#76 Giannis

I don't really believe in free will when it comes to sports fandom. I've always had the opinion that you should be required to root for the teams in the area where you grew up. There are a couple exceptions. If you don't really have local teams, then you get a choice. So, for example, Wisconsin has no NHL team, so I've chosen to be a Winnipeg Jets fan. I'll also allow for family loyalty. So if you grew up in, say, southern California but your grandpa was a diehard Kansas City Royals fan, you can be a Royals fan. Otherwise, none of this bandwagon nonsense. Being a fan means putting up with the bad until the good comes around.

So, as a Wisconsinite, I was born a Milwaukee Bucks fan. For most of my life, being a Bucks fan hasn't been much to write home about. Sure, we had young Ray Allen, and we came one game short of making the Finals in 2001. But otherwise, there weren't star players or deep playoff runs. The Bucks had a solid run of mediocrity.

Then, in 2013 the Bucks drafted a kid named Giannis Antetokounmpo. Nobody I knew had any real knowledge of this guy. He was still growing into the game and his body. But Giannis had a magnetic personality, and there were flashes of brilliance that became more and more frequent. He may have been new to Milwaukee and the U.S. in general, but Giannis was our boy. In 2015-16, he took over ball-handling responsibilities and regularly made some magic. The hype really started building last year, when our boy led the team in points, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals. Oh, and he became the only player ever to finish in the top 20 in the league in each of those categories in a single season. Suddenly the Bucks had a bona fide star: Giannis started All-Star Game and won the league's Most Improved Player award. This year Giannis has made another leap forward, becoming a legitimate MVP candidate.

But Giannis' most impressive achievement is making it fun to be a Bucks fan. We're still waiting on a deep playoff run, but Bucks fans have been buzzing for a couple seasons now. Giannis could easily be the best player the Bucks have in my lifetime; we're going to enjoy each and every game we have with him. And it's hard not to be excited when he does things like this:

And this:

These highlights just make me so happy. It feels like he's playing NBA Jam in real life. Giannis, please don't ever leave Milwaukee.

Grace and peace,
BMH

#75 Song Swap

We had sickness in the Hofman house last week. Lanie caught something and shared it with me and then with Tess. As I was coming down with the sickness on Tuesday night, I received a call that one of our church members had died. On Wednesday, while sick, I talked with the sister of the deceased, who requested that we sing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "Just as I Am" at the funeral. That sounded great to me. The family shared those same requests with the funeral home, and the song titles and hymnal numbers were printed up for Saturday. By Friday both Tess and I were feeling better, so I went back to work. However, mentally I was not 100%. While typing up the order of service for my manuscript, I listed the second song as "And Can It Be," even though I had "Just as I Am" written on my notes from Wednesday. For the life of me, I can't figure out where I got "And Can It Be" from. When Saturday came, I was totally unaware of my error. I looked at my plans and announced "And Can It Be" as the second song. The organist must have been confused, but she followed my lead, as did the congregation, who either didn't notice my change or assumed the funeral home had made a mistake. One member of the family tried to mouth the number for "Just as I Am" to me, but I didn't understand. I had announced the correct number for "And Can It Be," and that tune was already playing. Everything was fine. We finished the service and went to the gravesite and then returned to the church for refreshments. Then and only then the family was able to explain to me that I had announced the wrong song. I apologized, and we chuckled. Next time I'll double check what the funeral home has printed.

Grace and peace,
BMH

#74 GOAT???

Last football season, I heard from football commentator after football commentator who had anointed Tom Brady the GOAT (Greatest of All Time). Brady has without doubt had a remarkable career, but I think most people overestimate his individual value because of his team's success, particularly the Patriots' postseason success. So let's make this simple. If we sports fans are going to collectively decide that an individual is the GOAT, that person should have individual stats that are clearly superior to others. We have numbers, so let's be objective about this. [Note: I'm going to be using regular season stats. Postseason stats are important, and Brady especially has had much success there, but some QBs don't have a large sample of postseason games to look at, so comparing stats doesn't work so well there.] Let's compare the stats on 5 high-level QBs:

QB 1: 266 games, 539 TDs (5.7 TD %, 32.42 TD/16 games), 251 INT (2.7 INT %, 15.10 INT/16 games), 65.3 completion %, 96.5 passer rating, 7.17 ANY/A*

QB 2: 253 games, 488 TDs (5.5 TD %, 30.86 TD/16 games), 160 INT (1.8 INT %, 10.12 INT/16 games), 63.9 completion %, 97.6 passer rating, 7.12 ANY/A*

QB 3: 249 games, 488 TDs (5.3 TD %,  31.36 TD/16 games), 228 INT (2.5 INT %, 14.65 INT/16 games), 66.9 completion %, 96.7 passer rating, 6.95 ANY/A*

QB 4: 149 games, 313 TDs (6.4 TD %, 33.61 TD/16 games), 78 INT (1.6 INT %, 8.38 INT/16 games), 65.1 completion %, 103.8 passer rating, 7.40 ANY/A*

QB 5: 96 games, 161 TDs (5.7 TD %, 26.83 TD/16 games), 56 INT (2.0 INT %, 9.33 INT/16 games), 64.0 completion %, 98.8 passer rating, 6.90 ANY/A*

*ANY/A = Adjusted Net Yards/Attempt = (pass yards + 20*(pass TD) - 45*(interceptions thrown) - sack yards)/(passing attempts + sacks) - This advanced statistic is very popular with football analysts because it's supposed to be a comprehensive passing stat. I would say it's the most important single statistic here.

So who's the GOAT? There aren't huge differences between the first three QBs, other than the interception stats, where QB 2 clearly takes the lead. However, ANY/A says that QB 1 makes up for his interceptions in other areas. If anyone is the GOAT, I'd say it's QB 4, whose rates come out ahead (and sometimes significantly so) in every category except completion percentage. Now the careers of QB 4 and QB 5 are not yet as long, so their numbers might decline as they age.

So who are these mystery QBs? QB 1 is Peyton Manning. QB 2 is Tom Brady. QB 3 is Drew Brees. QB 4 is Aaron Rodgers. QB 5 is Russell Wilson. In this comparison of major passing statistics, it seems clear to me that Brady is not head and shoulders above the rest. Brady is one of the best QBs ever, but to call him the GOAT is a huge disrespect to Peyton Manning, who has better numbers in several categories. (Also, when it comes to MVPs, an award designed to recognize individual excellence, Manning has 5 to Brady's 3, and one of Brady's awards was won after Manning's retirement.) Plus, in almost every way, Rodgers' numbers are superior to both Manning and Brady. Rodgers hasn't played as long, but we should probably spend more time talking about him as the GOAT. Now that you've seen these numbers, you deserve to have me yell at you if you claim Brady is the GOAT. Brady is great, but let's not give him more credit than he's due. 
Grace and peace,
BMH

P.S. Here are some playoff stats if you're interested:

Manning: 27 games, 1.48 TD/game, 0.93 INT/game, 63.2 completion %, 87.4 passer rating, 6.29 ANY/A

Brady: 37 games, 1.92 TD/game, 0.84 INT/game, 62.8 completion %, 90.9 passer rating, 6.44 ANY/A

Brees: 13 games, 2.23 TD/game, 0.69 INT/game, 65.9 completion %, 100.7 passer rating, 7.57 ANY/A

Rodgers: 16 games, 2.25 TD/game, 0.63 INT/game, 63.5 completion %, 99.4 passer rating, 7.05 ANY/A

Wilson: 12 games, 1.67 TD/game, 0.92 INT/game, 61.6 completion %, 94.1 passer rating, 6.62 ANY/A

Brady certainly has an edge over Manning here, but Brees and Rodgers have much better numbers than Brady. (Granted, Brady has played in many more games. This is why comparisons are difficult, so I left this out of the body of the blog post.) So, we also can't claim Brady is the GOAT based on individual playoff stats.

#73 Banner Time

My denomination, the Christian Reformed Church, publishes a monthly magazine called The Banner. I try to read The Banner each month, but I often get behind. Last week I was able to catch up by reading a few issues while on vacation. My binge reading reminded me of the following reasons why I read The Banner:

• Pastoral ministry can be a lonely experience. Since I spend so much time focused this congregation and community, it can also be an isolating experience. The Banner broadens my perspective by giving me stories of how Christ's church is working across the U.S and Canada and even around the world.
• Witnessing for Jesus in our ever-changing culture is a challenging and sometimes discouraging task. The Banner often shares how congregations and their leaders are reaching out to their community in creative ways, which is a huge encouragment to me.
• As Christians we are always seeking to better integrate our faith into our everyday lives, to worship God throughout the whole week. In The Banner, both pastors and lay Christians share their insights and challenge me to be more faithful in my walk with Christ.
• The Banner gives me access to the opinions of some of my brothers and sisters who are wrestling with the same difficult subjects and controversial topics I am. I don't always agree, but reading their essays helps kickstart and/or deepen my thinking.
• As a lifelong CRC member, I know a decent number of people from around the denomination. It's always a joy to read an article written by a dear friend of mine, such as this great article by Joella Ranaivoson (one of my seminary classmates) or this wonderful piece by Brian Clark (one of my college roommates).

In short, The Banner enables me to share and learn with my brothers and sisters across the denomination. I'm very grateful for that.

Grace and peace,

BMH