SportsBeat: God Talks to Pro Athletes Again

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Is it me or does it seem like God just talks to athletes these days? Last December, free-agent superstar Albert Pujols said that God told him to sign with the Angels for $254 million. In March, God spoke to Manny Ramirez and steered him towards signing with the Oakland A's, "I'm here because God brought me here," said Ramirez. "When God says they're going to open the door for you, no matter what anyone says, the door is going to open. That's why I'm here." 

Nope, it wasn't because no other team would touch Manny and all his fertility drugs that he tested positive for, with a 10-foot pole. It was because God told him the Oakland A's had seen the light and were opening a door for him and his massive dreadlocks to go through and sign a $500,000 contract with them.

I used to talk to God a lot, but all I heard was crickets, nothing but crickets. He never told me to take the money or tell me I was better off following the Dali Lama. Nothing. Maybe he's just too busy following athletes on Twitter or just giving them advice.

Last Thursday, former USC defensive back Kevin Ellison torched his bed and turned his apartment into a towering inferno. When asked by authorities upon his arrest for arson why he did it, Ellison said, "God told me to." Ellison also texted his friends that night saying he was Jesus and the second coming. 

We've heard a lot of crazy things coming out of the mouths of athletes, but this one has to take the cake. God "told" Ellison to play burning down the house? This guy must be dealing with more issues that just being a pyromaniac.

Professional athletes today seem to be using God as some kind of crutch or excuse for their decisions and problems. For Ellison, it was a higher power that forced him to be a fire starter. Fans were getting on Pujols because he threw loyalty to the wind and sold out his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals, for more money. Pujols didn't blame his own greed, but rather, God. I wonder what Pujols would've done if God told him to the sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates for just $150 million.

In last year's World Series, Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers told reporters he had a conversation with God just before hitting a home run. "He said, 'You haven't hit one in a while and this is the time you're going to," Hamilton recalled.

Before his controversial loss to Timothy Bradley, former boxing champion, Manny Pacquio said that God told him to retire in a dream  he had shortly before his fight.

How come God never talks to me? I'm always listening. I want to retire, I want to hit home runs, and I want to sign a $300 million contract, too. Hello? G-Man? Can you hear me? Are you hitting the 'like' on Tim Tebow's Facebook page or something?

Seriously, God has been a part of my life for a long time. I talk and pray to Him often. Like many people, sometimes I receive what I ask for, other times I just get the Heisman Trophy stiff arm. However, these conversations and requests between athletes and The Man are starting to get unusually routine. I believe these conversations are best kept private and surely, you can't be blaming God for giving orders to burn down an apartment.