Anthony Hilden

Two Sports Stories make me MAD for different reasons.

The last two weeks in the world of sports has been very interesting to say the least.  Two opposite, huge news stories, for completely different reasons have been on the front page of every major newspaper in the US.

Three weeks ago very few avid college football fans could even tell you who Jerry Sandusky even was-now, my parents even know the guy-and I wish I had never heard of him.  More than that, I wish scores of kids would have never met him.  While I follow sports very close, ask Beth and she will tell you that I follow "current events" even more close.-if it's on CNN, I try and learn as much as I can about it. I am amazed at this story-I was at a hotel in San Jose when Joe PA was fired from Penn State and students rushed to the streets of their campus.  I stayed up for two hours and watched the coverage.  

That same night a friend of mine sent me a text, asking for him, an honest question-"If Joe PA told his supervisor(s), why is he being fired?"  Through a series of text messages I tried to explain to him what I will attempt to explain here:  When you're a leader, THE LEADER of an organization good things happen to you when good things happen to your organization-the same happens when horrible things happen.  What occured at Penn State is a classic example of what happens when an organization becomes about a person rather than the vision/mission of the organization.  Penn State football was suppose to be educate young men and win football games-in that order-However, the Penn State became about Joe Paterno-how else can you explain why the man in his 80's was even still coaching-(even if the Jerry Sandusky stuff would have never happened).  When this happens, people are hurt and in the end, the organizations normally hits rock bottom.  

This story at Penn State makes me so angry on a whole new level for so many reasons-I, like all of America ask, who was looking out of these kids?  Why didn't ANYONE call the police? If they were indeed called, why didn't they look into this more? How many MORE kids are there?  What's wrong with Jerry Sandusky? If these charges are true, he really needs help.  What about his family? If there was a cover up, how in the world did Penn State join so many Catholic Churches and cover up this horrible abuse that takes places everyday in this world?  Where are these kids now and who is helping them through their emotions and questions? 

The other story makes me mad on a whole different level-a sports level-the NBA Lockout.  I was really looking forward to taking Park, to a few Timberwolve Games. I've been teaching him the positions of Basketball and teaching him about the game.  There are a few things that the Players Unions doesn't understand in all of this:

A.  The owners aren't kidding.  When they say that, "you had your best offer last week"-they meant it.

B.  The owners of these NBA teams don't run these teams for thier "day job"-Nearly every NBA owner is in a position to loose money all season-they don't care-they will still pay their bills and still eat really well.  Thus, see Point A.

C.  It's simple math-What the players are holding out for, has already been lost in lost wages for unplayed games.  

D.  NBA Players didn't take Financial Peace.  These players will run out of money LONG before even I will beacuse I don't own eight homes and 26 cars.  

Please get this settled and get back to playing basketball-I have a 2 1/2 year old that doesn't know or care that the Timberwolves are bad, he just wants to enjoy a game with this dad. 

Twins

I haven't blogged since June 4, 2011 and not much has changed for the Twins- Oh wait, yes it has. The wheels are completely off and the "hunt for hundred" is on.  97 games they have now lost. Unreal.  

Twins

The Minesota Twins have won two games in a row. Wow.  

Park Jacob Hilden

Parkman turns two years old today. You know what that means? We have to pay for his seat on the airplane now. It also means he can begin his quest for lifetime Medallion Status with Delta Airlines. Being serious though, I am very proud of who God is making Park into, even at this young age. It has been fun to watch him grow and see how his own personality develops.

Since he's turning two today, I recently purchased him his own basketball. We've been going over the positions in basketball, and by the end of the summer we will begin to learn the Dribble-Drive Offense.

Park also loves the Twins. This past winter I taught him the name Joe Mauer. Now Park thinks I am crazy; he keeps wondering, "Where is this guy named JOE MAUER?" I ask the SAME question every day of my life, and so does Jim Pohlad every two weeks. Even though Joe Mauer is on the back of a milk carton, Park loves the Minnesota Twins and watching baseball with daddy.

We tried watching the Timberwolves this past winter, but he couldn't figure out why a team would play in a such a big building with no one watching.

Park really loves his daycare. He enjoys playing with his friends, teachers and watching the "big kids." I am thankful for the people who work there and invest in my son's life. One of the best parts of my day is praying with him on the way to school. He totally expects it now. Park also LOVES to be outside, which, of course, has been a challenge thus far this year, but we look forward to a fun summer.

Even though I travel quite a bit for my job (which I love), when I leave Park is always excited to learn the name of a new city and to see what I bring him home when I return. Yesterday I told Park I was headed to Dallas on an overnight trip, and he said, "Colorado?" He's learned that I go there a lot too. I love it.  

Happy birthday Park! Your mom and dad love you very much.  

 

 

 

 

 

Prayer for Coach Dave Nelson

In this day of overpaid coaches, coaches who are jerks and coaches who leave their schools for the next big pay check, we must be reminded of coaches like Dave Nelson of Minnetonka, MN.  Coach Nelson, who earned a ton of awards at Blaine High School coaching football and continues to do the same for the Skippers at Tonka, is now in a battle of his own; he has prostate cancer.

There is a prayer group going on Facebook; check it out here.  They are asking people from all over the world to pray for Coach on Thursday, April 7, 2011.  I am asking you to join too.  I encourage you to read the comments on the Facebook page.  It's amazing the impact he has had on so many lives, many of them outside of football.  What a great teacher and coach.  Please take a moment this Thursday and say a prayer for Coach Dave Nelson.

Twins Ticket Problems

I have heard story after story tonight about the Minnesota Twins having a glitch in their online ticketing system when single game tickets went on sale today at 10am via their team's website. I'll write a full review later about how I think they should and can fix the problem. 

Would you please leave your comments here about what problems, if any, you experienced and how you'd fix it.

I can't get enough....

I was finishing my undergrad degree when the 2000 Presidental election took place.  I was a fool to think that if I stayed up to watch CNN until 3:00am that we would have a winner that night.  Little did we know it would be weeks later when a winner was declared.  But something happened to me that night.  I became a huge fan of CNN and a huge fan of current events.

With the recent events in Japan, I find myself wanting to watch as much of it as I can.  I love the coverage.  I am heartbroken by what has taken place.  In fact, working in the travel industry (http://www.afctravel.com/) I find myself following these types of events even more.  We actually heard from one of our passengers who was on the runway in Tokyo when the quake hit, and he said he spent the next 5 hours on the plane.  

Let's continue to pray for the nation of Japan, and if you'd like to support the effort there, please help through Convoy of Hope.

Wolves Trade again

David Khan is helping out his friend, Donnie Walsh (GM of NY Knicks)-that's the ONLY way to explain this trade. While I agree Corey Brewer has little to NO trade value, why do we want AR and Eddie Cury's Expiring contract? You can only have so many expiring contracts if you're not going to actually USE the money for a good player.  David Khan is making people want Kevin McHale back....I can't believe I just said that.

-2 this morning

 

 

I woke up and it was -2 this morning. Made me miss Cabo.

 

Gophers don't play well tonight...

I was unable to watch the Gopher game tonight vs. the Hoosiers because we dropped out current plan with Direct tv and only get a handful of channels now.  However, I did listen to the game on WCCO Radio tonight. (I might have been the only person to listen to a game on the radio under the age of 65). 

It appears we didn't play well again tonight.  I am concerned with a few things that go beyond not having A. Nolen and Mr. Joseph.  Here are a few of my concerns:

• Why does Rodney Williams (who's a freak of nature at times) completely disappear at times? He started the game tonight with 5 points and finished with 5 points. If he could give the Gophers a SOLID 25-27 mins a night, we'd be much better.
• Can Tubby Smith coach up kids? It's a term we hear more and more these days-"coach up"-taking a kid and coaching him to a whole new level. Many would say that Coach K does this at Duke-takes slow, white kids from wherever and turns them into awesome college basketball players.  I love Coach Smith, I think he's turned around this entire program-but can he coach up kids? The verdict is still out on that one.
• Finally, how much can we really expect from eight scholarship kids?