I have to tell you...sometimes writing a blog sucks. I wrote my blog and thankfully copied to word, because when I went to publish, I was told that I must be logged in. So, I will try for the third time...

Hello and welcome to another Wednesday of deep thoughts. March is gone and we enter deeper into the quarter of 2012 known as spring. This is a great time of year (except for the looming tax deadline) and I love the warming trend that has begun to take a firmer foothold. The cold snaps common in March, begin to lose much of their bite in April. April is known for showers, but in Austin, the flowers have begun to dominate the landscape.

Lady Bird Johnson was crazy about wild flowers and the Texas roads bear witness to this each spring.

Not everything in the flowers is pretty. Warmer weather brings the rattlesnakes out as well...

Damn...that is a really big snake. Notice how the guy has to use two hands to hold him up. This is a very heavy snake. Did you know they taste like chicken?

   area and he told me the above storm was about 20 minutes from him. Mother Nature can be a beast when she wants to...     

Flowers and snakes are not the only thing that April brings to Texas. The warmer weather has a tendency to cause "issues" when it runs into cooler weather. Texas is famous for thunderstorms and often these storms bring us tornadoes. Tuesday was a crazy day in the Dallas/Ft.Worh area. Many tornadoes were sighted with one funnel being on the ground for an estimated 30 minutes. I have a good friend that lives in the Dallas area and he told me the above storm was about 20 miles from him. Mother Nature can be a beast when she wants to...

Monday was the end of college hoops. As many of us predicted, Kentucky was the champion. Congratulations to the Wildcats for a great season. So how did you bracket work out? Although Missouri hurt, I managed to get three of my final four correct. I think I might have taken the brass ring in the Gab bracket. I will split my winnings with everyone that comments on my blog today!

Did you happen to read about the guy that was shot during the celebration in Lexington? How does it happen that you would take a gun to celebrate your team winning? Apparently, 31 year old Harold Calloway and friends exchanged words with "fans" on the sidewalk. When Calloway exited the car to further discuss the celebration, he was shot in the foot. You would think that was not such a bad thing, right? Turns out that Calloway's foot was so badly damaged that doctors had to amputate his foot. Wow, it is hard to imagine that things could get much worse for Calloway, right? Wrong...Calloway has outstanding warrants on drug related charges in Indiana and will be extradited once he recovers. That is a really bad week...

Congratulations must be given to the Lady Bears from Baylor for outlasting the ladies from Notre Dame. If truth be told, this game was determined by the tallest player on the court. 6'8" is a truly a big advantage in the women's game. But, when you cap off an undefeated season with a championship, it is time to celebrate. I will bet money that there will be no shootings in Waco. Have you ever been to Waco? It is the smallest big town I have ever visited. I guess for celebrations; that is a good thing.

April also brings a golf tournament that I will actually watch. The Masters is this weekend and I will be watching. I am not sure why Augusta National resonates so strongly with me, but it does. I suspect because this is a major tournament that is played on the same course each year has something to do with my attraction. After visiting Atlanta last year, I can tell you that it is just a beautifully green in person as it is on TV. There is a tradition about Augusta that rivals anything that Europe has to offer. Bobby Jones and friends did a remarkable job creating this course and establishing the tournament as a player and fan favorite.

For some, last weekend's win by Tiger Woods was ignored. I promise you that the players understand what the win represented...Woods is getting close with his new swing. This will be the third time that Tiger has reinvented himself and if my hunch is correct, he is preparing to remind the world just how damn good he is. Like him or not, when he is done, you will have to acknowledge that you have seen the best. For millions of viewers, this will be the reason that they tune in this weekend; is Tiger back? A few years back the bet was do you take Tiger or the field? My money is on Tiger this week. In fact, it would not surprise me at all to seem him take the slam this year. Of course, he needs to win this week first.

It is no secret that Ryan Leaf is the poster child for the biggest of all time NFL busts. This is old news. I have read in the past few years that Leaf had turned his life around. He wrote a book about his time at Washington State and things appeared good for Leaf. This week, the ugly truth was revealed. Ryan Leaf's life decisions are no better than his NFL decisions. Arrested on March 31st for burglary, he made the statement that he was "not going to make excuses, but use the experience to move forward with his life." So much for that...Leaf was arrested two days later for again stealing prescription drugs from a residence. What in the Nate Newton was Leaf thinking? Failing on the football field is sad. Failing in life is tragic. Obviously, Leaf has an addiction to oxycodone or whatever pain killers he is able to find. There is no doubt that Leaf is in trouble. It is also certain that Leaf faces a long stretch of prison time. The forced entry charges he faces are serious, not to mention the probation in West Texas that will undoubtedly be revoked. Nate Newton said prison saved his life, hopefully Leaf will be able to say the same sometime in the future. I do wonder though...does everyone in Montana use pain killers? Did Leaf hang out at Walgreens and follow the folks home? Strange deal...

Did you buy any mega millions lottery tickets last week? Did you really want to win? Chris Singleton did...so, he bought $10,000 worth of tickets. The Washington Wizards rookie has no regrets for forking over the money for the potential pay out. As he shared with his followers on Twitter: He felt he made a wise investment, even though he didn't win. "[It was either] that or blow it in the club," Singleton said. Chris, to each his own, but spending $10,000 on lottery tickets does not qualify as an investment in my book. Best of luck with that strategy. I have a hunch that you will be where Dennis Rodman is now in a few years.

I was never a great test taker, but I suspect that I could beat a 4 on a Wonderlic test. Vince Young got a 6. Terry Bradshaw got a 13. Former LSU's cornerback Morris Claiborne got a 4. Much will be made about this low score, but I have a question. How is the test score on a confidential test made public? There is something seriously wrong with not only leaking the information, but reporting the information once it is leaked. How is it that the media is allowed to report this? One day, an athlete will hire a good attorney and sue the hell out of a bunch of people and I will sit back and laugh.

Baseball season starts for real today. Hell yeah! I am ready for this season to kick off...I have been pondering my picks and I am leaning toward a Rangers vs Giants in the WS...There will be many surprises this year, maybe your team will be the big surprise? Play ball...

Things have picked up for Westwood baseball. We won again Tuesday night 6 to 5. We have now won 4 straight. In the bottom of the 7th in a tie game, Westwood led off the inning with a base hit to left field. Our three hitter walked and Blake drove a solid single by the third baseman for the game winner. Westwood 6 McNeil 5. It was a tough win as I have coached half of the kids on the McNeil team. We have a double header with them at Dell Diamond Thursday and I am sure that they will be anxious for some pay back. If Westwood can take one of two, we have a pretty fair shot to make the playoffs, something we have not done in forever..

That is all I have for today, but I will leave you with a bit of Jack Handey to take with you

...

"If I ever become a mummy, I'm going to have it so when somebody opens my lid, a boxing glove on a spring shoots out."

"I hope they never find out that lightning has a lot of vitamins in it, because do you hide from it or not?"

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a few deep thoughts of your own...