Catholic Sports Radio

An orthopedic surgeon who is in the Carolina Boxing Hall of Fame. He is a past president of the Association of Ringside Physicians and was a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Society. Born and raised Catholic, he was a weightlifter back in his college days and has gone on to be involved with sports internationally, serving as a ringside doctor for boxing and MMA to the tune of over ten thousand bouts that he has been present for in his career as a ringside doctor. Some years ago he authored a book called, "Sports Medicine for the Combat Arts," and now, this month, he contributed a full chapter to a new worldwide textbook called, "The Sports Medicine Physician." He now has his sights on creating a website centered around physicians against abortion.

She played professional football for four years after having previously been an athlete in another sport, having earned a full basketball scholarship to Detroit Mercy, where she played for four years. Last year she took her final vows and became a nun, and currently she is a campus minister at Florida State University. During this conversation you'll hear her say - among other observations - that she definitely sees the synergy between our faith life and our sports life.

The Director of Hockey Operations at Providence College for the men's hockey team, she is a lifelong Catholic, the oldest of five children. Theresa attended Catholic elementary, high school (valedictorian), and college. She talks about working at a Catholic institution, the concept of people working together as a team, and the influence of her father on her career.

New York Rangers defenseman Neal Pionk cautions parents about putting too high of a priority on a child's potential hockey career. Plus, he talks about being born into the Catholic faith and attending Catholic school (K-8), coming into the NHL, moving to and living in New York City, and what happened when he tried to attend Christmas Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

He covers University of Notre Dame Athletics for Irish 101 and Irish Illustrated, and is also the Notre Dame reporter for Fan Media. Len has also served as a reporter for ESPN Radio's "College Gameday," as a stringer for AP Sports. A lifelong Catholic, he is also heavily involved with the Knights of Columbus. He's also involved with a project that, when supported, gives a portion of the proceeds to help support research into Niemann-Pick Type C Disease.

A Chicago Bears’ Board Member and a Bears’ Vice President, he is the Chairman of Sports Faith International, which recognizes people who are successful in sports while leading exemplary lives. He is the author of six books (four about sports and faith) and participated in sports extensively as a student-athlete: basketball, baseball, football, track, and cross country, and currently runs Masters Track. His grandfather (and godfather) was George Halas, the founder of the Chicago Bears.

A former heavyweight boxer who finished with a 36-0 won-lost record (29 KOs), getting to No. 1 in the world where he would've fought for the heavyweight title but suffered a serious head injury (brain bleed). Last year he was inducted into both the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. He had also been a 1996 U.S. Olympic alternate. Joe started a foundation called Champs Against Bullying and there is also the Baby Joe Mesi Fight for Organ Donors. Listen to the end to hear what his "holy box" is.

Inducted into the Sports Faith Hall of Fame in 2015, the next year he became the Athletic Director at JSerra Catholic High School after more than 20 years at the helm of the athletic program at Franciscan University. Before that he was a Catholic high school vice principal. Married with six children, he was a college athlete (wrestler at Ithaca College) and has coached track and field, soccer, and wrestling.

He's a cradle Catholic, having attended Catholic grammar and high schools, his kids are altar servers, and oh, he just happens to have pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres (drafted by the Atlanta Braves) and recently was a guest instructor at San Francisco Giants spring training. Listen to how he is teaching more than just baseball techniques to kids at his academy.

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.