5.5 random things: good reading edition

5.5. This post is dedicated to those who were praying for my wife and me as I was sick and had to miss out of one of our summer mission trips. Thank you so much.

5. As someone who is part of the "charismatic" movement (understanding that the term is defined with difficulty), I found this article from Charisma magazine on the Lakeland "Revival" to be instructive, one that everyone ought to read and think about. I have much I could say, but I'm not sure I will. If you want some follow up, let me know.

4. One of my weekly delights is checking out the "Songs, Hymns and Spiritual Songs" posts from Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY. These are posted every Monday, and consist of a rundown of the Sunday setlist at the church, with some thoughts given on each song. Here is the setlist from August 10. I highly recommend this blog.

3. In the "I Can't Wait Until This Book Comes Out" category, you'll find Greg Beale's upcoming release, We Become What We Worship. It's a study of the Bible's teachings on idolatry. Looks terrific. In fact, here's the cover, see for yourself.

2. There's been some debate on a couple blogs recently about the TNIV, but I won't link to them largely because they end up in arguments over quasi-related items in the comments section. Instead, I'll link to an article written by Craig Blomberg about the TNIV, one of the best things to read on this subject. I can no longer find the pdf of this article, but if someone has it, I'd love to get it. It's long, but worth the read.

1. Congrats to my good friends, Bruce and Morgan, as they announce that they will be having their second child. These two are dear friends, and their son Elijah is one of my favorite children in the world. I miss them dearly.

5.5 random things: NBA Finals Edition

5.5. This post is dedicated to childhood memories of Bird vs Magic, Parrish vs Kareem, McHale clotheslining Rambis and basketball players wearing uncomfortably (for those of us watching) short shorts.

5. No one on the Celtics will be able to stop Kobe Bryant, I don't think there's much arguing that. However, Kobe will, at times, settle for shooting jumpers, and if he does, the Celtics will have a legit shot at winning. If not, well, I'm not sure they'll pull it off. One of the great things about Jordan (I know, it's a tired comparison) was that he wouldn't allow other teams to force him to shoot jumpshots. He'd insist on taking it to the basket. Boston's defenders (my guess is it will be a rotation of Pierce, Allen and Posey) can't let Kobe do that. Otherwise, the Lakers will go home with the title.

4. The Celtics should have a strong edge in rebounding, which could work especially well if they can force Kobe to shoot jumpshots (thereby creating more rebounding opportunities). I'm assuming Perkins will play Gasol, which means Gasol will probably try to pull Perkins away from the basket. That may seem to work in the Lakers favor (since Gasol can score from the outside and Perkins is a better defender down low), but perhaps not. Gasol is a good offensive rebounder, and if he takes his offensive game away from the basket, that means it's up to Odom to outrebound Garnett (not going to happen), or Bryant crashing the boards (more likely, though harder if his defender can push him outside- see #5). This works even if Gasol is matched up against Garnett (Gasol will still try to pull Garnett away from the basket). At any rate, my point is: the Celtics ought to take advantage of this.

3. The Lakers, on the other hand, have a decided edge in the coaching department. I mean, really, Jackson vs Rivers? Has a coach that inferior to his opponent ever won?

2. I've heard a lot of people (here in Boston) saying that Rondo will be able to take advantage of his youth and quickness against Derek Fisher, giving Boston the edge in the point guard department. I'm not convinced. True, Rondo is younger, faster and more talented. But, the Lakers just beat the Jazz and the Spurs, who both have better points guards than Rondo (Derron Williams and Tony Parker, respectively). If Fisher didn't hurt them in those series, why would we think he would now?

1. The part that scares me the most (besides their coach being one of the greatest of all time and our coach being a solid TV analyst) is the problem of a clutch performer. Kobe Bryant plays well in the clutch, that's been seen over and over again. The Celtics don't have that consistent crunch time player. Garnett passes up the chance to take over, despite the fact that he's one of the top-5 players in the game. Paul Pierce has moments where he takes over a game: game 7 against Cleveland this year (41 points!) and Game 3 in the 2002 Conference Finals against the Nets (18 points in the 4th quarter to come back from 21 down). But he doesn't do this consistently. You know Kobe is going to come through in the clutch; the question is: will Pierce match him?

I've convinced myself that with the rebounding/low post edge, homecourt advantage and Paul Pierce having a monster series, the Celtics will win in 7, over my original pick of the Lakers winning in 6. That's a 2 game swing! Yes, the power of homer-delusion is that strong.

And now, I leave you with a video of the aforementioned McHale-Rambis clothesline. Ah, memories.

5.5 random things: book wishlist edition

5.5: This post is dedicated to Chris at Zondervan, who recently sent me a couple books to review (just scroll down a couple posts). He now has me thinking about what books I'd love to have (I'm leaving out commentaries). So, here's a completely selfish post, in no particular order.

5: Putting Jesus in His Place: The Case for the Deity of Christ. Don't worry, I'm not needing to be convinced of Jesus' place in the Godhead. But from a teaching perspective, to have a book that is (1) written so non-seminary trained people can read it and (2) contains great insights gleaned from top scholars would be so helpful. I first noticed this book because of those who give their endorsements, which is like reading a Who's Who of evangelical Bible scholars. At any rate, I think this can be a great book that would help so many in the church reap the benefits of scholarly insight without having to learn all the background of theological and exegetical discussions.


4: Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. Bob Kauflin is involved with Sovereign Grace Ministries who seems (according to reviews I've read) to have written a book that is both theological and practical. As someone who is very interested in how worship through music is used in the church, I think this book has a lot to offer. It is difficult to write theologically yet offer simple advice for how to carry out a worship service. Apparently, Kauflin has succeeded.



3: How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity by Thomas Oden. I want to read this book because it helps correct the Western-centric understanding many of us have of Christian theology. I've grown to love church history, especially as I've learned how much of a role African theologians have played (Augustine, Tertullian, etc). Oden is a top-notch historical theologian, so you know this has to be good.

2: I'm not familiar with the author, but I've heard a lot of good things about Jerry Bridges' Respectable Sins, a look at how we've allowed subtle, "respectable" sins to creep into our life. I think this could be an interesting book for a group study.

1: Stephen Nichols has a book out called Jesus Made In America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to "The Passion of the Christ" that looks very interesting. I'm always fascinated by how culture plays a part in our shaping of how we think of Jesus, this book takes a look at that throughout American history. In my opinion, studying the mistakes of history often helps us understand how we make those same mistakes ourselves. Plus, it looks like this book might be good for a laugh or two.

5.5 random things: youtube edition

5.5. This edition of 5.5 random things is dedicated to youtube, the greatest waste of time in modern history.

5. I don't know if you've heard of Improv Everywhere, but they do some funny stuff. Here's my favorite, you can follow the links to check out the rest of their videos.



4. I think I mentioned this a long time ago, but here's a fan video for Jars of Clay's song Mirrors and Smoke, which is one of my favorites.



3. Here at blog of danny, we won't sell out to any sponsor. But if we did, we'd want this kid doing our commercials.



2. Back in the day, the Boston Bruins were know as the Big Bad Bruins. Here's a 80 second clip to give you an idea, capped off by John Wensink challenging the entire Minnesota North Star bench to a fight (there were no takers).



1. Finally, for a little theology, here's a fun 43 second video entitled John Piper is Bad.

5.5 random things: links edition

5.5: This post is dedicated to whoever invented the idea of posting links rather than troubling with developing an insightful post to educate, entertain or edify others. If someone can do your work for you, cite them and move on. Here they are, in no particular order.

5: J. A. Adande of ESPN had an interesting article about race and the Boston Celtics. I meant to link to this a while back but forgot to. I thought it was well written, but I admit my Celtics bias.

4: Cousin Jeremy takes on the view held by some evangelicals that the act of sex is necessary for a marriage to be properly considered a marriage. I have to give props to any man who takes time to write a blog post called "Sex as a Condition for Marriage" on Christmas Day and actually have a tie-in.

3: Leading the "I Wish I Had Written That" category is Tim Challies' post (all the way from November, see how slow I am!) It Was My Sin That Held Him There, on the hymn How Deep the Father's Love for Us. Read this, reflect on this. Please.

2: Bill Simmons had linked to this and I thought it was interesting. It's a short article by Joe Posnanski of the Kansas City Star about Tony Gonzalez playing for Bill Belichick in the Pro Bowl. There is a genius to his madness.

1: My favorite Bible scholar is Gordon Fee, a man who is comfortable not only in the classroom but also in the pulpit. Here is a little video to get a feel for his preaching (actually, it seems like it's only the intro to a sermon, but he manages to pack a lot into only 5 minutes). I'm not sure who added the various images, but I think this is very well done. Check it out if you're interested in what it means to be saved and in community.

5.5 random things: a half-hearted defense of the patriots running up the score

5.5: This post is dedicated to the most oversaturated topic in football. Let me state for the record, I don't think there's any denying that the Patriots are running up the score a bit this season. Being up by 5 touchdowns in the 4th quarter and still throwing the long ball qualifies as such. Any denial of this reeks of homerism (being a "homer" means that you are completely uncritical of your hometown team, despite incriminating facts). But it isn't as bad as some might think...I think. Let me give a few reasons:

5: In Game Practice- Supposedly the Pats have used these late-game blowouts as another practice. I heard one sports journalist say that some of the plays they ran in the Indianapolis game to win were practiced late in the Redskins and Dolphins blowouts. Plus, if you get into the habit of pulling your starters too early, they are more likely to tire out late in games that are close. If you play only 3 quarters in 14 games, but the 15th is close and you're still going hard late in the 4th quarter, you may not have the "in-game" conditioning that you need.

4: The Record Books- When the beloved Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning did this a few years ago, most praised them for gunning for the touchdown record. The Pats do it, and they are unsportsmanlike. Not a defense, really, just pointing out the hypocrisy. Along those lines, since when is it bad for a team to gun for the record books? The Pats are one of the greatest dynasties in football history, they are simply adding to their accomplishments. What they don't have is statistical dominance, and in sports, statistics mean are second only to winning (some seem to place them first and foremost). Now they have it. The team may set the all-time scoring record, Brady passing records, Moss receiving records, etc.

3: Brady's vs Manning- Again, along those lines, it's interesting that so many media members have claimed Manning to be the superior quarterback to Brady because of his statistical superiority. Others, like myself, have always claimed that Brady is a better quarterback, but with inferior receivers (come on, Troy Brown and David Givens are no Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne) could not put up the Manningesque numbers. Now Brady has his shot to place himself in the #1 spot, can you blame him for aiming for it?

2: The Vengeance Factor- Some of the teams really have brought this upon themselves. Coaches such as Wade Phillips made comments to the media about the Patriots spying scandal tainting their accomplishments. Of course Belichick is going to take his anger out on them? I'm not saying it's right, but this is nothing new to the Patriots. Mind you, this doesn't excuse the Pats running it up on the Joe Gibbs coached Redskins- Gibbs has never said a negative word about anyone.

1: Settling It Like Men- Finally, I had a thought come to me this morning. Often times, players and coaches carry out their rivalries through the media, taking cheap shots at each other that have nothing to do with the game. While this can be, at times, entertaining, it's often seen as unprofessional. After all, they are football teams, they should "settle it on the field" and not use the media as their weapon. Well, the Pats are doing exactly this. Belichick and the players aren't talking trash about other teams and coaches, even though the rest of the league is doing it to them. They are taking their anger out on the field. And everyone hates them for it.

Thus concludes my half-hearted defense of the Patriots running up the score.

5.5 random things: world series edition

5.5: This post is dedicated to the handful of folks who still read this blog. It's funny, I think the least favorite posts on this blog are ones about sports, yet I managed to churn them out far more regularly than any other subject. Why is this? I'll give you the primary reason- they take little thought. I can pump out a Red Sox post in 20 minutes (most of which is spent checking my facts anyway), whereas a post on a biblical passage or theological issue requires much more thought and precision. So, I can assure you the quantity of posts on a given subject is not proportional to the importance I place on that subject, in fact, the inverse may be true.

5: Winning the first two games of the World Series was obviously important, but one reason I haven't heard anyone mention yet is this: we don't have to pitch Josh Beckett on 3 days rest in Game 4. Even if the Sox lose tonight, they still have a 2-1 lead going into Game 4, and you would only pitch Beckett if it were a must win game.

4: It was weird seeing Schilling walking off the mound on Thursday night and think that it may have been the last time he does that in a Red Sox uniform. Yes, he has fallen quite a bit over the last couple years as a pitcher, but that is largely due to him pitching with his ankle all sown up in 2004. The question some are asking now: is Schilling a Hall of Fame pitcher? Here are my thoughts, in a nutshell. If you are looking purely at stats and comparing them to Hall of Famers, then no, he shouldn't be elected. But when you consider that pitching statistics have changed so much over the years, I'm not sure that should be the deciding factor (just at hitters with impressive stats today should automatically be elected). His postseason exploits are legendary, and that has to count for something. And think about this: Jim Bunning, Don Drysdale, Bob Lemon, Hal Newhouser, Gaylord Perry, and Don Sutton are all in the Hall of Fame. Are any of those guys really better than Curt Schilling?

3: Some of Francona's decisions made throughout the year have been proven to be genius. Two that stand out as particularly sucessful: giving Papelbon frequent rest throughout the season, and shutting down Okajima for a month near the end of the season. Both look extrememly healthy and sharp right now, and the numbers bear it out. They have been practically unhittable, and I'm beginning to wonder if Okajima could win Series MVP (even without a win or a save) if he has another game like Game 2 (7 batters, 7 outs, including getting out of a Schilling jam).

2: Francona has been put in a difficult position of choosing between Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz to play in Colorado (where there is no DH). He has opted to sit Youkilis, at least for part of their time there. That's a tough decision, and even though Youkilis is their hottest hitter, I think it may be the correct one. Sitting Lowell is difficult, his defense is outstanding and he's been swinging a great bat. I'm not sure how you can sit Ortiz, he's the best clutch hitter of his generation and hitting just fine. Youkilis is obviously a better defensive first baseman, but that rarely comes into play (and he'll get in late in the games when defense becomes especially important). And while Youkilis is hitting the cover off the ball, let's not forget he's doing so in large part due to Ortiz and Manny hitting behind him. Take Ortiz out of the equation, and I'm not sure Youkilis is batting over .500. Anyway, Francona may consider sitting Ortiz in game 5 with the left handed pitcher.

1: A few things that have stuck out to me:

I can't believe Matt Holliday got picked off first in the 9th the other night. That has to be the biggest baserunning blunder in the World Series since Jeff Suppan's brain lapse in Game 3 of 2004.

Coco Crisp has fallen so far that the Sox will barely be able to get anything for him in a trade this offseason. Can you say "package deal?"

Dice-K has recently been described as a "power nibbler", which I think is pretty accurate. He's hoping he stops nibbling and starts pitching tonight.

Can you believe JD Drew is the team leader in hitting and slugging in the World Series?

The Sox scored 15 runs in 2 games, and the only homerun was from Dustin Pedroia.

Comparing the pitching staffs: Sox pitchers have given up 3 walks and 11 hits in Games 1&2, Rockies pitchers have given up 15 walks and 23 hits.

There's an old saying in baseball: momentum is only as strong as the next day's starting pitcher. The Rockies can turn this around quickly if they get a strong performance from Josh Fogg tonight.

5.5 random things: random things numbering 5.5

5.5. This post is dedicated to Panera Bread, whose wi-fi and limitless coffee have provided me an office away from my office (for the record, I don't really have an office...yet).

5. In all the writings about Cameragate (and there are far too many), I read 2 that were particularly awful. The worst was Gregg Easterbrook's piece on ESPN, which I've heard (rightly) blasted by some in the media. Two aspects stand out to me as especially heinous. First, his insistance that Bill Belichick was "stonewalling" investigations, an accusation for which he offers no proof. Belichick, by all accounts, did comply with Commissioner Gooddell's request for all videotaping and has been cleared of any further charges. Doesn't sound like stonewalling to me. The only thing that Belichick may be stonewalling is the media's desire to know all information. Unfortunately, "freedom of press" for some members of the media means that they are entitled to total access to the thoughts and actions of public figures. I'm proud of Belichick on this one. Second, his column is full of terms like "perhaps", "maybe" and "might be." The Patriots might be stealing offensive calls by installing microphones on their defenders' jerseys. The Chargers defensive coordinator used to coach for the Bills and Jets, and he may have been using the same exact signals last week as he used years ago and the Patriots knew them all (of course, if he hasn't varied his signal calling over the years, he's an idiot). Let's quit with the "potentials" and stick with the facts. Easterbrook, you're an idiot.

4. The second worst article I read came from an otherwise good football writer (also of ESPN) and member of the Hall of Fame's media wing: John Clayton. He argued that the punishment on the Patriots ($500,000 personal fine for Belichick, $250,000 fine on the team, loss of 1st round draft choice) was too lenient. His premise: "Here's the problem with Goodell's decision: Whether by design or not, the Patriots had themselves covered for such a penalty because they are so good at what they do. They acquired the 49ers' first-round pick in a trade that enabled the 49ers to select Joe Staley. They have an additional third-round pick from the Raiders in another trade. They have enough draft choices to survive the loss of one first-round choice." The problem with Clayton is that he's wanting to punish the Patriots for more than their cheating, he wants to punish them for being good. Look, the penalty for cheating ought to be the same no matter how good or bad the team is. The Patriots are the best franchise in football and have been since the beginning of the decade. Don't punish them for being better, the punishment fit the crime just fine.

3. Josh Beckett is well on his way to winning the Cy Young Award this year. It's certainly not a lock, but he'll probably be the only pitching with 20+ wins and is trailing in the ERA lead by only .11, with probably one more start before the end of the season. He's been the only consistent starter this year for the Sox, wrestling (without much of a fight) the position as ace of the staff from Curt Schilling. Terrific season.

2. Danny's Fantasy Football Update: 1-1, with my loss coming only by 1 point. I'm never happy about losing, but when you consider that LaDainian Tomlinson has only rushed for 66 yards in 2 games and Drew Brees has only thrown 1 TD, that's not too bad. Both guys are too good to keep down for very long, eventually they'll play well and my team should be doing fine. In the meantime, I'm thankful for the midget receiver named Steve Smith, who has 217 yards receiving and 4 TDs in only 2 games. My best decision of the draft was picking him up.

1. Upcoming book release alert: Rediscovering Paul, coauthored by one of my former professors, Rodney Reeves. Reeves is a quality professor, and a strong man of God who insisted on making NT studies (with all its focus on Greek Grammar, cultural backgrounds and theological insights) applicable to the church today. The book is geared more towards and undergraduate audience, rather than an upper-level textbook, which plays right into Reeves' strength (I don't know the other authors, so I can't comment on them). Craig Blomberg gives it a good review, which is enough to put it on my wishlist.

5.5 random things: sports edition

5.5: This post is dedicated to the sports radio morning personality who recently said to his cohosts, "True or false: name the top 7 hitters in the American League." Yes, he was serious.

5: There's a lot of talk around Boston about the Celtics not "winning the lottery" this past week when they didn't draw one of the top 2 picks in the upcoming draft, instead getting number 5. There is no doubt this franchise seems unlucky, this is the 10th anniversary of them not getting the number 1 pick (despite having the best odds) which went to San Antonio, who took Tim Duncan and have since won 3 titles (and will probably win a 4th this year). Personally, I think they ought to look into trading the pick along with a couple young players for a veteran. There are teams out there who would like to unload a large salary. In an ideal world, we'd find a way to rescue Kevin Garnett from Minnesota and keep Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson. I think it's possible, but we might have to unload a future draft pick along with our first pick this year and a young talent such as Gerald Green. I'd make that trade any day.

4: Since so much of this week has focused on the luck (or lack thereof) of the Celtics, many seem to have forgotten that even if you can't control luck, you can control stupidity. So my question is this: why did the Celtics sign Doc Rivers, a coach with little upside other than being a great guy, to an extension? What signs of hope has he given over the last 3 years? It amazes me how dumb some franchises can be. This reminds me of the 2003 series between the Red Sox and the Yankees, where many people blamed the Curse of the Bambino for the Sox blowing game 7. I say "no way," we were cursed with a stupid manager, who left Pedro in far too long. You can't control injuries or ping pong balls or anything like that, but you can control not making indefensible decisions.

3: Well, the Red Sox are firmly in 1st place, and much of the town is gloating over the Yankees demise. I'm comfortably in the camp of waiting to see what happens, you have to think that the Yankees will pull something together at some point. I don't think they are a World Series caliber team, by any means, but they are still the Yankees and they can still find a way to win.

2: With that said, signing Clemens was a dumb move for them. First, what makes anyone think that a 5-6 inning pitcher in the National League (a very pitcher friendly league) will suddenly come in and be an ace in the American League (a very unfriendly league for pitchers)? Here's a tip: an ace of a staff must be able to go more than 6 innings on a consistent basis. Second, by signing him to $20 million+ you make it more difficult to trade and sign players around the trading deadline. I realize that they are the Yankees, with deeper pockets than anyone else in baseball, but at some point money has to play a factor. Will Steinbrenner really spend more money on a sinking ship? Actually, yes, he probably will.

1: When will the "Kevin Youkilis for MVP" talk start? He currently leads the team in hitting (.349, 4th in the AL) by 20 points (over Mike Lowell, off to another hot start), runs scored (1 run more than David Ortiz), hits (6 more than Ortiz), he's second in On Base Percentage (behind Ortiz), and 3rd in slugging (even better than Manny Ramirez). On top of that, I read earlier this week that he hasn't made an error at first base since last July! I don't really think that he'll be this good at the end of the season, but there is no doubt that the Sox would not be where they are without him. They've been able to bat him in the number 2 hole, where his ability to get on base is paramount, and even in the 5 spot, where he provides some protection for the big bats. Not bad for someone making $424,500. Compare that to other first basemen in the league: Paul Konerko (.213, $12,000,000); Shea Hillenbrand (.231, $6,000,000); and Richie Sexson (.180, $15,500,000). I won't bother looking into the NL; that's just comparing a few AL first baseman, not including Jason Giambi, who makes over $20,000,000 but plays more DH than anything else. Here's hoping Youk makes the All-Star team this year.

once again, 5.5 random things

5.5: This post is dedicated to Sarasota, Florida. Though you are hot, you were a pleasure to visit.

5: Well, the Sox have started out 2-2, with 1 great pitching performance (Dice-K), 2 good pitching performances (Beckett and Wakefield, who lost due to a lack of offense), and 1 horrible one from Curt Schilling, who thinks he deserves a $13 million dollar extension for next year, despite the fact that he's only getting older (at an age when this is not helpful) and his numbers have dropped each year he's been here. Obviously it's early, but you have to wonder about him. Plus, he has a blog now, how cliche is that!

4: Boston is hardly a hotbed for college sports, but the city paid more attention to this year's basketball tournament than probably any in recent memory (including ones where Boston College actually had a chance to make some waves). This is due to the Celtics' deplorable record, ensuring that they will not pick worse than number 5 in this year's draft. My fear is that they'll buy into the hype and draft Joakim Noah from Florida. He's done well in college, and I'm always fond of picking proven winners, but he'll never be more than a good bench player in the pros. He can play some defense, can rebound, and will out-hustle anyone on the floor. But he can't shoot, at all, and I'm not convinced he'll be able to cover power forwards in the NBA (can you picture him covering Duncan, Garnett or Brand?).

3: Speaking of drafts, you may get a kick out of this, courtesy of Tim Challies.

2: I'm ready for a weather change here in Boston. I've always loved the cold, and I always will. But I think living in an apartment with no heat this year (yes, that's right, no heat all winter) has finally taken its toll, well, that and being in Florida last week where I could wear shorts all day long and not have to worry about it. Besides, it's baseball season, it's time to be outside playing and watching games, not bundling up. I think I'm getting soft in my old age.

1: Well folks, it's Good Friday. Easter is my favorite holiday of the year. I pray that you all relish in the grace that God has given us. Take time to meditate on the single greatest act of love and power this world has ever, and will ever, witness. Praise God for the death and resurrection of His Son!

still yet another 5.5 random things

5.5: This post is dedicated to the unknown and fortunate person who picked up the $20 bill I accidentally left at the supermarket. Lesson learned: don't talk on the phone while doing the self-check out at the grocery store.

5: The BruceandMorgans have a new blog, complete with pictures of their new son, Elijah, who made his blog of danny debut a couple weeks back. It's just getting off the ground, so be sure to check it out when you get a chance.

4: Okay, so this Boise State upset over Oklahoma may be the greatest game ever played (with all due respect to Vince Young and the '05-'06 Texas Longhorns and Doug Flutie and the '84 Boston College Eagles). Unfortunately, I didn't stay up to watch it. After all, I've always disliked Boise State for playing on a blue field. That just isn't right. However, any team that is willing to run a Hook-and-Lateral and a Statue of Liberty in crucial points at the end of the game (the first to tie the game and send it into overtime, the second was a 2-point conversion to win in overtime) is okay in my book. Seriously, you don't even try that stuff in video games, and to pull it off to win a major bowl game (the first major bowl in Boise State history), well, that earns you the right to play on a blue field for a while. You need to watch the highlights of this game, trust me. Check out them here in a format that is broken down by quarters and the overtime period. You owe it to yourself to watch at least the 4th quarter and the overtime.

3: When you get a minute (actually 2 and a half) watch the trailer to the upcoming movie, Amazing Grace, which comes out in February. It's about William Wilberforce, who fought successfully against the slave trade in England. Let's just say I'll be hiding a few kleenex in my pocket. You know, in case I suddenly have heretofore unknown allergies kick in.

2: New Testament scholar Ben Witherington offered some of his thoughts on the passing of former President Gerald Ford. His mentioning of Ford's son, Mike, as a former Gordon-Conwell student reminded me of a story I heard about him in school. As Witherington notes, Mike Ford always had 2 Secret Service agents with him at all times, following him wherever he went. Apparently the other students had nicknamed these 2 agents "Goodness" and "Mercy" after Psalm 23:6.

1: The Patriots begin their playoff run on Sunday against the hated Jets. Honestly, I'm not sure the Pats will get past the second round (not that the first round is a given considering how Mangini outcoached Belichek in their last meeting). The Pats just don't have enough weapons on either side of the ball. Don't get me wrong, they have some great players: Brady is the best QB in the league (even in this off year I'd take him over anyone come playoff time), Seymour is the best defensive lineman in football, and there are a couple other good ones. But they can't score consistently enough, and their defense doesn't create as many scoring opportunities for the offense as they once did. I'm afraid my Pats will get bounced in the second round again this year. Here's hoping I'm wrong.

Yet Another 5.5 Random Things

5.5. This post is dedicated to all those who thought that my last post might have been a not-so-subtle cry for help. I can assure you it was no such thing. I had just finished teaching on confession for a class and we talked about that very thing. On a whim I decided to post it, not really considering whether or not people thought it was about me personally (though it is something I have learned in my life). Perhaps it was poor timing, coming right after my post on Ted Haggard. Sorry for any confusion, hope my parents weren't flipping out.

5. Little tidbit about the upcoming Patriots-Packers game at Green Bay this Sunday. The last time these two teams played a regular season game at Lambeau Field I was 16 days old.

4. Speaking of the Patriots, there is talk here in Boston that Tom Brady is playing hurt. While part of me thinks this is just the local media making excuses for their darling quarterback, they might be on to something. One of the crucial characteristics of Brady's play over the years has been his accurate arm, which has all but left him this year. I have a hard time believing that a man goes from being the best quarterback in football to struggling to hit an open receiver without some cause. An injury may explain it.

3. So the Red Sox forked over $51 million just to have the opportunity to talk with Japanese pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka. The money doesn't really bother me, simply because they can make that back through increased revenue in Japan. But that only works if he's good (at worst), and that's tougher to tell. There isn't necessarily the greatest track record for pitchers coming over and doing well (anyone remember Hideki Irabu?). Hideo Nomo has had a decent career, but never topped his performance in his rookie year. Matsuzaka apparently dominated in the World Baseball Classic, which is encouraging. If he turns out to be as good as some folks think, this will no doubt strengthen a struggling pitching staff.

2. It's mid-November and I'm still wearing shorts to work (be jealous all you business casual suckers). This is weird. It makes me worry that we'll be punished with an even worse January (which is by far the worst month in Boston). I'll be doing my snow-shoveling stretches just in case.

1. There are some of you out there who are wicked smart, you know who you are. If that's you, do me a favor. Go check out Jeremy's Theories of Knowledge and Reality Series and explain it to me. I studied a little philosophy in undergrad and have picked up a few things along the way, but for the most part it's way over my head. In the meantime, I'll stick to my Greek grammar and baseball. Maybe I'll take a semester and go to Syracuse and audit his class. I promise I won't throw spit balls.

Another 5.5 Random Things

5.5: This post is dedicated to the neglected but not forgotten nor abandoned Hymn of the Week. It's coming back, I promise.

5: In my first 5.5 Random Things post I plugged Brian's new blog and claimed how he would not be able to keep up the post a day pace with which he started. He went on to claim that he would, in fact, do so just to spite me. Today is one month since his last post. I win.

4: Jeremy has an interesting post about a slip in the ESV dedication to non-inclusive language, found in 1 John 3:24 (where they use a singular "them" rather than "him", which would be consistent with their translation philosphy). The topic of Bible translation is worthy of its own post, but I just want to vent my frustration concerning those who are so eager to bash the NIV (and others, such as the TNIV) for something like using the singluar "they." Does it open the door for misinterpretation? Possibly. Then again, so can a very literal translation, so who cares (not to mention the fact that some of them can be so wooden they don't even make sense in English)? I don't care if someone prefers a literal translation, in fact, the NAS is still my Bible of choice. I just don't see what's so hard about understanding the reasons for the dynamic equivalent style, or, even worse, why it's so hard to accept the benefit to having multiple translations in studying the Bible. It's so basic (in fact, I say it every week in the Bible class I teach at church), why can't people grasp it?

3: I'm watching the Mets-Dodgers baseball game and the idiot announcer, Thom Brennamen (partner of 1st-ballot Hall of Fame crappy announcer Tim McCarver), just claimed that Grady Little did the right thing when he left Pedro Martinez in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees. I believe his exact quote was "when I look at that Boston bullpen, I say Pedro Martinez was the right man for the job." My questions is this: why does this man have a job in announcing baseball? Nevermind Brennamen's tendency to go off on self-righteous tirades concerning some superstar du jour, this quote just proves he doesn't understand anything about the game of baseball, or at least wasn't watching that postseason when the Mike Timlin-Scott Williamson tandem was almost unhittable. FOX Sports is awful, absolutely awful. This is worse than Chris Berman or Joe Morgan. And that's saying something.

2: I have to admit that I really want to see The Departed, the new movie starring Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCraprio (not a misspelling), Matt Damon and Marky Mark, sans the Funky Bunch. Mind you, I don't like Nicholson or DiCraprio, but I'm a sucker for mob movies. Also, I think there's something inside me that longs to hear a movie with good Boston accents. Good Will Hunting wasn't bad, Damon was great and Affleck did a good job (actually, both Afflecks did), but Robin Williams was painful. He wasn't as bad as Costner, but still not good. Anyway, I have hopes that with Damon and Marky Mark (both from Boston) this movie might be able to pull it off.

1: Well, the Detroit Tigers are now everyone's favorite team as they beat the Yankees in 4 games. Early in the season, when Detroit had the best record in baseball, I had said that I hoped they would win it all if the Red Sox weren't going to do it. There are numerous reasons for me to do so: 1) they are a classic franchise, one of the old guys in the AL (a reason I rooted for the White Sox once the Sox were eliminated last year as well), 2) they've been awful for so long (something like 13 straight losing seasons) that it's a great rags-to-riches story, 3)I've loved their manager, Jim Leyland, since he was in Pittsburgh (when I was in Little League I played on the Pirates, so I rooted for them while he was bringing them to the postseason every year), 4) they've got some quality people to root for on that team, 5) I love the old Tigers teams from my childhood (Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammel, Sweet Lou Whitaker, and my favorite, Jack Morris, the most underrated pitcher of my time). I love the mixture of homegrown talent and veterans from outside the organization (which I think is a necessary feature to win these days). I love that the pitching staff relies heavily on 3 guys younger than I am (Zumaya, Verlander and Bonderman). It was great to see Jeremy Bonderman pitch so well today. It was just 3 seasons ago when he lost 19 games (for those who don't know, that is awful), and he lost 45 games from 2003-05. He came to the majors when he was 19 and many thought the Tigers had rushed him, and that his early failures would scar him for the rest of his career (like with Rick Ankiel of the Cardinals). Then today he dominates the Yankees and leaves in the 9th to a goosebump inducing ovation. You have to feel good for a guy like that, and I hope they bring the World Series Championship to Detroit.

5.5 random things

5.5: This post is dedicated to Bruce, of Bruce and Morgan fame, who managed to comment twice on my 13 day absence from posting. I would like to apologize publically (I almost wrote "to publically apologize", which is a split infinitive) to my legions of fans for taking so long.

5: I am an introvert. I took one of those personality tests a few years back and out of 22 questions I gave the "introvert" answer to 21 of them. And I suppose it's true, I mean, I'm the guy who snuck away from his own birthday party for 10 minutes because I needed a break. For the record, "introvert" does not mean antisocial or doesn't like people. On the contrary, I love people. In fact, I know many extroverts who don't like people. That is not a contradiction, extroverts love to be around people, it doesn't mean that like the people they're around. They need the interaction. Anyway, enough of my stupid pop psychology.

4: The best new blog on the market belongs to Brian, fellow Simpsons fan and boy band member. It's funny how he posted 3 times in his first 3 days, aren't these newbies so precious? Don't worry, Brian, you're wide-eyes optimism and innocent zeal will be sucked out of you in no time. Also, I'm not sure how he manages to find the time to blog, which leads me to believe that he slipped this one by his wife without her knowing. So if you know Mrs Brian, keep this on the down low.

3: When I was in college I had a Biology class that I really didn't like. When I wasn't skipping (sorry, mom and dad), I was struggling to stay awake. So, I invented a foolproof way to look busy, keep the mind sharp and in no way engage the course material at all. I would sit with my notebook open and pen in hand and think about a song I hadn't heard in a long time. Then, I'd write out the words as best I could, and would genuinely be looking like I was concentrating intensely. You could look through that notebook (it's probably in a trunk in my parents' basement if you really want to investigate) and find notes about photosynthesis mixed with the lyrics to Bobby Darin tunes.

2: While we're confessing scholastic laziness, I dropped a class in college because it interfered with the Red Sox playoff schedule. It was an Astronomy class in the Fall of 1999, which had its labs at night (obviously), Monday nights to be precise. I looked over the playoff schedule and realized I would have to skip 3 labs, and I was only allowed 1 skip. To be honest, it really wasn't a tough choice for me. And if I didn't drop that class, I would have missed one of the greatest single pitching performances ever (Game 5 of the Division Series against the Cleveland Indians and their high powered offense, Pedro Martinez came on in relief, bad back and all, and no-hit them for 6 innings, striking out 8 and winning the series, this happened on a Monday night). Oh, and this might be the first time my parents have ever heard about this. And I stand by my decision.

1. The greatest website of all time just might be retrosheet.org. It has the box scores for almost every baseball game in the last 18 million years or so. I could spend hours looking at this stuff if I wanted to (I'll let you guess if I actually have or not). It has all sorts of other goodies as well. And you can take a look at the box score and game log from the very first game I attended live (at Fenway Park) on July 12, 1986. It's amazing to me how much this confirms my memory. I remember it being Roger Clemens' 15th win, against Mike Witt of the California Angels, who was one of the best pitchers in the AL that year. I remember the center fielder making his major league debut (I didn't remember his name, though, it's LaSchelle Tarver). I remember Bill Buckner making an error to give the Angels the lead (he did in the top of 6th), then homering to give the Sox the lead (in the bottom of the 6th, and I can still picture the crowd in right field standing as the ball flew towards them). What the box score doesn't show is Wade Boggs arguing with an umpire about a ground ball on the baseline that he felt went foul (though it mentions Schofield's bunt single to third in the 5th, which must be the same play) or the papercut I got on my finger from the napkin I was holding while eating my first Fenway Frank. Yes, my memory of my childhood is that accurate.

I guess that's it, 5.5 random things. I'll be back to posting other more important stuff soon, I promise (I may or may not have my fingers crossed right now).