The Detroit Tigers

On Tuesday evening this week, three of my sons (Daniel, Darrell, and Andy) attended a baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins. This has become somewhat of an annual ritual for the McGuire boys and their dad. Although the game was played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, we were all rooting for the Tigers. And the Tigers won the game 1-0. Of course, many of our fellow Minnesotans do root for the Twins, so when our two respective teams are playing each other, we just have be nice. In fact, Tricia's husband Harlan is a diehard Twins fan, so we just talk about other stuff when the Tigers and the Twins are playing each other.

We often form allegiances for our home team based on childhood memories and experiences. Although the Tigers now play in Comerica Park (photo above courtesy of Ryan Southen), when I was growing up in Plymouth, Michigan, during the 1960s we went to games at Tiger Stadium (pictured on the right). As a junior high kid, I would sit with my dad in the upper deck bleachers out in centerfield. As I recall, it cost 50 or 75 cents to get into the bleachers. I knew that it was asking too much to sit in the box seats behind home plate; those tickets cost $3.50 in the early 1960s.

When Nancy and I were first dating nearly forty years ago, we did sit in the box seats—the price had skyrocketed up to $4.50 a seat. We did see Mickey Mantle play during his last season with the Yankees. And did I tell you that we Tiger fans were NOT Yankee fans in those days? Indeed, when the Tigers defeated the Yankees in the 2006 playoffs, there were a lot of older Tiger fans who remembered the days when the Yankees seemed to be unstoppable. But much has changed since those days.

I must say that I am glad to continue the tradition that my dad started with me. Going to the ballpark with your boys (even though they are now in their twenties) is a lot of fun. It creates some good memories. I hope they will do the same with their children. In the interim, GO TIGERS!

Pillsbury Comets Win Regional Tournament

The Pillsbury Comets basketball team won a dramatic come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon here in Owatonna. Pillsbury was the host school for the NCCAA North Central Region tournament, and the Comets were playing the North Central University Rams for the regional championship. The Comets were down 53-25 with fifteen minutes to play in the game, but they never gave up on themselves. They mangaged to tie the game in regulation, and then it took three overtimes before the Comets finally prevailed 91-86. Nancy and I were in attendance, and it was one of the most electrifying games that I have ever seen in person. You can imagine the crowd reaction when the game was over. The victory was a credit to our young men and the coaching staff.

I would like to pay tribute to Cedric Jones, the North Central coach. Even though his North Central team had just lost a heartbreaker, Coach Jones made several eloquent and gracious comments to the crowd, as well as to the Pillsbury Comets and their coach Keith Champion.

Speaking of Coach Champion, I would like to honor him for his ministry here at Pillsbury. I have known Keith for nearly ten years now, and I consider him to be a wonderful role model for his athletes. He has coached at two or three other Christian colleges, and everywhere he goes, people hold Keith in high regard. He even writes a weekly column for the Owatonna People's Press. The name of his column is "From the Sidelines," in which Keith discusses the athletic world from a Christian perspective. And before I forget to mention it, Keith received a great honor Saturday. He was named Coach of the Year in the NCCAA North Central Region. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend here at Pillsbury. We thank the Lord for His blessings in our lives. That's the bottom line of why we do what we do here at Pillsbury College.