M.A.S.H No More

CBS is estimating 106.48 million viewers for Sunday nights Superbowl, which would not only make it the most watched Superbowl ever, but the most watched TV program ever. While these are quick ratings, which means they are not official, this would surpass the series finale of M*A*S*H which totaled 105 million viewers.

All I can think about is what these ratings will do to the price of a :30 spot during next years game. $3m? $4m? All I can say is that I’m  glad football keeps the title for most watched sports event and not hockey or basketball.

[Via http://gwillonthenet.wordpress.com]

Backline To The Future

It’s that time of the season again where the race for the Premier League title really starts to take shape.

Nothing much has changed this year – Harry Redknapp continues to dream of Spurs breaking into the top four, Steven Gerrard thinks Liverpool have finally turned a corner and Arsene Wenger insists his team is the only one actually playing football.

Chelsea and Manchester United have pulled away from the pretenders and it looks like a four-month fight is about to ensue to determine England’s number one club. Both sides have been in impeccable form lately but off the field issues could play its part in the final months.

We all know about the John Terry affair saga, who took the coaching manual too seriously when it said that centre backs need to cover the holes left behind by the full backs.

The former England captain is being treated like a war hero at Stamford Bridge now and anything he does is seen as a warrior-like commitment to the Chelsea cause. I wonder how Mrs Terry feels about all this as she takes shelter in Dubai.

Over at England’s north-west, Nemanja Vidic seems to be suffering from the same problem that Cristiano Ronaldo had last season, known as the “I Signed A Pre-Contract To Join Real Madrid In The Summer” syndrome.

The Serb has been a shadow of the player that the Old Trafford faithful have grown to love in previous campaigns. He has literally been in the dark this season with mysterious injuries and reported bust-ups with Sir Alex Ferguson seeing him miss half of United’s league games thus far.

With Rio Ferdinand more likely to be spotted at a London movie premiere than at Old Trafford, Wes Brown and Jonny Evans have stepped in admirably to shore up the backline. Evans has been exceptional in recent weeks and it’s no wonder that the likes of Juventus and Barcelona have left messages on his agent’s mobile phone.

The Northern Ireland international is no longer simply a squad player but also a future candidate for the captain’s armband at club and country level. His future defensive partner at United could be Chris Smalling, whose rise from the seventh tier of English football to the top flight in the space of two years makes Taylor Swift’s musical journey pale in comparison.

We knew he was something special when Arsene Wenger, football’s greatest talent scout, declared his interest in him. We now know just how highly rated he is when Sir Alex swooped in and splashed some Glazer cash to get a young man who has just a handful of league appearances to his name.

Now that the defence in the year 2014 has been set in stone, it’s time for Sir Alex to address short term deficiencies (in case the 2012 doomsday prophecy actually occurs), namely Ferdinand’s semi-retirement (that’s what it seems like), Vidic’s likely one-way summer trip to Spain and John O’ Shea joining Owen Hargreaves in the exclusive long-term injury club.

As Chelsea have shown, a solid defence wins you games even if the opposition boast all the attacking talent in the world. Whilst a purist like Wenger may find that football blasphemy, others like Rafa Benitez and Jose Mourinho live by such philosophies.

For next season, United needs to invest in a top quality goalkeeper, especially if Edwin Van der Sar calls it a day, and an established centre back.

I would love to see the Juventus pair of Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini don Aon-sponsored United jerseys come August. That may be a reality as the Glazers find more innovative ways to raise money other than their own, with latest suggestions indicating that they are about to sell the Carrington training ground before renting it back from the future buyer.

United’s backline for the future now reads Rafael, Smalling, Evans and Fabio – two out of four can actually defend. To supplement this quartet, if you have any good young goalkeepers to recommend, please address your letters to Sir Alex Ferguson CBE. Or maybe Wenger can do United a favour again and tell us who he would like to buy.

[Via http://thedribzleroo.wordpress.com]

Injury Replacements Hurting the Game

The move of Nik Mrdja to the Melbourne Victory as an injury replacement for Billy Celeski the same day that he re-signed with the Central Coast Mariners for next season was a gross misjudgement by the powers that be at the FFA.
The whole injury replacement scenario needs to be revisited, as it fast becoming a farce with clubs making sure that doctor’s sign injured players off for six weeks, so that they can replace them while they recover from an injury which may only require four weeks.

 Billy Celeski has been sidelined since September, so this was not a sudden need for a player. Although it was for Melbourne Victory, as striker Archie Thompson had been ruled out. We do not blame Melbourne Victory for exploiting the loophole. We do not blame Central Coast Mariners for allowing the player to move and get additional game time after a bad trot with injuries. However we do blame the FFA.

As the finals series approaches there should be a “Cup Tie” rule. That players who have moved between clubs as injury replacements are either ineligible for the finals series completely, or are eligible only if they have played a set number of games for their adopted club.

This move has opened a can of worms, with Gold Coast United now wanting to sign the Fury’s Robbie Fowler for the finals series as an injury replacement for Adama Traore, who was ruled out as recently as last week. Should the FFA oppose such a move, don’t be surprised if Don “Moneybags” Matheson decides to contest the ruling and the FFA facing a legal battle, if only to prove a point.

There is a bigger picture at stake with these silly rules and that is the World Cup bid. FIFA do not take kindly to national associations deviating from their international rules, and this little storm could well end up tipping the tea cup into the lap of one executive and making him very upset. Couple this with the row about the Wellington Phoenix being in the A league, and their New Zealand players having to be classed as “Foreign” players, the FFA have a few fires to put out and quickly. If they don’t they run a very big risk that these fires will be fanned to burn down the bid for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 by opposing bidders. Look at the bidding process for 2006 to see just how dirty can be.

[Via http://notthefootyshow.wordpress.com]

What the Indianapolis Colts’ loss can teach us

Though I didn’t catch the game (I was partaking of a rather divine experiment!), I definitely saw the headlines in the paper and heard the office chatter about it. The Colts lost. The Saints won. Who would have thought? Well, to be honest, I started smelling this defeat a few weeks back. Let me explain.

The 14-0 Colts seemed nearly unstoppable. Almost everyone would agree. Though there were a few close games to get to that point, Manning and the rest in speed blue and white seemed to have that certain knack of pulling it out no matter what. Well, that was until they arrived at their 15th game with a different attitude than they had for the first 14. Something happened between week 15 and 16 that, in my opinion, set up the seemingly invincible Colts to finish off—what could have been one of the greatest seasons in NFL history—losing three of their last five games, including “the big one.” And that something is this: they began to talk up how they didn’t care about a perfect season. They began to talk up that they didn’t mind losing a few games as long as they could win “the big one.” They began to talk up defeat as if it were okay. They stopped showing up to win. They weren’t talking like or acting like a champion anymore.

As soon as play-it-safe mode enters into the heart, losing is inevitable. A true champion—even in long, hard seasons; whether hurting and battered or not—is committed to winning, no matter what the cost. Whatever happened to old-school gridiron grit that wanted to win even if it meant playing bruised, bloodied and broken? We don’t see it anymore these days. Because, as a whole, humanity doesn’t know what it means to be a champion. I don’t believe our generation, by and large, knows what it means or takes to be a true champion. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that our generation’s most exalted role models, idols and heroes are bulimic, cocaine-sniffing actors; abusive, profanity-spewing music artists; dishonest, steroid-injecting athletes and malnourished, broom-riding wizard kids.

And sadly, I don’t believe many Christians, or the church as a whole, knows how to live out their faith like a champion. We give up so easily. We quit so often. We get down on ourselves way too much. We, like the Colts, taste a little victory and then start to glide in a play-it-safe mode, not continuing to press in with all of our hearts. We get a little traction in our walks with the Lord and then we begin to play not-to-lose, instead of keeping an intense focus on daily obtaining our exceedingly great reward. Ministries get an adequate amount of people showing up at their events to feel comfortable enough to walk away from their first love. Churches casually accept defeat after defeat while claiming to serve a Man Who has won the greatest victory (the greatest “Super Bowl”) of all time by defeating Satan and death on the cross.

Where’s the fierce determination to win in this race of Christian faith like Paul had? Where’s that godly grit to stand for Jesus like Elijah stood for Jehovah on Mount Carmel? Where’s the fearless courage to fight for God’s glory like David possessed? Where’s the ferocious zeal to fully finish the work (“the season”) like our Lord of glory, Who on that tattered tree, with nails in His hands and feet, body mutilated, blood spewing, declared, “Father, that work you asked Me to do; it’s done now.”—tell me, where are the champions in the church today?

(I’m directing those questions to my own heart as well.)

Now, I certainly don’t consider myself a devout football fan, nor some kind of NFL analyst, but, by God’s grace, I do know how to take an insightful principle away from one of life’s circumstances when I see one (or when one hits me on the head hard enough!). I believe God will teach us things through almost all situations in life if we’re willing to learn. So let’s learn from this one. Let’s you and I be the Christian and the church that has the heart of a true champion, like our King does and like many who have gone before us did. Let’s press on in this earthly pilgrimage with a winning attitude that refuses to quit, does not embrace defeat and never gives less than our best, by His grace. Keep in mind, if we continue on in a victorious mentality like that of Christ, we the “saints,” though an underdog in the world’s eyes, will prevail in the end—it’s our inheritance to be victors in Him; it’s our inheritance to be the victors who receive a crown that does not perish.

Let’s live like champions forever.

[Via http://derekkistner.wordpress.com]

What Tim Tebow Should Have Said

Hi, my name is Tim Tebow, and I’d like to tell you my story.

When my mother was pregnant with me, she suffered a dangerous pregnancy complication called a placental abruption.  The complication put not only my life in serious danger, but hers as well.  The doctors counseled an abortion, as they always do when a pregnancy puts the life of the mother at risk.  My mother faced a difficult and painful choice. 

She decided to continue with the high-risk pregnancy.  The doctors worked very, very hard to keep my mother and myself healthy and alive.  Fortunately, they were successful.  My family was very lucky.  Many others in that situation aren’t.

Since then, I’ve tried to see every day of my life as a gift.  I’m blessed to have the support of my friends and family, and everything I’ve accomplished on the field and off has been a reflection of their love and devotion.

Recently, my family was approached by a large right-wing political group, asking for us to tell our story as part of a larger initiative to turn public opinion against the currently legal practice of abortion.  My family and I obviously have strong feelings on the subject, and as Christians we have a special fellowship with the organization in question.

Nonetheless, I have declined their offer, and I’d like to tell you why.

My family’s story is real.  It is the story of unimaginable agony, sleepless nights, countless tears and silent prayers.  It is a story of the beautiful, fragile triumph of hope over a despair that seemed insurmountable.  It is a story shared by many people, repeated countless times over the globe, every day.  Many times these stories don’t end happily.

So I cannot in good conscience allow any organization, however well-meaning, to manipulate my story into a cheap morality tale for the furtherance of a political cause.  How could I?  How could I look my mother in the eye, and tell her she made a “right” choice as opposed to a “wrong” one, as if it were a simple binary equation?  To look my mother in the eye is to see a woman whose love was so strong, she was willing to sacrifice her life for a child she might never meet.

I wonder if Focus on the Family, nominally a Christian organization, is familiar with a certain individual who made a similar choice, some two millennia ago.

————————————-

In a perfect world, perhaps.

The actual Focus on the Family Super Bowl commercial was tame (ironic when a FotF ad is among the least overtly misogynistic ads in a given time slot), erring on the side of vague flufferies and subtext.  I haven’t bothered to see the continuation of the Tebow story on their website, partly due to fear of driving up their web traffic, and partly as a self-preservation measure designed to stop me from throwing up.  I doubt I’m missing much, but if you’ve a stronger constitution than I, let me know if I’ve missed some startling plot twist.

So what should we do with you, Tim Tebow?  It’s cute that FotF thinks your ability to accurately throw an oblong ball over long distances somehow qualifies your conviction that 50% of the American population should be stripped of their reproductive sovereignty as “worthy of consideration in the public discourse”, but… but YOU, Tim Tebow.  You you you.  What should we make of you?

It’s easy now, +2 decades after the fact, to reflect and think “My mother made a moral choice in accordance with God’s will, and she was blessed because of it.”  Easier still, perhaps, because the situation turned out in your favor.  The storm passed, the clouds broke, everyone survived.  Hosanna.

But to acknowledge the danger of the situation is to acknowledge that people frequently perish in said situation.  Did they all make the “wrong” choice, Tim?  Would you tell that to my aunt and uncle, holding their stillborn daughter in their arms for the first and last time?  Would you tell that to a would-be father coming home to a silent house and a sweet-smelling depression in the sheets where his lover used to lay?

And are you wondering, Tim, why Focus on the Family isn’t talking to those families?

There were a million reasons to say no when Focus on the Family came knocking, only some of which I mentioned in my idealist counterfactual exercise above.  All of the reasons valid, not all of them pro-choice, some of them even *GASP* biblically sound!

But no.  You hocked your family’s suffering to the highest bidder; you allowed them to commodify that suffering and sacrifice it on that high altar of mass consumption – a Super Bowl commercial break.  Which, I suppose, was the Christian thing to do.

[Via http://jawsforjesus.wordpress.com]

A Haitian That Could Knock You Out: Andre Berto

Fight Club

Yo! So there is a classic, classic hip hop tune by Ahmad called “Back In The Day” in which the chorus recites “back in the days when I was you, im not a kid anymore but some days I sit and which I was a kid again” — Unfortunately, those lyrics don’t fit me. I’m sometimes reluctant to be a kid anymore because I remember days growing up as a Haitian immigrant in South Florida was harsh discrimination and hate among the “Afro-American” community, residual effect of the Willy Lynch doctrine trying to make blacks hate each other. I used to fight all the time.

… but I wasn’t too much of a good fighter… but I was good at blocking my face and the rope-a-dope, in my hood it would prolly be called the grass-a-dope or wall-a-dope and even bus seat-a-dope considering I never fought in a actual ring

I never was pummeled but I bet if I had a big brother like WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto teaching me some combos for some self-defense then they would have been a whole lot less fights. Check out his moves below

Andre Berto Tribute Video

FACTS

*** Professional Record of (26-0) with 19 Knockouts

*** Represented Haiti in the 2004 Summer Olympics

*** Was to defend his title against “Sugar” Shane Mosley for a WBC, WBA welterweight title unification bout on January 30, 2010. However, Berto announced that he was withdrawing from his title unification bout against Mosley on January 18, 2010 due to family loss in the earthquake that hit our country of Haiti

PEACE

[Via http://saywordsaypeace.com]