Wisdom from Tozer

“What comes to a person’s mind when they think about God is the most important thing about them.” 

~ A.W. Tozer 

Lebron and the Cavs

It seems like where ever you turn, somebody is talking about Lebron James, what happened with the Cavs, and LBJ's free agency.  Turn on the TV, listen to the radio, read the paper, everyone has an opinion on what Lebron is going to do.  Even some women at work who are not sports fans have been asking about it.  And it seems like everyone is trying to dissect every word, facial expression, voice inflection as an indication of what Lebron is thinking.  I really think only he really knows and its a coin flip whether or not he stays in Cleveland or goes elsewhere.  With that said, here are few articles by writers I like and that are knowledgeable.



Terry Pluto writes what is Gone after the loss to the Celtics.

Bill Simmons makes the case that Lebron James is really Doctor J 2.0.

Joe Posnanksi chronicles the final minute of game 6

Brian Windhorst gives an honest take of where the Cavaliers are at.

Wisdom from Lecrae

"There's no mandate to be the richest, most popular, have the most or biggest.  Only love God, share truth, make disciples"


~ Lecrae Moore

Fear the Deer

Check out the Milwaukee Bucks mascot, Bango, throw down an amazing dunk during the 1st round of the playoffs.  The crowd goes nuts as he flips off a 16 foot ladder over the hoop and dunks.  Awesome!!




And two deer enter a bar in Wisconsin as patrons are watching a Milwaukee Bucks playoff game.  Wow! Guess they didn't want to miss out on the game.

Kentucky Derby

Sports most exciting 2 minutes, the Kentucky Derby, is today.  From what I have heard from people that have gone its quite a spectacle from the derby hats, mint juleps, the colorful landscape, the infield, and the cheering on of your favorite horse.  Here are some links for all things Kentucky Derby

What to wear to the Kentucky Derby for the Gentleman

What to wear for the Lady.  Big hats they're all the rage

Kentucky Mint Julep Recipes...don't forget the silver cup.

Some wagering advice for the casual race fan

Baseball, not redundant

At a recent worship team practice or youth group (I forget which), I was talking to our worship leader, Ken, about how our main sound tech guy was on his annual golfing trip.  We mentioned how he was playing 18-27 holes a day and how nice that would be.  Ken was quick to point out how he'd rather be watching 18 innings of baseball a day then playing all that golf.  My sentiments too.

I seem to write about baseball a lot.  I like many other sports and probably enjoyed playing football the most, but there's something about baseball that causes me to want to be poetic, linguistic and tell its tales.  The first time I really remember writing about baseball was in my 10th grade English class taught by Robert Smith (still the best teacher I've had).  We took a look at the movie, The Natural, starring Robert Redford and how his character, Roy Hobbs, was a presentation of the King Arthur Legend.   I think the legends, the stories,and  mystical nature of baseball history has made it intriguing to me.  It's stories are ones that are passed down from generation to generation, as a grandfather tells a grandson how he saw Bob Feller pitcher, Willie Mays run down a fly ball, or Ted Williams knock out a base hit.  How a father tells his children about Dennis Eckersley's No-hitter, seeing Rod Carew swipe a base, or Reggie Jackson hit a towering home run.  I know I will tell my kids about seeing my favorite player, Nolan Ryan, pitch.  About seeing Ken Griffey Jr's sweet swing, and Kenny Lofton's amazing catches along the outfield wall.  The stories of past players seem to continually build upon and enrich the history of baseball

There are many large-than-life figures too, from Babe Ruth to Satchel Paige to Shoeless Joe Jackson to Jackie Robinson and many almost-too-good-to-be-true tales like Ruth calling his shot; Paige waiving in his outfielders and infielders because he knew he'd strikeout the side; Shoeless Joe's bat, "Black Betsy"; and the countless times Jackie stole home (19 in his career). 

The legends we hear about the game peak are interest as we discuss, debate, and even argue about who's the greatest, how a particular player would do in today's game, and try to adjust stats for the time era the player played in.  It makes for great theatrics to try to pit our favorite players of yesterday and today on the same diamond.  Author Kevin King tries to do this a bit in his book, All the Stars Came Out That Night, as he puts together a fictional account of the stars of the Major Leagues and Negro Leagues coming together to play a great all-star game in the depression era.

This is what's great about baseball, its a game for everyone...the fanatic, the family, the leisurely fan, the historian, the writer and musician alike (check out The Baseball Project).  This seems like a hodgepodge of baseball thoughts, so more on all of this in upcoming posts.





Record of attended Indians games: 0-1

2010 MLB Games attended: 1 to date

Hot Dogs eaten at a game this year: 1 to date (1 last game)

Nighttown

Here is a really good article from the Plain Dealer interviewing Nighttown owner, Brendan Ring.  Nighttown is a jazz club and restaurant in Cleveland Heights and just a hop, skip, and a jump from Case Western Reserve University.  I really enjoyed the times I have gone there and think it is the premier place to hear jazz in Cleveland.  The article is quite interesting and I really like the thoughts he has about living and working in Cleveland (he came from Ireland, you should check it out Josh) as well as some of his favorites around town.  He even gave a nice shout out to the Eldred Theater at CWRU and the Nottingham Spirk design company (which is also right next to CWRU).  Brendan Ring seems to be a good ambassador for jazz, cleveland, and local business.  Check his place out...the patio just opened for the summer season too!