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Thanks to the good folks at ESPN, we can begin engaging in NCAA tournament speculation in November. KU comes in as a #6 seed, which will probably be about right…although if the young (very young) Jayhawks win some games down the road, their “national champion” braggin’ rights could pull them higher.

In the current bracket, KU opens the tournament against MU (#11). Which would be, quite simply, a regional grudge match on a national stage, culminating in an MU slaughter. Not as fun as shocking North Carolina, but not a bad opening round prospect…

In this bracket, KU would have to beat UCLA and win the West before they could play the Tarheels and fluster Tyler Hansborough again.

X-posted on BitterSweetLife: 2008-2009 Tournament Bracket.

Two of my favorite Kansas City businesses now have live, fully-functional, well-designed,websites. Check ‘em. And if you’re in the market for great coffee or a Vespa scooter, make a visit in person.

I’m all in favor of buying lunch only from people you know. And coffee as well, I might add… Andy Crouch, the author of Culture Making (one of 2008’s best books, IMO) nails it:

[Painful story...] I vowed never, ever buy lunch on a workday from a stranger again. It was a solemn vow that I break only under drastic circumstances. So, now I get lunch from Frank, Art, or Tommy, guys I have come to be friends with who run three different places. I like them. I think all three are funny, and they usually laugh at my jokes, which is key. I don’t see them except for lunch, but that’s fine. I enjoy spending money where I know the people. Lunch is now a little social part of my day, and I feel like I work in a real neighborhood, which it really isn’t. I love being a regular. I love purposefully limiting my choices instead of expanding them. Most of all, I think that I enjoy being loyal just for the sake of being loyal.

I don’t ever hate lunch anymore. I consider lunch one of my greatest triumphs.

That’s the vibe I’ve been getting from the Aidan photo fans! Aidan decided he wanted to be a dog for Halloween. Not just any dog–Levi, his uncle’s dog. The two Levis are pictured together…see if you can identify the real dog. And don’t say, “The guy in the middle.”

I may be moving slowly, with a spine as prone to breakage as a G.I. Joe’s, but I’ll still play basketball because my body knows the rhythms. I can play my favorite sport even when I’m tired and sore—and I’ll feel better afterward.

You could call this transformative muscle memory. I remember my basic moves like I remember how to ride a bike. I know how to get my shot off: the tendons and synapses work together and it happens—I just give ‘em the go-ahead.

My body remembers enough about the game to cover for my bad knees and avoid embarrassment on defense, maybe even notch a few wins. That’s because I’ve put the time in. I love hoops enough to drive through traffic even when my engine is not firing on all cylinders…

I’ve been thinking that spiritual disciplines are the “game” that makes it possible for us to walk “good enough” with Jesus even when we’re limping. We can return to Jesus, even hurt and tired, because we have a learned soul-memory that helps us get back to grace.

That’s the whole point of making moves like prayer and Bible and journaling and life together consistent and structured. Do them often enough and the frequency gives us a spiritual muscle-memory that helps us be good at grace. I need to practice more…

And yes, I am making the subtle case that basketball is next to godliness.