Ball State Football Player NFL Dream Dashed

Football is a tough game. No doubt it is more dangerous than spectators realize. There was bad news coming from my alma mater, Ball State University, after this weekend's matchup between Indiana University and Ball State at Indiana. Not long into the second quarter, receiver Dante Love, got the ball and turned to run down the field. He was met with a head to head collision with the IU cornerback. Love collapsed near the Hoosier sideline and never got up. He was rushed to the hospital and then transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The news was difficult. Dante Love was the number one receiver in the nation on Saturday before the game. He had hopes of playing professionally; that dream will not be realized. It was not meant for Dante Love to achieve that goal, but thankfully, he is expected to recover from the spinal cord injury and is able to move his extremities. Perhaps there is something better that this young fellow is meant to do; something bigger and more important that being a football player. Mr. Love is well respected and loved by his teammates and family. There are good things to come for him, but it will not be on the football field.

What Did I Get Myself Into?

Tomorrow looms in front of me. I did something that I'm not sure I should have. I signed my fifteen year old daughter and I up for a kickboxing class. Yes, you read that correctly; kickboxing! We have been unsuccessful in getting my daughter involved in any extra-curricular activities in this podunk town, so I took it upon myself to find something we presumably both could do. Now I'm not so confident about what I have done. I don't even know what kickboxing really is. The class description only said that it is a "great workout" and that it was for ages 12 and up. I'll bet I am the only forty-something person in the class. I really do need to start doing more physical activities---more than just running up and down stairs doing laundry and occasionally using the AbLounger! My daughter has been talking to a girl in one of her classes at school who said that she has taken the class, and takes it whenever it is offered, and that it is mostly "ladies" who are in the class. I checked online to see how many people had signed up for the class, and there are seven people! I won't be able to get lost in the crowd in this one, that's for sure! Kickboxing! Good grief, I don't even know what I'm supposed to wear!

Opening Ceremony Tonight on NBC! Go USA!

Tonight is the night we have been waiting for for the last four years! The opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China begins at 7:30 tonight. At our house, this is a big occasion and I have planned our dinner (pizza) around the event. Everything we are having is food we can eat while watching television. Normally, in our family, the rule is that we sit at the kitchen table with the tv off, and eat dinner together. For the next two weeks, that rule will be a little more relaxed so that we can see all the sporting events. Pretty weird, I know, but I just love the Olympics and want my children to have good memories of them just like I have. Go team USA!