The Winston Churchill Trio

Or "WC3," as we call ourselves. Catchy, huh?
The "we" I speak of is my little brother, Tony, and me. We are performing in this year's Toxic Bash on Saturday, July 29.
For directions and more info, check out the Web site (as soon as it's operational).
Maybe you'd even like to buy some Toxic Bash gear.

Google is a wonderful thing

A few people have asked me how they can read my work. Unfortunately, if you don't live in the Battle Creek area, you have to look at the Enquirer's Web site.
Instead of searching through the site, looking at most of the stories to find which ones I've written, you can set up a Google news alert.
The alert will do the searching for you and deliver the headlines and links to your e-mail every day.
If you are interested, go to Google Alerts to create your customized alert. Enter the search terms:
Nick Schirripa source:battle_creek_enquirer
Don't forget your e-mail address. You want to search "News" and "once a day," so don't change those.
I have set up alerts for Mom, Dad and Angie. I hope they will leave comments on this post letting me know how they are working for them and if any changes need to be made.

1984?

With all the hype over the Stanley Cup, NBA finals and soccer's FIFA World Cup, our Detroit Tigers have been quietly amassing 50 wins to lead the American League.
Now, with no other Detroit (or U.S.) teams competing, the Tigers should have our full attention. This may be the team's best chance in more than 20 years to take the A.L. Pennant and return to the World Series.
It's a little sad, though, that this also is the year the fate of the old Tiger's Stadium has apparently been decided. I have several fond memories -- and a baseball hit by the Brewer's Ted Simmons -- from Tiger's Stadium. Sometimes, it's hard to say, "Good-bye."
Does this mean we may see the perennial-loser Lions make a playoff appearance, too?

Lord Stanley's Cup

It was hard to watch my Red Wings lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Oilers of Edmonton, and it was almost as difficult to watch the Oilers lose game 7 in the finals on Monday to the Carolina Hurricanes.
But, if the game has taught me anything, it's to respect the winners. Plus, with the men of the Winged Wheel out of the picture, it didn't realy matter who won.
It was nice to see the Stanley Cup make an appearance after a year off, and it was great to see Rod Brind'Amour, a one-year Michigan State Spartan in the CCHA, hoist the cup after 17 long years in the league.
Welcome back, NHL, and here's to a great season.

Lights out!

Go here, and check out the hit the Buffalo Sabres' Brian Campbell delivered to R. J. Umberger from the Philadelphia Flyers On April 22 ("Campbell checks Umberger." It's about half-way down the page under the heading, "Just" a check.).
While I kind of understand why all the Flyers decided it was necessary to defend Umberger after the fact, I hope everyone realized the next day that it was a clean hit. Really, you have to blame the Flyers' Niko Dimitrakos for the pass that set Umberger up for the hit.
God, I love this game!

What a beautiful game

Many of you may already know of my love of hockey. Many people play hockey, but it takes something special to be a hockey player. It's a game of many skills, not the least of which is scrapping.
Once you're at the site, click on the videos link on the left, then just pick a video or two and enjoy.
If you're feeling a little adventurous, join the forum. It's free and you can see even more videos.

For your (laughing) pleasure

I know, I know. It has been a month since the last post.
But when a brother comes back with something, he comes packing the laughs!

Almost 30!

Today, my little brother turned 29.
He's my hero, and I couldn't have asked for a better friend, confidante, teammate and role model.
I love you, Tony, and I'm proud to be your brother.
Happy birthday, Bro.

This is a good month

March is a great month and features many great birthdays.
Here are a few of the wonderful people born in March and the dates:
3: Jackie Terpstra
7: Michael Schirripa
9: Mike Terpstra
10: Gabriel Stewart
16: Tony Schirripa
19: Kris Schirripa
24: Dave Stewart
I picked today to note these birthdays because today is my birthday.
32. That's me. The birthday boy.
Another year completed, and they just keep getting better, if not shorter.
Happy birthday to all my fellow March-ers. You are remembered and loved.

I knew him when...

Scott Johnson is a former Portage Central Mustang and now is a referee.
Nice guy, but you've got to read about how lucky he got this past weekend.