How Blocked Shots Prevent Success

I went to a hockey game last night – it was an OHL game between the Kingston Frontenacs and the Owen Sound Attack.

New Jersey Devils v Philadelphia Flyers

You might think by their name that the team from Owen Sound was on the attack all night. But the opposite was true. Kingston had double the shots on goal and the play was decidedly in the Owen Sound end. It was like Kingston was on the attack for much of the night.

However, in the end Kingston lost in overtime. The Fronts outplayed the Attack and outshot them too, but they couldn’t outscore them … and in the end, that’s what counts.

The difference seemed to be all in the Owen Sound zone. They were on the defence for sure, but what they did on defence was pretty remarkable.

They blocked shots like a mother hen protecting her babies from the attack of a wolf. The Owen Sound players not only got their sticks in the way, but their legs and bodies too. I’m sure that Kingston might have had double the shots if it hadn’t have been for the Owen Sound defenders.

It must have been frustrating for our boys. They would come down and make a nice rush only to have a shot go off a player’s left shin pad and miss the net entirely.

I’ve preached sermons like that where I thought I had a great message. I was all excited about giving it. I had great illustrations, my points flowed together beautifully. But in the end, I felt like the congregation left with a shrug of their shoulders.

There was something missing, something that was preventing the message from getting through to the people and I didn’t know what it was.

It took me a few weeks, but I figured it out. There was something blocking the Holy Spirit from penetrating the hearts of the people in church. They were just getting my words, but no power that comes from the Holy Spirit.

My words weren’t making it through to the hearts of the congregation.

In the game last night, it was easy to tell that the Fronts needed to get more clean shots on the goalie. But that is something that will take some time to perfect. They will have to do drills and practice moving the puck around to get an open player a clean shot.

In the case of my sermon, it is just a matter of prayer, and continual prayer, for God to remove blockages and distractions so that the Holy Spirit’s power can work in hearts.

Here’s the thing: There may be times when you hear a sermon, or spend time with God and nothing seems to be getting through. It’s dull, routine, boring, and you may even be distracted.  That’s a good time to pray for God to remove Satan’s blockage so that the Holy Spirit can work in you.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you felt that your good work has come up against a blockage? Leave your comments below.

Why You Need To Start Something Gradually

There are some weird things about how our bodies work.

coed_slider

You know how you can be fine one day and wake up the next morning and have a pain that wasn’t there the day before? You can’t put your finger on where it came from; it just showed up in your body … like Canada Post delivering the mail – you never know when it’s going to arrive.

But that’s nothing! I once went into the hospital to have an operation on my nose. It had suffered a little hockey damage and needed a tuck here, opening of the passageway there, kind of thing.

Anyway, when I came to after the operation, I had the worst charlie horse in my right thigh that I’ve ever had. I had to check to see if they had taken some tissue from my thigh and strapped it onto my nose.

Fortunately, there wasn’t any noticeable thigh parts in or around the centre of my face. But when I was leaving the hospital I had a little cast on my nose and a major limp in my walk. It wasn’t pleasant.

Then there was this week. I was playing ball hockey at our pastors’ retreat and, though my favourite position is centre in front of the other team’s goalie, I felt I needed to run a little to show my team I wanted to help out.

Near the end of the game I could feel my muscles starting to react to the running. An hour later, I was walking like a 75 year old who rode horses for a living until he was 65!

I was thinking, “It’s not like I haven’t used my legs. I play hockey regularly. I try to walk about 10,000 steps a day. Why all this muscle pain?”

But that was nothing! The next day I was worse – just thinking of having to walk up or down a flight of stairs sent me into a panic attack and looking for someone to piggyback me.

To say my muscles were barking is an understatement. It was like every muscle from my waist down was in agony; even the muscles in my feet were yelping. And getting up after sitting for a while threw all of them into creating a symphony of pain.

The pain was there the next day too, and even three days later I was avoiding all stairs if I could help it.

How could a little running up and down a gym floor generate all the pain that it did? It just didn’t make sense to me.

Well, it’s called lactic acid build up. I needed it to help me exercise but I produced too much and it couldn’t all be burned off. I had acidosis. It sounds like a contagious disease – I felt like quarantining myself to flat surfaces only.

The preventive measure is to ease into exercise, pace yourself, and do a cool down. Other things that help are water, diet and sleep.

… Lot of help that does me knowing that after the fact!

Here’s the thing: Sometimes we get energized to develop our devotional life with God, and so we go hard at it with big plans and commitments. What happens then is we get a dose of spiritual acidosis and we then back right off. Instead, take it slow, warm up with a short time with God, and build up to longer sessions of spiritual exercise.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you recovered when you’ve stopped your time with God? Leave your comment below.

A Hockey Game To Remember

I went to a hockey game with my son the other day and realized just how much genetics and upbringing shape and mould us.

father son hockey

I remember growing up thinking that I was pretty unique, like there was no one identical to me. I was pretty naive back then – maybe suffering from an “I am special” complex that I’m sure annoyed some people … especially my parents and siblings.

But early in my twenties, I began to notice that I wasn’t all that “special” in the way I thought, in what I liked and disliked, in some of my habits, and in my choices.

I also noticed that my parents had lots of traits that I have; they were a lot like me. My first thought was, “They must be special too!”

But you know, just coming out of my teen years when I knew everything, I was quite conscious of the fact that they weren’t all that special … which left me with the realization that maybe I wasn’t all that special either.

Over the years I’ve realized that a part of what I am like is a direct result of being the procreation of Don and Helen. And then, added to that, a large part of who I am is also a result of growing up in an environment with them.

My genetics may determine how I process information, but my upbringing has shaped the angle,  view, or perspective from which I start to process that information.

When you think about it, our heritage – biological and environmental – has a huge part to play in us.

I was thinking about that when my son and I were talking together at the hockey game. He’s about the age now that I was at when I started to realize some of these things.

Our conversation uncovered how the pattern that formed who I am, is the same pattern that has been shaping him.

I understand some of the struggles he’s gone through … I could share similar stories from my days being in my twenties. There were times when we knew what each other was thinking.

We were both comfortable being in a hockey arena and also reflecting on the game and reminiscing about games we’ve played.

From the time he was little we’ve been watching sports together, especially hockey. When he was really little, in some fanciful way, he thought I played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, even though we would watch the first period together on TV … in Edmonton.

He’s developed a love for hockey and many sports probably because it has been part of his environment and was encouraged in our home growing up.

He even learned to share my love for the Toronto Maple Leafs … No, sorry, that’s genetic.

Here’s the thing: The goal of a Christian is to become more like Christ. Part of that is genetics, because we are made in His image. But a large part of that has to do with the environment we live in. If you are going to be transformed more into the likeness of Christ, you need to make sure your environment will produce those kinds of results. That means being around those who are ahead of you in the transformation process, and it will mean developing the habits and thinking of Christ which we find in His word. To become more like Christ, arrange your environment so that you come under that maximum influence of the Son of God.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you arranged your environment to come under the influence of Christ? Leave your comment below.

What It Takes To Get A Good Night’s Sleep

There is a secret to getting a good night’s sleep, and it requires that you are at peace. However, peace is not that easy to come by. There are so many things that interrupt our peace.

cael-sleeping

For me, it looks like I will finally get a good night’s sleep tonight. It’s been some time since I’ve been able to feel well-rested when I get up in the morning.

If you’re wondering if I’ve tried taking sleep medication to help me get a good night of rest, the answer is no … but I have thought of not watching the NHL playoffs so I could get to bed earlier.

Of course, that’s only good in theory.  In reality, no matter how tired I am when I get up, no matter how often during the day I tell myself I should go to bed early, when the game starts I’m up till it’s done.

But that scene is now finished for the season. I can now rest in peace … well, I don’t mean it like it sounds. I don’t intend to rest forever, quite yet. But at least now I can get the proper rest I need.

When the game ended last night (actually, early this morning), I was able to fall asleep in moments after I hit the pillow.

It wouldn’t have been the case if the Toronto Maple Leafs had been there. I would have been on such an anxious, joy-filled, Dr. Pepper high, that I would have needed another hour or so just to get calm enough to get horizontal enough to sleep.

Even still, all game long, every time the fans chanted “Go Kings Go”, it sounded to me like they were shouting “Go Leafs Go” … to which I joined in and chanted quietly along with them.

Maybe it was that Leaf power that propelled the LA Kings to finally end the game in the second period of overtime. With 5:17 left in the second overtime period, that was around 1:00 am at my house, Martinez finally put the playoffs to bed.

Then with the festivities after the game, each player skating with the cup, pictures, and interviews, it went until about 1:45 am.

But the most fitting part was when Ron McLean was wrapping up the NHL season, and the TV feed was lost and the screen went blank. What a shame we didn’t get to hear Ron’s last pun to end the season. Maybe next year they can go to black more often when Ron does his little ditties.

Funny thing, I must have slept like a baby after that because I woke up before my alarm went off at 6:00 am! … though I did hang around in bed for another ten minutes to make sure I was really awake and not dreaming.

Here’s the thing: Life has its moments when it’s tough to find the peace we need to function well and feel rested. Real peace – lasting peace – only comes from having assurance that Christ has forgiven you. Trusting in Christ’s sacrifice for you gives you peace so you don’t have to carry anxiety with you day and night. Rest well.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What keeps you from getting the full rest you need? I’d really like to hear from you, so leave a comment below.

How To Find Inspiration When You’ve Lost Interest

My interest in the Stanley Cup playoffs has just dropped dramatically. I enjoy watching hockey but when you hate . . . well, “hate” is a strong word . . . “extremely dislike to the fullest extent” captures my emotions on this one . . . all the teams, you lose interest fast.

 

Shield-team-logos-sked-DL

We are about to enter the semi-finals and I don’t want any of the teams to win.

What I mean is that in every previous series I wanted the other team to win . . . except in the case of Montreal and Boston, and in that series I wanted both teams to lose.

Maybe they should make that possible in the Cup finals.

They could take a pole amongst the TV viewers and if two teams were really disliked by enough fans they both would get punted. Then the league could bring in a team that didn’t make the playoffs as a wild card.

They do that kind of thing on those reality shows and I believe it works quite well. It’s like giving another chance to a fan favourite that didn’t do so well in competition. Maybe that’s the only way the Leafs might make the playoffs again.

If I was a gambler, I’d be the worst gambler in the entire world. You see, I make my picks based on who I like, not necessarily on which team is better. This method is just slightly better than picking teams based on the colour or logo on the team’s jersey.

I know I should be happy there is still a Canadian team in the playoffs, but if the Parti Québécois  had have won re-election, would they really be a Canadian team?

I’m still a little suspect because the first game of the semi’s is in Montreal and is being played at 1 pm.

Hockey Night In Canada is supposed to be at night; it’s in the name. But those American networks love showing hockey games in the middle of the afternoon. I wonder if they will just sing the American national anthem too.

My big dilemma now is how do I program my red light. I have it mounted just above my TV and it goes off when a goal is scored for my team. I don’t have a “my team” left in the playoffs.

I have to pick a team or two, or maybe the best thing would be to turn my light off until the fall and save the batteries.

Maybe what I should do is take suggestions. Like a reality show, readers can comment on what team(s) they think I should program into my light and the team(s) with the most votes gets to sound off in my house every time they score.

Who knows? Maybe I can pick a winner that way.

Here’s the thing: Have you ever lost interest in doing your devotions, or in reading a particular book in the Bible?  You are not alone; it happens to everyone at some time when your Bible reading is dry and spending time with God is even dryer.  Often we pack it in for a while until something comes along to get us inspired again.  Well, don’t wait for new inspiration to come along.  Change things up; start reading a different book of the Bible, change what you pray, choose a different place to spend your time with God. Get inspired again.

That’s Life

Paul

Question: Send me your vote for the team I should program my light to for the remainder of the playoffs. Leave your vote in the comments below.

Why You Get Springtime Colds

There’s nothing worse than a springtime cold – partly because you’re not supposed to get a cold when the weather is warm (or just “warmer” this spring).

springtime cold

Colds are for the dead of winter when it’s nasty outside, -30 and everyone is trapped inside to spread their germs around like kids trading hockey cards in Johnny’s basement.

But I could see this one coming on. I could have predicted it. I let myself get run-down and then put myself in situations where I could easily catch what someone else was trying to get rid of.

I had a couple of late nights and then a trip to Toronto and back the same night. The next morning I had to be up for a seven o’clock meeting, so I only got a few hours of sleep.

I knew right then I was vulnerable. My office is rather frigid at this “in between seasons” time of year, so I was also a little chilled during the day.

Then on the weekend, at a family get together, there were several who were fighting off colds and other bugs, and Sunday I shook a lot of hands at church, hands that are filled with germs.

Monday I started sneezing and blowing my nose. I don’t think I’ve ever sneezed as much as I have this week. I would say for the first four days I must have sneezed about thirty times each day.

I normally sneeze in two’s. My brother’s sneeze pattern is about 4 or 5 in a row. This week I was sneezing like my brother, multiple sneezes almost every time.

Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat and I worried that I wouldn’t have a voice to preach on Sunday. I know my congregation prays for me … I’m just hoping they’re praying that I have a voice and not the other way around!

The last two days I really haven’t felt all that great. But this morning, after a very restless night, I thought playing hockey would be the ticket to get me feeling better.

There was no sore throat when I got up so I put on an extra sweatshirt and let my pores push all those bad bugs out of me while I sweat. I wrote about this method in my blog “Guaranteed To Cure The Common Cold” (you can read it here).

This is not the time of year to be having a lingering cold. It’s no fun BBQ-ing and not being able to taste the Montreal Steak Spice on your steak, or being able to smell the fresh breeze while you’re outside doing yard work.

No one wants to be looking out the window at the green grass, budding trees and feeling too lousy to get out there to do anything.

It’s a different story in the middle of the winter with the snow piled up to the window sills and the wind howling at the front door. When it’s like that you’re almost glad you don’t feel like going outside.

I guess I better pay closer attention to the needs of my body.

Here’s the Thing: Like a springtime cold, when you find yourself in a situation when you think, “This shouldn’t be happening to me”, take time to dissect it. God may be trying to teach you through your experience. Don’t just accept it without seeking to find what God wants you to learn from it.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you learned from a situation you didn’t think you should be in? I’d really like to hear from you. You can leave a message below.

What To Do When Life Becomes Frustrating

 

This time of year is a little frustrating for me. This past week was the start of the spring hockey session and so they have reduced the ice times available for me to play.

Mountain-Bike-in-the-Winter

That’s not all that bad because I have been eyeing my mountain bike lately and getting the itch to get out on the trails. The problem is the trails aren’t ready to be ridden, and they won’t be in the foreseeable future. With the amount of snow we got this year, it’s going to take a month to get rid of it all unless we have some really warm weather in the next week or so.

So I’m stuck right now; I can’ t play as much hockey and I can’t do any biking yet. That means more TV watching … which could be a good thing because the NHL playoffs start soon.

But since my team isn’t making the playoffs this year, my interest in watching will be less than riveted.

This spring is like a perfect storm for me.

I might have to get out my trainer and do some pre-season biking on it. If you don’t know what a trainer is, it’s an apparatus you hook the rear wheel of your bike to that let’s you pedal your bike with resistant … all in the comfort of your basement, without actually moving.

It’s not that fun. If my wife would let me buy a rowing machine, that would be more helpful. But she keeps wanting to purchase new furniture for our home, so getting a new piece of exercise equipment isn’t happening soon around our place.

Not that I really need to exercise at all. If I gain ten pounds having to watch the Montreal Canadians in the playoffs while drinking Dr. Peppers, I’m sure that’s no concern to Lily as long as she finds the right end tables for the living room.

I know this in-between season will end at some point, but being right in the middle of it gives me no real encouragement and hope at all.

All I can do is watch the buds on the trees start to break forth into leaves. But you know what watching tree buds is like – it’s like watching paint dry; it’s that exciting! Or it’s like watching water boil; it never happens while you’re watching.

Right now would be a good time for a trip somewhere. There are lots of places I would like to go. I saw bits of a travel show the other day to Key West, Florida – that looked like a nice spot to visit.

I do have a trip I’m taking this week. I have meetings in Toronto – well, almost Toronto. The meetings are actually in Whitby. It’s no Key West but at least it’ll take my mind off the frustration I have here.

And my weather app says it will be a few degrees warmer there than here. Whoopee!

Here’s the thing: We all get frustrated at times. We can be frustrated at work; we can be frustrated on the home front. It might even be that we are frustrated with our recreation or hobbies. That’s when temptation will raise its ugly head. You will find yourself tempted to serve yourself with some kind of pleasure. That’s when you need to seek the Lord for strength and protection against falling into temptation. Be aware and protect yourself, because it’s in that frustration that temptation will come calling.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you deal with temptation when you’re frustrated in life?

I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

Why Fans Aren’t Worth Much – Part 2

In my last blog (click to read), I compared sports fans to recycle trash. Team owners and players consider fans to be more valuable than trash, but not much more.

Leaf fans

Just like we treat recycle items a little better than regular garbage, fans are treated likewise. The bottom line, however, is they’re still trash.

Some of you have been wondering when I was going to show my colours and now’s the time.  I’ve been a Toronto Maple Leaf fan for most of my life. I grew up in Toronto, so the team is engrained deep within me.

I was 11 years old when Toronto last won the Stanley cup in 1967. I’ll be 58 this year.

My kids, now in their 20’s, have never witnessed the Leafs win the cup. They’ve never seen them win the conference finals. But they have observed the Leafs missing the playoffs 12 times in the past 25 years. That’s half the time if you’re counting (excluding the 04/05 lock out year).

Last year the Leafs made the playoffs for the first time in 8 years. They did great, almost dumping the future Stanley Cup champions to the curb in the first round.

Fans had high hopes, and were in full support of this team. This year looked promising; the team was solid. They were playoff-bound right through until after the Olympic break.

There have been a couple of injuries since then that have hurt them, but that’s not the real problem. Sure Reimer let in 19 goals in five games, but Bernier has let in 12 in the last 3 games. Goaltending is not the issue.

The problem is morale. The Leafs are not playing like they did before the break. There’s no urgency in their game. No desire to win. They have no drive to make the playoffs this year.

What there is is a great deal of unrest in that organization right now. How this unrest surfaces is in treating the fans like they are recycle garbage.

While the team is fighting it out amongst each other or with the coaches in the dressing room, every night on the ice they are just taking the blue box to the curb for pick up the next morning.

Toronto should be the cleanest city in the world; they have the garbage picked up about three times a week!

Someone needs to shake everyone in that organization and get them looking at what’s really important. It’s not who’s being treated poorly, or who’s right or wrong. It’s the fans! Treat them like they belong in the house and not in a recycle bin on the side of the street!

Someone on the team needs to say, “Let’s give these fans what they want. Let’s forget our beefs while we are on the ice. Let’s remember the fans are still supporting us, the product.”

You don’t put the Cheerios box in the recycle bin when there are still Cheerios in it. The team needs to rally around the fans for the fans. Sports fans are the team’s most valuable resource.

My beef and my rant is about my team the Toronto Maple Leafs. But listen, your team is just one internal argument away from treating you as recycle trash, too.

Here’s the thing: When our morale is low, often we treat God like recycle trash. We ignore Him to focus on our issues. We blame Him for the state we are in. Instead, seek His support and encouragement and help. God is your most valuable resource.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How can you make God your most valuable resource?

I’d love to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

Why Fans Aren’t Worth Much – Part 1

I’ve come to the conclusion that sports fans are much like “recycle trash” in the big picture of sport. Recycle trash is more precious or valuable that regular trash, but it’s still trash.

recycling

Garbage that is destined for one of the many bins we have in our households is treated with slightly more respect than straight garbage.

In our city we have grey boxes for paper and cardboard, blue boxes for cans and plastic, and green bins for food refuse. What’s left just gets tossed into the garbage can.

The recycle trash we treat with some care. We either fold it up nicely, rinse it off or out, and collect it in a special container before we put it in the bin.

Regular trash doesn’t get any of that consideration. It just gets tossed.

In sports, the teams like the fans to come to games and cheer them on. And because of that, teams care for them in certain ways.

In hockey the players skate around the rink at the end of the game with their sticks in the air, paying tribute to the fans who stuck with them and served them with their collective noise.

The treatment is not unlike styrofoam that held a few pounds of ground beef. We take care to rinse off the meat residue, making the styrofoam all clean, and then place it orderly in the blue or grey box – frankly, I can’t remember which box it goes in. But we stack it up in one of those boxes.

Teams will also show up to community events to raise money, show they care, sign autographs – it’s pretty touching at times. The fans feel like they are cardboard that hasn’t been crushed but rather neatly flattened, then folded to the proper size to fit nicely into the grey bin.

Owners of teams will extend perks, incentives and deals to the fans to encourage them to watch games in large arenas, all with the goal of supporting the fans and making them feel special.

I don’t know how many times I’ve taken plastic bags and made sure they are clean and put them all in a big plastic bag and placed them in the blue bin, with the paper and cardboard – go figure that one!

It’s just nice to have all those bags together in one place … and you can really stuff a lot of little bags in one big bag.

Sports fans are just like recycle trash. But they’re still considered trash. It shouldn’t be. The fans are the ones that make it possible to fill the arenas. The fans are the ones that put money in the owners’ pockets and, in turn, into the players’ hands.

The fans make it possible for someone to do something they are good at and love professionally. Without the fans, those guys would be playing at 11 pm in broken-down arenas, with their wives already home in bed, just like the rest of us.

Sports fans aren’t really recycle trash; they’re just treated as such by the sports teams they cheer for. To be continued . . .

Here’s the thing:  As much as we think life is all about us, it is really all about God. We are here to give Him glory in all that we do. However, many of us think life – our life – is all about us, so we treat God like He is secondary. … Not recycle trash – no, much better than that – we honour Him at times. But I wonder if He feels like He’s being treated like recycle trash … just a little better than regular garbage.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How may you have made God feel like recycle trash?

I’d love to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.

Three Lessons From The Men’s Gold Medal Game

I know hockey is just a game, but we can learn some things from what went down on Sunday morning. Like millions of other Canadians, I was up to watch the game.

olympia-Canada hockey-gold

I had a slight twinge of pity for those living in British Colombia who had to get up at 4 am, but everyone who got up to watch is glad they did. What a game!

Team Canada dominated the play throughout and, like every other game they played in the tournament, the only thing that made it tense was their lack of goal scoring. That meant a crazy bounce, a little mistake, or a fluky play could sink them at any time.

But in the end, it all turned out just as I had thought.

And that leads me to the first lesson: When you have a feeling, a sense, or some kind of inkling about what’s going to happen, don’t keep it to yourself. Announce it!

It may be because I’m a Canadian, or maybe it’s just my lack of confidence, or perhaps nothing more than a nutty superstition, but I often keep my hunches to myself.

On Thursday morning when our lady’s curling team won the gold, I had this feeling (or call it what you will) that we were going to win both golds in curling and both golds in hockey.

Thursday afternoon I almost thought I was wrong, but then our women’s hockey team came back like Canadians to rip the victory from the USA team in True North dramatic fashion. My gut feeling was intact.

However, I said nothing of what I thought until the horn sounded to end the men’s hockey final on Sunday. But announcing then that I had this feeling Canada would win those four golds meant nothing.

You have to go out on a limb and state your convictions or predictions before they take place.  You can’t be a Don Cherry wise guy any other way.

The second lesson to learn is that it is far less stressful watching the gold medal men’s hockey game a second time. That’s right, for some reason CBC replayed the game Sunday afternoon and I found myself watching it again. I yelled up to Lily that we scored when we got our first goal.

During the first watching, I was a bit of a wreck. I didn’t talk much, I was nervous, I couldn’t look away from the TV. I enjoyed how well our team played, but my stomach was in knots.

On the second watching, I was at ease. I even did some work on my computer trying to get my email inbox to zero (but that’s another blog).

When you know the outcome of something, it takes all the nervous stress away.

Then there is one more lesson to learn from this game, and it’s this: no one should be late for church ever! I got up at my regular time, had my devotions, and showered before the game began. I finished my breakfast by the time the players had finished handing out those little trinkets before the game. Lil and I even had time after the game to watch interviews.

And we still made it to church before the puck dropped … I mean the opening song.

Here’s the thing: If you’re a Christian, you know how things end. Don’t be shy; announce it to your friends. Because you know the outcome, you don’t have to be nervous. Be confident about the future. And come prepared and expectant into God’s house to worship with your family, friends and fellow believers. It’s awesome!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What did you learn from watching the game Sunday morning?  Leave your comment below.