Sunday 7s: Nov 15

1) Paris. The City of Lights. The city of Voltaire, Rousseau and Hugo. A city I have never been to. I tried to go to France when I was living in London, but the line at the French Embassy for a visa was longer than I wanted to wait. Which is real unfortunate, because I love French culture and food and I did take two years of French with Madame Klein way back in high school.

What happened this weekend of course is unspeakable. I don't know the answers. I hurt because of the human tragedy and because that could have been any of us going out to eat, attending a concert or cheering at a sporting event. Here's what I do know:

• The threat from radical Islam is real. These people are serious.
• If we live in and by fear, the terrorists win.
• I feel bad for my Muslim friends, some of which are truly among the best people I've met.. In many ways, they have it difficult already in this nation and other western countries. This doesn't make it easier. 
• We need to answer what draws people to radical Islam. It's not just ideology. There is an entire group of people who feel alienated for one reason or another and seems to have found refuge in religion.
• As I type, France has begun airstrikes on ISIS targets. I wish them the best. I want to take down the bad guys. I worry about collateral damage. Do we perpetuate and raise more terrorism by simply raining bombs on helpless people? Today's children are tomorrow's ______________ [fill in the blank].
• I think we help determine what goes in that blank.
• Call me naive or dumb, but I do not believe ISIS can sustain itself. It's message and branding I believe will get tiresome to the masses. I just believe good will overcome. Humanity will win out. There will be a backlash and it will come internally. I just hope it comes sooner than later.
• I will go to Paris. Soon, I hope. I need to eat outside in a cafe, walk along the Seine, be humbled at Notre Dame, soak in the view from the Eiffel Tower and be introspective at the Louvre. Then there is Normandy, the Riviera, Corsica, and the Alps. And, I still need to see the Tour de France live. Yes, France, I'm coming for you.

2) I did not forget Beirut and Kenya. My heart hurts there too. I don't think there's a media conspiracy to ignore it as some people have alluded. I believe, as one of my friends shared, that we can relate with Paris. There's empathy there. We know Les Miserables, the French Revolution and Dijon Mustard. There's less of a connection with the Lebanon (though it is part of the biblical land of Canaan). Most Americans couldn't tell you Nairobi is a city in, much less the capital, of Kenya. Many more could tell you Paris is in France. For the great majority of Americans, Paris hurts because it feels like a small part of us hurts. The human tragedy of Lebanon and Kenya hurt us, but there's less of an emotional connection.

3) I spent the weekend at Pioneer Plunge on the Grace Watershed High School Man's Retreat. It's a weekend of bonding and spending time connecting with and depending on each other. There's no running water, electricity or heat. We slept in uninsulated cabins. I slept in a hammock. Temperatures got into the 20s. 

• Pioneer Plunge is on the property of Windy Gap, a ministry of Young Life. All the land was sold years ago to Young Life for $1 to use as a ministry to high school and college youth.
• The main cabin at Plunge burned down last year. Groups like ours are helping rebuild it. We learned to lay block, filled a retaining wall, hewed logs and chopped wood. It was great stuff.
• The theme was Brotherhood. What does a Christian brotherhood look like? We used the story of the friendship of David and Jonathan as an example. 
• I'm really thankful for the adult leaders that came and poured their hearts, talents and love into these young men. They set great examples for the boys and inspire me.
• Since we had no cellular service, I did not get any updates on the tragedies. What a shock to turn on my phone and try to decipher all the information.

 

 

 

 

 

4) I did get a ride in. Buck Tanner asked me today if I wanted to ride up Thrift Cove and down Black Mountain with him and his son. Tired from the retreat, I went to get away from the news. I love this route. Thrift was a long climb, but easy since we got to go at Rowan's pace. Black was dry for once and fun to hop down. They called it a day and I went on and finished with Sycamore Cove, a rooty and fun trail that has several small creek crossings towards the end. I'm glad I got a ride in. I needed it.

5) How cool is this: a wrestling match in a football stadium. Over 42,000 people in attendance.

6) Speaking of wrestling, Knights Wrestling had two big events last week:

• Wednesday was our Boot Camp. We took the kids out to John Rock in Pisgah and ran them up to the top, did some team building and drills and came down for lunch. Good time was had by all and no one fell. Some of my students have never been to Pisgah, so it was great to get to share that with them.
• Thursday was our intersquad scrimmage. Our Purple-Gold Scrimmage has become a fun tradition. I divide them into teams and they compete in a regular dual. It's the first real experience for some of our kids. We had a close, hard fought scrimmage. Purple won 31-21.

7) I watched zero football yesterday since I was at Pioneer Plunge. Based on that:

• Georgia Tech's 18 year Bowl Streak (3rd longest in the nation), will come to an end. So many mistakes on Thursday night.
• Top 7: 1) Clemson 2) Alabama 3) Oklahoma St 4) Ohio St 5) Notre Dame 6) Oklahoma 7) Iowa

Sunday 7s: Nov 8

1) One week into wrestling season. We have a great core of kids who really want to be out there and work hard. Practice is fun. These kids work hard. They know what's expected. They care for one another. We're still waiting on our football players, but I expect lots of great things from this squad.

2) More North athletic news: Football team secured their first winning season in 15 years. They are 7-5 with a playoff match at King's Mountain on Friday. That's pretty awesome.

Soccer finished their season with a first round playoff loss at Asheville. A few wrestlers and I made the trip up there to cheer on the squad. Asheville had lots more opportunities to score and seemed to control the ball more than we did. But we played valiant and I'm proud of Wayne Nock and his boys (many of which wrestle).

3) I got to do the talk on the High School side at Grace this morning. I John 5:1-5. It's good stuff. We are born of God. Obedience does not mean love, but our love drives us to obedience. When we are obedient in love, the our burdens of righteousness are removed. God's love overcomes the world.

4) I really like this article by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. It's called Ignorance over Reason and talks about the attacks on education and reason in the contemporary world. We'd rather be wrong than possibly seek truth that contradicts our beliefs. We don't push, nor allow, our kids to reason and come to their own conclusion on important matters. Problem solving is a lost art. A few years ago, I remember reading a story about how researchers found that people don't use the internet to find out truth and answers, especially among political matters. People use the web to find things that affirm what they already believe. It's frustrating and maddening as a teacher to ask why a student believes something and they cannot tell you. Or they tell you false statements. I assign projects where students can choose a world religion and create a presentation. It is shocking how often students who would proclaim to be Christians create projects about Christianity that have historical and other factual errors.

5) Speaking of factual errors, does Ben Carson really believe that the pyramids were Joseph's storehouses? That's crazy. He may be a great neurosurgeon, but he's a terrible student of history. And science for that matter, since archaeology clearly tells us they were tombs.

I do think Politico exaggerated their claims that Carson lied about his West Point offer.

6) Ride Report: Now that it is dark at 5:30 and I'm in season, my rides will be mostly relegated to the trainer. The weather has been non-cooperative all week with lots of rain. Dan, Derek and I did get out to Dupont today. It was a lot wetter than I was anticipating. But we had a blast. We rode Burnt Mountain backwards. That trail is great both ways and it was nice to get to appreciate the steps from the other angle. Climbed Cedar Rock from the powerlines and had a great descent down Big Rock. Invited some out of towners to ride Micajah and Wilkie with use. It was cool and wet, but we had a blast all day. I was just glad to get out.

7) Slowly the college football field is getting more clear. Don't worry if you're Michigan State, you can still play your way into the playoff if you win out (and some teams lose). TCU may be done, We'll see. I've been picking Clemson #1 for a few weeks now and this week the AP voters agree with me. Here's my 7: 1- Clemson 2- Alabama 3- Oklahoma St 4- Ohio State 5- Notre Dame 6- Baylor 7- Stanford

Sunday 7s: Nov 1

1) I hate the move to standard time. In 2015, we'd be better off just not switching clocks twice a year. Either leave it year round standard or year round daylight savings. Of course, I prefer daylight savings because I like to do things outside in the afternoon.

2) Knights Wrestling starts tomorrow. We graduated probably the best wrestler in school history in Mitchel Langford. I think we could be a better team though. Lots of talented young kids. Good depth. John Williams is starting to send us some tough kids from the Middle School. There are high expectations for this year's squad.

3)  Yesterday, Shawn Evans and I took advantage of a perfect fall day to hits some great trails in Pisgah. I may be scarce on the bike, so I wanted to make a huge day of it. In all, it was about 30 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing. Some highlights:

• Spencer Gap: They fixed one part that only a few people could clean on the climb. Now the entire trail is ride able for me. Still one of my favorite climbs.
• Spencer Branch: The old trail  is closed. The new trail leaves some to be desired. It has some nice rock armor, but I miss the Pisgah roots--- too smooth. The bottom is too tight, can't really get a rhythm. Maybe it will grow on me. 
• Fletcher Creek is always great. Fast and fun and cold when you cross the creeks.
• Shawn took me up Yellow Gap Trail, new to me. A few wet crossings and a steep push and then a nice, serene climb on singletrack to the intersection of double track. Then fast downhill. Nice to find that trail. 
• Climbed Yellow Gap Rd to intersection of Laurel Mt.
• I love Laurel Mt Trail. It's long and challenging without being too hard. There are some parts where you have to dismount. But most of it is rideable. And the woods were so gorgeous, peaceful and alive. It gave me energy. Pisgah is such a special place. 
• We did not make it to the intersection with Pilot. It started getting cloudy and dark and the temps dropped. I didn't want to get rained on, so I proposed we turn around and ride down Laurel to save some time and to not get wet. Laurel was pretty fun to come down. The leaves made some parts tricky and still had to dismount for some sections, but it was a blast. 
• Hopefully, I'll get some winter rides in. I love wrestling, but I miss my time on the bike and in the woods.

4) Did not watch the Republican debate last week, so I can't really comment much on moderators or candidates. Might we see a Rubio or Cruz surge? I still think Kasich makes the most sense of the Republican nominees. I feel bad for Bush, he's the kid that no one wants to play with with and pick on their team.

5) Take some time and be mesmerized.

6) Good eats: Local Joint, Fairview. Met Dot Case and Bill Rice there before our playoff volleyball match with AC Reynolds (which unfortunately, we lost). I first stopped here on the way to bike up to Mt Mitchell. The breakfast is excellent; if it were closer, I'd eat there all the time for breakfast. Dinner was great too. The corn chowder Ms Case described as the best she ever had. I had Taco Tuesday and that was excellent. Go eat here.

7) College Football: I can't tell which is worse--- being a Georgia Tech, Georgia or Virginia Tech fan? Lots of mediocrity to be found. The two Techs run the risk of losing two of the longest bowl streaks in the nation. Georgia thought they'd be National Champion contenders. 

• Like him or love him, Frank Beamer is a legend and he made Virginia Tech relevant. 
• That's another good opening along with USC, the other USC, Miami.
• Heang's Top 7: 1- Clemson 2- Ohio State 3- TCU 4- Baylor 5- LSU 6- Michigan St 7- Notre Dame

Sunday 7s: Oct 25

1) One nine weeks down. Proud of a lot of things that are happening. Need to do some things better. Teach smarter, not harder. Blessed to be part of a great school. Here's our social studies department showing our support for cancer awareness. Haake didn't get the memo :)

2) I wonder if in a decade whether we'll look at the Bengazi hearings the way we view the McCarthy hearings of the 1941? Will Trey Gowdy be the modern McCarthy? If the goal is find Hillary of criminal charges, it seems that they are far from it. If their goal is to hurt her presidential campaign and smear her, they've seemingly failed there too.

3) World Series Prediction- Royals in 6. I've been way off on all my baseball stuff, so don't quote me on that.

4) a) Congratulations to my friends Emily and Aaron of Alaska and the birth of their new baby boy.

    b) Godspeed to my brother who left on Tuesday for a six month deployment to the Middle East.

5) Friday was a teacher workday for us. I went in at 5:30 and worked so I could leave early and take advantage of a beautiful fall afternoon and hit some trails before wrestling started. Hit some great Pisgah singletrack: Cove Creek, Daniel Ridge, Butter Gap. They had done some work at the top of Cove Creek and it's a great little change. Now you can ride a lot of it instead of dismounting for the creek crossings. Butter was so fun and we had a blast on Cat Gap trail. But my favorite part was stopping for a break and watching the leaves fall around us. It was tranquil and magical. Pisgah is a special place.

6) I've long said that Georgia Tech-Clemson in 2004 was the most improbable win I've ever witnessed live. Teams scored 5 touchdowns in the last 8 minutes. GT had 3 in the last four and half minutes. But all Clemson had to do, up by 3 points, was get a punt off with 23 seconds left and Tech having no time outs. But they didn't and the legend of Calvin Johnson was born:

   

Saturday was one of the most surreal sports moments of my fandom and may have topped 2004. Georgia Tech beat FSU on a miracle play. This GT team has gotten no breaks or balls bounce their way this season. But it finally happened last night. The place went crazy. When FSU lined up to kick, I figured we would lose then or lose in overtime. But crazy things happen in sports and this was one of the best. They're calling it the "Miracle on Techwood Drive":

It reminded me of the last time Georgia Tech hosted Florida State in 2008, a game I was also at. Down by 3, the Noles had the ball on the Tech 3 and looked sure to score. But Cooper Taylor was having none of it, stuck a helmet on the ball and caused a fumble. I remember screaming at the defense to fall on the ball because it looked like they were trying to pick it up. Thus the "Miracle on North Ave" was born:


And just because it's Florida State week and it's a great play from one of my all time favorite players, here's Josh Nesbitt fumbling the ball and stealing it back from the defense.

And since yesterday was a top 10 team coming to the Flats and a night game, it was a fantastic day of tailgating, including some friendly FSU fans joining us. I even got a nap in.

7) Apparently, there were other games played yesterday besides the GT one:

• Polls are starting to shape out better now that we've seen a body of work from teams, so I won't post an under rated or overrated opinion this week. I will say I feel vindicated. I've long said FSU is not a top ten team. Even if they won yesterday, I would have stood by that statement. 
• Top Seven: 1) Clemson 2) Ohio State 3) Baylor 4) TCU 5) LSU 6) Michigan State 7) Notre Dame

Sunday 7s: Oct 18

1) Just left a congregational meeting at the church. Our pastor is resigning. Everyone is heartbroken. Some are angry. Dave Desforge has taught me so much about the Gospel. He's one of the reasons I love Grace and keep coming back. It will be strange not have him giving the sermon, but I am reminded that Jesus is bigger than one man. Or one church.

2) Jesus + nothing.

3) This experience has made me contemplative. I understand the inability to manage people and the constant risk of burnout. I wonder if or how long my heart can continue to pursue this passion (teaching) with the energy, commitment and love that I need to for my students and co-workers. It's tough to admit that you might be in over your head. I often feel that way.

4) Today's sermon was by my good friend Brian Land. He spoke on Hebrews 12:1-3, which is one of my favorite passages.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

• Jesus runs with us. It's an endurance race and we're not alone.
• I love that not only does he "author" our faith, he also is the "perfecter:
• I made it into the sermon today. Me, Reese Witherspoon, Liam Neeson & Robert De Niro, King Leonidas and Neo (the Matrix) all make their way into the sermon. Obviously, I was the star...
• Brian used my bike journeys to illustrate the endurance aspect of the race that must be endured. Also, he said that if he were to ride the Great Divide, he has a reference that he can trust-- a wealth of knowledge. Jesus provides that for all our races.
• Talked to two friends who recently moved. They both commented on how much stuff they have and they are trying to lighten the load. Ironically, that's one of the messages in the sermon: we carry heavy burdens that make our race harder. Reese Witherspoon in "Wild" had too much stuff and she couldn't hike the Pacific Coast Trail. Robert De Niro's character in "The Mission"-- he literally carried his burdens and was trapped by them until they were cast into the river. Both my friends are at a point where they are realizing that the stuff the accumulate to make their lives more comfortable only burden them and weigh them down. But getting rid of stuff and lightening the load is difficult. In one friend's words, "It takes radical heart change."

5) Went to Columbia yesterday. We had a party for my older brother, Chhay, who is being deployed to the Middle East for 6 months with the Air National Guard. His brother in law, La, who is the only person I know with a hibachi grill on his porch, cooked up dinner. We played with the kids, ate and celebrated a great brother, dad and husband who will be missed while deployed. 

6) Rode Spencer Branch Trail today. It was the last run down Spencer as we know it. Tomorrow, they are closing it and the new re-route will be the only way down from Spencer Gap. The old trail was technical, with lots of roots, rocks and decent drops off water bars. I'm not a great technical rider, but I love to ride this trail and have no shame in walking when necessary. It will be greatly missed. I hope the new one is as fun and challenging.

7) Another crazy week in College Football. Michigan-Michigan St was nuts! Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech look bad. Ole Miss lost to Memphis. 

• Overrated in this week's Poll: Florida St (9), Houston (21)-- I know they are undefeated, but I still haven't seen a Top 10 performance from the Noles. Houston is beneficiaries of a soft schedule (though they did beat Louisville).
• Under rated: Oklahoma (17)-- they are better than Iowa and Florida in my opinion and that throttling of K-State was impressive. The Texas lost, while not pretty, might be an anomaly. North Carolina (NR)-- shows the lack of respect the ACC gets. And the ACC deserves no respect, even though Clemson is really good and UNC isn't bad.
• Top 7: 1) Utah 2) Baylor 3) Ohio St 4) LSU 5) TCU 6) Clemson 7) Michigan St.

Sunday 7s- Oct 11

1) "The ground of Liberty is to be gained by inches". Thomas Jefferson
Good reminder that change doesn't happen overnight. It's more trees growing than it is weeds sprouting.

2) Went and saw "I Once Was a Beehive". One of our former students, Kaley McCormack, has a role in it as one of the campers. It's a feel good story, with some intense parts and several messages of faith and family. Overall, it's just a cute picture. I was extra excited to see Kaley on the way out of the showing and get to give her a hug and congratulate her.

3) My brother came up this weekend. We got some good family time and I got to hang out with the niece and nephew. That's always worth it. They're pretty cute.

4) Stephen Willis came up this weekend also and brought some friends. We rode in Pisgah. Weather had been great all week until Saturday. All day rain. We rode anyway. About 21 total miles. Lots of fun and good people. Some trail notes:

• Daniel Ridge is so fun. The hike a bike going clockwise is tedious at times, but I always forget how fun the downhill is: lots of twists and turns, nothing too technical, some creek crossings and then you finish at a cool waterfall.
• Looked for Cove Creek Connector. Went up one trail and it was all wrong. Found it on the second attempt. I had heard of this trail but never seen it before.
• Butter Gap was a river at the top. But that's such a great descent. You definitely appreciate full suspension. I was really surprised at how well the trails handled the rain. There's a terrific waterfall on Butter about 2/3 of the way down. 
• Longside is a tough little trail climbing away from the intersection with Butter Gap. But we cleaned most of it. Rode down a forest road back to the main road. 
• Davidson River Trail will always be one of my favorites. You can go fast, it doesn't have many obstacles and it's where I put in a lot of miles when I first learned to mountain bike. I also have a scar from a crash on that trail.

5) May not seem like a big deal, but North Henderson was one of 139 schools in North Carolina to go ejection free for the school year 2014-2015. 

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/sports/high-school/hshuddle/2015/10/09/wnc-schools-go-ejection-free/73655266/

6) Hero of the Week: Doug Draper. Draper is heading to Australia tomorrow to compete in the world Duathlon Championships. We wish him the best as he represents all of us. And Doug is a serviceman, friend, teacher, riding buddy. Great guy to have around.

7) Did anyone think that Florida would be undefeated, Michigan looking like the real deal, Auburn and Georgia unranked and Oregon with two losses at this point in the season?

• Tennessee fans deserved and needed that win. Congrats.
• Is there a more disappointing division than the ACC Coastal? No offense to Duke or UNC, but Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Miami all look miserable and that makes the division miserable.
• Overrated this week: TCU (3). I have been on the Horned Frogs bandwagon all season, but their defense seems suspect and there have been too many close calls. They are top 7 for sure, but right now I'd have them out of the playoffs. 
• Underrated: Temple (NR). I just like the Owls and their 5-0 record. 
• Top 7: 1) Utah 2) Baylor 3) Ohio St 4) Clemson 5) TCU 6) Michigan St 7) LSU

Sunday 7s- Oct 4

1) Hurricane Joaquin did not make landfall but push a lot of rain into the Carolinas. Western North Caroling was spared the most devastating rain, but we still got enough to cause localized flooding. South Carolina, however, was not spared. The footage from Columbia, Charleston and other coastal communities are mind boggling. Streets and buildings underwater and roads, bridges and other buildings washed away. It's going to be a mess down there for a while.

2) Went to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech-North Carolina football game. I've experienced over 10 days of almost constant rain. Got one small dry window on Wednesday and I snuck a quick ride to Jump Off Rock. It was raining in the valley below when I got to the top. Hustled back to my house just in time to beat the rain.

Our grounds are pretty saturated. Rain put a damper in the plans of our golf weekend last week and, while it didn't pour on us in Atlanta, we did get constant rain during the tailgate and the game. And the Jackets laid an egg after getting ahead 21-0. But that was nothing compared to the rain that was happening during Clemson-Notre Dame in Death Valley. Ryan flew in from Colorado to cheer for the Tigers with his buddy Nick (a ND fan). They hung out with us in Duluth on Friday before heading to Clemson on Saturday. That game looked both miserable and fantastic-ly fun to be at. Brought back memories of the monsoon game that was Georgia Tech-Clemson in 2002. That might of been the wettest I've ever been.

3) North Henderson's home football game on Friday, September 25 was postponed because of the field conditions. It was played on Monday, Sept 28, unfortuately, in the rain (which we lost in a defensive struggle). Last week was our homecoming week. We postponed homecoming festivities for Friday's game until later in October, but the game against East Henderson that was scheduled to be played on Friday is being played tomorrow.

May seem like no big deal to reschedule but a lot of people do not realize that football pays the bills. I often have to correct my students who sometimes say that we should spend less money on athletics and more on arts or other programs. While I don't necessarily disagree, in Henderson County, athletics gets no money from the county outside of activity bus, some facilities maintenance and coaching supplements. Each high school supports it's athletic programs through gate revenues and fundraising. Basically, football and basketball keep many of the other programs afloat. Those reschedules will cut into the the gate and concession revenue that we would have made on a good Friday night.

So, that being said, you can help us by supporting our Drawdown. For $100 you get two steak dinners catered by Outback and a 1/300 chance to win $5000. Best of all, almost all the money goes back to our athletes. There's no middle man or anything like that such as when you sell other items. We also need donations for door prizes and auction items. If you can help or want a ticket, see me.

4) Another week, another mass shooting. Common routine in that we mourn the victims, we blame the shooter and the various sides present their beliefs and arguments on guns. Same thing happens every time.

• I've refrained from commenting or liking pictures, links and memes that pertain to the shooting or the issues of guns on social media. I've also avoiding posting my any of my own. At this point, many people are entrenched in their beliefs and I'm probably not going to change their mind. In truth, I probably just need to take a social media fast from everything. I did enjoy being disconnected while I was one the Great Divide.
• I don't have answers. I wish I did. Gun advocates make some valid points but where I get lost is the instant, knee jerk reaction that any effort to have a conversation about guns means an effort to take guns away. It kills dialogue, which is what we really need. 
• Personal accountability is a part of the equation. I'm sure there are mental health issues (though when you say that you stigmatize all people who have mental health issues who might not be dangerous but are definitely hurting in ways we cannot understand or we don't care to empathize with). Poverty is an issue, as is bullying. Let's enforce gun laws and increase the penalties for using a gun in crimes. We can even bring up violence in video games and movies. I think we should talk about all those things. But to talk about any of these issues and totally ignore guns is putting our head in the sand.
• I posted last week that I am not against guns, I'm against our obsession with guns. We glamorize them. We have more places to purchase firearms than we have public schools in America. Only 1/3 of Americans legally own guns, but that 1/3 owns enough to give the United States the highest per capita ownership in the world (88.8 guns per 100 people).
• Americans should be allowed to own guns. That's fundamental. We lead the industrialized world in firearm homicides, 30 people will die in the USA today from gun homicide and nearly 60 more will because of firearm suicide. That's factual. I don't know what what to do, but I do know that a Newtown, Umpqua, Aurora will happen again in the near future and we'll feel sad and angry and then nothing will change.

5) Baseball season ended today. I hate how long the season. Cut 20-25 games and get the World Series done by mid October. 

• Dodgers will host Mets. I don't think they can win because they don't like to get hits to support two of the best pitchers in baseball. 
• I pull for the Dodgers but I would have no problem if Jake Arrieta won the Cy Young over Zack Greinke or Clayton Kershaw.
• Incredible stat I read: last 15 years, 585 pitchers have thrown over 200 innings. Lowest on base percentage in that time: 1) Zack Greinke, 2015 2) Clayton Kershaw, 2015 3) Jake Arrieta, 2015
• World Series prediction from a non-baseball watcher: Blue Jays over Pirates in 6.

6) Found this blog: http://www.smalltomatoes.com/bikepacking

Amanda just finished the Great Divide. She was a Blackburn Ranger, sponsored by Blackburn through an application process. You have to use their stuff and they give you a Niner bike. I meant to apply but never got my ducks in a row. Don't think I would have beat her though, she has her act together more than I ever did. Good reads (from what I've read) and nice to relive the journey.

Speaking of which, I spent some time today since it was raining reassembling Hulkbike. She basically has sat in the basement since I've been back. Cleaned her a little and looking forward to taking her out soon.

7) College Football is a mess and it is so much fun. Who's number one? There's no clear answer, every team can be picked apart and some of the favorites have struggled mightily in wins.

• Overrated in this week's AP Poll: Florida (11). Great win over Ole Miss, but too big a jump. Maybe mid teens. Ole Miss got too much credit for that win at Alabama. Were they really that good or did everything just bounce their way?
• Underrated: Boise St (25)- I like the Broncos. That loss to BYU was a tough one, but they're better than some of the teams ahead of them. BYU (NR)- sure, they have two losses, but both to ranked teams. UCLA is still a top 20 teams and it's looking like Michigan is getting better every week.
• Top 7: 1) Baylor 2) Utah 3) Michigan St 4) TCU 5) Ohio St 6) Clemson 7) Oklahoma