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Recent news reports mentioned that no college seniors are on the all-American team for basketball. This highlights the existing trend of players leaving college early to go to the NBA. The NBA no longer accepts athletes right out of high school, so they have to put in at least some time in college. But those who are good enough to play in the NBA go there as soon as they can.

This means that the seniors who are left on the roster are not good enough for the all-American team. I get the feeling that this could mess up the leadership position of captain. What if all the leadership has left the college team for the NBA? With only youngsters who are looking to the NBA, how is a team going to work as a team?

If you want to play sports and graduate, basketball is the worst option. If you don’t even make it to your senior year, how are you going to graduate?  All other major sports (18 of them) have better graduation rates. The fact that basketball players have the smallest chance of going pro, compared to other sports, only compounds the problem. If you want to compete in college athletics and are deciding between basketball and something else, choose something else.

“Wisdom is with aged men, {With} long life is understanding.”
– Job 12:12

Brett Favre has retired, officially. I, as did much of America, liked his perseverance and personality. There has been much speculation over the last couple of years when he will retire, and it looks like this is the year. I am glad he had a good 2007 season, especially when compared to the previous season. I am glad he holds a number of records, and I hope he gets to keep most of them for a while.

But one thing I ask: please stay retired! Do not come back to football as a player. Do not pull a Michael Jordan. Do consider the retirement attitude of Sandy Koufax. Take up a hobby or a different job – golfing, running a charity, being a play-by-play or color commentator, mentoring children, etc. There are so many things you could do. You’ve had a nice run, but give someone else a chance to be the Packers’ quarterback. Try something other than being a quarterback. I know that has been all you’ve ever known or done, but expand your horizons.

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men”
– Colossians 3:23

I had mentally noted this item earlier in the year, around New Year’s Day, but am just now posting it.

I thought that Lloyd Carr’s comment after the bowl game was an indictment of new coach Rich Rodriguez. I also think that Carr did not mean for it to seem that way; he was just speaking what he thought about his team.

Lloyd Carr’s comment after winning the bowl game was this: “But the reason it’s meaningful is because I can be in that locker room with the guys that did it.” Meaning that he was glad to see his team through to the end – a bowl game victory.

That contrasted with Rich Rodriguez, who was there for the Michigan game but was not there for the West Virginia bowl game. His decision to leave the Mountaineers just before their big game upset many WVU fans.

It was in that context that Carr spoke his feelings about his team and the victory, and the contrast of Carr’s words with Rodriguez’s actions was quite noticeable.

“Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But who can find a trustworthy man?”
– Proverbs 20:6

I normally like for old records to stand. For instance, Walter Payton‘s rushing yardage record should not have been broken. Also, Hank Aaron‘s record should be the record. For that matter, I wouldn’t mind if Babe Ruth still had the home run record. I’m sentimental, so the longer a record has lasted, the more I like to see it stay unbroken.

But in the case of the 1972 Miami Dolphins and their undefeatedness, I wouldn’t mind if another football team also went undefeated. The 2007 New England Patriots were so close this year, and I was hoping they would make it to 19-0. I suppose the reason is that the league has changed since 1972, so the Dolphins’ record will forever last as the only NFL team to go undefeated in the 14-game season. Now the season lasts 16 games, so new records have to be viewed in a different manner. Just like how even though Wayne Gretzky might hold some statistical records in the NHL, he can’t match Gordie Howe because the numbers of teams and games in the NHL changed.

“Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, Your elders, and they will tell you.”
– Deuteronomy 32:7

As a blogger, I am required to post an entry about the recent Super Bowl. I was disappointed that the New England Patriots lost. I was rooting for them because Tom Brady went to the University of Michigan. Plus Eli Manning is Peyton’s brother, so he automatically ranks high on the annoying list. The game was too close for my comfort – I would rather the Patriots kept a decent lead instead of letting the lead change sides so much. I couldn’t watch the last few plays.

After the game, I heard Mitch Albom ask this question: “Would a neutral third-party be more likely to cheer for the underdog or for the perfect season?”

A lot of people like to go for the underdogs, which were the New York Giants in this case. Even though I am not a neutral party, I chose to answer the question for myself. I would choose to cheer for the perfect season, 19-0, for the reason that there will always be underdogs, always be a team that shouldn’t win, but there will rarely be a perfect team.

I opine that the Patriots lost because they were arrogant and the Giants won because they were confident. The difference between arrogance and confidence is, in this case, that confidence thinks it can win the game but arrogance thinks it has already won the game. The Giants knew they were capable of winning the game and so they played extra hard in order to do so. The Patriots knew they were favored to win the game and so they played with their standard effort.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
– Luke 14:11

The only sport I pay much attention is football. For my international readers, I mean American football. I mainly watch college football, although I will watch the NFL during the playoffs and Super Bowl. But during the regular season, I don’t watch much NFL. Match-ups and rivalries are more interesting in the college realm. Here is my list of teams against which I cheer:

Teams I Want to Lose

1. Ohio State University – reason: I am a Michigan fan
2. Nebraska – their sham 1997 season, with voters ranking them #1 in one poll as a retirement gift for Tom Osborne, detracted somewhat from Michigan’s national championship (Michigan did get that crystal football trophy).
3. Florida State – they have bad sportsmanship, their band’s songs are annoying, and Bobby Bowden needs to stop winning so that Joe Paterno can have first place for number of wins.
4. Tennessee – they tried to expand their stadium to make it the biggest in the country and take that distinction away from Michigan. Michigan has stayed ahead of them, but Tennessee’s impertinence has not gone unnoticed. Plus Tennessee is where Peyton Manning played, so it automatically ranks high on the annoyance list.

As a Michigan fan, I think I am supposed to root against Notre Dame and Michigan State. Of course, when they are playing Michigan, I will root against them. But when they are not playing Michigan, I usually cheer for them, because they need all the help they can get.

It has been annoying these last two years to see OSU get into the championship game, but it has been satisfying to see them lose and lose big in those games. I hope that the lesson will not be lost on the voters over the next few years that OSU should not be in the championship game. Let some other deserving team in the game. Yes, OSU can win the Big Ten conference, but what happens when they play a ranked non-conference opponent?

“Do not fret because of evildoers, Be not envious toward wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass And fade like the green herb.”
– Psalm 37:1-2