What's Up With That!

Alright. I have been waiting to post this kind of stuff for a while because I didn't want to vent and complain, but it's getting hard. It's about time I posted some of the stuff that chaps my anal cheeks and seem to be repeated way too often. Here are a few of my major peaves:

1. Today I went to the Whataburger drive-thru for lunch. The drive-thru worker came on and said, "Welcome to Whataburger. May I take your order." I then proceeded to clearly, slowly, and succinctly say "I would like a Patty Melt Meal with a Diet Coke." Then after a long pause, the girl came back and said, "A patty melt meal and what to drink." WHAT'S UP WITH THAT! This happens way too often. I once went to Hardee's for breakfast and said "A ham buscuit and Diet Coke." After a long pause the person said, "A sausage buscuit and what to drink." What's up with that! For the third time I said "A HAM BUSCUIT AND A DIET COKE!"

Now I know that the food service business is not the top of the list option for most people. But if you are working there, do it right. I would rather you say, "Just a second please" than to ask me for my order while you really aren't listening, taking money from the person at the window, or jaw-jacking with your coworkers. Come on!

2. While I'm on the fast food industry, let's also pay attention to the orders. I was at the window a few months ago at Taco Bell while my bag sat on the counter and the guy at the window took my money and mysteriously disapperared. He was gone for like 5 minutes to only God knows where. Then he came back and was talking with his co-workers while I sat there staring at my bag about to scream. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!

3. Driving too slow in the left hand lane! I have tried to look this up as an Alabama law and haven't found it, but I believe that most places abide by the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" policy, but apparently not in Birmingham! Today as I drove to work, a Chevy Cavlier driving in the left hand lane at 45 in a 55 mile per hour zone. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT! Why do some people have an obsession with cruising 10-15 miles per hour below the speed limit in the left hand lane. Are they liberals who just can't go right for any reason? Is the left hand lane more comfortable? Are you that blind to the people who are passing you? Come on!

4. No Sweet Tea - This one chaps me major! It's been a long lamented fact that you can't get sweet tea north of Kentucky, but there are actually some places here in the South that you can't get sweet tea. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT! Is it that hard to put a couple of cups of sugar in the tea as it is brewing? I understand that they're just too dumb in the North to figure it out. Why would any restaurant south of the Mason-Dixon line not serve sweet tea. The staff at Westwood went to a seafood restaurant a couple of years ago in Florida. This was an expensive place! I asked for sweet tea and the girl said, "We have unsweet. You can use the packets." I looked at her and said, "Isn't Florida in the South?"

(Let's be clear, you can't sweeten tea after it's cold by putting sugar in it. Half of it melts and the other half sinks to the bottom giving you a major sugar rush when you finish drinking your unsweet tea. And those dang blue, pink, and yellow packets don't work either. It's like putting rat poison in your tea and acting like you enjoy it.)

I looked at the waitress and said, "Here's what I want. Would you please get someone to make me a fresh pot of tea." She said "Yes". Then I said "While it is still hot, can you get them to drop a couple of cups of sugar in it?" She said "I can't do that." You gotta be kidding me! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!

Feel free to comment below and add your own personal "What's Up with That!" pet peave.

Manny being Manny..but not in Boston

Well, it finally happened. Manny Ramirez has finally worn out his welcome in Boston and in the process has joined the likes of Nomar and Pedro as guys who whined their way out of Boston long after their performance had dropped and they were living off past performance. What has Nomar provided the Cubs and Dodgers since he left? What has Pedro brought the Mets?

I will say that I was a Manny fan. I loved some of his antics, like going into the green monster and even some of his defensive miscues. When he performed, he was one of the top hitters in the game, maybe the best right handed hitter. However, Manny has hurt the Red Sox this year with his comments. He has divided the clubhouse and forced the hand of Theo Epstein. I think this will significantly hurt the Red Sox chances to make the playoffs. For these reasons, I am very disappointed and can no longer root for Manny. Not because he is no longer with the Sox, but because he has shown that he doesn't play the game for the right reasons. He is more concerned with listening to super-agent-and-possible-demon Scott Boras than with being the player he could be.

Here are some of the cold hard facts:
The Red Sox paid a lot of money and got probably the best years of Manny's baseball life. His Red Sox Stats - 245 HR's, 868 RBI's. However, he hit 20 hr's last year and 20 so far this year. Well off his pace. His RBI's - 88 last year and 68 so far this year. Way below past performance. His slugging percentage the last two years is 100 points lower. Manny has shown he is not the same hitter. Maybe its motivation. Maybe its getting older. Who knows.
Manny was a big boost for David Ortiz, but a big distraction with a lot of other players. He also lacks character. The Red Sox are better in the long run building a team off players like J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Jacoby Ellsbury. These are guys who are interested in being well compensated, but are more interested in playing baseball to the best of their ability.
The Red Sox were going to lose Ramirez at the end of the season anyway because his option was too much for his declined stats. The Sox are looking past this season and got a guy with similar stats for less money. One guy who called WEEI in Boston this afternoon said that basically the Red Sox gave up Brandon Moss (a fifth outfielder) and Craig Hansen (an underperforming bullpen pitcher) and two future draft picks (which they would have received when Manny walked) for Jason Bay for the next 2 years. For now, it looks liket the Sox gave up too much to get rid of a cancer. However, it's better than what they got for letting Pedro walk. In '04, Sox fans griped when they gave up beloved (and periennal whiner) Nomar for Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. But it helped them win the first world series in 86 years. I don't think that will happen this year, but who knows.

I hope that Jason Bay will pan out. Time will tell. For now, the Sox will move on. We will no longer hear the phrase "Manny being Manny" at Fenway Park. They are still one of the best teams in baseball. They have proven to be the most successful team in the game over the last 5 years. I hope that trend continues.

"I have absolutely nothing to say about this..."

Woman claims she found 'Cheesus'
(NECN: High Ridge, MO) - A Missouri woman says she has found Jesus in a bag of Cheetos. When Kelly Ramey opened a snack-sized bag of Cheetos, she felt something unusual and checked it out.

Most of her family and friends believe it looks like a mini orange sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Ramey and her husband call it "Cheesus." Others see something completely different.

A local minister does not see anything theologically special about the Cheeto, but thinks some good could come from it.

Ramey doesn't plan to sell the Cheeto because it's bringing a lot of joy into her home. She will keep it in a safe deposit box or put it on display so more people can enjoy it.

The Dark Knight ...Let's put a smile upon that face!

I took my oldest sons Sunday afternoon to see the new movie sensation, The Dark Knight. I tried to go see it Friday night and it was all sold out until the 10:15 showing. The movie had a record $158 million opening weekend. This has been the most hyped movie of the summer, mostly due to Heath Ledger's untimely death earlier this year. However, even with all the hype, this movie did not disappoint!

Let me say first of all that I wasn't overly impressed with the first movie in the series, Batman Begins. I thought it was long and drawn out and took too long to develop the story. Also, I thought the Scarecrow was a shallow villain and the whole Legion of whatever destroying Gotham was too much. I did think that both movies however did a much better job of bringing to life the real comic book Batman, a dark, haunted character that sometimes pushes the line. I was a fan of comics as a teen and Batman was one of my favorites.

I also am not a huge fan of Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne. He does a good job of showing the playboy side of Wayne, but his guttural Batman voice leaves much to be desired. Michael Caine is a great Alfred and Morgan Freeman's character is a great addition.


The Dark Knight however is all about the Joker. This character takes your attention from the opening and is perhaps the greatest portrayal of any villain in any superhero movie. It's hard to imagine this guy is actually Heath Ledger, the guy from Brokeback Mountain and The Patriot. Ledger portrays a Joker who is absolutely void of any compassion or feeling. He's totally anarchic, hellbent on destroying any and everything just for the fun of it. By his own words, "It's not about the money, it's about making a statement." Early on the Joker hits the audience with the "disappearing pencil" trick that you have to see. I also lost it when he dressed up in a nurse's uniform to enter the hospital. I've heard it from more than one person that Heath Ledger gives an Oscar-caliber performance. I agree. It's a shame that someone with that talent left so early.

So here's to The Dark Knight! You have got to go see this movie.

Quick Update

I just noticed that I haven't posted anything in several weeks. Too busy. Lots in my head, hard to find time to put it down. Here's a quick update:

1. Busy summer with the kids. Nathan has signed up for football. It's his first year. It should be an eye-opening experience. He's in the 105-pound league and will probably start out playing defensive line or linebacker. Conditioning drills have started with lots of running and footwork. Seems to be having fun so far.
2. Had a great 4th of July weekend in Columbus with my family. Cookout, fireworks, and homemade ice cream!
3. Finished my last doctoral seminar and now have to start the project phase. Looking to do a project discipling college students. Have to go back to New Orleans in September for a project design workshop.
4. The Red Sox are driving me nuts. Got way behind the Rays (how strange does that sound), got back into it before the All-Star game, and have now dropped 2 to the Angels going into tonight. Need to get Papi back and score some more runs. Typical July slump for the Sox.
5. Went to see The Dark Kight today! Been waiting on this one for a while. I'll write more on it later. In all, have seen lots of movies this summer - Iron Man, Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Wall-E, and now The Dark Knight.
6. Enjoying my Father's Day present - a 46" Panasonic Plasma 720p television! And, it went down last week and I got $118 back from Best Buy!
7. Been very convicted lately that I need to spend more time in God's Word. Too much ministry, not enough personal time with God. Feeling the effects lately. Also need to do a better job praying with my kids and teaching them how to pray.

Some Pictures from Baseball and Soccer

Here are a few pics from this year's baseball and soccer season. All-stars has ended and we've closed the book on the 2008 season. Nathan had a good year, batting .730 in the regular season. He's now ready to start football.

Drew played soccer for the first time and enjoyed it. He wants to look at Basketball in the future and maybe give baseball another chance.

Enjoy the photos.

"I have absolutely nothing to say about this..."

Woman Sues Victoria's Secret, Claims Injury From Defective Thong

A Los Angeles woman claims she was injured by her Victoria's Secret thong, prompting her to sue the underwear manufacturer.

The plaintiff in the case, Macrida Patterson, 52, attributed the May 2007 injury to a Victoria's Secret "low-rise v-string," according to a court document posted on The Smoking Gun.

Patterson's lawyer told The Smoking Gun that a "design problem" caused a decorative metallic piece on the underwear to fly up and hit Patterson in the eye while she was putting the underwear on.

Patterson's product liability lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last week.

The Smoking Gun reported that, prior to the lawsuit, officials from Victoria's Secret had asked to see the offending underwear but were refused by Patterson's lawyer.

Some pics from our PCB vacation

Hey guys. Here are a few pictures from our vacation last week to Panama City Beach. Great memories...

A Former Bulldog Comes Home...

Last week the MSU baseball family was able to welcome our new head coach, John Cohen. Cohen was an outstanding Diamond Dawg in the late 80's and early 90's. He was a clutch hitter and one of the best we've ever had. Cohen enjoyed success at a couple of head coaching positions, most notably the last few years at Kentucky. He brought Kentucky their first SEC baseball championship since the invention of the Model T. His teams have been known for good hitting and aggressive baserunning. From the beginning, I was hoping that MSU would look at three coaches I believed were best for MSU - John Cohen, Tommy Raffo, and former assistant and current UAB coach Brian Shoop. I am very pleased with the outcome.

On a sad note, the Diamond Dawgs have to say goodbye to the previous coaching staff. Most disappointing is to see the departure of Tommy Raffo and Wade Hedges. I was blessed to meet both of these guys at a Father-Son baseball camp this last January. Tommy Raffo was an All-American and a 15-year assistant coach at MSU. He was one of the classiest guys in the college game. I know that he will land a head coaching position soon. My brother has posted a great blog farewell to Coach Raffo here. Wade Hedges was an assistant and ran the camps. I called Coach Hedges today to see if the summer camps were still on (they're not) and told him I wished him and his family the best.

Sadly, former coach and legend Ron Polk made some regretful comments this past weekend. He will always be a legend and the standard that coaches at both MSU and in the SEC will be measured against for years to come. I hope he has a change of heart soon and withdraws his comments about Greg Byrne, but I doubt he will.

I for one believe that the future of MSU baseball looks bright.

Sympathy to Steven Curtis Chapman

I just found out that SCC's family was involved in a tragic accident yesterday. Apparently his youngest daughter was killed when she was hit by a car her older brother was driving. As you can imagine, this has to be an extremely painful time for them. Please take time to say a prayer for them today. Pray that the God of all Comfort will surround them during this time of intense pain.

I became a huge fan of SCC when I was in college in the late 80's and early 90's. He has profoundly influenced my my walk with God.

I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt - A Book You Need to Read

I just finished reading this book by Vince Antonucci. I received it in the mail a few weeks ago from my involvement with the Catalyst Filter. I was intrigued by the title and the raw honesty in the first few pages, so I decided to give it a try. It was an honest and interesting read.

The subtitle of the book is "Replacing Souvenir Religion with Authentic Spiritual Passion." The purpose of the book is to challenge the reader to run from inauthentic Christianity that is full of cliches, fake smiles, and phony faith. Instead, the author challenges us to run towards a life of abiding in Jesus and letting his life flow through us.

The premise of the book was a girl named Emily that the author saw one day. The little girl was wearing a t-shirt that said "My parents went to Florida and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." It started him thinking that most Christians are wearing shirts that show a false and inauthentic form of Christianity. Antonucci brings a fresh perspective to Christianity. His father is a professional gambler and his mother was Jewish. He grew up in the northeast with no exposure to the message of Christ. He stumbled across Jesus through an encounter with an old preacher on television that intrigued him. He began to read the Bible and gave his life to Christ. No "Four Spiritual Laws" tract. No "turn or burn" presentation. Just the life transforming power of the Word.

Antonucci traces his spiritual pilgrimage as a new Christian in his young adulthood. His writing is laced with sarcasm at the weirdness and phony personas that most Christians try to uphold. He appears to have serious ADD because as he starts to illustrate a point, he diverts to a two page story or rant that has little to do with what he is talking about. At other times his stories of his family or the strange things that happened to him serve well to illustrate his points. He tells of trying to throw up out a car window at 65 miles per hour only to have it come back in and hit his wife in the face. He also tells of chasing his dog through the neighborhood only to chase him into the road to be hit by a car. All in all, his stories are amusing and informing.

Antonucci pastors Forefront Church in Virginia Beach. His passion is to be a church leader who leads people who don't like church. He is definitely different. The verdict is still out on how well of a leader he will be, but his voice is a welcome addition to the movement that is crying out for Christians to become more authentic. This would be a good summer read. Pick it up.

Obeying God's Voice

Do you ever have those times when you sense God is telling you to do something you don't want to to, something inconvenient, and you have that battle of whether or not God was telling you to do it? Henry Blackaby calls this struggle in Experiencing God a "crisis of belief." Let me tell you something that happened to me this morning...

I left home for work. I had to be at a staff meeting in about 20 minutes. As I turned on a road not too far from home, I saw this guy running down the side of the road with a gas can. It was about 1/2 a mile from where he was to the next gas station. I was right up next to him, pretty much past him, when I saw the gas can in his hand. Until then, I wondered why he was running because he was in jeans and a work shirt.

As I drove past him, I sensed, I should stop and help. Then I thought of all the reasons not to: I had to get to work, I would have to turn around, someone else would probably stop and help, etc. I was comfortable to see a person in need and keep on driving. Ironically, I was listening to worship music on my ipod and singing praise to God at the time. I thought "How ironic that I am singing 'Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation..." while I was letting someone in need pass right by me. I thought about Jeremiah 29:13 when God says, The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." I also thought how much I am like the Pharisee and the Levite instead of like the Samaritan.

As a matter of fact, most of the time I am very comfortable being a Pharisee. It fits my personality much easier. It's a whole lot easier to know the rules and expect people to live up to them than it is to love God with all my heart and love my neighbor as myself. Love is inconvenient, and costly, and time-consuming. I wear the Pharisee garment so much I have become very accustomed to it.

So what did I do...I heard the voice of God clearly say, "You will sit there and sing to me and see your neighbor in need and tell me that it's too late, someone else has already picked him up. What a loser." (God really didn't say that last part, I think I did. So I turned my truck around in the middle of heavy traffic, waited at the red light, and went back. I told God the whole way that he wouldn't be there, and wouldn't you know it, he was. I pulled up and said, "Hey, need some help?" I gave him a short ride to the BP, waited on him to fill his can, and then gave a short ride back to his truck. It took about 8 minutes of my day. 8 lousy minutes. How sad is it when I struggle giving 8 minutes to God to serve my neighbor? He was very thankful and I was very ashamed.

I don't tell this story so that people will say "Matt's such a great guy for helping that dude." Truth is, most of the time I pass people on the side of the road, homeless people looking for help, and just walk right by. After a few seconds, the Spirit quits speaking and I can keep my 8 minutes for myself. It's the easy thing to do. I tell this story because I found out the hard way today that obedience brings peace. When we stay sensitive to God's voice, then we conform closer to Christ's character. I only hope from now on, I follow through sooner.

5 Church Leaders You Need to Know About

One of the things I spend a lot of time doing is watching what other churches are doing and listening to other church leaders. I have loved going to events like the Catalyst Conference and listening to the Catalyst podcast because it gives me exposure to a lot of these leaders.

For the past decade, much of the church culture in America has been influenced by leaders like Rick Warren and Bill Hybels. We have also felt the continuing impact by long-term leaders like John MacArthur, Jerry Falwell, John Piper, and many others.

Here are the Top 5 Church Leaders I am watching and listening to:

1. Andy Stanley - Pastor of North Point Church in Atlanta. Most of you have probably heard of Andy Stanley. In my opinion, he is the most influential voice of the new leadership of the church in America. Andy is a brilliant communicator and has a real way of bringing Scriptural principles to real life and still be true to the text. He is probably my favorite communicator to personally listen to. I am always challenged by his message as well as learn tons from how he communicates. Andy founded North Point about 12 years ago. Now, his church is listed as the number 7 church on Outreach Magazine top 100 churches. North Point has three multi-sites in the Atlanta and several strategic partnerships around the south. Andy is also the lead communicator every year for the Catalyst conference and speaks at many other leadership conferences each year. Andy is the primary voice on leadership for church leaders and is following John Maxwell as the lead voice in that area. I'm an avid reader of Andy's books. My favorites have been "The Best Question Ever" and "Communicating for a Change".


2. Francis Chan - Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA. Francis Chan has had a fast rise over the last few years. He's been closely networked with Louie Giglio and the Passion movement and has appeared in several conferences lately, including Catalyst 2007. Francis is an intensely passionate leader and speaker. He has a strong desire to lead his listeners to be passionately in love with God. He brings a freshness to the church world that is overly consumed with growth strategies and expanding campuses. Francis and his church do not appear on the largest or fastest growing lists or on the Church Report's most influential leaders. However, this guy is providing a voice that will be heard loud and clear in the years to come. His website is francischan.org and his website for his church is cornerstonesimi.com. If you haven't heard this guy's podcast, you have to get it now. Trust me.

3. Craig Groeschel - Pastor of LifeChurch.TV. This guy is intense and creative. I heard him speak at Catalyst this last year and was very impressed. He has an intensity in preaching coupled with a strong prophetic tone. LifeChurch is listed as the 5th largest church in America according to 2007 Outreach Magazine's Top 100 list. LifeChurch.TV is known for its aggressive multi-site strategy with 13 video-venue campuses in 6 states. Groeschel is a prophetic leader and much of the creative force at lifechurch. He also led the church to provide a website that provides all of the resources of LifeChurch free to church leaders.

4. Mark Driscoll - Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Mark Driscoll is a rising voice for the missional church movement. He founded Mars Hill several years ago with a vision to reach the unchurched in one of the hardest areas, the Pacific Northwest. Mark is a big believer in Expositional Preaching and sound theology. He was aligned early on with the Emerging Church movement because of his missional strategies. However, he has pulled away from many of them because of his concerns with the errant theology of men like Brian Maclaren and Doug Pagitt. Driscoll's book "Confessions of a Reformission Rev" is probably in my Top Ten books I have ever read. Driscoll is my kind of man. He is vocal and passionate about what he believes. He has a strong belief that the church should be missional to the community and also provide a sound theology. He has been known for controversial statements, but they are hard to argue with. If you don't know this guy yet, you need to get on board fast.

5. Mark Dever - Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. Not many of you will have heard of Dever. He is the rising voice for evangelical Calvinists today. Dever has a strong passion for reformed theology and expository preaching. He has closely aligned himself with several well-known church leaders like John MacArthur and John Piper. Dever has a strong concern that much of the church in America has sacrificed sound preaching at the altar of pragmatism and growth. He, along with Piper, C J Mahaney, and Al Mohler, has started a bi-ennial gathering called "Together for the Gospel" that is attracting many young, evangelical church leaders that are embracing reformed theology. Dever has written several good books including "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church", "The Deliberate Church", and "The Gospel and Personal Evangelism".

This is not an exhaustive list, but I believe it is a balanced one. There were many other people I have found an affinity for. However, these are 5 that I think are making a strong impact and will have a larger impact in the future. What are your thoughts?

A little baseball update...and soccer

My son Nathan is playing in the 8 year old machine pitch league in Alabaster. The team started off well going 5-1 and in first place. In the last week however, we have dropped 3 of 4 and are now 6-4. We lost a heartbreaker last night to a team that has only won 1 or 2 games prior to last night. We came out and scored early, taking an 11-3 lead at one point. However, many mental and physical errors let them back in the game. In addition, in 2 innings we only scored 2 runs total and left about 4 guys on base. In the end, we lost 15-14 on the last play of the game.

On the positive side, Nathan is raking the ball at the plate. In the last 4 games, he is 12-14 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 hr. He's also driven in 13 rbi's in that time. Last night he was 4-4 with a triple, a hr, and 4 rbi's. For the season, Nathan is batting .722 with 2 hr's, 2 triples, 7 doubles, and 24 rbi's. He's a future clean-up for the Diamond Dawgs!

My son Drew is playing soccer this year. His team has won 4 games, lost 2, and tied 2. Drew has not scored a goal, but plays real good defense and like to defend the goal. He's gotten better as the season progresses, but still needs to be a little more aggresive. The main thing is that he likes playing and his favorite part is the snack afterwards! Drew's last game will be this Saturday.

Sorry for the absence

Lots happening. It's a busy time. Here are a few things happening lately...

- Nathan, my 8 year old, is playing baseball (machine pitch). His team is 7-3 and in first place. We had a slight 2 game losing streak this week, but broke out of it Saturday.
- Nathan's batting .680 for the year through 10 games. He's had 7 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 hr. He's also had 20 rbi's.
- Drew's playing soccer. His team is 3-2-2. Drew's trying hard. Hasn't scored a goal yet, but has a couple of assists. He plays pretty good defense. He spends a lot of time chasing the ball.
- I am hiring a new assistant at work. My ministry assistant the last couple of years, Jodi, went to work in our preschool department. Thanks for all your service Jodi.
- I'm behind in my reading for my next and final doctoral seminar in May. I'm reading books on missional churches. Some fascinating stuff and should be a good seminar.
- Alison and I have started a new small group with three other couples. It's going really good right now. We're in the beginning stages and are getting to know each other. Great conversation and good spiritual dialogue right now. We didn't meet tonight, and I miss doing so.
- I'm frustrated with the Red Sox this week. Had a great week last week, but lost 5 games to the Angels and the Rays. Come on Sox!
- I'm more frustrated with the MSU baseball team. Horrible pitching and bad losses abound. Legendary Ron Polk announced his retirement at the end of the season. The fanbase is looking for a big name coach to replace him.
- I still think Joel Osteen is dangerous.
- I still think Oprah's more so.
- My throat hurts with all this pollen stuff going on.

That's about it for now. More to come.

Curses...Foiled Again (Why are the Yankees sweating the Red Sox so much lately)

Yankees Unearth Hidden Red Sox Jersey from New Stadium

NEW YORK — A construction worker's bid to curse the New York Yankees by planting a Boston Red Sox jersey in their new stadium was foiled Sunday when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot.

After locating the shirt in a service corridor behind what will be a restaurant in the new Yankee Stadium, construction workers jackhammered through the concrete Sunday and pulled it out.

The team said it learned that a Sox-rooting construction worker had buried a shirt in the new Bronx stadium, which will open next year across the street from the current ballpark, from a report in the New York Post on Friday.

Yankees President Randy Levine said team officials at first considered leaving the shirt where it was.

"The first thought was, you know, it's never a good thing to be buried in cement when you're in New York," Levine said. "But then we decided, why reward somebody who had really bad motives and was trying to do a really bad thing?"

On Saturday, construction workers who remembered the employee, Gino Castignoli, phoned in tips about the shirt's location.

"We had anonymous people come tell us where it was, and we were able to find it," said Frank Gramarossa, a project executive with Turner Construction, the general contractor on the site.

It took about five hours of drilling Saturday to locate the shirt under 2 feet of concrete, he said.

On Sunday, Levine and Yankees CEO Lonn Trost watched as Gramarossa and foreman Rich Corrado finished the job and pulled the shirt from the rubble.

In shreds from the jackhammers, the shirt still bore the letters "Red Sox" on the front. It was a David Ortiz jersey, No. 34.

Trost said the Yankees had discussed possible criminal charges against Castignoli with the district attorney's office.

"We will take appropriate action since fortunately we do know the name of the individual," he said.

A woman who answered the phone at Castignoli's home in the Bronx on Sunday said he was not there.

A spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said Sunday he did not know whether any criminal charges might apply.

Levine said the shirt would be cleaned up and sent to the Jimmy Fund, a charity affiliated with Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Along with that, New York will send a Yankees Universe T-shirt, which is sold to benefit Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

"Hopefully the Jimmy Fund will auction it off and we'll take the act that was a very, very bad act and turn it into something beautiful," he said.

Hello from the Passion Conference

Hello everyone. Checking in from Atlanta and the Passion Conference. We're at a dinner break and will be heading back for the closing session in a few moments.

The conference kicked off last night with Chris Tomlin leading worship and Louie Giglio bringing an incredible message about the heartbeat of Passion. He read an emotional series of entries from the journal of a girl named Ashley who met Christ through a roommate who had attended the Passion 07 conference last year. In the course of about 14 days from the simple testimony and life of one girl, Ashley went from non-believer to embracing the gospel of Christ. The evening was closed by David Crowder Band.

This morning we were led in worship by Charlie Hall. Francis Chan brought an awesome message about the power of the Holy Spirit and his role in our lives. WOW! The afternoon session was led by DCB and Louie. Louie challenged the attendees to understand that not only is suffering a reality of life, it may be the thing that God uses to leverage the truth of the gospel through our lives. He finished Ashley's story that he started the day before with a gut-wrenching series of e-mails. I won't ruin it for you. You need to get the dvd.

About to head back in a few moment for the evening and final session.

P.S. Currently the Sox are losing to the Yankees 2-1 in the 6 but two are on and Big Papi is coming up!

'Nuff Said

State of the Nation in Starkville

One of the frustrating things about being a fan of any team is whenever you begin to have some success only to have that success deflated by negative momentum. That frustration is exasperated when you are the fan of a team that consistently is fighting to sustain any positive momentum like Mississippi State. I have bled Maroon and White since I was a kid. I still remember the exhilaration in 1980 when the bulldog football team beat the #1 ranked Crimson Tide in Jackson. I remember the 1985 Diamond Dawgs of Clark, Palmeiro, Brantley, and Thigpen. I was thrilled at the Final Four basketball team of 1996. However, every time we make positive momentum, we seem to endure issues that slow down the momentum and keep us from being an elite program.

The Good
- MSU Football just finished an 8 win season and a Liberty Bowl win despite being picked by every "expert" in the nation to finish last in the SEC West.
- Last year's Diamond Dawgs defeated a good Clemson team to earn a trip back to Omaha for the first time in almost 10 years. (Unfortunately, there were two and out.)
- The MSU basketball team just won the SEC West for the 4th time in the last 6 years and had a great run after starting very poorly in the non-conference schedule.
- The MSU softball team is ranked in the top 25 and is doing very well.
- The "Big 3" sports have three excellent coaches: Football - Coach Croom has built a program the right way; emphasizing discipline, character, and sportsmanship. It has been a long road, and a lot of struggle, but it has paid off. Rick Stansbury has led the Bulldogs to the longest streak of continued success in basketball that I can remember. Even when the Dawgs are picked to finish near the bottom because they lost a lot of personnel, they overachieve. Coach Ron Polk is a baseball legend whose 30 year career is one of the tops in all of college baseball history.


Now, The Bad
- The underachievement of the basketball team at the beginning of the season and the loss to Georgia in the SEC Tournament cost the basketball Bulldogs a higher seed and put them up against #1 seed Memphis probably too soon in the tournament. All of a sudden, losses to Miami of OH and South Alabama meant a lot more.
- Last week, 2 key football players, Michael Brown and Quinton Wesley, were dismissed from school and the football team for an on-campus incident. Brown is arguably our best offensive lineman. Just when it seems that character is paying off at MSU, 2 bad apples cast a shadow on all the other young men who have worked hard for this program.
- MSU all-world player Derek Pegues was arrested in March for a suspended driver's license and open container of alcohol.
- Stud linebacker Jamon Hughes was suspended earlier this spring for an undisclosed incident.
- A couple of weeks ago one of the top recruits on Mississippi for next year, Chris Garrett, removed his early commitment to MSU and is now going to LSU. Garrett is a life-long State fan but obviously felt like his best chance for success was in Louisiana and not in Mississippi. Ouch!
- Last week Scotty Hopson, a top basketball recruit, removed his early commitment to MSU and changed to Tennessee. No doubt the success of the Vols this year had a lot to do with that. Tennessee has a lot of positive momentum right now.
- Last week legendary coach Ron Polk announced his retirement from baseball. He has long been frustrated and fighting with the NCAA for many of their foolish procedures and the negative effect these decisions have had on college baseball. He now feels its time to get out of the game. Many have secretly hoped he would have retired earlier. Now there will be a divided fanbase on who should be the next coach. Polk and some others think its time for Tommy Raffo, a loyal assistant, to take the helm. Others want a top-notch coach like John Cohen from Kentucky, Bianco from Ole Miss, or a host of others. No matter who is hired, some will not like the choice.
- The sports staple in Starkville, MSU Baseball, is currently 13-15 and has only won 2 SEC games. They've been swept by Baylor and South Carolina, lost 2 games to North Florida, lost 2 to Georgia and Ole Miss, and have only won against teams they should beat like UAB and Austin Peay. It looks like a sad ending to a great career for Polk.
- Who's running the Athletic Department? Outgoing AD Larry Templeton has handed over the reigns to Greg Byrne. However, this transition has not been very smooth and now we have to wonder who is going to hire the baseball coach? Also, MSU president Doc Foglesong has announced his resignation after only a couple of years, ending a not very popular tenure. Now we have to get a new president and stabilize a volatile athletic department.
- MSU is consistently at the bottom of the SEC on the amount it can set aside for athletic budget because of it's size and the lack of financial support it can generate. This is made worse when MSU fans get aggravated by loses on the field and problems with coaches and players. Most SEC schools spend twice what State does and some spend over three times. These schools usually have larger facilities which translates to larger fan bases and more revenue.

Now, I am not a "doom and gloom" MSU fan like many of my bretheren. I am concerned about some of these negative things that have taken place recently. I only hope that we can turn some of this around. I don't know if football can survive a return this year to a 3 win season after last year's magic. I have complete faith in Coach Croom and his staff to work it out. However, I am also concerned that there is a lot of negative momentum in my beloved Starkville these days. I hope that positive news starts coming out soon.

I have absolutely nothing to say about this

After 2 Weeks, Fate of Two-Faced Girl Uncertain

She's been hailed by villagers as the reincarnation of a Hindu god, but after 2 1/2 weeks, the survival of the little girl born with two faces remains uncertain, according to a report from ABCNews.com.

Still unnamed, the infant was born in the village of Saini in India with polycephaly, which means she has one body with two heads — complete with four eyes and two mouths.

Video: Baby Hailed as Hindu God.

"At first I was a little bit afraid," Vinod Kumar Singh, the 24-year-old father of the girl, told ABC News. "But then I accepted whatever God gives."

Many in this part of India consider the girl to be the reincarnation of Ganesh, the Hindu god who is half person and half elephant, according to the report.

So far the family has resisted medical treatment, M. Ashmosd, the resident medical officer of nearby Saifi Hospital, where the girl was born, told ABC.

"I've told them we're ready to do the CT scan for free. But they have ignored me," he said.