Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Gay Marriage: Yay or Nay?

Gay Marriage: this is perhaps the most controversial topic of discussion in this day and age. I am writing this blog as a response to a statement made by San Francisco 49ers' CB Chris Culliver. A reporter asked Culliver if he would be open to having an openly gay male as a teammate. To this Culliver responded, "I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do." In response to this, many commenters on various articles about this quote have labeled Culliver and all Gay Marriage opposers as "homophobic." I tend to have a problem with the term homophobic. It insinuates that people have an abnormal fear of allowing openly gay people to have the same marital rights as heterosexual people. I oppose Gay Marriage, but I do not fear this in any way. What I fear is something that every living person should fear; I fear my Lord and Creator. I do not mean fear as in I am afraid of God. I mean fear as in I am in awe of God. Honestly, that is what is wrong with the USA: there are not enough God-fearing people in this country any more. Most people are trying get God out of everything, and then when something bad happens, people feel obligated to blame that same God that they are trying to get out of everything for the bad thing which occurred. However, that is a completely different rant for another time. This blog is about my feelings about Gay Marriage and why I believe in my own opinions. As I stated earlier, I oppose Gay Marriage. I do so because it goes completely against the way that God designed marriage as stated in Genesis 2:24 (And that is why a MAN shall leave his FATHER and his MOTHER and be joined to HIS WIFE). To claim to be a Christian and believe anything otherwise shows complete ignorance for what is given to us multiple times throughout the Bible (some examples I will even include on this blog). The idea of marriage between one man and one woman does not just stop after Adam & Eve. Later in Genesis 18 and 19, God decides to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because they have become unrighteous. Before doing so, however, God goes to Abraham and tells him that He is about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham remembers that his nephew Lot is currently living in Sodom. So, Abraham asks God why He would destroy the righteous along with the wicked. He then asks that if there are even 50 righteous people in all of Sodom and Gomorrah to not destroy the cities. God agrees. At this point, Abraham works his way down from 50 until he gets God to agree to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there are 10 righteous people. Then there is a jump to the house of Lot where two angels appear to Lot to warn him of the impending destruction. After the two angels warned him, Genesis 19 says "all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house. They called to Lot, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.'" I'm fairly sure that most people know how this story ends: with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. If you look back at God's promise to Abraham, you will see that God promised to spare the cities if there were 10 righteous people. Clearly there were not. I believe that the Bible uses that specific example of all the men--both young and old--asking to have sex with the two visitors of Lot as a way to show the wickedness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
I have met Christians that like to say that they support Gay Marriage because Jesus never specifically said anything about Gay Marriage. I beg to differ slightly. While no, Jesus never was never recorded saying anything about Gay Marriage, He does talk about marriage a few times. Specifically, in Matthew 5:32 during the Sermon on the Mount while talking about divorce, Jesus states, "But I tell you that anyone who divorces HIS WIFE..." Honestly, I can stop right there to make my point. Jesus specifically said "his wife." Notice how it does not say his/her spouse. It specifically says "his wife." You can say it's coincidence all you want, but I personally do not believe in coincidences. I would also like to bring the attention of Christians who support Gay Marriage to John 1:1. It says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Some of you are probably trying to figure out where I'm going with this. Well, I'll start by saying that the "Word" that this verse is referring to is the Bible. In addition to this, God is also part of the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son aka Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit). All these parts are the same. In other words, another way to read John 1:1 could be "In the beginning was the Bible, and the Bible was with Jesus, and the Bible was Jesus." I believe that based on what I have already said, that that is a fair assumption to make. Now by that interpretation that the Bible is Jesus, Jesus talks about Homosexuality quite a few times.
I hope you enjoyed this blog, and I will have a Super Bowl preview up hopefully by Saturday.
God Bless!!!

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Sanctity of Human Life, Justin Upton, and the Pro Bowl

This past Sunday during Sunday School at my church, we talked about a very controversial topic that a lot of people like to disagree on: Human Life. Some believe that it is completely worthless. Others, however, treasure it more than anything. The way that I see it is that God created us in His own image, and that even though we don't know exactly what that means, we do know that God loves us. Most of the time on Sunday was spent talking about abortion. Personally, I believe abortion is completely wrong. I know if there is a liberal reading this, they are probably thinking that I'm just some conservative nut-job. And that may be true, but just hear me out. The Declaration of Independence makes it very clear that we, as humans, are given 3 inalienable rights (those which cannot be taken away), those being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To everybody reading this, did you see that first right? You know life. If you choose to take an abortion, you are depriving that child of his/her inalienable rights that people fought and died for just because it's an "inconvenience" to you. You are taking away that child's right to life before he/she even has a chance to obtain it. Recently, the National Government has been trying to put a limit on the 2nd amendment and has encouraged gun-owners to sell their guns back. A lot of people die from shootings every year. However, that number does not even begin to compare to how many children have their chance at life ripped away from them before they even get a chance to live it. I saw this picture on Facebook the other day and it definitely surprised me. If you didn't pull it up, it just said that less than 2000 children under the age of 19 are killed every year by guns; however, more than ONE MILLION babies are aborted EVERY YEAR. Those numbers are very eye-opening to say the least. For more info on the subject, I suggest you check out this blog. Now I would also like to clarify something. People may think my beliefs are inconsistent as though I'm 100% pro-life and not necessarily against the death penalty. To those liberals that are reading and seeing this, may I invite you to look at your own stereotypical beliefs: pro-choice and anti-death penalty. To me, I don't see a problem with letting babies live and putting to death convicted criminals. I do, however, think that the death penalty should be absolutely necessary. Don't just kill them for single offenses. It should be used for serial offenses. Now your stereotypical liberal, who is pro-choice and anti-death penalty, is in favor of killing poor innocent babies and letting the convicted serial-criminals live. Think about that for a while. Based on that, my beliefs are not nearly as inconsistent as that of the stereotypical liberal.

And now, for something completely different. Earlier this week, the Atlanta Braves made a blockbuster trade. They sent fan-favorite utility player Martin Prado, SP Randall Delgado, RHP Zeke Spruill, SS Nick Ahmed, and 1B/3B Brandon Drury to the Arizona Diamondbacks in order to obtain OF Justin Upton and 3B Chris Johnson. At first, when I saw this trade, I absolutely hated it because they were giving up Prado. But the more I looked into it and read about it, the more I liked it. The Braves managed to get another potential 30-30 threat (in addition to BJ Upton and Jason Heyward) for an aging utility guy, two starting pitchers who I have never been completely sold on, a SS prospect who would never get playing time in Atlanta and was 22 playing A Ball, and a 1B/3B who is coming off a terrible year. Looking at this now, I see that we absolutely stole this trade, unless one of these prospects becomes the next 5-tool beast. As for the batting order, what I would suggest is this:

SS Andrelton Simmons R
RF Jason Heyward L
LF Justin Upton R
1B Freddie Freeman L
CF BJ Upton R
C   Brian McCann L (once he comes back from injury)
2B Dan Uggla R
3B Juan Fransisco / Chris Johnson R / L
C (until BMac comes back) Evan Gattis R

This lineup has the potential to be one of the best the Braves have ever had. The only problem I could potentially see is strikeouts, but if you are concerned with that I suggest you check out this article from FanGraphs.

I'm going to keep this section about the Pro Bowl rather short, because it will not take very long at all to tell you how I feel about it. I feel that it is absolutely the BIGGEST waste of time in all of football. The game itself is an absolute joke. If you want to watch some decent football this weekend, I would suggest the Senior Bowl.

I hope you all have a good week. Thank you for reading my blog and God Bless!!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Conference Championship Pick/Mini-previews

Hello to everybody still recovering from the mini-heart attack that the Falcons gave us on Sunday. I hope you are all pumped for this Sunday's game against the 49ers because I know I am. Below you will find Mini-Previews for the Conference championship games. I hope you enjoy them and God bless!!

NFC Championship Game:San Francisco 49ers vs. ATLANTA FALCONS

In my opinion, these are the best two teams in the NFC this year, and this game could very well be the best game of the entire season.

Key Player for Atlanta: John Abraham
Last week while John Abraham played, we managed to completely shut down Seattle's offense. When he left, however, our defense basically imploded on itself. We are going to need him if they want to stand a chance against him.

Key Player for San Francisco: Justin Smith
Justin Smith is the key to the success of Aldon Smith. When Justin Smith is healthy, Aldon Smith can easily get to the QB as he has 19.5 sacks this season. That number would be higher, but Justin Smith missed the last few games, and Aldon Smith had 0 sacks in the last few games of the regular season.

Atlanta wins if...
they take advantage of and injured Joe Staley and make Collin Kaepernick throw the football. Joe Staley, the LT for the 49ers hurt his arm last week against Green Bay. Look for Atlanta to bring more pressure on that side.

San Francisco wins if...
Collin Kaepernick finds Vernon Davis. Since Kaepernick got the starting QB job, Vernon Davis has not gotten the ball very much as Kaepernick prefers to throw to Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss. Zach Miller really exposed the Falcons defense. Look for Davis to get quite a few looks.

3 Bold Predictions:
1. Collin Kaepernick and Frank Gore combine for less than 150 rush yards.
2. Aldon Smith will not record a sack in this game.
3. Matty Ice will lead a game winning-TD drive AGAIN, throwing a TD to Tony Gonzalez, to take the Falcons to the Super Bowl

Falcons win 24-21


AFC Championship Game: Baltimore Ravens vs. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

I honestly do not like either of these teams. Baltimore has a murderer at MLB in Ray Lewis and I just don't like the Patriots.

Key Player for New England: Whoever is covering Torrey Smith
Torrey Smith is one of the fastest players in the NFL and Joe Flacco seems to enjoy throwing the deep ball to him sometimes. If New England wants to go to another Super Bowl, they are going to need to find a way to stop Torrey Smith.

Key Player for Baltimore: Ray Rice
If the Ravens want to get the ball into the hands of their play-making WRs, they are going to need Ray Rice to get some nice runs in order to open up the passing game for Joe Flacco and his arsenal of WRs.

New England wins if...
they run for over 100 yards. New England's running game may be better than it has been in past years, but it's still pretty bad. If the Patriots are going to win though, they are going to need to run the ball well.

Baltimore wins if...
they get to Tom Brady. Baltimore has some pretty good pass rushers in Terrell Suggs, Paul Kruger, and Courtney Upshaw. Baltimore is going to need contributions from all of them in order to shut down Tom Brady and the Patriots.

3 Bold Predictions:
1. Tom Brady will throw another 4 TD/0 INT game
2. Aaron Hernandez will step up in the absence of Rob Gronkowski and have more than 7 catches and at least 2 TDs
3. Joe Flacco will throw for 175-200 yds, 1 TD, and 2 INTs

Patriots win 35-24

Obviously, since there's not a game worth watching next week, there will not be any picks next week. Instead, I will put up my 2013 NFL Mock Draft v2 and my thoughts on the Pro Bowl hopefully by next weekend, but realistically the beginning of the week.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

NFL Divisional Round Playoff Picks

This week, I'll be picking what play-off games have not already started, because as I am writing this, Denver and Baltimore have already started to play. However, I do want Denver to win that game. I'm just not going to analyze it because it has already started. Anyway, here are the rest of the weekend's games. Winners and in BOLD AND ALL CAPS. Enjoy and God bless!!

GREEN BAY PACKERS vs. San Francisco 49ers
This game was easily the hardest one for me to pick. Both teams are very good. In their first matchup in week 1, the 49ers won 30-22. I think that both teams have gotten better (and healthier) since that game. However, with the health of 49ers DE Justin Smith still questionable, I have to pick the Packers to win this game 30-27.

Houston Texans vs. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
Anyone who saw this game the first time it happened knows that New England absolutely destroyed Houston. I fully expect a similar result. You simply will not have an easy time playing Tom Brady in Foxborough in the playoffs. Patriots win 42-20.

Seattle Seahawks vs. ATLANTA FALCONS
This could very well turn out to be the game of the week. These are two great teams going at each other that match up very well with each other. Seattle has one of the nation's best secondaries that includes Pro Bowler Richard Sherman. I am excited to see how he and Brandon Browner will match up with Atlanta WRs Julio Jones and Roddy White. The last time these two teams met, Julio Jones took advantage of Browner. I think the players that will win this game for the Falcons are Tony Gonzalez and Harry Douglas. Falcons win 35-32.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Wild Card Picks and National Championship Preview

Hello and thank you again for choosing to read this blog. Before I do my picks and stuff, I ask that you remember my Grandmama in your prayers. A couple of days ago she fell and cracked 3 ribs.

Winners will be in BOLD AND ALL CAPS. I will also add a brief explanation for my pick since it's the playoffs. I hope you enjoy and God Bless!!!

CINCINNATI vs. Houston
Starting with this pick, you will notice a pattern that I picked a lot of upsets this week. Houston has not played well recently and Cincinnati has only gotten better since the beginning of the season. Look for AJ Green to find a few wholes in the Texans' defense. Cincinnati wins 24-17.

MINNESOTA vs. Green Bay
And another upset pick. This was easily the hardest pick I had to make. Honestly I picked Minnesota by looking at the weather for Green Bay tonight. Unfortunately it is not supposed to snow. That and I still don't think that Green Bay has an answer for Adrian Peterson. Vikings win a close one 23-20.

INDIANAPOLIS vs. Baltimore
This season, Baltimore has been one of my least-favorite teams. The main reason for that is probably because of my disdain for Ray Lewis, but that's another story for another blog. Look for Andrew Luck to lead another fourth quarter comeback against the Ravens. Colts win 28-21

Seattle vs. WASHINGTON
This is easily the best match up of the weekend. Two rookie quarterbacks who are on fire going at it. I probably would have picked Seattle if not for one thing: it's a road game for Seattle. Even though Seattle is undefeated at home, they are 3-5 on the road. Look for RGIII and Alfred Morris to combine for about 250 rush yds. Redskins win 28-17.


National Championship Preview

This coming Monday, the whole country will see the final college football game this season (sob..). Notre Dame and Alabama are finally playing. The two best teams in the entire country. After this, we will have to wait a whole 8 months for another college football game. Well at least we got baseball season coming up. Anyway on to the preview.

Key Player for Alabama: Whoever is covering Tyler Eifert

Tyler Eifert is easily the best player on the entire Notre Dame offense. He is also the biggest match up problem for Alabama's defense. At 6-6 250 lbs. he is not the easiest guy to cover or tackle. If he can find some wholes in Alabama's defense, Alabama is going to pay for it. I think that either CJ Moseley or Nico Johnson will probably get the unfortunate task of covering Eifert. That is good for Alabama though. Moseley and Johnson are definitely two of the faster linebackers that I have seen. They will probably have their hands full trying to cover Eifert. Whether or not they can cover him, could determine who wins this game.

Key Player for Notre Dame: Manti Te'o

Just as Eifert is the best player on Notre Dame's offense, Manti Te'o is the best player on Notre Dame's defense. Te'o will be leading his defense against perhaps the greatest two-headed rushing attack in Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon. Lacy and Yeldon combined to absolutely tear up UGA' rushing defense in the SEC Championship Game. Manti Te'o will get many opportunities to tackle them. Whether or not he can stop them could determine this game.

Key Matchup: Alabama's O-Line vs. Notre Dame's front 7

Alabama has one of, if not the, best offensive lines in the whole country. They have continuously opened wholes in the running game and have given AJ McCarron plenty of time to throw this season. Notre Dame boasts one of the best front 7's in the whole country. They are fast, they are strong. The main  battle here will be Alabama center Barrett Jones against Notre Dame noseguard Louis Nix III. If Nix can get by Jones, it will be a long day for this Alabama offense. However, if Jones stops Nix consistently, it will be a long day for the Notre Dame defense.

3 Bold Predictions:
1. Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon will combine for over 250 rush yds. but only one TD
2. Manti Te'o will intercept AJ McCarron at least twice.
3. Amari Cooper will catch two amazing touchdowns and be named MVP of the game

Final Prediction:

Alabama: 21
Notre Dame: 3

You may be a little confused by the score because you were expecting a much closer game. I, however, think this will turn into a blowout quickly. I think that Alabama is just simply better than Notre Dame, and it will show very quickly, just like the National Championship last year. That and you don't pick against Nick Saban's 3-0 mark in the National Championship game. Thank you again and God Bless!!