Hard to Be Excited!

The Houston Astros are playing so poorly that it is hard to be excited about what the dog days of summer will bring for the team. Their history indicattes that they will not give up and just be washed away by the competition. But just a few days ago I was sitting in the stands watching a game that if they won would have put them only one game under .500 for the season. Roy O. was on the mound with a lead. Relievers could not hold down the Brewers and the offense could not score again, so the game was lost. Followed by a string of losses that has put the 'Stros in the cellar and not showing any signs of getting better. Yesterday they gave up eight unearned runs and lost 8-5 in Cincinnati on a day shen the team had 14 hits. Yuk!

Tejada on Probation

Miguel Tejada's immediate playing future was cleared up today when he received probation for having lied to Congress. He was liable for up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine for his crime, but was given leniency because he plead guilty. He will also have to pay $5000 as his fine, but now he can get on with his preparations for the season without an ax hanging over his head. Let's hope that translates into a good season for him and the Astros!

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Fantasy For the First Time!

I cannot believe I did so, but I signed up to participate in fantasy baseball on ESPN.com. I was watching a show during lunch time that was promoting the leagues and how to draft players and compete. It is all free, so I decided to give it a try. The league I joined is going to draft tomorrow morning, so I should have my initial roster by this time tomorrow and then I will start wheeling and dealing with the waiver wire and the free agents to try to upgrade my bench and pitching rotation!

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I-Rod to Houston!

I have watched the Houston Astros throughout their history. The one position for which they have never raised a star player is catcher (I know Biggio began as a catcher). The best catchers have been Brad Ausmus and Alan Ashby. Neither was much of an offensive threat. I am in hopes that the young man the ‘Stros drafted last year out of Stanford, Jason Castro, will be that star catcher we have been waiting for for all these years.

Today it was announced that the Astros have reached an agreement for a one-year contract with Ivan Rodriguez. He is one of the top catchers of all time. And I believe he will add more offense to the lineup than the departed Ausmus, even though I-rod is well past his prime. Perhaps it was a marketing move based on the horrendous record of the team in Spring Training. I hope Ivan can stay healthy for the season and have a renaissance season that makes the move a remarkable one.

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Competition in the Air

Right now there is extreme competition going on in at least a couple of realms. One is the NCAA basketball world. March Madness is just beginning and will infect the country for the next three weeks. The jockeying for a place in the 65-team tournament field is important to the athletes and to the institutions for which they play. The players will gain fame, and in many cases, fortune based on their performance in the pressure games against the best talent. And, of course, the colleges and universities that play in the tournament get to share in the revenues generated by the spectacle. Talk about competition!

And in the spring training camps for the major league baseball teams there is a lot on the line for the young players and the marginal players trying to make a roster. The money for a major league player is substantial, but for a minor leaguer, it is much more difficult to make ends meet. And for the younger guys, there is the worry that their talents may not allow them to fulfill the dream they have had for as long as they can remember.

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King James in Town

My nephew called today and said he had been given tickets for the game between the Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. I had not been to a Rockets' game in a long time and I thought it would be fun to see LeBron James. The seats were 17
row from the floor at mid-court. They cost $175 per seat, which gives you a chance to see why it has been so long since I have attended a game.

The Rockets won 93-74 and LeBron had one of his worst games as a professional. He scored 19, but shot only 33% and had no assists, for the first time in his career. It was a quality win for the Rockets, to say the least.

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Beware of #5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There probably will never be a movie about it, but it was the kind of game that a young man will reflect on for a lifetime. Last Friday I went to watch my 16-year-old grandson play in a sub varsity basketball game. His team plays very hard, but they have not won many games. The first half of the game was hard to get excited about, because our team couldn't seem to find the basket with a shot. At the intermission they were trailing 29 to 16.

But the second half is a completely different story. The boys came out with the same high intensity on defense, but now they began to make some shots. One of the boys on our team got hit with an elbow just above his left eye and it began to bleed. He had to come off and get some treatment. To keep the bandage in place, his head was wrapped in a medical tape that made it look like he was wearing a sweat band. But his wound didn't keep him out of the game or cause him to be bashful. He and my grandson are the primary ball handlers for the team, so it was important for him to be on the court. In the third quarter shots began to fall for everyone, including my grandson who hit three three-pointers in that frame. Our team held the visitors to only six points in the quarter, and the score at the end of three quarters was 35-34.

The game was intense in the fourth quarter, but our defense was up to the task again and only allowed nine points in the quarter. In the midst of the battle, I was thrilled, and afterwards found out my grandson had heard and was also thrilled, to hear the opposing coach shot several times in the frame, "Beware of number 5, beware of number 5!" He didn't want number 5 to get any good looks at the basket because he was really on fire. Number 5 ended up leading scorer in the game with 25 points and his team won 55-44. Of course you know who wore number 5 for our team, don't you?

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Reading for Fun!

I have had a practice for over twenty five years of reading a book for every week of the year. I have already completed five volumes since the first of January. Most of what I read is Christian books, since I am a minister, these works keep my mind stimulated and ideas bubbling as I prepare lessons. But I enjoy other works, including western novels, suspense thrillers and historical fiction!

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HOUSE, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

I love to read, but the horror genre has been off limits ever since I saw the original Psycho in 1960 and was scared to walk the three blocks to my home. I was 12 and I decided then that I did not want anything to do with such movies, stories, books, or even “fun” houses at the fair!

So I was surprised to receive a novel for Christmas, House, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. My daughter, who gave me the book, knew that I loved This Present Darkness, also by Peretti, so she thought that I would like this one too. She said it was “Christian Horror.” I never knew there was such a thing!

I want to review the book here, and I hate to give away any of the drama in the book, but I am not sure how to give a good review without describing some of the key elements, so if you think you might want to read the book, maybe you ought not read any further in this post.

I entered the book with trepidation. I met Jack and Stephanie as they were on their way to a counseling session to try to salvage their marriage. Things had not gone well for them following the drowning of their daughter a year earlier.
Their trip took a detour that led to their being drawn to an isolated house that looked like an old Southern inn when they arrived. But it turned out to be anything but a place of cordial hospitality. Another couple, Randy and Leslie, also found themselves in the place that night. The four shared a night of unmitigated terror.

As the evening unfolded, the house seemed to be alive, with a mind of its own. It seemed to know the hearts of the four trapped inside by the machinations of the house itself and the villain, Barsidious White.

The story moves at a good pace and helps the reader to get a growing awareness that the personal guilt of the individuals was contributing to the animosity of the house toward the victims. I must admit that I can think of few things that are more horrifying and painful than having to come face to face with one’s hidden sinfulness.

The story allows for redemption and a victory of good over evil only if those trapped inside would indeed acknowledge the sins they had been covering up, while blaming others for their plight in life. Though the word is never used in the book, repentance is an absolute necessity if the sinner wanted to live another day.

Good does win out for some of the four, and though it appears the story is over, we leave the book with an awareness that the evil perpetrators were far from finished with their “game”.

The book has been recently made into a movie, released last November. I promise, I will not go see it. And I hope I do not have images appear in my mind in the night!

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Challenge 27!

One of my virtual friends, via a blog community, has challenged a bunch of us form the blog site to lose at least 27 pounds in the New Year. I accepted the challenge and got off to a good start by limiting my calories and running a little bit three times a week. I only lost 3 pounds the first week and not quite two the second. I may have to check out one of the superfoods supplements like Decaslim if I slow down on the loss too much.

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Some Second Half!

The Fiesta Bowl game between Ohio State and the University of Texas was a defensive struggle in the first half, with the Buckeyes leading 6-3 at the intermission. But in the second half, Texas scored 21 points, including a touchdown with only sixteen seconds left in the game, to win over OSU by a 24-21 score. Colt McCoy, UT's quarterback, threw for two TDs and over 400 yards, and ran for the other score. He was named the game's most valuable offensive player. But he owed a lot to his receiver, Quan Cosby, who caught 14 passes, including the winning touchdown.

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Two Challenges in the New Year!

My good blogging friend challenged a bunch of us in a blogging community to determine to lose at least 27 pounds in the New Year. Quite a few of us accepted the challenge, including your truly. Another development that is new is that my wife retired on the Friday before Christmas, so our income is going to be down considerably. That means I am going to have to seek some ways to save money. One of the things I will look into discount supplements for my attempts to lose some weight.

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Dance Competition or Football?

At the risk of having my citizenship in the great nation of Texas, I found my self channel hopping from the football game, the Fiesta Bowl, between the Ohio State University and THE University of Texas to watch the Superstars Dance Competition on NBC. Teams of dancers from 8 nations are competing, bringing their various traditional dances to the stage. It is impressive.

And besides, the second half of the game will be the most exciting.

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Home Security With ADT

My mother in law has reached the stage in life where she needs constant monitoring because of failing health and deterioration of the neighborhood in which she lives. There have been a number of burglaries in the neighborhood recently, and that has unnerved her. It was once a very nice place to raise families.

And her decline in strength due to a series of illnesses makes her unstable on her feet and a candidate to fall and without the power to get her self up. My wife began to check on home security providers and was very pleased to find that ADT could help with all our needs, for an alarm to discourage break-ins, as well as a senior monitoring device. And, of course, the ADT name adds to our confidence!

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Go Owls!!!!!!

This afternoon my wife and two grandsons will go to the Texas Bowl that will be played in Reliant Stadium, where the Houston Texans play. The Broncos from Western Michigan are to play the Owls from Rice University. I had hoped that Notre Dame would be the Owl's opponent, but that did not work out.

But I am a casual fan of the Owls because they are a small school with high academic standards that compete against schools many times larger. Today they can win their tenth game of the season, the most in more than 50 years.

Go Owls!

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Books for Christmas

I am an avid reader. Every year since 1984 I have read a book a week and kept a record of each volume completed. As a consequence, I often receive books as gifts on holidays and birthdays. Christmas was no different this year, I received three books. But I also got an unexpected little gift. It was one of those custom rubber stamps that I can use to label the books in my library as belonging to me. That is good, because I often loan out books and I like to receive them back! The stamp inside will remind the borrowers to return the books.

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T-Shirt Reminder

It is pretty cold today, at least for South Texas. I got out a long sleeved t-shirt, and it happened to be the one I received when I ran in a 5k fund raiser last December. I had begun running again in July and was very proud of myself. I continued the running on a regular basis until this August. After hurricane Ike came through here in September, things got a bit hectic and I have not run since. But the t-shirt reminded me that there is no longer any reason not to get back out on the track!

I shoulda just worn short sleeves!

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