Second Weekend Analysis - Bittersweet

Nobody wants to see all 4 1 seeds in the final four. BUT THE WRONG 1 SEEDS WERE KNOCKED OUT!!!!

My bracket was already bye bye, so I was rooting for a UNC vs Kansas championship game. I felt that would be huge! Roy williams matching up against his former team, a team that he had "dynasized" for over a decade. Although all of Roy Williams' recruits from Kansas are gone, I felt that would be a fun game for Roy Williams. But nevermind that.

Kudos to UCLA and Georgetown for taking it to town against these teams. Afflalo battled vs. Kansas to prove his critics wrong, he really can perform with big stakes. As for UNC, what can you say? How do you not score for so long? Especially with a roster full of McDonald's All Americans? Personally, I couldn't believe my eyes. Arguably the mot offensive team in the country couldn't score? Although only those standing on the court know truly what happened, I felt as if the young Tar Heel squad was becoming spoiled. Throughout the tourney they had played teams that hung tough with UNC but because of fatigue, bombed out at the end. This time, it was UNC that bombed out. Credit must still be given to GU.

It was a great season. Expectations are only higher for next year. Psycho T, though not official, has indicated that he would like to be a Tar Heel next season. There will be no recruits coming in for next season. The only "new" player will be William Graves, whom Coach roy redshirted this year because, for some strange reason, he wasn't needed.

Now I will be forced to root for UCLA and Georgetown, because I do not want to see Florida vs. Ohio State again. They already played football together, why not save basketball for someone else?

Rudy Giuliani on ebay?

Greetings all!

I'm not much of an ebay shopper. Every now and then when I see a good deal, I jump on it. But I'm not constantly going there to buy stuff out the wazoo (do people still say that?). However, today there is a featured item that caught my attention. Below is the link...

Hover the cursor over this sentence and then click the left mouse button

I realize the auction will most likely be over before anybody reads this. too bad, because you'll be missing the opportunity of a lifetime. For 12,000 bucks you can purchase the domain name "rudyforpresident.com".

Just thought I'd pass that along in case anybody was interested.

Peace!

First Weekend Analysis and Moaning

The first two rounds of the 2007 NCAA mens tourney are in the books. Like many, I filled out a bracket, made some good predictions and some not so good predictions. Here's how I stand currently;

I have 10 of my sweet 16 teams still going. These include - Florida, Oregon, Kanson, Pitt, UCLA, UNC, Vandy, Georgetown, Ohio St. and Memphis.

this is followed by some extremely good news and some extremely bad news. I still have 7 of my eight elite eight teams (good!) but my eventual champion was knocked out in the second round (not so good).

I predicted that Texas, being carried by Kevin Durant, would take it all the way and beat out the odds against a few teams. While several people laughed and giggled at this prediction, I didn't think it was as much of a reach. True, Texas is a one man show....but that one man IS a show.

Even without a champion I will still watch the tourney. The Carolina Blue has struggled at times, but are still the team the rest of that region is looking up to. I'll be rooting for them (even though i was rooting for them the whole time before my bracket was ruined by USC). Let's see what happens...

Book Review - Postmodern Youth Ministry

Wow! Finally! Praise the Lord! It's about time.

I hate it so much when the cover of a book makes it appear as if the book is about postmodernity but it actually isn't. That happens so much. In fact, right now I am staring at a few books in my library that claim to be about the postmodern shift, but between the covers there is hardly a mention of it.

Thats what excites me about this book. Tony Jones discusses the shifts in culture and how that effects Youth Ministry in a way that keeps one from wanting to put the book down. Not only that - but Jones is PRACTICAL in his approach. I love that word, practical. Say it with me, "practical." Ah, doesn't that feel good? That is a word that is left out too often in ministry, but needs to be on the front of our minds, as ministers of the Gospel.

Jones begins his book by giving a brief introduction of postmodernity. What is it? How did it get here? What does it have to do with the church? Can someone be postmodern and like saur kraut?, etc. Included in this section is a look at the history of the church, the early church fathers, and how they played a role in this cultural movement.

The author then begins to look at Teenagers and their role in this matrix. by studying their role, he helps youth workers of all types (Part-time, Full-time, volunteer) understand what needs to be done to help them understand what Christ truly means to us, but note...he doesn't tell you what to do (more on this later).

Although the Title of this Book is Postmodern Youth Ministry I feel like it will benefit church workers of all types, beyond the realms of Youth Ministry. Elders, Deacons, Sunday/Wednesday teachers, greeters, contribution counters, janitors will all be able to take a page out of Tony's book (no, don't literally rip it out). Throughout this book you'll be telling yourself "So that is why my church is like this!".

I didn't agree with everything Jones said. However, off of the top of my head I don't think I can recall a book that I agree with 100% of the content (besides the Bible, of course). So that being said, lets continue...

As mentioned earlier, Tony doesn't give a straight up, this is what we need to do answer (although he does give us great tips and things to think about). Most Youth Ministry books I've read have a formula such as "If you do these 10 things, you'll be a good youth minister" or "this is the only way you can get the church to grow", etc. Rather, Jones simply gives us the tools we need and leaves it up to us to figure out how to use them. I love that. He knows, as we all do, that mistakes will be made. He admits mistakes he has made himself. But since Jones was willing to share his knowledge, the ministers of the world (well, at least the ones who read this book) will grow from it.

I know not everyone is a Youth Minister. But PLEASE, PLEASE, PURTY PLEASE read this book if you serve any kind of role, whatsoever in your church. You'll benefit from it, I promise.

Weaknesses

- At times, the section of the history of the church seemed kind of boring. Perhaps that is just because I have heard it so much though.

- Um, the book isn't longer? I really can't think of any criticism about this book.

Strengths

-Excellently written. Information is given from a knowledgeable guy who knows what it is like "in the trenches" and doesn't present it in a "Holier than thou" attitude.

-Its a Postmodern book actually about Postmodernity

-Practical, Theological, Spiritual, all in one!

-OK, I'm getting tired of typing out all the things I like about this book. Just trust me, it's awesome! Now go pick up a copy!

Overall

9.5/10

For more reviews or to purchase this book click here

Why don't we hype this up some more? (sarcasm)

I'm a UNC Tar Heels fan. So by me saying that some of you might be assuming that I think Gerald Henderson is the devil (pun intended) for breaking Hansbrough's nose and tooth.

This would be false!!!!



Hang on a second, let me give my fellow Heels fans a second to finish calling me a betrayer and wanting to send me death threats.



OK, I think they are almost done.....



Just a little bit more......

OK, great, we are all friends again. Now allow me to explain my conclusion:

Firstly, if this incident would have happened against two teams in the bottom of the WAC standings, I guarantee you that not near as many people would still be talking about this. But, it happened at the biggest game in the college hoops regular season.

Secondly, I've seen the video. I've seen it over and over and over. UNC fans say that Henderson did it on purpose, he was so bitter that he just wanted to take it out on UNC's star player. But when I watch the video, I can't seem to draw the same conclusion.

Before typing this post, I watched the video 10-12 times to make sure everything I said was accurate. I even paused the video when Henderson makes contact with the UNC sophomore. With the video paused with Henderson beginning to break Psycho T's nose, here's what I observed...

(a) - Henderson is not looking at Psycho T, he is looking at the ball.
(b) - Although it is extremely difficult to tell, it APPEARS as if it is not Henderson's elbow that makes contact (which is what everybody is saying) but an area between Henderson's wrist and elbow.

If you'd like, watch the video yourself and see if you agree. But, I can't seem to find any evidence that shows it was intentional. If it was, Henderson would be looking at Tyler, and he would have smacked him with either his hand, elbow, or shoulder.

So what do we do now? My answer is stop listening or reading about the incident. I don't know if anybody else has noticed this or not, but EVERYBODY IS CONTRADICTING THEMSELVES. Coach Williams, Coach K, Duke fans, UNC fans, the press. Here's what I mean by that:

Coach K says that Henderson didn't do it on purpose but he deserves his one game suspension anyway. To me this is confusing. Either he didn't do on purpose and doesn't deserve a punishment or he did do it on purpose and deserves a punishment. I don't see how "both" is a reasonable response. ESPN claims that Coach K supports the one game suspension "because of the foul". This makes me feel like Coach K is hiding something because a shooting foul seems like a harsh reason to suspend a player. Also, a few paragraphs before coach K says Henderson deserved the suspension for the foul, Coach K claimed that the foul was actually committed by Steve Johnson. OK, so not only are you suspending Henderson for a foul but you are suspending Henderson for a foul he didn't commit. Something seems fishy here to me.

Coach Roy Williams is wearing several different hats in his stance. He is defending Duke, he is defending UNC, he is defending Henderson, he is defending Tyler, he is defending Coach K, he is defending the ACC....probably also defending Peter Pan Peanut butter, I dunno. I admire him for handling this situation with such class, but he has the kind of attitude that is annoying for politicians...."Everyone is right". If someone were to ask him who gets Anna Nicole's child, he'd probably respond "Everyone". I've read/seen most of his interviews on this situation and I can't seem to figure him out. It's kind of like he is trying his best to pretend it never happened and just avoid the questions as much as possible. Similar to Coach K, I feel like he is hiding something. He gives very neutral responses to questions he is asked. Don't get me wrong. Being a peacemaker is a good thing. But Roy needs to be careful because he is being such a peacemaker that at times it seems like he is lying and/or pretending.

Duke fans say that Psycho T deserved what happened to him because he shouldn't have been in the game at that point with such a large lead. I'm going to assume that some of the tone in this comment, which is a paraphrased quote from a Duke blog, is just the heatedness of the rivalry leaking out. I don't care if you are a Devils fan or Heels fan, this was a horrible thing to happen and anyone who roots for an injury on either team(and is serious) is just plain twisted.

However, let's focus on the facts of this statement. It's true, the game was essentially over. And Psycho T was in the game shooting the Free Throws. But when I hear Duke Fan's say this, I never hear them mention the fact that Duke had more starters (according to CBS Sportsline recap and game log) on the floor than the Heels did (3 vs. 2). In fact, the only 2 Duke Starters not in the game had fouled out. I wonder what the response would have been if I had posted that on the blog? There are contradictions, on both ends, flying everywhere.

UNC fans want Gerald Henderson's blood in return. This is where I say that everyone just needs to let it go. While this isn't a contradiction, it's getting on my nerves. It's not like Psycho T is out for the entire tourney! According to most sources, he's not even going to miss a game! Everybody needs to relax. The fact is that these things happen in basketball. Many people are more skilled than Psycho T, but (arguably) nobody plays harder than he does. When you play that hard, things like this will happen. Don't point fingers when it does. That just makes the problem bigger.

Concluding thoughts:
Again, I'm a UNC fan. I have several friends who are also fans of the Carolina Blue. However I also have many Duke friends (What!? Can it BE!?). My observations of being a Heels fan is that Duke likes to be picked on. I know I got so sick and tired of hearing about the Duke Lacrosse team scandal. But nobody would have heard anything about it had that happened here at Valdosta State University. The same holds true here. I feel like people are just trying to find reasons to attack Duke, whatever the reason for that may be.

I've made it clear in the beginning that I don't think it was done intentionally. If I'm the only one that thinks so, that's fine with me. I have tried my best to be completely fair and unbiased in my observations about what the Duke and UNC coaches and fans are saying. I apologize if anything I have said is not in representation of that. I just feel like EVERYONE could be handling this a bit better instead of pointing fingers or making false accusations. If i was wrong about any of my facts or observations, please chime in and let me know.

And now, I will let everyone go and take an Advil, because a UNC fan just defended Duke.

God is Good, so....

Do you believe God is good?

Great. I'm glad you answered that way. Now I'm going to ask you another question, but before I do, there are two rules you must obey:

1 - You must think HARD before you answer.
2 - You must be 100% honest with yourself.

OK, ready?

Do you believe God is good ALWAYS?

I was watching Nooma #6 (Kickball) and this question completely jumped out at me. God is great to us all. HE has given us no reason for us to put our faith in our cell phones, ipods, cars, purple blazers or cowboy boots. We have God! Our stuf doesn't take care of us, HE does.

Sure, its easy to tell ourselves and others "I believe God is good." But does your life reflect this? Do you believe that you can insert the word "always" at the end of that phrase. We struggle, we disagree, we go to war, yet, as the Hebrew author tells us, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8).

We must live this! I could go on and on and on but (a) I have made my point and (b) I have to finish writing my sermon now.

Peace!