Falling In Love With The Giver

As I sit here and ponder Christmas, another year older another Christmas morning richer, my mind keeps wondering back to Bethlehem some 2000 years ago.

I’m sure you have been over the Christmas story a thousand times by now, but I want to take a few moments as the Christmas holiday winds down to take a deeper look at the day we all know and love.

Gifts have become such a large part of our culture in terms of Christmas. We get up at ungodly hours of the morning to take advantage of black Friday sales the day after Thanksgiving (and don’t think twice to rundown the person trying to take the last whatever it is on our list), we hustle and bustle and sometimes even rack up a few credit card bills to make sure the ones we love are able to experience the best gifts we can give them.

Our kids and grandkids often find themselves on our minds even more so this time of year, and it is no secret that most of us are willing to go the extra mile to see joy on their faces.

But looking at the first Christmas morning it makes me wonder what was on God’s mind when He decided to unveil the first Christmas celebration and scare some poor shepherds half to death in the process.

I will tell you exactly what was on His mind. It’s not fancy or deep. Heck it’s not even remotely mind-blowing.

It was You.

It was Me.

Plainly put it was His kids.

And don’t think for a second that He didn’t max out heaven in order to give us the opportunity to experience the joy of salvation. Before there were ever ribbons, bows and wrapping paper God Himself wrapped the hope of the world in swaddling clothes and gave Him to us so that we might live.

The greatest Christmas gift ever given had nothing to do with Wisemen, frankincense, gold or myrrh. Nope, the idea had little to do with the men from the east. In fact their gifts were merely reciprocal of the fact that they realized that they had just been given the ultimate gift.

So what’s the point? (Like you can make one out of things far to great to fully understand.) Well I guess another example is the best way to go.

When I was about 11 or 12 years old I think I learned the value of a gift more than ever before. I was raised to appreciate everything ever given to me large or small, but when you are a kid when does it really sink in?

This particular year my dad, a self-employed entrepreneur who had just started out on a new business injured his back so badly that he needed surgery almost immediately. As you can imagine when you are the owner, operator and sole proprietor of a freshly birthed business and you are no longer filling most of those roles that finances run low and stresses run high.

My dad was laid-up for months as he healed, and all of it happened right before the holidays. I watched quietly as my heroes put on their red capes and sacrificed and prayed till it hurt to watch. Some how, some way, my parents gave their kids a Christmas morning.

Whether they knew it or not I saw my parents let go of things they loved to make a way for me to experience life at its fullest. But that Christmas morning the boy that loved gifts fell in love with the givers in a way that can only come from understanding what it took to give that gift.

It was the most humbling day of my life to look my parents in the eye and receive a gift from them knowing what it took for them to do it. There was never a greater Christmas in the last 26 years. There have been Christmases before and since where we have received more, but never one that I was given a greater gift.

For the first time I understood my parent’s love, and it caused me to adore them like it was an honor to be in the same room with them. Still to this day there is a bond that was formed that Christmas that has yet to go away. I just want to serve them, give them everything I can because some how their love made a way where there was no way and never asked for anything in return but my love.

Much the same way God looked on us with the same love and determination on a cold night some 2000 years ago and saw that their was no way for us to experience eternal life.

Through His perfect sacrifice He took what mattered to Him more than anything else and He gave it to us so that we might know His love for us.

He hasn’t asked us for anything more than to accept it. Much the same way my parents gave to my sister and I that Christmas without asking for anything but to accept their gifts, God has offered us something far more valuable than what meets the eye.

He loved us enough to give us His only Son, that whoever would believe on Him would receive everlasting life.

So this Christmas as you stop to take a moment to ponder the meaning of this day. I hope that you can come to the point that I did as a kid when I realized what it took to make Christmas possible. I hope it makes you fall in love with Him. I hope it puts a new desire in you to serve Him just because of what He has done for you. It took more than you think to make Christmas possible. So come, let us adore Him for the gift that made Christmas possible for us. The Ultimate Gift; Jesus Christ.

Goodnight Canada:Kornheiser leaves Monday Night Football crew

Tony Kornheiser resigned from the Monday Night Football crew today. After just a short stint, Kornheiser will be replaced by former Raiders and Bucs Head Coach John Gruden.

As much as everyone seems to be “hating” on Tony Kornheiser today, I feel the need to be fair.

Tony is sometimes loud, opinionated and yes, he’s “orange”. For all it’s worth, he is a great broadcaster. Whether it has been writing for the Washington Post, hosting “The Tony Kornheiser Show” or working as the co-host on PTI over the last 20 years, Tony has done it admirably.

Though most rate what he did on MNF as poorly done, many fail to realize what TK was being asked to do.

Many have never been in a broadcast booth. Even more so, many people don't realize what it took for him to do what he should have never been asked to do in the first place. TK's job was to add filler and be funny in 10 to 17 second clips in the middle of a nationally televised football game.

First off, why?

Having a non-football conversation with a football audience was destined to mark him as anything but funny. How quickly we forget the joke Dennis Miller was at the same job. The only thing funny about Miller was that he didn’t know he was the joke.

At least Tony had a sports background coming into the gig. The fact that he and Jaws didn’t get along in the booth, made for a sort of tension that could be felt by the viewers. They rarely agreed, and one or the other was sure to contradict what had just been said.

I think Gruden will be better for one reason alone… he’s a football guy that is not going to be expected to be funny. We can just get back to talking football once and for all. We don’t need Chris Rock, Jeff Foxworthy or even Frank Caliendo for that matter in the broadcast booth during a football game.

Caliendo might be amusing for a while with all of his impressions, but even that would get old quick.

Frankly, bits like this are just out of place. Not only that, they are just flat out dangerous. The suits wanted to make a massive audience even bigger. The idea was to pull in the “non-football crowd”, but you run the risk of losing the football crowd in the process.

It wasn’t Kornheiser’s fault. He was asked to do a job, and he gave it his best shot.

You don’t take a drywall guy and ask him to pour concrete do you? They may work in the same business of construction, but their functions are far from the same. Sure you can hand the dry wall guy a trial and ask him to make the sidewalk, but when the job comes out less than even, it’s not fair to criticize the guy you stuck in the wrong job.

"The BottomLine" here sports fans is simple. Tony made a great career decision stepping down. I admire the choice, and I hope that those who have given him a less than fond fair-well would consider giving him the respect he deserves.

Tony you are a class act and tonight in honor of you I wave the flag and say "Goodnight Canada."

Brett Favre's Behavior a Racial Issue?

Ok so I know it has been a while. But I am really steamed off and here is why...

Journalist Rob Parker was brought in to debate Skip Bayless this morning on ESPN's First Take morning show. During the First and Ten segment of the show specific topics about subjects in sports are brought up for debate. I emphasize “specific” here. During the First and Ten segment of the show the topic of Brett Favre came up. The topic concerning Favre was a question asking “should Favre be interested in joining the Vikings for the 2009 season?”

After a short answer from Skip Bayless, Parker went on to ignore the question asked and stated that the whole Brett Favre issue would not be happening if he were any other player in the league (most likely true). Then he dropped a bomb that was not only uncalled for, but also completely inappropriate. Parker went on to say that “If it were Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson or any other African American player in the league in this same situation this would not be tolerated.”

Why Rob? For what reason would you take a debate about a Hall of Fame Quarterback that can be accused of being incapable of making up his mind, selfish or at worst maybe too old to play the game and turn it into a racial issue? Is race a valid topic that should be addressed? Absolutely! At the proper time and in the proper context any discussion is valid. But it stands to be said that not every issue in our society is racially charged. Not only is this uncalled for it once again proves what many people began to think of Parker when he shot his mouth off at a Lions press conference a few months back. He is handling the power and privilege of being on one of the world’s biggest stages as a journalist with mindless disregard in terms of the power of his words. The spoken and written word are the weapons and tools of the trade, and at no time is there careful consideration about what is coming from that ignorant seep hole in the middle of his face.

The “BottomLine” here is put best this way: “It is better to remain silent and appear stupid than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Rob Parker has without a doubt opened his mouth and removed all doubt about his mentality and his ignorance in terms of how he thinks and the motivation with which he does it. When a journalist clearly has an agenda questions need to be asked. He has disgraced the profession by going too far once again, and for once I hope Rob Parker is the guy that society will not tolerate.

Exact Change is Suggested

I am a sports journalist by trade. Inevitably I travel a lot. Whether it’s catching the last flight out to Pittsburgh to cover the Steelers after the Super Bowl or hopping the red eye back from an interview with Dwayne Wade in Chicago, I find that I sleep as many hours on an airplane each month as I do in my bed. That is about to change my friends.

US Airways announced yesterday that they will begin charging seven dollars for their “power nap sack”. To put it plane the Gestapo of air-travel is going to charge you seven bucks to use one of their pillows and blankets on the plane.

US Airways stated in their announcement that they are trying to raise money to stay afloat with the decline in travel do to the current economy. It’s a brilliant plan isn’t it? It’s so simple a moron could have come up with it. Make up for the lack of travel revenue by making consumers not want to travel at all.

From experience US Air has poor customer service and even worse hidden charges and fees. Just to run through the big ones you get to pay for every checked bag you bring with you. After you pay the 15 dollars for the first bag and 30 for the second if you so choose, don’t forget you get to shell out the same amounts for your return flight. Whatever you do make sure you don’t try to stuff everything in one oversized bag because if it goes a tenth of a pound over 50lbs you will be charged 50 dollars each way without a discussion to be had. (Ok so maybe I was the guy in the bathroom putting on an extra layer of the heaviest clothes in my bag to make weight the other day, but lets not bring up bad memories.) If you decide to carry on your bag make sure you aren’t planning on using planeside valet because that is only available for first class customers. Yes, that’s right your bag will be checked and you can find it a half an hour after your arrival at the baggage claim carrousel, and it may even be in one piece. Really it’s not that big of inconvenience to drag the thing through security checkpoints and make it all the way to the gate before they say there is no room left in the overhead bins and all other bags will have to be checked.

If they don’t get you with the baggage fees there is always the two-dollar drinks (seven for the stronger stuff) that will be offered to you in flight. But now they have gone too far! Now you have barged right into my flying bedroom and ripped the covers right off of me! Now not only are they taking the shirt off our backs with ticket prices, baggage charges and so on, but now they are charging us for the blanket to cover up with afterwards. As the charges continue to climb and increase to the point that a quarter slot may soon be placed next to the reading light and the air nozzle please remember, “exact change is suggested and appreciated”.

Saying Goodbye to a Legend

It became official even before it became official. Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy is retiring from the game of football. Dungy’s impact on the game went far beyond X’s and O’s and went straight to the heart of professional sports. His integrity, passion and sense of absolute determination made him a respected leader in the community and on the football field.

We lost the class act of the league today, a man that put African-American coaches on the map of success. In 13 NFL season’s as a Head Coach (six with Tampa Bay and 7 with the Colts) Dungy accumulated 148 career wins including the playoffs (19th all-time). He is the only black coach to ever win a Super Bowl, and the first coach period to reach the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons. To put a cherry on top Dungy is the only coach to lead his team to at least 12 wins for six straight seasons. A feat Lombardi, Shula, Knoll and even the hated Bill Belichick have never accomplished in their careers, and he did it with an attitude and humility that exuded every good thing you wanted in a coach.

Despite all the accolades and honors that Dungy as accumulated and rightfully deserves perhaps the thing that will live on longer than any of them is the coaching legacy he has fathered in the NFL.

Since his start in Pittsburgh as a player and a coach Dungy has mentored and developed young men into productive and admired coaches in the NFL. With Herman Edwards, Lovie Smith and young Mike Tomlin on his list of protégés, Dungy has done more than win football games, he has developed a line of even tempered, smart coaches that are not only walking through the door he has opened for them, but doing it with the same confidence and poise Dungy himself has become famous for.

Dungy has been considering retirement since his 05 Championship with the Colts and the death of his teenage son. This year it seems that his family will be together again in Tampa Bay just in time for another Super Bowl. Only from now on they will be watching the game from the living room rather than the sidelines.

Here’s the “BottomLine” sports fans…If you watched the press conference yesterday I am sure you noticed something that was pretty hard not to. Tony Dungy’s faith is the key to every success he has had in life. When team owner Jim Irsay, and President Bill Polian can each stand at a podium and speak for 15 minutes or more and rarely mention the game of football you know you are something pretty special. Even more special is the fact that Tony was not one of those coaches that needed all the filler and fluff to make him look good. His record and accomplishments on the field speak for themselves. Dungy has changed a basketball loving state into football fans one winning season and one community focused off-season at a time. If more young men emulate Coach Dungy personally and professionally as players and coaches professional sports will be better for everyone including the fans.

Thanks Coach for everything you did for the game. You will be missed.