Genesis

GREETINGS!

...and welcome to my new blog...

This blog will be mostly about sports musings and other interesting pop culture tidbits of the day. This will not be your typical sports blog. To tell you why, I will you give you a quick history of my sports life.

Growing up in the Houston, TX, area, I was destined to be involved with sports. The first major league baseball game that I attended was in April 7, 1979, at the ripe old age of four. Not only did I see my first game, I saw Ken Forsch of the Houston Astros throw a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves. According to my dad, though, I was much more interested in the large colorful scoreboard that gave the Astrodome it's personality...a sign of things to come.

Being in Houston, I became a fan of MLB's Houston Astros, the NBA's Houston Rockets and the NFL's Houston Oilers. I was lucky to be a fan of some of Houston's all time great athletes such as Earl Campbell, Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott and Hakeem Olajuwon.

In 1987, my family moved to Kalamazoo, MI, where I was introduced to the great sport of hockey. That same year, the minor league (IHL) Kalamazoo Wings became affiliated with the NHL Minnesota North Stars. I instantly became hooked and became a huge fan.

During my sophomore year in high school, my freshman math teacher (who was also the baseball coach) asked if I wanted to score the team's games. I had not done anything extracurricular up to that point, so I said "yes." Little did I know that on April 2, 1991, that would be my first of many, many games to come. I scored all of the games my final three years of high school.

The summer of 1992 was very special. Not only did I work over 70 games for the Connie Mack Kalamazoo Maroons, I was teammates with current New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter. He was drafted that summer, but the memories of watching him play up close remained burnt in memory. I worked with the Maroons for three seasons, 1992-1994.

After high school (1993), I went to college at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX, where I not only was the baseball scorer for five seasons (1994-1998), I worked in the Sports Information Department and began working other sports such as football (not fun), volleyball (very fun), soccer (suprisingly fun) and basketball. Needless to say, the number of games I worked per year exploded.

In 1996, I reached the pinnacle of my career working two seasons with the independent baseball league Amarillo Dillas. I had more fun working these games than anything else I have done. I also worked with the then-WPHL hockey Amarillo Rattlers for two seasons.

...Don't forget about my major league teams that I support. My college years brought much transition to those too. By pure coincidence, the North Stars moved down to Texas with me in 1993 and became the Dallas Stars. In 1997, the Oilers transferred to Tennessee and became the Titans in 1999. I was fortunate in the '90s to celebrate my first three "world championships" with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995 and the Stars in 1999.

After over 1000 athletic events scored, I "retired" after graduation in 1998 and moved out to Georgia to be with my beautiful girlfriend who is now my wife. Have no fear, we are making efforts to get back to the Texas Panhandle. I don't know if I will ever score a game again, but the memories will last forever.

I bring a unique perspective to this blog and that is why I will sporadically type something up when the right time comes. Topics will probably include the new NHL rules, my despise of the NBA 3-point line, team uniforms and yes, scoring rules.

Let's have some fun!!!