Basketball Bully

I love it when steroid filled 30 year old men get off by beating up on skinny college students. During a city league basketball game my team encountered the basketball bully. This guy was about 6'2" and had muscles on top of muscles. Granted, he was a great athlete that played hard and could jump out of the gym, but there is a line between being a hustle player and a jerk. This guy seemed to get enjoyment off of talking trash and fouling the crap out of us. The basketball bully was dictating the game and constantly talking to the ref, who he knew. I love watching players hustle after the ball and working hard to win, but when a player has to beat people down and publicly humiliate the other team to get enjoyment that is sick. After my head got smashed into the court I was ready to be done. I had lost all enjoyment in the game and for the first time ever I did not want to play. At one point the basketball bully air balled a free throw and my teammate laughed at his horrible attempt. The bully stared my teammate down and stated that this was just a game and he should not laugh. After hearing that I stared the bully straight in the eye and told him that he was right. The game of basketball is just a game, but that guy needs to eat his own words. The one positive note from the game was the pride that I had for my teammates. For the most part, my team kept their cool and did not give into the ego maniac's pathetic behavior. My hope is that when I get older and compete in future city league games I can play for fun and not try to relive my high school days by beating down younger and smaller players.

I found this video that sums up what the basketball bully was like, unfortunately for me and my team we did not have a happy ending.

Nebraska Issues

There are many who would say that Nebraska is a boring state that has no real issues and all that we do is farm and yell "go big red." Well, let me tell you we have issues. We have issues about suing God, hiding weapons, and harming the elderly.

Ernie Chambers, a former state senator and atheist, attempted to sue God. The purpose of this lawsuit was to uphold citizens right to sue anyone even God. The main argument is that the courts believed that is unclear on how they could serve notice to God about the lawsuit. Chambers argues that the "all knowing God" should know automatically, but still the case was lawsuit was dismissed and can never be refiled. There have been many lawyers who have stepped up and stated that they would represent God in court, but it looks like God won't be in court for a while. Even if He was in court, I think He could take care of himself, but I understand Chamber's motives to uphold a citizens rights.

Being able to conceal your weapon is a big deal and now that the Kearney City Council has repealed the longtime conceal law it seems that it is now a bigger deal. As I was reading through this article it seems to me that there are many places people are not allowed to carry a concealed gun. It seems that the only places they can hide their weapons is on the street, because businesses have the right to not allow it and there are a number of public facilities that automatically prohibit it.

Treat your elders with respect. Well, apparently they did not get that message in Beatrice. It is being reported that 3 deaths could have been the result of medical negligence. A 3 deaths happened on the same floor and around the same time frame. People who were classified as medically fragile were transferred to a different facility for better care. Beatrice State Development Center is being investigated to find out if physical harm has been put upon their patients. I think it would be very disheartening to find out that your grandparents or elder family members were treated so badly, when they are supposed to be in a place of care and relaxation.

A Storm is coming

The Tri-City Storm finally ended their 19-game losing streak last night. I am happy to see that they finally picked up a "W." It is hard to imagine what the players must feel. They probably have a big weight lifted off their shoulders, but I think there will be other issues for the Storm besides winning and losing games.

As some of you may know the attendance at the hockey games have been less than stellar this season and with the team playing like they are it is not going to get better. It is unfortunate that people do not come out and enjoy an event that is pretty uncommon in central Nebraska. I understand that the ticket prices are pretty steep and maybe with a change in ownership the prices might come down. Although, that could be a long shot considering our current economic standing.

Many people question the need for the Storm here and I say it should stay. I work on the camera crew out at the arena and I really enjoy the games, even though it has been hard to watch this season. It is a fun atmosphere and before I started working there I had no interest in hockey, but now I pay more attention to them. I am not saying I am a die hard, but I do keep up to date on their record and even take a glance at what is going on in the NHL. The main reasons I think the team should stay is because it provides something different for people to go to. Instead of going to a basketball game or football game, the Storm provide a little more variety. Another reason is that there is a big arena that was originally designed for hockey so why would we not keep them around.

Maybe if the team sees that the community will rally around them, they will rally and earn some more wins before this season is over.

Aqua man vs. Batman

Well the all American boy Michael Phelps, a.k.a. Aqua man, has broken swimmers hearts around the world with the publication of a photo that shows him smoking on a bong. Although I am shocked by the fact that Phelps did what he did, but I am more shocked by the fact that these role models and famous people get caught doing dumb things. It seems like today people need to be aware that there is always going to be a camera rolling or a picture being taken.



Even Batman gets caught with a tirade of massive proportions. As some of you may know Christian Bale, a.k.a. Batman, was recorded yelling at a worker on the set of his new movie.



It might be unfair that these celebrities do not have much privacy, but when you stand for something or are sponsored by certain companies that are directed towards kids, such as Kellogg, you have to be held by a higher standard.

Bale plays Batman, but he is not really a role model, his Batman character is the hero. Phelps on the other hand is Phelps and what he does is who he is. He is a gold-medal Olympian that captured every American's attention during the Beijing Olympics and now much of that respect and awe he once had is gone. What he did was very damaging to his reputation because he is a symbol of what hard work could accomplish. Now he must do what he can to save his reputation and try to earn respect back from his fans.

Iowa

Last weekend I went to Iowa to visit my fiance at school. She is going to be a dental hygienist and I went down to be one of her patients. Most of the time when people ask me how she is doing I almost always say she is doing great, but she is not a big fan of the town. This of course is true, and when people ask me about the town I am in agreement.

When I graduate from UNK I am getting married and moving to this town and the great state of Iowa. I originally did not like the idea of moving to Iowa, but I did not realize how many cities the state has. Unfortunately, the school that my fiance goes to is not even close to any of these towns. At first I think it scared me to move away from Nebraska, the state that I love, but now I feel better about things after going down and seeing the beautiful landscape and visiting towns such as Ames and Iowa City. The two states are very similar, but it seems that Iowa is a little more populated.



You might be asking yourself so what is it that your saying on this post. I know it is a little confusing, but I think it is important to test things out before you past judgement on them. I bashed on Iowa, but I hadn't spend much time there. Now I am looking forward to a new adventure in a new environment and the best part is that I will be with the woman I love and we can share in the experience.

Maybe I will run into Kevin Costner at the field of dreams.