It has been too long...

And I don't have much to say because I am in the middle of finals. Instead I will post this awesome t-shirt that I found:

No Way, No How, No Timlin

I know the Sox ran out of relievers, but how can you use this guy at any point, in any close game at all???? I would rather have them lose by having Lopez through another inning...cause at least you can defend that. But this cannot be defending at all. No more Timlin unless they are up by at least 10. Seriously. No Way, No How, No Timlin.

Love this Guy

Not sure if most Red Sox fans will be angry about this but...





Amazing! I think it is best to remember that no one, and I mean NO ONE, was more negative about Pedroia at the beginning of last year than Remy. He was constantly talking about how bad Ped's swing was and nightly calling for Alex Cora to be the full time starter. Athletes have long memories and Ped's obviously does not forget.

Awful Announcing

The summer of ThomCarter: A Review

I am not sure if everyone is aware but my brother dubbed this the Summer of ThomCarter. Why? Because he turned 30, because he went to a lot of baseball games and because, well, he is Thom! So, seeing that today was the first day of classes for me, I will give a review of my summer...Sam's Summer of ThomCarter.

1)After finishing my first year of graduate school at UNC, Amy, Grace and I made our way up to NJ for the summer. We did this so that I could work as an administrative intern at the Hunterdon Health Care System...and so that Grace and Amy could swim all day.

2)On May 12th my internship began and I worked and worked and worked!!

3)A few weeks later Amy, Grace and I went to one of my dads many retirement parties. It was fantastic to see all that he had accomplished in his career through the eyes of his employees.

4)Ron, Rachael and Cadence came down to NJ from Boston to visit for Memorial Day. It was great to see Grace and Cadence play together...they have both grown so much.

5)In June the rest of my family came to visit in the good ol' NJ. First Laura, Sean, Emma and Carter arrived...just in time for my dad to have kidney stones...and Laura and Sean went on a much deserved vacation after 2 gruelings years of business school. Then a very pregnant Kim and her daughter; Brittin, Ginny and Annika, came to! Unfortunately, work made it so Jeff could not come...it is never the same without him there. Laura and Sean came back, so we had just one big party the whole time! After 10 days Kim and her girls left and Laura and Sean never did!!

6)During the summer I went to 5 Major League Baseball Games. 2 in Shea Stadium...Mets v Dodgers and Mets v yankees...1 at Yankee Stadium...The Sox beat up on the yankees...on at Citizens Bank Park in Philly...the Phills had their way with the Sox...and one at FENWAY, where the Sox HUMILIATED the A's. The last one was for my birthday and it was fantastic game to be at the Fens. Oh, and guess how much those tickets cost us??? If you answered $0 you are correct! Thanks Thom!!

7)When we went up to Boston for the Sox game we spent time with Ron, Rachael and Cadence. It was great because we go to the zoo...which was perfect for Grace. We also learned that they would be moving back to Utah, because Ron got accepted to BYU's school of Law. We are sad to see them leave the east, but excited for them (even if won't be getting a good education at the y...I kid, I kid.)

8)In July we went to Angela and Aaron's wedding in Ashville, NC. It was a fantastic day. Angela is one of my classmates who was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was amazing for us to see how happy they both are and how much joy the Gospel has brought her.

9)We got to be there to see my dad transition into retirement. Which pretty much meant watching him throw away everything. He worked so hard and did so much good for so long, he deserves this time to spend with his family.

10)Grace grew and grew and grew! She no longer walks...she only RUNS! She talks all day long...seriously there are no breaks. She tells everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, that we are on walk and that she just had some juice and that she would like a snack. "Mine" or "My" are her new words of choice. "My Car", "My House", "My TREAT", "My MOMMY!!!!"...pretty much everything is hers. She loves to sing and dance...especially to The Wiggles. She loves to play all day. She mostly loves to give Hugs and pray and read the scriptures. She is a fantastic example!

11)Amy certified to be an Aerobics instructor!! WOOHOO! She put a lot of work into this and she loves this kind of stuff (unlike me...I like to eat and sleep and watch baseball). I am excited for her.

12)I completed my internship. It was fantastic. I cannot say enough about all that I learned, all that I accomplished and the confidence I gained from this experience. Today I described myself to first year MHA as, "A Hospital Administration Nerd...I love the work so much." This was just a reminder for me of the great work that I am going to be involved in.

13)And to end it all, on the last day of Sam's Summer of ThomCarter, my sister Kim had her 4 little girl! Kassandra London Roth. They are doing great and I could not be happier for them.

All in all it was the perfect summer. Good people, good food, good baseball and good people! Yup, lots of good people. It was just a great reminder of how much our Savior loves us and hears and answers our prayers. This summer was what we needed as a family and our Savior knew that. I am so grateful for Him and grateful for the blessings of Eternal Families.

Let the Sam's Fall of ThomCarter begin!

A List:

Of Current Red Sox who should not be on ANY Major League Roster:



Coco Crisp
Manny Delcarmen (Above blowing another game...get it?? He is blowing out air! HAHA!)
Julio Lugo
Manny Delcarmen
Coco Crisp
Manny DelMannybeingManny
And anyone else named Manny

The End

Happy Anniversary!

Four Years! Amy and I have been married for 4 years!! What a fantastic four years it has been too! I love you so much!!

How True This is....

How the Manny Trade Went Down

Before I give you all my insider information about what took place today when the Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, I want everyone to know that I feel good about this trade. It was time for Manny to go. His act was tired, but I will miss Manny. Good luck in your future endevors!
Ok, now to my insider info. This is the actually transcript from his this trade actually happened:

Ned Colletti:"Theo, Hey! This is your buddy Ned! Have I got a deal for you!"

Theo looks confused and goes to hang up the phone.

Ned:"Wait...wait! I am real GM, don't hang up!"

Theo: "Hold on, I got 10 teams on the other line. I am going to have the first 10 team trade"

Ned waits and sings Broadway shows tunes and a little Cher.

Theo: "Crazy. The deal fell through. What ya got for me?"

Ned: (giddy) "I already talked to Pittsburgh, they are willing to send us there top prospects, as long as you send them some top prospects too."

Theo: "Good. Good. At least there are 3 teams involved. Any of these teams from Japan?"

Ned: "Where's Japan? That in Canada? Canada's south of Hawaii, right? I love the country of Hawaii. Beautiful snow fall. What...where am I? Anyway...so then you send us Manny and $7 million. And after you have unloaded all that you get Jason Bay!! What a steal!"

Theo: "Let me consult with Billy Beane...I mean my computer."
He presses some buttons on a keyboard and out comes printout that says, "What Would Paul Depodesta do?"

And he knew what to do at that very second!

Theo: "DEAL!...it is great doing business with you!"

Theo hangs up, lets out an evil laugh and says, "Larry! You can come out of your cage now. Get me my Gorilla suit! we need to hold a press conference to announce the most important trade since Babe Ruth was traded for an off Broadway musical."

Yankees GM Brian Cashman smiles to himself about this crazy trade deadline.

Brain Cashman: "I cannot believe that Ned just called me and offered me Jason Bay for top prospects, $25 Million and AROD. Who would ever make a deal like that?"

For my 100th Post...

I thought that everyone could use a laugh...



Thanks to Mangum to pointing me out to these guys on youtube! We all need a good laugh!! (Especially Sean and James...Red Sox fans need to laugh right now :( )

I Promised...

Not to complain about the Red Sox and I am not going to. I am just going to say that I am glad that they have decided to collapse earlier this year than they did in 2006.

Wow

So, I didn't go to bed. I stayed up for all 15 innings. Pretty stupid seeing that I have to be at work soon, but still worth it. Worth it cause the AL won, but even more worth it cause a Red Sox won the MVP! Congrats to JD Drew, and congrats to all Red Sox fans who can now add this to their list of favorite yankee stadium moments. Fantastic.

On a side note, congrats to Spencer Mangum for picking up the ever important +1 for getting The Wedding Singer reference in recent post. +1 can get you a lot things these days...like one whole Schrute Buck!

I am so glad...

That I decided not to live blog the all star game. This is long and I have to go to work early. Good night baseball.

I hate Yankee Fans

Tonight is the night...

When Wade Boggs officially died in my eyes. I have never been that angry about him playing for the yankees and even watching him ride around the horse after they won. But tonight, oh tonight, when all the Hall of Famers were on the field to start to the All-Star Game he crossed the line. All the former players were wearing the hats they went into the Hall of Fame with: for instance Dave Winfield wore the Padres Hat, not the Yankees hat. But Wade Boggs wore his ugly, nasty yankee cap. He is in the Hall of Fame as a Red Sox. I hope that the Sox never, ever invite him back to Fenway. Boggs, you are officially dead to me and forever a Devil Ray.

Some Great Acting...

To take everyone into All-Star Break!

Pinch Sitter

It was nice to see Manny watch the ball go past him 3 times in a row last night. Just what Francona ordered. Here's your new Red Sox pinch sitter!

Happy 4th!

Yesterday, Thom, Amy and I spent the 4th of July the best way you possibly could. Watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees at yankee stadium. First of all, our seats were fantastic. Thom called in a favor and we sat on the first base side, 3 rows up. Amazing. It started off the slow for the Sox, but as the game when on things started to look up. After Johnny Damon forgot to close his glove to catch the ball (of course he did slam into the fence), the Sox tied the game at 3. Then good ol' Mike Lowell hit a huge 3 run homer and that put them up for good. A beautiful 6-4 victory that helped up to us to celebrate our countries birthday.
Some observations/favorite moments from the game:
1) Johnny Damon cannot read. Atleast not well. Before the game they have taped segments with players of the yankees telling the fans to enjoy the game, not go onto the field and also where they are. (because most yankee fans have no idea where they are at anytime) It was Damon's job to let the fans know they were at yankee stadium. I wish everyone could have seen this, but OH...MY...GOSH! Wow...this could not be a bigger loser.

2)Early in the game and 7 year old boy jumped onto the field to pick up a foul ball. I am serious. Right in front of us, he just jumped onto the field. And he got the ball! And then the security came and took he and his father away because it is kind of against the rules. They did not end up ejecting him,even though derek jeter told the fans over and over again that it was against the rules. How can you not listen to jeter? I mean that guy walks on water, turns water into wine and other blasphemous things. But, it was awesome. That is not something you see everyday.

3) Yankee fans are not smart. And the more they drink, the less intelligent they become. I have a good amount of friends that are great people and very smart. But, for the most part, they make Johnny Damon look like Bill and Ted. (cause you can't make damon look like Socrates or Abraham Lincoln) They continue to wear shirts that they "See you 86 Years" and "Got Rings?" and "Got Melkey?" and "Bahston Suck" and "Why did I fail my GED test?" (the last one is not true, but they should) All I wanted to say to all of them was, "Drink more and drive home." (if you get that reference give yourself a +1)

4)The officials of security for the stadium of the yankees are morons. Seriously. They yelled at people for moving over 1 seat. There was much foul language going on around us, another thing that jeter mc'perfect told us not to do, lots of Red Sox Suck chants and other uncreative things, but when a Yankee Sucks chant started in the 9th (something I did not join, because it is lame) and the security STOPPED the chant! Apparently cap'n derek "never makes a mistake and is the greatest human being to ever live" jeter was only talking about Red Sox fans being vulgar. I love this game!

Anyway, go Sox!

17! 17! 17!

My favorite sports team is obviously the Red Sox, but my first sports love was the Boston Celtics. We moved to New Hampshire in '86, the year of the greatest Celtics team that I have ever seen. Larry Legend, McHale, Parish, DJ and Ainge. When the Celtics traded for Ray Allen and KG, I just wanted 50 wins and a playoff series win. But, it rejuvenated me when it came to NBA. I watch more games this years, then in years past. And tonight, on June 17th 2008, the Boston Celtics, my first sports love, have clinched their 17th Championship. There was nothing like the Sox in '04, but this win brings me back to my earliest childhood sports memories. Celtics Championship...I LIVE FOR THIS!!

Worst Fans

I have been thinking a lot about fandom in sports. What makes a good fan? What is the worst type of fans? I do not think the worst kind of fans are front runners or bandwagon fans. I think they are the fans that have this stupid sense of entitlement. They feel that their team has to win EVERY year and if they do not win EVERY year then the season was a failure. They are whiny and pathetic, and people cannot stand to be around them. (disclaimer...I am very aware the teams that I root for, the Pats, Sox and Celtics, have many fans that are this way. For most of them it is a new thing and obnoxious. But I promise that I will never be this way...end disclaimer) The amazing thing about these fans is that they are fans of the teams that I hate most: The Lakers, BYU and the Yankees. Some of these "fans" fly hundreds of miles just to watch their team lose in a playoff game. These "fans" find every reason to believe that their team did not lose. The worst part about them is that because they are the loudest "fans" of the teams they "root" for, the teams' entire fan base gets stereotyped as being like them. One of my good friends from UNC is a HUGE Lakers fan and I got a great email from him after game 2. I was expecting him to make wise cracks about poor officiating and how the C's did not win that game without help. But instead this is what I got:

"My boy Leon Powe killed us... and yes, I know him personally from CAL, I was his trainer for 2 years while he was hurt and I know the man has game, but coooooooommmmmeeee onnnnnn LAKERS!!!!!

I was pleased to see the tremendous come back late in the 4th, at the same time I was
mad that Phil didn't have Vujacic in sooner because Radmanovic was F'n things up all night. I'm just frustrated right and hope that we can come out with 3 wins in LA.
Ya'll are looking real good right now, I think our only hope at winning is if your benchcatches the flu or something. Hmmm... I might have my sick cousin walk by your locker room before the game tomorrow night. I'm calling him right now. This is Biological Warfare!!!!"

Now that is a real fan of his team. Not once does he blame it on anyone else, but the team he ROOTS for. If more fans were like that, the sports world would be a better place. Instead, we are stuck with "fans" who have this ridiculous sense of entitlement, who will continue to run sports into the ground.

Things that make me angry during the Red Sox/Rays game...

So, it has been a very long time since I have blogged. We are in New Jersey this summer for my summer internship with the Hunterdon Health Care System. Because of that I come home tired and I just want to spend time with Amy and Grace. So, I do and I don't blog. BUT, right now I watching the Sox play the Rays on ESPN. I am not even going to rant about how horrible Sutcliffe is tonight, but as I watch somethings on the TV driving me crazy.
First, for about 2 innings ESPN decided that it was a great idea to add something to there bottom line. Even few seconds a breaking news report would come on the screen with this important, earth shattering news: Derek Jeter has surpassed Mickey Mantle for 3rd on the all time Yankees hit list. NOT MLB ALL TIME HIT LIST...NOPE, THE YANKEES HIT LIST! Will there be breaking news when someone becomes the player with the 3rd most hits on the Rays???? Why should anyone care?????????
Second, and this has nothing to do with ESPN. There are a lot of things that drive me crazy about the Cialis commercials, but I noticed something today. The announcer guy said, "Do not drink alcohol in excess when taking Cialis." WHEN SHOULD ONE EVER DRINK ALCOHOL IN EXCESS??? WHEN IS THAT EVER A GOOD IDEA? I want the announcer to say next time, "Do not rob any banks while taking Cialis." Seriously...wow.

If anyone deserved to throw a No-hitter....

It was Jon Lester! The man who has made a successful recovery from cancer, won the last game of the World Series, has now pitched a fantastic no-hitter! I am not really sure what to write about it. This was just one of those moments that reminds me why I love sports, especially baseball and the Red Sox. Congrats Lester...you deserve it!


On a side note, the irreplaceable Captain Jason Varitek, caught his 4th No-Hitter tonight. Along with his 2 World Series rings, the "C" on his jersey and the way he calls a game behind the plate, this is one many reason that Tek is so great. Congrats Tek...you deserve this too.

How do you know...

When your Career is going in the wrong direction??

When you used to do awesome things like this...



And now you are doing this...

And another walk off...

Are you kidding me? If you would have told me that Sox would score 3 runs in last 2 games and would win BOTH, I would think you were crazy. Especially with Lester and Dick-K going...both need solid run support. But, it happened and it happened again in exciting fashion. This time of the bat of the Captain. It is great to see Varitek come through in the clutch for the send time this season. Earlier this year he hit a 9th inning pinch homerun to give the Sox the lead in Cleveland. Then tonight with 2 on and 2 out in the 9th, Tek ripped a single up the middle and with the beautiful hook slide by Manny, the Sox picked up another big win. Congrats Captain.

Dear Bob Costas,

When I was younger I had a desire to be a world famous sports broadcaster. I watched all of your broadcasts and did everything that I could to study you and what you do. When I received my Eagle Award, I was presented with a picture signed by YOU, congratulating me on this great day. It was a highlight of that day. So, thank you for that.
BUT, after last night, I am done with you. Last night on your HBO show, Costas Now, you had a round table discussion about blogs. The members of this discussion were Buzz Bissinger, author of Friday Night Lights and an award winning writer, Will Leitch, founder of deadspin.com and Braylon Edwards, WR for the Browns. In the past you have, like many other members of the media, have been highly critical of blogs. So, tonight you invited a moron, Buzz LightYear, to verbally attack Leitch and all other bloggers. Not only did you not stop him, but you helped him and even planned in this occurring. Buzz LightYear, who spent most of the time yelling about how disgusting and profane blogs are, was the most disgusting and profane person at the "discussion". And you did not say a word. Bob, you are not better that Bill O'Rielly, who often attacks Jon Stewart for reporting the "fake" news.
This is for all sports media, especially you Bob and Buzz LightYear, get over yourselves.

Sincerely,

Sam

That's the Lester we want to see...

I am positive that we will not see Lester go 8 innings and only allow 1 hit very often, but he does posses the talent to be a great pitcher. It was great to see him have such a great game tonight and to end the miserable losing streak. Now lets get the bats going!


*The image was taken from Boston Dirt Dogs

My Red Sox frustration is quite high right now....

So, watch this instead of reading another one of angry rants...



That pitch was thrown 96 MPH! Wow, that is the very definition of pain.

What do you think?

This weekend 5 people told Amy that she looked like Brooke White from American Idol. Amy and I have not really watched the show, so we had to look her up. What do you all think? Does she look like "that Mormon girl from American Idol"?

Big Papi!!!

When Big Papi came up with 2 outs and the bases loaded for the Red Sox, I was just hoping to see him come up big so he could snap out of it. You see, Papi is one of the most loved athletes in Boston Sports history. He is always smiling and he always puts on a show. Seeing him struggle has been painful for every Red Sox fan. You knew he would break out of it, but when? And you knew you could not be angry with him or ever even think of Booing him. He means too much to the 2 World Series titles in the last 4 year. So, when the ball cleared the Green Monster last night and Papi finally got to circle the bases last night, it was a sight for sore eyes. Good to see you back Papi!

The other fantastic thing about last night was the fact that 4 of the starters for the Sox last night were drafted by Boston. Youk at 3rd, Lowrie at SS, Peds at 2B and Ellsbury in CF. And they all contributed. The picture up top shows three of them, (Ellsbury, Lowrie and Peds) when they scored on the Papi Slam. Fantastic!

So much for being positive...

But I absolutely cannot stand the type of game the Sox and the Yankees are playing right now. It is messy, long and not even worth it to stay up and watch.
And on top of that... what the Tavarez???? How long until you are going to take him out?
Actually, I think all things considered, I am relatively positive right now. WOOHOO!

Baseball!

I am sure that people are wondering why I have not blogged a lot about the baseball season so far. There have been times when I have wanted to rant about the Red Sox already, but I have held myself back. Why? Because they just won their second World Series in Four years! How angry am I supposed to be? Does that mean that I no longer get angry and yell at the TV? Nope, I still get pretty worked up. But I am going to try and blog more about the good things this year...although I am a much better angry writer than a happy one.
So, with the new blogging me...HOW ABOUT THE LAST 2 GAMES!! Those poor Indians can't catch a break against my Sox. Two nights in a row the Red Sox has dramatic 9th inning Homeruns. One by MANNY, MANNY, MANNY!!! And the other by the Captain, Jason Varitek. The last few games have been fantastic. I am not sure how good this team will be, but they are putting a great show right now.

A Beautiful Day for Baseball...

This is how EVERY season should start....

YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK!!!!

On of my favorite players in all of baseball set a fantastic record today. Kevin Youkilis, the very definition of a Dirt Dog, has now gone 194 straight games without an Error at first base. This breaks Steve Garvey's Major League record. Congrats YOUK! You deserve it!

Why everybody, and I mean EVERYBODY, loves A-Rod

This article is amazing. It is a good thing that Yankees were able to make such a "sweet heart deal" with AROD. As Bill Walton would say, "UnbeLIEVable!!!

Who is better?

I am really curious to find out what people think about this. I hear this debate from people who are from Utah all the time. But, I want to know if you all think that Chris Paul or Deron Williams is the better player and then I want to know why you think that. Logic, please, please, please, USE LOGIC! Thank you very much.

I am not sure that I can be more frustrated...

So, I am up. It is 6 in the morning and I am up. Why??? Because I want to watch the Red Sox start their title defense in Japan. BUT, for some strange reason ESPN2 is BLACKED OUT! WHAT??? Do I have FSN Japan in North Carolina or something?????? Why can I not watch the game? I should go back ot bed, but now I am awake. ESPN...you have made a new enemy.

March Madness Question

I am finally getting a chance to watch some of the greatest weekend in college basketball and I have a question for all of you...








HOW IN THE WORLD DOES THIS GUY PLAY DIVISION 1 BASKETBALL??? He looks like he would get cut from a church ball team or picked last on the playground, but not only does he play for Duke...HE STARTS! Please, someone tell me how this can be. Thank you.

FOR ONE SHINING MOMENT!!

After a long, hard fought season...the Health Policy and Administration department is officially Intramural Basketball Champions at UNC!!! UNC has the largest intramural basketball program in the country (or so I have heard) and our co-ed, rec team took home the title! We entered the tournament as the 22 seed and with some last second heroics we made it to the Final Four! All that was standing our way was the #1, #2, and #5 teams! After a solid victory versus the #2 team, we were off to face the 1 won team in the land. (Um, the Land of Intramural Co-ed Rec league, that is.) After quickly taken a 2-0 lead to start the game, we then fell behind for the the rest of the game. With 3 minutes left to go we were down by 8 and all seemed lost! But with some more clutch shooting we tied it up and had the ball with 25 secs left to go. After setting ourselves up for the last second shot, our Captain drove the ball the hole and made an acrobatic layup with 3 seconds left! Time soon expired and HPAA was crowned CHAMPS!!!

Just like the Heels in 2005 - ONE SHINING MOMENT

Graduate School Truths

Today in The Simpson's, Bart and Marge said something that hit a little too close to home.

Bart (wearing a fake pony tail): I am 30 and I only made $600 last year.
Marge: Bart, don't make fun of Graduate students. They just made a terrible life decision.

Me: HOW TRUE THAT IS!!!!!!

Need a laugh?

Me too. Hope you laugh and laugh and laugh.

I have an important question...

I have not really picked a candidate yet, although I am getting pretty close. But, I do have a question...WHY DOES EVERYONE HATE JOHN MCCAIN?? And please don't tell me it is because he is not conservative enough.(I know that someone is going to write that to be funny) That is an awful reason not to like someone. I feel like all we do is complain that we always have a president that is too partisan. "Clinton was too liberal, Bush is too conservative...I want a president who will be an actual moderate." Isn't that was people say? And now McCain is the front runner for the Republican party and people cannot stand him because he is NOT CONSERVATIVE ENOUGH!!! Trust me on this, having Ann Coulter come against is not that bad. It may actually be the reason he is the front runner. Anyway, please give me an actual, logical reason why everyone hates John McCain. I am really curious.

Congrats to the Giants...

Seriously. That played great and Eli played much better than both Brady this year and his brother last year. I wish the Pats would have finished the season 19-0, mostly to shut up the '72 Dolphins, but they did not deserve it. They played poorly today, but that was because of the Giants. Once again....Congrats to the Giants, you deserved it.

Be a little better...

As I am sure most of you know, President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away last night. When Amy and I received the call from my Mother last night, it kept us up talking about how much we would miss him. Neither of us personal knew him, but we felt like we did. He is a man of integrity, honesty and love, who taught us all important principles, not just with his words but with his actions. As many of the members of the LDS faith, I am so grateful for his leadership and love. I am especially grateful that he always taught us to be a little better, to do a little more and to stand a little taller. I will always know that if I can be a little better than I was the day before, then that is what the Lord wants for me. I am so grateful for his service and while we will miss him, I am so grateful that he is with his loving wife again. Thank for your years of service and love.

How do you know that you have attended a bad sporting event?

I am glad you asked, because I have an answer.
Recently about 90% of our Ward here in North Carolina travled over an hour to watch TsDS(which for those of you who don't know stands for BYU-The School Down South) play Wake Forest. At school on Wednesday I asked one of classmates if he took the long trip to watch TDS lose by 17 and he said he did. So I asked him how it was and he responded by saying, "The trip to the game was a lot of fun." That, my friends, is how you know you have attended a bad sporting event.

I need to Rant...

So, I will. And it is NOT about how much of a Moron Roger Clemens is or how much of a Moron he must think we all are. I mean, COME ON...do you honestly believe that we are going to think that you think that taking steroids gives you a 3rd ear on your forehead???? WHAT??? And you called a guy and taped the conversation after he asked to call his son WHO IS DYING!! I just don't know what to think about this guy. Anyway....I digress a little.

I am not going to rant on how boring the BCS bowls were and how much better we would all be off if they would just grow up and have a playoff system. Nope, I will not rant about how ridiculous and ubsurd this is. I mean every other sport has a playoff and because of some tradition the fan never gets to watch competitive Championships. Nope, we never get to an actual champion. Man that makes me want to rant...but I digress.

I am not going to rant about how sick of the Presidential Elections I am. I will not complain about we have spent the last 1 year getting to know each of the "candidates" that I don't really care who wins as long someone does and their name does not end with Clinton. And how come we still use the word candidate. Isn't the root word Candid, which means, "outspoken; open and sincere." Are these people really candid with us? I wish I could rant on this...but I digress.

I really want to Rant about what took place today as I prepare to start my second semester of graduate school. Today I went and bought my books for school. I remember back in the day when I was young and naïve undergrad at the only University in the state of Utah, I would go and buy my books and think, "I cannot believe that I just spent $300 on 12 books" or "How did I just leave that book store with $400 less?" Boy, was I innocent. Today I went to the Health Affairs Library and left thinking, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" I bought 6 books for $755! That my friends is $126 per book! 6 BOOKS FOR $755! Why does this bother me so much that I feel the need to rant and rant and rant??? Cause I probably won't even read them.