Archive for 'Sports Culture'
Do Not Look Back // A John Wooden Story
I received an email recently from a Coach Todd James, Dublin, Ireland, outlining a personal encounter with John Wooden a few years ago. Coach James produced a tract entitled, “Meet My Head Coach,” after finishing his high school basketball coaching career, and after feeling called to go to the mission field to tell people about [...]
Full StoryMichael Jordan in Adidas?
In 1984, after Jordan went third in the NBA Draft following Olajuwon and Sam Bowie, David Falk, Jordan’s agent, negotiated a $3 million, five-year package with the Chicago Bulls. Falk’s next goal was to sign Jordan to various endorsement deals. According to Swoosh, in chapter thirty-eight, Air Becomes A Man, athletic shoe companies wanted to [...]
Full StorySneaker Wars // Adidas, Puma, and the Dassler Brothers
Chapter 4 in Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike, entitled Shoe Wars, introduces an intriguing account of the origins of Adidas and Puma. Rudolf, the oldest brother, and Adi were born into the Dassler family that would become one of the world’s most preeminent athletic shoemaking companies. During the economic struggle of World War I, [...]
Full StoryB21, Basketball Clip Board Apps, and the iPad
I stopped by an Apple Retail Store and finally got my hands on the iPad. I was also curious to see what this blog, www.baller21.com, looked like and its level of functionality. In short, the device lived up to the commercial hype and made for impressive browsing and a more comparable laptop/desktop experience than the [...]
Full StoryThe Unauthorized Story of Nike
In college, a book on the shelf of one of my Kinesiology professors caught my attention. That book was entitled, Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There. What is intriguing about this book is that it was the first book about the inside story of Nike, Inc., told by it’s [...]
Full StoryVerité Sport
Verité Sport, an international sports ministry, exists to promote a Christian presence in sport, to take the teachings of the Bible and to apply them to sport. While Verité Sport is a new missionary organization based in Oxford, England, its Executive Director, Stuart Weir, has been involved in Sports ministry for over 25 years. The [...]
Full StoryThe Street Stops Here // Documentary
The Street Stops Here brings to film a story previously written in the book, “The Miracle of St. Anthony.” (Update: The film is not based on the book, but takes a fresh look at Coach Bob Hurley, Sr, a new team, and a new season). I really enjoyed the book and was inspired to make [...]
Full StoryTiger Woods, Athletes, and Atonement
I tuned into the highly anticipated Tiger Woods public statement broadcast yesterday. While I believe the overall message was sincere and a step in a positive direction for Woods, there was an initial statement that stood out to me, that could of easily been overheard, that really exposes the heart of the issue. Tiger said [...]
Full StoryTop 25 Most Influential Christian Sports Figures // Sports Spectrum
Sports Spectrum, a Christian sports magazine, is creating a Silver Anniversary book of the TOP 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL CHRISTIAN SPORTS FIGURES who have appeared in Sports Spectrum over the last 25 years. You can VOTE NOW through Feb 28 for who appears in the book. There are 101 nominees to pick from. As I took [...]
Full StoryImpact a Life // Coach a Sport
I have many memories of my coaches through the years playing sports. Some good and some bad. However, as I have now been through the process of organizing a high school basketball league, Baller Basketball, and sought after quality volunteer coaches, as well as coaching a team myself, I am reminded of the impact a [...]
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John Garner
John Wooden
Ron Harvey
Stuart Weir
Tony Dungy
