Chris Chase tells all about Ryan Sutter

Ryan Sutter is many things to many people.

To University of Colorado football fans, Ryan Sutter is the All-Big 12 safety who led the team in tackles as a junior. To New York Jets fans, Sutter is the guy who was hurt on the first play of his NFL career and never saw the field again. To reality-show viewers, he's Trista's choice on "The Bachelorette" and got married and actually lived happily ever after. To firefighters in Vail, Colo., he's a co-worker. To competitors in endurance sporting events, he's a rival. And to young adults battling cancer, Ryan Sutter is a hero.

The former football player-turned firefighter-turned reality star helped raise $100,000 last year for First Descents, a program that helps children with cancer go on outdoor adventures like kayaking and rock climbing. Sutter did so by competing in 10 endurance sporting events, including a 24-hour bike race, the New York City Marathon and the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii. And he does this all while continuing work as a firefighter and caring for the two young children he has with wife, and former Bachelorette contestant, Trista Rehn.

He will be honored this weekend as Competitor Magazine's Celebrity Athlete of the Year at the Endurance LIVE Awards Gala in San Diego.

As the San Diego Union-Tribune details, Sutter first tried his hand at the long-distance events after he and Trista were married in a televised wedding that cost over $4 million. Despite having never competed in the sport, Sutter was given an entry into the Ironman triathlon because of his celebrity status, a move which angered some people who train for years in order to qualify.

Over time, he's won over the community, finishing in the top 10 percent in various competitions including a 3-hour, 20-minute time at the NYC Marathon and crossing the line 67th out of 1,330 people at a 100-mile bike race. In doing so, Sutter has earned praise from respected people in the sport. "He's the real deal," top triathlon coach Paul Huddle said to the newspaper. "He's legitimate."

In more ways than one, it seems.

Getting You in the Spirit of the Season

Now This is a Hobby Gone Wild!

Starbucks Money-Saving Tips

These tips are from Starbucks employees, and they should know! Read them on my show Tuesday and got lots of requests to have them posted, so here they are.

#1.) Take advantage of their refill policies. If you keep your Starbucks cup, you can get a coffee refill anytime for 50 cents. If you bring in your own reusable cup, you get 10 cents off. And if you bring a big one, sometimes some extra coffee.

#2.) Get a Starbucks card. Using their rewards card, you end up with plenty of free drinks and refills.

#3.) Make a "poor man's latte." Instead of ordering a latte, go SUPER ghetto and order an espresso over ice in a large cup. Then go over to their "condiments" station and fill the rest of the cup up with their free milk.

#4.) Don't order the bananas or bagels. The pastries at Starbucks are pretty good and fairly priced. But the bananas are more expensive than ones you'd get at a grocery store, and the bagels are known to be fairly low quality.

#5.) Make your own iced drink. When you order an iced drink, you get a lot less actual coffee or tea because the ice takes up so much space. For a better value, you can order a hot drink . . . then order a cup with ice, and pour in your drink.

Artist Brings Dead Soldiers Home

What a gift, to be able to capture a person's essence in paint. And what a gift to be able to give the family of a fallen soldier their loved one back. Kaziah Hancock is truly gifted...enjoy!

Nashville Rising

Last night in Nashville, hundreds of people came together to produce a telethon to raise money for flood relief. The devastating floods in middle Tennessee aren't getting a lot of media attention, and it could be because the people who are dealing with the catastrophy aren't whining and asking for "someone else" to take care of their problems. They're rolling up their sleeves and putting their backs into fixing their own problems, and the problems of their neighbors in the best tradition of American grit, gumption and gusto. I came across two things I want to share with you - Brad Paisley's column for Billboard Magazine, and a video of just how badly the floods hit Nashville. The video is courtesy of my friend Joan...thanks, Joan!

Brad Paisley in a column for Billboard Magazine:

“While I was busy placing buckets under the leaks in our home in Franklin, Tenn., my entire stage and set for my new tour was waiting in downtown Nashville, with rehearsals set for May 3.
By that morning, however, it would all be under four feet of water. At another facility, all my guitars, amps, effects, cases, cables — essentially everything I tour with — would suffer the same fate.

I’m not alone. Vince Gill, Keith Urban, Brent Mason, John Fogerty and countless others lost instruments and more. And the most heartbreaking of all was the sight of a johnboat floating down the aisle of the Grand Ole Opry.

But then the sun came out. And as Nashville started to dry, something beautiful began to happen. Volunteers, youth groups and churches flooded streets just like the Harpeth and Cumberland Rivers had only hours before. There wasn’t any looting to speak of, no anger even.
Everywhere I went I saw determination in the wake of tragedy. And the music community took the ball and began to run. Businesses on Music Row closed so their employees could volunteer. Gill led a local telethon. Others like Taylor Swift donated large sums of money. Myself, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and others made the rounds on national news programs trying to raise awareness. The Opry moved into another building temporarily, and the show went on.

Money is still being raised, benefit concerts continue to be planned, and from what I saw absolutely no one is taking this lying down. As the national media began to take notice, I think the world got a good look at our town, our music and our heart. I even got a call from President Barack Obama checking on the Opry and our city and pledging the government’s help. What began as devastation became an opportunity. A chance for growth. And the real Nashville is on display in a way that can only be seen in times of adversity. And it is handling all of it with grace.

As I write this, I’m just exhausted. We begin rehearsals tomorrow, 10 days late. However, in a strange way, I know someday this is going to be one of my fondest memories of touring.
That seems strange, I know. But we learned about ourselves this week. I mean, my crew stood in knee-deep water lifting every last piece of equipment they could save. Then they lined up for tetanus shots. Bo O’Brien lost his jeep trying to haul off video gear, Mike Garibedian single-handedly saved our monitor rig lifting one piece at a time. And now we’re all scrambling to pull off the miracle of making it still work. We’ve always been a close group, but now we’re WWII close.

It’s a funny thing, this music business. All of us lucky enough to be a part of it can be spoiled brats at times. Like our ridiculous tour riders stating “absolutely no blue M&Ms.” Artists can lose sight of their priorities, myself included.

But as I write this, I am far from worried about meaningless amenities. When I finally walk out onstage in Virginia Beach, Va., on the first date of the H2O tour — no need to point out the irony, thank you — it will mean so much more to all of us than any other tour we’ve ever done. Or probably ever will. I will stand up there more thankful than I’ve ever been for the people in the audience, the band at my back, the crew that makes it happen and the town I’ve never been prouder to represent."

(Brad Paisley is a country singer-songwriter and guitarist whose latest album is “American Saturday Night.”)

This is such a wonderful video for so many reasons...enjoy!