Its that time of year again.

Tonight it begins again. High School football. Although it's just a scrimmage, it is football. Looking forward to seeing my alma mater, which includes my son playing as a junior this year. High school teams are a part of the community, no matter where you're from. The team, the band, the students, parents, coaches, alumni, and school faculty all create a unique community that is bonded around the team. It rarely matters how great the team is.

I'm excited for the opportunity to watch may son play a game he loves. And to see and talk to friends that I may not have seen in a while. The lights, the grass, the sounds ... is it time for kickoff yet?

The World Series is over but...

As I was clearing up some more articles in my feedreader I came across An Interview with Ben Zobrist . A great article and a great testimony. If I had remembered this I may have been pulling for the Rays.

Baseball & Life -- Part 1 -- NO EXCUSES

This is part 1 of a 9 part series on baseball and life. These principles have been around for some time in various forms and formats. This will be my presentation and perspective on them. I love the game of baseball and I think that it can teach us well. It is no mistake that the series starts with this principle. It is not only something that is quite lacking in today's world, it is foundational to building upon and being successful in other areas of life:

NO EXCUSES

Do not blame teammates, umpires, coaches, fans, or the position of the sun in the sky for your performance. Take responsibility for what happens on the field. Be a stand up individual, make no excuses, and refuse to use the excuses that others might offer you. Excuses get in the way of learning because mistakes are denied. Be accountable. Remember that you are not expected to be a perfect performer. No one is. Baseball is not and easy game to play.

One of my favorite things to remind my teams as I coach is that in baseball the very best professional hitters FAIL 6 or 7 times out of every 10 times to bat. Baseball is a hard game; life is hard to win at as well. The best way to become successful is not to avoid going to the plate. It is to be as prepared as possible, go out and give it your best effort, accept and make no excuses about the results, and to review and learn from each trip to the plate (even the ones where you hit it out of the park). Every time there is a play in the field you should review and ask if you were in the right position, moved to the right position, gave full effort, and what could make it better next time. Don't beat yourself up when the ball takes a bad hop but do not fail to learn for the next ball.

Winners take ownership of all of their decisions and actions; good or bad, not matter the result or consequences. Our inability to do that robs us of learning and make us appear like poor sports. This is however, not a new phenomenon. Just three chapters into the Bible, we see it come into play...

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." -- Genesis 3:6-13

The decision is ours. Will we stand up and be responsible or make excuses about all of the situations of life. It is not hard to look around and find "reasons" why we fail in our finances, love, school, weight, job, salary, you can add to the list. Whatever the situation, remember that where you are now is the result of all the decisions and actions that you have made to this point. Don't like where you are? Take responsibility, make the needed changes, and move forward.

When the baseball season gets started in a few short weeks watch the players closely. See which ones make excuses for the bad call, bad hop, bad timing, or bad coaches decision. Note also how successful these players are in the long run. Next up... PLAY WITH HONOR.

The Dana Jacobson thing... my rant

As I have sat and watched the "church" respond to the comments that were supposedly spoken by a TV reporter who by all accounts had been drinking and then stepped in front of the microphone. I have read and watched many in the body of Christ have grabbed the torches and pitchforks and are calling for all to follow in a storming of the castle. Were the words used offensive? YES, but when did it become my job to mount an offensive? Maybe I missed it but I have not seen any public concern or compassion for the fact that this woman and countless others around the world are obviously far from a relationship with the Father who loves them so much. I think I could go on for some time but I think it would be best if I just throw out some questions that need to be addressed in light of this...

• Why do we insist on demanding that those who are not Christ followers be held to the standards that we hold?
• When did it become my job to fight for Jesus? He told us that these things would happen and not to worry about it because it was all about Him.
• Do I personally care that there are people that I pass every day that are heading to a literal hell unless they respond to Christ's call?
• It's time to realize that when we act this way it only confirms the suspicions and stereotypes that most people have about Christians and the church. Look at the comments and responses to the blogs and new stories and you should get the drift.
• Would these situations be better opportunities for the Kingdom if we spent the time and energy we place on boycotts and pickets on prayer and personal discipleship?

A couple Scriptures I was reminded of:

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. -- John 7:7

Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason -- John 15:20-25

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33

A fun time of the year.

I was thinking about how much this time of year is exciting in sports. You have football (HS, college, NFL) all in full swing, the baseball playoff are about to begin, the NASCAR chase is in gear, it's a great time of the year to go fishing if you can find time, and hunting has started (deer season officially opens Monday for archers.
So many opportunities, so many events to distract, yet so many chances to relax and enjoy. Here's what I think about this weekend's events...
The boys and I went to the High School game last night. The Chargers, who have struggled through some close games, pulled off the 28-27 OT win. Northwood decided to go for two after their OT score. I thought it was a good move because we had trouble stopping the run all night. The boys made a goal line stand to win it, on Homecoming!
Notre Dame faces off against Purdue. It might be the homer in me but I really think that this is a set up game for the Boilers. They seem to have all the signs of overconfidence and the Irish really have nothing to lose. Winning is great medicine and ND is in desperate.
Colts play Denver in a game they should win at home but I am sure that will be a tough assignment. The Bears travel to Detroit to try out their new QB against an absolutely awful Lions D. I like their chances.
The #48 is on the pole again. Can Jimmie avoid the trouble or will the other chasers take advantage?
The Cubs clinched tonight so watching/ listening to them this weekend has become unnecessary. However, watching the scoreboards will be interesting as there are 5 teams scrambling for 3 spots. This will also decide who plays the Cubs. Can they finally get over the goat?
I wish I could say that in the next week I'll have a chance to hunt or fish. Unfortunately it looks like that won't be happening. I do hope to get my bow out and at least go to the range...

FALL IS FUN

Bugs Bunny - True Classic

I'll be posting baseball videos this weekend in honor of the new season. You don't get much better than this classic.




Bugs Bunny - Baseball Bugs - Click here for more home videos

The most dangerous sport in the world

Ok moms and dads; If you had to keep your child from playing a sport due to fears of serious injury what would it be? Football? Hockey? Ultimate Fighting? shuffleboard? How about cheerleading! The New York Times is reporting that cheerleaders suffer more "serious" injuries than all other sports combined. ARTICLE

Wait 'til next year; already?

I see that Kerry Wood is already on the shelf for a few days. Can't ever seem to get a break if you're a Cubs fan. Article Here

Book #4 - No Excuses by Charlie Weis

There is no surprise to anyone that knows me that I have always loved Notre Dame. So it would also be no surprise that I would read a book by an ND coach, or that I would like said book. Reading this book confirmed the fact that I really like Charlie Weis and know that he is the tyoe of coach that any parent would love to have their kid play for. Yes he swears, but we too often just expect that those who are not Christ followers should automaticaly take on our value systems and lifestyle choices. That is a discussion for another post...
I found an awful lot that can be applied to my life from this book. Weis talks about what it means to be a good loser. You never have to like losing, but you better be a good loser whn it happens. He also talks about winning with integrity, not making excuses for your shortcomings, and the ethics of hard work. All things that our culture has become quite poor at.
The book is written in a style that many ages can easily read and glean from his perspectives. I would definately call No Excuses, like the coach himself, a winner.

Man of faith

Its a pretty good thing when your character and faith in God outshines your ability to coach a Super Bowl winner... great photo

Super Bowl Recap

The game is over the Colts (be careful how you type) are champs. Its cool to see Peyton win one. It's also cool to see a coach. team, and organization that is built around doing things the right way get it done. Its also really cool to see it be done by a coach who is a Christ Follower and not afraid to say so and place the praise in a proper way. You can just tell that iti s much more genione than the typical "I'd like to thank God..." speech we have come to expect from athletes and performers.
From a purely sports aspect, I posted here a breakdown of how I thought things were. This post is about reviewing these points. We'll see if my predictions/ assumptions panned out.

QB: While neither guy had a spectacular game by any means Peyton did what has become the reason I think they won it this year. He did what he could and didnt try too much, except that first quarter interception. Rex never got a rythmn going. I think he is being given WAY too much blame for the loss.
RB: Once the fumble fest subsuded in the 2nd quarter, most of these guys were steady. Like I previously mentioned, no rythm for the Bears/
WR: Reggie Wayne had the biggest play of the night on a busted coverage. Someone always seems to come through for the Colts.
TE: Dallas Clark was all he was expected to be and Desmond no where to be found.
OL: I'll have to mark this one a push. Neither team was great here but there were no major faux pas either. Just solid mediocre football by both squads.
DL: The Bears were doing theor best to get after Peyton but after the bomb to Wayne they backed off big time. Fairly solid against the run. The Colts stopped the run and made Rex the deciding factor; they win becaue they executed their game plan.
LB: Urlacher is just amazing. He is everywhere and playing what seems to be the right position every time. The Bears did not lose for his lack of effort.
DB: Even without Harper for the full game the Colts did enough here to stop the run and never gave the big pass away.
Kick D: The Bears win becuse they were just OK.
Kick Returns: Hester is an animal! The fact that he ran the opener back led to a success for the Colts when they squibbed it and it was fumbled. The Bears then pulled him the next time just so the Colts would actually kick off. He's truly a game changer.
Punter: Maynard never really got the chance to change the field on the Colts; Smith did his job (except that he botched that xtra point)
Place Kicker: Vinatieri actually missed a Super Bowl kick! Both guys got 1 through: PUSH

In my original post I had 6-5 Bears, this post gamer makes it 7-3 Colts. They just simply executed their plan better than the Bears. A good game. Interesting to say the least with the weather. Both teams should be contenders again next season. Great times for the upper midwest!!!

Christ Followers in the spotlight

I asked in a previous post if Lovie and Tony would be recognized or remembered for their abilities rather than their race. Add to that the story of their faith. I'm glad someone is noticing.

ESPN Article

Super Bowl Breakdown

Thought that I would take a look at the positions in the matchup and see who has an advantage.

Quarterback:
Not much to say here; easily the most one sided comparison.
Colts

Running Backs:
Both teams have a quality two back attack. Very similar to each other in this aspect. I'm giving a slight edge to Jones and Benson because they are better at catching passes out of the backfield.
Bears

Wide Recievers:
Muhammed is always underrated and Berrian has had a great season but Harrison and Wayne are in the elite class.
Colts

Tight Ends:
Good players on both teams here but Dallas Clark is a versatile weapon.
Colts

Offensive Line:
Both teams are running the ball well and protecting their QB. Would be a push except Indy has been drawing sevral penalties per game of late.
Bears

Defensive Line:
The Indy front's new commitment to stopping the run makes them lethal. The Bears are just SOLID. Both lines get after the QB well.
PUSH

Linebackers:
Just like the wideouts, one team is good but the other has top shelf talent at this position. Urlacher and Briggs, enough said.
Bears

Defensive Backs:
Both teams are kinda beat up, especially at the safeties. Bob Sanders has proven to be the missing link and gives the slight advantage.
Colts

Kick Defense:
This has been the weakest link in the Indy arsenal all 3 weeks.
Bears

Kick Returns:
Devin Hester... period
Bears

Punter
Smith is a top-shelf kicker; Maynard is a field position weapon
Bears

Place Kicker
Gould has been incredible with a capital I, especially considering he is outdoors in Chicago. But you cannot go against the guy who has already made two game winners in the Super Bowl.
Colts

Final tally: 6-5 Bears. I think that this game will be much closer than people are giving credit; unless Rex implodes. If you are a wagering person, I'd take the 7 and run with them right now.

Are you this dedicated? How much do you love your team?

I had to comment on this article. This woman actually had her labor inuced so her husband could go to the game. What does that say about us? priorities? Are we this dedicated to our church, families, and being a christ follower? hmmmmm

Who will you root for?

Well the dream SuperBowl for MIchiana football fans has happened. Colts or Bears? I think at first glance it is going to be a good game. I'm sure I'll have plenty mor ein the coming two weeks on this matchup but here are the keys as I see them right now:

• who has the healthiest team? lots of bumps and bruises for both in key areas. week off will help
• Can the Colts D continue their run stopping prowess? If not, Jones and Benson will run up and down the field. If so, Grossman will have the game on his shoulders -- that would make for some excitment.
• will Peyton get past all the media hype to be able to concentrate on the game?
• can Tony and Lovie get credit for being good coaches instead of black coaches?
• will someone offer me a free trip to Miami to watch? (you gotta dream)
• Will Reggie Wayne ever catch another pass?

Looking forward to sitting back and enjoying this one. Can't say that I "prefer" either over the other. Like both of them. Looking forward to the 4th for family time, nachos, commercials, hot wings, and who knows what else. I'm praying Prince double checks his wardrobe b4 going on stage...