Church Pew Sports - Pastors Talking Sports & Life

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 162  - Is The NFC North - Football's Best Division? It's a 2-man studio this week as we look at football's strongest collection of teams - the NFC North - led by the red hot Detroit Lions. We also look at the playoff contenders in College Football, discuss the true meaning of "born on third base," and navigate the challenging protocols of Halloween candy distributio...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 161  - College Football Has An Officiating Mess We're turning up the heat on college officiating after the Texas-Georgia debacle, mourning the current state of the Wolverines, celebrating a gritty Lions win, and wondering why the WNBA players think a walkout is in their best interests. Get ready for some high energy debate fun stretching from Michigan to Minnesota t...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 160- The Mighty NFC North - The Best Division in Football A most unusual thing has happened. The NFC North has become the strongest division in the NFL with the Vikings, Lions, Bears, and Packers all contending for the crown and rolling over teams from across the league. Our panel of fans dives into the surprising strength of the NFC North, the loyalty of fans, and...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 159 - The Amazing Detroit Tigers And Other Baseball Talk We're focusing on Major League Baseball's postseason and the stunning run by the young Detroit Tigers, closing the season on a 31-13 tear to go from a .2% chance to claiming a wildcard spot, beating the Astros, and going further than anyone anywhere thought they could. We also explore: Momentum in Baseball and...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 158 - Armen Keteyian On College Football's Era of Chaos We welcome in NY Times Best-selling author, Emmy Award winner, and legendary investigative reporter Armen Keteyian to talk about his new book, THE PRICE: What It Takes To Win In College Football's Era of Chaos. Armen discusses the current state of college football, particularly focusing on the issue of player c...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 157 - The NFL Is Back - Is YOUR Team Ready? This week we focus our attention on the launch of the NFL season, exploring team storylines, QB battles, rule changes, the pretenders and contenders, and what it truly means to be in the Bills Mafia. This week's CPS Starting Host Lineup: Bill Hobson Pastor Paul Miller Dr. Dallas Gatlin Pastor Carson Greenhaw Pastor Brian S...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 156 - Are You Ready For Some Football? We're running out of the tunnel and taking the field for the start of FOOTBALL SEASON! With a 6-guest lineup bringing the heat, we explore the Michigan asterisk, Stalions Netflix doc, SEC offensive explosion, Brian Kelly's postgame rant, and bring some Super Bowl predictions. It's football, football, football! This week's CPS S...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 155 - Stolen Kickers and Ultra Marathons We're back after a summer respite and hitting the ground running VERY long distances as we learn the ins, outs, ups and downs of the world of Ultra Marathons before diving into the big sports headlines of the past few weeks - the story of Alabama stealing a kicker, the husband who gave his wife a 2-week notice that football w...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 154 - OUR REACTION TO THE SHAMEFUL OPENING CEREMONY DEBACLE: A Church Pew Sports Special Episode The entire world of sports and faith is buzzing about the amazingly offensive and pathetic Olympics Opening Ceremony provocation of Christianity and the "Big C" church around the globe. Here's the Church Pew Sports reaction to the controversy…from the standpoint of a spo...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 153 - The Summer Olympics Are Here - A CPS Preview The eyes of the sports world turn to Paris for the Summer Olympics and the storylines are numerous. On this edition of Church Pew Sports, we explore the much-anticipated competitions  as well as those that make no sense being included (breakdancing?) in the Olympics. We also sneak in an early review of the hottest v...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 152 - Unlimited NIL Dollars - Is That What Kids REALLY NEED? We're in the slow summer days of sports but there's still MUCH to discuss on this fun edition of the podcast. We're exploring: Mike Gundy's most unusual defense of his player being busted for drunk driving The Oregon Ducks being "blessed" with unlimited NIL money from major donor and Nike Founder, Phil Kni...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 151 - Waving Goodbye to NCAA Amateurism As summer plows ahead, so does the march to end the pretense of amateurism in college sports. What does it mean when the NCAA approves the paying of "student" athletes? Where is it all headed? We've got an extra intense discussion about the demise of amateur college sports and you'll want to hear all of it. We open by welcomin...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 150 - Why All The Hatin' On Caitlin? The WNBA Has Issues The WNBA's premier "needle mover" is rookie Caitlin Clark, but some in the league view her with more disdain than appreciation - and it's playing out in the form of over-the-line physical punishment. Why? We explore that question and many more in a wide-ranging Church Pew discussion that concludes with a serio...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 149 - Harrison Butker & Scottie Scheffler: Undefeated It's rare to have the entire sports world focusing on the words and actions of an NFL kicker and PGA Tour golfer but the last few days have seen Harrison Butker (KC Chiefs) and Scottie Scheffler (World #1 Golfer) thrust squarely in the center of the news cycle for completely different reasons. We're discussing Bu...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 148 - NBA Playoffs - Knicks, Nuggets, and Too Much Spike The NBA Playoffs are bringing the drama and perhaps the next generation of superstars...along with far too many courtside shots of Spike Lee. What are the big storylines and which teams are headed to the Finals? We discuss with special guest, Knicks G League Assistant Steve Miknis and superfan Brian Sharpe. Th...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 147 - See Thru Uniforms And Other Strange Sports News We start with a really fun update on the world of baseball with Scott & AnnaMarie Holmgren as they continue their tour of every MLB ballpark and then we're exploring the bizarre sports headlines like see thru baseball uniforms, a change in "America's Team," the NCAA going down in flames, and many more! This week'...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 146 - I Feel A Draft - Your Guide To The NFL Draft This episode is your complete guide to the 2024 NFL Draft, including predictions about Caleb Williams, JJ McCarthy, what your favorite team needs to do to improve, and the pressure on GMs to never again repeat the Tom Brady mistake. This week's CPS Starting Host Lineup: Bill Hobson Pastor Paul Miller Alex Rauch - GA...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 145 - The Masters - A Tradition Unlike Any Other There is no sporting event quite like The Masters. The traditions, the champions, and even the rules for patrons all come together to deliver a remarkable experience. From the Champions Dinner to the instant ejection if you're caught with a cell phone, we're talking all things Masters on this special edition of Church...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 144 - The Unwritten Rules of Sports Bunting to break up a no hitter. Taking too long of a home run trot. Scoring an empty net goal via slapshot from up close. The list of "unwritten rules" in sports is lengthy and when those lines are crossed, tempers often flare. We're examining those lesser known parts of sports where viral video clips spring up because someone br...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 143 - Making Sense of March Madness It's non-stop basketball as the NCAA March Madness Tournament enters the second week, filled with fantastic drama and storylines. Small schools pulling upsets, free throws deciding games, 94 replay reviews in the final 2 minutes, the Women's Tournament more popular than ever, and all of us wondering how our brackets could go so te...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 142 - Coaching Chaos and Leadership Lessons For Everyone With these turbulent times among coaching staffs in college and the pro ranks, we're looking at the upheaval from a unique angle - what it says about the profession, the sports culture, and the similarities to church culture. If you're a fan of "leadership content," this episode of CPS is definitely for you! B...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 141 - Spring Training Special with Dan Dickerson of the Detroit Tigers We're honored to be joined by the voice of the Detroit Tigers, Dan Dickerson, to explore the wonders of Spring Training not only for the Tigers but across the league. How seriously do managers take the outcome of games? What are all those scouts doing? What's the vibe in spring vs regular season?...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 140 - Is The NBA Still On YOUR Radar? No more football means it's time to take in some basketball and that means checking out the NBA. But is the NBA still on your radar? Based on the feedback from All Star Weekend, hoop fans are less than thrilled with the product being presented by the professionals.  This week on CPS, we're catching up on the lead NBA storylines...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 139 - A Swiftie Super Bowl Dynasty The Super Bowl is behind us but the storylines continue to play out. This week, we welcome in special guest Jason Romano from Sports Spectrum, back home after a Super Swiftie week in Vegas. He's got great stories of faith-centered player interviews and we explore the controversy surrounding the "He Gets Us" commercial. This week's...

Welcome to Church Pew Sports Ep 138 - The Agony of Defeat - Crushing Sports Losses Surrender cobra. Bartman. Trouble with the snap. Decker reported. Bird steals the pass. Our sports fandom lives are saturated with crushing defeats as our favorite teams somehow lose games you knew they would win, leaving you with the agony of defeat. We're exploring some of the most painful losses our hosts have ex...