Posts tagged sports
Southern Faith, Football And Everything in Between

(ANALYSIS) The war between Auburn and Alabama has verged on a crusade, with fans so devoted some seem possessed. In the most infamous moment on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” “Al from Dadeville” offered this explanation, quoting former Alabama football player Tommy Lewis, for his poisonous attack that killed Auburn's Toomer's Corner oak trees: “I just have too much ‘Bama in me.”

Read More
Notre Dame And Villanova To Open Hoops Season In Rome With A Papal Audience

Notre Dame and Villanova will tip off the 2026-27 college basketball season nearly 4,500 miles from their home campuses, with the two schools’ men’s and women’s teams meeting in Rome on Nov. 1 in an international doubleheader billed as the “Eternal City Tip-Off.” The event will also feature an audience with Pope Leo, a Villanova grad and big sports fan.

Read More
How A Michigan Church Embraces Its Muslim Neighbors

An anti-Islam rally promoted as a “Christian Crusader March” drew hundreds of demonstrators and counterdemonstrators to this majority Arab American city of Dearborn, Michigan. A few participants carried assault rifles as police in riot gear patrolled. The Sunday after the recent protest, minister Wayne Beason felt compelled to speak up for his Muslim neighbors.

Read More
91-Year-Old Baptist Layman Oldest Appalachian Trail Hiker: ‘The Prayers Were Working!’

Dale “Grey Beard” Sanders is a 91-year-old Baptist layman who last month set a record for the oldest through hiker of the Appalachian Trail – a record he had previously set at the age of 82 on a hike in 2017. It was a journey that began with prayer, and — 2,197 miles later — ended with prayer.

Read More
Tebow’s PR Team Made Aware Of Life Surge Allegations Since At Least 2025

Former football star Tim Tebow’s announcement that he’s hitting the brakes on his relationship with Christian wealth-building seminar Life Surge is getting pushback from fans who say Tebow knew nothing of its controversies.

Read More
📖 Preacher, Educator, Coach: 5 Life Lessons From A Hoops Legend 🔌

Garth Pleasant, a legendary small-college basketball coach who won 720 games and four national championships in 38 seasons at Rochester Christian University in Michigan, offers life lessons from his 77 years on planet Earth.

Read More
Looking At Las Vegas Through Southern Baptist Eyes

(ANALYSIS) The Strip has not vanished, and its “Sin City” label remains relevant. The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported $8.82 billion in gross gaming revenue (what operators keep after payouts) for the Strip in 2025. But the world has changed. Researchers struggle to describe online gambling today — from $100 billion global GGR in 2023 to a Gaming Compliance International estimate of $5.9 trillion in unregulated activity.

Read More
The High-Stakes Business Of Predicting the Future — And Its ‘Moral Costs’

(ANALYSIS) Prediction markets are rapidly transforming betting from sports into wagers on politics, disasters, wars, celebrities and virtually anything imaginable. Their explosive growth raises questions about gambling, addiction, market manipulation, insider information, public trust and morality, while regulators, lawmakers, religious leaders and ethics experts struggle to respond.

Read More
Raiders Rookie Quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s Faith Bigger Than Football

Even at the height of his extraordinary 2025 season at Indiana — when he won the Heisman Trophy and transformed himself from an overlooked prospect into the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft — Mendoza repeatedly pointed somewhere beyond the gridiron: God. He enters the NFL this season as a top-rated rookie quarterback not afraid to talk about his faith.

Read More
NJ School District Faces Federal Lawsuit over Christian Student Clubs

What happens in this New Jersey town can have ramifications for the whole country: The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has filed a federal lawsuit against a district, alleging the district unlawfully barred outside volunteers from attending religious student clubs.

Read More
Beyond The Beautiful Game: How Roberto Baggio’s Buddhist Journey Delivered Resilience

(REVIEW) His crowning individual honors — the Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 1993 — cemented the striker’s place among the game’s all-time best. But Baggio, who was born and raised a Catholic, found inner peace after his conversion to Buddhism.

Read More
Erling Haaland’s New Haircut Sparks Comparisons To Biblical Hero Samson

The Manchester City striker — long one the game’s most recognizable figures — went for a new look ahead of Sunday’s Premier League opening game against Bournemouth. Gone were his long blond locks. Instead, Haaland chopped off his hair for a buzz cut.

Read More
2 Jews Gave The Lakers Their Name. Another Jewish Duo Will Try To Restore It To Glory.

The sale comes 14 months after Buss sold the Lakers to Mark Walter, the head of a private equity firm and a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Walter, who bought the team at a $10 billion valuation, is currently facing federal and SEC investigations into insurance companies tied to his broader business operations.

Read More
From Vance Law To Mark Grace: What Baseball Can Teach You About The Gospel

(ANALYSIS) Our family’s love of baseball has taken us from the Oakland A’s to the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners. Along the way, baseball cards featuring Vance Law and Mark Grace sparked a powerful gospel illustration: God’s law exposes our sin, while His grace brings redemption through Jesus.

Read More
⚾️ Chicago White Sox Give Away 40,000 Pope Hats: 5 Things To Know 🔌

The Chicago White Sox gave away 40,000 miter-shaped hats Tuesday in honor of the team’s most famous fan, Pope Leo XIV. Here are five interesting facts to know about “Pope Night.”

Read More
Crossroads Podcast: The Missing Faith Angle In The WNBA’s Culture War Debate

To say the least, Indiana Fever star Sophie (“Do the Sophie”) Cunningham’s quotes about trans athletes and women’s sports has ignited a firestorm in sports, politics, social media and the elite press. In this case, the sports world includes the small, struggling WNBA.

Read More
A Pitch For Hope: Persecuted Yazidis Build Their Own Soccer Stadium In Iraq

They’ve survived ISIS, genocides and persecution. Their homeland has been destroyed. Now the Yazidis in Iraq are rallying together to build their own soccer stadium — a symbol of resilience and hope despite their difficult past.

Read More
WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham’s Faith Bigger Than The Culture War

(ANALYSIS) For Christians working in sports, the challenge becomes even greater. Faith calls believers to engage culture without allowing society to define them. Identity comes not from applause, criticism or trending hashtags, but from Christ.

Read More
Crossroads Podcast: Faith At The World Cup Is Not All Smiles And Hugs

The World Cup is Planet Earth’s most-watched sporting and cultural event. No one should be surprised that it receives waves of news coverage and that religious beliefs and customs affect some of the drama and tensions. Thus, this week’s “Crossroads” podcast focused on religion news at the 2026 tournament — what was covered and what was not.

Read More