Winter Camping :(

Well the 2008 Minnesota Fishing Opener is gone, our first 2008 trip to the BWCA is over and my ass is still frozen. It was a great time even though the fishing was lousy. We had one fish fry of Northern. But don't worry, we still ate good. I'll put a slideshow up of all my photos. So look on the sidebar for that.

My friend Ellie holding her catch "Mr. Pike". It snowed during the night once. Well it started as rain and turned to ice and snow during the night.

Loaded down!

Ice Out Progress

Things are shaping up! The have the boats in on Fall Lake. No docks yet, but boats. They put them out yesterday. You can see the ice is breaking up nicely. Dave and Ellie are on their way up there right now. I hope they find Parent Lake open!

On the Record

Dave Boeckermann would like to go on the record saying that going to the BWCA this opener is a bad idea.

Kimkay would like to go on the record saying that going to the BWCA this opener is rock'n awesome idea!!

Ely Webcams

Well I've been keeping an eye on the ice out conditions up north. We're heading that way on Thursday to fish opener out of Al (canoe) and sleep on the ground in a tent.

One of the Ely Webcams is at the American Bear Center. That's where I got the above photo from yesterday.

You can take a peak at the Ely Webcams at: http://www.elyminnesota.com/content/blogcategory/21/39/

Below are two photos of Fall lake. The first one is from this morning. You can see there is a boat on the lake (behind the tree). You can also see there is quite a bit of ice. The second photo is from yesterday morning. So there is some progress apparent. Hopefully that ice will keep on melting in the next day. Dave and Ellie are going up there tomorrow.

I've done two things: 1. Told Ellie to bring an ice pick to blaze a trail and 2. Named us (Dave, Ellie, Makita and myself) The Frozen Four.

Avs are out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

It was a slaughter. I feel violated. The Detroit Red Wings stomped the Colorado Avalanche. Now the Wings will go on to play the Dallas North Stars. So that's who I will be rooting for.

Dale Jr. Opens Whiskey River in Charlotte

There are no race cars hanging from the ceiling, and country music is only a small part of the background noise. Metal and leather decor dominate. Whisky River, located in downtown Charlotte’s EpiCentre, is Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s latest venture outside the racing world.
Earnhardt Jr., the majority owner, describes the bar/nightclub as “Carolina country” but doesn’t want it to be thought of as a strictlycountry hangout. “Basically ... if I’m sitting in a bar, and I’m not having a good time, this is everything that I would change,” he said. “This is how I wouldmake it.” That includes a large dance floor, plenty of TV screens (that will show various areas of the bar), a mechanical bull and fiber optic lighting on the bars themselves.
Already immersed in television (Hammerhead Entertainment) and race-track development (Alabama Motorsports Park), Whisky River is yet another extension of his life – and interests – away from the track.

And while he hopes it will be a success, Earnhardt Jr. says such endeavors interest him for more than just the potential financial gain. “I’ve never went into anything like this thinking: ‘Man, we’ve got to make this much money .... If I break even, and have a good time, then it’s worth it,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve always treated everything. That’s why I don’t make any money owning Nationwide cars. If I can just break even, I’m happy just to be able to enjoy it.”

Wednesday night country star Gary Allan played at the opening of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s new nightclub Whiskey River in Charlotte North Carolina. The two are pictured here hanging out after Allan’s set. Other celebrities spotted at the VIP opening include NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, David Stremme and Kyle Petty along with Sean May from the Charlotte Bobcats.

Chaun finishes 1567 out of 25283

Chaun finished the 26 miles of the Boston Marathon today in 3:03:47. There are 25,283 runners. Right after he finished the official BM site stated that his official finish was #1567.

Lance Armstrong ran this morning also and he finished in 2:50:58 (looks like Chaun was only 13 minutes behind him). Lance was #488.

Way to go Chaun!

Doc Cox "Jogs" thru Bean Town

34 year old Dr. Chaun Cox (Makita's cousin) qualified for the Boston Marathon and is heading out to Bean Town to run the 26 miles this Monday April 21st. To qualify for the 112th Boston Marathon, athletes must meet the designated time standard which corresponds to their age group. Chaun's age group is the largest and includes Men 18 to 35 who must run a qualifying marathon of 26 miles in three hours and 10 minutes or less.

The Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world's most prestigious road racing events. The Boston Marathon has distinguished itself as the pinnacle event within the sport of road racing by virtue of its traditions, longevity and method of gaining entry into the race (via qualification).

You can check up on Chaun's progress on Monday at http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

His bib number is 4158. Run your socks off Chaun!

Here's the Doc in the BWCA a couple years ago.

Playoff Hockey at it's Best

Holy cow! Those Avs and Wild players are giving us quite a show. The series is tied with two games a piece. The fights are awesome. Last nights game was super with the Avs scoring 5 goals before the Wild made their measly 1. Tomorrow nights game is back in Minnesota. This is fun!

Nags Head North Carolina

This week I'm on the coast in North Carolina. I have no travel tragedies to report. I got here fine and dandy. I was on three different flights today. I went to Minneapolis and to O'hare before finally going on to Norfolk Virgina. Then there was a two hour drive south. The car I got only had 4 miles on it. Of course now it has a few more than that. The hotel I'm at is right on the beach and the room I'm in has a beautiful view of the parking lot on the West side of the building.

I'll be working at http://www.capsanmedia.com/

From Fighting Sioux to Fighting Irish

Well North Dakota lost to Boston on Thursday night and Notre Dame beat Michigan. So tonight's NCAA Championship game in Colorado will be between the Boston Eagles and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I'll pulling for the Irish.

Last night the Wild won over the Avs in Minnesota so that series is tied with one win each. They meet again on Monday night in Colorado.

Tonight finds NASCAR Cup under the lights in Phoenix. I've been to one night race there. It was a blast. Last year Jeff won it. This year looks like Jimmie is strong. Ryan Newman is on the pole and Carl Edwards is plain ole' on fire with four wins already this year. So I'll be flipp'n back and forth between the College Hockey game and NASCAR.

Here I am in Phoenix during an April night race. I was "enjoying" a bloody mary in a driving rain storm. But the skies did clear eventually and the race continued.

Let the Games Begin

Well the first Stanley Cup Conference Quarter Final game between the Wild and the Avs is now in the record books. The Avs won in overtime in Minnesota last night. They'll meet again tomorrow night in Minnesota again for the second game in the best of seven series.

And tonight starts the Men's NCAA Frozen Four in Denver.

The Semi Final Games:

#2 North Dakota (28-10-4) vs. #3 Boston College (23-11-8) at 5pm Central time. GO SIOUX!

#5 Notre Dame (26-15-4) vs. #1 Michigan (33-5-4) at 8pm Central time.

The winners of tonight's games meet at the Pepsi center this Saturday night for the Championship at 6pm Central time.

Off to Plano IL

Woo-hoo. I'll let you know how it is. Hopefully I won't have all the delays getting back to Midway as I did last week.

Well here's crazy fun for ya: the Avs are playing the Wild in the Division Quarter Finals. Best of seven. They'll play this Wednesday and this Friday to start off.

Jeff Gordon did something he's only done one other time in over 500 starts: finished dead last. He fell 5 spots to #14. If we were going to the Chase today he wouldn't be in it. Off to Phoenix for a Saturday night race this weekend. Come on already!

I was excited to hear that my friend Ellie's parents are coming to Minnesota for a visit. And it looks like I'll get an opportunity to see them while their here.

Big news: Smelt fry in Garrison Saturday April 26th.

Not much to write

I'm actually not in Chicago. I'm about 20 miles from the city in Homewood. So there's not much to do or see. As a matter of fact you may not want to go out after dark. Hell, you may not want to go out during the day. I'm pretty busy working anyway. I'll be flying home Saturday night and then flying back to Chicago on Tuesday to drive to a job in Plano IL.

I may have broke my toe. Okay, maybe not. I guess I can wiggle it. But it does hurt.

I do have to say Chicago is an odd area. First of all they don't issue any gun permits in the city except to Police Officers. So they have a lot of crime here. Only the cops and the bad guys have guns. So what's to stop a bad guy from drawing on you? Nothing. They ain't scared of no good guy. They know they got ya. One school here has had twenty students shot and killed during this school year alone. Not at school but elsewhere during the year. Twenty...in one school.

Cellular phone use in your vehicle is illegal in Chicago. And now they're trying to pass a law that you can't walk in town and talk on your phone or listen to music. They say you don't pay enough attention to traffic and might walk out in front of a vehicle. Guess they're trying to save you.

And then there's the co-workers in Chicago that took a soccer ball out to the park near work and kicked it around to blow off some steam. Well an officer showed up and issued them all tickets because evidently it's illegal in a Chicago city park to do anything that would distress the scrubs or grass.

Gosh I love my little gun toting, cell phone talking, grass smashing town.

Made it!

I did finally make it to Chicago yesterday morning. The traffic was unbelievable. It took me almost two hours to drive 17 miles. I don't know how people can stand living like this. I drove down to Homewood to work. Things are looking up.

On the "woo hoo" side, the Avs clinched a playoff spot last night when they beat the Canucks 4 to 2. Their last game will be over the weekend against Minnesota. Then let the playoffs begin.

I may never get to Chicago

This winter storm is cramping my style. I've had several flights cancelled today. They'd cancell one and reschedule me, then cancell that one. I've only made it as far as Minneapolis. And that's only because Makita drove me here. And currently the flight I'm scheduled on for 7am in the morning is showing a one hour delay. This sucks.

Weekend in Sports

Jeff took second. Not too shabby. That moved him up in to the top ten. Next week they'll be in Texas on Sunday.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux made it to the Final Four NCAA Men's Hockey Championship. They will be playing Boston in Denver on April 10th and if they win on the 10th they will go on to the championship on the 12th.

Crosby Ironton high school Boys BB took second place in state. They had been undefeated until the championship game. They lost to New London/Spicer.

The Wild kicked some butt over the weekend. They smoked Vancouver Friday night and took a win in overtime against my beloved Avalanche yesterday. Minnesota has clinched a playoff spot and is currently leading the division.

The Av's won Friday in a shoot out against the Oilers. In our division it will more than likely be the Avs and the Flames who join Minnesota in the playoffs. We'll have to keep our eye on Vancouver to see how they do. I of course want the Canucks to lose and help secure a place for my Avs in the playoffs. Vancouver plays the Av's on the 1st, the Oilers on the 3rd and the Flames on the 5th. There is only two more regular season games for the Avs and the Wild. There is three games remaining for the Flames.

The Avs and Wild's last regular season games....ready for this....is against each other in Colorado this Sunday.

I'm getting ready to head out to Chicago. Hopefully the weather will allow me to get there. It doesn't look good right now. I'll keep you posted.

Come on Jeff!

Jeff is currently in 14th place. That's two places out of making the Chase. Come on! Martinsville this Sunday. Maybe we can pull one off on a short track.

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.