Randy Wray’s Blog

Our town is all a buzz over the big win by George Mason. Here’s a great excerpt from the campus newspaper:

George Mason stunned the no. 1 seed University of Connecticut, 86-84, in a thrilling overtime NCAA Tournament game on Sunday at the Verizon Center. The Patriots are the first no. 11 seed to reach the Final Four since 1986. The next game is 6:07 p.m. on April 1 in Indianapolis, where Mason will face the University of Florida Gators.

Mason is also the first Colonial Athletic Association team in history to go to the Final Four.

The Patriots were down as much as 12 points in the first half. But they finished the half down by 9 at 43-34 and took the court for the second half with renewed momentum. In the second half they tied, then went ahead. Toward the end of regulation, the score kept seesawing between the two teams, and they were tied at the buzzer.

Mason hit six straight three-pointers in the second half, shot 5-for-6 in overtime and outrebounded the Huskies 37-34. Without a measuring stick, you couldn’t tell that Mason was dwarfed in size or reputation.

I picked George Mason for the first couple of rounds just because they were local. The hometown prophet syndrome kicked in or I would have picked them to go farther. That just shows you (or my bracket just shows you) how little I actually know about college basketball. Beth beats me every year (soundly) and I just keep coming back for more abuse.

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Yesterday I spoke about the importance of time and timing. Here are the facts from the first video, for those of you who wanted to see the numbers in print.

The average person lives 77 years. That’s 28,000 days, 670,000 hours, 40,000,000 minutes.

The average person spends 40 minutes each day on the telephone. That’s 20 hours a month, 10 days a year, 2 years in a lifetime.

The average person spends 1 hour each day in the bathroom. That’s 30 hours a month, 15 days per year, 3 years in a lifetime.

The average person spends 26 minutes per day getting dressed. That’s 13 hours per month, 7 days a year, 1 year in a lifetime.

The average persons spends 3 hours television per day. That’s 90 hours per month, 45 days per year, 9 years in a lifetime.

(Note: there was no mention of time on the computer or surfing the net)

The average Christian spends less than 10 min each day with the God of the universe, the creator of time. That’s less than 6 hours per month, less than 3 days per year, less than 7 months in a lifetime.

My first reaction is to dismiss this as applying to the ‚Äúaverage Christian.‚Äù Isn‚Äôt self-deception great? I mean without self-deception we would have some awful realities to confront. “So, okay Mr. Big-Time, Better Than Average Christian‚Äù that voice inside my head says, ‚Äústart counting, start keeping track!‚Äù

“What do you mean?”, I timidly respond knowing full well the response I will get. “If you doubt the math add it up. Use a calculator or an abacus, it doesn’t matter, take a look at how you spend your time. How much time a day do you spend with the Creator of time?”