Dome Pondering

Last year, the good Lord showed his humor in having me return to Las Vegas for the NIRSA conference. As you could read here , the return was quite comical for several ironic reasons in my life. Nonetheless, another NIRSA conference brought about another trip, this time to Nashville, Tennessee. A city in which I've never been to, and one that I honestly would never ever have imagined I would thoroughly enjoy the way I did. My trip lasted three days, in which I left on April 23rd and returned on April 26th. Who knew after three days in Nashville, it would become one of my favorite cities in the United States. And yes, personally, I would rank it over Las Vegas (say what?!!!).

With the recent idiotic comments by Donald Sterling, I felt it was a strong enough topic to punch the keys on. It's a topic that affects everyone, especially when it reminds us that racism does indeed still exist. More importantly, and apparently, Sterling's comments remind us that there are many who make these sort of comments in the privacy of their comfort, and would never do so in public.  There really is no "opinion" one could have on this. Afterall, no one is coming down on the side of Sterling or defending his comments in anyway. This story really only has one side, and you're wrong if you fall elsewhere. Regardless, the true topic of discussion is not your opinion, but answering the question of where the NBA, as a community, goes from here.

After TNA Wrestling decided to move to a four-pay-per-view-a-year system, these kind of Sundays have been far and few between. You know what I mean, the Sundays where you know you are going to get long, quality (hopefully), uninterrupted matches that you rarely see on television. Pay-Per-Views at one point in time were something TNA did tremendously well. And quality matches were the very reason.  Despite Sacrifice feeling like a sudden throw-in among this system, the excitement for such wrestling and the pay-offs to certain feuds was there. Well, at least for me. Sacrifice wasn't an unbelievable show, but it was good. Above average. A bit more than acceptable. Nothing overly terrible, but nothing was ground shaking - well, except for James Storm vs. Gunner. More on that in a bit.

3 Up 1. Nashville, Tennesse - Had my first encounter with "Music City" this past week, and it was terrific. Such a great city. Actually a lot more fun than I expected. Be on the lookout for that followup post.  2. Dani Alves - Unfortunately, racism in sports has been the talk this week due to Donald Sterling's idiotic statements. However, Alves dealt with racism as well as a fan threw a banana at him during a Barcelona match. Instead of being hurt, Alves simply picked up the banana, ate it, and defused the situation with class and humor. Bravo! Bravo, Mr. Alves. 3. 21 Funny Answers on Exams By Kids - This latest article on the Huffington Post is enjoyable. At times, it's rather hilarious. Check it out. 3 Down 1. Donald Sterling - What an idiotic thing to say. So happy to see him get caught. Again, I'm sure there are many who say very similar things to this in the comfort in their own space. Now that he was caught, he wants to apologize? Bla

What is it about? After a quick engagement, Tom and Violet look to plan their wedding, but various events along the way continue to delay the event. Who is in it? Jason Segal - Tom Solomon Emily Blunt - Violet Barnes Chris Pratt - Alex Eilhauer Alison Brie - Suzie Barnes-Eilhauer

What is it about? A hard partying high school senior has his philosophy on life change when he meets an unexpected girl who isn't exactly his type. Who is in it? Miles Teller - Sutter Shailene Woodley - Aimee Brie Larson - Cassidy Kyle Chandler - Tommy

Your browser does not support iframes. "Oh stop it! Just. Stop. Please."  That was my initial reaction to the latest bench-clearing, bullpen-emptying scuffle that took place in Major League Baseball between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Milwaukee Brewers. The brouhaha involved that of the Pirates ace, Gerrit Cole, who gave up a triple to the always flamboyant, Carlos Gomez, and felt "disrespected" by Gomez's...shall we say, "admiration" when the ball left his bat.  As always, these instances always lead to the regurgitation of baseball's "unwritten" rules. You know, the rules that aren't real, but for some reason carry a much larger presence than some of the real rules in the sport. Baseball has held these "unwritten" rules in some cases, as the holy grail of the sport, with some acknowledging them as what sets baseball apart.

What is it about?  A boy-wonder novelist struggling with writer's block manages to will a character in his latest novel to real life, and ends up beginning an unusual romance.  Who is in it?   Paul Dano - Calvin Weir-Fields Zoe Kazan - Ruby Spars Chris Messina - Harry

It's been awhile since I've been able to do this. It seems sometimes I get so caught up in work, home life, blogging for fun to balance work and home life, that the "punching the keys" method get lost.  As I sit here, it all just feels like 2014 is whizzing by, and doing so very fast! After all, April is about to end. And with a life that now mirrors a college calendar - living via semesters - that means commencement is right around the corner. Which ultimately means there is a period of a work-break coming up soon. A break I'm very much looking forward to.  Especially, after a semester in which I've poured plenty of time and effort in programs, events, and most importantly, mentoring and leading students. It's really been a mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausting semester (there it is again) for yours truly.

Just as a reminder, the 1st round criteria will be a best-of-three format based on the following: 1) Better Jeopardy contestant 2) More likely to go incognito on City Subway, and finally, 3) Least likely to be caught for performance enhancing drugs.

Just as a reminder, the 1st round criteria will be a best-of-three format based on the following: 1) Better Jeopardy contestant 2) More likely to go incognito on City Subway, and finally, 3) Least likely to be caught for performance enhancing drugs.

Just as a reminder, the 1st round criteria will be a best-of-three format based on the following: 1) Better Jeopardy contestant 2) More likely to go incognito on City Subway, and finally, 3) Least likely to be caught for performance enhancing drugs.

Ohhhhh, it's back! The tournament full of so much randomness and ridiculousness that it has stirred debate and controversy among readers. For those of you new to this concept the DP rolls out this time of the year, it's a concept which takes some notable people over the last year, with some random characters selected, and have them square off based on some VERY random criteria in a best-of-three, and later on, in a best-of-seven format ( DP All-Star Clash History ) Again, for those who take this super-serious, relax, it's for fun.  With that said, let's get on with the 2014 DP All-Star Clash.

371. If you had to have one job that you have had previously, which one would you want again? I love my job now. It's what I've always wanted to do. However, if I have to take a step away from this job, I would select my previous position in Parks and Recreation. A lot of fun times (obviously, as there was a section of this blog dedicated to my experiences there - True Tales From Parks and Recreation ).  372. If you could have the autograph of any athlete  you do not have, whose would it be, and what would you like them to sign? Obviously, my favorite athlete of all-time, Mariano Rivera.

3 Up 1. Adrianne Haslet-Davis - The Boston Marathon bombing victim requested that the bombing suspect's name not be mentioned during her appearance on "Meet The Press". After agreeing to her terms, they went ahead and did so anyway while she was on the show. Typical. Haslet-Davis ended up walking off the set. Good for her.  2. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg - The Huffington Post contributor deserves the two spot this week for her well-written piece on provoking thought on the education system and the issues such as the lack of creative teaching and public funding in our nation.  3. Daniel Bryan/Eric Young - Both men captured their respective company's World Championships this week. Good to see the continuing evolution of the pro wrestling business rewarding those who have heart, and not just those who physically impress.  3 Down 1. Kansas Jewish Center Shooting - It's so sad to continue to see how common mass, public shootings have become in our

Pondering with Plumtree is a column on the popular blog, TNAsylum, that is written by yours truly. The blog is focused towards being a fan site for TNA Wrestling fans where they can get news, rumors, opinions, and any and everything else, TNA Wrestling. Known as "The Haven for TNA Wrestling Fans", I'm hoping to bring some of my thoughts to an already impressive roster of columnist for as long as the site will have me. You can read the latest column here , or in the text below.

Here today, gone tomorrow.  If there was ever a lesson we could learn from the recent death of Jim Hellwig, more famously known to all of us wrestling fans as the Ultimate Warrior, it's that life truly isn't guaranteed and we should live as such. As the news began to flood Twitter last night, I was shocked to read of Warrior's passing. After all, he just was part of the entire Wrestlemania weekend, and of course, on Raw to cut one of his classic Warrior-like promos where we all had no idea what he was saying, followed by his patented snort, or so we thought at the tme. It really is one of those things in life, "...but, but...we just saw him last night?!" Again, life is precious.

Wow. That's the word I continued to utter throughout Wrestlemania XXX last night. It was a fitting word as there was a lot to behold on pro wrestling's biggest stage of the year. From the two-hour pre-show on a still fresh WWE Network which never wavered all night (which deserves a "wow" in it's own right), to the final moment of the night with Daniel Bryan atop the world. Time and time again last night, you just had to say that very word - wow!

One thousand posts.  Yes, folks. This is my one-thousandth post here on this little blog in the big world that is the internet.  It's actually quite amazing to think that Dome Pondering has come this far since its inception. Actually, even crazier to think about its growth since the blog's rebirth here on Blogger. 1000 posts, thoughts, and ponderings later, and here we are. I'm happy to see what I've built here. A place where pondering on life, sports, wrestling, politics, news, faith, movies, social issues, personal experiences, or just mere creative, fun, writing can reign. In a post like this, it's just fun to look back on it all. All of it.

Soooo...baseball is underway again. And to be honest, I couldn't be any happier to see it return. With new faces in new places, tons of young talented pitching throughout the league, a retiring legend, and possibly another once-in-a-lifetime talent emerging, it's really hard not to be excited. Especially, when the league has tremendous parity (where are those people who cried that the game needed a salary cap?) Nonetheless, with a few games already completed in this long journey to October, I figured I would throw out some predictions for the 2014 MLB season, and while we are at it, flaunt some wild guesses in there as well. Of course, all in the name of fun.

With my beloved New York Yankees set to begin their 2014 season tonight, I figured it might be time to begin facing the fact I've been dreading for a while now - my favorite athlete of all-time, Mariano Rivera is no longer coming out of that Yankees bullpen. But before this becomes a dreaded reality of not seeing #42 run out to begin the ninth, and experiencing that odd silence that will fill the air where a "Enter Sandman" once blared throughout Yankee stadium, I figured I'd pay homage to Mo Rivera's cutter.  The following .gif is a comparison of Mariano Rivera's cutter to that of the average pitcher's fastball. One of the greatest .gifs I've EVER come across. ENJOY!