Free Republic

Just some spontaneous thoughts on video I uploaded last night.

Female kickers across the country generally generate attention for two things: Playing football and being female. Akron, Ohio's Alana Gaither, however, is earning serious acclaim for a third reason: She's a truly outstanding kicker, as backed up by a recent field goal believed to be the longest ever made by a girl in a competitive football game, at the high school level or higher. According to Akron's WKYC.com, Gaither hit a 43-yard field goal just before halftime during her Firestone (Ohio) High School team's 45-6 win over city rival Ellet on Oct. 8. The kick was the final play of...

Pianist Anthony Burger died Wednesday night after suffering an apparent heart attack. He was 44. Anthony was in the Caribbean aboard a Bill Gaither Homecoming cruise this week and it was during one of Wednesday's performances when he suffered the heart attack. A family spokesman said Burger was doing what he loved best, playing the piano, just before collapsing.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Gospel music pianist Anthony Burger, who played for the popular Gaither Homecoming shows and earned Dove Award nominations for his albums of instrumental music, collapsed and died during a performance. He was 44.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)-Bill Gaither wasn't good enough for gospel music. At least, that's what he was told. So, with his dream of singing Southern gospel music seemingly out of reach, Gaither went home and began writing. More than 500 songs and dozens of popular videos later, Gaither and his wife, Gloria, were named Christian Songwriters of the Century in 2000. "I became a teacher because I was not good enough to do gospel music," said Gaither, who taught high school English in his hometown of Alexandria, Ind. "There were piano players and singers better than me. So I started writing...