As I peruse facebook status updates and look at the local newspaper website - I get the feeling that some in Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo are tired and sickened by what some are calling a flood-blizzard day. The Red River is on pace to crest at a record level Saturday morning. The crest will last 2 to 3 days. The town has been in a crazy mode of sandbagging all week - and today we woke up to 6 to 8 inches of snow.
Some are asking - "when will this ever stop?" Some are calling it "BLIZZFLOOD-'09"
This points me directly to God and His Glory and reminds me that God will have His glory one way or another. God has been doing whatever He wants, whenever He wants from the beginning of time - and this trial in F-M will continue to bring God glory! See the words below from one of my favorite songs of all time called "Destructor" - also a great meditation on the upcoming Good Friday we will observe
Verse 1 From the first time You flooded the earth To the last time You burned off the curse To the way that You hated Your Son When you hung all the sins of the world Bridge Holy, Holy Chorus Heaven will disappear with a roar And the host of God will come to destroy Sin is a declaration of war God will have HIS GLORY ONE WAY OR ANOTHER Verse 2 In reverence we'll come to Your throne Indebted to Your Holy son The ripe vine of the earth will be crushed And Your light will shine over the world
Fargo, ND is a buzz lately about the NDSU Bison making the NCAA tournament and what a game they played on Tuesday evening beating the Golden Grizzles of Oakland University to secure their automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. Fargonians are kind of in a box right now - loving their Bison, but one game washed away all my thoughts of how entertaining the Bison game was the other night - and that came in the manner of a 6 OT thriller on Thursday night between my #4 UCONN Huskies going down to #20 Syracuse 127-117 in yes 6 OT's. The game ended at 12:30ish a.m. and 1:30 a.m. NYC time. This is when the Yankee playoff games seem to end - not games at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tourney.
UCONN showed heart down the stretch in regulation coming back to tie the game after being down 6 with 3 minutes to play. UCONN was in control of all the overtime periods except period number 6......the only period they didn't get the tip (since Hasheem Thabeet had fouled out) - and they surrendered a three right away on Syracuse's first possession that seeminly started the road to the end for the Huskies on this night. UCONN had many opportunities to slam the door on Syracuse during the first 5 OT's. What a disappointment not to get the job done.
AJ Price was great, Stanley Robinson was insane. Other than that - no one for UCONN showed up offensively, although both teams showed tons of heart and class (w/the exception of Erik Devendorf - who proved that he is one of the cockiest players in college basketball - taunting AJ Price after making threes a couple of different times- and standing on the scores table after hitting an improbable game winner that was reviewed and was eventually taken away from Syracuse).
I am somewhat glad UCONN lost this game and will get some rest the rest of the weekend. I seem to remember a past national champion - North Carolina - who lost early in the ACC tourney a couple of years ago - only to win their next 6 in a row and claim the National Championship.....Let's hope the Huskies can pull that feet off as well.
On a final note - I scrolled the TV lineup that this game was competing with at 12 midnight only to find TBS airing the movie Doom as well as various channels carrying different male enhancement ads - It's a pretty good bet ESPN ratings did just fine after midnight on this night. And last Jim Calhoun's press conference was classic, as usual, when he made a statment about the Big East and asked people to "Do The Math....Everyone is wondering why everyone in our league can't be 15-3 - well someone has to lose games....Do the math and you'll find that this is the best and deepest conference in America."
A sports rivalry is an intense competition between athletic teams or athletes. This pressure of competition is felt by players, coaches, and management, but is perhaps felt strongest by the fans.
With tonight's upcoming Duke - UNC college basketball game I thought it would be interesting to list my top 10 rivalries that come to mind when I think of the preceding definition. For the record, I will be cheering for UNC tonight as Duke is very easy to dislike for me. 1) My UCONN Huskies recorded two of their biggest wins in school history against Coach K and his floor slapping defenders in the 1999 NCAA Championship game and in the 2004 National Semifinal game (en route to another title) - so they pretty much annoy me and 2) My great friend Nick Schmidt is a Tar Heel fanatic - and our mutual friend John Sayler loves Duke - so it is easy to gang up on him and hate the Blue Devils.
Top Ten
10. Cowboys - Redskins - an NFC East rivalry that seems to always have Troy Aikman and Joe Buck ecstatic even though the game sometimes sucks.
9. BJ Penn vs. Georges St. Pierre - a recent rivalry created in the UFC. St. Pierre has won both matches. The first by a controversial split decision and the second one recently with a 4th round corner stoppage. The fight was won by St. Pierre, but controversy again lingered as there is now an investigation into if St. Pierre cheated using Vaseline on his back.
8. Michigan - Ohio St. - clearly a football rivalry that has been dominated recently by the Buckeyes. Michigan on the other hand has been losing to Appalachian State, but keeps on rolling over the Minnesota Gophers in the Big Ten.
7. Leeds High School vs. Minnewauken High School - Separated by 25 miles these two schools used to dislike everything about each other on the basketball floor (now they co-op). For years they co-oped as a football team as North Central Benson - but on the basketball floor all bets were off - and more than likely Leeds came out victorious - and usually went to the state tournament. 6x's in the 90's (winning a state title and finishing runner-up twice).
6. Vikings - Packers - Cheese Heads have had their days with Brett Favre - it is now time for Jared Allen to have his way with Aaron Rodgers for years to come.
5. Sioux - Gophers Hockey - This video should say it all - when you can't get through a handshake (the most respectable part of hockey) - it is a safe bet that you don't like each other at all.
4. Twins - White Sox - Coming off a 1 game playoff last year for the AL Central crown these two teams have combined to win 6 out of the last 7 titles (Twins - 4, White Sox - 2). The Sox got the biggest prize though winning the 2005 World Series w/stinky AJ.
3. Celtics - Lakers - a rivalry that is coming back with Boston's Big Three and the Lakers w/Kobe. This rivalry hopefully can be carried through as the aging superstars retire (KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant). Hopefully Rajon Rondo and Andrew Bynum can carry the torch so this rivalry doesn't die as it did after Magic and Bird.
2. Yankees - Red Sox - when a construction worker tries to bury a David Ortiz Jersey in the new Yankee stadium to curse you - I think a pretty big rivalry exists. Nothing was better than the 2004 title the Sox won as they came back in the ALCS (down 3 games to 0) to defeat the Yanks.
1. Duke - UNC - Nothing says it better than Roy Williams when he referred to Duke as "them guys over there" - When you don't even want to utter the words of your opponent - I don't think there is much love.
John Piper encouraging President Obama to be courageous on the issue of abortion
Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill recently featured on ABC's Nightline. Thorns makes a good point on this interview
And finally, have you ever seen a coach in hockey try and sit in the penalty box? Well at UND last weekend it seemed that the Denver University coach was trying to do just that.
Yesterday was an interesting day for our family. We had the opportunity to celebrate physical life and physical death on the same day.
Aunika turns 2 Two years ago Shannon and I welcomed an undeserved blessing into our lives. We celebrated this day with forgetting the rules, buying a $9 balloon (that actually was about 5 balloons attached together - hence the price), going to Culvers and eating burgers, fries, ice cream, and allowing her to drink caffeine. We finished the night with allowing Aunika to stay up until 10 watching her Pooh DVD, and then to bed where I read her 3 books compared to the normal 1. We concluded our day with prayer - thanking the Lord for Aunika's life and praying for her someday to make a commitment to Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.
Shannon's Grandmother Passes At 11 a.m. (Pacific Time) - Shannon's grandmother Jackie Ellingburg passed away in Las Vegas, NV. Jackie had been battling cancer that was recently discovered in the fall. We celebrate because Jackie was a daughter of the Lord Most High. She was a women that was following Jesus and we are joyful that today she is with Jesus. Shannon had the opporunity to be with her in December and had the priviledge of caring for her as well as special times of reading her Scripture. The words of Chris Tomlin and the song I Will Rise are especially true and near to my heart and mind today
There's a peace I've come to know Though my heart and flesh may fail There's an anchor for my soul I can say "It is well"
Jesus has overcome And the grave is overwhelmed The victory is won He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name No more sorrow, no more pain I will rise on eagles' wings Before my God fall on my knees And rise I will rise
Through the power of the resurrection - Jackie did rise
I am a 28 year old pursuing humility in life as I work as a Pastor to Students in Fargo, ND. I am married to the most beautiful woman alive, Shannon Marie, and have two amazing daughters named Aunika and Alayna. I enjoy wake boarding and landscaping as summer activities
