like former Arizona Wildcat Salim Stoudamire or former Aggie Acie Law 4th.


Marquis Teague: I said before the tourney that IF UK lost(even though I didn't expect them to, sometimes teams are just heads above everyone else: UNC in 09) that they would lose it because of Teague and his sometimes suspect decision making. He didn't falter in the tourney, and UK won. Now he won't be the next line of GREAT point guard from Cal like Wall or Rose or Rondo, but he won't be a scrub either. He has good size at 6'2, 190, but might be outsized against some of the bigger point guards in the league who will rush his decision making. Can he handle the pressure of having a guy like the aforementioned Rose up in his grill? I think he could thrive with a fast paced team like Golden State or Miami where he can just run with the ball and get it out to his shooters.


Eloy Vargas: The epitome of a guy who was just sort of there for his college career. Yes he will go down on maybe the greatest UK team of all time, but for what reason? Mostly used as extra fouls during his college career, but hey he could develop late and become a decent mop up guy. I will say he's an awesome dude though for taking that girl to prom, that earned him MAJOR cool points(go look it up I'll be here).


Darius Miller: Everything I want out of a kid on my team. A 4 year guy who played for a BAD team in 09 but was a starter and who learned to curtail his ego and become a VALUABLE role player for teams since Cal took over. I think he's the glue that held the teams together the past 3 years to be honest. He was the key to this years team imo. Great defense and most importantly great leadership was his forte and he served that role perfectly. The major thing is who will be around to fill that role out for the Wildcats next year, and how much of a difference will it make to their chances at repeating with all the young guns coming in? I hope he gets drafted, he's one of the few good guys in sports nowadays and would be a great rolemodel for young hoopers to emulate.


There you have it, there's some thoughts about the guys leaving an amazing legacy at UK and in Cal's heart.....but thankfully they gave me the amazing memory of listening to the Lexington Police Scanner after the win. Thank you so much for that.


UK will be a top 4 team next year and likely play deep into the tourney again with the commitments of guys like Nerlens Noel who had the best way to choose a college EVER by shaving it into the back of his head, along with Poythress and Archie Goodwin. 

Sad that they cancelled their home and home with UNC to play in the "Champions Classic" or whatever, but hopefully they will get their chance next year to repeat(where they will hopefully come up one short as my Heels take back what belongs to them and pick up #6!)


Thanks for reading. Make sure to leave a comment or tweet me @mhirn3



 
 

Feeling a little Carolina Blue

Anyone who knows me knows one fact about me to be true: I am a HUGE North Carolina Tar Heel fan(for real, even as I type this I have on a UNC shirt). Seriously, ask any of my friends, it's an undisputed fact. Through the good(05 and 09's title teams), to the ultra bad(the Matty D years, the 08 debacle against Kansas, this year vs Kansas) I've been there....even when it wasn't cool to be, I always bled Carolina Blue while others didn't and jumped from bandwagon to bandwagon each year.

This season after a letdown in the Elite 8 last year against UK was supposed to be the start of something amazing(kind of like 09 after the Kansas loss in which we trailed 40-12 at one point), but alas it wasn't. Too many injures(McDonald, then Strickland, then Henson's BS, then whatever the deal with Kendall Marshall actually was.) It seemed like this team had the decked stacked against it from the get-go and like I said all year, they were not near mentally tough enough to get past it. Stillman White played well in his 2 games at the point(13 assists 0 turnovers), but he wasn't able to be the dynamic passer and playmaker that Marshall is/was and everyone, especially Harrison Barnes suffered from it. Credit to Ohio and Kansas to turning Barnes into a jump shooter and less of the slasher we UNC fans have known him to be since his arrival as the most hyped product since the beginning of time(but I digress, I'll get to him in a minute).

Today's news was texted to me that Barnes, Henson and Marshall have all decided to take themselves to the next level to play in the NBA by my good buddy Aaron Matthews(@matthews_show), and had I not spent 3 hours waiting on my car to get fixed, that news itself probably would have ruined my day. When I heard the news I decided that since it's something I am so passionate about(whether that is good or bad remains to be seen) that I would put my thoughts down for all of you to read about each individual "student athlete", so here goes:

John Henson: One of the problems imo with college basketball is guys like him. They show up with a  ton of hype but live on said hype and don't ever fully develop because scouts and people close to them keep telling them forget college, let's just move on to the NBA....make money and let them teach you a complete game. Henson got much better in the last year and a half in Chapel Hill, but I've always felt there was something missing about him and his game....toughness. Need an example? Watch him get bullied in the post against any big man(last year's tourney for instance)....OR check him out once he bruised his wrist. A guy like him however seems to fit into Roy Williams' run and gun because he refuses to play ACTUAL defense and is always out of position trying to get a big block. He's the one of the three I'll miss the LEAST to be honest because he always seemed like he would rather be ANYWHERE else but Carolina....and his game showed. Good luck being a 3/4 tweener in the NBA John.

Harrison Barnes: I first laid eyes on the "Best freshman to enter UNC since Jordan" at the 2010 McDonald's All American Game in Columbus on a team LOADED with great talent(Terrence Jones, Brandon Knight, Fab Melo, Doron Lamb, etc), but Barnes was the guy who really stood out on that team with his impressive strength and ability to get end to end with the basketball so effortlessly. He led his West team in scoring with 18 and grabbed 5 boards and looked like he might have some chance of living up to the RIDICULOUS hype that was afforded to him as the "next legend in unc basketball history" when he walked on to campus in Chapel Hill. I'll be honest I went to the McDonald's game to see him play and see if he was worthy of the hype that had him go 53-0 and capture 2 state championships in Iowa his Jr/Sr years. After being named First Team ALL AMERICA before even having played a game(and being the FIRST freshman ever to be named to that team), he opened his Carolina career in a little bit of a funk when the real games started(ACC play, not those sloppy cupcake games everyone plays at the start of the year vs Lipscomb). The middle of the season saw him hit a HUGE rut and not be able to do much of anything shooting wise as teams took away his slashing ability and forced him to shoot a lot of jumpers(a problem he later suffered from in the 2012 NCAA Tourney when Kendall Marshall got injured).

I just feel like his career and legacy at UNC is a mixed bag. He would dominate games against mid level teams like Clemson(40 pts as a frosh) on his way to winning ACC Rookie of the Year honors, but disappeared when it came to games in the tourney unless someone was there to spread the floor and allow him to slash to the bucket. Whoever drafts him will need a TOP FLIGHT point guard, otherwise he will become another NBA ghost like Kerry Kittles(Nova) or Ron Mercer(UK). If anyone on this list needed one more year to come back and prove he can do more than score(17ppg this year but still isn't an elite level defender for an NBA 2/3) and BE THE LEGEND HE WAS PROJECTED TO BE when he signed with UNC, it's Barnes....but I guess legendary isn't a word in his vocab.

Kendall Marshall:Ah Kendall, where do I start? Once again another guy who I had heard GREAT things about and saw play in the Mickey D's game in Cbus. 2 points, 1 board and 5 assists. Not exactly world beating, but given he spent most of the time setting up Jared Sullenger(OSU) it stands to reason he wouldn't get the BIG game in Sully's hometown and future arena. When he started at UNC he was a top rated PG, but we supposedly already had one in Larry Drew 2(we all know how that worked out), and sat until Larry spontaneously combusted and quit the team. K-Mart stepped in beautifully and saved UNC's season.....or so we thought. He played horribly in the loss to Kentucky and was stifled by Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb. This year everyone including Kendall came back and were the #1 ranked team in the country to start the season. After demolishing Michigan State yet again(yes, they are UNC's bitch).....that #1 ranking lasted less than 2 weeks before loss #1 which seemed to oddly take the wind out of the blue sails rather than motivate them. Marshall was the only one who seemed to take it as a challenge to get a better jump shot as he turned it on scoring wise the last half of the season. The thing that bothers me about Kendall is that after he took his fall on his wrist in the 2nd round, it seemed like he just said screw it I'm done. I don't pretend to know how much pain he was in, but I know if it was me and I could go AT ALL I would have been out there...not sitting on the bench in a suit somebody bought me. Like I talked about earlier, it just seemed like yet another kid who didn't buy into the Carolina mystique and decided he could get by on talent alone. Missing him killed UNC's chances at raising banner #6....they were just deflated. But they beat Ohio you say....yes you are correct, BUT they beat Ohio on sheer talent and conditioning alone(watch the Bobcat's heads when they hear the buzzer at 0 in regulation, they were deflated heading to OT because they had UNC right there). How do you leave a mission half finished Kendall? Does that competitive drive not tear you apart that you couldn't accomplish this mission? How do you go out LIKE THAT?(like Devon Jones says, like a bitch!) It's just sad what you left unfinished at UNC to go make a lot of money that will ALWAYS be there with the type of talent you possess.

College sports as a whole is a joke right now. The NBA is just cluttered with too many players who are just there to get a paycheck(check out the Memphis and Toronto rosters), and not guys who are actually talented enough to be there and do something to EARN their paychecks imo.

The guy I most feel bad for on this UNC team? Tyler Zeller. There's the perfect example of a guy who could have bounced twice for money, but chose to STAY AT UNC and try for that title with this group of guys every year because he BLED CAROLINA BLUE.....not because it was a place for him to hang out for a couple of years before he went to the league like the other 3. Zeller, much like the Tyler before him GOT IT....he got what college sports means and what TAR HEEL TRADITION means. The other 3? Well you see how that played out.

I'm thankful I get to watch kids next year like the heir apparent to the PG slot in Marcus Paige, and the duo of Reggie Bullock(who i think will be THE best shooter in college basketball next year), and of course James Michael McAdoo(who I believe GETS it and will be a UNC legend by the end).

Is is November yet? I want another run at this:

#unc4life - @mhirn3 on twitter

Old with the old in with the new

I have come to realize as 2011 came to a close and 2012 snuck in that I have a LOT to be thankful for. I have some wonderfully amazing people in my life and have been given some great opportunities the past year. Yes I have had a couple of bad things happen in 2011 like getting fired, but it'll be for the better once the opportunities I am busting my ass on come to fruition, this I know.

2011 was also special because in August I made the most beautiful most caring girl in the world a part of my crazy family. As I search for and try to find something that I can do for the rest of my life I know with her by my side I can accomplish anything I set out to do. Thank you Stephanie for ALWAYS being there for me and believing in me. I know it's a cliche but you really are the best thing to EVER happen to me and I thank GOD for you each and every moment of my life because you saved me from thinking I wasn't good enough and made me realize I am good enough to succeed if I just keep pushing thru. I love you more each day.

Today I start my newest opportunity, calling basketball on tv. I have done a lot of things in my life but this is the first one where I feel wholeheartedly like I was meant to do it. A great man named Randall Hulsmeyer believed in me and made me the sports director of his station in Dayton and felt I could carry the load for this venture.....and I won't let him down. Today is the start of something magical I can feel it.

I'm going thru changes

As soon as the idea to write this came about, that Eminem/Ozzy version of the song came into my head. It really is true, my life is about to undergo some pretty major changes....the main one being that 14 days from today I will be married to my best friend and pretty much the coolest most amazing person I know, my best friend and love of my life.

People keep asking me if I'm nervous or anything, and without a doubt I can honestly say I've not been nervous one bit about it....when you know something is perfect for you and you don't doubt that you did the best thing possible, you have no reason to be nervous. She's everything I could ever want or ask for. Since the day we had our first date(6 years ago the day we get married) I knew she was the one. I've never had someone who believes in me the way she does, and complements me as a person the way she does. She truly is the best thing to ever happen to me, I mean that more than I could ever explain.

The bond we have runs deeper than anything I've ever had with anyone else, and I thank god for sending me someone so amazing and beautiful every single day of my life. Without her I know I wouldn't be anything in this life...and it's with her by my side that I know I will amount to something in this world.

Stephanie I love you more than anything, and can't wait to begin this new chapter of our lives together in 2 weeks.

Let's get it started!

Just a couple of quick things here, just want to mention that starting a diet is HARD. Kudos to all of you skinny people out there for just being able to be skinny and not have to watch what you eat and drink just to look "good". Just wanted to try to lose a little bit of weight to feel good about myself and to look the best I can to make the trek into married life on August 27th.....I'm sure I'll be happy about all of this dieting when I start seeing results(I did lose 7 pounds in the first 4 days), but right now it's hard not being able to eat anything I want a little bit. Can't wait to get into the gym this week so I can at least eat a little bit more and be able to work it off. Anybody wanna help by working out with me to stay motivated?

Lima Warriors season kicks off tonight! Just wish I could go lol, but away games are hard to get to with my job making me work every weekend....but oh well, they're the 2010 National Champions, they can survive without this guy right? The first online broadcast for the defending HFL champions will be at 7:05pm on May 21st(just two short weeks) as we travel to Columbus to take on the Columbus War Eagles and new Offensive Coordinator and former Lima Warrior Head Coach BJ Queen. If you are in the Columbus area don't miss this one as it'll be a good one. Warriors start off their season against the high powered Michigan Gators tonight, and the road to repeat doesn't get any easier with the Detroit Ravens in Columbus next weekend.....Warriors have never beaten the Ravens, but some things are meant to change.

Stay tuned for game updates and previews as the season rolls along, or visit www.limawarriors.com for more info. THE best show in semi pro keeps on rolling toward another decade of excellence tonight.

WAR Wrestling's Beatdown At The Dogpound 2 is in just a few short hours and is where I will be tonight as Ripper Blackhart and myself do live commentary from the entrance ramp for this amazing night of warfare(pun intended). Working with WAR has been an amazing experience for me, both learning to call wrestling play by play, and to see a lot of what the wrestling business has to offer, some good and bad. The one great thing is that all the proceeds of this show go to benefit the Allen County Humane Society which is a no kill shelter and relies solely on donations from people like yourself to stay open and keep pets safe. If you can, please give them some money as it's a great organization I love and believe 100% in. We at War Wrestling aren't like the other promotion in town who pretend to be about charity....we actually are about charity. If you have one just get ahold of Tom Williams and he will probably be glad to try and help out.

Check out www.warwrestling.com for more details of upcoming shows and events(next one is June 4th at the UAW hall by 75).

Thanks for reading, let me know if there's anything you'd like covered here and I'll do my best to see if I feel like doing it for you haha.

BE GREAT TODAY.


Hopefully there's one more of these coming our way in the future Lima:

Things I'm proud to say

I decided to write this a couple of weeks ago, but am just now getting around to it. I want to take a few minutes to explain how proud I am to be a part of two wonderful organizations in the Lima area that a lot of people may not necessarily be aware of, so here goes:

Earlier this month I got the chance to go to Homestead, Florida(about 40 minutes south of Miami) to call a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. Now that may not mean a lot to some people as it's "just semi-pro football", but to me and the men lucky enough to continue playing the game they love it meant a lot. All you need to know about the game itself is that even through all the technical problems we had for the broadcast, and bullshit surrounding the leadup to the game, and the fact that it was probably the worst offensive performance of the year for the Warriors, the defense balled out and helped bring home the trophy to the Lima area with one of the best defensive performances I've ever personally witnessed...capped off by 5 interceptions in the 4th quarter. We had a lot of issues with the trip and leading up to the game itself, but like I said, we stuck together and got it done as a family, and were crowned 2010 AA National Champions.

I gotta be honest here for a second, a couple of years ago when my best friend Aaron Matthews first got involved with the Warriors and told me about it, I didn't really get it....I had heard all the bad stigmas about semi-pro football and some of the thuglike mentality that took place at the games, and to be totally honest did not give it a chance or the respect it deserved...two problems that were quickly solved when I attended my first Warrior game at Lima Senior and saw the level of play these men put in every weekend. After that, I was hooked....and was lucky enough to be a part of the Warrior family the next season when my friend asked me to be a part of the broadcast team with him as the color guy. Since that day I have become the Warriors play by play guy with Aaron stepping into the coaches box this past season, and have never been more proud to be a part of something as I am to say I am part of the Lima Warriors.

As we roll off the high of winning the National Championship and our 14-3 season, and into the defense of our HFL title as well, I am asking that anyone who reads this who has never been to or listened to a Warriors game online(and I hope I have done a good job to those of you that have listened in), to come to or listen to a game next season and see just how amazing the Greatest Show in Semi-Pro really is to be a part of. It's a high I can not put into words that would do it justice....I just wish more people in the Lima area gave it the respect it deserved and gave it a shot.....get ahold of me and I'll even pay for your entry.....and if you need a testimonial about what just one Warrior game can do, look up Ben Sherman and ask him about the power of one game...it'll hook you, this I promise you.

Another company I am proud to say I am fortunate enough to be a part of their family is a group called WAR Wrestling run by a great man in Big Tom Williams. Wrestling in general gets a bad rap imo, but Tom and the amazing performers he brings in have been working to change that with a good and affordable show every 2 months. If you aren't busy on Saturday Feb 5th, I hope you can make an effort to come see a great lineup, and all for about 10 bucks too, where else can you get that?

Wrestling has been one of my favorite things for as long as I can remember, and much like the Warriors stigma about Semi-Pro football, I didn't attend an Indy show(for those of you who don't know, it's what non-wwe/tna shows are called), because I was always told it was "low brow" or "not that good", but started when my buddy Sean Lyle(or Peachy Rodriguez) got trained and started working in the business....after that I was once again hooked. For a long time I was nothing but a fan who just loved the product Big Tom and his amazing performers put out, but then I was lucky enough to start helping with the show running sound with a hoodie....and eventually get a chance to do play by play on dvd's(which along with football pbp is one of my dream jobs), and garnered a whole new appreciation and love for what WAR stands for. I've once again been lucky enough to become a part of the wonderful family of not only great performers, but also great people the likes of Matt Mason, Dusty Dillenger, Sherman Tank and even Ripper Blackhart, but also to meet some "names" in Jerry Lawler and Andrew "Test" Martin(may he rest in peace) to name a few.Where else can you see a wrestling show that sells out the UAW hall on a regular basis? WAR also helps out charities like the Allen County Humane Society, which no matter what they say no other wrestling companies in the area do.

My point is that when people say there's nothing to do in Lima, I think they're dead wrong.....these two companies are overlooked by the Lima area in my opinion, and that is a damn shame as both give back to the community in not only monetary ways, but also in sheer joy of bringing something good to the area in every way they can.

Please if you get the chance check out www.warwrestling.com for the next show in Lima(which there are plenty of, even at the fair this summer), or www.limawarriors.com to see the two in my opinion crown jewels of Lima that not a lot of people know about.

Thanks for reading, any input appreciated.

This is how we do it

There are few things in this life I believe in more than being honest and upfront with people and doing what you say you will do, and also being loyal to the people around you. There is a group I am blessed enough to be associated with in Lima that believes in these things too, and that is exactly why I am proud to say I am associated with WAR Wrestling. Even when it might be easy to take the low road like some others and from what I've heard thru the grapevine, other companies aren't as willing to do things the way they should or even make good on their promises like they should.

When WAR Wrestling was lucky enough to partner with the Allen County Humane Society and help the amazing cause they are working for, we raised 2,100 dollars for them. The ACHS is a great company with a good set of men leading it and needs all of your help. They are a no kill shelter, which means they receive no help or funding from the state of ohio, the us government, or the local government....and rely solely on private donations and fundraisers to get by and house these animals. We at WAR Wrestling helped do our small part(and trust me we are not resting on our laurels, as I'm told we will be partnering with them again often in our quest to help these animals have a good home and get adopted).

My point in saying all of this is simple: WAR Wrestling told the ACHS that whatever we make on the show is yours. Whatever you make on concessions is yours. We are trying to help YOU out and get YOU recognition, it's not about us....it's about helping the community and these animals by getting exposure for YOU GUYS....and money for YOU GUYS......there's another company called Bruiser Wrestling who FROM WHAT I HAVE HEARD have not come thru on their promise the way we did. They from what I have heard personally have not given one red cent of their proceeds to the Allen County Children Services group who they supposedly parntered with to put on their event Oct 23rd, now I ask you....is this the sign of a good business? I know FOR A FACT that they asked the ACHS to buy all of the things for concessions and then that BW would cut them a % of the proceeds, ACHS did not like this and ended up partnering with WAR instead.....so BW went to look for another "partner" for their event. How is it that even with all the free publicity(psa's from both local tv and radio that were FREE) they received that they still drew less than WAR, who had to pay for their advertising?

Look, I know a lot of you may not like wrestling and deem it hillbilly or whatever, but the truth of the matter is that the men and women who come to WAR and perform for crowds every month of between 5-800 at the UAW hall off of 75 bust their butts and put on a dang fine show every single month to make sure people who spend their hard earned money are entertained. WAR Wrestling is a proud member of the Lima Community that not enough people know about. Yes you may not have the big names that other independent shows do, but what you will find is a great card from top to bottom, and the best way to spend $8-10 bucks around.

Make sure you check out a WAR show(dec 4th will be an amazing one I promise you), and tell you friends....and just remember, there's a reason why so many people come back to see WAR and not the others who try and run here...see the innovators, not the imitators.

My intention was to state how I felt and some key facts, not to slander anyone. All comments welcome and will get a response. Thank you for reading.

Making memories of us

I wrote this on myspace(who has one of those these days?) in december and wanted to share it here:

So something that a bunch of people(my parents namely) often told me back in the day finally clicked and made absolute sense a couple weeks ago when I asked Steph to give up all common sense and spend the rest of her life with me....and she said yes. What was that thing you ask? Well, it was that somewhere in my life I would meet the person who was so perfect for me in every way and that she was out there somewhere....I of course wasn't having the best luck in relationships at the time(for a myriad of reasons, mostly probably to do with me being immature and selfish)...and didn't believe them....I'm a firm believer my parents were right on the money looking back at it...damn them for being right!(sorta).

The past 4 or 5 years have brought me things I never thought possible, including the most amazing, beautiful, funny girl I could ever hope for...and yes, I do thank god for her every single day. My dad always says he has no clue why his wife chose to settle for him, but he's glad she did....and that's sorta how I feel about Steph.....except for once, she makes me feel like we're equal and in it together...a quality which is rare not only in relationships, but in people in general as well these days it seems.

I won't bore you with all of the incredibly fun things we've done over the years(frankly I've written them before, or posted pics for that)....but as corny as it sounds, she's not just my amazing fiance, she's also my best friend....she's always been there for me thru thick and thin...even when others haven't been, and never judged me no matter how childish I was being. She took care of me when I was sick, put up with all of my little idiotic quirks about food, and most importantly like I said before treated me like an equal, and I just hope that the same can be said of me to her.

So some of you might want to know how I did it or where or whatever in ref to the proposal...so here goes: I had gotten the ring a couple months back and got it for our trip to Kentucky to see my UNC team play her UK team(my team lost :( )....and somehow kept it a secret from her(it was hard as I tell her everything lol)....and then while sitting next to her at halftime of an awful game for my team I told her how much I loved her and intended on being with her forever and then slipped the ring on her finger....I wish I could take a photo out of my head and show you all her face when she said yes, it was truly priceless.

I did it that way because if you know us....that's us.....and it makes sense....plus it was the first place we ever went on a trip together so it just seemed appropriate to me. Hopefully it's the first of MANY more trips to Kentucky to come, where on that trip years ago I think I truly realized just how much I loved her and wanted to be with her forever. She's the most amazing person I know, and if I get to spend every day waking up to her leaving for work, or putting her to bed everynight before I stumble into bed 3 hours later....I will have led an amazing life.

Anyone who knows me truly knows how I feel about her. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me...and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with her...I can only hope that the rest of you find happiness like that in your own life...trust me, it does happen...even to a guy like me :)

Stephanie, I love you more than anything in this or any other world, you are my heart, my soul...my everything.

I Hope You Had The Time Of Your Life

I miss a LOT of things. Mainly I miss being able to do shit on the weekends to be totally honest, working every single weekend with none off unless I take a sick or vacation day fucking blows.

I miss all of my people who have unfortunately passed away, I love and miss you all more than you can ever understand. You've all provided me with sooooo many amazing moments and traits in myself to be proud of.

I miss how things used to be, sometimes growing up sucks.

Just a quick set of thoughts of some things I miss.

There goes my hero

So not a lot of new things to talk about, but just some random things I guess I can throw in for the hell of it right?

Excited/nervous about my 2nd Lima Warriors season being right around the corner....should be interesting as I'll be making the transition from color to play by play with the movement of the best pbp man around in Aaron Matthews to the Warriors sideline as the receivers coach. Hopefully my new broadcasting partner Colin Kriegel and I will be able to pick up where Matthews and I left off during last seasons incredible 13-2 season.....only time will tell right? Please make sure to check out our first call together May 22nd as the Warriors open their first season of HFL play in Ada against the Mansfield Mauraders. Definitely have a lot of work to do before now and then to get ready for the season.

Speaking of May, this saturday the 1st will mark the return of War Wrestling to Lima at the UAW Hall. For anyone looking for a cheap entertaining night out, I recommend you come check out why we draw 750-800 people per show. It's cheaper than taking your kids to the movies or a ballgame that's for damn sure....and probably way more entertaining too. If wrestling isn't your cup of tea maybe hit up the afterparty at the Howard Johnson Metropole Lounge....you can see a LOT of amusing people there and sing Karaoke...what more could you want?

Other upcoming things to promote.....um a lot of working, Warriors games all thru the months of may/june/july(check out www.limawarriors.com for all dates and broadcast links if you can't make the show)....and War Wrestling shows(keep your eyes peeled at www.warwrestling.com too!).

Other than waiting for Tom Ahl to take yet another shot at trying to fix my damn car that's pretty much all I've got for right now. I promise for the 3 of you who give a damn I'll try and update this more often from now on.

Drop me a line on facebook and let me know what you'd like to hear about, I'm always open to suggestions.

Rock on.