OK, so this wasn't supposed to happen...
On the other hand, this is just too cool for words:
Four games to go, and their destiny in their own hands, or feet.
And somewhere along the way, Sue and I celebrated 25 years since we left England. We flew to Montreal the same day the British fleet set sail for the Falkland Islands.
As much as the gay issue has preoccupied the church for years now, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture out in society. Even in the allegedly "gay friendly west" (at least in Archbishop Akinola's eyes), there are some pretty tough issues to deal with. The latest example comes to us from the world of women's college basketball.
Coach Dana "Pokey" Chatman was a player, then assistant coach and lately head coach of the women's basketball team at Louisiana State University (LSU). March 7th she abruptly resigned, for vague reasons that quickly clarified down to "improper (i.e. sexual) relations" with a former student player. The details are still very vague, and not likely to clear up any time soon, but the facts such as they are don't appear to be in dispute.
Relations of any kind between someone in a position of authority over anyone else is quite improper, regardless of whether the relationship was consensual (yes, I'm looking at you, Bill Clinton.) I came across a very well written piece on 365gay.com on the issue, that I think captures the essence very well, as well as providing some insight into the church situation. Here's a key paragraph:
If there is one truth that has emerged in this entire situation, it is that life in the closet can be destructive and unhealthy. When will the Don't Ask, Don't Tell climate that permeates women's basketball give way to a more open, accepting environment? The fact that Chatman is a lesbian apparently was an open secret at LSU — a secret that was accepted as long as it remained unspoken. Perhaps that is the problem. If Chatman could have lived her life openly and without fear of reprisal, her social circle might have expanded beyond the small orbit of her basketball team.
My emphasis. Hmm, replace "women's basketball" with "the church" and you could make the same argument. Secrecy is, in and of itself, harmful to the soul. This next quote is searingly on target, and tough for the gay community to hear, I would think:
"Beneath the general uneasiness about lesbians in women's sports is the unreasonable yet pervasive fear among some parents that their daughter will be influenced to become gay if her teammates and coaches are openly gay. Since recruiting top talent is such a fundamental factor in building a winning team, this issue will continue to be a sensitive one. Chatman's actions, if proven to be true, certainly don't help dispel the lesbian-as-predator stereotype.
How can such stereotypes be effectively countered if the issue of lesbians in women's basketball is only discussed in the aftermath of scandals such as this? One never sees stories about the many highly successful Division I women's basketball coaches who are gay and manage to have healthy, long-term relationships with partners who are not their players. Such positive role models will never be acknowledged as long as the closet door remains tightly shut."
That's Bruce Bawer-ish in its forthright evaluation of the situation.
Meanwhile, LSU went on to lose today in the semi-finals of the women's NCAA tournament. It was amazing they made it this far, really.
We moved to North America 24 years ago, leaving England for Montreal, Canada - the same day the British fleet sailed for the Falklands, although we had not intention of being quite as mean to the Canadians as the British fleet eventually was to the Argentinians. We also got there a hell of a lot quicker - one day versus about six weeks.
I bring up this piece of nostalgia merely to point out that we arrived in North America just as the baseball season was about to start in 1982. Sure, I'd heard of baseball, but never actually seen it, nor understood the rules. The very first weekend, though, I was sitting in our hotel room with nothing to do so I started watching a game on TV. Fan for life right there, within three hours.
Baseball is a leisurely paced game. There is no clock. Not just that, games are played every day for six months. Fans are prone to waxing long and eloquently about the game. As much as I like football (REAL football, aka soccer to US readers) it just doesn't have the poetic cachet that baseball does. And don't get me started on American football or basketball.
Anyway, as I posted recently, the baseball season is just underway, and the hometown Seattle Mariners are actually showing some promise, winning 2 out of 3 to start the season and looking reasonable doing it after two seasons of futility. Baseball blogs are plentiful and often of dubious quality, but we have one of the best team ones right here in Seattle over at USSMariner.com. For sheer fun and entertainment, though, Bat Girl, a fan of the Twins of Minnesota, just can't be beat. Today's game recap is a thing of beauty. A clip from today's riff on the whole 01-02-03-04-05-06* thing:
"As Radke stared at Ford wide-eyed, something popped inside his mind. A world without time, he thought as he took the field. A world without time, he whispered to himself as he gave up a double to Frank Catalanotto. So, how would you know when to meet your hairstylist? he muttered as he gave up a dinger to Troy Glaus. Maybe in a world without time you wouldn't have any hair? he whispered as he gave up another dinger to Lyle Overbay.
In the dugout, Rick Anderson and Ron Gardenhire exchanged glances.
"Lew must've popped his brain again," said Anderson."
Hope always springs eternal for even the most moribund of teams in April. Sure, a third of the league is essentially dead in the water by June, but that's still two months away...
* At 3 seconds and 2 minutes past 1 o' clock (am or pm, I guess), the date and time today was 01:02:03:04:05:06. This is, of course, only in the USA, where the month comes before the year, and the year is truncated to two digits (didn't we learn anything from Y2K???) So any of you Brits can feel comforted in the knowledge that a) you didn't miss anything, and b) even if you did, it doesn't happen in the UK until May 4 (Star Wars Day).
Seattle Seahawks at home to the Carolina Panthers...
I've got the big screen proejctor going and the surround sound blasting away, and it's been a great first half so far. Seahawks lead 20-7 with four minutes to go to halftime. Of course, I risk invoking a jinx here by even posting anything, but the Hawks have been totally dominant. The Panthers offense has been harrassed to death the whole time. Amazing stuff so far...
Now at the two minute warning with the ball in the Seahawks' hands.
Well, safely into the half with the score preserved. Looking at the halftime stats, the disparity is enormous.
Passing yards: Sea 152, Car 45 (41 of those on one catch).
Rushing yards: Sea 100, Car 17 (yes, one-seven...)
If it wasn't for the Steve Smith punt return that should have been negated on a penalty as called, but later reversed, Carolina's performance would be officially pathetic rather than merely woefully inadequate. Like many sports, the game is often won or lost on the half-time adjustments, so nothing is secure yet.
However, put this way, would you rather be up 20-7 or down 7-20 at half-time?
Hmm, yeah... And remember, even poor, pathetic Sunderland won in the Premiership yesterday.
5:40 pm PST
Second half starts, the commentators relay that the Carolina coach is optimistic his team can turn the game around. Um, yeah. Seahawks receive the kickoff and march down the field for another touchdown. 27-7 Seahawks. Crowd goes nuts. 25 minutes to go...
5:45 pm PST
Carolina gets the ball. Sacked on first down, never get out of the hole they dug themselves,forced to punt the ball away. Woeful inadequacy continues (or to put it another way, the Seattle defense is whipping their butts.)
6:07 pm PST
1:25 left in the 3rd quarter, 16:25 overall. Carolina had a mild rally there for a second, but Jake Delhomme, their quarterback, throws his third interception of the game to snuff out even that small joy. Still 27-7 Seattle and it's looking pretty inevitable.
6:21 pm PST
Misery continues unabated for Carolina. At this point, we're basically playing out the remaining time. The equivalent situation in soccer would be down 8-0 with five minutes to play.
Could Seattle lose the game? Yes, in a "yes, a meteor could hit the earth in the next century and wipe out life on earth as we know it", kind of a way.
Is it likely? Heck no.
6:37 pm PST
TD Seattle, 34-7. OK, you know it's really, really over when they start unscrewing the lids of the Gatorade (tm) buckets. Oh, wait, Carolina scores a TD on a Hail Mary (also tm) pass. Five minutes to go, but still well in hand.
6:48 pm PST
Still 34-14 Seattle, down to the 2 minute warning. Carolina players are wondering whether their golf clubs are clean and ready for the off-season. Seattle fans clog Orbitz website with queries for airline tickets to Detroit (home of Superbowl XL) in 2 weeks.
6:53 pm PST
In a fitting almost end to the game,much vaunted Carolina receiver Steve Smith, invisible all day, gets hit and loses the ball to Seattle. With no Carolina time-outs left, Seattle can let the clock run out without having to make a play...
6:54 pm PST
Game over, man! 34-14 Seahawks in a total romp.
Superbowl XL: Pittsburgh vs Seattle, Feb 5 in Detroit.
Huge game in Seattle on Sunday - the Carolina Panthers at the Seattle Seahawks for the National Football Conference championship. Winner goes to the Superbowl in two weeks. The town is going realtively insane and, even though I'm not a huge football fan, I'm getting pretty darned excited about this game.
Go Seahawks!
Biggest game of the year for the Seahawks, and I get to see maybe the first half hour of the game, due to the fact that I'll be preparing to play the music for the kiddies Christmas Eve pageant at church.
Of course, my woes are miniscule compared to those of the coach of today's opponents, who lost his 18 year old son to suicide two days ago. My prayers go out to you, Tony Dungy.
The hometown boys over here got off to a rip-roaring start to the baseball season: Seattle Mariners 5, Minnesota Twins 1. Only six months and 161 games to go...
And Sunderland AFC, the hometown boys back home, are sitting atop the Coca-Cola Football League Championship (that's real football) with six games to play...
If, like me, you live in the USA you know that the Olympics coverage on NBC TV is pretty much jingoistic sentimental crap. As an expatriate Brit and one time resident of Canada I thank God daily during Olympic times for the fact that I live close to the northern border of the US and the presence of Canadian TV on our cable system, in particular the CBC.
Now, it's become apparent that the CBC has been taking a leaf from NBC's big book of schlock, but fortunately they are slow learners and so the wall to wall coverage of all sports is still pretty much intact and the Canadian schlock is almost cute in its naivete. Also, the lack of Canadian medalists (with a few notable exeptions) means that they pretty much have to show other countries winning medals.
Anyway, with the Olympics wrapping up I am constantly reminded of the strange duality (or even triality if that's even a word) of my nationality. I'm a Brit. Born and bred. Still have the passport (recently renewed even). However, moved to Canada and lived in Montreal for four years. Still love Canada madly (best national anthem ever - easily), if not the Montreal winters. Almost got Canadian citizenship before moving to the US.
Living in the US is different than living in Canada. Well, duh, you might say, but the dynamic is very different. Canada, like Britain, is for the most part a self-effacing nation. We both get embarrassed easily and hesitate to trumpet our own accomplishments. The USA, on the other hand, is an in your face kind of place. All the time, and double when sports is on the line.
With this triune nationality I always wonder if there ever will be a time when I cheer for the US over Britain or Canada. Well, it hasn't happened yet. It absolutely made my day today when the British men's team pipped the US 4x100m relay team at the line to take gold. The fact that the US men screwed up an exchange to give it away just made it sweeter. Then there was Britain's Kelly Holmes winning the 1500m, her second gold. All in all a great day for Great Britain.
One final note on the Olympics - I couldn't have been happier than when Morocco's Hachim El Guerrouj won the 5,000m gold medal to add to his 1500m. Watching a 1500m runner move up to take on a bunch of 10,000m runners was fascinating from a technical perspective. Watching him burn them in the last 200m after a relatively slow race was really quite cool. However, I'm not sure he realized his two fingered salute (hey, I've got two gold medals!) was the British equivalent of the American middle finger salute. Of course, if I was a Moroccan and I'd just won my second gold medal after a couple of disastrous Olympics in Atlanta and Sydney, I might just be inclined to give the world a big, "Up yours!" too. (Of course he wasn't, but those little unintentional cultural gaffes are always hilarious to see...)
Anne Ursu: The Shadow Thieves (Ursu, Anne. Chronos Chronicles, Bk. 1.)
Brian D. McLaren: The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth That Could Change Everything
Donald Miller: Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
Sonya Sones: One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
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