How about them NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS!!! For 12 years now, I have picked a winner the day of the Super Bowl. I'm glad to have the 12 year streak continue.
I am ever more glad for this particular outcome. There's a reason we bELIeve in Eli. Colt's fans across the nation were rooting for Peyton's baby bro. Notice Peyton was eerily absent from the game. He wanted this game focused where it belonged, on the Giants, not the mystery of what will happen next year.
The game itself was great. It was everything a match up of these two teams should be. It was the Giants defense putting the hurt on the Pats, while their offense found a way.
The game started well with a safety the very first time Tom "the chump" Brady touched the football. Good job, your royal chumpiness. The Giants defense for some reason has the ability to take it to the Pats like no one else in the league. I don't know why, they just do.
This time, the Giants had some trouble getting to Brady (unusual for Pierre-Paul to be so quiet in a game), but their coverage was still enough, which they proved at the jump ball on the end.
Manning, in contrast, had a huge game, pulling out the 4th quarter win when needed. That sideline catch by Manningham may not have been as circus-like as David Tyree's famous helmet catch, but also set them up to win the game just as much. The MVP award could have easily gone to Manningham or Nicks, but when you have two WR that could be MVP, you have to give it to the guy who threw to them. Too bad you couldn't make the MVP the entire defense.
I do have to say this, Bellicheck (aka "the Hoodie") is an idiot. When they had a chance to do a goal-line stand, the Hoodie ordered them to let the Giant's score to give more time on the clock. I know you've trusted Brady with drives in the past, but this year your offense stunk. Besides, the Giants have your number when their defense is out there. What he should have done is trust the defense that got him to the championship. There's an old saying in football. "Offense wins games. Defense wins championships." Instead of saying "I have no confidence in you. Give away all our momentum to the other team," perhaps you could say "I'm going to trust you to get the job done and win the game. How stupid do you have to be to let the other team score the game-winning TD? That's like in the AFC championship a few years ago (when the Colts beat the Pats. Great game) when "the Hoodie" went for it on fourth down, deep in his own territory, and called a play that threw the ball short of the first down marker. Stupid.
On to what some of you really care about: the commercials.
I loved the Doritos commercial entitled "Man's best friend," that included a dog bribing a man with Doritos. Sweet. More dog ads included the Volkswagen fat dog commercial, and the Bud Lite "Here We Go" commercial.
The ETrade ad was great, just for the "I'm Speed Dating" line.
Dannon Oikos was great, just to watch John Stamos getting headbutted.
Seinfeld and Ferris Bueller (sp?) made nostalgia comebacks, which was great except for trying to explain to teens who they were. Man I'm old.
I LOVED the Kia Optima commercial, because it started out looking raunchy, but then changed where the guy decided what he really wanted was his wife. We need more men to stand up and fight for their wives the their marriages.
Bridgestone's "Performance Football" was great. The curving pass, and Deon complaining about it... it was just good.
The NFL timeline and the boy peeing in the pool were also funny.
My favorite, however, was the Audi commercial. They have LED headlights, supposedly like a real sun. A vampire drives up, and roasts his buds. Well worth watching.
Lowlights include the usual perversion from Go Daddy, and another perverted one for women with David Beckham in his underwear (and you think lust is only a guy issue...). Crystler's Clint Eastwood one was BORING, and the "halftime" reference seems to edge toward the political. Chevy's end of the world was also stupid. Fiat and Camry were also ridiculously stupid. And the TV show ads were boring.
If you wish to watch the commercials for yourself, click here.
Now to what no one cares about: the halftime show.
Don't care. It sucked, like always. I wish they would at least get someone who was popular in my lifetime. Though I hate the modern stuff too, so there really is no pleasing me. And for anyone who complains about lip-syncing, they've done it for everyone's show for as long as I can remember, so get over it.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The Cost
Right now I'm going through Luke 14, writing my own Bible Study materials (available to anyone upon request). I've come over the last few years to really love Luke 14. Jesus tells this parable (a story told to teach a lesson) about a wealthy man. He's throwing the party to end all parties. It is going to be everything that a party should be. He's invited the guests, but when he sends his servants out to say "Food's ready; come on," the guests have all these excuses why he can't come. The host gets mad, and so he has the beggars, the disabled, the homeless, and the "outsiders" come in. Then he basically says "When those I invited first hear how great the party is and finally show up, don't let them come."
In the parable, God is the host. He invites the wealthy, religous people in first, but when the refuse to come, he invites the broken and the outsiders (like me). This parable is meant as a warning to the religous people. We can't say, "Yeah, I'm going to follow you God. But later. First, I have to..." The Pharisees made excuses, so Jesus went to sinners and prostitutes. When asked why, Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son.
But to the Pharisees (and to us) he says, "Be sure to count the cost. Anyone who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." It's easy to say that we're Christians. But are we willing to pay the price? Our money, our jobs, our homes, our hobbies, our families, our lives. Are we willing to pay the price to follow Jesus?
In the parable, God is the host. He invites the wealthy, religous people in first, but when the refuse to come, he invites the broken and the outsiders (like me). This parable is meant as a warning to the religous people. We can't say, "Yeah, I'm going to follow you God. But later. First, I have to..." The Pharisees made excuses, so Jesus went to sinners and prostitutes. When asked why, Jesus told the story of the Prodigal Son.
But to the Pharisees (and to us) he says, "Be sure to count the cost. Anyone who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." It's easy to say that we're Christians. But are we willing to pay the price? Our money, our jobs, our homes, our hobbies, our families, our lives. Are we willing to pay the price to follow Jesus?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
One year later
One year ago today, my dad passed away. After the funeral, I took some time to write it out. This morning, I took some time to read this, and thought that you might like to also.
http://knight4today.blogspot.com/2011/02/two-weeks-and-worst-day.html
http://knight4today.blogspot.com/2011/02/two-weeks-and-worst-day.html
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
NFL 11 Championship week
Want to hear something cool? Ok, last week you saw my predictions.
Yeah, well, I was right. What makes better, was I told a guy at church that the Ravens would have to score at least 24 points to win. The Pats? scored 23. That's right, I'm a freaking genius.
Now, I do have to say, I hate to see a championship decided by a questionable play. Did the Ravens received have control over the ball before it was knocked out? Hard to say. It went so fast. But, it was either a TD, or seemingly, an amazing defensive play by a Pats defender.
Also, I feel bad for the kicker. At least you didn't miss as bad as Vander-shank did years ago for the Colts, after mouthing "Money" to the opposing bench. Then missing worse than any kick I can remember. Good news is, you can play for the Cowboys, who always seem to pick up the worst kicker on the market.
Giants-Niners. Go big blue! Ok, I didn't actually predict an outcome of this game, on the conditions. I just did not know how these two teams would fair. Baby brother did good. I also did not get to watch this game, as I went to bed early with strep (yay me).
So we have a rematch of the most entertaining Super Bowl I have ever seen. So, the question is, do we bELIeve in Eli? Can baby brother beat the chump? I'll say this, Tom Brady better not win a Super Bowl in Indy, or else they better take him out in an armored car. I already know of many Colt's fans who are planning on going in with Peyton Manning jerseys, or looking for Giants' jerseys to borrow.
Go Giants!
Next week's predictions: if the Ravens can get their offense going, their defense can get them the win. However, if they play like they did last week, the Chump will make another Super Bowl appearance (won't somebody run that guy over with a bus already?). The Niners are quietly unpredictable, so it will all depend if a bunch of New Yorkers play with a chip on their shoulder or not.
Yeah, well, I was right. What makes better, was I told a guy at church that the Ravens would have to score at least 24 points to win. The Pats? scored 23. That's right, I'm a freaking genius.
Now, I do have to say, I hate to see a championship decided by a questionable play. Did the Ravens received have control over the ball before it was knocked out? Hard to say. It went so fast. But, it was either a TD, or seemingly, an amazing defensive play by a Pats defender.
Also, I feel bad for the kicker. At least you didn't miss as bad as Vander-shank did years ago for the Colts, after mouthing "Money" to the opposing bench. Then missing worse than any kick I can remember. Good news is, you can play for the Cowboys, who always seem to pick up the worst kicker on the market.
Giants-Niners. Go big blue! Ok, I didn't actually predict an outcome of this game, on the conditions. I just did not know how these two teams would fair. Baby brother did good. I also did not get to watch this game, as I went to bed early with strep (yay me).
So we have a rematch of the most entertaining Super Bowl I have ever seen. So, the question is, do we bELIeve in Eli? Can baby brother beat the chump? I'll say this, Tom Brady better not win a Super Bowl in Indy, or else they better take him out in an armored car. I already know of many Colt's fans who are planning on going in with Peyton Manning jerseys, or looking for Giants' jerseys to borrow.
Go Giants!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
NFL 11 Wild Card weekend.
Called it! Well, mostly. Let me also say this, the difference in most of these games was turnovers. That said...
Niners-Saints. I said I hadn't watched the Niner much this year. They flew under the radar to second place (first time I recall them doing anything playoff wise since Steve Young). They made me neverous, and the Saints have been on one week, off the next. I made no actually prediction for this game, but my explanations of what could happen did. The Saints turned the ball over, a lot. And the Saints cruised pass them to the championship.
Pats-Broncos. Called it again, just as I did regular season. The reason Tebow Time has been so effective is because their defense has kept them in games to the end. But just like in the regular season, they could not keep up. The Pats have Denver d's number for some reason, and the game just gets out of reach too fast. Offensive turnovers by the Broncos sure didn't help. But that's ok. We still love you anyway Tebow.
Ravens-Texans. The only thing I didn't predict was how long the Texans would stay in it. But again, turnovers were an issue. Yates also admitted before the game to being intimidated by Baltimore's defensive legends, and it showed. I will say this, Baltimore stuggled on offense, and if they don't find a way to get something going Sunday, the Pats will make another Super Bowl.
Giants-Packers. I told you! I can give you a list of names of people that I told. The Packers were good, but their defense struggled all season, and the Giants had a defense that could hold them down. And on offense, well, Eli Manning and the Giants have a knack for winning the big games that they shouldn't win, at least on paper. It's kinda their thing. So when their defense created take-aways and kept the Packer's score down, we saw why we bELIeve in Eli.
Next week's predictions: if the Ravens can get their offense going, their defense can get them the win. However, if they play like they did last week, the Chump will make another Super Bowl appearance (won't somebody run that guy over with a bus already?). The Niners are quietly unpredictable, so it will all depend if a bunch of New Yorkers play with a chip on their shoulder or not.
Niners-Saints. I said I hadn't watched the Niner much this year. They flew under the radar to second place (first time I recall them doing anything playoff wise since Steve Young). They made me neverous, and the Saints have been on one week, off the next. I made no actually prediction for this game, but my explanations of what could happen did. The Saints turned the ball over, a lot. And the Saints cruised pass them to the championship.
Pats-Broncos. Called it again, just as I did regular season. The reason Tebow Time has been so effective is because their defense has kept them in games to the end. But just like in the regular season, they could not keep up. The Pats have Denver d's number for some reason, and the game just gets out of reach too fast. Offensive turnovers by the Broncos sure didn't help. But that's ok. We still love you anyway Tebow.
Ravens-Texans. The only thing I didn't predict was how long the Texans would stay in it. But again, turnovers were an issue. Yates also admitted before the game to being intimidated by Baltimore's defensive legends, and it showed. I will say this, Baltimore stuggled on offense, and if they don't find a way to get something going Sunday, the Pats will make another Super Bowl.
Giants-Packers. I told you! I can give you a list of names of people that I told. The Packers were good, but their defense struggled all season, and the Giants had a defense that could hold them down. And on offense, well, Eli Manning and the Giants have a knack for winning the big games that they shouldn't win, at least on paper. It's kinda their thing. So when their defense created take-aways and kept the Packer's score down, we saw why we bELIeve in Eli.
Next week's predictions: if the Ravens can get their offense going, their defense can get them the win. However, if they play like they did last week, the Chump will make another Super Bowl appearance (won't somebody run that guy over with a bus already?). The Niners are quietly unpredictable, so it will all depend if a bunch of New Yorkers play with a chip on their shoulder or not.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Not a Fan
I've been reading a great book by a man that I've come to highly respect over the years. The book is Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman.
What I like about the book is that is looks at the passages that we ignore, and ask the questions we are too afraid to ask. Like, "What if Jesus was serious?" What I mean is we glance over the passages that make us uncomfortable in favor of those that make us happy. We like to pick and chose our own happy, soft version of Jesus. We like "let the little children come to me" better than "Woe to you, unbelieving and perverse generation." We like "Love your enemy" better than "Narrow is the gate, and few find it" or "if you want to follow me, you must give up everything." We like "blessed are the poor" better than "Sell all your possessions, give them to the poor, and then follow me."
See Jesus made a few things clear. First, not everyone goes to heaven. We don't like that. We want everyone to go to heaven. Well, maybe not Hilter, but I want to go without actually having to obey God. But in fact, with that whole narrow gate thing, Jesus was saying that very few people get to heaven. Second, we must obey Him. We want to say "I believe in God," but God wants us to obey him too. People throughout the gospels ask "What must I do to be saved?" In other words, what's the bare minimum I have to do to be saved? Jesus answered like "Love God with everything that you are, and love your neighbor as yourself." He answered like "Obey everything I commanded." (we like to change this to "I'm a good person. I never killed anybody.") Third, Jesus said we have to give up everything to follow him. Just read Luke 14. Jesus makes it clear that there are NO EXCUSES. It's all or nothing. Jesus will not share us.
See, we want to draw a line. It's ok if I sleep with this person. We're in love. Jesus told me to forgive, but he doesn't know what I've been through. We're supposed to not be greedy or materialistic, but this is America. That's just how things are. Our definition of sin is that we don't hurt anybody. Steal from a corporation, not a person. Have all the one-night stands we want. Who cares? But see, when we do those things that aren't any big deal, we pick those things over God. Even if their good things, like work or family. If they take priority, they are sin.
So if very few are going to make it to heaven, how do we ensure that we are one of the few? Reading this book is a good place to start. Also visit http://www.notafan.com. And chances are, if you're offended by all this talk, then you're a fan. You need to check this out more than anyone.
What I like about the book is that is looks at the passages that we ignore, and ask the questions we are too afraid to ask. Like, "What if Jesus was serious?" What I mean is we glance over the passages that make us uncomfortable in favor of those that make us happy. We like to pick and chose our own happy, soft version of Jesus. We like "let the little children come to me" better than "Woe to you, unbelieving and perverse generation." We like "Love your enemy" better than "Narrow is the gate, and few find it" or "if you want to follow me, you must give up everything." We like "blessed are the poor" better than "Sell all your possessions, give them to the poor, and then follow me."
See Jesus made a few things clear. First, not everyone goes to heaven. We don't like that. We want everyone to go to heaven. Well, maybe not Hilter, but I want to go without actually having to obey God. But in fact, with that whole narrow gate thing, Jesus was saying that very few people get to heaven. Second, we must obey Him. We want to say "I believe in God," but God wants us to obey him too. People throughout the gospels ask "What must I do to be saved?" In other words, what's the bare minimum I have to do to be saved? Jesus answered like "Love God with everything that you are, and love your neighbor as yourself." He answered like "Obey everything I commanded." (we like to change this to "I'm a good person. I never killed anybody.") Third, Jesus said we have to give up everything to follow him. Just read Luke 14. Jesus makes it clear that there are NO EXCUSES. It's all or nothing. Jesus will not share us.
See, we want to draw a line. It's ok if I sleep with this person. We're in love. Jesus told me to forgive, but he doesn't know what I've been through. We're supposed to not be greedy or materialistic, but this is America. That's just how things are. Our definition of sin is that we don't hurt anybody. Steal from a corporation, not a person. Have all the one-night stands we want. Who cares? But see, when we do those things that aren't any big deal, we pick those things over God. Even if their good things, like work or family. If they take priority, they are sin.
So if very few are going to make it to heaven, how do we ensure that we are one of the few? Reading this book is a good place to start. Also visit http://www.notafan.com. And chances are, if you're offended by all this talk, then you're a fan. You need to check this out more than anyone.
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