Archive for January, 2008
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
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The Boston Herald has a great piece up about Patriots Tight End Ben Watson, who has wanted to be a football player and a missionary since he was 4 years old. (When he was just 4, his dad would announce his name as a player for the Redskins and he would run out of the closet as if running on the field.)
There’s a great quote in here from Ben’s father, who is a pastor, who says,
“If you are pointing your finger to the sky and praising the Lord after you score a touchdown, then you get off the field and you’re a bum, well, who is going to believe in you?”
Watson also talks about the midfield prayers immediately after a game,
“We thank God for the opportunity to let us play in the NFL, we thank him for our physical gifts, and we pray for the safety of the traveling team. Now, everyone in that huddle isn’t necessarily Christian, just as everyone outside that huddle is not necessarily a heathen. We’re all human. We all make mistakes.”
It’s a fascinating piece written by a great writer (Jackie MacMullan). Well worth the 5 minutes.
Posted in Christianity, Sports Media | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008
The Dallas News has a riveting piece on Texas Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton, and the hard journey that has led him to God. This guy tried pretty hard to throw away some amazing God-given talents, but apparently God had other plans.
Worth a few minutes to read the whole thing if you have the time. I especially like this quote from Josh’s wife Katie,
“God told me he was going to give Josh baseball back, but it wasn’t going to be for baseball…It was going to be for something much bigger. He was going to give Josh a platform to help others. He is the most beautiful choreographer. It’s not by accident that all the things that have happened in our lives have happened.”
(H/T: reader Aaron Lewis)
Posted in Christianity, Sports Media | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 28th, 2008
We couldn’t really call ourselves a Sports/Faith blog without having one post this week with a Super Bowl prediction. Instead of waiting until the end of the week, let’s just get it overwith now.
Patriots 37, Giants 17.
(You can read my other 9 Super Bowl predictions at the tail end of this article by Matt McKhechnie, which went up on Burnside this morning.)
Post your official score prediction in the comments if you have one. The winner will receive a beating at the hands of Suge Knight.
Posted in NFL | 10 Comments »
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
I was surprised earlier this afternoon to see that ESPN.com was actually running the Dana Jacobson story on their front page links (although i see that now, 8 hours later, it is nowhere to be found). While the story had received a good bit of attention on the sports blog circuit, it’s the type of thing that usually gets swept under the rug over at the four letter.
If you’re not familiar with the details, ESPN personality Dana Jacobson, known mostly for her journalist role on ESPN2’s “First Take” (formerly “Cold Pizza”), got a little out of hand at the Mike & Mike Celebrity Roast last week in Atlantic City. Allegedly, Dana was beyond inebriated at the event. So wasted, in fact, that she made some not-so-nice comments about Notre Dame and a certain member of the trinity. As was repored by a tipster at Deadspin.com, this was the gist of what she said:
“F— Notre dame” … “F— touchdown Jesus” … “F— Jesus.”
ESPN reported today that it has suspended Jacobson for a week. Jacobson, as you might expect, has issued an apology to the Catholic League:
“I am sorry. My remarks about Notre Dame were foolish and insensitive. I respect all religions and did not mean anything derogatory by my poorly chosen words. I also deeply regret the embarrassment I’ve caused ESPN and Mike and Mike. My actions at the roast were inappropriate and in no way represent who I am. I won’t make excuses for my behavior, but I do hope I can be forgiven for such a poor lack of judgment.”
There are so many lessons to be learned from this, but the most important one is probably this: Avoid all things Mike & Mike related. (which, i know, is getting tougher and tougher these days)
As for Jacobson, we’re all about second chances here at PFB, though we’re still not sure why someone, no matter how drunk, would go the “F Jesus” route. I’m pretty sure Jesus will forgive her, if she’s interested in asking Him (or anyone else other than the Catholic League), so I’m not going to walk around pretending to be offended by the comment. Clearly it was an asinine thing to say, and she’ll be paying for it professionally for quite some time.
The wackiest thing about this whole ordeal, has got to be the poll on WorldNetDaily.com (the poll appears to change daily, and may no longer be active when you’re reading this). I mean, seriously, 10 possible answers?? What is this, the U.S. Census? And look at the penultimate option!
Here’s the results as of 10:15pm EST, on Wednesday night!
80% of 7,000 people think she should be fired or she is going to hell if she doesn’t repent for her comments. wow.
Tough crowd? or people telling it like it is? If you’ve got an opinion, you know where to share it…
Posted in Sports Media | 9 Comments »
Monday, January 21st, 2008
The Big Lead reported a few weeks ago that Andy Roddick is dating SI swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, and apparently some of Roddick’s fans aren’t happy about it.
(Ok, first, let’s stop right there. Why do Roddick’s fans care who he dates? Are these “fans” actually fans of his tennis playing, or are they fans of his bachelorhood? One has to wonder. But I digress…)
You might be wondering why I mention this news item at all. Are either of these two hand-holders Christians?
The answer is: I have no idea.
I have no idea if Andy Roddick prays to Jesus, Allah, or Bjorn Borg. Similarly, I don’t know if Brooklyn Decker aspires to be a Proverbs 31 woman or if she worships 31 different gods.
The only reason I’m posting this story is because Andy Roddick just got bumped from the Australian Open, and because it’s a great segue into our second ever PFB Separated at Birth. If you remember anything from last year, I’m sure you remember that Dan Haseltine and Darko Milicic were our first couple (although Dan looks nothing like Darko in this disturbing picture from Don Miller’s Flickr Photostream).
Our next Separated at Birth is between another athlete and an aspiring writer. The athlete, as you may have guessed, is the aforementioned Roddick. The writer, as you may also have guessed, is yours truly.
When my kids were smaller and Andy Roddick highlights would come on Sportscenter, I would pause the TV and say “Hey! Who’s on TV!” and my kids would say “Daddy!”. I’ve been told I look just like Roddick by airport security personnel, people I work with, and even my parents, who called me in disbelief last year when they saw Andy Roddick on television for the first time.
Two quick things that I have to mention:
1 - I am not trying to use the transitive property here to exert that I am worthy of a swimsuit model. I cannot approach the studliness of Andy Roddick, and most swimsuit models cannot approach the hotness of my wife.
2 - This will absolutely be the last time that 2 pictures of me get posted here within a few week period. or maybe ever.
ps…i’m rooting for the Patriots to beat the Giants, how about you?
Posted in Separated at Birth | 5 Comments »
Friday, January 11th, 2008
Perhaps you remember a couple of months ago when we mentioned Alex Legion’s mom, the woman who prophesied that her son’s Kentucky Wildcat basketball team would make the final four “providing they play together”?
Well, if you missed it last month, Alex announced he was leaving Kentucky, possibly for Michigan. Then he wasn’t so sure and considered going back to Kentucky. Then his mom wanted him to go to Notre Dame. Then Alex announced he was transferring to Illinois, probably so he could spend hours at a time staring at Bruce Weber’s orange sportcoat.
It’s easy to gloss over the details of this story and assume that Annette Legion is no prophet at all, but if you think about it, The Prophet Legion was actually right all along.
Originally we thought her “providing they play together” comment was a qualifier meant to hedge the bet of her prophecy. But now we see it for what it really was: her subtle way of telling us that Alex wouldn’t be playing with these guys all year, and that as a result, they would not make the Final Four. Of course, if Kentucky does make the Final Four without Alex, well, then we know she’s a fraud.
But at this point, I think she’s pretty safe on that one.
(h/t: Deadspin.com)
Posted in Christianity, sports | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
Though this isn’t the typical fare here at PFB, I had to make mention of the amazing day I had on Saturday while spending the weekend with my folks in Massachusetts. My brother Josh, who manages at The Paradise, got us guest-listed at Theo Epstein’s Fundraising Sports Roundtable, which was being held at Fenway Park. The event itself was amazing, as I got to hear from Epstein, Brian Cashman, Bill James, Scott Boras, and Peter Gammons on the state of Boston sports and baseball.
There were a few highlights for me. First off, I got to shake hands with Peter Gammons, which was an honor. Secondly, I got to meet Theo Epstein, a personal hero of mine, and thank him for doing his job so well. That was fun.
I also donated $25 to Theo’s “Foundation to be Named Later” in order to be able to pose for this picture, which I was more than happy to do.
Yeah, I’m still smiling.
Posted in MLB, site news | 8 Comments »
Monday, January 7th, 2008
According to a story at DallasCowboys.com, safety Roy Williams will be switching numbers next season, from No. 31 to No. 38, the uniform number he wore in college.
When asked about the significance of “38″, Williams said it was about more than just the fact that he used to wear the number at Oklahoma, saying…
“Eight in the bible is regarded as a new beginning, and I feel that after this season it’s time to switch over…”
According to the article, Williams had discussed the name change with his pastor, Rickie G. Rush, from the Inspiring Body of Christ Church in Dallas. The article did not mention if Rush prayed for forgiveness for Williams for the multiple horsecollar tackles this year for if he prayed that God would help Williams not sell out to the run so easily on play action.
(h/t: UniWatch)
Posted in NFL | 5 Comments »
