Bad news....... I think anyway.

Well just like any other day I went out to the mailbox after getting home from work. Always looking forward to the next Sports Illustrated. However this time, after sifting through the mail, I found something that was a little unexpected. I was summoned for Jury Duty. Now I have never gone to jury duty before, I just hear all of the stories from other people who have the "luxury" of going.

So immediately I started thinking what an inconvenience this will be, and I started to think about how I will make arrangements. But then after 5 minutes or so, I thought to myself (someone who likes to try everything once) that this could actually be fun. Of course I also pictured myself on some sort of a national level murder case. I am pretty sure that wont be the case, my luck it will be something lackluster.

Not long after accepting the fact that I was going to be participating on jury duty, and actually being rather excited, someone informed me that I still have to call and see if "my group" was going to get called in. What a roller coaster of emotions. I was actually looking forward to seeing what it was like, and now there is still a chance I wont have to go. Oh well, I will tell you next weekend what the result is. if anyone has any fun jury duty experiences leave them in the comments, I would like to hear some stories, and prep myself for what might happen.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I take part in the streak for cash on ESPN.com. I keep telling myself it is the fastest way to win a million dollars. Just pick 27 winners in a row and I win. Well my highest is at 4, and after another loss last night I am back to 0. Ouch. This time it wasn't even Jeff's fault.
Kyle's Streak Meter - 0

I usually like to leave a funny video with most of my blogs. However with all of the hype this past week about the Inauguration, I thought I would leave you with this. The link below is a fun website where you can actually photo shop a picture of yourself in the crowd of the inauguration. Kind of fun I suppose, if you really wanted to go. See now you can tell the kids some day you were there to witness history.
http://www.myinauguralphoto.com/

Have a good weekend everyone. Enjoy the heat wave, it is supposed to get up to 20 degrees.

Kyle Karns
President of Operations

A Little Treat for Thursday

As I came into the office today I knew there was lots of work to be done. What I wasn't aware of was that we would be having a special guest.

I got to sit down with Bucks goalkeeper Steve Clark. Steve is quite a guy, he's done everything from soccer to skydiving. After being passed up in the recent MLS SuperDraft, the Bucks netminder was a little let down. Who wouldn't be? With his talent I am surprised that no team had given him a shot. However, Steve has been contacted by several clubs about a possible tryout and should do well -- especially after hearing about his training regiment.

I believe Mr. Clark has the impression he might be fighting Roy Jones Jr. instead of trying out to be a professional goalkeeper. The guy works so hard everyday and I think in a few weeks time we will no longer be seeing Steve in the Pontiac area. We wish "Stonewall" all the best and hope he does well in the coming weeks.

And if you were waiting for my prediction...

Superbowl XLIII Arizona 27, Pittsburgh 24

What is Beautiful?

Hello Bucks fans, Jordan here.

I need to first congratulate Andrew who answered our trivia question yesterday correctly! Here's your shoutout. The correct answer was indeed Nate Jafta. We'll have harder trivia next week.

Without further adieu:

It's been quite a long time since my last rant on the education system. Luckily enough I have another one for you today. I was my "Art Appreciation" class today, which is my huge blow off class. I know it is a huge snoozer, but it's an easy 4 credit A. The professor is more than a little weird -- he got way too in to the sixties and nature. He was trying to sell the class on the idea that anything can be art as long as there was effort put into it. That is completely ridiculous. My personal feeling is that there is no universal art. Beauty and art are in the eye of the beholder. There are few things in this world that most of the world can agree are beautiful or art. So art and beauty are just mere physical shapes, with the title to those shapes being assigned by single individuals and not a massive audience. Basically what I'm saying is, art and high priced pieces of beauty are a ripoff and we shouldn't listen to what is "beautiful or art" because it's probably neither.

Take it easy Bucks fans.

Inauguration Day and TRIVIA!

Well today we’ll have a new President. I’m excited. Along with being a soccer nerd, I am also a political junkie and while a bit ashamed, I get into all the pomp and circumstance that goes along with a change in government. While I’m not an expert when it comes to picking matches for Kyle (who thought Fulham would lose 3-1 on the weekend?), I do remember the day Barack Obama announced his candidacy, predicting that he would be the next President of the United States. It was almost two years ago, on February 7, 2007. I remember the date because it was also the day the US defeated Mexico 2-0 at the then new University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Super Bowl bound Arizona Cardinals. Look at all those facts. My mind works in strange ways…


As is likely, some followers of the 14 Point may not have voted for Obama, but with the financial crisis being what it is nationally and especially in our area, I’d hope everyone can get behind our new President and hope for his success.

With that said, I thought I’d take a page out of the US National Team Blog’s book and try some trivia. Post your answers in the comment section!

We’ll start easy - What Bucks player was named to the PDL Best XI from 2006-2008?

The Gaffer

Michigan Bucks Head Coach
Dan Fitzgerald is entering his fourth season leading the team in 2009. Since taking over, he has led the Bucks to their most successful three-year span in the Premier Development League. Along with two Great Lakes Division titles (2007-2008), he has led the Bucks to back-to-back PDL Championship matches (2006-2007, winning in 2006) and the 2008 PDL Regular Season Championship. The easy going manager is also 2nd on the Bucks All-Time wins list with 41, just 12 victories behind Steve Burns. Fish was nice enough to have a chat with the 14 Point this weekend:

How have you been keeping busy since July?
My full time job has kept me very busy and I have spent a lot of quality time with my family.

What does a Buck’s coach do during the in the offseason?
I watch a lot of college soccer games, talk to college coaches about their players and work at recruiting players for the summer, something I've done a lot of this year with all the seniors we had on our team in 2008.

You've coached the team through their most successful three year span in Bucks league history, but the last two seasons have ended in disappointment. Which was harder to take?
I like to think about the positives rather than the disappointments. In 2007 we lost the PDL championship on the road in PKs to a very good Laredo team. In 2008 we had the best regular season record in the PDL. I am very proud of the players and their accomplishments both years.

While the Bucks have qualified for the U.S. Open Cup every year you've been at the helm, the team has been knocked out in the 1st round the last two years. Is it a goal of yours to get the Bucks back to cup success in addition to league success in '09?
We hope to have continued success in the U.S. Open Cup in 2009. It is first of all a competition that is very difficult to qualify for. With the team's past success in the Open Cup no USL or MLS pro team is going to look past us. Yes, success in the Open Cup and in the league are very important to me and to the Bucks organization.

Other than the 2006 Championship win, what is your most memorable game as Bucks coach?
There have been a lot of them. I think the 2007 game on Memorial Day vs. Indiana Invaders in South Bend stands out. We needed to tie or win to qualify for the Open Cup and Indiana put out an excellent team that night. We found ourselves down 2-0 at the start of the second half. We showed unbelievable heart and character and scored 3 straight goals before conceding one. It ended 3-3 and we qualified. This game was played at a blistering pace and had excitement, intensity and 6 fantastic goals.

You're currently 2nd on the Bucks Coach's All Time Wins list, 12 behind Steve Burns. Do you keep that in the back of your mind going into the 2009 season?
I wasn’t aware of this and to be honest these type of records don’t mean anything to me. My 7 years as both an assistant and head coach with the Michigan Bucks have been a great experience. I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach so much quality and be part of the best organization in the PDL.

For the first time maybe ever, all teams in the Bucks division will play a balanced schedule (playing everyone twice). Your thoughts?
The schedule could not be more fair than it is this year. I am excited for the season and can’t wait for it to start.

Thanks Fish!