Stories tagged with: sports

• Miracle off the ice: Lake Placid Baptist Church traces roots to 1980 Olympics ministry

  by Tim Ellsworth, posted Thursday, February 20, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (BP) -- David Book didn't have a ticket to the hockey game on Feb. 22, 1980, that earned the description "Miracle on Ice." He lived half a mile from the arena, but it was the toughest ticket in town to get.

  So, like most Americans, Book and his family watched on TV as the U.S. men's hockey team stunned the mighty Russians in the semifinal of the 1980 Olympics. As the game ended, the Books stepped out onto their veranda and heard the cheers and chants from the arena in the distance: "USA! USA! USA!" Read More

• SUPER BOWL: Evangelists 'go where the fish are'

  by Tim Ellsworth, posted Friday, January 31, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Submitted photo

  MIAMI (BP) -- A couple of Bobby McCreery's fellow evangelists climbed into a New Orleans taxi in 2013 when the city was hosting the Super Bowl.

  "Are you guys here for the game?" the cab driver asked.

  "Well, sort of," they replied. "We're here to tell people about Jesus." Read More

• SUPER BOWL: For Chiefs' Wisniewski, knowing God surpasses joy of football

  by Tim Ellsworth, posted Thursday, January 30, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Tim Ellsworth

  MIAMI (BP) -- Stefen Wisniewski of the Kansas City Chiefs thought he had everything figured out during his teenage years in Pennsylvania. Though he was raised in a Christian home with godly parents and attended church regularly, he admits that he was more self-sufficient than he should have been.

  "I thought I was doing well in life," he told Baptist Press during Super Bowl Opening Night Jan. 27 at Marlins Park. "I thought I was successful, doing well in sports and academics and all that. And God really humbled me." Read More

• Athletes emphasize Who's Your One ahead of Super Bowl

  by Brandon Elrod, posted Wednesday, January 29, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  NAMB photo

  ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- Troy Sadowski was the first All-American tight end that the University of Georgia ever had, and he went on to have a 10-year career in the National Football League playing for six different teams, including the Falcons, Steelers and Jets. Despite the sterling athletic career, something was missing.

  "The first 31 years of my life, I was as lost as a duck in the desert," Sadowski said. "In the NFL, I got to a low point. It was a very dark time. It wasn't until I went to the First Baptist Church of Woodstock (Ga.) and heard Johnny Hunt preach that I understood what the Gospel was all about." Read More

• SUPER BOWL: For 49ers' Matthews, locker room a place of ministry

  by Tim Ellsworth, posted Wednesday, January 29, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Tim Ellsworth

  MIAMI (BP) -- The impact of Jordan Matthews on the San Francisco 49ers isn't something that can be measured by his football performance. The wide receiver has spent most of the season on the inactive list, playing in only three games and catching four passes.

  But that's OK with him -- because Matthews knows that the eternal impact he's having on the team is far more valuable than any contribution he can make on the field. Read More

• SUPER BOWL: NFL veteran's Sundays take on new focus

  by Tobin Perry, posted Tuesday, January 28, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo provided by The Rock Fellowship Church

  MIAMI (BP) -- Daryl Jones knows what it's like to get ready for Sundays. As a wide receiver in the NFL in the early 2000s, he played four seasons for the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.

  But this Sunday, as the eyes of the world turn toward America's biggest football game, Jones is getting ready for an even bigger Sunday. Less than 20 minutes away from Hard Rock Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LIV, Jones will preach the Gospel at The Rock Fellowship Church, a church he planted in Miami in 2016. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Why we mourn celebrities we've never met

  by Jared C. Wellman, posted Monday, January 27, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Pastor and author Jared Wellman examines, "How can I be so despondent over a person I've never met? And why is anyone ever upset over the unexpected passing of a celebrity they don't personally know?" Read More

• Global sporting events provide opportunity in Japan

  by Caroline Anderson, posted Friday, January 17, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  At the Rugby World Cup in Tokyo, IMB writer Caroline Anderson witnessed how global sporting events bring nations together. IMB missionaries have created a missions strategy for the upcoming 2020 Summer Olympics, also in Tokyo. Read More

• LSU long snapper 'doing sports God's way'

  by Will Hall/Baptist Message, posted Friday, December 27, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  LSU Athletics Department

  BATON ROUGE, La. (BP) -- Blake Ferguson has had a remarkable football career in a unique position. He came to LSU as the country's number one long snapper as a senior in high school, and last year he was named best collegiate long snapper.

  On top of that, he took over the job for the Tigers from his brother Reid, who was signed after graduation as the long snapper for the NFL's Buffalo Bills. Scouts are predicting Blake will play at that level on Sundays, too. Read More

• Sports gambling: Pastors ready for fallout

  by Aaron Earls, posted Wednesday, March 20, 2019 (4 years ago)

  

  iStock

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Americans are expected to wager more than $8 billion on this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament. But according to a new study released today (March 20), don't bet on many pastors joining in.

  LifeWay Research's survey -- conducted Aug. 29–Sept. 11 -- found most pastors believe it is morally wrong to bet on sports, while few agree it should be legalized nationwide. Read More