The economic struggles of the United States strike Albert Pujols differently than most. After all, when you've grown up amid conditions far worse than what the average American considers difficult, it puts things in perspective. While the economic crash of the U.S. is indeed serious, if not critical, the reality remains that many countries are filled with citizens who have been battling for years to find a single daily meal.

No, Pujols himself was never a starving child, but he wasn't wealthy. And the scenes he saw growing up in the Dominican Republic, where he lived before moving with his family to the U.S. at the age of 15, have fueled in him a passion for reaching those in need.

These days, it’s the rare athlete who plays his entire career with the same organization. Trades and free agency offer players unlimited opportunities to reshuffle the deck in search of better situations. But for Mike Fisher—the 1998 second-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators and a Peterborough, Ontario, native—the chance to skate for what equates to his hometown team has brought blessings unmatched by any contract offer.

What most parents are finding out is that 70% of kids are dropping out of sports by the age of 13, and do you know why? According to Sports Illustrated it’s because the adults who are involved, particularly their own parents, have turned the playing of games into a joyless, negative experience. Shame on us! The things that I learned about life after age 13 by playing sports is extremely invaluable.

Matt Hasselbeck is famous for a lot of reasons. Most people know him as a three-time Pro Bowl selection and the Super Bowl XL quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. Some associate him with his father, Don, who played nine seasons in the NFL. The less-football-savvy crowd knows him for his TV star sister-in-law, Elisabeth, from ABC’s “The View.” And a growing number of people are getting to know him for his dancing skills. (Thank you, Reebok!)

Regardless of what category you place him in, however, there’s one thing about Matt Hasselbeck that can’t be separated from his inner athlete, son, dancer or field general: his faith in Jesus Christ.

“You tell it. You’re so much better at telling it than me. I always leave out too many details.” Landry Jones scoots back deeper into the couch in the middle of FCA Area Representative Kent Bowles’ sports room. He’s surrounded by everything a college athlete could find comforting: a ping pong table, framed college football jerseys, a gumball machine and his girlfriend: OU shooting guard Whitney Hand.

It was as good as done the moment the Lions signed free agent quarterbacks Jon Kitna and Josh McCown. The path back to Christ was illuminated long before Dan Orlovsky could see it for himself. No one who would be spending so much time with two such evangelists could escape the Holy Spirit.

No, Orlovsky had no shot.

Cincinnati's Andy Dalton has been trusting God’s plan, from his days as a high school freshman "B" team quarterback all the way to the NFL.

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.

The spotlight is shining on the STV Hot Seat again, and this time we're grilling the WNBA's Jia Perkins. Can she handle it? You bet.

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.

When Jill Stephens filled the head coach vacancy at Florida Southern College left by AVCA Hall of Famer Lois Webb in 2001, not much changed within the program. Stephens was, after all, one of Webb's pupils, one of the greatest volleyball players in Moccasin history, and a member of the school’s athletics Hall of Fame. Now, 13 seasons later, Stephens sees a bit of herself in the young women she’s training, both in the game and in their faith through her involvement with the school’s FCA Huddle that she helped start as a student-athlete herself.

Luke Ridnour credits his father for providing the earliest lessons about teamwork. Rob Ridnour coached high school basketball (including his son's team) before taking over as the head coach of the International Basketball League's Bellingham Slam. It was the elder Ridnour who instilled in his son some of those fundamental concepts about teamwork, such as sharing the ball and looking out for one another.