Verified!

Just a reminder that regardless of wins and losses, Joe Paterno is still the greatest college coach at this time.

Excerpt from this week's Tuesday Morning Quarterback column:


"Tuesday Morning Quarterback has presented so many examples of bad sportsmanship in college, it is refreshing to offer an example of good sportsmanship. Leading 56-3 at halftime against Illinois, Penn State did not attempt a forward pass in the second half. Taking possession on the Illinois 17 with 2:19 remaining and a 63-10 lead, the Nittany Lions knelt on the ball four times to end the game. The whole second half for Penn State was Class with a capital "C". At many colleges that routinely run up the score, such as Texas Tech, they don't know much about class -- but then, nobody on the football team goes to class."

Weekend of Karma

Don’t tell me not to be superstitious, don’t try to dissuade me from believing in Kosmic Karma, don’t try to persuade me that the football gods don’t sit on high and chortle at our feeble efforts to appease them.

Just as I said Penn State lost to Michigan, since the 49ers weren’t playing, there was no sports team to take the wrath of Jeeves (the football god of losing). Penn State tried their best, but it sure is hard to beat a quality team AND the football gods at the same time.

This past week though was another matter, Jeeves had his whipping boys back (San Fran) so Penn State should be safe, right?

Penn State - 63
Illinois - 10

They certainly were. Don’t let the score deceive you, JoePa leashed the dogs very quickly, benching his starters before the end of the 1st half, and didn’t throw a pass the rest of the game. The only Penn State players who caught passes and scored touchdowns in the second half were playing for the defense.

53 point win…..this does not bode well for the 49ers.



Washington – 52
San Francisco – 17


DOH!

Oh well, at least things have returned to normal.

Why I'm Superstitious

Many people scoff, some people shake their heads sadly, but no one can shake my incredible superstitious nature regarding sports. Why did the 49ers lose to Dallas a few weeks ago? Were they just overmatched? No, it was because Wife #1 was making fun of the 49ers’ quarterback’s last name. Rattay.

“Rattatay! Rattatay!” She chanted, just before he threw a pick in the 4th quarter that led to the winning points.

“Rattatay! Rattatay!” She continued to mock later, just before Rattay threw an interception that sealed the loss.Was the loss Rattay's fault? No! Wife #1 is to blame!

Against the Cardinals there was just too much bad mojo going against them. Penn State had pounded Minnesota, which was ranked #18 in the country at that time. This victory would vault PSU into the top 20 for certain. There was no way the football gods would give me two good wins during one weekend, so San Francisco would have to suffer.

A PSU Victory - The True Reason the 49ers Lost

This past week the 49ers were going up against the undefeated Colts, the 49ers were also starting the first pick overall in the draft – Alex Smith. Normally I would have held out hope still, since crazier things have happened, but not that afternoon. The night before I watched as Penn State, now ranked #16, defeated Ohio State, who was ranked #6. PSU stayed unbeaten, making their record 6 – 0, the beat down of Ohio State ensured a top ten ranking this week. (They are ranked #8 this week.)

San Francisco had no hope, I could have told the 60,000+ fans at Candlestick to stay home, there was no hope.

So San Francisco is 1 – 4, they lost four defensive backs to injuries, including two starters and their nickleback, they are starting a rookie quarterback, and their defense is on the field too long, they have a good chance of losing all the rest of their games. I promise I will try my hardest to watch all their games too.

But who cares? Penn State is 6 – 0!!! Until they lose at Michigan….49ers have a bye this week….not good.

Watching Losers Lose

I read an article about a guy at a Cubs' game back when the Cubs were still the lovable losers. He wrote that he heard someone chatting on his cellphone. Apparently he was asked by the person on the other end what he was doing. His response?

"Watching these (Bleeping) losers lose!"

That has always stuck in my mind, I had never followed a team that was so pathetically inept that their fans had grown accustomed to them losing constantly....until now.

In the first quarter of the game against Arizona, the 49ers defense scored two touchdowns. Let me reiterate, the DEFENSE put up 14 points. The offense didn't score all game, in fact, they ran one play on the opponent's side of the field, it ended in a fumble.

The Cardinals, inept themselves, could only really manage field goals at first, then a touchdown, then more field goals, then a final touchdown, making the final score 31-14. Two touchdowns, one failed PAT, and six field goals. They were on the field at least for 40 of the total 60 minutes. Not a recipe for success.

Alex Smith to the Rescue?

But I will continue to watch the losers lose. Fortunately Coach Nolan has brought interest to the season again by starting Alex Smith. This is saying that it is over for the 2005 49ers playoff hopes, but they weren't burning all that brightly at the moment anyway.

At least when the losers lose in the future, Alex Smith will be learning from it, and maybe next year we can try out this whole winning games thing for a change.

Iowa Death Trip

Yesterday Wife #1 and I went to Iowa to go to a pain clinic there to see if they had any bright ideas on what to do to help her back.  I left without much hope and I was proven correct.  What made things worse was that the doctor was a complete jerk.

I hate doctors who have god complexes.  I want to remind them that Christ rose again so in fact no one had really died and made them god.

This guy had a Napoleon complex as well, he was short and German, Wife #1 was looking for the swastika in his office somewhere and was scared that he had seen our last name and guessed our heritage.

Is it really too much for me to wish that he would choke on his mustache?  Or better yet, after he gets denied a ride on a roller coaster, since he needs to be over 4’ 10” to ride it, I think it would be great if he threw such a hissy fit that security would be forced to taser him to death.

I really need to try to be more forgiving of people, at times I remember that Christ forgave His enemies while they tortured and murdered Him.

I generally wouldn’t have that attitude, heck, I hope that after some dope cuts me off that his car will explode in a flaming fireball of death.  Or at least have a wheel fall off so he rolls about fifteen times.

Yeah, I think forgiveness is a weakness in your character…

What would be really cool is if the doctor would survive his tasering only to cut me off…..

Gotta work on forgiveness.

Precious Death

I went to a funeral for a friend’s mother a few days ago.  She was 57 when she died, so it brought back some memories of the last time I attended a funeral for someone who had died at a young age, my mother.

My uncle had recently lost his mother in July of 2003 and my mother, who was a very caring person….

Too bad it didn’t rub off on you…

….had written a note to him, intending to send it, but had most likely forgotten to mail it for several days, she had a poor memory…

Which DID rub off on you…

When the note was found, it was given to my uncle and after he read it he passed it around for everyone to read.  Some people do not believe that there is a plan, that God hasn’t decided what things will happen at what time.  Bah!

There is only one line I really remember from the note:  “…it is never a good time to lose a parent…”

What are the chances of such a great coincidence that Mom would write this note, then forget to mail it for several days, just so that we could find it on the day of her funeral?  It was lying near the container of Sting-Off that she had put on the bee stings before she started feeling faint.  The memory of that little bottle always brings tears to my eyes.  It summarizes perfectly what happened, it is a small, yellow bottle that is sold in many stores filled with an ointment that you put on insect bites and bee stings.  It costs five dollars.  It is meant to treat minor injuries, and that is what it should have been, a minor injury, but it turned into something completely different.  It still amazes people when I tell them that my mother died from a bee sting.  There must be a plan.

“…it is never a good time to lose a parent…..”

The woman that died recently didn’t die from a bee sting, she suffered greatly from a variety of ailments.  Her pastor spoke of one time when he visited her, she couldn’t wait until her sister had left the room so that she could ask him to do her funeral service.  He said that he tried to dodge the question a little, but she told him “the end is coming soon.”

He had been friends with her for many years and I could see that he had not wanted to admit to himself the truth.  We can talk about how we believe in Heaven, that there is glory for believers after death, but the first time you lose someone close to yourself, someone you had known for years, you are confronted with the choice of whether or not you TRULY believe.
At the funeral for Grandpa #3, his pastor said that Heaven is not truly important until you know someone there.  How true.

Her pastor asked her several times over the course of his visits with her, “Are you scared?”

The end was coming, she would slip from her toils on this earth, this land of pain and sadness, and depart to a place where no more would she feel pain, sorrow, anger, or hatred, only love, happiness, and joy.  She would be with her Savior, but was she scared of the journey?

“No,” she always replied.  

Death where is your sting?

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”

---Psalm 116:15

There is still sorrow, there is still the void left by the departure of your mother that can’t really be filled.  You have to go through the rest of this life without being able to talk to her again, without hugging her again, without seeing her again, and it is really hard.

A lady spoke at the funeral, the woman’s aunt, and she told everyone that there was only one way to see her again, that there was one path to be rejoined with your departed friend, and that was through Christ.  I liked that.  I’m certain there were people in darkness at the funeral and hearing the Gospel one more time is always a good thing.  Or it could condemn them all the more, but it must be heard.

One day we will all be together again, one day we will all be able to talk to each other about nothing like we used to.  The last thing I talked to my mother about was Biofreeze.  I used to rub Biofreeze on Wife #1’s back and it would help somewhat and I had run out.  At that time it was mostly just sold on the at chiropractor’s offices and they didn’t like selling it to non-patients.  Mom offered to run to her chiropractor and get some more, but we found it online for a better deal so it wasn’t necessary.  I’m not sure if I told her that I loved her to end the call, I think I did.  I know I did the last time I saw her, which was in New Jersey less than a week before, we were all heading back home after attending my aunt’s wedding.

Two things I will never forget, the last time we talked was about Biofreeze and the last time I saw her was in New Jersey.  There has to be a grand plan to things.

College more important than $10,000,000.00?

Just a quick post for all you non-traditional education people who feel dumped on by people screaming that you need to go to college. One of the main arguments for college has been that you will make more money with a college degree than without one, unless you major in something stupid like geography, English, or elementary education.

A writer for the Washington Post, Sally Jenkins, is screaming now about Michelle Wie. Michelle Wie is a sixteen year old golfing phenom who turned pro yesterday. She promised that she would finish high school...

Ummm, I really don't think that is too much to ask

....and she said that she would go to college.

Why?

Sally Jenkins is screaming that Wie is somehow ruining her life by turning pro, knowing full well that she will not be going to college. Why go to college? If Wie had turned pro before last year she would have earned $700,000.00 in winnings. Hard to make that much as a seventh grade teacher.

It is estimated that she will make ten MILLION dollars (that is SEVEN zeros to the left of the decimal point) in endorsements this next year. So apparently she should miss out on that in order to be able to join a sorority and partake in binge drinking parties.

I am very in favor of going to college, I think most people should go to college, I have met far too many single women working at a minimum wage job since their husbands died and they have to support their family. BUT saying that Michelle Wie should go to college is foolishness, in fact it is the height of stupidity.

Some people try to scream racism because people like myself want basketball players to go to college before turning pro. The reason for that is pure selfishness on my part, players straight from high school most often suck. The quality of play in the NBA has steadily decreased as the average age of NBA players has decreased.

Michelle Wie only gets paid for doing well, that is how golf works, same with tennis. If she is able to make money by playing golf well, more power to her, I only wish I was that good.