The Utah Jazz split this past week with one win and one loss. The Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers on January 12th by a score of 120-113. Mehmet Okur scored a career high of 43-points in this game. It is a good sign to see him coming alive as of this past week with the recent injury to Paul Milsap and Carlos Boozer with his injury. Deron Williams continues to impress with his shooting and passing ability. The Jazz are finding themselves relying more on Williams and the supporting roles of Okur, Brewer, and Korver over the last few weeks due to injuries.
The Jazz lost to Oklahoma City 114-93 on January 14th. Oklahoma City was one of the bottom feeders of the league and the Jazz blew this game that they should have won. Deron Williams scored 25 points to lead the team. The Jazz were outrebounded by 48-26 rebounds. The Jazz continue to struggle in this area due to Boozer and Milsap missing games from injuries.
I have tickets to the Jazz game on January 24th against Cleveland Cavaliers. The game should be exciting to watch considering “King” Lebron James is one of the premiere basketball talents in the country. The Jazz have been very inconsistent this year and may or may not beat the Cavaliers. The Cavs have only lost 7 games this year and the Jazz have lost 16. I am sure the Delta Center will be rocking and ready for this big game, but I think if the Jazz want to pull off this win they will need either Carlos Boozer or Paul Milsap, or it would be best to have both on the court.
The Cougars look very good this year and have only lost 2 games against ranked opponents- Arizona St (20th at the time) and Wake Forest (6th at the time). They started their conference play this past week with games against Colorado St and TCU. The Cougars beat up Colorado St by a score of 86-60 on January 10th. Lee Cummard led all scorers with 18 points and Jimmer Fredette had 15 points. The Cougars won this game by a good offensive effort and a great defensive game against Colorado State.
BYU then played against TCU on January 13th and again put in an impressive performance beating the Horned Frogs by a score of 73-61 with Cummard again leading the way with 22 points. Jonathan Tavarnari put in 15 and Jimmer Fredette added 11 points and 6 assists. BYU held TCU to a low 61 points showing their defensive prowes in their first 2 conference games.
BYU looks good this year and should be able to continue rolling through the Mountain West Conference. Their biggest rival is coming up in the University of Utah on January 27th. If BYU can beat the U of U this year then they should easily coast through the conference and should be able to make noise in the March NCAA tournament.
Return to the Neighborhood.
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, our newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources and interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
Neighborhood Newsletter
Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
New Years’ Goal-Setting for a Better You Part One
New Year’s Eve is a wonderful time to review your past year’s successes and areas that need improved and also to look forward to a New Year to make improvements in your life as a father, mother, parent, brother, sister, co-worker, teacher, and countless other areas in our lives. Too many of us make our goals at the first of the year and then stop trying in a matter of weeks or even days. I have thought of a process that will help you to lose that weight, be a better parent, stop smoking, and achieve the countless other goals that are often set every year and perhaps not achieved. You can learn how to set goals and achieve them to be a better “you”.
The 5 keys to goal setting are
1. Writing them down and placing them in strategic places where you can see them.
2. Break the goal into “bite size” chunks that can be more easily accomplished so you can create and reach these sub-goals.
3. Keep yourself motivated to reach your goals.
4. Being accountable to another person on your progress at set intervals of time.
5. Review your goal setting success stories to give you confidence to achieve more goals.
1. Write down your goals and place in strategic places. The first step in setting goals is to decide what you want to do and then write it down. Most of us making goals decide what we want, but fail to write it down. This is an important step because it gives you something on paper to refer to over and over again throughout the year or goal timeline. Write your goal down on multiple pieces of paper and place them in strategic places, such as your kitchen if you are trying to lose weight; on your TV if you are trying cut down on TV watching; in your day planner; on your wall at work; even in your wallet or your purse. The point is to keep your goal on the forefront of your mind so you can be thinking of it always. The goal will become a part of you and will be your main focus as you go through each day.
2. Break the Goal into Bite Size Chunks.I am sure we have all heard the saying “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” When we set goals it is as though we are planning on eating an elephant for dinner. The goal can be extremely large and very complicated. We need to break our elephant or goal into bite size chunks so we can see progress not get overwhelmed by the size of the goal that lie before us.
I refer to these bite size chunks as sub-goals. These are smaller size goals that will help us achieve our main goal. If the goal is to lose weight we need to set up sub-goals such as different weights to achieve on the way to the main weight loss goal; you could set up goals for eating better at night and have goals for one week at a time. There are other numerous sub-goals that could be created. Be creative and find ideas that will help you keep motivated during the journey of meeting your goal. In the journey is the real learning and growing that takes place.
Check in next time to read keys 3, 4, and 5 of my goal setting process on your way to becoming a better you.
Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
The 5 keys to goal setting are
1. Writing them down and placing them in strategic places where you can see them.
2. Break the goal into “bite size” chunks that can be more easily accomplished so you can create and reach these sub-goals.
3. Keep yourself motivated to reach your goals.
4. Being accountable to another person on your progress at set intervals of time.
5. Review your goal setting success stories to give you confidence to achieve more goals.
1. Write down your goals and place in strategic places. The first step in setting goals is to decide what you want to do and then write it down. Most of us making goals decide what we want, but fail to write it down. This is an important step because it gives you something on paper to refer to over and over again throughout the year or goal timeline. Write your goal down on multiple pieces of paper and place them in strategic places, such as your kitchen if you are trying to lose weight; on your TV if you are trying cut down on TV watching; in your day planner; on your wall at work; even in your wallet or your purse. The point is to keep your goal on the forefront of your mind so you can be thinking of it always. The goal will become a part of you and will be your main focus as you go through each day.
2. Break the Goal into Bite Size Chunks.I am sure we have all heard the saying “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” When we set goals it is as though we are planning on eating an elephant for dinner. The goal can be extremely large and very complicated. We need to break our elephant or goal into bite size chunks so we can see progress not get overwhelmed by the size of the goal that lie before us.
I refer to these bite size chunks as sub-goals. These are smaller size goals that will help us achieve our main goal. If the goal is to lose weight we need to set up sub-goals such as different weights to achieve on the way to the main weight loss goal; you could set up goals for eating better at night and have goals for one week at a time. There are other numerous sub-goals that could be created. Be creative and find ideas that will help you keep motivated during the journey of meeting your goal. In the journey is the real learning and growing that takes place.
Check in next time to read keys 3, 4, and 5 of my goal setting process on your way to becoming a better you.
Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletter brings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDS interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Making Family a Tradition
As the father of three beautiful children I have tried to make Christmas extra special by doing those extra little things that will help create memories throughout their lifetimes. Christmas is a magical time for young children and it is up to us fathers to make sure and do those things that we can to make it a memorable time. Our wives and mothers have a knack for making everything special throughout the year and have many opportunities to serve our children. Christmas is one time that fathers can take a larger role in doing something special and fun for their children.
My love for Christmas started for me as a young boy. My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of year and he made it very special for me and my four other siblings. The very minute that Thanksgiving ended my dad was pulling out what felt like hundreds of Christmas boxes full of decorations, lights, and many other Christmas items. While pulling out all of these wonderful decorations my dad would dust off his old Bing Crosby “White Christmas” record and put it on our ancient record player. I can still hear the record player churning out those Christmas songs in my mind and picture myself plugging in and testing the endless strands of Christmas lights. I start to feel nostalgic every year on the day after Thanksgiving.
My dad would string up lights on the house, have us kids help set up the nativity sets, put decorations on the mantle, hang up our stockings, and spend the whole night on the day after Thanksgiving making the house a Christmas wonderland. He would even boil cloves and apples to give the house a wonderful Christmas scent. It was a special day every year and as a little boy I would anticipate this day as much as Christmas Day itself.
In the week following the decoration of the house, we would make our way to the Christmas tree lot in town to find a Christmas tree. This wasn’t a lot where you just picked out a tree that was already cut down. This was a large field full of trees that were still in the ground. We were so excited to pick the perfect tree and thrilled with the opportunity to actually cut it down and tie it to the top of our car. We often flocked the tree making it appear as if snow were covering the tree. We then would take it in the house and start the tree decorating process. My mom would make fresh baked cookies or hot cinnamon rolls while we helped our dad string the lights on the tree, hang the little icicle strands, tinsel, and hundreds of other ornaments. My dad would make this night special, too, by playing more of his records, and later on reading us Christmas books.
My dad instilled in me a love for the holiday time of year. He taught me that it was a time for the kids. I am sure he saved extra money all year to be able to make this time special for us and do things to enjoy the whole month of December, not just Christmas Day.
It’s not the presents and the gifts that I remember the most, it’s that day after Thanksgiving spent with my dad hanging lights outside; it’s that night helping my dad decorate the tree; it’s that night he read us kids ‘Twas the Night before Christmas; it’s that afternoon picking out a tree and helping my dad cut it down; it’s the wonderful smell of the house and the sound of old Christmas records; it’s the happy feeling inside I had knowing that my dad loved me enough to do the extra little things to make Christmas a special time to remember.
When your children want to go for a drive to see Christmas lights this year, take them. When your children want to go cut down a real tree this year, take them. When your children want you to read them Christmas books at night, read to them. When your kids want to make a snowman, help them. You will never regret doing too much for them or spending too much time with them.
Make this year’s Christmas special. A father can offer a lot to his children and Christmas is a great time to start making memories that will last forever.
Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
My love for Christmas started for me as a young boy. My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite time of year and he made it very special for me and my four other siblings. The very minute that Thanksgiving ended my dad was pulling out what felt like hundreds of Christmas boxes full of decorations, lights, and many other Christmas items. While pulling out all of these wonderful decorations my dad would dust off his old Bing Crosby “White Christmas” record and put it on our ancient record player. I can still hear the record player churning out those Christmas songs in my mind and picture myself plugging in and testing the endless strands of Christmas lights. I start to feel nostalgic every year on the day after Thanksgiving.
My dad would string up lights on the house, have us kids help set up the nativity sets, put decorations on the mantle, hang up our stockings, and spend the whole night on the day after Thanksgiving making the house a Christmas wonderland. He would even boil cloves and apples to give the house a wonderful Christmas scent. It was a special day every year and as a little boy I would anticipate this day as much as Christmas Day itself.
In the week following the decoration of the house, we would make our way to the Christmas tree lot in town to find a Christmas tree. This wasn’t a lot where you just picked out a tree that was already cut down. This was a large field full of trees that were still in the ground. We were so excited to pick the perfect tree and thrilled with the opportunity to actually cut it down and tie it to the top of our car. We often flocked the tree making it appear as if snow were covering the tree. We then would take it in the house and start the tree decorating process. My mom would make fresh baked cookies or hot cinnamon rolls while we helped our dad string the lights on the tree, hang the little icicle strands, tinsel, and hundreds of other ornaments. My dad would make this night special, too, by playing more of his records, and later on reading us Christmas books.
My dad instilled in me a love for the holiday time of year. He taught me that it was a time for the kids. I am sure he saved extra money all year to be able to make this time special for us and do things to enjoy the whole month of December, not just Christmas Day.
It’s not the presents and the gifts that I remember the most, it’s that day after Thanksgiving spent with my dad hanging lights outside; it’s that night helping my dad decorate the tree; it’s that night he read us kids ‘Twas the Night before Christmas; it’s that afternoon picking out a tree and helping my dad cut it down; it’s the wonderful smell of the house and the sound of old Christmas records; it’s the happy feeling inside I had knowing that my dad loved me enough to do the extra little things to make Christmas a special time to remember.
When your children want to go for a drive to see Christmas lights this year, take them. When your children want to go cut down a real tree this year, take them. When your children want you to read them Christmas books at night, read to them. When your kids want to make a snowman, help them. You will never regret doing too much for them or spending too much time with them.
Make this year’s Christmas special. A father can offer a lot to his children and Christmas is a great time to start making memories that will last forever.
Return to the Neighborhood and while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Cougs and the Pack
This past weekend the BYU Cougars posted another impressive shutout while the Green Bay Packers got beat by the Dallas Cowboys. I am a big fan of both the Cougars and the Packers so each week I am going to review the previous games played and preview the upcoming games for each team. I do have to say that BYU is looking very good this year and is currently ranked at 11th place in the AP polls. The Packers are looking pretty good as well despite their loss to one of the best teams in the NFL in the Cowboys.
BYU played Wyoming this week in Laramie. This has been a pretty heated rivalry over the years (although not even close to the rivalry with the Utes). Through the years the annual meeting with Wyoming Cowboys has been pretty rough and ugly and lots of big hits, and that is just describing the fans in the stands. BYU went up to Laramie this year riding a winning streak of 3 games including big wins over Pac-10 powerhouses Washington and UCLA. The Cougars shut out UCLA last week by a score of 59-0. BYU beat Wyoming in the same fashion by a score of 44-0 by using a strong defense and its power passing game. The Cougars forced 6 turnovers against the hapless Cowboys and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. Max Hall added to his passing touchdowns on the season by throwing 3 more touchdown strikes making it a total of 15 for the year. All of Hall’s touchdowns occurred in the Cowboys game in only 3 quarters of play. The BYU passing attack seems virtually unstoppable week after week this year. With an incredible offense with an outstanding coach in Bronco Mendenhall and an awesome quarterback in Max Hall along with an improving defense, the Cougars look poised to have a great year making a push for a BCS game and possible shot at the title game if they can go undefeated.
Next up for BYU is Utah State on October 3rd in Logan. Utah State is actually my Alma Mater. Yes, I am a true Aggie, for those of you who know about Utah State. Anyway, BYU should easily handle the under-manned Aggies. Utah State has struggled for many years in football. My prediction for the game is 45-7.
I have been a Packers fan for about 15 years now and have watched only one QB play for them- Brett Favre. I was able to attend one of his last games as a Packer last year when they played the Denver Broncos. It was incredible with the Packers winning in overtime with a Favre touchdown pass to receiver Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime. Favre is my favorite player and was set to retire this year before deciding to come back. The Packers had since moved on to the quarterback waiting in the wings for the past 3 years in Aaron Rodgers. So far this year, Rodgers has been pretty amazing. He has thrown at a high percentage, 4 touchdown passes, no interceptions, and has been more mobile than Favre ever was. I think that the Packers have a future with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers were able to beat the Vikings in week 1, get past the Lions in week 2, before losing to the Cowboys in week 3. Dallas was a far superior team in that game beating the Pack in every phase of the game. Green Bay lost that game by a score of 27-16. The Packers will be traveling to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers. I think the Packers will win that game 27-17.
Tune in next week to read all about the Packers ball game and more analysis on the BYU Cougars’ march to glory.
Return to the Neighborhood
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
BYU played Wyoming this week in Laramie. This has been a pretty heated rivalry over the years (although not even close to the rivalry with the Utes). Through the years the annual meeting with Wyoming Cowboys has been pretty rough and ugly and lots of big hits, and that is just describing the fans in the stands. BYU went up to Laramie this year riding a winning streak of 3 games including big wins over Pac-10 powerhouses Washington and UCLA. The Cougars shut out UCLA last week by a score of 59-0. BYU beat Wyoming in the same fashion by a score of 44-0 by using a strong defense and its power passing game. The Cougars forced 6 turnovers against the hapless Cowboys and returned 2 of them for touchdowns. Max Hall added to his passing touchdowns on the season by throwing 3 more touchdown strikes making it a total of 15 for the year. All of Hall’s touchdowns occurred in the Cowboys game in only 3 quarters of play. The BYU passing attack seems virtually unstoppable week after week this year. With an incredible offense with an outstanding coach in Bronco Mendenhall and an awesome quarterback in Max Hall along with an improving defense, the Cougars look poised to have a great year making a push for a BCS game and possible shot at the title game if they can go undefeated.
Next up for BYU is Utah State on October 3rd in Logan. Utah State is actually my Alma Mater. Yes, I am a true Aggie, for those of you who know about Utah State. Anyway, BYU should easily handle the under-manned Aggies. Utah State has struggled for many years in football. My prediction for the game is 45-7.
I have been a Packers fan for about 15 years now and have watched only one QB play for them- Brett Favre. I was able to attend one of his last games as a Packer last year when they played the Denver Broncos. It was incredible with the Packers winning in overtime with a Favre touchdown pass to receiver Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime. Favre is my favorite player and was set to retire this year before deciding to come back. The Packers had since moved on to the quarterback waiting in the wings for the past 3 years in Aaron Rodgers. So far this year, Rodgers has been pretty amazing. He has thrown at a high percentage, 4 touchdown passes, no interceptions, and has been more mobile than Favre ever was. I think that the Packers have a future with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers were able to beat the Vikings in week 1, get past the Lions in week 2, before losing to the Cowboys in week 3. Dallas was a far superior team in that game beating the Pack in every phase of the game. Green Bay lost that game by a score of 27-16. The Packers will be traveling to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers. I think the Packers will win that game 27-17.
Tune in next week to read all about the Packers ball game and more analysis on the BYU Cougars’ march to glory.
Return to the Neighborhood
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Football and BBQ
Fall is my most favorite season of the year and September is probably my favorite month. Not only has football season arrived, but the weather is getting cooler, and the holidays are soon coming. One activity that a lot of people forget this time of year is barbecuing. For most people, summer time is the most popular time of year to fire up that old BBQ grill and throw on some mouth-watering steaks, but for me and other football fans September is the best time for a BBQ. There is nothing better than throwing on some marinated BBQ chicken or some T-bone steaks on the grill while watching your favorite team on the large screen TV in your living room.
I love to grill various meats and fresh, crisp vegetables on the grill. Here is one of my favorite recipes that I love to enjoy while watching the Green Bay Packers or the BYU Cougars play on the weekend.
Steak and Chicken ShishKabobs
1 large steak of your choice (cut into bite size cubes)
1 large chicken breast (cut into bite size cubes)
Cherry tomatoes, green and yellow squash (sliced thick), large mushrooms (pull stems off), red onions (peeled and cut into cubes), green, red, and orange peppers (sliced)
Marinade
2 cups Olive Oil
2 T. Worchestershire sauce
2 T. Soy sauce
2 Garlic (minced)
½ cup honey
4 t. chili powder
Fresh lime juice
Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinate the steak and chicken in a zip lock bag for several hours.
Thread the meats and vegetables on several bamboo skewers until meat and vegetables are gone.
Use a brush to spread marinade on the vegetables and meats. Spray the meat and veggie filled skewers with cooking spray (to avoid sticking to grill). Sprinkle them with your favorite BBQ spice such as Grill Mates and then sprinkle on Kosher Salt and fresh ground pepper.
Heat the grill to high heat and when fully heated, add the skewers to the grill. Use a glove on your hand to rotate the skewers around frequently to cook all sides evenly. Once all sides have been exposed to the high heat turn the grill on low heat to cook the food inside fully. Continue to rotate the skewers but not as often.
Remove the Kabobs from the grill, enjoy, and hope that your team is as successful as your BBQ’ing was.
Return to the Neighborhood
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
I love to grill various meats and fresh, crisp vegetables on the grill. Here is one of my favorite recipes that I love to enjoy while watching the Green Bay Packers or the BYU Cougars play on the weekend.
Steak and Chicken ShishKabobs
1 large steak of your choice (cut into bite size cubes)
1 large chicken breast (cut into bite size cubes)
Cherry tomatoes, green and yellow squash (sliced thick), large mushrooms (pull stems off), red onions (peeled and cut into cubes), green, red, and orange peppers (sliced)
Marinade
2 cups Olive Oil
2 T. Worchestershire sauce
2 T. Soy sauce
2 Garlic (minced)
½ cup honey
4 t. chili powder
Fresh lime juice
Mix the marinade ingredients together and marinate the steak and chicken in a zip lock bag for several hours.
Thread the meats and vegetables on several bamboo skewers until meat and vegetables are gone.
Use a brush to spread marinade on the vegetables and meats. Spray the meat and veggie filled skewers with cooking spray (to avoid sticking to grill). Sprinkle them with your favorite BBQ spice such as Grill Mates and then sprinkle on Kosher Salt and fresh ground pepper.
Heat the grill to high heat and when fully heated, add the skewers to the grill. Use a glove on your hand to rotate the skewers around frequently to cook all sides evenly. Once all sides have been exposed to the high heat turn the grill on low heat to cook the food inside fully. Continue to rotate the skewers but not as often.
Remove the Kabobs from the grill, enjoy, and hope that your team is as successful as your BBQ’ing was.
Return to the Neighborhood
And while you're there, subscribe to our fantastic newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the LDS newsletterbrings you LDS articles, LDS products, LDS services, LDS resources and LDSinterviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.LDS Newsletter Subscriptions are FREE, and joining is easy.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Classic Cougar Football
It’s that time of year again when the football fans get excited because football will be playing for the next 4 months. The BYU Cougars have got off to a great start this year beating some good teams. I grew up in a household where the Cougars football team was the favorite sports team in the family. I have many fond memories waking up on a cool autumn morning hearing my Mom playing the BYU school song on the radio while making us a great breakfast for game day. I wanted to spend a few minutes sharing some more of my favorite BYU football memories while growing up.
On every Saturday during the fall, we would wake up and enjoy my Mom’s breakfast and then go outside to do our weekly chores in the garden and in the yard, before the game started in the afternoon. The games usually started at about 1 in the afternoon so we would prepare hoagie sandwiches and chips while settling into our regular places on the couches. My Dad would go get his old radio and set up in the TV room because he preferred listening to Paul James rather than the TV announcers. I can still hear Paul James in my mind when I think of these fun days from many years ago. It drove my brother and me crazy because the radio announcing came a few seconds after the play on TV. We begged to turn the radio off and listen to the TV, but my Dad was probably the biggest fan of Paul James in the land of the Cougars.
The game was finally ready to begin. Once that kickoff was underway it was time to enjoy 3 hours of watching the greatest team on the planet. We loved to watch not only because they are BYU, but also because they had the best passing attack in football. LaVell Edwards was the coach back then and he loved the pass play. He had long passes, short passes, and shotgun formations. It was fun to see the long passes for touchdowns. It was fun to watch LaVell on the sidelines. We all know his famous facial expressions of frowns and no smiles. He took the game very seriously and knew not to get too excited and not get too upset. He was the most even keeled coach I had ever seen. His record over the years proved that his approach to the game worked.
The players (especially the quarterbacks) that he recruited and coached went on to have great careers in the NFL. He coached Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marcus Wilson, Ty Detmer, and many others. Many referred to LaVell’s system and BYU as a quarterback factory and indeed it was. There were also great receivers; Glen Kowzlowski, Todd Christensen, Matt Belini, and others. They had countless amazing catches over the years. They had great defenses with one of my favorites being the defensive lineman Jason Buck.
It was a fun time for me growing up to be able to watch the awesome coaching and the great players on the Cougars football team. They had many great years and even received the national championship in 1984. Over the years they went to many Holiday Bowls and other bowl games and won the majority of them. Who can forget the incredible comeback led by Jim McMahon in the 1980 Holiday Bowl against SMU or the 1984 Holiday Bowl against Michigan that earned them the national title that year. The Las Vegas bowl brought some excitement last year when BYU blocked the field goal attempt by UCLA in the final seconds of that game.
The players may have changed over the years and now BYU has a young new coach, but they still have a passing game and a winning tradition. When you watch this year think of the great winning tradition and all the great games over the years and know that you are watching one of the greatest teams ever to play the game.
Just be thankful that you don’t have to listen to Paul James on the radio during every game.
On every Saturday during the fall, we would wake up and enjoy my Mom’s breakfast and then go outside to do our weekly chores in the garden and in the yard, before the game started in the afternoon. The games usually started at about 1 in the afternoon so we would prepare hoagie sandwiches and chips while settling into our regular places on the couches. My Dad would go get his old radio and set up in the TV room because he preferred listening to Paul James rather than the TV announcers. I can still hear Paul James in my mind when I think of these fun days from many years ago. It drove my brother and me crazy because the radio announcing came a few seconds after the play on TV. We begged to turn the radio off and listen to the TV, but my Dad was probably the biggest fan of Paul James in the land of the Cougars.
The game was finally ready to begin. Once that kickoff was underway it was time to enjoy 3 hours of watching the greatest team on the planet. We loved to watch not only because they are BYU, but also because they had the best passing attack in football. LaVell Edwards was the coach back then and he loved the pass play. He had long passes, short passes, and shotgun formations. It was fun to see the long passes for touchdowns. It was fun to watch LaVell on the sidelines. We all know his famous facial expressions of frowns and no smiles. He took the game very seriously and knew not to get too excited and not get too upset. He was the most even keeled coach I had ever seen. His record over the years proved that his approach to the game worked.
The players (especially the quarterbacks) that he recruited and coached went on to have great careers in the NFL. He coached Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Marcus Wilson, Ty Detmer, and many others. Many referred to LaVell’s system and BYU as a quarterback factory and indeed it was. There were also great receivers; Glen Kowzlowski, Todd Christensen, Matt Belini, and others. They had countless amazing catches over the years. They had great defenses with one of my favorites being the defensive lineman Jason Buck.
It was a fun time for me growing up to be able to watch the awesome coaching and the great players on the Cougars football team. They had many great years and even received the national championship in 1984. Over the years they went to many Holiday Bowls and other bowl games and won the majority of them. Who can forget the incredible comeback led by Jim McMahon in the 1980 Holiday Bowl against SMU or the 1984 Holiday Bowl against Michigan that earned them the national title that year. The Las Vegas bowl brought some excitement last year when BYU blocked the field goal attempt by UCLA in the final seconds of that game.
The players may have changed over the years and now BYU has a young new coach, but they still have a passing game and a winning tradition. When you watch this year think of the great winning tradition and all the great games over the years and know that you are watching one of the greatest teams ever to play the game.
Just be thankful that you don’t have to listen to Paul James on the radio during every game.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Fantasy Football Fanatics
I admit it; I am a fantasy football fanatic. I am part of a yearly private league that every year participates in the fantasy football world that includes millions of players. I get excited every year when August and September come because I know that not only is football watching right around the corner, but so is playing fantasy football. For all of those who have never played fantasy football it is probably hard for you to understand why there’s such great excitement for just a game. I will fill you in on what fantasy football is and why there are millions and millions who participate in this game each football season.
Fantasy football has been around in one form or another since 1962. It started to really gain popularity when the computer and internet were more widely used and allowed fantasy football players access to the information they need to play the game.
Fantasy football is basically a game where usually 10 or 12 players get together to form a league. Then these players hold a fantasy draft or a time to pick their players from the actual players in the NFL. They decide a draft order usually by random chance, and then each take turns choosing players to be on their team. Most leagues have teams that consist of 1 starting quarterback (QB), 2 starting running backs (RB), 3 starting wide receivers (WR), 1 starting tight end (TE), 1 starting kicker (K) and 1 defense/special teams (DST). They then pick 4 or 5 players of any position as bench players to fill in during bye weeks or in case a player gets injured.
Once the draft has happened, each owner decides which of his players will play in the first game of the NFL. The players each gain points by how well they do in the actual NFL game that they are playing. For example, the QB gets 1 point for every 25 yards he passes, 6 points for every TD pass he throws, and then the RB’s and WR’s get points for yards gained and TD’s scored as well. The combination of all your starting players’ points that week determine your fantasy football team’s score that week. Each week you play another fantasy football team and the winner is determined by how well your players perform that week and what kind of score they get.
If you love football, then you will love fantasy football. It is very exciting to watch your players week in and week out and makes for watching football on TV even more exciting, if that is possible. It is also fun and challenging to pick your team each year during the draft and trade and pick up free agents throughout the year. I have been playing now for 8 years and have won the fantasy football super bowl twice. I am hopeful for another title this year because I have great players and I feel like I have the experience and knowledge to play the right players each week. The first weekend of football is right around the corner so join your first fantasy team before it is too late.
You will be amazed at the fun and excitement you will have when you join the millions of fantasy football fanatics.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Football is Finally Here
The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and it is sad to see that summer is starting to fade away, but the month of September is my favorite time of year. This is the time when the football teams take to the fields to play in the best sport in the world. On September 4th the Redskins and Giants will play in the NFL season opener. This is the day that I have been waiting on since the Giants won the Super Bowl back in February. I am not a fan of baseball and basketball is pretty good, but football is hands down my most favorite sport for many reasons.
Football starts during the most beautiful time of the year. The leaves on the trees are starting to change colors, the weather gets cooler and not so hot, and the kids all go back to school (my wife likes that part). I remember going to Payson High School football games and BYU football games with my Dad as a child. The air was chilly but we would bundle up and get hot cocoa and hot nachos at the concession stands. My wife and I are expecting a little boy (we currently have 2 girls) to be born in September and I plan on taking him to many football games over the years and will watch them on TV with him as well.
Football is the most team-oriented sport of the major sports. You need all 11 players on offense and all 11 on defense working together as one unit whereas basketball and baseball you can have a lot of one-man “showboats” on your teams. In football you need your blockers and your running backs and receivers working together to help protect and catch passes from the quarterback. It is fun to watch how the team interacts with one another and how they feed off each other’s successes and the support they give each other during the hard times.
If you enjoy action, suspense, big hits, and lots of unpredictability then you need to watch a football game. I have never seen anything to compare to a football game with seconds left in a game, the team moving down the field, Brett Favre as your quarterback throwing a huge bomb to a receiver in the end zone, the excitement of the win in the final seconds. I was witness to such a scene when the Green Bay packers traveled to Denver Broncos last year in October on a Monday Night Football game. My wife joined me on this monumental event in my life.
I had been waiting for 15 years to watch the Packers and Brett Favre to play in real life. It was finally my chance. The field at Denver was awesome. There were Packers fans everywhere. The game was exciting and thrilling and the Broncos scored a field goal in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. I couldn’t believe that I was in Denver on a cool October night watching my favorite team and my favorite player now going into overtime with the home team. The tension was mounting as the Packers received the ball first. Favre got under center and faked a hand off and heaved the ball about 50 yards to a streaking Greg Jennings down the left sideline. Jennings outran the defender to score an 80 yard touchdown on the first play of overtime leading the Packers to victory over the Broncos…and I was there to witness it.
Make sure to watch this year’s football…you never know what you might miss.
Return to the Neighborhood
Football starts during the most beautiful time of the year. The leaves on the trees are starting to change colors, the weather gets cooler and not so hot, and the kids all go back to school (my wife likes that part). I remember going to Payson High School football games and BYU football games with my Dad as a child. The air was chilly but we would bundle up and get hot cocoa and hot nachos at the concession stands. My wife and I are expecting a little boy (we currently have 2 girls) to be born in September and I plan on taking him to many football games over the years and will watch them on TV with him as well.
Football is the most team-oriented sport of the major sports. You need all 11 players on offense and all 11 on defense working together as one unit whereas basketball and baseball you can have a lot of one-man “showboats” on your teams. In football you need your blockers and your running backs and receivers working together to help protect and catch passes from the quarterback. It is fun to watch how the team interacts with one another and how they feed off each other’s successes and the support they give each other during the hard times.
If you enjoy action, suspense, big hits, and lots of unpredictability then you need to watch a football game. I have never seen anything to compare to a football game with seconds left in a game, the team moving down the field, Brett Favre as your quarterback throwing a huge bomb to a receiver in the end zone, the excitement of the win in the final seconds. I was witness to such a scene when the Green Bay packers traveled to Denver Broncos last year in October on a Monday Night Football game. My wife joined me on this monumental event in my life.
I had been waiting for 15 years to watch the Packers and Brett Favre to play in real life. It was finally my chance. The field at Denver was awesome. There were Packers fans everywhere. The game was exciting and thrilling and the Broncos scored a field goal in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. I couldn’t believe that I was in Denver on a cool October night watching my favorite team and my favorite player now going into overtime with the home team. The tension was mounting as the Packers received the ball first. Favre got under center and faked a hand off and heaved the ball about 50 yards to a streaking Greg Jennings down the left sideline. Jennings outran the defender to score an 80 yard touchdown on the first play of overtime leading the Packers to victory over the Broncos…and I was there to witness it.
Make sure to watch this year’s football…you never know what you might miss.
Return to the Neighborhood
Friday, August 22, 2008
The 2008 Olympics Finishes Up
This year’s Olympics has been filled with exciting finishes, record setting performances, painful disappointments, and even accusations of poor judging and possible cheating allegations. It has been an Olympics that will be unforgettable. The Opening Ceremonies were incredible, Michael Phelps lived up to the hype, the gymnastics were tense and exciting, and many other sports events showed why the Olympics is one of the most watched events in the World.
It began with the Opening Ceremonies which was an awesome sight and feast for the eyes and ears. Beijing put on an incredible show to get the Olympics underway. The dancers and the costumes they were wearing was a treat to watch. The fireworks and awesome displays were amazing to behold. It was fun to watch the athletes enter the stadium each representing their respective countries and each full of hope and excitement at the thoughts of competing with one another for the right to be awarded the gold medal of their particular sport.
Swimming was one of the first events showed in the Olympics. The focus was on Michael Phelps as he would try to earn a world record 8 gold medals in 1 Olympics. He went on to accomplish this feat but it wouldn’t come easily. It started with the 4x100m freestyle relay where Phelps and others started the relay and then Jason Lezak came on strong in the final leg of the race to pass France’s Alain Bernard and win the relay in world record time. I thought this was the most exciting race of the Games this year. The other race that Phelps’ turned up the “excitement meter” on was the 100m butterfly where he won by a fingernail or 1/100th of a second. This was an incredible finish that was so close that the second place finisher had the judges take a second look to make sure that Phelps actually finished first. It was shown that Phelps indeed won by an incredibly short distance. Michael Phelps completed all 8 of his swimming events with the gold medal being hung around his neck.
The gymnastics events were exciting to watch as well. They were going on the same time as the swimming providing many late nights full of excitement and intrigue.
China went on to gain many medals in the gymnastics despite the many allegations of underage gymnasts which is currently under investigation of the IOC. The US went to win several medals with Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin leading the way. There were many events which featured what many felt like were unfair judging, but for the most part the gymnastics delivered one of the most exciting events in the Olympics. The performances were incredible and the way each of the athletes handles the pressure was amazing. When Nastia Luikin won the gold for the all-around competition, with Shawn Johnson getting silver, the U.S. couldn’t be prouder.
There were countless other events that took place that were fun to watch and some were painful to witness. The 100 meter hurdles featured a US woman LoLo, who was leading her race when she hit a hurdle and it slowed her down to make it so she finished without a medal.
The US basketball team has been astounding. Their level of play has been turning most matches into blowouts. There were many more events that took place that should be mentioned but I am out of time for this blog. If you missed the Olympics then all I can say is you missed a great year of the best athletes in the world putting on the best show in the world. It will be another 4 years until you can watch the Summer Olympics again. Don’t miss out on the excitement in 2012 in London.
It began with the Opening Ceremonies which was an awesome sight and feast for the eyes and ears. Beijing put on an incredible show to get the Olympics underway. The dancers and the costumes they were wearing was a treat to watch. The fireworks and awesome displays were amazing to behold. It was fun to watch the athletes enter the stadium each representing their respective countries and each full of hope and excitement at the thoughts of competing with one another for the right to be awarded the gold medal of their particular sport.
Swimming was one of the first events showed in the Olympics. The focus was on Michael Phelps as he would try to earn a world record 8 gold medals in 1 Olympics. He went on to accomplish this feat but it wouldn’t come easily. It started with the 4x100m freestyle relay where Phelps and others started the relay and then Jason Lezak came on strong in the final leg of the race to pass France’s Alain Bernard and win the relay in world record time. I thought this was the most exciting race of the Games this year. The other race that Phelps’ turned up the “excitement meter” on was the 100m butterfly where he won by a fingernail or 1/100th of a second. This was an incredible finish that was so close that the second place finisher had the judges take a second look to make sure that Phelps actually finished first. It was shown that Phelps indeed won by an incredibly short distance. Michael Phelps completed all 8 of his swimming events with the gold medal being hung around his neck.
The gymnastics events were exciting to watch as well. They were going on the same time as the swimming providing many late nights full of excitement and intrigue.
China went on to gain many medals in the gymnastics despite the many allegations of underage gymnasts which is currently under investigation of the IOC. The US went to win several medals with Shawn Johnson and Nastia Luikin leading the way. There were many events which featured what many felt like were unfair judging, but for the most part the gymnastics delivered one of the most exciting events in the Olympics. The performances were incredible and the way each of the athletes handles the pressure was amazing. When Nastia Luikin won the gold for the all-around competition, with Shawn Johnson getting silver, the U.S. couldn’t be prouder.
There were countless other events that took place that were fun to watch and some were painful to witness. The 100 meter hurdles featured a US woman LoLo, who was leading her race when she hit a hurdle and it slowed her down to make it so she finished without a medal.
The US basketball team has been astounding. Their level of play has been turning most matches into blowouts. There were many more events that took place that should be mentioned but I am out of time for this blog. If you missed the Olympics then all I can say is you missed a great year of the best athletes in the world putting on the best show in the world. It will be another 4 years until you can watch the Summer Olympics again. Don’t miss out on the excitement in 2012 in London.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Michael Phelps- World’s Best Swimmer, Ever
The Olympics are about half way over now and it has been exciting to watch the best athletes in the world compete with one another. My wife and I have been watching the swimming events every evening all week long having a particular interest in Michael Phelps. Michael has been amazing in every race that we have seen him swim in. He has blown away the competition in every race and received a gold medal for the 5 times that he has raced up to the point I am writing this article. He has 3 races left and if he gets the gold in each of those races he will be the first athlete in Olympics history to get 8 or more Gold medals in a single Olympics. He already has 11 career Gold medals which is an Olympic record for the most gold medals in an athlete’s Olympics career. I didn’t know Phelps very well and thought that maybe I should, where he is the greatest Olympic athlete in history and is from the United States. I did some quick research to find out who he was and share my findings on my blog.
According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia:
Phelps was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career. In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his restless energy. He blossomed quickly as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 where he competed in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens he went on to get 6 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.
It has been amazing what Michael has gone on to do in the Olympics throughout his life, with this year being the culmination of all his hard work and dedication. As you watch the Olympics this year, remember that you are watching history being made. You will be able to let your children and grandchildren know that you were watching the 2008 Olympics when Michael Phelps went on to set many Olympic records.
Just as Michael Phelps has gone on to make a difference in the Olympics by his hard work and determination; we can use the same type of effort in our own lives. We can be an Olympian parent, Olympian friend, Olympian co-worker, Olympian spouse, and all of us can be an Olympian citizen of our own countries. We can make a huge difference in the lives of family, friends, children, and neighbors by setting records in friendliness, kindness, or even a simple hello and smile. Make the Olympics part of your everyday life and you will find that you, too, can be the recipient of gold medals of love, trust, and appreciation from those around you.
Return to the Neighborhood
According to the Wikipedia online encyclopedia:
Phelps was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He has two older sisters, Whitney and Hilary both of them were swimmers as well, with Whitney coming close to making the U.S. national team for the 1996 Summer Olympics before injuries derailed her career. In his youth, Phelps was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).He started swimming at age seven, partly because of the influence of his sisters and partly to provide him with an outlet for his restless energy. He blossomed quickly as a swimmer, and by the age of 10 held a national record for his age group. More age group records followed, and Phelps' rapid improvement culminated in his qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics at the age of 15 where he competed in Sydney, becoming the youngest American male swimmer at an Olympic Games in 68 years. In the 2004 Olympics in Athens he went on to get 6 gold medals and 2 bronze medals.
It has been amazing what Michael has gone on to do in the Olympics throughout his life, with this year being the culmination of all his hard work and dedication. As you watch the Olympics this year, remember that you are watching history being made. You will be able to let your children and grandchildren know that you were watching the 2008 Olympics when Michael Phelps went on to set many Olympic records.
Just as Michael Phelps has gone on to make a difference in the Olympics by his hard work and determination; we can use the same type of effort in our own lives. We can be an Olympian parent, Olympian friend, Olympian co-worker, Olympian spouse, and all of us can be an Olympian citizen of our own countries. We can make a huge difference in the lives of family, friends, children, and neighbors by setting records in friendliness, kindness, or even a simple hello and smile. Make the Olympics part of your everyday life and you will find that you, too, can be the recipient of gold medals of love, trust, and appreciation from those around you.
Return to the Neighborhood
Monday, August 4, 2008
Let the Games Begin
The 2008 Summer Olympics are finally here. The opening ceremony will start on Friday evening of 8/8/08. The excitement is starting to mount for the athletes, the countries, and the many fans throughout the world. I thought it would be interesting to review the history of the Olympics and talk about when and how it all began and how the Olympics got to be what they are today.
According to the online reference Wikipedia.org:
The very first Olympics were in Olympia, Greece from 776 BC to AD 393.
Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833. Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875. This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".
It is interesting to note that the games existed for almost 1,200 years and then disappeared for almost 1,500 years before being revived back near Athens, Greece.
The Wikipedia reference goes on further to say “The Games gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. After Emperor Theodosius I proclaimed Christianity the religion of the Empire and banned pagan rites, the Olympic Games were outlawed as a pagan festival in 393 AD.”
I studied further on multiple websites and learned that in 776 AD there was only 1 event—the sprint—a short run called the “stade.” In 1896 there were only 9 sports and 43 events were included in the program between April 6 - 15: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, weightlifting, tennis and shooting (rowing and sailing were also planned but were canceled because of bad weather). There were only 14 nations that participated and 175 athletes.
Today 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports from a total of 203 countries. There will be many gold, silver, and bronze medals handed out over the next 16 days. Make sure and tune in for the Games this year and cheer on your favorite athletes and support your country. It will be 16 excitement-filled days of watching the best athletes in the world compete with one another in the greatest event in the world.
Let the games begin!
Return to the neighborhood
According to the online reference Wikipedia.org:
The very first Olympics were in Olympia, Greece from 776 BC to AD 393.
Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833. Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875. This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".
It is interesting to note that the games existed for almost 1,200 years and then disappeared for almost 1,500 years before being revived back near Athens, Greece.
The Wikipedia reference goes on further to say “The Games gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. After Emperor Theodosius I proclaimed Christianity the religion of the Empire and banned pagan rites, the Olympic Games were outlawed as a pagan festival in 393 AD.”
I studied further on multiple websites and learned that in 776 AD there was only 1 event—the sprint—a short run called the “stade.” In 1896 there were only 9 sports and 43 events were included in the program between April 6 - 15: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, wrestling, swimming, weightlifting, tennis and shooting (rowing and sailing were also planned but were canceled because of bad weather). There were only 14 nations that participated and 175 athletes.
Today 10,500 athletes are expected to compete in 302 events in 28 sports from a total of 203 countries. There will be many gold, silver, and bronze medals handed out over the next 16 days. Make sure and tune in for the Games this year and cheer on your favorite athletes and support your country. It will be 16 excitement-filled days of watching the best athletes in the world compete with one another in the greatest event in the world.
Let the games begin!
Return to the neighborhood
Friday, August 1, 2008
A Good Movie
Written by my wife who is locked out of her blog temporarily: Rachelle J. Christensen
Yep, it’s still summer and this 100 degree heat makes the air conditioned darkness of a movie theater very inviting.
My husband and I enjoy going to movies for a little date night once in a while. Of course, these days you have to be choos-y but I still think there are some great films available. Lots of us love going to the movies for the cool temperature of the theater and of course, the treats.
I enjoy being treated to the hot, buttery heart-attack popcorn you can only get in movie theaters and my husband loves frozen Junior Mints. It’s not really a movie experience without the treats, right?
We recently saw the second movie from The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. I really enjoyed it and there were some awesome special effects. There’s a great message weaved throughout which C.S. Lewis put in all his books. I loved reading these books, but it was so long ago I couldn’t remember all the details. My husband hasn’t read the books and he enjoyed the movie too. I’d recommend it for the whole family, because it’s clean, exciting, and best of all based on a good book you can all read too!
There’s another side of going to the movie too. It’s called taking your kids with you. Our kids are still pretty young so we’ve only taken them to three movies over the past couple years. It’s kind of fun to watch them watch the movie. I get a kick out of their reactions and questions during the movie. We save this for special events only and as our family grows larger it will probably stay that way, unless they start giving away free movie tickets! :)
On the 4th of July we took our kids to Disney’s “Wall-e” and it was a blast! I think my favorite part of the whole movie was when the robot Eve blew up something and my 2 year old yelled out, “Holy Cow!”
Wall-e was a fun movie with plenty of laughs for the adults and the kids. I loved the message that I gleaned from it, whether it was intended or not, that we need to take care of our earth and ourselves—stay healthy.
I’ve noticed that there are lots of different family events at the movie theaters during the summer. They have special “kid showings” several matinees offered, even deals for dinner and a movie.
I hope that you get a chance to visit a nice cool movie theater to escape the stifling heat and that you enjoy this form of recreation as much as I do.
Return to the Neighborhood
Yep, it’s still summer and this 100 degree heat makes the air conditioned darkness of a movie theater very inviting.
My husband and I enjoy going to movies for a little date night once in a while. Of course, these days you have to be choos-y but I still think there are some great films available. Lots of us love going to the movies for the cool temperature of the theater and of course, the treats.
I enjoy being treated to the hot, buttery heart-attack popcorn you can only get in movie theaters and my husband loves frozen Junior Mints. It’s not really a movie experience without the treats, right?
We recently saw the second movie from The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian. I really enjoyed it and there were some awesome special effects. There’s a great message weaved throughout which C.S. Lewis put in all his books. I loved reading these books, but it was so long ago I couldn’t remember all the details. My husband hasn’t read the books and he enjoyed the movie too. I’d recommend it for the whole family, because it’s clean, exciting, and best of all based on a good book you can all read too!
There’s another side of going to the movie too. It’s called taking your kids with you. Our kids are still pretty young so we’ve only taken them to three movies over the past couple years. It’s kind of fun to watch them watch the movie. I get a kick out of their reactions and questions during the movie. We save this for special events only and as our family grows larger it will probably stay that way, unless they start giving away free movie tickets! :)
On the 4th of July we took our kids to Disney’s “Wall-e” and it was a blast! I think my favorite part of the whole movie was when the robot Eve blew up something and my 2 year old yelled out, “Holy Cow!”
Wall-e was a fun movie with plenty of laughs for the adults and the kids. I loved the message that I gleaned from it, whether it was intended or not, that we need to take care of our earth and ourselves—stay healthy.
I’ve noticed that there are lots of different family events at the movie theaters during the summer. They have special “kid showings” several matinees offered, even deals for dinner and a movie.
I hope that you get a chance to visit a nice cool movie theater to escape the stifling heat and that you enjoy this form of recreation as much as I do.
Return to the Neighborhood
Monday, July 28, 2008
The 2008 Summer Olympics
The World Summer Olympics will be starting on August 8th this year which is next week. I can’t believe another 4 years have gone by. As you grow older the years start to really go by quickly. When the next Summer Olympics take place, it will be 2012. I will be approaching the “hill” as I will be turning 38 years old. All of my kids will be in grade school, and hopefully our country has pulled itself out of the economic “rut” we are currently in.
Anyway, back to the Olympics…
This year’s Olympics will be in Beijing, China. It should be a great event to watch. I have always enjoyed watching the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. It signifies the opening of 16 days of the world’s top athletes competing to gain the title of the best in the world at that particular sport. It is fun to watch the athletes from the United States and other countries walk into the stadium of the opening ceremonies and see the excitement on their faces. It is also fun to see some of the smaller countries being able to participate and send their athletes and have them be part of such a large spectacle.
The Olympics exist for the athletes to share with the world their talents and show their many years of hard work and determination. One of the things I love most about the Olympics is to hear the stories of those athletes who have risen up to overcome different circumstances to be part of the greatest athletic event in the world and strive to take home that Gold medal. Who can forget Carl Lewis in track and field, Mary Lou Retton with her pair of 10’s in gymnastics in ‘84, the “Dream Team” basketball team’s dominance in ’92, Greg Louganis and the more recent star Michael Phelps in swimming, and countless other US athletes that have received medals for their respective sports.
My personal favorites are the basketball games, swimming races, gymnastics, and the track and field races. No matter what events you enjoy and what athletes or countries that you are cheering for, the Olympics will be exciting and a joy to watch and will be 16 packed days of awesome stories, awesome finishes, painful endings, and countless medal ceremonies where the athlete can enjoy his/her few minutes of fame.
Enjoy this year’s Summer Olympics because it won’t be back for another 4 years and you will be that much older, too.
Return to the neighborhood
Anyway, back to the Olympics…
This year’s Olympics will be in Beijing, China. It should be a great event to watch. I have always enjoyed watching the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. It signifies the opening of 16 days of the world’s top athletes competing to gain the title of the best in the world at that particular sport. It is fun to watch the athletes from the United States and other countries walk into the stadium of the opening ceremonies and see the excitement on their faces. It is also fun to see some of the smaller countries being able to participate and send their athletes and have them be part of such a large spectacle.
The Olympics exist for the athletes to share with the world their talents and show their many years of hard work and determination. One of the things I love most about the Olympics is to hear the stories of those athletes who have risen up to overcome different circumstances to be part of the greatest athletic event in the world and strive to take home that Gold medal. Who can forget Carl Lewis in track and field, Mary Lou Retton with her pair of 10’s in gymnastics in ‘84, the “Dream Team” basketball team’s dominance in ’92, Greg Louganis and the more recent star Michael Phelps in swimming, and countless other US athletes that have received medals for their respective sports.
My personal favorites are the basketball games, swimming races, gymnastics, and the track and field races. No matter what events you enjoy and what athletes or countries that you are cheering for, the Olympics will be exciting and a joy to watch and will be 16 packed days of awesome stories, awesome finishes, painful endings, and countless medal ceremonies where the athlete can enjoy his/her few minutes of fame.
Enjoy this year’s Summer Olympics because it won’t be back for another 4 years and you will be that much older, too.
Return to the neighborhood
Saturday, July 12, 2008
High School Hero
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog about the Hoyt family- a story of a father with a son who was disabled from birth who made his son’s life joyful and happy by taking him along on his marathons and triathlons. Today I am writing about another disabled young man who had his own dreams come true. His name is Jason McElway.
Jason lives in Rochester, New York and was the team manager for the local high school basketball team. Jason suffers from autism. On the final game of the basketball season the coach asked Jason to suit up for the game. The coach didn’t know if Jason would be able to play or not but wanted to at least have him be part of the team for the last game. Jason ended up playing in the final few minutes of that game and had his dreams come true. I have posted the video of this amazing story below. Scroll down to see it.
I get goose bumps and shivers every time I watch this clip about Jason. The part that is most exciting for me to watch is his classmates and team’s reaction of him going in to play and every time he makes another shot. It is neat to think that these kids had such a great love for this young man and wanted to see him succeed. In a world where many kids are putting down others and making fun of children it gives me hope and joy to watch a story where the high school kids are cheering for someone who has a disability.
I hope that as we go through life we can be sure to watch for others in need and give them those opportunities to succeed. It might be fun to be successful at things but it is far more enjoyable to watch someone like Jason be successful at something he loves. I hope that we can teach our children to love and respect others and to be like the kids at Jason’s high school. We can start by being a good example and also watch for those little teaching moments.
Jason’s dream were made true not just because his coach gave him a chance to play in the basketball game, but also because he had the team, the coach, and the whole school cheering him on. What a difference it would make if we could all follow their lead and make every child’s dream come true. We could start by making our own family feel loved and giving them opportunities to succeed and to make their dreams come true. It may not be as dramatic as Jason’s experience, but we could start by cheering for those who surround us and help them to be the best they can be.
Return to the Neighborhood
Jason lives in Rochester, New York and was the team manager for the local high school basketball team. Jason suffers from autism. On the final game of the basketball season the coach asked Jason to suit up for the game. The coach didn’t know if Jason would be able to play or not but wanted to at least have him be part of the team for the last game. Jason ended up playing in the final few minutes of that game and had his dreams come true. I have posted the video of this amazing story below. Scroll down to see it.
I get goose bumps and shivers every time I watch this clip about Jason. The part that is most exciting for me to watch is his classmates and team’s reaction of him going in to play and every time he makes another shot. It is neat to think that these kids had such a great love for this young man and wanted to see him succeed. In a world where many kids are putting down others and making fun of children it gives me hope and joy to watch a story where the high school kids are cheering for someone who has a disability.
I hope that as we go through life we can be sure to watch for others in need and give them those opportunities to succeed. It might be fun to be successful at things but it is far more enjoyable to watch someone like Jason be successful at something he loves. I hope that we can teach our children to love and respect others and to be like the kids at Jason’s high school. We can start by being a good example and also watch for those little teaching moments.
Jason’s dream were made true not just because his coach gave him a chance to play in the basketball game, but also because he had the team, the coach, and the whole school cheering him on. What a difference it would make if we could all follow their lead and make every child’s dream come true. We could start by making our own family feel loved and giving them opportunities to succeed and to make their dreams come true. It may not be as dramatic as Jason’s experience, but we could start by cheering for those who surround us and help them to be the best they can be.
Return to the Neighborhood
Monday, July 7, 2008
Football Training Camp
July is the month known for the 4th of July, 24th of July, hot weather, and…football training camp. I know it seems early to be talking about football, but for us die hard football fans talking football is a year round hobby. It all starts with the NFL draft in late April and then comes the mini camps in May and June. Then the real training starts in late July.
Training camp is a very hard and demanding time for the players. They have 2-a-day practices on the hot field; they learn and perfect the plays not only on the field, but also in the film room and the class room. The players move in together to eat and breathe football 24/7. (If you asked my wife, she would tell you that I eat and breathe football 24/7 all the time).
I am a huge football fan. I am also a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan. I love to watch football, talk football, and read about football. I love to read articles about training camp each year. All of the players come in to Green Bay to practice together and make themselves better as a team. I served a mission in Green Bay and was able to attend a training camp practice. You would think it was a live game by the amount of fans that would show up for these training sessions. People would line the fences and cheer and yell and act like it was a playoff game. I love this time of year because there is so much hope and optimism for the coming season. It is fun to listen to fans talk with each other about players, strategies, coaches, and anything football related. The amount of time and money that fans spend on football is astounding. When you factor in players and coaches salaries, game tickets, concessions, apparel, trading cards, fantasy football leagues, etc—it is easy to see why this is truly America’s favorite sport.
My anticipation for this year is already starting to build. The training camps are opening soon, the fantasy football leagues are starting to form, the football fields are being groomed and prepared for that day when the players take the field, and both the fans and players alike are full of hope that this season will be the one where their teams go on to win the Super Bowl.
(Of course we all know that the Packers will be the team this year to take home that honor.)
Return to the Neighborhood
Training camp is a very hard and demanding time for the players. They have 2-a-day practices on the hot field; they learn and perfect the plays not only on the field, but also in the film room and the class room. The players move in together to eat and breathe football 24/7. (If you asked my wife, she would tell you that I eat and breathe football 24/7 all the time).
I am a huge football fan. I am also a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan. I love to watch football, talk football, and read about football. I love to read articles about training camp each year. All of the players come in to Green Bay to practice together and make themselves better as a team. I served a mission in Green Bay and was able to attend a training camp practice. You would think it was a live game by the amount of fans that would show up for these training sessions. People would line the fences and cheer and yell and act like it was a playoff game. I love this time of year because there is so much hope and optimism for the coming season. It is fun to listen to fans talk with each other about players, strategies, coaches, and anything football related. The amount of time and money that fans spend on football is astounding. When you factor in players and coaches salaries, game tickets, concessions, apparel, trading cards, fantasy football leagues, etc—it is easy to see why this is truly America’s favorite sport.
My anticipation for this year is already starting to build. The training camps are opening soon, the fantasy football leagues are starting to form, the football fields are being groomed and prepared for that day when the players take the field, and both the fans and players alike are full of hope that this season will be the one where their teams go on to win the Super Bowl.
(Of course we all know that the Packers will be the team this year to take home that honor.)
Return to the Neighborhood
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Bowling, not yard work
Summertime has finally arrived. This is most kid’s favorite time of year. No school. The days are longer and hotter. They can go to the pool, sleep in, play with their friends. For most men this is not our favorite time of year. Football has ended, the NBA Finals are wrapping up, there is yard work to do, and the kids are driving their Mom crazy so we husbands have to find creative ways to make them feel better, (like actually listening). What is a man to do during the summer to avoid losing his mind?
Football and Basketball may be over, but the one sport that will continue all year long and comes on every Saturday afternoon is……Bowling. Okay, I don’t know for sure if it still comes on every Saturday afternoon or not, but I do remember as a 10 year old kid watching this “sport” on late Saturday afternoons when my chores and yard work were done and it was too hot to go outside. I am sure many of us will recall those afternoons when the Pro-Bowling tour would come on ABC and we would be glued to the TV for the next 2 hours watching a bunch of guys in argyle sweaters and bell bottoms throw a ball down an alley to see if they would be able to knock down the pins or not. Here is a link that plays the music when it came on ABC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKug7fdX2Eo
I can still remember the tension in the announcer’s voice when the bowler was trying to pickup the spare to win the game—the excitement in the crowd when the bowler got the spare or the feelings of disappointment when he failed. Okay, it must have been pretty difficult to make bowling sound exciting, but as a 10 year old boy on a boring Saturday afternoon this was a lot of fun.
I was amazed when I googled the Pro Bowlers tour that in the Wikipedia it said “Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Pro Bowlers Tour typically outdrew college football and college basketball in the ratings.” In today’s sports world I don’t even know if they even have a Pro Bowlers Tour anymore and even if they did, it would be nowhere near the ratings that college football and college basketball get. It is hard to believe that back in the day, the guy wearing argyle throwing the ball down the alley beat out watching the helmet-wearing quarterback throw a successful 50 yard touchdown pass to his wide receiver with 10 seconds left in the game.
I don’t think you will have too many kids watching sports on Saturday afternoons in this modern world. They have their iphones, laptops, X boxes, cell phones, text messages, but maybe some of us older than 30 would enjoy watching some good old fashioned bowling rather than doing more yard work this Summer.
(When does the first day of football start again?)
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
Return to the Neighborhood
Football and Basketball may be over, but the one sport that will continue all year long and comes on every Saturday afternoon is……Bowling. Okay, I don’t know for sure if it still comes on every Saturday afternoon or not, but I do remember as a 10 year old kid watching this “sport” on late Saturday afternoons when my chores and yard work were done and it was too hot to go outside. I am sure many of us will recall those afternoons when the Pro-Bowling tour would come on ABC and we would be glued to the TV for the next 2 hours watching a bunch of guys in argyle sweaters and bell bottoms throw a ball down an alley to see if they would be able to knock down the pins or not. Here is a link that plays the music when it came on ABC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKug7fdX2Eo
I can still remember the tension in the announcer’s voice when the bowler was trying to pickup the spare to win the game—the excitement in the crowd when the bowler got the spare or the feelings of disappointment when he failed. Okay, it must have been pretty difficult to make bowling sound exciting, but as a 10 year old boy on a boring Saturday afternoon this was a lot of fun.
I was amazed when I googled the Pro Bowlers tour that in the Wikipedia it said “Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Pro Bowlers Tour typically outdrew college football and college basketball in the ratings.” In today’s sports world I don’t even know if they even have a Pro Bowlers Tour anymore and even if they did, it would be nowhere near the ratings that college football and college basketball get. It is hard to believe that back in the day, the guy wearing argyle throwing the ball down the alley beat out watching the helmet-wearing quarterback throw a successful 50 yard touchdown pass to his wide receiver with 10 seconds left in the game.
I don’t think you will have too many kids watching sports on Saturday afternoons in this modern world. They have their iphones, laptops, X boxes, cell phones, text messages, but maybe some of us older than 30 would enjoy watching some good old fashioned bowling rather than doing more yard work this Summer.
(When does the first day of football start again?)
Join the Neighborhood Newsletter . . . Subscriptions are free and joining is easy. Just by signing up and maintaining your subscription to receive the yourLDSneighborhood.com newsletter, you become eligible for our "Thank You" prizes. Our dozens of giveaways range from a trip for two to China, to iPods® (each with a $50 gift certificate for LDS music), cruises, and more.Learn about our amazing monthly, quarterly, and annual giveaways by clicking here.
Return to the Neighborhood
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sports Criminals
In today’s sports world it is not uncommon to read a story weekly or even daily about an athlete that is in trouble with the law. We have all heard about the steroid use in Major League Baseball, drugs used in the summer and Winter Olympics, and all kinds of criminal activity in the NFL and NBA. This trend of behavior has got to slow down because at this rate, all the professional sports programs will be obsolete in 5 years because all of the athletes will be in jail or suspended from the sports programs.
I enjoyed watching sports as a child. I remember the great players in basketball- Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Dr. J. I remember the awesome football players- Joe Montana, John Elway, Tony Dorset, Eric Dickerson, and the great Chicago Bear’s defense. I am not much of a baseball fan, but I do remember watching Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, and Pete Rose play. What I don’t remember as well is all of the legal and criminal trouble that we see in today’s sports. I know that Michael Jordan got in trouble with gambling, but that arose when his career as a sports player had ended. I know that Pete Rose got in trouble for a similar problem. I don’t remember players being investigated for murders, robberies, assault and battery, illegal dog fighting matches (Michael Vick), drugs, steroids, and all kinds of other illegal and criminal activity.
While reading this list, you start to forget about sports and start thinking you are reading a New York City police arrest report!
My biggest problem with this type of behavior is that these athletes are rich! They don’t need to rob a store because they are out of money! They aren’t living in the ghetto! They are getting paid to play a sport! They are given millions upon millions of dollars to shoot baskets, throw footballs, hit baseballs, run. These are things that most of us enjoy doing on the weekends with our friends. We can’t even imagine being paid for it, let alone get paid millions. The biggest problem with today’s athlete is that they have turned into spoiled adults. If you think a spoiled kid is a problem, wait until you meet a spoiled adult. This is someone who gets a lot of money, spends it on a lot of frivolous things, has too much time on their hands, gets into trouble a lot, and basically can’t find any happiness because they still haven’t learned the old adage that money can’t buy happiness.
The biggest problem with athletes in trouble with the law is that they have the money to hire the best lawyers money can buy. Money may not be able to buy happiness but I think we have all witnessed it buying an athlete’s freedom. Remember the football player by the name of OJ? He was found innocent of the murder that he was on trial for, but I think most of us think that he was guilty.
I think that most fans would like to see a return to the old days when the biggest criminal offenses were gambling related. Those seem rather minor compared to today’s crimes. I don’t know that this will ever happen but I do know that if the current rate of criminal activity continues, the future of sports will change for the worse. Which reminds me of another old adage; crime doesn’t pay (unless you’re an athlete).
Return to the Neighborhood
I enjoyed watching sports as a child. I remember the great players in basketball- Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Dr. J. I remember the awesome football players- Joe Montana, John Elway, Tony Dorset, Eric Dickerson, and the great Chicago Bear’s defense. I am not much of a baseball fan, but I do remember watching Reggie Jackson, Roger Clemens, and Pete Rose play. What I don’t remember as well is all of the legal and criminal trouble that we see in today’s sports. I know that Michael Jordan got in trouble with gambling, but that arose when his career as a sports player had ended. I know that Pete Rose got in trouble for a similar problem. I don’t remember players being investigated for murders, robberies, assault and battery, illegal dog fighting matches (Michael Vick), drugs, steroids, and all kinds of other illegal and criminal activity.
While reading this list, you start to forget about sports and start thinking you are reading a New York City police arrest report!
My biggest problem with this type of behavior is that these athletes are rich! They don’t need to rob a store because they are out of money! They aren’t living in the ghetto! They are getting paid to play a sport! They are given millions upon millions of dollars to shoot baskets, throw footballs, hit baseballs, run. These are things that most of us enjoy doing on the weekends with our friends. We can’t even imagine being paid for it, let alone get paid millions. The biggest problem with today’s athlete is that they have turned into spoiled adults. If you think a spoiled kid is a problem, wait until you meet a spoiled adult. This is someone who gets a lot of money, spends it on a lot of frivolous things, has too much time on their hands, gets into trouble a lot, and basically can’t find any happiness because they still haven’t learned the old adage that money can’t buy happiness.
The biggest problem with athletes in trouble with the law is that they have the money to hire the best lawyers money can buy. Money may not be able to buy happiness but I think we have all witnessed it buying an athlete’s freedom. Remember the football player by the name of OJ? He was found innocent of the murder that he was on trial for, but I think most of us think that he was guilty.
I think that most fans would like to see a return to the old days when the biggest criminal offenses were gambling related. Those seem rather minor compared to today’s crimes. I don’t know that this will ever happen but I do know that if the current rate of criminal activity continues, the future of sports will change for the worse. Which reminds me of another old adage; crime doesn’t pay (unless you’re an athlete).
Return to the Neighborhood
Monday, June 16, 2008
Celtics and Lakers
The Playoffs for any sport are always an exciting time. The NBA playoffs are no exception. Each team has a renewed sense of hope, a chance to win the Title, and they get 7 possible chances with each team they play. The players “kick up” their energy and playing level another notch. The crowd seems to get louder and more obnoxious. This is the time of year that most basketball fans look forward to all year long.
This year, the teams that made it to the NBA Finals were the Lakers and Celtics. What an awesome rivalry over the years: two of the greatest teams in NBA history squaring it off in 2008. 2 of the NBA’s best players will go head-to-head, Kobe Bryant (this year’s MVP) and Paul Pierce. I am not really a fan of either player, but those 2 should be able to make this year’s Finals pretty exciting. There are also 2 great veteran role players for each team- Kevin Garnett (Celtics) and Derek Fisher (Lakers).
This rivalry has a great history of awesome players from the past as well. I am sure all of us remember Magic Johnson and his unbelievable passing ability and drives to the basket. Who could forget Larry Bird and his awesome shooting ability and the way he played the game? Kareem Abdul Jabar had a hook shot like no other. Michael Cooper was a 3 point sharp shooter. Kevin McHale was a “beast” on the boards. And who could forget Kurt Rambis, with his curly hair and big safety goggles being a tough scrappy player who was so much fun to watch.
We all had our favorites and enjoyed watching each year when they would take center stage in the NBA Finals
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry has been renewed and even though the names and players have changed, the attitude and passion for the game still exist. Instead of Magic driving to the hoop, we now have the ultra energetic Kobe Bryant. Instead of having Larry Bird lighting up the scoreboard with his jump shots, we now have the high scoring Paul Pierce. We no longer have the super-short, tight shorts; we have the baggy shorts that hang down to your knees. We no longer have the afros; we now have the corn rows and shaved heads. The black and white television sets with the bunny ear antennas are long gone being replaced by the 60 inch Plasma big screen TV’s.
The one thing that still remains is the greatest rivalry in history- the Celtics and Lakers. (and the refereeing is still terrible).
Return to the Neighborhood
This year, the teams that made it to the NBA Finals were the Lakers and Celtics. What an awesome rivalry over the years: two of the greatest teams in NBA history squaring it off in 2008. 2 of the NBA’s best players will go head-to-head, Kobe Bryant (this year’s MVP) and Paul Pierce. I am not really a fan of either player, but those 2 should be able to make this year’s Finals pretty exciting. There are also 2 great veteran role players for each team- Kevin Garnett (Celtics) and Derek Fisher (Lakers).
This rivalry has a great history of awesome players from the past as well. I am sure all of us remember Magic Johnson and his unbelievable passing ability and drives to the basket. Who could forget Larry Bird and his awesome shooting ability and the way he played the game? Kareem Abdul Jabar had a hook shot like no other. Michael Cooper was a 3 point sharp shooter. Kevin McHale was a “beast” on the boards. And who could forget Kurt Rambis, with his curly hair and big safety goggles being a tough scrappy player who was so much fun to watch.
We all had our favorites and enjoyed watching each year when they would take center stage in the NBA Finals
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry has been renewed and even though the names and players have changed, the attitude and passion for the game still exist. Instead of Magic driving to the hoop, we now have the ultra energetic Kobe Bryant. Instead of having Larry Bird lighting up the scoreboard with his jump shots, we now have the high scoring Paul Pierce. We no longer have the super-short, tight shorts; we have the baggy shorts that hang down to your knees. We no longer have the afros; we now have the corn rows and shaved heads. The black and white television sets with the bunny ear antennas are long gone being replaced by the 60 inch Plasma big screen TV’s.
The one thing that still remains is the greatest rivalry in history- the Celtics and Lakers. (and the refereeing is still terrible).
Return to the Neighborhood
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The Love of a Father
Every so often you hear or read a story that makes you feel good inside and may even bring tears to your eyes. I came across such a story a few months ago. It is a story of a father who gave something to his son that was very special. His son was disabled at birth being strangled by the umbilical cord. His name is Rick Hoyt and his father’s name is Dick Hoyt. You may have already heard this story or seen the video on YouTube, but I was able to do a little research on this man and his son and found some other very interesting details that you might not be aware of.
When Dick first took his son Rick for a run, by pushing him in his wheelchair, he was sore for weeks. But then Rick typed “Dad, when we were running, I felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore”. That sentence would change both of their lives forever. Dick started with marathons and then moved up to triathlons, anything to give Rick that feeling of being alive and whole again.
Now they have together completed 212 triathlons, 24 Boston marathons, and countless other events. They not only have completed these events but have also placed very well in each event. Rick types “The thing I would most like, is that my Dad sit in the chair and I push him once”.
There are times in our lives when we are like Rick and we need our other Heavenly Father’s help. Just like Dick, our Father in Heaven will do everything he can to help us finish the race and to feel whole again.
There are times when we need to be like Dick and help our friends, spouses, children, parents, and grandparents get through the hard times by strapping them on our backs and doing all that we can to help them finish the race of life.
The lesson that needs to be learned is that all of us need to finish the race and not only finish but enjoy the journey. If we will help others to the end of the race, we will also find ourselves at the end as well.
Dick Hoyt would have never been able to accomplish all that he had without Rick, and Rick in turn would have never accomplished all that he did without the help of his father.
Here is a link to the video that goes along with this story and plenty more inspiring details about this father and son team.
When Dick first took his son Rick for a run, by pushing him in his wheelchair, he was sore for weeks. But then Rick typed “Dad, when we were running, I felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore”. That sentence would change both of their lives forever. Dick started with marathons and then moved up to triathlons, anything to give Rick that feeling of being alive and whole again.
Now they have together completed 212 triathlons, 24 Boston marathons, and countless other events. They not only have completed these events but have also placed very well in each event. Rick types “The thing I would most like, is that my Dad sit in the chair and I push him once”.
There are times in our lives when we are like Rick and we need our other Heavenly Father’s help. Just like Dick, our Father in Heaven will do everything he can to help us finish the race and to feel whole again.
There are times when we need to be like Dick and help our friends, spouses, children, parents, and grandparents get through the hard times by strapping them on our backs and doing all that we can to help them finish the race of life.
The lesson that needs to be learned is that all of us need to finish the race and not only finish but enjoy the journey. If we will help others to the end of the race, we will also find ourselves at the end as well.
Dick Hoyt would have never been able to accomplish all that he had without Rick, and Rick in turn would have never accomplished all that he did without the help of his father.
Here is a link to the video that goes along with this story and plenty more inspiring details about this father and son team.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
