Sports Spectrum Podcast

Episode 190 Reza Zadeh was born in Iran in 1977. He came to the United States in 1980 at the age of 3.  Through his teen years in high school, Reza was focused on football and school but it was during his time at Colorado State in college that he was first introduced to Jesus Christ.  Today, he's the chaplain for the Denver Broncos and working for Athletes in Action ministering to college athletes at various schools across the state of Colorado. In part 1 of our conversation, Reza shares his powerful testimony of coming to faith in Christ at college, why he came to the USA from Iran with his family and why ministering to pro and college athletes is something he has a passion for.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 189 Matthew Boyd is a pitcher with the Detroit Tigers. After playing his college ball at Oregon State, Boyd was selected in the 6th round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.  He made his MLB debut on June 26, 2015 against the Texas Rangers. One month later, on July 30, he was traded to Detroit as part of the David Price deal.  Boyd earned his first MLB victory on August 5, 2015 against Kansas City. In 2018, Boyd had his best season yet, starting 31 games, 170 innings, 159 strikeouts and led the team in wins with 9. A contributor to Sports Spectrum's INCREASE articles, Boyd and his wife Ashley started a non-profit in 2018 called "Kingdom Home" where young people in Uganda are rescued from sex trafficking, gender based violence, forced child marriages and abandonment and given the safety they need while being raised up with the love of Jesus Christ.  On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Matthew about his 2018 season, how his faith has shaped him throughout his MLB career, the crazy 2015 season that saw him get married and live in 5 different cities after being traded, and why he felt compelled to start a non-profit and help those in Uganda who are in need. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Katie Lentz is currently an administrator for MLB’s Baseball Assistance Team, a charitable organization that assists members of the baseball family in need of financial, medical or psychological assistance. But this story isn’t about baseball, it’s about survival. Katie should have died after being hit, head on, by a drunk driver. She suffered multiple fractures including two broken femurs, a broken tibia and fibia, a broken left wrist, nine broken ribs, a lacerated liver, ruptured spleen and bruised lung. But she didn't die. She lived and her story is incredible. In this Throwback Thursday edition of the podcast, Katie shares the story of the mysterious priest who showed up at the site of her wreckage while she was trapped in her car.  You can listen to the entire interview of Episode 18 of the podcast here.  For more, log on to SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 188 Wesley Woodyard plays linebacker for the Tennessee Titans in the NFL. He was originally undrafted in 2008 coming out of Kentucky, where he was two-time First Team All-SEC in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, he signed with the Denver Broncos, where he played five seasons and helped Denver to a Super Bowl berth in 2013. In 2014, he signed with the Tennessee Titans and is now in his 5th season in Nashville. This season, he has helped the Titans to a 5-4 start and had 20 combined tackles and 2.5 sacks in wins over Dallas on Monday Night Football and New England. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Wesley about the Titans recent success, playing through injuries, what faith looks like in the Tennessee locker room, how his faith has evolved since coming to the NFL, leading the team's chapel for the first time and his biggest spiritual challenge this season. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 187 Trevor Knight played quarterback at Oklahoma from 2012-2015. He was the 2014 Sugar Bowl MVP after throwing for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-31 win over Alabama. In 2016, he transferred to Texas A&M, where he threw for 19 touchdown passes and ran for 10 touchdowns in his senior season. After not being selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, Knight signed a deal with the Arizona Cardinals before getting released right before the season began. After a stint on the Falcons practice squad, he underwent back surgery. Knight will return to football in the Alliance of American Football spring league that makes its debut in the spring of 2019. In part 2 of our conversation, we talk to Trevor about being recognized on College Gameday by pop singer Katy Perry, how faith played a role in his decision to transfer from Oklahoma to Texas A&M, what he learned from Carson Palmer and Matt Ryan and how missions trips to Haiti impacted his life in a powerful way.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 186 Trevor Knight played quarterback at Oklahoma from 2012-2015. He was the 2014 Sugar Bowl MVP after throwing for 348 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 45-31 win over Alabama.  In 2016, he transferred to Texas A&M, where he threw for 19 touchdown passes and ran for 10 touchdowns in his senior season. After not being selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, Knight signed a deal with the Arizona Cardinals before getting released right before the season began. After a stint on the Falcons practice squad, he underwent back surgery. Knight will return to football in the Alliance of American Football spring league that makes its debut in the spring of 2019.  In part 1 of our conversation, we talk to Trevor about returning to football after being out for over a year, where his faith journey began, how he dealt with the news of his father's cancer diagnosis in high school, dealing with adversity and how he was able to fight temptations during his time in college.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com

Episode 185 Kevin McCadam played 5 seasons in the NFL with the Falcons and Panthers. He was selected in the 5th round of the 2002 NFL Draft by Atlanta where he would play 4 seasons before signing in Carolina in 2006.  He played his college football at Virginia Tech where he starred at safety for the Hokies. In 2007, his NFL career was over after being released by the Jaguars in the preseason.  But it was what happened to his life after retirement that changed him forever.  Kevin is now the assisting pastor at Calvary Chapel in Morgantown, West Virginia. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Kevin about his NFL journey, playing with Michael Vick, winning a playoff game at Lambeau Field, coming to faith in Christ after his playing days and leaving the sports world to go into ministry full-time in West Virginia.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

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