vernon

You da' man! Cept for that Wolverine part! We welcome any and all support - we're gonna need it.

To me, our biggest problem will be (if we make it that far) Iowa State. They're better than we are in the Sprint Center and will have just as many fans. That being said, you're right, Miami is no push over but then again if we can't beat them then we more than likely weren't gonna beat anybody else either. Personally, I think Baylor is a huge fraud. They got everything but a coach that can coach instead of just recruit. They got worse instead of better. Lose to KState TWICE at the end of the year? If it weren't for Baylor Bruce Webber would be looking for a juco job today. If they (Baylor) beat New Mexico State I got em' losing to SMU who's got that high flying kid from Ottawa via Duke but I'm sure you already knew that. Jankovich is a pretty good coach and those guys can really score.

Between the KU and Duke, eight games gotta be won before that becomes an issue to me. Although I sure hope it does happen seein's how that would mean we're in the Final Four. AND the fact that we're one of only EIGHT teams to have already beat y'all. I know, I know, it was early, y'all had injuries, you were really young, it was really cold out, the sun was in your eyes............. After all of that, I really do think Duke's the best team in the tournament at this point of the season. However, the good news for us is the best team hardly ever wins this thing anymore. Too many teams and too many games if they REALLY want to identify the best team in the country that is.

Moral or mortal? I think you meant "mortal" right there. Yeah, mortal. Gonna give you a "like" now that I know what you meant to say.

Actually, they USED to have kangaroos and covered wagons out there. However, they left too.

I didn't say that, did I? About the heels? Hmm. I guess I kinda did. Woulda kinda rather have not let that part out if you know what I mean.

I'm pretty much a hypocrite on this deal. I'm one of the guys that thinks it's kind of cheesy for a "pro" angler to hire somebody to show them how and/or where to catch fish prior to a big money tournament. If you're so good, get on out there and prove it. Now I hate to use this analogy but I think it's pretty relative in this case and it's also where my hypocrisy shines through. Most any "pro" golfer that I know that's worth anything would rather wrestle a crocodile than show up for a tournament without having a couple of practice rounds under his belt. AND, whenever possible, he wants to play those practice rounds with a local, a member or, best of all worlds, a local caddie. Same deal. Find out where to hit and, most importantly, where not to hit it. Where's your best chance of making up a shot or two on the field and when should you lay up and play it safe. Identify strengths and weaknesses and know what to expect when the metal meets the meat. Maybe even MORE relevant is the fact that most of these guys also tend to stiff the "guide" and prefer to hog all the glory for themselves whenever they happen to be successful. Although, I gotta think that yet another parallel is that most of the time it eventually comes back to bite both categories of these so called "pros" when they come back looking for more help from the same guys that they turned their backs on the last time. Bunch of phonies if you ask me. But then again I guess you didn't so there's that........

As I cry out, "Auntie Em, Uncle Henry!" Sorry, I just couldn't figure out how to incorporate any of y'all's names into that line or it would have been so much better! "Auntie Champ, Uncle dtrs5kprs!" just ain't got much of a ring to it.

"ACE. ACE truck driving. Yeah, I think that was it."

"The Navy regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid."

Looks like a Lady Precept "man" to me. Only because the pink Flying Lady has become nearly extinct though.

I was always told that crappie and bass should never be stocked together in the same farm pond because they compete for the same food source and will eventually stunt and starve each other out. Guess that shoots the crap out of that old wive's tale!

When I had my 520 for sale I listed it on BBC. I had five different guys contact me with "serious"inquiries that made appointments to come take a look. Coming from Mississippi, St. Louis, Tulsa and Kansas City (2). ZERO showed up. Told me all I needed to know. Needless to say, I wasted a lot of hours getting the boat out of storage, prepping it for their visit and just hanging around waiting for them to never appear. I called each one of them a couple of times trying to find out if there was a problem or is they were still coming. Got nothing but voicemail recordings. Not a single one ever called me back. Otherwise, I've not spent any significant time on other areas of their deal as I also found it confusing to navigate and was scared off by some of the "conversations" that I did happen to read. I'm staying here where at least if I get criticized I feel like I'm getting scolded by "family". There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place................

These guys are the greatest. Although in my case they know that I represent zero threat to the fish population regardless of how much information they share so the tend to be very kind. I gotta say though, they have made it possible for me to waste far less money when it comes to purchasing the stuff that I won't catch fish with. Which, I might add, enables me to spend more money on gas running all over the lake while I'm not catching fish. Win - win!

Not sure about a launch fee but I do know that they were charging FORTY BUCKS per night to rent a boat slip just to give you an idea of what to expect. They are NOT fisher people friendly at all - and I'm talking about actual guests.

Thank you so much but I would prefer, "Well played." And in a hushed tone. It's a golf thing........

"Thank you, SIR!"

^ I guess the breeze has to generate a little bit of current but I've just always figured that the wind ain't blowin' too awfully hard ten to fifteen feet down much less beyond that. If a big ol' craw daddy is sitting ten feet away I can't believe that a fish is gonna miss out cause he's lookin' the other direction since the winds blowin' the wrong way. Of course anybody desperate enough to pay any attention to what I have to say about catching fish has bigger problems than just the direction of the wind!

Yeah, but you're like a savant. What about the rest of us?

"Patty Benjamin?"

"I'm gonna hit the brakes - he'll fly right by."

Next you'll be giving away the Farmer's Almanac's weather forecasting formula!

When we were there last year you had to get permission and a parking pass from the main office at the Kimberling Inn (and we were staying there). The way the guy that owns that place is going, he'll be banning all fishing boats and any related activities any day now. Kind of surprised that he's still allowing tournaments to go out of there. He seems to think that he's running the Ritz on the Water or something. Too bad the place is still a dump.

I always thought that marrying a tough one was a great decision and a distinct advantage. And then I realized that I wasn't tough enough to keep up so that kind of blew the whole darn theory. I didn't really need somebody else in my life calling me sissy names all the time! Now I be like, "Would you PLEASE leave me alone? I SAID I don't WANT to play Navy SEAL today!"