"Faith" in publicly funded sports
Continued from the sports topic on the main page, "Attacks on Separation of Church and State" (Go back)
 Albert & Dee Dee Pujols: Giving Honor to God
Focus on the Family, Daily Radio Digest, August 15, 2006
Albert Pujols is the first Major League baseball player to hit 30 home runs in each of his first five seasons. But Albert's main goal is to hit a grand slam for God by winning others to Christ. Tune in today as he and his wife, Dee Dee, talk about their ministry to orphans and to families who have been affected by Down Syndrome. Click here to listen to the broadcast.
You Can Keep the Faith
Dave Zirin, The Nation, July 28, 2006
In this "Southpaw" column Zirin focuses on the first of the "Faith Days and Nights" at an Atlanta Braves home game, on July 27th. He notes that Focus on the Family is the major backer of Third Coast Sports, the producer of the events, in which churches bus in their flocks to fill the stands and enjoy religious entertainment. Zirin also pints out that, despite the ecumenical-sounding title, no Jewish, Buddhist or Muslim groups have been invited to bus in their congregants to their own day or night. "Beneath the veneer, [Faith Days and Nights] represents the ugliest edge of right-wing evangelism and its advancing influence," he writes. Click here.
Giant deal: Third Coast Sports lines up movie sponsorship
Nashville Business Journal, July 14, 2006
Third Coast Sports, the Nashville company that conducts Faith Nights at professional athletic events across the country, has inked the controversial Christian film "Facing the Giants" as a major sponsor for 2006.
"Facing the Giants," which opens in late September, is Provident Films' movie about a football coach's faith in God. The film has garnered national press because the Motion Picture Association of America rated the film PG (parental guidance suggested) instead of G (suitable for all audiences), making critics question if the MPAA considers religious content cause for parental caution. Continue
Baseball's Rockies seek revival on two levels
By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, June 1, 2006
DENVER — No copies of Playboy or Penthouse are in the clubhouse of baseball's Colorado Rockies. There's not even a Maxim. The only reading materials are daily newspapers, sports and car magazines and the Bible.
Music filled with obscenities, wildly popular with youth today and in many other clubhouses, is not played. A player will curse occasionally but usually in hushed tones. Quotes from Scripture are posted in the weight room. Chapel service is packed on Sundays. Prayer and fellowship groups each Tuesday are well-attended. It's not unusual for the front office executives to pray together. Continue
The Rockies Pitch Religion
Dave Zirin, The Nation, June 2, 2006 (web only)
Reacting to USA Today's report that the Colorado Rockies are running an explicitly religious operation, Zirin finds that several baseball teams are staging faith nights this season. The teams, which are often supported with taxpayer funds, are working with evangelical organizations to bring their flocks to the ball park for a game and some worship. Click here
Athletes in Action blogs track summer ministries
By Tricia Allen, Baptist Press, June 5, 2006
XENIA, Ohio (BP)--Summer is a busy time of year for Athletes in Action, the sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Between May and August, hundreds of college athletes and AIA staff travel the world to play competitive games, run clinics and attend sports camps.
Each opportunity is used to share the love of Jesus Christ as well as to teach the athletes how to be lifetime ministers of the Gospel. Continue
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