I recently got to play in the Glory Days hoops tournament for the 2nd straight year.  This is a basketball tournament where old highschool teammates get together and play a game.  There were 16 teams in the tournament.  It is run by PORTA highschool in Petersburg, IL.  Basically, you had to have graduated from the same highschool to play on your team.  It can be any age.  Lots of fun.  We ended up getting 3rd in 2009 and now got 2nd place in 2010.  We being Midwest Central.  Our roster consisted of:

• myself, Jared Morris, Jason Proehl, Ryan Burks, Josh “Goose” Watson, Jeff Thompson, Jason Friedrich, Blaise Rodgers, Scott Winders, JD Proehl

We beat Sacred Heart Griffin our first game by 10 or so.  Kind of an ugly game.  Then we beat New Berlein in game two.  That was a great game and we ended up winning by just a few.  The quarter finals we played defending champion AC Central.  We ended up beating them by 10 or so in a hard nosed game.  Then in the championship we lost to Pittsfield for the 2nd straight year.

All in all it was a well rand tournament and always fun to play with old highschool friends.  Check out the picture of our Glory Days team below.

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Posted on February 12th, 2010 by knup
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My building at work has implemented a new dress code policy. Jeans Friday has now become Jeans day every day. Well, not exactly. But they have implemented a “Dress for your day” code. This means if I have no meetings and will be at my desk all day – I can indeed way bluejeans every day! Not sure why I like wearing jeans to work but if just feels better. No shorts or tennis shoes allowed though Time to go out and buy a few more pairs of jeans I think!

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Posted on September 30th, 2009 by knup
Filed under: Business | No Comments »

Back a few months ago we decided that our family needed a “church change”. We have loved Riverside. We met some of our closest friends at Riverside and have really had a great experience. But honestly, it feels like it is getting “too big”. Can a church get too big? Is that even possible? Well, thats another debate but for our families purposes, we needed something a little smaller. We felt that as our kids get older we want them to have that true “family” feel to their church class. At Riverside, the classes are so large and different teachers/kids every week that it just never seemed like they could connect with other kids.

So we tried out Elevate Church here in Morton and loved it.   Actually we visited Elevate back in 2008 once just to see what it was all about.  Elevate is a branch off church from Riverside and some of our old friends from Riverside are actually leaders so that really excited us. Our kids already knew several kids in their Sunday School class as they are some of the same kids they go to school with. This made it a little easier transition. We are really looking forward to getting more involved at Elevate as the years go on. This summer was crazy busy but as things slow down hopefully we will find more time to really get ourselves involved.

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Posted on September 24th, 2009 by knup
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I’ve owned the domain name “RyanKnuppel.com” for quite some time now and always had it forwarded to knup.net. But I ran across a slick little wordpress theme the other day that makes a website act almost like a business card. I thought this was a neat idea so implemented it out on RyanKnuppel.com! Basically, it’s like a starting spot for all things about me on the web. You’ll find links to my Facebook, Twitter, personal blog, business ventures, email and more. Kind of a cool idea. So anyways, not much to view out there but now my own names domain name has some relevant information.

Do you own your own name domain name? If you don’t and want some help securing it and setting up your own personal website – let me know.

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Posted on September 23rd, 2009 by knup
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It’s no secret that I have always admired Michael Jordan.  MJ was the greatest basketball player of all time.  His will and desire to win were like none other.  Guys like Kobe and Lebron in today’s game try to emulate Michael, but always fall a bit short.  Michael Jordan was recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame.  Before I go any further about this I want you to take 15 minutes and watch the full speech Jordan gave (if you have seen it before, skip ahead)

So a lot of controversy has came from this speech. Michael Jordan is a different dude.  You can not expect him to get up on stage and make the same old, boring, speech that everyone else does.  He obviously is a very competitive person and apparently used anything and everything to “fuel” that fire.  He talked about how his high school coach made a mistake “cutting” him instead of another dude (who was in the crowd).  He flamed Dean Smith for not getting MJ on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  He ripped on the Bulls a little bit for their comment that Organizations win championships.  He thanked the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Magic Johnson and Pat Riley for bringing out the best in him.  He destroyed Bryon Russell for his comments when Jordan retired.  One thing after another.  It was like the opposite of a “roast”.

So did Michael come off as a bitter old man?  Maybe a little.  But one thing is apparent.  This guy just wants to be better than everyone when it comes to basketball.  That is what MAKES HIM TICK.  This is why he is the best ever.  To expect Jordan to come on stage and act any differently is naive.

What did you think of this?  I’ve toyed with the idea of creating a Michael Jordan website dedicated to his life… Maybe some day.  Until then, congrats to Michael Jordan for making the hall of fame!

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Posted on September 17th, 2009 by knup
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I promised a little family update so here it is. Our family is doing well – we are super busy – but I know everyone is so that’s no surprise.

Bryce – This little guy is about 15 months now. He has thinned down a little since he was born mostly because he’s so active. Bryce is still a big boy for his age and seems strong as an ox. Wrestling with Drew, running from mom, jumping on the trampoline and throwing food seem to be some of his favorite activities.

Alyssa - She started pre-school at Bethel Lutheran just last week. She goes 2 days a week, Tuesday and Thursday, and really loves it. Alyssa started dance class here in Morton as well and seems pretty pumped about that. She is getting tall and skinny and really getting a nice little attitude (kinda like mommy). She loves to ride her scooter, play with her friends in the neighborhood, play with her makeup, and watch movies.

Drew – I did a school update last week so take a look at that if you like. But other than school, Drew is doing well. He seems to be a tall kid and is starting to take a liking to some sports. For some reason, right now he states that he doesn’t want to play basketball or football because the coaches yell too much. He prefers soccer and baseball. So we’ll see where that all goes. Actually he asked if he could take golf lessons the other day – haha. I’m sure he’ll get into something as he’s a competitive little dude. He loves to ride his scooter and bike, play with the neighborhood kids, chill in his room with his cars and stuffed animals, and watch Disney Channel shows.

Sarah – She is turning into super woman. Sarah decided to watch kids from her home this fall/winter so she could make a little income yet still stay home with Bryce. So she has her hands full with that. Lots of families took her up on this and she has a nice schedule of before school, all day and after school kids. Let me just say, I COULDN’T DO IT! I was home one day while all these kids were around and almost lost my mind But she loves it and takes great care of these kids. She has also been doing a lot of stuff with her girl friends as of late. Pedicures, working out at Golds, etc…

Ryan - Same old for me. Working hard and coming home to hang out with the kids. Football started up so I love this time of year. Doing a little recreational sports betting here or there just to make things interesting. I have been going to Gold’s Gym as well trying to workout both my upper and lower body and include some cardio. It’s been awhile since I’ve touched a weight.

So that’s that.  As for pictures, I try to keep Facebook updated with some pictures so check that out if you want to see the family photos.  A Knuppel family update in about 4 paragraphs. How is everyone else?

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Posted on September 15th, 2009 by knup
Filed under: Family, Morton | No Comments »

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve blogged on here.  Months and months.  Sorry for the lack of updates.  In this day and age of Twitter and Facebook, sometimes personal blogs take a beating.  Oh well, I’ll post here or there.

So Drew started Kindergarten a few weeks back and he loves it.  He is at Grundy school here in Morton which is less than a mile down the road.  His class has many familiar faces and friends in it – Jacob, Rylee, Jenna and London from our neighborhood.  He comes home everyday with something fun and something he learned from that day.  I try to make it a point to ask him these two questions for a couple reasons: 1) So I make sure I stay engaged in his school life.  2) To really make him think about what he learned at school.

Check out the picture below of Drew and his best buddy Jacob holding their Cardinals and Cubs backpacks.  Showing off their team allegiance at a young age.  Love it!  I do feel a little sorry for Jacob though as he is subjected to carrying a “losing” backpack at such a young age.  Hehe  :)

Anyways, I’ll try to have some more family updates soon.

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Posted on September 9th, 2009 by knup
Filed under: School | 1 Comment »

This is probably one of my all-time favorite pictures of my boys!  Drew and Bryce with their hats on backwards 

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Posted on May 13th, 2009 by knup
Filed under: Family, Featured | 1 Comment »

Would like to wish all you family and friends a Happy Easter.  Enjoy the day with your family and remember why this day is so important!  Jesus rose from the dead!

Also, I have some posts on the horizon here with some updated pictures and videos of the family and our latest Branson vacation!  Be on the lookout.

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Posted on April 11th, 2009 by knup
Filed under: Holidays | 1 Comment »

Finally made a few changes to knup.net!  Launched a brand new theme that takes on more of a magazine style look.  Maybe this will motivate me to keep up with posting a little better in 2009     Some fun things about this theme include:

• Easy access to my social profiles (Facebook, Twitter, RSS, etc.)
• Featured video near the bottom
• Family posts scrollable across the top
• Featured post below that
• Latest blog entries below the featured post
• In the sidebar you will see a Tag cloud, comments, popular posts

That’s just a few of the things that stand out about the new “knup.net”!  Hope you all enjoy it and looking forward to blogging into 2009.

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Posted on March 27th, 2009 by knup
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