No matter how bad it gets or how alone you feel, your appendix will always be lonelier.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Nine Lives

Now just about everybody knows the saying, "Every cat has nine lives". Of course this is just a saying and it is clearly not true, but in some cases it can seem very much real. An example happened just after a few days that we got Ditto.

If you have ever been inside my house then you would know what I am talking about, but since most people haven't I will explain. My home is a bi-level house. When you walk in, there is a little area and then some stairs either going up or down. The stair to the right go up and the stairs going down are then on the left. Going up the left side of the stairs leading to the top floor, there is a built in flat hand rail type of thing. It is basically a piece if wood that runs down the top of a top width of a wall. This type of design then wraps around the top of the stair case, but just on the top floor, creating a flat railing that is on top of a shorter wall in our living room.

Cats enjoy to hang out on top of high places. Our other two cats enjoy sitting or laying down on the railing. It does seem like a habit though that so far every one of our pets have fallen off the top of the railing and fell to the bottom of the stair case, including our dog. When it was no different for Ditto either. I didn't actually see it happen, but you just know the sound. I sitting in the living room up stairs watching television when I heard this slipping sound, and then a louder thump. I sprang up to see what had happened. Looking down the stair case I saw Ditto looking back up at me, with a face full of surprise and shock. His whole body was puffed up, and his tail was large like a marshmallow in the microwave. It is pretty surprising to see them be just fine after falling over 16 feet down and falling on a harder surface. Now in my case, Ditto lost one of his nine lives that day.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

At a loss for Words






Naturally I missed the Vikings game this weekend because it wasn't televised, and I was also traveling back into Iowa. Of course it was the biggest game so far for the Vikings this year, and their home opener. As soon as I got home and logged on to my lab top and searched for the game it wasn't to difficult to find because it was only the first thing I saw on NFL.com. "Brett Farve throws the game winning touchdown", What? Are you kidding me? I had to look in farther and get the video of the play, and a video of the highlights. Here are two links to see something awesome. First this is the link to just the last second play: http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/videos/Favres-Game-Winning-Touchdown-Pass-vs-49ers/34211939-a886-4981-9153-70e9fa6dff00. Secondly here is one to the highlights of the game: http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/videos/Favres-Game-Winning-Touchdown-Pass-vs-49ers/34211939-a886-4981-9153-70e9fa6dff00#?id=b26281a1-e6b7-4f4c-99a2-da55563f6c8e. As you should have seen the whole game was practially a highlight. The last play kind of covers up the 101 yard kick return by the speedy Percy Harvin, which was outstanding too. As for a whole for the Vikings this game was HUGE. Next weeks game on Monday night is going to be just as big versus the Green Bay Packers. At top as you probably saw there are some pics of the big plays of the game. Lets go 4-o!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The Running Back Face Off

Lasts weeks game against the Lions resulted in a win, as expected. My prediction of the game score was very close for this game too. My prediction was Vikings 31 to Lions 13; the actually ending scores were, Vikings 27 to Lions 13. Just some quick key plays. Chad Greenway had a great game with two interceptions. Brett Farve had a pretty good day too completing 23 of 27 passes. Adrian Peterson had a little less average day than usual for him, but still managed 92 yards and a touchdown run going around the outside edge. One thing out of this game that I saw that sort of worries me a little is that the Vikings defense allowed the Lions running back more than a hundred yards. They hadn't allowed a hundred yard rushing since 2007 versus the Green Bay Packers. I know that part of it was that the Lions ran way more run plays, than pass plays, so they will get rushing yards, but the run defense wasn't quite as lights out.

Another reason for being slightly worried about the run defense is that the Vikings play the California 49ers, and they have one of the best running backs, of course not better than Adrian Peterson though. Frank Gore, the running back of the 49ers, had an amazing game last week with 207 rushing yards against the Seattle Seahawks. If the Viking defense doesn't step up some the same thing could happen to them.

Now you can see why the title of this blog is what it is. Adrian Peterson vs. Frank Gore. Of course I think that AD, Adrian Petersons nickname that is short for All Day, will be able to have the better game, but a lot depends on the offensive and the defensive lines of both teams that will help decide the victor of this game. I hope to see another big day out of Percy Harvin, because he has had a touchdown catch in both the first two games. I also hope to see Farve getting comfortable throwing some bigger plays, but then still understanding that he has one of the best running backs to hand off too.

This weeks game will be the most difficult team for the Vikings so far in their season, even if it is their first home game. I still predict that the Vikings will win the game, and the game won't be too close, but still not a blow out. Now for my prediction of the score. Purple Power!

Vikings win: Vikings: 31 49ers: 17

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

You Name It


By now the kitten has lived through quite a bit: a near death hanging by a jump rope starving, starving over night in a cabin, and a long ride home starving. I still can't believe how much food the kitten was able to eat. Now that we were home we needed a place for her to sleep, and needed a name. We found a cat bed and picked up some kitten food on the way home, and put her in the laundry room. That was the easy part. The name, what should we name her?


Like I said earlier we have two other cats named Dixie and Wonder. Dixie got her name becuase we got her in Kentucky, hence the south. Wonder got her name simply because like now we wondered what her name should be, so Wonder it was. Now my family also has one dog, Mayday. He got his name because one time my family and I went fishing at a lake and caught a dog. Not literally, but we weren't catching much fish on one spot of the lake, so my Dad and I went to look for another good fishing spot. We came across an open area of lake, and noticed this little dog bark at us. We went over there to fish, and the dog warmed up to us. The dog didn't have a tag and we had been talking about getting a smaller dog before, so we brought him home with us. I am pretty sure that we didn't catch any fish that day, nut we got a dog! He got his name because we went fishing and picked him up on May Day, May 1st just in case you didn't know.


Now we were in the same position again, to come up with a name. We had to take her to the vet the next day and still didn't have a name to her. It turned out to be ok that we didn't have a name though, because much to our surprise her was now a him. It wasn't like it really mattered because we still didn't have a name for a guy cat either. Then the next day my mom and I were watching some show and it went to commercials. Now I don't usually pay attention to commercials, but for some reason this one was a little more interesting. I do not recall what the commercial was, or was for, but I do remember that it had the word ditto in it, and this kind of stuck out.


Now if you know what ditto means it will make sense to why this name works, but if you don't then you may be slightly lost. So here are two of my definitions of ditto. First of all, if you were cool in about second grade you had huge decks of pokemon cards. One of those pokemon is called Ditto. If you can just bear with me here and think back to what his moves were that would be great. Good, now the only move that he could do was transform, and this made him take on the being of the enemy pokemon. Now if you weren't cool in second grade then this definition of ditto probably doesn't help that much. So, a more true and realistic definition would be ditto means the same or copy of something, like want Ditto does. To link why it was sensable to name our kitten Ditto was because Wonder is a tabby and the kitten is a tabby and looks fairly alike to Wonder. Also if you might be wondering what Dixie is, which you probably aren't but I going to tell you any ways, she is just a completely lightish gray cat. Yeah I think I made up lightish but oh well. So now the kitten has: been near death hanging by a jump rope starving, starving over night in a cabin, lived through a long drive home starving, and now to put the cherry on top, thought by everyone for the first few days that he was a girl while starving. Now we have a name for our kitten, Ditto. The picture at the top is a picture of him a few days after we got him.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

For Kicks and No Giggles

Saturday number 19 Nebraska played at number 13 Virginia Tech. The game was close the whole time, and it came down to the last minute to decide the winner. Unfortunatley the winner of the game wasn't the Huskers.

Virginia Tech scored first in the game with a touchdown. Nebraska came back and scored a field goal kick, by their kicker Alex Henery. Then another, and another. The score at 9 to 7 Nebraska leading. Then Virginia Tech made a field goal. Lastly before the end of the half Henery kicked again and made his fourth field goal of the game. The third quarter was all defense for both of the teams. Then with less than five minutes left in the game Henery was able to kick again another field goal; kicking a best five field goals in one game, putting Nebraska ahead 15 to 10. Nebraska got the ball back with 2:07 left in the game, but left too much time on the clock after they weren't able to get a first down. Virginia Tech got the ball back with 1:44 left in the game, and bombed it down the field to complete a 81 yard pass. It was third and goal and the Virginia Tech's quarterback was scrambling, but much to my disappointment he found a reciever in the end zone, to put them up 16 to 15. They went for a two point conversion, but failed. It didn't matter though because with only 21 seconds left in the game Nebraska wasn't able to do anything.

It was a really tough game for the Huskers. They had many chances to win the game, but just weren't able to convert. They couldn't quite pull the upset. Though they lost, Alex Henery was clutch making five of five field goals, and punting the fourth longest punt in Nebraska history with a 76 yard rocket. Had they also won, it would have been the first time since 1927 that they won without scoring a touchdown. Lets hope they learn from this loss, put it behind them, and go home next week to blow up Louisiana Layfayette at the 300th consectutive sold out home game.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Ride Home

If you have ever had to go to the vet with your pet or moved and taken your pet with you, you probably know it isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to travel with your pet. Now we were looking at a 6 to 7 hour drive with a little curious kitten in the van with us. The night before we got a little cup of food for it, so it wouldn't be that hungry. The problem with that was that it was hungry in the morning so we gave it the food. We took the lid off a box and put a little liter in it so if it had to go to the bathroom it could while we were driving. While the start of the drive the kitten was pretty well behaved and just liked to snoop around in the van. Then it took a short nap on my brother's lap.

It was shortly after noon and we were getting hungry, so we stopped at McDonalds since that is what my brother decided he wanted. We went through the drive through and got our order and everything was fine, until the kitten decided that it too wanted some McDonalds really bad. It began to meow in a complaining sort of tone for the food. The kitten was still sitting in the back with my brother, who was trying to he his chicken sandwich, when it began to crawl up the front of his shirt to get closer to the sandwich. The kitten was very persistent, so my brother gave it a small piece of the chicken, in hopes that it would stop meowing and stop clawing its way up his shirt. Nope, no such luck; it just kept it up until everyone in the car had finished their McDonalds.

After a while the little kitten got tired again, and instead of just sleeping on my lap it decided it would be a good idea to cram itself between the back of the seat and my back and sleep there for over a hour.. It wasn't very comfortable for me, but it slept there until we got to Waverly. We decided that DQ sounded good so we stopped in and got some ice cream. Just like magic the kitten saw us eating again and started up again meowing for the food. We knew it had a be a little hungry because it hadn't eaten since this morning, and kittens eat quite a bit, but we didn't really want to give it fast food. It again crawled and begged until we were all done eating. Then again it took a nap, on my lap this time. When we began to get close to home there was a really big thunderstorm, but that didn't seem to mind the kitten who slept through it until right when the garage door was opened and we were home with one extra furry feline.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

A Look into the Vikings Next Game

Just like last weeks game against the Browns, this weeks game should be a pretty easy win. They get the honor of playing the division rival, the Detroit Lions. Last year, as many of you may know, the Lions yet winless, 0 and 16. I don't think that the Vikings will give them their first win this year, that is if the Lions get a win this year, but I think they may win at least one game this year.

Just a short recap of last weeks game against the Cleveland Browns may get you pumped for this weeks game. The Vikings didn't try anything superb but they got the win. They started out a little slow in the first half of the game. They were actually losing 10 to 13 at the half. Partly because they allowed a punt return in the closing minutes of the half, and they tried a short kick on the opening kick of the game to see if the Browns special teams were paying attention, in which they were, so they started with really good field position on their opening drive of the game. The Vikings overall defense really only allowed the Browns ten points. The second half of the game was quite a bit better. The Vikings scored three touchdowns and a field goal in the last half of the game, and only allowed a last minute touchdown by the Browns that didn't really matter, because they were going to win anyway. The final score was 34 to 20, Vikings win.

One play though that I do want to cover is the 64 yard run by my favorite, Adrian Peterson. I included a link so you could see this superhuman run this ball down for a touchdown against the Browns. So here is the link to the amazing video and slight discussion of how it all went down:
http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/videos/Anatomy-of-a-Play--Petersons-64-yard-TD-Run/130434ee-bda7-4609-b306-f72499904ff4. After watching the video I couldn't believe it and I just had to laugh at what was said on the sidelines. He made five guys miss him, and then was able to dart into a dead sprint to just plainly out run the last few guys to make it into the end zone. My favorite part was right about the end of the video clip at about minute four when you can see that the last guy that missed him; Adrian just shoved him down by the top of his helmet. He made the guy look so weak, because the guy just fell flat on his butt. I am sure that Adrian will have more good runs this year so keep an eye out for more video clips of his outstanding runs. Although it was Adrian that actually ran the ball, I also have to give credit to the blockers up front at the line and then Rice, the wide receiver, for making key blocks in the open field. Without these people Adrian wouldn't be able to do what he is so good at.

Back to this up coming game. There isn't much to talk about. The Vikings should win and Adrian Peterson should have another pretty good game. Differently though I hope to see a little more on Farve's part of throwing the ball, and hopefully one big pass play. I also hope to see a few more sacks by the front four, and that they get a bit more pressure on the quarterback. This will hopefully be a fun game to watch the Vikings topple over the Lions. My prediction of this weeks game: Vikings: 31 Lions: 13

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Win for The Cornhuskers

Yipee! Another strong performance by the Nebraska Cornhuskers, with a win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves. The final score of this game was a 38 to 9 victory in Memorial stadium. This was also the 299th consecutive sell out game for the Huskers in Memorial stadium. I will be fortunate enough to be able to go to the 300th consecutive sell out game on September 26th when the Huskers play Louisiana- Lafayette, this is also their homecoming game. I expect to be in a huge flood of red at this milestone game, and enjoying every minute of it.

Now back to reviewing todays game. The Huskers came out strong right on their first drive, and went down the field to score a touchdown. The Blackshirts, the Huskers defense nickname, stopped the Red Wolves on their first drive, or lack there of. The Huskers would again march down the field and score another touchdown. After this score the Huskers could have been done because their defense only allowed nine points for the entire game, and the Huskers led 14 to 0 before the end of the first quarter. The Huskers would again score a few more times, and let the Red Wolves score a touchdown, but they missed the extra point far right. Nebraska led the whole game and never looked back. Some key players of todays game for the Huskers were their quarterback, Zac Lee, who threw for four touchdowns and 340 yards, receivers, Niles Paul and Mike McNeill, who picked up some touchdowns, and lastly Ndamukong Suh, who had tackles for a loss of yards and 1.5 sacks.

For next weeks game the Huskers are going to have to travel to Number 14th ranked Virginia Tech. By the way the Cornhuskers are ranked 22nd. This will be their most difficult game so far this year because of Virginia Techs rating and because this will be their first away game. Good luck to them in their hopeful upset.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Hopeful Vikings Season, Plus Opener

I know that when school starts up again, there is always something right behind it. The NFL season. Although my weekend is full of homework and other random activities, I know that some how I will find time to watch the Vikings season opening game at the Cleveland Browns. I believe that this will be a fun game to watch and it will be a relatively easy game for the Vikings to start their long season, and hopeful Super Bowl win. Yes, I want to already talk about the Super Bowl because the Vikings have the best chance this year than any near prior year before this. There are quite a few reasons for the hopeful season.

First off during the off season the Vikings did a good job picking up, then not picking up, and then yet again picking up Brett Farve. This was their biggest add on because what the Vikings lacked the most last year was an experienced quarterback. Now you may say that he is too old and his arm has lost some of its strength. Now what I say to that is that, yes this is Farve's nineteenth season in the NFL, and yes he is forty years old, and he did have problems with his arm, BUT he has experience, and if you saw some of his throws in the pre-season his arm looked plenty strong to me, and if he came back you would think that he would be able to add something to the team, and then lastly he can be a mentor for Travaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels in their becoming better quarterbacks. Then during the draft they signed wide receiver Percy Harvin from Flordia and offensive tackle Phil Loadholt from Oklahoma. Percy Harvin is an excellent football player with terrific speed. Phil Loadholt is a big guy and was part of the Oklamhoma offensive that set a record for 51 averaged points a game and 547 yards per game. There is no way the offense can put numbers up like those without excellent protection of the quarterback. With these recruitments over the off season the Vikings just got that much more explosive and to be potential Super Bowl Champions. Not to jinx anything, knock on wood, the only thing that could really hold the Vikings back this year would be injuries, but of course that is not going to happen.


So back to the opening game. The Vikings couldn't of really asked for a better match up in their favor even if they asked to. If you look back at last years overall stats the Cleveland Browns allowed 151.9 rush yard per game. Now picture Adrian Peterson, the best and I repeat the best football player in the NFL, just mowing down that defense. Sounds like fun! Then if the Browns put eight defenders on Peterson, then kapow Farve completes a quick slant reception to either wide out Percy Harvin or Bernard Berrian, or tight end Visanthe Shiancoe who are wide open and get a huge gain of yards. Then comes the Vikings defense. With three Pro Bowlers: Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, and Jared Allen, on the defensive front line they will cause enough problems to the Browns offense. Then add on safety Antoine Winfield in the secondary and some under rated linebackers in the middle; the Vikings had one of the best run defenses in the league, allowing only 76.9 yards a game. Their special teams should be just fine too.

One thing that makes this game a little more interesting is that Brett Farve played for the New York Jets last year and the former New York Jets coach, Eric Mangini, now is the coach for the Browns. Now in the season opener they are going head to head.

I feel that the Vikings should win relatively easy against the Browns this sunday. I plan to look for Adrian Peterson with big runs, and Brett Farve being able to pick apart the Browns secondary with their attention on Peterson. The Vikings defense should do fine even though the Browns are keeping their starting quarterback on the down low. My prediction for the game: The Browns are going down. Go Vikes!

My prediction of the score: Vikings: 27 Browns: 10

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Rescue

Over the summer my family and I went on a vacation to Minnesota to visit some relatives. We were driving to an uncle's to stay the night, my dad and I in the car and my mom and brother in the van. I was driving ahead of my mom, so when I looked out the rearveiw mirror and didn't see her I knew she had turned off to go to the garage sale which was off down another street. I continued onto my uncles because I knew that they would go there anyway. After a while hanging around my uncle's I got a call from my mom asking if it was alright if we got a kitten.

OK side note. We already have two cats named Dixie and Wonder. We got Dixie because we were coming home from a state park in Kentucky when we saw a free kittens sign, and stopped to have a look. Naturally we got one. We got Wonder at the pet store we use to go to in Ohio, but she was part of a rescue litter from someone who gave them to the per store. In the past we use to have a cat named Tasha that my dad picked up from work in Illinois. Now we were going to get a kitten from a garage that was also free!?

My mom explained that the person holding the garage sale told her that earlier a coulpe of boys were hanging the kitten by its neck with a jump rope. We didn't really need another cat but, this one needed to be rescued too. So we got it. One of the blogs that I post weekly will catch me up to present day, and then will continue on until the kitten, I don't want to use a name because that comes later, becomes an adult cat.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Introduction Blog

This is my first blog, so cut me some slack. I guess that I have been missing out on something that is very popular. I am going to give it go, and try to make it interesting. I don't care what you use my blog for, as long as it isn't your way to fall asleep. Cool!