Champ Bailey didn’t see it coming. Nobody did — except maybe Ken Watson. “Where is Benjamin?” Ken asked his wife as the two-inch Bailey sprinted across their television screen and down the length of INVESCO Field. It was the third quarter of the 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos; Bailey had just picked off New England quarterback Tom Brady’s pass in the end zone — a throw meant for Troy Brown — and he was now sprinting the 100 yards toward the Pats’ end zone. “I know he’s going to be there!”

Five syringes discarded on the side of a Rocky Mountain road just outside of Boulder, Colo., were not exactly what I expected to see. Yet, as I cycled through some of the most scenic and challenging roads in all of Boulder, the site was unmistakable. I knew that many competitive riders used the high altitudes to train for races; but it appeared that it wasn’t just the altitude that would enhance their performances that day.

The world of sports has taken a beating this year.

“Eyes.” The word has a special meaning here. When the Rogers Mountaineers hear it, it’s as if an automatic instinct kicks in. 

“Eyes!” they echo back while in a crouched stance ready for the next command, their eyes staring right into their coach’s. But for 30 senior Mountaineer football players on this night — a warm, muggy, crystal-clear evening in the dog-days of August in the middle of Central Arkansas’ mountainous wilderness — there’s no need for the command. That’s because Ronnie Peacock, the head coach at Rogers High School, already has their full attention.

The locusts come every 17 years.

For Tommy Bowden, this bizarre phenomenon of nature remains a vivid memory from his days in West Virginia. Bobby Bowden, Tommy’s coaching-legend father, had moved the family from Alabama to Morgantown when he became the Mountaineers’ head football coach in 1970. Tommy, who played as a walk-on wide receiver for the Mountaineers from 1973 to ’76, still recalls the peculiar insects, with their freaky red eyes, thick black bodies and incessant drone. Every 17 years, they would crawl out of the ground by the millions to mate, spawn and die, all within several weeks.

Believe it or not, 75 percent of Americans will be overweight by the year 2015. Seventy-five percent! And more than 40 percent will be considered obese. Further estimations reveal that 24 percent of American children and adolescents will be overweight or obese—an alarming trend with far-reaching health implications.

While there are many reasons for this growing public health crisis, it seems that pointless eating is one of the main culprits.

If you meet Nichole Jones on the starting line she’ll probably smile at you, but then when the gun goes off, she’ll leave you in the dust. Don’t take it personally, though; she does that to everyone. “We call her the Smiling Assassin,” says Todd Harbour, Baylor’s head track/cross country coach. “She’ll smile at you and then just beat you bad.”

This 5’2”speedster is a quiet giant, both athletically and spiritually, who’d rather show you what she’s about than tell you.

The life of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews has been epitomized by resilience and perseverance, stability and strength. The stats he produced as a fixture on the Houston-turned-Tennessee offensive line are legendary, and his name is a consistent example for line coaches who seek to inspire greatness in their athletes. And if those athletes never had the opportunity to see Matthews play, a quick reading of his accomplishments makes their jaws drop in awe.

Have you ever fallen into the pit of despair, landing in a pool of your toxic mistakes and filthy sin? There in the depths you gaze in doubt at the slippery walls of consequence that rise 20 feet above you on all sides. “I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold,” describes the psalmist in 69:2 (NIV).

We’ve all been down there—we’ve all experienced deep anguish. But, if you read further, you find that the psalmist escapes. “Praise the Lord, O my soul,” he shouts, “who redeems your life from the pit!” (103:2-4, NIV).

The story told in the Psalms is familiar to Mississippi State senior Alexandria Hagler.

Anthony Henry remembers the 1.5-hour walks well.

Who knows how much of his childhood was spent accompanying his mother, Mae Robinson, on her treks to work? Sure, she could’ve tried the car; but it broke down all the time, so why bother? Besides, many weeks, this was the only significant time Anthony and Mae got to spend together, considering the long hours and multiple jobs she had to work to keep the creditors at bay.

The walks were good for reflecting, at least for Mae. There was plenty to think about: life as a single parent, the surrounding crime that threatened to snatch her youngest boy, and her older children who had already been ensnared.

STV profiles D-I quarterbacks to watch this winter -- those who compete for more than the glory of the gridiron.

Included: Florida QB Tim Tebow, Texas QB Colt McCoy and Tennessee QB Erik Ainge.

In 2007, God reached approximately 340,150 kids on 6,803 campuses through the hard work of 830 FCA staff members across 50 states. That’s 340,150 students who heard the Word of God in their own schools, were influenced by their Christian teachers and coaches and learned how to compete for Christ. That’s 6,803 campuses that facilitated a light for Jesus and allowed a Christian group to organize on their school grounds.

If, by chance, you are ever in the Pacific Northwest and get a hankering to visit Pullman, Wash., here are a few helpful landmarks for your trip:

Traveling east from Seattle, watch for towns like Moses Lake and Ritzville. Northbound from Oregon, you’ll likely pass Walla Walla and Waitsburg. Traveling westward, keep a sharp lookout for the Nez Perce National Historical Park and Moscow… Moscow, Idaho, that is.

Suffice it to say there’s not a whole lot around Pullman. And once you get there — past all the rolling green hills and bucolic scenery — there isn’t much more.