On the day he became an international sensation, Jeremy Lin feared for his NBA livelihood. Has irony ever been so thick?

But then, who could blame him? The previous night hadn’t gone well. In the New York Knicks’ 91-89 loss to Boston on Feb. 3, 2012, the point guard’s statistical line was wholly non-descript: two points, two rebounds, one assist, one turnover and two personal fouls in 6 minutes, 36 seconds of floor time.

This game requires lots of inflated balloons. The object of the game is to see who can break more balloons in a given time by sitting on them. Make the last one a water balloon. 

If God’s will is a highway, Russ Ortiz doesn’t want to spend anymore time on the side roads.

After tearing through his first seven seasons in the majors with outstanding numbers, Ortiz found himself in unfamiliar territory in 2005. Not only did he make his first trip to the disabled list with a stress fracture in his ribs, he also experienced his first losing season at the major-league level. As a result, Ortiz, who came to Christ at an FCA Huddle meeting at the University of Oklahoma, found himself struggling with new challenges and frustrations. And what he learned was that God’s way is always better than man’s way.

From the little leagues to the professional ranks, success in sports is almost exclusively defined by wins and losses. Perhaps legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi summed it up best when he said, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” In some respects, you could make a strong case for that belief. Winning often opens the doors to life-changing opportunity. On the other hand, the all-or-nothing attitude that is prevalent in today’s sports community has the potential to bring undeserved disappointment to those on the outside looking in.

Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.–Romans 12:21

Ready

Every sport has them—those pesky but necessary “do’s and don’ts” otherwise known as rules of the game and rules of the team. No matter how much you sacrifice and how focused you are in aiming at the goal, your competitive dreams are put at risk the moment you do something that contradicts the rules. There are no shortcuts to success as an athlete or in life. Sooner or later, it will catch up with you.