S7s: Apr 24- Purple Rain

1) Prince. Such an icon. We all jammed to "Purple Rain" and knew all the words to "When Doves Cry" and "Little Red Corvette". The man was such a talent. He wrote his own songs and played all the instruments on several albums when so many artists today are only performers-- all their songs are written for them. He was also an enigma, with a hidden faith and converting to Jehovah's Witness later in his life.

I watched his Super Bowl halftime show again and forgot what a great preformance that was. He jammed in the rain. First time it ever rained at a Super Bowl. He played live music when most acts in the Super Bowl are pre-recorded. He danced on a slippery stage. He played Foo Fighters and Bob Dylan because he could and he was secure enough to not just promote himself.

Here's a clip from NFL Networks recalling that performance. "Can you make it rain harder?"



I love this clip from the Chappelle show also. Apparently, Prince wrote a song about pancakes after this skit.

2) Eric Clapton was asked how if felt to be the greatest guitarist in the world. He replied, "I don't know, ask Prince."

3) Harriett Tubman to replace Jackson on the $20 bill. Great move. I still think we get away from just having people. Let's put Grand Canyon, Arches and El Capitan on our money. Denali and Crater Lake. Statue of Liberty or the Gateway Arch.

Regardless, moving Jackson is a good move. He was a bigot, bad to women and presided through bully tactics and appointing favorites. He was our first populist president, but he'll never be a hero in my books.

4) My favorite play in baseball is a triple play:

5) I got to share my testimony at Watershed this morning. It was special getting to tell the students where I came from and how God has been with me on the entire journey. They've known me for years, but few know the story of my family and how I arrived at who I am today.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

6) Can Golden State win if Curry is hurt? Hornets got their first playoff in in 14 years! 14 years!

7) Track team had two meets last week. We ran at the Falcon Invite on Wednesday and finished 4th out of 7 teams. Had some season bests. Yesterday was the huge Blue Ridge Classic at Reynolds. I'm happy we placed in the 4x200. We ran season bests in the 4x200 and 4x100 as well as the open 200. 

Mallard Creek and Parkland dominated. I watched Parkland's Mckinley McNeil run 54 seconds in the 400. Her mom was actually talking to me when I was was doing 4x200 splits. She was very nice, asking which team was mine so she could cheer. Not knowing her or her daughter at this time, I asked how her daughter was doing so far and she replied, "State indoor champion in the 400 and 3rd best time in the country right now". Yeah, she's doing alright. Sounds like mom and daughter both have good heads on their shoulders. 

Sunday Observations - Music Edition

The theme this week is music:

- I hear this song on Wednesday as I arrived at school and I can't get it out of my mind. It's very Jack Johnsonish. Trevor Hall has a very distinguishing voice. I cannot exactly tell you what the song means. Maybe it's about finding love that lasts. Maybe it's about finding God.

And parallel to the city streets
Our broken crowns beneath our feet
But as we walk across the diamonds (diamonds)
We know that love is always shining

- I bought three albums in the last week. U2's No Line on the Horizon, Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream, and Silver's +/-.

U2: No Line on the Horizon - 3/5 Stars
Bloggers and internet reviewers are all over the board. Some love it, others find it ordinary. I'm not sold on it, but U2 has a tendency to grow on me. All You Can't Leave Behind slowly went from being okay to indispensable for me. Perhaps this one will do the same. Everytime I listen, I find something new that I like. "Moment of Surrender" stands out to me as a tale of realization of we are not as big as we make ourselves to be. Almost every U2 album has it's "hymn". The last two albums had "Grace" and "Yahweh". This album has "White as Snow", where we are looking for "the lamb as white as snow."

Bruce Springsteen: Working on a Dream - 4/5 Stars
I feel like Bruce always writes stuff that we can relate to. He is a storyteller and his songs are songs seem to be about people who struggle, sometimes suffer, work hard, make mistakes and yet still hope and love. Sounds like me. I really like the sound of this album. "The Wrestler" appeals to me on so many levels, "Queen of the Supermarket" makes me think of Garrett, "Outlaw Pete" is Bruce doing his storytelling and "Working on a Dream" is classic Bruce. I seem to like this album a lot more than other people and that's okay.

Silver: +/- -4/5 Stars
Silver is the band that my buddy Brent Francese drums for. They just released their new album (not real cover, did not have art... but it's close) about two weeks ago. Get it on itunes to support my friend (since he's umemployed) and because it really is good. The band seems really proud of this effort and rightfully so. It has a strong rock sound. You can hear their tracks on their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/silvermusiconline

By the way, I like that Silver has '+/-' and U2 has an '=' on their albums. Cool irony.

- I really hate what's happening in Northern Ireland. Things were relatively good. U2 wrote a song, "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" that was a reference to the killing of Irish protesters by the British military in Northern Ireland in 1972. Though the song is set to a "war march", it really is a peace anthem. Just listen to the lyrics...

How long, how long must we sing this song?

- The NCAA brackets are one gigantic cluster. Can anyone beat the Big East and their three number 1 seeds? We'll ask Pat Benetar:

Crush of the Week:
The NCAA Wrestling finals is this weekend. I am pretty excited about seeing how the best collegiate wrestlers stack up. I am actually more excited about the NCAA Wrestling than about March Madness.

On Bruce Springsteen's Working on a Dream album, there is a song about underdogs called "The Wrestler". It includes this line:

Have you ever seen a one-legged man trying to dance his way free?
If you've ever seen a one-legged man then you've seen me.

Anthony Robles, a redshirt sophomore at Arizone State University is that wrestler. Born with only one leg, Robles was almost an All-American last year and last week was the PAC-10 Champion at 125lbs. The kid is tough. And he never makes excuses. When he got to ASU, the wrestlers ran a time trial in the mile. Robles ran it in 10 minutes... ON CRUTCHES. The next time, he ran it in less than eight. Good luck to you, Robles. I have no dog in the fight, so I am pulling for Robles at 125 and Mikal McKee, an AC Reynolds graduate and Southern Conference Champion at 174 for UNCG.

Here is Springsteen's "The Wrestler":

Sunday Observations - Dec 7

1. Today is Pearl Harbor Day. Kinda overshadowed with the economy, Christmas season and various other distractions, but please don't forget what happened 67 years ago today.

2. Knights Wrestling had a tough week. Took a beating at Madison (46-27) and didn't meet expectations at Falcon Frenzy. After some early success, maybe the rough week was what we needed.

3. With OJ Simpson now going to jail, does that mean he will "go away"? If I had gone through what he went through with the murder trial, I would have avoided the spotlight.

4. Why do musicians feel like it's okay to hijack Christmas music? I was driving to church and there was this version of "Joy to the World" that I just abhorred. It's like they think, "Oh, I have no more creative energy, let me ruin this great hymn." I bet everyone can think of examples of otherwise good Christmas songs ruined by some artist looking for a paycheck.

However, one of my favorites is Barenaked Ladies and Sarah MacLachlan's version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings".


5) Please don't bailout the Detroit Big Three. I know that an estimated 3 million jobs lost if Detroit fails, but I believe that bailing out inefficient and bloated corporations is not the answer. The minimum 15 billion that the GM, Chrysler and Ford are asking for can be better used to help the people displaced by jobs lost if the industry shutters rather than assist companies that have thumbed their noses at fuel efficiency, ignored the futures market and offers too many okay and good cars but not enough great cars.

6) I haven't done any Christmas shopping. I resolve not to. I am going to sit at the computer and bring everything to my house.

7) I am at the age where the Holidays have changed for me. I don't look forward to presents. Matter of fact, I would be fine if I didn't receive any; I am blessed beyond what I deserve already. I do look forward to the Holidays and not just for the break from school (as the wrestling coach, I don't really get much of one anyway). But I do get to see friends who, though close in heart, are not close in proximity. I am looking forward to visiting with Emily, Paul, Ryan, Jeff, Karen and the rest of my friends from out of town. See you soon guys!

Crush of the Week:
I read a nice article by ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski on Greg Maddux's retirement. I barely remember this week's announcement of one of the greatest pitchers in Major League Baseball history. Granted, I am not much of a baseball fan anymore, but I am a SPORTS fan. When one of the all-time greats leaves a sport, it's a big deal. And there was barely a commotion when Maddux retired outside of a small press release. Maddux wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

He wasn't built like a tank, he was dorky and skinny. Despite 355 wins (8th all-time), 10th on the career strikeout list, 4 Cy Young awards as the best pitcher and a record 18 Gold Gloves for fielding, Maddux never quite got the press of Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez or even his teammates in Atlanta, John Smoltz or Tom Glavine. And he was okay with it. This SI cover was printed 13 years ago (in 1995) and the article by the great Tom Verducci basically is a preview for the retirement commentary by Wojciechowski. Maddux hasn't changed, he's still unassuming, job oriented, blue collar.
In an age of "LOOK AT ME", Maddux is a refreshing change of pace. There will be no one else like him who can pitch, field, hit garner all sorts of awards and go around unnoticed. Greg Maddux: one of my favorite baseball players of all time (with Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken, Jr) and this week's crush.