football and MLB misc., etc.

First of all, an article about how important Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, a Christian, will be to his team's success this season: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/SPT02/708310345/1066/rss07.

Here's an article about the meeting between two MLB outfielders with great comeback stories last weekend: the Reds Josh Hamilton (a Christian) and the Cardinals Rick Ankiel, whose teams played against each other. Both had to overcome a lot to be playing in the Majors this season. Here's a quote from Hamilton about it:

"You have good days and you have bad days. That's playing ball and that's everyday life," Hamilton said. "This says a lot about God and how to stay faithful. There's really no reason why I should have been able to come back and play as well as I have."

Here's the article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070831/SPT04/708310346/1071/rss08.

Next, an article about Red Sox relief pitcher Mike Timlin, a Christian, reaching the 1,000 appearance milestone last Friday night. He's only the 13th pitcher to ever accomplish that. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070901&content_id=2182508&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's an article about the Virginia Tech/East Carolina game last Saturday, which Virginia Tech held on to win at home. It was an emotional day as it was the first major sporting event for Virginia Tech since the mass shootings there last April and they had pre-game ceremonies to honor those that were killed. Here's a quote from after the game:

... When it was over, both teams kneeled at the 50-yard line for a prayer. Then the Hokies turned toward the band in the north end zone, singing along while they played the school's alma mater.

Here's the article: http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAF_20070901_ECA@VATECH.

Also, a couple of articles about Appalachian State's HUGE upset of Michigan last Saturday. Something funny that I did hear on ESPN about it was that the highest ranked team did win: Appalachian State was #1 and Michigan #5, but Appalachian State is only in Division 1-AA, not 1-A like Michigan. Michigan ended up completely dropping out of this week's rankings, and all hopes of a national title are gone. By the way, Appalachian State's head coach Jerry Moore is a Christian. Here's an article about the game itself: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=272440130&confId=null&date=20070901.

The other article about Appalachian State is about the celebration that began on their campus in Boone, North Carolina as soon as the game ended, including one of the goal posts being torn down and put in the chancellor's front yard. Here's a quote from Jerry Moore about his team:

"Just God bless them," Moore said of his players in his thick Southern drawl. "It's a crowning achievement. They're a great bunch of kids and they have worked so hard."

Here's the article: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaf/news;_ylt=AkJ63Ikmi0Kb5iWjnsR8tgF.T4h4?slug=dw-appstate090107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.

Next, an article about Braves 1st baseman Julio Franco, a Christian, returning from the minors to help the team try and make the playoffs with his leadership and pinch-hitting: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070901&content_id=2182886&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl&partnered=rss_atl.

Here's an article about Giants pitcher Russ Ortiz, a Christian, having to have Tommy John elbow ligament transplant surgery. He'll be out for all of next season as well as the rest of this one. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070901&content_id=2183564&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf&partnered=rss_sf.

Also, a note about Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur's (a Christian) consectutive games played streak:

Francoeur's streak second in majors
Jeff Francoeur started his 300th consecutive game Saturday, a streak that began with the last two games of his 2005 rookie season.

It's the second-longest active games streak in the majors behind the 330-gamer by Cleveland's Grady Sizemore, who hasn't started all games in his streak.

Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2007/09/01/franco_0902.html.

Here's an article about the IU/Indiana State football game last Saturday, and the pre-game ceremony to honor IU's late head coach Terry Hoeppner. Hoeppner died last June from complications from brain cancer. The ceremony included Hoeppner's wife and kids. Here's the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070902/COLUMNISTS01/709020438/1247/SPORTS0107.

Lastly, an article about the track and field world championships in Japan last weekend, Allyson Felix, a Christian, won gold in the 200, 400 relay, and 1,600 relay. Another Christian, Catherine Ndereba of Kenya won the gold in the marathon. Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=3001868.