Sports Spectrum Podcast

Episode 431 Emily Westerberg Love is a former basketball player with the Arizona State Sun Devils. In high school at Central Valley in Oregon, Emily was the 2003 Gatorade Player of the Year. During her time in college, she led ASU to three NCAA Tournament appearances including the Elite Eight in 2007. She is the first Arizona State player to ever earn All-Pac 10 honors three times. In 2007, she was selected in the third round of the WNBA Draft but passed on a pro career to focus on starting a family. In 2017, she was named to the Arizona State Sports Hall of Fame.  On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Emily about her successful college career and why she bypassed pursuing a pro career. We also talk about apologetics, defending her faith, dealing with fear and anxiety, the crisis of faith she had in college and her awesome story of adoption.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com

Episode 430 Kevin O'Brien is the head coach of the Lipscomb University women's soccer team. He was named to the position in 2012 and has led the Lady Bisons to their first NCAA tournament appearances in 2018 and again in 2019.  The 2016 ASUN Coach of the Year began his soccer journey as a player leading the College of Charleston to two NCAA post season appearances, multiple top-20 rankings, the Elite 8 and was a two-time All-Conference selection and All-South Region player.  Following his collegiate career, he played professionally (USL) for 8 years with the Charleston Battery and Charlotte Eagles. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Kevin about the success he's had with Lipscomb, leading from the perspective of Christ, breaking old habits and the importance of developing relationship depth.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 429 Chris Reis is a former NFL safety with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. He was a member of the Saints’ 2009 Super Bowl-winning team and is most notable for his recovery of an onside kick to start the second half of Super Bowl XLIV, which helped propel the Saints to their first-ever Super Bowl victory. Reis played his college football at Georgia Tech and went undrafted coming into the NFL. He signed with the Falcons in 2006 but was released. After a stint in NFL Europe, Reis signed with the Saints and went on to play four seasons in New Orleans from 2007-2010. After his retirement from the NFL, Reis follow a call on his life to pursue ministry. Today, he is a lead pastor at Our Savior’s Church in Youngsville, La. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Reis about his NFL journey, winning Super Bowl XLIV, the Super Bowl parade, becoming a pastor and going into full-time ministry, and how a broken relationship with his father ended up leading him to Christ years later. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Burshaud "Shaud" Williams is a basketball coach overseas in China for the Loong Lions in the China Basketball Association.  On this BONUS episode of the podcast we talk to Shaud from China on what life is like as a coach in China, why he decided to take the leap and coach overseas, how the death of a friend on the basketball court in 2002 helped challenge him in his relationship with God and what living out his faith looks like in China currently. You can follow Shaud on Instagram here. 

Episode 428 Cecil Shorts III is a former NFL wide receiver. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL Draft (114th overall). His NFL career saw him play four seasons with the Jags from 2011-2014, then to Houston in 2015 for a season and his last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016.  He was one of the few NFL players to have played their college football with a Division III school. Shorts was a standout receiver at Mount Union, where he was a 2-time First-team AP Little All-American in 2009 and 2010. In his sophomore season of 2008, Shorts helped his club to a Division III national championship. In 2009, he was named the D3Football.com National Offensive Player of the Year after recording 100 receptions for 1,736 yards with 19 touchdowns. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Cecil shares what life is like being a father to seven children under the age of 8. He also shares candidly about his struggles and temptations he faced in college and the NFL. Cecil talks about the adjustment from being a current player to a former player and the moment he knew that his pro football playing days were done.  For more information, please log on to our website - http://SportsSpectrum.com 

As the south’s sweetheart of sports, Rachel Baribeau has been dubbed an “SEC-ologist” as she has covered the SEC, and college football, for over ten years. In fall of 2015, she was bestowed a Heisman vote by the Heisman Trust. These days can be heard on SiriusXM’s ESPNU Radio. She was the first female host on that platform. Rachel is also an avid speaker at many colleges and churches, sharing her story on “Changing the Narrative.” Today, we throw it back to Episode 41 of the podcast and hear how Rachel is impacting the lives of so many athletes and why she's changing the narrative. You can hear the entire episode of our conversation with Rachel from Episode 41 HERE or by searching her name in the Sports Spectrum podcast archives. 

Episode 427 Cooper Rothe is the kicker for the University of Wyoming football team. In 2018, Rothe was one of three national finalists for the Lou Groza Award. He was number one in the nation in field-goal percentage (94. 1 percent, making 16 of 17 field goals). In 2019, he's made 14 field goals and his 334 career points are number one on the Wyoming football team's all-time list. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Cooper about his Wyoming football career, preparing for his final game, watching former teammate Josh Allen in the NFL with the Bills, his goal to kick at the next level and his testimony of faith in Christ. For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 426 Bernhard Langer is a golfing legend. He's the winner of two Masters championships in 1985 and 1993. He has 114 professional in his career and reached the number one overall ranking in April of 1986.  Growing up in Germany, Langer turned pro in 1972 and is one of five golfers to have professional golf event victories on all six continents where golf is played. He has victories on all the premiere tours, with 42 wins on the European Tour (2nd most all-time), three on the PGA Tour, and numerous international victories; including wins on the Japan Golf Tour, Asian Tour, Australasian Tour, and the Tour de las Américas. In 2001, Langer was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame. Since joining the senior golf touring ranks, he has dominated the field winning the 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2019 Senior British Open Championship and being named Champions Tour player of the year in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.  On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Bernhard Langer about his desire to continue playing golf as long as he can, his coming to faith in Christ after winning the Masters in 1985, winning a second Masters on Easter Sunday in 1993, and the crazy story of his father escaping as a prisoner during World War II.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Episode 425 Don Cousins is a pastor at Discovery Church in Orlando, Florida and the author of multiple books including "Experiencing Leadershift" and "Unexplainable."  He also happens to the father of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Don Cousins about raising Kirk and his two siblings Kyle and Karalyne, what a Sunday is like for Don watching his son play for the Vikings, the powerful story Don shared with Kirk the night before the 2012 NFL Draft and Don's inspiring testimony of faith and overcoming cancer.  For more, log on to http://SportsSpectrum.com 

Bryan Gee almost died. In 2016, after going in for a routine appendectomy surgery, Bryan suffered complications in the aftermath and almost suffocated.  His Dad, Jayson Gee, is basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati and was featured on Episode 268 of the podcast.  The former Longwood University basketball player joins us on the show today to share his story of basketball, faith, and staying connected to the Lord when life doesn't go the way you planned.  Listen to Bryan Gee's story here on Sports Spectrum.   ---From the creators of Sports Spectrum comes a brand new podcast called FOOTBALL SUNDAY. Released on December 16, this show will feature 12 unique, first-person stories from current and NFL players on how Jesus has worked in their lives. Told by the players themselves, this podcast will feature a new story each Monday, culminating with our final 3 episodes, releasing on Monday February 3, 2020. Download and subscribe HERE to Football Sunday TODAY---