A Deeper Love for the Premier League!

My wife Tammy, son Michael and I visited Paris and London in early April.

We had a chance to see 2 Premier League Matches while we were there, and as it turns out, some teams and individuals who have had historic seasons.

We saw Arsenal beat Manchester City, the eventual Premier League Champions, 1-0 at Emirates Stadium. Classic match, with the hated Mario Balotelli getting sent off for Man City

We also saw Fulham draw Chelsea (playing for the UEFA Champions League title this Saturday) 1-1 at Craven Cottage, with American Clint Dempsey (having arguably the best season ever for an American playing in Europe) getting the goal for Fulham to even up the match.

I have been a fan of the Premier League. I enjoy being able to watch matches live on Winter weekend mornings here in Cincinnati. The battle for the league title, Champions League spots and of course the battle not to be relegated is intriguing.

But the experience of going to actual matches in England was the best!

This Sunday was the final day of the season, with all 10 matches kicking off at the same time, so no team had a tactical advantage.  Chris Ryan, writing on Grantland.com captured the essence of the day in this article posted today:

The Reducer, Week 37: Today Is Gonna Be the Day

Manchester City wins the Premier League title in the most dramatic fashion possible

So with the opportunity to experience matches live, and a great ending to the season this past Sunday, I now have a deeper love for the Premier League.

I just need to decide who to throw my support behind-thinking Fulham.

Can't wait for next season to get started!

The Emirates

Michael, Tammy and Me at The Emirates

Craven Cottage

Me, Tammy and Michael, Craven Cottage

Bad Decisions...Reds Win 9-6

Have I mentioned that Joey Votto is my favorite ball player?

Here's his line from today's ball game against the Washington Nationals:

5 AB's, 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 6 RBI, 3 Home Runs and 1 Double

And of course a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to win it!



I was there...kinda.

I bought Fox Sports Ohio Club Seats for Mother's Day and took my wife Tammy and son Michael to the game. Got a Jay Bruce cereal bowl at the gate!

But it rained, and rained-the game was supposed to start at 1:10, and by 4:00pm it still hadn't started so...(sigh) we decided to go home. The game started at 4:45...we just couldn't hold out any longer.

And I missed one of the best games of the year, and one of Joey Votto's greatest games ever.

At least I get to put $10 more dollars in my Joey Votto jersey fund.

I swear, I will never leave a Reds game early again...

foursquare Pizzaiolo Badge and Super Swarm Badge!

It's pretty rare for me as an active user of foursquare to earn two badges in one day. But I did just that this past Saturday while in Washington D.C. I was there to go to the soccer match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at FedEx Field. My brothers' Tim and Mike were with me, along with my two sons' Brian and Michael.

The first one I earned was when I checked into Pizzeria Paradiso in Georgetown. My brother Tim recommended this place. Great pizza and one of the best beer selections I have ever seen. Turns out this was the 20th different pizza place I have checked into since becoming a foursquare fanatic:

Pizzaiolo

This badge is reserved only for the true pizza connoisseur: slices from 20 different pizza places. Well done!

Unlocked by jiresell on Sat Jul 30, 2011 at 3:35 PM atPizzeria Paradiso in Washington, DC.

The second badge I earned this past Saturday was the Super Swarm badge when I checked into FedEx Field for the soccer match:

Super Swarm

50 person foursquare swarms are soooo 2009. We upped it to 250 for the Super Swarm and you still nailed it. Well played!

Unlocked by jiresell on Sat Jul 30, 2011 at 6:36 PM atFedEx Field in Landover, MD.

Two badges in one day! Can't beat that!

Father's Day

At this time last Sunday I wondered if Father's Day today might not be a reason to celebrate.

My Dad (He has involuntarily contributed to my blog from time to time.) fell during my daughter's graduation from Ohio State last Sunday. As a result of the fall, he required surgery on his neck (Waiting...). The great news is that he is doing well and will fully recover.

I credit both my Dad's perserverance and the wonderful care he is getting from the Ohio State University Medical Center for my optimism and for his long term prognosis.

I knew Dad would be OK when at one point this week the nurses asked him if he knew where he was. His answer? Ann Arbor! (Dad is a Michigan grad.)

So I can celebrate Father's Day. Dad will be OK. My daughter Mallory is attending her first National Athletic Trainers' Association Meeting as a certified Athletic Trainer fresh out of Ohio State. My son Brian has moved to New York City, has a job and is close to finding a permanent place to reside there. And my youngest son Michael has just finished his junior year in high school.

Everyone is happy!

Oh, not to mention my wife Tammy and I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary in 3 1/2 months.

Get Well Fast Dad!

My Friend Tim

My friend Tim was married to my wife's sister, Amy.

My friend Tim loved his family.

My friend Tim would do anything for you, and help whenever you needed it. He would never ask for anything in return.

My friend Tim and his wife Amy were with us when my wife's water broke in a restaurant in Valparaiso, Indiana. We needed to take his brand new car to the hospital. Luckily he had towels in the trunk so we wouldn't ruin his new leather seats. Michael, our youngest was born the next day.

My friend Tim would miss a short putt, and mutter under his breath over and over "f**kin' idiot". You couldn't help but laugh. Think about the movie Boogie Nights when Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, Scotty J. tries to kiss Mark Wahlberg's character, Dirk Diggler in the driveway-and is rebuffed-you get the picture...

My friend Tim was very proud the day his son Andrew was born.

My friend Tim was so happy when his wife Amy announced she was pregnant with their second child, Emma.

My friend Tim gave me a Steelers cap when our family moved to Pittsburgh. My wife Tammy would tell you I don't have the best shaped head for caps, so I kept it in my office on a shelf. That summer Tim and his family came to visit, and when I saw the cap I thought "Tim would really like this!" When I gave it to him he thanked me, and then my wife Tammy piped up, "Geez Jim, you're an idiot, Tim gave that cap to you last Winter!" Typical of Tim, we had a great laugh over that re-gifting incident.

My friend Tim loved the Cincinnati Bengals.

My friend Tim worked his way from the age of 16 as a stock/warehouse man at Grainger to a Branch Manager. He had a great 27 year career there.

My friend Tim preferred "sprinkle cheese" on his hot dogs rather than liquid cheese.

My friend Tim and I vacationed together with our families several times in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We were fortunate that our wives would let us go golfing in the mornings, while they took care of the kids. After one of our rounds of golf we decided to stop by a nondescript hot dog stand at the side of the road for lunch. We each ordered a footlong chili cheese dog and a Diet Coke. (It was liquid cheese, by the way.) We decided that we would sit at the old picnic table outside of the stand, both of us facing the road. Not realizing the picnic table wasn't designed for two, 240 pound men to sit on one side of the table, we toppled over, but still had the foresight to grab our footlongs and drinks...and didn't spill a drop. But neither of us wanted to put our food on the ground, so we just layed there like turtles on our backs!

We buried my friend Tim this past Thursday after his untimely death on Sunday, May 15th, 2011.

I will miss my friend Tim.

Dedicated to the memory of Tim Quinlisk. With love to his wife Amy, his son Andrew and his daughter Emma.

Mother's Day 2011!

Mallory, Brian, Tammy, Michael and Me at Pho Lang Thang

I know Mother's Day was last Sunday, but thought I would post this picture from that day. My three kids (Mallory, Brian and Michael) and I took Tammy, my wife (and yes, their Mother), to lunch at Pho Lang Thang, a wonderful Vietnamese restaurant located at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Happy Mother's Day Bunny!

Columbus Crew 1, Sporting KC 0 (4/16/11)

My wife Tammy, my youngest son Michael and my daughter Mallory joined me and 7,695 of my closest friends who braved the horrible weather last night to watch our Columbus Crew get a very good victory over Sporting KC, 1-0.

Check that. My wife and daughter sat in the Upper 90 club (no longer the best kept secret at Crew Stadium) and watched the match on TV, while my son Michael and I braved the elements and stood on the Upper 90 club's porch and watched. I drive from Cincinnati for every match, so if I'm going to make the effort to drive up, I'm going to stand in the crappy weather.

OK, I was standing under a canopy.

Robbie Rogers and Eddie Gaven Celebrating Robbie's Goal (http://www.thecrew.com/ Josh Couper/Skyler Schmitt)

This was the 4th straight shutout for the Crew's defense. Sporting KC entered the match as one of the highest scoring teams in the MLS. Once again, the Crew's central defense of Julius James and Chad Marshall led the way with solid goalkeeping from William Hesmer.

Coach Robert Warzycha started Emilio Renteria up top, with Eddie Gaven right underneath him rather than at his traditional outside midfield position. Dilly Duka went the full 90 minutes and earned an assist on Robbie Rogers' second half goal. I give coach Warzycha a lot of credit for conjuring up this inspired line-up. It definitely worked.

Man of the Match? Robbie Rogers, both for his goal and his outstanding midfield play. He continues to play well following his benching in the Crew's first match of the year. Coach Warzycha obviously knew how to light a fire under Robbie.

Random Stuff

Just a few random things tonight:

- It's been fun watching my son Michael play Lacrosse for his high school this Spring. I forgot how cool a game Lacrosse is.

-Here's my current DVR list: Survivor, The Middle, Modern Family, Archer (might be the best show on TV right now), Top Chef Masters, CBS Sunday Morning, The Amazing Race

-Current Podcasts I am listening to (soccer heavy): The Massive Report (Columbus Crew), ExtraTime Radio (MLS), SI Soccer Podcast, WNYC's Radiolab

Big Win! Columbus Crew 2, FC Dallas 0-April 1st, 2011

Last night's game was big for the Columbus Crew. After last week's disappointing draw with a weakened New York Red Bull side, the Crew came back in a big way with a 2-0 victory against FC Dallas.

Eddie Gaven Down the Sideline (Josh Couper, www.thecrew.com)

The Crew dominated possession in the first half against a very strong FC Dallas side. Eddie Gaven, my man of the match (I had made that decision even before his goal in 2nd half stoppage time) played with an intensity we have come to expect from him, with outstanding runs down the right-hand side. In my stupidity I dropped Eddie Gaven from my FC Manager fantasy team ESPN.com. Going to have to correct that.

Also, for the third game in a row, Robbie Rogers played very well as Eddie Gaven's complement on the left side, earning an assist on Gaven's goal.

This was the second clean sheet in a row for the Crew. William Hesmer had to make several saves and the back line of Rich Balchan, Chad Marshall, Julius James and Sebastian Miranda held off a strong offensive push by the FC Dallas front line, although much of that push in the 2nd half was due to give-aways by the Crew's defense (see below). Even though the Crew had a one man advantage for almost 57 minutes after Jackson Goncalves of FC Dallas was ejected for a second caution, the 2nd half was a 50/50 affair, with the outcome never until Gaven scored the Crew's 2nd goal in stoppage time.

I like the line-up the Crew started with last night. It was the same as the match against the Red Bull last Saturday, essentially a 4-2-2-1-1. The same personnel started, with the only change being Miranda and Balchan switching sides. The Crew created plenty of chances, although they still struggle getting off quality shots in the penalty box. But first order of priority is to stop the other team from scoring, and the Crew are accomplished that.

A few other thoughts:

- The defense, especially James and Balchan, gave the ball away much too often in the second half. This allowed FC Dallas to continue to aggressively counter-attack.

- The return of Emilio Renteria was huge for the Crew. His energy and drive provided a real spark in the second half.

- FC Dallas started Ruben Luna, one of their home-grown signees and a graduate of their US Soccer Development Academy program team. Last time I saw Ruben Luna was against my son Michael's Development Academy team last Fall. Kind of cool.

Big win for the Crew!

Opening Day in Cincinnati-"And This One Belongs to the Reds!"

This year it was my youngest son Michael's turn to go to the Cincinnati Reds' Opening Day with me. Cincinnati's Opening Day traditions are unlike any other in baseball.

Michael and Me at Great American Ballpark Today

It begins with the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade in downtown Cincinnati. Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (one of my all-time favorites) was this year's Grand Marshall. Over 190 bands, dance groups, floats, politicians and businesses marched in the parade, which followed a route from Findlay Market in the Over The Rhine neighborhood past Fountain Square, a total of 2 miles.

Of course Great American Ballpark was sold out for the game between the Reds and the Brewers. The sun was out, which made the 45 degree temperature quite bearable.

(The Enquirer/Cara Owsley)

The Reds won the game 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th on a walk-off 3-run homer by catcher Ramon Hernandez! It was a great way to end an Opening Day Game. Maybe this will lead to a wire-to wire World Championship like the 1990 Cincinnati Reds. My son Michael posted this on his Facebook Page:

Michael Sell

Best Reds game of my life. Perfect way to end opening day. Walk off by Hernandez. Unbelievable.




He is right!

Ramon Hernandez Greeted at Home Plate in the Bottom of the 9th

You can read all about the game on the Reds website:
Hernandez's Heroics lift Reds on Opening Day

Pete Rose at Opening Day 2011

It wouldn't be Opening Day in Cincinnati without a Pete Rose sighting in the ballpark. The crowd got a glimpse of Pete Rose in the 3rd inning, and he of course drew a big cheer.

I love Pete Rose, but the jacket and hat...someone needs to dress that guy!

The best lines about Pete's outfit were from Scott Van Pelt's (ESPN anchor and radio host) Twitter posts:

notthefakeSVP Scott Van Pelt 

Pete Rose.....transcendent http://twitpic.com/4fer6m

notthefakeSVP Scott Van Pelt 

Worth one more look @ ole Chuck Hustle just murdering fools in his Lid lifter get up (no annoying channel id) http://twitpic.com/4fesbx

notthefakeSVP Scott Van Pelt 

What happens to a dude? You just wake up one day and go- where's my clown hat and my Joseph and the amazing techincolor dreamcoat jacket at?

Happy Birthday to Me!

You Say It's Your Birthday Na Na Na Na NaNa NaNa! (think Beatles)

Today is my Birthday! I'm 48 years old...

I won't dwell on getting older, but I'll use the opportunity to list the things I wish to happen for my Birthday:

I want my Daughter Mallory to have a successful academic career at University of Pittsburgh now that she has been accepted to graduate school there. Oh, and I'm very proud of her getting her Athletic Training degree at The Ohio State University this Spring!

I want to figure out how to get my son Brian to New York City! His dream is to live and work there...we're going to figure out how to get it done!

And soon my youngest son Michael will graduate from High School! I want him to find a college that fits his interest and makes him happy!

On a much less serious note...

I want a  2011 National League Pennant for the Cincinnati Reds!

And a 2011 Supporters Shield for The Columbus Crew!

Restaurant Review-SmashBurger, West Chester, Ohio

So did we really need another restaurant in West Chester, Ohio?

Classic SmashBurger

The answer is...YES, especially when the place serves a great burger! 

SmashBurger opened this past December (2010) in West Chester. I have been there three times and have enjoyed my my experience every time.

The chain originated in Denver, Colorado. I had not heard of SmashBurger until the day I saw a "Coming Soon" sign on the door of the empty space in a strip mall on Cox Road a quarter mile North of Tylersville.

My wife Tammy and I visited on opening day, and were very impressed. Usually restaurant openings can be challenging for the staff, but that visit, and our two additional visits have been very good! 

Food at SmashBurger is made to order. They take your order at the front counter, give you a number, and the food gets delivered to your table within 5 minutes or so. The menu has quite a variety of items. They serve grilled and crispy chicken sandwiches, salads and hot dogs. They also have a nice variety of side items, including haystack onions, fried pepper rings, fried pickles, and sweet potato fries. Of course they serve french fries and their house specialty, SmashFries, are tossed with rosemary, olive oil and garlic. Pretty original. And very good!

I should add that they also have milk shakes, malts and floats, all made with Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

The highlight of the menu, is of course, the burgers! SmashBurger serves 6 specialty burgers, and usually have a couple of special burgers on the menu also. They give you a choice of a 1/3 pound or 1/2 pound patty, and true to the restaurant's name, they literally smash the burger on the grill as they cook it.

My favorite burger (so far) is the Classic SmashBurger. 1/3 pound is plenty for me. It comes with American Cheese, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, onion and pickles. The toppings are crisp and very fresh. The burger is delicious, and rates two-napkins (you need two napkins nearby, as it is very juicy). In addition, they add their special SmashSauce to this particular burger. The SmashSauce is a tangy combination of mustard and mayonnaise and is a nice addition.

Be prepared for a crowd if you eat at peak dinner hours. My last visit was with two of my children (Mallory and Michael) and my wife Tammy this past Friday, January 21, 2010. The line was to the door, but ended up only being a 5 minute wait until we placed our order. Usually with this type of service you will see people send one person to the register while the rest of the party grabs a table. This can cause problems for people who have already ordered and need a table. The staff at the West Chester SmashBurger do a nice job of managing the dining room so that the people who have ordered their food get seated, thus alleviating the problem.

Sin City Burger!

One last note. I tried one of the burger specials this past Friday, the Sin City Burger, pictured above. Bacon, cheese, onion straws and SmashSauce. Oh, and a fried egg! Excellent!

SmashBurger
7598 Cox Lane
West Chester, Ohio 45069
(513) 847-4840
http://www.smashburger.com/

Two Hour Delay

We've had snow the last couple of days in the Cincinnati area. My youngest son, Michael, a junior at Lakota East High School in Liberty Township, Ohio, still enjoys a snow day (Don't we all?). Both yesterday and today were declared snow days by his school, and as is typical of a male teenager, he slept in till about noon both days.

Michael's school has the customary options when it comes with dealing with the snow. One hour delay, two hour delay, snow day. Michael usually wakes up at about 6:20 AM to get to school for 7:15 AM first bell.

Lakota Schools do a nice job of using all the technologies to notify kids and parents if delays or cancellations are possible. The Lakota website, automated phone calls and local radio and TV outlets are all used to communicate school closing decisions.

Earlier in the week, there was a pretty good chance that a two hour delay was going to happen. It was finally posted about 10 PM, before Michael went to bed. Michael would get to stay in the land of Nod till 8:20 AM the next day, which is like GOLD for a teenager.

Tammy, my wife, told Michael to bring our iPad up to his room so that if the decision changed to a full snow day when he got up at 8:20 AM he could go back to sleep.

The next morning, our phone rang about 6:15 AM. It was the automated phone notification calling to say there was a two hour delay, no change from the Website posting the night before. Tammy answered it, and headed upstairs to wake Michael.

As Michael tells it, she went in his room, "Michael! Michael! Are you awake? I just want you to know you're still on a two hour delay! You can still sleep an extra two hours!"

Michael, as grateful as ever, "Thanks Mom for waking me to tell me I can continue to sleep..."

obriencomics.blogspot.com

New Puppy Part 2-The Verdict on a Name? Gracie!

Our new puppy came home today. We decided to name her Gracie. Not an original idea. Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel has two dogs named (and very appropriately I might add) Scarlett and Gracie.
Isn't she cute?

More Disney Fun at the Magic Kingdom Dance Party!

Had to add this. We were at the Magic Kingdom at 2am on December 31st. They had a big dance party going on in front of Cinderella's Castle. My son Michael decided to partake!

Family Vacation to Disney World!

Michael, Brian and Mallory at Downtown Disney

My family and I just returned from a six day vacation to Disney World this morning. It was our third family trip there, in addition to random visits when we have had soccer tournaments in Tampa or Orlando.

I have been wanting to go back for a while now. My daughter, Mallory, who will graduate from The Ohio State University this Spring, and I were talking about a graduation present a couple of months ago. She mentioned wanting to go back to Disney World, and we decided to go over the Christmas Holidays as the summer would be very difficult to go with every one's schedules being so hard to coordinate.

For those of you with older children, you probably already know that when the kids reach college age, getting time to go on family vacations becomes more and more difficult. Mallory is 22, Brian is 20 and Michael is 17. If you can go with your kids when they are older, it ends up being a very special time. For my wife Tammy and I, this week was great!

We stayed at the Polynesian. Great room with enough beds for all of us. We visited all the parks and spent New Year's Eve at Hollywood Studios. We took advantage of the Extra Magic Hours, staying at the Magic Kingdom on Thursday and Hollywood Studios on Friday until 3am!

Our favorite ride-Midway Mania at Hollywood Studios. Brian had the high score amongst us, over 200,000!

The kids rode Everest in the Wild Kingdom and The Tower of Terror at Hollywood Studios several times, but once was enough for Tammy and I. We also rode Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion several times

We had a chance to dine at several of the Disney World Restaurants. Our favorites were Artist's Point at the Wilderness Lodge, Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom and the Biergarten at the German village at Epcot.

We are so happy we could do this vacation as a family. These opportunities are going to become rarer and rarer as the kids get older. It's a special experience when we vacation together!

Movie Review-True Grit (2010)

Just got back from the theater after seeing True Grit with my Dad, my two sons and a friend of theirs. I'm a big Coen Brothers fan (Raising Arizona, Fargo, No Country For Old Men), and was really looking forward to seeing their new work.

I haven't seen the original True Grit (but I DVR'd it tonight on TCM), nor have I read the book. I knew a little about the plot going in.

Typical for the Coen Brothers, the screenplay was outstanding. There is definitely action in this movie, but it is the dialog that is the highlight. In addition, Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper are outstanding in their roles. The best performance has to go to Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Mattie Ross, the girl intent on avenging the death of her father.

I learned something in True Grit by the way. When camping and sleeping outdoors, surround yourself with a rope. Snakes won't cross a rope!

I use Flixster to rate movies, and I gave True Grit 4 out of 5 stars! Go see it.

Restaurant Review-The Wildflower Cafe & Coffee House

A couple of weeks ago we were looking for a good place to go to a family dinner for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We would have 8 people, my wife, our children (ages 22, 20 and 17), my father and my brother and sister-in-law. We live North of Cincinnati, in Liberty Township, Ohio.

8 is a tough number to go to dinner with during the holiday season. We wanted a place that took reservations, and would be a treat for everyone. My wife had heard about the Wildflower Cafe & Coffee House located in Mason, Ohio, so we decided to give it a try on Saturday night, November 27th, 2010.

What a great place. It is very small (located in a former private home). They took reservations. It has a very quaint and casual feel about it, with the menu posted on chalk boards.

Wildflower boasts a great selection of wines and craft beers. What is most unique about this place is that they strive to use locally sourced and/or organic ingredients in all of their dishes.

With 8 people we were able to try multiple dishes. We started with the Organic Cheese Board (cheeses, olive medley etc.) and the Shrimp Fonduta, served with crusty grilled bread. Both were absolutely delicious.

Two of us had the soup of the day, a white bean and cilantro soup which we enjoyed very much.

Of the entrees we had as a group, the consensus was that the hamburger (served on a pretzel bun and rated #1 in Cincinnati by Cincinnati Magazine) lived up to it's billing. In addition, the quiche served with homemade potato salad and crusty bread with a raspberry jam and the spinach and walnut ravioli were excellent. I very much enjoyed the grilled chicken breast with walnuts and a champagne sauce served over risotto. My father had the Apple Pork chops with potatoes and sauteed vegetables, which he would recommend. My sister-in-law had the Gourmet Grilled Cheese, which for her tasted just ok. My brother had the short rib special, which he enjoyed very much.

Service was very good. They have a very nice patio in the back of the restaurant which I imagine would be very nice to dine at in the summer.

I highly recommend the Wildflower Cafe & Coffee house. You can go and enjoy a very casual sandwich and soup, or try one of their higher-end entree's. My experience on this particular evening is that both are excellent. I look forward to a return visit very soon!

Wildflower Cafe & Coffee House
207 E Main
Mason, Ohio 45040
(513) 492-7514
http://wildflowercafeandcoffeehouse.com/

Fun and Games at the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles

True Story:

Took son #2 to get his temps a couple of months ago. He had just turned 15 1/2. After he passed his written test we needed to get his temporary card.

Ohio DMV Lady: "Ok, we are going to need two forms of ID for your son."

Me: "I have his passport and his birth certificate."

Ohio DMV Lady: (After inspecting the documents) "You are lucky that you brought your son's passport, as his Indiana birth certificate doesn't show his gender, so it wouldn't have worked for us."

Me: (Admittedly this was no big deal, and it's true that Indiana birth certificates issued in Lake County did not show his gender, but I just had to bite on this one.) 'Wow, I didn't even realize that. Well, it was good enough to get a passport for my son, so I was wondering, why do you need to know a person's gender to give them a driver's license?" By the way, son #2 sees this one coming.

Ohio DMV Lady: A little perplexed. "Well my computer requires this information."

Me: "He's male. Still don't know why it really matters. You get a picture, eye color, and hair color so it shouldn't matter. We could just tell you if he is male or female."

Ohio DMV Lady: "Well, we just can't issue a license to someone without knowing if they are male or female."

Me: Perplexed and quite frankly the enjoyment of this argument is wearing off. "Hmmm. Might have to think about one. Is the next step going to be visual verification?"

With that we finished the paperwork and received son #2's temps.

So if in Ohio, be aware. Sounds like it really matters to them what your gender is as a qualification for driving.

Signing off........Jiresell

My #2 Son's Year in Soccer-US Soccer Development Academy

My #2 son has had a great opportunity this year. He is fortunate enough to have tried out and made one of US Soccer's Development Academy Teams. We live in the Cincinnati, Ohio area and my son plays for the U16 (birthdates in 1992 or younger) Ohio Elite Soccer Academy Team based here.

US Soccer started the Development Academy in 2007 to focus on player development. They have very strict specifications that participating clubs have to adhere to, training a minimum 3 days per week, a minimum of one weekend off per month, no more than two games in two days etc. It seems as though US soccer is really looking to have a very high training hours/game hours ratio.

It has been an interesting year. My son's team has travelled to Houston, Los Angeles, and Detroit so far this year. They will be travelling to Sarasota for a National showcase Memorial Day weekend. The quality of soccer is unbelievable, and by all accounts my son's team is playing the best competition available in the United States. If you are familiar with youth soccer, then the names will be familiar to you-Vardar (Michigan), Derby County (Michigan) Wolves, Carmel United (Indiana), The Columbus Crew, CASL (NC), Richmond VA Strikers, Solar (Texas), Scott Gallagher (St. Louis) etc. Oh, and the players on these teams are the best their regions and clubs offer!

So why am I writing about this? Well, when you play the best competition, sometimes results on the field are hard to come by. The boys have a win and a draw so far this year, with some games that we should have won, and many losses mixed in. That can be tough, especially on the parent.

My son's teams have participated in the traditional youth soccer leagues (Midwest Regional League, local leagues) and high level tournaments, including State Cup in the past. They have played many of the team's mentioned above in those games, certainly with better results on the field than they are having now.

But here's the thing: My son is having a great time in the Development Academy! He is playing at a very high level of competition. He is getting visibility to college coaches not only at the showcases, but at regular season games. In addition, US National staff coaches regularly attend games and training sessions. He wouldn't trade it for any other opportunities.

So the moral of this story. My son is developing into a better player. He is having fun. And he is getting more opportunities in soccer by playing in The US Soccer Development Academy than he would anywhere else.

By the way, don't just take it from me, ask him!

Signing off......Jiresell