Notes: November 14, 2008

November 14, 2008 3 Comments

This is a fascinating time of year for me.  Not that there aren’t a lot of those times of year, but I especially love the fall season.  College football is always compelling in November because of the BCS circus.  I’m actually still competitive in all of my fantasy football leagues, which is a welcome change from years’ past.  College basketball is ramping up, and there will be good matchups to watch before we know it.  Free agency and all the Braves-related trade talk has kept MLB interesting to me in November, but that’s probably caused by the Braves’ lack of recent success and a tendency to look toward the future.  Honestly, I’m paying more attention to them now than I was in August when there were actual games to watch.

In the non-sporting world, it’s also a beautiful time to live and work in North Georgia and East Tennessee.  Melissa and I drive to Blue Ridge, GA once every fall to visit the Mercier apple orchard, and the fall colors we get to see along the way are always beautiful.  Because of the approaching holidays, there’s always a lot going on in November, too. So here’s a little taste of what’s going on:

  • Melissa and I were blessed with the arrival of a third cat on Tuesday, so we’re now outnumbered by the animals in our household.  Hopefully they’re not planning a coup anytime soon.  Our new cat, Jasper, was abandoned at the house of one of Melissa’s coworkers.  We know this because her coworker has a lot of pets and probably has gained a reputation for finding new homes for animals.  She also lives far enough out in the country that it left little doubt that this cat had been intentionally abandoned, rather than simply having lost its way.  Since this family had reached its quota of animals, we agreed to take on another cat.
  • Introducing a cat to a house that already has two cats is proving to be somewhat difficult.  Our youngest, Bender, is skittish around people (even us), and he has mostly kept his distance from Jasper.  Racer, the oldest, is clearly the alpha male, and he has made things somewhat uncomfortable for Jasper in his new home.  We think Racer just wants to play, but Jasper gets so scared of him that he starts hissing when Racer comes close.  That will have to stop if we’re going to keep Jasper long-term.  He’s a sweet cat who loves constant attention (he won’t budge when he gets up on your lap), so we know he’d be a good fit for an elderly person who doesn’t already have a pet.  For now, we’re committed to getting him acclimated to our house, and we keep him apart from Racer and Bender while we’re away at work.
  • The Tennessee football program has ceased to exist as a functioning being.  I’m 100% behind any effort to lure Mike Leach away from Texas Tech, just to go on the record for that.
  • I liked this paragraph I read about what Tennessee has to compete for in the coming weeks: “Well, there are ways to stay relevant, even at 3-6 with a lame-duck coach. One is losing to Wyoming. Other possibilities? Being Vanderbilt’s bowl-clinching, history-making, streak-breaking sixth win. Having the nation’s longest streak of ownage broken on your home field on the day to honor a coaching legend. Hello, 3-9…”
  • So what about the Braves’ quest to land Jake Peavy?  I think he’s a tad riskier than most front-line starters health-wise, but there are also very few starters who have his ability.  He’s not going to be a 220-inning workhorse like C.C. Sabathia, and he may be the next Brave to go under the knife for Tommy John surgery, but I wouldn’t exactly be disappointed to see him in a Braves uniform next year.
  • The only problem with such a trade might be the package of players that the Braves are rumored to be offering, which would include Yunel Escobar, Gorkys Hernandez, Charlie Morton or Jo-Jo Reyes, and Blaine Boyer or another low-level pitching prospect.  Escobar is a whiz at a premium defensive position, so he has tremendous value even if his 2008 line (.288/.366/.401) represents his true hitting ability.  I’m starting to doubt that Brent Lillibridge would be capable of replacing him, so a trade of Escobar opens up another hole that will need to be filled.  Hernandez has a pretty good reputation among the Braves’ prospects, but at least they’re not rumored to be including Tommy Hanson or Jason Heyward at this point.  Neither Morton nor Reyes seems to have put things together yet, but either one certainly could.  Boyer was pretty much abused this year, and even if he could be a good reliever in time, I wouldn’t be sad to see him go.  Perhaps that’s a fair package for five years of control over Peavy (who has four years and at least $63M left on his two existing contracts, with an additional $18M net club option for 2013, after you consider the option-year buyout), but only if he stays healthy.  Overall, I would like to see the Braves push for contention in 2010 rather than patch holes to compete in 2009, so hopefully this would only be the first of a series of moves toward that end.  Rumor has it that they’ll pursue Rafael Furcal if they trade Escobar, but that seems like even more of a “win now” move than acquiring Peavy.
  • The first regular season Harding basketball game is tomorrow night at Missouri S&T (formerly Missouri-Rolla) at 6:30 CT.  S&T was dreadful last year and has been picked last in its division by Great Lakes Valley Conference coaches.  Even though this is an out-of-region D-II game, it can’t hurt to start with a win.
  • In other Bison news, the basketball team got a rare early signee this week with 6’6″ HS senior Jordan Layrock’s commitment.  As a junior, he averaged 18 points and 11 boards for Poyen High, which competes in the AHSAA’s lowest classification.
  • And in sad Bison news, the most famous former Harding athlete, Preacher Roe, has died at age 92.  Luke had a good write-up earlier this week, and I don’t have a lot to add.  Roe was a unique player, not really making a splash until age 29 but still managing a very solid career.  His 116 ERA+ ranks just outside the top 100 since 1901.  Roe got national attention at Harding when he struck out 26 batters in an extra-inning game, and the attention clearly was not unwarranted.  I’m not aware of any other Harding alums who have played in the major leagues, but we could do worse for having just one player.  Preacher was a great one.
Anything else I should be talking about?

Filed under Baseball, Braves, D-II / Harding, Football, Friends/Family, Other, Other Basketball Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Harding All-American QB David Knighton suspended

November 6, 2008 9 Comments

I normally don’t post about Harding football here.  There’s typically not much reason to.  The atmosphere at football games was not what it was for basketball when I was there, and I had trouble getting into it.  The team also isn’t very good this year: their record is just 2-8 (1-6 GSC) because of a woeful defense that is allowing 38.6 points per game.

One of the bright spots on the team had been the play of quarterback David Knighton, who was an All-American in 2007 after throwing for over 3,000 yards with 32 touchdowns.  His NFL prospects had perhaps been inflated by the pass-happy offensive style employed by coach Ronnie Huckeba and OC Tim Perry, but that doesn’t make the offense any less exciting.  With the Bisons playing from behind in virtually every game, Knighton was averaging 56 pass attempts and 383 passing yards per game with an efficiency rating of just 125.  That’s only impressive in terms of volume, but those gaudy numbers were bound to get him some draft consideration.

All of that may have changed now, as the Associated Press is reporting that Knighton has been suspended from the school for a code of conduct violation.  The article reports Knighton’s father’s account of the incident, in which he says that his son allowed a female student to spend the night at his off-campus apartment, which violates the following clause in the student handbook:

“Staying overnight in a motel, hotel or any such arrangement with a member of the opposite gender will result in suspension, although explicit sexual immorality may not have been observed.”

Knighton’s father was quoted as saying, “They were judge, jury and God all in one.”  The full article includes a few other quotes that express a similar sentiment.  Knighton will be appealing the suspension.

Due to the star athlete status of the student in violation, this will probably bring unwelcome, but perhaps not undeserved, publicity to Harding’s very stringent student code of conduct, which can be found here (caution: PDF link).

Regardless of what actually happened (and I suppose nothing has been proven at this point), I think it’s worth pointing out because of the rule itself.  It’s my personal opinion that some aspects of Harding’s rules need to enter the 21st century.  Like the ASI lecture series, which turns its nose up at the idea of intellectual honesty, many of the current rules are ostensibly still on the books because of a segment of Harding alumni and parents who find it necessary to legislate and enforce their own narrow view of morality.

There are plenty of well-intentioned folks at Harding, even in the administration, but it’s my opinion that they allow too much parental control over a group of, let’s face it, full-fledged adult students.  It’s time they realize how ludicrous it is to waste time enforcing a rule that doesn’t even require proof of any wrongdoing.  It’s insulting to the students who abide by the Christian principles that the administration seeks to uphold.

Having said all of that, let me address Knighton’s ill-fated decision, assuming the facts of the report are correct.  Knighton made a profoundly dumb move by actually letting the girl stay over, and his dad’s insinuation that it was out of concern for her safety is bogus, or misguided at best.  There are parts of Searcy that are better than others, but as a whole it’s a pretty tame place to live.  The idea that she would have been left out in the cold is pretty far out there, given the presence of campus security and many on-campus housing locations.  Sure, she probably would have been in trouble if she went in after curfew, but those are consequences she ought to have dealt with anyway.

There’s one other point to consider in all of this: it’s pretty obvious that Harding didn’t weigh heavily Knighton’s status or the health of the football team, which is encouraging.  There are too many programs (mostly bigger ones) where a football player who broke this kind of rule would have gone completely unpunished, and the university is to be commended for not perpetuating that particular double standard.

Those are my scatterbrained thoughts so far.

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Let's make it another decade

October 3, 2008 6 Comments

I remember eighth grade relatively fondly.  I had a good group of friends at school and was settling in on an academic path that would ultimately prove very beneficial to me.  I didn’t have a future playing sports, so I (as a total nerd) shifted my extracurricular focus from football and basketball to debate and pep band, focusing instead on things that would help me get into a good college.  That kind of thinking was par for the course at a prep school like mine, The McCallie School in Chattanooga.

Another belief that was instilled in me pretty quickly when I reached the McCallie campus as a seventh grader was a passion for McCallie football, and subsequently, a thorough and completely irrational hatred for That School Across The River, known secondarily as Baylor.

The 75th game between the Blue Tornado and the hated rival Raiders will be played tonight, although the series started in 1905, McCallie’s first year of existence.  The game was put on hiatus for nearly 30 years (between 1941 and 1970), but it has since served as Chattanooga’s preeminent high school sports rivalry.  When held at UTC’s Finley Stadium, the game can draw a crowd upward of 12,000, which is more than the capacity of both schools’ home stadiums combined.  For both McCallie and Baylor alumni (especially locals like me), it couldn’t be more clear that this annual event is the only football game that really matters.

Baylor leads the overall series 37-34-3, although the folks who wear red fail to acknowledge two of the defeats because they occurred before Baylor “recognized” varsity sports in 1908, whatever that means.  From my reality-based perspective, McCallie is three victories away from tying the series.

The Blue Tornado may only need three years to do so if the current streak holds: a ten-game win streak that started when I was a freshman there.  McCallie is 11-2 since I started there in 1996, with the only losses coming during my aforementioned 8th grade year (once in the regular season and once in the playoffs).  That was a good year for me and for my future, but it would have been a little better with a McCallie football win over Baylor.  It’s always better that way.

Tonight is the night to start a second decade of Baylor football futility and make the parents of smart fifth-graders around the ciy reconsider their decision between a school by a river and a school by a ridge.

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Starting the season on the West Coast is a great idea

September 2, 2008 3 Comments

With parity across major college football becoming the norm, I doubt it will be uncommon for there to be one-loss BCS national champions on a yearly basis.  Having said that, the Tennessee Vols need to figure out how to get off to a better start so that fans like myself believe there’s actually a chance that they’ll be such a team in a given year.

For the last two seasons, the Vols have started the season with a road game against a Pac-10 team and come home losers.  Last year, it was California proving that either SEC speed is overrated or that it’s something they also possessed, running circles around the Tennessee defense.  This year, the defense and its highly-touted secondary played an excellent game (or at least 3 quarters of one) while watching the offense sputter.

This was supposed to be the year that Jonathan Crompton made the transition from Erik Ainge’s departure look easy.  As one of the highest-ranked QB recruits of his class, Crompton was theoretically developing under Ainge, preparing to star in his final two college seasons.  Last night’s loss, in which he completed just 46% of his passes, showed that he (and perhaps offensive coordinator Dave Clawson) still has a lot of learning to do.  Crompton was consistently overthrowing receivers, but he also bounced a few passes as well.

While the Randy Sanders-era trademark three-yard screen pass on 3rd and 12 has thankfully been retired, Clawson failed to adjust to a tiring UCLA front seven and continued throwing the ball in early-down situations.  I don’t have a problem with that in theory, but with Montario Hardesty gaining yards in bunches, it possibly wasn’t the best idea against the Bruins.  (On a related note: Arian Foster, whose fumble last night wasn’t exactly his first – or second – in a key situation, should officially start worrying whether he will break Travis Henry’s UT rushing record.)

Despite the problems in the passing game, kicker Daniel Lincoln had several chances to help the Vols escape with a win anyway.  After two early long field goal misses, he redeemed himself with the game-tying kick as time expired in the fourth, only to become the goat once again after missing an easy 34-yarder to tie the game in overtime.  It can’t be fun to be a kicker.

The Tennessee schedule doesn’t get much easier from here.  There’s no such thing as an easy SEC schedule, even though the remaining non-conference schedule features few threats (UAB, Northern Illinois, Wyoming).  The Vols get UAB, Florida at home, and Auburn on the road starting two weeks from now.  Then Northern Illinois will serve as the warm-up to #1 Georgia.  The Vols could easily be 2-4 after that stretch if they can’t correct things quickly.  I’d love to see them in another SEC Championship game this year (Florida and Georgia might recall that the Vols actually played in that game a year ago), but this isn’t the best way to start down that path.

Note: This is not the start of a weekly review of Tennessee’s games, but last night’s loss was an exceptionally exciting game, even if it was ultimately disappointing, and there was a lot to talk about.  Hopefully the Vols aren’t going to mimic the Braves’ season by moving the ball fairly effectively only to lose games by getting punts blocked, missing field goals, and fumbling on the goal line.  By not making this a weekly review, I’m hoping to prevent that phenomenon from becoming a reality.

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The Diaper List

August 1, 2008 4 Comments

Inspired by a recent movie called The Bucket List, my friend Brandon started referring to his own version of such a list.  Unlike the stars of the movie (Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson), his list isn’t about what he wants to do before he dies (or “kicks the bucket”).  Rather, he has what he calls a “Diaper List” containing things he wants to do or accomplish before he and his wife start having kids.  It’s on the front page of his new website, which I linked above.

This is something that’s been in the back of my mind, too.  Melissa and I have been married for over two years now, and we’re probably not as far away from having kids as I would sometimes like to think.  I’m still pretty young, 24 to be exact, and she’s 25, but we both feel that biological clock ticking a little.  For me, it’s more a matter of wanting to be around for my kids, since my dad’s health problems caused him to die “early” at 61, while I was just a year into college.  Having older parents is a great advantage in a lot of ways, especially from a maturity standpoint, but it would have been nice for him to have seen me get married or have grandkids.  At the same time, I’m in no hurry to have kids because there are lots of things I’d like to do.

In that spirit, I thought I’d share my own Diaper List, with some things I’d like to do before little ones come along.  These are in no particular order, and I probably haven’t thought of everything yet.

The Diaper List

  • Get CPA certified
  • See the following groups live: Muse, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, and Switchfoot (at least one more time)
  • See a Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium
  • Become a better whitewater paddler
  • Keep going to at least 2-3 Braves games a year
  • Keep going to at least one Harding basketball game a year (and if I can, go to one in Searcy)
  • See a Duke basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium
  • Go on a snow-skiing vacation to either West Virginia or Colorado
  • Accomplish something important with my church family
  • Finish my basement into a nice office/entertainment room and learn some useful home improvement skills in the process
  • Start investing in the stock market in addition to keeping my 401k on track
  • Do some kind of service activity on a regular basis
  • Make the lifestyle changes necessary to start (or continue in some cases) good habits for eating, sleeping, exercise, and work
  • Take a big trip with friends (to echo Brandon’s idea)
  • Get out of the house more often

I don’t think that’s overly ambitious, although I’m probably behind the curve on CPA certification, since I haven’t taken any part of the exam yet.  It’s important that the items on the list are at least somewhat ambitious, but not totally unattainable.  I would love to go to a World Series game or some other huge sporting event, but that’s not likely to happen unless the event is somewhere nearby like Atlanta or Nashville.  There are also a few things on the list, like going to Braves games, that are not out of the question after I have kids.  None of it would be out of the question, I suppose.  Just more difficult.

Some parts of the list are bound to change, like the bands I decide I want to see.  I actively disliked Coldplay until recently, but I’m starting to come around on them, and I’m sure there will be others as my tastes keep changing.  This weekend I’ll get to go ahead and cross of one of those bands, since Melissa and I are heading to Memphis tonight in order to see DMB tomorrow.

If anyone out there keeps up with a similar list, I’d be interested in seeing it.  Perhaps you have something I need to add to my list before it’s too late.

Filed under Braves, Christianity/Ministry, D-II / Harding, Football, Friends/Family, Other, Sports Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Weekly Notes: December 28, 2007

December 28, 2007 3 Comments

Here are some thoughts as you think about how you’re going to watch the Pats-Giants game on three different networks tomorrow night:

  • I would be slightly offended if I were a New York Giants fan who decided to make some money by selling my season ticket to tomorrow’s game to a Patriots fan. The team apparently doesn’t care for my financial support, so next time I might not buy the ticket at all. I’m sure the Giants’ PR team is ready to hurt Brandon Jacobs and Justin Tuck, who were quoted in the article.
  • My Christmas/birthday haul included some DVDs, games, books, and other such things that have taken my time away from working on this site.  You’ve probably noticed (or not) that I’ve been a bit light on content lately, but I plan to pick things back up in the new year.
  • Last night, I became a Netflix subscriber after having toyed with the idea for a while.  I’m going to use it to catch up movies I should have seen in the past, and I might chime in with a review of either a movie or the service from time to time.
  • The more popular some of the 2008 Presidential candidates become, the more dirt we get on them.  I guess that’s part of the process, and possibly an agonizing one for the revolving door of Republican favorites.  While the top three Democrats have remained the same for some time (Clinton, Obama, Edwards), the Republicans have seen McCain, Giuliani, Romney, and Huckabee take turns in the limelight.  Ron Paul, whose candidacy has mostly flown under the radar, except on the internet, may be next.  Here’s a little tidbit from Think Progress showing one way that Paul, while sometimes refreshingly libertarian, is also a little scary.

That’s all I have.  See you in the new year.

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Weekly Notes: November 21, 2007

November 21, 2007 Leave a Comment

I suppose I won’t keep my usual schedule this week, with tomorrow being Thanksgiving.  We’ll have notes today and some basketball reviews over the weekend.

  • I’ve been slacking this week on basketball, instead spending my time looking at everyone’s Black Friday deals, most of which have already been released.  The Bargainist is a pretty reliable source if you want to check those out, and I’ve also been looking at Black Friday Ads and DealTaker for rumored deals.  I can’t blame you if you don’t want to get up that early, though.
  • The reason I’m checking out the deals so thoroughly is that Melissa and I are thinking about replacing her laptop.  Any laptop we get would probably also displace my desktop as our primary computer, so I’m probably putting even more thought into it than is actually necessary.  She’s going to hate me by Friday morning…
  • I’m rooting for the BCS Apocalypse now that I have no idea which college football teams are good and which are not.  If Tennessee beats Kentucky, it will be easy to root for them to beat LSU, and then I just have to root for Oklahoma to knock off the Kansas/Missouri winner.  If West Virginia can lose to UConn, too, then maybe we’ll have some riots on our hands.
  • Tom Glavine is back in a Braves uniform, and I’m kind of lukewarm on the issue.  I think he may not have much left in the tank, but at the same time, he’s better than the options Atlanta had last year, and it’s just cool to see Tom Glavine back again.
  • Tennessee beat MTSU last night in basketball just as badly as they beat UAM, and Duke knocked Illinois out of the Maui Invitational.  What’s shaping up this year might is probably the nightmare scenario for my college basketball fandom.  My home state’s school (Tennessee), which I root for in football, is finally good at basketball, possibly even better than the school I’ve been rooting for for the past 10 years or so (Duke) because of a campus visit I made as a seventh-grader.  I want them both to do well, but what if they face off in the Final Four?  My allegiances are totally screwed up, and I don’t know what I’ll do.

Have a great Turkey Day tomorrow.  I’ve been blessed in a number of different ways in the past year, from advancement in my career, to new and old friendships, to another year of marriage, so I have plenty of reasons to be thankful.  Even without those things, I would still have reasons to be thankful.  Tomorrow is a day to remember those things I’ve taken for granted and renew my commitment not only to remember them, but to take action and show my appreciation.

Filed under Braves, D-I Basketball, Football Tagged with , , , ,

Weekly Notes: November 8, 2007

November 8, 2007 Leave a Comment

It’s that time again. So far it’s been an interesting week for me, and once again I have some notes:

  • Mark Elrod’s thoroughly entertaining contest for the most politically subversive song in American history is over, and Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” wins the title. I think my vote would have been for “This Land is Your Land,” which was also his top choice, but the most interesting part of it was being able to add a few new subversive songs to my radar. That and the fact that I hadn’t really thought before about how subversive some of the entries actually were.
  • I mentioned last week that I was starting a new job this week, and all is well. I’m enjoying the whole experience, and I’ve especially appreciated the well wishes of my friends and former colleagues. It’s hard to leave behind people you like, especially when you know they’re having to do your job after you leave, but my new job really is a great opportunity. I feel like I have a lot to learn at this stage in my career, but I also have a skill set that my new employers desired, and I think I can add a lot to my new company. It helps when you like the people, too, and I’ve been fortunate enough to work around a lot of great people everywhere I’ve worked, including my new job.
  • The Writer’s Guild of America is on strike, and you’re probably familiar with the story if you have followed recent news at all. Basically, the writers (justifiably) want a cut of the internet revenues that the studios and big media corporations are making from their work, just like the cut they get from rebroadcasts on TV and from DVD sales. It makes sense to me, at least, but it’s great to get the perspective of someone inside the industry. Jenna Fischer (Pam from The Office) has been doing a great job blogging about her experiences on set in the past, and you can read her thoughts here.
  • Just to follow-up on my visit to the Georgia Dome this weekend, it was exciting to see in person a game that so few other people actually wanted to see. The 49ers lost in such an excruciatingly frustrating fashion (Why didn’t they go for it on 4th-and-goal down four? Tell me again.) that it almost makes me want Dennis Erickson back. On a brighter note, though, the ESPN Zone is awesome. Eating a totally unhealthy burger while sitting in a recliner in front of a humongous TV surrounded by 12 other TVs is something everyone should experience at least once.

Lastly, I present my football lists.  This week, I give Kansas some love for staying undefeated, and I continue to ignore the Cleveland Browns.

[TABLE=9]

[TABLE=10]

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Football Notes: Rankings galore

September 28, 2007 7 Comments

Just for the heck of it, I’m pulling out my college football top 10 and NFL notes for the week and putting them into their own post.  It makes me feel better about not having as much original stuff to post, I’ll admit, but it’s also a good way to start some discussion and prepare for the weekend’s action.

College Football Top 10

  1. LSU
  2. USC
  3. Oklahoma
  4. West Virginia
  5. Florida
  6. California
  7. Wisconsin
  8. Ohio State
  9. Clemson
  10. Texas
  • Cal, Clemson, and West Virginia all face tough opponents on the road this week, and you’re likely to see Oregon or South Florida on this list if those (also undefeated) schools win at home.
  • I still think Alabama and South Carolina have solid teams, even though both lost cross-division games last weekend.  ‘Bama could be 3-2 if they falter at FSU, but Spurrier and Co. should prevail at home against Mississippi State.

NFL Power Rankings

  1. New England
  2. Pittsburgh
  3. Dallas
  4. Indianapolis
  5. Green Bay
  6. Baltimore
  7. Philadelphia
  8. San Diego
  9. Tampa Bay
  10. Denver
  • To me, there’s a big drop after #3.  The Pats and Steelers have been thoroughly dominant, and no one can seem to stop the Cowboys’ offense.  Green Bay has a better defense than pretty much anyone gave them credit for, and Brett Favre is somehow still leading that offense.  The rest of the teams on that list have already shown some flaws, but I think they’re the best remaining teams.
  • I’m leaving my 49ers off the list, even though they could be 3-1 and leading the NFC West after this weekend.  I don’t think the Pittsburgh loss was terrible, but the offense is incredibly uninspiring at this point.  Alex Smith has not looked good at all, save for the game-winning drive against Arizona.  Now Manny Lawson is out for the year, and VD is out for a few games, so it could be rough for a while.
  • If you saw VD’s catch during last week’s game, which was reviewed and ruled incomplete, you might have thought the refs were totally nuts.  I would agree, but if you want their side, SFGate has it.  Personally, I still think he caught the ball (had possession) and was down.  FO’s Ben Riley disagrees with me, but he doesn’t properly address whether or not Davis was down.  To me, the officials’ point that Davis didn’t make a “football move” is not very strong.  It’s a catch, he was down, and the fumble/INT happened after the play was over.

This weekend doesn’t offer a particularly compelling set of games, but with the National League still completely up for grabs, you can always watch a little baseball if you get bored.

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Friday Notes: September 14, 2007

September 14, 2007 8 Comments

I only have a few things to discuss before you spend the weekend glued to your TV:

  • Saturday morning, before the college football schedule gets underway, East Brainerd Church of Christ is hosting the Walk for Honduras at Pointe Corporate Center in Chattanooga.  Aside from allowing me the opportunity to break some kind of record for proper nouns in a sentence, the walk is a great way to support a remarkable mission.  Each year, a group of doctors, nurses, and other missionaries visits Honduras for a medical mission trip in order to help those who would otherwise not receive medical care.  The money raised at this walk goes to support that work.  So, if you’re in the Chattanooga area, I encourage you to come by at 8:30 and help raise money for a worthy cause.  It doesn’t take much time, and it’s a great way for people who can’t personally go on a week-long out-of-country mission trip to support mission work.
  • After the Walk, feel free to sit in front of the TV for what looks like a very interesting SEC slate this weekend.  Aside from Tennessee-Florida, which should be a great game, there’s also Arkansas-Alabama and Louisville-Kentucky, which should both be outstanding to watch.  Watch Michigan-Notre Dame if you like, but you’ll be missing out on some good teams playing in Gainesville.
  • Although I won’t be rooting for him in this one, it’s hard not to like a guy like Tim Tebow after reading an article like this one in the New York Times.  Hopefully he’ll have a rough day but not suffer any kind of long-term injury.  I guess that’s the safe thing for a Vol fan to say.
  • For some reason, I was thrilled to read the punishment handed down to Bill Belichick ($500K fine) and the Patriots ($250K fine, loss of either a 1st or a 2nd/3rd round pick in ’08).  Even though I think they’re probably not the only ones doing that, it’s fun to have a reason to root against the team in power.
  • I subscribe to news feeds from the local Chattanooga TV stations just to keep up with what’s going on without actually having to watch a 30-minute news program.  One of the more interesting things I’ve been reading lately is about an African-American female UTC professor (Dr. Jean Howard Hill) who sees it as her duty to tell African-American male UTC students to pull up their pants.A few weeks after the initial story aired, this professor is now under fire from students and fellow faculty who think that is not her right, much less her duty.  I would have to agree with them.

    I don’t doubt that some of these young men are involved in a culture that promotes the abuse of women and other unconscionable things.  I also agree with Dr. Hill’s belief that the saggy pants look comes across as unprofessional, and for me, somewhat comical.  Personally, I don’t see the point, but I have no need to make such a fashion statement because I have a very different set of friends and family.

    At the same time, it’s more than a bit haughty to go around telling students to pull up their pants.  It would be fine with me if she enforced a professional dress code in her class, but going on patrol as she does makes her look just as ludicrous as the people she’s trying to “help.”  Perhaps she feels like she’s offering a lesson that the culture is not teaching these young men.  Personally, I’d spend my time doing something else.

  • And, lastly: ME has clearly created a monster.  His mid-week discussion post has taken on the topics of SEC football, abortion, the Pledge of Allegiance, and matching up with a political candidate.  I think I may have commented somewhere in there about the Vols and/or abortion, but I’m pretty sure the topics are unrelated.

And now, I present to you: the weekend.

Filed under Christianity/Ministry, Football, Other Tagged with , , ,

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