Sports Spectrum Podcast

Episode 312 David Pollack is a college football analyst for ESPN. He was selected 17th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals where his career would be cut short by a neck injury sustained on September 17, 2006 in a game against the Cleveland Browns.  As a defensive end at the University of Georgia, he was just the second Bulldog to be named a three-time All-American. Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker was the first. He was the 2002 SEC Player of the Year, the 2003 and 2004 Ted Hendricks Award winner, and the 2004 Chuck Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy and SEC Defensive Player of the Year winner. His 36 sacks for the Bulldogs remain a school record. He joined ESPN in 2009 and has been a staple on their signature college football show, College Gameday, each Saturday morning.  On this episode of the podcast, we talk to David about his football journey, how he came to trust in Jesus, overcoming adversity, turning a nightmare into a dream, and the importance of preaching the Gospel through our actions.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 311 Christina Haugan is the wife of the late Humboldt Broncos hockey head coach Darcy Haugan. Her husband died on April 6, 2018, in a horrific bus crash that killed 16 members of the junior hockey team.  This episode of the podcast features an interview done by contributing writer Dave Dawson, and shares the powerful story of Christina walking through the process of forgiveness after losing her husband and how her faith in Christ guided her and her family.  For more on Christina's story of forgiveness, check out the article written back in April of 2019 on Sports Spectrum here. 

Kelli Masters is an NFL Player Agent. She joined us in July of 2017 on Episode 30 and shared her story of how she came to be a sports agent and where her faith in Christ came from. Kelli is a former National Champion and Five-time World Champion Baton Twirler who graduated with honors from Law School at the University of Oklahoma. Kelli is also the first woman to represent an NFL first-round draft pick with Gerald McCoy (3rd overall) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2010. On this episode from July of 2017, Kelli shares how she stays connected to Christ, while working in a very difficult and ruthless environment.  Listen to the entire interview with Kelli from Episode 30 here.

Episode 310 Kyle Snyder is a 2016 Olympic Gold Medal winning wrestler. He is the youngest Olympic gold medalist and youngest World Champion in American wrestling history.  He was a 3-time NCAA National Champion at Ohio State with a career record of 75-5 and ended his college career as the first and only wrestler to win the NCAA, World and Olympic championships as a collegiate athlete. In May 2018, President Donald Trump appointed Snyder to be a member of his Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Kyle about being an Olympic Gold Medal winner, striving for another Olympic Gold Medal at Tokyo in 2020, how coaching mentors helped open up his eyes to who Jesus was, living out that life of faith as a wrestler, and why he hopes to wrestle until his late 30's.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 309 Caylin Louis Moore should be dead, in prison or stalking the streets of Compton with fellow gang members. Instead, at age 24, he’s a Rhodes Scholar, author, speaker, husband, father and role model for children deprived of hope in downtrodden communities, while at the same time illuminating the seemingly static barriers the youth may face every day. Football and faith played a big role in Moore’s life and eventually led him to Ft. Worth, Texas, to play Division I football at Texas Christian University. Moore’s first book, “A Dream Too Big: The Story of an Improbable Journey from Compton to Oxford” (Nelson Books, June 2019), recounts his exodus from one of the most impoverished, gang-infested communities in the United States to the elite spires of Oxford, England. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Moore about his difficult childhood, growing up in Compton, escaping the gangs and drugs to become a college football player, and then eventually a Rhodes Scholar. This is a powerful story that will surely inspire you.

Episode 308 Marcel Reece played 10 years in the NFL from 2008-2017 with the Dolphins, Raiders and Seahawks. After going undrafted in 2008 out of the University of Washington, he spent two years on the practice squad with the Raiders before getting his shot. And he made the most of his opportunity, going on to be selected for four Pro Bowls in his nine seasons with Oakland. After spending 2016 with the Seahawks, Reece was re-signed by Seattle in July 2017. But following the preseason, he was a final cut and released on Sept. 2, 2017. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Reece about growing up in Inglewood, Calif., as a Celtics fan, making it to the NFL after being undrafted, and the influence his grandmother and mother had on his journey to Jesus. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com   

Episode 307 Leah O'Brien-Amico is a softball legend. She's a three-time Olympic gold medal winner, a three-time NFCA first-team All-American and a three-time WCWS national champion in college. Considered one of the top women's softball players of the last 25 years, O'Brien-Amico was inducted into the National Softball Hall of Fame in 2009, the Athletes In Action Hall of Faith in 2008, and the University of Arizona Hall of Fame in 2002. Currently, she travels the country teaching, speaking and sometimes preaching, sharing her story of faith, hope, love and softball. She's also a broadcaster, doing work for ESPN and Westwood One in their coverage of college softball. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to O'Brien-Amico about her storied softball career, playing in the Olympics, her powerful testimony of faith, and what it was like playing with fellow legends Lisa Fernandez and Jennie Finch. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Today we look back to our interview from July of 2017 with Ted Barrett, Major League Baseball Umpire on the podcast.  Ted has been umpiring Major League Baseball Games since 1994. He became a full-time MLB umpire in 1999. Ted is the only umpire to ever be behind the plate for TWO perfect games. (David Cone in 1999 and Matt Cain in 2012) He has umpired in 4 World Series including the Red Sox Championship in 2007, the Cardinals title in 2011, the Giants beating the Royals to win it all in 2014 and the Red Sox beating the Dodgers in 2018.  Barrett is an ordained minister and recently completed his doctorate in theology. He is the co-founder of CALLING FOR CHRIST, a ministry serving professional baseball umpires. Listen to the entire interview with Ted from Episode 21 here. 

Episode 306   Trent Shelton is a former NFL wide receiver who is now considered one of the most impactful speakers of this generation. He reaches more than 50 million people weekly through his various social media outlets and non-profit organization, RehabTime. Shelton travels the world sharing his message of creating lasting change in life. After playing college football at Baylor, Shelton went undrafted in 2007 but eventually signed with the Indianapolis Colts. After stints with the Seattle Seahawks in 2008, Washington Redskins in 2009 and the Tulsa Talons of the Arena Football League in 2011, Shelton’s football career came to an end. Shelton’s first book, “The Greatest You,” was released May 7. On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Shelton about his football journey from Baylor to the NFL, growing up the son of a pastor, hitting rock bottom, losing his college roommate to suicide, fathering a son out of wedlock, and how God took him from a life of pain to a life of forgiveness and purpose. For more info, check us out on the web -- http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 305 Nick Ahmed is a shortstop with the Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2011, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft, and he was traded after the 2012 season to Arizona in a seven-player deal. He made his MLB debut on June 29, 2014. The University of Connecticut alum became the regular shortstop for the Diamondbacks in 2015, and in 2018 he won his first Gold Glove Award. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Ahmed about life on the road during a long 2019 MLB season, winning a Gold Glove last year, being a believer in the big leagues, and how he remains grounded in his walk with the Lord. We also hear the powerful story of how he came to Christ on a baseball field in Mobile, Ala., in 2013. You can help Ahmed raise money to serve the homeless and hungry, and provide life-saving and life-transforming resources, with his HITS campaign by clicking on his website - https://pledgeit.org/ahmed2019. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com