Better than A-Rod? Here's a very interesting article in the NYTimes about a high school ball player on the same team with Alex Rodriguez and Doug Mientkiewicz. He was considered the best of all, yet never made it to the big leagues.

Speaking of baseball, Go Nats! It's hard to believe they're first in war, first in peace, and first in the National League [East].

Other Papabile. Tony Hendra, author of Father Joe, has this article (in .pdf format) on his website listing some of the other possible candidates to fill JP2's shoes. For example, this one should make Father Richard McBrien happy:

Belgian Jean-Paul Georges Ringaud, Cardinal Archbishop of the sprawling industrial diocese of Sprout to the east of Brussels is widely considered to be the standard bearer for the left-liberal wing of the church. Cardinal Ringaud wants to reach out to other denominations by canonizing Martin Luther and naming the first Jewish cardinal. He would make the use of birth-control a sacrament and declare a Feast of the Contraception. He sees no reason why the faithful should not be allowed to attend Mass via cell-phone or Blackberry. A Biblical scholar by training, Ringaud shares with reformist Dutch and German theologians progressive views on the interpretation of the Gospels. The most dramatic is the possibility - according to the latest biblical research - that Jesus of Nazareth was actually a woman. Cardinal Ringaud welcomes the hypothesis: as he has said: the world is ready for a ‘Ms.-iah’ He is well known in his native Belgium for leading congregations in a prayer he penned himself: The Maternostra (Our Mother). This gibes with another of his convictions: the Church has not apologized to nearly enough injured groups – for instance to all women for the existence of the penis. His first act as Pope would be to abolish the papacy.

Luring Home Schoolers? Article here.

"He was my Pope, too..." So says Lutheran Uwe Siemon-Netto here. I am in total accord with Siemon-Netto's essay -- please read it all.

Pope John Paul has given the entire Christian Church so much to reflect on -- in his actions, his example, his faith, his theology. I'm sure I wasn't the only Protestant who pulled out some of his encyclicals in the past week. My particular favorites: The Gospel of Life, The Splendor of Truth, and Faith and Reason. They are available on-line for easy reading or may be purchased for a nominal price at most Catholic bookstores.

There is truly no way to express how much this great soul meant to so many of us.

We thank God for him.

Sweet Sistine. Here are the papabile brackets. I'm not sure, but I think it's a venial sin just to view this...

I Coulda Been A Contender... As Christopher S. Johnson writes: "Since the Pope died, nobody's going to be paying any attention to ECUSA for a while." Let's face it, ECUSA is class D ball even within the Protestant community, so let's look at the interesting stuff; the big leagues.

Naturally, there's a blog out there keeping an eye on the papabile: "Dedicated to the discussion of the possible successors of our Holy Father, John Paul II. Papabile: (pay-pah-bee-lay), n., one who is considered a possible candidate to be Pope."

If you want to bet on the next pope, you can look here the current odds are:

• Francis Arinze (Nigeria) 11-4
• Dionigi Tettamanzi (Italy) 11-4
• Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga (Honduras) 9-2
• Joseph Ratzinger (Germany) 7 - 1
• Claudio Hummes (Brazil) 7-1

All odds, when posted, may be found here, at oddchecker...

If you really want to bet (I sure wouldn't), keep in mind the The Pignedoli Principle when reading the newspapers.

And, since you can't tell a player without a scorecard, here's a good place to look for the current information on who's who.

Last, don't forget about the prophecy of St. Malachy.

More...

Thumbnail bios from the National Catholic Reporter...

John Paul the Great. According to tradition, there are only two Roman Catholic popes who have been accorded the title "The Great." John Paul the Second (or Ioannes Paulus PP. II) should be known as John Paul the Great.

Now he belongs to the ages...

Update:

Father Richard John Neuhaus makes the case here.

Also, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, in the Requiem Mass for Karol Wojtyla, refers to him as "the Great."

I'm Caspian.

As Prince Caspian you are a noble, goodhearted but mischievous scallywag! Fun loving, you are admired for your easy going nature.

(via my wife, who is Tirian [I'm jealous])

A few things on Terri:

• I have read the 11th Circuit court's opinion and dissent and find the dissent much more persuasive, but then I'm biased, right? (opinion also here) Anyway, one of the most disingenuous points made by the two person majority can be found in footnote 1:
  

  Our dissenting colleague says that “the denial of Plaintiffs’ request for an injunction frustrates Congress’s intent, which is to maintain the status quo.” Dissenting Op. at __. The status quo is that Mrs. Schiavo is not receiving nutrition and hydration....

• While the Federal District Court Judge James D. Whittemore was a Clinton appointee, Ed Carnes one of the two judges on the Court of Appeals was a Bush I appointee (and blocked by the Democrats, initially, see here). The dissent was authored by Charles Wilson, a Notre Dame grad and Clinton appointee. The other Circuit Court Judge, (Ms.) Frank M. Hall, was a Clinton appointee.
  
• I recommend reading the special guardian ad litem's ("GAL") report, which can be found here. For those of us who support Terri's life, it is not favorable, but it does provide good solid background.
• Read "My Last Visit with Terri Schiavo" by Barbara Weller, an attorney who represents Terri's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler.
• Other worthy reading NRO interview with Prof. George; Peter Sean Bradley (follow the links)
• Fast for Terri, if you can -- here are some options. Or choose water only.
  

Finally, doesn't death by starvation seem really, really cruel? And, umm, unusual? I mean why not just give her a lethal injection and be done with it? Mr. Bradley addresses the active/inactive fiction that the cult(ure) of death advocates are using to wash their hands and keep their conscience clean.

You wouldn't treat a dog like this...

Heh. (via Captain Yip).

I dissent. Think of me as the nine and three-quarters justice:

BROWN V. PAYTON (03-1039)
346 F.3d 1204, reversed.

At the beginning of this month, the court in a clear case of judicial overreach, struck down all death sentences imposed on minors. Roper v. Simmons. Apparently wanting to show that he was not a cheese-eating surrender monkey (audio), Justice Kennedy, of Rubicon fame, upheld a sentence of death after the prosecutor repeatedly lied to the jurors about what could and could not be considered as mitigation in the penalty phase of the case.

Specifically, as Kennedy himself notes,

In his closing, the prosecutor offered jurors his opinion that factor (k) did not allow them to consider anything that happened “after the [crime] or later.” Id., at 68. The parties do not now dispute that this was a misstatement of law.

One must see the dissenting opinion by Justice Souter to see how persistent and egregious this "misstatement of law" was. See § II.

It could be that the jury could have come back with the exact same sentence, even if the prosecutor hadn't lied to the jury, but we will never know. For the Court today has held that a prosecutor, the agent of the state, can mislead a jury in a capital case and allow him to trick that jury into thinking it must disregard all mitigating behavior following the crime.

What is surprising is that he didn't cite to well-settled law in places such as Cuba, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

Ahh, the sweet mysteries of life.

"They fought me at every turn." This has to be the weirdest thing yet: according to Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold the axis of evil runs squarely through my church:

Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold identified by name six Episcopalians for having detrimentally influenced the course of the primates’ meeting in remarks to the House of Bishops at their March 11-17 spring retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas.

The devil is a liar and the father of lies and the devil was certainly moving about Dromantine, the site of the primates’ meeting in Northern Ireland, the presiding Bishop said, according to accounts from several bishops who spoke to THE LIVING CHURCH on the condition that their names not be revealed. The primates were “out for blood,” Bishop Griswold told them.

The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh; the Rev. Canon Bill Atwood, general secretary of the Ekklesia Society; the Rev. Canon Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Parish, Fairfax, Va.; the Rev. Canon David Anderson, president of the American Anglican Council; the Rev. Canon Kendall Harmon, canon theologian of the Diocese of South Carolina; and Diane Knippers, president of the Institute for Religion and Democracy, were singled out for opprobrium by the Presiding Bishop for their behind-the-scenes roles at Dromantine.

Of this gang of six, two, Minns and Knippers are at Truro Church.

I told my daughter last night after picking her up from dance at Truro -- we didn't see those shady characters around -- and she and I just laughed, incredulously.

This is just so weird -- is Frank having a breakdown? Is this his strawberries moment?

("I know exactly what he'll tell you, lies. He was no different from any other officer in the ward room, they were all disloyal. I tried to run the ship properly, by the book, but they fought me at every turn. . . . But they encouraged the crew to go around scoffing at me, and spreading wild rumors about steaming in circles, and then old yellow-strain. I was to blame for Lt. Maryk's incompetence and poor seamanship. Lt. Maryk was the perfect officer, but not Captain Queeg. Ah, but the strawberries, that's where I had them, they laughed at me and made jokes, but I proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, with geometric logic, that a duplicate key to the ward room icebox did exist, and I've had produced that key if they hadn't pulled the Caine out of action. I know now they were only trying to protect some fellow officer . . . Naturally, I can only cover these things from memory. If I've left anything out, why, just ask me specific questions and I'll be glad to answer them one by one.")

(information thanks, as always, to Kendall Harmon and Christopher Johnson.)

I've lost my blither... Ever since I got the news from my sister about her husband leaving her, I've been in a massive funk. Yeah, work's been tough and we've all been sick, which hasn't helped things, but really, every time I write something, it rings hollow or not true somehow...

... so, I'm taking a break from posting until my writing looks better.

Until then I'll be lurking...

(...and praying...)

Hotchpot. Some things of interest...

• The WSJ had an interesting note about the remodeling of two church buildings. Surprisingly, the Episcopal stucture appears to be more faithful.
• The Boston Globe on left-wing evangelical Jim Wallis.
• Dorm Brothels by Vigen Guroian and Frederica's reaction.
• William Bennett on Bush's Mandate.
  

HOF Finalists. This years Hall of Fame finalists were announced Tuesday. Dan Marino is a sure thing. Steve Young will probably be, but I wouldn't vote for him this year. You can't have two QBs go in in one year -- there should be a rule that says that.

So who else? Art Monk (940 receptions / 12,721 receiving yards) should be there, but probably won't. Yet if Monk doesn't make it, how can Michael Irvin (750 rec./ 11,900 yds) get in? (Of course, both lapped Lynn Swann [336/5,462], but that's another story.) [stats here] .

Yeah, but what about the real players, the offensive linemen? Guards Bob Kuechenberg and Russ Grimm. I'd put 'em both in. They'd both get my vote -- the one-at-a-time rule only applies to QBs, not linemen. If I had to pick Kuech this year, Grimm next.

On defense, I'd give the nod to first year nominee Derrick Thomas who was awesome at linebacker. The other linebacker nominated, Harry Carson, was very, very good, but not great enough to tip the scale. He had the advantage of playing for a great defense, a winning team.

This is something that Cardinal DB Roger Wehrli (although he did play beside the great number 8 for a few of those years) didn't have. I would pass over Wehrli in favor of Lester Hayes, but Lester didn't make the list this year.

Then there are three defensive ends: Richard Dent, Claude Humphrey, and L.C. Greenwood. All very, very good, however, none gets my vote this year. Dent should probably make it some year; he has the same advantage Carson had, playing for a great defense, yet it could be argued that he was the one who really made it great. L.C. Greenwood played on what was probably the greatest defense of all time -- trade places with Humphrey on Atlanta and see how he would do.

My votes:
1. Marino
2. Monk
3. Derrick Thomas
4. Kuechenberg

if you give me more, it would be:
5. Grimm
6. Lester Hayes (again, not on list)
7. Dent

Modern History Lesson. Mark Byron labels himself a "Bapticostal." What would a holy-roller Episcopalian call himself? Fr. Dennis Bennett, a major tool in the hands of the Holy Spirit (regarding the Episcopal Church) called them "Charismatics." Yesterday, the Washington Times had a good introduction to one of the truly influential books on the charismatic renewal: John Sherrill's They Speak With Other Tongues, still in print after 40 years. Fr. Bennett's book Nine O'Clock in the Morning is also still in print.

Sherrill's book (along with the Cross and the Switchblade) had a huge impact on the Catholic Church beginning in the 1960's at the famous "Duquesne weekend." This led, among other things to the founding of the Word of God community in Ann Arbor, MI. Pope John Paul II has embraced the Charismatic renewal saying,

The emergence of the Renewal following the Second Vatican Council was a
particular gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. It was a sign of a desire on
the part of many Catholics to live more fully their Baptismal dignity and
vocation as adopted sons and daughters of the Father, to know the redeeming
power of Christ our Saviour in a more intense experience of individual and group
prayer, and to follow the teaching of the Scriptures by reading them in the
light of the same Spirit who inspired their writing. Certainly one of the most
important results of this spiritual reawakening has been that increased thirst
for holiness which is seen in the lives of individuals and in the whole Church

If you're interested in more on the subject, I recommend Richard Quebedeaux's The New Charismatics (1976).

R.I.P. My daughter came to me late this afternoon and wanted to know if radio stations ever just went off the air permanently. I asked why and she said she'd turned in 99.1 and it now seemed to be playing Spanish music. For the past few weeks we've have a running battle going over 99.1 because every time she'd want to listen to it in the car, it was playing rap or hip-hop -- and not good rap or hip hop. So I said good riddance. She wanted to call the station but couldn't find the listing in the phone book. I asked what were the call letters and she said "WHFS." It was then that it hit me.

WHFS used to be a great station, but in the past few years it seemed to go downhill and I hadn't realized it was the same one as 99.1 (I know it doesn't make sense but the station and I must've drifted apart without realizing it). Anyway, she looked it up, called and didn't get an answer -- but we soon figured out that it was indeed gone -- without warning. Now it's "El Zol."

The WaPo had a nice time of rememberance on-line today -- here's the transcript.

Like I said, 'HFS had already disappeared years ago, today just confirms the reality. Still, it will be missed.

More here.

Tireblogging. Since tireblogging seems to be all the rage, I should relate my tire story. Last night, I got a call from my wife who hit a pothole and blew out the tire. I grabbed my gloves and drove out to meet her and change the tire. It's a Toyota Sienna, so the spare and tools were difficult to find (it turns out you lift one of the seats and loosen a nut to lower the spare from underneath the van). Plus it was dark and wet. But we took care of things and she took the girls home in my car, while I took her van to the shop for repair. On the way, I realized that I had taken a lot longer than I had planned and there was no way to get Joe to wrestling practice last night, so I told him that we were going to miss it.

"We had wrestling tonight?" he asked.

"Well, yeah, it's Thursday night."

"But it's Epiphany -- they have wrestling on Epiphany?"

Yeah, wrestlers don't seem to take many breaks, do they?

After leaving the van at the shop (which means this isn't really tireblogging), my wife came and picked us up. At home, she and the kids all had the rosca, which our neighbor had dropped off. In our house, we never take down the tree until after El Dia de los Reyes.

I'm hoping the influx of Mexican culture will help to give the Epiphany and the twelve feast days of Christmas greater prominence.

Best Movies - 2004. Realizing I haven't seen all the movies released in 2004 -- indeed, who has?* -- here is my list of favorite movies from the past year:

1. The Incredibles. I'm almost ashamed to admit that this beat out a fabulous movie which would've been number one in almost any other year, but it is everything a movie should be.
2. The Passion of the Christ. I know, I know, I'm a heretic to not rank this as number one, but it is so emotionally draining, that it is not a movie I want to see again and again. If this were Oscar voting or something I would rank this as number one, but I've got to give the prime spot here to the Incredibles. However, after these two, there is a steep drop off.
   
3. Peter Pan. Okay, this was released in 2003, but at the end of the year and I didn't see it until this year.
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Still a big drop off from Peter Pan. I might rank this as higher than Pan, but I've read the book and I know how much better the book was than the movie.
5. The Notebook. Sweet movie -- James Garner was terrific.
6. Miracle. Well, really a great story.
   
7. Umm... that's it. I did see other movies, Butterfly Effect, Spiderman II, I Robot, Troy, etc. but none of them qualifies, IMHO, for a best of 2004 list.

* Apparently, no one has. Here's an article about a flick that only showed in Grand Rapids, MI last year, despite having heavy-weight actors Joe Mantegna and Anne Archer. The film is called Uncle Nino. The good news is that its being picked up for national distribution.

Oh, and when reading the article overlook the mistake calling Spidy 2, Superman II.