Need some inspiration on the last Friday in May? Then please do yourself a favor and watch DJ Gregory’s story.
I know 12 minutes is an eternity in internet video time, but seriously, this one will move and inspire you.
a few things to check out while you daydream about flossing your teeth with Mel Kiper Jr.’s hair…
+ Whether on the field or off of it, there’s a lot to appreciate about Jamie Moyer according to this piece at Guideposts.com.
+ Brad Lomenick, head honcho for the Catalyst Conferences, blogs about why the Masters is such a special tournament.
+ For $5 a week folks in the Decatur, Illinois area can attend Karate for Christ classes where they learn front snap kicks and lessons from Romans 10 from Sensei Billy Roberts. “We are to defend our body, the temple of God, from attack of another person who is bound by Satan to hurt us physically,” Roberts said. “Through our example of protecting the aggressor from committing a sin against us, with the same covering of the Holy Spirit, we can block through the attack.”
+ Tangle.com (formerly GodTube) announces new partnerships with some of the world’s most impactful ministries, sealing deals with and adding the Potter’s House/T.D. Jakes Enterprises, Focus on the Family and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) to its list of continually growing ministry partners. The new ministry partners will join tangle’s current roster of influential organizations including: Samaritans Purse, Buckner International, Christian Living Magazine, Max Lucado and Women of Faith, among many others.
So that I don’t put you to sleep with the backstory, here’s what you need to know:
In the fall of 2003 Erica and I road-tripped down to Maryland to see the band play, and before the show Cliff Young (the lead singer of the band) pulled me aside and asked me if I’d be interested in going to Ecuador with the band. I was interested of course, and in April 2004 I flew to Ecuador with the band on a Compassion International trip. The band was in the process of recording their next album, Share The Well, and I had a blast seeing South America for the first time and hanging out with my favorite band. The trip was as surreal as you’d think it would be for a wide-eyed, psycho fanboy like me.
The last day of our trip was Sunday, April 11. After attending a church service in Quito, we were treated to an amazing steak and shrimp barbecue by a local family. Unfortunately for me, my stomach had been queasy all morning and I wasn’t able to eat. After lunch I found a couch and a television in one of their upstairs rooms and flipped on the TV, surprised to see that the Masters was on. Cliff and I had been following the scores in the paper each morning, but I was so wrapped up with what was going on with the band, the sports world really wasn’t on my radar screen.
Cliff eventually found me upstairs and we watched the entire back nine in anticipation as Phil Mickelson, the lovable loser, tried desperately to best the 8-under that Ernie Els had posted a few groups ahead of him. At that point Mickelson had never won a major, and folks were wondering if he ever would. Mickelson birdied #16 to tie Els at 8-under and hit the green with his second shot on #18, giving himself an 18-foot putt for his first Major title. Like most of you who were watching at that moment, Cliff and I were on the edge of our seats as he lined up the putt. Though neither of us were huge Mickelson fans, we both wanted to see the putt drop. When the ball disappeared into the hole, we both jumped off the couch (higher than Mickelson did) and exchanged a nice white guy high five.
Here’s the putt again:
It was one of those sports moments that you are happy to experience with someone else, rather than by yourself. And it will always be special to me because it was an amazing ending to an awesome week.
(and if you’re interested, you can read my 5-day journal from the trip over at my blog.)
For me, this week is the best week on the sports calendar.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship – check
Opening Day for Baseball – check
The Masters – check
Basketball, hockey, and NASCAR for those who are inclined – check
Ditto for the Women’s NCAA basketball championship – check
A person from Czechoslovakia is called a – Czech
I’m sure that die hard football fans will fight me on this one, arguing that the Best Sportsweek of the year HAS to include the best sport we have.
It’s a valid point, but I’d counter that NFL fans at least have the Draft to look forward to in a couple of weeks. That means you’ll get to see Mel Kiper’s hair on Sportscenter at least once this week. (and yes, the Best Sportsweek of the year HAS to include Mel’s hair.)
So, are you on board with me?
If not, what’s your favorite sports week of the year? First week of college football? First week of the NFL season or the NFL playoffs? First week of the NCAA Tourney? Let us know…
(…coming later this week, the PFB MLB 2009 prediction piece…enjoy the games!)
2 golf posts in a row? I know, I know. I’m sorry.
But I wanted to pass along that PFB Member Erik A has started a fantasy golf league and he’s looking for people to join up. here’s the info:
Group ID# 16753
Group Name: Golf Nuts @ P4B
Group Password: blowouts
enjoy!
What: Northern Trust Open
Where: Riviera Country Club
Can I Play There: What part of Country Club do you not understand.
What To Watch For: Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old Japanese phenom who in 2008 became the youngest player to crack the top 100 world rankings.
Who Will Win: Probably not defending champion Phil Mickelson, who isn’t very good at golf right now. How about a surprise pick, the gritty little Bruin, Corey Pavin.
Tiger Watch: According to Mark O’Mera, Woods is close to 100% and better than ever. It is possible Tiger will play in next week’s Match Play event, if so, we’ll know by this Friday.
Chad Watch: According to Golf Digest, I played the 22nd toughest golf course in the United States this past weekend, Silver Lakes, in my hometown of Glencoe, Alabama. I played OK, but somehow turned an 81 into an 86. My swing has been a little iffy so far in 2009, so I’ve decided to experiment with the Stack and Tilt this week. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.
Please make it go away!!! – Terrell Owens. Why do I have to hear his name every day? Usually I don’t mind athletes drawing attention to themselves, but I can’t take this guy. At least with Ocho Cinco and Deion Sanders there was a bit of humor involved, but T.O. just seems like a spoiled brat. If he were on my favorite team, I’d throw up on my wife. And to make sure I am not part of the problem, I will not say or type his name for a year, starting………….now.
This week in sports you know nothing about - The Handball Bundesliga (HBL) is the top German professional handball league. The HBL website is in German, but after running the latest article through Babel Fish, I learned, “On today’s Tuesday and on tomorrow’s Wednesday the eight meetings of the Achtelfinals stand in the competition of this year around the DHB cup on the program. It comes equivalent twice to the duel of two Erstligisten. May the match between the SG Flensburg Handewitt and the Rhine Neckar lion, which are already today delivered as preferred play hand ball federal league are valid for this round as Topspiel”
This week at Auburn - Auburn hired Gene Chizik this week. Most fans are not very excited. Auburn interviewed Turner Gill, but did not give him the job, which apparently makes Auburn racist, unlike Tennessee, who did not interview a minority when they hired Lane Kiffen. Many Auburn fans remember Chizik fondly from his days as the Tiger’s defensive coordinator, and many admired Gill for his work at Buffalo and for being an outspoken Christian, but most thought Auburn would hire someone better than either of them.
Sports highlight that never gets old – Because I have caught the golf bug early we’ll go with Jack in ‘86
I have nothing. Nothing to do. Nothing to care about. Nothing.
Auburn was bad this year, very bad, and I have no bowl game to look forward to. Sure there is a coaching search and recruiting, but those just seem to depress me more after a bad season. The Tigers are playing basketball, but they aren’t very good either, and when it comes to hoops, I am as fair weather as they get.
I want to play golf. I brought my clubs in last night and cleaned them. They look great, but I have no time to use them. The sun has set by the time I get off work, and weekends this time of year are reserved for shopping and decorating and parties and other things besides golf.
Sure there’s pro sports, but if I’m being honest with you, and I have no reason not to be, then I’d tell you missing every NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL game from now till Kingdom Come would not upset me. I do enjoy watching golf, but they aren’t playing now, and even if they were, Tiger is still rehabbing his knee.
I tried to pick a soccer team to follow. After reading Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch I became fascinated by the madness of it all. I keep up with Celtic FC, but living an ocean away makes it hard to really get in to it. I have watched a few games at work on a pirated feed from some Arab network. Did you know the Arabic word for goal is قصد
But January will be here soon, and my weekends will be spent playing cold golf. Then the grass will start to grow, and flowers will bloom, and Tiger will return to the Masters. And before long I’ll be back in Jordan-Hare Stadium, cheering on my Tigers with their new coach. But for now, I’m kind of bored.
Professional golfer J.P. Hayes inadvertantly broke the rules once, called himself on it twice, and is now out of a job until 2010. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
