You make so many strides between the first and second game, so I like the way this schedule has worked out. We'll have an extra week to do a lot of instructing before taking on Solon.

It's good for us to see a team like Clinton. Going against a (Class) 4A team early on will show us where we're at and what we need to improve upon.

This is a good Gateway-area rivalry. Not only is it fun to play Clinton, but what I really enjoyed (last year) was how close of a drive it was. Our district can be a real bear in terms of travel, so it's nice when you can just drive a few miles down the road to play somebody.

A lot of things went our way in that game. There was a short span where we had two defensive touchdowns. The momentum we gained from that was a huge part of the game.

I've made a career writing about fictitious anti-heroes. To create these worlds, I've spent a lot of time with active members on both sides of the law. And if I had to pick the most interesting of the two, the choice is obvious - we all love the guys in black.

These two companies gave a must-have lesson for all retailers, Sharper Image combed the globe for unusual and exciting products that weren't run-off-the-mill ... Retailers made the mistake of taking customers for granted and the payoff came two weeks ago in much weaker Christmas sales because of ho-hum kind of merchandise.