Torturing Cats

No, not really, everyone relax, no animals are actually involved in anything in this post.

Every Saturday morning at 9am there is some sort of aerobic class at the gym Britt and I go to. We don't attend the class, but the room it's held in is immediately behind the cardio machines that we do use. So, what usually happens is that about 10 minutes after I get on the treadmill a bunch of women flood the room, then the music starts, and then about every 2 minutes there's this blood-curdling squeal / scream that can probably be heard out in the parking lot (we can definitely hear it out in the main part of the gym on the other side of a wall and closed door over the music playing in the gym and the noise of all the treadmills).

The first time this happened I kept thinking that surely someone would regulate the problem within the room or maybe the gym staff would ask them to keep it down. But no, whatever is making this noise (and it's the same noise each time) seems undaunted. So I finally figured out what is going on.

They are sneaking a cat into the room and then torturing it. The noise is almost certainly not human in nature, so this is the only logical conclusion I can come to. What I don't know is whether they use the same cat each week or spread the love around the feline community.

Seriously, I wish the gym would establish a noise policy - something barring members from making irritating noises that infringe on the right of others to a reasonably peaceful workout environment. This is needed for the same reason that they don't play heavy-metal music at 110 db - while some would enjoy it, others would probably find somewhere else to workout.

How Not to Park at the Gym

Last Sunday afternoon I was at the gym, had just started my cardio when suddenly there was a loud crashing noise. The crashing noise was followed closely by things along the east wall of the gym scattering and a scream by the young woman working behind the counter. Moments later a crack could be seen running down the sheet rock on the wall and about 30 people running to the exit to see what had just happened.

You guessed it, a car had hit the gym. I never got a straight answer about what happened to cause the car to jump the curb and hit the building. I think it was one of those things where the driver hit the gas instead of the brake as he/she was parking the vehicle.

There were no apparent injuries. Over the next hour there was a lot of sighing and retelling (and by the way, it happened between 2:35 and 2:40pm, every version I heard someone tell had it off by at least 10 minutes and some by far more than that - trust me, I was probably the only one looking at the clock immediately after it happened because I didn't go running out the door to gawk) of the incident. The police came, the gym owners came. I think the people driving the car actually came in to lift for a while as they waited for the police - though I'm not 100% sure the people I identified as the driver & passenger were in fact the ones in the car.

The gym staff used the most logical thing to close the cracks in the wall until it could be repaired - duct tape. Hey, baling wire wasn't going to work on this one, what else were they going to do?

You just never know what you're going to see at the gym.

Freedom in Our Society

A friend forwarded this article to me from the Wall Street Journal. It's not really intended as a partisan political piece, but does express a sentiment that I can appreciate regarding the way our legal system should function versus the way it currently does and the effects thereof.

I have long said that the purpose of government is to take care of things that individuals can't, protect the borders, deal with needed functions, etc. and then to stay out of the way. As the federal government continues to expand and reach further and further into our lives we get further away from what I believe the founders intended - of course that is a matter for debate.

My wife gets annoyed that I get fired up about things that I see as infringements on the rights of citizens. I appreciate this guy's ability to express that viewpoint in a more diplomatic manner than I probably could.

If you disagree with this perspective, that's cool. Well, that's your right anyway. I just thought it was worth posting this because it does express a philosophy without attaching itself to either side of the aisle or attacking the recently departed Bush administration or the incoming Obama administration. Happy reading.

Article

Cardinals Moving on to the Next Level

News surfaced yesterday that two of Webb City's football standouts will be continuing their grid-iron careers next fall.

Mack Kyle is reportedly (and I say reportedly because I haven't seen that in print or gotten it directly from a WC official or his family yet) headed to Pitt State. I wondered where Mack would land. Clearly he is a talented player with a lot of heart. I will be even more curious to learn what position he ends up playing for the Gorillas. I'm not an expert on Pitt State football, but I won't be shocked when Coach Broyles moves Mack to a running back slot or uses him as an outside linebacker or strong safety on defense. That's not to say he couldn't take snaps for Pitt, that just may not be the position where he can have the biggest impact for the Gorillas.

The other news that surfaced yesterday and I was able to confirm on ESPN.com is that Parker Graham has verbally committed to Oklahoma State. At a basketball game over in Carthage a couple of weeks ago (see related blog), Parker's mom mentioned that OSU was among the schools he was visiting and expecting an offer from before making a decision. I'm excited to see how Parker's career at O-State progresses. That's a big school and a big program, but Parker has the type of stature that would lend itself to becoming a big-time offensive lineman. I suspect that he will probably go from 260 lbs. to up around 300 lbs. over the next couple of years. At 6'8" and 300 lbs. he will have the size to play on the line at a D1 school. I hope that his experience in Stillwater is as great as mine was. Of course I didn't play football (or any other university sponsored sport), but had a great experience as a student there and I hope that he will as well. It's a great school and a very welcoming university family for a school so large. Don't give me any junk about being "just a number" with reference to OSU unless you have been there. It's not like that!

Good luck to Mack and Parker, I hope you both enjoy the same success in college as you have in high school. We will certainly be cheering you on.

Off-setting Penalties in DC

I had one of those moments the other morning where I was running along on the treadmill and wanted really badly to scold both sides on a particular issue being discussed on the news (ask my wife, this happens more than you might think, I should probably watch more SportsCenter and less national news while at the gym).

Following President Obama re-taking the oath of office there was a round of complaints from the White House press corps about the fact that they weren't allowed to witness this event. This came the night after all the flowery speeches about the new administration being much more open than the previous one in giving access and information to the press. The press was crying foul - "business as usual" 15 yards, loss of down.

Shame on both sides. Here's why:

The Press - You have no inherent right to cover everything that happens. To my knowledge, the Constitution protects the press from being influenced in their reporting by the government, but does not say they shall have the right to see and know all that goes on. If the President or any other official decides not to invite you in for something you need to get over yourselves, it is not your right to be there (and if someone can point me to the law that says it is I'd appreciate it, I'm not a lawyer or a Constitutional expert, I'm just not aware of anything that says the press shall be allowed to cover everything in the way they want to). My wife says I'm wrong about this, but hasn't yet shown me yet why.

The Obama Administration - Look, you've got mad high approval ratings, but the quickest way (well, at least in the top 3) to destroy them is to say you're going to do something and then not do it. I don't think 70% of the country actually cares whether you are more open than the preceding administration (or as you've said you'll be, more open than any in history), it's really just the press that cares and well, who cares about them. BUT (and it's a big but) don't charge to Washington talking about change, spell out the ways you're going to change things and then backtrack on it within hours of arriving.

WC Hoops v. Carthage

With football now behind us for the year basketball season is in full swing - as a matter of fact local high school teams are just past the mid-point on their schedules already.

Last night was the renewal of the age-old rivalry between WC and Carthage that seems to translate to all sports - I'll bet those kids don't like each other much in soccer, swimming, or track either. With both schools joining the COC, instead of a home & home only one game per season is scheduled. This year it was in Carthage - it was even homecoming. So there we sat, packed like sardines into what I can't believe passes for a high school gym. I can't wait until the Tigers get moved into their new facility so we don't have to go to the old one anymore.

The game? It reminded me of last year's game a little. Webb would get up, but couldn't seem to deliver the knockout blow and Carthage just kept coming back and keeping it close enough to be a game. Webb had several leads of 9 or more points including at 10-1 in the first. But in the fourth, Carthage started firing three pointers and managed to convert 5 3-point plays (including one guy hitting 3 free throws after Austin Daniel blocked - cleanly - his 3-point attempt and Scott Roderique got called for the foul - Scott was across the floor from where it happened).

Carthage got as close as 2-points and pulled within 3 a couple of times in the last 2 minutes. As I recall, Carthage even got the ball back once when they were down by three, but turned it over without getting a shot to tie.

Webb was Webb - they made the plays they needed to in order to finish the Tigers off - hitting 6 of 8 free throws and forcing 2 turnovers late. It wasn't pretty, but when it comes to playing at Carthage you have to be fairly satisfied with a win even if it's only 6-points.

I wrote last year about Webb City's basketball squad being physically superior to their opponents and not being coached to use that advantage. Even with losing 4 very talented senior starters, when the Cards take the floor it's like watching a varsity squad line up against a freshman squad in a lot of cases. They're just bigger. Case in point. Austin Lepper. I can't think off hand what his height/weight are, but he's a big guy. He walks past me every Sunday at church and he's just a big guy - probably 6'3" and 210, not sure. He's the 3rd biggest starter for WC. No really. Parker Graham is 6'8" and Trey Laveroni is 6'5" and both are strong guys - not wiry like some of the post players Webb faces from time to time. My point here is that WC, top to bottom is a big team (at least their starting 5 is, they are much smaller coming off the bench).

One difference I see from last year's team is a more consistent aggressive attitude in the paint. You don't see Parker Graham or Austin Lepper getting pushed around inside like we suffered through at times last year. I have to think that is caused by some combination of coaching and the individuals involved. These two guys - and the rest of the team - go after rebounds and in most cases take it hard to the rim.

Last night, I think we were in the 3rd quarter before I saw WC get a foul without at least one Carthage player hit the floor. Look, here's the deal, if you're going to foul someone you've got to get your money's worth. Now before someone accuses me of wanting people to play dirty, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm just talking about making sure that the fouls you do get are because you're being aggressive and not because you're being lazy and reaching instead of moving your feet on defense. If you're going to foul someone, foul them and don't give them the 3-point play unless they earn it. Why?

Because you're the bigger team and opponents ought to think twice before coming at you with the ball, not because you're a bully, but because they are a buck-thirty-five-soaking-wet and are going to go flying if you even reach in their direction.

The very last thing we ought to see is teams trying to push WC's big men around inside. Why? Because it's like children trying to push their parents around, it can only happen if the parent allows it. The down side is that when the bigger player stands his ground he's going to get the foul a lot of the time because he's easier to see. But you've got to set the tone. Put a couple of guys on the ground early and they'll probably find something else to do other than drive the paint the next time.

But hey, I already admitted I missed football season, so maybe I'm just missing watching WC backs run over defenders.

I also want to give a shout-out to the Cards for playing a lot of tough minutes. WC only willingly goes about 7-deep. They've got some other players that are developing, but are much stronger when they stay with their top-7. This means the starting 5 are playing a lot of minutes. I'm pretty sure Patrick Drake (brother-in-law) didn't sit down until the middle of the 4th. Pat didn't score a ton of points last night, but played well on defense, holding Trey Derryberry and other Tigers in check throughout the game. Derryberry had 11 points, at least 8 of which looked like something I did in a pickup game once upon a time. He's either a lot better than he appears or he got lucky on a couple of really ugly looking shots. Maddy Johnson has come along quickly, looking much more confident with the ball than a few weeks ago. He knows the game and can handle the ball. Austin Daniel shoots the ball well when WC needs him to and is good on defense. Not unlike football, he's a good player that the opponent probably wasn't paying attention to on film because of the others on the team.