Tuesday, January 24, 2006

A view from the cheap seats . . .

A few random thoughts for today . . .

First off, congratulations to new Prime Minister Steven Harper and the Conservative Party. Congratulations to the Canadian people for seeing a need for change. Here's to hoping that we all give Mr. Harper a chance to prove he's for real and turn this country around. Here's to also hoping that it takes about 60 years for the Liberals to elect a new leader so that I never have to live through another awful election.

Is it just me or are Jack Layton and Olivia Chow (is it Olivia?) not the cheesiest couple you've ever seen? I'm sure that Maintenance staff in the Parliament building are going to love having to install the new joined toilet seat for couples so that the Layton's can spend every waking moment together. There's nothing like blazing a political trail AND pinching a loaf together to make a marriage rock solid.

Kobe Bryant scored 81 points the other night against the poor Toronto Raptors. The second highest point total in NBA history. This continues to be lauded as an amazing athletic feat. I just can't bring myself to celebrate this as a great accomplishment. Perhaps if Kobe was playing in a one-on-one league scoring 81 points would be something. But basketball is a team game (or at least it once was) and, to me, 81 points seems to accentuate not Kobe's "greatness" but the fact that he's the most selfish player in the NBA today (and perhaps ever). I'd rather see someone get 81 assists- now THAT would be an accomplishment to be applauded. Give me Steve Nash and his 20 point, 18 assist games any night.

Episode 5 of 24 was last night. I wish they'd have this show on 5 nights a week. The first 50 minutes or so was fairly slow last night but the last 10 was awesome. The President's Chief of Staff, Walt Cummings, was ratted out by the Internal Affairs-planted mole, Spencer, as the man who brought in the hitman to kill Jack. Jack is now on a mission to bring down Cummings. I'm still waiting for Sean Astin to refer to Jack as "Mr. Frodo" or to start talking about his dream of playing for the Fighting Irish, but I do like his character. Jack & Audrey had their first meeting- sparks flew, emotions ran high. I for one would be glad to see them put to rest the Diane Huxley story line. Sure Jack has huge needs for "family" right now but Audrey's the one for Jack. Can't wait to see what happens next week when/if Jack gets his hands on Cummings.

Mario Lemieux is retiring today. As good as Lemieux was in his prime he will always be looked at with "what could have been" glasses. Could he have broken Gretzky's records if he had been healthy his whole career? I don't think so. I think he could have been in Messier totals as far as points are concerned but I don't think we'll see anyone surpass Gretzky's records. All the best to Mario in whatever he decides to do- will he join the Montreal Canadiens front office some day and bring Sid The Kid with him?

Finally, I read somewhere today that plans are in place for a big screen version of Magnum PI. I haven't seen Dukes of Hazzards- the screams of sheer terror from those who have seen it before me were enough to tell me to stay away . . . stay far far away- but I hope whoever does this film takes the time to do it right. Magnum is one of my all-time favorite shows and I would hate to see them do to it what Jessica Simpson and co. did to the Dukes.

I'm off to Vancouver on Thursday for Missionsfest Vancouver. Should be a great weekend to connect with Alumni and prospective students.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Catching up on old predictions

Back in September I took some time to do my best Amazing Kreskin impression and predict what the final standings might look like in the NHL. Having reached the half-way point in the season I thought it would be appropriate to take a look and see how my predictions are shaping up.

In the western conference, this is what I predicted in September compared to what the actual standings are as of today:
September Today
1. Detroit 1. Detroit
2. Calgary 2. Dallas
3. Dallas 3. Calgary
4. San Jose 4. Nashville
5. Vancouver 5. LA
6. Edmonton 6. Vancouver
7. Chicago 7. Colorado
8. Nashville 8. Edmonton
9. Colorado
10. LA

Not too bad even if I do say so myself. Chicago has disappointed me with Khabibulin looking to be the biggest free agent bust of the season. They have had injury problems with Tuomo Ruutu and just can't seem to get the boat headed in the right direction.

The play of Nashville and LA have been the biggest surprises to me in the Western Conference. The Preds have thrived in the new-look NHL and are getting great goaltending from Tomas Vokoun and amazing fan support from the people in the Country Music capital of the World.

Do I see the standings changing in the next couple months? Perhaps a little. I think Calgary will hit their stride in the home stretch. I still think this team is built for the playoffs and sooner or later Iginla is going to catch fire. I think Vancouver will make a trade to get a goalie and they will challenge Calgary for the 2nd or 3rd seed. If nothing else, Vancouver will get the 4 spot with Nashville dropping slightly to the 5 or 6 spot. I still think San Jose will make a run as well and challenge Edmonton, Colorado and LA for one of the final 3 spots. So my adjusted prediction for the western conference looks like this:
1. Detroit
2. Calgary
3. Dallas
4. Vancouver
5. Nashville
6. Colorado
7. San Jose
8. Edmonton

In the eastern conference:
September Today
1. Tampa Bay 1. Ottawa
2. Ottawa 2. Carolina
3. Philadelphia 3. Philadelphia
4. Boston 4. Buffalo
5. Montreal 5. New York Rangers
6. Toronto 6. Toronto
7. Pittsburgh 7. Atlanta
8. Buffalo 8. New Jersey

Lots of surprises in the East headline by the great play of the Hurricanes, Thrashers and Sabres (who I'm proud to say I predicted as a sleeper all along). I was bang on with where I thought Philli and Toronto would be and pretty close with Ottawa but other than that, I was way off.

Boston, Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh have all been big disappointments. I expect the Bruins and Penguins to further unload some players and try to retool. Boston really is starting over now that they've traded their franchise player in Joe Thornton. At least Pittsburgh has a foundation to build on with Crosby, Fleury and, coming next year, Evgeny Malkin.

Do I see the standings changing much over the next couple months? I think there will still be some shuffling as a couple underachievers will improve and perhaps a couple overachievers will come back down to earth a bit.

So my adjusted predictions for the east:
1. Ottawa
2. Philadelphia
3. Carolina
4. Buffalo
5. Toronto
6. Montreal
7. Rangers
8. New Jersey

I think Montreal will finish the second half the way they started the first and that will be enough to push them into the 6th spot while pushing the Thrashers out of the playoff picture for this year. I just don't see the Thrashers having the depth that's needed to make the playoffs this year. Rest assured though this team will be there next year. I don't see Carolina or Buffalo falling too far from where they're at now. Both those teams seem determined to prove they're for real.

There will be some great first round match-ups in both conferences highlighted by Buffalo/Toronto in the east and San Jose/Calgary in the west.

I'll stay away from playoff predictions for now because it would just make this too darn long.

All in all I think we're in for a great second half of what has been a remarkable rebirth of Canada's national pasttime. Hockey is back in a big way and I for one can't wait to see what the playoff battles bring.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Getting back to the basics . . .

I'm beginning to realize that this time of my life, this part of my spiritual sojourn, is becoming more and more about getting back to the basics and relearning the many aspects of the Christian faith that I've either not paid close enough attention to in the past or have totally taken for granted for a number of years.

This is exactly what the doctor, or in this case my Heavenly Father, has ordered for me. Words can't bring justice to the work that I know God is doing in my life.

For me, after nearly 29 years of trying to figure out where I fit in this earthly puzzle, I'm beginning to see that much of my life has been about playing a role.

In high school the role I played fairly successfully was one of a torn young man, trying to please an unseen God whom he didn't really know or understand, without being "outed" by his schoolmates, whom he was afraid would ridicule and belittle him for what he feared were "uncool" beliefs. Sounds like quite the life, right?

For me though, I learned how to adapt. I learned how to walk the walk and talk the talk at school. I learned how to walk the walk and talk the talk at church and in youth group. The theme of those years could probably be summed up with one word- compromise.

I compromised everything- my integrity, my beliefs, my values- in order to fit in with two different groups of people in two very different settings. My church friends had no idea what I was like at school and my school friends had no idea that I even went to church, let alone what I was like there.

You can imagine that after keeping this up for my last 3 years of high school I was a pretty confused individual.

So what did I do? I went to Bible College in another province, some 30 hours drive away from home.

Once I started at Bible College I was finally freed from the shackles of having to living two lives. I could start to focus entirely on becoming the person God wanted me to be. Or could I?

I quickly began to realize that all the years I had spent in high school denying my true calling and denying what I knew to be foundational truths had inevitably caused me to miss out on a lot of learning and understanding of who God was and where I fit in His plans.

Now all of a sudden my new environment was filled with people who raised their hands to the sky and closed their eyes when they sang in chapel. My dorm was filled with guys who had scripture verses memorized and were genuinely excited about reading their Bible and about the classes they were taking.

I couldn't understand why I didn't have that same passion. Why didn't I have that same fire? Instead of talking to someone about these questions and seeking out the answers that were meant for me, I just adopted a lot of the behaviours that I was witnessing. Once again, a new character was formed that prevented the real me from every coming forth.

I adapted. I learned how to talk, how to pray, how to act. But something was different this time around. Now all of a sudden there were people who could see through facade. There were people who knew that I wasn't being myself. How did I react to those people? Quite simply, I avoided them. I surrounded myself with those people that I knew would just let me do my own thing without getting in my kitchen.

Half-way through my second year of college my world was rocked when my Dad passed away after a two year battle with cancer. I was 20 years old and now, according to the government of Canada, was officially an orphan (my birth mom passed away when I was 2 but my Dad remarried 2 years later and so my step-Mom is still very much a part of my life).

Why did I become a Christian? At the time I think I was a young kid who got caught up in the emotion of a youth group campfire. I wanted to be a part of something special. I think deep down I believed the gospel message to be truth but, as a 15 year old kid who always did what he was told, I think I also just wanted to make people happy- my Dad, my youth pastor, my church friends. I didn't realize what I was signing up for.

So here I was, 20 years old, dealing with the death of my Dad (who was the greatest spiritual influence on my life up to that time) and realizing that I was still proclaiming faith in a set of beliefs that I had yet to really make my own. My faith was my Dad's faith; it was my sister's faith; it was the faith of my church friends; it was the faith of my Youth Pastor. It was everyone's faith but my own.

And so I retreated. I came back to school but I decided that I was there because of the friendships I had at the time, not because of God. I went to class, I participated in Bible Studies. I preached sermons in class. But everything was surface. Nothing seemed to be able to get into my heart. God seemed so far away and distant.

And so I have gone on that road for 7 years now. There have been times when I get back on the "God bandwagon" but it never takes long before I jump off again in order to do my own thing.

While compromise would be the best word to describe my high school years, I think the best word to describe my journey since those days would be pride. I know that it's my pride that has kept me from fully trusting, from fully committing myself into God's care.

And now, at nearly 29 years old, with a wife, 2 beautiful kids and a third child on the way, I'm finally starting to develop a personal relationship with my Lord and Saviour. That pride that has kept me separated from God for so long is no longer an option because there's more at stake here than just my own life.

For years I've asked God why He doesn't use me for greater things. Why do I feel like I'm nothing but untapped potential?

Today I realize that it begins and ends with God. Today I sit here and I understand that, for me, this chapter in my life is all about getting back to the basics and allowing God to work through all the crap and crud that has built up in my life since that fateful night in Northern Ontario when I looked up into the stars and surrendered my life to God's leading.

And so I give up trying to come across like Billy Graham on the outside while inside I look more like Howard Stern.

It feels good. It feels like, for the first time in my life, I'm coming before God because before God is where my heart tells me I need to be. I'm not doing this to please anyone other than God.

I have no idea where this will take me. I have no idea how this will change my life (although I know it will). I just know it feels pretty darn good to just be me and to not care about who may or may not like that.

Friday, January 06, 2006

And the defence rests . . .

12-0. That is now Brent Sutter's coaching record after coaching the Canadian Junior squad to back-to-back gold medals in the past 2 WJHC. Two undefeated runs to gold in one of the most high-profile hockey tournaments (in Canada anyways) around. That is remarkable.

Last night Sutter cemented himself as the the best World Junior's coach of all-time after his heavily underappreciated Canadian squad routed the favoured Russians to the tune of a 5-0 final score.

Say what you want about the Russians getting robbed on the goal that should have made it a 2-1 Canada lead. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. It wouldn't have mattered. 2-1 or 2-0, Canada would have one that game regardless.

Russia's best chance to put the game away was not when that goal didn't count, it came in the first 10 minutes of the game when they were outshooting Canada 15-3 and dominating the Canucks in the offensive zone.

Thankfully Canadian netminder Justin Pogge brought his "A" game and kept his team in it while they worked out the cobwebs and stayed afloat until Steve Downie, undoubtedly the heart and soul of this team, potted the game winner on a wrap around that somehow found some space between Russian goaltender (and resident smack talker) Anton Khudobin and the left post.

While it wasn't a shot up high (which is where I said Canada needed to put pucks on Khudobin) it was a rather routine shot that Khudobin let by (which I said he is prone to). Man I hate it when I'm right:).

Anyone who watched last years gold medal final must have wondered if TSN had just put in a tape of last year's game and just substituted all the names. There wasn't much difference between last year's game and this years.

How did Canada win? A complete team effort and a deep-rooted commitment to winning at all costs that led to yet another perfect game.

This team lacked the star power of last years team but Coach Sutter once again showed his uncanny ability to achieve total buy-in from every member of his team in a very short window of time.

This was maybe, MAYBE, the third best team on paper. Definitely the Russians and the US had bigger names and more individual talent but that's all they had going for them. The Americans lacked heart in a big way and the Russians showed once again that while they are a skilled team, they cannont compete at a physical level (no matter how many Russian players seemed to think otherwise before the game).

What Canada lacked in individual skill they made up for ten-fold in character and heart. As a Canadian hockey fan this year's gold medal was far more satisfying than the dominant run of 2005. Sure that team was fun to watch but the outcome was never really in jeopardy.

You could see the progression of this team and the growth that each player experienced from game to game. It was truly a pleasure to watch these young men from the first face off to the final whistle.

Not one of those boys who were a part of this team will be the same type of player again. This tournament and this experience will leave an indefinite mark on their lives, and their careers. This tournament is about so much more than just winning a medal.

Congratulations to Team Canada. You represented your country admirably and we couldn't be more proud of the job you did.

Congratulations also to TSN for a job well done on broadcasting this tournament. While I will join the masses who wish that they would find a better colour guy than Pierre Maguire- last nights all-time worst comment was when he said that Kris Russell had "just become a man" after a battle along the boards- I give them top marks in all other areas.

My only other suggestion for TSN would be to keep the cameras off the poor kids who lose the gold medal game. They've just put their heart and soul into this tournament and no one needs to see them lying on the ice, balling their eyes out. They just lost the gold medal, let's not rob them of their dignity as well. I know you want to catch the raw emotion of the moment but I think it's safe for all of us to assume that the losing team is upset, and if they're not, well then that's probably a big reason why they lost. Keep the cameras on the happy stuff and give the devastated kids some space.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Gold Medal Showdown

In a rematch of last year's World Junior Final in which Team Canada easily handled an Alexander Ovechkin-led Russia squad, the two hockey powerhouses will collide once again for the gold medal.

This is meeting of two teams who have played very different styles in order to get to the gold medal dance.

This year Russia is the offensive dynamo led by the best player not playing in the NHL this year- Pittsburgh Penguins first rounder Evgeni Malkin. The Russian squad has had little difficutly this far in the tournament, and that includes the semifinal matchup against the gold medal-favorite Americans.

But that game against the US was a match up of 2 identical teams and the Russians, with more rest, and what seemed like a lot more fire in their bellies, easily eliminated the US.

The Russians have yet to face a team that plays with the physicality that this years Canadian squad plays with. No where as offensively gifted as last year's Canadian squad (probably the best Canadian junior team ever), this year's team has relied on timely goals and rock solid team defence.

This team, perhaps even more than last year's squad, is truely molded in the image of their head coach, Brent Sutter.

The Canadians possess the team speed to be able to stick with the Russians and my feeling is that we'll see a very similar game to the one the Canadians played against the Russians in last year's final.

Canadian fans will not soon forget the beating that Ovechkin suffered every time he touched the puck. It was an all-out physical attack and it simply wore out the Russians before they could get any sort of flow.

This year will be the same. I fully expect our boys to come out hitting, and hitting hard.

The only way Canada loses tonight is if the officiating robs them of their physical play. If the game is called in a European fashion then the Russians will cruise. However, if the game is called as it should be, from a North American viewpoint (where hitting is allowed AND encouraged) then give team Canada the decided edge.

Let's not forget that they'll also be playing in front of 17,000 Canadian hockey lunatics who will definitely be an intimidating 7th man from start to finish.

Canada needs to get pucks on the Russian net. Having watched Russian goaltender Anton Khudobin 3 times this year (he plays for the WHL's Saskatoon Blades) you know that you never know what you're going to get with this kid. He's the type of goalie who can make the most unbelievable saves and yet he is also susceptible to letting the routine shots get through. He's little, but he's lightning quick so the shots have to be up, and there has to be traffic in front. I expect big games from Western League boys such as Moose Jaw Warrior (and now International Hockey celebrity) Dustin Boyd, Kyle Chipchura, Blake Comeau, Cam Barker and Kris Russell. Boyd and Chipchura will especially be familiar with Khudobin as they all play in the same division.

At 12:35 in the afternoon I find myself anxiously awaiting the puck drop for this game. Like last night's classic Rose Bowl game, I fully anticipate this one to be a beauty.

Go Canada GO!

Monday, January 02, 2006

Experiencing the Heart of Jesus

This Christmas my awesome sister-in-law, Shelley, bought me what is quickly becoming the best Christmas present I've received, perhaps ever.

She bought me Max Lucado's devotional book, "Experiencing the Heart of Jesus: Knowing His Heart, Feeling His Love".

I started working through this book over the past couple days and just finished working through day 3's readings.

Devotional books are made for someone like me. I know lots of people prefer to simply just open up their Bible and read whatever passage the Lord lays on their heart at that particular time.

For me, I've always been someone who liked to have a "helper" when studying. In English class it was good ol' Coles Notes to help me through Shakespeare. In College I always had a concordance with me.

I love Max Lucado's writings. Max would be one of the people that I would love to share a meal with sometime. My appreciation for his heart and his ability to help me gain a clearer picture of my place in God's plan has only grown since I started working through this devotional.

Tonight's reading focused on Jesus- God's gift to the world. It was a great reminder for me that when I fear for my future and, especially, the future of my kids, I need look no further than to the gift of the person of Jesus Christ to realize that God has a plan, and I need to keep the faith.

In the midst of wars and rapidly declining moral conscience we can take comfort in the fact that as out of control as this world may seem, there is still someone behind the wheel. As Max writes, "The engineer has not abandoned the train. Nuclear war is no threat to God. Yo-yo economies don't intimidate the heavens. Immoral leaders have never derailed the plan."

And on the next line, all by itself, Lucado writes:

"God keeps his promise."
"See for yourself. In the manger. He's there."
"See for yourself. In the tomb. He's gone."

And so I will fear not for my future or for my kids' futures. I will trust my pilot and focus on helping my kids to do the same.

I'm thankful that God has equipped people like Max Lucado to step out in faith and allow themselves to be used by God to challenge and encourage others all over the world. I know this devotional book will leave a lasting impression on my life- it already has in just 3 short days.

I'll continue to share thoughts on here as I work through this book.