Off to see the world on SB 09

It has been an interesting week for me. There have been some ups and downs but knowing what lay ahead (spring break) made the week much more bearable. I'll give you a breakdown of the occurrences since my last post, in my life, and the sports world, as well as some insights.

The BAD

I Got beat BAD by a girl in tennis

So I've played my fair share of girls on high school tennis teams, and have always come away victorious, so going into this one, my confidence may have been a little bloated. I've never had a backhand, but it really hasn't hurt me when I play yet, until Monday.

0-6, 2-6. Does that say enough? Becca was painting corners, and I was hoping my shots were gonna land in the court. It was a dismantling, and I give her the credit. She's frickin good! But now I know I can play someone who will make me better, and I look forward to the possibility of beating her in the future. Maybe she'll help me with my backhand.

No PGA Internship

Turns out they didn't have any openings to begin with for summer interns. I still have an in with the marketing guy at Kohler Hospitality, so maybe something will turn up.

Railside Internship

I hope things fall into place soon for this gig, because it is starting to get frustrating. Ask me about it if you'd like to know more. 

2 Midterms the same day

I had to memorize over 100 buildings, their name, architect, and time period. This exam sucked. I put in as much time as I ever have studying for a midterm for this one, and I still didn't feel great leaving it. 

8:00 AM wake-ups on spring break

So the golf team is gonna kinda be like boot camp this year on spring break. A workout every morning at 8 before our rounds should be interesting, and I can't say I'm looking forward to it. 

The GOOD

Spring Break 09!

6 rounds of golf, a beautiful house right on a resort, and all paid for by the mighty Calvin dollar. Not to mention having the AD of the school, Jim Timmer, along for the ride. Oh, and our coaches wives are coming along, so good meals too!

Tennis and Trains

I have a good time hanging out with people and making things competitive. Ticket to Ride has been our game of choice lately, and it's pretty good. Not quite as good as Settlers of Catan, but it will do. 

March Madness

After the first day, I've gotten 14 out of the 16 matchups correct, so I am feeling pretty good. I started off 12 for 12. Go Marquette and Wisconsin tomorrow. Look further down the blog for more on this. 

The World of Sports for Tyler Smies

The Bucks - Twittering

The bucks got a huge win over the celtics, something that I certainly didn't think was possible considering the shell of a team that we have left. Somehow this got overshadowed by Charlie Villanueva twittering during halftime of the game, saying that he needed to bring it for the second half. And bring it he did.

With 15 points in the second half and a win over the world champion celtics, I was amazed that this move by Villanueva got so much press. This is one of those "duh, you are a professional athlete, act like one" moments by the hairless wonder, but hardly seemed egregious. At least he was into the game, and he's not getting drunk and doing stupid stuff. I am fine with the way Skiles handled it (a formal reprimand, but no actual penalty) and I think CV will know better from now on. Thanks for the win, though, big man.

The Brewers

With Yovanni Gallardo throwing a 5 inning no hitter in spring training yesterday, I like my all-star selection more and more. I guess multiple websites that do statistical analysis say the brewers will win 85 games, which is my prediction from last week. 

Word is that Macha is considering catcher Jason Kendall at leadoff. While I'm not in love with Weeks in the leadoff spot, it certainly beats a 35-year old catcher with no speed or pop and a low batting average starting off a game. At least Rickie can hit one over the fence or take a walk. Please Macha, don't be stupid. I've seen enough bonehead moves from Yost over the past 4 years. 

Marquette

Fearless prediction: despite their woes since James has been out, I believe that Marquette will take care of business in what is essentially a road game against Utah St. This team is too Senior laden and has more pride than any other marquette team that I remember watching (including Wade's team, who was obviously more gifted). McNeal and Matthews make sure this game goes to the Golden Eagles. I have them losing in the second round though to a tough Mizzou squad. It is too bad the season had to end like this, because this was a more watchable Marquette team than I can remember, because of their hard nosed defense and fearless penetration on offense.

UW

The Florida St. matchup will be a tough one, but I really think Wisconsin will grind it out. They are more disciplined and play a brand of basketball that Florida St. is not used to. And believe me, Wisconsin will force Florida St. to play at their pace. I hope I am right, and all the naysayers who believed that Wisconsin didn't deserve a bid can shut up and sit down. Since Bo Ryan has been coach, I don't remember them losing a first round matchup. Perhaps I am mistaken, but a team with that kind of proven track record deserves to be in over a school like St. Mary's. 

I'll try to put up some pics of me on the links so some of you can see them. Thanks for reading!