Hello everyone,

I know this is a sports blog, but occasionally I do venture away from my Sun Devil pedestal to talk about issues that are far more important in the greater scheme of things.

The tragic earthquake in Haiti has claimed more than 100,000 lives, and the death count is growing every hour. A lot of support is flowing in from all over the world, but the scale of destruction cannot be fathomed without actually seeing it firsthand.

Please read the following websites if you have yet to do so. Thank you for allowing me to veer off the stated mission of this website in order to endorse something that I feel is so important. Despite our nation's economic troubles, we can still help save this country from complete ruin.

New York Times: Haiti Earthquake of 2010

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

Google Crisis Response

American Red Cross

Hi everyone, thanks for making House Of Sparky so much fun to write for. This list was compiled by the great SBN staff. It does not include GameThreads, but when they update the numbers I will update this post. Without further ado... The 2009 HoS Stats.

Special thanks goes out to Dirk Diggler and Red Reign for their consistent posting. Keep it up, everyone!

Stats For 2009

New Members

132

Total Comments

2254

Total Stories

256

Total FanPosts

33

Total FanShots

36

Most Active Commenters

Most Stories

Most FanPosts

Most FanShots

Alright. Once the games are over, there will be a dearth of entertainment. So here is your guide to greatness instead of watching basketball.

• John McCardell, President of "Choose Responsibility," an organization dedicated to lowering the legal drinking age to 18, will be on The Colbert Report tonight on Comedy Central.
• New "The Office" at 8:00 PM Arizona Time. What will happen? Will Steve Carrell dress up in a Willy Wonka outfit again? Or will Dwight be promoted to boss?
• Yo! Yo! is on MTV Tres at 8:30 PM featuring 50 Cent. Word.
• Warriors @ Lakers is on until 10 PM on TNT. Because we aren't watching enough basketball.
• Frasier reruns are on channel 7 at 9:00. Will he host a radio show? Will he live with an old man, a tiny dog and a gay guy? Will Daphne and him finally make out? No.
• Making The Band 4 is on MTV at 9. Pretty amazing.

As you can see, there is no shortage of amazing television to watch instead of college basketball...

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since I last wrote anything. I've been busy, and ASUBoyd has done a great job keeping you up to date on the greatness of ASU basketball.

This Christmas is especially sweet for me, considering I am lucky to be home at all. Here's my story.

On Tuesday, I was scheduled to fly from Phoenix to Denver, to Chicago, then to Albany, NY on Southwest. My Denver flight left at 11:35, etc. With a two hour delay on that flight, I worried about my continuing connection out of Chicago. I went over to a Chicago flight, and was the last standby they took. Thus, I was on my way by 12:30.

Good, right? The weather at Midway was bad, and we had a medical emergency on board, and so we had to emergency land in Indianapolis (which is 184 miles SOUTHEAST of Chicago, mind you). After waiting an hour and a half there, we took off for Chicago, and we landed around 6 PM Central time. Upon landing, I found out my flight to Albany was delayed until 10.

No big deal. I went to the one place that people go when trouble strikes, and they need a respite. The chapel? No... The bar.

Proceeded to watch TCU and Boise State. What a game. That entertained me well. I met a nice 32 year old woman named Molly who bought me a Jack and coke.

My flight got pushed back to 10:55! Then 12:00! Then it finally landed, and the pilot timed out. So they "looked for another pilot." None was to be found. They cancelled my flight.

I tried to get a flight for the next day, but they were booked solid. The earliest flight I could get to Albany was 8 AM today, Christmas. Terrible feeling.

Over the course of the night in which I did not sleep a wink, I worked as hard as I could to get home. It was difficult to figure out. I made some great friends, Jason and Weldon, and we stuck together and watched out for each other's things so that the night wasn't as awful as it could have been. I am extremely thankful to have met them.

Weldon got a flight into Providence, and her dad was going to drive 3 hours from Albany and pick her up. This set into motion my interest in flying to Manchester NH or maybe Providence. I didn't want to spend Christmas in Chicago; anywhere on the East coast would be far better.

Eventually, I asked the big question. Could I get a ride to Albany? She was happy to oblige.

Jason and I had to act quickly to get on the 7:30 AM flight to Providence. We rebooked through the phone, and went to the gate at 5:30. Apparently, we had to leave security, go get our ticket, come back through security, and then we could get on the flight.

ON CHRISTMAS EVE!

The place was a madhouse, and we had to wait in line to get our tickets for 30-40 minutes. I was concerned we might not make it through in time. Jason was more confident. But I was exhausted and at that point, not making it home would have truly killed me.

We were put in the extra security line, which is shorter, but they check you for bombs and residues. That got us through quickly, and we were at the gate by 6:45 AM. We had left our bags with Weldon, which had worried me for multiple reasons. 1) What if we missed our flight? Where would the bags go? and 2) What if she needed to get up and move around? What would she do with all of our stuff?

It was all too surreal. We got to Providence, and her kind father drove us all the way to Albany, through the rain and dreary conditions. Had to wait in line at the Albany airport for our checked baggage, but I finally got picked up at 2:30 PM on Wednesday, Christmas eve. Then, drove an hour and a half to get to my home in Vermont.

Just in time for Christmas service.

I just wanted to tell you this story, not because my ordeal was terrible, but because of the Christmas spirit.

Christmas isn't about getting the gifts you desired, or the delicious meal you consume. It's the compassion shared between people, the brotherhood we all cherish at the holidays. Being with your family is a gift that cannot be ignored, and this year I am just thankful to be home,  safe and warm from the cold weather, and away from the Chicago Midway International Airport.

I wanted to thank Jason and Weldon one more time, in a public sphere. Without you two, my Christmas would have turned out terribly, and I would have felt a lonely despair that is now unimaginable. In a sense, you both saved my Christmas, and for that I will never forget you both. Merry Christmas.

Many of my readers have been closely monitoring the status of Ryan Torain, who suffered an undisclosed knee injury in last night's NFL game between the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns.

In the first half, Torain amassed 68 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown. He was looking like the feature back we expected to see. Unfortunately, he went down yet again with an injury, this time one that will sideline him for the rest of the season: a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

First of all, what is a torn ACL? Allow me to consult with my good friends over at Conquest Chronicles, who feature injury reports on common sports ailments.

The very in-depth article can be seen here, and it will enlighten you to the seriousness of the issue that Torain is now facing.

Here is an image from Conquest Chronicles.

Torain was the "it" running back for the remainder of the 2008 NFL season. He was going to lead your fantasy team from mediocrity to greatness, just like Ryan Grant did in 2007. This fantasy is not to be, unfortunately. Not after this horrible piece of news.

via i.tsn.com

With Ryan Torain out of the picture, Denver is down to an ailing Selvin Young and their rookie fullback, Peyton Hillis. Despite looking good last night, I am not sure that Hillis is either a fantasy or Bronco savior, and I fully expect the Broncos to pick up a running back in the high risk, high reward mold (Edgerrin James, anyone? It is a matter of time before he is cut by the Cardinals, in my opinion).

How bout them Phillies?

I have to gloat, at least a little. My boys finally did something right.

With the Sun Devils struggling so much, the Phillies really pulled it out for me.