2001 January/February

Letters of

Intent ~

Sports Spectrum Readers Respond

FROM TH E EDIT OR

Fa nspea k What a great way to deliver the truths of God! I plan on using Power Up! with my basketball and softball teams this coming season. I am currently using them in my Physical Education classes as a devotional to start the week in the right direction. Thanks again for another extra base hit.

-LONNIE SMIJH

boys basketball coach, Hawthorne Christian Academy women's softball coach, Nyack College Nyack, NY

Pow ering Up

I think the latest Sports Spectrum is another fine issue, but I mainly want to compliment the highquality daily devotional insert.

It's very well done, appealing, interesting, and great guidance.

Whoever was involved in creating and distributing it deserves a high-five!

- WILLIAM PECK

Abingdon, MD Just got my copy of Sports Spectrum . I would like to know how I can get additional copies of the Power Up! insert. I want to use them with my baseball team.

obviously could be and should be used for Bible studies. I am a retired school teacher and now coach middle school soccer and basketball. Magazines like this should be in the school libraries.

-GENE McCLURE

Freeport, ME I missed the announcement that you were going to have the magazine available only every other month. I'm sorry to see that, but I understand the reasons. I really enjoyed the article on Kurt Warner (November-December). I also think the Power Up! section will be awesome.

- KEITH VEALE

-DALE KLEIN

baseball coach Mount Vernon Nazarene College Mount Vernon, OH

Broomfield, CO

• Currently, we don't have additional copies of Power Up! available separately. Feel free to inquire about bulk quantities of Sports Spectrum, which include the supplement. Cal/1-800-766-7221.

The November-December issue looks great as usual. I am impressed with what I see of Power Up! The articles are so brief, but well done. I like the idea of bold printing key phrases or even words.

-ELDON GRUBB

Hastings, MI Just recently I received my first subscription to Sports Spectrum.

I find the magazine to be very inspiring and encouraging. The articles are great! The Power Up! section is an excellent idea. It 2

SPORTS SPECTRUM - JA NUARY-FEBRUARY 2001

In side Sc oop Notice anything different?

For starters, this is the first time since 1991 we haven't led off the new year with an all-football, Super Bowl edition of Sports Spectrum. If you were looking for that traditional nod to the biggest show in American sports, you deserve an explanation.

For the past 8 years, Sports Spectrum teamed up with Sports Outreach America to create a Super Bowl Kit, which enabled individuals and churches to put together parties where friends could gather, watch the game, and fi nd out about what is really important in life-a saving relatio nship with Jesus Christ.

A couple of things have changed, however, to lead us to cancel that outreach for this football season. First, the National Football League, which had always before given us the rig ht to use its images in our video, decided to reject that req uest this year. This made it very difficult for the production company that produces the video to create an effective piece. Therefore, while we rethink our plans for 2002, we decided not to produce the kits this year.

Second, with the reduction of Sports Spectrum issues to six, we want to be careful not to limit the variety of our coverage by producing more single-theme issues than is absolutely necessary.

Always eager to find good news in bad circumstances, we thi nk the changes will give you a wider picture of Christians in sports because we won't be concentrating solely on football in t his edition. Let us know what you think. Your opinion is the one that really matters.

Dave Branon managing editor ssmag@sport.org

We take vel}' seriously both the praises and the critidsms we get from Sports Spectrum readers. Is there something you'd like to see in 55 that we've not been including? Or have we been doing something you don't like? Let us know. We'll give your idea careful, thoughtful consideration as we put together future issues. Write to Letters of Intent, Sports Spectrum, Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.

E-mail: ssmag@sport.org YoUI' Opinion Counts

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Magazine subscription Info $17.97, six issues; $22.97 outside USA Phone: 1-800-283-8333 Mail: PO Box 3055, Langhorne, PA 19047-9155 E-mail: magsub@sport.org

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8

What Amy Terhaar started in Minnesota with women's hockey, she's continuing in Maryland

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1-BDD-283-8333 'Also for change of address or other corrections Sports Spectrum Radio station info Phone: 1-800-598-7221 Straight Traxtape s, Back Issues orders , Discount bulk Issues Phone: 1-800-766-7221 General correspondence, LeHer to the Editor, or Writer's Query (no unsolicited manuscripts, please) Mall: Managing Editor, PO Box 3566, Grand Rapids, Ml49501-3566 E-mail: ssmag@sport.org Fax : 1-616-957-5741 Permissions, Reprints Contact: Debbie Miller Fax: 1-616-957-5741 E-mail: dmiller@rbc.org

MANAGING EDITOR Dave Branon RADIO AND MAGAZINE DIRECTOR Tom Fellen ART DIRECTOR Steve Gier PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Rob Bentz MARKETING DIRECTOR Michael Wozniak GRAPHICARTIST Laurie Nelson "ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Julie Richardson ClERICAl ASSISTANT Debbie Miller ADVISORS Michelle Akers, US national soccer team Tim Cash, Unlimited Potential, Inc. Clark Kellogg, TV analyst, CBS college basketball Vince Nauss, executive director, Baseball Chapel Kyle Rote Jr., Athletic Resource Management Alice Simpson, chaplain, Cleveland Rockers Bruce Smith, Hockey Ministries International Cris Stevens, lPGA Bible studies leader Chuck Swirsky, Play-by-play, Toronto Raptors Claude Terry, director, Pro Basketball Fellowship

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Volume 15, Number 1 January-February 2001 SPORTS SPECTRUM MAGAZINE A DISCOVERY HOUSE PUBLICATION AFFILIATED WITH RBC MINISTRIES

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12

Celebrating Sydney BY Ro B AND Bo NNIE BENTz

18

Post Script BY MARK HuTc HINso N

22

26

COVER PHOTO: Joe Robbins SPORTS SPECTRUM is produced Gtimes a year by Discovery House Publishers, Box 3566, Grand Rapids, Ml49501-3566, which Is affiliated with RBC Ministries, a nondenominational Christian organization whose purpose is to lead people of all nations to personal faith in Jesus Christ and to growth in His likeness by teaching principles from the Bible. Printed in USA. Copyright ~ 2000 by Discovery House Publishers.

Bible quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

SUBSCRIBER NOTICE: From time to time we allow companies to mail you information on quality resources. To decline these mailings, simply write or E-mail SS with this message: ' No offers.'

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Sports Spectrum's Rob Bentz and his wife Bonnie discovered the excitement of Sydney and the value of Olympic lessons learned

He got a late start in his basketball life, but the plot seems to be working out for Ervin Johnson, center for the Milwaukee Bucks

Blessing in Disguise

w iTH ToM FELTEN

When Dave Szott opted to stay home to help with his son before the season, the Chiefs guard didn't know it wou ld be a permanent move

Out of Nowhere?

BY DAvE BRANoN AND PAUL JoHNsoN

After toiling for a number of teams, Rich Gannon is coming up big as the leader for the surprising Oakland Raiders

4

Lee'd Stories Sports news potpourri

BY VICTOR LEE

5

The Swirsk One-on-one with Chris Klein and Brian Johnson

BY CHUCK SWIRSKY

6

Champions Christy Smith-Flowers, Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil , Lynette Woodard

11

Stats & Stuff Christian athlete info

16

Big Picture Ervin Johnson

30 Legends 31

COURTESY: MILWAUKEE BuCKS

by Junior Bridgeman

Straight Tal k by Leah O'Brien-Amico

~ ~

Discovrry House Publishers

SS Internet site; http://www.sport.org/ SPO RTS SPECTRUM ON THE WEB: http: //www.spo rt.org

SPORTS SPECTRUM - JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2001

3

Lee'd Stories

~ B~

Victor Lee

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IDJicle News about'hd~ ~ ~

Team On A Mission • It hits you when you walk in the door of Joe Gibbs Racing. Front and center, plain and clear.

The cars and trophies and slick display cases are aU there, but the main thing is plastered across the wall. declaring Joe Gibbs' purpose to everyone. It is the JGR mission statement: "Our goal is to field for our sponsors and fans competitive race cars on a consistent basis with the goal of winning races and championships. Our expectation is that we will be able to see in our growth and success things that would never have been accomplished except by the direct intervention of God." God-in the person of Jesus Christ-is not merely part of or the center of everything that happens at JGR, He is the cause of it.

That's what the statement says, in essence, and that is what the race team leaders believe after winning their first Winston Cup championship. A few days after Bobby Labonte claimed the points championship in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries car, crew chief Jimmy Makar spoke of his view of God in aU this.

"He deserves the glory," Makar says as he looks out of his office window onto the shiny-dean floor of the race shop. "We wouldn't have this if not for Him-! truly

Cool Runnings D • Shelly Stokes is 33 years old and has many years of athletic success behind her, including a gold medal with the 1996 US women's softball team. She's from Fresno, California, where it gets really cold only when they turn the AC down. So what is the former catcher doing for an encore? Stokes is pursuing another Olympics in another sport, as in the Winter Games in bobsledding.

"My first ride in a sled was probably the scariest thing I've ever 4

same people basically and same race cars."

The result is slightly different, however. Slightly because Labonte finished second in 1999. Finding consensus among team members about the difference between second and first (improved crew, improved driver, improved engines,) is as hard as finding a Dale Earnhardt car without somebody else's paint on the fender. But almost everyone agrees that God's hand is in it.

"How we handle [success] is very important," Makar says. "We have a lot of opportunity to reach people for Christ through this. I

think this team is a representation of God, of God's Word. Certainly Joe is a great representation of a Christian. He tries to live his life the way every Christian should, and this operation is run on Christian principles. Not everyone is a Christian, but a lot of people have been converted to Christianity here. I just hope He's pleased with what we've been doing with what He's given us and with the fact that we've been able to honor Him and lead some people to Christ.

"Now that we've won, I think it's an exciting time in that we're going to have the opportunity to reach a lot more people with Christ. It's always exciting to know that you get an opportunity to reach out to more folks and give them an opportunity to come to Christ. In that same thought process it's also a little scary in the fact that I feel we've been given a lot more to take care of-this wonderful opportunity of winning a championship and to get on this platform and show what Christianity is aU about. What we do with that is very important.

The ultimate thing is to honor God with everything we do."

That's what Joe Gibbs Racing does . .. it says so right at the front door.

done," Shelly says. "The G-forces 2002 Olympic team. Success would slam your body to the ground. probably make her the first woman When you go into a curve, they to participate in two Olympic throw your body between your debut sports. If she's going for the unofficial title of 'World's Most legs. It takes your breath away."

Makes a foul ball to the face Versatile Athlete; she might get it.

Is the heptathlon next? mask sound soothing.

'1 was hanging on for dear life," "When I saw softball ending, I she says. "I didn't have a clue." was okay with that," Shelly says.

Some friends suggest she still does- "I was trying to be patient, waitn't. Instead of walking away and ing on the Lord to show me what never looking back, Stokes' reaction to do next. I didn't want to do the was, "Let's do it again. And again." pro league-it's not the environStokes is trying to make the ment I want to be in. When I

heard about [the bobsled opportunity], I was careful. I prayed about it; I didn't want to do it selfishly.

I thought, 1f the Lord wants me to do it, He can open the doors: " So far, so good. It's early, but at various tests and "push offs" she's done well in the hunt for one of two Olympic spots on a twowoman team. Her ultimate goal is to influence others for Christ.

"There aren't a lot of Christians in bobsledding," she says. "Maybe somehow I can have an impact."

~lKE ROMANO

I

.ASP, INC.

• Five-year plan. Jimmy Makar and Bobby Labonte first teamed up on the Interstate team in 1995 when Labonte replaced Dale Jarrett.

believe that. It's not the championship that's so important, it's how we got here. The relationships we've developed in the shop, the relationship Bobby and I have developed over the years, the opportunity I've had to come to Christ through coming to work here [in 1991]. AU those things happened in my life. The championship was a gift from God, for whatever reason. I don't know why He would bless us with this.

"So many people set out with their own will in mind. We haven't tried any harder or much differently the last couple of years trying to win the championship; it's aU the

SPORT S SPECT RUM • JAN UARY-FEBRU ARY lOOt

TO SUB SCRIBE : CALL t-800 - lSl - Sl l l

Pass It On • Mark Price has had a high profile as a star NBA player (4-time AUStar), but he may not be quite so recognizable on the sidelines of a small Christian high school. "That's okay-I look like a normal person anyway," the 6' 1" former point guard says, laughing. "It doesn't matter to me whether I'm known. A lot of the kids I coach are too young to know me as a player-though their parents do. Just the credential of playing in the NBA lends itself to what I have to say."

Price has a lot of good things to say to the players at 4-year-old Woodfield Academy in Smyrna, Georgia, outside of Atlanta. He teaches basketball, and he teaches life. "I want to be an influence on young people's lives," he says. "I want to win, but ultimately the goal is to impact a kid. Obviously, at this level. you have very few that go on to college basketball, if any. So basketball is important. but it's not of the utmost importance. My biggest thing is that the kids learn how to work hard and play hard. I want them to learn that in life, nothing is going to be given to you.

I want to teach a good work ethic."

Integral to everything Price teaches is the Word of God. "I wouldn't have gotten into a situation where I couldn't share my faith," he says. "That's one reason this was such a good fit. Another is that I have a young family [four children 10-and-under] and I didn't want to travel a lot. One of the main truths I want to teach is humility. In 1 Peter 5:6 we're told to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us at the proper time. I want to always remember that God is the one who gave me my gifts and talents, and I want to pass that understanding on to others."

Th e Swirsk Talks wit h Chris Klein and Brian Johnson, members of Major League Soccer champion Kansas City Wizards Swirsk: Chris and Brian, give us a brief background about yourself and the Wizards.

Klein: I'm a Midwest boy. I'm not too far from home. I'm originally from St. Louis and went to college at Indiana University. I've been in Kansas City for 3 years.

Johnson: I've been with Kansas City for 4 years. I got drafted out of Fresno State University in 1997.

It's been 4 long years, but it's a great way to end this fourth year.

Swirsk: Are you guys roommates on the road?

Johnson: No, but we are neighbors.

We live across the street from each other. I pick Chris up for practice.

I back up from my driveway and into his.

Johnson: My priorities have really changed. I grew up in a non·reli· gious home. It wasn't until 4 years ago that I got curious about God. I prayed and accepted Jesus as Lord about 4 years ago. He is No. 1 in my life, for sure. I'm so much happier since I made that change.

Klein: I grew up in a religious background. My parents taught me about Jesus Christ. I knew who Jesus was, but it wasn't what made me who I was. It wasn't until my college years when I met my girl· friend-now my wife-that I knew I needed a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Once I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart, that's who I am. My good values and morals ar e a result of my relationship wit h Jesus Christ.

Swirsk: How important are your wives to you spiritually?

Klein: She's been the most important thing in my life. She always wants to know more about Jesus.

My father-in-law said we should treat marriage as a triangle with the two of us on the bottom, always moving toward God. And that's what we try to do.

Swirsk: You guys have been playJohnson: One of the biggest things ing soccer since you were kids. my wife has helped me with is talkWhat makes a champion?

CHUCK SWIRSKY talked ing about God. At first, I was pretty Klein: I think more than any other with Klein and Johnson uncomfortable because I wasn't too year for us, being a champion sig- on Sports Spectrum familiar with the subject. We've nifies that this team came togeth- Radio, which can be learned to pray together. She has heard on Saturdays er. In the past two years, this team across the United States made it so comfortable for me to talk about my faith. We help out at our has really struggled. We were in at noon Eastern time. church with the middle school kids. last place both years. This year our Call 1-aoo-sga-7221 to coach, Bob Gansler, came in and locate an SS station in made some changes. The team real- your area. Chuck is the Swirsk: What can you do to use the ly started to gel. The main focus of play-by-play voice of the championship to share your faith?

Klein: A group of us got down and the team this year was coming Toronto Raptors. together toward one goal. That's thanked the Lord for giving us the what made us champions. opportunity to participate on this Johnson: Coach Gansler really let us play-let stage. We have to give all praise and thanksgiving to Him, so I think it starts r ight there. the guys do what they could do. He was supportive to everybody. He encouraged us. He didn't allow cliques to form. He did a great job of getting everybody together.

Swirsk: Chris, if you were to go to Brian's house now-are we talking Oscar or Felix? Is he a neat freak or a major league slob?

Klein: Well, B.J. and I are both very blessed because both of our wives are neat freaks. So, they keep us clean. We're not allowed to throw too many things around the house!

Hear SS Radio on the Internet

Swirsk: Let's talk about your core values.

What's on your heart, Brian?

www.sport.org

Write to The Swirsk, Box 3566, Grand Rapids, Ml49501 . Or e-mail him at ssmag @sport.org SPORTS SPECTRUM COVERS ALL THE SPORTS. WEBSITE: http :ff www. sport.org

SPORTS SPECTRUM - JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2001

5

Champ i ons ~

bij Phijllis Miller. Ph .D.

Missions &Marriage • Eleven months after point guard Christy Smith heard from a reporter that she had been cut from the Charlotte Sting, she walked down the aisle of University Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and pledged her love and life-long commitment to former Arkansas Razorback defensive back Jeromy Flowers.

The date was Saturday, June 3, and the wedding party read like a Who's Who of College Athletics. Players from all over the country served as attendants to the AU-American turned WNBA point guard from Otterbein, Indiana, and the AU-SEC defender who grew up near The Ball Park at Arlington, Texas.

A few weeks before their wedding and honeymoon, Smith and Rowers had taken a less glamorous trip to the poverty-stricken villages of Central America. After raising their own travel money, Christy, Jeromy, and their Youth With A Mission co-workers arrived in Honduras- but their luggage did not.

Undeterred, they spent 8 days building houses and passing out food, Bibles, and medical supplies. Smith calls it a "blessing" that they did not so much as have a change of clothes because it provided a sense of "realness."

The young adults were able to build four houses and lay the foundation for five others.

Smith could not help but compare her own life to that of the people of Honduras. "There were five people living in each 10x14 hut. I realized that I was going home to a vehicle, a spacious house, and a hot shower-something most of them would never experience. It was humbling to realize that Jesus loves them just as much as He loves me." The couple returned to Arkansas with a new passion for ministry.

Christy is completing her master's degree while working as a graduate assistant in women's athletics. Her husband works fulltime for Arkansas Athletes Outreach while finT Two-sports, one goal. Razorback stars Jeromy and Christy enjoy serving others.

.A A real pro. Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil, who played In the ABL and the WNBA, Is now in the NBA.

ishing his bachelor's degree, and then they will wait for God's leading about their future.

They are confident that it will be in some aspect of sports or sports ministry.

"God gives us talents, and He wants us to use those talents for His glory," says Smith.

"So whether it's to play pro ball again, work full-time for a ministry such as AAO, or use my degree to work as a personal trainer, I'm ready.

Whatever God has in store will be good."

• At the age of 33, Clarissa Davis-Wrightsil has taken her last jump shot. Perhaps surprisingly, the Olympic bronze medalist and threetime All-American says she doesn't miss playing basketball at all.

"I firmly believe our lives are filled with seasons," she says. "God never closes one door without opening another."

This particular door took her back to San Antonio, where she played high school basketball, and offered her a chance of a lifetime. In May, Clarissa accepted a position as Director of Development for Women's Basketball for the San Antonio Spurs.

In examining the twists and turns of her life, Davis-Wrightsil recognizes purpose. "God created us not to be famous or wealthy or successful in our jobs but rather to further His

Kingdom. The bottom line is that God is interested in our hearts, not our successes."

Nonetheless, Davis-Wrightsil has experienced tremendous success. Earlier this year the University of Texas, where she played from 1985 to 1989, inducted her into its new Women's Athletics Hall of Honor. Among other awards she has received are the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1986), the Naismith Player of the Year (1987), and a bronze medal with the USA team in the 1992 Olympics. She also enjoyed a decade of pro basketball that began in Europe and ended with the WNBA Phoenix Mercury.

While playing pro ball in Japan, Clarissa met Jerald Wrightsil, to whom she's been married now for 8 years. "Actually, he saw me play when I was a freshman and told his friends he was going to marry me," she says. "Of course, it was years later before we met. And I was not looking, not even dating, when I met him. So our relationship is most definitely a God thing."

Just as she was not seeking a husband when she met Jerald, Clarissa was not seeking a job when she got a call from the Spurs.

"People are hustling for these positions, and they came to me. Therefore, I know it's God, and I can't be impressed with myself. As I look back and see what God has been 'up to' the past few years. I think, 'Oh, that's what He was doing; He was preparing me for this: " Jerald and Clarissa also want to have a

1

Cla.lssa Davis-Wwigbtsil, Lyaette Wooda.d ily. "But it needs to be in the right season," she says. "The important thing is to be prepared for what God has next. We have no promise of tomorrow, because today may end with the sound of a trumpet."

On The Giving Side • As a young girl growing up in Wichita, Lynette Woodard plastered the walls of her room with posters of the Harlem Globetrotters. While a sophomore, she led her Wichita North High School team to the 5A state championship. Two years later, she was a high school All-American.

As a University of Kansas Jayhawk, Woodard scored 3,649 points in 4 years to become the top scorer in women's college hoops history. The four-time Kodak AllAmerican and two-time Academic AllAmerican left behind numerous national and school records that still remain unchallenged.

In 1984, she led her team to Olympic victory and a gold medal in Los Angeles.

A year later, Woodard saw her childhood dream come true when she became the first woman Globetrotter. "God's timing was incredible in that," she says. "For Him to have allowed that to happen, and at that particular time in my career, was totally unbelievable."

Later, she enjoyed a high-profile pro basketball career in Italy and Japan while picking up the Italian and Japanese languages. Also during that time, she developed a strong interest in the stock market. In 1995, she joined another history-making team when she was named vice president of marketing of MAGNA Securities, the first Wall Street brokerage firm owned by African-American women.

In 1997, the licensed stockbroker was drafted by the WNBA, playing for the Detroit Shock and the Cleveland Rockers before returning to Kansas. In February 2000, Woodard was named the Jayhawks' assistant basketball coach, completing a remarkably circuitous route home.

"I wanted to move to the giving side," she says. "The best thing about coaching is the encouraging end of it-helping young women realize their dreams."

The 41- year- old coach describes her own life as being so "enchanted" that it has changed the way she prays.

"I have finally learned not to box myself in with my prayer life," Woodard says. "If I had asked God for specific things, I'd never have gotten to do most of the things I've done. My .A. Bench strength. life has truly been a Woodard is an assistant coach for storybook. God saw her alma mater. the heart of a little girl who dreamed of the Harlem Globetrotters, and He knows my heart today. He's blessed me beyond my wildest imagination."

Dr. Phyllis Miller is a professor ofjournalism at the University of Arkansas.

r--- ----------- -------------------- ----------- ----Challenges ~

For the sports fan in all of us

Spowts StulfYou CaD Use Spol'ts Ministry Won By One International

Projects • Contact: Erik Person at 1-860-429-564 7 • E-mail: wonbyone@mymailbag .com Web site: wonbyoneinc.org • Won By One International is a non-profit organization that places Christian baseball players and coaches in European baseball club teams. These sports people stay with the team anywhere from 4 to 7 months. The athletes and coaches are paid for their services. WBOI recruits these baseball people so they can communicate the gospel through long-term involvement in the lives of the others on the teams. It is friendship evangelism through baseball.

On the Bookshelf

Making The Play: The Inspirational Story of Mike Jones As told to Jim Thomas Concordia Publishing House 300 pages; $6.99 • Available in Christian Bookstores • If you are thinking that per-

haps you've heard of Mike Jones, there's a good reason.

Last January 30, he made a signature Super Bowl play that will be remembered as one of the greatest tackles in championship action. Jones was the St. Louis Ram player who stopped Tennessee Titan wide receiver Kevin Dyson at the goal line to preserve the Rams' Super Bowl victory. Although that's about all most people know about

SPORTS SPECTRUM ON THE I'I EB: h tt p:/fwww. ,put.org

Jones, his entire story has now been told in the book Making The Play. In it, you can follow Jones' life from his growing up years in Missouri through his NFL career. Now a hero, Jones has seen his share of trouble, including a failed first marriage.

However, underlying his life has been a serious spiritual component. That too is chronicled in Making The Play.

Just Before Tip Off: Motivational Messages from NBA Chapels

By Bo Mitchell • Cross Training Publishing • 176 pages; $9.95 Call Cross Training: 800-4308588 • Web site: www.cross trainingpublishing.com • You've heard about NBA,

NFL, and major league baseball's chapels, right? Now you can go inside one of those chapels and find out what the chaplain tells the players. Bo Mitchell, long-time chaplain for the Denver Nuggets, has put many of his own chapel meditations into a book called Just Before Tip Off. Mitchell is careful not to reveal any confidences, and any stories he tells about players are carefully told to protect the player. The book covers a variety of topics, including commitment, teammates, bad habits, decisionmaking and teamwork. Grab some bench and read the 45 chapel talks in Bo Mitchell's book as if David Robinson were seated next to you.

SPORTS SPECTRUM - JANUARY·FEBRUARY 200 1

7

A leader in women's hockey in Minnesota,

Amy Terhaar got back into the game in Maryland by popular demand

BY LOIS THOMSON

• AMY TERHAAR WAS SITTING in her office in the marketi ng department of the University of Maryland when the door burst open and several female students walked in.

"Didn't you used to coach hockey?" they asked. "We want to play."

Ah, Terhaar had indeed coached hockey. In fact, her life has revolved around the sport since she was a little girl. "I grew up in Minnesota, where everyone gets thrown outside at an early age," she says.

"I grew up on a farm and we had a pond.

When it was covered wi th snow, my brother and I wou ld shovel it off. I started playing hockey when I was reall y little-nothing organized until I got to college, the University of Minnesota."

The sport was becoming more and more popular with girls in the state, and while she was still playing for the University of Minnesota, Terhaar began coaching a high school team. In fact, she was behind the bench for the first-ever girls game in Minnesota in 1993, coaching her alma mater Elks Ri ver High School against Burnsville High. "There were eight teams that first year," she says. " It grew to 24 the next, then 52. Now there are 120 girls teams and about 170 boys teams."

But the growth of girls hockey, she explains, "was not a celebration. It was stressful. Instead of people saying, 'Hey, that's great that you're playing hockey,' it was 'Hey, you're stealing the boys' ice time.' Our ice time usually ended up being slotted for 5:30 or 6:00 a.m." So Terhaar got involved in lobbying for equality for the girls.

Her actions were instrumental in contributing to addi tional ice arenas being built- with the stipulation that ice ti me at those new

establi shments had to be eq uall y available for boys and girls between the hours of 3:00p.m. and I0:00p.m.

While Terhaar, now 32, was coaching these girls and working to obtain eq uality for their sport, someone was watching her actions closely: Bill Butters, the assistant men's hockey coach at the University of Minnesota, a former NHL player who was also the ice arena manager. "She was playing on the club team and coaching at the time," Butters recalls. "She would come in to schedule ice time and would fi ght to get decent hours. I watched the girls practice, and she would ask me for help with different drills, and that's how our friendship started.

"The things that were impressive to me about her were that she loved the sport, she stood up for her team, she would make a good argument, and she persevered." Butters soon discovered they had another bond. "I found out she was a believer in Christ too, so we had that in common."

Amy grew up in a Christian fami ly and says, "I've been a Christian since I was little. I've always been sensiti ve to where God was-or was not- leading me."

After graduating from the University of

Minnesota with a degree in sports marketing, Terhaar felt that God was leading her to accept a position in the marketing department at the Uni versity of Maryland. She admits she didn't intend to get involved with hockey while she was there. "l missed hockey, and l played in a men's league for a while. When those girls came into my office and wanted me to coach, l said I'd think about it. But it didn't take me long to agree."

Because Maryland did not have a women's hockey team, Terhaar organized a club team for the sport. This meant the women Terrapi ns would not be playing on a varsity team run by the school's athletic department, but on a club in an independent league-the Mid-Atlant ic

4

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<Ill First team. There was no women's hockey team for the University of Maryland until Amy Terhaar came along. ~ Camping out. Hockey Ministries International conducts sports camps across North America.

Amy Terhaar was a key teacher in the 2000 version In Minneapolis. ~ The three amigos. Former NHL goalie Bill Butters, teenage hockey sensation Krissy Wendell, and Amy Terhaar were part of the HMI girls hockey camp. To contact HMI about camps, call1-514-626-3000.

Women's Ice Hockey League.

After the team fi nished fourth, third, and second in its first three yea rs of ex istence, Terhaar's ladies moved in to a new league this season: the Mid-Atlant ic Women's Collegiate Hockey Association.

Terhaar had 36 girls try out for the team this past September. She says that when she's assessing talent, she can't just look at how many points

athletes score; she looks for the intangibles such as the following: I. Do you care about your teammates? What do you do on the ice when you don't have the puck? 2. Are you prepared to play? 3. Are you coachable or do you want to do things your way?

Terhaar compares her observations about hockey with the Christian life. "It's like the church," she says. "There's a position for

PIONEER ON ICE

Hockey Ministries International, serving as a representative and working at its Christian Athlete Hockey Camps in Minnesota. He recommended Terhaar as an instructor at the girls camp in Minnesota and she accepted, doing the one in Boston as well.

In addition to serving as a counselor and on-ice instructor, she spoke at one of the camp's chapel sessions. "When I knew I was going to speak, I asked people for help. The topic of integrity and how it affects kids kept coming up. And I started thinking about my swim coach ... " Nearly 200 pairs of eyes were riveted on Terhaar as she stood at the podium and told a life-changing story from her youth: She and two of her closest girlfriends, Lisa and Kelly, were on the swimming team at their junior high school in Elk Ri ver, Minnesota. Their coach was always pumping them up with talk about how great the team was and how good they could be.

However, one evening, as Lisa and Kelly were walking along the road to meet some friends for pizza, a car with a drunk driver at the wheel came up and struck them from behind, killing both girls. It wasn't until later,

~

fiP1J COURTESY: AMY TERHAAR

.A. College Days. The University of Minnesota gave Amy her first taste of organized hockey.

everybody in the body of Christ.

"Everyone has a place on Jesus' team, but what are you doing while you 're on the team?

If you don't like one of your teammates, are you talking behind her back or are you praying for her? As for being prepared, are you doing your homework- reading the Bible? Everything you need is in there. And are you coachable, or do you say, 'I don't like these rules, I' ll do it my own way?' Sports and life have so much in common."

During the time Terhaar was building her team in Maryland, Bill Butters was thinking about what she could be doing in Minnesota.

By this time, he had moved on to work with

Ll

after the funeral, that Amy learned the dri ver of the car had been their swim coach.

"We knew he had an accident," she said, "but he told us he hit a deer. I didn't know he had a drinking problem, and when I thought about it, if I had let him influence me I could have been in trouble. When people you love are killed, and someone you trust totally is lying to you- it has an effect on you. I felt, 'Can I trust anybody?' A lot of people put their trust in other people and get disappointed." Then she told the campers this, "But if I focus on Christ, I know He won 't let me down. He never promised life would be easy, but He promised He would always be there."

Butters and HMI are wooing Terhaar to move back to Minnesota to become HMI's representative in that state for women's hockey. But one of the things Butters appreciates about Terhaar is her commitment, and that quality will keep her at the University of Maryland for now.

She wouldn' t want to let those Terrapin hockey players down.

Lois Thomson is a freelance writer who lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

THE GREAT EQUALIZER • Cherie Hendrickson, 14, started playing hockey when she was 4 after watching her older brother play. She would definitely like to try out for the 2006 US Women's Olympic team .

Emily Ouimette, 17, just started playing hockey 4 years ago when she began attending a private school that offered the sport. Because of her late start, she doesn't believe she has the necessary experience to play in the Olympics, but says she "never wan ts to give it up."

Not long ago, those kinds of hockey dreams would have been outlandish.

Many young girls across the country are taking to the ice. The surge in women's hockey began when the US women won the gold medal in the 1998 winter Olympics, but what does the future hold? "A lot of people think there will be a pro league," says Amy Terhaar, "but I don't know if I see that. I'd just like to see the girls have the same opportunity at every level that boys have. I'd like to see more states like Minnesota (which has 120 high school girls teams), where girls can say, 'I'm going out for hockey this year; instead of, 'I'm going out for soccer: "Hockey is the great equalizer," she continues. "When girls are wearing their equipment, no one can see their legs, no one can see their hair, no one can tell if they're 10 pounds overweight.

The only thing that matters is their skills. It's freeing for girls who are self-conscious."

-LOIS THO MSON

KS LE!TTER

Payne Stewart made hls rejuvenated faith known to the world after capturing the 1999 US Ope n.

Yet Payne was just one of more than 10 PGA and LPGA professionals who have won recent major championships and who have committed their lives to Jesus Christ. If you are interested in reading their testimonies and in finding out about the work of God throughout professional, college, and amateur golf today, then every article in the Links Letter will excite you.

• To order the Links Letter, call us today at 1·800-90LINKS, or send an e-mail message to linksletter@linksplayers.com. We'll send you a free issue for your review. The Links Letter is publication of Links Players International, a ministry dedicated to equipping golfers to spread the News of Jesus Christ in the world today .

.,....._

Q

:::UL

Gol

St~ts

& Stuff

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Wondering where some of your old favorites are?

Bubba Paris 49ers, Colts (1983·1990).

Played in three Super Bowls for the Niners • Present position: Talk show host and sideline reporter for the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. Also founder of Champions With Christ, an evangelistic crusade ministry.

Family: Wife, Evelyn; 11 children. Residence: Pittsburg, California (northeast suburb of Oakland)

Sheila Taormina

Perhaps you saw her running her heart out in Sydney. Sheila Taormina,

~

Compiled bq

who has been at this triathlon thing for less than 2 years, had the lead in the Olympic triathlon coming out of the water.

She was finally overtaken on the bikes, yet she pressed on. At the end, as others ran for the gold, Sheila displayed the courage, heart, and personality that makes her a special person . As she ran toward the Opera House, her dreams of winning her second gold medal over (she won one in swimming in 1996), Sheila broke into a smile and she waved gloriously to the fans. She says, "The thought that I always have

O~ve Br~non

in any race is to finish with a smile, Olympics or not. I believe that being physically healthy is a gift from God, because I know that there are people who have to struggle with ill· ness and injury. I can't tell you how many times during that race I thanked God for the gift of having

a healthy body and of let· ting my family be there."

Everyone loves a winner, but everyone loves even more a person who-wh en she fails to win-does so with class. Thanks, Sheila, for letting the joy of the Lord show t hrough. You're Sports Spectrum's Class Act for this edition.

NET RESULTS Internet sites you may want to visit

Sports Outreach America http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/ss/outreach/ministr:y/ Motor Racing Outreach http://www.gospelcom. net /mro/ht tp://www.gospelcom.net/mro/ Tracy Hanson http://www.mindspring.com/-racey3/ Sheila Taormina http://www.sheilat.com/

SPORTS SPECTRUM

JANUARY-FEBRUARY SS BIRTHDAYS

Pete Metzelaars Seahawks, Bills, Panthers, Lions (1 982·1997). Played in tour Super Bowls with the Bills • Present position: Football, basketball, and goli coach at Charlotte (NC) Christian High School, where former NBA star Bobby Jones is athletic director. Serves as an elder at his church and is active in its youth ministry. Barb, his wife, recently completed a nursing degree. Other family: sons, Anthony and Jonathan. Residence: Charlotte, North Carolina

Christian players, coaches, and managers who are Christians."

JANUARY &

Paul Azinger PGA golfer, 41 • Winner, 2000 SONY Open In Hawaii "I think the only way you1l ever find true content ment is to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ."

9 Mark Martin NASCAR, 42 • Winner, 2000 Goody's Body Pain 2000 "In my prayers every day I ask God to keep His presence in my mind."

Bernie Carbo

Reds, Red Sox, four others (1989·1980). Hit dramatic ~ homer for Boston in Game ~ 5 of 1975 World Series ~ • Present position: Along with his wife Tammy, Bernie runs Diamond Club ~ Ministry, a baseball-based outreach that conducts camps and clinics for young baseball players.

While teaching baseball, Kyle Brady Wide receiver, Bernie and staffers share Jacksonville Jaguars, 29 the love of Christ. Contact Had career-high number of Diamond Club: PO Box 91, catches In 2000 season Theodore, AL 36582.

"As a Christian, I underPhone: 334-653-5621. stand God has a perfect Diamond Club Fantasy will for my life. He has a Camp: October 19-21 and plan for me."

26-28, 2001.

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Aeneas Williams

COO RT£SY: ATlANTA. THRASHERS

15

Adam Burt AUanta Thrashers, 32 • Has skated In more than 700 NHL games in his career "I try to live by the verse, 'Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, and not to men' " (Colossians 3:23, NASB).

21

Johnny Oates Manager, Texas Rangers, 55 • Named co-AL Manager ol the Year In 19GB "Being a Christian does not make me one bit less competitive than anybody else."

25

Ernie Harwell Detroit ngers baseball announcer, 83 • Selected, National Sportscasters Hall ol Fame, 1989 "No. 1 is my relationship with Jesus. It means a great deal to me to see

Arizona Cardinals, 33 Six·tlme Pro Bowl selection "I am still in awe of what the Lord has done in my life."

FEBRUARY

1

Michelle Akers Soccer, 35 • 2000 Henry P. lba Citizen Athlete Award winner "Because of what God has for me later, the momentary troubles and chatlenges of today are simply building blocks."

5

Darrell Waltrip NASCAR Veterlll, 54 • Won 84 NASCAR races In his career "The Lord loves me whether I win or not. It's a constant, every day, every minute kind of love that you can't get anywhere else."

15

Darrell Green Washington Redskins, 41 Seven-time Pro Bowler, he's in his 18th season with the Redsklns- a teamrecord

"When people make a commitment to Jesus, they fall in love with Christ and they're going to follow Him-not everything else."

19

Glyn Milburn Chicago Bears, 30 Named to Pro Bowl team, 1999 season "In Christ, I know that I have Someone who loves me regardless of...how many touchdowns I score."

22 Michael Chang Tennis, 29 • Youngest player ever to win the French Open, age 17 "The fame, money, and rankings can't be compared to touching people's lives and encouraging them in the Lord."

26 Tricia Bader Binford Cleveland Rockers, 28 Named Idaho's NCAA Woman of the Year, 1998 'ihe Lord has shown me so much the past few years; I want to tell people about it."

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The triumph of the 2000 Olympic Games was not limite to those athletes who took home the hardware •

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ROB AND BONNIE BENTZ

•

TH E SEA OF INTERNATIONAL

that once flooded Olympic Park have long ago returned to their normal workday routines. The seats inside St adium Australi a that once wi thstood the throngs of Cathy Freeman fanatics now have rugby-related duties to attend to. And the host city of the Games of the XXV II Olympiad- Sydney, Australia- has once again returned to being the tourism capital of the world and the home of the "cool-looking SPORTS FANS

Opera Ilouse," rather than tht: fut:HI point or the international sports community.

The 2000 Summer Olympics are indeed history. But for anyone involved in and around the Games, they will not soon be forgotten. Sydney proved itself not onl y to be a world-class city but also to be th e standard -bearer for all Olympic Games to follow!

When International Ol ympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranc h addressed the city of Sydney with the words, "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented ..,. Looking homeward. Kenya's Rosalidah Obunaga knew a hero's welcome awaited her.

T International stage. For stars like Juddeh Serenge, the Olympics provided them a worldwide audience for the first time. .,.. Olympic Boulevard. Olympic sightseers enjoy the Boulevard, covered with "ecopavlng" through which rainwater is collected for irrigation of the surrounding areas.

to the world the best Olympic Games ever, was not expressing a glossy exaggerat Samaranch wasn't tossing out wann-fuzzi the more than 50,000 Australian volunteers assisted in making the Sydney 2000 success . The IO C leader was accurat describing the smoothest, most well-organ · sporting production ever.

Our Vievv While most Nort h Americans had no ch but to watch the Olympic activities unfold

Bob Costas and Hannah Storm joining them in their li ving rooms-albeit a day later than the events actually occurred- we had the disti nct privilege of being in Sydney, surrounded by those grand festivities.

What we saw unfold before our eyes on a daily basis was the stuff that makes sport such a valuable asset to our culture.

We witnessed national ism, passion, joy, disappo in tme nt, and success . We spoke wi th Olympic athletes who confidently left Sydney with Olympic medals around their necks, and we spoke with athletes who departed from the Games with no hardware but plenty of pride.

Ultimately, the Sydney Olympic Games stirred emotions and created memories for competi tors and fans alike. Here are a few of our favorite memories.

of Australia was ready for its party to begin.

Nationalism was at a peak, and we were right in the heart of it!

A pair of athletes also taught us something about nationalism. Two fe male Kenyan athletes seemed to epitomize th is spirit of national pride. Rosalidah Obu naga and Ju ddeh Serenge, Kenyan vo lleyball pl ayers, didn' t win even one match du ring the Games. Yet they smiled shyly and giggled softly in anticipation of the return to their homeland. Why? Because their Kenyan squad was the fi rst-ever voll eyba ll team from an African natio n to compete in the Olymp ics . T he Ol ympic ex perience has made these young wo men national heroes.

Nationali sm Once we walked the streets of Sydney, the Ga mes took on a bit of a different meaning.

This was an international event that was helping to heal the wounds of the host nation. Wounds

Passion Nobody exuded passion more clearly than a pair of US wrestlers: Greco-Roman grappler Jim Gru enwald and frees tyle competitor Brandon Slay.

There was no mistak ing Gruenwald's desire.

Whether speaking of a Greco-Roman battle

"Ultimately, I want to walk away honoring and glorifying God. Win or lose, I want people to understand that I' m a Christian first, and a wrestler second."

Freestyle wrestler Brandon Slay, and every bit of his 182-pound muscular frame, competes in the 167-pound weight class. (No, he's not cheating. Droppi ng weight for weigh-in is commonplace among wrestlers-although Slay drops more weight than most.) In the fi nal hours leading up to the weigh- in, the Texas native changes his diet-without starving himselfand works out with a vengeance. Once he makes weight (and he's never failed to make weight), he pounds a couple big glasses of water and eats a healthy, but hardy, meal. By the time Brandon takes the mat, he's back up to 182 pounds. "It gives me a mental edge," said Slay, "knowing that I'm bigger than my opponent."

Something else the 24-year-old wrestler believes gives him an edge-especially in his everyday life- is the power of Scripture.

"My favorite verse in the Bible, Joshua I:9, says, ' Have I not commanded you, be strong

of past political struggles were being soothed as AListralians came together- like never beforeto share in their country' s proudest moment.

We began to real ize the importance of this event as the Olympic torch was carried through Syd ney's stree ts on its way to Stad ium Australia for the opening ceremonies. Tens of thousands of pushing, screaming, proud Aussies were waiting for a mere glimpse of the torch that had zigzagged its way across their land .

Boisterous cheers went up as the flame weaved its way through the crowded streets. The nation

or aho ul his faith in Jesus Chri st, the guy oozed intensity.

"The onl y will on that mat greater than my will is God's will ," said Gruenwald. "So I focus on what He wants me to do. And I know that He wants me to do my best.

"When I step onto the mat, everything else gets pushed away. It's not an absolute silence, but it's close. You're in a zone-and you wrestle. I enjoy the one-on-one intensity of batt ling another man. It 's an adrenaline rush," said the Colorado resident. "I guess I'm a warrior of old.

and courageous. Do not be terrified, because the Lord goes with you wherever yo u go,' " ex pl ained Slay . "That means He's on the wrestling mat too! I take that confidence with me as I step out there."

In spite of their drive for success and their intense wo rk ethi c, onl y one of these two wrestlers medaled at the Sydney Ga mes .

Brandon Slay brought home the silver tnedal, although that was later changed. At the end of October, Slay was awarded Olympic gold because of his opponent's positive drug test. ..,. What does Slay say? Brandon Stay was not afraid to talk about his faith-or to battle Adem Bereket of Turkey.

T Clear message. Wrestler Jim Gruenwald was bold about displaying his faith.

â&#x20AC;˘Âˇ

Touche. Fencer Sherraine Schalm faced disappointment with a smile-and her digital camera. .6. Return trip. Sydney represented Sheila Taormina's second straight trip to the Olympics.

~

Disappointrnent The sport of fencing is rarely, if ever, seen (or even mentioned) on Olympic television coverage. And for Canadian fe ncer Sherraine Schalm, that's all right.

Schalm doesn't mind the lack of coverage, because even if there were a media blitz surrounding the fencin g piste, you probably wouldn't have spotted even a glimpse of the first-time Olympian. She was knocked out of her competition after just one match.

"Before I started my match I said to myself, 'The worst thing that could possibly happen is that I would lose right away, and that my parents would only get to see one match, and that I would stink, and that I wouldn' t use all the 1 4

SPORTS SPECTRUM - JANUARY·FEBRUARY 2001

tech nical capabi lity that I had. ' And that 's what happened!

"Immediately [following the match) I didn't feel completely disappointed yet, because I was like, 'Well, that's what I expected. And that's what happened.' " It wasn't until a few moments later that the magnitude of the defeat caught up to Sherrai ne.

"As soon as I left the piste, I felt completely normal. I reminded myself that my identity is only based in God- not in my fencing results," said Schalm. ''Then I realized that I just had to be disappointed because it's a normal human emotion!

"I remember when a friend came up and hugged me. I told her about how I was severely disappointed and that I just couldn' t believe it, because I was a Christian and Christian s weren't supposed to be disappointed. She said, 'Oh come on, God gave us emotions. You' re allowed to be disappo inted; you' re just not allowed to let it rule your life.' " So, Schalm isn't letting it.

She's already looking at her Olympic ex perience as a time of learning and personal growth. One thing she's not doing is asking God, "Why?" "You can express disappo intme nt," explained the Ontario nati ve, "but I really don't think I have the ri ght to ask 'Why?' because it's not abou t me. The world is not about me."

Joy Olympic joy would probably best be modeled by a gold-medal winner, right? In our Olympic experience it was-but not a gold-medal winner from Sydney.

Shei la Taormina , a gold-medal winni swimmer from the 1996 Games in Atlan competed in the triath lon in Sydney. res ults were good, bu t less tha n gold Leading her competi tors by a wide margi n she trans itioned out of the water, Taorm· faded during the bike stage. She then cl her event with the best run of her life to fin sixth in the first-ever women's triat hlon Olympic competition.

The easy smile that made Taormina Aussie fan-favorite was also apparent in newfound Olympic perspective.

"I was elated wi th a sixth-place fini s explained Taormina. "I knew that I had · the absolute best race that I had. I knew I' d prepared 100 percent this summer, and never short-cutted on my trai ning. So I was best I could be here.

"As I was runn ing down the last 200 to the finish, my fami ly was there. And t were jumping up and dow n; you would' thoug ht I was winning the gold medal! thought, you know, they weren't jumping and down any more in '96 when I was ning the gold as they are now when I' m go to get sixth place."

So the 31-year-old Olympian returned her Livoni a, Mi chigan, home without a Sydney hardware. But she wasn't really mi ing anything.

"I know what it feels like to come h from the Olympic Games with a medal, and know what it feels like to come home the Games without a medal. I feel the s way, actually, in [regard to] my identity my happiness. There' s no difference. I' TO SUBSCRIBE: CALL 1·800·283

Secoad 'l'bne Arouad It wasn't supposed to be this difficult.

A. One shining moment. Gold in '96 or sixth in 200Q-either way, Sheila keeps smiling.

realized that what makes me happy in li fe are my relationships. My relationship with God and my relationships with my fam ily- those never change."

Success The Sydney Games provided the watching world with some great human-interest stories and with plenty of new world and Olympic records (especially in the pool). And despite the fact that the national anthem of the United States was played more often than the Aussie standard "Waltzing Matilda," the nation of Australia was the biggest winner of all!

The city of Sydney showed itself to be more than capable of hosting the world's premier sporting event- and the 2000 Games provided everyone involved the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate sport at its purest level.

Athen s, yo u' ve got one tough act to follow.

Rob and Bonnie Bentz spent 2 weeks in Sydney during the Oly111pics, filing reports for Sports Spectrum radio.

The 2000 US Women's Softball Team was the most dominant team the sport had ever seen. The US ladies hadn't been beaten since 1998, and they were the proud owners of a nearly unbelievable 112-game winning streak! How could it be that this US juggernaut was near the brink of elimination in the world's most prestigious softball tournament-the Olympic Games?

After starting the Olympic tournament with a 6-0, no-hit victory over Canada, the US women shut out Cuba 3-0 for their second win. Things appeared to be going according to plan. Then, suddenly, their 2-0 record began tumbling with not one, not two, but three straight losses!

The first defeat came at the hands of Japan, 2-1, as the US left an Olympic record 20 runners on base. Their second loss was a 14-inning, 2-0, heartbreaker to China. And the third-and most stunning-defeat came in a contest with Australia. With two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning, the Aussies got a game-winning, two-run homer off the bat of Peta Edebone.

Australia 2, United States 1.

"We walked off the field in disbelief," says right fielder Leah O'Brien-Amico. "Nothing was going right."

The US women had gone from softball's version of the Harlem Globetrotters to the Washington Generals in the span of 72 hours. Now 2-3, the Americans would need to win five straight or go home without golden hardware.

But O'Brien-Amico and her teammates weren't about to return empty-handed. Instead of folding, they rallied. Instead of pointing fingers, they pulled together.

The US got back to their Globetrotteresque ways quickly. They started another streak, reeling off victories over New Zealand (2-0), Italy (6-0), China (3-0), and Australia (1-0) to get to the gold medal game. That's where they completed their improbable run with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Japan to capture Olympic gold!

For O'Brien-Amico, a US team veteran, this was her second Olympic experience. She was a roleplayer on the 1996 team that won gold in Atlanta. However her role on the 2000 team was different. Now she was the everyday right fielder- and a team leader.

"When I made t his team, I knew that God had a plan," Leah says of her second Olympic tour-ofduty. "I was the prayer warrior, the spiritual leader.

"Before every game in the Olympics, I asked all of my teammates to pray with me. Everybody got together and prayed, and gave [the game] up to the Lord."

And when times got tough for the heavily favored US women, Leah's teammates often looked to her for strength.

"There were girls who would say [when things got tough], 'Leah, start praying. I've been praying, but I think you know Him a little better,'" O'Brien-Amico says with a laugh.

And Leah can laugh about such moments because she knows her teammates saw in her more than a rabbit's foot faith. They saw her sincerity. They watched her live out her love for Jesus Christ on a daily basis. They saw her remain peaceful during the winning and the losing.

And in the midst of the US team's quest for a second gold medal, the former three-time collegiate All-American realized some very im portant things herself.

"Softball is just a game," Lea h says. "We went out and had some losses, and it really put things in perspective. The seeds that have been planted on this team, the things of eternity that will ultimately lead people into His kingdom-that's truly what matters."

.A. Off and running. Leah and her husband want to use her Olympic success to jumpstart a ministry to others. To get in touch with them about their outreach, email them at sbforchrist@hotmail.com.

The coming months will reveal whether or not Leah's 2000 Olympic teammates will come to share her passion for Jesus Christ. They all tell her that she'll be the first person they'll call if they do. O'Brien-Amico wants others-not just her teammates-to know about the grace and fo rgiveness found in Jesus Christ.

That's why she views her newest Olympic gold medal in a unique way. She sees her golden hardware as an opportunity to talk about her faith. "''m just hoping it opens tons of doors for me to get out and speak, and share my story, and share the gospel with people," explains the enthusiastic Chino, California, native. "There's nothing greater than that!

"Four years ago, I might not have been confident in sharing what I knew, because I was still growing as a [young] Christian. But the last 4 years, it's been amazing the journey that God has taken me on. I just want to continue to share His love with everybody I meet."

- ROB BE NTZ

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-------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- --- ------------

Ervin Johnson got a late start with basketball, but the Bucks' center thinks he knows who has planned his career quite nicely

BY MARK HUTCHINSON

hen he was a senior at Louisiana's Jonesville Block High School, he was the tallest student in the building. He could run like the wind. He enjoyed sp01ts. But he never played a minute of high school basketball.

Ask him why today, and Ervin Johnson will explain that he didn't want to, and he wasn't about to let someone else determine his path in life. Anyone, that is, except for Jesus Christ.

A decade and a half later, Johnson has had his jersey number 40 retired by the University of New Orleans. He has scored over 2,600 points durin g seven seasons in the National Basketball Association.

And he is still following the same Leader he's followed since he was a teenager.

Some might consider Ervin Johnson's emergence as a professional basketball player to be nothing short of an act of God. Johnson himself certainly does.

"I think it was all in God's plan to get me where I am today," Johnson says of his remarkable odyssey. ''I' m just glad that the coaches I've had have worked with me and given me the opportunity to play and showcase my talents. I've been blessed."

Although Johnson never played high school basketball , he was no stranger to the sport. His earliest memories of playing the game date back to his childhood.

"I played in my backyard," he recalls. "My brothers and I had a little bicycle rim that we put a net on and tied to a tree, and we played on that. That's when my basketball career was born.

"We were always ba ttling and ge tting into it , playing hard. I really enjoyed that, and we had a lot of fun. Even then, though, I hated to lose."

When he entered high school, even though at 6 feet 5 he was the tallest kid in his school, he simply wasn' t inclined to join the team.

So he didn't.

Johnson did, however, come to know and embrace Jes us Chri st as hi s Lord and Savior during those years.

"I came to know Jesus Christ at age I6," he says. "It was time for a change. I wasn't a bad kid, but I needed a higher power to give me inner peace.

"I was introduced to Jesus Chri st by my brother-in-law, Richard Barber, who became my overseer, my mentor. We talked about Jesus a lot, and I became hungry and began to search the Scriptures myself. God in turn gave me the faith and trust that I have in Him today."

Within two years after his high school graduation, Johnson grew six more inches. People began pressuring him to pl ay basketball , accusing him of wasting his height.

"I'd just tell them, 'I'm happy and content with what I'm doing right now,'" Johnson says. "I had no idea I'd ever grow to be 6-11. I guess it was a blessing in

----------------------------------------------------------GARY D INEEN

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DAVID liAM KYLE

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T Block party. Milwaukee relies on Ervin Johnson to keep other big guys from scoring inside.

Through the first month of this season,Johnson ledthe Bucks in rebounds and was second in blocks.

P OS T SCRIP T

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..a. Happy Days. While coaching at New Orleans, Chicago Bulls current coach Tim Floyd had four 20-win seasons, three conference championships, and one serendipitous moment when Ervin Johnson walked into his office.

disgui se. It was the Lord's will , and I've always accepted whatever happened to me as His wi ll.

"I never put pressure on myself to play basketball. Even my late growth spu rt didn' t make me do it.

"I can remember people saying, 'Well, Ervin , you could play in the NBA, even though you never played hi gh school basketbal l. ' I probably laughed at them."

Johnson eventuall y decided to pursue a basketball career, and he wound up at the University of New Orleans, in the office of the school 's basketball coach, Tim Floyd.

Floyd has come a long way since then, too- all the way to the hot seat on the Chicago Bulls bench. But he remembers that day well.

"I was pl ay ing with the shortest team in the country-! had a 6-4 post man," Floyd recalls. "We called every big guy in the country in May and couldn' t find anyone. I was calling everybody on the night before the last day of the November signing period.

Ervin walked into my office at 9:30 that night.

"I looked up and said, ' Yeah, what can I help you with?' and he said, 'Coach, I'd like to play for you.'

"I had worked for the New Orleans

1> The Johnson Zone ERVIN JOHNSON JR. >- 6-11 >- 245 >- DOB: 12-21-67 Hometown: Went to Block High School in Jonesville, Louisiana Magic with kids: Wants to work with children and young people once his career is over.

No. 40 forever: The University of New Orleans retired his No. 40 uniform after he graduated from that .school. Ervin donated $100,000 to the University for the Ervin Johnson Fitness Center The graduate: Graduated from UNO during the 1996-97 NBA season and was the school's commencement speaker Home team: Wife, Renee; Daughters, Ezekia and Erin REWIND >- Seattle Supersonics' first-round pick in the 1993 NBA draft >- Signed as a free agent by the Denver Nuggets on July 17, 1996 >-Traded by Denver to the Milwaukee Bucks for Johnny Newman and Joe Wolf and draft rights to Danny Fortson on June 25, 1997 >- First NBA career start:. December 17, 1993 against Milwaukee >-Appeared in 81 games for Seattle in 1995-96; started in 82 games for Denver in 1996-97 >- Pulled down 26 rebounds in one game vs. Dallas in 1997 THE GOOD STUFF >- 1992-93 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year >- 1993 Left the University of New Orleans as alltime leading rebounder, shot blocker, and shooter (field goal percentage) >- 1996-97 Led NBA in rebounds per minute {1 every 2.85 minutes) >- 1999-2000 Led Milwaukee in blocked shots {127) 2 0

SPORTS SPECT RUM - JANUARY-FEBRUAR Y 2 00 1

Saints when I was a you ngster, in their equipment rooms. I just knew it had to be one of the old players, setting me up with this deal as a joke. I'd never had anyone over 5- l0 come in and ask me to play- ! must have had a zillion of those.

"I walked out into the secretary' s area to see if there was anybody out there, came back in and said, 'Okay, I'll buy into this a little bit,' and said, 'What' s your name?' He said, 'Ervin Johnson Jr.' " Floyd mu st have been thinkin g, "Right, and I' m Pat Riley."

"I went and looked out the window to see if there were any strange cars parked outside," Floyd says. "I came back and said, 'Let me see your driver's license,' like I was a bouncer at a bar or something. He showed me his license and it said, 'Ervin Johnson Jr.' so I said, 'Okay, why are you here?' and he said, 'Coach, I've never played basketball. You 're going to have to be real patient if you're going to do this.' " I said , ' Okay, but why' d you come here?' and he said, 'Well, I' ve been sacking groceries over at an A & P store in Baton Rou ge, and every little old lady that ever went through there always asked me where I played, because I was tall. " 'One day, a liquor salesman came in fro m New Orleans and said he' d read an article in the paper that said you had the shortest team in the country, and that you were probably looking for tall guys, and he asked me if I wanted an education. I said 'Yeah,' and the man said, 'You ought to go and talk to Coach Floyd. He'll probably put you on scholarship.' " "I told Ervin, 'If we're crazy enough to do this, I want you to show up here to morrow and we're going to start working on your low-post ga me,'" Floyd recalls.

"He said, 'Coach, that's impossible.

I can't do it,' and I thought, 'Here I've got a guy who doesn't want to work.'

"I asked him , 'Why can' t you do it?' and he said, ' Because I' ve been working at this grocery store for three years, and I' ve got to give them my two weeks notice.' I didn ' t ha ve a guy on my team who would' ve done that, so I thought, 'This kid 's probably all right.' " Floyd's hunch was ri ght on the money, but Johnson was no overnight success.

"The first year, we immediately knew we' d have to redshirt him ," Floyd says. "He couldn't score at all.

He had trouble catching it, and when he did catch it, he'd travel, because he didn' t know what a pivot foot was.

"Finally, we asked him to run from one end of the court to the other, and he ran like a deer. He was bad, but God had given him the ability to run.

We told him that if he could average 12 rebounds a game, he could make money playing the game one day."

Johnson had to bulk up. When he showed up at Floyd 's office, he weighed 198 pounds. By the end of his sophomore year, he was 240.

"He really put in a lot of work in the weight room," Floyd says.

"There are so many reasons why the guy is where he is. He's just so different and refreshing.

"He's always told me, 'If every one of these McDonald's All-Americans had gone out into the working world and worked like I did, they'd all make it to the NBA.' " In the second game he' d ever played, at Memphi s State, he got 13 rebounds. In his third game, against a ranked Florida State team, he got 14 rebo unds. We said, ' We've go t to play this guy, but that leaves us with four guys at the offensive end."'

That changed as the years went by.

John son' s scori ng average climbed year-by-year from 6.3 to 12.7 to I5.4 to 18.4 points per game, and his rebounding numbers went from 6.8 to 12.2 to 11.1 to 11.9.

"He became very, very good," Floyd says. "He was a second-team AllAmerican in his senior year. He's been the greatest thing that's happened to me in my career-he really has." layer and coach have ironically become NBA Central Division ri vals, but Erv in Johnson will always hold a special place in Tim Floyd's heart.

"He's the one player I felt I took somethin g fr om," Floyd say s. " I remember having Sund ay practice before a Monday game." Floyd tells of saying a couple of mild expletives, only to have his big center confront him about it. "Ervin came over and put hi s arm arou nd me and sa id , 'Coach you kn ow today's Sunday, don't you?' and I said, 'Yeah,' and he

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Sports Spectrum: An injury to your right arm has kept you sidelined this year. How did it happen?

Szott: Unfortunately, it happened in the season opener against Indianapolis, and I experienced the same type of injury as in 1998 with my left ann. I tore my biceps tendon down to my elbow.

I was kind of winding down my career, as it were, and I was reall y looking forward to having a good solid year playing with teammate Tim Grun hard out there. We came in as rookies together, and this was going to be our II th year together. I was looking forwa rd to having one more year in Kansas City-great fans, great town.

And then this happens. In our sport, things change from play to play sometimes, and that was definitely the case with me.

In the offseaso n, I moved my family back to New Jersey. The educational needs of my son, Shane, who has cerebral palsy, are met much better out here. There are more specialized schools, and my parents and my wife's parents are from New Jersey- the same hometown. So we had a lot more support here.

The move was outstanding, and Shane's doing great. But New Jer ey is 1,200 miles from Kansas City, and that was quite a commute I was looking at. But God worked it out. The Chiefs put me on IR about the fourth week, and I' ve been able to stay home. I don't know if it would have worked out otherwise. I think it would have been too much on my wife- with the kids and everything.

So God worked it out in His own way.

IN When All-Pro offensive lineman

Dave Szott went

down with an injury during the first game of the Kansas City Chiefs' season, a prayer was answered in a most unusual way A SPORTS SPECTRUM INTERVIEW

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SS: You had been with the Kansas City Chiefs for I0 years, but during the offseason you asked to be traded to an East Coast team so you could be closer to your family in New Jersey. Was that a di fficul t decision?

Szott: It was very hard, because in my heart-of-hearts I really didn't want to leave Kansas City. When you've been with a franchise that long, and you take pride in what you do, you feel like you' re part owner of that team. Not in a literal sense, but in a sense of your pride and as much as you have invested in that team and the organization. It's not what I wanted to do, but I had to do what was best for my fami ly. But the trade didn 't work out. They basicall y didn't want to let me go. I told them if they weren't going to trade me, just cut me. But they wouldn't cut me.

.A. Lotsa Szotts. With Dave's arm in a brace and the NFL career on hold, Andrea, Joshua, Dave, and Shane were free to do normal family things this fall.

I was at a crossroads, and the team made some great concessions. They said I could go home on Sunday after the game and not be back until Wednesday morning. So I was going to get two full days back here in New Jersey. However, the commuting would have been crazy, and the pressure on my wife would have been tough. We've gone through some issues recently because my son is experiencing some seizui·es now, along with some other health issues that would have made it very, very di fficult for her to handle alone.

SS: So the injury really worked to your benefit.

Szott: Absolutely, for my family. To be honest, I' m not watchi ng a whole lot of football ri ght now. I' m going through a "football detox rehab." It's so much a part of you.

If you go back, this is my li th year and then 4 years of college, and I' ve been playing competiti ve football for 18, 19 years-a long time.

Guys in the league like Grunhard and Will Shields [an 8-year pro who plays guard for the Chiefs], you know, we take this game very seriously and we act like pros. It was so much a part of me, it 's been real difficult at times to deal with it. But the fewer games I watch, the better I am right now.

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SS: Life with a special-needs son cannot be easy. How have you and Andrea coped with Shane's condition?

Szott: My wife and I were married just over 7 years ago. We were married not quite 2 years when Shane came into our lives. Our pastor's wife first noticed something was wrong with Shane. Being first-time parents, we weren't aware of what kids should be doing at what time. We were just glowing over this child. But at about I year old, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. That was an extreme shock to us, and we've gone through the full range of emotions.

We' re at the point where our marriage is the healthiest it has ever been.

My sympath y and prayers go out to fa milies that are ex periencing what we arc going through. I see many single parents, mothers that are trying to raise families, and a child with special needs- 1don' t know how they do it.

But moving back to New Jersey was exactly what we needed. Shane is in a full time program now. Also, a good part of the summer he goes to summer school. And our 2year-old son Joshua is now getting the attention that he wasn' t receiving previously because so much focus and attention was on Shane.

SS: What has God taught you through this experience?

Szott: Well I've come to realize that God's hand is in everything. Before time began, He knew my name and He knew our situation. He knew what we'd go through. And that's comforting to know. I truly believe God put Shane in our life for a reason. There's times when we obviously wonder, "Why us? He picked the wrong people. He picked the wrong parents. There would have been someone better suited."

But I really believe His hand was in it from the beginning.

And that's reassuring. That's the blessed reassurance that we all lean on, because God knows the beginning from the end.

And to see some of the things that Shane does now ... He prays! Some people say, "Let's pray about that," and they don' t pray right away. Shane wants to pray immediately for everything. If you pray grace over food or if you're praying at night, he's in continual prayer. He loves the Lord. He sits in worshi p at our church- he absolutely loves worship. And to see his heart for God is beautiful. Our faith is reall y better off with co1ning through this situation.

SS: As you thin k about the future, what goes through your mi nd?

Szott: I appreciate my wife more than I ever have. Now we have more balance in our life, and she gets to do some things she hasn' t been able to do for years. I'm taking more and more responsibility and the needs are met here with me, as opposed to always falling to her. When it was football season, it was football season. And I was focused on the next game, the next guy I had to block, the next zone blitz, the package they' re putting together. And now I'm just really focusing on my fami ly.

SS: What pressure have you faced as you prepared week in and week out for an NFL season?

Szott: When I left the stadium, I had about a half-hour dri ve home. By the time I got home, I really left work at work. But I also had a great way to let it out. If I was disTO S U BSC RI BE : CALL 1·800 ·283· 8333

turbed or upset, I wou ld go to work. I would put a helmet on and go out and practice or play a game and I would feel a lot better.

In 1995, when Shane was diagnosed, that was a tough year- it was very difficu lt. The blessing in that year is that we went 13 and 3, winning a lot of football games. It was pretty easy at work and everybody was happy.

SS: Was there ever a time that you said, "I need to walk away from this game. The stresses and pressures of life are just too much"?

Szott: I was very, very close this year- this offseason.

If I didn' t have a disabled boy at home, I'd play the game unt il they kicked me out. I'd keep playing. I bad some injuries, but they're not major like knees or back or anything. When I jump out of bed in the morning, I feel good.

I' ve bad these biceps tendon things, but it's not a lower extremity thing, and I feel well.

But my situation is much, much different than the average guy. So I have to contemplate the needs of my family and I really have to put everything in priori ty, and the Lord does that in a great way. If you're praying and in the Word, He's going to keep your life prioritized and keep your focus on what's first in your li fe.

SS: With that in mind, is this your last year or do you see yourself coming back next season?

Szott: I'm really leaning toward truly being the head of my family. For the love of the family, I really believe that I have to do what's right. When you're playing, your foc us is always on the next game, the next camp, you've got to get a workout in, you've got to go run . It's like this thi ng hanging over you. I' ve now been able to step back and re-evaluate everything.

I couldn't play in Kansas City, that's for sure. If anything happens, it will have to be here on the East Coast. Pretty much the Jets or Philly, and that's only if the situation is right considering my situation. I told my wife not to even talk about it right now, because I don't want to deal with it.

I've been working out a lot, and doing rehab on my arm and I've been losing weight. I've lost 20 pounds and I feel great.

She said, "You shouldn't lose too much weight, you never know .... " But right now, I'm really enjoying being around my kids all the time and being able to give my wife a break.

SS: I'm sure deep down, she'd like to see you stay home.

Szott: Yeah. I know she wants me home, but she also wants me to be happy at home. I know her well enough to know she doesn' t want me to be thinking, "Hey, I could have played a couple more years." But there are other factors. If I go out there and hurt my back, and I've got a boy-his father is 6'4", 290 pounds and his mother is 5"8'- he's goi ng to be a big kid. And what iff can't lift him for 30, 35 years?

There are things I have to think about. Shane is pretty severe, he's in a chair, he's not verbal. I have to think about the next 30 years to care for this child. If I go out there and bang around a little bit, and something happens to my back, what then?

SS: As you work through that whole decision process, SPORTS SPECTRUM ON TH E WEB' http:lf www.s p ort.o r g

how do you go about making the final decision?

Szott: In all honesty, I' ve made up my mind in a lot of ways. We started a radio program 5 years ago in Kansas City, we call it the Chief's Cornerstone. I was able to hand that ministry over to Chief's fullback Tony Richardson this year-groomed him last year and then I threw him in the fire this year. He's doing great.

My heart right now is to bring that same ministry back to the East Coast and foc us just on the New York teams and the other guys I know around the league. But my heart is to really just work for Christ, to work in the ministry, and to serve Hi m. I' ve been blessed with a great income over the years. I' ve done well and have put some away. So I can reall y just focus on ministry, not so much on an income and career anymore.

Once you walk away, you walk away. Not many of us are as talented as Reggie White-to take a couple of years off and then come back. I am not in that category. But if I want to play, then I' m going to defini tely quench those feelings now as opposed to a couple of years from now.

A. Hanging out at Arrowhead. Before the first game of the 2000 season, which ended up being Dave's last action of the year, Dave and Shane got together for a pregame photo op.

1> The Szott Zone DAVID ANDREW SZOTT > 6-4 > 290 > DOB : 12-1 2-67 Hometown: Szott grew up in Clifto n, New Jersey Grappler too: In high school, Dave was All-Ameri can in football and wrestling Home team: Wife, Andrea; Sons, Shane and Joshua Szott for Tots: Dave and Andrea have helped the Kansas City Children's Center for the Visually Impaired through the Szott for Tots program Brother act: Dave's brother, Kevin , who is legally blind, competes in judo Outdoors: When not playing football or taking care of his family, Szott enjoys hunting and fis hi ng Poli-Sd: Dave's degree from Penn State is in political science REWIND > Played in the 1990 Senior Bowl after his final year at Penn State > Seventh person taken in the 1990 NFL draft > Played in all 16 games during his rookie season > Had a 77-game starting streak snapped in 1998 when he was injured in the first game of the season THE GOOD STUFF > 1990: All-Rookie Tea m > 1997: First team All-Pro; All-Madden team; First team AU-NFL> Career: Tied for Chiefs record of most postseason appearances (10) SPOR TS SPEC TR UM - JANUARY 路 FEBRUARY 2001

25

BY DAVE BRANON AND PAUL JOHNSON

Rich Gannon's

impressive 2000 season won't make his story the cover-boy equi valent of Kurt Warner' s incredible rise to fame in 1999, but consider this: The same year Warner was stocking those legendary grocery shelves in Iowa, Gannon's ca reer was prett y much on the she! f in Minneapolis. Yet neither young quarterback would give in to doubts and doubters.

Now both enjoy the results of their perseverance.

Thirty-fi ve-year-old Ri ch Gannon has endured plenty of opportunities to give in to self-doubt throughout his 13-year trip around the NFL. But then, giving up in the face of a struggle is not in thi s man's play book.

The ego of an NFL wannabe is never boosted when he is drafted 98th only to be traded away two weeks later. That can quickly destroy a young quru1erback's dreams of becoming the next Dan Marino. In 1987, the New England Patriots chose Gannon in the four1h round, taking him on the strength of his impressive senior year as the quarterback of the University of Delaware Blue Hens. Two weeks later, New England dumped him.

The Philadelphia nati ve's 21 school records and his All-American honorable mention status at the Yankee Conference uni versity couldn't convince the Pats to stand pat with their pick.

So, a fortnight after the draft, the Minnesota Vikings dangled a couple of 1988 draft picks in front of New England, who snapped them up in exchange for Gannon.

Welcome to the NFL, Mr. Gannon.

Despite the indlgnity of that transaction, Rich Gannon realized that he had arrived, in a sense. He was, after all, li ving his lifelong drea m as a quarterback in the National Football League. True, he didn't step right in and take over startin g du ties-not by any stretch of the imagination. There would be no Rookie of the Year trophy for his mantle.

Gannon would appear in just four regular season games and throw onl y six passes while th e clock was runnin g in hi s first year. Viking quarterback Wade Wilson handled most of the quarterbacking duties for the 8-7 Vikings.

But Gannon was getting his first taste of 2 6

SPOR TS SPECTRUM 路 J ANUARY路FEBRUAR Y 2001

------------------------------------------------------------------l--------- ------ ---- ---------------------- ------------ ---- ------------------------------------ ---- -----------------the NFL li fe, and it made him do some heavy th inking.

"I had finall y reached the so-called pinnacle," Gannon says of his initial season in the NFL. " I' d always wanted to pl ay in the National Football League. When I finall y got there, it wasn' t anyth ing like I expected.

I had fame, I had the money, I had a new home and a car, and all the things I never had growing up. But I reali zed there was an emptiness in my heart."

It wasn't as though his parents hadn 't tried to fi ll that emptiness. They sent him to a private, parochial school through the 12th grade.

And, as Ri ch says, "I went to church every Sund ay with my fam ily. I felt like I was walking with the Lord and leading a life that was pleasing to Him. But when I really sat down and thought about it, I realized that I wasn't, that I was a sinner." He realized that all of his religious activities during those formative years were based on decisions his parents made for him- not because of what he knew he needed to do.

That would all change for Gannon on the night before a home game during th at first year in Minnesota.

"I went to chapel, and I heard a speaker give his testimony," Gannon says. "I felt so guilty inside because he had been wounded in Vietnam and physicall y he was broken. He was missing an arm, a leg, and an eye. And here I was a young, strapping male athlete who had basicall y everything. But I felt I wanted something he had. I knew what he had was that inner joy and peace that a relationship with Jesus brings."

After the service, Gannon talked things over

"*' Loose Gannon. One of the strengths of Rich Gannon's game Is his ability to pick up yards on the ground. Through the first 13 games of the 2000 season, he had the team's highest rushing average (6 yards per carry) and had carried the ball for 443 yards.

with Tom Lamphere, the team chaplain at the time.

Later in that week , Gannon pu t his faith in Jesus Christ-a decision that changed him as a person and gave him the peace of having his sins forgiven.

Nothing, however, changed in regard to his playing status during that first year- or even the second.

In fact, during hi s first three years in the NFL, Gannon played in just seven games; in 1989, he saw no action whatsoever.

Unbridled hope gave way to backup quarterback realities.

But then came the second half of his career as a Viking, which was night-and-day different from the first three seasons. Suddenly, with the departure of Wil son, Gann on became the Vikings' top signalcaller. Between 1990 and 1992, the 6' 3" QB started in 35 of the 4 1 games in which he appt::a red. By 1992, he was the mainstay of new coach Denni s Green's offense. In one game, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gannon threw four touchdown passes for 318 yards and had a quarterback rating of 147.8- the

)> The Gannon Zone RICHARD JOSEPH GANNON 6-3 > 210 > DOB: 12-20-65 Hometown: Gannon grew up in Philadelphia Row, row, row: In high school, Rich was all-league in crew Home team: Wife, Shelley; Daughters, Alexis and Danielle NFL Heritage: Shelley's dad, Bill Brown, played for the Minnesota Vikings Gopher star: Shelley was an All-American gymnast at the University of Minnesota Burma Shave Save: Rich enjoys collecting antique advertising memorabilia Pull over: Rich majored in criminal justice at the University of Delawa re REWIND > Set 21 school records in his four years playing for the Blue Hens > Drafted by the New England Patriots in Round 4 of the 1987 draft; two weeks later was acquired by the Minnesota Vikings> Played for Minnesota from 1987 to 1993. Traded to Washington in preseason 1993. Went to Kansas City in 1995, where he stayed through the 1998 season >Signed by the Raiders in January 1999 THE GOOD STUFF > 1986 Yankee Conference Offensive Player of the Year; honora ble mention All-American > 1991 Set Minnesota record by quarterbacking in seven straight games without th rowing an interception > 1992 On September 27 vs. the Bengals threw fo r four touchdowns and had a 147.8 quarterback rating- fourth best ever. Na med NFC Offensive Player of the Week > 1999 Named to first Pro Bowl

>

fourth highest single-game rating in NFL history.

The Vikings' braintrust, though, decided to derail any ideas Gannon had that he had this NFL thing licked. They chose to pick up Warren Moon and send Rich Gannon packing, trading him to the Washington Redskins during the 1993 training camp. "We had a new coach in Minnesota in 1992," Gannon recalls of his last year as a Viking. "He was young and I didn't think he particularly handled the situation very well at the quarterback spot."

Times were tumultuous for the Washington Redskins as well. After winning the Super Bowl three times under Joe Gibbs, the Redskins were attempting to reload with first-year coach Richie Pettibon at the helm. Mark Rypien was still the quarterback of choice, so Gannon found himself filling in as a sub just as he had during his first tlu路ee years in Minnesota. "I went to a team that was in the middle of some turnover," he says. "The Red kins were 4- 12 that year and fired their coach and got rid of all three quarterbacks."

One of them was Rich Gannon, of course.

That move very nearly ended Gannon's career. Not only was he out as a Redskins quarterback but he also was out as any kind of quarterback- at least for the time being. A rotator cuff injury was discovered late in that lost season of 1993, and Gannon had to go under the kn ife to have it repaired.

He was 28, without a contract, and without a good right ann. Too bad he didn't know that grocery store stocker from Iowa. The two of them wou ld have had a lot to talk about during the 1994 football season.

For Gannon, his ex ile from the game took him back to Minneapolis, where he began to weigh his future options.

"I went from mak ing a million dollars in 1993 to mak ing ze ro doll ars in 1994," Gannon recalls.

"Shelley [Rich's wife] and I just had our first child [Alexis]. There was a lot of uncertainty as to whether I'd ever even play again."

The financial picture hurt even more because Gannon had been offered a contract extension by the Redskins midway through the 1993 season. However, his agents suggested th at because he was just starting to play well wi th the Redskins, he should wait and test the free agent market. By the time he could stick his foot in those waters, his bum shoulder made him a commodity no one would touch.

According to Lamphere, who has been Gannon's friend and spiritual mentor since Rich's rookie year, this was a time when Gannon really had to lean on Christ. " It was his faith that carried him th rough," Lamphere says.

"During that whole time," Gannon says, "I never prayed to the Lord that He' d put me back in the National Football League. I never did that. I just prayed for guidance and strength- that He would take control of my life and my situat ion and whatever He had in store for us."

Gannon was concerned that hi s NFL career had come and go ne. He took an int ernship with a Minneapolis-area telecommunications company, and he did what he could to get his arm back in shape. By

OU T OF NOWHERE?

the time trai ning camp for the 1994 season rolled around, he was throwing and ready to give it a try out. But no one called. Even during the season, with all the injuries and disappointments at quarterback for many teams, Gannon's phone didn't ring. Still he and Shelley prayed.

After a year without a team, on March 29, 1995, Gannon got the chance he needed. The Kansas City Chiefs inked his name to a contract. " I believe it was through God's grace and through His will that I got the opportunity in Kansas City," Gannon says of that signing. The Chiefs signed Gannon with the expressed purpose to make him their backup behind Steve Bono.

Back Gannon went to the sideline, clipboard in hand, baseball cap on his head.

For three more seasons, Gannon would await his turn to be the No. I QB, first behind Bono and in 1997 he was the understudy for Elvis Grbac. That season, because of an injury to Grbac, Gannon started the last five games of the season, helping to lead the Chiefs to a 13-3 record. In 1998, Gannon started 10 games at quarterback for the Chiefs, passing for more than 2,300 yards.

As the season ended, the opportunit y arose for Gannon to make a choice. He could stay with Kansas City, where it was widely known that Grbac would be the No. I quarterback, or he could seek employment elsewhere.

At age 33, he had th e ex peri ence and he had proved that he could win. He was I 0-6 as a starter for the Chiefs in 1997 and 1998. Finall y, it appeared, Rich Gannon had won the right to be more than a backup quarterback.

At least the Oakland Raiders thought so. They had allowed their top QB , Jeff George, to drift off into free agency, and they wanted a man with experience.

On March 2, 1999, Gannon signed a four-year deal with Oakland, who made it clear that the starting job was his.

At the time, Oakland coach Jon Gruden knew what he was getting. Of Gannon, he said, " He can make all the throws. He can throw the ball deep, short, intermediate. He can scramble. He has great knowledge of the AFC West. He's a great leader."

Gannon was equally charmed, it seems. " Oakland was the first place I came," he says of his post-KC search for a new employer. " I was scheduled to go to the Rams as well. I had heard a lot of good things about Jon Gruden. When I mel him and visited with him, I knew right then my decision was made. More than anything, I felt he was a guy who believed in me and wanted to give me an opporiUnity."

After all that time, no one deserved an opportunity more than Gannon- and it has worked out quite nicely.

Although the Raiders managed only an 8-8 season in 1999, Gannon showed that his years of patience and perseverance had paid off. He finished sixth in the NFL with 3,840 yards passing and a 86.5 quarterback rating and fourth in the league with 24 touchdown passes.

Gannon was named to his first Pro Bowl game. The stage was set for what has developed into a remarkable 2000 season for both the Raiders and Gannon.

SPOR TS SPEC TRUM ON THE WE B: http://www. sp o rt.org

By leading the Raiders to a playoff berth this season, Gannon set himself up to be considered an MVP candidate. Among those who suggested the veteran should be given consideration was The Sporting News, which called Gannon "the heart and soul" of the Raiders.

ESPN's Chris Mortenson made Gannon his mid-season pick for the award.

For his part, Gannon deflects such speculation. " It's nattering," he says, " but I don't put a lot of stock in it.

I 've always been more concerned with team accomplishments and goals that we set. I think if your focus is there, all the other things will happen.

My primary focus is to help this football team win."

A backup no more, Gannon realizes that his success now is built on a foundation of the past. He allributes his new success to " the maturation process and the experience, which is very important in this business. I also think I'm in a system that makes sense for me. It allows me to make plays and be competitive.

The system has stood the test of time.

"There's so much that goes into this position," Gannon continues. "It doesn't just happen when you arrive as an NFL rookie. As a young player, it's hard to step into a situation and get into the huddle with guys who are 34 years old and you' re 21. You have to be mature, very confident, and comfortable with yourself."

And for Gannon, it helps to have spiritual maturity.

Often overlooked by experts, this trait, Gannon thinks, has value in the athletic arena. "One thing I've noticed in my 14 years," he says, " is that the most disciplined, the most prepared, the most consistent guys you can count on in this business are Christians. That's not to say that other guys who aren't Christians aren't professional, but the guys who have a relationship with the Lord are able to set aside the distractions of everyday life, and they are able to focus and concentrate. They have their personal lives in order, so they can put all the nonsen e aside and focus on their job."

It's been a long road to the top for Rich Gannon.

While Kut1 Wamer climbed that mountain in one quick, storybook year, Gannon's tale has more of the everyman feel to it. He realized his dreams but discovered that they led to more important discoveries. He faced his maj or setbacks heroically. When his dream seemed to have been extinguished, he refused to give up. He was given a second oppot1unity, and he flourished- finally. He never lost the belief that he could succeed. He bided his time, and now, at the age of 35, he has finally ascended to the upper echelon of NFL quarterbacks.

Will he get the books, the endorsements, and the accolades that landed on Wamer's shoulders last season? You get the idea that it doesn't really matter to Rich Gannon either way. He's got his faith, his family, and finally his football success. None of the rest of it, it seems, would make much difference to this man.

Paul Johnson, a f reelcmce writer 1rho lives in the Oakland-San Francisco area, contributed to this article.

Danielle's Dilemma â&#x20AC;˘ Rich and Shelley Gannon were frightened .

Their younger daughter, Danielle, was very sick, and no one knew what was wrong. The little girl was just a year old back in 1997 when she sud den ly became ill. Her food was not dig esting properly, and she was losing weight. The doctors told Rich and Shelley th at she was "failing to thrive." No one knew why.

"She really struggled," Rich recalls.

"She was starving. Her I stomach was bloated, her ribs were exposed.

She wasn't getting any nutrients, and she was starving right before our eyes. We got down on our knees and asked the Lord for guidance and strength, and that He would let us do what is right for our child."

Finally, after several weeks of tests -during which time Danielle grew progressively weaker- her illness was diagnosed . She had celiac sprue disease. Shelley descri bes it as "a malabsorption problem that occurs in the small intestine from a reaction to gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley, and oats."

As a result, the Gannons had to begin alteri ng Danielle's diet to eliminate any foods that contain glutens.

"My wife is the hero in this," Rich says. "She charged head-on and found out all sorts of stuff. Both of us tried to find out as much as we could about celiac disease. Shelley contacted other parents across the country and found out their tricks as far as shopping and preparing meals-where to get health foods. She's gone out of her way to make sure everything in our house is safe for Danielle. I ad mire Shelley's perseverance through this whole thing."

Rich has become a national spokesperson for Celiac Research, in conjunction with the University of Maryland Center School of Medicine.

To find out more about celiac sprue disease, visit the Center's Web site at www.celiaccenter_org. Or get the recipe for "Danielle's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake" at www.glutenfree.comjpeanutcup.htm - DAVE BRANON

SPOR TS SPEC TRUM- JANUAR Y¡ FEBRUA RY 1001

29

Legends hree years ago, ffiysses "Junior" Bridgeman and his pastor, Bob Russell, were riding in a gondola at Vail. Colorado, after a round of golf. The foursome in the car included an inebriated sportswriter. The scribe issued a stinging put-down of Michael Jordan for an alleged snub, then asked if they knew Jordan. Pointing at the former Milwaukee Bucks' great, the pastor smiled, "He guarded him a few years ago."

"Oh, do you know Jordan?" ''Yes, I do," Bridgeman replied in his subdued baritone, "and obviously you don't."

"They quickly changed the subject," recalls Russell, who counts the business executive among his favorite deacons. "Junior can say a lot with a few words."

Ironically, the NBA's one-time

~ B~

Hen Walker

premier sixth man can't even play pick-up games any more. His doctor delivered the verdict after a 1999 knee operation, which makes his distinguished career that much more of a fading memory.

It seems to have flashed by overnight, says the University of Louisville grad, whose collegiate era ended with a valiant Final Four overtime loss to UCLA. He would go on to tally more than 11,000 points over 12 seasons and become one of only seven Bucks to have his number {2) retired.

"Looking back on it, it's like a different person did that," he says, quietly clasping his fingers. "I have a lot of good memories. I had a .A fronman Bridgeman. Between 1975 and lot of good teammates 1980, Junior Bridgeman played in 408 of and people I developed the 410 games on the Milwaukee schedule. relationships with.

Association for 4 years. He also That's the best part of playing."

Spoken like a true leader, amid helped negotiate one of the the muted atmosphere of the con- league's TV contracts and received ference room at suburban Louis- business insights from Bucks ville's Bridgeman Foods, which owner Tim Fitzgerald.

The innate lessons of sport also owns 135 Wendy's restaurants in four states. The only decorations helped him prepare for today. are a series of framed posters spot- Basketball called for teamwork, lighting such key business qualities maneuvering through ups and as determination, perseverance, downs, and learning from mistakes.

"I learned early on that to be and customer care.

He could add another on ser- successful as a team you had to vant leadership. This corporate give up part of yourself," he says. boss isn't afraid to mix it up with "It's the same way here. Everyone has to give up a little of themlower-level employees.

"When you call him around selves for the benefit of everyone."

That is the kind of nature that noon, he's working the drivethrough," quips Orlando lender led Denny Crum to make the East Jeff Knipe, who has helped Chicago, Indiana, native his first finance his expansion. "That's the recruit at U of L. He could play any position and get whatever you kind of guy he is."

Bridgeman began developing needed, whether it was 20 points, this acumen in the NBA, serv- 10 rebounds, or 5 assists, notes ing as president of the Players' the Hall of Fame coach.

COURTESY: MILWAUKEE BUCKS

i • "

~ 8 • •

•

•

• Played guard and forward at University of Louisville, averag· ing 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for his career • Inthe NBA, played 10years with Milwaukee and 2 with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging 13.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game All·time leader in games played (Z11) for the Bucks. Ranks among team's all·time leaders in 11 statistical categbries Finest NBA season was in 1979·80 with a scoring average of 17.6 and free throw percentage of 86.5 Current member of University of Louisville's board of trustees, and serves on the boards of several local businesses and Boy Scouts of America He and his wife, Doris, have three chil· dren: Justin, 21, a senior at Morehouse College; Ryan, 18, afreshman at Uof L; and Eden, 14, a freshman at Male High School Favorite Bible verse: Psalm 121:1-2: "I lilt up my eyes to the hills-where does my hefp come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Mqker of heaven and earth."

30

"I don't think there was a selfish bone in his body," says Crum.

"He probably could have scored more points than he did, but he was a great team player."

Of course, the most important team he joined was off the court in 1984. Though raised in a small Baptist church, he had drifted from his roots.

Then Lorenzo Romar came to Milwaukee. One day he asked, "Are you a Christian?" Though he escaped with a pat answer, that prompted deep reflection by Bridgeman and a prayer of faith.

Soon, he became part of a team Bible study.

His spiritual decision prepared him for the next step, a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers. The challenges included losing while withstanding Tinseltown's starpowered atmosphere and hero worship of the new franchise.

More important, this biblical grounding paved the way for his second career, which started with a few Wendy's. Despite his status as the burger chain's third-largest franchise holder, he maintains the key aspect is touching others' lives.

"We employ what I would say would have been the factory workers of the '60s and 70s," Bridgeman remarks. "I tell everyone we can have influence on that person by how we treat 'em and what we do.

When it's aU said and done, what we want people to remember is not [the money) but did we have a positive impact on someone's life?"

That may sound like fodder for a motivational speech, but according to Russell the attitude is for real.

"One quality that everyone always talks about is his humility," Russell says. "He never brags or puts on any airs. He does anything you ask him to do."

That's a winning formula, whether on the court or in the boardroom.

Ken Walker is a freelance writer who lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Leah O'llnea~.Jc-o Outfielder, US Olympic Softball team â&#x20AC;˘ Two-time Olympic gold medalist 1996, 2000 â&#x20AC;˘ Three-time first-team AU-American 1994, 1995, 1997 n 1996, I became a part of sports history when I competed with the first-ever US Olympic softball team as we won the gold medal in the 1996 Games. A year later, I played on the University of Arizona softball team when we won our third NCAA national championship. I was on top of the world, and I felt I had accomplished the ultimate in my sport.

But one month after we won that third national title in my final season, my 21-year-old Arizona teammate and dear friend Julie Reitan died in her sleep. I was traveling with the USA team when I heard the news, and it didn't seem real. The only One I wanted to turn to was Jesus Christ- the Savior and Lord Julie had helped me to know more deeply.

I had known Julie since 1994 when she became my teammate on the Arizona softball team. Julie was one of the most lighthearted people I knew. She was always laughing.

In the spring of 1995, Julie invited me to a Bible study with Doug Gotcher, an Athletes

I

in Action staff member on campus.

It wasn't until I attended the study that I realized how little I knew about the Bible.

I knew about Jesus since I was a little girl, I prayed to Him at night, and I tried to be a good person, but I soon realized that being a Christian meant so much more. AU the answers were right in front of me as I opened the Bible. Jesus himself said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again" (John 3:3). I knew I wasn't.

I always thought I was a good person because I was comparing myself to the sins of others. After reading about the perfect life Jesus lived on earth, I realized I could never get to heaven on my own because I was not perfect as He was. I knew I wanted Jesus in my life, so I asked His forgiveness and trusted Him as my Savior.

I have since then been growing closer to God by reading my Bible, going to church regularly, praying, and giving thanks to the Lord in all my circumstances.

I just recently competed in the Sydney Olympics, and our

team brought home the gold for the USA again. It was the most fulfilling experience to be playing at the elite level of softball and to give all the glory to my Lord Jesus Christ. I am learning to "be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances" because "this is God's will for me in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

Julie Reitan and I had different tastes, different styles, and different backgrounds, but we shared the most important bond, Jesus Christ. We might not have met had we not been teammates, but because she shared the free gift of eternal life that God offers through the sacrifice of His one and only son, Jesus Christ, we are now and forever sisters in Christ.

If you would like to know Jesus and be born again, you can come to Jesus right now in a prayer like this: "Dear God, I thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for all my sins. Please forgive me of my sins and make me Your child. Allow the Holy Spirit to live within me. I want You to be the one and only Lord of my llfe, and I want to follow You wherever You lead. Please guide me, direct me, and help me to know You intimately.

Amen."

Free Booldet Most people have some kind of faith-even faith in God. But is there one specific faith that is needed? Read about that question in the booklet Do I Have The Right Kind Of Faith? To get a copy, write to Sports Spectrum Booklet, Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501. Ask for the booklet by title and this code: 00603.

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