S7s: 13 Mar

1) Watershed Youth High School Retreat was this weekend. The place was Carolina Point, a camp run by Young Life on the NC/SC border near Brevard. It's a beautiful site and still growing. We had the camp to ourselves and were blessed with great weather. The theme of the week was the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22. God clothes us in his garments and invites us to celebrate with him. It's good stuff. The kids were amazing and there were some changed hearts. I'm always fortunate to get to share in these opportunities and experiences.

2) NC Primary is Tuesday. I can't wait to vote. Not even decided which primary I'm voting in yet. It will be a last minute decision.

3) NCAA Basketball tournament is ready to roll. I have followed very little college basketball, but I'll still make a bracket. Right now, Let me study the bracket and get back to you on who I think will win.

4) Here's one reason why wrestling is so great-- Seth Curry would never give this interview:

5) More sports: what a huge loss for the NFL-- Marshawn Lynch, Peyton Manning and Calvin Johnson all retire in the same year. Megatron will always be my favorite, I got a lot of joy watching him play while he was at Georgia Tech:


6) Just when you thought you knew it all:
http://www.cnet.com/news/scientists-discover-a-potential-new-species-caspar-the-ghost-octopus/

7) Track season has begun. We had our first and second meets last week. The weather was great. Not brutal like March often is. The team is deeper that we were last year. We don't have the top tier talent, but we've got some strong performers. And I'm really impressed with some of our new kids. We placed 6th at Reynolds on Tuesday and were 3rd in a home meet on Thursday.

My old Dell died, so we tried to pair two new computers to time and score. It didn't work perfectly. We had a system that was fine, but my project before April 7 is to make sure that our computers are communicating. Hosting meets is an ordeal, but we have great facilities and the right equipment. It's just a matter of having all the pieces in place (technology, volunteers, weather).

Death Valley Memories

As stated in my previous post, games at Clemson Memorial Stadium (aka Death Valley) against Tech are usually memorable. Here is a rundown of the games I've attended over the last 10 years, almost all remarkable:

1998:
Tigers up 21-17 in 4th quarter. Tech gets ball back with two and a half minutes left. Joe Hamilton gets Tech to the Clemson 4 on two big passes and then Joe Burns runs it in and breaks Clemson heart. Tech 24, Clemson 21.

2000:
Clemson is ranked #4 in the country. They took a 24-28 lead off a Willie Simmons TD pass with 1:52 left and seemingly putting the game out of reach. With only 7 seconds left, Geroge Godsey threw a 16 yard pass that Kerry Watkins acrobatically caught with ONE hand to ruin Clemson's national title hopes. Final 31-28 TECH.

2002:
The "Monsoon" game. It rained the whole game. Not just any rain, but torrential and persistent. I was in the upper deck with nowhere to hide and loving football too much to seek shelter. I've never been wetter in my life. Add to that a 24-19 loss, it was not my favorite night in Clemson.

2004:
Calvin's coming out party. Unranked Tech is making a visit to #18 Clemson. 5 touchdowns in the last 8:19, lots of huge plays and one of the most exciting and unpredictable games I've ever witnessed live. Check this breakdown:
8:19 remaining - Reggie Merriweather runs from 62 yards out to give Clemson a 17-7 lead. Still time though...
4:36 - Reggie Ball finds Levon Thomas for a 19 yard touchdown pass and now Tech is only down by a field goal.
3:18 - The Jackets defense allows Kyle Browning to run from 54 yards out and Clemson is up by 10 again.
1:50 - Reggie Ball caps a 8 play drive with a 8 yard pass to freshman phenom Calvin Johnson, his second TD reception of the night.
:23 seconds left - Clemson, up by 3 just has to punt and play prevent defense. They botch the punt!!! Tech gets the ball at the Clemson 10 with a chance to score or kick a field goal to send the game into overtime.
:11 seconds left - Calvin Johnson catches his THIRD touchdown of the night!! The legend is born, Tech wins 28-24 and I witnessed one of the most amazing games ever.


2006:
I missed this game because I was at my 10 year high school reunion. Good thing, Tech got creamed 31-7.

2008:
See previous post.

Looking forward to 2010...