What a week!

Wow, it's 10 a.m. Saturday morning, and I feel like my week is finally winding down. Yes, I have to go into work this afternoon -- sometime between 2 and 5 p.m., probably closer to 5. And man am I ever looking forward to my 3-day weekend (yes, it will be full of unloading and unpacking, but we'll get to that later). In addition to my normal Sunday and Monday off, I'll also be off on Tuesday for my Memorial Day holiday. It couldn't come at a better time.

I can honestly say I felt like the weight of the world was on my shoulders this week, and I neared the breaking point yesterday. I can't count (yes, I probably could, but I'm not going to) the number of hours I worked this week. It all boiled over yesterday, when I spent nearly 16 hours at the office and didn't get home until nearly midnight. As I've shared earlier in this blog, the week started out with my supervisor on vacation, which led to additional responsibility in just my 4th week on the job at The Town Talk. Then the managing editor (my supervisor's supervisor) was out on Thursday and Friday, as well. All of this in the middle of both graduation season (an absolutely deplorable time -- yes, I'm happy for the kids, but it's painful for us newspaper folk), as well as our major hurricane package, which starts in Sunday's paper and runs until June 1, opening day of hurricane season. Needless today, it's been one helluva week. I'm ready to relax. But I can't. Which brings to me the next part of my blog.

FRIENDLY ADVICE

Don't use U-Haul! Just listen to me on that one. It's not worth the headache. As I write this blog, my wife and her family are up in Ruston (thankfully) packing our belongings into a U-Haul truck. At 7:30 last night, we didn't know if we were getting a truck. Yeah, that just added to the stress in my life -- and Elizabeth's.

Despite doing what both of us thought was the "smart" thing -- reserving a truck online two weeks ago -- U-Haul apparently is way behind the times. You see, we live in an Internet age. Online banking. Bill payer. Information available 24 hours a day, seemingly at a moments notice. Many places, including a lot of banks Elizabeth has found out, only accept applications online nowadays. However, U-Haul just hasn't grasped that concept. Their online reservations are horrible.

We got an e-mail saying we'd get a call by 5 p.m. the day before we got the truck to let us know when and where to pick up the truck. Now, I'll admit, that should have been the first red flag. Like when I'm renting a hotel or buying a plane ticket, I want to be able to pick my date and have it set in stone. Apparently, you can do that at Budget. Even though Budget is slightly more expensive, I've learned it's certainly worth the extra cost! Oh yea, back to that phone call that I never got. I called at 4:59 literally, only to have U-Haul tell me nothing was available in Ruston and I might have to drive to pick up a truck. Not the best option, but that's cool, as long as they give me extra mileage. They'll call me by 8 p.m. Never got a call. Once again, I had to call them. Now the customer service on the phone wasn't horrible (it wasn't great either), but if you tell me you're going to do something, by golly just do it!

Anyway, there's a truck available in Shreveport. That's the closest to Ruston. Sure, it's only an hour out of the way. That's not horrible in the grand scheme of things. But oh wait, there's one available in Alexandria. Hey, we're in Alexandria. That'll be perfect! Oh, no. Too easy. Since we're dropping off the U-Haul in Alexandria, they can't give us any mileage to go to Shreveport. We'll have to pay for the mileage -- 40 cents a mile -- and it would cost us nearly $100 extra. Oh, yeah, and if we cancel that's a $50 fee. So we're stuck. And don't get me started about how Elizabeth and her parents had problems getting the truck this morning because we "weren't in the system" -- even though the customer service rep said she transferred me over and told me where to pick up the truck.

I'd like to believe it would have been better if I'd just dealt with the local company instead of going online, but I can't say that's true. A co-worker of mine also moving this weekend (which, by the way, is the busiest moving day of the year, I'm told; great timing there, Bret) recounted his problems with U-Haul to me last night at the office. He dealt locally in Alexandria and was scheduled to get his truck on Friday. Truck broke down. Couldn't get one. They'd call him this morning to let him know if he'd get one. Yeah, don't hold your breath with them actually calling. Lucky for him, he's just moving across the river (Alex to Pineville), but still, there are only so many things he can fit into his Grand Am.

It's been one big adventure! Again, will somebody please explain to me why I chose to move and buy a house???

NOW ONTO SOME GOOD NEWS

Got an e-mail from my friend, Erik Boyle, from Utah. We went to junior together in Ruston and played baseball together before his family moved to Utah. Through the years we've kept in touch via letters and e-mail, and the occasional phone call. On May 17, two days the 1st birthday of my brother's son Connor, Erik and his wife, Diana, got a precious gift they call Hannah Elizabeth. While I am in no way ready for any of my own, I love little children. I get such a joy from being around them. And I am very happy for both Erik and Diana. I know they will be wonderful, loving parents. Hopefully, Hannah is the first of many lovely little Boyles.

Personal message to Erik -- your life is about to completely change. I know this because I have a brother and two brothers-in-law that have children between the ages of 1 and 2 years old. Parenthood is one of the most difficult, yet joyful, tasks anyone can undertake. It is no longer about you and Diana. Everything is about that little girl. She will become your life. And I can honestly say, I know that's just the way you want. I'm proud of you, man. Keep striving for your goals, but remember, everything you do now affects that little girl. I'm sure she'll be Daddy's pride and joy. Good luck with many sleepless nights!

JUST A LITTLE SPORTS

For the most part, it truly has been a no-sports week. I haven't watched any on TV. The only way I've kept up with it is through our newspaper and the couple of minutes I've had online this week.

My buddy Kyle, an assistant sports information direction at Louisiana Tech University, called me from Fresno, the site of the 2006 Western Athletic Conference baseball tourney, to let me know my beloved alma mater lost to Hawaii in the first round of the WAC tourney, 8-0. The Diamond Dogs bounced back yesterday with a 14-9 win over Sacramento State and will play Hawaii in a rematch at 5 p.m. tonight. Thankfully, Hawaii's ace, junior Stephen Wright, a projected high pick in next month's MLB draft, won't be on the mound for the rematch.

No matter the outcome, and I think my Dogs will win, of course, it's been a great season for head coach Wade Simoneaux and his crew. Projected to be one of the worst, if not the worst, teams in the WAC, Tech started hot and is trying to play its way into an NCAA regional somewhere. There are currently 33-24, but probably need to win the tourney to get into a regional. Either way, the Dogs are here to stay. They had great senior leadership this year, but the majority of the team is very, very young. Freshman Jericho Jones is already a star, but he's going to be a superstar. The team's leading hitter at .365 with 16 HR and 56 RBI, Jones is also 5-3 on the mound as a starting pitcher. And, most importantly, he'll be in Ruston for at least two more seasons.

Meanwhile, LSU is out of the SEC tourney and hoping, praying for an NCAA regional bid. After beating No. 1 seed Alabama (which, unfortunately, might have clinched the NCAA bid), the Tigers were simply drummed by both Ole Miss and in a rematch with Alabama to go home with their tails between their legs. While the Tigers used to be the big dog on the block, they have simply been knocked off their perch in the ultra-competitive SEC. My boy Brandon Belcher (who's 3-10 in the tourney) and his Tide are rolling. But they must face another former Ruston boy, Stoney Stone, and his Ole Miss Rebels now. If Belcher can return on the mound next year, and the Tide get All-American and former Barbe High standout Wade Leblanc back for his senior year, they could be a dangerous duo next year.

Another Ruston High product, Daniel Best, one of the best closers in the country, now must wait and see if his career his over after his Southern Miss Eagles went 1-2 in the Conference USA tourney this week. Best gave up two hits in his only appearance of the tourney Friday, when the Golden Eagles were eliminated by Memphis 8-5. For the season, Best went 6-2 with a 2.19 ERA and a career-high 12 saves with 49 K's and just 10 walks. He was more than a closer this year, pitching nearly 50 innings in 29 appearances. While falling one save short of the single-season record, Best did set the school record for career saves with 23. He was the heart and soul of the pitching staff, which struggled all year as Southern Miss finished a disappointing 38-21 and tied for 4th in CUSA -- and now waits in hopes on a call about a regional.

That's all I have for you right now -- there might be another post tonight if I'm lucky.

Assistant handyman reporting for duty

First order of duty -- painting. Check. Well, almost check. The living room is done -- thanks to some last minute touch-ups by Elizabeth's mom this afternoon. The dining room has the base coat in preparation for the glaze -- you know, what I have no idea how to explain, but hopefully Elizabeth and her mom can do after watching The Woolie© DVD. Now they just have to add the other two coats mixed with the faux glaze that we bought at Home Depot.

Second order of duty -- becoming Mr. Raymond's assistant handyman. Not so check. I mentioned yesterday that we picked up our refrigerator from Sears. What I didn't mention is the refrigerator we bought was a couple of inches too tall to fit underneath the cabinet in the kitchen. So Mr. Raymond and I (yeah, like I'm useful) are "fixing" the cabinet -- i.e. cutting off a couple of inches to make the refrigerator fit. Well, tonight's adventure saw us take off the cabinet doors and cut off the spare inches. Now we -- err, Mr. Raymond -- have to fix the doors and make sure everything fits back into place. Anyway, I actually felt like I was useful tonight. Mr. Raymond is pretty good about that -- even when I'm not helping a bit.

Luckily, after a late late night Tuesday night, we made pretty short work of it tonight. Elizabeth and her mom finished up the painting, while Mr. Raymond and I tackled the fridge/cabinet problem after we had some -- hahaha, I left all of y'all hanging here. We had pizza for supper. We tackled the problem after eating Little Caesar's.

SOUL PATROL

Congrats to Taylor Hicks for winning American Idol. Taylor was one of mine and Elizabeth's favorites from the very beginning of the competition -- and apparently he caught the nation's eye, as well. Despite Simon's initial reluctance to send the gray-haired, soulful, dance-crazy Alabaman to Hollywood, even the black-teed tough guy warmed up to Taylor.

During the competition, it became apparent that Chris Daughtry was the best man on Idol. I still believe he should have won. However, I never stopped rooting for Taylor. His personality was just infectious, which is why he won -- despite his lack of certain characteristics you would think an American Idol would possess.

In the end, I think Taylor will be successful. He may not sell 10 million albums. American pop radio may be disappointed in Taylor. But in his eyes, in his mind and his heart, Taylor Hicks will be a success. He's living the American dream, as he says. And he will always have the faithful Soul Patrol -- his group of followers that drove him to the AI victory.

In a fitting touch, Taylor's first single is "Do I Make You Proud?" -- a song that could be viewed as somewhat cheesy. I prefer to view it as very touching. Yes, Taylor, in the eyes of all your Soul Patrolers -- you do make them, make that us, proud.

Why oh why?

I pulled up to the Granger residence at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, dirty, sweaty and exhausted. Now, almost 10 hours later, even after showering, I'm still "dirty" -- or better yet, just call me "painty". There are still specks of paint all over my arms, and I'm not certain I got the whole streak off my neck, either.

Remind me again why I decided to buy a house. Oh yea, I'm an idiot. That's the only explanation I can come up with for jumping feet-first into the heaps of debt, responsibility and flat-out work that is required with home ownership. And that's before we even move a single thing into the house. Well, check that, Elizabeth and I are now the proud owners of our very own refrigerator, which her father and I moved into the kitchen yesterday. Nevermind the 6 inches or so of cabinet that still must be sliced off to make the refrigerator actually fit into its hole.

Yesterday was a rough day. Another sports-free day. Heck it's going to be a rough week. Perhaps even a sports-free week -- something I don't know has ever happened before! I guess that's the price you pay when your immediate supervisor is out on vacation the same week you are trying to move into your very first house! Needless to say, I have responsibility everywhere this week -- more at work, and even more at home.

Even with all the "complaining", my 4 hours of painting yesterday yielded -- after Elizabeth's work all day while I was at work -- an almost finished living room. Much thanks to Our Lady Peace, the Supertones, Sixpence None the Richer and Jars of Clay for helping me through the tedious, arm-tiring work of using painter's tape and then actually painting.

Elizabeth and I love Ruston. We can't get away from it. Even after moving away, we decided to bring a piece of my home with us. Our living room will be Peach Ice -- a beautiful color that is very similar, in fact almost identical, to the color of our apartment in Ruston. After another long day of too much responsibility at work, I will get to go home and finish the few touch-ups I have left in the living. Meanwhile, Elizabeth and her mother will begin work on the dining room -- employing a concept I don't truly understand. I believe the term is glazing, and it looks very pretty in the pictures I've seen. Hopefully, it will turn out pretty on the wall. I'd explain to you what they are going to do, but I don't truly understand. All I know is it requires the Peach Ice as a base paint, along with some Mineral Red and a color in between. That's as good as you're going to get from me.

Oh the joys of home ownership. And I haven't even gone to buy my lawnmower yet!

Just sign here ... and here ... and on and on

No sports today. It was a sports-free Monday. Yeah, I know, tough to comprehend. But very true. I was much too busy to worry about sports today.

This morning Elizabeth and I signed our life away -- finally closing on our 3-bedroom, 1,900-square foot cottage house in the Garden District of downtown Alexandria. So now we own a house. Or more accurately we owe our mortgage company for the next 30 years for the privilege of living in the house we might one day actually be able to call completely our own.

It was a whirlwind day -- taking care of tons of things that must be done when moving and buying a house. Elizabeth starts painting tomorrow -- the living room and the den. We chose the colors and bought the paint today. I'm very pleased, and very excited.

There is still much work to be done before the big move this weekend. Some day, I keep telling myself, we will be able to relax a little bit and breathe. No, the work won't be over. Who knows if it ever will. There are so many things we'd like to do with our first home. So many dreams. So little time.

For now, I can just exhale and soak in the full (scary, yet exciting) understanding of the fact that Elizabeth and I are now homeowners.

Can we get some help in Cleveland?

LeBron couldn't do it by himself. Despite single-handedly keeping the Cavs in Game 7 against Detroit, willing his team back into the game after trailing 7-0 and 14-4 early, in the end Cleveland couldn't overcome the adversity -- playing on the road, in their first Game 7, against the defending NBA champs, without anyone besides LeBron willing to step up their play, take a big shot or contribute offensively.

I predicted an unbelievable individual performance from King James. Well, he didn't disappoint. Unfortunately, the rest of his team did. LeBron had 27 points and 8 boards, and only Larry Hughes -- his teammate who hadn't played in 4 games due to the death of his brother -- finished in double figures with 10 points. Boy do they need some help in Cleveland. Where were Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden? Apparently they never got off the flight to Detroit.

The loss, while depressing, is OK for the LeBrons. Even Michael Jordan had to face adversity -- at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, as well -- before he went on to win 6 NBA titles. The Pistons won as a team, with 4 players scoring in double figures, led by Tayshaun Prince's 20 points. LeBron couldn't do it by himself. What he needs in a good sidekick, a Scottie Pippen to Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to Shaq. That was supposed to be Hughes, who missed most of the season due to injury and hasn't lived up to his billing. No. Cleveland needs real help -- a Chris Bosh or Charlie Villanueva, or another athletic young post player that can help LeBron over the hump.

What you saw from LeBron James this year was nothing short of miraculous. He had an MVP season, although he didn't win the award. And he's only 21. The best is yet to come for the superstar, who led the Cavs to the brink of the Eastern Conference finals, when most people felt they would be swept by Detroit -- especially after they fell into an 0-2 deficit to start the series. Just keep watching the kid. He's destined for greatness.

Babe ... Babe ... I Got You Babe

So I'm in the middle of reading all about Barry Bonds' alleged steroid use. Don't care. Not right now. I'm willing to celebrate No. 714 -- even if MLB and the rest of the world aren't. You see, today is a magical day. Yes, it honestly pisses me off to think that Barry Bonds cheated his way into history. And it angers me even more to realize that he's not the only athlete ruining the integrity of America's Pasttime. But let's just take a minute to celebrate the greatest player of this era, my era, The Steroid Era. After all, Barry was a tremendous player, an eight-time All-Star, a three-time MVP, even before he bulked up by using massive amounts of questionable, albeit not necessarily illegal, tactics. The steroids (and human growth hormone, insulin and whatever else he thought to ingest) didn't change his near textbook swing, and they certainly didn't improve his crystal clear vision, which is Bonds' truest, most powerful weapon against opposing pitchers. Yes, it's a time to celebrate. MLB didn't want Barry to catch the Babe. And they certainly don't want him catching Hank Aaron. But even Bud Selig can't deny that Barry Bonds is a truly special, memorable player.

Sucker Punch
Michael Barrett has some 'splainin to do. I'm still trying to figure out what the Cubs catcher was thinking when he slugged fellow catcher A.J. Pierzynski in a 7-0 Cubs loss Saturday afternoon. Here's the setup: A.J. is coming home trying to score. Barrett, as catchers do, blocked the plate. Before the ball arrived, Pierzynski leveled over Barrett, got up and slapped the plate emphatically to indicate he scored. Everything's cool, right? Wrong. As Pierzynski gets up to grab his helmet, which flew off in the collision, Barrett grabs him, for some reason complains he didn't have the ball (even though he was blocking the plate) and then even more inexplicably, simply cold-cocks A.J. in the mouth.

After the punch, as Pierzynski put it, "all hell broke loose." The benches cleared. Full-out brawl mode takes place. In the end, four players were ejected. Inexplicably, in the umpires' infinite wisdom, they ejected Pierzynski, who after doing nothing illegal, simply walked away after being punched. I'm still trying to figure out why he got tossed. After all, he was the "victim" in this. Even stranger, Barrett, the one who, ya know, actually threw the punch that started this whole deal, wasn't immediately ejected! Yeah, good job there, umps.

In defense of Barrett, he owned up to his mistake after the game. Shouldn't have punched the guy. You never hit a grown man. And he expects to be disciplined. Barrett was doing what catchers do, and Pierzynski was doing what runners do. Barrett just snapped and wasn't thinking. And he'll pay a price -- hopefully a big price. My suggestion: 20 games. At least. It simply was a sucker punch, one that could have been much worse if Barrett had actually landed it cleanly.

The two teams conclude the series on Sunday. I would expect it would be a clean game, especially in the light that there could be major suspensions arising from this. Now when the two teams face off again in a three-game series at Wrigley Field, from June 30 to July 2, it could get really interesting. For some reason, teams don't tend to forget these types of melees.

Barbaro Breakdown
Poor Barbaro. One day you're on top of the world, the next your life literally flashes before your eyes. The Kentucky Derby champ and Preakness favorite entered as the only horse in the field with a chance to win the Triple Crown -- the goal of every horse each year. Barbaro had all the glitz, glamour and pressure of being a champion. And it showed, as he jumped out of the gates early with a false start. The second time, he waited, but he wasn't in the race long. He quickly faded, the result of a fractured ankle, an injury that could lead to Barbaro's being put to sleep. You see, we humans get bed rest after a fractured ankle. Six weeks. For horses, that is impossible. So to put them out of their misery, they are literally put out of their misery. Euthenization. The horse that yesterday all it all, now may have only a few days remaining in his life.

Big Easy to remain 'Chocolate'
Wow. Ray Nagin somehow retained his job Saturday. More than 52 percent of voters apparently think Nagin is doing a good job as mayor of New Orleans. Either that or the city has no faith in Mitch Landrieu -- the state's Lt. Gov., the brother of the state's senior senator and the son of a former New Orleans mayor. How bad does Landrieu feel right now? A challenging Democrat, in a democratic city, lost to the incumbent Democrat, who acts more like a Republican than a liberal.

Coming off the heels of the worst natural disaster in America's history -- a crisis that pointed out Nagin's lack of leadership abilities -- the man whose approval ratings were in the low 30s just 8 months ago has been reelected. Simply amazing. I'm stunned. Nagin is a completly ineffective leader who loves to pop off at the mouth and scatter to the blame around anywhere but on his own shoulders. At times, he is incompetent. In fact, most of the time. Nagin makes Gov. Kathleen Blanco look like a powerful force in politics. And that's hard to do.

Where does Landrieu go from here? He still gets to keep his day job as Lt. Gov. -- a position held by Blanco before she became the state's top leader. But does losing to an incumbent mayor that nobody seems to like ruin your political career? It will be interesting to see how Landrieu bounces back. I think he's tapped out his potential -- any thoughts at a run towards the governor or a national Congress seat are pretty much thrown out the window now.

Quick Hits

It was a bad day for catchers, period. Braves catcher Brian McCann injured his ankle after being run over at the plate. McCann entered the game with an NL-leading .353 batting average.

Speaking of the Braves, how about they were destroyed by the D-backs. Brandon Webb, my fantasy team ace by the way, moved to 7-0 on the year with the win.

Let the countdown begin. Albert Pujols launched No. 21 Sunday, meaning he needs just 53 more to pass Bonds' single-season record.

Larry Hughes will play in Game 7 of the Cavs-Pistons series, which tips off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday on ABC. Hughes has missed the past 4 games after the death of his brother. He returned to the bench for Friday's Game 6 loss, but didn't play. ESPN Insider Chris Sheridan says LeBron's legend and Pistons' legacy are at stake.

Not that it's yet to the point where I'd actually care, but Buffalo beat Carolina to take a 1-0 lead in the NHL's Eastern Conference finals. Edmonton leads Anaheim 1-o in the West.