A big huge thanks goes out to the coordinator (Iain Dover) and all that assisted in putting on a spectacular event.

I should take this time to also thank Kristen James for running the SAAA booth and putting on a fabulous show from the announcers seat.  (Thanks for throw'n me a bone with the kind acknowledgements while on the field.)

Now to the meat and potatoes... well, upon arriving I immediately cornered Big Ken Lowther and asked for a photo op (considering his spectacular showing at Woodland and his Professional debut on Saturday in Costa Mesa, I figured it would be a cool addition for the website).  Unfortunately I believe his words were, "I don't know after the slamming you gave me on your website, maybe later.".  Well, I apologize for anything I may have said about your performance in a certain event up in Woodland, but it's obvious you're the "real deal" regardless of what I publish on this cyber-rag. And your world-class performance at Mesa proved that.  Don't let my sneers and jeers cause you any heartburn.  It's all in good fun.

Soooooo. . . moving right along.  Where did that freakishly huge "C" class competitor come from!!!???  For those not in attendance, the C's were absolutely DOMINATED by, what could only be described as a 7 foot tall (relatively) hairless sasquatch!  The beating we all took in Mesa could only be described as brutal.  On the bright side, once we all accepted that the "freak-of-nature" was going to walk away with the title, the rest of the day went just fine and as for myself, I was able to concentrate on having a great time and learning all I can from my peers. 

Actually, Joe (the freak-of-nature) is a great guy (as were all of the competitors) and provided me with some great instruction in the Braemar and Open Stone.  I was able to add a good two feet to both just by incorporating his advice into my throws.  Another cool guy that I met this weekend was an "A" class competitor, Vicken (the Genetic Freak).  I was pretty amazed at how nice he was considering the fact that he appears to be such an ass on the SAAA message board.  Hey, don't blame me for that statement, even he admits it. . . with a smirk on his face.  Vicken is actually a great guy, a little bit opinionated but that's probably why we got along. . . except for that statement he made about performing squats over a gym ball and. . . hey Hellcat, what was that other device?  Anyway, it's not important, let's just say that what obviously motivates Vicken to succeed works fine for him but just isn't going to be neccessary for me!  Just kidding Vic.