Pinckneyville Panthers

There are moments that make me very proud of young Christian men. Then, of course, there are other times when I’m very embarrassed by them. This, however, is one of the times I was possibly the proudest!

Here’s the scoop:

Saturday, March 8^th, 2008. I’m in Peoria, Illinois with some friends to watch the Boys 1A and 2A State Basketball Tournament. A team that our basketball boys play during the regular season had made it to the hallowed Final Four. The Lewistown Indians had lost the day before to the future 1A State Champions, St. Anne. I was excited for the Indians to see them play for 3^rd place because it’s a pretty big deal when a school with a population of 200 makes it to state in a sport. I was rooting for Lewistown, but they eventually were defeated and awarded 4^th place. This is still very good.

That’s not the point of this blog; I just wanted to congratulate the Indians.

Now:
The Pinckneyville Panthers: a team that is very well known for their basketball programs. They compete at the 2A level. Anyways, on Saturday I got to watch them play the Olney Tigers. It was a good game, and I think the Panthers were the better team, but the Tigers came out on top. The whole game I had been cheering for Pinckneyville and they had spurts of pure ownage, but they also played a very bad 3^rd quarter… The result of the game was Olney 55, Pinckneyville 46. Pinckneyville also received 4^th in the state of Illinois. Congratulations are also in order for the Pinckneyville Panthers.
Now here is the part to where, if you have lost interest, I want you to return to Earth:
At half-time of the 2A State Championship, they did the awards ceremony for the 3^rd and 4^th place teams. They brought out two tables and a platform. On each the tables were medals for just about every person involved with the two teams and a very large trophy. One-by-one, each member of the team would be called out. Then the athlete would step up on the platform and bend his head toward an official looking person and receive a medal around their neck. Then they would step down from the platform and form a line. Well about half-way through the Pinckneyville Panthers’ line up one of the athletes, after receiving his medal, brought it to his lips, kissing it, and then pointed upward. I thought he was just being an idiot at first. Then the following athlete, after being adorned with a medal, pointed upward with both of his hands. The next couple of athletes followed suit, and I realized what they were doing. They were giving the thanks and glory to God for putting them in this particular position. I was ecstatic to see that these young high schoolers cared enough to stop and recognize that God is the whole reason for living. He is the one that allows us to succeed.

If I were a Pinckneyville Panther, I would have been very proud to wear their colors that day. Not only were they a Final Four team, they had some God-fearing athletes in their athletic department.

Congratulations once again Pinckneyville Panthers.

Ten.

When you’re reading these, make sure you understand that order matters. One is the best and 10 is the worst.

Top 10 things I want right now:

10) A Wii battery charger station.
9) The start of next school year (and the beginning of the rest of my life).
8) No more online classes. They suck.
7) Lower gas prices.
6) I kind of need some new clothes… Especially jeans.
5) My musical lines to be memorized.
4) Quincy and Macomb to be a lot closer to B-Town.
3) Friends who didn’t fight (not that I still don’t love the ones that do!).
2) A girl friend. Someone to love.
1) A closer walk with Jesus.

Top 10 video games I have OWNED:

10) Gears of War
9) Wii Sports
8) Oblivion
7) The Pokémon Series (I can’t pick only one!)
6) Perfect Dark (N64 Version)
5) James Bond: Goldeneye (N64 Version)
4) Splinter Cell
3) Halo 2
2) Super Smash Brothers: Brawl
1) Halo 3

Top 10 Worldly Goals for My Life:

10) Save someone’s life with CPR.
9) Visit every one of the 50 states.
8) Go on a cruise.
7) Become a daily blogger.
6) Come back and visit B-Town in 15-20 years.
5) Build my own computer.
4) Be cryogenically frozen when I’m close to death.
3) Find a wife. Have kids. In that order.
2) Work for a big-time video game corporation.
1) At least visit Europe, if not move there.

Top 10 Favorite Subjects at My High School:

10) Freshman Computers (with FOXALL!)
9) Mrs. Hopper’s English Classes
8) Study Skills
7) Band/Chorus
6) PE (when it’s the badminton unit)
5) Contemporary Literature
4) Advanced Biology (had some fun times last year…)
3) Teacher’s Aide
2) Yearbook
1) French

Top 10 Favorite Things to do in French Class:

10) Do anything besides what we’re supposed to be doing.
9) Screw with the freshman French class during my teacher’s aide period.
8) Go to the computer lab.
7) Mess with random things in Mrs. Freeman’s classroom (i.e. her posters).
6) Cheat while going up against the girls during charades and pictionary.
5) Get Samantha riled up while playing Pictionary.
4) Play Concentration with French vocab.
3) Play "Foreign Family Go-Fish" .
2) BAKE!
1) Watch the "Red Balloon"!!!

Top 10 Favorite Things I like about this year’s Yearbook:

10)
9)
8)
Yeah right!
Like I’m going to give this stuff away!!!
You’ll have to just wait and see…

Top 10 Books I’ve read:

10) "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by JK Rowling
9) "Shattering Glass" by Gail Giles
8) The Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer (couldn’t pick just one)
7) "Brother Odd" by Dean Koontz
6) "Odd Thomas" by Dean Koontz
5) "Raise the Titanic" by Clive Cussler
4) The Alex Rider Series by Anthony Horowitz (couldn’t pick just one)
3) "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by JK Rowling
2) "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by JK Rowling
1) "Right Behind You" by Gail Giles

Top 10 Things You’ll Hear Coming from My Room When I’m Playing Halo:

10) "ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES! LET’S PLAY ZOMBIES!"
9) "POST SLAP!"
8) "INVITE ME!"
7) "TAKE A FACEFUL [of shotgun bullets]!"
6) "I GOT ’BIG BOOM’ YOU TAKE ’CRACK’!"
5) "GET RAPED!"
4) "THERE’S NO DRIVIN’ LIKE POST DRIVIN’!"
3) "I GOT DEFENSE!"
2) "PWNAGE!"
1) "OH MY GOD!"

Top 10 People I Don’t Get to See Enough:

10) Evan Morath
9) Lamoine Christian Service Camp People
8) Adrian Obst
7) The Crossing People
6) Corrine and Eric Crivello
5) Matt Churchill
4) Jamie Tristan
3) Mr. Thomas Tristan
2) Monica Hurt
1) Timmy Stoner

Top 10 Things I Like About Our New High School:

10) Stairs?! Walking?! Say hello to the ELEVATOR!
9) Two FULL computer labs (no more "little lab" and "big lab")!
8) A lobby with trophies. A NICE lobby with TROPHIES!
7) A paved parking lot: Good-bye, pot holes!
6) A bathroom upstairs and downstairs!
5) Everything’s better new!
4) Freeman’s classroom is right next to Mulvaney’s! Ha.
3) A brand new, HUGE "LRC" (learning resource center (library)), WITH—skylight windows!!!
2) Student lounge complete with La-Z-boys and TV’s!
1) Complete wireless atmosphere—bathrooms included.

Remember When?

I figured I would switch it up. Instead of posting my usual random thoughts of the day, I'm posting old photos...
Enjoy: