sports misc.

First of all, an AWESOME article by Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton, a Christian, (along with a writer) that was in ESPN the Magazine I guess, but I found it on the ESPN website. It's just an amazing article and a must read. I don't usually get real excited about articles, but this one's great. Here's my favorite quote from the end of the article:

But there is one story that sticks with me, so much so that I think of it every day. I was driving out of the players' parking lot at Great American Ball Park after a game in May, with Katie and our two girls. There's always a group of fans standing at the curb, hoping to get autographs, and I stop to sign as many as I can.

And on this particular night, a little boy of about 9 or 10, wearing a Reds cap, handed me a pen and something to sign. Nothing unusual there, but as I was writing the boy said, "Josh, you're my savior."

This stopped me. I looked at him and said, "Well, thank you. Do you know who my savior is?"

He thought for a minute. I could see the gears turning. Finally, he smiled and blurted out, "Jesus Christ." He said it like he'd just come up with the answer to a test. "That's exactly right," I said.

Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2926447.

Next, an article about Royals designated hitter Mike Sweeney , a Christian, undergoing knee surgery last week. Here's an awesome quote from him about it:

Given his nature, Sweeney was smiling and upbeat as he discussed the coming surgery.

"It'll be OK. I don't want to be around here mule-lipping and saying 'Poor me.' I've been very blessed. It is my first surgery in 17 years of playing pro ball. I want to be the same guy hitting .300 as I am hitting .250 getting knee surgery," he said.

"I want to let my teammates know that you can still have joy in the storms of life. And right now it is a storm of life, but I'm still going to have joy and I'm going to do my part to cheer on the guys and be an encouragement to them."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070704&content_id=2067257&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc&partnered=rss_kc.

Here's an article about NC State women's head basketball coach Kay Yow (a Christian) and getting back to her normal scedule, including meeting with her friend men's college basketball coaching legend John Wooden (also a Christian) no less: http://www.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/uwire/070507aaa.html.

Also, a funny article about a situation last week during the Devil Rays/Red Sox game where the Devil Rays dugout/bullpen phone stopped working in the middle of the game. I don't think that Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon thought that it was too funny though, although I think I would have been as exasperated as he was if I had been in the same situation: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070705&content_id=2069533&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos&partnered=rss_bos.

Here's an update on from Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd on his dad's health:

Floyd plans to spend the All-Star break with his children and his father, who is doing well after undergoing heart surgery. His father's kidney did fail, and he's back on dialysis.

"Right now, he's weak but doing well," Floyd said. "Hopefully, we can lift his spirits up."

Cornelius Floyd got a big boost, spirit-wise, when he was allowed to watch a Cubs game from one of the Wrigley Field suites. Give credit to the hospital staff for making it happen.

"I want to thank everybody for the prayers," Floyd said. "It's amazing what he's been through, and what he's come out of. Without everybody's prayers and help, I don't think he'd do as well as he's doing."

Here's the article: http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070706&content_id=2071003&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc.

Lastly, an interesting video segment from last night's SportsCenter on Sister Andrea Jaeger, a former teen tennis star who runs a camp for terminally ill children and has just recently become a nun. Here's a link to the search page that I found it on, you have to page down some to find it on the right side of the page, titled "Andrea Jaeger Called to Serve": http://sports.espn.go.com/keyword/search?searchString=andrea+jaeger&page=espn (if that doesn't work, go to ESPN.com and search for "Andrea Jaeger"). Also, I found the camp's website on another page: http://www.silverliningfoundation.org/.