Author Archives: Brett Honeycutt

Airing It Out — The way sports should be

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With all of the scandals, shootings, ill-advised comments (verbally and in social media), and general negativity surrounding today’s sports world, I wondered if sports had finally lost its safe-haven reputation it once enjoyed.

Would 2012 be remembered as the first year of a new era, where negativity began to rule the sports world? Had it become like the other news that we always see and read about? You know, the news that primarily highlights the negative (controversies, killings) or the bad side of stories (that actually do have positive sides), and the media people who can’t seem to come to grips with the good side of life?

Or do sports still provide a fun, positive side of life? You know the kind of fun where people see kids as kids instead of opportunities to land NBA contracts or college scholarships, and where people see coaches as grown-up kids who want to have a little fun and enjoy a game?

A game.

After thinking about this, and not for that long, I was reminded of four stories that gave me my answer.

1. Grinnell College men’s basketball: In late November, tiny Grinnell College, an NCAA Division III school in Grinnell, Iowa, produced the most talked-about game and individual (Jack Taylor) in the sports world. Every major sports network and internet site, as well as NBA stars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, couldn’t help but talk about it because of the mind-boggling stats.

Taylor, a sophomore guard, had scored an all-divisions record 139 points to lead the Pioneers to a 179-104 victory against Faith Baptist. That Faith Baptist’s David Larson scored 70 points was lost in most of the initial reports about the game.

However, the record-breaking achievements were monumental for more than merely the points scored in the game. At least nine collegiate records were set, including field goals made (52) and attempted (108) by Taylor, as well as three-pointers made (27) and attempted (71) by Taylor.

The fun, though, began about 20 years ago when longtime Grinnell coach David Arseneault came up with a system, based on a formula where he requires his team to take at least 94 shots per game and that 47 of those come from three-point range. To accomplish this, he uses at least 15 players per game (rotating them in groups of five every other minute), and has them shoot the ball every 5-12 seconds while focusing on offensive rebounding and the full-court press (their goal is to force 30 turnovers per game) the entire game.

Through nine games (as of Dec. 28), Grinnell had not scored less than 105 and was averaging 123.2 points per game while going 7-2 (in both losses, Grinnell scored 114 and 116 points).

Sounds like a video game…and a winning formula.

2. “Silent Night” at Taylor University: “Silent Night” has been going on since the late 1980s at Taylor University, a small, evangelical Christian college in Upland, Indiana, that was founded in 1846.

The nearly 30-year-old event, centered around a men’s basketball game the Friday before final exams, gained national attention the past few years, and again this year when Yahoo! Sports featured it on their homepage with a story (by a Yahoo! writer who attended the game) and some video content (from Taylor).

What “Silent Night” is, in a nutshell, is students having fun in clever and creative ways.

When the game begins, students (dressed in various costumes) wait in complete silence until the 10th point is scored, and then the packed gym of more than 2,500 students bursts out into a deafening roar like what you would hear after a team wins the national championship. And then, near the end of the game, the students begin singing “Silent Night” in unison. Afterwards, students go to a campus-wide event called Habecker’s Hollapalooza, which has live Christmas music and is a place for students to make and eat Christmas cookies and make gingerbread houses.

I love the last part.

Taylor’s video, which runs for 2 minutes and 35 seconds and aptly shows all of this (except for Habecker’s Hollapalooza), went viral and gained nearly 1.6 million hits in less than 20 days.

It reminds me of college, because I went to a Christian school and we had to create our own fun. We didn’t party or get drunk, much like today’s secular college culture does to experience what they would consider fun. We had to be clever and/or creative to make our own fun.

I’m thinking Taylor should invite Grinnell for the next “Silent Night” event. Now that would be fun.

3. High school football coach Kevin Kelly: The name won’t sound familiar, but Kevin Kelly has been featured in Sports Illustrated several times and is revered by both the coaching and sports analytics community for his innovative style and unique way of playing football.

Kelly, the coach at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Ark., always, always goes for it on fourth down, so his team never punts. Yes, never. The Bruins also always have onside kicks. Always. They even have 12 different onside kick plays, which show their seriousness and commitment. And when it comes time to receive a punt, they never return it for fear of fumbling or getting an unnecessary penalty.

Once, in 2011, Pulaski scored the first 29 points of a game against Cabot High without Cabot running one play. The sequence was something like this: Score, onside kick, recover, score, onside kick, recover, score, and so on. All of those points came in the first 3 minutes, 25 seconds of the game, which Pulaski won 64-34.

In addition, Pulaski almost always passes the ball and also runs numerous trick plays throughout the game. Not just one here or one there, but the trickery is commonplace each quarter.

At first glance, it appears to be all a gimmick, a fun way of running an offense or keeping the kids engaged or the fans wondering or opposing coaches guessing.

But this madness is actually rooted in statistics, which have proven true over the last 10-plus years when Kelly has compiled a 114-22 record and won three state titles, including the last in 2011. This past season, Pulaski finished 10-3 and was one victory away from playing in the state championship game.

It’s like Madden NFL the video game – except it’s real.

4. Davidson Day’s crazy football game: When one team scores 70, 80, 90, or 104 points in this case, in a football game, eyes usually roll, critics usually start thinking about poor sportsmanship, and sympathizers usually start thinking about the poor team that had 104 points scored on it.

But this time, scoring 104 points was born out of necessity. Yes, necessity.

The final score: Davidson Day 104, Harrells Christian 80.

Yes, the opposing team scored 80 points. And, no, this wasn’t 8-man football. It was 11-man, traditional football.

The only thing not traditional was the score.

And, oh, by the way, it was a semifinal playoff game to decide which team would play for the state title.

“I don’t know what to say,” Davidson Day coach Chad Grier told The Charlotte Observer. “It was crazy. I don’t think I’ll ever live to see something like that happen again. It was just nuts.”

More nuts than the score were the stats: Junior quarterback Will Grier, who just committed to Florida and is the coach’s son, threw for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns (the yards broke a 12-year-old national record and the TDs tied a national record).

Also, Davidson Day’s Jordan Brown had 13 catches for 302 yards, and Harrells Christian running back Russell Washington rushed 46 times for 429 yards and eight touchdowns (the rushing touchdowns tied a state record).

And the point total of 184 points broke a state record set in 1930.

On top of that, Davidson Day scored on every possession except one, and Harrells Christian only punted once and had two turnovers.

Another Madden-like game.

If Pulaski Academy and Davidson Day could get together next year, that would be something worth putting on TV.

So, yes, despite the craziness and negativity, sports have remained that last safe-haven for us to enjoy sports for what they were meant to be—a game.

Were there any negative stories or comments about any of those four stories? Of course, there will always be cynical and crazed people looking to turn a positive into a negative or who always see the glass of water as half empty instead of half full (or even completely empty).

But, in these four instances, the positive truly outweighed the negative, and it helped me see that sports can truly be fun—even in today’s world. It also reminded me of something Paul said in Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

Why does it remind me of Paul’s writing?

Because he wrote this and all of Philippians (the “Book of Joy” some call it), while in prison.

He saw the positive despite the negative.

And we can, too. Especially when we have fun reminders like these.

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was published in the December 2012 Sports Spectrum DigiMag. Print and digital subscribers, log in and view the issue here. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

Coach Of The Year: Mark Richt

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Mark Richt told Sports Spectrum that he knew he first wanted to be a coach “when I couldn’t play anymore.”

That simple, yet practical, revelation, led Richt on a journey that would eventually lead him to the University of Georgia, where he has carved out a pretty nice career at one of the SEC’s elite football programs.

Since taking the Georgia head coaching position in 2001, he has compiled a 117-40 overall record and a 67-29 mark in the SEC, the nation’s toughest college football conference, while also winning six SEC Eastern Division titles and 2 SEC Championships.

This season, he led the Bulldogs to an 11-1 regular season record and a 7-1 mark in the SEC Eastern Division, which they won in a tie-breaker over Florida to set up the SEC Championship game against Alabama.

And even though the Bulldogs narrowly lost (32-28), it didn’t put a damper on one of Richt’s best seasons at Georgia and is why Richt is Sport Spectrum’s Coach of the Year.

It wasn’t only the accomplishments that set Richt apart this season, but it’s his view of his responsibility to the football players at Georgia that make him worthy of the award.

“I’ve learned that the relationships with these young players that you’re involved with are as important, and even more important, at times than the wins and losses,” Richt told Sports Spectrum’s “Conversations” podcast.

Richt also said that his faith is so intertwined in his everyday life that it’s impossible to divide the two when leading men and helping shape their lives.

“I think everybody has a belief system,” he said. “Everybody believes in something, and so whatever you believe in, whatever you have faith in, shapes you, period. What kind of a husband you are, what kind of father, what kind of a coach, whatever it is you do, I think it shapes how you live your life. I can’t say I can separate my vocational life from my spiritual life. I don’t think that’s possible for me.”

One reason it’s impossible for Richt to separate that, is the Scripture that has guided and helped him balance his personal life and coaching career.

“Colossians 3:23 says: ‘Whatever you do, do your work heartily unto the Lord, rather than men.’ So I think that’s what you do. Whatever you do, you do your work heartily and you do the best you can and unto the Lord, rather than just doing it for your boss or for man. I think that this kind of carries over not only at work but home as well.”

Which is why Richt continues to strive for excellence on and off the field.

COACH RICHT’S FAVORITES

Favorite Bible Verse?
“Colossians 3:23 that I mentioned a little bit ago is one that’s kinda meant to me a lot of the years, there’s no doubt about that. Jeremiah 17, verses 7 and 8, are pretty powerful for me as well: ‘Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.’”

Favorite Bible character (other than Jesus)?
“Moses was a pretty interesting guy. I could relate in some way when Moses was asked by God to free his people from Egypt and Moses was like, ‘Well, who am I to do this?’ And God said, ‘I will certainly be with you.’ I was able to relate to that a little bit when I first took this head (coaching) job at Georgia or even when I first became the offensive coordinator at East Carolina. I mean, there are jobs that are just bigger than you are able to handle. ‘God, why me? I’m just not really capable.’ And He’s like, you know, ‘I will be with you.’ That gives you comfort.”

Favorite QB growing up?
“Joe Namath. Without a doubt.”

Do you have a favorite in the NFL now?
“Well I’d have to say Matt Stafford. He’s our guy, he’s a Georgia boy. Absolutely.”

Any hobbies outside of football?
“Bowling. That’s my game. Used to be racquetball but I can’t move around much anymore. Bowling is the last competitive thing that I could do physically and have the shot at still being pretty good.”

To listen to Sports Spectrum’s complete Conversations podcast with Mark Richt, go to:www.sportsspectrum.com/articles/tag/georgia-football/program.

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine.

Female Athlete of the Year: Allyson Felix

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As Allyson Felix neared the finish of the 200 meters at the London Olympics this past summer, spectators could see that her goal would finally be reached.

When she crossed the line, she won her first Olympic gold medal in the 200 meters and erased the memories of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics when she earned silver each time.

“My biggest defeats have come at the Olympic Games,” Felix told the Associated Press. “After Beijing I was devastated, I had worked as hard as possible, but I came up short. But I decided to rededicate myself even harder and it was a blessing in disguise. I was able to work harder than ever before and finally it all came together.”

“I was in tears in Beijing, and gosh, complete opposite tonight,” Felix said after winning gold in London. “For it all to come together is just extremely special, I’m overjoyed. I was just thinking, ‘Be aggressive. It’s the Olympics, anything can happen.’ I knew if I went out and ran my race it would come together. It felt good. I said ‘Thank you, Lord.’ It was relief, joy, just a flood of emotions.”

It took more than winning what some considered an elusive gold medal, though, to be named Sports Spectrum’s Female Athlete of the Year.

That gold medal was just one in a string of accomplishments by Felix in 2012, when she became the U.S. 200-meter champion, three-time Olympic gold medalist and the International Association of Athletics Federations Female World Athlete of the Year.

But it wasn’t only the hardware that she obtained; it was the manner in which she obtained it.

* Her 21.69 seconds in the 200 meters at the U.S. Championships made her the fourth fastest woman in history at that distance.

* The three gold medals were the most of any female track and field athlete in the Olympics since 1988, when Florence Griffith-Joyner accomplished the feat.

* The gold-medal winning 4×100-meter relay time of 40.82 seconds that she helped produce, along with Tianna Madison, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter, broke a 27-year-old world record of 41.37 set by the vaunted East Germans.

* The whopping 0.55-second improvement to the world record in the 4×100-meter relay was the biggest improvement in that event in history and took down the third oldest women’s record in history.

* The time in the 4×400-meter relay, which featured DeeDee Trotter, Francena McCorory and Sanya Richards-Ross, of 3 minutes, 16.87 seconds, was the fifth fastest time in history and beat silver medalist Russia by 3.36 seconds, the largest margin of victory in the Olympics since 1976 when the East Germans beat the United States by 3.58 seconds.

* Felix’s relay split, a stunning 47.8 seconds, helped her become only the fifth woman in track and field history with a split faster than 48 seconds and the first non-Eastern Bloc woman to run under 48 seconds (the last time someone ran that fast was in 1988).

* Along with the IAAF Female Athlete of the Year, she also won the IAAF’s Female Performance of the Year along with Madison, Knight and Jeter for their world record in the 4×100-meter relay.

“It was pretty close to being a perfect race!” Felix said in Barcelona, Spain, on Nov. 24 when the quartet received the award. “We trusted each other in getting the stick around and we just had fun. We’re still letting it all sink in and we still can’t believe the performance. I think that we belong together now, and with the World Championships coming up I hope we’ll compete together again. There’s a possibility that it might not be the same four, but what we did in London, we’ll never forget that.”

On receiving the IAAF’s Female World Athlete of the Year award: “It’s so special,” said Felix. “I’ve always looked at the award for being the person who is at the top of their sport. To receive that recognition is just amazing to top off my year, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

After standing for photos alongside Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who won the IAAF’s Male World Athlete of the Year, Felix was asked how that felt.

“Very special,” she said. “I talked (to him) about when we came here before and we were both receiving “Rising Star” awards (in 2003), and so who would’ve thought that so many years later we would both be male and female athlete of the year, which is pretty cool.”

Felix’s success on the world scene began at an early age when she was still in high school.

In 2001, as a sophomore at Los Angeles Baptist High School, she won the 100 meters at the World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. She followed that with success at the World Junior Championships and Pan American Games before winning four gold, and two silver medals in the three Olympics, along with eight gold, one silver and one bronze in four World Outdoor Track and Field Championship, one gold in the 2010 World Indoor Track and Field Championship, and three gold, one silver and one bronze in four World Athletics Finals.

Despite her continued success over a long stretch of time, some feel that Felix should be just as well known in the United States as Usain Bolt is known throughout the world.

Running Times Magazine Senior Writer Parker Morse said he “doesn’t know why she’s not the most famous female athlete in the country. She has a great attitude, great ethic and great performances. I’ve never met anyone with anything bad to say about her.”

Despite forgoing college after graduating from high school, Felix still earned a college degree in elementary education from Southern Cal in 2008 (following in the footsteps of her mom, Marlean, who is an elementary school teacher).

Felix’s dad, Paul, has also helped instill that great attitude and ethics that Morse mentioned.

“I’m excited she’s getting recognition,” Paul, a New Testament professor at Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, Calif. and an ordained minister told Sports Spectrum this past summer. “But my wife and I have always said that our greatest joy is to hear that our children, Wes and Allison, are walking in the truth. Go after winning a gold medal in your relationship with Him. In my mind, that’s far more important.”

Allyson Felix acknowledged that guidance and upbringing just before the Olympics.

“Growing up as a preacher’s kid has really grounded me,” Felix said in a USA Today story. “I’ve grown up with these amazing parents who are hard workers, and they truly live out their faith. They’ve been amazing role models for me. I feel like I really picked up on what they taught me and kept that with me all along in my running and in my career.

“For me, my faith is the reason I run. I definitely feel I have this amazing gift that God has blessed me with, and it’s all about using it to the best of my ability.”

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine.

Bringing Liberty To Uganda

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Jodi Murphy was recruiting another player when she found out about Natalie Barr.

That’s where she found out that her life intersected with Barr’s.

They knew they had a passion for field hockey, but both also had a passion for the people of Uganda, and a passion for helping bring hope and true life to Uganda through sports.

The beginnings of that connection, though, began two years prior, in the spring of 2010, when Liberty University announced that it was starting a women’s field hockey program.

“I had already been praying about the next steps for me in terms of coaching,” Murphy says. “I had been at the University of Richmond, then for six years, and I had been kind of itching to do something else. I knew right away that was an opportunity that the Lord had opened a door, so I sought that out.”

She interviewed and was given the job. Then came the process of recruiting players. She began looking for athletes who fit what Liberty stands for: Christians who want to play athletics at the NCAA Division I level, the highest in college.

After contacting a former coaching colleague from Northern Ireland, he gave Murphy a few names of potential players, one of whom was a good friend of Barr.

“I asked her if she knew someone who would want to come with her to make the transition a little bit lighter from the UK to the states, and at that point is when she began talking about Natalie,” Murphy says. “I mentioned to the girl one of the initiatives that I have is to continue to work with my non-profit out in Uganda, to do camps and clinics.

“She stopped there in the conversation, and said, ‘O my gosh, I can’t believe that. This family, the Barrs, they, too, have a non-profit in Uganda and they are looking to do more work, hockey-related, in the schools and in the capitol city.’ The Lord, it’s just amazing how He scripted the story. No one else could write it aside from Him.”

Murphy and Barr both had non-profits, Charlene’s Project (www.Charlenesproject.org) and Pathfinder Hockey (www.pathfinderhockey.org), which helped Barr’s interest tremendously.

Seeing the Need

Both first visited Uganda in 2008, before they knew each other.

And both came away being impacted so much that they had to act.

Barr visited Uganda with her family, including her sister Charlene, who was born with cystic fibrosis and couldn’t compete in sports growing up.

After seeing that the people suffered from poor health conditions and poor education, and noticing that the children would not have survived her sickness had they been born with it, Charlene decided to focus her time raising money to build a school in Uganda – despite her health severely deteriorating after returning from Uganda.

That became the charity, Charlene’s Project.

When Charlene passed away, the family continued the charity and raised enough money to build the first school, Hidden Treasure, which opened in 2011.

They have been back to conduct field hockey camps and give away donated equipment to the children.

For Murphy, seeing the desperation of the people was also key in getting involved. Many families have been slaughtered by a Ugandan named Joseph Kony, and their orphaned children made to fight for Kony.

“When I first went, I was going with that burden on my heart just to get an understanding for what those people were going through, as Natalie said, to bring some fun lightheartedness, some activities to a people who had been suffering,” Murphy says. “Many kids who had lost parents, tons and tons of orphans that needed that love and attention. Like her when I got there, they filled me up so much and it was their joy…that really affected my heart. And I just came back, not with just a desire to return, but to return with something I loved and something the kids could latch onto…the Lord just really made a way for us to all use field hockey as a means to share and spread the gospel, but more than anything for them to pour into our lives and help us to see just how fortunate we are here in the states.”

Connecting at Liberty

That’s where the connection made sense.

“(Murphy) told me that it was not only the shared love for God and field hockey that has brought us together, but also our love for Uganda,” Barr, a native of Northern Ireland, told Dwayne Groff, a graduate assistant in the Liberty University Athletics Communications Office. “When I first heard about coming to America to play field hockey, I wasn’t really interested in it because I knew that I wanted to go to Uganda and teach. It was Coach Murphy’s link with Uganda that really got me interested in coming here.”

Once she visited Liberty, she was hooked.

“I came on a special visit (during Easter of 2012) and I really fell in love with Liberty,” says Barr.

But their interest didn’t stop with Uganda.

Making Liberty a competitive program, even in the Flames’ second year of existence, was also a goal.

This past season, Liberty finished 16-6 and won the NorPac Field Hockey Conference’s East Division title before making it to the title game against West Division winner Stanford. Though the Flames lost 3-0, finishing the season with a winning record and reaching the championship game were monumental achievements for such a young program.

Barr, a freshman midfielder, was also the East Division’s Offensive Player of the Year after finishing with 16 goals, and eight assists while ending up second in the NorPac in points per game (2.0) and third in goals per game (0.8). Both were 18th best in the country and her 16 goals were best in the nation by a freshman.

“God gives us all different talents, and different tasks,” Barr says. “We always want to win, but at the end of the day it’s a sport and it’s a game and there’s more important things in life, and I think that trying to use the talents and the gifts that God’s given you to give all the glory back, that’s really the way I live. After every game, we always pray and try to give the glory back to God to show that there is more to life than just the game.”

Indeed, there really is.

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine.

Airing It Out — Heart control

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Early on the Saturday morning of Dec. 1, 2012, Kansas City Chiefs starting linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend after shooting her nine times.

He then drove approximately five miles to Arrowhead Stadium where he thanked his coach, Romeo Crennel, and his general manager, Scott Pioli, for everything they had done for him.

Then he shot himself to end his own life.

After contemplating this for days after the incident, it hit me that part of the tragedy was the brief life Belcher, his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, and their daughter had lived here on earth and the brief life they had lived together.

Belcher was only 25 years old, and his girlfriend only 22. Their daughter, Zoe, was only three months old when her parents left this earth.

Belcher’s unthinkable actions had created a void in multiple people’s lives and orphaned a child who will never know her father and mother.

Another part of the tragedy hit me as well—that insensitive, irresponsible, and negative people in the media would, only hours after the killings, begin debating gun control.

At best, it’s grandstanding, shameful and a heartless exploitation of a tragedy.

NBC sportscaster Bob Costas was one of the culprits who brought the debate to us the next day, shoving the issue into people’s living rooms during halftime of Sunday night’s telecast between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.

During halftime, he quoted noted FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock, the other culprit, who, in his piece, made an unfortunate and unsubstantiated claim by saying: “If he did not have a gun they would both still be alive.”

Even though I’m amazed each time people in the media politicize something, especially something as tragic as a death, I shouldn’t be because facts don’t seem to matter to them—only their opinions, usually based on emotions.

To be honest, it makes me want to put them in a time machine and warp them back to the Revolutionary War when our ancestors were fighting for their lives—with guns. Or, stick them in a car headed to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, ranked as one of the world’s worst places to live because of the drug-infested environment where drug cartels shoot, stab and cut off people’s heads. Why? Because, as ABC TV affiliate KVUE in Austin, Texas, noted in a November story, regular citizens have difficulty purchasing guns to defend themselves because Mexico has one of the toughest gun control laws in the world. The criminals have guns because they obtain their guns illegally, because, well, criminals do illegal things like that.

If Costas and Whitlock visited America’s past and Mexico’s present, I’m sure they would have different opinions.

Gun control is not the answer. Cain didn’t kill Abel with a gun, and O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, along with Ronald Goldman, weren’t shot to death; they were stabbed to death.

The countless hours spent debating gun control after the incident, though, was nearly as unthinkable as the crime itself. People kill people, and people use guns, knives, baseball bats, and anything they can get their hands on because they’ve lost control of their emotions. Crazed, deranged, thoughtless and heartless are adjectives that come to mind to describe people like that—and it all stems from some sort of emotion, whether it’s anger, bitterness or misguided passion.

What killing really boils down to, though, is a heart issue, not a gun issue.

If it was a gun issue, then we should outlaw any instrument used to kill someone (knives, baseball bats, lampstands, and even alcohol, which indirectly causes people to kill others). But we aren’t doing that because people, again, ignore the facts and have politicized a serious issue (the majority of one political party believes we should have the right to bear arms, and the majority of another party believes we should limit that right or do away with that right all together).

The argument for limiting or doing away with guns is based on the premise that someone who is thinking about killing someone, and didn’t have a gun or have access to a gun, will think longer if they have to use any weapon other than a gun. Their reasoning is that it’s too easy to quickly pull a trigger, and it’s too hard and time-consuming to kill someone by any other means.

But when a person shoots someone nine times, emotions are already too high. They’re out of control and would use anything to kill the other person.

Thinking otherwise is naïve at best. I point you, again, back to Exhibit A (Cain and Abel), and Exhibit B (O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman, who weren’t shot to death with a knife).

You’re probably wondering why I’m even talking about this, but I’m doing so because I’m fed up with people in our country allowing the media to think for them. People have accepted and parroted the ideas that shoot across the airwaves without giving it an ounce of thought or introspection.

We’ve done in it in politics (both sides), we’ve done it in society, and we’ve done it in our faith.

Here’s hoping that we see the heart of the matter and that we work on changing lives, not by trying to take guns out of people’s hands, but by introducing them to Christ, discipling them and helping them grow in their faith.

That is what Jesus, not the media, teaches us to do in order to truly save lives.

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was published in the November 2012 Sports Spectrum DigiMag. Print and digital subscribers, log in and view the issue here. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

NBA Closeup – Jeremy Lin

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“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:9

It was a simple request. Let me stay on the New York Knicks roster.

That was the prayer request uttered by Jeremy Lin on January 27 at a pregame chapel with teammate and friend Landry Fields teammate Jerome Jordan and Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem.

“The chaplain asked us to share a prayer request, and I knew February 10th was right around the corner, so that was what was on my heart, just that I would be able to continue to stay on the roster and be with the team the rest of the year,” said Lin in front of reporters during NBA All-Star week. “So that’s kind of what I shared with the group of guys.”

That date, Feb. 10, was the deadline for the Knicks to decide if they wanted to keep Lin or cut him.

On the day of the request, it could have seemed like an easy decision. Lin, who had been cut by two teams (his hometown Golden State Warriors and then the Houston Rockets on Christmas Eve of all days), had played in only nine games for the Knicks before Jan. 27, averaging a mere 6.1 minutes and 3.6 points per game.

Eight days later, when he scored 25 points off the bench to lead the Knicks to a 99-92 win against New Jersey, “Linsanity” was born.

“Linsanity” was the term given to the insane media attention toward Lin, a Harvard graduate who was sleeping on his brother’s couch and then on Fields’ couch because he didn’t know if he would have a job and, in return, have enough money for rent.

What makes Lin’s story so endearing to Christians is that he proclaims Christ and isn’t ashamed to talk about his faith. Lin, the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, is the ultimate underdog who wasn’t given a chance, but has wowed fans with his desire, work ethic and genuine humbleness—the antithesis of today’s all-about-me athlete.

During that first stretch of seven games when Lin exploded, he led the Knicks to a 7-0 record, averaged 24.4 points, 9.1 assists and was the first player since mega-star LeBron James in 2003 to have at least 20 points and eight assists in his first start.

The Feb. 10 deadline was met with an exclamation point by Lin. He torched Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers for 38 points (Kobe had 34), led the Knicks to a 92-85 victory, and his 89 points in his first three starts were the most by any player in that stretch since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976.

The Knicks had no choice but to keep him.

The records kept coming, though. The next day, he scored 20 points in a 100-98 win against Minnesota and became the first player in NBA history with at least 20 points and seven assists in his first four starts.

Three days later he scored 27 points in a 90-87 victory against Toronto, scoring 136 points in his first five starts to best Shaquille O’Neal’s NBA record of 129 over the same span.

From there he was selected to the Rising Stars Challenge game during NBA All-Star Week by none other than Shaq, who was the “general manager” of the team. Lin’s selection came despite it being too late for NBA coaches to choose him for the game and despite David Stern not issuing a commissioner’s exemption to include Lin in the All-Star game festivities.

Lin’s popularity has been so intense that his online jersey sales became the best in the NBA, and so broad that his popularity reached to China, where they voted him first in an online fan vote for his performance in the Rising Stars Challenge—despite only scoring two points.

Lin’s popularity also caused the extreme (a Boston-based Ben & Jerry’s put out a “Taste the Lin – Sanity” ice cream flavor for a limited time) and the expected (Nike released a Jeremy Lin shoe at the end of February).

But most of all, it caused people to write and talk about his faith—because he had the faith to  pray and believe.

After the season, New York let Lin get away, much to many Knicks fans dismay. The Houston Rockets, the same team to cut him on Christmas Eve, gave him a three-year, $25 million deal.

By Brett Honeycutt

NCAA Women’s Basketball Power Rankings

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 1. Baylor: Reigning national champs. Reigning national player of the year Brittney Griner. All five starters return. Need I say more?

2. Connecticut: Perennial national power Uconn is seemingly always in the hunt for the title. This year is no different.

3. Duke: The Blue Devils haven’t won national titles like the men’s program, but they have been one of the best in women’s hoops for a while.

4. Stanford: All-American Chiney Ogwumike (15 ppg, 10.1 rpg) leads a program that has made five straight Final Four appearances and won 12 straight conference titles.

5. Maryland: The Terrapins return three all-ACC starters, including ACC Player of the Year Alyssa Thomas who helped Maryland to a 31-5 record and an Elite Eight appearance.

6. Kentucky: Second Elite Eight appearance in three years coupled with first SEC regular-season title in 30 years makes this team a true contender.

7. Notre Dame: Skylar Diggins is one of the best players in the nation and because of that she gives the Irish a great shot to win a national title.

8. Penn State: Alex Bentley (preseason co-Big Ten player of the year) leads a team that won the Big Ten regular season and made the Sweet 16 for the first time in eight years.

9. Louisville: Four starters return with huge expectations after the Cardinals made their sixth NCAA tournament appearance in seven years.

10. Georgia: The last time the Bulldogs had four returning double-digit scorers (2001), they won their second straight SEC title.

11. Ohio State: Returns four starters, including senior guard Taylor Hill who is one of the nation’s best players.

12. Delaware: All-American Elena Delle Donne makes this the women’s version of Butler.

13. California: Nearly everyone returns for second-year coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who guided the Bears to runner-up finishes in the Pac-12 regular season and tournament.

14. Vanderbilt: All five starters return, including first-team All-SEC player Christina Foggie, for a program that has had 10 straight NCAA tournament berths.

15. Oklahoma: Guard Whitney Hand, wife of OU quarterback Landry Jones, leads a team that returns all five starters who helped the Sooners finish second in the Big 12 and make their 13th straight NCAA tournament.

16. West Virginia: First season in the Big12 could be interesting after playing in the always tough Big East.

17. St. John’s: Looking for its fourth straight NCAA tournament berth from a team that returns four starters from the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance.

18. Texas A&M: Led by Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gary Blair, the Aggies first season in the deep SEC won’t be a shock for a program that won the NCAA title in 2011 and has reached the Sweet 16 four of the last five years.

19. Nebraska: Jordan Hooper and Lindsey Moore, two of the nation’s best players, will lead a team that returns four starters.

20. Tennessee: Odd to see the Lady Vols this low, but we’ll see if the rift between the school and Pat Summit’s leaving is a distraction.

21. Middle Tennessee: As odd as it is to see Tennessee low, it’s even stranger to see Middle Tennessee competing for the best women’s hoops program in the Volunteer state.

22. Oklahoma State: Last year’s WNIT champions won nine of their last 10 games and return all five starters, including Big 12 Freshman of the Year Liz Donohoe.

23. Purdue: Last year’s Big Ten tournament champions have a lot to prove to their conference, which picked the Boilermakers third in the preseason team.

24. Miami (Fla.): The return of All-ACC players Stefanie Yderstrom and Morgan Stroman make the Hurricanes a threat nationally.

25. DePaul: Six of the top seven players return, including All-American Anna Martin and the Big East’s leading rebounder in Katherine Harry.

Airing it Out — What sports lockouts teach us about society

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“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” Hebrews 13:5

“And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” Luke 12:15

“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.” I John 2:16

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24

NHL fans, and there are a few, are experiencing withdrawal right now because of disagreement and inability to compromise.

Not the fans’ disagreement or the fans’ inability to compromise, but the owners and players.

For the third time in 18 months, sports fans are suffering through another lockout by one of the four major sports leagues.

It boils down, though, to greed, pride, discontent, lack of perspective, greed, pride, discontent, lack of…you get the picture.

Before you shoot me an email or think about arguing with me, consider these facts:

• The median household income for the United States was $50,502, according to U.S. Census data released in September. That’s household income. Not one person, but two.
• The average retirement age for U.S. workers is 67, according to Gallup’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey in April.
• The median retirement income for U.S. households 65 or older is $30,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
• The average lifetime salary for U.S. workers is $2.2 million per person, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Compare those numbers to these:

• The average income by a professional athlete in the four major sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL) is $3.19 million according to a report by YahooSports last November.
• The average lifespan of a professional athlete in the major four sports is 5.76 years (or about 26 years old), according to an ESPN The Magazine story in the Oct. 1 issue.
• The average lifetime salary for pro athletes is $17.5 million.

So, the average lifetime salary of professional athletes ($17.5 million) is nearly eight times larger than the average lifetime salary of U.S. workers ($2.2 million).

Get the picture?

So, remind me again why the owners and the players are in the midst of a lockout?

Whether you blame owners or players or both, you have to agree with this: It boils down to an unrealistic perspective by both compared to the average worker and household—you know, the people who pay to see these athletes.

I will leave you with these words from I Timothy 6:6-10: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was published in the All-Basketball, October 2012 DigiMag. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

Angelic Host

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Angel Goodrich was the key last season in Kansas’ improbable 70-64 upset against third-seeded Delaware, helping the Jayhawks advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament for the first time since 1998.

Goodrich’s 27 points led the 11th-seeded Jayhawks, who surprised many by even making the tournament and surprised even more by beating a Delaware team that entered with a 31-1 record and was led by the nation’s leading scorer, 6-foot-5 Elena Delle Donne.

Even though Kansas lost in the next round to perennial national power Tennessee, the run was a testament to Goodrich’s hard work to overcome setbacks in her own life.

Goodrich enters her senior season as one of the nation’s best point guards after leading the nation in assists (7.4 per game) last season and setting Big 12 and Kansas single-season records for assists (250).

But the road to the Sweet 16 was tough, not just because Kansas had to beat a team like Delaware, but because the Jayhawks had to overcome the loss of leading scorer Carolyn Davis to a knee injury at the beginning of February and then had to overcome the disappointment of losing six of their last eight regular-season games.

Overcoming, though, is what Goodrich had dealt with several seasons prior—multiple times.

Hurdles of Life

As a high school senior from Oklahoma in 2008, Goodrich was one of the most highly touted point guards in the nation. She was an All-American and Oklahoma’s 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year who had led Sequoyah High to three state titles and one runner-up finish. She even earned all-state as a sprinter in track.

Success was inevitable. Or so it seemed.

During the second day of practice her freshman year at Kansas in October of 2008, Goodrich crumpled to the floor.

The pain around her knee was evident.

“To be honest, I didn’t know what to think,” Goodrich says. “It hurt…I knew I did something.”

She had torn the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee and would miss the entire season.

“It was very hard,” she says. “The tough part was just not being able to get out there and play my first year. Coming up here and being away from home, it was tough, because I couldn’t just go and talk to my mom. Another tough thing was it was painful. It’s like a mental thing. You had to have a strong mentality to get through it. It was just tough through the whole thing…trying to push through and not knowing what you had to go through.”

She was able to walk right after surgery, but it would take several months before she was pain-free in her rehab exercises and several more months before she was ready to play again.

Another Setback

The following season, she started the first 15 games and was fourth nationally in assists (7.1 per game) while also leading the Big 12 in that category.

Then, during the second half of a game against Oklahoma State, on Jan. 12, 2010, it happened again. This time she tore the ACL in her left knee.

“I know at one point when I was going through the process of my first one, I was thinking if this happens to me gain I won’t be able to do it,” Goodrich says. “After that, I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t know if I was being punished again or why this was happening to me. I didn’t know what to think. I knew I could get through it, though, because I got through the first one.

Her team, family, and her faith would be keys to helping her through it.

“It helped so much knowing they were there and they wanted to support me,” Goodrich said.

“The second time I was thinking, ‘Why me? Why did this happen?’ But through the whole thing, I got to the point that I wasn’t going to let this get me down. I’m not going to let this stop me. I’m going to keep pushing. This is something I really love to do and this is not going to be the thing that stops me from doing it.”

At first, she questioned God, but later realized the blessing in the injuries.

“Now I look back and I know He did it for a reason,” she said. “I know He made me a better person for putting me through it, and He was there with me through the whole process, and He just made me who I am today.”

Her family has been key in encouraging her in her spiritual walk, telling her that God “puts you through things to make you a stronger person.

“You just have to let him lead you on the right path.”

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor at Sports Spectrum magazine. This story was published in the All-Basketball, October 2012 DigiMag.

Airing It Out — Culture wars

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There is a culture war going on and Yunel Escobar is in the middle of it. So is U.S. gymnastics Olympic star Gabby Douglas.

The culture war involves an array of social issues involving Christianity, but we’ll address Gabby Douglas first. Her story deals with an attack directed straight at her faith.

It started with what Douglas said after winning Olympic gold for the all-around gymnastics competition.

“I give all the glory to God. It’s kind of a win-win situation. The glory goes up to Him and the blessings fall down on me,” Douglas said on TV as she was being interviewed after her competition.

It apparently didn’t sit well with Salon writer Mary Elizabeth Williams, who stirred things up when she wrote a bigoted piece against Christians in general, and against Douglas specifically.

Williams basically said, in a subtle way, that Douglas shouldn’t be given the freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Well, Douglas could be allowed to have those freedoms, but if she did it would make people not like her and it would make people feel “uncomfortable.”

However, Williams didn’t care that she was, in essence, advocating for silencing Douglas. Williams didn’t care about the denial of free speech or the denial of freedom of religion, given to us by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Williams didn’t care about too much, except her feelings and her agenda. In a nutshell, she was showing religious intolerance.

Here’s what Williams wrote: “Yet after her victory, one of the first responses that truly resonated for me was from a colleague who noted, ‘I would like her more if she were not so, so, so into Jesus.’ Which raises the question—what is Jesus going to do now for Gabby Douglas’ career? And that clearly authentic image of a hardworking girl with strong values makes her a natural icon to her fellow Christians, just as it makes the somewhat less faithful uncomfortable.”

What Williams’ colleague said resonated with her so much, she wanted to let everyone else know.

Count Williams in the “somewhat less faithful” and “uncomfortable” crowd.

Remember, how people feel is how they believe and that negates what you believe, no matter if it’s based on truth.

What the opposing side to Christianity will say is that Christians are intolerant and bigoted, even though they are being bigoted and intolerant toward their faith and toward Christ on a regular basis.

In essence, they are saying, “What you believe is wrong. What we believe is right.” And in the same breath they will say, “You can’t be absolutely sure what you believe is right anyway,” while asserting, in a subtle way, that they are absolutely sure what they believe is right.

Seem like a double-standard? It is. But they don’t care.

Which brings us to Escobar, the Toronto Blue Jays star who ruffled some feathers when he used eye black with the Spanish word “Maricón” written on it.

It was labeled a gay slur by most media, but people in the Latin American community saw it a little different. Why? Because they understand the language.

It earned Escobar a three-game suspension by Major League Baseball, a press conference where Escobar apologized, and constant harassment by the media.

In the Latin American community, though, there was outrage—not at Escobar, but because of the way the media had portrayed the word and had portrayed Escobar, and there was outrage against MLB because of the suspension.

Julio Pabon, founder of LatinoSports.com, wrote a piece in which he acknowledged that the word was bad, but in no way was it a gay slur in the Latino community.

Pabon interviewed Latino baseball players who were incensed at how Escobar’s situation had been handled.

Said longtime star Omar Vizquel, “That, in our culture, in Spanish the word has a much different meaning.”

But lost in translation was that the media, and our culture, has said they don’t care about someone else’s culture or views. What they care about is how they feel. How they believe. And if you don’t conform or believe the same way, you’ll be labeled a basher, hater, and bigot. They will also say they have a right to their beliefs, and despite your right to believe differently, you are wrong and your right is negated because you are a basher, hater and bigot.

The sad part is that they are all of those things, too. They bash Christianity, they hate Christians and their faith, and they are Christian bigots.

They don’t believe that you have a right to believe anything that opposes what they believe. No matter what the truth is—whether it’s truth found in your faith or truth found in your culture.

They’re right. You’re wrong. At least that’s what they believe.

But don’t be surprised. We were warned in Isaiah 5:20: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Get used to it. We’re in a culture war.

By Brett Honeycutt

This column was published in the September 2012 Sports Spectrum DigiMag. Print and digital subscribers, log in and view the issue here. Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. His column addresses topics from a biblical perspective. Follow him on Twitter-@Brett_Honeycutt. 

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