Author: Allan (Page 443 of 492)

Christ Is All And Is In All

September 17, 2008 / Allan / 6 Comments

“Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” ~Colossians 3:11

When we are joined to Christ, we are joined to one another. So we have absolutely no grounds, no basis, for any hatred toward others or feelings of superiority. All those feelings and attitudes are obliterated by our Redeemer. His Gospel completely opposes any use of human criteria to exclude others or reduce them to second class citizens. We dare not avoid others or belittle others on the basis of external and human distinctions that don’t matter to God—race, sex, class, education, geography, zip code, politics, culture, language, or economics.

We all, everyone of us, belong to each other.

Markus Barth writes:

“Justification in Christ is not an individual miracle happening to this person or that person, which each new person may seek or possess for himself. Rather, justification by grace is a joining together of this and that person, of the near and the far, of the good and the bad, of the high and the low, liberal and fundamentalist. Salvation is a social event. No one is joined to Christ except together with a neighbor.”

Any person who shuts others out on the basis of human differences is not of God. To apply these differences in excluding people from salvation or labeling them as unworthy until they change their condition is to deny that God is impartial. That attitude denies that we are justified by faith alone and that Christ’s death and resurrection atones for our sins. This sort of outlook insists that God loves us because of who we are, not in spite of who we are.

As we gear up for our annual Give Away Day here at Legacy and as we crank up our Spanish-speaking ministry, let us remember the Gospel as our Savior taught it and lived it. Shame on us if we tell anyone they have to act just like us, they have to think and talk and believe just like us. Shame on us if we force them to dress like us, pray like us, or worship like us. Shame on us if we obligate them to anything or anyone other than our heavenly Father, his resurrected Son, and his Holy Spirit.

Jesus treated the sinners, Samaritans, and Roman centurions the same as he treated the so-called righteous Jews. In fact, he treated the ones who were “different” or “outsiders” with more grace and love and mercy than he did the ones who “belonged.”

And so must we.

Peace,

Allan

41-37, I Know, I Know

September 16, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

Sorry so late today on posting the KK&C Top 20. I usually get it done during Monday Night Football. But I found it difficult to take my eyes off the TV for more than two or three seconds at a time last night. Whitney and I were living and dying with every snap last night. So I didn’t get to the poll until this morning. You can view it by clicking on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab at the top of this page. Or just check it out at the end of this post.

Of the 98 meetings between the Cowboys and Eagles, last night’s was the highest-scoring. And the most dramatic. Crazy. How can a Week 2 game feel like the Super Bowl? Tony Romo combined his very best and very worst performances from the past two seasons into one 60-minute showcase of why fans and teammates love him and why coaches and gamblers hate him. In three more years Romo will fall on that fumble in the end zone. Right now he still thinks every play is a potential first down.

Did McNabb get sacked at all, even once, before that final drive? How is it he gets sacked by a four-man rush on two of the game’s final four plays? He almost looked hesitant on those plays. Unsure. I suppose it’s possible the Cowboys defense just stepped it up for the first time all night. But it looked like McNabb was trying to do too much too fast.

Maybe I can add Felix Jones to the list of good guys on the Cowboys for whom one could actually cheer and not feel dirty. That makes four.

Emmitt Smith is one of those guys who only tarnishes his reputation every time he makes a public appearance. If his agent were really only concerned with Emmitt’s well-being and long term legacy, he’d make him quit his ESPN gig. Or at least tell him to quit talking about the fact that he’s the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. And when others bring it up, act graciously and humbly. Don’t pump your fist and shout, “Yeah!”

My prediction from yesterday was for the halftime score. Pretty good, huh? Thank you.

Terrell Owens told reporters after the game, “The Lord has obviously blessed me with a lot of talent.” He failed to mention the quarterbacks who throw him the balls, the offensive linemen who give the quarterback the time to throw the balls, or the coaches who draw up the plays to get those balls thrown to him. As he famously said in Philly, “I love me some me.”

In an effort to continously search for the black cloud behind every Cowboys silver lining, there’s this: 21 penalties in two games. It’s this kind of mental laxity that causes their late-season swoons, right? I’ve given up on the Cowboys ever going 8-8 or 7-9 for the next few seasons. But I’m beginning to see that a 13-3 or 14-2 season is even better when they blow it big time in the divisional playoffs.

Unrelated: how many reporters, anchors, columnists, and fans are still calling Mike Shanahan a genius and calling his two-point conversion decision gutsy if Denver fails to convert and loses? How many? One? Zero? His own wife would kick him out of the house. His children would avoid him. His parents would disown him. His dog wouldn’t come when he called. It can’t be a good decision if it turns out well and a poor decision if it turns out bad. Those who criticize coaches for a living can’t have it both ways. It’s just like the two-point “chart” that blamed for his awful call Sunday. It’s either the right move or the wrong one. I would have fired Shanahan on the spot, even while the team is celebrating the win. He would have had to get his own plane back home.

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17 of our 20 panelists participated in this week’s KK&C Top 20 College Football Poll. Aaron and Jennifer get a bye because they’re in Hawaii. If they were really commited to this they would have had Gracie fill out the forms. No big deal. They’re good. Mark Richardson is recovering from serious knee surgery—he’ll be on crutches for six weeks—and he still got his in. Good for him. As for Kevin…maybe he ran out of material.

USC picks up all but three of the first place votes. Billy keeps giving his to LSU as defending national champions until somebody knocks them off. Larry’s sticking with Georgia. Obviously it’s an SEC thing. Unless he didn’t see the game Saturday. And Richard refuses to give USC his number one vote. He keeps listing both the Trojans and OU as #2. Speaking of the Sooners, they jump from #4 to #2 this week, despite Paul’s insistence on voting them #20 every time. Texas moved up from #9 to #7. One of the panelists commented that the ‘Horns look better when they don’t play. Missouri moved up two spots to #3. Ohio State crashed and burned seven slots all the way down to #14. West Virginia dropped all the way out. And Arizona State fell all the way out from the #12 spot. I can only assume it’s that not voting for them is easier than engaging in the theological discussions concerning their mascot. Utah makes its debut at #19. Enjoy.

September 16, 2008

1. USC (14-1st place votes, 334 total votes) “Told you!” JS; “A varsity team in a conference of JVs.” CJ; “Pow!” DM; “Dominant!” JK; “Rats! They look good.” TS; “No doubt they belong at the top.” PD; “Tailback U is now Quarterback U.” MH; “Yeah, so they spanked Ohio St. I’ll be convinced when I see ‘em take on some REAL competition. Oh, wait. They don’t have any in the Pac-10.” JR; “I still refuse to vote this team #1″ RA

2. Oklahoma (299) “Ugh!” DM; “Please, please, somebody beat this team.” TS; “Offensive line is full of seniors. Better do it this year, Stoops.” CJ; “My, my, what an offense!” PD; “The only reason I didn’t put them at #1 is because they beat up a Pac-10 loser. Sam Bradford for Heisman trophy!” JR; “What a Wash-out in Seattle.” RA (Boo.); “Exposes Pac-10 weakness.” MH; “Next two weeks are TCU & Baylor.” DB

3. Florida (290) “Wish I’d had Tim Tebow’s numbers on my fantasy team.” DB; “Better than Georgia…will prove it when they play.” CJ; “Florida usually beats Tennessee, by 14 or more this week.” MH

4. Georgia (1, 286) “Very narrow escape.” BW; “Yikes. I guess SC is a quality opponent but…” JS; “Christmas comes early. Thanks Spurrier Claus!” CJ; “The Dogs seem to be losing their bark.” JR; “Bradford or Daniels would pick them apart but Mizzou might have to put up 50.” PD; “Didn’t look good beating the wrong USC.” RA; “SEC always overrated.” MH; “Could be dropped a little further.” DB

5. Missouri (280) “Offense looks awesome.” BW; “Can hang with any team in the top 5 outside of USC.” CJ; “Big 12 muscle is showing up in Big MO!” MH; “They’d be my #1 if they had a defense.” PD

6. LSU (1, 256) “Got more resistance from Ike.” BW; “Should have beaten UNT by 50. Their lack of a passing game is gonna bite them big time in conference play.” JR; “Done nothing to negate this high ranking.” CJ; “LSU 20, Auburn 16.” SF

7. Texas (230) “They look better when they ain’t playing.” TS; “I’ve always wondered what would happen if a 5A team played a 1A team….oh, wait! I’ll get to see that this weekend.” CJ; “The ‘Horns are lucky I hate the SEC so much.” JR; “Totally dominated the bye week.” JS; “I may not have much time to vote them this high.” RA

8. Wisconsin (220) “Great win against a quality opponent.” CJ; “They belong.” PD; “Is the Big 10 more than just Ohio St?” MH; “Boring, boring, boring.” JR

9. Auburn (186) “The defense may have to start scoring.” BW; “Can you really put a team that won 3-2 in the top ten?” CJ; “Could NOT leave them in the top ten after that performance.” JR; “Tigers win on a two-out, 9th inning single with a runner on second.” RA; “Lucky to win.” SF; “Still better than Alabama” MH; ”Shaky now with the injury.” JK

10. Texas Tech (176) “The freak show continues.” TS; “Crabtree is unstoppable.” BW; “A dominant defensive showing against the high-powered offense of SMU!” CJ; “Looking more like the Tech we expected.” PD; “It pains me to say they won’t be up here much longer.” JS; “Great job against SMU. Didn’t they lose to the University of Phoenix Online?” RA; “Showed D at SMU. Well, not really. It was SMU.” MH

11. Alabama (160) “I moved them up because this is my poll and I can.” JS; “That defensive line is enough to keep them in the top 15.” CJ; “Maybe the Tide is finally on a ‘Roll.’ JR (Janie supplies this week’s Skip Bayless line. Thank you.); “Not a top ten yet.” MH

12. Penn St. (139) “Closing on Ohio State.” BW; “Ohio St. will still win the Big 10.” CJ; “Joe Pa ain’t got Alzheimer’s yet.” MH; “This bunch is coming!” PD

13. South Florida (119) “I can’t ever keep these directional Florida teams straight.” JS; “Not sure they will stay.” BW; “Great win. Kansas is no slouch.” CJ; ”The best mid-major in the country.” MH

14. Ohio State (118) “Definitely not the 2nd best team in the country.” BW; “Let’s not overreact. They played the best team in the country on the road without their best player.” CJ; “Told you!” JS; “At one point the USC crowd chanted ‘Over-rated!’ At #14, that may still be the case.” DB; “Saw it coming, dropped them last week.” MH; “This may be too high.” PD

15. Oregon (117) “Quarterback needs to improve.” BW; “They may ‘quack’ the top ten before all is said and done.” CJ

16. BYU (105) “Win over Washington was not a fluke.” BW; “I picked UCLA as my upset of the week. My punishment is to put BYU in the top 12.” CJ; “Nice game, Neuheisel.” JR; “Put up a March Madness score on UCLA.” DB; “Wow those Mormans can score!” MH; “Hope Neuheisel took the over.” RA; “Drubbing of UCLA doesn’t make Vols look very good.” SF

17. East Carolina (90) “The dream may be over.” CJ; “Got a bit cocky.” PD; “This team is still for real.” JR; “They don’t play as well against non-ranked opponents.” JS

18. Kansas (42) “Showing the depth of Big 12.” MH; “Won’t equal last year’s wins.” BW; “They will beat UT at home this year.” CJ; “Too bad they got Bull-ied.” RA (OK, that’s enough.)

19. Wake Forest (33) “They keep winning. But why are they so boring?” CJ

19. (tie) Utah (33) “Wow, those secular Mormans can score, too!” MH; “The win over Michigan doesn’t quite have the cache it did two weeks ago, but it still keeps them here.” JR

Also receiving votes: West Virginia (24); Clemson (14); TCU (7); Nebraska (3) “Half the Big 12 in my poll.” DM; Arizona St. (2); UConn (2) “Look out for the Huskies!” (?); Oklahoma State (2) “People are overlooking them. Big mistake.” CJ; “I know it was Mizzou STATE, but they won by 40+!” JR; Illinois (2); Notre Dame (1) “Wake up the echos, Irish will go 7-4.” SF

Peace,

Allan

Given Much

September 15, 2008 / Allan / 4 Comments

“From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” ~Luke 12:48

When I see Shaquille O’Neal shoot 35% from the free throw line; when I see Ricky Williams throw away a Hall of Fame career with drug use; when I hear about a record-setting high school quarterback get suspended because he’s flunked Social Studies; I want to scream. All that talent. All those gifts. All that natural ability. All that potential. All those blessings. How in the world can you just throw that away? How can you not see how you’ve been blessed and how you can use those blessings to make yourself and your team better? How does Shaq live with himself, knowing that in a tight playoff game his coach has to sit him on the bench because he might get fouled? How can Williams ever show his face again in the state of Louisiana after what he did to the Saints? How does the high school quarterback walk the halls of his campus knowing how he’s let down his whole community?

We expect much more out of the people who’ve been so richly blessed.

Boy, if I had only been given those same gifts. If only I had those same talents, those same abilities. I’d do everything in my power to use them to their maximum potential. I’d keep my nose clean. I’d work hard. I’d dedicate myself to getting even better. Nothing could ever hold me back or get me down if I had those blessings.

We hate seeing gifts gone to waste. But we drastically change our view when the tables are turned and we become the objects of scrutiny.

Are you blessed? Of course you’re going to say “Yes.” Your wealth is not just measured by your money and your possessions, of which we have more than anyone in history, but also by your options. If you have lots of options, you’re very blessed. For most people in the world, especially if you consider the whole of human history, the main choice of life is, “Will I pick the grain today with my left hand or my right hand?”

In contrast, consider the kinds of questions we ask ourselves today. It’s not, “Will I get to go to college?” It’s “Which college will I go to?” It’s not, “Can I find a job?” It’s “Which job pleases me the most?” We never ask, “Am I going to eat dinner?” It’s always, “What’s for dinner?”

We are wealthy. We are blessed.

And just like us, our God never wants to see all these blessings go to waste. Jesus never wants to see his gifts thrown away.

He expects more.

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Cowboys & Eagles. Monday Night Football. The only thing that could make it any better is if it were being played in Philly (better atmosphere) and if Frank and Howard and Dandy Don were calling the game on ABC.

The Eagles have certainly broken the hearts of the Cowboys many, many times in the past. I vividly remember watching the 1980 NFC Championship Game in Paul Barron’s living room. Tom Landry’s weird Russian fur hat with the earflaps and the collar on his coat up around his neck. Wilbert Montgomery going for 42 yards and a TD on the game’s second play. I remember Paul throwing his not-quite-empty Coke can across his living room after a Danny White sack midway through the third quarter of that 20-7 loss.

Lots of Cowboys misery at the hands of the Eagles. The pickle juice game. The Bounty Bowl. Jaws. Harold Carmichael. McNabb’s 14-second scramble. Andy Reid is 13-5 against the Cowboys. Philly’s beat Dallas in three of the past four meetings. Nobody has a better road record in the NFL over the past seven seasons than the Eagles. McNabb is totally healthy. Westbrook’s one of the four best backs in the league. The Eagles’ defense is menacing. Their blitz is unnerving. Their secondary is excellent. They held Dallas to just six points at Texas Stadium last December.

Eagles 27, Cowboys 20.

Peace,

Allan

Hidden With Christ

September 11, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” ~Colossians 3:3

Five years ago the LA Times reported on a man from Medford, Oregon.

“Old Man Howard spent decades chasing children off his farm, shotgun in hand, watching little legs spin like windmills into the distance. Generations considered him the meanest man in Jackson County. To others, Wesley Howard was simply an oddity: a loner who never married, never left Oregon, and lived his whole life in the same place he was born, a century-old farmhouse without phones or toilets. Children saw it as a haunted house; passersby photographed it as an artifact.

The house was built in 1890 and had not been painted in a half-century. From the road, the house looked, as one neighbor said, ‘ready to fall.’

Howard lived in the house by himself. Both floors were stacked ceiling-high with newspapers and magazines dating to the early 1900s. Upstairs bedrooms were equally cramped, filled with some of Howard’s boyhood toys. Howard cooked on a potbellied wood stove. He drank water from a hand-dug well, and he used an outhouse.

In March, at age 87, he died of a stroke, enigmatic to the end. Howard, it turns out, was rich. Few knew. He bequeathed his entire estate, worth more than $11 million, to create a youth sports park on his 68-acre farm.

The surprise gift has cast Howard in a new light, causing residents to question whether they really knew him.

An editorial in the Medford Mail Tribune opened with this line: ‘We’ll never know if Wes Howard had a Scrooge-like epiphany or if there was always a charitable soul hidden beneath his gruff exterior.’

Gene Glazier, who lived across from the Howard farm for five decades and whose children were chased off the property said he was ‘blown over’ by Howard’s last act. ‘We had no idea.'”

WE HAD NO IDEA.

Nothing in Old Man Howard’s life even remotely suggested he had more than a couple of dimes to rub together. It looked like he had nothing. His value, his worth, according to the people around him, was zero. People were shocked to learn he was worth over $11 million. There was a huge difference between appearances as his community understood them and realities as they genuinely were. Old Man Howard’s life was hidden in a 110-year-old house.

Our lives are hidden in Christ.

As disciples of Jesus, there is also a huge discrepancy between appearances and reality. Our glorious future, our destiny to reign forever with Jesus at the right hand of God, our status as joint-heirs with the Son of the Almighty God is hidden. Those in the world view us as weak and insignificant. They see us as dishonored fools for Jesus, not understanding that we are intimately connected to the creator and ruler of the universe.

It’s comforting to us and empowering for us to understand that this ultimate reality isn’t tied to anything we do. Our holiness doesn’t come from our futile attempts to comply with a long list of do’s and don’ts. Our destiny doesn’t depend on our ability to not sin. Our riches are not tied to our good behavior. It all comes from being in Christ, dying with Christ, being buried with Christ, being raised with Christ, and living this hidden life with Christ. It’s because of Christ. He hides our life. He protects it. He keeps it. He saves it. And he promises us that when he appears again in glory we are also going to appear with him in that same glory.

And our neighbors and our world will say, “We had no idea.”

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Play “Taps” for Texas. The Angels beat the Yankees. The Rangers lost to Seattle. And it’s finally officially over. L.A.’s team in Anaheim clinches the AL West. See former Ranger Mark Teixeira celebrating in the Angels’ clubhouse. It’d be interesting to note how many former Rangers’ players are in the postseason this year. There’s a mess of ’em. Sounds like a great project for Kipi. As long as she doesn’t undertake the effort all alone in a dark room on a rainy day. We’d better keep an eye on her.

Peace,

Allan

Birthday Bear

September 10, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

It was nine years ago today, September 10, 1999, that God blessed our family with Carley Renae. In Wichita Falls. Our only child not born in Austin. The only one we knew was coming the day she came.

An alarm clock woke us up at 7:00 that morning to drive to the hospital, not water breaking and painful contractions at 3am like with the other two. But the delivery took just as long. It wasn’t until after dinner that Friday evening, after we ran Granny and Grandpa and Gram and Gran-Gran and Pop-Pop and Aunt Pam out of the room that Carley made her first appearance. She just needed a little privacy. We thought maybe she was shy.
We were wrong. There’s not a shy bone in Carley’s body. Never has been.

Carley’s been given plenty of nicknames in her nine years—that’s just part of being in our family, I think. Carl. Carley Sue. Gnarley (which Jimmy Mitchell took to the next level when he started calling her Gnarles Barkley). Little Bit.
But Carley has always been and will always be The Bear.

It began early in her life. She wouldn’t just cry when she needed something. She screamed. When she was wet. When she was hungry. When she wanted something. Anything. She would scream in a way the other two never screamed. Like she was furious. Carrie-Anne was the first one to call her a bear. And it stuck. It was her attitude and her angry screaming as a baby that started it.But as it turns out, Carley is our most sensitive child. She cries at the drop of a hat, as often in reaction to the pain of others as for her own pain. And she is our most affectionate. She loves to hug and cuddle and play. She’s always grabbing our hands or jumping on our backs. She went from angry bear to cuddle bear in a hurry.But we just call her Carley Bear.

Carley is a sweet, funny, outgoing, loud, compassionate little girl. She keeps us constantly entertained with her singing and dancing. She says exactly what’s on her mind, which also keeps us very entertained. She is a beautiful gift from our God. And she fills our lives with joy.

Happy Birthday, little girl. We love you.

Typing Above The Growls

September 9, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

“While the human body can survive only a short time without air or water, it can go for many days without food before starvation begins.” ~Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

We generally think of fasting as an individual spiritual discipline. The first words Jesus said about fasting question the motives of those who fast as part of an individual routine. “When you fast…” he says in Matthew 6. But there is great benefit and great biblical example of corporate fasting as a group of God’s people who want to focus their corporate energies toward a common matter of importance. Just as the congregations in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch prayed and fasted during the appointment of their elders (Acts 14:22-23) and before the commissioning of their missionaries (Acts 13:2-3), the Legacy church today is fasting and praying together as we begin our process of selecting new elders. We’re using our normal eating time to pray. We’re allowing our hunger pangs to remind us that we are submitting our wills to God and not to our growling appetites. And we’re making ourselves open to God’s direction during this time as we seek his guidance for Legacy.

There’s something neat about feeling my stomach growl and knowing I have hundreds of other brothers and sisters here who are going through the same thing today for the same reasons. It’s encouraging and inspiring to know we’re all doing this together. I got a text message from a buddy late last night:

“Fasting prep—big dinner, three chocolate chip cookies, Snickers, and two bowls of cereal. I hope I make it. If you don’t see me Wednesday, check the morgue or Pizza Garden.”

Isn’t it great to be going through the same thing and thinking the same things together with the whole church? No donuts or breakfast burritos at the Bible study this morning. We spent all of our 75-minutes together today talking about and praying about the elder selection process, asking for God’s guidance and wisdom. The corporate fast can be a wonderful and powerful experience when the people are prepared and are of one mind.

To the folks here at Legacy, let’s use this time to also consider your part in this body. Your voice, your vision, your discernment in this very important matter is no less important than anyone else’s. Your participation is critical. Please take your responsibility to the body seriously. And you men who will be asked to serve as elders: you, too. Take your role, your calling, your responsibilities to this branch of God’s Kingdom seriously. We need you.

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A powerful time with my brothers down in Waco yesterday. Nine preachers and an elder. We’ve been getting together monthly since March for mutual edification and study and prayer. Yesterday was the first time we were all together in the same room since David Hunter’s wife, Denise, died. David is the preacher at the church in Robinson, just south of Waco. Not a dry eye in the house as David re-told and re-lived that awful week. And as we gathered around him for an intense period of prayer and blessing, I was so overwhelmed with gratitude to our Father for giving us friends and family to minister to us when we deal with life’s injuries and injustices. And so thankful that his Son has overcome all those things in his life and death and resurrection and that we can all participate fully in that awesome victory.

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Legacy is the organizing church, the hub—I’m not sure what you call us—for the Lifeline Chaplaincy program that’s being established now in Tarrant County. We had over 125 people here for a kickoff breakfast and meeting Saturday morning representing 12 different congregations. Praise God in advance for all the wonderful things he’s going to do with us and through us as we join together to visit and minister to the sick.

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I’ll write more about the Cowboys next week. My policy on the Cowboys is that if I can’t say anything bad, I shouldn’t say anything at all.

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Speaking of football, The Kingdom, The Kids, and The Cowboys Top 20 College Football Poll is out. I posted it late last night on the “KK&C Top 20” page. And I’m adding it below in this post.

USC retains its stranglehold on #1. Florida jumps up three spots to #2. Georgia drops to #3. OU stays at #4. And Missouri’s in at #5. Texas and Texas Tech retain their positions at #8 and #13. Of course, some of our panelists are unable to keep their biases from impacting the integrity of this thing. Paul puts OU (zero u) at #20 in his poll while Jerry puts Texas (tu) at #19. And Richard won’t rank USC #1. He puts Southern Cal and Georgia as two #2s at the top of his list.

East Carolina debuts today at #16 while South Florida shows up for the first time at #19. Jim G’s not the only one casting votes for Fresno State this week. Ohio State fell hard from #3 to #7. More of our pollsters are talking smack, mostly against the Buckeyes and the Longhorns, although a nice theological debate is brewing over the Arizona State mascot. Larry attached the audio from the Mississippi State fight song to his poll. And I’m not publishing anymore comments about Oregon’s uniforms unless they’re really funny or really original.

September 9, 2008

1. USC (9-1st place votes; 306 total) “Will take Jim Tressel’s overrated crew behind the Coliseum woodshed” JimG; “They’re going to destroy Ohio State!” MR; “Trojans are licking their chops!” PD; ”Go USC, but only for this week” JennG; “Sorry MD, too many horses. USC 27, Ohio St. 17″ SF; “They will kill Ohio St” JK; “Needs a better kicker” BW; “The NFL is proving USC is a bunch of frauds” LT;

2. Florida (1; 275) “Listen, you can hear it: Te-bow! Te-bow! Te-bow!” LT; “Defense wins championships-gratuitous cliche’” CJ; “The Florida-USC National Championship Game will be sweet” KW; “Looking good, especially on defense” AG; “Speed kills. Vols may be in trouble in two weeks” SF; ”Has Urban Meyer joined Rick Neuheisel’s office pool?” JimG;

3. Georgia (3; 273) “A shaky 2-0, but still there” JR; “Overrated! Overrated!” CJ; “Number Two in the SEC” BW; “Refuse to put USC at the top when there’s a deserving SEC team” LT;

4. Oklahoma (1; 272) “I voted them number one, totally homer, I know. Cincy’s not exactly a dog” JR; “I like watching them play, but I’m tired of that Boomer song” KW; “Dominant team in Big 12″ AG; “Defense and special teams a bit ragged” PD; “This might be their year” LT; “The Sooner Schooner looks un-de-rail-able right now” JimG;

5. Missouri (250) “Really liking them this year” JennG; “Will get more respect from me if they win in Austin” CJ; “Chase Daniel is one heck of a football player” LT; ”Squatty quarterbacks are cool” KW; “104 points in two games!” AG; “I was tempted to move them way up” PD; “OU and Texas better keep an eye on the Tiger” LT (yuck, give me a break); “Most potent offense in college football?” JimG;

6. LSU (1; 247) “Still packed with athletes” AG; “Still defending champs” BW; “Gustav showed pity on Baton Rouge and I’ll do the same for one more week” LT;

7. Ohio St. (237) “For now” JK; “Mark it down, USC will roll!” JS; “Overrated before Well’s injury…they stink” RA; “Tressel’s failed to live up to ‘big game’ status…this trend will continue Saturday” CJ; “THE Ohio State University is THE most overrated team of this decade. Yes, decade.” JimG; “Will this be six in a row?” PD; “Who’s the beanie counter?” BW;

8. Auburn (198) “Doing it the old fashioned way with defense, special teams, and field position” JimG; “SEC rules! LT; “Enough of the SEC already!” JK;

9. Texas (195) “Way too high” RA; “Weakest schedule of any team in the Top Ten” LT; “Yawn. Arkansas is down. Should be another lopsided win” CJ; “Can they beat OU?” JennG; “Who’s this week’s patsy?” JimG; “That Opie sure can play!” KW; “Will lose to OU” AG; “Texas 34, Arkansas 20″ SF; “Colt back in form” PD; “Needs to start games earlier than 9:15pm” BW;

10. Wisconsin (184) “This may be too low” PD; “Fattened up on Marshall before their trip west to Fresno St” JimG; “Gaining on Ohio St” BW;

11. Kansas (137) “Riding the ‘No one gives us respect’ wave” CJ; “I don’t know about anybody else, but is it weird watching them on TV? Kinda boring” KW; “Will not match the basketball team” BW;

12. Arizona St. (124) “Erickson gives me hope for things to come in College Station” CJ; “I know I shouldn’t, but the devil on the helmet is a mascot I’ve liked since I was a kid” KW; “Why would anyone allow their child to play for a team with a mascot of devils?” JimG;

13. Texas Tech (122) “Defense was better. I have to keep believing” JS; “I’m not buying this team as a legitimate contender in the Big 12″ RA; “They must prove they can win a physical game on the road before I give them props” JimG; “Almost took them out of my Top 20 but they are so dangerous” PD;

14. Alabama (112) “Love him or hate him, Saban’s a good coach” CJ; “Alabama people are fun” KW;

15. Oregon (86) “Genuine” PD;

16. East Carolina (80) “Rockin’ the purple house!” JennG; “Can’t be a fluke if you do it twice, right?” CJ; “Looking like a BCS bowl” KW; “Skip to my Lou!” PD (new front-runner for Skip Bayless line of the year); “Who is this??” BW; “Say hello to this year’s BCS buster” JK; “A skip off the old block” JimG (hold the phone, we have a challenger);

17. Penn St. (73) “Hope Paterno and Bowden are even at the end of the year and settle it in a bowl” CJ; “Number One on most boring uniform poll” KW;

18. BYU (42) “A ‘W’ is a ‘W’ but do you really feel good about how that went down?” CJ; “A poor call by officials keeps them in the Top 20″ SF; “Agree with celebration penalty” BW;

19. South Florida (31) “Did they really stop him?” JS; “Because I couldn’t let BYU and their sham remain in my poll” JimG;

20. West Virginia (18) “…and dropping” JK; “Probably should be further down but East Carolina could be better than anyone thinks” JS; “National title hopes destroyed! Thanks ECU!” CJ; “Will get offense going” BW;

Also receiving votes: Clemson (17); Wake Forest (14); Fresno St. (10) ”Welcome Wisconsin in the most anticipated home game in school history” JimG; California (9) “Boy, those tree huggers sure are fast” KW; Utah (8); TCU (7); Tennessee (6) “Will beat either Florida, Georgia, or Auburn to go 7-4 and earn the 20th ranking” AG; Oklahoma State (6) “The surprise team in the Big 12″ CJ; ”699 yards of offense!” JR; Illinois (3); Nebraska (1) “Bo knows” DM; Mississippi St. (1)

As always, click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab at the upper right hand corner of this page to see the poll and meet the pollsters.

Peace,

Allan

Author: Allan (Page 443 of 492)

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