I'm proud of the Warriors. You kept fighting, maybe a little too hard, and lost your composure in the end... but you didn't give up, and after the final horn sounded, both teams recognized the better team won in this series. Time to bask in the glow for a little while - the realization that the Warriors are relevant again. That's one mighty tasty carrot.
As for Spurs-Suns... Horry, what are you doing man? You're better than committing frustration fouls on guys smaller than you. There isn't much satisfaction from tonight's win with the Suns missing their 2/3 of their best big men, even if Phoenix was leading most of the way. Frankly, I like all three of the Western Conference teams remaining in the playoffs, and would root for any in the finals.
Some highlights from my family's trip to NYC coming up soon, but a quick shout out to my bro for graduating from law school - proud of you, dude.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Summer 2007 movies
Thanks to Maria for organizing an outing to watch Spiderman 3 tonight. Short reaction: it's reasonably entertaining comic book-style action and interpersonal drama, but overall a little bloated with too many characters and plotlines for any of them to be well-developed. A disappointment compared to the fairly tight narrative in Spiderman 2, and I'd also rank it behind Spiderman 1, which had quite a bit of new charm.
Other movies coming out this summer:
Will definitely watch it in the theater
Spiderman 3
Will probably watch in the theater after 2 weeks, but will be influenced by reviews
Pirates 3
Transformers
The Simpsons
The Bourne Ultimatum
DVD
Live Free or Die Hard
Evan Almighty
Fanboys
Maybe on DVD, depending on reviews
Shrek 3
Oceans 13
Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer
Rush Hour 3
Other movies coming out this summer:
Will definitely watch it in the theater
Will probably watch in the theater after 2 weeks, but will be influenced by reviews
Pirates 3
Transformers
The Simpsons
The Bourne Ultimatum
DVD
Live Free or Die Hard
Evan Almighty
Fanboys
Maybe on DVD, depending on reviews
Shrek 3
Oceans 13
Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer
Rush Hour 3
Friday, May 04, 2007
Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard
I saw that quote in a good feature story on Kevin Durant, and thought it would be appropriate for a post dedicated to the Warriors' ousting of the Mavs in the first round last night.
There's probably nothing more frustrating to a sports fan than watching athletes who don't work hard. Some players have talent, some don't have as much, but it's easy to tell who makes the game look easy (but is playing hard) and who is just taking it easy. Example: Mike Dunleavy, who had all the skills (except quickness) but was almost always content to execute perfect chest passes rather than take (and make) big shots.
A close second in frustration-inducement would be watching players who play dumb. Some players may be able to leap out of the gym and hit threes from halfcourt with regularity, but they wouldn't box out or would commit turnovers at crucial points. Example: Troy Murphy, who would let his man grab offensive boards if he wasn't the one grabbing the defensive board. Also, the story about him sitting out the final game of the 2005-2006 season to protect his double-double average is just... yeah.
The Warriors have had a decent amount of talent over the years (you have to when you get that many lottery picks), but a disturbing shortage of heart, competitive spirit, and drive. Too many players earned the enmity of fans by not diving for loose balls, not keeping in shape, not playing defense, not making the extra pass, and in general not showing the grind-it-out commitment that is needed to win on a regular basis.
Now that the Warriors have been able to remake themselves with players who play somewhat smart at times, but above all, play hard, they've become America's darlings. No one would have thought that could happen 2 years ago, or even 2 months ago.
Last night's Matt Barnes dunk over Dirk Nowitzki probably epitomizes those two principles, and the title of this post, best:
When a 2nd round draft pick playing for his 5th team in 4 years can impact a game more than the league MVP - that's heart. That's hard work. And, maybe a little bit of talent mixed in. Barnes impacted this series more than I think Dunleavy or Murphy will ever do.
Who's to say what will happen in the next round (for the record, I think the Rockets are a better matchup, since Yao can't run with them and Boozer always kills us). For the time being, it's quite a treat to be able to enjoy a team that is finally working hard, playing smart, and having a surprising amount of success and a ton of fun while doing it. Hopefully they take this experience into the offseason, whenever it comes, and return ready to go in the upcoming years, making this a franchise that people want to play for.
There's probably nothing more frustrating to a sports fan than watching athletes who don't work hard. Some players have talent, some don't have as much, but it's easy to tell who makes the game look easy (but is playing hard) and who is just taking it easy. Example: Mike Dunleavy, who had all the skills (except quickness) but was almost always content to execute perfect chest passes rather than take (and make) big shots.
A close second in frustration-inducement would be watching players who play dumb. Some players may be able to leap out of the gym and hit threes from halfcourt with regularity, but they wouldn't box out or would commit turnovers at crucial points. Example: Troy Murphy, who would let his man grab offensive boards if he wasn't the one grabbing the defensive board. Also, the story about him sitting out the final game of the 2005-2006 season to protect his double-double average is just... yeah.
The Warriors have had a decent amount of talent over the years (you have to when you get that many lottery picks), but a disturbing shortage of heart, competitive spirit, and drive. Too many players earned the enmity of fans by not diving for loose balls, not keeping in shape, not playing defense, not making the extra pass, and in general not showing the grind-it-out commitment that is needed to win on a regular basis.
Now that the Warriors have been able to remake themselves with players who play somewhat smart at times, but above all, play hard, they've become America's darlings. No one would have thought that could happen 2 years ago, or even 2 months ago.
Last night's Matt Barnes dunk over Dirk Nowitzki probably epitomizes those two principles, and the title of this post, best:
When a 2nd round draft pick playing for his 5th team in 4 years can impact a game more than the league MVP - that's heart. That's hard work. And, maybe a little bit of talent mixed in. Barnes impacted this series more than I think Dunleavy or Murphy will ever do.
Who's to say what will happen in the next round (for the record, I think the Rockets are a better matchup, since Yao can't run with them and Boozer always kills us). For the time being, it's quite a treat to be able to enjoy a team that is finally working hard, playing smart, and having a surprising amount of success and a ton of fun while doing it. Hopefully they take this experience into the offseason, whenever it comes, and return ready to go in the upcoming years, making this a franchise that people want to play for.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Vignettes from Mavs-Warriors Game 4
Eric jostled with the other Warriors fans against the chain link fence. Some of them had been waiting in line outside the parking lot of Oracle Arena since 2:30 in the morning, but due to mismanagement, there was no number taking for folks that had been waiting, and instead it would be first come first serve for those who could make it across the parking lot to the ticket office. The official unlocked the gate, and with a pounding of feet, everyone began sprinting.
After dodging cars, sideswiping people, and otherwise leaving a swath of destruction in his wake, Eric was able to score 8 tickets (4 to game 3, 4 to game 4) of which he generously provided me one:
The Warriors take game 3 handily to go up 2-1 in the series, in Golden State's first home playoff game since 1994, when C-Webb, Spree for 3, and Mullin were getting slaughtered by Charles Barkley. Game 4, however, is the real swing game - a loss would give home court advantage back to Dallas, and they'd undoubtedly come out swinging with the confidence that the league's best record will give. It'd be up to us fans to give the team the extra edge needed in contests like these.
Arrival at the Arena. Walking along the concourse from the BART station to the entrance, there is a palpable energy among the fans making their way in, most of whom are clad in yellow "WE BELIEVE" t-shirts from Friday night's win. While standing in line, there's some whooping, spontaneous "Go WARRIORS!" shouts, and general high spirits. As a group, diehard Warriors fans tend to be rather dour, believing that anything that can go wrong will go wrong - but there's been some magic surrounding Oakland the last month or so.
We walk in the door, and we get our first bad news of the night - no T-shirts today, just "We believe" towels. What is this? Too cheap to put out another batch of shirts? This puts a damper on morale in 2 ways:
1) you lose the uniformity of the sea of yellow ringing the stands
2) waving towels prevents fans from clapping and otherwise being able to make more noise which is the whole point
Not only that, but they run out of towels before we are able to get a hold of them. Not a promising start.
Pregame. We find our seats in section 219, with our backs almost literally against the wall - we are one row in front of the side of the arena. We are so high up that when standing, we can't see the score on the scoreboard due to the slope of the roof. On the plus side, however, the cheap seats ("cheap") are where you can typically find the most intelligent and spirited fans, who pay less so that they can get into more games. For example, it's the upper deck fans that know not to chant "M-V-P" while Baron is shooting free throws since it's distracting (chant it during timeouts, dangit!). The white guy sitting in front of us is wearing a Jamison #33 jersey, and the three Latinos to our right are clad in the "We Believe" shirts from Friday. To our right are a few Filipinos who never sat down. We will have further interactions with these folks throughout the game.
Starting lineups. The fans are in a frenzy already. During the Warriors' intros, they dim the lights to a ghostly blue glow, and bring out flame machines. I've always been puzzled by these - why decrease the air quality on the floor when world-class athletes will need all the oxygen they can get?
Tipoff!
The crowd is already into it - Eric and I are starting the "AH-OHHHHHHHHH" yell from Cal football days, we're standing, and our section appears to be the one starting the "DE-FENSE" chant for each Dallas possession. On a set of Jason Terry free throws, Eric says resignedly, "He doesn't miss these - he's like a 90% free throw shooter." Naturally, Terry bricks the first free throw, a victim of the legendary stat curse, and Jamison Jersey turns around to give Eric a high five. It's that kind of night.
Latino guys just sat down with some freshly fried fish and chips, with the smell wafting up to our row and reminding us that we had to skip dinner in order to make it to the Arena on time. I clomp down on my cough drop (I went through around 6-7 during the course of the game to preserve my vocal cords) and continue yelling. The Latino guys have also bought a beer bong, a plastic container about the length of a human arm shaped like a pipe - when drinking, the suds would flow to the other end and look like smoke. Creative.
... This isn't a good first half. For the first time in the series, the Mavericks look like a 67-win team and the Warriors look like a bunch of schmoes that are just happy to be there. Howard isn't missing from midrange, Dirk had a morale-breaking dunk that left the basket stanchion shaking for a good 5-10 seconds, and it seemed that all of our fervent chants are coldly, almost casually, being shrugged off. The only bright side is that the Warriors are remaining in striking distance due to a succession of lucky shots and some unexpected energy from Pietrus, who typifies the "No, no no... YES!" reaction that the crowd is going to have all night long.
Near halftime, Dirk had just converted a 3-pt play and all of us in the stands were starting to wonder if this was really going to be our night, seeing as how our guys seemed to be outclassed. Then this happened:
That was just what we needed. Not only did it knot up the score going into halftime, it infused the crowd with a burst of energy that we were able to sustain throughout the break, and also, it gave us our first indication that on this night at least, Baron Davis could do no wrong. In every clutch situation, we knew that he would be able to come through.
In the 3rd, the Mavs tried to pull away, aided by a bunch of frustrating blocking fouls that sent Stackhouse to the line for what seemed like 100 consecutive possessions (those watching on TV probably heard the vitriolic "Bull****" chant that the arena was yelling), but the determination of the crowd and a few more lucky shots helped keep the Warriors in it. Then, Baron came through again to give the W's momentum going into the 4th:
This was a man's play - because while the halfcourt heave was luck, this was pure willpower to take the ball away from Terry, fight him off running down the court, and finish strong with two hands before time could run out.
The final push came with around 4 minutes left. Watch the following vid, and imagine the energy of the crowd as we yelled, clapped, chanted, and willed our guys to overcome :
When Biedrins dunked the assist pass from Baron, and when Barnes 3-ptr fell through the net, the roof nearly blew off. We yelled, slapped hands with everyone within arms' reach, and jumped up and down with the players. To think that half a year ago, we were watching Murphy not boxing out and Dunleavy missing open jumpers, and now we could just enjoy a team with heart... what a feeling.
When Nowitzki hit the two 3s at the end, and Baron missed his first free throw to leave the W's with only a 3-pt lead, in the old days I would have the sinking feeling that the Mavs would find some way of tossing in a miracle 3-ptr to send the game into overtime. But there's a new atmosphere going on now, and Pietrus of all people sealed the deal by picking off Harris' inbounds pass (though true to form, he followed up his brilliant play with a dumb one by getting close enough to the rim to get fouled).
I'm not looking ahead to the next round by any means, particularly after seeing the Lakers get overtaken by the Suns in last year's playoffs. But you know what? Being part of the game 4 win is probably one of my greatest sporting experiences.
I Believe! Go Warriors!
After dodging cars, sideswiping people, and otherwise leaving a swath of destruction in his wake, Eric was able to score 8 tickets (4 to game 3, 4 to game 4) of which he generously provided me one:
The Warriors take game 3 handily to go up 2-1 in the series, in Golden State's first home playoff game since 1994, when C-Webb, Spree for 3, and Mullin were getting slaughtered by Charles Barkley. Game 4, however, is the real swing game - a loss would give home court advantage back to Dallas, and they'd undoubtedly come out swinging with the confidence that the league's best record will give. It'd be up to us fans to give the team the extra edge needed in contests like these.
Arrival at the Arena. Walking along the concourse from the BART station to the entrance, there is a palpable energy among the fans making their way in, most of whom are clad in yellow "WE BELIEVE" t-shirts from Friday night's win. While standing in line, there's some whooping, spontaneous "Go WARRIORS!" shouts, and general high spirits. As a group, diehard Warriors fans tend to be rather dour, believing that anything that can go wrong will go wrong - but there's been some magic surrounding Oakland the last month or so.
We walk in the door, and we get our first bad news of the night - no T-shirts today, just "We believe" towels. What is this? Too cheap to put out another batch of shirts? This puts a damper on morale in 2 ways:
1) you lose the uniformity of the sea of yellow ringing the stands
2) waving towels prevents fans from clapping and otherwise being able to make more noise which is the whole point
Not only that, but they run out of towels before we are able to get a hold of them. Not a promising start.
Pregame. We find our seats in section 219, with our backs almost literally against the wall - we are one row in front of the side of the arena. We are so high up that when standing, we can't see the score on the scoreboard due to the slope of the roof. On the plus side, however, the cheap seats ("cheap") are where you can typically find the most intelligent and spirited fans, who pay less so that they can get into more games. For example, it's the upper deck fans that know not to chant "M-V-P" while Baron is shooting free throws since it's distracting (chant it during timeouts, dangit!). The white guy sitting in front of us is wearing a Jamison #33 jersey, and the three Latinos to our right are clad in the "We Believe" shirts from Friday. To our right are a few Filipinos who never sat down. We will have further interactions with these folks throughout the game.
Starting lineups. The fans are in a frenzy already. During the Warriors' intros, they dim the lights to a ghostly blue glow, and bring out flame machines. I've always been puzzled by these - why decrease the air quality on the floor when world-class athletes will need all the oxygen they can get?
Tipoff!
The crowd is already into it - Eric and I are starting the "AH-OHHHHHHHHH" yell from Cal football days, we're standing, and our section appears to be the one starting the "DE-FENSE" chant for each Dallas possession. On a set of Jason Terry free throws, Eric says resignedly, "He doesn't miss these - he's like a 90% free throw shooter." Naturally, Terry bricks the first free throw, a victim of the legendary stat curse, and Jamison Jersey turns around to give Eric a high five. It's that kind of night.
Latino guys just sat down with some freshly fried fish and chips, with the smell wafting up to our row and reminding us that we had to skip dinner in order to make it to the Arena on time. I clomp down on my cough drop (I went through around 6-7 during the course of the game to preserve my vocal cords) and continue yelling. The Latino guys have also bought a beer bong, a plastic container about the length of a human arm shaped like a pipe - when drinking, the suds would flow to the other end and look like smoke. Creative.
... This isn't a good first half. For the first time in the series, the Mavericks look like a 67-win team and the Warriors look like a bunch of schmoes that are just happy to be there. Howard isn't missing from midrange, Dirk had a morale-breaking dunk that left the basket stanchion shaking for a good 5-10 seconds, and it seemed that all of our fervent chants are coldly, almost casually, being shrugged off. The only bright side is that the Warriors are remaining in striking distance due to a succession of lucky shots and some unexpected energy from Pietrus, who typifies the "No, no no... YES!" reaction that the crowd is going to have all night long.
Near halftime, Dirk had just converted a 3-pt play and all of us in the stands were starting to wonder if this was really going to be our night, seeing as how our guys seemed to be outclassed. Then this happened:
That was just what we needed. Not only did it knot up the score going into halftime, it infused the crowd with a burst of energy that we were able to sustain throughout the break, and also, it gave us our first indication that on this night at least, Baron Davis could do no wrong. In every clutch situation, we knew that he would be able to come through.
In the 3rd, the Mavs tried to pull away, aided by a bunch of frustrating blocking fouls that sent Stackhouse to the line for what seemed like 100 consecutive possessions (those watching on TV probably heard the vitriolic "Bull****" chant that the arena was yelling), but the determination of the crowd and a few more lucky shots helped keep the Warriors in it. Then, Baron came through again to give the W's momentum going into the 4th:
This was a man's play - because while the halfcourt heave was luck, this was pure willpower to take the ball away from Terry, fight him off running down the court, and finish strong with two hands before time could run out.
The final push came with around 4 minutes left. Watch the following vid, and imagine the energy of the crowd as we yelled, clapped, chanted, and willed our guys to overcome :
When Biedrins dunked the assist pass from Baron, and when Barnes 3-ptr fell through the net, the roof nearly blew off. We yelled, slapped hands with everyone within arms' reach, and jumped up and down with the players. To think that half a year ago, we were watching Murphy not boxing out and Dunleavy missing open jumpers, and now we could just enjoy a team with heart... what a feeling.
When Nowitzki hit the two 3s at the end, and Baron missed his first free throw to leave the W's with only a 3-pt lead, in the old days I would have the sinking feeling that the Mavs would find some way of tossing in a miracle 3-ptr to send the game into overtime. But there's a new atmosphere going on now, and Pietrus of all people sealed the deal by picking off Harris' inbounds pass (though true to form, he followed up his brilliant play with a dumb one by getting close enough to the rim to get fouled).
I'm not looking ahead to the next round by any means, particularly after seeing the Lakers get overtaken by the Suns in last year's playoffs. But you know what? Being part of the game 4 win is probably one of my greatest sporting experiences.
I Believe! Go Warriors!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Weekend entertainment
Weather's getting hotter. Shally, Hanlin, and I met up with a few other folks from GRX this morning to cook and assemble burgers for some of the poor at CityTeam Ministries, and by the time we were done the mercury had risen to the high 80s/low 90s. I kinda miss the good old days of 60 degree weather.
Things that made me laugh (or at least chuckle, or shake my head ruefully) this week:
Smartest message board thread ever:
# Think Terry, Harris, Buchner and company will try to get us to lose our cool? - MotownLefty1
* Did the sun rise today? - Pacer Playoff Ambitions - Murphleavy'd
o Nope... the Earth just rotated to where we can see it - SCbay49
+ Ouch, he just got Galileowned - Shallow Hal
# Copernicussed out - Ben
Message needed for geeks and internet addicts everywhere (read closely)
The Chinese are taking over the world - from Hanlin
Life lesson
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him,”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.
Haloid
Fun video pitting the Master Chief from Halo against Samus from Metroid... with some artistic interpretation built in:
I believe
Finally, I'll be heading up to the Coliseum tomorrow night to watch the Warriors take on the Mavericks in game 4. I doubt we'll be sitting for very long or be silent for a long duration of time. Go W's!
Things that made me laugh (or at least chuckle, or shake my head ruefully) this week:
Smartest message board thread ever:
# Think Terry, Harris, Buchner and company will try to get us to lose our cool? - MotownLefty1
* Did the sun rise today? - Pacer Playoff Ambitions - Murphleavy'd
o Nope... the Earth just rotated to where we can see it - SCbay49
+ Ouch, he just got Galileowned - Shallow Hal
# Copernicussed out - Ben
Message needed for geeks and internet addicts everywhere (read closely)
The Chinese are taking over the world - from Hanlin
Life lesson
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A rabbit asked him,”Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?” The crow answered: “Sure, why not.” So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested.
A fox jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very high up.
Haloid
Fun video pitting the Master Chief from Halo against Samus from Metroid... with some artistic interpretation built in:
I believe
Finally, I'll be heading up to the Coliseum tomorrow night to watch the Warriors take on the Mavericks in game 4. I doubt we'll be sitting for very long or be silent for a long duration of time. Go W's!
Friday, April 20, 2007
City of Blinding Lights
Gonna go w/ the fam to Manhattan for 4 days in mid-May to celebrate my brother's impending graduation from law school. We have a fair amount of activities already planned, but anyone have any specific recommendations for activities/food that we absolutely should not miss?
Thursday, April 19, 2007
It's like a carrot to a hungry man
A conversation that took place last night with Shally after the Warriors beat the Mavericks to earn their first spot in the NBA playoffs since 1994:
Shally: So do the Warriors have any chance in the first round?
Bob: No, not really. They're playing the best team in the league.
S: Well that's kind of sad, isn't it? It's hopeless...
B: See, being a Warriors fan these last 13 years has kind of been like... say you hadn't eaten anything for 13 years. Then, someone gives you a carrot. You'd think it tastes pretty awesome.
Compare that to my fandom of the Spurs (which is not sports bigamy, under the Sports Guy's rules, because I began following the Admiral while he was still in college), who've made the playoffs almost every season since 1989. After a lot of carrots, you get tired of them; they get a little dry. At that point, you want steak... which is like winning the championship.
So, from the Spurs, I've gotten to taste 3 steaks in the last 10 years... but with the Warriors, all us fans are just hungry folks gobbling up carrots, and they taste pretty darn good.
... Hm, the analogy sounded a lot more clever to me when I was saying it then when I'm writing it. Ah well.
The NBA playoffs are here... for the next two months I'm going to be inundated with the drama of almost daily hoops competition. There is almost no first-round matchup that doesn't have some intrigue... time to put ESPN HD to the test!
For perspective, the last time the Warriors made the playoffs (1994):
- The top-grossing films were Forrest Gump, Lion King, and True Lies
- Some musicians on the top of the charts included Ace of Base, the Real McCoy, Janet Jackson, and Nirvana
- Star Trek: The Next Generation concluded, and both ER and Friends premiered
- OJ Simpson... 'nuff said
- Major League Baseball went on strike
- Netscape Navigator 1.0 was released
- Several of the kids in youth group weren't even born yet
Speaking of the youth group, this past weekend's youth retreat went quite well. I think it was important for the youth to hear the message that God's grace is already given to them, and that God sees them as saints (who still sin, but are covered by grace) rather than sinners who need to attain some level of holiness before they'd be accepted by God. I know that was a message I never quite internalized when I attended church during high school.
It was touching to hear testimonies from high schoolers saying that for the first time, they felt like they could worship God even though they might feel like they were too messed up for Him to accept their worship. It's a freeing thing to know we don't have to earn God's love and acceptance. I suspect there are plenty of non-youth in the church who need to hear the very same message. Heck, I forget it and need to be reminded of it often myself.
Back to sports... baseball season has started, and I really don't care much. I exert so much mental energy on the NBA and NFL (for fantasy football) that I really do need to take a break during the summer. So fare thee well, Giants and A's... wake me up if you make it to the playoffs.
24 has had something of an uneven season... at least two significant loose plot ends (Logan and Jack's dad), some pointless characters (Milo and Nadia) and acting that can't quite touch the stellar cast from last season. But, there's some promise for the rest of this one. Jack vs. China!
Lost, on the other hand, has taken quite a turn for the better. It's almost as if the producers realized they couldn't keep coming up with crap because even loyal viewers were losing patience. The last few eps have been genuinely enthralling.
Go Sharks!
Go Warriors!
WE BELIEVE PLAYOFF!
Shally: So do the Warriors have any chance in the first round?
Bob: No, not really. They're playing the best team in the league.
S: Well that's kind of sad, isn't it? It's hopeless...
B: See, being a Warriors fan these last 13 years has kind of been like... say you hadn't eaten anything for 13 years. Then, someone gives you a carrot. You'd think it tastes pretty awesome.
Compare that to my fandom of the Spurs (which is not sports bigamy, under the Sports Guy's rules, because I began following the Admiral while he was still in college), who've made the playoffs almost every season since 1989. After a lot of carrots, you get tired of them; they get a little dry. At that point, you want steak... which is like winning the championship.
So, from the Spurs, I've gotten to taste 3 steaks in the last 10 years... but with the Warriors, all us fans are just hungry folks gobbling up carrots, and they taste pretty darn good.
... Hm, the analogy sounded a lot more clever to me when I was saying it then when I'm writing it. Ah well.
The NBA playoffs are here... for the next two months I'm going to be inundated with the drama of almost daily hoops competition. There is almost no first-round matchup that doesn't have some intrigue... time to put ESPN HD to the test!
For perspective, the last time the Warriors made the playoffs (1994):
- The top-grossing films were Forrest Gump, Lion King, and True Lies
- Some musicians on the top of the charts included Ace of Base, the Real McCoy, Janet Jackson, and Nirvana
- Star Trek: The Next Generation concluded, and both ER and Friends premiered
- OJ Simpson... 'nuff said
- Major League Baseball went on strike
- Netscape Navigator 1.0 was released
- Several of the kids in youth group weren't even born yet
Speaking of the youth group, this past weekend's youth retreat went quite well. I think it was important for the youth to hear the message that God's grace is already given to them, and that God sees them as saints (who still sin, but are covered by grace) rather than sinners who need to attain some level of holiness before they'd be accepted by God. I know that was a message I never quite internalized when I attended church during high school.
It was touching to hear testimonies from high schoolers saying that for the first time, they felt like they could worship God even though they might feel like they were too messed up for Him to accept their worship. It's a freeing thing to know we don't have to earn God's love and acceptance. I suspect there are plenty of non-youth in the church who need to hear the very same message. Heck, I forget it and need to be reminded of it often myself.
Back to sports... baseball season has started, and I really don't care much. I exert so much mental energy on the NBA and NFL (for fantasy football) that I really do need to take a break during the summer. So fare thee well, Giants and A's... wake me up if you make it to the playoffs.
24 has had something of an uneven season... at least two significant loose plot ends (Logan and Jack's dad), some pointless characters (Milo and Nadia) and acting that can't quite touch the stellar cast from last season. But, there's some promise for the rest of this one. Jack vs. China!
Lost, on the other hand, has taken quite a turn for the better. It's almost as if the producers realized they couldn't keep coming up with crap because even loyal viewers were losing patience. The last few eps have been genuinely enthralling.
Go Sharks!
Go Warriors!
WE BELIEVE PLAYOFF!
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Wednesday funnies - the sequel
Following in the tradition of the previous Wednesday funnies post, a few more laughs to get you over the hump and into the latter half of the week:
They didn't study
Culled from around the web...
Look what a college education can get you
This is why I'm not big on beaches
(Note: Yes, this is a real picture. But it is misleading - the silhouette is actually a bottlenose dolphin).
They didn't study
Culled from around the web...
Look what a college education can get you
This is why I'm not big on beaches
(Note: Yes, this is a real picture. But it is misleading - the silhouette is actually a bottlenose dolphin).
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
A different kind of birthday
A little over ten years ago, on Easter Sunday, 1997, I stood up in front of the congregation at Canaan and publicly claimed my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. Even though I had been attending church during my high school years, it never really clicked for me during that time that salvation was a gift to be accepted, rather than a merit badge to be earned. I had gone through high school with the idea that just as I went to school to train my mind, I would go to church to train my soul and conscience. During my first year of college, however, I got a glimpse of and began to understand what fellowship was and who the Bible said Jesus was, and I figured I'd go ahead and get baptized.
I wore a suit. I wrote and read a testimony that included lyrics from the now-old-schoolish praise song "Just the Time (I Want to Know You More)". Pastor Dan dipped his hand into a chalice of water and wet my head (no dunk tank, unfortunately). Friends from Berkeley came down to witness and pledge to keep me accountable to the commitment of faith I had taken.
Ever since then, it's been a wild ride trying to understand this thing called discipleship. The half year after baptism, I went through the worst time of my life where everything I valued fell apart - knowing now that God was breaking down my old self so I could be built back up again. I've read through the Bible a few times and tried to learn how to be a servant leader. I've been able to see some of God's heart for the poor in the inner city of New York and in Mexico. I've had the privilege of leading Bible studies, musical worship, and working with high schoolers. I've been able to serve as a deacon and see what goes on behind-the-scenes of a church. I've struggled with some sins, gained victory over some others, and experienced God's grace throughout everything.
Now, ten years after being baptized, I look back on the path that God's brought me through and I become more convicted of the need for the Gospel on a daily basis. They say that one gauge of growing in spiritual maturity is that you continually realize just how much more wretched you are, and how much more in need of grace. I think I'm seeing this a little bit now, and I need to remind myself of it every day - how joyous it is to know the freedom that comes through grace!
I celebrated my "birthday" on Monday by going to donate blood. I go every 2 months - it's a good habit! - if you want to get started, check out the Stanford Blood Center (get the red out!) or the Red Cross. As I lay there with the warm tube lying against the skin of my arm, the thought came to mind that while I was giving blood in the hope that it would help heal another person from illness, Jesus gave up all his blood to redeem people to himself. The communion that we had taken on Good Friday was basically in remembrance of the divine blood donation that would heal his people from the sickness of sin. Kinda cool.
(Incidentally, if you need extra incentive, you can go to donate blood at Stanford on Mondays and receive an AMC silver voucher - the $5.50 one - as well as a $10 gift certificate to the Sports Basement sporting good store right now!)
I wore a suit. I wrote and read a testimony that included lyrics from the now-old-schoolish praise song "Just the Time (I Want to Know You More)". Pastor Dan dipped his hand into a chalice of water and wet my head (no dunk tank, unfortunately). Friends from Berkeley came down to witness and pledge to keep me accountable to the commitment of faith I had taken.
Ever since then, it's been a wild ride trying to understand this thing called discipleship. The half year after baptism, I went through the worst time of my life where everything I valued fell apart - knowing now that God was breaking down my old self so I could be built back up again. I've read through the Bible a few times and tried to learn how to be a servant leader. I've been able to see some of God's heart for the poor in the inner city of New York and in Mexico. I've had the privilege of leading Bible studies, musical worship, and working with high schoolers. I've been able to serve as a deacon and see what goes on behind-the-scenes of a church. I've struggled with some sins, gained victory over some others, and experienced God's grace throughout everything.
Now, ten years after being baptized, I look back on the path that God's brought me through and I become more convicted of the need for the Gospel on a daily basis. They say that one gauge of growing in spiritual maturity is that you continually realize just how much more wretched you are, and how much more in need of grace. I think I'm seeing this a little bit now, and I need to remind myself of it every day - how joyous it is to know the freedom that comes through grace!
I celebrated my "birthday" on Monday by going to donate blood. I go every 2 months - it's a good habit! - if you want to get started, check out the Stanford Blood Center (get the red out!) or the Red Cross. As I lay there with the warm tube lying against the skin of my arm, the thought came to mind that while I was giving blood in the hope that it would help heal another person from illness, Jesus gave up all his blood to redeem people to himself. The communion that we had taken on Good Friday was basically in remembrance of the divine blood donation that would heal his people from the sickness of sin. Kinda cool.
(Incidentally, if you need extra incentive, you can go to donate blood at Stanford on Mondays and receive an AMC silver voucher - the $5.50 one - as well as a $10 gift certificate to the Sports Basement sporting good store right now!)
Saturday, April 07, 2007
The Long Saturday
It's like that long Saturday between your death and the rising day where no one wrote a word, wondered is this the end - "Valleys Fill First", Caedmon's CallHopes dashed. Dreams shattered. Crestfallen. Hollow eyes, cotton mouths, and shell-shocked voices.
You can see it on election night at the campaign headquarters of the losing candidate. You can feel it when your favorite sports team snatches defeat from the jaws of victory (most memorable sports moments for me the last few years were Giants vs. Angels in the World Series, and Derek Fisher's 0.4 shot against the Spurs).
This, I think, is probably just a whisper of the state the disciples of Jesus Christ found themselves in over 2000 years ago:
They had just spent 3 years tying their hopes and dreams to a man who they thought would become king.
They had quit jobs, alienated families, and literally had nowhere else to turn and no place to return to.
After seeing their Master leave a trail of blood from a whipping post in Jerusalem, along the Via Dolorosa, and all the way to Golgotha, life probably didn't have much more meaning. There's no real written account of what happened that long Saturday after the brutal execution of Jesus.
Then Sunday came...
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