Marvin Gaye Sings National Anthem at 1983 NBA All-Star Game
by Trent Gilliss, senior editor
Do I wish this man was still with us! There’s no singer quite like him. The crowd just swoons at his rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and one can’t help but feel a bit patriotic after hearing this.
Happy Memorial Day to all.
(A heartfelt hat tip to thecarolynblog for this gem.)
"Manute Bol's Radical Christianity"
Trent Gilliss, senior editor
I’ve been hesitant to post one of the many articles and blog posts that have been written about former NBA player Manute Bol’s recent passing. Jon Shields opinion piece in Friday’s Wall Street Journal is something worth reading. The topic at hand? The context of redemption.
“Yet as Bol reminds us, the Christian understanding of redemption has always involved lowering and humbling oneself. It leads to suffering and even death.
It is of little surprise, then, that the sort of radical Christianity exemplified by Bol is rarely understood by sports journalists. For all its interest in the intimate details of players’ lives, the media has long been tone deaf to the way devout Christianity profoundly shapes some of them.”
If I’m facing Andy Pettitte on the Yankees and I’m praying for a home run, and he’s praying for a strikeout, I don’t think the result is going to show who has greater faith…
—Mike Sweeney, designated hitter for the Seattle Mariners
Hey sports fans, CNN recently compiled a dozen photos showing athletes “in prayer” and asking, “When did God become a sports fan?” The article focuses primarily on this as a Christian question, but the image of former Muslim NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (born Chris Jackson) made me more curious about how athletes of other faiths invoke God in their sport. This 2007 profile of Abdul-Rauf, “The Conversion of Chris Jackson,” gives more depth to the question.
Colleen Scheck, senior producer
