Blake Hoffarber

This guy is beginning to be the "miracle shot" guy. Tonight against Indiana in the Big-Ten Quarterfinals, Hoffarber brought back memories of the the famous Christian Laettner shot. The crazy thing is that it is not even close to his greatest shot ever. Perhaps one of the greatest shots ever in basketball was performed by Mr. Hoffarber a few years back. The butt shot. I have not been able to find a video clip of the shot to beat Indiana yet, but as soon as I do I will add it to this. What a rush it must be to throw up a miracle and have it go in. Congratulations Blake Hoffarber, and even more congratulations Minnesota Golden Gophers. Tubby Smith has them headed in the right direction.

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives

Eliot Laurence Spitzer has had better moments in life I am sure. The recently exposed scandal that has brought down his term as governor of New York has been ugly. In light of all of it, the New York Post writer Cindy Adams decided it was important for her to write her own thoughts and opinions on the situation. Now I am definitely a fan of the First Amendment but every once in a while it disappoints me on how people use it. Her comments and subsequent support by Colin Cowherd on the radio was terrible. The comments reducing men to mere animals needing to satisfy their sex drive in whatever way possible was saddening. Even more saddening, though, was the support that seemed to say that the occasional "grazing" by a man during marriage was/is okay. In her words, "Paying a pro isn't disrespect to his wife." So somehow a man choosing to cheat once in a while (as long as it isn't in a long-term affair) is okay because it is normal, to be expected, and even a nice thing to do for his spouse. WHAT?! ! Cowherd in defending this position stated that marriage is the only thing we haven't allowed to evolve with the times. He even went on to say that he has never kept a coffee table longer than five years so how can marriage make sense. Comparing a wife to a coffee table? SERIOUSLY!?!! It saddened me deeply to hear about Spitzer. Not because I have any tie to New York or care about his politics. No, it saddened me because it was one more example of a guy betraying his spouse. And the support of it in the media (which thrives on the sensational journalism) was even more sickening. What has happened to our culture? I love my wife. I openly admit that I am not the best husband, I often screw up, say mean things, act selfishly/rude/disrespectful, and often do not think of how I can set her up for the most possible success in her life. I know that I could be so much better a husband to her. My goal is to spend the rest of my life trying to figure how to do that. The passage from Ephesians 5 is the blueprint upon which I strive to meet. The thing is that I do it not just because Christ tells me I should or because I feel guilty. I strive to "go all out in love" for her because that is what makes the most sense. If I am not completely loyal, loving, and serving to the person who I am supposed to love most in this world - why should anyone else trust me? What confidence can my kids have in me? Or my colleagues, friends, etc.? The measure of a man is the love & care he has for his spouse. Eliot Spitzer failed as a husband. I don't look down upon him because of that, I simply hope that he learns from his mistake(s). And contrary to Cindy Adams or Colin Cowherd it is not okay. The more men step up and love their spouses in this country the better off we as a society we will be. Marriage does not need to evolve, rather we as men need to learn how to make it work in an ever-changing, moral-decaying world.

50 miles and counting

Well since I took running back up I have ran about 50 miles in the past 4 weeks. That isn't terrible, but this morning I am discouraged. I just ran my lastest trail (3.6 miles) and I knew I did not put my full effort into it. I finished running and felt like I was wasting time. You just know when you are dogging something - technically you are doing it but in reality the effort is disgusting. I was reading stuff from Dean Karnazes and it just motivated me to go out there and run harder. Give it my absolute best. My goals aren't as lofty as his in terms of running, but I have decided on one. I would like to get myself into good enough shape that I can run a 10K (6.21 miles) on my long run day each week in less than 45 minutes. I've got a long road to get to that point, but I need some sort of goal so that I don't go out and slouch my way through my workouts. Running continues to feel good. My knee is a little sore - but mostly from tiredness any real aches/pains. Wish me luck!

Crispus Attucks

March 5th, 1770. One of the most important events in the history of the United States. High conflict and tension in the colonies over the Townshend Acts leads to the heinous crime committed by the British military. The aftermath? The Boston Massacre. 5 civilians would die and the spark for revolution would begin. I find it fascinating how much history is locked into each day of the year. It literally proves that each and every day truly matters. The Boston Massacre happend almost 240 years ago, and yet its importance still shines today. I love history. I think it is the most important subject to study. Nothing excites me more than spending time reading or physically going to some historical place. We can learn so much in studying the past. The question is will we? Either way I will continue to enjoy learning more and more about the past.

Thanks for the memories.

No more #4 slinging passes with reckless abandon. I was ten years old when Brett took over for the Majik Man and lead the Packers to victory over the Bengals. Ten. Now here I am, almost 26, and he is now retiring. Walking away from the game on his own terms. It is a sad day for me. Much like July 12th, 1996 when Kirby Puckett announced his retirement from baseball; I am left with a sad void in my sports-loving heart. With both Puckett and Favre, it did not matter who else was on the team - you always just assumed they had a chance to win. Watching Brett play the game was always exciting. He made every single moment of the game worth watching. Sometimes the excitement would be in joy over something amazing. Other times the excitement would be the irritation of him throwing yet another interception. Either way, I couldn't help but root for the guy. No matter how poor he played, I was always argue that none played the game better. He seemed to approach football like my two-year-old approaches life - full throttle with no regard to what is safe, proper or sometimes dare-I-say smart. The enthusiasm, fun, and belief that any throw was possible was hard not to love. For Packers fans, he brought forth an era of excellence not seen since the Lombardi days. For the NFL, there might never be a guy who loved the game and played with such gusto to ever grace the field again. Nothing seemed to ever derail the guy. Whether it was the improper lifestyle as a younger man that got him into trouble or the personal tragedies that seemed to come at a nonstop pace towards the end of his career. He just kept playing. In the end, it makes sense that the only thing that caused Brett to retire was his own decision. With such a successful season and perhaps a Super Bowl run on the horizon, it might be considered reckless for him to retire when he did, and yet that simply mimics the decision making he made on the field. Hearts are truly crushed in Green Bay and everywhere Packers fans are found. There will never be another one like him. Yet at the end of they day, I cannot help but feel happy for the guy. A chance to leave on his own terms with a legacy too big for words. Much like Paul Bunyan, years from now it will be hard to separate fact from fiction in all the stories of this legend of the gridiron. I am sad that my boys will never get to watch him play when they are old enough to truly understand the game. There will be great ones to watch for them I am sure, but he will always be one-of-a-kind. Well I guess I could go on and on, but I will end with two moments that will always stick out to me. The first is the first-round playoff absolute beating that the Packers took against St. Louis in January of 2002. The Rams took it to the Packers that day by close to 30 points and intercepted Favre 6 times! I was so upset and angry and yet as as I look back it makes me smile. No matter how many times they picked him off, Brett refused to stop slinging it down field. He refused to stop throwing heaters to guys 3 yards away from him. And he definitely did not get wrapped up in worrying about his stats. He simply played like he always played - with reckless abandonment. Six picks or zero picks, I wouldn't have him any other way. It was in games like that one that I was reminded that Favre was just an ordinary guy. The lunch-pail type as some call it. The second moment is the one I have autographed and framed. My wife bought me an autographed photo of him during the Super Bowl win against New England. He is running across the field, helmet raised high in his right hand with a boyish grin across his face. He is having the time of his life and he knows it. All emotion. That will be the picture I see in my head every time I think of Brett Favre. It does not matter what anyone else says, to me he will always be the best. It will never be the same watching Packers games in the future. Success or no success they are my team. But every game I watch from this moment on will be bittersweet because I know that the Old Gunslinger won't be there to make it exciting one way or the other. Goodbye Brett Lorenzo Favre. You will be missed but thanks for the memories.