We here at PFB want to extend a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

We’ll see you at the end of the holiday!

We here at PFB want to extend a Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

We’ll see you at the end of the holiday!

We here at PFB are very sad to announce that Stefanie Spielman has lost her battle with cancer. Those outside of Columbus or the Ohio State family may not know the impact this woman and her faith have had on this city.

I had been in contact with her foundation this week about hosting a fundraiser here after the first of the year for Cancer Research at James Cancer Hospital at The Ohio State University Medical Center. We will still go ahead with this in the honor of Stefanie.

Please keep Chris and their 4 kids in your prayers.

Its so easy to forget in our world of sports how life is so much more important. Stefanie and Chris displayed that.

We will give all the info we can as it comes in.

Thank you.

I want you to do 5 things:

1. Bookmark this post

2. Put in alarm in your phone to go off on February 13th, 2010

3. When the alarm goes off, make sure you have purchased something for the lady/man in your life for Valentine’s day.

4. Then come back and read this post.

5. Finally, marvel at my wisdom.

Why? Because I’m standing here between Week 10 and Week 11 of the NFL Season, and I’m going to tell you how it’s going to end.

First here’s how the AFC Playoff picture will sort out:

1. IND (14-2) – Bet you can’t guess which team has given up the least amount of points in the league this year? Nope, not the Lions…it’s the Colts, believe it or not. That being said, their lack of a healthy Bob Sanders and a healthy running game will cost them 2 wins.

2. CIN (11-5) – Perfect on the road so far this year, the Bengals’ sweep of the Ravens and Steelers has them in position to win the AFC North for the first time since…1995 Ever. (they last won the AFC Central in 1990). (Thanks for the correction Tim)

3. SD (11-5) – Other than the undefeateds, the Chargers are the hottest team in the league right now with consecutive wins over KC, OAK, NYG, and PHI. And with the Chiefs, Browns and Redskins still on their schedule, the West is theirs for the taking.

4. NE (10-6) – The Pats are 1-3 on the road this year, with games in New Orleans, Miami, Buffalo, and Houston left on their docket. And for the record, I didn’t mind Belicheck’s call on Monday night. Just saying.

5. PIT (10-6) – When was the last time the Steelers finished the year with a losing record in their division? It could happen this year, but they’ll find a way to make it to the post-season.

6. DEN (9-7) – Last week’s embarrassment in Washington aside, the Broncos tough schedule finally catches up to them. They still have games against Indy, Philly, and the Giants ahead of them, but they will stumble into the post-season.

Here’s my take on the NFC:

1. NO (14-2) – No division leader in the NFL has given up as many points as the Saints have, but it just doesn’t matter. Brees and company will slip up against New England or Dallas, and then lose a meaningless game in Week 17.

2. MIN (13-3) – The only team in the league whose offense can hang with New Orleans, and a defensive front four that changes games. They should sit Favre as soon as they can to protect his health heading into the playoffs.

3. ARI (11-5) – No team finishes the year with an easier schedule: at SF, at DET, home STL, home GB. Like the Vikes, Arizona needs Old Man Warner to stay healthy to make their run.

4. NYG (10-6) – Which 3 teams have current losing streaks 4 games or longer? The Lions, Browns, and Giants. But thanks to their strong start they’re right in the thick of things, and thanks to a Week 2 win in Dallas, they still can win the East.

5. DAL (10-6) – Tony Romo, aka Mr. November, might get his shot at late season redemption when the Eagles come to town in Week 17. A repeat of last year could keep the Boys out of the playoffs, but I think he finally comes up big.

6. ATL (9-7) – I think this last playoff spot comes down to the Week 13 matchup between the Eagles and Falcons, and since the game is in Atlanta, I’m giving it to the dirty birds.

While we’re here, let’s play out the playoffs…

Wild Card Weekend

DEN@SD – Home cooking and Phil Rivers lead the Chargers to a win over McRookie’s Broncos.

PIT@NE – Where I can sign up for this matchup in January? Brady-Welker for 3 TDs & a win.

ATL@ARI – In a rematch of last year’s playoff game, Tony Gonzalez makes all the difference. Atlanta wins on the road.

DAL@NYG – As bad as Eli can be in cold weather, I don’t see Romo winning this game.

Divisional Weekend

NE@IND – This time Belicheck punts, but it doesn’t matter because New England is up by 17.

SD@CIN – I will not jinx my buddy Geof, I will not jinx my buddy Geof. Bengals lose at home.

ATL@NO – Saints 114, Atlanta 31.

NYG@MIN – Can Eli rob the people of the Vikings-Saints matchup they want? Nope. Peterson runs for 220, Vikes win.

Conference Championship Weekend

NE@SD – Norv Turner goes for it on his own 28 with a 4-point lead to be like Belicheck. It fails and the Pats come back to win. EUREKA! Belicheck was setting up Norv this whole time and reclaims his “genius” tag. Pats 27, Chargers 24.

MIN@NO – Too much purple offense for the Saints to handle. A late Saints comeback isn’t enough to keep Favre from winning indoors. Vikes 48, Saints 31.

The Super Bowl

New England vs. Minnesota – Not sure why, but I’ve just got this feeling that Brett Favre is going to win it all this year. and THEN, when everyone thinks he should actually come back and try to repeat…he’ll finally hang it up.

Or maybe not…

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Super Bowl Winners: The Minnesota Vikings.

What do you think?

Give me your Super Bowl predictions and tell me where I went wrong in the comments.

When Craig Groeschel, a megachurch pastor in Oklahoma, was looking at a less-is-more strategy to grow his church, one of the ministry programs that ended up on the cutting room floor was the sports ministry.

The reason for this, as Groeschel explained at a Catalyst One Day event I attended in Maryland Monday (and I’m sure in other talks he’s given elsewhere) was that it wasn’t providing too much more than a place for Christians to cuss around their non-Christian friends.

I suspect it was also providing a place for Christians to be total a**hats around non-Christians and each other, which is far more damaging to a “ministry” than the word I’ve astericked in this sentence or any other so-called cuss word like it.

***

I wasn’t good enough to make the freshmen team at my high school and if anything my skills have digressed over the years. But I’m the kind of player who hustles and works hard to fight for loose balls, pick off passes and do whatever I can to help the team. If I’m shooting the ball at all it’s after a missed shot or when I’m lucky enough to have a fast break.

In other words, I get by being one of the least skilled players on the court because I love the exercise.

For some reason, in my sports ministry experience, this has been almost as acceptable as a woman wanting to preach in a Southern Baptist Church. I’ve found that a good attitude, a passion for ministry and a love of sports make you a prime target for recruitment into a church’s Upward basketball program but also the first to be “accidentally” left off the e-mail list for a church’s basketball team.

***

For those involved in sports ministry or those like me who have at one time or another sought an outlet for athletic activity in a church setting, I have a question.

How do you keep a sports ministry from becoming a place for Christians to act like @**hats around non-Christians and each other?

“Aw, I Feel Sorry For You…” is a new weekly feature here at PFB in which we look at, and feel sorry for a certain person, place or thing in the world of sports.
Why I Feel Sorry For You: You did just like anyone else would do, Rich. You thought the grass looked greener on the other side. You thought you had the chance to cement your legacy. You were destined for that “Made for TV” movie about your life, staring Jim Belushi. From the lowly stage of Salem College up through Glenville State to Clemson to Tulane, then to West Virginia and then on to the big time, the University of Michigan. However, Rich, you’re tenure at UM has been one marred with controversy and to be honest… bad coaching. You could’ve stayed at West Virginia and been the greatest coach in the history of Mountaineer football. Those tall shadows of Bear Bryant (when you turned down the Alabama job) and Bo Schembechler at Michigan? Read the rest of this entry →

When I took over PFB from Bryan a couple months ago, I wanted it to be an open platform for aspiring writers and bloggers to discuss sports and faith. That offer still stands.

As you may have noticed, we’re not exactly blowing up the bandwidth with content… yet.

If you are interested in contributing in some way to PFB, please contact me at joshuadrollins at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

Time’s running out on the work week, which means it’s time again, organized sports fans, for the airing of grievances.

In 100 words or fewer, spout off about anything and everything in the world of sports. Something or someone got your gourd? Let’s hear about it in the comment section below.

One lucky commenter will receive a copy of the new book from Page 2 author, Ted Kluck, “The Reason for Sports: a Christian Fanifesto.”

So have at it. You have until Monday at 8 p.m. to post.

When Alfonso Soriano turns on the first pitch of a game and puts it in the left-field seats, a conversation ensues about whether the swing-at-everything hitter should even be given a chance to break Rickey Henderson’s leadoff homerun record in the first place.

But in proper football (or soccer as we call it here), when a guy scores from mid-field on the first ball booted in the game, it becomes must-see YT (YouTube, that is).

And why not? Not too many feats in any sport can top one one thousand, two one thousand, nylon.

Is there anyone as uncomfortable looking in the press box than John Gruden? One of these days he’s going to go postal. I’m feeling it.

If he does decide to go postal, can we please make sure Matt Millen is in the booth? After the way that man disgraced the Lions, he shouldn’t be allowed around a football, much less a broadcast. If you missed his commentary during the OSU/PSU game on Saturday, consider yourself lucky. Not only does he get College Football games, he does NFL coverage on the Monday Night pregame? Why couldn’t that go to Chris Spielman instead?

Speaking of Penn State, they’re awful. They may be the most overrated team I’ve seen in a very long time in NCAA Football. When you let TP and the Buckeyes make you look that bad, you’re bad. That’s coming from a Buckeye fan.

Is Rich Rodriguez on the hot seat in Ann Arbor? That seems to be a rumor that’s gaining a lot of steam. I believe Rodriguez is a solid coach, but the alumni at Michigan aren’t going to put up with him much longer. He brought a pretty bad reputation to Michigan, and then followed up by two losing seasons. He may have been able to build a program in Morgantown, but WVU wasn’t the power Michigan once was. I see the alumni pushing him out if he loses the next two games. Who do they bring in? None other than Cincinnati Bearcats headman, Brian Kelley.

This may be the most wide open NCAA season I’ve seen in a long time. If you would’ve told me five years ago that Oklahoma, Michigan and Notre Dame would be out of the top 25 and teams like Cincinnati, TCU and Houston would be in, I would’ve told you you’re out of your freaking mind. In this season, nothing surprises me.  I’m going to go ahead and say it, Alabama is my pick to play in the National Championship this year –and bring home the trophy to the Bama faithful.

Hey, speaking of Notre Dame, I’m very convinced Charlie Weiss is on his way out. Where’s his next stop? Back in Foxboro, of course. There seems to be a little bit of an opening left in New England ever since Josh McDaniels left for Denver. Unlike a certain “Genius”, Charlie didn’t go against the family, and the Godfather would welcome him back with open arms.

So who will replace Weiss at Notre Dame? If you believe what everyone tells you, it’ll be Urban Myer. I’m not going to go that route. Instead, I think it could be one of a few coaches.  Buffalo coach, Turner Gill could be a real possibility.  However, I would look no further than to Monday Night and John Gruden for the answer. Gruden is a proven winner (although not on the NCAA level), who I’m sure could very easily recruit. If not Gill or Gruden, don’t forget about the bloodline of Notre Dame, Skip Holtz.

Rumors are running rampant that Mike Holmgren is on his way to Cleveland.  I think it would be a step in the right direction for the Browns. Let Holmgren run your team in a Tuna way. Mangini has got to go, though.  Bring in a solid coach, like Arizona assistant Russ Grimm, and try to rebuild.  Let me give you some advice though, Randy Lerner. If you want the Browns to succeed, you need to bring in Mike Holmgren and keep Bernie Kosar very far away from your franchise.

Are the New Orleans Saints really for real? I just can’t seem to buy it. I know how amazing Drew Brees is. I know how athletic they are. However, I think the conference belongs to Minnesota. Brees vs. Favre in the NFC Playoffs? That sounds great to me.

Speaking of big games between big QB’s, how about next Sunday night, when the New England Patriots invade Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indianapolis Colts? Can the Colts continue their unbeaten streak against the last team to go all 16 games undefeated? It pains to say yes…so instead I’m going to say no comment.

Did you guys see Chad Ochocinco walk towards the refs yesterday with a wad of ones? I don’t expect 85 to get into too much trouble – however, the local CBS employee who gave Chad the dough will probably be stuck covering something really depressing now. Like Cincinnati Reds baseball.

The Bengals? They’re for real.  It seems Marvin Lewis keeps doing enough to save his job. He should’ve been fired a few times by now. However, the real test is going to be now that Chris Henry is finished.  I think they’re solid enough to wrap up the AFC North however.

Speaking of AFC North, next week’s Monday Night game is the Baltimore Ravens invading Cleveland. Instead of this game, you should watch How I Met Your Mother, Greek or paint dry.

Special congratulations to Real Salt Lake for playing in the MLS Eastern Conference Championship against the Chicago Fire. Please, for the love of Joseph Smith, beat the Fire. Please.

That’s all for now. See you folks later.