Let the Countdown Begin!

Only ...

2 days until my father turns 60 years old!

3 days until I get to spend an entire weekend alone with my wife!

6 days until the Packers get to play against Brett Favre on Monday Night Football!

7 days until I get to spend the day golfing with my dad here!

10 days until my son turns 5 years old!

Lots of fun stuff I'm really looking forward to.

NFL Pick 'Em Week 3 Results

As you can see, it was a better week for the contestants overall. That's not to say there weren't some disappointments, but on average we did much better than we did in Week 2.

Craig had another strong week (13-3) and holds a two-game lead over Geoff. Jeff Simpson is alone in third place while Tim Emmons and I are tied for fourth.

Not surprisingly, the most common incorrect pick this week was the Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game. Also surprisingly, five people correctly picked the Detroit-Washington game.

NFL Pick 'Em Week 3

Didn't do so well last week (8-8) but still in sixth place, only three games back. So, here's why I picked the way I did this week:

Detroit over Washington: This is me out on a limb. Last week I said the Lions would have to win a game before I picked them, but I didn't know how badly the Redskins would start. Since it's in Detroit I'm going to say Detroit ends its losing streak.

Green Bay over St. Louis: I think I've made it clear that I'm a Packers fan, but even if I wasn't, I'd still pick the Packers this week because the Rams are really bad. Also, losing to two bad teams in a row is just more than I could handle as a Packers fan.

Minnesota over San Francisco: I still am not sold on the Vikings, but it's hard to pick against Brett Favre winning his first home game with Minnesota. I would not be surprised, however, if the 49ers come in and shut the Vikings down.

New England over Atlanta: I still live in a world where the Patriots don't lose two games in a row. Maybe I'm living in the past.

Tennessee over NY Jets: I still cannot believe the Titans are 0-2 and cannot pick them to go 0-3. Logic tells me the Jets are going to win, but my gut tells me this is a letdown for the Jets after beating the Patriots last week.

Philly over Kansas City: Good team vs. bad team - simple as that.

NY Giants over Tampa Bay: The Buccaneers start Byron Leftwich at QB. Need I say more?

Baltimore over Cleveland: I love the Ravens! They have a really good defense, a strong offense and they're playing against a team that has neither of those.

Houston over Jacksonville: Watching Houston against Tennessee last week was really fun (especially since I have Chris Johnson and Andre Johnson on the same fantasy team). I was very impressed with the Texans' passing game. And that Mario Williams guy at defensive end is turning out to be a pretty wise decision as the No. 1 pick in his draft (over Reggie Bush).

New Orleans over Buffalo: The Saints just score too many points. I don't think I can name one defensive player for the Saints.

Chicago over Seattle: Does beating Pittsburgh make the Bears for real? I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure a Seneca Wallace-led Seahawks team isn't good enough to beat them. By the way, how about that Johnny Knox kid?

San Diego over Miami: Unless the Wildcat gets 'em!

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati: NO WAY the Bengals win two in a row and the Steelers lose two in a row!

Oakland over Denver: I don't believe in the Broncos. I don't believe in the Raiders either, but somebody's got to win.

Indianapolis over Arizona: This is going to be a really fun Sunday night game! With all the passing that is sure to happen, it might be a really long game too. Fantasy-wise, I need big games from Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Tim Hightower ... reality-wise, it's probably not going to happen.

Dallas over Carolina: Am I the only one who is starting to turn against the Cowboys? Still, I cannot pick a team starting Jake Delhomme at QB!

El Bandido

A Drive to Remember

Warning: The contents of this post are very random.

I just got back from a drive to Goshen and here's some things I saw while driving, and my subsequent thoughts:

• A couple guys working with chain saws. My thought: Why is my stomach feeling all queasy?
  

• A man with no shirt riding his lawn mower and holding a bottle of beer. My thoughts: I wonder if that was part of his dream? I wonder if that is part of the American dream? (Not sure why I thought that)
  

• A truck spraying a new white line on State Road 19, followed by a truck with a flashing sign that said, "Wet paint," "Stay off line," followed by a garbage truck that was consistently moving over to the line and spreading the wet paint through the southbound lane. My thoughts: Can he not read? Does he not care? Is he unable to control his truck? Is he having fun?
  

I told you it was really random.

Me vs. Chain Saw

Saturday was supposed to be a heavy work day. We planned to take down a couple trees at my grandmother-in-law's house in Mishawaka. Then I was supposed to go home and spend the afternoon mowing at our house.

Well, things didn't go according to plan.

Shortly after dropping a small tree I was working with a chain saw chopping up the limbs. I got a little too confident and grabbed a branch with my left hand while using the saw to cut a small twig off the side of the branch. As I cut the twig something made the saw bounce back and it bumped my left index finger. I was wearing gloves and thought it just ripped my gloves. But then I looked closer and noticed some blood. I quickly removed the glove and saw the damage. My finger looked pretty mangled and I ran inside to rinse it off and get it wrapped up. It didn't take long to decide that I needed to go to the emergency room.

The doctor said he couldn't stitch the wound because the cut was too jagged. So he covered it with some strips, put it in a splint and bandaged it. I have to wear the splint for 7-10 days so I don't bend the knuckle and reopen the wound.

So, I am fine. It could easily have been a lot worse. I learned a lesson: Never get too confident when working with powerful equipment; Accidents can happen very quickly; Always wear the proper safety equipment; Be thankful for every day and your health as long as you have it.

Thanks to everybody who has asked how I'm doing. I appreciate the concern. Unless there are any complications, this will likely be my only post on this subject. Hope this answered all your questions.

NFL Pick 'Em Week 2 Final

Nobody had as good a week as Craig had in Week 1, but Geoff Cocanower made a serious move by going 12-4. Craig is still in the lead at 24-8, Cocanower and Jeff Simpson are tied for second at 23-9, Preston Edwards and Tim Emmons are tied for fourth at 22-10 and I am alone in fifth at 21-11.

I have to make a public apology to all those who picked the Bears. I was wrong.

NFL Pick 'Em Week 2

That handy little graphic above spells out all the necessary information for Week 2 of the NFL Pick 'Em challenge, but I'm going to go into a little more detail on my picks for this week.

Atlanta over Carolina: Mostly, this is a home-field pick, but I also cannot fathom picking a team quarterbacked by Jake Delhomme to win.

Minnesota over Detroit: I was a bit surprised at how easily the Vikings handled the Browns last week and, while I'm still not convinced that Minnesota is really good, the Lions are not going to be much of a match for them this week. The Lions will have to win a game before I pick them.

Green Bay over Cincinnati: I wrote on Facebook the other day how I am enjoying having a team to cheer for this season, but there's a sense of nervousness that I didn't expect. This game has me very nervous, mostly because everyone in the challenge picked the Packers. But I really liked a lot of what I saw from Green Bay last week, especially on defense.

Tennessee over Houston: As much as I think Houston is a team on the verge of being really good, I can't see the Titans losing at home after getting beat last week.

Kansas City over Oakland: This is one of those games where you wish you didn't have to choose a winner. Oakland's defense is probably better, but Kansas City's offense is probably more potent. This is a home-field advantage pick.

New England over NY Jets: Here's another one I don't feel real confident about. The Patriots usually step up in big games, especially when Tom Brady is in the game, so that's how I made this choice.

New Orleans over Philly: The ONLY reason I didn't agonize over this decision is because Donovan McNabb is not playing for the Eagles. The Saints are fun to watch and hard to stop.

Washington over St. Louis: The Rams are just bad and I think Washington would have a shot at winning any other division of the NFC.

Jacksonville over Arizona: Another tough one to pick because I really like Arizona. I also think the Jags are pretty good and won't take a second consecutive loss, especially on their home field.

Buffalo over Tampa Bay: Hopefully the Bills don't deflate after such a gutsy performance against the Patriots last week. Who plays for Tampa?

Seattle over San Francisco: A slight underdog heading into this game, I have a feeling that the Seahawks are in for another good season if they can stay healthy. I also like the 49ers, but Seattle's defense is pretty solid.

Pittsburgh over Chicago: I cannot believe three people in the challenge picked the Bears here. I mean, the Steelers took care of business, albeit in overtime, last week against a good Titans team. Jay Cutler threw four interceptions last week and Brian Urlacher is out for the season. What about this makes you think the Bears will win?

Baltimore over San Diego: If I had to choose an AFC team to cheer for right now, it would be the Ravens. I also like the Chargers so this was a tough pick. I am very impressed with Joe Flacco and the Baltimore defense is always stingy.

Denver over Cleveland: The Browns' pathetic showing last week made this an easy pick.

Dallas over NY Giants: The ONLY reason I felt safe picking the Cowboys is because the game is in Dallas.

Indianapolis over Miami: Just playing the odds here.

It's a choice

This is me forcing myself to write. I keep saying I want to do it, but then I don't do it. So, here I am writing even when I don't feel like it.

That's sometimes how I feel about a lot of things. I have to force myself. Exercise, for example, never really feels like a fun thing to do. But since it's good for me, I should probably force myself to do it. Resisting temptation is never the easy way out. If it was, it wouldn't be called temptation. But forcing myself to resist is always the best choice.

Last night, Geoff Cocanower brought a strong message to the students of NMC Senior High out of I John 3:16.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Geoff talked about true friendship and true community among brothers and sisters in Christ. I have several guys I consider brothers, but I'm not convinced we're living in true community. I mean, would we really lay down our lives for each other? DO we lay down our lives for each others?

Here's what I realized: It's a choice.

Yep, simple as that. I can choose to be a true friend and lay my life down for whoever I want. Anytime I want to do it. It's not the easy way out and it's not the most appealing thing in the world, but if I claim to love someone it's the best choice. Obviously I would lay down my life for my family and I live in true community and friendship with them, but how many others are there? How many should there be?

I know we're not called to go it alone in this life and that includes more than my family. I need brothers! Guys who will lay down their lives for me and who I'm ready to lay my life down for.

So now I've got to force myself to do it. It's a choice.

NFL Pick 'Em Week 1 Final

As most of the competitors predicted, the Patriots and Chargers won last night, giving Craig Helfrich the lead with a 14-2 record. To only miss two games on the opening week of the NFL season is pretty impressive. Three players - Preston Edwards, Dan Erickson and myself - are just one game behind and Jeff Simpson is two games back.

Here's the final standings after the first week of games:

NFL Pick 'Em Week 1

Prior to tonight's two Monday Night Football games, here's where the field stands:


You may have to click on the picture to make it big enough to read.
Craig is the leader in the clubhouse and will win Week 1 because everybody that's close to him picked the same two teams as he did in tonight's games.
Some interesting trends: Everybody picked correctly in the Dallas-Tampa Bay game and the NY Giants-Washington game. Only one picked against the Colts and only two picked the 49ers.
I'll update and post the final Week 1 results tomorrow.

2009 NFL Pick 'Em

Last year, three of my friends and I started picking NFL games halfway through the season. This year, there's a few more participants and we're going to pick all the way through the regular season and postseason.

Each week I'll try to list the games with the lines (just for fun, of course) and then each person's winners.

So, here's the first week of NFL games:
Tennessee (+6.5) at Pittsburgh
Miami (+4) at Atlanta
Denver (+4) at Cincinnati
Minnesota (-4.5) at Cleveland
Jacksonville (+7) at Indianapolis
Detroit (+13.5) at New Orleans
Dallas (-6) at Tampa Bay
Philadelphia (-2.5) at Carolina
Kansas City (+13.5) at Baltimore
NY Jets (+5) at Houston
Washington (+6.5) at NY Giants
San Francisco (+6) at Arizona
St. Louis (+8.5) at Seattle
Chicago (+3.5) at Green Bay
Buffalo (+11) at New England
San Diego (-9) at Oakland

Now, here's the picks:

Dan Weiss
Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Denver
Cleveland
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Philly
Baltimore
Houston
NY Giants
Arizona
Seattle
Green Bay
New England
San Diego

Craig Helfrich
Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Cincinnati
Minnesota
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Philadelphia
Baltimore
NY Jets
NY Giants
Arizona
Seattle
Green Bay
New England
San Diego

Kevin Edwards
Tennessee
Atlanta
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Indianapolis
Detroit
Dallas
Philly
Baltimore
NY Jets
NY Giants
Arizona
St. Louis
Chicago
Buffalo
San Diego

Geoff Cocanower
Tennessee
Miami
Cincinnati
Minnesota
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Philly
Kansas City
NY Jets
NY Giants
San Francisco
Seattle
Chicago
New England
San Diego

Tim Emmons
Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Denver
Minnesota
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Carolina
Baltimore
Houston
NY Giants
Arizona
Seattle
Chicago
New England
San Diego

Dan Erickson
Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Baltimore
Philly
Cincinnati
Minnesota
Houston
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Arizona
NY Giants
Seattle
Green Bay
New England
San Diego

Jason Thompson
Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Carolina
Jacksonville
New Orleans
Baltimore
Arizona
NY Giants
Minnesota
Dallas
Cincinnati
Houston
Seattle
Chicago
New England
San Diego

Jeff Simpson
Tennessee
Atlanta
Denver
Minnesota
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Carolina
Baltimore
NY Jets
NY Giants
Arizona
Seattle
Chicago
New England
San Diego

Derry Prenkert
Tennessee
Atlanta
Baltimore
Carolina
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Houston
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Arizona
NY Giants
Seattle
Bears
Patriots
Chargers

Rodney Jernas

Pittsburgh

Miami

Denver

Minnesota

Indy

Detroit

Dallas

Carolina

Baltimore

Houston

NY Giants

Arizona

St. Louis

Chicago

New England

San Diego

Preston Edwards
Pittsburgh
Atlanta
Denver
Minnesota
Indianapolis
New Orleans
Dallas
Philadelphia
Baltimore
Houston
Dallas
NY Giants
San Francisco
St Louis
Chicago
New England
San Diego

Finally ... My TOMS!

It's been two years and 86 days since I wrote this post about my then-recent discovery of TOMS shoes. I fully intended to buy a pair at that time, but never did.

This summer I joined the Student Ministries team at my church and learned about a movement to seriously address the issues of Kids In Need this school year. Somebody brought up TOMS shoes and the way they give a pair of shoes to kids in need every time somebody buys a pair of shoes. It reminded me of my good intentions nearly two years ago.

Over the weekend I received a check as an early birthday present and yesterday I used part of that money to finally purchase my TOMS (brown corduroy, pictured above)! I'm so excited because I get a great new pair of shoes. But even better than that, there's a child somewhere in the world who can't afford shoes and will now be given his/her own pair. This will help prevent any number of diseases as well as protect his/her feet from injury.

When I look at my closet I can't believe how much stuff I have in there. I have so many clothes and so many pairs of shoes and I don't even wear many of them anymore. When most of the world lives in what I would consider a state of poverty, why should I have so much and give so little? It's time for something to change.

If you are interested in buying a pair of TOMS, please do it today! Don't wait more than two years like I did. Even if you're not interested in owning a pair of TOMS, please at least take a few minutes to stop by the TOMS website and read this page explaining why they do what they do. It's worth it!

It must be fall

This summer's weather has made it hard to tell if there's been a change in the seasons, but weather isn't the only tell-tale sign that the greatest season of the year is upon us.

Fall is hard to miss. You've got schools back in session, later sunrises, earlier sunsets, football season and eventually leaves changing color.

Fall is by far my favorite season of the year, for many reasons. The weather is nearly perfect, but again, there's more than weather that makes me love this season. My daughter is in first grade and it's a lot of fun to watch her learn new things. Football season is always fun, for the games and for Fantasy Football leagues. Where we live now, the lake is really quiet in the fall because many families have moved away from their summer homes.

This year I've got something new to look forward to. I'm going to be a Small Group Leader in the Sr. High Ministry at Nappanee Missionary Church. I'm going to work with freshmen guys and I cannot wait to get started. After spending a week at camp this summer, I have a renewed sense of anticipation, hope and urgency for these young people. There's so much potential and I'm blessed to be part of their development.

For some reason I still can't quite explain, I became a fan of the Green Bay Packers last season. I'm really excited for the NFL season, but especially for the Packers. It's fun to have a team to root for each week. I still won't live and die with every Packers game, but I may be slightly more giddy if the Packers win.

Fantasy Football season has become one of my most anticipated activities of the year. It's so much fun to try to figure out which players are going to have a good season. The camaraderie with friends is as much, if not more, important than winning and losing. This year I'm in three leagues, which is probably the maximum I should allow. Two drafts are done and I've got one more tonight.

Something else I'm excited about this fall is the revival of disc golf among my friends and me. We've been playing a lot lately and this Saturday we're doing a 5-course tour that I'm thrilled about.

So, there's plenty about Fall to get me excited. And I can't wait for it all to kick off!

23 days

I just realized that it's been 23 days since my last post. I can't say I'm surprised, though, because it's been 23 days of craziness. It's a really busy time at work and we've had plenty to do on the weekends as well.

But, I really want to get back into a more regular pattern of blogging. It's such a great creative outlet for me. I can convey my thoughts to you, but more importantly, it just lets me get thoughts out of my head and into something more tangible.

So, here it goes.