Episodes

Ed Hastings

He played college basketball at Villanova, including playing with the Wildcats for the national championship and being chosen by the Boston Celtics in the NBA Draft. He would go on to become an assistant coach for men’s basketball at Villanova and nowadays is a professor in the Theology Religious Studies department there. At one point he was director of the Center for Sport, Spirituality, and Character Development at Neumann College, where he also served as the chaplain for the men’s basketball team. He also spent 15-plus years as a priest.

Notable guest quotes:

“I’m the oldest… I had one brother and four sisters… In our family, which was very much, honestly, an Irish Catholic family, I had two uncles that were priests.  And actually, one of them played basketball at Notre Dame… and Catholicism was a big part of my growing up, very much so.”

“I played baseball… all the way through high school and football I played actually all the way through high school.  So, I did play other sports.  It wasn’t until Villanova that I just focused in upon basketball.”

“I coached for one year at Villanova, then I went in the seminary.”

“I had a lot of good friends that were priests… and I think I always had a sense that there’s something deeper about life… And I also had a sense that my relationship with God was very important to me.”

“A big part of spirituality is looking back, reflecting back on experiences.”

(getting injured) “I gained things that I would never have been able to be a part of, relationships, maybe awareness about what life is really about.  So, it really did force me… to say, well, maybe basketball isn’t the most important thing.”

“Before every game I would do a prayer for the team and sometimes I would take them into experiences of serving in the local community and do some reflection around that.”

“I know for sure that I’ve learned more from losing in my life than I have from winning.”

“If we could stay with those painful moments… they can be revelatory of how God works in our lives.”

“We can’t control things and things don’t always work out the way we want them.  And I think that is, honestly, the message of the Cross.”

George Rose

He is the Executive Advisor of Pacific Rim Operations with the New York Yankees, which includes having served as a Japanese translator for the likes of Hideki Irabu, Masahiro Tanaka, and Hideki Matsui, among others. As a student-athlete he had competed in baseball, soccer, rugby, and track & field.  He also serves as an advisor for Japan’s Yomiuri Giants baseball team. He is a board member of “Catholic Men for Jesus Christ,” a now 25-year old organization. He also has a radio show called, “Brothers in Arms,” which airs monthly. And, he is a cancer survivor who by far is not only the first person to come on this show with a story about a miracle that would help confirm a saint, but probably the ONLY person who will be a guest and have that kind of witness to share — the closest that any of us will come to hearing something like this firsthand.

Notable guest quotes:

“I went to Catholic school just about my whole life, grammar school, high school, and college.  The first time I didn’t go to a Catholic school was when I got my MBA.”

“My mother was actually a nun at one time in her life.  When she first got out of high school, she was in the convent for three years.”

“When I was in eighth grade there was nothing I wanted more than to be a Major League Baseball player.  I used to sleep at night with my batting gloves on and my mitt.”

“When I was in my late twenties – 29 to be exact – I got sober at the time and about six months into my journey as a sober man I wandered back into St. Paul the Apostle on 59^th and Columbus, for Mass one Sunday, and when I went it was kind of like I was hearing the words of the Mass for the first time.”

“I did go away to college, in Worcester, Massachusetts, I went to Holy Cross, which is a Jesuit school.”

“I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer about five-and-a-half years ago, in 2017… I wrote to ask friends and family and anybody else to pray for a miracle of healing for my lung cancer.”

“I have a devotion to Sister Faustina and, of course, to all the Polish saints, right, Sister Faustina, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and Pope John Paul II, just giants of the 20^th century.”

“I’ve been involved in Catholic Men for Jesus Christ for the last 12 or 13 years… we do Catholic men’s conferences in New Jersey in the Diocese of Trenton, near where I live, and I help organize the conferences and have been on the Board.”

“Even when you have cancer, every day, does become just a little more precious, I would say… And it was incredible how close I felt to God when I first got sick.”

Lance Mudd

From an early age, he wanted to be a cowboy. He loved working cattle with his dad and competing for ribbons and trophies in youth rodeos. In high school, he not only played football and other sports but won a national championship in the boy’s cutting horse contest. In college he competed in rodeo events for McNeese State University and, after college, as a steer wrestler at the professional level, and, he is still active in team roping today. Sports even carried over into his business, entertaining clients with hunting, golfing, fishing, and motorcycle trips.

Notable guest quotes:

“Our upbringing, (we) went through Catechism, all the sacraments, and mom made sure that we went to Mass no matter what.  We didn’t miss Mass for rodeo, baseball, or nothing.  We went to church.”

“Through the sports it taught me the work ethic that it takes and that you’re gonna lose more than you’re gonna win.”

“I started making money, which I never really had, and got a little ego to me – you know what EGO stands for, Edging God Out – but it became my God, because I didn’t have to be 6’2” and 250 pounds.”

“In the business world I did not know how to be a good Catholic and a businessman… I was all in in business and that was my God.”

“The business world, the money, the Rolexes, the motorcycles, the motor homes, all the stuff that they said would make you happy, it didn’t.  It would fulfill me for a little while but then it would vanish.”

“Financially I was okay, but mentally, physically, spiritually I was broke.  Bankrupt.”

“I fly down, I hear that they need help in Mexico building a church.  So, I fly down by myself, go meet the priest, I see what they’re doing, and… These people would walk to Mass, humble, poor people and it just blew my mind – no air conditioning, their families there, and they were dressed nicer than I was.”

“When I came home, I started going to Mass daily, every day, every day, front row, listening to the whole Mass.  And it was just a blessing that Our Lady of Guadalupe just took my soul and brought it to her Son, Jesus, and it changed me.  God showed me love and mercy.”

“I encourage men, no matter what state of life you’re in, whether you’re holy or really don’t know God that much, that, they offer so many great retreats.”

Related link:

Lance’s official website

(This episode contains a prayer originally from catholic.org, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Joe McIlvaine

He spent parts of six decades in baseball, starting with the first of five seasons that he played as a pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He went on to become a scout in the Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, and Milwaukee Brewers organizations, before becoming the scouting director for the New York Mets, who eventually promoted him to assistant general manager. He would then become the general manager of the San Diego Padres before returning to New York to take that same position with the Mets. He then went on to positions as special assistant to the general manager, first with the Minnesota Twins and then the Seattle Mariners, before joining the Baltimore Orioles in a senior advisory position.

Notable guest quotes:

“I decided to enter St. Charles Seminary, which was the local seminary for Philadelphia Archdiocese and also for the Diocese of Allentown.”

“I’d played Mass all the time.  We made vestments as we were growing up.”

“As much as I wanted to be a priest, I could not NOT find out whether or not I had enough to be a Major League pitcher, ‘cause I felt like I could always come back to the seminary if I had to.”

“I was actually the head altar boy in the seventh and eighth grade and we did all the ceremonies and everything.  And I was the master at funerals and at weddings… I loved it… It kind of brought an early sense of responsibility to ya’ and I felt like that was really good training for the seminary.”

“I felt like God was saying to me, ‘Okay, you’ve answered your question, now let’s go on with your life’.”

“When you’re in a situation where you’re hiring people, firing people, trading people, changing their lives, it has to be done with love.”

“Every Sunday when we were home we had Father Danny Murphy, who was an avid (New York) Met fan, he would come and say Mass… before the players went out on the field… and he did a wonderful job for us, and he would even do it in spring training… We did not want to start the Sunday without Mass.”

“The Knights of the Immaculata are dedicated to (St. Maximilian Kolbe’s) devotion to the Blessed Mother and it’s a group of men trying to emulate St. Maximilian by prayer, devotion, and we have an annual weekend retreat in November.”

“All of a sudden there’s a guy at my window with a gun, pointing it right at me, saying, ‘I need money.’ … I started talking to the guy and I said, ‘Why are you doing something like this?  What would the Pope do in a situation like this’?”

“Between seasons I was teaching the fourth grade at Our Mother of Good Counsel in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.”

Sabby Piscitelli

He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cleveland Browns, and Kansas City Chiefs after having been a second-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay. He had played his college football at Oregon State, playing in 50 games for the Beavers in his four years there. Back in his high school days he not only was the Boca Raton News Defensive Player of the Year and team MVP, but he also lettered four years in baseball as an outfielder. Following his NFL career, he went on to pro wrestling, first with WWE and then with AEW.

Notable guest quotes:

“I went to St. Joan of Arc, all the way from kindergarten through eighth grade… I grew up in a Catholic household, went to church every Sunday… and I think it really molded me into the man I am today, carried my faith through high school, college, and into the professional ranks, and it’s something I’m very proud of.”

“I felt in love with football, but I thought, ‘I’ll be okay, I’m getting recruited for the pros for baseball out of high school.’  And I had the Orioles and the Red Sox coming to basically every one of my practices… So… I was blessed to play both… God really made it easy for me… God just kind of really showed me the answer.  I prayed on it, and He gave me the opportunity to play big time college football at Oregon State.”

“I didn’t really have to sit and make a decision.  I think God opened the door that He wanted me to go through.”

“I don’t ever go to bed without getting on my two knees, and I pray every single night.  I never get under my covers until I thank the Lord for the beautiful day and where He put me.  And I usually say a prayer in the morning as well.”

“Every time I played a game, I would tape my wrists white, and I would draw a black cross on my tape.  And that carried me all the way through the pros.  There wasn’t a game that I did not have the black cross on my wrist.”

“I am a believer that God does everything for a reason if you look at the why.”

“That was a mental, mental struggle.  I can be the first one to say, if I didn’t have a good faith, I don’t know where I would’ve ended up.”

“The saying that I’ve always lived by that really, really hit me a lot when I left the NFL was, He who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted’.” (Matthew 23:12)

“The Lord and Savior will talk to you if you’re listening, and He’ll show you signs if you’re looking for ‘em.”

“God is the straight backbone of me that keeps me, I think, center grounded, for sure.”

“I’m very proud to be a Catholic and it’s something that I believe in and I believe more importantly that it’s a relationship with the Lord.”

“If you just stay focused on your faith, get in the Bible, and know what you could do, that’s all that really matters.”

Related link:

Sabby Piscitelli on Instagram

(This episode contains a prayer seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)

Dan Venezia

He played three seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization and is a survivor of two near-death experiences. Back in his days as a student-athlete he led his high school to a city championship and received a college scholarship, going on to lead the nation in stolen bases in 1992 in NCAA Division II play. Later, during a seven-year span, his recreational coaching record was 85-5 with six championships along with three undefeated seasons. He is also a professional trainer and has not only published a children’s book based around his being a coach, but also wrote a faith-based book on surviving Covid-19.

Notable guest quotes:

“Luckily I had a strong, resilient, faith-filled mother who instilled the love of Christ in my siblings and me.”

“It was at my aunt and uncle’s that I stayed with my two cousins, a Christian Catholic family… and it was there that I learned how to pray.”

“Baseball along with the love of Christ saved me.”

“God was looking out for me.  There’s no doubt that He had a plan… He certainly had other things in store for me.”

“People say they lose their faith.  Faith is not a set of car keys.  It’s not a wallet that you misplace or that you leave in the seat cushion of the couch.  Faith is a gift.  It’s given to us by our Creator, and we leave the faith, and when we decide to come back – and I hope and pray that everyone who’s lost comes back – … Jesus is right there with his arms wide open, just waiting for you.  So, he never leaves us.  We’re the ones that leave him.”

“I was definitely Bible-based.  I’d go to baseball chapel, which is what they had there at the time, and it was Christian-based.”

“Of course you question God when things go wrong.  I wasn’t thanking Him enough for the things that were going right in my life… Too many times we come to God during these challenging times and we either come closer or we move farther away.”

“God closed that window, but He opened up the door of opportunity.”

“The only thing I remember, my priest, my good friend, Monsignor Geno Sylva at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, the only thing I remember him saying from that homily – and thank God I held onto the words ‘cause I would need them to sustain me through the coming days – the only thing I remember, he said, ‘During challenging times, we should never feel sorry for ourselves.  Jesus never felt sorry for himself’.”

“When I knew I was getting out of that hospital, there were so many guardian angel moments.”

“Jesus was my best doctor.  Prayer was my best medicine.  And Mother Angelica was my best nurse.”

“I don’t worship Mary.  I only worship the one God.  But I will not deny His mother.  She was present then, she’s more present now.  She’s brought me closer to her son.  And I can’t talk about Jesus without talking about her.”

Related link:

Dan’s official website (for his book, more photos, and additional content)

Mario Lopez

He is a film actor, New York Times Best-Selling author, producer, host, and two-time Emmy winner. He currently hosts NBC’s “Access Hollywood” and “Access Daily” as well as a national radio show. Plus, he even has his own sports-related podcast that is talked about on this episode. He was recently inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, recognized as the 2022 Outstanding American, having wrestled for Chula Vista High School, finishing second in the San Diego section and seventh in the California Interscholastic Federation state tournament as a senior in one-class California in 1991. He also just held a golf classic for the Providence Saint Joseph Foundation.  (Listen too as he also mentions boxing and jiu-jitsu.)

Notable guest quotes:

“We were devout Catholics and, like many Latinos in our culture, it played an important role in our life. And, as I grew older, I tried to grow and build spiritual muscle.  And I think I’ve gotten to a much better place too and I feel comfortable about it.  It’s important for me to raise my kids and have them have a faith-based education, and they’re in Catholic school.  So, it’s an incredibly important role in my life.”

“I’m always an advocate of speaking out on my faith. They say don’t talk about politics and religion, and I don’t talk about politics… but I don’t shy away from my faith.  And I’m proud because I think the Lord calls on us and so I’m proud to talk about my faith and I’m happy to do so.”

“I love wrestling, it teaches you aspects of life.  You build on characteristics that are important as an adult in life; toughness, obviously physically, but both and more importantly, psychologically and emotionally.  It builds a strong work ethic.  You learn discipline.  And also, self-reliance.”

“Most of the time I had a regular high school experience.  And I got to wrestle for my school, go to prom, dances, and what have you.  But all the while it was always very important for me to go to Mass and say my prayers every night and it’s always been an important part of my life.  And now I’m happy to continue to lean on it, to turn to my faith, and raise my children in it.”

“I try to give back to my community as much as I can.”

(of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land) “Everywhere Jesus went, that’s where I was at.  I even went over to Bethlehem and Palestine… and I got to get baptized in the Jordan River.”

“I’m always proud to talk about my faith.  And some people might try to discourage to you, but I don’t try to listen to them.”

“I think the Lord would be proud (of Mario’s trying) to contribute that and then being selfless and trying to help.  So, just trying to do my part.”

“You turn to faith and just feel you prepared yourself, you go out there, you do your best, and you just let go and let God work through you and see what happens.”

“(Mark Wahlberg is) a buddy of mine.  We just flew back together from New York and so he’s a very proud Catholic.  And I love that about him.  We have many similar traits.”

Related link:

Mario’s page on IMDB

(This episode contains a prayer by Fort Worth Christian Football League parent Linda Fleshman, as seen in Play Like A Champion Today’s prayerbook for sports, God, Be In My Sport)