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Monthly Archives: May 2014

A Sad Day For Tampa Bay

Lately in the news we’ve all been reading about the lack of ethics, and personal character of professional team owners. But what we aren’t reading or hearing about are the real owner/heroes who have exhibited character, care for their team, and professionalism. One of those just passed away yesterday, Wednesday, May 28th. His name is Malcolm Glazer. Glazer purchased the Tampa Bay football team in January of 1995. He and his family have owned of the Buccaneers ever since. Glazer immediately hired Tony Dungy, the successful defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, as the head football coach. Dungy turned the Bucs into a defensive powerhouse, and by 1997, a team with a winning record. In 1997 the Bucs were 10-6.

I was living in the Tampa Bay area in 1995, and I vividly remember reading about Malcolm Glazer and his impact on the team, and the Tampa Bay community. In the community, Glazer founded the Glazer Family Foundation, which is dedicated to assisting charitable and educational causes in the Tampa Bay community. During its existence, the foundation has donated millions in programs, tickets, grants and in-kind contributions. The foundation donated $5 million toward the construction of the Glazer Children’s Museum in downtown Tampa, which opened on September 25, 2010.

Not only did Malcolm Glazer have an impact on his community, but he also impacted individuals. Many of the NFL players who played for the Buccaneers, under Glazer ownership, remember him as a very personable man, who’d approach them with words of encouragement, and acknowledge, with pride, their efforts on and off the field. Many of those players include Ronde Barber, Warrick Dunn, and Shaun King. This is what former starting quarterback Shaun King had to say:

An amazing man, So personable and kind. He used to come up to me after every game when I was the starter and say, ‘I’m so proud of you, Shaun.”

Malcolm Glazer has made an impact on many players and coaches under his ownership. With the hire of Tony Dungy, coaches like Jim Caldwell, Lovie Smith, and Herm Edwards, would make their impact on the NFL as head coaches themselves. If there were a such a thing as a great legacy, Malcolm Glazer would be in the top 5.

Side note: I don’t know what is spiritual status with Jesus was, hopefully he trusted him as Lord, or all the “good” things Glazer did would be moot eternally.

Fore!

14 May

My first opportunity to earn money was by caddying for local golf courses around the Columbus, Ohio area. I was one of the first caddies to carry clubs for golfers at Muirfield Village Golf Club (the course that Jack built). I learned the ethics, manners, and how to play the game from my dad and by personal observation. I was able to practice and hone my swing by taking advantage of caddie Mondays. Each Monday during the spring, summer and fall, the golf courses would close for maintenance and allow the caddies to play all day long for free. I’ve never had an official golf lesson or any professional instruction. All that changed today but I will conclude this post with that later.

As a caddie I carried clubs for some great golfers such as Tom Weiskopf, Johnny Miller, and Tom Watson. I was actually caddying for Tom Weiskopf in a Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio when I met Jack Nicklaus for the first time. During the tournament I tried real hard to work up the nerve to ask Jack Nicklaus a question I’ve always wanted to ask him. The question?

When my dad was in high school he played on the high school golf team. He played for the North High Polar Bears. A young rising golf star from opposing Upper Arlington, home of the Golden Bears, also played golf. His name? Jack Nicklaus.

My mother, on several occasions, would show me a newspaper clipping she received from my dad’s mother that reported on a high school golf tournament between North High and Upper Arlington in which Stan Schneider, my dad, tied one young Jack Nicklaus at 70 on the Ohio State University Scarlet Golf Course. My grandmother had no idea at the time she clipped that story out of the paper that this young Jack Nicklaus would become one of the most successful professional golfers of all time.

So back to the question for Jack Nicklaus that was never asked. As you can guess, it would have gone something like this:

Mr Nicklaus, do you remember paying to a tie of 70 with an older student golfer from North High school on the OSU Scarlet course? That older student golfer is my dad.

My dad lost his eye sight due to diabetes at the age of 30 but he never lost his love for the game of golf. I remember caddying for him on several occasions. He was completely blind, but I would help him by giving him my yardage estimate to the pin, placing the golf club head behind the golf ball, and he’d swing away. Most times it was an amazing shot.

All that to say, I had my very first professional golf lesson today. I haven’t picked up a golf club in almost four years so I knew my golf swing would need some major analysis and correction after such a long time. I signed up for a series of five lessons at Highlands Golf Course in Lincoln, Nebraska. I was right, my swing doesn’t suck, but it can really use some pointers and patience. Thanks to my pro Denis, I am learning some excellent tools and having a blast ramping up my game again.

How to avoid spiritual nearsightedness

08 May

I have been inspired by the latest sermon from my pastor, Mike Rue at our local church, Calvary Baptist Church, to do a short blog posting. The sermon series is a verse by verse study of the second epistle of Peter titled “Know”, as in to “know” God. This past Sunday we delved into chapter 1 verses 3-11. I know it seems like a large chunk of scripture to bite off at once, but the context seems to warrant the large bite. The section of verses teaches the believer how to recognize and experience spiritual growth. During the sermon the one verse that attracted my focus was verse 9.

For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

The context of this verse is a counter that refers to the qualities that mark the believer in Christ mentioned in the previous verses. A growing Christian should be one who supplements their faith in Christ with virtue, and virtue, with knowledge, and knowledge, with self-control, and self-control, with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. As Peter mentions in verse 8:

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just like The apostle John writes in 1 John 5. He writes these things so that you may know that you have eternal life. The apostle Peter also gives us encouragement in what are qualities of the believer in Jesus Christ. I pray that these qualities are found in me and by the grace of God increase my vision to 20/20.