According to the Social Security Administration's Life Expectancy Calculator, I have reached the halfway point of my life expectancy today. What follows is a brief imagining of my least favorite part of any college football game: the on-field interview with a coach going into the locker room at halftime.
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Football. Show all posts
05 May 2015
Halftime
Today is my 41st birthday - HUZZAH! I do mean that, with all my heart - I'm not worried about age or feeling the least bit nervous about what's coming next. That having been said, one does begin to ponder one's mortality - and so one goes off looking for stuff to make that pondering a bit more fruitful.
According to the Social Security Administration's Life Expectancy Calculator, I have reached the halfway point of my life expectancy today. What follows is a brief imagining of my least favorite part of any college football game: the on-field interview with a coach going into the locker room at halftime.
According to the Social Security Administration's Life Expectancy Calculator, I have reached the halfway point of my life expectancy today. What follows is a brief imagining of my least favorite part of any college football game: the on-field interview with a coach going into the locker room at halftime.
19 April 2010
13 January 2009
Putting the "Student" Back In "Student-Athlete"
Hold on to your seats, those of you who've known me for a while: I'm about to praise someone from Florida State University. :-)Heard two bits of interesting news yesterday. Nebraska's Ndamukong Suh (pictured above) and Florida State's Myron Rolle (pictured below) have both chosen to return to delay entering the NFL draft for academic reasons.
Suh, a projected late-first/early-second round defensive lineman, came on like a BEAST at the end of the year, but every story about his decision to stay for his senior season mentions his family's dedication to academics and their desire that he leave Lincoln with a degree in hand. Rolle, also projected to be a first- or second-round pick, has elected to pursue the Rhodes Scholarship he was awarded earlier this year rather than enter the draft immediately.
Sure, both of these men will probably make millions in the NFL eventually, but it's refreshing
and, I'll be honest, personally pleasing to think that there are still players in major college football who believe so strongly in pursuing academic accomplishments. Makes a guy who works on campus feel a bit better about things, to be honest. So, to the two of you and all the other athletes who are staying put in order to finish degree programs or do something remarkable without a football in hand, from all of us who want you to do well academically AND athletically, let me just say this: thanks.
12 September 2008
Friday Five: Back To School!
It's been a while since I played a Friday Five from RevGalBlogPals - here's this week's edition:
It's time for a Back-To-School Friday Five!
1. Is anyone going back to school, as a student or teacher, at your house? How's it going so far?
Yes, someone from our household is going back to school: me! Well, not really 'back to school,' but close. It's my first fall semester as a campus pastor, so I'm also getting back into the swing of the academic calendar (which, by the way, is far superior to the Gregorian calendar, IMHO).
2. Were you glad or sad when back-to-school time came as a kid?
Both, like many kids. Being a farm kid, I spent a lot of time playing with my brothers and working for my dad over the summer, so seeing friends all day instead of a few hours for baseball practice and swimming lessons was cool. I've always loved buying pencils, notebooks, and the like for the beginning of a new school year, too. But facing hours of enforced learning was always tough: I'm a self-directed learner and school was always tough for me, not for lack of intelligence or ability, but for the restraints teachers had to use to keep me in line with the rest of the class.
3. Did your family of origin have any rituals to mark this time of year? How about now?
Mom always wanted a picture of us boys before we got on the bus the first day of school, and there was always a trip to Sioux City for a few new school outfits, but nothing beyond that. Since our girls aren't school age yet, we don't do anything special, but something will be in the works when that day rolls around, I'm sure.
4. Favorite memories of back-to-school outfits, lunchboxes, etc?
Nike Air basketball shoes were HUGE when I was in high school, and I remember the day I found some Nike Air Whatevers on sale. That was pretty cool for me. :-)
Another memory that always makes me laugh is my freshman year in high school. Small schools like ours let all the kids practice with the varsity for all sports, so when football kicked off I was thrown into the mix against our varsity team, which ended the year ranked #2 and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual state champion. After two days of two-a-days I was so sore that when we arrived in Sioux City for the aforementioned shopping trip, I had to LIFT my legs out of the back seat of our Buick with my hands because I couldn't move them otherwise. It was worse than the aftermath of any marathon I've run!
5. What was your best year of school?
My last year of seminary was about as good as it gets for me. Finally seeing the end of a LONG educational road (six years undergrad + 1 year working + 4 years M.Div.) was just part of it. I finally hit my stride in terms of classes, interests and motivation, and it showed. I did my best work by far that senior year, including a ton of work on Bonhoeffer and a great job as a teaching assistant for Dr. James Nestingen, who is still a major influence for my theology and my preaching. I met Kristin that year, and by the time graduation rolled around I was pretty sure we'd be making things permanent very quickly. To top it off, a friend nominated me to give the graduate address at our commencement ceremony, and the rest of the committee voted me in. Quite the privilege, and likely the highlight of my academic life thus far.
It's time for a Back-To-School Friday Five!
1. Is anyone going back to school, as a student or teacher, at your house? How's it going so far?
Yes, someone from our household is going back to school: me! Well, not really 'back to school,' but close. It's my first fall semester as a campus pastor, so I'm also getting back into the swing of the academic calendar (which, by the way, is far superior to the Gregorian calendar, IMHO).
2. Were you glad or sad when back-to-school time came as a kid?
Both, like many kids. Being a farm kid, I spent a lot of time playing with my brothers and working for my dad over the summer, so seeing friends all day instead of a few hours for baseball practice and swimming lessons was cool. I've always loved buying pencils, notebooks, and the like for the beginning of a new school year, too. But facing hours of enforced learning was always tough: I'm a self-directed learner and school was always tough for me, not for lack of intelligence or ability, but for the restraints teachers had to use to keep me in line with the rest of the class.
3. Did your family of origin have any rituals to mark this time of year? How about now?
Mom always wanted a picture of us boys before we got on the bus the first day of school, and there was always a trip to Sioux City for a few new school outfits, but nothing beyond that. Since our girls aren't school age yet, we don't do anything special, but something will be in the works when that day rolls around, I'm sure.
4. Favorite memories of back-to-school outfits, lunchboxes, etc?
Nike Air basketball shoes were HUGE when I was in high school, and I remember the day I found some Nike Air Whatevers on sale. That was pretty cool for me. :-)
Another memory that always makes me laugh is my freshman year in high school. Small schools like ours let all the kids practice with the varsity for all sports, so when football kicked off I was thrown into the mix against our varsity team, which ended the year ranked #2 and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual state champion. After two days of two-a-days I was so sore that when we arrived in Sioux City for the aforementioned shopping trip, I had to LIFT my legs out of the back seat of our Buick with my hands because I couldn't move them otherwise. It was worse than the aftermath of any marathon I've run!
5. What was your best year of school?
My last year of seminary was about as good as it gets for me. Finally seeing the end of a LONG educational road (six years undergrad + 1 year working + 4 years M.Div.) was just part of it. I finally hit my stride in terms of classes, interests and motivation, and it showed. I did my best work by far that senior year, including a ton of work on Bonhoeffer and a great job as a teaching assistant for Dr. James Nestingen, who is still a major influence for my theology and my preaching. I met Kristin that year, and by the time graduation rolled around I was pretty sure we'd be making things permanent very quickly. To top it off, a friend nominated me to give the graduate address at our commencement ceremony, and the rest of the committee voted me in. Quite the privilege, and likely the highlight of my academic life thus far.
15 August 2008
Friday Five: Fall Transformations
Ooooooh, this'll be fun! Lotsa things changing in the life of RevScott & the girls this fall, so it'll be hard to pick which five to mention. Here goes:
2. Family transformations are also huge for us this year. In a few short days Alanna, Ainsley, Kristin and I will be on our own: MIL, who has been a wonderful help to us since Alanna was born on the 21st, will be heading home with FIL after the baptism on Sunday morning. I'm so grateful MIL could be here with us, and at the same time I'm ready to start trying to figure out how we're going to make this family thing work. Not least of all will be the simple matter of scheduling everything and making sure we're all on the same page: a hefty task for the three of us, exponentially more complicated now that we are four.
3. Seeing autumn in a new state is going to be different, too. Ames is a lovely community, with lots and lots of trees, parks and other spots where nature invades this town of 55,000, but it's certainly not northern Minnesota, whose beauty from August to the first of November is simply beyond compare. Right now would be the season for groundfog over Barrett Lake as I head out for my morning run, and I'm surprised to note how much I miss it, and the smell and sound of the lake as the days tend toward cooler temps.
4. There is an aspect of this move to campus ministry that I never considered until just now. In addition to the calendar changing, my position within the community has changed as well. In congregational ministry, which I left in January at the age of 33, I was still a kid when compared to most of the members of our church. I felt that way, too, and sometimes it was a huge problem (how is a kid supposed to provide advice for living to folks twice his age and more?). Here in Ames, I'm 34 and OLD to most of my students. No one in our student community remembers the Challenger explosion. Heck, most of them don't remember when Kurt Cobain was alive and making music. I'm sure I'll receive the list from the faculty at that one school that tells us all what this year's freshman class takes for granted as their world view, and like the last few years, I'll feel the passing of time and the shock of realizing I'm now approaching an age that encompasses my earliest memories of my parents (gulp).
5. Finally, the transformation of our house into our home continues. Bushes have been removed from the backyard and replaced with smaller, more sensible plants. The next few weekends will be spent getting stuff out of the garage and putting in new steps into the kitchen so we can get the minivan in there before the snow flies. Next spring I'll start tearing down the humongous shed in the backyard so I can move it and reassemble it in a smaller fashion in the corner and reclaim some of that space for my garden. This home-ownership thing is fun - of course, it would be a lot MORE fun if the mortgage payment took care of itself. :-)
Bonus: Hmmm, favorite activity made possible by the coming of fall. What could that be, said the young farm boy from Nebraska who played football for years and wound up playing trombone at three NCAA National Championship bowl games? Oh, yeah:
1. On a personal note, this will be my first "full year" as a campus pastor. Since we're now on the academic calendar for our ministry schedule, I'm in the thick of emailing incoming students, nailing down our first few worship services of the fall semester, and preparing for the onslaught of students which will start next week. It's VERY exciting and something I've anticipated with glee since I first interviewed here last October.Here in my neck of the woods, rain is falling...a little uncharacteristic for August, but most welcome! It'll be hot and humid later, but a break in the heat is most welcome.Also falling (especially into my driveway) are the fruits of the bois d'arc tree (also known as the Osage Orange). We call them "bowdarks" and enjoy bowling them down the driveway to the empty lot across the street. (Yes, I may be a redneck...)Bois d'arc fruits are used only for: 1) making more trees and 2) eating by squirrels (if you have another use, please let me know!)The wood of the bois d'arc tree, however, is very hard and very beautiful, and makes gorgeous items like the vase above. Such a lovely thing, from such an odd-looking source!
For this Friday's Five, share with us five transformations that the coming fall will bring your way.
Bonus: Give us your favorite activity that is made possible by the arrival of fall.
2. Family transformations are also huge for us this year. In a few short days Alanna, Ainsley, Kristin and I will be on our own: MIL, who has been a wonderful help to us since Alanna was born on the 21st, will be heading home with FIL after the baptism on Sunday morning. I'm so grateful MIL could be here with us, and at the same time I'm ready to start trying to figure out how we're going to make this family thing work. Not least of all will be the simple matter of scheduling everything and making sure we're all on the same page: a hefty task for the three of us, exponentially more complicated now that we are four.
3. Seeing autumn in a new state is going to be different, too. Ames is a lovely community, with lots and lots of trees, parks and other spots where nature invades this town of 55,000, but it's certainly not northern Minnesota, whose beauty from August to the first of November is simply beyond compare. Right now would be the season for groundfog over Barrett Lake as I head out for my morning run, and I'm surprised to note how much I miss it, and the smell and sound of the lake as the days tend toward cooler temps.
4. There is an aspect of this move to campus ministry that I never considered until just now. In addition to the calendar changing, my position within the community has changed as well. In congregational ministry, which I left in January at the age of 33, I was still a kid when compared to most of the members of our church. I felt that way, too, and sometimes it was a huge problem (how is a kid supposed to provide advice for living to folks twice his age and more?). Here in Ames, I'm 34 and OLD to most of my students. No one in our student community remembers the Challenger explosion. Heck, most of them don't remember when Kurt Cobain was alive and making music. I'm sure I'll receive the list from the faculty at that one school that tells us all what this year's freshman class takes for granted as their world view, and like the last few years, I'll feel the passing of time and the shock of realizing I'm now approaching an age that encompasses my earliest memories of my parents (gulp).
5. Finally, the transformation of our house into our home continues. Bushes have been removed from the backyard and replaced with smaller, more sensible plants. The next few weekends will be spent getting stuff out of the garage and putting in new steps into the kitchen so we can get the minivan in there before the snow flies. Next spring I'll start tearing down the humongous shed in the backyard so I can move it and reassemble it in a smaller fashion in the corner and reclaim some of that space for my garden. This home-ownership thing is fun - of course, it would be a lot MORE fun if the mortgage payment took care of itself. :-)
Bonus: Hmmm, favorite activity made possible by the coming of fall. What could that be, said the young farm boy from Nebraska who played football for years and wound up playing trombone at three NCAA National Championship bowl games? Oh, yeah:
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKER FOOTBALL
I think the whole state and all of us in diaspora are breathless with anticipation for this fall. Coach Bo Pelini sounds like the real deal and, we hope, an ascension back to the upper echelons of NCAA football will soon follow. Please, at least tell me we're going to hit people in the mouth again! That by itself would be a major transformation from the former regime in Lincoln. Go Big Red!
04 February 2008
01 February 2008
The Friday Five: Options Edition
Sally has the Friday Five for RevGals & Pals today:
There is so much going on this weekend that I thought I'd provide an options Friday 5!!!!Okay, first, the Super Bowl (note the spelling correction):
First Superbowl ( someone explain to this Brit the significance)- love it or hate it?5 reasons please!!!!!
Second, Candlemas/ Imbloc/ Groundhog day/ St Brigid's day- all of these fall on either the 1st or 2nd February.
1. Do you celebrate one or more of these?
2. How?
3. Is this a bit of fun or deeply significant?
4. Are festivals/ Saints days important to you?
5.Name your favourite Saints day/ celebration.
Bonus- 2nd Feburary is also my Birthday- I will donate £1.00 for every comment on my Friday Five Post to the Methodist Relief and Development Fund.
1. It's the epitome of 21st Century American sport - flash and brutality combined. Used to be the World Series, but we're not the same country we were 50 years ago. It's no coincidence that American football uses military terms like "blitz," "attack" and "protection." Where do you think "shock and awe" comes from?
2. The showbiz aspect of the event cannot be overemphasized. The majority of Americans can't even afford tickets to the game, but it's still a sellout every time. The game itself matters little - it's all show, baby.
3. Commercials, commercials, commercials. Again, it's the glitter and the show that matters.
4. Halftime? A chance to see if artists can still rock (Prince, U2, Aerosmith) or if they flop (Paul McCartney, Janet Jackson before the infamous malfunction).
5. There are some of us who actually love football - we watch because it's the last game we'll get to see until August.
Now, as to saints' days, etc. I hadn't heard of Imbolc until you mentioned it today, Sally, though I had heard the name Candlemas but had no idea what it signified. Needless to say, it's not a high day on the Johnson family calendar. Neither is Groundhog Day - seems like the oddest little "holiday" I know. For my money, the best thing about Groundhog Day is the movie of the same name starring Bill Murray.
I do have some interest in Celtic and Irish festivals, just because the culture fascinates me - so mark me down on the "bit of fun" side of things. There is some concern for me about idolatry, but no more so than for my love of Tolkien - the artistic, ethical and moral truths behind the stories are what draws me to these myths and legends, while faith in the triune God is what gives me life itself.
Our American Lutheran church doesn't celebrate many saints' days, though there are some pockets of "high church" Lutheranism around the country who do celebrate them in many different ways. For Lutherans, the most celebrated festival day would be Reformation Day, 31 October (yes, All Saints' Eve), which is the day we believe Martin Luther first posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Saxony in 1517. Lots of us love to "do it up" for Reformation Day (or Reformation Sunday, the last Sunday in October each year) - we wear red (represents the Holy Spirit and the martyrs of the church), we sing Luther hymns (especially "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God") and we preach about ecclesia reforma semper reformanda - "the church, reformed, is constantly reforming."
We do celebrate other festivals, especially All Saints' Sunday, Pentecost, Holy Trinity and Christ the King. But for Lutherans, Reformation Sunday is a big deal.
Thanks, Sally - this was fun!
03 January 2008
Surprising Victories, Bookish and Non
Waiter? Whatever Georgia, Michigan and West Virginia ordered - I'd like that, please.
What an interesting week it's been for college football fans. Georgia absolutely manhandles a Hawai'i team many thought would be this year's Boise State, Michigan defeats Florida when many thought they didn't belong on the same field, and last night a West Virginia team I thought was severely overrated put a behind-the-woodshed thumpin' on the Sooners. (Memo to the Oklahoma marching band - Boomer Sooner doesn't sound any better the 467th time than it did the 466th when you're down 20 and your defense has all the stopping power of wet paper towels. Knock it off, already).
What gets old really fast is the "we think we're #1" quotes from every last player on each of the teams winning this big this late in the season. Yes, Thumpy McNoseTackle, you did play well tonight - but you also didn't make your conference championship game, sport: you might want to make sure that happens next season before you put in your claim for the title shot. I am aware, of course, that my Huskers made this precise argument for the 2002 Rose Bowl after the infamous 62-36 thumping administered by Colorado in the last game of the regular season, denying the Huskers a Big 12 title. I'm willing to concede that my Huskers were the wrong choice for the BCS that year, especially here in Duck Country where folks still wish (rightly so) that Joey Harrington had gotten his title shot against the Miami Hurricanes.
The other reason this gets old is the complete unwillingness of the NCAA Division I-A (no I will NOT call it the Bowl Subdivision or whatever the hell they call it now) presidents, conferences and ADs to sack up, forget the money involved and get a playoff system together to crown an actual, undisputed, won-it-on-the-field champion. Maybe Georgia, USC or West Virginia could have won it all this year - we'll never know because there's too much filthy lucre tied up in maintaining the present, unhealthy system because (say it with me now!) we've always done it that way (sound familiar to you churchy folks?). At any rate, it's been an ugly, confusing mess of a postseason, enough so that I'm considering dropping my allegiance to the lower divisions, who actually play for a national championship. Unless Nebraska makes a comeback under new coach Bo Pelini, that is.
Since we're in Oregon visiting my in-laws, I've taken advantage of my father-in-law's extensive historical library and read 1776, a book I've wanted to read for a few years now. Good stuff for sure - author David McCullough is a good writer who keeps it dry enough that he doesn't intrude on the action but interesting enough that it doesn't read like a textbook. Personally, I was unaware of how little military action actually took place in that fateful year: the logistics of transport and recruitment and navigating what was at that time a largely undeveloped wilderness required a lot more ingenuity and time than I had thought. On the whole, I enjoyed the book, but I would have liked more information on what the Continental Congress was doing in that year: 1776 is largely about Washington's campaign against the British in Massachussets, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. A good read, especially the last few pages, which describe Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton and the state of mind in the colonies following such surprising victories.
Now I'm off to read the morning paper and hit the trails for my morning run. A blessed day to you all!
Pax,
Scott
What an interesting week it's been for college football fans. Georgia absolutely manhandles a Hawai'i team many thought would be this year's Boise State, Michigan defeats Florida when many thought they didn't belong on the same field, and last night a West Virginia team I thought was severely overrated put a behind-the-woodshed thumpin' on the Sooners. (Memo to the Oklahoma marching band - Boomer Sooner doesn't sound any better the 467th time than it did the 466th when you're down 20 and your defense has all the stopping power of wet paper towels. Knock it off, already).
What gets old really fast is the "we think we're #1" quotes from every last player on each of the teams winning this big this late in the season. Yes, Thumpy McNoseTackle, you did play well tonight - but you also didn't make your conference championship game, sport: you might want to make sure that happens next season before you put in your claim for the title shot. I am aware, of course, that my Huskers made this precise argument for the 2002 Rose Bowl after the infamous 62-36 thumping administered by Colorado in the last game of the regular season, denying the Huskers a Big 12 title. I'm willing to concede that my Huskers were the wrong choice for the BCS that year, especially here in Duck Country where folks still wish (rightly so) that Joey Harrington had gotten his title shot against the Miami Hurricanes.
The other reason this gets old is the complete unwillingness of the NCAA Division I-A (no I will NOT call it the Bowl Subdivision or whatever the hell they call it now) presidents, conferences and ADs to sack up, forget the money involved and get a playoff system together to crown an actual, undisputed, won-it-on-the-field champion. Maybe Georgia, USC or West Virginia could have won it all this year - we'll never know because there's too much filthy lucre tied up in maintaining the present, unhealthy system because (say it with me now!) we've always done it that way (sound familiar to you churchy folks?). At any rate, it's been an ugly, confusing mess of a postseason, enough so that I'm considering dropping my allegiance to the lower divisions, who actually play for a national championship. Unless Nebraska makes a comeback under new coach Bo Pelini, that is.
Since we're in Oregon visiting my in-laws, I've taken advantage of my father-in-law's extensive historical library and read 1776, a book I've wanted to read for a few years now. Good stuff for sure - author David McCullough is a good writer who keeps it dry enough that he doesn't intrude on the action but interesting enough that it doesn't read like a textbook. Personally, I was unaware of how little military action actually took place in that fateful year: the logistics of transport and recruitment and navigating what was at that time a largely undeveloped wilderness required a lot more ingenuity and time than I had thought. On the whole, I enjoyed the book, but I would have liked more information on what the Continental Congress was doing in that year: 1776 is largely about Washington's campaign against the British in Massachussets, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. A good read, especially the last few pages, which describe Washington's victories at Trenton and Princeton and the state of mind in the colonies following such surprising victories.
Now I'm off to read the morning paper and hit the trails for my morning run. A blessed day to you all!
Pax,
Scott
08 October 2007
Monday Stuff: Thankful
It's been one of those periods of craziness that just doesn't seem to stop. We were out of town Friday and Saturday, busy with baby showers, hospital visits and the like in the Twin Cities, so I didn't have time to do the Friday Five last week. Now I've got a little time and a little energy, so here goes:
This one is going to be veeeery simple: List at least five things (people, places, graces, miracles...) for which you are thankful. You may elaborate as you wish, or keep it simple.
1. Beloved and Ainsley. I'm blessed with a stupendously awesome wife. Early Sunday morning was a little surly at our house, for several reasons, but she just lets me be surly because she trusts that I'll come to my senses and apologize before too long, which always happens. I'm not thankful only for that, but for many other things; it just seemed the most contemporary thing for which to offer thanks. As for our Child, I am continually amazed at how much I love being a daddy. Last night we hung out while Beloved went to work with her high school youth. I fed Ainsley pureed vegetables and oatmeal, played guitar while she 'sang' and put her to bed, and felt like it was the best day EVER. Totally weird.
2. My iPod. During our driving this weekend, I was able to switch effortlessly back and forth between "Storyhill" to keep the Child from melting down to "Black House" by Peter Straub and Stephen King when the family was asleep. I have podcasts for my running and most of my CD collection at the touch of a wheel. No, I don't use it to tune out the world around me, but it is just freakin' cool to know I'm carrying several thousand songs/podcasts/books in my pocket.
3. Heroes. I LOVE this TV show. The characters are noble, the plotline is fascinating and I just love the overall look and feel of this show. Best of all, I think we've just scratched the surface. Lost is becoming too enigmatic, 24 is a torture-fest and I'm just annoyed at Grey's Anatomy; I think I have a new favorite show!
4. Quiet, Rainy Mondays. It's icky outside today, so I think the only thing for which we'll be venturing out will be our mail and my run, whenever that happens. I'm hoping everyone gets a chance to catch up on our sleep today - Ainsley is already down and I'm going to head in that direction momentarily.
5. The Oregon Ducks. I never, ever thought I'd say this, but at this point I'm glad we're a multi-team household. My beloved Huskers have been replaced by a bunch of zombies, and not the crazy-violent 28 Days Later zombies, either; the slow, shuffling Night of the Living Dead zombies who are more pathetic than they are scary or dangerous. Thus the major cause of Sunday morning surliness - a 41-6 drubbing at the hands of the Missouri Tigers that frankly wasn't as close as the score indicates. I'd sure hate to think how mediocre we'd be without Stevie P the AD on the watch. Thank goodness we can watch the Ducks and hope that they keep their top 10 season alive.
By the way, Sam McKewon of the Nebraska StatePaper has an excellent article giving his suggestions for how to handle the present crisis if you're not a fan of the current regime. Take a look.
This one is going to be veeeery simple: List at least five things (people, places, graces, miracles...) for which you are thankful. You may elaborate as you wish, or keep it simple.
1. Beloved and Ainsley. I'm blessed with a stupendously awesome wife. Early Sunday morning was a little surly at our house, for several reasons, but she just lets me be surly because she trusts that I'll come to my senses and apologize before too long, which always happens. I'm not thankful only for that, but for many other things; it just seemed the most contemporary thing for which to offer thanks. As for our Child, I am continually amazed at how much I love being a daddy. Last night we hung out while Beloved went to work with her high school youth. I fed Ainsley pureed vegetables and oatmeal, played guitar while she 'sang' and put her to bed, and felt like it was the best day EVER. Totally weird.
2. My iPod. During our driving this weekend, I was able to switch effortlessly back and forth between "Storyhill" to keep the Child from melting down to "Black House" by Peter Straub and Stephen King when the family was asleep. I have podcasts for my running and most of my CD collection at the touch of a wheel. No, I don't use it to tune out the world around me, but it is just freakin' cool to know I'm carrying several thousand songs/podcasts/books in my pocket.
3. Heroes. I LOVE this TV show. The characters are noble, the plotline is fascinating and I just love the overall look and feel of this show. Best of all, I think we've just scratched the surface. Lost is becoming too enigmatic, 24 is a torture-fest and I'm just annoyed at Grey's Anatomy; I think I have a new favorite show!
4. Quiet, Rainy Mondays. It's icky outside today, so I think the only thing for which we'll be venturing out will be our mail and my run, whenever that happens. I'm hoping everyone gets a chance to catch up on our sleep today - Ainsley is already down and I'm going to head in that direction momentarily.
5. The Oregon Ducks. I never, ever thought I'd say this, but at this point I'm glad we're a multi-team household. My beloved Huskers have been replaced by a bunch of zombies, and not the crazy-violent 28 Days Later zombies, either; the slow, shuffling Night of the Living Dead zombies who are more pathetic than they are scary or dangerous. Thus the major cause of Sunday morning surliness - a 41-6 drubbing at the hands of the Missouri Tigers that frankly wasn't as close as the score indicates. I'd sure hate to think how mediocre we'd be without Stevie P the AD on the watch. Thank goodness we can watch the Ducks and hope that they keep their top 10 season alive.
By the way, Sam McKewon of the Nebraska StatePaper has an excellent article giving his suggestions for how to handle the present crisis if you're not a fan of the current regime. Take a look.
05 September 2007
Sermon for the 14th Sunday after Pentecost - "There IS An 'I' In 'Humility'"
Finally getting around to posting Sunday's sermon. I felt pretty good about this one - it rings true to me four days after the fact. The scriptures on which this sermon is based can be found here.
Most of you know the name Peyton Manning. He’s the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, a Super Bowl champion and son of legendary Mississippi quarterback Archie Manning. Peyton Manning is one of the most important names in American sports, which makes him one of the most highly respected people in our country today. But would you expect to see this from arguably the best player in the National Football League?
What makes it funny? You guessed it: you don’t expect to see guys who get paid millions of dollars to play football chanting “Cut That Meat! Cut That Meat!” But here he is: Peyton Manning, turning the tables and putting himself in the position we occupy on Sunday afternoons.
Of course, it’s a commercial. Mr. Manning was compensated handsomely for his antics in these commercials. But he looks like a natural, doesn’t he? If he can do it, so can we, right? In our gospel reading today, it sounds like Jesus is suggesting that when it comes to how we interact with others, we should seek out opportunities to turn the tables and humble ourselves, so that our humility may be the thing for which we are praised. A friend of mine thought that she might title her sermon for today “Jesus’ Not-So-Common Sense Guide to Entertaining.” Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, help us to see wisdom in what You said and how You lived. We have so many questions, but You want to give us more than answers: You want to give us life everlasting. In our baptism You have made us Your own brothers and sisters: help us to claim the great gift of wholeness which You offer us in this place. Make us Yours, to live with You in righteousness and purity forever. Amen.
When I read the scriptures, there are times when I wish with all my heart that I could have been present to hear the way Jesus said some of the things He said. Our reading from Luke today is one of those stories. I’m almost certain that if you and I had been there to hear him say what is recorded in Luke 14.8-11, we would have heard a distinct note of heavy sarcasm in those words.
Look again at how Luke sets up the moment. Jesus goes to the house of a Pharisee for dinner. The word “Pharisee” means “separated:” the Pharisees were a group within the church that did everything they could to keep themselves holy and pure – ‘separated’ from the riffraff of society and any sinners. But the Pharisees also knew that Jesus was a teacher and healer of great power in their time, and so they invited Jesus to dinner. Why? To trap Him in arguments? To expose Him as a fraud? To use Jesus’ popularity as a way to boost their own reputations? It’s hard to say what the reason for that dinner might have been. What Luke does tell us is that from the moment Jesus entered the house, He was watched very closely. One gets the sense that Jesus’ hosts were waiting for Him to slip, to make a mistake. It’s an age-old story, of course: the rich and powerful grow accustomed to their high position, and when they feel threatened by the newcomer with a less-than-stellar background, they conspire to bring Him down. But this was not a fairy tale, and Jesus wasn’t Cinderella: Jesus knew exactly what was happening. More importantly, Jesus knew exactly who He was and why this moment would be important.
Luke tells us that Jesus watched the guests at the banquet choosing the places of honor. Again, there is a note of sarcasm and distaste buried within these words, as if the guests were hyenas snapping at a particularly juicy bit of carrion. In Jesus’ time, inviting dinner guests was a means of proclaiming the dignity and social status of the host: only the best families could expect to host dinners for those of great honor and regard in the community. So the guests had to look around and determine where they should be seated, according to their social status, which you can imagine would involve a lot of judging one’s position and, perhaps, even arguing about it.
Here is where I’m sure Jesus deflated the pomposity of the dinner guests with a particularly well-timed and sharply-pointed bit of sarcasm. Jesus suggests that the dinner guests should be fighting for the lowest place, so that they might be exalted for their humility. It is an absurd argument, even for Jesus. Can you imagine what it would look like, the entire dinner crowd trying to outdo each other in humility and deference to one another? Maybe you can imagine it after all: I see that, once again, the front pews are open this morning, while the back is overflowing with the humble! However, if a crowd of people arguing over the lowest place seems absurd, doesn’t it also seem to be absurd for a crowd of people to argue over the highest place? Here is where Jesus’ sarcasm bites the hardest – in suggesting a hypothetical absurdity, Jesus also exposes a real absurdity; a crowd of people clamoring for position and exalting themselves over their neighbors.
Jesus exposed two sinful problems in our gospel reading for today. First, he exposed the sin of pride, of self-exaltation, which is dangerous indeed. We all need to be deflated now and again. Secondly, however, Jesus exposed the sin of false humility, which may be even more dangerous because it leads us down the passive-aggressive path toward pretension, resentment and self-martyrdom. Trying to outdo our neighbor in humility is a dangerous sin, because it clothes itself in righteousness while it clamors to be recognized. “Look at me – I’m humble!” we shout, and all the while our vanity grows until it explodes in a storm of repressed anger toward those who have not recognized and praised our humility.
I’ll admit that I take far too much pleasure in pointing out the absurdities in myself and in the world around me, but today I’m going to indulge myself just a bit more in the hope that it serves the proclamation of the gospel. Yesterday was the first day of the college football season, when coaches across the country try to find ways to motivate their teams and push them to achieve great things. One of the most delicious absurdities I’ve ever heard is the tired old saying, “There Is No ‘I’ In Team.” The intent behind this chestnut is, of course, emphasizing team goals over individual glory, but you cannot build a team without individuals. The best coaches know how to build a team without removing everything that makes individual players unique. The best players balance a healthy respect for their own abilities with a firmly established sense of how those abilities serve the greater goals of the team. On a football team, players are not interchangeable. You can’t take Steve Hutchinson off the Vikings offensive line and replace him with Adrian Peterson; their abilities are great, but unique and special to themselves, and neither one has any reason to think that they are less important than the other.
It may be true that “there is no ‘I’ in team,” but I’d like to argue that there IS an I in humility. One of the words Merriam-Webster uses to define “humility” is “unpretentious;” I’d like to suggest that pretense is exactly what Jesus is suggesting we avoid. Let there be no pretense between us: we are who we are, no more, but also no less, and let us leave behind our games and our competitions about who is better or worse, who is stronger or weaker, who is more or less deserving of honor and reputation.
Why would I argue for this? Because I’m convinced that what truly matters about us is what Jesus sees within us, individually. Every one of us, whatever position we may hold in the world in which we live, is a child of God created in love by a Creator who can’t help falling head-over-heels in love with us. You are, by yourself, a person for whom Jesus of Nazareth suffered death on the cross – and if you’d been the only one, He still would have gone to Golgotha, willingly, on your behalf. At the same time, your neighbor, by herself, is a person for whom Jesus of Nazareth suffered death on the cross – and if she had been the only one, He still would have gone to Golgotha, willingly, on her behalf. What human honor could possible compare with this? What praise could I offer to the life you live that would be better than this?
There is an ‘I’ in humility: it comes when we take into ourselves the knowledge that no human honor or curse could ever be stronger than this one statement: “I am a child of God.” Let there be no pretense among us – this is the thing which makes all of us wondrous beyond words. Take a moment, turn to your neighbor, and repeat that sentence with me: “I am a child of God.” Now, turn to your other neighbor and give them the greatest blessing and praise you could ever give them, “You are a child of God.” Repeat it with me: “You are a child of God.”
Now, remember this! This is the great humility which Christ imparts to us, the thing against which nothing in our lives can prevail: “I am a child of God” This is the “I” in humility, to remember that in my moments of great achievement and my moments of darkest sin, “I am a child of God.” I can give no greater regard to my neighbor than to remember that he is a child of God. I cannot praise my neighbor with any greater words than “she is a child of God.” To argue that anything else is more important is absurd. I, in my strengths and weaknesses, am a child of God. You, in your fear and in your faith, are a child of God.
So, Peyton chants, “Cut That Meat!” and we laugh. Sure, why not? After all, he is a child of God. A gifted quarterback, to be sure, but more importantly, a child of God. Where are you gifted? What makes you a special individual on this team? Let’s leave behind the false pretense of what we cannot do, why we are not special. Let’s also leave behind the false pretense that we are irreplaceable, that our gifts make us somehow more important to the good of this world than those around us. We are children of God, with unique gifts and talents to be shared for the sake of the world without regard or comparison to others, for they are children of God also. The writer of today’s passage from Hebrews said, “Through [Jesus], then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
There’s a quote by Marianne Williamson that hangs on my office wall, I’d like to close with it this morning: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
Don’t pretend to be something you’re not, Jesus says: be the child of God that you are. Humbly offer yourself to the world, and shine in goodness and mercy, and the children of God around you will be encouraged to do the same. God’s light shine in you this week. Amen.
31 August 2007
Friday Five: Seasons Change...
reverendmother has the Friday Five this week at RevGalBlogPals:
It's Labor Day weekend here in the United States, also known as Summer's Last Hurrah. So let's say goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn. (People in other climes, feel free to adapt as needed.)
1. Share a highlight from this summer. (If you please, don't just say "our vacation to the Canadian Rockies." Give us a little detail or image. Help us live vicariously through you!)
Wow - can I share two? First, playing the role of E.K. Hornbeck in Prairie Wind Players' Inherit the Wind. It was a thoroughly enjoyable (and immensely cathartic) role and a real treat to work with some of my fellow cast members. Second, bringing a group of campers to Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, NE, where I went to camp when I was a kid and where I served five summers as a counselor and Tipi Village site manager. It was the fulfillment of a dream thirteen years in the making: ever since I began to feel called to ordained ministry, I've wanted to do this. Glad it happened this year.
2. Are you glad to see this summer end? Why or why not?
I am and I'm not. I'm always excited about September because I'm an autumn person, but we had a pretty good summer. This summer went SO very quickly; I'd hoped to plant a garden this year (only got a garden tilled), hoped to have several woodworking projects completed (one is halfway cut and not at all assembled) and wanted to lose some weight (pants are still tight). But we've had a lot of fun with friends and family and are looking forward to a great autumn nonetheless.
3. Name one or two things you're looking forward to this fall.
I've got lots of things to be excited for this year: Husker football, the beginning of school, high school sports, Husker football, cooler weather, the beauty of Minnesota in September and October, Husker football, Husker volleyball, running the Siouxland Half-Marathon on 20 October with some good friends, Husker football, watching Ainsley learn to crawl and maybe walk, oh, and let's not forget, Husker football. :-)
4. Do you have any special preparations or activities to mark the transition from one season to another? (Cleaning of house, putting away summer clothes, one last trip to the beach)
Not really: the change in activity level at our church and getting involved at school is enough of a transition to manage. We've gone to the Minnesota State Fair the last few years (AKA Scott's End-of-Summer Gorge-a-thon-on-a-stick), but didn't make it this year; that's about as transition-y as we get.
5. I'll know that fall is really here when __________________________________.
we have a fire at night and I feel the need to put on a sweatshirt. That's the BEST time of the year. Also, when I can smell harvest in the air, when our walnut tree goes that cool, insanely red color before its leaves drop, and when Notre Dame loses to Michigan (sorry, Irish fans!).
It's Labor Day weekend here in the United States, also known as Summer's Last Hurrah. So let's say goodbye to summer and hello to the autumn. (People in other climes, feel free to adapt as needed.)
1. Share a highlight from this summer. (If you please, don't just say "our vacation to the Canadian Rockies." Give us a little detail or image. Help us live vicariously through you!)
Wow - can I share two? First, playing the role of E.K. Hornbeck in Prairie Wind Players' Inherit the Wind. It was a thoroughly enjoyable (and immensely cathartic) role and a real treat to work with some of my fellow cast members. Second, bringing a group of campers to Carol Joy Holling Camp in Ashland, NE, where I went to camp when I was a kid and where I served five summers as a counselor and Tipi Village site manager. It was the fulfillment of a dream thirteen years in the making: ever since I began to feel called to ordained ministry, I've wanted to do this. Glad it happened this year.
2. Are you glad to see this summer end? Why or why not?
I am and I'm not. I'm always excited about September because I'm an autumn person, but we had a pretty good summer. This summer went SO very quickly; I'd hoped to plant a garden this year (only got a garden tilled), hoped to have several woodworking projects completed (one is halfway cut and not at all assembled) and wanted to lose some weight (pants are still tight). But we've had a lot of fun with friends and family and are looking forward to a great autumn nonetheless.
3. Name one or two things you're looking forward to this fall.
I've got lots of things to be excited for this year: Husker football, the beginning of school, high school sports, Husker football, cooler weather, the beauty of Minnesota in September and October, Husker football, Husker volleyball, running the Siouxland Half-Marathon on 20 October with some good friends, Husker football, watching Ainsley learn to crawl and maybe walk, oh, and let's not forget, Husker football. :-)
4. Do you have any special preparations or activities to mark the transition from one season to another? (Cleaning of house, putting away summer clothes, one last trip to the beach)
Not really: the change in activity level at our church and getting involved at school is enough of a transition to manage. We've gone to the Minnesota State Fair the last few years (AKA Scott's End-of-Summer Gorge-a-thon-on-a-stick), but didn't make it this year; that's about as transition-y as we get.
5. I'll know that fall is really here when __________________________________.
we have a fire at night and I feel the need to put on a sweatshirt. That's the BEST time of the year. Also, when I can smell harvest in the air, when our walnut tree goes that cool, insanely red color before its leaves drop, and when Notre Dame loses to Michigan (sorry, Irish fans!).
29 August 2007
College Football Wisdom
Well, the most wonderful time of the year starts tomorrow night: College Football Season! In honor of said season, I give you this collection of wisdom from some of the great coaches of the game - and a lot of other people not named Devaney. :-)
"At Georgia Southern, we don't cheat. That costs money and we don't have any."
Erk Russell, Georgia Southern.
"Football is only a game. Spiritual things are eternal. Nevertheless, Beat Texas." Seen on a church sign in Arkansas prior to the 1969 game.
"After you retire, there's only one big event left....and I ain't ready for that."
Bobby Bowden / Florida State
"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas
"When you win, nothing hurts."
Joe Namath / Alabama
"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas
"If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, "Roll, tide, roll!"
Bear Bryant / Alabama
"A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall."
Frank Leahy / Notre Dame
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
Woody Hayes / Ohio State
"I don't expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation."
Bob Devaney / Nebraska
"In Alabama, an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in Bear Bryant."
Wally Butts / Georgia
"You can learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life."
Paul Dietzel / LSU
"It's kind of hard to rally around a math class."
Bear Bryant / Alabama
"No, but you can see it from here."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas...When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world.
"I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in
practice, not in a game."
Bear Bryant / Alabama
"There's one sure way to stop us from scoring-give us the ball near the goal line."
Matty Bell / SMU
"Lads, you're not to miss practice unless your parents died or you died."
Frank Leahy / Notre Dame
"I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's."
Alex Karras / Iowa
"My advice to defensive players: Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor."
Bowden Wyatt / Tennessee
"I could have been a Rhodes Scholar, except for my grades."
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State
"Always remember..... Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David."
Shug Jordan / Auburn
"They cut us up like boarding house pie. And that's real small pieces."
Darrell Royal / Texas
"Show me a good and gracious loser, and I'll show you a failure."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"They whipped us like a tied up goat."
Spike Dykes / Texas Tech
"I asked Darrell Royal, the coach of the Texas Longhorns, why he didn't recruit me and he said: "Well, Walt, we took a look at you and you weren't any good."
Walt Garrison / Oklahoma State
"Son, you've got a good engine, but your hands aren't on the steering wheel."
Bobby Bowden / Florida State
"Football is not a contact sport-it is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport."
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State
After USC lost 51-0 to Notre Dame, his post game message to his team: "All those who need showers, take them."
John McKay / USC
"If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education."
Murray Warmath / Minnesota
"The only qualifications for a lineman are to be big and dumb. To be a back, you only have to be dumb."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"Oh, we played about like three tons of buzzard puke this afternoon."
Spike Dykes / Texas Tech
"It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"We live one day at a time and scratch where it itches."
Darrell Royal / Texas
"We didn't tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking."
John McKay / USC
"Three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad." Darrell Royal / University of Texas
"I've found that prayers work best when you have big players."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football"
John Heisman
"At Georgia Southern, we don't cheat. That costs money and we don't have any."
Erk Russell, Georgia Southern.
"Football is only a game. Spiritual things are eternal. Nevertheless, Beat Texas." Seen on a church sign in Arkansas prior to the 1969 game.
"After you retire, there's only one big event left....and I ain't ready for that."
Bobby Bowden / Florida State
"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas
"When you win, nothing hurts."
Joe Namath / Alabama
"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas
"If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, "Roll, tide, roll!"
Bear Bryant / Alabama
"A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall."
Frank Leahy / Notre Dame
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
Woody Hayes / Ohio State
"I don't expect to win enough games to be put on NCAA probation. I just want to win enough to warrant an investigation."
Bob Devaney / Nebraska
"In Alabama, an atheist is someone who doesn't believe in Bear Bryant."
Wally Butts / Georgia
"You can learn more character on the two-yard line than anywhere else in life."
Paul Dietzel / LSU
"It's kind of hard to rally around a math class."
Bear Bryant / Alabama
"No, but you can see it from here."
Lou Holtz / Arkansas...When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world.
"I make my practices real hard because if a player is a quitter, I want him to quit in
practice, not in a game."
Bear Bryant / Alabama
"There's one sure way to stop us from scoring-give us the ball near the goal line."
Matty Bell / SMU
"Lads, you're not to miss practice unless your parents died or you died."
Frank Leahy / Notre Dame
"I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there for two terms - Truman's and Eisenhower's."
Alex Karras / Iowa
"My advice to defensive players: Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor."
Bowden Wyatt / Tennessee
"I could have been a Rhodes Scholar, except for my grades."
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State
"Always remember..... Goliath was a 40 point favorite over David."
Shug Jordan / Auburn
"They cut us up like boarding house pie. And that's real small pieces."
Darrell Royal / Texas
"Show me a good and gracious loser, and I'll show you a failure."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"They whipped us like a tied up goat."
Spike Dykes / Texas Tech
"I asked Darrell Royal, the coach of the Texas Longhorns, why he didn't recruit me and he said: "Well, Walt, we took a look at you and you weren't any good."
Walt Garrison / Oklahoma State
"Son, you've got a good engine, but your hands aren't on the steering wheel."
Bobby Bowden / Florida State
"Football is not a contact sport-it is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport."
Duffy Daugherty / Michigan State
After USC lost 51-0 to Notre Dame, his post game message to his team: "All those who need showers, take them."
John McKay / USC
"If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a great education."
Murray Warmath / Minnesota
"The only qualifications for a lineman are to be big and dumb. To be a back, you only have to be dumb."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"Oh, we played about like three tons of buzzard puke this afternoon."
Spike Dykes / Texas Tech
"It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"We live one day at a time and scratch where it itches."
Darrell Royal / Texas
"We didn't tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking."
John McKay / USC
"Three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad." Darrell Royal / University of Texas
"I've found that prayers work best when you have big players."
Knute Rockne / Notre Dame
"Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football"
John Heisman
25 July 2007
The Good Side of the NFL
Tired of hearing about Michael Vick, Pac-Man Jones and other NFL players who can't seem to keep their names & faces out of the police blotter? Try this article on for size.
Thanks for the good work, guys, and can we publicize this stuff more and the criminal behavior less?
Thanks for the good work, guys, and can we publicize this stuff more and the criminal behavior less?
26 April 2007
Paging Mel Kiper, Jr...
Is it me, or does it seem like ESPN started talking about the NFL Draft roughly 2.7 nanoseconds after Indianapolis won the Super Bowl?
Finally, someone displays a healthy attitude about this weekend's NFL Draft. Of course, Jay Moore is a Nebraska Cornhusker, but if there are any other potential draftees out there who aren't living and breathing the all-important difference between getting $700,000 or $600,000 to play a game for a living, kudos to you, even if you had the bad judgment to play for a program like Texas or Ohio State. (Pardon me - THE Ohio State University).
Finally, someone displays a healthy attitude about this weekend's NFL Draft. Of course, Jay Moore is a Nebraska Cornhusker, but if there are any other potential draftees out there who aren't living and breathing the all-important difference between getting $700,000 or $600,000 to play a game for a living, kudos to you, even if you had the bad judgment to play for a program like Texas or Ohio State. (Pardon me - THE Ohio State University).
03 January 2007
A Terrible Day to be a College Football Fan
Nick Saban has been hired as the head coach at Alabama. After insisting for nearly three weeks that he wouldn't take the job. His contract, by the way, is 8 years and $32 million. Guaranteed.
I hope Alabama tanks and tanks hard: that would be a fitting reward for both this carpetbagging coach and the bigwigs who engineered this mess. What has happened at Alabama is the worst pile of BS generated by an institution of higher education. No one person is worth the media scrutiny and exorbitant salary generated by this travesty of a job search.
Pat Forde at espn.com says much more, much better than I can. But I'll end with this: some might think I'm being too hard on Alabama, that wishing for a team's downfall is too bitter. But folks, this is football we're talking about. It's a game. No game is ever worth what has happened in Tuscaloosa these past few weeks, and if it takes a meltdown of large proportions to make that point, then I'm all for it.
I hope Alabama tanks and tanks hard: that would be a fitting reward for both this carpetbagging coach and the bigwigs who engineered this mess. What has happened at Alabama is the worst pile of BS generated by an institution of higher education. No one person is worth the media scrutiny and exorbitant salary generated by this travesty of a job search.
Pat Forde at espn.com says much more, much better than I can. But I'll end with this: some might think I'm being too hard on Alabama, that wishing for a team's downfall is too bitter. But folks, this is football we're talking about. It's a game. No game is ever worth what has happened in Tuscaloosa these past few weeks, and if it takes a meltdown of large proportions to make that point, then I'm all for it.
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