COUNTDOWN SAYS ...

COOL THINGS FROM WORKING AT "THE COVE"

Since this is officially my last day as a Silver Hawks full-time employee, these are my favorite little quarks about working at Coveleski Stadium. I guess you can also call this, things I will miss.

1) The Roof

There was nothing better than going up on top of the stadium on a regular basis. It was so peaceful and calm. Check out a picture from the concert in 2004.



2) Free Tickets

It was so cool to give out free tickets to my friends when ever they wanted to come out. Literally I have passed out hundreds of comp tickets. Of course, I still know all the ticket passwords so who says this has to stop - HA!

3) Free Food

Ok, a diet of chicken sandwich, pizza and hot dogs does get old after a while but at least it was free. Plus the catering company that works out the ballpark had a pretty nice spread at least once a week!

4) Free Laundry

I haven't paid to wash my cloths in months because I can use the washer and dryer at the ballpark! Guess I have to start saving my quarters!

5) Post-Game Drag

Every now and then I used to take 10 minutes and ride with our grounds keeper after the games when dragged the infield. Extremely relaxing. Often a good time to chill out after a nice 14-hour work day!

Moving on to the next adventure ...

... Live Like a Barbarian!

AMAZING EVENING!

Church is allowed to be fun, right??! You better freakin' believe church is allowed to be fun! In fact I would call last night one of the best nights I have ever experienced in church. Well, maybe it was just the best!

With Charlie Hall there to lead the worship there was an extra buzz in the air. Oh man, did he just rock it out. A highlight for me was "Marvelous Light." I just love that song. Another was this little chorus we sang at least a dozen times during the evening that went something like:

"I want to love like you love"
"I want to feel like you feel"

Ok, this got me thinking a whole lot (which, I'm sure comes as a big surprise!). Is it possible to feel like God feels? Is it possible to love God as God does? Big questions ... Bigger God!

After Charlie's opening worship set, Rob Wenger just rocked out this awesome message on Matthew 6:19-20 & Matthew 5:14-16. It really just struck a cord with me. I mean, did you ever have one of those moment were you felt like it was just you and the speaker "one-on-one" because it felt like that during Rob's message. I need to round up $5.00 to buy that message on CD. It's a keeper!

THE MICROWAVE RELATIONSHIPS

Been thinking a lot about priorities over the last several weeks. I mean a lot! You know, what truly is important to me and my life. There is no doubt that humans are created for community and relationships.

Yet how often have we said any of the following:

"Let's get together for lunch some day soon." OR "Let's make sure we hang out when things begin to slow down." OR "I'm going to plug into a small group when I have more time."

We are trying to create relationships on a 21st century scale. You know, everything is instant gratification. It's all at our finger tips and that won't work. The biggest problem facing relationships is just simply the pace of life. Relationally smart people realize that you can not microwave friendships.

You can not microwave the things it takes for great relationships. You can not listen in a hurry. You can not celebrate in hurry. You can not mourn in a hurry.

Furthermore, to build and create relationships it will take time and energy. Not just one but both. Relationships are not done quickly. You can not connect with people during a two minute cell phone conversation in your car going from one appointment to the next. To be in a conversation that feels awkward and uncomfortable and requires risks takes time and effort because that what's it going to take to grow deeper in relationships.

What if people really slowed down and made commitments to people? I mean real commitments and not just this - "I finally have time now for you, so let's hang out." If you think you can be committed to some one with an over burden schedule then think again. People will prioritize their schedule for their jobs, school, accomplishments, shopping and let's be really serious here - church activity, but when it comes to what matters most (and what matters most IS relationships) it gets pushed aside. You can not just fit your relationships in the cracks of your schedule.

I applaud anyone who has committed themselves to community and relationships. Really, I do! Imagine what would happen if more people would do this and not just microwave our relationships. Because we ARE created for community.

READY FOR CHARLIE

I don't mean Charlie Weis! I'm freakin pumped for New Community on Thursday night because Charlie Hall is going to be there! It's going to rock! Oh man, the waiting is driving me out of my mind! It's just so freakin' awesome to be a part of a church that can bring a guy like this. Should be a fun evening of music!

"MAY I HAVE A GALLON OF ..."

Compare with Gasoline ... Think a gallon of gas is expensive?

This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective.

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29 - $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19 - $9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20 oz $1.59 - $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25 - $10.00 per gallon
Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15 - $33.60 per gallon
Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35 - $178.13 per gallon
Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85 - $123.20 per gallon
Whiteout 7 oz $1.39 - $25.42 per gallon
Scope 1.5 oz $0.99 - $84.48 per gallon

And this is the REAL KICKER...

Evian water 9 oz $1.49 - $21.19 per gallon?! $21.19 for WATER - and the buyers don't even know the source. (Evian spelled backwards is Naive.)

The next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, or God forbid, Pepto Bismol or Nyquil.

NOT TO BE UNDERSTOOD

So I was listening to a John Ortberg message today (by the way, he is freakin' awesome so check out anything he produces!) and he used a scripture that makes sense now and forever:

"There are three things to wonderful for me, four that I do not undersand; the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of the snake on the rock, the way of a ship on the sea and the way of a man with a woman."

- Proverbs 30:18-19

I'd like to focus on the last part of "... the way a man with a woman." Since the Bible is God's inspired word, an the author who wrote this Proverb doesn't understand the relationship between men and women, then maybe the two sexes aren't suppose to understand each other - ever.

So from this day forward I am no longer going to try and figure out the opposite sex. They are what they are. They don't understand us and we don't understand them. Of course, I am very thankful they are there to share life with - HA!!

VOLLEYBALL

I am a huge volleyball fan. It's just a great sport. I believe most people think of volleyball as something you do in the backyard at your family reunion. It's a highly under-rated and under-appreciated sport.

While I was in college my main sport in the Media Relations office was volleyball. During my three years as the "Radford volleyball guy" the team was pretty good and in 2000, we made the NCAA Tournament. Also got a championship ring that year since we won the conference title! That was a fun season!

Fast forward to my move to South Bend in 2002 ... My second weekend living in frigid Northern Indiana, Notre Dame hosted the first and second round of the NCAA tournament. I got to help out with "stats stuff" and now for the last three season I've had to the honor of broadcasting about half of the Irish volleyball matches. Really the picture proves it - HA!!


Here's the fun thing about doing this ... I get to watch a Top 25 volleyball team on a regular basis, I've traveled with the team and forged some cool connections through that, I broadcasted three NCAA tournament matches & seen some places I never would have traveled to.

Currently, they maybe the best team Notre Dame has. They've beaten three top 25 teams and are ranked in top 10 and they have two All-American players. It's worth watching!

More fun than volleyball at your family reunion!

THE NEW HINKEL ...

... Everyone be afraid. Really afraid! There's a new Hinkel in the world!

NAME: Noah Jacob Hinkel

BORN: Sept. 23, 2005 around Noon(ish)

WEIGHT: 8 lbs (and some change)

HEIGHT: 20 inches

So I now have a niece (Sarah Ann) and nephew (Noah Jacob). Both children belong to my brother, Andrew and sister-in-law, Heidi. I never thought my brother would have kids let alone two of them so best of luck with that bro! See this is really why I live 9 hours from where I grew-up; no diaper changing - HA!



Hopefully I will have Noah saying "Yankees" soon! Guess I have to buy him some Notre Dame stuff as well!

COUNTDOWN SAYS ...

HISTORICAL EVENTS I WISH I COULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR

Every now and then you have those conversation of "you could go back to a place or time what would it be" ... Here's where I would go:

1) Jesus walks on water

Imagine a person witnessing this event. I mean what are the implications of this if you are watching this happen? This would take the phrase "I was speechless" to a whole new level to watch the happen. Think about it, the next day some one comes up to and asks "what did you do yesterday?" ... Do you really think they'd believe you if you said, "I watched some one walk on water."

2) "I have a Dream" speech

You see this speech played on TV every so often and if I ever see it I just stop and watch. There is just something that grabs me. Probably the best speech ever given. Well, not "probably" ... It is the best speech ever given.

3) 1980 USA Hockey Team

I was 2 years old when this happened so needless to say this isn't something I remember. This team had no business winning the Gold Medal, let alone beat Russia in the semifinals. There are upsets every year in sports but this upset minded team will never be forgotten.

4) Woodstock

I mean the "real" one. The first one that took place in 1969. I have no clue why but it just fascinates me that 100,000's of people just converge in the middle of no where in New York.

5) Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount"

It's the greatest sermon ever preached so I want to be there.

TRIBUTE TO NORAH JONES

This day last year was one of my favorite days in my life. I was nearing the end of my vacation in Denver and I was going to see Norah Jones at Red Rocks.

First off, if you ever get to see a concert/event at Red Rocks you have to go. There is nothing like it. The rock formation is all natural and the sound is freakin' amazing. It is absolutely perfect!

The opening act was a guy named Amos Lee. Never heard of the guy before that night and afterwards I was searching everywhere to listen to his music. He's got an awesome sound. He put out his first CD in March and I highly recommend picking it up if you like Jazz/Blues type music!

Then Norah Jones came on ... Oh my it was the most perfect evening. I know this is going to sound overly "emotional" but there was a full moon, a small chill in the air and you could see the stars. It was just awesome. Her first song was "What am I to you" and all I could think was - "every penny I spent on this vacation was worth it for this moment." Just speechless!

She played every song that I wanted and just a "wow" night. There is not a better female singer out there. No matter the genre!

Finally, I would move to Colorado just to live near Red Rocks and get season tickets to there concert series!

THE NEXT CLASS

So today I started my next class at Bethel College - "Theology of the Old Testament" ... Ok, this class could be interesting but yet I'm still confused by some of this stuff. Of course this is only the first day but seems to be a lot of information about authors and writers. I have a feeling that this class will be very "concrete" and everything will be right or wrong and little or no room for interpretation.

Personally, I like the interpretation stuff (you may even call it the "gray" area since things aren't black & white) so hopefully we will get more into that soon. On the bright thus far, I am not nearly as worn down as I was after the first day in my previous class. That's probably b/c I have been able to get some serious relaxing done since the baseball season severely slowed down!

Another good note about all this -- during lunch I get the Ponderosa buffet across from the college. Not a bad deal and the food is pretty decent! Of course, now I must work out to compensate for the Apple Crisp and Ice Cream dessert - HA!

Catch you in a few!

RING SIZE IS 9.5!!

Silver Hawks win Midwest League Title!!

Well what a way to end a season, and more over a career in baseball! During the second quarter of the ND-Michigan State game I get a call from Tony, our Director of Sales & Marketing. The conversation went something like this:

Tony: Silver Hawks, Midwest League Champions.

Me: My ring size is 9.5 so what about you?

That's basically the point of the conversation. And for all those who say that I had nothing to do with them winning the championship because I didn't play. Well, after five years of pulling tarp, listing to complaining fans, and long hours at the ballpark this is nice little reward for all that. I'm still a baseball fan and it is pretty cool to work for a team that's successful and champions.

In addition to that, this year's team was a pretty good bunch of guys to work with. The manager was willing to help us with all the community stuff we do (player apperances, autograph sessions, etc.) so that makes it more satisfying since they were very helpful with the "extra stuff" we needed.

Play Ball!

COUNTDOWN SAYS ...

My favorite places I have ever visited.

The only place outside the U.S. I've been is Canada so I really don't have this great list but these places are awesome (well, at least to me).

1) Anywhere in Colorado.

This time last year I was one-day from getting on a plane and "getting lost" for a week. It was great, only five people knew were I was. If you've never been to the front range in Colorado (Denver, Ft. Collins, Colorado Springs, etc.) you have go to get yourself out there. I attached some of my favorite pictures from my vacation out there last September!





2) Dyersville, Iowa

This is were the movie Field of Dreams was filmed. This field is really in the freakin' middle of no where. The town of Dyersville is two miles away and the town itself only has like 3,000 people. It was a very rainy day when I was there and the corn wasn't grown yet but it was so awesome to field ground balls and play catch on that field!

3) Chicago, IL

So much to do. I mean whatever you want, it is at your finger tips. I've been to museums, baseball games (shocker, I know!), deep dish pizza places and, of course, Willow Creek Community Church!



4) Baltimore, MD

I love this place. I only grew-up just 90 minutes from here and used to visit quite often. It has the prettiest ballpark (Camden Yards), the Inner Harbor and the Babe Ruth museum agmonst other things. Whenever I go back to Pennsylvania I usually try to plan a trip down there. Just a great place to "chill out" for a few hours.

5) St. Louis, MO

I only spent one day there a few years ago but really enjoyed that city. The "arch" is amazing, the little shopping areas are cool and Busch Stadium was cool. Nothing like reall extra special about it but was so just nice, you know?!?

BIG TERM PAPER

For the last few weeks I have this big final paper due for my first class toward my Masters of Ministry degree - Interpreting the Old Testament.

Here's the final stat count:

Number of Pages: 17
Word Count: 5100+
Sources Used: 10
Hours Devoted to Paper: Enough!

Ok, this paper on the Meaning and Significance of Psalm chapter 2 was really interesting. There were moments that I struggled with it but I really found myself like "woah" during some of the research. Of course I hope that I get a grade that reflects how much I worked at this thing and the "woah" factor reflects in the paper.

Well, whatever the grade I get, I enjoyed reading some of the commentaries that people like Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry and A.R. Faussett had on this stuff. Most people reading this are like - who are those guys?!? They are really important and that's about all you need to know. Very smart individuals.

The best part of this paper was I found a way to incorporate Rob Bell's "Velvet Elvis" and Erwin McManus' "Barbarian Way" ... I'm sure Dr. Tomasino will start scratching his head when he reads that portion of the paper! He is a pretty cool professor so I'll be curious to see what he says about that!

Well, my next class starts on Tuesday - "Theology of the Old Testament" again with Dr. Tomasino. Should be interesting! Maybe I can quote something from Bill Hybels or John Ortburg book!

FROM SPACE ...

I got this in an e-mail the other day. This is a picture NASA took with the hubble telescope. Called "The Eye of God" ... Pretty Cool picture.

MY NEW ALBUM

Every now and then there are albums that I can't wait to purchase (U2, Coldplay) and I've really been looking forward to buying Switchfoot's new album "Nothing is Sound" for months now. So yesterday around Noon I did my usual grocery shopping at Target and found my way to the music section and picked up my copy. (On a side note, it was nice to leave work for about 90 minutes to buy groceries b/c well my refrigerator and cupboards were fairly empty.)

Upon returning to work I immediately ripped off the plastic and put it into my CD player. I've listen to the album four times and it is going to take some time for this album to "grow on me." My fellow Switchfoot fans tell me to watch the DVD on the flipside of the DualDisc and that will help me understand the way some of the songs sound and were written.

Right now I would say that "Stars" is by far the best sounding song. But in terms of the lyrics I am a huge fan of the song "Easier to Love." This album doesn't sound like "Beautiful Letdown" a whole lot. For the most part it is much slower but still rocks out during certain songs. It's hard not to compare this album to "Beautiful Letdown" because it was so a freakin' awesome album so when listening to "Nothing is Sound" realize the two are vastly different. This is the kind of album you would put on at your apartment or home when you have friends over and you are just hanging out (i.e. a little more on the mellow side). As opposed to "Beautiful Letdown" which would have the types of songs to get your blood flowing in the morning and makes you want to sing at the top of your lungs.

I'd give this album some where in the range of a B- grade. Not bad but not great either.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD

Well as the "sports nerd" that I am this past weekend was an enjoyable one. Here a look at the scores that mattered most to me:

Texas 25, Ohio State 22 -- "Hook 'em" horns! Probably got a little too excited near the end of the game but what a win for Longhorns fan!

Agassi in US Open Final -- Too bad he couldn't win but man what a run for the 35-year old bald guy! I'm just glad I got to watch.

Notre Dame Volleyball -- The Irish spikers have now beaten three (yes, 3!) teams ranked #11 or higher this year after beating #8 USC on Friday, #6 Florida on Sunday and #11 Texas last Saturday!

Notre Dame 17, Michigan 10 -- Are the Irish for real or have they played two overated opponenets?!? Either way, it's a fun time to live in South Bend!

Miami Dolphins 34, Denver Broncos 10 -- Hey the Dolphins most likely aren't a playoff team this season but it's nice to start the year with a win!!

Silver Hawks 6, White Caps 3 -- The team I work is in the Midwest League Finals after sweeping through the Eastern Division series. Here's to hoping they win three more games and get me a championship ring in my final year in the business - HA!

COUNTDOWN SAYS ...

Ok, here's something I wanted to do for a while. Once a week I'll countdown my favorite something (i.e. movies, songs, vacation spots, etc.) so this is my first countdown ...

MY FAVORITE SONGS ...

(there are people reading this right now who are just rolling their eyes! - HA!)

#1) Walking in Memphis - Marc Cohn

I absolutely have loved this song for the moment I heard it. If I remember right this won a Grammy award for "Song of the Year" in the early 90's. I was a little bothered that Lonestar did a remake but oh well, the original will always be the best!

#2) With or Without You - U2

Probably not a better song by this band. I just freakin' love this song. Recently I've wondered if Bono wrote this song while he was thinking about God. It possible - can you live life with God or without God? The song isn't exactly clear b/c most people think it's about human relationships, I mean just a thought.

#3) This is Your Time - Michael W. Smith

Oh man, what a song. He wrote a book that went along with this song that was written after the Columbine shootings. More specific it was for Cassie Bernall, who's confession to the gun men that she was a Christian and she was willing to die for it. Her story is an amazing one, as is the song.

#4) Hanging by a Moment - Lifehouse

I still remember exactly were I was the first time I heard this song. I was in Perry Hall on the campus of Radford University listening to it on my friends Napster player. It was October of 1999. Don't ask me how I remember, I just do. I think I played at least five times straight.

#5) Live Like You Were Dying - Tim McGraw

Shouldn't we all be living like this song suggests?

Honorable Mention (no specific order) - "Meant to Live" by Switchfoot, "Superman" by Five for Fighting, "Niagara" by Sara Evans, "Go There with You" by Steven Curtis Chapman, "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen, "Til Kingdom Come" by Coldplay, "Everything I do ..." by Bryan Adams

I guess who can just call this mix of songs, well - interesting! However, please notice the lack of R&B and Rap. Not a fan of those genres at all. This list is subject to change as more great songs get released!

TENNIS ANYONE??

For those of you who don't know, I am a tennis fan. In fact years ago I used to play tennis so regularly that it was more of a way of life then just a hobby. And really this is one of my favorite times of the year because I love watching the U.S. Open. Well, I would love to watch more of the U.S. Open but I don't have cable!

OK, so does anyone remember when Andre Agassi was doing those camera advertisements and "image is everything" motto? Man, I thought he was the coolest cat on the block. Now flash forward to the present time and he just is a pleasure to watch and I don't care about his image he portrays but rather the game and work ethic he is putting forth is what's important.

Last night was just a classic. The guy is 35 years old and has been playing tennis on a professional level for just about as long as I have been on the planet and he won a match that he had no business winning against James Blake. He was basically down and out. But the "old man" from Las Vegas proves once again proves to those who doubt him that he isn't going away. The guy was down 2 sets to none and a break of serve and just a few points from defeat more than once. I mean, I'm just basically speech-less.

Here's the thing -- the guy doesn't have many chances left to win a Grand Slam title. He just doesn't. You gotta start believing that maybe, just maybe he can win this thing. And if he doesn't win it, then it was fun to enjoy the run he's been on the last 10 days!

He's got a semifinal match against a guy he should beat then probably a match-up in the Finals against one the best (if not the best) player in the history of the game. There's something magical about the run he's made thus far so here's to hoping there's enough magic for two more matches!

VELVET ELVIS

It wasn't long ago that sitting down and reading a book was about as exciting as watching a catapillar morph into a butterfly. I mean, you knew that it would a cool process but man I just didn't have the patience to do it. (I know a wierd analogy) Luckily I have overcome that lack of patience and I find myself reading -- a lot (no, I mean A LOT).

I just finished Rob Bell's first book "Velvet Elvis" on Monday afternoon and I still can't put the book down. I've read a lot of good, maybe even great, books recently but this one was different. It was just awesome and I really can't totally describe why. Maybe it's the fact that I am still picking this book and re-reading some of the portions I highlighted again and again. Maybe it's because Rob Bell is just freakin' awesome. Maybe it's just because this book has challenged me and resonated with me like no other. For whatever reason, I just can't keep it on the coffee table.

Just a quick little look at some of the content:

"Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don't have any."

"When everything gets answered, it's fake. The mystery is the truth."

OK, as a person who truly is interested in "living in the questions," those statements fire me up! There are seven pages of the books devoted to the whole "question" thing. Oh man, break out the bright orange highlighter.

The second thing that really, really pumped me up (about sin and sinning):

" ... I move on. Not because sin isn't serious, but because I am taking seriously who God says I am. The point isn't my failure; it is God's success in remaking me into the person he originally intended me to be. God's strength, not mine. God's power, not mine. So what does it mean for the Christian life? To begin, Christians are people learning who they are in Christ. We are being taught about our new identity."

Ok, go with me here ... We as Christian, and even more specifically Christian leaders, need to start telling people who they are in Christ rather then telling people what they can and can not do. You know, stop doing sin management but rather let people be the re-newed person they are in Christ!

You know, a re-newed person just like the catapillar and butterfly?!? (well, maybe not but ....)