Sports
Celebrating the Saints: Danny Abramowicz on the New Orleans Saints’ Superbowl Victory
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010From the Catholic News Agency, an interview with Danny Abramowicz. As a former New Orleans Saints player and coach, Abramowicz is celebrating the Saints’ Superbowl victory. In the interview, he said he was glad to watch a game with “no controversy” and which had “solid men of good character.” Abramowicz hosts EWTN’s show Crossing the [...]
Gold-Medal Catholics
Friday, June 6th, 2008At Mass this week we have been treated to selections from the Second Letter of St. Paul to Timothy. Today, for example, we heard the famous passage from chapter three regarding the inspiration of Sacred Scripture: “All Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching . . .” such that believers may be “equipped [...]
Over the Top
Monday, March 3rd, 2008Please note: The subject matter and language of this post may not be suitable for children. The current issue of Sports Illustrated has an important article by Grant Wahl entitled “Over the Top,” which discusses the increasingly serious problem of extreme vulgarity and taunting on the part of college basketball fans. I’m glad that SI tackled [...]
Another Soccer Pope?
Thursday, January 10th, 2008According to a ZENIT report, Pope Benedict XVI says he hopes that soccer players and organizations can increasingly become a tools to educate in values. The Pope made his appeal today at yesterday’s general audience. Italian soccer players and representatives of the sport were in attendance. “May soccer increasingly be an instrument for teaching values [...]
Real Heroes
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007When I was a little boy, I absolutely loved sports. All my heroes–Len Dawson in football, Wes Parker in baseball, Jerry West in basketball, even jockey Jerry Lambert in horseracing–were sports figures. Meeting a pro athlete back then was like having an audience with the Pope today–it just didn’t get any better than that. I’m [...]
Catholic Athletes for Christ
Monday, November 5th, 2007I just returned from an awesome conference this past weekend sponsored by Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC). In tomorrow’s post, I will tell readers all about the conference and the dynamic mission and work of this new Catholic apostolate. I mentioned the conference last week on this blog, and one reader asked, “Why ‘for Christ’? [...]
Odds and Ends
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Even before the Alex Trebek era, I was a big fan of Jeopardy. Back then it was hosted by Art Fleming, who was introduced by the iconic Don Pardo (whose favorite category, like CUF staffer Pete Balbirnie, was “Potent Potables”). One of my favorite categories as a kid was “Odds and Ends,” because you never [...]
Blessed Are the Meek
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007At first glance, meekness may be the most unattractive Christian virtue. Today, many people think of “meekness as weakness,” the antithesis of the “holy” self-assertion that enables us to get our own way. We picture a meek person as a wimp or doormat, not as a virile, Christian man. Yet, those of us who are [...]
For Love of the Game
Monday, October 1st, 2007Yesterday’s second reading at Mass really speaks to those of us who relate to sports. St. Paul tells Timothy–and us–to “compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life . . .” In other words, let’s get after it! Even more, St. Paul tells us the qualities, or “keys to victory,” of those who will [...]
Run so as to Win!
Tuesday, August 21st, 2007“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” This quote, attributed to the late coaching legend Vince Lombardi, illustrates our society’s obsession with winning. The Raiders’ Al Davis, of course, is known for the line, “Just win, baby,” while Chiefs’ head coach Herm Edwards in recent years became known for the mantra, “You play to win [...]