THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE & JASON ROMANO, FEATURING ADAM BURT
Adam Burt is the team chaplain for the New York Jets and lead pastor of Every Nation Church in New Jersey. Prior to his work in ministry, Burt was an NHL player for 13 seasons (1988-2001) with the Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Atlanta Thrashers.
Today on the podcast, Adam Burt shares his journey from being an NHL player to becoming an NFL chaplain, emphasizing the importance of living authentically as a Christian in a competitive environment. The conversation touches on the challenges athletes face, the significance of mentorship, and the impact of faith in their lives.
Adam Burt has taken the unique path from NHL defenseman to pastor, and now author. He's taking stories from his playing career, including playing in the longest game in NHL history, and using them as examples in his new role. https://t.co/FBXO7SuYvj
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power, Feb. 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II).
For much of this season, the numbers haven’t told the full story for Owen Power.
One of the top defenseman for the Buffalo Sabres and a former No. 1 overall pick, the 23-year-old endured a 24-game goal drought earlier this year — an unusual outlier even for a blueliner, who typically isn’t counted on to produce like a forward. Statistically, with only 19 points through 60 games, it hasn’t been a banner season for Power.
But it’s shaping up to be a strong year for the Sabres. After a 5-8-4 start through Nov. 13, Buffalo caught fire, winning 10 straight to close out 2025. The surge vaulted it into second place in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division, and the squad has now won 10 of its past 13 games and four in a row since the Olympic break as it pushes toward what would be the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2011.
And Power insists he’s playing the best hockey of his career.
“You look at the numbers, it probably doesn’t say that,” he told the Olean (N.Y.) Times Herald following a February practice. “But being out there, the feel I have, I feel like I’m playing better than I have in years prior. And when you’re winning, everyone looks a lot better.”
For Power, the difference has been confidence — and details.
“I think I’m using my feet a lot better (than) what I have, and with that, I think my defending comes a lot easier when I’m able to use my feet defending rather than just kind of using my stick,” he told the Times Herald. “So I think that’s kind of been a big thing. I’ve been able to close guys quicker and have tighter gaps. When you do that, the game’s a lot easier.”
— Buffalo Hockey Moments (@SabresPlays) March 4, 2026
His steadiness has mirrored Buffalo’s turnaround. Following a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday — in which Power scored on a deflection, his fifth goal of the season — he credited the group’s resilience after the long break for the Olympics.
“The rest was big,” he told reporters. “But I think we did a good job of coming back and just continuing to roll and play confident, so it’s definitely nice to come out and win four straight. Hopefully we keep it rolling.”
While his on-ice growth has been evident, Power says the most important transformation in his life has been his relationship with God. Raised in a Catholic family, he was around church growing up, but his faith was more routine than relationship.
He attended on “the big holidays,” he said, mostly to “check it off the box.” It wasn’t until before college that he began attending a Bible study. When he arrived at Michigan, that habit continued. There, he also met his future wife, whom he credits with helping lead him into a deeper walk with Christ.
That foundation became especially important once hockey success — and the contract that followed — arrived, especially when it can be easy for athletes to let their identity get wrapped up in the money and fame of pro sports.
“One thing I realized pretty quickly is I signed that contract, and you realize right away that this doesn’t change how happy you are at all,” he said on the podcast. “If anything, it comes with more temptations and ability to live with more selfish desires.”
He believes God has given him those things for a reason, and he’s ready to embrace that. But using his platform to talk about his faith is not something that comes naturally.
“I’m not the most comfortable doing it,” he told Sports Spectrum, “but I think especially in the last couple of years, I’ve kind of had the opportunity to do different things that have allowed me to come out of my shell and be able to spread the Gospel to different people around the community. It’s something I know I need to do better at, and I know God has given me a platform to use.”
Like the saying goes: Giving to others often has a way of returning the favor.
“When you’re able to go and spread the Gospel, even if it’s just getting to one person, it’s some of the most fulfilling work you can do,” he said. “I think it brings a ton of joy to my life.”
The Sabres get back on the ice Thursday in Pittsburgh to face the Penguins at 7 p.m. ET.
Arkansas QB Taylen Green runs the 40-yard dash, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Records continued to fall on Saturday as quarterback Taylen Green made his way through the drills at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The former Arkansas Razorback, who measured in at 6-foot-5⅞ and 227 pounds, set quarterback records in the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump and the broad jump.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. listed Green as the No. 8 quarterback prospect in his latest position rankings released on Feb. 23, but that may change after Saturday’s performance.
The long-strided 23-year-old blistered his way to a 4.36-second 40-yard dash, the first quarterback to run under 4.4 seconds in the drill since at least 2003. Robert Griffin III set the previous record (4.41) in 2012.
Green’s explosiveness was also on display in his jumps, recording a 43.5-inch vertical and an 11-foot-2 broad jump, both combine records for quarterbacks since at least 2003. Current Indianapolis Colt Anthony Richardson Sr. set both records (40.5-inch vertical, 10-foot-9 broad jump) in 2023.
.@RazorbackFB QB Taylen Green just shattered the QB vertical jump record.
On Green’s left wrist as he competed was a red bracelet with the words “He Must Increase” and “John 3:30,” a Bible verse that says, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (ESV).
After his record-setting day wrapped up, Green was interviewed on the field by NFL Network and was asked a question about his fiancée, Analisse Batista, a track and field athlete at Arkansas. The interviewer described her as the most important person in Green’s life, but he responded with a slight correction.
“First, the most important Person in my life is Jesus Christ,” Green said with a smile, then listed his parents as second. “… [Batista is] gonna be second once we get the ring on.”
He went on to explain that she was competing that day as well, at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, and he was eager to get off the field to watch her. And as it turns out, she may have had an even better day than him; she set a personal best on the way to a victory in the 800-meter final, and she was part of the Razorback quartet that won the 4×400-meter relay.
Green and Batista got to know each other as student-athletes at Arkansas, where Green quarterbacked the Razorbacks in 2024 and 2025 after transferring from Boise State. He led Arkansas to a Liberty Bowl victory against Texas Tech in December 2024. Arkansas struggled to a 2-10 campaign in 2025, but the Lewisville, Texas, native threw for 2,714 yards and a career-best 19 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. He also ran for a career-high 777 yards and eight touchdowns.
In January, Green was invited to the Senior Bowl, where he completed two of his four passes. He also sat down with Sports Spectrum at the event to talk about faithfully handling the disappointments of a 2-10 season, as well as the benefits of prayer.
“That’s really a big thing,” he said, “just giving it to God. Any worries, anxieties, things that I’m going through.”
Green appeared as a guest on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in August 2024, during the lead-up to his first season with Arkansas.
“[Jesus is] everything to me,” Green said to begin the conversation. “I start my day with Him and end my day with Him. I’m just blessed to have a family that taught me to always keep Him first when I was just even a little kid.”
He explained that his father held him accountable for his prayer life, and his sister influenced him to spend more time studying God’s Word. It was in college that God drew Green into a deeper relationship with Himself.
“Without Jesus, I’m nothing,” he said on the podcast. “Without His love and His care and His guidance just going through my whole life — the ups and downs that I’ve been through — He’s the only Truth and the Way to help me through.”
Green and hundreds of other NFL hopefuls are working hard to position themselves for the 2026 NFL Draft, which will take place in Pittsburgh from April 23-25.
U.S. hockey players Jaccob Slavin (left) and Tage Thompson. (AP Photos)
The United States is partying like it’s 1980.
For the first time since the memorable “Miracle on Ice” team at Lake Placid, New York, the American men took home the hockey gold medal at the Winter Olympics with a 2-1 overtime victory against Canada in Milan, Italy.
With NHL players participating in the Games for the first time since 2014, stars littered the ice as the bitter rivals played to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild got the United States on the board first with an incredible goal six minutes in, then Canada responded toward the end of the second period with a goal from Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche. The teams dueled to a scoreless third period, which set up the heroics that ensued.
Streaking down the left side of the ice toward the goal, American Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils — missing two front teeth from a high stick earlier in the game — received a pass and in one seamless motion zipped a shot into the far corner of the net to send the United States into a frenzy.
It was the United States’ second overtime winner in this Olympics; Jack Hughes’ brother, Quinn, also netted a game-winning goal in overtime against Sweden in the quarterfinal round. Although the United States and Canada have faced off in the gold-medal match eight times at the Winter Olympics, Sunday’s triumph was just the second U.S. victory (1960 was the other).
Among the Americans flinging their gloves in the air in celebration of Hughes’ goal on Sunday was Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes and Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres. Slavin was +1 during his time on the ice Sunday while Thompson accumulated a team-leading four shots on goal. Slavin, a defenseman, and Thompson, a center, were both crucial to Team USA’s run. Slavin provided stout defense throughout the trek to the goal medal while Thompson recorded goals against Latvia, Germany and Slovakia.
Slavin and Thompson are also bonded by something much deeper than even a national allegiance. Both are also professing believers in Jesus Christ and have appeared as guests on the Sports Spectrum Podcast. Slavin has appeared multiple times, speaking about just how important Jesus is to him during an October 2024 episode.
“[Jesus is] everything,” he said. “He’s Lord of my life. If He’s not Lord of everything, He’s not Lord at all. He’s a gracious Friend. I live my life because of Him and what He did for me. My purpose in life, my purpose in my marriage, my purpose of being a father, it’s all to glorify Him because He’s worthy of that glory.”
The 31-year-old has spent his entire 11-year career in Carolina, making the playoffs for the past seven (and likely eight) and earning a spot in the All-Star Game in 2020. Even more important to him, however, is winning the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2020-21 and 2023-24, awarded annually to the player who’s best demonstrated “sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
“Out of all the awards that I’d want to win, that’s the one I feel like means the most to me because that exemplifies how I try to carry myself, how I try to live. And I do that by trying to represent Jesus the best I can,” he said on the podcast. “An award like that — having good sportsmanship, being a gentleman in a violent game — I’m thankful the Lord has given me the temperament that I have and He’s led me by His Spirit. People may not know it, but what they’re seeing is Jesus through me.”
Like Slavin, the 28-year-old Thompson has also appeared once in the NHL All-Star Game (2023), and he also grew up hearing about the things of God. And at around the age of 13, Jesus revealed to Thompson his need for a personal relationship with Him.
“That’s where my faith really started to turn,” Thompson said on the podcast in July 2023, “from just going through the motions and a title of being a Christian to understanding the actual relationship part of walking with Christ and the sacrifice that He made for all of us.”
He also explained the immense freedom he’s felt from the years-long process of learning to submit to God’s plan for his life.
“I think when you take a step back,” Thompson said, “and realize that God’s in control and He has a plan for you and His plan is far better than anything that we could ever imagine (Ephesians 3:20), you just kind of give it over to Him and sit back and enjoy the ride.”
Both Slavin and Thompson have certainly enjoyed the ride to the gold medal together as teammates representing the United States. But now, just like that, the two become competitors once again in a challenging Eastern Conference. Carolina (36-15-6) is second in the East while Buffalo (32-19-6) is sixth.
After its 20-day break for the Olympics, NHL games resume on Wednesday.
Benjamin Watson with Matt Forte at Super Bowl Media Row in February 2026. (Photo by Sports Spectrum)
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST WITH MATT FORTE, FEATURING BENJAMIN WATSON
Benjamin Watson played 16 seasons in the NFL (2004-19) with the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens. He won a Super Bowl in 2004-05 with the Patriots and played in another with New England in 2007-08.
He is also the author of three books and a college football analyst with the SEC Network.
Today on the podcast, Benjamin joins Matt Forte from Super Bowl Media Row in San Francisco to talk about overseas mission trips, Biblical justice and raising kids to follow Jesus.
