As a father of three boys, I really enjoyed Randy Stinson’s recent series of posts on Baseball, Biblical Masculinity and Godly Character. Here are eleven ways Randy uses the game of baseball in the lives of his two sons to build Christian character and cultivate biblical masculinity.

      1. Play Ball:  Umpires and Understanding Authority
      2. Take One for the Team:  Self-Sacrifice and Toughness
      3. Slide!  Obedience to Authority
      4. You’re Out!  Unfairness
      5. Strike 3!  Failure
      6. When You Can’t Find the Plate:  Humility
      7. Keep a Short Memory:  Resilience
      8. Winners and Losers:  Grace, Mercy and Honor
      9. Thanks Coach: Gratitude
    10. Shake it Off! Leadership and Encouragement
    11. Father, Where Art Thou? The Decline of Baseball

Those are just the bullet points. You will want to read the whole series to get the explanations for each. Here are the links:  Part 1;  Part 2;  Part 3;  Part 4

Update: Click here for the Celtics-Lakers 2010 Finals.

The Celtics-Lakers 2008 Finals begin tonight. The Celtics and the Lakers are the two most successful basketball teams in NBA history. There have been a total of 61 NBA Finals. The Celtics and Lakers have won nearly half of them with the Celtics winning 16 and the Lakers 14. (The Chicago Bulls are the next closest team with “only” 6 championships.)

The Celtics and Lakers have met each other 10 times in the finals, the last time in 1987. The Celtics won the first 8 contests, and the Lakers won the last 2. The Lakers are looking to edge closer to Boston’s 16 championships, and the Celtics are looking to win their first championship since 1986 (over the Houston Rockets). As a long-time Boston Celtics fan, I am really looking forward to this one. This should be a great series.

UPDATE: The Celtics have now won their 17th NBA Championship. They are now 9-2 against the Lakers in Championship series. Here is a table showing all the Celtics-Lakers finals match-ups:

Related links:

• Top 20 Celtic-Lakers Moments in Finals History
• NBA Finals: Year-by-year results

Click here for more Sports related posts.

The Boston Red Sox won their season opening game yesterday, defeating the Oakland Athletics 6-5 in extra innings. The game was played in Japan at the Tokyo Dome. Boston caught up and tied the game in the ninth inning, and then won in the tenth with a two-run double off the center field fence by Manny Ramirez. It was Manny’s second two-run double of the game. So the Sox start off their 2008 season 1-0. Go Sox!

Related posts:

• Go Sox! Congratulations, Mike Lowell!
• Go Soox!
• Click here for more Sports related posts.

Extreme sports edition.

Daredevil Robbie Madison jumps 322 feet (the length of a football field) to
set a new motorcycle distance jumping world record on New Years Eve.

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HT: Neatorama
 

Every basketball player dreams of hitting the game winning shot at
the buzzer. How about doing it from the full length of the court?

(Video length: 0:44)

HT: Presurfer
 

Mike Parsons rides a 66-foot-high wave at the Jaws Maui Tow-In
World Surfing Championship.

(Video length: 1:29)

HT: Christ is Deeper Still

“An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” (Proverbs 24:26)

Okay, this TV ad featuring an honest referee is my new favorite football commercial, at least until the Super Bowl gets here! This is part of Subway’s “Fresh Moment” advertising campaign. And you have to admit, such honesty really is refreshing!

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“I totally blew that call. In fact, I wasn’t even close. But don’t worry. I’ll penalize the other team … for no good reason … in the second half … to even things up.”

Well, the Red Sox did it again! They came back from a deficit in the ALCS to win the pennant and then went on to sweep the World Series.

A minute that used to recur like a comet, once 86 years or so and missed by generations of Sox fans, is now beginning to feel like a birthright. For the second time in four seasons, the Red Sox are World Series champions, Francona and the rest of the Sox dugout borne onto Coors Field last night by the same wave of euphoria that struck in 2004 …

The Sox join the Yankees as the only American League teams to sweep in successive Series appearances, and the third team overall, Cincinnati doing it in 1976 and 1990. The Sox became the 20th team in 103 years of World Series play to win by sweep.

But, as excited as I am about the Red Sox winning the series, I am really happy for Red Sox third-baseman Mike Lowell. Lowell was named the Series MVP after batting .400 (6 for 15) with six runs and four RBIs.

I have been following Mike Lowell since his Florida Marlins days (when the 2003 Marlins also won the World Series and Josh Beckett received the MVP). Lowell is a hard-working, down-to-earth, rock-steady player who often doesn’t get enough credit for his game, and it was nice to see him get recognized with the MVP last night. His future with Boston is up in the air right now, but I hope the Red Sox do what they need to in order to keep him on the team. He is a great player, and I would hate to see him go.

Go Sox! And congratulations, Mike Lowell!

Related post: Go Soox!

Sory for al the typoes and speling erors, but I em sufring fom slepe depervation along wit te ressed of peple hear in Masachussets and probly wil bee untill the werld serees is over. Go Soox!

(BOSTON/AP – The Boston Red Sox routed Colorado 13-1 to take the World Series opener. Josh Beckett struck out nine in his seven innings and the Red Sox set a World Series record with eight doubles and nine extra base hits in their 17-hit attack. Eleven of their runs came with two outs.)

Related posts:

• 5 things to say if you’re caught sleeping at work
• Preaching Tired

This is a pretty neat feature if you like to keep track of your favorite teams’ sports scores.

Totally Scored makes it easy to track your favorite sports or teams using any RSS reader by subscribing to the feed. You can customize the display so that you only see the results you are interested in. Whenever a game ends, the final score will be automatically downloaded to your computer, cellphone, or other RSS reader.

The site gives you scores for both college and pro teams. You can use the RSS feature or bookmark the site with your browser and check back for scores later. I just signed up for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Florida Marlins; the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat; and the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

By the way, if you enjoy the posts here at RayFowler.org, you can subscribe to this blog by RSS or email, too. It’s easy, and it’s free! Click here to subscribe.

Click here for more Helpful Hints.

HT: Lifehacker

Here is an excerpt from NFL player Michael Vick’s apology following his guilty plea in U.S. District Court in Richmond, VA, to a dogfighting conspiracy charge:

I want to apologize … for all the things that I’ve done and that I have allowed to happen. I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates … I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts … I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player. I take full responsibility for my actions …

I’m upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now.

I noticed that the ESPN article on this did not quote the part about Jesus in Vick’s apology but simply stated: “Vick said he now has renounced dogfighting and has found religion as a result of the federal charges.”

I pray that Vick’s repentance and new-found faith in Christ are sincere. Time will tell. (Has anyone heard anything more about Paris Hilton in this regard?)

HT: CROSS-eyed

Super Bowl winning coach Tony Dungy’s new book, Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life, debuted at No. 2 last week on the New York Times best-seller list for hardcover, non-fiction books. As of today, it is now No. 1 on the list. Kevin Jackson of the Christian Post reports:

While Quiet Strength does mention Dungy’s career in the NFL, a major purpose for the content is to highlight the coach’s faith on and off the field. Through it, he hoped to show people that there is more to life than just sports, and that humans need God leading their steps no matter where they are.

“I really wanted to show people you can win all kinds of ways,” explained the Colts head in his memoir. “For your faith to be more important than your job, for your family to be more important than that job … we all know that’s the way it should be … I’m not afraid to say it.”

Tony has a great testimony to share, and it is fantastic to see his book doing so well.

Related articles:

• Tony Dungy: Asking ‘What’ Instead of ‘Why’
• Tony Dungy Speaks about the National Day of Prayer

Are you a cycling fan? Check out the Tour de France Live Tracker 2007. Using GPS and other technology, this site tracks the exact position and additional data (heart rate, cadence, speed, power) of the racing cyclists on an interactive map.

HT: Lifehacker

Here is a great quote by Tony Dungy from his new book, Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices & Priorities of a Winning Life. Tony lost his 18-year-old son, James, back in 2005.

Why do bad things happen? I don’t know. Why did Jamie die? I don’t know. But I do know that God has the answers, I know he loves me, and I know he has a plan – whether it makes sense to me or not. Rather than asking why, I’m asking what. What can I learn from this? What can I do for God’s glory and to help others?

Tony Dungy is head coach of this year’s Super Bowl winning Indianapolis Colts.

Related articles:

• Tony Dungy No. 1 on NYT Bestsellers List
• Tony Dungy Speaks about the National Day of Prayer