5 reasons I won't wear a Scottie Pippen jersey

I'm going to my first Timberwolves game today. Well, a preseason game anyway. My new friends Mike and JJ got four free tickets in a very sweet spot. They are playing the Bulls, and Mike, from Illinois, is a huge Bulls fan. He offered to lend me his Scottie Pippen jersey.

Not so fast, my friend.

5) Mike would never let me live it down. I'd always be a Bulls fan.

4) Even if I were to pick an NBA team besides the Timberwolves to support, it wouldn't be the Bulls. I'd have to think more about it, but I can think of several teams I'd rather support.

3) I'd rather antagonize Mike.

2) I am a moderate Timberwolves fan. Basketball is a fine sport. It's not my favorite, and I don't closely follow it, but I do like the Timberwolves and follow them fairly closely. They are currently not a good team, but they are rebuilding and have taken some encouraging steps in the past few months. I have no desire to cheer against them.

1) I am from Minnesota, and I support Minnesota sports. Once you cheer against a Minnesota team, there's no going back. Wearing the opposing team's jersey is a one-way street. The only time I will cheer against a Minnesota sports team is when NDSU, my alma mater, plays the Gophers.

A few quick thoughts on the Red River flood

I spent a few days in Fargo this weekend helping out with the flood. Some observations:

1) Both frisbee golf courses are under probably 15 feet of water.
2) Rivers that flow north are less than ideal.
3) I got several free meals for helping in the sandbagging effort. I will do almost anything for a free meal.
4) It's crazy to see how much life is interrupted for a city during an event such as this.
5) I believe that we people of the upper Midwest stack up against anyone when it comes to pulling together when things need to get done.
6) A few thousand people in the Fargodome with ample supplies can make a lot of sandbags really quick.
7) God is sovereign.
8) The last two times I've been up to Fargo: Blizzard and -25 degrees, and biggest flood in history. I need a new vacation spot.

For more on the flood, check out Caleb's blog.

6 things I didn't expect when I moved here

I'm not off to a great start with this blogging business. I will try to be more regular.

I have some reading to do, so I'll keep this one short.

Of course moving to a new place, full of new people, in a new phase of life means things will happen that I didn't expect. Here are a few:

6) Hurricane Ike doesn't always feel like only causing damage along the coast. He sometimes also sends 80 m.p.h. gusts to Louisville, knocking down a bunch of trees, cutting the electricity, and giving Josh a week off of school.
5) Even with a week off of school, Josh will not catch up with his school work.
4) For a southerner, an important factor in whether or not a restaurant is good is the quality of the sweet tea.
3) When a speaker has done a particularly good job with his sermon, this is verbalized with a "Man, that preacher sure did shuck the corn. Slap down to the cob." If he was really good, he "dang near cleared a space and pitched a fit."
2) Opting for the non air-conditioned dorm because it was $60 cheaper for the semester is a great example of poor decision-making.
1) Twins games aren't on tv. Or the radio. And no one cares. At all.