First of all, I am not a Patriots hater. I do not fall into the category of people that believe you have to when the Ultimate Prize in your designated sport to be considered great. The Patriots went 18-1, won their conference and their division, and might be the greatest offensive football team in the history of the NFL. Last night just was not their night...but congratulations to them. They took every sports fan on a magical ride that ended 88 yards from perfection.

Props, to Steve Spagnola. Who? Steve Spagnola is the Giants Defensive Coordinator who had a brilliant plan to stop the vaunted Patriots offense. Last night reiterated that old adage that defense, no matter what the sport, or what level the sport is played at, wins championships. The Giants hit Tom Brady consistently. They were physical with their receivers. And Lawrence Maroney was held in check.

Last night had to be validation for one Tom Coughlin. As good as fired before the season, Coughlin rallied his troops from an 0-2 start to win the World Championship. Now I do not like the guy...but he's a winner. He was a winner in Jacksonville and now he's a winner in New York. I'm sure he's getting great solace right now that he will be wearing a Super Bowl Ring in a few months, while his old workhorse (and loudmouth) Tiki Barber will be yappin' his trap on "The Today Show" somewhere.

Finally, there is Eli Manning. The much maligned Quarterback out of Ole Miss who refused to play for the San Diego Chargers because the franchise was in a state of turmoil. He's stared the pressure of New York right in the face for four years, handled the obnoxious media with grace, and now has the same amount of Super Bowls as his legendary brother Peyton and more than his dad Archie.

Every kid who has ever played Quarterback dreams of the situation Eli Manning found himself in last night. Two minutes to go, all three timeouts, down four, touchdown wins the Super Bowl. Manning made a play that will go down in Super Bowl lore on 3 and 11 that made my jaw drop....and it takes alot to make my jaw drop. Last night, Eli Manning validated his place among the NFL elites: Brady, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, etc. It has been in the making since the day he was drafted. He's taken on all comers with the resiliency of a winner. Now we know he has the heart of a champion; a World Champion.

In Christ,

Brett Hickman
Matthew 22:37

Lol, I've been called alot of things in my life....however, wild is not one of them. As I sat in one of my friends living room last night at 11:00 p.m. playing our 900th round of "ESPN Scene It", I could not help but laugh at the thought of five ambitious, funny, and Godly men sitting around and playing a glorified electronic board game. Sort of amusing. It was a night that started with unlimited potential with the choices on T.V. being the Democratic debate between (gag) Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and my personal favorite...PAC 10 Basketball. Anyways, we uselessed knowledged the night away with Marcus making a stunning comeback that included winning back to back "All Plays" to dethrone the self proclaimed experts of sports trivia (Kyle and Me)...that guy really knows his logos.

Make sure you thank God for your many blessings on this beautiful Sunday morning.

Until next time,

Brett Hickman
Matthew 22:37

I was reading Thomas Paine's 1776 masterpiece "Common Sense" for like the eighth time in my very young life this morning and came away feeling pretty depressed at how far our nation has drifted away from the pricipals that this United States of America was founded upon over 200 years ago.

"Common Sense" was written just six months prior to Jeffersons Declaration of Independence. When you read it, you can easily tell that Paine's work influenced ole' TJ. The fact is, no where in the Constitution of the United States (written in 1789) does it say that their is complete separation of Church and State (carefully read the first ammendment)....what it does say is that there would be no State Religion (a stab at the Anglican Church of England).

The point I'm making is this...In no way shape or form could you possibly argue that the United States of America was not founded upon Conservative Christian Values. As Paine states in the most influential American document before the Declaration of Independence, "But where, says some, is the King of America? I'll tell you. Friend, he reigns above."

In Christ,

Brett Hickman
Matthew 22:37

Do you know that my dad has a better winning percentage than Bill Belichick as a head football coach? I mean seriously, how good was hoody man before he got Tom Brady as his Quarterback?....yea exactly.

Carolina and Duke are once again national powers in basketball....praying that they can both lose when they play one another next week.

East Carolina University has an atrocious policy that all Education Majors have to take 12 hours of Foreign Language. No comprendo Espanol.

How can a professor ask a student to know everything in the first 7 chapters of two different books? I studied for seven hours...and probably bombed that one.

The Super Bowl is the single most overhyped thing on this planet.........followed closely by primairies nine months before the election...and the Super Bowl halftime show

How can you like Neil Bortz and despise Ron Paul?....ask my older brother.

Are you Jewish by religion or by ethnicity?

Primetime Television stinks right now

Hate the sin not the sinner.

Tell your mom you love her today.

Turn your frown upside down....its a new day

In Christ,

Brett Hickman
Matthew 22:37

So I was talking to one of my buddies last night after a function on campus at ECU and he asked me how has my week been? You have many different options on how you choose to respond to that question. I could have just said "fine" and went on about my business. I also could have told him anything and everything that went wrong during my week (I was on crutches for God Sakes!). After some reflection in God's word over the course of the last two months, I have chosen to respond to that question in an entirely new way.

Everyday I count my blessings. Wonderful family, great friends, the opportunity to be a college student and get an education. I think about that those that do not have the ability to see, hear, or talk. I ponder what life is like in third world countries for children who live in fear of the possibility that their may not be food on their table (if they even have a table) at night. And I think about those that struggle week to week to make ends meet right here in this very country.

Believe me when I say this to all of you, friends and family, YOU HAVE TOO MANY GOOD THINGS GOING FOR YOU TO HAVE BAD WEEKS! Relinquish your struggles and temptations to God so that you may live in this world daily with a peace that very few possess.

In Christ,

Brett Hickman
Matthew 22:37

oh yea....Giants 28 Patriots 24...you heard it here first