Unhealthy practice?

So I think I might want to take a break from sports talk radio for a week or so. I've realized that it probably isn't that good for me.

Obviously it's not exactly a concentrated haven of intellectual wealth. Especially during football season when it just thrives on hyping up BYU vs. Utah smack talk. It really gets old and stupid pretty fast.

There is never any real news or reporting that goes on. It's all just opinion and entertainment. So if I want to inundate myself with information about this week's upcoming games I wouldn't go there anyway.

I might take a day or two off from listening to it live, and just catch the "Best of" daily podcasts. That way I can hear the 10 minutes of substance the pundits have without the other two hours and 50 minutes of commercials and garbage.

Utah State and RSL

This was the first game where Annette and I actually got to sit together. She has been a real trooper about this whole BYU football thing, even going so far as to wear a Cougar sweatshirt.















And we also went to our first soccer game together at Real Salt Lake's new stadium. Annette said she really enjoyed watching the continuous action of soccer. More good news for me.

Zion Pictures

A few snapshots from the weekend:


The long and treacherous climb up Angels Landing...


































Standing triumphantly on the summit...


...and the view of the canyon.















Calling my shot



















At some overlook in another part of the canyon.















Jen, David, and Emily















Annette's new friend















David and I scaling the treacherous water slide...














...and sliding down.














Annette's turn.




















Let's go jump in the pool...

An early fall weekend in Zion...

This past weekend Annette and I took the trip to Zion we have been planning for a couple of months. I was last there about four years ago and was very much looking forward to taking one last warm-weather vacation and getting in some outdoor adventure.

The trip didn't disappoint.

We arrived at the park late Friday morning. The main parking lot was full so we found one virtually unmarked lot right outside the main entrance and pulled in there. The plan was to just pay the walk-in fee. Right off the parking lot there was a well-worn trail with a sign directing us to "Proceed to the Park Entrance" and pay. We followed the trail and next thing we new we were standing at the visitors center boarding the shuttle. Apparently Zion isn't exactly Ft. Knox, and we were a bit surprised how easy it was to just walk right in.

We immediately tackled Angels Landing. I had never done that hike before because in 2004 no one else wanted to go and, in all my trips prior to that, I was too young and Mom wouldn't allow me to join Dad and the older kids. I had always quietly thought that this was more paranoia on her part than anything else, but now I can definitely see why she refused to let me go.

It was a great hike. I had heard about the narrow parts with sheer drops and safety chains, but I had always envisioned that as being a relatively short part of the trail. In fact it's quite lengthy. Still, neither of us ever felt like we were in imminent danger of falling, and we made it all the way out to the point and back down. We felt especially cool when we walked by all the people that just stopped at Scouts Lookout (the part before the chains/sheer drops, etc.) and a few people that abandoned hope midway through the chains and turned back. It was a sunny (but not scorching hot) day and the view was well worth it.

Later that afternoon we walked back to the parking lot, planning on just getting in our car, driving into the park (paying the fee we hadn't paid coming in), and seeing some sights before going to dinner. I was there reminded of how tiny my car really is. Upon arriving at the lot, I looked where my car should have been and saw nothing. This didn't concern me since usually my car hides pretty well behind others, so I just took a few more steps over. But, I still couldn't see it. At this point I was starting to get a little incredulous that Zion would have towed my car from a completely unmarked -- and by all indications public -- lot with no warning. It wasn't until I took several more steps clear around the only car I could see that I finally saw my car's trunk. The car next to mine was just some little four door sedan, but my small, sleek Saturn was totally invisible on the other side of it.

We were staying with Jen and David (Annette's best friend and her husband) at David's parents' house in Toquerville. They had elected not to join us for Angels Landing but we all went to a great Mongolian BBQ place in St. George that night.

Saturday we went on a short hike to a lookout point over the Pine Creek part of the canyon, then to a "Watering Hole" along the river where there are some deep pools for swimming and jumping in. We went back to Toquerville to dry off and change clothes, then David's brother Matthew took us rappelling out in the desert. This was another first for me, but it wasn't so bad. The cliff we went off of wasn't very high and Matthew was very good at explaining the proper procedures and safety precautions.

We left Sunday at lunchtime after a brief (but panicky) search for my missing car keys. I thought for a moment I might have lost them rappelling. But, we found them and arrived back home in time for Sunday dinner with the family.

I'll post some pictures soon so you can all look on jealously. Let me just tell you this time of year is the perfect time to go down there. It was much less crowded than in the summer, the weather was perfect, and we got everything done we wanted to do.

I can't wait to go again next year.

Christmas Plans

So I've been threatening to go to California around Christmas for a few weeks now, and things are finally set in stone - just don't tell my company yet.

Initially I had thought about going the week after Christmas, and over New Years. But, with BYU's win over UCLA and some consultation with Annette, I decided it would actually be better to go over Christmas. So, I'll be flying out the afternoon of Dec. 23, and flying back home the evening of the 29th.

As it turns out, Annette had actually been secretly hoping for a BYU loss because she was afraid a BCS bowl would throw a wrench into my California plans. Since such a loss does not appear to be forthcoming, I chose a week that pretty well covers all realistic bowl possibilities. The Las Vegas Bowl is three days earlier. All the BCS bowls are later. A disastrous invite to the Poinsettia Bowl is the only one not covered (it starts about when my flight lands), but if we lose enough games to end up in that bowl I think I'll be OK missing it. With that sorted out, Annette can now stop secretly hoping for a loss. Although she will have cause to laugh if somehow we end up in the Rose Bowl and I have to trudge back down to Pasadena on New Years Day right after I flew out... maybe I could get my return flight adjusted.

One near-hitch in plans came this week when I was talking to my co-worker Bob. He is planning a trip to Japan with his (Japanese) wife and newborn child around that same time. There is one day, Friday the 26th, where he thought I would need to be at the warehouse to fill in for him and get some things shipped out. I think he could sense my complete disgust with the idea that the warehouse would actually open back up for that one day, right after Christmas and right before the weekend. He said he would "talk" with the higher-ups and see if we could stay closed that day.

Sufficeth to say I was disgusted enough by the idea that I had Annette go ahead and book my flight without waiting for an answer from the higher-ups. If they try to tell me I have to work that day I'll just say my girlfriend already booked my flight so I'm stuck going out of town, "Sorry, but you'll have to cancel your precious Friday shipping day for one week - the DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS."

Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the trip. It will be fun staying with the Marengos. I haven't been to California since Fall of 2001 right before my mission. I haven't been to southern California since Christmas of 2000 when the whole family hauled down to San Diego. So, rock on. Maybe I'll get to see Meredith or Julie if they're not in Utah that whole time.

Time to hang up the notebook?

The thought crossed my mind about midway through the second half yesterday.

I was covering a girls soccer game at Timpview. It was just like the dozens of other girls soccer games I've covered for the newspaper in the last three or four years. It was a bit chilly though...

The thought I had was that I don't really look forward to a lot of these games anymore.

Now, obviously girls high school soccer has never presented any special thrills, but I've gotten to a point in the last year or so where most high school games I cover in any sport don't get me all that excited.

There are exceptions, of course. I really enjoy the playoff games for football, boys soccer, and boys basketball. There are a couple of regular-season games every year that are entertaining and fun to watch too. But, 80 percent of the time I'm just going to a game, going through the motions, and hoping it doesn't go into overtime.

On Saturday Jim, my boss at the D-News, called and said they needed some help in the press box for the BYU game. It's still cool sitting in the press box in some ways. The food is good, the running stats are nice, the TV sets and internet are convenient, and interviewing the players and coaches is interesting. But even after that, I found myself thinking that sitting with the commoners in the stands is just fine by me.

What does get me excited, however, is refereeing. I had more fun refereeing some sophomore and JV basketball games last season than I did covering most of the varsity games I went to, and I find myself a lot more enthusiastic about the two club soccer games I'm going to work Saturday morning than any of the three high school games on my calendar this week.

There are a couple of reasons for my difference in attitude toward the two. As a referee, you still enjoy the spectacle of the sport and the spirit of the competition, but you're also involved hands-on in what is happening. You're actually on the field with the players and you become part of the game, instead of just a spectator. Also, reporting involves deadlines, interviews, feature stories, box scores, etc. Little things that make it less convenient and more of a headache most of the time.

So, I think I'm about ready to hang up the notebook. For now I don't think I'll completely retire from sports reporting, but my big focus is going to be on refereeing. I'm going to make refereeing my No. 1 priority during basketball season, and only sparingly cover games for the paper. I'm also going to get on with boys high school soccer this spring and look at doing football next fall.

The Deseret News has been good to me. I've worked for them since 2000 and had lots of memorable experiences and fun times. And, covering the BYU football team for the Daily Universe in 2006 was awesome (I'll always prize that AP picture of Johnny Harline's catch with me in the background). But, juggling both sides is getting more complicated than it's worth. Monetarily it's probably a wash, but I'm definitely enjoying refereeing more, and that also has more future potential in terms of opportunities, money etc.

I told Jim I could promise him my availability through this fall, but not after that. I think my days as a dedicated sportswriter are coming to an end. But, my days as a dedicated sports official are just beginning.

Let me check my planner...

I've decided that I actually like being busy. I didn't believe I did for a very long time. Most of my memories from about age six to age 16 involve me wanting to do one thing, and my Mom telling me that instead I had to mow the lawn, do my violin/piano practicing, mow Brother Betts' lawn, make my bed, sweep the basement stairs, dust the family room, etc.

Now it wasn't that I was assigned lawn mowing and chores, because in retrospect none of the jobs I was given were all that egregious (except the annual "clean the basement" assignments). But they were always presented like it was a sentence. I imagine a judge sitting in his black robes saying something like, "Devon, we all got off to a late start today and there is a lot of work to do. I'm sentencing you to pick up the apricots and have your bed made before I'll feed you lunch. Then you can mow the lawn this afternoon. May God have mercy on your soul," followed by the banging gavel.

So naturally I remember thinking anything that made me busy was to be dreaded and avoided at all costs. Oh how glorious were the weeks when I went to scout camp and I got a free pass from my violin practicing.

As time has gone by, there are more and more things that fill up my schedule, to the point where there isn't much unscheduled time anymore. But, what I've found is that more things are things that I have put there myself. Working out time, refereeing, newspaper assignments, scripture reading, etc. They're all my own devices. And, on rare days where I actually have some down time, I feel bad for being so unproductive.

I suppose life will always schedule a lot of things for us that we wouldn't necessarily choose if we were just given a clean 24-hour slate every day. But, my attitude is much different now than it was back in the days when I loathed the sentence to trim and haul off branches from the pyracantha bush.

It took a while, but in my early adult years I have finally discovered that work isn't necessarily a sentence. And, being busy is usually a lot better than the alternative.