Why 'Fighting Manatees'?

Now I've done it.

I've got my own blog.

Some folks will invariably say, "Congratulations, you moron. Now you're only three years behind the rest of us. What cave have you been living in?"

Though in all fairness, I have to say that I do have a page on Facebook (I use it to track down the students that I teach and not really as a social networking tool) and have been semi photo blogging for quite some time (friends will attest to the comments with my photos on Kodak's EasyShare site).

So why the blog?

I could say that I wanted to write more, but that wouldn't be true. I get paid to write, and more hours in front of the computer outside of work I really don't need.

I could say that I'm important. But that's not true either. My code name isn't "Deep Throat" and my name isn't Bill Gates.

Which leaves us with the final answer: Why not?

Though some people set up blogs to keep friends appraised of their adventures and mishaps, you won't find any tantalizing tidbits on my relationships, boring rantings about pets or what not. I tried a diary once when I was a child. It was pretty pathetic.

Dear Diary, got up today. Brushed my teeth. Went to school. Came home and watched "G.I. Joe." Did my homework. Played with my G.I. Joes. Ate dinner. Watched "Family Ties." Went to bed.

Anne Frank I was not.

This blog will be more like a newspaper column, except without a newspaper. This will probably be one of a handful of personal blogs that also adheres to AP style, so hopefully you won't find any bad spelling or grammar here (that's not a challenge to you readers).

Instead, you'll find random thoughts. Lots of them.

Along with my twisted sense of humor that my friends have come to know.

So the second question ... why the name "Fighting Manatees" for a blog?

(Begin first random thought)

For you single guys out there, you should know (if you didn't already) that almost every woman has an "animal mascot." This means that every woman has one animal they love or admire more than any other. For some girls, it's cows. For others, it's pigs. My wife's animal mascot is the penguin.

They'll have stuffed animals, calendars, slippers, pajamas -- all with their favorite animal mascot on them. So if you're just starting to go out with a girl, find out the animal mascot.

Don't sweat it that much, guys. It's not like you're asking them for their ATM code.

Anyway, I've always had a soft spot for helpless and/or endangered species. I always thought it'd be fun to spend a spring break helping baby sea turtles or perhaps nursing a wounded bald eagle back to health.

On a vacation in January 2005, my then fiancee and I visited an aquarium in Orlando, Fla. I'd never seen a real manatee before, just in television and photos. I was struck by how, well, weird these creatures are compared to the animals we're used to. The manatee we saw had been wounded by the propellers of a motorboat and was being treated at the aquarium. Since then I've always had a soft spot for the big lugs.

Fast foward to August 2006 at the start of the fantasy football season. I've always tried to have fun and playful names for my teams. In the past, I've used my favorite beer as a team name ("The Yuengling Lagers"). I've also paid homage to my favorite cartoons ("The Springfield Isotopes" from "The Simpsons" or "The South Park Cows" from "South Park"). This season, the Springfield Isotopes are still around, but they're joined by the Robot Chickens (a nod to the show of the same name on Cartoon Network) and of course, the Fighting Manatees.

Hence, the name of this blog.

I can't, however, claim this as the most innovative fantasy football team name this season. That honor has got to go to my friend Rob, who named his team the Sex Panthers.

Now a blog named "Sex Panthers," that would get people reading.