Day 197

Feeling a little under the weather here. Not sick, just a little warn down and have bit of a cough going on. It was a long weekend of very little sleep. I was in Lake Geneva for my big client convention. Thursday night was a lot of fun drinking and entertaining the sales force. My boss was actually pretty tame for him, but I liked this version better than the Notre Dame football game last year. So Friday is an all day 8-5:30 booth rotation where the sales force goes from booth to booth to talk to each vendor, like myself. Only the 51 partner vendors are invited. Each rotation is 10 minutes. Since I oversee this particular distribution center myself, I alone had to do all of the presentations. My boss was there, but he wasn't around. So after the morning, they have this vendor awards lunch where they give the vendor of the year award out to the four different categories. Each category has over 100 candidates. When we got to the table, they had a program with the three finalists for each. I was one of the finalists for the paper and disposables category. I was so nervous as I really wanted to win this. I was a really competitive kid. I hated to lose when I played sports. To quote the great Ice Man in Top Gun "There's no points for second place." So when it came to my award, I hear "and the winner is....Todd Dery from Prairie Packaging." I was grinning from ear to ear. I had to walk up on stage and was given this great plaque. Now I had to speak in front of 300 people. I didn't have anything prepared obviously, so I just went with it. I thanked the entire Edward Don organization and sales force for the honor, and then my thoughts went to my father. I essentially said the following: "Close to two years ago, my father was diagnosed with cancer, a month later, he died. He was the ultimate salesman, role model, and confidant to me. Everyone loved him. I know today he would be so proud of me, so I dedicate this award to him." I couldn't have been more excited. I am proudly displaying the award in my office. It is nice to know that my efforts and hard work are appreciated by the sales force of my major account. Also doesn't hurt with scoring points with the bosses at Prairie. I got home Saturday night and had a solid Mexican meal with the Bilsky's at Abuelo's. Melissa is pregnant as well, due a month behind Leah, so its good to have another one of our friends to go through this with. I was so exhausted Saturday night, I crashed at 11:15 and slept 10 hours.

Sunday Morning it was pouring rain. Mom and I were going to be headed down to the Lakefront to watch our pathetic, sad sack, sorry excuse for a football team, play the Denver Broncos. Mom wanted to be a game time decision and I said I will pick her up at 2:45 (4 PM start). So I show up and she is in her robe. I said "well, I guess I know the answer to the question of are you going." I knew that old reliables Kenny and Linda would be there. They love their Browns like no other. I called KD to see if he was still going and he said "why? is there a problem? Back in the 70's, one of those teams with Mike Phipps at QB. We were terrible. It was pouring all day. Out of the 14 seats, only two were filled - me and your father." So I drove down solo and met the two of them and Cousin Bill. At the beginning of the game, the first defensive stand, I was all into it. We stopped the Broncos on a three and out. Of course, we fumble the punt. It only got worse from there. Ladies and Gentlemen, this crap has got to stop. I am at a loss here. We spend our hard earned cash. Waste our valuable time watching the games, reading the articles, listening to sports shows. To continue to put such a pathetic product on the field for such a proud and loyal fan base for this long, is completely unacceptable. From the owner on down to the last man on the team, the Browns are a bunch of losers. Head Coach Romeo Crennel is a nice man, but clearly in way over his head. His blind loyalty to the much maligned offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon is beyond head-scratching. His in game decision making reeks of inexperience. There is very little talent and a ton of injuries. Good thing we burn $77 a ticket for this crap. A fired up, Browns-hating MD had this to say to me on an email last night: It is October 22nd and the season is over yet again. Best move I made was taking them off my radar. Sundays are enjoyable for me without having to worry about that sillyness. They don't care about me or you or mom or Jeremy or Uncle Kenny.. They don't. They didn't care about dad when they fucked us over on the seats...all they care about is changing the end zone to a new "Cleveland" pattern or changing the uniforms so they can rape the fans and make them buy new ones.
I can't say that I disagree with them. I'm just glad my dad isn't around to see this. We may have been better off without them ever coming back - had I known it was going to be this bad. Yet, for some reason, I will be right back down there this Sunday to watch them get abused again. At least Lebron and Kansas basketball both start soon. Those are my two best shots at a title. Speaking of which, I will be writing a weekly college basketball column for The Cleveland Fan website, starting in November. Check back in two weeks for my preseason top 25.

Mark P sent me a great article that everyone should read. It was an op-ed piece Kevin Tillman, the brother of Pat Tillman. For those who don't know, Pat Tillman was a starting safety for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, who voluntarily passed up a lucrative contract extension and instead enlisted in the Army. He and his brother were special forces in Afghanistan and Pat was killed by friendly fire a few years ago. Kevin is angry at this administrations deceit and lies to the citizens of our great country. This is a powerful piece. Enjoy.

Now that it is out there, I would like to congratulate my cousins Susie and Billy on their upcoming second child. Susie is due in April. Their daughter Shayna happens to be one of the all time cutest kids, so we can't wait for #2 to grow up with our son.

Song of the day: "Award Tour" by A Tribe Called Quest