Soccer star answering different call When he was playing professional soccer in Chile, Chase Hilgenbrinck sought comfort in the churches to satisfy his spiritual needs and remind him of childhood Sundays spent at Holy Trinity in his hometown of Bloomington, Ill.
Even after moving back to the United States last Christmas to play Major League Soccer, Hilgenbrinck, 26, “felt called to something greater.” “At one time I thought that call might be professional soccer,” Hilgenbrinck said. “In the past few years, I found my soul is hungry for something else.
“ I discerned, through prayer, that it was calling me to the Catholic Church. I do not want this call to pass me by.” Hilgenbrinck retired from professional soccer to enter a seminary, where he will spend six years studying theology and philosophy so he can be ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. “It’s not that I’m ready to leave soccer. I still have a great passion for the game,” he said. “I wouldn’t leave the game for just any other job. I’m moving on for the Lord. I want to do the will of the Lord, I want to do what he wants for me, not what I want to do for myself.” Super pairing Imagine Dwyane Wade and LeBron James as teammates. It could happen in 2010, when Wade, James and several other toptier NBA players can become free agents, such as Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh. “We’re just going to joke about it for the next two years until that time comes,” Wade said. “So, it’s going to be an exciting year for the NBA, but it’s two years away.” “ I’ve been playing with him for the last four years now, playing in the summertime, off and on, ” James said of the time the two have shared on the U. S. national team. “So I could see myself playing with him.” Revved up Move aside, Abraham Lincoln: Ryan Newman’s taking over a stretch of your road.
Part of Lincoln Way West in the NASCAR driver’s hometown of South Bend, Ind., has been rededicated for the winner of this year’s Daytona 500.
Newman noted the half-mile stretch near South Bend Regional Airport has a speed limit of 45 mph. “I’m kind of wondering if maybe we can up the speed limit in that stretch,” Newman said.
They said it Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Dan Haren, on experiencing Yankee Stadium: “The older ballparks without great tradition, those aren’t much fun to go to. But when you go to Yankee Stadium or a park like Wrigley or Fenway, you can put up with the bad clubhouses or the stench when you walk from the clubhouse to the dugout.” Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, on being around the players from the rival Chicago Cubs at the All-Star Game: “It turns out that [they’re all ] nice guys. That’s unfortunate. I thought it would be easy to dislike them.” Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez, on why he plans to test free agency at the end of the season despite being happy in Anaheim, Calif.: “This is a business. I’m not a fan. I’m an employee. I think about it a lot differently.” Reggie Hayes of The News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind., on athletes deciding to come back after announcing their retirement: “We’re still waiting for the first athlete to honestly say his return is because ‘I wanted to spend less time with my family, who rarely gave me a standing ovation and the worship I was accustomed to receiving.’” Quote of the day “Ask me that question tomorrow night if that happens, OK ?” Greg Norman on what it would feel like to win the British Open
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