football, MLB, etc.

Happy Thanksgiving! I have several articles to post, so I think that I'm going to divide them into two groups and post one now and one after that or tomorrow.

The first article is about Georgia head football coach Mark Richt, a Christian, and how he's been more energetic on the sidelines during games recently to get the team to be more energetic too. The team had been lethargic, so he thought that by being more energetic himself, it would help the team. Here's a quote about his new approach from Dave Van Halanger, the team's director of strength and conditioning:

"It's calculated fun," said Dave Van Halanger, the team's director of strength and conditioning. "There is nothing that is done without an immense amount of thought and prayer."

Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/uga/stories/2007/11/13/gafoot_1114_3DOT.html.

Here's an article about Chiefs quarterback Brodie Croyle, a Christian, before his first NFL start last Saturday against the Colts in Indianapolis. By the way, he played well, but the Colts still won (GO COLTS! Sorry!). Here's the article: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AtVDuIPXPt5UgxQudPROaHl.T4h4?slug=ap-brodiethekid&prov=ap&type=lgns.

Next, an article about Cubs outfield prospect Sam Fuld and his playing with juvenile diabetes. A neat thing mentioned in the article is that when Fuld was twelve he got to meet and talk to then Tigers pitcher Bill Gullickson, who also has juvenile diabetes. Because of that, Fuld now makes a point to talk with kids with the disease now. He recently received the Stenson Award for leadership in the Arizona Fall League. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071114&content_id=2300768&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc.

Here's an article about retired Panthers safety Mike Minter giving his testimony at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet in Nebraska recently. Here's a good quote from him:

"You can't have football all of your life, but you can have Jesus Christ," he said. "Right now, I'm former Nebraska Cornhusker and former Carolina Panther, but I'll never be former saved person or former follower of Christ."

Here's a quote from the article about some of the other athletes and coaches involved in the banquet:

In addition, Nebraska center Brett Byford spoke of his faith journey that led him from tiny Hartsville, Ala., to being the starting center for the Husker football team.

Broken Bow cross country and track standout Katie White was named the high school athlete of the year, Hastings College offensive lineman Brandon Jacobitz was awarded the college athlete of the year and Kenesaw girls' basketball coach Jodi Jacoby was given the Influence Award for being a positive minister of the FCA Mission.

Here's the article: http://www.theindependent.com/stories/11142007/spo_fcabanquet14.shtml (originally found at: http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5711).

Also, an article about how IU wide receiver James Hardy was and is still influenced by late IU head football coach Terry Hoeppner, a Christian, who died last summer from brain cancer: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/SPORTS0601/711150467/1070/SPORTS0602.

Here's an article about Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton speaking at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet in his native North Carolina about how he overcame his drug addiction to return to baseball and have a successful rookie season this year: http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/story/773398.html/ (originally found at: http://www.fca.org/).

Next, an article on Padres pitcher Jake Peavy, a Christian, winning the NL Cy Young Award unanimously last week. Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb, also a Christian, finished second after winning the award last year. Here's a quote from him about winning the award after fighting through injuries last season:

Peavy spent part of his conference call on Thursday praising the work of the team training staff.

"Those guys are the backbone of what any player on the San Diego Padres does," Peavy said. "Those guys see me every day. In-season, we modified the amount of work I did, especially my arm routine and shoulder. I feel very fortunate and blessed to be healthy."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071114&content_id=2300731&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Also, FCA re-posted this article about Peavy from their magazine last month after he won the award: http://www.sharingthevictory.com/vsItemDisplay.lsp&objectID=60ECE133-3E2D-430B-B0FCBDE53AEBEA3A&method=display (originally found at: http://www.fca.org/).

Here's an article about the importance of the Colts bench this year with all of the injuries that they have had to deal with this season. One of those players is wide receiver Craphonso Thorpe, who a couple of weeks ago played the first offensive snaps of his career after bouncing around the NFL in his three-year career, and then played some more last Sunday. Here's a quote from him about getting a chance to play:

"I came in here and checked to see my name up there on the nameplate," Thorpe said with a nod toward the top of his locker. "I thank God every day I walk in this building and see it."

Here's the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071116/SPORTS03/711160410/1100.

Also, an article about the Braves, pitcher Chuck James and his wife helping to delivery complete Thanksgiving dinners to five needy families in the neighborhood around Turner Field last week: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071116&content_id=2302300&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl.

Here's an article about Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders, a Christian, and how he's overcome a stuttering problem to become a successful NFL coach. Here's a quote from him about it:

He went on to play collegiately at Davidson, but when he wanted to get into coaching, he was told he couldn't. Not with the way he talked.

"There were a lot of naysayers who said, 'You can't be a coach, because you have to be a school teacher, and nobody will ever hire you because you can't teach a class because you can 't speak,' '' Sanders recalled. "And then, when I wanted to be a college coach, they said, 'You can't go into anybody's home and recruit as bad as you stutter.' But sometimes the good Lord, he'll take the dumb things in the world and confound the wise."

Here's the article: http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=257551&ntpid=1 (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/12).

Lastly, for now, a couple of articles about the IU football team beating arch-rival Purdue to win the Old Oaken Bucket last Saturday. The win was huge because it gave them a good chance of making a bowl for the first time since 1993 and fulfilling late head coach Terry Hoeppner's goal to "Play 13" (12 regular season games and a bowl game). The win was so emotional for the team that there were many tears shed in the locker room after the game. Here's the first article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/SPORTS/711180396/1069/SPORTS0601, and the second article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071118/COLUMNISTS01/711180398.