Hope for all ...Even New York Yankee fans

Millions of men and women love sports. In fact, many are obsessed with their favorite sports teams. I understand this because I am the same way. I am obsessed with my favorite sports team (the New York Yankees and New York Jets). Unfortunately, many times in our love of our sports teams, we forget the importance of loving God. So I write this blog as a reminder to focus first on loving God, before we love our sports team.


 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
                                                                                                                                       Matthew 28:18-20

 As for me I will always have hope; I will praise you more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day
                                                                         Psalms 71:14-15



The other day I asked my oldest daughter (4 years old) what she wanted to be when she grew up. She told me she wanted to be a pray-er and to be God's helper. I thought it was sweet that she wanted to pray for people and help God. I also started to think what type of job she could do in the church.  About a week later, two of my very good friends came over to my house for dinner. This was no ordinary dinner because these friends of mine (husband and wife) were going on a long-term mission trip to London, England. I have no idea when I will see them again. But, I was overjoyed to tell my daughter they were going overseas to tell people about Jesus. That is the only reason they are going, that is their job.  I thought about my daughters answer to my question about what she was going to be when she grows up. I felt blessed to be able to show her two people who were great examples of  “pray-ers” and God's helpers. I have two other friends (husband and wife) who are going on a long-term missions trip to Ecuador, I can tell her about them also. My daughter didn’t say she wanted to a missionary (I do not think she even knows what that means). However, her answer indicted to me a heart to help people and an understanding that God and the power of prayer can do just that. People who know God, always have hope. People who understand the power of prayer always have hope. I am blessed to know that with God no situation is hopeless. I wish more people understood this.  I wish the people who know this (myself included) told more people.  We do not have to travel far to do this, but I thank God for people like my friends going to England and Ecuador. They are doing what God tells us all to do. Hopefully one day my daughter may do the same.

It is easy to forget how many positives existed for the New York Yankees this year. The thing that is prominent in many fans mind is the horrible offensive showing in the playoffs, and it was horrible.  It was painful to look at.  I am happy A-Rod was benched, although he really could have played against Justin Verlander. Nick Swisher should have been benched two games and he should not return to the New York Yankees. There is a lot of talk about trading Curtis Granderson. Remember this team traded Ian Kennedy (the Arizona Diamondbacks #1 pitcher), Austin Jackson (the Detroit Tigers leadoff batter and starting centerfield) and Phil Coke a hard throwing lefty out of the pen (who actually closed out the final two games of the playoffs against the Yankees) to get Granderson. I would not be so quick to trade him. If he gets traded I would want players just as good or better than those three. Last year he had an MVP caliber season and despite far too many strikeouts this year he led the team in homeruns and RBI’s.  This guy had more RBI’s and homeruns than Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, and Mark Texeria. If he gets traded you better be able to replace that production. I am not saying don’t trade him, I am just saying don’t be so quick to trade him, because you will need to get a lot in return. There were positives to Granderson’s season and the team has a lot to be proud of. They overcame major injuries to Mariano Rivera, Mark Texeria, Alex Rodriguez, C.C Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Andy Pettitte, and finished with the best record in the American League. That requires an excellent job of managing and solid playing. Unfortunately, their lack of situational hitting and clutch hitting (which was bad all year) caught up with them in the playoffs. They can rectify that problem by making sure the term professional hitter returns to Yankee stadium. Tino Martinez, Paul O’Neil, Wade Boggs, Robin Ventura, Scott Brosius, Cecil Fielder and Hideki Matsui are former Yankee professional hitters. Raul Ibanez and Derek Jeter are current professional hitters; these are hitters who don’t just try to hit homeruns every time they come up to bat. They can get a runner in from third base with less than two outs and they can get a hit with 2 outs and a runner on in scoring position. I miss those New York Yankees, we used to have a lot of them, and I could not find them last year. However, despite the bad endings, there was a lot of good things about this year and for that, New York Yankees fans should have hope.

The New York Jets lost a game they should have won. They should have beat the New England Patriots which is really an odd thing to say. The New York Jets were left for  dead after the Forty Niner beat down.  However, since then, they lost a close one to the first place Houston Texans( a game they should have won), they destroyed the Indianapolis Colts and then this game. Everyone expected to Pats to beat the New York Jets badly, not only did that not happen, the Jets should have won. Of course, the Patriots won because they know how to. The New York Jets forgot how to win after their 2010 win against these same Patriots in the playoffs.  I must say as disappointed as I was after the game, I felt really hopeful about the season moving forward. Much like the New York Yankee season, the New York Jet game ended badly, but there were a lot of good things that we can take from this game. The running game was actually successful again, despite the Pats stout run defense, Mark Sanchez played a great game (minus the one pick and two fumbles). I never thought I would see the game where Sanchez had 41 pass attempts and the New York Jets almost win. Jeremy Kerley continues to progress and is developing into an excellent receiver, Dustin Keller is back and the defense played great for almost the entire game. Which brings us to the reasons why we lost. The defense after playing great for EVERY drive, blew it with the final two defensive drives. I have said this before, Rex Ryan's defense consistently fails to get a big stop to end out the game.
On Sunday the New York Jets play the Miami Dolphins, most likely this game will be hard fought and close. If it comes down to the defense making a stop to end the game, I can only hope they will get the job done.

Now that I got that off my chest it is time for prayer and a devotional before bed.

Forgiving others....including A-rod. And Swisher?

 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
                                                                                  - Matthew 6:14-15
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
                                                                                   -Luke 6:37


Several weeks ago my brother came to visit me. He stopped by on a Saturday. My wife worked that day so I was home alone with my two girls. Although, we only live about a half hour away from each other, my brother and I don't see each other that often. That day he told me he really wanted to talk to me. In my world that means somebody wants a favor, usually money. My brother did not initially tell me what he wanted. He had brought my girls some dolls and he played with them( the girls not the dolls). The three of them had a great time, my brother is like a big kid himself when he gets around children. Finally, he told me what he wanted to say. He told me he was sorry for the different ways he had let me down and the hurt he had caused me over the years. The things he had done are not significant at this point, the fact that he apologized is. I think he was surprised at how quickly I told him he was forgiven. The truth is, it wasn't hard at all to forgive him. I did it through the strength of Jesus Christ, so it had nothing to do with me. I love my brother, but God loves him more. He has protected him and watched over him his entire life. He is at the point now where not only can he apologize for things he has done wrong, but God can use him to bless other people. So of course I forgave my brother. God had already forgiven him, so who would I be to not have. I have done many things wrong in my life and I have asked God for forgiveness and mercy many times. He has never let me down and if you do the same He will never let you down.
I think we should remember that the next time someone does us wrong- we should forgive them.
But I think I would be wrong to not to point out that the only way we can do this is through the power of Jesus Christ. Most of the time when people wrong us in any way the last thing we want to do is forgive them. We need God to help us in this. If you are asking why should we forgive people; I ask isn't God wanting us to reason enough?


The New Yankees offense in the playoffs has been offensive. The series against the Baltimore Orioles was exciting and dramatic. It was fun to watch and I really can not take much more. It is bad for my heart. C.C Sabathia pitched a great game 5 (after some disappointing playoff games early in his Yankee career)- all is forgiven. As I said before, after the 2009 World Series, Alex Rodriguez forever gets a pass for his terrible playoff performances. The same cannot be said for Nick Swisher, who has been dreadful. Mark Texeria is actually playing well this postseason, so no longer can I complain about him. Clearly, Robinson Cano(he has been historic in his ineptitude)who  has gone hitless in 26 at- bats and Curtis Granderson has taken his place. They are now #2 and 3 behind Swisher for all time Yankee playoff choke artist. Swisher has the nerve to complain about being booed. Note to Swisher: get a hit and the fans will stop booing. That being said, all is not lost if the New York Yankees win tonight, C.C is pitching tomorrow and we have a chance to even the series. However, if they continue to do NOTHING at the plate, we will lose. I am not saying I won't forgive Cano, Granderson and Swisher if they don't win. I am just saying it was easy to forgive Alex Rodriguez after the 2009 World Series.

The New York Jets won an impressive game on Sunday. It was actually vintage "ground and pound" and a vintage Rex Ryan defense. Shame on all those analyst who downplayed the win because they played against a rookie QB. The New England Patriots played against a rookie QB on Sunday- and lost. So I will enjoy this win for a week, because next Sunday we play the New England Patriots.

Now that I got that off my chest time for a devotional and prayer before the Yankee game.

Thank God for Children and DVR?

Millions of men and women love sports. In fact, many are obsessed with their favorite sports teams. I understand this because I am the same way. I am obsessed with my favorite sports team (the New York Yankees and New York Jets). Unfortunately, many times in our love of our sports teams, we forget the importance of loving God. So I write this blog as a reminder to focus first on loving God, before we love our sports team.

 

The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys

And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

Nowhere in the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughter.

                                                                                               

                                                                                                Job 41:12, 15a

The other night I was watching the New York Jets play the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football and The New York Yankees play game #2 of the Divisional Round in the playoffs. Yes, I was watching both at the same time and yes I was “DVRing “ both games. Then during the seventh inning of the New York Yankee game, they had just scored one run and were threatening to score another to tie the game. At the same time, The New York Jets were about to enter the fourth quarter and it appeared they had a chance to take the lead. At this point of tension, I heard a familiar sound.  My youngest daughter was crying at the top of the stairs. This happens every night. She leaves her bed and comes to the top of the stairs and calls for her mother. I was fully expecting my wife (who was well aware of what I was watching) to go and rescue my very cute 2-year-old daughter. But the crying continued. Where was my wife? In a moment I realized why she had not saved my daughter. My daughter wanted me. She said repeatedly “I want my daddy.” This is the girl who would scream “No Daddy!” if I dared give my wife a break during this nighttime ritual.  I immediately rushed upstairs and picked up my crying daughter. She stopped crying and I stayed with her for about 20 minutes until my wife arrived. It felt great! (Although I was dying to know what my teams were doing).

I returned back downstairs and finished watching both of my teams lose; heartbreaking tough loses.  I felt terrible and then I remembered my cute little two-year-old daughter. I remembered that she called for me- her daddy, for the first time in the middle of the night.

The Devil received permission from God to test Job, because Job was a good man who loved the Lord.  The Devil believed that if he took away Job’s riches and had him endure tragic events Job would reject God and curse him.  Well, Job remained faithful to God and continued to trust Him. As a result, one of the ways God blessed Job was with children. They are a blessing from God. I am blessed to not have had to suffer the tragedies of Job and my sports’ team losing cannot be considered tragic (even if I have acted like it).  But this does serve as a good reminder to remember to trust in the Lord in all things, whether tragic or simply unpleasant, and to appreciate the blessings he has given you.  Both of my beautiful daughters are blessings to me.  So whether the Lord has blessed you with children of your own or placed you in a position to positively impact the lives of children, enjoy them and remember to thank Him.

Monday was rough because both the New York Yankees and New York Jets lost. However, there were a lot of positives in both games. First the New York Jets were extremely competitive in a game against the Houston Texans in which they were supposed to be blown out. Mark Sanchez as usual looked good when he had time to throw the football. His 2 interceptions were the result of deflected or tips passes. He even threw a touchdown pass. Actually, the New York Jets could have won this game. Sanchez missed a wide open Antonio Cromartie on a pass that probably should have been a touchdown, and one of the deflected interceptions stopped the New York Jets in the red zone and led to 3 points for the Texans.
Unfortuately, it is painfully obvious the team has no clue how to use Tim Tebow. He seems to be most effective as the punt protector converting 4th down on direct snaps. It seems that there were times when Sanchez would get hot, like on one long reception to Kerley and then Tebow is in at quarterback. Stupid. Or there was a time when Tebow had a good run and got into the red zone, he runs one more play and then here comes Sanchez. Stupid. Sanchez then throws 2 incompletions in a row and we settle for a field goal. Why take Tebow out in the first place?
A couple of other things stood out in this game. Chaz Shillens has good hands, I have seen him catch some really tough passes from Sanchez. Too bad he couldn't hold onto the ill advised on side kick. Clearly, the New York Jets can not stop the run. However, Damon Harrison might have been the most effective run stopping nose tackle they have had all year. It was clear on the few plays that he was in that the Texans O-line could not move him. The same could be said of his play in the pre-season.
It is a very strong possibility that if Santonio Holmes, Dustin Keller, Stephan Hill and Jeremy Kerley all played in this game the New York Jets would have won. The strength of the offense would also be it's passing game (which ironically, it probably still is because the run game is awful).


As excited as I was after C. C's dominant Game 1 victory, I was equally as dissappointed in the game 2 loss. Andy Pettitte pitched a really good game. Unfortuartuately, with this teams inability to EVER get a big hit, they often require great pitching to win a game. Therefore, I am hoping for a great performance tonight from Kirouda. If we don't get one, this team will be in trouble.
As far as Alex Rodriguez goes, he will forever get a pass in my book after the New York Yankees won the World Series in 2009- they don't win or even get in without him.  As for where he bats in the order, if there was another Yankee other than Derek  Jeter even hitting I would be all for letting them hit 3rd. But there is nobody who is going to be much of an improvement.  Swisher? Teixeria? Granderson? I think not. A more logical solution would be to platoon him with Eric Chavez, but that will not happen.


My wife has to work tonight, I am alone with my children. I thank God for that, and I can DVR the game.

A time for..... The New York Jets to wake up!

Millions of men and women love sports. In fact, many are obsessed with their favorite sports teams. I understand this because I am the same way. I am obsessed with my favorite sports team (the New York Yankees and New York Jets). Unfortunately, many times in our love of our sports teams, we forget the importance of loving God. So I write this blog as a reminder to focus first on loving God, before we love our sports team.
 

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up in accordance to their needs, that they may benefit those who listen

                                                                                                -Ephesians 4:29

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die.  

-Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

I have a very good friend whose mother recently passed away. He is a good man. He provides for his family, he is there for his wife and kids; he has helped many people at our church- myself included. I never met his mother, but she raised a fine man. I am confident his mother played a role in him becoming the man he is today. I hope he got a chance to tell her that. Shortly after hearing of my friend’s mother’s death, I read an article in Sports Illustrated about Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o (The Full Man Ti Oct 1, 2012) where in the same day- he lost his grandmother and his girlfriend. His girlfriend was only 22 years old. In the story Manti claims his girlfriend told him “Send roses while they can still smell them, tell people you love them while they can still hear.”  The story goes on to tell how well he performed 3 days later in a football game. But the story could have ended after the quote from his girlfriend. God makes it very clear that there is a time for everything, including our death. The truth is we never know when that is going to occur. God also tells us that we should not talk badly about other people, in fact he tells us to do the opposite. We should all take the time out to thank our mothers for putting up with us and raising us. We should tell our friends how much they mean to us (yes, even you big tough guys). God tells us to do it for a reason. He wants us to be like Him. He loved us so much that He let His Son die on the cross for our sins. Surely He wants us to love each other the same. We are put on this earth to glorify God, but our time is limited. We must use it wisely to glorify Him and tell someone what he or she means to you- while they can still hear.

Speaking of dead-The New York Jets stunk yesterday. This game was a joke. This team looked great against the Buffalo Bills the first game and then stunk in every other game. New York fans love to blame people when our teams lose. I used to love blaming Alex Rodriguez for every early postseason exit (and he deserved it every year before 2009). So I must blame someone for the fact that the New York Jets stink this year. I blame owner Woody Johnson. This man has decided this year he will not spend any money on this team. He has decided he will not allow Mike Tannenbaum to spend money this year. There is no other way to explain this New York Jets roster. The New York Jets are several million under the salary cap and still have huge holes in key spots. Woody Johnson has always spent money on this team. During past years free agents like Bart Scott, Calvin Pace, Damien Woody and Alan Faneca. They have also traded for expensive players like Kris Jenkins, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes.  These players for the most part have been great for this team. Obviously, Mike T has surrounded himself with people who understand talent. This is why this year has to be about money. After paying far too much to retain Holmes. The Jets have made players like Mike Devito and Matt Slauson take pay cuts. Really? These guys don’t make a lot of money as it is. This brings us to Tim Tebow. That move is all about Woody Johnson wanting the New York Jets to sell jerseys, tickets and appear on Sportscenter. Outside of ticket sales, all of this has happened. “You can never have too much Tebow!” That is a quote from our owner. This business is about entertainment- another point from our owner.  Then the Jets get guys like Austin Howard (who I actually like) off of a practice squad to fill a huge hole at right tackle. They spend no money on a proven wide receiver (Chaz Shilens is a legit 3^rd wideout at best) and they have not had a good blocking tight end since Ben Hartsock. How can you have a ground and pound team without a blocking tight end? Or a proven fullback, John Connor hits people hard when given a chance, but nobody is mistaking him for Tony Richardson or even Richie Anderson. This year has to be about money or they would have signed a real blocking tight end after they correctly got rid of Mike “false start” Mulligan. If this was not about money the New York Jets would have signed a real right tackle like the one the Houston Texans released the end of last year. They certainly would have signed a proven wide receiver when every fan on the planet realized we had no depth behind Holmes.

So at this point the New York Jets should go out and sign Paxico Burris (because Holmes is now hurt), at least he can score in the red zone. The Jets should trade for a blocking tight end. I think Hartsock is still in the league. 

Rex Ryan wants a ground and pound team- he doesn’t have one. Mike T didn’t give him one because Woody Johnson wouldn’t pay for one.

I have not written about the Yankees for a while. I was too upset about the loss to the Minnesota Twins in the game that Phil Hughes started. I have seen Phil Hughes melt under pressure. I have seen him pitch a good game for 4 innings and just cave at the first sign of trouble. I can see why Joe Girardi would not totally trust him. I have seen the New York Yankees score 14 runs and Phil Hughes have to be pulled before 5 innings (and not be eligible for the win). I can see why Girardi would not totally trust him. BUT there is a time when boys become men; there is a time when a pitcher turns the table. I think Phil Hughes deserved that chance the other night. Hughes pitched 6 plus solid innings before he got in trouble with the bases loaded. He just struck out a batter for the second out when he got pulled from the game. Now you bring in Boone Logan with the bases loaded to pitch to a batter (Denard Span) who had not gotten a hit off Hughes.  The look on Hughes face told you he wanted that chance. Based on the way he pitched he deserved that chance. If he gets that out he takes another step to becoming a dominant pitcher with the ability to get out of jams (Andy Pettitte anyone?). Unfortunately, he wasn’t given that chance and he and the New York Yankees lost.

Yesterday, the New York Yankees came back from a 5-1 deficit to win a huge game in Toronto. Phil Hughes started that game and was awful. I have a feeling- just a feeling that he would have pitched much better, had Girardi trusted him with that last out in the 6^th.

The Yankees will win the division- but it will be because of The Tampa Bay Rays.

Now that I got that off my chest, it is time for a devotional and prayer before bed.