MLB and other sports misc.

First, a short article about new Padres 3rd baseman Morgan Ensberg's (a Christian) trade from the Astros last Tuesday. Here's what he had to say about the trade:

A difficult situation turned into a blessing for Astros third baseman Morgan Ensberg, who was traded to the San Diego Padres for a player to be named or cash considerations two days after he was designated for assignment. ...

Ensberg, a native of the Los Angeles area, actually has a home in the San Diego area, where he spends much of his winter when he’s not at home in Houston.

“I think it was absolutely the best scenario,” he said. “This season was very turbulent. It was difficult. I wish I had done better, but once everything kind of went down you feel down and then you have this blessing. It really is a blessing from God. I’m certain of it.”

Ensberg, 31, and his wife Christi were already planning on flying to San Diego today [last Tuesday] with their one-year-old twins, Beckett and Chase.

“I’m shocked,” said Ensberg, who hit .232 (52-for-224) with eight home runs and 31 RBIs this year. “My wife and I are so happy we get a chance to get back there. I really was just speechless when Tim (Purpura) told me I was going out there. I can’t wait to go have Mexican food.”

Here's the article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5015186.html (originally found at: http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2122710&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp).

Here's an article about new Braves 1st baseman Mark Teixeira, a Christian, returning to Atlanta, where he went to college at met his wife at Georgia Tech, when he was traded there by the Rangers: http://www.ajc.com/braves/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/07/31/teixeira_0801.html.

Next, an article about charity hockey games that some mainly Swedish NHL players, led by Peter Forsberg and Markus Näslund, are playing this summer in Sweden and Finland: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=335508 (originally found at: http://goodnewsinsports.blogspot.com/2007/08/nhl-stars-play-for-charity-in-sweeden.html).

Here's a first-person article by Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur, a Christian, about his and his team's season so far: http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/pa/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2122707&vkey=mlbpa_news&fext=.jsp.

Also, an article about Colts head coach Tony Dungy's Christian book Quiet Strength hitting #1 on the New York Times best seller's list for non-fiction. He's also donating most of what he makes from the book to charities. Here's the article: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Alxwn1OIcXnIRHZ1VYGMpp1.T4h4?slug=ap-colts-dungy&prov=ap&type=lgns.

Here's the latest injury update on Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton, a Christian, who's currently on the disabled list with a sprained wrist:

Josh Hamilton took batting practice off [Aaron] Harang at Dayton on Saturday and had no pain. As long as there is no "residual soreness" in his wrist on Monday, he'll be set to begin a rehab assignment.

Here's the article that it's from: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070805&content_id=2131283&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin.

Lastly, I came across a blog by Clippers center Chris Kaman, a Christian, although it hasn't been updated in awhile though: http://www.nba.com/blog/chris_kaman.html?rss=true.