WARNING: This May Offend Some
Never have I ever been more reassured of my decision to study history and be subject to learning about the various different religions and religious denominations than I am right now. It comes with a somber undertone, but I am glad that I chose not to blindly dive head-first into something I do not fully believe in.
I need results, proof, something tangible that lets me know that it is feasible. Many of you asked for prayers, and prayed, and received prayers from all over. And what did it change? Your prayers have a batting average of .000 because the result never changed. I am just stating what I see, and in no way am I judging those who pray, or those who say they get strength, or comfort through prayer.
I can only believe in something that makes sense to me. And if it makes sense to you then by all means you should believe it. But please, do not judge me, or question me because I do not believe in something I cannot make sense of. In fact, if you think I am lost, or a radical, or crazy, and cannot get past your nearsightedness to see that there are other beliefs besides yours in this world, well then you are also subscribing to another institution of higher power: hypocrisy.
The close minded people that are reading this will probably infer that I am an athiest, or some form of anti-Christianity advocate. I am neither. I am just someone who does not see the proof that God has a role in our lives, and the way they play out. If that were so, why would God make us sick? Why wouldn't he just heal us? Why do we need medicine? Why would he let great people go so young? There is no explanation I have heard yet that proves God plays a part in any of those things.
God does not wound us, or heal us, or put us on the right path (if that were the case there would be no criminals) he lets us figure this stuff out on our own. Yes, I believe in God, or whoever "he" is, but I do not pray to him nor do I ask him to help me because he can't help me, only I can help me. He created man with everything needed to pave our own way in this world. He created man and nature, and that is where God, to me, ends. We live in a world dictated by nature, but you have all of the tools to be and do everything you have ever wanted to do.
Please do not mistake me as some sort of religious zealot, or preacher of new faith, it was called "Diesm,"and it was a wildly popular religious sect during the times of Enlightenment when man began to discover science, and nature's great powers. It makes sense to me. Mostly because its the only form of religion that has proven to me that it isn't about believing in something in something imaginary. It's about believing that nature is a powerful entity, and rules over all, and it has proof, just look at the awesome power of hurricanes and earthquakes.
Maybe this is my way of grieving, or maybe I am just fed up with being inundated by people who constantly fail to realize that their beliefs aren't the only way, and that their religion is not the only one around. This is not a cry out for help. I am not asking for your prayers. I am not anti-religion. Maybe I just want people to know that this is how I feel, and what I believe in, and want them to respect that.
I don't demean those who subscribe to Christianity. I don't talk negatively about those who are Muslim. I don't think down upon Catholics. I'm not against the Jews. Nor am I defiant towards Buddhists. If it makes sense to you then by all means believe in it! But that doesn't make one belief better than the other. The point, I think we have to remember, is this thing called "religion" is something man came up with, and like all things man has created, it is not perfect.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
BCMess
Well, 2011 has finally come to an end. And in terms of sports, more specifically college football, it has been one to forget if you ask me. Sure I know it is only because I am a Buckeyes fan, and witnessed probably the worst year in Ohio State football history. But even if you do not like the Buckeyes, the bowl games should be more than sufficient evidence to support my claims. And we can all give thanks to the BCS.
I will focus on the main BCS bowls, only because it has gotten ridiculously fatiguing trying to get excited for the Taxslayer.com Gator bowl; or dare I mention the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl? What, did each player get a sack of potatoes as a bowl gift? But I digress.
Thanks to the BCS this is what we had to see:
1) The third best team in the Big10, a team that did not even play in the conference championship game, who some-how got a Sugar Bowl invite over the team that finished 2nd in the Big10, faced off against the 2nd place ACC team which lost to the same team twice, and that team got 70 hung on them in the Orange Bowl! (more on that later). Don’t give me any of that “overtime thriller” nonsense, that game was a snooze fest and many could argue the refs blew the call in OT.
2) The team that probably should have been in the National Championship game, Oklahoma State, with the freak-of-nature wide out, and two time Belitnikoff winner, Justin Blackmon faced off against future #1 draft pick Andrew Luck and Stanford. In my mind, the Fiesta Bowl was the only one the BCS got right, and it was an exciting game. A shame that Stanford’s kicker could not hit sand if he fell of a camel, but Blackmon and Luck both lived up to the hype. Here’s hoping Blackmon is wearing a Browns jersey come April.
3) The only reason WVU, and Clemson were in the Orange Bowl is because they had to be. Damn automatic bowl tie-ins. Sure WVU scored 70 points, but coming against an ACC team, and a team that lost 2 of their final 3 games on the way to the Orange Bowl it diminishes the accomplishment some. Lest not forget WVU, the Big East powerhouse that lost to Louisville, and Syracuse this year was barely ranked in the top 25, yet still made it to a BCS Bowl.
4) Sure the Rose Bowl saw a record for most points scored, and kudos to Oregon for winning their first bowl game since the second decade of the twentieth century (1916 to be exact). We did get to see Wisconsin lose the Rose Bowl for the second consecutive year, and an assistant coach pick his nose and eat it on TV! (if you don’t believe me just YouTube it, you will find it). This matchup was fine by me, I like seeing the traditional PAC12, Big10 matchup in the granddaddy-of-em-all.
5) The rematch. Just when you try to get excited about the BCS National Championship game you remember the first time Alabama and LSU played to the 6-9 over-time thriller! LSU’s late three run home run in the top of the 10th helped seal the deal. Seriously though, I am with many of the AP voters who would have a hard time putting Alabama over LSU if the Tide won this game. LSU beat Bama at home! Alabama did not even win their SEC division let alone play in the SEC Championship game. But then you have to remember the father of the BCS is Roy Kramer. Who is Roy Kramer? Oh, just the former commissioner of the SEC…
Also, thanks to the BCS, here are few things we were robbed from seeing:
1) The winningest quarterback in college football history, and his number 7 ranked team, Boise State were delegated to the MAACO Bowl on December 22! Hope you tuned into ESPN3 to catch Kellen Moore dismantle Arizona State. Sure Boise State is not in a major conference, but they still finished the season in the top ten in the BCS standings.
2) The number 6 team in the BCS, Arkansas, will face the number 8 team, Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. Neither of these teams won their conference, but both are ranked higher than the two teams that played in the Sugar Bowl.
3) Good thing we did not get to see the Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffith III, or RG3 to some, take his 12th ranked Baylor team to a BCS game. Again Baylor was ranked higher than both Michigan, and RG3
On Monday, January 9th (which also happens to be my birthday) we will get to see two teams who already played each other this year, play again. I predicted the score to be LSU 11 – Alabama 10, and that could be considered high scoring if you consider their last game. My only hope, at this point, is that Alabama wins by a field goal, and the AP voters still vote LSU as their national champions, thus leaving us with a split national championship, and possibly the beginning of the end for the BCS.
I will focus on the main BCS bowls, only because it has gotten ridiculously fatiguing trying to get excited for the Taxslayer.com Gator bowl; or dare I mention the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl? What, did each player get a sack of potatoes as a bowl gift? But I digress.
Thanks to the BCS this is what we had to see:
1) The third best team in the Big10, a team that did not even play in the conference championship game, who some-how got a Sugar Bowl invite over the team that finished 2nd in the Big10, faced off against the 2nd place ACC team which lost to the same team twice, and that team got 70 hung on them in the Orange Bowl! (more on that later). Don’t give me any of that “overtime thriller” nonsense, that game was a snooze fest and many could argue the refs blew the call in OT.
2) The team that probably should have been in the National Championship game, Oklahoma State, with the freak-of-nature wide out, and two time Belitnikoff winner, Justin Blackmon faced off against future #1 draft pick Andrew Luck and Stanford. In my mind, the Fiesta Bowl was the only one the BCS got right, and it was an exciting game. A shame that Stanford’s kicker could not hit sand if he fell of a camel, but Blackmon and Luck both lived up to the hype. Here’s hoping Blackmon is wearing a Browns jersey come April.
3) The only reason WVU, and Clemson were in the Orange Bowl is because they had to be. Damn automatic bowl tie-ins. Sure WVU scored 70 points, but coming against an ACC team, and a team that lost 2 of their final 3 games on the way to the Orange Bowl it diminishes the accomplishment some. Lest not forget WVU, the Big East powerhouse that lost to Louisville, and Syracuse this year was barely ranked in the top 25, yet still made it to a BCS Bowl.
4) Sure the Rose Bowl saw a record for most points scored, and kudos to Oregon for winning their first bowl game since the second decade of the twentieth century (1916 to be exact). We did get to see Wisconsin lose the Rose Bowl for the second consecutive year, and an assistant coach pick his nose and eat it on TV! (if you don’t believe me just YouTube it, you will find it). This matchup was fine by me, I like seeing the traditional PAC12, Big10 matchup in the granddaddy-of-em-all.
5) The rematch. Just when you try to get excited about the BCS National Championship game you remember the first time Alabama and LSU played to the 6-9 over-time thriller! LSU’s late three run home run in the top of the 10th helped seal the deal. Seriously though, I am with many of the AP voters who would have a hard time putting Alabama over LSU if the Tide won this game. LSU beat Bama at home! Alabama did not even win their SEC division let alone play in the SEC Championship game. But then you have to remember the father of the BCS is Roy Kramer. Who is Roy Kramer? Oh, just the former commissioner of the SEC…
Also, thanks to the BCS, here are few things we were robbed from seeing:
1) The winningest quarterback in college football history, and his number 7 ranked team, Boise State were delegated to the MAACO Bowl on December 22! Hope you tuned into ESPN3 to catch Kellen Moore dismantle Arizona State. Sure Boise State is not in a major conference, but they still finished the season in the top ten in the BCS standings.
2) The number 6 team in the BCS, Arkansas, will face the number 8 team, Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl. Neither of these teams won their conference, but both are ranked higher than the two teams that played in the Sugar Bowl.
3) Good thing we did not get to see the Heisman Trophy winner, Robert Griffith III, or RG3 to some, take his 12th ranked Baylor team to a BCS game. Again Baylor was ranked higher than both Michigan, and RG3
On Monday, January 9th (which also happens to be my birthday) we will get to see two teams who already played each other this year, play again. I predicted the score to be LSU 11 – Alabama 10, and that could be considered high scoring if you consider their last game. My only hope, at this point, is that Alabama wins by a field goal, and the AP voters still vote LSU as their national champions, thus leaving us with a split national championship, and possibly the beginning of the end for the BCS.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thanks a Lot NCAA! No, Really..
Last Tuesday, the NCAA announced, one year after the initial news of the “scandal” at Ohio State broke, its punishment for the football team. Most of the punishment was expected, probation, loss of scholarships, relinquishing the 2010 wins, but the one year – 2013 – bowl ban caught Buckeye Nation completely off guard. And they (Buckeye fans) made sure they voiced their disgust with the decision any way they could.
As a Buckeye fan, at first I was a little shocked, there was really no precedent that stated a bowl ban was the necessary punishment for the crime. Then I was mad, thinking we could have imposed a bowl ban for this year on ourselves and that might have been sufficient enough in the eyes of the NCAA. And then, after all of that, I sat down and realized that in reality, this might be a blessing in disguise…
Sure, it will be weird after beating Michigan in The Shoe on November 24th, to not have any bowl game to look forward to. It will be odd not pulling the old scarlet jersey out of the closet sometime around New Years 2013. And it is disappointing that Urban Meyer’s first year in Columbus he will not be allowed to possibly turn the ship around and get back to a big time bowl game. But like I said early, when I sat down and looked at things I realized that it was not necessarily all that bad.
Realistically speaking, in Myer’s inaugural season manning the ship, the Buckeyes have a lot of question marks. Most notably is the fact that sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller will be learning a new offensive system, and despite Meyer’s proven record of developing dominant dual-threat quarterbacks, it will take some time. Then there is the fact that none of our wide receivers will be older than juniors, and have a lot to prove after an awful 2011 campaign as a unit. The defense will more than likely remain just as solid as it usually is. Young linebackers who are playmakers will be asked to step up and contribute. The defensive line will be a strength, and a lot of youngsters are returning in our secondary.
When I sat down and looked at the 2012 schedule I cringed a little. It is not the most favorable schedule in the Big Ten. Sure there are the usual non-conference cupcakes that we will cut large checks to in return for an easy win. But there is also a Pac12 Cal Bears team coming to visit, regardless of whether they are a second tier Pac12 team they are still not in the MAC or some other mid-major conference. Then the Big Ten schedule is grueling; Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin and as usual Michigan. However, the MSU, PSU, and Wisconsin games are all on the road, and those are all tough places to play. Now, couple that with the paragraph preceding this one and it makes for a very tough road to hoe.
The “blessing” that I mentioned earlier comes in the form of the 2013 football schedule. Remember, 2012 will not see us in either the Big Ten Championship game, or a bowl game. But 2013 has no limitations, and our schedule certainly makes the sky that limit. An early season road trip to Berkeley to play Cal will be a nice early test. And the Buckeyes open the Big Ten with Wisconsin at home in week five. But the Big Ten scheduling rotation has us missing Michigan State, and Nebraska, and playing the likes of Northwester, Iowa, Penn State (at home), Illinois and Indiana before making the much anticipated trek up to the Big House.
Only adding to my excitement about 2013 is the fact that Braxton Miller will then be a junior. Urban Meyer will have two recruiting classes in Columbus (and this year’s already is chalked full of defensive talent). And it will be the second year of the offense running his system. Add that to the scheduling bit, and 2013 looks like the year Buckeye Nation should be salivating over.
For storied program like Ohio State being banned from a bowl game seems like one of the worst punishments it could receive. But, it takes pressure off of a new coach who came in with enormous pressure already. There is no pressure for the Buckeyes next year, but they do have time on their side. Time to develop an offense, time to develop young and talented players, and time to gain experience without having to worry about a loss here or a loss there. Meyer will obviously have to keep his group very focused, many youngsters who do not see the prize at the end of the tunnel might lose interest, but his reputation speaks for itself in that area. And it all shapes up for a BCS run in year two of Urban Meyer’s tenure.
And I am sure Buckeye Nation remembers how well year two of the last regime went…
As a Buckeye fan, at first I was a little shocked, there was really no precedent that stated a bowl ban was the necessary punishment for the crime. Then I was mad, thinking we could have imposed a bowl ban for this year on ourselves and that might have been sufficient enough in the eyes of the NCAA. And then, after all of that, I sat down and realized that in reality, this might be a blessing in disguise…
Sure, it will be weird after beating Michigan in The Shoe on November 24th, to not have any bowl game to look forward to. It will be odd not pulling the old scarlet jersey out of the closet sometime around New Years 2013. And it is disappointing that Urban Meyer’s first year in Columbus he will not be allowed to possibly turn the ship around and get back to a big time bowl game. But like I said early, when I sat down and looked at things I realized that it was not necessarily all that bad.
Realistically speaking, in Myer’s inaugural season manning the ship, the Buckeyes have a lot of question marks. Most notably is the fact that sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller will be learning a new offensive system, and despite Meyer’s proven record of developing dominant dual-threat quarterbacks, it will take some time. Then there is the fact that none of our wide receivers will be older than juniors, and have a lot to prove after an awful 2011 campaign as a unit. The defense will more than likely remain just as solid as it usually is. Young linebackers who are playmakers will be asked to step up and contribute. The defensive line will be a strength, and a lot of youngsters are returning in our secondary.
When I sat down and looked at the 2012 schedule I cringed a little. It is not the most favorable schedule in the Big Ten. Sure there are the usual non-conference cupcakes that we will cut large checks to in return for an easy win. But there is also a Pac12 Cal Bears team coming to visit, regardless of whether they are a second tier Pac12 team they are still not in the MAC or some other mid-major conference. Then the Big Ten schedule is grueling; Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin and as usual Michigan. However, the MSU, PSU, and Wisconsin games are all on the road, and those are all tough places to play. Now, couple that with the paragraph preceding this one and it makes for a very tough road to hoe.
The “blessing” that I mentioned earlier comes in the form of the 2013 football schedule. Remember, 2012 will not see us in either the Big Ten Championship game, or a bowl game. But 2013 has no limitations, and our schedule certainly makes the sky that limit. An early season road trip to Berkeley to play Cal will be a nice early test. And the Buckeyes open the Big Ten with Wisconsin at home in week five. But the Big Ten scheduling rotation has us missing Michigan State, and Nebraska, and playing the likes of Northwester, Iowa, Penn State (at home), Illinois and Indiana before making the much anticipated trek up to the Big House.
Only adding to my excitement about 2013 is the fact that Braxton Miller will then be a junior. Urban Meyer will have two recruiting classes in Columbus (and this year’s already is chalked full of defensive talent). And it will be the second year of the offense running his system. Add that to the scheduling bit, and 2013 looks like the year Buckeye Nation should be salivating over.
For storied program like Ohio State being banned from a bowl game seems like one of the worst punishments it could receive. But, it takes pressure off of a new coach who came in with enormous pressure already. There is no pressure for the Buckeyes next year, but they do have time on their side. Time to develop an offense, time to develop young and talented players, and time to gain experience without having to worry about a loss here or a loss there. Meyer will obviously have to keep his group very focused, many youngsters who do not see the prize at the end of the tunnel might lose interest, but his reputation speaks for itself in that area. And it all shapes up for a BCS run in year two of Urban Meyer’s tenure.
And I am sure Buckeye Nation remembers how well year two of the last regime went…
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