The Baron's Late Christmas Letter

Just like most of the people in my family I’m really bad at getting my Christmas Letter done. Since I sent out Christmas Cards I’ll use my blog to post my letter. 2010 was a great year.

The Baron started the year in the Outer Banks at the Almand Joy. It was a great weekend of partying with some of his closest friends. It started out great from the first day of the year. I was able to meet Danny McBride, many of you may know him as Kenny F****** Powers. He was a cool about us wanting to say hi and took a group picture with us.



The common theme of the year seemed to be weddings. I was invited to 5 and was in 4 of them. A family friend Alex Weakley started it out. Only to be followed by Spencer and Nicole’s wedding at The Homestead. This place was amazing and the rain was not going to keep these nuptials from happening. We partied the night away. The month of June finished with my sister’s wedding. This one was a blast. It’s always a show when my cousins and I get together. You never know what we’ll destroy. The golf carts were safe that weekend since we didn’t get a chance to hit the links. In October my friends Derek and Katie were married and it definitely lived up to their wild personalities. It was wild. The 2010 weddings finished up with Zeib and Amy in November with another wild weekend. Crystal, need I say more? I hope all of these couples have many years of happiness together.

The Baron also found a lady in 2010. The Baroness and I have been dating since May and things have been going great. We’ve both spent time traveling between the Virginia Plantation and her Mountain Vista. In August Spencer and Casey through a party for the two of us. If you were there you know why they party was thrown and if you were not you’ll have to figure it out. Anyways there was an Egyptian theme and a belly dancer. We all dressed up and hung out in a pyramid.

In April I made a trip to Indiana/Michigan to drive my mother out for my sister’s Wedding Shower. This was fun since I got to spend time drinking bourbon and smoking cigars with my brother. I also get to spend some time with my Grandmother.

In July I started working out…doctor’s orders. I decided to train to run a 5k which I did successfully complete in November. It was a lot of fun. Next is to get back in the gym and run another race so I can improve my time.

At the end of October the Baroness, my brother, and I attended O’Gradyfest once again hosted at the Rivah. It was another great weekend and the pig was amazing this year. I’m getting excited for this year just talking about it. RING THE BELL!!!! In case anyone was wondering, Brammer and I still were not beaten in corn hole in 2010. Bring it challengers…yeah I’m talking to you Tom.

December flew by this year with all the Christmas season activities. Christmas was great though. It was great spending time with the family. The Baroness and I went to Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl this year. Along the way we stopped in Savannah. After the game I witnessed, we should’ve stayed in Savannah. I know one thing we will return in the next couple of years.



That was my year in review. Bouncer and Rollins are still living the lazy life and enjoying it. The three of us are looking to move in the New Year.

So here’s to 2011. I know it will only be better than last year. (Challenge Accepted). Sweep the Leg.

The 5k

In 2010 I started training for a 5k that is held in Fredericksburg every Thanksgiving called the Turkey Trot 5k. I ran my first timed race since I ran track in middle school. I always enjoyed running but as I got older and found less time I stopped running and once you stop it becomes harder to start back up. Then you get to a point where you can’t run most of the time and you are walking most of the work out. Well in July of 2010 I joined the gym with my friend and co-worker Casey and to keep myself motivated I decided to run the 5k over Thanksgiving.

The last time I seriously ran prior to 2010 was in 2005 when I was training with an ARMY recruiter to get into shape so I could join the ARMY. By the time I was finished I was running 1.5 of the 3 miles we did every morning and afternoon. Running with someone is easier because they constantly motivate you to keep running. Running by yourself is a lot tougher mentally because you need to keep on yourself to keep going. In my 5k I ran the first half mile and caught my breath enough to start running again. The whole race I would run 100-200 yards and walk 200 or so more yards. My average mile times are nothing to write home about but for someone who was only on an elliptical 3 times a week for 4 months I felt good about my times. My first mile was 13.53. I felt great about it, I was shooting for 12 minutes but the first hill was a little tougher than I imagined. There is also the aspect of getting through the crowd as your run. I probably exerted a lot more energy then I needed to trying to run around people. Next time I may start at a slower pace and pick it up later once the pack has spread out. In case you were wondering how many people I’m talking about, over 5,000 people ran this race.

As I stated earlier I ran track in middle school. In 1995/1996 I was a lot slimmer than I am now. I also ran sprints. I ran the 100 and 200. I also did the long jump. In middle school I was already 6 feet tall so I could step further than most kids could jump. However my long jump was nothing to brag about. Halfway through the season Coach Woody pulled me from the event. I was ok with that. In practice Coach Woody also had me run the 100 and 200 Hurdles. The hurdles in middle school track were much shorter than the hurdles in high school. Again this is where my height came in to play I could do the hurdles without really messing up my stride whereas shorter runners had to jump. There was one kid who literally hit every hurdle but he planned it that way. He was fast too. Our track team met the week before the County track meet. The best I did that year was finish 4th in the 200. I was proud of that, I didn’t run track because I thought I was the fastest kid in school, I ran to stay in shape for soccer season. The problem being there was not soccer in middle school at the time. At the team meeting Coach Woody announced that our top two hurdlers were injured and wouldn’t be able to run so he asked me to fill in for one of them. This was awesome because I was going to get a chance to compete at the county track meet. I ran the 100 and 200 hurdles in the meet. I didn’t place. I was close in the 100. The 200 was much harder than I expected. The reason being is hurdling while going through a turn is a lot harder than it looks. It was still a lot of fun and is an experience I’ll never forget. If I can find a copy of my old track photo I will post it here later.

So back to the 5k, I think my second mile was the toughest mentally. Trying to keep motivated and knowing that you are not halfway through the race was hard. Plus almost the whole mile was an incline, not a high grade but high enough. It was one of those roads that you think is perfectly flat but as you continue you realize you have been going uphill for most of the mile. Thankfully that last part of the mile was downhill. I ran the second mile in 14.27, slowing down a little bit but still on pace for my goal of 45 minutes.

The 3rd mile was tough but probably the easiest. I set a goal before the race that I wanted to run the race under 45 minutes. So far I have been on pace for that goal. The timing is tricky though because of the 0.1 miles so I needed to run each mile under 15 minutes to make sure I had a chance. I was monitoring my time on my watch so I knew where I was time wise but had no clue where I was on the course. I just kept running thinking I was getting close but the course just kept going. By the time I finished the third mile I was spent. My time on the last mile was 15.08 so I was still in contention to meet my goal of 45 minutes. The problem being I had to run the last tenth of a mile in a minute which may not seem difficult but there were a lot points where I just wanted to walk it home to the finish line in that last stretch. The cool thing was all the people standing on the streets cheering the runners on. It gives you a rush of adrenaline. I had no clue who some of these people were and for the most part the race was over the real runners finished 30 minutes earlier. But there were two instances where men were in the street encouraging everyone and telling us to keep going because we were almost there so I just took off and ran has hard as I could the last stretch and finished the race in 44.29 with half a minute to spare.

My friend Ryan was waiting at the finish line, we planned on meeting before hand but never found each other. Which is surprising because he is 6 foot 9 inches tall. But he was there to cheer me on those last few steps. The feeling after the race was both draining physically but awesome at the same time. I’m really glad I decided to run the race and plan on running more in the future. The reason I got the idea for this story was Ryan asked me if I want to run a 10k with him in May. I’m not sure if I’m ready for a 10k but I’m going to try and get there by May.

Crazy Thoughts That Come to me When I have to Wake up at 4:30am Everyday.

The other day I was discussing a Survivorman type show with a friend. The difference would be that it would not teach the viewer how to survive in the wild but instead teach them how to survive the streets of the concrete jungle. I thought it would make for a few short humorous YouTube clips if it was filmed to mock the Survivorman show. It quickly turned in to a list of 10 things a bum in the city needs to do in order to survive. Neither of us knows how to survive as a homeless person but working in the Nation’s Capitol there are plenty of examples. So here are the 10 things to think about if you find yourself homeless on the streets of a major city.

1) Stay away from Meth Heads – this is important because if you are a homeless person you probably don’t have much as it is but Meth Heads will take what you do have of value. Meth heads are nuts so it’s best to stay far away from them. If you are a homeless Meth Head this point may still be valuable because you don’t want to share your score.

2) Stay away from bodies of water – this includes water that is flowing through gutters too. Unlike in the wild where the water may be clean(er) in the city it is dirty. Now some of you may be asking, “How do I clean myself?” That’s easy this point only pertains to drinking the water. If you want to clean yourself you can do so in a river, lake, pond, stream, or reflecting pool. However I would be careful to watch out for the authorities so you do not get arrested, unless that is plan. (Side note: getting arrested could guarantee 3 hots and a cot indoors which might be nice on a cold night.) Although I would not recommend bathing in the Potomac or the Anacostia Rivers. I’m also sure rivers that run through other major cities are not places you want to take a bath.

3) Get a hat – this is important because you need something to use when pan handling to hold the money people give you. Other methods I have seen are Starbucks cups. The hat can also be used to keep the sun off of your face or to keep you warm in the winter months.

4) Suit Up – before I decided to focus on survival points for the homeless I was thinking you need a suit to survive in the city. Some restaurants require a jacket and tie to eat. However it still works for a homeless person because they might have a job interview and need to look nice. But definitely make sure you have clothes to wear. If you are running around with no clothes on people will think you are crazy and not want to give you money. Also see side note in point 2.

5) Get a knife – knives have many practical uses. The most important use would be self defense. You might still need to protect yourself from Meth Heads. But you may need it to cut up some kindling to start a fire in a barrel or gut a fish that your catch for dinner. The knife could also be used to cut your long pants into shorts in the summer.

6) Get some rope – rope is another useful tool like the knife. Rope provides a place to hang your clothes if they need to dry off. Rope can be used to build a make shift shelter. The knife can also be used to cut the rope.

7) Find Shelter – this one may depend on your pan handling earnings. If you get enough money to stay in a shelter then life is good. Other options are a tent or under an overpass. Don’t forget the rope either if you find a tarp you have the makings of a tent.

8) Seek warmth – If you are in a cold weather city find a warm coat for the winter months. However I recommend hitchhiking your way south and finding a warmer city to stay in. I read once that Las Vegas has an entire underground city where people live in a giant community. I imagine it to be like the Ninja Turtles hideout but bigger. Supposedly these people make their money from change tickets that people leave at slot machines.

9) Lose the suit Find some alcohol – I needed a tenth one after losing the suit. The alcohol will help you sleep on nights that you are outside. However don’t appear drunk when pan handling this will hurt your income. Also if you are trying to get into a shelter for the night they make you take a breathalyzer test.

10) Stake out your territory – when doing this you need to make sure you do not piss off any other homeless people. I would recommend finding the weakest link and then taking his/her area if you cannot find an unused place. Remember you can’t start out downtown you will need to work your way up to that. Some places that see a lot of foot traffic: near office buildings, metro stations, professional sports complexes, and city hall.

The Baron hopes none of you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to know any of these survival tips. I also don’t know if they would help you survive anywhere but I’m pretty sure they would. Also we've had a good laugh at the homeless' expense so to help one out take a donation to your local food bank or help out at a local shelter. Happy New Year!!!!

The State of Michigan Football

I attended the Gator Bowl on Saturday to watch my beloved Michigan Wolverines take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Michigan showed up to play 14 minutes of football. Let me start by saying that the offense was fun to watch at the beginning of the season with Denard Robinson at QB, but when he played good teams he could not perform as well. In the Michigan State, Iowa, Penn State, and Illinois games Denard was injured in the first half and Tate Forcier finished those games. Had the team not built such a large deficit before Tate took over they might have won those games since Tate did bring them back to have a chance at the victory in those games and eventually win the Illinois game. The only quality wins on the schedule were UCONN (the Big East champions) and Notre Dame. How quality are those wins they were not impressive teams this year.

The biggest problem with the team however was the Defense. Greg Robinson took Syracuse down to a 1 or 2 win team each season he coached there. Now he has destroyed Michigan's defense. Michigan during the Bo, Mueller, and Carr years had tough defenses. For the last two seasons Michigan's defense has been progressively getting worse. Mississippi state exposed them on Saturday. Michigan is lucky that Wisconsin didnt hang 70+ points on them at the end of the season the way they did Minnesota and Indiana.


Lastly Denard Robinson. Denard is fast and looks much faster in person than on TV. He can read defenses well enough and see holes in the line great. Plus once he is in the open field he is gone. However his passing is so-so. This is why Tate played many of the second halves this season when Michigan was down. They needed an accurate passer. Denard has problems throwing a screen pass which is a necessary play when you do not have a strong rushing attack. The Philadelphia Eagles used to run screens for Brian Westbrook because he was too small to run up the middle. It’s a simple pass and when it’s not thrown 6 feet over a receivers head can gain an offense a lot of yards if the person catching the pass has some speed. That speed is nullified when a receiver is jumping in the air to catch a pass. By the time that receiver lands on his feet a good defense is going to be there to make the tackle.

So how does Michigan fix this problem? First they need to fire Greg Robinson and get a competent Defensive coordinator in there. Secondly they need a quarterback that can throw with accuracy. If that is Tate than play him if it is Kevin Gardner who was red shirted this year then play him. Tate may not be an option if he doesn’t get his grades up anyways. Find a way to use Denard that doesn't involve him throwing the ball all the time. They also need to find a power running back. The defense was young this season and had two or three walk-ons starting by the end of the season. They need to recruit better players and the ones that are their need to mature. Lastly I'm not sure if firing Rich is the right call. I wouldn’t be upset if they did fire him but I wouldn’t be upset if they kept him. All I know is whoever the coach is, I want to win. I want to beat Ohio State, Michigan State, and play for Big Ten championships.

All I know is that I'll still support the team all the way to the bottom if that’s where it goes because one day soon the Michigan Wolverines will be on top again. Go Blue!!!

Thanksgiving Day Blog

It’s that time of the year when life gets pretty busy so I apologize for not writing as frequently. After the New Year I hope to write more regularly as long as I can come up with worthwhile topics. Most of you may read this today at work since anyone who actually went to work today is finding creative ways to slack off. The rest of you are off or getting let out early so enjoy this on Friday if you have to go to work.

Thanksgiving should be a two day holiday. Having a holiday on a Thursday doesn’t make any sense. Especially when so many people travel workers are forced to take an extra personal day to get the four day weekend. I guess I can’t complain I get holidays like Columbus Day, Presidents Day, and MLK Day off of work. But seriously I would trade Martin Luther King Day for Black Friday. MLK Day already falls in between a ton of other holidays. Plus having the 2-day Thanksgiving Holiday lets you get over the food coma from Thursday. So since we are all thinking about what we will be eating tomorrow what are the best dishes on Thanksgiving (not desserts)?

1) Stuffing – I can’t think of a way this can go wrong. Stuffing is great plus it’s a meal that makes croutons desirable. Whether it’s cooked in the turkey or outside the turkey its always delicious.
2) Sweet Potato Casserole – I must admit was not a fan of this when my mom made candied yams. (Which is basically the same thing). I also don’t like the additions to the candied yams like marshmallows and pecans. However a friend of mine makes an amazing sweet potato casserole without those things and I look forward to it every year…because I talked my mom into making it too. Although old habits die hard and the first year she added marshmallows to the recipe. I kindly explained to her that it wasn’t necessary because she would only ruin a good thing.
3) Cranberry Sauce – NOT CRANBERRY SALAD. The sauce I am talking about is the Ocean Spray jello like stuff in the can. Yes I am putting a non-homemade dish on my list. But that should only explain how good this stuff is to eat.
4) White House Rolls – If you have ever shopped at a Ukrop’s you have eaten these. Ukrop’s RIP. The store closed in Fredericksburg but I hear the rolls live on in Richmond. A good roll is the key to a good meal especially if you make Thanksgiving meal sandwiches with them.
5) Mashed Potatoes – These used to be much higher on the list for me but there is so much good food. My mom makes them thick and chunky…mmmm.
6) Turkey – I’m just not a fan. Plus my brother used to smoke a goose every year and I thought that was a better bird.

All other sides might as well not touch the table because these are the foods I care about on Thanksgiving Day. The best part is the next two days coming up with new ways to cook these dishes so you don’t have the same meal every day. My mom makes a great turkey casserole which takes care of a lot of the leftover turkey. A turkey bowl is also good. I am pretty sure this is where KFC got the idea for their potato and chicken bowls. All you do is take some turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, and some cheese and gravy then place it all in a bowl mix and heat up.
Now on one of the Podcasts I listen to they were discussing the top 5 pies of 2010. The podcast is the Daves of Thunder. Damashek was listing off his pies and the more he named the more the rest of the show members and myself thought this man has lost it. I don’t know how you have a top 5 pie list and leave Apple off of it. So here are The Baron’s Top 5 pies.

1) Apple – Nothing says American like a slice of Apple Pie and a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.
2) Blueberry – This is a personal favorite I just love blueberries.
3) Pumpkin – I wish it was easier to find Pumpkin Pie outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oh and for all of those who say Sweet Potato Pie is better I say GOOD DAY.
4) Pecan – Not one of the Baron’s Favorites but you cannot deny popular demand. I just don’t like Pecans, but the pie is still good enough that I can get past that.
5) Peach – I had some over the weekend and it was amazing.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone and enjoy your time with family and friends, enjoy the food, and hopefully enjoy the football.

Jersey Shore Awards

As the second season of the Jersey Shore has come to an end it is time for the Jersey Shore Awards to be handed out. A lot happened this season and too bad it wasn’t really at the Shore. This season took place in Miami because the Shore didn’t want The Situation and his many situations back. Thankfully the cast will be back for Season 3 airing in January on MTV. The whole cast returned for season 2 which was shocking since Angelina didn’t even make it that long on season 1 but the producers sure did know what they were doing. Angelina brought with her a hurricane full of drama. So let’s get this thing started.

Manager of the Year: (Awarded to the cast member who successfully managed a difficult situation.)

The three nominees for this award are Angelina, Ronnie, and The Situation.

Angelina – For most of the season she kept herself out of trouble even though she was at the root of most of the drama. It was surprising to me how long she lasted before people turned on her. The key to her success was having Pauly D and Mike on her side. Once she betrayed them which started when she open hand slapped Pauly twice one night you know her time in Miami was short lived. Had she lasted the whole season she might have won this award.

The Situation – Mike is nominated for successfully handling one of his many situations. Pauly and Mike brought two girls back to the house when two more showed up. Mike put one girl in the Smush room, one girl to bed, Pauly took his girl, and they handed one off to Vinny. One chick passed out and three were satisfied not a bad night at the Jersey Shore house for the guys.

Ronnie – The winner of this award hands down. Ronnie successfully managed the situation of having his ex in the house while hooking up with girls at the club. After the club Ronnie would come back to the house and hook up with Sammi. This went on for nights until JWOWW and Snooki wrote a note to tell Sammi of Ronnie’s wild nights. Somehow Sammi gets pissed at Snooki and JWOWW and Ronnie gets away with everything. I still don’t know how this man pulled it off, but I applaud him.

Cy Young Award: (Awarded to the cast member that struck out the most.)

The two nominees for this award are Vinny and The Situation.

Vinny – Vinny really only struck out with one girl. She was a fairly hot model that stood him up once. As we later learned when he finally took her out she is just insanely late all the time. He went on a couple successful dates with this girl and for that will not be winning the Cy Young.

The Situation – Mike gets this award for not just striking out himself which we saw a lot of but also for causing his roommates to strike out. On at least two occasions when he couldn’t close the deal he caused Pauly to not get any. One thing the Situation has that all great Pitchers have is a short memory because he was never afraid to get back on the mound. The clinching moment for this award was when the Situation was shut down by Snooki.

Best Nicknames

Joey Yanks and J420 –These guys were never on the show but were probably talked about by fans more than anybody that was actually on season 2.

Best Fight

The nominees are Sammi vs. JWOWW, Angelina vs. The Situation, and Snooki vs. Angelina.

Angelina vs. The Situation – This fight was more one sided. Mike spent a lot of time talking trash to Angelina and finally Angelina smacked The Situation. It was a lot of build up but no real pay off. Obviously Mike wasn’t going to hit a girl.

Snooki vs. Angelina – It was really hard not to give this the award. It was by far the longest of the fights. It involved the most hated person in the house and possibly the most likable girl in the house. I can’t think of any sane person who might have been rooting for Angelina. The added commentary by Ronnie doing his Michael Buffer impersonation was great too. The only problem was that if the judges had to make an honest decision Angelina probably won the fight. Snooki was like a bull though when she was charging at Angelina with her head down. She definitly had the will to keep fighting if she would've been allowed to go on.

Sammi vs. JWOWW – This fight pitted the two biggest divas in the house against each other and that’s not the only reason it wins the award. The best part of the fight is that I still don’t know why Sammi was so pissed at JWOWW. I have a theory that JWOWW’s future career is in Pro Wrestling and when she had Sammi on the ground fighting to get up I thought this fight was over. Then out of nowhere Sammi is on her feet and JWOWW is in the corner when Sammi lands a right hook on JWOWW’s face. Down Goes Frasier! It was over as fast as a Tyson fight, at least before he started biting opponents ears. Two things pushed this fight over the top for me. 1) Out of nowhere Ronnie and Vinny get into it. It spawned a second fight between the biggest and the smallest guys in the house. 2) The trash talk that ensued by Sammi and the way JWOWW seemed to have lost her MOJO.

Best Villain

This award goes to Angelina. Nobody else came close. She was hated by the girls when she moved into the house. By the end of her time in Miami she was hated by the guys. Then the girls tried to make nice with her and she wouldn’t have anything to do with it. The only partial friend she had in the house was Sammi at the end and she is probably runner up to this award. She was called a Dirty Hamster, the Staten Island Dump, the Staten Island Ferry (Everyone gets to ride), Trashbags, and other names I’m not going to mention here. Everyone was glad to see her go. Also I was wondering if a Fossil Watch is really currency for sex in either Miami or Staten Island.

Comeback Player of the Year

There is only one guy this can go to and it’s Vinny. He made some serious off season adjustments. I think he watched season 1 and said to himself, “if I want to last on this show I have to be on camera.” Then he made the changes to his game to get more camera time, even if that was riding on the coat tails of Mike and Pauly. Although Pauly should realize he has a better wing man in Vinny than in Mike. Vinny would more graciously fall on a grenade. Vinny also hooked up with Snooki, Angelina, and Ramona. On top of various other women who found themselves in his bed at the end of the night.

Most Valuable Player

It is fitting that the three nominees for this award also call themselves MVP, Mike, Vinny, and Pauly.

Mike – He started the season strong, but the last few episodes were a definite low point for the Situation. He was striking out with the ladies, the housemates were upset with him, and he was pulling everyone else’s game down with his. When the Ace is slumping the team usually follows, however this season the team wasn’t going to let the Situation drag them down with him.

Vinny – He did some good work this season. As discussed earlier he really came out of his shell. He also made it a little harder for Mike to pull the Robbery on him at the bar.

DJ Pauly D – Last season was all about the Situation, but this season Pauly came running out of the gate and carried that steam all the way to the finish line. He pulled in girls every night. He worked the nice guy routine every time Mike was being a jerk to the ladies and it worked. At the end of an unsuccessful night he could just walk up to two girls and say you’re coming home with us and they would hop in the cab. He successfully got a girl to come over at 5:30am just to hook up.

Best New Terms

In this category we are all winners because we now have terms like:

T-Shirt Time: When it is time to put on your shirt to go to the club.

The shirt before the shirt: This is the shirt you wear while getting ready or relaxing before going to the club. This act precedes T-Shirt Time.

Oh Yeah, Cabs are here: Pauly alerting everyone that the cabs have arrived. He is like a modern day Paul Revere.

Chicken Cutlets: Something that fell out of a girls top while in the hot tub. The guys also passed back and forth like a baseball.

OG: Original Guido, this term was used to describe Vinny’s Uncle Nino.

Land Mine: Uglier than a grenade.

President of the I.F.F.: You can find the definition here. Ronnie is the President. Also view past Presidents at this site.

I hope you enjoyed this season as much as I did. I’m looking forward to Season 3 in January.

Fall Sports: It's Game Time

This weekend is going to be a big sports weekend for me. The Phillies will play Games 2 and 3 of the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds, The Michigan Wolverines are playing the Michigan State Spartans, the Philadelphia Eagles play the 49ers, and The Washington Capitals open up the 2010-2011 season. First and foremost the Phillies after a historic game on Wednesday night look to put a strangle hold on the series Friday night when they send Roy Oswalt to the mound. In a best of 5 series the Phillies look to be a tough team to beat because they can send Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt out twice and Cole Hamels out for Game 3. Not many teams outside of the Giants can match that starting pitching. Although as long as I’ve been a Phillies fan I know nothing is guaranteed. Halladay threw a gem on Wednesday night when he threw only the 2nd ever post season No Hitter. He has complete command of his pitches and the batters didn’t have a chance. I don’t foresee the Reds coming out cold for Game 2. Oswalt however has been pretty strong since coming to the Phillies and after spending so many years with the Astros should know the Reds lineup fairly well. This could be a great game and if the Reds win we could have a great series on our hands.

The next matchup I’m looking forward to is the annual matchup between Michigan and Michigan State for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. MSU has had the upper hand the last couple of years but with Denard Robinson shredding up defenses anyone can win this game, even with Michigan’s terrible defense. I’m looking for what should be another high scoring affair between two ranked teams. I think the Wolverines have a real shot at winning this game as long as Denard stays healthy. I also know that last year Michigan was in this same position and then didn’t win another game. I hope that doesn’t happen again. Go Blue!

As for the Eagles and the Capitals I’m not so worried about it. The Eagles are playing the 0-4 Niners and with the Baseball playoffs going on I’m not focused on the NFL or the beginning of the NHL season.

Here are my top 5 moments as a Phillies fan.

1: The Phillies win the 2008 World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The last game started on a Monday Night and didn’t finish until Wednesday Night because of a Rain Delay. I remember the feeling I had after the Phillies won and all of the phone calls I got from friends and family. I don’t even know how to describe the feelings I had that night. It was awesome.

2: Roy Halladay pitches a No Hitter in his playoff debut. The only thing keeping him from getting the Perfect Game was a Jay Bruce walk. Aside from that he dominated the Reds lineup. Before this I had never watched a No Hitter. If he continues to play this way throughout the playoffs and the Phillies can get back to the Fall Classic he really will be Mr. Doctober.

3: 1993 NLCS Game 6. The Phillies beat the Braves to go to the World Series. I remember staying up late to watch the game. After Mitch Williams struck out the last batter I could hear people outside cheering and banging pots and pans to celebrate. This event is what threw me into the deep end as Phillies fan and I’ve never looked back.

4: September 2007 Run to the Playoffs. The Phillies were down 7 games to the Mets at the beginning of the September. They covered the ground and won the NL EAST by 1 game. The downside was they were swept by the Colorado Rockies in the first round. That was the first year this team went to the playoffs. They have won the NL EAST the next 3 years and been to 2 World Series since then. This team has this season and hopefully a few more to go before we really know the whole story but I like where they’re at.

5: Anytime I got to go watch the Phillies play at the VET with my Dad. I used to love going to baseball games with my Dad and even to Wrigley Field with my Grandparents as a kid. Even today a trip to the ball park is an event to look forward to.

Enjoy your weekend and whatever sporting events you will be watching this weekend.