NCAA RANT

By Uncle Hans

Well I promised an explanation of my lack of eligibility to play football. I learned three years ago that the NCAA and the NCCAA and the NAIA all use what's called a 10 semester rule. They count the number of semesters you have attended post high school education and the limiting number is 10. It does not matter to them whether you played a sport during these 10 semesters, or not.

     You would think they would count the number of semesters or seasons that you participated in a sport?

     Well, you would be WRONG. If you count my undergraduate work. Medical school. And 5 year postgraduate residency, I have 26 semesters of advanced education. Even though I never set foot on a playing field or Court of any kind during that time, I have no eligibility because 26 is greater than 10.

     It makes no sense. What is the reasoning behind the rule? I could get no one at the NCAA to explain or justify it. And what really angers me is their inflexibility. They really feel strongly about this rule. They would not consider granting me an exception for writing a book, again, offering no explanation. It's not rocket science to see that a rule should be in place to keep athletes from competing more than four seasons in any given sport. How this ties to 10 semesters defies logic.

     Given my tendency to rant, and the fact that I will be publishing a book in mid November, I would say that the NCAA has a little over two months to get me a logical explanation..............

Uncle Hans

TOMATO EXPERIMENT

WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO GROW TOMATOES ON THE MOUNTAIN OVER THE YEARS. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IS GETTING THE PLANTS ENOUGH SUNSHINE WITH ALL THE TREES OF THE FOREST.

FRANKLY, I WAS READY TO GIVE UP, BUT THIS YEAR MARY GOT SOME HEIRLOOM TOMATO SEEDS FROM TODD AND STARTED THE SEEDS DOWN ON DESERT IN MOHAVE VALLEY IN EARLY FEBRUARY.

GROWING ANYTHING ON THE DESERT IS TUFF. THE YOUNG PLANTS JUST DRY OUT, WITHER AND DIE IN A MATTER OF HOURS. WE DEVELOPED A SYSTEM OF PLANTING THE SEEDS IN STYROFOAM CUPS WITH A SERIES OF HOLES ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP. THE CUPS ARE THEN SET INTO A DISH PAN AND WE KEEP THE PAN FLOODED WITH SEVERAL INCHES OF WATER.

IN MAY, ON THE MOUNTAIN, WE TRANSPLANTED TWO TOMATO PLANTS PER GREEN PLASTIC POT. WE PLACED THE POTS IN THE SUNNYEST SPOT IN THE YARD. WITH ENOUGH SUN THE PLANTS TOOK OFF AND GREW INTO SIX FOOT BUSHES. EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE STARTED IN FEBUARY THE BUSHES WERE VERY SLOW TO FLOWER.

 

NOW WE HAVE A NEW SET OF PROBLEMS. THE PLASTIC GREEN POTS ARE JUST TOO UNSTABLE. THEY TAPER DOWN MAKING THE BOTTOM OF THE POT SMALLER THAN THE TOP. THE SIX FOOT BUSHES MAKE THE MESS TOP HEAVY AND THEY ARE PRONE TO FALLING OVER IN THE WIND. THE PLANT PICTURED ABOVE, AFTER BEENING SLOW TO FLOWER, HAS OVER 60 GREEN TOMATOES.

IT’S NOT A SUCCESS YET. WE HAVEN’T HAD ONE RED RIPE TOMATO, AND WE’RE NOT SURE THAT WE WILL BEFORE THE GROWING SEASON ENDS HERE ON THE MOUNTAIN.

TO SOLVE THE POT PROBLEM FOR NEXT YEAR MARY GOT TWO BARREL PLANTERS FROM A NEIGHBOR, AND THE PROJECT THIS WEEK HAS BEEN TO PAINT AND PLACE THEM IN THE YARD FOR NEXT YEARS TRY AT A TOMATO CROP.

WE HAD STAIN LEFT FROM THE FENCE PROJECT SO WE PAINTED THEM UP AND HAVE THEM LEVELED AND PLACED IN THE YARD.

THAT’S NOT A TREE TO THE RIGHT OF THE BARRELL, BUT THE FOUR TOMATO PLANTS IN THE TWO PLASTIC POTS. AS LONG AS WE HAD THE PAINT OUT I REDID THE BIRD HOUSE WITH A NEW BOTTOM AND FRESH COAT OF PAINT.

READY FOR NEXT YEAR WE HOPE.

STAY TUNED FOR A PICTURE OF RED RIPE TOMATOES, WE HOPE.

“SUNNY & 80”

First Game

By Uncle Hans

High noon on Friday and we're boarding the bus. Destination is University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth Kansas.

     The football program at Trinity is going through some hard times. We have had three coaches in the last 3 years. Our new coach has coached at Trinity before and has excellent credentials. Unfortunately he didn't come on board until sometime in February and that left very little time to recruit. I have already talked on this blog about how selective Trinity is for it's football players. The result is that we have great guys, but only about 25 of them........

Our travels went well into the night and included a hotel.  Our opponent has an enrollment almost 50 times larger than Trinity. They had more than 120 players in uniform on the field......

On the positive side, it was a beautiful day, about 80 degrees with a little breeze and a very nice facility with artificial turf. This is our warm-up........

We lost by a score of 49 to 0. The actual contest was closer than that, and our defense forced four punts, a fumble, and they turned the ball over to us on downs twice.

This is the locker room at halftime. It was frustrating for me because of my eligibility restriction. It was a long warm day. Many guys played both offense and defense. Everyone, including all the freshman, got time on the field. Except for me. In the fourth quarter we were down by a lot, the guys were tired, and everyone got called on to help.

      Except for me. Because of NCAA rules, which I will rant about sometime in this blog and at length in the book, I have no eligibility to play. It really frustrates me because I feel I would have played today and I could have helped my team by relieving a tired teammate. Even if it were just on a kickoff return or a punt, I could have contributed a little and I could have gotten on the field.

The coaches bought us all pizzas, one Pizza per player!  We got on the bus and went home. I was proud to be part of a team that played all four quarters against the odds.....   and never quit!

Uncle Hans

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Triumph Over Technology

By Uncle Hans

This is my first college paper in almost 50 years. We were assigned in a freshman religion class to attend a lecture by a visiting dignitary and report our brief impressions.  Due the next morning at 10:30.

     The first time I was a freshman this would have involved my new Smith Corona electric typewriter that I bought with my graduation money and about 30 to 40 minutes of work.

      I went into frantic mode yesterday and got the technology I needed downloaded on my phone and understood. I used my phone for this paper, and dictated it by voice on Word in 10 minutes. I used a downloaded app named Mobility printing to wirelessly send the paper to a printer in the Student Union over the internet.

Scary, but amazing!

Actually, that sort of sums up my entire experience here, so far......

Uncle Hans

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Trinity Bible College

By Uncle Hans

Well I have made it through my first two days of classes. This is probably the final hurdle in this unlikely project. Can I make it as a college freshman at age 65? I have collected five course syllabi for five courses and had a couple of lectures. As you can see, this is at Trinity Bible College in Ellendale North Dakota. I initially picked this school because it is small and it would give me the best chance at participation in the football program.

It is a beautiful small campus with trees and grass abounding. This is the student Union.........

.......... and this is the inside. There are about 220 students.

It is a Christian College and this is the smaller of two chapels. Chapel attendance is daily and mandatory........

  ........... this is the inside of the larger Chapel taken during a chapel service. It seats about 350 so the entire student body and faculty can be present. The presentation is lively and entertaining. The message is upbeat and filters out into all of the educational process throughout each day.

This is my schedule. I am a business major. I have run my own business for 35 years, so I should find out what I have been doing wrong. LOL!

        Someone asked me yesterday what it's like to be a college freshman at Trinity Bible College. While I was answering it occurred to me that I am really a freshman in the College Of Life.  We all are, if you think about it.  There are so many interesting things to learn and study.  When you quit learning, then you begin to die.

      Tomorrow at noon I get on the bus for the University of St Mary's in Leavenworth, Kansas. The game is Saturday at noon.  That should be quite a Blog.......

Uncle Hans

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