Overthinkers Anonymous

Noah,
As you know I am a huge sports fan, but right now baseball is front and center with the World Series. If not for the heroics of ARod, the Yankees would have nothing to yell about but another wasted season and a bunch of wasted money. However, in the first two games he has gone 0-fer(without a hit). In listening to Colin Cowherd analyze this this week he stated that some people in life are overthinkers. I guess I have to put myself in that group. Now everytime A-Rod is at the plate he is analyzing every little thing about his swing. I'm that way with golf in general. By myself, I kill drives and hit 15ft. putts. But when I have to hit a 2ft. putt to save face with someone who is better than me I choke and the rest of the round is done. Perhaps they have a group at a YMCA somewhere for people like me and A-Rod.

Dad

Latest Quote

Noah,
This has nothing to do with sports but I was listening to ESPN Radio the other day and Colin was speaking about an article he read in the New York Times about airline pilots. The bulk of the article was about how most planes today pretty much run on auto and the pilot is in the cockpit in case of an emergency. The article went on to say that the biggest problem they now have is keeping the pilots engaged during flights. So, here is one of my favorite quotes for the week...
"You understand about pilots, right? Pilots arent paid $140,000 a year for 99% of the flights. They are paid for the 1% when they have to land a plane in the Hudson River."
-Colin Cowherd

Making my way to Cleveland

Noah,
Just to recap...
Eagles 38
Panthers 10

Needless to say, I am more than disappointed. Now, I have listened to the radio all week and heard all the "Jake-haters" say boo this and boo that and get out of town, Jake; however, I am not a Jake lover or hater. But one thing needs to be said..the demise of the 12-4 Panthers does not start with Jake Delhomme or the salary cap or paying Julius Peppers 17 million dollars this year for his four sacks this season, but it starts with the front office and the stupid decisions made in the offseason that have predicated this position. Brentson Buckner made a very valid point this week.."Ok, bench Jake..who you gonna put in...McCown is out for the season, Matt Moore took like ten snaps one preseason game and now theyve signed the Philly reject AJ Feely, I mean come on".
This week it gets no better..the Panthers face the Falcons in Atlanta. As you have read the title of this blog, if the Panthers dont have a good showing I have told my boss that I will become a Cleveland Browns fan. Because the Browns are good?? No, not even close. Some would say they are horrible. But there is no let down with the Browns. Cleveland fans know they are awful and that is part of the mystique of it all, that maybe just maybe Cleveland may one day make the playoffs. Now, I did not say the Panthers had to win, just have a good showing and show me some marked improvement in the offensive line, receiver route running and defensive secondary. Until then...Go Browns.

A Good Lesson

Noah,
Sorry I have not wrote in a while. By the time, you are able to read this it wont matter much because you will read them all at once probably. Yesterday, I kept you all day and we hung out and played and did stuff. Most importantly, we watched the Disney Channel. You like them all, but i'm not usually impressed by "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". But yesterday, I was somewhat aghast at the episode and at the same time somewhat proud that Disney is going the extra mile. The episode was entitled "Mickey's Comet". And it was filled with learning on science, comets, the solar system and the like. It also had a great lesson on three dimensional figures. It incorporated analyzing polyhedras such as cones and spheres and recognizing how three d figures change with visual interpretation. I was so excited to see that toddlers and preschoolers at such a young age are being introduced to higher level thinking orders and analyzing geometric shapes and such concepts as surface area and volume on a preschool level. Go Disney!!!

Beach Pics

Noah, you got very sandy on the beach

Noah and Dad on the infamous golf cart

Noah in his car in the pool

Noah playing in the sand

Noah likes the pool best

Noah found a seashell

Mom, Dad and Noah on the beach at night

Beach Trip

Noah,
You, mom and myself made the arduous trip to Surfside Beach, SC last week with your mom's family. It was very hot, the water was warm and it was rather uneventful...no one was injured. You kept me on my toes. We took lots of rides on the golf cart...and even got free popsicles!! I stunk up the golf course and in turn vowed never to play again. Of course, the next day I was ready to go to a driving range to figure out why I cant hit my new driver. All in all it was fun I guess. The object of vacation is to relax...relax is not so much in my vocabulary. As your mom will tell you, I was the only one not to nap at any point during the week. Talk later.

Dad

People are crazy

Noah,
Over the last little bit I have been talking about golf quite a bit. I thought I would do that once again. On the way to play the other day, I heard a pretty good song.."People are crazy". It just talked about how weird guys can be, and the things that make them tick. I guess my ultimate tick would be golf. Nothing frustrates me more than killing my drive, getting about 50-75 yards from the green and still bogeying the hole. Now, I take into consideration that I am not playing a PGA Tour course, but on the same note I should be birdying most holes where Im on in two. However, I normally overshoot the hole and end up with a 40 foot putt for birdie, then choke the putt and end up three putting. Like the song goes...people are crazy.

Dad
P.S. Golf is the only game where you can have 75 bad shots and 1 good shot and it will make you want to come and play again.

BriarCreek

Noah,

I took a picture of an iris in our backyard that grandma luce thought was nice.

Ok, later in life you will see the humor in this but this was an Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile in Gatlinburg and I just had to have a picture.

Finally, this was my scorecard yesterday. I walked the front 9 at BriarCreek in High Shoals. Its a cow pasture conversion, but it still tests every facet of your game. There are two par 3, two par 5s and hard, fast greens. But, the greens is due to the fact that the course is not manicured properly. As you can see, I had a dreadful start but ended up pretty good. I actually miscalculated in my head. I actually shot a +5 41. I double bogied the first hole, but then had several birdie attempts throughout the day but could not convert.

Dad

I Need a Witness

Noah,
It has been a while since I last responded. By the time you are able to fully read and grasp the entire concept of this blog page, a lot of things may be outdated, history or just plain weird. But inasmuch as I am a fan of baseball, I believe over the years moreso I have become a fan of golf. Not because I stink at it, but because it tests all the virtues I seem to lack...dexterity, patience, luck, and the innate ability to not see an outing of golf as some primeval competition as to see who can hit the hardest or the longest or putt the farthest.
This past weekend was The Players at TPC-Sawgrass. And I must commend the GolfChannel on their superb coverage. As you know, sometimes I dont get home from work til dark. And I was glad to know that they were replaying the days' action for us cheap people who dont have DVRs or TiVo. The overall tournament was good. Its a very challenging course to say the least, and I dare say I could never play there due to money as well as talent. A lot of the field were tried at #17 where its nothing but water. As I sat there, I listened to the commentators speak on the toughness of the course and how many were three-putting Par 5s and how hard the greens were. Then your papaw said something that provoked the entire blog entry..."Hey, thats going to be us in another month". Well, not literally. My lifelong aim in life since the age of 15 when I began playing this four-letter puzzle they call a game is to shoot below 72 just once. The problem with golf is you have to have witnesses. You cant just fill out a card and say"yea, i shot par". When you get old enough i will teach you all the nuances of a golf course, like, stay on the cart path, dont cuss if its on the green, and old guys hit it straight...dont play with really old guys. Thats enough for now.

Dad

Just Married...

Noah,
It occurred to me yesterday that it has been over 2 weeks since I wrote something on here for whoever to read. This past weekend Uncle Jeremy got married. It went well and he is now in Mexico hopefully surviving a medical pandemic. Your mom and I went to Gatlinburg, where we ate a lot and bought you lots of stuff. We even managed to see a deer. We also went to Harrah's at Cherokee where the highlight was not so much losing money or even the "free" drinks but our shuttle bus driver Manny(no tools, just Manny) who was aghast when taking us back to our lot and someone actually wanted to get on that was going towards the casino. This may be the quote of my weekend, "In three years, thats the first time." Also, your mom's back itched getting off the bus so being the nice guy I am I obliged only to hear from some loser behind us.."oh, they must have just gotten married".
Outside of me catching a cold, things went well. We walked a lot and managed to not see anyone we knew from Lincolnton. I know you are surprised to not read anything about sports, but not much has happened in the world of sports over the last week or two. I'll talk later.

Dad
P.S. I hope you find yourself lucky enough to find someone to share your married life with as I have.

Bucket List

Noah,
I was listening to WFNZ today and they brought up the topic of a "Sports Bucket List". The Bucket List is a movie that featured two men who were both dying and made a list of things to do before kicking the bucket. So I thought I would list my "Sports Bucket List", which is the top ten sports events I would most like to attend if money were not an object.
10. An SEC Football game, preferably Alabama v. Auburn or Florida v. LSU(at the Swamp or Death Valley)
9. The Masters in Augusta, Georgia
8. A prize fight in Atlantic City, New Jersey
7. The Wimbeldon/ BCS National Title Game
6. The Final Four
5. Attend every Major League Baseball Stadium once
4. The British Open
3. Super Bowl
2. World Series
1. UNC v. Duke at the Dean E. Smith Center

Tiger v. The Field

Noah,
I have intended for this entire blog page to be something for you to be able to look back on, gain insight from, and perhaps be a more rounded, contributing individual to society. On that note, most of the time my postings are quite mundane, in fact, sometimes dry. And most of the time they are centered around LHS football, UNC sports, the Carolina Panthers or someother happenings in the world of sports. I believe Howard Cossell(a past sports announcer) once said that sports are a microcosm of the world we live in. And in some respect I believe that statement has some validity. We spend our hard-earned money to make the trek to Atlanta to watch the Braves, or endure the traffic to catch a glimpse of the Carolina Panthers from what seems to be two miles up in the air, or wherever our favorite team may be. On that note, the sports world has turned their attention from the NCAA Champion North Carolina Tarheels to The Masters in Augusta, Georgia.
There are two things: first, a caller called in to say that he would gladly give up his Panthers season tickets for one chance to attend the Masters. I am not inclined to agree with him. I guess if you're an adamant golf fan, ok. But lets be real. Thousands of people attend the Masters. You dont really have a seat, per say. Constantly, people are walking following the group they want to most see. The ideal spot is "Amen Corner", and everyone that knows anything about The Masters knows that the place to be. And I envision everyone amassing at a gate waiting to get in to make a mad dash for "Amen Corner". I would just rather be able to watch it on TV I guess.
Secondly, there has been too much discussion in my opinion about Tiger Woods. Im sure you will hear from all of his supporters and brown nosers that he is the greatest golfer of all time. And he may be, that is still up for debate. And I will be the first to admit that he has single-handedly changed the game of golf. Before when you viewed golf on television, you would have not see African-Americans in the grandstand. But that leads me to my true point. For all the hype that ESPN gives Mr. Woods, it makes me wonder if he were caucasian would he get the hype. I mean, we surely dont hear near as much from Phil Mickelson, ranked no. 2 in the world by the way. I feel that ESPN goes on these little tirades and has to have someone to hang their hat on. During football season its the Dallas Cowboys. Not a day goes by that we dont hear something about the Cowboys. In college football, its USC Trojans. Who cares..how many BCS titles have they actually won in such a weak conference. Then of course there is basketball and how can we forget the almighty Coach K and his ability to recruit...we seem to forget he has not beaten Roy Williams in the last four years at Cameron and Roy has two National Championships in the last five years. And then there's golf. Now I'll admit golf doesnt get the same coverage without Tiger, but thats because its Tiger. Golf needed someone to sell it to people who could care less. There are people now who watch golf who didnt even know it existed ten years ago. Some used to call it the white mans game; no longer the case I guess. Noah, Im not suggesting that I am somehow biased because Tiger is black, but I do think there are several players who are as well deserving of a Masters title and at least some consideration for it rather than for ESPN to put out a Web poll and ask viewers whether they think Tiger will win or "the field". As if to say, "hey field, Tiger just showed up..lets let him play his holes and call him the winner while you guys all sit in the clubhouse and have a few cold ones and talk about how dominating he is". The rebuttal is about MJ. Sure, he will probably go down as the greatest basketball player ever and he may have changed the game somewhat but he isnt the game. The game will always be bigger than Michael Jordan. The game will go on. But some tend to believe that when Tiger decides to hang up the clubs I guess the game will cease to exist and all golf courses will no longer allow people to play.

Thats A Lot of People

Noah,
A lot of discussion was made over the last two days about how 70,000 fans would be pulling for Michigan State last night. After the game was over and UNC had tarred and feathered the Spartans, Bobby Knight was asked why the attendance didnt affect UNC's play.

"Look, when youre a great team the fans dont matter. Michigan State could have had 262,000 fans in attendance and North Carolina would have still beat them by 20 or 30 points..who cares."

National Champions!!!!

Noah,
UNC 89
MSU 72
I told you so! North Carolina rolled..they took over early and never looked back. It was a perfectly played game by the Heels, winning their fifth national championship in school history. I want to briefly explain a very important lesson to you..I call this the "ABC" lesson. And no, I'm not talking about the alphabet. ABC stands for "Anybody But Carolina". Now in school, people will harass you when you wear UNC apparel, but you wear it proudly because they are national champs. What is an ABC fan you may be asking yourself? Its all the haters that call themselves State fans or Wake fans or Dook fans. They really arent fans of those schools because they would gladly pull for the University of Iraq at Fallujah if they were playing the Heels. And I cant say that Im not the same. While I ultimately despise Dook the worst because of their fair-weathered basketball fans, I also despise all others because none have the tradition that UNC has. Since I was old enough to walk, I have followed UNC and I cannot see otherwise.

Quote of the Day:
"From November to April 6, North Carolina was the best team in the country. They are a five-headed snake. If you stop Lawson, they've got the best two guard in the country in Ellington. You stop Ellington, they've got Green on the wing and Hansbrough and Thompson down low. Michigan State was just not as talented....bug meet the windshield...lets be honest, North Carolina could have beat them by 50, so what does that say about how much better than Louisville and Connecticut that the Tar Heels really are?"
-Reece Davis, ESPN College Basketball anchor

Final Four

Noah,
You didnt know it because you were asleep, but the Tarheels won their National Semifinal game over Villanova. They now must contend with Michigan State, who in my opinion are a very admirable adversary but the end will be the same. GO HEELS!!!!

UNC 83
Nova 69

Quote:
"Look, who cares about the economy in Michigan. The state of North Carolina has lost a lot of jobs too. If youre telling me that the economy is bad and thats why Michigan State can win while the tickets are going for $1500 a pop..good luck with that, gimme a break."
-Mark Packer, WFNZ Primetime with the Packman

Quote of the Day

Noah,
As you know, at least once a week I attempt to leave you either with a quote or somewhat bewildering story. Today I was listening to "The Herd" on ESPN Radio and there were several humorous things said that I found to be intriguing. However, I will leave you with my favorite. A caller called in to Colin and proposes the topic of how so many athletes go straight from high school basketball to the NBA and choke. Colin went on in his rebuttal that even if they do choke, how can "Joe Schmoes" like us average guys call it choking. I found it humorous but true.

The Quote of the Day: "Look, money may not buy happiness but it sure is a heck of a down payment".
- Colin Cowherd, ESPN Radio

The Bees

Noah,
In time you will come to discover that you were captivated by and an avid watcher of the morning Disney channel. Insomuch that your mom and I thirst for grown-up conversation and overall stimulation, I tend to put serious quotes on your blog to keep you aware of happenings at this time. But, today is different. On my days off, keeping you entertained falls squarely on my shoulders. Yesterday, we were watching "Tigger and Pooh" so I thought I would leave you with this mindless quote from Tigger and Pooh.

"Repeat after me Pooh ol' pal," says Tigger. "The bees in the trees stay mainly on the breeze." Pooh replies, "The bees....Im sorry Tigger, I cant seem to remember the rest..bees make me think of honey."

NCAA Tournament

Noah,
As you well know by now, I listen to a lot of ESPN radio. I was listening to Colin Cowherd's show and he speaks the truth on many things but he was in specific talking about the NCAA tourney and how much of a farce the first round is. In the "Championship Week", what do teams like UT-Chatanooga, Siena, and North Dakota State get out of winning their conference and automatic bid? They are rewarded with a 15 or 16 seed. Sure, for most, it will be there only chance to play in the big dance, and your mom will say im negative and at least they got to go but its ridiculous really. And on that note, I leave you with today's quote from Colin's show yesterday.

"Im not interested whatsoever in the first round of the NCAA tournament....it is so not entertaining...this whole championship week is a farce...the 16 seeds are 0-96 for life...15 seeds have only one four times, then only to lose in the second round...so Chatanooga, Oakland, East Tennessee State, whoever, congrats..you get Pitt..you get UCONN...you get North Carolina, congrats..."
-Colin Cowherd, on the laughability of the NCAA Tournament first round

'Nuff Said

Noah,
UNC 79
Dook 71

"...From one end of the court to the other, North Carolina is just the better team. The big difference- North Carolina has Ty Lawson and Duke doesnt."
-Clark Kellogg, CBS Announcer on UNC's defeat of Duke at the Dean Dome

Quote of the Day

Noah,
As you know by now, I am a baseball fan and I am an avid listener of sports radio. Colin Cowherd has a segment on ESPN radio that I frequent and its called "The Herd". He was talking today about how owners can be such great businessmen but fail as owners of sports teams. Point in case- Ted Turner, The Steinbrenners, Jerry Jones of the Cowboys, Bob Johnson of the Charlotte Bobcats....the list goes on and on. In today's economy, fans want value. So, with that said people arent going to pay $50 for a ticket to watch a team tank every night. So, I thought that this quote from Colin Cowherd was very poignant, yet true. You cant mix these two evils.

"There are two things that will corrupt rich ingenious businessmen, sports and women."
-Colin Cowherd, on his take on why so many sports teams cant make money

Quote of the Day

"...I'd take one bad weekend...look what he did against the Yankees. He only went 4 for 6 with a HR and two RBIs and batted .340. Who wouldnt want that? Heck, I'd take eight players that gave up one weekend for that."

Colin Cowherd, on his opinion of Manny Ramirez on ESPNRadio

Noah,
I finally found Ric Flair's entrance music and added it to your collection. He is my favorite wrestler of all time. And on that note here is todays quote from the Nature Boy himself.

"Im a limousine ridin, jet flyin', kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin' son of a gun!WOOO!"

A-Rod, A-Fraud

Noah,
It is on a somewhat dejected note that I sit down to compose this posting for today. There was once a time when I was a little boy that I looked up to professional athletes, but more so professional baseball players. I grew up admiring Ozzie Smith, who is one of the reasons I pull for the red birds to this day. But I also grew up admiring the likes of Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Ricky Henderson, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa and the like. Only in America can grown men make millions of dollars playing a game that third graders fantacize about all week in class, waiting on pins and needles for Saturdays and the summer to arrive.

Many people saw Alex Rodriguez as the savior for America's pasttime. I see him only as a fraud. His public apology for use of banned substances not only tarnishes his reputation, but that of the Texas Rangers and baseball as a whole. On some level, it makes you question your whole belief system. I am sure at some point your mom will tell you that I am somewhat pessimistic, the glass half-empty guy. But on some level, at some point, I wanted to believe that baseball was the one true American surviving entity. It makes you question every player, every owner, every franchise, heck every World Series. Perhaps the whole thing is fixed and we are so caught up in the drama that we cannot help but watch. I will continue to watch, but as a fan I guess I must. If baseball already had several black eyes, it just got kicked in the nads.

Dad
"...I was young, I was stupid, I was naive...I was under great pressure to be the greatest of all time...."
-Alex Rodriguez, on HGH and Anabolic Steroid Use from 2001-03

Quote of the Day

Noah,
I am going to try to attempt to furnish you with a quote each day so that when you look back on this you may look back with admiration that I actually was persistent in doing something admirably.
Quote for today:
"Patriotism is standing by your country. It is not standing by your President."
-Theodore Roosevelt

In Color

Noah,

I was out at papaw charlie's and he was going through some pictures and it gave me a thought. Since I have added the song "In Color", I thought I would add some pictures of my past. The first picture is of Papaw Charlie's house in Pumpkin Center where they lived most of my adolescent life. Your uncle Jeremy and I spent many Friday nights there to give Mimi and Pop some needed relaxation. There are many stories I will tell such as the bees, the great danes, uncle jeremy and the azaleas, George the ram, the peach orchard and the Sears riding mower.

This is a picture of RF Harkey, Papaw Charlie's brother. Black and white pictures leave something to the imagination. I imagine that even though he has somewhat of a smile for the photographer, I know that in the pit of his stomach he was scared to death. Its ok to be scared of something. I would imagine his biggest fear was the fear of the unknown entering World War II. But even bigger was the fear of his mother, Mamaw Betty. But she took strength and solace knowing he was doing what was right. The sheer determination to outlive three of her children is testimony enough. Truly Noah, a picture is worth a thousand words. Remember, its ok to be scared to death.

Dad

Sorry Its been so Long

Noah,
Sorry I have not written in so long..since Christmas I think. A lot has happened in the last month. You have cut more teeth, scraped your chin, and learned how to wave and say hello despite the fact that they are strangers with whom you engage. Last week we surprised mom at Linebergers for her birthday. Dad kept it a secret and she was very surprised. Then yesterday, we went several places including the bank and to see Mrs. Marilyn. Dad then had to go get measured for his tux to be in Uncle Jeremy's wedding. Just a note...despite what you will hear, I have nothing to do with what you may have to wear. Just look at the pictures later on and smile.
I have added a jukebox so that when you are old enough to read all of this stuff, you can see some of the stuff that are my favorites. I put the Sopranos theme song on here 'cause its about my fave show and there are other songs that either mean something or I just like to listen to. Talk to ya later.

Dad
Dads quote of the day: "What are you selling today?" - Nick Saban, Alabama football head coach

Christmas Pics