When tragedy comes close to home

Today, workers in Ghent, W.Va., will continue to work through the debris of what remainds of the Little General Store on U.S. 19. Workers are fearful of what they will find once they clear the debris.

Churches in the area are planning prayer vigils to honor the memories of the dead and pray for those recovering. I’m still in shock when I search for news updates or call home to get some bits. The news, at times, is hard to take. In one minute, you’re sitting at a gas station, getting gas, the next minute your life is forever changed.

I’m reminded of the Sago Mine Tragedy in Upshur County, W.Va., last year. Thirteen miners go to work and then in a minute their families lives are changed forever.

In these dark moments, we often as the question of why, but perhaps we shouldn’t. Even in the darkest moments of life, faith can be shown clearly, as in a community coming together with the love of Christ to help their fellow brother and sister, as what is clearly happening in Ghent, Cool Ridge, Flat Top, Shady Spring, Grandview and all points in Raleigh County.

I’m reminded also of a verse that is on a bracelet that I wear daily. Now, the bracelet is a reminder of my cousin, Hannah, who passed away in November.

The verse states:

I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth. - Psalm 121: 1-2.

My prayer for home is that God’s loves continues to shine and his hand of hope and healing will touch those who are hurting in the way that he knows is needed.

Gas station in West Virginia explodes

My home community in West Virginia is shocked today as a gas explosion in Ghent, W.Va., led to the destruction of a gas station near WinterPlace Ski Resort and sadly cost the lives of four people. One EMT worker and one firefigher are among the dead. Nine others are seriously injured.

No names have been released, but that could come during a press conference being held currently.

According to media reports, a propone tank exploded at about 10:45 a.m., as rescue workers from Ghent Volunteer Fire Department were reporting on the scene. The explosion destroyed the gas station. Raleigh County Sheriff Danny Moore said the debris field looked as if a tornado went through the area.

To give you perspective on where the gas station is located, it is near Ghent Elementary School, which reports say had windows blown out. The school is less than a mile from the gas station. The gas station is also located across the street from Flat Top Lake, a gated community for people who can’t afford to live at Glade Springs. It is about two miles from WinterPlace Ski Resort, and six miles from Glade Springs on Route 19.

This is a heavy-traffic area and a major artery for residents in southern Raleigh County to reach Beckley and other places in Raleigh County, without using the toll road.

UPDATE: Officials are saying that all injuries are accounted for and work will continue until dark and then resume in the morning with the clean-up of the debris field.

O.J. Mayo considering lawsuit

If you’re a fan of college basketball, then you’ve probably have heard of O.J. Mayo, the Huntington (W.Va.) high school talent who is most likely the best in the nation who has also signed a letter of intent to play for USC next year.

On Friday, Huntington - the top team in the nation as well as the No. 1 team in Class AAA (the highest level of compeition in West Virginia) - took on Capital (Charleston, W.Va.) Friday in a battle of the class’ top two teams. Huntington won, but loss in that Mayo received two technical fouls  - one of taunting, the other for a confrontation with an official. According to West Virginia Secondary Schools Athletics Commission guidelines, Mayo must sit out two games for being ejected.

That includes a scheduled trip Tuesday to Durham, N.C., for a scheduled tilt with Artesia of California at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Now some fans are crying foul saying the referees had it out for Mayo and Huntington High, an allegation that is hard to prove regardless of the situation and is typically focused on the typical belief that our team is better than yours and the refs are always out to get us (see North Carolina State fan).

Now comes word that Mayo has brought into the hysteria and is considering a lawsuit to allow him to play Tuesday at Duke. Hopefully, Mayo will realize that seeking a legal injuncton to be allowed to play in a high school games makes no sense. Regardless if you agree with the foul called or not, Mayo was assessed with two technical fouls and ejected, by rule Mayo is to sit out two games. The same rules apply to Mayo as they do to the benchwarmer who is thankful to play garbage time.

Perhaps Mayo can take this time to realize that even if he’s the top prep athlete in the nation, and the top prospect to come out of West Virginia since, perhaps, Jerry West in basketball, that he is not bigger than the game. Sometimes things don’t go our way in life, those are moments when character, true character forms, and builds the foundation of our values for our future.

Let’s see what Mayo learns from this.

Super Bowl XLI Prediction

There is still a week left to go before Super Bowl XLI, but perhaps now is the time to take a look at the game and determine whom will win. So far, I’ve done pretty well guessing this postseason, though I went 1-for-2 last week. I’ll take a .500 batting average any day of the week, of course that’s also good enough to be in playoff contention in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

But to the game at hand - Indianapolis vs. Chicago. Colts vs. Bears. This is going to be a classic game, I really believe that. It sets up well for a great battle between the Bears’ defensive attack against the offensive fire power of the Colts. To determine who will win, you have to ask several key questions:

1) Who has the edge on the match-ups? When the Colts are on offense, the Bears defensive game plan must be sound. The Patriots could not account for Peyton Manning on the sidelines. The Bears must get sound play from the defensive line, to create blocking issues for the Colts’ front line. If they can do that, they should be able to shut down Manning’s passing routes. However, Manning must be able to establish the running game with Joseph Adai and Rhodes. When the Bears are on offense, the focus will be on Rex Grossman and if he can perform under what will be the most pressure of his professional life. The Colts’ defense must be able to play to the same level they have this postseason and get sound pressure and stop the running game, which the Bears will have to depend on if Grossman is rocky.

2. Intangibles? Peyton Manning has arrived at the Super Bowl, but that is just mission 1. How will he react to the pressure of the game itself? The Colts are also arriving to Miami tomorrow, while the Bears will arrive today. How will that extra day in Miami help or hurt the Bears? Also, Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith have never been a head coach in this game, who blinks first and makes the first coaching error?

When it’s all said and done, I believe the game is close. The line of 7 favoring the Colts is too high, in my opinion, and is mostly that high because of the quarterback match-up between Manning and Grossman, which highly favors Manning. Grossman’s not even in the same state as far as talent with Manning. When a game is this close, you have to look at the quarterback position because that person will provide the on-field leadership to lead a team to victory. In this case, you have to look at Manning. I believe he’ll be poised under pressure on Sunday.

Prediction: Colts 34, Bears 24.

Late Thursday Night Rants

I’m proud of myself.

It is now 11:17 p.m., and I’ve not said one bit of smack on here about West Virginia finally knocking off Marshall in men’s basketball last night. But, at least all order has returned to the grand Mountain State. WVU owns Marshall, sort of like how WVU owns the state of Georgia.

Did anyone know that the NHL All-Star game was last night? For that matter, did anyone watch? Did you know who was on the team? Memo to NHL - if you want people to watch the game, have your marque events when people will watch. Prime time on Wednesday night is not prime sports viewing in the middle of the winter. I, a hockey fan, didn’t bother watching and watched Friday Night Lights instead.

Speaking of Friday Night Lights, if you’re still not watching this show, can I ask you a question. Why? This is one of the best shows of the season.  I’ve been impressed with how the writers have dealt with a multitude of issues while keeping the storylines and scripts fresh. They’ve dealt with the controversial and relevant at the same time when one of the lead characters took steroids to enhance his performance, believing it would help him get a scholarship. The writers are smart as to where to focus their attention and this is a big problem in sports - the desire for the scholarship and the danger of what occurs when an athlete craves that scholarship and the money attached.

And how can you talk money without thinking Reggie Bush. If the latest stories are to believed, then Bush can’t be that smart. To risk not only his playing future but his collegiate program by taking money from an agent is just stupid. You were going to get the money. Couldn’t you wait the year? As Jim Rome said today, the ones who will pay for Bush’s deed is USC.

In North Carolina, Mike Nilfong was slapped with more ethics allegations. Nilfong needs to resign as District Attorney and soon.

In West Virginia, Ron Thompson has been heard. Good. It only took a year, just about. Thompson would resign as well. The lack of respect that he has shown to those whom elected him by ignoring his duties and not showing up to the Legislature is abuse of power. Maybe West Virginians will finally learn this is what happens when you vote straight ticket, regardless of political party.

My thoughts on the State of the Union

I’m done.

After last night’s State of the Union speech, I’m done.  If I had any support left for President Bush going into last night, it faded quick. The speech was uninspiring and dare I say boring, which is a great sign onto what the final two years of the Bush presidency may be like, uninspiring and boring.

Now before I continue, perhaps I should clear up something for the “Circle of Friends” - the nickname for my friends that read this blog -  regarding my political persuasion. I’m a conservative. I don’t care what the color jersey is, regardless if it is red, blue or green - I vote based upon my values and beliefs, same as I hope everyone does in this country. I thought, as one friend last night said, that President Bush would be refreshing and a different set of principles that would get us out of the days of the Clinton Administration. Perhaps we saw that for the first year or two, but as the war has draged on, and the government spending increases, President Bush - in my eyes - has turned his back on the principles of sound government and effective government. I’ve felt this for some time. I still wished he had a primary opponent in 2004, and voted for him because between John Kerry and President Bush, I would take Bush in a heartbeat.

That being said, I challenge anyone to show where President Bush can consider himself a conservative. His agenda items, last night, save for a few were nothing more than government intervention into the lives of the American public. I’ll support him on reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil and I will support him on changes to health care, especially insurance. The remainder of the speech not so much.

On the domestic side, President Bush continues to seek support for No Child Left Behind, a disaster of a policy that produce no true accountability on our public school system. Essentially what No Child Left Behind does is throw more money at the feet of the education establishment to fix the same problems we’ve been fighting for years without seeking real results. Once you allow the consumer - or in this case taxpayers - to have a say in where their education dollars are spent and how they are spent will you receive true education reform and sound accountability in our schools.

Then there is the War on Terrorism/Iraq/Afghanistan/And All Points in Between. President Bush refuses to listen to the cries of the American public when it comes to the war. Yes, victory in Iraq is important, but that requires the Iraqi government to do more. We made this mess and we must fix this mess, but sending more troops over is no way to fix this mess. I don’t offer an alternative plan. I’m tired of war as I think the entire nation is today.

Don’t have a dog in the Super Bowl fight? Try this

I’ve got to give it to the NFL and Superbowl.com, they have created an interactive game for people, like myself, whose favorite team is out of the playoffs and looking for someone to root for against the Colts and Bears. It asks 5 questions and based on how you answer determines whom you should root for in the game.

Now, I am probably going to root for the Colts next Sunday, but according to this I should root for Da Bears.

No more 800 pound monkeys

No more. Finally.

No more stories about an 800-pound monkey on the back of one of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks of all time, Peyton Manning.

No more will we have to hear stories about how Manning can’t win when it matters the most. That he’s not a winner. That he’s stuck with the Patriots in his head.

No more, and we are all better sports fans because of it. Why? Sports writers across the nation, yesterday, lost their playbook in covering Manning when the Colts came back from 18 points down to knock off the Patriots to advance to their first Super Bowl in the Manning Era.  Sports writers must now be creative. No more cut and paste articles about Manning’s lack of wins in high school, college, pros when it mattered the most. Manning pulled off the fourth quarter comeback that the Patriots’ Tom Brady is known for, and won the AFC Championship getting to the Super Bowl for the first time.

Manning’s come back was a combination of great offense (some of those passes he connected on were just amazing accuracy), good defense, and some bad playing by the Patriots. Brady looked irritated during the second half, especially in the closing moments of the fourth quarter in the final drive. That doesn’t help, when you’re trying to hold off a major comeback.

However, I will admit to not thinking Manning would be able to pull off the comeback. Then again, I should have known better since I was in attendance for the another 18-point comeback this year, in the college ranks.

For Manning, it was good to get the “monkey” off his back against Brady, who has dominated the Colts and Manning for the past several years, especially in the postseason. But maybe we should have seen this coming, just like that 18-point comeback. Though the Colts haven’t been able to get past Brady and the Patriots in the postseason, the regular season have been a different story, with two straight wins, including a win earlier this year.

Perhaps that will be the angle for sports writers today. They have two weeks to think of something new. It will probably be placing the monkey on Eli Manning, just so they can’t throw all all those stories, just yet.

Nothing says hurt like a Dusty Rhodes elbow

With one of my friends, at some point the conversation  somehow makes a reference to some old school wrestling talent from back in the 1970s or 1980s. We all watched wrestling at least once in our lives, especially if we you are a male and had a pulse. It’s hard to explain it, but there is humor in watching two men throw themselves around a ring, and then cut a promo talking about limo ridding, jet flying, or how they were the American dream.

That each had their own charisma and charm that transended the ring. Perhaps that is why we watched. OK, we watched because it was funny. But back then watching wrestling didn’t mean having to shut your eyes with the glorification of sex and other sins that have dominated the WWE in the past 10 years.

You can’t go wrong with some of the old school guys.  Here are some of my favorites:

Ric Flair - The man. The myth. The legend. He’s still going at it, which should be a shock to all things AARP.  The man could entertain. He had the mic skills, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” He had the charisma. And he had the hilarity with his some of his stunts in the ring, like the fall flat on your face or the end-over-end flip on the turnbuckles. I saw Flair wrestle once in Raleigh for a Monday Night Raw taping in a lader match against Edge. Why he is still wrestling beats me.

Dusty Rhodes - You can’t talk Ric Flair without mentioning the American Dream, Ric Flair. He had the style, and the elbow, and trying to listen to him cut a promo required close attention to understand what he was trying to say to talk smack to the likes of Nakita Kolof, Ric Flair, Randy Savage, or even this one regarding Baby Doll. But one thing about it, the man gave large people all over America hope.

Road Warriors, the Legion of Doom - At some point you have to bring in the tag team, and the Road Warriors were the beast. They were impressive in the ring and I wouldn’t want to mess with them out of the ring. Of course what sold them was the promos, “What a Rush,” and the spiked football pads. Could you imagine if Animal’s son James Laurinaitis wore those pads in a game? I know my pal Grant would be angry if Ohio State came down to play to something other than the school’s fight song, but just for Laurinaitis, let him come down to “Iron Maiden” wearing the War Paint and the pads.

Enjoy. So who were some of your favorites?

Welcome to Decision Week

So, this is the week I’ve been stressing for the past month. OK, well maybe the past year.

It’s decision week and a day. The eight-day stretch where I will go before two committees that hold my future in the palm of their hands. You want to talk about nerve racking. Sunday is the inital committee. The only real comparison that I have for what it may be like is a Senate Confirmation Hearing. I’m going to go up before a small group of men and women and talk about God’s grace, gifts, and fruit. By the end of the day hope to move on to what I like to call round two or (to keep with the mindset of the Senate hearings) the vote of the full Senate.

I’ve gone through a full range of emotions for Sunday. At some points, I’m extremely nervous. Others, I’m calm, ready to answer the questions of where I feel God is leading me.  Right now, I’m pretty much in between calm and ready for Sunday to come and go. Then again, I’m also ready to go to Asbury, get started on my seminary education and start that new part of my life.

To all my friends who have helped me get to this point, I thank you. To those who are coming over tomorrow for the cram session, I’m looking forward to it.

So let the Decision Week begin. It’s going to be a great week.