Washington, DC

I was in Washington DC yesterday for a wedding reception of sorts. First time in our nationals capital and was able to spend a few hours looking at some of the cool monuments. I'm looking forward to going back - FROZEN FOUR!!! - and checking out some more cool stuff. View my pictures here.


There are also some beer brewing, football, and disc golf pics in there.

One cool thing that I forgot to take some pictures of - mainly because we were running late, was the Solar Decathlon. The Penn State team took 4th in this competition to design and build the best solar powered homes.

Catching up...

So Lori requested my input on the crazy catch from last weekends Penn State game. First let me mention that my cousins Todd and Jeff came down for Buffalo for the game. I wouldn't let them cheer for UB in the Penn State student section, but I did let Jeff have his moment when UB took the early 3-0 lead.

The Jordan Norwood - local kid by the way - catch was pretty crazy and I'm still a little skeptical of if he really caught it. I didn't get a great view from my seat and I'll tell you why. Sometimes our quarterback - Anthony Morelli - makes some really bad decisions with the ball. Worse than most quarterbacks. So when he normally lets go of the ball, the student section takes a collective gasp. When he makes a bad decision, the crowd really gets on him. On that throw that Norwood 'caught' I was somewhat distracted by all the funny Morelli shots that I heard around me. I can just remember everyone going from a "what was that" look to celebrating the touchdown. Pretty funny.



I've been meaning to write about the Rockies for a while. They are hanging tough and it is mainly because of - wait for it - the best and most under-rated 'under the radar' player in the league. While Matt Holliday had a little bit of a coming out party at the All-Star game this year, he is not getting the street cred for the incredible numbers he has been putting up. Let's take a look:

Batting Average - .339
Home Runs - 35
RBIs - 127
Runs - 110

That would be first in the NL in batting average and RBIs and fourth in home runs. He's sniffing around a Triple Crown! I raise the beer I'm about to grab out of the fridge to Matt Holliday! And the Rocks are hanging around the Wild Card race, but they're gonna need to be hot down the stretch.

Let's hope the Pokes can turn it around this weekend as the travel closer to me to take on University of Ohio. There isn't much of a chance of me waking up Friday morning and trying to go to the game, but there is a small one!

GO POKES!

Sorry Charlie

Check out my pictures from the Penn State game yesterday. Here is one of my favorites:



It was the most intense thing I have ever witnessed. The crowd was so crazy. My friend Anna - a UW grad now living in Virginia Beach - bought a ticket and came up for the game. It was cool to be able to share the insanity that is a Penn State game.

The only downside was that I had to play a flag football game this morning and was not in the best condition. However, I did take our first offensive play to the house on a 60 yard catch and run...barely! I was looking for the oxygen after that one! Much like Penn State, our team put up a dominating performance today. With the Pokes victory it was another good football weekend. Can somebody get me a Horns update?

515,004 vs. 107,678

Curse or no curse, this past weekend brought about the start of one of my favorite sports. The first full weekend of college football ranks pretty high on my list of anticipated season starts. Opening day in baseball is probably at the top, but then college football is tied with a host of other season openings (hockey, college basketball, NFL, and I still really enjoy the Tour even if everyone in the field cheats). But this particular weekend was probably the best college football opening I have ever had.

First of all, the Cowboys put the hammer to Virginia and avenged the heartbreaking loss of a year ago. And even better, I was able to watch about 2/3 of the game, as it was on Versus. One of the pros of having a few roommates is that we can afford digital cable. This really makes me look forward to the start of hockey. But anyways, the Pokes looked pretty good to me. The Virginia offense could not get anything going. GO POKES!

Then tiny Appalachian State goes in to the Big House (biggest stadium in the country) and stuns the world. Watching the previews of that tiny little quarterback running all over the field was pretty cool. And I loved knowing that all my friends who are Michigan fans were hiding in shame from that loss.

But the biggest shock to my college football system came from attending the Penn State v. Florida International game on Saturday. Now, State was favored by almost 40, so it seemed the only question to be answered was: Will there be a fight? FIU is infamously known for their brawl with the Hurricanes last year. But there was none of that to be had, as I believe the final score was 59-0.



I still don't think I've come to terms with the size of Beaver Stadium. Let me put it in perspective. The "official capacity" of Beaver Stadium is 107,282; the 6th largest stadium in the WORLD. The announced attendance for the game I attended was 107,678. The estimated 2006 population of the State of Wyoming was 515,004. First in our hearts, but last of the 50 States in terms of population. The two largest cities in Wyoming are Cheyenne (55,314) and Casper (52,089). The combined total of those cities is 107,403. There were 275 more people at the Penn State game Saturday than in the two largest cities in Wyoming, combined.



It was intense. And with Notre Dame coming - and tickets going for upwards of $500 - next weekend promises to be just as intense.

Here is the curse update: my computer is now up and running - with a lot of stuff yet to be replaced; my car is scheduled to go in tomorrow (I think it is the trunk cable); I got some new sunglasses; but my TV is breaking. I guess that is what I get for buying the display model. We're not out of this yet!