Recruiting Junkie

I have a confession to make. I'm a college football recruiting junkie. Being an FSU fan, I've checked out this site called warchant.com over the last month about once or twice a day to see if they've picked up any new verbal commitments from high school recruits. I know. Pretty pathetic. But here's the best part ... or the worst, depending on how you see it. I don't even get any real information except the updated list of kids who have already made commitments to play at FSU (i.e. the "old" news). You have to pay to read the articles and get the latest info on who's going where, but I'm not going to shell out the $9.95 a month they want for that. All I get is the teaser-headlines with a sentence or two that's designed to break your will and get you to pay up because you just have to see whether or not Joe Blow is even considering wearing the garnet and gold.

Thank goodness National Signing Day (also known as "return to sanity" day for me) is almost here. That's the day when these high-school-kids-turned-temporary-gods are supposed to sign on the dotted line and make the final call on where they go to school. All too often, this is done in some ridiculous, over-hyped, theatrically televised showcase where they "take their seat on the throne" by putting on the hat of the school they've decided to grace their presence with for the next four years. Or maybe 3 if they leave early for the NFL. Or possibly just 1-2 if they flunk out or can't get a booster to post bail for them after their fourth arrest for marijuana possession. Yes, the madness ends on Wednesday. At least until next January, when the cycle is repeated.

What can I say ... I love this stuff. Enough talking about it, though. I need to go see if FSU hung onto that 5-star defensive end from Tennessee who the Vols are trying to steal away.

Jimmy Fallon

Quick background here. For Christmas, Bryan got me the SNL dvd, "The Best of Jimmy Fallon". Great gift! He already knew this, but I think Jimmy Fallon is hilarious and was one of the most underrated cast members to ever be on the show. It was nice to see him get his due in that dvd.

The other day, though, I was having a conversation with Dustin during which Saturday Night Live was brought up and I told him about the Jimmy Fallon dvd. He just sat there, speechless, shaking his head in utter disbelief. He couldn't believe there was even such a thing as a "best of" for Jimmy Fallon or that I or anyone else would like him. So let's just tell it like it is. Dustin is wrong.

His main beef is that Fallon laughs in so many of his skits that it makes him unprofessional and a poor live actor. I have to admit, in asking other friends about Fallon's place in SNL lore, this is the polarizing issue. Either they didn't like him because of the uncontrollable laughter or they thought it only made his skits funnier. I'm with the latter. If anything, it only adds to the humor. And to his critics on this issue I pose this question: could you keep a straight face all the time in sketches with Will Ferrell or Horatio Sanz?? I think not.

Laughter issue aside, Fallon had two of the show's best recurring characters in Sully (the Boston teens) and Nick Burns (the computer guy, pictured above). His impressions are right up there with Darryl Hammond. And he was also one of the best news anchors the show had. Fallon was a great one. And don't you forget it.

End of the Spear

Saturday night Taryn and I went with friends to see "End of the Spear". Simply put, I thought it was amazing. The story is based on the real life interaction between five Christian missionary families and the Waodani, a violent tribe living on the Amazon basin of Ecuador. A friend (Dustin) who we saw it with pointed out that the movie does an incredible job of telling the story from the viewpoint of both the tribe and the missionaries. It truly does.

The story itself is powerful and challenging and would be without any added dramatic element. More so than most, including others based on real events, I walked out with an experience over and above simple entertainment. It refreshed my understanding of sacrifice, forgiveness and what it means to serve. And that's always good for me since I have a tendency to place boundaries on those things based on my own level of comfort. Anyway, it's a good film and one that I'd recommend to anyone.

The Year of John

Ok, I have to admit it. I just turned 29 a couple days ago and it feels a little wierd. I'm starting to look at my "youth" like a setting sun that's still just barely above the horizon. Still there, but fading fast. Of course, this is based on the fact that age is the sole defining factor to most people of whether or not a person is still young and that, in my mind, I've always considered your "twenties" to be the cutoff. So the way I see it I've got a year left to enjoy it. With that being said, allow me to announce that it is now the "Year of John".

I borrowed this phrase from my brother-in-law who had the "Summer of Bryan" before he graduated in the Fall of 2004. He had borrowed it from a Seinfeld episode when there was the Summer of George. Anyway, you think I would since I've made this declaration, but I don't have any great plans for the Year of John. At least not yet. My only real goal is to try and go to, learn, see or do a couple things I've never gone to, learned, seen or done before. Skydiving's crossed my mind here and there, but I have a real strong tendency toward the preservation of life that might get in the way. Maybe some of you can give me some suggestions. And don't worry. If it's a little adventurous, out of the ordinary or out of the way, I probably haven't done it.

I like to joke about it, but this aging thing really isn't a big deal to me. Way I see it, I'm just starting to enter the prime of my church Softball and Flag Football careers.

Patriots loss

Thank you, Denver! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am about the Patriots losing yesterday's divisional playoff game to the Broncos. More than any other team in professional sports (with the Yankees being a close second), I hate to see the Patriots win. Here's a few reasons why.

One, they never should have won Super Bowl 36 because they never should have even been playing in the game. Brady's fumble-ruled incomplete pass that would have sealed their defeat in the divisional playoff game that year was the worst call I've ever seen in the history of the NFL.
Two, the NFL actually made a new rule (the "tuck" rule) the following year to try to justify that blown call. Give me a break. Just admit your mistake. Don't change the rules so that you're required to make the same bad call in the future.
Three, I'm sick and tired of the "Patriots can do no wrong" mentality among NFL analysts and broadcasters. Perfect example: In yesterday's loss to the Broncos, Willie McGinest and Larry Izzo got in a fight on the sidelines. I believe most would agree that this is not a good thing. Not with the Patriots, though. After that happened, the broadcasters said it was a positive, they were showing life and still had some fight left in them. Are you serious??
Last of all, Rodney Harrison. Biggest cry-baby in the NFL. I know he was hurt most of this season, but he's got a lot of teammates just like him. More than any other team (with Harrison being the absolute worst), the Patriots try to get away with more things (hold, illegal contact with receivers, etc..) while complaining the most if they don't get a call. Just shut up already. The infamous "tuck" should have been enough to keep you guys quiet for years to come.

My team's already out, but at least I can enjoy the fact that the Patriots won't be holding the trophy when it's all said and done.

"Book of Daniel"

I'm guessing pretty much everyone's heard about this new show on NBC by now for all the controversey it's caused. It premiered last Friday and, yep, I watched it. Having been forwarded a number of emails about how terrible it would portray Christians through Daniel Webster (the show's main character) and his family, I thought I'd see for myself.

In case you haven't heard about the show, pretty much everything I read about it beforehand mentioned these main aspects. It centers around Daniel Webster, an Episcopal priest who is addicted to painkillers and also regularly converses with Jesus, and his family, which includes: his alcoholic wife, a gay son, a daugter who sells drugs and a sex-crazed adopted son. Those descriptions were on target, only there was much more. In the first episode, we also find out ...
- Daniel's brother-in-law is murdered after stealing $3 million from the church
- Daniel calls on a Catholic priest with ties to the mob in an effort to recover the money
- Daniel's sister-in-law, Victoria, (now a widow) is bi-sexual and was having an affair with her late husband's secretary.
- Bishop Beatrice Congreve, who oversees Daniel, is having an affair with Daniel's father, also a bishop in the church.

There were other problems for the characters in the show that I didn't mention, but you get the idea. Hey, just your average Christian family. Needless to say, as a Christian myself, I wasn't too fond of the show, but it wasn't the ridiculous portrayal of Webster and his family that really bothered me. That's the Hollywood I expect. As Kevin Reilly, president of entertainment at NBC said in a Wall Street Journal article, "By offering shows that have a morality and belief at the center as well as some racier content -- hopefully a lot of people can have their cake and eat it too." Sadly enough, that description probably fits a lot of Christians.

What got to me was the way Jesus was portrayed. The following description was on NBC's web site. "Keeping Webster grounded is his strong, loving wife Judith ... and Jesus (Garret Dillahunt, 'Deadwood'), his best friend and confidante who serves as a sounding board and encourages Webster to find the answers within himself." That's pretty much all Jesus was in the show. Just someone who popped in on occasion to have a chat. He listened well. That part was good. But no answers, no truth, no real concern over their problems, no power to bring change, and no desire to see change.

A sad, weak and watered-down version that doesn't even come close to the Savior I believe in. Still, it made me wonder how often my life actually promotes that view of Jesus. And how often do I relegate Jesus to nothing more than my "sounding board"? Hmmm ...

The Genius of Marcus Vick

Amazing. I tried to imagine what goes on in the head of Marcus Vick while reading about his gun show at McDonald's, but I don't know if I could ever really understand it. Here's a guy "forced" into making millions of dollars a year earlier than expected after getting kicked off the VaTech football team and this is what he does the next day. To quote the great Will Ferrell (a.k.a. Alex Trebek) in a Celebrity Jeopardy skit on SNL, "I'm speechless." Even though I never bought into the hype about him possibly being better than his brother, the guy's still an unbelievable athlete.

Quick side note: I can imagine what kind of kids these were. I ran into one the other day who about plowed my mom over at a sporting goods store while she was standing still in an aisle, then acted like it was her fault. No apology and no respect at all. And this wasn't exactly the best day to be teasing Marcus Vick, but come on ...

You're Marcus Vick and these are just three stupid teenagers at a McDonald's. Let it go. Maybe it's just me, but I thought the fact that it happened at McDonald's was hilarious. Here's a guy about to be a millionaire and he gets arrested at a McD's, the absolute bottom rung on the restaurant ladder. I wonder if one of the part-time cashiers tried to get his autograph on a Big Mac box as they were putting him in the squad car. We can only hope that happened.

Anyway, I think we can go ahead and add Marcus the Leg Stomper into the category of "History's Dumbest Athletes". A couple other members include:
Eugene Robinson: Safety for the Atlanta Falcons who was arrested for solicitation of prostitution the night before Super Bowl 33. The best part is that same morning, Robinson had just received the Bart Starr Award for "high moral character". As Bill Simmons from ESPN.com likes to say, "you can't make this stuff up".
Albert Belle: The guy could hit a baseball, but what I'll always remember him for is when he picked up that foul ball down the left field line in the 7th inning of a game and drilled a heckler in the chest with it. That and the fact that he once chased trick-or-treaters off his property IN HIS SUV. And also the time ... well, I could go on for awhile with this, so let's stop here.