Notre Dame Coach

So, is Brian Kelly the right fit for Notre Dame? I personally would rather have Bob Stoops or Urban Meyer. It sounds like Kelly is the first choice for the Irish. What are your thoughts on this?

I'm Back!

I know, it has been a month since I have posted something here. With the start of a new school year, things have just been so hectic. A lot has been happening the past month, so I will try to update a little now.

1. The start of the college football season is off and running. My Irish are 2-1, could very easily be 3-0 or 1-2 right now. The loss of Michael Flyod is going to hurt, but our bench is pretty stacked. The Irish travel to Purdue this week, should be win #3.

2. The Colts are off to a 2-0 start. A great game on Monday night. The Colts only had the ball for 15 minutes and scored 27 points, are you kidding me? Our defense is still an issue, won't go far without them picking up the pace.

3. It is almost the end of September and I am doing awesome with my New Year's Resolutions. I still have not had a pop or any fries this year (not that it hasn't been tempting!)

4. The Tin Caps are the Champions of the Midwest League! My wife and I went to several games, including the playoffs. I am really looking forward to next year, I think we are going to get season tickets!

5. School is off to a great start, I really like my class and they are a ton of fun!

Summer Top 5

It is hard to believe it is August, and this really hasn't felt much like summer at all. With less than two weeks before school starts, here is my Top 5 list so far of this summer:

1. South Haven, Michigan: My wife and I love to go here every year. We love the beach, great food, shops, and just the time to relax and get away.

2. Ft. Wayne Tin Caps games- We have been to several this year and looking forward to going to more, including the Playoffs. This is a great Minor League ballpark, lots of fun, and cheap tickets!

3. Pool Days- We just really like to hangout at the pool....haven't been there as much as would have liked, but it hasn't been as hot as last year.

4. Regular Workouts- It is nice to go in the morning and get it out of the way, then you have the rest of the day to do whatever.

5. Sleeping In- It is always nice to not have to set an alarm!

Rest, Relax, No Agenda

My wife and I love to head to South Haven. In just a short year, we have had so many awesome memories here at South Haven! Not only was it the place we got engaged a year ago, it is such a beautiful place to get away to our favorite place: the beach! This week has been another amazing week. We have enjoyed just relaxing on the beach, playing corn hole, jarts on the beach, throwing the football around, and enjoying the amazing sunsets!

Tonight we are heading to downtown to watch Ice Age. South Haven has a really neat old movie theater that we enjoy going to. Tonight is free popcorn night.....can't wait!

South Haven Update

We arrived on Saturday around 1:00 and headed straight to our favorite restaurant, Clementine's for lunch! It was good as usual. I had the amazing Gulslinger, which is the best steak I have ever tasted. We then headed to a few shops until settling in to our place. The weather here is just perfect.

Today we spent the whole day at the beach. The beach is our favorite place to be. Today was awesome. It was about 79 and sunny, perfect beach day. We are now heading to Sherman's Ice Cream. This is another place I love to go to......the BEST ice cream!

Well, until tomorrow, hope everyone is having a great summer!

South Haven, Michigan: Here We Come!

Tomorrow morning we leave on vacation to one of my favorite places, South Haven, Michigan. I love South Haven for many reasons. Here is my TOP 10 reasons I love South Haven:

1. It is the place I proposed to my wife (last July)

2. It is a place my family has vacationed many times

3. It has a great beach

4. Clementine's (favorite restaurant)

5. Sherman's Ice Cream (I can't wait to go here!)

6. Really relaxing

7. The Vineyard (great Italian/pizza place)

8. Old time movie theatre

9. The great sunsets

10. Getting great pictures throughout the week

I have been looking forward to this trip since last summer! It will be a great week with many more memories to make!

4th Of July

Wow, where has June gone? I can't believe it is July already. The 4th of July was pretty bad. The weather was horrible? 60's and rain in July? Anyway, we had a good time with family on Lake Wawasee on Saturday even though it wasn't a good day to be on the lake. It stopped raining by the time we watched fireworks. Wawasee always has good fireworks, and this year was no different!

Only 5 days until vacation......I sooooo can't wait!

My Amazing Wife

School is out, so that means I get to spend more time with my beautiful wife!!!!!! I'm ready for the beach!

Memorial Day Weekend

It is hard to believe it is Memorial Day already! The school year is almost over, six days left. This has been one of the quickest school years so far. This weekend was a blast! We spent some quality time with friends over the holiday weekend.

We spent the weekend grilling out, playing corn hole, catching up with friends, ice cream, and enjoying our friends kids! It is such a blessing to have such wonderful Christian friends who have the same belief as you and who you enjoy one another's fellowship.

This will be a busy week:
Softball on Tuesday, Field Day Friday, Hanah's Birthday Party Saturday.....

The Vow Series

Yesterday, Pastor Ron started a four week series titled "The Vow". This is going to be a great series on Marriage that the Lord has placed on Pastor's heart. Here are some things I took away from Week One.

Week 1: Priority

This message totally centered on who do we put as our #1 Priority in our lives. Many times, I find myself putting my wife as Priority #1. It is great to have that in my heart and soul, but ultimately, our #1 should be our relationship with Jesus Christ. When we have a great personal relationship with the Lord, we will have a better relationship with our spouse, and then that leads to better relationships with others.

Foundational Truth:

1. You give out what you possess.

*From your past: (successes, failures, losses, dysfunction, habits, history)

*In your present: (priorities, principles, purpose)

2. I cannot give what I do not possess.

*Matthew 22:37-39

a. JESUS is the ONE

b. Your spouse is the TWO

3. In order for me to give I must first possess.

*Your character, convictions, commitments, calling

It really made me stop and think about what changes do I need to make in order to totally put Christ as the NUMBER ONE priority in my life. It also has made me stop and think about what I am placing as my top priorities in my life. I am looking to see how God is going to move in me during this series and beyond.

Life Can Be Short

The past 24-48 hours have been very difficult for our PCC church family. Yesterday morning during the service we found out about a really tragic death in our PCC family. Our head Video/Sound technician and his wife have three children (6 yr. old, 4 yr. old, one week old). The couple just had their third child last week. On Saturday night, the wife wasn't feeling well and about three hours later, she passed away. This story really shook myself and others from PCC up big time! When Pastor Ron told us, I was speechless!
My wife and I really had a good conversation about life and how precious each day is. You look at this family and last week they were celebrating a new baby and the next minute, they are grieving. Here are some thoughts I am taking from this:
1. Life is too short to worry about trivial things
2. Enjoy life everyday
3. Thank God for giving you another day to live for him
4. Treat your spouse, family, friends well
5. Watch what comes out of your mouth....is it pleasing to others?
6. If it is your last day, how will you be remembered?

Please lift up the Amstutz family in prayer this week. I hope we all really think about what is important in life and not take anything for granted!

Amazing Night

Last night was the opening night of the new Parkview Field Stadium in downtown Ft. Wayne, home of the Tin Caps Minor League Baseball team. A lot has been said about why Ft. Wayne needed a new stadium, etc. I can tell you that this place is amazing! From the moment I walked into the place I was amazed! This is the nicest Minor League park I have been in.

I talked earlier in the year that I would love to be at the opening game but the tickets were sold out in 25 minutes. On Monday, my Dad said that one of his friends had an extra ticket and wanted to know if I could go. I was so excited that I would get a chance to see history! A crowd of 8,208, the largest ever for a professional baseball game in Ft. Wayne was on hand. The Tin Caps (formerly known as the Wizards) had many important people on hand, including San Diego G.M. Kevin Towers. Oh, by the way, the Tin Caps won the game 7-0 and have gotten off to a franchise best 7-0 start on the season!

Play Ball!

It is April and that means one thing: Play Ball! Major League baseball started Sunday and it is time to make my predictions for this season.

American League:

East:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue jays

Central:
1 White Sox
2. Twins
3. Indians
4. Royals
5. Tigers

West:
1. Angels
2. A's
3. Rangers
4. Mariners

National League:

East:
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Marlins
5. Nationals

Central:
1. Cubs
2. Reds
3. Cardinals
4. Brewers
5. Astros
6. Pirates

West:
1. Dodgers
2. Rockies
3. Diamondbacks
4. Giants
5. Padres

90 Days and Counting

It has been 90 days since I have had one of these.........................

March Madness '09

One of my favorite times of the year is here...March Madness! Tomorrow starts the beginning on non-stop college hoops until April 6 at Ford Field in Detroit. This is going to be one of the most exciting in a long time because there really isn't a clear favorite to win. Sure you have your normal powerhouses like North Carolina and UConn, but you also have Pitt, Louisville, Memphis who are knocking at the door. This year's field only includes two Indiana schools (Purdue, 5th Seed West) and (Butler, 9th seed South). I would love to see Butler win a few games, but they are so young and face a pretty good LSU squad. Purdue has been playing well heading into the tourney and it wouldn't surprise me if they made the Sweet 16.

Last year I won the NMC Bracket Challenge, and I look to repeat that again this year. Here are my Final Four picks:

Louisville, U Conn, Pitt and North Carolina. I do have Wake Forest and Memphis in one of my other brackets as well.

Get your nachos, pizza and popcorn ready....let the fun begin!

So Close

Heading into Saturday's Girl's 2A State Finals, Oak Hill (#2 ranked) had its work cut out for them as they faced top ranked Heritage Christian. Heritage Christian was looking for their fourth straight state title. These two teams met in last year's state finals with Heritage Christian winning big.

I honestly don't think HC thought Oak Hill would give them a game. The Heritage Christian team only lost one game this season and it wasn't even a team from Indiana. Oak Hill gave HC more than they thought. Oak Hill led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter and should have won the game. OH had the last possession of regulation and couldn't get a shot off. It looked like this classic match was headed for double overtime before Heritage Christian's Claire Freeman’s shot with :03 seconds remaining in overtime gave Heritage Christian a 60-58 overtime win over Oak Hill for its fourth consecutive 2A state title. Heartbreaking to say the least! Oak Hill had a great following, the biggest of the morning sessions.

Here is how Oak Hill's Todd Law reacted after the game:

“I can’t be prouder of my team. We played in this game a year ago and I thought the enormity of the game affected our play. … We worked all off season to try to get ourselves back here and show the state what kind of team we have. I think they did a phenomenal job of that today. Words can’t say how disappointed we are right now, but when the sting goes away a little, they know they can walk out of here with their heads held high. Not only did they give their best effort, but they played extremely well. … I thought we did a tremendous job of executing our game plan. We wanted to try to get the ball inside and drive to the basket. … Defensively, we were playing a great team and I thought we took some things away from them. It came down to a last-second play, kind of on a freaky shot. Tough way to lose the state championship

It was a game these girls or its fans will never forget! The Golden Eagles represented Oak Hill in a classy way, and in my book, are still state champions!

Second Crack At State

Tomorrow, my whole family will be heading to Indy to see my high school team, Oak Hill, battle for the Class 2A Girls State Basketball Championship. The #2 Golden Eagles (27-1) take on #1 Heritage Christian (25-1). This is a rematch of last year's state game that Heritage Christian won. I am really excited to see this because Oak Hill is a year older and better than last year. I am also excited because the game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium. I hear this in an incredible facility , and it will be my first time to see it.

It will be a fun day for me as I will see a lot of former high school buddies that I haven't seen for awhile. I will be posting pictures and a blog on Monday.

PCC...The Beginning of a new journey

For the past five years, I attended Nappanee Missionary Church. This church was a great place for me spiritually. I think in all my life, I grew at NMC the most. It was at Nappannee where my friend and Youth Pastor Derry Prenkert introduced me to Youth Ministries. I was a small group leader and was very involved on Wednesday nights. I also had the wonderful opportunity of going on mission trips to New York City and last summer to Washington, D.C. These mission trips were amazing. It really stretched out my shyness about sharing the Gospel of Christ. We witnessed to people in parks in New York and D.C. I will never forget those trips and all the sharing we did for Christ. One thing I will always take away from NMC are the relationships I made there. My best friends I met at NMC, the may youth kids who I continue to stay in touch with, amazing pastors and friends.

When I got married in December, I moved away from NMC and began in a new church with my wife, Pathway Community Church. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous at first, but after two months, I totally love it! Pathway is a lot like NMC, it is actually part of the Missionary Church. The pastor, Ron Williams, is a great speaker and has a heart for Christ like Pastor Dave at NMC. We just started in a small group and we are excited about that. I am just looking forward to plugging in to my new church and sharing the love of Christ to those in the Fort Wayne area. I am also excited about the possibility of joining the worship team at PCC. God is so good. When I was nervous about going to a new church, God put the right people in my life to help me feel welcome and comfortable there.

The "Un-luck" of the Irish

As I was sitting here today watching the Notre Dame basketball team, I about threw up! Notre Dame was heading into the UCLA game tonight on a six game losing steak and was playing its self right out of the NCAA tournament. The Irish were ranked as high as seventh earlier this year and now find themselves 12-10 and headed straight to the NIT.

If I was Mike Brey, I would be livid. The Irish just aren't athletic enough to stay with the top teams in the Big East. Another one of Brey's problems is that he only goes like 7 deep. Notre Dame basketball is starting to feel like the football team, underachievers! Things are not going to get any better until Notre Dame starts recruiting better athletes. Sure Luke Harangody is good, but the rest of the team is very inconsistent. It doesn't get any easier. A 7 game losing streak doesn't look so hot on the NCAA Committee's agenda does it?

Update on New Year's Resolutions

It is February now, so that means it is time to re-evaluate my three New Year's Resolutions. Here it goes:
1. No pop- I have done really well with this, haven't even wanted it really.
2. No fries- This has been more challenging, but I haven't had any fries so far this year.
3. Workout 4-5 times a week- I haven't had trouble with this one, I like to workout so this might be the easiest of the three.

All in all, one month down, 11 more to go!

Super Bowl Champions

What a game last night! The Pittsburgh Steelers, the team I predicted to win the Super Bowl defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 last night. This was a great game. The Steelers took a 17-7 halftime lead before the Cardinals came all the way back to take a 23-20 lead with a little over 2 minutes left. At that point, I thought my team would lose and Dan would win the first annual DDDC championship. Luckily, the Steelers have Big Ben and now a big receiver in Antonio Holmes. Holmes made an incredible catch with :35 left to give the Steelers the win!

I just wanted to briefly comment on how awesome the 1st ever DDDC challenge has been. I looked forward to picking the games every week. Earlier in the year, it looked like Dan would run away with it. I started picking up steam four or five weeks ago. It was all on the line last night: Dan picked the Cardinals, I picked the Steelers. Whoever won the game, was the champion. Watching the game with Dan last night made it fun because both of our teams gave a good showing. Like I said last week, next year maybe it will be called the CDDD Challenge!

Super Bowl- A Chance For A Championship

Well, it all comes down to the Super Bowl Sunday. I have been in the DDDC challenge for the past 10 weeks and am looking to finish the deal on Sunday. I have trailed Dan Weiss most of the year, but overtook him the past few weeks. He ended up tying me up during the week of the Division Championships. Whoever wins this week will win the Championship in it's inaugural year. Let me say this, I let Dan back in the hunt after picking the Eagles over the Cardinals. It comes down to this:

Steelers win, I win the title. Cardinals win, Dan wins. Heading into this Sunday, I like my chances big time. Here are a few reasons why:

• The Steelers have the best defense in the NFL


• The Cardinals are way to streaky


• Big Ben


• The Steelers have been there before


• The Cardinals won't put up 30 this week

I really do like Kurt Warner, but I just don't think they have enough to beat the Steelers. Come Monday morning it will no longer be called the DDDC. It will be called the CDDD.

GO STEELERS

Our Dog Maddie

My wife has a Golden Retriever named Maddie. Well, let's just say I am getting used to Maddie, and she is getting used to me. Maddie is a fun loving dog. She loves to play with her tennis balls and ropes. We have a good time with those things. Maddie has adjusted to me pretty good, except she snores some at night and likes to hangout outside my bathroom in the morning waiting on me to get out. She is a great dog, MOST of the time!

When we were on our Honeymoon, Maddie stayed with Jill's aunt and uncle. We found out that Jill's aunt had her Subway sandwich eaten by the Madster when she walked away for a brief moment. Well, I told my wife that I hope that never happened to me! Well, we were just talking about that story recently. My wife fixed these awesome turkey and cheese sandwiches and I was getting ready to have my second one. Well, I was sitting on the couch and I went to grab the remote, and guess what? You got it!!!!! Maddie stole and ate my sandwich in like 2 seconds.... let's just say I WAS NOT HAPPY!!!! I have learned a valuable lesson, NEVER leave any food close to the dog even when you are right there. I need to guard my food at all times. Overall, I am enjoying my new dog and I think she is enjoying her new Dad.

Merry Late Christmas Dan

Heading into yesterday's conference championships, I owned a 1 game lead over Dan. We went back and forth a bit last week to who we would pick. I could have wrapped it up yesterday by picking the same two teams he did, but I picked the Eagles and he picked the Cardinals. As you know, the Cardinals won and now we are tied heading into the Super Bowl.

I am sure Dan is feeling good today, while I am not. I see he pretty much has given me the Steelers in the Super Bowl. I like that a lot, I don't see how they lose to the Cardinals in this one!

NFL Predictions- Week 10 Conference Finals

Well, it has come down to the Final 4 in the NFL. I have a one game lead over Dan heading into the Sunday games. These two games are going to be up for grabs. I have had a hard time deciding who I'm picking this week.

AFC Championship:
Ravens at Steelers- I really had a tough time with this one. Both teams are great defensively, they play hard and it will be a smash mouth four quarters of football. Both these teams hate each other. I had to go with the experience at the QB position in this one. Joe Flacco has been good, but he is no Big Ben. I like the Steelers to march on.

NFC Championship:
Eagles at Cardinals- This was another tough game to pick. I like the Kurt Warner story and what he has provided for his team. Nobody picked them to win a game in the playoffs and now they are hosting the Championship game. I like their chances at home, but I figured I would go against Dan and hope to wrap up my title this week. Donovan McNabb was benched earlier in the year, the Philly media had him and Andy Reid on their way out of town, and now they are playing the best football in the NFL. McNabb deserves a title this year and could get one.

Super Bowl: Steelers vs Eagles

First Trip To Notre Dame

This past Saturday Jill and I headed to South Bend to watch the Irish take on Seton Hall in men's basketball. This was a big trip because it was the first time my wife had ever been on the Notre Dame campus. We headed out in the bad weather and made it there about five minutes before tip-off. To be honest, I was a little nervous because I didn't know if Jill would like it or not. Let's just say as the game got interesting, Jill was with me clapping, yelling, and being a big part of the ND faithful! By the way, my parents got her a ND jacket for Christmas so now she is an official Irish fan!

The Irish pulled it out by nine and we left happy. My friends gave me tickets the day before (great seats, like 9 rows off the floor). After the game we headed to University Park Mall for a little while before heading to supper at Carabba's. I had never been to Carabba's before. We both enjoyed a good meal and we will visit there again. After supper we had to get some ice cream at Coldstone. It was a great time and I hope my wife will go back with me :)

A Blast In Allegan

Jill and I headed to Allegan, Michigan for our Honeymoon time. We had a great trip. We were gone about seven days. After all the preparations and running around the past several months, it was so nice to just get away and relax. I honestly don't remember our last free weekend in months.

We stayed at a place in Allegan, Michigan called Castle in the Country. It was an awesome Bed and Breakfast place. Our room was totally awesome! We had a great view, fireplace, jacuzzi, and much more. Every morning we were welcomed with an awesome breakfast made by the owner Herb. We had stuffed french toast, freshly baked scones, fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, puffed pancakes, fresh orange juice, and much more. It was honestly the best breakfast foods I have ever had! Jill always was ready to get up for breakfast!

While we were away, we headed back to South Haven where we got engaged. It was so awesome. We walked down to the beach, sat at the same rock I proposed to Jill, ate at our favorite restaurant, Clementine's, went to a movie at the old theatre, walked the shops, it brought back awesome memories of this past summer for both of us.

We also had the chance to go to Holland and Sagatuck. We really like Sagatuck a lot also. We headed there on New Year's Eve for the night. We had a great dinner at the Butler, went to Corel Gables to do some dancing, and watched the fireworks on the lake. What was cool is that we saw fireworks there this past 4th of July as well.

This was just a great seven days that Jill and I could just relax, spend quality time together, have a ton of fun, laugh a ton, and just enjoy our company with one another. God has truly blessed me with an incredible wife! I am a very lucky guy!

NFL Playoff Predictions- Week 2

With only 7 games left, I have a two game lead on Dan. I like my chances heading down the stretch. This week offers a few challenges, but again, I have some room to work with.

Ravens at Titans- I like the way the Ravens have been playing, but I think they will be tired from a short week. The Titans have played pretty well all year. Having a bye will help them survive.
Chargers at Steelers- I like the way the Chargers have bounced back. I'm a little nervous if Big Ben doesn't play. However, the Steelers are a tough out at home.
Cardinals at Panthers- With no Boldin for the Cardinals, this will be the biggest blowout of the weekend. The Panthers may be my pick to get to the Super Bowl in the NFC.
Eagles at Giants- The Eagles are playing the best right now out of the two and I don't think the Giants have what it takes to win another title. The only reason I am picking the Giants here is because they are playing at home.

New Year's Resolutions 2009

It is that time of the year again to talk about new resolutions in my life. In the past, I have done a pretty good job of sticking to my guns. After thinking about this year's goals, I think I can do these main three things. Here they are:
1. No Pop- I don't drink much pop anyway, but this still is challenging. I went 2 1/2 years without pop and know that it isn't good for me.
2. No Fries- Now this goal is going to be really hard for me. I really do like fries a lot! I order these a lot when I go out to eat. My wife has gone 9 years without them, I don't see how she does it! This will be a tough one.
3. Work Out 5 Days a Week- I really do like to lift and workout. I am in pretty good shape, but would love to be in the best shape of my life this year. I have started the year off right so far and am looking forward to seeing what working out and eating healthier will do for me. It helps that my wife also likes to eat healthy also!

The Best Christmas Present Ever

This Christmas will be one I will never forget. On December 27, I married the most wonderful woman in the world! I married Jill Bause, now of course Helfrich, at my church in Nappanee. It was an amazing day! Pastor Justin Lamason did a great job with the ceremony and my buddy Chris Atkins sang for us at the wedding.

It all started last February when Jill and I met and I basically knew after the first few dates that God had brought me the woman of my dreams! She is the best thing that has ever happened to me! She is a ton of fun to be around, she laughs a ton (at me mostly), she is HOT, and most importantly, she loves Jesus with all her heart! I am so very thankful that God brought someone so amazing in my life that I can spend the rest of my life with. God is so good!

My buddies Marty, Dan, Denny and Chris, along with my brother Kevin were in my wedding party. It was great to be able to hangout with them and have them be a big part of this special day in our lives. It was also wonderful to have our family and friends share in this special day. Jill and I want to express our thanks to each of you that made this day so special.

Our Christmas went really fast as we had lots to do before the big day. We then headed to Allegan, Michigan for our honeymoon which was awesome. I will be posting more on that soon.