jcmeggs

Hoffman should be Hermann Trophy finalist

2011-12-06T11:03:00.004-06:00

Of the 11 forwards still in the running for the MAC Hermann Trophy, UCLA junior Chandler Hoffman is the most deserving to be at the St. Louis dinner January 6.

Hoffman, the comeback story of 2011, has numbers that rival every candidate up for consideration, but what sets him apart is his precision and accuracy.

After breaking his leg during the 2010 preseason, Hoffman went from being “completely crushed” to one of the best collegiate goal scorers the West Coast has seen in 20 years.

In his last 29 games at UCLA, Hoffman has scored 24 goals, including 18 times in 23 outings this season. Not only that, but the junior, left-footed striker has put the UCLA Bruins on his back en route to the College Cup in his hometown area of Birmingham, Ala. He has converted on 78.3 percent of his shots on goal (18-of-23), the best percentage of the semifinalists by far. Closest to him is University of Memphis striker Mark Sherrod at 59.4 percent (19-of-32).

Hoffman’s 18 goals have come at the rate of 0.78 per game, and at one point this season he scored on 10 consecutive shots on goal. He currently has scored his last five shots on goal entering the College Cup.

The junior is one of 12 goal scorers this season for UCLA, but accounts for 44 percent of the Bruins’ 41 goals. The only semifinalist to account for more of his team’s overall goals is Sherrod at 51.4 percent among 11 goal scorers.

If the Hermann Trophy is going to go to an offensive goal scorer, then Hoffman should be the front runner. While he and Sherrod seem somewhat even in stats, no player has carried his team this season in the NCAA like Hoffman has the Bruins. Hoffman has scored most goals by one player at UCLA since 1991 while also maintaining a 3.79 GPA in communication studies to be selected as a Second Team All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

How shall we honor the tradition of Toomer's Oaks?

2011-02-18T09:17:00.002-06:00

When the news hit about the oaks at Toomer's Corner, we all were angered and crushed. In the days since, I've read and heard numerous comments from fans of what should be done with the oak trees should they die. I say should, because I hold out hope that the tough ole' trees will fight this chemical weapon the same way it has stood the test of time. But if the herbicide is too strong, what shall we do to honor the life of this storied tradition?

Some have suggested to bronze the trees before they die or build a statue of the trees in their place. Others have said to use parts of the tree for a monument in Jordan-Hare or other locations. While all of these ideas seem great, let's not forget what makes this tradition so special.

Auburn is not a place for traditions of statues you gaze at or touch. Auburn is about living tradition: a walk with its fans, a battle cry that extends social/economic standards, a flight of an eagle and the beauty of a tree blowing in the wind filled with toilet paper. Each of these are living traditions passed down through generations. Such should be the legacy of the oaks.

Once the poison is gone from the rich Auburn soil, the best fitting tribute would be to pass the corner of Magnolia and College to the next generation of Oaks. Just as alumni pride themselves in being able to carry on their ancestors tradition of being an Auburn Tiger, so should the seedlings of Toomers' oaks, which are maintained by The School of Forestry and Wildlife Science.

Until that day comes, the Auburn Family has the opportunity to spread the seed of Toomer's oaks across the state and nation, not only in their own yards, but in parks or gardens.

The spirit of Auburn is alive. So shall be the spriit of Toomer's Oaks.

Purpose in print

2009-01-29T11:21:00.003-06:00

Every now and then when things seem to get a rut, things get busy again at work. And usually in those moments something gives me a boost. Almost always that boost comes from knowing that there was purpose to my job that day.
No other time in my professional career, have I probably felt such purpose than this week.
A former Spain Park track and field captain named Imad Mohammad, 18, and his mother spent five days in the LaSalle Detention Facility in Jena, La. They had been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody since Jan. 12. I learned of the story this past Monday, three days after they were taken from the Perry County (Ala.) Jail to LaSalle.
While yes, here is a family who is here illegally after their visitation visa expired in the 1990s, they have been appealing their request for asylum for more than a decade, working, paying taxes, getting involved in their community and local school and living a clean, American life. All of a sudden, they were picked up by ICE - nine years after they were told they'd be deported.
While the Immigration Board of Appeals will decide what happens to the family, it was still our job to report what the family and lawyers were seeing as injustice - being detained all of a sudden by the government, while knowing that they had no country to send the family to.
On Wednesday afternoon, that purpose moment came when Imad and his mother were released after an inquiry by U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus.
The words of encouragement and thank yous coming from the family and friends of the family are better than any award that can be won for a story. Hearing a father say through tears, "You brought a mom home to her children again," leaves you speechless.
Not only has this week brought a renewed sense of humanity to the father of the family and teachers at Spain Park, but hopefully to Imad, who was beginning to believe that he can not trust anyone in this world. Trust is exactly what he needs to have in his family, friends and government - even if by law it is not his government yet.
Here are the stories so far from this week.

1/28 - Mohammads released from jail

1/26 - Former Spain Park runner faces deportation

Who really owns the Iron Bowl?

2007-11-25T14:24:00.001-06:00

I'd almost forgotten what an Iron Bowl Saturday in Dixie felt like. After living in Tennessee the previous two Iron Bowls, I'd missed that certain feeling in the air and buzz that moves freely through the state in late November. It's orange, blue, crimson and white everywhere you look. It's tiger tails and Bama flags, as the traffic flows steady down U.S. 280 or South on Interstates 459 and 59.
As Auburn fans celebrate their sixth-straight win over Alabama this week, a 17-10 victory on Nov. 24, I thought I'd pose the question of who really owns the Iron Bowl?
It's not Auburn or Alabama, but Paul "Bear" Bryant.
During Bryant's tenure in Tuscaloosa, he not only racked up one of the greatest coaching records of all time with 323 wins, but posted 19 of those against the "cow college," otherwise known as Auburn Uninversity, the "Loviliest Village on the Plains." His 19-6 record in the 72-game rivalry is the best of any coach for either team. It is understandable why Alabama fans are quick to call the rilvary theirs, however, despite what the series record of 38-33-1 says to their favor, the series is not theirs.
If you eliminate Bear from the equation, Auburn leads the way at 27-19-1.
Only one Alabama coach has beaten its rival more than five times: Bear Bryant. Three Auburn coaches have won more than five over the Tide: Ralph "Shug" Jordan (9-16), Tommy Tuberville (7-2 and still counting) and Pat Dye (6-6). Alabama's Gene Stallings and Red Drew were both 5-2 againt the Tigers.
So, as you see, it is Bear that owns the Iron Bowl, not Bama. For if it weren't for Bear, the bragging rights are Auburn's. Take away the Auburn win's againt Bear and the time spent by Shug and Dye pre-Bear and post-Bear, and the series still tilts toward the Plains (18-11-1).
Of course, you can't elimiate the records of three of the best coaches to coach in the rilvary.
Shug took over Auburn, or API at the time, in 1951 and stayed through 1975. Bear came in 1958 and departed in 1982. Doug Barfield was 0-5 for Auburn from 1976-80, while Dye was 6-6 from 1981-92. The time from Shug to Dye accounts for 42 of the rivalry's 72 games played, thus creating the heart of the heated battle. for this time alone, these 40 games, Bear won 19, Shug won nine and Dye won six. The Tide won 27 and the Tigers won 15.
But has the platue of the rivalry passed or is a new era dawning? Since Dye's departure in 1992, Auburn is 10-5. Before Shug ever walked the sidelines of Legion Field for the Iron Bowl, Auburn was 8-6-1.
The series between the two teams is as close as most of its scores.
Now there's a new Iron Bowl era. Tuberville is knocking on becoming the coach with the most wins against Bama in Auburn history. He already holds the longest win streak for Auburn against Bama. Next is three wins to pass Shug for most wins and to match Bear's streak of nine wins in the series.
So, you tell me, who really owns the Iron Bowl?

OTHER IRON BOWL FACTS
Record by location

Auburn: Auburn 7-2
-- Jordan-Hare Stadium: Auburn 7-2

Tuscaloosa:Auburn 6-0
-- Bryant-Denny Stadium: Auburn 4-0
-- Other Tuscaloosa location: Auburn 2-0

Birmingham: Bama 34-18-1
-- Legion Field: Bama 32-15
-- Birmingham Fair Grounds: Bama 1-0-1
-- West End Park: Auburn 2-1
-- Lakeview Baseball Park: Auburn 1-0

Motgomery: Tied 2-2
-- Highland Park: Bama 1-0
-- Riverside Park: Tied 1-1
-- Other location: Auburn 1-0

Goals met in Division II debut

2007-08-26T17:57:00.000-05:00

It's something I began doing my junior year at the University of Montevallo when broadcasting basketball games. I'd go to a player before the game and give him or her a realistic goal to achieve that was slightly higher than his or her average. It might have been points, rebounds, assists, fewer turnovers or field goal/free throw percentage. It was often that those goals were met.
I took this form of encouragement and motivation with me to Martin Methodist College as sports inforamation director. It worked a little in the 2005-06 athletic season, however it was displayed the best last fall. My two most successful targets were Tassia Augusto and LaKenya Wrightsil. Tas, a native of Brazil, missed a large portion of her freshman season due to knee injury and was not able to travel as a player to the Kansas to help MMC win the women's soccer NAIA national championship in Nov. '05. She rehabbed and returned to the field last summer and although her speed was affected by her surgery, she developed the determination to score. I'd go to each girl in pregame warmups and wish them good luck individually. It had to be individually, because it was a superstition. If I missed someone, I was afraid they'd not play well. Again, I said it was a supersitition.
As I'd go around and comment, I'd give different players a different goal, however I always targeted Tas. I guess I was consistant with her last fall, because after her first goal of the season she came up to me and said "You told me I was going to score. That's all I thought about, and when I did I immediatly thought about how you'd told me."
I heard this numerous times. If I was at the game, Tas would look for me on the sidelines after a goal.
Tassia transfered last December from Martin Methodist to the Univesity of North Alabama in the Gulf South Conference. She may possibly be the weapon that the Lady Lions have been in need of to take them into the GSC Tournament and pose a threat. Realizing that UNA would open its season on Friday night, Aug. 24, I sent Tas a Facebook message Friday morning saying "Good luck Saturday in your North Alabama debut. Be sure to score one for me and two if possible."
I forgot to look up the score and check up on how she did. While researching some high school football in the state and visiting the Times Daily's website, I noticed a UNA women's soccer story, and opened.
Midway through, this is what I found, "Augusto, in her first season at UNA after transferring from Martin Methodist, scored the final two goals of the first half in the 34th and 36th minutes to make it 6-0 at intermission."
The end result is that it made me smile and laugh that for some reason this motivation tool never fails with Tassia. She also added three assists in the 8-0 victory.
This is just one of the moments that working around young athletes that makes things enjoyable and rewarding. I'm not saying I'm the reason she is scoring goals and playing well, but do believe my encouragement and goal helps motivate her to think offensively and make the moves she needs to be in position to score....and when in that position, the net is open for her.
The photo is of Tassia from her debut taken from the UNA women's soccer main page.

Remembering No. 33 – Chauncey Shelton

2007-05-11T19:59:00.000-05:00

Every one enjoyed watching his command of the game on the basketball court and strong ability to score. Chauncey Shelton was a one-year wonder for Martin Methodist College men's basketball in 2006-07 that earned him the honor of NAIA Honorable Mention All-American this past March.

However, unlike some one-year wonder basketball players, Chauncey was not someone who will be in your mind one minute but gone forever when his playing days were over.

I am fortunate to have known Chauncey during my time as athletic communications director at MMC. The joy was not just knowing that when you needed a win, Chauncey was going to try to do what he could to make it happen, but the short conversations before or after a game or practice.

Following the senior day loss to Union University, Chauncey came off the court apologizing to myself and others for not being able to pull out a win, despite personally shooting 50 percent from the floor and scoring 33 points.

Senior day was my second trip back to Pulaski after resigning my position at MMC in late December to take over as sports editor at the Shelby County Reporter in Alabama. My first was homecoming, and Chauncey was one of the first players to speak to me after the game, asking for my number so we could keep in touch.

I'm sure many people will tell you the same, "He's a good kid. He was always smiling and spoke to everyone he saw." These are not just cliche "after they are gone" comments, but the truth, as far as I could tell.

I first became a fan of Chauncey last summer when head coach Jason Ficca and then assistant coach Patrick Wilcher were working to get Chauncey to MMC from Weber State. We knew that a player of his ability would give MMC a chance to be in position for a TranSouth Athletic Conference title. However, one of the major concerns was academics. It wasn't a concern of having the grades to be eligible, but would he be able to get the classes he wanted and needed to complete his criminal justice degree on time, without having to go too many extra semesters.

This former McDonald's All-American is someone I will not forget. I regret that since we last spoke outside the gym following his final collegiate game, that we did not keep in touch, as he hoped, but still Chauncey always made it an effort to find me when I was back and visit.

That is why it is sad that today I join the Martin Methodist family past to mourn his loss. His character showed through to death, being gunned down after breaking up a fight in Nashville on May 10.

News Channel 5 Update

Baseball's fan base and home runs

2007-04-20T10:15:00.000-05:00

Does Major League Baseball have a future? I think it is safe to say that most sports fans, at least baseball fans, may wonder about the future of Major League Baseball. During the players strike in the early 1990s 50 percent of Americans said that they were a fan of professional baseball, however by the time the dust settled from the strike that number fell to 45 percent.
The summer of '98 brought the love for the game to an all time high at 56 percent, but as the drama of a homerun race wore off, the numbers began to steadily decline the next season and have fallen five percentage points in the past three years amid steroid speculation across the league. In a December 2006 Gallup poll, only 45 percent will claim themselves as a fan of the game on a professional level.

Now, what was once considered our national past time, holding the appeal of 39 percent of Americans as their favorite sport in 1948, the love has fallen behind football and basketball. Today 43 percent of Americans consider football their favorite sport, up nine points from December 2005, while basketball remains even at 12 percent and baseball at 11 percent.

So, what is the reason for the fallout of fans from our favorite past time? Is it because we have become a more fast paced society and would rather see an action-packed battle on the gridiron or an hour and a half basketball game as opposed to sitting through three to four hours of baseball? Or is there something more than that?

Baseball's poll numbers are starting to look like political polls – the majority just don't have a trust in the game anymore. Last June 47 percent of professional baseball fans claim that performance-enhancing drugs are the direct influence to the higher number of homeruns. Only 27 percent thought that it was based on an increase in quality hitters, while eight to nine percent said it was because of a new baseball or lack of quality pitching.

With that, it is no surprise that only three percent of sports fans consider Barry Bonds, second all-time in home runs, the greatest home run hitter in the history of the game. Babe Ruth holds that respect with 43 percent of the votes, while Hank Aaron is the only other to receive more than three percent of the votes with 26 percent. And of course the reasons for the doubt in Bonds, which was down from six percent just three years ago, is because 78 percent of professional baseball fans said last April that they believe he has used illegal steroids.

It'll be interesting to see how the 2007 season unfolds, as Bonds is in pursuit of the all-time home run crown after hitting hitting his fourth home run of the season Wednesday, leaving him with 18 needed to break the record.

One thing is for sure, if Major League Baseball has any hope of returning to the position it once held as the country's best, it needs to find a way to win back the hearts of Americans. Simon and Garfunkel's lyrics to Mrs. Robinson ring true today, "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you..." We need a Joltin Joe or an Iron Man (Lou) Gherig or (Cal) Ripken, to help peak our interests - players who are respected for their pure talent and passion for the game. The same players that were in the shinning spot light at baseball's greatest number of fans.

Hope may remain in the pen stripes, as Alex Rodriguez's walk-off homer on Thursday was his 10th of the season. Since playing his first full season in 1996, A-Rod has averaged 42 home runs a season through last year. He is on pace for 116 this year, although that number won't come to fruition, it is safe to say 40 will, which will list him in the Top 20 with more than 500 career home runs. Home run leaders in perspective..Hank Aaron averaged 33 a season for 23 years in 3,298 games, Barry Bonds has averaged 35 in 21 seasons (through 2006) in 2,860 games and Babe Ruth averaged 32.5 for 22 seaosns and 2,503 games. If you take away Babe's first four years in Boston and last season of his career, when he hit a combined 15 home runs, and he avereaged 41.11 through 17 seasons in 2,309 games. A-Rod's average of 42 a season through the past 11 seasons and 1,681 is impressive. He beats Bonds (.25) and Aaron (.22) with an average of 0.27 in seasons where he hit at least 10 home runs (all but two). Ruth's is at the top with 0.30.

Statistical information for this column came from various Gallup Polls and Basebal reference for poll resutls and career stats.

A lack thereof

2007-04-02T00:12:00.000-05:00

There's been a lack of blogging on this page for the past three months plus. The same was the case in the fall. I liked to think that my mind was a source of information, thoughts or ideas ready to pour on the page, but if this is true, there's the lack of motivation at the end of the day or time to spend "wasted" online to write on this blog. No, I'm not going to cancel it, but maybe I'll have a break through idea to post sometime soon or an interesting story. In the mean time, if you're interested in reading what I have been writing, which has been 99 percent, if not more, sports driven, then visit www.shelbycountyreporter.com and read the sports stories.

It has been a good first three months on the job. I have covered state championships in indoor track, wrestling and AISA girls basketball, the Bassmasters, a rodeo, an emotional inaugural memorial golf tournament for one of the best golfers in recent history from the state of Alabama. I have also had the opportunity to watch the best junior tennis player in Alabama capture a county championship and develop small relationships with a future SEC football center and golfer. Before the move from sports information and Pulaski, I wondered if I'd be able to have the same opportunites to build relationships with student-athletes that I had there. The answer to that question is becoming true as yes, as long as I want that to happen. It has been great to be able to establish some relationships with coaches, players and fans - just a small part of what makes the job fun and new each week, even if there is burn out every now and a then for the lack of a full 24 hours off from work...such is the nature of media, especially in our technology and information age.

Another good angle to working with the Shelby County Reporter has been the enviroment in which I work. Friday we had an office cookout, which presented itself as more of a family atmosphere. The same was present when the office hosted a joint baby shower for the wives of the publisher and managing editor. The publisher's daughter was born a few weeks back, while the managing editor's son is expected in the next two months.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being where I am now. However, I do ask myself, "Where am I going?" The question of what my next career move will be is up in the air, however, maybe that is a good thing. While it is nice to have goals and a plan to achieve those goals, it is also nice to enjoy the moment and succeed in the task at hand until the time comes that a change is called for, if it ever is.

--Just something to fill the space--

Last Games

2006-12-19T20:42:00.000-06:00

In addendum to the previous post - what a week!

The week has just started, but feels like it should be over. With the holidays approaching, many of us have said "Today feels like it ought to be Friday (or Saturday)." However, it is only Tuesday.

A large portion of that of course because we are planning our vacations. But also, because of basketball games at Martin Methodist on this past Monday and Tuesday night.

Below I mentioned that this is my final week as a member of the RedHawks' Athletic Department staff. To say the least, it has been one heck of a ride with a great swan song duet.

On Monday, Dec. 18, the men's basketball team rewired the electricity in the Curry Christian Life Center with an 83-72 upset over No. 4 Faulkner University. This was the program's highest upset since joining the NAIA. In addition to that, Kirk "Bam-Bam" Newnham scored his 1,000 career point. The lone four-year senior was severely injured in January 2005, cutting short his best season of his career. Averaging 13.5 points per game, he was on pace to score at least 350 points, however finished with just 257 through 19 games. Had the season been completed in 2004-05, Bam would have passed 1,000 last season and pushed for the school record this season, unofficial set at 1,267 (as far as I've tracked down so far).

That is not to say that Bam will not score 266 points in the remaining games of this season's soon to be magical run.

The victory puts the men's team even at 6-6 on the season, with four of their six loses coming to teams at least receiving votes in the Top 25 poll. They are also on an amazing three game win streak.

Tonight (Tuesday, Dec. 19), the women's team improved to 9-2 on the season, continuing their best start in NAIA history, with a 71-60 upset of No. 16 Georgetown College. MMC's three starting guards combined for 47 points, as the RedHawks out rebounded the Tigers 49-29, collecting 34 defensive rebounds.

So, the MMC Athletics portion of my life begins it's close to the tune of "Over Rated!", the chant that echos through the CLC, lingering until both teams host nationally ranked Trevecca Nazarene teams on Jan. 4, 2007 for the TranSouth Athletic Conference opener.

Hopefully, as I turn to cover the fastest growing county in Alabama, the RedHawks will sore into the spring, hearing their fans recite the chant over-and-over again.

Winds of Change

2006-12-17T18:03:00.000-06:00

"To everything there is a season..."

For those of you who don't know, I am entering my final week as Sports Information Director at Martin Methodist College in Pulaski, Tenn., possibly my final week in full time sports information for my life. I am turning over a new leaf (and considering using every change cliche possible in this post). On Tuesday, January 2, I will begin a post as sports editor at the Shelby County Reporter, a weekly newspaper based out of Columbiana, Ala.

The timing of this change is not the best. Since receiving a phone call in early November informing me that the paper may be calling me out of interest, I have served on a committee to help launch a public access channel in Pulaski, strengthened local friendships, enjoyed the scenery and as always enjoyed the sports memories here. MMC is either in her prime or entering her prime athletically. I hope the latter. That makes it a tough time to leave, not to mention that this departure comes in the middle of an academic and athletic calendar on December 22.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at MMC and will miss the character of Pulaski and Middle Tennessee. I'll miss walking out to Sam Davis Park to the smell of the baseball diamond and the smoke rising from Hickory House. I will miss the 4.5 minute commute from home to work. I will miss seeing chickens cross the road to go to the liquor store (ask and I'll tell). I'll miss students stopping by my office. I'll miss Borders bookstores since there are none in Alabama, and the random trips I made to Cool Springs and West End to waste time in Borders. I'll miss the wins, the loses and the what ifs. I'll miss the red and black of the RedHawks after allowing it to cover up and blend with the purple and gold of the Falcons. I'll miss the columned gates, the drive after merging right off Exit 1 and knowing that I'm almost home. I'll miss the site of the three stars inside the blue circle on the red, Tennessee state flag that flies above the Giles County Board of Education as I turn behind the Curry Christian Life Center.

I will miss the square, the courthouse and the wave at random passers by. I will miss frequently eating fresh and being served by Teresa, Al and P.M. I will miss the giant painted turkeys. I will miss the family that is MMC and Giles County.

When I first moved here, I did not allow myself to get adjusted. I had a feeling that one day I'd uproot and move somewhere else. Despite an interview in July for a position in Birmingham, I was not looking to leave, and decided last December that I enjoyed being here.

"Pulaski grows on you once you let it," I'd tell people.

Everyone who came to visit loved it. Now, if that is the case, then why am I leaving after just 16 months? Why, if I was glad to get out of Birmingham, am I going back?

God only knows. No, that is not a figure of speech cliche, but the truth. Only God knows why he stirred me to listen to and accept the position at the Reporter. Only He knows what is in store for me in Birmingham and what lessons I will learn over the next however many years. Only He knows what will happen with the relationships I have built over the past 16 months or even weeks. For the past few years I have known that I do not fully rely on trusting the promises of God. That may be one reason for this change. I expect this move to open countless opportunities, whether that be professionally through the Reporter or outside work, or personally through straightening relationships both in the middle of the Volunteer State and in the Heart of Dixie.

"It's not why God has called, but for what..." - wisdom given by a co-worker at MMC.

So, as this Christmas week begins, I reflect more on a departure than get excited about a new position, to answer all of you who ask if I'm excited. To refer back to the top, "to everything there is a season" - a time and purpose.

The excitement will come in the next week for my new position, but until then, I'm going to open my pores and soak in what I can of my time in Tennessee.

A Wealth of Blogging

2006-12-05T01:25:00.000-06:00

I just thought I'd let you know that since I have been bombarding you with blogs every day for the past three months (if you can't catch the sarcassim here, then you might want to consider mental help), I'll give you a break for a little while and not post anything.

Seriously, I have no excuse for not posting anything on here, except for a four letter word "work". But still, that's no excuse, right? I have been doing a lot of "blogging" in my head, in conversation with others or on random scrap pieces of paper or notebooks. If only there were an invention that could take your thoughts and apply them straight to paper or to a Microsoft Word Document. While this would be a great invention, it could be a very scary one at the same time.

Before I go on rambling about mind reading software, I just wanted to let those of you who still read this that I will be moving back to Birmingham at Christmas. Considering the only people reading this now that I have been in hibernation the past three months are close family and friends, if even that, then you probably already knew that. Hopefully with the job change and location change, there will also be a frequency of blogging change.

Stay tuned to find out. Until then, have a wonderful Christmas holiday.

Happy Birthday

2006-09-14T12:14:00.000-05:00

For roughly 650 years we have celebrated birthdays, the anniversary of our birth. Number 23 is approaching for me on Saturday and I have a hand full of friends that have their day this week.

I recently added the History Channel's This Day in History webpage to my list of online favorites to check periodically. It turns out today is an important birthday in American history.

192 years ago an American lawyer was sitting on a British ship just off shore of Fort McHenry in Maryland. As the night passed on Sept. 13 and day broke on the 14th, this lawyer looked out his port hole to see a worn and tattered American flag hanging over the Fort and sat down to pen the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Francis Scott Key's poem about the flag's survival of the 1,800 bomb British assault during the War of 1812 was later published on Sept. 20 in a Baltimore newspaper, and later ironically set to the tune of an English drinking song, "To Anacrean in Heaven." However, it was not until Woodrow Wilson signed an executive order in 1916 that the lyrics became the nation's anthem, confirmed in 1931 by a Congressional act signed Herbert Hoover.

Looking around online today, I just found this as an interesting birthday as the morning of Sept. 16 approaches for myself.

One friend of mine who shares the Star Spangled Banner's birthday wrote yesterday that birthdays can be a time for reflection..."a time to reflect on old times, memories and friends, and contemplate where you are now and what you want to do in the future." As she approaches her senior year in college, she is asking the questions we all faced at this cross road and still face...wanting to do the right thing, find the right job, right person, right location and ponder if there is more that we should be doing to help those in need.

Birthdays are a reminder of age, whether you count it as 23 years, 276 months, or over 8400 days. However, as we approach birthdays, my friend is right - the time can be used to look back to your past and remember the people and stories along the way, to remember the parties and gifts, and fun times.

For me, in addition to remembering how I spent my birthday with family and friends in the past, I associate Sept. 16 with Auburn v. LSU, Mexican Independence, and now, as I learned today, the sailing of the Mayflower from England to Plymouth, Mass. and Road Runner who shares my birthday in 1949.

Data for this blog was collect at This Day in History (Check it out!)

2006-08-23T13:31:00.000-05:00

Martin Methodist College Helps Extend Aide and Support in Iraq

By Chris Megginson, Director of Sports Information, Martin Methodist

Posted 08.23.06 on the NAIA Champions of Character Site

PULASKI, Tenn. – Students are arriving on campuses across the nation and fall sport seasons are just days away from their start. Last year’s game ball for soccer, football or volleyball are tossed into the pile of summer camp balls, and the soccer net and volleyball net are most likely tossed in a closet. However, Martin Methodist College recently found a means to recycle their previous season’s equipment in the deserts of Iraq.

During the past season, SSG Shane Duncan, of the 1/115th Field Artillery unit of the National Guard, and his fellow soldiers returned to base one day to find a gift from MMC including a volleyball net, ball and pump donated by the MMC athletic department.

Duncan asked his wife Kelley to search for a way to possibly find a net and ball to give the troops something to use for recreation when not on mission, for up to then it was all sand and no "beach" volleyball.

"My husband asked if I could find one for them. My sister-in-law and a friend told me to talk to [Athletic Director Jeff] Bain, because he is known to be supportive and spirited," said Kelley. "It wasn't but a few days [after I talked to him] and he had not only a net, but balls and a pump."

After receiving Kelley's request, Bain asked his athletics staff, specifically head volleyball coach Rose Magers-Powell, to help locate the items to be sent.

"I immediately thought of several older nets that had been in storage for several years,” said Bain, “however I wanted to speak with Coach Powell before calling Kelley back. Mid-way through my conversation Coach Powell interrupted me and said, ‘Jeff give her whatever she wants! But, don’t giver her the old practice nets, give her our game nets, with the steel cables. Anything we have is hers.’”

Kelley and Duncan’s family members poured the MMC athletic department with notes of thanks for Duncan and his unit.

"The sands of Iraq have been touched by these gifts from Martin Methodist. It is the gifts from home that mean so much to these brave men so far away from our beautiful country that is their home," said Kelley, who communicates with her husband frequently via e-mail.

However, the service to Duncan did not stop with the one simple gift. Upon placement of this story on the MMC athletics website, GoRedHawks.com, a call was received by Teresa Hoover of Liberal, Kan. Seeking information on how to get in touch with Duncan’s family.

Hoover was listening to her radio one afternoon, tuned into 102.7 the Legend, and heard a story about Soldiers Angels, a non-profit group organized by a soldier’s mother in 2003 with the mission to provide aide and support to U.S. troops. She immediately began researching the group and applied to adopt a soldier. Just days after the story about Duncan was published on the MMC web in July, Hoover received a letter with her soldier’s name, SSG Danny Duncan of the 1/115th Field Artillery unit.

Even though chances were rare that she would find more information on her soldier, she decided to search online. At the top of her Google search list was the MMC story on SSG Danny “Shane” Duncan.

”If it hadn’t been for the act by the school and that article, I may not have been able to get a hold of Kelley and find out what Shane needs and wants the most,” said Hoover.

Bain, Powell and Hoover are just a few of many across the nation that have been given the opportunity to give whatever is asked to help provide for a soldier.

”I was reminded how something so simple in our lives here at home, would be a luxury in a war zone, and of a wife’s sincerity to do all she can do to help husband away at war” said Bain. “If he sends another message home – needs something else, we’ll send it! That is the least we can do compared to what they are doing for us, our children and our country.”

Duncan, deployed from Lawrenceburg, Tenn., and Kelley have two children, Cody, 15, and Keaton, 11.

In addition to sports equipment there are numerous ways to donate good to troops. Visit www.SoldiersAngels.org for more information on adopting a soldier, submitting a soldier to be adopted or to find out how to help. Also, contact your local National Guard, Army, Navy and Marine units to find out what needs your local troops may have.

Putting CO2 in a Lockbox

2006-06-12T15:49:00.000-05:00

During the 2000 Presidential Election, both Vice President Al Gore and Governor George W. Bush were asked to sum up their candidacy with one word, to which Gore responded "Lock-box."

This word, and its over use in the first Presidential Debate, became a fixture in the caricature of Gore through the election, especially by the writers and cast of Saturday Night Live. Gore poked fun at himself numerous times over the word, mainly when appearing as a guest host on SNL.

So, why not use the term again, as Gore's new movie "Inconvenient Truth", in summary, aims to put carbon dioxide (CO2) in a lockbox to stop global warming.

I'll admit, I was never much of an Al Gore fan, and when I heard about this film, I asked the same skeptical question that many others are asking, "What does he know about global warming? Give it up!"

But the more I have looked into the release of this film, the more I lean toward supporting, maybe not the film or Gore, but the urging to see the film and judge for yourself.

The Sundance Film Festival hit documentary is almost all Al Gore. The majority of the film, from what I can tell, is going to be Gore laying out the comparisons of different glaciers, snow-capped mountains, hurricane seasons, temperature indexes and other science to show that the planet is under a direct threat from global warming.

For almost a decade there has been talk, and not much focused attention on this issue, but again, this may be a film worth watching, evaluating and figuring out your own personal, non-partisan stance on a world issue, not an American issue.

One way we learn lessons in life is to compare our present habits to the habits of the past, so as to not repeat mistakes. History is a valuable learning tool.

However, "...in my judgment we need to set aside whether or not greenhouse gases have been caused by mankind or because of natural effects and focus on the technologies that will enable us to live better lives and at the same time protect the environment," said Bush in May in response to his reasons in not supporting the film - arguing that debating what causes global warming is not important, but merely developing new technology is the key to solving the problem.

Of course, I could be wrong, but isn't it hard to plan new technologies to fix a problem without first attempting to listening to reasons as to how the problem may have been caused? Do you not often need to find the source, before you can find the solution?

After all, isn't that "strategery"? (reference George W. Bush's answer to the one-word question in 2000)

So, while you're looking for things to do this summer, check out the film.

Theatrical Trailer
Official Website
How much CO2 does my household produce? - I'm almost double the average.
Bush v. Gore 2006 (on the film)
Should this launch Gore to a 2008 Presidential bid?

Lunch at the Drug Store

2006-05-16T13:27:00.000-05:00

It used to be a common stop after school for children or for the bus passing through town. Located downtown, or to some uptown, the small town local drug store was the place for the gossip, medicine, gifts, and lunch.

Growing up in Birmingham, I never really had the opportunity to experience this that much, and no where near as much as my father, grandfather or great grandfather had the opportunity.

For more than half a century the corner of West Front Street in Thomasville, Ala. was home to People's Drugs - the small, family owned drug store with a soda fountain and lunch counter. Today, the corner and building is the renovated home of People's Corner - a gift shop and lunch stop.

I have few memories of People's Drugs before it closed in 1986. Really, I only have about one memory of the office inside the store - that and when we returned to the building in 1992 to clean out the attic.

People's Drugs was opened by my great-grandfather Theodore Megginson, followed by my grandfather Dick Megginson, who retired and closed the store in 1986. My dad grew up working small jobs in the store, as it became the after school stop. Bonfires were held on the corner to celebrate homecoming. Visitors would take a pit stop at the store when passing through Clarke County via bus.

Today, I felt like I went back in time to Thomasville. I looked for Grandmama and Grand Daddy behind the counter, as I entered into Reeves Drug Store on First Street in Pulaski, Tenn. for lunch. My friend Stacy, a native Pulaskian, and I met there for lunch. The chairs and tables were similar. It was my first trip to Reeves and made me stop and reflect on what it must have been like to take a lunch break in Thomasville and walk down to People's for a chicken salad sandwich.

Just a taste of small town livin'.

Tracking Your Success

2006-05-10T11:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had our annual campus wide planning meeting in the dining hall. Part of the meeting included a presentation on the success of the new website launched by the school on March 1. The stats given compared the Top 6 most visited sites for the month of April.

Of course, the school home page was number one, but the athletics home page was a very close second...one theory is that many are going to the school page and then to the athletics page instead of straight to the athletics page, meaning that the home page success is largely in part to that of the athletics page's success. Third on the list was the baseball home page. Fourth was the admissions page, while softball was fifth. I forget what the sixth page was.

The month of April saw 8,497 visitors to the server, making up 22,000 visits to 419, 800 pages and over two million hits. In just 10 days in the month of May we have had 4,448 visitors and 721,500 hits. May hopefully will eclipse April in the amount of visits. It also appears that over 100,000 trips have been made to the school website from the link off the athletics website.

This is all good news, since the websites are really and truly in their first year of actively being update, nearly on a daily basis. Also, figures that will help bring about some possible financial needs to make needed changes to the sites.

What sparked this blog was my little map on the right side of the screen over there, look down below all my links and the "Blogger" logo. You see all the red dots? They show clusters of visits to this blog as of April 1. If you click on it, then click "map with smaller clusters" it will take you to a map that shows a little more detail of who is viewing the blog. Now, I know where the small dot in Florida is coming from and the ones in Alabama. The big dot covering those is most likely myself checking this thing out. However the one that throws me for a loop is the 10-99 visits from the Great Plains area and the 1-9 in New York.

It is neat to see who, at least from what state/country, someone is reading your blog. Maybe I should send this to my friend in Belgium and others to check when they go over seas to decorate the map...nah, I won't cheat that way.

However, one interesting thought...could you imagine what a map like this would look like on the my athletics site with all of our international students' parents checking the site. Hopefully it would be a lot of red.

Pausing For What Matters

2006-04-17T15:28:00.000-05:00

Every day we get up and go about our day on a tightly timed schedule. If you stop and think about it, almost everything we do each day is scheduled - even our "down time."

Say your work day ends at 5 p.m., well, then you know that you should be home between 5:30 and 6:00, so you start to plan dinner, then maybe get ready to get some projects done before your favorite show(s) come one. After that you figure out what needs to be done before going to bed at a certain time.

There's always a schedule.

This is true in almost ever hour of my life. Even vacations are scheduled out to a T.

Saturday was no different. My plan was to meet someone for lunch at 1:00, then go to my alma mater's baseball game around 2:30, then stay for the game, hang out with my college employer, then meet another friend for dinner, then go home to be with family and update baseball results.

However, as I got going Saturday afternoon to meet for lunch, I decided the heck with schedules.

I pulled up to Cracker Barrell to meet my friend from college, Scott. We both were feeling rushed and on a schedule when we arrived. We went in, found a table, debated over what to order, then ordered.

As conversation struck up for the first time (extended conversation) in person in almost a year, I began to relax and mentally crumple my schedule for the day and toss it to the side.

Freely catching up with Scott was much more important than making it to a ball game and trying to see every person I could possibly see in a visit. Scott is one of these friends that I neglect from time to time - well, we probably both neglect each other.

We'd see each other every day in a class while in college. We'd say our common courtesies, briefly find out how things were going, but always seem to be on a schedule. I can truly recall only a few occasions where we have paused to sit and just talk about whatever we needed to get off our chest with no time frame at hand. Although, those times have been limited, I think that is what has built a friendship. We can go months without hardly talking and probably pick right up - something I value with all my friends.

Scott and I had both scheduled about an hour for lunch in our mental planner, but the hour, without realizing it, turned into an hour and a half. It would have been more, but we figured we better give up our table just in case it was needed. But we still had a lot to catch up on, so lunch was paid for, then we made our way to the front porch.

Checkers? Might as well.

We sat down to play a "quick" game of checkers with the intention of continuing our conversation, however the game quickly became highly strategized and competitive, so not many words were said, until we decided we better set up some rules to speed up the game, other wise we'd be there all night.

We did, and I let him beat me.

That was another hour and a half, if not two hours. So, then we made our way to our cars and wrapped up conversations, talking about our jobs, his upcoming wedding, politics, and just life values.

We parted ways soon thereafter, but instead of feeling rushed to live out a schedule, I was relaxed having spent much needed time with a friend. I returned home to spend time with family, while Scott went to the office to help put together the Sunday paper for the Clanton Advertiser.

We issued each other a challenge while eating lunch - to write a column, separate from our normal weekly writings, to e-mail to each other for advice, criticisms and just to get their creative juices flowing. Hopefully that challenge will uphold.

When it does, we may establish a website or blog to share our little project with everyone else, so you can read what we've been writing - that is if Scott doesn't cheat and use his weekly column as his Friday column for the paper.

So, if you're taking the time to read this, keep in mind, just as I must, that it is always more valuable to pause for what matters and throw away your schedule for a few hours or a day.

To read Scott Mims' columns and articles, search the Clanton Advertiser archives for his name.

GMA Week with Adam Wright

2006-04-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

Recently I ventured up I-65 to Nashville for the Gospel Music Awards Week to help support my friend Adam Wright, who was there with Indie Community.

Adam and I both arrived mid-afternoon Sunday, April 2 in time to hang out, grab some pizza, then head over to Rocketown and get ready for the Indie Community Showcase that night. The showcase featured Candlefuse, Solomon's Wish, Distal, Captured and Hyperstatic Union on the main theatre state. In the coffee shop, Judd and Maggie headlined the night, while North of Here, Adam and Josh Hilikar all were featured in accoustic sets.

The night went well, despite tornados moving through the Nashville area. Both mine and Adam's cell phone had numerous voice messages from friends and family checking to see if we were ok in the weather, while we were clueless about its strength. A few positive contacts were made that night with Grass Roots Music, some promotors and other bands.

After we made our way back to our motel in north Nashville and were able to get some sleep, we went back downtown in the morning on Monday to the Nashville Convention Center for the exhibition. We missed out on hearing Donald Miller speak that morning, but I still managed to get an Adam Wright CD in his hand and a DM book in Adam's hand.

The first day of the exhibition went well, as we made contacts with Poor Rich Folk from Ft. Worth, Texas and some other bands that hopefully Adam will have some playing time with in the future. We had the opportunity to stop Jars of Clay in the hall and talk with them briefly about BloodWater Mission and also managed to slip some CDs into the hands of some radio stations around the nation and world.

It's still early to see what effects last week will have on Adam's future music career, but the ball is rolling. Hopefully the career will be able to take off soon.

If you have not heard Adam play, please visit his myspace page and sample his stuff and check out his schedule. The "official website" will hopefully be back up and going in the months to come, as Adam is gearing up to hit the studio for his second recording project.

If you wish to purchase a copy of his first CD, Right By My Side, please visit CDbaby.com.

Jackson Recap

2006-03-31T15:26:00.000-06:00

I’ve decided to pause and write.

Jackson, Tenn.
The Recap

I arrived in Jackson on Tuesday, March 14. As I mentioned below there were meetings I did not know about and other events that made me excited for the week to come, but also nervous of how I’d handle it. However it was not a bad nervousness, but a good nervousness that makes me focus on ever detail, every time frame to make sure the job is done correctly and to the best I can do it.

Tuesday was another late night, the second in a string of four nights of nearly 3-4 hours of sleep each. Amazingly, I was alert and good each of those nights without drinking a drop of caffeine the whole week.

Monday’s opening game tipped off at 8:30, a tip that could have coincided with the firing of a starter pistol for the track meet I’d run as director of media ops at Oman Arena that week.

The final buzzer sounded for game one as the winning basket hit the nylon net for the University of the Cumberlands, as the Lady Patriots held off Cumberland University’s comeback from 15 points down to almost pull off the win.

The day followed with upsets from the No. 6 seeded teams in the tournament, while the No. 1 seeds won without much of a fight. The story was the same on Thursday for the second half of round two. An interesting statistic in the morning session of day one, was that the visiting team scored 67 points in each of the first three games, however Vanguard University’s strong defense put an end to that interesting, useless fact when they held Texas College to 46 points in the 1:45 game.

By Friday night, I’d written 24 game recaps and two round recaps for the NAIA Tournament. But for the first time, I’d get to sleep past 6:30 on the week. A nice feeling, when hours usually don’t come that early.

By this time I already had the opportunity to get to know the tournament photographer Willis, some of the Trevecca Nazarene players, Lubbock Christian players, reporters from local newspapers and get to know Steven and Allen better, two of the Sports Information Directors of other TranSouth Conference teams that were in the tournament.

Also, because I was one of the first to arrive and the last to leave each night, I received the chance to get to talk with Earnest, one of the maintenance men, or “E” as he preferred to be called.

I slept in Saturday then went to the arena to set up for the quarterfinals. Vanguard opened by holding off a University of the Cumberlands’ attack that almost upset the No. 1 team in the nation, followed by sixth-seeded Lubbock Christian knocking off No. 1 seed Trevecca Nazarene, then The Master’s College tying the game with a last tenth of a second shot by Jessica Seyler to send the game with Freed-Hardeman University to overtime, before winning to knock-off the No. 1 seeded Lady Lions. The night cap was the defending national champions, Union University, beating Oklahoma City in a rematch of last year’s title game, to advance to the “Fab Four”

The next day I hosted the Fab Four Press Conference at the Doubletree Hotel. I was tempted to play Beatles music, but decided not to.

The session lasted nearly two hours, possibly way too long, but it was a good two hours. Stories came out in the press conference that may not have come out otherwise, as we heard from Jessica Seyler and how she came back from what she thought was a career-ending injury to play in the last 12 games of the season. Also, The Master’s Grace Tapely shared what it was like to be sitting on the bench for the tournament after being injured in the opening minutes of the tournament, and having to give up her starting role to a freshman.

I’m not nearly doing justice to the stories here, but they were stories that had the reporters and others in attendance engaged in what was being said. I was disappointed that not more was printed the next day, but it was rewarding to see a small story on Seyler in the Jackson Sun, that most likely would not have been there had it not been for her speaking at the press conference.

Jessica was a source of encouragement for myself over the next few days, just reflecting on her story and the short moments of conversation she and I had off the court. Her ability to look past the troubles that she was going through and keep the positive attitude, plus being the one to go ask the trainer and others what she could do to help them after she played her final game on Monday night was good to watch.

As Barry Faulkner from the Daily Pilot in California kept telling me, that’s a girl that a movie script could be written about.

Anyway, we went on to see Lubbock Christian stay alive into the championship game as this year’s Cinderella, and the lowest seeded team to ever make the championship.

LCU dominated early, but Union countered with offensive and defensive tactics they had not used all year to get past LCU and dominate the last 25 minutes of play, although, LCU made a late run to pull within six.

So, Cinderella fell short of wearing the crown home, as the defending champions won their third title in nine years.

I’ve been asked many times how the tournament went, was it fun, was it worth while.

It went well, and “Yes” to the other two questions.

Did it pass the test to say that sports media relations in where I am supposed to spend my career? I don’t know.

What I do know is that I enjoy telling the story. I enjoyed the moments of helping make the ones who go unnoticed hopefully feel appreciated. I enjoyed the chance to encourage others to tell the story and help them do so.

“Director of Media Opperations” – sounds big and official, doesn’t it?

Although, I think the roll was more like Media Servant... at least that’s what I’d prefer my work on the week to be remember as by the media that was there.

Were there complaints? Yes. Some expected there to be more phone access or more structure for certain aspects. But, those people were only there for one night, so it didn’t matter past that. And after Monday, I think things went well. We still had glitches and problems, but we worked to make sure that things were still able to be done and deadlines met.

It was a good week, but aside from the Championship feeling of standing in the tunnel before the title game and looking up at all the banners, the weekend was more about service than sports.

It was rewarding to help others serve their school or the NAIA. We’ll see lies ahead.

All 34 recaps can be found on the Championship Website.

Blog Update

2006-03-31T12:04:00.000-06:00

Yes, there is another update coming soon. No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet. And yes, I did spend more than one day in Jackson at the NAIA Women's Basketball Tournament.

I know some of you have been checking for an update, so I thought I'd put this "disclaimer" up until I can get the next Jackson post up. I sat down a few times in Jackson to write, but after writing non-stop almost through the day, each day, I lost my creative edge, or decided to sleep, then the same has mostly been the case since getting back into "routine".

So, a post is coming soon, more than one most likely. Maybe next week.

I too keep checking my blog, hoping to see it updated, but the blog fairy just won't do it for me.

I'm goin' to Jackson...

2006-03-15T00:05:00.000-06:00

Day 1
Jackson, Tenn.

Well, the tournament begins in the morning, actually tip-off is nine hours away from when I am writing this. I arrived today around 11 a.m. and checked in at the Jameson Inn, then headed down to the NAIA Headquarters at the Double Tree Hotel.

Upon arrival I learned that my media manual had not arrived yet, nor had the media programs. Steven Aldridge, the SID for Union University and I sat around the lobby waiting, then decided to go grab lunch. He jinxed us on the way to the restaurant. Steven asked if I had heard about a pre-tournament SID meeting, which I had not and neither had he. Well just our luck, while we were waiting for our food to arrive, Steven checked in with his wife about picking up his daughter from day care and I received a call asking if I knew that I had a meeting at 2:30 with the SIDs….”No, but that’s ok…we’ll aim for 2:30, but let the SIDs know we may be a few minutes late,” was my response.

We arrived back about 2:35 after devouring our late barbecue lunch. The media manual was there, which was what I needed to help conduct the meeting, so to say the least, the meeting was strictly improvised – which turned out well.

We’re short some fax lists and media credentials, but that can be taken care of in the morning. After the meeting Steven and I went to Oman Arena where the tournament will be and I set up my “office” for the week that is closed off from the rest of the media room. I also set up the press tables a little. Tomorrow, I’ll need to get there extra early to setup press row for the games and make sure we’re good to go.

I rushed back to the hotel to change clothes then go to the WBCA Kodak All-American Banquet at the Carl Perkins Civic Center, then a quick Wal-Mart run, then back to the hotel to my second office on the week to update the MMC website with our baseball, softball and tennis results from the day.

I was nervous about getting through today with my students helping me out back in Pulaski, but it all worked out great.

The highlight of the day/night is most likely nothing to do with MMC or this tournament, but receiving a call from Andrea from the Gulf South Conference, who was keeping track of the Montevallo game for me.

“They were down 14 at the half, I’ll call you back” – first call
“They just went up with seven minutes to go, but keep swapping leads” – second call
“Overtime” – third call
“86-83…Montevallo” – fourth call.

The Falcons are in their first ever Elite Eight!

In other words….BZZZZZZ…Alfred Kojima’s getting a buzz cut by Marcus Kennedy – an ongoing agreement since our first Sweet 16 appearance two years ago.

Previous to Danny Young’s tenure, the last UM team to go to second round of the National Tournament was the 1995-1996 women’s basketball team (25-4) here in Jackson at Oman Arena in their final year as an NAIA team. Garry Van Atta was head coach at the time of the purple and gold Lady Falcons.

Tomorrow, Van Atta will lead his No. 1 seed Lady Trojans of Trevecca Nazarene University onto the court for his first trip back to Jackson as a coach since March 1996. Oh, Trevecca wears purple and gold.

Every time I speak to Van Atta, including this afternoon, I tell him it’s the purple and gold!

I am hoping to see our four TranSouth teams do well this week. I hope that Van Atta and I can sit down and talk about the Montevallo days sometime soon, most likely not here, but when we do, then maybe I can start working toward the “History of Myrick Hall” book that I thought about and wrote him about two years ago.

Time to roll over and go to bed…I was thinking I’d be nervous. I was earlier today, but not as much now. Tomorrow may be a different story though.

NAIA Women's Basketball D-I National Championship

2006-03-13T16:19:00.000-06:00

For the next week I will be in Jackson, Tenn. serving as the media coordinator for the 2006 NAIA Women's Basketball Division I National Championships. There will be 32 teams, 31 games and six days of competition for one championship. It ought to be interesting.

My hope is to update this blog daily with an update of each day's events, so check back each night or morning to catch up on what's been going on. Most likely I won't be doing much e-mailing, especially the first few days, so this will be my way of letting you know how it goes.

Wed.-Fri. the first games tip at 8:30 a.m. and the last at 9:45 p.m., so that means time in the media room will be from about 7 a.m.-1 a.m.

Click here for a bracket.

Bring on the Basketball,
Chris

Visiting Blood:Water Mission

2006-03-12T17:12:00.000-06:00

Thursday I visited the Blood:Water Mission office in Franklin, Tenn. on a whim. Blood:Water Mission is an organization established by the band Jars of Clay in concept about three years ago, but in physical drive only about eight months ago.

Their purpose is to take a “community-centered approach to AIDS that includes establishing basic conditions necessary for health, providing vital medical care and clean water, working toward social equality, addressing the constraints on poverty, and empowering communities to take ownership of their own long-term healthy development.’

Their mission: “To tangibly reduce the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, to promote clean blood and clean water in Africa, and to build equitable, sustainable and personal community links.”

Their vision: “To eradicate AIDS and the injustice that perpetuates it through personal and communal transformation.”

We’ve all been introduced to the numbers and statistics of deaths in Africa, or at least the small hint of knowledge that AIDS is heavily present there and it is causing deaths, whether we know how many there truly are. I remember when Live Aid 8 was going on this past summer that I wasn’t actually a fan of the idea at the beginning, I mean, I wasn’t opposed to a bunch of celebrities standing up and promoting a cause, but I felt like we need more than celebrities. In a way I feel like I was right, but at the same time I was strongly wrong.

More people tuned and listened to U2, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Jars and others join together to sing in eight different countries about the need for support. Now, I don’t know what these celebrities have given other than air time toward the cause. At the time, and even still now, I felt that if the celebrities really wanted to do something to fight AIDS in Africa and demand more US financial support, then they could start by selling all but one of their homes that they are, downsize that one to a realistic size for what they really need, then take the millions of dollars from just those adjustments and give toward the cause. But it’s not my place to judge their financial giving when I am not willing to give as much myself, unless I had millions to give – something I was convicted of when deciding how to use a jackpot PowerBall winning, if I ever got one.

The thing about Blood:Water is that it is an opportunity to give, and not only give toward a cause for research, but toward a physical life changing cause that you see results of. This is not only an AIDS project, but a fight against poverty and against famine in Africa.

BWM recently started the 1000 Wells Project with the goal to raise enough money to build a clean water well in a different village in Africa.

When I visited the office Thursday, all I knew about the mission was that it was started by Jars, was for a good cause and mainly the information I gave you above from the brochure I picked up at a Derek Webb concert in Florence, Ala. back in November that my friend Adam Wright opened at.

Since then, I have stared at the brochure next to my bed and read it a few times, browsed the group’s website and read the same information over and over again. I have started to develop a “heart” for the cause, but I put that in quotes, because I think it is truly just an interest and not really a heart, but maybe a desire for a heart for it.

I finally was pushed to visit Thursday morning. I had the day off from work, but went into the office early in the morning to update a few things, while I was there I again looked at the BWM website and also took a look at Donald Miller’s site, where he had added a post about tithing and mentioned a quote from BWM Executive Director Jena Lee that I had heard and read many times: “$1 = One year of water for an African.”

I decided I’d give Jena a call and head up and meet her. I didn’t know that she just flew back from Kenya the day before. I debated the whole trip to Franklin whether or not to go by there, but finally, as I approached the Cool Springs exit, I called got an answer: “Blood:Water Mission, this is Adrian.”

I had to think quickly and decide what in the world to say. “Hi Adrian, my name is Chris and I live in Pulaski. I’m in the Franklin area today and was wondering if you had a office nearby to stop in and find out more about the project.”

“How dumb was that” I thought. I could have come up with something better to say or a better way to say it. Anyway, Adrian told me where their office was and it was right next to the Cool Springs shopping area that I was going to. I had been a block from the office many times and had no clue it was there.

Adrian and I talked for a while until Jena arrived from her meeting to prepare for a Board of Directors meeting the following day and go over her latest trip.

Through talking to Adrian I realized that this project was really in its early stages. I was unsure before whether it had been around for a few years, or was just starting up. It is just starting up. They moved into their donated office space in the fall. My previous knowledge was that BWM only had one full time person, Jena. Adrian came on staff in December because of the increasing numbers of calls and checks flowing in. She caught me up to date about the current state of the project. 58 wells have currently been built, and the fundraising didn’t really begin until this past summer.

The cost of each well could be as little as $300 or as large as $3,000 to build depending on the village, location in the village and how much digging and support must be done to build it.

Those numbers are easy to grasp really. That means that 1,000 Wells can be built for roughly $300,000 to $3 million. Looking back at my PowerBall breakdown, I was willing to give $54 million of the $136 million jack pot, had I won, to the group…that would be close to 18,000 wells at a minimum…Wow!

Here’s another interesting number. BWM currently has on their website that Americans spend three billion dollars each year on Easter candy. That’s enough spent on candy to celebrate Christ’s resurrection that could build at the minimum 100,000 wells! Again, interesting numbers.

Now, I don’t have the millions to give, but what is possible is setting back money each month till you reach $300 or $3,000 in a year and give that…even giving $20 a month, could almost be enough to buy a small well, or if ten people did that, to build one well I the roughest terrain.

These are numbers that are easy to grasp. Numbers that are realistic approaches to solving the problem…well, at least to help the problem.

I may sound all gung-ho on this, but I’m really not there yet, but am working toward caring much about it.

Jena just arrived from Kenya. The last time she went was months ago when a well was built. During that visit photos were taken of a boy named Joseph. Joseph had sores all over his legs from malnourishment and other disease in the area. I do not know if he had HIV or AIDS, but with such sores, the open wounds would be an easy reception site for the immune disabling virus. Relevant magazine did a story on the mission and Jena’s visit building the well. There was a photo of Joseph and his legs.

Jena took the magazine with her this time to Kenya. While she was there she saw a boy come near her who she recognized but without sores, a boy who was wearing the same T-shirt as he was months ago. She gave the magazine to Joseph, as he took a look at the first photograph he has ever seen of himself and first magazine he has ever held.

Jena’s walls in her office are mostly bare except for a photo of her and Colin Powell that sits by her desk that is with the exception of the wall to her left of her desk if you were sitting at it. On that wall, posters about AIDS and BWM are up in a collage, but also included are drawings from kids. I did not ask Jena about the drawings, although I wish I had, but most likely these are drawings from the children she has visited over the past year in numerous villages across Africa, possibly the same children in the photographs surrounding the drawings on the wall.

It was a good visit to find out more about the people behind the scenes, see what they have, learn how little money goes toward office supplies and salary, and how it almost all goes to the project, something that may not be true with all organizations.

Adrian is a 2005 graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University in Oklahoma City. Jena was a senior political science major in Washington in 2003 when she was giving a lecture on AIDS and told she should meet with Jars the following week when they will be on campus. She was hired not too long after.

The driving daily force in the project on this side of the Atlantic is a group of people in their 20s, something more encouraging than a group of Baby Boomers working for the cause.

“We have a big task at hand, and we need you to join us in this effort. We believe that knowing, loving and acting are the necessary steps for change. YOU have something to give. Would you please join us?” – Jena Lee

For more information, log onto www.bloodwatermission.com and www.1000wells.com

Soaking in "The Second Chance"

2006-03-09T17:32:00.000-06:00

I enjoyed a day off from athletics at MMC Thursday by taking a drive up to Franklin, Tenn. to the Cool Springs shopping area. The main reason I wanted to go that way was to go by the movie theatre and check out the movie "The Second Chance." I first heard about the film on Donald Miller's website a couple of weeks ago when it came out. It opened in 87 theatres across the nation, after a poor showing at the box office it is down to 31 theatres as of March 2 according to the-numbers.com. You can track how it does at the box office, by clicking here.

Summary: The movie is filmed in Nashville and the surrounding metro area. The plot: a successful "mega church" has an urban mission in downtown around 2nd Ave. The "mega church" that was used to film the movie was Brentwood Baptist, while the urban ministry church was a small Church of Christ church located in the hood. (I actually think I drove right by this church last Saturday.) The associate pastor at The Rock (mega church) is played by Michael W. Smith and is the son of the senior pastor, who is nearing retirement and wanting to put his son as his replacement. Smith's character is a musician with gold and platinum albums, a successful book with his face on the cover...and a personality for the strictly scheduled, television aired Sunday worship services at The Rock (ironic in name for the end of the movie).

Ethan (played by Smith) goes to work at his father's direction at the Second Chance Community Church, a sister church to the Rock. He is there to "observe and learn" from Jake (played by jeff obafemi carr). Jake is a local black pastor in his 30s (most likely), who grew up in the same "worst part of town" of Nashville that he now serves as minister. He is loved and respected by his community...not just a showy pastor for TV, as most likely many observe Ethan to be. The two know each other, because Ethan's father Jeremiah used to be pastor of Second Chance before going to The Rock and Jeremiah is the one who encouraged Jake to join the ministry and hired him as the youth pastor at Second Chance.

Review: If you can get past the acting of Michael W. Smith that makes you feel like you are watching a made for TV movie instead of a feature film, this film has a great, to the heart, to the core of the gospel, true message of love, tolerance and truly living out Christ's commandments.

Steve Taylor of Third Day does a great job adapting the story into film. To be honest, I can see why it is not doing well at the box office. One, it hasn't been publicized well as far as I can tell. Two, it is not a film that will grab you into your seats like your top box office flicks, at least not at the beginning of the film. And three, the theatres where the film is showing are located in the heart of the areas where your white middle-to-upper-class people are residing, the same class of Christians that Jake says can "Keep your damn money" when TV crews force him to wrap up his sermon about the need for bodies not money for service is what the Second Chance can use the most.

I thrive for Jake. A guy who is willing to stand up for the real truth, yet has his flaws, who is supported by a strong wife who shares in his ministry with her own. While Jake is working with rehabbing men with drug, alcohol or gambling addictions, his wife Amanda is helping girls break out of prostitution and addiction also. One of the first introductory scenes of Ethan at Second Chance has him coming into one of these meetings with the men and being asked to lead the prayer at the end of the meeting. He starts out with his "look at me" preacher tone and approach...something we all probably have at times at least once in our life if we are "on fire for God" and asked to pray, but as time elapses it shows how they're all praying for Javier...and of course chimes in with a stab at the Powerball lottery.

As this film goes on you get to witness and most likely fell the calluses on Ethan's heart toward the inner city be picked away. Reality of gangs, poverty, power trips and more become his every day dealings...something that changes him. Which in turn leads him to reach toward Jake, who is unreceiving because of his own calluses toward Ethan, The Rock and the money giving "supporters" who are unwilling to serve.

But it takes the small step of faith of two servants at Second Chance, who were both given the second chances in their lives, to reveal the heart of both Ethan and Jake, which in turn reveals the true hear to Jeremiah, which had been almost absorbed by “successful ministry” and “God’s plan”.

I love the symbolism of the father’s name being Jeremiah, who at some point in his ministry turned away from what seemed to touch the most in the hood to go toward being the personality for a multi-media ministry…thinking maybe at the time that was the call of God, but in time becoming wrapped up in the “sinking sand” of the mega church life.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13

Jeremiah, Ethan, Jake, Amanda, everyone realizes their true desire and God’s true mission at the conclusion of the film.

It’s a feel good story, but will stretch your heart and make you think, challenging your mind and heart on how you view service, love, poverty and hypocrisy. The thing that each character in the film knows, most likely each actor, and hopefully each viewer will know, is that we can not walk away from such a film just feeling good…we cannot walk away from good days just feeling good. We must move forward with a monthly, weekly, or if possible, daily renewal of the same thoughts and feelings that we may feel and the same motivation we may receive after viewing the film for the first time. However, the kicker is, we must not just think, but act. Not just give our money, but our time. Because if we're not willing to give our time to some causes, then in some cases we might as well keep the money and give it elsewhere, especially if by giving the money we feel like we are doing all we can to serve the cause.

Just some food for thought. Go check out the film if you can in theatre, or be sure and get it when it's released on video.

Covering Games Past and Present - The Future is an Open Door

2006-02-27T18:42:00.000-06:00

Growing up I can remember watching WGN and having Harry Carrey call the Chicago Cubs games. As a Cubs fan, I'd always wait to hear..."Here's a hard hit ball to right, it could be, it might be, IT IS, Holy Cow, Homerun..." or "CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN, CUBS WIN"
Now, these are two of his "signature" calls that I could remember by hearing from others, but I do remember watching and hearing. As funny as this may sound, I can even remember where I was when I heard of his death. I remember being in the living room and hearing something late one night in February 1998 that he had died, just weeks before spring training and joining his grandson Chip on the air for the Cubs games that season. I'm sure at some point I had thought about broadcasting.

I remember joking with a fellow Cubs fan and classmate later that spring, the same spring I began writing sports, that one day I would have the job at Wrigley Field not him. He was older than I, so he would say that he'd be there before I had the chance.

Two years later I took a stab at writing for the Birmingham News, covering the Clay-Chalkville at Hueytown baseball game in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs in the spring of 2000. Justin Jones took the mound for the Cougars, topping out at 86 mph (Coach didn't believe me when I told him that is what HHS had on their speed gun). The Cougars lost, but when I told Jeff Mauldin about Jones' velocity, he felt better about getting his first pitcher into college ball. He did. Jones was the first pitcher I professionally covered in a newspaper, and little did I know then, that three years later, he would be one of the first I'd cover on the radio.

I went on take over as the co-editor for the school newspaper the following year as a senior, having the chance to cover Birmingham's XFL opener, which produced four memorable moments: catching an incomplete pass with my camera on the side line, almost being run over the next half by James Bostic, feeling like I was in the midst of the Vince McMahon mafia, and also getting to interview Jay Barker, Gerry Dinardo and others (which at the time as a semi-big deal to me).

From there it was off to Montevallo, where I half way abandoned sports, with the exception of small write ups here and there. But my junior year, I decieded to try my hand in the sports information world. The summer before the fall semester of my junior year, I was taking summer classes and ended up having a television production with the Falcons' back-up third baseman Jim Cavale who was in town taking classes and rehabbing his shoulder.

I learned quickly that Jim strives for the best, and he learned quickly that I am a perfectionist in media. We teamed up to produce our project, "Motown Live" - a spin off of Saturday Night Live with pre-recorded and edited commercials and show intros (something that the class was supposed to not know how to do yet -- something we were actually supposed to be learning in the next two classes). Yet, Jim and I spent extra time in the editing labs teaching ourselves the basics.

That fall, he and I partnered together to debut the Montevallo Internet Radio broadcasts, an "experiment" with "student broadcasters" according to my friend and at that time boss, Alfred Kojima, the Sports Information Director for UM.

My comeback was, "well this is going to be one heck of an experiment," implying that I, nor Jim, considered it an experiment. We took experiment or student broadcasters to mean that it was going to be choppy, that there we were going to just get by on the air. We didn't want that. We didn't want to settle on getting by.

Before radio began with basketball in November, Jim and I began a “radio” show on campus via the Campus Channel 13, our version of “Mike and Mike in the Morning” or as Jim wanted it to be, Motown’s “Pardon the Interuption.” The show lasted through the fall semester, then we decided to take it to a new height, all while using the name of our project from the summer “Motown Live”.

Once basketball got started we decided to make the “Montevallo Coaches Show”. We aired about four episodes before the Gulf South Conference preview show, our best show of the year, which was filmed on the court during practice in Myrick Hall.

We were off to Tupelo just days later and had our first real introductions with the Gulf South Conference staff…more me than Jim. Montevallo played Cinderella that year, as we went from calling Danny Young’s first UM victory on November 15 over No. 16 Rollins College in the season opener, to calling the school’s first-ever GSC Championship of any sport with a victory over the State University of West Georgia.

That summer, Jim went home and spent hundreds of hours editing on his new Apple computer to produce the “Montevallo March to Glory” documentary on the team’s success, something he began filming on Nov. 15 all the way to the Sweet 16.

What a season! And what luck for Jim and I to be in the right place and have the right ideas at the right time.

The next year we were considered “seasoned veterans” by some as broadcastors, and we took our show and radio to a new height. This time we put out a sports highlights show “Motown Sports” every other week from Thanksgiving week to the end of March, airing it on UM Mass Comm Channel 13, and also on the Birmingham area Charter Cable channel WOTM.

I’ll have to admit that Cavale’s drive to be the best is what helped push us to get the work done. That is why it is no surprise that by the end of the spring, after we hosted the NCAA Regional at Montevallo, we were both talking with the Gulf South Conference about the possibility of working somewhere in the conference.

While positions didn’t open in the GSC for myself, I was luck enough to find the right spot at Martin Methodist as an SID, while Cavale continued to improve and impress by kicking off the GSC Sports Network and debuting the GSC Football Game of the Week on Fox Sports South, serving as host of the halftime show and sideline reporter. In addition to that, making a weekly internet streaming highlights cast. Now he is getting ready to broadcast the GSC Championship Basketball games on CSS next week, and there is talk of he and/or I having the shot at broadcasting an NCAA D-II Sweet 16 game in mid-March.

These are things that never could have been imagined eight years ago watching Cubs baseball. I know Cavale, who recently spent the day with the Duke basketball team in Atlanta after the Georgia Tech game and has Final Four plans with the Blue Devils in Miami if they make it, will one day be with NBC or ESPN as a broadcaster, editor or something.

Where I will be, who knows, but I also know that as long as Cavale and Megginson remain friends, we will work together from time to time on special broadcasts and films – which will be exciting. Maybe Cavale will one day be the next Bob Costas, traveling to sign off after the closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

I started writing this, just to have a post about “Covering the Game” but now, I think I must re-title it, because it has become more.

I hope we don’t lose focus of the most important things in life, the things beyond sports and media, the true purposes in life, but at the same time, I think that with Jim’s encouragement and faith in myself, and mine in him, my broadcasting and film days are far from being over.

I hope that in the future, maybe not so distant, that there will be a blog posting the launch of a new partnership of Cavale/Megginson Media – But with a better name.

We have great ideas related to sports and life, that if we can find the time and dedicate the time, we can make the kind of films we enjoy watching so much. The kind of films that we sit there and think, man this is what I used to want to do…except take the words “used to” out of the statement.

Venting Frustrations

2006-02-09T17:14:00.000-06:00

I jsut thought I'd vent some frustrations of how much I really don't like our friend the internet some days...and that has been most of the days this week. For starters the server has had issues that hosts my website at work, which means I couldn't really update it over the weekend and a couple of days this week. That's not too bad, but then when you think it's working...it's not...there's still issues with some pages. So, when I'm asked, hey is this up, or is that up? I don't really have an answer becasue my hands are tied. It's ok though, I guess. The other frustration was I went to post a "Welcome to Pulaski" post on here yesterday and typed a long semi-funny month-by-month account of my "Welcome to Pulaski" moments since I got here, and well, when I went to post it, it was deleted and lost. Grrr! (Did I really jsut growl!?) So, there's my vent! Imagine you read my "Welcome to Pulaski" moments and that you were highly entertained...maybe one day I'll sit down and write them again, then you can find out why the chicken crossed the road (US Hwy 64 to be exact).

Stories from the Work Front

2005-12-21T08:20:00.000-06:00

I talked with my brother recently about this blog, and as I mentioned in my first post, it was he that encouraged me to start a blog to share interesting things that happen at work. None of my posts have been related to work, but I woke up this morning and thought I'd share a little bit.

One of the great benefits of working in college athletics is getting to know the student-athlete. I have not been able to really get to know many of our students, except I have had the chance to talk with a number of women's soccer players. Am I showing favoritism by only mentioning the women's soccer team? No. Simply because, the time that you get to know a group of players the best is when you travel with them. I have traveled with each fall sport, but none of the trips were over night. However I had the chance to spend a week in Kansas with our women's soccer team in the middle of November.

One of my most lengthy conversations with a student on that trip was with Manoo, our German. However, I found out that not only was she German, but East German. This is what carried our conversation for so long until I had to go run an errand real quick and then the conversation ended. But while we talked, I had the chance to hear from her about what it was like to grow up in Soviet influenced East Germany. To have a wall that divided the heart of a country's capital. She did not live in Berlin, but lists her home town as Poessneck, which is about 120 miles southwest of Berlin, about 110 miles northeast of Frankfurt and 40 miles west of the Czech border (the border that is due west of Prague). Ok, enough geography...hearing Manoo's responses to some of my questions about condititons of living and listening to her stories, was almost like being a cast member in "Goodby Lenin". She told me about how they used to expect the small toys as gifts on birthdays and never thought of asking for something bigger or better, but after the fall of the wall in October 1989 when she was 10-years old, she realized that she started to want the new things that those in the eastern side of Germany were being introduced to.

We talked about the people who went from being middle class or well off to being poor or slightly below middle class when the currency changed. In America, you could think of the Confederate dollars all of a sudden being worthless in 1965, however, I see that as a very, very small similarity, because during the American Civil War -- There had to be some hint that over the course of a four year span you would need to hold on to Union currency if you lived in the south. However in East Germany that was not the case. You were required to use to use a currency that was only worthy in the shadow of Moscow...worthless in other places. And it was not just a four year span of time, but almost a 45 year span, with hope that one day they would get out from under the heavy curtain. There was a period of time to transfer your currency, but not everyone was able to get it all done by then, plus the exchange rate was less than equal to go to the present day German Mark.

Some encyclopedias and websites say that neo-fascists beliefs are present in parts of eastern Germany because of their longterm unemployment and poverty. I'd believe it from watching "Goodbye Lenin" and even more from talking with Manoo. She expressed the thought that yes, it is good to have the freedom, but at the same time things were easier, simpler, there were not as many hard ships under the fascist regime. There were hardships and it wasn't good, but at the same time, you knew you could be provided for. That is probably the sentiment of most east Germans...not that they'd want to go back to the total control of a communist/fascist control, but some aspects of being "for the people" were good to have.

It was definitely interesting...of course, you can't leave out that East Germany beat West Germany in soccer a good bit too...thus being one of the good things about the fall of the wall is that Germany's soccer team improved, because now they had East Germans on it.

Well, I wrote a lot more than I expected to, and I didn't even get into my other story...so here it is real quick. We all want to be appreciated, to have a sense of worth and value bestowed upon us by others. This job has brought stressful times and long hours. To some I have expressed my wonders of remaining in the profession for more than just one to a few more years, but it helped to have our goalkeeper stop by my office last week. After we talked about a few other things, she stopped and said, "We've all been talking about how good of a job you're doing." "Who's we," I responded. "The girls. A bunch of us were hanging out the other night and were talking about how you are doing a (good job)."I won't write her exact words "Well, thanks," I said. "We hope you stay, I know the job has gotten you down, but we like you and we hope you stay."

Of course not that I was ever planning on leaving in the upcoming summer, but this visit and other sentiments expressed make me want to give my time to MMC where I can...I just home that time can be divided between the office and the people.

Map of Present Day Germany

Goodbye Lenin - Sony Pictures Website<

Good Sites to View

2005-12-19T21:33:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone:
Sine moving to Pulaski, Tennessee in August I have been roughing it in my new townhouse without cable and internet at home. This has left me up to task of finding entertainment through books, movies and CDs. I thought I'd share with you some websites of people or groups that I have been thinking a lot about recently, whether through reading their books or listening to their music. Check these out and give me feed back if you like anything you see.

Take care,
Chris

Donald Miller - Author of Through Painted Deserts, Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What

Derek Webb - Some say he is today's Bob Dylan...His new album Mockingbird will be released just after Christmas.

Bob Dylan - You can't like the Dylan of today if you don't like the Dylan of yesterday and today. Through Derek Webb I have gained a new appreciation for Dylan and his lyrics...his attempt to find the truth and injustics in society through lyrics and song.

John Piper - An author and evangelist in Minneaplois, Minnesota who preaches truth, not Christianity.

Blood Water Misson - Check this out! This is a group dedicated to raise support for Africa to help fight the death of AIDS victims by building clean water wells in villages that's waters are filled with parasites that a weak immune system cannot begin to fight.

Movies:
Crash (2004) - A film that makes you examine your inner prejudice toward people of other ethnic back grounds.

Motorcylce Diaries - The story of Che's journey that set up the ideals that led him to Cuba to join the revolution in the 1950s...not political beliefs ai agree with but other intersteing things that make you think.

RENT (2005) - This will make you take a look within yourself on your response to those with AIDS and the "outcasts" of society.

Off the Map - I stumbled across this B-list movie and really liked it.

I guess my big thing recently has been developing my thoughts toward the seperation of relgion and a relationship with God. There is a difference. Religion gets too wrapped up in a set of dos and don'ts sometimes...too leagllistic, but Christianity is a relationship with a Savior...an acceptance of a gift that was freely given through sacrifice of salvation to be a transit for us to God. (don't get me wrong - community of believers in a church is needed, yet we should be seeking the right place to serve, not just any church that says it is a church for Christ.) These films, books, teachings and lyrics have made me examine the call to love our neighbor as we would love ourself - and hang up the hangups on theology and partisan lines. Christ is not a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green, Communist, Libertarian or of any political association. We should not try to make Him the head of our politics, yet the head of our life, through which we learn our values, to which we accept values, through which our opinions are made and politics manifested, yet through which human error is always vested.

My challenge for this New Year is to look outward, then inward. How do we respond to different situations life gives us? Who do we love more than others? Why do we love them more? What is so different? Who are we more willing to give ourself to in a time of deep need? When others are in need and we can help, who will we turn to and who will we turn away from? These are the introspections that I think need to be made daily in our lives - thus a challenge for 2006.

Thoughts on Humility

2005-11-30T20:47:00.000-06:00

My friend Rick Barnes and I recently held a discussion MySpace...a site that I really am not too fond of...anyway. If you are interested in seeing what we had to say, here ya go.

Rick's MySpace Blog

Behavior Modified or Grace Satisfied?

2005-11-30T20:37:00.000-06:00

This is a post written a few weeks back. I just thought I'd add it on here.

I was talking with a friend tonight and she told me a story of the time when she was driving a group of students to a Christian retreat and was forced to slam on her brakes to avoid adding to a pile up on the road. To this she openly exclaimed, "Oh Shit!" Of course, realizing who she had in the van and where they were going, she sheepishly turned to everyone, smiled and said "Oh...Hi." This moment showed, that while she may be held in a relm of spiritual prestige as a Christian leader, she is in fact human.

This led to the swapping of other stories of times when either she or I were in situations that are "unChristian" to today's Christians. It is as if you are Christian-socially frowned upon if you cuss, smoke, have an occasional beer, etc. But is that any different from telling a lie, investing too much time in self-absorbtion or indulging in mindless time wasting. Before I go any furthur...yes, I am human, and yes, I tell lies, am often self-absorbed and probably more than often indulge in mindless time wasting.

This gathered me to recall the term "Behavior Modification" which I probably learned from Derek Webb in one of his House Sessions of Living Room Sessions two years ago. DW was making the point that we are all dispicable. We are all sinners, falling short of God's glory, yet we too often don't look to change our hearts, just our behavior. We as Christians today are living in a behavior modifying society. Don't do this. Don't do that.

But where is Christ?

Where is Grace?

I recently read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, to which I found the realization that you must first learn to love yourself, understanding your need for grace as much as the next person, to fully be able to accept it. Until we can understand that there needs to be a change...and accept the grace that God has given us and be satisfied to accept that grace, then we will continue to live by a list of do's and dont's. Will we slip up? Yes. Should we not pay attention to the Do's and dont's? I'm not saying that. My point is this...if we are to fully understand what it means to be a follower of Christ...it's not just modifying our behavior, while our heart remains the same...it is modifying our hearts through the acceptance of His love, being satisfied with our selves and His grace, accepting His grace and knowing that we are in fact human. That we will give in to certain temptations. That we will fall short of the glory of God no mater how hard and how deeply we may try to modify.

It makes sense if you really stop and think about it...we can strive to modify our behavior, yet always feel guilty for falling short. We must accept the grace that is given with the understanding that we will ALWAYS fall short. We will never achieve the goal of being free of sin on this Earth.

While we should still live to improve our life as in the list of do's and don'ts, we must be grace satisfied, not behavior modified to be soul gratified.

Setup

2005-11-30T20:27:00.000-06:00

This is a setup Blog to get this site started. I am not much of a blogger, but figured I'd create some form of venue for when I have a rant in my mind to get out or random thoughts on a subject. My blogs will generally not relate to my job, but maybe more to encounters with random people that I may find interesting or thoughts on an issue.

Enjoy if you wish.