steve-o
Introduction To The House of Carr
Introduction To The House of Carr

A Bitter Pill

If you're not a college football fan, you're probably sick of my writing so much about it, but this is the last you'll hear of it until the fall. So one again bear with me. Late last night I told Kelly that I secretly thought the Buckeyes could lose that game. They were favored way too much. But I couldn't imagine that Coach Tressel would let his team come out so lethargic. And never would I have believed that Florida would take OSU to the woodshed.

That was the most dominent beat down in any type of sports championship I can ever remember. Let me know if you have any other contenders.

And I should note, before I get too far, that we watched the game by ourselves last night. If I were with other people they would've called the Price Hill Church of Christ to rescind my ordination certificate.

So why did the Buckeyes lose so horribly? My thoughts . . .

  • First, it wasn't because of speed. That's the dumbest thing I've heard repeated over and over in all the sports shows today. Florida wasn't that much faster. I'm sure if you looked at the 40 times of all these players, there wouldn't be that many differences. So we should just stop the stupidity that wants to laud the speed of the SEC champs.
  • What people interpreted as speed was actually the result of the inept defensive scheme that Ohio State used to match-up against the Florida offense. It was pathetic. The Bucks played the deep zone to keep the Gators from going over the top on them; they didn't want to get beat on the long ball [which Chris Leak really can't throw that well anyway]. So all they had to do was go five wide and eat up the zone with underneath passes. Do you remember how the Colts hammered the Bengals on Monday night a few weeks ago? It was the same thing. Florida never had the huge play. They just ate them up.
  • Offensively, the Buckeyes didn't get the running game going early. I'm pretty sure they went three straight passes in their first offensive series. A consistent running game has allowed the Bucks' passing game to open up. Then, when they were in the hole, the offense panicced and never got settled. Florida's defense took full advantage. Of course losing Teddy Ginn hurt, but I'm not sure he makes a winning difference. Speaking of which
  • That kick-off return might have been the best thing that happened to Florida. It made Ohio State even more over-confident [I let my pride get the best of me and made two phone calls after the fact] and it let Florida know that they could really play with reckless abandon. Florida came right back and never let up.
  • But overall, it came down to coaching. Tressel's staff was outworked by Urban Meyer's. Going for a fourth and one in the second half on your own twenty yard line? Gutsy if you make it, but it ended up foolish. Not changing up game plans at half-time when you're getting hammered? Unthinkable. I've said before that this team wasn't nearly as talented as last year's and this game exposed it. That being said, I'll be interested to see how the program recovers from this. That was a generational kind of loss.
  • But disregard all of these reasons because you can't explain away this fact: overall, Florida just flat out wanted it more. They came out ready to play.

Unlike many Ohio State fans, I've seen Florida play numerous times this year. And it must be said: that team never played so well. They were lucky to end the regular season with one loss; they should've lost three more games but those teams they were playing choked. They were consistently inconsistent, making foolish penalties and turn-overs. They were not better than USC this year. They were not better than Michigan. And they were not better than Ohio State.

Last night, however, they played flawless football- something they haven't done since the Spurrier days. But with no playoff, you don't have to be the best team. You just have to be good enough to win that one game. And last night Florida did it.

THE Ohio State Fascination

Let me explain myself to yourselves. There's been a lot of discussion locally the past few months about Ohio State bandwagoners- those who have cheered the team only since Coach Tressel reinvigorated the program. I'm thinking it could be true because the Cincinnati media have covered the national championship game much more this year than the 2002 title and we saw a ton of OSU gear in Hyde Park this afternoon.

I have no academic affiliation with THE Ohio State University, but if I only followed my alma mater's programs my life would be pathetic [nothing impresses sports aficionados like an NCCAA Division 2 championship appearance . . . in soccer]. During my development years I assembled my sports loyalties and have stuck to them rather religiously. In case you're scoring at home:

  • MLB: Reds . . . from birth. In the late 1980's, as the Reds were acquiring their many second place division finishes, I developed an affinity for the Red Sox.
  • NFL: Bengals . . . likewise.
  • College Basketball: UC . . . late 1980's, coinciding with Huggins arrival. I'll admit I liked Xavier better, that is, until Huggs arrived.
  • NHL: NY Rangers . . . late 1980's, my neighbor took me to an exhibition where I became a fan. So this was a few years before the 1994 Stanley Cup.
  • Soccer: Manchester United- mid 1990's, after the US hosted World Cup, I thought Eric Cantona was awesome.
  • NBA: Except for loving to watch Jordan play, I've never had a favorite NBA team.

Which brings me to college football. I always liked the sport, but growing up in Cincinnati, there wasn't much to cheer for here. So it was in the late 1980's that I declared my allegiance to Ohio State; I figured I lived in the state of Ohio, so that's good enough. I would watch them play every Saturday on the black and white television in the basement; no one in the house wanted to watch it, so I was relegated to the dungeon.

In junior high I proudly purchased a Starter jacket [remember those] that was a shiny gray with the letters "O-H-I-O- S-T-A-T-E" stitched to the front. It was awesome. I would watch players like Carlos Snow, a local product who went to a Cincinnati Public School dedicated to athletes [how was that ever legal]. I cheered for Kirk Herbstreit, an average quarterback who became a great football analyst. I saw an endless supply of incredible players come through the program: Chris Spielman, Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, Eddie George, David Boston.

Those teams were coached by a wonderful man named John Cooper. He could recruit football players better than anyone in the country. Unfortunately, he never figured out how to get them to win the big game. As many of you know, the last game of the regular season the Bucks always play Michigan. In thirteen games against the Wolverines, his teams won twice, lost ten times, and tied once. Coopers first victory against UM salvaged and average season. His second victory was on the cusp of a loss to Michigan State, costing them a national championship.

Being a Buckeye fan at the end of last century was brutal. Three times in the 1990's OSU was undefeated until the Michigan game, in line for a national championship, and lost. Every year while in college I would bet a guy in the dorm [a devout Michigan fan] a pizza on the game. I bought him a lot of pizza.

Then . . . came . . . Tressel.

He knew both how to recruit and how to win. After being hired he appeared at the OSU/Michigan basketball game at halftime and stated, "I can assure you that you will be proud of your young people in the classroom, in the community and most especially in 310 days in Ann Arbor, Michigan." And he's never looked back.

So tonight, as I'm preparing to celebrate a second national championship in five years, I'm confident that I've never been off the bandwagon, so there was never any need for me to hop back on. I know who Earl Bruce is. I hate Desmond Howard. I even lived a summer in Columbus. So there's no need to question my loyalty.

With the Reds, Bengals, and Bearcats struggling, at least I have the scarlet and gray to rely on.

Go Bucks.

They Dey

First, let's be honest: the best off-season move for the Bengals happened yesterday when Bill Cowher retired. I hate all things Pittsburgh but admit to having a soft spot in my heart for old Iron Jaw. He is a fantastic coach and always made the most out of the least amount of talent [see last year's Super Bowl team]. Cowher owned the Bengals in his sixteen years with the Steelers. Of all current NFL coaches, he's the one guy I would want in Cincinnati without a doubt.

Speaking of Bengals coaching, I've remained silent since the devastating loss of a week ago. This past season was an enigma; I saw things this season that I never have seen before in my life: Justin Smith's bogus roughing the passer call against Tampa Bay [cost them the game], a blown 21-point lead against San Diego [cost them the game], Rudi Johnson's fumble and the botched PAT against Denver [cost them the game], last week's missed field goal against the Steelers [cost them the game], not to mention the numerous arrests [cost them more than they'd like to admit].

This season had messed with my mind more than that of any other Cincinnati sports team. The only thing I can compare it to was Ohio State under John Cooper: you knew they had national championship talent but they never acted like it.

The thing that's ticked me off is the way that many fans have turned on Marvin Lewis. They complain about three 8-8 seasons in three years, but they've quickly forgotten how sucky we truly were. Just look at the stats during Marvin's tenure.

  • 2003 [8-8] Jon Kitna was our quarterback. We played a cake schedule. If that team had played this year's schedule, they go 3-13.
  • 2004 [8-8] Carson's first year. Another average schedule for a below average team. That season the last game was against a Super Bowl bound Philly that mailed it in. They should've been 7-9.
  • 2005 [11-5] Average schedule. Team takes advantage of it and wins their division. IF [play along] Carson doesn't get hurt this is a Super Bowl team. Unlucky.
  • 2006 [8-8] Toughest schedule in the league. Of course, they still could've made the playoffs, but the defense absolutely kills them this year.

What I'm saying is this: schedule does indeed make a difference. The Raven benefited this year because they sucked last year. In the Bengals last Super Bowl appearance, their schedule was an easy one. But you can't blame it all on who they had to play this season.

Truth is, it pains me to admit this, the team isn't that good . . . yet. I really believe they're on the verge, but they desperately need some kind of defensive help to make it to that next level. But many fans are eager to jump off the Marvin bandwagon without looking at the big picture.

I say, give it another season or two. I'd be shocked if they're not a playoff team again next year.

We still have one of the best quarterbacks in the league. It's amazing that he bounced back to play like he did this year [see Dante Culpepper]. With Carson at 100% again, a team that was truly humbled this year, and an easier schedule, it'll all be good.

In Marvin I trust.

Yikes! [UC basketball edition]

Painfully, I endured UC's first half against Memphis on ESPN. Don't think I can watch the rest of it. In two network games this year [kudos to ESPN for shoving the unviewable ESPNU down our throats for the Crosstown Shootout] the Bearcats have gotten waxed. I fully expected this performance this year. A hastily recruited team decemated because of Bob Huggins' firing a year and a half ago meant that Coach Cronin really didn't have a chance this season. But I didn't expect it to feel this embarrassing. They might not make network TV next year at all.

I still think Mick is the right guy for the job, but it'll take another rebuilding season until they make the tourney again. It's just unfortunate that the Enquirer decided to run a front page story yesterday about how the team had a scholarship taken from them because of poor academic performance. The real story here is that the NCAA truly sucks, doesn't care about the students, and is penalized UC because a coach was fired at the beginning of a season. When Huggs got canned six non-seniors left early and it hurts UC's academic standing.

So now not only does Mick have to coach a mid-major level team in the Big East, but his hometown paper is rubbing in the fact that their academics are in trouble too. Ain't it wonderful? Doubt that the fact that this year's team had a 2.88GPA the fall quarter with no one failing a class will make the front page.

Any-woo . . .

UC's more likable in the underdog role. It'll take a little while, but they'll get there.

Postscript 1: if you notice in the new Kaelyn video I'm wearing a Kansas State t-shirt. It's not that I'm one of those die-hard Huggins supporters; it was a present from my father-in-law for Christmas. Xavier sure did take care of K-State last night. Maybe I jinxed them. Good gift, though.

Postscript 2: I did watch part of the second half. It got so bad that they cut away to a Pac-10 games. Yikes, indeed.

,

By The Book

,

Congress is now in session. I'm so relieved. A conservative columnist raised a fuss because Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, decided he was going to take the oath of office while placing his hand on a Koran. Many echoed the columnist's objections saying that this was a Christian nation and the oath was a slap to the face of our country's history. Actually, representatives don't place their hands on anything during the oath; they do it en mass, so it's much ado . . .

Ellision planned on taking the oath today while holding in his hand a copy of the Koran . . . a copy straight from Thomas Jefferson's library. Oh, snap. BUT if you're familiar with Islam you know that an English copy of the Koran is not authorized and is considered as "holy" as a Porky Pig comic book. That's why the irony is thrilling.

TJefferson, founding father who penned the Declaration of Independence [oh, and was President and is on the nickle], was a deist who played salad bar with the gospels to form his own kind of moral code. Yet two hundred years later we want to believe that these guys who led the rebellion against England were choir boys. And then we use that revisionist history to spout out ridiculous ideas like we're a theocracy.

Sidenote: I also find it interesting that we do the same thing with Scripture: we think the point of the Bible is to elevate and emulate the characters to hero status when there's really only one hero found in the pages [extra credit if you can figure out who].

Not sure what you want to do with all this, but if you're not ready for the new role of religion in American politics, get ready. The next two years will most likely redefine the past twenty-five years of faith's influence on our democracy.

The Butcher Of Baghdad

I'm going to admit something that might make you think less of me: I took time on my birthday to search the internet for video of Saddam's hanging. It might sound demented, but I was fascinated at the quickly fulfilled execution of the former Iraqi dictator. It caught me a little off-guard. I knew that Hussein had been convicted of approving a massacre and was sentenced to death but had no idea it would happen so quickly.

It seems like the circumstances surrounding the execution, the taunting he endured, as well as the hasty manner in which it was carried out, almost made Saddam out as a sympathetic figure. But an encounter I had a few years ago led me to view the man in a different light and, in turn, my recent Googling for video of his demise.

About four years ago, when I first started working at Christ's Church, I was involved in helping arrange different elements of the worship service. Coinciding with a message theme, we were looking to interview someone with an international view of the Christian faith. It just so happened that an Arabic family had started attending the church; they were from Iraq. We brought him in to do a preliminary interview in the middle of the week. I don't think I was prepared for his testimony.

His father became a Christian as an adult and reared his family as believers. Out of fear of the Islamic majority, they were forced to hide their faith and practice it in secret; Iraq wasn't a safe place to worship Jesus. The man told me about a Christian family he knew growing up. Soldiers showed up at their house in the middle of the night to take the men in for questioning. They never returned. This is what it was like to be a Christian under Saddam's rule.

So when the man had an opportunity to defect, he took it. He hadn't seen or spoken to his family in over fifteen years. He didn't even know if they were still alive. It was an eye-opening conversation. And it was the kind of testimony that the people in our church, some too comfortable in their own Christianity, needed to hear. But they never heard it.

The day the man was supposed to share his story he arrived for services an hour early. He said he wouldn't do the interview. He was afraid that someone who heard his story might somehow tell someone who could send word back to Iraq. If that were to happen, he said, his family there could be in danger. It was a risk, he said, he was unwilling to take.

And that's when I started to comprehend what it was like to live in a country ruled by a ruthless dictator. This man feared Saddam despite living on the other side of the world.

I know this story doesn't justify me trying to watch the man's death but it should add some perspective on the whole incident.

I Own '07

Like most bloggers I took the holiday off so I could recharge. It seemed like everyday during that break something came up that I thought would make an interesting post. So now I'm back and raring to go. I'll be spending the next few days covering some old news. Read it if you like, otherwise commense with breaking your resolutions.

Still Alive?

Yes, just enjoying a brief respite. Working out of the house is awesome except that it's difficult to really take a break. Our Vegas trip last January was relaxing but that was immediately followed by Kelly's hospitalization, Kaelyn's birth and my Hepatitis. Since then it seems like we've been going non-stop; I've been drooling over the prospects of this week for months. We always like to take off the week between Christmas and New Year's and the death of my grandfather added to the need for this break. Now that it's finally here, we've been living it up.

Tuesday we didn't leave the house and took down the Christmas decorations. Yesterday we left the house only to buy groceries. In that time we watched all of seasons one and two of The Office on DVD. It's feels great to do nothing but watch TV and do some reading.

And since the demise of the Bengals I've been on a self-imposed sports fast. I never realized how much I watch ESPN.

So not much to report here, hence, my blogging absence. I do, however, have some stuff I'm stoked about unleashing in the new year.

Start your countdown now.

,

Enjoy Your Day

,

I've been rather silent since the passing of my grandfather. I was incredibly busy and stressed, but we all made it through. I'm sure I'll write up a few thoughts about it later this week. As a Christian, Christmas doesn't mean all that much to me. Of course it's great to celebrate an event in the life of Jesus, but why don't we bring the same kind of passion to Easter [pun intended]? Regardless, it's a still a unique, fun time of the year. Good food, good carols, and the opportunity to see practically everyone in your family. We had a great time in Lexington and will head over to my parents this afternoon.

I guess this year was supposed to be different now that we have the little girl, but it seems pretty normal. She's still way too young to comprehend the difference and she's suffering through a cold [which hasn't damped her chipper attitude]. And even though Kaelyn doesn't fully appreciate it, all the family have loved seeing her struggle to open up her gifts. I'm sure she'll be much more into it next year.

So I hope you're enjoying your holiday. Blessings.

Introspection

Since the Bengals don't play until tonight [gotta beat the Colts, Marvin] there is nothing to Monday morning quarterback about. So, instead, I'll make it personal and critique my Sunday teaching performance. While I've been preaching for almost twenty years now [delivered my first sermon at the age of twelve] this past year at Echo has been my first prolonged week-to-week preaching experience; I had stints where I preached for a few months in a row, but never consistently over a year. I'm not really feeling the pressure of coming up with new material each Sunday as I can almost always find something to run with. I do, however, get lower when I bomb now than when I used to when I just occasionally preached. It probably has less to do about my subject matter or style and more about where we're at as a church.

Despite trusting God to take care of Echo, I feel like a lot of our "success" comes down to me. If my preaching sucks then we don't have much of a chance; the reality is there's not that much else going on around here to offer people. So each week I try to prepare something that's relevant, Biblically deep, and engaging. I try not to suck. But sometimes, despite my best efforts, it just doesn't work out.

Last night, as we continued examining different aspects of the Christmas story, I wanted to illustrate the role of Herod in the birth narrative. We have many extra-Biblical references to Herod that usually aren't discussed around Christmas time. As you put Herod's paranoid, self-serving persona against that of Jesus, you get a very different idea of what it means to be a King. Sounded like a good idea, I just don't think I made it work. I got bogged down in the facts and don't think I was able to make them "come alive." I also taught much shorter than I usually do, which is indicative of me not feeling a good flow. Fortunately I didn't try to make-up for it on the spot and strech it to cover the space. It was what it was and that was the best I could do.

It's tough to walk out of the pulpit feeling like you just laid an egg. Like a bad athletic performance, you're left to dwell on it and relive it over and over in your mind. But then you realize that you can pick yourself up and do it all over again next week. If you dwell on it too long, it can really start to mess with your mind, so I give myself Monday morning until lunch to get over it; I'm almost there now.

A couple additional thoughts:

First, I just love the chance to try something out. Some preachers are fearful of failing so they refuse to take risks in their teaching. Echo affords me a great luxury: the opportunity to experiment and not sweat it if I fail. I tried to pull off something different last night and it didn't flow well. That's cool. I'm all the more wiser this morning.

And I do need to share this interesting tidbit: sometimes when I feel like I've bombed with my preaching people get something out of it. So while I beat myself up for sucking, someone claims that something I said really clicked with them. It's absolutely maddening, but it once again proves that this whole preaching thing is more than just my capabilities.

God is good. And my job is to tell people about that.

That'll take away the Monday morning blues.

How Big Is Steeler Hatred Here?

From the Cincinnati Cyclones marketing department:

Big Ben Helmet Safety Night is Tonight!

Tonight’s game (Dec. 15) is Big Ben Helmet Safety Night. The Ohio Dept. of Public Safety will provide information on motorcycle safety to all in attendance, along with $50 gift certificates to The Plastic Surgery Group--with a grand prize winner getting a $500 gift certificate. The first 1500 kids will receive Cyclones foam goalie helmets and two lucky ticket holders will receive Pocket Rocket motor bikes (complete with helmets, knee pads and other accessories).

Yikes.

Avoiding Death

Kelly got this 48-hour bug that knocked her out today. Apparently it's going around all over the tri-state area. The best we can figure she picked it up Tuesday at work, which means I've had constant exposure to her for the past couple of days. So now I wait to see if I'm going to get it or not. I have been popping my multi-vitamin consistently the past few months but I don't think that's the kind of protective supplement I need to get me through. I think the waiting is as bad as actually getting the virus. If I feel even a slight twinge in my stomach I get paranoid that I'm five minutes away from hurling. Wonderful.

For now, I wait . . .

,

Doctor Who?

,

Story time, kiddies. When I was in college I tried to get a scholarship for preaching students being awarded by a old school church planting organization from southeastern Ohio. I heard about this group because they were popular in the Maysville, Kentucky area where my grandparents resided. In order to interview for this $1000 scholarship I had to drive to Portsmouth, Ohio to interview for it. It was a five hour round trip, coupled with an hour interview about my theology and career aspirations. Low and behold, I didn't get the scholarship. It's a Saturday from my life that I'm still bitter about losing.

The head of this group had an interesting name: Hoyt Allen Jr. I only met him that one time, but I had difficulty forgetting that name, perhaps because I forever linked him to that scholarship snub. While online today, reading a news blurb about my grandparent's church, I saw that they invited good ole' Hoyt to come speak to their gathering. I normally would've passed on this article but noticed that it referred to him as DOCTOR Hoyt. I don't mean to be judgmental, but I couldn't buy that this guy had earned a doctorate; I'm certain that the closest he got to legitimately claiming this title was by downing a Dr Pepper [sorry, I felt that lame joke was necessary].

The article said that Hoyt earned his Master of Divinity and Doctorate at a Lake Charles Bible College in Louisiana. Having never heard of Lake Charles I looked up their website where I perused their intensive academic offering. You can check it all out here, but I would like to cite their rigorous requirements for attaining a doctorate at their prestigious institution.

DOCTOR OF MINISTRIES This course consists of four sections, all comprehensive and discussion questions. You will use your own library for research. The total course cost is $500, payable in four equal installments.

This, my friends, in case you were wondering, is not a fully accredited academic institution. I have to include this advertising gem from their MDiv description:

MASTER OF DIVINITY Our Master Of Divinity is a comprehensive program that requires one textbook, The textbook consists of four sections, all discussion questions. In other words, there are no completely wrong answers.

How refreshing! For somebody. I have no idea how someone could drop $1000 for these two pieces of paper and then, with a straight face, have someone address them as Doctor.

Unfortunately, the background of our movement of churches is extremely anti-intellectual. This sentiment developed as a stand against the highly-intellectual liberalism that rampaged Protestant churches in the early twentieth century. As a result, we've not been able to overcome this past and embrace the idea that we can be both intelligent and Biblically conservative. Hence, you get a degree mill like the Lake Charles Bible College where there are no wrong answers.

We still need some work if we're going to become the movement we need to be.

Honestly, I'd like to get a PhD someday . . . especially if I could get someone else to pay for it. Not that I want people to call me Doctor, but that I could specialize in a subject and become an authority. But if it never happens, I'll be OK. I'd rather it not happen than me to get a cereal-box-top degree not worth the paper it's written on.