Strong-arming the truth

My thoughts on the downfall of Lance Armstrong are up at The Gospel Coalition: On a rainy May morning in 1996, I woke up early and drove to nearby Bristol, Virginia, to watch the start of a stage in a conspicuously branded professional bicycle race called the Tour DuPont. For a young East Tennessee amateur … Read more

3 State 3 Mountain Challenge 2012, Part 3

[Continued from part 1, and part 2] Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is an icon of the South.  As a kid, en route to see my grandparents in Alabama, we’d circle the hump-backed juggernaut as we passed through Chattanooga.  It’s lore was spread via one of the most innovative advertising campaigns in history — painted barns throughout … Read more

Knuckleball! is a hit you shouldn’t miss

As a kid, I remember playing catch with my Dad when he would throw peculiar pitch that didn’t spin like the others — it sort of floated in the air without spinning and seemed like it would never get to my glove. It was, of course, a knuckleball — a pitch that goes against everything … Read more

Horsing around

Saturday marks the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. For most of my life, I never paid much attention to it. I had watched it a few times on television, but never really understood its appeal — until I lived in Louisville, Kentucky for six years. The first spring I was there, I worked part … Read more

Gator Hater Week 2007

One point. That’s the margin by which the Florida Gators won in last year’s game against Tennessee. Does such a slim margin mean that we should hate the Gators any less? Absolutely not! There’s still plenty of hatred to go around. One of the questions that I’m most often asked regarding the Gators is this: … Read more

All-Star Sideshow

Perhaps the only thing more disheartening than watching the National League lose its 10th straight All Star Game (though the late comeback attempt was exciting) was the attitude by the Fox broadcasters who assumed its audience wasn’t actually interested in the baseball playing part of the game. Instead of the action on the field, we … Read more

Alabama Fans

I love Alabama fans. I have to. After all, an entire branch of my family tree comes from the Southern state that stars fell upon. Growing up as a Tennessee fan with an Alabama-alumnus father made for an interesting time come football season. I and my brothers were forced to wear crimson clothing as young … Read more

Penalty Kick Blues

I’m happy that Italy won the 2006 World Cup. Well, not really happy, just happier than if the Gauls would have taken the prize. C’est la vie, mes amis. It is sad, however, that a World Cup final had to end in a penalty kick shootout. I’ve never liked the shootout as a resolution to … Read more