Just stuff to think about. . . .

So lately I have been thinking about life and how it, mostly mine, pertains to boundaries, relationships-both physical and spiritual, and what my purpose is? So these are some of my thoughts. . . . .

There is a time and a place for boundaries in ones life. . . . . I have a strong thresh hold for work, and therefore can go longer and harder than others. . . .I get pleasure out of my work. . . . .I am SICK of how much attention is placed on relationship status. . . .everywhere in the world, any form you fill out, the first question people ask, your facebook status, even some churchs ex. Singles ministry, Married ministry, Divorced People ministry. . . .it's all crap that we put to much weight in, including myself. . . .I am really enjoying my relationship with God right now. . . . .I love that I get to do what I love to do and get paid for it. . . . .There are things I need to fix about me. . . .and there are things I need to work on . . . . .but I am still LOVED.

There, it may seem like an off hand post but I had to do it.. . . . . . .

Don't know about you but I like this plan. . . . .

The Wetzel plan

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
November 27, 200

A playoff is coming to college football, not eventually but probably sooner than the moneyed-establishment wants to admit.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, the Vladimir Putin of college sports and the key figure preventing a playoff, can stem the tide for only so long.

Unfortunately, we're stuck with the current Bowl Championship Series for the time being. But that doesn't mean we can't dream about what a real playoff would entail and the magic it would produce each December and January.

If you think you like Saturdays now, understand that this is just college football lite; one day to be looked back on as a quaint and confusing era.

Here's how the playoff will eventually work – and this isn't just my idea, it's essentially the exact scenario the NCAA (which will eventually run it) uses to run the football playoffs at the former Division I-AA, II and III.

We even made up a mock bracket for you to salivate over.

(Please note, whereas some conference title games still need to be played, for the sake of argument we assigned victory to the higher rated team in the current BCS standings to place and seed the field).

A 16-TEAM FIELD

Just like in what used to be Division I-AA, the tournament would feature four rounds with teams seeded one through 16. Just like the wildly popular and profitable NCAA men's basketball tournament, champions of all the conferences (all 11 of them) earn an automatic bid to the field.

Yes, all 11. Even the lousy conferences. While no one would argue that the winner of the Mid-American Conference is one of the top 16 teams in the country, there are multiple benefits of including champions of low-level leagues.

First is to maintain the integrity and relevancy of the regular season. While the idea that the season is a four-month playoff is both inaccurate and absurd, there should be a significant reward for an exceptional season.

The chance for an easier first-round opponent – in this case No. 1 Missouri would play No. 16 Central Michigan or Miami (Ohio) – is a big reward for a great regular season. Earning a top-three seeding would present a school a near breeze into the second round. Drop to a sixth-seed in this year's scenario and you are dealing with Florida.

On the flip side, it brings true Cinderella into the college football mix for the first time. Is it likely that Central Florida could beat Ohio State? Of course not, but as the men's basketball tournament has proven the mere possibility (or even a close game) draws in casual fans by the millions.

Last season the most memorable college football game was Boise State-Oklahoma, in part because Boise was the unbeaten underdog that wasn't supposed to win. When it did, in dramatic fashion, it became arguably the most popular team in America.

But it had no shot at a national title because the system says Boise can't be any good in 2007 because it wasn't any good in 1967. As illogical as this is, that's the system.

For even lower-rated conferences – the Sun Belts, the MACs – allowing annual access to the tournament would not only set off celebrations on small campuses but it would encourage investment in the sport at all levels. Suddenly, there would be a reason for teams in those leagues to really care. This would improve quality throughout the country.

With the bigger conferences, a championship would take on greater value. Does anyone without direct rooting interest really care if USC wins the Pac-10 Saturday? How about the Virginia Tech-Boston College ACC title game? You would now.

AT-LARGE BIDS

In addition to the 11 automatic bids, there would be five at-large selections made by a basketball-like selection committee. Most years, those would come from the power conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC).

While the selection process would still draw complaints from the teams left out, those schools often would have two or three losses or significant flaws. Gone forever would be the days of an unbeaten Auburn in the 2004 season not getting a chance at the title or the bizarre 2003 season where nearly everyone thought USC was the best team but got left out anyway.

HOME GAMES FOR HIGHER SEEDS IN FIRST THREE ROUNDS

The strangest part of the BCS is that outside businesses – the people who own the bowl games – get a cut of the revenue. It would be unfathomable for a league such as the NFL or NBA to allow independent promoters to stage its playoffs.

College football is leaving millions on the table by staging top games in far-off locales. Ohio State, for instance, earns an estimated $5 million-plus for each home game. And that is just direct revenue. Forbes estimates Buckeye football games generated $42 million for the Columbus area in 2005.

The 14 hugely profitable home games from the first three rounds would create a huge revenue stream.

There is simply no need to include the current bowl structure. Obviously no fan base can afford to travel week after week to neutral-site games. But they wouldn't have to. In what used to be Division I-AA, the playoffs are home field until the title game. That's the way it should be.

The competitive value of home-field advantage would also help maintain the importance of the regular season because the higher the seed, the more home games.

This would also be a boon to teams in the Midwest, which build their teams to deal with the predictably harsh weather only to play postseason games in generally warm, calm environs.

So how would say, USC fare if it didn't get a Big Ten opponent in Pasadena each January, but rather had to slip and slide around Ann Arbor or Columbus for a change? And who wouldn't want to see the Trojans invade one of those historic old stadiums, snow falling, and proving they have grit not just skill?

COMPETITION

That's the best part, of course, the games. As heart-thumping and pulse-stopping as college football is and always has been, we aren't even scratching the surface in our plan. We currently have nothing even close to this. Week after week of building excitement, tension and stakes.

A byproduct of the BCS has been a devaluing of competitiveness in college football. There is no longer an incentive to play games against other big-time opponents. It's not just intra-regional games that are all but gone but most non-conference games of any significance. Teams just load up on patsies to grab the home gate and maybe play one local rival.

Amazingly, the BCS rewards them for this.

Because of human voters' tendency to favor record over all else – unless the school is from outside the BCS – the goal of the season is simply not to lose. The easiest way to do that is to play as few teams as possible that are capable of beating you.

The BCS favors teams that load up on cupcakes early and play in a weaker BCS conference that ideally doesn't have to deal with a 13th game (for the league title).

Consider Kansas, which is rated No. 5 in the BCS (and was No. 2 last week) despite owning wins over opponents with a combined record of 45-63 record (.417 winning percentage). Maybe the Jayhawks are a great team that was capable of beating other great teams. But no one really knows. And the BCS didn't care.

The playoffs return the big-time games between teams from different conferences. Even better, it puts them on campus – not some far-flung NFL stadiums – in historic venues with all the pageantry.

Oklahoma-USC in the Coliseum in the first round? Florida-Ohio State in the Horseshoe in the second? How about the Buckeyes at West Virginia in a national semifinal? Every week of every year would be incredible.

BOWL GAMES COULD STILL EXIST

Understanding that there really isn't anything wrong with most bowl games – it's not like innocent people are dying because the Meineke Car Care Bowl exists – we'll allow them to stick around.

One bowl could serve as the championship game, giving college football its neutral, Super Bowl-style site to conclude the tournament.

As for all the other bowls, they can go on as they wish. The NIT still operates, doesn't it? It's not like most bowl games have any direct bearing on the championship now.

There is value to the smaller bowls in smaller communities. If the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, still wishes to stage a game, it by all means should. It just won't have access to the 16 playoff teams. But it doesn't have access to teams of that quality now. It still can host a meaningless game between two moderately successful schools. For most bowls, nothing changes.

The lack of 16 "bowl-qualified" teams would filter down, of course, and run a couple of minor bowls out of business since there won't be enough bowl-eligible clubs. But if the reason college football is not staging a playoff is the need to save the International Bowl in Toronto, then the current system is more corrupt than we think.

THE SCHEDULE

While the former Division I-AA plays all four rounds in four weeks and stages the title game before Christmas, football’s top division might be better served playing the first one or two rounds in December, breaking for final exams and staging the semifinals just after Christmas and the title game in early January.

The schedule is a minimal concern. Something can be worked out. Whatever it is, it would allow teams and stars to become familiar to the American public, for momentum to build and excitement to grow.

The college football playoffs would have a chance to rival the NFL playoffs (Super Bowl included) as the biggest sporting event in the country. Fans would love it, players live for it and a game deserving of a real playoff finally enjoying it. It would capture the imagination of the nation.

Right now it's only a dream, but the day is coming. There is only so long the dictators can stop it.

Dan Wetzel is Yahoo! Sports' national columnist.

The Shade of Poison Tree's

So this week I will take a look at the new Dashboard Confessional album- "The Shade of Poison Trees"

The new album from Chris Carrabba goes back to Dashboard's roots, musically there are a lot of acoustic driven songs. Unlike some the last two Dashboard albums. There is still songs with the band like Matters of Blood and Connection, These Bones and Thick as Thieves. Though many of the songs have other instrumentation on them they could be just as easily played on an acoustic only. Check out the synth/loop work in Fever Dreams and The Shade of Poison Trees.

This album kinda reminds me of the MTV "Unplugged" Ablum. It just has a nice feel. With most of songs right around three minutes this would make a great album to listen in the car on the way to work. It's got the right amount of pep to get you going in the morning but not too much. Yet it is still relaxing to listen to in the evening.

If you were a fan of other dashboard albums that were more driving electric guitar based you may be turned off from Poison Trees but I would challenge you to give this one a try at least once or twice. Mostly because the songs are finally not about the same girl that broke his heart like five albums ago.

Honestly there isn't a bad song on this album. Some good ones are When There's Gold. . ., Keep Watch for the Mines, and The Shade of Poison Trees.

In a nut shell it still Chris Carraba emotionally fueled music, good to listen too, but doesn't seem to drone on about the same girl.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So it is Thanksgiving. I have much to be thankful for this year. This is my first Thanksgiving as a graduate. I have many friends that will do anything to help me. I have my health. I have a loving family, I don't see them enough, which is mostly my fault, but they love me still the same.

I have a job that is rewarding, challenging, and fun. My God loves me and I love Him because he is my strength, my refuge, and my counselor. He is all I need, and as easy as that is to say it is still a daily challenge to live out.

Psalm 106:1
"Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever."

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will show you which path to take."


Psalm 121
"I look up to the mountains does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord Himself watches over you, the Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life, the Lord watches over you as you come and go, both now and forever."


So as I sit here and watch/help my mom prepare the meal I give thanks for everything I have. I hope your Thanksgiving is going well and that you can take time in the hustle and bustle of the season to sit back and take in everything God has provided for you.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

This is awesome

Music, music, music. . . . .

So my buddy Rob gave me this idea and I finally think I am going to start reviewing newer albums on Tuesday's.
If you have any suggestions of something you would like me to review all suggestions will be taken into consideration.

So here we go. . . . .

Jimmy Eat World "Chase this Light"


The new album from rockers Jimmy Eat World is still a "rock" album with a little more pop to it. Now I can take a little bit of pop every now and then, and some may think that his album is to poppy for me. It is not, because it doesn't have that "over produced" aspect that many pop albums get. It still has a raw sound to it. And the guitar work is classic Jimmy, nice little parts thrown in on the verse's into an all out rock'n good time on chorus'. The extra little things thrown in throughout the ablum like bells, strings, and tiny little trinkets of sound makes this album musically for me.

Lead singer Jim Adkin's lyrics are still full of emotion and thought. Yet there are not too deep that you get lost in them. It feels like he finally wrote an album instead of just a collection of songs.

This album is not near as hard rock'n as "Futures" yet it still is a good listen anytime. It is a great album for any Jimmy Eat World fan yet has aspects in it that could appeal to any music lover.

Track picks- "Big Casino" "Gotta Be Somebody's Blues" "Dizzy"

My New Car. . . . .

So as most of you know I recently had to purchase a new car, the truck died for those of you not in the loop. After extensively searching the dealerships in the area I decided to go to the private owners and found a nice Mazda3 Hatchback. It is a lovely car with great gas mileage and room for me to still fit my guitars in and what not.

I will not bore you with the technical details but it's Red, 5 speed, and it has a sunroof. I love the fact that I only have to fill up every 300 miles or so instead of 225. It's sweet!!!

RSB. . . .

So last night we had the Robbie Seay Band in for a worship concert. They are a great band to work with and just great guys to hang around. It was fun helping them set-up, soundcheck, and tear down.

It looked amazing and sounded freakin' awesome. If I do say so myself.

Here's a pic.

Help, I've fallen and I can't get up. . . .

Ok, so let me preface this with saying that I AM OK. But I digress, tonight while taking down some of the design stuff at church after STaC I was helping take down the scaffolding we have been using. So I'm up about 15-17 feet in the air and beginning to take apart the scaffolding when all of a sudden it shutters and I lose my grip. I try to regain a hold but it's too late, I am falling down to the floor. I hit hard on my left knee and bumped my head on a light that was on the floor. BUT I AM OK. It hurts but it will be better at some point.

In brighter news I did purchase a new car , I LOVE IT!!!. I will put pics up as soon as I can. The internship is going well, we are upgrading to a full HD camera system, which is going to be sweet!. I am learning a ton about how to lead teams and minister to others, while also learning to deal with my self and keep me healthy.

Come on at least tell me this is cool.

This is pretty cool. . . .

I like this commercial. It took them like 15 takes to get some of these shots.

The writers guild went on strike, why should I have to keep this thing up-to-date?

Ok, So I know I suck at keeping this thing up-to-date but I've been busy.

The writers strike began today, so don't expect me to update this all the time just because there won't be anything to watch on TV.

Hopefully I have found the next car I am going to buy. Please pray that God watches over this decision and blesses me in the decision I am about to make.

The job is going well, I am discovering things about myself I didn't know I could do. And I feel like I am doing a good job. We'll see. . .

Hope all is well with everyone.