Monday QB

  Next Week there will be real Monday QB football takes. For this week there is still golf, The FedEx Playoffs. Injuries galore in the NFL preseason. A Chicago Cub pitched a No - Hitter.
   You know I like Jordan Spieth but Jason Day might really be the best golfer in the world right now. He left a putt on the 72nd whole of The Open championship short by about 6 inches to get into the playoff. Then he wins the last major of the year, The PGA Championship, pretty easily. And this week he wins the first playoff tournament in the FedEx Cup Playoffs by 6 strokes. If I was a bettin' man I would not bet against him.
   Is Aaron Rogers gonna have any receivers to throw too? Jordy Nelson out for the year, Randal Cobb shoulder injury out for a least a few weeks. Folks complaining about getting injured in a meaningless preseason game. What's the difference in that or an injury in practice or the first game? The truth is: it is "tackle football" people gonna get hurt. Just hope and pray the injuries don't happen to the Cowboys or my fantasy teams. Lots of Redskins fans are hoping RGIII gets hurt so their owner doesn't make them start RGIII. Again money talks.
   Again the Chicago Cubs are making news of the "positive" sort. Jake Arrieta throws a no-hitter against the Dodgers last night. I just happened to be watching the last 2 innings of this gem. It could not have happened against a better team than the Dodgers (I Hate Them) The Cubs are 5.5 games ahead in the Wildcard playoff standings also. So hoping not to jinx them, unless they have a collapse of 1969 proportion  they are going to the playoffs. My Padres aren't going to make it so I can at least root for the Cubbies.
MIB44

Run Support

    I don't know if it was the cooler weather or what but I ran my fastest 5K of the summer today. Maybe I was just trying to get done as fast as possible looking forward to the weekend. I do know that I can't run as fast as I did 3 years ago but I'm not giving up until I just can't do it any more.
    College football starts just a week from now and one of the thing I look forward to is the new uniforms. Since Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour are competing for every ones dollars the alternate uniforms are getting more elaborate. Some are rally cool, some are hideous. Notre Dame's "shamrock series" unis = hidious. San Diego State's "Aztec Calendar" unis = Cool. You might want to check out the new uniforms though. Even if you don't like football you can enjoy the pageantry. I posted a link on Facebook to the NFL top 9 new uniforms page, earlier today.
MIB44

Music for the people

   Pillar's new record came out last Friday without much fan fair. The main reason I think was they have been on extended break for 5 years. If you like your music a little harder then you might like them. I group them between Skillet and Red. Front man Rob Beckley doesn't do the "Death Metal" voice as much as Red but there is some. (I am not a fan of the yell "singing" that I call "Death Metal Voice") The guitar riffs and the rest of the record is very much Pillar's style and if you were a fan before you will like this record.
   More music news, the choir and some of the worship leaders from my church are "headlining" at the North Carolina State Fair this year. I have seen many Christian artists at the State Fair over the years. Including Chris Tomlin, Steven Curtis Chapman, Skillet, Francesca Battistelli, Building 429, and many more. But this year the Fair is having all homegrown artists in their Dorton Arena concert series. The Great I Am, featuring Kaimy Masse, Hank Murphy and the Summit Church Choir are the featured artists on Friday, October 16. So if you live in North Carolina and you go to the fair each year why not plan to go on Oct. 16 and hear some great music. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
MIB44

Monday QB

   When "real" football starts Monday QB will be more about football but for now I have a few things that I need to mention. Lost in all the hype of Tiger being in contention at this weeks PGA event is Bryson DeChambeau.  He won the US Amateur Golf Championship 7 and 6(wood shed) and no one was watching. He is also only the 5th golfer in history to win the NCAA and US Am in the same year. DeChambeau also wears a Hogan type cap with the SMU poney on the top. He is the kind of young golfers that will make the PGA tour fun to watch in the future. 
   I'm sure glad I haven't drafted Kelvin Benjamin or Jordy Nelson in any of my fantasy leagues. Just luck though, I had them targeted in my favorites but someone drafted them ahead of me. The Panthers are really hurting more than the Packers, Rogers doesn't need a tall receiver to bail him out like Cam Newton does. 
   What is your opinion on Marcus Mariota? He sure has looked good so far. I think I might wait until the games are real to make a contentment to draft him.
MIB44

80 Wins

   Tiger Woods is tied for the lead at this week's PGA tournament in Greensboro. He has won 79 tournaments in his career. His playing competitor, Tom Hoge, has played 79 rounds on the PGA tour. I wonder if Mr. Hoge is intimidated by all this. This is definitely the biggest gallery that Tom Hoge has ever played in front of. It's gonna be fun to watch. What do you think Tiger will do? Shoot 74 or 64 he could do either one. He does need to win to make sure he gets into the Fed Ex playoffs. MIB44

Tiger Smile

   I was just watching some high lights of Tiger Woods' round today at the Wyndam Championship and you know what I saw???? Tiger Woods with a great big smile on his face. Not only have we not seen the Tiger of the 2000's but we have not seen that smile. Maybe he just was not having enough fun out there. He played in the pro-am yesterday with Chris Paul (LA Clippers, Wake Forest U) and they looked like they were having a blast, in the rain no less. I've told you before I am a Tiger Woods Golf fan, not necessarily a fan of his off the coarse life. But just seeing him on the leader board and looking surprised when a putt goes in that he didn't think was going in. And that smile, almost child like. He might not win, or come in 2nd, and make the Fed-Ex cup playoffs, but for today I was happy to see the Tiger Woods that I remember.

Money Talks

   I just heard that ESPN was picking up the Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty football game. There are a few things I have a problem with. First of all ESPN is moving the game to Thursday night Nov. 19th at 7:00. Talk about a cold game. I was planning on going to the game but thought it would be a Saturday afternoon game. Second of all it's a Thursday night, most people, including me, have to work the next day. It's a 2 hour drive from my house in Durham, NC to the Liberty campus. If the game is over around 10:00 that means getting home after midnight. I have to get up for work at 5:00 am. Not to mention all the out of town Liberty fans that won't be able to attend the game now. I do however think the students will still be on campus, before their Thanksgiving break. So here's the deal the game is going to be on ESPNnews. Is there any added money for this game? Most of Liberty's games can be seen on ESPN3 but ESPN just picks up Liberty's network feed for a minimal cost. Anyway while writing this blog post I have been going over different ways I could still work it out to go. You see I already have a ticket to the game. And it's sure to be a great game with the Big South Championship on the line. And FCS playoff  implications. I drove down to Myrtle Beach last year for this game at Coastal and it was so worth it. Liberty blocked a last second field goal and won 15 - 14, Winning the Big South and getting their first FCS playoff birth.
   SO I TALKED MYSELF INTO IT, I"M GOING.....
MIB44

LU in the NFL

   A friend of mine and former Liberty U. football All American, Kevin Fogg, is trying to make the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. He is the student athlete that called me several years ago to thank me for being a Flames Club member. (A student athlete calls each year you join) We struck up a conversation and come to find out we have a lot in common. We lived in the Raleigh-Durham area, he is from Garner. We both played football at Liberty. We both were the top kick returners on our teams. Anyway that's where the comparison ends. He is way more talented than I ever was. He was the FCS leading kick returner his Junior year and one of the best cover corner backs in FCS his Senior year. Went un-drafted but made it to the Miami Dolphins final cut down day last year as a free agent. This year he has a great chance of making the Steelers as a free agent. You might have seen him get an interception in the Hall Of Fame Game last week. And on top of all that he posts encouraging godly stuff on Facebook almost every day. I don't know if he will make the team or not but I do know that he is great young man with a great testimony. I am proud to know him and root for him in his quest to play in the NFL. MIB44

Golf Holds Us Over

   Just as I predicted Jason Day won the PGA Championship in record fashion. Boy, can that guy putt? Every time you think, 'this guys gonna give a stroke back' he makes another putt. And then there is Jordan Speith, any other year at a major, 17 under wins by several stokes but his consolation is he becomes the #1 player in the World rankings. And -54 score in all the Majors this year besting Tiger's -53 from 2000. Speith also was just 4 strokes away from winning the "Grand Slam" this year. By the way a 17 year old, Brooke Henderson, won the LPGA tournament this week. So I guess you can say watching golf is "holding" us over until real football begins. 
MIB44

Weekend Sports

    All the cool kids at the PGA championship. Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Branden Grace, Martin Kaymer and Justin Rose, In my weekly golf fantasy picks I picked Jason Day mostly because I figure he is not Sergio Garcia and he will break through and win a major one of these days. And Jordan Spieth winning 3 out of the 4 majors just seemed a little out there. I was wrong about that. So I think this might be some of the greatest golf  since Tiger was killing it in 2000,
    The Chicago Cubs have won 9 games in a row now and 14 out of 15. Where was this when I lived in Chicagoland? I think Joe Maddon and Theo Epstein have to be the reason. They have had some talent over the years but it is hard to get rid of that loser mentality. Bring in "winners" and it changes everything.
    Tim Tebow trying to make his 4th NFL team, although it is third string QB. I think he should be a great fit for the Eagle's offence. Philip River signs an extension for the San Diego/ Los Angeles Chargers. So LA steals the Clippers and now they are stealing the Chargers, OK money talks and it is a business. I get it.
    By the way I will miss the final part of the golf telecast. I will be at my church small group meeting. Sure do love these folks. Can't do life alone.
MIB44

Murphy's Law?

Where you need to nail, there is no stud.
The week after you get the title on your car, it breaks down.
The one time you are running late, there's an accident on the freeway.
You save $31 in your fantasy auction draft for a particular player, another owner saves $33.
Cable.

That's enough.
MIB44 
  

Vent?

  Can I vent just a little? In my neck of the woods, the DOT is building a connector between the Durham Freeway(147) and US 70 at the I-85 exchange. It is a work zone from almost I-85 to where Pleasant Dr. intersects Miami Blv. (70). I drive on this section of road almost every day. The speed limit is 45 mph in the work zone, tons of signs letting all drivers know this. When I drive this route I'm going between 45 and 50 mph and I'm getting passed on both sides. Headlights flashing behind me wanting me to go on. We have figured out 2 things: most people have way more money than me to pay that whopper of a ticket they will get and/or they think that it's like a school zone, you only have to observe the 45 mph if work is going on. There is about an average of 1 road worker killed in work zones every day in the US. Don't be the person that keeps that average going, in my neck of the woods, or yours. #slowdown, #$250fine, #+courtcost, #+jailtime,
I'm done venting for today. I might vent some more tomorrow about my car. Stay tuned.
DMH44

P.S. I know those aren't real hash tags, just making a point

This Is Not A Test

    The more I listen to Toby Mac's new record the more I like it. Again this type of contemporary Christian music is not for everybody. If you don't like it don't listen to it. My favorite moment so far is....Me and my wife, Lisha, are listening to the record in the car(she tolerates my music up to a point) and we get toward the end, the bonus tracks. She says to me, "we already heard this song"I start laughing and point out to her that it's a remix of "Beyond Me" one of the earlier songs. I didn't know she was listening that close. Anyway I recommend the record even if the deluxe edition only has 2 remixes this time. His last deluxe record has 6 remixes.
MIB44

Church on Sunday?

   If you have known me for very long you know that I'm a "church goer". I go to the Summit Church in the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina. The campus I go to is only a few miles away from my house and has 5 services per weekend. Two on Saturday evening and three on Sunday. Several years ago we started going on Saturday evenings. It's just become our church time. This week, however, we could not attend on Saturday so we went this morning at 8:30. Talk about weird, we had not been on a Sunday Morning in a while. Almost felt like a visitor until at the end of the service the campus pastor ask for people to do "simple ministry" by moving to one of the Saturday night services. When the students get back and vacations are over the Sunday services are crammed full so they need people to give up there seats. Our pastor said "once you go Sat. you never go back" and I said Amen! So next week we will be back to our regular time on Saturday. If you are new to the area or visiting and you are looking for a good, Gospel Centered, church try the Summit. We have 8 campuses in the area and you can check us out at summitrdu.com.
MIB44

Hot Stuff

    A few things today....
    A Duke Medical Study came out this week that found that people that eat hot/spicy food live longer. My first thought was, "yeah" I'm gonna live longer. My second thought was more years of working , cutting grass and all the other things that I just can't get enough of.
   This is Hall Of Fame Weekend for the NFL that means a few things. The first NFL preseason game. The debate over the inductees. And yes several players on the same team with the same number. What if they both make the team, do they fight it out over the number. I would like to see what happens.
   Toby Mac's new record came out yesterday. I don't know if it's because I have heard them, and know them already, but the best songs are the ones that were early released. Maybe after I've heard the entire record several times I'll like some more of the songs. There is a song, on the record, by DC Talk, and yes it sounds like them. I would like to know how many times a week Toby gets asked "when is DC Talk getting back together?".
   And finally my first Fantasy Football Draft, of the year, is this evening. It is in one of my favorite leagues. Run by my nephew, Brian Kennedy. This year he is changing it up a bit with an auction draft
 It's going to be interesting but fun. We probably will laugh a lot tonight. The draft is my favorite part of Fantasy Football, except for winning a championship. Like I did last year in this league.

Fantasy Football

   If you haven't guessed by now, my favorite sport is football. And I have been playing fantasy football for over 20 years now and it never gets old. Some die hard football fans don't play because they hate rooting for different players all over the NFL instead of just their favorite team. Some say they don't have time. Not a good excuse anymore since everything is computerized. And some just simply don't follow the players closely enough to make informed drafting, trading and free-agency decisions. But if you want to try it there are about 100 different sites on the internet you can own a team. Every type of format you can imagine. You can play for thousands of dollars all the way down to free (most of my leagues). The most used format is an online 'snake" draft. Easy, fast and from the comfort of your couch on you laptop. Well this year one of my leagues, that has a live in person draft, is using an auction method to draft. Now I have had auction drafts before and it can be very fun specially if you are friends with all the guy and gals in your league. But it is new and different for a lot of the guys in our league. I just hope that the guys do their homework before they draft so it runs smoothly.
MIB44

OLD

Some things that I have learned while getting old....
You must cut the grass each week in the summer if you live in the Southeast. If you don't you might not be able to cut it at all.
Bifocal contacts don't work like bifocal glasses.
It takes months to get in shape and days to fall out of shape.
Ones basketball skills will go away if you don't use them.
Do kids even know what a book is?
But mainly getting old sucks but I'm fighting it all the way!!!

MondayQB

    Ronda Rousey must be single. I never see her with a guy. But it must be hard to find a guy that is not intimidated by her. She could kick just about any guys butt. I know she scares me.
    The Cubs have won 5 games in a row. It feels like they haven't won 5 games in a row since I lived in the Chicago Area 36 years ago. I know it was back in 2008 but sure feels like a long time ago.
     All the NFL camps are open and soon the preseason games will start. All preseason games are is a way to keep your own players from killing each other. UNWATCHABLE!!! (I know that's not a word, but it's my blog) I really hated two-a-day practices, but it made men out us. Hey, maybe that is the problem with these kids today. I don't know.
    Cograts to Troy Merritt for winning his first PGA tournament. Just think 25 years ago the top 5 golfers would win over a million dollars for the year. Mr. Merritt won $1.2 million yesterday. Inflation? Tiger Woods put together 3 good rounds out of 4 and TV loves it. They just wish he was still playing when they come on the air. They did, however, show highlights of his round. We all need our Tiger fix.
MIB44