Stay ConnectedSports Spectrum brings you stories and conversations at the intersection of sports and Jesus.
On Tuesday, former Chicago Bears pro bowl running back Matt Forte hosts TUEDAY MORNING RB.
On Friday, we feature a guest from the world of sports to share their Jesus story.
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James Brown is the host of CBS Sports' NFL Today show and joined us on Episode 17 of the podcast back in June of 2017.
Since February 2006, JB has served as host for the CBS Television Network’s NFL pre-game show, THE NFL TODAY. He has also hosted the Network’s Super Bowl pre-game show for its coverage of Super Bowl XLIV (2010) and for Super Bowl XLI (2007).
On this Throwback Thursday edition of the show, we bring back JB's story of how he shares his faith in the workplace.
You can listen to the entire interview of Episode 17 of the podcast here.
For more, log on to SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 184
Les Norman was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 25th round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut on May 29, 1995 and played 2 seasons with the Royals.
He is currently a syndicated sports radio host, TV analyst, author and motivational speaker. You can hear his show "Breaking the Norm" on ESPN's 1510 AM and 94.5 FM in Kansas City each Tuesday as well streaming on his website LesNorman.com.
Les grew up in less than ideal conditions with a father who was abusive and an alcoholic. Years of battling the ‘father wounds’ drove Les to those same addictions, and attempts to cover them up almost cost him his family. Through God’s healing power and His Word, Les uses His story and years of experience to share and help other men live a life ARMED for battle.
On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Les about growing up with an abusive father, how he dealt with his Dad's death, how baseball drove him to many of the same decisions that his Dad had made and the awesome story of a coach coming alongside Les and sharing the Gospel with him. This is a story of redemption and amazing grace.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 183
Jason Eaker joined Oklahoma Baptist as their head men’s basketball coach in April 2018. Eaker, who spent one season in a Bison uniform before finishing his playing days at Hardin-Simmons University, grew up coming to OBU games. His father, Allen Eaker, is an OBU Athletics Hall of Famer who played on the 1966 OBU national championship basketball team.
Eaker came to OBU from Mercer, where he has been an assistant coach since 2013. He has 15 years of coaching experience, including nine years as a NCAA Division I assistant coach. He has been in the postseason six times with three different programs and has recruited or developed 16 players that have earned All-Conference honors.
Eaker previously worked as an assistant coach at Liberty University from 2007 to 2013 after being director of basketball operations for the Flames from 2005 to 2007.
Eaker spent a year as Kelvin Sampson’s graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma in the 2004-05 season and started his basketball staff career as Hoffman’s video coordinator at Texas Pan-American in 2003-04.
In part 2 of our two-part conversation, Jason opens up about a mistake he made that led to him stepping away from coaching. He shares why he did what he did, and the lessons he's learned from God about healing, reconciliation and redemption.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 182
Jason Eaker joined Oklahoma Baptist as their head men’s basketball coach in April 2018. Eaker, who spent one season in a Bison uniform before finishing his playing days at Hardin-Simmons University, grew up coming to OBU games. His father, Allen Eaker, is an OBU Athletics Hall of Famer who played on the 1966 OBU national championship basketball team.
Eaker came to OBU from Mercer, where he has been an assistant coach since 2013. He has 15 years of coaching experience, including nine years as a NCAA Division I assistant coach. He has been in the postseason six times with three different programs and has recruited or developed 16 players that have earned All-Conference honors.
Eaker previously worked as an assistant coach at Liberty University from 2007 to 2013 after being director of basketball operations for the Flames from 2005 to 2007.
Eaker spent a year as Kelvin Sampson's graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma in the 2004-05 season and started his basketball staff career as Hoffman's video coordinator at Texas Pan-American in 2003-04.
In part 1 of our two-part conversation with Jason Eaker, we learn about his coaching journey, what it meant to him to get his first head coaching job, his biggest adjustment going from assistant coach to head coach, what the grind of recruiting is like and how his faith shapes the way he goes about his job.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 181
Ashley Brewer covers sports in Los Angeles for ABC7 as a reporter and anchor.
Ashley attended the University of Southern California, where she was a member of the varsity women's swimming team and competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials (100-meter backstroke).
After graduating from USC, Ashley became a college football sideline reporter for Cox 7 Arizona. She then became the weekend sports anchor at KGUN-9, the ABC affiliate in Tucson, Arizona. In her two years at KGUN, Ashley covered all professional and college sports, as well as Super Bowl XLIX and the 2016 College Football National Championship game.
Her love of sports comes from growing up in a family of five Division-I athletes. Her oldest brother, Charles, was a pitcher for the Diamondbacks, her brother Chase played baseball at UCLA, and her younger brother Connor played QB at the University of Virginia. Her younger sister, Abby, played volleyball at USC. Ashley's mother, Deborah Pyburn Brewer, was also a television anchor in Phoenix for almost 10 years before leaving to start a family.
On this episode of the podcast, Ashley shares what it likes to cover sports in Los Angeles, growing up in a sports family of elite athletes, where her faith began to take shape, what Jesus and church looks like in Hollywood and how she stays grounded in her faith through Matthew 5:16.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Ernie Johnson hosts TNT's Inside the NBA and joined us on Episode 7 of the podcast back in May of 2017.
On this Throwback Thursday edition of the show, we bring back Ernie's story of coming to faith in Christ.
You can listen to the entire interview of Episode 7 of the podcast here.
For more, log on to SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 180
Tony Bennett has been the men's basketball coach at the University of Virginia since 2009. He's led the Cavaliers to 3 ACC regular season titles, and 2 ACC conference titles. In 2018, Virginia was the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after finishing with a 31-3 record. For his accomplishments, Bennett was named the NABC Coach of the Year, the Naismith Coach of the Year and the AP National Coach of the Year.
After playing his college basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay under his father Dick Bennett, Tony was selected in the second round of the 1992 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets. He would go on to a 4-year NBA stint from 1992-95 before a foot injury would end his career.
Prior to Virginia, Bennett was the head coach at Washington State, where he brought that program to the national spotlight by winning 26 game in back-to-back seasons in 2006-07 and 2007-08.
On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Coach Bennett about becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, how he was able to face that adversity with humility and grace, where his faith journey in Christ began, why beginning his day in the Lord is a discipline that he instilled into his life and how he lives his faith out everyday as a prominent coach, and the Bible verse that he is clinging to right now.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 179
Christa Dietzen is a 2-time Olympic Volleyball player with Team USA. She was the co-captain of the 2012 London team that captured the Silver Medal and the 2016 team that won Bronze.
She was selected to join the U.S. National team roster in May of 2009. Prior to that, she led Penn State University to 2 back-to-back NCAA championships.
The 2007 Big-10 player of the year retired from volleyball following the 2016 Olympics and is now a public speaker, encouraging and sharing her testimony and story to others.
In part 2 of our two-part podcast, Christa shares the emotional journey of her first Olympic experience in London at the 2012 games, returning to the 2016 games in Rio, retiring at the age of 29 and how her platform has led her to sharing and speaking about her faith testimony to others.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 178
Christa Dietzen is a 2-time Olympic Volleyball player with Team USA. She was the co-captain of the 2012 London team that captured the Silver Medal and the 2016 team that won Bronze.
She was selected to join the U.S. National team roster in May of 2009. Prior to that, she led Penn State University to 2 back-to-back NCAA championships.
The 2007 Big-10 player of the year retired from volleyball following the 2016 Olympics and is now a public speaker, encouraging and sharing her testimony and story to others.
In part one of our 2-part podcast, Christa shares how she came to love volleyball, her time at Penn State and how her drive toward becoming an Olympian actually led her to faith in Christ.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
Episode 177
George Schroeder is in his 7th season covering college football for USA Today. Previously, he worked in Arkansas and Oregon before taking the job with USA Today in 2012.
The University of Oklahoma grad is married to Elizabeth and has 3 children, Elizabeth, 18, George, 17 and Christopher, 8.
On this episode of the podcast, we hear about George's work covering college football and where George's passion for the sport began. But the majority of this interview is spent telling the story of George's son Christopher and how God was able to do a miracle in his young son's life. This is a story of faith, trust, hope and love through a difficult season of life for George Schroeder and his family.
For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com
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