In some ways, I feel lazy. I feel like I should be doing more. Yet, in other ways, I feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Allow me to explain...

I am slowly working my way back into the wrestling scene. I have wrestled 3 times in the past month. That is pretty light by my old standard. I am taking my time. Oh yeah, I play semi-pro football on Saturday afternoon's too.

Between football and wrestling, I feel pretty beat up and tired. I wish I had more time to devote to wrestling. I wish I had more time to devote to football... I wish I had more time.

On Thursday night, I wrestled for the IWA in Chillicothe, Ohio. Chillicothe is a great wrestling town. I have always enjoyed wrestling in Chilli-town. Of course, it has been probably one and a half years since I wrestled in Chillicothe. On Thursday, I decided it would be faster to drive SR 104 instead of 23. My bad. I got lost. A phone call, turnaround, etc... Later, I arrived at "The Backstage".

I was hoping to wrestle Aaron Andrews. He and I have worked a couple of times. I have squashed him. I feel bad. He is a great young wrestler. This was supposed to be his chance to shine. Well, "someone" no-showed.

My match was changed. I was now wrestling a handicap match against Aaron Andrews and Basom. I was frustrated and angry due to getting lost. I was even less enthused after my match got changed. What ensued? Bruce the Ref (who was in attendance) described as "a squash to the izzo". By the way, Basom stiffed me. Basom thrust his forehead into my forearm with ungodly force... At least that is the way I remember it.

Following my match, I had to change and hit the road pronto. My 4-year-old son attended the event with me. His bedtime is 8:30 PM. I have to be a responsible dad... We got in the car and headed home. By 8:45 PM, he was totally asleep in his car seat. I pulled into the driveway around 9:30 PM. I carried him in the house and tucked him into his bed.

On Saturday, the Central Ohio Lions returned home for the first time in more than a month. We faced the Miami Valley Panthers. We faced the Panthers in the first game of the season. The final score was 25 (Lions) - 23 (Panthers). The final play of the game was special teams - MVP attempting an onside kick. The game concluded as I fell on the ball.

The Panthers came to play. In fact, with 20 seconds left in the first half, the score was Panthers 3 - Lions 0. But a lot can happen in 20 seconds. At halftime, the score was Lions 7 - Panthers 3.

I am part of the middle-tier of blockers on the kick return unit. I flatten opposing players so returner has a clear path. Well, the Panthers didn't want any part of our returner. So, they kicked off to me. I haven't returned a kickoff since high school. I returned 2 kickoffs on Saturday.

This week, I "officially" was added to our own kick off unit. Last week, I subbed in for an injured player. I sprinted down the field... the returner tried to cutback. I grabbed him with one hand and threw him to the ground... seriously. So, the coach wanted to see if I could replicate the feat this week. I didn't disappoint him.

We kicked the ball deep the center of the field. I sprinted down field. I avoided several blockers en route... the returner was about 5 feet to my left and 10 feet in front of me... he was running out of room on his current path... he tried to cut back... about 5 feet to his left... he never saw it coming. His cut back coincided perfectly with my angle. I crushed him. I laid him out. I still have a smile on my face as I type this.

In the second half, we cruised to victory. The final score was 33 - 3. We are the only undefeated team in the league. There is 1 game left in the regular season. The playoffs are right around the corner.

Next weekend (Sept. 27th) we play in Louisville, Kentucky. The following weekend I will wrestle for the IWA.

I wish I had more time.

Yardbird... salute!