Snow and sidewalks

Is it really that difficult people to shovel your sidewalk? I believe it is a law but I could be wrong. In the crazed world known as Chicagoland, people drive like crazed maniacs. When I go out for a run I like to stay alive to finish my run. To help me achieve that task I like to run on sidewalks. Running through snow is not fun. Please shovel your sidewalk. Thanks!

Back on the horse....

I need to set things straight, I do not ride a horse nor do I plan on ever riding a horse. That title was a figure of speech. I intended it to mean that I am getting back into blogging. For the last month or so I have been attempting to find a story worthy of my so faithful readers. It has been a struggle. I believe I have finally found a topic that I am good at....complaining. I am not sure that I should admit this, but Jim Rome is my inspiration. I guess I could use Jim Rome as an entire entry and complain about him but I won't. On his television show "Rome is Burning" he has a segment devoted to complaining about something that occurred in sports. I am going to call my segment, "You Annoy Me."

For my first installment I want to focus on a couple television commercials. The people in the Olive Garden commercials annoy me. If I ever saw people act they way they do in a real restaurant I might be tempted to throw food at them. They are loud and obnoxious. YOU ANNOY ME!

Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, might be the worse. If I ever find that special someone that I want to marry, I will not go to your store. And if I did, and she went to her friends and family and told them of our engagement by saying, "He went to Jared." The engagement would be off. Seriously, I have no proof of this, but I am sure your diamonds do not sparkle more than others. Nor do we need to be bombarded with your lame commercials. YOU ANNOY ME!

My deepest apologies

I am very sorry to all the faithful readers out in Blog Land (actually John Brandt and Kevin Murawski might be the only faithful readers) for not making a post in quite awhile.

Let me give you an update on things. Coaching football for the Cougars consumes my life. Well, that should about do it for this post and my life. Till next time everyone...I mean John and Kevin.

Season Preview - by Jim Egan Concordia Sports Information Director

This can also be read at http://concordiacougarfootball.blogspot.com

Our Cougar football team takes the field at 1:00 tomorrow for the 2008 season opener against Blackburn College. Concordia will be looking for their third straight opening win over the Battlin' Beavers following last year's 33-14 win in Carlinville and a 13-3 win in 2006, the game that got Coach Lonnie Pries' CUC coaching career off to a roaring start. Coach Pries has moved the team forward in each of his first two years, and this year will look to be more of the same while dealing with the challenges of play in the new (for football) Northern Athletics Conference. Gone are the old Illini-Badger rivals Greenville and MacMurray (although Eureka will stay on this year as a non-conference opponent), and in their place will be new football rivals Wisconsin Lutheran (Oct. 4), Rockford (Oct. 11) and Maranatha Baptist (Oct. 25).
Tomorrow's game will feature the debut of several players while still retaining many of the familiar faces from last year. On offense, Mike Marotta will start at quarterback, having held off the challenges from a couple of newcomers in camp. Marotta will not be a stranger in the position, as he started five games in 2007 and led the team to wins over Benedictine and MacMurray. The junior QB will have plenty of targets, as is customary with the Cougars' offense of the last few years. Lukas Weeks and Savonte Hunt have earned starting positions at wide receiver and slotback respectively, while speedster Jamal Thomas (Weirsdale, FL/Lake Weir H.S.) will also figure prominently at receiver. A hearty "welcome back" goes out to Mike Egebrecht who sat out the 2007 season but has rejoined the team to contribute at slotback and possibly as a return man for special teams.Khyree Copeland will pose a threat to opposing defenses once again in the backfield. The 5'8" sophomore rushed for over 650 yards last year and enjoyed his best game against Blackburn with a combined 225 yards in rushing and receiving. Copeland's speed and elusiveness may become even more dangerous this year behind an offensive line that returns three starters (Francisco Vargas, Mason Thompson, Phil Klopke), a fourth-year veteran (John Lally) and a converted defensive lineman (Chip Wylie). The offensive line averages 6'1" and 280 pounds per man, and the combination of size and experience bodes very well for both the rushing and passing games.
On defense, the Cougars' three-man front will include two returning sophomore ends in Matt Boswell and Cory Howard, and they will flank freshman nose guard and Walther Lutheran grad Steven Campbell. The core of linebackers will feature an interesting mix of new and old - the newcomers are middle linebacker David Ewart (Ocala, FL/Lake Weir H.S.) and outside backer Terrence Miller (Jacksonville, FL/Potter's House Academy). Senior Ricky Lach, like Egebrecht, is back after missing the 2007 season, and he is expected to hold down the other outside position. The two inside positions are held by senior Steve Malok and sophomore Jason Talos.In the secondary, the experience and leadership of junior Jarin Davis will come into play at one of the corner positions. Cory Volkman will play at the other corner, while newcomer Jonathan Stephens (South Holland, IL/Thornridge H.S.) will step in at the free safety position. Stephens is another player that may have the ability to contribute on special teams.
The Cougars were picked to finish seventh in this year's pre-season poll of the NAC coaches, but Pries and the Cougars have higher expectations. "Lakeland and Concordia Wisconsin are always tough, and Rockford may be the best of our new conference opponents," allows Pries. "But our confidence has grown in leaps and bounds these past two years, and we are fully confident that we can compete and win against anybody if we take care of our business."

New Blog

I would like to invite you to a new blog I am sure you will love. Please visit it and visit it often. http://concordiacougarfootball.blogspot.com. Enjoy and go Cougars!

Squeezing Prayer Into a Busy Life

Last week I had the opportunity to join my family in the north woods of Wisconsin. My aunt and uncle have a beautiful house on Kentuck Lake which is located just outside Eagle River, WI. While there I was able to do plenty of biking and running while enjoying God's awesome creation. Anyways at 4:30 am on Friday July 4th my aunt was taken to the Eagle River hospital. She is doing great now, but while visiting her my cousin came across a pamphlet titled "Squeezing Prayer Into a Busy Life". Inside was this prayer (this is not a joke):

Prayer Over Empty Beer Cans Discarded on the Sidewalk
"Lord, please be with whoever left these cans. If they drank from sorrow, heal their hurt. If they drank to escape, help them to face difficulty. If they were simply careless, help them and all of us to remember our duty to preserve the beauty of your creation. Help all of us celebrate the right things, to enjoy like fully but wisely."

July 4th-What Price is Freedom

I received this in an email forwarded to me from my aunt.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners...men of means and well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas > Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told me a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted...We shouldn't. So, take a couple of minutes while enjoying your Fourth of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid, for freedom is truly never free!