Stokie's Thoughts

Hey...It's a W

Hi everyone.  Wow...finally a win.  I know it seems like the same ol' Lions around here to some of you, but I am telling you.  This team is on it's way.  It took us a bit longer than we wanted to, but the offense is getting a great feel for the new offense, and the Defense is layin the wood to people.  Keep the faith.  It may not always be pretty, but we're going to get the job done.

Random Stokie thoughts:

HOW BOUT THEM TIGERS ! Personally I hate baseball, but it is sweet to see the guys fight through the long season and get it done.  World Series baby!!  My prediction...Tigers in 5.

I wanted to let you guys know about my youth football league, and just how proud I am to have my name associated with a great group of volunteers like Mike Loll, Mike Quinn and all of the league's Board.  Last Tuesday, I got the chance to go up to Davison, and meet all of the kids for picture night.  What a riot.  700 kids, and all of the parents and coaches.  What a blast!  I have to admit though, my hand is a little sore from signing my name.  20-some years ago, i was right there where these kids are..Amazing.  Who knows..maybe there is  a future Lion out there right now.  Check out some pictures here and here.

Thanks to all of you for your support.  This has been a tough summer, but things are getting back to normal, and we have some exciting things coming up. Talk to you all soon.

Barry

Say a quick prayer

9/10/06:  Well, it’ been a while since I’ve written an entry here, but today felt like a day where I needed to say some things.  I am sitting here watching the NY Giants game and seeing all of the memorials and tributes to 9/11 makes me remember how lucky I have been.

Today, a childhood dream came true for me. I can’t tell you how sweet it was for me to run out of the tunnel at Ford Field wearing the Honolulu blue & silver.  Even though the game didn’t turn out like we were hoping, I feel good about the direction of our team.  The guys keep fighting, and today our defense played outstanding.  I know it is tough to be a Lions fan sometimes, but believe me.  We have this thing headed in the right direction.

Please remember to say a quick prayer of thanks and of remembrance tomorrow.  9/11 is an event that makes you realize what the true spirit of people holds.  People who band together and fight to make a difference when it really matters. Please join me in honoring those whose lives were lost, as well as those who  joined the fight to save lives and help rebuild.  God Bless You.

Stokie's Thoughts on The Lions

One of the most common questions that ol' Stokie gets asked these days is, "how are things with the Lions and the new coaches?"  And my answer is this - The Detroit Lions are all about one thing, and that is positive energy.  After going through the first mini-camp and spending a month in the dirt with the fellas, I can tell that there is nothing but positive en ergy and hard work happening at Allen Park. 

Coach Marinelli is my kind of guy.  He believes that attitude is everything in football.  If your attitude is full speed ahead, take no prisoners, then you can have a winning football team.  If your attitude is to coast and go half speed, there is no place for you in Detroit.  Michiganders are hard workers, and they won't put up with coasting.  Believe me, Coach Marinelli and the rest of the staff belong here.  And let me tell you this - I am buying the attitude that he is selling, and I am doing everything that I can to make it happen. 

One thing that I do know is that there will be some bad days, to go with the good ones, but at the end of the day, I cannot fathom the thought that we will not be 10-6 come playoff time.  Day by day, I see guys putting in the time and the hard work to be better football players, and to building a better team.  Trust ol' Stokie on this one.  I have been on many teams, including some championship caliber ones, and this team has what it takes to be on that level.  I know that some of you are sitting here reading this and saying, "yeah right.  same ol' Lions".  Thats fine.  Doubt if you want, but I know this much - I have been a Lions fan for 32 years, 116 days, 9 hours and 17 minutes and counting, and I believe.  Others may doubt and question, but the fact is this is a new season, a new team, and a new coaching staff.  There are thousands of Lions fans out there waiting and hoping for a sucessful Lions team, and I am telling you this-  I believe...Do you? 

My motto is lead, follow, or get out of the way.  #68 is trying to lead the way, so jump on board. 

It is time to believe !!!!!!!!!!

Stokie

Ol' Stokie in action at mini-camp

Sometimes Life Comes Full Circle

Today is a special day for me.  Last night, I signed a three year deal with my hometown Detroit Lions.  Back in 1996, when the Lions signed me to my first contract, I was a wide eyed Rookie with a slim chance of making a career in the NFL.  With a lot of sweat and tears, God has blessed me with the dream of making a career as a professional football player.  For me to be able to come home again is special.

Let me tell you this.  This is going to be a whole new Lions. It's time for a little Stokie Magic.  The coaches are excited, the players are excited, and no one is more excited than ol' Stokie.  I'll fill you all in the upcoming days, but thank you again for your thoughts and prayers over the past few years.  I couldn't have done it without you.

Barry

Here She Is...Ms. Michigan

Wow...what a weekend.  I was invited to escort Ms. Michigan USA, Danelle Gay around her hometown of Bay City to help raise money for breast cancer research and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Let me tell you, the people were amazing - real home grown Michiganders who just wanted to chip in and help for a great cause.  So many people came up to us with stories and experiences and it was a real inspiration to me.  Dealing with experiences like that make you realize that things like football aren't really so important. 

I have to say thanks to the great folks at Herman Hiss Jewlers.  What a cool store, and the people there were great.  Thanks also to the folks at Lumber Barons and the Cracked Egg.  You know ol' Stokie likes to eat, so thanks for taking care of me.   Also, a shout out to my buddy Dr. Holland. 

All in all, I had a great time with the folks in Bay City.  From the parade to the folks on Midland Street, you guys know how to throw a party.  Make sure you catch Danelle in the Miss USA Pageant on April 25th.  She is an awesome girl, and she is going to make Michigan proud !

It's been a while...

I must tell you...Today, I am filled with energy.  Why you ask? Well, today I got to spend some time with the 5th graders at Heritage Elementary School here in Saline, Michigan.  Their teacher, Mr. Erickson is a former teammate of mine from Eastern Michigan. 

I decided that I wanted to do something a little different for the kids, so I rolled through the McDonalds Drive through and picked up about 60 Happy Meals to take with me.  Now let me tell you, when I got to school, there were 60 or so kids with some big smiles on their faces.  I like to think that it was because of ol' Stokie, but I am betting it was really the happy meals.  No matter.  It was the best $150 I have spent in a long time.  One of the kids asked me if I was rich, and my answer to him was that coming to classrooms like his and seeing the smiles on the faces of the kids makes me rich.  Besides, being rich isn't what is important in life.  Things like friends and family, a good education and being happy with yourself are what really matters.  Wow...that was pretty deep huh?

Anyway, to let you all know what I have been doing, I am already back at the old grind of football.  After taking about a month off, Dr. Ping has me back in the weight room and on the track, and in the pool.  But, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and I feel as good as I have in a long time.   This week is a big one for me, as free agency starts on Friday at 12:01 a.m.  I'm not sure where I will end up this season, but I will trust God to lead me to where I am supposed to be. Besides, after 10 or so years of being told that I wasn't good enough, not strong enough, not fast enough, blah blah blah, I feel like I am at the point where I can enjoy the ride.  For a guy who wasn't supposed to be a real NFl football player, i've been around a while, and I KNOW that I am good enough, fast enougn, and strong enough, and I will just keep on proving it.  Thanks to all of you for your support and love, and I will keep you posted.  God Bless.

Barry

Stokie's Super Bowl Diary - Friday Edition

FRIDAY:  Ok, am awake and full of energy today.  First stop of the day, Radio Row to spend some time with my good friend Doug Fisher of WTRX 1330 in Flint.  Let me tell you, radio row is a different experience.  Imagine about 400 radio stations jammed in to a big ball room.  Now throw in all kinds of players, media members, celebrities and girls everywhere, and you have a good picture of radio row.  It took about 45 minutes just to get through security.  Crazy !  So Doug and I spent the morning chatting about the big game, and I kept on the lookout for some old friends.  Ran into Kevin Gogan from the Miami days, and we talked a little about the the old days.  Unfortunately for Kevin, he got cracked in the skull with  a headset, and ended up with a nice ol' cut on the melon.  Played for 15 years in the NFl, and hardly ever got dinged. Shows up with Stokie and he's on the DL in the first 5 minutes.  We also got a nice visit from the Doctor that did my Lasik surgery and more importantly, his knockout assistant Zarah. 

After radio row, we grabbed some lunch with some friends at the Boardroom down by Cobo Center, and made a quick run through the NFL Experience with my Foundation director and his kids.  Although Stokie has a lot of energy, the kids wore me out, so it was off to a NFL Players Association Networking event.  It was a different type of party, but it was interesting.  It gave me a chance to meet with a bunch of Fortune 500 execs and talk about the Foundation as well as life after I get done playing football. There were a lot of interesting people there, and it was fun to talk a little business. 

Next on the agenda was the Jimmy Kimmel Show.  That was an experience.  We got to sit in the green room before the show, and got some nice seats in the second row.  Kimmel is funny, and had some great guests on, especially Jessica Alba. 

After Kimmel, we grabbed a little dinner at the Ponchartrain and then hit the NFL Players Party.  Let me tell you....players everywhere, and an awesome concert by old school LL Cool J and Ciara.  Good times! 

Let me tell you...the energy is fading quick.  It's 4 a.m. and I am dragging.  More tommorrow as I am off to the real Taste of the NFL....No more coney's for Stokie.

Stokie's Super Bowl Diary - Thursday Edition

Super Bowl week in the D.  Excitement is everywhere.  Here's a funny story for you guys.  I head off for downtown, looking to take some friends of mine to the Taste of Detroit.  The weather was perfect, 41 degrees with a little sun in the sky, and Stokie was hungry.  Now a couple of years ago at the Super Bowl, I went to the Taste of the NFL event, and it was unbelievable.  Tons of gourmet food, fine wine, awesome deserts...the whole works.  So I roll into downtown, and I am hungry.  We roll up to the Taste of Detroit, and find a tent in the middle of the road with a wide variety of coney dogs, burgers and nachos.  Needless to say, I was a little disappointed.  But, I ate anyway.  Come to find out, the Taste of the NFL is Saturday night.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

So, after a few coneys, we hit the town.  I must say, Detroit has done it up right for this one.  All over downtown, there were amazing ice sculptures, cars and displays everywhere, and some of the best music that I have ever heard.  We spent a couple of hours downtown just taking it all in, and i'll tell you what.  The D has it's stuff together. 

After rolling through town, we hit Greektown Casino to see if my luck would improve, and wouldn't you know it...first spin on the roulette table, we hit our number.  That's more like it!  On our way out, we hit the Blackjack tables, and ran into Big Ben Roethlisberger.  Wished him luck for the big game, and we were off the the FHM Magazine party at Club Envy.  No matter who you are, it is always cool to see celebrities and there were  some big ones at the FHM Party.  Saw Stevie Wonder and Lennox Lewis, the boxer...not to mention a ton of models.   Nice !  In fact, the party was so good, that the fire marshal shut us down at midnight for having too many people in the joint.  So, off to bed.  Tommorrow promises to be even better.

Wow...What a trip !

Thanks to my good friend Warrick Dunn, Jessica and I got to spend a nice relaxing week in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.  After getting beat up all season, it was great to get away and chill for a few days.  The first day there, Stokie got the great idea to get on the boat and do a little fishin.  Not the best idea.  It was so windy that it felt like the boat was almost ready to tip over.  Jessica puked, most of the people on the boat were a nice shade of green and we only caught 4 barracuda.  TO be honest, I was a little glad the trip was only 2 hours because it was getting a little rough.

The next day we went to the ruins of mayan empire and it was cool just being in the place where the mayans ruled for over 2200 years. Talk about history.  The temples were interesting because it was sooo old,  and to think that people lived here. The rooms and quarters were so small, because the mayans were 5 ft or less.  Ol' Stokie had a little trouble squeezing himself into a few of the ruins.

In spite of the bad first experience, we went out for a little fishing again after the ruins and we caght red snapper,  grouper and a huge barracuda. 

We went swimming with the dolphins and I thought it was a little over-rated because the dolphins were like in a cage. All in all, it was a nice vacation.  The sun was great and the people were so friendly, in spite of trying to send Stokie home with a suitcase full of crappy souveneirs.  The energy is back, and I am ready to get after it.  If you get a chance to hit Playa Del Carmen, check it out.  It gets the Stokie thumbs up.

Stay tuned later this week for my Super Bowl Pick, and maybe i'll break down the game ESPN style.

Barry

Vacation time baby !

One of the best parts of my job-vacation!  I am off to Mexico to the Yucatan peninsula... la la la cha cha style relaxing with my wonderful fiance!  Going to see the  Mayan Ruins (maybe I can draw some positive rejuvenating energy as we explore. should be very interesting.)  Another interesting thing is the Xaman-Ha aviary  that has exotic and rare species of birds including tucans and pink flamingos. I love animals in their natural environment!  Especially FISH.  Hopefully we catch a big marlin or tuna. You can't beat nothing but a fresh fish fry!

And, most of all, some much needed R &R!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Talk to ya'all in a week or so with a great fishing story!

Barry