Sunday Observations - Nov 30

Today is the last day of November. Here are my observations this Sunday:

1) Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have a lot to be thankful for.

2) This story made me sad. What have we come to?

3) To each their own, but two things you will not find me doing: 1) Getting up at 2:00 in the morning to stand in line for sales on Black Friday and 2) Getting up at 2:00 in the morning to go into the woods and sit in a tree.

4) Georgia Tech broke their 7 year losing streak to rival Georgia yesterday. What a great victory for the White and Gold. The Triple Option is back. Georgia had two weeks to prepare and still gave up 409 yards on the ground.

5) Speaking of rivalries and since this was rivalry week in college football, here are my favorite rivalry games:
- Army-Navy: No BCS implications, but I do love the tradition and gallantry of this game. And try telling anyone from West Point or Annapolis that this game doesn't matter...
- Oklahoma-Texas: Neutral site every year (Cotton Bowl during Texas State Fair), cool name (Red River Shootout) and long tradition make this a great rivalry.
- Georgia Tech-Georgia: To Hell With Georgia!
- Michigan-Ohio State: Another great interstate rivalry. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, this one has recently been dominated by the Buckeyes.
- Harvard-Yale: Again, not a game with National Championship implications, but it's a big game for these two storied universities and, dating to 1875, the oldest rivalry in college football.

6) I slept through church today. It was the second week in a row. Wrestling season takes a physical toll on me. It's pretty exhausting. Last Saturday, I was up at 3:30, our bus left at 5:00 to be in Boone by 7:30 for weigh-ins. Tournament over about 8:30 and we were home around 11:30. Yesterday, I was up at 5:44, to the school a little before 7:00 to get ready for the North Knight Invitation that we host every year. The tournament ran smooth because there were lots of amazing people who helped, but I'm not sure I sat more than 15 minutes total the entire day. After closing up, home around 11:00.

7) Speaking of which, I would be remiss if I did not mention all the people who helped make the tournament run so well. I get lots of compliments on how well things run, but I'm not sure people notice all the great help that's around me:

John Williams threw together the JV tournament with no practice; Jason Joyce running the computer; Ivy Ducker put together the best hospitality room around (no joke, that's from other coaches and officials); David and Linda Bradley running the concession stand; former wrestlers like Mikey, Larry and Wayn-O coming back to help; former scorekeeper Stacey filling out the wall charts; current team members helping at tables running a clock or scoring; various parents asking where they can be of assistance. Once again, I am full of thanks.

Man-Crush of the Week:
Paul Johnson, Head Football Coach, Georgia Institute of Technology. He's converted me. I wasn't sure of his ability to win or be the right guy for the job, but the man can coach. And I think I am in love. He did something Chan Gailey (another coach I have tremendous respect for) never did in seven years: beat Georgia. Gailey's 0-7 record against their rival probably sealed his fate more than anything.

Tech this year looks well coached, makes good adjustments and is the youngest team in the ACC. The losses were not a product of the system or the coaching, it was GT shooting themselves in the foot with turnovers. The Triple Option has yielded success against good defenses and there is still more to be revealed. The future looks bright and Coach Johnson is leading the Jackets there.

Sunday Observations - Nov 22

1) Wrestling season kicked off for the Knights. We travelled to Boone for the Old Appalachian Invitational at Watauga High School. Knights finished 15th, but I was really proud of the effort by my young kids. We were missing a few key individuals, so when we get to full strength, I'll be really excited.


2) Did anyone see Georgia Tech annihilate Miami on Thursday night? What an amazing display of offense. Over 500 yards total offense and we only passed 7 times! Jonathan Dwyer (#21 below, on his 58 yard TD run) ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on only one half of play. 9 Jackets had carries, the top 4 were Dwyer, QB Josh Nesbitt (93 yds), RB Roddy Jones (97) and RB Lucas Cox (78). Even the backup QB had 45 yards rushing.
The only way we can get to the ACC Championship game is for Virginia to lose (thanks Clemson), North Carolina to lose (I love NC State!) and Virginia Tech to lose (come on, Duke). Needless to say, I'll be cheering for the Cavaliers against the Hokies on Saturday.

3) Today was the 2nd Annual Turkey Bowl. The frisbee crew that I play with gets together and plays flag football right before Thanksgiving. It was good times. The final score was 44-44. Really, it ended in a tie! Good times! Jennifer Pharr Davis, to go with her Person of the Year Award, was also selected Turkey Bowl MVP and gets to keep the sweet trophy until next year.


4) One of the most overlooked parts of football is the extra point/field goal. In the Turkey Bowl, we kicked PATs with no rush and made less than half the attempts. The idea of kicking the football through the uprights with the game on the line has new meaning and respect. The snap, catch, hold and kick have to be perfect... all with 11 very large and angry guys trying to block it. Next time you see that in a football game, have respect. It's hard.

Crush of the Week: Josh Nesbitt, QB Georgia Tech. Dwyer ran for all the yards and he's the best running back in the ACC, but Nesbitt is the catalyst that makes the triple option work. And he's a warrior. The guy always falls forward when he gets hit, plays injured and displays a tremendous amount of heart. He just guts and wills his way to yards. His legs defeated Boston College and almost beat Virginia Tech. Look up warrior in the dictionary and there's a picture of Nesbitt.

If I were president

President-elect Obama wants College Football to institute a playoff to replace the flawed BCS. I would like to see that happen. I would also pass a new law that no more teams can do white-outs/black-out/whatever-color-outs.

Georgia Tech Athletics is pushing for a white-out against Miami tonight. All fans wear white. Some are against it, even though white is one of Tech's school colors (if I had a daughter, sir, I dress her in white and gold/And put her on the campus To cheer the brave and bold).

I just think the idea is stupid. It's gotten out of hand too. Too many schools are doing it and it's not cool. Georgia got hammered by Alabama when they had their "blackout" and Florida State always plays like they are a JV team when they do a blackout (see the Boston College game last Saturday).

My legislation would say: No more color outs except:
Penn State, the originator of the white-out. Few things are more amazing than to see Beaver Stadium at capacity (107,282), all their fans in white.

Texas Tech, if they can blackout like they did against Texas, are good to go (sorry, no good pics to be found).

Texas A&M can do their red, white and blue-out.

Everthing else is off limits. No more blackouts at Doak Campbell or Stanford Stadium. No white outs at Bobby Dodd, Kenan Memorial or Bryant-Denny. No orange outs at Clemson Memorial or Neyland. I'm the president and I say so.

Eye on the goal; Eyes on the prize

"Obstacles are the frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal."
-Henry Ford

Everyday, I write a new quote of the day in my classroom and my students have to write it in their journals. The quote above was today's quote. It made me think of mountain biking.

One of the most common mistakes by new mountain bikers is "object fixation". This is when the rider focuses on an obstacle such as a rock or root rather than the trail ahead. The general rule is "look where you want to go." If you focus on the obstacle, you inevitably will hit that object. If you look ahead on the trail to where you want to be, your bike will go there while avoiding those dreaded roots and rocks.

When learning to ride my Ducati this summer, the books I consulted and Jim, my riding instructor, emphasized "looking through" a curve. Look where you want to be and you and your bike will lean and be there. Fixate on a pothole or a car heading towards you and you will likely lead your motorcycle straight towards that you are trying to avoid. If ever you feel like you are not going to make it through a curve, just look through and lean because your bike will lean further than you believe it can. Just trust it.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14

The only thing that I did wrong
Was staying in the wilderness too long
Keep your eyes on the prize, Hold on
"Eyes on the Prize"

Sunday Observations- Nov 16

1) I went to Boone yesterday to see my alma mater, Elon, play Appalachian State in an important Southern Conference showdown. Elon was ranked 10th in the country and ASU ranked 2nd. It was a great game, even if Elon lost 24-16. I loved the game, it was cold and wet. Rain and, at times, snow were blowing into our faces. This is football. People around me were whining but I was in bliss. It made me feel like I was in Lambeau or Buffalo. I'm glad we made the trip, I haven't seen Elon play in about 5 years. Elon has come a long way since the days of playing games at Williams High School.

2) Random encounters are so neat. We walked into Mellow Mushroom in Boone and a young lady walked up to me and asked if I was Heang Uy. It was a girl I went to high school with. Then she turned to my friend Dave and asked, "were you in a band?" Dave used to play in a band called Dirt Poor Authority. You can find them on itunes. That encounter made Dave's day and made him feel like a rockstar. Dirt Poor hadn't played in over 5 years and someone from "the day" remembered him. Good times.

3) I love my iphone. I will admit that I am a bit addicted to it. That's part of being a geek. Now that it's cold, I have found one fault with it. The touch screen works on heat, not pressure, so I cannot use the phone with gloves on. Unfortunately for me, I am a glover when the weather is cold. So if you call and I don't answer, it might because I am fumbling my phone out of my pocket then taking off a glove and then unlocking the phone...

4) I would not recommend Geno's in Boone. We stopped there for dinner. The food was amazingly slow to get there and the selection bland. I'm to the point also that I don't want to eat where they allow smoking. The most amazing thing was when my friend asked for chili cheese fries and the waitress said they couldn't do it because the kitchen would be mad. She could, however, bring cheese fries and a side of chili for an extra charge. But bringing french fries, chili and cheese on one plate was not possible.

5) Discipline was the topic of the week at our youth leaders meeting and at church this morning. Read Proverbs 3. The Lord disciplines the ones he loves. When you are as egotistical as I am, discipline can be a very disconcerting thing. Who am I that I need to be disciplined? God's word humbles me.

Man-Crush of the Week: Jeremy Gillespie. Why? 1) He wanted to be it. 2) He let me bring my wrestling team to Camp Arrowhead for North Henderson Wrestling's boot camp. 3) He was pretty rocking when leading worship at Grace this morning. 4) His other identity (don't tell anyone, shhh) is Superman.

Pandora Radio and Coldplay

I have recently discovered Pandora. I listen to music through Pandora on my computer at home and on my iphone at school during my planning period. If you don’t know how Pandora works, you choose “channels”, which are basically artists or bands you like. The program then seeks and finds music that you might like according to the channels you choose.

Almost everytime I listen to Pandora for any significant amount of time, I hear Coldplay’s Yellow. I’ve heard the radio version, the live version and Yellow acoustic. For some odd reason, the song never gets old. I read an interview a few years ago and the musician being interviewed (I can’t remember who it was) was asked what song he wished that he had written. He named like 3 songs, one of them being Yellow.

For your viewing and listening pleasure: Yellow

Boot Camp 2008

Wrestling season has begun.

The North Henderson Knights come into the season as a young group with high expectations. Yesterday was our 2nd Annual North Henderson Wrestling Boot Camp at Camp Arrowhead in Tuxedo. Thank you, Jeremy, Matt and Jeff for having us out there and allowing us to us you facilities. Here are some photos from yesterday's team building activity.

More photos at: flickr