I’m not sure they’re any more likely to be reading this blog today than to have been watching my Twitter account yesterday, but just in case Roy Williams or Jay Wright is looking for an edge before their North Carolina Tarheels and Villanova Wildcats face off tomorrow night for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship… I had a little fun … More Championship Basketball: Some Advice from Coach Rupp
For national anthem buffs like me, it doesn’t get much more exciting than this! Yes, earlier today the British parliament took a step towards England adopting its own national anthem, as opposed to using “God Save the Queen.” The sponsor of the bill, a Labour MP named Toby Perkins, noted the tension between British and national identity … More A New English National Anthem?
If you read this blog on a regular basis, I hope you’ve generally come away feeling like I’m an optimistic, cheerful, goodhearted person who does none harm, says none harm, thinks none harm. But if you’ve occasionally perceived cracks in that facade, as hints of cynicism, bitterness, and misanthropy seep into my writing… Well, I should explain: I’m … More How To Survive Being a Vikings Fan
This blog was quiet much of last week because I was busy attending the 2015 Symposium on Faith and Culture at Baylor University, on the theme of The Spirit of Sports. I won’t try to review every session that I attended — and I wasn’t there for the third and final day — but I thought I’d share a … More The Spirit of Sports
This blog will be quiet through the weekend while I attend The Spirit of Sports, the 2015 Symposium on Faith and Culture at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. I’ll be presenting a paper tomorrow afternoon on “Anabaptist Visions of Sport” — see a preview here — and then enjoying panels and addresses featuring everyone from philosopher Jamie Smith to historian … More Deep in the Heart of Texas
It’s relatively unusual for a religious private college to have a football team. While George Fox, Missouri Baptist, and Southeastern are among the most recent of the 270 NCAA football programs to have started in the last thirty-five years, it appears that about three in five schools in the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities do not have football teams, … More Football at Christian Colleges and Universities
There are other things I’d love to see my university get recognized for, but if hilarious pictures of our nationally-ranked football team are going to get Bethel publicity, so be it. Apparently, this all started a few years back when now-assistant coach Jesse Phenow (also a Pietist Schoolman guest-blogger, I should point out) took this picture. When roster photo-taking time rolled … More Christianity, Comedy, and Joy
Sharp-eyed followers of this blog might have noted a recent addition to my speaking schedule. This November I’ll be one of many scholars giving a paper at The Spirit of Sports, the 2015 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. I’ll be part of a session organized by Baylor grad student/blogger Paul Putz, speaking on “Anabaptist … More Anabaptist Visions of Sport
Yesterday the pitchers; today the position players for your Christian college baseball all-stars! Starting Lineup 1. *Dee Gordon (SS, Southeastern) 2. Freddy Sanchez (3B, Dallas Baptist) 3. Dale Alexander (1B, Milligan) 4. †Ben Zobrist (RF, Olivet Nazarene and Dallas Baptist) 5. *Stephen Vogt (C, Azusa Pacific) 6. *Larry Sheets (DH, Eastern Mennonite) 7. Lew Ford (LF, Dallas … More The Christian College Baseball All-Stars: Position Players
In Monday afternoon’s post on Christian college alumni I observed that those schools seem to do surprisingly well — given their typically small sizes — at placing former students in professional sports. One sport in particular: In fact, you could build at least a mediocre major league baseball roster with nothing but players who spent at least a year or … More The Christian College Baseball All-Stars: Pitchers
The Pietist Schoolman 