Here we are, already into the second full week of camp. I apologize I have gotten a little behind in my updates. I meant to get something in before we had our day off on Saturday afternoon and Sunday but didn't get it sent in before I took off for some time away from the dorms.
So catching up….Wednesday was the first night we had an extended curfew with no night meetings. It was nice to go out and grab a bite to eat other than the cafeteria food. I will say this, however, the students at St. John Fisher have it pretty darn good with the food they get here. Good stuff.
Anyway, Rian Lindell's wife came up and we went to dinner. Luckily DJ Fitzpatrick, Ryan Neill, and Scott Mayle all joined us so I wouldn't feel like a third wheel. My wife is visiting family in the great state of Kansas. Pittsburg, Kansas, home of Pitt State to be exact. Don't want you to think she stood me up.
Side note: For those of you that don't know, I went to Pittsburg State University. That is in Pittsburg, (no H) KS. The GORILLAS. The best mascot in the country, hands down. Sorry, I needed to give some props to my Alma Mater. All I hear about in the locker room is SEC, ACC, blah, blah, blah. How about some DII conferences? I love trying to get in on the argument with "Hey guys, how about the MIAA?"….all I get is a blank stare and…. http://mushinone.cool.ne.jp/sound/ezo-enma.mp3
Speaking of being left out. That reminds me of one of the funniest things that I think has ever happened to me in the NFL. I have had the honor of being one of the team captains the last two years. As many of you know, the team captains go out for the coin toss before the game. So we line up and walk out for the toss at one of the games last year, get to the center of the field and form a line after shaking hands with the guys from the other team.
On this occasion I ended up behind the other five guys as the coin toss was about to happen. There was a little gap so I tried to squeeze in, but the Ref was showing the coin. So everyone kind of moved together, which put me on the outside again. I moved over a bit to where another gap was, but then he was going to toss the coin, so everyone moved back to where they were.
So you can picture this. Five other guys that range from about 6'2" to 6'5" standing there with me, at 6'0", trying to look over their shoulders. I felt like Donkey in Shrek jumping up saying, "Ooh, Pick Me! Pick Me!" when the Ref asked who would make the call. It was all I could do to not to fall over laughing.
Thursday morning was a treat. The day I had to wake up early and do my steroid test. It's not the waking up early part that gets me. I get up that early anyway. It's the having to take my shirt off, pull my pants to my knees, and pee in front of some guy all before I've had my coffee. (Because coffee would make that a lot less awkward.)
You know what is else is weird about our drug test to me? We received a memo saying we can't take propecia. It was just added to our banned substance list. Seriously? It's a hair re-growth pill. What will I do now? I'll never get another full head of hair.
So I went to the propecia site to try and find out why. I didn't have to go far to figure out it was no big deal to me. Have you ever seen the side effects for that?
In general use, the following side effects have been reported: allergic reactions including rash, itching, hives, and swelling of the lips and face; breast tenderness and enlargement; and testicular pain.
Yep, sounds exactly like what I want to risk to get hair again. I don't think getting bigger pecs like that will stop guys from giving me a hard time in the weight room. What do you think?
I'm now starting to get busted on for not mentioning in the blog certain things I've done while at camp. I guess that means at least one person is reading this besides my Mom. Hi Mom. I always thought as a kid I would be saying that on TV not in a blog. How times change.
I actually feel kind of bad for leaving this out last week, as I always enjoy being on the air with Bull from 103.3 the Edge. He was at camp last week broadcasting from an RV right by the stadium and I stopped in to say what's up and try to talk him out of getting married next week.
I am totally joking of course. So much for my wife missing me while I'm at camp. I'm going to be eating grilled cheese for dinner all season now. Why is it I know I should be pushing the delete button right now, but I am leaving that in here? She knows I'm stupid kidding.
Favorite fan of the day on Thursday: A little boy probably two years old, that kept coming back to get his hat signed by me even though I had already signed it. I just pretended to sign again and he was happy as could be. I got a real kick out of it.
Dr Z. from Sports Illustrated was here on Friday. I always like talking with him because he is a big fan of punters. He's got his notebook with hand written stats and hang-times of all the punters from different parts of the field. His favorite stat is how punters do from the back of the end zone. There aren't too many people that put that kind of effort into evaluating the kicking game. This guy loves special teams too. He told me he likes coming here because of the emphasis we put on that phase of the game. I also believe he is one of the guys that has picked us to make the playoffs. That, and he thinks punters belong in the Hall of Fame. Have I mentioned how much I like this guy?
I had the opportunity to talk to a couple of guys that are in the military in the parking lot after practice on Saturday. It's always good to talk to those who serve our country. My Grandfather was a WWII veteran so I grew up with and still have an enormous amount of respect for the men and women that sacrifice so much for us.
As mentioned at the top, we had Saturday afternoon and Sunday off. Some guys went home, some stayed here. Personally, it was really nice to sleep in my own bed even if it was just for one night. It was a very quick 16 hours away though as we were back to meetings Sunday night.
Pre-meeting video we just finished up: Top ten pass rushers in the history of the NFL. Where was Bruce? Fourth. You could argue he should be first, but you can also argue for those ahead of him. LT (3), Reggie White (2), and Deacon Jones (1). All of them were nothing short of amazing at their craft.
I'm tapped out for now. Until next time….
