Well it is hump day, and there are a few things on my mind. none of them worthy of a full blog, but added together they should equal one blog.

First of all. I am trying to recover to Kansas' 2 point loss to Missouri. This is a rivalry that actually stems from a war. I hate missouri. I hate losing to them. I don't need to use a lot ofadjectives to describe this rivalry, I will leave at at I HATE MIZZOU. Kansas lost on a last second shot in Columbia, and it was a tough pill to swallow. KU was ranked 16th in the nation MIzzou was 19. That is 3 spots higher if you are terrible at math, yet the Mizzou fans rushed the court. Did i mention i hate MU? Here is my complaint. Only charge the court if you have reason to do so. This was not worthy, but Mizzou fans do have a miserable sports tradition and this win could be considered an overall highlight in the history of the school. KU fans need only look back to last April to see the NCAA title to get this bad taste out of our mouths. Plus Mizzou Comes to Lawrence in a couple weeks, and I am thankful to have tickets to that beat down.

Okay, enough of that, although it felt good to vent

Other going ons. United States beat Mexico in World Cup qualifying. Big win for the States in a great rivalry. I think we could surprise some people in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Too bad not many Americans care

Duke Played North Carolina tonight. This is a great NCAA basketball rivalry, yet i am completely tired of it. Everyone knows it is a good rivalry, but ESPN turns it into the game of the century regardless. I like dick vitale. He isknowledgeable, but i am so sick of him calling this game, and ESPN making this big a deal about it. If you lived in a hole, UNC blew Duke out of the water in Cameron Indoor.

Miguel Tejada got charged and will be sentenced for lying about taking steroids under oath. A-Roid came out earlier this week letting everyone know that not only is he a Yankee, but also a cheater. I hate steroids. I hate the steroid era. Yet, I may hate baseball more. After returning from a strike baseball needed a way to put butts in seats. The had no problem with the 98 home run race reviving baseball, but now they can easily turn their back on what helped bring them back. Again I hate steroids, and feel there is no place for them. At the same time the MLB in general is coming off like the biggest cowards in this case.

Also, does anyone else feel that we have bigger problems the government could be solving than who did steroids in baseball in the last 10 years? Seems kind of ridiculous to me.

Finally. I beat Marble Madness tonight. That has to be the easiest, hardest game ever. When i beat it everything seemed so easy, yet i had never done it before tonight. The game is short and simple, but the levels are well designed, and the game has always been one of my favorites. It tests patience and will. It has always been one of my favorite games for the system. I honestly don't know why there have never been a sequel made for that game. The Wii would be a perfect match for a sequel. I know there are games that kind of feel the same (mercury meltdown revolution to name one) but it just isn't the same.

Okay well this post ended up being much longer than expected and as the cowboy says in the big lebowski - i'm rambling again.

For a relaxing weekend with not much going on this one has been quite entertaining. For the sake of not doing a total weekend round up, I will do a quick top 5 instead - some of which is gaming relatand some of which is not.

5 - I dove back into Super Mario World on the Wii's VC. The goal is to beat the entire game, finding every secret land, and hidden level along the way. I had begun this probably a year ago and then got side trackeand hadn't played it in a long time. I knocked out about 2/3rds of the game this weekend. Reliving memories past and remembering why i think this is the best Mario Game of all time, which in turn would put it in the running for best game of all time in my book.

4 - KU Basketball - The Jayhawks beat Oklahoma State this weekend moving to 8-0 in conference play. A year after winning the national title and losing 80% of last years scoring to the NBA you can't really ask for much more than that. Just proves that big time programs don't often rebuild, they usually just reload. Up next for the hawks is a road game against Mizzou, in the Border War. This is truly a hated rivalry. Afterall not many rivalries actually stem from an actual war. I don't have a good feeling about this road game on national television, but KU has surprised me often recently.

3 - I have put in some time on the Wii Balance Board. I am optimistic of the future for this product after diving into Shaun White Snowboarding for 3 consecutive days. The story is a little juvenile, which is somewhat expected and not a big deal, but the game play especially on the balance board is solid. It is tough, but fair, and the learning curve seems about right. As i have progressed through the game the chanllenges have gotten tougher and my abs have paid the price. Overall i am pleased with the overall game experience in this one to date.

2 - Dinner at the Hereford House. It is about the cream of the crop in terms of steak houses in Kansas City. That is truly saying something because KC has its fair share of good steak houses. I had a 9 oz Filet on Friday that practically melted in my mouth plus a twiced baked potato, salad, bread, carrot cake, the whole deal. It was easily the best meal I have had so far this year, and what is usually about a $75 dinner was on the house as it was covered with xmas gift certificates.

1 - The number one moment of the weekend was the late showing of Coraline in 3D. I went in with high expectations of this movie, and was not disappointed. The movie was unbelievable. It was creepy, the story was entertaining, and the animation was unreal. If you are at all interested in animation go see this movie. You will not be disappointed.

That is about it. There are several other items that fell just short of the list. I played quite a bit of Tiger Woods on the Wii - It is highly addictive and I am befuddled that it took me 2 years to get into the game. It was 75 degrees hearyesterday - that is uncommonly warm for Kansas City in February, but i am not complaining. An old high school buddy is back in town for a few days from North Carolina. We are going out tonight to catch up on old times and drink too many sunday night beers.

All in all it was a great weekend in which nothing was planned, and really nothing special really happened. Just one of those weekends that makes you appreciate life.

It is rather unusual for me to look forward to a weekend of nothingness. This weekend however I am rather looking forward to not having much going on. Instead of a normal weekend of balancing coaching three youth soccer teams with maintaining a relationship and enjoying time with friends and family, this weekend will be spent mostly relaxing.

Don't get me wrong there is plenty to do. Family dinner this evening, two games to coach, a KU basketball game, and I will probably check out Coraline in 3D as I have been excited to see that one for some time now.

For me that is a light weekend. That means that I should have several hours devoted to catching up with a few titles that need some attention. I recently added three games to my Wii collection. One is the before mentioned Coraline – the Game, Shaun White Snowboarding – the Target exclusive, and Rayman Raving Rabbid's TV Party.

Coraline – I bought under circumstances that I rarely do – after reading a negative review. Pretty much every thing I read is correct, yet I continue to play it. Mostly to get a sneak peak of the storyline I think. Probably not one of my finer purchases, but every once in a while it happens.

Shaun White and Rayman TV Party should be solid additions and utilize the Balance Board. If you read my last post you know that I am worried of the future of the Balance Board. My hope is these titles ease some of my concerns.

Regardless for the first time in a long time I should be able to put some time in on the old video game system. Probably a lot of time on the Wii, and knowing my personality a little time on the NES, or SNES as well. Hope everyone else has a relaxing weekend and can get a little video game time in.