I love this stuff...

Fall is approaching and football is firing up.  This is the time of the year when my sports addictions awaken from their mid-summer sleep (sorry, baseball; it's not you, it's me).  All the excitement of the coming seasons had me perusing youtube last night for some of my favorite sports moments of all-time.  After about two hours of this, here are the ones that I would probably consider my favorite moments that I actually recall watching when they happened. Every time I watch these, I can't help but get pumped, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!

Michael Jordan Dominates the Blazers

St. Louis Rams Super Bowl Win

Christian Laettner Downs Kentucky

Barry Sanders Breaks 8 Tackles

Tiger Woods' Improbable Chip-In

Quick Hitters 3.0

Quick Hitters on a crazy Wednesday...

1. Rolling around with the sunroof open and your music blaring is gangsta...especially when you're driving a minivan.
2. I'm so blessed to have such awesome men around me pouring into my life.  Not everyone has a Tony Brown, a Lou Harris, or an Ed Love in their life.  I count myself one lucky dude.
3. Leaving for Russia in two weeks and trusting God to take care of the million details between now and then.  After these next two weeks, a long flight over the ocean might be incredibly relaxing.
4. I fear no TSA employee.  If they want to see what's beneath my clothes, they're the ones who have to live with the unsettling memories.
5. Watching the Lakers unravel was painful.  I don't even like them and I felt horrible for Phil and the boys...until Bynum got confused and thought he was a defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings.  Simmer down, Andrew.
6. My boys are clearly training for a future season of "The Ultimate Fighter" behind me as I type this.
7. Pause...problem solved...back.
8. I avoided David Platt's Radical for six months because I was afraid of the challenges it might lay down.  Now wrapping it up and ready to take on some of those challenges. 
9. Great time chatting w/ my pastors Joshua Hedger and Dave Becker this afternoon.  So blessed to serve alongside dudes like that.  
10. Nothing gets me as cranked as the intro to "When the Levee Breaks."  Iconic drumbeat from Bonzo, Page's menacingly droning guitar riff, JPJ laying down the low notes, and Plant's signature vocals.  Altogether, song is best described as "testosterawesome".  I hope that word is original to me.

Bonus: Sweet video of Page (one of the few rock icons who doesn't dye his mop in old age) talking about recording @ Headley Grange and making note of the drums in "WTLB."

Effective Score: 8.9/100,000

Warts and All...

Last weekend the band played our first show in about seven years.  The show was booked by a friend who, in what seems like another life now, was a huge help to our band as a promoter, booking agent, manager, and mentor.  The venue, Theater 166, was a cool place, though a bit small for full band volume.  Sound issues aside, it was a fun show because it honestly felt less like a "gig" and more like a practice with a ton of old friends sitting around listening.  The crowd was only about 100 folks, but pretty much all of them were old Texas friends we hadn't seen in a long time.  Guess a concert is a good reason to fix that, eh? 

I chose a few videos my wife got as probably the best ones of the night to share here.  Bear in mind that we only got two practices in before the show and we only practiced some of the new tunes 3-5 times straight through before their debut.  Instead of having time to work through each part and make sure they were all working together well, the new ones had to be put together much like a Baptist potluck in that everyone just kind of brought what they liked to the table and we hoped for the best.  Still, I think they ended up okay and would love to hear what all 2.6 of you who read this blog think of the two tunes, so comment, comment, comm...!! 

1. When the City is Quiet: Old song we recorded back in 2003.  One of my fave tunes that I wrote while not paying any attention in Dr.  Huser's Earth Science class during Jan. term of 2002.  Can't say I remember anything about the rocks he ranted about day in and day out, but I still dig this song.

2. Hush: This Waterdeep song was the obligatory cover tune of the night.  Great song and Kim really nailed it.

3. Rain: New tune I wrote about what a "Debbie Downer" I'd become in my old age.  Well received by the crowd.  Hopefully we can get this song and a few other new ones recorded in the months to come.

4. Promise: Kim is a stud songwriter and this song shows it.  It's abeautiful song about the struggle an adopted child faces and though it wasn't as tight as we may have wanted it in spots, it was probably the highlight of the night for me.

Overall, it was a great night to see old friends, reminisce about old times, and play music without having to give a rip what anyone else in the room thought of us.  An added bonus was getting to see Radial Angel, a great band who also has long since called it a day, play before us (not sure how we drew headliner).  So, what do we do now?  Our tour of Antarctica starts next week.  We'll be hitting all the major rock cities on the frozen tundra, so make sure and clear your calendar. ;)