Joe Watson.

This morning I received a phone call from one of my all-time favorite Flyers, Joe Watson. He was calling to congratulate me on my upcoming wedding (in 3 days!). My close friend and former Flyers intern John P. Kopp arranged the call for me.

Joe Watson won the Stanley Cup with the Flyers in 1974 and 1975 and was one of the first 3 players the Flyers ever drafted in 1967. He also helped negotiate his younger brother Jimmy's first NHL contract after the Flyers drafted him.

He requested the Lindsey and I call the PR director when we're up in Philly so we can meet.

Thank you John Kopp. This was awesome.

"...by our Love."

Last night Lindsey and I were hanging out at a coffee shop playing Set and overheard the guy behind us telling this girl about how God is "bullshit" and how much he hated it when his parents made him read the bible as a kid. It was interesting to say the least.

We went for a walk after Lindsey finished thoroughly dismantling me at the game and we thought and talked about what we had heard him saying. The thing that stood out to me was his tone of voice. He was so angry. I don't think people get that angry without good reason. He hadn't received love. He'd been told "read this, this is what we do" without any show of love. Authority was abused. Somewhere along the way we forgot that leadership and servanthood are the same thing, now leadership means power, and power is rarely a good thing.

I didn't think about any absolute reason why God exists or why Jesus was born on December 25th. I kept thinking about Jesus. I kept thinking about how good he is. I kept thinking about the woman at the well and loving your enemies. This guy we'd overheard hadn't seen that stuff.

Church can be a horrible thing.

The point is that it does a limited amount of good to debate and try to persuade people that God is real and that he loves us. I believe that this is generally a waste of time. If people want to know about what I believe or why I do or don't do things a certain way, they'll ask. The key is to do it all in love. It's easy to see what sucks about people. Pick up any newspaper and very quickly you'll find examples of human idiocy and reason to not give people the benefit of the doubt (benefit of the fact may be more accurate). As a Christian, I'm called to love my enemies (Luke 6:27-28), resolve conflict (Matthew 5:9), and be merciful (Matthew 5:7). Jesus didn't say "when convenient..." He said, "you're my friends if you obey my commands" (John 15:14).

His grace comes into play when he loves us despite how lousy we are at obeying his commands. However, we are still called to obey his commands, not argue with non-Christians about the validity of the bible. God loves everybody and we're called to love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39).

I'm pretty sure that when we start doing this we'll end up talking a lot less.

Flyers.

My groomsman John Kopp got to cover the Pedro Martinez press conference for the Delco times. Check out his article.

Another groomsman of mine, Drew Shankweiler and I were discussing the Flyers goaltending issues this past season. I asked him the difference in skill level between the Flyers then starting goaltender Martin Biron and the Red Wings' (Drew's team) goalie Chris Osgood. The answer was/is that if Osgood is better, it is not by much. The thing that makes the Red Wings so successful is that they play team defense and every player knows their role on the team. Last week Ryan Dixon of The Hockey News posted this about the Flyers. He makes several of the same points Drew and I brought up, and adds on top of that the Flyers added Chris Pronger who, regardless of how ridiculous his 7-years-without-playing-a-game-yet extension is, will only strengthen their defensive core right now.

I don't think Ray Emery will be bad, but it totally sucks that the Flyers just let Biron go and didn't try to talk him into some kind of hometown discount that several of the Penguins players took to stay with their team.

Dixon did note that Claude Giroux's ready to take on a bigger role, which is true. However, that role will be different than Mike Knuble's just because of the skill-level that Giroux possesses. He's not gritty, he's finesse. Taking Knuble out of the picture for the Flyers I think hurts them more than swapping Emery for Biron. They won't have the same grit (different than being a brute) they had last year and Knuble will be missed.

I'm tired of offseason stuff. I just want it to get going again, I'm really excited for this season to start.

Life/Wedding Update.

As I write, there are 17 days left until Lindsey and I get married. The invites have been mailed and the RSVP date is this coming Sunday. We're collecting a head count and spent much of yesterday afternoon at the church arranging the tables and chairs in the fellowship hall. Lindsey's had 2 bridal showers of 3 and we're about to head over to our new apartment to organize and put stuff away.

One of the most exciting parts of the day-to-day acitivities of wedding planning is checking our registries to see what we've gotten. Every time Lindsey or I sees something new that's been purchased, we text the other and say "we got (item)!!" One of the personal highlights is the 500 chip poker set that I'll own after August 2nd. We've asked for many things based on the apartment we do/will have. It's cool to have it come together.

I've been working at the Staunton Starbucks and as far as working goes, I like it. The people that work there are solid and it's very hands-on work. One of the things I couldn't handle about the caseworking job I had in Philly was that it was that there were very few short-term results to motivate me to keep working at it. There were no checkpoints or anything, it was constant work without rewards. Making drinks for people is very different in the sense that you're told what to make and you make it. Finished product in about 3-4 minutes. I also get to see how being profit-driven as the primary and ultimate goal really numbs people as to how they reach that goal. That side of it is both exciting and discouraging at the same time because it's right in front of you.

During the wedding countdown I've often asked Lindsey who won the Stanley Cup on the corresponding day (e.g. at 64 days it would be 1964, the Maple Leafs' last of 3 in a row. Wikipedia Bobby Baun and you'll get a great story). I only ask her the question if I know the answer. I asked her today. Today is significant because 1917 was the year in which the Cup was first won by an American team. It wasn't the Rangers or Bruins or any of the other U.S. based Originial 6 teams. It was the Seattle Metropolitans. I love that trivia tidbit.

That's it for now.

Peace.

US/Canada Olympic Teams.

The U.S. and Canada have sent their invitations to their Olympic team tryouts for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Here are the lineups I'd like/expect to see.

U.S:

Goalies: Tim Thomas with Ryan Miller backing him up is a no-brainer to me.

Defense: I'd go with Tim Gleason, Erik and Jack Johnson, Mike Komisarek, Brian Rafalski is a no-brainer, and probably Scuderi/Orpik and/or Ryan Whitney.

Forwards: Patrick Kane (I love him), Phil Kessel, Chris Drury, maybe Scott Gomez, Mike Modano, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan, David Booth, Dustin Byfuglien, probably Paul Stastny. That leaves two more forward spots, and looking at the crop so far, I don't think it matters much who they are. I think they'll rank 3rd or 4th when the rosters are finalized.

Canada:

I'm really excited to watch the Canadian team.

Goalies: I think they'll end up with either Marc-Andre Fleury or Roberto Luongo starting. That may be a little much to say, but Marty Brodeur was the starter for the last two Canadian Olympic teams, and they didn't even medal in 2006 after winning gold in 2002. I think it's time to move on.

Defense: This is where I start to get excited. I can't pick 6-8 of these guys. Scott Niedermeyer will make it. Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Dan Boyle probably, Jay Bouwmeester, Francois Beauchemin. That's 6. Shea Weber and Duncan Keith have great shots to make the team as well.

Forwards: Then to cap it off, there are the Canadian forwards. Sidney Crosby is such a lock it barely makes sense to mention his name. I think jarome Iginila is the next most probable. I'd love to see Dan Cleary, Vincent Lecavalier, Mike Richards, Jonathan Toews. Ryan Getzlaf and Jeff Carter will most likely make it. Eric Staal, Dany Heatley, Rick Nash, and if Joe Sakic is healthy, he'll make it. He'll probably be the captain.

Look at those names. I'll probably be pulling for them.

Peace.

LAF's Dream.

So Lindsey comes out of her room and the first thing she says to me today is:

"I had a dream about hockey. The U.S. Olympic team was having a hard time getting people to play for them because they wouldn't get paid. They somehow asked us to help pick a defenseman, and we had to convince the guy to play for them. You've ruined me."

I love her.