Category: Sports Speaker News

  • Jim Abbott is a Highly Sought After Motivational Speaker

    Jim Abbott, a baseball Icon, is a popular inspirational  &  motivational speaker. He was the underdog growing up. He was born with only one hand but had aspirations of reaching the Major Leagues.

    As a youngster, he would spend hours bouncing the ball off a wall to practice fielding and throwing. He showed enough promise in high school to be drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays but chose instead to attend the University of Michigan. He led the Wolverines to Big Ten titles in his freshmen and junior years and had a career record of 26-8. He went on to win the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, presented annually to the outstanding college baseball player in the United States. (more…)

  • Drew Pearson A Top NFL Speaker Practices What He Preaches

    When companies and organizations contact me about booking football speakers but have a limited budget, there are any number of people I can recommend, including Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Dan Hampton and Roger Craig. Another person at the top of the list is former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson. I always tell my clients that Drew delivers a lot of bang for the buck. Not only is he polished and well-spoken, he’s also a very successful businessman who practices what he preaches. He is a top motivational sports speaker who delivers.

    Pearson, signed by the Cowboys as a free agent out of Tulsa in 1973, became one of the most dominating wide receivers of his era and, along with Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, helped lead the Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances and a victory in Super Bowl XII in 1978. He was a three-time All Pro, All-NFL in 1975 and second team All-NFC in 1978. Pearson led the NFC in pass receptions with 58 in 1976 and was the Cowboys’ offensive captain in 1977, 1978, 1982 and 1983. For his achievements, he was named one of the Top 20 All-Time Wide Receivers and was selected to the NFL 1970’s All-Decade Team. (more…)

  • Lisa Leslie Retires From WNBA

    Oct. 9, 2009 – Women’s basketball legend, Lisa Leslie, announced her retirement today from the WNBA, stating she is leaving the sport with no regrets.

    It will not be the last time fans will hear about Leslie. The game is too much a part of her.

    “Today is my last day of playing professional basketball, but I will stay close to the game because I feel I need to be a part of it.”

    “I feel great, because I have no regrets,” Leslie said. (more…)

  • Tiger Woods Earns $1B Tops Michael Jordan As Highest Paid Athlete

    Tiger Woods earns $1B becoming highest paid athlete

    Forbes reported last week that Tiger Woods became the first athlete to earn $1 billion in career earnings from endorsements, prize winnings, golf course design and appearance fees. Woods reportedly earns $30 million a year from Nike and receives $10 million per project for his golf design work. He also just won $10 million last week for winning the FedEx Cup title.

    The crazy part is that Woods in only 33 years old and has many years of competitive golf, endorsements and golf course design ahead of him. It’s not a stretch to say that he’ll likely make well in excess of $2 billion by the time his career ends. It’s estimated that he has now earned more than NBA great Michael Jordan ($800 million) and retired Formula One driver Michael Shumacher ($700 million). (more…)

  • What Two NFL Teams Have Surprised So Far This Season?

    With a quarter of the NFL season behind us, who are the two most surprising teams thus far?

    The most surprising team in my opinion is the Denver Broncos. No one predicted the Broncos would start 4-0. With the departure of Jay Cutler, the hiring of a new head coach in Josh McDaniels and the pouting of talented wide receiver Brandon Marshall, many people predicted the Broncos would have a hard time winning more than just a couple of games this season.

    So why are they playing so well? (more…)

  • Chris Evert & Greg Norman Separate After 15 Months of Marriage

    Golf great Greg Norman and tennis legend Chris Evert announced they have separated Friday just 15 months after they were married.

    It is not know if they plan to divorce.

    In a statement, the couple said only, “We will remain friends and supportive of one another’s family.” The statement said they requested privacy for them and their families.

    The timing of the announcement was in part to prevent speculation on Evert’s absence at the Presidents Cup, matches between the United States and an International team of countries from every continent but Europe and Antarctica.

    “I don’t think it will be a distraction,” said Robert Allenby of Australia, part of the International team. “That’s just not the way Norman is. He’s normally very private with his life. I know Norman. Next week his whole focus will be purely on what we have to do as a team and how we have to come together. He’ll be right behind us 110 percent.”

    (more…)

  • Wayne Gretzky Retires As Coach of Phoenix Coyotes

    Wayne Gretzky announced Thursday he would be stepping down due to the financial turmoil surrounding the team.

    As the bankruptcy court battle between Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and the NHL over the sale of the financially troubled team continues, Gretzky announced on his web site that he was leaving.

    “This was a difficult decision that I’ve thought long and hard about,” Gretzky said. “We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected. (more…)

  • Is Tedy Bruschi Patriots Most Popular Player Ever?

    There aren’t many things that make Bill Belichick cry. But when Tedy Bruschi recently announced his retirement, the robot-like coach was forced to choke back tears.

    Ex New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi may be Patriots most popular player.

    Said Belichick, “I’ve had the privilege of coaching a lot of great players and leaders in the National Football League, and I’ll just put Tedy up there with all of them and above all of them. There’s no player that I think epitomizes more of what I believe a player should be on the field, off the field, really, in every situation.” (more…)

  • Which NFL Greats Will Be Inducted Into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

    The preliminary list of modern-era nominees for induction in 2010 in the Pro Football Hall was recently released and it’s loaded with big names. Headlining the list are Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, two of the greatest players in NFL history.

    NFL greats  Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith are top contenders for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    Other nominees include Tim Brown, Herschel Walker, Andre Reed, Cris Carter, Sterling Sharp and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue. (more…)

  • How Will Broncos, Bills, Cardinals, Patriots, Cowboys Do In NFL 2009 Season?

    With the NFL season upon us, there are numerous interesting story lines. The question is how will some of the NFL teams fare in the 2009-2010 season. NFL teams like the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys are just a few of the most intriguing story lines. (more…)