Talking Football in December

So this is my first blog on the NFL as a whole since May. I made my Predictions of the Patriots then, little did I know they would accomplish this in conjunction with THE PERFECT SEASON!

Let me begin with some notes on the Pats.
1) Every great team in history has some near misses, "shoulda losses" never matter, it is the "coulda wons" that kill ya.
2) People took the close games, and started to think that there is a formula that teams can follow to beat the Pats. Problem with that is: a) you need the personnel to employ the same formula, and 2) you have to consider that Billichek isn't winning Super Bowls allowing teams to shut his team down with the same strategy week after week. If you need an illustration of this see the 34-13 victory over the Steelers in Week 14.
3) This week the Giants have no chance to slow down the Pats. I will give you 1 reason 'Eli Manning.' The Giants defense may play relatively well, but Eli will be putting forth his best effort to give the game away every chance he gets (for the record I believe Eli is salvageable as a QB, but his weaknesses will be exploited in this game). All the talk about the team resting their starters will be put to rest by halftime as the Pats will have opened up 20+ point lead. All of the starters for both teams will be able to sit...
4) For some reason, I feel like the Pats are going to get tripped up during the Playoffs. There really is only 1 team that can do it and that is the Colts. The Colts are Custer's last stand against another feather in the cap for Bill and the Brady Bunch.
5) As all indications are the Jags will play and beat the Steelers, I am not sold on their ability to beat the Pats when they show up there in Round 2 of the Playoffs. They have the right formula, they play good defense, control time of possession, and don't make many turnovers on offense, but I just don't think they are good enough to close the Pats out... Look for this one to be a thriller.

For the rest..... Watching the Packers implode in cold weather, I think the Bears may have done them a favor. They may fare much better in a much warmer Texas climate if both the Cowboys and Packers make the NFC Championship. They will both have their hands full as I predict the Redskins, who will win this week against the Cowboys and go up to Seattle and pull the upset, will be a good match in the "anything can happen" series between the Cowboys and Redskins.

Wade Phillips may be smart to go up to DC and close the door on their playoff hopes so it doesn't come back to bite him (remember what happened to Avery and the Mavs against Golden State). Of course that means the Vikings or Saints would get in and go up to Seattle and most likely get rolled and send the Giants to Big D for Round 2. So pick your poison, there is no easy roads to the Super Bowl.....

So to sprinkle in a little homer in this blog post, I have to pick the Cowboys to slide there way in to the Super Bowl. Both playoff games are going to be unbelievable brutal for them, but if this team can come back healthy they are going to be hard to knock off at home (ironically both losses this season were at home). As for the Super Bowl winner, as I stated earlier there is only one team in the NFL that can beat the Pats, so if they make the Super Bowl they are going to win. If the Colts can squeeze by them by going up to Boston and winning (does that possibility sound as crazy to you as it does to me)? The Cowboys vs. Colts Super Bowl would be one for the ages. As I recall their meeting at Texas Stadium November 2006 in which the fans stood on their feet the entire game (Aggie style) because the game was just that exciting!! Read more!

Choose the Better Right

Using the sermon points of the the believer, the Bible, and the ballot box I have scored these principles with my own commentary to reach what I see as an obvious conclusion.

I. Participate in the Process

This election had the highest voter turnout of any election. I believe more Christians voted in this election than any election before. Christian pastors made an outcry to White Evangelicals to go out and vote Republicans and President Obama prevailed overwhelmingly. I believe many were like me and after truly evaluating Biblical principles and not divisive talking points and wedge issues came to an obvious conclusion.

Score: It is unfair to assume that because more people participated in the process that the winner of the election was the benefactor of this participation so we will call this one even.

II. Vote Biblical Values

a. The Sanctity of Human Life
If you read the context of this question it put a much larger context around this principle than the typical non-negotiable pro-life rhetoric. Candidates should be chosen based on who has the best chance to pursue the practical and proven policies which could dramatically reduce the number of abortions in America and therefore save precious unborn lives, rather than those who simply repeat the polarizing legal debates and "pro-choice" and "pro-life" mantras from either side. Republican candidates have received a free pass from upholding all other Biblical and Conservative principles by stamping Pro-life on their campaign poster.

Score: That being said I do believe that God’s Word is non-negotiable so I will ignore the other principles on the sanctity of human life and score this for McCain.

b. Justice For All
With more than 2,000 verses in the Bible about how we treat the poor and oppressed, candidates must convey what they will do to overcome the scandal of extreme global poverty and the shame of such unnecessary domestic poverty in the richest nation in the world. Such a central theme of the Bible simply cannot be ignored at election time, as too many Christians have done for years. Any solution to the economic crisis that simply bails out the rich, and even the middle class, but ignores those at the bottom should simply be unacceptable to people of faith.

Score: This one is not even competitive the candidates are on complete sides of this principle score this one for Obama.

c. Peace on Earth
From the biblical prophets to Jesus, there is at least, a biblical presumption against war. We must choose the candidates who will be least likely to lead us into more disastrous wars and find better ways to resolve the inevitable conflicts in the world. The candidate that best understands that our security depends upon other people's security (everyone having "their own”, so no one can make them afraid). I do not want a pacifist president, but we can insist on one who views military force only as a very last resort, when all other diplomatic and economic measures have failed, and never as a preferred or habitual response to conflict.

I would also regard God's fragile creation and choose the candidate who will likely be most faithful in our care of the environment. A candidate that will take on the growing threat of climate change, and show a strong commitment to the conversion of our economy and way of life to a cleaner, safer, and more renewable energy future. This could accomplish at the same time a key priority like reducing our Middle East oil dependence. In addition job creation and economic renewal from a new "green" economy built on more spiritual values of conservation, stewardship, sustainability, respect, responsibility, co-dependence, modesty, and even humility.

Score: Again this is not a competitive comparison Even if you don’t believe in global warming; McCain has pronounced himself as war-monger who is only rivaled by former Vice President Cheney in his desire to see the destruction of all conflicting nations. Score this one for Obama.

d. Moral Conviction
If you read the explanation of this principle this really needs know explanation. Healthy families are the foundation of our community life, and nothing is more important than how we are raising up the next generation. Only one candidate exemplifies and articulates strong family values. The White House should be used to speak of sexual restraint and integrity, marital fidelity, strong parenting, and putting family values over economic values.

Score: You have one candidate that divorced his wife after she was in a car wreck and began an affair with hispresent wife. In addition selected a running mate that had an illegitimate child (do the math child’s age minus years married), and raised a child that did the same thing. In the middle of all of the backlash made false claims that they would marry (which still has not happened) and the baby daddy (never thought you would hear this term applied to someone proposing to be in the White House) is contemplating posing in Playboy magazine and the proposed mother-in-law has been arrested for six felony drug counts. The moral valley actually goes much wider and deeper than the few items I have mentioned.

This would basically disqualify McCain from the position if there were NO other opponent, but there is… Obama is married and actually loves his first and only wife, he has 2 beautiful children and almost let’s no occasion pass when he is not speaking passionately about the important role of a strong father and mother and the strength of the American family as the backbone of all that is good in our great Nation. Throw in his running mate that lost his wife and raised his children as a single father commuting from DC to Delaware daily so that he could be with his family at home. Even if you absolutely hate Obama with every fabric of your being, you have no choice you have to score this one for Obama.

III. Choose the Better Right

Just reviewing the 4 basic Biblical principles above I amazed that anyone could come to any other conclusion than to vote for Barack Obama. Even if you disagree with my opinions if you listed it out every single component of each of these Biblical principles and actually evaluated the candidates positions based on facts (not rhetoric that you hear on MSNBC or Fox News) it is undeniable that the agenda being promoted by Obama lines up significantly more so than what is being promoted by McCain. I believe if a lot of liberals or progressives actually took time to evaluate the specifics of his views they would be a little more tentative about their support. The “Change” Obama speaks of is not just rhetoric to be more tolerant it is actually pursuing the teachings of the Bible not just cherry-picking them for political gain.

IV. Ask for Wisdom (Proverbs 29:2)

If you note in the scripture referenced it says that when the “evil rule the people groan.” The people have never groaned as loud as they did this November and throughout the campaign season. Obama won more so from the people’s displeasure with the Bush administration than he did on his own merit or anything that John McCain did or said. Only the wealthy thrived under Bush the rest of us are left to support the burdens of their prosperity.

V. Pray for our Leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

Regardless if the candidate you supported prevailed as Christians we are called to pray for our leaders. I fault all of the so called Christians that failed to pray for President Bush as we watched him digress from the Christian and Conservative principles that he campaigned for to succumb to his ambition for economic gain and power. Let us not allow President Obama to lose his tenacity to pursue God’s agenda because Christians fail to support him with our prayers.

VI. God continues to Sit on the Throne (Daniel 12:20-21)

In verse 21 Daniel says God sets up Kings and disposes them. I truly feel that God allowed President Bush to lead this nation for two terms to prepare us for President Obama. Obama could have never succeeded under the mindset that Americans held at the turn of the century. God allowed us to see a disintegration of everything Americans believe before they could see beyond their fear and hatred and accept one that is truly capable of promoting God-centered qualities and equality. President Obama presents the best picture to both sides. To liberals he represents a purer representation of Biblical and moral principles that go beyond your personal faith, but just make plain sense to all men. To conservatives he stands as one that can actually articulate actionable items to achieve those moral and biblical standards not just use them as rhetoric to score political points.


In closing, to me this is such an obvious conclusion I cannot help but be disturbed by many Christians that have chose to disregard the teachings of the Bible and aggressively demonize President Obama. I have actually heard him ridiculed for statements that are specific principles and teachings from the Bible that all Christians supposedly use as instructions for our life. What is it that blinds you to the abhorrent symbol that McCain and Palin represent of morality, conservatism, and human decency. Is it really Obama’s stand on abortion (which is a topic for another day) that bothers you?

"God's Politics" will often turn our partisan politics upside down, transcend our ideological categories of Left and Right, and challenge the core values and priorities of our political culture. There is no easy jump from God's politics to either the Republicans or Democrats. God is neither. In any election, we face imperfect choices, but our choices should reflect the things we believe God cares about as people of faith. Therefore, people of faith, should be "values voters" but vote all our values not just a few that can be easily manipulated for the benefit of one party or another. Read more!

As I Always Expected

The Mitchell Report was released. As many have stated I am not sure if there is any value and identifying a list of players (most of which are inactive) as users of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). I really do not see that there is anything that can be done at this point. Maybe there will be some attempt to keep some of them out of the Baseball of Fame which I would say probably not a single person reading my blog will ever visit. At the end of the day the biggest surprise is the amount of money and time that was spent to produce much ado about nothing. There just might be a few more prevalent items that need some attention.

At the time there was no rule in MLB against the use of PEDs, or at least there was no formal testing policy. So to make matters worse none of the players identified ever tested positive for using PEDs, it is basically based on financial records and witnesses who attest to the purchase and in some cases subsequent use.

There were really no surprises, and most people don’t even believe the report uncovers a significant amount of the players that used PEDs because of the lack of support from MLB and the MPLBPA.

So really the point of this blog, is to throw stones at a few of the findings in light of the lynching that Barry Bonds receives for his alleged use of PEDs. Only 2 stones, the first of which:

The New York Yankees…. The report basically substantiated that the entire period of Yankees dominace in the 90’s and beginning of this century is completely tainted. It is actually easier to list the Yankees players that were not listed on the report. Every level of player, from their biggest stars, to guys that just passed through and made an impact for one season. This brings into question every bit of success the Yankees and their fans enjoyed. For all those that want to disregard all achievements made under the auspice of PEDs, the Yankees have made a mockery of themselves and MLB. I realize that the reason that so many players from New York were identified because of the source that provided the information was from the organization, but to me that further reflects the detestable nature of what they did. They cheated, and did not even have enough character in the organization not to disclose the information that has resulted in destroying the team’s image. In the case of Barry Bonds, Greg Anderson sat in jail for 15 months and never once disclosed any information on Bonds use of PEDs. Bonds is the one with the character flaws, but yet is able to gain this kind of loyalty??


The other stone goes to Roger Clemens. I admit I mainly dislike him because he is a Longhorn, but at this point he has to become enemy target #1. He is every bit of a decorated athlete as Bonds, and has achieved a number of records, and was certainly a Hall of Famer. They showed that in 1998, Clemens started the season 6-6, took some PEDs and preceeded to win his next 14 games ending the season 20-6. I will give Clemens credit this is not quite as staggering as Bonds 73 HR's having hit no more than 49 in any other seaon in his career. I would say in 2005 when playing for the Astros at the age of 43 being able to pitch 211 innings with a 1.87 ERA would be equally as questionable as 1998 for Clemens.

So for the next several weeks we'll all have to hear damage control from the accused players and agents, talking about how they took it one time while recovering from an injury, it was a bad decision, and they never ever used it again.... This is probably the most sickening part of the entire charade! Read more!

Awesome Wonder

My wife and I have a list of musical artists for which we have always said no matter what the cost (well within reason), and no matter where we may have to travel to see the concert we are going. We had 2 artists remaining on that list, and one of them is Stevie Wonder.

So you can imagine how excited we were when we heard he was on tour again, and that he was actually coming to Dallas and performing at the best venue (of its size) for a concert the Nokia Theatre in Grand Prairie. Maybe I am a homer, but this place was built to host a musical concert, this arena + your favorite musical artist makes for a memorable experience.

Before I discuss the concert I have to mention 1 thing. The day the tickets went on sale, I called my wife a little after 10:30 a.m. (tickets go on sale at 10). I asked her how good were the seats she was able to get? She said, oh my I completely forgot! How could this happen before we left for work this morning this was the last thing we discussed?? If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have been roasted!!! So I did what women claim to do, but we all know how it really gets done, if you need to get something done do it yourself. Surprisingly I was able to get good, but not great seats (look for a future blog on what I like to call the self-congratulator).

I consoled myself by thinking how close to the stage do I really need to be? It's not like Stevie is going to break it down and do the Souljah Boy (although he seemed like he would have if he could have, and he did dance a little). Also, surprisingly the video screens were on for this concert. You wouldn't think this was significant, but I have been to at least 10 concerts at this venue and recall the screens being on only once before. We weren't certain if they were on because the high cost of the tickets, or if it was because 50% of the audience was w-h-i-t-e??? In any event the video screens, plus my binoculars, and the fact that the seats really weren't too bad set the stage for a great concert.

OK, if you are still with me let me talk about how awesome Stevie Wonder's concert was. Too start this was the most people I had seen for any event I had every been to at this venue. Every seat was filled, and the crowd was pumped.... I mean so pumped that the crowd roared at the start of every song, one time they roared so loud, Stevie was like "Hold on ya'll let me sing the song!" Stevie went for 3 hours straight, no opening acts or nothing. I walked out of their dripping sweat sitting (and dancing) in the audience , I don't see how he does it!

Aside from the fact that at this point in life his body is shaped like a "pregnant penguin" (as stated by the woman sitting next to me) and his hairline is much closer to the back of his head than it is too the front, and that his daughter Aisha sang several songs, but is actually 1/3 the singer of his other back-up singer Kim Brewer this was about as hype of a concert as I have ever been too. You really can not appreciate how great he sings until you have seen it in person. I think he can sing in every key there is, and his voice never seemed to go weary.

As I recorded he sang the following songs, but frankly we were up and dancing so much I can't honestly tell you whether the order is correct or if I missed a song in there somehow:

1. Love's In Need of Love Today (with Aisha)
2. Too High
3. Visions
4. Living for the City
5. Master Blaster (Jammin')
6. Impromptu jamming with voice box
7. Higher Ground
8. Golden Lady
9. Ribbon in the Sky, Ribbon in the Sky Remix, Ribbon in the Sky Extended Version (with audience participation)
10. Overjoyed
11. You and I
12. Days of Wine and Roses
13. Send One Your Love
14. How Will I Know (with Aisha, and the only song from his most recent album that he played)
15. If You Really Love Me
16. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing
17. Signed, Sealed & Delivered
18. Signed, Sealed & Delivered (countrified)
19. My Cherie Amour (with Stevie letting crowd sing first verse)
20. For Once in My Life
21. I Was Made to Love Her
22. Ain't Gonna Stand for It
23. Boogie on Reggae Woman
24. Sir Duke
25. I Wish
26. Do I Do
27. You Are the Sunshine of My Life
28. Superstition
29. I Just Called to Say I Love You

I probably missed a few. At the end of the night we could only come up with 1 popular song he did not sing, "Isn't She Lovely." Another friend reminded me today that he didn't sing, "I Never Dreamed You Leave in Summer." It's from the Poetic Justice soundtrack. I promise you, after 3 hours of non-stop rocking (because every song is "The Jam"), you were not wanting for more. You had more than you can handle and felt like you really didn't pay quite enough for the ticket considering the show he put on. Not to mention between all the great songs you got to see a whole lot of that great Stevie Wonder personality, sense of humor, and some good old preaching as only Stevie can do.

Every artist needs to sit in one of his tour stops, so that they can see how a concert is supposed to be done, the guy sitting behind me was from Detroit and said this was good as a Motown show back at home in the 70's! If you missed him, I encourage you to not even hesitate to make a fun trip to see him at one of his upcoming tour stops, I promise you it will be the highlight of your trip! Read more!