Favorite teams are taking a beating

It didn't take long for me to come up with column material this week. My world is full of ideas and thoughts, just flying all around my pea brain. So, I'm going to shoot a few of them your direction. Sorry in advance for my pity-party.

First of all, yes, I know my Tennessee Vols got beat Monday night. I'm well aware of that by now and I'm sure I'll hear about it for the remainder of the season. The long remainder of the season which, by the way, will no longer include a shot at a title game, again. In college football, if you lose the first one, then you're in some trouble.

Now, if they had lost to Florida or somebody worth mentioning, then we'd have a completely different story on our hands, but this was UCLA, in baby blue uniforms, with a third-string quarterback.

In case you're rubbing your eyes and squinting to see these tiny words, I'll repeat it, a third-string quarterback. This isn't the guy that goes in next in line, this is the guy that's holding the guy that's holding the clipboard's towel or something. And, to top it off, he threw four interceptions in the first half, and guess how many we scored before the break? Fourteen points. Unbelievable... Fourteen points off of four turnovers.

I guess it's just the luck of my teams this year huh?

Tennessee -- ugly start...

Cardinals -- well, re-read last week's column...

Yankees -- see line above...

Lakers -- the NBA's not my favorite sport, but, even they failed me...

NCAA Final Four bracket -- yuck...

My fantasy football team -- well, that's next. Just ask the guys in my league.

Altogether, it's been an awful year for me and my favorite teams.

Something else that has me a little confused, is all of the problems I encounter while traveling to a game north of the Benton hill.

I can go to a game at Kelly High School all day long, no problems. I can go to a game at Oran High School all day long, no problems. Send me to Cape, Perryville or St. Louis, anywhere north of our everyday territory, and I encounter the most random issues with weather.

Last week, I had the pleasure of covering Sikeston's first football game of the 2008 season.

It wasn't storming, but the dilemma I faced nearly made me just as frustrated, if not more frustrated.

To begin the evening, I got behind the slowest moving vehicle I've ever seen on the way to Fredericktown as time ticked away on my watch. Picture it, a heavy-duty truck hauling a 20-foot plus camper trailer, followed by a Chevy Blazer and another heavy-duty truck pulling a 16-foot trailer loaded with four-wheelers and coolers. Also, while you're at it, picture this... going 40 mph on a snake-like two-lane road for over 30 miles. Of course, there was absolutely no opportunity to pass anywhere and as my wife kept talking about losing her supper from the car-sickness, I could feel my blood boiling from the thought of the three snails traveling in front of me.

Fast-forward through the football game and topping my 'wonderful' evening off was a near two-hour drive home through the thickest fog I've ever seen. Oh, it gets better... to add to the trip was 15 minutes of delay as Missouri's finest Highway Patrolmen checked every vehicle traveling through Jackson. I finished my story on the game at 3:50 a.m.

If you want to hear any more of my sad stories on the other weather fiascos, just hit me up at a game. I just had to lay it all out for you this week. Sorry again, but thanks for listening. I feel better now, I won't let it happen again. And, if you ever want to take a fun drive, just yell at me before I go out of town to a northern road game. I'm sure it'll be a blast.

Thank God this week the Bulldogs are staying in town. I can drive 2.2 miles to Sikeston Public Schools Stadium and watch Sikeston win their first game of the year. It's sure to be a good one, and the Dawgs have a little whooping to lay out after last week's heart-breaker. Game starts at 7 p.m. Catch the story in Sunday's paper, and stay tuned for next week's episode of my life. See you then.