football, MLB, & basketball

First of all, an interesting Christian article comparing Cowboys Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin and Giants outfielder Barry Bonds: http://www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/men/11550349/.

Here's a quote from Cubs manager Lou Piniella about a team meeting he held before last Thursday's game:

Piniella calls team meeting: The Cubs had a team meeting for the first time this season before Thursday's game to address the club's recent struggles.

"I don't really like meetings all that much, but I thought we needed one here," Piniella said. "We've gone through some adversity here with the injuries and some tough luck we've had. I just wanted these kids to continue to believe in themselves and to keep having fun. Use your God-given talents and have fun with it."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070809&content_id=2140060&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc&partnered=rss_chc.

Next, an article about Georgia football head coach Mark Richt, a Christian, taking a dive off the high dive to inspire his players on a hot day of practices. He did "a perfect back flip in the layout position". Here's a quote from him about it:

Richt said he hadn't done his patented back layout in at least three years.

"I've been visualizing it for about two days because I knew we were going to do this," he said. "Actually I was thinking about sneaking in last night and practicing because I knew there'd be a lot of cameras and people here. But I couldn't get the time, so I did a lot of praying and positive visualization and it came out pretty good."

Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/uga/stories/2007/08/09/richtdive_0810.html.

Here's a couple of articles about Cardinals pitcher-turned-outfielder Rick Ankiel and his inspiring return to the Majors last weekend. He hit 3 homers in his first 3 games. The first article tells about what he's gone through the last 7 years to get to this point: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070809&content_id=2139385&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

This article is about Ankiel's homer during last Thursday's game: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070809&content_id=2140369&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Also, an article about some NBA players, including Rockets guard Mike James (a Christian) in particular, learning how to plan financially for their retirement: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/5042761.html (originally found at: http://www.nba.com/news/442513.html).

Here's a couple more articles about the Bengals/Lions pre-season game last week, which included the Bengals reunion with former quarterback Jon Kitna (a Christian), now with the Lions. Here's a quote about Kitna and his friendship with current Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer (also a Christian) from Bengals tight end Reggie Kelly, who's also friends with Kitna:

"He meant a lot to this team, and guys like that are hard to replace," said tight end Reggie Kelly, one of Kitna's closest friends with the Bengals. "Not only was he a great player on the field, but he was a spiritual leader. He took on challenges and didn't back down from nothing. That's what you need out of your quarterback position, and I think we've got another quarterback like that now in Carson."

The divergent paths taken by Palmer and Kitna make their friendship and relationship all the more compelling. Palmer was the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, the golden-armed quarterback who would be the face of the franchise. Kitna was signed as a college free agent out of Central Washington by the only team that took a look at him, the Seattle Seahawks, and burrowed his way from the bottom of the depth chart, through NFL Europe, before finally becoming a starter in the league. He's made 95 starts in 108 games for three different teams in his 10 seasons in the league.

"That just shows you the character of both players," said Kelly. "It shows you that, yeah, we are here to compete but there is something bigger than competition. Actually being there for each other, actually being a cheerleader along the way and being good teammates and friends. That's what they were and that's what they are today. They'll hang out together still. Yeah they were competing for a job but it's bigger than that and you can see that Kitna and Carson had the right perspective."

Here's the article: http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AE/20070809/SPT03/708090309/1022/.

The other is a note about the Bengals reaction to Kitna before the game: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/SPT02/708100337/1066/SPT.

Next, a Q & A article about Colts linebacker Tyjuan Hagler. Here's a quote:

What do you do to take your mind off football?
"I'm a strong man in Christ. I always pray and just talk to my girlfriend on the phone. That's pretty much it."

Here's the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070810/SPORTS03/708100500&theme=.

Here's another Q & A article, this one with Heat forward Alonzo Mourning Here's a quote:

HI: Because you play so passionately on the court, it looks like you can play for another three or four years. If you wanted to, would your body allow you to play beyond this season?

AM [Mourning]: “Yes, it would. But as a professional athlete, you want end your career on your own terms. The good thing about that is I'm able to do that now. God has really blessed me with the opportunity to come back and play this game at a very high level considering all the obstacles I've had to overcome, and now I'm in a position to end my career on my own terms. I want to go out on top. I feel like we have the capabilities as a team of doing that. I'm excited about the opportunity ahead. I know that all good things must come to an end and I've had an incredible ride. I just want to end it on the right note.”

Here's the article: http://www.nba.com/heat/news/insider0708_mourning_interview_070808.html.

Also, another article about Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton, a Christian. This one's also a Q & A one. Here's a couple of quotes:

DH: You were the first draft pick overall in 1999. How hard is it to explain to some people that it’s just as hard to deal with success as it is to deal with failure?

JH [Hamilton]: It all comes down to the choices you make. When you have failure you’ve got a lot of the same choices to make as when you have success. When I got drafted I got almost $4 million to play. The pressure form everybody else really didn’t get to me. It was the pressure I put on myself to perform. That was the main thing. At that time it didn’t matter how much I had going or how much money I had or how many things I could get, I was never happy. I ended going down that road that I went down. Ever since I surrendered and gave it all over to the Lord, it’s been unbelievable how much happier I am. The last couple years out there I had nothing -- just my wife and kids -- but I put them through hell. Now the last year and half I’ve been happier without material things than I have been my whole life. ...

DH: When you see what’s happening to somebody like Doc Gooden, what goes through you mind?

JH: I feel sorry for the guy. I know there’s a way out. I feel sorry for the family because I know how much pain it puts the family through. Really I just pray for the guy who is still going through the things he’s going through. There’s nothing anybody can do for that person unless that person wants to do it for themselves. All I can do is pray. I hope they turn their lives around and I know there’s something they can do to do that. It just makes me realize how fortunate I am to have started making the right decisions and living responsibly.

DH: You were the first draft pick overall in 1999. How hard is it to explain to some people that it’s just as hard to deal with success as it is to deal with failure?

JH: It all comes down to the choices you make. When you have failure you’ve got a lot of the same choices to make as when you have success. When I got drafted I got almost $4 million to play. The pressure form everybody else really didn’t get to me. It was the pressure I put on myself to perform. That was the main thing. At that time it didn’t matter how much I had going or how much money I had or how many things I could get, I was never happy. I ended going down that road that I went down. Ever since I surrendered and gave it all over to the Lord, it’s been unbelievable how much happier I am. The last couple years out there I had nothing -- just my wife and kids -- but I put them through hell. Now the last year and half I’ve been happier without material things than I have been my whole life.

Here's the article: http://sports.aol.com/mlb/story/_a/hamilton-says-hitting-bottom-worth-it/20070809112009990001.

Here's an article about Georgia football offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. He and his wife's 5th child is due in October, and they already have a 3-year-old and 18-month-old triplets. Here's the quote from him about his wife:

"My wife, bless her heart, I'm just blessed to be married to such a good woman. She's the one that has the tough job."

Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/uga/content/sports/uga/stories/2007/08/10/bobo_0812.html

Next, an article about former Marlins pitcher Chuck Smith helping to coach a teenage baseball team: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070811&content_id=2142873&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's an article about an Athletes in Action team playing in Australia last week. The team included Josh Carter, Texas A&M; Ray Shafer, Oregon; Luke Zeller, Notre Dame; Jason Holsinger, Evansville; Wes Johnson, Iowa State; Jimmy Graham, Miami; and Brian Stamer, Colorado Christian. Here's the article: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/081107aac.html.

Lastly, an article about Padres catcher Michael Barrett, a Christian, going on the disabled list last weekend: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070811&content_id=2143007&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.