WHAT DEFINES ME?

As most if not all of you know, I am a Cubs fan. So I am supposed to write a blog post giving reasons they lost. Or maybe hoping for next year. Not today at least.
Natural comments I receive regarding the Cubs lets me know that people are aware the Cubs games are important to me, especially playoff time (even from people whose team did not have the best record in the NL; I have to at least have one defensive zinger).
This made me think. What do people see in my life that lets them know about my passion to serve God? What happens in the real world that would make people think, I should tell Justin Lewis about this. Opportunities to serve? Injustice that I would work to curtail? Things going on in Zambia? These type of things are things I should be defined by. Not the most knowledgeable or loyal Cubs fan in Memphis or something like that.

ZAMBRANO-NO

OLYMPICS--SWIMMING

Some observations on the swimming event.

Records are broken nearly every race. I think the swimsuits are too helpful, and I think the pool/water concedes faster times than in the past. Seriously.

Michael Phelps is a freak of nature, is a great swimmer, seems to be a good guy, I think he is clean, he is really fun to watch and the story is entertaining, BUT I don't see how he could have possibly won that 7th gold. I guess I can't doubt the touchpad technology.

I LOVE YOU AARON COOK & MIGUEL TEJADA

Nobody scored. Sorry about the hatred Dan.

I HATE YOU DAN UGGLA

The Cubs have a good chance to make the World Series this year. That is the only reason I am watching an extra inning All-Star game. It is the bottom of the 10th nobody out men on 1st and 3rd after two Dan Uggla errors. This is following grounding into a double play to end the top of the inning. I hope this hateful post was written in vain.

CUBS VS. CARDS

The St. Louis Cardinals are the main rivals for my Cubbies. They play in the same division and the "friendly rivalry" has heated up in recent years as the Cubs have been more of a threat in the division. Much is made of the length of time it has been since the last Cubs World Series. So, we have to find positives. This is one that helps with Cardinal fans who are friends and family:

SILVER LINING

After last night's defeat a dark cloud hangs over Memphis. It's not as bad for me, though. My wife and I were in the same ESPN bracket competition. The determining factor was last nights game, so I had dual interests in the game. If Kansas won, then I won the competition, but my current hometown team would lose. A team I have watched live this year (my advance scouting was lacking since I thought they would lose to Texas). I decided I would sacrifice the competition and root for Memphis, even though it would mean Erin would beat me in a sports related activity. All my hours of watching ESPN would be for naught.
I had all but conceded defeat and began to face what would be humiliation for an indefinite amount of time. Then it all changed and the universe has rightfully restored itself (how self-centric is that?) Now, I have scored higher than Erin and won all my facebook brackets. So, although the hometown team lost, I still gained. She is taking me out for smoothies tonight. The dark cloud that hangs over Memphis has a silver lining for me.

GO 'CATS

Last time the 'Cats played Marquette we were a 1 and D-Wade triple-doubled us out of the tourney. No expectations this year, UK and their fans are just glad to be there.
Speaking of expectations. Last year I picked 15 of 16 sweet sixteen teams.

BASEBALL: ALREADY AND NOT YET

I live close to a high school and the other day I heard a couple "pings". I realized that they were bats and they were practicing softball. Yes I know, it was only softball, but still I felt for the first time that baseball season is coming. Today I have been been encouraged further that the season is approaching. I surfed over to cubs.com and saw that they were in the middle of a game! A spring training live box score was before my eyes. Spring training is already underway. It felt even better when I saw 8-1 Cubs. Some people say baseball season is too long. Well, I really like baseball and cannot get enough. Can't wait for the real season to start. I got MLBTV for Christmas it is going to be sweeeeeettt.

SUPER BOWL POST 3: FINAL THOUGHTS

I was only able to see most of the 2nd quarter live in Dairy Queen (long story). I was able to hear the final failed drive by the Pats. Very entertaining radio.
Pretty neat that Manning brothers won in consecutive years. As a Peyton fan, I am really glad he won first. There would be all kinds of talk about who the better Manning was if that was not the case.
Incredible catch.
Lots of hits on Brady.
18-1 is not quite 19-0. I am pleasantly surprised at how meaningless the regular season is being treated.

SUPER BOWL POST 2

Why does the Super Bowl always have to be played in warm weather or indoors?  Everyone talks about how great playoff football is in the snow, wouldn't the Super Bowl be that much more fun to watch?  I realize that people putting down thousands of dollars to go to the game probably don't want to sit in the snow four and a half hours, but phooey on them.  Play the Super Bowl in Buffalo or Green Bay.  That would make it real winter football.  

SUPER BOWL POST 1

My initial thoughts about the Super Bowl are:
I hate the Patriots and I hope they never win again in the existence of the NFL.
It would be really cool for Eli to win the Super Bowl, or would he "manage" the Super Bowl? What is the deal with the experts reducing Eli's performances to managing? A coach manages, a coordinator manages, players make plays.
I still hate the Patriots and I hope they never win again in the existence of the NFL.
The Pats will probably win.

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH GREEN BAY'S AFFILIATE?

This weekend the Giants come to Green Bay to play the Packers. The Green Bay area has shown their support in a very unique way. The local FOX affiliate usually airs the greatest television show ever, Seinfeld, on Saturday evenings at 5:30. But, they are not showing it this Saturday because it is Eli Manning's favorite show. This gives Green Bay quite an advantage, I would hate for the opposing team to be watching television before the game.
But don't worry Eli,there are two episodes on TBS near the same time and all episodes are available on DVD if you really need your fix.

ESPN LAW

First there was ESPN; a channel dedicated solely to sports. Then there was ESPN 2 because ESPN could not cover all the sports needed. Then came ESPN News so we can have sports highlights 24/7. ESPN Classic then came along to give us historic games. Finally, a few years ago ESPN U came on the scene so we can have college sports 24/7.
Now I have a proposal for ESPN, ESPN Law. This could be kind of like C-Span, only dedicated solely to sporting figures in the courts. Roger Cossack could have his own legal explanation show live from Pepperdine. I am sure ESPN could find a way to get a camera in the courts so we could enjoy more than the same 5 second clips of athletes walking into the courtroom as their case is discussed for hours. Anyway, if this was the case then maybe sports could be discussed on the original television channels dedicated to sports.

YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME

You have to be kidding me. Words that I noticed Tony Dungy mouthing numerous times last night. He was on camera saying it two or three times but I am sure it had to be at least ten. I figure he said one for each interception (6). Probably two for injuries (8). Maybe add one when he noticed that when the game ended he had 15 eligible players for offense and several were third string (9). Definitely one after "clutch" kicker Vinatieri missed a 29 yard field goal (10). Most coaches would probably insert some type of vulgar verb before kidding on this one. I think one came out when the Colts were originally awarded a first down with 1:47 left in the game only for it to be overturned by inches (11).
Back to Vinatieri. He is not the same kicker he was last year or years prior. First, his range is down dramatically. Evidently "field goal range" is somewhere around 25 yards out. The first extra point this season hit the crossbar and made it in. The ball is making some knuckle rotation off his foot, which probably has a lot to do with his inaccuracy. I don't think he has kicked a touchback all year. He used to appear as if he owned the field when he lined up for a field goal. Now he looks like he has never been there before and is not sure if he is really supposed to be kicking.
Peyton can have an off night. Especially since he put the team in position to win the game. Albeit, with some great defense. (Luckily they were up against Phillip Rivers rather than Juice Williams--Bob). They didn't give up much of anything, special teams was horrendous, though. Vinatieri gets no sympathy. He has one job to do. Kick the ball.
I still love Peyton, but Vinatieri... you have to be kidding me.

I WON'T STOP BELIEVING

I promise I will not turn my blog into strictly YouTube videos. But I could not pass up posting this video. This video is further proof that people outside Cubs Nation will never understand what being a Cubs fan is all about.

GO CUBS GO

The Cubs finished the year with 85 wins. I predicted they would win 85. You may be waiting for a postseason prediction. You aren't going to get one. All I will say is that although I am not superstitious, I do believe in the Law of Averages, and the Cubs are due. Unfortunately I also see some merit in Murphy's Law.

The title of this blog is in reference to a song that is played at Wrigley after every home game victory. There is a pretty cool story behind the song, but that is a different blog for a different day.

IS THERE ROOM ON THE WAGON?

I am wondering what the rules of bandwagoning are. I never really grew up watching college football. It has not been much of an interest of mine until the past two or three years. Even now I am just more than a casual fan.
The University of Kentucky has a good football team this year. This is much unlike years past-which is probably why I have never kept up with them. They have sort of emerged out of nowhere this year unless you live in Lexington, in that case you knew they were going to take down UofL for months. The 'Cats are 4-0 and have moved up in the top 25.
I figure everyone has a reason to be a fan of the team you root for, it could be proximity, or a favorite player. I have some good reasons to be allowed on the UK football bandwagon. First, I am from Kentucky. I root for the UK basketball team. My brother attends UK. I figure those are good enough reasons to start following the team. Until they start losing again.

VERY un-SUPERSTITIOUS

I have come to the conclusion that I have no control over the outcome of Chicago Cubs baseball games. For that matter, I have very little control over many things by wearing the same socks, wearing a lucky shirt, etc. I used to be quasi-superstitious, but no more. It is difficult for a Cubs fan not to be superstitious for one reason.; the Cubs lose a lot. It has nothing to do with a goat curse or anything like that. They just get outplayed. In fact, in some systemic way believing in superstitions may actually cause lower performance. If you are unable to perform a superstition then you may feel like your chances of success are lower. By thinking this you may actually perform worse, blaming it of course, on the superstition.
I am not just applying this to sports. I have no problem walking under ladders (except for the whole danger aspect). If I break a mirror, so what?
So, unfortunately, no matter what I do -save preventing Moises Alou from catching a fly ball-I cannot change the outcome of a Cubs baseball game.

MIKE AND MIKE?

This is bordering ridiculous. Mike and Mike in the morning is starting to become false advertisement. A tell-tale sign is when my wife asks where Mike (Golic who has been out for I am not sure how long) is. I reply, "vacation maybe?" She replies, "Are you sure he isn't dead?"

The good ol' days of Mike and Mike was before HD in the Sportscenter studio. Before they were hosting Spelling Bees. I remember a time when they were consistently both on the show at the same time and were on the air more than the Sage Steele Sportscenter update.

Bring back Mike and Mike the way it used to be.