Mark Mattis / Merth

On Saturday night, we watched the Cincinnati Sizzle and Ft. Wayne Flash play in a preseason NWFA game. It was odd to be sitting in the stands watching the game as opposed to being on the sideline calling the action. That aside... what a difference a year makes!

One of our biggest struggles last season was an overall lack of experience. All of the coaches were new to the league and not quite sure what to expect. With a few exceptions, none of the athletes had ever played organized football.

Now, the Sizzle coaches have better idea of what to expect from the opposition. Now, some of the Sizzle players have a full season of game experience. Experience makes a HUGE difference.

On Thursday evening during walk-through, the first team center (strained calf) and quarterback (ankle sprain) came up gimpy. Both players were unavailable for Saturday's game. Obviously, losing your 1st team QB and C 48 hours prior to kickoff is a nightmare.

At 6:55 PM on Saturday night, the starting center and quarterback had zero game experience. It was baptism by fire. Both players held up very well. The offense scored 4 first half touchdowns. The defense allowed 1 first down (via penalty) in the first half.

Some of the rookies (good athletes) looked lost. Some of the veterans have progressed significantly since last season ended. The veterans will be able speed up the rookie development process. Overall, the Sizzle will be a better team in 2006. I can't wait to see how the season unfolds.

This morning, the workout started at 5:10 AM. It was leg day. I won't lie it was a rough morning. My lifting partner LR550 (LR = Lab Rat) and I had a great session. For all of you workout voyeurs, here is what we did:

4x50 - standing squats (200)
3x10 - 2x30,2x40,2x50lb dumbbell lunges (60,80,100)
3x6 - 315lb box squats
3x50 - jump rope (super set)
3x10 - 90lb quad extensions (super set)
2x50 - standing squats (100)

I am now going into 'defensive mode' because I know Cyrus Poe is out there right now getting ready to pee on this workout. LR550 has only been lifting with me for a month - we are working into things slowly. Further more...

Warming up with 200 standing squats is a great wake up call. A large segment of the population would tap out during the 200 standing squats. When done slowly, getting to parallel with proper knee and back alignment, you get a great burn. LR550 had a decent sweat going by the time we finished our warm-up.

For the uninitiated, dumbbell lunges are tough. Performing lunges without weight is cardiovascularly challenging in and of itself. With a 50lb. dumbbell in each hand - lunges can cripple even experienced gym-goers. LR550 was sweating profusely by this point. 'The Pledge' informed me that he would have tapped at this point.

From there we moved to box squats. My legs felt like jell-o. We did three sets of six reps at 315lbs. I was starting to get really tired. LR550 had rivers of sweat were free-flowing. He was no longer speaking in coherent sentences.

It was about 60° F in the gym this morning. Because the room was cool - it created a neat 'steam' effect. Heavy waves of steam rolled off of LR550's head, neck, and shoulders as the lakes of sweat collected in his attire. Eventually, his attire was saturated and the golf ball sized sweat beads dropped to the floor.

At this point, we started out cool down. We did some slow reps with a good pause at the top and bottom on quad extensions. We did some jump rope to keep the legs moving. LR550 was now using a 'shop vac' to sop up the small rivers of sweat collecting on the floor.

I could see that LR550 was running on empty and had become somewhat delusional. He was unresponsive the first time I said we still had 100 squats left. The second time I said it, he went into some kind of odd laughter - but still did not respond. As it turns out, the third time is the charm. LR550 turned off the 'shop vac' and joined me for squats.

LR550 said a short prayer before exiting the gym and staggering to his car. LR550 mumbled something about bringing a pastor with him for future workouts. I chuckled softly as I jogged to the house. This is what we accomplished by 6:15 AM this morning. That is a good start to the morning.