Spring can't get here fast enough!

I am so done with winter. I am tired of being cold. I am tired of the rain and dreary days. I hate that I am cold in my own house even with the heat up. I just want it to be warm and sunny everyday. Yesterday was awesome! It was sunny and 70. I got out for a run and it felt great to feel the warm breeze, instead of cold air hitting my face. The dog spent the whole day outside and was loving her nap in the sun! Unfortunately, it is supposed to snow tonight.

I think we are all ready for a change in the weather.

For my friends with labs...

This is so true!

We have snow!!

It is hard to believe, but we had the first actual snow of the winter season! A whole 2 inches fell during the night last night and it truly is the first accumulation we have seen this winter. We have had flurries and had a bit of ice one day, but that is about it except for some colder temps! While I am counting down the days until spring, Lucy has been out enjoying the white stuff.

Christan's Sports Update

Not much has been going on in the Royer household. We have been too busy with work to do anything else! But, lots has been happening in the sports world.

Things are not looking good for IU yet again. The university's review of Sampson's rules violations will be complete by Friday, so we should know more then. It is possible that Sampson will not be the coach of the Hoosiers for Saturday's game. Now DJ White, one of the top two players on the team, has a sprained knee and will probably not play tomorrow in the big game against Purdue.

Today was the first day of Spring Training for baseball! Go Cubs! This year is the 100th anniversary of the last time the Cubs won the World Series. So, hopefully Dempster's post seasons predictions come true this year. I am getting my Zambrano jersey ready for opening day. I'm still working on convincing Todd that we should be in attendance at Wrigley for Opening Day!

Illinois lost to Penn State this past weekend by one point. Ugh! We have tickets to the Big Ten Tourney this year and I am hoping Illinois turn it around this last few weeks of the season and get a decent seed in the tournament. We'll see. Come on Illini!

Clean or Dirty?

So, the headlines here in Bloomington, Indiana do not favor IU Athletics this week. Check them out:

1. Monday 2/11: 5 Football players arrested in three separate incidents
2. Tuesday 2/12: Aj Ratliff leaves IU Basketball
3. Wednesday 2/13: Sampson accused of NCAA Violations
4. Thursday 2/14: More on Sampson NCAA Violations

I can't saw much, but maybe I told you so! I think most of the sentiment around here is that IU should fire Sampscum (thanks to my friend Tracy for that hilarious reference). I think they will wait until the ruling from the NCAA Infractions Committee in June, but it should make for an interesting summer around here. Some fans want Bobby Knight back and others just want a clean program with good recruits.

I'm posting the following for my Illini friends. The local newspaper, The Herald-Times (www.heraldtimesonline.com), has an online sports chat each week. Of course, today's chat mainly focused around the basketball team and Sampson's NCAA violations. I found this question from the online transcript to be most entertaining!

"QUESTION: Painter looks established at Purdue and IU could be looking at a third coach since Knight left Bloomington. IF we get more sanctions, just how rough a time is a potential new coach going to have?
Fred, Bradley, SC

CHRIS KORMAN: Fred,
Rick Greenspan could run to Kelvin Sampson's house right now, pick him up and carry him to the state line (the Illinois boarder would probably be a friendly place to leave him) and there still wold be no way that Indiana escapes this whole thing with sanctions that inhibit future coaches and teams. The NCAA will punish the school for hiring a coach with a shady past and failing to watch over him. (If, of course, it decides Sampson acted the way its letter of allegations says he did.)

At the very least, I expect the recruiting restrictions to continue and possibly become more severe. It wouldn't surprise anyone to see Indiana loose another scholarship. As for what else might happen, I hesitate to speculate.

There's also going to be some level of stigma attached to the program moving forward that will make it difficult for the Hoosiers to snatch players from Duke/North Carolina/Purdue and what not. "

Go Illini!

Frosty Paws

I was grocery shopping at the local Marsh Supermarket last weekend when I came across a box of Frosty Paws. I was in the ice cream section purchasing our favorite bad habit when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. Yes, a box of frozen treats for dogs was in the freezer case right next to my beloved Edy's Loaded Butterfinger ice cream. I couldn't resist purchasing the box of four frozen, nutricious snacks for dogs. I knew Lucy would be in heaven. Turns out I was right, as evidenced by the initial treat she had. You can see her licking like crazy in the photos we took. For anyone interested in finding Frosty Paws near you, you can check out their website at http://www.frostypawstreats.com/frostypaws/default.aspx. While you are there, upload a photo of your pet eating these crazy treats to win a year's supply for free. We'll be entering Lucy - a year's supply for free would rock!

Rained...err...Poured On!

Last night it was still warm when I got home from work. So, I decided to go for a run. I checked the radar and the rain seemed to be several hours off, so I put on my shoes and took off. Well, about 1.5 miles into my 3.5 mile run, it started down pouring out of no where. It was not a slight rain that built up to a downpour. No, it was a full on drenching rain with no warning. It only lasted for about 90 seconds before it trickled off to nothing. But, 90 seconds was all it took to completely soak my clothes, socks, and shoes. I was running in my neighborhood, so I could have gone home to change. However, I decided to finish the run - squishy shoes and all. (This is a bad eating week with too many lunches and dinners out for work and IU-related events and this was one of my few opportunities to burn any calories this week.) So, I kept running and peeled my clothes off at home when I was finished. Overall, it wasn't bad that I was drenched. A little water never melted anyone, but we'll have to see if it melted my mp3 player. It was exposed to the elements and I am still drying it out! Yikes!!