Trace Adkins finalist on Celebrity Apprentice

The two hour Celebrity Apprentice finale will be this Thursday, March 27th at 8:00 PM Central time. We'll see if Trace can win the $250,000 for his charity.

Trace's charity is FAAN (Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network). PERSONAL CONNECTION: Trace's 6-year old daughter had a severe, life-threatening reaction to peanut butter when she was just 18 months old, an experience Trace called "terrifying." His daughter also suffers from allergies to eggs and milk. Trace feels that research could lead to greater understanding of food allergies, and perhaps someday a cure.

Check out what Trace has to say about it at: http://www.traceadkins.com/main/

You can catch Trace this summer at Moondance Jammin Country Fest in Walker MN. http://www.jammincountry.com/

Here's Trace last summer performing at Winstock.

Here's me and Trace a long long time ago. I bet it was over 10 years ago.

A weekend of NCAA Sports

Some of you may be watching the NCAA Men's Basketball tournaments. There's been a few upsets. The games continue with the Sweet 16 this Thursday and Friday. Then on to the Elite 8 on Saturday and Sunday.On that note, the Men's Division 1 Men's NCAA HockeyThe bracket is set. The 16 teams are in place. The games start this Friday the 28th.

Some teams of interest to me are St Cloud, whom will be playing Clarkson on Friday at 4pm. The winner of that game will go on to play the winner of the Michigan vs Niagara game on Saturday.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux will be playing Princeton on Saturday at 3pm. And then WCHA champs Denver will be playing Wisconsin on Saturday at 6:30pm. The winner of each of those games will go on to play each other on Sunday.

And the Minnesota Gophers will be matched up against Boston College on Saturday at 7:30pm. The winner of that match up will go on to play the winner of of the Air Force vs Miami (Ohio) game on Sunday.

WCHA Final Five kicks off tonight

Victories by host North Dakota and visiting Minnesota in critical game threes of first round conference playoff series Sunday (March 16) night have completed the field for the 2008 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five, set for March 20-22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.

The Fighting Sioux edged Michigan Tech, 2-1, while the Golden Gophers won a 3-2 double overtime contest against Minnesota State. Regular season and MacNaughton Cup champion Colorado College is the No. 1 seed, regular season runner-up North Dakota is the No. 2 seed, Denver is the No. 3 seed, St. Cloud State is the No. 4 seed and Minnesota is the No. 5 seed.

On Thursday evening at Xcel Energy Center, No. 5 seed Minnesota (17-15-9) will face-off against No. 4 St. Cloud State (19-14-5) at 7:07 pm CT.

On Friday afternoon at 2:07 pm CT, No. 3 seed Denver (24-13-1) will take on No. 2 seed North Dakota (25-9-4), while on Friday evening, Thursday night's winner will go up against Colorado College (28-9-1) at 7:07 pm CT.

Then on Saturday, the third place game of the 2008 Red BaronTM WCHA Final Five will get underway at 2:07 pm CT with the Broadmoor Trophy championship contest set for 7:07 pm CT.

Wild take the lead back

Well my Avs didn't keep the division lead very long. On Monday the Wild took it back from them at the Xcel Energy Center. And we were there to see it. We doubled up on fun with St. Patrick's and a NHL game. Lorrie (aka: Crazy Hair Bozo), Brad and myself even sported our shamrock glasses. Makita was a shamrock party pooper.

Mackey Win's Two in a Row

Lance Mackey, of Fairbanks Alaska, crossed the finish line with a strong string of 11 dogs at 2:46 a.m. this morning, winning the Iditarod in 9 days, 11 hours, 46 minutes and 48 seconds.

Following up on a storybook year in 2007 of unmatched greatness against unbelievable odds — winning the Yukon Quest and Iditarod back to back on a shoe-string budget wearing the same bib number of his father and brother when they won the race — Mackey has again claimed victory in both the Quest and Iditarod. Back-to-back double doubles.

Mackey edged out Jeff King of Denali Alaska, by tricking him into parking his team at Elim. He then tip-toed out of the checkpoint at 2:20 a.m. after just an hour and 20 minutes rest, right as King shut his eyes for a nap.

If King had won he would have tied with Rick Swenson of Two Rivers Alaska, with five wins, the most for one musher. Rick crossed the finish line 1 hour and 50 minutes after Lance this morning.

Lance Mackey talks to his lead dog, Larry, as he gets ready to leave the White Mountain, Alaska, checkpoint in the lead of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.

WCHA Hockey Playoff time

The first round of Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs, set for this Friday, March 14 thru Sunday, March 16 (if necessary), have been set. The five, best-of-3 first round post-season series will feature:

No. 1 seed and 2007-08 WCHA regular season champion and Colorado College hosting No. 10 seed Alaska Anchorage

No. 2 seed North Dakota hosting No. 9 seed Michigan Tech

No. 3 seed Denver entertaining No. 8 seed Minnesota Duluth

No. 4 seed Minnesota State hosting No. 7 seed Minnesota

No. 5 seed St. Cloud State hosting No. 6 seed Wisconsin

Following next weekend's first round of playoffs, the five winning teams will be re-seeded No. 1 through No. 5 depending on their regular season finish and advance to the 2008 Red Baron WCHA Final Five, set for March 20-22 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. The winner of the Broadmoor Trophy at the Final Five will receive the WCHA's automatic berth into the NCAA Men's Div. 1 Tournament.

2008 Polar Plunge

Well the Polar Plunge is over. They raised $62, 500 just in Brainerd for Special Olympics. Quite a success. Makita ended up with $525.00. He was very pleased and thanks everyone for helping out. He didn't let you down either. He went and did the jump.

Here's the hole they cut in the ice for the plungers to jump into. They had to skim the ice off the top before anyone could go in. The temp was probably around 20 degrees and it was windy. I was cold and I was dressed for winter!

The Brainerd Fire Department came complete with truck and the fire Pup mascot.

Here comes Makita ready for the plunge.There he goes.Here comes the next guy. If you look in the lower left hand corner you'll see Makita in the water.Oh boy...Joe did a hand stand flip-a-roo.

There was lots of good costumes. Here's Shep "Hefner" and his bunnies before they jumped.

Daylight Savings Time (DST)

During his time as an American envoy to France, Benjamin Franklin, author of the proverb, "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", anonymously published a letter suggesting that Parisians economize on candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight.

The prominent English builder and outdoorsman William Willett invented DST in 1905 during one of his pre-breakfast horseback rides, when he observed with dismay how many Londoners slept through the best part of a summer day. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk. His solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. He lobbied unsuccessfully for the proposal until his death in 1915.

Germany, its World War I allies, and their occupied zones were the first European nations to use Willett's invention, starting April 30, 1916. Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit, Russia and a few other countries waited until the next year, and the United States adopted it in 1918.

And we're still doing this non-sense. Okay it's non-sense in the Spring when I'm robbed of an hour. But it's a fantastic idea when I get it back in the Fall.

I wonder if BF also said "The early bird catches the worm". He doesn't look like anyone catching a worm. As a matter of fact he looks like he caught a seven course meal a time or two. He was, however, wealthy and wise. I don't know much of his health. I do know he had some hair issues though.

Happy Happy Dogs

Leaders running the Iditarod start to take their mandatory 24 hour layovers. Sebastian Schnuelle said he couldn't believe it. A 13 hour run from somewhere beyond Nikolai all the way to Takotna, and his dogs still barked and lunged into their harnessess as he checked in to take his 24 hour layover. He wasn't alone.

This race, with its relentless drizzle of snow and threat of rain, is seeing larger, livelier dog teams across the board. The vast majority of the top 20 are still running 14- to 16-dog strings. Schnuelle and the others, such as four-time champion Jeff King, know why. Dogs naturally slow down on soft trail and in warm temperatures, and when they run slower, they stay healthier. One of the arts of distance sled dog racing is finding the happy medium between speed and durability. If there’s a scale for that sort of thing, the 2008 Iditarod has forced its participants to fall well inside the safety zone.

Leif Sandnes of Norway, a race volunteer, holds Madelin, one of Paul Gebhardt's dropped dogs, in the back of a sled being towed by snowmobile to the airstrip atop a hill overlooking Takotna. The dog was being flown back to McGrath. photo by Jon Little.

It's the 3rd Annual Brainerd Polar Plunge. Makita will be jumping again with the Brainerd Fire Department. It will be held this Saturday, March 8th, at 1pm at Breezy Point Resort.

If you'd like to make a contribution in Makita's name, just click on the link below.

http://www.specialolympicsminnesota.org/Polar_Plunge_App.php?step=pledge&action=showwebpage&event_id=7&regid=2288&team_id=53

The Polar Bear Plunge (presented by Minnesota Law Enforcement to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota and part of the year-round fundraising of the Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota) is a unique opportunity for individuals, organizations and businesses to support Special Olympics athletes by jumping into frigid Minnesota waters. January through March, 11 plunges across the state give you the chance to be FREEZIN' FOR A REASON! Too chicken to make a splash? Show your support by making a pledge to a braver soul, or come out and be a spectator!

Iditarod Standings

Here's the direct link to check the current Iditrod standings:

http://iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html

Headlines from yesterday:

WILLOW, ALASKA - (Sunday, March 2, 2008) - The stage was set today in Willow Alaska for what could be the most competitive race in Iditarod Trail history. Ninety five teams left beautiful Willow Lake saying goodbye to thousands of fans who lined up to witness race history; a field that shattered the previous record of 87 teams.

Teams wasted little time, waving to onlookers, forging their way out to the Susitna River, and on to the Iditarod Trail. Six Iditarod Champions (Rick Swenson, Jeff King, Martin Buser, Joe Runyon, Mitch Seavey, and Lance Mackey) were part of this very talented field that included thirty three rookies representing more than one third of the entire procession that is on its way to Nome.

This year eighteen mushers are carrying special tracking devices on their sleds. You can see their progress by logging on to http://www.iditarod.com/ and click “Iditarod Tracker” to see the action unfold in real time.

It's Leap Day

Why exactly do we need a leap day? Well it's to synchronize the seasons. The vernal equinox is the time when the sun is directly above the Earth's equator, moving from the southern to the northern hemisphere. The mean time between two successive vernal equinoxes is called a tropical year–also known as a solar year–and is about 365.2422 days long. Using a calendar with 365 days every year would result in a loss of 0.2422 days, or almost six hours per year. After 100 years, this calendar would be more than 24 days ahead of the season (tropical year), which is not desirable or accurate. It is desirable to align the calendar with the seasons and to make any difference as insignificant as possible. By adding a leap year approximately every fourth year, the difference between the calendar and the seasons can be reduced significantly, and the calendar will align with the seasons much more accurately. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah....boring.

2008 Iditarod

This upcoming weekend 96 mushers will head out of Anchorage on a 1150 mile race we all know as the Iditarod. There will be TV coverage after the race has finished starting on March 18th on Versus. In the meantime you can get all your Iditarod news at http://www.iditarod.com/

Pheasant Forever Banquet Report

Well folks if you bought a raffle ticket from either myself or Makita, you didn't win a gun. Neither of us won anything all night either. Ellie won a case of 12 gauge shotgun shells and a case of clay pigeons. Dave Jr. won two guns (he was a lucky dog). Ellie did have the winning bid on a fur hat on the silent auction. It's fox. It's her! As you can see by her picture below, she looks like she has a fur halo.

Soldiers' Angels

This week I became a member of Soldiers' Angels and adopted a Soldier. His name is James and he's in the Army serving in the 62 Quartermaster Company, 68th CSSB (Combat Sustainment Support Battalion). That's about all I know about him. I looked up his Battalion and it looks like they are supplying Troops in Baghdad.

Once you join (no fee to join) they assign you a Soldier. The Soldier could be from any branch of the service. Mine just happened to be from the Army. After you receive your Soldier's info you are asked to write to them once or twice a week and send one or two care packages month. Evidently it's a big deal to hear your name at mail call. And of course they could always use the stuff you send in the care packages.

If you'd like to learn more about adopting a Soldier, check out this website: http://soldiersangels.org/

Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Banquet

http://www.aitkinpheasantsforever.org/

This Saturday night is the Aitkin County Pheasants Forever Annual Banquet. Check out the website above for more info. There are still seats available. Grab your friends and come on over to Aitkin. You can buy tickets at the door. I know there's lots of guns to win as well as other great prizes. And don't forget the silent auction. I'll be there helping my friends Dave and Ellie with a card game. Makita will be emceeing it. I promise I won't throw up on the way home this year.

Global Warming My Ass

Brainerd and other surrounding area schools have closed again today due to the cold temps. It is currently -23 degrees, with a wind chill dipping down around -35 degrees. Let me make myself clear.....I'M GETTING SICK OF THIS COLD WEATHER. There, I said it. Frick'n ground hog.

Ryan Newman Wins the 500

Ryan Newman snapped an 81-race winless streak yesterday, using a huge push from teammate Kurt Busch to give car owner Roger Penske his first Daytona 500 victory.

With one lap to go, it appeared Tony Stewart finally would get his first Daytona 500 win in his 10th try. Running out front in the high line, he held off the two Penske cars as they circled the famed speedway. But as the Penske teammates closed in on him, Stewart didn't feel safe running alone without any allies. At the last second, he dropped low on the track to line up in front of Kurt Busch. The JGR teams had talked all week about the importance of teamwork, and Stewart thought he'd need Busch to make it to the checkered flag. But the decision backfired in the blink of an eye. Stewart couldn't hook up with Kyle Busch fast enough, and the two Penske cars steamrolled past him on the top. Newman pulled away for his first win since New Hampshire in September 2005, while Stewart had to settle for third.

The Hendrick drivers didn't fair very well. Jeff's car broke and he finished 39th. Jimmie was involved in a crash and he finished 26th. Casey Mears was also involved in a crash and he finished 35th. Junior ran as hard as he could, all by himself and finished 8th.

On to California......

Daytona 500 Lineup

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/1/data/lineup.html

After yesterdays Gatorade 150's the field is set for this Sunday. Jr won the first race and Denny Hamlin won the second. If Jr wins the Daytona 500 he will be the first driver ever to win the Shootout, a Gatorade race and the 500.

Drivers of interest: Jimmy Johnson Row 1, Little E Row 2, Tony Stewart Row 3, Jeff Gordon Row 4 and Kasey Kahne Row 5.

And don't overlook the Craftsman truck race tonight and the Nationwide race tomorrow.

I think Darrell Waltrip says it best when he says:

Happy Valentines Day!

Daytona 500 Pole Set

Jimmy Johnson will be on the pole this upcoming Sunday for the Daytona 500. Michael Waltrip will be next to him on the outside of the front row.

Last Sunday during qualifying, Johnson was the only driver to top 187 mph, as he powered his No. 48 Chevrolet around 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway in 48.109 seconds (187.075 mph). Waltrip, the 48th of 53 drivers to attempt qualifying, ran more than a half-second faster than Johnson on his first of two laps but couldn't squeeze enough speed out of the second lap to knock the defending Cup champion off the pole. Waltrip covered the distance in 48.197 seconds (186.734 mph) in his No. 55 Toyota.

So now on to the rest of qualifying. The Gatorade Duel, is NASCAR Sprint Cup preliminary event to the Daytona 500. It consists of two 150-mile races, and serves as a qualifying race for the Daytona 500. The finishing order in the two 150-mile races, held tomorrow, determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500 held on Sunday. Drivers participate in one of the two races. Half the field entered for the Daytona 500 races in the first race, and the other half the second. The finishing order of the first race fills the odd positions of the starting grid (inside of each row), and the finishing order for the second race fills the even positions of the starting grid (outside of each row).

Beagle Is Top Hound at Westminster Dog Show

On Monday, at Madison Square Garden, a nearly 3-year-old, 15-inch-tall beagle named Uno took one small step toward the coveted title for his breed by winning the hound group, the first beagle to do so since 1939.
Now the only Beagle I know, Sadie, doesn't possess any of the qualities of Uno.

Welcome to the Family!

Welcome to the family Jr. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
The "new" was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who on Saturday night won the 30th Budweiser Shootout in his first race in a Hendrick Motorsports car -- with new sponsors AMP Energy Drink and National Guard and new car No. 88.

Who will have the Pole for the Daytona 500?

Sunday Feb 10 starts the Cup qualifying for the Daytona 500. Qualifying is very unique for the 500. Some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field. However the top 35 teams of the previous year in owner points are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500. The first row is set by one round of qualifying, that will be held this Sunday. The remainder of the field is set by a pair of qualifying races, the Gatorade Duels that will be held on Thursday.

The Pole Qualifying that will be held this Sunday shakes down like this: Each car, one at a time, makes a two-lap qualifying attempt, with the best single lap of the two counting as his qualifying speed. The fastest qualifier wins the pole position, and the second fastest is considered the "outside pole." Both front row starters are locked in to those positions on the Daytona 500 starting grid. The pole position winner is awarded the pole position for the first race, and the outside pole winner is awarded the pole position for the second race.

Side note: Kurt Ass Busch and Tony Crybaby Stewart are in trouble already. They went after each other Friday night during practice for the Bud Shootout. I thought I was watching a hockey match. The only difference was in hockey they go at it with full body contact and in stock car racing they go at it with a 2000 pound car contact.

Let Speedweek Begin

After taking a 3 month break, Nascar kicks off the season tomorrow during Daytona Speedweek with the Budweiser Shootout at 7pm CST. It's a non-points All-Star race featuring the previous season’s pole winners and past Budweiser Shootout champions. They'll do a 70-lap dash for cash. This year there's a record field of 23 drivers battling for the top prize of over $200,000. Kurt Ass Busch has the pole and Mark Martin, whom I've always like and is now driving the #8 car for Ginn/DEI, is starting in the #2 position. Other drivers of interest are: Jr starting 7th, Kahne 8th, Stewart 10th, Johnson 18th and Gordon is starting 22nd.

Stay tuned for a lot more Nascar info. There's lots of racing coming up. All I have to say is "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines"!

WCHA Hockey

The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. Fighting ... very appropriate after last Saturday's game. Leading up to the end of the tied overtime game between them, the Sioux players were out of control. There was more fighting on the ice than in any NHL game I've ever seen. I couldn't believe what I was watching.

And the coaches where just as nuts as the players. North Dakota coach, Dave Hakstol, who flipped off referee Don Adam during the second period, was slapped with a two-game suspension by the university. And the Western Collegiate Hockey Association issued a public reprimand of University of North Dakota men's head hockey coach Dave Hakstol for violating the league's Code of Conduct and Sportsmanship policies.

I'm not sure what players will be suspended, if any, for their conduct on the ice this past Saturday. It was as if all hell had broke loose. Even during the hand shake at the end of the game they were brawling.

North Dakota is currently in second place in WCHA Men's Hockey. Keep watching for more news on this subject as the season draws to an end. The Final Five will be held in St Paul on March 20th - 22nd. The NCAA Regionals will be held on March 28 - 30th. And the NCAA Frozen Four will be held in Denver on April 10 - 12th.

ahhh...yes when I smoke again

When I'm 80 and in a nursing home and smoking again, this could happen:

My friend Robin and I are outside our nursing home, having a drink and a smoke, when it starts to rain. I pull out a condom, cut off the end, put it over my cigarette, and continue smoking. Robin asks: "What in the hell is that"? I reply: "A condom. This way my cigarette doesn't get wet". Robin then asks: "Where did you get it"? I answer: "You can get them at any drugstore". The next day, Robin hobbles herself into the local drugstore and announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of condoms. The pharmacist, obviously embarrassed, looks at her kind of strangely(she is after all, over 80 years of age), but very delicately asks what brand of condom she prefers. "Doesn't matter Sonny, as long as it fits on a Camel."