Shocker Cross Country is off to a fast start, Dorf got married and I own a lot of "D" movies

Another week has rolled by and we’re starting to see what kind of team we have this year.

I have to start with our cross country team because they really ran well this weekend at Nebraska.  Obviously I’m not an expert on distance running but I’ve been around a lot of great coaches and athletes in my lifetime.  We’ve had some really good cross country teams at WSU and some really average ones.  It looks like we have a couple of really good ones this year and so far they are undefeated through the first two meets of the fall.

We thought our women’s team would be pretty solid but they appear to be coming around more quickly than we thought.  There’s a good mix of veterans and rookies and you never know how long it will take to mesh.  After easily defeating the likes of Nebraska, Air Force, Northern Iowa, Miami and Northern Colorado this weekend on top of edging Kansas State two weeks ago, I have to imagine they are starting to turn some heads.

Same for the men in terms of turning heads.  It wasn’t as easy but they beat all the same teams this weekend and seem to be coming together very nicely.  Coach Hunter’s teams don’t have any superstars and seem to be working together to prove the preseason MVC rankings of fifth and sixth wrong.

The next meet will be a step up in competition at the University of Arkansas in two weeks.  I’m going to travel over with the team so I’ll be able to see their progress in person.  Good stuff!

As for the rest of the team, it will take a little longer to see what we have although after a few weeks of practice I think we are cautiously optimistic.  We had another good week of practice and the newcomers are starting to look less like newcomers than a few weeks ago.  We’re about midway through our preseason conditioning phase and each week is better than the previous.

In preseason conditioning we have two main goals.  The first is to, obviously, get the team into shape.  Basically we’re trying to get everyone to the point of being able to train specifically for their event in about six weeks.  If they have done a nice job in the summer then this phase is usually fun.  If they haven’t done a good job in the summer then it’s pretty miserable.  Luckily we’ve had a lot of fun so far.

The second part of preseason conditioning is trying to get the team to become more of a “team”.  We purposely have large groups of athletes running, jumping and lifting together so they can get to know each other.  We demand our team come together at championship time but it’s a whole lot easier if they can come together earlier in the year.  It’s very tough because we have over 60 athletes on each team and just getting to know most of your teammates is very time consuming.  So far we’ve mostly just focused on learning to practice together but we’ll have some other team building activities coming up in the last few weeks conditioning.

The newcomers, and especially the freshmen, are always the last to figure out the “team thing”.  They have a lot on their plate when they first get to campus but pretty soon we will be expecting them to get up to the level of their teammates in terms of teamwork and work ethic.

Like I’ve said before, so far so good, but it’s really too early to know what kind of team we have.

Coach Hetzendorf gets married!

For the second time in as many months, one of our coaches got married this weekend.  Our throws coach (and my former teammate at Kent State) John Hetzendorf got married to Amber McGown in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Wichita.  Amber was a terrific distance runner for Cornell and Oregon and we have already decided to recruit their kids.

My job for their wedding was to play certain music before and during the wedding ceremony.  I’m not sure what Amber was thinking putting me in charge but luckily I didn’t mess it up and everything turned out great.  Even the forecast of rain stayed away – I’d say it was a good way to start for the Hetzendorf’s!

Congrats to John and Amber!

“D” Movies

This is the fourth of a 24 part series (if I don’t bore you all to death) where I list movies I own by letter (I don’t have any movies that begin with Q, X or Z but I do have some that start with numbers).  I currently own a small collection of 150 movies (and growing most weeks) on DVD.

Most of the movies I own I had previously seen and enjoyed immensely.  Some are movies that I had not seen but was curious about.  Some were gifts from people with bad tastes in movies.

Here is the list of my 15 “D” movies from best to worst (this is the most movies in any letter I own) …..

Movie Name (year made, length, MPAA rating, IMDB rating, Box office)

Dallas Buyers Club (2013, 117 min, R, 8.0, $55.1m) – You can hardly recognize Matthew McConaughey as a man diagnosed with AIDS in the early 1980’s.  He lost over 50 lbs for this role and the dedication to his craft was as inspirational as anything I’ve ever seen on film.  On top of that this is a great movie about a subject that is sometimes hard to talk about.

Django Unchained (2012, 165 min, R, 8.5, $425m) – Since Pulp Fiction I’ve always been a fan of Quentin Tarantino and this may be his best movie yet.  Brutal and funny with a completely different perspective on the issue of slavery, Django left a significant impression on me.  Jamie Foxx is one talented dude!

Dazed and Confused (1993, 102 min, R, 7.7, $7.9m) – One of Richard Linklater’s first movies and definitely one of his best.  It follows a bunch of high school kids on their last day of school.  It doesn’t really have a lot of drama but it’s a great snapshot of a time in life that is captured very well.  This was Matthew McConaughey’s first movie and what a great creepy guy he played!

Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964, 95 min, PG, 8.5, $9.4m) – One of director Stanley Kubrick’s most well liked movies despite the longest name ever, haha.  It’s a dark comedy about an insane general who tries to start a nuclear war while a bunch of bumbling politicians try to stop it.  The more I watch it the more I like this crazy old movie.

Death Race (2008, 105 min, R, 6.4, $75.6m) – You won’t see a lot of action movies in my collection but I am a Jason Statham fan and I loved the original Death Race 2000 movie (see below).  They did a great job making this movie stylish and funny while keeping it entertaining throughout.  Although it’s not the same story as the original it’s a great new version of the old absurd concept of killing people with your car.

The Departed (2006, 151 min, R, 8.5, $289m) – What’s not to like here?  A great action/drama with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars directed by Martin Scorsese.  I wouldn’t say this movie is the most original movie in the world but its fun and entertaining the whole way.  Jack Nicholson as a bad guy always makes a movie better!

Donnie Darko (2001, 113 min, R, 8.1, $1.2m) – This is a really weird movie where a teenager (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) has visions of a bunny rabbit that makes him commit crimes.  Yes, I said it was a bit weird.  But it’s really a great movie when you sit down and give it a watch.  It is full of emotions and great acting for a movie with such a small budget.

Death Race 2000 (1975, 80 min, R, 6.2, $???) – The plot is ridiculous (a cross country race where you gain points by killing people with you car) and the acting is atrocious (one of Sylvester Stallone’s first movies). But somehow it caught on as a cult classic and luckily I saw it as a kid.  You don’t watch movies like this to comment on its artistic beauty.  You watch it with your buddies and laugh at how ridiculous it is.

Dan in Real Life (2007, 98 min, PG-13, 6.8, $68.3m) – I’m a big Steve Carrel fan and this movie shows off some of his non-comedic talent.  There’s a part where he’s singing “Let my love open the door” with Dane Cook that motivated me to learn how to play a guitar so I could show off to girls.

Don Jon (2013, 90 min, R, 6.7, $30.4m) – Written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this movie takes a completely different perspective on a “love story”.  Even though the subject matter is a bit risqué, I definitely found this movie very entertaining and thought provoking.

Deliverance (1972, 110 min, R, 7.8, $???) – A white water rafting trip that goes to hell is a pretty good summary of this classic starring Burt Reynolds.  This was a very controversial film in the 1970’s and still makes some people uncomfortable viewing it today.  One of the more beautiful scenes, however, is their version of dueling banjos – great stuff!

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988, 110 min, PG, 7.3, $42m) – This is a funny little movie with Michael Caine and Steve Martin who try to continually top each other by being seeing who can be the best con man.  There are some really funny scenes and a twist ending that seems appropriate for the two scoundrels.

The Doors (1991, 140 min, R, 7.2, $34.4m) – A biopic movie of the popular and controversial band The Doors with lead singer Jim Morrison.  It was directed by Oliver Stone so it has a bunch of weird scenes where he tries to be very artsy.  It’s entertaining but a little bit too long.  I like it but I probably would like a documentary of the band just as well.

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982, 88 min, PG, 6.8, $18.1m) – This is an early Steve Martin film that was probably way ahead of it’s time.  It’s a parody of a detective story from the 1940’s or 1950’s where this movie is blended with scenes from older movies and stars like Cagney, Douglas, etc.  It probably needs to be watched more than once to appreciate it.  I’ve only seen it once.

The Da Vinci Code (2006, 149 min, PG-13, 6.5, $758m) – I always thought this was an interesting premise – clues in Da Vinci paintings that lead to religious mysteries that could shake the foundations of Christianity.  Unfortunately it never really connected with me but apparently it did with many others as it made over $700 million worldwide.

Whew that was a lot of movies!  Luckily next week I only have 4 “E” movies.

Go Shocks!