The NFL draft is completed. Two hundred fifty-four players were picked by the 32 teams over the course of three days. I will not list every draft pick, but I will announce five different groups of picks.
I. San Francisco 49ers Picks
Round Pick in round (overall) Player Position School
1 18 (18) Eric Reid S LSU
2 8 (40) Cornellius Carradine DE Florida State
2 23 (55) Vance McDonald TE Rice
3 26 (88) Corey Lemonier DE Auburn
4 31 (128) Quinton Patton WR Louisiana Tech
4 34 (131) Marcus Lattimore RB South Carolina
5 24 (157) Quinton Dial DE Alabama
6 12 (180) Nick Moody OLB Florida State
7 31 (237) B.J. Daniels QB South Florida
7 40 (246) Carter Bykowski OL Iowa State
7 46 (252) Marcus Cooper DB Rutgers
II. Oakland Raiders Picks
Round Pick in Round (overall) Player Position School
1 12 (12) D.J. Hayden CB Houston
2 10 (42) Menelik Watson OT Florida State
3 4 (66) Sio Moore OLB Connecticut
4 15 (112) Tyler Wilson QB Arkansas
6 4 (172) Nick Kasa TE Colorado
6 12 (181) Latavius Murray RB UCF
6 16 (184) Mychal Rivera TE Tennessee
6 37 (205) Stacy McGee DT Oklahoma
7 3 (209) Brice Butler WR San Diego State
7 27 (233) David Bass DE Missouri Western
III. San Diego Chargers Picks
Round Pick in Round (overall) Player Position School
1 11 (11) D.J Fluker OT Alabama
2 6 (38) Manti Te'o ILB Notre Dame
3 14 (76) Keenan Allen WR California
5 12 (145) Steve Williams CB California
6 11 (179) Tourek Williams DE Florida International
7 15 (221) Brad Sorensen QB Southern Utah
IV. Picks from California Schools
First Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
26 (26) Green Bay Datone Jones DE UCLA
Second Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
3 (35) Philadelphia Zach Ertz TE Stanford
9 (41) Buffalo Robert Woods WR USC
15 (47) Dallas Gavin Escobar TE San Diego State
Third Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
6 (68) Cleveland Leon McFadden CB San Diego State
9 (71) St. Louis T.J. McDonald FS USC
14 (76) San Diego Keenan Allen WR California
Fourth Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
1 (98) Philadelphia Matt Barkley QB USC
10 (107) Tennessee Brian Schwenke C California
22 (119) Washington Phillip Thomas SS Fresno State
24 (125) Indianapolis Khaled Holmes C USC
28 (129) Green Bay Jonathan Franklin RB UCLA
36 (133) Atlanta Levine Tailolo TE Stanford
Fifth Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
7 (140) Arizona Stepfan Taylor RB Stanford
12 (145) San Diego Steve Williams CB California
22 (155) Minnesota Jeff Locke P UCLA
Sixth/Seventh Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
8 (176) [6th round] Houston David Quessenberry OT San Jose State
28 (196) [6th round] Minnesota Jeff Baca G UCLA
3 (209) [7th round] Oakland Brice Butler WR San Diego State
41 (247) [7th round] Baltimore Marc Anthony CB California
Picks from schools in division I-AA/II
Note: Some players from these schools become household names: Ravens QB, Joe Flacco (Delaware), Cowboys QB, Tony Romo (Eastern Illinois), Former WR, Terrell Owens (Tennessee-Chattanooga), and of course, the best WR in history, Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State). There are many others that came from these school, but too many to list. Can any of these picks do well in the NFL, and prove it doesn't matter where you went to school
Also: Black font is a Division I-AA school. Red font is a division II school.
Second/Third Round (Note: The first one is in the second round. The rest are in the third.)
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
28 (60) Atlanta Robert Alford CB Southeastern Louisiana
13 (75) New Orleans Terran Armstead OT Arkansas-Pine Bluff
18 (80) Dallas J.J. Wilcox FS Georgia Southern
32 (94) Baltimore Brandon Williams DT Missouri Southern State
Fourth Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
11 (108) Carolina Edmund Kugbila G Valdosta State
17 (114) Dallas B.W. Webb CB William & Mary
19 (116) Arizona Earl Watford DE James Madison
25 (122) Green Bay J.C. Tretter OT Cornell
33 (130) Baltimore Kyle Juszczyk FB Harvard
Fifth Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
6 (139) Indianapolis Montori Hughes DT Tennessee-Martin
19 (152) New York Giants Cooper Taylor S Richmond
32 (165) Detroit Sam Martin P Appalachian State
Sixth Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
2 (170) Kansas City Eric Kush C California (PA)
15 (183) New Orleans Rufus Johnson DE Tarleton State
26 (194) Green Bay Nate Palmer OLB Illinois State
27 (195) Houston Alan Bonner WR Jacksonville State
35 (203) Baltimore Ryan Jensen OT Colorado State-Pueblo
Seventh Round
Pick in round (overall) Team Player Position School
1 (207) Kansas City Mike Catapano DE Princeton
4 (210) Jacksonville Demetrius McCray CB Appalachian State
10 (216) Green Bay Charles Johnson WR Grand Valley State
11 (217) Cleveland Armanty Bryant DE East Central Oklahoma
15 (221) San Diego Brad Soernsen QB Southern Utah
17 (223) Pittsburgh Nick Williams DT Samford
21 (227) Cleveland Garrett Gilkey G Chadron State
25 (231) Seattle Ty Powell OLB Harding
27 (233) Oakland David Bass DE Missouri Western
32 (238) Baltimore Aaron Mellette WR Elon
35 (241) Seattle Jared Smith DT New Hampshire
36 (242) Seattle Michael Bowie OT Northeast Oklahoma State
39 (245) Detroit Brendan Hepburn ILB Florida A&M
First pick: Kansas City: Eric Fisher, OT, Central Michigan
Last pick Indianapolis: Justice Cunningham, TE, South Carolina (Mr. Irrelevant)
Monday, April 29, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
zzzzz vol. 8 April 2013
by Matt Groom
THINGS AT CHURCH
I stopped going to Bethel Assembly during Easter for personal reasons. However, I came back yesterday because it made my awesome girlfriend happy. I am glad I went back. First, I saw a few people I have not seen in a long time, in some cases, a couple of years. Also, the message was great. Pastor Dave took the story of Jesus dying on the cross in the perspective of the two thieves who were condemed to die next to him. For those who are not familiar with the story, one of the thieves is mocking Jesus along with the crowd (though this man is suffering the same fate as Jesus is). The other man realizes that he is the Messiah. He admits that he and the other man deserve their fate, but asks what Jesus had done to deserve His. He asks Jesus to remember him in heaven, which Jesus told him that he will be joining Jesus in paradise. Pastor Dave used this message to ask whose example will we follow, the thief who mocked Jesus or the one who accepts Jesus as the Messiah?
- Bethel Assembly will be helping out with the semi-annual Love Oakdale Day on May 4th. It is where citizens volunteer to help clean up the city and churches often help out. Cities throughout Stanislaus County have Love Days for their respective cities. I know Riverbank and Modesto are doing theirs on April 27th. For more information on Oakdale, go to www.loveoakdale.com
-If you go to a different church, and you would like to share what is going on at your church, please leave a comment at the end of the blog.
FROM THE OAKDALE LEADER
-Oakdale may be forced to use districts to elect its city council. The Modesto Latino Organization is threatening to sue the city of Oakdale if the council does not divide the city into districts. (March 27, 2013 edition). The organization representative, Maggie Mejia, claims that the population is not equally represented.
Where do I start? My roommate does not understand why Salida would not want to become part of Modesto if Modesto can improve the area. Ms. Mejia has demonstrated why. People in small cities and towns in this county do not want anyone from Modesto to tell them how they should run the communities. I wonder how much research Ms. Mejia did before she decided that she needed to be a pain in Oakdale's butt. Did the Latino population in Oakdale come up to the organization and ask them to intervene, because they felt they were not being represented enough? If so, I'll shut up about that point. If not, who was she to come in and tell Oakdale how things should be run? Later in the blog, I make a point about not automatically dismissing outside advice, so if the city council feels like the town should be broken up into districts, then she gave some good outside advice. However, I do not think that happened, because the article later says that most, if not all, the council members object to being broken up into districts, and they object to the threat of a lawsuit. She threatened to sue, and furthermore, stated that they have not lost a case.
Also, how is the city going to be divided? With five seats, my only guess would be to use the Yosemite Ave. and F Street intersection as a divider. The area northeast would be one district, northwest would be another, southeast would be one and southwest would be the 4th. Since I doubt the rural would be part of the city, I would suggest the Vineyards/Bridle Ridge areas be the fifth district.
The city council said that people would focus too much on their district and not on the city as a whole, and I would have to agree with the prediction. Like Congress, the council members would be elected by those in their neighborhood, and not the city as a whole. I will agree that a city like Modesto needs to be broken up into districts. There are too many areas that would get ignored with an at-large council (looking around, there seems to be some areas that are ignored now). I would think that cities and towns with at least 50,000 people need to be drawn into districts, but I am not going to sue if they are not. I believe Oakdale is too small of a city to go with districts.
FIFA RANKINGS
Men's Top 25 (as of April, 11, 2013)
1. Spain 2. Germany 3. Argentina 4. Croatia 5. Portugal 6. Colombia 7. England 8. Italy 9. Netherlands 10. Ecuador 11. Russia 12. Cote D'Ivoire 13. Greece 14. Mexico 15. Switzerland 16. Belgium 17. Uruguay 18. France 19. Brazil 20. Denmark 21. Bosnia-Herzegovina 22. Ghana 23. Chile 24. Sweden 25. Czech Republic (Note: The UNITED STATES moved up to #28. Japan [top team is Asia] is #29. New Zealand [top team in Oceania] is #89).
Women's Top 10 (as of March 22, 2013)
1. UNITED STATES 2. Germany 3. Japan 4. Brazil 5. France 6. Sweden T7. Canada T7. England T9. Australia T9. North Korea
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Louisville was the overall number one seed, and throughout the tournament, they played like it. The Cardinals dominated North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Oregon, and Duke beating each by 15 points or more. Though struggling in the beginning against Wichita State and Michigan, they came back from being behind 12 points in each game. Nearly everyone knows about the story of Kevin Ware breaking his leg, and being an inspiration for Louisville to move forward. Rick Pitino became the first coach to win the national championship for two different schools (Kentucky 1996, Louisville 2013).
-I would like to congratulate all the teams who won the national championships in their respective divisions, and all the lower-tier tournament champions.
Men
Division I
NCAA Champion- Louisville Cardinals
NIT Champion- Baylor Bears
CBI Champion-Santa Clara Broncos
CIT Champion-East Carolina Pirates
Division II Champion
Drury Panthers
Division III Champion
Amherst Jeffs
Women
Division I
NCAA Champion- Connecticut Huskies
WNIT Champion- Drexel Dragons
WBI Champion- Detroit Titans
Division II
Ashland Eagles
Division III
DePauw Tigers
2013 Realignment
Next year, the Big East will split. The non-football schools will keep the name, while the football schools will form the American Athletic Conference. In addition, a few schools will be moving to the ACC. Those are getting all the attention from the networks, because those are big-name schools. However, there will be many other schools changing leagues next year in division I, including four schools moving up from division II.
Here is a chart of the moves announced as of 4/9/13 (The 2012 Big East schools are not included on here. Those moving to the Big East or American Athletic from other conferences will be on here.
Team Location of School Moving From Moving To
Abilene Christian Abilene, TX Division II Southland
Bakersfield St. Bakersfield, CA Independent WAC
Boston Boston, MA America East Patriot
Butler Indianapolis, IN Atlantic-10 Big East
Charlotte Charlotte, NC Atlantic-10 Conference USA
Chicago St. Chicago, IL Great West WAC
College of Charleston Charleston, SC Southern Conference Colonial Ath.
Creighton Omaha, NE Missouri Valley Big East
Denver Denver, CO WAC Summit League
Florida Atlantic Boca Raton, FL Sun Belt Conference USA
Florida International Miami, FL Sun Belt Conference USA
George Mason Fairfax, VA Colonial Athletic Atlantic-10
Georgia State Atlanta, GA Colonial Athletic Sun Belt
Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ Division II WAC
Houston Houston, TX Conference USA American Ath.
Houston Baptist Houston, TX Great West Southland
Incarnant Word San Antonio, TX Division II Southland
Loyola-Chicago Chicago, IL Horizon Missouri Valley
Loyola (MD) Baltimore, MD MAAC Patriot
Louisiana Tech Ruston, LA WAC Conference USA
Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Division II America East
Memphis Memphis, TN Conference USA American Ath.
Middle Tennessee St. Murfreesboro, TN Sun Belt Conference USA
Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO Summit League WAC
Monomuth West Long Branch, NJ Northeast Conf. MAAC
New Orleans New Orleans, LA Independent Southland
North Texas Denton, TX Sun Belt Conference USA
Notre Dame-a South Bend, IN Big East ACC
Pacific Stockton, CA Big West West Coast
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA Big East ACC
Quinnipiac Hamden, CT Northeast Conf. MAAC
San Jose St. San Jose, CA WAC Mountain West
SMU Dallas, TX Conference USA American Ath.
Syracuse Syracuse, NY Big East ACC
Temple-b Philadelphia, PA Atlantic-10 American Ath.
Texas-Arlington Arlington, TX WAC Sun Belt
Texas-Pan American Edinburg, TX Great West WAC
Texas-San Antonio San Antonio, TX WAC Conference USA
Texas St. San Marcos, TX WAC Sun Belt
UCF Orlando, FL Conference USA American Ath.
Utah St. Logan, UT WAC Mountain West
Utah Valley Orem, UT Great West WAC
Xavier Cincinnati, OH Atlantic-10 Big East
Notes: a-Notre Dame will remain independents in football. b-Temple was in the Big East for football only in 2012 while in the Atlantic-10 for all other sports. Next season, the Owls will be in the American Athletic Conference for all sports.
-I expect at least one more move between now and when the realignment officially takes place July 1, 2013. New Jersey Tech, as of now, would remain the only team in the Great West Conference. I expect them to go to either the America East Conference or the Northeast Conference.
-One of the comments I read in response to the article I read on Chicago State going to the WAC sarcastically said, "I can't wait for that big Grand Canyon-Chicago State game." If I win a lottery jackpot, I will go to the first Grand Canyon-Chicago State game and drag my awesome girlfriend with me whether it is in Phoenix, AZ or Chicago, IL
Big East and American Athletic Teams
Big East American Athletic
Butler Cincinnati
Creighton Connecticut
DePaul Houston
Georgetown Memphis
Marquette SMU
Providence South Florida
St. John's Temple
Seton Hall UCF
Villanova
Xavier
COLLEGE HOCKEY
-Congratulations to Yale for winning the NCAA Hockey Championship.
-I could not help but think that if college hockey was a major sport in the U.S. viewing world, people would have been outraged over this years semi-finalists, or frozen four as the media calls it. The semi-finalists in alphabetical order were (1) Massachusetts-Lowell, (1) Quinnipiac (4) St. Cloud State, and (4) Yale. The list included two 4-seeds (out of 4), including Yale who was the last at-large team invited, two teams who are in Division I for hockey only, and no big names. Quinnipiac was the overall number one seed, but are not in a power conference. Actually, there really are no power conferences, but there are power teams, several of them not making the tournament.
Traditional Power Hockey teams and what happened in the 2013 Tournament
Boston University- Did not make tournament
Boston College- Lost in first round to Union.
Cornell- Did not make tournament
Denver- lost to New Hampshire in the 1st round
Maine- Did not make tournament
Michigan- Did not make tournament
Minnesota- #1 seed in West region, lost to Yale in first round
New Hampshire-lost to Massachusetts in 2nd round/regional final
North Dakota- lost to Yale in second round/regional final
Notre Dame- #1 seed in Midwest regional, lost to St. Cloud State in first round
That left me to wonder if NCAA Hockey was nearly as popular as NCAA basketball, would the at-large invites have been different?
IF I WERE KING OF SPORTS
If I were king of sports, I would make a high school basketball tournament, because it is just something I would like to see; though I admit, I do not know how logistically possible it would be. I call it the Tournament of Champions. I know there is currently a national high school basketball tournament, but I do not know if it is state champions only, or if just the big-name schools get invited. I would dump that tournament, and get mine in at least one year to see if it would work. For the first year, the tournament would be open-enrollment, both public and private schools. The tournament is open to state champions only of all divisions. It would consist of 16 teams. The top 13 schools by USA Today (or committee, I haven't decided that part, yet) would automatically get in. The 14th team is the top ranking team from the host state (I say that, because every team, but Kentucky and Delaware, has separate divisions, and the top division winning school would get in). The last two schools would be determined by lottery. I put in the last rule in for two reasons. First, there can be no possible way that anyone can watch all the top teams in all the states. Second, it gives small schools and schools from the small states a chance to play on the big stage. The lottery winning schools that accept their invitation would play the two top-ranked schools in the first round. In the first year, I would have Sacramento, CA host the boys tournament (capital of the largest state by population). If this tournament is a success, then the capital cities of the ten largest states would host for the first 10 years. After 10 years, any city can bid for the tournament. The capital cities of the 11th through 20th largest states would host the girls tournament. Again, after 10 years, any city can bid for the tournament. If it is a success, I would have three divisions, all open enrollment. The top division would be for all schools. The second would be for private and charter schools only. The last would be for public schools only. Here is a model of what the first annual tournament of champions would look like. (Note: Some of the elite schools have opted to play in the national tournament instead of their state tournaments. Therefore, except for the tournament winner, they will all be omitted from the model since they did not technically win the state championship. For the model, we will count the national tournament as a separate state.)
1st round (Seed, Team, city/state, tournament winner, how advanced to TOC rankings are from USA Today)
(1) Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) (National Tournament winner) #1
(16) Radford (VA) (Virginia's VHSL, level A Division 2 winner) lottery winner
(8) Irmo (SC) (South Carolina's Division AAAA) #13
(9) Germantown (WI) (Wisconsin's Division I) #14
(5) West (Iowa City, IA) (Iowa's Division 4A) #9
(12) Christ the King (Middle Village-New York, NY) (NY's Division AA) #18
(4) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) (California's Open Division) #8/host state
(13) Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, KS) (Kansas's Division 6A) #19
(6) Olympic (Charlotte, NC) (North Carolina's NCHSAA Division 4A) #11
(11) Edmond Memorial (Edmond, OK) (Oklahoma's Division 6A) #1
(3) Simeon (Chicago, IL) (Illinois Division 4A) #5
(14) Miller Grove (Lithonia, GA) (Georgia's Division AAAAA) #20
(7) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, FL) (Florida's Division 7A) #12
(10) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) (Nevada's Division I) #15
(2) Lone Peak (Highland, UT) (Utah's Division 5A) (4)
(15) Benedictine (Richmond, VA) (Virginia's VISAA Division I) lottery winner
I would add a preview game for the fans. The reason why is because a school in the host county won state, but did not qualify for TOC. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, CA) would play any champion willing to travel. For modeling purposes, we will say it will be North Valley (Grants Pass, OR)
Day 1- Preview: North Valley (Grants Pass, OR) vs. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, CA) (@ Kennedy High School- Sacramento, CA)
Day 2-Round 1 (@ McClatchy High School-Sacramento, CA)
Day 3- Round 2 losers/winners bracket (@ Sacramento City College)
Day 4- Round 3 both brackets (@ Sacramento State University)
Day 5- Final round all brackets (@ Sleep Train Arena)
After the second year, the losers brackets will be played at another high school in town.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
-It's never too early to talk about football, and the sports writer of the Modesto Bee, Richard Estrada, has released the (tentative) non-league schedule for Oakdale in the 2013 season, and I have to say, it is brutal. Oakdale opens at Turlock in Week 0. Week 1, Oakdale will host the Northern Section Division I champions, Enterprise Hornets of Redding. The Mustangs have week 2 as a bye and in week 3, they host Paraclete Spirits of Lancaster. Paraclete was the runner-up of the Mid-Valley Division of the Southern Section, and were in the state championship game a few years ago. This schedule would not be as tough if this was not a rebuilding year for the Mustangs, but Oakdale only returns one starter in the skill positions (not on the offensive line), I beleive, and one or two on the line. I do not know how many are returning on the defensive side, but it is not many.
It is hard to tell what kind of a season it will be for the Mustangs. It needs to be figured out if Oakdale will be rebuilding or reloading. We will find out after they play Turlock and Enterprise. The coach moved up 5 sophomores to the varsity level three years ago, and I would not be surprised to see that again in 2013. In fact, two of them saw playing time as freshmen in 2012. Once the non-league is over, Oakdale will play in league with Sierra-Manteca (who has also been a great team the past three or four years), Manteca (who is always tough), Kimball-Tracy (we will find out if last year's upset over Sonora was a fluke, or if the Jaguars will join the top-tier), and Sonora for the last time in VOL play (and I think for the last time for many years, at least). East Union-Manteca, Lathrop, and Weston Ranch-Stockton are also on the schedule. The Mustangs can finish anywhere from 5-5 and miss the playoffs to 9-1 and compete for another section championship.
On a side note, if anyone wonders why I focus on Oakdale, it is becuase most of the people who I know are reading this either went to Oakdale High or are from Oakdale.
A non-Oakdale game I am looking forward to as a general football fan is Del Oro of Loomis will be playing the nationally famous De La Salle of Concord. Del Oro defeated Oakdale for the section championship two years in a row, before they were forced to move up a division by the section committee in 2012 for its league being too good. De La Salle still owns the overall record for the biggest win streak in history with 151 games. It lasted from game 1 in 1992 (Merced) until game 1 in 2004 (Bellevue, Washington). However, they have won their section championship every year since 1992. I don't know when the Del Oro-De La Salle game is, but I think it is in week 1.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
(From foxnews.com) A New Mexico coach has filed a complaint to the state high school baseball board because an umpire told one of his players, and then him that if they did not start speaking English in the game, then they would be ejected. Both the coach and another umpire tried to tell him that there is no "English only" rule. Apparently, the umpire was concerned that there might be foul language spoken, which is against the rule in some leagues (don't know about New Mexico).
- (my thoughts): Until I read about the foul language part, I wondered how the umpire could even think about doing that in the first place. The other umpire said he was bi-lingual. Once he said that, the other umpire should have dropped the subject. If there is no "English only" rule, then the players should be able to speak in whichever language they desire. That would be an advantage to one team if the other does not speak Spanish (though since the town in question is near the Mexican border, I am sure at least one player on the other team speaks Spanish). The coach who put in the complaint says "he doesn't want to get the umpire fired. He just wants to educate the umpire." I believe that is his intention, but I have a feeling that someone will blow it out of proportion, and the umpire will be fired. I hope the umpire just gets a stern lecture with a game suspension AT MOST. I think a meeting with the high school board should be enough, though.
STUPID LAWSUITS?
There are a few stories that I am not sure how to think of them, so I will just put them on here and let you decide.
1) From foxsports.com- Bernie Fine will sue ESPN
Former Syracuse assistant basketball coach, Bernie Fine, has sued ESPN for defamation of character. If you remember, he was accused by some former ball boys of molestation. Fine was fired by Syracuse University two days later. As far as the criminal investigation, and to my knowledge, it has been nothing more than "he said-he said". If it turns out that Fine did what he was accused of, then he needs to be put in jail for the rest of his life, and not only is this lawsuit stupid, it is a waste of money.
However, if he did not do it, not only is this lawsuit valid, it is necessary. ESPN did not do a lot of research on this story before reporting it, and Fine will not be able to coach again, and his good name is ruined.
2) From foxnews.com
This isn't a lawsuit, but I am putting it on here for the stupid part.
A principal of Ipswich Middle School in Massachusetts is cancelling their event called, "Honors Night" because it would be considered "devastating" to those who did not make the cut. His thinking is that everyone in the honors class is working hard, and it would be a disapointment to those who fell short of the goal of achieving a certain grade point average. He also claims that those who come from affluent parents have more advantages that others may not have.
-I think my awesome girlfriend sent me this story so I would rip on the principal, and that is what I am going to do. He is acting like a moron in this case. While it is true that affluent students have more advantages, it is not impossible for the other to achieve the required GPA to participate in the Honors Night (whatever the GPA is). There are libraries, and there are a few universities within 50 miles, all they need to do is take a bus to the school and go to their libaries (which are bigger and have more information than a public library). Plus, I believe there are computers at school. It may require more of a sacrifice, but it can be done. I have an idea based off his idea. Let's cancel the Super Bowl. I mean last season, the San Francisco 49ers worked as hard as the Baltimore Ravens in practice to prepare for the big game. After the power outage, it was a great game, and both teams deserved the title. Since the 49ers didn't get it, they are disappointed, and the team with the better record next year, should get a ribbon, and not play the game. That sounds stupid, doesn't it? That is what I believe this principal is doing. What about the kids who worked their butts off and achieved? The principal says their acheivements will be recognized in an assembly, but compared to this event, that is like the principal giving them a ribbon. It is not the same. Plus, I will say he has good intentions, but he is taking a life lesson away from them, too. Sometimes you work hard at something, you deserve something, but you just don't get it. You have to learn how to deal with failure and use it as motivation to get better. I think that is lost on many today. For me personally, I worked hard to get my teaching credential. I worked hard in all the classes, I took all the tests, I worked hard in student-teaching, I worked hard in my assessments, but since I failed one assessment, I do not have my credential. Another example, I had an interview to be a sports reporter for a local newspaper. I worked hard to prepare for the interview. I sent in my sample writing, which many said were good. People have said I should be a sports reporter. I believe I should be a sports reporter. I am not a sports reporter. Things happen, but those who have achieved should not be punished for their success.
GOOD SONGS NOT RELEASED ON RADIO
I will be honest, I did not listen to Christian radio until the middle of the "oughts". Therefore, unless the particular song made the W.O.W. CD mix, I do not know which songs made it to Christian radio. Therefore, since I do not know if this particular song was ever released or not, I will assume it was not, and make it the song of the month. This song is called "Fade To Grey" by Jars of Clay. It is found on the "Much Afraid" album. In my opinion, the "Much Afraid" album is by far the best one Jars of Clay ever made, and "Fade to Grey" is my favorite Jars of Clay song. I even like it more than "Flood", which even made it to the secular mainstream radio. Songs that were released in this album were "Crazy Times" and "Overjoyed".
Song: "Fade to Grey"
Artist: Jars of Clay
Album: Much Afraid (1998)
To watch the YouTube Video of "Fade to Grey"
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-The A's early success might be a surprise to fans (it was to me), but it is not a surprise to players. And if it is a surprise to players, then those individuals have been getting their baseball coverage from ESPN.
-With Oakdale football making it to the state championship game last season, I wondered if the 1996 Section Champions Oakdale Mustangs would have received an invite to the Nor-Cal regional championship game if the game had existed. If I remember right, I believe that team finished 3rd in the state polls for Division III for Cal-hi sports magazine. For those who do not know, that is how "mythical champions" were determined before the state championship game existed. In fact, the "mythical championship" continued to exist two years after the real championship did. In 2007, Oakdale got the "mythical championship" in division III, despite not being invited to the championship game (there was no Nor-Cal game then).
-If someone gives you advice, don't just automatically dismiss it because that person "hasn't been in your situation". Sometimes we need to see things from an outside perspective. Occasionally, they may be able to see things that we cannot, since we tend to only look at certain points. Do not just automatically do what they say, either. They do not know all the facts that go into a decision. The point I am trying to make is that don't just automatically dismiss advice, use it as something to think about first. If it is good advice, use it whether the person has "been there" or not. If it is not good advice, do not use it whether the person has "been there" or not.
R.I.P.
-The three individuals who died in the bombing of the Boston Marathon.
-Frank Bank played Clarence "Lumpy" Rutheford on Leave it to Beaver. He was 71.
-Pat Summerall- He was a NFL kicker and later a play-by-play announcer for CBS and FOX football. He was 82.
-George Beverly Shea- He was a Gospel singer, and part of the Billy Graham Crusades. He was 104.
THINGS THAT MISSED THE CUT
-The Masters, More of my thoughts to the Oakdale City Council being forced to break into districts, A lawsuit on the NYPD, history, geography
THINGS AT CHURCH
I stopped going to Bethel Assembly during Easter for personal reasons. However, I came back yesterday because it made my awesome girlfriend happy. I am glad I went back. First, I saw a few people I have not seen in a long time, in some cases, a couple of years. Also, the message was great. Pastor Dave took the story of Jesus dying on the cross in the perspective of the two thieves who were condemed to die next to him. For those who are not familiar with the story, one of the thieves is mocking Jesus along with the crowd (though this man is suffering the same fate as Jesus is). The other man realizes that he is the Messiah. He admits that he and the other man deserve their fate, but asks what Jesus had done to deserve His. He asks Jesus to remember him in heaven, which Jesus told him that he will be joining Jesus in paradise. Pastor Dave used this message to ask whose example will we follow, the thief who mocked Jesus or the one who accepts Jesus as the Messiah?
- Bethel Assembly will be helping out with the semi-annual Love Oakdale Day on May 4th. It is where citizens volunteer to help clean up the city and churches often help out. Cities throughout Stanislaus County have Love Days for their respective cities. I know Riverbank and Modesto are doing theirs on April 27th. For more information on Oakdale, go to www.loveoakdale.com
-If you go to a different church, and you would like to share what is going on at your church, please leave a comment at the end of the blog.
FROM THE OAKDALE LEADER
-Oakdale may be forced to use districts to elect its city council. The Modesto Latino Organization is threatening to sue the city of Oakdale if the council does not divide the city into districts. (March 27, 2013 edition). The organization representative, Maggie Mejia, claims that the population is not equally represented.
Where do I start? My roommate does not understand why Salida would not want to become part of Modesto if Modesto can improve the area. Ms. Mejia has demonstrated why. People in small cities and towns in this county do not want anyone from Modesto to tell them how they should run the communities. I wonder how much research Ms. Mejia did before she decided that she needed to be a pain in Oakdale's butt. Did the Latino population in Oakdale come up to the organization and ask them to intervene, because they felt they were not being represented enough? If so, I'll shut up about that point. If not, who was she to come in and tell Oakdale how things should be run? Later in the blog, I make a point about not automatically dismissing outside advice, so if the city council feels like the town should be broken up into districts, then she gave some good outside advice. However, I do not think that happened, because the article later says that most, if not all, the council members object to being broken up into districts, and they object to the threat of a lawsuit. She threatened to sue, and furthermore, stated that they have not lost a case.
Also, how is the city going to be divided? With five seats, my only guess would be to use the Yosemite Ave. and F Street intersection as a divider. The area northeast would be one district, northwest would be another, southeast would be one and southwest would be the 4th. Since I doubt the rural would be part of the city, I would suggest the Vineyards/Bridle Ridge areas be the fifth district.
The city council said that people would focus too much on their district and not on the city as a whole, and I would have to agree with the prediction. Like Congress, the council members would be elected by those in their neighborhood, and not the city as a whole. I will agree that a city like Modesto needs to be broken up into districts. There are too many areas that would get ignored with an at-large council (looking around, there seems to be some areas that are ignored now). I would think that cities and towns with at least 50,000 people need to be drawn into districts, but I am not going to sue if they are not. I believe Oakdale is too small of a city to go with districts.
FIFA RANKINGS
Men's Top 25 (as of April, 11, 2013)
1. Spain 2. Germany 3. Argentina 4. Croatia 5. Portugal 6. Colombia 7. England 8. Italy 9. Netherlands 10. Ecuador 11. Russia 12. Cote D'Ivoire 13. Greece 14. Mexico 15. Switzerland 16. Belgium 17. Uruguay 18. France 19. Brazil 20. Denmark 21. Bosnia-Herzegovina 22. Ghana 23. Chile 24. Sweden 25. Czech Republic (Note: The UNITED STATES moved up to #28. Japan [top team is Asia] is #29. New Zealand [top team in Oceania] is #89).
Women's Top 10 (as of March 22, 2013)
1. UNITED STATES 2. Germany 3. Japan 4. Brazil 5. France 6. Sweden T7. Canada T7. England T9. Australia T9. North Korea
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Louisville was the overall number one seed, and throughout the tournament, they played like it. The Cardinals dominated North Carolina A&T, Colorado State, Oregon, and Duke beating each by 15 points or more. Though struggling in the beginning against Wichita State and Michigan, they came back from being behind 12 points in each game. Nearly everyone knows about the story of Kevin Ware breaking his leg, and being an inspiration for Louisville to move forward. Rick Pitino became the first coach to win the national championship for two different schools (Kentucky 1996, Louisville 2013).
-I would like to congratulate all the teams who won the national championships in their respective divisions, and all the lower-tier tournament champions.
Men
Division I
NCAA Champion- Louisville Cardinals
NIT Champion- Baylor Bears
CBI Champion-Santa Clara Broncos
CIT Champion-East Carolina Pirates
Division II Champion
Drury Panthers
Division III Champion
Amherst Jeffs
Women
Division I
NCAA Champion- Connecticut Huskies
WNIT Champion- Drexel Dragons
WBI Champion- Detroit Titans
Division II
Ashland Eagles
Division III
DePauw Tigers
2013 Realignment
Next year, the Big East will split. The non-football schools will keep the name, while the football schools will form the American Athletic Conference. In addition, a few schools will be moving to the ACC. Those are getting all the attention from the networks, because those are big-name schools. However, there will be many other schools changing leagues next year in division I, including four schools moving up from division II.
Here is a chart of the moves announced as of 4/9/13 (The 2012 Big East schools are not included on here. Those moving to the Big East or American Athletic from other conferences will be on here.
Team Location of School Moving From Moving To
Abilene Christian Abilene, TX Division II Southland
Bakersfield St. Bakersfield, CA Independent WAC
Boston Boston, MA America East Patriot
Butler Indianapolis, IN Atlantic-10 Big East
Charlotte Charlotte, NC Atlantic-10 Conference USA
Chicago St. Chicago, IL Great West WAC
College of Charleston Charleston, SC Southern Conference Colonial Ath.
Creighton Omaha, NE Missouri Valley Big East
Denver Denver, CO WAC Summit League
Florida Atlantic Boca Raton, FL Sun Belt Conference USA
Florida International Miami, FL Sun Belt Conference USA
George Mason Fairfax, VA Colonial Athletic Atlantic-10
Georgia State Atlanta, GA Colonial Athletic Sun Belt
Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ Division II WAC
Houston Houston, TX Conference USA American Ath.
Houston Baptist Houston, TX Great West Southland
Incarnant Word San Antonio, TX Division II Southland
Loyola-Chicago Chicago, IL Horizon Missouri Valley
Loyola (MD) Baltimore, MD MAAC Patriot
Louisiana Tech Ruston, LA WAC Conference USA
Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA Division II America East
Memphis Memphis, TN Conference USA American Ath.
Middle Tennessee St. Murfreesboro, TN Sun Belt Conference USA
Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO Summit League WAC
Monomuth West Long Branch, NJ Northeast Conf. MAAC
New Orleans New Orleans, LA Independent Southland
North Texas Denton, TX Sun Belt Conference USA
Notre Dame-a South Bend, IN Big East ACC
Pacific Stockton, CA Big West West Coast
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA Big East ACC
Quinnipiac Hamden, CT Northeast Conf. MAAC
San Jose St. San Jose, CA WAC Mountain West
SMU Dallas, TX Conference USA American Ath.
Syracuse Syracuse, NY Big East ACC
Temple-b Philadelphia, PA Atlantic-10 American Ath.
Texas-Arlington Arlington, TX WAC Sun Belt
Texas-Pan American Edinburg, TX Great West WAC
Texas-San Antonio San Antonio, TX WAC Conference USA
Texas St. San Marcos, TX WAC Sun Belt
UCF Orlando, FL Conference USA American Ath.
Utah St. Logan, UT WAC Mountain West
Utah Valley Orem, UT Great West WAC
Xavier Cincinnati, OH Atlantic-10 Big East
Notes: a-Notre Dame will remain independents in football. b-Temple was in the Big East for football only in 2012 while in the Atlantic-10 for all other sports. Next season, the Owls will be in the American Athletic Conference for all sports.
-I expect at least one more move between now and when the realignment officially takes place July 1, 2013. New Jersey Tech, as of now, would remain the only team in the Great West Conference. I expect them to go to either the America East Conference or the Northeast Conference.
-One of the comments I read in response to the article I read on Chicago State going to the WAC sarcastically said, "I can't wait for that big Grand Canyon-Chicago State game." If I win a lottery jackpot, I will go to the first Grand Canyon-Chicago State game and drag my awesome girlfriend with me whether it is in Phoenix, AZ or Chicago, IL
Big East and American Athletic Teams
Big East American Athletic
Butler Cincinnati
Creighton Connecticut
DePaul Houston
Georgetown Memphis
Marquette SMU
Providence South Florida
St. John's Temple
Seton Hall UCF
Villanova
Xavier
COLLEGE HOCKEY
-Congratulations to Yale for winning the NCAA Hockey Championship.
-I could not help but think that if college hockey was a major sport in the U.S. viewing world, people would have been outraged over this years semi-finalists, or frozen four as the media calls it. The semi-finalists in alphabetical order were (1) Massachusetts-Lowell, (1) Quinnipiac (4) St. Cloud State, and (4) Yale. The list included two 4-seeds (out of 4), including Yale who was the last at-large team invited, two teams who are in Division I for hockey only, and no big names. Quinnipiac was the overall number one seed, but are not in a power conference. Actually, there really are no power conferences, but there are power teams, several of them not making the tournament.
Traditional Power Hockey teams and what happened in the 2013 Tournament
Boston University- Did not make tournament
Boston College- Lost in first round to Union.
Cornell- Did not make tournament
Denver- lost to New Hampshire in the 1st round
Maine- Did not make tournament
Michigan- Did not make tournament
Minnesota- #1 seed in West region, lost to Yale in first round
New Hampshire-lost to Massachusetts in 2nd round/regional final
North Dakota- lost to Yale in second round/regional final
Notre Dame- #1 seed in Midwest regional, lost to St. Cloud State in first round
That left me to wonder if NCAA Hockey was nearly as popular as NCAA basketball, would the at-large invites have been different?
IF I WERE KING OF SPORTS
If I were king of sports, I would make a high school basketball tournament, because it is just something I would like to see; though I admit, I do not know how logistically possible it would be. I call it the Tournament of Champions. I know there is currently a national high school basketball tournament, but I do not know if it is state champions only, or if just the big-name schools get invited. I would dump that tournament, and get mine in at least one year to see if it would work. For the first year, the tournament would be open-enrollment, both public and private schools. The tournament is open to state champions only of all divisions. It would consist of 16 teams. The top 13 schools by USA Today (or committee, I haven't decided that part, yet) would automatically get in. The 14th team is the top ranking team from the host state (I say that, because every team, but Kentucky and Delaware, has separate divisions, and the top division winning school would get in). The last two schools would be determined by lottery. I put in the last rule in for two reasons. First, there can be no possible way that anyone can watch all the top teams in all the states. Second, it gives small schools and schools from the small states a chance to play on the big stage. The lottery winning schools that accept their invitation would play the two top-ranked schools in the first round. In the first year, I would have Sacramento, CA host the boys tournament (capital of the largest state by population). If this tournament is a success, then the capital cities of the ten largest states would host for the first 10 years. After 10 years, any city can bid for the tournament. The capital cities of the 11th through 20th largest states would host the girls tournament. Again, after 10 years, any city can bid for the tournament. If it is a success, I would have three divisions, all open enrollment. The top division would be for all schools. The second would be for private and charter schools only. The last would be for public schools only. Here is a model of what the first annual tournament of champions would look like. (Note: Some of the elite schools have opted to play in the national tournament instead of their state tournaments. Therefore, except for the tournament winner, they will all be omitted from the model since they did not technically win the state championship. For the model, we will count the national tournament as a separate state.)
1st round (Seed, Team, city/state, tournament winner, how advanced to TOC rankings are from USA Today)
(1) Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) (National Tournament winner) #1
(16) Radford (VA) (Virginia's VHSL, level A Division 2 winner) lottery winner
(8) Irmo (SC) (South Carolina's Division AAAA) #13
(9) Germantown (WI) (Wisconsin's Division I) #14
(5) West (Iowa City, IA) (Iowa's Division 4A) #9
(12) Christ the King (Middle Village-New York, NY) (NY's Division AA) #18
(4) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) (California's Open Division) #8/host state
(13) Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, KS) (Kansas's Division 6A) #19
(6) Olympic (Charlotte, NC) (North Carolina's NCHSAA Division 4A) #11
(11) Edmond Memorial (Edmond, OK) (Oklahoma's Division 6A) #1
(3) Simeon (Chicago, IL) (Illinois Division 4A) #5
(14) Miller Grove (Lithonia, GA) (Georgia's Division AAAAA) #20
(7) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, FL) (Florida's Division 7A) #12
(10) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) (Nevada's Division I) #15
(2) Lone Peak (Highland, UT) (Utah's Division 5A) (4)
(15) Benedictine (Richmond, VA) (Virginia's VISAA Division I) lottery winner
I would add a preview game for the fans. The reason why is because a school in the host county won state, but did not qualify for TOC. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, CA) would play any champion willing to travel. For modeling purposes, we will say it will be North Valley (Grants Pass, OR)
Day 1- Preview: North Valley (Grants Pass, OR) vs. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove, CA) (@ Kennedy High School- Sacramento, CA)
Day 2-Round 1 (@ McClatchy High School-Sacramento, CA)
Day 3- Round 2 losers/winners bracket (@ Sacramento City College)
Day 4- Round 3 both brackets (@ Sacramento State University)
Day 5- Final round all brackets (@ Sleep Train Arena)
After the second year, the losers brackets will be played at another high school in town.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
-It's never too early to talk about football, and the sports writer of the Modesto Bee, Richard Estrada, has released the (tentative) non-league schedule for Oakdale in the 2013 season, and I have to say, it is brutal. Oakdale opens at Turlock in Week 0. Week 1, Oakdale will host the Northern Section Division I champions, Enterprise Hornets of Redding. The Mustangs have week 2 as a bye and in week 3, they host Paraclete Spirits of Lancaster. Paraclete was the runner-up of the Mid-Valley Division of the Southern Section, and were in the state championship game a few years ago. This schedule would not be as tough if this was not a rebuilding year for the Mustangs, but Oakdale only returns one starter in the skill positions (not on the offensive line), I beleive, and one or two on the line. I do not know how many are returning on the defensive side, but it is not many.
It is hard to tell what kind of a season it will be for the Mustangs. It needs to be figured out if Oakdale will be rebuilding or reloading. We will find out after they play Turlock and Enterprise. The coach moved up 5 sophomores to the varsity level three years ago, and I would not be surprised to see that again in 2013. In fact, two of them saw playing time as freshmen in 2012. Once the non-league is over, Oakdale will play in league with Sierra-Manteca (who has also been a great team the past three or four years), Manteca (who is always tough), Kimball-Tracy (we will find out if last year's upset over Sonora was a fluke, or if the Jaguars will join the top-tier), and Sonora for the last time in VOL play (and I think for the last time for many years, at least). East Union-Manteca, Lathrop, and Weston Ranch-Stockton are also on the schedule. The Mustangs can finish anywhere from 5-5 and miss the playoffs to 9-1 and compete for another section championship.
On a side note, if anyone wonders why I focus on Oakdale, it is becuase most of the people who I know are reading this either went to Oakdale High or are from Oakdale.
A non-Oakdale game I am looking forward to as a general football fan is Del Oro of Loomis will be playing the nationally famous De La Salle of Concord. Del Oro defeated Oakdale for the section championship two years in a row, before they were forced to move up a division by the section committee in 2012 for its league being too good. De La Salle still owns the overall record for the biggest win streak in history with 151 games. It lasted from game 1 in 1992 (Merced) until game 1 in 2004 (Bellevue, Washington). However, they have won their section championship every year since 1992. I don't know when the Del Oro-De La Salle game is, but I think it is in week 1.
HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
(From foxnews.com) A New Mexico coach has filed a complaint to the state high school baseball board because an umpire told one of his players, and then him that if they did not start speaking English in the game, then they would be ejected. Both the coach and another umpire tried to tell him that there is no "English only" rule. Apparently, the umpire was concerned that there might be foul language spoken, which is against the rule in some leagues (don't know about New Mexico).
- (my thoughts): Until I read about the foul language part, I wondered how the umpire could even think about doing that in the first place. The other umpire said he was bi-lingual. Once he said that, the other umpire should have dropped the subject. If there is no "English only" rule, then the players should be able to speak in whichever language they desire. That would be an advantage to one team if the other does not speak Spanish (though since the town in question is near the Mexican border, I am sure at least one player on the other team speaks Spanish). The coach who put in the complaint says "he doesn't want to get the umpire fired. He just wants to educate the umpire." I believe that is his intention, but I have a feeling that someone will blow it out of proportion, and the umpire will be fired. I hope the umpire just gets a stern lecture with a game suspension AT MOST. I think a meeting with the high school board should be enough, though.
STUPID LAWSUITS?
There are a few stories that I am not sure how to think of them, so I will just put them on here and let you decide.
1) From foxsports.com- Bernie Fine will sue ESPN
Former Syracuse assistant basketball coach, Bernie Fine, has sued ESPN for defamation of character. If you remember, he was accused by some former ball boys of molestation. Fine was fired by Syracuse University two days later. As far as the criminal investigation, and to my knowledge, it has been nothing more than "he said-he said". If it turns out that Fine did what he was accused of, then he needs to be put in jail for the rest of his life, and not only is this lawsuit stupid, it is a waste of money.
However, if he did not do it, not only is this lawsuit valid, it is necessary. ESPN did not do a lot of research on this story before reporting it, and Fine will not be able to coach again, and his good name is ruined.
2) From foxnews.com
This isn't a lawsuit, but I am putting it on here for the stupid part.
A principal of Ipswich Middle School in Massachusetts is cancelling their event called, "Honors Night" because it would be considered "devastating" to those who did not make the cut. His thinking is that everyone in the honors class is working hard, and it would be a disapointment to those who fell short of the goal of achieving a certain grade point average. He also claims that those who come from affluent parents have more advantages that others may not have.
-I think my awesome girlfriend sent me this story so I would rip on the principal, and that is what I am going to do. He is acting like a moron in this case. While it is true that affluent students have more advantages, it is not impossible for the other to achieve the required GPA to participate in the Honors Night (whatever the GPA is). There are libraries, and there are a few universities within 50 miles, all they need to do is take a bus to the school and go to their libaries (which are bigger and have more information than a public library). Plus, I believe there are computers at school. It may require more of a sacrifice, but it can be done. I have an idea based off his idea. Let's cancel the Super Bowl. I mean last season, the San Francisco 49ers worked as hard as the Baltimore Ravens in practice to prepare for the big game. After the power outage, it was a great game, and both teams deserved the title. Since the 49ers didn't get it, they are disappointed, and the team with the better record next year, should get a ribbon, and not play the game. That sounds stupid, doesn't it? That is what I believe this principal is doing. What about the kids who worked their butts off and achieved? The principal says their acheivements will be recognized in an assembly, but compared to this event, that is like the principal giving them a ribbon. It is not the same. Plus, I will say he has good intentions, but he is taking a life lesson away from them, too. Sometimes you work hard at something, you deserve something, but you just don't get it. You have to learn how to deal with failure and use it as motivation to get better. I think that is lost on many today. For me personally, I worked hard to get my teaching credential. I worked hard in all the classes, I took all the tests, I worked hard in student-teaching, I worked hard in my assessments, but since I failed one assessment, I do not have my credential. Another example, I had an interview to be a sports reporter for a local newspaper. I worked hard to prepare for the interview. I sent in my sample writing, which many said were good. People have said I should be a sports reporter. I believe I should be a sports reporter. I am not a sports reporter. Things happen, but those who have achieved should not be punished for their success.
GOOD SONGS NOT RELEASED ON RADIO
I will be honest, I did not listen to Christian radio until the middle of the "oughts". Therefore, unless the particular song made the W.O.W. CD mix, I do not know which songs made it to Christian radio. Therefore, since I do not know if this particular song was ever released or not, I will assume it was not, and make it the song of the month. This song is called "Fade To Grey" by Jars of Clay. It is found on the "Much Afraid" album. In my opinion, the "Much Afraid" album is by far the best one Jars of Clay ever made, and "Fade to Grey" is my favorite Jars of Clay song. I even like it more than "Flood", which even made it to the secular mainstream radio. Songs that were released in this album were "Crazy Times" and "Overjoyed".
Song: "Fade to Grey"
Artist: Jars of Clay
Album: Much Afraid (1998)
To watch the YouTube Video of "Fade to Grey"
RANDOM THOUGHTS
-The A's early success might be a surprise to fans (it was to me), but it is not a surprise to players. And if it is a surprise to players, then those individuals have been getting their baseball coverage from ESPN.
-With Oakdale football making it to the state championship game last season, I wondered if the 1996 Section Champions Oakdale Mustangs would have received an invite to the Nor-Cal regional championship game if the game had existed. If I remember right, I believe that team finished 3rd in the state polls for Division III for Cal-hi sports magazine. For those who do not know, that is how "mythical champions" were determined before the state championship game existed. In fact, the "mythical championship" continued to exist two years after the real championship did. In 2007, Oakdale got the "mythical championship" in division III, despite not being invited to the championship game (there was no Nor-Cal game then).
-If someone gives you advice, don't just automatically dismiss it because that person "hasn't been in your situation". Sometimes we need to see things from an outside perspective. Occasionally, they may be able to see things that we cannot, since we tend to only look at certain points. Do not just automatically do what they say, either. They do not know all the facts that go into a decision. The point I am trying to make is that don't just automatically dismiss advice, use it as something to think about first. If it is good advice, use it whether the person has "been there" or not. If it is not good advice, do not use it whether the person has "been there" or not.
R.I.P.
-The three individuals who died in the bombing of the Boston Marathon.
-Frank Bank played Clarence "Lumpy" Rutheford on Leave it to Beaver. He was 71.
-Pat Summerall- He was a NFL kicker and later a play-by-play announcer for CBS and FOX football. He was 82.
-George Beverly Shea- He was a Gospel singer, and part of the Billy Graham Crusades. He was 104.
THINGS THAT MISSED THE CUT
-The Masters, More of my thoughts to the Oakdale City Council being forced to break into districts, A lawsuit on the NYPD, history, geography
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