If this doesn't get me in "ACU Today," then nothing else will!

I feel like a pretty big deal in this picture. However, for anyone worried that I might be getting a big head, fear not! It took me half an hour to get this thing in the boat and I am very thankful that you can't hear the exhausted whimpering that took place only moments before Captain Kyle (back left) netted the beast. Eat your heart out Santiago.
I was still very afraid of the smaller version

cross my heart

It's been a tough week. We had a funeral for a man who was too young to die. He leaves behind, among others, a wife and two boys who have never fully realized there need for him until now. I don't have anything else to say about it except, that our language, and probably a lot of others, does not have an adequate concept or word for the emotion that is felt at a time like this. We do not mourn for him, he is doing fine and actually we are quite pleased for him. We mourn for ourselves, in a deserved selfishness that is too deep for a single word from an awkward language to express. Oddly, this expresses my saddness fairly well...

Why! who makes much of a miracle?
As to me, I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach, just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love--or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with my mother,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive, of a summer forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds--or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sun-down--or of stars shining so quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite, delicate, thin curve of the new moon in spring;
Or whether I go among those I like best, and that like me best-- mechanics, boatmen, farmers,
Or among the savans--or to the soiree--or to the opera,
Or stand a long while looking at the movements of machinery,
Or behold children at their sports,
Or the admirable sight of the perfect old man, or the perfect old woman,
Or the sick in hospitals, or the dead carried to burial,
Or my own eyes and figure in the glass;
These, with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring--yet each distinct, and in its place.

To me, every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same;
Every spear of grass--the frames, limbs, organs, of men and women, and all that concerns them,
All these to me are unspeakably perfect miracles.

To me the sea is a continual miracle;
The fishes that swim--the rocks--the motion of the waves--the ships, with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?


By Walt Whitman

My daily miracle


the next one will be even better, cross my heart

Brent and linds...go getcha some!

The most important thing going on for me right now is that in 1 hour I will leave work and go home to get ready for our trip to Houston. I am pretty excited to see all of our friends and family that live there. Not only will we get to stay with and spend time with Michael and Angela, who we have not seen in too long of a time, but we will also get to see Jeddidiah Ross, and I guess seeing his parents will be kind of neat to. Most importantly, my roommate of 3 years and freind of 5 is getting married this weekend to a woman that compliments him in amazing ways. We are really excited for you guys. Honorable mention for this upcoming weekend goes to: cody, clayton, keathly, Demetrius (All Rocker) Collins, Jared Aston, the Couchman clan linds' family.

For those of you wondering, both Kristin's and my own internships are going great, if I know you and you want to know more, call or e-mail, I really wouldn't mind.

On a much more exciting note than my internship, we are officially less than 24 hours away from kickoff in what I consider to be the most important tournament that anyone in the US will play in the side of a half decade. If you need more convincing check this out. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=370304&cc=5901

Soccer... I am an American and I call it Soccer

I am breaking out of yet another long blogging sabbatical to talk about how absolutely excited I am about the up-coming World Cup. For those of you who are
familiar with my typical sarcastic (and really not very funny) sense of humor as well as my usual sports interests, no, I am not kidding about being very, very excited for the World Cup. There are three reasons for this.

1) It is the only major sporting event that has not been successfully prostituted by a major corporations and/or several major corporations (i.e. the Olympics and GE), yet. So far viewers are not forced into watching vanilla talking heads and commercials more than sporting events, as they are during the Olympics and much of the coverage of our four traditionally popular sports. Even if Disney (who owns ESPN and ABC, the stations that will be giving the world the World Cup this year) attempts to use their characteristically poor objectivity in regards to sports (see this years Rose Bowl predictions and how Reggie Bush is going to wash all your sins away) to completely objectify a great tournament, I don't think that die-hard European fans will allow soccer to become what college football has become in America, often valuing hype over substance.

2) It still means something. This is a really good point that my brother Matt made who is also not a typical soccer fan. The Olympics used to mean that if someone won a gold medal then they were the best the world had to offer. Even worse, if you lost, you had no chance truly redeem yourself for four years, and after waiting for four years there was no guarantee you were still good enough to make it. This means that you had better come correct during the Olympics or else you may have no chance to redeem your dreams of being the world's best. I probably don't have to do a lot of convincing that the Olympics have really lost their luster, but I don't have a good reason why. The Olympic games just seem to be more like a gimmick every four years for NBC to promote themselves rather than showcasing the World's greatest athletes in sports that traditionally don't get much coverage but are fascinating none-the-less.

3) Michael Davies. I can point to the 2002 World Cup as the tournament that got me hooked much like I can point to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics that made me believe that sports can be powerful enough to define and even transcend the human experience (trust me, I am not trying to sound like Klaustermann). Part of that great experience four years ago was my devotion to Michael Davies' daily journal of experiences in the 02 World Cup. I like Davies because he loves, truly loves, the sport that he covers (actually he only covers soccer, his daily job is a producer for ESPN and not a Page 2 writer). In regards to his coverage this year compared to four years ago He says, "I pledge to write stylier this time, to get my facts straightier and to occasionally acknowledge the football and not just the beer, the nightlife and my inability to remember to put on deodorant. But my point of view will remain the same. It's for the fan who wishes he was there -- compared to the majority of the mainstream soccer writers who act like they wish they weren't." I love this statement. He follows the sport not out of some sort of self loathing, pessimistic, duty that he feels, but because he wants to be there and enjoys writing for, "the fan that wishes he was there." Isn't this why people like Keith Jackson, Jack Buck, Harry Carry, and Howard Cossell started reporting in the first place? Because we couldn't be there and we trusted them to tell what it was like, maybe even why it was important, fun, sad, or unexplainable. Michael Davies is fun to read and he makes me feel like I am experiencing a little bit of the greatness that truly is the World's most important tournament, even though I can't get to Germany. That's a good reporter and it's going to be a great cup.

"Slam Jam!"

My favorite band of all time, my favorite basketball team, my city, one of my favorite sports writters. Is it too much to say that this article defines me as a person?

Patrick Vincent

As my good friend Patrick Vincent (aka Patty V. aka The Weasel aka racquetball addict or "rad") heads off to the Far East I thought that the first page to a paper I am writing would be appropriate. Especially since he is feeling nostalgic about leaving our Dear Christian College. Kristin and I love you Patty, we sure are going to miss you

The sunrise devotional during new student orientation week at ACU is a cherished tradition. Students, both new and seasoned, wake before the rising of the sun and gather on the steps of the chapel on the hill. With their bodies gathered in the pre-dawn cold they face east and wait for the sun to warm them. Their unquestioned expectations of the first beam of sunlight, is validated by the countless mornings before this one when the sun also rose. Aside from the unity that is being established among the student body, something truly awesome is happening here, something that the students may not be even aware of. By definition, they are orienting themselves. That is, they are aligning themselves to the sun, their eyes are due east as the sunlight cracks the horizon. No compos in the world knows true east like they due at that moment. The orientation of the students to the sun is, in itself, not remarkable, but what is remarkable is the recognition of the faithfulness of the God that rises the sun morning after morning. Regardless of how disoriented these humans may have been moments before when all was dark in the absence of the sun, God has risen the sun and no one expected otherwise. The sun is now casting light into dark and disoriented lives. Essentially, the students are not orienting themselves to the sun but to the God that raises the sun through grace and faithfulness. What appropriately follows is the students giving praise to the God who made the sun rise. As the students praise and at the moment of blessing all players are in their proper positions. God, creation and humans are oriented according to God’s excellent design. God has created a new morning and the people are blessing God for this creation. This is proper creation theology, that God created the world, which was called by God a blessing to man, and in turn human’s fittingly respond by praising God. New student orientation could not be a more appropriate name for what is taking place.

The only advice I have for you is that no matter how far east you go from us, there is always a more faithful east to be sought after.

Felix Hernandez is not the #1?

It is by far the best time of year. April gives us the end of the final four, the masters, the NFL draft, but most importantly it gives us April 3rd... Opening Day. While the Mariners lost last night, there is a lot to be hopeful about. Johjima hit a home run answering the question, at least for now, "can he hit?" and the M's played one the leagues best teams and best pitchers pretty darn good only lose to a superior bullpen. All I have to say about tonight is, "I sure hope the M's don't lose to this guy.
While I think its great that John Lackey is a nice guy and from Abilene, I will be haunted by this face if we start the season 0-2.