With spring training in full swing, pitchers are starting to get to game fitness, and for some pitchers in particular, this is vitally important, because conditioning is key to their success. They are called “innings eaters.” Pitchers who go deep into games and consume 200, 225, or 250 innings in a year. They often do…
Read More »We are very blessed here at Sports Spectrum to be able to interview athletes, coaches, broadcasters, and other sports personalities and hear them share their faith and experiences as followers of Christ. But, let’s face it, not every sports personality is able to do a good interview. Maybe public speaking just isn’t their thing. Maybe…
Read More »World soccer experiences something several times each season that is utterly unique in sports—the international break. For the last 10 days, the greatest players in the world have left the clubs that pay their salaries and have brought them fame to spend these days competing for their respective national teams. Frankly, it is an extraordinary…
Read More »Arguably, the biggest story of the 2012 Major League Baseball season to this point is the emergence of two kids. Yes, we have seen several no-hitters, fantastic defensive plays, and towering home runs—but this season, so far, is about Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. Both are leading their teams toward postseason berths, both are playing…
Read More »One of the most profoundly satisfying ways of helping others succeed is through mentoring. Mentoring is the intentional act of inserting yourself into another person’s life for good purpose and right motive to help them become better because of your input and involvement in their lives. This is, of course, one of the primary reasons…
Read More »“A reputation is a funny thing,” said Wyatt Earp to a friend in the film Wyatt Earp. It’s as true in sports as it was in the Old West. If you have a reputation among teammates and competitors as being a diva, then that will mark how your ability (or willingness) to contribute to the…
Read More »Today marks the final day of the regular season for Major League Baseball, and some of baseball’s top teams (most notably the reigning World Series champs, the San Francisco Giants) will be heading home after today’s games are finished—missing the playoffs. The Arizona Diamondbacks will not be joining them, however, having won the National League…
Read More »This past Saturday night, I enjoyed watching the Cleveland Browns beat the defending Super Bowl champs—the Green Bay Packers—in a largely meaningless preseason NFL game. For Browns fans, any win feels good so it was irrelevant that it was “only” a preseason game. It was a win. But there was also another group for whom…
Read More »When we lived in southern California, I helped coach the Little League teams of two of our sons. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun, but there were also moments of frustration. I was blessed to have great coaches to work with, and we tried our best to be good teachers…
Read More »My all-time favorite baseball player was the great Roberto Clemente. I remember many wonderful summer afternoons at the old Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, watching Clemente and the Pirates play. He had a flair, a zest, an unbounded enthusiasm for the game—and crowned his on-field achievements (including the award for most valuable player in the Pirates’…
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