Recently in Sports Category

Because of NBC's distribution agreement with DirecTV which allows DirecTV subscribers first crack at this season of one of the best show's on television, "Friday Night LIghts", I have had to get creative in trying to watch the show ( I am not a subscriber to the dish service and I can't wait until next summer to watch the show on NBC.). And just when I think I can't find one more reason to write about the brilliance of "Friday Night Lights," the show proves me wrong by continuing to provide outstanding, life-affirming moments.

There is the way the show continues to portray the effects of the stress of Eric Taylor's new coaching job at East Dillon on his marriage. Then there was the moment when longtime sports booster Buddy Garrity found his soul again and confronted the corruption of the other members of the club. But best of all for me , "FNL" featured some of the best dialogue between a parent and child about church that I have ever seen. Because the show has always been about more than football, the writers found a brilliant way to incorporate a subplot about daughter Julie Taylor's lack of interest in going to church. Like everything else on "FNL", the discussion of faith was authentic, not sappy, complex, not mind-numbing, and even had a little humor.

"I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

"I just wanna go the distance."

"You're an impertinent man, Mr Hobbs!"

Perhaps you remember one of these quotes from a certain kind of movie. A special kind of movie. Or maybe you've been inspired by a recent event in the sporting world. Or by someone on the current sports stage.

If you're interested in all in that world that exists at the intersection of sports and inspiration, Beliefnet has a new site for you at http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Sports-Inspiration.aspx.

Whether you're into Baseball, Football, Basketball or Golf; NASCAR, Formula One or Indy Cars; the Olympics, the World Series, the Superbowl or March Madness; or Tennis, or Bowling or whatever your sport, Beliefnet's Sports Inspiration site will have something for you.

"I'm goin' to Disneyland!"

...Or so went the story of what champions used to say to the camera after winning the world championship. In an inspiring twist to a great evening for Gotham, New York Yankees Manager Joe Girardi provided the icing on a great night by performing a Good Samaritan act on his way home.

So, instead of being in a wild celebration in need of a designated driver, Girardi was being good and doing good, at the same time!

It seems that on his way home from winning the World Series, Girardi was on a "curvy stretch of highway on the outskirts of New Rochelle. He came upon a car wreck and stopped to help a girl involved in it. The full story is here.

"She had no idea who I was," Girardi told a radio interviewer.

It turns out the "she" was Marie Henry, 27, of Stratford, Connecticut, who said Girardi "sprinted across three lanes of traffic to come to her aid."

The World Series starts this week.

"Yeah!" say the Yankee fans.

"Yeah!" say the Phillie fans.

"Dang," say the Southern California fans, whose Dodgers and Angels both lost in the semi-finals.

And, unfortunately, "Yawn" goes the rest of the country.

In New York, land of Beliefnet HQ, and, oh yes, the land of Jeter and A-Rod and the new recruits, CC and Mark, this is a Big Week. Indeed.

But for the rest of the country, I'm asking: what happened to the Great American Pastime? What happened to Major League Baseball's hallmark series. This should be big stuff! The Yankees are doing what they've always done throughout history: going to the World Series when they're in a new (or reconstructed) ballpark. The Phillies are attempting to repeat as World Champions.

In fact, this is the Current Champs against the All-Time Champs, as the Yankees have won more World Series' than any other franchise. And the Phillies and Yankees haven't played each other since 1950!

So what's the problem? Why hasn't America been captured by this pending event?

"And I'd like to thank God Almighty," reads the headline in a current USA Today.com feature.

"In big-time sports, God often gets a prominent place on the field of play," it goes on to say. "A shout-out here, a prayer there."

In pointing out how much October is a sports fans' buffet (baseball playoffs, NFL and NCAA football in full swing, hockey and hoops starting up), the article also points out that fans "can't help but notice something else that often competes for our attention amid the passes, pitches and home runs: religion."

"Players point skyward to the Almighty after reaching the end zone or home plate, star athletes voice thanks and praise to their savior after a big win, and sports heroes use their media spotlight to promote the Christian message. These are the outward signs of a faith surge that has made big-time sports one of the most outwardly religious sectors of American culture."

One picture shows NFL players from both teams praying in a circle after a game. It actually takes place at every single game, but network cameras are instructed to ignore it, and they actually stand with their backs to the circle while recording other post-game handshakes and dialogues.

So what do you think? Do these outwards signs of faith inspire you, encourage you, offend you or don't do much of anything for you?

I think it's great. Well, for the most part.

Whenever it comes to young people, cameras and an audience, there is no way, of course, to guarantee that every expression is sincere. Some NFL players I know have told me that many of their teammates were superstitious, meaning that their kneeling in the endzone or pointing to the sky was about as significant as being sure their cat didn't walk under a ladder. Or a mirror. Or whatever it is.

The chaplains, though, have told me that players are asking significant questions, and most of what is seen as a faith testimony is legitimate. Lee Corder, former chaplain for the Washington Redskins, told me that the athletes he's known "want to know that they're more than modern-day gladiators," that there is a higher purpose in life.