Here are the pics as promised!
Archive for the ‘Cricket, Rugby, Golf...’ Category
Most innovative golf course ever
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008Naughty wife and kid
Sunday, October 28th, 2007Well u shouldn’t brag about your wife and kid when they’re not doing churchy things - But I’m going to! So here’s my kid watching World Cup Rugby, and The Wife this weekend getting her first (and probably last) ROYAL FLUSH in poker!
Riccardo watching World Cup (click to see video)
And this is The Wife’s Royal Flush in Texas Hold’em Poker!
Jake White
Friday, September 14th, 2007I am and always have been an outspoken Jake White fan - A couple of months ago every second rugby follower wanted to fire him - because the grass is always greener… and the untested coach (and the beer belly idiot on the couch) always knows better.
I’ve always said he knows what he’s doing and I still do.? One of the things Jake says is that world cups are won by men and not boys.? Thank you Os, Percy, Victor, Bakkies, Bob Skinstad etc.? Yet he has one or two spots open for boys…Francois Steyn, Ruan Pienaar…
Then Jake has also created depth in the squad - I honestly feel we can lose half our team through injury and we’re still strong enough to beat the All Blacks and the Aussies.
Tonight we will thrash England and a couple of weeks from now we will win the world cup.? And all the beer bellies will praise Jake as if they have been standing behind him the whole time.? And not have the decency to say they have erred!
I say we win tonight with more than 25 points.
Jaco, Jesus and John… Smit
Monday, May 21st, 2007I wonder what John Smit had to say about Jesus last Saturday. Jaco van der Westhuizen made it quite clear what he had to say.
I want to start off by immediately saying my purpose in this blog is not to waste Jaco because of this bold act. In fact I think it is really honorable if somebody boldly declares their love for God. And I acknowledge that! Some people are criticizing him with some ungrounded criticism such as ‘you shouldn’t force your religion on somebody’. Well I don’t think he was doing that.
But we should probably ask the question whether this was wise. I wonder if he would have worn this t-shirt so boldly if Habana had tripped and missed the try. I’m sure Jaco doesn’t mean that ‘because Jesus is king, the Bulls won’! In fact what he said by his own admission was that Jesus is his inspiration. Which is great. But unfortunately what Jaco MEANS and what people PERCEIVE are two different things. And some people PERCEIVE the very shallow assumption that Jaco is implicating that Jesus’s kingship brought them a win, and thus these people ask, ‘Is Jesus then not King of some of the Sharks’ players?’
This brings me to my point. We have a responsibility in how we communicate. If I have an affair with my neighbour(’s wife), and tell my wife I didn’t MEAN to hurt her, does that mean she didn’t get hurt? Of course not! That’s a ridiculous thought. Obviously I hurt her, whether I MEANT to or not. What I mean does not change the effect of what I DID!
If we communicate our faith to people in a way that pushes them away from God, that is probably unwise, even if we did not mean to do harm. What harm we DID is what counts. Obviously we will sometimes offend some people. (Some people feel offended by my hair!) Jesus also offended some people. However He mostly offended the church (as does my hair sometimes), and seldom the prostitutes and tax collecters. Because he loved them and wanted to communicate God’s love in a way that drew these people closer to God.
Now the question is, is Jaco’s t-shirt drawing people who don’t claim to love God closer or further away from? I can’t say for sure. But I think it raised some eyebrows in Kwazulu Natal. Probably Jaco wasn’t thinking so deeply about this. And if I was part of the Bulls, pulling off a miraculous (excuse the pun) last minute win against a better team on the day, my brain would probably have left me too.
But maybe this happened so that we can learn from it, and so that we can start thinking about how we communicate!
What a sports weekend for South Africa!
Sunday, May 6th, 2007Two Super 14 home semi-finals on South African soil.? I’m not a Bulls fan, but this weekends game against the Reds was super impressive! A Super 14 record!? A winning margin of 89 points!
Then Rory Sabbatini equals the course record of at the Wachovia Championship on the PGA tour to lead Tiger by a shot, with eagle two’s by Sabbatini, Oberholzer, and Singh - Singh’s to drop in the cup from 200 metres without even a bounce!
Andrew McLardy leads the Italian Open on the last day - and Charl Schwartzel is fresh from a win on the Spanish Open on the European Tour (R3 500 000 later)!
Proud to be a South African! ? I think I’ll have to work on my golf - or perhaps teach Riccardo to play - seems to be the way to go today!
Looking at Polls, and Whims, and Backbone
Wednesday, March 28th, 2007People are so easily swayed ? As I watch the newest South African Cricket game ? a game where we chasing a mere 209 runs against Sri Lanka, viewers are invited to take part in a voting poll.? ?Does Jacques Kallis deserve a place in the South African one day team considering his low strike rate in international one day cricket??? Within ten minutes the majority of voters, about 70%, are saying NO.? Throw him out.? Two hours later, Kallis slowly pacing forward as usual, in a low scoring game where stability is essential, and risks should be kept to a minimum, suddenly 55% of voters decide YES.? The YES doesn?t bother me as such because he probably deserves a place in the side.? (My point the other day is that he has to have the ability to adjust his style to the playing conditions.) What bothers me is the way the public are swayed on a whim.? Today a team wins ? the coach is a hero ? and the captain.? Tomorrow they lose.? Fire the coach and the captain.? (Or murder him)
One of the best things that has happened in SA Rugby is sticking with Jake even though the team went through a bad patch.? It will pay dividends. Mark my words.? However, if it were up to the public, many would have fired him.? When he takes us to World Cup victory in a couple of months, these same people will all say it was the right thing to stick with Jake.
Heck.
It?s quite crazy to think how many countries are governed by the result of voting polls?
So maybe my point is that we should be firm in our beliefs.? If we are swayed by a sports game, or the weather, or the neighbor?s opinion, what will we do when our faith is challenged?? Not necessarily our faith in God as such.? But our faith in his principles, or in our understanding of what He revealed to us.? Or simply when our opinions of what we believe about this or that concerning God and his ways are challenged?
Of course some of us don?t even have any opinions on most things.? ?I don?t think God has an issue whether we believe a thing is round or square?, some say.?? He might not.? But he probably would appreciate you having an opinion.? People who made a difference in the Bible and people who make a difference in society today have opinions about things.
They have a firm belief in what they believe.? And they stick by them.? That?s my point about the voting thing.
I?m not saying we should not be open to learn and open to change.? But heck.? Am I going to change to a new car now, just because it didn?t work perfectly yesterday?? (I did that with my medical aid ? the grass is greener? ? BIG MISTAKE ? but that?s a story for tomorrow perhaps)
Let?s get some backbone!
Losing cricket against AUZ
Monday, March 26th, 2007I put the blame for losing the group stage game against the Aussies totally on Jacques Kallis’ shoulders. I’m sorry but if you’re chasing 380 with a great start of 160 odd for zero, and then Kallis comes in clipping the ball around at a strike right of 75, he’s expecting the rest of his team to bat at 10 an over to make up for his time wasting. Honestly I doubt Kallis’ position in the one day team - Especially with Prince being there. There’s truly not a place for two players of that style of cricket in the modern one day game.
3 cheers for Arthur who has AT LONG LAST realised that Hall deserves a default position in the side.
Bob Woolmer is dead
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007I’m reflecting on the death of Bob Woolmer, one of the best cricket coaches of all time. Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room after the shock loss to one of the minnows in international cricket, Ireland. Currently his death is being treated as ’suspicious’, media reports reflect. With Pakistan being the cricket crazy nation they are, as are all from the sub-continent, I find it pretty suspicious too. And wouldn’t put it past being a forced ‘termination of contract’ by some crazy Pakistani individual or group. Hopefully we find out and justice prevails.
It’s sad how nations can be so low that they have nothing to live for except their sport. In a way it’s a wonderful thing how sport unites a nation. Look what it is doing to South Africa. Look at the thousands of white boers making a black Kabamba Floors their icon and hero! (I wonder if they would invite him for a beer at their homes though!) However it is sad that when things go wrong with your national team, that everything falls apart. And your reason for living momentarily disappears.
When incidents such as Woolmer’s death occur (and considering the possibility of foul play), it reminds us how sport can become a god. As any other addiction can. I am reminded of the value of life. I am reminded of how privileged I am to have a reason for living, a purpose, and to value that reason for living.
Woolmer and Hansie are both now dead. Probably the two most influential people in South African cricket over the last two decades. As an avid cricket fan I honor him for what he gave to society, of himself, his wisdom, his creative energy, his passion. May his loved ones find themselves turning to God alone, and no other place, in their pain.
May they also rest in peace as they mourn.