Johnson Family

This is what happens to pets when you have no children to dress up!!! Guinness was very tolerant of her Strawberry costume, as long as the hood wasn't up:)

Tyler--We're routing for you. Our prayers are with you.
Blessings!

So, since the Tigers did unfortunately lose to the Cards and everyone (but some people in Colorado) was very sad and may or may not have shed a tear, I thought I'd remember the good times. Like us beating the Yankees. At work, this story was posted in the back room and it made me laugh. So enjoy and remember, we will win it all in 07!!

George Steinbrenner Fires Tigers

October 12, 2006 | Onion Sports

NEW YORK—Immediately following the Yankees' first-round playoff elimination last Saturday, George Steinbrenner released a statement announcing his intention to fire the Detroit Tigers, whose "inexcusable postseason performance stunned and saddened" the 76-year-old Yankees owner.

"The Tigers' level of play during the ALDS was deeply disappointing and absolutely not acceptable to both me and the great and loyal Yankee fans," the statement read in part. "This is a mid-budget team with a payroll under $85 million, and I expected them to play like one."

Even though Steinbrenner was reportedly pleased with the way the Tigers played down the stretch, and even commended the team's starting pitching after Game 1, his mood soured as they went on to win three straight games, at one point holding the Yankee lineup scoreless for 20 consecutive innings. This drew the ire of the historically volatile Yankee owner, who had "certain expectations" for the Tigers heading into the series.

"I made it very clear how I wanted the Tigers to perform this postseason, and they failed on every level to produce the desired results," Steinbrenner's statement continued. "They had several opportunities to turn this series around, but they just went out there and played like they didn't care whether the Yankees won or lost."

"The pitching was fantastic, the offense was timely, the defense was flawless… Frankly, it made me sick," Steinbrenner added.

Steinbrenner was especially critical of Tigers manager Jim Leyland, whom he claims was primarily responsible for the Yankees' ineffective postseason. A poll conducted after the ALDS echoes Steinbrenner's sentiments, as an overwhelming 100 percent of Yankee fans say they do not support Jim Leyland, and nearly zero percent say they would be disappointed if Leyland were fired from his current managerial post.

"We were all relying on Jim, but he just didn't get the job done for us," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. "We thought long and hard about it, but in the end we decided that the Yankee organization is better off without the Detroit Tigers around."

Steinbrenner concluded his statement by criticizing the Tigers' "shameful post-game celebration," saying that "the way they were acting, you'd think the Yankees had won the pennant."

Among the other Tiger players fired by Steinbrenner are Carlos Guillen, the Tigers shortstop who batted a "disappointing .571" during the series; outfielder Curtis Granderson, who hit two home runs and had five RBI in what Steinbrenner called "an abysmal performance"; and pitchers Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman, who "cost the Yankees the series" with back-to-back outings in which they recorded a combined 12 strikeouts and gave up just two runs.

Yankee players were not shocked by Steinbrenner's announcement.

"He's the Boss—he owns the Yankees, and that gives him the right to fire whoever he wants," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "The Yankees have a long tradition of winning, and the Detroit Tigers failed to respect that."

For the Tigers, news of their firing couldn't have come at a worse time.

"I know we didn't quite live up to the expectations of certain fans, media, and baseball organizations, but it felt like things were really starting to come together for us, like something big was right around the corner," Leyland said. "We thought we still had a lot to prove here. Who knows, if we weren't eliminated in this unexpected fashion, we might have even gone on to win a world championship."

With the Oakland A's currently waiting for an opponent for the championship series, Steinbrenner is expected to announce that the newly vacant Detroit Tigers roster will be filled by the roster of the 2006 New York Yankees, effective Game 1 of the ALCS.

Go Cards! Love, Chris and Marni (please don't kick us out of the family...)

I have become nostalgic lately, as my obsession with the Tiger's keeps me up every night watching the World Series. Normally a lukewarm sports fan, I found myself throwing a shoe across the room last night when the Cardinal's scored runs 3-4 against us. And, of course, I have been thinking about Grandpa. Watching the Tiger's evokes memories of stopping by the house on Winton Avenue to see Grandpa sitting in his rocking chair watching the game, or being at the Cottage and seeing him watch the game on a little black-and-white tv. I couldn't figure out why he would want to watch baseball when he could swim out to the dock all by himself without a life-jacket. I called Grandma the night the Tiger's won the pennant, and we talked about baseball for a while. She sent me these pictures in the mail to scan onto the blog. Go get 'em Tigers!

We sat out in left center (where the brick wall is with the retired numbers are). The weather was awesome, too bad the Tigers lost. It was still fun though. GO TIGERS!!!!

The first pic is of the first pitch and the second is before the game.

Just thought I'd share some birthday advice...never travel for business on your birthday. If you do, you'll come back to the office and find yourself all washed up...literally. My co-workers used 72 rolls of toilet paper to lovingly decorate my workspace. "Happy Birthday!" they said, "Can you spare a square?" and "Port-O-Holli" were a few of their greetings. One week later, I'm still finding toilet paper in all of my drawers, files, plants and picture frames. Not many people get the chance to work out of a huge toilet bowl. :) Enjoy the photos (taken from my cell phone).

Yesterday's snow reminded me of an important upcoming event. You are probably aware that last year Jackie and I won the "Best Looking Chirstmas Tree" blog post in an unanamious decision, unaffected by Lisa's petty griping and Becky's phantom tree. But there is good news for all the losers out there. Please read the following contest rules closely.

This year's contest begins December 15 and all blog submissions must be uploaded by December 20. - Only 1 submission per household. - There must be a christmas tree in the blog and it must be your tree. - The blog also needs to have copy, but no more than 50 words. Note: The combination ot the picture and the copy will be judged. Poetry or a funny story about some aspect of this year's tree raising may help sway the judges. Second note: Even if you do not think you have a winner, PLEASE SUBMIT AN ENTRY.

If you want a full list of rules send me a self-addressed envelope and a check for $250.00. Winning entry will be judged with some bias but with no malice and the winner gains bragging rights for a full year for having the family's "Best Looking Christmas Tree".

Jim wanted me to pass along that he FINALLY got his wedding pictures up on his website. You can view them here: http://web.mac.com/jamesberry3

I will talk to Scott about how to pass on a link to his wedding pictures too...

Just in case anyone missed it, the Tigers beat the Yankees in Game 4 at Comerica Park yesterday. By winning, they won the series and will now play the Oakland A's. I was lucky enough to be at the game. Todd was there, too but was sitting in a different place with some friends. Chad also got to go to the game on Friday (game 3). The game was amazing! I now have no voice from screaming so much. Definitely something I won't forget for a long time. I know Grandpa would be proud of them :) Here are some pics from the game....

Hi all,
More pictures to share.
It started early this morning when McKenna woke me up to tell me that the upstairs bathroom door was locked. I thought that it was wierd but at 6:00 AM I didn't investigate any further after I picked the lock to let McKenna in. Later, after Kristen was out of the shower she went to get Gavin because he leaves first with Kristen. Kristen instantly noticed something different with Gavin's hair. She asked him if he slept on it funny. As she got closer she noticed chunks of hair missing all over his head! It turns out he woke up early to give himself a haircut. He thought by hiding the evidence, by locking the bathroom door, we wouldn't notice his new haircut (picture 1). So I was giving a haircut at 7:00 AM (results are on picture 2). He is now ready for basic training.
Doug

Logan's fight with the laundry basket resulted in a win for the basket.












First Ranger's game in Madison Square Gardens. We have partial season tickets so he will be seeing a lot of games this year.

Playing football at Navy home games.

The first annual (Iowa) Johnson Fantasy Baseball league is completed. Brendan takes this years championship by 57 points, fighting off his hard charging father. Uncle Pete was third, followed by Uncle Greg and Uncle Andy. Next year we would like to add some more family teams to the league. More details coming next March. Until then...... Go Tigers!!!!!