Category: College Football (Page 10 of 12)

Clean Up

September 18, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

This is all follow-up and clean-up—an effort to tie up a few loose ends before the weekend.

I was wrong Tuesday in declaring that Aaron and Jennifer didn’t turn in their “KK&C Top 20” because they were in Hawaii. They actually took the time to put their numbers and teams together and emailed them to me from their hotel before the deadline. It’s just that our email server here at the church blocked it from getting to me because it was coming from the Hawaii hotel’s server. I didn’t see their lists until yesterday.

There’s nothing really earth-shattering that would have impacted the order of the teams in this week poll. But I do want to pass on a little trash talk. Everybody’s picking on Ohio St. And Jennifer piles on with this as she lists the Buckeyes at #12: “Do we really even have to include them this week? Yippee for USC putting them in their spot!” And Aaron boldly predicts that USC could beat the St. Louis Rams. They both put Florida at #3, declaring that the Gators will “spank Tennessee this Saturday to solidify their place.”

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About last night…

Every now and then, maybe once every couple of months, I get a weird vibe from the congregation here at Legacy while I’m preaching. It’s like they’re all staring at me, not with scowls, but with very serious looks on thier faces and with great intensity. And I’m never sure if everybody’s upset with what I’m saying or if they’re just really, really paying attention.

It happened last night in Oasis.

I’m preaching the Colossians 3:11 and Galatians 3:28 stuff I talked about in yesterday’s blog. In Christ, we all belong to each other. Just as Jesus lived and died to obliterate the differences that separate us, we too should be committed to breaking down the barriers of culture and language and socio-economic status that exist in our churches. And now, as we gear up for Give Away Day, is the perfect time to start thinking about and talking about these things. It’s time to be perfectly clear about how we understand the Gospel message.

Because the three-thousand people who visit us on Give Away Day and the people who are being brought to Christ by Manuel and our Spanish-speaking ministry are, in some ways, our enemies. They are enemies of our comfort zones, enemies of our decency and order, enemies of our property values, enemies of our traditions. And may God have mercy on us if we communicate to them in any way that you must be a white, working, middle-class, English-speaking American citizen in order to use our buildings or our classrooms or our worship center or our restrooms.

If we put any limits at all on anybody who’s different because they’re different—any limits—we are not of God. We are not acting like Jesus. If we exclude them from the table or shun them to another room, if we don’t give them full and complete access to all the physical blessings of this church family, we are, in essence, denying them access to the full and complete salvation from God. Because the Gospel of Jesus is that ALL barriers are annihilated. ALL the walls are destroyed. There are no differences. Christ is all and is in all.

And I’m looking at our church and wondering, “Are they all mad or are they just chewing on this?”

They’re just chewing on it. They’re taking it all in. I believe they’re listening and understanding and even agreeing. But at the same time they’re saying, “But that’s hard.”

Yes, it is. Christianity is a very difficult religion. Very difficult. As Neil Postman says, “Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.”

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I’m leaving Sunday afternoon for the ACU Lectureships with the rest of the Four Horsemen. After Jason preaches in Diana, he’ll meet Kevin at Dan’s house in Forney and they’ll all pick me up here at about 3:00. And we’ll eat Jalapeno chips and Whoppers (Jason will eat Corn Nuts. Nasty.) and we’ll laugh and we’ll make fun of each other and play on each other’s personality quirks and bad habits. Man, are we going to laugh. We always do. Along with our February camping trip, this is our other annual time to be together for a few days and minister to each other and study and pray together and grow together in Christ and in each other. What a blessing these three godly men are to me. What a tremendous source of strength for me in my difficult walk with Christ Jesus and his people. My heart overflows with gratitude to our God who saw fit to bring together a Garland cop, an architect, a jewelry salesman, and a radio anchor seven years ago to dramatically change all of our lives. To eternally alter our lives. And the rest of my prayer is that our God will use us in huge, massive ways to impact our communities and this whole planet for his Kingdom.

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I have to leave Abilene early—Tuesday after lunch—because I’m flying out of DFW Wednesday morning for Fresno, California to spend four days with the Woodward Park Church of Christ and my great friend Jim Gardner. I’m speaking five times in those four days, four times as part of their annual Spiritual Growth Workshop and then preaching at Woodward Park Sunday morning. And I’m excited about it on many fronts.

I’ve never been to California before. Never. I’m anxious to see the beautiful central California valley, even if I probably won’t make it out to the beach. I’m excited to experience the multi-cultural church family there at Woodward Park. Over a thousand members, like here at Legacy, but only about 600 English-speaking. Wonderful. I can’t wait. I’ll be preaching to a pretty huge crowd on Saturday night, probably the biggest ever for me personally. So, I’m looking forward to that. But mainly I’m thrilled to be spending a little time with Jim. As busy as he’s going to be, it will probably only be a little time. But it will be valuable. What a heart for preaching. What a spirit for evangelism. The more he can rub off on me, the better for us here at home. I miss Mandy and his precious daughters. I haven’t seen them since they left Marble Falls two years ago. And I’ll get to see Jimmy Mitchell again. Jim’s flying him in to lead our worship at the workshop.

It’ll be hectic every minute of every day between right now and next Sunday night, the 28th. Please ask our Father to bless me with safe travel and for his Word to be proclaimed powerfully through me and all the other speakers in Abilene and Fresno next week.

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

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

Squib Kicks, Politics, & The Poll

September 2, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

I’ve never understood it. I never will understand it. The late-game squib kick to prevent a big runback. I don’t get it. Why hand your opponent 30 yards of field position at the most crucial moment of the game? Why just give them 30 precious yards? I don’t get it.

UCLA scores a touchdown with 27-seconds left to take a three point lead over Tennessee last night. And instead of kicking deep—inside the five or into the end zone—they pooch it. They squib it. The Vols wind up with the ball near their own 45. They only need two first downs to get into game-tying field goal position. They get the two first downs. And they tie the game.

Why?

Aren’t the odds, aren’t the statistics, aren’t the trends going to show that nine times out of ten you’re going to cover your kick and make the tackle inside the 25? Why do these football coaches who rely so much on their “charts” and numbers and facts—who never stray from what the odds say, who dogmatically hold onto their numbers with a white-knuckle death grip—why do they throw all that out the window when it comes to these late-game squib kicks? If UCLA executes a normal kick and everything goes like it normally does for them, Tennessee has to make four or five first downs to tie the game instead of two.

Duh.

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I’m bothered by what passes as serious political discourse now in this country. Of course, this has been coming for decades. It didn’t just happen overnight. But still…

How is it possible that Larry King can put together a panel of four that consists of a comedienne, a congresswoman, a dot.com reporter, and a democratic strategist and spend one full hour talking about what they all swear is a non-story and all of America deems it serious? What’s wrong with us? Have you noticed that during the political conventions the networks won’t give us any of the speeches except for those made between 9:00 – 10:00pm? They all come on the air at 8:00 but they spend that first hour talking about stages and wardrobes and sets and strategies while some of the best speeches are taking place behind them.

While former presidents and current governors are speaking, the network anchors promise, “We’ll bring you portions of these speeches later.” And then they get right down to the much more important matters at hand: Hillary’s pants suits, Obama’s basketball game, one man’s journey to Denver from New Jersey, and just how many fireworks are they going to shoot on the last night? And the whole thing’s in a football stadium! As someone else observed: Mile High, Inch Deep.

We no longer want political discourse. We want entertainment. We don’t want to hear about the issues or think about the candidates themselves. We want to be entertained. If that weren’t true, C-SPAN and PBS would have the highest rated news hours.

Neil Postman saw all this coming when he wrote “Amusing Ourselves to Death” in 1985. He quotes Robert MacNeil on the idealogy behind television news:

“The idea is to keep everything brief, not to strain the attention of anyone but instead to provide constant stimulation through variety, novelty, action, and movement. You are required to pay attention to no concept, no character, and no problem for more than a few seconds at a time. Bite-sized is best, complexity must be avoided, nuances are dispensable, qualifications impede the simple message, visual stimulation is a substitute for thought.”

Postman concludes in his work that “Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least well-informed people in the Western world.”

Searching for serious political discourse for the past couple of weeks on TV has been futile and frustrating. It’s not there. And we don’t seem to mind.

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The KK&C Top 20 College Football Poll is out. I’m not sure if it’s because of the Labor Day holiday or the fact that this was the first regular weekend, but we only had eight of our 20 panelists turn in a poll. Most of the slackers have apologized and they’ve all been sequestered in a dark room and are being forced to watch a replay of the SMU-Rice game as punishment.

But the poll must go on. And here it is. USC has leapfrogged Georgia to the #1 spot. Alabama makes its first appearance at #15. And Penn State’s in there for the first time at #17. Clemson’s loss dropped them eight places to #20 while Illinois’ weekend knocked them completely out of the poll. The poll was compiled prior to Tennessee’s gag last night at UCLA.

September 2, 2008

1. USC (5-1st place votes, 154 total) “Weak Pac-10 schedule plus Ohio St. at home plus much talent equals undefeated regular season” A.G.; ”Talent, talent, talent” B.W.; “Can you say ‘National Champs?’ If only they can get by Stanford” JimG.

2. Georgia (2, 145) “If good guys finish first, Mark Richt’s team will there when it’s all said and done.” JimG.; “May not know ’til we get to SEC” P.D.; “Too many problems—on and off the field—to stay this high” C.J.

3. Ohio St. (139) “Hoping the Wells won’t run dry” B.W., early favorite for Skip Bayless line of the year; “Will run the table after losing to USC” A.G.; “O-ver-ra-ted. Clap-clap-clap,clap,clap” JimG.;

4. Oklahoma (134) “Dominant team in Big 12″ A.G.; “The only thing stopping the Sooners was the thunderstorm delay” JimG.;

5. Florida (133) “Great team, tough schedule” A.G.; “Will replace Georgia as #1 SEC team when all is said and done” C.J.; “A good QB can carry a team” B.W.

6. LSU (1, 127) “Can’t keep the champs out of Top 10 until they’re knocked out” C.J.

7. Missouri (117) “Much respect for taking on a Top 20 opponent right off the bat” J.S.; “Experience plus talent equals success” C.J.; “Their QB was rocking, I quit watching an SEC game to turn to this one!” JennG.; “Offense unstoppable against Illinois” A.G. “Oh, for a little defense” JimG.

8. West Virginia (95) “Weak schedule” A.G.; “Always good against the inferior Big East” C.J.

9. Texas (91) “Not sure they are ready for the Top 10″ B.W.; “Enjoy it while the schedule is cream puff!” C.J.; “Licking their chops to pay back Arkansas” JimG.; “Ho-hum” P.D.

10. Auburn (89) “Typical Tuberville team doing it with defense and special teams” JimG.

11. Kansas (70) “What did Mark Mangino weigh following preseason camp?” JimG.

tie 11. Wisconsin (70) “Don’t know much about them, ESPN says they’re good and they never exaggerate.” C.J.; “Trembling over their pending trip to Fresno” JimG.

13. Texas Tech (60) “Will move down as soft defense is exploited” C.J.; “The defense is supposed to be better, so far it’s worse” J.S.

14. Arizona St. (45) “Until they play USC” B.W.

15. Alabama (43) “Impressive win against Clemson” A.G.; “Will move up” C.J.; “The dark horse that may not be so dark now” P.D.; “Looking like a real team this year, John Parker Wilson looks so much better” JennG.; “What a difference a Fresno State offensive coordinator makes” JimG.

16. Tennessee (38) “Despite better thoughts, Rick Neuheisel puts his money on the Vols” JimG., a great line reduced to meaninglessness after last night’s loss to UCLA; “I’m keeping them in the top 15 because I’m hoping for a win tonight” JennG., D’oh!;

17. Oregon (28) “Would be higher if they had real uniforms” B.W.;

tie 17. Penn St. (28) “Joe Pa, the Legend, has all the engines running” C.J.; “Maybe better than predicted” P.D.; “As long as everyone is on the field” B.W.; “Are he and Bobby Bowden going to toss the ‘winningest coach’ award around until one of them dies?” JennG.

19. BYU (26) “Who needs a running game?” JimG.

20. Clemson (20) “Outcoached and outplayed dramatically by Saban and Alabama” P.D.; “Wasn’t a believer before and I’m not one now” J.S.; “”Thunder and Lightening was a no-show” JennG.

Also receiving votes: South Florida (12); Illinois (7) “They will make someone pay” P.D.; “They will be back” J.S.; Fresno St. (6) “This year’s BCS-Buster!” JimG.; Wake Forest (3); Arkansas St. (1) “Anyone who can win playing with eleven against twelve should be in the Top 20″ B.W.

Charlie Johanson was actually at Saturday’s Aggies game in College Station and reports, “We have a pretty good team this year except for our offense, defense, and special teams.”

Folks, that’s the kind of insight and opinion you’re only going to get on this blog.

Charlie also had one of the better lines of the weekend when he threw out this gem about Wisconsin, “I don’t know much about them. ESPN says they’re good and they never exaggerate.”

Jim Gardner also had this to say about his Tennessee pick, “Despite better thoughts, Rick Neuheisel put his money on the Vols.” A great line rendered meaningless by last night’s UCLA upset.

For the latest poll and pictures and bios of all the panelists, just click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab in the upper right hand corner of this page.

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What a fantastic weekend in Arkansas with Keith and Amanda and their family and Jimmy and Elizabeth and the Northside Church of Christ in Benton. Much more on that tomorrow.

Peace,

Allan

KK&C Top 20 Preseason Poll

August 20, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

Preseason Poll August 20, 2008

1. Georgia (304 total, 8 1st place) “must play LSU, Auburn, and ‘Bama in SEC West” ~A.G.
2. USC (300, 5)
3. Ohio State (265, 2) “Buckeyes will run the table after losing to USC” ~A.G.
4. Oklahoma (255) “Overrated, as usual” ~M.D.
5. LSU (234, 2) “Only if little Matt decides he wants to be a real QB. I’m not sold yet.” ~J.G.
6. Florida (232)
7. Missouri (205)
8. Texas (192) “Go, Colt!” ~J.G.
9. West Virginia (172) “Weak schedule” ~A.G.
10. Auburn (163)
11. Kansas (135) “Jayhawks were a fluke last year. They’ll be a fluke this year, too.” ~M.D.
12. Clemson (141)
13. Wisconsin (134)
13. Virginia Tech (134)
15. Tennessee (94) “Yawn…SEC” ~J.R.
15. Texas Tech (94) “Needs more respect…and a defense” ~M.H.
17. Arizona State (62) “Keep feeding Trinity H.S. ‘05 State Champion running back Dimitri Nance!” ~J.R.
18. BYU (48) “Lucky to be in the MWC” ~M.D.
19. Illinois (29)
20. Oregon (22) “Those crazy Nike unis getting some love” ~M.H.

Also receiving votes: UT-Arlington (20) “If we make them the #1 team in the country, they’ll have to give them a football team” ~T.S.; Michigan (19); Penn State (12) “In honor of Joe Paterno’s 120th year of coaching” ~D.B.; South Florida (9); UCLA (11) M.R. voted for them twice; Boston College (10); Cincinnati (6); Alabama (4).

Click on the green “KK&C Top 20” tab in the upper right hand corner of this page to see the complete poll and pictures and bios and links to all 20 of our pollsters. I haven’t figured out how to record comments on that page. So any of your observations will have to be made here by clicking the regular “comments” line. The first regular season poll will be released Tuesday September 2.

Peace,

Allan

Heaven On Earth

August 19, 2008 / Allan / 6 Comments

David Hunter’s wife, Denise, died Sunday. The funeral is Thursday morning in Robinson. Our Father tells us through his prophet Isaiah, “I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (46:4). May our God carry David and his two children through this dark, dark valley. May he grant them his peace and comfort. And may he use his people—us—to reach out to them with his love and mercies.

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Further reflections on this past Sunday at Legacy — There was so much anticipation, so much build up, so much expectation going in to that first assembly in the new building, it wouldn’t have mattered what happened in there, most everybody was going to come out feeling great. Everything was going to be positive. Everything was going to be fabulous. It would have been impossible to mess it up, even if we had been trying. Everybody’s expectations were that it was going to be great. Everybody had already decided it was going to be wonderful, months before it ever happened.

And it was. It was wonderful. Microphones were off when they should have been on and they were left on when they should have been off. Communion servers missed rows. The baptistry water was freezing cold. The PowerPoint slides weren’t all up at the times they should have been. I was so totally disoriented, I’m not sure what I said or how I said it. Yet, it was fantastic. It was amazing. And I can’t help but think a ton of that has to do with our mindsets going in. It was going to be wonderful no matter what happened. We had already made up our minds.

Bingo.

Can’t we all, everyone of us, go into this coming Sunday, and the next Sunday, and the Sunday after that, and even the Sundays to come next month and next year and five years from now with the exact same level of anticipation and enthusiasm? Shouldn’t we? Next Sunday there will be more visitors to meet. Next Sunday there will be more Legacy members to greet. Next Sunday our God is going to work in and through our assembly to bless us and shape us into the image of his Son. So why wouldn’t we go into next Sunday the same way we went into this one? No matter what happens during the service, I’m convinced even before it begins that it’s going to be wonderful and I’m going to be blessed by gathering in the presence of God and one another. Why wouldn’t that be the attitude every single week?

Sunday, we looked at how our Christian assemblies transcend time and space. We’re not in this room, we’re not in the worship center. When we’re together, we’re at Mt. Zion, gathered around the throne of our God with all the saints for all time, those who’ve gone before and those who are coming after. We’re in the future. We see the future. We experience the future when we’re together like this. It really is heaven on earth. The singing really is that good.

On Sunday, we joined the future. When we assemble together, we see the future, we experience the future. And we’re strengthened to live in the present because we’ve experienced the future. And we live and act in the present as if the future’s already come. Because for us, it has.

We don’t have to wait for the sweet by and by to experience the transforming presence of God. In the hallowed here and now we enter his throne room together along with all the saints of every age.

May God’s people assemble in our new building in spirit and truth for generations to come. And may our understanding of our assemblies always be shaped by the realities of the eternal Kingdom of our God.

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I was so disoriented Sunday. I never knew whether I was coming or going. The whole thing was so strange. Nothing normal about any of it. And it was much more than just being in a new building. I’ve certainly preached before in strange new settings. What made it weird was that it was all the people I know and love, but nobody was where they belonged. I’ve become very used to looking in certain places and seeing certain people. I know where to look to find the people who are always paying attention and nodding encouragement to me. And I know where to find the people who are just nodding. I know where my good friends are and where the people are I don’t know that well. I know where each of our elders can be found. I know where Carrie-Anne and the girls are. For 14 months now I’ve been accustomed to knowing where everybody is. Until Sunday. Nobody was where they were supposed to be. Everybody was with different people. In different places. This was my church family. But it was like the room had been turned upside down. Very strange. I never got my bearings. I hope it’s a little different this next Sunday.

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I’m humbled by all this. I’ve thought it many times before, it was running through my head all day Saturday, and the thought was overwhelming me Sunday morning: what in the world am I doing here? This church has really messed up by ordaining me as their preacher. They have no clue how far in over my head I am. If they only knew how terrified I am by all this. I don’t belong here. It’s too big. It’s too important. I’m too weak. I’m too small. This doesn’t fit. I’ll be exposed any day now for the fraud I really am. And those thoughts drive me to the floor on my knees. God, if you don’t show up, I’m not showing up. Ever. I can’t do this. You have to do this. It’s all on you, Lord; every bit of it.

And he’s there every time. Every single time. He’s never missed. And it never ceases to blow me away.

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Here it is! Here’s the official logo for The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys Top 20 College Football Poll. We received a grand total of 6 votes. One vote for David Watson’s “Football Pole” design. Of course, that vote shouldn’t really count because the one casting that vote didn’t even get the joke. Brittany Bankhead-Kendall’s entry received no votes. Sorry, girl. I’m not sure why. I appreciate your effort, though, because it seemed to really get the ball rolling. The other five votes went to Scott Beard’s inspirational design. Scott’s imaginative scheme combines the rich imagery of a football player preparing mentally for the physical battle that faces him in the heart of the trenches—where, as we know, all football games are won or lost—with bold lines and striking attention to detail that paint a complete portrait of the paradox of the game: artistic brutality; violent ballet; a symphony of collisions with all the drama of a month’s worth of soap opera Fridays. So, here it is.

Congratulations to Scott Beard!

The KK&C Top 20 Preseason Poll will be released first thing tomorrow morning.

Peace,

Allan

Category: College Football (Page 10 of 12)

Clean Up

41-37, I Know, I Know

Typing Above The Growls

Squib Kicks, Politics, & The Poll

KK&C Top 20 Preseason Poll

Heaven On Earth

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