What amazing exciting good news was waiting this morning. They got al-Zarqawi! He was killed in an air strike most likely by members of the 101st Airborn, my brothers division. Al-Zarqawi was the head of al-Qaida operations in Iraq and the man behind much of the violance that has happened, including the kidnappings and beheadings that took place last year. His death is a triumph for both US forces and the Iraqi people.

Wow, unbelievably a seattle newspaper had to publish negativity and its from the lips of a man who lost his son to al-Zarqawi. These are disgusting words and are a good demonstration of how far our nation has fallen. Gone are the days when the country united in Victory. Now a victory for our President is a defeat for half the nation. Here is a taste:

Berg said “restorative justice,” – such as being forced to work in a hospital where maimed children are treated – could have made al-Zarqawi “a decent human being.”

To lift your spirits back up here is an encouraging article about Iraq’s prime minister al-Maliki and what he has been able to accomplish for his country even this morning. I pray the death of al-Zarqawi will help unite the Iraqi people and bring peace, stability and prosperity to Iraq.

Two NC State ballplayers got picked by the Red Sox in the 3rd and 4th rounds of the draft. Bates and Still both went to the Red Sox and 6 other NC State guys were drafted. This ties a record for number of players drafted from NC State, and is great for NC State recruiting. Here is an article that talks all about it.

First of all its awesome that two guys made the jump from one of my teams to the other. Hopefully the Red Sox will develop them both well and I’ll get to watch them play in the majors. They were both picked for their experience catching, so maybe one will replace Varitek in 4 years. Both can play other positions as well though so hopefully if they can’t catch they can at least play 1B or in the OF.

A special congrats to Jonathan Diaz. He was a walk on for NC State and is known more for his defense then his offense, and that defense got him picked 12th by Toronto. Pretty awesome to go from a walk on at the college level to a draft pick at the pro level.

Now college baseball is different from basketball and football. You can be drafted and then choose to go back to school instead of be signed by whoever drafted you. Bates and Still are definately not comming back to State, but here’s hoping that Sam Walls, Matt Hobson, and Diaz decide to play for the wolfpack another year instead of going pro. Believe me guys you will have a lot more fun playing at Doak field then for the Burlington Indians.

Good luck to Matt Camp who is a Senior who got drafted by the Cubs, and my heartfelt sympathy goes out to Brian Aragon who got drafted by the Yankees.

Here is to the Wolfpack, the Red Sox, to every one of those guys whose efforts were rewarded, and to baseball. Life is good.

I have looked at a lot of different pages, and this is one of the best and simplest “learn how to surf” websites that I have found. On June 17th I am planning on going to the beach and would like to do some surfing. Let me know if you are interested in trying it out. I am sure that surf boards are not that much to rent.

Flugtag is an event held all over the world were contestants attempt to fly man powered aircraft off of a tower into the water. The idea is to fly, but usually they end up falling with style. Here is a website for the event, and be sure to check out the gallery for a real taste of what its like. I might just add this to a list of things I want to do before I die, along with the Boston Marathon. Something tells me I should do everything else on the list first however. One is comming up in Baltimore on October 21st. Let’s see. My wife wants to go to Baltimore sometime, we can visit ESPN Zone and hard rock cafe, we can spend a few days at the beach, and flugtag is now accepting applications! A perfect setting to introduce the world to my flying toaster.

Hey baby happy birthday, I love you with all of my heart!

Peter Gammons had this neat clip concerning Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero and their work in Dominican. It goes to show that not all rich ballplayers blow their money on Limos and Ladies. These guys put their money to work giving jobs to their fellow countrymen.

Martinez continues his near-evangelistic social work and contributions in the Dominican Republic, particularly in his hometown of Montaguayabo. His good friend Vladimir Guerrero is doing the same in his hometown of Bani. Guerrero and brother Wilton own a cement block factory, propane distributorship, supermarket, livestock and vegetable farms, a seafood distributorship and a women’s clothing store — simply to provide jobs and resources and develop the economy for their fellow townsmen.

Some people talk loosely about patriotism. Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero define it.

Hats off to them, I hope if I ever have money I will use it as well.

I found this kind of cool article about swimming holes around asheville and it reminded me of Linville Gorge and their beauty of a swimming hole. There is just so much i want to do this summer and so few saturdays. The other thing I want to do on a regular basis is head down to wrightsville beach. Its only 2 or 2.5 hours away and its supposed to have great surfing. I would really like to get good at surfing this summer. It goes with the hair.

ESPN2’s try at a commencement speech

Things are looking very good for the Red Sox in Tuesdays draft. Here is an article that talks a little bit about how many picks they have and how Theo is hoping this will benefit the club. The exciting thing is that this potentially great draft can only serve to improve an already good farm system. Its great to know that the Red Sox have hope for a good future.

I found this short biography on Deidre Pujols that talks a little about how she met Albert and some of their early experiences. It really points to the fact that Albert Pujols is not only the king of baseball but he is also a great guy with great character. I am definately pulling for him to top Bonds 73 home run season record.