My Thoughts on the Longhorns so Far...

Texas' Colt McCoy was a hero for the football team.  He did anything and everything.  Broke records, demolished opponents, and served his community.  He stepped into the shoes of Vince Young and followed up with nearly his own national championship.  He rode off into the sunset as one of the more favorite quarterbacks in Longhorn history.
Here are Colt's Career Stats:

			Passing									Rushing
Season	Team		GP	Rating	Att	Comp	Pct	Yds	TD	INT		Att	Yds	TD
2006	Texas		13	161.8	318	217	68.2	2,570	29	7		68	170	2
2007	Texas		13	139.2	424	276	65.1	3,303	22	18		114	510	4
2008	Texas		13	173.75	433	332	76.7	3,859	34	8		136	561	11
2009	Texas		14	147.41	470	332	70.6	3,521	27	12		129	348	3
	Totals		53	158.25	1,645	1,157	70.3	13,253	112	45		447	1,589	20

The job of filling his shoes is now up to his brother, Case.  Who, in my opinion, is doing  a dang good job.  As a Longhorn fan, it was hard to watch the team underachieve last year and hard to watch Garrett Gilbert, who was a blue chip recruit, play so horribly.  It has been a breath of fresh air to see Case and fellow QB David Ash split time and most importantly, win. 

In three games, Case has a QB rating of 178 and a 76% completion percentage.  He has yet to have been sacked.  In fact, on Saturday, he eluded defensive players to set up a score at the end of the first half.  He's stepping into his brother's shoes very quickly.  I, being the oldest of 3 siblings, don't really know what it is to follow footsteps, but I can imagine it must be tough.  Case is doing a pretty good job.  Hopefully, he can keep it up.

The Big 12 schedule for Texas begins next week, and it will be a tough go of it.  However, they are in a way better position than they were last year, and have the ability to surprise some people. 

The new coordinators have really beefed up their strategies and they've been working well.  Time to really but it to the grind and work it out good. 

Hook 'em Horns!

We Will Never Forget...

I am sure there are tons of blogs out there about this exact subject this week or during this weekend.  So here goes...

Sunday is the 10th anniversary of September 11.  It would be pretty hard to find someone alive today that doesn't remember where they were on that day.  When the actual event began, I was in band and during football season we spent every morning marching.  It wasn't until about 10 AM when I actually found out about it.  I walked into Mr. Chapman's class and he had the television on.  I remember thinking it was some kind of video doctoring or a movie clip or something.  I mean, we are America.  We are NEVER taken by surprise and attacked.  It was very humbling for me as a freshman in high school.  I grew up and America was bullet proof.  I was always taught to love my country and that we did what we had to do to protect our citizens.  We were the ones to go help people when they are in need and defend causes we thought were just.  It had been nearly 60 years since someone had the fortitude to attack America on our own soil.  So there it was on the television, airplanes flying into our buildings.  First one, and then another.  And then a report of one crashing into the Pentagon, and another in a field in Pennsylvania.

So what did it feel like that day.  Well, I was 14 years old.  Not exactly all that well versed in world politics or anything like that.  Everything I knew came from discussions with friends about the military and such.  So here are these airplanes being flown into buildings by people who had spent some time in the US, of course, I was a little afraid.  Naturally I think.  Does that mean I didn't have faith in the American government? No.  But who's to say they weren't headed to Houston or Dallas next?  We sat and watched people jumping out of windows to escape a blazing death.  We were weak, scrambling, and we still had to sit in school.  The day went on, we spent most of our classes sitting watching history unfold before our very eyes.  We were a school in Texas, so of course, the coach talked to us for a while and then we went on with business as usual, "Because that's what Americans do" (literally the jist of what Coach A told us). 

I then went home and yet again sat down and watched history unfold.  I remember sitting and watching for hours and talking to my family about it all and just trying to grasp it.  One thing I distinctly remember is the reaction of my uncle.  He was blind at the time and was very upset and afraid.  I remember hearing that the morning it all happened he switched on the TV and could hear the sounds and such, but at the moment no one was explaining what was going on.  I remember that he called my Granny in an extreme panic.

So, America of course persevered and began the War on Terror.  We watched as the leaders of our country gathered on the steps of the Capitol and collectively sang a patriotic song.  We heard a number of speeches from our Commander-in-Chief.  We came together.  We helped each other.  We were United, I think we forgot what that felt like.

I also have another connection to September 11.  Two years later, my uncle was admitted to the hospital with some complications and had gone in on like September 9 or September 10.  He had been in the hospital before, I really never thought of this as any different kind of time.  However, he wasn't doing good and we spent a lot of time on Wednesday night (the 10th) up at the hospital, mostly in the ICU waiting room while family filed in and out to see him.  I remember going in right before I left for the night and talking to him a little bit and then saying goodbye.

My uncle Ken was very important to me.  We spent a lot of time together watching TV and a lot of times I would travel with him and some others in my family to his various doctor visits.  You see my uncle had diabetes from the time he was young and he eventually lost function in his kidneys and went blind.  He then received a kidney transplant.  We had a lot of good quality time together.  My Granny, Aunt, Mom, and Sisters got the pleasure of spending some time in August with him in Galveston.  He really loved his family especially his nephew and nieces.  And we knew it.

So that night when we said goodbye, I didn't really even think about it.  In the middle of the night, er morning of the 11th, I was awoken by my Dad who said my Mom had something to tell me.  He handed me the phone.  Mom's voice on the other side was shaky when she told me that Ken had passed away.  We all got up and went over to my grandmother's house, where I had spent all those countless hours with my uncle.  If you know me, you know I am a guy who isn't afraid to show his emotions.  I tried hard to choke back tears and be strong for my family, and I think for the most part I was, but inside I was upset.  I knew Ken had gone on to be with God and that he could now see and was able to look down on our family. 

Funny how I mentioned something about proceeding with business as usual earlier.  Because that is how that Thursday ended up going.  I think I went back and took a quick nap before going to school that morning.  I'd decided that since the visitation wasn't until Friday that I would go ahead and play my football game (yes, as a junior I was on JV).  So I played and I do not remember a lot about the game, but us dominating Pine Tree (as usual) and me thinking the whole time that Ken was finally able to SEE me play football.  He had been blind for a long time and I had only been playing football for four years.  I hope that he was proud of how I played that night.  Heck, I hope he is proud of how my life has turned out thus far.  I hope he is proud of my awesome family. 

So, here we are 10 years after the September 11th Attacks.  It has been 8 years since I lost my uncle.  My life is completely different from both of these events.  America is different than we were 10 years ago. 

So this Sunday, stop for a moment, think about the ones you love.  Think about your country. Be thankful.

Actually, stop right now and think about the ones you love.  Think about your country.

Be thankful.

Never Forget.

America: Focused on Priorities right?

The NFL Lockout is over.  A labor dispute that happened because a bunch of multi-millionaires didn't want to share a little bit of the pie with millionaires and guys who make at the least $500,000 and up.  As much as I love football (and I am really not a fan of the NFL version:  mainly because of those same money grubbers), I'm not as excited as some people that its back.  I would have been content with the football I watch on Fridays and Saturdays and a nap on Sunday. 

We turn over to the running of the state and country.  America is in the whole like crazy, and I really don't understand the full logic of this issue, so I will not discuss it.  I just know in the end it will all be blamed on Bush and Obama will not be held accountable at all.  Anyway, in the state of Texas, our leaders cannot decide whether or not education is important enough to spend money on. 

Across the state, teachers are getting cut in favor of saving the state some money.  Please understand, I love Texas and am so thankful to live here.  It is a great place to live.  Yeah, it isn't California or New York, or high class, but it is Texas!  But I digress, education is one of the most important aspects of our society today.  More and more, the level of education makes a difference in whether or not someone gets a job.  Not saying that those that didn't finish school aren't important, because I do not think that, but there is a great decrease of job opportunities for people who don't have x amount of years of educating.  It is very important for us to continue funding education.  There are many things that probably don't exactly need to be funded, honestly there is a whole lot of overspending in certain areas of the educational process.  AND NO, WE SHOULDN'T CUT ATHLETICS. 

I don't have an answer to the debt crisis or the education issue, but I believe that many teachers in Texas lost their jobs, and didn't deserve to.  And I know exactly how they feel.  Besides, my search for a job is hinging on the fact that there are very little to no teaching jobs out there. 

Not to mention the price of gas!  3.67?  seriously?!?

It is Well

I will get a little deep with this post...


So this summer I have been searching for the opening of a new chapter in my life, a new job.  It hasn't been very successful, out of about 20 applications and 1 interview, I still don't have a new job.  Honestly, I have become rather discouraged and a little impatient with it.  The one interview I had really seemed to like me, but I just fell a little short of what they wanted.  So, I feel like I've got reason to be a little discouraged and impatient, of course, that's the human in me. 

I spend every summer working at Camp Fuego with some of the most amazing people in the world and get to help further the Kingdom of God by ministering to tons and tons of young people.  At Fuego, we do what is called "campfire" on Thursday night.  It is a powerful, engaging hour of silence and worship.  In the midst of the silence, God breaks hearts and ignites a fire among the people in the building.  During the song time, Aaron Watson broke out with "It Is Well With My Soul."  I've sung this song countless times and have even heard the amazing, powerful back story about its author and why the song was written.  We started singing the song and I made it through the first verse, and the words to the chorus began to come from my lips.  It was hard to utter them, after this whole summer, but truly my situation is finally "Well with my soul." 

All that to say, something will happen sometime.  God has perfect timing and its going to happen. 

I will be a football coach, but when God's ready for me to be. 

Get Loose!

So I just drove back through town, music blaring of course, and realized how funny I must look.  Yeah, there were some hard bass beats coming out of my speakers and a lot of rap music.  There's a difference from me and one of the people I passed, mine was uplifting and positive, dare I say it, Christian. 

I don't want to pass judgment on the other driver, because from time to time I listen to the occasional secular song.  However, here lately my CD player and FM transmitter/phone have been worn out with music from the 116 Clique and many other Christian rappers.  I don't know, it makes me feel better, I get all excited, and I get a little undignified.

I must say I am sure it looks a little funny.  This big white dude dancing and smiling in his car to this music that is insanely loud and bumping.  I know it's nutty but its awesome.  I have a feeling that there will be plenty of times during Camp Fuego in the next couple of weeks that I will be seen going crazy and dancing and crumping to this music.

All that to say, if you haven't already you should check out some of this music.  Rapzilla.com has some free downloads.  Some artists are:  Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, High Society, pRO, KB, Canon, Cam, Thisl, and there are so many more.  CHECK THEM OUT!!!!!

Shining Examples

If you didn't already know, my goal in life is to become a successful football coach.  That's not very specific, mainly because I wouldn't care what level of competition I am at, as long as I become successful.  Of course, my definition of success goes beyond the wins and the losses.  Of course at the highest levels of the profession, it is essential to win, to keep your job.  That's not the end of it though.

I think that the successes of a football coach have more to do with the lives he influences than the win-loss column next to his name in the paper.  Most of the names I remember of teachers were my coaches.  Through the years, I had the good and the bad, more often the good to be honest, which doesn't always happen.  I mean, there was the day I was digging dirt out of my helmet because I was pushed down by a coach, who I do remember by name (and hope to one day meet on the competition field or court and squash his team) and there were those coaches who did everything they could to make sure I grew up a good person, and who still check in on me from time to time. 

As I have mentioned before, growing up in Henderson came with the mentality of a lion.  We had a lot of pride and determination.  We weren't always the best team around, but you always knew we'd put up a fight.  That's because that is what our coaches taught us to be.  We had coaches who were extremely vocal all the time, and we had coaches that it took a while to get warmed up, but when they warmed up you listened.  If your grades dropped, you spent an extra two hours at the field house studying, after practice.  Yeah, I had to do that once because I wasn't a fan of reading, didn't enjoy that extra time at the field house. 

Our coaches spent so many hours up at the field house working to prepare our gameplan for every week.  Not everybody notices that or cares about it, but I did.  Our coaches weren't shooting off cuss words in every sentence, they kept their cool most of the time and knew to get through to us they didn't have to cuss and spit on us, but they knew when the time was right to have to and they did at times.  Heck, I remember falling back and banging my head on the ground and yelling out the cussing equivalent to poop, the coach pulled me up and told me to get to running, it sucked, but did I cuss out there again? No. 

And believe me, I had a lot of time to learn from coaches, after JV, I spent 90% of my Varisty games on the sidelines next to coaches.  It was my senior year in high school when I decided that's where I belonged.  I know that's not something that is normal, but when you love something you do it. 

All this isn't some "reliving glory days" blog, but a blog about this. 

The search for a job is tough, especially with the Texas Education System in such limbo as it is.  However, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that because of coaches like Reid Waller, Keith Tanner, Jamie Skelton, Craig Barker, Terry Everitt, Kenneth Malone, Sam Shields, Otis Amy, Chad Boatwright, Ken Stapp, Henry Pace, Loy Dorsey, and many others, I am going to be able to draw off of some great examples and influences.  So whichever district finally decides to take a chance on a guy who spent most of his career on the sidelines, I feel like they are going to get a good one. 

Dangerous

I was watching Deadliest Warrior last night, and one of the guys there said "The most dangerous soldier is one willing to die for the cause," he said this in regard to the Irish Republican Army. 

With Memorial Day being today, I started to think about the large number of American soldiers who have given their lives for a country they believed in.  Even when we were fighting to establish ourselves as a country, those men gave their sweat, their blood, and their lives for freedoms that we now at times take for granted.  Sometimes our soldiers give their lives to promote the freedom of others.

Think about all the U.S. soldiers who were apart of the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.  They began an assault on German occupied France which eventually helped lead to the fall of Hitler's hold on Europe.  Many times in history our service men and women have given their lives to help free others from oppression.  

So whenever you see one of our service men or women, say thank you.  If you see a veteran, say thank you. 

Also, something to think about, if Christians were more willing to die for their cause, then imagine what the world would be like.

Be dangerous.

Go Mavs Go!

If you live in Texas and your haven't already noticed, the Dallas Mavericks are fighting their way to the NBA Finals.  Since about high school, I have been a pretty big fan of Maverick basketball.  When I was a kid, I cheered on the Rockets with Olajuwon, man they were good!  Now, I constantly watch the most prolific scoring 7 footer constantly shoot shots that make me cringe, but then I cheer when they fall in.  Dirk can be completely covered by someone and all he has to do is step back and shoot. 

This current series is a nightmare for ESPN.  Aside from the fact it is OKC's first trip to the WCF, this isn't a series that ESPN particularly likes.  Both teams are from the South and Midwest.  Not the East Coast and not Los Angeles.  The production side of ESPN hates that.  They have to dig for story lines.  That could be noticed last night with the feeding off the Oklahoma City tragedy that happened back in 1994 or whenever that was.  I don't know much of a storyline push they could do for Dallas.  Maybe the old veteran team with its last chance at a title.  And will Dirk enter the Hall of Fame with a ring or not.

Dirk had an unbelievable performance in game 1.  24 for 24 on Free Throws, setting an NBA record.  The Dallas bench was crazy good and helped achieve that win.  These last two games haven't been pretty for Dirk or the bench.  But like they say the series didn't start until the home team lost, and then a wins a win.  I'm excited to see it play out.

All that to say, this is an exciting time to be a Mavs fan.  Hopefully I can find a way to get some tix to the WCF or the Finals if Dallas gets that far!

GO MAVS GO!

title pictures

help me decide which picture to apply as my title picture....

Signing Bonuses

So two of the biggest parts of my life are my faith in Jesus Christ and my love for sports.  I love sports, soon I will be making a career of it, but for now I am left to write blogs about some crazy stuff and do podcasts about Vince Carter playing for the Magic.  In church this week I got this crazy notion.  Pro athletes sign contracts with their teams and make millions and millions of dollars, contigent on their performance.  However, sometimes they get what is called a signing bonus.  Signing bonuses aren't usually factored on how well they pay or whatever.  So here goes, this isn't the most fundamental Christian thought and you might not agree at all.  Just read and think...

So, to me, we all sign a contract with Christ when we accept Him as our Savior right?  So when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are given a sort of signing bonus.  In my mind, Salvation would be this bonus, aside from the complete denial of Christ, you can't lose this but if you deny Christ, just like a pro team, the signing bonus can disappear.  Go with me here, as far as the contract goes, we continually are under the contract (or covenant) with Christ.  Our contract is contingent on our service of Christ.  In James, he lays this out for us, we have all heard it before, "faith without works is dead."  We are called to be ambassadors of Christ and to serve Him.  EVERYTHING we do is for His glory, so we should act that way and go ahead and do it.  What are you doing to ensure your work is being done?


I know this probably doesn't make much sense to anyone else, but the major thing I am trying to get across is for us all to step back and look at our lives and see what we are doing for Christ and where we aren't doing what we are called to do.  Its an intense subject told in a simple way...intense simplicity

Becoming a Lion...

All my life I have had an affinity for Lions...I'm sure it all started from being a Henderson raised kid...every Friday in the Fall I was at a football game cheering on the Lions, which I would eventually play (or not play depending on the year/game) for when I grew up.

Many of us grew up wanting to be Lions, I mean it's Texas and it's football and it's all the other sports and activities.  We all eventually grew up and became what we were trying to be, or those of us that made it that far, we were Lions.  I don't think we really truly understood what a Lion really is.  I don't think I ever did until here lately.  Lions are magnificent animals. 

According to the encyclopedia, a Lion is a "large, powerfully built cat...the proverbial 'king of beasts,'" Lions also have figured out a way to survive, pack mentality.  Lions stick together and help each other, even though they have the ability to function and live apart from their pride, which some do, but they survive!

The Bible talks about Lions quite a bit.  Jesus himself is coined the Lion of Judah in Revelation..."Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."  In Amos, Amos compares God's voice to the roar of a Lion..."The lion has roared who will not fear?  The Sovereign LORD has spoken who can but prophesy?"  I discovered the latter verse during the Henderson Lions historic run to the state championship this past football season.  The day of the state game, all of us were using that verse in statuses on Facebook and just in regular conversation with each other.  The verse stuck in my mind, and reading it gets me excited everytime.

Then Christian rapper, KB came out with a song called 'Lion King.'  Not only does this song get krunk because it has some of the Circle of Life, but it further drives home the point that our God is a Lion.
 He's fierce. He's mighty.  He's KING!

So, all that to say, I'm learning to adopt a Lion lifestyle.  Being who God is, and who He created me to be. 

Back in Time...

Wrote this my freshman year in college...January of 2006...


Today I wanna talk about some deep stuff....
God is really amazing, and his plan is fitting together like a puzzle....
Ok, so this DNOW I'm leading in the woodlands this weekend, the subject is "Consuming Fire: The Authentic Worshiper", my Henderson folks will remember this from '03 DNOW Totally Consumed....anyway The subject of that is none other than, duh, worship....ok so yeah here's how everything fits together with the class that I magically got put into even though it is a senior level course, yet I did really want in it...now I see God put me in the class to prepare me somewhat for this weekend to talk about worship....it is just so amazing....ok so here goes some deep stuff.....
Ok for years upon years I've gone to church and pondered what the heck was wrong with me that I couldn't worship God every Sunday, yet go to Super Summer, Camp, or wherever and have like the greatest worship experiences and be so dern close to God....well I have a theory on why that was happening to me....First of all, worship is in the heart, all those times that I had those wonderful encounters with God, my heart was ready and purified for it...Maybe by me writing this you'll be helped to, I pray so...
Worship itself us an active response to God whereby we declare His glory...there's the second part, I couldn't lay down my pride and give Him the glory...It was as if inadvertantly, I was saying "it's mine, I made this..." and so on...It's kind of like Satan, ya know?  He wanted all the glory for himself, therefore, he fell.  Follow me? Good, let's move on...Whether we like it or not we will worship something.  God, baseball, football, make-up, food, money, friends, popularity, power, or whatever, we are going to end up devoting our mind's attention and our heart's affection on something.  Worship becomes the greatest thing when we stop and have our sins washed away and then we see God for who He is and ourselves for who we are. 
Guess what?!? Worshiping is a form of slavery...don't believe me? Check it, Hebrew word for worship in the OT, abad, meaning work, bond-service, labor, or general service.  When you truly worship God you give your all, therefore, you are His slave which Paul points out in Romans 6:18: "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." Guess what?!? God is righteousness!  There you go, plus furthermore He purchased you, remember that time on Calvary? 
Our position in worship? VULNERABLE!  "shachah" in the Hebrew means: to prostrate oneself, to bow down or stoop before the one you worship...which was in the OT for bowing down....Greek "proskuneo": to crouch, to prostrate oneself in homage, to revrence and adore "kissing the hand"...Think about, say, King Arthur or King Richard, back then the weapons they used were? Swords yeah that's right, and when you stepped foot into their courts and you bowed in front of them....the could have sliced your head off and you would have been able to do nothing about it....That's honestly how God wants us to be in worship...we've all heard, "God break our hearts"....that's vulnerability, a broken heart is very seceptible to many things.....now, no, God is not gonna chop our heads off, but He will break our hearts and destroy our lives so that He can rebuild us to what He wants us to be...
To worship is to...quicken the conciense by the holiness of God (constitutes heart)....feed the mind with the truth of God (constitutes intellect including thinking, yes we are called to think in church)...purge the imagination with the beauty of God (heart and intellect)...open the heart to the love of God (emotion)....devote the will of the purpse of God (response)...that is what worshiping is all about....it is also this...
"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men."- C.S. Lewis
You didn't think I could get through a very indepth post, without quoting my favorite author?
If our worship doesn't please God then it is for nothing.  I know it sounds really harsh but it is true.  How we worship both reveals and forms our identity as persons and communities and churches.  Everything we do in the service shows who we really are.  Pretty much a character thing.  Prayer is a vital part of worship.  Sometimes we start our services begging God to come in and be with us.  However, we invite Him in but once He gets there we ignore Him. 
We have become too simple in our generation.  I can get on the internet now and shop at WAL-MART, WAL MART OF ALL PLACES!!!!!!!!  But thats a different task, however it has made our church services become so simple that its crazy.  Instead of being in the fellowship of believers at a church I can turn on the TV or Computer or Radio and listen to a service of my choice....now I know that like homebound people and all those people who can't be there but for those of us who are just too dang lazy to roll out of bed take a shower and put on clothes c'mon...one more thing and I'm done, when we are in church we must remember that we cannont pasify the non-Christians, they must know what the Christian life is straight up because if they come into it thinking that its a bed of daisies then they are in for a world of hurt when they see what it is...be honest because
When non-Christians are throne in front of the face of God, it should not be comfortable.  They should feel pain for what they have done ya know? Then they will repent and be our new brother or sister in Christ!!!!
Finally let me end with a few words and a quote....Worship is not meant for our entertainment and if it was it would be called a concert not a worship service and we would pay $50 bucks for a seat and some popcorn....Worship is an encounter with the One, True God and we should treat it as such or we will fall apart...this quote is from a book called "Reaching Out without Dumbing Down" by Marva Dawn, also a lot of this stuff came from my notes from my worship class and my own mind...
"when the congregation becomes an audience and its worship a vaudeville act, then the Church finds itself at risk; the death of faith and Christian character is a clear possibility"
chew on that

Sports (JK)

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Tell us what you think! 

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Sports (JK)

Courage

I'm reading Tony Dungy's book Uncommon and during last night's reading, the chapter was on Courage.  It talked a lot about courage in the regular happenings of life, but Dungy also told a story about how the Steeler's began looking at small college talent, leading to the acquisition of the likes of Mean Joe Greene and Terry Bradshaw among many others.

The story goes that a sports writer in one of the Pittsburgh area papers had been dogging the way that the Steelers were playing and ignoring the smaller school talents, especially African Americans (both players and schools).  Then, Dan Rooney invited that sports writer to lunch.  This lunch wasn't to berate or threaten this guy at all, but to get his opinion.  The team president of a NFL team, sat down to lunch with a sports writer and actually asked his opinion.  In the end, the sports writer was hired as a scout and began instituting his thoughts. 

All in all, the courage of the sports writer and the courage of Dan Rooney lead the Steelers to so many Super Bowls and lead the legendary careers of many players who otherwise might have not gotten a shot.

Where are you showing courage today?

My Top 10 Movies

I am going to start a "My Top" series for the next few entries...

Today, I will do my top 10 favorite movies or all time...

10.  Grown Ups

      Some of my favorite comedians and a thought of what I hope happens when I grow up, that I don't lose the friends I grew up with...sappy, yes I know

9.  Bambi/Robin Hood
      I loved these movies when I was a kid.  Still do.

8.  Inception
      This movie twisted my mind in so many ways!  Amazing story and effects and junk.  Plus, Ellen Page could be my wife...I wouldn't mind it.

7.  The Dark Knight
       Batman Begins got me back into Batman....Dark Knight kept me there!

6.  Forrest Gump
       Great movie about a simple guy. 

5.  The Ringer
      I really thought it'd be awful because I thought it would pick on special people. Turned out to be great...when the &$%# did we get ice cream?

4.  Braveheart
       William Wallace was a bad mama jama.  Scotland is one of my favorite things ever and this movie is amazing.

3.5  Tombstone
       the old west...nuff said

3.  The Hangover
     CLASSIC!

2.5.  Sling Blade
     This is a family favorite of ours...it really is an awesome story...i'd venture to say its Billy Bob Thornton's best film

2.  Man on Fire
      Denzel taking revenge on people 1 by 1

1. The Departed

       Ensemble cast...Nicholson, DiCaprio, Martin Sheen, Damon, Wahlberg, and Baldwin...Boston...Mafia...Irish...its a freakin awesome movie...yeah, there's a load of f-bombs...oh well I heard worse in the halls of Henderson High School...


others recieving votes (in no particular order):  Friday Night Lights, The Bucket List, Pirates of the Caribbean (All 3), Goonies, Saving Private Ryan, Breakfast Club, True Grit (JW), Jack, Full Metal Jacket, The Princess Bride, Body of Lies, Cool Runnings, this list could go on and on....

Time Change...hated as of right now

The time change isn't that much of a bad thing...it gives us a chance to get that extra hour of sunshine and not feel like the day is over at 6:30 PM.  The bad thing about it is, I feel like i should sleep but I can't...

The cool thing about education, and yeah as an RD I'm in education, is that I get Spring Break.

I've spent this Spring Break doing a lot....

Friday night Dad and I went to Olive Garden and then went to various stores in Longview.  Good just chill time with Dad.

I bought MLB 2K11 while we were out and about.

Of course, I'm one of those guys that likes to play the My Player feature....so of course I come in and immediately create "myself"

6'0" 225 lbs First/Third Baseman...Houston Astros...took 6 years to get to The Show...won rookie of the year at age 30...played with the Astros for 2 seasons and then 11 games into the 3rd season got traded to the Boston Red Sox...currently playing for the Red Sox...wow did I just do that? I need a life....it is a fun game though...i recommend


The rest of my SB has been spent watching Seasons 16, 17, and 18 of SNL on Netflix Instant Play.

I must say these are the good ole days of SNL for me.  Today the show is horrible and barely even funny.  If the Lonely Island didn't do random shorts, it'd be the worst show ever. 

Chris Farley was a great cast member and I really wish he wouldn't have let the drugs catch up to him. (Did you know?  Kevin James character in Grown Ups was written for Farley...Grown Ups was written back before Farley passed away...)

Speaking of SNL, during one of the Weekend Updates, someone said how great it would have been if Colin Powell would have been Bush's VP in the 1992 Presidential Race...would have been awesome...Powell is a great man and we could have dodged the Clinton debacle....

Meanwhile, let's keep Japan in our prayers.  Do whatever you can to help.  There are a ton of organizations who are working to help the relief effort.  Just make sure you do some background checks on the organizations first, you never know who could be tricking you...

If you can't give PRAY!

Baseball starts sooner than we know....should be a good season


March Madness is upon us...my brackets are in!


Thats all I have to say about that....

MLB Look-In: AL

I told you guys this blog would be about a lot of random stuff....

Opening Day is 27 days away. My two favorite teams open the season against each other.  Maybe I will look at taking in a game during that weekend.  Doubtful though.  Anyway lets rundown the AL and NL and look at a few high points and get some predictions in. 

AL WEST

The West is one of those divisions nowadays where it seems like every team could possibly end up winning it.  If the Rangers can start off hot, then hold on, they should be able to take it.  The race will be decided in late in the season and will only be decided by 3-5 games.  Here's how it should fall...

1.  Texas
2.  LA
3. Oakland
4.  Seattle

AL EAST

Up until the Rays unloaded, they were pushing to make the East a 3 horse town.  I really think that the Yankees and BoSox will have a stranglehold on this division until the Rays, Jays, or O's get a few more build years in.  Rumors are Big Papi could be NY bound...that hurts me...but if the BoSox can come out of that trade the winner then it'll be great.  As usual, this division comes down to the NY-Boston series...

1.  Boston
2.  New York
3.  Toronto
4.  Tampa Bay
5.  Baltimore

AL CENTRAL

The AL Central is a tough race to call.  Judging by Spring Training after 6 games the Royals seem to be playing good baseball, but I don't think they can overcome Chicago or Minnesota.  White Sox and Twins should trade blows during the season and fight right up until July when the Twins, barring injuries, lock it up.

1.  Minnesota
2.  Chicago
3.  Kansas City
4.  Cleveland
5.  Detroit

Are You Ready for This?

So I sat down this morning with my buddy Jason Havner this morning and laid the foundation for a podcast that we will be doing about sports...I'll try to get the audio here...but we will see if it works....we are hopefully going to be shelling some out...maybe even putting them on itunes...


The Sports Guys

And Here's Kalon with the Sports report...

How could I have my thoughts written out and not talk about my second love in the world?  Sports. 

To say the very least I have an affinity for the Texas Longhorns.  My office has a burnt orange wall and Longhorn memorabilia all over every inch of wallspace.  It is AWESOME.  That said, I am also a fan of the Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Duke Blue Devils, Boston Celtics, and I don't exactly have a favorite team, but I enjoy watching NFL Football (even though I think they all are blinded by money).  So let's get a run down of predictions and stuff for the coming seasons and maybe some of my perspective on news and notes...

What's Left of Basketball (NCAA and NBA)
To say the least, the Longhorn basketball team is having a rough go as of late.  1-3 in their last 4 is not a good way to end the regular season.  They dropped a 15-plus point lead to Colorado and then let an injured player lead K-State to victory over them.  They finish out the season against Baylor and that won't be easy, considering Baylor is playing to be part of the last few in the big dance.  Texas won the last meeting by 9 and needs to play great on both sides of the ball or they could be headed for disaster in the upcoming Big 12 tournament.  I think Texas will pull out with a 1-seed, barring a complete collapse at the Big 12 tourney.  Look for their exit in the Elite 8.  (That's what I think, not what I hope.)

Sticking with the college theme, let's move to Duke.  Duke will always and forever be my early pick to win the NCAA tournament every year.  I really like Coach K and the way he runs his program and the teams he puts together.  This year has been an interesting one for anyone who has gotten to the top of the rankings.  Number 1 is always an awful number to be, at least in my opinion, especially in NCAAB.  Duke hosts Clemson tonight, the previous meeting being decided by 13 points.  Then they traverse Tobacco Road to visit UNC and finish out the regular season.  I think Duke will be able to pull out a 1-seed in the Big Dance and should ride it all the way to Houston and win the championship. 

The Dallas Mavericks are having a GREAT season.  They sit 5 games back of the Spurs for the lead in the West and are playing well together, despite the absence of Caron Butler.  Currently they're 24-8 against the West and 20-8 against the East.  An even 22-8 at home and on the road.  The problem is the 6-5 record in the Southwest Division.  Dirk's averaging 22.8 pts a game with 6.7 rebounds in an average of 34 minutes per game.  Jason Kidd recorded his 107th career triple-double to place himself at 3rd place on the all-time list.  Tyson Chandler was an awesome addition to the team, he's averaging 9.4 rebounds at this time.  The future looks promising for the Mavs if they can continue their dominance.  Maybe a return to the Finals?  Maybe.

The Boston Celtics are looking to make another run to the Finals this year.  However, I think they might have cut off one of their legs with a trade they made at the deadline.  Kendrick Perkins was a scary, scary man in the low post for them and just held such a presence down there and was a great player.  Granted, he'd only seen 12 games of action this year after being plagued by injury.  But as many analysts have said, he was Boston's answer to Bynum for the Lakers.  Although, I don't see the Lakers making it to the Finals this year, but I've been wrong before.

CBA and why I don't care...

The NFL and the NFL Players' Union is still negotiating the CBA and honestly I could care less.  This is why I'm not an outright fan of the NFL.  Too much legalistic bs.  If they don't have a season I WILL survive.  College Football offers me so much more to watch in one day than the NFL does in a month.  And yeah, NFL is the top tier of football, but I don't know, I get way more enjoyment out of watching even the smallest college football team than I do any NFL game. 

That's all for today.  Tune in next time when I talk MLB.

Intense Simplicity

I'm not going to be the first guy to be apologetic to you.  I have my views and if they make me a "bad guy" in your eyes, then so be it.  Maybe I'm like Lebron in a way, I'll accept my role as the villain.  I don't really like saying things or doing things to make you feel more comfortable.  I'm a straight shooter, most of the time.  If you're getting on my nerves, you'll know either because I tell you, or because you can read it on me.  I put my heart and soul into a lot of things and even though in the end, it sometimes turns out to be a bad idea, I don't care.  Intense.  One of my old coaches used to talk about how all of us had fire in our eyes, and malice in our hearts.  I'd like you to see that I have fire in my eyes and yeah, sometimes there's a little malice in my heart.  I'm just that kind of guy.  When it comes to protecting people, I WILL take you out! I'm not complicated, I don't use a lot of complicated strategies to get my point across. Straight and to the point.  Simple. I don't wears masks.  I'm not good at faking a smile, or faking that "phone voice" everyone usually has.  I'm all on the surface.

I felt like I needed to write that.  Don't know why.  Just felt like it.  I think Jesus was the same way.  Of course, He had a handle on himself much more than me, but I think He's where I take my passion.  Remember in the Bible, when He basically tore up the temple where all the moneychangers had camped out?  He stood up for His beliefs and when necessary, He got loud and let you know what they were.  He wasn't afraid to let it out.  I really think as Christians we have to be that kind of person.  I look around the campus I live on and then around the world we live in and I see one thing, extreme compliance.  When were we called to do that?  I believe wholeheartedly in loving people, but come on, we can't lay down our morals just for the sake of other people being comfortable.  I feel like I am one of a few who still feels this way.  If we'd all have an intense simplicity about our walk with Christ, I think the world would really start to buy into our passion!

I really worked what I'm calling this blog in today, so there's what this is about.

Who I Am...and a little afterthought...

Hey everybody!  If you know me and you're reading this, you know who I am, but for those of you that don't here goes....

I'm Kalon.  Born and raised in Henderson, TX and attended college in Marshall, TX at a Private Christian school.  I wouldn't say that I fit into some predetermined category.  I listen to all kinds of music and am interested in all kinds of things.  Sooner or later, you'll learn a lot more about me.  Know this, I am passionately opinionated, yet at the same time very, very simple.  I'm not the type of guy to walk you around the bushes to get you where we're going. The question is are you ready for all this?

I plan on this being a lot of different things...let me start with my first thought.

Choosing the Winning Team...

I heard Tiny Dominquez tonight and he told a story about how, after Super Bowl XLV, there was an influx of Packers fans that suddenly invaded Lubbock on the day after the game.  East Texas seemed to be the same way.  Its like that all the time.  There are ALWAYS going to be "bandwagon jumpers".  Tiny then went on to read John 16:33:
           "“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

He pointed how Jesus claims victory right there in that verse.  In my mind, that set off the question...why can't we "jump the bandwagon" for Jesus?  I don't mean that as like a jump on, jump off thing.  Why can't we buy the t-shirts? We can get with the winners of sporting events, yet we cannot side with the one person who has already won the victory before we even knew about the fight.  Its our flesh.  We always have to have proof.  There IS proof!  John 16:33.  If we could start living like we were on the winning team, the world would take notice!