Texas Bowl 2010

Baylor went to a bowl game for the first time since the early-90s. I always said while I was at Baylor that I would support their football program. Life happens, and living several hours away has made it very difficult to keep supporting the program. My "support" usually is watching the two games that play on Fox Sports Southwest each year and following the scores on my ESPN app. This year was no different. I always said that I would attend a bowl game if they ever made it to one. With the decision to become self-employed, it looked like that would not happen either. My brother decided that since Baylor made it to a bowl game, and since the bowl game was in Houston and therefore within a reasonable distance that I could attend, he would get me tickets. Plus, he would allow me to take his wife with me since she had never been to a Baylor game (or a Division 1 college game for that matter) and she and I had never been able to spend one on one time with each other for an extended period of time getting to know each other.

Despite the final score, we had a blast! I introduced Amy to Ninfas, a Baylor tradition that fortunately extends to Houston. My brother bought tickets that were just a few rows up on the 50 yard line! Because of this I was able to capture some cool pictures even with my less than professional camera.

Countdown to 30: Day 6

My milestone for today is a rite of passage for lawyers - the first jury trial! It is another topic that I have covered as extensively as I should, so it is another link day. Looking back on the first jury trial now, I still cannot believe that I have conducted a trial from start to finish. I pretty much ran the entire case from start to finish, so even on short notice, I could do the trial by myself. I think that it was a good thing that I did not have much time to get worked up over it, and it is a pretty good feeling to wake up the next morning and realize it is over. That night I think I was still in a little bit of shell shock. It is also comforting to know that my Baylor education did not go to waste and I was able to prepare for trial on short notice.

Countdown to 30: Day 14

Since it is a football day and since I am such a big fan of football, today seems like a good day to share my favorite football memory.

While attending Baylor, I was faithful to attend all home games while in undergrad. Every year the big game was against A&M. One year it was rainy and Baylor was getting killed so I left early. I never left football games early! I even made it a point to go to the game at College Station. Law school changed my faithfulness to games, but I still tried to go to that game each year.

Baylor was on quite a losing streak against A&M. It had been almost twenty years since Baylor had won. We got close in College Station one year an lost in the last few minutes. My last year of law school the game was in Waco. Baylor's team was terrible. A&M had a decent team. One of the biggest finals of my law school career was going to occur the Monday after the game. Common sense told me to skip the game.

I have not always been one to follow common sense. I chose to go to the game. I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if Baylor happened to win. We stood in our normal seats. I intended to leave if the game got out of hand. However at halftime it was close. At the end of the third quarter it was close. At the end of the game it was tied. So much for leaving early to study! A&M had the ball first in overtime and scored a touchdown. The pressure was on. Then Baylor scored a touchdown and needed the extra point to send it to double overtime. "They are going for 2." I said it even before the offense returned to the field. It was going to be either the worst decision of the year or the best. Given that I had sat through the UNLV disaster a few years prior where we fumbled instead of taking a knee and they returned it for the game winning touchdown, I felt sure we would endure another heartbreak. The ball was snapped, the pass was in the air, it looked like it was caught, the ref signaled it was good, and chaos broke out in the stands. The chaos continued. It was awesome! Baylor had finally beaten the Aggies and I had been brave enough not to skip it to study.

I ended up not doing as well on my final as I should have. However there are something that are worth trading. It was a good lesson to learn as I now have to remind myself life is not all about work. I still have my Gig This shirt too!

Countdown to 30: Day 15

Anyone who has known me for the majority of my life knows that early on I decided I wanted to be a lawyer, and after that I decided I wanted to attend Baylor Law School. I knew that Baylor produced good lawyers. Once I was in Waco, I realized that Baylor Law led the pass results on the bar exam almost every sitting. It was clear that if I wanted pretty much a guaranteed pass on the first try, I should go to Baylor. I also learned while in undergrad that Baylor was a tough school. At some point during my undergrad years, Baylor was touted as the "Marine Corp of law schools" by the law school ranking people. I knew that it was going to be tough to get into and tough to get out. Baylor was in the process of building a new law school building, and I knew that I would be one of the first classes to attend in the new building.

I do not think that I understood how hard it would be to get into Baylor until I had already been accepted. I only applied to two law school - Baylor and the University of Texas. I did not realize that both schools are very difficult to be accepted. I knew that I had the GPA to be considered for Baylor (had no clue what the UT GPA was) and I only studied hard enough for the LSAT to obtain the average score at Baylor. I did not take review courses or hundreds of practice tests. The day of the LSAT, the room was changed at the last minute at the location I had selected, I had to drive accross that school's campus, the cafeteria where the test was administered did not have air conditioning (it was June in TX - not good!), and the air conditioning repair people were banging away at the unit trying to get it working throughout the entire test. Obviously, the testing conditions were not ideal, and I probably should have selected the retake option but you had to forfeit your score before you got it back, and I did not want to take that chance. By the grace of God, I scored high enough that the score would suffice.

I was accepted to UT first, and I received a scholarship. At the time I did not realize how big a deal that was. Apparently UT is stingy with scholarships, and I was lucky to be awarded one. I had my eyes set on Baylor though and waited to receive the notice from Baylor. One day before going to one of the Baylor basketball games, there it was - the packet instead of a single envelope. Without opening it I knew I was in. I had a scholarship for half of the tuition, and I did not have to move. It was a win-win for me. I signed three years of my life away as I informed Baylor I would be attending in Fall 2002.

My years in Baylor Law School were some of the hardest of my life. The competition was rigorous, made worse by the fact that I knew I had to maintain a decent GPA just to keep my scholarship. There was not much free time or down time. I went to class, went home to study, went to church, and, if I was lucky, ventured out to watch a football game on Saturdays. I did schedule some fun weekends and short spring break trips, but even holidays with my family were cut short so I could study. Then came practice court. There are no words to describe the six months of practice court where you are stressed out, your stomach is in knots, you realize you really could fail and not become a lawyer, and there are not enough hours in a day to ever get done what is assigned. Law school made the bar exam and bar review seem easy. Seriously. Come bar exam time, I had free time because I only studied eight hours a day instead of sixteen to twenty spent doing law school. No wonder Baylor has a high pass rate!

God placed me at Baylor Law School. Looking back I did not really think my decision through. I had no idea that there were over two thousand applicants, but only 100-150 accepted per quarter. Those are not very good odds! I was able to pass the bar exam on the first try. I was able to land a job after the bar. I was able to practice and represent clients in the courtroom early on because I was used to it. Most importantly, I was able to do my first jury trial solo on short notice (less than 24 hours) with a successful result for the client.

Countdown to 30: Day 25

I decided to attend Baylor University for my undergraduate studies because I wanted to go to law school there. I made the decision without really considering the cost of the university. I even determined to attend without visiting the campus. The decision to attend Baylor has shaped me in several ways.

First, I let God lead me to where I needed to be trusting that He would provide. Of course I am paying a ton of my salary to student loans now, but it was still worth it to spend seven years in Waco and to create friendships that last to the present. There were times where I was not sure I would have enough money to get what I needed, but God always provided. I also learned how to give sacrificially during that time because I could not afford to tithe, yet I cannot think of any time that I did not tithe without making it up in the next month or two.

Second, I learned a lot about myself during my years at Baylor. You really decide who and what you are going to become when you leave your parents. It was one of the first tests of my faith when I had to really decide if I believed in God like I said that I did. I had many tests of my salvation, and my faith remained intact providing me with assurance of what I knew had occurred as a child. There were many trials over the seven years that I was there, including roommate issues, thesis advisor issues, national crises, money issues, fires in my apartment complex, to name a few. Each trial confirmed my faith in God.

Third, I realized that my love for children had to be incorporated into my adult life somehow. I worked at a daycare for five of the seven years (even though some of that time was subbing and not really regular). I love children. I love working with children. I am a natural at working with children. I am a lawyer. Lawyers do not typically work with children. However, my years spent at the daycare taught me how to be a minister to people with children and how to talk to children. Now I am able to use that experience to represent children in abuse and neglect cases in the courtroom. Also, I am almost always available to babysit for my friends who have children. Finally, my church figured out I am good with children and I am currently teaching in the preschool three year old Sunday school class.

The college years are formative times for almost anyone who moves away from home. I am glad I chose Baylor. The environment was right for me. I plugged into a local church. I confirmed my faith by continuing to experience spiritual growth. There is so much more that could be said about Baylor and my years spent in Waco, and maybe it will make another appearance on this countdown, but for now, these are my brief thoughts as I reflect on my Baylor years.

My Favorite Season

We are now in the midst of my favorite season - Football Season! Last year I was not as impressed with the start of football season. I was not entertained. It took a while for the big games to come, and my teams were not doing all that great (except for a defeat of OU), and even the NFL had lost some of its charm for me. Towards January I was no longer watching my favorite sport of all time, and I had very little interest in the Super Bowl and the NCAA Championship game. It was like I had taken a year off from my favorite sport since the season was riddled by disappointments. It was depressing.

This year has started out very different from last season. I am once again excited about my favorite sport. I am once again entertained by the skill of the players on the field. I think that time off from the sport created a greater sense of expectation for this year's season. I still skipped watching most of the preseason games because I do not find those entertaining, but I sat mesmerized the first weekend of the college football season. Then came the Michigan-Notre Dame game. Then came the Texas-Texas Tech game. Then the Mannings showed why every team wants a Manning as a quarterback in the 4th quarter and clutch kickers just in case the Manning cannot find the end-zone but can get within reach. I am once again addicted to football. Teams I hate are losing, teams I love are winning (at least sometimes - Baylor and Houston still have some issues to work out!). The TV schedule for games has been great even if we had to watch Oklahoma State instead of Baylor because apparently the national programers think that people in our area would prefer to watch OSU lose than to watch Baylor win (but my iPhone let me keep up with the Baylor game ok enough). I am once again excited about football. After last season I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be a fan again. I am glad that I once again have football to use as a stress relief! I still refuse, however, to allow football to dictate my schedule - except the Texas-OU and the Texas-Texas A & M game of course!

Chicken Empathy Museum

I am not a fan of PETA. While at Baylor, PETA would protest our live bears. This protesting usually involved PETA members irritating the bears in various ways, then filming the bears in an agitated state. Not cool. Of course, this is typical of PETA.

PETA approached Governor Bobby Jindal in Louisiana about converting a Pilgrim's Pride Plant that is going under into a Chicken Empathy Museum. It would be a museum celebrating the supposedly intelligent bird brains and promoting the idea that chickens are not nuggets. Personally, I prefer my chicken to be boneless, skinless breasts, but I am sure PETA would not approve of that either!

My Hairless Dog

I ended up getting Lil T a sweater and the silly dog loved it. I thought it would be a hassle to put on him and that he would pick at it trying to get it off, but he didn't pay it any attention once it was on. It instantly stopped him from shivering, and he wore it all night. Since I was buying him a silly sweater, I felt bad and also bought him his first black bear. At least he looked like a fierce preppy dog when he was shaking the bear!

The Count of Monte Cristo

I am surprised that it has taken me this long to watch The Count of Monte Cristo. Keven Reynolds, either the director or producer, is a Baylor graduate, and I had his scholarship (funded by his parents) while I was in undergrad at Baylor. Plus, he had his hand in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I just never got around to seeing this movie until last week.

I am a big fan of period pieces and historical fiction. A brief review of my favorite movies will show one that (Gone with the Wind, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, First Knight, etc.). Even in books, I love history and historical fiction. I definitely enjoyed the historical setting of the movie, and all of the props, sets, and wardrobe that goes with it, including the almost obligatory Napoleon. I thought that the casting was great, especially for Dantes. Jim Cavaziel was the perfect actor to pull off the ignorant, then innocent, then vengeful yet good main character in the story.

Some of the props/settings were too unbelievable. The Count's entrance at the party at his estate was a little much. Maybe it could have been pulled off without the acrobats. It just seemed over the top instead of just gaudy. However, for each of the unbelievable things, there were some settings that were almost perfect. Chateau d'If was believable because it did not show too much (although the planned escape and the teaching that went on was pretty unbelievable ... but that is fiction, right?) and the fight in the wheat field was great. Movies need to have some moments that are unbelievable to remind you that you are watching fiction, but it needs to be close enough to believable that you want to believe it. I felt like this movie was pretty close to this line of believability.

The story is a hard story to watch, but that is part of what makes the movie great. I found myself cheering for Dantes to get revenge, yet wanting him to forgive instead of get revenge all at the same time. It was uncomfortable, but that is the same struggle that I feel within myself when I just want to get revenge, but know that is not the right thing to do. There is something so human about the struggle, and that adds to the enjoyment of the story.

If I had to fault the movie on one thing, it would be that the screenwriter basically bragged about not sticking true to the story. I have not read the book. I want to read the book, but now, after hearing what the screenwriter said, I am afraid it would make me not like the movie. Yet, I like the movie right now. I will probably end up reading the book. I am sure that curiosity will get the better of me, so maybe I need to watch the movie a few more times before I read the book.

If you like historical fiction, and do not mind movies that remind you you are watching fiction, I would highly recommend this movie. Predictable to an extent, but it seems that all movies are since there probably is no such thing as a new or unique story (or storyline). Highly entertaining, exciting where it needed to be, slow where it needed to be, this movie strikes a balance that most directors and producers do not try to strike.

Bad News Bears! (but maybe good news?!)

Well, the Baylor basketball teams both made an early exit from the Big 12 tournaments. The boys put up a fight, and the girls seem to have decided to coast on their laurels instead of fighting. Maybe the boys made enough of an impression to go to the NCAA.

**Update: The boys did make it to the Tourney as did the girls, so at least we will get to see one post-season game from each. Sic 'em bears!!

Baylor Basketball

I was pleasantly surprised last week as I pulled my Sports Illustrated out of the mailbox and began flipping through the pages.  A little over midway through the magazine was a story about Baylor Basketball.  I guess people had to start taking notice of the success of the team when Baylor beat the Aggies after 5 overtimes.  Even though the game was not televised, it has been the topic of sports conversations off and on  since it occurred.  It will be interesting to see how the season turns out.  Personally, I think that Scott Drew should be coach of the year.  Most coaches would not consider coming to a school that is about to be punished - severely - by the NCAA.  Most coaches would only stay a year or two knowing that recruiting is going to be next to impossible and scholarships few and far between because of NCAA punishments.  However, Drew chose to expand his recruiting options and create a team for the future.  Finally, that patience is paying off and I am as happy for the coach as I am for the school.  Baylor is going to have a hard time hanging on to him I am afraid - I know that if I was looking for a coach this spring when the pink slips are handed out, I would probably put him on my short list.  I am just glad that Baylor Basketball received some good press for a change (even if it did take some of the spotlight away from the girls for a moment - girls who are ranked in the top 10 by the way!).  Maybe the brilliant choice of Drew is a good indicator of what we can expect from our football coach as well.

Baylor Basketball

I just noticed that the Baylor Basketball teams (both men and women) are ranked right now.  Given Baylor men's basketball history and the toughness of the conference for the women, that is pretty impressive.

Blog of the Week - Legal Blogs

It has been a while since I posted a blog of the week, so I am going to post a few.  I realize that I rarely post anything regarding the legal profession even though I am a lawyer, so this week I am going to share some of my favorite legal blogs.  Warning - for most of you, you could care less about these blogs.

Civil Procedure Prof Blog - this blog is written by two professors at Baylor (neither of which I had in law school, especially since one was a third year when I started).  This blog is helpful because it gives updates on important cases in state and federal court, and I have already used one of the cases they review in my work.  Helpful for court updates and overall news in this part of the legal world.

Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice - this blog is updated by the author of the O'Connor's Federal Rules.  Most of my federal court practice is in the Eastern District of Texas, so it is nice to have someone updating about Eastern District cases and imporant cases that come from the Fifth Circuit affecting the Eastern District of Texas.  Sometimes the rulings are humorous, sometimes serious, but it is helpful to see what judges in our area are deciding.

That's What She Said - If you are a fan of The Office, you can probably guess that this blog has to do with The Office.  However, it also has to do with legal stuff.  A lawyer who specializes in employment law analyzes episodes of the office and gives her opinion of what each case would be worth should the incidents that happen on the show happen in real life.  It is quite informative on the area of employment law, but it also shows the nerdiness of those like me in our profession. 

There is a list of the legal blogs (that the ABA calls "blawgs", but I think that is a little too dorky) that I like to frequent.  There are others that are less helpful or entertaining, but these are the ones that I like the most and keep me the most updated.

Coach Briles

While I am on the subject of college football, I probably should weigh in about my thoughts on the recent head coaching changes that have occurred at Baylor.  For more info on the subject (or really just an attempt to have positive PR) you can go here.  I think that Baylor made a smart choice (although I thought the same thing when they hired the last coach).  Here are my reasons for making this bold statement before seeing how this coach performs:

1.  He knows how to recruit in Texas.  This is a big deal when Baylor is probably capable of recruiting in the second tier of recruits because of competition with recruiting powerhouses such as UT, A & M, OU, and all the other teams that feel the need to drain our talent pool in Texas.  If you are one of the best players in high school football in Texas, you are probably not going to choose Baylor.  However, if you are a Chase Daniels who is being looked at by Missouri and Baylor, there may be a chance that you will choose to stay closer to home.  Why didn't Baylor go after Chase Daniels?  Why did he end up all the way up in Missouri?  Could it be that our previous coach didn't know how to recruit in the second tier and insisted on taking the scraps of the first?  Coach Briles obviously knows how to put together a winning program with recruits no one has heard of.  He took Houston from being a no name to being a bowl contender every year.  I know that I can't name a single player on the Houston team, but they win anyway.  Maybe he can do the same thing at Baylor.

2.  His track record at Houston.  He took a program that was pretty much a laughing stock and turned it into a bowl contender.  His job will be more difficult in the Big 12 (especially the Big 12 South), but surely he can make Baylor competitive against the North teams (so that there is not a repeat of Kansas and Missouri in the top ten at the same time in the same year because it was their year to play Baylor instead of UT and/or OU).  

3.  Baylor's athletic director showed his ability to choose a coach by his decision to bring in Scott Drew as basketball coach.  First, Ian McCaw had to convince a coach to come to Baylor when the coach knew that recruiting would be affected by the NCAA's punishment of Baylor following a scandal that I do not wish to summarize here.  Plus, McCaw had to retain the guy.  Now the basketball program is reaping the benefits of a coach who determined to build a solid foundation, and is now making the program competitive, at least in this pre-season.  We will see how things pan out in the conference play, but things are looking good.  McCaw hopefully has done the same thing with the football coach (minus the huge scandal, although the minor one of an assistant coach getting drunk after a game and urinating on the outside of the bar is embarassing).

Hopefully Coach Briles will not be a disappointment.  Only time will tell.

Finding Consistency in College Football

I have said, and will probably continue to say until sometime in the first week of January, that this is one of the strangest years of college football that I have ever seen.  There seems to be no powerhouse, except maybe LSU after watching them play a bit on Saturday.  Until Saturday, I thought USC was the powerhouse, but then they had a random turn of events resulting in a loss (don't get me wrong, I am overjoyed that they finally lost!!!  even better that it was to a pretty bad team!!!).  Texas, OU, Michigan, Penn State, Georgia, etc., etc., etc. have had surprising losses in the past few weeks, making me wonder what has happened to the teams that are considered the best year in and year out.  South Florida is in the top 5 right now.  Four teams in the top 10 this week were unranked to start the season.  It is crazy.

Yet, in all of this inconsistency and uncertainty, you can count on one team to continue to do what it has done year in and year out.  I am of course talking about my Baylor Bears.  Now here is a team that realizes how uncomfortable it is for the fans to live with all of this uncertainty in college football, so they want to make it easy on their fans.  As a Texas fan, it is hard for me to watch each week because I just don't know what is going to happen, and it makes me so nervous that I may have an ulcer by the end of the season.  However, Baylor doesn't put me through this mental and physical torture.  They are concerned about my health and the health of their fans so much that they feel that we don't need any surprises.  Yes, they may keep us on the edge of our seats for 3 quarters (or the first set of downs), but they give us plenty of time to adjust to the outcome of the game.  While other fans have to remain in a state of inner turmoil about whether their team is going to make a bowl game, remain ranked, remain undefeated, etc., Baylor makes sure to take away all turmoil early in the season.  Although there is a chance of a bowl game, everyone knows it is a long shot and isn't worried about it occurring.  Everyone knows that Baylor is not going to top the Big 12, so any win that comes at this point will just be a time to laugh.  Laughter is good medicine, right?  Now don't get me wrong.  I still cheer for my Bears.  I am proud when they win a game here and there.  I really don't care whether we keep this coach or let him go.  Everyone knows it is about recruiting anyway, and frankly, it is hard to recruit for Baylor when you have UT, aTm, and Tech recruiting in the same state (not to mention OU who has more Texans than Oklahomans on their team I think -- it may be 50/50, but I digress).  So here is to the one team who seems to have found a way to be consistent in this year of college football!  Baylor, I salute you.

Blog of the Week - Baylor Proud

So it is again time for the blog of the week.  It seems that blog of the week is the only thing I have been writing recently, but there are some things churning in my head, so I am sure that more will come out soon.

This week's blog is paying tribute to my alma mater (although they got beat by aTm this weekend).  Baylor has a new blog about different things that should make alumni proud of Baylor.  Some are informative, some entertaining, and some just look like morale is down so we must talk about something to make us proud.  I am sure it is just a pr stunt intended to increase the alumi confidence in the current administration, but the information is still fun to read.