The BEST, MOST INCREDIBLE, AMAZING FEELING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD IS THE TIME I GET TO SPEND WITH MY 4 YEAR OLD NEPHEW

My nephew is an incredible little guy, ever since the day I first saw him I knew how special he was going to be! At the time we found out my younger sister was pregnant it was a shock to all of us. I remember thinking, how can she believe in raising another person when her relationship with her boyfriend was so relatively new. But, they got married at a beautiful venue in front of many friends and family who no matter what supported their decisions. I remember thinking that she wasn't ready to be a mother, she still was my little sister and I had a hard time seeing her as an adult. But she more then proved me wrong and worked as many hours as she could while still making raising my nephew Carson Michael the most important thing. 

Both the young parents put his needs above those of their own and its not hard to see just how much love they share for that special little boy. I can't believe he's going to be 5 in just a few more short months. The years go by so so fast. If anyone out there is listening, please, trust me, no matter what struggle a child may bring, it's the most rewarding and amazing  feeling in the world to hear "i love you uncle josh" while i'm getting a great big hug before he goes back home from his afternoon of fun at his grammie's.

At one point I just couldn't picture what my little sister would be like as a mother.....now, i don't have a doubt in my mind that she has grown into a very responsible, hard working mother of 1, who would do anything in the world to make sure my nephew is a safe, bright happy little man. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at his big smile in the picture by my bed, he's my reason for progress, he's my reason my life has changed for the better. I'm going to get to watch this incredible little boy grow up, and i'm so thankful and lucky to have him in my life....


I hope all of you reading this have someone in your life that brings you as much joy as I get from him...

Vikings- Season 1 Episode 1 "Rites of Passage"

WOW. LET ME SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME, WOW. I want to use the word "graphic" to describe what the opening scene were like but i'm afraid i'm going to have to come up with more terms very shortly unless I just want to repeat myself a lot. Im going to say something like part "Saving private Ryan, part "God of War" but with Axes and Spears.

Mixed in between the heartfelt moments between father/son and mother/daughter there is more bloodshed in the blink of an eye. While in such a situation it was more then deserved, it's still a shock to the system if your unaware of the direction the show seems to be heading. Probably best to send the little ones to bed before cracking that beer and lounging on the couch. And on second thought, if you want to keep the Mrs in a "amenable/giving mood maybe it's best if this is one watched on a day off or a weekend alone.

Without giving too much away, the plot has presented a very interesting beginning and I am absolutely going to move on to the next episode.

Ragnar Lothbrok and his small family are the main characters in the opening episode. He has a wife, brother, son and daughter presumably. To the best of my knowledge so far each year the village leader decides which men go sailing in which direction and for what purpose. Let's just say Ragnar and his men, are having other ideas for where the best bounty can be found....

ESPN

The ESPN empire has exponentially grown over the past say 20-25 years that I have been watching it. My first memory of any sports is growing up the first thing my father and I would do after waking up was to grab cereal, bowl, milk and sit at the kitchen table with a small tv and watch highlights from the day/night before games. From what I remember it was a majority of Baseball, Football and Basketball. The big difference I get watching today is firstly they have several networks such as ESPN deportes for the Hispanic audience, and now they cover everything from the X-games to the golf network. Obviously Tiger Woods is a big reason golf grew in popularity and revenue. Although he has basically dropped off a cliff in his play he still draws a crowd, thankfully for golf fans, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIIroy have stepped up and look to continue to develop a rivalry.

Now with publications like ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com they are looking to continue their growth. I have a problem with this expansion though. Sometimes growth is great and sometimes it spreads you so thin that you don't fully grasp the consequences. For me personally, I can't stand that ESPN.com now has a large number of material and even entire sections in the college category that are only available to view if you are a ESPN The Magazine subscriber. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.

I happen to be a subscriber because I still enjoy reading a magazine, having the feel of it in my hands. But a large majority of the population, especially in today's seemingly bad economy, shouldn't be forced to shell out another $10 to get the full story on the website. It doesn't matter that it's less the $1 an issue. It's the point of it.

 I try to write factual and interesting pieces based on my opinions of articles. Coming from where i'm sitting I just don't think it's right to make portions of a website and conglomerate that make a huge number of profits, off limits to hard working sports fans, spending time supporting your business by reading articles on pages FILLED WITH ADS YOUR BEING PAID TO SHOW.

what do you guys think? should espn eliminate the "pay to play" per se??????