Just checking in

Quick weight-loss update: I realized I haven't updated you on the end of the competition. I lost the most weight, 34.5 pounds, didn't win the money. Someone else got me by a few percentage points. Oh well. I think I have made a permanent change as far as eating better and I am happy about that.

Baseball season is here: At least for the big boys. Can't tell you how happy that makes me. Had a chance to get to Cards opening day with the Grizzlies crew. We actually got to go twice-thanks to the rainout. We had the pleasure of sitting in the Champions Club. All I can say is congrats to the Cardinals for that masterpiece. All-you-can eat/drink in a beautiful setting. The buffet included some typical ballpark fare, but also some non-traditional food, including pasta and mussels, beef tips, roast pork, barbecue brisket and some great desserts. Some of the best brownies I have ever had. It was great, and that club is no doubt going to be a hit (pun fully intended) for the birds.

As for the team, to loosely quote the movie Major League they don't look too stinking bad. I was part of the group that said that I thought they would be better than people think anyway and after the opening series against the Rockies I'll stick to it. I don't really think they'll compete for the division, but it won't be as gloomy a season as some would have you believe. For the record my pick to win the division is the Cubs. I have the Mets and Indians in the World Series with the Indians winning.

I'll be at the game tomorrow afternoon as well. I am headed down with my father-in-law and his brother. Looking forward to nice afternoon. I am meeting Nationals broadcaster Bob Carpenter before the game. I first met Bob a few seasons ago at a Cards opening day. He has been kind enough to help me out on a number of occaisions. He has sort of become a mentor to me, and I sure appreciate him taking his time to help out a lowly indy guy like myself.

That's it from me today. Look for more Grizzlies news soon as we approach our eighth season.

Did I mention I love this time of year?

I do love this time of year, honestly, but it can also be gut-wrenching if you are a fan of a "bubble team" which I am. A Dayton alum actually. This certainly isn't the first time the Flyers have been in this situation. A couple of years back they were a 10-seed in the NCAAs and they were the very last team revealed on the selection show. Talk about nerve-wracking. I'm only a fan. Can't imagine being a player.

Anyway, they had the opportunity to put themselves far far from any bubble talk this year. They had two huge non-conference wins-at Louisville and then vs. Pitt. They beat Pittsburgh by 25 when the Panthers were fifth ranked. They were 14-1, nationally-ranked and then injuries absolutely devestated this program. They lost two players-one being their second leading scorer who hasn't played since. They only recently figured out how to win without him and finished the regular season 20-9, and 8-8 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. They are the 8 seed in the conference tourney which begins tomorrow. They open up their tournament with #9 Saint Louis. There prize for a first-round win is a match-up with rival and #1 seed Xavier!

I am not going to make all kinds of comparisons here and try and make a case for Dayton. It is too hard, and really doesn't mean much. Besides if that is what you want there are plenty of places to find it and plenty of people who like to predict the tournament field. Don't get me wrong, I love to look at it and try and hash it out, but the fact remains it is up to that committee and you can show me all of the numbers and compare all of the records you want-what it comes down to is what teams the individuals on the committee feel deserve to be there.

Do I think Dayton deserves to be there? Probably. I think they absolutely needed to win their last three conference games to get to .500 in league play. I originally thought they needed three conference tourney wins to get them to 23, then I saw the A-10 tournament draw and thought maybe 22 wins with one of them being over Xavier would get them in. Then some upsets in other conference tourneys and now I am just not sure what gets them in as an at-large. The one thing that remains certain is that if they can somehow reel off four wins in four days there in! Pretty simple. So I'll be rooting for just that.

I'll have my red and blue on tomorrow afternoon and probably tuning in to Bob Ramsey and Earl Austin Jr. on the Billikens broadcast. Game time is 11 am St. Louis time.

Go Flyers!!

One of my favorite times of the year!

Here we are, March! What a great time on the sports calendar. MLB starts in a few weeks, but before that. . .March Madness! I don't know if I can leagally use that term, but I'm not profiting from the site, so I'll use it. Point is this is a great time of the year, easily one of my favorites, and it starts tonight.

The Missouri Valley Conference tournament kicks off tonight at Scottrade Center with their opening round games. #8 Indiana State takes on #9 Wichita State is at 6:00 and then #7 Missouri State takes on #10 Evansville at 8:30.
By the way our GM, Tony, is a Missouri State alum and will be rooting hard for the Bears this weekend!

This will be the third consecutive season I have had the pleasure to work with the Valley staff during the tournament. I'll be one of a legion of media assistants. The Valley staff does a fantastic job on putting on the tournament and I am proud to be a part of it. The basketball is some of the best you'll find. The fan support is outstanding and it makes for a great atmosphere.

As you may know my heart lies with a certain Atlantic 10 team that is perched squarely on the bubble right now, the Dayton Flyers. I won't get into the Flyers at this point. I will talk more about them next week. I will only say they end the regular season on Saturday at home against St. Joe's. They need that win to stay in the NCAA conversation.

So join me at Scottrade Center this weekend, and don't forget the FL radio show airs Saturday afternoon. Details on that below!

Fronter League Radio, Sports Trivia and More

Just a few things from me today:

First off there is a new radio show dedicated to the Frontier League. It is a podcast and has been running for a couple of weeks now. Stan Murray and Tim Perry do the show. Tim is the official, unofficial historian of the league. He also has a great site for FL info as well. It is worth a listen if you're interested in the goings on around the league during these cold times. There is usually a segment with a guest discussing different league teams. And yes, I was recently a guest. We taped it yesterday and it will air again beginning March 8 I believe. Check out the radio show. Also check out Tim's website

The Grizzlies will once again be involved in the Sports Trivia Championship tomorrow night at Scottrade Center. The event benefits the St. Patrick's Center. We have donated some items, including some ticket packages for the winners! We also get to participate, so look out if you're playing. Just kidding. We don't see to be a threat to any serious contenders, but we'll have a good time.

Finally, the Division II college world series is likely coming to GCS Ballpark. You may have read something about it in the Belleville News Democrat on Sunday. We'll have an official announcement when we can!

That's it for now.

Shameless Self-promotion

I'll be working the Saint Louis University basketball game tonight as the Public Address voice inside Scottrade Center!

I'll be filling in for Guy Phillips tonight as the Billikens host the Xavier Musketeers. Game is on ESPN 2 as well. . .tune in maybe you can catch me in the background!!

Weight-loss updates

Here are the results of my weekly weigh-ins.
(Check below for details on the weight loss)

Starting weight: 221 pounds-total weight loss is in parenthesis
One week, January 14: 213.5 (7.5 pounds)
Two weeks, January 21: 209.5 (11.5 pounds)
Three weeks, January 28: 206 (15 pounds)
Four weeks, February 4: 203 (18 pounds) Even with a Super Bowl blowout!
Five weeks, February 11: 199.5 (21.5 pounds) I believe I am leading the pack. The half-way weigh-in is Wednesday. We'll see.
So you know, Didn't win the half-way. Lost the most weight not the highest percentage. On with the updates:

Six weeks, February 18: 196 (25 pounds)
Seven weeks, February 25: 193.5 (27.5 pounds) I wasn't confident of a good week and still dropped two and a half! As long as the weight is still dropping I'm ok with that.
Eight weeks, March 3: 193.5 (27.5 pounds)
Uh-oh, now the weight isn't dropping, at least not this past week. I'll have to work a bit this week. It'd be nice to hit the 30 pound mark!
Nine weeks, March 10: 191.5 (29.5 pounds) couldn't quite get to 30 total, but at least I lost this week!

New Year, New Goals

Ok, ok, ok I know I still don't update this as I should. It can just be a New Year's resolution. Though I really hate making "resolutions." Doesn't that just set you up for failure. It sure seems to.

That being said, I am trying to lose weight. In fact quite a few folks on staff here with the Grizz are trying to lose weight, so we turned it into a contest. For cash! We all entered with $50 and go about trying to drop the pounds over a 12-week period. The person with the best weight-loss at the half-way point gets their entry fee back. The person with the best weight-loss after 12 weeks gets the rest. Best-case you lose the weight and you win 500 bucks in the process. By the way we go by percentage.

Soooooo, I thought I'd keep folks informed about my progress. I'll just let you know how I am doing and leave the other guys' to themselves.

We only weigh in three times publically: at the start-January 7, at the half-way point-February 18th and at the end-March 28th. I try to track weekly. From now on you can check my progress in subsequent postings.

I'll keep you updated. Wish me luck.