The Mission Top 10, Week V

So here we are almost halfway through the college football season, and there are still a number of undefeated teams left in Division 1. It is time for a few of those to start falling as the pressure starts to mount. One thing is for sure, on Sunday morning, either Ohio State or Iowa will wake up at 4-1 in what is probably the best game of the weekend. I watched the USC game last weekend and they are not scary. Alright, the defense is scary, but the offense is in trouble. I'll be surprised if this team makes it through undefeated. In an interesting side note developing, if Ohio State, USC and Auburn all end the season undefeated, Auburn will again be shut out of the Championship Game. Ohio St. (4-0) – Beat Penn St. 28-6. The game against Penn St. was closer than the final score indicates. Either the Penn St. defense improved by leaps and bounds, or Tressell kept the offense simple in the mud. Really, it was a little of both, but that kind of offensive performance won’t work this week at Iowa. Auburn (4-0) – Beat Buffalo 38-7. This was a well-placed breather of a game for Auburn who got the rest injured starters in what was nothing more than a scrimmage. Freshman running back Ben Tate looked good in the 4th quarter going for over 100 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. This week: at South Carolina (Thursday). USC (3-0) – Beat Arizona 20-3. Whether the Trojans like it or not, many fans are using last week and this week’s games as measuring sticks for how USC stacks up against Auburn and LSU (it will be the same when those teams play Arkansas. Part one of this was an unimpressive 20-3 win over Arizona who LSU beat 45-3. This week: at Washington St. Michigan (4-0) – Beat Wisconsin 27-13. The Wolverines were a little lethargic in the first half, and then they awakened and dominated the second half. They need to be careful against a team that has played them well in recent years. This week: at Minnesota. West Virginia (4-0) – Beat East Carolina 27-10. East Carolina finally did what no one else on the schedule had done yet: Make Pat White win the game with his arm. While he was successful, the three interceptions are cause for concern as the Mountaineers take the week off. This week: Bye. Florida (4-0) – Beat Kentucky 26-7. An easy win, but cause for concern over the kicking game. They missed two extra-points against Kentucky. Ask Clemson, Alabama, and Boston College what missed extra points can do to a team. The Gators have a week to figure this out before the meat of the schedule really hits. This week: Alabama. Louisville (4-0) – Beat Kansas St. 24-6. While not the Kansas St. of 3-5 years ago, dominating the Wildcats defensively like Louisville did was impressive. In an unrelated note, how did the Big East make the mistake of allowing both Louisville and West Virginia, the two biggest television draws, to have the same weekend off? This week: Bye. LSU (3-1) – Beat Tulane 49-7. Poor Tulane. After the loss to Auburn, everyone knew the next game would be ugly, and it was. LSU looked good again, but they are well behind in the SEC Title chase. As for Tulane, this week they get to play at home, finally. This week (for LSU): Mississippi St. Texas (3-1) – Beat Iowa St. 37-14. What on earth is Texas doing playing a 1-AA opponent. This after complaining about having to play Ohio St. and saying that they shouldn’t schedule any more games like that so their national standing could remain higher. This is shameful since Texas should be playing big-name opponents. A look at future schedules sees TCU next year, Arkansas the two years after, and UCLA the two years after that as the only major non-conference games, and Brown didn’t want to play those. This week: Sam Houston St. Oregon (3-0) – Bye week. After watching Arizona St. play Cal, Oregon needs to not overlook Arizona St. with Cal next week. The shot to play USC for the conference title takes place the next two weeks. This week: at Arizona St. On the cusp (not in any order) Clemson (3-1), Virginia Tech (4-0), Notre Dame (3-1), Iowa (4-0), Tennessee (3-1) technorati tags: College Football, Auburn, Ohio State, USC (you know the rules. share it, steal it, challenge it, but give us credit.)

The Mission Top 10, Week IV

I hope you were able to catch at least a few of the games last Saturday. It was as advertised; an epic day, Separation Saturday as ESPN called it. Before we get to the rankings, just a few personal thoughts. The Auburn/LSU game was incredible. I call it a tie because of a bad call late in the game. Does that sound familiar? Oklahoma was robbed. Sorry Gordon, I know you are a big Ducks fan, but only a group of blind refs could not have seen this screw up. But then one of the refs did work the Stanford/Cal debacle a few years ago. A one game suspension is not enough for this error. Do I need to set up an eye clinic in Eugene? Notre Dame has been exposed. My favorite play was the 4th quarter “Statue of Liberty” from Mr. Quinn to Michigan. Now if only Michigan can find a way to beat Ohio State. Now on to the rankings… Ohio St. (3-0) – Beat Cincinnati 37-7. College Gameday makes its near-annual visit to Columbus this week as Ohio St. takes on Penn St. in what is a weak slate of games. Expect Ohio St. to have their way with the Paterno’s crew just as Notre Dame did. This week: Penn St. (2-1). Auburn (3-0) – Beat LSU 7-3. The Tigers have cleared one of the three big hurdles on the schedule this season. This week, its fine tuning against one of the dregs of 1-A football to heal the wounds of LSU and prepare for next week’s Thursday game against South Carolina. The offense will need to be better against Florida and Georgia to remain in the national title race. This week: Buffalo (1-2). USC (2-0) – Beat Nebraska 28-10. The Trojans never had that wow moment where they threw a couple of offensive haymakers to blowout Nebraska. They might have needed it just to win had Bill Callahan actually done what his West Coast offense is supposed to do (throw the ball). Instead, a workmanlike win takes USC to what should be an 8-0 start. This week: Arizona (2-1). Michigan (3-0) – Beat Notre Dame. That was one of the most impressive performances of the season, but it should be taken with a grain of salt. Three years ago, Michigan killed a ranked Notre Dame team 38-0 and ended up 10-3. For all we know, Notre Dame might still be like they were in the 90s, Weis’ record is the same as Willingham’s at this point in their Notre Dame careers (11-3). Michigan could be in for a tougher than expected battle against Wisconsin this week. This week: Wisconsin (3-0). West Virginia (3-0) – Beat Maryland 45-24. The beginning of this game was just like the Sugar Bowl against Georgia last year. Maryland was dead and buried before the end of the first quarter. That was exactly the type of performance the Mountaineers needed in one of their Thursday night showcase games. They have two more later against Louisville and Pittsburgh. This week: East Carolina (1-2). Florida (3-0) – Beat Tennessee 21-20. The team showed a toughness that they haven’t had in a long time in coming back at Tennessee. Last years team didn’t have it and the Ron Zook teams certainly never did (except against Georgia). This week: Kentucky (2-1). Louisville (3-0) – Beat Miami 31-7. Teams should know not to stomp on the Louisville logo. Miami is just the latest in a string of teams to do this, disrespect the Cardinals and get killed. Last year is was Rutgers and the score was 56-5. The year before it was Cincinnati and the score was 70-7. On a season note, Louisville still must prove it can play on the road. It gets that chance this week. at Kansas St. (3-0). LSU (2-1) – Lost to Auburn 7-3. JaMarcus Russell needs to get better in the mental part of the game. He has all the physical tools, but he tries to do too much in some situations and makes critical mistakes in others. On the last two plays against Auburn, he never threw into the end zone when he needed a touchdown and he threw short to the middle of the field instead of throwing the ball away with 15 seconds left after eluding the rush. This week: Tulane (1-2). Texas (2-1) – Beat Rice 52-7. The Longhorns were evaluated as though the loss to Ohio St. was last week and not the week before since it would be unfair to move them up after a 52-7 win because they happened to have their big game scheduled one week earlier. They should have let Colt McCoy throw more than eight times against Rice to get him more comfortable. This week: Iowa St. (2-1). Oregon (3-0) – Beat Oklahoma 34-33. Yes, the calls were terrible, but Oregon made the plays after those calls and Oklahoma did not. While terrible calls, they are not as bad as the 5th down game between Missouri and Colorado in 1990. For one thing, the Colorado play was the last play of the game. For another, this game is unlikely to decide the national championship since Oregon is not going undefeated unless they play turnover free football. This week: Bye. On the cusp: Georgia (3-0), Virginia Tech (3-0), Boston College (3-0), Clemson (2-1), and TCU (3-0) (you know the rules. steal it, borrow it, copy it, burn it, just give us credit!©)

Mission Potpourri

Time for a little Mission Potpourri. Every so often I’ll give you a few quick takes on what has been on my mind. Enjoy. Sports. As you know, my son is a student at Auburn University in Alabama. I watched the game against LSU Saturday and regardless of your view on a disputed pass interference call, it was a classic game. Maybe one of the top five I have ever watched. Smash mouth football at its best! It’ll be interesting to see if Tiger Woods will have a positive impact impact on our Ryder Cup team. That's a golf tournament for the uninitiated. I believe his consistency is better suited over a four day tournament, as opposed to match play, but we’ll see. Since Tiger came along, we’ve been paper tigers against the Europeans. Life. Came across a great article on immigration today. Click here to check it out. It is the kind of article I expect people who want to comment intelligently on immigration to read. I am not being an apologist for either side; I just hope people will look at the entire issue before making their judgment. I am listening to a little Dean Martin music right now. I am not sure when I got into the “crooners” as I call them, but it was fairly recently. This guy’s voice sure was pure. Good stuff. Politics. In case you did not know, I love politics. But I have a hard and fast rule, you don’t vote, keep quiet. It’s like commenting on a party you did not attend. I mean, the cost of admission here is pretty cheap. A few minutes every year or so. And it is good for our country. I love “Meet the Press.” For the uninitiated, it is one of those Sunday morning political interview shows. It is hosted by Tim Russert, a great interviewer who is generally tough, but fair. I’ll usually get up early on Sunday mornings before church to get ready so I can watch it. This Sunday he had the candidates for Senate from Virginia. Without giving you all of the gory details, I’ll just say the Republicans have a problem with George Allen. From what I saw, former Republican, Secretary of the Navy, and Vietnam War hero James Webb looks like a real winner against Allen. I am not sure the Dems win the Senate, but I think they win the House in November. Click here and follow the links to watch it the show. God. Have you been in a “Christian Book Store” lately? Am I missing something or what? Where are the books? If you took out the music and Christian knick knacks, the stores would be empty. I was in a store recently and you know what greeted me? A life size cardboard Joel Osteen. Smiling and looking like he was no older than about 15. Does this guy shave yet? For the uninitiated, Mr. Osteen belongs to the prosperity doctrine/christian lite side of the ledger. How come they never have cardboard pictures of serious theologians? No J.I. Packer. No Matthew Henry. No Kierkegaard. No Barth. Just people like Osteen, Lucado, and Joyce Meyer. Maybe it's the pipe... or the robe. Or, could it be that the serious guys don't have gold circles around their pictures? I wonder what this says about us? Finally, Sunday I had an opportunity to preach at a multilingual church in West Los Angeles. Many of the people there speak Spanish, English and/or Zapotec, an indigenous language from Oaxaca, Mexico. It was a great Sunday. Rarely have I felt as much at home as I did Sunday. I am always thankful to God for times like yesterday. Blessings to all. We’ll be back Wednesday with this weeks college football rankings.

The Mission Top 10, Wk III

Here we are! The biggest weekend in college football in memory. The top games this week? Just get ready. Texas Tech vs. TCU, Michigan vs. Notre Dame, Oklahoma vs. Oregon, Miami vs. Louisville, Florida vs. Tennessee, Nebraska vs. USC, and of course the biggest of the day, #2 Auburn vs. #5 LSU. Each of these games involves two top twenty teams. That’s right, 14 top twenty teams going head to head on one day. If you have a job, call in sick. If you are married, tell your wife you’ll clean the rain gutters next week. Do whatever you have to do if you love college football. This week is for ordering pizza, never giving up the remote, and surfing between ABC, NBC, and of course ESPN! And so without further ado, here is this weeks Mission Top 10. And if ten isn’t enough, click here for the rest of the Top 25 and lots of other sports opinion from our College Football Rating Bureau. Ohio St. (2-0) – Beat Texas 24-7. The Buckeyes got a strong performance out of quarterback Troy Smith and receivers Anthony Gonzalez and Ted Ginn Jr. The revelation was the defense led by James Laurinitis who keyed a dominant effort that had Texas looking out of sorts all game long. This week: Cincinnati (1-1) Auburn (2-0) – Beat Mississippi St. 34-0. The shutout over Mississippi St. doesn’t mean nearly as much as the strong offensive performance considering that South Carolina also shutout Mississippi St. This weeks game should bring an opening of the offensive playbook in what could be a defensive struggle. This week: LSU (2-0) USC (1-0) – Bye week. The Trojans spent the week tuning up for Nebraska. A win here and USC will be 8-0 entering the brutal finishing kick of Oregon, Cal, Notre Dame, and UCLA to end the season. This week: Nebraska (2-0) Notre Dame (2-0) – Beat Penn St. 41-17. Looked strong against a Penn St. team that appears to be a year away from being really good again. The Irish dominated in all facets of the game en route to a 41-3 lead before giving up two garbage time touchdowns. This week: Michigan (2-0) LSU (2-0) – Beat Arizona 45-3. A dominant performance, but the lack of one or even two running backs who can be a workhorse is troubling. The passing game needs to be strong, or it will be a long day for the offense at Auburn. This week: at Auburn (2-0) West Virginia (2-0) – Beat Eastern Washington 52-3. Same story as last week: dominant win over inferior team, drop in polls as lower ranked teams win by same scores against better competition. This week is a step into competent opponent territory. This week: Maryland (2-0), Thursday Oregon (2-0) – Beat Fresno St. 31-24. A good win on the road against Fresno without star running back Jonathan Stewart. The Ducks are likely to need him this week against Oklahoma. The crowd at Autzen should be ready like it has been for big September home games against Wisconsin and Michigan in recent years. This week: Oklahoma (2-0) Texas (1-1) – Lost to Ohio St. 24-7. It was an ugly showing for the Longhorns. We really won’t get a feel for how good they really are until the Oklahoma game. Had they gotten closer in the second half last week, Ohio St. would have thrown more than five times in the second half and would have scored more points on the depleted secondary. This week: Rice Nebraska (2-0) – Beat Nicholls St. 56-7. The game against USC this week will look a lot like Texas against Ohio St. The Nebraska defense will play well, but not well enough to help save the offense against an underrated defense. This week: at USC (1-0) Michigan (2-0) – Beat Central Michigan 41-17. The Wolverine passing game needs to be better this week against Notre Dame. Chad Henne needs at least 200 yards and two touchdowns for Michigan to have a chance. The defense will bend, but not break keeping Michigan in the game. This week: at Notre Dame (2-0) On the cusp: Tennessee (2-0), Florida (2-0), Boston College (2-0), Georgia (2-0), Virginia Tech (2-0) (you know the rules. use it, share it, copy it, or even shred it, just give us credit!)

A Bad Day in the Office

It is Tuesday morning, September 12th, and I am sitting in my office. So it’s a bad day. You see, today I was scheduled to be in Oaxaca, Mexico with a group of men building a church for a growing community of Christians in San Baltazar. I had to postpone the trip because of the political situation in the area where we would be serving. Now most of you are probably familiar with the controversy of the elections in Mexico. But that is not the problem in Oaxaca. The issue there is something much more practical. It is about a teachers strike. And better wages. And respect. And dignity. And fathers who work fulltime yet cannot feed their families. Let me explain. Every year in May, teachers from the primarily rural indigenous areas of Oaxaca, (pictured here in the city center) come to the capital city to protest low wages. By low wages, I mean educated, hard working people making less than $60.00 a week. And each year after about three weeks of peaceful protest, (protesters live and sleep in the city center in makeshift tents, handing out flyers) the government sits down to negotiate, the teachers get a raise for the following year of a few dollars a month and they go home. This year was no different. Until June 14th. On that day the state government decided they wanted to remove the protesters and not negotiate. So in the middle of the night, state troops attacked the teachers. With guns, clubs, tear gas, and riot gear. Injuring many and creating an atmosphere of animosity, anger, distrust, and fear that still permeates the region three months after the attack. The troops were unable to dislodge the protesters who remain in the city center to this day. With support of additional teachers and fellow sympathizers from other states, the number of protesters has swelled from a few thousand to at times, more than 300,000 people. There is currently no effective state government. The protesters (now known as APPO) have instituted their own government, have taken over the state television station, many radio stations, and every state government office in the city as well as the governor’s mansion. There is no official police presence in the city, busses are routinely taken to be used as barricades against future gov’t action, and business are closing daily as the tourist business, the life blood of the city, has all but dried up. Oaxaca has become ground zero in the struggle for better living conditions, wages, medical care, and education for the indigenous people of Mexico. Free public education is no longer free, and the conditions of the schools are horrible. Many schools are little more than shacks made of tree branches and aluminum siding. Medical care, if it is available, is often substandard. That is one reason the infant malnutrition rate in these areas hovers around 20%. A majority of the people in the rural areas have little or no access to potable water and many still live in adobe homes with thatch roofs. San Baltazar is located in one of these areas. We are in the middle of building a church there. You can read about the project here and the pictures I've posted show you where we are currently. We have the footings and foundations, and the walls. The men’s group we were going to take, was scheduled to put on the roof and install the windows and doors, completing the church. That is why today is a bad day. Because I am not in Oaxaca. In what I have now come to know and accept as my adopted home, Mexico. Finishing a church. When you serve somewhere for over 15 years, you become attached. And I have. I remember thanking God after my first trip to Mexico that I would never have to return. Boy does He have a sense of humor. And for that, I am thankful. If you are the praying type, please pray for Oaxaca and for San Baltazar. Many times in the face of extreme poverty and hardship, the only hope one has comes from a saving faith in Jesus. Finally, we have rescheduled our trip for February 17 – 24, 2007. If you are available and want to see what God can do for/with you when step out of your comfort zone, would you contact me? I’d love to have you on our team. I guarantee you, your presence will make a real difference in the Kingdom.

Justice?

I went to visit my son this last week in Auburn, Alabama. SInce I live in Los Angeles and Auburn is on the other side of the country, I had to fly. Like all travellers in the US these days, I really considered what I was going to need on the trip. I would have to get out of the Atlanta airport, get my rental car, and drive 100 miles in less than 2 hours to make the kick off of the Auburn/Washington State football game. With the limited amount of time, I decided to not check my bags and go carry on. That meant no liquids, gels, toothpastes, deodorant, body sprays, lotions, or any other useful item in this genre. As a precaution, I checked the TSA web site and called my brother, a TSA Supervisor, to see if in fact I could take along my ChapStick. I did not see it listed on the prohibited items list, and my brother said it was allright. Satisfied that I was leaving all of my potential terroist material at home I left for the airport. LAX. Los Angeles International. One of the biggest and busiest airports in the world. And guess what? It all worked! They looked in my carry on bag, I undressed, passed through the X-ray, and was on my way to my first stop in Denver. The flight was great, we arrived on time, I bought a soda and waited for my final flight to Atlanta. And then I made a fatal mistake. As I was waiting to board the plane, I reached into my pocket, grabbed my 2006 terrorist lip balm and put a little on my lips. And then I headed down the jetway. Until an airline employee came running after me. "Sir, sir, please wait. Do you have lip balm?" I responded that in fact I did. At which point she demanded I turn it over to her. Which of course I did, because even though I was permitted by law to have it, I was not interested in pursuing the matter while my plane left and I missed the upcoming football game. She apologized, even telling me that someone in the terminal had seen me using my ChapStick and told on me. It just didn't seem fair to me. Like what happened next. When I fly United, I am sometimes able to buy an upgrade to what they call Economy Plus. Basically, you pay an additional $25.00 for the right to sit in seats with a few more inches of leg room. That way instead of feeling like you are being stuffed into a sardine can, you feel like you are in matchbox. Still cramped, but able to move. It is important on those midwest commuter planes that are somewhat smaller than a full size plane. So there I was in my upgrade seat when a couple from the back of the plane moves into my "premium" zone. They did not like their seats in the back and wanted more room. They didn't pay for them. They just took them. And it made me mad. I was so angry, my lips started to feel chapped, but there was nothing I could do about that. It didn't seem fair to me. Like when you go to the store to buy a couple of items, and in front of you in the express line is some jerk with 16 items. And yet the sign says only 11 items. So you stand there waiting, counting his items, hoping he will figure it out but he never does. You are longing for justice. You keep hoping the checker will see how many items that he has, and make him get into another line. Like I wanted the flight attendant to make that couple move back to the cheap seats. But it never happens. And you are thinking that life is never fair. There are a lot of times in my life when I feel that. Longing for justice, equality, and fairness. Doesn't the bible say something about that? I'm pretty sure it does. It just isn't the petty type I am usually seeking.

The Mission Top 10

So here it is. This weeks Top Ten College Football Rankings. As I said last week, they are being furnished by my Joseph, a former sports journalism major at Auburn University in Alabama. I was at the Auburn/Washington State last Saturday and I will admit they looked. Especially the defense, but the quarterback is suspect in my opinion. Nonetheless, until they lose, they deserve their ranking. Just so you know, mark your calendars for September 16th. That will be the single best non bowl day in college football in many years. Texas (1-0) – Beat North Texas 56-7. Since none of the top teams played great competition, the Longhorns remain the number one team by default. After this Saturday, they will no long be here or will have earned the spot. This week: Ohio St. Ohio St. (1-0) – Beat Northern Illinois 35-12. The Ohio St. offense was strong early until Coach Tressel called off the dogs up 28-0 early in the second quarter. The defense gave up loads of yards to Garret Wolfe, but much of that was in second half garbage time. This week: at Texas. Auburn (1-0) – Beat Washington St. 40-14. The Tigers were one of the few top teams that opened against a team with a pulse, and they took the Cougars apart. Better red-zone offense would have made the score a whole lot uglier. This week: at Mississippi St. USC (1-0) – Beat Arkansas 50-14. This team has a nice road to the national title game now. The defense was strong against Arkansas and all of the big games except UCLA are at home. The game against Nebraska in two weeks may be the toughest remaining on the schedule (Notre Dame included). This week: bye week. West Virginia (1-0) – Beat Marshall 42-10. Expect this for a few weeks. West Virginia beats an inferior opponent by a large margin and is jumped by another team looking impressive against a stronger opponent. It would take a monumental upset for anyone to beat this team before November 2 at Louisville. This week: Eastern Washington. Notre Dame (1-0) – Beat Georgia Tech 14-10. The win over Georgia Tech is being underrated by some. Tech is a strong team that will contend for the ACC Coastal Division with Virginia Tech and Miami. Notre Dame should be fine this week against Penn St. who couldn’t run against Akron before the Michigan game. This week: Penn St. LSU (1-0) – Beat Louisiana-Lafayette 45-3. This game really should stop happening. Since the series started LSU leads the scoring all-time 957-22. The field goal shows the LSU defense slipping. Those are the first points Lafayette has scored against LSU since 1925. None of this matters after the Arizona and Auburn games over the next two weeks. This week: Arizona. Clemson (1-0) – Beat Florida Atlantic 54-6. When you turn the ball over four times and still score 54, you know your team is good, the other team stinks, and you need to do better next week. Clemson will definitely need to take better care of the football this season. This week: at Boston College. Nebraska (1-0) – Beat Louisiana Tech 49-10. Nobody is hallucinating here. Nebraska is on the way back. This year will be a three-loss season (USC, Texas, Texas in conference title game) That lands teams in the top-10 and Nebraska’s offense really is that much better than it was two years ago. This week: Nicholls St. (1-AA). Oregon (1-0) – Beat Stanford 48-10. The running game that has been dormant since the 2001 Pac-10 title appears to be back after rolling up nearly 300 yards on the ground. Oregon now moves to the next game of their brutal opening run. The easy one is out of the way. This week: at Fresno St. (Are they crazy?). Almost there…Tennessee, Michigan, Iowa, Louisville, Florida.