Well, this was the first full year of business for Prayers For Blowouts, so by default it was our best year ever.

I’ll spare you from a navelgazing recap (only because I’m too lazy to put it together), but yeah, it was a good year. We interviewed a bunch of cool folks for our Sports Surveys, we had our busiest day of the year when the agreeable Will Leitch linked to our interview with him from Deadspin, and we added our first 31 members to the Membership Ranks.

2009 will be a better year of course…I mean, I can’t sit here and tell you it will be worse. That would be depressing. So yes! it will be better! More sports surveys! More members! More readers (look for an announcement next month)! and hopefully more of what you want! (by the way, what do you want more of? let me know in the comments)

So thank you all so much for reading the site this year! I can’t wait to do it all over again in 09, bringing you more exploration of the frequent collisions of sports and faith.

Be safe!

Way back in August we ran NFL Predictions from Mark Batterson, Andrew Osenga, and the writers here at PFB.

Let’s take a peek, shall we?

+ The Cowboys and Patriots missing out on the playoffs really hurt everyone’s conference championship predictions.

+ Exactly 2/3rds of us figured out which team would regress out of the playoffs this year (myself not included).

+ Only Andy Osenga knew that the Detroit Lions would be as bad as they were. Good on ya, Andy!

We’ll take one last look at this in 5 weeks to see who did the best psychic Dionne Warwick impression.

And while we’re here…have you heard that the NFL plans on playing the Pro Bowl during the off week between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl at the Super Bowl site? It’s a brilliant move that will elevate the Pro Bowl from irrelevant to mildly interesting. Good move by the NFL.

What do foggy mirrors, Andy Stanley, and the Dave Matthews Band have to do with each other?

They all played a prominent role in leading former Denver Broncos lineman Matt Lepsis from a life of daily drug use to the Dallas Theological Seminary.

“This overwhelming sense of peace and purpose came over me,” Lepsis said. “It was like at that moment God was telling me, ‘This is what you’re going to do for the rest of your life.’”

(from the Colorado Springs Gazette)

There are only two story-lines that matter coming out of this past weekend of the NFL. Anyone who tells you different sells advertising spots for Sports Center.

First, Detroit has achieved perfection and have gone the distance. I don’t hate Detroit. I do appreciate beauty wherever its found in nature. Detroit is proof that social Darwinism can’t explain everything. The NFL maintains a vicious food chain of playoff predators, yet Detroit remains in the league, unscathed by the instincts of pride, competitiveness, or aggression. The Jim Rome Radio show just became appointment listening today.

Second, it’s a Christmas-miracle! The Eagles are in the playoffs. Their playoff fate was in the hands of the lowly Oakland Raiders. Could it have gotten any worse? The Birds took Oakland’s gift and capitalized on it with a 44-6 drubbing of the Cowboys.

The Cowboys are the Yankees of the NFL. They grabbed Pac Man Jones and Roy Williams to get the team over the top. Both players hurt their team greatly yesterday.

It was absolute joy to watch Dawkins force two fumbles that were returned for TD’s. McNabb? Maybe not a “great” season as he suggested. But yesterday, he was magic.

Notice: Throughout the playoff run, you’ll be tolerating one obnoxious, biased Eagle fan. If you protest I’ll place a Santa hat on you and pelt you with snow balls. Be warned.

In honor of Christmas, this week’s abbreviated Schnoz Report will have some holiday flavor. Think fruitcake, egg nog, and candy canes in a blender.

The 12 Days of Christmas The Schnoz Report

Day 1 – The Schnoz thinks the Broncos are going to lose to the Chargers in prime-time this week.  There’s just something about this Denver team that screams “we stink!”. Maybe it’s the fact that they stink.

Day 2 – The Cowboys win and they’re into the playoffs, making their game against the Eagles essentially, a playoff game. And when was the last time the Cowboys won a playoff game? That’s right, 1996. What were you doing in 1996? I was in college, failing Heat Transfer for the first, but not last, time.

Day 3 – Speaking of the Cowboys, another playoff season, another year of people using the phrase “control their own destiny”. C’mon people, we all know the only person who can control his own destiny is Tom Cruise. (The Schnoz has also heard unconfirmed rumors that Scott Boras is in talks with God about controlling his own destiny…more on that when news breaks.)

Day 4 - This will be the 4th year in a row for the NFC East where at least 3 of their 4 teams have a winning record. No other conference has had that type on consistency in recent history. Even still, I think the NFC West was the best division in football this year…for me to poop on.

Day 5 – The 49ers players are all growing throwback mustaches to go along with their throwback uniforms for their game against the Redskins this week. In an attempt to honor their own history, the Redskins will try to not suck.

Day 6 -The Schnoz is predicting a Patriots win over Buffalo, a Jets win over Miami, and a Ravens win over the Jaguars. This scenario would give the AFC East to the Pats and the 6th AFC playoff spot to the Ravens, who would face each other 7 days later in Foxboro in the first round of the playoffs.

Day 7 -Drew Brees needs 402 yards of passing on Sunday to break Dan Marino’s record. In a possibly related story, Dan Marino was last seen in in a New Orleans-area Home Depot purchasing a dozen gigantic fans and some power strips.

Day 8 – All Aaron Rodgers wants for Christmas is for you to know that the Packers have scored 29 more points this year than they’ve given up. Probably not the offense’s fault that their record is 5-10.

Day 9 – The Schnoz thinks the Vikings will take care of business and beat a cautious Giants team on Sunday to win the NFC North, giving them the #3 seed and a home playoff game against the Cowboys, Buccaneers, Bears, or Eagles.

Day 10 – The Schnoz isn’t sure why, but he gets real enjoyment from hearing New York Jets fans bemoan how awful Brett Favre and the team have played since that defeat of New England on that Thursday night game. If Mangini and the Jets lose to the Dolphins on Sunday, is Mangini back next year? Is Favre back? Do we really have to deal with that again?

Day 11 – The Schnoz thinks the AFC champion will come out of the AFC North. The level of defense played by the Steelers and Ravens will win you a game or two in January. Don’t be surprised if it’s a Pittsburgh-Carolina Super Bowl on February 1st. Do be surprised if it’s the Cardinals and Dolphins playing for the Lombardi trophy.

Day 12 – The Schnoz has no idea who the last playoff team in the NFC is going to be. Cowboys…Bucs…Bears…Eagles. You have any idea? If so, leave me a comment.

If Betting were Legal

Last Week: 7-9

Year to Date: 119-122

Didn’t get a chance to get my pics up this week, but I’ll let you know how bad they were after the fact.

Enjoy Week 17 and your long weekend everyone!

-The Schnoz

And as a gift to you, here’s another in-depth look at everyone’s favorite Christian athlete to love or hate: an article on Kurt Warner by ESPN’s Wayne Drehs.

“The missing piece in this whole thing of me serving and giving back is that the reward is so much greater for me than it is for any of the people I’ve impacted. The perspective it gives me, the feeling it gives me inside when I know I’m doing what God called me here to do … that’s when I feel most alive.”

Thanks everyone for reading! Have a great Christmas!

Why would a football coach ask half of his team’s fans to go sit on the other side of the field and cheer for their opponent? Check out Rick Reilly’s latest offering at ESPN.com for the inspiring story.

We’ll have an abbreviated Schnoz Report up on Friday…otherwise, have a great Christmas and we’ll see you on Monday!

Bryan

“The Yankees have won the tug-of-war for Mark Teixeira. Sources told Buster Olney the two sides have agreed to an eight-year deal worth more than $170 million, giving the Yankees the four highest paid players in baseball.”

Let me repeat: The four highest paid players in baseball.

…Somewhere in America Evan Longoria just read that, and he’s doing another set of squats…

Merry Christmas to everyone, even the Yankees!

(ESPN.com)

The PFB Sports Survey is a regular feature here at Prayers For Blowouts where we throw a few sports related questions at some of the most notable voices among Christian authors, pastors, musicians, and beet farmers to see if they like sports as much as we do.

Today’s spotlight is on Chip MacGregor who, judging from his fantasy sports answer, thinks most of you need to get a life.

As an agent for MacGregor Literary, Chip has secured more than 1,000 book deals for authors with all of the major publishers in both CBA and ABA. He has written more than two-dozen titles, including two books that hit #1 on the bestseller lists in their category. A popular writer’s conference speaker, Chip has presented workshops at more than 100 locations, spoken at colleges and universities, and is frequently invited to speak to writers groups around the country on the topics of writing and publishing. You can keep tabs on what’s going on in the publishing world at his blog, ChipMacGregor.com.

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1. What number best describes the role sports play in your life on a scale of 1 to 10?

CM: I’m probably an 8. I love football (Oregon Ducks on the college side, Green Bay Packers on the NFL side), and am passionate about baseball (I could probably watch a baseball game every day of my life and never get bored). Sports are the only sort of “reality” TV that’s worth watching, in my view.

2. Rank your 3 overall favorite sports, college or pro.

CM: 1. NFL  2. MLB  3. College football

3. What is the one team that you root for more passionately than any other, and is there a team that you hate, maybe a little too much?

CM: Oregon Ducks (so I hate the Washington Huskies).Also the Green Bay Packers (so I hate the Minnesota Vikings) and the Atlanta Braves (so I hate the Mets).

4. Do you play fantasy sports?

CM: Nope. It’s not real. The guys who get really involved always seem to need lives.

5. What is the most memorable sporting event you have ever attended in person?

CM: A 13-inning game between the Atlanta Braves and the Colorado Rockies, won by the Rockies 7-6. Both sides used up all their pitchers, so backup catcher Brent Mayne worked a scoreless inning to win the game, becoming the first position player to be a winning pitcher in nearly 40 years. It was the first time Mayne had ever pitched at any level, and the Rockies’ skipper called on him because he figured “a catcher was used to throwing that distance.” Mayne wasn’t supposed to play that day, due to a sore wrist. A great game — one team used 22 players, the other 23. It lasted more than 4 hours.

6. What is the best highlight and/or worst lowlight of your sports playing career as a child or as an adult?

CM: Best highlight: hitting a home run in high school. The only time I ever hit one, when it came off the bat, the pitcher hung his head and the catcher said, “That one’s gone.”

7. If you could change one thing about sports, what would it be?

CM: Abolish the BCS and have major college football teams have a playoff, just like every other sport in college (and high school, and the pros).

I’d also get rid of the offsides rule in soccer. I find soccer completely boring, of course, but if they didn’t have an offsides rule, one team could station guys in front of the net all day, if they wanted to. The other team would be forced to either defend them or ignore them and focus on scoring themselves. Either way, it’s a change that would make a dull game more interesting. I’ve always said if soccer had been invented by Americans, it would be a better sport — no offsides, bigger nets, more scoring.

8. Do you have an opinion on Christian athletes who, without being prompted, talk about their faith in post-game interviews?

CM: I do not have an opinion, except to say that in my work in publishing, I’ve had the decidedly unpleasant task of having to work with professional athletes at times, and they are all raging a–holes. Whether talking about their faith or not, every one of them is an overpaid, out-of-touch jerk who has been treated special since he hit puberty.

9. High school gym class…your favorite 45 minutes of the day or the source of countless nightmares and embarrassments?

CM: Loved high school gym class. Not as much as English class, but I still loved it.

10. Sports are often the whipping boy of pastors and clergy because so much passion, money, time, and energy is poured into them. Do you think this criticism is valid, or are sports okay as a diversion from the stresses of life.

CM: Sports are a nice diversion — and something that can often be settled. Unlike arguments over politics, history, and religion, sports eventually come to a conclusion — the teams play a game, and a winner and loser are determined. (Um… except, of course, in major college football, where we don’t want to put too much of a burden on those wonderful student athletes.)

11. If you had to compete against other agents, in which of these 5 competitions would you have the best chance of winning? 5-mile run, 18 holes of golf, free throw shooting contest, arm wrestling match, or a game of bowling.

CM: The 5-mile run. No question. Have you seen some of these agents? A walking advertisement for heart disease. I run just about every day. I’m a lousy golfer, an even worst free throw shooter, and haven’t been bowling since junior high.

12. What is your favorite sports movie of all-time?

CM: Hoosiers. I’d like to give you a baseball answer, but even the best ones don’t hold a candle to Hoosiers.

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You can click here for an exhaustive (but not exhausting) list of everyone who’s been featured as a PFB Sports Survey participant.

If you’d like to be considered for the PFB Sports Survey, or know someone who should be, send along a name and email address to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail(dot)com.

a few items to check out while you breathlessly await the AFC West Showdown on Sunday Night…

+ Here’s an article by Chris Carlson of the Berkshire Eagle on the spiritual climate in sports in the Northeast.

+ Are Trevor Linden and Mats Sundin bigger than Jesus in British Columbia? Douglas Todd thinks so, and he thinks sports have become a civil religion for some.

+ Here’s a lengthy David Samuels article in the Atlantic about UFC Fighter Rampage Jackson, who became a Christian following a harrowing dream 5 years ago.