A Father's First

This week was the first time that my fantasy football team played my 16 year-old son's team.  And I got my clock cleaned.  I was basically burned by the happenings in Sunday's Minnesota/Baltimore game.

First, I decided to start Donavan McNabb over Joe Flacco.  The Baltimore QB is having a good season, but I thought that the Eagle had finally shaken off his injury and would have a good game.  He did, but Flacco was better.  The other problem: the usually reliable Viking defense allowed the Ravens back into the game.  They did not produce for me like they normally do.

It could have been worse.  My son started Matt Ryan instead of Tom Brady.  Normally a good choice this season, but Brady had one of those once in a lifetime games this week.

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ESPN's game day is coming to Provo.  This is a sign that the Mountain West Conference is maturing in the eyes of the national media.  The game Saturday between BYU and TCU is big.  I believe this is the first time that BYU has played two top-ten teams in the same regular season.

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October is a good month for sports.  I was hoping to see an all LA world series this year, but the LCS games so far indicate that it will be Yankees and Phillies this year.  Ho hum.

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One last comment about my choice for Region 1 game of the week this last week.  I chose Bonneville's win over Sky View instead.  I think that blowouts are fun only if you are rooting for the team that comes out on top.  Therefore, it was against my philosophy to pick from one of the four region blowouts, and pick a game that I found far more interesting.

If I was not working on my masters, I would also be commenting about Region 5, Region 6 and Region 11 as well to cover all of the North-end's teams  But I have limited time right now.  I know, excuses.

I do think it is admirable the way that Bonneville has responded since the loss of Coach Budge.  I personally never knew they person and doubt that we ever even met.  Bonneville in the mid-80s was one of the better teams in the state, thanks to Coach Budge.  He had left coaching, but was still teaching.  The loss of any teacher in high school has an effect on the entire student body.  The loss of the teacher at American Fork High School last week was also a tragedy that touched my heart.  As teenagers, we think that we are invincible.  In my middle ages, I have learned better.  There was a handful of deaths right around my graduation from high school that left a dark cloud over Viewmont High School for a couple of years.

It began with the death of a friend of mine, John Garlick and ended when I classmate of mine died in the first Gulf War.  I lost a couple of friends due to tragic work accidents.  I lost a friend who made a poor decision after having a couple of beers at Willard Bay.  I lost a friend who died on his mission.  The biggest loss of all was watching our student body President Russ Richardson waste away with cancer.  From February of my Senior year in 1986 to the end of the Gulf War, about five years, we saw six classmates either in my senior class, the class before or the class after loose their lives early.

I feel for those who have lost this year.  There are more important things in high school than sports.  I'm sure that the Roy High School Class of 2010 will soon forget this football season.  But I am also sure that the Bonneville Lakers will remember theirs.