college basketball talk

So after this weekend of top teams falling (Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina), the Jayhawks jumped up to #3 in the nation behind Ohio St. & UCLA. Let me be the first to tell you that I am not confident at all with the Jayhawks up there in the polls. Now, sure they have been beating up on a lot of weaker teams but they still haven't showed me that they can win in a big game; I suppose if you count their win against Florida early in the year a big win. But come on, losses to Oral Roberts, and Depaul don't look good and the only other 'good' teams they have played (Texas Tech and Texas A & M) were both losses. KU just hasn't had a good, quality win on their resume. I suppose their shallacking against Oklahoma St. was a good win and the Cowboys were in the top 10 at the time but now they aren't even ranked so that win doesn't look as good. I guess I say all that to say that I am not confident with the Jayhawks holding the #3 spot in the nation. These next two games against Oklahoma and Texas could change my mind if they win in convincing fashion. Also, the way the Tournament has gone the past two years, I don't want KU to be the first #1 seed to fall to a #16 seed. It could happen....

This weekend Rachel was up in Detroit with her friend Nora so I was able to sit in front of the TV and watch CBS tripleheader on both Saturday and Sunday. A great lead into March Madness. The Gtown vs. Pitt game was phenomenal and the Hoyas really look tough. I also love the way they run the Princeton offense! Florida looked horrible on Saturday and don't get me started on the Buckeyes of Ohio St. I watched the whole game yesterday and I am sick and tired of these analysts crowning the Buckeyes as the greatest team ever. Sure, Oden is the man on the defensive end but he still has a lot of improvement on the offensive side of things and they don't really have an offensive presence aside from the 3 ball. But I guess they did defend their home court and won the Big Ten out right so I have to give them their props but what's with their fans storming the court after they the #1 team beat the #2 team. Sounds silly to me. I guess that's just a sign of how good Wisconsin really is. Ohio St. is also one of those teams that doesn't really have any big wins aside from yesterday's victory over the Badgers. Meanwhile, Wisconsin has wins over Pitt, Marquette, and Ohio St (all ranked in the top 20). I personally thought that the rankings should've followed the OSU/Michigan football game where both teams didn't move any spots in the rankings, but remained 1-2.

All this rambling on just reminds me of how much I don't like rankings because they just play with your mind and emotions. Let the kids decide the game on the court in the best tournament in sports: March Madness. It's going to be fun to watch, all I have to say is look out for Georgetown and those Salukis from Southern Illinois.

something to chew on

"Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.....let him who is not in community beware of being alone."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Life Together"

Gymnastics and Guts

Saturday night (2/17) I took Rachel to the Illinois State Girls Gymnastics Championships in Palatine, IL. Rachel was a gymnast in high school so she was really excited about seeing a gymnastics meet again. I, on the other hand, only have gymnastics experience every 4 years when the summer Olympics are on TV. Who can ever forget Kerri Strug and her valiant performance on 1 leg to win the gold that one year during the summer Olympics? I can remember back to my middle school years when my brother and my best friend were doing flips off of the stairs and landing on our bed mattress trying to stick the landing. That was the year the Romanians had a killer gymnastics squad. So, there you have my history of knowledge of gymnastics.

I must say though, Saturday night I was awed by the ability and bravery of these high school girls. Each competitor competed one at a time while the judges and the packed house gymnasium looked on. Talk about nervousness. I was nervous for the girls and I wasn't even competing and had no idea what to even look for in their routine. I was getting into it, emotionally and psychologically. I started to cheer for certain girls to do well and had to catch my breath when one girl fell flat on her face after missing the high bar during the uneven bar routine. I am so surprised that she got up with a smile after almost having her face indented in the mat. Rachel was so shocked that I enjoyed myself and quite frankly, so am I. I thought, just like my dad, that I was going to have to bring a book to keep me from boredom. Boy was I wrong. I give mad props to all of those girls who competed. There would be no way that I could do it. I'm so thankful that I played team sports all my life because you can always blame the effort of the team and not an individual. Those girls have way more guts than I ever did when I was in high school. And my wife was one of those girls.

Snow day & "Daddy's Little Girls"

Yesterday morning at 4:30 our phone rang to give us the GREAT news that school was closed due to the snow. Rachel and I were so full of praise that it was hard to get back to sleep, though we ended up sleeping in. As we had the whole day off I was thinking to myself that snow days are so much nicer as a teacher than I can ever remember them being as a kid. It was also a double blessing because our snow day just happened to fall on Valentine's Day. Cupid must have been looking out for us (Actually, enough of that garbage). I'm a horrible husband because I didn't even get Rachel anything for this special day of love (sarcasm). We did go out for lunch and then went to see "Daddy's Little Girls" in the theatre. It was a good movie to see on Valentine's Day! The movie raises a lot of good dialogue about race, class, gangs, and those types of issues. Very relevant to the context that Rachel and I are in.



KU is back on their winning ways after annihalating Colorado on their home floor last night. As has been their criticism all year, I wonder if KU can stay consistent as they head down the stretch. After the loss to A & M at home, we have pulled out convincing wins over K-State, Mizzou, and Colorado. The way things are looking I predict that the final game of the regular season at home against Texas is going to be huge and probably for first place of the Big 12. Quite frankly, Texas scares me because of the play of their big man, Kevin Durant. I can't see Sasha Kaun or even Darrell Arthur being a stop to Texas' scoring machine. Along those same lines, if KU runs into a team in the Big Dance with a substantial big man who knows how to play, I think that the Jayhawks will have another early exit. Let's just hope that I am wrong.

first time 'Settler'

This past Friday Rachel and I went to our good friends house for fellowship and games. Rachel was in heaven because she loves games and often has a hard time getting me to sit down and play one with her. She was a little bummed when she found out that we were going to play "Settlers of Catan" (The one game that she would least want to play). As what usually happens when a beginner plays a game for the first time, she won and left us all wondering how in the world she did it. Some call it "beginner's luck", I just like to call it, "my wife rocks at playing games".

Life: from the Heart out

Last night I had a phone conversation with not only a great friend, but a mentor in my life who took the iniative to really get to know Bobby Kolb. I'll never forget the day after church about 2 years ago, when he came up to me and simply asked, "What makes you tick Bobby? What things are you passionate about? What are your struggles?" I was shocked because as a college grad from Moody Bible Institute and the eldest son of the senior pastor, nobody ever asked me those questions before. But God used this man to truly impact my life in amazing ways. He always spoke of living daily life authentic and real; not just with people, but with yourself and with God.

Now, the season of life I find myself in as a newly wed, and as an inner city youth worker, I am realizing the importance of the very things he always talked about. This world, especially the church, needs men and women who are authentic and real. Not hiding their sins and masking them over, but fleshing out relationships so that the grace of Jesus can truly do its amazing work.

Another way that I could've said all of this is: thanks.

BIG letdowns

Let me start off by commenting on the Super Bowl. Last night and even this morning, I am becoming more of a Rex Grossman supporter. I know I know, he's not the greatest QB ever but I honestly think that people in Chicago are expecting WAY to much from this guy. I mean, I heard people talk about how the Bears should've put in Griese last night. Even if they did, if Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes continued to run through the Bears defense like they were, it wouldn't have mattered at all. Peyton Manning wasn't pressured in anyway. I fully agree that Grossman played horrible but you cannot pin the game on him when your defense can't tackle anybody wearing a horseshoe on their helmet. A big let down for the 'monsters of the midway'. Now all we have to hear for the next 8 months is how the Cubs are underachieving and how we need a new QB.

Another let down this weekend was when the Aggies of Texas A&M came into the Allen Fieldhouse and pulled out a win, 69-66. I thought that KU had the game in the bag but they just couldn't pull away in the end. They allowed 2 three point plays on fouls in the final 2 minutes and then up 2 allowed their hot shooting guard to drain a 3 in the face of Brandon Rush with 25 seconds to go. I definitely give credit to the Aggies for hanging in and playing hard. The big guys for KU i.e. Julian Wright, & Brandon Rush were almost nonexistent as the game progressed. It felt like the freshman (from Chi town) Sherron Collins #4, was the only guy who came ready to play. He had 18 points in just 23 minutes. Definitely playing good and showing some life. Hopefully this loss will prepare us for the final run of the season but it just hurts that it had to come on our home court.

A big game this Wednesday as the up and coming Wildcats from K-State come to visit the PHOG! Jayhawks need a big win.

Thankful for doors

So this weekend the 7th & 8th grade boys basketball team had the end of the year tournament. It was held at our head coach's former school so they allowed us to stay the night, which wasn't the greatest idea in the world, but nonetheless it was a good experience.

As we were leaving Circle Rock the youth pastor mentioned to me that they have been having trouble with the driver's side door of the ministry van. Since I am only the assistant, I was privileged to drive the ministry van, and Christian was driving his minivan filled with the boys luggage. On I-90 travelling 60 mph the drivers side door popped open. Startled, I grabbed the door and tried to slam it shut to no avail. The rest of the hour trip I had to drive with one hand on the wheel and with the other I had to hold the door shut. O the joy! On our way home (Saturday) the door wouldn't shut at all so I had to hold the door the whole way home. The temperature Saturday was a high of 2 degrees. Now, with the door not being closed all the way, not only was my hand/arm cramping from holding the door, but my feet were frozen because of the frigid air.

Now I can honestly say that I will never take for granted a car door closing all the way while driving.