Faith, father help guide Felix to success on the track

Source: Sports Illustrated

It is early morning at the large cafeteria hall of the Sunrise Ministry in Auburn, Calif., and Professor Paul Felix is giving an Olympic performance in the face of poor conditions. The volume on his body microphone is jumping from faint resonance to raised screeching to silence, and the veteran pastor isn’t fond of his handheld mic. “Can we fix this?” he asks. “I like to talk with my hands.”

At the front table, the soft-spoken daughter who otherwise tried to emulate the man with the booming voice, smiles at the irony. After all, Allyson Felix usually lets her feet do most of the talking.

In four months, the sprinter may be the female track star of the Beijing Olympics, running three distances — including two relays — with a chance to win three gold medals. But on this morning, she is the youthful, beaming, 22-year-old Sunday-school teacher who has just introduced her dad at the church’s annual father-daughter breakfast.

“My family has always been there to make sure I understood what we were learning in church,” she tells people. “My running is a gift from God; My success is not of myself. I know that my actions on and off the track should be a reflection of God, because people watch what you do and what you say. My father taught me that.”

Track star determined to keep pace with God’s word

Source: Cleveland Banner

The path toward a purposeful life is one of discipline, resilience and endurance, according to Tennessee Hall of Famer Robert Ware.

The Cleveland native, who is being inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame tonight, said he is proud of the life he has lived and the road he has taken. He is determined to keep it on track.

Ware was an all-around athlete at Cleveland High School in 1970-72, playing football, basketball and being a star on the track team.

He still holds the track record in Cleveland as fastest man in the 100-yard dash and came in fourth in the 1972 Olympic tryouts in Atlanta in the 100-yard dash.

Now at age 55, Ware said he reflects on his glory days with pride and still savors watching track and field events.

Top 12 Evangelicals in Sports

Source: Christian Post
A popular religious Web site named its top 12 evangelical Christians in sports this weekend in time for Sunday’s Super Bowl XLII between the undefeated New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

In pro-football, running back Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks, punter Hunter Smith of the Indianapolis Colts, and Colts coach Tony Dungy made beliefnet.com’s “Who’s Who” list.

Alexander, the 2005 NFL MVP, is always seen pointing to the sky after a touchdown to credit God for his success.

“Everyone has been given gifts that can be used to bring glory to God,” Alexander wrote in his 2006 memoir Touchdown Alexander. “And when we bring glory to God through the gifts He has given us, we are blessed. For me, the gift was athletic ability.”