Sports Spectrum Podcast

Ethan Chapman was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 30th round of the 2012 MLB Amateur Draft.  He played his college baseball at Cal State San Bernadino, a Division 2 school, and set the school's single-season record with 60 runs scored as a freshman in 2010. He earned second-team All-West Region honors as well as the ABCA West Region Gold Glove Award in his final season.  Over the past 5...

Hugh Freeze is the head football coach at the University of Mississippi. Since being named as the head man at Ole Miss in December of 2011, Freeze has become the first coach in school history to guide the Rebels to a bowl game in each of his first four seasons, including wins in the BBVA Compass, Music City and Sugar. Ole Miss is one of five programs in the country (along with Alabama, Florida Sta...

Robby Shaffer is a drummer with the highly successful Christian band MercyMe. He joined the band in 1997 and has been a staple of the band ever since. MercyMe has sold more than 9 million units on CD, single and DVD sales and garnered more than 28 No. 1 multi-format Christian radio singles. They have sold out venues across the U.S. and Canada and have appeared on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...

Ted Barrett 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 3 World Series including the Red Sox Championship in 2007, the Cardinals title in 2011 and the Giants beating the Royals to win it all in 2014. Barrett i...

Louie Giglio is the pastor of Passion City Church and the founder of the Passion movement, which exists to call a generation to leverage their lives for the fame of Jesus. Since 1997, Passion has gathered collegiate-aged young people in events across the U.S. and around the world. Most recently, Passion 2017 gathered more than 55,000 students in Atlanta's Georgia Dome in one of the largest collegi...

Ryan Hall is is a retired American long-distance runner who holds the U.S. record in the half marathon. With his half marathon record time (59:43), he became the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event. He is also the only American to run a sub-2:05 marathon (2:04:58 at the 2011 Boston marathon) and represented the U.S at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. Ryan is a husband to S...

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.  In this episode of the podcast, Katie shares the incredible story of her survival after being hit by a drunk driver. She suffered mult...

Our guest on Episode 17 of the podcast is James Brown from CBS Sports. Since February 2006, JB has served as host for the CBS Television Network's NFL pre-game show, THE NFL TODAY, and had served as play-by-play announcer for the Network's coverage of college basketball, including the NCAA Tournament. He has also hosted the Network's Super Bowl pre-game show for its coverage of Super Bowl XLIV (20...

Benjamin Watson has played 14 NFL seasons as a tight end with the Patriots, Browns, Saints and Ravens.  Watson attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina and was a letterman in football. In football, as a senior, he caught 31 passes for 515 yards. The two-time All-Region selection and Northwestern HS Student of the Year led his team to the state championship in his junior seaso...

In August of 2008, Brian and Kathy Haugen experienced the worst tragedy any parent could ever go through, the loss of their son. 15-year-old Taylor died on the football field playing the game he loved.  In his short 15 ½ years, Taylor Reid Haugen left an indelible mark on the community though his living faith and compassion for his friends, team, community, organizations and church. “T”, as he was...

Adam Wainwright is a starting pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals. He's been a mainstay with the organization now for 13 seasons. He's a 2-time World Series Champion (2006, 2011), a 3-time All Star and a 2-time Gold Glove winner.  Adam isn't just an elite Major League Baseball player, he's also a man of faith and has taken his love for Jesus into the mission field to start Big League Impact, a non-...

Episode 13 Jon Gordon is the author of 17 books, including 5 best-sellers: The Energy Bus, The Carpenter, Training Camp, You Win in the Locker Room First and The Power of Positive Leadership. Jon and his tips have been featured on The Today Show, CNN, CNBC, The Golf Channel, Fox and Friends and in numerous magazines and newspapers. His clients include The Los Angeles Dodgers, The Atlanta Falcons,...

Episode 12 Jared Dudley is a forward on the Phoenix Suns. He just finished his 10th NBA season and has averaged 8.3 points over his career. A second-team All-American for Boston College, Jared was the 2007 ACC player of the year and the 22nd overall selection by the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets) in the 2007 NBA Draft. Dudley's career has spanned 5 NBA teams including stints with the Bobcats, Sun...

Episode 11 David Nelson won 2 National Championships at the University of Florida and caught passes from Tim Tebow. He was undrafted in 2010 and signed a free agent contract with Buffalo. His NFL career lasted 5 seasons with the Bills, Browns and Jets.  During the 2012 NFL offseason, David took a trip to Haiti that would change his life. Seeing the conditions, the children, the poverty, Nelson fel...

Episode 10 Scott Lehman is the founder of  In His Grip Golf   and the author of More Than A Game : Finding Life’s Answers Through Golf .   On this episode of the podcast, Scott takes us through his journey as a fan of golf, how God grabbed a hold of him 20 years ago in 1997 in the midst of his marriage falling apart and how he was able to repair that marriage and start a ministry to help spread th...

Episode 9 Hunter Renfrow is a wide receiver for the Clemson Tigers. On January 9, 2017, the Clemson Tigers won College Football's National Championship game, beating Alabama 35-31. With just :01 left on the clock, Tigers QB Deshaun Watson found Renfrow for the 2-yard touchdown pass and a trip to college football immortality.  In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Hunter Renfrow about that mom...

Episode 8 Jerry Birch just completed his 18th season as the chaplain for the NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.  He is also the co-pastor of Abundant Grace Fellowship in Cleveland and leads a marriage ministry with his wife Gail. In this episode, Pastor Jerry discusses what it's like to be the primary spiritual advisor for the World Champion Cavs. We discuss LeBron James' faith and whether he atten...

Episode 7 Ernie Johnson is the host of TNT's Inside the NBA. He joined Turner Sports in 1989 and has been a legend in the broadcasting industry. He's a 3-time Sports Emmy Award winner and considered one of the best in the business at what he does.  His new book is titled "Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary" is available everywhere now.  Ernie's most important job is...

Episode 6 Jaccob Slavin was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 4th round (120th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut on November 20, 2015. Slavin played every game for the Hurricanes this past year and even scored his first ever hat-trick on March 13 against the Islanders. Jaccob comes from a very large family that has been about three things: Faith, Family and Hocke...

Episode 5 Sam and Emmanuel Acho are brothers who both achieved their dream of making it to the NFL. Sam was selected in the 4th round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Cardinals and played in Arizona from 2011-2014 before signing with the Bears in 2015 and playing the last 2 seasons in Chicago. Emmanuel was selected in the 6th round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. His career spanned 4 se...

Episode 4 Mo Isom's story is one that you will not soon forget. She is the author of the New York Times Bestseller "WRECK MY LIFE: Journeying from Broken to Bold."  She was an All-American goalkeeper for the Louisiana State University soccer team and the first female to try out for an SEC men's football team. She holds the LSU all-time goalkeeper record as well as the #3 SEC all-time shutout recor...

Episode 3 Derwin Gray is a former defensive back, who played 5 seasons in the NFL with the Colts and Panthers. He's also the Pastor of Transformation Church near Charlotte, North Carolina.  In this episode, Derwin shares his story of growing up without a Dad, making it to the NFL and an encounter he has with a teammate known as "The Naked Pastor" that changes Derwin's life forever.  Derwin talks a...

Episode 2 Former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Chandler, Pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, TX, join us on the Sports Spectrum Podcast. Chandler, grew up away from God and shares his story of how he came to the faith and eventually became a pastor in Dallas. Pastor Matt also shares how he pastors superstar NFL players like Tony Romo at his church. Lastly, on Thanksgiving morning in 2009, Ch...

Episode 1 Miami Marlins pitcher Adam Conley and team chaplain Chris Lane join us on the debut episode of the Sports Spectrum Podcast. Conley was selected by the Marlins in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Jose Fernandez was taken in the first round of that same draft and he and Conley became close as they began their trek to the Big Leagues. Fernandez made his MLB debut with Miami in 2013....

Welcome to the Sports Spectrum Podcast, where the stories of sports and faith collide. You will hear the stories from across the sports landscape. From the big name NFL player to the high school coach, our hope and prayer is to see the name of Jesus glorified through the power of story. We all have our own story and this podcast’s goal is to bring YOU, the listener, the story of sports and faith.