Elite Eight is good enough (for this year)

The Jayhawks aren't apart of the Final Four this year much to my dismay but with Kansas being put out in the first round the past two years, I can live with an Elite Eight appearance. We just ran into a hungry UCLA team, not too mention, they played a lot better too. I don't know what the story was but we just couldn't handle the pressure nor make any easy buckets. It seemed that every steal we got didn't lead to anything on the scoreboard and every steal they got lead to an easy layup.

Looking ahead to next year I can't see why we wouldn't be one of the favorites to win it, especially since we have all starters coming back, assuming nobody goes pro. That would definitely be nice. Another year of experience can only be the on the positive end for the Jayhawks.

Also, it was nice to see Georgetown knock off North Carolina. I really like the way they play with that Princeton offense and their tough nosed defense. It should be a great Final Four, I just hope once again that it's not Florida-Ohio St. in the Championship come April 2.

1st weekend of the Madness

Rachel and I went over to a good friend of our's house to watch the selection sunday show last weekend. Once we saw that Wisconsin and Kansas were both playing in Chicago, my friend Christian immediately went online and bought 2 tickets for the 1st and 2nd round games. My brother Matt and his friend went to the game on Friday night against Niagra and I went with Christian to the game last night against Kentucky. It was pretty awesome to watch an NCAA tournament game live but it was doubly awkward because my friend Christian is a die hard Wisconsin fan. The first game of the session was Wisconsin-UNLV which saw UNLV stun the Wisconsin faithful. KU-Kentucky followed but it was so awkward watching it with Christian because I can only sympathize with his agony watching his team go down early in the tournament. I wondered what was going through his mind. Was he going to root for Kentucky so that we could both go home dejected or was he going to pull for the Jayhawks? I also didn't really know what to say because it was obvious that Wisconsin just got outplayed on every level. I did mention to ask him a question about next year's outlook (that's always the subject line for Cubs fans). Regardless of how down Christian was it was GREAT to see KU put on a show and make it to the Sweet 16. They definitely are hitting on all cylinders. A couple more wins fellas.

Other thoughts on the second round games: if Oden were to get called for his flagrant foul, which it was, there is no way Lewis hits that 3 to send it into overtime. I guess it would've been a huge call to make but he completely extended his arms and shoved the guy out of bounds. Boy it would've been nice to see Ohio St. lose, even though it would've damaged my bracket. Out of the 16 teams left I have 11 correct and there is at least two that I originally picked but ended up changing at the end. If I would've kept Butler and Vanderbilt and Pitt I would be looking pretty good but instead I went with the upset of Butler in the 1st round and I went with falling into the trap that Coach K was too much of a motivator and that he was going to get his guys going to at just the right time. Boy was I wrong because Duke looked like they've never seen pressure before. Anyway, this time of year is always fun and I can't wait until next weekend when the Jayhawks advance to the Final Four.......knock on wood.

Countdown to a busted bracket

So the best time of year is here. The weather is turning warmer, spring training is underway, and the NCAA basketball tournament is just two days away. Watching the Selection Sunday show I was already forming in my head who I was going to pick. I knew right away which upset I was going to take and who was going to be in my Final Four. Rachel filled out a bracket also and I am already beginning to face the reality that even though she filled it out without even looking at the teams it seems like, she is going to win and my bracket is going to be busted by this weekend. But it is still fun to rack my brain over and see if at least a couple of my picks pan out to be good ones. Also, as I was filling out my bracket, or should I say brackets, I began to think just how fickle and temporary this kind of thing is. There is so much else that I can set my mind on that is more "true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise" (phil. 4:8), yet my time is consumed with NCAA basketball and American Idol, and oh yeah, Survivor. Not that these things are bad in and of themselves, but when I really sit down to think about it, all this stuff is so, well you know.

But to come back to the NCAA tournament. KU has the #1 seed in the West Regional and I must say, I think that they can make it to the Final Four. They are playing with extreme confidence right now and have beaten a scrappy, and really good Texas team with the player of the year in Durant, twice. But if you want to know my picks for the Final Four, here they are (as you can see, my confidence in the Jayhawks dwindles in the Elite Eight against UCLA): Florida, UCLA, Georgetown, and Ohio St. My Championship game I have the Bruins of UCLA falling short to the Buckeyes of Ohio St. Let me go on record to say that if the championship game comes down to Ohio St. and Florida I don't think that I'm even going to watch it. The only talk that you will hear over and over again will be just how amazing these two schools are and how it's a repeat of the BCS Championship game. That would be the worst case scenario of this years' tournament. Not to mention that I am sick of seeing Joakim Noah and his ugly hair and stupid dancing after an SEC win over a mediocre and crappy Arkansas team.

Anyway, let's just say that I am thinking way too much about all of this.

Let's go KU.

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK baby!!!!!!

in Spirit and in Truth

"To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God."

Rejoice in the LORD always and again.....

Yesterday was one of those days where I just wanted to throw in the towel and give up. I was frustrated by the way the students were treating eachother and the way that they were treating me. I was frustrated with urban culture in and of itself. All the violence, sex, drugs, and gangs that are so prevalent on TV, music videos, music lyrics, and all the other things that these students see everyday. It was just so foreign to me and so frustrating to see and hear. Then, in God's great ways of bringing this that challenge me, I was lead to an article in the Kansas City Star about KU freshman point guard, Sherron Collins. Collins grew up on the west side of Chicago and went to Crane high school. The article talked about his family background and everyday life on the streets. It mentioned how the local Boys & Girls Club is what saved Sherron from following the path of his father and his older brother; one filled with gangs, prison, and murder. Sherron has blossomed as the sixth man for the Jayhawks and it was such an encouraging article to read.

I was struck at how the article directly related to how I was feeling; of just wanting to give up and quit and move to someplace that was comfortable. This article encouraged me to press on and be a beacon of light for these students. Be the teacher that speaks truth, encouragement, and love to these students, for they may need this place just like Sherron needed the safe haven of the Boys & Girls Club.




I've also been taking the time to read and study the book of Philippians. The overarching theme that I have been gathering is summed up in Phil. 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!" It's also been interesting to read in chapter 3 how Paul is praying that he 'may know Christ in the power of His resurrection and share in the fellowship of His sufferings' (3:10). Verses like that seem to always sink in deep in my heart because I think of how I pray for things to be easy or good, and overlook the suffering . Not that I want to pray that I want to suffer, but being open to realizing that one of the very core issues of the Christian faith is suffering. How do I respond when things are tough and hard? How do I respond when..............? Do I respond with an attitude of rejoicing and praise? O Lord, may it be so in my life.....

Matthew's Mind..check it out

This afternoon I was on the computer in the PE office at school browsing my daily stops for reading other blogs. My good friend Christian put out a good piece on coaching and the ridiculousness of yelling at the officials. I can totally relate to everything he says because I, too often, am the coach who is constantly harping at the officials. The next opportunity I have to coach I am going to put into practice his ideas. (I wonder how Jesus would coach a sports team?)

Also, if you haven't had an opportunity to check out my brothers' (Matthew) blog, I suggest that you check it out (whatmattdeemsimportant). The piece that he wrote today was phenomenal. I really appreciate his point of view and perspective on things. I think I appreciate it so much because it challenges me to know end. Talk about a young man who has an incredible heart for Jesus. I think a lot of people don't understand him because he is very different than me (not that people really even understand me, because I know I don't have anything figured out), but I have been challenged over and over again by conversations that I have had with him. He is living life on the front lines as a believer in Jesus at a school that is very very anti-Christian. He has shared his views openly in such a creative and profound way that I am completely amazed and challenged.

big 12 champs & the big move

This weekend was an exciting weekend for Jayhawk fans as we came back from a big deficit at halftime to capture the sole possession of the regular season Big 12 Conference Title. My analysis was almost right with Durant putting up 32 points. Man o man, he is definitely for real and if his ankle heals to 100% come Tournament time, look out for the Longhorns. But congrats to the Jayhawks! Let's just hope that they can continue their run past the 1st round.

This weekend was also a weekend where Rachel and I took a visit back to the good old homestead of Davis, IL. My parents (and Nathan) are moving to a different house. They are moving out of the booming metropolis of Davis to right outside Rock City. This weekend was the first time I was able to see the inside of the house and I like it very much. It will definitely be a great place to bring the kids so they can visit their grandparents :) Now, don't go getting any ideas. If we were pregnant, I'm sure that I won't announce it on my blog. Saturday, the body of Christ was at work the way I believe that it should be. There were over 8 people who came to the house to help with the move. They spent most of the day moving furniture into the UHAUL and then into the new house. Once everything was done around 4 p.m. we huddled together and realized that the church needed to have the chairs set up. So everyone just packed the cars and went to the church to set up the chairs. This was something so simple and really not that big of a deal but it gave a beautiful picture of how the church is supposed to act like 'the church'. Thanks for all of those who came out to help my parents with the move and also for those women who prepared such great meals for my family!