jeffreymark

WHO THE HELL IS GISELE BUNDCHEN

Tom Brady's armchair quarterbacking wife basically blamed Wes Welker for the Super Bowl loss. Welker, like all receivers, missed a catchable pass that may have cost the patriots the game. But, perhaps Brady's armchair pretty girl quarterback ought to chastise her husband for his one interception. Tit for tat. One dropped pass. One poorly thrown pass. Both equally took away opportunities to score. Hey, it's football. And, Welker may be on the way to a hall of fame career. Let's see who remembers Mrs. Brady in 20 years.

TEXAS RADIO LEGEND JACK DALE RIP

The voice of Texas Tech basketball, Jack Dale, passed away yesterday. Texas sports fans may not know much about Texas Tech but they know Jack Dale. No one, and I mean literally no one in the nation could call a basketball game like Dale. His signature voice often moved beyond mere generalities to pin point precision when describing the action on the court. With Dale at the mic one envisioned the position of every player, pass, and shot on the court. The listener also knew when a defensive rebound took place because he introduced the fact with the phrase "taken away by." 

Having grown up in a broadcasting family (Jack Dale replaced my dad as the basketball play-by-play man back in the 50's) I knew Jack Dale personally. He was a good man and a faithful Christian witness; not afraid to tell a group how his personal relationship with Christ infected his whole life. 

When I lived near Lexington Kentucky for three years I often attended Kentucky basketball. While traveling in the car one night with my native Kentuckian friend, he made the statement that announcer Cawood Ledford, the voice of the Wildcats, is the best out there. After listening to Cawood, outstanding as he was, this insulted Texan retorted, "We got one better than Cawood. He may not be as well known, yet he offers a more detailed description of the action on the court. His name is Jack Dale."  I meant it. I missed Dale's signature, "he jumps, shoots, AND scores," during my three years in Ky. And I, along with a legion of Red Raider fans sorely miss his familiar tone. I'm sure, however, if there is a game to be called in heaven Jack Dale is at the radio helm describing the action with enough round ball omniscience to impress even his Heavenly Father.  

CONGRATULATIONS PHIL MICKELSON

Congratulations to Phil Mickelson on winning his 3rd Masters Golf Tournament. He is a favorite among fans because of his unflappable character. Win or lose he always smiles with graciousness. In comparison people cheer Tiger Woods because of his seemingly super human feats on the golf course. What male among us does not at sometime passionately dream of winning the big one? As we grow older, however, we understand that after the lights fade and crowds disappear trophies matter little in the scheme of things. What counts most is love-love for and from others. Trophies rot. Money deceives with false security. But, love lasts forever. And, Phil Mickelson clearly possesses this eternal virtue. If Tiger truly feels remorseful he will sacrifice the trophies for an indefinite period until he fully embraces love. That may require a little time and emotional pain. Long ago a great prophet asked the world, "What good is it if a man gain the whole world and lose his own God-life?" Thanks Phil, for showing us the truth today in the way you loved your wife following the tournament. 

TIM TEBOW'S ANTI ABORTION AD

Tim Tebow epitomizes Christian witness. His eye grease Bible verses and social endeavors inspire young kids today who get bombarded with confusing PC messages. Now he and his mother appear in a Super Bowl ad sure to raise abortion proponent's blood pressure to stroke levels. The arrogant PC crowd vehemently opposes CBS' airing of the add and wants it pulled. They fear more abortion clinic violence. I, on the other hand, fear increased slander and intolerance toward Christians. So what's a body to do? 

For one thing the self anointed enlightened PC crowd needs to take a page from their own play-book. They who think they are all wise and knowing must quickly reach for true wisdom and gather the facts. For every demon (and I do mean demon because true Christlike people don't blow up abortion clinics) that promotes violence there exists millions of good decent young men such as Tebow who exhibit character and try to persuade with words. And, by the way you whining PCers, Tebow knew you might react this way. He simply does not care.   

FOX'S BRIT HUME PROPHETIC

This week veteran broadcaster from NBC and now Fox News, Brit Hume, challenged Tiger Woods to turn to Christianity and Jesus Christ for healing and redemption. Hume discussed his challenge and the firestorm that followed with Bill O'Reilly. Salon Magazine chastises Hume for what they view as pompous proselytizing. Hume predicted such to O'Reilly. I highlight the prophetic utterance in bold:

O'REILLY: Was that proselytizing? 

HUME: I don't think so. I mean, look, Tiger Woods is somebody I've always rooted for as a golfer and as a man. I greatly admired him over the years, and I always have said to people it was the content of his character that made him, beyond his extraordinary golf skills, so admirable. Now we know that the content of his character was not what we thought it was. He is paying a frightful price for these revelations. I - - my sense is that he has basically lost his family, and there's a lot of talk about the endorsements he's lost. But that pales, I suspect, in his mind, with what he's lost otherwise. And my sense about Tiger is that he needs something that Christianity, especially provides and gives and offers. And that is redemption and forgiveness. And I was -- I was really meaning to say in those comments yesterday more about Christianity than I was about anything else. I mentioned the Buddhism only because his mother is a Buddhist and he has apparently said that he is a Buddhist. I'm not sure how seriously he practices that. But I think -- I think that the -- Jesus Christ offers Tiger Woods something that Tiger Woods badly needs.

 O'REILLY: Now, if he does go that route, then he would be accused of -- remember in the Bill Clinton years, he got in trouble, he had the Bible and Jesse Jackson and they were praying and, you know, wouldn't Americans... 

HUME: That's true, Bill. That wouldn't -- and that wasn't the first time. Remember Chuck Colson, who is one of the leading lights of Watergates, if you will. 

O'REILLY: But he made a true conversion. 

HUME: He did. And I'm -- what I'm saying is if Tiger Woods were to make a true conversion, we would know it. It would show through in his -- in his being, and he would know it, above all. And he would feel the extraordinary blessing that that would be. And -- and it would shine because he is so prominent. It would be -- it would be a shining light, and I think it would be a -- it would be a magnificent thing to witness. 

O'REILLY: Now, what kind of reaction did you get when you said that? A lot of letters and e-mails and things? 

HUME: I got some letters and e-mails from people who were like me, who are believers who said, "Great. Right on. Right on. Way to go." I've heard a lot of terrible comments from people who claim that I was a pompous jerk who had no business mouthing off on the subject and that I shouldn't have belittled the Buddhist faith and so on. I really wasn't trying to belittle and demean. 

O'REILLY: I don't think so either. What drives -- what do you think drives the negative comments about -- Buddhism aside, I don't think we're trying to denigrate Buddhism. But what do you think drives the negative comments about Christianity?

 HUME: It has always been a puzzling thing to me. The Bible even speaks of it, that, you know, you speak the name, "Jesus Christ," and I don't -- and I don't mean to make a pun here, but all hell breaks loose. And -- and it has always been thus. It is explosive. I didn't even say the name in that way. I simply spoke of the Christian faith. But that was enough to trigger this reaction. It triggers a very powerful reaction in people who do not share the faith and who do not believe in it.

Anyone who dares criticize Hume must realize as a Christian he readily expects such. Some Christians wear this martyrdom as a sort of prideful badge. To that I wholeheartedly agree with Salon. Pomposity stands opposite of the Bible's exhortation for Christians to humble themselves. It diminishes Jesus and elevates one's own self righteousness. But, I fail to detect a martyr mentality in Hume. Confident-yes. Pompous-no. He simply paraphrased Jesus' own words that those who follow him will pay a price.

In fact, each of us must count the cost involved in both verbalizing and living out our own world view. Salon may pay a monetary price in the loss of readership by criticizing Christians. Hume reflectively counted the cost and presumably looked at the matter from an eternal, experiential eye. He, along with other Christians know personally the power of their faith to transform a broken life. Plus, their redemption impels them to enthusiastically embrace the big picture. God reigns through Jesus Christ, and eventually shall require every human being to acknowledge this claim. It's really elementary for those who, in Jesus' words, "...have eyes to see and ears to hear."

TIGER'S ENDORSEMENTS

Golf enthusiasts realize Tiger Woods tops the list of highest paid athletes because of his endorsements. Hat's off to those sponsors who quickly responded to Tiger's embarrassing behavior by dropping him. His sponsors wisely realize the financial risk he has become to their brands. Who wants to buy Nike or a Buick from a golfer who plays the philandering fool. Political cartoonist Steve Breen discovered a new sponsor for Woods. Sadly, this faux endorsement reveals the cultural moral tug o' war at play in our contemporary society. Golfers love good boys, but many young athletes emulate bad boy anti-establishment types. Let's pray Tiger chooses the high road, gets help, and repents of his misdeeds.(click on picture)

A FEW THOUGHTS CONCERNING TIGER WOODS

I play golf. I love golfers. I love professional golfers because they often embody all the characteristics we admire in gentlemanly athletes. Many professional golfers are men's men. Unlike strong men from contact sports, golfers exhibit gracious, kindly dispositions. Women like that in a man. So, indeed packaged in the golfer comes the complete man's man. 

Then there is Tiger Woods, a golfer out of sync. One must admit he possesses an athletic adroitness second to none in the game. Yet, his surly disposition undoubtedly thwarts our attempts to fully embrace him as a member of the gentleman's club. We simply don't like the guy. That's why we always enthusiastically cheered for Phil Mickelson every time he and Tiger went head to head. Mickleson incarnates a personality we expect to witness in a prototypical golf champion. He always smiles even when the chips are down. We think he loves life. 

Tiger Woods certainly is not the first golfer we merely tolerated. Long ago another champion named Ben Hogan captured our respect while shunning our affections. Hogan, however, developed his public aloofness through natural tragedy. His father committed suicide right before his eyes. Such a cataclysmic event would completely emotionally emasculate a lesser man. And, Hogan overcame his public introversion through another tragedy. A near fatal car wreck offered Hogan the chance to smell the roses. 

Today's endorsements and hero worship catapults us to a new level. We admire those who live in million dollar homes, wear $20,000 Rolex watches, and drive custom made Escalades. We live our lives vicariously through their public display of opulence. Affability and graciousness matter little in our postmodern media saturated society. Even men's men from the most gentlemanly sport on earth sometimes fail to grasp the transcendent qualities needed for clean leaving. The women, however many there may be, in Tiger's sordid life, cleverly entered a relationship with him knowing full well the consequences and financial rewards. Gold diggers no doubt, who live in a shadow world. Fame and fortune possesses a tremendous penchant for impairing a sane man, jerking his chain, and taking him to a moral abyss where he formerly dare not go. Sometimes a person like Tiger must hit the proverbial bottom before he can look up and see a blue sky. Hopefully, like Ben Hogan, God may use Wood's tragedy to save his soul.

Nevertheless, we who create these modern idols must shoulder some responsibility for outcomes. Last year I published a piece in the same vein commenting on Barry Bond's disappointing us with his use of steroids. One need only substitute Bonds with Woods to see the big picture:

...we created this monster and many more like him. We, with our demand for high flying thrills a minute; we with our Roy Hobbs science fiction delusion; we who live in an empty, self-seeking orgasmic-a-minute culture; yes indeed we gave this man permission to dazzle us with his Louisville Slugger wizardry. Barry Bonds only responded to our desires. Fans assured him through the box office that he carried a $15 million per year price tag on his head. That kind of money retards character development in any human being, much more so in a young adult like Bonds. Why should he care about his fan base? He can alleviate any discomfort he may feel with the narcotic called luxury. He and hundreds like him answer to no one and bow only to themselves. We fans ought to weep for ourselves. Opportunistic free capitalism provides Americans with a plethora of choices. High dollar celebrities merely offer a snapshot of the larger American character landscape. Indeed Americans have spoken. The once highly esteemed public service professions now take a back seat to celebrity worship. The Barry Bonds saga reminds us of this sad state.

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL THOUGHTS

With seven  games under their belt and a new national ranking the Texas Tech Red Raiders won some respect. Except for two miscue's on the field this 5 and 2 team could very well be 7 and 0. UT's Jordan Shipley scored on a 46 yard punt return in the first quarter and gave the Longhorn thugs an attitudinal boost that spawned their victory. During the Houston game (oh Lord give me that one back) Texas Tech made several errors both defensively and offensively that, having simply overcome just one, would have given Tech a narrow victory over a then ranked team.  

The Red Raiders lost two outstanding offensive lineman and their one/two atomic bomb Graham Harrell/Michael Crabtree punch last year. Yet, I have maintained all along that this year's team is better than last year's. They play together with more cohesiveness and confidence. Yesterday, ABC's Craig James offered the same affirming assessment of the group. And, now I find a few other Raider zealots infer the same:

The very first drive (of the Nebraska game) was a microcosm of the entire game. QB Steven Sheffield completed 18 yards worth of passes to WR Alexander Torres and then bad things started to happen. A false start and Sheffield taking a sack led Texas Tech to have to make a play on 3rd and 13. Sheffield completes one of the highlight catches of my life to WR Lyle Leong for 34 yards. The Red Raiders now have a first down and Sheffield promptly gets sacked for 10 yards and Texas Tech then faces a 3rd and 17 only to have WR Detron Lewis catch a pass for 22 yards. What looked to be a simple screen pass to RB Baron Batch sealed the drive (his skip into the endzone reminded me a bit of Eric Morris - shoutout) as the Nebraska defenders just could get around to catching Batch get to the pylon. This team faced adversity almost the entire game, or at least it looked that way from where I was watching the game, but responded at just about each and every call. It may have been the offense at times, it may have been the defense at times, and it may have been the special teams at times. At the end of the day, this team is a team of hard-working individuals and they are a team . . . collectively, they work together.

Obviously the Nebraska game handed Tech a clean slate. With the Texas thugs clearly in the Big 12 South driver's seat, our Red Raiders must play for a consolation prize. But, given preseason expectations and minor adversities, second place in the south puts them in a position to end up in the top ten with perhaps more respectability than last year. Myopic Yankee journalists tend to forget about early season losses. We painfully discovered this fact last year when a late season shellacking from Oklahoma destroyed Tech's season credibility. Never mind that they finished the season with only one loss. Forget about Graham Harrell's Heisman talent. Throw their victories over two top ranked teams out the window. Journalists frame late season losses incorrectly. 

This year's team is indeed a good team who, under the pirate lunacy leadership of Mike Leach (he's crazy like a fox and we love it), has stretched mightily forward in their program's self-esteem. Never again will a young high school standout play football at Texas Tech expecting mediocrity at best. Red Raiders are winners. And, by God, at the end of the day ranked thugs will give them the respect they now deserve.

MIKE LEACH GRACES TEXAS MONTHLY COVER

Enigmatic, charismatic coach of Texas Tech football, Mike Leach, will appear on the cover of September's Texas Monthly. This represents a first for Tech. TM thinks Leach might be the best football coach in the country. I'm not sure about that. But, I do know his mystique and bad boy demeanor infatuate star struck journalists across the country. The incessant attention might at least bring more notoriety to Texas Tech football. And, that can't hurt future recruiting prospects. 

ONE OF MANY TEXAS NATIONAL PASTIMES

Baseball, hot dogs, pecan pie, and Ford pickups certainly serve as a part of the Texas national character. And oh yes, who can forget the heroic adopted Alamo hero John Wayne (I mean Davy Crockett). Having lived in God's country all my life I understand that another summer pastime lives deep within our Texas soul. We call it goin' down to the hole. For you sissy yankees that means swimmin'. My boyhood days are filled with memories of dad dropping me off at the local pool. Surrounded by suntanned blond beauties, jackknife diving artists, and green haired towheads  (the chlorine turned white hair green) I stayed at the hole all day. And I became an expert swimmer, becoming a Boy Scout lifeguard. Man those were the days. The Dallas Morning News posts an article with superb photographs displaying some of the best swimming holes in the Lone Star State. Check them out here.