Everything That's On My Mind

I find a certain sense of irony in the new ballpark rankings released by SI.com, since the long-anticipated demolition of Tiger Stadium will begin shortly. Its replacement, Comerica Park, is ranked the 4th best place to see a ballgame in Major League Baseball. Like anyone who grew up in Detroit I have very fond memories of the old bandbox, but I've grown to appreciate Comerica Park. I've sat all over the park and there really isn't a bad seat in the house. And of course, since they've been one of the best teams in baseball the last few years the atmosphere has been electric.

Congratulations to the Tigers organization. Go Tigers!

(The picture above is taken from my friend Bob's seats. I am grateful for his generosity in sharing them with me.)

As a child growing up in the 70's, I was addicted to ABC's Wide World of Sports. Every Saturday afternoon I would marvel at the exploits of people like Muhammad Ali, Richard Petty, and Franz Klammer. Jim McKay's voice still echoes in my head: "the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat".

While in the show's intro the "agony of defeat" was personified by little-known ski jumper Vinko Bogataj (yes, I had to look it up), I always thought that agony was most accurately portrayed by one man: Evel Knievel. It seemed like every week he was on the show performing some ridiculous motorcycle stunt; often with very painful results. He was anything but a role model, even after he stopped performing. Assault and battery, womanizing, substance abuse, weapons charges, and I'm sure much more I'm not aware of.

I'm always a little hesitant to trumpet celebrity conversions. It seems to pander to our celebrity-obsessed society. Celebrity conversions are no more significant than any other. Yet I know that such people can be used by God in unique ways to spread the gospel. Evel is apparently the latest example of someone God has chosen to use in such ways. On Palm Sunday, Evel publicly confessed his faith in Christ at the Crystal Cathedral in California, and inspired hundreds to follow his example. Like any other new believer Evel is going to have his victories and his struggles as he grows in Christ, but I pray God continues to use him in such powerful ways.

UPDATE: Apparently, not everyone can get to the Christianity Today article I linked to above. Here's another article on the same event.

Words are insufficient, and unnecessary.

HT: RAY

And so, another playoff season begins...along with sleepless nights when the games are on the west coast. During one of the Red Wings previous playoff runs, I remember having a conversation with a fellow pastor about the dilemma presented by west coast playoff games on Saturday nights. For the record, I have generally been disciplined enough to go to bed on time on Saturday nights, even when the game is still going.

While it does present a time management problem, it's great to have the top teams in both basketball and hockey in Detroit. We've always been a great sports town, even when our teams weren't good. When the teams are good, however, this town goes nuts. I still remember the insanity (in a good way) when the Pistons one their first championship. Lori and I were newlyweds living in the city of Detroit and it was a lot of fun.

I've blogged about my love for the Pistons before, so I guess it's time to give the Wings their due. I was a basketball fan from a young age but despite the fact that my dad was a hockey player I never really got into the game until the 80s. The impetus behind my interest in hockey was a quiet young man by the name of Steve Yzerman. Drafted in 1983, he singlehandedly revived hockey in Detroit and laid the foundation for what is now known as Hockeytown. After 22 seasons, it is likely that he will retire after this playoff run. Hockeytown will carry on, but it will never be the same without him.

I have great admiration for Yzerman. Throughout his career he has exhibited the textbook definition of perseverance. His knee was shredded in 1988 when he crashed into a goalpost. (This incident and others lead to the development of the break-away goal posts in use today) He recovered, obviously, and has continued to fight through many adversities throughout his career. He is one of the few athletes (fellow Detroiter Frank Tanana is another) who has completely changed his style of play and continued to have success. In his youth, he had all the speed and make-you-look-silly moves that you see in someone like Pavel Datsuk today. When his knees couldn't keep up with his creativity, he transformed his game to fit his damaged tools and continued to be productive. Despite multiple injuries that would have caused many to give up, Yzerman continued to doggedly pursue and acheive excellence in his sport. I hope Stevie goes out with a Cup over his head but whether he does or not, he's an inspiring champion and one of the few good role models in the world of sports today.

Now if we could have a two-team victory parade down Woodward Avenue this summer, that would REALLY be something.

I just love watching these guys play basketball. It's a thing of beauty. I've been a Pistons fan all my life. I remember going down to Cobo Hall to watch them back in the dark days of Dick Vitale and "Thunder and Lightning", aka Terry Tyler and John Long. I remember going to see them play at the Silverdome with 60,000+ of my closest friends back in the heydays of the late '80s. I've tried to forget the days of teal uniforms.

The thing I love the most about the current Pistons is how they win. The Pistons of the late '80s won through intimidation and brute force. This Pistons team wins through unselfishness and willpower. They rely on each other's strengths, support each other's weaknesses, they don't care about personal recognition, and they never quit. Basketball is the ultimate team sport when it's played properly. The NBA had forgotten that for the last decade, thanks in no small part to Michael Jordan. The Pistons have reminded the league what basketball should look like.

There's a reminder there for churches, because a church should work that way as well. Too often, we wait for a spiritual "Michael Jordan" to come along and make things happen, but God intends for the church to be the ultimate team activity. When we rely on each other and the power of Christ, forget about personal recognition, and press on (Philippians 3:12,17) relentlessly toward the goal to which He has called us, we cannot be defeated.