Tumblr Posts

My two most recent posts from my tumblr account:

Dwight Howard to Houston?

I’ve never really liked Dwight Howard. I’ve always felt that Glen “Big Baby" Davis should donate his nickname to Dwight, just because it suits him better. I love the man as a celebrity, he’s a lot of fun and lighthearted, and usually shows a lot of love to his fans, but as a basketball player I’ve never been a fan. Part of that is undoubtedly due to the Magic/Cavs rivalry back when Dwight was in Orlando and LeBron was in Cleveland, but also I believe that Mr. Howard as the centerpiece of a team is nothing but crippling.

As we saw year after year in Orlando, Dwight was able to headline a playoff team that was never able to have any success at a championship level. The age of big men is over, and teams who’s best player cannot create his own shot, does not facilitate well, and cannot make free throws tend to struggle deep in the playoffs. With the NBA getting bigger, faster, stronger, and better from top to bottom, it is apparent that the leader of a team needs to be able to score by himself, as well as create scoring opportunities for others. Dwight Howard cannot do this. Dwight Howard is a 57% career Free-Throw shooter which is just an example of his overall lack of real basketball skills. His virtues are his size and strength, but aside from that Dwight has little to his name. Dwight cannot lead a basketball team. He took the Magic to the playoffs 5 years in a row, but was repeatedly defeated by a “Hack-a-Howard" strategy that sent him to the free throw line, where he was unable to convert. And this ladies and gentlemen, brings me to my overall point, that Dwight Howard will not lead to success for the Houston Rockets.

I am sure I was not the only one irritated with the attention Dwight Howard received regarding his free-agency decision. My particular dislike for the player played a roll, along with the indecisive, attention-whorish way he went about his business. But I was saddened even more by his decision to move to our glorious state, and play for a team that has a chance to move up the ranks of the NBA. With James Harden and Jeremy Lin on the team, the Rockets are a great developing team, and in the next few years they will be serious playoff contenders. The addition of Howard increases their yearly win total, but I worry that it will not pay off in the championship ring department. The only way it can work is if Harden decides he’s ready to validate his superstar status and truly lead the team. Late in the fourth quarter of a crucial playoff game, Dwight Howard cannot be relied upon, and must defer to other players, and if Harden or Lin can become clutch scorers, the Rockets will be alright. If not, this marriage will end the way Dwight’s other team commitments have ended, with controversy and dispute, and with a team left wondering why the put so much on the huge shoulders of a man who can’t carry it. I just hope for the sake of Texas basketball that Dwight can learn from his mistakes, settle down, and be the mid-level star he was born to be, and maybe in the next few year’s he’ll be sporting a nice new ring. As far as the Rocket’s go, I wish they had used their cap space more wisely. With the likely departure of Omer Asik, they’re putting all of their eggs in Dwight’s basket, which could be a very risky move. I would’ve liked to see them go after Andrew Bynum, Chris Kaman, or Paul Milsap. They could save some money and maybe sign some other mid-level contract, while filling in a hole for a good big man. In 2 years I think the Rockets will look back on this summer and either see the best decision they’ve ever made, or their worst mistake. It all depends on Dwight, and how he handles the pressure, and whether or not his team is able to pick up the slack that he will undoubtably leave.

And..

Being Intolerant in a World Obsessed With Tolerance

I’ve blogged off and on for awhile but have never been able to get into a steady rhythm of posting, but finally have decided to make a conscious effort to post regularly so that the Interweb can be blessed with my knowledge and insight. If I can interest a single person my goal will be complete, so I hope my thoughts and opinions on current events and culture can be somewhat intriguing to a select few. I hope to write on everything from sports to religion to book reviews, and basically anything that comes to my mind. I have never been a huge fan of keeping quiet, so it’s nice to be able to feel as though I’m sharing my thoughts, while simultaneously not having to worry about anybody ever seeing it, as this page will undoubtably never be read.

The idea of Intolerance is one that has stuck with me for a few years, and has in some ways come to define the person I hope to be. The most important piece of my life is my faith in Christ and my involvement in a Christian Community, and I feel as though this warrants a certain level of intolerance. I don’t mean angry protests against this, that, or the other, or even disagreement with any specific ideas or opinions, but simply a general feeling that nothing is ever going to be good enough, and that there are so many things wrong with the world we are in, that need to be fixed. And obviously there is no solution for all of the problems, but the best thing I can think of to do, is to choose to love. I think people today confuse the idea of showing love with the projecting of happiness, or tolerance, and I don’t want to do that. Because of my Christian values I feel that love is the most important part of the way I should live, but that doesn’t always mean I say everything everyone does is okay. To me, love means doing the “hard" thing for someone because you care about them. Whether that means telling a friend that they’re living a destructive lifestyle, telling a fellow Christian you disagree with their opinions, or simply opening the door for someone on the way into a store, loving someone means putting yourself on the line because you think it is in their best interest. Being a Christian means sacrificing yourself so that others may see the message of Jesus.

I tend to fall into the trap of forgetting that loving and caring for someone doesn’t always mean just telling them you’re there for them if they need anything, sometimes it means plunging your hand into the mess and helping them clean it up. I don’t want to be tolerant of everyone, because tolerance is the same as indifference. I want to be able to speak up about problems that I see, and not be silenced by a fear that I will be pegged as judgmental or pretentious. Now I hope my intolerance doesn’t lead to division and aggression, but rather leads to me finding ways to help others. The main message I would like to convey with my life is that I’m not tolerant, and I refuse to sit back and tolerate injustice, I refuse tolerate cancer, I refuse to tolerate the Yankees, I refuse to tolerate poverty, I refuse to tolerate school shootings, I refuse to tolerate crappy movies, I refuse to tolerate false Christ followers, and I refuse to tolerate Oklahoma. That doesn’t mean I have to create animosity, but simply that I have to be unwilling to sacrifice my values just because society says I shouldn’t speak out against anyone.

By starting this new blog I hope to primarily help myself to make a conscious effort to thoroughly think through my life in every facet, from politics to sports to religion to movies. I want to be able to put into words how every aspect of my life can relate to my life’s central theme, which is the theme of Christ’s message, which is that this life is not enough, this world is not right, and it is the duty of those that follow him to make our world more like his Kingdom.