Tomorrow, Niko has his first recital at school to celebrate Veteran’s Day. Now, before I proceed, I need to be honest and tell you that when Nina first told me about this about two months ago, either I wasn’t listening or she never told me. So, since I am smart and even though, I don’t…
Tag: The Dad Speaks
The Dad’s Random Thoughts
Instead of reading a book a few times last week, Niko grabbed my iPad and set the Safari browser to thedadspeaks.com. Hey, that’s mine! He wanted me to read them to him, and I happily obliged. I showed him how to search by keyword or dates, and he was scrolling through everything until something caught…
Hangry
Last Saturday, we had a hangry boy! If you don’t know what that means, I will explain. It’s when Niko is hungry and angry, and he can’t make his mind up for what he wants to do. Don’t worry, I will explain further. We went to P.F. Changs for lunch and Niko wanted no part…
GameCrafters – Nicholas Medina
The first time I met Nick was at a high school football game, where I was training him on stats. I don’t remember the game, but I believe it was at the Springs Sports Complex in San Antonio, and home to the San Antonio Independent School District. It was a billion degrees outside, and we…
Life is Good for the DAD
Life is good for me, as last Wednesday (10/9/2024), I celebrated my one-year work anniversary at HealthEquity, Inc. I went to a Finance Conference at the headquarters in Draper, UT in July and it was nice to meet my team face-to-face, and even other people who I have been on calls with. Here is a…
GameCrafters – Ernie Zuniga
I first saw Ernie on TV doing sports for KABB Fox 29 San Antonio, alongside Ed Suarez and Chuck Miketinac. I never even thought that I would end up working with all three of them as a high school football statistician. Ed was with the Texas Sports Radio Network, and Ernie and Chuck were with…
Niko The Lego Master
On Friday evening and before Niko went to sleep, I asked him to build me a small Lego holder for my one work pen and my work branded colored work markers. He agreed. We actually did it together yesterday morning, as I built the base and he built the rest. He even found a Lego…
GameCrafters – David Miguel
I was the statistician for the Spanish radio broadcasts for UTSA football in 2012, and David Miguel did the color commentary. Since he was from out-of-town, I picked him up at his hotel and we drove together to the games. What a great way to get to know somebody. Since then, we have kept in…
French Toast and Food
I am by no means a professional chef, but I try my best to give Niko the best breakfasts before school. Sometimes he requests fried eggs or a ham and egg breakfast taco, which I can do for him. Last week, though, he wanted French Toast, and we not only had the eggs, and bread,…
GameCrafters – Matt Wixon
In 2019, I reached out to Matt on Twitter. I had recently read a book he published about high school football, and I had to tell him how much I enjoyed it. We had previously connected on Twitter because we both were writing about high school football; him in Dallas and me in San Antonio….
Barnes & Noble
Give me some alone time at a bookstore, and I can easily find several books to purchase after browsing. But, add in Niko, and I have less than 60 seconds to browse as I have to chase him around the store. Yes, he likes books and I did buy him some last week at his…
GameCrafters – Mark Lieberman
I like asking questions and sharing other people’s stories here, but now it’s my time to share my story. So, what inspired me to write this one? Well, I was actually thinking of what family member provided me my passion for sports. Not playing but watching them on television. Them, referring to baseball and basketball….
The Tired Dad – Again
On Friday, Niko woke up at 4:30 am, and when that happens, I am up with him. It’s always been that way for Nina and I, and even though I don’t want to be awake, I get up and take care of him. It’s much easier for me to go back to sleep than Nina…
GameCrafters – Mark Kusenberger
When I was a high school football statistician for the Texas Sports Radio Network, I worked a lot of games with Kusenberger, and for those games, I always knew the broadcast would be flawless and my stats would be appreciated constantly. When we got married in 2010, Nina and I had a very small affair….
Lego Builds
Niko has always enjoyed legos, and some of the legos he has were from my childhood. In his younger years, I would have to build any new sets (and, he has a bunch) for him. But, now, he can do them on his own and he rarely needs help. Usually, he calls for me when…
GameCrafters – Chuck Miketanic
I was the statistician for Thursday Night Lights from 2009 to 2016, and in the 5th year, Chuck was the color commentator. I also remember watching him on Fox 29 San Antonio as one of the sports anchors (Ernie Zuniga and Ed Suarez were the others, and I worked with Ernie for the first four…
First Sick Day
Well, we are 10 days into school, and Niko finally had his first sick day on Friday! I partially blame one of his classmates who sits across from him as a few days prior to Friday, he vomited near Niko and some of it got on another classmates Chromebook. Yeah, I know great and thanks…
GameCrafters – Jorge Rodriguez
I was the statistician for the Spanish radio broadcasts for UTSA football, and Jorge Rodriguez was doing the play-by-play. That was the first time I met him. We worked all the home games together in 2012, and connected through social media shortly after. I was so nervous that first game, but he and the rest…
Week 1
Niko survived the first week of school, and he is really enjoying it. His favorite subject is Math and for rotation (art, gym, and music), it’s gym. And, he likes his teacher, which is awesome! Our morning, afternoon, and evening routines are going well. Mornings, he eats, he uses the bathroom, and he gets dressed…
GameCrafters – Carlos Enrico
I met Coach Enrico in 2014 at a high school basketball game between the St. Anthony Yellow Jackets and the Central Catholic Buttons. I was covering the game from the Yellow Jackets perspective and their Head Coach, Kevin Smisek, introduced us. I knew of Carlos, and it wasn’t until a few years prior to our…