Thoughts on 2007 and thoughts on 2008.
As I sit here at work on my absolute favorite holiday I realize that I am really in no situation to complain, bitch or moan about having to work today or tomorrow. The year that I had in 2007 was the best of my life, and allowed me so many great opportunities that it would be totally wrong of me to end the year on a low note.
I had only a few goals heading into the 2007. All of which were accomplished, but all of which changed my life much, much more than I knew they would on this day one year ago.
My first goal was more of a conclusion, and was not completely accomplished during 2007. I graduated from CU in May, exactly four academic years after I enrolled. I was able to achieve much more in Boulder than I could have ever imagined. I learned more than I could have thought possible. I also grew to love the city of Boulder more than I ever thought I would. Most importantly of all, I found something that I really love to do and was able to get a degree in it. Whether I will use that degree fully I may not know for years to come, but I have a feeling I already have, and will continue to.
My second goal was to travel. Sometime last winter Andy and I came to the conclusion that we had similar ideas about a trip and the planning for our month-long excursion in Europe soon followed. NOLA and Vero/Miami for spring break, as well as some beach time in Cabo were also great trips.
Among other things, these breaks from reality made me realize that I love to travel, see new places, meet new people, and learn about new things more than I enjoy doing anything else in life. The experiences I had in Europe especially influenced a new-found desire to not stay in one place for too long, and not become too comfortable with any given situation. This desire actually gets to the point of frightening me at times.
The final goal I had was to find a job that would allow me to do something I liked to do, and would also allow me to support myself (defined in this case as rent, food, credit cards, insurace, bar tab clothing). I have pretty much found that job at Fox in that I'm doing something that I like to do and can support myself for the most part.
The one thing I didn't factor into the equation when I was hunting for jobs was the lifestyle job X allows you to have versus the lifestyle of job Y. The lifestyle I'm able to lead because of my job at Fox is the single best perk of the job. Rarely do I have to come in before noon, rarely do I get off past 10 p.m. and rarely do I dread that idea of going to work. All of which are much more important that I first thought. All are essestial one year out of college, and in the shitshow that is called "LA". This all leads me to wonder often how soon I want to jump into the Monday-Friday 9-5 atmosphere and career-driven lifestyle. Usually when I wonder this I quickly come to the conclusion that I really won't be ready for many years to come, if ever.
So my goals for 2008 are still being thought out and are really not concrete at all. I have no idea if they will continue to include LA, if they will involve a move back to the CO or someplace I haven't even thought of yet.
By the end of the year who knows where I will be, and what I will be doing. I like living in LA, except for the Hollywood gossip, and people that go along with it. I could do without the traffic, the struggle it becomes to run everyday errands, and the high cost of living. I enjoy living fairly isolated from all of that in the great town of El Segundo, and the weather is hard to beat. So just as I wasn't sure what 2007 held for me, I might be just as unsure what 2008 will hold. As I see it, 2007 worked out just fine, and so will the new year.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Happy Bowl Season
Being in LA for the weeks leading up to Xmas have obviously not been the same as the majority of my years. There is no snow, few decorations, no cold weather, no friends and family, no stoppage of school, really no gift shopping (due to lack of $$). In short, LA sucks during the Xmas season (except for the constant 70 degree weather). The one exception I found to this whole rant, was in Manhattan Beach the other night. Lights, decorations, people decked in cold-weather gear (even though it isn't cold at all), a festive spirit that is missing elsewhere. The homes in MB are absolutely gorgeous, and most were fully decorated. Together with the sun setting over the ocean in the background let me know that parts of So Cali have their own unique and one-of-a-kind way of celebrating the holidays.
Saw this article on Shaun White's run-in with the law in Breckenridge the other day...He doesn't really have a tough life.
My picks for the 2007 Bowl Season. These are my exact picks, including confidence points, for Sean's Metal Skool group. My team picks are the same for the Final Score office pool, with the confidence points varying just a little, but more or less exactly the same. In the FSN pool we have the ability to change the picks and confidence points up until 5 minutes before each game, not sure how that is going to work out.
One note: My picks with points 1-10 are total crapshoots, but these are the most fun to try and pick. For most games in this range I actually had a team I really thought would win initially, but that team is either not at all motivated to play in the game (Cal, GT), is missing a key player (New Mex), or are very up and down this year (OkSt, TT).
A few are very evenly matched: Clemson v Auburn, Oregon St v Maryland, Miss St v UCF.
Confidence--Winner--Loser--
1--Georgia Tech--Fresno St
2--Oklahoma St--Indiana
3--Memphis--Florida Atlantic
4--Nevada--New Mexico
5--Cal--Air Force (thought this was an 20-30 point pick, but apparently not)
6--Texas Tech--Virginia (maybe the most underrated game in terms of entertainment value)
7--Clemson--Auburn (another great game)
8--Oregon St--Maryland
9--Mississippi St--UCF
10--Penn St--Texas A&M (coaching change swayed this one)
11--TCU--Houston (same here)
12--Utah--Navy
13--Purdue--Central Michigan
14--Colorado--Alabama
15--BYU--UCLA
16--Wake Forest--UCONN
17--Cincinnati--Southern Mississippi
18--Boston College--Michigan St (will be closer than I initially thought)
19--South Florida--Oregon
20--Boise St--Eastern Carolina (E Carolina is pretty good, but are traveling way too far)
21--Kentucky--Florida St
22--Texas--Arizona St (Texas is better than advertised)
23--Tennessee--Wisconsin
24--Missouri--Arkansas
25--Rutgers--Ball St (The MAC is awful)
26--Tulsa--Bowling Green
27--Virginia Tech--Kansas (KU didn't beat ANYONE quality this year, and shouldn't be here)
28--Oklahoma--West Virginia (OU too big and too powerful on both sides of the ball)
29--Georgia--Hawaii (same goes here)
30--Florida--Michigan
31--USC--Illinois (same as above...but it could be closer than people think)
32--LSU--Ohio St (The SEC reigns supreme again)
I also think the SEC is the strongest, most skilled and most athletic football conference top to bottom every single year (including this year).
I don't truly feel that CU will beat the Tide because I think Alabama is the stronger, more skilled team and the game is in SEC country.
Hawk will have CU ready for the game, and we will still be riding high from the Nebraska win as well as the simple joy of playing in a bowl game. The fact that Alabama is one of the most storied programs in all of CFB history also bodes well for our motivation among other things.
The national exposure for two programs with great tradition as well as the fact that the game is the only bowl game on ESPN on Sunday night will help to shine positive light on the strides CU and Hawk are making. If things go well this could be a HUGE stepping stone for next year and beyond for CU. It would cement the fact that Hawk is heading in the right direction. It would show he can coach with the best of the best, and it would show the rest of the CFB world that CU is on the rise and will be a real force within a few years.
My biased prediction: CU 27 Bama 24 ---Kevin Eberhart hits a 29-yard game-winning FG with under 2 minutes to play in the 4th.
Saw this article on Shaun White's run-in with the law in Breckenridge the other day...He doesn't really have a tough life.
My picks for the 2007 Bowl Season. These are my exact picks, including confidence points, for Sean's Metal Skool group. My team picks are the same for the Final Score office pool, with the confidence points varying just a little, but more or less exactly the same. In the FSN pool we have the ability to change the picks and confidence points up until 5 minutes before each game, not sure how that is going to work out.
One note: My picks with points 1-10 are total crapshoots, but these are the most fun to try and pick. For most games in this range I actually had a team I really thought would win initially, but that team is either not at all motivated to play in the game (Cal, GT), is missing a key player (New Mex), or are very up and down this year (OkSt, TT).
A few are very evenly matched: Clemson v Auburn, Oregon St v Maryland, Miss St v UCF.
Confidence--Winner--Loser--
1--Georgia Tech--Fresno St
2--Oklahoma St--Indiana
3--Memphis--Florida Atlantic
4--Nevada--New Mexico
5--Cal--Air Force (thought this was an 20-30 point pick, but apparently not)
6--Texas Tech--Virginia (maybe the most underrated game in terms of entertainment value)
7--Clemson--Auburn (another great game)
8--Oregon St--Maryland
9--Mississippi St--UCF
10--Penn St--Texas A&M (coaching change swayed this one)
11--TCU--Houston (same here)
12--Utah--Navy
13--Purdue--Central Michigan
14--Colorado--Alabama
15--BYU--UCLA
16--Wake Forest--UCONN
17--Cincinnati--Southern Mississippi
18--Boston College--Michigan St (will be closer than I initially thought)
19--South Florida--Oregon
20--Boise St--Eastern Carolina (E Carolina is pretty good, but are traveling way too far)
21--Kentucky--Florida St
22--Texas--Arizona St (Texas is better than advertised)
23--Tennessee--Wisconsin
24--Missouri--Arkansas
25--Rutgers--Ball St (The MAC is awful)
26--Tulsa--Bowling Green
27--Virginia Tech--Kansas (KU didn't beat ANYONE quality this year, and shouldn't be here)
28--Oklahoma--West Virginia (OU too big and too powerful on both sides of the ball)
29--Georgia--Hawaii (same goes here)
30--Florida--Michigan
31--USC--Illinois (same as above...but it could be closer than people think)
32--LSU--Ohio St (The SEC reigns supreme again)
I also think the SEC is the strongest, most skilled and most athletic football conference top to bottom every single year (including this year).
I don't truly feel that CU will beat the Tide because I think Alabama is the stronger, more skilled team and the game is in SEC country.
Hawk will have CU ready for the game, and we will still be riding high from the Nebraska win as well as the simple joy of playing in a bowl game. The fact that Alabama is one of the most storied programs in all of CFB history also bodes well for our motivation among other things.
The national exposure for two programs with great tradition as well as the fact that the game is the only bowl game on ESPN on Sunday night will help to shine positive light on the strides CU and Hawk are making. If things go well this could be a HUGE stepping stone for next year and beyond for CU. It would cement the fact that Hawk is heading in the right direction. It would show he can coach with the best of the best, and it would show the rest of the CFB world that CU is on the rise and will be a real force within a few years.
My biased prediction: CU 27 Bama 24 ---Kevin Eberhart hits a 29-yard game-winning FG with under 2 minutes to play in the 4th.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Some news from the Daily Camera.
Sports editor Gary Baines decided to step down from his post as the Camera's sports editor after 25 years.
Gary gave me an opportunity to try my hand at real-life journalism (whatever that really means). I remember the first call that CU beat writer Kyle Ringo made to Gary to ask if I could write an article on CU football after a loss to Baylor in Oct. of 2006. I was thinking to myself "this guy is really going to let me write an article on CU football of all things. Before I have even auditioned in some other forum?" He didn't have to take a chance on me, he didn't have to trust me, but I am forever thankful that he did.
Gary was a wonderful person to work for. He was a great teacher, but in different ways than I've ever experienced. He was understanding, but had a quiet confidence about him that made you fearful of screwing up in any way. He was so calm and focused on deadline that it was almost impossible for me and everyone else in the room to feel the same way.
In my eyes he was underappreciated, as all employees at the Camera are, but Gary embodied a tireless jounalist. He was in the office before anybody else in the department, out long after everyone was gone for the night. Like it said in the article, he was concerned about the reader first. He made sure you as a reporter knew that, and what that meant to the particular story you were writing. He didn't give many guidelines about anything, but rather left it to you to figure things out on your own. A trait that forced me to learn more than I will ever know during my time there.
Great feature in the December issue of Esquire on a guy who decided to build his own boat by hand for less than 30K and sail around the world by himself. A really unfathomable undertaking the more you actually read about his story. He is keeping a blog of his journey.
The author and his colleague's thoughts on "just existing" versus "living your life" and experiencing things other people haven't are really well said.
He talks about the experience being "fundamentally new" and thus being impossible for anything he's done previously in his life to prepare him for his trip. I can relate to and think about this concept fairly often at this stage of my life.
In the end paragraph he speaks about the idea of not going on the voyage being "impossible to consider". This leads to him stating that he isn't doing the trip for fun, but "it does feel like who I am and what I'm doing. I feel fully engaged, which is the best part about living." Well said. I feel like being "fully engaged" is a pretty rare thing for most people. If you are not fully engaged in life there can't be much passion or care behind what you are doing. You are just floating through life.
Sports editor Gary Baines decided to step down from his post as the Camera's sports editor after 25 years.
Gary gave me an opportunity to try my hand at real-life journalism (whatever that really means). I remember the first call that CU beat writer Kyle Ringo made to Gary to ask if I could write an article on CU football after a loss to Baylor in Oct. of 2006. I was thinking to myself "this guy is really going to let me write an article on CU football of all things. Before I have even auditioned in some other forum?" He didn't have to take a chance on me, he didn't have to trust me, but I am forever thankful that he did.
Gary was a wonderful person to work for. He was a great teacher, but in different ways than I've ever experienced. He was understanding, but had a quiet confidence about him that made you fearful of screwing up in any way. He was so calm and focused on deadline that it was almost impossible for me and everyone else in the room to feel the same way.
In my eyes he was underappreciated, as all employees at the Camera are, but Gary embodied a tireless jounalist. He was in the office before anybody else in the department, out long after everyone was gone for the night. Like it said in the article, he was concerned about the reader first. He made sure you as a reporter knew that, and what that meant to the particular story you were writing. He didn't give many guidelines about anything, but rather left it to you to figure things out on your own. A trait that forced me to learn more than I will ever know during my time there.
Great feature in the December issue of Esquire on a guy who decided to build his own boat by hand for less than 30K and sail around the world by himself. A really unfathomable undertaking the more you actually read about his story. He is keeping a blog of his journey.
The author and his colleague's thoughts on "just existing" versus "living your life" and experiencing things other people haven't are really well said.
He talks about the experience being "fundamentally new" and thus being impossible for anything he's done previously in his life to prepare him for his trip. I can relate to and think about this concept fairly often at this stage of my life.
In the end paragraph he speaks about the idea of not going on the voyage being "impossible to consider". This leads to him stating that he isn't doing the trip for fun, but "it does feel like who I am and what I'm doing. I feel fully engaged, which is the best part about living." Well said. I feel like being "fully engaged" is a pretty rare thing for most people. If you are not fully engaged in life there can't be much passion or care behind what you are doing. You are just floating through life.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
State of CU football
A few things before CU football.
NBA--
A month or so into the NBA season and I've watched more games this season than I did all of last year. League pass and my job have obviously contributed to this.
My preseason NBA picks look terrible---
---Boston and Detroit are the favorites in the east with the Magic looming as a possible darkhorse. Jersey and Chicago (my Eastern Champ) look lottery bound thus far.
---My picks for the west didn't look as bad, because it is pretty hard to mess the top 3 up.
---The Nuggets look like a lost team and probably won't get to 50 wins but have a good shot at winning the division because Utah will hopefully struggle too.
---George Karl needs to go (Jeff Van Gundy is one name that comes to mind. Good discipline, teaches good D, could still use a running style). The Nugs continue to have injuries and an incredibly low basketball IQ. Difficult to watch this team play sometimes.
Although I thought the MVP would come out of the west with Melo or Nash, KG is the MVP front-runner right now, while Howard and LBJ are legit candidates. Duncan and Kobe finish out the conversation.
BOXING--- I think I'm more excited for the Mayweather Hatton bout than I was for the De La Hoya fight. The fight in May was overhyped and actually wasn't that great of a matchup. De La Hoya was getting older, not in his prime and Mayweather was way too fast.
---This one will hopefully be better because of Hatton's attitude and brash style. I think Mayweather will win in the end because of his quickness and ability to get away from Hatton's serious haymakers. I could see Hatton winning if he lands a couple of big shots early in the fight.
In the end they say you have to convincingly beat the "champ" in boxing to take his crown/belt. I don't think Hatton will do that.
Pick: Mayweather wins in a split decision 12 rounds.
COLORADO FOOTBALL---
Is the University of Colorado football program in better shape now than when I began my time at CU in 2003? Yes and No.
In 2003 we were just two years off of a Big 12 title and we had strong recruiting classes and a solid coach. In short we had the right "mix" of players and coaches etc., even in the midst of the crazy scandal, to win two Big 12 North titles. Keep in mind I am saying this based on the fact we did not know the program was going to go through a massive shitstorm during the next few years.
Had CU not endured that storm could we be talking about more success than we had? Maybe another BCS bowl? I don't know, but hearing about Gary Barnett from people in the media and CU's PR department it was probably a foregone conclusion that coach Barnett was going to screw up somewhere along the line. So who knows. I do know Barnett could recruit and coach with the best in the country. I don't think Barnett was/still is alone in bending some rules for recruiting purposes, and nothing illegal was EVER proven in court.
Although I do believe that we are soon headed for times that will far surpass anything Barnett was able to accomplish, the 2007 season was mediocre. 2008 will be just another step to regaining the tradition. There will be setbacks, and we are still two full seasons away from truly competing for a Big 12 title. Coach Hawk truly believes in his system, his ability to recruit and coach. I don't think that can be said off all coaches or programs. I think the improvement we have seen over the past 24 months has been remarkable. Getting the players to accept Hawk's beliefs, expectations, system, work ethic, weight program etc. etc. took longer than CU faithful would have liked. The culture and attitudes around the program were so out of wack from the Barnett days, the scandals, and the losing, it took Hawk a full season and offseason to straighten things out. I don't truly believe he had everyone on the same page until camp in Aug. of '07. The state of the actual players/program is heading for very bright days in the near future.
The fans and the culture surrounding the program are the only reason CU has a ways to go.
In my four years at CU the prevailing attitude shifted. Fans went from expecting a win in every game to hoping for a win. It then shifted from hoping to win to expecting to lose. As of 2007 we are on the way back to hoping we win. We need to be back to expecting to win. We will be soon, but it will take time for attitudes to change for the better.
In 2003 the students expected to win most, if not all games. The attitude was that we are a premiere football program and we will win much more often than we lose. Bowl games were a guarantee, Big 12 titles were within reach. 2003 was the last time this attitude was prevalent in Boulder. The allegations came out, the scandals started. All of a sudden instead of expecting to win games, we hoped we would win during the 04 and 05 seasons. We hoped some wins would douse the fire of the scandals a bit, but we no longer expected to win. This caused some painful games, and embarrassing losses. We didn't beat a ranked team during that span up until this 2007 season. The current crop of students never saw games where we expected to beat ranked teams. This created a culture of fans that doubted coaching and playing abilities on the field. Doubted whether the program would ever be turned in the right direction. Doubted when Hawk finished last season with ten losses.
The last crew of students that lived through those expectations and then the dark days are now gone, leaving only students who have come to know losing and think it their job to criticize. The criticism came from the years all we heard was how bad the university was, and how terrible things were happening all around us. It will take time until these students are gone, along with their attitudes formed by the media's perception of CU.
This acceptance of losing has never been more evident than the past two seasons. Fans not even showing up for games, rushing the field for what seems like every single win.
Two years down the line I believe CU fans will be back to expecting to win every game. The criticism will be gone, the bad behavior hopefully a thing of the past. Although I don't feel CU will ever have the tradition or die hard fans of other schools, Boulder is a place big-time football can succeed. For now it is still a work in progress.
NBA--
A month or so into the NBA season and I've watched more games this season than I did all of last year. League pass and my job have obviously contributed to this.
My preseason NBA picks look terrible---
---Boston and Detroit are the favorites in the east with the Magic looming as a possible darkhorse. Jersey and Chicago (my Eastern Champ) look lottery bound thus far.
---My picks for the west didn't look as bad, because it is pretty hard to mess the top 3 up.
---The Nuggets look like a lost team and probably won't get to 50 wins but have a good shot at winning the division because Utah will hopefully struggle too.
---George Karl needs to go (Jeff Van Gundy is one name that comes to mind. Good discipline, teaches good D, could still use a running style). The Nugs continue to have injuries and an incredibly low basketball IQ. Difficult to watch this team play sometimes.
Although I thought the MVP would come out of the west with Melo or Nash, KG is the MVP front-runner right now, while Howard and LBJ are legit candidates. Duncan and Kobe finish out the conversation.
BOXING--- I think I'm more excited for the Mayweather Hatton bout than I was for the De La Hoya fight. The fight in May was overhyped and actually wasn't that great of a matchup. De La Hoya was getting older, not in his prime and Mayweather was way too fast.
---This one will hopefully be better because of Hatton's attitude and brash style. I think Mayweather will win in the end because of his quickness and ability to get away from Hatton's serious haymakers. I could see Hatton winning if he lands a couple of big shots early in the fight.
In the end they say you have to convincingly beat the "champ" in boxing to take his crown/belt. I don't think Hatton will do that.
Pick: Mayweather wins in a split decision 12 rounds.
COLORADO FOOTBALL---
Is the University of Colorado football program in better shape now than when I began my time at CU in 2003? Yes and No.
In 2003 we were just two years off of a Big 12 title and we had strong recruiting classes and a solid coach. In short we had the right "mix" of players and coaches etc., even in the midst of the crazy scandal, to win two Big 12 North titles. Keep in mind I am saying this based on the fact we did not know the program was going to go through a massive shitstorm during the next few years.
Had CU not endured that storm could we be talking about more success than we had? Maybe another BCS bowl? I don't know, but hearing about Gary Barnett from people in the media and CU's PR department it was probably a foregone conclusion that coach Barnett was going to screw up somewhere along the line. So who knows. I do know Barnett could recruit and coach with the best in the country. I don't think Barnett was/still is alone in bending some rules for recruiting purposes, and nothing illegal was EVER proven in court.
Although I do believe that we are soon headed for times that will far surpass anything Barnett was able to accomplish, the 2007 season was mediocre. 2008 will be just another step to regaining the tradition. There will be setbacks, and we are still two full seasons away from truly competing for a Big 12 title. Coach Hawk truly believes in his system, his ability to recruit and coach. I don't think that can be said off all coaches or programs. I think the improvement we have seen over the past 24 months has been remarkable. Getting the players to accept Hawk's beliefs, expectations, system, work ethic, weight program etc. etc. took longer than CU faithful would have liked. The culture and attitudes around the program were so out of wack from the Barnett days, the scandals, and the losing, it took Hawk a full season and offseason to straighten things out. I don't truly believe he had everyone on the same page until camp in Aug. of '07. The state of the actual players/program is heading for very bright days in the near future.
The fans and the culture surrounding the program are the only reason CU has a ways to go.
In my four years at CU the prevailing attitude shifted. Fans went from expecting a win in every game to hoping for a win. It then shifted from hoping to win to expecting to lose. As of 2007 we are on the way back to hoping we win. We need to be back to expecting to win. We will be soon, but it will take time for attitudes to change for the better.
In 2003 the students expected to win most, if not all games. The attitude was that we are a premiere football program and we will win much more often than we lose. Bowl games were a guarantee, Big 12 titles were within reach. 2003 was the last time this attitude was prevalent in Boulder. The allegations came out, the scandals started. All of a sudden instead of expecting to win games, we hoped we would win during the 04 and 05 seasons. We hoped some wins would douse the fire of the scandals a bit, but we no longer expected to win. This caused some painful games, and embarrassing losses. We didn't beat a ranked team during that span up until this 2007 season. The current crop of students never saw games where we expected to beat ranked teams. This created a culture of fans that doubted coaching and playing abilities on the field. Doubted whether the program would ever be turned in the right direction. Doubted when Hawk finished last season with ten losses.
The last crew of students that lived through those expectations and then the dark days are now gone, leaving only students who have come to know losing and think it their job to criticize. The criticism came from the years all we heard was how bad the university was, and how terrible things were happening all around us. It will take time until these students are gone, along with their attitudes formed by the media's perception of CU.
This acceptance of losing has never been more evident than the past two seasons. Fans not even showing up for games, rushing the field for what seems like every single win.
Two years down the line I believe CU fans will be back to expecting to win every game. The criticism will be gone, the bad behavior hopefully a thing of the past. Although I don't feel CU will ever have the tradition or die hard fans of other schools, Boulder is a place big-time football can succeed. For now it is still a work in progress.
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