KASPAREK POLL 1.1 and Fantasy Football Angst...

Yep...picked that game correctly didn't I.  Oh wait...nope, had OREGON trouncing Stanford, and in a term that is sometimes overly used..."That's why they play the games"

I did correctly pick the Baylor Beat down of Oklahoma, so 1 and 1 isn't to shabby....

and in Fantasy Football news, the ever frustrating choice of Eli Manning or RGIII continues to drive me absolutely nuts this season.  Sat RGIII last night along with his 30+ points.

Eli, can you possibly give me just a small percentage of what your big brother provides his Fantasy Football owners....Please....

So here it is the Updated Kasparek College Football Poll going into the weekend...

1-BAMA
2-FSU-One more tough game...
3-OSU-Not a tough schedule.
4-BAYLOR-For a few more weeks...they have a brutal schedule the rest of the way.
5-MISSOURI
6-STANFORD
7-OREGON
8-MIAMI
9-CLEMSON
10-AUBURN

The Night of Oregon and Stanford...

So Oregon and Stanford play tonight.  Pretty big game for both schools.  Oregon wins and they have smooth sailing the rest of the season.  Oh sure all of the OSU(Oregon State) fans out there want to say the "Civil War" game sparks a chance...Nope, it really does not.  Stanford wins and it keeps them away from the dreaded 2 loss mark and keeps them relevant in the BCS picture for at least another 2 weeks or so.

If Oregon loses, it knocks them out of the National Championship Picture and also worries the Duck fans that they may not even make it to the Rose Bowl.

The BIG, HUGE, POTENTIAL WINNER tonight...Florida State.

Oregon Loses, and Florida State is the clear cut favorite, and the team with the easiest road to the National Championship.

That all being said, Oregon will pound Stanford, Stanford will have 2 losses, and Florida State and Oregon will continue to jump back and forth over each other till one looses...

Idiots of the day:  http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/9936032/chicago-bears-fan-tasers-green-bay-packers-fan-wife

Get them out of the way now, and discuss later....

So as sports fans we all have those things that we cannot stand, or that absolutely drive us nuts, or on the other hand absolutely love.....here are a few of mine....and please, please chime in on the comments...do not be afraid....

1) DRIVES me nuts when athletes on the teams that I cheer for talk smack about the other team during the week leading up to the game. The good news is Iowa has not had the chance to do this much lately.

Seriously, don't most fans want their players to shut the hell up and just play.  Hey Oregon fans, how many of you are exicted about your boy telling the media that they are going to put 40 points up on Stanford.

Now don't get me wrong, I love if the opposite happens and Iowa is the underdog(which they most of the time are), and the other team talks shit.  Motivate, Motivate, Motivate....as in most sports cases...lots and lots of hypocrisy....

2) I hate penalties on excessive celebrating in the end zone...Are you flipping kidding me...Celebrate, Celebrate, Celebrate...Someone wants to go and do something apeshit crazy that hurts them...so be it...I miss seing College Athletes getting excited after scoring a basket, catching the late TD pass etc.  LET THEM HAVE FUN!!!!!

3) I like replay in Football, but we do it wrong...Why can't we just have one more official that is under the hood all the time...Seriously...the red flag gets thrown, the guy watches, and he has 30 seconds to decide.  This of course would replace the 100 yard dash to the hood, getting the headphones from the hood guy, and then waiting WAY TOO LONG for the replay....Call me CRAZY, but I have never been to a football watching party and it take more than 30 seconds for the FANS to know what the hell happened.

4) The DH in AL is AWESOME and the Pitcher hitting in NL is just as AWESOME...

5) Speaking of Baseball....outlawing collisions at the plate...ladies and gentleman another example of the Wussification of America.  Thats why they have pads....While we are at, but the cage in front of the pitching mound to protect the pitchers, give all of the fans helmets, and make the balls out of NERF....

6) Tickets for all sporting Events should be sold at face value.  How do we do it, control it?  Hell, I have no idea, but I think it would be nice...

7) Ball Parks, Bowl Games, Tournaments etc. should not have Cheesy Ass Names that are there because of the company willing to give the most money...Put the company's name all over the programs, the T-shirts, caps, etc. but not the event/stadium..ie. These were fine at one time...

8) There are too many damn bowl games.  Not every team in DI football has to play in a bowl game...Just blew the dust off of an old Iowa Football Program from the 85-86 Season....These were the bowls....go back and refresh on #7 before reading..

Independence Bowl
California Bowl
Cherry Bowl
Holiday Bowl
Florida Citrus Bowl
Aloha Bowl
Sun Bowl
Freedom Bowl
Liberty Bowl
Gator Bowl
Peach Bowl
All-American Bowl
Bluebonnet Bowl
Cotton Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
Sugar Bowl
Rose Bowl
Orange Bowl

9) Be a Proud Homer, and if you do not have a team to be a Homer about, find one soon, and then GO ALL IN!!!!!

10) Have sports heroes.  Sure we have been let down by some pompous ass primadonnas as of late, but never stop hoping that the next one will be one we can be proud of.
****and NO I AM NOT SAYING THAT ONLY ATHLETES CAN BE HEROES!!!!!

11) Idiot of the DAY, the lady that thought it was a GREAT idea to dress up as a Boston Marathon Runner who survived the bombing...scars and everything...if you have not seen it, google it..REally? Really?

GO HAWKS!!!!!!

Intro to HOMER-VILLE

I love Sports, I love Sports, I love Sports, and I LOVE the HAWKEYES..What can I say...always have, and always will....Dad actually used to say to me, "If you would spend as much time studying your school work as you do the Hawks and Sports...who knows?"

He was/is, probably right, so I have decided to combine my passion for sports, and give the Naples version of From the Bench a sibling.  People are going to agree, disagree, banter, talk smack, etc. but I do have ONE IMPORTANT RULE...No hate...you hate towards another HOMER and you are done...There is no place for it here, and I cannot stand it...We can be civil and talk sports in such away.

I am going to share my suggestions for Sports Books, Movies, Articles...Provide commentary on popular sports info etc.  How often am I going to post...No Clue....but this should be fun....

So here we go.....

KASPAREK COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL from 11/4/2013(with some corrections)

1-BAMA-Will steamroll LSU this weekend, sorry Jimmy Angerman....and they will not face a REAL test till last game of regular season at Auburn.
2-UO(corrected for the Blog Chris Denison, Kori Sickles and Dane Adams)-Will not lose in Palo Alto to Stanford, but may to Arizona two weeks later in Tucson.
3-FSU-is on fire, and so is Renee Rhinehart about this team. No real test for them either until last week of Season against Florida in the Swamp.
4-OSU-Big Ten is week(crying as I type it), but all this winning could be for naught as they will enter last game of regular season in Ann Arbor undefeated, and the Wolverines will have nothing to lose.
5-Baylor-Will roll over the Sooners this Thursday night, and remain undefeated for a few more weeks before losing to Ok State in Stillwater.

6-Stanford-for one more week...Then they will fall after they lose to Oregon.

7-Missouri

8-Miami-bad loss to a GREAT team, and cannot drop them below Clemson.
9-Clemson
10-Oklahoma-for one more week and then they will drop after there loss to Oklahoma.

11-Auburn(which could see a big jump next week if they take care of business at TN, because then they have the most to gain with Georgia and Alabama coming to town back to back.
12-Texas A&M-Not ready to put this in Permanent Marker yet (What? To soon?)
13-LSU-will drop next week after a blow out loss to Alabama.
14-South Carolina
15-Fresno State(Still undefeated and will remain so until they lose to San Jose State their last game of the regular season.)

16-Northern Illinois(will remain undefeated until their last game of the regular season @ Toledo)
17-Oklahoma State who has a TON to gain with there final three games being @ Texas, and at home against Baylor(to give them their first loss) and Oklahoma.
18-Central Florida-Should be higher than most are putting them, simply because they beat Louisville at Louisville.
19-Michigan State- Big Ten may be bad, but they continue to produce.
20-Louisville-because I can drop a team below a team that beat them head to head. 

21-Wisconsin-They continue to get it done, will not lose another game this season and their only two loses are to Ohio State and Arizona State, who enters my poll for the first time this week.
22-Arizona State-brutal schedule the rest of the way.
23-Notre Dame-squeaked by Navy and they are squeaking in to my Top 25.
24-Ole Miss-Their losses are @ Auburn, @ Alabama, and at home against Texas A&M as opposed to Georgia, BYU, Oregon State, Virginia Tech, and Houston, all of which have BAD losses. It was the lesser of evils.

25. Texas Tech-Loss to Oklahoma State is not to bad...

My Most Important Post.....

As many know by now, I decided back at the end of March that I would be running the ING NYC Marathon for the USO on November 4th.... 


Then at the end of May I opened up Facebook and was saddened to read the post of my dear friend Allie, who I had not seen since leaving Washington. Her husband Sean had been shot and killed in Afghanistan. In my almost 15 years of working for the US Navy I had never had this feeling. Never had I had someone in my Military Family lose their spouse or family member, and being this far away, there was nothing I could do.


Then I remembered that the USO had stated in their e-mails to the athletes, that we could run for fallen service men and woman. I knew then, what I wanted/had to do.

Towards the end of June I sent a message to Allie asking for hers and Sean’s Families blessing in running the marathon for Sean. 
On the 4th I will be wearing the outfit I have discussed numerous times, but more importantly, will be my shirt….

As you can see, on the front, are those folks that have supported the USO through your generous donations….

The MOST IMPORTANT part of the shirt will be the back, and who will be helping carry/push me through those 26.2 miles from above.

It is because of the sacrifices of men and women like Sean that we have the Freedoms that we do, and NEVER should take those Freedoms for granted.

I ask that you keep Allie, their daughter Addie, and Sean’s Family in your prayers.

W/ much Love,

Chris

Last Cake??? and an Update on the 35....

It's almost been a month since, I first posted about the ING NYC Marathon, and a lot has happened in that time..The Summer officially started, the family went to London, and training finally kicked into gear...The Big Running training begins next week, but the eating right and the diligent training has began.

Also in this period of time, I received some humbling and inspiring news which I will be sharing at a later time with a little help from an AMAZING friend.

Then there was the article by the USO Blog.  I am so very thankful to all of those that entrusted me with their Birthdays, Baby Showers, Farewells, etc. and donated to such a good cause...Speaking of the cakes...Below you will find what may be the last one before the race.  I am now only doing cakes for those that are willing to donate a minimum of $100 to the USO through my link.  The cake below was the hardest I have done.  Not because it was hard to decorate, rather because it was the first one that I could not lick the beaters, the bowl or the frosting....Staying strong.

Speaking of staying Strong, you will see my NYC Poster now has some X's through it.  Today was the 2nd weigh in.  I am happy with my number...Would have liked to have seen it a little lower and a few more X's, but have to remind myself that I had some pretty good fish and chips(and a few frappacinos) while in London.  For you that took the 35 pound bet, it was an official weigh in by a friend.

So it has been about 3 weeks since I have had a soda, energy drink, beer, glass of wine, or cigar...and boy do I miss it.  But as you will find out in an upcoming blog, my inspiration at this time is not something I am willing to sacrifice these things for.  Granted it would have been nice to have a Beer with my Friend in London and my Brother while here is here visiting.  It will make it even more amazing on November 4th when I have a Drink or 100 :)

Finally, I invite those that may have not donated to the link below, you still can....

Love you all...

Chris


Link to the USO Story:

http://blog.uso.org/2012/06/25/cake-decorator-raises-dough-for-uso/

Link to Donate:

www.teamuso.org/2011/christopherkasparek

6 Down, 29 to go....

Last Cake???

ING NYC Marathon or BUST!!!!

On November 4th, 2011, I will be running the ING NYC for the USO...Many of you already know this, as I have spent the last two months raising the required funds for the USO.  This was done through Baking and Decorating Cakes as well as soliciting donations.  That goal was reached, and now Goal #2 begins tomorrow.

It is no secret that since HS I have fought this battle that is called weight...Weight goes up, weight goes down.  I get into a disciplined period and rock, and then I let myself go...Right now I find myself at a crossroads...I have to make a decision and I have to stay the course..So tomorrow, June 18th, I start my training for November 4th.  The diet will change, not a diet, but the diet will change and the work-outs will intensify.  This happened back in 2009 when I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon and got in the best shape of my life.

The goal this time is simple....40 pounds...40 pounds by Race Day...40 Pounds by November 4th.  I owe it to myself, my family and our Men and Women around the globe that I will be representing when I run those 26.2 miles for the USO.  At this time, I do not have a GOAL time, instead, my goal is to stay healthy, disciplined and on TASK.

Attached is a poster that is hanging in my office door and in our house...I will see it everyday when I wall into my office and I will see it everyday when I walk down our house stairs in the morning.  Each Picture represents one pound...Pictures that I will cross off the board as I knock them out of the park.  The poster will also have a thermometer that represents the 40 pounds....

At work all of my colleagues know what is going on, and will be making sure I do not stray.  My families and friends are aware, just as they were in Washington....It never hurts to have additional help.

So as I embark on what feels like the 15,000th adventure, I re-start this BLOG with a new title and a new goal...This BLOG Will be that JOURNEY....Welcome Aboard!!!!

and REMEMBER you can still DONATE!!!!

www.teamuso.org/2011/christopherkasparek