...the treasure's in heaven...

2011 MLB Playoffs Picks (World Series)

2011-10-19T20:21:00.001-05:00

So I'm now only 3-3 in playoff picks...one last chance to redeem myself. I'm gonna go with the Cinderella Story St. Louis Cardinals over the Texas Rangers in 7!

2011 MLB Playoffs Predictions (Update)

2011-10-08T09:29:00.002-05:00

3/4 correct in the DCS with the Tigers, Rangers, and Brewers winning.

Brewers over Cardinals in 7
Tigers over Rangers in 6

Tigers over Brewers in 6

2011-2012 NHL Predictions

2011-10-03T15:43:00.006-05:00

EAST
Northeast: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa
Atlantic: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, New Jersey, NY Islanders
Southeast: Washington, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Winnipeg, Florida

WEST
Central: Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, St. Louis, Columbus
Northwest: Vancouver, Calgary, Minnesota, Colorado, Edmonton
Pacific: San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Dallas, Phoenix

PLAYOFFS
East: Washington, Boston, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Buffalo, NY Rangers, Montreal
(OUT: Toronto, New Jersey, Carolina, NY Islanders, Winnipeg, Florida, Ottawa)
West: Vancouver, Chicago, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Detroit, Nashville, Calgary
(OUT: Dallas, St. Louis, Phoenix, Minnesota, Colorado, Edmonton, Columbus)

Washington over Montreal
Boston over NY Rangers
Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Tampa Bay over Philadelphia
Vancouver over Calgary
Chicago over Nashville
San Jose over Detroit
Los Angeles over Anaheim

Washington over Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh over Boston
Vancouver over Los Angeles
Chicago over San Jose

Pittsburgh over Washington
Vancouver over Chicago

Pittsburgh over Vancouver

Hart: Alexander Ovechkin
Rocket Richard: Steven Stamkos
Art Ross: Alexander Ovechkin
Vezina: Tomas Vokoun
Calder: Gabriel Landeskog
Norris: Drew Doughty
Selke: Mike Richards
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk
Jack Adams: Terry Murray

2011 MLB Playoffs Predictions

2011-09-30T14:03:00.003-05:00

Tigers over Yankees in 4
Rangers over Rays in 4
Phillies over Cardinals in 4
Brewers over Diamondbacks in 4

Tigers over Rangers in 6
Phillies over Brewers in 6

Phillies over Tigers in 6

2011 NBA Playoff Predictions (UPDATE x3)

2011-05-28T12:02:00.000-05:00

Last chance to go against the Heat. Gotta go with the Mavs!

Dallas over Miami in 7

2011 NHL Playoff Predictions (UPDATE x3)

2011-05-28T12:01:00.001-05:00

A few different puck bounces and I could've been correct on both Conference Final picks.

Anyway, I'm gonna go with Vancouver in the Finals and have the STANLEY CUP RETURN TO CANADA!!!

Vancouver over Boston in 6

2011 NBA Playoff Predictions (UPDATE x2)

2011-05-14T18:51:00.001-05:00

Didn't do that much better in the second round...I hope I'll be better with the last 3 series!

Chicago over Miami in 7
Dallas over Oklahoma City/Memphis in 6

Chicago over Dallas in 6

2011 NHL Playoff Predictions (UPDATE x2)

2011-05-13T12:56:00.002-05:00

I pretty much messed up the 2nd round this year. Ah well, nothing I can do except stick with Vancouver...

Tampa Bay over Boston in 7
Vancouver over San Jose in 7

Vancouver over Tampa Bay in 6

2011 NBA Playoff Predictions (UPDATE)

2011-04-30T13:40:00.001-05:00

I was off with Orlando, San Antonio, and Portland, but I'm sure many were off with these series as well. I hope I can do better for the second round!

Chicago over Atlanta in 6
Boston over Miami in 6
Oklahoma City over Memphis in 6
LA Lakers over Dallas in 7

Chicago over Boston in 7
LA Lakers over Oklahoma City in 7

LA Lakers over Chicago in 6

2011 NHL Playoff Predictions (UPDATE)

2011-04-28T14:26:00.002-05:00

So I got 6 out of 8 first round series correct. That's pretty good, I think. I badly missed on Detroit, so I have to make it up here.

Washington over Tampa Bay in 6
Philadelphia over Boston in 6
Vancouver over Nashville in 6
Detroit over San Jose in 5

Philadelphia over Washington in 6
Vancouver over Detroit in 7

Philadelphia over Vancouver in 6
(Which may mean that Vancouver will win since I predicted Pittsburgh over Chicago last year and Chicago won!)

2011 NBA Playoff Predictions

2011-04-14T22:55:00.002-05:00

Here were my pre-season playoff picks:
East: Miami, Orlando, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Washington
West: LA Lakers, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, Portland, Utah, Phoenix, Houston

I got the top 5 teams for both conferences correct (in different order). I also got the top 3 teams for both conferences horribly incorrect. Therefore, I'm not sure if I'm any good at making picks.

So now, here are my playoff picks:
Chicago over Indiana in 4
Orlando over Atlanta in 6
Boston over New York in 4
Miami over Philadelphia in 5
San Antonio over Memphis in 6
Oklahoma City over Denver in 5
Portland over Dallas in 6
LA Lakers over New Orleans in 5

Chicago over Orlando in 6
Boston over Miami in 6
Oklahoma City over San Antonio in 6
LA Lakers over Portland in 7

Chicago over Boston in 7
LA Lakers over Oklahoma City in 7

LA Lakers over Chicago in 6

2011 NHL Playoff Predictions

2011-04-12T13:46:00.003-05:00

Here's a fun fact:
Montreal held the Olympics in 1976 and won the Cup in 1977.
Calgary held the Olympics in 1988 and won the Cup in 1989.
Vancouver held the Olympics in 2010 and...?!?!

Here were my pre-season playoff picks:
East: Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa Bay
West: San Jose, Vancouver, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix, St. Louis, Nashville
Stanley Cup Finals: Pittsburgh over Vancouver

I got most of my picks correct, while predicting good seasons from Washington, San Jose, and Vancouver.

So now, here are my playoff picks:
Washington over NY Rangers in 5
Philadelphia over Buffalo in 6
Boston over Montreal in 6
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay in 6
Vancouver over Chicago in 6
San Jose over Los Angeles in 4
Phoenix over Detroit in 6
Nashville over Anaheim in 6

Washington over Pittsburgh in 7
Philadelphia over Boston in 6
Vancouver over Phoenix in 6
San Jose over Nashville in 5

Philadelphia over Washington in 6
Vancouver over San Jose in 7

Philadelphia over Vancouver in 6
(Which may mean that Vancouver will win since I predicted Pittsburgh over Chicago last year and Chicago won!)

2011 MLB Season Picks

2011-03-28T14:20:00.003-05:00

American League:
East: Boston Red Sox
Central: Chicago White Sox
West: Texas Rangers
Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays
(The Blue Jays will be around 5 games of a playoff spot.)

National League:
East: Philadelphia Phillies
Central: Milwaukee Brewers
West: San Francisco Giants
Wild Card: Colorado Rockies

World Series: Phillies over Red Sox

AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez
NL MVP: Ryan Braun

AL Cy Young: Jon Lester
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
(Note: I was actually bang-on with my Felix Hernandez and Roy Halladay picks last year.)

AL Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hellickson
NL Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel

2011 NCAA March Madness (UPDATE)

2011-03-28T14:16:00.002-05:00

Technically, I had all 4 of my Final Four picks in the Sweet Sixteen, and 3 of the 4 in the Elite Eight, but then all went awry. At first I couldn't believe Butler and VCU in the Final Four, but when you see how they won their games, they definitely deserve to be in the Final Four in Houston.

Here are my picks:

Butler over VCU
UConn over Kentucky

Butler over UConn

(But honestly, deep inside, I feel VCU is capable of beating Butler and wouldn't it be cool for VCU to beat Kentucky in the final to finish destroying the BCS conferences?!)

2011 NCAA March Madness

2011-03-17T11:14:00.001-05:00

Final Four:
Ohio State, Duke, Kansas, Florida

Duke over Ohio State
Kansas over Florida

Duke over Kansas

And this is how God suddenly shook my thoughts today

2011-02-23T17:15:00.005-05:00

***This is exactly what I've been feeling/thinking about for the past while...***

Those who have apostolic passion are planning to go, but willing to stay. You know you have it when you are deeply disappointed that God has not called you to leave your home and get out among those who have never heard His name. If you will not suffer and sacrifice for something, you are not passionate about it. If you say you will do anything for Jesus, but you don’t suffer for Him then you aren’t really passionate about Him and His purposes on earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've always wanted to know exactly why it still hasn't been God's plan yet for me to go "to the ends of the earth" (as they usually say). In my mind, it's always been because I'm not "fully prepared". I've always felt that I needed to have the "right mindset" before I step forward, and throughout the past few years, I've been waiting. Basically, I knew all along I needed the preparations, but I didn't really know what the preparations were, nor how to get prepared. I just knew I needed to prepare.

Now I know. And I was right all along. The funny thing is, I've always had the preparations planted in me. I just needed to groom it. This "apostolic passion" is clearly what I've always had...and now I see this as the springboard to finally having and feeling fully prepared to go.

APOSTOLIC PASSION.

"Apostolic Passion" is a deliberate, intentional choice to live for the worship of Jesus in the nations. It has to do with committed to the point of death to spreading His glory. It’s the quality of those who are on fire for Jesus, who dream of the whole earth being covered with the glory of the Lord.
4 things to develop:
1. Apostolic Abandonment - Abandon what I want in order to be filled with God's desires for Jesus to be worshipped in all nations.
2. Apostolic Focus - The ministry needs to be for GOD, not man.
3. Apostolic Prayer - Paul said that he prayed, "night and day with tears, without ceasing, with thankfulness in the spirit, constantly and boldly for godly sorrow against the evil one." Am I willing to do that?
4. Apostolic Decision-Making - Apostolic decision-making starts with a passion for God’s glory in the nation, then asks, "Where shall I serve you?" Most people do the opposite. They ask the where-and-when questions without a revelation of His glory in the nations. Is it any wonder they never hear God say, "Go!" They have not cultivated a passion for the passions of God. All kinds of lesser desires can be holding them captive. They might never realize it.

It's clear to me now. That's exactly what I've been trying to figure out. That's the "preparation" I've been wanting to pinpoint to do. I need to develop the apostolic passion that I already had. So now, I gotta go nurture this passion and maximize it in order to truly be ready to go.

GREEN BAY PACKERS!!! =)

2011-02-07T00:31:00.002-05:00

Super Bowl XLV CHAMPIONS!!!
Aaron Rodgers MVP! =) GO PACKERS GO!

Another take on mentorship

2011-01-12T18:45:00.001-05:00

Sports Mentorship

http://www.thepostgame.com/features/201101/tom-bradys-guru

2010-2011 NFL Playoff Predictions

2011-01-10T15:00:00.002-05:00

I'm a bit late on posting this, but I made these picks before the playoffs started. (I still can't believe the Saints lost to the Seahawks.)

Wild Card:
New York Jets over Indianapolis Colts
Baltimore Ravens over Kansas City Chiefs
Green Bay Packers over Philadelphia Eagles
New Orleans Saints over Seattle Seahawks

Division:
New England Patriots over New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers over Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay Packers over Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints over Chicago Bears

Conference:
New England Patriots over Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints over Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl:
New England Patriots over New Orleans Saints

The Pastor of Pass Rush

2011-01-07T11:22:00.002-05:00

DE, Ray Drew Jr.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/01/06/ray.drew/index.html?eref=sihp

Mercy

2010-12-10T21:12:00.002-05:00

What is mercy? Is it merely the act of not receiving what you deserve? Is it just being forgiven? Do we ever stop and really consider what mercy is and how we can apply it in our lives? Sometimes it feels like mercy is just another one of those "christian" words that we hear so often and we're told to show that in our lives and so we just obligingly follow along.

I wonder how Jesus thinks whenever he sees us trying to "show mercy in our lives". What does it really mean anyway? I guess the best way is to look at Jesus' own teachings and see the example of mercy.

Matthew 18 tells of a parable where a servant accepted the mercy from his master, but his response to his own servant was not too merciful himself. I wonder myself if this guy really understood mercy or even accepted mercy at all? Mercy isn't just running off without having to suffer the consequences. Mercy isn't just about forgiveness. Rather, accepting mercy involves subsequent action in being merciful to others. And that entails a whole change of attitude ina world of "you get what you deserve". It's a way to live a radical life for Jesus ina world that begs for judgement and justice. Mercy requires a change of heart to become one just like Jesus'.

With that in mind, are we really ready to accept the mercy of God for all of our sins? If so, we must be ready to forgive and be merciful to others for their shortcomings, just as Christ did for us.

HOCKEY NIGHT IN DIDOMI!!!

2010-11-27T08:26:00.002-05:00

It's funny because this post isn't about something I experienced or participated in. I'm actually blogging about NOT going to a Didomi program! You see, I was part of the planning for yesterday's Didomi program that had hockey elements in it. A games night at Didomi about sports?!?! You know I would be uber excited and wouldn't miss this for anything!!! I was so stoked for this, but funny thing is, God decided that on Friday morning, he would give me a migraine that would pretty much affect me all day. Eventually, I couldn't handle it by dinner time and I went home to sleep. (Couldn't eat the dinner because I felt like throwing up). But now, after 10 hours of sleep, I feel as good as new! I look back on last night and realized God taught me two lessons:

1. Even though I was part of planning and was one of the people who was in control of the night, God showed me who really was in control and who really was the boss! hahah I thought I was ready because I was so passionate and excited about the night, so you figure that God would use me to somehow impact the highschoolers lives! But nopeeee God decided to sit me on the sidelines to learn, so he gave me something to think about (pun intended!).

2. Before I go out to lead others, I need to take care of myself physically (as well as mentally and spiritually)! It's funny because I've been having so many thoughts about missions and I did pray to God to use me in the next year as preparations for something big. And I now figure this is one thing to learn! I gotta use this year to take care of myself and prep myself and it starts with taking care of myself!

I hope you, as the reader, are taking care of yourselves in all aspects of your life!

Show me how to love like you have loved me

2010-11-21T17:47:00.002-05:00

There's still a lot of thoughts in my head today, one day after the life changing experience at 1040 last night, but something stuck with me during service today.

Yesterday, I mentioned about John 15:13
"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
This verse depicts what is so special about the love that Jesus had for mankind. He spoke of these words defining what is the greatest love, and then showed what it really was by dying on the cross.

We sing the song "Hosanna" (by Brooke Fraser) many times and I know there are quite a few people who question whether or not this song is a worship song. I'm not gonna focus on that, but rather just question why we even need to continue to ask God to show us how to love when he ALREADY DID IT BY DYING ON THE CROSS!!! haha

The thought of laying down your own life for your friends, families, and even enemies still mystifies me. I hope to continue to grow and learn of this love that Jesus had for his people, and be able to love the people of this world in the same way.

Toronto shall be saved!!!

2010-11-21T00:52:00.002-05:00

Honestly, I don't even know how to begin this post, but I'm going to just try my best to type out all of my thoughts in a clear and thorough post.

I attended the 1st Toronto screening of the "1040" movie, but honestly, that movie wasn't the highlight of the night. The most memorable part of the night was whenever Pastor Jaeson Ma went up to speak. I don't know how, but he literally turned my Christian perspective inside out; he called me out on what I've done and what I haven't been doing, and his messages really challenged me to take hold of my life and obey God in everything I do because frankly, I haven't been doing that. Let me try to piece it all together.

I'll start with the "1040" movie. This movie gave a great insight on the growing church in East Asia, especially highlighting the church growth in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. I'm amazed at God's work in the last 50 years or so in liberating those countries and bringing forth a new generation of missionaries that will literally rise up and bring the Good News to the ends of the earth. I sincerely believe in the potential from the Asians, and I feel that as an Asian, I need to take this call as well!

What spoke to me the most tonight was Pastor Jaeson Ma's words. There were many various topics that spoke to me, but ultimately, the theme that hit me the most was the topic about how I viewed my life. His words challenged me in the way no one had challenged before. I realized tonight that I was living a life where I was trying to achieve accomplishments for myself. I thought clearly about every commitment, task, responsibility that I had a part of, and I realized that I was doing all of these things for my own glory. Yes, I've always yearned to do my very best with what God has given me, but all of that ended up being for how I could better myself (i.e. how I can further extend my list of accomplishments). Jaeson Ma told me to throw that all away tonight. My life is for God and no matter how many Christian commitments I make, no matter how many prayer meetings I attend, no matter how many Bible studies I lead, if I don't do anything through the power of Jesus Christ for God and only God alone, then all of these things are meaningless. Jesus called every one of us to be a disciple, not a Christian. We are called to FOLLOW God. Every single thought and action should only be for God's glory. It's so easy to end up doing things for myself because this world tells us that we need to enhance our resumes or make ourselves look better to become the best candidate for jobs or whatever. But what radical thinking Jesus has called us to be: to throw everything we own away and give our WHOLE lives to God because everything ultimately belongs to God. What a powerful message!!!

Another thing that caught my attention was the story about the Korean pastor who chose to die so that his fellow 21 missionaries can survive. He was the living example of John 15:13.

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

We hear so often how we would sacrifice for our friends and family, but would we literally give up our life for them? I mean, this is real, this is our life. Would we ever give up living so our friends and family can live? This Korean pastor was a hero, but more importantly, he truly showed what love is, and he truly exemplified Jesus' love for mankind, which was to sacrifice his own life to save all of us. This was honestly the takeaway point of the night for me. Am I willing to sacrifice my life in order for my brothers and sisters to live? Maybe? But am I willing to be like Jim Elliott and sacrifice my life so that the non-believers in this world may one day know the Good News of Jesus Christ? My honest answer right now is no, but I want to say yes. I'm disappointed that I can't love the people of this world like how Jesus did, but I know that I can really turn my life around after tonight.

The last portion of the night included a extended period of confession, revival prayer, intercession, and reflection. I really felt God's presence tonight at the church through the many prayers to God and the yearning for God to revive this city of Toronto. Through the many confessions of lust, pornography, addictions, selfish ambitions, and other sins, we are one step closer to saving our city that is so multicultural, we don't necessarily even have to go to other parts of the world. We have all these ethnic groups here in our city that we must reach out to. I yearn to continue to pray harder and harder for this city, for the people, for the country, for the world.

Lastly, speaking of prayer, Jaeson Ma challenged us to start with praying an hour a day and see how God can revive the city and university campuses and church. I really saw this as a warning to how little time I've been spending on prayer recently. My prayer life really sucks right now, and I think I need to really shape up now. There are so many things that needs prayer and honestly, ever ministry here on this earth begins with the people praying and yearning for God's power to pour out. It's simple really. Little prayers, little power, MUCH PRAYER, MUCH POWER!!!

May the city of Toronto experience a revival like no other. I truly believe we can one day save this city, but it starts at the very first step: prayer. Who knows how long it will take, but we must keep our faith and trust in God's almighty power and never lose sight of God in everything we do in life. Toronto shall be saved!!!

2010 MLB Playoff Picks (UPDATE x3)

2010-11-01T22:36:00.002-05:00

GG! SF Giants, a deserved MLB champion!

They flat out pitched better, hit better, and defended better than the Rangers. Man that 4-headed beast rotation of Lincecum-Cain-Sanchez-Bumgarner....SO GOOD!!! And who can forget Buster Posey, a definite MVP in the future!!!

Congrats, San Francisco Giants!!!
(booo Roy and your Phillies...booo Cliff and your Rangers)

2010 MLB Playoff Picks (UPDATE x2)

2010-10-26T00:09:00.002-05:00

Here were my LCS picks:
Rangers over Yankees in 7 (Cliff Lee wins Games 3 and 7)
Phillies over Giants in 5
Phillies over Rangers in 6
And Roy Halladay gets his World Series ring!!!

I got the Rangers pick correct (only 6 games required, so Cliff Lee is now rested for the World Series). What I didn't expect was the Giants beating the Phillies (or more like the Phillies beating themselves with their lack of offense).

Anyway, here is my World Series pick:
Rangers over Giants in 5

I really do think Cliff Lee will dominate Games 1 and 5. The Rangers offense is so potent and will manage to get their runs required against a pretty formidable pitching staff.

2010-2011 NBA Predictions

2010-10-21T15:25:00.003-05:00

EAST
Atlantic: Boston, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto
Southeast: Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, Washington, Charlotte
Central: Chicago, Milwaukee, Indiana, Detroit, Cleveland

WEST
Southwest: Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans
Northwest: Oklahoma City, Portland, Utah, Denver, Minnesota
Pacific: LA Lakers, Phoenix, LA Clippers, Golden State, Sacramento

PLAYOFFS
East: Miami, Orlando, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Washington
(OUT: New York, Philadelphia, Indiana, Charlotte, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland)
West: LA Lakers, Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, Portland, Utah, Phoenix, Houston
(OUT: Denver, Memphis, LA Clippers, New Orleans, Golden State, Sacramento, Minnesota)

Miami over Washington
Orlando over New Jersey
Boston over Milwaukee
Atlanta over Chicago
LA Lakers over Houston
Oklahoma City over Phoenix
Dallas over Utah
Portland over San Antonio

Miami over Atlanta
Boston over Orlando
LA Lakers over Portland
Oklahoma City over Dallas

Miami over Boston
LA Lakers over Oklahoma City

LA Lakers over Miami

MVP: Kevin Durant
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin (just don't get injured!!!)
Sixth Man of the Year: Jamal Crawford
Most Improved Player: Eric Gordon
Coach of the Year: Erik Spoelstra

2010 MLB Playoff Picks (UPDATE)

2010-10-13T11:23:00.002-05:00

Here were my picks before the playoffs started:
Rays over Rangers in 4
Yankees over Twins in 5
Phillies over Reds in 3
Giants over Braves in 4
Rays over Yankees in 6
Phillies over Giants in 5
Phillies over Rays in 6
And Roy Halladay gets his World Series ring!!!

So far I did pretty well! Only one incorrect pick (Rays) and one incorrect # of games (Yankees in 3 instead of 5).

Here are my updated picks:
Rangers over Yankees in 7 (Cliff Lee wins Games 3 and 7)
Phillies over Giants in 5
Phillies over Rangers in 6
And Roy Halladay gets his World Series ring!!!

It's been a while!!!

2010-10-11T17:42:00.002-05:00

So it's been a long time since I posted anything unrelated to sports on this blog. That's because I haven't really had much I wanted to express via this blog in a long while. Maybe it's because I've been pretty busy with school or softball or other things, but I don't know...it could just have been because I was lazy! haha...but anyway, I was asked to share this past Friday at Didomi's Thanksgiving Dinner and I honestly didn't know what to share. On the Thursday, I felt God tugging at me to share about my family and just how thankful I was to have them in my life. You see, this past week, I pretty much spent my time either in the lab working mostly alone, or at home sleeping alone. That's because my dad was in HK for these couple weeks and my mom was at my grandma's house taking care of her this week. It felt pretty quiet at home and very alone. Usually I would be happy with the fact that I get the whole house to myself, but this time, it felt very weird and I definitely felt like I missed having them around just to chat. I can't imagine myself living alone in the future because I truly enjoy company and being with friends and family!!! Now that I think about it, I think tonight's dinner was the first time I ate a family meal at the dinner table since...well..Wednesday, September 22, 2010!!! ALMOST THREE WEEKS since I ate dinner at home!!! haha...so ya, I truly treasure my family and am very thankful for God providing me with such love and care from them and I hope I can pass on the love and care to those around me!!!

2010 MLB Season Picks (REVIEW)

2010-10-04T13:08:00.004-05:00

Let's take a look back on my pre-season picks on March 30, 2010:

American League:
East: New York Yankees (Will easily be the best AL team)
Central: Minnesota Twins (Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers will be very close)
West: Los Angeles Angels (Seattle Mariners will be very close)
Wild Card: Boston Red Sox (Tampa Bay Rays will be very close)

ACTUAL AL:
East: Tampa Bay Rays (barely beat the Yankees)
Central: Minnesota Twins (as always...but this time it wasn't even close)
West: Texas Rangers (the Angels and Mariners were not close at all...)
Wild Card: New York Yankees (the Rex Sox weren't close either)

National League:
East: Philadelphia Phillies (Will easily be the best NL team)
Central: St. Louis Cardinals (Won't be close at all)
West: Colorado Rockies (Will win a close race with the Los Angeles Dodgers)
Wild Card: Los Angeles Dodgers (Barely beating the Atlanta Braves)

ACTUAL NL:
East: Philadelphia Phillies (yes, easily the best NL team!!!)
Central: Cincinnati Reds (yes, it wasn't close at all...for the REDS!)
West: San Francisco Giants (wow...I was pretty off with this one... Rockies and Dodgers weren't even close! Kudos to the Padres for just being in this race)
Wild Card: Atlanta Braves (barely beat the Padres...at least I knew the Braves would be in the hunt!)

World Series: Phillies over Yankees
(Still possible, but I'm gonna make a change in my picks...)

PICKS:
Rays over Rangers in 4
Yankees over Twins in 5
Phillies over Reds in 3
Giants over Braves in 4
Rays over Yankees in 6
Phillies over Giants in 5
Phillies over Rays in 6
And Roy Halladay gets his World Series ring!!!

2010-2011 NHL Predictions

2010-10-02T15:52:00.007-05:00

EAST
Northeast: Boston, Buffalo, Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal
Atlantic: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, NY Rangers, NY Islanders
Southeast: Washington, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Carolina, Florida

WEST
Central: Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Columbus
Northwest: Vancouver, Colorado, Calgary, Edmonton, Minnesota
Pacific: San Jose, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Anaheim, Dallas

PLAYOFFS
East: Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa Bay
(OUT: NY Rangers, Toronto, Montreal, Atlanta, Carolina, NY Islanders, Florida)
West: San Jose, Vancouver, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Phoenix, St. Louis, Nashville
(OUT: Colorado, Calgary, Anaheim, Edmonton, Minnesota, Columbus, Dallas)

Washington over Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh over Ottawa
Boston over Buffalo
Philadelphia over New Jersey
San Jose over Nashville
Vancouver over St. Louis
Chicago over Phoenix
Los Angeles over Detroit

Washington over Boston
Pittsburgh over Philadelphia
Los Angeles over San Jose
Vancouver over Chicago

Pittsburgh over Washington
Vancouver over Los Angeles

Pittsburgh over Vancouver

Hart: Sidney Crosby
Rocket Richard: Alexander Ovechkin
Art Ross: Sidney Crosby
Vezina: Tuukka Rask / Jonathan Quick (CAN'T CHOOSE!!!)
Calder: Taylor Hall
Norris: Drew Doughty
Selke: Mike Richards
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk
Jack Adams: Terry Murray

2010-2011 NFL Predictions

2010-09-06T20:00:00.003-05:00

AFC North:
*13-3 Baltimore
8-8 Pittsburgh
7-9 Cincinnati
2-14 Cleveland

AFC East:
*12-4 NY Jets
*11-5 New England
6-10 Miami
2-14 Buffalo

AFC South:
*13-3 Indianapolis
*10-6 Tennessee
8-8 Houston
1-15 Jacksonville

AFC West:
*14-2 San Diego
8-8 Denver
6-10 Oakland
4-12 Kansas City

NFC North:
*11-5 Green Bay
*10-4 Minnesota
7-9 Chicago
6-10 Detroit

NFC East:
*11-5 Dallas
9-7 NY Giants
9-7 Philadelphia
8-8 Washington

NFC South:
*13-3 New Orleans
*10-6 Atlanta
8-8 Carolina
4-12 Tampa Bay

NFC West:
*13-3 San Francisco
7-9 Arizona
4-12 Seattle
2-14 St. Louis

Playoffs:
(Seedings in order)
AFC: San Diego, Baltimore, Indianapolis, NY Jets, New England, Tennessee
NFC: New Orleans, San Francisco, Green Bay, Dallas, Atlanta, Minnesota

Indianapolis over Tennessee
NY Jets over New England
Green Bay over Minnesota
Dallas over Atlanta

NY Jets over San Diego
Baltimore over Indianapolis
New Orleans over Dallas
Green Bay over San Francisco

Baltimore over NY Jets
Green Bay over New Orleans

Green Bay over Baltimore

Formosan 2010

2010-08-02T22:49:00.003-05:00

What a weekend with Over 9000 (Co-Ed 3pitch Rec) and Troopers (Co-Ed 3pitch Comp)!!! 13 games in total over 3 days...insane!!! I've never been this exhausted from softball...ever! I'm glad we won rec and got the dri-fit shirts! Too bad we stunk it up in comp and only got 4th, but Fusion deserved their 3rd place shirts!!! Gonna remember this weekend for a long while!!! (especially the 2-1 nailbiter loss to Blitz) (and more especially to the amazing time going from favourites to finally winning rec with Over 9000!!!)

2010 FIFA World Cup Champions!!!

2010-07-13T13:33:00.002-05:00

SPAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN =)
I predicted Brazil over Spain, and what I got was Spain over Netherlands, which was not bad of a pick since the Netherlands were the team that beat Brazil. Either way, I enjoyed Spain because of their crazy passing skills and ball control. Their midfielders did their job in keeping the ball possession and waiting for their chance to pounce. After watching so many Spain games, I can finally tell the difference between Xavi and Xabi!!! haha...I even recognize the Spanish starting eleven!!! Some may say Spain didn't deserve it because of all their 1-0 wins, but Spain ultimately held the trophy, so they totally deserve the championship!!!

Just a hunch...UPDATEx2!!!

2010-07-06T12:38:00.002-05:00

OK I have a strong feeling now it'll be Bosh and James in Cleveland.
Wade and Boozer in Miami!!!
Amare in NY, Joe Johnson in ATL, David Lee in New Jersey?
Looks like Chicago is the biggest loser here!

Just a hunch...UPDATE!!!

2010-07-05T23:20:00.002-05:00

Amare and LeBron --> New York Knicks???
Bosh and Wade --> Miami Heat???
Hmmmmmmmmmm

Keeping up with the World Cup theme...

2010-06-28T14:03:00.001-05:00

What I didn't know about Lucio, the captain of the Brazilian national football team:
http://thegoal.com/players/soccer/lucio/lucio.html

2010 FIFA World Cup Predictions

2010-06-26T09:03:00.002-05:00

Round of 16:
Uruguay over South Korea
United States over Ghana
Netherlands over Slovakia
Brazil over Chile
Argentina over Mexico
England over Germany
Paraguay over Japan
Spain over Portugal

Quarterfinals:
United States over Uruguay
Brazil over Netherlands
Argentina over England
Spain over Paraguay

Semifinals:
Brazil over United States
Spain over Argentina

Third Place Game:
Argentina over United States

Final:
Brazil over Spain

Dawn of a new Toronto Raptors era

2010-06-22T19:28:00.003-05:00

This Thursday, the Raptors will begin the post-Bosh era by drafting with the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. A lot of people are suggesting the Raptors to take a big man to replace Bosh, but my thinking is, if a pretty good PF named Chris Bosh couldn't take us past the 1st round of the playoffs, how would another PF or C do it? I say we need to start off fresh by picking a swingman because we all know that a NBA championship team needs a good SG/SF to lead the team. Given the fact that we have the 13th overall pick and not a top-10 pick, it'll be hard to pick an impact player like Evan Turner. That is why I'm going to take a risk and suggest the Raptors to select...

SF Paul George from Fresno State, Sophomore (20 year old), 6-8, 215 lbs.

He's athletic, can play all 3 perimeter positions, has huge upside (potential to be a star), and averaged 16.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals while making 90.6 percent of his free throws as a sophomore. Sources say he's like a Tracy McGrady in the making. If that's the case, we can pair him up with DeMar DeRozan and begin the rebuilding process.

We'll see who Toronto picks at #13, but I really do hope we select Paul George. I just have a feeling he'll be pretty good in a few years...

LOS ANGELES LAKERS...NBA CHAMPIONS!!!

2010-06-18T12:11:00.002-05:00

YAY!!! The Los Angeles Kobe Bryants won the NBA Finals!!! hahaha OK, actually the supporting cast came up big in Game 7 last night (Gasol was a beast, Artest hit a clutch 3, and Vujacic hit a couple of clutch free throws), so the Los Angeles Lakers were the deserving victor of the crazy 7-game classic Celtics-Lakers series! In the end, my pick came up on top AGAIN (good thing I made the right switch in the last minute)!!! Congrats to Kobe and his 5th ring. Who knows...maybe a 6th to tie Jordan next year?!?! Another 3-peat?!?! =)

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS STANLEY CUP CHAMPS!!!

2010-06-10T09:41:00.002-05:00

Congrats to the Hawks! My second favourite team! Finally ending their 49-year drought of winning the Stanley Cup! Now it's the Leafs turn!!!
Captain Jonathan Toews (J-Taze) won the Conn Smythe Trophy! Awesome choice as he is the heart and soul of the team. The hardest worker, grinder, and leader of the team!
GO HAWKS GO!!!

2010 FIFA World Cup

2010-06-07T16:58:00.002-05:00

Prediction:
Brazil over Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals!!!

Justin's Bachelor's Party

2010-06-07T00:25:00.003-05:00

What an exciting weekend! We went to the shooting range to shoot 9mm, .40, .45, and even a shotgun at targets and then went go-karting!!! I was initially afraid of hurting myself with the recoil because I've never shot a gun before, but I must admit, it was actually a lot of fun, albeit the really loud noise and then dangers involved with guns!!! Anyway, that was fun and go-karting was also fun. I haven't had a chance to go-kart in a while, so racing in them was fine, especially when you're in a group of 14 racing against each other! Too bad I had a slow car...but other than that, it was still fun! We also ate ALOT OF MEAT and drank ALOT OF BEER! Steve cooked amazing food (as usual) and there was so much Alexander Keith's and Corona beer!!! =) I gotta stop drinking beer soon. 14 straight days of multiple beers isn't good for my body...

Anyway, that was a memorable Bachelor's Party at the cottage! Congrats to Justin's upcoming marriage! Here's to many more (weddings and bachelor's parties) in the near future! =)

2010 NBA Playoff Picks UPDATED x4

2010-06-02T23:46:00.003-05:00

OK, so it's the night before the NBA Finals and I've been questioning my Celtics pick. Good thing there's still a night left because I am SWITCHING MY PICK TO THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS!!!

I look at Kobe and see him as a determined monster who will do every possible thing in his mind to beat the Celtics to win his 5th title. That 38-point loss in the 2008 Game 6 NBA Finals put a mark in Kobe that has haunted him since and even though he won last year, he wants redemption. I also think this series will be different because Artest will shut down Pierce and Gasol will only improve his game against Garnett/Perkins. The only worry I have is Rondo, but I do think Brown and Farmar will step up and limit Rondo. The last thing that swayed my pick was the fact that the Lakers have home-court advantage this time around for a 2-3-2 format. I don't see the Lakers losing the championship on home court, nor do I see the Celtics winning in 5 or less. Therefore...

LAKERS OVER CELTICS IN 6!!!
NBA Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant

2010 NBA Playoff Picks UPDATED x3

2010-05-30T12:50:00.003-05:00

This was what I wrote on my blog before the NBA season started:

NBA Finals: Celtics over Lakers (even though I want the Lakers to win, I think the Celtics bench is just too good. Celtics will win as long as they stay healthy. If not, then Lakers will win)

And wouldn't you look at that. We have the Lakers and Celtics in the Finals again. I didn't expect the Celtics to come through when the Playoffs began because I thought they had old legs and also the Cavs and Magic would be better than what they showed. But the Celtics are on a roll and they're still healthy for the most part.

The Lakers on the other hand have been exactly what I predicted. Top in the West with a dominant scorer (Kobe) and somewhat OK sidekick (Gasol) and lesser known bench. Throughout the West Finals against the Suns, the Lakers bench kept getting outplayed by the Suns bench. This showed me the weakness of the Lakers bench and unless they step up, the Celtics D will limit the Lakers to purely a Kobe-Gasol-Artest show. That would mean those 3 need to play out of their minds in order to win.

Therefore, I still stick with what I said at the beginning of the year. The Celtics will win, even though I want the Lakers to get their monkey off their back and beat the Celtics in this revenge match.

Celtics over Lakers in 6
NBA Finals MVP: Rajon Rondo

Chicago Saturday!!!

2010-05-30T02:51:00.003-05:00

Earlier in the week, Mark (friend who also came along to this Illinois trip) and I decided to go out to Chicago for this Saturday. We wanted to go all out and go to as many sightseeing places as possible, and now that we're back at the dorm, my feet are hurting and we definitely went all out!!!

Our day started at 5am when we woke up to make the 6am bus from Champaign to Chicago. We got to Chicago Union Station by 8:15am and had breakfast and began our long day visiting the following places...
-Sears Tower (Willis Tower) Observatory
-US Cellular Field (outside)
-Field Museum (outside)
-Shedd Aquarium (outside)
-Soldier Field (outside)
-Buckingham Fountain
-Millennium Park
-Magnificent Mile (on our way, we watched parts of the Memorial Day Weekend parade)
-Navy Pier (so many people)
-lunch eating Chicago Style Hot Dogs
-bought some Chicago caps
-Lincoln Park Zoo
-Wrigley Field (outside)
-bought some Wrigley shirts
-John Hancock Center (outside)
-United Center (just steps away from Game #1 of the Stanley Cup Finals: Hawks vs. Flyers)
-and finally, back to Union Station for our 10pm bus back to Champaign

We got back to Champaign by 12:30am and went to Legends for our 6th drink in 6 days there. A good beer to cap off an amazing day! =)

Now I just gotta recover from the foot sores (23.2 km walking today!!!) and slight neck sunburn!!!

The real-life Sheldon Cooper?

2010-05-28T17:27:00.003-05:00

So I'm in Illinois right now and I believe I've encountered the real-life Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. OK...maybe more like a Sheldon-Raj-Howard combo because although this dude is really really REALLY smart (and obnoxious in a really nerdy way), he's also pretty dirty, and he's Indian, so hence, a mix of Sheldon, Raj, and Howard!

Here are some awesome quotes I've gotten from him so far:

"You are all genetically inferior."
-Speaking to the undergrads here

"If I'm not nasty enough, then I'm probably busy visualizing anal sex."
-That's a Howard right there

"There are no true limits to great achievements, and if you let your 'friends' tell you otherwise, you can bet you'll be sorry when you look back on how you lived your life."
-No friends...hm...SHELDON!

"I'm desperate to order the new Playboy June edition but its either that or groceries. Don't know which is worse: being sex-starved or simply starved."
-Pure Howard

"It's fashionable to be notorious."
-Howard?!

"I have a 'seventh' sense implant in my brain called the porn probe. It starts beeping if anyone in the room is sexually stimulated (if it's me, there's a stronger detection device between my legs). Right now, its beeping like crazy. Someone in this lab is sure as hell turned on, and it aint me."
-More dirty stuff

"You Americans are fat and obese because you eat hamburgers all day. We Indians are healthy because we eat basmati rice."
-Sheldon/Raj?

"I find as I grow older that I am only attracted to bionic women. Or vampires. And definitely metallic boobs."
-Howard

"Talent is like the flower that is never crushed by the rock. But that doesnt mean it can't stay hidden UNDER the rock."
-Sheldon

"I have within me components that defy all manner of human definition."
-Sheldon

"Differential equations turn me on. They are like mathematical simulations of diverse and debauch sexual acts. The opposite is true for C programs, however."
-So nerdy and dirty

"The only way to rid government of corruption is to place robots in the stead of human beings. Truth to tell, that would solve a lot of other problems as well."
-I think the actual Sheldon might have said something like that

"I was told today that I induce an inferiority complex in some people."
-Pure Sheldon

"Having a philosophic argument is like driving a Lamborghini at 190 and having sex at the same time on the Illinois freeway...u just don't know when it's gonna veer outta control."
-Pure Howard

"The American dream is to succeed through hard work and live happy, successful lives. The Indian dream is to be prosperous and make babies."
-Pure Raj haha

"Chairman Mao had it right: it's a good thing to be attacked by the enemy, else how are you gonna prove you're way better?"
-Pure Sheldon

2010 NHL Playoff Picks UPDATED x3

2010-05-25T19:14:00.003-05:00

I'm not surprised the Habs lost. The Flyers were a physical team that the Pens and Caps were not. Halak wasn't superhuman...too bad. Ah well. The Hawks will destroy the Flyers anyway!

Blackhawks over Flyers in 5
Conn Smythe Trophy winner: Jonathan Toews

2010 NHL Playoff Picks UPDATED x2

2010-05-14T23:07:00.002-05:00

OK, so I didn't expect the Habs to pull off the second upset, but now that they've drawn Philly (banged-up with so many injuries), they have a great shot at getting to the Stanley Cup Finals! I've stated that I'll only cheer for the Habs if they face a team that I hate more than the Habs, so for this 3rd round, I'm going to cheer the Habs on because I really hate the Flyers (I also hate the Bruins and the Capitals). The Habs have a great shot as long as Halak plays decent because I don't trust Leighton in net for the Flyers.

In the West, it's gonna be the Blackhawks - my original pick to win the West. No doubt about it. The Hawks are too balanced up front and will bully Nabokov just like Luongo.

Here are my picks:

Canadiens over Flyers in 6
Blackhawks over Sharks in 6

Blackhawks over Canadiens in 6 (I like the Hawks, but I'm gonna be cheering for Montreal because I REALLY HATE Marian Hossa....but I still think the Hawks will win.)

Just a hunch...

2010-05-13T22:11:00.001-05:00

LeBron James and Chris Bosh --> New York Knicks for 2010-2011 NBA season

2010 NBA Playoff Picks UPDATED x2

2010-05-11T21:55:00.002-05:00

I admit I'm one of those who initially underestimated the Magic, but now that I've seen them demolish the Bobcats and Hawks, I do think they have a great shot at winning this title. Even though I don't like Vince Carter and slowly dislike Dwight Howard, the Magic is now the team I believe will win the NBA Finals. Take into account the Celtics and Cavs destroying each other, the Magic will have a huge advantage.

In the West, I greatly underestimated the Suns and Steve Nash. That is why I'm going to pick against them again in hope he carries the Suns to the NBA Finals.

Here are my picks:

Magic over Cavs/Celtics in 5
Lakers over Suns in 6

Magic over Lakers in 6

2010 NBA Playoff Picks UPDATED

2010-05-01T10:17:00.002-05:00

I'm still smiling over the fact that I made so many correct picks!!!
Cavs in 5, Magic (in 4, not 5 though), Hawks (maybe in 7), Celtics (in 5, not 6 though), Lakers in 6, Suns (in 6, not 5...but who would've imagined Brandon Roy coming back?!), and Jazz in 6.
I underestimated the Spurs!!! They're gonna be tough for the Suns!

Here are my picks:

Cavs over Celtics in 5
Magic over Hawks/Bucks (probably Hawks) in 5
Cavs over Magic in 7

Lakers over Jazz in 7
Spurs over Suns in 6
Lakers over Spurs in 7

2010 NHL Playoff Picks UPDATED

2010-04-28T22:07:00.002-05:00

Wow...Montreal won Game 7!!! Insane! Halak was superhuman!

Anyway, the East was upset-filled, but my pick is still there: the Pittsburgh Penguins! My West picks were all correct, so I'll stick with them!

Here are my picks:

Pens over Habs in 6 (Halak can't do it again, right?!)
Bruins over Flyers in 6 (Dang, I wish we still had Rask!)
Pens over Bruins in 6

Red Wings over Sharks in 6
Hawks over Canucks in 6
Hawks over Red Wings in 7

RICKY ROMERO AUTOGRAPH!!! =)

2010-04-27T17:45:00.002-05:00

This just made me smile! =)

2010-04-22T23:15:00.002-05:00

"God, look. I don’t like it. I never will like it, never will understand it, but you are still ruler. You are still king, and I give you all the praise for everything that happens. I don’t know why you did it, but you have a plan for my life and for some reason you allowed this to happen. So, if you allowed it to happen, apparently I can make it through it. And you’re going to help me through it. So I leave it in your hands.”

-Gerald McCoy, the 3rd overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Gerald, the 22 year old Defensive Tackle from the Oklahoma Sooners football team, was speaking about how he felt during his struggle after his mother passed away due to a brain aneurysm.

Looks like I've discovered another favourite NFL player - one who has his head and priorities straight.

Just a thought...

2010-04-17T13:14:00.002-05:00

So I'm almost certain Bosh will leave the Raptors, so I hope it will be via sign-and-trade so we can get some player back.

How about Bosh for David Lee (Knicks), with other lesser-known players in the deal as well? We can then also sign a wing player (Rudy Gay?) to give more athleticism on the wing. Regardless, Bargnani will be the man now, and Turkoglu will have to stay (nobody would want him now), so we need some inside presence and hustle with scoring ability (i.e. David Lee, and not somebody who has no offense like Reggie Evans), with some athleticism on the wing (Rudy Gay!!!). It'll be a good start to the post-Bosh era...

2010 NBA Playoff Picks

2010-04-15T22:10:00.004-05:00

A look back at my playoff picks before the season started:

Eastern Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Celtics, Cavs, Magic, Hawks, Wizards, Bulls, Heat, Raptors

Western Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Lakers, Spurs, Blazers, Mavs, Nuggets, Jazz, Hornets, Rockets

If you look at that, I did pretty well!
In the East, I messed up on the Wizards (which a lot of other people did as well) and the Raptors (but they finished 9th, so it was close!), and should have replaced them with the Bucks and Bobcats. I also mentioned the Celtics would win the East because of their strong bench, but I guess that was totally off. They're old, bench sucks, and don't have much left, but I still think they're formidable.
In the West, I was pretty good with the picks except for the Hornets and Rockets. I should have had the Suns (really wrong on this one) and the Thunder (who would've thought that?!?!).
The seeding for both conferences were a bit off too, but for the most part, I was correct! =)

Now here are my picks for the playoffs:

East:
Cavs over Bulls in 5
Magic over Bobcats in 5
Hawks over Bucks in 4
Celtics over Heat in 6 (A lot of people are picking the Heat, but I don't trust anybody on their roster besides Wade)
[A lot of quick series!!!]

Cavs over Celtics in 5
Hawks over Magic in 6 (You heard it here first!)

Cavs over Hawks in 6

West:
Lakers over Thunder in 6 (This will be a really good series)
Mavs over Spurs in 5
Suns over Blazers in 5 (GO SUNS GO!!! GO STEVE NASH GO!!!)
Nuggets over Jazz in 7 (Both teams are so good and deserve to be in 2nd round! Boozer's injured, so I have to go with Chauncey and Melo)
[WAIT!!! Boozer is actually going to play. He's going to have a huge impact in this series, so I'm now going to say...
JAZZ OVER NUGGETS IN 6!!!]

Lakers over Nuggets/Jazz in 6
Mavs over Suns in 7 (Another really good series)

Lakers over Mavs in 7 (Another really good series!!!)

NBA Finals:
Lakers over Cavs in 7 (This was the series everybody wanted to see last year, and they get it this year! I still like Kobe and the Lakers even though everybody's picking the King to get his Ring. I see Kobe winning Game 7 in Cleveland with a near last-second shot.)

2010 NHL Playoff Picks

2010-04-11T23:10:00.003-05:00

Just for jokes, here were my playoff picks at the beginning of the season:

Eastern Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Bruins, Penguins, Capitals, Devils, Flyers, Hurricanes, Sabres, Leafs

Western Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Sharks, Blackhawks, Canucks, Red Wings, Flames, Blue Jackets, Ducks, Oilers

So basically, I was wrong on the Hurricanes and Leafs (should have been Canadiens and Senators) in the East (the order wasn't too bad...except the Bruins should be much lower), and for the West, I was pretty much bang on regarding the top 4, except WAY OFF for the bottom 4 (take out all 4 and bring in the Coyotes, Kings, Predators, and Avalanche) [How did I not pick the Preds? They make the playoffs EVERY YEAR!!! ARGHHHH].

OK, so after my rant, I will now provide you with my NHL Playoff picks this year:

East:
Caps over Habs in 6
Devils over Flyers in 5
Sabres over Bruins in 6
Pens over Sens in 6

Pens over Caps in 7
Devils over Sabres in 7

Pens over Devils in 6

West:
Sharks over Avs in 6 (finally a 1st round win!)
Hawks over Preds in 5
Canucks over Kings in 6
Red Wings over Coyotes in 6

Red Wings over Sharks in 6
Hawks over Canucks in 6

Hawks over Red Wings in 7

Stanley Cup:
Pens over Hawks in 6

2010 NCAAB Championship

2010-04-05T22:51:00.002-05:00

What a great ending to an amazing game! As I correctly predicted, Duke prevailed over Butler in a tight game. I didn't expect it to come down to the last shot, but wow, Butler was really good, and I actually wanted them to win! Too bad David couldn't slay Goliath, but David did show their tenacity and are also worthy of a championship! Anyway, I felt like Butler was the Tampa Bay Rays that eventually lost to the Philadelphia Phillies. I thought because I picked Duke, the Cinderella team would actually pull through, but I guess not. The big bad giants of Duke won, but I must say, the Butler Bulldogs put up a good fight. It's like what they say: It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. The Butler Bulldogs had the fight indeed.

2010 NCAAB Championship

2010-04-05T17:10:00.001-05:00

Duke over Butler
It'll be a close game though...

Oh..and the 2010 Jays?

2010-04-01T23:56:00.001-05:00

5th in the American League East
Record: 68-94

I'll be happy if they get at least 68 wins. If they lose 100+ games, I'll be pretty disappointed, but other than that, I just hope the young players develop!

2010 MLB Season Picks

2010-03-30T17:58:00.005-05:00

American League:
East: New York Yankees (Will easily be the best AL team)
Central: Minnesota Twins (Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers will be very close)
West: Los Angeles Angels (Seattle Mariners will be very close)
Wild Card: Boston Red Sox (Tampa Bay Rays will be very close)

National League:
East: Philadelphia Phillies (Will easily be the best NL team)
Central: St. Louis Cardinals (Won't be close at all)
West: Colorado Rockies (Will win a close race with the Los Angeles Dodgers)
Wild Card: Los Angeles Dodgers (Barely beating the Atlanta Braves)

World Series: Phillies over Yankees

AL MVP: Joe Mauer
NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy Young: ROY HALLADAY

AL Rookie of the Year: Desmond Jennings (or maybe Austin Jackson)
NL Rookie of the Year: Jason Heyward

2010 NCAAB Final Four picks

2010-03-30T06:57:00.003-05:00

OK, so my picks didn't go as planned, but 2 of my picks lost in the regional finals, and Kansas got busted in the most surprising upset, so my picks weren't THAT bad. Am I gonna stick with Duke (the last remaining pick) to win it all? The answer is NO.

Michigan State over Butler
West Virginia over Duke

West Virginia over Michigan State

2010 NCAAB Final Four picks

2010-03-15T21:56:00.000-05:00

Kansas
Kansas State
Kentucky
Duke

THE HURT LOCKER!!! =)

2010-03-08T00:38:00.002-05:00

YES!!! The Hurt Locker won Best Picture and Best Director! Take that, James Cameron! =)
I suggest everybody to take a chance and watch this movie because it will give you a perspective you've never had about bomb defuse squads in war-torn countries.

GOOOOOOOOOOOLDDDDDDDDDDD!!!

2010-02-28T19:04:00.001-05:00

Men's Hockey GOLD! Canada over USA! Crosby scores the OT winner! What a game!
Canada with 14 gold medals this Winter Olympics! What an amazing Olympics! =)
Proud to be a Canadian!

Out of the Cold 2010

2010-02-27T22:37:00.002-05:00

I had a very interesting night helping out with Out of the Cold this year. We spent the day making food (and it was very tiring). I was actually feeling a bit tired and stomach-achy when we arrived at the church where the event was being held, but throughout the night, I felt so blessed to be able to serve the homeless, the hungry, and those who came just to have a simple Chinese meal! This night gave me perspective to what I have in my life. I'm so thankful for God's blessings! I also had the chance to meet some people there (George and Jack) and had great conversations about their background and their history. I actually learned so much from them and I hope I can one day return to the church to help out with the Saturday Night program again!

Canada vs. United States

2010-02-27T22:36:00.001-05:00

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
Men's Hockey
Finals

Canada over United States. Book it one last time...for GOLD!

Canada vs. Slovakia

2010-02-26T19:44:00.000-05:00

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
Men's Hockey
Semifinals

Canada over Slovakia. Book it again.

Canada vs. Russia

2010-02-24T14:55:00.002-05:00

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics
Men's Hockey
Quarterfinals (Too bad it ain't the Gold Medal Game)

Canada over Russia. Book it.

Congratulations New Orleans Saints! Super Bowl XLIV Champs!

2010-02-07T21:44:00.002-05:00

Wow...another incorrect pick for these NFL playoff games! Just finished watching the Super Bowl, and I have to say the New Orleans Saints definitely deserved to win this game. They played their hearts out and their defense stepped up big to limit Peyton Manning and the Colts to only 17 points. 31-17 win. The Saints, after all of their years of losing records and tragic situations (Hurricane Katrina), have finally won a championship! Congratulations to New Orleans, the Saints, and the people of the city!

Master's Research Committee Meeting #1

2010-02-03T20:00:00.004-05:00

I just finished my committee meeting with two supervisors and two other professors and I feel very drained and disappointed about the effort I've given in my research and work and I will need to pick it up for the next meeting! Looks like I'll be very busy from here on out. It wasn't a good meeting. Getting grilled and being bombarded with questions that pretty much tested everything I knew was not easy and I didn't answer those questions with confidence and in detail. I know I deserve the poor grade, and now I also know I gotta do better next time. I guess the good out of this is that I can't even slack of a single minute from now on.

Leafs made two BIG trades today!!!

2010-01-31T19:18:00.005-05:00

OK, so I haven't blogged about the Leafs in a while, but they made two big trades to shake up the roster. Granted, we're 29th in the league, so honestly, there weren't many trades that would make our team worse, but anyway, I'm so happy that we finally have a roster shake up. Hopefully, we'll start playing better this year, but greater things will be seen next year!

1st trade:
To Calgary: Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Ian White, Jamal Mayers
To Toronto: Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom, Keith Aulie

I actually like this trade. Although we give up a solid D-man (White) and a couple of solid (well, solid in terms of the dearth of talent we actually have) forwards (Hagman and Stajan), I think Phaneuf can develop into a really solid powerplay point guy and a big hitter. I think he'll continue to develop, but I just hope he can handle the Toronto pressure and not become another Bryan McCabe. I also hear Aulie may be a very solid D-man in the future, so in the end, we did lose a good chunk of our offense (and old dudes), but we have young guys coming up, and our D is now really solid for the next few years, so this is a pretty good trade. And hey, we ended up with the best player in the trade (without giving up any good players), so that's usually a good sign!

2nd trade:
To Anaheim: Jason Blake, Vesa Toskala
To Toronto: J-S Giguere

I really like this trade because Giguere can't play any worse than Toskala, and plus, he gives more time for Jonas Gustavsson to develop. Jason Blake wasn't doing anything for us anyway. Giguere definitely has to have some upside than Toskala, so hopefully we'll win a few more games because Toskala is one of the leakiest goalies I've ever seen play. Once again, we picked up the best player in this trade (without giving up any good players), so that's another good sign!

I believe this is definitely a great day for the Toronto Maple Leafs. We got rid of some unproductive players, we're younger, our future is more solid with Phaneuf and Aulie, and Gustavsson will have proper development while Giguere bridges the gap. Hopefully we'll turn the corner and head towards the playoffs in a few years!

NFL 2010 Super Bowl Pick

2010-01-28T17:25:00.002-05:00

Sweeeeeeet!!! I got my Conference Playoff Picks correct! GO SAINTS! GO COLTS! ahaah

But now it goes down to the Super Bowl, and I must choose the team to win. I'm going to go with...

INDIANAPOLIS over NEW ORLEANS

GO PEYTON MANNING!!! He'll go down as the greatest QB ever as he piles up the Super Bowl wins and Super Bowl MVP trophies!

NFL 2009-2010 Playoff Picks (Revised Again)

2010-01-17T20:02:00.003-05:00

(Wow, I got all 4 of my wildcard playoff picks wrong...and then 3 of my 4 Divisional picks too!!! Only Indy over Baltimore saved me. DANG! I can't believe it...Good thing I don't bet!)

Conference Playoff Games:
Indianapolis over New York Jets (I hate the Jets!)
New Orleans over Minnesota (I hate the traitor Brett Favre as well!)

Super Bowl:
Indianapolis over New Orleans
(LT and the Chargers, you guys disappointed me. Anyway, the only danger the Colts ever had were the Chargers, and because they're gone, I'm going with Peyton Manning and his Colts!!!)

Something new...

2010-01-11T15:16:00.003-05:00

OK, so I'm gonna try this and see if it works!

13 episodes in 2 days?! You are crazy! Even I never did something insane like that with The Office or Lost (which I just finished last night...5 seasons in 2 months! BEST SHOW EVER! That means a lot when I rank it higher than TBBT, FP, or 24!). The most I ever did was 10 in 2 days...I think...and that kinda owned my eyes for a day or two.

Oh, and GLEEK?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!!!

NFL 2009-2010 Playoff Picks (Revised)

2010-01-10T20:24:00.002-05:00

(Wow, I got all 4 of my wildcard playoff picks WRONG! I hope I do better in these next few games...)

Divisional Playoff Games:
Indianapolis over Baltimore
San Diego over New York Jets
Arizona over New Orleans
Dallas over Minnesota

Conference Playoff Games:
San Diego over Indianapolis
Arizona over Dallas

Super Bowl:
San Diego over Arizona
(Still sticking with LT and the Chargers!!!)

NFL 2009-2010 Playoff Picks

2010-01-03T23:56:00.004-05:00

Wildcard Playoff Games:
New England over Baltimore
Cincinnati over New York Jets
Philadelphia over Dallas
Green Bay over Arizona

Divisional Playoff Games:
Indianapolis over Cincinnati
San Diego over New England
Philadelphia over New Orleans
Green Bay over Minnesota

Conference Playoff Games:
San Diego over Indianapolis
Philadelphia over Green Bay

Super Bowl:
San Diego over Philadelphia

Urbana 09

2010-01-01T22:14:00.002-05:00

Just came back from Urbana 09 and I'm not even sure how to sum up the week in St. Louis except saying just truly how amazing God is. This week I felt God in me. He just wasn't around me, nor with me, but truly inside of me. I knew I already accepted Christ in my heart and I was living a life that was for Him (well, as much as I can, at least!), but Urbana 09 provided me with the opportunity to truly feel God dwelling in my heart and directing me in my life. I'm not going to go in detail about the other aspects of Urbana 09 (worship, speaker sessions, seminars, other activities, etc.) (but you can also ask me in person and I'll gladly tell you all about it!) because they're not as important compared to what God has done not only in me, but also in 18,000 or so other people that were at the conference. This week, I learned (re-learned?!) that God became and flesh and made His dwelling among us (including me), and now I can go out into the world as a missional Christian ready to do what He tells me because I know He will supply my every needs.

10 great things to remember about 2009

2009-12-26T19:03:00.004-05:00

This will be my last blog post of 2009 before heading off to Urbana!!!

I just want to list 10 things that I'll remember about 2009:
10) Softball - a great year of growth physically, spiritually, and also with teammates through the good and tough times, while adjusting to Senior division in CCSA as well as playing in an outside league
9) Colluni - a place where I can chill with brothers and sisters to find comfort and also enjoy the young years of my life, while continuing the study of God's Word
8) School - an opportunity to learn and to meet amazing new (and smart) people
7) Grad School - a chance to further my education and to grow in mentally through academics
6) Sunday School - taught another awesome group of Gr.10s and then learned quite a bit while attending Pastor Tim's class
5) Didomi - a chance to pass on what God has taught me during my high school years, and also to learn from the young minds of this world something that I may not see because I'm "older"
4) Friends - so many people to thank for being there for me and always supporting me in the things I do
3) Girlfriend - never would've expected this if you asked me at the end of 2008, but I'm so thankful for her being who she is and complementing me in so many ways. Another one of God's great blessings in my life
2) Family - somehow got closer to all of them this year...maybe because we're all in school, so we understand our busy schedules
1) God - somehow God turned everything in life to something meaningful in order to help me grow closer to Him. He definitely worked and will continue to work in amazing ways!!!

I hope 2010 will be even BETTER....but honestly, how can it be even better?! Hmm...

2nd Annual Christmas (not) Hot Pot Party

2009-12-23T00:54:00.002-05:00

I just came home from the 2nd annual Christmas Party (not Hot Pot this time...booo...) and I just can't shake off this feeling I have regarding Sunday School. I feel like I miss teaching because of the friendships I've made with the students, especially these 1992-born kids that are already in Gr.12! I can't believe it's already been 1.5 years since I've taught them with Daniela and now they're grown up and preparing for university. I also can't believe how far God has brought this grade closer together because it was just 2 years ago when they were so distant to each other that they wouldn't even mingle with each other. They've grown so much because of God's amazing work and I'm so happy for their growth and I anticipate so much more for them because I know God will do great things through them. These guys and girls are just wonderful kids. I miss them a lot but I know God is taking care of them! I do also feel like I want to teach Sunday School again. Whether or not this is just a short feeling, I wouldn't know until later, but this night of chilling, eating, sharing, secret santa-ing, and praying made me realize how God can do amazing things through Sunday School, and I know I will be part of Sunday School again in the future.

Thanks for the memories, Roy!

2009-12-15T21:01:00.003-05:00

Roy Halladay was traded today to the Philadelphia Phillies for top prospects in a 3-team trade that also involved Cliff Lee and the Seattle Mariners. It's a sad day for the Blue Jays franchise as we traded away the best player we've ever produced within our farm system. I'm sad to see him go, but for the past few months, I've already come to the conclusion that it is the best for the Jays if we traded Roy for prospects, and that has finally come. I wish him all the best (Phillies World Series champs in 2010?!) because he's such an amazing player and also an amazing person and role model for the Jays franchise. He was pretty much the only reason I would go to watch the Jays at the Skydome / Rogers Centre. Thanks, Roy, for all the strikeouts, shutouts, complete games, the amazing 1-hitter, and all the other memories you gave us Jays fans!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

2009-11-26T01:18:00.002-05:00

I feel so sad right now. She's on a plane back to Hong Kong right now. I miss her so much, and I don't know when I will see her again. There's so much uncertainty and worries that make it seem so hard to move on with life here in Toronto. I love her and I can't be with her.

But this song is comforting me. What an awesome friend we have in Jesus. I'm slowly feeling better as I listen to this song because it is so straightforward in telling me to lift my burdens, fears, griefs, and sadness to God in prayer. Through that I will find solace and peace to carry on with life in Toronto while she is in Hong Kong.

Not just another birthday...

2009-11-25T01:24:00.002-05:00

Wow...it's been a month or so since I've blogged, AND it's been more than a month since I've blogged about stuff not related to predictions! AHHAHAH I guess I've been busy for a while, but I have to blog tonight about this past day because...well, it was an amazing birthday...the best I've had so far in my life! Yes, it's 1:30am late and I should be sleeping....yada yada yada....but I'm just really happy for the day I got to spend with my girlfriend. Firstly, having her here in Toronto for this past week or so was already something more than I could have ever hoped for. I'm also so happy that I didn't have to go downtown today since I didn't have a meeting. Therefore, I got to spend the whole day with her, and I treasured every single moment of it. We ate and watched a movie and then cooked dinner and ate that. I'm not being very descriptive here, but that's OK because the main point I want to say is that the best part of the day was her being with me. Her presence made everything so amazing. I missed her so much when she was in Hong Kong, and even though she has to go back tomorrow night, I am so grateful and thankful for her coming. I thank God daily for bringing her in my life and I'm so happy God has led us two together because she's so amazing and so caring. This was definitely my best birthday so far in my life. I'm thankful for my 22 years of existence and I hope I will continue to do my very best to live a life that glorifies Him daily.

Just some NBA predictions for 2009-2010 season

2009-10-27T22:10:00.002-05:00

Eastern Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Celtics, Cavs, Magic, Hawks, Wizards, Bulls, Heat, Raptors

Western Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Lakers, Spurs, Blazers, Mavs, Nuggets, Jazz, Hornets, Rockets

NBA Finals: Celtics over Lakers (even though I want the Lakers to win, I think the Celtics bench is just too good. Celtics will win as long as they stay healthy. If not, then Lakers will win)

MVP: LeBron James
Defensive MVP: Dwight Howard
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin
Sixth Man of the Year: Manu Ginobili
Most Improved Player: Aaron Brooks
Coach of the Year: Doc Rivers

2009 MLB Playoff picks (Update!)

2009-10-26T18:37:00.002-05:00

So the Yanks and Phils both won their LCS. The Yankees won in 6 over the Angels as I predicted. The Phillies won in 5 over the Dodgers, in one fewer game than what I predicted.

Regarding my playoff picks so far, I correctly predicted 5 out of 6 series winners! =)

Anyway, it's time for my World Series pick. This year's World Series will be amazing. I really do think the 2 best teams made it to the finals. As much as I want the Phillies to win (because I don't want the Yankees to win), I do predict the Yankees to win in 7 games. Alex Rodriguez will be the World Series MVP.

2009 MLB Playoff picks (Update!)

2009-10-13T09:02:00.002-05:00

OK, so I predicted 3 out of the 4 series correctly, with 2 of those series ending in the correct number of games! =) Only the Cardinals choked real bad, but you can't get everything perfect, right?

Anyway, here are my League Championship picks:
Yankees over Angels in 6 (still the same as before)
Phillies over Dodgers in 6 (it was Cards > Phillies in 6 before)

And my World Series pick:
Yankees over Phillies in 7 (just changed Cards to Phillies)

Got Jeremy Accardo's autograph today!!! =)

2009-10-08T23:12:00.002-05:00

2009 MLB Playoff picks

2009-10-06T13:43:00.004-05:00

OK, so I vow to do better than last year! Here are my Division Series picks!

Yankees over Twins in 3
Angels over Red Sox in 5
Cardinals over Dodgers in 4
Phillies over Rockies in 4

And now, my League Championship picks:
Yankees over Angels in 6
Cardinals over Phillies in 6

And my World Series pick:
Yankees over Cardinals in 7

FlashForward and District 9

2009-10-03T16:53:00.003-05:00

I came across this new show last week called "FlashForward", and I essentially added it to my list of weekly TV shows to watch that already includes: Flashpoint, Heroes, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, The Simpsons, and The Cleveland Show. I must say this show has already captivated me like what Flashpoint did (only not as much because Flashpoint is still the best!). A sudden worldwide blackout flashforwards every mind to an event 6 months in the future and causes people to worry about what he/she needs to do in the present to either change or prevent the future from happening. The FBI is in scramble to figure out what caused the blackout and how to prevent another one from happening, but finds out more to the mystery. This show is on Thursday nights at 8pm on ABC.

I also watched District 9 today and found this film to be one of the most challenging films I've ever watched. Honestly, I was a bit bored during the first 30 minutes of the movie as the pace was quite slow. The mock documentary style was a bit slow in my opinion but it was all part of the character and event buildup. This film's themes regarding evictions and racism/xenophobia (specifically speciesism of aliens) were explicitly displayed and really caused me to ponder upon human nature when we come across things or people we don't like. The movie really brought racism and conflicts as an important issue in this day and age. In the end, I really enjoyed this movie as I was pulling for the protagonist to succeed.

Something to think about (and look back on later)

2009-09-27T17:26:00.002-05:00

Today's service was a missions-focused sermon regarding the missions work being done in the Caribbean Sun. This sermon got me thinking again about missions and what God is slowly teaching and calling me to do. I'm still waiting on Him to see if/when He requires me to go somewhere overseas to do some short or long term missions, but in the meantime, I know I've got lots of inner-city missions (or even near church) to be involved with. Anyway, one interesting reminder was mentioned today, and that is whether I'm looking at missions as a way to satisfy my needs or am I viewing missions as an opportunity to satisfy the needs of those people I serve. I feel that I still have this selfish attitude regarding missions because a lot of times I'm tempted to think of missions trip as a way to fulfill another missing aspect of my life. Rather, I should be focused on just having the right mindset to just go out there and serve people. I still have lots to learn and grow. Maybe that is something I need to focus on in preparation for Urbana 09!

Just some NHL predictions for 2009-2010 season

2009-09-23T21:56:00.003-05:00

So the NHL season is starting soon, and I just want to make some predictions because I haven't done that in a while. There's no harm in doing them again, right? Hopefully I'll do better than my MLB picks last year! Anyway, here are my predictions before the start of the 2009-2010 season!

Eastern Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Bruins, Penguins, Capitals, Devils, Flyers, Hurricanes, Sabres, Leafs

Western Conference Teams to Make the Playoffs (from 1st to 8th):
Sharks, Blackhawks, Canucks, Red Wings, Flames, Blue Jackets, Ducks, Oilers

Stanley Cup Winner: Penguins over Blackhawks (really wanted to write Sharks, but they always screw up in the playoffs...)

Hart: Alexander Ovechkin
Rocket Richard: Alexander Ovechkin
Art Ross: Evgeni Malkin
Vezina: Roberto Luongo
Calder: Victor Hedman
Norris: Zdeno Chara
Selke: Mike Richards
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk
Jack Adams: Joel Quenneville

Congratulations Kim Clijsters!

2009-09-15T08:13:00.003-05:00

For those of you who do not watch tennis, Kim Clijsters is a tennis player who just recently came back out of retirement to play tennis again after taking time off to have a kid and get her injuries healed. This past Sunday, she became the first unseeded woman to win a US Open, and she also became the first mother to win since the 1980. She also won with grace and sportsmanship, unlike Serena Williams. The scene when she posed with her winning trophy (with her tiny daughter playing with the trophy) was probably one of the best moments I've ever saw in sports. What an amazing story!

Time to start my Master's Degree!!!

2009-09-10T16:00:00.002-05:00

It's going to be interesting these next two years. I'm starting my Master's of Science degree in Biomedical Physics. Hopefully things will work out and I can balance courses, research, and TA-ing. I'm going to be TA-ing a first year Physics course this Fall and it'll be very challenging because I've never done anything like this before. I hope I learn a lot and gain valuable teaching skills. Also, I hope I can maintain my research focus as time management will very important.

Another thing would be to balance devotional life and serving the church (DIDOMI!!!) with all of the school stuff. I know it'll be tough, but I pray that God will continue to lead me to do my very best with what He has given me.

This should be an interesting year being a grad student. I hope I continue to learn and grow closer to God through my studies and my church commitments.

Blitz softball

2009-08-25T00:25:00.005-05:00

So I had the opportunity to play with Blitz tonight for a doubleheader. Good thing it was against an easy team as we won both games. I was actually pretty nervous going in because I was playing 2nd base and I knew I was the worst player on the team. All the other guys were so good, but I knew that all I had to do was make the right plays and keep the screw ups to a minimum. I did make a few mistakes here and there, but for the most part, I played solid. I also learned a lot by watching how the guys field, bat, and communicate (which was probably the most important thing I got tonight). One other thing I learned was that no matter if you are the best or worst player on the field, there is always something you can improve on. Therefore, you need to always work on various things (technique, positioning, mental confidence, etc.) and continue until you excel at the position (i.e. perfection). I'm so glad for the opportunity to play with Blitz (hey, it could be the one and only time I ever play on Blitz), and I hope I can carry the knowledge I received tonight for SG.

J.P. Ricciardi = worst GM in the history of baseball

2009-08-13T11:00:00.003-05:00

Take a look at this Sports Illustrated article.

Basically it's an article that talks about the worst contracts in baseball. What it really explains is why the Blue Jays have been so bad for the past 7 years or so since J.P. Ricciardi became our GM back in 2002.

I love the last few sentences:
(talking about Vernon Wells' ridiculous 7-year, $126 million contract, the worst contract ever)

This deal, to be honest, is not the sort of thing that leads to a general manager getting fired. It's the sort of thing that leads to entire villages getting pillaged. And that's what I mean about Ricciardi. I mean, this contract alone should be enough to put him in the Bad Contract Hall of Fame. But when you look over the whole body of work...he IS the Bad Contract Hall of Fame.

In fact, we should just start referring to bad baseball contracts as "Ricciardis".

"The Shack" and "Going All The Way"

2009-08-12T17:30:00.005-05:00

I read two books recently, and interestingly, they're quite different from each other, but somehow I connected with both of them. I'll talk about "The Shack" first. I borrowed this book from Sharon because she said it was a good book and I decided to read it. Initially I wanted to read it because it had an interesting idea. God sends some dude a message telling him to go to this shack in the wilderness, the location of where his youngest daughter was kidnapped and murder previously. Preposterous, yet somehow I won't be surprised if this really happened. So this guy, in a span of a weekend, meets God and his life is changed. I won't go into further detail, but I do recommend this book to read!

Next is "Going All The Way". Bern suggested that I read it. First glance at the title made me laugh, and Bern told me to not think of it the way you're all probably thinking right now. This book actually talked about how to prepare for a marriage that will "go all the way"...thus, a fulfilling marriage that will last forever. Interesting book to read because it really makes you think about what you are doing now in terms of preparing yourself for your future spouse. I really liked the ending how the author provided 7 "habits of the heart":
1. I will deal with my past
2. I will grow with good people
3. I will learn to be a listener
4. I will guard my heart
5. I will practice facing and resolving conflict
6. I will be financially responsible
7. I will invest in my relationship with God
This is all stuff to keep in mind...you know...for the future! =)

After one week...

2009-08-06T16:17:00.002-05:00

(This is an excerpt of what I wrote on my small group's forum regarding prayer requests)

To everybody, thanks for the prayer support. I actually thought this week was gonna be rough, but turns out, it was only that Friday when I had a really sad day. I'm really thankful for people praying for me and giving me words of encouragement, and honestly, I feel stronger by all of it. I would've never expected to be like this, but I feel strengthened by God through these times of change. It's been a great learning experience and I know I'll continue to learn more as God continues to teach me. I've been calling her every day and I actually feel even closer to her because now that we are separated, we don't have any clue about what's going on with each other, so we both tell each other pretty much everything that has happened each day. Through these conversations, I feel like we are getting even closer. Kinda ironic how it took a separation like this to bring me and her closer together, but God has His ways. I really treasure the phone calls now more than anything before!

Anyway, if possible, please continue to pray for her as she's looking for jobs over there. She's had some stuff already and will have more stuff in a few weeks (I'm not gonna go into specifics here), so there are things up ahead for her, but she definitely still needs prayer support, as I'm sure we all would appreciate if we were in her position. So yup, thanks in advance!

Formosan 2009

2009-08-02T22:34:00.003-05:00

Just want to leave a note saying...
Team NIICE...FORMOSAN 2009 CO-ED REC CHAMPS! =)
3-1 round robin, then win in semis and finals!
DRI-FIT T-SHIRT!!! =)

The worst feeling I've ever felt so far in my life

2009-07-31T09:08:00.006-05:00

Saying goodbye to a loved one is never easy. Sending her off on a plane to halfway around the world is hard. Sending her off while not knowing when you will see her again is really hard. Doing all of the above while having to hold back tears as they stream down your face while tears are streaming down hers is probably one of the saddest and worst feelings you can ever imagine.

I sent my girlfriend off on a plane to Hong Kong this morning. She's going there for internship and job in a field she really enjoys. I'm really happy that she's going there because God has told her to go there. The sad part is to stand behind the stripe and watch her walk away from you as you both are crying, while not knowing when the next time you'll see each other. I don't think I've ever felt something that sad in my life, and that was probably the worst feeling I've ever had in my life so far. I understand that it's something in God's hands and He has everything in control, but sometimes, the emotions just come and you just can't help but release them in tears. I tried my best to hold back, but I knew the mini crying moments I had this week was a sign that there was no way I could hold back my tears during the final hug.

Even though it'll only be one month officially as of tomorrow, I believe that this is really a big test of faith for the both of us as we continue our relationship. It's a test to see if we can truly trust God to carry us through even though we will be halfway around the world from each other. It's a test to see if we can both continue to spur each other to grow spiritually even with the distance separating us. It's a test to show if we can really be something more in the future. I believe in all of that, and with God providing us strength, comfort, peace, and direction, I know we can pull through. These next few weeks will be really hard, and I know I'll cry again, but I also know that through all these upcoming experiences, we will grow stronger together and in God.