It's the typical driveway basketball scenario: Your team is down by two with three seconds left on the clock. You get the pass at the top of the key and square up to take the game-winning shot. It's one of the most heart-pounding moments in your imaginary career, and, once the shot goes down (even if it's on the second or third try), you rejoice with the thousands of invisible spectators.

As athletes, we dream of being in those pressure-packed, crunch-time situations. The fourth quarters, ninth innings and final sets. When it comes to actual games, however, those visualizations take on a new reality.

I grew up in Slidell, La., about 30 miles away from New Orleans and the area's famed Bayou Country. My paternal grandfather was a minister who preached faith in God and a strong work ethic. He instilled those values in my father, Gene, who faithfully passed them on to my older brother, Bryan, and me.

As kids, Bryan and I really benefited from our dad's wisdom. Our family attended church every week at Hartzell Mount Zion Church in Slidell, and that was where I placed my faith in Christ when I was 15 years old.

It's an ordinary Wednesday afternoon at Miami's Ghoulds Park where, under the watchful eye of FCA's Noah Wilbanks, a group of street-savvy football prospects race through a series of drills hoping to catch the eyes of college football coaches from across the nation.

These aren't your typical blue-chippers. Some are teenagers, others are in their mid-20's, but all are pushing themselves through the oppressive South Florida heat alongside campmates of different ethnicities and from others parts of town.

The name of any sports team says something about the nature of the game being played. It's revealing to note, then, that the NHL has more teams named after natural disasters than any other pro sport: the Flames, the Lightning, the Avalanche, and perhaps most indicative, the Carolina Hurricanes. These names alert fans that they're watching, not a game of slow precision or deliberate grit, but of collective fury and fast-paced skill.