They had checks in 1928?

So get this, the cops in Elizabethton, Tennessee are trying to serve a warrant that was issued in 1928.

Confused? I was too. Let me explain.

In August of 1928, an arrest warrant was issued for a J.A. Rowland. Rowland was accused of writing a bad check of $30. Yes, $30. Keep in mind that was 1928 and $30 was way more back then.

This whole thing was started because clerks at the Glynn County Sheriff's Office in Brunswick, Georgia came across the warrant while going through old documents. They then mailed it out to the sheriffs in Tennessee.

The Sheriffs there are under legal obligation to find Rowland. Although he probably has since passed away.

So in other words, Rowland is wanted DEAD or ALIVE. (sorry, that was bad but I couldn't help it)

My new home

I decided this weekend that it was time for me to buy a lodge. I figured with the housing market exceedingly low that I could afford something.

It had been over 10 years since I purchased my last dwelling. The times have certainly changed since the last time I was shopping.

You may be saying to yourself, "but Casey, 10 years ago you were only 14. How could you afford a house?"

Well, I might have exaggerated "house" a bit. But it is the only dwelling I own, and that is my tent.

I currently own two tents. Both of them from REI. I have a three season one that I backpack with and a four season one for snow and car camping.

My four season tent is the REI Geo Mountain 3. This means that it is for three people (or two people and gear). I love this tent and I actually got it at a huge discount (70% off) when REI closed the Federal Way store. They put the whole store on sale rather than move the gear. It is really a nice tent. But weighs in at just over 10 pounds. In other words it's not for backpacking.

For my backpacking adventures I have the original REI Half Dome. It is around 10 years old and still in great shape. I take good care of the gear I buy. It hold two people. But I have noticed one major drawback with it. The tent works great with just one person in it. But with two people it really condensates.

In the 10 years since I bought that tent, the tent technology has made leaps and bounds. My old Half Dome weighs in at about six pounds.

Now, just like shopping for a new house, choosing the right tent is a huge commitment. I loved my other two REI tents, so that narrowed the market right away. (The main reason for this is the guarantee REI has on its products. The zipper on my rainfly broke. I took it into the REI store, they fixed it up like new and it cost me nothing. Nothing!)

Since I have my larger tent for car camps I decided I would go with a lighter tent than my old Half Dome this time around. That way when I backpack it will shave off a few pounds.

I thought about buying the new REI Half Dome 2 (it's the new version of my old tent) but after looking at it and reading reviews it only lost 3 ounces and still condenstated pretty bad with two in it.

Well, after hours of research and reading review upon review I have found my new home. It is the REI Quarter Dome T2 Tent. This tent is great. It weighs 4 pounds and the sides are fully mesh to allow better ventilation. And the reviews on it are all great. So it's settled, this is the tent for me.

Oh, and it gets better. I just got my REI dividend in the mail. It includes a 20% off coupon. I love saving money.

Epic Photo: This is what Arizona State getting upset looks like

The Washington State Cougars are heating up at exactly the right time after they defeated No. 11 ranked Arizona State 51-49 in Pullman, Wash. today. This makes them a very, very dangerous team headed into the Pac-10 Tournament. What are the chances of them making the NCAA Tournament?

(Photo by Dean Hare/AP)

High School Sports Feature: Todd Beamer's 1st trip to State

On Thursday Federal Way High School boys basketball was featured on Just South of North. And today we're going to shine the spotlight on another Federal Way school. Only this time it's one of the newer schools in the state, and one without a storied background.

Todd Beamer High School.

Todd Beamer High School, named after Todd Morgon Beamer (a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 during the September 11, 2001 attacks) opened it's doors in the fall of 2003.

And last night the stars seemed to align as the Beamer boys basketball team beat the highly talented and dominate Bellarmine Prep High School 78-68.

The Beamer Titans beat the Lions in a must win game of the West Central District 4A Tournament. Going into the game both teams knew that the winner would go to state and the loser's season would be over.

Bellarmine's Abdul Gaddy, a senior, is easily one of the best players in the state. He has been invited to the McDonald's All-American game and also the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, Ore. He also has commited to play for the University of Washington next season.

But on Friday night Gaddy and his Lions met Napa Mefi. Mefi, a 5 foot 9 inch sophomore guard, came to play. He lit up the scoreboard with 28 points, including draining five 3-pointers.

At one point during the first half the Titans trailed by as much as nine points. But during the start of the fourth quarter Beamer went on a 12-0 run and put the game almost out of reach, 64-49.

Bellermine tried to rally back, but had dug themselves in too deep of a hole. In the end they watched as Todd Beamer celebrated their first trip to the 4A state tournament. They will be the Districts Number 5 seed into state.

Kevin Davis also added 25 points for the Titans.

Clark Fork River Oil Spill: This is apparently how the Northwest does man-made disasters

Well not quite a disaster per say, more like a PR bloody nose for Avista. The Spokesman Review has the story on a transformer oil spill from a dam on the Clark Fork River.

Oil sheens were visible on parts of the Clark Fork River Friday afternoon – a day after a pipe broke at the Noxon Rapids Dam, spilling about 1,250 gallons of transformer oil.

Emergency response officials were working with the dam’s operator, Avista Corp., to evaluate the situation and craft a clean-up plan. A helicopter flew over a 20-mile stretch of the lower Clark Fork River. Pockets of oil were spotted from the air, but no dead fish turned up.

Apparently, a chunk of ice was to blame for the broken for the spill. Which isn't expected to have any long term environmental effects. Check out this wonderfully technical explanation:

The oil is “not the goopy, heavy stuff,” said Bruce Howard, Avista’s director of environmental affairs, but rather a highly-refined mineral oil used to cool electrical transformers.

The oil tends to float on top of the water, according to Howard. He said the spill shouldn’t put the river’s fish population or other wildlife at risk.

That's until we start seeing fish with three eyes and the jumping ability of Lebron James. Did anyone patch up the pipe yet? Just wondering.

Spokane Shock Weekly Update

Just wanted to cheer everyone up with that photo.

With the preseason game still a couple weeks away, the majority of posts for the Spokane Shock have been about two of their teams named to the af2 all-time list. The 2006 and 2008 squads, both teams made it to the championship game with the latter losing it in a heartbreaker.

The 2006 squad which won the Arena Cup was named No. 3 all time while the 2008 team was named No. 9. Now I don't want to ruffle any feathers here but after watching both teams first hand I've got to say that I think the No. 9 team probably had more talent.

Obviously you can't rank them higher because they didn't win an Arena Cup (@#%^$* two point conversions), but if you look at last years roster, whoo boy.

And guess what, most of them are coming back for next year. Except for Roshawn Marshall, who will be going to the rival Boise Burn. That's a shame because I'm really going to miss that guy's beard. It was epic.

The Shock also picked up a quarterback that is sure to lead them to a championship because he shares the same first name with Casey and the same last name as me. That's right, say hello to the official quarterback of Just South of North, Casey Hansen.

Goodbye Mo. Hello Housh?

It didn't take long into the NFL free agency for one of the Seattle Seahawks higher profile unrestricted free agents to be swept away.

Maurice Morris is no longer a Hawk. He now will be suiting up for the Detroit Lions after signing a three year $7 million dollar contract.

I am sad to see Morris go. While he never was the feature back, thanks to Shaun "if you get near me I fall down" Alexander, he was a local product in a way. I know he was from South Carolina, but he played college ball just south of Seattle at the University of Oregon.

Morris was chosen in the second round of the 2002 draft by the Hawks, but with new Head Coach Jim Mora Jr, it looks like he just didn't fit into the plans. This leaves the Hawks with last year's free agent signees Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett.

Morris always seemed like a team player and did whatever was asked of him. I really don't think the Lions will turn around in one season, but for his sake I hope they at least block for him and he doesn't get killed. Thanks for the memories Mo. Good luck to you.

In happier news for Seahawk fans T.J. Houshmandzadeh has said that there are four teams that he would be happy playing for next year. Those are:

Seahawks, Giants, Eagles and Vikings.

That's right, the Seahawks are on the list.

Most of the experts are saying that Philadelphia is the most likely place he'll go. Followed closely by the Giants. I have yet to hear one say the Hawks.

But for some reason Houshmandzadeh put them on his top four. I'm sure he knows the team was hurting last year at receiver, and perhaps he likes the direction Mora is taking the team. I guess only time will tell. But it would be nice to give Matt Hasselbeck a 6-1, 199 target. Very nice.

Whitworth in Championship Game

Couldn't wait until Wednesday to update everyone on this one. The Whitworth Pirates will be playing for the NWC Championship tomorrow and an automatic berth in the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

The Pirates finished the regular season in second place of the conference with a record of 21-5, and the first place team just so happens to be the same squad they're playing in the championship game, Puget Sound, who has a sparkling 24-2 record. Game time is Saturday in Puget Sound's house, at 7 p.m.

You can find all the info of the game here.

Whitworth got to that game after a win over Linfield 74-66 in the quarterfinals of the NWC tournament, led by junior post Nate Montgomery who had career highs of 31 points, 14 rebounds and SIX blocked shots.

Apparently he was doing his best Wilt Chamberlain impression. Holy crap that's an insane performance. Which is why I've come up with a list of nicknames for Nate:

Nate "Tyler Hansbrough is a pansy" Montgomery
Nate "Remember that British General in WWII named" Montgomery
Nate "He Nate Me" Montgomery
Nate "Yeah, I've blocked six shots before in a game" Montgomery
Nate "I'm not Stephon Marbury" Montgomery
Nate "Stimulus Plan" Montgomery

Okay, please dont hate me Whitworth fans.

High School Sports Feature: 7 3's a Fallin'

Derek Isaak drained 7 3-pointers on Thursday against Tulalip Heritage High School in the boys 1B state basketball quarterfinal game. Isaak ended up with 26 points in leading Almira/Coulee-Hartline High School to a 57-50 victory over the Hawks, this after scoring 15 points on Wednesday in the opening round of the tournament in a victory of Taholah.

With the victory the Warriors improved to 21-4 on the season and will now face Tri-Cities Prep in today's semifinal match up. If Isaak can continue his hot shooting, and the rest of the team can continue their solid play then it should be a slam dunk (oh did I just write that?) for the Warriors to become state champions.

The worst jobs in sports

Working in sports is great. Instead of going to an office everyday you're going to the stadium and you're always in the limelight. However, there are some positions that you should just never take in this industry.

Youth Sports Officials - Okay, think of the worst berating a professional official has every received. Times that by 10, multiply the people doing it by about 30 and you pretty much have the atmosphere of a youth sporting event. Sports parents are the worst human beings on the face of the planet and guess who they love to hate.

Stephon Marbury's Therapist - Boy, you have fun trying to dig through that brain of his.

Crowd Control Management for Santa Clara - I don't know if you watched the Gonzaga-SC game last night but fans threw stuff onto the court, ON TWO SEPERATE OCCASIONS, causing technicals to be called and pretty much swinging the momentum of the game towards the Zags favor. Here's what the Broncos head coach had to say:

Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating implored to crowd to refrain from throwing objects, but later in the game, his team was hit with another technical when another object was thrown from the stands. Bouldin made two more free throws.

"That's not fair to our guys," Keating said of the fan or fans who threw the objects. "It's not fair to everyone in the gym who's there to watch a game in a great environment."Whoever it was, I hope they understand that they hurt our team tonight."

Bravo crowd control.

Arizona's assistant coach that focuses on defense

Now I bet you're wondering why I'm mentioning all these college basketball games. Simple. Last night was an amazing night for college basketball. Anyways, WSU defeated the Wildcats last night 69-53 in a fun game for Cougar fans but if you were from Arizona you cringed everytime a Coug player was left wide open or allowed to drive to the basket.

They stood around more than county road workers on the clock. But hey, maybe they wanted to keep WSU's postseason hopes alive.

That guy that always brings out the stools for WSU players to sit on during timeouts

Every timeout. This guy waddles out there with these fold out stools under his arms and sets them out for all the players. They get done with the time out and he has to fold them back up and retreat to his position ready to unfold at a whistles notice.

Really? A chair folder? That's like one step below the guy who squirts the water bottle into each individual athletes mouth.

But hey, he's more active during a basketball game than Shaq.

The Los Angeles Clippers Championship Parade planner

Haven't really had a whole lot to do...

81 Billion Dollars for a tank of gas

So I've got a joke for you, guy goes to fuel up his rig when...

...he thought the $90 he had on his PayPal debit card would easily cover the $26 bill.

But the tab for fuel at the By-Pass Deli and Conoco station off state Route 240 maxed out his card, and then some, the Tri-City Herald reported Thursday on its Web site.

The transaction, Juan Zamora told the newspaper, was recorded as $81,400,836,908.

That's 81 billion dollars by the way. Read the full gas story here.

The funny thing about this is that he called the customer service person and at first they didn't believe him. I can just see that phone call now.

Rep - Thank you for calling Debit Card Company's customer service line. Your call is valuable to us. How may I help you.
Person in 81 billion dollars worth of debt - Uh yeah I fueled up and spend 26 dollars but you guys charged me for 81 billion.
Rep - Sir do you have a record of the transaction.
Person - Uh no, I didn't think I'd get charged 81 billion dollars for a tank of gas. I didn't ask for a record.
Rep - Sir, there's no way I can prove that you didn't pay 81 billion dollars for a tank of gas. That's just not possible sir I need some sort of verification.
Person - What?!
Rep - Yes sir, you wouldn't believe how many people call and say we've charged 81 billion dollars to their card by accident. Donald Trump does it all the time.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your American financial system (applause).

Friday is funday

Welcome to Friday. This is the best day of the week.

When I was in school, I loved Friday because it meant the last day of school. Now that I have a desk job I love Friday because it's the last day of work.

Here are the top 10 reasons why Friday is the best day of the week:

10. T.G.I. Fridays has good food.

9. At 2:30 PM no more work.

8. Robinson Crusoe's watchful friend was called Friday.

7. There is a Good Friday. But no bad Friday.

6. The sun shines brighter on Fridays.

5. Remember TGIF on ABC. Step by step, Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World. Those were awesome.

4. Friday Night Lights on NBC is on.

3. It's Friday the 13th. It's not the curse of Tuesday the 13th.

2. Friday means two days of freedom. (Unless you don't work anyway, then everyday is freedom)

1. Seriously, it's Friday.

High School Sports Feature: Swimmin' Sehome

The Sehome High School boys swimming team proved that Mariners are good in the water. They not only won the 2A State Swimming Championship, but did so in a dominating fashion.

Last Saturday, Sehome swimmers won eight of the 12 events in the meet. To show the dominance of the Mariners, their team score of 142 was more than double that of the second place team (Aberdeen at 62).

This was actually the third state title in swimming for Sehome. They won back-to-back titles in 1986 and 1987.

The team was lead by a pair of fish. Fish that is. The brother team of Austin and Justin Fish lead the 200 medley team, with Scott Carlyle and Evan Schmidt, to a time of 1:41.59. That set the meet record for the event.

Alex Thon soon followed suit by winning the 100 freestyle in 49.55 seconds. Sophomore Nick Hutchinson added another first by earning 334.90 points in the dive.

But the swimmer of the meet was Austin Fish (he actually shared the title of 2A Swimmer of the Meet with two others). Austin won three golds at the meet, the 200 relay, the 400 relay and 100 breaststroke. He almost added fourth in the 200 individual medley, but lost by half a second. Never the less three golds and a silver is an impressive feat for anyone. Let alone a sophomore.

We'll be seeing more of this kid for at least the next two years.

Ken Griffey Jr. signing is a scam

Our new friends over at Tailgate 365.com have an interesting commentary over the Ken Griffey Signing in Seattle. This should be a nice change of pace over the absolute oogling the local media has been doing for the past two weeks. 

Mike Whaley gives the skinny on the reality about the Griffey signing.

Griffey will not be in Seattle to lead this team to the playoffs in 2009. As much as I love this future Hall of Famer his production has fallen off way too much for that to happen. 

And let's face reality here, when you get past the age of 37, 38 or 39 your production IS suppose to decline. All steroids users please take note of this fact. The simple truth of the matter is that the Seattle Mariners signed Griffey because they are too cheap to go out and sign some good free  agents to try to get back to the post season. 

Seattle's signing of Griffey was no more than a scam to sell tickets. 

Yeah it's a feel good story as well, but this team will make millions from this signing and still be on the outside looking in come October. If Seattle fans just want to feel good they get their wish with this signing. If they are hungry to get back to the playoffs they should feel insulted and used by the management of the Mariners.

I think Mike just nailed this one out of the ballpark. FLY FLY AWAY! And after hearing nothing but Griffey! Griffey! Griffey! for a while, I've got to say that I agree with him.

Problem is, I don't think Northwest fans care. They know they're getting used, but they appreciate that Jr. put this team on the map back in the mid-nineties and is now coming back for one more ride. Some are being realistic. 

Some are not.

I was listening to ESPN Radio 700 AM in Spokane the other day and "Patchin and the Wingmen" had a discussion about Griffey and how much of an excellent clubhouse leader he'll be.

And I have to disagree, since when has Griffey been a clubhouse leader? He's been a prankster, he's been a guy that lightens the mood but Griffey has never been a clubhouse "leader". Ever hear of the story of how he gets two lockers, a recliner and Nintendo in the clubhouse? Sounds somewhat Bondish.

He's going to do his own thing, like he always does. That's not going to change.

Junior certainly commands respect, but I don't think he'll quite be the mentoring father that some fans expect him to be. And why would he? When has he ever been a mentoring figure. Never! His nickname is "The kid!"

So thanks Mike! I wish the Northwest media had as much sense as Reds fans do.

High School Sports Feature: Federal Way...All the Way?

12 in a row! That's the current winning streak of the 4A West Central District Tournaments #1 seeded Federal Way High School boys basketball team after beating 8th seeded Curtis High School on Wednesday night. The Eagles are currently 23-2 overall on the season and look to notch win 24, as well as extend their winning streak to a lucky 13 on Saturday when they take on 5th seeded Foss High School. One of these teams will look to win the tournament as well as continue their winning streak as Foss has also won 12 straight games.

The Eagles came out victorious on Wednesday night by a score of 59-54 over Curtis and where led in scoring by Michael Hale III, who poured in 17 points and Cole Dickerson who added 15. Also contributing to the victory was Isiah Umipig who scored 7 points but more importantly sank 3 of 4 shots from the charity stripe in the last 14.9 seconds of the game.

On Saturday at Puyallup High School, Federal Way will try to win their first district title since 1994. A victory would surely give them a shot at a #1 seed in the state tournament which will be decided on Sunday when the seeding is announced.

Bacon is great on everything

Since Just South of North is a local Washington blog we love bragging about awesome things that come from our state.

Well today are you ever in for a treat. Today I present to you Baconnaise. That's right kids, it's not bacon, it's not mayonnaise, it's Baconnaise!

And the two guys from Seattle who thought this thing up have really got something going.

I mean seriously, who doesn't like the taste of bacon? Well, maybe the pig. On second thought, I bet even they like the taste of it. They are a pig after all.

But before Baconnaise was around the duo behind this bacon phenomenon, Justin and Dave, were launching BaconSalt. Their story from small technology company workers to the proud makers of bacon-flavored products is pretty awesome. READ IT HERE.

They also have their own blog that they keep updated with all the bacon news you'll ever need. Their motto: The never ending quest to make everything taste like bacon.

You also can buy shirts and hats with bacon slogans on them. My personal favorite was the one with a picture of bacon + a picture of salt. Haha. BaconSalt. I get it.

Customers can buy the bacon flavored products at various retailers as well as online. The guys are even offering free Baconnaise for a year if you can get the product on the shelves of a store near you. What a great idea.

And while I haven't tried the stuff myself, I am going to have to buy some. I love bacon and I love sauces. Goodbye ketchup, hello Baconnaise.

So from some fellow Washingtonians trying to get their dreams going to some who have made theirs a reality, congrats Justin and Dave. Great work!

Here's some reviews on the amazing everything edible topping.

A smile is a great way to start the day

Good morning Just South of North readers. There is nothing more pleasant in the mornings than to wake up with a smile on your face. Well, a London artist tried to do just that yesterday in the skies above the city.

In an attempt to help spread happiness in the gloom of February, the artist, 28-year-old Stuart Semple decided the best way to make people's days better was to smile.

So he released more than 2,000 pink smiley faces into the London sky.

Now these smiley faces weren't balloons. Oh no. They were made from helium, soap and vegetable dye.

Each face lasted about 30 minutes before they "popped."

We at JustSoN hope you have a great day, and remember, smile. It's contagious.

Smallville season nine is a GO!

My all time favorite television show and the only show I have watched every episode of since day one got renewed for a ninth season.

That's right, Smallville on the CW!

I still remember watching the first episode all those years ago. That evening I knew this show would be amazing. And it has yet to disappoint.

Also back on the CW for fall of 2009 will be One Tree Hill, Supernatural, 90210, Gossip Girl and America's Next Top Model.

When in doubt blame a sea lion

The Bonneville Dam that spans the Columbia River Gorge between Washington and Oregon is about to become the place of extreme controversy.

Oregon and Washington wildlife officials are going to move ahead with plans to remove sea lions from the area.

The reason is simple. The dam causes the spawning salmon to "school-up" at the base of it. Which means they basically become a sitting buffet.

It's not the sea lions fault, they just want an easy meal. Being a guy still in the college mindset I can relate. I don't think about dinner until I'm hungry. Then, since I'm hungry I want the easiest meal possible. Which usually involves a microwave or a pot of water.

Unfortunately for these animals state officials and local tribe representatives don't see it that way. All they see is that the sea lions eat a lot of the fish that are stuck there.

Animal rights groups don't buy that excuse. They say that the state officials are just using the sea lions as scapegoats for the decline in the salmon population. When other things, such as clear cutting along river banks, polluting rivers and dams themselves cause more problems for the fish than the sea lions do.

For now the sea lions will be caught and given to zoos and aquariums. But the states are allowed to kill 85 of them each year.

I find that sad. Kill the lazy ones dinning on the buffet of fresh fish. I agree that salmon are important, but I do not think that the sea lions are the sole cause of the decline of the species. There are a lot of "human made" actions that are affecting them more.

Sasquatch! goes green

When you think of outdoor rock concerts what do you think of?

I think of loud music, dancing people, warm summers and lights from the stage.

One thing I don't think of is the carbon footprint left by that concert.

Well someone is because the annual Sasquatch! Music Festival in George, Washington (hehe, George Washington) has decided that they will do their part to go carbon neutral.

The music festival spans three days, May 23-25, at the Gorge Amphitheater.

Here's some of the ways the show will be trying to lessen their carbon footprint:

-Expanded recycling stations
-"Rideshare" programs to get to the show
- Offer concert goers the chance to purchase the "Green Gorge Pass"

The first two are pretty simple, the third is a bit more complicated. According to the Carbon Harmony Site, the Green Gorge Pass is this:

Heading to the Gorge? Esurance and Carbon Harmony have teamed up to present the Green Gorge Pass. For just $4, Carbon Harmony will offset your share of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Your Green Gorge Pass will go towards funding the reduction of GHG emissions on dairy farms. Methane collection and combustion projects convert methane gas from animal waste into clean electricity.

This internationally recognized process offers two benefits: GHG reduction and renewable energy generation. The Chicago Climate Exchange approves the procedures, and verifies that they comply with international standards.

So basically pay $4 extra bucks and somebody else will clean up your carbon mess. It's kinda like a maid for the environment. I wish I had a maid.

The show itself will be huge with a great line up this year with bands for everyone. From the Portland indie group, The Decemberists to the more well known Jane's Addiction.

Tickets for the show go on sale this Saturday, February 28, 2009. So grab your tickets to this show and at the same time pick up your Green Gorge Pass.

Man Sasquatch are cool.

High School Sports Feature: Bainbridge Fencers

Bainbridge High School was represented well over Presidents Day weekend when they sent 3 students to the fencing Junior Olympics in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 3 competitors were Xander Fehsenfeld, Jay Slater and Isabel Gueble. Fehsenfeld and Slater competed in the U17 Men's Epee. They both represented the Bainbridge Spartans well in the tournament, ultimately losing close bouts in the first round of the direct elimination round.

Isabel Gueble fenced in the U20 and U17 Women's Saber. In Isabel's first U17 direct elimination bout she was down 8-1 at the break but came back to win 15-14. The second round pitted Gueble against the 2008 WS National Champion, and the eventual tournament winner,
Francesca Russo. Gueble lost the match but performed well.

Perhaps some of these kids will represent the United States in the next Summer Olympics.

Whitworth Weekly Update: The postseason starts Thursday

Whitworth begins the postseason on Thursday after they clinched the second-seed in the NWC Tournament. They'll host their first-round game against three-seed Linfield, a team that they defeated 82-70 the last time they played at home (Feb. 7).

However, the Pirates lost to Linfield 88-79 earlier in the season (Jan. 10) when the team had to travel down to Oregon. So this isn't a cake walk. Gametime is at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

For the first time in school history, the Pirates have put together four consecutive 20-win seasons (20-5 overall, 12-4 NWC record), and if they win, they'll face the winner of the one-seed Puget Sound vs. Lewis & Clark for a berth in the Div. III NCAA Tournament.

Hello March Madness.

Reasons why you're still single

You brag about being a Denver Broncos fan.

OR...

You've mentioned the phrase "Sixburgh BAYBEEEE!" to your friends in the past week.

Epic Photo: This is what happens when you drive in Chewelah

You get stuck behind someone hauling hay. DRAT!

But the small Northeastern Washington town living does have it's advantages:

1. Traffic is about as backlogged as the people lining up to be Pac-man Jones' PR Director.
2. Deer make excellent speed bumps.
3. Keystone is the beer of choice, not that pricey Busch Light stuff.
4. You won't have to worry about running into a politician in these parts, you know, because they're looking for population centers that will vote for them. Not pass it up for Bingo Night.
5. Bingo Night rocks. By the way.
6. Chasing off people with a rifle is perfectly legal here, just don't shoot at them.
7. Fitness is actually pretty easy, with all the hunting that you do for your food, you really don't have to go to the gym. Dragging the game out of the woods burns a lot of calories too.
8. Smog... is a myth in these parts.
9. Well water, not that chlorine crap they serve you in Spokane.
10. It's like Canada, but with a much better flag.

(If you're offending by my small-town bashing, please, small-town people bash their town more than people that aren't from a small town. Only thing is, we can get away with it because our SUV is faster than your Toyota Prius.)

Epic Video: Everyone who's anyone is on Facebook

This is a classic from Barats and Bereta. Perhaps the best thing to happen to Gonzaga since John Stockton.

Brief Casey: Stealing a Facebook status

I've heard of nicotine addictions, heroine addictions, heck even video game addictions. But Facebook addictions? Now that is something.

It appears that this is what our society has come to. A 19-year-old man in Bradenton, Florida actually stole a laptop from a man in Starbucks when the customer refused to let him check his facebook. The 19-year-old grabbed the laptop and ran out of the mall. He was later tackled in the parking lot by two people and held down until security arrived.

Here's how I believe the events traspired:
(For the sake of the article I will call the 19-year-old "Kid" and the customer "Hank")

Kid: "Hey man. My iPhone died. I can't update my Facebook status. Can I use your laptop?"
Hank: "Sorry son. I'm in the middle of a very important video conference."
Kid: "Wow that sucks. Now all of my friends that I have on Facebook won't know what I am doing at this very moment."
Hank: "What did your last status say?"
Kid: "Kid is Drinking coffee in a Starbucks in the mall."
Hank: "How is that different than what you are doing right now?"
Kid: (rolling eyes) "I finished my coffee. Can't you see that this is tea? Sheesh."
Hank: "That's pratcially the same thing. Besides, who really cares that you're in a Starbucks drinking coffee?"
Kid: "All my sweet social networking friends. Wow you are lame."
Hank: "I'm glad I didn't let you borrow my laptop for that."
Kid: "Please sir. Now I need to change my status to, Kid is Drinking tea in a Starbucks while talking to a really lame old guy."
Hank: "Anyway, thanks for the chat. Now please go."
Kid: (Staring at Hank. Then at the laptop. Then at Hank. Then the laptop.)
Hank: "Fine. Change your status then get out of here."
Kid: "Thanks." (Starts typing away)
Hank: "What are you changing it to now?"
Kid: "Kid is Stealing some guys laptop from a Starbucks."

And with that he runs out the door.

Now I know that might not be exactly how everything went down. But that's the word around Facebook anyway. I've got to go change my status to, "Casey just wrote a blog."

So that way all my friends can know exactly what I'm up to at this moment.

Tiger's Back

Tiger Woods played his first practice round today after having ACL reconstruction and recovering from a double stress fracture in his left tibia. You may remember the last tournament he played in which was his U.S. Open victory from June. After his practice round today Woods said "My short game has gotten a little bit better,". He also said "As far as my golf swing I'm doing the same things I've been trying to do but now I have a leg I can do it on." Those two quotes have to make the rest of the PGA Tour nervous.

Tiger has won both previous events he competed in after recovering from knee surgery. The previous two times were 10 weeks and 7 weeks, no where near as long as this 8 month layoff. I guess we will have to see how he does, I'm sure the PGA will be happy to see people tuning in.

We get our chance tomorrow when Tiger takes on Australian Brendan Jones in the first round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. This event is one that Tiger is familiar with, as he is the defending champion.

High School Sports Feature: CDA comes home with the championship

The Couer D'Alene High School Girl's basketball team continues the excellence. They just won their seventh state championship which is tops in the 5A classification.

NAMPA, Idaho – Whitney Heleker needed all the air that she normally places under her high-arcing shots as the clock wound down.

If she didn’t put as much arc on what turned out to be the game-winning shot, it may not have made it to the backboard.

With the game tied, the Coeur d’Alene High senior banked in a 23-foot shot as the Vikings rallied to knock off Centennial 54-50 in overtime in the State 5A girls basketball championship game before an estimated crowd of 3,000 at the Idaho Center in a battle of undefeated teams.

Sounds like a fun game to be at. With Spokane's Lewis and Clark High School being ever dominant in 4A basketball and Coeur D'Alene doing the same in 5A in Idaho, it seems that the Inland Northwest has quite a few solid girls squads in the area. Read the full story on the Spokesman's website.

WSU Weekly Update: Bud Nameck kicks butts and takes names later

During the UCLA-WSU radio broadcast, Cougar play-by-play man Bud Nameck had a little "scuffle" with a Bruins fan. Basically the fan screamed an unflattering term towards Aron Baynes right into the crowd mic, and realizing what had happened, Nameck used his arm to push the fan away.

Now apparently the fan claimed Nameck hit him, but the was escorted from the event anyways.

If you've been a sports fan in the Inland Northwest for any length of time, chances are you've heard Bud Nameck on the air. The man is one of the most legendary broadcasters in the area. And if there's one thing you couldn't see Bud Nameck doing, it's hitting a person. There's not a nicer, more personable voice on the air than Nameck's when he's calling a game.

That being said, if that allegations are true, Nameck has officially laid more smackdown then the entire WSU football team this year. Sorry coach Wulff.

Read the full story on the Spokesman.com blog.

In basketball news, senior guard Taylor Rochestie was named Pac-10 player of the week after scoring a career high 33-points during WSU's 82-81 victory over UCLA last Saturday. No word on if he hit a UCLA fan as well.

Not exactly getting accolades WSU quarterback Marshall Lobbestael was cited for alcohol, because he's only 19 years old and police said he exhibited signs of having consumed booze. Which is right on par with the rest of Cougar fans after last season.

Oops! Two Cougar digs in one post. I'll stop. Wait until you see my post on how Nate Robinson is single-handily reviving Will Ferrell's career. There will be plenty of Husky digs there.

JustSoN Question: Favorite camping season

Thanks to my hike today in the rain, I decided it was about time that we brought back the Just South of North Question of the Day. So what do you say? Want to answer this one:

What is your favorite season to go camping?

A little rain never hurt

In Washington you have to learn to adapt. Otherwise you'd never do anything but stay indoors. Take today for example. Jeff and I had planned a hike on Tiger Mountain this afternoon at 2:30. It was beautiful ALL day.

That is until 2:25.

Then the rain came.

It wasn't a downpour, but definitely enough to get you wet. In Washington we call this a sprinkle, in Arizona they call it a downpour and in SoCal they call it "dude."

The sprinkle was coming down as we drove out to the trail head. Our destination was the trails around Tradition Lake near Issaquah. By the time we showed up, the sprinkle had turned into a drizzle. Or in Arizona terms a flood.

But we figured that it was a warm rain and a little bit of wetness wasn't going to hurt anyone. So we took off.

The hike wasn't very hard at all. Next time we're going to try one that gains more elevation. But being unfamilar with the area, this hike was great. Plus, the rain kept most people away for the afternoon. Although we did see seven or eight other people, who like us, would rather brave the rains then sit inside.

High School Sports Feature: Deer Park repeats as 2A State Wrestling Champions

Since it is obvious that Casey is biased towards the west side schools :D when it comes to sports, I've decided to give you guys a taste on how we do high school sports on the east side.

Domination.

Deer Park, which is roughly 15 minutes north of Spokane, didn't just repeat as 2A wrestling state champions. They crushed the field. Here's the blog post from Mike Vlahovich of the Spokesman Review:

Deer Park put all its wrestlers in the finals today - Blake Adams, Drew Acorn, Billy Rhoads, Brandon Leliefield, Cody Miller and Shawn Burton - to wrap up its second straight State 2A championship in convincing fashion. As coach Matt Jorgensen said yesterday, it’s all about putting people through the front door and when you have six it’s pretty hard to lose. The Stags have doubled the score in the field and will approach last year’s 167.5 point total before it’s done.

On the 2A level, most schools have trouble even fielding a full roster of wrestlers since the sport doesn't have quiet the allure of basketball, but apparently the Stags have found themselves a very deep and talented pool of wrestlers. 

While it's amazing that they've gotten all their wrestlers into the finals, I find it even more amazing that they have contenders in every single weight class. That's tough to find. Wow.

Anyone see Vision Quest? That must be how they train.

Washington Huskies Weekly Update

A little help from your enemies. That's what the Washington Huskies got this week when the Washington State Cougars beat the UCLA Bruins on Saturday. The Huskies now have a 1 1/2 game lead over the Bruins in the Pac-10. Arizona State is right behind the Huskies, only a 1/2 game back, they will have a chance to add to that lead when the Sun Devils visit B of A this Thursday. Should the Huskies prevail on Thursday that will give them at least a 1 1/2 game lead over the second place team in the Pac-10 with just 2 conference games remaining, both at home.

Unfortunately the Huskies were unable to beat UCLA last Thursday losing 85-76, but did manage to beat the USC Trojans on their home court on Saturday by the final of 60-51. The loss was only the second the Trojans have suffered all season. The heroes in this game against the Trojans were Quincy Pondexter who scored a season-high 22 points, and Venoy Overton who applied heavy pressure to USC's point guard Daniel Hackett. Overton entered the game with 6:20 remaining and helped shut down the Trojans, who led by 4 with 5:52 to play but scored only 1 point the rest of the way.

This week the Huskies entertain the Sun Devils on Thursday the 26th and the Arizona Wildcats Saturday the 28th, both at home.

Chiefs Update: Looking ahead

When the Spokane Chiefs welcomed in the Seattle Thunderbirds for a U.S. Division battle on Wednesday night, they were playing some of their best hockey of the season, which was reflected in their 7-3 thrashing of the T'Birds that night. Both Drayson Bowman and Tyler Johnson recorded hat tricks and each added an assist in Spokane's fifth straight win.

However, like myself, Spokane may have been looking ahead to their much-anticipated rematch with the Vancouver Giants on Tuesday when they entered the weekend facing a pair of road contests against Seattle and the rival Tri-City Americans.

On Friday, the Chiefs headed to Kent and were beaten soundly, 3-0 in another matchup with the Birds. Spokane outshot the hosts 36-28, but couldn't generate any offense even-strength and failed on three power plays in being shutout for only the fourth time on the season.

Travelling down to Kennewick on Saturday didn't serve as the remedy for the Chiefs as the visitors were greeted by Mitch Fadden scoring 14 seconds into the contest. Adam Hughesman would score just under 10 minutes later, which would stand as the game-winner as Tri defeated Spokane 2-1.

Again, Spokane outshot the home team, this time by a 42-36 margin. Spokane starting goaltender Dustin Tokarski kept the Chiefs in it with several terrific saves on Ams breakaways, but the only offense Spokane would muster was a great individual effort by Mitch Wahl on the penalty kill midway through the second that pulled Spokane within one. But Spokane failed on a late power play and Tri-City prevented Spokane from gaining the offensive zone, which meant Tokarski couldn't get off the ice for a 2-man advantage. With no late pressure, the Ams captured two huge points in the race for the U.S. Division title, an achievement they're looking to repeat from a season ago.

Nevertheless, the Chiefs now can turn their full attention to the Giants, broadcast on FSN Tuesday night at 7 p.m. from north of the border. Vancouver will be coming off a loss of their own to Seattle, 3-2, so both teams will be looking to rebound, as Spokane will be looking to avoid only their third three-game losing skid of the year. The Giants, meanwhile, have yet to lose two consecutive games in regulation this season.

Yeah, they're that good.

Epic Photo of Greatness: Yawn! Another WCC Championship

(Photo taken by Rajah Bose/AP)

Gonzaga certainly didn't look in their 92-58 thumping of Pepperdine last night to clinch the regular season WCC title and the first seed in the conference tournament. Senior Josh Heytvelt (pictured) had a career high 28 points in the contest.

Where are all the college baseball fans?

Football and basketball rule the pocketbooks of universities, and rightly so, they attract thousands upon thousands of fans.

But what about college baseball?

It's been relegated to a status lower than minor league baseball even though it has produced some of the game's brightest stars.

I would assume that college baseball hasn't quiet earned the respect that football and basketball have because:

1. Minor and major league baseball tickets are much more affordable than their football and basketball counterparts, and games are much more frequent, so why go to a college game when you can usually find the pros playing in a town near you (Seriously, they have a minor-league team in Missoula, that means there HAS to be a town near you.)

2. Think it's bad now in college basketball with kids going one and done? The much less-important MLB draft has a pretty strong mixture of high school and college prospects. And here's the catch - probably the most talented kids go directly to the minor leagues but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be a success in the pros - but the risk could prove to be a huge payoff. So college baseball loses some of its best young prospects to the draft and then the college kids who get drafted, usually end up in the minor leagues and once they actually make the big leagues you've forgotten they've even played in college.

3. It's baseball, there's no big singular game like football that causes Lou Holtz to spit out his dentures. It's a season-long process and no one pays attention until Super Regionals and the College World Series.

So for the most part, college baseball takes a back seat and that's why some major schools don't even have baseball programs. Which is a shame - I remember feeling cheated when EWU didn't have a NCAA baseball program after being a Pac-10 member in the 1980s.

Perhaps its this feeling that has caused Casey and I to go baseball crazy. Casey is interested in the University of Oregon's baseball team, and I'll definitely keep you updated with the Cougs, Zags and Whitworth.

And don't forget the Spokane Indians and Riverhawks too. We'll cover them with weekly updates as well.

High School Sports Feature: Enumclaw Wrestling

The Enumclaw Hornets wrestling team easily won their second straight 3A team title by scoring 174 points. 174 happens to be the second most points ever scored by a 3A team at Mat Classic.

The Hornets had nine wrestlers place, including two state champions.

Here's how those nine fared at Mat Classic XXI in Tacoma:

Sam Bauer (125) - State Champion
Wayne Horton (130) - 4th
Kyle Young (135) - 7th
Jason Grey (140) - State Champion
Josh Musick (140) - 3rd
Jacob Jokela (145) -3rd
Connor Elder (160) - 2nd
Mike Staples (189) - 6th
Brad McCutchens (215) - 2nd

Both Bauer and Grey won state championships last year as well.

But that's not all for these two impressive young wrestlers, both finished the season with amazing 42-0 records.

In addition to his two state championships and perfect record, Grey became the Hornets' first wrestler to place in State each of his four years. During his sophomore and freshman years he had placed third and fourth.

Congratulations to Enumclaw High School and Head Coach Lee Reichert on this impressive feat.

JustSoN introduces High School Sports Feature

Tomorrow, Just South of North will be starting a new daily section titled, High School Sports Feature.

Each day we will feature a different high school in Washington state or a high school athlete that excels in their sport.

Sometimes these programs or athletes will be the "high profile" ones, but most of the time they won't be. So tune in each day and see who's who in Washington high school sports according to Just South of North.

Epic Photo of Greatness: WSU upsets UCLA

Only the second time in the entire building's history, the WSU Cougars defeated the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilon 82-81.

They may have just revived their season.

Bored around camp? Try this.

Today has brought another day of lovely weather to Western Washington. Thanks to the great weather my dad and I decided to start our season of Bongo Balls early. Now you may be asking what Bongo Balls is, and the answer is simple, it's a great backyard game or campground game.

Now Bongo Balls is known by many different names. While looking them up on the Internet I found all these names for the game:

Norwegian Horseshoes, Ladder Golf, Snakes, Hillbilly Golf, Polish Golf, Horseballs, Tower Ball, Bolo Golf, Gladiator, Bola, Snake Toss, BlongoBall, Ladder Toss, Bolo, Rodeo Golf, Dingle Balls, Bolo Polo, Cowboy Golf, Redneck Golf, Pocca Bolo, The Snake Game, Willy Ball, Ladder Ball, Slither, Zing-Ball, Snakes & Ladders, Hillbilly Horseshoes, Flingy Ball, Top Toss, Norwegian Golf, Monkey Bars Golf, Swedish Golf, Polish Horsehoes, Dandy Golf, Montana Golf, Lasso Golf, Australian Horseshoes, Ladder Game, Monkey Balls, Rattlerail Toss, Golfball Horseshoes, Arizona Golf Balls, Spin-It, Ball Dangle, Bolo Ball, Poor Mans Golf, Bolo Toss, even Testical Toss!

Yes, it is truly the game of a million names. Now the thing with this game is that it's easy to learn, fun to play and great for the whole family.

But before you run out to the store and buy a set for $50-$100. It is really simple to make your own for under $30. Even less if you have the stuff laying around.

Here is a great site that explains how to cut the PVC pipe and to what sizes. VIEW IT HERE.

As for the balls, you need 8 normal golf balls (four of one color and four of a different color), a drill and some rope. Drill ONE hole all the way through the golf balls. Thread the rope through and tie a knot. Measure 1-foot in length and cut it off. Put the other ball through and tie a knot on the end. Do this for all the sets.

Don't worry about the balls going together on the string, the force of the throw will keep them at the ends.

And just as there are as many different names for the game, there are a million variations of the rules. Here is a site that explains one way to play. VIEW IT HERE. While that site said each player had 3 sets of balls, we play with just 2 each.

Once everything is set up go outside and have some fun. The game is great and is sure to be a hit with everyone in the family.

Spokane Shock Weekly Update: it's gametime!

Remember all the fuss made about the start time during the World Series last year? It was mostly from east coasters who were getting sick of staying up past midnight to watch playoff baseball, causing me to laugh at them because when you live on the west coast you really don't have to worry about start time of games since we're three hours behind everyone else.

Meaning that when you wake up in the morning on Sunday during the NFL season, you only have to wait until 10 a.m. for the first round of games to start as opposed to 1 p.m. on the east coast, which stinks because that's plenty of time for your significant other to drop the "honey-do" list on your lap before kickoff. Another advantage of the west coast, is that the Sunday night game starts at 6 p.m. our time meaning that you'll get in bed with plenty of time to sleep before work the next morning.

So as sports fans on the west coast we really can't complain, but since this is a blog, I'm going to. There's been several instances when I think to myself "why the heck did they schedule the game at that time?"

First, some college basketball games have been starting later and later. Gonzaga plays tonight with an 8:30 p.m. start time and that's something that WSU and UW have been familiar with as well. They've even done it on the weekdays which means you're sometimes watching the Cougars and Huskies at 10 p.m. at night.

And when you have to wake up early the next morning, the second half of the game can be tough to handle. But why are they scheduling these games so late? It's certainly not to set themselves up for the East Coast, which is bedding down for the night before the game even started. So are they setting things for the Hawaii Time Zone or something? If you want to watch the game at the bar, you're hitting the louder night crowd that's going to detract from your experience, as opposed to a group of people just wanting to watch the game.

Second, the Spokane Shock have played around with their starting time for games. I believe their first season they kicked off at 7 p.m. on Saturdays. Then they moved their games to 5 p.m. which wasn't late or anything but made me scratch my head a little since a lot of people work of the weekend and it doesn't exactly allow them a whole lot of time to get off work and get to the Arena. It also kind of curtails your Saturdays as well since people have to be ready to head to the game by early afternoon.

But it looks like this season they've moved it back up to 7 p.m. which I think allows for most of the normal fans the best possible start time.

There has been a couple of roster changes, announced by Spokane Shock Director of Communications Kevin Maloney:

The Spokane Shock announced today that DB Brandon Isaac has been traded to the Manchester Wolves for future considerations. In another roster move, the Shock released WR Damon Morton.

The Shock’s roster now totals 34 players; 35 players will be brought into training camp that begins on March 8th.

I love future consideration trades. "We're going to trade you for somebody we don't quite no yet." Really makes a player feel good about himself.

They're also bringing back defensive coordinator Alex Sirianni, who was huge last year for the team. I know it's the af2, but the Shock had one of the best defenses last year, and that squad seemed to be able to make stops when it was needed - except for the final game of the season but we won't mention that game.

University of Oregon Baseball Update: A good way to start the program

It may have taken 28 years to come, but the Oregon Ducks won their season opener in baseball tonight.

The Ducks took on Saint Mary's in the first baseball game played by the University of Oregon since 1981, and they walked off the field with a 5-3 win.

I must say that is a pretty good way to start not only a new season, but a new program as well.

Oregon’s offense totaled five runs on 13 hits, while freshman left-hander Tyler Anderson recorded his first victory on the mound.

Anderson left the game with the lead after pitching 5.2 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits and four walks, while striking out five.

Freshman KC Serna, junior Jett Hart and junior Curtis Raulinaitis provided the RBIs for Oregon, while Caleb Tommasini and Raulinaitis led the Ducks with three hits apiece.

The Ducks take on Saint Mary's again tomorrow and one more time on Sunday. Sure it's just one win, but the University of Oregon is already doing what it set out do when it brought back the sport--draw attention away from their main rival, Oregon State University.

We'll be following this historic team all season here at Just South of North. So tune in for updates, stats and more.

Reasons why you're still single...

You're of adult age and have watched the following in the last six months:

- Anything with Dragonball Z in the title.
- Star Trek: The Original Series, not on television because it's roughly on 40 different channels but rather the DVD collection you dropped a $140 on.
- Lord of the Rings - who watched 10 hours of Elijah Wood anymore?
- Antique Roadshow - on Friday nights.
- Batman and Robin - since it's so much better than the new Batman movies.
- Tron... ummm. Okay.
- Star Wars: Episode I on a regular basis.

Watching Bill O'Reilly while I workout

So strangely enough, when I go to my gym in North Spokane, they have "The O'Reilly Factor" always playing on their central television in front of all the exercise bikes and treadmills. And since I really don't want to look down and see how much time I have left in my workout - which is just disheartening - I find myself watching Bill to pass the time.

Obviously different people have different opinions about the guy and there's a couple things that strikes me about the show. I don't think that they're even trying to promote the fair and balanced crap anymore, it seems pretty straight forward, this is Bill's show and he's going to say what he wants. There's nothing wrong with that but if you use it as your sole source of news, you're dumb.

Secondly, the man is almost promoting his latest book or website gimmick, and considering the large amount of viewership he gets, this is capitalism at its greatest. Make a bunch of people angry or get them to agree with you and make butt loads of money.

And say what you will about his views, opinions and urge to yell all the time, the guy is pretty successful by any standards. Casey and I have yet to get our primetime show on Fox News but perhaps if we could pitch an idea of dancing penguins and midgets to the network, I think we might be well off. So that considered, I really can't judge the guy's intelligence. He's a genius. Some of the stuff he says is intentionally earmarked to get you riled up and think about the issues.

Now that's not saying that I agree with Mr. O'Reilly, far from it. I'm what you would call a socialist-republican with a tad bit of college liberal hippie in me, and then throw in some small-town background ideology and you have the biggest f-ed up mind in the country. But hey! At least I'm not Obama's pastor. However, the man does command my attention while I'm on the exercise bike and he does bring up points of discussion - sometimes really petty and stupid things - that I think about.

So love him - hate him - he does provide some good TV. Oh an by the way... WE'LL DO IT LIVE!! Okay just had to get that out of my system.

If I become Lance Armstrong, I'm going to thank Mr. O'Reilly for keeping me on that exercise bike. 

(PS - How the hell is Tony Danza an political analyst on "Hannity", seriously how did he get that gig? Did anyone see "Who's the Boss" ... what political undertones were there?)