sticky nick and brandy j: arizona

Despite the shocking loss to the Gators this past Monday we still have a BLAST in Arizona over our extended weekend. We arrived on Saturday and enjoyed the evening out with my friends Renee and Daniel along with their men - Matt and Thom. We had dinner at the Rock Bottom Brewery and then played a little pool at Jillians - Matt and Sticky bonded since they are both HUGE sports fans! Early the next morning we ventured out on a morning hike around the Arizona landscape. We conquered a trail that led us up to an amazing view of the Phoenix Skyline. In Ohio I am used to running on flat ground so to hike up a small mountain was a big shocker on the muscles - so yes, I was a little sore the following day. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the big game. We had the pleasure of going to Chase Field (home of the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Team) for a little Pep Really which included Jim Tressel, Troy Smith, THE Ohio State Marching Band, Archie Griffin, Craig Krenzel (2002 Champions Quarterback) and many other note worthy Buckeyes. 35,000 Buckeye fans showed up which is more than they sometimes get for an actual Diamondback game. It was such a great time but unfortunately Sticky will not let us cross Chase Field of the baseball studium list b/c you have to actually be at a baseball game in order to cross it off - bummer!! After the rally we headed to Scotsdale for some dinner - definitely a part of Phoenix you should check out if your ever in town. And then of course Monday was spent tailgating and preparing for the BCS Championship Game. We had tickets to College Football's Largest Tailgate Party which was a blast - we tried our best to make it on College GameDay but I have not heard word on that yet. The stadium is really kind of ugly on the outside but the inside is gorgeous (my only complaint is that they need more restrooms). The Buckeyes Fans really showed up but I think everyone knew that they would and I will also have to give credit to those Gator fans - they did not outnumber the Buckeyes by any means but they certainly represented their team more then some previous opponents we have faced. The game of course was very disappointing for us Buckeyes - we just looked flat and after that first kickoff we just could not get anything going! I have not seen them play like that in a really long time but like they say - "you can't win them all." It was truly a great season though and as all of you Buckeye fans out there know it is ALWAYS a great season when you BEAT MICHIGAN (non Buckeye fans will laugh and say whatever but they just don't understand)!! Congrats to the Gators - you beat the crap out of us and you did it with grace - teams like USC and Miami should take note of your good sportsmanship. And as for the fans I have to tip my hat to the Gators - of course we received some taunting but only one person was really out of line. And you Buckeyes out there should be very proud - I know that we can get out of hand but we took the lose as best we could and still represented our O-H-I-O. That is why it is so great to be a BUCKEYE FAN!! Can't wait till the Spring Game!!

Stealing a kiss: