Bodwin

I was a closet Green Bay fan in high school, mainly because of some big-time Packer fans in my church. Granted, it was easy to pull for them, since they weren't rivals with America's Team -- that's right! What intrigues me the most is that three teams took different approaches to Brett Favre, and I believe they would've have been mistaken to respond differently. Packers were criticized (as was Favre) for not letting Favre come back. I'm sure there are still some detractors that would say Favre would've won more games than Rodgers (6). What's interesting is that Aaron Rodgers QB stats (other than wins) were better than Favre's. The point is that, the Packers weren't going to win the NFC last season, with or without #4. They could be a Super Bowl team in 2-3 years. The Packers made a great move by parting with Favre. It couldn't have happened better for them. Jets are a bit more troublesome to parse apart. The only thing that makes them look foolis

I've been following US Soccer at a level of aficionado (fan) since 1999. I watch nearly every friendly, CONCACAF tournament game, and every FIFA tournament game. In the United States, soccer is largely misunderstood by a good number of the public, including sportscasters and other sporting professionals. Americans are used to winning every sport they're involved in internationally. Not medaling in an international tournament is not acceptable. With basketball, (american) football, and baseball, America has been the primary dominant international player, not only in athlete participation but also in sport development. Soccer is completely different. While America has the money to throw at the sport, the sports stage is overcrowded. People have suggested that if Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, LaDainian Tomlinson, and (fill in the blank) played soccer growing up (Bryant and Nash did) and continued professionally, the landscape of US Soccer might look more like USA Basketball than it doe

It's official. Shaq is a Cleveland Cavalier. Let the Cleveland nickname offerings begin! Here are some thoughts to consider with this move: The NBA East has officially become as interesting and exciting as the West. The Magic, Cavs, Celtics, Heat and Sixers are as fun to watch as the Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers, Mavs, and Hornets. This trade is the last straw for Cleveland to land LeBron in Summer 2010. If the Cavs don't win the title, LBJ will become a NY Knick next Summer. It's a done deal. The Shaq acquisition doesn't solve any long-term problems for Cleveland. He'll be there one year. Shaq doesn't have 3 years of productivity left. If he wins a title next year, he should retire a champion. I don't see Cleveland giving him a 2-year contract at the end of next season. If LBJ and Shaq "leave" Cleveland next summer, which big free agent star comes to Cleveland in the wake of LBJ? I don't see Wade doing it. Bosh doesn't fit the mold. If Clevel

I was recently disturbed at my personal dearth of reading. I found myself thinking, "So, I'm preparing for seminary and future pastoral work, but I'm not reading much at all? That doesn't make sense." I almost find an exclusive dichotomy of either reading Scripture or reading Christian living/Theology titles. Seldom have I read a good mixture of books simultaneously. I think I'm OCD enough that I want to finish something I've started, not start something else prior. So, I'm changing it up this summer. My goal is to read from (1) Scripture (2) Theology (3) Christian Living and (4) Devotional. These are prioritized by amount of reading, but by importance of reading, though 3 and 4 are able to be swapped. Scripture -- Paul's Epistles (ESV Journaling Bible) Theology -- Polity (ed. Mark Dever) Christian Living -- Wordliness (ed. CJ Mahaney) Devotional -- The Bruised Reed (Richard Sibbes) I'm also desiring to enlist the help of The Valley

The Google quote of the day comes from George Aiken . He states: "If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon." I was reminded (and encouraged) that the Gospel does not ignore or replace things (as in a simple swap). It eradicates them, putting into its place not only an acceptable thing, but the very best thing -- the way it was supposed to be. The Gospel does not cause within us a desire to ignore race as a part of a person. It produces within us a love for the person of the race, embracing the diversity as a reminder that Jesus is the Savior of the world, that is, He came to save people from every nation on this earth. This is an amazing fruit of the Gospel in the church.