Why Does Ash Wednesday Matter?

The parties of Mardi Gras are over. The beads have come out of the air, and all of the King Cake is eaten. Most people could not tell you why there was a party in the first place, but the celebration Fat Tuesday leads into what I believe is the most meaningful time period of the Christian calendar.

Following the bravado and somewhat brashness of Mardi Gras is the more somber, yet powerful, Ash Wednesday, which is the start of Lent for Western Christian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox tradition begins Lent on "Clean Monday" (because doesn't every good diet start on Monday?). The Ash Wednesday service is a ceremony in which Christians begin the process of waiting, purification for the return of the Lord by preparing their hearts for the 46 days until Easter.

Traditionally, this service is one of the four most solemn moments of the church year (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday being the other three), as the magnitude of what we as humans did to God's son, and preparation for Maundy Thursday sets in.

Mardi Gras is popular for obvious reasons, but its lesser-known cousin Ash Wednesday kicks of
 Lent. These 40 days of fasting are more renowned outside of church because it leads to "he or she gave up (insert vice) for Lent." Jokes are made about giving up exercise, eating healthy, or being on time. If you're clever enough like devout Catholic Stephen Colbert you come up with things like this:

It's Ash Wednesday-- and we all know what the pope gave up for Lent!
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) February 14, 2013

We must remain wary to view Lent as simply the time, or even more of a reason, to forfeit your Facebook or candy addiction. Your carbonated drink or french fry obsession should not be given up for Lent because that is what you do; nor is a vice simply given up "for Lent"'s sake. A sacrifice is made as a reminder of what was given up for us on Good Friday. It is not given up on behalf of the season.

I am not calling for a change in the common vernacular, just its understanding. The fact that a season in the church calendar has become somewhat "common" is remarkable. On the other hand, the term "giving (it) up for Lent"'s common implication? That the world and Christians alike see it as someone giving up something because it is a simply a church thing or it is that time of year again does need attention.

It is time to refine the colloquial so that Christians--and eventually those outside of the church--see "giving (it) up for Lent" as an act of sacrifice, a worshipful action toward God, instead of a popular action among church friends or action because it is a certain time of year.

"You are dust and to dust you shall return." -Genesis 3:19

Here is a more historical view of Lent and its origins from last year's "No More Radio" post.
Two years ago, I gave up Facebook

National Signing Day 2013

Alex Collins and his father (sans mother) signing his Letter of Intent. Collins said he wore a camo suit "for the fans."

Usually at this point in the game, 24 hours later, writing a National Signing Day column is considered late. Thanks to Alex Collins' mama drama, deadline has been extended. This day seems to get wilder and more unpredictable as the years pass, and as social media continues to grow along with college football's importance nationwide, there is no where but zany for it to go. Here are a few things that stuck out to me looking back at this year's big day:

ALEX COLLINS' MOTHER STOLE THE SHOW- It would not be Arkansas football if there wasn't a circus involved, and thanks to Collins' mother we got a party. Collins, a Miami native, was all set to sign his Letter of Intent to play football at Arkansas, a decision he made on Monday night on national television. It should have been a time to honor the hard work he has put in earning a scholarship and a time to celebrate his decision.

However, as has been well reported, his mother came to the signing ceremony at Collins' school and took the binding paperwork because she wants him to play at Miami University in Florida. What makes this story even more difficult to understand is that Collins does not even live with his mother.

This afternoon he signed official paper work, cosigned by his father, which officially makes him a Razorback. His mother on the other hand has hired lawyers from a Johnny Cochran law firm to try and prevent his move to Arkansas. Her reasoning per her lawyer: "her only concern is Alex's well being." Give it a break, lady.

THE OLE MISS SURPRISE- Don't get me wrong. I loved my experience at The Grove and weekend in Oxford when the Rebels hosted Samford in 2010. But before Rebel fans get too excited about the future, thinking under coach Hugh Freeze you will challenge the SEC West big boys, namely Alabama, let's take a look at what happened in order for you to land the No. 7 class in 2013.

Ole Miss landed the No 1 recruit at the following positions: defensive end (Robert Nkemdiche), offensive lineman (Jeremy Tunsil), wide receiver (Laquan Treadwell), and a top-notch defensive back (Antonio Conner).

Nkemdiche has an older brother already at Ole Miss, who did some serious recruiting, and a mother who made it public that she wanted her boys to play together. Conner is from South Panola High, a Rebel stronghold for years. These two would have made a good class for Ole Miss alone on most years. They also recruited other top players and sold them on the idea that this could be the class to change the Rebel's fortune, instead of going to Alabama and continuing their championship tradition.

It was a perfect storm, but before we crown them Division Champs, know that other schools in the division have been doing this kind of work for five-plus years.To rise to the top it will take more than one class of stars to change the culture. Coach Hugh Freeze applied the full-court press to haul these guys in. SI.com writer Andy Staples reveals one of Freeze's assistant coaches exchanged more than 800 Facebook messages with Tunsil and another 400 with his girlfriend to help culture their relationship which turned into a commitment. Hard work paid off to bring this class (three 5-stars and 9 4-stars) to fruition.

TIE-DYE SCREAMS SWAG- There was nothing this year that compared to Isaiah Crowell pulling out a bulldog puppy to declare he would attend Georgia a couple of years ago. There was some impressive fashion from some commitment ceremonies though:

WR Stacey Coley (above) commits to Swag U. The only way this gets better is if a Vanderbilt or Stanford commit had donned a "Nerd" hat at their commitment ceremony.

DL Montravious Adams (above) commits to Auburn and proves tie-dye is alive and well. And yes, that is a picture of himself on his shirt. Love his humbleness.

ONE CONFERENCE IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER- Not that long ago the Big 12 was being compared to the SEC. There were some who thought it might be able to challenge the SEC for dominance in college football. Hindsight is 20/20 and we know that thought is comical. Thanks to conference realignment (Texas A&M and Nebraska leaving), Texas and Oklahoma's steady decline, and now recruiting we know who stands above the other.

Not one 5-star prospect according to Rivals.com chose to play football in the Big 12, meaning the Big East, the conference just waiting its demise, had more top players commit to it than Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and the like. Kentucky--yeah that one--would have had the fourth-best class in the Big 12. These are signs your conference no longer has the gravitas it once did.

The SEC went out and collected seven of the top 11 spots in the team rankings, according to 247sports.com. Which means what former LSU receiver Russel Sheppard tweeted may be all the more true:

From the looks of the recruiting classes the #SEC will win the next 4 National championships again !!!!
— Russell Shepard Jr.. (@LSUShep10) February 6, 2013

Clemson RB coach Tony Elliot

Speaking of other conferences, Clemson does some serious recruiting, taking prospects from Florida and Georgia just like the big boys year in and year out.

Coach Dabo Swinney knows what he is doing in getting high schoolers interested in his program. Is running backs coach Tony Elliot the secret into their minds? Notice the Twilight posters surrounding him:

It was a great day, and one that started early for this college football fanatic. I made sure to go to bed early the night before and was up at 5:30 a.m., waiting for the first faxes to be sent.

Yes, they still use fax machines which is a whole other issue: The NCAA at its finest, only 20 years behind the curve.

Column from National Signing Day 2012

NAIA National Championship: There's No Place Like Rome

Upon finishing my next-to-last semester of graduate school, I headed home to Rome for a couple weeks of rest and relaxation. However, I write this on the road, right outside of Birmingham, on our family’s trek to Arkansas to visit family.

When I got home on Thursday I obtained tickets to the NAIA National Championship game which is held yearly in the world’s finest little river town of Rome, Georgia. The game pitted two teams that I, nor you, have ever heard of Morningside from Iowa and Marian out of Indianapolis. 

For a town of Rome’s size, about 30.000, to host a national championship of any sorts is a pretty big deal to me; and while there are politics which may soon take the game away from my hometown, it is something my community supports with fervor—maybe not the game itself, as not every Roman has the budget to pay $25 for tickets to ultimately meaningless game. The game generated over $1 million for the Rome economy. 

From steak dinners at local churches for the players and coaches to a multitude of different activities for the visiting fans, cheerleaders, and band members, Rome holds its own—and the Northerners naturally love our Southern hospitality. To finish the week, the game is held at historic Barron Stadium, my high school's stadium.

How many people can say their high school stadium is also the sight of a national championship? Very few. Only four other cities in the entire nation can boast of hosting a football national championship.

Keeping with tradition, my sister and I headed downtown for a cold night of football and in hopes of a good game. We, as we have the last few years, sat with the former mayor of Rome and his family. His two grandsons are boys with endless energy, who my sister half-raised as much as she babysits and hangs out with their family. The boys do not feel pain from falling down on bleachers, remain hungry, and make for great entertainment as if the game was not enough.

The game was enough though. It was an overtime thriller, though the team we were pulling for, Morningside did not win and Marian eventually scored the game-winning touchdown. 

How and why did we choose the Mustangs from Iowa? They were the team assigned the home side of Barron Stadium and ate dinner this week at our church. This is when I would give you my take on the game, but you can read the gamer from the RomeNews-Tribune website.

My sister and I got exactly what we wanted in the form of an overtime national championship game, other than some ice-cold, seemingly unthawable feet. One can only hope the game on January 7 will be as entertaining. Here are a couple of pictures from the night…

The Marian Knights with one of the nation's ugliest championship trophies.

Our Mustang neighbors were much like Mississippi State fans, relentless with the cowbells. 

No Pat Summerall, but it was a nationally televised. 

The old marching grounds and field access after the game. Many a cold night were spent pointing my trumpet's bell to that pressbox. 

Note: This post is a week late going up because, while both grandparents' houses are active on the internet, neither have yet to embrace the wonderful world of wireless.

My Television Debut

There is a lot of news coming out of the college football world, as the BCS rankings become tighter and the No. 1 team in the country goes down. No worries. In a "down" year, the SEC still has six of the top nine spots in the latest BCS rankings with an outside shot of another appearance in the national championship.

Big news out of the Graham Reaves camp this week is that I made my television debut on Thursday morning. WACH, the local FOX affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina needed someone to come on their morning show and preview the Arkansas-South Carolina game this weekend. Yours truly filled that void.

While the game was something no Razorback fan wants to remember, it is one I will never forget because of my contribution to the local game fervor. Below is the video and here is a link to my write-up following my appearance.

Another word of thanks goes to you the readers of this site. Thank you for reading my previous post about why Mark Richt needs to stay the head coach of Georgia. It became the most read piece on this site.

My old man took the link and sent it to  Richt's office and the Athletic Director of UGA. He did get a response from Richt's secretary saying thank you. I like to think he read it, posted it in his office and he brings it up after he leads the Bulldogs to the SEC Championship.

It has been a busy semester between school and writing a couple of things each week this Fall. For those of you who were not aware, I have also been covering local high school football for The Times here in Gainesville. Doing so I have had the chance to get paid to watch football (always a plus), meet some great people within the community and in the local sports media.

Thanks to all of you for your support and words of encouragement over the past two years in my venture into this world of sports journalism.

Accept it UGA Fans. Mark Richt is a Good Coach.

Take your 10-11 win seasons, at least a New Year's Day bowl game (possibly BCS), and legitimate talks about your team making it to the championship game every year. Enjoy them.

As a fan, you never know how quickly success can come crashing down. Ask any Arkansas fan. Ask any Auburn fan. Ask any Miami fan. Ask any Tennessee fan. Ask any Texas fan.  Ask any Notre Dame fan how hard it is to get back to relevancy. Get the picture?

After the Bulldogs, lead by 12-year head coach Mark Richt, beat their archrival and undefeated No. 2 team in the country, Florida, in the team's biggest rivalry game, talk radio and papers in Atlanta radio have spent entirely too much time devoted to whether Richt should be fired or not.

Richt has run a clean and winning program, and what does he get from his "fan"base? No confidence and a place on the proverbial "hot seat" no matter how much success he has. Six reasons why Georgia fans' arguments are wrong and can give it a break.

1. "Richt can't win with blue-chip talent": Mark Richt has consistently brought in top-tier recruiting classes. He is helped by UGA's history and facilities, how former Bulldogs perform in the NFL, and ultimately his geographic location. The state of Georgia is the fourth best state for high school talent in the country, and Richt has had to fend off bordering state schools from intruding on his territory.

By Rivals.com's or Scout.com's standards, Richt almost all he can do as far as keeping his talent in-state and picking occasional five stars from bordering states. Bulldog fans argue that with this talent Richt should be winning title after title, a weak argument at best.

If you use recruiting as the only predictor of success, Florida State, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Virginia Tech should have been winning national titles for years.

2. "He will never win a national title.": I am sorry to break Georgia fans' hearts, but your program is not exactly used to winning championship after championship. The Associated Press has only awarded two national championships to UGA all time (1942, 1980). That's one more than Maryland and the same number as Minnesota. Let that sink in. Side note: Georgia also has two "Alabama" national championships -- the ones your program claims and no one believes.

The entitled thinking that Georgia should win be winning a championship at least every other year is a new concept brought about by Richt's early success, six 10-win seasons in his first eight years.

Richt should have gotten a shot at the BCS in 2007 when they were Bulldogs were "2004 Auburn"-ed and a two-loss LSU team got to the championship game instead. Georgia, led by Richt went to the Sugar Bowl and demolished Hawaii.

Vince with his star, Herschel.

3. "Dooley did it.": The almighty Vince Dooley did bring a national championship to Athens, riding the shoulders of one of college football's all-time greats, known simply as Herschel in these parts.

What is not as fondly remembered of Dooley is the start of his career. In his first 12 years, he had two 10-win seasons and a 4-5 bowl record. He also had three .500 seasons and compiled an 88-41 win-loss record.

Richt is in his 12th year. While he did have one "atrocious" season (6-7), a losing campaign capped by an Independence Bowl loss to UCF, he has two SEC Championships (just like Dooley) and has won 74% of his games with a win-loss record of 113-39 (better than Dooley). Richt is 7-5 in bowl games (better than Dooley).

Dooley's one national championship did not come until his 17th season at the helm of Georgia football. No way Richt can make it without one for another five years with this fan base, even with 10-win seasons.

4."Richt's players don't fear him.": Maybe they do not "fear" him in the same sense players at Alabama do Saban. However, no players love their coach more than the boys in Red and Black.

Just like Les Miles, Bobby Bowden and Pete Carrol, who have had pretty successful runs in college, Richt's players love to play for him. These coaches and others prove that you do not have to instill fear in your players in order for them to win.

5. "Richt has no control over his players":Put any group of 80, 18-23 year-old, young men in an enabling community that lets them get away with most anything because they play football. Now make said community Athens, with its unbelievable downtown atmosphere and tell me there will not be a few kids who get in trouble with the law. Not happening.

Add in UGA's toughest drug policy in the SEC and you have a mixture that looks like Richt has no control.

If a Bulldog violates the teams' drug policy once the player is suspended for 10% of the games, twice equals suspension for 50% of the season, and three times the player is dismissed from the program.

Only one other SEC school (Kentucky) has penalties for failing one drug test -- and you see how that program is doing. At Alabama, Florida and LSU it takes four violations to be dismissed. Gators who fail their drug tests for marajuana three times lose only 20% of their games. This is unfair approach is one Richt can no go backwards on. Instead he has to fight negative recruiting on this matter and push forward.

So it looks as if Georgia players are in trouble much more than other programs because the other programs are able to keep it on the hush longer as to why a player who appears healthy is not playing.

 6. My ultimate trump card, which leaves Georiga fans speechless, "Who are you going to hire that is going to be better?": Of the 124 schools in the FBS, only five (Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Oregon, and Kansas State) would not consider hiring Richt in place of their current coach not an upgrade. Why? Because he runs a clean program and is seems to always be in the hunt for a national title.

Also Bulldog fans must realize what Nick Saban is doing with "The Process" at Alabama is the only place like it in the county. He is the only person with such coaching talent  and there is not anyone out there close to what he does. 

Saban is Usain Bolt in a 100-meter race and the rest of college football is like Jared Lorenzen trying to catch up. There is only one of him and he is not leaving.

You had a $90 million football surplus last year to use for hires? Great. You are still not luring Saban away from Alabama. Not only that, there is no a coach with Richt's consistency and knack for winning available.

So on the behalf every college football fan, "Georgia fans, give it a break."