Another year in the books

Every year at this time, I'm always wondering how the year went by so fast. Taryn and I have pretty much finished up our 3rd year of working with the campus ministry at USF. There are a couple small things going on during finals week, but yesterday was our last weekly gathering. There are always a lot of thoughts running through my mind at the end of each year. I think about all the things that took place. I think about the students. Did they grow? Did they make friends and connect with each other and God in new ways? How well was God honored through the ministry? In all of those thoughts and questions, there are always the good things and then the other areas that I know could have been better. So it is with life.

The thing I really appreciate about working with the campus ministry is being able to honestly tell people and know in my heart that I enjoy what I do. I like the change that comes with each semester. I like being around and working with people. And having been involved with ministries on the campus for a number of years as I student, I know the value of it. It's just nice to be able to combine my faith with service in an environment I love being in.

So another year is in the books. It was fun and brought a lot of good memories ... like the picture above from our Fall retreat. If we had an award for "Picture of the Year", I think that would have been it. So thank you Kyle, Phil and Josh for that moment in time (as odd as it was to see you in those outfits) and to all of you who helped shape my life and faith through the ministry this year.

NBA and NHL playoffs

Let the nightmare begin. The NBA and NHL playoffs are here. I can't decide if it's better or worse having them go on at the same time. Worse because their games dominate Sportscenter highlights and newspaper headlines, but better because they're over and done with at about the same time. This is easily one of the worst times of the sports year for me. In fact, if it wasn't for baseball, this would be right up there with the time from the end of the Super Bowl until the start of the baseball season, except for the break we get with March Madness. There are so many other things I'd rather watch on TV than one of these playoff games, including ....

• An Arena League football game
• A Kansas City Royals baseball game (that's for you Josh, in case you read this)
• The UPN Saturday afternoon matinee of Bloodsport for about the 78th time
• Saved By The Bell reruns
  
• Joy of Painting with Bob Ross
• The TV Guide channel
• The Magic Bullet Blender infomercial

Do we really need 16 teams in the playoffs in each league?? Do we really need a 7-game series in every round?? Yeah, about as much as I need a kick in the head. Either cut the number of teams down to 8 (division champs and 1 wild card from each conference) or cut the games in each series - 3 for the first round, all at the higher seed's home arena, 5 for the second, and then 7 for the conference and league championships. I still probably wouldn't watch, but at least they'd be over quicker.

Thoughts on sports (and a bad movie)

Wow. I've really slacked on posting lately. Things always seem to get a little busy this time of year, but it's starting to settle down. So you should be hearing from me a little more frequently. Now my two cents worth on a few things.

Barry Bonds. I've joined the camp that just wishes he'd retire and go away. There are times I feel for the guy and the abuse he gets on the road, but there are so many other things about him that I can't stand. I've caught a couple episodes of the ESPN show Bonds on Bonds. If you don't like the guy, don't watch the show. It definitely won't make you like him any more. The three things I've gotten from the show are this: (1) He became the player he is out of spite for his father, (2) he could care less if anyone outside of his family likes him, including media, fans and other players and (3) if you don't like him, then you're a racist. Never mind the problems he had with his manager in Pittsburgh and with other players. Never mind his arrogance. Never mind his indifference to fans through the years. Never mind the large amount of evidence up against him in this steroid investigation. Never mind the history his trainer has with steroids. It's all just a racist plot to bring him down. Whatever you say, Barry.

On the brighter side of baseball, Albert Pujols is the best hitter I've ever seen. The guy is unbelievable. In spite of all the things I just said about Bonds, I used to say that about him. Bonds will always be one of the best players/hitters to play the game, regardless of the outcome of the steroid issue. But Pujols has taken over as the game's most dominant player and he should stay there for a long time. The guy just doesn't take any bad swings. His 3-homer game - including the walk-off to win it in the bottom of the 9th - last Sunday against Cincy was simply amazing.

What about Chris Shelton?!?! Yes, he's on my fantasy team and I stole him in the 19th round of our draft. Better call for me. Two years ago it was Adrian Beltre in the last round. Last year it was Brian Roberts in round 21. I am the king of late round steals!! As of today, I'm in 4th place in our league, but based on how few innings pitched my team has compared to the guys ahead of me, I'm in good shape.

Going outside of baseball, I finally saw King Kong when I was up visiting my family in Illinois. Wow. What a terrible movie! I tried to ignore the scathing review I read on Dustin's blog and go into it with an open mind, but everything he said was on the money. The fight scene with Kong and the T-rexes is WAY TOO LONG. And the stupid looks the girl gives Kong the entire second half of the movie were just ridiculous. A few other issues I had with it: Kong and the girl "ice skating" on the frozen pond. Are you serious?!?! The fact that Kong's arms didn't fall off after getting bit about 39 times by the T-rexes. And the way the movie ends with the two morons (Ann and Jack) embracing on the top of the Empire State building without any concern for their lives and safety. You’ve got to be kidding me with that. Easily one of the worst 5 films I've ever seen.

Finally, the NBA and NHL playoffs are here. The only thing that excites me about that is knowing that their seasons are almost over. Here's to wishing for lots of sweeps.

Fantasy Baseball

First of all, let me say that I love fantasy sports. I mainly just play fantasy football and baseball and have been playing fantasy baseball with basically the same group of guys (with a couple newbies each year) for the last 5 years. We just recently had our baseball draft for this year and here's my team.

C - Josh Willingham
1B - David Ortiz
2B - Chase Utley
SS - J.J. Hardy
3B - Hank Blalock
OF - Lance Berkman, Hideki Matsui, Austin Kearns
Bench - Luis Gonzalez (AZ), Luis Gonzalez (CO - mainly for utility purposes), Christ Shelton, Aaron Hill (also for utility)

SP - C.C. Sabathia, Jeremy Bonderman, Scott Kazmir, Doug Davis, Jorge Sosa, Kelvim Escobar
RP - Billy Wagner, Jason Isringhausen, Todd Jones, Brian Fuentes

A few things. First, I'm hands-down the dominant force in our league. I've won it 4 out of 5 years and finished 3rd the other time. In our scoring format (the league is points only, not head-to-head), saves are very important so having good relievers is as big a need as anything else. Having 4 closers in a 12-team league gives me an edge. My strategy each year is to go with power and strong relief pitching. Needless to say, it's paid off before and I'm happy with the way my draft went again this year. Starting pitching is always my weak point and that's no different this year. Gotta love it when my #1 (Sabathia) goes down in his first outing of the year with a pulled oblique muscle - the 2nd year in a row he's had that injury. Hey C.C., do you think it might have something to do with the fact that you're probably about 20-30 pounds overweight?? Still, I like the updside of Bonderman and Kazmir and Davis is solid.

Anyway, I'm the team to beat again this year. Always am. I'll give you updates from time to time to let you know how things are going ... as if you care.