Podcasts about ESPN Classic

February 18 1998 — Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray dies four days after collapsing at a Valentine's Day supper. Caray, age 84, after suffering a heart attack four days earlier while having Valentine's Day dinner with his wife, Dutchie. – 1957 All Star Game called by Harry Caray.From a compilation aired in 2016 from ESPN Classic, appearances from Harry Caray on Up Close with Roy Firestone.Show Notes & Featured AudioHarry Caray Game BroadcastsJoin the Daily Rewind - Join.Classic Baseball Broadcasts - reconnect with baseball history.Mentioned in this episode:Classic Baseball BroadcastsClassic Baseball Broadcasts

February 18 1998 — Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray dies four days after collapsing at a Valentine's Day supper. Caray, age 84, after suffering a heart attack four days earlier while having Valentine's Day dinner with his wife, Dutchie. – 1957 All Star Game called by Harry Caray.From a compilation aired in 2016 from ESPN Classic, appearances from Harry Caray on Up Close with Roy Firestone.Show Notes & Featured AudioHarry Caray Game BroadcastsJoin the Daily Rewind - Join.Classic Baseball Broadcasts - reconnect with baseball history.Mentioned in this episode:Classic Baseball BroadcastsClassic Baseball Broadcasts

Randy Sklar and Jason Sklar, professionally known as the Sklar Brothers, are American identical twin brother comedians and actors best known for hosting the show Cheap Seats, which aired for four seasons on ESPN Classic. Visit https://www.supersklars.com/ for tour dates & more from the Sklar Brothers. Howie Mandel Does Stuff available on every podcast platform Visit the Official Howie Mandel Website for more: https://www.howiemandel.com/ Howie Mandel Does Stuff Merchandise available on Amazon.com here https://www.amazon.com/shop/howiemandeldoesstuff Join the "Official Howie Mandel Does Stuff" Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/HowieMandelPodcast/ Say Hello to our house band Sunny and the Black Pack! Follow them here! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BlackMediaPresents TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@blackmediapresents Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/01uFmntCHwOW438t7enYOO?si=0Oc-_QJdQ0CrMkWii42BWA&nd=1&dlsi=a9792af062844b4f Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SunnyAndTheBlackPack/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackmediapresents/ Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/blackmediapresents Twitter: twitter.com/blackmedia Howie Mandel Shocked at Bill Burr & Billy Corgan Backlash with Sklar Brothers #228 https://youtu.be/eXSDwjTbT9E @howiemandel @jackelynshultz @sklarbrothers

'Iceman' John Scully (38-11, 21 KOs) is a former American boxer. Formerly a world-ranked professional light heavyweight, he is now a boxing trainer who has trained former light heavyweight champion in Chad Dawson and is currently assisting unified light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev. Scully has also been an analyst for the ESPN Classic television network. Scully reacts to Oleksandr Usyk's split-decision victory over Tyson Fury and the undisputed heavyweight world titles, discusses the future rematch, Anthony Joshua's role, IBF world title, 9th round action, Pound for Pound Rankings, Scully on how he joined Artur Beterbiev's team, and much more. Find all things The Last Round: https://linktr.ee/TheLastRound Listen on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheLastRoundBoxingPodcast

KG embraces the youth The change in the league over the last 40 years Shawn Rant on the youth ESPN Classic and NBA Hardwood Classics Jordan is mortal Does AD need to take the keys now

What I noticed from randomly stumbling across ESPN Classic is that what once was impossible in sports, now has become the norm.We can look to those who have come before us in our industry to see that the seemingly impossible can actually happen.Sponsor: Imagen AIGet your first 1500 images edited for free with Imagen AI at allheartphoto.com/aiFollow the show:instagram.com/witt.podinstagram.com/allheartphototiktok.com/@allheartphoto

Philip Galinsky is an Actor, Writer, Producer, Guru and voice over artist who can be heard as the lead kidnapper in the video game Grand Theft Auto 5 with Jonah Hill, as well as a guest appearance on Dora the Explorer. http://www.philipgalinsky.com Philip has appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, ESPN Classic, A&E, & USA networks. Have you ever wondered why certain words or phrases become triggers? So did actor, producer, voice over artist and writer Philip Galinsky. This book is a combination of his live unauthorized Netflix comedy special 31 Triggers, as well as new triggers like foodie call, fish Tok, Ron Jeremy and many more, to make you laugh and cry and even throw in your own trigger words. About the author... Philip Galinsky is an actor, writer, producer, storyteller and voice over artist. He just recently completed his run of his unauthorized Netflix comedy special “PHILIP GALINSKY is Triggered”, live in NYC and it is now available in paperback and audiobook. This fall he will be starring with his brother Robert in the streaming series Battle Acts. He has appeared on Comedy Central, MTV, Law & Order SVU as well as many streaming platforms. Check out our sponsor DUBBY energy at dubby.gg and use promo code SCREAMINGCHUYSH for 10% off on all products!** For more Episodes and Platforms https://linktr.ee/ScreamingChuyShow. *For cool merch https://my-store-10115944.creator-spring.com/?*

You might know the Sklar Brothers from your television. They hosted the ESPN Classic program Cheap Seats, acted in Better Call Saul and What We Do in the Shadows, and served as reporters on the series Battlebots, wherein robots fight one another. So Randy and Jason have some exciting credits. But they're not on our show to be exciting. They're here to talk about various rule changes in college athletics, including, notably, the transfer portal. Don't worry, it's not a magical doorway, it's merely an intricate system wherein students choose other schools to attend. With two guests on our show, you're likely to end up asleep twice as fast. Or sleep twice as soundly. We're not sure. Also, we talk about centaurs a bit.Hey Sleepy Heads, is there anyone whose voice you'd like to drift off to, or do you have suggestions on things we could do to aid your slumber? Email us at:  sleepwithcelebs@maximumfun.org.Follow the Show on:Instagram @sleepwcelebsTwitter @SleepWithCelebsTikTok @SleepWithCelebsJohn is on Twitter @johnmoe.John's acclaimed, best-selling memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback.Join | Maximum FunIf you like one or more shows on MaxFun, and you value independent artists being able to do their thing, you're the perfect person to become a MaxFun monthly member. 

Jason and Randy Sklar, known as the Sklar Brothers, hosts of The View From The Cheap Seats podcast, and the show, Cheap Seats on ESPN Classic, speak with Rabbi Sherman about the intersection of comedy, sports, and faith. The Sklar Brothers teach us how to use humor in our lives to not take ourselves so seriously, while also learning deep lessons of life from humorous situations. Is a game just a game, or does sports bring people together to laugh and cry?

This week on Strictly business Eric and Jon are joined by Brian Bedol Brian Bedol is an American entrepreneur and media executive. He is the founder and CEO of Bedrocket Media Ventures, a digital media company that acquires, develops, and distributes content across various platforms. Bedol is also the co-founder of Classic Sports Network, which was later rebranded as ESPN Classic. He was ALSO the founder and CEO of Fusient Media Ventures, a sports and entertainment company that was trying to purchase WCW in 2001. Special thanks to this week's sponsor! Jimmy's Seafood-Free 2-day nationwide shipping on orders over $125 (excluding steamed crabs and fresh items) use the promo code: WRESTLEBIZ FOLLOW ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA at https://83weekslinks.com/ Stop throwing your money on rent! Get into a house with NO MONEY DOWN and roughly the same monthly payment at SaveWithConrad.com Get early, ad-free access to more than a dozen of your favorite wrestling podcasts, starting at just $9 over on AdFreeShows.com. That's less than 15 cents an episode each month! You can also listen to them directly through Apple Podcasts or your other regular podcast apps! AdFreeShows.com also has thousands of hours worth of bonus content including popular series like Title Chase, Eric Fires Back, Conversations with Conrad, Mike Chioda's Mailbag, and many more! Plus, live, interactive virtual chats with your favorite podcasts hosts and wrestling legends. All that and much more! Sign up today at AdFreeShows.com! Get all of your Strictly Business merchandise at https://boxofgimmicks.com/collections/83-weeks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Strictly business Eric and Jon are joined by Brian Bedol Brian Bedol is an American entrepreneur and media executive. He is the founder and CEO of Bedrocket Media Ventures, a digital media company that acquires, develops, and distributes content across various platforms. Bedol is also the co-founder of Classic Sports Network, which was later rebranded as ESPN Classic. He was ALSO the founder and CEO of Fusient Media Ventures, a sports and entertainment company that was trying to purchase WCW in 2001. Special thanks to this week's sponsor! Jimmy's Seafood-Free 2-day nationwide shipping on orders over $125 (excluding steamed crabs and fresh items) use the promo code: WRESTLEBIZ FOLLOW ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA at https://83weekslinks.com/ Stop throwing your money on rent! Get into a house with NO MONEY DOWN and roughly the same monthly payment at SaveWithConrad.com Get early, ad-free access to more than a dozen of your favorite wrestling podcasts, starting at just $9 over on AdFreeShows.com. That's less than 15 cents an episode each month! You can also listen to them directly through Apple Podcasts or your other regular podcast apps! AdFreeShows.com also has thousands of hours worth of bonus content including popular series like Title Chase, Eric Fires Back, Conversations with Conrad, Mike Chioda's Mailbag, and many more! Plus, live, interactive virtual chats with your favorite podcasts hosts and wrestling legends. All that and much more! Sign up today at AdFreeShows.com! Get all of your Strictly Business merchandise at https://boxofgimmicks.com/collections/83-weeks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We try to make sense of a decidedly bipolar 2021 with our third-annual Holiday Roundtable Spectacular - featuring three of our favorite fellow defunct sports enthusiasts Paul Reeths (OurSportsCentral.com, StatsCrew.com & Episode 46); Andy Crossley (Fun While It Lasted & Episode 2); and Steve Holroyd (Episodes 92, 109, 149 & 188). Join us as we discuss the past, present and potential "futures" of defunct and otherwise forgotten pro sports teams and leagues - starting with a look back at some of the year's most notable events, including: COVID-19's continued wrath across the entirety of pro sports; Cleveland says goodbye Indians - and hello Guardians; The dubious reincarnation of the USFL; Relocation threats from MLB's Oakland Athletics, the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, and half a season's worth of the Tampa Bay Rays; NWHL women's hockey reorg/rebrand to Premier Hockey Federation; NPF women's softball suspends operations after 17 years; AND The passing of challenger league pioneer Dennis Murphy. Plus, we say goodbye to ESPN Classic!

The Sklar Brothers are a post-modern take on a stand up comedy duo. Neil Strauss of the New York Times once wrote “Their comedy accepts the reality of being twins but does not use it as a crutch. Instead, they work their physical and mental similarities and correspondences, their status as imperfect carbon copies of each other. In their comedy the straight man is often an echo.” Jason and Randy have released 6 critically acclaimed comedy albums, have had two Comedy Central Half Hour Presents specials, and currently have a one hour stand up special on Netflix, titled “What Are We Talking About” and another one hour special that premiered on the Starz Network in May of 2018 called “Hipster Ghosts”. Randy and Jason are also writers, directors and actors appearing in a wide variety of shows from Entourage to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia to Curb Your Enthusiasm to Better Call Saul. They are currently recurring characters, the Drs. Green, on TruTV's Those Who Can't. However, they are perhaps most well known for their show Cheap Seats, a cult hit that appeared on ESPN Classic for 77 episodes. Their popular sports/comedy podcast View From the Cheap Seats is available on the Starburns Podcasting Network. Their hit podcast Dumb People Town with cohost Dan Van Kirk is currently being developed as a narrative animated show with Sony for You Tube Premium. Most importantly, Randy and Jason are fathers and husbands living in Los Angeles. (not with each other — that would be weird.) See the Sklars this weekend at the Tempe Improv! https://www.tempeimprov.com/events/48315 Follow The Sklar Brothers! https://www.supersklars.com/ Leave a review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-comedy-advice-podcast/id1326620580?mt=2 Follow me & see my show dates here: https://linktr.ee/acomedyadvicepodcast DM me questions or comments! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/a-comedy-advice-podcast/message

The HOBI Gang is preparing for Thanksgiving by giving thanks for unhealthy breakfast cereals, review Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the love for the Rookie, and the horror of Home Sweet Home Alone.  Plus Jason tries to watch Dune, the death of ESPN Classic, X-Men the Animated Series returns, the future of MCU projects, and they list their Top Five Favorite Non-Superhero Characters in the MCU! This episode is sponsored by the Cincinnati Comic Expo.

On the podcast, Andrew Marchand and John Ourand discuss the top sports media issues of the week. Starting with their weekly picks of Who's Up (Phil Mickelson and the Premier League) and Who's Down (Tony Romo and Sinclair's Chris Ripley), Marchand and Ourand break down the competition to sign Adrian Wojnarowski and Adam Schefter, go inside the RSN negotiations between Dish Network and Sinclair and look into the likelihood of Alex Rodriguez returning to ESPN's “Sunday Night Baseball.” Other topics include Fox's streaming strategy, ESPN's decision to shut down ESPN Classic and TV production problems that are hurting Pac-12 games. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

1:00- The guys talk about the retirement of ESPN Classic.  17:50- Brian Baldinger joins the show to talk about the WFT and the NFL.  32:10- The guys go through a few of the match-ups this Sunday.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Braves Parade rocks both Part 1 & Part Deux, Joc Pederson gives crowd pearl necklaces, Adam Duvall & Pederson free agents like Freddie Freeman, will MLB pull Mets & Yankees out of racist New York City? Buster Posey retires & is he a Hall of Famer? MLB free agents list, UGA linebacker accused of rape, NFL player defends Henry Ruggs III, Mike Leach back to Texas Tech? CFB wastes hundreds of millions on fired coaches, ESPN Classic canceled, the Great Tom Matte passes, petedavis.buzzsprout.com, Pete's Tweets, This Day in Sports History. Come for all you want about the Braves World Series Championship Parade, stay for more Fall Classic amazing stats & Odell Beckham Jr being a cancer & the gov't toadies in the media bare their rotted teeth at Aaron Rodgers 

Larry and Andrew get into it on Rodgers missing a game for testing positive for COVID, the future for the Titans, college football playoff standings, OJ Simpson and ESPN Classic says goodbye.

Brandon and LJ breakdown all the games from 5/23 in the MLB, along with so much more. We are the only podcast coming to you with baseball content 7 days a week.Bellyup Sports (https://twitter.com/BellyUpSports)Bellyup Podcasts (https://twitter.com/BellyUpPodcasts)Official Podcast Twitter (https://twitter.com/MLBDailyPod)Brandon (https://twitter.com/brandon_karam)LJ (https://twitter.com/LJ_VP_LaFiura)

"Stump The Schwab," which aired on ESPN 2, ESPN Classic and in Canada on The Score, featured today's guest, Howie Schwab competing against the best of the best sports nerds the world could offer, and Howie's winning percentage was pretty darn close to the 1971 Bucks, the 2008 Celtics and the 2013 Heat, who all won the championship! (a 4th team had that same record, and is the only one without a championship, who is it?) Join us for a great discussion! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you believe in miracles? Ben and Chris are actually talking sportball! And thankfully they have Coach Aaron, chief sports correspondent, to help discuss this momentous hockey game that shook the 1980 Olympics and went down in history as the greatest sports moment ever. This episode is packed with Cold War tension, an underdog tale fit for a movie, and some of our finest banter yet. So grab your goalie mask, pad up, and meet us on the rink!   -- Can I Borrow Your Notes? --  1980 Olympic Hockey USA vs. USSR (full game, original broadcast) Miracle on Ice documentary (ESPN Classic)   -- Teacher's Pets --  Join the Class of 80's High: 80shighpodcast@gmail.com Follow on Instagram: @80shighpodcast Theme song by Greg Reed at gregreedmusic.com Cover art by Alex Goddard at alexgoddarddesign.com Previously on song "Carefree" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License.

Series Finale goes multi-dimensional when they cover the finale of the Netflix original sci-fi drama The OA. Zach is shocked and overjoyed to see Phyllis from the Office getting more work, Jack wants to discuss interpretive dance, and John Paul claims that Porky Pig is a revolutionary figure for the body positivity movement.  A woman famously staged a protest to uncancel The OA and in that spirit the gang all talk about when they tried to uncancel a show with a wild stunt. Jack takes hostages to save the show Bunheads, Zach leads a world wide strike of layabout sons to bring back ESPN Classic and their programming and John Paul makes a last ditch effort to save The Crocodile Hunter with a wild new star after Steve Irwin's death. In a subconscious roleplay Phyllis Kony, Prison Mike from The Office and Larry Craig get into it when Phyllis Kony tries to recruit for the Lord's Resistance Army, before they start to debate about the best places to have se

Talked about my April Fool's gag from Thursday with UW-La Crosse political science professor Dr. Anthony Chergosky, and the idea that maybe we should play 80s-90s Rush Limbaugh classics instead of some new host. Also discussed the burning-mask rally and voter suppression laws based on the notion of voter fraud pushed by Republicans, when there was no mass voter fraud.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Professor and Tommy head all the way back to 1991! The boys review an episode of GWF Main Events! GWF? Yes, the Global Wrestling Federation! Global Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. Often the promotion provided programming five days a week, airing at 4 p.m. Eastern. The GWF was the last pro wrestling promotion to be seen on ESPN regularly. Beginning in the mid-1990s, the network began to emphasize talk shows in the mid-afternoon hours, supplanting pro wrestling. It was announced that ESPN Classic would start showing re-runs on August 5, 2013. On this episode you will hear about some familiar faces and get a history lesson on a short lived but impact pro wrestling fed! Follow The Professor, Tommy and Jay B on Twitter down below! The Professor: https://twitter.com/pwhustleprof Tommy Wonder: https://twitter.com/TheeTommyWonder Jay B: https://twitter.com/TheP1JB ; --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thebigvitobrand/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thebigvitobrand/support

If you go back to the mid-2000s which was the coolest football team in the world? Was it Mourinho's Chelsea? Maybe Fergie's United or Madrid's Galacticos? Or possibly Ancelotti's Milan? For me and millions others, there was only one answer…. It was the Brazilian national team Brazil had it all. It had the Nike 'Joga Bonito’ commercials, it had the likes of Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo, it had the step overs, and of course, it had the classic yellow shirts. It was mesmerizing and millions around the world agreed. Within a decade the Brazilian national team would be touring the world entertaining fans from Switzerland to Singapore. But all good things in life come at a cost. Today, we ask: Are Brazilian fans falling out love with their national team? Guests: Joshua Law (@JoshuaMLaw) is a freelance writer and was previously an editor of Yellow and Green football, which focuses on Brazilian football. Steve Menary (@MenarySteve) is a freelance journalist and contributes to World Soccer and When Saturday Comes. Support Us: https://www.patreon.com/FootballToday Follow Us: @FT_Podcast_ www.FootballTodayPodcast.com Music: The music for this episode was provided under the Creative Commons license by Blue Dot Sessions. ‘The Summit’ by Blue Dot Sessions ‘Copper Halls’ by Blue Dot Sessions ‘Three Stories’ by Blue Dot Sessions ‘Castor Wheel Pivot’ by Blue Dot Sessions ‘Rose Ornamental’ by Blue Dot Sessions ‘Solemn Application’ by Blue Dot Sessions ‘Peacetime’ by Blue Dot Sessions Clips used: Nike, Fox Sports, FIFA, ESPN Classic

Former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner is joined by Randy and Jason Sklar, professionally known as the Sklar Brothers, identical twin comedians and actors best known for hosting the show "Cheap Seats," which aired for four seasons on ESPN Classic.

Staying relevant for over 40 years in an ever-changing industry can be challenging but with the power of a strong personal brand, anything is possible. Today's guest, fitness entrepreneur and personal branding expert, Denise Austin shares her advice on building a brand, creating and monetising valuable content, adapting your audience over time and how you too, can live a happy and healthy balanced lifestyle.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   Content is king. By being independent and by owning everything you can, you will be able to monetise your content and build your brand much easier. You can't do everything all at once. You need to prioritise and compartmentalise as your work, business and life ebbs and flows in order to have an even work-life balance. In order to reach a balanced lifestyle, you need to focus on the different phases of your life and not stretch yourself, whether that's focusing on being a parent, on launching your business or pivoting your business.   The fitness industry has evolved from TV to online and from paid to free. Advice is more expansive and accessible than ever and has changed from DVD workouts to YouTube nutritional plans, despite the core advice not necessarily changing, the way in which it is advertised and consumed has.   Advice on social media can come from anybody but it's important to do your due diligence on their background, their education and what makes them qualified to give fitness, health and nutritional advice. A successful person is someone who is comfortable with who they are, enjoys their life and is happy and healthy. Success is not defined by money but by the chance of sharing it with loved ones. You don't have to have a focus on money in order to be successful in business. You have to enjoy what you do and to ensure you keep ongoing. BEST MOMENTS “Your audience can adapt over time. In the fitness industry as Denise aged, her audience changed and she found a new niche.” “Posture is the key to a healthy body” “There are 640 muscles head-to-toe and you need to keep them moving because oxygen = energy” “They'll love you for who you are, just be yourself” “I sold negotiated three 30 second ad slots on over 500 episodes of TV over 24 years and used it as free marketing and PR to sell fitness DVD's and at one point owned 35% of the exercise DVD market share.”   VALUABLE RESOURCES https://robmoore.com/ bit.ly/Robsupporter https://www.deniseaustin.com/ @deniseaustin   ABOUT THE HOST Rob Moore is an author of 9 business books, 5 UK bestsellers, holds 3 world records for public speaking, entrepreneur, property investor, and property educator. Author of the global bestseller “Life Leverage” Host of UK's No.1 business podcast “The Disruptive Entrepreneur”   “If you don't risk anything, you risk everything”   CONTACT METHOD Rob's official website: https://robmoore.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robmooreprogressive/?ref=br_rs LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/robmoore1979   ABOUT THE GUEST: Denise Austin is an American fitness instructor, author, and columnist, and a former member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports she has been teaching classes, producing fitness shows, creating exercise videotapes, and writing books and columns on exercise and staying fit. Examples include Shrink Your Female Fat Zones, Pilates for Every Body, and Eat Carbs, Lose Weight. In 2002, she was named as a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and began her second term in 2006. Austin had a long-running exercise television program Getting Fit with Denise Austin on ESPN2, reruns of which can currently be seen on ESPN Classic and Altitude Sports and Entertainment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Clark began his career as an athlete, playing football for the Los Angeles Rams and in Europe. He later starred as Nitro on the extraordinarily popular reality television show American Gladiators. Clark then turned to acting and screenwriting. He wrote, directed, and starred in the independent film Looking for Bruce. He recently hosted ESPN Classic’s American Gladiators marathon, and he continues to consult on the revamped American Gladiators franchise. He is the author of the memoir “Gladiator: A True Story of ‘Roids, Rage, and Redemption” and is currently authoring his next book. “Fuck Dying: How Cheating Death Kicked My Ass into Loving, Learning, and Living my Best Life”. Favorite Success Quote “Sports taught me about life. Almost dying taught me how to live” ~Dan Nitro Clark Key Points 1. Don’t Wait to Be Happy  Men in the 21st century seem convinced that happiness is something that can only be attained.  It can only be attained when you get the hot girl, make the 7-figures, drive an Italian sports car, launch your company, or have that dream body. But the truth of the matter is much different. Happiness is not something that you attain. It is something that you give yourself. Right now, in this very second, you have everything you need to feel happy and deeply believe that you have and are enough. Right now, you can give yourself the gift of joy by choosing to focus on what is good instead of what is missing. Right now, this very second, you have the power to be happy. But many of you reading this are not… And, in my experience, the primary reason that men don’t allow themselves to feel happy is that they believe happiness will steal their drive, ambition, and hunger. And sometimes, they are right. It’s a fine line to walk, and when you base your happiness on the wrong things, you might find that happiness does steal your ability to achieve and excel. However, when you predicate your happiness on who you are and how you show up in the world… That’s when the game changes. When you can give yourself permission to be happy now because you are working towards becoming the man that you need to be, that’s when the world will open up to you and you will find yourself becoming the best man you can become… And enjoying the hell out of the process. As our first guest, Hal Elrod says, “Love the life you have while creating the life of your dreams.” 2. Comparison is the Theif of Joy  It seems that our entire economy has been built on comparison. If you look at the marketing and advertising for any popular company, you will undoubtedly notice that they are sending us a very loud and very clear message. You are not good enough. You don’t have the six pack like he does, you don’t have the car this guy drives, you don’t have the business this 20-year old built, you don’t have the girl like this pop star does. And the list goes on and on. Society encourages us to compare ourselves to others and enter into a laughable competition where we constantly try to gain a leg up on everyone else. But guess what? Comparing yourself to others is the most dangerous trap you can fall into. Because there will always be someone who is smarter than you, bigger than you, better than you at something! This is just how we were designed, it’s nothing more than biology and genetic variation… It doesn’t mean you aren’t worthy of love and joy or that you shouldn’t be proud of yourself just because someone else is doing better. Now some of you reading this might assume that comparison itself is a bad thing, but that’s not necessarily the case. Comparison is only bad when we compare ourselves to others instead of the person we have the potential to become. Compare yourself to who you want to be and who you know you have the potential to be. Compare your current reality to the reality that you know is waiting for you if you can just rise up and take action. When you entertain these kinds of comparisons, you will find that your life will start to transform and you will show up with more passion, enthusiasm, and best of all, joy. 3. Big Boys Don’t Cry… But Real Men Do  When we are young, we are taught “Big boys don’t cry”. We are told that showing emotion is a sign of weakness, that crying makes you a bitch, and that any displays of discomfort or internal turmoil immediately makes you a “beta” male. And while that might have been true in the world of cavemen and neanderthals, it’s not true in modern life. If you want to be a “real” man, a man who can show up with power, precision, and excellence, then you must cry. You must learn how to deal with your emotions in a positive way instead of simply suppressing feelings that you dislike. Emotions, in their most basic forms, are messengers. They occur whenever we need to know or understand something. Anger sends you a message that you have been wronged. Sadness sends you a message that something important to you is not the way that it should be. Happiness sends you the message that you are on the right track and making the right decisions. Emotions are messengers. And when we suppress the message, we end up doing more harm than good because we are not addressing the problem that the emotion is trying to warn us of. However, when you allow yourself to feel everything deeply and intimately and ask yourself the question “What is this trying to tell me”, you empower yourself to move forward in your life and take charge of your mental and emotional well being in a powerful way. When you feel angry, you don’t suppress it. You feel it and notice that it’s happening because someone is violating your standards. Now, you have the power to resolve the situation and eliminate the emotion. When you feel sad, don’t suppress it. Instead, feel it and figure out why you are sad. What is causing your emotion? Find the answer, resolve the situation, and move forward in your life. Big boys might not cry. But you can be damn sure that real men do. 4. Express Gratitude for the Smallest Moments of Beauty  Life is precious. And sometimes, it takes knocking on death’s door to realize this. When Dan had his heart attack, he came back with a renewed sense of appreciation and gratitude for even the smallest things in his life. He spoke about the gratitude and awe he feels simply at the smell of coffee in the mornings. He talked about how the flowers on the side of the road (which he used to ignore) fill him with a sense of wonder and joy. Because at one point… He never thought he would smell the coffee or see those flowers ever again. And because of this, he is grateful. Luckily for you, you don’t need to experience a heart attack or near death experience in order to enjoy and appreciate the small moments of beauty in your life. The only thing that you must do is commit and notice. Each day when you wake up, find 3-5 simple beauties that you are grateful for. Maybe it’s the way that the sun is coming through the windows, the peace you see on your partner’s face while they sleep, the aroma of your morning coffee, or the ecstasy that your dog expresses whenever you come out of your room. Whatever it is, notice it and write it down. I promise that if you make this a habit, your world will never be the same. 5. Just Do Something  If you feel stuck in your health, your business, or your relationships… Just do something. Don’t overthink it, don’t overanalyze it, just do something. If you are writing a book and can’t figure out the perfect thing to put down on the paper… Just write something. Let it suck. Then edit it later. If you are struggling with your health and can’t figure out how to lose that extra weight… Just do something. Go do 1,000 pushups, run a half marathon, or lift some weights and figure out the exact mechanics as you go along. If you are struggling in your relationships, just do something. Start the conversation, open that door, be willing to be honest and vulnerable. Whenever you find yourself stagnating, just do something. As Winston Churchill said, “The best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, but the worst thing you can do is nothing.”

Ep 140! The Shawn Kemp episode! This episode, Cousin Gary aka #RussGang calls up and we talk about the NFL moving the Draft to a virtual format, go over the NFL All Decade Team, create a NBA All Decade Team, and so much more! Link to YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBXoVDloijnrYv7pZYuStHw/videos Make sure you follow the podcast on all social media and use the hashtag #LeftHandLayups to send in all questions you'd like answered on the next episode! IG - https://www.instagram.com/shopheirlooms/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/ShopHeirlooms Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe on the iTunes Podcast App!

We're continuing our offseason series in this new normal, going the ESPN Classic route and looking back at some of the games that shaped the future trajectory of college football. This week, we're looking at the January 2011 game between Oregon and Auburn for the BCS National Championship. Executively Produced, as always, by Darren Kinnaird. Support Throw The Flag Football by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/throw-the-flag-footballCheck out our podcasting host, Pinecast. Start your own podcast for free, no credit card required, forever. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-1b6d07 for 40% off for 4 months, and support Throw The Flag Football.

Brett Rump asks what ESPN Classic games everyone has been watching. TinCapc broadcaster John Nolan joins the show to talk about what he's been watching and about a fun play-by-play challenge he's doing.

No Reason Podcast with Nola J. aka Chocolate Blonde. No Reason Stories. Ice Cream Licker gets jail time, 9 dirty south songs to wash your hands with, approved by CDC and Nola J is watching ESPN Classic, No NBA

10/21/19- Adam Brown, writer and producer of ‘Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team” is here to go deep on the details of the Sonics leaving Seattle for Oklahoma City . ‘Sonicsgate' has aired on CNBC, ESPN Classic, iTunes, Amazon & is currently available to rent on Vudu or the full director's cut is available free on YouTube (links below). ‘Sonicsgate' stars Sherman Alexie, Kevin Calabro, Gary Payton, Chris Daniels, George Karl, & Steve Kelley. https://www.vudu.com/content/movies/details/Sonicsgate-Requiem-for-a-Team/542042 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Dp20ydm1E The Jeremy Mills Podcast Episode #137. Website: www.jeremymillspodcast.com; Twitter: @jeremyjoemills; Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeremymillspodcast; Subscribe, rate & review on Spotify, Apple, & YouTube; Email: jeremymillspodcast@gmail.com Shoutout to M3_Beats for providing the official soundtrack of The Jeremy Mills Podcast.

Dan Clark began his career as an athlete, playing football for the Los Angeles Rams and in Europe. He later starred as Nitro on the extraordinarily popular reality television show American Gladiators. Clark then turned to acting and screenwriting. He wrote, directed, and starred in the independent film Looking for Bruce. He recently hosted ESPN Classic’s American Gladiators marathon, and he continues to consult on the revamped American Gladiators franchise. He is the author of the memoir “Gladiator: A True Story of ‘Roids, Rage, and Redemption” and is currently authoring his next book. “Fuck Dying: How Cheating Death Kicked My Ass into Loving, Learning, and Living my Best Life”.

There are certain games we hold deeply in our heart. Whether it was because of the game itself, a metaphor for something greater, a dominant performance from our favorite player, a bookmark for a season or time we’ll fail to forget, there are games that will forever be more valuable to us than others. Houston v. Dallas 2014 is one of them for me. I completely forgot about Houston v. New York (G) 2014. Where was I? Who am I? What happened? A quick refresh reminded me of Shane Lechler throwing a fake punt to Alfred Blue to open my own personal gates of hell, DeAndre Hopkins’s one handed catch ruined by an illegal formation, J.J. Watt’s two point conversation stop, and Victor Cruz torching Kareem Jackson on slant routes...five years ago. Houston v. Dallas is different. I can sit it all clean and clear. I remember the Ebola scare and hazmat suits. J.J. Watt missing Tony Romo once, and missing him again to lead to a Terrance Williams touchdown. Brandon Brooks and Derek Newton. Rolando McClain sideline to sideline tackling. One of Arian Foster’s last great games. Johnathan Joseph v. Dez Bryant. The Ryan Fitzpatrick turnover experience. Bill O’Brien’s decision to punt instead of go for it on fourth and two in overtime. Bryant’s catch over Joseph to pretty much seal it. I remember my parent’s old house, how much I was writing, how much I was dying to be anywhere else, and the end of that awful summer before I moved out to live with the snakes and the rocks and the sun. With the offseason at its lowest point, rather than fabricate content, we played ESPN Classic and rewatched this game. MAKE SURE TO SUBSCRIBE: You can subscribe on iTunes here. You can subscribe on Android/Google here. You can subscribe/listen on Spotify here. You can subscribe/listen on Stitcher here. Please subscribe and write a lovely review that gives us that three stars out of five rating we deserve. Keep that in mind when you download the episode this week. Thanks for staying awhile and listening. Enjoy the show while you do whatever it is that you do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Radio Boys (C.Truth, Kev Lawrence) sat down with producer, writer, athlete Dorian Graham of They’ve still got it. and more. Dorian talked about his early work at HBO, setting groundwork at ESPN Classic & Hollywood, creating Martin Luther King Day national ad at the NBA, being part of an ACE award team, running the street ball section of Hoops TV, going to Magic Johnson celebrity weekends, pitching his video game idea to Midway/Acclaim, connecting with Nick Cannon, producing: Son of a gun, Wild n Out, Teen Nick Top 10; his Mariah Carey hip hop story, advice to Nick Cannon in regards to America's got talent, playing in the Rucker Park tournament with NBA players, spin off he's working on with Kyrie Irving called "They've still got it," a major TV drama that he's working on. For additional content go to: www.thermalsoundwaves.com Tweet: @thermalsoundwav IG: @thermalsoundwaves Facebook: @thermalsoundwaves --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thermal-soundwaves/support

Welcome to Episode 11 of We Love the OC, where Kirsten has taken it upon herself to make the Thanksgiving meal, and is only keeping it together via a magical pendant. Seth juggles two different women (and fails), Jimmy finds his one true love (ESPN Classic), and Ryan introdues Marissa to his Mexican family (and his shitty brother). So... Thanksgiving... Big Day... You excited? Special thanks to: * Sandy Cohen (https://sandycohen.bandcamp.com/) for the use of our intro/outro music * Graham Barton for mastering the track.

Tweet This episode we fire up the DeLorean and head back to explore part 1 of a 2-part series of Jim Thorpe, "The World's Greatest Athlete".  The timeline covered in this episode is Jim's birth through his time in college and the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.  So strap on your seat belt, and let's get ready to take this baby up to 88mph.   Connect with the show: https://thefootballhistorydude.com/episode12/ (Visit the show notes for this episode) https://thefootballhistorydude.com/about-the-show/ (Visit me on the web - my about page) https://thefootballhistorydude.com/contact/ (Contact the show) https://twitter.com/FHDude (Follow me on Twitter) Subscribe on YouTube   Click below for the transcript.  I have included affiliate links to Amazon throughout the transcript to complement the episode.  If you purchase through these links it will support the show at no extra cost to you. Read Full Transcript Today we celebrate the 4th of July in the United States of America. This is the day back in 1776 where our forefathers finalized a Declaration for Independence. We all must not take lightly the sacrifices made by the men and women back in 1776, nor any time in history. So first, I want to thank all the men and women for protecting this great nation of ours and in this upcoming episode, I'm going to cover part 1 of a 2 part series of the World's Greatest Athlete, Jim Thorpe. Childhood This time as we step off our DeLorean, the date is June 25th, 1876. Which is basically a 100 years after the Declaration of Independence. And we are in Little Big Horn valley. You see, this was the scene of the most decisive victory for the Native Americans in the Plains Indian War, which was a very long war. And most of you know it as the Battle of Little Big Horn, or you might also know it as the famous Custer's Last Stand. And why am I talking about wars that happened all these years ago? What's the reason for it? Well, like I said, today is the day of our independence. And part of that was the independence for all peoples, and the guy we're going to talk about in this episode, Mr. Jim Thorpe. He was born 12 years after this battle. So you gotta say, there was not that many years between when America was still fighting with Native people of this land. Jim Thorpe was born on a reservation, which we're going to go ahead and take that DeLorean back to May 28th, 1888. We are in Prague, which is present day Oklahoma, and it was Indian Territory at the time. Jim Thorpe was born with the name James Francis Thorpe. But that wasn't really the name that he recognized as a young boy. He was predominately American Indian, and this came from his mother's side. Who was a descendant of Sauk and Fox Chief, Black Hawk. According to the ESPN Classic video that I saw, and I'm going to provide links to you. When a Native American mother had a baby, she would name the baby after the first thing she saw, and they mentioned how she saw the sun rising and there was a path. Kind of like through the trees or something. She named him Wah-Tho-Huk, which translated into Bright Path. And the name Bright Path for Jim Thorpe was an understatement. He would go on to have one of those once in a millennium type of careers, and no one else could rival him. And he was Native American. Like I said, there was that war that was going on, and there wasn't a whole lot of getting along back in 1888. He was born on a reservation. This is where we start the journey of Jim Thorpe, and what turned him from an Indian on a reservation into what would become the World's Greatest Athlete. The first major adversity Jim had to deal with was he had a twin brother that passed away at the age of 8. He was one of Jim's best friends. Then 6 years later his mother passed away. So Jim was kind of this kid that was losing his way, didn't quite understand in the world, and they spoke in the video how he still had that running with the feet and his heart to the... Support this podcast

Dan Clark began his career as an athlete, playing football for the Los Angeles Rams and in Europe. He later starred as Nitro on the extraordinarily popular reality television show American Gladiators. Clark then turned to acting and screenwriting. He wrote, directed, and starred in the independent film Looking for Bruce. He recently hosted ESPN Classic's American Gladiators marathon, and he continues to consult on the revamped American Gladiators franchise. He lives in Los Angeles, where he is working on his next book: F Dying.

It's the 21st episode, coming to you from NYC! On today's show, Chris asks whether or not you can put your feet up on stuff. Also discussed: who lives in Albuquerque?, people who watch games on ESPN Classic, the funniest thing Chris thought of this week, the Bill Cosby case, and a bunch of questions from Twitter. Tweet your questions and spread the love using the hashtag #congratulationspod on Twitter and everywhere else, and don't forget to rate, review, listen on iTunes, Google, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app.

Steve Cooper talks with writer/actor Nick Bakay. Nick got his start when he a became a contributing editor for The National Lampoon Magazine, which led to a writing job and starring roles in two cable series, Night After Night and Sports Monster. After landing a job as a writer and sidekick/announcer on the syndicated The Dennis Miller Show, he decided it was time to move to Los Angeles. Since that time, he has written and performed in numerous television series including What's So Funny?, She TV, In Living Color and Comedy Central's Baseballapalooza and NFL Offsides. He has also guest-starred in the comedy series Coach, Ellen, Grace Under Fire, Seinfeld and That 70's Show. For the first four seasons of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, he was a writer/producer on the show. He has also taken on that role on many shows including  The King of Queens, Til' Death and Two and a Half Men. He has additionally has written segments and commentary for ESPN and ESPN.com. and was the host of Reel Classics on ESPN Classic. Currently he is a writer/producer on Mom and has co-written both Paul Blart: Mall Cop movies. 

To celebrate 20 years of the Premier League, ESPN Classic will be airing the second series of its Legends of the Barclays Premier League series this weekend, profiling 10 modern day Legends including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Ian Wright and many more. Jon Champion is ESPN's football commentator and says there's plenty to look forward to this season. We hear his thoughts on the upcoming campaign and who he believes will shine. #espn #barclays #espnclassic #football

ESPN Classic is celebrating the launch of the 20th year of Premier League football by airing the second series of its Legends of the Barclays Premier League this weekend. Ray Stubbs, host of ESPN's top flight coverage, says he believes this season will be no different to others, despite the last day drama of the last campaign, where Manchester City won the league with the last kick of the season. We also hear his thoughts on who he expects to make an impression at the top and bottom of the table. #espn #football #espnclassic

Every day, our invisible God spreads a lavish banquet for our five senses. Every day He does that. The invisible God and the created world lays out a lavish feast. The pleasures of sight. I have seen, driving across this country, unforgettable scenes of beauty. I remember driving across South Dakota and seeing the rolling grasslands there as far as the eye could see, undulating hills covered with grass that was just swaying back and forth in a breeze as though it were an ocean. I'd never seen anything like that before, never anything so large. And continuing on in Montana, they call it "the big sky country," and I saw the big sky there, and a valley as far as the eye could see, and an electrical storm, and lightning flashing from one side and going all the way to the other side of the sky, just like Jesus mentions will be at the time of His second coming, but I saw it there. Unforgettable. And I've also seen a sunset over the Grand Canyon. The purples, and reds, and oranges, and way down below, a silver thread, the Colorado River, glistening in the last light of the day. I've seen that, too. Last week, nothing so grand and dramatic, but I saw my daughter Daphne with a look of joy on her face run across the lawn to greet me home. And that was a feast for my eyes, and probably more special than the others. I've seen these things, and it was God that's laid out that feast for my eyes. And how also for the ears. This morning, we've listened to beautiful music. Hard for me to preach after that last song. You know, I just pull myself together, but the beauty of the music, I've heard that. I've heard Handel's Messiah done skillfully at the Duke Chapel, and just the soaring sounds united with Scripture verses pointing to Christ and how beautiful that was. I've heard what I considered to be a three-dimensional sound. I remember, I used to go camping with my father, Tuckerman's Ravine up in Mount Washington, it's a deep bowl carved by some glacier some time ago. And this wind would blow across, it was like 1:00 in the morning, and it sounded, like I said, a three-dimensional sound, a deep blowing of the wind through that bowl. It was a feast for my ears, and God laid it out. Now how about the pleasures of taste? A couple of weeks ago, we were talking about honey and how God in Proverbs commands that we should eat honey because it's good, it tastes good. And it was God that made it taste good. And I'm not going to go on much about food right now because it will hinder the preaching. But God lays out feasts of flavors. The world is full of them, and He made it that way right from the very beginning, when He didn't just put one fruit tree that they could eat from but a whole array of them in the Garden of Eden, all different kinds of pleasures of taste. And then the pleasures of smell. Or shall we say more delicately, "fragrance." The delicacy, let's say, of spring flowers, or this time of year, when you walk through the woods and there's that musty fall smell, you know? As you hear the crunch of the leaves under your feet in the woods and you can just smell, it's just a fall aroma, and it's beautiful to me. Or the smell of a baby that has been bathed and smells of that gentle fragrance that babies do when they're so clean, and oh, it's a beautiful thing. And how about the sensations of feel? I remember buying a bolt of silk for Christie when I was in Pakistan, and I remember feeling it, it was so shimmery and so smooth. And then, the rougher feeling of leather, or of a tree trunk on one end, or finely polished furniture on the other. All of these sensations are part of the sensory world that God has put around us, and God made them. All of them. And He made them good, He declared that they were good. We live in a physical world, and He desires to give us pleasure through these senses. And this world proclaims the greatness of the invisible God that made all of those things. And we as Christians are uniquely able to trace those physical sensations back to the God, the invisible God, who made them, and say, "This is what my God is like. This is how great He is, how good He is, how loving, how wise." We are able to do that. Now, according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:1,” it is the doctrine of demons to deny the goodness of the physical world that we live in, the doctrine of demons to deny it.” To treat the physical body with its five senses as though it were intrinsically evil and something we had to get away from in order to be saved. It's a doctrine of demons. In his classic allegory in the Christian battle for salvation, the holy war, John Bunyan likens the human soul to a city, a walled city, which he calls "Man-soul." And he says, "Man-soul has five gates, five gates by which things can enter: An ear gate, eye gate, mouth gate, nose gate, and feel gate." These are the five senses. Now, Satan has marshalled his wicked attack on our souls through those gates. But it is foolishness for us to brick over the gates, brick them up so that nothing evil can enter in. That is the doctrine of demons, and that is not the approach to healthy living in this physical universe. But neither is it the approach to tear down the wall entirely so that there is no protection whatsoever and any and everything can come into the soul. But that's not right either because it says in Proverbs 25:28, "Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control." In other words, if you lack self-control, you're like a city that has no walls at all, anything can get at you. Therefore, in our holy war, what Bunyan calls "our holy war," we are constantly tempted to go to one extreme or the other, either to brick up the five gates through extreme asceticism, or to tear down all the walls through gluttony. By that, I don't just mean eating, but I mean just glutting on sensory life. Martin Luther likened the constant struggle that the people of the world have with sin to a drunken peasant trying to ride on a donkey, and he leans too far one side and falls down on the mud, and remembering that, gets up and leans too far the other side and falls down on the other side. And so we constantly are struggling for balance in the Christian life. On September 15th of this year, I was reading about a 30-year-old man in China, Guangzhou, China, who died in a cyber café after a three-day gaming binge. He spent over 80 hours playing online computer games and dropped dead at the end of it. Now here is a man that found something that he liked, something he loved, he couldn't control it anymore, it controlled him and it killed him. On the other end of the spectrum, back in 1999, there was an interesting New Age movement led by a former Australian business woman named Ellen Greve. She changed her name to Jasmuheen, and she had a kind of a spiritual cleansing program involving extreme fasting. And a young woman named Verity Linn died from fasting too much. And so you have the other extreme, thinking that she could be purged from all the pollutants of the world, she went to extreme fasting and it killed her. So you almost get a picture of a third rail, a live rail, on either side and there's death either way. Extreme asceticism or extreme indulgence, either way, it can kill you. So we need some wisdom from God, don't we, on this? In Ecclesiastes 7, a book of wisdom, says this, "Do not be over-righteous, neither be over-wise. Why destroy yourself? Do not be over-wicked and do not be a fool. Why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes." So there's some wisdom from God. Now, we're not pressing that the details of the word "over-righteous" and all, basically, it's don't go to extremes when it comes to the matters of spiritual discipline on the one side or indulgence of the good things of life on the other. If you fear God, if you know Him, you're going to avoid those extremes. The Bible alone therefore teaches the proper balance in the use of physical pleasures: Of food, of drink, of clothing, of entertainment. Now, the balance is extremely difficult to achieve, because John Piper says the human heart is like a desire factory, it's always cranking out desires. He writes in his book, Future Grace, "The human heart produces desires as fire produces heat. As surely as the sparks fly upward, the heart pumps out desire after desire for a happier future. The state of the heart therefore is shown by the things that satisfy its desires." In other words, you want to know the state of your heart? What is it you want? What do you go after? What are you looking for? What makes you happy? And so your desires actually perform a certain kind of diagnostic on the state of your soul. So this is a very important issue as we come to the end of Colossians chapter 2 and try to understand a balanced life in a physical world that we live in. Now let's get our bearings in Colossians. The problem in the Colossian church is that they are facing the onslaught of some heretical teaching and so Paul takes up pen to write to a church that he'd never visited, he didn't know them, he hadn't planted the church. Complete in Christ Christ is Complete, We are Complete in Him And so he wants to write to protect them from false doctrine. And the way that you protect people from false doctrine is by true, pure orthodox doctrine, right teaching. And he starts in Colossians 1 by a beautiful focus on the person of Jesus Christ. "He is the image of the invisible God,” He is “the first-born over all creation.” The physical stuff was made by Jesus. And in Him, it was created, and in Him, it all holds together, the greatness of Christ, the foundation of all healthy Christian doctrine. And then he links it to them, in effect, he says, "Because Christ is complete, you are complete in Him. In Christ", he says in Colossians 2, "all the fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ." Oh, you ought to delight in that fullness if you're a Christian. It's a gift to you, to be a full person in Christ. And it's based on His deity in human form. And therefore, some Gospel truths just flow out of this and they're so refreshing to us. We are full in Christ, we have been fully circumcised spiritually. We are fully alive. Once we were dead, now we are fully alive, and we will live forever and ever. We are fully forgiven. He forgave us all our sins, the delight of that word, "all." Fully forgiven. We are fully free from the law and its condemning power. It has no power to condemn our souls. We're free from that, and we're fully triumphant over Satan and all of his minions. Satan’s Intimidating Voice: “You are Incomplete!” We are free, we are full in Christ, but then Satan comes with his intimidating voice, with false doctrine, and tells us that we are somehow incomplete. We're somehow empty despite all of that. And so we have to have some additions. We need to add philosophy, human wisdom and insights. We need to add legalism, human religious works. We need to add mysticism, those human religious experiences. And in this section, we need to add asceticism, human religious self-denial. Now we've already seen a rejection of human philosophy, look at verse 8 of chapter 2, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." So that's rejected. We've seen the intimidation of legalism in verses 16 and 17, he says, "Do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to religious festival, the new moon, celebration, or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality is found in Christ." So we're free from that legalistic lifestyle. Last time, we looked at mysticism, the worship of angels. And these false teachers, it seems, were teaching that these angelic beings, these emanations, spiritual emanations, were there to be spirit guides to you to lead you out of your physical, miry kind of physical experience, and get up into the spiritual realms with them. And Christ is one of those emanations, so they taught. And all of this is rejected, this bad mysticism, in verse 18 and 19, it says, "Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels and going on in great detail about visions, puffed up without reason by a sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the head from whom the whole body nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments grows with the growth that is from God." Those are the intimidations we've already looked at, we've looked at those dangerous elements. The Intimidation of Asceticism The fourth and final one is this issue of asceticism. Look at verses 22, 23 again. "Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belong to it, do you submit to its rules? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, but they're self-imposed worship, false humility in their harsh treatment of the body but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." Colossian Heresy: The Evil of the Body Addressed by Asceticism The Colossian heresy at its core taught that the body is evil, the evil of the body. And here, it seems that that evil is addressed by asceticism, by a harsh treatment of the body, by self-denial in an extreme sense. Now, Paul mentions here the basic principles of the world, the Greek is interesting, "stoicheia," from which we get an English word which means to, "Stoichiometry," to break apart the compounds of a chemical or the elements of a chemical compound, find out what's in there. You get the idea in the Greek word of something in a line like alphabetical order, basic building blocks of the world. Here, it's speaking, I think, of ideas and concepts, "Why, as though you still belong to the world, do you submit to these basic rules and regulations of philosophy and religion? You're past all that, you've grown up." These basic principles, I think, at least included some elements of Jewish ceremonial law and legalism and all that, but other things as well. And he uses a strong word here, "why do you submit to these rules?", "dogmatismo," from which we get dogmatic, "why are you being dogmatised by this? These teachers are coming in and putting some dogma over you, and they're telling you what you must do in order to be saved. These regulations are not coming from Christ." And it's interesting, what he says, "Why, as though you still belong to the world, do you submit to it?" Isn't that interesting? What does that imply about us? We don't really belong to this world. Jesus Himself said that. He said, "They are not of the world any more than I am of the world." We are supernatural beings. We are miracles of grace! We have been resurrected from spiritual death, and we will never die. There's been a permanent separation in some sense between us and this worldly system, not the physical world I was describing at the beginning of the message, but the world system with all of these kind of rules and regulations. We don't still belong to that; we died to all that. We are supernatural. And therefore we can look at the body and life in the body the way God does, we have the mind of Christ. We can stand above it and and look down and say, "What is my life in this body and in this world supposed is to be about? How am I to spend my time? How am I to live?" We have graduated, friends. We're not going back to elementary school and to these elementary principles; we will spend eternity in the presence of God. Now, as we've already sung about and thought about this morning, we will spend eternity in a physical body. We will be in our flesh and we will see God. We will walk on a new Earth and we will see with our own eyes, our Savior. And He will still be in the same resurrection body in which He appeared to His disciples in that upper room. And you remember how He spoke of that in terms of His physical presence. That same physical body that Christ had is a pattern for our resurrection bodies as well. We are not heading towards some kind of ethereal, out-of-body experience, so therefore we can experience life and think about our lives here on Earth, the remainder of our lives here on Earth, in Christ-like spiritual terms. We have the mind of Christ. We've grown up. That's what he's saying. Now, the Colossian heretics were teaching freedom from bodily drives by asceticism. "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch," these rules and regulations. Paul says that these rules are destined to “perish with use,” why? Because they're not part of God's new order. They're not coming from God, so they're wrapped up in this world system, and this world system and all of its ways are passing away. They will perish. They're on their way out. They seem wise, they seem holy, these people seem to have an aura about them. They're a holy people, you can barely touch them. They haven't eaten in weeks. And you can't carry their shoes. They just seem to have an aura about them. There's an appearance of wisdom, but the reality is very different. At the core, there is pride. And apparently, based on verse 23, at the core, there's still lust. It's still there. It's not been slain, because these rules lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Definition of Asceticism Now what is asceticism? What do we mean by that? Well, it's a harsh treatment of the body for spiritual reasons, specifically the denial of God's good gifts like food, clothing, and shelter, in the assumption that such prolonged self-denial will make you increasingly pleasing to God. Now as I've said, intrinsic to the Colossian heresy is the idea that the body is evil, and so therefore, any time you didn't eat, or drink, or sleep, or do anything that was comforting to the body, you are somehow a little bit holier as a result. Now look at the statements in verse 21, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch." Verse 23, "The regulations have an appearance of wisdom with their," listen, "self-imposed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body." Asceticism’s Long History Now this has been going on a long time, asceticism. Pretty much every world religion has its ascetics. Every world religion has its people that go into extreme self-denial, and seem to float above the rest of humanity as a result. Certainly Hinduism has those that sit in the lotus position, and meditate, and just don't eat for extended periods of time. Buddhism seeks to achieve enlightenment in similar manner. Even Christianity has had its share, some of it led by God, obviously Moses had a 40-day fast on the top of the mountain. Jesus himself fasted for 40 days. John the Baptist lived out in the desert and wore camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts, but he also had that honey, alright? So the honey will sweeten the locusts, alright? It's all about the recipe, how to put it together, I guess. But clearly, here is a man who is not living for the stomach. Elijah lived in the desert with little bits of food that ravens brought, again, not a man living to eat. But in the same pattern afterwards, after the New Testament era, Christian monks started to desire to live the ascetic life. And this is especially true in history after the Roman persecutions died down, but there was still a vivid memory of them. And the position of a martyr was held to be in great honor. If you could go out of this world as a martyr, having shed your blood for Christ, they wanted that. They wanted to be warrior for Christ, but now that was gone. So they turned to the desert, they turned to the cave, they turned to extreme fasting, if they could somehow mortify the flesh in that way and become perhaps a spiritual martyr, bloodless martyr, and in this way, attain Heaven. And so, they would take to extreme treatment of the body. And all of this was self-imposed. Athanasius wrote of Anthony, who is the founder of Western monasticism, who never changed his shirt or washed his feet. And then there's Simeon Stylites, who's pictured on the cover of the bulletin, you wondered who that man is sitting on the pillar, sitting cross-legged while, I don't know what's going on behind him, I didn't draw the picture, but it looks like the world is burning, and he's got his back to it, and he's meditating up on his pillar. Now, Simeon was born in 390 AD at Cilicia in modern-day Syria. He was a devout person, he taught the only way that you could achieve true happiness was through prayer and fasting. Much of his life therefore is spent in those pursuits. But then he started practicing other forms of extreme self-denial. After spending years in monasteries, he began a regimen of discipline so harsh it almost killed him. He ate once a week, he used to lash his body around with cords and pulled them so tight that they would cause the skin to bleed. And frankly, after he was healed from that, those wounds, the abbot of the monastery ordered him to leave. He thought he was sick in his approach, and so he ordered him to leave, and I think he was ready to leave at that point, he wanted to be alone anyway. And so he went out in the desert, he was in a cave for a while, he was on a mountain top, he literally chained himself to the top of a mountain to keep from roaming or wandering. But then he had an insight, and he discovered that he didn't need the chain; all he needed was a strong self-will. So he went to another place and just with his strong self-will, carrying on the same practice as well. A man like that out in the desert is attractive to some kinds of people. And so they went out to listen to him preach. And it seems he didn't like that too much, so after a little while, he put himself up in a 12-foot high pillar. I don't think that the devotees took that personally because they kept coming. But he's trying to get away from them, and he's there for four years, and after a while, he builds a higher pillar, and then an ever higher one, and a higher one. At the end of his life, he's on a 60-foot high pillar. And friends, not ravens, but friends, would bring him little amounts of food and he'd pull it up in a bucket, and that's how he spent his life. That's extreme asceticism. It wasn't just him, Martin Luther went through similar things in the days before his conversion, sleeping without a blanket on the floor of the cell in the Augustinian monastery, where he was. George Whitfield, a couple centuries later. He was part of the holy club that eventually lead into Methodism, John and Charles Wesley and all that. And a number of those folks really gave themselves over to extreme fasting and other things like that. And they will all testify, this is before any of them really understood the Gospel, before they understood evangelical Gospel. And Whitfield, it got so bad that one of his hands turned black. He spent the whole night out in a winter storm without any covering at all. By the end of that whole period of his life, he was so emaciated, he couldn't get upstairs; he had to crawl upstairs. He almost killed himself. Extreme asceticism. Now all of this comes, I think, from the belief that extreme asceticism will subdue the flesh and make the person somehow more acceptable to God, and the idea that the physical body is somehow intrinsically evil. Even worse than all this is the forbidding of marriage to the clergy, I think, of the Roman Catholic church, they're linking "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch," and then Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7, "It is good for a man not to touch a woman." And so they looked on procreation, marital relations, as intrinsically evil as well. The Roman Catholic Church enforced clerical celibacy at the Council of Elvira, basically all of their clergy had to abstain from marital intercourse, had to abstain from marriage itself. And again, I think, fundamental to this doctrine is a tinge of a Colossian heresy and a distaste for the body. Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin, and that became their Bible until the Reformation, the Latin Vulgate is the Bible of the West, he was probably the leading teacher of the essential uncleanness of marital relations. And he wrote this, "Let us turn back to the chief point of the evidence. It is good", he says, "for a man not to touch a woman. If it is good not to touch a woman, then it is bad to touch one. For there is no opposite to goodness but badness. But if it'd be bad and the evil is pardoned, then the reason for the concession is to prevent worse evil. The truth is that in view of the purity of the Body of Christ, all sexual intercourse is unclean." And he said this, "He who loves his wife too ardently is an adulterer." Well, does that seem skewed to you? Does that seem off to you? And even in the 1 Timothy 4 passage, he talks about those who forbid marriage. And that's what happened in the Catholic Church. Now Martin Luther was delightfully able to cut through all this nonsense long after his conversion and after his role as a leader in the Reformation. He didn't want to get married because he thought he was going to get martyred at any moment, but finally, he aided in the escape of 12 nuns from a convent, they were in barrels on the back of cart, I think that's just a.great image from church history. But there are all these women in barrels in a merchant taking them through the gates. And he committed himself, Luther did, to getting a husband for each of these women until finally there were just two left, one of whom was Katie Von Bora. And all his friends are pressing on him, and finally he ends up marrying her, shocking everyone, especially the pope. And I think that was part of what he was intending. Actually, Roland Bainton said that, he just wanted to annoy the pope and the devil. And so he married her for that reason. He turned his back on his monastic vow, she turned her back on hers, and they got married and had a wonderful family. He said, "It's a strange thing to wake up with pigtails on the pillow next to you." And so, it was just a whole different kind of life. And after him, most Protestants had at least a healthy view and an esteem for marriage as a good gift of God. But still the Christian church has dealt with this. Asceticism’s Great Danger Now what are the dangers of asceticism? Well, first of all, it's grounded in a false understanding that the material world is intrinsically evil. Furthermore, it misunderstands salvation, as though Jesus' blood shed on the cross is not enough for us. We have to add our own suffering somehow. It produces pride. Paul mentions, the NIV has it, I think, false humility. This really does produce pride. "If you're not doing what I'm doing, you're of a lower order of Christian than I am." It also calls the good gifts of God bad. Listen to that 1 Timothy 4 passage that I've mentioned. Listen to this, 1 Timothy 4:1 through five: "The Spirit clearly says that in later time some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons, doctrines of demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth." Listen, "For everything God created is good." Do you hear that? "Everything God created is good. And nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the Word of God in prayer." And 1 Timothy 6:17 says, "God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." Food is a good gift of God, and it is to be received with thanksgiving. Marriage is a good gift of God, and it is to be received with thanksgiving. Sensual pleasure, whether beautiful sights of spectacular fall foliage, or the sound of a baby cooing, or the aromas coming from the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day, or the feeling of a warm jacket on a cool, crisp fall afternoon, all of those things are good gifts of God and they are to be received with thanksgiving, every one of them. Pleasure itself is a good gift of God, and it is to be received with thanksgiving. Satan is not the god of pleasure; Satan is the god of hatred. And he hates it when we feel pleasure. He's willing to trade a little pleasure at the beginning of a sin habit in order to get you hooked, but he wants to get you off that pleasure as soon as possible. It is God who says, "In My presence is the fullness of joy and pleasures forever more at My right hand." That's where we're heading, friends. We are heading toward eternal pleasure in the presence of God. And finally, asceticism just doesn't work, friends. It lacks any value in restraining sensual indulgence, they burn with lust just as much out in the desert as they do in a brothel. But let's be honest now, shall we? Are you tempted to become an ascetic? Oh, come on now, be honest. Have you been wrestling with this? Do you know any ascetics? I don't mean from church history, now; I mean, do you personally know anyone living like this? Asceticism vs. Gluttony: Balance Found in Christ Let's talk about other third rail, shall we? Gluttony. Oh, no, pastor, now you're meddling. Okay. Well, the Word of God is delightful happy to do that. I'm not meddling; I'm under the Word just like you are. We are surrounded, I believe this is a true statement. No generation in the history of the Christian church has been surrounded by so many lawful pleasures as a distraction to the kingdom work than we are. That's what we're facing. We're facing a river, an avalanche of blessing from God, and we can't have them all. They are not all good all the time for us as we glut on them. We live in an age and a culture where people specialize in finding things that people like and dripping them down in a distillery until they are 200-proof and then pouring it down our souls, whatever it might be. Take music, for example. Before recorded music, you had to go some place where musicians were playing, or you play an instrument yourself. But then Edison discovered the wax cylinders and the ability to record sound. Somebody actually said it's the most original invention in history. No one was working on capturing sound, no one ever thought it could be done, but he did it. The first sounds ever recorded were the lyrics to a song, Mary Had a Little Lamb. It was the number one hit because it was the only song there was at the time. That's all there was. That was the first one. Shortly thereafter went the flatter disks, and recorded music came in. Along with it, Marconi invented the radio, and pretty soon you were able to listen to music any time, if you have one of those huge piece of furniture radios that they had way back when. And that was the problem, you had to listen to it there and you didn't get to choose the music, but you could listen to it in that way. But it wasn't long after that that the transistor radio came, and you were able to carry around the transistor radio and listen to music anywhere you wanted. You didn't have to plug in, you could listen to it. But you still couldn't choose the music; the disk jockey chose it for you, although there were call-in shows. Alright? But then came the Walkman, and you could put cassette tape in and you could listen to your song of your choice wherever you wanted as much as you wanted. But that's troublesome because you have to have all this cassettes with you. Now what do we have? We have the iPod. And we have websites where you can go and download your favorite songs or song, and listen to it 600 times in a row if you want to glut yourself on it like that. You can kill it for yourself. You can kill yourself with it! You can glut yourself on your favorite songs all the time. And they're tiny, too, just clip on them and there it is. And it's not just music; try spectator sports. With ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, that's four, and they've got competitors. And so if you've got the money and the time 24/7, you can glut on spector sports. As soon as one season ends, I've noticed, another begins. It just keeps on rolling. And you could spend your life that way. Should you? Should I spend my life like that? Under some drip that somebody is dripping down into my soul, distilling out pleasure in that way? And then there's food. America struggles with gluttony, with obesity. We struggle with it. We have a hard time knowing when to say “enough,” to push away from the table. Even Baptists struggle with this. That right there is rhetorical technique. You can go find out what it is, but I don't know what it is, but even Baptists struggle with eating too much, too much of a good thing. And then all of these points to the need for self-control. God told us, "Eat honey, for it is good," but He also said, "Don't eat too much or you'll vomit." Paul says, "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." Application Praise God for your Fullness in Christ Now how do we find the balance between asceticism and gluttony? The balance is found in the cross of Christ. Jesus Christ gave Himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. We don't know how to navigate to Heaven. We don't know how to get there. We are the drunken peasant falling off, trying to find the balance. Instead the Gospel is this, that Jesus lived the only perfectly balanced life there ever has been. The only perfectly balanced, and His righteousness can be yours as a gift. I prayed that today someone would be here who had not yet trusted in Christ. This is your moment, if you're that person. Look to Christ, the One who shed His blood on the cross. Trust in Him, not in your own works. Because you can't figure this out. You'll go too far one way or too far the other, you'll not be able to figure it out. Let God give it to you as a gift through faith in Christ. But if you've already come to Christ, then let's begin here, celebrate your fullness in Christ. You are full in Christ, you don't need to glut yourself on anything. Neither do you need to prove yourself by becoming a spiritual athlete. You're already acceptable in Christ. Celebrate that. And be on your guard against these dangers: Philosophy, legalism, mysticism, asceticism, they're still around. I do not say to you that they are the only threats to the Gospel. But they are four that Paul deals with here. Already we've mentioned gluttony as another threat to the Gospel, and so it is. Be Satisfied in God more than Earthly Pleasures But concerning the pleasures of this world, enjoy them, as God leads. Enjoy them in the path of His commands. Marital relations is good because they are marital relations, not outside the boundaries that God has set. Food is good. When the stomach is full, stop. And by the way, I've noticed a lag time, you still feel hungry and you're still eating, slow down, then. We don't need to overeat. There's some practical wisdom here. Celebrate your life in a physical body. You are going to be given a body that will last forever and ever. The body is good, celebrate it. But this body is not purely good; it's called the "body of death." Therefore, you have to be a bit careful with it. Paul says, "I beat my body and make it my slave.” I can't just give into whatever drive I have, I have to be careful. And therefore, a fruit of the Spirit needs to be, and is, self-control, so that I'm not like “a city with walls broken down.” Practice Fasting without Embracing Asceticism And be willing to give up pleasing food and pleasing experiences for the service of the Lord. We could start just with fasting and prayer. It is a good thing to fast; it is a bad thing to become an extreme ascetic. But fasting itself is a good thing. To give up eating for a day so that you can dedicate yourself to prayer. Even better to give up a comfortable lifestyle here in the West and go to some unreached people group. And reach them with the Gospel, knowing full well your standard of living will go down. The food you eat will not be as appealing to you, you'll never have such-and-such experience again, you'll never see the physical beauty of the land like America. You're purposely going to some place were most people don't want to live. And you're going there, and you'll just have to remember the physical beauty you've seen and look ahead to the new Heaven and new Earth, but you're here to minister to those who need to hear the Gospel. You're willing to give up on comfort and pleasure for the sake of the Lord. But when you fast, put oil on your head, wash your face and pray to your Father unseen. And Father sees what is done in secret, He'll reward you. Don't parade the sacrifices you're making. Don't become arrogant or prideful. Your righteousness is Christ, and Christ alone. Close with me in prayer.