The Sports Guy’s NBA
By · CommentsNot sure how many of you out there read Bill Simmons, aka ‘The Sports Guy’ at ESPN.com, but I enjoy reading a lot of his stuff. Some of what he writes, I don’t find funny, because of my Christian convictions, but there is still plenty he says I agree with and laugh at. Last week I read his column regarding fixing the NBA. As always, it is a bit long, but entertaining and in my opinion, insightful.
The Gold Medal Game - A Lesson
By · CommentsIf you missed the hockey game between the USA and Canada yesterday, you missed out.
It’s rare that I would say such a thing about a hockey game, but I so thoroughly enjoyed watching the Gold Medal Game yesterday that I cannot help but believe it. Of course, I suppose such a statement is especially true for those folks from either the United States and Canada. But still, no matter where you are from, it was a great game.
As I said to Erin before the contest, it is impossible to draw up a better script. The USA team lost to Canada eight years ago in Salt Lake City. And here they meet again for the gold, in Vancouver nonetheless. Not only that, but the USA squad had already beaten the Canadians, just one week prior. And considering hockey is Canada’s sport, well, that just makes it all the more intense. Not to mention the two countries neighbor one another.
Canada got off to a 2-0 start, but the US team got a goal in the second period to cut the lead to one. The third period was full of intense play, but neither team could score. Until, of course, the USA removed their Goal-tender. With less than a minute to play the US scored to tie the game and send it into overtime…sudden death overtime.
Though I am not a hockey fan per se, I am a huge fan of hockey’s sudden death overtime. Sure, I know soccer and American football have it, but they can’t measure up to the intensity of a sudden death overtime hockey game. For only in hockey is the action so fast-paced that the game could literally be over at any moment. In soccer the shots on goal are pretty spaced out. And in American football, more times than not, a team drives methodically down the field in order to get into field goal range to end it.
So here you have one of the best match-ups in sports, some of the greatest hockey players in the world playing for their respective countries. And the game goes to sudden death overtime. Beautiful. I was tuned into every single move.
As you probably know, the Canadians ended up winning it. Good for them. Really, it was great for them. I felt for the American players, but after viewing such a contest as a fan, I really walked away satisfied. Sure, I wanted my USA guys to win, but I didn’t want them to win so much that I couldn’t handle the loss. Things were in their proper perspective. I was able to enjoy the game in all its facets for what it was: A game.
I don’t always watch or play games like this, but I want to. For I believe this is the way sports are meant to be played and enjoyed (and the way they are best played and enjoyed). Should we want to win? No doubt. But should we also be able to walk away satisfied after giving the game everything we had? Absolutely. And that rings true for both the players and fans.
True Stories? A Word to Parents
By · CommentsThe belief that the Bible is true is a basic one in our house. The dramatic difference such a belief has made in my life naturally leads me to want my children to believe it as well. It hit me the other day, however, that I have never exactly spelled this out for my children. Though we read the Bible consistently, review its numerous stories, and even memorize various passages of Scripture, I don’t often think to remind my children that the stories we are reading are absolutely true. It is so assumed that I am not apt to make it explicit.
Yet I think this is necessary. After all, the vast majority of stories my children read (through Erin and I most of the time of course), are not true. They are fanciful and even funny. Usually entertaining and engaging. But not real. Not true.
I thought of this while in the car with my oldest the other day (she is turning six next month). So I asked her, “Abby, you realize that all the stories we read in the Bible are different than the others you read, right?” She said, “What do you mean?” To which I replied, “I mean, they are true stories. They really happened. They are not just imaginative tales, but real people doing real things.”
Like most conversations with my children, it didn’t last much longer than that. We easily move forward to something else. But I believe it helped her tremendously. And I believe it is something I must return to consistently. Reminders of the Bible’s historical reliability certainly cannot hurt.
All the parents out there may have already known this for years, but if you have young ones like myself and haven’t thought to do this, check it out and let me know how they respond. And be sure to do so more than once.
