The 2009 Poinsettia Bowl

So, it has been awhile since I've posted, so I'll make up for that tonight as I blog from the 2009 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. This years edition features the #23 ranked Utah Utes (9-3) out of the Mountain West Conference and the University of California Golden Bears (8-4) out of the Pacific 10 Conference.

Those who know me might think I'm going to do a straight normal recap, and blog about these two teams....maybe you need to know a little more about these two fine teams.

Utah - The Utah Utes come in as I have already mentioned 9-3 and they finished 6-2 in the MWC. Utah according to their fine game notes have the nations longest active bowl winning streak and it stands at eight games (last bowl loss was against Wisconsin in the 1996 Copper Bowl). The Utes are on a nice stretch of games as they have won 23 of their last 26 games and 30 of its last 34.

University of California - Berkley -- More commonly referred to as "Cal". Comes into the game off a loss to Washington in the final regular season game, and it was a butt kicking as they lost 42-10. Cal doesn't have any game notes, so I can't really tell you much.

Head to Head -- Kyle Wittingham for Utah has never faced Cal. Jeff Tedford on Cal's sideline is 0-1 against the boys from Salt Lake City.

Conferences - Mountain West "Above the rest"...Pacific 10 "Conference of Champions". I think I'm going to have to go with the Pac 10 on which has a better tag line.

Oh and this is as close as I will ever get to twittering!

Oh the fun of going to college. Right now @ 11:45'ish I am doing laundry. Yeah!!!

Well that was nerve racking

For the first time outside of Home openers since I've started announcing I was actually nervous about announcing a game.

I got a text from our Sports Information Director (SID & my boss) around 4:45 for a 7p game. Asking me if I had ever announced a soccer before. I have announced CIF Soccer, once. So I somewhat lied and said that yes I have announced soccer before. So, not knowing if they would treat me like the regular announcer, I brought with me rosters for both teams.

I get to the field at 6:05 (5 minutes later than what I had planned), and went over the script for advertisements with the soccer contact, Sarah. I was told to read the script as it was printed with no ad libbing. That is tough for me, since this was the first time that I would have to read strictly from a script. So as game time got closer, my nerves got more and more crazy (of course it didn't exactly help that I was so nervous that I couldn't eat dinner & had low blood sugar).

Once I got into the Anthem "break", I was fine. I had a couple of screw ups on names, but other than that I did fine. Now comes the big question.....will they want me to take over once the regular announcer leaves at the end of Oct.?

Finally!

I'm officially a University student!
-CD

As sent earlier today from my phone. Well today was the day that I've been looking forward to since December of 2007 when I made the decision to go back to school. It has been just 3 months shy of 2 years, and oh the classes and homework and all the other stuff that goes along with school.

So now that day one is done, I've only got 2 years (by my own limitations) before I get my B. S. paper. Wish me luck, not only with school, but with my next 100 posts. Yes, this is post # 100, thanks to everyone (aka Jesse) who has been with me through all 100 posts.

Well, maybe not

As you read in my last bog, I was planning on going to Hollywood for a taping of "Let's Make a Deal". Well, then again maybe not. When we got to San Clemente things went down hill (and not just because the I-5 goes down). At first, I was starting to feel a little uneasy, so I stopped at the Mickey D's at Ave. Pico. I used the restroom and got there just in time as things in my body hit the eject button. So we turned around and came back home. We got back to the house around 8a and then Mom & I went to bed. I went to bed and didn't get up until 3p, it was a nice long rest. So I wish I could tell you about "Let's Make a Deal" but, I, just like the rest of everyone that wasn't there, will have to wait until the episode comes out on TV.

PS, tomorrow will be 2 months until I move into the dorms at CSUB.

Back to Hollywood

So I'm heading back to CBS Television City tomorrow for a taping of yet another TV Show. You might have heard the previous version of this show...."Let's Make a Deal". Everyone in the audience must dress up in a costume, so I'm going as ............................. a Hooter's Pool Boy. Mom will be joining me and she is going out on a huge limb as what she is dressing up as...a square dancer, oooooooo big time dress up there.

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Well, Mom, Julie, and another friend, along with myself all went to a triple taping of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" I will not let anything out of the bag, except that all three tapings were celebrities and that all three of the contestants failed to win the maximum. Two of them actually are going to pay out of thier pockets what they lost on the last question.

The tapings that we saw were for the new (and this is really the only cat I'm letting out of the bag) 30-minute version of the show. This is because it is going into syndication so look for it across all available channels.

Also, for those that have been reading this blog for awhile remember (or at least can go back and read) The Moment Of Truth. As you will remember, I love this show simply because of the "Are you kidding me?" reaction that I got after watching the taping. I got bad news, it along with "Don't Forget the Music" have been cancelled by Fox. Hopefully, either Fox, another Network, or even GSN might pick these shows up as they were great shows.

I'll update later with pictures from the Mini-Hollywood tour that we took after the taping.

Graduation

Well, yesterday was graduation, part deux. As some might know, back in 2004 I graduated with a certificate of achievement in radio. Yesterday was the day that I got my Associates.

The fun part of the day was when I showed up for the athletics grad party prior to graduation. I walked in and said hello to the athletics director and he saw that something was on my cap... he then said well why don't you advertize Le Tour de Grossmont?

As a background, Le Tour de Grossmont is a 2.2 mile walk/run that is going on this Sunday as a fundraiser for the Women's Soccer coach at Grossmont. He was diagnosed with ALS in Janurary and this is being used as a way to help raise money for his health bills.

So I said, sure. We went to his office and the first number was 200, we pinned it to the back of my gown and then maybe halfway thru the party, one of the athletic eligibility clerks said hey "Why don't we have some more fun with it, and put a decimal point between the 2 and the 0 (2.00) and you can say it is you GPA." My actual GPA is 2.8, so I said, sure why not? So we did and I heard about a dozen or so laughs as I was walking in the graduation from my fellow students. Several of them even came and asked what it was all about, and I explained it to them and I now have some money that they donated to the cause, which I thought was really cool.

After graduation, the fam and I along with what ended up being 16 people (family to former neighbors to friends) came over to the house and we partied. Grilling up some hot dogs and hamburgers, we had fun and I met my friends fiance for the first time (and may I say that he has done some fine work, if you get what I mean).

touchy, touchy

Why has this country become so damn touchy?

You are probably asking by now what in the world is Chris talking about?

I sent out an e-mail to many people in my contacts list and one of them asked me to no longer send them e-mails. Here is the e-mail in question.
[This e-mail does contain wording that is meant to express an open opinion to a major problem in the USA , and other countries throughout the world, It is estimated that only 11% of those receiving this e-mail will read it all the way to the end. In addition, it is estimated that only 1% of non-white color will read this past this point and 99% will blow it away because of the title. "WHITE PRIDE"


This is great. I have been wondering about why Whites are racists, and no other race is.....Proud to be White

Michael Richards makes his point..............
Michael Richards better known as Kramer from TVs Seinfeld does make a good point.

This was his defense speech in court after making racial comments in his comedy act. He makes some very interesting points...

Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this? There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.

You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' 'Caveman'... and that's OK.

But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink .. You call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund. You have Martin Luther King Day.

You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day.

You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.

You have the NAACP. You have BET... If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists. If we had White History Month, we'd be racists.

If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives, we'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that??

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.

If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships... You know we'd be racists.

There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US . Yet if there were 'White colleges', that would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.

I am proud... But you call me a racist.

Why is it that only whites can be racists??

There is nothing improper about this e-mail. Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on. I sadly don't think many will... That's why we have LOST most of OUR RIGHTS in this country. We won't stand up for ourselves!

It's not a crime YET... but getting very close!]

Now that you have gotten this far, tell me, where did Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld) misspeak?

There are parts of this e-mail that I fully and whole heartily agree with and yet there are also parts of this e-mail that in my opinion is complete B.S.


So I guess what I'm asking the few folks that follow this blog is, what is said in the above e-mail that is incorrect?

Talk about a fun ride

Well, the ride is over. Both the 2009 base & softball seasons are over as the baseball team got swept by Long Beach and the softball team lost thier final two games of the year as well.

But looking at the big picture, the big ride is pulling back into the station. After a 12 year run (with a slight pause for dramatic effect) my ride with the Grossmont College athletic teams has come to an end. Hopefully it will again only be a hiatus of two years and then I can come back, but if it is truly the end what a blast it has been.

My first event at Grossmont was a football game, we won, and they have been doing that alot over the past twelve years (including three trips to the state championship, winning in 2005 and along with it the National championship). The basketball teams have done well as well. Both the Men's and Women's teams have been competitive (and really isn't that all you can ask for?).

Baseball has done the traditional Grossmont "thing", which is start out hot, get your hopes up. Lead the PCC for the first third to half of conference, and then the pitching goes to hell, and the bats go cold. They usually make the state playoffs but never get to the second round.

Softball has never been lower than third in the last twelve years (and was only third twice, otherwise they have been 1st or 2nd), including being back-to-back PCC Champions. Granted it isn't as impressive as TDSUN's 22 straight outright or shared conference titles, but you have to enjoy the small steps. With them making it to the 2nd round of the playofs this year was just (sorry I'm going to use some "colorful" language here) fucking great to see. And to outlast TDSUN in the playoffs was beyond great it was f'ing fantastic.

Of course there are the down moments as well....who can forget the football season when the "mighty" Griffins lost to "lowly" COD by a very unfavorable 66-28 margin. Or the Women's Basketball team that went 2-30 my first year at GC (that was not pretty at all!).

So this fall, when the Griffin football, and women's volleyball teams hit the field or court I'll keep my eyes open, but it will be from 237 miles away! Go Griffins and now....Go Runners!

What's up people?

So it has been awhile since I've blogged. So to catch everyone up, I have gone to Bakersfield for orientation and have my classes (I'll talk about that later). More recently, like last week, I was laid-off from Clear Channel Radio as part of the second "Black Tuesday" of the year. So I am no longer a member of the media, which means if you have a problem with the media....send a note to the Program Director.

As far as school is concerned, I have already finished one class and got a C. I have more than enough credits to transfer to Bakersfield, now I'm just taking specific classes that are required.

Turning to sports (you can somewhat tune out now Jesse), Grossmont College has two very good ball clubs right now. The softball squad defeated East Los Angeles College twice last weekend to move onto the second round this coming weekend at Mt. SAC (Saturday at 7, Sunday at 2 and if needed 4p). If the ladies win this weekend, they will go to the State Championships in Salinas. Baseball is also on the road as they are going to be at Long Beach City College on Friday at 3p and a possible doubleheader on Saturday (11a, 3p if needed).

(OK, Jesse, you can tune back in now) Other than that, everything is normal, stress is raising due to the looming finals. Also, getting closer and closer to Nationals.

Wow, has it been that long????

Sorry for not updating the blog!!!! :(

To catch everyone up on what is going on in the life of Chris..... since I last posted, quite a bit has occured. First, I left off the last blog with me saying "off to work again to start another fun-filled year (I hope that doesn't turn into a sarcastic statement by the end of the year!)." Wellllllllll, since then "Bloodbath 2009" has occured. For those that don't know what I'm talking about, Clear Channel Communications laid off 1,850 (including two very close friends) while most of America was watching Barrack Obama screw up the Presidential Oath.

On the same day, and only about 15-25 minutes after I heard that the second of my friends got the ax, I called to CSU-Bakersfield to see what the status of my application was. The admissions councilor looked at my transcript and told me that I already had the equivilant number of credits to graduate with a B.S. in Sports Management (my major) right now, before I transfer. I asked her if that was a bad thing or a good thing and she responded with the following sentance. "Well, all I'm going to say is welcome to CSU-Bakersfield, Chris!!!" To which I responded to her, "please don't pull my leg, I haven't had a good day." She came back with, "I'm not welcome to the family!" So say hello to one of the newest members of the CSUB Class of 2011 (providing nothing goes wrong!)

This past week was opening week for the Spring 2009 semester at Grossmont College, and hopefully, my final semester at "Harvard on the Hill". This is going to be one crazy semester. 3 classes that are either completely or partially on the 'net and calculus. Of course, I also have a small group communications class that has us doing a project that will help make the "World a better place". The group that I joined (the 4 other people sitting near me on the first day) decided that the best way that we could make the world a better place would be to plant a tree at Grossmont College. Not to mention that when we come back and visit the campus, we can say that is the tree that we planted!!! Also, this semester, I'm the home statistician for baseball, game day ops for softball, and I'm continueing as the PA for Men's and Women's basketball at Grossmont and Women's Basketball over at Cuyamaca.

So as you can see, its going to be a busy semester.

Adios for now.

2009 -- Here is to a good year!

Well, we all survived 2008.

To catch up everyone on my happenings around New Years here is the overall schedule from Christmas until New Years. Work, Basketball tournament, work, trip. The trip involved me going out and hanging out with my friends the Mays as they were out 4-wheeling in the Mojave desert near El Centro (Salton City). I finally got out there around 7:30, and finally found the campsite around 8 (there are no landmarks in the middle of the desert at night!).

After I got there, I helped Jesse haul three Christmas trees up on top of a sand dune. We bound them together with bailing wire and eventually loaded the trees up with fireworks and propane bottles (the small ones, not the big ones). Before we light the Christmas trees up, the guys had fun loading small charges into firing tubes and creating large explosions and a couple of big fireballs, when gas is added to the explosion. After midnight, we sat around the campfire and I listened in on what is going on with the group. Someone thought they knew me, but ended up giving up on where ahe knew me from.

New Years Day, I, for some unknown reason woke up at like 7:30am. I ended up taking the May's dogs out for a morning walk so that they could do their business and then went back to the camper and fell back asleep for a couple of hours. Around 10a, I woke up to Jesse loudly asking (it wasn't quite a yell but it was close) Amanda to wake up, the ride was going to start in about 10 minutes. Cheryl asked if I had a ride, and Jesse was still working on it. He ended up getting me a ride with Ron (?) in the trail jeep. This was the first time I had ever been off-roading and it opened my eyes quickly. Anytime that the passenger nearly has to lean out side the vehicle to make sure that it doesn't roll, you're eyes will open up! We got back from the ride and as we rested a little bit, we all decided to go out for dinner. So we went "into town" to a Mexican restaurant and had dinner. After we got back, I hung out in the camper and talked to Cheryl and Eric for a little while. After that, I went out to the campfire and hung out with Amanda and Jesse.

This morning, I chose to sit out the ride so that I could get home in time to lounge a little before going into work tonight. I left the campsite around 11:45a and got to Dudley's around 1:30p. When going through Santa Ysabel you MUST stop at Dudley's, if you haven't ever stopped there, and you're in the area STOP trust me you will enjoy the bread. I finally got home around 3p.

So there you go, I am going to have dinner, and then off to work again to start another fun-filled year (I hope that doesn't turn into a sarcastic statement by the end of the year!).