Friday, September 29, 2006

An Inspirational Story

I first heard the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt about a year ago and I was moved to tears. Today I came across the story again and once again was brought to tears. I'll let you all read it for yourselves and then watch the short video at the bottom of the story.

World Strongest Dad

By: Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''


Soccer update

The Chicago Fire beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-1 to win the US Open Cup. Fellow South Eugene High School alumn Nate Jaqua scored a goal. Congratulations Chicago, I guess.

Fire win fourth Open Cup title

Thursday, September 28, 2006

New top 25



1. Ohio State (4-0)
2. USC (3-0)
3. Auburn (4-0)
4. West Virginia (4-0)
5. Florida (4-0)
6. Michigan (4-0)
7. Oregon (3-0)
8. Louisville (4-0)
9. Georgia (4-0)
10. Texas (3-1)
11. LSU (3-1)
12. Virginia Tech (4-0)
13. pOUt (3-1)
14. Iowa (4-0)
15. Tennesee (3-1)
16. TCU (3-0)
17. Notre Dame (3-1)
18. Cal (3-1)
19. Florida State (3-1)
20. Boise State (4-0)
21. Nebraska (3-1)
22. Clemson (3-1)
23. Arizona State (3-1)
24. Rugters (4-0)
25. Texas Tech (3-1)

Marathon #2

This Sunday I will be participating in my second marathon. My expectaions are not as high this time around. My training has not gone as well, I've battled a few injuries and I havn't been eating as well as I should. I'll probably take a little break after this and then it'll be back to training because if all goes as planned I will be running two Marathons next spring, the Eugene Marathon on April 28 and the Newport Marathon on June 2. If you want to moniter my progress during the race you have text message updates sent to your cell phone, you will get six updates throughout the race. Just click the link below if you're interested.

Text Updates

A Complete Meltdown

If you have 15 extra minutes click on the link below. It's a clip from a sports talk radio show in Michigan, all I can say is wow.

Radio Show Host Meltdown

Thursday, September 21, 2006

My Top 25

Sorry I missed last week but here are my updated rankings. But first some pictures of the fine officiating from Oregon-Oklahoma game that you may not have seen.
Sure Looks like offensive PI to me
The redline is the ball should have been spotted Notice the playclock

1. Ohio State (3-0)
2. USC (2-0)
3. West Virginia (3-0)
4. Auburn (3-0)
5. Florida (3-0)
6. Michigan (3-0)
7. Oregon (3-0)
8. Georgia (3-0)
9. Louisville (3-0)
10.Texas (2-1)
11. LSU (2-1)
12. Virginia Tech (3-0)
13. pOUt (2-1)
14. Iowa (3-0)
15. Notre Dame (2-1)
16. TCU (3-0)
17. Arizona State (3-0)
18. Tennessee (2-1)
19. Cal (2-1)
20. Florida State (2-1)
21. Boise State (3-0)
22. Boston College (3-0)
23. Alabama (3-0)
24. Nebraska (2-1)
25. Clemson (2-1)

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

This Dude Needs Some Help

Here's a video from an Oklahoma fan, he's got issues.



My Thoughts on Oregon-Oklahoma

Here is "conclusive visual evidence" that Oregon beat Oklahoma.


Monday, September 11, 2006

5 Years Later


Fiver years ago today the world was forever changed. It was a day in which we saw the absolute worst in the human race but through that horrible event we saw the best as well. It's important that we all take a moment to remember all of those who lost their lives on that horrible day and all of those who lost their lives since that day fighting for the cause of freedom. Thanks to all of the men and women serving in our armed forces, the fire fighters, police officers and all those who go to work everyday to make the world we live in a safer place.

God Bless America!!!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Then and Now

In honor of me missing (unless I win tickets in a contest or someone calls and offers me tickets, because at that point I will take that as a sign that I'm supposed to go the game. Don't worry Ubels I'm not asking for my ticket back because I've allready given it up) my first Duck home game since October 28, 1995, I've decided to do a little then and now.

Me
Then- I was an 18 year old freshman at Western Oregon State College. I was 6'1" and and weighed in at 222 pounds. My hairstyle of choice was a part to the right and my outfit of choice was a pair of Levis Silver Tab Baggy jeans with a tucked in T-shirt

Now- I'm 29 years old working as a collector for a credit union. I'm 6'2" 227 pounds . My hairstyle of choice is spiked in the front and my outfit of choice is cargo shorts from old navy and a t-shirt.

Number One Song in America
Then- Fantasy by Mariah Carey

Now- SexyBack by Justin Timberlake

Average Price for a Gallon of Gas
Then- $1.20

Now- $2.73

Top Grossing Film
Then- Get Shorty

Now- The Covenent

Duck Uniforms

Then














Now




















Mike Bellotti
Then



















Now

Friday, September 08, 2006

The End

On September 16, 2006 something will happen that has not happened since October 28, 1995. An Oregon Duck football game at Autzen Stadium in which I'm not in attendance. Meaning my streak of sixty six consecutive home games will come to an end. It was a tough decision and I'm still not very happy with my friends that had the nerve to schedule a wedding on the day of the biggest game of the year but I probably made the right decision. I will probably shed a tear next Saturday when I'm watching the kickoff from an undisclosed location in Portland while someone else is sitting in my seat at Autzen. I guess it had to come to an end someday, I just didn't want it to come to an end now.

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

College Football Rankings

Here's my rankings after the first week of action.
1. Ohio State
2. USC
3. West Virginia
4. Texas
5. Florida
6. LSU
7. Auburn
8. Oregon
9. Notre Dame
10. Oklahoma
11. Louisville
12. Tennessee
13. Florida State
14. Iowa
15. Georgia
16. Virginia Tech
17. Nebraska
18. Penn State
19. Clemson
20. TCU
21. Miami
22. Boston College
23. Alabama
24. Texas Tech
25. Georgia Tech

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Oregon 48 Stanford 10


After months of anticipation football season is finally here. Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching my beloved Ducks destroy the Trees 48-10. Next up is the Bulldogs of Fresneck State. It should be another win for the Ducks, setting the stage for a showdown with Oklahoma Sooners in Eugene on September 16. Stay tuned tommorrow for my updated top 25 rankings.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

12 Hours From Kickoff

Yes I'm still awake and I get to get up and run 22 miles in about five hours.