The World's Greatest Pumpkin Contest!

Autumn.

It's in the air, in our minds and in our tummy's. It's a great time of year, if not the best. I am not looking forward to snow though. Freaking snow and ice and bad driving conditions and shoveling and scraping your car and cold and snow!

anyway...sorry...autumn...

What's autumn without a good old fashioned pumpkin carving competition?!?

This past weekend we gathered at Casa De Horne (my old house) and we all put our skills to the test. Let's let the pictues do the talkin'.


Gotta love that authentic pumpkin spice!

Dave and Nicole talked a big game but could they deliver??

We all knew Ricky and Bree wouldn't compete for the title but they sure did boost the overall prettiness. (Is that a word?)

Let the designing begin! We wanted to be sure and give the voters something to talk about. I call this one..."Focus."

She's the creative one...I'm the tall one.

Let's take a look at the finished products...


Dave went classic on us with this pretty face. He wanted to be sure and avoid the typical "triangle eye" look. Not bad Dave. Not bad at all.

Jooge, our diva, turned in this excellent likeness of his fastball. It just looks like it wants to be on fire!

Richard and Bree did a great job. Bree won the award for "free spirited" while Ricky won the award for "most liberal." (Sadly this snapshot doesn't show the "Obama" carved into the side.)

Here we are! We went Old School on 'em with the original Jazz Logo! It took much time and effort. When I married her, I did not realize that Amanda was so skilled with a blade. Breathtaking.

There ya have it...The display to end displays!

And the winner is....?

Best time of the year

I want to preface this post with a warning that it will be heavy on text. If you don't enjoy reading witty commentary...sorry. :(

It is the BEST time of year for any sports fan. Football is in full force, Baseball is hitting it's homestretch and basketball is right around the corner. I want to focus this blog on a few pertinent topics in the wonderful world of sports...

Tyler Haws is a senior at Lone Peak High School and the most recruited basketball player in the state. He has led Lone Peak to back to back 5A State championships and plans to win a 3rd this season. He is a great talent and I was able to interview him working for KSL during last years tournament. He has been heavily recruited by Utah, BYU, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, Harvard, Stanford among others. Last week he made his decision and will attend BYU. BYU is a great school and he will be close to home, family and friends. But, how in the world can anybody pass up an all expenses paid education at Stanford?! It's a top 3 institution in the country and when basketball is over, he would've always had that degree to distinguish himself. Furthermore, Stanford is always contending for a National Championship where as BYU hasn't won a tournament game in many years. Well, at least staying home he'll be able find a good girl to marry. :)


It's no secret that I don't care for the sport of Hockey. I do, however, love hockey movies. Mighty Ducks, D2, Miracle...classic. Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio had this to say about hockey..."Hockey is unwatchable. Seriously, who cares? Unless all the players suddenly burst into flames I'm not watching."


Is bowling a sport? Regardless...I went bowling for the first time in many years last week. I set 2 goals for myself going into the game. A.) Get at least 1 strike. 2.) Score over 100. After embarrassing myself on numerous occasions, my last role of the ball was a strike! (My only strike) and that 1 strike made my score exactly...100. Impressed? I knew it.


Back in July I made it known to the world that I was a Phillies fan. I got a lot of negative comments for my choice and many people attempted to sway my decision. I never wavered. Now, the Phillies are the NL East champions and face the Brewers in the NLDS. No bandwagon fans here. Just true fans. Phillies=2008 World Series Champs!


College Football is getting better and better every week. I love it! As a fan living in Utah we all better be rooting for BYU and Utah to go undefeated. If this happens...we will have the greatest football game we could hope for and I'll be there! A few weeks into the season...Alabama has really impressed me. If I had to make a prediction as to who would play for the BCS title...Alabama and Oklahoma will face off in the battle for Maroon!


NFL All-Pro, Carolina Panther and University of Utah Alum, Steve Smith, was suspended the first two weeks of the season. Smith got into a fight with teammate Ken Lucas during practice and ended up punching him the face. The Panthers suspended Smith to show the team that this sort of behavior would not be tolerated. Last week, against the Falcons, Smith scored his first touchdown of the season. After celebrating with his team, Smith took the ball over to the sideline and handed it to Ken Lucas. The memento was well received and then and there, the players mended their relationship. When I heard this story...I was very impressed with both players and think people in general can learn from this situation.


Lastly, I just want everyone to know that NBA training camps are underway and the season is less than a month away! I will be posting much on this topic in another blog. Jazz!

King with a Crown

Everyone has traditions and events that they look forward to. I have several days that get me excited above the rest...The NBA Draft, 1st Golf of the Season, NBA All-Star Game, Super Bowl. But I want to focus this blog on one event in particular...CROWN BURGER DAY!

Manda and I like to eat as healthy as we can and every now and then allow ourselves to splurge! Recently, we recognized the 2nd annual Crown Burger Day! Let's have the pictures tell the story!


We were so excited to go!



There it is!


Doing the deed!

Look at it! Oh yeah! 2 hamburgers w/ ketchup, mustard and lettuce only. 1 garden burger. 1 Large Fry. 1 Onion Rings. 2 Waters. Yumsy!


Every Magic Trick has 3 parts...The Pledge

The Turn

The Prestige


This is the little guy that kept peeking at us every 31 seconds. We caught him in the act!

We were sad that we were leaving. See ya next year Crown! See ya next year!

Pirate Day

The following is a commentary I wrote about Pirate Day! I submitted it to the Utah Chronicle and hope to get it published...

Ahoy, Landlubbers and Sea Dogs! Recite thee chantey and play thine hornpipe because tomorrow is Talk Like a Pirate Day! Blimey! This is no bilge or pillage, so cook up some grub and fill the rum. No need to kiss the gunner's daughter or visit Davy Jones' Locker, but to simply raise your Jolly Roger and have fun.

Talk Like a Pirate Day came to fruition on June 6, 1995, when John Baur and Mark Summers wanted to spice up a game of racquetball. During the game, the two friends began speaking in pirate jargon. "As we flailed away, we called out friendly encouragements to each other...for reasons we still don't understand, we started giving our encouragement in pirate slang," said Baur and Summers on their website talklikeapirate.com. "By the time our hour on the court was over, we realized that lapsing into pirate lingo had made the game more fun and the time pass more quickly. We decided then and there that what the world really needed was a new national holiday, Talk Like a Pirate Day."



They decided the holiday should fall on Sept. 19 of each year because that was Summers' ex-wife's birthday. For 7 years, the event remained a private joke among a few friends until Baur sent an email to Dave Barry, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist from the Miami Herald, and filled him in on the holiday. Barry loved the idea and described Summers and Baur as "visionary" and "revolutionary." Barry decided to back the two friends and become the official national spokesman for the event. In doing so, Barry would reach out to his devout readers by writing an article and promoting the day. http://www.miamiherald.com/283/story/100129.html
"As an influential columnist, I have the power to 'make or break' a national day. You may recall that almost nobody celebrated Thanksgiving until I began writing about it in the 1970s," said Barry.



After the article, Talk Like a Pirate Day blew up and word began spreading all over the world. Internet sites, chat rooms, radio stations and newspapers have grown the infant holiday into a toddler but it needs more nourishment to be a full-fledged holiday.

So, spread the word yo-ho-ho! Make Talk Like a Pirate Day, a day that we can all be proud of and have fun with. Lads and Lassies can be involved. You don't' have to spend a doubloon or a piece of eight to be a part of it, all you need is a voice! For a reference guide to my pirate talk please visit http://www.tide-mark.com/pirate_dict.html.

Fair winds mateys and Godspeed!

Cheers

It's 8:14 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I'm up at this unbelievable hour b/c I must feed my hunger of exercise before I travel down to Provo to see the Cougars beat UCLA 31-24 ( I like predictions). Also...I had what I considered a very funny dream last night and I wanted to share before I forgot the best details.

From what I can remember...this dream was short and sweet, yet memorable.

I was sitting in some sort of lobby with some teenage kids, none of whom did I know. I got a pat on the back. I turned to see who it was...it was Sam Malone from Cheers! We engaged in some witty banter..."Hey aren't you guys seniors this year?", said Sam. We all laughed and nodded. "He's a Senior too!" I shouted as I pointed at Woody from Cheers who was apparently sitting with us. We all had a very big laugh and I specifically remember Woody looking at me and saying..."touche!" It was at this point that I realized that we were with these guys and we were all friends.



"The movie's about to start," said Sam. It was now clear why were there. (You know how sometimes you're struggling to figure out what you are doing in a dream?) We got up and it was then clear to me that we were at Jordon Commons and were there to watch the series finale of Cheers on the big screen. At this point in my dream, I started getting emotional. I didn't want Cheers to go off-air. There was an enormous amount of people there to see the finale and as we were standing in line, I started singing the Cheers theme song to myself. "You wanna be where your troubles are all the same...you wanna be where everybody knows your name!" I started singing louder and louder and added in some clapping and before I knew it...the entire crowd was singing and swaying. It was a very emotional moment and I can actually remember almost laughing.

We walked into the theatre and I woke up. I tried for about 2-3 minutes to "get back" into the dream...as I often find myself doing but to no avail. The dream was gone and I here I sit. :)

Yesterday, I went to Best Buy to look around while on my lunch break and I specifically remember picking up a season of Cheers and thinking..."I want to watch some cheers!" It's funny how things like that can stick in your subconscious and you dream about them!

I hope you enjoyed my little fantasy world and it's my promise to you that this story was no fabrication whatsoever and was actually dreamt in the mind of yours truly.

All ya need is love

My mama gave me this great video recorder for Christmas...it's called a flip! I've documented several pieces of time and would like to share a few. I vow to record more and try to capture the best of the best!


Us expressing our love of cereal


Here, Manda Bear and I show off our creativity, rhythm, timing and flow. We were inspired to create a brand new secret handshake by our Olympian brethren...


We were celebrating my Dad's birthday back in March and I snapped up this great video of my buddy Mr. goo! Just like any Sanchez...pizza makes him dance!


This is a free demonstration on how to swing a golf club effectively and correctly. Dancing before any shot is highly recommended!

NFL Picks

Ok, so I know you've dying to know my picks. Here they are...



AFC EAST- New England
AFC NORTH- Pittsburgh
AFC SOUTH- Jacksonville
AFC West- San Diego

Wild Card- Indianapolis, New York Jets



NFC EAST- Dallas
NFC NORTH- Green Bay
NFC SOUTH- New Orleans
NFC WEST- Seattle

Wild Card- New York Giants, Minnesota

Super Bowl?

New England over New Orleans

I think Tom Brady and the Pats will get their act together and get the job done this year. I know it's not going out on a limb too much but hey...I pick with my brain. As far as the NFC goes...it's a tossup and the Saints have added some key pieces on defense and Reggie Bush is bound to bust out and have a great season. You may also notice I have the Jets making the playoffs...that's no typo. Brett Favre will change that offense and they have a reasonably weak schedule. My sleeper? The Jacksonville Jaguars...they're a great team.

There it is and remember you heard it here first...

So Long Sweet Summer

We stumbled upon you and gratefully basked in your rays
So long sweet summer
We fell into you now you're gracefully falling away
hey thanks, thanks for that summer
it's cold where you're going
I hope that your hearts always warm

To honor summer and give it a proper send off...Amanda and I spent an evening in the park. Equipped with a blanket, a wonderful dinner, music and entertainment...we had all we needed for a great time.




The dinner of choice for any Sanchez!


Gotta love Sugar House Park! We like to call it "Sugar Pie"


Chess in the park...it comes highly recommended.


Manda beat me at chess! The game had been going on for about 5 minutes. Out of nowhere she puts me in check. The funny part is she didn't even realize it. :) As I glanced over the board and tried to get my king safe...I came to the realization that my reign was over and I had been beaten. Well done sweets. well done!



We gave our best Olympic poses...it was unanimous that Manda would have won the gold.


We closed the night off the correct way...with a toast from a Shivers Shake.

Here's to you Summer. Thanks for everything. Be Good. and we'll see you next year. Hello textbooks! :(

Do they take credit cards?

We made our way up to the Usana Amphitheatre last night for the Jack Johnson concert! First of all, whoever decided to put that place so far away...what's your problem? The worst part about it...the last 50 blocks is a one lane street through neighborhoods. Seriously!


We had to pass some time in the car with the bumper to bumperness we had encountered and played many games that may have included "would you rather?" Poor Manda bear wanted food so bad!

We finally made it up there and claimed our tickets. Next, we had the task of finding an empty spot on the grass. I had never been there and was surprised how big the place was and how many people there were. I posed the question to my lovely wife..."How many people do you think are here?" She responded with..."I don't know. 100,000 maybe." She was serious. At this point I helped her judge the size of a crowd by remembering that the Delta Center holds 19,911. We had a good laugh. :) If this priceless statement wasn't enough...the very next exchange of dialogue went like this..."I feel like we're at Woodstock." Manda- "What's Woodstock." I love her so much!! haha!


We nestled into a great spot near the middle of the crowd.

We left for the concert immediately after work and didn't have time to stop for food on the way. So, after we found our spot...Manda Bear stayed and got comfy while I made the trek around the venue in search of food. We weren't sure if any of the food vendors took credit cards, we assumed they would it is 2008 after all, and we only had $5 cash. It was hard to narrow it down to what food I should get for the hungry girl. There was Hamburgers, Hot dogs, fresh buttery popcorn, big pretzels, pizza, smoothies, and enchiladas. As you can see, I was in a pickle. I still didn't know if any of them took credit cards. I saw a sign on the pizza place that read.."cash only." I did not see a similar sign anywhere so I thought I was golden. I got in line and asked a nice gentleman..."Do they take credit cards?" He turned and gave me a look that can only be classified as cold and bitter. I got to the front of the line and was told cash only. I had a decision to make...pretzel or water. ?? I went with the pretzel and had exactly enough cash to get earplugs or aspirin.


After random opening acts and some very good people watching (people are funny, especially when they don't know they're being watched. I didn't mean for that to be creepy)...it was time for the show to begin!

Our good friend Jack spent the evening serenading us with some awesome music! He played some of my personal favs...Bubble Toes, Taylor, Sitting Waiting Wishing and many others. We left a little early to miss the traffic and due to small size of our previous meal had to get food..and fast! I think I heard the word "Wendy's" about 20 times in a 2 minute span. A 5 piece chicken nugget and a yumsy frosty turned my co-pilot into a very pleasant lady.



All in all, it was a great night and I was happy I got to spend time with my honey!

It's Raining in Baltimore

I love The Olympic games. Love.

The Olympics have it all. Athleticism. Drama. Skill. Suspense. Entertainment. Hope. Inspiration. Love. I can go on and on...

Ok, so not only have Amanda and I been glued to our TV every night this week but there have been tears shed. I love how pure The Olympics are and the athletes are competing for the love of the game. They have been training their entire lives for one chance at glory and it's so compelling to watch it every night. I'm not gonna lie...I've been choked up a few times. Seeing someone accomplish something that they have worked so hard for is a great thing.

Last night after the Americans went Gold/Silver in the women's (or little girls) all-around gymnastics final, Amanda looked over at me with a sad puppy dog face and uttered..."I want to be an Olympian..." It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in my whole life. I, of course, burst into laughter and gave her a hug. Speaking of Gymnastics...



Those girls are amazing! I think I'm strong and tough but I can't even do a simple hand stand. I do weigh 3 times as much as they do but still! My buddy Scott Allen actually claimed that he thinks could do a routine on the parallel bars. and he was serious. oh Scott. anyway...It's no secret that gymnasts are athletically special but it's great entertainment and I really am sad that this part of the Olympics is over. oh well...I'll always have the memories.

So, Michael Phelps. There's so much to say about this guy. He has captivated America and has us all scrambling to our TV every time he swims. As of right now at 3:51pm on Friday, August 15 he has 6 gold medals and he's going for his 7th tonight. What's amazing about him, not only is he winning every race but absolutely crushing his opponents. He has 6 golds and 6 world records to go with it. Incredible. But, all of his success has gotten many people discussing where he fits in among the world's greatest athletes. Now, I don't want to get off topic too much but debating how great athletes are is a very difficult task, and I happen to be great at it. If there was an Olympics for that...you know who would win gold! anyway...sorry about that. Michael Phelps now has the record for most gold medals ever by any Olympian. Did that sink in correctly?? Think about how many athletes and events and Olympics there have been and this guy is the greatest Olympian ever! wowzas! But...in my professional opinion his record is a little skewed. He competes in a sport that offers many opportunities to win gold. Most sports only offer 1 chance at gold. If basketball had 10 individual events than Michael Jordan would be considered the greatest Olympian of all time. You see what I'm tryin to say? All that being said...I love watching this guy and will be cheering for him to break every Olympic record! For more info on the greatest athlete of all time please see www.mattwithsports.blogspot.com



My favorite sport is basketball. Olympics or not. Basketball is the cat's pajamas! (My producer at KSL used to say that all the time and I've been waiting to use it!) International Basketball hasn't been too kind to the USA the past 8 years. In fact, they haven't won a significant tournament since the 2000 Sydney games. This year our team has been dubbed the "redeem team" and are trying to bring the gold back where it belongs. Spain and Argentina will be their biggest threat but I have no doubt that we will do it!



Of course there are many more events that are great to watch. Who doesn't love a good beach volleyball match? Seriously. I'm really excited for the next week of the competition. Look at all the amazing story lines thus far and Track & Field hasn't even started yet!

Go USA!