2009-03-02T20:04:32Z Veteran sports writer Kathy Orton examines how religion plays out in the world of sports. tag:onfaith.washingtonpost.com,2010:/onfaith/prayingfields/625 Copyright (c) 2009, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2009-03-02T20:04:32Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-03-02:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/03/the_bible_is_his_playbook.html

Ritchie McKay seems to have found a home at Liberty. Some would say the Lynchburg, Va., school, founded in 1971 by the late Jerry Falwell as an independent fundamentalist Baptist university, is the ideal place for McKay, an outspoken Christian whose statements to the media five years ago led the ACLU to question his coaching methods at New Mexico, his previous coaching job. Grateful to be at a place where he can freely express his...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-02-17T16:01:28Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-17:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/02/iverson_and_the_afterlife.html

Allen Iverson, sporting a new hairstyle reminiscent of his days at Georgetown, was sitting around one of those NBA all-star weekend media sessions when he was asked by a reporter about whether he thought some of the NBA charity events -- reading books to kids, handing out Thanksgiving turkeys -- were a bit staged. "Fake," said the 10-time all-star who plays for the Detroit Pistons. Iverson went on to say that he prefers the cameras...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-02-05T14:38:17Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-02-05:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/02/faithful_how_pray_tell.html

Written in response to The League's question: Is there too much God in football? As someone who writes regularly about how sports and religion intersect over on "On Faith," you probably think I am thrilled by all the God talk at the Super Bowl. Think again. After listening to player after player spout religious bromides, I was ready to scream: "Enough already!" Don't get me wrong. I believe faith plays an important role in some...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-01-30T20:15:12Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-30:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/01/holybowlers.html

I'm beginning to wonder if God is playing in Super Bowl XLIII, or the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers. I had avoided participating in the faith talk surrounding this Super Bowl, but after a week of Kurt Warner-carrying-his-Bible-everywhere stories, I can't help myself. I'm tired of listening to Warner and his evangelical cohorts sell Jesus to the masses. Given that I write about the intersection of sports and religion for Praying Fields, you probably think...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-01-27T18:57:32Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-27:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/01/basketball_coach_and_christian.html

In all the years I spent covering ACC women's basketball, I don't think I ever came across anyone who didn't love Kay Yow. Her folksy manner and graciousness endeared her to everyone she met. Yow, who died Jan. 24 at age 66, was an accomplished basketball coach, ranking fourth among active Division I coaches in victories - behind only Tennessee's Pat Summit, Rutgers' Vivian Stringer and North Carolina's Sylvia Hatchell. She coached the 1988 U.S....Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-01-22T18:52:27Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-22:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/01/hallowed_be_thy_habs.html

Rev. Joseph Kerrigan apparently isn't the only one who finds a connection between faith and hockey. Since I spoke with Kerrigan last month, I came across a couple articles about a theologian who is leading a course at the Universite de Montreal called, "Religion of the Canadiens." Olivier Bauer, a Swiss-born professor at the school, recently wrote a book that he has developed into a 16-week course on the relics and rituals that surround Montreal's...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-01-14T18:34:39Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-14:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/01/nfls_loss_is_societys_gain.html

It's clear from everything that's been written about Tony Dungy's retirement from the NFL that his faith is a large part of who he is. Perhaps it is not surprising then, that what people remember most about Dungy's time in the NFL has less to do with what he accomplished on the field - becoming the first black coach to win a Super Bowl two years ago - and more to do with what he...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-01-14T16:48:21Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-07:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/01/a_quarterback_of_faith.html

Washington Post staff writer Amy Shipley takes a look at University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and how his faith influences him in a story in Wednesday's paper. As noted before in this space, sports reporters have gone out of their way to avoid mentioning Tebow's strong religious beliefs. But Shipley doesn't shy away from the topic. Instead, she explores how it has helped make him the player he is. Tebow's parents are quoted in...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2009-01-06T16:18:41Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2009-01-06:/onfaith/prayingfields2009/01/signs_lead_nfl_player_to_god.html

I'm a bit baffled by this story I came across about former Denver Broncos offensive tackle Matt Lepsis, who played 11 seasons in the NFL before retiring in 2007. Lepsis started 133 games and helped the Broncos win a Super Bowl in 1999. He recounts how he became caught up in the fast-pace lifestyle of professional sports and started abusing drugs, often playing games while high. Then one day, Lepsis reportedly received these "signs" --...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2008-12-23T19:29:03Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-23:/onfaith/prayingfields2008/12/will_there_ever_be_another_tam.html

It has been almost 10 years since Tamir Goodman caused a stir in this area. For those of you who have forgotten, Goodman was a star player at Talmudical Academy in northwest Baltimore who was offered a scholarship to the University of Maryland to play basketball. Dubbed the "Jewish Jordan," Goodman gained national media attention - ESPN, the New York Times and Sports Illustrated profiled him - and he was expected to test how accommodating...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2008-12-18T20:44:24Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-18:/onfaith/prayingfields2008/12/what_does_god_think_about_hock.html

My curiosity piqued after my recent conversation with Rev. Joseph Kerrigan about the relationship between hockey and faith, I dropped by Kettler Capitals Iceplex to speak with Washington Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier. Pothier grew up in a Catholic family in New Bedford, Mass., but never really connected with his faith. One day, a friend invited him to a Bible study. "This guy, he was preaching from the Bible and just wasn't doing the ritual, repetitive...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2008-12-11T20:38:09Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-12-11:/onfaith/prayingfields2008/12/finding_faith_in_hockey.html

I wouldn't have thought hockey and faith were analogous until I spoke with Rev. Joseph Kerrigan the other day. Father Kerrigan, a 48-year-old priest and lifelong hockey fan, grew up two exits down the New Jersey Turnpike from his current parish, Sacred Heart Church in New Brunswick, N.J. Hockey was big in his hometown of Woodbridge, where most kids were loyal to the New York Rangers. Kerrigan, however, developed a passion for another team. He...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2008-11-24T15:54:32Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-24:/onfaith/prayingfields2008/11/hoya_great_shows_his_resilienc.html

Alonzo Mourning towered over the podium at the front of the conference room on the Georgetown campus on a Friday night in November. The NBA all-star and Hoya great, sharply dressed as usual in a gray pinstriped suit and a chocolate fedora, had returned to his alma mater to promote his new book, "Resilience: Faith, Focus and Triumph." "It means a lot to me that I still have the support," Mourning said as he gazed...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2008-11-20T14:16:05Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-20:/onfaith/prayingfields2008/11/faith-based_initiative.html

I wrote a story for today's Washington Post about Chase Hilgenbrinck, the 26-year-old Major League Soccer player who retired from playing soccer professionally to become a priest. What struck me most during my conversation with Chase at Mount St. Mary's was how content and happy he is with his decision. Walking away from something you love is never easy, and it certainly wasn't for Chase. He misses playing profoundly. But at the same time, I...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton 2008-11-14T17:02:54Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2008-11-14:/onfaith/prayingfields2008/11/influential_jewish_athletes.html

Each year, the Forward, a Jewish weekly, publishes a list of the most influential Jews called the Forward 50. The list, which came out on Thursday, is heavy on politicians (Rahm Emanuel, Barney Frank, Joe Lieberman). There was only one athlete on the list, swimmer Dara Torres. Torres is the 41-year-old mom who became the first U.S. swimmer to compete in five Olympics this past summer. In Beijing, two years after the birth of her...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Kathy Orton