Last year, I got the chance to play my first college basketball game in my home state. I was so excited to play in front of the 40-plus people who had come to watch. I wanted to play well and prayed that God would help me to do so.

Much to my disappointment, I played the worst game of my life. I made only one shot in my team’s humiliating 30-point loss. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t want to talk to any of my family or friends who had come to cheer me on. I was afraid of what they thought of me and my performance.

It happens all the time, even to the best of them. Athletes reach the goals they have pursued for years, maybe even a lifetime, and then they do it. Maybe they feel they deserve it. They think, “I’m now successful, so I can let up and compromise in a certain area of my life. It’s small, and it won’t impact me very much.”

It’s hard to decide what Kara Lawson is most known for.

SEC fans remember her as the All-American from the University of Tennessee who led the Lady Vols to three Final Four appearances between 2000 and 2003. Followers of the WNBA know her as a key member of the 2005 league champion Sacramento Monarchs and now as the starting point guard for the Connecticut Sun. Still more recognize her as a member of the ESPN college basketball broadcasting team through which Lawson serves both as a studio analyst for the NCAA women’s tournament and a color commentator for men’s games. And fans of the Summer Olympics would most likely know her for the gold medal she won with Team USA in 2008.

It was just a matter of time. But even though it was inevitable, we saw it coming. My kids had a pet rabbit for many years. They loved the rabbit and took great care of it. However, over the years, as activities increased and life got busier for three growing children, it become difficult for them to find time to feed the rabbit. I covered for them occasionally, but the rabbit simply did not get the food it needed. One day, we went to the cage to find a motionless rabbit. It had died. The kids didn’t mean to starve it, or even want to see their pet die. But when you don’t feed a rabbit, it dies.

In a recent survey, managers and employees were asked what aspects of their job were most important to them. The results uncovered that while the managers focused on things such as job security and benefits, the employees simply wanted to know that they were contributing—that what they were doing made a difference.

In sports, rivalries are huge. And there is no bigger venue than college basketball. North Carolina vs. Duke, Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, Kansas vs. Missouri, and my favorite rivalry, Indiana vs. Purdue. They have had some battles over the years when Gene Keady used to face Bobby Knight. Remember the chair-throwing game in the early 80's? And even without Knight, the rivalry continues. Who could forget the exciting double-overtime victory for the Hoosiers this year? This year is different for the rivalry, though. Coach Gene Keady walked into Assembly Hall for the last time as a coach this week. Often, rivalries produce ill will and bad feelings, but nevertheless, Keady was greeted with great applause and appreciation before the game.

Coming out of high school, Jeremy had a promising pitching career ahead of him. He went to a school close to his home and figured he would become their ace on the mound. But things didn’t happen quite so easily. As Jeremy explained, “I lost it. I couldn’t find the plate. I thought I was done.”

They were tough words to swallow for a rising star. He was afraid his career as a pitcher was over. Jeremy had only one place to turn.

In the Bible, we find that David knew this situation all too well. Many times in his life, David had to let go of his fears, let go of his pride, and let go of his sin in order to let God do a healing process. In these situations, David did what we all should do: He cried out to God for help.

I love to watch wrestling. No, not the slam dunk, throw-em-across-the-ring brawls you see on television, but the true competition that takes place on mats across the country during the bleak winter months. Two contestants walk across the mat and, with a steely eyed stare, get ready to engage in a battle of strength and will. After three two-minute periods of power, strength and speed, one winner emerges with his or her hand raised by the referee. Often, the loser is defeated by a more skilled opponent, but once in a while, a superior wrestler simply underestimates an opponent and that person’s abilities.

Ever forget anything? Lately I have been very forgetful. I once heard the story of a man who used to tie a string around his finger to remember important things. However, once he had 10 strings on his hand, he couldn't remember what each string meant! I guess it's a little silly what people will do to try to remember things, but the point is that these things are important to them.

As I was driving to work this morning, I was forced to constantly keep changing the radio station. All anyone could or would talk about was my beloved Kansas Jayhawks’ loss to VCU yesterday in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. And I just did not want to hear it.

For college basketball fans across the country, March is a bittersweet month. Because there is only one national champion at the end of the season, the vast majority of us have to end the season on some sort of losing note. And we always wind up consoling ourselves with the common thought, “Well, there’s always next year.”