While his nickname would never be approved by Ned Flanders, HERE is an article about Corey Holmes that shows that that humility and team-centeredness run deeper than football coaching.
C-Murder
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Category Archives: Sports
Bringing the House
Last night, the B.C. Lions beat the Montreal Alouettes in CFL action. The Lions set a team record by sacking Anthony Calvillo TWELVE times!!
Guess who B.C. plays next week…
Yep, that would be our beloved Riders. And yes, that means that by reading this site, you have signed over your CFL allegiance to the green and white… just so you know. Shop our best selection of rain chains to reflect your style and inspire your outdoor space. Find the perfect patio furniture & backyard decor for your home. Come and visit us.
So around Taylor Field this week, can you say “protect the quarterback”?!?!
Money-Ball Moments
I’ve got a window in my office. No, I’m not in a corner office on the 48th floor of a building downtown. But I do have a window in my office. And a chair that swivels.
Occasionally, I find my chair swivelling towards the window just to look out. Did you know that trees and grass and sky can make you think? I’m not kidding. It happened to me.
I got to thinking about some decisions that were needing to be made, some choices I need to make that will affect myself and my life. Then I got to thinking about other choices that will affect others besides myself. Most of these aren’t major, shake-the-world decisions. But they can feel like it.
That got me to thinking about the NBA. Logical, I know.
Remember those 3-point shootouts, where guys would launch about 25 shots to see who was best. Every 5th ball was worth two points instead of one… the money-ball! Every rack of balls, the tension would mount as the player got into a hot or cold groove as he neared the money-ball. But when the money-ball was picked up, the shooter would never do anything different than before. You’d think that with more on the line, he’d make some special preparations. But no. At most (if he had the time), he’d simply reset his feet, take a breath, and go through exactly the same motion as before.
As I stared out my window, I found myself wanting to be a money-ball shooter. I want to fire with confidence on decision-making because the truth is that life never really identifies the money-ball moments. They don’t get marked like those Harlem Globetrotter-style balls used to. They come in the steady stream of shots both big and small every day. You likely know which decisons were the big ones AFTER they’re already made. But that’s of little comfort unless…
I believe that God’s coached me on how to honour Him in big shots and small ones, and that I need just go through those rehearsed movements again and again, knowing that His guidance can be trusted. I’ll set my feet every so often again and re-align my elbow like He showed me, but I want to place my confidence in Him, in all that He’s already done, and all that He’s still teaching me.
Take that for what it is… what flew in through my window the other day.
From the Mouths of Babes
I am unable to take any credit for what follows. This is an email received from our good friends Curtis & Heather Parker.
Even though we are in Calgary, we are still trying to keep our Saskatchewan heritage alive in our family. In particular, this includes our allegiance to the Roughriders. As parents we have ensured that our 7 and 4 year old children have a deep understanding and knowledge about what is important in this regard. For example, like knowing which division the Roughriders, and all of its opponents, are in and what the current standings are. Of course, this is helpful when faced with the inevitable task of figuring out which other teams need to win to give Saskatchewan a mathematical chance of making the playoffs!
However, there is one simple truth that has no relevance to the standings. We never cheer for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers – ever. Even if the season lay in the balance, and our only hope was that Winnipeg defeat some other team, we would not utter even the feeblest of cheers for a Blue Bomber win. And that is why the annual Labour Day game between the Green/White and the Blue/Gold takes on such special meaning. While we cannot make it to Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field this year, we have been anticipating this game for weeks now. The children know the start time and they will be decorating the family room with flags and pom-poms.
Some would say that we are imposing our will and have been forcing our kids to believe as we do, without any freedom to make their own decisions. This couldn’t be further from the truth, though. In our house, everyone has the freedom to cheer for someone other than the Roughriders – even the Blue Bombers! (However, they do that knowing that they will have to sleep in the shed with small rations of bread and water for a week if they choose that option).
A recent incident around the dinner table did cause me to re-think our nurturing of this Rider Pride, though. Our family was talking about how excited we were about the upcoming labour day football game between the Roughriders and Blue Bombers. I explained to the kids that there are other labour games too, like Calgary vs. Edmonton and Toronto vs Hamiton. We talked about how the Labour Day weekend kicks off this new season, when school and other activities begin, the leaves begin to turn, and harvest is underway. And then Noah stepped in to the middle of this conversation and said “Mom…I bet that people who are not Christians…” There was a pause and Heather said “yes Noah, what?” He started all over and said, “Mom, I bet that people who are not Christians – cheer for the Blue Bombers.”
After his mom and dad laughed hysterically for a few minutes, I contemplated what had just taken place. On one hand ,it was a proud moment for me as a father, in that I saw that he had internalized the concept that we had been trying to teach from birth (Riders – good; Blue Bombers – evil). On the other hand, I realized that we have some work to do to continue our teaching about sin, grace, redemption – and the Truth – that even Blue Bomber fans can be saved!
Thinking of you all today. Go Riders Go!
Classic!!
All is Well
Riders win! Riders win! Riders win!
And to the tune of 39-12… I like that tune. As I shouted my approval from the upper deck tonight with Blair to my left and my Dad to my right, I got to thinking: “I used to have some friends who were Bomber fans.” I’m not sure what happened to them. I suppose it’s that old idea that we were simply headed in different directions and inevitably grew apart. There’s those ideas about light not mixing with darkness too, I suppose. Anyway, I just thought I’d write to say that tonight was one of those nights when the universe just felt right; things were as they were intended to be. It was sweet to be a part of, and we can only hope that this balance will be upheld another week down the road.
I recently saw a T-shirt with Mr. T’s face on the front (remember him?) along with the caption: “I pity the fool!” That made me think of my old Bomber-fan friends too.