Steadfast Man

Psalm 26

(1) Vindicate me, O Lord,
for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
(2) Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.
(3) For your steadfast love is before my eyes
and I walk in your faithfulness.
(4) I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
(5) I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.
(6) I wash my hands in innocence
and go around your altar, O LORD,
(7) proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
(8) O LORD, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
(9) Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
(10) in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
(11) But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
(12) My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

That is a great example of what a steadfast man is:

• Walks in integrity
  
• Trusts the Lord without wavering--no matter what life brings his way
• Eyes are locked on Jesus and his steadfast love
• Does not hang with the wicked, evildoers, hypocrites, men of falsehood
  
• Proclaims thanksgiving aloud & tells of God's wondrous deeds
• Loves the presence of God "habitation of your house"
• Washes hands in innocence -- can come before the throne of Grace b/c of Jesus' shed blood
• Blesses the Lord

Notes from the Bullpen

I got a ball while at the Indians game on Saturday. The Indians bullpen tossed it up after Kerry Wood stopped warming up. Unfortunately, he was not needed that game as the Cardinals defeated the Tribe 3-1. It's the 2nd ball I've gotten at a game. The first being back on August 13, 1991 at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium when the Indians played the Red Sox. It's always a big thrill for a fan to receive a ball and helps lighten the defeat.




Record of attended Indians games: 1-3

2009 MLB Games attended: 5 to date

Bobbleheads received this year: 4 to date (2 last game)

Don't Procrastinate

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

~ William Penn

Most Valuable Puppets

Nike has come out with a series of "Most Valuable Puppets" Commercials with LeBron and Kobe. They are quite funny. Here's the most recent one. It's great!

Philadelphia Goodness

You can't visit Philadelphia without getting a cheese steak. And there's no better place to get it then Pat's King of Steaks. So, so good! I recommending get it "wit" whiz.



While out in Philly for Billy and Jill's wedding (haha, Bill and Jill, I'm sure that will get old after a while) we also stopped by the Franklin Fountain, which is a classic candy/soda shop. Just a wonderful little place east of Independence Hall. I tried a Cherry Bomb aka a cherry soda with a scoop of chocolate ice cream plopped in. Delicious!!

Seats and Tray Tables in their Upright Positions

Catching a flight to Philly in the early AM. I will probably be disappointed when I hear the pilot speak those words. Tray tables...upright position?!?! How am I suppose to lay my head down and continue to sleep.

I want to like hockey

After visiting the Hockey Hall of Fame on my trip and watching some of the NHL Playoffs, I have developed the feeling that I want to follow hockey...I want to like hockey...I want to be a fan. I have had these thoughts before, but they seem to fade away pretty quickly. As a sports fan I would think the sport of hockey would be something I would easily get into, but for a variety of reasons I have not. Here are three of those reasons.

I don't live in an area where hockey matters. When you think of sports as they relate to Ohio in general, and Northeast Ohio specifically, you usually think of football. High school football with rivalries like Massillon vs. McKinley, college football with Ohio State, and professional football with the Cleveland Browns. Football is the sport that everyone seems to follow and want to talk about. And now with LeBron James and the Cavaliers garnering so much attention locally and nationally, there seems to leave little room for a sport like hockey to claim any attention. You don't see hockey on TV, read about it in the papers, hear it discussed on the radio, or talk about it at the office. When its rarely mentioned its hard to follow.

I think if I lived in an area where hockey matters I would follow it and most likely be a fan. I can think of when we lived in Kalamazoo, MI and went to lots of Kalamazoo Wings games (who at the time were a minor league affilate of the Minnesota Northstars) I always enjoyed going to the games and think I would have continued to care about hockey and follow the Minnestoa Northstars if we did not move. I still have an affinity for the Northstars (although since then they have moved to Dallas and are just the Stars), but would not consider myself a fan. As well, my friend Tim, who I roomed with in grad school, was a big hockey fan. He was from North Dakota where hockey is a big deal, especially with two of the powerhouse college programs in North Dakota and North Dakota State. I remember watching a lot of the '06 Winter Olympics hockey games with him, and could definitely have seen myself really becoming a fan of hockey if I had been the one that lived in North Dakota and went to NDSU like he did.

Secondly, there is no NHL team in Cleveland. Even while living outside Ohio, if there would have been a Cleveland NHL team, I would assume my dad would have been a fan (like with the Browns, Cavs, and Indians) and in turn would have raised me to be one too. I remember when I was around 5 years old, my dad would teach my brother and I all the names of the Indians players and what positions they played. Having my own bond with the team at an early age grew my desire to root for the Indians, and I would think becoming a fan of a Cleveland hockey team would have worked out the same way. Now there is a team in Ohio, the Columbus BlueJackets that I could root for. Two things seem to hinder me a bit with becoming a true fan of them. First, there is not much history with the team. They entered the NHL in 2000. I want to cheer for a team with history. I really enjoy history a lot and think it makes teams like the BlackHawks, Canadians, etc... special because there seems to be something more to root for when a team has been around and has had its victories and defeats. Secondly, I think it is harder to become a fan of a team the old you get. When you are a kid, you begin to root for the team your dad roots for or the team all the kids at school wear the shirts and jersey of. Kids are more impressionable and the team and players seem larger than life. It's easy to just cheer and have fun even if your team is not particularly good. As you get older though, I think a lot of that luster and spirit wears off and its hard just to start rooting for a team cold-turkey. Now, maybe we should just try to be more like kids again, but I think it is tougher none the less.

Thirdly, the NHL is not on TV much. After the lock out in 2004 and the subsequent loss of their TV deal with ESPN, very few hockey games are on TV. Across the board this has caused a lot of probelms for the NHL because it just isn't out there in the public view like the other three major sports are, along with the likes of Nascar, and even tennis, golf, and mixed martial arts. And although it has a contract with the Verses station now, its nowhere near the exposure the NHL needs.

I want to like hockey, I really do. The game is a great mix of power and grace, physical play coupled with finesse. Maybe with the '10 Olympics soon approaching and with the memories of Toronto on my mind, I may just buckle down and follow hockey more and more. Now I just need to find a team to root for...somebody bring the Whalers back to Hartford.