Great thoughts from Lance Armstrong...

"I take nothing for granted. I now only have good days or great days."
- Lance Armstrong

I'm so excited that Mr. Live Strong has come out of retirement and is riding again (for a tremendous cause). Read this awesome article by Lance Armstrong about what true fear is. Like he says, sometimes a bumpy plane ride is just that. It ain't cancer. Thanks for the perspective and the inspiration, Lance.

East of Eden

Lately, I seem to be having variations on the same conversation with people. Some of these people dear, close friends that I love deeply. Some are total strangers that I bump into the line at the grocery store.

The conversations vary, but the theme is the same.

• A friend at her daughter's birthday party shares her fears about what the world will be like when our kids are grown up.

• A fellow Knoxvillian rolls his eyes and sympathizes with me before we pay the highest price in the nation for a gallon of gas ($4.99, if you need us...)

• A call to a relative outside Houston describes how the hurricane has wiped out her neighborhood and caused her and her friends to hit the bottle hard to cope.

• My mom tells me that there is no gasoline to be found in the city of Nashville.

• A friend of mine over a beer talks about how hard it is for her and her husband to make ends meet even thought they both work and have no kids.

A glance at headlines talks about the Dow Jones having its worst day since 9/11, the U.S. economy on the brink of collapse, political parties hurling insults at one another...all while hurricanes pound our coast and our soldiers lose their lives in two wars that have now gone on longer than Vietnam. Wars that are costing $10B a month to support. They're costing a lot, but what are they accomplishing?

Not to mention record prices at the grocery store, massive layoffs and the general restlessness and anxiety that creeps into so many of our conversations.

The conversations vary, but the theme is the same.

We have lost our way. We are East of Eden.

I just began the new Rob Bell book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians, and the first chapter addresses the idea that we as a country, as individuals, have strayed off course. Something is not right. He defines Eden as "a paradise, a state of being in which everything is in its right place. A realm where the favor and peace of God rest on everything."

And we are definitely East of that.

But as the problems mount, and the stress intensifies, God reminds us that his grace is sufficient. I was reminded of this by an excellent sermon over the weekend at my church. It centered around how God provided "manna from heaven" for the Israelites for 40 years.

40 years is a long time.

The Israelites found themselves in the "wilderness" for 40 years. Yet day after day, God provided manna from heaven to take care of their daily needs. They had no grocery stores they could go to for a quick meal. No department store to provide ready made clothing. No doctors to help them with the birth of their children. But God provided.

We are in the wilderness today. Yet God still provides us with manna every day. So while the problems we are facing are great, and require each of us to roll up our sleeves and sacrifice in different ways, God's grace is sufficient for you and I today. Just as it was when the Israelites found themselves in the wilderness. In fact, seeking God's will is the only way for us to get back on course. To get centered. To get back to Eden.

Quote of the Day

"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that."
-- Norman Vincent Peale

Ouch!

Well, my jedi mind trick didn't work. At all. Oh well, basketball season starts in 54 days. UT's a basketball school, didn't you know?

There is ZERO chance that UT beats Florida This Weekend!!

My big plans for the weekend are to go to Neyland with my boy Phil and watch the Mighty Florida Gators throttle my beloved Vols. I'm not quite sure why I'm going to put myself through the misery, because there is ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE IN HADES THAT UT CAN WIN!! Even if they were some how to be allowed to play 15 guys on offense and defense, and those extra guys included Peyton Manning, Al Wilson, Reggie White (R.I.P.) and a three headed running back/wide receiver combo that combined Jamal Lewis with Peerless Price with Willie Gault...nope, even then the Vols couldn't win.

I mean Florida has superior athletes at EVERY POSITION. Their defense is like a combination of the '86 Bears with the Baltimore Ravens back when Ray Lewis was Ray Lewis. Tim Tebow is a man among boys. It's easier to tackle a baby rhino than it is to tackle this guy. Have you ever tried to tackle a baby rhino? I have. And let me tell you, it ain't easy. Plus, according to the Florida media guide, he's able to throw the football 84 yards while doing a one hand pushup with 4-45lb. weights suspended from his ears. All while being interviewed by Erin Andrews.

And Percy Harvin!? Lordy, the guy is faster than Usain Bolt! And, as fate would have it, he's finally healthy and "feeling better than he has since 10th grade." Jeez! Even a 10th grade Percy Harvin could toast the Vols secondary! Eric Berry is good, but I doubt that he could even catch up to Percy, let alone tackle him.

I haven't even mentioned Florida's biggest advantage: their coach. Urban Myer isn't even human. He's like a super-computer cyborg coach that has no emotions: just superior intelligence and a ruthless ability to out-coach and out-recruit the mere mortals in his path. Our coaches? Fulmer is 0-3 vs. Myers, and by the end of the 1st quarter Saturday it will be obvious it's going to be 0-4. Then after the game he will get busy "workin' like heck" to get better, while John Chavis continues to defend the use of the Mustang package versus a team that just rolled up 785 yards on his defense.

For serious...Florida hung 50+ on us last year, and I believe they will score 75 on us this year. It's inevitable.

Like I said, the Vols have NO CHANCE OF WINNING ON SATURDAY. All the sports experts are saying it. The internets are saying it. The Florida players are saying it. Lou Holtz is probably saying it, but no one can understand him.



I think Al Wilson is even going to say it when he addresses the team before the game. I can hear it now: "Fellas...I'm the greatest LB ever to play at UT, so listen to what I've got to say. You guys should quit. That's what I'd do. Quit. There's NO WAY you can beat these guys. Just accept this fact, lay down and get ready for Auburn next week. Which you will lose to, as well."

Yep. No way UT can win versus Florida. But I'll still pull for them. Go Vols!

50 Best Barkley Quotes

I've made no attempt to hide my man-crush on Charles Barkley. Always dominant on the court, always funny on TV, even funnier on the golf course, to quote Sara Lee "Nobody doesn't like Sir Charles!" If you do, that's just turrible, turrible.



So I thank the knucklehead that posted The 50 Greatest Barkley Quotes of all time. Thought you'd enjoy, too.

And I'm not quite sure why this has become a sports blog. It's just a turrible phase I'm going through. (OK, I'll quit now)

Long live Sir Charles!

An Open Letter to Vince Young

This Don Miller guy continues to amaze me. First I find out he can bike across America. Now I learn he's a huge Vince Young fan in this open letter he wrote to the troubled QB. I love what he tells VY in this piece (especially the p.s. at the end.)

Starrberry meets an Atheist

I can't decide if Stephon Marbury is a genius or insane. Probably a bit of both. On the one hand, he has a tattoo on his head, which is kind of crazy (see: Tyson, Mike) but on the other hand, he started a shoe company that sells the same kicks he wears in the NBA to kids in the projects for just $15 bucks, which is awesome.

So even though I knew about the the yin and the yang of the Starbury, I was still fascinated by his this article about his encounter with an athesist. Marbury is a devout Christian and the journalist covering him isn't. While some of his reactions to this development are classic space-age Starbury, some of his quotes I think are rather profound. Especially when he tells the reporter that it's ok for him not to believe now, but "in time" he will understand.

Genius or lunatic? "In time" maybe we'll understand.

Bike-A-Palooza

So while the Interwebs are abuzz with news that Lance Armstrong is coming out of retirement (which is, um, pretty awesome) I'm even more impressed to learn that Blue Like Jazz author and blogger extraordinaireDon Miller recently biked across the U-S-of A for a good cause on the Ride:Well Tour. Who knew he had THAT in him?

Quote of the Day

"Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words."
- Francis of Assisi

Tale from a Tailgate

Won't be able to post to much this week. Part of this is due to the fact that my beloved boys in Orange have rendered me speechless when they ripped my heart out of my chest. Then jumped up and down on it with their cleats. Then poured salt into my wide open chest cavity. All because they just had to turn a WALK-ON-THIRD-STRING QUARTERBACK INTO JOE FREAKIN' MONTANA!!! All in the course of one half.

Damn you, Mustang package!

So, while I figure out exactly how long it is until basketball season starts, I'll also be traveling for my sister's wedding. For some reason, she has asked me to be the emcee at the wedding reception. I can't figure if I'll tell embarrassing stories from her childhood, rock a few freestyle lyrics, or pull an "Adam Sandler" from "The Wedding Singer" and berate the crowd about how being a UT football fan is quickly taking years off my life. Probably all of the above.

Until then, I will share this one interesting story a friend of mine had over the weekend. Her and her husband are Georgia fans (isn't that convenient) and were in Athens for the 'Dawgs opening game. Oh, to cheer for a team ranked #1 in the country that actually takes care of an opponent they're supposed to beat. But I digress...

She was at her tailgate party after the game when she noticed this guy stealing a cooler from the tailgate next door. She said "hey, you can't take that...it's not yours." The guy then got inches in front of her face and said "The Lord told me I could have this."

To quote Keanu, "Whoa!"

She said "Excuse me?" and then the guy went into a string of explicitives, and said that basically the Lord has taken away everything in his life and so now he's ok with giving him this cooler. Which happened to be full of beer. And cottage cheese.

Far be it from me to say how the Lord works, or talks, to another person. I have a hard enough time trying to be in tune with how he speaks to me. But I really, really, really don't think that God would tell this guy it's ok to steal the cooler. I'm no expert, but I think the "no stealing" thing is covered in the Good Book (it's towards the beginning).

But what was interesting to me was the bartering system the guy described...."God has taken away EVERYTHING from me...so it's ok if I take this."

It just sounds so ridiculous from the outside. But then I realized there's plenty of bartering that I've done with God that must have sounded just as silly to Him. Like last nite when I said, "Please, if you'll just let Lincoln make this 34 yarder, then I'll....."