Sports Spectrum Podcast

Jenny Taft is a reporter with Fox Sports covering college football and soccer. For the past few months, she has been assigned to cover the USMNT at the World Cup. She will be on the call with Fox for the World Cup Final match on Sunday July 19 at 3 p.m. EST

Today on the podcast, Jenny joins guest host Annabelle Hasselbeck to talk about covering the World Cup, re-learning to speak French, covering the USMNT run, prayers from her daughter, growing in faith and being on the sideline during a World Cup match.

Special thanks to our friends at IJM. Join athletes, fans and IJM in the fight to end modern slavery. Because everyone deserves
the freedom to play. Visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ijm.org/freedomtoplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

Have a question? Got a guest suggestion? Want to advertise with us? Email us - jason@sportsspectrum.com

WATCH all of our podcast episodes on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/SportsSpectrumMagazine

Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15
https://www.theincrease.com/products/sports-spectrum-magazine 

Do you know Christ personally? Click below to learn how you can commit your life to Him.
https://sportsspectrum.com/gospel/

Welcome to TUESDAY MORNING RB with Matt Forte for Tuesday July 14, 2026

Topics:
- The World Cup is down to the Final Four (1:15)
- Matt's World Cup prediction (02:50)
- Seeing famous people at sporting events (07:55)
- Reaction to the ESPN report on NFL players dying from higher dementia rate (12:02)
- What we learned at church (25:28)

Special thanks to our friends at IJM. Join athletes, fans and IJM in the fight to end modern slavery. Because everyone deserves
the freedom to play. Visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ijm.org/freedomtoplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

Have a question? Got a guest suggestion? Want to advertise with us? Email us - jason@sportsspectrum.com

WATCH all of our podcast episodes on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/SportsSpectrumMagazine

Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15
https://www.theincrease.com/products/sports-spectrum-magazine 

Do you know Christ personally? Click below to learn how you can commit your life to Him.
https://sportsspectrum.com/gospel/

Our guest today on the podcast is Parker Messick. He is a starting pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians.He was selected in the 2nd round of the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft by Cleveland and made his MLB debut with the Guardians in August of 2025. In July 2026, he was selected to the American League All-Star roster.

Topics:
00:44 - Wearing old-school stirrups
01:55 - Parker's MLB debut
06:04 - HIs tempo as a pitcher
07:39 - His April 2025 outing taking a no-hitter into the 9th inning
10:55 - Parker shares his testimony of faith
13:30 - Parker shares for the first time the story of his grandfather's cancer diagnosis
18:40 - Identity in Christ and not baseball
22:01 - Praying on the mound before the game
26:13 - Sharing his faith with fans
28:35 - Why he wears No. 77
31:40 - Marriage proposal and preparing for marriage

Have a question? Got a guest suggestion? Want to advertise with us? Email us - jason@sportsspectrum.com

WATCH all of our podcast episodes on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/SportsSpectrumMagazine

Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15
https://www.theincrease.com/products/sports-spectrum-magazine 

Do you know Christ personally? Click below to learn how you can commit your life to Him.
https://sportsspectrum.com/gospel/

Welcome to TUESDAY MORNING RB with Matt Forte for Tuesday July 7, 2026

TOPICS:
(01:01) - USAMT's tough loss
(04:05) - Win or Lose, we praise God
(09:07) - Reaction to Chris Johnson's ALS diagnosis
(26:32) - Shoutout to IJM and their Freedom to Play initiative
(28:54) - What we learned at church

Special thanks to our friends at IJM. Join athletes, fans and IJM in the fight to end modern slavery. Because everyone deserves
the freedom to play. Visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ijm.org/freedomtoplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.

Have a question? Got a guest suggestion? Want to advertise with us? Email us - jason@sportsspectrum.com

WATCH all of our podcast episodes on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/SportsSpectrumMagazine

Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15
https://www.theincrease.com/products/sports-spectrum-magazine 

Do you know Christ personally? Click below to learn how you can commit your life to Him.
https://sportsspectrum.com/gospel/

Ben Zobrist played 14 seasons in the big leagues with the Rays, A's, Royals and Cubs. He played in three World Series with three different teams, winning in 2015 with KC and 2016 with the Chicago Cubs. He was the 2016 World Series MVP.
Today on the podcast, Ben Zobrist reflects on the Chicago Cubs World Series championship 10 years later, his new book "Prepare for the Pressure," the role his faith in Jesus has played in his life and how he was able to overcome anxiety and depression after the Cubs won the World Series.

Have a question? Got a guest suggestion? Want to advertise with us? Email us - jason@sportsspectrum.com

WATCH all of our podcast episodes on our YouTube page:
https://www.youtube.com/SportsSpectrumMagazine

Sign up for our Sports Spectrum Magazine and receive 15% off a 1-year subscription by using the code PODCAST15
https://www.theincrease.com/products/sports-spectrum-magazine 

Do you know Christ personally? Click below to learn how you can commit your life to Him.
https://sportsspectrum.com/gospel/