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.

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.

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.

This summer, as the Olympics play out, many athletes will be giving all the glory to God. Get to know a few of them here, and then cheer them on as they compete!

I knew nothing but pain. My legs burned as I strode faster. My lungs felt the fire rage inside of them as I lost control of my breathing. I closed my eyes looking for relief. I found none. My arms burned from the strain of trying to go faster, trying to finish sooner. The pulse of my heart continued to pound in my head, each beat shaking me down, trying to lower me. The doubts tried forcing me to slow, but I did not. It grabbed my heart and told me that I’m done! I did not listen. This race was no longer about me, no longer about my team or my family. I ran to prove to God that I had the strength to continue on. No one knew where I found it. This stronghold. This bedrock. The iron will in my heart that kept me going.

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.

You shouldn't need to consult an atlas to know that Las Vegas and Harrisonburg, Va., are pretty far apart. Not only are they separated by miles — 1,989 to be exact — but also by climate, terrain and, most notably, lifestyle.

But God's power is not restricted by earthly distances. He gives each of us the ability to touch lives no matter what our location, especially in today's connected society. In the case of James Madison University basketball player Heiden Ratner, who hails from Vegas and attends college in Harrisonburg, there is one athlete influencing lives for Christ on both sides of the country. It is a calling he received neither in Vegas nor Virginia, but in a small town in northern Georgia called Lookout Mountain.

To trace Zeller Mania back to its origins, you have to start with pigs—lots of pigs. And some cows, beans and corn. You have to travel deeper into the heartland, where the skyscrapers and asphalt jungles of America fade away into swaying fields of green and golden-brown. You have to go to Springville, Iowa (pop. 1,074). That’s where Steve and Lorri, the Zeller brothers’ parents, grew up.