The (Almost) Perfect Game

Recently, Detroit Tiger's pitcher Armando Galarraga came within a whisker of a 'perfect game' - a rare baseball occurence where no batter even gets to first base. In hundreds of thousands of games, only 20 pitchers have even achieved this feat - although perhaps it should have been 21.


In the ninth inning with 2 outs, what would have been the last out of the game was called 'safe' at first base, despite replays indicating the opposite. Even the umpire who made the call later apologised - having seen the replay.

The best thoughts i've seen on this matter surprisingly come from Jon Acuff. Normally known for his satire, Jon (who is also quite the sports fan) wrote a piece about this game.

In short he commends Galarraga for showing forgiveness and grace towards the umpire, when it would have been so easy not to; points out that nobody is perfect - even long-standing well-respected experienced umpires; and admires the attitude of the pitcher to put the incident behind him.

Sure, he could have been the first Detroit Tiger in 110 years to pitch a perfect game, but that's in the past now. Armando Galarraga has moved on.

Did Jesus Play Cricket?

If you've had a read of my profile, you already know that my interests include cricket and Jesus. So you can imagine my surprise when I stumpled across the article Jesus Played Cricket.

Clearly, the game referred to is a pre-cursor to modern day cricket (it is described as a game with club and ball). I doubt they would have had LBW or a video umpire. But it seems that even back then, and in that part of the world, there was a basic hit-the-ball field-the-ball game.

Jamaica and Gold Medals

With the winter olympics just around the corner, a friend of mine hosted a Cool Runnings movie night.


I'd forgotten what an enjoyable movie it is. But aside from all the humour, my favourite line was from Coach 'Irv' Blitzer, talking with Derice.

Derice, a gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you're not enough without one, you'll never be enough with one.

It's another of those classic lines that applies equally well to sport and to life.

Tony Dungy is Second

NFL coach Tony Dungy has recently revealed some of the back-story behind his time at the Buccaneers and at the Colts. Featured on I Am Second, he has some great thoughts such as "How you respond to failure, how you respond to disappointment says a lot more than how you do in successes."


But he also talks about the more spiritual aspect of his life.

My favourite passage in the bible is where Christ says "What would it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?" And with 31 years in the national football league I have seen that a lot.

It's a quote that Dungy lives out in his life. He sums it up with this philosophy.

Every decision I make in life I am going to make it through the lens of Jesus Christ. I'm going to put him out there first - and my own feelings, my own thoughts, my own desires are going to be second. It's that simple. And if we do that Christ promised that he would come into our lives, he'd be our head coach and he'd guide us to that victory, that ultimate victory.

Link to video

Picking Teams

This season the cricket commentary on ABC radio has an extra feature - Justin Langer. Having retired only a few seasons ago, his insights on the game (and life) are insightful.

Today Ricky Ponting scored another double century. It was reasonably important after some people have been wondering if he still has what it takes to bat at number 3 for Australia - having made 0 and 11 in the previous match.

Justin Langer's comment probably applies to life as much as it does to cricket.

I'd like to think that when you're picking a cricket team, you pick character over cover drives.... There's plenty of talent out there, but you need strong people - strong characters.

Eye Line of Tim Tebow

Channel One showed some American college football today, with the Florida University team and their famous Tim Tebow.


Some players in football use 'eye black' to minimise glare from stadium lights, but it's Tebow's habit to write a bible verse on it (eg here and here). Today's was Ephesians 2:8-10

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I think this might be catching on. A player from the Cincinnati team had "1 Tim 1:15-16" on his arm. So i looked that up as well:

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" — and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

A Save to Savour

The other day i wrote about players who do extraordinary things. An example is this catch by LA Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. The picture doesn't quite show how far Torii had to jump to catch what would have been a game-changing home run.


There's something about such feats of excellence - those momentary pieces of brilliance that give us a glimpse of magnificence.