The Father's Love...and Basketball

I'm a big Duke fan, and I hope to be celebrating a national championship about eleven hours from now. But until then, I have to share the most powerful moment of Saturday's game with West Virginia. Halfway through the second half West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler twisted his knee and went down in agony. The guy was in both physical and emotional pain, knowing this was his last college game and that he wasn't going to be able to help his team.

At that moment his coach, Bob Huggins, came out and, after yelling at the refs for a moment, knelt down, cradled him in his arms, and began whispering truth to him: that he loved him, his teammates loved him, and things were going to be ok. It was one of the most uncomfortable, yet powerful, moments I've ever witnessed in sports.

Last night Neighborhood Church came together with Cooper Church to celebrate the Resurrection. Bill Ganus and I taught on Luke 15, the story of the two lost sons. I closed with this story, as it gave me a picture of the Father who is in passionate pursuit of us because of His love for us. I am still quite uncomfortable with this kind of intimacy, yet I am extremely grateful for it!

Another NBA Draft with my boys

Last night the boys and I watched the NBA draft together. This marked Adam's first draft (here's his first) and it was Micah's first. As a side note, I thought the Griz did ok. I'm actually pretty happy with Thabeet, and I was really glad to see Tyreke go #4 to the Kings and Dozier with the last pick of the draft. But enough of that. Here are a few more pics.

Cal Who?

Great article on Memphis' new head basketball coach!

Coach Cal Leaving?

Apparently Coach Calipari is announcing this afternoon whether or not he is leaving Memphis for Kentucky. It is going to be troubling for so many in Memphis if he leaves. Not only will we be losing a great coach (and a great Memphian), but we also stand to lose several prized recruits. It's also troubling for another reason, though: How concerned should we be that something like this puts us in such a state of depression? In the grand scheme of things, how big a deal is this?

Xavier Henry chooses the Tigers

This morning Xavier Henry declared to the world that he will play for Coach Cal next year. He is currently the top rated prospect according to ESPN. What's even better is that they have a shot at John Wall, who many believe will be the number one pick in the 2010 NBA draft. As you check out that link, notice who the number 4 pick is (we came really close to getting him last Spring).

Go Tigers!

Grizzlies Sign Josh Smith

I'm sure that Atlanta will match it, but this would make me very happy.

Hosting the ESPY's?

Joey Dorsey can score!

22 points, 13 rebounds. I know it's just summer league, but that still makes me happy.

Go Tigers!

I watched my first Memphis State game with my dad years ago, so it was fitting that we watched today's win over UCLA together. What made it even better was sharing a slab of ribs from Central BBQ.

It's good to be back in Memphis!

NBA What If's?

If you're an NBA fan, this is a great article. Bill Simmons of ESPN lists the top 15 What If's of the past five years. And I'll give you a hint: the #1 What If has something to do with Memphis. Any guesses?

Read the article.

Larry Legend turns 50

I grew up loving Larry Bird. The great Celtic turned 50 yesterday. The following is a retelling by coach KC Jones of a timeout before the closing seconds of a game. This was Larry at his finest!

We'll let K.C. Jones tell what it was like:

"We are playing in Seattle. Five seconds left on the clock and the score is tied and it is our timeout. In the huddle, I am thinking Xavier McDaniel is guarding Larry.

"So I said, 'Now Kevin, you take the ball out and get it to Dennis and Dennis you can finish that.'

"Larry said, 'Why don’t you just give me the ball and tell everybody else to get the hell out of the way?'

"So I said, 'Larry you play, and I’ll coach.'

"And he said, 'All right.'

"So I said, 'Dennis, you take it out and you get it to Kevin. Kevin you get it to Larry and everybody else get the hell out of the way.'

"That is communication. Before the timeout was over, he leaves the huddle, and I said to myself, where is he going.

"And Xavier was right there and Bird said, 'Xavier, I’m getting the ball. I’m going to take two dribbles to the left. I’m going to step back behind the three point line and stick it.'

"And that is what he did. So when he stepped back behind the line and released the ball, as soon as he released it, his arm was still in the air going to the dressing room. Game over."

Grizzlies changing ownership?

Former "Dukie" Brian Davis, along with Christian Laettner, and at least one "famous person", are getting set to buy the Memphis Grizzlies. Being a Duke fan, I can't think of anything better. Here are a couple of quotes from today's Commercial Appeal.

East Coast real estate developer Brian Davis has an agreement to become the Grizzlies' majority owner and ambitions of leading a $500 million to $1 billion transformation of the neighborhood around FedExForum.

Davis said he'd relocate to Memphis and has no intention of moving the team..."I'm coming here to be here for the rest of my life," Davis said.

Davis is managing partner of Blue Devil Ventures, a Durham, N.C.-based development firm that specializes, its Web site says, in adaptive reuse of historic urban properties. He said projects extend from Durham to Baltimore and Philadelphia. He said development around FedExForum could include upscale commercial space, hotels, and condominiums.

March Madness

Tonight is the championship game - Florida vs. UCLA. I hope it will be a good game. I was really bummed that neither Duke nor Memphis made it to the Final Four. I also have to confess that Mandy might just beat me in our brackets challenge. Guess who she picked to win it all???

I was shocked by her pick. In fact, I made fun of her every chance I got. She said she had no real reason for this pick. She just made it.

Can you guess who she picked?


Florida!