As I watched this afternoon's match up between the Colorado Rapids and the Seattle Sounders, there was one thing on my mind: Brian Mullan. Many are aware of the controversy surrounding Mullan and the Sounders' Steve Zakuani whose leg was broken in a tackle last April. Zakuani has been rehabbing and recovering and was relegated to watching today's match from a players box suite in a suit and tie. Mullan, who did not speak with media before the match, shared briefly after the game a few comments. In the hours immediately following last April's injury, Zakuani was at risk and needed surgery immediately to relieve pain and pressure from the break. I know many on the Sounders were holding their

One of my best friends serves as youth pastor in Cardiff, Wales. He loves the image of the 'All Access' credential I wear around my neck at the stadium on match day. From the earliest days of my work with the Colorado Rapids, the badge around my neck has given me the chance to move freely - whether into the locker room or on to the pitch, into the stadium boxes and stands, or into the most obscure hallways and stairways. Even when the team played at Mile High Stadium and Invesco Field, as well as its current location at Dick's Sporting Goods Park - there have been few doors that have been shut and inaccessible - an amazing sign

It's probably a feeling and phrase that I have felt an innumerable amount of times as I visited the stadium or training grounds. It's like a bad voice in my head that won't go away. It feels condemning at times. "You're a fool." If you are reading this and have worked in any capacity as a chaplain before (whether professional sports, healthcare, or military) there are times when you cannot help but feel overwhelmed. The people, institutions, and organizations where a chaplain ministers can unknowingly and unwittingly contribute to the frustrating sense that is all to common to a chaplains experience. During my years as a hospice chaplain, it was easy to feel the fool while in the midst

It's that thing that I wait for at the beginning of every season - I wonder how many sports participants, fans, and even the casual observer wait for it too. I liken it to getting a new car and pulling out onto the road there is so much joy and anticipation, but in the back of your mind something lingers. Something isn't right... Then it happens - the first rock chip, scratch, dent, or ding on the new car. No! It's almost like we can't believe what has just happened - perfection ruined, buyers remorse, "What have I done?" "Can we start over? How could I have avoided that?" Many times that is the feeling that surrounds that first damage