{"id":1537,"date":"2011-09-26T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2011-09-26T12:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=1537"},"modified":"2011-10-05T16:18:56","modified_gmt":"2011-10-05T20:18:56","slug":"inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html","title":{"rendered":"Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special &#8220;Writer&#8217;s Block&#8221; edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Click &#8220;Like&#8221; to share this with your friends!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>WRITER&#8217;S BLOCK: The Best of Inspiring Athletes (So Far)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m sort of an old-school writer trying to survive in the age of social media and fluid technological advancement. The social media thing is especially perplexing to those of us who were taught never to put yourself in the story. Nowadays, it seems like writers are not only interjecting themselves into their stories, but in some cases, they&#8217;re becoming the main character.<\/p>\n<p>With that said (and at the risk of delving into some serious hypocrisy), I&#8217;m about to get a tad bit self indulgent and celebrate a meaningless milestone: the 100th post of Inspiring Athletes. So please pardon me for a few moments as I bring you &#8220;Writer&#8217;s Block,&#8221; a recap of my 15 favorite interviews that have been posted on this site:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1592\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>15. Michael Chang &#8211; I love tennis. Always have. I&#8217;m just as likely to watch a match-up between two high-ranked opponents as I am any NFL, MLB or NBA contest. Perhaps that&#8217;s why I was excited to talk to one of my tennis heroes Michael Chang. I first spoke to him for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes book called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/0830745793\/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=9781563206&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=1N8WYM8FQVJ7CRS79N8J\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Serving<\/em><\/a> and more recently chatted with him for another FCA book called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Greatest-Leader-Ever-Leadership-Principles\/dp\/0830759204\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1316553118&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Greatest Leader Ever<\/em><\/a>. Put the two concepts together and you have a pretty good description of Chang&#8217;s character: servant leader.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;God had His funny ways of showing His power,&#8221; Chang said about his record-breaking French Open win in 1989. &#8220;He has His funny ways of allowing the weak things of the world to shame the strong and allowing the ordinary things of the world to become extraordinary.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/Kampman_mug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1595\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/Kampman_mug-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>14. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/jacksonville-jaguars-defensive-tackle-aaron-kampman-on-his-faith-his-recent-trip-to-el-salvador-and-the-nfl-lockout.html\" target=\"_blank\">Aaron Kampman<\/a> &#8211; This summer I talked to Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle Aaron Kampman about something much bigger than the NFL. He had just returned from El Salvador where he and his wife visited children they sponsor through Compassion International. Kampman also spoke eloquently of his desire to help fellow athletes gain a deeper understanding of who they are and the amazing life that awaits them after their playing days are over, that is, should they choose to follow a path of service.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;God has put us in specific places and given us specific purposes to bring Him glory so that His name may spread over the entire earth,&#8221; Kampman said. &#8220;The promise that was given to Abraham (in Genesis 12) is still being lived out and filled out through us.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/EdwardsTrophy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1596\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/EdwardsTrophy-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>13. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nhra-pro-stock-champion-mike-edwards-on-winning-his-first-title-dealing-with-disappointment-and-working-with-young-life.html\" target=\"_blank\">Mike Edwards<\/a> &#8211; It&#8217;s a rare opportunity to follow an athlete that you actually know on a personal level. I&#8217;ve been blessed to know Mike Edwards and his extended family for many years now. So it&#8217;s been that much more exciting to watch his lengthy career and recent championship success as an NHRA Pro Stock driver. But even more impressive is Edwards&#8217; commitment to sharing the Christian faith through his character and integrity and his involvement with Young Life.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In \u201909 when we did the banquet at the end of the season, I had to get up and speak,&#8221; Edwards said. &#8220;Most of my whole talk that night was about what I stand for and the things that mean the most to me. Of course, that\u2019s the Lord Jesus. Whether (the other drivers) believe it or not, they respect us a lot and they respect what we stand for.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/wuerffel_mug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1597\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/wuerffel_mug-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>12. Danny Wuerffel &#8211; Danny Wuerffel is the anti-Favre. I don&#8217;t mean that literally, of course. Still, there is a stark contrast between how Wuerffel left the game and how Brett Favre left the game (and left the game, and left the game again). Okay, I know Wuerffel was never an All-Pro quarterback. I understand that he never led his team to a Super Bowl victory. But when given a choice to keep playing (and keep collecting a paycheck), Wuerffel decided it was time to surrender to the life of service that God had been calling him to his entire life.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Serving is one of the leadership principles that is counter-intuitive,&#8221; Wuerffel said. &#8220;It\u2019s not natural. People are naturally self-absorbed and I think that it\u2019s something that has to be taught. For every generation, it\u2019s parents and leaders that have to set the example and make it an important thing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/2011-NSCS-Trevor-Bayne-Headshot.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1598\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/2011-NSCS-Trevor-Bayne-Headshot-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>11. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/07\/daytona-500-winner-trevor-bayne.html\" target=\"_blank\">Trevor Bayne<\/a> &#8211; When I first interviewed Trevor Bayne, he had just been picked up by Roush-Fenway just a few days after losing his ride with Michael Waltrip Racing. I was immediately impressed. Who knew that four months later Bayne would become the youngest Daytona 500 winner at the age of 20. I caught up with him briefly the following week and put the two interviews together for Inspiring Athletes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is a responsibility to be who you are and not let this sport change you and not let the good runs and success or the bad runs change you,&#8221; Bayne said. &#8220;You\u2019ve got to be the same person all the time. The Bible talks about being firm on the rock. I try not to look like I\u2019m on sand all the time. I try to be that same person.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/small_chizik.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1606\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/small_chizik-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>10. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/07\/a-conversation-with-auburn-national-championship-football-coach-gene-chizik-part-1.html\" target=\"_blank\">Gene Chizik<\/a> &#8211; This summer, Gene Chizik was one of several high profile sports figures to release a book. That gave me the opportunity to speak to Auburn&#8217;s defending national championship coach. Chizik&#8217;s communication style is akin to those classic football icons that are famously known for coach speak. But in my interview with him, he did crack open the shell enough to let out a few shiny nuggets.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m not afraid to express the importance of the faith in my life,&#8221; Chizik said. &#8220;It\u2019s just that simple. Some people may like it. Some people may not. And I understand that. It\u2019s just like a football game. Some people may like the result of it and some people may not, even if you win. But again, I\u2019m not afraid to say the things that are important in my life, and that\u2019s one of them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>9\/8. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/wnba-star-ruth-riley-prepares-for-the-2011-playoffs.html\" target=\"_blank\">Ruth Riley<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/features.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/08\/a-video-interview-with-wnba-star-and-olympic-gold-medalist-tamika-catchings.html\" target=\"_blank\">Tamika Catchings<\/a> &#8211; Picking between Ruth Riley and Tamika Catchings for my favorite WNBA player is akin to deciding which of my two sisters I like best. Okay, maybe that&#8217;s a slight exaggeration, but truth is both of these young ladies are phenomenal both on and off the court. And whenever I&#8217;ve needed something for an FCA project or another writing assignment, I&#8217;ve always been able to count of them to bring something insightful and poignant to the conversation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/RuthRiley_mug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1608\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/RuthRiley_mug-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Riley is among an elite group of women that can claim NCAA, WNBA and Olympic championships. But it&#8217;s away from basketball where she&#8217;s truly shined. Riley has supported multiple initiatives in Africa and has been actively involved in San Antonio where she currently plays for the Silver Stars.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you love God, you\u2019ll obey Him,&#8221; Riley once told me. &#8220;So your act of worship is service. If you\u2019re truly worshipping and loving and admiring who God is and what He\u2019s done in your life, it\u2019s going to be a natural process to serve.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/TamikaCatchings_mug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1609\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/TamikaCatchings_mug-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Catchings has won an NCAA title and two Olympic gold medals, and her Indiana Fever squad is favored to win the WNBA championship this year. The recently awarded WNBA MVP also touts her Catch The Stars Foundation as a way to help young people reach their goals in life. All of her endeavors are a reflection of her strongly held faith.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019ve had a lot of adversity as a basketball player,&#8221; Catchings said. &#8220;I\u2019ve torn my ACL. I\u2019ve torn my meniscus. I\u2019ve torn my Achilles. When I faced those tough times, it would have been easier to give up and said, &#8216;Woe is me!&#8217; But I want to be loyal, loyal to myself, my family, my team and our fans. Most importantly, I want to be loyal to God. I represent Him in everything I do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/pujols_mug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1613\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/pujols_mug-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>7. Albert Pujols &#8211; Sports writers commonly refer to Albert Pujols as a machine. While that analogy may work when talking about the St. Louis Cardinals first baseman&#8217;s baseball savvy, it&#8217;s falls short in light of one important fact: the guy has a huge heart. I was fortunate to have a lengthy conversation with Pujols in which he talked about his strong Christian faith and how it drives to him excellence on the field and compassionate serving away from the game.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019m here to try to serve God and to try to honor Him and not get caught up in distractions,&#8221; Pujols said. &#8220;Am I perfect? No. Nobodies perfect. Jesus Christ was the only one that was perfect. I just make sure that I stay focused and that whatever I do is to honor God.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/HOFFanDayRichardPettyHonor1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1618\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/HOFFanDayRichardPettyHonor1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>6. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nascar-legend-richard-petty-on-being-the-king-changing-times-and-his-legacy.html\" target=\"_blank\">Richard Petty<\/a> &#8211; Conversing with an icon can be intimidating. Conversing with an icon face to face? Even more so. Conversing with an icon on his motor coach immediately after watching said icon give an employee a verbal kick in the pants? Let&#8217;s just say my interview with NASCAR legend Richard Petty (that also included his son Kyle) was a tad daunting. The anxiety, however, was slowly peeled away by Petty&#8217;s friendly smile and his humble responses to my questions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When you get up in the morning, (you ask), \u201cCan I do a little better than I did yesterday?&#8221; Petty said. &#8220;That\u2019s the challenge of not just staying the same.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/09\/bowden_book.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1633\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/09\/bowden_book-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>5. Bobby Bowden &#8211; I don&#8217;t generally liked being called, &#8220;boy,&#8221; but when the person using that Southern vernacular is legendary college football coach Bobby Bowden, I don&#8217;t tend to mind as much. Bowden is an American original who wears his faith on his sleeve and isn&#8217;t afraid to speak his mind. When talking to the retired Florida State coach for an FCA book called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Greatest-Coach-Ever-Timeless-Insights\/dp\/0830755403\" target=\"_blank\">Greatest Coach Ever<\/a>, Bowden also talked about the benefits of adversity.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People that are brilliant and successful, we think they\u2019ve just always been that way,&#8221; Bowden said. &#8220;That\u2019s not the case. Most of them have had some tough adversity in their life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/09\/PettitteMug1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1634\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/09\/PettitteMug1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>4. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/former-new-york-yankees-pitcher-andy-pettitte-on-retirement-relationships-and-his-responsibility-as-a-leader.html#comment-224\" target=\"_blank\">Andy Pettitte<\/a> &#8211; He might be one of the winningest post-season pitchers in MLB history, but it&#8217;s his character and strong faith that make Andy Pettitte stand out. Now retired, the five-time World Series champion is happy to have more time with his family but is still committed to the same principles he adhered to as the New York Yankees star pitcher.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It wasn\u2019t just my job to pitch,&#8221; Pettitte said. &#8220;It was my job to build relationships with the other players. You\u2019ve got to have camaraderie or togetherness on a baseball team if you want to win. Whenever someone has the ability to impact people\u2019s lives, I think that\u2019s one of the greatest things that God gives us as individuals.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/2010-NASCAR-Hall-of-Fame-Darrell-Waltrip-with-logo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1622\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/2010-NASCAR-Hall-of-Fame-Darrell-Waltrip-with-logo-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>3. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/06\/nascar-legend-and-fox-sports-analyst-darrell-waltrip-on-racing-ministry-dale-earnhardt-and-the-unique-faith-community-within-stock-car-racing.html#comment-218\" target=\"_blank\">Darrell Waltrip<\/a> &#8211; When I stepped up into the entrance of Darrell Waltrip&#8217;s motor coach, the first words I heard were &#8220;take off your shoes.&#8221; Waltrip had barely glanced my way from underneath his newspaper, but he instinctively knew to ask that I do my part to keep his home away from home as clean as it can possibly be while parked in the middle of a race track. The awkward moment passed quickly and the next 30 minutes made for some entertaining conversation. Known just as much these days for his Fox Sports and Speed Channel commentary, the Hall of Fame driver is partly responsible for the development of one of professional sports&#8217; most successful ministry programs, Motor Racing Outreach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At some point, we\u2019ve all realized there\u2019s a lot more in life than just winning races,&#8221; Waltrip said. &#8220;I hear that a lot. As I was becoming successful, I\u2019d listen to other athletes and they\u2019d say, &#8216;Well I had it all, but there was something missing.&#8217; There\u2019s always that, &#8216;There\u2019s something missing.&#8217; It\u2019s that void you have in your life when you don\u2019t know the Lord.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/09\/OKC_Durant_Kevin-.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1636\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/09\/OKC_Durant_Kevin--150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>2. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/05\/nba-all-star-kevin-durant-on-faith-family-and-fame.html\" target=\"_blank\">Kevin Durant<\/a> &#8211; There are two reasons why the Durant interview is ranked so high on my list. 1) Kevin Durant is one of the biggest stars in the NBA and 2) the story behind the interview is pretty funny. At a preseason game in Tulsa, the media were being held back from pregame interviews. They opened the Memphis Grizzlies locker room first and the local guys shot in there to get an interview with Oklahoma State alum Tony Allen. I kept waiting outside.<\/p>\n<p>I finally asked again about the Thunder locker room and was told I should go check it out. To my surprise, it was open and available for media. I walked in and saw about six players hanging out&#8211;including Kevin Durant who was all by himself. I walked up to Durant and had a seven or eight minute conversation with no other media in site. The guy was super friendly and answered questions about his faith that have (to my knowledge) rarely been asked before.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I\u2019ve just got to be thankful to the Lord for what the gifts He\u2019s given me,&#8221; Durant said. &#8220;My gift back to Him is to always be humble and to always try to work as hard as I can.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/berkman_mug.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1621\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/10\/berkman_mug-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>1. <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/07\/st-louis-cardinals-outfielder-lance-berkman-on-christianity-and-competition.html\" target=\"_blank\">Lance Berkman<\/a> &#8211; I would enjoy listing Lance Berkman has my favorite IA post a lot more if he were still a member of my beloved (but currently hapless) Houston Astros. Team loyalty aside, Berkman is one of the most well-spoken and thoughtful Christian athletes I&#8217;ve ever had the privilege of interviewing. Now with the St. Louis Cardinals, this MLB All-Star is equal parts hitting machine and legit Bible scholar.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The thing about the Bible that\u2019s amazing to me and still brings me a sense of awe is how well the principles work when applied to your daily walk. People say faith is blind, but when you put your faith into practice, you start to understand that it\u2019s not. God doesn\u2019t expect you to abandon reason.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">************************************************************************************<\/p>\n<p>And thus concludes this first edition of &#8220;Writer&#8217;s Block.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/09\/LanceFielding.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-1643\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/256\/2011\/09\/LanceFielding-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>On a side note, today&#8217;s 100th blog post coincidentally happens to be my oldest son Lance&#8217;s eighth birthday. He loves NASCAR, golf, college football and everything in between. I&#8217;m going to break my anti-indulgence rule again with this picture of Lance playing in his first season of baseball earlier this summer. I can neither confirm nor deny that he is named after (or that his name is inspired by) the athlete featured in this list&#8217;s #1 spot.<\/p>\n<p>I truly appreciate your support thus far and would greatly appreciate your continued patronage as Inspiring Athletes features even more high profile athletes in the coming weeks including PGA golfers Jonathan Byrd, Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Webb Simpson, NHL star Mike Fisher, USA women&#8217;s soccer player Tobin Heath, NASCAR legend Morgan Shepherd, and NFL Pro Bowl center Casey Weigmann.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Click &#8220;Like&#8221; to share this with your friends! WRITER&#8217;S BLOCK: The Best of Inspiring Athletes (So Far) I&#8217;m sort of an old-school writer trying to survive in the age of social media and fluid technological advancement. The social media thing is especially perplexing to those of us who were taught never to put yourself in&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[383,387,3,601,384,386,385,398,578,388,473,672],"tags":[234,676,17,674,412,105,440,184,673,280,334,23,151,249,214,21,678,677,113,350,345,248,34,18,20,506,323,296,10,37,675,72,8,36,35,11,324,204,225,585,589,19,285,344,141,29],"class_list":["post-1537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baseball","category-basketball","category-christian-athletes","category-christian-coaches","category-football","category-golf","category-hockey","category-milestones","category-olympic-athletes","category-racing","category-soccer","category-tennis","tag-aaron-kampman","tag-africa","tag-albert-pujols","tag-all-pro","tag-all-star","tag-andy-pettitte","tag-auburn-tigers","tag-bobby-bowden","tag-brett-favre","tag-compassion-international","tag-danny-wuerffel","tag-darrell-waltrip","tag-daytona-500","tag-el-salvador","tag-fca","tag-fellowship-of-christian-athletes","tag-florida-state-seminoles","tag-florida-state-university","tag-french-open","tag-gene-chizik","tag-indiana-fever","tag-jacksonville-jaguars","tag-kevin-durant","tag-lance-berkman","tag-michael-chang","tag-michael-waltrip-racing","tag-mike-edwards","tag-mlb","tag-nascar","tag-nba","tag-ncaa-football","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-nfl","tag-nhra","tag-oklahoma-city-thunder","tag-olympics","tag-pro-stock","tag-richard-petty","tag-roush-fenway","tag-ruth-riley","tag-san-antonio-silver-stars","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-super-bowl","tag-tamika-catchings","tag-trevor-bayne","tag-wnba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special &quot;Writer&#039;s Block&quot; edition - Inspiring Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special &quot;Writer&#039;s Block&quot; edition - Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Click &#8220;Like&#8221; to share this with your friends! WRITER&#8217;S BLOCK: The Best of Inspiring Athletes (So Far) I&#8217;m sort of an old-school writer trying to survive in the age of social media and fluid technological advancement. The social media thing is especially perplexing to those of us who were taught never to put yourself in&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-09-26T12:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-10-05T20:18:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chad Bonham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special \"Writer's Block\" edition - Inspiring Athletes","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special \"Writer's Block\" edition - Inspiring Athletes","og_description":"Click &#8220;Like&#8221; to share this with your friends! WRITER&#8217;S BLOCK: The Best of Inspiring Athletes (So Far) I&#8217;m sort of an old-school writer trying to survive in the age of social media and fluid technological advancement. The social media thing is especially perplexing to those of us who were taught never to put yourself in&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html","og_site_name":"Inspiring Athletes","article_published_time":"2011-09-26T12:00:19+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-10-05T20:18:56+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"Chad Bonham","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html","name":"Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special \"Writer's Block\" edition - Inspiring Athletes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1-150x150.jpg","datePublished":"2011-09-26T12:00:19+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-05T20:18:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#\/schema\/person\/95c3e9443bb9bfa81645d8daef1193c1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/files\/2011\/10\/MichaelChang1-150x150.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2011\/09\/inspiring-athletes-celebrates-100th-post-with-a-special-writers-block-edition.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Inspiring Athletes celebrates 100th post with a special &#8220;Writer&#8217;s Block&#8221; edition"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/","name":"Inspiring Athletes","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Chad Bonham","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/#\/schema\/person\/95c3e9443bb9bfa81645d8daef1193c1","name":"Chad Bonham","description":"Chad has been working in mass media for over 20 years. Chad\u2019s professional journey began at the University of Tulsa where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1993) while working extensively in athletic media relations and serving as a sports editor for The Collegian. Since then, he has written extensively for such publications as Relevant, CCM, Christian Retailing, New Man, Charisma, Today\u2019s Christian, Ministries Today, Breakaway, Brio, Sports Spectrum, Christian Single, Faith &amp; Friends, Sharing the Victory and Gospel Today. He has authored, co-authored or ghost written and edited 13 books including Life in the Fairway (New Leaf Press), Glory of the Games (Cross Training), Wrestling with God (River Oak), Spiritual Journeys (Relevant) and the four-part Fellowship of Christian Athletes Core Value Series; Excellence, Teamwork, Serving and Integrity (Regal Books). Chad is currently working on five new books including Sooner Legacy, Husker Legacy and Lessons From Sooner Football (Cross Training) as well as The Faith of Stock Car Racing (Judson Press). When he's not writing, Chad lends his efforts to various independent television and film projects. He was the coordinating producer for Choosing Life (2010) and Life Happens (2011). Chad is currently serving as producer on a forthcoming documentary about Super Bowl champion Brian Kinchen. Chad and his wife Amy live in Broken Arrow, Okla., with sons Lance (September 2003), Cole (February 2008) and Quinn (February 2011).","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/author\/cbonham"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/418"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1537"}],"version-history":[{"count":65,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1642,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions\/1642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}