Christmas in August

So Heidi took her weekly visit to Walmart to get our weekly groceries. Upon her return she informed me that Walmart has already put up their Christmas decorations. I just want to be clear, today is August 31st. IT'S AUGUST PEOPLE! Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas. It is a fantastic time of year but it was 81 degrees today. This is not the time to be thinking about Christmas. Go to a baseball game or swimming. I know several people buy Christmas gifts pretty early to save money and thats fine, but nobody is buying a tree or putting up a stockings yet. Is it just me or has America lost it's collective mind? Happy Holidays!

The World of Fantasy Football

I love playing fantasy football. However I can't help but feel a little silly when it comes to the amount of time and money that I put into it. Overall I spend very little compared to most fantasy football guru's. I spent 7 bucks on a fantasy magazine. (7 bucks will get me around town for a week) The league I play in has a $30 entry fee. $8 dollars goes to our website to help maintain our scores. Some of the money goes for a trophy for the winner of the league. I refuse however to spend money on a trophy for fantasy football, I would be embarrassed to display it anywhere. Hey everyone, this is my trophy for guessing who would play well this year. (There is a bit more to it than guessing but come on, this isn't sport) So if the winner doesn't want a trophy then the money ends up in a pot for the winner.

The one catch about my league is that the winner can't keep the money. He must donate it to a charity. Of course, those of you who know me know that my money will go to camp. Yes, I'm fine with giving the money to a church camp even though it comes from gambling. If I don't happen to win then the money goes to another worthy cause like the American Cancer Society or the local battered women's shelter. The real mind blowing thing about fantasy football is the amount of money lost by corporations every year due to employee's not working and spending time thinking about and spending time on their leagues websites. Here are some stats.

According to one study, the annual losses in the United States can be anywhere from 275 million to 435 million. (That's some serious bankroll)

60 percent of all fantasy team owners spend at least an hour a day working on their fantasy team. (I don't fall into that category either, maybe that's why I have never won my league)

1 billion dollars is spent annually on fantasy sports magazines. (I did contribute 7 dollars to that)

There are 15 million fantasy football players in America.

So, as football season quickly approaches please draft responsibly and remember your boss is watching and probably doing better in his league. One final tip, if you do play, don't draft your players based on your favorite team in real life.

Danny

Fantastic News

Some of you may or may not know but Heidi has had some pretty severe foot pain since January. We have been to several doctors several times and while we don't know what the problem is yet, we know what it's not. Heidi had an MRI on Wednesday and she was cleared of Multiple Sclerosis. This has been a concern and as you can imagine quite an unnerving one. Please keep her in your prayers and God be praised for the good news!

Some Trivia

There are four colleges whose name is a color. (not team name) Can you name them?

Another Softball Update

Ok, we finished our season with a 2-12 record. This is bad. However, the tournament started this past week and somehow we have went 3-0. We have knocked off the top team in our division and are one game away from the championship. Maybe my team only likes to play well when it really matters. Anyway, this feels good. Go Beefs!!! More to come, I don't want to jinx it. (there is superstition in softball, even though I don't believe in superstition)

The Squirrels in Harbucks back yard?

Softball Team Update

Some of you read a blog several months ago where I commented on the state of my softball team. I wanted to give a quick update. We have slightly improved this year. Last year we had a 0-14 record and this year we went 2-12. I know it still stinks but it is improvement. We were only blown out in two of those games. We lost most games by less then 5 runs which isn't bad in mens industrial league softball. As I predicted I did have one player end up in jail (I don't even know why, I quit asking those questions). This is also an improvement as I had two go last year. This continues to be a ministry for me. After our last game I got to spend some time talking with some of the guys about PBC and what I do that week that I miss. If you have at all, please continue to pray for these men and me as I try and lead them in the right direction. We have such a long way to go but have come far in the past few years. The tournament will start in a week or so, last year we got third and a trophy for our sponsor (not bad for an 0-14 team), we hope to improve on that this year. Most of all I am proud of my teams attitude though, these guys have improved so much, a lot less cursing, nobody has been ejected from a game, willingness to move around the field without crying about it and just supporting one another. If I can get one of these guys turned to Christ then the past few years have been worth it. It's hard to explain to the guys on the church team why I don't play for the church, and I have my reasons, but now I have to stick with my current group of guys, couldn't leave them for any team (even if we hardly ever win). I would be negligent in my blogging if I failed to mention the cheering section for our team. We are sponsored by Beef O'Brady's Family Sports Pub, and we have the best fans in the world. The O'Brady's Ladies! These girls are made up of mostly wives and girlfriends of the players as well as my mom. My mom doesn't miss one of our softball games for anything. You would think Ben and I are 9 yrs old again, but it's great. We may have the worst record but we bring out the most fans. Thank you ladies!