Kitna and the Lions, etc.

Hi. Okay, I'm back to playing catch up again. I'll post some articles tonight and then some more tomorrow and hopefully get caught up.

First of all, a "Rest of the Story" article. Last summer I posted a story about Texans defensiveback Jason Simmons asking runningback Ahman Green to put a down-payment on a house for a single parent in return for his uniform number 30. The two then picked out a single mother of an autistic boy, Regina Foster and her son Reggie. Last Sunday I was watching "NFL Countdown" on ESPN and they ran a video segment from when the Fosters moved into their new house a few weeks ago. I then was able to find a good article on ESPN.com about it too. Simmons and Green were there when the Fosters first moved in. Several local businesses provided groceries, furniture, electricity, cable, etc. too. Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3121923.

Here's another good Christian article about Lions quarterback Jon Kitna. Here's a quote from him:

The Detroit Lions have a lot to shout about these days. They have a winning record after six losing seasons. Players say a key part of that turnaround on and off the field is number eight -- Quarterback Jon Kitna.

"My mission is to do whatever I can to be obedient to Christ and further His Gospel; tell people about the things He's done in my life and the things He can do in their life," Kitna said.

Here's the article, including a video interview: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/273495.aspx (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/11).

Next, an article on one of Kitna's Christian teammates, wide receiver Mike Furrey, who, along with his wife, helped to serve Thanksgiving meals at a mission after the Lions game on Thanksgiving afternoon. The article also talks about other things that the Furrey's are involved in their community. Here's a quote from him about it:

"It's not all about football," Furrey said.

"God has blessed me with the ability to play football, and I feel blessed to be able to go out and help people who are less fortunate. It's something that my wife and I feel called to do."

The Furrey's were also joined at the mission by back-up quarterback Dan Orvlovsky, also a Christian, and here's a quote from him:

"It's gratifying," Orlovsky said of taking time out to volunteer. "Everyone thinks of us as football players, but God didn't put us here so that we'd have the ability to make a ton of money and live a lavish lifestyle.

"He calls us to serve other people."

Here's the article: http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2007/11/receiver_is_happy_to_give.html (originally found at: http://www.fca.org/).

Here's a good Christian article about Georgia head football coach Mark Richt, and how he was lead to Christ by Florida State head football coach Bobby Bowden. Richt became an assistant coach at Florida State after his playing career at Miami ended. Here's a quote from Richt:

It was through his mistakes coach Mark Richt realized he needed God. And in his success he hopes others recognize his source of strength.

"Jesus means salvation," he said. "Jesus means everlasting life with god. If you know there's a power that created you that's much greater than you that's never ending you know you can tap into that resource that gives you peace, gives you hope instead of despair."

Here's the article: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/274318.aspx.

Also, an article about new Angels outfielder Torii Hunter, a Christian, who recently signed with the Angels as a free agent. The article talks about how much respect his former team the Twins and the Rangers, who also tried to sign him, have for him after going through the free agent process. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20071122&content_id=2306723&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp.

Lastly for now, here's two more articles on Jon Kitna and how he was able to build and maintain a winning attitude with the Lions this season. The first article includes this from former Lion and current Giant cornerback R.W. McQuarters:

The gesture caught New York Giants cornerback R.W. McQuarters so off guard that he almost couldn't believe he was in Detroit.

Several of his teammates had just finished praying following their 16-10 win over the Lions when they started ambling toward their locker room. That's when McQuarters heard a gruff voice in the distance calling for the Giants. He whirled to see Lions quarterback Jon Kitna standing before several Lions players. Kitna motioned for the Giants to join hands with the Lions for one final group prayer.

It wasn't the offer that surprised McQuarters. It was the impression that the Lions were unified behind Kitna that startled him. McQuarters had played a season with Detroit in 2005 and that was enough time to know team chemistry wasn't the Lions' strength.

"I could see the difference Jon was making in that team," McQuarters says. "I figured that if he could be that kind of leader around strangers, he must really be something when he's alone with his own team. You can tell they really needed somebody like him."

Here's that article: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=chadiha_jeffri&id=3121857.

The other article on Kitna and the Lions and how important their Christian beliefs have become to bringing the team together and thus helping them to succeed: http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-lions22nov22,1,2246964.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-sports&ctrack=3&cset=true (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/11).

That's all for now. I'll post more tomorrow.