Dome Pondering

3 Up 1. Iraq Breaks ISIS Seige - After weeks of ISIS slowly invading the region of Iraq, running rampant, and doing unspeakable things, it was refreshing to hear that Iraqi forces ceased the siege a bit. Even just a little is good. Especially, when they were able to free thousands who have been trapped without much food, water, or basic supplies.  2. Mike Trout - My man has been awesome this week. Leading the Angels to some key wins over the Athletics, and doing so in the usual Mike Trout way - using all five tools of the game, and using them spectacularly.  3. Productive PE Class - Kudos to a school in Iowa who will begin using heart rate monitors to grade students in physical education classes. We MUST get kids active in this generation of hand held devices, and I'm a big fan of schools leading the way.  3 Down 1. Forgetting Ferguson - I know the rallies and protests have calmed as it is understood that they can't go on forever. And the story progressio

This post is a bit late, but better late than never, right?  Nonetheless, the sheer epicness that was the 2014 Little League World Series could not go by without yours truly dropping a few lines about it. Typically, as most of you DP devotees know by now, I am a baseball junky. I'm an addict. I admit it. I'm that guy that enjoys the Caribbean World Series in the midst of the winter months. I find the NCAA College World Series to be the best and most exciting sporting format in college sports. And yes, I enjoy the Little League World Series. All of this in addition to the normal MLB season. I like baseball, sue me.  However, this year's Little League World Series had a bit more juice than prior years. It crossed over from being an event for the die hard into having mainstream appeal. It was filled with drama, emotion, talent, and tremendous kids that made us fall in love with the sport of baseball all over again.

3 Up 1. James Foley - What a courageous man who stood for truth, honor, freedom, and for this country. Even in the face of evil.  2. Little League World Series - This tournament was flat out amazing. With multiple (and very important) storylines, great play, and tremendous sportsmanship, this year's edition was riveting television all the time.  3. Suits - It's been given a "hit" in the "up" section in the past and it deserves it again. The show closed another strong season this summer which exhibited awesome screenwriting, fantastic storylines, and great acting. Not to mention, tremendous characters. Who can hate Harvey Spector?  3 Down 1. ISIS - A common "down" as of late, someone needs to stop this evil - and fast.  2. Earthquakes - Between the rumble that was out West in San Francisco that is more significant than originally thought, and the one that now has hit Peru, further devastation and destruction has been added t

What is it about?  A famous writer, his ex-wife, and their children deal with the issues and complexities of love as they deal with family and professional issues.  Who is in it?  Greg Kinnear - Bill Borgens Lily Collins - Samantha Borgens Nat Woff - Rusty Borgens Jennifer Connelly - Erica

421. If you could realize a dream that you have had while asleep, what dream would you pick? Walking the aisle at Wrestlemania. I'm don't remember what that dream was about, I know, strangely enough,  but I always felt walking the aisle at a Wrestlemania would such a cool moment.  422. If you could choose two colors and one symbol to represent a new country created by you, what two colors and symbol would you choose? I would choose dark blue and light blue, with white being a given color. I would choose a cross bar along with a old-English style cross in front of it. Because there are sites out there that allow you to actually design your own flag, I messed around and brought my vision to life.

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.

As one of their signature columns, "This Week in IMPACT Wrestling" is one of the signature columns reviewing that week's IMPACT Wrestling broadcast for TNAsylum.com. Yours truly was asked to cover the TV Review of the show for the week of August 20th, 2014. Luckily, the show was a special edition, Hardcore Justice, which was an awesome episode of IMPACT, making my assignment so much easier and so much fun to accomplish. The can read the final piece here , or in the text below.

I'll be honest, the WWE product hasn't really been must-see television for me for the past few months. I'll tune into RAW, but often enough, I'll lose interest. Really, it wasn't because of anything other than it just felt like the WWE was waiting on SummerSlam. Everything built to this show, and until then, everything else was kind of in neutral and stalling until then. So with SummerSlam finaly here, I was excited. Despite the lackluster interest, SummerSlam is one of my favorites of the year, it always has been. Also, we all finally get some payoff to what has felt like a long time coming - too long actually. Nevertheless, it's (finally) here. Below are some quick thoughts on the night that was SummerSlam.

3 Up 1. Mo'Ne Davis & Pierce Jones - These two little leaguers have been tremendously awesome this week. From Davis, who not only is first black female to pitch in the Little League World Series, but threw a 6 inning, 8 K shutout,  to Pierce Jones who produced the impressive stat of 4-4, 3HR, 1 Triple, 14 Total Bases, and only saw 9 pitches in all four at bats. Both have become household names at only 13. Rock on!  2 .Protesters - Kudos to those who have traveled to Ferguson, Missouri and have done so by protesting peacefully. So many sit at home and complain, but many decided to take action, and did so in a productive way.  3. ALS Awareness - The social media craze has been what you expect from social media fads - some people just doing it to be seen. But if you can get around that, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has done wonders for raising money and awareness for ALS. Kudos to those who participated and donated.  3 Down  1. Ferguson Rioters - Let's jus

Over the past week, the images, video clips, tweets, and overall concern coming out of Ferguson, Missouri have been troubling. Until last Saturday, I have never heard of Ferguson, MO. But upon learning the immediate details of the horrific tragedy that was the killing of Mike Brown, I had a feeling Ferguson, Missouri was about to become household knowledge soon.  I laid in my bed last Sunday night with my tablet on hand doing the usual - a few readings of current events, social media, and other writings, articles, and pieces I hadn't gotten to during the week. I never got around to any of it as I found myself attached to social media and "#MikeBrown", swiping down on the screen constantly to refresh my feeds in hopes of getting updates on what was occurring. I was and am enthralled with it all.  But really, I was searching for answers. How can this be?  As we come upon one week, this story still seems perplexing, troubling, and baffling. It is one wrapped up

What is it about?   Two friends and an odd acquaintance run away from home and their annoying parents. They end up building a house in the middle of the woods and live off the land for one week during summer vacation.  Who is in it?  Nick Robinson - Joe Gabriel Basso - Patrick Moises Arias - Biaggio Nick Offerman - Frank

I was riding my bike across a major street in my neighborhood and began picking up speed as I knew my friend's house was a mere few blocks away. I was en route to return a video game he loaned me earlier that week. It was summer, and with plenty of time during summer vacation as a freshman in high school, playing video games and borrowing/sharing them with friends was ideal.  After crossing a major street, I heard a quick siren and a voiceover urging someone to pull over and stop. W ooooooop Wooooooop!! Pullover immediately! I quickly turned back and noticed the officers pulled over on the corner and gesturing for me to return to their vehicle. Slightly confused and partially intrigued, I did. I rode back towards the vehicle where the officers were waiting.  "Hey....", I approached and said.  "Where are you headed?"  "To... my friend's house..." "Where is your friend's house?"  "East 85th Street. A

3 Up  1. Generous College President - There are a lot of people in executive positions who talk about making change for their staff financially, but only do so with just that, talk. The Kentucky State President did so by action in taking a pay cut to help fund the school's lowest paid workers. Kudos to him.  2. People Power - It is so easy to lose faith in humanity at times, especially when it comes to helping one another. However, stories such as the recent one in which commuters banded together to rock a train enough in order to free a man whose leg was trapped between the platform and the train. 3. "Apparently" Kid - I'm sure you've seen this by now. If you haven't, take a look. This kid was adorable, and downright hilarious...and for the record, I apparently have never been on live television before either.  3 Down 1. ISIS/Iraqi Situation - As ISIS moved from claiming territory to unspeakable actions of murder, rape, and other disgu

The London Tower Bridge For some reason, I missed London today. Outside of New York City (of course), it is my favorite city in the world (so far).

411. If you could be on the cover of any magazine next month, which magazine would you want it to be, and what would the caption say? Athletics Business Journal - "Hardest Working Man in Collegiate Athletics"  A the very least, it's my motivation as a professional to someday make that be true.  412. If everything in the world had to have the same color, what scent would you want it to be? Grey (or Gray). The color seems like a neutral one that ends disputes and also doesn't start them. Just imagine if we were all, well, the same shade of grey? How would racism fit into that?  413. If you could give your parents one gift, what would you give them? A new house - all paid for - in the Caribbean, specifically their home, St. Vincent, where they can go during the winter months here in New York City.  I know that's my hope for retirement.