Sunday, February 04, 2001

February 01

Good Day from Cincinnati,

I am sitting down and resting after a long weekend of televised sport contests, including watching the Governor of Minnesota, Jesse Ventura, act like a fool as a commentator for an XFL game. Guess I was a fool for watching.

It is quite hard to believe that the month of January is gone. Spring is right around the corner, or so the stores here in Cincinnati tell us. Most of the stores have packed up the coats, sweaters and gloves to make room for the new line of shorts, t-shirts and Reds baseball jerseys. No doubt we will get a foot of snow next month.

After only five months on the job, Stacy got a promotion and a raise at the University of Cincinnati Foundation. She is now the Foundation's promotions manager. Her duties have expanded, and she is taking the office by storm!

My studies are going well at Xavier. My research and statistics class is a boat full of fun, including the extensive research/theory paper I have to complete by April. My marketing class is very awesome. Xavier's assistant athletic director for external affairs teaches the class and he knows his stuff. He is originally from NYC, and he has a great wit about him. My event marketing and management class has been a pleasant surprise. I thought it would be simple, but it is well structured, and I will learn a great deal from it.

The basketball scene at Xavier is going well, too. The Xavier women's team is ranked 15th in the country, and the men are coming off two ESPN2 televised wins. The men are 17-3 and in first place in the Atlantic 10 conference. Every men's game is sold out this year with 10,250 fans in attendance.

Stacy and I went to last Tuesday's XU men's game versus Dayton. Dayton is a big rival game, as they are only 35 miles north of Cincinnati. The game was on ESPN2 at 9:30pm. It was late getting home, but it was worth it. We cheered our throats out as the Musketeers went on a 12-point run, including four dunks, to win the game.

I just caught some big news on the radio - Xavier is ranked 24th in the Associated Press poll announced today!

One place you have got to visit if you ever come up I-75 is the United States Air Force museum in Dayton. I had heard it was there, but I never realized it how significant it is.

Stacy and I drove the 45 minutes and took on the museum. First of all, it is free. The main museum is in three large hangers. The first hanger portrays the beginning of flight, WWI and into Pearl Harbor. The second hanger includes WWII and the beginning of space flight. There is one of each plane that was ever designed by the Air Force, Army or Navy hanging from the rafters or incorporated in exhibits, as well as many space modules.

The third hanger is the largest. It includes modern flight. There are 50 planes in this hanger, including the F-117 stealth bomber and the SR-71 Blackbird. It is quite a sight to see all these planes together.

There are more hangers about a half-mile away on the base, but we did not have time to go there. One of the other hangers houses the Air Force One that carried JFK! I cannot wait to go back and see that.

All in all, the USAF museum was better, cleaner and not as packed as the Smithsonian Air and Space museum in D.C. I cannot urge you enough to come see this if you ever get a chance.

Stacy and I are headed to Chattanooga on Wednesday, February 7. We will be there through the weekend. Stacy's sister, Meghan, is getting married in UTC's Patten Chapel on Saturday afternoon. We are excited to celebrate this occasion as well as get a chance to spend time with friends and family while we are in Chattanooga for five days.

I am also going to take in my first Mocs basketball game of the year on Saturday night. It will be nice to catch a game before the season is over.

Well, enough for now. I hope you are doing well and your life is healthy.