basketball & football, especially coaches & SEC

Hi. Happy New Year! This will be my last post of the year.

First, a good article about basketball player Wayne Simien, a Christian formerly with Kansas, the Timberwolves, and the Heat. He was released by the Heat and is currently rehabbing a knee injury so that he can return to play with some team in the NBA next season. Simien and his wife and daughter are living in Indianapolis now while he's rehabbing. Here's a quote from him:

Simien said he was in no hurry to give up basketball and perhaps pursue a career as a minister. A man of deep faith, he’d said in the past that might be an avenue he’d like to explore someday.

“That was in my heart at the beginning when I first had a transformation in life,” Simien said. “One of the great things I learned to look into the last few years is you can be a minister in every area of life and not be ‘Pastor Wayne’ or ‘Preacher Wayne.’ I still have it in my heart. But it’s my main focus trying to live it out every day of my life and administer with people.

“I am working in the inner city, working with high school kids here in Indianapolis in one of the poorest areas around. It is really fulfilling that desire.”

Here's the article: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/dec/25/former_jayhawk_upbeat_despite_release/ (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/260).

Here's an article about Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs, a Christian, and how his style of coaching has worked through all of the years that he's coached in two different stints with the Redskins: http://washingtontimes.com/article/20071226/SPORTS01/238927720/1005/sports (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/32).

Next, an article about Dolphins wide receiver Ted Ginn, Jr., who struggled this year with the terrible Dolphins team after playing in the national championship game with Ohio State last year. Here's a quote from him about it:

"I think God just puts you in situations where he wants you to fight," Ginn said. "That's the only thing that I can take out of it ... You go from a 12-1 team (at Ohio State) to a 1-15 team ..."

Here's the article: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071228/SPT02/712280358/1066/.

Here's an article about the wives of the head coaches of the teams playing in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (CFA Bowl) tomorrow night in Atlanta -- Linda Bowden, wife of Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden, and Suzanne Tuberville, wife of Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville -- who are all Christians. Here's a couple of quotes:

Q: How do you balance the demands of football and family? How do you get used to new towns when you move or travel?

LB [Linda Bowden]: My son was in three high schools. The first thing we do is get involved with church and Bible study. That’s been my rock and foundation. The people there don’t care about what happens on Saturdays. ...

Q: If you were going to offer advice to someone who’s new to the coaching life, what tips would you offer?

ST [Suzanne Tuberville]: If I was talking to a young woman who’d just married a football coach, I’d tell her to get involved in your church, your kids’ school, your community. You’re going to have a lot of time on your hands.

Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/living/content/shared-blogs/ajc/social/entries/2007/12/28/catching_up_the_cfa_coaches_wi.html.

Also, an article about Mississippi State head football coach Sylvester Croom, a Christian, who turned around the football program at Mississippi State and lead the team to its first bowl game since 2000. They beat Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl last night. Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls07/columns/story?id=3170858.

Here's an article about Illinois head women's basketball coach Jolette Law, who became the coach before this season after being an assistant coach at Rutgers under C. Vivian Stringer for several years. She returned to the Midwest and the Big Ten after having played at Iowa. Here's a quote from her about taking the Illinois job:

It was the call of the Midwest and the Big Ten that were pivotal in Law deciding to take this job. With Rutgers' success, she'd had other opportunities to become a head coach.

"God had been wrestling with me for some time," she said, smiling. "And Coach Stringer kept telling me, 'You're ready, you're ready, you're ready.'"

Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/columns/story?columnist=voepel_mechelle&id=3170965.

Next, an article about the IU football team playing in the Insight Bowl tomorrow in Arizona. They dedicated the season to their late head coach Terry Hoeppner, who died last June from brain cancer. Here's a quote about IU kicker Austin Starr and Coach Hep:

The program from June’s “celebration of life,” is still in Starr’s locker in Bloomington. It’s the only one he owns, so he didn’t bring it to Phoenix.

He’s memorized the details of Hoeppner’s face printed on the cover, as well as the Jeremiah 29:11 passage his late coach loved.

Here's the article: http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/105458 (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/222).

Here's an article about Georgia head football coach Mark Richt, a Christian, and about how he's been more involved with the team as a whole this season. In past seasons he ran the offense, but he gave up that job late last season. The move has seemed to help him and the team as a whole: http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/uga/stories/2007/12/28/bowlricht_1229.html.

Also, an article about Tennessee quarterback Eric Ainge, a Christian, and about how winning their bowl game, the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin on New Year's, will define his legacy at Tennessee. However, he wishes that his legacy would be something else. Here's a quote about that:

"Wins, rings, championships, all that kind of stuff, obviously that's what everybody wants, and I understand how it works," Ainge said. "But at the same time, being remembered as a good person who grew up at the university in the great place of Knoxville and used the system to my advantage and being a good teammate. That to me is what is most important."

Here's the article: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/29/sp-ainge-looking-to-define-legacy/ (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/401).

Here's an article about Georgia defensive lineman Michael Lemon, who has had to deal with the death of his best friend a few years ago and the murder of his mother last winter. Here's a quote about how he's dealing with the deaths from their team chaplain Kevin "Chappy" Hynes:

"Michael Lemon is a very quiet, very introverted young man," said Kevin "Chappy" Hynes, the team chaplain. "I wouldn't say he's handling it well. I wouldn't say he's not. I don't know. I do know he's internalizing it."

Here's the article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/29/sports/FBC-Sugar-Bowl-Lemons-Burden.php (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/233).

Lastly, here's the NFL Wild Card Playoff games schedule for next weekend, for your information: http://www.nfl.com/schedules?seasonType=POST&season=2007#Week.