Category Archives: nfl

The Baby Jesus — all-grown-up…

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In a sermon from Matthew 10, Skye Jethani warns us against looking at the Bethlehem manger and thinking only about this innocent, helpless, sweet baby, tender and mild, laying down his sweet head.  He is no such thing.  Jesus said in that text that he did not come to bring peace but a sword.

He did not come to give us the warm fuzzies, but to demand our allegiance. He came to die on the cross to pay for our sins. He came to draw you to himself so you could be forgiven. He demands that we give him first place in our lives and worship nothing else — be it family or ourselves.

One of the greatest thinkers of the past century, C. S. Lewis, said it well in his book, Mere Christianity.

Christ says: Give me all. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work. I want you. I’ve not come to torment your natural self but to kill it. No half measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth or crown it or stop it but have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires that you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked, the whole outfit. And I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself. My own will shall become yours.

The all-grown-up Jesus wants your all.  You can’t negotiate with him.  You can’t bargain with him. He doesn’t offer a full-serving for some, and lunch-sized portions for the rest.

He has come to dethrone everything that we might illegitimatly place at the center of our lives.  This message speaks of this all-grown-up Jesus in greater detail.

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The Steelers and the Power of Hope

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If you follow the NFL, you know that just a few years ago, the Steelers were the last seed in the post-season. They barely made it into the playoffs.  In fact, some sports networks had actually proclaimed they were mathematically eliminated. They weren’t eliminated, but few gave them any hope.

Being the sixth seed in a playoff system where a loss means elimination puts you at a big disadvantage. First – you have to play more games to advance through the rankings. Second – you have to play the harder team as you go. Third – you have to play all your games away, eliminating home-field advantage. The Steelers did that.

On January 8, they beat their division rivals and leaders, the Cincinnati Bengals 31-17 at Paul Brown Stadium. Was there any hope that they could move forward?

On January 15 they played Tony Dungy’s Indianapolis Colts – a team that had humbled them earlier that year. Thinking they had the game sewed up, the Steelers were shocked when Bettis fumbled the ball giving life to the Colts. But after the tackle, the most accurate kicker to ever play in the NFL missed a field goal in the closing moments of the game to allow the Steelers to advance. Who could have hoped that would have happened?

Next it was off to Denver, where more than 76 thousand fans watched the Steelers force turnover after turnover, doubling the points scored by the Broncos. Who would have any hope that the Steelers could win the Super Bowl?

Finally the day came. The Steelers were in the Super Bowl. From last place among the contenders, to playing for the number one slot. No one gave them any hope of being there. But they were there and they won. They won Super Bowl XL.

How did they do that? Skill, yes. Luck, yes. Passion, yes. Coaching, yes. But there is one ingredient that went into that Super Bowl run that you seldom hear of.

That ingredient is hope.

Without hope, they would have lost in Cincinnati. Without hope, Ben Roethlisberger wouldn’t have even tried the tackle that saved the touchdown on Bettis’ fumble. Without hope, Hines Ward would have headed to the locker room after costing Pittsburgh a touchdown in Denver. Hope is that invisible force that runs in the background and keeps people moving.

I believe that one of the most underrated powers in the world is the power of hope. And the Bible agrees. The audio below speaks of the power of hope in our lives.

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Winners and Others in the Fantasy Football Season…

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Well — the Fantasy Football season has come to a close at ShieldsGroup. Most of us will disconnect our computers until late August. It’s clear to all who have participated this year that the Internet was created for one purpose: Fantasy Football.

2008 ShieldsGroup Fantasy Football StandingsMost team managers will tell you that it was a tough season in the ShieldsGroup league.  There were a high number of teams, each with many roster positions to fill. I thought it would be a great season for me since I had Eli Manning and Tom Brady from the opening draft, but as fate would have it, Brady was done almost before he began. I found myself replacing him with guys who weren’t even certain to start.

One of the unknown winners was Noah, who, although he didn’t place, scored more points than the champion. His Toccoa Combers (a team most consider as having a goofier name than my team) came away with 1940.93 points on the season.  Only one team had more, and we’ll talk about them in a moment.

The third place team was mine — The Music Cops.  It was an up and down season for The Music Cops, but they managed to pull a ranking, at least. The great thing about being the manager of The Music Cops is what a great bunch of players they are. And they know good music when they hear it. They also can Identify country music when they hear it.

The second place team (the team with the most glorious of names) was Amy’s team. Scoring more points than anyone (2033.85), her Pittsburgh Steelers were dominant throughout most of the season. She won more games than any other team. One team manager after another finished his week muttering to himself, “I can’t believe I was beaten by a 15-year-old girl.” Even going into the championship, most smart money was on her. Amy — you did great this year. I can’t wait to see you on the sidelines again next season!

But Andy’s Browns stood firm, winning the highly-coveted ShieldsGroup fantasy trophy. He finished 10-3 and beat Amy by a dozen points in the championship. Fantasy analysts everywhere say it appears he has the luck of his father, the good looks of his mother, and the brains of his uncle. However, it appears he has the loyalty of his grandfather — a loyalty that is proven week after week in the real football world as he pulls for the franchise after whom his fantasy team is named. We admire your heart, Andy. It’s good you don’t follow it when setting your fantasy roster. You did great this year.

Other teams included The Silver and Black who beat just about everyone except The Taylor Trojans and The Music Cops. You can’t play Fantasy Football with your heart. You gotta play with your mind — trust me, I know.  I play with my heart all the time. Joe, you know football stats better than anyone in this league. Next year leave your heart in Oakland and bring your statistician’s brain to the keyboard when setting your pre-draft rankings and starting lineup. You’ll kick tail!

The Taylor Trojans made a hearty run, almost placing third. This is amazing for a team that, in the real world, has only won about four games in the past three years. If only this article had been true, instead of a cruel April Fools joke. We need to be thankful to the Trojans manager. He’s the one who sets the league settings every year. Despite lots of complaining about how hard it was to fill the roster, it was a fine season. Good job Tim.

And who could forget the run those Nomaddicts made? Hey — finishing next-to-last in this league without bothering to set your roster about a third of the time isn’t bad. You might want to think about a better team name next year, though, John.

Yoy! would have made Myron proud. Well — they would have made him proud for half the season. I guess, Ken, you could say that 7-7 is a perfect season, right? Perfectly balanced!

And what can be said about the K-Town Golden Bears? Pooh! John, you just about made the post-season. It’s good to see you’ve passed some of that luck on to your son and daughter.

One word about Random Heros: disappointment. Where did he go?

Looking forward to a new fantasy season.

~Steve