MLB, NFL, and other sports misc.

First of all, a funny note about two Christians on the Braves, 1st baseman Mark ("Tex") Teixeira, who was recently traded there from the Rangers, and outfielder Matt Diaz:

He's got your number: Teixeira wore No. 23 with Texas, but had to switch to No. 24 with the Braves because his former number was occupied by outfielder Matt Diaz.

Teixeira said he will stick with 24 for the rest of the season and negotiate with Diaz to get his old number back during the offseason, with one potential exception.

"I'm going to keep 24 this year, and if we win a World Series, I'm not changing -- I'm not changing the number. But depending on what happens this year, maybe we'll talk about it in the offseason."

Diaz's conditions were a little more simple coming off Atlanta's 12-4 win over Houston on Tuesday night, when Teixeira showed up in uniform during the seventh inning.

"Tex," Diaz yelled across the clubhouse Tuesday, "if you give us 12 runs a night, you can have whatever you want."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2123231&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl.

Here's an article about the Braves unfortunately designating 1st baseman Julio Franco, a Christian, for assignment last Wednesday to make room for the players that they traded for last Tuesday. The Braves do hope that he will accept the minor league assignment and be a player or player/coach until they call him back up when the roster expands in September. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2123087&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Next, an article about Royals outfielder Reggie Sanders, a Christian, tearing his hamstring for the second time this season and facing the possibilty that his season, and possibly career, could be over: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2123702&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnered=rss_mlb.

Here's an article about Rockies 2nd baseman Jamey Carroll, a Christian, and how his hitting has improved of late after struggling for awhile: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070801&content_id=2123284&vkey=news_col&fext=.jsp&c_id=col.

Also, an article about the Twins reaction to the bridge tragedy in Minneapolis on Wednesday. They went ahead and played their game on Wednesday after the bridge collapsed near the Metrodome a half hour before game time. Safety officials thought that it would be better for all of the fans already at the game to stay there for the time being. It was hard for the players to play and even think about baseball that night though. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070802&content_id=2124611&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's a Christian article about an Athletes in Action (AIA) high school wrestling team competing in a tournament in Guatemala. The article is about one of the wrestlers, Stephen Doty, and his parents and their experiences in Guatemala with AIA and as missionaries: http://www.aia.com/news.aspx?newsitem=244.

Next, an article about the AIA college baseball team, the AIA Fire, winning the Alaska Baseball League title last Wednesday: http://www.aia.com/news.aspx?newsitem=243.

Here's an article about former Titans/Oilers offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, a Christian, before his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last Saturday. Here's a quote from him about how he and his brother Clay, a defensive lineman, were able to play for as long as they did:

So how did he manage to survive two decades and only have to be helped off the field twice?

"God just allowed me to get drilled in the knees," Matthews says. "As much as I'd like to take credit for it, I can see more and more that God just blessed me and my brother with bodies that could take the pounding."

Here's the article: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/2007-08-02-bruce-matthews_N.htm?csp=34.

On the other end of the career spectrum, an article about Colts rookie offensive lineman Tony Ugoh, who is one of the two candidates to replace recently retired left tackle Tarik Glenn, a Christian. Here's a quote from Ugoh about it:

... When I asked him what makes him think he [can] step in immediately and do the job he laughed.

"Praying," he said.

"About what?" I asked.

"Everything and anything," he said.

Here's the article: http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10278933.

Lastly, an article about two Christians on the Cardinals, 1st baseman Albert Pujols and new pitcher Mike Maroth. Pujols noticed that Maroth was tipping his pitches to the batters, which was causing him to give up a lot of hits and runs. Here's a quote from Pujols about it:

... "I just told him, he's my teammate, and I'm going to help everybody. I know it's not my job, because I could face him on a different team [one day], but he's on my team [now], and I'm going to help him out."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070802&content_id=2125156&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.