Last week, I moved to the fourth decade of life, when I turned 40-years old. People asked, "Do you feel different?" No, I really don't.

Just to make sure I don't look 40, I recently gave the age guesser guy at Valley Fair a chance. He said 34. I won a blowup bat for that.

At age 40, I can look at both the future, and the past. My son Luke is almost 6-monthes old. While my dad is almost 79. In one picture you can see what it's like at the beginning, the middle, and if I'm so blessed, the twilight of life.

Looking back after leaving home for college at 19. The 20's were about staying up to late, spending more money than I had, and basically living pretty carefree, really wondering what the future would hold.

The 30's were about getting married and starting a family. My wife and three kids are the greatest decisions I've made in 40-years. It was also a time of getting a better understanding of where a career was headed. It's a career I've thouroughly enjoyed.

Now it's time to start the next 40, I hope they'll be as good as the first.

The Brett Favre story has dominated the airwaves of sports radio over the past week, and it is fun to speculate, about where the Packers legend may end up.

Favre says he felt pressured by the Packers into retiring, and now he wants to come back. This isn't your everyday athlete, he's an American icon, who's bigger than Green Bay. He should've had ample time to decide on his own accounts, if in fact the Packers wanted an answer in March.

And it's not like Favre limped threw last season, he had a one of his finest years. There's no doubt he can still play.

Green Bay should take Favre back, and sit Aaron Rodgers. I know that's not fair to Rodgers, but this is Brett Favre we're talking about. Is Rodgers the next Steve Young, the Hall of Famer waiting in the wings to follow Joe Montana. I don't think so. The Packer said they've tweaked things to fit Rodgers style. I say tweak them back. How tough would it be, you've been doing it with Favre for 17-years.

Favre made the mistake of retiring when he didn't want to, but he's earned the right to return. Michael Jordan came back two times, and no one had any problems.

Maybe the impending divorce between Fave and the Packers will make it impossible to have a harmonious return. If so, he should be released or traded from the Pack so he can play somewhere else.\

I think he'd look good in purple, but Green Bay would never let that happen, and they shouldn't. It would be a PR nightmare. Let him finish things in Green Bay, his own way. And the next time, he better be sure, it's over.

I just came back from a 12-day vacation. While I certainly enjoy my job, it's never easy to come back after 12-days of taking it easy, which isn't really that easy with 3-kids who are six, three, and four months old. But it's great to be able to spend all of that time with my wife Amy and the kids.

I think the time away rejuvinates you somewhat. You need that. Tim and I are in the summer vacation mode. Now he's gone for 10 days, and I'll work all ten including the holiday weekend. You can't complain when you've had about two weeks off.

I'm sure many of you have felt the same thing while on vacation. Wouldn't it be nice to be independently wealthy, and not have to work. But then you think, you have to do SOMETHING.

Having a lack of structure is great for a week or two, but after awhile you have to have a purpose. And work certainly fills that.

Still, I often buy Powerball tickets.

It's a saying we've heard a lot in our lives. "It's like riding a bike, you never forget." This past week, the training wheels came off, and my 6-year old daughter Kate learned to ride a bike.

It's a big moment in life, one of those you can usually remember when you learned to accomplish this necessary life skill. I remember my dad running with me, and then slamming into a tree when I realized he let go. Then, when I got it down, flying down the sidewalk in front of the neighbors, to show off my new found ability. My yellow Schwin with a banana seat (which was later stolen, I'm still bothered by it) became my main mode of transportation. Suddenly, I had some independence, some freedom, a way to get to a friends house or the park.

Now back to my daughter and her license to ride. It's great to see, but it really worries me.

Tonight, she just took off up the sidewalk. I drove up the street to tell her to ride back home. What about cars, and those backing out their driveway. She wears a helmet, something we never did as kids, but there are a lot of things that can happen.

I told her this spring, "This is the summer you learn to ride a bike." I didn't say "This is the summer, I add another worry, to the already long list of worries."

And my wife comes from a family of bike enthusiasts. They would rather watch the Tour de France than the Super Bowl. A leisurely afternoon for them, is a casual ride TO PLATTE. So Kate will have plenty of big riding opportunites.

She wants to ride the bike trail. While I don't think she's qute ready for that yet, since she still loses control sometimes, I'm sure we''ll be on the bike trail before the end of the summer. And I'll be riding right next to her, because it's something you always remember how to do.

My oldest daughter Kate just finished kindergarten. At that age, I don't think they really appreciate summer vacation yet. I asked her if she was excited to have three months off to swim, play, sleep in, and go on vacation. She said that sounded good, but there wasn't the euphoria of a 5th or 6th grader, or high schooler. She said she'd miss her classmates, and teachers, and was kind of sad that the school year was over. I guess that's a good thing, she loved school.
I don't remember much about my days in kindergarten. I remember taking naps on mats, and we only went a half day. I remember a classmate losing her cookies, and I guess I cried some. They don't take naps now, I don't think anyone got sick in class, they go full days, and she didn't cry.
And though it all, she learned how to read, write pretty clearly, and do so many other things. I remember walking her up on that first day of school back in August, with her backpack, not knowing many kids, but ready for this new challenge. And while there's a lot of school days left, I've seen her grow so much. I still have two more kids to go through kindergarten with, and like my second time thru, I'll remember every bit of it. From what I hear, it goes fast.

A few years back, when Roger Clemens was a Yankee, and Barry Bonds a Giant, the two teams faced each other in inter-league play. It was a battle of the titans of our time. The greatest homerun hitter against the greatest pitcher. It's sad we were all duped. The two were likely performing those late age heroics, with the assistance of performance enhancing drugs.
The thing is with Clemens and Bonds, both had Hall of Fame talent, without steroids. Their numbers wouldn't have been quite so guady without the juice however. I suppose the pressure to make that extra $20-million to help pay for that $30 million dollar spread, skews things a bit.
Think of all of those minor leaguers, that needed steroids to get to the majors. There's some obscure players out there, who used, and got the call, made some great money, invested it well, and are now living the life, long after their playing days are over. For them, was it worth the health risks to use performance enhancing drugs. Probably.
But Bonds and Clemens have collasped before our eyes, lying, trying desparately to secure their legacy. A legacy that's forever tarnished. I hope the current players, and up and coming stars, play the game right. And do it all with character, something your kids can be proud of.

I'm at the stage of life where my 6-year old daughter has started to play sports. And I find there is that competitive drive inside to want her to excel, even though I wasn't exactly Pele on the soccer field as a kid.
I watch some kids, and they just seem to have a instant knack for the game, and I think, haven't I worked with her enough? Was that how Mia Hamm played when she was six? Don't get me wrong, Kate(my daughter) is doing a great job, and playing some GREAT defense. Maybe she'll be a goalie, there are no goaltenders at this level.
But as I sit there, and maybe sometimes get frustrated, that she's not playing aggressive enough. I look accross the field, to see her and some her teammates cheerleading, and having a ball. And after the game, they get their treats, and no one asks, or even kept track of who won. They don't keep score. Sure, as parents, we have a good idea which team scored more goals, but the kids could care less. All that matters was they had fun. And I hope it always stays that way.

This past weekend's NFL Draft hit close to home for me. Each year I'll probably think of the opportunity we got to be at the Greenway family farm near Mount Vernon. In 2006, Chad Greenway was taken in the 1st Round by the Minnesota Vikings.
I remember we had an in, since ESPN televises the draft, and ABC owns ESPN, and we're an ABC affiliate, we got the call.
Since Greenway was projected to be an early to mid-1st round pick, ESPN called us to see if they could use our satellite truck, for a live interview with Chad after he was drafted.
I don't think the Greenway's wanted a flock of local media hanging out with them all day(understandably so). But with ESPN asking, it was no problem getting permission.
It was truly a setting or rural America, with the strong ties of a South Dakota family. We sat there in the living room, watching the draft, wondering when is name would be called, which is pretty tense.
Chad thought the Rams would take him with an earlier pick, and I saw some diappointment in his face when it didn't happen.
But it wasn't long after, that the Vikings chose him, and soon he was on the phone with then newly hired Vikes head coach Brad Childress.
It wasn't long after that, we had Chad hooked up with a variety of cords, for his live interview with ESPN2.
I talked to the ESPN producer of the draft that day, and my job suddenly didn't seem stressful at all, he was going 100 different directions.
The Vikes probably weren't Greenway's 1st choice that day, but after missing his rookie season with an injury, it seems like a perfect fit, for a certain to be fan favorite.
That was a day both I, and a small South Dakota community will never forget.
Just ask anyone who was in the packed Mount Vernon high school gym, where Chad went shortly after the live interview.
And anyone who wasn't a Vikings fan, suddenly became one.

This is a first for me. I’m now a blogger. I’ve never been a big blog reader, but I do have things on my mind from time to time, so it’s time to start blogging.

One topic that has been on my mind a lot lately, is the issue of a new events center or Coliseum in Sioux Falls. We need it. We’ve needed it for awhile now. I’m for it. I’d vote for a raise in taxes to do it. I was hoping we’d have something built by now.

Now to the problem with one of the current plans being tossed around. Do we need to tear down Howard Wood Field, a great outdoor facility that serves it’s purpose well, to build it.? I say tear the Arena down, and build a 12-14 thousand seat events center on to the Convention Center. I know, I’m not and engineer. Maybe that’s not structurally possible. But isn’t there somewhere we can build it without tearing down the Wood?

I think the new events center should be a multi-purpose one, that would be the home to the three indoor minor league teams. I know this won’t erase the scheduling conflict the Stampede, Skyforce, and Storm battle for. But think of the possibilites for these franchises in a new facility. The Stampede could have a regulation sheet of ice, but more importantly, fans could watch hockey without dealing with the sightline problem you have at the Arena. I think the Herd would sell more tickets. Renovating the Arena likely won’t help the sightline problem.

The Storm are selling out their home games two weeks in advance. Perhaps they’d sell 6-to-7 thousand tickets a game in a new events center.

While the Arena isn’t bad for basketball, the Skyforce would benefit as well in a new place.

I know the minor league teams don’t want to play in a such a big place that looks half empty with that much seating. But maybe we could model it after the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City. They have 5-thousand seats in the lower bowl part of the Arena. It seems cozy enough for their USHL and UIF football games.

The new events center would help us lure national tournaments, like the NAIA tournaments that Sioux City is currently getting.

Sioux Falls will be the host of the Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments starting next year. How nice would a new facility look on ESPN when the men play in the title game for a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

And let’s not forget about the state basketball and volleyball tournaments.

And of course, concerts. Maybe we won’t get the Boss to drop by once every 10-years. But we’d get some great ones in an arena of this size.

The main tenants of the proposal I’m against would be high school football. I know, we have some late season games in the cold and rain. But I’d say for the most part, the weather is pretty nice outside for 80% of the games. The Dakota and President’s Bowl have been great outdoor events with fireworks. Let’s keep them outside, where they should be.

Besides the stories we often tell, are about those cold, windy, and rainy nights on a football field. Those are the games we remember. They make us tough here in South Dakota.

We don’t have a tenant like the Fargodome does with NDSU. The Bison draw 20-thousand a home game, and besides, isn’t it much colder in Fargo.

Let’s build a new events center, and use if for a lot of things, but not high school football, or maybe an occasional USD/SDSU game.(if they decide to play each other again someday, but that’s another topic.).

This blog is Coming Soon!