Wednesday night, Debbie Reid, executive director of Bikes for Kids Utah, got to drop the puck to start the game between the Utah Grizzlies and the Stockton Thunder. Last month, with the help of Dave Zabriskie, the third American to ever wear teh Yellow Jersey during the Tour de France, Bikes for Kids Utah gave away 1,000 bikes to underprivileged kids around the Salt Lake Valley. During the bike giveaway, the Grizzlies also gave two tickets to each kid (one for them and whoever they wanted to take) to the November 28 home game.

It was fun. I got to waddle out on the ice and get a shot of Debbie dropping the puck along with her son Tyler. When they announced Debbie and that she was with Bikes for Kids, there was a big cheer from the audience, especially from the kids that were there.

After the puck drop, a bunch of the volunteers who helped with the event got to hang out in a VIP suite located on the third level, center ice watching the game and munching on some nachos and sodas. We had a great view of the game and it was a fun night. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies lost in a shootout with a final score of 4-3. You can read about the game here.

A big thanks to Adrian Denny of the Grizzlies marketing department for his help with Bikes for Kids Utah, donating the tickets and for providing a VIP suite, and to Todd Reid of Intermountain Financial for providing the food for the night.

Regardless, congratulations to the World Champions! Well done! Let’s do it again next year!

I don’t think the issue here is losing. Lots of good teams and coaches lose, it happens week in and week out! (My alma mater, BYU, lost earlier today.) I think what makes Michigan’s losses significant is the margin of defeat coupled with the hype around the Big Blue and the poor level of play. Execution is key, and although blame falls on the players’ shoulders, the coaches are there to instill discipline and teach and practice execution.

The commentators on ABC today remarked that the defensive coordinator threatened his defense that if they didn’t perform they’d find themselves on the bench — well, after today it would seem that most of the defense should be sitting on the bench, think the coach will follow through?

As with all money making ventures, key stakeholders (boosters, alum and university officials) want to see results, Carr certainly isn’t making a case for himself with these two recent debacles, it’ll be interesting how things shake out in Ann Arbor. Is it too late to schedule a local high school team for a win?

With all that said, maybe the real question here deals with rankings. Last year’s national champion Gators put a hurtin’ on Ohio State, did the final score and outcome reflect an accurate prediction based on the rankings going in? So with that I add yet another item for the NCAA to come up with, along with a better championship structure, find a way to more accurately rank teams.

No time of the year is more exciting to me than the period of time between the end of August to the end of December. Most people would call it Fall, but it’s more than that. It’s football season.

I grew up playing and watching football. Now I mostly watch, but I play too…Fantasy style. In high school, I played tight end for our team, which was pretty good. And in college, I played intramural at BYU. Our team was awesome! Over two years, we went 22-0, winning the championship both years.

And now it’s that time of the year again. We’ve got football in the air, even in the office. Poppa P’s son plays tight end for a local high school, so it’s fun to talk football with Poppa P. We’ve even brought a football into the office to toss around on occasion–I think it helps get the juices flowing.

I’ve also got my fantasy league draft this weekend, which I’m really excited about. I just love the game, the ins and outs of what makes certain plays work. I owe that to my high school football coach. He had a mind for the game unlike any other I’ve ever known. He understood how it worked and instilled a love for the game in most everyone he coached.

So, here’s to Friday night lights, Saturday morning hype and continuing to live the dream. And here’s a little clip to get you exctied…one of my personal favorites.