My kind of player

My dad sent me this article. Check it out. We need more of T.B. and less T.O.

Diminutive Georgia safety 'won’t back down from anything’
By Paul Newberry
The Associated Press
November 30, 2005

ATHENS, Ga.
Tra Battle (#25) strolled into the room, looking as though he got lost on his way to church. In striking contrast to his Georgia teammates, Battle was decked out in a starched shirt and tie, impeccably pressed slacks and neatly shined shoes."I’ve been doing this all my life," said Battle, who dresses up a couple of days a week. "My mom’s a minister, so I’ve got plenty of suits. There was no half-stepping with her. If you have on a collared shirt, you’d better have a tie on with it."

As anyone can plainly see, this is one guy who doesn’t fit the mold. While most of the Bulldogs had a scholarship when they arrived on campus, Battle walked on. While many of his teammates ducked into majors such as "sports studies," Battle opted for chemistry. While nearly everyone around him looks like a football player, Battle seems more suited for a spot on the chess club.

Heck, at 5-foot-11 and a mere 167 pounds, he’s not even as big as Georgia’s kicker or punter.

"When he got here, he was a skinny kid who believed in himself, worked hard and wasn’t intimidated by anything," coach Mark Richt said. "Now, three years later, he’s still a skinny kid. But he won’t back down from anything."

Battle didn’t receive one scholarship offer -- not even from the lower-division schools that gave him a look -- but he played in his very first game with the Bulldogs. Before his sophomore year, he was rewarded with a scholarship. A season later, he moved up to take a starting spot in the Georgia secondary.

Now a junior, Battle has defied everyone who said he was too small to play college football. He has two interceptions and ranks third on one of the nation’s top teams with 63 tackles -- many of them ferocious hits that seem so out of character with his image away from the field, this sharp dresser who mentors school kids and hopes for a career in medicine. "I have to attribute that to my mother," Battle said. "My mom is more competitive than me. She never let me quit anything. She always made me do my best in everything I do."

When Battle got to Georgia, he quickly drew the attention of teammates such as defensive tackle Kedric Golston." He was always watching film," Golston said. "You could just tell that he was in a different gear than everybody else. If you gave 100 percent, he gave 125 percent. He just forced himself onto the field. I guess you can’t measure the size of someone’s heart."
Battle played in 35 consecutive games until a concussion kept him out of Georgia’s victory over Kentucky, which gave the No. 13 Bulldogs (9-2) a spot in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game against third-ranked LSU (10-1).

For someone who throws around his diminutive body with such abandon, Battle held up amazingly well until he was inadvertently struck in the head by a fellow Georgia player, 330-pound defensive lineman Darrius Swain. In a testament to his indomitable will, Battle managed to convince the trainers he was OK, even though he now admits that he doesn’t remember much about that game against Auburn. He wound up getting beat in the waning minutes on a fourth-down, 62-yard pass that put the Tigers in position for a game-winning field goal. But no one will ever complain about a guy who shows that sort of dedication to his team."There’s a lot of great safeties in this league," Golston said. "But I can’t imagine not having him on our team. His passion for the game -- that’s something you just can’t teach."

At Mary Persons High School, Battle was a four-year starter at quarterback and safety who led his team to the playoffs each season. Several schools, including Georgia and Auburn, seemed interested. He also had discussions with a trio of Division I-AA teams, as well as Division II powerhouse Valdosta State. Then, as signing day approached, the phone stopped ringing, the letters stopped arriving. When it came time to pick a school, Battle was on his own."I had no offers," he remembered. "Nothing." His older sister attended Auburn, so Battle considered walking on there. But he qualified for a state-sponsored scholarship if he went to school in Georgia, which persuaded him to try out with the Bulldogs. "I wanted to help my mom," Battle said. "I noticed she had gotten a little grayer paying my sister’s way through college."

His high school coach, Steve Chafin, kept telling Battle that he was good enough to make an impact with the Bulldogs. Forget about the scholarship. Ignore those who say you’re too small. Show them what you’ve got. "Whoever gets you is getting a diamond in the rough," Chafin told Battle. "These colleges have a prototype for what they want at safety, and you don’t have it. But you have the heart to be a special player."

Turns out, that was right on the mark.

As we head into Conference Championship week, I'll add a couple of more things:
1. The computer polls are a joke - there is no way there are 4 or 5 conferences better than the SEC.
2. Auburn is the best team in the SEC (sorry Dog fans and LSU alumni). They have the balance to beat any- I repeat ANY team. The are better than ND and could beat Texas or USC (I'm not saying they're better that #1 & 2, but the could beat them).

The Dogs and Bayou Tigers had some things to say about this too.

If you're a little geeky like me...

or need validation through online quizes, scroll down to the November 22nd entry there's a link to a quiz to see which sci-fi/fantasy character you are most like.

I know the guys from Hill Hall will want a recount as they are sure I'm kin to C-3PO.

Thai of the Week: Aey

Name: Vipa "Aey" Phaisaltantiwong
Occupation: Receptionist
Religion: Buddhist
Family Members: 6
Favorite food: Noodles (all types)
Favorite Songs/Band: "Where is the Love" Black-Eyed Peas & "Lonely" Akon
Favorite TV Show: Song-Rao-Ni-Run-Dorn
Favorite Magazine: "Slimming" & "Cleo"
Favorite Sports: Gymnastics & Wrestling (watching, not participating)
What do you like to do in your free time? Watch TV, read books, surf the internet
Favorite thing about Chiang Mai or Thailand: the view from the top of Doi Inthanon (Thailand's tallest mountain) & the weather in Chiang Mai
American you's most like to meet: Brad Pitt

Muchas Gracias!

Many thanks to Olivia for fixin' a spectacular Mexican feast! I had 2 hard shell tacos, 1 soft taco, 2 chicken quesadillas and beef nachos and homemade salsa to boot. Oh, I forgot the cookie and ice cream at the end. (Sorry, no pics, the kids in Africa get upset about that).

Mommas, don't let you babies grow up to be Yellow Jackets.

From an article by Brian Murphy:

Jennings stepped in front of a Ball pass intended for Damarius Bilbo to secure the win.
"I read the three-step drop and knew what was coming," Jennings said.
He snatched the ball (see photo), raced 29 yards and stepped out of bounds at the 34, setting off a celebration that lasted long after the final whistle and reverberated all the way to Athens.
"Damn, man. What do you think?" Ball said when asked if this loss hurt worse than others. "Did you ever play football? Then you don't know."
The Yellow Jackets lost 19-13 in 2004 with Ball tossing away their last chance on fourth down mistakenly believing it was third.

Classless. That's Tech.

What's sad, is that Ball has a heap of talent, but this is just further proof of his lacking upstairs. When you look at the games he has started, Tech has often lived and died by him. As stated above, he made a critical error in last year's UGA game. He also had another costly penalty against UGA for his hot head (2003). Ball had 2 INTs and a fumble this year. And he also had a costly mistake this year against NCST.

Tech had a great Defense, a good RB and freakishly good WR, but Ball is the usually the key to whether they pull it off. Unfortunately for Tech fans, his antics were costly and a reflect poorly on them (but I won't shed a tear over it).

Make it 5 in a row!

Dogs top Geeks again! UGA wins 14-7!
I was at church and missed it all, but was relieved to see the score when I got in. If you saw the game, let me know your thoughts. Post or email me. Also, I noticed Lumpkin not Ware or Brown carried the load, why? (I don't mean he shouldn't, it's just that he hasn't all year).

Win pretty or win ugly, but just win.

Now it's time to get ready for LSU.

DJ Shockley and the Dogs still standing after a slug-fest in Atlanta. UGA 14 - Tech 7

Ouch & Yuck! Ultimate Frisbee wound (sliding for a TD catch).

Game on! The Dogs tee it up against the Jackets Saturday night (or Sunday morning here). I think it's going to be a tough game, but we can win it for sure. (What's crazy is I could order it on the internet or listen on a radio station online- thanks Brian- but of course I'll be at church.) Hopefully, I get a DVD copy of the win in the mail.

Mountain Men

Today, 3 brothers and I hiked at a national park at one of the local mountains. Wi, Jerod, Craig and I drove up Doi Suthep and over to Doi Pui Park. We then hiked up to the summit. It was a great time (even if it did remind me of how horribly out of shape I am). It was awesome to see God's creation and enjoy the cool mountain air. But more than that, it was great to enjoy the company of my friends. This was the first time I met Wi (wee); he goes to church with Craig. He's a great guy and was helpful in teaching us about the mountain and the foliage. Check out the pics from the trip below.

This is my city. It usually hazy like this, but you can still see quite a bit. This is the view from Doi Suthep.

Looking out into the abyss (or the fog hanging over a Hmong village).

Jerod, Craig and I and a knarly tree. (I think it's from Dagobah).

Left means up.

Wi and Craig.

Relaxing at the top.

Craig balancing out over the edge.

Wi checks to make sure Jerod and Craig are still with us.

The road home.

Jerod, Josh, Craig and me hanging out at a friends for Thanksgiving. We had a good time and the food was GREAT!

What's left from the leftovers we used for dinner. So this is a fraction of what we had for lunch (and obviously we didn't have potato chips for our Thanksgiving meal).

Ahhh! The Turkey Nap.

What's goin' on

I'm...
having Thanksgiving lunch with friends and co-workers tomorrow.
Reading: Psalms & Proverbs, "Who Made God?" by Ravi Zaccharias and N. Geisler
Listening to: Thai Mix, Casting Crowns
Playing: Settlers of Catan

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me; for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." -Psalm 25:4-5

(check November in the Archives to see pictures from Istanbul and Thailand)

I'm Elrond, who are you?

Thai of the Week: Rose

Name: Rojana "ROSE" Detvilai
Occupation: Travel Coordinator
Religion: Buddhist
Family Members: 4
Favorite Food: "moo ka-tiem" fried pork with garlic
Favorite Musicians: Endophine & Robbie Williams
Favorite TV Show: Bang-Rak-Soi-Kaow
Favorite Books: crossword and wordgame books
Favorite Sport: badminton
What do you like to do in your free time? Take trips, shop, read, watch TV, listen to the radio
Favorite thing about Chiang Mai or Thailand: Songkran Festival, the Lanna Tradition (Northern Thai Culture), the beach (not in Chiang Mai)
Person you'd most like to meet: Kofi Annan

Each week I'll try to introduce you to another one of my Thai friends. Feel free to post comments or questions to learn more about the people here.

Looking back... and ahead

It was a big week in College Football. Rivalries, upsets, blowouts, etc.
UGA 45 Kentucky 13 (the good)
After a slow start, Georgia took care of business. Next week is Tech coming off a huge win against Miami (more later). A couple of thoughts from the game:
Georgia will definitely have to get much better on 3rd down- 0-10!!! They somewhat made up for that with a 3-4 performance on 4th down, but that ain't anything you want to live off of. Conversely, Kentucky was 6-18 on 3rd and 1-1 on 4th. That's not a bad job by the Dog D, but the Cats were also 3-9 on 3rd & 7 or more. That number needs to be much lower. Georgia is giving up to many big plays on 3rd/4th & long.
I didn't see the game (obviously), but I'd like to know if our receivers are still dropping a lot of passes (it just show up as "incomplete pass" on the computer and it shows up a lot).
Leonard Pope 1 catch?! This guy is a freak of nature and should definitely get more that one catch (especially with a shaky WR crew).
Bama 18 Auburn 28 (the bad)
Bama's dream season continues to slip away. I'm sure we could point to a lot of reasons why the game turned out the way it did, but sacks looked like the key. Auburn sacked Croyle 11 times! ELEVEN!!! That's probably more than some Pac-10 teams have all year. The sacks came early and often, minimizing Darby's role and giving Auburn a short field for it's first 3 TDs. After that, Bama's offense had to play catch up, something it hasn't been good at.
Vandy 28 Tenn 24 (the ugly)
Wow! Tough to be orange these days. As if losses to UGA, Bama and USC weren't bad enough, now you lose for the first time in 33 years to Vandy. Losing season, no bowl... at least it can't get any worse... wait, you've still got to play Kentucky! Nah, well, hmm. The sad thing is that Vandy blew a truly great season by losing to Middle Tennessee and Kentucky; those wins would have made them 7-4 and going to a bowl for the first time in forever. Don't forget Vandy almost beat Florida; from 8-3 to 5-6. What could've been...
GT 14 Miami 10 (more ugly)
Who woulda thought it? Well, actually it's not a surprise when you look at what Tech has done for the past several years; they have consistently been inconsistent. When you look at GT, you see a team that beats highly ranked Auburn teams, Miami, top ACC schools and then manages to lose to struggling ACC teams (NCST and UVa this year). Tech is a team that can beat FSU one week and then get blown out by Wake or UNC the next. However, this game proves that UGA is going to have to play well to win next week- no stupid mistakes, big penalties, turnovers and defensive lapses.
Clemson 13 South Carolina 9 (the ugly)
Which Palmetto State team could keep the momentum after beating a Sunshine State powerhouse last week? Then one with the RB who went for 145 yards and the QB that overcame INTs to lead his team when it counted, i.e. the Tigers. Clemson, like GT may be an inconsistent team every year, but they consistently beat the Gamecocks. The reason I labeled this one "ugly" is because a South Carolina loss hurts UGA's rankings in the computer polls. Sounds crazy, but that's the system we have.

Finally, is the New World Order of the SEC East: UGA, SC, Florida, Vandy, Tenn, Kentucky?

SEC East Champs! UGA 45 - Kentucky 13. After a slow start today and 2 missed opportunities (Fla & Auburn), the Dogs finally clinched the SEC East. But celebrating will be short as UGA must get better to beat GT and then LSU. Congrats to Richt and the Bulldogs!

Oh, you, Herschel Walker!... well, not exactly. Normally, I like a dynamic offensive play or a crushing sack, but how can you pass up Punter Gordon Ely-Kelso rushing for 34 yards on a fake punt. That play sparked the Georgia offense for their first of 3 TDs in the 2nd Qtr.

Immanuel

God is a relational God. It is His desire to have a relationship with all. He is not emptiness or nothingness than Buddhists aspire to. He is not distant and unmerciful as Muslims believe. He is not just another being or god like the Hindus make. He is not behind a curtain or screen only reachable through a priest. He is so much more than all of this and He wants to share it with you.
He is the I AM that met personally with Moses. He is the Almighty Father that spoke at the transfiguration. He is the LORD who walked with Enoch. He is the Creator that dwelt with Adam. He is the Righteous One who wrestled with Jacob. He is The Christ who ate with sinners, healed the blind, washed the feet of His disciples, raised Lazarus, forgave an adulteress, prayed for the lost and spoke to both the masses and individuals. He is Immanuel- God with us.
Because of His love, He wants to have a relationship with us- not just one-on-one with Him, but through the people in our lives. He wants to have relationships with others through us, as we trust in Him.
He is so much more than we can ever dream of. And He is available.

Makes me miss home. Satellite shot for one of the Thai networks at Loy Krathang. It was crazy- tons of people, flying luminaries everywhere and fireworks going off all around you (and on you). At least the news guys were smart and put the reporter on top of the truck and kinda out of the mess.

My friend Jerod (backlit on purpose) and you can see Craig exiting frame right.

Thai woman praying to river goddess before she puts her krathang (float) in the Ping River.

Uh, that wasn't in the playbook, was it?

I found this on espn and thought it was funny and appropriate for the Clemson-South Carolina game; it's from an interview with QB Charlie Whitehurst (seen at right).

Funniest moment in a huddle: "Well, we run a no-huddle offense."

OK, then, funniest moment: "My old center, Tommy Sharpe, was a 5-foot-10, 5-11 guy, one of the toughest guys I ever played with. He had a problem with throwing up on the ball. It happened a couple of times in practice. It happened against Georgia a couple of years ago on the first play of the [first] game. I fumbled the snap. It was slippery!

"One day in practice, we're in the shotgun, I'm looking at the defense, and he's throwing up again. I don't know it. The ball goes right through my hands, hits my chest and bounces away. It took me until I had jumped on it to realize what had happened. Luckily, it was the last play of practice, so I got that jersey off pretty quick."

You done good, son! Most of you out there didn't know I had a son, much less one in his late 20s. Well, I do. My son, Jeff, got married a week and a half ago to Ashley. Congrats and blessings!

Great story of redemption

This is Tiwan. She used to live a life of drug use and crime, but she was put in prison. While she was in prison, Jesus changed her heart and gave her a new life. She finished her sentence and is now studying at a seminary.
Last night, she gave her testimony before hundreds of people including the King's Sister.
Pray that Jesus will use her and her story to help change more hearts in Thailand.

Loy Krathang

Ceremonies have already begun here in Thailand for one of the biggest festivals of the year. Loy Krathang is a festival with several purposes and it is celebrated in different ways in various parts of the country. The 2 most important reasons for Loy Krathang are: to thank the river goddess or spirit for the uses of the rivers; and to get rid of bad luck or bad karma (deeds, acts and thoughts).
The most common way it is celebrated is to build a float our of banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense and other items. The float or krathang is then lit and sent down the river, hopefully carrying away the bad things in a person's life, so they can earn merit (good karma) and prosperity. That's what the 2 ladies above are doing.
In some places, coconuts are used to make the floats. Another common site in Northern Thailand is balloon/lanterns (see following photos). They are made out of paper and look like a lampshade with an enclosed top. In the middle of the opening at the bottom is a wad of tightly woven cotton or some other flammable object; they dip that in oil and light it. The hot air from the fire fills the lantern and it floats into the night sky. During the next several days, thousands of these flying luminaries will dot the night sky.
Please pray for Buddhist especially over the next few days that they will find the true way to find forgiveness for their sins.

This was the night sky on Saturday in northern Thailand. No, it's not a meteor shower; it's hundreds, if not thousands, of balloon/latterns soaring in the night sky for a Buddhist festival.

Heating up the air in the lattern/balloon so that it will fly away, carrying their bad luck and bad deeds with it.

Up, up and away...

At the lattern festival in Mae Jo, a prelude to Loy Krathang which is this Wednesday.

They are looking up, but are they looking toward the Heaven?

Pray that Thais would find true cleansing from their sins and not rely on works.

More important matters

I want to highlight a couple of things from church today and put out a very important prayer request.

To start off, I heard my first solo from the pews today. Let me explain: I was in the pews (or row of chairs) and we were singing worship songs. All of a sudden, the lady in front of me breaks into an impromptu solo. So the keyboardist (who is up at the front) keeps playing and she begins to belt out a song. It was pretty awesome! I really feel that is was Spirit-led. The words were beautiful and powerful and well-timed. The rang true as her beautiful voice lifted them up. At the same time it was a little strange for a lady in the 3rd row to be leading worship (but God works in unusual ways).
Today's sermon was from the end of Acts 2 were we get an accurate summary of what "church is supposed to be." One of the pastors points was that here in my city there are literally hundreds of foreign believers, but in a way we're kinda dysfunctional because the community of the Acts 2 church isn't here. He cited some reason from our Western culture: Individualism, Independence, Identity and Isolation (you know it's preaching with alliteration like that). I want to park on one of those issues: Isolation. I don't live in a city in South Asia where I'm the only Believer. I don't live in the bush of West Africa where everyone in my village is Muslim. I don't live in a war torn country that keeps me from going to the store, movies, restaurant, etc. But I have friends that do. However, in a city with so many Christians (mostly non-local), even I feel isolated at times. I have the chance to build "community" here. Others have a much tougher road for that to happen. Without that community or Body, we don't experience the corporate worship that you do. Fellowship can be lacking. I say this not to make you feel guilty or even pity us- God placed us here, so there's no need for pity. But I would ask this...

Please pray for all the servants scattered around the world. Pray that they would find others who believe. Pray the people they are reaching out would come to know Jesus. Pray that they would have brothers and sisters to fellowship with, pray with and worship with. Pray that they would not be overwhelmed with isolation.

We are meant to be a part of the Body, not isolated individuals. Without that belonging to Him and the Church, we will never see the world know Jesus.

My new best friend? Thank you Evil Genius for beating the Gators and keeping UGA's SEC East hopes alive.

Eye of the Tigers

Well, it was a pretty crappy day in college football if you played a Tiger this weekend. Auburn, LSU and Clemson all won this week. Unfortunately, UGA lost to Auburn and Bama lost to LSU (props to Clemson for beating overrated FSU).
Not just one, but both of my teams lost huge games in the last play of the game... games both could have won.
LSU beat Bama 16-13 in overtime to knock Bama out of the SEC West lead and the ranks of the undefeated. The "experts" all said that Bama didn't have enough offense, they didn't need much as their defense carried them again, but a few points in the second half or OT would've been the difference.
I watched the first half of the Georgia game online before going to church. I missed the second half and it seems like that's when things picked up and got crazy. Apparently, Kenny Irons is pretty good. But more notable from reading the box score and recap were a miscommunication after a TD that was costly and allowing Auburn to get a 62 yard completion on a 4th & 10 play. How you aren't playing back for a pass at the end of a game in that situation, I don't know. (Interestingly enough, Paul Oliver, made a play that sound reminiscent of the 1993 Sugar Bowl play where a Bama DB robbed a Miami player of a potential TD). However, Auburn's pack with the devil held up and not only did they complete such a crazy pass, but they also recovered the fumble at the end of the play, so they could kick a winning FG as time was running out.

So to recap, Bama needs a little more Offense and UGA needs to play smarter and stop losing games.

The sad thing is that here in Thailand, that's probably not a typo. (Usually, ISP is Internet Service Provider.) FYI, TOT is one of the 2 major phone companies here. Props to Rick for catching this one.

Wanni ben wan di.

"Today is a good day"

Today is a good day because...
it's Friday.
My friends are safe (G & E).
I got mail.
I'm wearing a cool "Today is a good day" T-shirt from Big Picture Tees.
God made it that way.

Reading:
Psalms and Proverbs
just finished "The Lotus and the Cross" (very interesting)
just finished "Lost in Rooville" (thanks to the Martins)

'nuff said.

BSC Mess

Leave it to NCAA and computer polls to make a mess of the greatest sport. Of course, this is nothing new. Heading down the home stretch, let's take a look at the real rankings.
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Alabama
4. Miami (props for beating VT, but you still have a loss to a slipping FSU team)
5. LSU (we'll find out a lot this week when they play Bama)
6. Penn St (Paterno is back)
7. Va Tech (could easily swap with LSU and Penn St, they're still a "great one-loss team")
8. UGA (Auburn game decides if this team is for real)
9. Ohio St (both losses to top 10 teams)
10. Texas Tech
11. Notre Dame (too much hype, Mich St loss looks worse now that the Spartans are falling)
12. Oregon
13. West Va (catching momentum)
14. Florida (only losses to top 10 teams, but too many close ones to be higher)
15. UCLA (how do you lose to Arizona?)

Teams to pull for this week:
UGA, Boise St, Bama, South Carolina
Teams that let us down last week:
Vandy, Tennessee

Sorry Christy, I forgot to save you a taco.

Enjoying a meal with my family. Mmmmm... Mexican.

More adventures in world travel... the guys at TSA or American Airlines broke the zipper on my suitcase. They were kind enough to tape it up for me, but that didn't stop the rain in Chicago from soaking my clothes and stuff. My friend Craig is demonstrating the ability to get into the suitcase. Thankfully, it looks like nothing was taken.

Napoleon + Utah State Fair = ha ha ha ha

A friend sent me a link to a bunch of ads that Napoleon and Pedro did for the Utah State fair; here's a funny one about the rides.
After you watch it, you can change the number on the end of the "url" to 1 and 2 and also see 2 other videos. It requires Flash 7.

Enjoy.

Check this out!

For some laughs, check out this website: little lost robot
This is the guy that replaced me at my last TV station. He has the best blog I've ever seen. He recently created a still-action video to a Black Eyed Peas' song. If the link doesn't work, his blog is also listed in my "favorites" section.

Warning: Some content may not be appropriate for all viewers.