Getting right down to it

So...yesterday morning they put gel on my wife's pregnant belly and began the ultrasound. It's unbelievable how you can actually see what's inside her body. I mean, within seconds, we were getting right down to looking at and thoroughly inspecting this developing baby. If it was healthy, we were going to know. If there were problems, we were going to know. The ambiguity was being removed, the pregnancy becoming more real (to me, at least).

I saw the baby for the first time. The baby has arms and legs and a heart, and moves as if it has been given an electric shock. We saw her open her mouth. That's right, her. It's a girl. I suppose that came as a bit of a surprise. But why? Because my Dad said "it's going to be a boy" with so much confidence, or because in my way of thinking it would be easier to know how to parent a boy? Or because B. has had "little boys on my brain" during her pregnancy? All these things put in their place yesterday. The truth trumps speculation. A little girl is God's gift to us, for which we are most incredibly grateful. The miracle and importance of life is very fresh and real to me at this time, along with a recognition that ultimately I am in total dependance on God for life, health and the future. Here's to being in good hands...

Some Top 10s

I'm a huge sports fan. Here are some top 10's. I'm not going to rank them in order, too controversial...

BASKETBALL
Michael Jordan
Bill Russell
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Wilt Chamberlain
Magic Johnson
Larry Bird
Shaquille O'Neal (active)
Karl Malone
Moses Malone
Hakeem Olajuwon
(Honorable Mention: Oscar Robertson, Julius Erving, Bob Pettit)

BASEBALL
Babe Ruth
Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Ty Cobb
Stan Musial
Cy Young
Roger Clemens (active)
Walter Johnson
Nolan Ryan
Sandy Koufax
(Honorable Mention: Ted Williams, Pete Rose, Lou Gehrig)

BOXING
Sugar Ray Robinson
Harry Greb
Muhammad Ali
Julio Cesar Chavez
Joe Louis
Henry Armstrong
Ricardo Lopez
Marvin Hagler
Roy Jones (active)
Carlos Monzon
(Honorable Mention: Oscar DeLa Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Pernell Whitaker)

FOOTBALL
Jim Brown
Jerry Rice
Dan Marino
Joe Montana
Barry Sanders
Brett Favre (active)
Peyton Manning (active)
Emmitt Smith
Lawrence Taylor
Walter Payton
(Honorable Mention: John Elway, Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham)

TENNIS
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer (active)
Jimmy Connors
John McEnroe
Rod Laver
Ivan Lendl
Bjorn Borg
Andre Agassi
Ilie Nastase
Guillermo Vilas
(Honorable Mention: Michael Chang, Jim Courier, Boris Becker)