Weighing the issues?

I love Wednesdays.

Not for the reason that many other Americans do, you know, because it's hump day? No, I love them because my brother and I started to lift weights in the morning and Wednesday is our "off day".

Since we started lifting before Thanksgiving I have noticed a few things have changed since my younger days of working out.

For starters, did it always hurt this much? Their are mornings when I lay in bed and wonder "did my wife beat me with a crow bar while I was asleep?"

Then I love the hunger that hits you, all the time! I hear all the time that when you are pregnant you want to eat any and everything, well, that is how I have felt since we started. (great timing with this whole holiday thing going on) The other day we had our post work out protein shake and I came home and had a slice of pumpkin pie and a glass of milk. At least I didn't have a hankering for pickles and peanut butter!

Finally, the somewhat early positive result. After the pain went away I have noticed much more energy throughout the day. It has been especially noticeable during work and when I'm doing things around the yard. This brings me to the main reason that I started in the first place....my Son.

The boy doesn't grow, he mutates. I know I have mentioned this in past posts but this boy is going to be looking down at me soon and I am 6'3''. When I look up at the top of that sky scraper while yelling "Aidan, stop swating at those planes!" I need him to listen! I know that this probably isn't the best way to attempt leverage in fatherhood but that brings me to another point. The boy is already smarter than me.

We have been taking him to Awana. This is kind of like a Christian "Boy Scout" activity that they have at his school. Basically, you learn about the word of God and earn a vest, as well as different trinkets to put on the vest, as you learn Bible verses. Well, needless to say, he picked up on things quickly and while we were getting ready to go the other night he was reeling off verses like I real off baseball box scores! My Dad and I just looked at each other in amazement and when my wife went back in to get her jacket he stated "I can't even remember what the weather man said an hour ago?"

I'm in trouble.

So now that I have gone so far off track that I hear the dogs from the search team in the distance, let's get back to it.

To all of you Dads out there, lifting weights may not be the answer for you but get out and find something that is. Find something that you can do with another guy friend (or brother) to release the stress of fatherhood or being a husband for that matter.We all need that stress release and using weights is much better than listening to Satan and doing something stupid that would ruin your marriage or relationship with your kids. Take your frustration out on the weights (I tend to lift the most weight after I see our bank balance.) Also, it is good to have someone to share your thoughts (and frustrations) with.

In closing, this can do wonders for you and it may even give you the upper hand when dealing with your son or daughter....that is unless they come to you with homework, then tell them to go find their Mother.

As far as helping you with dealing with your wife, well, weights ain't gonna help and she is probably already smarter than you so...do what I do, go golfing and lie about how you have the upper hand!

The Fantasy Coin Flip

Want to try something new this weekend. I am not a guru by any stretch of the imagination but I do love fantasy football, so I am going to pick a handful of players that I see having a big day this week.

1. Matt Leinart, Houston Texans- Did anyone ever hand you the keys to a Ferarri and tell you "Go ahead, give her a spin,what's the worst that can happen?" Well, that is exactly what Texans head coach Gary Kubiak has done with Leinart and after such a miserable past in Arizona, this is his chance to tell all the doubters "I told you so." With Andre Johnson back and Arian Foster at full steam ahead, this is going to be interesting.

2. C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills- This is the type of match up that usually gets played against me. These are the guys that your opponent puts in his line up last minute and proceeds to burn you for 100 yds and a score. A highly touted draft pick a year ago, Spiller was supposed to be...well, Fred Jackson? Now with a  chance to run with the first team, the highly elusive Spiller has a chance for a big day against a reeling Jet's team.

3.Riley Cooper, Philadelphia Eagles- With Maclin out and Cooper apparently one of Vince Young's favorite targets, this appears to be another chance for a big week. After putting on a show last week against the Giants with 75 yds and a score it seems inevitable this week against a terrible Patriots secondary.

4. Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles- No I am not an Eagle fan, as a matter of fact I am a Cowboy fan! I just see a lot of passing in today's game and if the ball isn't going to Cooper then it is going to to Celek. He has seen a huge boost in targets as well as receptions since the bye week and not to beat a dead horse here but the Patriots have THE WORST PASS DEFENSE IN THE LEAGUE!

5.Caleb Hanie, Chicago Bears- I only say this because my opponent this week has picked this guy up and is playing him against me. These are the type of nightmares that make you want to throw your lap top though a plate glass window. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hanie go for 350 yds and toss 4 touchdowns this week. That's right, no rushing touchdowns for Chicago simply because he has Hanie and I have Forte. I know it sounds crazy but this is the same guy that threw Kevin Smith in his line up last week...hmm, maybe he should write a blog?

Well, that about does it for this week. Hope you all have a great week and beat whomever you are playing against...unless two of you are playing each other and reading this blog...that would be awkward. On that note remember, the only thing out there more consistent than fantasy advice is a weather report.

So go forth blind for yet another week young man (or woman) because there is a 50 percent chance that a torn hamstring is going to ruin your week anyway. Have fun!!

Humble me?

It's 4:00 on a Tuesday afternoon and I was standing in line at Stop & Shop. My clothes were damp but I can honestly say my spirit wasn't. The very rain that dampened my clothes also ended a very tough day of work outside, so actually I was feeling pretty good. Even the fact that I had to stand in line to wait for the missing ingredient to the cornerstone of Thanksgiving dinner,(my wife's world famous Cornbread stuffing) didn't seem to get me down!

My turn came after the elderly woman in front of me finally managed to fit her families entire Thanksgiving menu into her cart and shove it through the front doors. I wondered if she took advantage of the young cashier with her age (seeing that it was a 12 item or less lane) knowing that she would never tell someone of her Grandmothers age "no, you have more than 12 items!" I know, it's strange but stuff like that intrigues me.....I know, I said it was strange...can we move on?

All I had was two packages of ground sausage, a jar of Smuckers raspberry jam (my favorite by the way, if I ever become a famous writer and you want to know what to send me for Christmas) and a bag of peanut M&M's. (don't tell my son!) The total came to twelve dollars and change.

Then came the question that I hear every time I come to this particular store "do you have your Stop & Shop card?" and every time it is asked I reply with "no....my wife has one and I always forget to get a new one for myself." and then I get "it's easy, just go to the front desk...it only takes 5 minutes!" Now, on that note...we all know it is about as easy as filling out a DMV form and 5 minutes to any parent, especially 5 minutes away from child and spouse is worth it's weight in gold...so unless this card gives me gold, it can wait.

Well, usually I get a blank stare from the cashier along with a small bit of guilt seeing that I have lost out on at least a dollar or so of savings. This time though the young lady gave me the savings anyway and it actually brought my total down to 9 dollars and change.

Wow, 3 dollars! This little bit of savings made my day! I could not believe it, that was a a quarter of what I spent. Usually only my wife the "coupon Queen" could boast such a successful catch! I am sure some of you are reading this, thinking to yourself "has he lost it, it's 3 friggin' dollars?" Although, those of you that have God, a wife, and a child always there to humble you...you know this is a win.

And then the following question was asked of me "would you like to make a donation to the Jimmy Fund?"

Me: (sheepishly...knowing that the good lord is about to take my money) "yes"

Cashier: "Would you like to donate 1 dollar, 3 dollars or 5 dollars?"

Me: "5, thanks."

Well played God, well played.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Fantasy or Reality?

As most of you know now, I am a bit of a sports nut. This has been a common factor in my life since I was a kid. It was hard not to be that way in this family seeing that everyone was either a Yankee fan (Dads side of the family) or a Sox fan (Moms side of the family) so it was interesting growing up. Factor that in with our obsession with the Dallas Cowboys and it was never a dull moment. Oh, did I mention my fascination of Michael Jordan and his Bulls and a dose of UConn basketball (which kind of came with the zip code here in Connecticut) and it was a sports buffet!!

With all of these teams to follow came dreams and nights of taking that fade away jumper over and over at the local basketball court until you made it and "WON THE NBA TITLE AT THE BUZZER!!" Or catching that long bomb from your brother in the big back yard of the library to "WIN THE SUPERBOWL WITH A STUPENDOUS 80 YARD GRAB AS TIME EXPIRES...I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!!"

All right, as my wife often tells me "settle down!"

Although, it is only natural for a real sports fan that loves the thrill of victory! Then, eventually things give way to reality. We don't grow any younger and eventually the reality of shin splints, pulled muscles and not being able to lift your arm after throwing the football for 20 minutes wakes you up to one of life's biggest road blocks....age. That's right, no more pick up games at the park, now it's bring the kids to the park and thank the good Lord that the town paid extra for park benches to rest those aching knees.

Wow, this is hard to accept...I'm no longer able to be Troy Aikman, Michael Jordan or even Don Mattingly! Whatever will I do to keep those competitive juices flowing?

Enter fantasy sports...aka...grown up pick up games.

I remember at Iron Sharpens Iron recently one of the speakers saying "If you have to hide while you are doing it, it is a sin!"  Well, when I started playing fantasy sports with my Uncles I hid it from my Dad. I did not want to deal with the ridicule of being a nerd or whatever else he could come up with to throw in my face. Well, it is 8 years later now and he has 3 teams of his own. That's right, the man who used to hiss at a computer like it was a lost puppy wandering around the corner and he was the 14 year old stray tabby with ticks. (I have no idea...just roll with it.)  

It really has been an interesting 8 years with many a trophy on the shelf (what....fantasy trophies..yeah, really! Oh... your being sarcastic....sigh) and many a season of studying stats and following players that I wouldn't even give a second glance, simply because he is suddenly hitting .323 in July!

It is not sad!! 

Now, I bet you are wondering when I am going to put that ever so subtle Christian spin on this already enticing post? Well, buckle up...here it comes!

I was always good at fantasy baseball. It really isn't because I am smarter than anyone in the league, I just had a sickness of obsessing over the stats and constantly updating myself with tons of research and tons of numbers. That and scouring the waiver wire and reading up on players non stop gave me a step up on the competition.

Football was another story. I'm not sure if it was because the schedule is smaller and the fact that players are injured so often. That or maybe with the game of football, stats tend to be much less meaningful than in baseball. I have no idea what it is, but it was driving me nuts. I spent one season trying to figure out what I was doing wrong it it created a monster that read any fantasy article I could get my hands on and really started to eat into my time with my family and...cue the guilt...my time with God.

I would sit in Church wondering if i put the right receiver in and when the service was over I was checking my smart phone to see if it was to late! It really was sad.

Then something happened, after a 3 game losing streak during that season...I gave up. I realized that it was not worth the time I was investing into it and I started to spend more free time with family and less time trying to figure out the mystery within the fantasy football world. So, of course, what do you think happened?

Win, win, win, win, win....playoff spot.

Unbelievable, but you know what? I didn't care. For some strange reason this was a breakthrough in my life. Something just snapped and it didn't really matter anymore. I enjoy our Church much more and our friends through the Church as well. I look forward to time with my family and spending time reading the Bible in the morning rather that fantasy post after fantasy post. As a matter of fact, when I stop with this post I am going to go catch up with my Dad....and tell him about the latest trade proposal I came up with for his wide receiver!

All right, this ain't Disney folks....I'm still a highly regarded general manager for my teams...but, my home team, as well as the good Lord still comes first.

You don't say?

With my Twitter account split right down the middle with sportswriters and Christian influences, I was updated on the latest "gufaw" in the sports world early this afternoon. Apparently, on ESPN's College Gameday, Lee Corso let lose the biggest of the four letter curse words...fudge!

All right, like the beloved "Ralphie" he did not say fudge, it was the big dog. This lit up Twitter like a Christmas tree and of course, everyone had their say. Anywhere from comments of disbelief, to those that supported and even congratulated him. It really was a strange mix, and after awhile it was becoming a bit disturbing. Not disturbing because of how the social media reacted, but more disturbing because Mr. Corso's career could be over. He was a beloved co host known for his "giant heads" and outfits from whatever school he picked to win at the end of the show. Although, this little mistake on such a huge stage such as ESPN, could cost him his job.

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. “ Dorothy Nevill

Wasn't hard to find a quote to go along with this situation! The word really is a powerful thing, think about it. What smaller action could you do to lose your job, end a relationship or really hurt a family member? I myself, am constantly checking what I say with a 5 year old under my watch.

That boy is like a a sponge, you parents know what I'm saying. I will say a word under my breath and the boy will be across the yard with headphones on and sure enough, a week later "Daddy said blah, blah, blah....what does that mean!?" Cue wife eyes now. (sigh)

It got me thinking of a service that we attended about how strong words are. They put up a collage of children with words printed on them and their was a video of verbal abuse. Our Pastor was on fire that day, he really hammered the point across. He also made it very clear that "the Word of God" was the best way to learn to keep your tongue. Their was a passage, and of course with my memory I had to go back and find it..

If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to harness the whole body...Indeed we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn (or control) their whole body. James 3:2-3


Well, I know I'm not perfect. None of us are outside of the big man upstairs, but we sure can try. It is easy to look at what someone said and pick at them (or support them) for saying it. It is so easy to lose your tongue but continue to pray on it, read the word and use your head and remember to choose your words wisely...you never know who could be listening. (once again...wife eyes!)

My kid is going to be the next...

As some of you know, I have a son. He is a big boy and I don't mean that in parental terms like "Who's a big boy!?" I mean at age 5, he is over 4 feet tall and weighs about as much as a bag of cement (unless he's sleeping, then he weighs in at precisely...hippopotamus)

So of course, what do I get all the time? "What sport is he gonna' play?"

 Like most boys, he loves the things I love...I love football, he loves football...I love baseball, he loves baseball.....you see where I am going here, but, I do have a point.
That is however, that if he is going to be loving all things that I do or "follow" I feel like I should be pointing him in the right direction.

Sure, I love the fact that he is always screaming "go Derek Jeter!' whenever the Yankees are on but I don't want him to idolize anyone. Certainly not a playboy from NYC who dates model after model and plays short stop for the Yanks while swimming in millions of dollars!! Wait, what??...no really, I do not want "that " to be my boys focus if he becomes the first pro athlete from the farms of  Northfield, CT. Derek Jeter, after-all, is an Idol.

It is well known in the Bible that we shouldn't follow or worship idols in the first place and with that I would rather him follow some tendencies of athletes, instead of trying to "be" them.

 So, on that note...let's get to it! Here is an athlete that I want my son to pick up the attributes of while enjoying sports himself.(or any other extra curricular activities that his mother signs him up for while I'm not looking)

Tim Tebow- For those of you that don't know, he is the quarterback for the Denver Broncos. To say this kid has overcome a lot is an understatement. I know, I know "cliche alert" but  seriously, from birth he has overcome a lot. His mother suffered a life-threatening infection while pregnant with Tim and was told to have an abortion to keep her from further complications and she refused. Afterwords, he was called by his mother her "Miracle Baby" (and to be honest, i wouldn't be surprised if the name is sticking in Denver right now?)

Although, that is not really where I am going here...he is constantly doubted while playing in the pros. He is told that he is not a prototypical QB and many doubt that he will last. With all that he goes through two things stay constant, his love of Christ and...well, he wins!  

Although, the biggest issue with Tim is a lot of Americans do not want to hear it.

“There has been a really strong social movement of evangelical Christianity for half a century,” said Mr. Krattenmaker, the author of Onward Christian Athlete, who is now writing a book on the changing attitudes of young evangelicals.
“And we’re used to seeing athletes making gestures and talking about God’s role. It’s been a very conspicuous part of the culture.
“But Tebow seems to have taken it to a much higher level. A lot of people don’t want to hear it anymore — from anyone, not just athletes. People are getting really irritated with public displays of religion. It’s like fingernails on chalkboard.”

Now as far as his love of Christ, he has been recognized since his days in college (Florida) of being a stand up, devout Christian. He was actually the reason a rule was created for any visible writing in the "eye black" of a college player. (this is that line of black paint under a football players eyes)  During his college career he was well known for having biblical verses written in his, such as John 3:16 and  Proverbs 3: 5-6.

He is also well known for "Tebowing" that is when he kneels down and prays while either scoring in or winning a game. (us Christians call it praying, but to each their own!)

Where the term originated is beyond me. I have heard the media created it and also that some kid on Facebook has legal ownership of it...gotta' love the legal system!

 Also, Tim is well known for his mission work, as well his foundation that cares for 600 orphans around the world and he is open about the fact he is a virgin, saving himself for marriage. The thing that you have to love about all of this is that he isn't pushing his religion onto anyone, even if that is the way it is being perceived. He is simply doing this because it is what he knows is right, and of course it was the way he was raised in the Church as well as being home schooled by his parents whom were missionaries. (OK so he had a bit of parental influence...heh, heh, and we move on!!) 

Now, that is the player that I want my son to emulate! Although, he really doesn't have to because he is already starting down the path. My boy actually recited John 3:16 the other night at Awana (a Christian affiliated after school program) and earned his vest!

Now that is no NFL jersey that comes along with a million dollar signing bonus and tons of awards and adulation....no my friends, in this fathers eyes, it's better!

A Donkeys Point of View: Buddhism...really?

A Donkeys Point of View: Buddhism...really?: My wife and I have recently had a bomb dropped on us and I would love to share "it" and get some opinions on how I (and my wife) should hand...

Buddhism...really?

My wife and I have recently had a bomb dropped on us and I would love to share "it" and get some opinions on how I (and my wife) should handle the situation.

A friend/family member/random person on the street recently has informed us that he/she does not believe in the Bible and is thinking of becoming a Buddhist. Immediately I acted as any Uncle/friend/samaritan would and tried to immediately fix the problem...or in today's society, I googled it, procrastinated and am about to ask my wife what we are going to do when she gets off the phone!

While waiting for her I thought maybe we could review some of the pros and cons?

Pro-It's logical and has evidence and proof to support most of its claims and doesn't require faith of its people.

Con- its a very pacifistic religion which while good in some ways (no history of war etc) it made it extremely easy for china to invade tibet - they didn't fight back they just ran.

Pro-its extremely peaceful and encourages compassion and learning.

Con- easily misinterpreted many people think Buddhists think life must be suffering because of the first noble truth that is often stated as 'life is suffering' when actually it is 'life is fraught with suffering' meaning that "it happens".

Hmmm...well, if you are reading this, you certainly aren't because of my religious views...let's put a sports perspective on the situation. Let's see...big sports star + Buddhist = Tiger Woods? Let's give it a shot? We all know he spent last Thanksgiving being clubbed (plenty of pun intended) by his wife (after she learned that he cheated with many different women while on tour), but during his press conference he did mention that he wanted to get back to his Buddhist roots.

Pretty sure that if his root's were Christian he would have read a "Commandment" or two and wouldn't have had to sleep off that turkey dinner in the E.R.

 

All righty then, how about the big screen? Searching...searching.. Wait, this can't be right...Hollywood star Steven Seagal announced in 1997 that he had been recognized as a Tibetan incarnate lama, or tulku. “Wait,that Steven Segal? The action-movie hero who specializes in toting powerful guns and blowing stuff up?” Sooooo....moving on.

Let's check the music scene?? Searching....Tina Turner??

You know what, forget it, she's off the phone.