Junk Drawer Spirituality

It's Cubs Season!

 Today is opening day for the Cubs.  So I've assembled a collection of pictures in honor of baseball season to get us prepared for all the joys and heart-breaks of the upcoming year:

March Madness

I just filled my bracket out.  I'm pulling for 3 seed Baylor University with the upset against #1 Kansas in the NCAA final game.  It's a risky call, but we'll see in 3 weeks if it was a good one. 

Giving Props to Jesus . . . Even When You Fail

I noticed something interesting Sunday evening watching the Super Bowl, and I wonder if anyone else caught it.  At the very beginning of the 4th quarter, while the score was locked 17 to 16 in favor of Indianapolis, the Colts had an opportunity to take a 4 point lead.  Matt Stover, the Colt's kicker, was called upon to convert a 51 yard field goal.  

Stover missed wide left. 

The network showed the usual replays after a lowly kicker botches a field goal . . . A replay of the ball floating through the air in slow motion, barely missing the left upright. . .  A slow-motion recap of the kick just as it left Stover's foot and skipped off the ground. . .  And then they showed a replay of Stover's reaction after the miss.  

Most kickers hold their head in their hands, or swiftly rip their chin straps off in an act of frustration, or give the "stink-eye" to their holder as if he's the real one to blame.  Stover took both fingers and pointed them skyward in a gesture most athletes reserve for moments when they . . . well . . . do something worth celebrating.

I thought, "Poor, mixed up Matt Stover.  He thought he made the kick.  Wait til he gets to the sidelines, and some poor guy has to break the news: 'Sorry, Matty. . .  You blew it.'"  But broadcaster, Jim Natz, explained: "Matt Stover is a very spiritual person and he always points toward the sky whether he makes the kick or misses."

The more I think about it, the more I believe that simple gesture by Matt Stover was a more powerful witness to the experience of knowing and following Christ than anything else I have seen from a Christian athlete.  It's one thing to make the kick, or make the catch, or score the touchdown, and point to the sky.  It's one thing to win the championship, grab the mike and say, "First of all, I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ . . ."

It is quite another thing to give God all the glory when it all goes wrong, to say "God's in control," and honor his providence when you're beat and powerless.  I believe it is a brave Christian who can say as Job did, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised. (Job 1:21)"

For me, Stover told the honest story of the spiritual journey.  Not the one that comes nicely wrapped and pre-packaged that only takes the limelight in our successes.  It's the story of Christ living in the muck with the rest of us.  And it's a subtle reminder that whether I win or lose, that never changes how mighty He is.  

Way to go Matt!!!!

My Tournament Brackets

As of right now . . . 4:30 PM Central time . . . March 19, 2009 . . . day 1 and round 1 of the 2009 NCAA basketball tournament . . . I am 7 for 7 with my picks, and in the lead of my yahoo sports tournament challenge.  Think I can go all the way? 

March Madness and Community

It's that time of year again.  All the teams have been selected.  People are filling out their brackets, starting office pools, placing bets, buying plain tickets, wishing and hoping their team will make it to the Final Four.

It's March Madness Time!

And since I'm always up for experimenting with new forms of community, we openned up a Waterfront Hoops Tournament Challenge to our entire church this morning.  It's all online at Yahoo Sports.  You just go there, enter the password and make your tournament picks.  But it's a way for a person who is not in a small group or who is largely unconnected with our church to take a baby-step toward connecting in a very non-threatening way.  Hope people respond.  I think elements of community can happen with these sorts of things.

And if you're a reader of this blog and want to join in the fun, you're more than welcome.  Just go to http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/, click "join a Group," and enter our group ID# 36097 and password: waterfrontcc.

    

2009 Cubs TV Schedule Is Out

The 2009 Cubs TV schedule just came out today.  Here's a link.  I absolutely CANNOT wait until the season starts.  Spring's around the corner.

Letterman on Alex Rodriguez

Just saw David Letterman's monologue, and he takes a couple of good shots at New York's very own 'roid doper, Alex Rodriguez.  Here's a quote:

"Alex Rodrguez has now admitted and apologized for using the steroids, and now he wants to put it all behind him and get back to being an over-paid disappointment."

An Aggie's Misery Loves Company

I know I should root for my fellow Texas teams: the University of Texas . . . Texas Tech.  And truthfully, I guess I was pulling for Texas Tech today to beat Oklahoma.  They're  the underdog, and I almost always root for the underdog.  But Tech lost, and I'm smiling on the inside. 

If you didn't know, coming into tonight's game, Tech was ranked #2, Oklahoma was ranked #5, and if Tech had won, they would have been a "sure in" to the National Championship game.  Instead, Tech got whipped by almost 50 points.  As a Texan, I should be disappointed, but there's a part of me that just LOVES it when UT and Tech lose.  When ESPN was talking about Texas Tech and Mike Leach's group of West Texas misfits going to the National Championship last week, I threw up in my mouth alittle.  It was really painful for my Maroon and white, Texas Aggie ears to hear.

Of course my Alma Mater, Texas A&M, is nowhere near National Championship talk right now, so it shouldn't really matter to me; but it does.  I don't want Tech fans and UT fans to rejoice in a good season.  I don't want High School recruits to start looking at Texas Tech as a great place to play football.  I want all Tech fans and all Texas fans to feel as utterly miserable as I am as an Aggie fan this season.  It's pathetic, I know . . . but I can't help it.  I'm just a grouchy, envious, Aggie living in the football nostalgia of the 1990s and wishing I could get excited about college football again.

The Cubbies Get Drummed

Hard to know how to describe what just happened to the Cubs in the last 4 days, with the final postseason blow coming late last night.  This year, after a year living in Chicago, I started following the Cubs and became a fan.  It's infectious in Chicago.  Cubs feaver is crazy here!  And THIS summer, the Cubs were playing great.  They were the top team in Major League Baseball.  They cruised into the playoffs with home field advantage throughout.  Most predicted the Cubs winning the World Series.

Then, they lost game one of the playoffs . . . and then they lost game two in very, very, ugly fashion . . . and then they slept walked into a game three loss and a nail in the coffin to their postseason dreams.  It's bewildering.  I know the history.  I've heard all the stuff about curses, black cats, Bartman, and Billy Goats.  But come on.  That's a load of crap, right?  Right?  This ESPN article says what I'm thinking much better than I can explain right now so take a look if you're interested.       

Why Soccer Is Doomed To Irrelevance in American Sports

Here's the Cuddly mascot for the 2010 World Cup.

Cubs Clinch and Aggies Get Slaughtered

  It's been a good sports day and a bad one.  The Cubs clinched the National League Central Division this afternoon, beating the Cards 6-5.  This is their first back-to-back postseason appearance in 100 years.  Of course, the last time they had a back-to-back post-season appearance, they won the whole thing in 1908.  Hmmm . . .

The bad part of the day was that the Aggies got their tushees handed to them once again.  This time they got beat by Miami (FL) 41-23.  I still haven't had the opportunity to actually watch the Aggies this season (errrr. . . darn you Big Ten coverage), but all indications show that the Aggies are on the fast track to a losing season.

Fantasy Football and Community

I'm in a fantasy football league right now with about 6 other people from Waterfront.  I was just thinking the other day how fantasy leagues can actually be great tools for creating community-- fantasy football, fantasy baseball . . .  The other night, we had a leadership meeting that involved several people in our league, and when we sat and started talking, we were all talking about our fantasy football teams and the matchups from the past weekend.  In fact the conversation was so good, those who weren't in our league were kinda wishing they were, I think.  There's something about healthy competition that breeds stronger community bonds.  It makes me wonder how fantasy leagues can be utilized for community building in Waterfront's culture in the long haul.  I always like thinking about alternative ways of building community that extends outside of the the "small group" paradigm.  It would be interesting to see how that might work.  Any thoughts?

Zambrano Pitches a No-Hitter

Because Hurricane Ike reared it's ugly head in Houston over the course of the weekend, the Cubs moved their Friday and Saturday series against the Astros to Milwaukee on Sunday.  So technically it was a Houston home game, but being only an hour and half from Chicago, Cubs fans flooded Miller stadium in MIlwaukee making it feel alot more like Wrigley than Minute Maid Park.

And it was there that Carlos Zambrano, after a terrible August, a rough start to September, and a forced rest for his sore rotater cuff, came into the game tonight and pitched a no-hitter.  Simply amazing!  It's the first no-hitter for the Cubs since 1972.  The crowd in Milwaukee went bananas, and so did I! 

Another Long Season For The Aggies

I didn't want to talk about it.  I figured if I ignored it long enough it would just go away.  I'd find out it was some crazy dream involving leprechauns, and unicorns.  But there's no escaping it.  On Saturday, my Alma Mater, Texas A&M, entered the 2008 football season with a 18 to 14 loss . . . to Arkansas friggin' State . . . from the Sun Belt Conference. . . at home.

Sure, this is Mike Sherman's first year as head coach.  Sure, they're running a completely new offensive scheme and a completely new defensive scheme.  Sure, everyone in the state of Texas and beyond predicted that A&M was going to have an "off" year.  But come on!  Arkansas State!?  All I know is if A&M loses again this Saturday to New Mexico, I'm gonna go banana sandwiches up in here.  

The Cubs Are Back!

Since the All-Star game, the Cubs had gone into a serious drought, losing in Houston, then Arizona and then at home to Florida 6 out of 10 games.  But ever since Sunday's game against Florida when they were down 5-0, and they came back to win, the Cubs have been on fire!  They've just played the Brewers in Milwaukee against starting pitching phenoms Sibathia and Sheets, and won.  Zambrano pitched an 8 inning shutout tonight.  It's crazy. . . All the sudden Ramirez is coming out of his slump (4 for 4 tonight), Soriano is off the DL and is hitting well again, Fukudome is starting to get some hits again, Marmol isn't giving up multiple runs in the final two innings. . . everyone's rebounding at the same time.    

Fitness Kickboxing

Yesterday, I started a fitness kickboxing class at the Schaumburg Parks District.  Man, it was the hardest work out I've had in a very long time.  I was using muscles I didn't know I had.  All I know is, I'm pretty darn sore today.

Tiger Woods at The U.S. Open

If you missed the amazing play by Tiger Woods today in the 3rd round of the U.S. open, here's a video of the highlights.  After starting off looking aweful today, he came back with some amazing shots on the back 9.  He had an amazing 50+ foot eagle putt on 13, drained a chip shot on 17 for birdie, and then hit another long eagle putt on 18 to take the lead going into Sunday. 

Tiger Woods' 3rd Round Rally at U.S. Open (6.14.08)
Uploaded by 23city

I Have a Fever

Something horrible is happening to me . . . something I've never experienced before.  For reasons I cannot explain, I began following the Cubs.  I have started to care whether they win or lose.  I am aware of where they stand in comparison with other teams in their division.  I am becoming familiar with the Cub's pitching rotation, who's starting which games, and the record for each of those starters.  I'm spending way too much time looking at the upcoming games in their season, making predictions and second-guessing Lou Piniella.  After only a year in Chicago, I think I'm becoming a Cubs fan. . . Crap.      

NBA Finals Game 4 . . . Amazing!

Tonight, Boston beat L.A. 97 to 90 after trailing by 20 with 5:50 left in the 3rd period.  It was an absolutely amazing comback.  It was one of the greatest comebacks in NBA finals history.

Why Devin Hester Doesn't Have a Music Recording Contract

Bear's return man Devin Hester sang "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at Wrigley today, and holy crap!  The dude can run, but he cannot, definitely cannot, sing.  And he also doesn't know half of the words.  Pretty funny.  Check it out-- LINK

Lady Aggies make it to the Elite Eight

Well, the Texas A&M Men's program couldn't make it past round two, but the Lady Aggie basketball program just lit up Duke this afternoon and cruised into the elite eight of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.  Whoop!  They'll be facing the winner of Nortre Dame and Tennessee.

Here's a link to an interesting New York Times article on the history of women and women athletics at Texas A&M.