Hedo Turkoglu's Twin

Turns out I have a friend that looks very similar if not almost identical to the now well-known NBA Basketball player Hedo Turkoglu. He plays for the Orlando Magic, who by the way, got stomped last night by the L.A. Lakers. It is funny because every time me and my buddies watch the Orlando Magic play, without fail, someone will mention that our friend, Joe Aprile has a twin brother, Hedo Turkoglu.

Don't believe me?
See for yourself...

On the left is the NBA player Turkoglu, on the right is our friend Joe Aprile

The Unity of Sports

Well yesterday was a day filled with sports. Literally, every activity I participated in yesterday was centered around some type of sport. And yesterday I was reminded of why sports is such an important factor in our culture.

First was at 2:30pm the Champions League Final took place. Barcelona took on the powerhouse Manchester United. I watched this game with Jason Tucker at his house because we both love soccer and he has an awesome TV. Everyone was picking Manchester to win, but I was pulling for Barcelona, and Barcelona took everyone by surprise by winning the Championship 2-0. They scored a goal early in the game and then Manchester never really got into a rhythm.

While I was in the process of watching this game I got a call from my aunt who had 3 tickets to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game that was giving away. So I got those tickets and me, Jason, and Joseph Dickens went to that game after watching the Champions League Final. The Reds game was fun. We had great seats and we won 6-1, and Jay Bruce tore it up with 2 homeruns, and a triple to right field.

Then immediately following the game we went back to Jason's house and joined some other friends and watched the NBA Western Conference Finals in which the LA Lakers are playing against the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers won last night to put them ahead in the series 3-2. This was a great time to hang out with friends, friends who I haven't spent alot of time with lately due to being away at school.

So yesterday I was very much reminded of how much of a socializing tool sports can be.
I am reminded of how sports can bring a group of people together whether they have many common interests or not. It can foster relationships in the most diverse groups of people.
I am reminded of why I have devoted the past 3 years and the next year of my life to studying "sports ministry" and different ways to minister to people through sports.

Because sports unites people. People of different color, race, culture, ethnicity.

What experiences have you had with sports unifying those around you?

I Feel Sorry for the Cavaliers

So recently I have gotten interested in the NBA playoffs. In fact probably more interested than ever in past years.

Why?

Well probably because every time a new game is played I am just watching and waiting to see what amazing feat Lebron James or Kobe Bryant is going to do. What ridiculous amount of points each of them are going to score. I think it is this that has attracted me to the NBA playoffs this year. And I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of any team that is in the playoffs this year, but I will say that I would like to see a Laker vs. Cavaliers Final Series. I could care less who wins but I just think it would be a good series.

But what has caught my interest more than the playoffs in general has been how much the media has been talking about Lebron James. At first I was just hearing them talk alot about him during pre and post-game but then when I was watching a game I couldn't believe how much the commentators were talking about Lebron during the actual game. It was almost as if the rest of the team didn't exist.

And of course anyone who has watched TV in the past couple days has seen the amazing last second shot by Lebron to win the game by 1 point. This just sent it over the top. Ever since then I have not heard one name of another player on the Cav's talked about except for Lebron James. Granted he has led his team this far in the playoffs but without the rest of that team they would never be where they are right now, and it could be argued that without Lebron they would never be where they are right now. So I guess it is a two-sided coin.

But nonetheless, if I were a player on the Cav's I think I would be pretty angry for never getting any credit. But maybe the Cav's are just a team full of awesome sportsman-like guys who all understand that it is not about credit but about the team winning. Maybe...but I know deep-down those guys have to be wanting some of that spotlight.

I do know one thing, that team is gonna need alot more than just Lebron to win the game tonight against the Magic, and that was proven two days ago when they lost by 10 points. So I'm hoping the whole Cav's team shows up tonight and just blows the Magic out, but we shall see.

Is it just me here, or is there someone else out there that shares the same view, and feels sorry for the rest of the Cav's team?