Jill doesn't think that was the best video ever.

and maybe I should not have used that superlative, but I thought it was fun.

Updates on life:

Contrary to what most people think, my life does not slow down because basketball announcing is done. In fact, late March to early May is the busiest time of the year for me, as I announce some basketball, baseball, tennis, and a soccer game. Some weeks, I have 5 or 6 events. That's tough to keep up with if you also have a real job. But it's good for my finances, which is important, I suppose. It's also tough to keep up with your girlfriend, who has 3 night classes.

Had an interesting experience after announcing the Ultimate Basketball Challenge, the fundraiser for the Wheelchair Basketball Programs at the U of I. During that event, I'm allowed to joke around a bit, make fun of some of the players, and the things that happen during the game. A nice woman came up to me afterwards and said, "I think you did such a great job! You made this event just wonderful and fun, and I was really laughing at some times! You should do the basketball games at the Assembly Hall!" I was stunned. I replied, "Actually, I do announce the basketball games at the Hall!"
Her reply: "But they're so boring!"

I explained that there are a lot of rules that the Big Ten enforces, and so I can't exactly make fun of players on the court. But it made me wonder what people expect me to do as the announcer.

Went up to Madison for the annual "On Wiscation" trip on Friday and Saturday. And while I had a spectacular time at the concert and Ella's for dinner, I have to admit...the highlight of Madison for me, every single time, is the farmer's market. Good night Irene. I bought 3 blocks of cheese. I'm pretty much done with one of them already. I got some beef sticks, some bison burger patties, and southwestern fiesta brats. And most importantly, I got a piece of GF chocolate chip cheesecake that I'm saving for May 1st at approximately 1PM.

Which leads me to my running update. Thanks to my personal trainer Amber Beef Nagele, I've managed to continue running through what she guesses is bursitis and patellar tendonitis. My knee continues to stay strong, and I ran 13 miles on Saturday night, even if it was slower than I'd like. I'm excited to be able to finish what will be my longest race ever, at 13.8 miles. (note: we're doing a marathon relay, and the 2 legs I'm running happen to be the longer 2 legs, 7 and 6.8)

I got to go to a Cubs game last week with Voss, Scot, and the Bav, and we sat and had a blast in the bleachers. I also got hit on by a nice 20-something who decided the appropriate pickup lines involved her asking me if I liked Tea Party rallies like the one she went to the week before. Now, obviously for those people who know me, that's not my cup of tea. But I went along with it for the comedy. When she told me that people only insult Sarah Palin because "they're intimidated by her", I was quite proud of myself for keeping it together, and just nodding, before turning to Alex and giggling.

Crackmonkey softball is back for what could be a final season. We won game number one on Sunday in very cold conditions, and true to form, I decided to try and dive, and bruised the hell out of me knee. SMRT. SMRT.

I think that's all for now. Announcing some baseball tonight, and then tennis over the weekend, including a visit from everyone's favorite coach at Michigan, Bruce Berque.

Best video ever:

Run I'm doing today....

Blogging for the fun of it....

Thanks to those of you that I know that have joined the Mix Racing team for the Illinois Marathon. We're still in need of some people to sign up, so if you, or anyone you know, is running on May 1st, please ask them to sign up. It costs $20, with the money going to the American Cancer Society. That's it. Really simple. And you get a wonderful Mix racing shirt. Thanks for your support! :)

Had a couple of NIT games to announce this week. I certainly understand the issues of motivation for games like that. It isn't the end all be all, as the next day, you're watching the NCAA tournament. But I guess if you're there, you give it your all. So I know I did, and I was happy with how I performed. I was also approached by someone with the Indiana Sports Commission about potentially doing events in Indianapolis. That's a big yes.

Also, I was asked to give a clinic about football PA announcing by the National Association of Sports Public Address Announcers. Now, I'm honored, but I don't do football. So I had to turn it down, sadly. But I've now got a professional organization for freaks like me! Yippee!

This weekend brings a Crackmonkey get together at the Cappa house hold, which means one of two things: A High Stakes Poker Tournament, where, inevitably, I will lose my money to someone who tries to collect diamonds because they're pretty, or a wonderful game of catchphrase. Likely, the latter, as the $10 we'd need for poker is out of most people's price range. Tony and Jill, our wonderful hosts, have offered to do this despite Jill being 6 months pregnant. And having to deal with Tony.

Speaking of poker, I've been playing relatively well of late, although I realized a couple of weeks ago that playing sick is a horrendous idea. I couldn't make proper decisions, made horrible reads, and only won money from Tony when I got lucky and my Queens beat his Aces. So that won't be happening again if I can avoid it.

OK, so Julia and I are planning a trip through the south this summer. We're going to go to Raleigh to visit her friend Lindsay, but after that, we'll be rambling through the south on our way back. We could really use some thoughts on where we should go! No idea will be rejected. If you want to leave anonymous ideas, that is fine too.

Thanks for listening.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day, all. My mom really likes this holiday, and always prepares corned beef and cabbage and all. I'm so so on it. I do loves me some corned beef, though.

Endulge me for a second to get this plug in. Here at the radio stations (I say here because, yes, I'm writing while working), we've organized running "teams" for the Illinois Marathon coming up on May 1st. It's an idea that I came up with last year, but Liz Murray, aka Riley/Drew/Liz, has really pushed this year, and done a great job with. I'm the captain of "Team Mix" and we could use some support if you're planning on running, or attending the Marathon (or any of its associated races). For only $20, you get a dri-fit "Team Mix" running shirt, and the money goes to the American Cancer Society. Unlike Team in Training, which is a wonderful program, you don't need to ask others for donations. Just $20, and you get a dri-fit shirt. Hey, even if you're not going to be there, say you live in Brazil and can't make it...sign up, you'll get a shirt, and it goes to a great cause. Here is the link so you can sign up.

I love running outdoors so much more than running on a treadmill. I hate the treadmill. So I've been going out and running the last 2-3 weeks around my "block", which is four miles. I'm still not getting as much of a long run as I'd like, because of a) bad weather, and b) an illness that Sarah gave me. Nothing like trying to run while you're spitting up phlegm every tenth of a mile. THANKS!

Julia and I have gone to Mas Amigos a lot lately. If you're not familiar, and you live in Champaign, make it a priority to go there.

I don't have a lot to say about the Illini in the NIT. It is going to be hard for me to watch that game tonight, although if I want to watch it, I'll have to do that on the internets. Yuck.

Julia has a lot of classwork going on right now, as well as doing some travel around the area for a project involving 4-H. That has resulted in a positive for me, however, as she brought back some Amish cheese this past weekend. Delicious!

I have purchased tickets for a Cubs game on April 15th. We'll be sitting in the bleachers. Love it. Great way to start the spring, really.

Anything else?

Some interviews....

Included in this update are my interview with Poker superstar Taylor Caby, as well as the actor that portrays Ron Swanson on Parks & Recreation, Nick Offerman.

Enjoy!

Back from Vegas.....

One of these two people was seen at a poker table this weekend. The other was my roommate for the weekend. You choose.

Back from Vegas after a terrific weekend. Very happy to have been able to share some quality time with Julia, Leigh, Louis, Kalleen and Boom Boom. We had some great experiences, including a night at Moon in the Palms, great gambling, and yes, our first real celebrity sightings in all of our trips. Thanks to a celebrity poker tournament being held at the Venetian, we saw Tito Ortiz, Joanna Krupa, Jason Alexander, Christian Slater, and yes, Donnie Wahlberg from New Kids. And yes, Leigh did indeed get a kiss from him. It was a magical moment for her.

For me, I got to watch the Poker Stars North American Poker Tour event at the Venetian from the rail. For me, it was amazing to be able to stand a foot behind guys like Greg Raymer, Barry Greenstein, and Daniel Negreanu, and figure out what they're doing, and what the others at the table. They're consistently making correct decisions, which is why playing poker is clearly a game of skill.

This was evidenced in the poker tournament that Louis and I played in on Friday morning. I played pretty well, I thought, but just got unlucky. I had a guy dead to rights after reading him well, and he got lucky and hit a card. Later on, he essentially crippled me, and then Louis knocked me out of the tournament, mercifully. But I was most happy about the fact that I made good calls, and good reads, and I think I'm getting better overall.

We also ate some spectacular buffet meals, and if I can, I'd like to make a recommendation for anyone planning a trip out there to stay at the Rio. It will be well worth your time. The rooms are huge, the buffet is great, and there is a shuttle to and from the strip. Well worth it.

Now, I'm back at work, and the grind is back on. 2 tennis matches and a basketball game this weekend. Baseball is around the corner. It's all good.

Vegas

in 3 days.

Very, very excited.

With this post, I'm asking for any tips that peeps might have about things we have to do that aren't the "norm." I've been there 5 times or so, so anything kind of different might be great.

Also, responding to different comments:
Tyler- I read from time to time as well.
Tony- You were supposed to bring the Bear. You dropped the ball. All you. Your wife, your child, and your unborn boy all came. He got his first taste of the GotM.
Holly- I still haven't figured it out. Have you?
Kris- It should say "follow" up in the top left for you. Does it not?
And on a side note, I'd be happy to have you as a follower. But not that Toddgy guy. He freaks me out.

Social Networking.....and other random stuff.

If anyone would like to teach me how to alter my new facebook news feed so that all I see are
a) status updates
and
b) photos,
that would be swell. I do not want to know the rest of the stuff. I can tell I'm getting old, because all I think about when I see facebook "redesigns" is "GET OFF MY LAWN YOU PUNK KIDS."

I've tried hard not to be an annoying facebook and twitter person. Maybe a new status every 2-3 days. That's not too much to ask. I, unfortunately, have not gotten in to a good habit of doing it that often. I need to work on that.

My friend Sandy Stipp, whose blog can be found at sandrastipp.blogspot.com, has 17 followers, and 4 posts. I have probably 100 posts, and 7 followers. DAMMIT.

I'm thrilled at the Illinois victory last night. For a selfish reason. This year, when I have to go to the Wisconsin band concert, I will not be forced to watch highlights of Illinois getting beat by the Badgers in basketball at the Kohl Center. THANK YOU JEEBUS. Instead, I will wear a nice Illinois jersey. In combination with my "On Wiscation" shirt.

My running is going very slow. My left knee is blowing up a lot. My personal trainer, Amber Nagele, has been slow on the uptake with a cure.

In 8 days, I will be in Las Vegas. I am desperately in need of the break, as I've hit that point in the sports schedule where I will be working sports 3 days a week from here until May. I obviously need the money, but still...it is difficult.

Today, we start filming some "Teammate Game" features for fightingillini.com. I'll try to get those up here when they become available.

Also of note, the Grilling of the Meats was held this past Sunday at the Voss household. We had 13 meats, technically, with prosciutto and bacon on top of other meats...I'll get pictures up here or on facebook sometime shortly. It was a great success, as always.

Also fun was the Gameday experience on Saturday morning. I got my photo taken with the Gameday crew, but they were all looking elsewhere.

Any questions? Please ask. Thanks.

Hey look at me!

So, last Thursday, Kent Brown, Director of Media Relations for the Athletic Department, asked me as a favor to fill in for him in a sports trivia contest that was held yesterday, Sunday, afternoon. I agreed, although I have to admit I was reluctant as Sunday was my one day off this week. Regardless, I was on a team with Dave Laurence (longtime director of the Boys and Girls Club), former DIA Marketing Director Dave Johnson, and football PA announcer Ken Johnson.
I had low hopes going in to the thing, as I looked over to one table and saw some radio competitors, Steve Kelly, Patrick Pfingsten, Brian Moline, and Dave Shaul. At another table, the News Gazette sportswriters, including Bob Asmussen and the legendary Loren Tate.
We plugged away, were in first after the first five rounds, and got in to a tie for first after regulation, resulting in a 10 question playoff. We managed to get all 10 correct, to 9 for the radio team, and our team won a thousand dollars for being the sports trivia champions of Champaign-Urbana. Not bad for a contest I was really reluctant to even enter.
Dave Johnson was a superstar, getting all sorts of stuff correct. Ken Johnson has a brilliant sports mind. I was happy to ride their coattails. And I'll be happy to take that money to Las Vegas for a little extra spending cash.

In other news, I put together a nice six mile run yesterday at the Armory, in 51 minutes. A nice 8:30 pace. Knees are so so, which I think is the medical definition.
I strained the ole vocal cords at the basketball game on Saturday when Demetri hit the last second shot. That sucks. I'm really going to have to help it out a bit this week, as I've got 5 events to announce this weekend, along with the 11th annual Grilling of the Meats.

Delicious, delicious meats.
I'm on call for the beef, and bison.

Gotta figure out what to do with the bison.
Enjoy your days, everyone.