Mark Lieberman's BLOG

Routines

2012-03-04T15:31:00.016-06:00

I have a list of topics that I use for blog ideas. One of them is about Routines. I actually came up with this idea when I was going to bed one night. I had to have my wife email me this idea so I wouldn't forget it; thank you Nina's iPhone!

My father wrote a blog post about this same topic last weekend. His Routines included going to work during the week, walking after work, writing on the weekends, and shopping on the weekends which he tries to avoid. My dad's Routines are also flexible.

I have home Routines, work Routines, and tv Routines. I do them without even thinking. Most of mine are flexible; It's my work Routines that stay the same.

HOME ROUTINES
The first two websites I check when I come home from work are my Yahoo email and Facebook! The good thing is I am not "addicted to Facebook" like many people are. All I do is promote my blog and glance at my friends recent status updates. I don't use any of the apps or check in where ever I may be. If I could find another way to promote my Blog, I would stop using Facebook. Maybe I should add that to my topic list; how to promote my BLOG?

When I do walk, I do that as soon I get home from work.

I set aside my uniform (polo shirt and khakis) for work the night before so I don't have to worry about that in the morning.

I get out a frying pan and small plate the night before for my breakfast the next morning. I don't do this on the weekends.

As I am preparing my dinner, I set aside some leftovers for lunch.

I run my errands in the morning on the weekends.

I do the laundry on the weekends.

I take naps on the weekends. Very rarely will I take a nap during the weekday after I come home from work.

I handle the trash and recycling bins on Monday's and Thursday's!

No matter how tired my wife is, I am always in bed sleeping before her!

WORK ROUTINES
I always drive the same route to work and coming home from work. It's funny that I see the same cars! I know where the potholes are and where the cops hang out.

I leave my house at the same time every morning. I also aim to be at one particular intersection before a certain time. I always give myself extra time for traffic.

I have to open my computer programs in the same order! I will reboot or close all the programs if they get out of order!

I always eat lunch at my desk even though we have break rooms and a cafeteria.

TV ROUTINES
Like everybody else, I have several TV shows that I must watch! For those shows, I don't want to be bothered! Sunday's are The Simpson's and The Walking Dead and Wednesday's are Criminal Minds and CSI! Touch will be added to my favorite shows when it comes back in a few weeks. I also watch a lot of ESPN!

We don't have a DVR so if I happen to miss a show, I have to watch it online a few days after and this does happen sometimes!

I would like to hear from you on your Routines.

Houston

2012-02-27T12:24:00.012-06:00

My wife and I took a road trip this past weekend to Houston, TX. We normally like to be home on the weekends, but I really needed to get away from everything for a few days. We were looking forward to getting some Jewish food and visiting the Space Center. A few of my co-workers told me that the Houston Zoo is awesome, so we added that stop on our trip also.

We stopped at Buc-ee's on the way up and coming home. They have some really funny attention grabbing billboards! And, they are well known for clean bathrooms! It is a HUGE store with lots of convenient store stuff, Texas chotchkies, Buc-ee's chotchkies, Buc-ee's manufactured food, and other food items.

We got butter popcorn, caramel popcorn, Buc-ee's salt water taffy, spicy Doritos, a sausage on a stick, and a croissant sandwich with chicken salad on our way to Houston.

We got some Dippin Dots from Buc-ee's on the way home. That was our first time having that type of ice cream. I actually had to have Nina feed me mine since I was driving! It was good, but I probably won't be getting it again.

There is an awesome New York delicatessen restaurant in Houston called Kenny & Ziggy's Deli. They have the best Matzoh Ball soup and I will never pass up an opportunity to have Matzoh Ball soup. We actually ate there coming up and coming home. The staff is very friendly and professional. The food is absolutely delicious. The portions are enormous. We had huge plates of leftovers from each meal! Broadway playbills from different shows line the walls of the restaurant. They also have a deli counter.

Matzoh Brie

Potato Pancake (Latke)

Sandwich and Sweet Potato fries

Chicken Schnitzel and Onion Rings

Mathoh Ball soup

The weather was perfect when we visited the Houston Zoo; cloudy and about 65 degrees. The only other zoo I have been to is the San Antonio Zoo and that was a very long time ago. We had a very pleasant stroll thru the zoo. It started to rain when we were leaving, but by that time we had already seen most of the animals.

Monkey with a Towel over him

Sleeping Tiger

My parents took me to the Space Center Houston when I was a kid, but I have no memory of that! Nina and I were going to go on our Honeymoon in November of 2010, but we were tired and wanted to come home.

This was actually our main purpose for this road trip! The museum itself was a disappointment; it looked like it was geared towards kids not adults. The NASA Tram Tour made up for the disappointment. They drove us around the NASA campus and we got to see Mission Control, the Astronaut training facility, and the Saturn V rocket! It was really cool and extremely interesting.

Saturn V rocket

Nina and Mark self portrait

So, that was our quick little vacation! Our next quick little vacation may be in the summer to the beach in Rockport, TX.

Cypress Cove Chili Cook-Off in Spring Branch

2012-02-20T12:07:00.006-06:00

This past Saturday, I went with my wife to the Cypress Cove Chili Cook-Off in Spring Branch. Nina was going as a vendor to sell her soap, liquid soap, moisturizer, lip balm, Shea butter, and yarny things. Plus, her mother lives in that particular neighborhood!

It was cold and rainy and if it was any other market, we probably wouldn't have gone. But, we had a really good reason to go; her mom and Chili!!!

Now, I have visited my wife at a few markets but I have never been with her from start to finish. And, let me tell you something; I had no idea how much work goes into setting up.

I helped her unload all the stuff; a pink canopy tent, a folding table, a chair, 4 bricks, and lots of products! I basically watched in amazement as she setup her booth and organized all the products. Wow! And, I can't believe she does several markets a week!
Despite the weather and the small crowd at the Cypress Cove Chili Cook-Off in Spring Branch, we came home with some extra money! Yay! And, we got to hang with her mom and had some delicious chili.

If you interested in purchasing any of my wife's products, please visit WWW.SOAPMARKED.COM.

She also has her own BLOG at Soapmarked.com.

If you want to see her products in person, please visit her calendar at http://www.facebook.com/Soapmarked or you can email her at admin@soapmarked.com.

Today, she will be at the Seguin Farmers Market from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.

Alyssa Milano

2012-02-12T17:14:00.001-06:00

I can't believe I am admitting this, but I just read a book by Alyssa Milano called Safe At Home: Confessions of a Baseball Fanatic.

I knew who Alyssa Milano was but never watched Who's the Boss, Melrose Place, or Charmed. I think I did see one of her movies!

I had no clue she was even a baseball fan. And, you know something, it was a really good book. She knows baseball stats and strategy and shares her love for the game with her family. A lot of the stories she talks about, I am familiar with since I am a baseball fan, but I am not a Fanatic.

Movies, Part II

2012-02-12T17:01:00.003-06:00

Last night, I finally watched the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 on my laptop in our living room! It was like my own little movie theater as I had drinks and popcorn. It was also nice that my wife actually joined me for the movie; she has read all the books. She also makes fun of me cause I like the Twilight series and calls me a "teenage girl!"

It was not as action adventure packed as I thought it would be, but it was still pretty awesome. Now, I have to wait till November for the final movie.

Movies

2012-02-11T12:17:00.002-06:00

I can't believe that in the past few weeks, I have actually watched several movies. I have to thank the San Antonio Public Library and Netflix!

Super 8 was one that I really wanted to see in the theater, but never did. It stars Kyle Chandler (I know him as Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights) and produced by Steven Spielberg! It was awesome and I loved the action!

I like movies that have a great cast. I found one that starred William H Macy, Donald Sutherland, Neve Campbell, John Ritter, and Tracy Ullman called Panic. It was a good movie and I really like William H Macy! I was surprised by the ending!

Another William H Macy movie I watched was called Bart Got a Room. Also stars Cheryl Hines. It is about a high school senior prom. It was cute and funny!

Visioneers stars Zach Galifianakis and is about people exploding due to stress!! Zach is a funny funny dude and he alone makes this movie worth seeing.

I still haven't seen Hangover 2! Wait, let me check to see if the library has it. Crap, they don't have it! And, it is not available on Netflix. Well, I will find another way to watch it.

I like Denzel Washington so I watched The Taking of Pelham 123. It also stars John Travolta, James Gandolfini (I know him as Tony Soprano), and John Turturro. It was a good action packed movie and the cast was great.

I watched The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I have heard about the book, but had no clue what it was about. And, you know something, I really liked the movie. It was kinda quirky, strange, and funny! Now, I may have to research the books.

This week, I watched Iron Man and Iron Man 2. A few of my co-workers couldn't believe that I haven't seen these movies.

Iron Man has a a great cast; Robert Downey Jr, Terrance Howard, Jeff Bridges (I know him as THE DUDE), and Gwyneth Paltrow. And, the movie kicked ass! It was awesome!

Iron Man 2 also has a great cast; Robert Downey Jr, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johannson, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L Jackson. It also kicked ass! I can't wait for the sequel! I am starting to really like the super hero comic book movies.

This weekend, I am going to watch the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1! No, I am not joking! I like the story line of vampires vs werewolves vs Bella Swan!

Next week, I will watch Fight Club and Thor!

UIL Realignment

2012-02-03T20:36:00.002-06:00

On Thursday, February 2nd, the UIL announced the 2012-2014 realignment, which is based on the enrollment numbers for each high school. Basically what this means is that some schools will go to a new District or change classifications (Texas has 5A, 4A, 3A, 2A, and 1A). This didn't get as much publicity as signing day on the local news stations.

The only District I really care about is 25-5A cause that is where the Judson Rockets are! I also can't believe that they have the largest enrollment at 3,848! Wow, that's a lot of students!

In that District, the Steele Knights and Seguin Matadors have been replaced by the Smithson Valley Rangers (they went from 4A to 5A) and the New Braunfels Canyon Cougars!

I think Judson will still play Steele in non-District play and I know they won't miss Seguin since they are a bad team. Smithson Valley is another powerhouse for high school football. They haven't won any state championships, but have gotten very close the past several years. Plus, the school and stadium kinda look like a small university! Smithson Valley and Judson used to be in the same District a few years ago, so this will be a renewed rivalry for both schools who don't like each other. All I really know about the Canyon Cougars is they have a fairly new stadium with a red turf!

I read a tweet about a possible Week 0 game between the Judson Rockets and the Lake Travis Cavaliers (they have won 5 consecutive 4A state championships, they also went from 4A to 5A)! That would be awesome!

Gonna be some fun football starting in August and I can't wait!

2012 Signing Day

2012-02-03T19:29:00.007-06:00

On Wednesday, February 1st, high school athletes around San Antonio had there opportunity to tell us where they will be attending college! Family, coaches, other students, and the local media joined the student athletes for there decision. Must be pretty awesome to be good at something and have a college offer you a scholarship to continue doing what you are good at! Too bad, napping isn't a sport!

I am really glad that UTSA and UIW got there share of high school football players from San Antonio.

I am interested to see how Tommy Armstrong, the former Steele Knight QB, does at the UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, Trevor Knight, the former Reagan Rattler QB, does at UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA, and Rex Dausin, the former Warren Warriors QB, does at the UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON. I dropped these three names many times in my high school football blog (search my BLOG by Tommy, Trevor, and Rex to see my posts about them).

Tommy's most impressive game that I worked was from Week 3. He went 3 of 4 passing for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns in only one quarter of play!

Trevor's most impressive game that I worked was from Week 8. He went 7 for 14 passing for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 14 times for 70 yards with 1 touchdown. And, he didn't play the second half of that game!

Rex's most impressive game that I worked was from Week 5. He went 21 of 24 passing for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns! That would come out to a NFL passer rating of 158.33! He also added 42 yards rushing with 1 touchdown.

I wish all the student athletes best of luck in college and represent San Antonio well.

House for Sale (hey, it's ours)

2012-02-02T20:37:00.002-06:00

Last night when I came home from work, there was a FOR SALE sign in the yard! Wow, I can't believe everything my wife and I did during January to prepare the house for sale. It looks awesome! We even have roses blooming in the front yard.

Now we just wait for someone to fall in love with our house and make as an offer!

So, if you know anybody looking to purchase a home in the Northeast side of San Antonio, let me know and I will be happy to provide you with our agents contact information.

front yard

this is my office where I BLOG

our living room where we eat and watch TV

I am not HANDY....but

2012-01-21T20:59:00.003-06:00

Since I am a guy, you would assume that I know how to fix stuff in my house. But, to be honest, I don't have a clue. I am accustomed to calling my dad, calling a professional, or calling the apartment office when something needed to be repaired or replaced!

My wife, on the other hand, painted the entire house, installed tile in the bathroom, installed three new faucets, re-finished the bathroom lights and a bathroom vanity, planted several rose bushes in the front yard, installed some shelves in the kitchen, and repaired the drywall in a bathroom. She really likes to use a hammer!! Wow! Darling, you are awesome and amazing. Thanks for everything!!! Together, we took down a mirror in a bathroom.

My dad is very handy. He installed a garbage disposal, fixed our dryer, installed three new light fixtures, and replaced a power outlet. I helped a little bit, but he did all the dirty work! Thanks DAD!!!! In a few weeks, he is going to help us repair our fence. I am not looking forward to that.

Now, back to me. I put the knobs on the kitchen cabinets and put some new hinges on two cabinets. Even though it seemed easy, it was a challenge for me. The screws for the knobs were too long, so we had to make a Home Depot run for shorter screws! The hinges were a pain since I had to drill holes and find screws that were the proper length!

I am still working on a bathroom vent. Think we have to measure it and take a picture of it and bring it to Home Depot for help.

Our screen door handle kept coming off and that is the first thing a potential buyer is going to touch! The super kind folks at Home Depot looked at the handle and told me that I need to use a hex tool to tighten the screw! I thought it was gonna be much more difficult. I bought the cheapest set and hey it worked very nicely!

I replaced all the burnt out light bulbs in the house! That was easy since I had the use of my dad's ladder!

We have an electric lawnmower and weed whacker. Just a pain since I have to use two extension cords. Oh, I have be careful of the rose bushes in the front. I ran over one a while back! I actually like mowing the yard. It's a small yard but after it is done, it looks really nice and smells fresh!

For everything I am doing, I only have a few cuts and scratches on my hands and legs! Do you know what I use for my cuts and scratches? I use my wife's handmade soap and moisturizers and you should too!

The Versatile Blogger

2012-01-17T20:15:00.005-06:00

My mother-in-law, Sally Jane Driscoll, presented me with The Versatile Blogger award!

I don't really know what it means or if I beat other bloggers, but hey, it is really cool!!! I mean, I have only been in business since last April.

One part of The Versatile Blogger award is I have to tell my readers 7 things about myself and then pass the award on to 14 other bloggers!!! Yay!

I also have to thank the person who gave it to me and link to her blog. Thanks Sally. You are the best mother-in-law anybody can ask for. Now, I know where Nina gets a lot of her tendencies.

7 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF

1. I had my picture taken with the 1999 San Antonio Spurs championship trophy in my HOME! Yes, folks that really is a skinny and much much younger version of Mark.

2. I fell on a glass coffee table and ended up having a bunch of stitches and staples on my back; I blame the dog! After it happened, I called my mom and told her to come pick me up and take me to the ER. She was like if this is a paper cut, I am going to kick your ass! I was very fortunate that my dad was nearby at the VA hospital and my uncle was able to see me in the operating room since he was a doctor.

3. I am 34 years old and have been a high school football statistician for half of my life!

4. I had a job where I had to be at work at 5:45am! Plus, it was open 365 days a year. And, I didn't complain for 3 years!!! Wow!

5. I get Botox injections. I have to keep my face wrinkle free! Just kidding! I really do get Botox injections, but is in my vocal cords.

6. I really like to naps, especially when I am off from work. The awesome thing is, I don't even have to be sleepy! My wife is jealous of me!!

7. I procrastinate. I will tell you why tomorrow!

I can hear music playing from my wife's IPhone so I guess I will end my acceptance speech!

Oh, crap, I almost forget to pass it on to other bloggers and they are: WARREN LIEBERMAN and Deborah Pruitt.

House For Sale (Almost)

2012-01-15T15:51:00.003-06:00

Fifteen days ago, my wife and I made a really difficult financial decision to sell our house. This wasn't our 2012 New Years resolution! By doing this, we will be able to pay down our debt and save for a new place in a year or so.

Nina has been doing the majority of the work and when I come from work, I am amazed at what she has accomplished. I do a lot of the "dirty work."

Thank god, we already had a storage unit! Right now, I am looking at 7 large plastic bins that need go in there. By the time our house is officially listed, the storage unit will be full of lots of stuff!!! We are fortunate that our parents are going to store our furniture.

It's a lot of work and everyday our house looks better and better.

Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia - Jobs

2012-01-13T19:38:00.001-06:00

I was diagnosed with Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia in May of 2006 and had my first two Botox injections in August and October of that year.

In September of 2006, I knew I had to find another full time job; there were several changes taking place at the newspaper. Key employees were leaving and the pay was not adequate for all of my duties and responsibilities.

When I started the job search, I wanted to stay away from call centers. My resume spoke for itself. It was up to me to speak and get the job that I desired (no pun intended).

Even though I applied for hundreds of jobs, I was only able to land two interviews. Sometimes, I felt over qualified for jobs. Would you believe it, that I even considered removing my college education from my resume?

The first interview was going good until the interviewee asked me about my voice. I was shocked and caught of guard by this comment! Yes, I probably should’ve drunk some water before and during the interview; that would’ve helped me speak clearer! I was hesitant on my answer; do I say nothing or explain my voice disorder? I chose to say, “It has never become a problem in any of my jobs.” The interviewer did tell me he was impressed with me. Despite that, I never heard from that company again. I wonder why?

My second interview was at a call center. Yes, I am serious! I had experience and wanted to see if I could get hired; call it curiosity. After I reread the job description, I found out that it was a support call center for all the Washington Mutual financial centers. It was not with customers but with co-workers.

I was more prepared by drinking water before and during the interview. Three people interviewed me and they never asked about my voice. I guess I impressed them with myself and experience because they offered me a job a week later.

Now came the week of contemplation! I was adamant that I didn’t want to work in a call center even though the pay would be a significant increase. I kept saying to myself this would be difficult emotionally and physically. I was putting my voice first and it was beating me!

As the days passes, I was leaning more towards taking this job. Yes, I would be using my voice more but would also get a voice vacation break for 6 weeks during training. Yes, it would be a significant pay increase. Plus it would give me an opportunity to learn the bank business and there was room for growth.

I made the decision on December 21, 2006 to resign from the newspaper and go to Washington Mutual.

The training for WAMU began on Monday, January 8, 2007. I didn't know it at the time, but my wife started the same day I did at the bank but in a different department. She came to my department in August of 2007 and sat behind me and the rest is history!!!!

After six weeks of classroom training, the phone moment was approaching quickly. I was nervous about being back on the phones. When I did get my first taste of reality I must be honest; I truly struggled. It was a combination of being back on the phones, not knowing the answers, a new job environment, no speech therapy for 3 months, and 6 months since my last Botox injection.

When there was an opportunity to be off the phone during training, I was more than happy to allow somebody else some quality phone time. I had some really bad days and I was on the verge of quitting. I was very miserable. I didn't even want to go to work; I would sit in my car in the parking lot until the last possible minute. I was seriously thinking about how long I could survive on my savings account. Yes, it was that rough!

I finally chose to tell my boss on February 7th about my voice condition and that I am having a difficult time being on the phones. I was going over and over in my head what I should say. My immediate boss wasn’t available. So, I went to the next manager that caught my eye; he was one of the three that interviewed me. I felt very comfortable talking to him. He was shocked when I told him about my voice! He asked me what I wanted. I answered how about another job within the company or allow me to be on the phones less. He mentioned that the company has a department that handles reasonable accommodation and he will contact them.

Ironically, after this conversation took place, I chose to be on the phones without a mentor for the first time. I felt as if the monkey was off my back. Throughout that day, I was slowly gaining confidence and was learning where to get the answers. I was struggling, but not as much as the past week. My mindset was changing.

A few days later, I got an e-mail from the Accommodation department. They sent me a form where I could explain my condition and my accommodation request. Dr. Page, my Speech Language Pathologist, also received a similar form. She indicated that I should be limiting my voice usage and should be doing manager/administrative work.

Well, the Accommodation department took Dr. Page’s advice to the extreme and told me to take an unpaid leave of absence while they looked for another job in the company; this could take days, weeks, months, or years! My manager and department manager wanted to make sure I understood what was happening. I can’t be on the phones, as I would be putting the company and myself at risk. They would search for another job within the company to accommodate me. Just when I was having a change of heart, I was gone!

I showed up to work the next morning thinking that I would be able to use my work computer and phone to contact the company that manages the leave of absence. But, when the boss’s saw me they notified me immediately that I had to leave; I wasn’t even allowed to be in the building. I felt as if I had been knocked out by a boxer when they told me.

I didn’t even have a chance to say anything more to my co-workers who sit next to me; just that I am taking a leave of absence for a few weeks and I hope to be back.

Well, after corresponding with my managers and the Accommodation department they offered my job back; but only on a part time basis and my doctors would have to agree. I actually considered this; I would be able to look for another job and still have a little bit of income. But, I knew this would also be a financial struggle.

I made up my mind that I wouldn’t accept that particular offer; I am going to get my full time job back at Wamu! I scheduled appointments for a speech therapy session and a Botox injection.

My sessions with Dr. Page went very well and I got a Botox injection from Dr. Simpson on April 2nd, 2007.

On Thursday, April 5^th, I called the Accommodation department and spoke to my case manager. She advised me that I could return to work on Monday, April 9th as a FULL TIME EMPLOYEE. I was so relieved!! Yay!!! And that ended my two month leave of absence!!

I continued this position at Wamu until September 25th, 2008 when we were seized by the FDIC and sold to JPMorgan Chase! When that happened, I thought my job was going to be eliminated. I really didn't want to look for another job!

But, the week before Thanksgiving, we were notified that our jobs were safe!!! My department and job title transitioned slowly to Chase.

On April 2nd, 2010, I started a new job in a new department at Chase bank.

Today, I am still in that same department and am very glad that I am not working in a call center. My voice is loving it!!!!

If you would like to know more about my voice experiences, please let me know and I will be happy to tell you.

Thanks for reading my positive story.

Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia - Treatments

2012-01-06T19:53:00.001-06:00

I started speech therapy with Dr. Page immediately after I was diagnosed. Our sessions were weekly for 12 weeks. For the first four weeks, we met twice a week. I was very lucky that my work schedule allowed me to have two consecutive days off during the week. Otherwise, I would have had to use all of my sick and vacation time.

We did a lot of breathing and relaxation exercises. We worked on the voiceless sounds. Every few weeks we would try words that began with the letter “h.” Dr. Page wanted me to have a soft voice; no yelling or talking loud on the phones. She had software that measured how loud my voice was and how much roughness I had. It was really interesting to see these changes before, during, and after a session. I was also able to hear my voice; it was good sometimes, bad sometimes, and sometimes just plain laughable!

Since my job at the newspaper was primarily on the phones , I trained myself to take deep breaths throughout the day and keep my voice very soft. As somebody who talks loudly and constantly, this was quite an adjustment for me. I did see a little improvement but still struggled.

After lots of research, talking with Dr. Page and Dr. Simpson, and consulting with my parents, I decided to try the Botox injections. I was aware there could be side effects. But, I was ready to take the plunge.

On August 14, 2006, I was in the waiting room at University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. I was extremely nervous. I really didn't know what to expect. My mother came with me and her support really helped me get thru the anticipation of getting my first Botox injection.

Dr. Simpson sprayed my nose to numb it. It didn't taste like anything, but it really made my nose runny!! He then inserted a needle into my neck to numb it. The numbing medication tasted really gross and made me cough a lot; but that means the numbing was working. A Neurologist, Dr. Carlayne Jackson, put some sensors on my stomach; this helps locate the proper spot for injection. A resident from the hospital was also in the room and he was the one who inserted the fiber optic Laryngoscope from my nose to my vocal cords.

I coughed a few times and said the letter "E" for a few seconds. I even read these phrases again “Early one morning, a man and a woman were ambling along a 1-mile lane, running near Rainy Island Avenue” and "He saw half a shape mystically cross a simple path, at least 50 or 60 steps in front of his sister Kathy's house."

Dr's. Simpson and Jackson located the correct spot for a unilateral injection and I didn't even feel the Botox. Wow! Afterwards, I was coughing a lot, had some discomfort in swallowing, and my voice was very strained. But, those side effects wore off quickly and I was very glad.

In the days and weeks after my first Botox injection, I noticed my voice was better, but it wasn't perfect. I saw Dr. Simpson for a follow-up a few weeks later. He looked at my vocal cords thru the fiber optic Laryngoscope and told me the correct spot was injected and he wanted to try the other side with Botox.

I went back for my 2^nd Botox injection on October 23, 2006. This time, my father came with me. I was more eager this time and was looking forward to how my voice would fare. It was the same procedure for the treatment. I had the same side effects but again they vanished quickly.

Since my diagnosis, I have had 16 Botox injections and I am getting fantastic results and do notice a HUGE difference in my voice. I always have the discomfort in swallowing, a strained voice, and lots of coughing. But, they go away quicker each time. My last 3 Botox injections have lasted about 6 months; the last one was on September 19th, 2011. I do know when I need it and right now I am doing really good.

After each Botox injection I like to drink (a straw is very useful) and have a bowl of matzah ball soup!!!!!

Next weekend, I will discuss how my voice condition affected my jobs.

Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia - The Diagnosis

2012-01-03T20:22:00.004-06:00

My name is Mark Lieberman and I am 34 years old. I have a college degree in business and have held jobs with a computer company, a professional sports franchise, a minor league sports franchise, a non-profit company, and a large daily newspaper. I currently work for Chase Bank, the Texas Sports Radio Network, and KABB/KMYS.

I have always relied heavily on my communication and people skills to get me ahead of everybody else. I never would have thought that I would struggle with something everybody takes for granted.

My wife, my family, and most of my co-workers know about my medical condition. This will, however, be my first time writing about it publicly. It will be divided into 4 separate posts; being diagnosed, treatments, jobs, and where I am at today.

I can’t pinpoint the exact moment where my life changed but I know for a fact that it happened in early 2006 while I was working for the San Antonio Express News as a Customer Service Representative. I was struggling to speak and was hesitating with certain words and phrases. It was extremely embarrassing!

I kept asking myself: Why is this happening? Will it ever go away? Will I lose my voice? Could it be stress related? Is it psychological?

I started at the newspaper in October of 2003. It was a call center and I assisted customers with delivery, billing and general information inquiries. I was a motivated employee extremely eager to help the customers. I was the employee of the year in 2004. I learned how to perform all the jobs in the department; this was a great move for me. I only assisted customers when it got busy or when they requested to speak to a supervisor. I was also able to work around certain phrases that were commonly used on the phone.

There were certain words and letters that I really struggled with. The letter “h” was the hardest for me and to this day still is. The opening phrase at the San Antonio Express News was: “Thank you for calling the San Antonio Express News, this is Mark, how can I help you?” Two “h” words! So, I changed this to: “Thank you for calling the San Antonio Express News, this is Mark, what can I do for you?” A simple change but this really helped me on the phones. Later on when I became a Team Leader, I changed this to: “This is Mark at the newspaper, what I can do for you?”

One of my job duties as a Customer Service Representative and Team Leader at the newspaper was being the dispatcher. This involved communication with the managers and carriers in the field by phone and by text pagers. I didn’t mind doing this; it allowed to me stay away from the customers calling in and gave me a break from the supervisor duties.

Despite my speech issues, I never got any complaints or questions from customers or co-workers who couldn’t understand me. I thought it would eventually go away, but it never did. It was getting more difficult everyday for me to speak clearly and be understood. I didn't want to tell my co-workers at the newspaper until I knew more. I was embarrassed.

My parents noticed my struggles but never asked me about it until I approached them for help. We figured to start out by seeing a Speech Language Therapist. I called a few places to get information and explain my problem the best I could; which was a challenge itself!

I found a Speech Language Therapist very close to where I lived and made an appointment. I ended up canceling that appointment and went to another Speech Language Therapist who was referred to me by one of my mother's close friends. My mother and I called them on different occasions to get more information and briefly explain my condition.

On May 1, 2006, I saw Dr. Yvonne Page, a Speech Language Pathologist. I was extremely nervous, sweating profusely, and eager to find out more. Looking back on this, I really wish I had somebody with me.

As I soon started talking, Dr. Page knew exactly what I had. She asked me a lot of questions trying to pinpoint my problems and took a lot of notes. She eventually had me read these phrases: “Early one morning, a man and a woman were ambling along a 1-mile lane, running near Rainy Island Avenue” and "He saw half a shape mystically cross a simple path, at least 50 or 60 steps in front of his sister Kathy's house."

I read the first with ease but really struggled with the second sentence. Dr. Page wanted to look at my vocal cords but I wasn’t able to comply; I kept gagging on the instrument.

She referred me to Dr. Blake Simpson, an Otolaryngologist, who works at the University of Texas Health Science Center. He would be able to get a better look at my vocal cords and verify my speech problems.

When I did see Dr. Simpson 2 weeks later, he also wanted me to read those phrases. Again, I read the first with no problems. Different story with the second phrase; it felt as if I forgot how to read. I couldn’t even say the word “house.” My mouth opened but nothing came out. It took a few seconds for the word “house” to finally come out and it didn’t sound good at all. By using a fiber optic Laryngoscopy, Dr. Simpson showed me what was happening with my vocal cords.

In May of 2006, I was officially diagnosed with a rare voice disorder called Abductor Spasmodic Dysphonia. According to the Dysphonia website: Spasmodic dysphonia (SD), a focal form of Dystonia, is a neurological voice disorder that involves involuntary "spasms" of the vocal cords causing interruptions of speech and affecting the voice quality. SD can cause the voice to break up or to have a tight, strained, or strangled quality. There is no cure. It is treatable by speech therapy and Botox injections in the vocal cords.

Next weekend, I will discuss my treatments.

End Of The Year POST (what to expect next year)

2011-12-30T19:08:00.001-06:00

I was planning to publish this last night, but I was watching Season 2, Episodes 2 and 3 of The Walking Dead!!! At least it wasn’t Desperate Housewives which my wife is currently watching on Netflix!! This is what happens when I have time; I get to catch up on movies (I finally watched Super 8) and TV shows.

In January, I will write about a rare medical condition that I was diagnosed with in May 2006. It will be published in several parts. My wife, my family, and most of my co-workers know about my medical condition, but this will be my first time writing about it publicly.

I am also going to rewrite several stories that I wrote in high school and college. Nina will narrate one of them! She has a great voice!!

I also may try some comedic writing!!! I got an email at work today and the subject was “your ideal job.” When I entered my name in the program, it said my ideal job is a standup comedian! Wow! I do like to make people laugh!! I always joke around with Nina that I should go to open mic night at the Comedy club. But, I have a small problem; I don’t like speaking in front of an audience!

Well, have a great new year and check back next week for something new!!!

High School Football WRAP-UP

2011-12-23T20:06:00.001-06:00

I came up with this brilliant idea to write about all the high school football games I worked 5 months ago. Not sure why I didn't do this in previous years. Blogging kept me busy on the weekends and away from trouble!

I hope you found my high school football writing insightful. I really enjoyed writing every blog post and couldn't wait to come home and write! My High School Football blog will be back next season.

This season, I worked 33 games and drove over 1600 miles to stadiums in San Antonio, one game at Reliant stadium in Houston, and one game at Cowboys stadium in Arlington! Very strange that I had no games in the Alamodome.

Looking back at all the games I worked and each blog post I wrote, I am going to pick my upset game of the year, my blowout game of the year, my most exciting game of the year, and my most exciting end of the game of the year.

For my upset game of the year, I am picking Madison defeating Judson 25-24 in the first round of the playoffs. Judson crushed Madison in Week 4. I knew the rematch would be much closer but nobody expected Madison to win. Not only did Madison win, they went 5 rounds deep in the playoffs.

For my blowout game of the year, I am picking Reagan beating Madison 38-17. Going into this game, both teams were undefeated in district play. I was expecting a battle till the end. Unfortunately, Madison forget to show up for this game and got crushed by Reagan.

For my most exciting game of the year, I am picking Marshall beating Taft 17-14. The Marshall Rams nailed a field goal as time expired to get there first victory of the season.

For my most exciting end of a game of the year, I am picking Johnson beating Wagner 28-27. Wagner was up by 13 with under 4 minutes to go in the game. The quarterback for Johnson threw a touchdown pass on a 4th down to cut the lead to 6. He also recovered the onside kick on the next possession and threw another touchdown pass to tie the game. Extra point was good and Johnson wins by 1!

I say thank you to everyone I have worked with this season!!

I say so long 2011 high school football and see ya next August!!

Week 16 - Steele Vs Spring Dekaney (5A Division II state championship)

2011-12-18T16:19:00.175-06:00

Last night, I was at Cowboys stadium in Arlington for the 5A Division II high school football state championship between our Steele Knights and the Spring Dekaney Wildcats. This was the 9th game played at the stadium since Thursday! Pretty cool to have one location for most of the championship games!

I left yesterday at 9:30am and got home today at 2:30pm. I ended up driving alone; I would have gone with someone but I thought it may rain and if that happens, I would rather drive my car than someone else's car. I even bought new wiper blades! See, I was prepared and it didn't even rain! Just cool and cloudy.

One thing I really don't understand is why people speed. I was in the slow lane going the speed limit and everybody was passing me up. What is the big rush? This may become a topic for a blog post.

I met up with Mark Kusenberger at the hotel so we could drive together to the stadium. We were given 2 parking passes and I didn't want to be bothered with the hassle to find a parking space. Our hike from the parking lot to the press box seemed like a mile!

Our press box was very large and we had a really long flat surface for all of our equipment. Bobby was already there and had everything setup. He even had his dad and son with him.

our press box and radio equipment

I had my area on the left side but moved to the right side so I could be closer to Bobby. Most stadiums press boxes are at the 50 yard line; at Cowboys stadium, they are located in the corner of the end zone which makes it difficult to figure out yardage! There is a huge monitor dangling from the roof which helps a bit. One thing I really liked about our vantage point is you can see the whole field for open players and holes on both teams.

my area of the press box

Spring Dekaney is from the Spring Independent School District which serves a small portion of Houston and the community of Spring. Dekaney opened its doors in 2007 for students and teachers. In 2008 they played there first varsity football season and went winless. This year, they made there playoff debut and have gotten all the way to a state championship game!

Spring Dekaney has a running back named Trey Williams who committed to play at Texas A&M. Trey has 3687 yards rushing and 46 touchdowns! Those are monster numbers! Wow! Jarrett Irving is a cornerback, backup quarterback, and punt/kick off returner and he committed to play at Houston.

Steele's quarterback, Tommy Armstrong committed to play for Nebraska. Tommy has 3096 total yards (1246 rushing and 1850 passing) and 43 touchdowns and 0 interceptions! Matt Mayle is the leading receiver with 37 catches for 889 yards and 11 touchdowns. Justin Stockton is the leading rusher with 153 carries for 1474 yards and 13 touchdowns.

I was excited for this game but also sad as I knew this will be my last football game till next August.

The game prior to our game had about 40,000 fans! That is probably because one of the teams was from the Dallas area! I wish those fans would have stuck around for our game. We had about 15,000 fans; Cowboys stadium kinda looked empty!


view from press box of the middle game

view from press box of the middle game

view from press box of the Steele fans, about 20 minutes till kickoff

I saw some you tube highlights of Trey Williams and I was excited to see him live. I knew this was going to be a great game. I mean these are the last teams playing!!

In the first quarter, Dekaney muffed a Steele punt and Steele recovered in the red zone. On that drive, Tommy Armstrong threw a 19 yard touchdown reception to Matt Mayle. Just like that, Steele led 7-0 with 9:14 remaining in the quarter. The Steele defense stopped Dekaney on a 4th and goal from the 1 yard line and contained Trey Williams to very little yardage.

Steele was looking sharp on defense, but the offense was really struggling. They had a 7-0 lead after 12 minutes!

The second quarter was all Dekaney. On one drive, Dekaney had 4 consecutive false start penalties. This was in large part credited to the Steele band! They knew when to play and when they did, it was very loud!!! Despite those penalties, Dekaney scored on a 40 yard touchdown reception from D'Juan Hines, the quarterback, to Austin Garrett, the wide receiver. So, we are tied at 7!! The Steele offense is really struggling. They can't do anything. Gotta give a lot of props to the Wildcat defense. Wow! Dekaney takes a 14-7 lead when Trey Williams finishes an 8 play 59 yard drive with a 2 yard touchdown run. Tommy Armstrong, the Steele quarterback, throws a pass and it is caught by Jarrett Irving, a cornerback for Dekaney who returns it 60 yards! Hey, that is Tommy's first interception of the season. Crap!! Next play, Trey Williams runs 24 yards for a touchdown.

Halftime score is 20-7 Spring Dekaney. Wow! This is not looking good.

Spring Dekaney ran 26 plays for 147 yards. Trey Williams had 17 carries for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns. The quarterback, D'Juan Hines, had 63 total yards and 1 touchdown.

Steele ran 21 plays for 74 yards. Tommy Armstrong had 50 total yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Stockton had 7 carries for 19 yards. This is not Steele football! They looked stifled on offense.

Someone provided Mark and Bobby with a printout of halftime stats. I am not sure who these stats came from but I compared them with my numbers and and the only difference was 1 total yard!!! Wow, I guess I am good at what I do! Also pretty good from my vantage point when I had to guess a lot of yardage!

Steele had a 10 play drive that took 6:02 in the third quarter but it failed to produce any points. Dekaney was also held scoreless.

We are down to the final 12 minutes in the football season. This is going be some finish! Wow!

Trey Williams wanted no part of an amazing finish. On one drive, he scampered 60 yards. Sean Horn, a running back, finished that same drive with a 2 yard touchdown reception. Oh no, Dekaney leads 27-7! Come on Steele, get the comeback started now! It took Steele 1:22 to go 68 yards and score on a 22 yard touchdown reception from Armstrong to Mayle! Wow! Score is now 27-14 with 4 minutes left! Trey Williams again wanted no part of an amazing finish. He put the game away as he ran 24 yards for his 3rd touchdown of the evening! Tommy Armstrong's last pass of his high school football career was caught by Jarrett Irving again (his 2nd pick)!

Final Score is 34-14 Spring Dekaney!


this is a the huge monitor that dangles from the roof

both teams shaking hands after game

Trey Williams finished the game with 27 carries for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns. D'Juan Hines, the Dekaney quarterback, completed 2 of 5 passes and both completions were touchdowns.

Steele finished the game with 42 plays for 165 yards! This would normally be one quarter for Steele. Justin Stockton, the running backed, had 12 carries for 25 yards. Tommy Armstrong, the quarterback, had 11 carries for 35 yards. He also was 8 of 18 passing for 95 yards with 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions (these were the only interceptions this season). Matt Mayle, a wide receiver, had 3 catches for 42 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Our player of the game went to Jarrett Irving of Spring Dekaney. He had both interceptions and several key tackles. His first interception toward the end of the second quarter led to a Trey Williams rushing touchdown and that put the Wildcats up by 13.

I am pretty sure this was a really tough loss for Steele, but they will be back next season. They will lose Tommy to Nebraska. Stockton and Mayle will be returning and a lot of young kids got some varsity playing time.

When the game ended, there were players, coaches, reporters, UIL officials, and Cowboys officials on the field. I was watching the post game festivities and out of the corner of my eye, I saw a golf cart going really fast on the field; nobody was driving it and it plowed into a group of reporters who were interviewing the coach from Dekaney. That was really strange. When I got home this afternoon, it was the main story on yahoo! ESPN has a better shot of what happened. I have a picture of someone chasing it about 15 yards before it hits a group of people. I really hope the people who got injured are OK. I am also glad our sideline reporter Ron Gray wasn't hurt!

There is a large lobby outside the press boxes and they have a few musician posters on the wall. I couldn't leave without snapping this picture.


OMG, I am pointing at Paul McCartney!

What a fantastic way to end the 2011 high school football season!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Technology

2011-12-13T18:05:00.009-06:00

Our cell phone contract with Verizon ended on December 3rd! Nina upgraded her Droid to an iPhone 4S this evening! Her Droid was not working great anymore.

When I got home, she put her iPhone in my shirt pocket and I played with it snapped a picture of my cell phone and emailed it to myself. Hey, that was pretty cool and easy! Wow!

this is my cell phone

I have an old flip phone! It works great as a telephone and I can send text messages (I have gotten used to pushing a button 3 times for certain letters). I use the notepad to keep track of my gas mileage and the calculator during football season to add numbers when I can't do it in my head. I don't even use the camera, calendar, or mobile web.

When I need to use GPS, I borrow my wife's phone. And what a coincidence that this Saturday and Sunday, I am going to Cowboys stadium in Arlington for a high school football state championship game. I will have some alone time with her new iPhone so I won't get lost !!!

I am very reluctant and stubborn to change. I tend to keep electronics till they die, the display stops working, or if I need more storage capacity! I just can't justify spending $200 for an iPhone 4S for me! I also don't want to become "one of those people!" But, it may happen eventually!

It would be nice to have my phone, music, photos, camera, and a calendar always at my fingertips. I would use Facetime so I can videochat with my wife, brother (he has an iMac), and my parents (they also have an iMac). I would use Netflix more. I would take advantage of the GPS. It would be much easier to text and use the notepad. As for a data plan, I wouldn't need much. I am usually home (would use the wi-fi) or at work (I can listen to my own music and not Pandora or Sirius). I would definitely splurge on some Apps.

Or would I rather buy a small tablet computer and keep my flip phone, my iPod, and my camera? I was looking at the Kindle Fire. I really like my wife's Galaxy Tab!! My dad just bought the Nook tablet. I may have to play with his when they get back from vacation.

Or should I not buy anything?

So much to think about and consider!!!

Well, I am gonna go play with my wife's iPhone. Stay tuned to my blog to see what happens next!

Week 15 - Steele VS Port Arthur Memorial

2011-12-11T10:33:00.014-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, I was at Reliant stadium in Houston for the Steele Knights vs the Port Arthur Memorial Titans. I drove up with Mark Kusenberger and our journey started at 9:30am and didn't end till 11:45pm! After the game concluded, we really wanted to get home to our family so we didn't go to the deli. Thanks again Mark for driving me. I really appreciated it.

Mark and I always a have a good time together. We talked about sports and listed to some Velvet Underground. I suggested that us TSRN folks should write a book. We all have a lot of entertaining stories about high school athletics! Hmm, maybe I can write about some of mine!

This was my first time at Reliant stadium and OMG, it was gigantic! It made the Astrodome look like an ant! Our press box was located on the 8th Floor! The roof was closed during the game but they opened after it ended. I didn't even hear it opening, it was so quiet!

When I tape my stat boards to a wall, it is always on the left side. One of the officials from the stadium plugged a small flat screen monitor in on the left side so we can get the video feed (it also had replays which was really cool). There was also a larger flat screen monitor hanging from the ceiling. Kusenberger had his laptop right next to that small monitor so I made an executive decision to move my stats to the right side; there was also a lot of radio equipment on the table.

this was where I did my stats

our view from the press box


view from the field to the press box

view from one end zone to the other

view from press box of fans and both teams

As for the game, the Steele Knights dominated the 1st half and had a commanding 37-10 lead at halftime over Port Arthur Memorial. Steele ran 22 plays for 340 yards (274 rushing) and 5 touchdowns. The time of possession for the Knights was 6:06! Justin Stockton, the running back, had a 91 yard run that took only :13 and Tommy Armstrong, the quarterback, had a 87 yard run that took only :16! Wow! Port Arthur ran 43 plays for 139 yards and 1 touchdown and were 0-8 on third down! Ross Luensmann, a linebacker for Steele, was the main reason why the Titans struggled in the 1st half. It seemed like he was involved in every play. Bobby Stautzenberger wants Ross to get the defensive player of year for the San Antonio.

Steele added 2 more touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and led 51-10 going into the final 12 minutes. Port Arthur scored 3 touchdowns in the 4th and made the final score of 51-31 look more respectable. I was a bit nervous because the Titans had scored really fast were looking like a state semifinal team.

Justin Stockton, the Steele running back, had 13 carries for 209 yards and 1 touchdown. Tommy Armstrong, the Steele quarterback had 248 total yards and 5 touchdowns.

Terrance Singleton, the Port Arthur Memorial quarterback, had 220 total yards and 4 touchdowns. He will be playing at Baylor next year. The running back, Nathan Holmes, had 14 carries for 67 yards and 1 touchdown. He will be playing at Arkansas next year.

There wasn't any debate as to who our player of the game was going to be. We are all know Steele's offense is fantastic, but when you shut down an opposing teams offense, especially an offense that has averaged over 40 points a game, you have to look at the defense. Ross Luensmann is the leader of the Steele defense and he got his name mentioned over and over during the broadcast. Ross was our player of the game. And, Bobby may be right, he could very easily end up being the defensive player of the year! Wow!

Thru 5 playoff games, Steele has scored 166 points and given up only 61! Wow! I wish I had a way to research this, but I am pretty confident that Steele also has the most 1 play scoring drives this season.

So, next Saturday at 8pm, the Steele Knights will play the Spring Dekaney Wildcats for the 5A Division II state championship in Arlington at Cowboys stadium! This will be our only game next weekend as the Madison Mavericks lost to Fort Bend Hightower. Wow! And, I am planning on being there! How awesome is that?

Week 15

2011-12-08T14:30:00.001-06:00

Last Friday, December 2nd, the Madison Mavericks beat the Harlingen Cardinals 42-27.

On December 3rd, the Steele Knights defeated the Reagan Rattlers 35-10. I thought Reagan would be able to hang with them. Obviously by the score, I was totally wrong. Also that same day, the Devine Warhorses were eliminated.

So, for Week 15, we have 2 teams remaining, STEELE and MADISON! And, after a few weeks off and a trip to Cincinnati, I am back and ready to do my stat magic this weekend.

Both games are at 4pm on Saturday, December 10th in different cities; one in San Antonio and the other in Houston. That makes me upset with the "FOOTBALL GODS." I thought this would be a doubleheader and I could work both games! CRAP!

The Madison Mavericks play Fort Bend Hightower at the Alamodome. Winner of this game plays in the state championship game on Saturday, December 17th at Cowboys stadium at 4pm. Wow! I still can't believe Madison has made it this far. They barely beat Judson in Week 11.

The Steele Knights play Port Arthur Memorial at Reliant stadium. Winner of this game plays in the state championship game on Saturday, December 17th at Cowboys stadium at 8pm. I expected Steele to make it this far. They are rolling along and have won 28 games in a row (going back to last season).

Which game will Mark work? I am going to Reliant stadium!! I am also hoping I can make it to a deli which is pretty close to the stadium. I have never been to Reliant and am looking forward to it. Gonna bring my camera and take lots of pictures. Check my blog on Sunday for a recap and pictures!

Week 14

2011-11-28T20:46:00.004-06:00

In my Week 13 blog, I prayed to the "Football Gods" for a game on Friday, December 2nd. Well, I got my wish but the location is in Kingsville, Texas which is about a 3 hour drive! If it was an hour drive, I would do it! Stupid Kingsville! I guess next time, I will be more specific when I pray to the "Football Gods!"

Nina and I leave on Saturday, December 3rd very early in the morning for a trip to Cincinnati to celebrate her fathers 60th birthday. So, I am going to miss 3 games this weekend. But, I am looking forward to getting away for a few days. I work hard and this will a be a nice break.

On Friday, the Madison Mavericks will play the undefeated Harlingen Cardinals in Kingsville in the quarterfinals. When I first saw this playoff bracket, I was expecting Judson and Wagner (they played in Week 6 and Wagner won) to be the teams playing not Madison and Harlingen!

In one of my Week 10 blogs, I mentioned Madison as a team that could shock everybody and they did just that when they beat Judson in Week 11. Now, they are 4 rounds deep in the playoffs! Wow!

On Saturday, the Reagan Rattlers will play the Steele Knights at Heroes stadium. This playoff bracket is just what I expected! Both teams have big time quarterbacks and I know that Tommy (Steele QB-Nebraska commit) and Trevor (Reagan QB-Oklahoma commit) will do whatever it takes to win this game. This is going to be an awesome game and could end up being the game of the year. Wow!

Also on Saturday, the Devine Warhorses will play the Wimberly Texans at Comalander stadium. Devine has a running back named Joseph Sadler who has broken scoring and rushing records for the state of Texas. He has 3680 yards rushing with 57 touchdowns! Wow! I really hope I get a chance to see him play this season.
So, I will pray once again to the "Football Gods" that Madison and Devine win there games. Since Reagan and Steele play each other, I don't have a preference for who wins that game!

Nina and I come back on Wednesday, December 3rd and I don't have to be back at the bank until that following Monday. So, I will be back working my stat magic for Week 15, wherever that may be on Friday, December 9th or Saturday, December 10th. As soon as I know where I will be for Week 15, I let you know.

Week 13

2011-11-23T20:00:00.004-06:00

Well, this weekend, I will get a break from high school football! All of the teams TSRNsports are following are on the road. It will be very strange being home on a Friday night! But, it will also be nice as I can be lazy Mark! Will probably watch some movies (Fight Club, Iron Man, Super 8, and Thor) on my laptop and put some different photos on my memory card for my digital picture frame. And, lots of naps!!!

The Steele Knights play Laredo Alexander at Laredo on Friday at 7:00pm.

The Reagan Rattlers play McAllen Memorial at McAllen on Saturday at 3:00pm.

The winners of these games will play each other in Week 14 (state quarterfinals).

The Warren Warriors play the Harlingen Cardinals at Corpus Christi on Saturday at 2:00pm.

The Madison Mavericks play Laredo United at Corpus Christi on Friday at 6:00pm.

The winners of these games will play each other in Week 14 (state quarterfinals).

The Devine Warhorses play the Wharton Tigers at Sinton on Saturday at 6:00pm.

I want all of our teams to win and I pray to the "football gods" that there will be a game on Friday, December 2nd! Nina and I leave for Cincinnati on December 3rd to celebrate my father in law's 60th birthday. If the Week 14 games end up being played on Saturday, December 3rd, I may not work again till Week 15, December 9th! And, since I am off that day and weekend, I can travel if needed for a game!

I do plan on participating in the Express News Friday and Saturday high school football chat. I am pretty sure Lorne and Blake will be covering the games for us fans!

Week 12 - Reagan Vs O'Connor

2011-11-19T20:10:00.006-06:00

This afternoon, I was at Heroes stadium again for a 2nd round 5A playoff game between the Reagan Rattlers and the O'Connor Panthers. This was the second time I had to wear my sunglasses during a football game. The first was last years state championship game at Cowboy's stadium. No, I wasn't trying to look cool. They are prescription glasses so I can see!

In my Week 12 blog, I predicted a score of 38-13 Reagan. I was pretty close. Reagan won by a score of 51-14! Wow, maybe I will become a Vegas gambler!

The O'Connor Panthers had 47 total plays for 120 yards with 4 first downs and 3 turnovers. One of the scoring drives went for 75 yards. On the ground, they had 28 total carries for 29 yards, despite having 2 running backs with over 800 yards this season.

Reagan had 62 total plays for 483 yards. Ten running backs had carries and thank god no more because I only have space for 10 on my stat board. Wow! Michael Coppage led the team with 81 yards and 1 touchdown. Sophomore, Curt Smith had 75 yards and 1 touchdown. I could go on and on for the running backs. There were some Junior Varsity players who got there name on my stat board! I think I even got a carry in garbage time!

Trevor Knight, the quarterback, had 31 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. He also threw for 91 yards and 1 touchdown. Austin Hays, the wide receiver, had 67 yards receiving and the lone touchdown.

Jake Wilcox, the kicker, made 3 of 4 field goals this afternoon. One was from 42 yards, one was from 47 yards, and to end the 2nd quarter he nailed a 58 yard field! Yes, a 58 yard field goal! Wow! Bobby Stautzenberger and Mark Kusenberger thought it may be a record. Some of the press box officials came into our press box and were asking Bobby and Mark if this was a record. We ended up confirming that it tied a city record! Wow! Must be nice to have a kicker, a reliable kicker. The majority of Wilcox's kick offs landed inside the 20 yard line!

Our player of the game wasn't anybody mentioned above! It was Zach Hilsberg, a linebacker from Reagan,who had several tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. The Reagan defense shut down the O'Connor Panther offense and Zach was a big part of it.

Reagan will play McAllen Memorial next week.

I am not sure where I will be next week as Steele, Reagan, Madison, and Warren will be on the road for there games. As soon I as get confirmation on where I am next week, I will let you know.

Week 12 - Steele Vs Brandeis

2011-11-19T09:59:00.052-06:00

Last night, I was at Heroes stadium for the Steele Knights and the Brandeis Broncos in the 2nd round of the 5A playoffs. On my drive to Heroes, I saw some fans for the Lake Travis Cavaliers (they were playing in the Alamodome), I saw the Lake Travis band truck, I passed Comalander stadium (Warren and Churchill were playing there), I saw some school buses from Steele, and on the way home I saw the Madison band truck (they were playing at East Central and the the school is literally in my backyard)! That was all pretty cool and funny!

It was a full house and it was finally football weather; cool and windy! I knew this was going to be a really good game. I mean Steele and Brandeis have been the top 2 teams in the city all year long. I couldn't wait for kickoff!

At halftime, Steele led 14-6. Brandeis was stopped twice on 4th down and Steele scored both touchdowns after the turnover on downs. Brandeis also had some roughing the punter penalties.

Trinton Ynclan, the Brandeis running back, had 29 carries for 143 yards and 1 touchdown. That was for one half! I was hoping he would get to 30 carries! Wow, I have never seen a team emphasize one player over and over and over and over. The rest of the Broncos had 8 plays for 63 yards.

Tommy Armstrong, the Steele quarterback, had 8 carries for 104 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had 1 touchdown passing. Justin Stockton, the running back, only played one series. I think he was hurt. D'Angelo Wallace filled in for Stockton and he had 4 carries for 49 yards and a 38 yard touchdown reception.

In the second half, the Steele defense stepped up. They held Brandeis to 23 plays for 87 yards! And no points! Steele scored 2 more touchdowns and won the game 28-6. The Steele Knights will play the winner of Laredo Alexander and Brownsville Pace which is being played today.

In my Week 12 blog, I predicted the score of this game to be 31-20 Steele. I thought Brandeis would be able score some points! So, I was way off! I basically pulled those numbers out of a hat and wholla!!! I guess I am never going to be a Vegas gambler!

Ynclan finished the game with 44 carries for 234 yards and 1 touchdown. I think he was used to much and it showed in the 2nd half. But, hey, he is only a Junior so he will be back next season. And, I think he will be the top running back in the city next season.

Tommy Armstrong had 17 carries for 197 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had 1 touchdown pass and no interceptions! Tommy's ability to scramble proved to be to much for Brandeis and they had no answer! D'Angelo Wallace had 14 carries for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns; 1 rushing and 1 receiving. Wallace is a Sophomore! Wow!

Our player of the game could have gone to Armstrong or Wallace, but instead it was given to Ross Luensmann, a linebacker for Steele. He had a fumble recovery, sacks, and several tackles.

As I was walking to my car last night around 11pm, I said "I LOVE THIS GAME!" I am not talking about the NBA (don't get me started on that please)! I am talking about high school football!

In a few minutes, I will be heading back to Heroes stadium for another second round 5A playoff game between the Reagan Rattlers and the O'Connor Panthers! Check my blog later this evening for my recap.

Week 12

2011-11-15T18:44:00.010-06:00

Heroes stadium will be my home on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. I get to see the Steele Knights take on the Brandeis Broncos and the Reagan Rattlers take on the O'Connor Panthers. Wow! I am super pumped up and excited!

Tommy Armstrong, the Steele quarterback has committed to play for NEBRASKA! He hasn't thrown an interception this season and he has 115 passing attempts. He has 1240 yards passing and 819 yards rushing and 29 total touchdowns. Talk about dual threat! The running back for Steele is sophomore Justin Stockton. He has 1221 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns. I saw Steele in Week 3 and they dismantled the Southwest Dragons. In that game, Steele had 3 one play scoring drives!

Trintin Ynclan is the the Brandeis Broncos offense. He has 1672 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. He is the running back but also took over the quarterback when the starter got hurt early in the season. I saw Brandeis in Week 3 and they played outstanding defense. Ynclan had 22 carries for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. He also kicked 2 field goals.

Trevor Knight, the Reagan quarterback has committed to play for OKLAHOMA! He has 1628 yards passing and 722 yards rushing and 35 total touchdowns. Another, dual threat quarterback! He has been starting for three years! I saw Reagan in Week 0 and they lost to Wagner. Knight had 291 yards of total offense and 4 touchdowns in the loss. Since that game, Reagan hasn't lost! I saw Reagan again in Week 8 where they crushed the Madison Mavericks. Trevor had 239 yards of total offense and 3 touchdowns.

The O'Connor Panthers advanced to the playoffs by winning there last game in Week 10. I have seen the Panthers 4 times this season and in those particular games they won 2 and lost 2. It will be interesting to see which O'Connor team will show up. I am not sure if the starting quarterback, Allen Wright, will be back with the team. He was suspended for violating team rules. Darryle Surney, the starting running back, missed a few games late in the season but he is healthy now. Surney leads the team with 828 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Tre Johnson, another running back, has 794 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns.

So on Friday night, it will be the Cibolo Steele Knights (11-0 overall, 5-0 district, 25 game winning streak going back to last season) VS the Brandeis Broncos (10-1 overall, 7-1 district, O'Connor was the lone loss) in a 5A second round playoff game.

On Saturday afternoon, it will be the Reagan Rattlers (10-1 overall, 6-0 district, they beat O'Connor 31-8 in Week 1) VS the O'Connor Panthers (7-4 overall, 5-3 district, beat Corpus Christi Carroll last week by 42 points) in a 5A second round playoff game.

Now, I will make some predictions! Steele will win the game by a score of 31-20. The Brandeis defense will keep them in the game, but the Steele offense will wear them out late in the game.

Reagan will win the game by a score of 38-13. The O'Connor defense won't be able stop Trevor Knight.

So, if Steele and Reagan win this week and next week, they will play each other in a state quarterfinal game in Week 14! Wow! And, I really hope they play on Friday since I will be out of town on Saturday!

Check my blog on Saturday and Sunday for my recaps. This is going to be an awesome weekend! I can't stop talking about it. I guess I better end my post and say hi to my wife, who is making soap gift bags for her dad's 60th birthday! Check out her website, she makes soap and other products!

Week 11 - Holy Cross Knights Vs El Paso Cathedral Irish

2011-11-13T08:40:00.000-06:00

Last night, I was at Harlandale Memorial stadium for a TAPPS II Bi-District game between the San Antonio Holy Cross Knights and the El Paso Cathedral Irish. This game was being broadcasted along the Texas Sports Radio Network and we were working on behalf of KJAK 92.7 FM which is based in Lubbock, Texas. So, officially, even though the game was being played in San Antonio, there was a San Antonio team, and a crew from San Antonio, we were the visitor radio! El Paso Electric sponsored the game and all we had to do was read a live ad for them several times. For commercials, Mark Kusenberger played Phil Keagy music! Basically lots of talking for Kusenberger and Eric Johnson.

The press box at the stadium is long and we got the smallest box to broadcast from. Time Warner cable and the Holy Cross coaches took the large open boxes in the press box. My guest bathroom is bigger than our box last night! Luckily, I had 2 walls and even 2 doors to put my stat boards. On one of the walls was a medium sized dry erase board. I put one stat board on the inside of the door and every time that team had the ball, I had to close the door so I could update numbers without having to hold the door with my left hand. Pretty cramped when I did that! My other stat board covered most of that dry erase board that was screwed in to the wall. I used a little bit of that dry erase board to keep track of drive summary's.

I knew absolutely nothing about Holy Cross and El Paso Cathedral. Kusenberger told me that Holy Cross runs a no huddle offense! I was like, great, just what I need for a team I have not seen this year. Besides some stats for El Paso, we didn't have anything else.

Both teams have a lot of players who play on both sides of the ball!

I guess I am really good at what I do, because after a few plays from each team, I started to figure out players names and numbers! Yes, Holy Cross was running fast plays, but I was able to catch up to there speed fairly quickly.

The Holy Cross Knights scored on a blocked punt 2 minutes into the game. They scored 17 more points and led 24-0 at the end of one quarter. It was a very long quarter as there were penalties and incomplete passes.

El Paso Cathedral scored a touchdown in the second quarter while the Knights added a field goal. At halftime, it was 27-6 in favor of Holy Cross.

Cathedral ran 34 plays for 80 yards in the first half. There running game was non existent; 21 carries for 17 yards! Lots of sacks! The Knights ran 31 plays for 150 yards. They had 2 offensive touchdowns, 1 special team touchdown, and 2 field goals.

In the third quarter, Holy Cross scored 2 more offensive touchdowns and led 41-6 going in to the final quarter.

The only scoring in the final quarter was by El Paso Cathedral. Final score was 41-12 Holy Cross Knights.

The San Antonio Holy Cross Knights will face defending state champion Plano Prestonwood next Saturday afternoon in Brownwood.

When the game ended, El Paso Cathedral had 240 yards of offense on 70 plays; 154 rushing and 86 passing. There lone scoring drive in the 2nd half was 17 plays, 83 yards, and it used over 8 minutes of clock. Wow!

Josh Arrelano, a quarterback for the Irish, had 11 carries for 46 yards. Joshua Tovar and Taylor Pittard, the wide receivers for Cathedral, each had 3 receptions and 1 touchdown.

Holy Cross finished with 48 plays for 266 yards. Tyler Cardenas, a running back for the Knights, had 8 carries for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns. Seven running backs got carries. Sam Moreno, the quarterback for Holy Cross, was 11 for 21 passing for 89 yards and 1 interception. Six receivers caught passes.

Next Friday, I will either be at Heroes stadium for Steele and Brandeis or Comalander stadium for Churchill and Warren.

Saturday, I may be at Heroes for O'Connor and Reagan.

As soon as I get confirmation, I will let you know.

Week 11 - Judson Rockets Vs Madison Mavericks (rematch)

2011-11-12T08:08:00.001-06:00

Last night, I witnessed a HUGE upset at Rutledge stadium as the Judson Rockets hosted the Madison Mavericks in a 5A division 1 playoff game. In Week 4, Judson beat Madison by 41 points. The Mavericks turnovers and awful passing game helped Judson score basically at will! Coming into last nights a game, we all knew the score would be much much closer. Everybody was picking the Rockets to win and have a long playoff run.

The Judson Rockets, Quaylon Jones, started the scoring with a 7 yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

Marquis Warford, the Madison running back, scored on runs of 61 yards and 68 yards in the first quarter.

After one long quarter of play, Madison led 14-7. Wow!

In the second quarter, Judson scored 2 touchdowns; one passing and one rushing. Madison didn't score in that quarter.

Halftime score was 21-14 in favor of the Rockets.

A field goal for both teams was all the scoring the third quarter. Going in to the final 12 minutes, the score was 24-17 Judson.

Judson had a few opportunities to extend that lead, but came up empty each time. Madison was running out of energy. Warford was playing on defense and offense. Galen McAllister, another running back for Madison, got hit so hard in the first quarter that he never completely recovered.

With 2:50 left in the game, Madison had the ball at the 25 yard line. In the press box, we were thinking this could end up going to overtime. Wow! What an awesome game! Justin Jones, the Madison quarterback, threw a pass to Alex Smisek, who bobbled the ball and tipped it several times and somehow eventually caught the ball despite have a Judson defender right there with him! This ended up being a 29 yard completion and the Mavericks were in the red zone at the 9 yard line. OMG! Wow! Judson was a tip away from intercepting that pass and getting a victory.

Now, there is less then 45 seconds left. Every fan in the stadium is on there feet! Justin Jones throws a right corner pass towards the end of the end zone and Byron Daniels catches it and he was in bounds!!!   Wow, that was an awesome catch! Daniels only had 1 catch for 20 yards before he scored.

Score is now 24-23 Judson with :37 left in the game.

Now, what do you do? Kick an extra point and go to overtime or go for 2 and the win? Thank god I am not a coach! We kinda had a feeling in the press box that Madison was gonna go for the win. Madison called a timeout to talk about it and when they got back on the field they lined up like they were going to go for the win, so the Rockets called a timeout to try and ice the Mavs!   Gave everybody a chance to catch there breath!

Okay, so here we go! Madison is still going for the win! The fans are still standing and screaming! Justin Jones throws the ball to the right front corner of the end zone and Bryon Daniels is there again and snags the ball for 2 points!   Awesome! The Judson defender was looking for a flag. he thought Daniels pushed off. Madison now leads 25-24 with :37 left in the game.

Judson still had a chance to score. I was thinking back to the Rockets state championship game in 2005 where they had a very long touchdown pass to win that particular game. Judson has the players to do it! I really thought that going to happen again!

Matt McCarty, the Judson quarterback, and Dennis Parks, a Judson wide receiver connected on a 44 yard pass but it needed to be a 70 yard pass to score. So, the Rockets had the ball at the 26 yard line with :09 left in the game. They had time to run one play and get out of bounds and kick a field for the win. They instead chose to kick a 43 yard field goal and the kicker, Max Lehnig, kicked it short! Max missed 2 field goals last night. I felt so bad for Max! He has been almost perfect all season long. A really tough way to lose a game. Max showed his frustration after the miss and the Madison plays cheered!

Madison wins 25-24 in what may be the upset of the year. I was speechless and disappointed. I can't even imagine how the fans, the players, and the coaches felt. You could hear a pin drop on the Judson sideline and also in the press box. Bobby Stautzenberger later told me this was the worst Judson loss he has ever seen and I believe him. He has been around Judson football for many many years.

Just because Judson is out of the playoffs doesn't mean our season is over. We still have a lot of local teams still alive.

Wow! Just like that, a team that a lot of people were picking to advance very far in the playoffs is out! This now gives Madison a chance to make a long playoff run. In an earlier blog, I mentioned Madison as a team that could shock everybody!

Marquis Warford, the Madison running back, had 16 carries for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. If you take away the touchdown runs of 61 and 68 yards, Judson was able to contain him. Galen McAllister, another running back for the Mavs, had 7 carries for 7 yards. He never recovered from the huge hit he took in the first quarter.

Justin Jones, the quarterback for Madison, was 12 for 21 passing for 211 yards and 1 interception and the lone touchdown to Bryon Daniels. Daniels caught 2 passes for 29 yards and also scored the 2 point conversion! There was no debate on who the player of the game would be? It was Daniels! I know I mentioned this in a previous blog, but he is only a sophomore! Wow!

Quaylon Jones, the Judson running backs, had 27 carries for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns. That also marks an end to his high school football playing days. I had a great time watching him play and wish him luck in his next step. Thanks Q!

Matt McCarty, the quarterback for Judson, was 9 for 14 passing for 231 yards and 1 touchdown. Dennis Parks had 4 receptions for 125 yards and 1 touchdown.

Madison will play the winner of the East Central Hornets and Stevens Falcon game which will be played this afternoon.

As I was leaving the game and driving past the stadium, I waved and said goodbye and see ya next year Rutledge stadium.

I am still shocked that Judson lost. Every year, I always expect them to have long playoff runs.

This evening, I will be at Harlandale Memorial stadium for a TAPPS II Bi-District playoff game between the Holy Cross Knights and the El Paso Cathedral Irish. Check my blog tomorrow for my recap.

Week 11 - Update

2011-11-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

I am not going to Floresville stadium tomorrow night. I was really looking forward to this game. My stupid back has been hurting on and off and today was the icing on the cake. I had enough! I know driving over 100 miles tomorrow night and standing during the game will not be a good combo for my back.

Gonna take it easy this weekend and work games that are close to home. I am seeing a Chiropractor on Monday. Hopefully, he will be able to pinpoint my cause of pain and fix it.

I am still doing the Judson and Madison game on Friday.

I will be at Harlandale Memorial stadium on Saturday for a TAPPS II Bi-District playoff game between the Holy Cross Knights and the El Paso Cathedral Irish. TAPPS is the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools. This will by my first TAPPS playoff game. I am very glad I am not a broadcaster, because I would probably say Holy shit many times! I will be working with Mark Kusenberger for this TSRN broadcast.

Check my blog on Saturday and Sunday for my recap of the games.

Week 11

2011-11-08T21:14:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, I am going to Floresville stadium for a 1A division 1 playoff game between the Kenedy Lions and the Shiner Comanches. I got to thank Mark Thomas for requesting me to work this game. He does some freelance work for the radio station that is broadcasting the game. This will be my first at this stadium, my first time to see these teams play, and the first time I will see 1A football! Basically, 1A is a very very small enrollment at the high school. Should be super fun and exciting! And, a nice 50 mile drive! As I am writing this, I am looking at a map and found a better route than what I was originally planning on; YAY!

I will be at Rutledge stadium on Friday for a 5A division 1 playoff game between the Judson Rockets and the Madison Mavericks. The Rockets beat Madison in week 4 by 41 points! I can't wait!!!

Not sure if I have a game on Saturday.

I'm Walking Again

2011-11-08T20:47:00.000-06:00

After almost a month of not walking, I started again last night and this evening. It was very nice to get back in the habit. The weather is cool outside and I am able to walk as soon as I get home from work. I did about 3/4 of a mile and will do another walk tomorrow. Gonna try to walk 5 times a week!

More Books, part III

2011-11-08T20:43:00.000-06:00

I have two books on hold at the library. The first is Shaq Uncut: My Story by Shaquille O'Neal. He went to high school in San Antonio. My dad and I saw him play at Alamo gym in 1989 between his senior year of high school and freshman year at LSU. That was pretty awesome! I have always liked Shaq as a player and love his personality. I am really looking forward to learning more about him.

The second book is Life by Keith Richards. One of the DJ's on the underground garage reads excerpts from it and it sounds very interesting.

Hopefully, I will get them before we go away on December 3rd!

More Books, part II

2011-11-06T20:58:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I finished King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Trucker by Alex Debogorski. It talks about his life growing up and he got to be an ice road trucker. He works really hard and does whatever it takes to support his large family. Alex is a very wild person! He has been in quite a few fights and car crashes. There are also a lot of detailed stories involving all kinds of animals.

I am not going to read: Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress by Bob Delaney. I think it will be too much medical jargon for me.

My next book is to be determined! I will need something to read when Nina and I go on vacation next month.

Dad's weight loss is my gain

2011-11-06T20:11:00.000-06:00

My mom and dad, who are 62 and 67 years young, have lost a lot of weight. They are also eating healthier and exercising. You can read my dad's blog for more insight. So, with the weight loss comes new clothes!

My dad gave me 7 pairs of khaki pants! Guess what? They all fit me perfectly! Kinda funny, isn't it? I was in dire need of new khakis; I had 2 pairs and they were both grey! I also gained several pairs of shorts! I did give my dad on old pair of my shorts!!

Yesterday, I was over at there house noshing on some leftovers and my dad bought a new long sleeve shirt and it didn't quite fit him. I tried it on and it fit me perfectly. I gained a new shirt! Pretty awesome and the clothes didn't cost me anything! Yay and thanks dad.

I am trying to eat better. I am not on a diet. My plan is to stay away from sweets!! I think I am doing a good job of that, even though there is a lot of temptation everywhere I look. I remember one day after a bad day at work, I stopped by a gas station and loaded up on my favorite sweets. They were eaten fairly quickly! As I am writing this, I am stuffing my mouth with a Pecan delight!! Well, hey, it is sugar free and I only ate one!! Nina, please stop buying sweets and please no more sweets from the markets for heavens sake.

I was walking quite frequently, but ended up canceling my gym membership last month. I was going less and less; I have 3 jobs and I was either tired or busy. I am planning to start walking again tomorrow since one of my jobs ended last Thursday. I won't renew the gym membership since the weather is much cooler than it was a few months ago. This would also be a great time to put some air in our tires and ride our bikes around the neighborhood.

I am not trying to lose weight. I really want to get off my medication and feel that if I eat better and exercise, I may be able to achieve that.

Week 10 - Clark Vs O'Connor

2011-11-05T10:19:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Farris stadium as the Clark Cougars hosted the O'Connor Panthers. The winner of this gets a playoff spot. Loser most likely goes home. I was expecting a battle to the very end and a very close game.

I have never been in a situation where the winner is in and the loser is out! But, I bet these kids were excited and also nervous! Isn't this what you dream of as a young kid? Wow! Talk about motivation!!! I would have loved to hear the coaches pep talk before the game!

O'Connor finally got there leading rusher back in Darryle Surney. But, the starting quarterback, Allen Wright, was suspended for violating team rules. Zach Galindo, a Sophomore, made his first start at quarterback. Surney had 18 carries for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns. Galindo was 10 for 20 passing with 120 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had 46 yards rushing. Pretty nice debut for Galindo. The Panthers had 1 turnover and 45 yards in penalties. They ran 53 plays for 297 yards.

The Cougars struggled offensively in the first half. They ran 30 plays for 96 yards and no points. When the gamed ended, there numbers were impressive; 75 plays for 338 yards but only 8 points scored! They also had 3 turnovers and 150 yards in penalties. Kweku Larbie, the running back for Clark, had 23 carries for 104 yards. Josh Kern, the quarterback, had 22 carries for 108 yards. Kern was 8 of 24 passing for 113 yards with 2 interceptions and 1 touchdown. Even though Kern has committed to Arizona, I am still not impressed with his passing game. Maybe Arizona likes his potential; he is 6'5 and weighs 190!

Our player of the game was Joseph Ramos, an O'Connor safety. He had both interceptions for the Panther defense and he was also the main culprit of why Clark struggled. Unfortunately, Ramos got hurt in the 2nd half and was on crutches afterwards. I hope he will be available next week.

The O'Connor Panthers won the game 31-8 and clinched a playoff spot. Clark still has a chance of making the playoffs, but they need the Stevens Falcons to lose tonight to the Taft Raiders! I know where the coaches for Clark will be tonight! I think Stevens will have a very easy win tonight over Taft, but you never know. Anything can happen!

O'Connor will play at Corpus Christi Carroll next Friday, that is if Stevens wins tonight. We call this game the Archie Bunker bowl!!!

As the playoffs approach next week, there will be a lot of coin flips from teams to see where they are going to play. Will they play at home or on a neutral site? They will meet anywhere! So, if you are eating at Denny's at 2:00am and see some coaches and officials flipping a coin, don't be alarmed!!!

Around 11:00pm last night, Bobby and I popped our heads in the Farris stadium ticket office where Stan Laing, the Athletic director, and Kevin Hamilton, the Assistant Athletic director, were trying to figure out what teams were coming to there stadiums (Kevin was the assistant basketball coach at Clark when I was the manager of the team from 1991-1995, I have known him for 20 years!). Bobby heard one thing and Stan and Kevin heard something different. It was kinda funny and a really cool insight for me!

Well, let the playoffs begin next week!

Friday, I will be at Rutledge stadium for the Judson Rockets and the Madison Mavericks. The Rockets beat up the Mavericks in Week 4.

Week 10 - Judson Vs New Braunfels

2011-11-04T14:59:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Unicorn stadium in New Braunfels as they hosted the Judson Rockets. This was my first time at that particular stadium and it was a great feeling when I saw the stadium lights on Loop 337!!! This was also the last TNL game!

My radio boss, Bobby Stautzenberger, was broadcasting the game along with Tony Franklin on the Texas Sports Radio Network. I stopped by Bobby's area first in the press box to drop off some stats for each team. I told him I would text him scoring drives and provide my stats at halftime and at the end of the game.

The TV crew was located on the third floor, so I had one more flight of stairs to conquer. It was a large open film deck, but not every window opened and I was glad since it was really cold! The wall and space I used to place my stat boards was in between 2 cameras! So, almost every time I turned or moved, I would bump into one of them! This was the first game where I was not able to see the TV monitors. I also had to hold up my small stat board really high so Ernie and Dean could see it!

The New Braunfels Unicorns and Judson Rockets have both made the playoffs. I was thinking that they would have a lot of backups playing and rest the starters, but that didn't happen!

Alvin Clark started the scoring for Judson with a 42 yard run in the first quarter. Last week, Quaylon Jones had 3 carries for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last night, Q had 22 carries for 236 yards and 4 touchdowns! Judson ran the ball 50 times for 411 yards and 5 touchdowns! Impressive again! Sounds like a repeat for every Judson game!!!

The Unicorns bright spot was running back, T.J. Reynolds. He had 28 carries for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. The quarterback, Weston King, was 13 of 24 passing for 69 yards and 1 interception. Lots of short passes to 6 different receivers. The leading rusher and receiver were held to 5 yards! Wow!

Judson won the game 34-17. Quaylon was the player of the game for TV and radio!

Since this was the last game on TV, I thanked Ernie, Dean, and Dave for letting me be a part of the crew!!!

Wow, I can't believe I now have 3 seasons of TNL under my belt!

My season isn't over! Tonight, I will be at Farris stadium for the Clark Cougars Vs O'Connor Panthers. Winner gets the final playoff spot in district 27-5a so I am expecting a battle till the end!!! You can hear the game on KLUP 930am in San Antonio, TRSNsports.com, or our mobile TSRN app!!!

Week 10 -The End OR The Playoffs

2011-11-01T19:22:00.000-05:00

So, this Thursday will mark WEEK 10 which is the end of the regular season for high school football. Some teams are still playing for a playoff birth, while other teams have next season to look forward to. The teams that have made the playoffs just want to escape Week 10 with a win and have no injuries!

This is by far my favorite time of the season! San Antonio will have a lot of teams make the playoffs. But, as December 17th approaches, the number of local teams will be less and less. TSRNsports will have you covered for your favorite team whether it be a home game or a road trip! We are ready, are you?

I am really looking forward to a long playoff run from the Judson Rockets, the Steele Knights, the Reagan Rattlers, the Brandeis Broncos, and the Smithson Valley Rangers. I guess I am a bit bias toward Judson! I have seen them 7 times this season and they are kinda my "home" team! But, we all know there will be 1 team that shocks everybody!!! That team could be the Madison Mavericks, the Wagner Thunderbirds, or the Warren Warriors. Only time will tell!

Thursday, I will be at Unicorn stadium as New Braunfels will play the Judson Rockets. Both teams have made the playoffs and already know who they will play in Week 11. New Braunfels will play Reagan and Judson will have a rematch when the play Madison. I have a feeling my marker will get a lot of work as the starters will probably start but only play a few minutes and there will be a lot of backups! I guess it is nice that I already know the Judson offensive players names and numbers!

This is also the last game for TNL. It will be nice to have my Thursday night's back (one more evening to spend with my wife). I am going to miss the entire crew, but there is always next season for me!

Friday, I will be at Farris stadium for the Clark Cougars and the O'Connor Panthers. The winner of this game will most likely get that last birth in district 27-5a. I did a Clark game in Week 0 and they looked bad. Since that loss, they have played .500 ball and have 4 wins and 3 losses in district play. I saw O'Connor in Week 4 in which they won and also in Week 8 where they lost. They are currently on a 3 game losing streak and also have 4 wins and 3 losses in district play. All I have to say is this should be a really good game!!!

Check my blog this weekend for the games I work.

Week 9 - Judson Vs San Marcos

2011-10-29T22:08:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at my "HOME" stadium of Rutledge for the Judson Rockets Vs San Marcos Rattlers. With a victory, the Rockets would clinch a playoff spot! I had a feeling this game was going to be very similar to the Seguin game in week 7. Could be over early!

I arrived at the game around 5:45. I hung our banner and headed upstairs to the press box. Virgil Peterson was already there looking at his notes. I was starting to set my stat board and laptop up when we were entertained by some airshow practices from Randolph AFB, which is across the highway from the stadium. It was really cool to watch the direction of the jets and smoke and to see how high they go. We also saw the B-29 "Fi-Fi" do a u turn so they can land at the AFB! Very nice pregame entertainment.

Before the game, teams are warming up, stretching, and running some drills. But, last night, we didn't even see the San Marcos team till kickoff! I have never seen this before! What the hell are the doing in the locker room? Very strange indeed ! Were they playing mind games with Judson? Whatever it was, it didn't work. On the very first play, the Rattlers kicked the ball off and Dennis Parks returned it 80 yards for a touchdown! Not even touched! Wow! Eleven seconds and Judson already scored. Oh no! It was over with 5:39 left in the first quarter after they scored there 3rd touchdown!

In the first half, Judson ran 16 plays for 331 yards and had the the ball for 4:28 and they scored 6 touchdowns!! They had 3 one play scoring drives! The Rockets led 42-14 at halftime.

The Rattlers ended up scoring 22 points. They ran 73 plays for 334 yards. The quarterback, Adrian Narvaiz, had 235 yards passing and spread the ball to 7 receivers. In past San Marcos games I have worked, they were a really good wishbone running team. So, it was really strange to see them pass the ball.

Judson scored 62 points! They even took a few penalties in the 4th quarter to prevent them from not scoring as the game was coming to an end. They ran 36 plays for 519 yards with 8 touchdowns.

Quaylon didn't start (he was sick), but he did play. He had 3 carries for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kenyon Clack had 5 carries for 45 yards and 2 touchdowns. Alvin Clark had 8 carries for 93 yards and 1 touchdown.

Matt McCarty, the quarterback, was 3 for 4 passing for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns. His backup, Jonathon Garcia, was 3 for 3 passing for 29 yards and 1 touchdown. Dennis Parks had 2 receptions for 93 yards and 1 touchdown.

Some really good fantasy football numbers for Judson! Wow! Our player of the game could have been anybody I mentioned. We ended up giving it to Parks; his kickoff return for a touchdown really jump started the Judson scoring explosion.

Oh, Judson clinched a playoff spot and will play Madison on November 11th at Rutledge stadium and I will be there! I can't wait!!!

Next Thursday, I will be at New Braunfels Unicorn stadium as they host the Judson Rockets to end the regular season. Both teams have made the playoffs so it may end up being a game of subs!!! The game will also be the last TNL game this season. Also, Bobby Stautzenberger will be at the game so I will be doing double duty! Oh, it will also be my fist time at that particular stadium!

Not sure where I will be Friday and Saturday.

Week 9 - Edison Vs Lanier

2011-10-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

I was at Alamo stadium again on Thursday night for the Edison Golden Bears Vs Lanier Voks. In my 15 years working high school football games, I can probably count on one hand how many Edison games I have seen! It's the opposite for Lanier as I have seen them lots of times.

When I arrived at the stadium, Dave Ostmo, the producer asked me to keep track of of each teams starting yard line so we can get an average. I never tracked this in the past, but I can always add something else to my stat board. It took me a few minutes to figure that calculation out! Boy, I sure do hope my math was correct! A few games ago, Dave wanted me to keep track of percentage of running and passing plays. That was really easy for me.

I am very glad I was inside since it was very very very windy! I probably would have floated away and landed at the San Antonio Zoo (the zoo is across the street from the stadium)!!!! Both teams had punts and the wind carried the football to the 1 yard line!

So, at 7:00pm, we are live on TV with the opening graphics. Ernie and Dean had like 30 seconds before they went on the air and my stupid phone rang!!! It was my mom calling me! Doesn't she know I am working? She was probably watching the game and forgot for a split second! I ignored the call and sent it to voicemail. My mom's message was, "I have to tell you something!" Really!!! Wow! Unbelievable. I called my mom the next day and she was like stupid mark isn't picking his phone up and then my dad said look at the television, he is working!!! Oh, and what she had to tell me was a friend of mine had a death in the family.

The Lanier Voks have already clinched a playoff spot in district 29-4A and Edison really needed a win to stay in the hunt for the playoffs.

Lanier's running back, Isaac Cervantes, had 2 rushing touchdowns in the 1st quarter.

Seth Henry, an Edison wide receiver, had 2 touchdown receptions in the 2nd quarter. At halftime, it was tied at 14!

During the halftime, I provided Dave the average starting yard line, the percentage of running and passing plays, and anything stat wise that pops out to me.

Edison took the lead in the 3rd quarter with a 4 yard run from there quarterback, Joe Alvarez.

In the 4th quarter, Stephen Veliz, another running back for Lanier, scored 2 rushing touchdowns. This gave Lanier a 7 point lead with 5 minutes to go. Earlier in the broadcast, there was a graphic saying that past Edison and Lanier games on TNL have gone into overtime! Edison had 5 minutes to keep that tradition alive!

Edison scored on a 4th and goal with about a minute remaining and the extra point was good!!!

I got my 2nd overtime game of the year! Awesome! This was going to be a great finish. Stephen Veliz scored for Lanier in the 1st overtime. Edison ran a few plays but fumbled the ball and Lanier recovered! Game was over! Wow, what a tough way to end a game! Lanier won 35-28 over Edison in overtime.

Isaac Cervantes had 28 carries for 210 yards and 1 touchdown. He injured his knee late in 3rd quarter and he looked like he was a lot of pain. Ouch!!! The tackle could have been called a horse collar, but no penalty was thrown. Really sad to see injuries. Especially when it happens to the star player. Cervantes leads the team with 236 carries for 1813 yards and 25 touchdowns! His back-up was Stephen Veliz. Before he replaced Cervantes, Veliz had 1 carry for 5 yards. Veliz ended the game with 28 carries for 144 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cervantes is a Junior and Veliz is a Sophomore! Impressive stats for those 2 players!

Edison's quarterback, Joe Alvarez, was 6 for 16 passing for 93 yards with 2 interceptions and 3 touchdowns. He also had 24 carries for 100 yards and 1 touchdown. Andre Richardson, the running back, had 13 carries for 76 yards and 2 catches for 51 yards and 1 touchdown. Seth Henry, a wide receiver, had 3 catches for 25 yards and 2 touchdowns.

We gave the player of the game to Isaac Cervantes. I hope he is OK.

When I got home from the game, my sweet wife was waiting for me. She had dinner made! Matzah ball soup and turkey burgers!! I have a great life and wife!!!

Week 8 - Warren Vs O'Connor

2011-10-23T15:03:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Gus stadium again for another thrilling district 27-5a game between the Warren Warriors and the O'Connor Panthers. Both teams had 4 wins and 1 loss in district. The winner of this game is probably going to up being the 2nd place team in the district (top 4 advance to playoffs).

I worked a Warren game in week 5 and Rex Dausin, the quarterback, played his best game ever.

I was really interested to see how O'Connor would bounce back after a devastating loss last week to the Jay Mustangs.

I was expecting an offensive explosion from both teams!

At halftime, Warren led O'Connor 24-14. They ran a combined 61 plays for 422 yards and 5 touchdowns! Wow! Awesome!

In the 3rd quarter, Warren scored a touchdown and O'Connor was still stuck on 14 points.

O'Connor finally scored in the 4th quarter to make the score 31-21 with about 7 minutes remaining. The Panthers made an onside kick and recovered the ball! Wow! This is going to be some finish. But, Carlos Vargas, a linebacker for Warren, sacked the quarterback on back to back plays! Wow! O'Connor didn't score on that possession and had a few more opportunities to score, but the Warren defense thwarted every play. Warren won the game 28-21.

Rex Dausin, the Warren quarterback, was 17 of 31 passing for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had 8 carries for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns. Seven receivers caught passes!

The running back for O'Connor, Tre Johnson, had 22 carries for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also had some costly fumbles that Warren recovered and scored.

In the 2nd half, Warren ran 26 plays for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns and O'Connor ran 40 plays for 165 yards and 1 touchdowns. The Panthers also had 4 turnovers!

For the past few games, we have given the player of the game to a defensive player! And, last night there was no hesitation on who would get it! We could have gone by stats and given it to Rex, but sometimes it comes down to who makes plays when they desperately need it. Carlos Vargas's sacks were huge and pushed the momentum back to Warren!

Check out the Tom Benson Chevrolet facebook page to see photos of our TSRN players of the game.

Next week will be week 9! The regular season is 10 weeks. We are already talking about playoff match-ups and all the different scenarios! Playoffs will last 6 weeks and will conclude in Arlington, Texas for the state championships on December 16th! Wow, I am super exited!

This Thursday, I will be back at Alamo stadium for the Edison Golden Bears vs Lanier Vocs.

And, Friday, I will be back at Rutledge stadium in Converse for the Judson Rockets Vs San Marcos Rattlers. I know Judson will be primed and ready and this game could be over early!

Saturday, I am taking the night off so I can spend some time with my wife.

Week 8 - Madison Vs Reagan

2011-10-22T12:06:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Comalander stadium for the Madison Mavericks Vs Reagan Rattlers. Both teams had 3 wins and 0 losses in district 26-5a. The winner of this game could end up being the district champion.

I saw Reagan in Week 0 and the got blown away by the Wagner Thunderbirds.

I have seen Madison 3 times already this season and they got whipped by Judson in Week 4

Madison and Reagan have won every game since those 2 losses! I was really looking forward to awesome game. The last thing I was expecting was a blowout!

At halftime, Reagan led the Mavericks 31-10! I was shocked! To start the 3rd quarter, Reagan got the ball first. If they score, game is over! But, if Madison can hold them to a three and out or a small amount of time and no points drive and score, this is going to be an awesome finish.

Well, on that first drive for Reagan, they failed to complete a 4th down and on that particular play, Trevor Knight slipped on the field and sprained his ankle. Injuries are never good especially when it happens to the star player! Knight didn't return to the game.

A few plays later for Madison, Marquis Warford scored on a 54 yard touchdown run! We got a game! This is what I was expecting! The score was now 31-17 Reagan with 16 minutes left in the game! Unfortunately, Madison didn't score again and Reagan added a late touchdown. The final score was 38-17 Reagan! Wow! Reagan won and Knight didn't play after her got hurt and they were missing Elijah Ball who leads the team in rushing!

Trevor Knight, the Reagan quarterback, was superb. He was 7 for 14 passing for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 14 times for 70 yards and 1 touchdown. Next year, he will be playing college football at Oklahoma! Austin Hays, the wide receiver, caught 3 of Knight's receptions for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jake Perez, a defensive back for Reagan, got the player of the game. I don't keep track of tackles, but I am pretty sure he led the team last night. He was everywhere! On one play, he deflected a pass in which he was covering a wide receiver and on the next play he was tackling a running back!

Marquis Warford and Galen McAllister, the running backs for Madison, ran the ball 38 times for 252 yards and 2 touchdowns. The quarterback, Justin Jones, really struggled. He was 1 for 7 passing for 12 yards. Byron Daniels caught that completion but fumbled the ball and Reagan recovered it and scored.

Week 8 - Holmes Vs Stevens

2011-10-22T11:01:00.000-05:00

On Thursday night, I was not at the Judson Vs Steele game! I was at the other TV game. Yes, there was another high school football being played that night. It was the Holmes Huskies Vs Stevens Falcons from Gustafson stadium. The winner of this game could end up being the 4th place team in district 27-5a.

I have done a lot of Falcons games this year and in the past but it has been a long time since I did a Holmes game. I was really looking forward to a competitive and close game.

When I do my stats, I require a a wall to hang my stat boards. From past experiences at Gus stadium, I wasn't sure if the film deck had any walls. The TV crew broadcasts the games from the film deck. So, I was frantically searching our house for something large and flat that I could tape my stat boards to and lean it against the railing. I noticed my wife had 2 large dry erase board so I took them both to the game (she uses them to indicate prices for soap and other items that she makes and sells at markets around town). When I arrived at the film deck, our TV table was next a window so I had a tiny space for me and my stat boards. From my vantage point, I was able to see 80 yards of the field. The remaining 20 yards, I either had to watch the monitor or lean my body forward and get really close to Ernie! At least I was able to view the scoreboard!

As far as the game, the Stevens Falcons won 37-8 and they dominated every aspect. Josh Valdez, the quarterback was 6 of 10 passing for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. Jordan Thomas, a wide receiver, caught 3 of them for 71 yards and the lone touchdown. Thomas also ran the ball 3 times for 73 yards and 1 touchdown. Derek Mann, the running back, had 16 carries for 76 yards and Emmanuel Davis, another running back, had 13 carries for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. Which one got player of the game? Well, after much discussion, we gave it to Jordan Thomas.

The Holmes Huskies quarterback, Gilbert Garcia, and running back, Dazmon Johnson, combined to carry the ball 43 times for 174 yards and 1 touchdown in the 4th quarter. On that scoring drive, I said to myself, "they are going to score." Ernie and Dean didn't hear me since they have headsets on. Yes, folks, I talk to myself during games!

During halftime, the Superintendent of Northside ISD, Dr. John Folks was in the film deck. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I always make it my duty to say hi and shake his hand! He told me he hears a lot of positive feedback from the TV games. I thanked him for always helping us on TV and radio. He is a super nice person and is a constant at sporting events!

Oh, I spilled a Dr Pepper on our table in the third quarter! I guess I should blame my tight quarters! Luckily, it didn't get near anything electrical. I had to use my dry erase rag and lots of napkins from Church's Chicken to clean it up. The super kind folks at Church's bought us chicken sandwiches to nosh on! There were yummy. They are a main sponsor for TNL!!!

Week 7 - O'Connor Vs Jay

2011-10-16T12:27:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Farris stadium for the O'Connor Panthers Vs Jay Mustangs. O'Connor's overall record was 5 wins and 1 loss and they had 4 wins and no losses in district play. They were number 6 in the E-N Top 10. Jay's overall record was 2 wins and 4 losses and they had 1 win and 3 losses in district play. District wins and losses is what counts! The Panthers were on top in the district.

If I told you both teams ran 120 plays for 987 yards, Jay had 3 turnovers, Jay had 14 penalties for 105 yards, and each team had a running back rush for over 200 yards, what would you think the final score would have been? By looking at these numbers and the records, you would think the score would have been a blowout in favor of the Panthers! Well, you are wrong! Jay won the game in overtime 34-27! Yes, I am serious! This was an awesome game!

There were a lot of long plays, spectacular catches, and amazing runs!

Darryle Surney, the starting running back for O'Connor was injured so he didn't play last night. He leads the team in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and touchdowns. Tre Johnson was his replacement and he didn't disappoint. Tre had 20 carries for 234 yards and 3 touchdowns. Allen Wright, the the quarterback, was 9 for 19 passing with 183 yards.

Jay's starting running back, Adonis Hulbet, was magnificent. He had 27 carries for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns. But, I was really impressed by a 6'2 Junior wide receiver named Josh Reynolds. Remember his name! He had 8 catches for 98 yards. He also recovered an onside kick with :36 seconds left in the game and that allowed Jay to tie the game with a field goal.

When we came back from break for that onside kick, I was looking for Reynolds because I knew he was gonna recover it and I even said it out loud even though Bobby and Mark couldn't hear me since they have headsets on and I don't! Wow!

The player of the game went to Adonis Hulbet. Reynolds and Aaron Haston, the kicker, were in the mix for player of the game.

This was my first overtime game this season and could end up being the upset of the year. Again, wow and OMG!

Next Thursday, I will be at Gustafson stadium for the Stevens Falcons vs Holmes Huskies. This game could determine 4th place in the district. The top 4 teams in the district advance to the playoffs.

Friday, I am probably going to be at Comalander stadium for the Madison Mavericks Vs Reagan Rattlers. This game could determine the district champion!

Saturday, I am probably going to be at Gustafson stadium again for the O'Connor Panthers Vs Warren Warriors. This game could determine 2nd place in the district.

Week 7 - Judson Vs Seguin

2011-10-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

The Judson Rockets played the Seguin Matadors last night in Seguin. This was by far the farthest I had to drive to get to a football game this season! I thought it was strange that I had to drive by Rutledge stadium in Converse on my way to Seguin.

So, how would the Rockets respond after the loss to Wagner last week? Well, I have seen lots of Rockets games and lets just say that I feel really bad for the Seguin Matadors! I did a Seguin game in Week 2 and know they are really struggling this season and have 1 victory so far. So, I knew the Rockets would be angry and the game could be over early (I even mentioned this in the Friday Night Live Chat from the Express News last night-my handle name was mark-tsrnsports).

And, guess what? My prediction that the game would be over early was CORRECT! Michael Williams, a Judson Rocket defensive back, intercepted 2 passes. The first led to Judson's first score and the other led to the final touchdown of the 1st half. In between, it was 4 rushing touchdowns and 1 passing touchdown.

At halftime, it was Judson 38 and Seguin 0! Wow! Super impressive! Judson ran 30 plays for 349 yards and 5 touchdowns. Quaylon had 12 carries for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns! Matt McCarty was 4 for 6 passing with 100 yards and 1 touchdown. This was only in the first half!

Oh, I got some FREE advertising for my awesome blog from Eric Johnson when he was going over the first half stats. Thanks Eric! I always appreciate the plugs!

Somehow the scoreboard operators at the stadium had the score 37-0 Judson on the scoreboard. Bobby, Eric, and I knew it was 38-0 cause we didn't see any missed extra points by the Rockets. The public address announcer even came to us asking if the score was correct. I think a fan even made his way to the press box to ask us. So, I went to the 2nd floor of the press box to find the scoreboard operators to get that score corrected. When I found them, they made the change and mentioned 1 point isn't going to matter and I shook my head and agreed! On my way back down to the 1st floor, I stopped and talked to Mike Wacker, the head basketball coach for Judson. He was filming the game.

Poor Seguin, they couldn't do anything and had a lot problems moving the ball down the field. I think they gave up at halftime! The Matadors got the ball first to start the 3rd and they were just chewing clock by running the ball (which they really struggled). The second half went very fast, I think the scoreboard operators were letting the clock run when it should have been stopped.

Judson played subs for the most of the 2nd half. The Rockets only touchdown in the 2nd half was an 80 yard touchdown run. Seguin scored on a fumbled punt by the Rockets very close to the end zone. I don't think they scored. It should have been Rocket ball and the fumble was caused by the turf after the player was down. But, I guess the refs wanted Seguin to score.

Final score of the game was 45-6 Judson over Seguin. Michael Williams was our player of the game.

The Seguin press box staff and athletic staff was super friendly. They waited for Bobby and I to finish the scoreboard show before they locked the stadium and turned off the lights at 11:00pm!

Next Thursday, Judson plays the Steele Knights at Rutledge which will probably be the game of year. I was looking forward to this game all season long. This game was moved from Friday to Thursday so it can be broadcasted by Fox Sports Southwest!!! I was very upset when they moved it!!! Crap, I will be at the other TV game that night on CW35 at Gustafson stadium for the Stevens Falcons Vs Holmes Huskies! Plus, I make a lot more for TV games than radio! So, I guess it is OK!

Tonight, I will be at Farris stadium for the O'Connor Panthers Vs Jay Mustangs.

Week 7

2011-10-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

I was at Alamo stadium on Thursday for the Sam Houston Hurricanes Vs Pleasanton Eagles. This stadium was built in 1940 as part of the Works Progress Administration and hasn't changed since! I am very glad the SAISD voters finally approved a bond to renovate the stadium.

The press boxes are all encased in glass and ours was the last on the left (if you are facing the press boxes). So, whenever we looked to the left we were blinded by a huge TNL banner which also happened to block the view of the scoreboard. For time of possession, I had to quickly glance at the TV monitors before they went to a commercial.

press box at alamo stadium

the tv crew was in that first box

The two pictures above were taken from another game at Alamo stadium that I worked.

I use a small dry erase board where I keep track of time, drives, how many yards each play was, and significant notes to the broadcasters. But, on Thursday night, I had nowhere to place this. I ended up using my stat board to keep track of everything. It was challenging not being able to keep Ernie and Dean updated on how long a play was.

Oh, I also had the hiccups on and off during the game! Not fun! I even offered to step out of the booth during the pregame show!

I think this is first time I have seen the Pleasanton Eagles! Both schools are in 3A which means they have a much smaller enrollment than the other teams I have seen this year. They have a lot of kids who play both ways.

Sam Houston always has athletes and they are fast and explosive! I have been looking forward to seeing the Hurricanes play all season. They may be a one of teams TSRN will follow in the playoffs!!

Pleasanton has a quarterback who is on track to pass for 3,000 yards and possibly have two 1,000 yard receivers. Not that is impressive!

Jhurell Jackson, the quarterback for Sam Houston was 7 for 18 passing for 135 yards with 2 interceptions (both in the red zone) and 1 touchdown. Running the ball, Jackson had 14 carries for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns. Jequan McBride, the running back, had 24 carries for 132 yards and 1 touchdown. McBride is up to 906 yards rushing on the season. The Hurricanes turned the ball over twice and had 16 penalties for 107 yards.

Luke Walters is the Pleasanton quarterback. In the first half, he was 9 for 12 passing for 126 yards and 1 touchdown. Walters really struggled in the 3rd quarter and that is when the Hurricanes took control of the game. His final numbers were 20 of 35 passing for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns. He looked sharp in the 4th quarter. Mike Sorola and Jacob Jandt are the wide receivers who both may reach the 1,000 yard mark for receiving yards caught 11 passes for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns combined. Most of that was late in the game.

Sam Houston won the game 31-14 and Jhurell Jackson was our player of the game.

Week 6 - Madison Vs Roosevelt

2011-10-09T09:52:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Heroes stadium for the Madison Mavericks Vs Roosevelt Rough Riders. Both teams were undefeated in district play. I was really looking forward to seeing the Mavericks again after they whipped Johnson last week.

San Antonio has been in a drought all year but yesterday it rained all day. It would stop for a few minutes and then pour. The stadium is 4 miles from my house and it was sprinkling for the first two miles and then it was a torrential downpour! I was thinking to myself, I am not hanging the banner in this weather! But, when I pulled into the parking lot of the stadium, it stopped raining. So, I quickly gathered my stuff and the banner and hung the banner as fast as I possibly could. Guess what happened next? Well, as I was securing the last corner of the banner with a wire tie, it started to rain again!!!

It rained on and off during the game and you can tell when it started to rain when the fans grabbed there umbrellas! The cheerleaders, dance team, and band had plastic ponchos on!

I was high and dry in the press box!

Madison's big three, Justin Jones, Marquis Warford, and Byron Daniels had a combined 382 yards of total offense and 4 touchdowns. But last night, Junior running back, Galen McAllister had 16 carries for 152 yards and 1 touchdown. Now, Madison has 4 studs!!!

We gave the player of them game to Jones. He was 11 for 19 passing for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns. Daniels caught all three of them and they were amazing corner of end zone catches. He is very impressive to watch. And, we get to see him for 2 more years! Wow!

The quarterback for Roosevelt, Abraham Prather, was 11 for 23 passing for 133 yards and 3 interceptions. He spread the ball around to 5 receivers who each had at least 23 yards receiving. Frank Barnes, the running back, had 16 carries for 76 yards and 1 touchdown.

Roosevelt kept the game close but Madison scored 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to clinch there 2nd district win with the 35-14 victory.

Next Thursday, I will be at Alamo stadium for the Pleasanton Eagles Vs Sam Houston Hurricanes. Sam Houston is a team I have been waiting to see all season. I can't wait!

Friday night, I will be at Matador stadium in Seguin for the Judson Rockets Vs Seguin Matadors. I am looking forward to a much better performance from the Rockets.

Not sure where I will be Saturday.

Week 6 -Taft Vs Marshall Pictures

2011-10-08T13:17:00.001-05:00

I have to thank my dad for taking some great pictures of me and the TV crew on Thursday night. Now, I have proof that I really am a high school football statistician.

My dad got a shot of me pulling my shorts up! They were falling down. Maybe I lost some weight!

I am saying Hi Nina on my dry erase board!!! Nina is my wife!

I am watching the game! My thinking face!

I am hiding from the camera. I guess I didn't do a good job!

My trademarked pose for the camera.

I am updating the stats.

Week 6

2011-10-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

Thursday night, I was at the Taft Raiders Vs Marshall Rams. One of these teams was going to get there first victory of the season so I was expecting a really competitive game.

My dad came to the game and hung out with me. He took a lot of pictures. He also got me some McDonald's cheeseburgers for dinner!

Church's chicken also provided us with hot apple pies and chicken sandwiches. They are a main sponsor for TNL!!!

The score was tied at 14 with less than 2 minutes left and I and the people in the truck were preparing for overtime. Marshall had the ball and they were getting closer and closer to field goal range. With seven seconds to go, Marshall called on Julian Buduri to kick a 48 yard field goal! Julian is from Africa and was a soccer player. He told us in the post-game interview that the coach was looking for kickers! Well, Julian nailed the field goal as time expired and Marshall got there 1st victory 17-14. He was our player of the game.

Taft's quarterback, Jazz Butler, was 7 for 15 passing for 79 yards and 1 interception. He also ran the ball 7 times for 77 yards. Avery Oliver, a defensive back and running back, scored both touchdowns for the Raiders. One was rushing and the other was a 39 yard interception.

Marshall's running backs, Ricardo Smith and Robert Cevallos, carried the load for the Rams. Smith had 24 carries for 80 yards and 1 touchdown and Cevallos had 18 carries for 85 yards.

It was very windy at the game and this was the first time I lost my dry erase rag! I was holding it and the wind just took out of my hand and it went flying in to the stands. I also almost lost my small dry erase board, but I caught it!!!

I was at the Hammer Bowl last night for the Judson Rockets Vs Wagner Thunderbirds. These are the only high schools in the Judson Independent School District. I had to ask Bobby why they call it the Hammer Bowl! Cory Sears was a former Judson high school football player. His defensive line coach at Judson was Pete Gibbens, who is now the head coach for Wagner! Sears played in the NFL for the Rams, the Cardinals, and the Texans. While with the Texans, he won the most improved player and he dedicated that award to Judson and Pete Gibbens!!!

When these teams play, you can throw everything out the window and let the wind take it! The fans, coaches, cheerleaders, bands, athletes, and teachers have all grown up together. They probably eat at the same places! I heard this game was sold out! Wow!

I arrived at the game around 5:45 and was able to get a close parking space. I kept watching the parking lot and the fans from our press box. Cars were parked on the street, on the grass, and a at a nearby gas station. It was unbelievable!!!

Judson was ranked number 1 and Wagner was ranked number 5 by the San Antonio Express News. I knew this was going to be an electrifying game.

I wasn't expecting a dominating 1^st half performance from Wagner. The T-Birds led 14-0 at halftime. They doubled the Rockets time of possession, plays, and yards. Quaylon Jones, the running back for Judson, had 7 carries for 24 yards.

Wagner got the ball to start the 3rd quarter. This first possession is HUGE. I knew Judson would force a 3 and out and get the ball back and score and make this a game in the 2nd half. But nobody told Derek Kindred, the Wagner running back and defensive back! First play from scrimmage, Derek ran 80 yards for a mind blogging touchdown run and silenced me and the Judson fans! Wow! That was all Wagner needed to seal the victory 20-10.

The Judson running game only had 30 carries for 118 yards and 1 touchdown. Q had 90 of those yards and the lone touchdown.

Wagner's running game had 52 carries for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns. Derek Kindred had 20 of those carries for 144 yards and 1 touchdowns. He was the player of the game.

It's very possible that these two teams will face each other again in the playoffs. Just kinda shocked at this performance by Judson. But, maybe this is what they need to motivate them and win there next 4 district games. We will see next Friday at Seguin!!!

Tonight, I will be at Heroes stadium for the Madison Mavericks Vs Roosevelt Rough Riders.

One Mile part II

2011-10-02T20:04:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, I was again at McAllister park for a walk with my parents and my cousin and her husband and there 4 kids. It is sponsored by the San Antonio RoadRunners. The walks are free and open to the public and are the first Saturday of the month. I did the 5k in August but the past two times, I did one mile. I do want to do another 5k, but I first need to walk a bit more at the gym. It is hard for me to find time since I got high school football games three nights a week.

this was the starting line

I did the one mile walk on my own, but what they neglected to tell me was that once you finished you had to walk another mile to get back!!! So, I think I walked about 2 miles but not sure since my Nike Ipod sensor locked up on me at the very end. Crap!!!

On my hike back, I walked into television news reporter Randy Beamer. He was filming something. We chatted for a minute! He was very nice! I wanted to get back to the pavilion since I had to pee!!!!

My dad and rest of the family did the 5k. Mom watched and made sure we all had water!

Week 5 - Saturday's game

2011-10-02T12:05:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was at Gustafson stadium for the Warren Warriors Vs Stevens Falcons. Mark Thomas did play-by-play and Virgil Peterson did the color.

It was nice to work with Mark Thomas again. He worked for TSRN a long time ago. We did a lot of games together.

I have also worked a lot of games with Virgil Peterson. I did the stats for Virgil's first game 7 years ago! Virgil brings a lot of knowledge to the broadcasts. He was a coach, statistician, and referee back in the days. He also gave my blog address out last night on the internet! I really love free advertising. Come on people, become a follower and write some comments. I will reply to all comments!!!

Ok, let me talk about the game!

Rex Dausin is the quarterback for the Warren Warriors. His dad is the coach. I must say that coach's sons are very smart and know how to play the game and they don't make mistakes! Rex put on an aerial attack. He was 21 of 24 passing for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns! That would come out to a NFL passer rating of 158.33! Just absolutely amazing. I didn't even mention he had 42 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. His performance was fun to watch.

The quarterback for Stevens, Josh Valdez, was 14 of 21 passing for 165 yards and 1 touchdown. Those are really good numbers also and probably would have earned Valdez the player of the game, but Rex's game was almost perfect!!

Warren won the game 44-31. And, of course, we gave the player of the game to Rex!

Next Thursday, I will be at Farris stadium for the Taft Raiders Vs Marshall Rams. One of the teams will get there first win so it should be a really good game. Also, my dad may come to the game and hang out with me and take some pictures!

I will be at the Hammer Bowl on Friday night for the Judson Rockets Vs Wagner Thunderbirds. This is a game between big brother and little brother as both schools are in the Judson Independent School District. I can't wait, I am super excited and ready for this game now! I missed this game last year because I was getting married!

Week 5

2011-10-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

On Thursday night, I was at Frank Mata Memorial stadium for the Brackenridge Eagles Vs Kennedy Rockets It is located near Lackland AFB. Normally, I have the directions printed out for some games but I didn't get a chance for this game. I was there last year and kinda remember where it was. When I left the bank that evening, I kept repeating the directions to myself...281 South to I-H 35 South to Highway 90 West Del Rio and exit General McMullen Dr and take a left on Thompson St. It was a very slow and rainy drive to the stadium.

I only get to see these teams once or twice during the football season so I was excited for this game.

I know the Brackenridge Eagles always have several athletes who are fast and they are a very good passing team. I also know the Kennedy Rockets are primarily a running team.

I was expecting a close game since they were both undefeated in District 29-4A. However, that didn't happen! The Eagles won the game 44-20 but it was not that close.

The Eagles altered there offense by running all over the Rockets. They ran the ball 27 times for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns. When they did pass, the quarterback, Anthony Garza was superb. Garza was 9 for 16 passing with 195 yards and 1 touchdown and 1 interception. He was the player of the game.

The quarterback for Kennedy, Jalen Garcia, had 25 carries for 85 yards and 1 touchdown. Damian Veloz, the running back, had 18 carries for 74 yards but most of that was in the 2nd half.

On Friday night, I was at Comalander stadium for the Madison Mavericks Vs Johnson Jaguars. I was really interested to see how Madison would bounce back after the loss to Judson. I know they weren't going to lie down and say goodnight to the rest of the teams in District 26-5A! Johnson was looking like the top team in this District.

Well, after the game ended, Johnson, Reagan, Churchill, MacArthur, and Lee should be very worried since the Madison Mavericks woke up and they look like the team to beat!!!!! They dominated the Jaguars and poured it on! Madison won the game 44-20! It's like the Judson game last week is just what the Mavericks needed!

The three studs for Madison were super impressive. The running back, Marquis Warford, had 24 carries for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns, the quarterback, Justin Jones, was 7 for 17 passing for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns and zero interceptions (last week he has 4), and the wide receiver, Byron Daniels, caught 3 passes for 93 yards and had both touchdowns. They were awesome! Warford was our player of the game.

Cohner Mokry, the quarterback for Johnson was really good. He had 217 yards of the teams 308 yards of offense and 2 touchdowns.

Tonight, I will be at Gustafson stadium for the Warren Warriors Vs Stevens Falcons. I will be working with Mark Thomas and Virgil Peterson. Its been several years since I have worked with Mark and I am looking forward to seeing him. Virgil has been with TSRN for a long time and it is always a pleasure to work with him.

Week 4

2011-09-24T12:43:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I was at Farris stadium for the O'Connor Panthers Vs Taft Raiders. This was a TV game for me but Bobby and Eric were broadcasting the game along the Texas Sports Radio Network.

I helped Bobby before, during, and after the game by hanging the banner, texting stats and scoring drives, and help him pack up the equipment. I will do this again on 11/3/2011, as Judson plays at New Braunfels on a Thursday night. I am glad that I am taking a day off from work the next day!

I provided individual stats for a few players for the TV broadcast to Kathy (the chyron operator) and Dave (the director) and they had the graphics already completed. They can even make a new graphic if I see a trend or a stat that stands out. Pretty cool!!! In addition, I am also providing scoring drives and end of quarter stats to Kathy. I also need to make sure Ernie and Dean, the TV broadcasters, have everything they need stat wise to make the broadcast flow!!!

So, I had a lot more going on Thursday night than I normally do!

I saw Taft play in Week 1. Nothing has changed for the Raiders since! I am not a coach, but they really need to make some drastic changes on offense.   Jazz Butler, the quarterback, can't throw. He is very explosive as a runner. He had 12 carries for 114 yards!   I would love to see him at running back and someone else taking the snaps.

O'Connor struggled offensively in the first half. I don't know what they were drinking at halftime, but whatever it was, it worked. They got the passing and running game going in the 2nd half and Taft couldn't stop them. Allan Wright, the quarterback, was 7 for 13 passing for 158 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Tre Johnson, the running back, had 3 receptions for 77 yards and the lone touchdown. Tre also had 9 carries for 77 yards. Our player of the game was another running back named Darryle Surney who had 18 carries for 137 yards and 1 touchdown.   O'Connor won the game 27-3.

Last night, I was at Rutledge stadium for the Judson Rockets Vs Madison Mavericks. I was expecting a close and competitive game. These teams were in the same district for a long time and they hate each other!    If you told me the final score would be 48-7 Judson, I would have thought you were joking around! But, that really was the final score! Wow!

In the past several seasons, Madison has had a STUD running back with the last name of GREEN. Aaron is the most recent and he now plays for Nebraska! This season, no Green! Kinda strange!!! This year, the running back is named Marquise Warford. He will be on our all name list!! He has 68 carries for 468 yards and 2 touchdowns. Did I mention he is a Junior! The leading receiver for Madison is Byron Daniels   He is a Sophomore!

Last night, the quarterback, Justin Jones, for Madison had a really bad game. Jones completed 1 of his 14 attempts and had three of them intercepted. Turnovers killed Madison and Judson scored on each one! Warford had a decent game with 15 carries for 98 yards and Daniels and had the lone completion for 10 yards.

We all know Judson can run the ball, but last night the passing game was awesome again. It almost topped the performance from Week 2. Matt McCarty, the quarterback, was 6 for 7 with 112 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dennis Parks caught 4 of them for 66 yards and both touchdowns. Parks also threw a 36 yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Dotcie. Awesome! Parks was the player of the game.

Judson carried the ball 50 times for 279 yards and 4 touchdowns. Quaylon had 14 for 104 and 1 touchdown. A Sophomore backup running back named Alvin Clark really impressed me. He looks faster than Q. Bobby told me he came from the tack and field team and has only been playing football for a couple of years. He had 9 carries for 69 yards and 2 touchdowns!!! One of his scores, he took the ball from the quarterback and a Madison defender was right there and somehow Clark bounced off the defender and scored! In the press box, we were in awe of what we saw.

Judson is going to be very hard to beat!!!! They are looking like a state championship team!!!

During the game last night, I was also providing updates in the San Antonio Express News high school football friday chatroom since Lorne and Blake were at other games. I had a lot of fun doing that!

Tonight, I am taking the night off. Going to have a DATE NIGHT with my wife! We haven't spent much time together since football started! I am out Thursday's, Friday's, and Saturday's. She is out Saturday's, Sunday's, and Tuesday's at farmers markets selling soap and other products.   Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I work at the bank and also try to visit the gym 2 of those days after I finish work.

Next Thursday, I will be at Mata Memorial stadium for the Brackenridge Eagles Vs Kennedy Rockets.

Not sure where I will be Friday since Judson has a bye.

Week 3 - Saturday's game

2011-09-18T10:50:00.000-05:00

Before I start talking about the game last night, I really need to give a HUGE THANKS to Mark Kusenberger and Eric Johnson. Mark and Eric were the broadcasters for the game. They talked about my blog and provided the address over the INTERNET!!! Wow, I got some free advertising! I know people read it, I just want some followers and comments from non family members!

Kusenberger has been with TSRN for about 13 years (correct me if I am wrong, Mark). I have worked many games with Mark and he is always prepared and has many many many notes and details about the teams. If a player has a favorite spice, Mark will know it! He can give you the stat line for any particular player for any game and also tell you his baseball stats as well. Mark also has a knack for all the different scenarios when the playoffs are approaching.

I remember one game where we had a lightening delay and Mark recited George Carlin's baseball vs football comedy bit!

Eric is relativity new to TSRN. I think he has been with us for a few years. He brings a unique perspective to the broadcasts since he was an offensive lineman when he was in high school. I am bit jealous of Eric! Why? Well, he gets to ride in the WOAI sky news4 helicopter and report on what he sees!!!

Okay, now for the district 27-5a game between the Brandeis Broncos and Stevens Falcons at Gustafson stadium. When they renovated the press box, they kept the same vantage point and you can also open the windows and smell the game. The athletic staff and press box officials are friendly and helpful to us. Besides Lehnoff stadium in Schertz, Gus is another favorite stadium of mine!

Our booth in the old press box was right next to the bathroom! One time, someone used that bathroom and when the door opened, I thought I was going to die!!! The smell was so bad!!! Now, we have a room and the ability to shut the door!

I graduated high school in 1995 from Clark (also in this district) and these 2 schools weren't even built yet! It's amazing how fast the Northside Independent School District is growing. When I was at Clark, there were only 4 other high schools; Taft, Jay, Marshall, and Holmes! Today, they have 5 more!!! Wow!

During the pregame show last night, the Superintendent of NISD, Dr. John Folks, popped his head in our booth and I made it my duty to say hi and shake his hand!

The Stevens Falcons lost Mykkele Thompson to the Texas Longhorns. Thompson was the stud for several years at Stevens. Last season, he had over 2,800 yard rushing and 40 touchdowns. Wow! Hard to replace those kind of numbers!

I took my dad to a Stevens playoff game last year at the Alamodome. This was the first time he has seen me work!! He was having a blast taking pictures and hanging with his favorite son (sorry Evan). I was telling him to watch Thompson. On the next play, Thompson ran the ball 70 plus yards for a touchdown! I was like, that is why he is going to UT!!!!

The Brandeis Broncos were the top team in District 27-5a last year. They used 2 quarterbacks and had a workhorse at running back. They also had a really strong defense. They lost to Steele in the playoffs last year. Those 3 players graduated so where would they turn to? Well, they turned to the backup running back, Tristan Ynclan! He had 172 yards running in the first game this season, 238 yards running in the second game, and 188 yards running in his third game (he also played quarterback late in the game when the starter got injured).

One touchdown, two field goals, a horrible passing game, and a defense that held Stevens scoreless was all the Broncos needed for the victory. Ynclan was very impressive running the ball, he had 22 carries for 114 yards and the lone touchdown but he couldn't throw the ball, well neither could Stevens. The teams combined for 2 for 21 passing for 15 yards and 2 interceptions. Very pathetic passing game. Ynclan also kicked both field goals and the point after for his rushing touchdown.

Ynclan should've been the player of the game, but when the defense holds a team to 103 total yards and no points, we look at the defense. Josh Lewis ended up being the player of the game; he had the interception for Brandeis and that led to the only touchdown.

Brandeis won the game 13-0.

You can see all our players of the game at the Tom Benson Chevrolet Facebook page.

Next Thursday, I will be at Farris stadium for the O'Connor Panthers Vs Taft Raiders.

Friday night, I will be at Rutledge stadium for the Judson Rockets Vs Madison Mavericks. This will be yet another rival game for the Rockets.

Not sure if am I am working Saturday night.

After seeing the top 3 teams this week play, I would have to rank them like this:

1. STEELE
2. JUDSON
3. BRANDEIS

Week 3

2011-09-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, I got my first opportunity to see the defending state champions, the Steele Knights. I was super psyched and excited!

I know they lost several key players, but they had Tommy Armstrong (the starting quarterback) and Justin Stockton (running back) returning.

Tommy is very athletic and can run and pass very efficiently. He has a strong and extremely accurate arm! Last year, he completed half of his passing attempts, had 19 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Already, he has gotten more than 60 letters from colleges! So far this season, he has 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Wow!

As a freshman last year, Stockton was Malcolm Brown's backup. He carried the ball 54 times for 607 yards and 6 touchdowns. Did I mention he did that as a FRESHMAN? Thru 4 games this season, he already has 54 carries for 545 yards and 6 touchdowns. Wow!

The Southwest Dragons are primarily a running team. They have a sophomore running back named Erin Mack. He made his debut last week and had over 200 yards rushing.

In my 15 years of watching and working high school football games, I have never seen what transpired in the first 6 possessions of the game covering the first 5 minutes!!! It was amazing. I actually had to watch it again!!

I am a stat man, not a play by play or color commentator! I will do my best to describe the action!

Southwest got the ball first and they had a 3 and out.

First play for Steele was a 46 yard touchdown pass!

On the Dragons next play, they scored on an 81 yard run!

Steele's 2nd play from scrimmage was as 67 yard run for a touchdown!

Southwest turned the ball over on downs.

Third play for the Knights was a 32 yard touchdown pass!

Yes, 4 scoring drives of 1 play!!! Awesome!!! Unbelievable!!! OMG!!!

In a span of 5 minutes, Steele had a 21-7 lead and that was all they needed.

Armstrong was 3 of 4 passing for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stockton had 3 carries for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. They only played a quarter and a half! Pretty good duo; 7 touches for 190 yards and 4 touchdowns. We knew one of them would be a player of the game and after some discussion, we gave it to Stockton! He told us that was his first real trophy! I know he is going to get a lot more hardware!

Southwest's Erin Mack had a very impressive 2nd game with 22 carries and 212 yards and 1 touchdown.

Steele won the game 49-24, but it wasn't that close!

Last night, I got to see the number 1 team, the Judson Rockets take on there former district rival, the Churchill Chargers. Last year, Judson won 28-27 in a double overtime thriller. In 2005, Churchill beat Judson 14-0 which is a rare feat to hold the Rockets scoreless!

I knew this game would be a slugfest and another one where you can throw the record books out the window.

Judson dominated the first half and led 27-10 at halftime. Second half was all Churchill, they outscored the Rockets 23-13!!

Quaylon Jones sealed the game and the win the for Judson with an 85 yard touchdown run on a 3rd and 1! He ended the game with 25 carries for 311 yards and 4 touchdowns, he also had 1 touchdown reception. There was no discussion for the player of the game! I wasn't expecting a final score of 40-33 in favor of Judson!!!

Oh, Kevin Clanton is a linebacker for Judson and he had some HUGE HITS on the Charger players! One was so loud it shook the press box. He has a knack for tackling and hard hits!!!

Every time Jones touches the ball, he is a threat to score! Come out to a Judson game to watch him play! You will leave the game amazed by the show Q puts on!!!!

The Huguley twins, William and Grantham, had a combined 292 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Chargers.

Tonight, I get to see the Brandeis Broncos take on the Stevens Falcons. Brandeis is number 3 in the football poll. Stay tuned tomorrow for my blog on this game.

Week 2 update

2011-09-11T10:42:00.000-05:00

My radio boss, Bobby, wanted me to set up the radio equipment for our game last might since he would be coaching his youth football team all day on Saturday. I said of course and took the equipment after our game on Friday night.

Bobby trusts me and knows that I won't go home and sell everything on Ebay and move to the Cayman islands! I am the longest standing member of TSRN (15 years), well besides Bobby!

I arrived at the game a few minutes earlier than normal. I had to hang our TSRNsports.com banner first. Setting up the radio equipment wasn't difficult. I was able to plug everything in and arranged it the way Bobby likes it. I got all the cables we needed but needed help on connecting them. When Bobby arrived at the game, he gave a me quick lesson on the cables. Will I remember for next time? Probably not!!!

Judson and Roosevelt are 6 miles from each other. This game is a neighborhood rivalry. You can thrown out the record books cause you know each team wants to win really bad! It's like beating your older brother or sister!

Judson is by far the best team I have seen this season. There running game is like a well oiled machine (it's the same formation over and over but you can't stop it). There defense is fast and athletic. When they feel the need to pass, they have 2 very athletic and fast wide receivers. For punt returns and kickoff returns, they either put a running back or wide receiver to return and they can pop one for a touchdown very easily.

Last night, Quaylon Jones had 18 carries for 109 yards and 1 touchdown. His fullback, Kenyon Clack, had 15 carries for 93 yards. Pretty good combination! But it was the passing game of Judson that shined. Matt McCarty, the quarterback, was 11 for 13 throwing the ball with 183 yards and 2 touchdowns. The two athletic and fast wide receivers caught 10 of those for 171 yards and the 2 touchdowns. They had some amazing catches. McCarty was our player of the game. He also had 1 rushing touchdown.

Roosevelt struggled offensively but then again most teams will when they play the Rockets!

Judson won the game 27-6.

This Thursday, I will be at Lenhoff stadium in Schertz for the Steele Knights Vs Southwest Dragons. It will be my first time seeing Steele since the state championship game last December. I can't wait! This is also one of my favorite stadiums to work! The press box vantage point is really close to the action. Plus you can open the windows and hear everything! The home team fans always pack the stands! Just an overall great atmosphere! Oh, the press box and athletic staff are always helpful and friendly.

On Friday, I will be at Comalander stadium for the Judson Rockets Vs Churchill Chargers.

Hey, I get to see the top two teams in San Antonio this week. Wow! Super excited!

I am not sure if I am working on Saturday.

Week 2

2011-09-10T11:16:00.000-05:00

Thursday night, I was at Hornet stadium. This stadium is literally in the middle of nowhere! You drive and drive and drive and all of a sudden, there are stadium lights and a nice looking high school. I have only been up here a few times and the school athletic officials are always super helpful and wonderful to deal with.

I know that the East Central Hornets have a stud running back named Chris Armstrong (he is only a Junior). Last year, he had over 1,000 yards rushing.

I also know that the Seguin Matadors have a really athletic quarterback named Ty Miles (yes, that is really his name!). Last year, Ty was a wide receiver. He lead the team in receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

The Hornets run the hurry up offense which means no huddle! It was difficult for me since I watch the play and then go to my stat board for that player. By the time I was done, they were already running the next play. I had to speed up my work to keep up!

The Hornet's running game was awesome. Armstrong had 12 carries for 63 yards! His backup Joe Clark (not the principal from the movie Lean On Me) had a superb breakout game. Clark had 15 carries for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was the player of the game. They used 12 running backs for total of 58 carries for 492 yards and 4 touchdowns. Just awesome! I actually ran out of room on my stat board for all the players!

For Seguin, they started a Sophomore quarterback named Walker Franz which surprised us in the TV booth (I am glad the TV broadcasters didn't call him Dennis). Ty was at his familiar spot as the wide receiver. Franz had a very nice debut and has a strong arm. He was 18 for 29 passing for 205 yards and 1 interception. Ty caught 9 of his passes for 82 yards. Those two players were the only bright spots for the Matadors.

The Hornets whipped the Matadors 49-7! For a blowout, it was a fun game to watch and work.

On Friday night, I was at Rutledge stadium for the Wagner Thunderbirds Vs Johnson Jaguars. Wagner was named after Lieutenant-Colonel Karen Wagner, a United States Army officer and Judson High School alumni-class of 1979 who was killed at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Wagner was winning the game 27-13 with about 4 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. We thought the game was over, there was no way Johnson was going to win this game! Bobby and Tony Franklin were singing "turn out the lights, the party's over!" Wagner needed one final stop. But, the quarterback for Johnson, Cohner Mokry, refused to give up. On a 4th and goal from the 26 yard line, Mokry threw a strike to one of his receivers for a touchdown! Wow! The extra point was good. So, now the score was 27-20 Wagner. Wagner also got a personal foul penalty so we in the booth knew an onside kick was coming. Out of all the players on field, guess who recovered it? It was Mokry! Wow! Unbelievable! A few plays later, Mokry threw another bomb for a touchdown! Wow! Tied game! We were in disbelief! The extra point was good and Johnson now had a lead of 28-27 with less than 30 seconds left. Wagner was unable to score on there last possession. This was by far the the most exciting finish I have seen in a long time!

Of course, we gave the player of the game to Cohner Mokry. He had 26 carries for 138 yards and 1 touchdown and was 11 for 25 throwing for 108 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is a STUD!

Tonight, I will be at Heroes stadium for the Judson Rockets Vs Roosevelt Rough Riders.

STUPID car part IV

2011-09-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

I got home this evening from work and my key was stuck again in the ignition. I was really pissed, annoyed, and angry. When I get angry, I tend to either slam doors or throw something. I had my phone and satellite radio in one hand and the urge to throw them on the concrete driveway but I chose to slam the car door and it was so loud my wife heard it from inside the house! She knew something was wrong and she followed me to the dealership.

I was thinking the whole drive. This is the 3rd time since May and 2nd time in less than a week. STUPID CAR! Why? Well, I was glad it didn't happen at a football game. I told the manager to just fix it already and I am really annoyed that it happened AGAIN. I am gonna let em keep it till Saturday. I got work and high school football tomorrow and Friday.

Right now, I am looking at Honda leases! Don't tell my wife!

laptop virus

2011-09-05T21:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday and today, I noticed my firewall was turned off and when I was using Yahoo or Google to search, I was being redirected to another site; a site that was not the link I originally clicked on! Pretty strange and very annoying. I don't remember downloading anything weird or clicking on any attachment. I did some research on my wife's laptop only to find out that this was some sort of malware virus. I downloaded some programs but had no success in removing it. I even uninstalled Mozilla Firefox and installed Internet Explorer, but that didn't help either.

I had everything backed up. Well, I take that back. I didn't backup my money file! But, I just balanced it and had the statements so I only had to enter a few transactions from September.

I was almost at the point of bringing the laptop to a computer repair company but I had one more thing to try and that was to get my laptop back to the factory default settings. This ended up working! I was very glad that I fixed it! After it was fixed, I started to download all sorts of weird stuff, like firefox, open office, palm desktop, olympus camedia, and money plus. I still have to download iTunes and Yahoo messenger and get my webcam to work. Then everything will be back to normal for me.

Stupid Car part III

2011-09-04T14:35:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday, as I was making a left turn to get out of my neighborhood, my battery died! I had just enough momentum to pull into a gas station. I was pissed again! Earlier this week, the key was stuck in the ignition and now a dead battery. FUCK!

I was able to start the car after it died and had to make a quick decision. Do I go home and get my wife's car or do I try and make it to work? Well, I chose to try and make it to work so I could deal with it after work. The car did make it to work with no issues. When I was done with work, the car started but it didn't sound comfortable, it was puttering. I drove the car around the parking lot for a few minutes. I turned the car off to start her up again and nothing happened. I tried again and it started but it shut down a second later. CRAP! I called AAA again to get a tow to the dealership. The dealership is 5 miles from where I work and I was able to get there right before the service department closed.

It ended up being a dead battery and only cost me $170. I was relieved that it wasn't anything else. If I wasn't married or planning to buy a new house, I would have brought a new car already!

One Mile

2011-09-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday at Mcallister Park, I joined my mom and dad and my cousin Rachel and her 4 kids for some walks. They have a 50 yard dash, a half mile, a one mile, and a 5k. It is the first Saturday of every month and is run by volunteers.

me with charlie and gabe (L to R)

My mom and I did the one mile and my dad did the 5k. Rachel and the kids did the half mile and the one mile.

me and my mom finishing the one mile

One mile was much easier for me than the 5k I did last month. My feet didn't hurt and I had plenty of cold water. If the weather is nice next month, I may do the 5k again.

Week 1 Update

2011-09-04T10:29:00.001-05:00

On Friday night, I helped my radio boss, Bobby Stautzenberger, with the Tom Benson Chevrolet Friday Night Scoreboard on KLUP-AM 930 at 10:30pm. I had all the scores ready to go and I thought his color guy would call me for the scores, but he took off after the game ended (I wont name names). Bobby and I were both surprised and upset by this. I did text him some scores but it was a real struggle for me since I have an old flip phone! Bobby did get most of the scores by using his iPhone. I was listening to the scoreboard show and Bobby mentioned that he needed me back since I make it run very efficiently. I told Bobby the next night that I am not planning on missing any more scoreboard shows.

On Saturday night, I worked the Taft Raiders Vs Brennan Bears game at Farris stadium. This is Brennan's 2nd year of varsity football and they won there first game in school history last week. Taft is trying to rebuild and find what works offensively.

The game was full of high snaps, fumbles, super hard hits, bad punts, and even a fight (this was the first time I have seen a fight among the players, luckily the coaches were able to break it up). Brennan's starting running back Jesse Jenkins was the workhouse, but he got hurt in the 3rd quarter. His backup, Aaron Beaugard, had a rough 1st half. He was belted several times (I felt them in the press box) for little or no gain but when he replaced Jenkins, he was energized and ready to go. Beaugard finished the game with 17 carries for 89 years and he was our player of the game. Taft's only highlight was a 70 yard touchdown reception. Brennan won the game 20-12.

Thursday, I will be at East Central (tv game).

Not sure where I will be on Friday.

Saturday, I will be at Heroes (radio game).

Week 1

2011-09-02T19:48:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, the Dallas Cowboys had a preseason game on CW35, so I had the night off!!! Today is my wife's birthday and I took the day off from work to spend with her, so another night off!!! It was very strange being home on a Friday night during the football season.

I am looking forward to listening to the Judson broadcast and possibly participating in the Friday Night Football Chat from the San Antonio Express News (if I can help them out ) this evening. Lorne Chan and Blake Hurtik are the moderators and writers for high school football. I met Blake last week and told him I was amazed at how they can chat, answer questions, keep stats, and watch there respective games and not miss a beat!!!

I did help my radio boss, Bobby Stautzenberger, with the Tom Benson Chevrolet Friday Night Scoreboard on KLUP-AM 930 at 10:30pm (we provide scores from around the area and have our crews call in and summarize the games they worked).

I am working the Taft Raiders Vs Brennan Bears tomorrow night.

More Books

2011-08-30T20:02:00.000-05:00

I read Nobody's Perfect: Two Men, One Call, and a Game for Baseball History by Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce. This book is about the careers of Armando and Jim. It also provides insight on a historic game and what happened from there point of view.

I also read I'll Mature When I'm Dead: Dave Berry's Amazing Tales of Adulthood by Dave Barry. This was my first time reading a Dave Barry book and I really really liked it. His sense of humor amuses me!!!! My wife is reading the book now. She will probably finish by the time I end this thought. She likes to read. She has a kindle, a droid, and a galaxy tab (all with many many eBooks) and even real books all around the house. She even has several boxes of books in storage.

I am on the wait list at the library for: King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Trucker and Familyhood.

After I read that book, I will put this one on hold at the library: Surviving the Shadows: A Journey of Hope into Post-Traumatic Stress by Bob Delaney. He is a former NBA referee who went undercover in New Jersey to infiltrate the mob!!!

Stupid Car part II

2011-08-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

So last night around 9:45, my wife and I were coming home after a snack run at Wendy's. We were happy since we had chicken nuggets, a frosty, and a cold drink. But the happiness quickly turned to pissed off as I couldn't get my car keys out of the ignition! Yes, I am serious. And, I should mention that this happened to me back in May but that time it was a Saturday so I drove it to the dealership. It ended up costing me $350 and to put the icing on the cake, it was out of warranty by 30 days. Stupid car!! I tried to jiggle it, sprayed wd40 on it, jiggled it some more, but nothing was working. It was stuck and the car was running! I was fucking annoyed!!

I called AAA and they sent a locksmith. He arrived about 90 minutes later, but was unable to get the key out. He did take the ignition fuse out and disconnected the battery. So, my car finally stopped running.

The wife and I went to sleep at 12:30 and woke up at 6:05 this morning to connect the battery and put the fuse back in. I wanted to get to the dealership early enough to allow me time to get to work. And hey, they fixed my car for NO CHARGE!!!! My wife picked me up at work this afternoon so I can be reunited with my car. I know she missed me!!!!

When I pulled in the driveway, my keys came out so easily!!! I was happy!!!

I really don't want this to happen again, it was a real pain in the ass.

Week 0

2011-08-23T20:05:00.000-05:00

I anticipated this week soon after the Cibolo Steele Knights won then 2010 5A Division II state championship.

I was already imagining all the student athletes who would be returning to there respective teams and getting excited for next season! I was salivating at these thoughts and couldn't wait for the San Antonio Express News High School football preview to come out. This preview really helps me a lot because they do a fantastic job of breaking down teams, players, and districts. It reinforces my brain to think only about “high school football” till the end of December!!!

As I tell my wife, any important decisions will have to wait till January!!!!!! If she chooses to renovate the house, it must begin on Thursday and end on Friday!!!

So, not only am I a statistician, but I am also a HUGE fan of high school football. I love telling people what I do and I get super hyped about it! I can talk for hours upon hours about high school football.

I will refer to some players as “STUDS!" throughout my blog. Studs are special players who have the ability to change a game at any time because they are exceptional athletes!

Gucci Bowl (Clark Cougars Vs Churchill Chargers)

This is a rivalry game between 2 schools that are considered to be in wealthy and affluent areas. They are 6 miles from each other. The athletes, cheerleaders, band members, coaches, and parents have all grown up together and they circle this game on there calendars. I am a graduate of Clark and know for a fact that this game really matters and has bragging rights for an entire year for the winning team.

Just a few years ago, Clark was making long playoff runs with studs named Hayden and Jock!!!! This year, both teams don't have any studs, but that can change during the season.

THE GAME (archived on kmys.tv)

Josh Kern is the starting quarterback for Clark and has committed to play for Arizona. There was a lot of hype for Kern in the media, but tonight he didn't live up to any of it. The Churchill defense got several hard hits on him and he also left the game with cramps. To be honest, I thought his backup Chase Jones was better and that he was the one going to Arizona. It seems like every year, Clark has a tall and smart receiving core!!!

Paul Foster is the running back for Churchill. I had him for 11 carries for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns (he was the player of the game for Thursday Night Lights). He could become the stud, but the Huguley boys will have something to say throughout the season. William Huguley is the quarterback and Grantham Huguley is a wide receiver. They didn't get a lot of touches tonight since Foster was all they needed. But, when they do touch the ball, they are very dangerous!!!

It is always tough for me when Clark loses, but I will be OK!!!!

Judson Rockets Vs MacArthur Brahmas

Before I start talking about Judson football, let me briefly explain that they are a high school football powerhouse in the state of Texas. They play in a fairly new 10,000 seat stadium. They have played in 12 state championship games, winning 6 of them, the most recent coming in 2002!!!! Every year, I always expect them to make a long playoff run if when they don't have any studs. This year, they have a stud running back named Quaylon Jones!!! I will be mentioning his name A LOT!!!!!!! Maybe I should rename this blog to KEEPING UP WITH JONES!!!!!!!

Can you believe that the Rockets have had 34 consecutive winning seasons? That is pretty awesome!!!

Mac has a new head coach and they also have a stud running back named Darek Dillard. If the last name sounds familiar, it should. His sister is Tai Dillard, a former WNBA player and current UTSA assistant coach. They did lose a stud quarterback who was a three year starter.

Last year when they played, we all expected Judson to win that game easily, but that didn't happen. Mac whipped Judson's defense and offense apart and dominated every aspect of the game. We were shocked and kept asking, is Judson that bad or is Mac that good?

Well, we agreed in the press box that Mac was the team to beat and they could have a long playoff run. Mac only had 1 loss during the regular season, but they ended up losing in the state quarterfinals to the Steele Knights.

The Judson Rockets found the winning ways after the Mac loss but did lose in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

THE GAME (archived on tsrnsports.com)

Quaylon Jones looks poised to have his best season ever!!! He is better and faster than last year. For the first half, I had Jones for 7 carries for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. He ended the game with 14 carries for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns!!! And, he only played 2 1/2 quarters!!!! His runs got oohs and awes and wows from me!!!! I wish I could put a webcam on his feet and watch him make his moves!!! Despite his monster numbers, he wasn't our player of the game. Jones has won this honor many many many many times in the past. I bet he has a storage unit with all the accolades he has gathered.

Judson always has a plethora of running backs. Tonight, 8 players ran the ball all for positive yards. One wasn't even on the roster and I had to find out who he was. Even the backup backups got some playing time at the end. Just fun to watch them run the famous toss sweep!!!

We gave the player of the game to a defensive player named Tre Flowers. He is a Junior Safety for Judson and he recovered a fumble and had 2 interceptions (1 was returned for a touchdown and the other was 2 yards short for his 2nd touchdown). Pretty darn impressive debut!!!! Remember his name, he is only going to get better!!!!

The Rockets looked solid on defense and offense and have a lot of experienced players. But, we say this every year about Judson!!!!

Dillard carried the ball 22 times and gained 94 yards, but that was the only bright spot for Mac. The new quarterback, Matt Gramling, looked startled (he hasn't played football since his Freshman year, he is now a Senior). Hopefully, Gramling will learn from this game and become better throughout the season.

Wagner Thunderbirds Vs Reagan Rattlers

Reagan has a stud quarterback named Trevor Knight who has been starting for 3 years. He has committed to play for the University of Oklahoma. He is a dual threat quarterback and I am excited to see him play.

Wagner lost a stud running back named David Glasco. Glasco will be playing for UTSA!!!!!

Wagner was the surprise team last season. The Thunderbird's won 4 games and lost 6 and amazingly made the playoffs! They made it all the way to the state quarterfinals! I am very curious to see who is going to step up this season.

THE GAME (archived on tsrnsports.com)

This was by far the best game I worked in Week 0!!! The teams combined for 68 points and 923 yards of total offense.

Trevor Knight is the stud for Reagan, he had 291 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had the chance to tie the game very late in the 4th, but the Wagner defense batted down a pass on a 4th down. I can see why Knight committed to Oklahoma; he has a strong arm, can run the ball, and makes very smart decisions. But I was really blown away by the wide receiver for the Rattlers who had 10 catches for 181 yards and 1 touchdown. His name is Austin Hays. The Express News mentions him as a player to watch in 26-5A. They also have talented kicker named Jake Wilcox who can boot the ball to the end zone for kickoffs!!!

Even though the Rattlers lost, they will still be a top team in there district.

Wagner has several players who played both ways. They have speed and are very athletic. Derrick Kindred is the safety and also made his debut at running back. He had 18 carries for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns, he was the player of the game!!! Robert Gardener is also a safety who got a few touches running the ball. On one of his carries, he went 68 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. What impressed me most about that run was Gardener's 4.4 speed, wow!!! Wagner ran the ball 49 times for 397 yards and 4 touchdowns. On my stat board, I thought I was looking at the Judson rushing numbers, unbelievable!!!!

Jacobi Clay is the quarterback. Clay was 12 for 17 passing with 211 yards and 1 touchdown. Several completions were on 3rd down.

If Wagner can keep this up, they will be in the mix for the district championship!!!!!

9 days till football

2011-08-16T21:38:00.000-05:00

I am ready for high school football!! Week 0 starts next week and I am super excited!!! High school football in Texas is amazing and awesome and energizing!!!!

I don't really care for college or NFL football. I do pay attention and know whats happening and I will watch it on television, but that is all!!! I do like to watch San Antonio high school football players development from high school to college to the NFL!!! This year, I am really interested in UT's Malcolm Brown and Mykkele Thompson. They were super studs in high school.

I don't mind being busy Thursday's, Friday's, and some Saturday's even after I work my full-time job!!! I absolutely love what I do and wouldn't trade it for anything. My bosses at all my jobs have allowed me to tweak my schedule to accommodate football games. I think the only time I missed some football games was when I was working for the San Antonio Spurs. But that was only a three year span during the football season which only lasts 4 months!

Seeing the tv and radio broadcasters after 8 months is like the first day of school for me. Lots of questions are asked, smiles are all over, and we all have a blast being and working together!!! If anyone ever knew what happens during commercial breaks?

I have a new laptop with a sleek looking sleeve, new dry erase markers, new wire ties, and new stat boards. I retired my old stat boards last year at the last game, which was at Cowboy's stadium in Arlington. I just leave them with the stats on em and walk away!!!!

I just need to make sure I have lots of pens!! My radio boss, Bobby, always forgets his writing utensils. I also need to make sure I have a legal pad with paper.

I also carry extra old dry erase markers; I use them a lot and don't want to run out like I did last year during a playoff game!!! It caught me off guard and I wasn't prepared!!! Luckily, I was able to put some stats on my netbook but it was a really funny moment! I had everyone in the press box scrambling to look for dry erase markers.

I use a small Coby am/fm radio with the old fashioned dial to locate the stations in which our radio broadcasts are on. Bobby wants to make sure everyone gets on the air.

I have 2 rolls of duct tape. We use it to support the banners, hide the mic cable or phone cord or both when we reel it across the entire press box (we don't want anybody tripping on it), and tape the rosters to the window or side wall in our press box.

Bobby always has extra long cables for the phone and crowd mic. I remember one game where we had to use a 100 foot phone cord; we reeled it from the baseball stadium press box to the football stadium press box!!!! It is called engineering 101!!!!! And, on top of all that, the press box was not air conditioned and it was super hot outside even though we had the door open. I have never sweated as much during a game. I was so happy to get in my car after we finished and cranked the ac high and took off my socks and shoes to cool em of. When I got home, I took a cold shower!!!!

Last year, ESPN broadcasted a local game (the Malcolm Brown link above is from this game). We were at the stadium the night before for a game and we had to use a phone line that was a few booths down from ours. I started duct taping and eventually plugged it in and finished my marvelous duct taping job at Herman Edward's feet!!!!! He was doing a live radio show and also was working that ESPN game. True story!!!!!

Oh, I also have lots of snacks at work so I won't have to buy food at the stadiums. But, knowing me, I will eat my snacks at work and eat junk at the games!!!

This season, I am keeping track of business expenses, mileage, and games worked. My wife suggested this since I have to take self-employment tax out of what I make. It will really help us next April!!! She knows alot about this stuff since she has her own business.

I will be working the Gucci Bowl next Thursday at Farris stadium and Friday I will be at D W Rutledge stadium for the Judson Rockets. Stay tuned to my Week 0 blog. I will write about the games I worked, players that impressed me, and anything funny that happens in the press box!!!!

my imitation of vanna white doing stats....this was the last game where i retired that stat board

My First 5k

2011-08-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, my dad called me to tell me he was going to participate in a 5k walk at Mcallister Park. He said cousin Rachel and her kids will also be there. I was excited and jumped at this opportunity.

I knew that 5k was 3 miles and the most I have walked this year was 1.71 miles. I have a Nike Ipod sensor and it keeps track of my walking. I do use a treadmill at the club for about 30 minutes which is about 1.40 miles. So, 3 miles would a be good test for me.

My dad has been walking for the past 6 months and he usually does it for 60 minutes and at a faster pace than me. So, he was prepared.

My cousin Rachel runs in marathons so this would be super easy for her.

The day arrived and I met my dad and Rachel at the park. The kids wimped out and didn't come. I was ready! I had my water, hat, sunglasses, and comfy shorts. It was hot, but not super hot since it was early in the morning. I felt official when I put my number on my shirt!!!

Rachel and I before the walk.

We started the 5k earlier than everyone else. My dad and Rachel were ahead of me the entire time. I was enjoying the walk. There were deer roaming around and lots of large old trees that gave some shade. There were also other walkers and runners of all ages participating in the 5k. Some of them were pushing baby strollers!!!!

If I couldn't see my dad or Rachel at any time, I would just yell for them to make sure I was on track. I really didn't want to walk more than I had to!!! I finally caught up to my dad and Rachel for a quick drink break which was around the half way point. We got a cold drink and it was nice to stop for a second!!! By that time, I still had some water left but it was warm and not very refreshing.

I am pretending to run!!!

I must admit, the last mile was really a struggle for me! My pace was slowing down a lot. My right foot felt like jelly!!! I was running out of water. I really wanted to quit. I would glance at my Ipod screen to see how far I have walked. I kept saying to myself, don't give up, we are almost done!!!!

Finally, I saw the finish line. The organizers were cheering and encouraging me, I almost felt like running and then falling to ground! My dad and Rachel finished a few minutes earlier and my dad was waiting for me; I guess he wanted to make sure I was OK!!!

My dad and I after we finished.

When I crossed the finish line, I felt really good. I accomplished something!!! I had a lot of fun!!! I didn't care that I was drenched in sweat or that my feet were hurting.

I do think that 5k was a bit much for me. I felt fine, except my feet were hurting and I wish I had more cold water. My shoes are very comfy and are great for short walks, but 3 miles is a stretch. I really need to work my way up slowly at the club so I can do another 5k. But for now, I can easily do 1 mile or 1.5 mile walks when my dad does his next 5k!!!!!

Ipod Update

2011-07-30T21:32:00.000-05:00

Well, the folks at the Apple Itunes store allowed me to re download all the songs I purchased from them. They were super nice to deal with!!! That was a fantastic start to get some music back on my Ipod. It was fun to listen and see the songs since some were on on my old Ipod and I forgot about them. I was having a blast!!!

I also got some music from my wife's external hard drive. She has a ton of music!!!!! I am very glad she didn't record me as I was singing really loud and really out of key as I was scrolling thru her music!!! Plus, I make up my own words if I don't know the words!!!

My old desktop hard drive worked this morning at my parents house and I found most of my music. I was so relieved and was able to breathe a sigh of relief!!!

I was able to locate 1 box of CD's in our storage unit and got more albums for my Ipod. It took me 23 minutes to move lots of fragile boxes, book boxes, and plastic containers to get that CD box which was on the very bottom of the pile! Those albums have already been copied to Itunes and it actually went very fast on my laptop to copy them. I still have 1 more box of CD's in storage and will try and locate that next week. That box should have about 10-15 more albums that I want on my Ipod.

As of right now, I got 586 songs on my Ipod. I got my playlists back!!! I am very happy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Franklin the Cat

2011-07-30T21:25:00.000-05:00

Today, I left the house around 9:15 and got home at 1:30pm and this is how my cat greeted me!!! Now, I don't know how long the paper bag was around his neck, but it was so damn cute! I had to get a picture before I helped him.

Later the same day, I had a box of CD's in my office. Franklin crawled into the top of the box and fell asleep. Have I mentioned he is so damn cute!!!!

ipod

2011-07-23T20:24:00.000-05:00

Stupid iPod!!!! Somehow, while I was in iTunes this afternoon , I accidentally erased all of my music on my iPod. And, since I have a new computer, I only have a few songs in my library. My iPod had over 1000 songs!!! I am annoyed at myself!!!! I had songs for all of my different work moods during the week.

I had a Beatles playlist, a Beatles live playlist, a solo Beatles playlist, an exercise playlist, a live playlist, an oldies playlist, our wedding playlist, and a disorder playlist!!! They are all gone!!! I also had 2 live concerts as playlists; one was Phish doing the White album from 10/31/1994 and the other was Booker T. and the MG's from 1977.

My videos, podcasts, and nike iPod history didn't get erased. Stupid iPod!!!!!

I guess I will start over, but my boxes of CD's are in storage and they happen to be at the bottom of a huge pile of stuff. So, I need to take everything out to get to my CD's, which will be a pain in the ass.

But before I rumble in the storage unit and sweat my ass off, I am going to see if my old desktop hard drive has any music on it. I will plug it into my parents desktop next weekend. I am thinking it does, lets just hope it still works!!!

Its gonna be hard at work for the next few weeks since I don't have my music to listen to. I am gonna have to listen to FM radio!!!! Yuck!!! I haven't listened to FM radio since 2006 when I got my Sirius satellite radio!!! Or, I can bring some CD's to work. Oh, wait all my CD's are in storage. FUUUUUUUCK!!!!! STUPID IPOD!!!!!!!!!

How I got Started in Television

2011-07-22T21:14:00.000-05:00

I remember reading the press release in the San Antonio Express News three years ago that KMYS was going to broadcast Thursday night high school football games on television. I had radio games on Friday's and some Saturday's, but nothing on Thursday nights. I was excited about this and wanted to become a part of it. This would be HUGE step up for me.

I didn't know anybody at the station. So, I contacted them the old fashioned way of snail mail!! I mailed my letter and resume to the General Manager and the Director of Sales outlining my years of experience as a radio statistician. The Director of Sales, Dean Radla, forwarded my information to the Director of Operations, David Ostmo.

David and I played phone tag for a few days. When I finally spoke to him, he told me he was impressed with my background; we talked about high school football in general and during our conversation, he offered me the job! I was super excited and accepted immediately. That was the easiest job interview I have ever had!!!!! Wow!!! I am a television statistician!!! I called my parents and gave them this great news.

I finally got to meet David in the production truck at the first game. When I arrived at the TV booth, I met Dean first, he was the color man and I thanked him for forwarding my resume. A few minutes later, I met Ernie Zuniga, the play-by-play man. Ernie is also the morning news anchor on KABB. They made me feel so comfortable and I felt really good. My nerves disappeared quickly as the night went on.

After that first game ended, my parents even got a few calls from friends who heard my name mentioned or saw my name on the ending credits!!!

Yes, there is a camera in the TV booth and I am aware when it is on!!! I always ask Ralph, the camera operator if I am in the way!!!! I think my butt was on camera once but they quickly switched to another camera!

How I got Started in Radio

2011-07-19T21:07:00.000-05:00

I was the Manager of the Clark high school basketball team from 1991-1995. I filmed all the varsity games and kept score and operated the scoreboard at the freshmen and junior varsity games. It was an amazing experience and the coaches were wonderful. I still keep in touch with both coaches!!!

A friend of mine, Marc Hoenig, was just starting his radio broadcasting career for the Cuero high school basketball team which is about 90 miles from San Antonio. This happened when I started college in 1995. Marc was aware that I had some statistician experience in high school and he offered me a job as a statistician. The pay was very little and would come from his own pocket. I accepted right away; it seemed like a fun opportunity and something new. I didn't mind that there would be games during the weekday.

After the basketball season ended, Marc did play-by-play for high school football games. I didn’t know a lot about the football rules and stats but I picked it up as I watched the games. While I was working with Marc, I met Bobby Stautzenberger. Bobby is the owner of RJS High School Sports which is affiliated with the Texas Sports Radio Network. Together, they broadcast high school baseball, basketball, and football games on the radio and the internet. Soon after I met Bobby, I was officially on the payroll for RJS High School Sports as a football statistician.

I have gotten better and better each year and am overjoyed when other radio crews request to work with me or when other radio crews breath a sigh of relief when they see me.

I worked for ESPN radio in 2001 for the Alamo Bowl. I also worked with Jeff Watts Production for a state championship game in 2006 that was broadcasted live on the internet only.

Fifteen years later, I am still with Bobby and TSRN!!!!

Who else can say, “I am 34 years old and get paid to watch high school football games.” What a wonderful life!!

My next post will be how I got started in television.

high school football

2011-07-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

I am a statistician for high school football games on the radio and television. This gig starts in late August and goes to the middle of December. My next post will be about how I got started in this.

For radio (Texas Sports Radio Network), next month will be year 15 for me!!! For television (KMYS), next month will be year 3 for me. I am serious!!! Yes, I get paid!!! Yes, Texas high school football is awesome and electrifying! I have several nicknames on air which makes me feel like Babe Ruth!!

And, of course I watched Friday Night Lights!!!! Texas forever!!!! I was disappointed that the series ended but was very pleased with the way it ended. I even shed some tears during the finale.

I have been to old stadiums, new stadiums, renovated stadiums, and the Alamodome. Outside of San Antonio, I have traveled to San Marcos, Seguin, Buda/Kyle, Waco, Houston, Bryan, Laredo, Alice, Corpus Christi, San Benito, New Braunfels, Victoria, and Arlington.

Texas Stadium on December 18th, 2010 for the 5a State Championship in which our local team the Cibolo Steele Knights won!!!!

I have witnessed fantastic finishes, amazing plays, and state championships. I have seen team’s ecstatic one moment; only to be drenched with tears seconds later! I have seen numerous Gatorade baths!!!

The most exciting game I have ever seen was in 2002 when Judson won the state championship; the last few minutes of the game were unbelievable. I was in the press box when I heard the winning call from Bobby Stautzenberger and Tony Franklin which was featured locally and nationally!

I have seen many injuries; some have required ambulances and helicopters on the football field. I saw one kid, Cory Fulbright from Everman high school in a state championship game, take a hit and wound up being paralyzed. Everman went on to win the game! I saw Devin Thomas from Madison high school get horse collared and that injury ended his high school career. He had 483 yards rushing in 1 game!!!He was by far the best running back I have seen in San Antonio.

I have smelled the hotdogs, the popcorn, the nachos with jalapenos, the BBQ, the frito pies, the turf, and in one instance a pig farm (the wind was blowing into the press box and it was really bad).

At that pig farm game, there were also crickets everywhere. During the game, the guy filming for the visiting team ran into the tiny press box and took his pants off; he had crickets in his pants!!!! So, not a fun experience!! Oh, did I mention that the public address announcer at that stadium thinks he is on tv and is really loud. And, that press box was so small, I was sitting on the announcers lap! I am just kidding about that, but it was really small and tight and not air conditioning.

Going to a High School football game in San Antonio is awesome; especially when the teams are rivals and the games are known as the Gucci Bowl, the Town and Country Bowl, the Chili Bowl, or the Frontier Bowl.

The atmosphere of a football game is unbelievable. The parents, the teachers, the students, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the ROTC, the band, and the athletes are all cheering, screaming, and waiting; waiting for a big stop or a big play. Even the folks in the press box are amazed.

This season, I am going to write about the games I work. I hope you will enjoy my stories.

brush

2011-07-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

We have brush collection in 10 days!!! That means, yours truly will be trimming and hauling brush to the curb. I did about 10 minutes yesterday and the same tonight and I was absolutely drenched in sweat!!! It is a a really good exhausting workout!

When is our heat wave and drought going to end? I can't wait till Fall when it will be much much cooler outside!!!!

We still have some bushes in the front that we want to take down but we first need to get the chain back on the electric chainsaw!!!!!! I will continue to do a few minutes each night!!!!!

This is some of our brush. I still have some more behind the gate that I need to haul!!!!