Human Hand Trumpet

Reese has learned to play the hand trumpet, and look at that form! There is going to be a little break here in the blog as we try and get moved over the next few days. When I fire up the blog machine early next week expect more photos of Reese and of our new digs.

Look out Cincinnati, here we come!!!

You know, it is hard work being 3 days old...

My Princess Arrives...

I apologize for the delay in getting everyone the information on our beautiful baby girl. I had no internet access at the hospital and have been gone from Tuesday night thru this afternoon. I could write a book about this experience. I have never been prouder or more in love with Bonnie. She was amazing and impressed the hospital staff with her skillz. Reese is doing wonderful after a tough start. Her heart rate dropped dramatically in the birth canal and our unbelievable doctor made all of the right decisions to give Reese a chance. The cord was wrapped around her neck and she was a deep blue. Luckily the staff was prepared and there were at least 8 nurses in our suite with the proper equipment and they revived my little soldier. Expect frequent updates...

Gameday...

Destination: Baptist Hospital. The site of many births for country music's elite. And today we add our new addition to the distinguished list.

This is the day we have all been waiting for. The docs have decided to take matters into their own hands and induce labor tonight since Bon is just under two weeks over-due.

I have so many emotions right now. Excited, anxious, nervous, etc... The big thing for me is that I cannot stand to see Bonnie in any form of pain, so this is going to be a little tough. Alot of prayers have been said and I am sure many more will come throughout our baby's life, it is extremely reassuring to see the number of loved ones our baby will be surrounded with.

I mean, I cannot be the worst father in the world as long as Michael Jackson is still alive, right?

This one hurts...

This was the most excited I have been for a football game in a very long time. I came away very impressed with Rex and very disappointed with our defense. Some things I realized:

1) We need another WR who can make plays. Bernard Berrian looked very good before leaving with an injury but I believe David Givens woud be a great fit via free agency.

2) We need a CB with size and ball skills. Peanut Tillman is a nickel corner at best. Why not take a run at Charles Woodson in free agency?

3) We need a TE who can stretch the field down the middle. This should be addressed in the draft.

4) We need to upgrade at the kicker and punter positions.

5) Lovie Smith is the answer and I am looking forward to 2006 with a ton of optimism.

BTW, Peyton Manning is a terrible loser and lacks leadership skills. Congrats to Coach LeBeau and the Steelers. I would not be surprised if Tony Dungy retired due to the family issues he is dealing with.

No baby yet...

Time passes by...

We are still waiting for our "bundle of joy." We went to the hospital yesterday for some tests and everything checked out with the baby. If nothing happens before, we are scheduled to be at the hospital on Tuesday night for the induction.

Also, we have secured moving plans and the truck will be heading north on January 27th! Mad props to my Uncle B who is making it happen for us. He is the greatest uncle of all-time, we could not do it without him.

Should have job news this week, I may actually have a job, have a child, and move home in a 10 day period. As Donkey and Puss-n-Boots would say, we are "Livin' la vida loca..."

GO BEARS!!!

T.O., part II

Here is the rumor making rounds:

Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson today denied reports that he was involved in a locker room fight at halftime on Sunday during the Bengals' playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.When asked about a report from the Web site profootballtalk.com that claims Johnson was involved with an altercation with receivers coach Hue Jackson, and then swung at head coach Marvin Lewis, Johnson said nothing happened.“That sounds like drama," Johnson said. "At halftime, I was getting an IV. Nothing happened. Why don’t you talk to the coaches, they’re all down there today.”

The Bengals had no comment.

If this turns out to be true the Bengals have no choice but to cut their ties with the latest Drew Rosenhaus client gone wild. Looking at the market for an elite WR one only needs to look back to last year when Randy Moss was traded by the Vikings. The received the #7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.

Coincidentally the #7 pick this year is owned by the team that I think should trade for Chad. Chad is a west-coast guy and would seem to be a better fit "in the bay." He could have a chance at breaking all of Jerry Rice's records with the...49ers.

Trading Chad for the #7 pick in the draft and Julian Peterson would be a steal for the Bengals. Peterson is an All-Pro linebacker who is at his lowest value after a couple of injury-plagued seasons. At the #7 pick they may be able to select the #1 defensive tackle available in the form of Haloti Ngata from Oregon.

T.J., Henry and a free agent acquisition or 2nd round draft pick would be more than capable of catching the rock in 2006.

Playoffs

My sympathy goes out to the Bengals Nation, get yourselves a solid TE and a DT that can stop the run, Larry Triplett?, and you will be in great shape for 2006.

Now to Da Bears, it looks like we get the Panthers on Sunday, a team we sacked 8 times earlier this year in a 13-3 victory. We will also be rooting for the Skins on Saturday because that would allow the Bears to host the NFC Championship game.

No baby yet...

MVP

Congrats to Mr. Urlacher who won the NFL Defensive MVP award today. This adds ammunition to my argument with Jum of #54 being the best linebacker in the game.

Personal news, no baby yet, but had another great phone conversation with a different executive at Time Warner Cable this afternoon. It looks promising, the next step is the dreaded personality test. Hope I don't fail...

WOW!

I have watched alot of football in my day. And I can honestly tell you that last night I witnessed the greatest game I have ever seen. In addition, I gained the ultimate respect for Vince Young. Like most people, I have been enamored with Reggie Bush all year and I believe he is an unbelievable talent. But if I started a football franhise today I would begin with Vince. He is like Randall Cunningham on steroids. In my opinion the Texans would be fools not to take him with the #1 pick. He even grew up in Texas for goodness sake! I may be a little biased but I believe anytime you can get a difference maker at QB you are at a great advantage, because they touch the ball EVERY play, whereas someone like Reggie Bush may get 20-25 touches a game. On any given play V-Young could score. He should declare for the draft and become a Houston Texan.

On the personal side of life, still no baby yet, official due date has been determined to be tomorrow. We are so excited and cannot wait to meet our baby! I also had another interview with Time Warner Cable today via phone and I think things went very well. I will be contacted by another executive there tomorrow.

A big shout-out to Steve Carr who I got a chance to talk with today. Bon and I are looking forward to hanging out with his family when we get back to the 'Nati and helping out with his church, Echo Church.

48 hours until the NFL playoffs...

Ouch...

Well that was a hard game to watch, I hope ND gets some speed at CB in the freshmen class. At least Tom Zbikowski played like a wild man, looking forward to 2006...

Bon and I have a Dr.'s appointment this morning and we will see how things have progressed. We are very anxious for the baby to arrive. I also have another phone interview with Time Warner Cable first thing Thursday morning, so I will let you all know how that goes.

Let's Go Irish!

Many of you know my distaste for the OSU Buckeyes and they are getting ready to kick-off with the favorite team of the Furniss household, the Irish. This will be alot of fun...

2006 arrives...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

We hope you all have an amazing 2006, it looks like the baby has decided to wait until the new year to make an appearance. I also want to wish a belated birthday to Steve Carr, I am not far behind on the big 3-0 brother.

As Bon and I watched some of the festivities on ABC last night, (before crashing at 10PM, CST) we had a thrilling discussion about the amazing longevity of Bon Jovi. I started listening to these guys in 6th grade and they are still putting out good music! They are very under-rated in their contributions to music as a whole. Hope to see you all soon, until then,

"We're Livin' on a Prayer"

Tribe Time

It is with great excitement that I want to take this opportunity to throw my baseball allegiance to the Cleveland Indians. Some of you may know that I have followed the career of Nomar and assigned allegiance accordingly. At the urging of Bon and some friends, as Nomar continues to sign one year deals, we have decided to support Nomar on the side but commit fully to a franchise. Some reasons why the Indians were chosen:

• Major League Movie, classic
• Good young players
• Able to follow them more closely in Ohio
• Can score cheap gear at Wal-Marts across the state
  

Christmas Comes Early

Mad props to Jum for scoring two of the best gifts for me. One is 36 episodes of the ThunderCats saga on DVD and the other is a biography of Walter Payton written by his family. The Payton book included a DVD which has a feature story on Walter with highlites and an interview he did with Roy Firestone.

Both killer gifts, thanks Jum. Tomorrow's post will include the latest developments in choosing a baseball team to throw my allegiance to...

A job with the cable company?

Just returned from two interviews today, one with Time Warner Cable (which includes free cable and high speed internet) and the other with the Cincy Sports Commission. I think both went well and will wait to hear something soon. Will definitely keep you all updated.

I also picked up a stray in the 'Nati, little bro Jum is home from the Army for X-mas and is spending the next few days with Bon and I. We are hoping his presence will help the baby decide to show up!

Check out this show, it is awesome!

Nomah!

Dodgers welcome Nomar to LA

LOS ANGELES -- About the only thing Ned Colletti hasn't acquired this holiday season is a pitcher in a pear tree.

The Dodgers general manager's Christmas shopping spree resulted in Nomar Garciaparra's introduction at Dodger Stadium on Monday.

"Pulling into the stadium, all my childhood memories hit me," said the native Angeleno, accompanied to the event by soccer star wife Mia Hamm. "That really put me over the top. This is where I want to be."

But the former Red Sox shortstop, signed to be the new Dodgers first baseman and No. 5 hitter for a $6 million contract plus incentives, isn't the newest acquisition.

Garciaparra tried to become a Dodger a winter ago, but went to the Cubs instead for $8.25 million while the Dodgers settled at third base for Jose Valentin at $3.5 million. Both struggled through injuries this past season.

But Garciaparra returned from a torn groin muscle to play the last six weeks at shortstop and third base for the Cubs, proof that his injury was healed. He said he's ready to learn to play first base, which he hasn't done since Little League, and that he likes the changes Colletti has made to a club that lost 91 games in 2005.

"This team can definitely win," said Garciaparra, who played for Little in Boston but was traded away three months before the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series. "I'm a small part of the puzzle."

The Dodgers think he's a big part, and that's why he's the one they acquired to protect Jeff Kent in the lineup. Garciaparra is a five-time All-Star and two-time batting champ. He has a .320 lifetime batting average, but he's missed considerable playing time in three of the last five seasons because of injuries to his wrist, Achilles tendon and groin muscle.

Growing up a Southern California baseball fan in suburban Whittier, Garciaparra said choosing the Dodgers over the Yankees, Astros and Indians became easy after two meetings with management last week.

"It's tremendous to be able to come home," he said. "What a thrill it will be to put on the uniform. This is where I saw my first big-league game. I remember getting a French dip sandwich at Phillipes. I remember my dad bringing me, I remember my parents going to the World Series. I knew all the players and positions."

Garciaparra's signing presents an even stickier situation for when Cesar Izturis returns from elbow surgery, estimated to be at mid-season. If Mueller, Rafael Furcal, Kent and Garciaparra are healthy and performing well around the horn, there will be nowhere for Izturis to play.
Izturis' injury, however, is complicated. Not only has he had Tommy John reconstruction to repair a damaged ligament, but it was caused by a degenerative bone disease.

The long-term prognosis is uncertain, which was a factor in the acquisition of Furcal. Colletti said he spoke to Izturis on Monday, and asked him to keep an open mind about his future role.

TCats Fall!

The ThunderCats 2005 season ended in heart-breaking fashion as Nathan Vasher dropped a potential game-winning interecption in the final seconds.

Is this thing on?

Trying this out...