The Browns Falcons

Falcons 2-0 and in first place. As I predicted, they wore their throwback uniforms against the Packers. Made having a RB wearing number 7 look odd in the throwbacks.

But WR #5 looked a little like Harmon Wages.

Horrible injury for Nick Chubb. From what I can tell he is an upright guy. Might be a career-ender.

Browns uniforms looked glorious. Best NFL uniforms currently. Some throwback unis don’t look good with modern day equipment, but these were a grand slam. Could’ve used grey facemasks, like the Falcons.

New England rocked Pat Patriot as well. Sweet.

Former GT punter Pressley Harvin is in year three with the Steelers. Finally lost 40 pounds after ballooning up to 285 his rookie year. Much slimmer.

People asking what’s wrong with Koo, but he kicked a bunch of field goals. He hasn’t been the same since he changed his number. Those NFL extra points aren’t chip shots any more. But Koo wasn’t the only one. The GT kicker, UGA kicker, and Clemson kicker all missed at least one easy kick. Saw where defenders are reading the kick holder’s hands to time their charge, resulting in more blocked kicks. Missouri upset Kansas State with a last second 61 yard field goal, breaking Kevin Butler’s longstanding SEC record. Before the kick Missouri was penalized 5 yards for delay of game.

Drives me crazy when QB’s don’t pay attention to the play clock. UGA was going for two, and QB Carson Beck took his sweet time – and was penalized 5 yards. Then UGA had to kick for the one point. Also kickers who have a pre-kick routine that takes forever, and when there’s not much time on the play clock to begin with. A kicker needs to get in there, line it up, and kick.

I was a straight on kicker. Still have my square toe kicking shoe. Was cook in August 1975 when Coach McWilliams drove me downtown to Charlie Woods Sporting Goods. We got to go upstairs in the attic for my to try on a Spot Bilt kicking shoe. Got a new one a year later as well. You can still buy them on eBay.

Got my eye on a pair of Nike All Zoom Turf sneakers like RB Barry Sanders used to wear. Guess I shouldn’t buy them because they’re so dated. But man they were cool back in the day.

DEION SANDERS: “I think truth is good for the kids. We’re so busy lying we don’t even recognize the truth no more in society. We want everybody to feel good. That’s not the way life is,” “We’re an old-school staff. We coach hard. We coach tough. We’re disciplined. If you’re allowing verbiage to run you off because you don’t feel secure with your ability – you ain’t for us”.

Longest home run in each ballpark that raveled over 500 feet.

 

Stadium          Traveled    Date                  Batter               Pitcher

 

Grt Amer Ball Park...535..10-Aug-2004......Adam Dunn......Jose Lima

Wrigley Field............530..14-Apr-1976.......Dave Kingman.Tom Dettore

Progressive Field.....511..03-Jul-1999(2)...Jim Thome........Don Wengert

Dodger Stadium.......507..05-Aug-1969.....Willie Stargell¹...Alan Foster

Citizens Bank Park...505..27-Jun-2007.....Ryan Howard²...Aaron Harang

Coors Field...............505..05-Sep-2018.....Trevor Story......Andrew Suarez

G’teed Rate Field.....504..30-Aug-2004.....Joe Borchard....Brett Myers

Chase Field..............503..26-Apr-2004......Richie Sexson...Francis Beltran

Fenway Park³...........502..09-Jun-1946(2).Ted Williams.....Fred Hutchinson

¹ Ball hit a bus in the parking lot on the fly.

² 100^th career HR in a record 325^th (fewest) G

³ Memorialized with a red seat in the right-field bleachers.

Marlins Sweep Braves

I come in to work this morning and the first 3 people I see ask me the same question. Since everyone else in the world is panicking, I will not. Braves hung over from the division win. Braves still 5-5 in their last ten games. Still 5 games ahead of the Dodgers for home field advantage. Gotta let the pitchers get some rest. Sure they don't need to tank the rest of the season, but they don't need to wear themselves out.

I hate it when batters don't run hard. See a few weeks ago when Giacarlo Stanton was jogging home from second base. Didn't run hard and was easily thrown out. Had he run hard he would've been safe. Not sure if he was hurt.

Pitching: I saw a little sign that read "NO ONE CARES HOW FAST YOU THREW BALL FOUR". That's what gets me. Pitchers come in knowing they're only going to pitch one inning at most, so they throw it as hard as they can. Most can't control the ball. We've talked about how pitchers are so much more successful when they throw a first pitch strike. And if you throw a first pitch ball, you better throw a strike on the second pitch. But many don't.

Saturday I drove the 8 miles to Pageland for gas and groceries. Should've driven another mile to cross the NC state line, so the fam would've been in 6 different states/countries. Would've been me in NC, C in SC, Caleb in GA, W&MC in NY, Anna in Colorado, and M in Mexico. All home now.

Had to load the car yesterday in the rain. Stopped in Augusta for a Publix sub. Then at Dekalb Farmers Market. Unpacked, then went to gas up Ceil's car.

Brought back a tree limb trimmer, two scythes, a billy club, bucket of golf balls, one wreath, PING putter, four old license plates, a tiger rag, polo shirt, black socks, vintage Pepsi glass, three pans, and a gas can.

Ceil's brother Rusty was playing in the annual club championship golf tourney. He is 67 but played in the age 50-65 flight, and won. Guess he won the 65-70 flight as well.

DENISON: the people in the US living to at least 100 years old has doubled over the last decade. Most credit their positive attitude. David Watson, professor of personality psychology at the University of Notre Dame, disagrees: "I think the effects of just being positive are overrated." Dr. Watson claims the trait most related to longevity is conscientiousness, being organized and disciplined. This is because conscientious people are better at taking care of themselves with regard to eating habits, healthy behaviors, and safe activities. Gen Z (between 9-24) are struggling with their mental health; only 15% said their mental health was excellent, compared with 52% of millennials who said the same a decade ago. Only 26% are optimistic about the future of the family. Only 23% believe being married is important to living a fulfilling life, compared to 71% who point to "having a job or career they enjoy." The Lord said of ancient Israel, "My people did not listen to my voice" (Psalm 81:11), "so I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels" (v. 12). Is America following the same path? 

DAVE KINGMAN [Wiki Bio] record for most home runs in a final American League season was broken by David Orti, who hit 38 in 2016. Kingman hit 35 for Oakland in 1986, then retired. He was the first player to have a 35 home run season as a designated hitter, in 1984. Kingman played for seven teams. He was in such frequent demand because of his power at the plate, but he never progressed at establishing relationships.

The Parable of the Four Souls

Clay Smith JFBC
Parables: 4 Soils
Matthew 13:1-23

Book: The Great De-Churching: Why people quit going to church…40 million have stopped going. Jesus is less concerned about crowds than about people following him.

The parable v 1-9. A popular part of Jesus' teaching. Even non Christians use terms from Jesus parables. Sometimes people take something away from the story that wasn't the point, or glean an incorrect lesson.

Parable means to cast alongside. God shared a story to convict David's heart. Many parables have a harsh lesson. 

Parable: An expanded analogy used to cause hearing, enable seeing, and provoke responding to the kingdom of God. Why Jesus spoke in parables Matt 13:10-17

Jesus distinguished between people in his kingdom and those who weren't. Matt 12:50 Jesus where is your mother and brothers? Obedience impresses Jesus - whoever does my will is my brother.

We live in a broken world. But Jesus came in this world and took on humanity in order to save us.

Isaiah 6 need to read the whole story, a story of judgement. V 16-17 blessed are your eyes. You know more than the prophets. We respond in different ways. Jesus looks for those who bear fruit.

Matt 13:18-25 Jesus interprets the parable, something he rarely did. People knew what he was talking about, the different types of soil.

He's really talking about people's hearts. Which one is you?

1. A hardened heart v 19. It's going in one ear out the other. 2 Cor 4 The God of this world has blinded people's eyes.

Means: Pray for seeing and hearing. Each testimony is great.

2. A superficial heart. Seems to be doing good at first. But counterfeit. In the US we forget that in most of history being a Christian means there will be persecution. Receiving doesn't mean anything. Are you bearing fruit?

3. A religious heart. Double minded. Lukewarm. A divided heart. Fruit has been choked out due to their love of this present world. The failure of parents to pass along their relationship with God. Parents reinforce those worldly habits.

4. A reproducing heart - the goal. Allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through you. Trust and obedience. Bearing fruit. Psalm 14:3.

Where do you stand today? Are you receptive or not?

This parable fills Clay with 2 emotions: first hope. The Gospel always works. But also horror - people think they're in, but they aren't. These seeds are a free gift if we will only receive them.

Starting Slow

UGA vs SC: late hit by SC LB. Pass interference by SC DB holding TE Bowers not called. True freshman UGA kicker misses his second chip shot in as many weeks. 14-3 SC at the half.

Dawgs weren't the only team to start slow. Bama took a long time to pull ahead, finally winning 17-3. Played 3 QBs. Michigan led Bowling Green 7-3 in the second quarter. Wake Forest trailed Old Dominion 24-7 in the third quarter, but came back to win.

FSU edged Boston College 31-29 thanks to a record 18 BC penalties. Noles wore white helmets and pants, with a plain garnet jersey. Contrasted nicely with BC's FSU-lookalike unis.

Texas finally took the lead 10-7 late in the second quarter.

Jackets only trailed Ole Miss 10-7 at the the half. Could've been 10-6. Tech had a chance to cut the lead to 17-10 but couldn't convert.

Dawgs not the only team with placekicking problems. Tech replaced their kicker, but the replacement had a field goal blocked (below). Clemson's true freshman kicker missed two in the first quarter.

Tigers up 34-0 at the half, and started the second half with Klubnik at QB. Like UGA QB Beck, Cade needs all the reps he can get.

Dawgs were a different team in the second half, shutting down SC. QB Rattler played his heart out but threw two late interceptions. Won 24-14 but it could've been 30-14.

Braves lose but Olson broke Andruw's franchise HR record. Friday Olson, the Braves Roberto Clemente Award nominee, wore 21 - the first Brave to wear the number since Warren Spahn. Three other Braves also wore 21 to honor Clemente.

ESPN's Herbstreit started the day in Boulder Colorado, then after GameDay ended after 12 eastern flew to Gainesville to call Tennessee at Florida. Deion and The Rock made appearances on GameDay.

Got in a decent day's work. Had to go down to help Uncle Lennie three times. This morning they had to take him to the hospital. Broken clavicle. But after getting some fluids in him, he was moving around better.

Ceil and Kelly had me busy throwing trash bags in the dumpster the rest of the day. Cleaned out the upstairs closets and made a little bit of a dent in the master closet. Just about got the huge dumpster filled up.

Finding a few more treasures. A painting of Ceil. She found lots of old ticket stubs, including some from the Olympics. An old sword. Old license plates, including one from 1981. Some yard tools. A Clemson Tiger Rag. Several pairs of new socks. A sweater. A wedding invitation for Ceil's grandfather. He married a girl who wanted her mother to live with them. When the groom refused, the bride left, taking her mother with her.

While helping Lennie out of the car and into the house, I noticed he had a huge bucket of golf balls, plus 4 or 5 boxes of new balls. About 20 years ago Lennie had built a par three hole behind his house.

Coming home tomorrow. Made some deals to sell several bobbleheads. Trading for a cool sweatshirt (above). These things are warm.

Anna was camping last night out in Colorado.

Spanning the Globe

The fam is spread out. M is in Mexico City visiting a friend's parents. Anna left for Colorado to visit Emily. W&MC took the girls to upstate New York. We're in SC. Caleb is home in Atlanta.

Braves clinched the NL East championship, their 6th in a row.

Wednesday: lunch with new boss and coworker. Left work after 5:15-ish. Battled traffic over to near Perimeter Mall for a focus group. Then Dollar Tree.

Stopped by Yogli Mogley. Then gassed up the car. Got home around 8 pm. Ate the leftover Philly Chicken from Sunday. Also leftover apple crisp with ice cream. All that food didn't conquer my blues. Did some laundry and got out lots of old paint buckets to throw away in SC. Was after 11 pm before I got to bed.

Thursday: skipped the gym. Went to work early. On the way I gathered my thoughts. Good to get a few things off my chest before the weekend. Two meetings and a conference call. Team lunch at Duluth Diner. The philly chicken sandwich was better than at Marietta Diner, by far.

Left work at 1:30. Packed and hit the road by three. Stopped for (1) gas in Duluth, (2) Chickfila for Ceil in Braselton, (3) Costco in Greenville, and (4) Taco Bell in Lancaster. A seven hour trip.

We got a lot done today.  Beautiful morning. Cool. Walked two miles around Jefferson with Ceil. Saw out nephew Beau, who had just bought a house on Church Street. Stopped to talk to JayBuck Martha and Bettina, who were sitting out on their front porch. JayBuck recently turned 91. C and Bettina were childhood friends.

Ceil's brother Rusty and I cleaned out the nasty shed out behind the house. Filled with junk, dirt, ants, roaches, and numerous rats nests. Just had to start at the doorway and keep pulling stuff out and throwing it in the dumpster. Ten yards away, but I got 13000 steps in today. 

Found several treasures. More golf balls. Filled up a bucket. Tools. A vintage Dennis the Menace spoon. Vintage Pepsi glasses and bottles. Most of the stuff had been from the Miller's first house, that had burned down in early 1987. Got about 75% of the job done.

Ceil and her friend Ann worked inside. Found lots of Christmas wreaths. A base of old Cokes, in the old bottles with the name of the city on the bottom. The huge rail car-sized dumpster is almost full. 

This afternoon Ceil's Uncle Lennie fell inside his house, so we went down to help get him up and into bed. Later we had to go back and help him take his meds. Not good.

Went back and kept working out in the shed. I'm pretty tired. Took a shower. Ceil went on a walk with Kelly and Jackie.

A Pennsylvania man went to 777 movies in a single year, earning a Guinness World Record. One year back in my single days I tracked the movies I watched, and saw over 365. But 777 movies is more than 2 per day. Might've watched that many Hallmark Channel movies last year. At this point in my life that's not something I'd want to be known for. Not a very healthy lifestyle – physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually.

TED WILLIAMS [SABR Bio] is tied with Willie McCovey and Frank Thomas on the career home run list, with 521. Williams is the only AL player to hit 500 HR with fewer than 1,000 strikeouts. He holds the records for most runs batted in and most bases on balls in All-Star competition, with 12 RBI and 11 BB. In the game where he hit his 52nd career home run, the next batter (Jimmy Foxx) hit his 500th career home run. The next batter, Hall of Famer Joe Cronin, also homered. On 24-Sep-1940(1), Boston beat the Athletics 16-8 in Philadelphia. In the 6th inning Dom DiMaggio tripled and scored on a sac fly by Doc Cramer. Williams (who had already homered in the 4th) homered again. Next Jimmie Foxx: HR.  Then Joe Cronin: HR. Next Bobby Doerr tripled. Then Jim Tabor homered. Embattled pitcher George Caster was finally relieved by Les McCrabb, who surrendered a single to Johnny Peacock - who advanced to second on a sac bunt by pitcher Joe Heving. Then Dom DiMaggio drove in Peacock with a double before the final out was recorded.

The Genocide Of Christians Is Escalating All Over The Planet, But Most Westerners Don't Even Know It Is Happening

Suggestion: Falcons Uni Schedule

As you probably know, I love it when NFL teams wear throwback uniforms. The Falcons are scheduled to wear their red helmets and the 1967 throwbacks three times this season. Would be nice if they'd wear them against teams who normally wear traditional uniforms, or better yet work to schedule throwback vs throwback games. Since the NFL has relaxed the one helmet rule last year, several teams have debuted throwback unis and helmets, including the Bucs, Patriots, and Eagles.

Here's my idea for what the Falcons should wear each week this season. The three throwback opponents are obvious: Packers, Saints, and Colts. Additionally, the Birds should also wear red helmets against teams wearing black or navy helmets. This way the Falcons can sports five different looks without resorting to the horrendous black or red pants.

helmet jersey pants

black red white (default home)

black white white (default road)

red black white (home vs dark helmet team)

red white white (road vs dark helmet team)

throwback red black white

Would be cool to have a white throwback jersey to wear on the road against traditional teams. In general, the Falcons should wear white jerseys and pants on the road, and red jerseys with white pants at home. They got their head to toe black costume out of their system in week one.

date opponent time network helmet jersey pants

9/10 vs Panthers black jerseys & pants

9/17 vs Packers 1 pm Fox throwbacks

9/24 @ Lions 1 pm Fox black white white

10/1 vs Jaguars 930 am ESPN+ red black white

10/8 vs Texans 1 pm Fox red black white

10/15 vs Commanders 1 pm CBS black red white

10/22 @ Buccaneers 1 pm Fox red white white

10/29 @ Titans 1 pm CBS red white white

11/5 vs Vikings 1 pm Fox red black white

11/12 @ Cardinals 4 pm CBS black white white

11/19 bye week

11/26 vs Saints 1 pm Fox throwbacks

12/3 @ Jets 1 pm Fox black white white

12/10 vs Buccaneers 1 pm CBS red black white

12/17 @ Panthers red white white

12/24 vs Colts 1 pm Fox throwbacks

12/31 @ Bears 1 pm CBS red white white

1/7 @ Saints black white white

Unitas throwing like Patrick Mahomes.

Busy week. Details upcoming. The old el bloggo is gonna suffer the rest of the year. I'll do my best. Thanks for your continued support.

A Recent History of Hamburgers

History of hamburgers: in the beginning Mr Gordy created The Varsity. Used to be you could get a hamburger at McDonalds, Burger King, or Hardees.. Wendys never frozen burger was a slight step up. Krystal doesn’t count. Recently Whattaburger and In-n-Out opened in the area, bringing raves from transplants – but to me they seem like just another fast food burger.

A Shoneys Big Boy burger was a step up from fast food. Then came steak houses like Ponderosa and Western Sizzlin. I remember when Western Sizzlin had the baked potato bar alongside their all you could eat salad bar. In the mid-80’s I’d go with Rob Suggs and the Sepco crew to feast at that Western Sizzlin salad bar / potato bar in Doraville. Fuddruckers baked their own buns and ground their own meat, producing one of the tastiest burgers around.

Then slightly nicer restaurants like Applebees and Chilis featured bar food: even nicer burgers and fries. Big salads for the ladies. O’Charleys joined the mix. Even nicer places like Houstons and Hamburger Hamlet feature burgers that are even nicer. Holman & Finch debuted their limited edition H&F burger. Canoe and King + Duke feature luxury burgers, that are excellent – though Canoe’s burger is almost too fancy.  A great burger these days, not quite so fancy is Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar.

The bun can make or break a burger. Taste and texture are critical. I also like my bun lightly toasted. Wheat buns are okay, but some “all natural” and gluten free buns are tasteless, and have a horrible texture you can’t easily chew.

A local spot in Roswell / East Cobb is Moxie Burger is a current favorite. NFA Burger in Dunwoody is said to have one of the best burgers in the state. I got a good burger at Goldbergs Deli. Ted’s Montana Grill has a good burger, as does Longhorn Steakhouse. A top ten…

1. Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar

2. King + Duke

3. Holman & Finch

4. Fuddruckers

5. NFA Burger

6. Moxie Burger

7. Goldbergs Deli

8. Ted’s Montana Grill

9. Longhorn

I had the Wendy's single at ten, but the service is so freakin bad. Shame on me for eating there. Drove through yesterday (had a coupon). Service was fast - but they left something off.

We wound up eating at Houstons last night. Very nice. Burger presentation was great. Just not worthy of my top ten. Fries okay but not super.

Lifted weights at the gym this AM. Fixing to go in to a long meeting at 8:30. New boss took us out to lunch today. Burger at Medlock Tavern was good, but the bun was just too much. Good fries.

I was wrong about W&MC – they left for upstate NY this morning. 6:15 am flight. They took the girls.

WILLIE STARGELL [SABR Bio] took the title of all-time, career strikeout king away from Mickey Mantle. The Mick retired with 1,710, having passed Babe Ruth’s record of 1,330 in 1964. Stargell struck out for the 1,711th time on 06-Aug-1978(1) and retired after the 1982 season with 1,936.  Reggie Jackson passed Stargell in 1982 and hasn’t been caught, ending with 2,597. Stargell also hit his 417th HR in that game. He founded the Black Athletes Foundation, an organization aimed at finding the cause of Sickle Cell Anemia in young black children. Stargell was in involved in many good causes, but he was the president of the B.A.F. He hit the first home run Shea Stadium, on 17-Apr-1964.

Week 2 Total QB Rating

Week 2 total QB ratings. GT QB king is the highest rated GT QB in recent memory. As usual former GT QB Sims is stinking it up in Nebraska.

Former Clemson QB DJU is ranked second, after piling up the stats against powerhouses San Jose State and UC Davis.  He still has to face SD State, Washington State, Utah, Cal, UCLA, Arizona, Colorado, Stanford, Washington, and Oregon.

1. 95.3 JJ McCarthy Michigan

2. 92.4 DJ Uiagalelei Oregon St vs San Jose St & UC Davis

3. 92.1 Caleb Williams USC 2022 Heisman winner

5. 89.8 Sam Hartman Notre Dame senior

10. 85.7 Riley Leonard Duke

12. 84.4 Drake Maye UNC sophomore

13. 83.7 Shedeur Sanders Colorado

23. 79.6 Quinn Ewers Texas

24. 79.4 Haynes King Georgia Tech

27. 76.8 Jalen Milroe Alabama

31. 74.4 Spencer Rattler SC

44. 67.4 Davis Brin Georgia Southern

47. 66.2 JT Daniels USC UGA WVA Rice

59. 61.2 Carson Beck UGA

66. 57.9 Darren Grainger Georgia State

73. 65.8 Seth Henigan Memphis

85. 50.9 Joe Milton Tennessee

98. 40.1 Graham Mertz Florida

104. 35.9 Jeff Sims GT Nebraska

114. 31.7 Cade Klubnik Clemson sophomore

Shiv and Millie went back to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this weekend.

Anna is the current favorite child. She took herself off our family phone plan – then bragged to her brothers that she did so. Will texted “happy anniversary mom and sad”.

Monday morning Matthew was next to a famous Christian singer in the airport security line, David Crowder.

One of the couples we ate with at Marietta Diner were related to our friends the Smiths. I told them that meant they were related to us, since Holly Smith married MC’s brother. The couple didn’t seem to be impressed.

David Wells covered up the Nike swoosh on his Yankee jersey “because they are woke”. In other news, Nike had to close their landmark company store in Portland due to excessive looting. Normally Paul puts an end to any derisive remarks in his comments section, but since most all of them shared his liberal point of view, they went on and on.

Busy busy busy. Worked until 5:45 Monday. Should’ve stayed til 6 pm, because the rest of the week is already full.

Stopped at Dollar Tree. The line at Taco Bell was slow so I skipped it. Stopped at Goodwill to jettison some giveaways. The line at McDonalds and Wendy’s were both long. Picked up M’s car from the shop. No charge. Made one more stop, so it was after 7 before I got home. Cleaned out the car.

Supper was a stir fry dish. Did some cleaning up. Went to get the other car that I had to leave in Roswell. Had to do some work stuff. Took out trash. Bed at 10:30.

Saw where Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles on the fourth play of the season. Some in the media called it the worst injury in NFL history. Come on. The tweet had so many phrases that narrowed it down, making Rodgers the only choice. Except...

 

Up early to run. Was expecting a work call, so when my phone rang while I was on the treadmill I answered. It was Ceil. 

DONTRELLE WILLIS [Wiki Bio] was the last pitcher to bat as high as seventh in a major league batting order. A strong hitter with a decent .244 career batting average and 28 XBH in less than 400 lifetime ABs, Willis came to bat in the 7 hole on 02-Oct-2005. Shohei Otani is eliminated from questions like this. Willis was raised by his mother Joyce Harris, an iron worker who had played high-level softball. She taught him baseball as well as any coach could. He wrote his mother’s name inside his distinctive flat-billed cap. He used to play a simple game of “strikeout” throwing a tennis ball at a strike zone painted on a wall. Batters used broomsticks on offense. Needing something more to different to deceive his buddies, Willis developed a high-kicking delivery and added a twist to it which made the ball appear to come out of his sleeve. Willis parlayed his funky wind-up into a Rookie of the Year Award, two All-Star nods, a runner-up finish in a Cy Young Award voting, and a World Series ring.

Never Forget

Today is September 11, the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. So I go in the YMCA this morning to find flags of other nations displayed all over the place, with a spotlight on…India. Huh? Seems like the week of all weeks the focus should be on the United States of America. How soon they forget.

Jim Denison agrees: “on 9/11, it feels wrong to focus on anything but 9/11”.

Uni Watch writer Paul Lukas took time to post a 9/11 tribute, which was nice. On 680 Cellini and Dimino also talking 9/11 on 680 this morning.

Braves clinched a playoff spot yesterday. Now they’re working to secure home field advantage throughout the postseason. Doubleheader today.

Friday: worked past 5:30. C made homemade pizza.

Saturday AM golf. Leftover pizza for a late breakfast. Dinner was grilled chicken tenders, steamed broccoli, baked tiny potatoes, and English peas. Then to the Earharts for desserts: cake, apple crisp, ice cream, chocolate macaroon cookies.

Sunday school and worship. A quick Mexican lunch: grilled chicken, ground beef, rice, black beans, cheese, chips.

Watch any football? Nice win for the Falcons. After rookie Panther QB Bryce Young threw his first NFL TD pass, his receiver threw the ball into the stands.

Went to Cobb Energy Center to see a performance of CS Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Packed house. Afterward we drove up Cobb Parkway to the Marietta Diner. As we were stopped at the red light near Truist Park, busses with both the Braves and Pirates pulled out, both headed to the airport.

Party of eleven at Marietta Diner, but service was fast. I got the chicken philly sandwich. Ceil the Greek salad. Lots of leftovers. We were with the Earharts plus three couples we didn’t know, and one other lady. Two of the guys worked at the Chickfila home office. Then home to finally play on my laptop before an early bedtime.

Lifted weights at the gym this morning.  

A pastor was shot after refusing to recite the Islamic profession of faith. Never forget. 

'I Left Out The Full Truth': Climate Scientist Admits He Omitted Key Factors In Study To Fit The Climate Change Agenda.

On 02-Sep-1983, HAROLD REYNOLDS [Wiki Bio] ran for slugger Ken Phelps who had just walked after batting for Spike Owen. Reynolds made it to 3rd base on Tony Bernazard’s double, but was stranded there as the game ended. Reynolds was the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award in 1991 and Emmy Awards for his work on the MLB Network. From 1980 to 1991 Rickey Henderson led the American League in stolen bases except for 1987. Reynolds swiped 60 bags. Henderson had fallen to 41.