It's getting closer...

It truly is. The end of the school year is near. The end of a calendar year usually evokes the need for people to reflect on both their successes and failures that made the previous 12 months memorable... even if they want to try to forget much of it.

Truth is that this past school year was a number of things. It was challenging. It was fun. It was boring at times. It was tedious. It was fulfilling. It was frustrating. In the end, it was a success.

I still have yet to sign a contract for next year, yet the school is full steam ahead in planning my schedule for next year. I guess they are pretty confident that I will be able to get my job back for next year. All I'm saying is that I would feel much better if I had a signed contract on file somewhere.

Evidently, one of the ways I could increase my value as a teacher and ultimately retain my current job is to be a three season coach. I coached soccer last year and had a ton of fun and success doing it. Soccer was a sport I grew up playing, so it really wasn't a stretch trying to coach it. In SD, soccer is a winter sport, so I'm trying to get into coaching that. This leaves fall and spring to find a sport to coach. In the spring we have track, and help is always needed there.

The fall is for cross country. This seems like the most logical place for me to step in, but they seem to have a bunch of people helping out there. The AD (also the head football coach) asks me if I want to coach freshman football. Huh? Those who know me know that I have never even played organized football. I know the rules of the game, and I can play pickup games, but coach it? I agreed anyway, and felt in way over my head in the first meeting when the coaches were reviewing formations and zone d. As the feeling was starting to sink in that I might have made a mistake it was time to start a little spring football and meet some of the incoming freshmen for next year. It became evident that my football knowledge was greater than most of these kids'. Starting to feel a little more confident I began to step in as the receiver/DB coach. I now am able to fake it with a bit of confidence... I hope this helps save my job.

By the way, I think I get one day off between the end of school and summer school. Whoo Hoo!

Reason #486 as to Why I Hate the Yankees

I was reading an article about Joba Chamberlain's "antics" on the mound. Little did I know that my hatred for the Yankees would be irreparably fueled by this article. Also, little did I know how much I hated Goose Gossage. Pretentious Prick! I don't think I need to say much about the article, but I will post a few quotes by "Boner" Gossage:

"Gossage also told The Bergen Record that Chamberlain needs to remember what uniform he is wearing. According to Gossage, playing for the Yankees carries a different set of rules.
'That's just not the Yankee way, what Joba did. Let everyone else do that stuff, but not a Yankee,' Gossage told The Record on Saturday. "

That's not the Yankee way? Are you kidding me? Being a Yankee has different rules? How can we take the fun out of sports...? I know! Be a Yankee. Gossage pretty much held everyone who has ever worn a Yankee uniform above every other player in baseball. This is exactly the Yankee way. Even if you aren't better than everyone, pretend you are. Let the "degenerates" on other teams do that stuff. Why are these douchebags held in such high esteem?

Heath Benedict

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft08/columns/story?columnist=williamson_bill&id=3376486

I just read an article on ESPN.com about this football player who passed who seemed to be a true hero to some and a great friend/family member to all. The story was written pretty well. As my eyes watered, as they usually do when reading/viewing these types of inspirational stories, I thought about why we focus on the ridiculous stories in not only sports, but also in other areas of our culture.

Why do we spend days, weeks, months of front page articles and "top story" coverage talking about the steroid abuse, domestic abuse, illicit drug abuse, and other less than praise-worthy acts of these mainstream icons. I get sick of hearing about what ever Vick is up to in jail... unless he is getting butt raped by a large inmate. He had his chance to be famous... let's not make him infamous. Pacman Jones? Somebody please tell me the Cowboys traded for him so that he could clean the locker room and wash jock straps. What about the majority of the Bengals organization? Clemens? Balco? Conseco? Etc, etc...

I'm no fool. I know we as a culture can get locked into the drama. We are a drama loving culture. That will turn into ratings... especially if you can be the first to break a scandalous story. The money/power driven society scares me at times. We are so focused on where our next dollar comes from that we are missing the big picture. "Look at all the people effing up! I feel better about my pathetic existence." I'm being a little melodramatic, but when we are so caught up in comparing ourselves to each other that the slightest bit of drama can help us live with our currents situations, whatever they may be, I feel like we lose touch with some incredible facets of life.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that I am much more interested in the stories that inspire me to better myself rather than the stories that make me feel better about myself. RIP big guy. I'm sure the NFL could have used a guy like you.