Sandra Cantu

So this little 8 year old girl, Sandra Cantu, ends up being found in a piece of luggage in a dairy pond farm, after going missing since the end of March. She went to a friend's house after school, then another, and never made it home. This is what my litle girl does every day after school - this is what most kids do every day after school.

All I can say is that the evil coward who did this, should be executed in the exact same manner that he/she did to this little girl. Call me a liberal on many, many things, but Capital Punishment has a place in my world and the sick fuck who killed this little girl should get a front row seat to a heinous death. Break 'em Limb by limb, remove finger after finger, then set 'em on fire, and then extinguish 'em by water with a brick tied to his/her foot all the way to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. You do not mess with kids. I hope whoever did this is found by her father and not the law. The law in California will not do this girl justice.

If I were her father, I would be inconsolable right now. I can say with 100% conviction that I would avenge her by absolutely destroying the person who did this to her even if it meant the end of me too. Look at her face - pure, innocent, vulnerable. You don't mess with kids.

Laughlin, Nevada

Going to school at NAU had its benefits. One of them was the fact that one of my motivated friends would throw out a "Let's to go Laughlin (Nevada)!" at 9:00 on a Wednesday and invariably by 9:15pm we had a car full of guys with maybe $50 a piece on the way. Gamble all night, and back in Flagstaff for our 8:00am classes. Since NAU is not really know as an academic hotbed, these decisions typically didn't have a lot of scholastic ramifications.

Anyway. At the age of 20 I learned that betting on sports is in a word....stupid. I learned that the three evil sisters of gambling 'Shoulda', 'Coulda', and 'Woulda' miraculously cast a spell on greater than 50% of my bets. After a few years of only occasional payback from these sisters, I finally realized that they are evil whores who are employed by Harrah's, MGM, or Mirage Enterprises - these bitches are casino employees. So, I stopped seeing them, and retreated to the blackjack table where I can usually hold my own.

Well my little Excellent Adventure with Villanova lasted until Saturday evening when North Carolina beat them pretty soundly. It was a semi-longshot, and WTF, it was a fun three weeks following them. I was out $45 from two pools. Little harm, lotsa' fun, and no foul.

I got a great education at NAU, but it wasn't really.....traditional. Degree in hand yes, but what I really learned was that I like brown haired - short - athletic chicks, that I'm an average athlete at best, that gambling is a blast if you go with cash and leave your credit cards home, and that it's really not what you know, it's how good you look doing it - whatever it may be.

F*ck Villanova.

Day-twaaaaaaa

Me and Vito called out our buddy Fish about the dying city he loves so much, Detroit. Home to Eminem, Kid Rock, Mike Modano, Rae Dumke, and a nearly-dead auto industry. We were busting his chops about Detroit being down to 345 residents, and 335 of them play on the various sports teams: The World Champ caliber Red Wings, the soon to be 4th place Tigers, the over and done Pistons, and the worst franchise in pro sports, the Lions. After no response from Fish, we figured he took it personally. I hope not. There are some great things about Detroit:

1.) With a median sale price of $5,700 dollars - I could sell my hovel in Flagstaff and buy 55.27 homes in Detroit. Livin' large as a slumlord?!
2.) Since everybody left, the water supply is actually one of the cleanest in the nation.
3.) If you're an artist, you can rent loft space in one of the old automaker manufacturing buildings for .25 cents per square foot. I think I could even make crappy pottery, and "what the hell is that" charcoal sketches, and still come out ahead.

So I wanted to give my buddy Fish a semi-public shout out to say that we were just bustin' your balls, and............drumroll please................ I'm seriously considering buying a Ford car next week. Yup, my first American made car ever. Why? because Ford has remained solvent despite sales woes, they haven't taken a nickel of TARP money, and they make pretty damn good cars/trucks. The real reason? I can't afford the Acrua TL I'd love to have.

I also figure that if I invest in a Detroit based company, that might throw a nickel or two into a town that could use a little help. You don't have to say "Thank you" Fish. When your Red Wings win another Stanley Cup and there are 167 people at the parade in downtown Detroit, you can sip the free hot cocoa that I probably helped pay for.

Tour of Flanders

My all time favorite bike race, and one that I have never seen live, is this Sunday in Belgium. Thanks to Youtube and DVD's, I have seen highlights from years past. All the top dogs are there this weekend except for Ballan and Cancellara. Of course, since Lance Armstrong doesn't compete in the Spring Classics, there is no chance in hell of this race getting live TV coverage in the good ol' US of A.

Speaking of Mr. Armstrong, it seems as though time has caught up with supposedly the ONLY top cyclist from the late 90's and early 2000's not to have doped. Everyone else was jacked up on EPO, but Lance beat them all to the top of countless mountaintop finishes with diet and exercise. Uh huh. If you still have your head in the sand and believe that he played clean - then I bet you have an "I Believe Tyler" T-shirt in your closet.

Yup - Mr. role model for clean cycling took a big fall last week, shattering his collarbone in 4 places. Ouch. I don't wish that kind of result on anyone, even a cocky American who continues to profess that he was better than everyone with.....drum roll please....diet and exercise. Maybe he'll make a comeback, maybe not, but don't think he'll show up on any podiums this year. Afterall, diet and exercise only get you so far.

Hangin' On

The Saturday morning group ride got a little shot in the arm yesterday as a few dudes showed up with Cat 3 and Cat 2 licenses. Up until this week, things have been pretty 'early season tame' as temps have been cold and it's been windy. I showed up ready to ride, motivated.....but quickly realized that I'd be putting in a hard effort just to stay in the main group. After a 30 minute warm-up and a pee break, the pace quickly went up despite a headwind and I hung on doing my fair share of the work until the 'steps'. Big Steve, Ellsie, they know the steps. Three hills that seem like nothing much when you're riding solo, but at that group pace they hurt me in a big way. I fell off the back and was the last one up about a minute back. "How about a side of humble pie with your morning coffee, sir. Thank you, I'd love a slice". My tweaked hand had nothing to do with it. I was in a pack of guys who are more fit than me - no rhetoric or excuses there.

On the way back, I rode with a teammate and we just pacelined with a tailwind. The only victory I had all day was riding him off my wheel on my last pull and putting a good 50 yard gap on him.....we coasted into town and I was greeted with that post-effort wheezing, cough that only a good workout gives. 45 miles, 24mph average pace, and a wheezing cough.

Villanova made it to the Final 4, so my pipe dreams of winning a couple of basketball pools are still alive. The payoff will pretty much be all or nothing. If 'Nova wins, I win...if they lose, I get squat.

Today was a good day...

Woke up early, 'round the crack o' 5

down to work fast - no traffic, nice drive

back up to Flag 'late mornin' stop

to the surgeon's office, in I drop

"that ain't no tear and your bones OK

who was readin' this MRI and these X-Rays?

Here's a steroid shot man, and be on your way

Put down some Ibuprofin for the next two weeks

Get your ass in a PT clinic....no limits from me

Ride your bike

slam the racquetball

get out there motherf*cker just don't crash the wall"

Smilin ear to ear and I'm on my way

Mortgage broker calls, got some things to say

Re-fi went through, sign the docs next week

Sub 5 rate is locked in - sweet!

Dude - mildly amused - then he opens his trap

"just sign the fu*kin' docs so I can get pay for my 'Vette"

In my world full of shitburgers, I pigged out on hot fudge sundaes today.

Today Was A Good Day - Ice Cube

Referred....

...from the bone/joint doc to the same orthopedic surgeon who fixed me up before.  The MRI says no broken bones, rather, a torn ligament.  Out patient surgery in maybe a week or so - a few stitches inside and out, probably 4-weeks immobilized and I'm back mother f*cker.  April is totally shot, but by Memorial Day I'll be as good as new.  In fact - I'm going to put a goal out there to ride the Iron Horse Classic in Durango on Mem Day Weekend as a carrot to stay on my road bike.  The Flagstaff group ride is heating up.  Start time moved back to 9am and there were 22 riders last weekend.  I'm gonna go get me some group training this Saturday morning. Ain't no better training than that kind you get from riding with people who are faster than you.  That ride leaves me pretty much on my ass the rest of the day. 

I was going through the checkout line at the ol grocery store with a 30 pack of Tecate, limes, and ice cream - diet of champions, I know.  I look to my left and the Globe had a pathetic picture of an emaciated Patrick Swayze on the cover.  F*ck those f*ckin tabloid f*cks.  That's shameless "journalism".  Give the guy a goddamn break - he's fighting pancreatic cancer.  All I can say is those profit driven f*cks at the Globe better watch their karma meters - you shovel too much shit and you'll be covered in a landslide of it yourself sooner than you know it.