Prima Donnas

DeChambeau seems to be a bit of a prima donna, a bit overdramatic. Then again, Brooks K is a bit that way himself. Not sure either is a favorite with most of the tour, though I could be wrong. I do like Bryson’s Puma golf shoes.

Speaking of golf shoes, I broke down and bought a pair. When I started back playing I realized I’d sold all my golf shoes. I do have two ancient pair. One is falling apart and too small. The other is just old and out of style. As Rodney says: dress in the 60’s, shoot in the 90’s.

Speaking of prima donnas, the Patriots cut former Auburn QB Cam Newton, and named Alabama rookie Mac Jones at the starter. No truth to the rumor that Mac was the kid gunning to unseat Cam several years ago in the old NFL commercial. Knowing the Falcons, they’ll try to sign Newton.

Did you stay up for any of the Braves game? Like the Yankee series, I have no expectations of Braves victories against the Dodgers, especially with the likes of Drew Smyly pitching. Dodgers lead throughout but when the Braves score, the LA fans boo their team. Sad. The last time the Braves posted Freid’s results on Instagram was like August 20 when he threw a four hit complete game shutout, with 4 strikeouts. I guess he pitched again after that and didn’t do as well.

Glad that Anderson is back in the rotation. Touki has done better than I’d expected. Fried has done the best. Morton had a bad outing last time, but has had an above average year. Phillies have won 3 or 4 straight I think, but I heard they lost one of their best players (Ryes Hopkins?).

Busy Monday at work. I did jot down a few thoughts in preparation for the next safety huddle. Left work at 5:20 and took the northern route home, stopping at two thrift stores and Andy’s Custards for a chocolate cone. Bad thunderstorms on my commute. Looked like power was out at several businesses in Roswell.

Supper was baked BBQ chicken, green beans, a mashup of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and green beans. Anna ate at Taqueria last night, and saw the Whitakers.

Today: last day of the month, so today was busy as well. Coworker Angie brought in Chickfila chicken minis to share. We must be having someone here in meetings. After the Chickfila minis I got half a Jason’s Deli breakfast wrap. Rumors of leftover Dreamland BBQ shortly. Had a cookie yesterday afternoon. After work I picked up a burger from Red Robin. Later this week a Moe’s burrito.

Denison: just finished Max Lucado's encouraging book, You Are Never Alone: Trust in the Miracle of God's Presence and Power. When we trust our challenges to our Lord, "Your problem becomes his pathway. The challenge you face becomes a canvas upon which Christ can demonstrate his finest work. Don't let the storm turn you inward. Let it turn you upward." He also warns against self-sufficiency that trusts more in ourselves than in our Lord, quoting Charles Spurgeon: "It is not our littleness that hinders Christ, but our bigness. It is not our weakness that hinders Christ; it is our strength”. By contrast, Jesus is "able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20). This "power at work within us" is the Holy Spirit who already indwells every Christian (1 Corinthians 3:20). In other words, you already have within you all that you need to trust the God who is for you to defeat the enemy who attacks you.

TIM McCARVER  [SABR Bio] hit more triples in a season than any other catcher in the Modern Era, with 13 in 1966, leading the majors. He scored the winning run in his first All-Star game, in 1966 ASG in St. Louis. Heat on the field at first^tpitch was 106 degrees. The AA stadium where he played in the minors has been re-named for him. The Memphis Chicks play in Tim McCarver Stadium. McCarver is a Memphis native. His first career grand slam was of the inside-the-park variety, on 09-Jun-1963, His second career home run.

Four days before their season opener, Tech is calling for a white out game. Not a good look during daylight savings time, with a half-filled stadium in short sleeves. "Penn State has nothing on us" said one Tech fan. Except a sellout crowd, all in white.

It's a Late Night World

We had a safety huddle this morning, which reminded me of the time Late Night with David Letterman had safety week. I looked for a clip but couldn’t find one. The World’s Most Dangerous Band got rid of their day old mayonnaise sandwiches and boxes of oily rags, and changed their name to the World’s Most Safety Conscious Band. I did find two good clips: (1) the Late Night Anthem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpWyhHKLAAU

(2) The band’s original song “Dress Cool”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRXgFOas21o

The Tour Championship is this weekend. Only 30 golfers make it to Atlanta. More interesting to me only because I’ve been to the course one time, so I’m a little familiar with the holes.

Lots going on this coming weekend. College football. Tour Championship. Braves. Stripers. We are dog-sitting Okie, which will mean chaos. We’re getting a new floor put in on Sept 13, and we have a bunch of cleaning out to do before then, plus a wedding to attend in SC.

Had to leave work early Friday afternoon. Got home, fired up the computer, and worked until 9 pm. Ceil spent the afternoon and evening at W&MC’s, getting their house ready for a Sunday gathering. When she got home she fixed homemade pizza.

Woke early Saturday and drove down to Chandler Park. Teed off about 6:50, as the sun was rising. Played decent. Finished up shortly after 8 am.

From there I drove over to Turner Field for ESPN College Gameday. Interesting production. A decent crowd had gathered. Saw myself on the big screens, and later on the TV replay. Stayed for about an hour. Stopped by a thrift store and Taco Bell on the way home. Ceil had gone to a baby shower in East Cobb.

Lunch at El Porton with my friend Rob. A good time of sharing, discussion, and wisdom. Back home I did some laundry and later cut the grass. Brisket tacos for supper. I took almost 15000 steps Saturday.

Sunday School and worship. As usual we split into small groups for discussion. Realized my group of four hailed from the four corners of the earth: South America, Korea, England, and the USA. A few years ago my Korean friend Gee had recommended I get acupuncture for my eye problem. Gee said he performs acupuncture on himself.

Our Sunday School class actually had new members start attending during Zoom. Now that we’re back it seems like there are a few people I haven’t seen return. Several new couples though. Had over 35 people yesterday. Most weeks there are one or two on Zoom. Actually yesterday’s Sunday School topic was on getting off the sidelines and getting in the game.  Since Zoom we have many people who haven’t come to the office since last March, including a few new employees who’ve never come in. Was talking to a friend about this yesterday. At his company some people don’t have enough to do, and working from home helps them hide. Too many layers of management. Too many Zoom meetings where nothing gets accomplished, but filling up the day with meetings gives them something to do. Glad my company isn't like that.

JFBC pastor Clay Smith had a great name for his sermon series: “All In”. Some college football team should adopt that as it’s rallying cry. Clay can preach. You need to give him a listen. Check him out at www.jfbc.org

Leftover pizza for Sunday dinner. C loaded the flowers she’d been arranging into her car and drove down to W&MC’s gathering. It was mostly for their work friends, but C stayed to help in the kitchen. I turned on golf and got in a few more hours of work. C brought home some tasty brisket sliders.

When I take Winnie out before bedtime she loves to look for bugs. Last night we heard the craziest noise – a bug flying around close by. Winnie looked and looked for it. As I pulled her inside she saw the bug had gotten in the garage, making the loud noise. I thought it was an alien spaceship.

Charles Quarles: Christians need to do a better job at recognizing and tolerating the differences in those around them.

https://baptistnews.com/article/why-arent-we-better-at-differing/?fbclid=IwAR3LYox84Wyw-MoHauc8Ta_IDUYveyfUJPdhZVU0JJLhjc8WIGPeT0A29Hk#.YSrgdjL3bYV

Kirk Herbstreit sounded off on 'tired' Jake Fromm vs. Justin Fields debate. Kirk said Kirby made the right call sticking with the QB who’d led the team to the brink of the national championship, over an error-prone freshman. The result? The next year Fromm threw for more yards, completing more passes and fewer interceptions – even after losing several offensive threats to the pros. On Saturday Fromm had another good performance, rushing for a touchdown - despite the announcer lauding Bills backup Webb, who'd been injured the past two years. 

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/georgia-football/kirk-herbstreit-sounds-off-on-tired-jake-fromm-vs-justin-fields-debate/__;!!AE29DT8V!AMA2lqeOEIgpjInYIhwo3nlHMgGjmmZTBIg4H_7dFSyjHs0OmO9xLRdK0xP5jdPAHFg$

Bojangles announced they were closing for two days, to give employees a rest amid COVID burnout. Now there’s an idea. Perhaps they should rest one day every week, like Chickfila.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/whats-in-store/article253794893.html__;!!AE29DT8V!AQZz-Px_iLsBxVbJDtZaPjoHe2U_oS6tCp7VEJPhzbWDpgtL_74YCipQPD8J9yIICv4$

Newlyweds sent an invoice to a family who RSVP’d for their wedding and reception, but failed to show.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2021/08/27/newlyweds-send-240-bill-to-guests-who-were-wedding-no-shows/amp/__;!!AE29DT8V!BYdEoCWXXMBcaSZW8oJDSn5rPW81GrXLhp-2wVGLpJ1D8FQgURJsOiGECCv0FpshWHA$

Major league pitchers who have coached high school baseball teams after leaving the majors. Others include Bill Swift, Troy Percival, Chad Bradford, Rob Murphy, Kerry Ligtenberg, Calvin Schiraldi.

Pitcher      High School             MLB Yrs  WAR

Barr...........Granite Bay CA.................. 12...30.8

Benes........San Dieguito Academy CA 14...31.2

Fernandez Various FL                          10...27.7

Maddux.....Bishop Gorman NV.............23 104.8

McDowell..San Dieguito Academy CA.12..  27.8

Timlin........Valor Christian CO...         .18....19.1

Wells.........Point Loma CA*.................21....53.6

*Pitcher’s Alma Mater

I Cor 13:1; “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy going or a clanging cymbal.”

Santa Claus is Dead.

R.I.P. Ed Asner, aka Lou Grant.

And Santa Claus in the classic movie Elf.

This weekend the Braves took two of three from the team with the best record in baseball. Friday night rightfielder Joc Pederson sealed the win with a great catch. I feared he might catch his spikes in the fence like Brian Asselstine did back in the day.  

Today Ian Anderson returned from the disabled list to toss a shutout.

Spent a little time at Chandler Park early Saturday morning.

Saturday as I was leaving the College Gameday set, a tall well-dressed young man was being escorted from the adjacent building to the set. I didn't recognize him, but we nodded to each other. It was former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, minus his trademark dreadlocks. Seconds after we crossed paths, Griffin taped a short video for Twitter.

Tech legend Maxie Baughan rushes Falcons QB Bob Berry.

Baughan was considered for the Hall of Fame. 

The top 30 NFL players not in the Hall of Fame (not named Herschel Walker). One of those clickbait pictorials that I'm not going to go through again.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://fansided.com/2021/02/08/best-nfl-playoffs-not-in-hall-of-fame/__;!!AE29DT8V!C0mP1GSA486QUm79ItLGcj6m6TLf6VcQEk1XaWlwzF-nsMxBuyr3jA15APMEJ9PwnXU$

This week the veterans committee voted Cliff Branch into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There are scores of other candidates from Branch's era and before that deserve consideration, like Herschel (above). If only one senior candidate is inducted each year, little progress will be made. Something would have to change. 

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.si.com/nfl/talkoffame/nfl/branch-deserves-hof-but-so-do-many-others__;!!AE29DT8V!CWirHY0BebixJAZQXQXTAT4KZ8MFO8pmGt4s8KRXCVCvzZzY03600cYBrOrkauza25U$

JACK McDOWELL  [B-R Bio] Indian threw the first pitch in the New Comi skey Park, on 18-Apr-1991. He induced the Tigers Tony Phillips to fly out to left. McDowell played for Cleveland in 1996—97. Attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. McDowell was the only American League pitcher to win at least ten games every year from 1990 to 1996, with 14, 17, 20, 22, 10, 15 & 13. McDowell was front man for a musical group called Stickfigure. Here’s a sample of their work. I’ll let you guess the origin of the group’s name.

I John 3:18: Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

ESPN College Gameday

 
Knowing I would be downtown after 8 am Saturday morning, stopping by ESPN College Gameday would be an easy adventure. After parking on the footprint of old Atlanta Stadium the walk over was short. I wandered around a little and found a spot not far from the front before the show started.

Lots of fans, cheerleaders, and band members from the two schools set to play: Acorn State and North Carolina Central State. I stood in the back of the front section, behind the cheerleaders. Later the Georgia State cheerleaders joined the pack.

Cool building name: 565 Hank.

Herbstreit took up his position early, and worked his phone.

After working from home last season,

it was Lee Corso's first day back on the set.

Tribute to the late Bobby Bowden.

On the side set.

On the other side, Reese Davis led a discussion

on historically black college & university football.

The Bear was in residence. 

The Georgia State Stadium served as a decent backdrop

for the show (and my pictures).

I figured I'd be easy to spot if I wore my UGA jersey.

I

QB or Pitch Man?

 

The new Dr. Pepper Fansville ad features new Clemson QB DJ. The linked article is wrong: DJ will not become the face of college football. Surely he received the national endorsement because (1) his race, (2) his status as Clemson's QB appeals to the Southeast, and (3) his California roots. My take: DJ will not surpass predecessors Watson and Lawrence. Old Kelly whats-his-face had good stats running Clemson's explosive offense, but did not thrive after defecting to mighty Missouri. Clemson should win the conference, but advancing to the national championship game could be problematic.

I've been eating a little too good lately... 

Wednesday lunch: brisket tacos at home.

Snack: Baskin Robbins chocolate surprise and Snickers ice cream. Terrible service.

Supper at Rhineharts Oyster Bar. Great burger. Ate too much of the shrimp spread on crackers. The shrimp and the hushpuppies fried in the same oil as the fish caused my throat to swell. Not good staying in a hotel by myself. Drank more caffeine to help with the swelling, which meant that I got very little sleep. Was better by morning.

Thursday breakfast: Chickila biscuit. Passed on the hash browns. Was too busy. Later had a Boston Cream donut.

Lunch: ate one slice of New York meat pizza before leaving the plant. Later a Chickfila sandwich and peach milkshake. 

Stopped by Bruster’s ice cream for a double dip of cheesecake and cookie dough. Not as good as Baskin Robbins.

Ceil cooked a pork chop stir fry over rice for Thursday supper.

Today: leftover brisket for lunch. Snickers ice cream bar. For supper Ceil made homemade pizza. 

Crazy busy with work. Today I worked from 7:45 am to 9 pm. Need to work more this weekend.

DAVID WELLS  [SABR Bio]  was the last twentieth century pitcher to win both games of a double header, on 17-Jul-1989(1) & 17-Jul-1989(2) He once surrendered home runs to both Ripken brothers in the same inning, on 15-Sep-1990. He would be their teammate in 1996. Wells earned the pitching victory in Joe Torre’s 1,000th managerial win, on 30-Apr-1997 In Seattle. Torre would win 1,326 more. He was on the mound the first time in MLB history every opponent had an 0 for 3 day since a similar perfect game in 1880. Wells’ perfect game on 17-May-1998 was the first with no documented substitutions. The first perfect game ever recorded was by Lee Richmond 12-Jun-1880. He also only faced only nine discrete batters.

Integrity

 

Field of Dreams. Worthy of a road trip.

Johnny Tallant has been twice. Took his grandkids..

From the creative masterminds at Baskin Robbins:

Milk 'N Cereal ice cream. Must've been a rough day.   

I might actually attend ESPN College Gameday on Saturday morning. Perhaps I'll wear my Rodrigo Blankenship jersey. Look for me.

Below: Marv, Fred, George, Ken, and Al.

First Bite: Rhineharts Oyster Bar

Just got back from eating at Rhineharts Oyster Bar. Very good. My coworkers got po boys. Appetizers were shrimp spread and hush puppies, which I ate both.

I ordered a burger and it was huge. Hardly touched my fries, which were lukewarm at best. But good stuff.

Watching Marty & McGee on the SEC Network. They've been interviewing all the SEC football coaches, including Saban. Old Nick says all these changes - transfer portal and endorsements for players in particular - are good for Bama more so than most other schools, which he admits isn't the best for college football.

I'll be on the go all day tomorrow. 

Wednesday: got my haircut on the way home from work yesterday. Also grabbed a burrito at Moes. At home I played on my laptop. This morning I worked from home. Turned on my laptop but my mousepad wasn't working. Called the help desk and a couple of coworkers. Couldn't do much. Finally poked all the keys and rebooted for the third or fourth time. Finally got it to work.

Today: busy morning. Packaged an eBay item, sold another pair of shoes. Need to put more up for sale. Fixed some brisket tacos. Inventory tomorrow morning.

 

Will had been building shelves and a Murphy bed, and there's been plenty of dust everywhere.

 

Not surprised the Braves dropped two to New York, though it sounded like they got hosed on a couple of calls.

GREG MADDUX [SABR Bio] is the only pitcher to win consecutive Cy Young Awards – while playing on a different team for each one. -  Ans. Maddux won his 1^st CYA in 1992 playing for the Cubs. He won it again the following season, but on 02-Dec-1992, he signed with the Braves. He also won in 1994 & 1995, the first pitcher to win four in a row. He is the youngest pitcher in the Expansion Era to reach 250 career victories, on 05-Jul-2001 (35 years, 82 days). Maddux broke Cy Young's record for the most seasons in a row with at least 15 wins. Young had 15+ wins for 15 straight years (1891-1905). Maddux did it for 17 straight years (1988-2004). He once pitched 72⅓ innings without issuing a walk, with 72⅓ without a walk in 2001. The streak was broken, ironically, by an intentional pass on 12-Aug-2001.

Goat Cheese Cheesecake

 

A fun Monday evening. Left work shortly after 5 pm and drove straight home. Loaded up everything C had cooked and headed out with her and Winnie. Had to stop at Whole Foods for more. Matthew and W&MC beat us down there, as well as Caleb. Will fixed drinks and C got the food ready to eat: brisket, Mexican rice, refried beans, homemade salsa, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, chives, etc. Also chicken enchiladas. All very good with plenty of leftovers. M made a goat cheese cheesecake topped with figs, also very good.

Remember Chuck and Mary Dalziel from SPdL? Their back yard backs up to Caleb’s parent’s backyard in East Cobb. Ceil recently saw Mary D at JFBC. Chuck’s son used to be Joel Norman’s roommate.

The guys talked while the women packed up the kitchen. Was well after ten before we left out. Had to get gas on the way home. Then back home C and I had to put up the food and wash dishes. Later I crashed on the couch, too tired to go upstairs. Was after midnight before I climbed in bed.

Saw a clip of Joel Norman’s national anthem at the Braves game – a duet with a friend of his. Acapella. Very good. You may be able to watch it here.

https://instagram.com/stories/nicebootsjoel/2646970255827296778?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=copy_link 

https://instagram.com/stories/nicebootsjoel/2646970332197347075?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=copy_link 

https://instagram.com/stories/nicebootsjoel/2646970445955107020?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=copy_link 

https://instagram.com/stories/nicebootsjoel/2646970543741246442?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&utm_medium=copy_link

The Yankees. A couple of the players I just know, and might not have remembered they moved to the Yankees.

RON HUNT [B-R Bio] was the first New York Met to receive a vote for league MVP. In 1964, Hunt tied with Cardinal pitcher Barney Schultz for 25th place. They had exactly one MVP vote apiece. In 1963 Rookie of the Year voting, Hunt finished just behind a player who would go on to have 523 more doubles than him, in spite of Hunt having more doubles in their rookie seasons. Although Hunt’s WAR that year was 2.5 to Rose’s 2.4, he finished (way) behind him in ROY votes.  However, Hunt swatted 28 doubles to Rose’s 25 that season. Rose ended with 746 doubles, second all-time, to Hunt’s quite respectable 223 (914th). After Jackie Robinson nullified his trade from the Dodgers to the Giants, Hunt was among the next players traded between the two teams. On 13-Feb-1968 Hunt was traded by LAD with Nate Oliver to the SFG for Tom Haller and a minor leaguer.

Denison: the Taliban set a woman on fire for "bad cooking." Other women are being forced into sex slavery. The Taliban now possess tens of billions of dollars of military equipment and supplies formerly under control of the Afghan security forces, which they could transfer or sell to al-Qaeda or ISIS. The Taliban is searching for Christians. The leader of an underground church in Afghanistan said, "The Taliban has a hit list of known Christians they are targeting to pursue and kill. There is no safe place for believers to take refuge." An Afghan church leader said the Taliban will "eliminate the Christian population" in the country.

Robert Nicholson's Wall Street Journal article, "The Unconquerable Islamic World," declares "Afghanistan shows the folly of mistaking Christian ideals for 'universal' ideals." Discussing the fall of Afghanistan, he writes: "Westerners failed because military and economic power alone cannot change the Islamic world. It never occurred to us that America was what it was because of Christianity, and Afghanistan was what it was because of Islam." He identifies the "pillars" on which Islam stands: "The Qur'an is Allah's final revelation, binding on all humanity; faith is a matter of private devotion as well as public law, best lived out in a state that blends religion and politics; and Muslims should, where possible, hold power over non-Muslims to ensure that Allah's law is rightly enforced. It is doctrines like these that cause the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and Hamas to fight the 'Jews and Crusaders' who tread on land that historically belonged to Islam. Their commitments are far from radical; most Muslims see them as normative even if they fail to act on them. The West cannot change the Islamic world. The best strategy will prioritize the defense of American interests and allies."

The experts consensus: the West cannot change Islam. Unless we are forced to defend ourselves from Islamic extremists, we should learn to live and let live. But Nicholson overlooks a crucial factor: the spiritual awakening now occurring in the Muslim world. As missionary Tom Doyle and many others have documented, Muslims in recent years have been coming to Christ in unprecedented numbers. Some are hearing the gospel through media ministries, while many are seeing visions and dreams of Jesus. Tom Doyle told of ministries placing ads in Egyptian newspapers saying: "Have you seen the man in a white robe in your dreams? He has a message for you. Call this number." Doyle added, "So many Muslims were having these dreams that Christian ministries started placing ads to reach them." What the Holy Spirit is doing in the Muslim world is the key to the transformation we need in our culture as well.