Catholic Sports Radio

Featured in an ESPN "30 for 30" called "Playing for the Mob," he stood strong during the Boston College (basketball) point-shaving scandal, sticking to his moral roots and not taking a bribe. He is still involved with the sport today as the Head of USA on the international board for FIMBA - the worldwide governing body for Masters basketball (with federations in 47 countries). Within the past two years he has not only recruited American senior players and organized USA teams, but, he has also played in FIMBA tournaments in Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy, Japan, and Serbia.

A Pro Football Hall of Famer (Buffalo Bills, 1973-79, 1985 and Cleveland Browns, 1980-84) who is also being inducted into a Catholic hall of fame. He also is on the Board for an orphanage in Mexico, for which he helped raise funding by riding his bike there all the way from Michigan! He also obtains Super Bowl tickets every year to help in raising money, along with a NFL Legends Golf Outing, for that orphanage.

Coached Team USA to the Olympic gold medal in 2004 in Athens and the silver medal in 2008 in Beijing in women's softball, but, ten days before the 2004 Games he lost his wife unexpectedly to a brain aneurysm. Now entering his 34th season as the head softball coach (women's softball) at the University of Arizona, he is also the Division I wins leader in NCAA softball history and has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame. He talks about his faith journey, including his involvement with the Knights of Columbus, his priority on getting to Mass despite softball games and tournaments being scheduled on the weekend, and more.

She skied in the Winter Olympics in 2006 in Torino (Italy) and is a world champion, being a multi-sport athlete. Among other topics, she discusses peer pressure she had to stay away from in her late teens relative to partying, the deeper she moved into her skiing pursuits and faith commitment. She is also a mother of five children with her sixth on the way. She mentions having recently moved to Idaho and a 55-acre site where they hope to host Catholic families to be renewed in recreation and faith ("learn to pray and play again").

Playing with some teammates who are now in the NHL, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Michigan in the 2011 NCAA Championship game in front of 19,000 fans at the Xcel Energy Center and went on to play pro hockey in Germany and Norway. You'll be surprised at the amazing perspective he gives on where that ranks on his "best days of my life" list. He also has great advice on making Mass the priority despite the demands of a tournament and/or sports-related travel.

To launch the show, the host talks about Catholic Sports Radio's mission and what listeners can expect to hear (and how they can help) plus he talks about what qualifies him to lead this project in the first place (his Catholic life and his sports and broadcasting/podcasting background).  He also cites examples and quotes from saints who are closely connected to sports, and there is a sportsman prayer that he prays at the end.