2 — Good News, etc. — February 2012 nc/sd sports


By JOHN PHILIP WYLLIE A couple of years ago, Greg Clark thought


his basketball career had finally reached its end. Having starred at Grossmont High, the University of Washington, and on two ABA teams for five years, Clark had spent most of his life on the basketball court. A devoted Christian and family man, he reached a point where he wanted to focus more of his energy on his wife and three kids, as well as his business. For him, playing in the ABA with its minimal financial opportunity and con- stant travel had lost its appeal. It was then that ABA team owner Tony Allen approached him about extending his career with his then new ABA franchise, the San Diego Sol. “Tony Allen is one of the main reasons


that I came back to play,” Clark said prior to the Sol’s 117-80 victory on Jan. 19 over the Los Angeles Slam at Scripps Ranch’s Alliant International University Gym. “Based on my experience with the two ABA clubs that I had played for, there was no part of me that wanted to play in the ABA again.”


Then he met with Tony Allen. “He made a great first impression,”


Clark said. “I found out that he was a strong Christian and had beliefs similar to


“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” — 1 Cor. 9:24 (NKJV)


Clark would like to conclude career with ABA championship


mine,” the 6-7 forward said. “That made it a whole lot easier to trust him and to trust that the organization was going to be run the right way.” Allen has been true to his word and Clark couldn’t be happier. Now 34 and the Sol’s captain and elder statesman, Clark is thrilled to be playing his second and probably final season in his hometown. Better yet, he could go out on top. The red hot Sol — now 14-2 — has a realistic chance of winning an ABA championship. After their only two losses, in November


and December, the team has come back to beat the teams that beat them, the Arizona Scorpions and the Slam. “We have had to battle through a few injuries here and there, but we are having a lot of success this season,” Clark said. “We have a really good shot of making a good run at it once we reach the playoffs.” Part of that success stems from the chem-


istry that has developed within the team. With several of his teammates sharing a similarly strong faith, that chemistry has developed naturally. In addition to jelling on the court, Clark


and his teammates have joined forces to reach out to youngsters living in the community. “We have gone to the YMCA and Thur-


good Marshall Middle School where we have helped out with camps for local youth teams,” Clark said. Growing up in the Clark family as the youngest child, he had the benefit of built-in coaches and mentors in the form of his two older brothers. Now he is happy to pass on what he has learned, and serve as mentor to the next generation of basketball stars. He will always be grateful that his


parents introduced him to the faith at an early age. His two older brothers were a huge influence as well. They helped to shape him not only as an athlete, but as a Christian. Tony Clark, one of those big brothers,


recently retired from Major League Baseball following a successful 15-year career that included a brief stint with the Padres. Tony continues to send daily devotionals that never fail to inspire his younger brother. “I started playing basketball when I was


in the third grade. It has done so much in my life,” Clark said. “It has taken me to other cities and other countries where I have seen and done many things. Through the years it has provided a platform that has enabled me to work with kids and to meet people.” It has also provided Clark the opportu- nity to share his faith. “Once I started taking my faith seriously


in my last two years of college, I was able to share it with several of my teammates,” he said. “When they joined the team they were non-believers.” With Clark’s help some of them began


to re-examine their lives. Now as a leader on this team, he hopes he can influence his much younger teammates in an equally positive way. “As the older veteran on this team I feel


really good about the younger Christian guys and what they stand for,” he said. “They realize that there is more to life than just basketball. They know that there is


Greg Clark of the San Diego Sol with ABA ball.


more to look forward to and more to ac- complish in life.” Clark is owner of Bend Fitness in La


Mesa. Clark and his Sol teammates play four


home games in February at Alliant Interna- tional University in Scripps Ranch — Feb. 4 at 6 p.m., Feb. 5 at 2 p.m., Feb. 12 at 2 p.m. and Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. General Admission tickets are $10, with


kids under age 5 admitted for free. For information, visit www.sandiegosol.com.


Tebow inspired fans on and off field Tim Tebow’s riveting and tumultu-


ous season ended Jan. 14, with the New England Patriots hammering the Denver Broncos 45-10 in an AFC divisional playoff game. “A lot of ups and downs,” Tebow said


about his second NFL season after the loss in Foxborough, Mass. “Overall, it’s been a very special opportunity for me, something I’m really thankful for. There’s a lot of things we’re proud of. Obviously, it’s hard to see them all right now,” Tebow was quoted as saying. Still, Tebow’s performance over the


course of the season earned him the right to be the starting quarterback entering the 2012 season, Denver vice president of foot- ball operations John Elway said Jan. 16. The popular quarterback, whose habit


of kneeling in prayer on the football field started a nationwide trend of copycats engaged in “Tebowing,” inspired millions of fans with his positive attitude, charitable work with the seriously ill and overt refer- ences to his faith in Jesus Christ. He also earned the derision and mockery of others who didn’t share his religious beliefs. Tebow’s penchant for pulling out


seemingly impossible wins also sparked a lively debate about the role God plays


in a player’s success. “It may be that Tebow will succeed in spectacular fashion; it may be that he will have the worst game of his life,” Owen Strachan, professor of theology and church history at Boyce College, wrote in an ar- ticle in The Atlantic before the game with the Patriots. “Either way, the Bible assures us that


God loves his chosen, God is orchestrating every detail of their lives, and God will lead them through success or failure to the end of all things.” In Denver’s opening-round playoff game


against Pittsburgh Jan. 8, Tebow had his best game in the NFL, throwing for 316 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play in overtime to give the Broncos a shocking win. Throughout the season, Tebow was the


subject of mockery and scorn by some, such as Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch, who kneeled in a mocking prayer- ful pose after sacking Tebow in an Oct. 30 game. Others, including Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, were more vocal in their criticism. “We don’t need God on our sidelines,” Suggs said in reference to Tebow.


– Baptist Press


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