Underdog, Catholic, champion… with a ‘sprinkle of Jesus’

In his second year as an offensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks, Abraham “Abe” Lucas is living his childhood dream. Even so, it’s faith, not football, that’s the most important thing for this self-described “hard-core Catholic.”

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 241 pounds, veteran Ottawa Redblacks defensive lineman Nigel Romick is well-established as one of the most formidable big men and special teams tacklers in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Table tennis and business management apparently have a lot more in common than most would imagine.

St. Ann’s parishioners in Hamilton’s east end may not know that there is a world-class boxing gym right under their feet as they gather for prayer and worship at their century-old church.

Fr. John McKenzie first noticed Andrew Jones III in the halls of the National Shrine of the Little Flower Basilica in Royal Oak, Mich., where Jones was holding his son, Andrew IV.

Watching Canada clash against the greatest soccer stars from around the world in the FIFA World Cup will be particularly exciting for St. Edmund Campion Secondary School in Brampton, Ont. 

Matt Hoven’s book, On the Eighth Day: A Catholic Theology of Sport, was co-written with two PhD colleagues during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet foundational elements of this literary work were unofficially laid during the academic’s childhood. 

In summer 2021, I had the pleasure on the local public golf course where I play to be part of a foursome of walk-ons that included a diminutive albeit athletic 30-something Asian woman.

Chad Falk and his team at the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association (MHSAA) were hard at work during the summer preparing for a 2022-23 school year slated to be chockful of provincial competitions.

For the past decade, high school chaplain Tony Whelan has been raising the moral and ethical question as to whether violent sports should have a place in Catholic schools.

Yogi Berra, Gil Hodges, Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth, Whitey Ford and Connie Mack were among the ballplayers Catholic voters chose in online balloting for an all-time Catholic baseball all-star team.

What began as a class assignment has landed London, Ont., teen Tyrell Campbell a spot on Hockey Canada’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group and caught the eye of National Hockey League officials.

Frs. Casey Cole and Roberto “Tito” Serrano, both Franciscan friars, met in their second year of formation and bonded over their love of baseball and their Franciscan vocations.

May 18 marked a historic moment in Canadian sporting history for young women as Sudbury, Ont.’s St. Benedict’s Catholic Secondary School hosted the first ever officially score-kept girls tackle football game.