One Person at a Time...

Fundamentals, Fundamentals, Fundamentals...

How many of you lost a couple hours of sleep last night, as I did, watching the Pitt Panthers lose another big game because they couldn't get it done from the line or in the lane?  The Achilles heel of the Panthers forever it seems has been that they just can't make big foul shots, and last night they couldn't finish lay-ups either.  Granted UCLA, one of the worst foul-shooting teams in the NCAA, canned 23 of 26 charity tosses last night in a game they won by only 9, but if Pitt could have played basic, fundamental basketball anything close to well, they'd be in the Elite Eight for the first time in more than three decades.  Instead, they'll be watching the game from the all-too-familiar confines of their dorm rooms or a local sports bar.

The lesson learned (or at least the potential lesson to be learned!) here is that in life as in basketball it's the fundamentals that typically produce "victory."  Sure, there's the occasional exception that proves the rule, but if you and I learn the "basics" and "practice" them daily then "victory" is much more likely than if we miss our "lay-ups" and "free-throws" and hope to pull it out with several "three-pointers" as "time runs out."  I love sports. I learned discipline (to the degree I've learned it) from the football practice field, the basketball court, and the baseball diamond.  In sports, if you don't learn the basics it will evetually catch up with you.  As I always tell the 7th grade girls basketball team I coach, "Practice doesn't make perfect.  Practice makes permanent."  What are you "practicing" in life that's becoming permanent?  Do you practice love for others?  Do you practice having the same attitude that was in Jesus?  Do you practice faithfulness in the small things, so when the big opportunity comes along you'll be ready?  Those are the fundamentals, and unless we practice them daily, when the "big game" comes, we'll find ourselves unprepared.  So, let's get out there and work on the fundamentals.  Then we WILL be ready for the "big game"!

How About VCU!

Ever since the ruddy shepherd boy took on the Philistine giant, we've been rooting for the underdog, so unless you are a diehard Duke fan, you had to be cheering for VCU last night.  What a game!  Granted, Duke has been less than Duke all season.  Granted, Duke hadn't put such a young fivesome onthe floor in decades.  Nevertheless, the adrenaline rush as the game wound down was undeniable. Have you ever seen "strategy" like VCU's allowing a coast-to-coast basket with 10 seconds left by Duke to tie the game, just so they could score with 1.8 seconds left and make the victory all the more dramatic?!?!

What Goliaths are you facing today?  VCU gets to rest up today and then it's Big East "giant" Pitt tomorrow.  While I live in the greater Pittsburgh area and will be rooting for the Panthers, (and it would REALLY mess up my bracket!) a VCU victory wouldn't be that upsetting.  Every March a team like VCU comes along and reminds us that "miracles" still happen.  As followers of Jesus, we ought to know that--and we have the Holy Spirit, too!  Thanks, VCU, for reminding us all that the giants are such big targets they're hard to miss! As you face your giants today, remember that miracles DO still happen.