S7s- Apr 10: Sign of Armageddon

1) I can officially say it because she has told her students, but Dot Case is retiring. I'll blog more about Ms Case in the future, I'm sure I'll blog more about her later, but the fact that she is retiring has hit many of us hard. We knew it was inevitable, but after 47 years, Dot Case is calling it a career. I'm going to enjoy the last few weeks of having her as a colleague. I'll be forever grateful for all she has taught me over the years.

Here's a link to an interview I did of her a few years ago: Ms Case

And here she is, front and center, with her department that, despite many changes, she was the constant.

2) We hosted the WHKP Relays on Thursday. 16 girls teams and 17 boys teams. It was a great event, though we had some trouble with some results getting inputted because of the sheer numbers of field events. Some teams did not bring their full squads as Taco Bell was also this weekend, but we still had a great meet and I'm really proud of the effort of my squad. I was hoping to finish in the top half of the field and we finished 8th, so I met my goal. And who was there volunteering: Dot Case.

3) Bruce Springsteen cancelled a show in NC that was scheduled for today in Greensboro to protest HB2. I feel bad for the fans, because they're the ones that are hurt but I appreciate the stance that he has taken. The Boss has long been political. Keep in mind that his most famous anthem, "Born in the USA" is not meant to be a patriotic song.

Along with Paypal deciding to not follow through with their plans to build a center near Charlotte, HB2 has also made NC into the butt of national jokes. See this video by Funny or Die.

4) Last week was ridiculously busy, so there was no riding for me. I did get up yesterday and get 60 miles in. Started at the house and headed down to Tuxedo via Mine Mountain. Rode old 25 into SC and got on HWY 11. Met my buddies doing the Assault on the Carolinas at the bottom of Ceasar's Head and we rode back to Brevard together. Great day.

Today, I got on the mountain bike and explored in Pisgah. Rode up Cove Creek Trail. Hit the top of Daniel Ridge and went down counterclockwise for the first time. Then finished with Butter and Cat Gap-- a 19 mile day.

5) You should see the numbers we have at Yellowjackets on Mondays. It's fun and there are over 40 elementary kids. We're doing great things over there. And we got awesome shirts.

6) Opening week of baseball. I promise I won't blog much about baseball. But I am impressed with Kershaw's first outing. And I'm more impressed that the only person to hit two homeruns off Kershaw in the last year is Madison Bumgarner. This is also the last season of the Braves in Turner-- and I hate that.

7) Oh the Masters. What an event. I was at Sanctuary Brewing, watching and commenting that no way Spieth would lose. Then came Amen Corner. A quadruple bogey. He looked mortal. I think Jordan Spieth is great and has fantastic ability. He deserves to by the number one player in the world. I hope that this round does not mentally shake him up for the future. I think the kid will bounce back fine. Two best moments, one good one and one bad one:

S7s: Feb 6

1) Sunday Sevens is Saturday Sevens this week. Tomorrow is the Super Bowl Sunday, I doubt I'll be blogging much tomorrow. That said, I'm hoping for a good game. I think the final score will be 27-24. I have no idea who will win.

2) Knights Wrestling fell in the first round of the State Duals this week. We lost to Piedmont 31-30. There were several opportunities for us to make up at least that one point, if not more. Piedmont wrestled really well and they're a great team, nothing bad to say about them. They earned the win.

• I do wish the NCHSAA would seed the dual team state playoffs. Tournament is already paired, we knew a month ago we'd get Piedmont and I believe that both teams are among the best in the state. That's the luck of the draw. In another pairing, two teams with losing records met in the first round.
• Enka and Piedmont met for the West Championship (State Semifinals). We lost to both teams by a combined 5 points. Between those two teams, they won 14 matches and we won 14 matches.
• Congratulations to Enka and Mitchell for making the state finals. They both lost to formidable opponents, but getting there is a feat.
• We beat Mitchell and dropped a 4 point loss to Enka. We also beat 2A Regional Finalist Chase. Our team has been challenged and wrestled up to the challenges. 
• Regional Tournament is at North next weekend.

3) I got a bike ride in today. 30 miles out to Etowah and back. I am not as fit as I want to be. Sean and Robert really hammered a strong pace and I couldn't keep up. Two more weeks of wrestling and hopefully I'll get more bike time. Maybe by then, the trails will dry out a little also.

4) I have been an opponent of gerrymandering for years, no matter who does the gerrymandering. I often here Republicans use the argument that the Democrats did it when they were in control. It doesn't matter. It's wrong and not democratic. And the fact is, North Carolina is the most gerrymandered state in America. Map below is NC in 2003 and then 2013.

This week, a federal court invalidated two of North Carolina's congressional districts, the 1st and 12th. In Congress, Part of Buncombe County is in a district that stretches to Gastonia! Representatives have no accountability since they are often in districts with little or no competition. And we let it happen over and over. Hopefully, this is change.

5) Near tie in Iowa for the Democrats. Bernie probably takes New Hampshire, so does that make the race interesting. Sanders has a lot of momentum. I wonder if he's electable in a general election. His best chances are probably against Cruz, who though he won Iowa, I don't see as electable as a Rubio or even Bush. I still like Kasich. Cruz is just so unlikeable. He's most popular with the far right, which doesn't necessarily make a great general election candidate.

6) Is this Martin Shkrelli the most hated man in America? Maybe. His smirk makes me want to punch him. His testimony and the reason it's going on is an example of what's wrong with our health care system. Insurance and big pharmaceuticals have pushed costs higher. Hospitals bill what insurance will pay and we pay more in higher premiums. The leading cost of personal bankruptcy is health care costs. You don't have to like Obamacare, but please don't tell me the system is fine.

7) We're in February! Black History month. Birthday Month. President's Day! Regional and State Wrestling. Beginning of track!