Just a Thought as We Near Christmas

This is an essay from Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes fame...

Andy Rooney says:

"I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America , a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer...

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome ......

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do.. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority Rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... Especially those who denounce Him , God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God."
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Oh - and a couple things on college basketball..........
this guy writes about the Indiana Pacers. He wants the Pacers to deal ex-Brave Danny Granger.
The Pacers have played 5 games since Granger went out with injury...
they are 3-2 and averaging 102.2 points per game.
http://hoosierhoopsreport.com/its-time-for-the-pacers-to-deal-granger/
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DePaul hosted Texas State yesterday....and Texas State has only one win over a D-I opponent, a narrow victory over Texas Pan American (who are 1-11 with a 62-pt loss to Texas).
So DePaul should have killed them, right?
Nope - it was pretty close all the way but DePaul played their starters pretty much all the way, with two of them going the full 40 minutes, for the 86-69 win.
Where did DePaul get all those mid-major players?

Speaking of which....CUSA was going to be wide open this year with the demise of Memphis...
Houston, Tulsa, and UAB were going to make a run....
And it still may happen but Houston is now just 4-3 vs. D-I opponents, and has an RPI of 160, and guess who has the best RPI in CUSA right now?
It is Southern Miss!
Seriously, Larry Eustachy's Southern Miss has an RPI of 6!!!!
But hopefully that won't last for long and won't fool anyone....
because they haven't beaten a single Top 100 team, and four of their wins are against NAIA team!
They have found the formula to fool the RPI equation....
play only teams like Montana State and LA Lafayette, avoid playing anyone good, and schedule a bunch of NAIA schools.

Anyone see Duke expose Gonzaga?
Duke won easily by 35 points, exposing Gonzaga's #16 ranking as a bit inflated...

USC exposed Tennessee........someone finally watched some film and packed it in making Tennessee actually hit some shots!
Tennessee went 2-22 from the arc and lost big time to a struggling USC squad..
Hosting a Top-10 opponent still doesn't impress USC fans, however, as they drew only 4500.
Meanwhile, Bruce Pearl admitted after the game that he and his team were completely unprepared for USC as they had not seen any tape nor any scouting reports on the newly eligible USC point guard, Mike Gerrity, who ended up killing the Vols with 12 pts/10 assists.

Portland loses by 25 last night to go to 1-4 since fooling much of the voting body for the AP poll, when they voted them the #25 team in the nation.
I've always said, the people who vote in those polls don't even watch the games nor do they do any homework...they use the headlines from the papers and maybe a few box scores.

P'Allen Stinnett cost Creighton another win last night vs. New Mexico, jacking up bad shots, and turning the ball over 5 times.
Oh, and note the other team's shooting guard went off for 22 pts and 16 rebounds.

For those interested...the guy who was at one time ranked as the best player in the entire nation, even ahead of John Wall....has finally become eligible at Mississippi State.
Remember John Riek...who some people even said was ready for the NBA?
Well, he did go to a few predraft camps, but failed so miserably that some writers even begged forgiveness for overrating him.
Riek is now finally eligible and playing for Miss. State, but logged only 1 minute and doesn't even seem to have any grasp on the concept of the game..
He is a very long term project....