Army vs Navy Football

We recently held our own Army vs Navy flag
football game and yours truly settled for
photographer duties. If you recall, last year's
flag football game led to shoulder surgery.

Here are the two teams getting a pre-match
pep talk.


I won't bore you with a lot of photos of folks
you don't know, but here is my favorite of the
day. I love the contrast between the referee
and the sky.

Blast from the Past - #8

A Norfolk Tides baseball game back in 2000.
We just love going to minor league baseball,
heck of a lot cheaper and you are guaranteed
to get close to the action.

Sports injury

Yes, can you believe it? The old man did it
again, a sports injury (it's just a flesh wound).
Yes, he should know better at his age, but
silly me....me thinks I'm still 20 and can run
with the big boys. We were practicing for our
big flag football match against the Army last
week and as I was catching a low pass I was
forced into a tuck-n-roll and landed hard on
my shoulder. I emerged several hours later
from the ER and they said I had a "Grade 1
AC Joint" separation. What a painful,
painful injury and I wouldn't recommend it
to anybody. Well, fortunately it will not require
surgery, only a few weeks in a sling, some exercise
to get it back in shape and some additional time
to heal. I must say Chris has been a big help in
getting me through the past week, with tying
my boots and helping me get dressed in the
morning. Not only has it been extremely painful
to try and lift my right arm above my chest, but
try going a week without being able to use your
dominant hand. Thanks dear (and thanks for
showing some sympathy for this old sports
geezer).

Take me out to the ball game

This weekend we had the opportunity to attend
a minor league ballgame (courtesy of some
local businesses). As you can see from the
picture below, it was military appreciation
night. These guys were a hoot, chanting away,
giving it their "hooah" best all night long.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hooah

As the t-shirt says, "There is strong, then there
is Army Strong". We certainly do appreciate
their strength and courage to lay it on the line
for our country.


The Navy was there as well, below we see the
Navy choir ensemble head out through the
crowd after finishing their rendition of "God
Bless America". They did us proud!


And the local team had on a special
camouflage jerseys that were auctioned off
after the game.


Even the mascot got in to the spirit of the day.


The game was a good one, with the home
team winning. "Hooah"!

Mud Challenge 2009

Well, it all started with "you want to join the team?"
"What team?", I replied. It is a four person team
that will run a 4.5 mile obstacle course on a
Saturday morning. I told him I would get back
to him. Well, I procrastinated long enough with
my response, that someone else was asked to
join...but that is not the end of the story. A few
days before the competition, one guy came down
with the flu (and I thought I had dodged the
bullet...think again bucko). So, even though
I had secretly wished that I had joined up the
first time around, I was now getting that "be
careful what you wish for" feeling now. After
all, I am not a young pup anymore. Oh and by
the way, two of your team members are aged
14 and 15 years old.

Here I am on the morning of the race getting
branded with our team number and our start
time of 0920. I jokingly told the female Marine
to stop hurting me with the marker. There
were a total of 114 teams that ran the event.



Here we are at the starting line, Mark and I,
flanked by his son and his son's buddy.


And of course with any competition, you must
have those who take it too seriously...


This was the beginning of the course. It was
a mud filled crawl under the cammy netting.
You will see me come out towards the end,
it's all about pacing yourself, or as some would
say "the old man" is bringing up the rear.



After our crawl, Chris had ventured off to grab
a couple of photos along the route. Unfortunately,
we had already past this obstacle, but it does
give you a good indication of why it is called the
"Mud Challenge". This was quite an exhausting
challenge, up and over the logs...not to mention
some sadistic individual wanting to zero in on you
with a fire hose as you passed on by.


Oh, and you thought you were going to get a
bit of rest after the logs....wrong! Time to
climb the slippery slope of mud.

The 4.5 mile course consisted of 17 obstacles,

wooded trails, a run in a creek and A LOT of

hills. Did I mention A LOT of hills? Not the small

mud hills in the previous pictures, I mean inclines

that you think are never going to level off.

Anyway, enough whining. Here are some of the

other creative running costumed participants.

Ah, here I am completing the last obstacle,

about 100 yards away from the finish line.


A proud moment for the team!

Our time: 1 hour 2 mins 52 secs

Winner's time: 40 min 3 secs

Last place: 1 hour 48 mins 10 secs

A happy moment for me! (It's over and now

I can go home and cry in private.)

They told us that showering facilities would be

available (forgot to mention that it would be

a 60ft crane though).

Felt really good to get the mud off, especially

out of the hair. The most surprising thing of the

day.....Chris wants to run it next year!! Any
takers to join the team?

Chess on Ice (aka - Curling)

For those who are interested in a thorough description, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling

For those who want the short version, here you go:

Curling is a team sport with similarities to bowls and bocce, played on a rectangular sheet of carefully prepared ice by two teams of four players each. Teams alternate turns at sliding heavy, polished granite stones down the ice towards the target area called the house. Two sweepers with brooms accompany each rock and use timing equipment and their best judgement along with direction from their other teammates to help direct the stones to their resting place. The complex nature of stone placement and shot selection has led some to refer to curling as "chess on ice".

The shot: You place one foot in a rubber foot holder called the "hack". You can see it in the background directly behind me. Then with delicate balance and a bit of a push off, you go gliding down the ice with the stone (approx 40 Lbs) in one hand and the broom in the other. At the very end prior to releasing the stone you give a slight twist of the handle on the stone, twisting left or right depending on which way you want the stone to curl at the end. So, here I am giving it my best shot. Chris is in the background cheering me on (or more likely... probably hoping I don't fall on my rear end).

The sweep:

The sweeping ("Kost" in Norwegian) of the stone is an important aspect of the game and quite frankly the only real exercise you get out of the game. Whether to sweep in front of the stone as it is traveling down the ice is usually a call made by the "Skip" who is standing at the far end when you let go of your stone. Sweeping is usually done to either accelerate the stone or to straighten up its trajectory. This is really an art form and can make the difference between a really good shot vs. a not so hot shot.

Strategy: Here you see the discussion on where to place the next shot. This is where I get really bored. In my opinion, way too much time is spent on this aspect of the game. Just throw the "dang" thing and hope for the best is my philosophy.

Well, there you have the basics of the game. It certainly has been a new and unique experience during our Norwegian adventure, probably a once in a lifetime opportunity to play the game.

Sweepers, Sweepers Man Your Brooms!

Well, I am feeling a little tired this morning and maybe a little sore. "Blame it on curling", I say. Yes, that weird sport with stones and brooms. Chris and I got home about 1130pm last night from the curling hall. And now I am up, well a little groggy in the head, typing this short entry before I jump in the shower and head off to work. I'll post more about the game and my curling prowess when I get some more time. All for now.....