thehooch36.com

TGIF…. you all know what it means. I mean BEFORE it was a popular restaurant chain (how many pieces of flare are YOU wearing?)

15 years ago, as a thirteen-year-old lad, Friday nights were spent in front of the television watching such family-friendly shows as Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, and Hangin’ With Mister Cooper (really, that was the TGIF lineup from 1993-95, if you don’t believe me, click this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGIF_(ABC)#TGIF_lineup_history).

No, this blog isn’t a rant about the quality of yester-year’s family television programing compared to what there is today on network television. I’m just damn glad it’s Friday.

Last night, the Nebraska Cornhuskers went into the Little Apple (Manhattan, KS) and walked away with a 48-13 victory. Watching Taylor (T-Magic) Martinez have his way with the Wildcats’ defense put a big smile on all of Husker Nation. Through five games, the redshirt freshman leads the nation in touchdowns. Yes, through the same amount of games, T-Magic has more touchdowns than Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson. Also, the Blackshirts defense played fast, played downhill, and appeared ready for their final run through the Big 12. Speaking of running through, anyone else catch Lavonte David, the JuCo transfer linebacker for Nebraska? He had ten tackles by the mid-way point of second quarter. I foresee “All-American” among his honors at the end of the year. Cornerback Prince Amukamara is, according to Mel Kiper, a top-five draft pick. Nolan Nawrocki from www.ProFootballWeekly.com claims Amukamara is the top senior cornerback in the country. High praise, indeed.

Ok, that’s enough gushing over the Big Red (Jared Crick is a first-round pick. Roy Helu Jr, Rex Burkhead, and Niles Paul are other names I didn’t have time to mention… until now). Let’s move on.

Today is October 8, 2010. 139 years ago, ALLEGEDLY, a cow knocked over a lantern in a barn and started the fire. However, the reporter for the Chicago Republican (haha like there are any of those) claimed 22 years later that he made up the story of Mrs. O’Leary’s cow because he thought it’d make for colorful copy. Here you go, get educated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Chicago_Fire The thing about the Chicago Fire is that no matter what the city is now, at one point it was a center of industry, culture, etc. Now, I think it is seen more as overrun by crime, corruption (I can say that, I live in Illinois and not in the Chicago metro area. Yes, that place does exist), and a team that hasn’t won the World Series since 1908. You see, Chicago was a city built primarily much of wood and hence, why it burned so easily. But immediately following the fire, the city started to be re-built using steel, and Chicago became one of the most populous and economically important American cities. It’s more like a phoenix than the city of Phoenix… I’m just saying.

It IS Friday, and since the rest of my weekend is pretty busy, I’m going to relax at home tonight with my wife and our dog. We will watch Smallville and Supernatural and then, I’ll probably fall asleep. Tomorrow, I’m taking the opportunity to sleep in. Then I’m working in the afternoon and hanging out with my friend who is in town from Omaha.

It’s the weekend, but it’s the weekend before the Mount Vernon (IL) Jaycees House of Horror opens, so there won’t be a lot of free time.

Things I have to concentrate on for NEXT weekend: being covered in blood, wielding a hatchet, buying/preparing/cooking chicken wings for the Steelers/Browns game when my black n gold brother from another mother comes over, and Nebraska hosting Texas on Saturday. Eight days until the #RedOut.

No, it has nothing to do with the fact that I don’t have anything to say… I do. And in the last month+ since my last (ok, it was also my first) entry, a lot of stuff has happened.

But I have a brain that looks like Swiss Cheese (the kind with holes, if I learned nothing else from Travel Channel’s “Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown,” I learned that not all swiss cheese has holes.

Long story short, I forgot how to get to my admin/log-in page to actually post things.

So here’s what you’ve missed, in a veritable nutshell:

Sept. 1 – first blog, I encourage you to go read it if you haven’t.

Sept. 12 - Pittsburgh Steelers open their season with an overtime win at home against the Atlanta Falcons (thank you Rashard Mendenhall)

Also, the St. Louis Cardinals won their last five games of the season, and nine of their last eleven. So I ask you, “where was that production from mid-August up to that point?” I mean, how do you go into Cincinnati and sweep the Reds, but lost to the Pirates, Cubs, etc. It just doesn’t add up.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (I almost put MY Nebraska Cornhuskers, only to come to the realization that I am not a player or coach, school president, nor do I sit on the board of regents. I’m just a fan) are off to a hot start to their final season in the Big 12. Taylor Martinez is a stud (as good as Denard Robinson of Michigan, I swear). They are two young quarterbacks who lead their respective teams in rushing (Robinson leads the nation, I believe). They seem to have different running styles, in what I’ve seen. Robinson may be a step quicker, but I think Martinez (T-Magic) has the better ability to make a cut on a defender and then shoot past him. Either way, NU opens Big 12 play tomorrow night against the Kansas State Wildcats (6:30pm Central on ESPN). I’m excited. I’ll be watching the Big Red for the first time all season (thanks to pay-per-view games and confusion between ESPN2 and ABC). #GOBIGRED and follow the Huskers on twitter (www.twitter.com/Huskers).

My friends and I took in a WWE house show the day before Night of Champions. It was a blast… floor seats! I was drawing heat from the crowd for cheering on heel CM Punk (www.twitter.com/CMPunk). I was among the first to start the “C-M Punk” chant and, hey, I have a big mouth. Some kid (I think) told me to shut up. I pause, I shout, “no,” and I resume my CM Punk chat. Good times. Also, let it be stated for the record, that my friends and I went to the Landing to Show-Mes for wings before the WWE show. I LOVE Show-Mes wings! I also tried a Schlafly Pale Ale. Good stuff put out by Schlafly. I’ll be drinking their brews more often now.

This past Monday, Ben Roethlisberger re-joined the Pittsburgh Steelers after serving his four-game suspension. A week-five bye provides the two-time (two-time) Super Bowl Champion 13 days to prepare for the Cleveland Browns. I read a report that his arm was in good shape for his first workout. That will help spell Mendenhall’s second-ranked yards-per-game rushing, as the Steelers will have a more reliable passing attack. I love Charlie Batch and I respect him and I’m glad he is a Steeler. He did his job. He was the fill-in guy and helped us to a 3-1 record.

Ok, what else happened? I sent a press kit to the WWE as they were (or maybe still are) looking for an announcer. The letter I got back from them stated that they were impressed by my background and experience, but that I wasn’t quite what they were looking for at the moment. That being said, WWE (www.twitter.com/WWE) if you’re reading this, I will work for your esteemed company one day! I’m currently in talks with a friend of mine who is the “top guy” in the independent wrestling company he is in about starting to do some annoucing for/with them. It’s just a matter of time.

As president of the Mount Vernon Jaycees (www.twitter.com/mtvjaycees) in my last couple of months, I’m very excited to say that the haunted house is coming along very well. I think we’ll be ready when we open on October 15 (come out and support us as we work to provide area children with the Christmas they were deprived of last year). I’ll probably be heading down there tomorrow afternoon to do some more work. Good times. The poker tournament hit a snag in that we (by “we,” I mean “I”) didn’t get the paperwork into the state on time, and thus have to wait until November to have our Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. Please follow the Jaycees on Twitter for more updates. We’re still planning a grand prize of a brand new flat-screen TV (not a small one, but c’mon, not the LARGEST ONE EVER. Probably a 40-incher or there-abouts.

Busy busy. Take care, come back. I’ll update with greater frequency, I assure you.

As always, follow me on twitter (www.twitter.com/thehooch36) and keep your head up.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Hooch fans of all ages.

I’m baaaaack!

After much debate, dollars spent, and time off, I have a new (new… not improved, ok, maybe a little bit) world to share with you.

www.thehooch36.com and you’re HERE! (pat yourselves on the back, as this will likely be the first of many times).

I’ve gone by many names (not all of them were positive) but remember, it’s not what they call you, it’s what you answer to. And even in the short history of the internet, I’ve been all over the place. Some places cant even be seen anymore.

Just a heads up to what you’ll get here at THEHooch36 (something about that just makes it more…. absolute): my thoughts on a variety of topics, in either written or spoken form; some pictures from my life (Dan, can we do that?); and more.

Oh, I HAVE to mention my unpaid webmaster, Dan. Follow him at www.twitter.com/danvoyles as he is a great big awesome nerd who loves everything from Linux to Star Wars to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Also, big thanks to Nile from www.webhost-solutions.net for – well, it’s technical and I can’t really explain it in a way that would make sense to you, as I don’t understand it, myself. Follow Nile at www.twitter.com/blondishnet.

You should also follow me on twitter. Ch-ch-check me out at, appropriately enough,  www.twitter.com/thehooch36.

I’m just a simple man who puts his pants on one leg at a time. I just happen to do it better and faster than most.

-Hooch