Greetings from Florida!!!

It has been a while since I have blogged. Things had been pretty busy at work and I had been trying to get things done at home in preparation for my vacation to Florida. I've been down here 3 days and the weather has been fantastic! Basically, it's been in the 80's and sunny every day. Huge improvement over the 19 degrees it was in Indiana Thursday morning when I left!

Here are some random thoughts:

• Universal Studios Orlando is just outstanding. Marc, Michelle, and I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. They have a huge pool with a 200-foot slide and it is within easy walking distance of the 2 amusement parks and City Walk, the restaraunt and entertainment district. The pool has a 200 foot slide. Marc went down 40 times over 3 days; I only made it down about 25. At the Islands of Adventure amusement park, we rode the Incredible Hulk roller coaster 5 times and the Dueling Dragons 3 times. By staying at the Hard Rock Hotel we got "front of the line" privileges for the rides. Other than technical difficulties on Dueling Dragons, our longest wait was 15 minutes with a normal wait of about 2-3 minutes. It was like P&G day at King's Island!
• I'll be interested to see where IU ends up seeded. I really have no idea. I thought if IU could have ended up 11-5 in the Big 10 with 1 B10 tourney win that they'd be a 4 or 5 seed. Now I'm guessing a 7?
  
• The Ravens have received very mixed reviews for their free agency moves. Given their cap situation I think they've done well except for 1 thing - they gave up too much for Willis McGahee. I think he will be an upgrade in an area that desperately needed upgrading. But I hate to give up 2 third round picks, especially after we've already given up this year's fourth round pick in the McNair deal.
• I'm not optimistic that Jonathan Ogden will be back. He seems to have lost his drive. The key to success in the NFL is preparation. From a physical standpoint, that comes from the off-season workouts, which can be drudgery. Ogden is a really smart person who has many other interests outside of football. He doesn't need the game. The Ravens really need to find a tackle in the draft. Even if he comes back, next season will be it for him.
• When it comes to the O's, I know I'm bipolar. I'll now revert to my optimistic side. The key to the O's "Quest for 82" are Erik Bedard, Daniel Cabrera, and Adam Loewen. So far in 6 combined starts the 3 of them have given up 1 run (set up by a botched pick-off by Chris Gomez). Marc and I are going to Ft. Myers on Thursday to see them play the Twins. If they keep their current rotation we should see Loewen pitch.