Merry Christmas

Hey everybody...

Merry Christmas to you. I hope it's a blessed one.

If you didn't know, I'm in TN for the next week+. My posting will be extremely light. No new houspics, cowboys reviews, or any of the like.

Feliz Navidad.

You've got to be kidding me...

"I want to state clearly and without qualification: I did not take steroids, human growth hormone or any other banned substances at any time in my baseball career or, in fact, my entire life," Clemens said in a statement released by his agent, Randy Hendricks. "Those substances represent a dangerous and destructive shortcut that no athlete should ever take."

"I am disappointed that my 25 years in public life have apparently not earned me the benefit of the doubt, but I understand that Senator Mitchell's report has raised many serious questions. I plan to publicly answer all of those questions at the appropriate time in the appropriate way. I only ask that in the meantime people not rush to judgment."

Those were statements by Roger Clemens released through his agent yesterday. What is my reaction? [Insert title of the post]. You deny using any PED but then delay addressing the evidence in the Mitchel Report (MR) that says otherwise? Then, you whine that your public life hasn't earned you the benefit of the doubt? C'mon.

Mark McGwire was a fan favorite in St. Louis...did he get the benefit of the doubt? Did Pete Rose get the benefit of the doubt when he was being questioned about betting on games?

Roger, you aren't going to get the benefit of the doubt. I'm sorry. You can continue to whine about it if you'd like, but that will only make you look more stupid. You especially aren't going to get it if you keep handling this in such moronic fashion. Do something for crying out loud. You are handling this either like a chicken or like a baby. Why don't we just compromise between the two and say you are handling this like a baby chicken, there, that's better. Roger, you are a baby chicken.


Question for Mr. Clemens, exactly when is the "appropriate time" and what is the "appropriate way"?

I have a few suggestions that might help Clemens figure out the appropriate time and way...

Appropriate time and way #1:
You could go the Pete Rose (notice I didn't say Jose Conseco) route, and write your own confession in an autobiography, which in turn forces people to pay $25 bucks to read your confession. That way you might gather up enough chump change to pay for your attorneys, because if you are paid something around $282,900 per inning in 2007 (or whatever it is), you'd better believe your attorneys aren't going to go easy on your murse.

Appropriate time and way #2:
Start you own blog and say whatever you want to. People may read it, they may not, but who cares, right? This will at least give you a chance to say what you really want to say, instead of hiding behind carefully thought out words from your agent.

Appropriate time and way #3:
OK, I'll have to admit, if you were to simultaneously testify against yourself AND Bonds, that might be pretty cool. I don't know if you the two of you had injecting parties during the All-Star break or what not, but if you have anything against Bonds and you squeeze in your own personal confession while squeeling on Bonds, that would be the talk of the town for quite awhile.

Appropriate time and way #4:
Whine about how George and Hank Steinbrenner were beating you into submission with whips made out of diamonds. You figured injecting yourself with something a bit more potent than orange juice might help them stop...or ease the pain.

Appropriate time and way #4:
Blame it on the Mets

Appropriate time and way #5:
Blame it on the Red Sox

Appropriate time and way #6:
Explain to everyone that Mitchell and McNamee just miscommunicated. Tell the media that Mitchell conducted his interview via cell phone and McNamee began the interview sarcastically. But then tell the media that a dropped call can ruin a conversation. Then show us the commercial starring yourself. That has potential.

Appropriate time and way #7:
Say that you were just a little confused at the time.

Appropriate time and way #8:
If you are allowed to make your appearance, why not just confess to those listening at HUMBLE high school (ironicly named).

Appropriate time and way #9:
Make a movie about yourself. I'm mentally debating who the best actor would be to play a Roger Clemens role, but it's kind of tough. There are so many different routes to take, we could have a Roger Clemens played by The Rock...or we could go a totally different route and get somebody like Zac Efron. For some reason Keanu Reeves keeps coming to mind but that could be unrelated.

Appropriate time and way #10:
I'm open to suggestions. Comment or Email me if you have one.

Tithing - Part 2

Sorry, I realize I'm a day or two late on presenting this. I don't really have a good excuse.

Tithing, comes from the Hebrew "ma'aser" which of course means "tenth". I often hear preachers say that you should give 10%. "If you don't give 10% you are a bad Christian." "Please give 10% so you can make God happy!"

However, since when is 10% the destination? This is the point when people point to tithing in the Old Testament, noting that the people gave 10%, thus, that is the Biblical amount we are to give. Well, let's look at Tithing in the OT to see what we find.

The Bible's first mention of tithing is in Genesis 14:20. This verse alone is kind of frustrating because of the use of the pronoun "him". Is it Abram giving a tenth to God or Abram giving a tenth to Melchizedek? I've heard this verse misinterpreted several times because of this confusion. Hebrews 7:2-4 interprets Gen 14:20 for you. Praise God for those times when the NT interprets the OT easing our confusion greatly. But back to tithing...

Abram gave 10% of his plunder to [look at Hebrews 7 for the answer :D). Thus, 10% is the biblical number, right? I feel like this is a misconception. In the Old Testament we read about multiple giving requirements which totaled well over 10%.

The Lord's Tithe - Numbers 18:21-29
The Lord's Tithe (often called the Levites Tithe) is kind of considered the base tithe. This tithe goes towards the Levite's priestly ministry. This tithe was required of everyone. It was not optional. A man who did not pay the Lord's Tithe was robbing God (Malachi 3:8). We see how how important the Lord's Tithe is in Leviticus 27:30-33, A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock - every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod - will be holy to the Lord. He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, bot the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.

The Lord's Tithe, 10% per year.

The Festival Tithe - Deuteronomy 12:10-11, 17-18, 14:23-27
This was a tithe of celebration. God delivered the Israelites to the promised land Levite's ministry, the purpose of the festival Tithe was to celebrate and bring community amongst the Lord's people. This tithe was brought to a place of the Lord's choosing. If that place was too far, then they were to exchange the tithe for silver, go to the place of the Lord's choosing, then buy the cattle, sheep, etc. and rejoice in the Lord.

I'll be honest with you, this tithe seems a little odd to me, particularly when I compare it to our current state. Look at how much they have to work to give this tithe. The festival tithe requires a lot of work and traveling. But they are glad to do it! I love how the Israelites rejoiced in this tithe. I think we learn a lot about the true spirit of giving. We should rejoice when we give to our churches, charities, each other, etc. God has blessed us immensely. We mustn't forget this.

The Lord's Tithe, 10% per year.
The Festival Tithe, 10% per year.

The Poor Tithe - Deuteronomy 14:28-29
Deut. 14:28 says, At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns. This tithe went towards those who "may come eat and be satisfied". The Levites, again, who have no inheritance, aliens, widows, fatherless, all came to enjoy this. We can see why it's called the poor tithe. This gives the chance for those to come and be provided for.

**Disclaimer**It's really tough to figure out (because we only have 2 verses of information) exactly how this tithe is broken down. It says at the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it n your towns. That could mean that it is a separate tithe, as I have listed, in addition to the other two tithes, or it could also mean every third year their tithe (The Festival Tithe) was to be used for the sole purpose of helping the poor. I've read it several times and it could go either way. Scholars seem to be as split as I am. If it is a separate tithe, then the breakdown would go as follows:

The Lord's Tithe, 10% per year.
The Festival Tithe, 10% per year.
The Poor Tithe, 10% every third year = 3% per year

10%+10%+3% = 23% per year.

As we can see, It is possible that in the Old Testament the total tithes required as much as 23%. That's almost a fourth of what they had!

I believe giving is a journey, not a destination. There is no set chasm to arrive in, where you are giving the proper amount. Instead bugging everyone to give 10%, here is what needs to happen.

We need to (in a loving way) encourage those giving 3% to give 5%.

We need to (in a loving way) encourage those giving 5% to give 7%.

We need to (in a loving way) encourage those giving 8% to give 10%.

But as I said, 10% is not a destination. 10% is just the beginning. This is, after all, a journey.

So let's (in a loving way) encourage those giving 10% to give 12%.

Let's also (in a loving way) encourage those giving 25% to give 30%.

You see what I mean? This is a journey that the Spirit takes us on. Giving is a spiritual discipline that draws us closer to our loving father. I don't think we should put a limit on something like that. We can't say, "I'm giving 10%, I'm good to go for life".

I want to ask that question again, that I asked in part 1. Using some of the info I have provided, continue to chew on this...

Why does God want us to give?

Think about it long and hard. It goes so much deeper than "because he said so" or "because it's his money in the first place".

Think about the tithes. Ask yourself why they were required. What was God trying to communicate by requiring a sacrifice of possibly up to 23% annually?

Wrestle with that, email me or comment me a question. Think about it for awhile, more to come later.

Week 15 Analysis: 14-2

Can't say I didn't see this coming. The Cowboy's have been slacking in their past few games and the Eagles have been getting better and better lately, evidenced by the fact that their are among the few that have almost beaten the Pats.

Offense:
Romo's girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, was in attendance. Once we saw that Jessica was there, we all knew where this was going.

It reminds me of that scene in Robert Redford's, The Natural, when Roy Hobbs starts dating Kim Basinger (sorry, can't think of her character name and I'm too lazy to look it up) who becomes a curse to his game. While Basinger shows up to all of his games, Redford plays the worst baseball he ever played. Redford's attachment with Basinger continues to grow stronger, while his baseball game grows weaker. Yes, there is a correlation there. Sure enough, when the chick is out of the picture, he returns to being the phenomenal player he "naturally" (sorry, I couldn't resist) is.

We see sports movies all the time (especially those coaching movies) where the coaches say something like "No girls, they are just a distraction" or "they will distort your thinking", blah blah. I've always kind of hated that about coaching movies because it doesnt seem realistic at all to me. However, after what Romo did yesterday, they have a good argument against my theory.

Romo had the worst game of his career. No TDs, 3 INTs, completed a little over a third of his passes, fumbled twice, and sprained his thumb. He completed just 13 passes (8 to Witten, who apparently was the only one on offense who realized there was a football game to be played). Witten had 8 catches for 113 yards. The player was virtually non existent, although he has no room to whine about this one. The player was the intended receiver on all 3 of the interceptions. Owens had 2 for 37, Crayton had 2 for 54.

Running the ball wasn't much better. MB3 led the team with a whopping 37 yards (7 attempts). JuJo had...6 yards....on 6 carries...making his average calculable for one of Jenny's Pre-K students.

Please, Romo, for the sake of America's team, ditch the girl and save the hanky panky for the offseason.

Defense
It's a crying shame the offense was so bad yesterday because the defense was arguably the best we've seen all season. McNabb completed a good percentage of his passes and threw a TD, but still didn't have as many yards as Romo did on his off day. Westbrook rushed for 81 yards, but the Eagles had trouble putting it all together. The Cowboys front 7 put up a strong showing sacking McNabb 3 times and making several key third down stops along the way. The coverage completely eliminated any deep threat the Eagles may have, which forced McNabb to rely on those tailback, banana routes.

I giggled in the 4th quarter when Westbrook broke free towards the endzone, but then dropped at the one yard line. IMO, it was a smart move because that really sealed the deal. But I wonder how many fantasy football players wanted Westbrook's head for forfeiting the touchdown.

Tip of my hat to the defense. Sorry the offense had you on the field so long. But it was a good showing that we can build upon into the playoffs.

Stat of the game:

Dallas 3rd down conversions: 1-13

Arizona

So...they acquired Dan Haren.

They're rotation now has Webb AND Haren!

That's scary.

Tithing - Part 1

I have a lot to say about the subject of tithing/giving. I've been studying it a lot in my personal study and have developed many conclusions I did not have before. In February, Brian will start a series of lessons on giving that he will preach Sunday morning, a series that will last about a month.

Instead of just posting my discoveries, I want to start with a question. Wrestle with this question for a day or so and I'll post part 2 (already written) later in the weekend (Sunday maybe?).

Take your Bibles, and wrestle with this question:

Exactly why does God want us to give to him? Is he selfish? Does he want our money just to torture us with making another sacrifice?

How does our giving display God's holiness?

OK, so perhaps that should read "wrestle with THESE questionS:" but you get the idea.

I've also got a lot more to say about the Mitchell report, but I'll do giving first, as it is more important.

Grace and Peace!

still not done with Mitchell

I know I said that the names aren't the most important part of the Mitchell report. I still stand by my thesis that the Mitchell Report shouldn't be for the purpose of pointing fingers at the names of those on the list.

But why not point fingers at Bud Selig. Isn't this just as much his fault than any of the players? He's known about steroids in baseball for over a decade, but we didn't see much of an attempt to stop this back then...when the problem wasn't quite what it is today.

If you want a good read, pick up a copy of Zimbalist's In the Best Interests of Baseball

It tells you a lot about the history of Selig's reign and the long term effects of Selig's short term fixes. Without getting too far off of the subject of steroids, I found this book interesting. It's funny how short term fixes aren't good for long term. For example, what may have seemed like a good move (say, avoiding a work stoppage by coming up with a labor plan) actually was a bad move because the particular labor plan that was developed allowed the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. Zimbalist explains this better than I did, so just read it for yourself.

Anyways, I'm pointing my finger at Selig before I'm pointing towards Bonds, Clemens, etc.

In selig's speech regarding the Mitchell report, he in no way hints towards the possibility that he made a mistake several years ago.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer (my apologies for getting biblical) that sin has consequences. The players sinned (cheated), not Selig. But Selig certainly could have done something to discipline/prevent the players at that particular time.

I see this in Youth Ministry all the time. It's like waiting for the child to become a teenager to punish him. Why wait till he is a teenager to punish him for cheating, when he has been cheating his whole life? The earlier you start, the better.

That's all for awhile, I have a christmas party to attend. So for the first time since 1:00 EST I will be away from the Mitchell report coverage on TV.

More Mitchell Report ramble...

Perhaps it's just me, but I'm bothered by two specific things about this whole thing.

First, Bud Selig has already made a change that was recommended by Mitchell. No longer will there be a 24 hour notice to the players that they will be tested. I'm not necessarily bothered by the fact that The commissioner is making the change, I'm more bothered by the fact that somebody had to suggest that for Selig to do it. It's almost as if Selig is saying, "yes, mr. mitchell. That's a good idea. Let's do that".

So...why isn't Senator Mitchell the commissioner, since he has all the good solutions?

The other thing that bothers me slightly is the obsession with the names in the report. From the reaction that I'm getting from Sportscenter, etc, is that "wow, look at all these cheaters!" But...is it that much of a surprise? Personally, I didn't need anybody to spend several million dollars to tell me that Bonds and Canseco cheated.

Its almost as if the purpose of this Report is to point fingers. Woopty doo! We don't need to point fingers, we need to fix this. To me, the names are almost irrelevant (excluding a few cases). People are cheating. Some who are cheating are setting records, others are having career years and then dwindling back into nothingness.

Let's not focus so much on the names but instead on what the report tells us.

If you ask me, the only reason dozens of names were included in this report was to please the fans...and I'm still glued to my TV screen on this stuff.

Mitchell Report *UPDATE*

Every team has a representative! I've browsed through this thing several times already and Mr. Mitchell seems to have come up with this conclusion. The Yankees especially, as it is possible they could field an entire 25 man roster with the names listed in this report.

Some Atl Braves in this report include:

David Justice
Kent Mercker
Darren Holmes
Gary Sheffield
Todd Pratt
John Rocker
Paul Byrd
Matt Franco
Denny Neagle
Mike Stanton

Among others!

These players played for the Braves at one time or another and are listed in this report, however, in many cases the evidence of their steroid use was recorded either before or after their Braves tenure. Of course, that doesn't mean that they DIDN'T use PED's while wearing the tomahawk.

this thing is far from over

Mitchell Report

I'm listening to George Mitchell's press conference as I type this. Interestingly enough, I'm pretty much following along with him word for word in the report that has been published online.

If you have the time, browse through it. It contains checks written to purchase steroids, money orders, interviews, several players are named, some active, some retired.

How do we respond to this? What does this mean to baseball? It's tough to say where we go from here. This is one of my favorite answers.

5758 Shasta Pines Way: Week 4

They are starting (and finishing) with the electrical work. The showers are in the installation process.








If you are interested in the subject of Tithing, check back in a couple of days. I've been studying this awhile and have some stuff I'm itching to type about. You'll grow from it, I know I did.

Grace and Peace!

Week 14 Analysis: 12-1

My best guess is that Mike Martz is a Cowboys fan. If anybody else in the NFL was calling plays for the Lions, we would have been toast for sure.

Offense:
The player was triple covered the entire day limiting him to 3 catches for 21 yards. Jason Witten picked up the slack and was the primary target of the day. He caught 15 passes for 138 yards. Barber also displayed his skills catching the ball by catching 10 passes for 61 yards. Hurd and Crayton combined for 69 yards as well.

So pretty much, we just went with the "mosquito bite attack". We were consistently popping passes for 5 to 8 yard gains instead of going for the big bomb. I guess you could say we were using the passing game for our running game. This doesn't show as Romo's total yardage (308) is still up, but his average was down a bit. Romo had 2 TDs (Witten and Barber) and no INTs

So what of the run game? Obviously it took a step backwards. MB3 led the team with 43 yards on 7 attempts. JuJo has a frustrating 29 yards on 8 attempts. But as I said...we pretty much used the passing game for our run game and also used the passing game for our pass game. Weird.

Oh, and as I've already mentioned, a special thanks goes out to Martz for using the pass attack late in the 4th with the lead. Had they have gone with the run, and eaten more clock, it would have been a Dallas lost for sure.

He gave Romo and Co. and extra chance to go for the go ahead score. Witten redeemed himself from his costly fumble to score the late TD! Thanks Martz, I didn't know you were a Dallas fan. Although you're a Dallas fan, I don't think we'll employ you any time soon.

Defense.
Embarassing. Pretty much, the leagues worst running attack ran straight through the gut of (arguably) the leagues best run defense. Not to mention, they were highly successful at it. Kevin Jones ran for 92 yards on 23 attempts. T.J. Duckett ran for 60 yards on 9 attempts. It was nothing fancy. They just pounded it straight through our defensive line. Not much to the left or right, just straight down the pipe. At times I wondered if this was truly a Martz offense, but then that thing happened in the 4th. Jones had 2 TDs and Duckett had 1. The Cowboys run defense has been among the elite all year, but after their showing yesterday, I beg to differ.

Our pass defense was about the same as it has been all year. Kitna passed for 248. 8 went to McDonald for 96 yards, 5 went to Calvin Johnson for 51. The rest were spread pretty evenly amongst Furrey, Cason, Jones, and McHugh. Interesting how the Detroit passing game is a bit better without Roy Williams.

I'm disappointed in our run defense. I've said this last week, but if we play like we've played the past couple weeks in the playoffs, we will be facing a crushing, early departure. We've got to step up and play better. We don't deserve this victory. We only got it because Mike Martz was being himself. We got Philly next week. If we don't step it up on defense then this might be a disappointing game.

Shasta Pines Way: Week 3

Man...they're flying. "The guts" will slow the house down considerably though.

Week 13 Analysis: 11-1

Yeah, we beat the toughest competition in the NFC. Now there is no doubt we are the team to beat in the NFC. So why am I not that happy about it?

Because that was some of the sloppiest football we've played in awhile, possibly all season!

Unfortunately I couldn't watch it on TV (along with most of the nation) but I listened to it on the radio via internet. I did not like what I heard.

I know, a win is a win. I'm glad we got the win. But if we play like this in the playoffs, it won't be pretty.

Offense:
Romo went 19/30 with 309 yards, 4 TDs and an INT that was not in any way his fault (more on that later). The leading receiver was *surprise* the player. He caught 7 passes for 156 yards and 1 TD. Unfortunately, he did not have 2 TDs. But you see, Romo hit him right in the middle of his jersey in the corner of the end zone, but it rattled off of his hands/chest and into the hands of Al Harris. Romo did nothing wrong, practically bullseyed his number 81. That was a catchable ball but unfortunately the player couldn't pull it in.

If I had my way, I would change around the INT stat. I think there should be an INT to give to the QB when it is his fault. But I think they also need to create an INT stat category for receivers, when it is the receivers fault. Romo doesn't deserve that INT on his stat line. He should have had 5 TDs, not 4 TDs and 1 INT. Stupid the player.

Jason Witten had 6 for 67 yards, Crayton had 2 TDs on 3 catches, 42 yards. The other TD went to the other tight end, Anthony Fasono.

The rushing attack wasn't quite as balanced as we normally see. MB3 got significantly more carries than JuJo. MB3 had 81 yds on 17 attempts. Ju Jo only had 9 attempts and a measly 26 yards.

So, besides the player's dropped pass, what made this so sloppy? PENALTIES! During the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd, there was a point where we weren't moving the ball at all. It's not that we weren't executing our plays, but that everything was being called back. Flozell Adams was a huge burden with all of his holding/false start performances. We even had a few penalties that were Romo's fault, as TWICE he took too long to snap the ball. IMO the delay of game penalty is among the most inexcusable penalties ever. Pathetic. I know I've said this before, penalties have been our kryptonite all season. We won't get to the super bowl playing sloppy football like we played last night. Dropped passes, stupid penalties, and a host number of other things we did that I don't have time to mention.

Defense:

Something wasn't right about us on the defensive side. There was kind of a "reversal of expectations". Favre (before he was hurt) played like I expect Rogers to play, Rogers played like I expect Favre to play. Seriously, what was wrong? Favre was horrible. He looked confused, made some very novice mistakes. Although these kind of games are more fun when both teams are full strength, it was probably a better game with Rogers playing.

Rogers had a strong game. He, along with all of the other teams that know how to score against Dallas, often threw it towards who ever Roy Williams is covering. How hard is it for Roy Williams to stick his hand in the air? It's always nice to have someone on your defense that lusts after contact, wanting to tackle somebody, but I wonder if someone has told Roy W. that it is better to not have to tackle the receiver? Good grief. Why don't we just put the player in at safety, since passes often bounce off of his hands.

Newman and Hamlin had an INT each. Demarcus ware had a sack. IMO, the Gameball goes to Greg Ellis, who had 2 sacks and penetrated his side of the line all night long.

Good win, but not great. We deserved to lose after that sloppy performance. We played better than this in our only loss of the season vs. the Pats. We'll need to correct a few things before January.

Detroit Lions next week...

This makes me giggle...

OK, so as you all know by now, I'm an extremely sarcastic individual, sometimes to a fault.

So when I heard about churchofchristsingles.com, an online dating website for members of the Church of Christ, I laughed. Little ole sarcastic me thought of several things to say about the thought of such a website.

Really, I just read about this in the Christian Chronicle. It made me laugh, so I thought I'd share it with you. The website even provides Christian pickup lines! Anyways, if anybody like me has some sarcastic things to say about this website, I'd love to hear!

Here's mine:

I'd be curious to know if churchofchristsingles.com is blocked at Harding University...

OK, so that's not really sarcastic. But still a good question, IMO

Shasta Pines Way: Week 2

I have even more of these on my facebook page.

Since I have last posted house pics, they have cemented the foundation and have begun constructing the "skeleton" (most commonly termed "framing") of the house.

Week 12 Analysis: 10-1

Confession: I actually didn't watch a single snap of last Thursday's game. I know, bad me. What better way to spend Thanksgiving than stuffing yourself full of Turkey and watching the Cowboys? I didn't watch the game because my family was taking me around place to place, seeing some interesting sights of the Gulfport/Ocean Springs area. Even though I was out, I still managed to keep up with what was going on. Here's what I could tell:

Offense:
We got it done. However we got it done in a much different way than Cowboy watchers are used to. There was a lot less passing and a lot more running. MB3 ran for over 100 yards (103 on 18 attempts) and a TD. JuJo was behind him with 64 yards on 18 attempts.

Passing was still effective, but we just didn't do quite as much of it. Romo aired it out for 195 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. The passing attack was a bit more balanced than we've seen in the pass few games. By that, I mean, we used some receivers besides the player. The player still led the team with 6 catches for 65 yards and a TD. Jason Witten was next with 4 for 54. But we also saw catches from Austin, Hurd, and our RB duo of MB3 and JuJo also were used in the passing attack effectively.

We got the job done, but we did it differently than we normally do.

Defense:
When the opposing team only scores 3 points...is there really a lot to say about the defense?

Instead of seeing Roy Williams lead the team in tackles, what we see is a core group of other players step up. Ellis, Hamlin, and Watkins each had 4. Then there is a forever long list of 3s, 2s, and 1s that I won't list. It's nice seeing other players get to the ball besides Williams.

I was nervous after Clemens completed his long, 4th quarter pass and Jones rushed it for another first down. But the Cowboys did a good job of not letting them in the end zone after that and the Cowboys streak is still alive. The Cowboys (still) have never allowed a 4th quarter touchdown on Thanksgiving day. Close call, but good job stopping them on 4th and goal!

Coming up:
Two key games coming up. Next week is the Packers. The week after that is the Lions.

Next week should be fun. The Packers are having a great season. I'm not a Green Bay fan but it has been kind of fun to watch Favre this year as he may have found the fountain of youth.

As fun as it has been, I won't be rooting for him next week. It should be a great game to watch. I'm predicting one of those offensive scoring fests. I think the Cowboys team is a wii bit better. They appear to have more weapons on offense. Plus, I feel like at times the Packers have had a few more close calls slip by while the Cowboys have been dominating.

Not to make light of the situation though. Green Bay has an awesome team this year and our defense will need to be on its toes if they want to put pressure on Grandpa Favre. It should be a fun game, hope you'll tune in!

Gulfport still suffering

Today was my first full day back from vacation. Gulfport, Mississippi is a very unique place. It was my first time there so I am not sure what it was like during its pre-Katrina existence. The beach isn't the most luxurious one you'll ever see for that reason (and for a few other reasons). I literally saw house siding in the water. Every now and then you'll still see a roof shingle approach shore. In the picture below I'm holding a random bottle of mayo that was on the beach.





Besides the beach being the dirties beach I've ever been on, the stay was quite nice. The condo was wonderful! It was pretty much a 3 bed/2 bath apartment that you can rent per night and downstairs was an indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room, workout room, and a movie rental "thingy" that lets you rent movies for free. Not bad for a price that is only a hair more than a hotel suite.

My thanksgiving meal was also unique to me. Instead of the traditional turkey, ham, and etc. I had a seafood buffet. However, the buffet also included some turkey, ham, and veggies for the traditionalists. It was some incredible shrimp, I completely made a pig of myself and don't have any regrets for doing so.

Gulfport, MS is kind of depressing. I have always seen on tv/internet the damage done by Katrina, but this is the first time I'd actually experienced it. I promise, you will never be the same once you visit an area on the coast that was hit. I'm convinced that Gulfport, MS will never be the same. There used to be beach houses, casinos, hotels, shops, and resorts along the coast. Now you have to go several blocks inland before you see life. Although, the casinos have been rebuilt (talk about priorities?) much still needs to be done.

It was a great break for me. I thank all of those who made it possible for me. You, among many others, were on my "thanksgiving" list.



I'll (most likely) review the Turkey day Cowboys game tomorrow, and later in the week I'll post more pictures of the house construction.

Grace and Peace!

Shasta Pines Way: Week 1

Our house is moving right along. OK, so the house itself isn't moving...but here is what it looks like so far.





Heading out of town tomorrow. See you next week!

Week 11 Analysis: 9-1

Well, a win is a win...right? uh...Right?

Offense:
Romo and the player must be telecommunicating. That's the only way to explain it. They think the same thing at the same time.

As you can tell from my opening sentences, this was a frustrating game to watch. Even though the offense dominated most of the game, a few of the mistakes were too much for me to take. We had a snap sail over Romo's head, another snap bounced off of his head (but conveniently into the hands of JuJo).

It was sloppy, but the offense still managed to put up some amazing numbers. Romo threw for 293 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT. All four of the TDs belonged to the player, who was by far the leading receiver of the game, piling up 173 yards. Witten was a distant second with 8 catches for 67 yards, but for the past few games has been pulled back to block much more than the first half of the season.

Running the ball was a struggle. MB3 was the lead rusher with 43 yards on 15 attempts. JuJo had 27 on 9. Eh...let's hope for a better turkey day.

Defense:
Ouch! There's not really much I can say. The defense continues to be incredibly inconsistent.

This game should not have gone down to the last play as it did. We were excellent at stopping the run...but we have a few kinks to work out when defending the air attack. Everything just shut down in the fourth quarter, giving the skins a chance to comeback.

Roy Williams led the team with 8 tackles. T. Newman had an INT. Oh, and Anthony Henry saw some action...good to see that his recovery is going well. Hopefully he'll be back to 100% in no time so that we can get both of our top corners in the game at the same time (for pretty much the first time all season, knock on wood).

Other than that, i really don't have a lot to say about the defensive performance. First - Third quarter we were great. Fourth quarter we were non existent. It really looked like the skins were just running some plays as if it was a practice. I guess some credit goes to the Skins offense. So kudos to the skins, but I can think of several times when the closest defender was in a different zip code from the ball. I saw a lack of effort from many of the DBs, hardly jumping for a ball that looked like it could have been batted down, at the minimum. Ugh.

We need to work on some stuff before the Packers game in two weeks. But before that game, we got the Jets on turkey day. Perhaps we'll get it straightened out then?

I'll have another post tomorrow, but that will probably be it for the week. I'll be out o town Wed. - Sat.

What's wrong with Skip Bayless?

It's no secret that I'm not a Bayless fan. For starters, he has written 3 books (his most famous one here) that trash the Cowboys. It's not that I have a problem with him not liking the Cowboys, it's just that he his completely illogical with his approach, not to mention the fact that many of his "facts" aren't even valid. Throw in the fact that he has no idea what he is talking about to begin with and it becomes quite obnoxious to even hear him state his opinion on ESPN.

Enough of that. I think I may have discovered what his problem is. The following video my haunt your dreams. It's pretty scary, but I think it says a lot...

High School reading level

I was introduced to a site that checks the reading level of your blog. It turns out my blog has a High School reading level. I guess that is appropriate, being a Youth Minister.

Click here to see what your blog's reading level is. It also works for facebook, myspace, and numerous other websites.

h/t: ysmarko

Week 10 Analysis: 8-1

By my count, Dallas just moved ahead of Indy in the power rankings. If you disagree, I don't really care.


Offense:
I could give you a bunch of stats from the receivers and from Romo, but the truth is the offensive stat of the game belongs to the O-Line. All night long they were blocking and blocking well. NY displayed a variety of unique blitz formations, but the O-Line did what O linemen do best. Flozell Adams has had two solid games in a row by neutralizing T. Cole and O. Umenyiora. I still stick to my previous comments on Mr. Adams, calling him the "False start champion", but I just felt the need to acknowledge the good job he has been doing lately. And yes, perhaps he's a bit better and waiting for the snap before he pushes fatties around. It's a contract year for Flozell. I'm not sure if the it'll be the Cowboys but someone will give him decent money. Anyways, onto the juicy stuff.

T. Romo went 20 for 28 with 247 yards, 4 TDs and a pick. The player (who is tempting me to start calling him by his name after his very humbling interview) hooked up for 6 catches, 125 yards and a coupla TDs. Jason Witten was almost non existent, being doubled nearly every play (which I guess is why the player was in single coverage nearly every play). Witten just had 2 catches for 12 yards. Romo's other two TD passes went to P. Crayton and T. Curtis. It was Curtis's third reception of the season. It was also Curtis's third TD catch of the season. He doesn't catch that many but we he does, he's making them count apparently.

Running the ball was a struggle. JuJo led the team with 48 yards on 11 carries. MB3 was right behind with 34 yds on 12 caries. The Giants stopped the run very well. Late in the game, it seems as if we did our clock management using 3-4 yard passes, instead of runs. After JuJo broke his 20 yard run in the first quarter, that pretty much did it for the run. It doesn't really worry me at this point at least. The Giants were blitzing quite a bit, which contributed to stopping the run. Since they were blitzing so much, they didn't really get very many attempts. Besides, why would you run the ball if the player is consistently being left in single coverage?

Defense:
K. Burnett, although he led the team with 10 tackles, had a very stupid taunting penalty which practically gave the Giants an extra field goal before halftime. Boo Burnett!

Even though we won, I have acquired a new worry about our defense. The worry is this: covering Tight Ends. I know it's Jeremy Shockey, and so standards should be lowered when covering a Tight End like that. But what worries me is that Roy Williams is who Jeremy Shockey was matched up with. No wonder Shockey had 12 catches for 129 yards! We need to find a new way to cover TEs than simply sticking Williams on them. Williams is an incredible safety, but he's more like a contact lusting linebacker who just plays at the Safety spot. He is horrible when it comes to coverage. If I was an Offensive Coordinator playing against the Dallas D, I would take a page out of what the Giants did yesterday, and I would quite frequently set up a Tight End and have him run Roy Williams direction.

We need to find a better way to cover TEs. I don't think there is a team that can beat the Cowboys in a defensive brawl, type game. If the Cowboys are going to be beat, it will be by out lasting them in an offensive marathon (as the Pats did). One way to do that is by taking advantage of the R. Williams, TE matchup. Hopefully Wade and Co. can think of something else to do there.

Enough on that rant. In other defensive news, T. Johnson made his Cowboy/Season debut yesterday. He also sacked E. Manning in the 4th. K. Hamlin and P. Watkins had INTs each.

Good win yesterday. I know it's only mid November, but we are at a good place having swept the 2nd place team in the division. This was a big "statement win" for the Cowboys. No longer should I hear this "the cowboys haven't beaten anybody good" garbage. They are in the NFC east for crying out loud...and that was the SECOND time they beat the Giants, no the first. I understand the Giants started slow, but why does the first matchup not seem to count? It's especially satisfying after Skip Bayless predicted the Giants to win this game, even though his reason for that prediction made absolutely no sense.

As I said, good statement win. The power rankings will probably show Dallas move ahead of Indy to the #2 spot, since the Colts lost. I'm not sure how long we can stay at the #2 spot though. Truthfully, Indy probably is the better team (although I'd take the Dallas defense over Indy's). But it'll be nice to be up there for however long it is. Who knows, I could be flat wrong and not know the power ranking system as good as I think I do. We'll see. If I'm wrong, it's still a good statement win.

Next week we have the Skins at Home.

Incredible....

Warning: do not watch this while drinking milk....

The announcement...

As promised, I bring good news to share to all:

Jenny and I are gonna get a house! We signed the documents Sunday night, the land will start to be leveled next week (most likely). We are excited about this opportunity.

The pictures below are us putting the earnest $ down on the land (paid to the builder) and us standing in front of where our house will eventually be.




What I'd like to do is post a picture of the construction site about once a week, to share with you all what is going on/what it looks like. That will start in a few weeks probably.

Special thanks to those who played a big role in helping Jenny and I get into a nice house at a reasonable price. Particularly JC McMullen, Jake Dasher (pictured above), and Glenn Copeland.

Week 9 Analysis: 7-1

Wow, it's hard to want to recap this game after the incredible Colts/Pats game last night. That was an amazing game. If you want to know my thoughts about it, just ask. Otherwise, here's the recap of the game played by America's Team:

Domination.

Our offense couldn't be stopped, our defense did exactly the opposite.

Offense:
Romo launched 324 yds with 3 TDs (and probably the stupidest INT anyone will ever see). Only one wide receiver caught a pass for the Cowboys. But it more than made up for our lack of spreading it around. The player caught 10 passes for 174 yds. Jason Witten caught 3 passes for 77 yds! I couldn't imagine the difficult decisions facing defensive coordinators that play against the Cowboys. Do you blitz your linebackers towards Romo or do pull back on the blitz and double Jason Witten? It seems like everytime they blitz Romo, he would pop it out to Witten, but everytime they tightened up on Witten Romo would have plenty of time to set up something long downfield with the player.

I'm very proud of our rushing game. Jones and Barber complimented each other well. Jones had 13 attempts for 57 yards, Barber had 16 for 56 yds. It's nice having two guys that share duties yet still both average about 45-60 yds per game each. It's tough for teams to come back against us when we are eating clock and moving chains in the fourth quarter. As long as we go into the 4th quarter up, things will most likely go pretty well. These guys hardly fumble, too!

Defense:
D. Ware is a beast! That's about it. Oh...and Hamlin caught an INT, but mostly D. Ware is a beast!

That special announcement I promised will come tomorrow! All I lack is a picture, which I will get today. C ya then!

Interesting...

Those of you that Watch Family Guy may be interested in this...

The guys over at FamilyGuynow, a fantastic site where you can watch Family guy episodes for free, have put this Sunday's episode (Stewie Kills Louis Pt. 1) up in advance. Congrats...now you can watch it before the TV shows it.

I wonder if this will be a first time thing or if this will become routine. Should be fun to watch (pun intended)

more bye week analysis

OK, so almost immediately after posting my thoughts on the sports world...several things happened that I had to express my feelings on.

Edgar Renteria traded for Jair Jurjjens and Gorkys Hernandez.

This is one of those few trades where I really don't see a winning side...at least not immediately. Renty played a bit above his head in 2007, but is still quite a bargain for his price. But it's pretty clear he was the one to go amongst the extremely crowded middle infield in the Braves System.

The tigers got exactly what they needed...a shortstop that can play defense (wait...are we still talking about Renteria?) allowing Guillen to move to first.

The Braves also got exactly what they needed (besides restocking on minor leaguers with ridiculous names). We got pitcher who can immediately jump into the rotation and pitch (average?) innings. He is a youngster with middle of the rotation potential.

The part of the trade I do not understand is Hernandez. Don't get me wrong, it's great to have a great young CF prospect in our organization (drawing Elvis Andrus comparisons in age and ability) but the problem is our outfield is too crowded. We are developing the same problem in the outfield that we had recently at shortstop. Jordan Schafer looks to be the best we have among OF prospects but we also have Gregor Blanco who is as major league ready as he'll probably ever be, Brandon Jones saw time with the Big club at the end of 2007, Cody Johnson, newly acquired Heyward, possibly even Lillibrige getting time in CF. It's getting kind crowded!

Although new GM Frank Wren denies it...I don't see how Gorkys is anything but trade bait.

Dallas cowboys resigned Tony Romo to a 6 year/67.5 million contract
I knew he was auditioning for the part of "franchise quarterback" played most recently by Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach and has also had other familiar names. What I didn't expect was that the audition would be so short. Makes me nervous that they signed him after seeing him play half a season against below average defenses (two teams excluded) expecially after his late season decline last year.

The good news is that half of that contract is based on performance...only guaranteeing him 30 million. I like the idea of paying players based on performance...something I wish I'd see more of. But the idea that he is still guaranteed 30 million still makes it interesting.

By comparing this 30 mill with other QBs, I notice two things. One makes me smile...the other frown.

Comparison #1...his contract guarantees him a just a little more than Jamarcus Russell will receive.

That makes me smile, although it's pretty clear JayRuss is overpaid. Knowing that Romo will got just a hair more than Russell, even though russell has hardly proven himself, seems to me like the Cowboys did they're HW.

Comparison #2...his contract guarantees him just a little LESS than Peyton Manning.

OK, this one makes me frown. Romo is good, but he's no Manning. Looking at it this way makes it seem like way, way overpayment.


So, is this a good deal or not? My answer -- depends on how many rings he can bring to Big D.

It was a bye week so i might as well talk about other stuff

As the subject says, The Cowboys didn't play this weekend so instead of my analysis of the Cowboys game, I will post about my feelings towards other happenings in sports...

MLB:
Red Sox swept the NL for the world series crown. But I could name about 5 other AL teams that could have done the same thing. Everyone saw this coming and to my knowledge most people predicted the Red Sox dominating from the get-go. My prediction was Sox in 5, I gave the Rox too much credit. Even though the Rockies were riding a hot streak into the World Series, everyone knows that Talent will eventually trump luck/hot streak/desire, whatever you want to call it.

This week will not be fun because Red Sox nation will be going crazy.

College Football:
For years and year now, we've been laughing at how ridiculous the BCS system is. This year will be no different from a BCS standpoint, but what is becoming even more interesting is the conference standings. As a Volunteer Fan, it's tough for me to tell you how this season is going. From one point, I can see that it has been a pretty good year, from another, it also appears to be a pretty disappointing year. I honestly struggle with my answer when asked about Tennessee's season.

It got so bad...that I actually had to look at the standings. Normally I'm able to keep track of the standings without having to look at them. I'm able to do the counting in my head and acknowledge the chances that so and so team has. But there have been so many crazy upsets, and not soo many undefeated/one loss teams in the SEC that I actually had to look at the standings. Wow it's going to be a crazy finish in the SEC.

The GA/FL game was great, really exciting, what I had hoped for. The TN game this past Sat. however was embarassing. We won, but i don't think a win has ever felt more like a loss than this past Sat. I rolled my eyes when Fulmer was interviewed at halftime saying, 'They won't come back'...sure enough...well...just look at the game summary.

Nonetheless, a win is a win and I'll take it.

That special announcement that I was talking about is coming next week, I promise. I haven't forgetten...don't think it is possible for me to forget this. Stay tuned. I'll most likely post again between now and the special announcement.

A new world series motivation...

I wasn't planning on watching that much of the fall classic this year...mostly because I find Red Sox fans obnoxious. I mean, c'mon, they've done everything they possibly could to make sure America doesn't forget what happened in 2004. I'm not looking forward to going through that again.

anyways, I have a new motivation to watch the world series. I'll be rooting for someone to swipe a base so I can get me a free taco.

1 Thess 5:22

One of the simplest verses in the Bible, in my opinion, happens to be one of extreme power and helpfulness. If you are a highlighter/underliner/circler or any other form of marking verses, I highly recommend you mark this one. It is found in 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 22 and it simply says, Avoid every kind of evil. I’m not sure that it can be said any simpler than that.
We are to avoid every kind of evil. Imagine how much greater our lives would be we practiced this very simple command. But note however that it doesn’t say “avoid evil”. Paul needed to add “every kind” of evil. It is everywhere and has many different varieties. It is at our jobs, at our schools, at the mall, Paul tells us to avoid it all, not just some or most of it.
As we live our lives, may we practice avoiding every kind of evil. It will be tough, but with God on our side great things can happen. Once we do that, we will see great things happen in our lives.

Week 7 Analysis: 6-1

Well, that was odd.


Quite an unusual game was played by both teams. Dallas did some things that they normally don't do, and Minnesota didn't do some things they normally do. I guess it all works out. Here's how they did:

Offense:
For the first time this year, MB3 got considerably more carries than JJ. MB3 had 19 rushes for 96 yds and Double J only carried it 9 times for 28 dinky yards. It'll be interesting to see if that is a permanent change or only a trial. Hopefully we'll start seeing more yards produced on the ground, nonetheless. Our run game has complimented Romo very well this season, but now it seems like Wade wants more than just a compliment. It's fun, so let's see where it goes.


Romo had a good day with 277 yards and 1 TD (no picks). The player led the team in yards (7 for 103) but Jason Witten led the team in receptions (10 for 86). Romo really spread the ball very well, used a lot of different weapons, and would have scored a ton more points had it not been for all of those stupid fumbles. In the second half, it really seemed like this team couldn't be stopped on offense. Again, it's just the Vikes D though, so who knows what it really looks like.

Defense:
When you look at the Viking's plan of attack yesterday, it kind of makes you laugh. Adrian Peterson had a good game in the first half, but then game back out in the second half and was hardly used. He's the best offensive weapon on that team, he did good in the first half, why not use him? Odd, but oh well.

We held the Vikes to 196 total yards, Tarvaris Jackson was awful for the Vikings but I don't think you need the Dallas D to tell you that. They really need a QB.

No INTs but we did force a fumble. Overall, strong performance by the D.

Bye Week next week, so there will be no weekly report on the Cowboys. Hopefully by then, I'll have some exciting personal news to report on that only my close family (and a few others) know about. Until then, Peace!

Week 6 Analysis: 5-1

First, my apologies for not posting on last weeks game. I'll just sum up last week's game by saying this, Romo threw 5 picks, is defense bailed him out consistently, we just barely squeeked by with a win.

Now on to the Duel in Dallas that happened yesterday...

I knew the Patriots were the better team. Their 5-0 was more impressive than our 5-0. There were so many different duels going on that it often got hard to keep up with. Romo vs. Brady (Brady won), The player vs. R. Moss (pretty much a tie), Cowboys D vs. Patriots D. (Patriots won). Let's break it down...

Offense:
Once again, Dallas waited until the 2nd quarter to show up offensively. I kind of want to send Wade Phillips a letter requesting for his team to play a quarter of football before the game technically starts. That might solve a lot of problems.

Romo passed for just under 200 yards (as in, 199 yards). He had 2 TDs and 1 INT, which is quite an improvement from last week and against an even tougher defense. The biggest difference I saw is that Jason Witten was actually covered. Most teams playing defense against Dallas try to focus on taming the player, but New England focused more on Jason Witten than they did the player, and it was quite effective. Witten was constantly doubled and the New England coverage got tighter and tighter as Witten fought for space. They did a great job covering Witten. The receiving leader was The Player with 6 catches for 66 yards and a TD.

Julius Jones was the rushing leader for Dallas, carrying the rock for 51 yards in 6 attempts. MB3 was just behind him with 48 yards in 8 carries. I love that duo. They are 2 very different backs (one power, one speed) that the defense has to concentrate on. I could care less which one is #1 and which is #2.

Penalties killed us during this game, especially on the offensive game. This marks the 3rd game where Dallas had almost 100 yards of penalties. This is something Wade Phillips must address, we will not be a Super Bowl team if we continue giving away yardage like that. It eventually will catch up with us. We had illegal motions, illegal formations, not to mention the typical holdings and false starts. If I'm Wade Phillips, I'd give special attention to Flozell Adams. Mr. Adams is a penalty machine. He is the false start champion of the NFL and as far as I'm concerned he is more of a liability than an asset, I don't care how good of a blocker he is. He either needs to harness his penalties or someone else needs to see some of his snaps. Flozell's play has been extremely sloppy.

Defense:
Analyzing our defense yesterday is tough. It's tough because we didn't really play bad...but at the same time we couldn't stop them either. I can only think of 1-2 times where we had blown coverage or a big missed tackle. It's just that Brady is that good. He was placing the ball exactly where it needed to be. He squeezed it between two defenders and into the hands of a receiver flawlessly. I'm not exactly sure if Tom Brady cares if his receivers are double teamed. He can still place it where the two defenders can't get it but the receiver can. It's simultaneously amazing and confusing.

I hate blaming stuff on injuries, but this defense really misses A. Glenn. I wonder how different this season would be if we had our 1-2 cornerbacks on the field at the same time for more than 5 quarters this season. Yet that is exactly what it has been. Glenn and Newman have played together for a total of 5 quarters this season. Any other quarter it's been one without the other.

Besides coverage, the Cowboys were good at their run defense. Nobody had bigger than a 9 yard gain on the ground for the patriots. The Patriots averaged 2.5 yards/carry in their rushing attack, which was held to 75 yard total. It was a very solid rush defense but it didn't really matter because by the time they were consistently running the ball the game was already decided.

Closing comments:
Was this a Superbowl preview? I don't think I could give you two better candidates as of right now. This was a closer game than the score indicated. Several times it was a one possesion game and Dallas was winning at one point in the 3rd quarter. As a person who grew up playing organized sports, I know that good things happen when your team is humbled.

Other than horrible penalties and taking awhile for the offense to get going, Dallas didn't really play that bad. But New England is just that good. I take pride in the fact that Big D can play a good, close game with New England. Not many teams can.

Overall, I don't think this loss will hurt the Cowboys that much. They won't drop too much in the power rankings (at least, they shouldn't). The standings will have evened out in two weeks anyways, because big D has a bye week 8, during which the Redskins will have their crack at New England.

Next Week the Cowboys have the Vikings, who aren't the best at pass defense. We'll see if Big D. can rebound from a hard fought battle to pull out a win against the Vikes.

Bye, bye, Andruw

So we have now had multiple confirmations that Andruw Jones has played his last game as a Brave. I hate that his last season in ATL was so bad. He had an excellent career in ATL but unfortunately, to a lot of people at least, his horrendous 2007 leaves such a sour note that they forget how valuable he was to the Braves the previous 10 years.

I'll miss Andruw. I know he was terrible this year, but it won't be the same seeing someone else in CF next year. All you can say is, "it's just business". If I was JS, I would have done the same thing. Andruw's price tag is too high (or, the Braves payroll is too low) for us to even consider spending what he will require.

I don't think Andruw will get what Boras is asking, but I feel pretty confident saying that whoever gets Andruw will pay more than he is worth. One of the reasons why Baseball is "suffering" is because there are more bad contracts out there than there are good contracts. Do people really not learn from their mistakes? Apparently not. Most big money free agent contracts aren't worth it (especially pitchers). Zito or Hampton anyone?

Anyways, enough with that rant. I could spend several posts on that topic. But back to Andruw. So where will he end up? I've seen a lot of people predict he'll be an Anaheim/Los Angeles/wherever they play Angel. That's not a bad prediction, but I'm going to go a different route. I predict Andruw will be a.....

San Francisco Giant!!!!!!

Here's why. Barry Bonds (most likely) is cutting ties with San Francisco (or should I say...San Francisco is cutting ties with him). So they'll have the money from not paying Bonds and they have a vacant spot in the outfield. Andruw Jones would begin a youth movement in San Francisco (said semi-sarcastically). He'd bring the average age down and would at least give Giants fans something to get excited about.

You heard it first here. Andruw Jones, San Francisco Giants, 2008.

As far as who'll be roaming around centerfield for the Braves? Who knows. We'll most likely sign a not too expensive FA that lives as close to ATL as possible. Mike Cameron seems to be the most logical choice, but that's not very exciting. The sad thing is Mike Cameron might raise production a little bit from CF a little bit after the year Andruw just had. Whatever.

I personally won't really care that much. Who we get to play CF in 2008 won't have near as much of an impact on our 08 season as who we get to be a 3rd starter (or 4th). Anybody need a 5th starter? We have about 7 to chose from! Seriously, count them yourself.

How'd I do?

Here is a look at my preseason MLB predictions vs. what actually happened:

AL East

My Predicted Order: Actual Order:

1. Yankees 1. Red Sox

2. RedSox 2. Yankees (WC)

3. Blue Jays 3. Blue Jays

4. Orioles 4. Orioles

5. Devil Rays 5. Devil Rays

AL East comments:
Well, I did pretty good here, but then again, this might be one of the easiest divisions to predict. The only thing I got wrong was the Red Sox/Yankees flip flop. But I can't say I'm complaining (or will ever complain) about the Yankees not taking the division.


AL Central

My Predicted Order: Actual Order:

1. Tigers 1. Indians

2. White Sox (WC) 2. Tigers

3. Indians 3. Twins

4. Twins 4. White Sox

5. Royals 5. Royals

AL Central Comments:
Wow, this division was crazy. This was a tough division to pick. Everything that made it tough just added to my incorrectness. There were injuries, bad seasons by star players, good seasons by nobodies, and then there was the Royals.


AL West

My Predicted Order: Actual Order:

1. Angels 1. Angels

2. Athletics 2. Mariners

3. Rangers 3. Athletics

4. Mariners 4. Rangers

AL West Comments:
I didn't give the Mariners enough credit. Ichiro stuck around, [signed a bad contract], and helped keep that team fighting. But in the end the Angels were too much for them, or anybody in this division.

NL East

My Predicted Order: Actual Order:

1. Mets 1. Phillies

2. Phillies 2. Mets

3. Braves 3. Braves

4. Marlins 4. Nationals

5. Nationals 5. Marlins

NL East comments:
Ha ha! It's bittersweet for me, I loved seeing the Met's choke. Still, as far as the Braves season goes, to quote Weird Al Yankovic, "Oh, man. I hate it when I'm right."

NL Central

My Predicted Order: Actual Order:

1. Cardinals 1. Cubs

2. Cubs 2. Brewers

3. Astros 3. Cardinals

4. Reds 4. Astros

5. Brewers 5. Reds

6. Pirates 6. Pirates

NL Central Comments:
Where'd the Brewers come from? Eh, they were just playing way over their heads in the first half and rode that hot streak for a long time. I feel as if the second half Brewers gave us a better representation of what that team actually is than the first half Brewers did. Who knows though? Maybe I just don't give enough credit where it belongs.

NL West

My Predicted Order: Actual Order:

1. Dodgers 1. Diamondbacks

2. Padres (WC) 2. Rockies (WC)

3. Giants 3. Padres

4. Diamondbacks 4. Dodgers

5. Rockies 5. Giants

NL West Comments:
Eww. That's gross. Did I actually make those predictions? Yes, I did. I imagine I wasn't the only one that was way off in the NL West either. This was a crazy division, as evidenced by the fact that two of the teams played 163 games, instead of the normal 162. And what a game it was. I can't think of a better ending to this year's tight Wild Card race than with a 13 inning, edge of your seat type game.

Award Predictions:
I know award's haven't been presented yet. But I think we can get a pretty general idea of who at least has a shot at an award. So, even though we don't know who won these awards...here is how I predicted them to go...

AL MVP – Jim Thome

AL Cy Young – Johan Santana

AL “Rookie” of the Year – Daisuke Matsuzaka*

NL MVP – Albert Pujols

NL Cy Young – Jason Schmidt (**giggles** Well, I knew the winner would come out of the West. At least I got that part right (most likely)).

NL Rookie of the Year – Chris Young


So..now that you are reminded of what my predictions were...tell me how I did.

Week 4 Analysis: 4-0

Eh...It's just the Rams.

This week and next week are weaker points in our schedule. Although, when the schedule first was released, it looked like Big D had it tough. But teams that were "supposed" to be good have fallen off the chart. It's kind of funny how how a tough schedule turns into a weak schedule after 3-4 weeks. So, here's the review:

Offense:
Romo not only did it in the air, he did it with his feet. He rushed for 24 yards which includes one of the craziest plays of the year so far. The snap went over Romo's head, he ran back to recover it (most QBs would have fallen on it, but Romo picked it up), picked it up and ran it for a first down. Not bad for a 3rd and 3.

Patrick Crayton!?!?!? led the team with 7 catches for 184 yards (2 TDs). Jason Witten was 6 for 71 with 1 TD. The player was held to 3 for 33.

Julius Jones got the majority of the handoffs. He managed 52 yards in 13 attempts. Marion Barber III was right behind him in yardage with 50, but did it in just 8 carries.

Again I stress, it's just the Rams.

Defense
Newman played. I hope he's at 100% now. If not, rest him up. I'd rather him be 100% at the Patriots game than at the Bills game next week. Henry was injured yesterday. The diagnosis was a sprained ankle, his status next week has not yet been established. Maybe one day we'll get Newman and Henry in the same game.

Ken Hamlin had the lone INT in this game. Jacques Reeves led the team in tackles yesterday, although I'm always more comfortable when the tackles leaders aren't DBs. The defense surrendered a total of 187 yards. But hey...it's just the Rams.

Stat of the game:

3rd down efficiency
St. Louis 3-12
Dallas 8-13

Next week we're on Monday Night football. Big D @ Buffalo.

Scranton Party

There ain't no party like a Scranton Party cuz a Scranton Party don't stop.


And today, the Scranton Party continues. The debut of season 4 is today, any guesses as to if I am excited or not?

In case you're wondering what the Dunder Mifflin crew did this summer...the video below should clue you in:

Week 3: 3-0

I kept reading and hearing all summer that the Eagles/Bears will be the top team in the NFC. I got tired of it, but played it humble and didn't express my opinion. I was confused as to why not many people were giving the cowboys love. Nonetheless, i figured, "Big-D will have their chance to show the world the truth."

Last night, they did just that. These boys are a force to be reckoned with.

Offense:
Big D started out running the ball a lot. But that wasn't getting anywhere. so then they decided to pass the ball a lot. a whole lot. That got us everywhere. 15 of the last 17 first half plays were passing. Romo was extremely effective. Much credit does go to the receivers however. Chicago has some really good defensive backs, but the Dallas offense made them look really average. The player had 8 catches for 145 yards. Jason Witten had 6 for 90.

Statswise, it appears as if the rushing attack did pretty well, which might be halfway true. Marion Barber III did have a 100+ yard game, getting the majority of the carries (15). The majority of his (and almost all) carries occured in the 4th when we simply were trying to ice the game away. We really hardly rushed the ball at all.

Defense:
Defense also posted a solid game. We were weak in week 1. Then in week 2 we took a baby step of improvement. this week, we took a giant leap forward. Anthony Henry had his second straight game with 2 INTs. We stopped the run exceptionally well. I felt like we should have stopped the pass a bit better, but they stepped it up in the redzone and recovered well. It's worth noting that Terrence Newman was back in his first game of this season. Nothing really good or bad game from a play he was involved in. He had a very quiet game. Grossman hardly threw his way.

Special teams:
I know, I know, I don't normally include ST in my reviews. today is a special occasion though, because of what Dallas was able to do to Devin Hester. Most teams are very conservative with him on the other end of the field, and hesitant to kick at him (with good reason). The Dallas coverage, however, challenged him and embarassed him. Take a look at what Raf says about the Dallas coverage:

Nick Folk erred on the opening kickoff, knocking the ball out of bounds and giving Chicago great field position. After that, Special Team’s coach Bruce Read had to love his unit’s production. Folk kicked off five times to Hester and the coverage guys produced the following line:

1. Folk kicks off four yards deep. Hester returns to the Chicago 18;
2. Folk kicks off to the 1. Hester returns to the Chicago 14;
3. Folks kicks to the 7. Hester returns to the Chicago 35;
4. Folk kicks off the the Chicago 5. Hester returns to the Chicago 16 and fumbles after a Keith Davis hit;
5. Folk kicks off four yards deep. Hester returns to the Chicago 8.

That’s an average of the Bears’ 18 for you scoring at home.

Very nice, indeed, and good analysis, Raf!

Penalties
Penalties killed us! The entire first half, especially, it seemed as if we were going backwards more than forwards. thankfully, coach wade talked some sense into his team during halftime and penalties were down in the second half. But still we have got to get those penalties under control if we are going to continue to be a competitive team. This goes for offense and defense. We had some completely unnecessary interferences, facemasks, holdings, false starts, it was an incredibly frustrating experience, especially in the first half.

Next week we are at Home against Rams. In fact, the next 2 weeks we go against two teams that have struggling offenses (Rams and Bills). It may be a good idea to give Terrence Newman a rest those two weeks to let him rest up for the Patriots game in three weeks. It was a good win this week, one that really makes a statement to the rest of the league.

TV roundup

I don't normally dedicate posts to my TV watching, but over the next 1.5 weeks there are many things to get excited about that I thought I'd share.

College Football:

16 Bama vs. 22 Georgia
2 LSU vs. 12 South Carolina

Not the most exciting week of SEC football but I believe those two games will not disappoint its viewers.

NFL:
Cowboys @ Bears

Call me biased if you'd like, but I believe this will be the best NFL game this week. The cowboys will face their first true test (no disrespect to the Giants or Dolphins) in this NFC showdown.

The Simpsons and Family Guy
Sunday will be the new season premiere for both of these shows. The simpsons looks to continue strong after their (dare i say, disappointing?) movie this summer. These two shows make every Sunday night a laugh. The simpsons will be beginning its NINETEENTH! season. Guest voices in season 19 will include Maya Rudolph, Jack Black, Matt Dillon and many more.

Sundays season 6 premier of Family Guy, blue Harvest, will be an hour long retelling of the Original Star Wars movie (Episode 4, A new hope), family guy style.

It will be fun watching the new seasons of both of these shows. The only problem...I'm going to have to choose between Simpsons/Family guy and the Cowboys game.

The office
Thursday is the season premier of The office. I have refreshed my memory by watching all of season 3 this month, via DVD. Watching last season just makes me more and more excited about this Thursday!

Many other TV shows begin their seasons next week. I just wanted to hit the highlights of the ones that excite me the most.

Happy watching!

Sound familiar?

MLB Trade Rumors reports the latest on Andruw Jones' future in atlanta. Blah, Blah, Blah, Glavine said he wanted to be a Brave too. I agree with MLB Trade Rumors, take let this get your hopes up. He's probably trying to drive his price up, since his stats caused his price to go down.

Truthfully, I'm not sure that I'll miss Andruw, though I would have said differently this time last year.

Week 2 Analysis: 2-0

"How about the defense" -Wade Phillips

Defense:
How about the defense, indeed, Mr. Wade. Trent Green was intercepted 4 times and 1 fumble was recovered as the Cowboys defense displayed the defense that Wade Phillips was supposed to bring to big D. The Dolphins did score 20 against us...mostly on 2 TD passes from Trent Green. But I guess if you lob it up there enough times (as I said, 4 INTs) you eventually will score.

One thing I find interesting is that Miami didn't really attempt to run against us that much. They handed it off to Ronnie Brown 11 times and to Jessie Chatman 3 times. Other than that, Miami just had a few misc scrambles and WR reverses. In my analysis I started to say that Dallas defended the run very well, but the reality is they didn't have much of an opportunity to defend the run.

Watching the defense yesterday made me feel a lot better about the season, than last week's defense did. But again, it's Miami. It's tough to say how much of this was bad offense and how much was good defense, but I'm sure it's some combination of the two.

Offense:
As a sports fan you will come across several times when a box score doesn't tell the entire story. This is one of those cases. The box score says that Romo only threw for 186 yards (2 TDs). This stat is valid, but there is more to be said. Dallas frequently started their drives with excellent field position (5 Miami turnovers will do that). So while he may have only thrown for 186 yards, the offense as a whole could not total very many yards because they were so frequently starting their drives with excellent field position.

The Player had 97 yards on 5 catches and a TD. Everybody thought his celebration was funny, I thought it was stupid. He was mocking a terrible situation that I believe is receiving too light of a punishment (Belichick spying on the enemy). Other than the player, the rest of the receptions were pretty evenly distributed, with nobody getting more than 2.

On the rushing side, Marion Barber was the star, getting both rushing TDs as well as 89 yards on fewer attempts than JuJo received. Romo rushed himself for 36 yards, JuJo had 32.

The offense did very well against the Miami Defense, but that's not really to Miami's fault or Dallas' praise. The Miami Defense was put into some near impossible situations at time, due to turnovers.

The Dallas Defense get's the assist from the offense, for making their job that much easier.


Next week will be quite a test, as we are on the road against the Chicago Bears. The offense is going to need to bring their A game. Hopefully the defense can continue it's impressiveness as well.

Thought Provoking question...

Just a question for all...

Why does God want us to worship him?


Upon first glance it may seem like a simple question with a simple answer. But if you think about it, the question can be quite deep. Is God selfish? Does he want us to worship him so that he can feel good about himself? Think about it.

Just thought I'd throw that question out there.

Halo 3

I just finished reading about two copies of Halo 3 being sold on Ebay. It's worth a read and so I'm passing it your way.

I'm struggling with which system to get, but Halo 3 might be the tie-breaker, I dunno.

Week 1 Analysis: 1-0

Before I begin, thanks to everyone who made my birthday special. It was a truly wonderful and relaxing day. Thanks!

Now, onto last night's game. I'm glad we won, but that was not the Dallas Cowboys I was expecting. Here is the analysis:

Defense
After an entire offseason of hearing how Wade Phillips is going to bring this new specialized rush defense over from the Chargers, all I saw was hype and talk. Way too many tackles were being made by our defensive backs. The other Manning had way too much time to throw almost the entire game. It seemed as if there were entire drives where we didn't but a bit of pressure on Eli. This is something that cannot continue, it was our weakness last year and now it looks as if we have gotten worse. I'm not sure how much of this is the fault of the defensive play calling/lack of blitzing and how much of it is the players. Of course, I have to mention that T. Newman was out...which doesn't necessarily justify giving up so many passing yards, but it is worth mentioning nonetheless.

I was actually very impressed with our team's defense vs. the run. I know Derrick Ward was able to round up 89 rushing yards against us, but half of those were on one play. Other than that, the Giants were only able to get two here, three there on occasion with their rush game and weren't going anywhere. I don't want to look too deep into this, because the Giants aren't the hardest team in the league to stop on the ground since they don't have Tiki torch anymore.

Offense
Completely opposite of the Defense, the Offense was a lot better than I suspected, especially considering the Absence of Terry Glenn. Tony Romo is currently the NFL's leader in Passing yards and tied with TDs passes. When you're missing somebody like Terry Glenn, one person can't pick up the slack. It has to be everyone who picks it up! That is exactly what happened, especially Patrick Crayton who had 3 catches for 51 yards. Sam Hurd only had one catch, but he made it count, going for a 51 yard TD. "The Player" had 3 catches for 87 yards, 2 TDs. But how about Jason Witten! Tight-ends tend to get the shaft, constantly being overshadowed by Wide Receivers. We tend to think that Romo is looking "The player, then Glenn, then Witten". I'll say this though, If I'm Romo, Jason Witten would be more of my go to guy than the player or Glenn. Dat white boy got skill. Witten Caught 6 passes for 116 yards.

The Run game was as expected. As a team we rushed for 142 yards. Jones had 66 and Barber had 65 plus he got the TD. I've really become a fan of the double running back attack, that some teams are starting to integrate into their systems.

Next week we are on the road against the Miami Dolphins. Hopefully our defense can improve it's pass defense against the aging Trent Green.

Ran across this schrutebuck on the internet. Makes me wonder how many leprechauns and unicorns I can find.



Sept. 27th can't come soon enough.

Post sonquest week

well, sonquest has now come and gone. It was a great trip. I had a very fun time with the group and look forward to more experiences with them.

It's been about a week since I've watched a Braves game...and by the looks of things it might go another week without watching one. This is terrible. We were doing better without Teixeira, seriously.

I never really realized how much time I would have since the church softball season is over and I'm not watching Braves games anymore. But I have been balancing pretty well lately, in my opinion.

Wilson Empire

I have already told you much about the Switchfoot concert I attended last Saturday. However, I still have one thing left to say, and it actually has nothing to do with Switchfoot.

Wilson Empire (also here) was Switchfoot's opening act. I don't think I can go without saying...that was probably the best opening band I've ever heard in my life. This is a very talented band from Atlanta, GA that I can see going far. They did 2 cover songs (U2 and the Cranberries) that were great (it takes a special lead singer to sing Bono, yet he pulled it off!) and they did several nice, easy going songs they wrote themselves, Including their radio hit, "Roah".

I looked at their schedule and noticed that they have 2 more gigs in Valdosta, both of which I'll try to attend (not sure if I'll be available for the September job, but I'll definitely be at Hildegard's Coffee shop to hear them in November.

Most opening acts I find obnoxious, probably because I'm in so much anticipation of the main attraction. However, Wilson Empire slowed me down and I very much enjoyed their opening gig with Switchfoot. If you aren't familiar with Wilson Empire's music I strongly recommend you at least give them a chance and listen to a few of their clips.

NL East Race

OK, so yesterday the Phillies beat the Mets...and I'm not sure if I need to be celebrating or not. Part of my mind is telling me to forget about the division title, let the Mets run away with it, and hope that the Phillies, who are in the WC race with us, will get beat up. But I dunno. Should I just root for both teams to go exactly .500 when they play each other?

We've got Hudson and Smoltz starting for us in the upcoming Mets series, which means we'll probably lose the following series, vs. the Phillies since our starters will go 4-5-1 that series.