For more than 30 years, women’s basketball coaches have stood on the shoulders of Kay Yow. An undeniable legend in the sport, her bio reads like an excerpt from “College Basketball’s Most Desirable Accomplishments.” But when thumbing through the pages of that biography, note that Yow’s fiercest competitor hasn’t been on the court.

Three times the North Carolina State head coach has been diagnosed with breast cancer, most recently stage IV in November 2006. But likened to any other rival, she has shown up for cancer’s game, determined to fight.

On paper, 15 pounds is just about all that separates John Smoltz, Mike Sweeney and Tim Salmon. All are accomplished, 6-foot-3 major league veterans who have spent their entire careers (all dating back to the mid-90’s) with one club. And if you really want to stretch out the comparison — as any true baseball follower would do — you could add to it the fact that all are right-handed men whose last names start with the letter “S.” Still, to find three men so alike is to contradict the rarity that they are in the league as Christian men serving in spiritual leadership roles in their respective clubhouses.

We all want to leave a mark. It’s something God hardwired into us. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, “I want to leave the world a better place.” By definition, the word “legacy” means, “something we receive from someone who went before us.”

It’s hard to decide what Kara Lawson is most known for.

SEC fans remember her as the All-American from the University of Tennessee who led the Lady Vols to three Final Four appearances between 2000 and 2003. Followers of the WNBA know her as a key member of the 2005 league champion Sacramento Monarchs and now as the starting point guard for the Connecticut Sun. Still more recognize her as a member of the ESPN college basketball broadcasting team through which Lawson serves both as a studio analyst for the NCAA women’s tournament and a color commentator for men’s games. And fans of the Summer Olympics would most likely know her for the gold medal she won with Team USA in 2008.