Jan - Mar Recap.

So it is crazy how quickly time goes by.  We are already 1/4 of the way through the year 2011, so I thought I would go back and take a look at the resolutions that I set for myself.  I have a lot of things that I want to get accomplished this year, and it is important that I take a look to see how I am progressing towards those goals.  Looking back at some of the resolutions I made, I have been making some pretty good progress on some, while I completely forgot about others.  

First off, let me give a recap of what I have done since the beginning of the year.  I have had a lot of events at my house over the past few months.  This has allowed me to not only strengthen the relationships with my existing group of friends, but also make friends with a new set of people in the ward.  I have also focused a LOT on basketball over the past few months.  I have been to 2 Mavs games and 1 BYU game over the past few months.  I went down to the statisticians table before one of the Mavs games and high fived all the players as they ran out for warm-ups before the game.  I took a trip to Houston to go to the temple with some friends, and I have been working very hard to get my body in better shape by going on a strict diet and playing basketball multiple times per week.  I took a trip to Utah to go snowboarding, and I am looking at trips to go skydiving and to Europe.  All in all I think I am making good progress to most of my goals.  I have made it to the temple at least once per month so far, and although I am a bit behind on my reading I am still working on it.  I read at least a little bit pretty much every night.

One of the things I need to focus on over the next few months is to get my songs finished.  I have a worked on them a little bit, but there is still a lot of work to do.  I still need to work on my skateboarding, getting my house more furnished, and preparing for the GMAT / Grad School.  There are a lot of different things I want to get accomplished over the next few months, and hopefully I can continue making good progress on the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year.  Work has been extremely busy of late, but it has been very good.  I feel very blessed to have the opportunities that I do, and I look forward to using those opportunities to help other people.  03-31-11

BYU Basketball 2011.

I have been wanting to compose my thoughts on this year's basketball team for a while now.  It never seemed like the appropriate time, because every time I thought the team had done something particularly awesome to where I didn't think it could be topped, they would do something even beyond what I thought they would to just leave me even more impressed.  Now that the season has come to an end and I have had a day or two to collect my thoughts, I thought it would be appropriate to provide my own tribute to the team.  

This year's addition of the BYU Men's Basketball team has been probably my favourite BYU sports team since the 1996 BYU Football team.  I loved watching each and every single one of their games, and made a point of watching their games every time they were on.  I loved this team's heart, resolve, and grit as they were tested several times throughout the year and always represented themselves and the school admirably.  They were in the national spotlight for longer and performed better than I can ever remember any BYU sports team playing in my lifetime.  To be able to deal with that pressure all year long, and then to consistently perform at a high level when everyone begins to doubt you and to outperform their expectations is very impressive.  

Of course the story of this year's basketball team begins and ends with our best player and national sensation Jimmer Fredette.  Jimmer is the man!  He has taken over the top spot as favourite BYU athlete of my lifetime.  I have never watched a more entertaining basketball player ever.  The crazy thing about Jimmer is that he is entertaining in a different way than most basketball players I have ever watched.  His game is a mixture of a lot of different players I have watched over the years, but there is really no good comparison on a one for one basis as to who he compares to.  His ability to get a shot off in the lane against bigger defenders is Ginobli-esque, he has the ability to drive around and through defenders like Steve Nash, and he has the ability to hit long range shots like no one I remember seeing.  He is a very special player and I look forward to watching him play in the NBA.  

Though Jimmer garnered almost all of the attention and focus this year, the team had plenty of other capable players many of whom I will miss watching this off season.  First of all I want to mention the seniors and Jackson Emery.  I have watched him since we were both freshman at BYU.  He was a pre-mission freshman, and I was a post-mission freshman, but I remember him being one of my favourite players from that team.  Since returning from the mission he has gotten better and better every year.  His defensive presence was inspiring to watch, and I have never seen someone as capable as him put his ego on hold so much for the betterment of the team.  He could have easily become frustrated and disenchanted due to all of the Jimmer hype this last year, but even if he was he never showed it.  He led the team by example and our team would not have been anywhere near what it was without Emery.  

The other senior on the team was Logan Magnusson.  Though I didn't get to watch him very much over the past 4 years, I very much appreciated what he brought to the team at the end of the year when we needed him to step up.  He played big by stepping in and playing solid defense, taking charges, and hitting some big shots.  His contribution along with the contributions of Noah Hartsock, Charles Abouo, James Anderson, Kyle Collinsworth, Stephen Rogers, and Brandon Davies all made this year special and this team special.  Making it to the Sweet 16, and within one play of the Elite 8 is an incredible feat, and a fitting way for this team and some of these players to go out.  I will never forget the memories I have from this year, and I hope that future teams at BYU can live up to the standard that was set by these players and this team this year.  03-26-11