Crasymaker

Getting good tickets to a Razorback game is one of the best feelings in the world. In fact, you don’t even flinch at the price tag on most occasions, even when the Hogs don’t win. This game, however, was an exception. Final score: Alabama 49, Arkansas 14. Ouch.

Thank God It’s Basketball Season, ya’ll.

Is anyone else pumped about hoops? I know I am. It’s gettin’ chilly outside and the Hogs are starting to play some b-ball. I love this time of year.

The only bummer is that nobody but ESPN seems to be living in the ‘now’ as far as broadcasting goes. There’s nothing worse than watching a non-HD basketball broadcast on a big-screen HDTV. Ugh.

I’m sure it’s easier said than done, but I, for one, cannot wait for the folks at ARSN and LFS to pony up and deliver us some Hog Ball in high definition.

Do any of you guys work in broadcasting? Any ideas on when these games might finally be broadcast in HD? I’m guessing the answer is either a) A long, long time or b) A long, long time.

So last night, Darren McFadden racked up another 206 yards and three touchdowns. Not enough? Well, he also THREW a touchdown! Dude’s insane. Arkansas went on to beat #1 LSU 50-48 in triple overtime. Is it enough for Houston Nutt to keep his job and push McFadden into the frontrunner spot for the Heisman? Probably not. Is it enough to make this Thanksgiving break the most exciting in a long, long time? Absolutely. Go Hogs!
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It’s not that uncommon for a player to bounce the ball off of an opponent when he’s in the air and about to land out of bounds. In fact, it’s a pretty smooth way to prevent a turnover. However, you usually see the ball getting bounced off of a leg or an arm and not off of somebody’s head.

In today’s Arkansas vs. Florida SEC tournament championship game, Patrick Beverley did just that. There aren’t too many things funnier than seeing a ball bounce off of someone’s head unexpectedly. I’d feel kinda sorry for Walter Hodge if they hadn’t have beaten our asses into a pulp this afternoon.

It’s hard to tell from this photo what kind of mood Charles Thomas is in since his head is underneath his jersey. However, if I told you that this snapshot was taken just moments after the Hogs won the semifinal game which means they’re headed to the SEC championship game tomorrow, the possibilites get narrowed down pretty quickly.

Yup, we’re going to the finals and it’s pretty weird given the kind of season that we’ve had so far. But not as weird as the fact that we’re playing Florida for the SEC title in the Georgia Dome which is exactly who our football team played for the SEC title back in December…IN THE SAME DAMN BUILDING!

Now that’s freaky, ya’ll.

Anybody that cares about the Hogs already knows about today’s win but I’m pretty excited so I posted this photo anyway.

With my new schedule, I get off at noon on Fridays so I got to watch the whole thing. Super sweet.

Oh yeah, get this: With 30 seconds left in the game, two dudes show up at my front door obviously with the intent of trying to sell me something. I was pretty short with them and told them I was watching the game and that if they wanted to sell me something they’d have to come back later. After the game, we went to the post office so I left ‘em a note telling them that the Hogs won. Turns out, they were from Dish Network and were here to get me “set up”. Errr.

I almost felt bad for them since that’s probably the worst thing those dudes could be trying to sell me right now.

On one hand, I gotta be happy that my fantasy football team got 2nd place because a) I won $150, b) it was my first time to ever play and c) 2nd out of 10 ain’t bad. But on the other hand, I can’t help but be a little ticked since I was in first place the ENTIRE SEASON until the last game. In other words, I kicked everybody’s ass for 15 straight weeks until the final championship game in which I lost to the 2nd place team. The first place prize was $300, by the way. Oh well.

When some dudes at work first asked me to join their league a few months ago, I was super hesitant since I’d never even watched an entire NFL football game. After the very first week, though, I was hooked. I can’t wait for that crap to start back up next season.

Have any of you ever played?

I’d heard rumors that ESPN’s College GameDay might be coming to Fayetteville next Saturday but now it’s a reality according to HogWired.

The show has never made a stop in Fayetteville before so it’s pretty cool that they’ll be here for the Tennessee game at 6pm (ESPN2).

Now the only question is where will they set up? Lot 42? The Hog Trough?

Dustin got a couple of tickets to the Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game on Saturday and invited me along. Thing is, though, they weren’t just ordinary tickets. They were sky box suite tickets from one of our vendors at work. Nice!

Speaking of the Hogs, they are now 6-1 which makes them eligible for a bowl game for the first time since 2003. I usually can’t wait for Razorback basketball to start but the football Hogs are doing so well, I’m actually enjoying this season a lot. Of course, that might have something to do with my newfound interest in the sport.

My knowledge of pro football is pretty limited. I know the rules (mostly) and I can tell you the names of the NFL teams if you tell me the city. However, I’ve never been to a pro game and the Super Bowl is probably the closest I’ve ever come to watching an entire NFL game.

So what did I go and do this year? I joined a fantasy football league with the guys at work. Genius, eh? Anyway, we had our draft yesterday and somehow I got the first pick. From what I can tell, I think I have a pretty good team so wish me luck. Also, any general pointers ya’ll can give me would be appreciated.

Tom TV Producer: “Sir, I’m not sure our ratings are going to be all that good for the USA vs. Puerto Rico game.”
Bill Basketball Boss: “Why not?”
Tom: “Because nobody cares about USA Basketball.”
Bill: “Seriously?”
Tom: “Yup.”
Bill: “Well what the crap are we going to do?”
Tom: “Hmm. We could re-paint the lines on the court so that it looks like there’s a big ole weiner at each end.”
Bill: “Really?”
Tom: “Yup.”
Bill: “Do it.”

From the looks of it, Springdale is one step closer to getting a minor league baseball team. The details seem a little fuzzy as of right now but apparently, the team they’re courting is the Wichita Wranglers, who are an AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.

GrandSlamForSpringdale.com has plenty of information if you’re interested. I haven’t done a whole lot of research so I don’t really have too much of an opinion at this point but it seems kinda sweet I guess. I can’t really see any reason why there shouldn’t be a minor league baseball team in Springdale, but then again, I can’t really see any reason why there should be one there either.

Springdale’s a fairly ugly town and everyone around here knows about the smell it can’t seem to shake so bringing in a baseball team seems kinda weird but then again, I suppose anything it can do to cover those things up can’t really hurt.

What do ya’ll think?

Last week I played my first softball game since getting smacked…sort of. So far, I am just a hitter, meaning that I only hit (with my helmet, of course) and don’t actually play in the field. It kinda sucks just sitting there waiting to hit and not being able to help out in the outfield like I am used to but it is fun to be playing again.

We got our pictures taken the other day. I think we are making trading cards for each of us. Check out the photos at Nick’s Flickr page.

Tomorrow marks the 2 week anniversary of that ball landing on my eye and guess who’s not celebrating…ME! As you can see from the photos, I am healing up nicely…on the outside, that is.

There’s still no sign of my vision getting any better and if you look closely at the last photo in the Mr. Softball - Finale gallery, you can see that my eye is still VERY dilated which, for a lack of better words at this moment, sucks ass. Everything is too bright including the screen of this laptop I am using right now. Nothing looks right and the headaches I get from trying to do the most normal things are pretty crummy. However, when I was in the ER 2 weeks ago, I couldn’t see one single drop of light so considering how far I’ve come, I am extremely thankful to no longer be blind. Speaking of the ER, if you’ve ever wondered how much it costs to get your eye beat to hell with a softball, it’s $1532.75 plus 4 hours of sitting there scared as hell and wondering if anyone is ever going to come tell you what the results of your CT Scan are. Speaking of CT Scans, they cost $1244.75.

In case you have any other financial questions about the ER, here is a rundown of how much things cost in there besides the CT Scan: One pain pill will run you $55.25. One disposable ice pack costs just $10.00. The ink that they write the prescription for more pain pills apparently is worth $6.00 and finally on top of all that, they also charge you $216.75 just to sit in their fabulously comfortable plastic chairs for 4 hours. Add that to the 7 trips to the eye doctor at $90 each plus the 8 vacation days you lose at work and you’ve got yourself one hell of a deal. I knew playing city-league softball would prove to be a rewarding use of my Tuesday nights but I never suspected it would be this exciting! ARGHHHHHH.

My eye seems to be getting better on the inside while getting a little bit grosser on the outside. The doctor was pleased to see some improvement this morning. The fluid is clearing up and my vision is slowly coming back. The pain pills have kept me feeling pretty good despite being stuck in bed all day and all night for 3 days now.

As you can see from the photos of days 2 & 3, the swelling is going down leaving my eye exposed a little. I have to keep a metal shield over it all day which is kinda odd since it’s got little holes in it. Now I know what it’s like to be a fly except for the landing on/eating dookie part.

Apparently there is a high risk of re-bleeding on days four and five so this weekend is supposed to be VERY low key. I guess I will continue watching Deadwood season 1 and Curb Your Enthusiasm season 2. Wish me luck and don’t get pissed at me if those pictures gross you out.