Category Archives: Sports

Disappintment in Indiana

The Colts just couldn’t do it. I was sure this was “their year.” Lots of people thought that. Everything was clicking, everyone was healthy. But against the Patriots, Peyton Manning just couldn’t find anybody open.

Now I don’t know who I’m going to root for. My backup team, the Minnesota Vikings, lost too. They are the first team I remember really liking, going back to my elementary school days. I liked Fran Tarkenton. But although they’ve made it to the Super Bowl, they’ve not been able to pull it off, and I’m beyond letting them get my hopes up.

It would be interesting to see a rookie, Big Ben in Pittsburgh, win the Big One. But I say that without passion. It would just be interesting.

I still somewhat like the Rams, because of our shared California heritage, but they’re out. They were lucky to even make the playoffs. When I was in high school, living in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., several of us went to a big Christian rally in Phoenix. Tom Wilson, Tim Armour, and me, with Graham Something-or-Other driving (a real adult). We had a great time. Jack Youngblood, a star defensive player for the Rams, gave his testimony. That was very cool. And there was Christian rock music. I remember that we were seated almost in the back, singing our lungs out, fingers held high in the then-popular “One Way” sign. I’m not one to raise my hands in worship–wish I did, but I’m too inhibited, and I would feel too fakey doing it. But back then, I guess I was doing it. In the anonymity of that huge crowd. I need to get over this.

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When the Phoenix Suns Came to My School

It’s good to see my Phoenix Suns doing so well. I wondered how they would do against a team with a legitimate big man, but the other night, they trounced Shaq and the Miami Heat. Don’t know what’s particularly different this year. Steve Nash is certainly a good addition, and Amare Stoudamire has blossomed into a huge presence. But beyond that, it’s pretty much the same team as last year. But this year, they’ve got the best record in the West.

I spent my freshman and sophomore years of high school in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., kind of a resort town on the California border. Every fall, the Suns came to Havasu for a week to practice in our gym. During PE, we got to watch them. The star, the person we all pointed out to each other, was Connie Hawkins. He could palm a basketball like it was a softball, and had a lightning spin move. They also had Dick Van Arsdale, Paul Silas, Clem Haskins, and two hulking centers, Neal Walk and Walt Wesley. Cotton Fitzsimmons was the coach the first year they came, in 1971.

One year, the week ended with an exhibition game against, I think it was, the Houston Rockets. The Suns won. Every time Connie Hawkins got the ball, we held our breath, expecting something wondrous to happen.

I played freshman and JV basketball in Havasu. During my freshman year, the varsity won the state championship. In our class. Class basketball was a stupid thing in Arizona. The closest school to us was 40 miles away in Needles…California. Kingman, the nearest Arizona school–60 miles–was in a different class. We would travel all the way to Phoenix, three hours away, to play schools in our conference. Ridiculous. But our varsity did win state, led by a sharp-shooting all-state guard and our 6’3″ center (yes, our tallest player was just six-foot-three).

Soon after my sophomore year ended, we learned that a group of college students were coming to town to do street evangelism. It was a Campus Crusade thing. Several members of my youth group joined them. This was in the Jesus People days, a multi-year revival movement which transformed our school–and me. Kids were coming to Christ regularly. Christian leaders today seem reluctant to talk about the Jesus Movement as a revival movement, maybe because it involved so many long-haired hippy types who were definitely non-establishment in those days. But believe me, it was a real supernatural thing.

Before hitting the street, we all gathered to talk about what we would be doing and to pray. I was surprised to see two persons from my high school who had graduated the year before and had just completed their first year of college. Bart had been king of the party animal crowd, a real life-of-the-party type. Somewhere, somehow, he had become a zealous Christian. At his side was someone who was never at his side during high school–Doug, a clean-cut, straight-A starting forward on the state championship basketball team. Doug had found Christ, too.

We fanned out across the city. I remember seeing Bart in a cafe booth witnessing fervently with someone, with Doug quietly listening. Bart was on fire. I hope he still is. We moved to California a few months later, and I’ve not heard of Doug or Bart since. But it was neat seeing, in 1973, that God had reached down and touched those two very different lives.

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Back to the Club

We didn’t have music practice last night, so I went back to the ping pong club. There were four other guys there, only one of whom I hadn’t met before, Mike. Mike held his paddle in an unusual way, kinda Chinese style but a little different, and he was able to hit shots in some (what appeared to me) very unorthodox ways. I started off playing him, and actually won one game (out of four).

Mike then proceeded to beat Rick, the Jamaican, and George, who had previously beaten me very badly. At the end of the night, I played Mike again, and won two out of five games, coming within reach on the final game. Go figure. Everyone’s game is a bit different, and I guess Mike doesn’t play as well against someone who plays like me. Max, the 80-year-old, can beat them all regularly.

I talked to my Mom the day before, and she mentioned a ping pong club in South Bend (where they pastor), and that one player there played on the Olympic ping pong team. I mentioned this to Max. “Oh yeah, I beat him when he was up-and-coming. He didn’t know what to do with me.”

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Ping Pong — Going to a New Level

Last night, I went back to the Ping Pong club. It was a rainy night and there were only two guys there, both of them 60+ years old, and both of whom whipped my butt. Or cleaned my clock, a good Christian would say.

Max is the better of the two, and I can’t tell how old he is. But I know he served in WW2, which means he’s probably pushing 80. He’s a thin fellow, who comes wearing sweat pants and Nikes and a sweatshirt. He’s not quick laterally, like you need to be in tennis, but his reflexes are very good, and since in Ping Pong you can get away with not moving much, he does just fine. His strokes are beautiful. Having played competitive tennis for a number of years (high school and throughout college), I pay much attention to form, which is all-important in tennis. I learn a lot just by watching how Max hits that little white ball.

The other guy is George. He’s still employed, but I’m guessing he’s approaching retirement age. George and Max warm up together, and they really go at it. But in singles play, George rarely beats Max. Max just has too many shots. I enjoy warming up with George, because his style is more conducive to my bang-the-ball style, and he tends to respond to the other person’s shots more than try to control the play. George and I played two games, and he beat me both of them. We played to just 11 points, taking two serves at a time. I think I got 8 points one game. But I’m sure George can still take it up a notch or two.

I played a lot more against Max. When we get in a slicing duel, I do extremely well, because my backhand slice stroke (thanks to tennis) is very good. I can at least stay with him, though he’ll eventually win the point, most likely. But I’m pleased to discover that that’s a strength of my game. When I play Kevin at church and things get tight, I can start slicing with the knowledge that he won’t be able to keep up with me.

But Max has all kinds of spins. He’ll serve the ball with a lot of spin, and when I return it, it might veer off to the far right or to the far left–I never know which. He has a forehand shot with lots of spin that sends the ball out wide to my right; I think I’m on it, but I swing and miss it. Very frustrating. But I’ll get onto it eventually.

My backhand has always been a strength–thanks, again, to tennis–but it just doesn’t measure up with these guys. I have felt real good about my forehand. But when I mentioned to Max that I needed work on my backhand, he said, “Actually, your backhand is better than your forehand.” Which was a blow to me. But it’s because I didn’t know better. He explained that I was hitting the ball where you would in tennis, at waist level, whereas in ping pong you need to hit the ball at the top of its arc. I started doing that as I played Max–it’s very tough to break decades of habit–and it was definitely an improvement. He taught me other things about how to stroke the ball. Too many things, actually–I’m overwhelmed! But if I keep going back, week after week, I’ll be able to incorporate things into my game.

Max and I played three games. He beat me all three, and without much difficulty. I had my moments, and I’m not a pushover. But Max is the master. The previous night, he was playing full-court basketball with the youth. He also plays tennis, and who knows what else. Quite the athlete. Not as quick as I’m sure he used to be (he’s about 80, for heaven’s sakes!), but great reflexes and wonderful coordination.

I could have continued elevating my game just by playing at Anchor, improving on what I already know and struggling back to the level at which I played in college. But putting myself in a whole different situation will jump-start me to a new level. I can feel it. This ping pong club will be very good for me, and I’m extremely eager to learn. I think Max appreciates that.

I know there are correlations I can draw with the Missionary Church–putting ourselves among them, learning from people who are much better at church planting and missions than we are, discovering new spins and strokes that we’ll never learn just playing among ourselves. But I’ll let it go.

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NBA Thoughts

I’m a big NBA fan. Most people love the purity of college basketball, and I certainly do. But I’m more attracted to the NBA, where the best players in the world compete. The NBA has many flaws, and too many players are seriously flawed. But I still like it.

I finished reading “The Last Season,” Phil Jackson’s book about his final season with the LA Lakers. My goodness, he was hard on Kobe Bryant! But I’m sure he was fully justified. He describes Kobe as highly selfish, temperamental, aloof, and always trying to, basically, prove his manhood. Though he’s immensely talented, a team’s best player also needs to be the team leader, and I don’t think Kobe can rise to that responsibility. I imagine the goals at the top of his agenda right now are: to be the league MVP, and to be the league scoring champion. He’s too self-centered to think otherwise.

Shaq has a good situation in Miami. Duane Wade is also immensely talented, with many of the capabilities Kobe has. But he’s okay with being the “little brother,” the “sidekick.”

Jackson’s book was truly fascinating, with great insights into the game and into many players from around the league.

For too many years, I’ve been rooting for Sacramento, but they keep disappointing me. Maybe this is their year. If not, they need to remake the team, I’m afraid.

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Ping Pong Club

In light of my Sunday losses in Ping Pong to Kevin Kay, I realized I needed to get more practice. Otherwise, next time he returns from Ball State, it’ll go even worse for me. I had heard about a Tuesday night ping pong club at the Aldersgate United Methodist church on my end of town, so last night I decided to check it out.

Soon after I arrived, around 7 pm, two guys older than me arrived–one in his 50s, the other in his 60s. I wondered if they would be much competition for me. Then they started playing against each other. Wow. Another guy arrived a little later, a black fellow with, I believe, a Jamaican accent. Named Rick. Great guy.

We didn’t actually play any singles matches–just hit around. I could hold my own against the two older guys, especially when it came to just banging and returning. In an actual singles game, they would pull out some spins which I wouldn’t know what to do with, but in a slugging match, I could do okay. I didn’t get to play Rick, who is probably the best of the three. He’s amazing at returning the hardest of slams.

We ended up playing nine games of doubles–2 out of 3 games, and rotating so that each of us was teamed once with each of the other three guys. I think my team won two of the three sets.

I had a great time, and got a pretty decent workout. I’ll definitely be going back. It was a rainy night, which probably affected the number of people there, but I don’t think they have many coming anyway. They seemed delighted that someone of my calibre showed up. I think they’re used to newbies coming who can’t hold a candle to them in ability. I could. That pleased them, and pleased me.

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The Pistons-Pacers Brawl

I was watching the Piston-Pacers game last Friday night when the brawl broke out. I missed how it actually started, since I was channel-surfing, but I came back to the game just a few seconds after Ron Artest launched himself into the crowd. It was quite a scene.

Yesterday, when Pam and I went to Indianapolis to do some early Christmas shopping, I listened to talk-radio discussions about the game all the way down and back. We now have XM Satellite radio in Pam’s new car, and between the four sports stations, someone was always talking about the fight. Sometimes, all four were. It was quite interesting.

The initial commentary, last Friday night, from the ESPN quartet almost seemed sympathetic to Ron Artest. “He had a right to defend himself.” But my gut told me the NBA would come down hard on any players who went into the stands, where they could tumble over little kids and innocent fans. And on Sunday, Commissioner David Stern took that hard-line approach. I didn’t expect the severity of it‚ÄîArtest out for the season, 30 games for Germaine O’Neill, 25 for Stephen Jackson‚Äîbut I don’t disagree with it. Stern was certainly sending a message.

I do think O’Neill’s suspension might have been excessive. I don’t think he went into the stands, and the fan he plastered was on the floor and, from O’Neill’s view, was evidently threatening someone in the Pacers organization. And then with the abuse he took just getting into the locker room….

But, good for Stern. Stephen Jackson was certainly out of control. A madman. I never liked him when he played for San Antonio, and I still don’t. I don’t really know why, but I don’t.

My only complaint is that Detroit got off easy. I don’t know who DESERVED to get hit harder. Frankly, Ben Wallace’s six-game suspension was probably a bit too much. I guess there’s no real way to penalize fans or the stadium or the Pistons organization. So, they won. And Pistons fans are probably gloating over the ability to say, “Yeah, we’re the baddest fans in the NBA!” It was a total win for them (except that they lost the game).

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Yankees Vs. Red Sox

I don’t pay any attention to baseball until it gets to the playoffs. In fact, I’m just now paying attention. I’ve enjoyed this series between Boston and New York, and have spent several nights staying up late to see how the games end. The last two, the Sox have won in extra innings. Great games. It’d sure be nice to see the Yankees get beat. But we know they’re going to win in the end, don’t we?

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