It has been over a week...so

What's the deal?
I've been busy with medical issues, but thank God I didn't end up in the hospital. It was close. Still have the issues but I am taking enough drugs to test positive on one hundred drug screens. oh well....gotta get better.

So during the week and one day of not blogging...

I am still reading Green by Ted Dekker and Anabaptist Preaching - edited by David B. Greiser and Michael A. King. This book has a different writer for each chapter. I am looking forward to the ones I haven't read yet, but especially Chapter 8.
Books on the stack (waiting to be read):
Boneman's Daughter - Ted Dekker
Talking The Walk - Marva Dawn
Walking From East To West - Ravi Zacharias
Secret Germany - Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh
Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks With Oscar Wilde on the Pursuit of Pleasure - Ravi Zacharias
"I BETTER GET TO READING!!!!!"

I do realize I stress too much. Even though I know the Truth and it does set me free. I still stress. sometimes I stress and don't realize it. I stress trying to get away from a place to go to a place so I can de-stress. Boy That is stressful!
So I lift my .5L of Nestle Pure Life Water (half of the label is written in Spanish) to NO STRESS!

TV. Here is my admission section. America's Got Talent is over. It was a great season. Dancing With the Stars has started. It should be a great season. Gray's Anatomy starts tonight. I didn't think we would watch it (and wait for it on DVD) but oh well.

Movies: we have the John Adams Documentary waiting (from NETFLIX) to be watched. Looking forward to that.
Can't remember what we have seen lately. I guess it wasn't good. Oh, we did watch 17 Again. It was actually good.

The Dodgers. We lost last night but so did the Rockies. We are 5 games up with 11 to go. Magic number is 6. Getting closer. This too, is part of my stress.

NFL. My week 2 picks were cruddy. I am embarrassed to say I went 7 - 0 (18-14 overall). I think that is the worst I have done...in a long time. Week 2 is usually a hard week for me (but 7 - 9 ...come on Wade). Hopefully week 3 will bode me better (not sure if that is proper English - grade me).
My fantasy team rolled - thanks Chris Johnson!
I am 2 - 0 in the Crystal Ball Pick 'em league, so that is so far so good.

Music: I have been listening to Opera lately.........and I like it!

Adios

11-5 : not my best start to NFL Season picks, but...

Well, Week 1 is in the books and I ended up 11-5 on my NFL picks.
Not the best, but I will take it for now.
I missed on Philly vs. Carolina - I didn't show Philly any love but I didn't think Carolina would stink up the joint.
Jets vs. Houston - I am not crowning Mark Sanchez as Joe Namath II, but he looked pretty good. Houston - I thought was better.
Denver vs. Cinci - fluke. That play will never happen again in any game this season.
Miami vs. Atlanta - I still don't think Atlanta is as good as people want to think they are.
Arizona vs. SF - Kurt Warner hurt me in Fantasy Football too!

So. What will next week bring?
There are some tough week 2 games, so we shall see...........................

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

That was one of the great lines from a great actor. Patrick Swayze passed away yesterday from pancreatic cancer.
He wasn't one of my favorite actors in the world, but he was always solid. He would rank up there in my top 20 - if I had to list one. I probably enjoyed about 90% of the movies he starred in.
Dirty Dancing , The Outsiders and Ghost were probably some of his more popular movies.
My favorite:
RED DAWN

"Wolverines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Swayze was a great family man and that is what he should be remembered for.

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.ap.org/39dirty-dancing39-star-patrick-swayze-at-57-ap

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000664/

No Credit card machine = no fried chicken

Thank God for the Small Things

I had to go to the Post Office today. When I got back I had planned to eat the lunch I brought from home. I had a nice baked chicken breast with green beans and fingerling potatoes.
MMMMM
Well on the way to the USPS, I have to pass the only 3 eating joints that are in the town where I work. I wrestled back and forth with stomach issues (eat fried chicken from Daddy's or Birdies or go back to the office like a good little fat boy and eat my baked chicken). The pressure mounted and I succumbed.
I pulled into Daddy's and walked in.
"I'll have 2 chicken breasts and 2 jalapeno peppers, to go please" ,I told the cashier.
"No peppers", she said.
"Well just the two breasts will be fine", I said hiding my disappointment in the "no peppers" issue.
She obviously saw me reaching for my credit card (I only had a dollar in my pocket) when she said "Card machine is broken".
All I could say was, "well OK. Have a nice day."
When I walked out, I looked over at Birdies across the street and said "NO"!!!!!!!
So thank God I used my cash at the post office. Thank God the card machine was broken.
As I am typing this, I am enjoying my baked chicken, green beans and potatoes.
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Wade's College Crack pot predictions

College Football predictions

I am not that good at College football predictions but I will give it a try. Also, these were done prior to the Oklahoma loss to BYU. I am just now getting to put them on the BLOG.

ACC Champ: North Carolina
They will almost run the table – including wins at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Looses to out of conference underdog East Carolina and Conference underdog N. Carolina State will keep them from being perfect.

Big 12: Nebraska will meet Texas in the Conference Championship game:
Texas wins. Texas ends up 12 – 1(they will lose to Missouri)(and almost lose to Oklahoma State).
The Big 12, along with the SEC will be the most exciting conferences to watch this year.

Big 12
North
Nebraska
Missouri
Kansas St.
Kansas
Colorado
Iowa St.

South
Texas
Oklahoma St.
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Texas A & M
Baylor

Despite predictions I am rooting for Oklahoma St. to win the Big 12.

Big East

Cincinnati will win it all.

Conference USA

East Carolina vs. Tulsa in the championship game: East Carolina winning it all. They will run the table in the conference but lose to out of conference foes West Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Mountain West

Utah will win it all.

Independent

Notre Dame will finish 9 – 3 (they will lose to USC, Michigan and Navy.

WAC
Boise State will win it but lookout for Idaho.
Boise St. will not go undefeated so there will be no BCS controversy.



PAC 10

USC will win the PAC 10 without a serious challenge. Look for Washington (I thought this before the LSU game) to win at least 6 games this year.

Big 10

Penn St. Will win the conference.
Followed by Ohio State.

And now……..The MOST exciting conference in college football………..THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE!

I like Ole Miss, but they will have to prove it. I may be upset at the end of this thing, but you NEVER count out any SEC team.

Here it is:
(Regular season records)
SEC East
Team Conf. Record Overall record
Florida 7-1 11-1
Georgia 6-2 9-3
Vanderbilt 4-4 7-5
Tennessee 3-5 6-6
Kentucky 3-5 6-6
So. Carolina 0-8 4-8


SEC West
Team Conf. Record Overall Record
Alabama 8-0 12-0
LSU 7-1 11-1
Mississippi 6-2 10-2
Arkansas 2-6 5-7
Miss. St. 2-6 5-7
Auburn 0-8 3-9

The SEC puts 8 teams in Bowl games.
Florida loses to LSU. Georgia loses to LSU and Florida. LSU loses to Alabama. Ole Miss loses to LSU and Alabama.





The National Championship Picture (this prior to Bowl games but after Conference championship games)

Texas 12-1
USC 11-1
Penn St. 12-0
North Carolina 11-2
Oklahoma St. 10-2
Nebraska 10-3
Ohio St. 10-2
Florida 12-1
Alabama 12-1
LSU11-1
Ole Miss 10-2




Penn St. (who benefit from a fairly easy schedule) will meet Florida in the BCS National Championship game. Alabama and Penn St. will be undefeated in the regular season and they will be riding high. Florida will be known as the champ who knocked off two undefeated teams on the way to their championship. Florida will clobber Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Then they will beat Penn St. in the BCS Championship game. I really don’t want to be on the Florida bandwagon but…

Florida will be the National Champion (their only loss coming to LSU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

It is FOOTBALL Time!!!! Wade's NFL predictions

Football is Here
Wade’s NFL predictions

Some quick notes: I live in the New Orleans area but I am not a “die hard” Saints fan. Yes I love it when they win and get a little perturbed when they lose, but it is not like I feel when the Dodgers win or lose.
These predictions are not biased in any way. It is how I truly feel.

Here you go:

AFC

South
Tennessee 12-4
Indianapolis 10-6
Houston 9-7
Jacksonville 4-12
I am really high on Tennessee this year. I think they have the complete package to win this division. Only 2 of their losses will be from the division. A split with Indy and a split with Houston. I really liked Houston to make the playoffs this year, but I think they will just miss it. Indy will slip in as a wild card. Jacksonville will be competitive, but their end result will be a crummy record.

East
New England 11-5
Miami 8-8
Buffalo 6-10
NY Jets 5-11
New England won’t repeat last year. They have their QB back. They will easily win the division. I thought Miami might do better than 8-8 and squeak into the playoffs, but when I played out the season’s games, 8-8 is all I thought they would do. Buffalo will take a while to get going on offense and by the time they do, it will be too late. I don’t have much faith in the Jets this year, but give Mark Sanchez a few years and they might be a contender.

North
Pittsburgh 13-3
Baltimore 11-5
Cleveland 7-9
Cincinnati 5-11
Pittsburgh and Baltimore are the cream of the crop in this division. Both will make the playoffs easily. The battle will be for first place, but I think the Steelers will prevail. Cleveland and Cincinnati will round up the bottom. I just don’t think they have it this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cinci actually finishes better than Cleveland does.

West
San Diego 10-6
Kansas City 6-10
Denver 5-11
Oakland 4-12
I was high on San Diego going in. They will easily win the division, but unlike last year, they won’t make much noise in the playoffs. KC and Denver will have bad years. Oakland will win 4 games only, but it won’t be Jamarcus Russell’s fault.

Playoffs
Division Winners
Tennessee
New England
Pittsburgh
San Diego
Wild Card
Baltimore
Indianapolis

Indy and San Diego will be knocked out in the first round. Then Tennessee and Baltimore will have a slug fest. Tennessee barely gets by. New England will win a close one at Pittsburgh. Tennessee will shock and roll all over New England to get to the Super Bowl.


AFC Superbowl Representative
Tennessee

NFC

South
New Orleans 11-5
Atlanta 10-6
Carolina 10-6
Tampa Bay 4-12
I really do believe that the Saints offense will continue their high scoring ways and their Defense will be much improved. This will propel them to win this tough division and go even further. Tampa Bay will be cellar dwellers. Atlanta – who I am not very high on – will beat out Carolina for a NFC wild card spot.

East
NY Giants 11-5
Philadelphia 10-6
Dallas 8-8
Washington 6-10
Giant’s fans should be happy. This team will be a beast this year in the regular season. Philly will easily make the wild card for the playoffs due to tiebreakers with Carolina. Neither team will win in the playoffs. Dallas will be mediocre and heads will roll. Washington will round it out – the bottom that is.

North
Green Bay 10-6
Chicago 9-7
Minnesota 7-9
Detroit 3-13
Detroit will win 3 games. Brett Favre won’t lead the Vikings to the Promised Land. Chicago will fall a little short to make the playoffs. Green Bay will win the division but not by much. Green Bay is the best team in this league and thanks to Division games, will win it.

West
Arizona 11-5
Seattle 9-7
St. Louis 8-8
San Francisco 6-10
I was high on Seattle going in, but like other division, once I played the games out, Arizona will again prevail and go far in the playoffs. They are just too good on offense not to. Seattle will have a good year and win some big games, but it will be the games they “should” win that will keep them out of the playoffs. St. Louis will be about 8-8 give or take. The 49ers just won’t have it this year.

Playoffs
Division Winners
New Orleans
NY Giants
Green Bay
Arizona
Wild Card
Philadelphia
Atlanta

Arizona will easily knock Atlanta out of the first round. Green Bay will barley get by Philly. The Saints will roll over the Packers in the Superdome. Arizona will be cold, but will just get by the Giants. The Saints will prevail over the Cardinals in a high scoring affair. The Saints will be in the Superbowl.

NFC Superbowl Representative
New Orleans

Superbowl
Tennessee vs. New Orleans

Winner: Tennessee

Tennessee will beat the Saints in a close Superbowl game. The high powered Saints offense will come down a bit and the MUCH improved Defense will fall a wee bit short as the Titans get just enough to win.

Like all predictions, these may be way off or right on….who really knows.

Tomorrow, the NCAA (which was compiled before the season ….I haven’t had the chance to get it on the blog until now!

PS...Dodgers vs. Angels...World Series.....I said this before the Baseball season began............we shall see!

E. A. R.

My favorite poet, hands down, is Edwin Arlington Robinson. I don't get on that facebook thing much but if you check my picture out - it is Edwin and not Wade.

so for your poetic enjoyment....from 1920...here is

The Dark Hills
by Edwin Arlington Robinson


Dark hills at evening in the west,
Where sunset hovers like a sound
Of golden horns that sang to rest
Old bones of warriors under ground,

Far now from all the bannered ways
Where flash the legions of the sun,
You fade - as if the last of days
Where fading, and all wars were done.

OK (LA) this is weird

On my lap top I have an LA Dodgers sticker....the "LA" symbol...

(the one you see above)

well, I had a little nick (funny - if you get it...) on the right hand corner of the "L". I tried to straighten it out and ....WAM....I nicked (there it is again) (origin of the sticker)the end of the sticker....well I look at it and immediately think.....MAN.........

It now looks like the Rocky Mountains.........oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!! the Rockies (of Colorado) are only 5.5 games behind us (the DODGERS) going into tonight...........

I am stressed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

am I reading too much into things.....?

I really have to quit being into sports.....................I have said that so many times in the past.....now it is time for Fantasy Football..........more stress.......................CAN I MAKE IT??

What Am I..

What Am I…Reading: Green by Ted Dekker – this is book 0 of the Circle Trilogy (actually 4 books) IT is the beginning OR the end. Just started it but I know it will be good. All of his books are good.
I am still reading Anabaptist Preaching – A Conversation Between Pulpit, Pew, and Bible by David B. Greiser and Michael King. This is one of 2 books we were required to read for the Speaking Institute I attended. Awesome Time. I learned a lot. I should have been finished this book long ago, but I am getting there.

What Am I …Listening to: Death Cab For Cutie (what I listened to most today – I bring my mp3 player to work and listen to it some). I heard there 2008 song "Grapevine Fires" on the radio the other day and I liked it. I had heard some of their earlier stuff so I figured I would pull their music out and listen.
I have also been listening to Tenth Avenue North....great new band. See past Blog about one of their songs.....

What Am I …thinking about: as always too much to type OR too private to share!

What Am I …happy about: Madeline gets to go to Family Camp. She is over the Swine Flu.
Plus lots of other things. Boiled Crabs last weekend were awesome!

What Am I…stressing about: the Dodgers. Yes we are 5.5 games up in first place in the N.L. West, but until they mathematically clinch, I will stress. I still feel – despite all of the "experts" discussions that the 2 LA teams will face off in the World Series.

What Am I…watching on TV: America’s Got Talent . I never thought I would like this show, but I must admit it has been pretty good. Can’t wait for Lost – the last season will start sometime in early 2010.

What Am I…watching from NetFlix: We watched Tempted with Burt Reynolds only because some scenes were filmed in Des Allemands and a couple of people we know (names not mentioned for privacy purposes) were extras. The movie was terrible. We did not watch the whole thing, but we FF or Rewound to see the Des Allemands scenes – or I should say SCENE. Trust me, You do not want to watch this movie!
We also watched I’ve Loved You So Long starring Kristen Scott Thomas. It is a powerful Foreign Language film (be ready to read sub-titles). It was great. Trust me, You DO want to watch this movie. We also saw Knowing starring Nicholas Cage. This was a pretty good Sci-Fi flick. Trust me, If you are a Cage fan, you DO want to watch this movie. IF you don't care about Nicholas Cage or just think he is ok, the you might not like the movie. Sometime, to me, the actor actually does make the film Worth watching.

And a final thought………I was listening to ESPN radio yesterday and the Herd (with Colin Cowherd) and he was saying that this (this time we are in) is one of the best times of the year for the sports fan.
The Major League Baseball season is winding down – the good teams are vying for the playoffs and Pro and College Football regular season are about to crank up.
I could not agree more!

Wednesday Quote

I never grow tired of quotes by Yogi Berra.....

here are a few to enjoy...

Even Napoleon had his Watergate.

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours.

He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious.

I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.

I'm a lucky guy and I'm happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.

for more great Yogi Berra quotes, go to:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/y/yogi_berra.html