Gators hand Sooners a Second Ten-point Road Loss

Miami Gardens, FL - For the second time in the 2008 football season the Oklahoma Sooners lost by 10 in their opponents back yard. The distance traveled for the 24-14 loss to the Florida Gators eclipsed by manyfold that from Norman to Dallas for the Sooners 45-35 loss to the Texas Longhorns. The Sooners had their opportunities to capture an eighth national collegiate football championship, but inopportune interceptions undid them on the goal line in the closing moment of the first half and during a momentum building drive early in the second half. The Gators opportunistic defense withstood two deep Sooner drives with an early first half goal-line stand and a fourth quarter stand that forced the Sooners to hand the ball over on downs on the Gator 30 yard line. The remaining drama to unfold is whether Gator coach Urban Meyer takes the New York Jets head coach position on the heels of having won two BCS Championships in three years.

Golden Age for Spain

The Spanish armada of sports success continued Sunday, July 6 as Rafal Nadal captured his first Wimbledon men's tennis title by defeating five-time defending champion Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7. Nadal became the first Spaniard to capture the title since 1966. (www.wimbledon.org)

The armada was first spotted on May 11 as Sergio Garcia won his first major championship at the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach on America's First Coast (www.visitoldcity.com;
http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tournaments/r011/05/11/tj_recap/index.html).

On June 8, Nadal the world's number two tennis player continued the Spanish success by capturing his fourth consecutive French Open title by soundly defeating the world number one player Roger Federer, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. (www.frenchopen.org)

Vienna, Austria on June 29 provided the locale for scintilating Spanish success as the Spanish national soccer team captured the European Championship, it's first major title since 1964. Spain's midfielder Xavi Hernandez was named player of the tournament. (www.uefa.org)

While Need Rises in Myanmar, National Missions Leader Speaks to Florida's Capital Region

Medart - During a week when the unknown aftermath of cyclonic damage in Myanmar has filled the news, Tom Greene, national director of a Springfield, Mo. based missions organization brought home the message of global need to a crowd drawn from the reaches of North Central Florida. Medart Assembly of God, 25 miles south of the State Capital, was the sight for a missions banquet in which attendees heard that every time their heart beats someone enters eternity as 100 people on this planet die every minute. One hundred and seven per minute according to WikiAnswers or the CIA World Fact Book.

Interestingly, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) was the sight of the work of America's first missionary. Adorinam Judson's early 19th century work in Burma resulted in - among other things - the creation of the first Burmese-English dictionary which was the standard well into the 20th century. His biography is quite stunning as it encompasses educational achievement, tragic loss, national expulsion and success after great trial.

NFL Defensive Star Returns Home to Host Celebrity Weekend and Camp

Fresh from a stellar second season in which he led the National Football League (NFL) with 10 interceptions, San Diego Charger pro bowl Cornerback Antonio Cromartie returned to Tallahassee accompanied by several NFL football greats.

The festivities for the Antonio Cromartie Celebrity Weekend began Friday with The Cro Celebrity Bowling Benefit with proceeds benefiting the Bam Bam 13 Foundation. Bowlers included Pat Watkins of the Dallas Cowboys, Crophonso Thorpe of the Indianapolis Colts, William Gay of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Colby Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs, and others.


The festivities continued Saturday morning as many youngters received complimentary football instruction at the second annual Antonio Cromartie Youth Football Camp at Cromartie's alma mater, Lincoln High School. Watkins, Thorpe and Cromartie were teammates at the state football powerhouse. Flanked by State Football Championship banners, the camp attendees received their initial instruction and stretched in Lincoln's gym. Instructors donning gold t-shirts included the aforementioned Lincoln standouts as well as Gay, Smith, San Diego Charger Keith Jackson, retired NFL great Terrell Buckley and others.





The camp moved outside to Trojan field where the instructors put their charges through a series of specialized drills.

African Music Ensemble Packs the House

Tallahassee - Dohnanyi Recital Hall just played host to a performance by Florida State University graduate student Damascus Kafumbe and his ethnomusicology students. The sounds, beats, rhythms and footwork of the troupe took the audience to East Africa as they performed the music and dance of Buganda. Some of the listeners were so transported that they joined the troupe in dancing on the stage. A standing ovation for teacher and troupe concluded the evening.

Bart D. Ehrman God's Problem

In response to Fresh Air's Feb. 19, 2008 segment with Dr. Bart Ehrman, I post this as there may be some who may have been misled with the argument presented on suffering. During the episode, the discussion simply glosses over 'freewill' and doesn't get to the root of original sin as recorded in Genesis 3. Without that as a foundation it is easy to make a weak argument on the origin of suffering and say it's God's problem. To the contrary, including this text would help show that Eve and Adam brought suffering on themselves and bestowed it on their descendants.

Without mentioning our original temporal parents, the origin of suffering isn't addressed. This is not to say that Ehrman doesn't reflect on the Bible. His comments during the segment are peppered with references to the prophets, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, etc. but interestingly avoids Gen. 3 which would soundly defeat the remainder of his statements on this episode.

Whether Ehrman believes his statements to the degree that he implies on the episode or whether he simply makes the statements to incite debate and the purchase of his book, I'm not sure. Below is the text of the email that I sent to Dr. Ehrman to which I didn't receive much of an argument to the contrary.

I didn't hear any mention of what happened in the Garden of Eden which offers the origin of man's suffering (i.e. Genesis chapter 3). With that in mind, it offers a reference point for suffering being a curse on the planet and all humanity. A similar comparison can be made to an infant touching a hot iron or burner. The scar or burn from that incident may mar their skin for the rest of that individual's life just as the fall of man and subsequent curse has marred the remainder of life on this planet with suffering.

Similarly, during the discussion with Ms. Gross about Job there was no mention of how everything was restored to Job and many times more. With the entirety of Job's life in mind (i.e. initial wealth, loss, restoration of wealth), we can view suffering from a vantage point where whether we suffer or not won't change our opinion of God. Job's wife challenged him to curse God and die, but his opinion of God wasn't dependent on physical wealth or material blessing as Satan suggested.

Final Chapter Opens on Dodgers East Coast Home

Vero Beach - On a sunny Sunday March afternoon the Dodgers again made a final home connection with New York. One time Brooklyn, NY residents, the now Los Angeles-based baseball team for a final time at Dodgertown played the New York Mets. The 60-year Dodger Spring Training home will soon serve another team. Next year, the Dodgers will train in Arizona.

I experienced the game sitting next to the father of one of the Dodgers young pitchers who was accompanied by his wife, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. How fitting that this former Brooklyn resident experienced the game with several generations of baseball fans who will soon have Dodgertown as a memory in Dodger lore as many remember Ebbets Field, the Dodger's Brooklyn home. Pictured in the dugout are Brooklyn-born Joe Torre who now manages the Dodgers, on his right is former Brooklyn Dodger player and long-time Los Angeles Dodger manager Tom Lasorda.