Burt Lake SandBar. GPS: 45.478700, -84.705920

Boating around Burt Lake and the Inland Waterway is a wonderful way to spend a summer day.
There is a sand bar on the northwest corner of the lake where my family and many others park our boat and hang out in the fun.  There is every size boat from new to old anchored in.  We put out the WaterMat, grab a football and play for hours.  One nice feature of this area is that it is adjacent to many acres of land owned by the State of Michigan so we disturb no one on shore.
If you are out and about on a sunny Sunday afternoon and see the "My teaM" boat anchored, stop by and say hello.  If you don't know where the sand bar is, set your GPS for  45.478700, -84.705920

Chocolate Milk Gives Athletes Leg-up After Exercise

My sports medicine background still has a special place in my heart as does my beloved University of Michigan. Mike Barwis is the former strength and conditioning coach at Michigan.  He touted chocolate milk as a more effective way to replenish the body after his legendary "to failure" workouts.

Chocolate Milk Gives Athletes Leg-up After Exercise, Says University of Texas at Austin Study

June 22, 2011

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AUSTIN, Texas — Not only does chocolate milk taste good, but two recent studies from The University of Texas at Austin show that it’s also the ideal post-workout recovery drink.

"Serious and amateur athletes alike enjoyed physical recovery benefits when they drank low-fat chocolate milk after a vigorous workout," said Dr. John Ivy, lead researcher on the studies and chair of The University of Texas at Austin College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. "The advantages for the study participants were better body composition in the form of more muscle and less fat, improved times while working out and overall better physical shape than peers who consumed sports beverages that just contained carbohydrates."

Ivy is a nationally renowned sports nutrition expert who established the importance of post-exercise nutrition to athletes' physical performance and recovery, as well as the timing of nutrition intake, and authored the groundbreaking book "Nutrient Timing."

In his two recent, related studies, Ivy and his research team compared the recovery benefits of drinking low-fat chocolate milk after exercise to the effects of a carbohydrate beverage with the same ingredients and calories as typical sports drinks as well as to a calorie-free beverage.

After riding a bike for 90 minutes at moderate intensity, then for 10 minutes of high intensity intervals, 10 trained cyclists had significantly more power and rode faster (reduced their ride time by an average of six minutes) when they consumed low-fat chocolate milk rather than a carbohydrate sports drink or calorie-free beverage.

Compared to the other recovery drinks, chocolate milk drinkers had twice the improvement in maximal oxygen uptake after four and a half weeks of cycling, which included intense exercise five days a week, with each exercise session followed by one of the three recovery beverages. Maximal oxygen uptake is one indicator of an athlete's aerobic endurance and ability to perform sustained exercise. The study included 32 healthy, amateur male and female cyclists.

Ivy's research also revealed that low-fat chocolate milk drinkers built more muscle and shaved off more fat during training, ending up with a three-pound lean muscle advantage after four and a half weeks of training as compared to study participants who consumed a carbohydrate drink. This study also included 32 healthy, amateur male and female cyclists who rode for one hour, five days a week, and drank one of the three recovery beverages immediately following and one hour after the bout of exercise.

"We don’t yet understand exactly what mechanism is causing low-fat chocolate milk to give athletes these advantages — that will take more research," said Ivy, "but there's something in the naturally-occurring protein and carbohydrate mix that offers significant benefits."

Ivy notes that a three-minute recovery window after exercise, for people of all fitness levels, is as important as the nutrition supplement that's consumed.

For more information, contact: Kay Randall, Office of Public Affairs, 512 232 3910.

Ex-Lion Chris Spielman has strong message for college athletes From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110531/SPORTS0203/105310392/Ex-Lion-Chris-Spielman-has-strong-message-for-college-athletes#ixzz1PRqitD3z

The turmoil at The Ohio State University has caused many of the people that know me to ask how happy it makes me.  The reality is, while anything that helps Michigan is good, it hurts everyone.  Chris Spielman is one of my favorite football players of all time.  It is of no surprise that someone who played with such passion and intensity, saw his wife step by step through a devastating disease, and has always worked to be the best at everything he does would be so blunt about doing it the right way.  His recent message about the actions of the Buckeye football players is one everyone should take to heart.  As expected, Spielman tells it like it is. And should be.

Last Updated: May 31. 2011 1:00AM

Ex-Lion Chris Spielman has strong message for college athletes

The Detroit News

Chris Spielman, an All-American linebacker at Ohio State and Pro Bowl player for the Lions, has a strong message for college football players who run afoul of NCAA rules:

Learn to live within your means.

Spielman, 45, was a guest on Frank Beckmann's show on WJR-AM 760 on Tuesday and his contempt for players who accept benefits from overzealous boosters was evident.

Beckmann raised the issue to Spielman by quoting former Ohio State defensive end Robert Rose, who told Sports Illustrated he traded school memorabilia for tattoos.

"I knew how much money thatthe school was making," Rose told the magazine. "I always heard about how Ohio State hadthe biggest Nike budget. I was struggling, my mom was struggling. … It was just something that I had to do."

Beckmann pointed out that the Big Ten has considered giving athletes additional money to cover living expenses such as travel to home.

This is how Spielman responded:

"I wouldn't mind a stipend for players. If the Big Ten wants to add a stipend … fine. But here's what I would say to any player:

"OK, you're struggling with money. How about this. How about you rent an apartment with four guys, to cut down on your living expenses. How about not getting the latest, greatest smart phone. How about not downloading 100 dollars or 50 dollars worth of iTunes. How about going to a discount retailer and getting a coat and a tie and wearing that every week. How about not driving a (nice) car; get a used beater for a thousand bucks.

"How about doing things the right way. How about sharing rides. Let's do that instead of thinking that you're owed something.

"See my problem is we live — and we've got to be careful as parents — in a very narcissistic society because everybody believes they're owed something. Because we have Facebook and all these social networks and everybody thinks they're a freaking star: Let's post pictures online so everyone can see my great accomplishments.

"So until we get guys to realize it's not about them, it's about the team … And it's OK to suffer a little bit financially while you're in school, and you're going to be better for it. Then kids will make better decisions.

"But don't whine to me about money when you're getting free money already (scholarship, living expenses). We'll give you a little extra. But, hey, sacrifice on the clothes, the cars, the electronic toys. And maybe go without a PlayStation or an Xbox for a while, too. See how that works."

An MLB Umpire Helped This Kalamazoo Wiffleball Team

My Blog is about good things that happen both in real estate and in the world. I really don't write enough about the latter but I thought this was a good story from Deadspin.com. billy

How An MLB Umpire Helped This Kalamazoo Wiffleball Team Win Its Game

Jack Dickey — The Kalamazoo Wiffle League is the No. 1 competitive wiffle league in the nation, one of its players tells me. This becomes apparent when you see Steve Everett's leaping catch below, and even more so when you see the lengths the wifflers went to verify the call. At stake were the tying runs in the last inning, after all. So they phoned an MLB umpire. Who wouldn't?

The scene: On Monday, the league's two best teams—the 10-1 Industrials and the 10-2 Friars—met for a doubleheader at Oshtemo Township Park. The Industrials took the first game, 1-0, but our dramatic scene takes place in the second game, top of the sixth and final inning, two out, men on first and second for the Friars, who are down 6-3, with Kevin Marszalek up.

This is why it pays to have 6-foot-6 left fielders like Steve Everett, who made the catch here. When the left field foul pole is 82 feet away, you want height. However marvelous the catch, there had to be a morning after. Or at least a beat after. Everett caught the ball and then carried it into home run territory. The Friars thought it was a home run; the Industrials thought it was an out. Ryan Winfield, another player, joked that the group should phone Tim Welke, an MLB umpire since 1984 and a Kalamazoo native.

So Everett called Welke.

Actually, Everett said, I think I have Bill Welke's card. Bill—Tim's brother—has umpired in MLB since 1999, and his son is an athlete at Marshall High School, where Everett works as an athletic trainer. (The school is about an hour outside of Kalamazoo.) When else could an umpire's card come in handy?

Everett recapped the call:

Luckily, the card had his cell phone number. I then called Bill Welke not knowing what to expect. He answered, "Bill Welke."
Steve Everett - "Bill Welke. Hi, this is Steve Everett, the Athletic Trainer at Marshall High School"
Bill Welke - "Hi Steve, how's it going?"
S.E. - "Good. I have a baseball related question for you."
B.W. - "Well, you're talking to the right guy. I'm actually in San Diego with four other baseball umpires. Here, let me put you on speaker phone." (He places me on speaker phone and says "Go ahead." I then explain the situation to him and the other umpires.)

After Everett explained the situation, Welke delivered his ruling: "If a fielder catches a ball, then goes out of bounds it is then ruled a catch (out), and if there are runners on base, the runners move up one base. Right guys?" The other umpires—on that day, Tim Tschida, Jeff Nelson, Mike Estabrook, and an unknown replacement—agree with Bill. And, for the record, so does Rule 7.04(c).

The two runners advanced their base harmlessly—on paper, that is—while the Industrials won the game and swept the doubleheader, strengthening their hold on the league's best record. Later that night, the Rockies and the Padres played a game. Bill Welke was third-base umpire. There were no controversial plays, no tying runs up in the ninth, no circus catches. The biggest call Welke made all day was for 12 dudes in a wiffleball park halfway across the country.

Homestead Exemption Applications

Proration Legislation up in Senate Finance Committee

Legislation has been re-introduced this legislative session to provide much needed property tax relief to Michigan homebuyers. Senate Bill 349, introduced by Senator Dave Hildenbrand (R-Lowell) allows buyers to take advantage of the Principal Residence Exemption even if they purchase a home after the May 1st filing deadline.

Under current law, homeowners may file a principal residence exemption on their primary home in Michigan. This exemption provides significant tax relief to those citizens that choose to call this state “home.” In order to claim this exemption, one must file the principal residence affidavit with their local government by May 1st. Buyers purchasing homes after the May 1st deadline, are hit with up to an additional 18 mills of non-homestead property taxes until the following year. This additional property tax burden is standing in the way of new homeownership and otherwise taxing those people that have declared Michigan their home, though they purchased after the deadline.

This legislation has become particularly important since “non principal residence” properties, specifically foreclosures, have flooded Michigan’s real estate market in recent years. The current situation prices buyers out of homes by forcing them to qualify for a mortgage at the higher tax rate. Those buyers that are able to purchase after May 1st are consequently stuck with a significant tax burden for the remainder of the year despite making that new purchase their principal residence. This bill would alleviate some of that pressure by prorating the tax liability for those who purchase a home after May 1st.

The legislation is up for consideration this week in the Senate Finance committee. We will keep you updated as this bill makes its way through the legislative process.

Wind Storm Today

The waves on Burt Lake were as large as I have seen on a bright, blue sky, sunny day. The poor dock struggled with high water levels and intense winds gusting over 45mph according to intellicast.com.