Whew... what a night...

For those of you that don't know, I play basketball every Monday night with a bunch of guys over at the lighted outdoor court at National Semiconductor, hosted by gracious National employee Jason Chen. It's some of the most enjoyable exercise and competition I get to take part in, b/c everyone plays hard and clean, and despite the occasional hard foul, tempers rarely flare because we've been playing together long enough to know that no one's trying to hurt anyone else. Plus, the quality of play is pretty high; no one is truly dominant and no one is incompetent, so you can put together a team of any 5 guys and be competitive. Such was the case today... I was on a team that was severely undersized (I was the tallest player!), but we were able to scrap out 3 consecutive wins (we have a 3-win cap for winning teams to make sure everyone gets to play) through hustle, hard-nosed defense, and hitting open jumpers... 'twas a lot of fun. I think I play better at night... partially psychological and partially physical, the absence of a sun beating down on me seems to inspire me to hustle more, run more, and play tighter defense.

Then, I climb back into my car just in time to hear Kenny Lofton hit Steve Kline's first pitch for the game-winning hit, sending the Giants into the World Series for the first time since 1989 (Bay Bridge/Earthquake Series!). It's interesting... I've always been somewhat superstitious with regards to baseball, ever since I was a young Giants diehard... like, if I crossed my legs a certain way and the Giant at bat would get a hit, I wouldn't uncross my legs until the end of the inning and the Giants had scored a few runs. So over this past National League Championship Series, I noticed that the Giants won the games where I tuned in late in the game, 8th inning or later, and lost game 3 last Saturday when I watched most of it (going through several gut-wrenches at the same time). So tonight, I elected to continue with my regular Monday routine of hoops and exercise (which was great!) then tuned back in to hear the game-winning hit. Hm, am I on to something here?

Even better, when I flicked the station over to the 49ers MNF game against Seattle, the Niners were down 21-20 in the 4th with the Seahawks driving for a field goal to push the lead into two-score territory. Then, Okeafor deflects the pass from Seahawks QB Dilfer, and Ahmed Plummer makes the pick, and the Niners go on to win the game.

Finally, on a note of less magnitude but feels good nonetheless, I checked the box score and noticed that the Warriors killed the Trail Blazers (a pretty darn good team) 95-79. Sure, it's a preseason game that doesn't mean anything, but my "NBA comparison" in my scouting report below, the Warriors' Mike Dunleavy, had a decent all-around game w/ 14 pts, 7 rbs, 5 asts, 7 stls, 2-4 3ptrs... good stuff.

In the grand scheme of things... sports doesn't mean a whole heckuva lot. But perhaps the greatest benefit of sports is that it fosters community. When you play sports, you learn how to help your team win by being unselfish, doing what you do best, encouraging one another to do better, and covering for one another's mistakes, all for a common purpose. Following sports gives you the chance to learn and critique the game, but more importantly, gives you the chance to enjoy the highs and be disappointed in the lows of your team, along with all the other team's followers.

Tonight was definitely a high.

Bob Lin Basketball Scouting Report

Just for fun... here's a basketball scouting report on... me... based on the style set forth on http://www.nbadraft.net.

Disclaimer: this evaluation is based on my game relative to the level and stature of people I typically play with, i.e., primarily Asian, fundamentally sound, shorter folks.

Bob Lin
Birthdate: 06/04/1978
Position: Small Forward
College: UC Berkeley, class of 2000
Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 147

Skill ratings (scale of 1-5, with 3 being average, 1 and 5 low and high respectively)
Athleticism: 3
Size: 3
Defense: 3
Strength: 2
Quickness: 3
Leadership: 4
Jump Shot: 5
Passing: 4
Ball Handling: 2
Offensive Penetration: 3
Post Play: 3
Intangibles/Court Sense: 4

NBA prototype/comparison: Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

Strengths: Fundamentally sound in most aspects of the game. Can do a little bit of everything. Good jump shot with range out to 3-point land. With a proper backboard, has a highly effective mid-range bank shot from each wing. Can run an offense, delivering passes to cutters and people coming off of screens at the right times, as well as feeding big men in the post, and is improving at moving without the ball off of screens and cutting to open spots for layups and jumpers. Defensively, decent shot-blocker that relies on anticipation rather than enormous hops. Decent team leadership skills and overall court sense.

Weaknesses: Not very strong or quick physically and can be overmatched playing against other forwards who tend to be the same height but stronger, or against guards that are shorter but quicker. Not particularly intense all the time, can become turnover-prone, needs to learn to "have his motor running at all times" and not get lazy or complacent. Can occasionally struggle with consistency. Can be more aggressive on the offensive end, particularly at the end of close games, working to get an open shot. Will sometimes forget to box out. Needs to improve at finishing around the rim.

Hm, I haven't updated this thing in a while. I'll write about other stuff I'm thinking about later, but here's a quick update:

WORK: Boss is on vacation until next Monday, holding down the fort, things are productive but not stressful... kind of the way I like it.

MINISTRY: Currently in praying and planning stages for youth group for the upcoming year... I think the kids are starting to get a kind of cautious optimism about seeing God do things this year, tempered with a kind of doubt b/c they haven't seen a whole lot of change in the past few years.
- Praise Band... we bid a hearty farewell to Richard, our resident lead electric guitar, as he begins his college years over at Davis... hope God grows him tremendously spiritually, mentally, and socially... just let me know if you're ever back in town and wanna bust out a few solos on one of our Sundays.
- Men's Group... had a joint fun night last night with foosball, PS2, the Angels-Yankees game, and a conversation about comic books. Good times...

CURRENTLY READING: The Wounded Spirit, Frank Peretti - about how the taunts, abuse, and bullying that most children go through to some degree may permanently wound and scar our spirits which may twist us in bad directions when we're older, and how we can change this starting with our youngest children, using the Columbine and Paducah school massacres as possible theory support. Recently finished reading Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (excellent book, one of my faves about the Christian lifestyle, and one I heartily recommend), The Life God Blesses by Jim Cymbala, and re-read The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy just for old times' sake.

CURRENT TV SHOW: Alias, ABC, Sunday nights at 9 pm. Season premiere was this past Sunday. I think they tied up too many of the plot points too neatly, but it was entertaining. Maybe I'll bust out the invisible type to comment on plot-specific points later...

CURRENT MUSIC: City On A Hill 2: Sing Alleluia, Various Artists. Great CD; great example of how a believer can meld art and creativity with worshipful lyrics to make music that's a cut above your standard cookie-cutter praise songs. Also recently got Learning to Breathe, Switchfoot; Psalms, Shane Barnard and Shane Everett; and The Anatomy of the Tongue In Cheek, Relient K.