He played college baseball and then following his senior year took an offer to play professionally in Italy. He was educated in the field of fitness and exercise physiology and is a Catholic speaker, professor, and author, having written three books, the latest of which just came out in February and is called, "Improving Your Sportsmanship Through Catholic Teaching...and Common Sense: A Practical Guide for Athletes, Parents, Fans and Coaches." His faith walk includes having entered the seminary to study for the priesthood, and present day he teaches at Wingate University in North Carolina and is the host of "Faith and Sport" on Radio Maria.

He served one year ago as Assistant Hitting Coach for Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. He played for eight seasons in MLB, having been drafted in the first round of the 1998 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos and then going on to play for them and the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays. Along the way he earned the distinction of hitting the last home run in Montreal Expos franchise history, AND, following their move to Washington the next season, hitting the first grand slam by a Nationals player. He won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012, two years after having been inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." Prior to his college career he played for the U.S. national junior baseball team and was the MVP of the World Junior Baseball Championship in 1995. Along the way he has also coached for USA Baseball and Jacksonville University.

He is the punter for the New York Jets, entering his 17th season in the NFL. He was chosen in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and went on to play his first twelve seasons with them before playing for both the Jets and the Atlanta Falcons in 2021, then the Miami Dolphins in 2022, and back to the Jets last season. He is coming off a 2023 season during which he set four New York Jets franchise punting records. He had played collegiately at Southern Methodist University, and on the faith side has a conversion story that involves a familiar name from this show's guest list.

A former judo champion who has walked the path from seminarian to the diaconate to – 48 HOURS BEFORE THIS INTERVIEW – ordination, while being in charge of the largest contingent of Olympic chaplains, about 40 Catholic priests, nuns, and lay faithful. This role of service to the world's elite athletes is under the banner of the Holy Games, a project led by the Conference of Bishops of France. Holy Games is the programme of the Catholic Church to spiritually accompany the world of sport and major sporting events.

He was a pitcher on his high school baseball team, including being All-State AND having thrown a no-hitter at a tournament where he made the All-Tournament squad. He went on to college baseball at both Bradley University and the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He also played in the Northwoods League for the Alexandria Blue Anchors. Almost immediately after his baseball career he delved into the world of skiing, with notable runs such as Jackson Hole and Big Sky, among others. He even combined skiing with faith, as he talks about here, plus he also served as an adaptive ski instructor.

He is a veteran of 12 years in the NFL as an offensive tackle, including having come out of retirement three times - as recently as this past December! He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the third round of the 2010 NFL Draft and, in addition to that team, went on to also play for the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, and Indianapolis Colts, appearing in a combined total of close to 130 games, counting regular season and playoffs. He even spent time in the New England Patriots organization. He had been a First Team All-American in college and is a fitness and health enthusiast who just launched the "Big Serious Show," which he is releasing weekly on his YouTube channel.

He was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the eighth round of the 1983 NBA Draft. He has been enshrined in both the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame. He is the Lewis University men's basketball all-time scoring leader and helped the program to its first conference championship and to their first two NCAA Tournament berths. Present day he is the president of Marist High School, a Catholic institution in Chicago where the SportsPlex was named after him this past December, having been their principal for 22 years and a basketball player back in his days as a student-athlete there.

He is a former Major League Soccer player with over 100 MLS appearances throughout a six-year career that took him to four continents and more than ten countries. He spent ten years in locker rooms of the highest level, from the University of Maryland, to D.C. United, to the U.S. Men’s National team. On the faith side, after living a life apart from God for many years, he experienced the unique challenges of converting from within a professional locker room. Nowadays he is the Vice President of Content at the Augustine Institute and is co-host of the catechetical series "Symbolon," which has a new version launching on the Formed app on July 17th.