Never a Dull Finish

Yep, here we are with another notes column. I'll try really hard to make my next post a real one, and I'll also try to make sure it has absolutely nothing to do with sports. Who knows how long it'll take for that to happen, of course, but that will be the goal.

The BGSU Falcons men's basketball team played another close game at home on Tuesday night, winning 73-71 over Eastern Michigan. They had to hold on for the win despite having a significant lead for much of the game. In the Falcons' two previous home games, they lost 93-90 to Ohio University in double overtime and 77-72 to Akron in overtime. In both of those games, BG had to overcome large deficits to tie the game at the end of regulation, only to fall just a bit short in overtime. One way or another, it seems like they're determined to make sure each game comes down to the final horn. I don't mind so much, because at least it makes the games interesting from beginning to end. I just hope they can turn more of them into wins. I think eventually they will. Maybe not this year, of course, but a whole bunch of this team is coming back next year. And you never know what can happen in the MAC tournament.

Speaking of Falcon basketball, a home game with Wright State was recently added to the schedule for February 18 of this year as part of the ESPN Bracket Buster event. I'm pretty fired up for that, for several reasons. For one, Wright State was where I started my college career, before transferring to BGSU. Secondly, the last time Wright State played at Bowling Green (Dec. 10, 1997) was the first game I attended after transferring, my first game at Anderson Arena, so that will bring back some memories. Finally, BG will return a game at Wright State next season, so that gives me at least one road trip I can bank on. I haven't been to a game at the Nutter Center in several years. I still have some friends in that area that I don't get to see very often, so hopefully that can turn into a reunion of sorts as well.

One more BG sports scheduling note before I move on: it was reported earlier this week that the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team will be visiting Doyt Perry Stadium for a game against the Falcons in 2008. It's always a good thing to get a team from a "big" conference to visit. It brings more electricity than we normally get, especially during the non-conference schedule. The strange thing is that it doesn't seem as if BG will have to return a game to Minnesota in order to get them to visit. Normally, for a team of Minnesota's stature, we'd play there twice in order to get them to come once, but that doesn't seem to be the case this time. I'll be a little surprised if we're getting them to come free and clear with no strings attached, but we'll see how it plays out.

Does anyone care about this Wayne Gretzky gambling thing? I don't, and I don't know anyone who does, but it's all I've been hearing about for the past two days.

I'm in the middle of an experiment, trying to go without pop for the entire calendar month of February (at least). I don't drink a whole lot of it anyway, at least not compared to how much I used to drink, but I thought I would drop it entirely and see what happens. I've heard other people who have given it up talk about how much better they feel in general. So far, I'd have to say that I feel exactly the same, except I get tired a whole lot earlier in the evening.

It's been pretty crazy at work lately. Yesterday was our catalog deadline, and it's always crazy in the days leading up to that. This month, though, we're launching an entirely new product line, which means a new catalog we've never done before. That meant a lot of stuff came to me later than usual, as we all scrambled to figure out exactly what we were doing. I've been coming in early and working late each day for the past two weeks. Today, as the day after deadline, was a nice break from that. It all starts up again next week, though, as I've been recruited to help fill in some of the gaps for our new product launch, which is scheduled to take place on March 1.

The extra time I've been putting in at work is a major reason why I haven't written much lately. By the time I get home, go to the gym, then come home and eat dinner, I really haven't felt like doing much else. I've noticed some things I probably would have written about under other circumstances, too, such as Britney Spears driving around with her baby on her lap, and the guy who attacked gay bar patrons with a hatchet. I don't read as widely on the Internet as I used to, which makes it tough for me to take on more serious topics or really much of anything outside of what I directly experience. Hopefully I'll get there at some point, though.

Another downside of being so busy is that it's been a while since I've been out to do anything fun (other than BG basketball games, of course). That all changes tonight. Brandi and I are going out tonight to see a band perform at Nate & Wally's in Bowling Green. The band is called Neon Black, and they do mostly covers of 80s rock tunes--stuff like Poison, Guns N' Roses, Def Leppard, that sort of thing. They also throw in a couple of change-ups, as well as some of their own original stuff. This will be the third time Brandi and I have seen them. I dig that type of music, and they're really good. Some friends are going to meet us there for the show, so it should be a really good time. Expect a full report next week.