Sports Spectrum Podcast

Today on the podcast, our Sports Spectrum Managing Editor Jon Ackerman joins host Jason Romano to preview the 2021 Winter edition of the Sports Spectrum Magazine.  --- SIGN UP for Sports Spectrum Magazine (1 year $18 or 2 year $30) here .  --- Looking for a holiday gift idea? Order our new devotional book: " The Increase 52 Week Devotional: Inspiring Stories of Faith from the World of Pro Sports."

Today on the podcast, we talk to 3-time Super Bowl Champion Matthew Slater of the New England Patriots. Jade McCarthy talks to Matthew about his 200th career NFL game, gratitude for his time with the Patriots, sharing his faith and his work with Compassion International's FILL THE STADIUM initiative. --- BLACK FRIDAY DEAL!!  For three days only, Nov. 26-28, if you order a Sports Spectrum magazine...

Walker Zimmerman is a professional soccer player for the MLS with Nashville FC. He was originally selected in the first round (7th overall) in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft by FC Dallas and played five seasons there before landing in Los Angeles for two season and coming to Nashville in its inaugural campaign of 2020. In February of 2020, he scored the first goal in Nashville FC history and was named as...

Danny Gokey is a singer/songwriter who finished in third place on the eighth season of American Idol in May 2009. Since then, he has released eight albums including his latest "Jesus People."  Gokey is a 2019 K-LOVE Fan Award winner for "Male Artist of the Year" and GMA Dove Award winner in 2016 for Christmas Album of the Year.  Today on the podcast, we talk to Danny Gokey about his American Idol...

Chris Nikic is the first person with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon. Today, Chris and his dad Nik share their inspirational story and why they want to help others achieve their dreams and overcome mental hurdles.  --- Looking for a holiday gift idea? Order our new devotional book: " The Increase 52 Week Devotional: Inspiring Stories of Faith from the World of Pro Sports."

Johnny Shelton is in his 9th season as the team chaplain of the Baltimore Ravens. He joins us today to talk about pastoring with the Ravens, what discipleship looks like within the organization and the gratification that comes from seeing a player begin a journey with Jesus. --- Looking for a holiday gift idea? Order our new devotional book: " The Increase 52 Week Devotional: Inspiring Stories of...

Lee De Leon is the Deputy Athletic Director with Middle Tennessee State. He's also the President and Co-Founder of ADs4Christ, a non-profit organization that develops current and future collegiate athletic directors through spiritual growth and fellowship. Lee has had previous stops at Louisiana-Lafayette, Abilene Christian, Purdue, New Mexico, Arizona and LSU.  Today on the podcast, we talk to Le...

Sydney McLaughlin is a two-time Olympic Gold Medal track and field athlete. In the summer of 2021, Sydney set a world record time of 51:46 seconds in the 400 m hurdles in winning gold. She also was a member of the 4x4000 m relay team that captured gold. In 2016, she qualified for the Rio Olympics before her senior year of high school and became the youngest athlete to make the American Olympic tra...

Quarterback Drew Stanton is our guest today to talk about winning a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers in 2020, keeping the door open if a team called in 2021, and his work with Water Mission, a Christian engineering company that provides access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions in developing countries and disaster areas. You can learn more and donate to Water Mission's cause at the...

Today on this Football Friday podcast, Jade McCarthy talks to Arizona Cardinals Ring of Honor inductee Carson Palmer about his retirement from football, watching NFL games with his kids, how his faith guided him in his career and his role with Compassion International's Fill the Stadium campaign. We are presented today by Compassion International. Check out http://FillTheStadium.com to learn how y...

Stan Johnson is the mens basketball coach at Loyola Marymount University in California. Born in Liberia, West Africa, Stan played his college basketball at Southern Utah and Bemidji State before embarking on a coaching career that would take him to such schools as Cal State Northridge, Utah, Drake, Arizona State and Marquette.  On March 20, 2020, he was named Loyola Marymount's head basketball coa...

Scott Drew is the men's head basketball coach at Baylor University. In 2020-21, he led the Baylor Bears to college basketball's national championship.  Today on the podcast, Scott Drew shares what the last few months as national champions have been like, what it means to have a culture of J.O.Y and why God has brought him and kept him as Baylor's coach.  --- Receive our 10-day Sports Spectrum Devo...

Greg Stier is the founder of Dare 2 Share Ministries and the author of the new book  UNLIKELY FIGHTER: The story of how a fatherless street kid overcame violence, chaos and confusion to become a radical Christ follower . The book releases Nov. 9, 2021 Today on the podcast, we talk to Greg about his new book, his incredible story of overcoming violence and becoming a follower of Christ and how his...

Today on the podcast, Brock Huard talks to his former teammate Matthew Hasselbeck about being inducted into the Seahawks Ring of Honor, the 2021 NFL season, how the Lord guided his career and the spiritual journey he's been on. --- Pre-order our new book: " The Increase 52 Week Devotional: Inspiring Stories of Faith from the World of Pro Sports." --- Receive our 10-day Sports Spectrum Devotional w...

Brad Soucie is the Associate head basketball coach at Liberty University. He began his coaching career in 1995 and has the distinction of serving as an assistant under current Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay every day of his head coaching career. The partnership began in 1995 when the two helped resurrect the program at Portland State, which had been dormant for 15 years. He followed McKay to Col...

Bubba Watson is a PGA Tour Pro who has 14 Tour wins including the 2012 and 2014 Masters. His new book Up and Down: Victories and Struggles in the Course of Life releases November 2, 2021.  Today on the podcast, we talk to Bubba about his new book and why he wanted to share his pain with the world. We talk faith and Bubba shares his testimony. We talk mental health and why it was important for him...

Jonathan Tjarks is a staff writer with The Ringer. In April of 2021, he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer (sarcoma, a rare kind of tumor usually found in children and teens).  Today, Jonathan Tjarks shares his story of coming to faith and how his walk with Christ has helped him push forward during his battle with cancer.  You can read the piece he wrote for The Ringer back in May of 2021, "The Lon...

Today on the podcast, we talk to Westlake (TX) high school QB and 5-star Clemson recruit Cade Klubnik about his 2021 season, recovering from injury, being recruited by Clemson, winning the state championship and the importance of playing for an audience of one, Jesus. --- Pre-order our new book: " The Increase 52 Week Devotional: Inspiring Stories of Faith from the World of Pro Sports." --- Receiv...

Keith Madison served for 25 years as the head baseball coach with the University of Kentucky. Hired at the age of 26 in 1979, he was the youngest head baseball coach in NCAA Division One at the time. He is the winningest coach in Kentucky Wildcasts history with 737 career victories and was inducted into the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the University of Kentuc...

David Klingler played seven seasons in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He was selected 6th overall in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Bengals after a stellar college career at the University of Houston that saw him set multiple records and finish as a Heisman Finalist in 1990.  Among the records Klingler set at Houston include him throwing for 11 touchdown pas...

Morgan Burns is a former cornerback and kick returner for the Kansas State Wildcats. His senior year, he returned four kickoffs for touchdowns and earned Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year from the league's coaches.  After going undrafted in 2016, he signed with the Tennessee Titans but just a few weeks later, he walked away from pro football to pursue ministry where he spent time as a youth...

Jade McCarthy talks to Louisiana football coach Billy Napier about growing up in a faith-based family, the impact his dad had on him as a leader, lessons learned from Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban and the gift of opportunity. --- Receive our 10-day Sports Spectrum Devotional written by professional athletes for FREE when you sign up for our Sports Spectrum Weekly Email Newsletter. Sign up here .

Tyler Zombro is a pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He pitched in college with George Mason University and then signed with the Rays in 2017. After going a few years through the minor league system, Zombro reached as high as AAA in 2019 and in 2021, was back in AAA pitching with the Durham Bulls. On June 3, 2021, Tyler was facing Brent Cumberland of the Norfolk Tides when a pitch was h...

Monty Williams is entering his third season as the head coach of the Phoenix Suns. In 2020-21, he led the Suns to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1993 and finished second behind Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau for the NBA's Coach of the Year award.  Prior to his time in Phoenix, Williams had coaching stops in New Orleans, Portland and Oklahoma City. The former player was a No. 1 draft pick by t...

Jon Seidl is the author of " Finding Rest: A Survivor's Guide to Navigating the Valleys of Anxiety, Faith and Life ." He is also a huge Green Bay Packers fan and has worked with popular organizations like I Am Second and TheCourage and some of the media's biggest names including Glenn Beck, Kirk Cameron and Chip and Joanna Gaines.  Today on the podcast, Jon shares about his experience attending th...