[disclaimer: Originally, my font will not go bigger as I like to make it! No editing tools!]

Part of the reason that I like to write and blog is to get to know my own thoughts and feelings better, to clarify the way I think and believe, to get to know myself better.

Sound selfish? Maybe. Maybe not. Whatever.

It is good for me overall, of this I am sure.

Sometimes I can spend too much time on here, that is true. But as far as I am able to write out my angsts and issues, this is a healthy thing. And it all isn't sports, for sure.

I, of all bloggers, love to delve into non-sports topics (even though I think that everything eventually relates back to sports anyway. Eg. Mormonism? Steve Young is LDS. Great athlete. Went to BYU--the Mormon school. Didn't serve a mission. Why? Why not? Discuss...) and write about whatever tickles my fancy.

So here is a foray into my current state....Status...Condition. I truly care about social and world events. Wars. Murders. Economics. Elections. Migration. Employment. Population growth. Scientific innovations. Cultural events. International relations. Etc...I get interested in a lot of things. Religion, too, as I am an active member of my faith and I am constantly learning about others...

And I am conerned and alarmed by violence. I am asurvivor, at heart. Ironic that I am in the military now. An assassination and random killings across the globe (Palestine) raise my eyebrow and set me thinking, pondering...And sports is a nicer, perhaps healthier subject to brood on...

Endlessly fascinating. The "real' world. As is my interest in sports.

Now here is the rub: As far as my own constant care about the sports that I follow, I think it has a lot to do with how I formulate my wolrd view. I realized that perhaps this is whay, as a child, I was so taken by the knowledge of American Indians. I wanted a topic, a broad and deep topic, that I could learn well, and perhpas gain a sense of power or control of part of my brain, or my universe, or the greater known world that we all share.

Does that make sense? I think that we all either consciously or sub-consciously crave this. If this reminds anyone of a real theory or hypothosis, let me know. You know where.

1. The BYU football team ended their season on a lucky FG block against UCLA, and now with Hawaii have the longest winning streaks in the nation. Next fall, they have to beat a resurging Washington team plus take the Bruins back in Provo. And schedule another opponent after Nevada backed out, plus Utah State. And the Mountain West thing.

If they can find a good replacement or two for Sete Aulai, their stud center, their offense will be better than 2007. Their defense has more spots to reload, but they should be solid and perhaps even better.

So what am I saying? BYU might push the BCS envelope! And they were the reason for the collusion of the BCS powers due to their 1984 championship. Brigham Young likes to stir things up. Both the man and his namesake school.

2. The ball team of my alma mater on the Wasatch range lost to a feisty Boise State club on the road. Tough environment. With three losses, BYU will drop out of the top 25. No biggie. The Cougars will get 20 wins, enter the Big Dance and there prove if they are worth their salt. The question will be: how many MWC teams make it? Two? Three? Four? New Mexico looks good, as does a couple of others...Maybe San Diego State or Utah, or UNLV...

Oh, yes, two of those three Cougar losses were to UNC and Michigan State, and BYU played tough in both. Unlike Pitt to Dayton yesterday. And the Cougars still have Wake Forest to impress the nation on the schedule amoung the Mountain West...

[There. That is a little longer than my original postings. I forgot to mention more on the BYU football experience on offense, but that is good enough. They may be BCS worthy, that was my point...]

3. The IU football team plays Monday. Trying to get their fourth bowl win out of nine, all time. Hoosiers! Emotional story with Hoeppner having passed away last June. Indiana has talent, but has proven that they can get handled. We'll see.

4. The basketball team is deep and talented, and unproven. The Big 10 might be better than people had thought. Wisconsin and Michigan State are definite powers. We'll see how good IU and the conference are soon enough. Eric Gordon has made IU a real threat. But don't forget about newcomers Ellis and Crawford. Whew! My Hoosiers!

5. I love the NBA. I like looking at the box scores. I like watching the highlights. I love all the stories. Giricek for Korver? Wow. I will watch how they both do...I am an NBA geek. I need to see someone eliminate the Spurs. Nash? KG?

5a. Kind of college b-ball and football nerd, too... I look up where Florida Atlantic is located. Like, how close to the beach! Or if the majority of their players are from Florida or not...Or their bowl history...(Check that case!)

6. NFL. I'm on top of it. Anybody but the Pats. The Pack, the Bolts, or the Colts again. Anybody else would be fine, too. Not Brady.

7. What else? Oh yeah, baseball. Love it. The seeds are germinating, who cares who did chemicals...Should my all time favorite player Tim Raines have a higher batting average becasue he batted against steroid monters like Clemens?

Or did he juice? Who do I mean? Exactly. Love the game.

8. Golf. Not really. Occasionally a story grabs me.

9. Car racing? Nope. Well, ditto as above.

10. Tennis. I like the big tours, starting in Australia soon enough. I like certain players a lot. Great game. Lots of subplots... Go Rodd|ck! The consummate antihero underdog.

11. NHL? Not so much.

12. The Olympics. Yes! Nothing better to bring the wife to the TV for...All sports, even wrestling.

13. UFC. A little bit.

14. Boxing. I used to get pumped for at least one fight per year. Perhaps Pay per view has killed us off?

15. The endless blah blah of convictions and cheating....? Ehhh...It can be way out of context, too often. While OJ probably killed two people, dozens more were dying...By the hands of other non-athletes or former high school athletes, whatever...I like the bigger picture of crime, not crime through the "sports lense". If it brings about knowledge and human advancement, then I suppose it is all right...

And that is all for now. [There. Next day addition]

Clinch rogers out...

PS: Vote Tim Raines for Hall of Fame, and Pete Gammons was convinced that he is worthy...He got on base more than Tony Gwynn...

As of late around here on the blogosphere, many bloggers have been writing about their favorite teams and why they are fans.

I appreciate this theme greatly. It is inspirational, thought provoking and personally uplifting.

Whomever got the ball rolling should be commended.

And I thank all for particpating.

Thinking about my own case, I am reluctant to pick "a team" as my favorite. Of course I am a life time Indiana University fan. Especially basketball and football.

Same with my western alma mater, Brigham Young University.

In baseball I have strange loyalties, but mostly to the sport itself. Montreal Expos, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, someday... Many individuals in baseball claim my loyalty.

In the NFL and the NBA as well, plus international athletes...

But when it comes to my team, it is highly personal and yet something I try not to be afraid of sharing, for fear of offending or misrepresenting my views or things which I consider sacred.

I am a religious guy. A lot of us sports fans are, right? Bobby Bowden is close friends of the Grahams for strong reasons, right?

Reggie White was a strong willed pastor, correct?

Some may think it shallow to thank Jesus or give credit to God for their accomplishments on the playing field; I find real purpose among such statements.

That all said, here is my favorite team, and players.

It will become evident what I am by denomination and which organization that I pertain to as I continue. And yes, this is my team.

Pardon the numbers, but it helps me organize...

1. God the Etranal Father, our Father in Heaven

2. His Son Jesus Christ, Creator and Saviour of the world

3. The Holy Ghost

4. The great and noble chosen men and women of them, since Adam and Eve, through Noah, Abraham, and many of his lineage up until today and beyond

5. All prophets and ordained witnesses of the Divine. I consider such wise men and women, common ordinary "joes" who live out their life in quiet dignity, as well as the luminaries such as Con####ious, Siddhartha Gautama, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, etc...

6. Morally guided people, those who defend noble and worthy causes, like the virtues of  honor, dignity, restraint, free agency, purity, freedom from vice, etc.

7. Church officials and other inspired people who have directly affected me through their words and deeds. Some of them include people who practice outside of my own particular faith or even general belief system, such as Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnsotics and atheists.

8. The innocent, the meek, the defenseless and the downtrodden.

They are living proofs of the presence of the Divine.

I hope that I did offend or insult anyone by writjng this. I meant it to be as honest and forthright as possible without alienating any one in particular, especially us rabid sports fans.

When it comes to sports, ask anyone who really knows me: I am driven by sports.

Sometimes it is unnaturally disturbing.

But I felt that I had to explain some of my true

"fanaticism".

Am I a fanatic?

I would have to say yes, on all accounts.

Good night and God bless.

And see you at the Rose Bowl this weekend!

It happened today, and I am happy to be able to have an outlet to possibly get a gratifying response from others, positive or negative. I like to reserve this blog more for BYU and spiritual matters, like football and baseball, but this was almost spiritual for me, plus I am a BYU grad...My other blog is doing well in the top five so I don't want to pre-empt it...

My plan today was to go with my wife and two youngest to the public library and then see an art exhibit at the IU-Bloomington campus. We were thwarted at the Monroe County Public Library because they were not having story time as publicized on the Internet, and then we left for a half an hour tornado drill.

At Indiana campus on busy 7th street at the heart of campus, we realized that on a school day parking was hard to come by, and it would be too difficult and a hassle to go to the exhibit. Next week is Spring Break, so maybe then...

So we were headed to the College Mall to do something "productive", and while on 10th Street my little two year old mentioned that she didn't see IU playing on the soccer field where the old stadium used to be...She wanted to see IU play...

Inspiration comes in little packages, so...

Sure! Let's go see Assembly Hall and see if we can peruse a few players, or at least the shiny court...

Within minutes, we were parked on the south side of the venerable arena. Sunny weather, a bit nippy, but things looked good...

My wife stayed parked outside with the 8 month old while I accompanied M. (I'll use the initial rather than the full name: she is the one pictured in my other blog), and we went inside. Two apparent athletes were inside as we entered the two rows of double doors. I later found out one was a native Milwaukee wide receiver named Nick Polk. I had followee his exploits many a time by Internet and radio, and a few times on TV...That introduction came later because as it so happened...

I took M down the northwest stairs where I had taken my then fiancee some 7 years before, and walked out on to the Branch McCracken court and met then small forward sharp shooter Kyle Hornsby. That was 2000, after they had lost the first round to Pepperdine, Knight's last year. He had the a good game, but the team itself had crashed against the Purple Waves.2002 was good redemption for the team...And Kyle's legacy as a Cajun Hoosier.

But that was then... Another story...

Same stairwell, different today.

We (my daughter and I) went down those stairs that curve around and descend,and I noticed pictures of great ballers of the past: the Van Arsdale twins, Don Schlundt, Landon Turner,Randy Wittman, Isiah Thomas, etc...  

The court doors said, "Practice in Session" and "No Admittance". I heard people and balls bouncing, and my girl would jump as the horn would buzz loudly. I opened the door, warning my daughter to be quiet. We looked in and there were a couple of guys retrieving balls. There was a coach yelling and barking orders...

My girl wanted to go in, but I knew this was not a single Kyle Hornsby, shooting hoops all by himself. The doors reflected the actual truth.

We left to go upstairs. Half way up on the level with all the photos and tributes, some from the 1950s and the latest of them from 1981, I think I started to turn and explain the Isiah photo to M, all of 33 months on the earth...I also sensed someone coming down the corridor from where we had come just 3 minutes before, and I didn't want to appear to be a loiterer...

As he approached, I turned my head and noticed it was:

Coach Kelvin Sampson!

We both said, "Hi.",and that was it.He heard me say "Isiah", and he didn't seem really concerned about me. He proceeded down his stairs and went into a side door on the court level, but before those forbidding doors...

Bingo! I can't wait till he wins it all!

My brush with greatness!

Dilemma time and it's approaching noon, Saturday, March 3, 2007.

Do I try and get tickets for tonight's Indiana Hoosiers final home game, the final run for three IU seniors? Wilmont, Suhr and Calloway, hmmmm...

Usually I would talk about IU on my 'edclinch' blog, but this story does have a religious connection, so I will write here, while last night's post over there still has a few hours potential of getting featured...Top 5, always gotta give yourself a chance on the blogosphere. Go ahead anybody---you see my favs list...OK, enough pandering...

Back to the dilemma: here I am in my home town, just arrived, and IU has the Nittany Lions to go tonight at 8 EST to finish their first season undefeated since 1994, and this being Kelvin Samson's historic first season.

Should I go?

Money is a little tight, so I don't want to spend it...30-40 bucks per, probably...But my mom is going to call my old family friend and retired IU professor, Roy S. in order to see if he has any extras...He used to be my LDS ward bishop in the early 80s when I was just getting into the Aaronic priesthood as a young adolescent. A Mormon bishop is like a congregational pastor or minister, that a male, usually married and with his own job (in his case opera singer/music prof) would do in his spare time. He was great. We used to work concessions at the IU games (b-ball and football) to raise church funds...

My wife demurred from going tonight because she attended with me a few winters ago (oh, that game was the weirdest ending ever, but I'll save it for another time) and my five year old kindergardener was the one who sugested it, so I would take her. A daddy/daughter date, something that we have been doing more or less regularly since she was 3, in 2004...

If I get any free ticks, i will definitely go! If I have to pay...No. because the local TV is really cool, featuting the senior speeches afterwards...

BREAKING NEWS: My mom just got done speaking with Roy by phone, and he says, "virtually impossible". They don't have tickets themselves (we assume, and he is going to a concert anyway (he used to sing the home game national anthem for at least 18-20 years)) and he says maybe we would show up at 6:00, a couple hours before and buy some scalped tickets, but...

We will stay at home and eat popcorn together as family! And IU will win convincingly, AND we will see the senior speeches!

BYU might be playing (more later) and I could follow them online...

Before, after or during the IU game.

Is it me? Am I sick?

Well, so be it.

Boot camp looms, no March Madness the last week of March for me (just marching, running, shooting, cleaning, etc...)

But today is ALL SET!

Go, Hoosiers! Can they score 90?

As long as they win.

PS: The BYU Cougars are the the pride of the Mountain West right now, despite AFA being ranked longer. Also, watch out for UNLV and San Diego State, potentially crashing the conference tourney and the Big Dance following suit...

enero: The Colts or the Bears could win it! I am pumped. This approaches college football excitement to me.

febrero: Could the Jazz be a great team still? Could the Pacers be elite? Could the Knicks be in first place? Could Carmelo and AI both score 30 a game? (Not likely).

marzo: Hmmm... IU makes a run with Sampson? BYU wins an NCAA game? March withholds the righteous mysteries of a Hoosier boy like me...Florida and North Carolina? Pshaw! They shall go down! I hope.

abril: Who does not make the play- offs? Who qualifies for Oden and Noah? I think the Knicks will win the Atlantic Divsion, mind you! Will the Heat qualify? Who will have the most wins in the East? Phoenix? Dallas?

junio: Oden goes to the...Memphis Grizzlies! The Hoosier state gives back to the Volunteer State after importing the Big O years ago: for high school, only...

The Mavericks finally do it! Wow. Shaq is too hurt, but not too fat...

The Mets play well....And Bonds messes up his leg after belting 13.

Lucky number.

julio: The White Sox and Tigers are at it again! The Twins trail by 10.5, but they are never out of it. Morneau is flirting with .400! And the Yanks/BoSox? zzzzzzzzzzzz...

NEXT!

septiembre: New teams in the playoffs! The Mariners? The Rangers? The National? Not likely. But it would make good print.

octubre: Everyone takes the month off. NAH! BYU takes another crack at the MWC with new QBs, and IU upsets a few Big 10 giants...

Vince Young is passing like a fool. And TO is still a fool. "Fool" means beans in Arabic. Manning misses a game? Death in the family. Hopefully not Mark Chapman on his brother Eli.

noviembre: College basketball again? What about last spring? A year is a long time! Eric Gordon leads IU to greatness...Is he really that good? The pros salivate. I hope.

diciembre: Clinch has all his best wishes come true! BYU in the championship BCS bowl! Where ever that will be...

And IU goes, too! Congrats, Kellen Lewis and Terry Hoeppner!!!

Who loves you!?

I do.

And Peace on earth, good will to mankind! Darfur gets stabilization, and Iraq becomes a peaceful place of prosperity! And Afghanistan has Muslim troops through out !(Indonesian, Turks, ####ladeshis...)

I can dream, can't I?

Happy New Year! 

OOOhhh. Too Wolverine, I'm sorry, Michigan haters...

Quotes of 7 year old Eddie Clinch back in the dying days of 1977...

" 1977 was a good year!" (Thanks George Lucas).

Ditto ten years later, 100 pounds later...

1987: " Keith Smart was a great JC transfer acquisition, along with Dean Garret... (Thanks, Coach Knight).

Again another 50 pounds later! (Yeah, I was too big!) 

1997: "I wish I had my own computer, let alone a never before heard of blog! (Thanks, Foxsports, Bill Gates, et al...)

Salaam. 2007 will be good if we all survive, except for two bloggers that I will not name. JK! I hope we all live the whole thing! Chao for now...

I've said it in a nutshell.

Now the priorities of interest...

1. BYU must needs layeth waste to WAC Champ Tulsa...

2. IU must doeth the same against David Letterman U.

3. The White Sox wear green? See below>...

Man! My editing skills are nasty!~ I mostly wanted to show that the Pale Hose went green yesterday and trail the Tigs by 4.5 games. Sorry for the mess.

4.And lastly today, all the other games, including the showdown in Austin (1 vs 2) PSU vs ND, and Roddick and Federer in Flushing Meadows...

OKAY, I'll stop now while I'm behind. (Big-10 and MWC reports upcoming in the next day or two).

      Recap Chicago vs. Cleveland

CHICAGO -- Bobby Jenks blew a save and gave up the lead in a span of seven pitches. Then A.J. Pierzynski bailed him out and gave the Chicago White Sox one of their most dramatic wins this season.

Pierzynski hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning after Jenks gave up four straight doubles in the top half, and the White Sox rallied for a 7-6 win over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night.

"It's amazing how you can go from four straight doubles, being down a run, to a hit and a home run and we're winning," said Pierzynski, who pumped his fist while rounding the bases and then flipped off his helmet before he was mobbed by teammates at the plate.

"Everything stays the same and we pick up a game on Detroit. It's amazing how it goes up and down, back and forth."

The wild victory kept the White Sox a half-game behind Minnesota in the AL wild-card race and moved third-place Chicago within 4½ games of the AL Central-leading Tigers.

Paul Konerko singled for his fourth hit to start the ninth. After failing to get a bunt down on the first pitch, Pierzynski connected to right-center on an 0-2 pitch from reliever Tom Mastny (0-1).

"I feel good now I didn't get the bunt down," Pierzynski said. "I was pretty sure it had a chance to go, but with Grady (Sizemore) out there you never know. He can make some incredible catches and I saw him turn and jump on the wall and saw he wasn't going to get it. It was a great feeling."

Pinch-hitter Casey Blake, Andy Marte, Sizemore and Jason Michaels hit consecutive doubles off Jenks as the Indians quickly turned a 5-3 deficit into a 6-5 lead in the ninth.

"We got him early, got some guys on and just tried to do what we did," Sizemore said. "It's a tough way to lose a game. We fought hard, we came back and they did a good job of getting us in the ninth."

Alex Cintron's RBI single in the eighth put Chicago ahead 5-3, and the White Sox turned the game over to Jenks, who had an MRI on his sore hip Tuesday after blowing a save Monday night in Boston. The test revealed no structural damage.

Marte made it 5-4 with a drive to right-center and Sizemore tied the game with a blooper down the left-field line. Michaels hit a hard grounder down the first-base line for Cleveland's fourth straight double and Jenks was replaced by Matt Thornton (5-2), who finally ended the rally.

"I made some good pitches and they got some quick hits," Jenks said.

Pierzynski said Jenks' pitches lacked their usual velocity.

"The radar gun was saying 96 (mph), but it wasn't the 96 he usually has," Pierzynski said. "A little less. But it was the first game back after a few, and with the hip thing going on, it's tough. He'll be fine and we'll need him down the stretch."

It was Jenks' fourth blown save in 43 chances.

Juan Uribe, in an 0-for-21 skid, homered and had two hits for the White Sox. His 17th homer leading off the fifth tied the score at 2. Konerko delivered a two-out single in the inning to put the White Sox ahead 3-2.

Uribe started another rally in the sixth with a two-out single, stole second and scored when Scott Podsednik -- in a 3-for-26 slump -- hit an RBI single for a 4-2 lead to finish Indians starter Paul Byrd.

The Indians cut the lead to one in the seventh when Victor Martinez hit a two-out RBI single off Mike MacDougal.

Chicago starter Freddy Garcia gave up six hits, three runs with four walks and a season-high eight strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.

In the fifth, Sizemore walked, went to second on Garcia's errant pickoff attempt and stole third. After Michaels walked, Martinez hit a hard shot to first that Konerko knocked down from his knees. He tagged the bag as Sizemore scored for a 2-1 lead.

Byrd gave up nine hits and four runs in 5 2/3 innings. He gave up consecutive singles to Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Konerko and Pierzynski that tied the score at 1 in the fourth.

Sizemore tripled to start the third and, after a one-out walk to Martinez, Ryan Garko singled in the game's first run.

• Sizemore's triple was his 10th of the season, giving him double figures in doubles, triples, homers and stolen bases for a second straight year.
• The White Sox donned green hats and jerseys with green lettering and numbers for a "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" promotion.
• Indians DH Travis Hafner missed his seventh straight game after being hit by a pitch a week ago.
• White Sox 3B Joe Crede was out a second straight night with a sore back but is expected back Saturday.