Dirty?

(Bryon on the left, Jason on the right)

So, talking to my brother tonight, he brought up a situation from his slow pitch game last night...

Here it is, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this...

Last night, my brother's co-ed slow pitch team (East Forks Trucking), the second-best team was playing the top team in the Ceylon League, H&D.

Trailing 8-3, and with Bryon on the mound and a runner first and one out, the gal at the plate hits a top fly in front of the mound.

Bryon, thinking head's up, yells to Jason Ulrich (both Bryon and Jason are second-generation slow-pitch players), jay-jay, two two... Bryon let's the ball drop, throws it to Jason who touches second and relays the ball Darci at first for the double play to end the inning (the hitter never even left the box, assuming it was going to be an out). the other team goes ballistic, calling it a dirty play... One of them yell's at the umpire "That should have been an infield fly," to which Bryon replies "Know the Bleepin rules," and chirping ensues, they call East Forks a bunch of dirty players, blah blah blah...

Bryon ends up hitting two bombs and East Forks comes back to win 13-12. SO tell me this, is the play dirty?

I don't think so, and here is my reasoning... They're playing the top team in the league, who don't get their by luck, so, they should know to run out every play. Secondly, it's not as if Byron's team was winning 10-2 when it happened, they were down and you gotta get outs right? Finally (or D) although i don't know this for sure, but I'm sure regular season record as an effect on tournament seeding, so that being said, a win against the top-ranked team in the league will give Bry's squad a tie breaker in the end.

I've emailed fellow SID friends for their opinion and will post them below... Please leave your opinion in the comments section too...

Josh Deer, SID Concordia-St. Paul : No, hustle down the line.. I run out everything in softball, figure it out.

Paul Allan, Assistant AD/Director of Athletic Communications, Minnesota State University: Correct me if I'm wrong here. BUT THIS IS SLOW PITCH! I thought it was a great play...and likely would have told the guy who hit the ball that maybe he should have been running.

Craig Roberts, BSM High School SID: Not a dirty play but the umpire apparently screwed the pooch on the play. Per USSSA Slow Pitch rules:

Rule 9: Ball in Play and Ball Dead

Sec. 3. THE BALL IS DEAD AND NOT IN PLAY:

K. Intentionally dropped fair fly ball or line drive, by an Infielder (See 7-2H)

Rule 7. BATTING

Sec. 2. THE BATTER IS OUT IF:

H. He hits a fair fly ball or line drive that an infielder intentionally drops, with a runner on first, runner on first and second, first, second and third or on first and third with less than two outs. NOTE: A trapped ball that hits the ground is never ruled intentionally dropped.

Josh Deer, CSP, Response #2: I agree with PA - run it out, especially if it is 1 vs. 2 in the league.

Since I have little power (1 career blast), I run my ass of on everything, case and point, I hit a lazy liner opposite field just to my right of the second baseman, and it kind of just slowly bounced to the right fielder. He booted it somehow, and since I was in a dead sprint, I saw this happen as I rounded first and never slowed down, reaching third on the play.

Maybe if this guy or gal at the plate would have had even a little bit of hustle, she'd have kept things going and they would have scored the necessary amount of runs to put the game away. Every run counts, and the little things can add up to that extra run!!!

Shane Drahota, former MSU Asst. SID/USD Asst. AD/SID, Current MSU Director of Compliance and Student Services: My opinion...it's not a dirty play, but it is a little Bush League. I certainly appreciate the heads-upiness (yep, I coined that) of the younger Nelsen, and it is likely something I would have done were I in that situation, I would have probably erupted if I were the other team
as well and called him not nice names.

I am going to point out that far, FAR too much time has been spent discussing a slow-pitch softball game that none of us were within 60 miles of when it was played. As a form of revenge, expect an "Opinion Needed" from the Jackson Golf Club Championship in August as there is
almost always controversy surrounding that event.

Matt Magers, Former Chicago Cubs Draft pick, Current MSU Baseball Coach: It's a great play. The guy (on the other team) was probably pissed his wife got out...Don't take your personal problems to the field...

Nick Ferentz, Lawyer (owner of Frentz and Frentz Law Firm, 345-4505, played college ball at Mcalaster), No it's not dirty, she should have been running.

My Bachelor Party...

Hey everyone-

Hope those who are fathers had a great weekend and I hope those who have fathers made sure they told them they appreciated them.

I, myself, had a great weekend. It started Friday afternoon when i left work at noon for an eye-doctor before coming home to do some yard work. After weeding the new grass I planted a few weeks ago, I mowed, planted some new grass around a tree, watered and then started the coals for some steaks. (we got a 1/4 of a steer from Curt and grilled our first pack of Ribeyes...it was the best).

After sipping on a couple of summer shandy's over the coals and our meal, Lisa and I decided we should go to New Ulm to return some stuff to K-Mart, after K-Mart wouldn't accept our return, we took the long way home and stopped at Curt and Julie's for a bit. I greatly enjoyed the ride, it was a beautiful night and I could "scout the crops" on our way after the rains that happened last week...Some pretty big wet spots, but hopefully today's winds and a favorable forecast this week will help dry out the fields so the fellas can go in and spray.

Saturday was my bachelor party and it was a blast... The day started with the Ringsted portion of the crew meeting at our house around 10 am and going to Canterbury. After watching the guys bet on some cards (i only played cards for about 10 minutes, I wanted to play money on the ponies) we went upstairs for lunch and then settled in for the races.

I played a horse here or there and was suddenly down to my last ten bucks before my buddy and horse guru, Denny Wheller pointed me towards a horse, LemonLime... After the big win (which paid me 38 bucks, bringing me back to even for the day), I ended up losing twenty bucks and finished the day down 20, which in my mind, for the entertainment value was a pretty good deal.

We got back to Mankato around six and went to the Moondogs game and sat on the Dogpound. It's basically all you can eat food, on top of two free beers and dollar beers after that, and it was a good time. At one point, when there was about a good 15-20 of us behind the third-base dugout, none of us where watching the game and had formed a big circle and started talking and telling stories.

After the game, which the Moondogs won, we went down to Blue Bricks where we continued the festivities. I called it a night around one, and my brother Bryon and I were the first to leave,

but it was a great time.

After getting up today - and questioning why I drank so much the night before - Lisa and I got ready and went to Gaylord to celebrate fathers day with Lisa's family. I being the guy who loves to grill, stood over the grill and got burgers and 'dogs ready while we broke down the night before. After a great lunch, I had a nice nap during the end of the Twins game before waking up talking with the family. We got in the car around 6:30 and came back to Mankato, which segues into my topic of discussion...

We literally got back to 'Kato in the nick of time. I popped myself down in my chair and turned on KARE 11 to hopefully catch the last few holes of the US Open...Little did I know, that Tiger

Woods, who was playing in the final pairing, was on the 18th hole, with about a 12-15 put for birdie to force an 18-hole playoff tomorrow. Then, we turned on the basketball game and watched Paul Pierce go off for 21 in the first half, including a three-pointer in the final seconds of the first half to cut the LA lead to 55-52 at the break.

Now, as I type this, Pierce has gotten in a little foul trouble, and the Lakers are up six in the waning moments of the first half, but he's had a helluva series and has to be the MVP, should Boston hold on to win. Without a doubt, Tiger Woods is the tougher of the two athletes, however Paul Pierce has really made me appreciate his game this week.

On the wedding front, OMG (that's Oh My God) for those of you don't know, we're down to 40 days before the big day... Getting pretty exciting, on our way back from Gaylord today, we mad

e a list of what we wanted to accomplish this week.

Photos: The Ringsted crew, Colin Bonnicksen, Bryon Nelsen (my brother), myself, Dennis Nelsen (my dad) and Arnie Twait (my uncle).

Ryan Kahle (future brother-in-law) and myself

Paul Allan, some gal from a bachelorette party and myself

Nathan Christensen, Myself and Cory Christensen, the other part of the Ringsted crew

Myself and Dan Rickbeil (and his daughter)

Barack and Roll

Hey all...Real quick before we head to bed... Lisa and I went to see Barack Obama tonight at the X...Pretty much amazing...Here are some of the photos..

Showers and Flowers Galore

Hey everyone.... it's been a while since I posted (I know, some of you have been checking daily to see if there are new posts, and there is not so I digress).

Was a busy weekend at the Kahle (soon-to-be) Nelsen household. Friday night (or as I like to call it, my birthday eve), we met Lisa's parents and sister (Lindsey) at Jonny B's (home of our reception supper) for a bite to eat and then came back to our place and relaxed.

Saturday morning began at 5:30 as we were to be in Ringsted by 9:15 for the start of our shower. Lisa's parents (her dad came with to so he could kick it with my dad), sister's (and sister-in-love Becky) and G'ma Uecker came with and we headed down to God's Country. We got there and dropped Curt off with my dad so they could drive around and look at the dirt in the fields while the rest of us attended our shower.

The shower was good and we got a lot of nice things which made it even better. After the cars were packed, we sent Robyn, Becky and Lindsey back with a load and we stayed at my parents for a bit and had lunch. Some friends of ours, Jason and Betsey, along with their daughter Ella, stopped by and had lunch to so that was nice to catch up. After lunch, we stopped out at the farm to see Grandma and Grandpa Nelsen before heading back to Mankato.

Once returning to Mankato, we unpacked (which stinks) all of our stuff and got everything as situated as possible. After a few drunk calls from Lisa's siblings, we decided to head home and hang out with them in Ryan and Becky's garage. It was a good time, and we stopped at Taco Bell so I could have my birthday supper on the way.

We got there and played a few games of Polish Golf and caught up before heading back to

Mankato.

This morning we slept in till 9:30 (that never used to be sleeping in back in the day, I don't know what's happening to us) and then finished putting stuff away. My parents came up around 1:15 and took us out to lunch and then we went to Menards and used a nice gift certificate that we had gotten for the wedding. We bought a Sheppard's Hook (for our new bird feeder), two pots, a garden rake, grass seed, potting soil, a hose, a hose gun, and a variety of flowers.

One quick side note, my mother, god-bless her sole, loves flowers... At Menards there was a trash can filled full with waving pansies. Mother said they were perfectly good flowers, so she talked to the associate there and got six flats of them for 5 bucks. And then donated them to our cause.

So we got home, dad helped me plant the grass quick and I watered it while Lisa pulled weeds and mom looked at our shower cards. Mom and dad left and Lisa planted our flowers before we retired for the night. They look nice and hopefully they will look good all summer and hopefully the neighbor kids will stay off our grass.

So, here is what the flowers look like...Lisa did such a good job didn't she?

This is where i planted the grass seed

These are the flowers that were saved from the dumpster...I just hope I don't have to put them there in a week.

What A Great Week (& End)

Last week could go down as one of the all-time best.

I took Monday and Tuesday off to relax after being gone for eight of the last nine days and to celebrate the end of my athletic season at MSU.

Monday was great... Mowed the yard, went and got our invites figured out with our printer, ran some errands, fertilized my yard, planted some green peppers, went for a walk down the Red Jacket Trail and ended the night by grilling some chicken.

Tuesday I got up, went for a walk and then ran a bunch of errands (which included getting our wedding invites) before coming home for lunch with Lisa...After that, we went and got our marriage licence and then I came home pulled bushes out of yard (six in front of the house and three in front of the garage...)

It was back to work on Wednesday, but I really wouldn't call it much work...Our baseball team qualified for the national tournament so i went into work for about six hours Wednesday thru Friday to man the phones.

Friday night, Lisa and I went out for supper at the Tav and then came home and watched the Kingdom on DVD (we're big fans of Netflix...highly recommended)...Saturday was a busy day as we got up, went to Target to get a fire pit and then Shopko...After dropping Lisa off at home, I went to watch the Mankato East baseball team play (my boss's eldest son got called up to varsity) and then came home and went for a walk/jog.

Saturday night, we had some friends over and broke in the fire pit with my buddy Nathan and Alex as well as our neighbors who are kiddy corner from us...They are around our age and have been married a year and seem pretty cool, so that's exciting. We sat around the fire, drank some margarita's and beer and come 11:30, we figured it'd be a good idea to call and get some Gary's Pizza. I've never hard Gary's sober, but with a few cocktails in you, it's the closest thing to heaven on earth.

Sunday we went to church at 9:30 (so mad we got up that early) then ran to Wally World to get a few groceries, came home and cut coupons before going for a nice walk down to Sibley Park (a hidden gem in Mankato) before coming home and mowing yard once again. Last night, my cousin Morgan who goes to Gustavus and her boyfriend Brad came down and we grilled burgers.

So, last night as we were watching the Academy of Country Music Awards, I looked at Lisa and said "this was a great weekend" and it really was...it was the first weekend in a long, long time where we had absolutely nothing on the agenda and absolutely nothing interrupted our time together. It was great being with her because I'm gone so much...

Anyway, really not much else is new in the world of ScottnLisa...

However, with it being May Sweeps, I'd love to discuss a few of my favorite TV shows...

The Office: Great finale..The Kevin subplot was brilliant, and I can't believe the end with Dwight and Angela. I'm ready for Jim and Pam to get engaged already and pretty shocked about what happened with Ryan.

ER: My guess is Dr. Pratt was in the ambulance, however I'm usually wrong with these things. It was a great show, and the Steve Buscemi was really good on the show.

The Big Bang Theory: I'm really not into this show big time, however it's right before one of my favorite show's on TV, but tonight's show was decent...it's getting better

How I Met Your Mother: I love the way Jason Segel plays the character Marshall Eriksen. I'm also not the biggest fan of Neil Patrick Harris but he is dynamite in the show. Tonight's season finale was good...I highly recommend catching the the season this summer when it's re-running on CBS...And I never saw that ending coming

Final note: The Mavericks of Minnesota State won the 2008 NCC Cup...May not sound like a big deal but it's the fourth straight year that we have won the award (our men won the men's title for the fourth time as well and the women won the women's title for the first time since 1996). This is truly an honor that the entire athletic department should be proud of as it measures the success of all your sports not just one. Nationally we rank second in the Director's Cup race (which measures basically the same thing, just on a nation-wide scale) which would be our highest finish in school history.

I'm a little biased, but I do believe that MSU athletics is still an underrated commodity in this area. It's cheap, exciting entertainment and the way that this season has gone, if you go to a game, there's a better than 70% chance that you'll see the home team win. Seriously, if anyone would ever want tickets next season, let me know, I'd love to get you to a game.

So there you have it, you're probably bored out of your mind, but thanks for reading...

I'm Back...

Rumour has it that people have missed my witty and smart alecky posts...(Pause while i pat myself on the back).

I just got back from a road trip that put me at our house for just one day over the last nine. I spent the first three days (May 2-4) of the trip in Duluth with the softball team and was there until Sunday...Then I got home at midnight, went to work, then had a date with my fiance before grabbing a plane and flying to Kansas City for a softball tournament from Tuesday-Saturday. It was a double elimination tournament so we got rained out on wednesday, lost thursday won two games friday, won one game saturday and then lost our last game saturday. We made it to the airport by a mere seven minutes before our seven o'clock flight saturday and made it home around 11 o'clock last night... hotels, and eating out every day gets old and living in Emporia for four nights and five days isn't that great.

But i loved getting home last night... Lisa was awake when i got home and its never felt so good to get hugged! We slept in today and then went back to Gaylord to celebrate mothers day and robyns birthday at the Prairie House. Then we were home for an hour and drove to Fairmont to have supper for with my grandma, uncle, mom, dad and brother...165 miles on the car today, but it was worth it.

Anyway, sorry for the rather boring post... happy mothers day everyone you are appreciated.

Scott n Lisa

Priced To Sell...

Little bit of a whirlwind evening tonight for Lisa and I...

Between moving in together and joining all of our stuff and two weddings showers, we have accumulated a bunch of stuff that we no longer need/want. I wanted to toss it... My future mother in-law claimed it would sell at a garage sale.

So, last Saturday afternoon, we priced everything (and trust me, it's priced to sell) and took it back to Lisa's Aunt Connie's house. After some discussion, we chose tonight to take it back to Gaylord because I leave for Duluth for a softball tournament this weekend for MSU.

It's a multi-family garage sale, so there is a lot of "stuff" stuffed into this garage. We left after about an hour and I'm rather positive that more stuff was placed in the garage after our departure. Anyway, the whole garage-sale phenomenon; baffles me (nothing against those who garage sale)...When thinking about it, wouldn't a person be better off , itemizing the stuff you want to sell cheap and give them to the Salvation Army or Goodwill and getting the tax break from it? Oh well, to each their own... All I have to say, is that I hope that whatever doesn't sell, doesn't make it back to our place.

It was great however getting to see a lot of Lisa's family. I've meet everyone now, but it's always good to get together and get to know them better...the faster they learn my sarcasm, the faster we'll get along :)

It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed driving through the country to see the tractors and planters playing in the mud. This time of year is one of my favorites, along with the fall, because I love driving through the country and watching people farm. (You can take the kid out of Iowa but you can't take Iowa out of the kid). I'm sure my old man gets tired of me calling him twice a day to get updates on how the planting is going, but it's how i stay in touch...Now i got my future father-in-law that I can call to, which is nice.

Speaking of Curt, when we stopped by the Kahle residence he showed me his unexpected new arrival on the farm (one of his heifers had a baby calf, much to the surprise of Curt, and I probably assume the heifer as well)... I love being in the barn... I miss the farm.

Oh well, there you have it lots of rambling, but in all it was a great day... Got to spend some time with the sweetie, see the future in-laws and had supper at EJ's.