ESPN The Magazine, the print version of the popular sports news franchise, recently published an article on the Houston Texans' star running back Arian Foster. Considering Foster is one of the more well-known athletes in the country right now, this isn't necessarily a surprise - it's the subject matter of the article that is. "Arian Foster, 28, has spent his entire public football career -- in college at Tennessee, in the NFL with the Texans -- in the Bible Belt. Playing in the sport that most closely aligns itself with religion, in which God and country are both industry and packaging, in which Read More

Or Why You Should Respect Sports Officials Heckling the officials. It's as synonymous with sports as popcorn; as inevitable as a game's final score. For some fans, it's almost a hobby. As you begin reading this post, stop and think for a second: are you the sort of person who, when attending a sporting event, will heckle the officials over the calls he or she makes or doesn't make? Really think about it. If you never say anything to the refs, great! Stop reflecting. Maybe you consider yourself the person who might yell about outrageously bad calls, but nothing else. Or maybe Read More

The new encyclical, Laudato Si’, promulgated by Pope Francis has been heralded as a groundbreaking document. Others have lamented the fact that it was ever written. Having not read the entire thing word-for-word I cannot argue one way or another, and I don’t intend to, although in what I have read it clearly does address the need to protect the environment. In our American parlance we might say it advocates for “going green.” The proper reaction is to read it in light of the consistent teachings of the magisterium for centuries: that we are commanded to be good stewards of Read More