Happy to be 4-2…

As many of you know, I coach Jr. High football.  After last night’s win, our record stands at 4-2 (with 2 games to go).  Now, you might be thinking, “big deal.”  But, wins were hard to come by last season — my first as head coach.  In fact, we didn’t win a single “A” game and only won one “B” game.  So, that’s quite the turn around.  So, I’m happy to be 4-2,  but even more excited to be investing in the lives of our players.  This season, our theme has been: “built for others.”  We have been teaching the kids to live selfless lives and have taught some Christian principles to the guys under the radar.  If you didn’t know…this is all at a public middle school.  This Saturday, our players will have a chance to live out what has been taught as we have a team service project at a local mission in Canton.  Hopefully, the players will visibly see what it means to be built for others as they serve this weekend.  I recommend coaching, or something like it, to anyone who is involved in youth ministry.  It’s a great way to get involved in the schools and have some impact in your community.  Plus, it gets you outside of the church bubble and onto the battlefield with some kids who may never enter the doors of your church.  Be sure to check out my team’s website by clicking here. Pay special attention to the “Team Life” page.

 

Who would you rather play for?

Who would you rather play for and why?  The Sweater Vest or Pete Carroll?  I would love to hear your thoughts…

 

A Part of Something Bigger Than Myself…

It’s been a rough football week for me…

The team I coach lost their first game of the season last week.  My beloved Buckeyes looked confused, slow,  timid and got embarrassed again on the National Stage (boy, isn’t USC the most arrogant football team ever?).  The Browns dropped passes, made mistakes and were unwilling to take chances against the Steelers.  All of these losses affected my mood.  I found myself going to bed angry last night.  Why?  I don’t know…I mean it’s just football.  I don’t play for the Buckeyes…I don’t coach for the Browns…I need to expect that my team of 7 & 8th graders will make mistakes sometimes.  So, what’s the deal?  Well, if I take a step back and really see why I can get so passionate about sports, and sometimes why a loss can affect my mood, what I really see is this:  I want to be a part of something BIG. I love to be on a mission.  I love to have vision.  I love to lead.  I love to be led by visionaries. There is also a part of me that is looking for something to conquer.  At the surface level, this is not a bad thing, but I need to be reminded of something: I am a part of something BIG!

 

What Makes LeBron Great

As the Cavs head into game 4 tonight against the Celtics, the national media will no doubt focus on one thing:  LeBron James’ shooting woes.  Without a doubt LBJ has struggled with his jumper lately, but in reality the Cavs still had a golden opportunity to win game 1 and could be up 2-1 in the series.  Here’s what I noticed in game 3: LeBron’s ability to defend (did you see his pin of Rajon Rondo’s layup?  His elbow was ABOVE the rim) pass, rebound, block shots and overall court leadership allows his teammates to get involved.  In short, LeBron’s all-around game makes role players like Delonte West, Daniel Gibson and Wally Szczerbiak better. When those guys are hitting shots, the Cavs are tough to beat.

 

BASEBALL IS HERE!

That’s right! Spring is here and so is baseball. When you live in Northeast Ohio, the coming of baseball season means that warmer weather should be approaching soon…at least by June

Anyway, after last season’s roller-coaster, how will the 2008 edition of the Cleveland Indians look? After last season’s bitter ending (1 stinkin’ game from the World Series) Tribe fans have to be hopeful.  Yes, the Indians didn’t do much in the off-season, and yes the Detroit Tigers became a potential offensive juggernaut with their off-season, but here are a few high hopes for the Indians this season:

• 48 Travis Hafner — he lost his swing late last season, but the “pop” seems to have returned to his bat this Spring.  He’ll have to do some damage in order for the Indians to make some noise in the playoffs.
• 24 Grady Sizemore — a borderline 5-tool player.  Grady’s combination of speed, power, average and defensive-genius make him one of the premier outfielders in all of baseball.
• 13 Asdrubal Cabrera — a late season call-up, Cabrera finally brought some excitement to the second base position…as well as more youthful promise for the Indians of the future.
• 55 Fausto Carmona — a 19 game winner and era of 3…enough said.
• 52 C.C. Sabathia — a contract year for the 2007 Cy Young Award winner.  Is that optimism I hear coming from Cleveland?  This could be a special year.

So yes, the Indians begin their season tomorrow.  I think this is it.  A championship could finally make its way to Cleveland this fall.  If not, there’s a saying in Cleveland, “wait till next year!”

There’s nothing better than baseball in the Spring.  I can’t wait! Go Tribe!

 

BQ Time?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post asking the question “Who should start at QB for the Browns next year — Derek Anderson, or Brady Quinn?” (You can read that post here)

Well, it appears that Derek Anderson may have answered that question himself by turning down the 3 year deal the Browns offered him right before last night’s free agency deadline. This is from an article on MSN:

 

Brady or Derek?

So, if you’re a Browns fan, you know all about the QB derby between Derek Anderson, a former 6th round draft pick and backup who had a stellar year in ‘07 in his first full season as a starter, and Brady Quinn, everybody’s All-American from Notre Dame and 1st round draft pick of the Browns last April.  The dilemma?  Who do you start next year?  What if Derek Anderson has a great training camp?  Do you leave a first round “franchise QB” on your bench for another season?  Or, do you give Quinn a shot based upon potential and college career?  Personally, I would start Anderson (unless he has a horrible training camp) for at least the first 4 games of the season.  If Anderson plays anywhere close to how he played most of this past season, he has to start.  Therefore, Quinn stays on the bench.  This is a good problem to have.  What are your thoughts?

 

Kobe or LeBron

I typically do not watch a lot of NBA games until the playoffs, but this past Sunday I caught the Cavs/Lakers game. As I watched the game it was hard to ignore how the media hypes up the LeBron/Kobe match-up. So, my question is: if you were building an NBA team from scratch, who would you rather have? LeBron — a young, up and coming super star? or Kobe — a super star in the prime of his career?

In my opinion, I would build with LeBron…and I don’t say that because I am a Cavs fan. While Kobe is probably a better pure scorer, LeBron makes those around him play so much better — primarily because of his passing ability. Plus, Kobe’s character has been questionable in his career. So, that’s my opinion. Who would you pick and why?