Last weekend, I went to Oklahoma City with Lindsey, Shelby, Hayley, & Kelly.  The reason we went to OKC was to attend Winter Jam 2010 at the Ford Center.  Winter Jam featured mini-concerts by Revive, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, Newsong, Newsboys, and a grand finale by Third Day.  It also featured a message by Tony Nolan.  Admission to the event was $10 and was paid at the door.  I read comments on Twitter & Facebook from the performers and organizers after the show.  From what I can tell, the OKC crowd was the largest crowd to date on the Winter Jam 2010 tour!

Of the musical performers, I have only heard Newsboys in concert before.  I first saw them probably 10-15 years ago when they were here in Springdale at First Baptist.  I saw them in Tulsa my freshman year in college when they were on their Love Liberty Disco tent tour (which featured the rotating drum set).  Tony Nolan spoke back in the fall at FBC Springdale.  Lindsey, Shelby, & I were pretty excited about hearing him again.  Other than the Newsboys & Tony Nolan, getting to finally see Third Day in concert was exciting.

I really enjoyed the event as a whole.  There were a few performances that really stuck out.  I think the song that spoke to me most during the evening was Sidewalk Prophets’ The Words I Would Say.  The following is an acoustic version of the song.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8UpaifPbqI

So, as I mentioned, I’d seen Newsboys a couple of times in concert prior to OKC.  It had been a while.  Last year, Michael Tait (formerly of the band DC Talk) replaced Peter Furler as the lead singer of the band.  I hadn’t heard a Tait led song on the radio yet so I was curious (but, yet, skeptical) of how he would sound singing traditional Newsboys hits like Shine and Breakfast.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The Newsboys closed their set with DC Talk’s hit Jesus Freak.  I loved it!  It wasn’t DC Talk but it was a DC Talk song live which I hadn’t heard since I saw them in concert in 7th grade.  I also kind of found it amusing that Kelly & I were the only ones around us it seemed that knew every single word (including the rap-like portion in the middle) of the song.  Here’s a video from the Winter Jam 2010 tour of Newsboys performing Jesus Freak.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xheIKyE84J8

Finally…Third Day…Amazing!  Mac Powell is an awesome songwriter and has such a distinctive voice.  Here is an official video of Third Day singing their recent hit Revelation.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u0P9kwfF4s

All of the performances were almost teasers of full sets by some of the performers like Newsboys & Third Day.  I left the event wanting to look up their tour schedule so I could see a full show by each of them in the near future.  I definitely recommend seeing any of these artists in concert!

I did take a few pictures at Winter Jam.  Check out my slide show.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI

Junior took quite a wild ride in today’s Nationwide series race.  I’m hoping he’s in Victory Lane tomorrow for the Daytona 500 instead of the infield care center.

A Baby Changes Everything from Ronnie Floyd on Vimeo.

A modern day retelling of the Christmas story.

Song: Faith Hill, A Baby Changes Everything

Shot on a Canon 7D.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSFMmkMfQ5Q

I saw a link to a story the other day that talks about Dale Earnhardt Sr’s lucky penny from 1998 when he won the Daytona 500.  I knew Dale was given a lucky penny that weekend by a Make-A-Wish child and that he attached it to his dash but I had never heard the whole story.  Here is an excerpt from the article, and then here is a link to the article itself.

Wessa packed two things to give to Dale Earnhardt. The first was a hunting video, since it’s known that Earnhardt loved hunting as much as he did racing.

The second was a lucky penny. Wessa believed that the only thing Earnhardt needed to win the Daytona 500 was luck, and she planned on being the one giving it to him.

However, during the family trip to Daytona she lost the penny and had to find another one. She ended up losing that one as well. But she was able to rub luck into Penny No. 3.

…

Then she gave Earnhardt the gifts, “I told him it was going to bring him good luck in the race,” Wessa said. “He said, ‘I hope it does.’”

After their meeting Earnhardt rushed back to the garage and to his car to glue the penny to his dashboard. As the team scrambled to adjust the car, Earnhardt was more concerned about the penny being there.

I wasn’t really a NASCAR fan back in 1998.  I do recall it being a big deal, though, that he had won.  It’s amazing to see replays and hear stories about that race.  The pictures & videos of all of the crew members and officials out on pit road to congratulate Dale on finally winning the Daytona 500 are some of my favorite NASCAR footage.

As far as tomorrow’s race goes…Dale Earnhardt Jr starts 14th.  I’ve never really given much thought to where a driver starts, especially Junior, at Daytona.  Junior is very good at going from last to first at restrictor plate tracks.  Other notable starting spots…Martin Truex Jr – 1st; Mark Martin – 2nd; Jeff Gordon – 3rd; Tony Stewart – 5th; Jimmie Johnson – 7th; Ryan Newman – 36th.  (I know that is quite a list of notables.  Martin is my 2nd favorite driver.  Mark, Jeff, & Jimmie are Junior’s teammates at Hendrick.  Tony & Ryan are in Hendrick-related cars under the Stewart-Haas Racing banner.)

And…In case you’ve ever wondered, here is the secret to winning a NASCAR race – “Drive Fast.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg

A week from today begins the 2008 Arkansas Razorback football season and the Bobby Petrino era.  We’ll open our season hosting Western Illinois.  This should be a nice victory to start the season/era.  From there, we might not be so lucky.  We travel to Texas for week 3 and then our SEC (which has to be the toughest conference to be in) schedule starts with a visit to Fayetteville by Alabama.  I think 2008 is a great way to repeat as Alabama State Champions.  What do you think?

Did you know there is a debate going on about the most obnoxious fan base in SEC football?  Evidently, Arkansas either ranks 5th most or are practically tame.  Take your pick. Our fans are crazy (watch your cell phone usage) but I think we are polite fans that are crazy about our beloved Hogs.  Maybe I’m bias.

Speaking of the Arkansas Razorbacks…Congratulations to former hog Veronica Campbell-Brown who won gold for Jamaica in the 200-meter event in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.