9

 So, shit is getting real, as I've now passed into single digits. After leaving campus last night I'm left with only 9 days left wherein I have to be on campus (again, not counting Finals Week). Speaking of Finals Week, I remember my senior year at Franklin College. The tradition was that if you were a graduating senior, and you were happy with your grade, you had the option of not taking a class final. I was satisfied with my four classes, having locked in my normal 3.75 (my students are always amazed that I never actually pulled off a 4.0 even once in my college career - I try to convey to them that graduate schools are also looking for people who actually left their dorm rooms and did stuff)) so I decided to not take my finals (I think there was an off-chance that I could have pushed the B up to an A, but it didn't seem worth my time). As I approach my last Finals Week I'm tempted to give all my students that option. My fraternity voted to make me go home for the week, arguing that me hanging around during Finals Week without anything to do was a menace (which, doubtless, it would have been).

Thanks to Jon Ryan for loaning me his #9 for the Countdown. I thought I should finally include a kicker in the Countdown, although, obviously, Ryan is far more than simply some random kicker. He was actually born in Regina, Saskatchewan, including playing for the University of Regina Rams, although he spent most of his career in the NFL. Ryan was the punter for the Seattle Seahawks for ten seasons, including winning a Super Bowl with them. He also kicked for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Edmonton Elks, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and his hometown Saskatchewan Roughriders. He's a member of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (and he's the first Saskatchewan player to win a Super Bowl). While playing for the University of Regina he caught a 109 yard TD pass - and he's the part-owner of two summer college league baseball teams - so he seems like a pretty cool guy.