I'm not sure what to think of the Packers choices in this past weekends NFL draft. 
In the first round the picked Rashan Gary and plan to play him at OLB.  He's very athletic but didn't have as much production as you expect from a player with his talent.  I just don't know what to think about this pick.  It seems like they taking a big chance on him upping his production plus he has a shoulder injury that will probably need surgery in a season or two.  This wasn't a need since the Packers just signed two OLB's to big contracts so this was definitely a case of picking the best player on your board.
With their second pick they took Darnell Savage who will play FS.  Savage is a player I really wanted the Packers to draft with their second #1 or their #2 pick.  I just wish we didn't have to give up our two fourth round picks to move up for him.  Big need pick here on a great athlete.
In the second round we took Elgton Jenkins an OL who played mainly C in college but the Packers project him as being able to play all five OL positions.  This pick surprised me with all the higher ranked WRs and OLs still left and a perceived big eed at WR. 
In the third round we took Jace Sternberger a TE.  I really liked this pick and there is a definite need for a young TE on the Packers.
I don't have a feel for the last four picks but it sounds like Kingley Keke in the 5th and Dexter Williams in the 6th have promise.
Hopefully Gutenkunst made some great picks and helped fill some of the many holes the Packers had this past season.

In the first game we took on Usual Suspects and as is usual Roll'em fell behind early, giving up two points in the first frame.  This time we came right back and tied the score 2-2 before giving up another two point frame.  Trailing 4-2 we rallied and went ahead 5-4 after a couple frames and then stretched it to 6-4 only to have the Usual Suspects close to 6-5.  We upped our lead to 7-5 before having flashbacks of last weeks loss.  We threw three balls and had nothing close before Clutch got the last ball almost on the pallino.  Their attempts at hitting the ball up missed and then Herbster finished them off for a 9-5 win.
In the second game we took on long time arch rival Squatchy Bocce.  Herbster put his second ball close to the pallino so they went for  a knock and while it was successful our ball was still in.  Neither of their next two balls was very close and we capitalized jumping out to a 3-0 lead.  The girls did their part jumping on them for another three point frame and all of a sudden it was 6-0.  Herbster made another good throw to start us off but this time after they exhausted their balls they had one sitting in front so we tried to stay left of it but couldn't put one in close.  With a 7-0 lead the Glue made a real good lead off throw and they used all their balls but ended up with nothing within five feet of so.  The Glue's last throw wasn't her best one of the night but it didn't have to be and we had an very unexpected 9-0 win over our long time nemesis,  Probably the worst I've ever seen them throw but we also had some real good balls especially with our first throws of the frame.

It was too cold and windy to golf on Saturday so the Glue mixed together some meat loaf and I put it on the smoker.  I also tried baked potatoes and sweet potatoes on the smoker.   The meatloaf turned out real good but both the potatoes and sweet potatoes are better in the oven.

On Sunday we had our family members and Schmuck over to the house for Easter dinner.  The Glue did the traditional spiral ham but we decided to also do ribs and andouille sausage on the smoker.  There was so much food we could have fed twice as many people and still had leftovers. 

The Glue bought both the grandtwins batting tees.  While twin#1 only took one swing and I didn't get a picture of it, twin#2 took several and I did get it.

The weather was great so the grandtwins got some outside time which they really like and they got to try out their new guns that squirt out bubbles.
A really nice weekend ended last night with the newest episode of Game of Thrones.  Some things I've foreseen happening since reading the books but some I'm still trying to sort out. 

Yesterday we decided to try out the Iron Whisk in Cobden which we'd heard good things about from our nephew.  It's not very big but it's nicely done, it also has a limited menu.  They have beer but it's extremely limited and it wouldn't surprise me if they eliminate it in the future.
We decided to split a cuban, which they do with pork belly, and an order of biscuits and gravey (b&g).  We both also ordered a Modelo especial although the Glue was tempted by their bloody marys.  The cuban came with chips and a pickle and was good but the b&g was even better.  They service it in a small cast iron skillet and it has two biscuits and is very filling. 
The Iron Whisk is a really good spot to have brunch which is nice because I like breakfast type food but don't eat it for breakfast very often.  It amazes me that a town the size of Cobden can have a place like this, a really good pizza place and a great tamale place.
On the way back we decided to stop at Von Jakob's for a quick beer.  I had a dark bock and the Glue had a hefeweizen.  Both were good and while I really like the dark bock one is probably enough for me.  Another thing that always amazes me is the out of state people we've met in the various places.  There was one group where some were from Kansas City and the others were Alabama and I overheard another group say they were from Missouri.  This on a rainy, crappy Friday afternoon and there were only a handful of people there.
Speaking of crappy weather, yesterday and the day before seemed exceptionally crappy which probably has something to do with how nice the days were before it.

With Clutch having a late work meeting Roll'em turned to Ted once again to sub.  Once again I decided to go with the least disruption to our normal lineup and have Ted throw with the Glue.
In the first game we took on Corner Bocce Ballers on the middle court.  We started fast and jumped out to a big lead before they could get on the scoreboard.  We didn't let them get any momentum though and cruised to a 9-1 win.  The Glue and Herbster threw well which took a lot of pressure off me and Ted.
In the second game we took on Too Old to Bowl.  The game was a one point back and forth game all the to 6-5 although I cost us at least one and probably two points when my last ball hit one of theirs and knocked it inside our second point.  With us on top but them throwing the pallino they went short with it and me and Herbster could not get anything close.  They stacked all four of their balls together and we lost 9-6.
It was a much better showing than my Monday night team who lost 9-1 and 9-2.  We had very few balls inside of three feet as I played my worst game of the year.

This past week we met Bailey and the grandtwins at 17th street for lunch before the grandtwins had a dentist appointment.  I had the brisket sandwich and a sweet potato.  Both were very good and while it's not hard to cook a sweet potato it's very hard to find good brisket.  We didn't have as good a luck yesterday when we went to Midlands.  My country fried chicken was good but the Glue's fried chicken wasn't that good.
Yesterday was a cold crappy day in Southern Illinois so I watched the Masters which was starting in the morning because of bad weather moving in.  I'm not a Tiger Woods fan but it's good for golf.  The network coverage of the event was lacking though.  While I understand Woods was the big story and was playing in the final group there were other players on the course some of whom made runs at the top.  At events they always keep showing Woods even though he may be way behind but at the Masters you don't show the number one ranked golfer until he made a run in his final few holes (Dustin Johnson). 
I wish Johnson or Brooks Koepka would have made their birdie putts on 18 which would have forced Woods to make a par to win it.  It would have been a lot more fun to watch the final hole if that had happened.
We took a ride around the Kinkaid Marina yesterday and were surprised to see the Marina open.  We stopped in to see how it was looking and we ran into the new owners.  They were very nice and talked a little about what they are planning.  The remodeling of the Marina is taking shape nicely and hopefully it will be a good place to go.

Last night was the beginning of the final season of Game Of Thrones.  I don't want the series to end but I'm anxious to find out how they tie everything up.

Great weather as we took the courts last night allowed us to wear shorts for the first time this year while playing bocce.
In the first game we took on Bertha's Ball Handlers on the Silkworm court where they'd just played their first game which put us at a disadvantage.   In spite of this we took an early lead stringing together some one and two point frames and building a 4-0 lead.  We continued to build the lead and finally finished off a 9-0 win.  Clutch made one shot that I still can't figure out how in the world it worked.  They had the point when on her last ball she winged it hard and it somehow caught the edge of one of our balls and moved it just enough sideways to be a point.
In the second game we took on Muddy Rollers.  It was a close game with a lot of good shots and we too a 6-5 lead before they tied it up 6-6 then we left it pretty wide open but we got lucky.  They missed short and then one rolled a little long before getting their last one in for a 8-6 lead.  We had the point and they were down to their last throw when their ball ticked off a front ball and settled next to the pallino.  Our last throw was tracking right at the pallino/their ball pair when it drifted left at the last moment barely missing.  Had it kept on track it would have made it interesting because we had two balls behind and could have ended up being three points for us but would've, could've, should've.

I finally went to the dark side in my BBQing and bought a pellet smoker.  I got a great deal on a Z Grill at Rural King which had a lot of mixed reviews.  They'd had a lot of issues with their controller and I got one that had issues.  The temps would vary by 50 degrees either side of the set temperature.  Their first solution was to have me change the P setting which involved taking off the controller and pushing a button on the backside of it.  That didn't help so they sent me a replacement controller but it didn't help much either and was a pain to install.  Because of the issues I returned to Rural King who was great about taking it back.
After researching I decided to get a Pit Boss Pro 820 at Lowe's so me and the Glue went over to pick one up.  After looking at them a while I decided on the bigger version called the Pit Boss Pro 1100 which had a few features not on the 820.  I really didn't want the extra space since it would take more pellets to heat the extra space but what the 1100 has front wheels which make it a lot easier to move.  The 1100 also came with a bigger hopper and hopper window neither of which are big deals to me.  It also came with two meat probes and a handle to slide open the searing opening on the heat shield and I liked both those options.  Lowe's didn't have that model in stock so they sold me the floor demo for a discounted price which also meant I didn't have to put it together.
So far I've done four cooks on the Pit Boss: ribs, chuck roast, pork loin and bologna (yes it's great smoked).  I'm still learning the nuances of pellet grilling but the ease of use makes me think I'm really going to like it.
Thanks to Baby Daddy and Scotty for helping me transport both the Z Grill and the Pit Boss.

Last night was the best weather of the season so far, hopefully we've seen the last of the real cold weather.
In the first game Roll'em If Ya Got'em took on Holy Ballz Batman in a battle of undefeated teams.  Clutch was stuck at work so Roberto was filling in for her.  The game went back and forth early with a lot of big clutch throws and had the feeling that one team was going to end up having a big frame that would make the difference.  Holly Ballz eventually opened up a 6-4 lead and then we left an opening and they capitalized winning 9-4 in game that was a lot closer than it looked.  Happy birthday Jann.
In the second game we moved to the Silkworm court and played Boccelism.  In another back and forth game which consisted of one point frames until the score got to 7-6 with Boccelism leading.  With none of our balls close Roberto made a clutch throw on his final ball to get inside their point ball.  Their final ball looked to be wide right but drifted back and hit the pallino moving it back by another of their balls and they pulled out a 9-6 win.  Of the game we'd played this year on the Silkworm court this seemed the most inconsistent the court had played.
To make matters worse, on Monday the undefeated Boro City Rollers also lost two games.  First to the Elks and then to Misfits of Bocce.