Wide Right Hall of Fame – Inaugural Class

So I thought about doing this for a while, and did it back like a long time ago when no one ever looked at a website hardly or blog.  Figured I’d revive it here, the Wide Right Hall of Fame.  Something I’d probably do every quarter or 3 times a year.  Some of the options I may create a poll as to who/what gets to get more interaction and stuff of the blog.  I’ll probably also stick to a Place, Movie, Song, Person, and an “other”  or 2 that gets in every class.  There’s no plaque or bust or even certificate, just the honor of being in the WIDE RIGHT HALL OF FAME on the internet.  Hope y’all like the idea.

So with that, here is the prestigious and infamous inaugural class.

Wrigley Field -- Shawshank Redemption -- Harry Carey -- Born In The USA -- The General Lee -- Grainbelt

Wrigley Field - One of my 2 favorite places in the world.  I’ve only been there 4 times and have great memories of all the trips (though not all wins)  heck, I got my daughter’s name from the street it sits on (Addison) and when the ivy is in bloom you can’t go wrong with a day game there.

Shawshank Redemption  - Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying….the movie may be 3 hours or so but it hooks me every time I flip past it no matter where it is in the movie. 

Harry Carey – Getting the nod since it is close to the baseball season’s first pitch.  He (and WGN) are the reason I’m a cubs fan.  I remember running home after school during day games so I could see the 7^th inning stretch.  Got to sing it there in Wrigley with Harry twice.  “You know Steve, Alou spelled backwards is Uola….sounds like a first name”

Born in the USA – Harder to pick the song than I thought.  Went with the one that I first remembered singing the words too.  Even dressed up as the Boss to sing it when I was a kid.

The General Lee – My Dream Car!  A ’69 Dodge Charger.  Damn I loved seeing that thing jump a bridge or creek.  The Dukes is probably my all time favorite tv show.  Watched them a lot with my grandma too every Friday night.  My dream is to own one of these too someday.

Grainbelt – It’s the friendly beer!  Introduced to it by my cousin Ryan during Iowa tailgating in 2002 (BIG TEN CHAMPS!) it’s been my beer of choice since then.  My favorite local establishments in Des Moines carry it too and just got a sweet Grainbelt lid from my buddy Scott. 

Who's in your 5? Stadiums

Ok, to steal from SoundOff again. What’s in your 5, favorite ball parks.

Now I haven’t been to a lot of baseball stadiums (only 4, Wrigley – Kaufman – Coors – Old Yankee), so I’m going to go on all ball parks, football and baseball.

I'm sure people who may glance by here have been to more, let me know what your 5 are.


5. Kaufman – nice stadium and heard they made some upgrades. Place a family could go and enjoy a day at the park.


4. Coors Field – pretty cool newer stadium, and had a really fun time there too


3. Ohio Stadium – simply the loudest stadium I’ve ever been too.


2. Wrigley Field – though it’s becoming more expensive of a trip, a game in the bleachers is worth it.


1. Kinnick Stadium – seriously, is there any other?

What’s in your bucket?

Bucket list?

This past Sunday night on WHO’s Soundoff I heard Andy Fales say he crossed the Kentucky Derby off his bucket list this past weekend. That kind of got me thinking. What is on my bucket list? What do I want to see or do before I die? Am I even too young to have a bucket list? Now I know some of the things other’s I’ve heard will have more access to getting to these things than I will so my bucket list would probably not be as “fancy” as the others. Would I have a different bucket list for my sports events than regular life events too? I think that I would have to separate it because sports would dominate more than other life events. And my listing would probably be more realistic things I can do instead of like climbing Mount Everest or riding a horse in the Kentucky Derby.

So here…we…go….

Sports Bucket List:

1 – Iowa Rose Bowl – I’ve got to do my first Iowa bowl, but I want to get to Pasadena sometime when the Hawkeyes are there.


2 – Wrigley Field in October – I’ve been to Wrigley for opening day and in the summer, and the first home game after 9/11, but I want to go to a game there in October, preferably the NLCS or World Series.


3 – All 11 Big Ten Football Stadiums – I’ve been to a few, but want to hit them all. Been to Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, and Minnesota at the dome. Will get Minnesota’s new stadium this year. I’d like to also do all 11 with my son too someday.


4 – Brickyard 400 – It’s the Indianapolis Speedway with the best racing sport. I think the Indy 500 has lost a little luster, and also taking my son there would be AWESOME.


5 – The Masters – Seriously, who wouldn’t want to watch the world’s best in one of the most beautiful places, Augusta National.


And now on to the regular life stuff…..

Life Bucket List:


1 – Go white water rafting – ever since I was young and saw this on TV, I thought it would be a huge rush and be just a blast to do.


2 – Take Shawnna to Italy – I know this is one place she really wants to go to, and I really want it to be a surprise should I be able to pull it off. The history and food and site seeing would blow both our minds I think.


3 – Take the family to Disney World – I want to knock this one off in the next couple years while the kids are still young and loving the princess’s, Mickey Mouse and the Cars characters. Seeing the kids take it in young would be the best.


4 – Go camping and canoeing on the Boundary Waters with Brayden. This will have to be something later down the line, maybe when he’s 10-16. Something a father and son can do.


5 – Go parachuting – again another rush that I think would be awesome, and have heard it is amazing.