Life Can Be Short

The past 24-48 hours have been very difficult for our PCC church family. Yesterday morning during the service we found out about a really tragic death in our PCC family. Our head Video/Sound technician and his wife have three children (6 yr. old, 4 yr. old, one week old). The couple just had their third child last week. On Saturday night, the wife wasn't feeling well and about three hours later, she passed away. This story really shook myself and others from PCC up big time! When Pastor Ron told us, I was speechless!
My wife and I really had a good conversation about life and how precious each day is. You look at this family and last week they were celebrating a new baby and the next minute, they are grieving. Here are some thoughts I am taking from this:
1. Life is too short to worry about trivial things
2. Enjoy life everyday
3. Thank God for giving you another day to live for him
4. Treat your spouse, family, friends well
5. Watch what comes out of your mouth....is it pleasing to others?
6. If it is your last day, how will you be remembered?

Please lift up the Amstutz family in prayer this week. I hope we all really think about what is important in life and not take anything for granted!

Amazing Night

Last night was the opening night of the new Parkview Field Stadium in downtown Ft. Wayne, home of the Tin Caps Minor League Baseball team. A lot has been said about why Ft. Wayne needed a new stadium, etc. I can tell you that this place is amazing! From the moment I walked into the place I was amazed! This is the nicest Minor League park I have been in.

I talked earlier in the year that I would love to be at the opening game but the tickets were sold out in 25 minutes. On Monday, my Dad said that one of his friends had an extra ticket and wanted to know if I could go. I was so excited that I would get a chance to see history! A crowd of 8,208, the largest ever for a professional baseball game in Ft. Wayne was on hand. The Tin Caps (formerly known as the Wizards) had many important people on hand, including San Diego G.M. Kevin Towers. Oh, by the way, the Tin Caps won the game 7-0 and have gotten off to a franchise best 7-0 start on the season!

Play Ball!

It is April and that means one thing: Play Ball! Major League baseball started Sunday and it is time to make my predictions for this season.

American League:

East:
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees
3. Rays
4. Orioles
5. Blue jays

Central:
1 White Sox
2. Twins
3. Indians
4. Royals
5. Tigers

West:
1. Angels
2. A's
3. Rangers
4. Mariners

National League:

East:
1. Mets
2. Braves
3. Phillies
4. Marlins
5. Nationals

Central:
1. Cubs
2. Reds
3. Cardinals
4. Brewers
5. Astros
6. Pirates

West:
1. Dodgers
2. Rockies
3. Diamondbacks
4. Giants
5. Padres

90 Days and Counting

It has been 90 days since I have had one of these.........................

March Madness '09

One of my favorite times of the year is here...March Madness! Tomorrow starts the beginning on non-stop college hoops until April 6 at Ford Field in Detroit. This is going to be one of the most exciting in a long time because there really isn't a clear favorite to win. Sure you have your normal powerhouses like North Carolina and UConn, but you also have Pitt, Louisville, Memphis who are knocking at the door. This year's field only includes two Indiana schools (Purdue, 5th Seed West) and (Butler, 9th seed South). I would love to see Butler win a few games, but they are so young and face a pretty good LSU squad. Purdue has been playing well heading into the tourney and it wouldn't surprise me if they made the Sweet 16.

Last year I won the NMC Bracket Challenge, and I look to repeat that again this year. Here are my Final Four picks:

Louisville, U Conn, Pitt and North Carolina. I do have Wake Forest and Memphis in one of my other brackets as well.

Get your nachos, pizza and popcorn ready....let the fun begin!

So Close

Heading into Saturday's Girl's 2A State Finals, Oak Hill (#2 ranked) had its work cut out for them as they faced top ranked Heritage Christian. Heritage Christian was looking for their fourth straight state title. These two teams met in last year's state finals with Heritage Christian winning big.

I honestly don't think HC thought Oak Hill would give them a game. The Heritage Christian team only lost one game this season and it wasn't even a team from Indiana. Oak Hill gave HC more than they thought. Oak Hill led by as many as six points in the fourth quarter and should have won the game. OH had the last possession of regulation and couldn't get a shot off. It looked like this classic match was headed for double overtime before Heritage Christian's Claire Freeman’s shot with :03 seconds remaining in overtime gave Heritage Christian a 60-58 overtime win over Oak Hill for its fourth consecutive 2A state title. Heartbreaking to say the least! Oak Hill had a great following, the biggest of the morning sessions.

Here is how Oak Hill's Todd Law reacted after the game:

“I can’t be prouder of my team. We played in this game a year ago and I thought the enormity of the game affected our play. … We worked all off season to try to get ourselves back here and show the state what kind of team we have. I think they did a phenomenal job of that today. Words can’t say how disappointed we are right now, but when the sting goes away a little, they know they can walk out of here with their heads held high. Not only did they give their best effort, but they played extremely well. … I thought we did a tremendous job of executing our game plan. We wanted to try to get the ball inside and drive to the basket. … Defensively, we were playing a great team and I thought we took some things away from them. It came down to a last-second play, kind of on a freaky shot. Tough way to lose the state championship

It was a game these girls or its fans will never forget! The Golden Eagles represented Oak Hill in a classy way, and in my book, are still state champions!

Second Crack At State

Tomorrow, my whole family will be heading to Indy to see my high school team, Oak Hill, battle for the Class 2A Girls State Basketball Championship. The #2 Golden Eagles (27-1) take on #1 Heritage Christian (25-1). This is a rematch of last year's state game that Heritage Christian won. I am really excited to see this because Oak Hill is a year older and better than last year. I am also excited because the game will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium. I hear this in an incredible facility , and it will be my first time to see it.

It will be a fun day for me as I will see a lot of former high school buddies that I haven't seen for awhile. I will be posting pictures and a blog on Monday.