Sports
Olympics 2021: Japan to ban foreign spectators

Japan’s government is planning to stop overseas spectators coming to the Summer Olympics due to worries they will spread the coronavirus, a report said on Wednesday, as many Japanese remain opposed to holding the Games during the pandemic.
The final decision would be made this month after talks with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other parties, the Mainichi newspaper reported, citing multiple unnamed sources.
The government would continue to consider whether to accept spectators from within Japan, including the number allowed into venues, the Mainichi added.
The report came as the local organising committee was set to host a meeting on Wednesday with officials from the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee, and the Tokyo and national governments.
The question of whether to allow spectators into venues was top of the agenda and organisers have previously said they would make a decision by March.
A Yomiuri newspaper poll showed on Wednesday that, if the Games are to go ahead as scheduled, 91 per cent of people in Japan want spectators kept to a minimum or not allowed at all.
The poll – conducted between January 18 and February 2 – showed 70 per cent of respondents said they were “interested in the Olympics”, but 58 per cent said they did not want them to be held this year because of fears over COVID-19.
The 58 per cent in opposition was, however, about 20 percentage points lower than earlier opinion polls.
Delayed games
The Tokyo Olympic Games were postponed last year because of the pandemic and rescheduled to take place this year from July 23.
A survey by global consultancy Kekst CNC published on Wednesday showed similar rates of majority opposition to the Games going ahead in Japan, at 56 per cent, as well as in Britain and Germany, at 55 per cent and 52 per cent respectively.
In France and Sweden, more people opposed than approved, while in the United States, respondents were split at one-third between those who agreed and disagreed that the Games should go ahead, according to the survey.
While coronavirus infection numbers are low in Japan compared with the United States and many European countries, the greater Tokyo metropolitan area remains in a state of emergency, with restrictions in place for spectator numbers for big sporting and cultural events, as well as closing times for bars and restaurants. The country remains closed to non-resident foreigners.
A Reuters poll published last month showed nearly two-thirds of Japanese companies also oppose holding the Games as planned, swinging from the previous survey showing most in favour.
Japan has so far confirmed 431,250 coronavirus cases and 7,931 deaths as of Monday.
Sports
‘God Built This Miracle’: Hockey Player Died for 16 Minutes, Says He Spoke to God

Another remarkable story has emerged about a supernatural encounter during a near-death experience.
In a powerful new episode of the No Longer Nomads podcast, Billy and Isabella Garaffa shared their incredible story. Billy went into cardiac arrest in the middle of a hockey game and was dead for 16 minutes on the ice. But while he was physically dead, he was never more spiritually alive.
A Prayer Before the Game
Before he stepped onto the ice that day, Billy prayed for protection. What he didn’t know was that prayer would set the stage for one of the most profound events of his life.
Just moments into the game, Billy collapsed. His heart had stopped. Chaos broke out around him, but as people scrambled to save him, Billy says he was already encountering something supernatural.
“I could smell the sweetest smell,” Billy recalls. “I felt the Holy Spirit leading me.”
He describes leaving his body and then being enveloped in a peace and love so powerful it felt more real than life itself. “That felt like the real life,” he says.
A Wife’s Cry and a Miracle in Motion
From the stands, Isabella sensed something was wrong when she saw him on the ground – “I just yelled, ‘Jesus, help him!'”
Her desperate cry echoed as medical professionals rushed in. Looking back, Billy and Isabella both see God’s hand orchestrating every detail—the right people in the right place at the right time.
“Everything was orchestrated,” Billy says. “There’s no other explanation.”
A Heart Prepared for a Miracle
In a stunning discovery, doctors found that Billy’s heart had grown rare collateral arteries—extra vessels that helped keep blood flowing even when his heart stopped.
“It’s like God built this miracle into me ahead of time,” Billy shares.
But the miracle went far beyond the physical. Billy describes his near-death experience as a journey into God’s presence, an encounter that left him forever changed.
“He wants us to be in His presence. He wants to speak to you,” Billy says.
Faith in Fear
Through their story, Billy and Isabella want others to know that God is absolutely real, His love is powerful, and that He brings peace even in the middle of chaos.
“Faith doesn’t mean you don’t feel fear,” Isabella shares. “But even in fear, you can know His peace.”
Billy’s testimony is a reminder that God is always working, even when we can’t see it, and that His love is a transformative force in our lives. “The war is won,” Billy declares. “He’s inviting us into His love.”
Sources:CBN News
Sports
Ex-NFL Star David Pollack Once Laughed at ‘Jesus Freak’ Teacher — Then Everything Changed When He Opened a Bible

Ex-NFL star and football analyst David Pollack is on a mission to inspire kids and families to share hope and truth, revealing how his own path to faith was sparked by curiosity and others’ sacrificial sharing of the Gospel message.
Pollack, who was a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, has a new Brave Books project, “The Won’t Quit Kid,” a book motivated by his quest to teach kids important life values.
“It’s not about performance,” he said, noting that he set out in writing the book to teach kids how to navigate tough circumstances.
Pollack said kids can learn quite a bit about life by weathering life’s storms.
“So much nowadays, you see so much clearing obstacles and hard things out of the way for kids,” he said. “They need that to grow to who God’s gonna make them, to build their character, and strengthen them down the road.”
Pollack also discussed his own path to faith, noting he didn’t grow up Christian but that certain events his senior year of high school helped change his heart and mind. In particular, he was invited to a “lockout” where he and fellow young people stayed inside a church, played sports, and hung out.
“That was the first time that I’d ever heard [about] Jesus,” he said. “I’m sure there were people that had said stuff, but never really thought about it, heard about it, been in church.”
Pollack also had a physics teacher who had a Jesus sticker and listened to praise and worship music. The then-student would jokingly call him a “Jesus freak.” Over time, the two forged a relationship, which further sparked Pollack’s intrigue.
Between the lockout and his physics teacher, Pollack was intrigued and decided to read the Bible for an English assignment. But his English teacher initially pushed back.
“My English teacher said, ‘No,’” Pollack said. “She said, ‘I don’t know the Bible. I can’t check to make sure you read it.’”
But Pollack suggested his physics teacher — a man who clearly knew the Scriptures well — would help ensure he read the assignment. The teachers agreed, and Pollack found himself exploring the Gospels, the backgrounds of the disciples, and Jesus’ life.
“And man, oh man, was my life forever rocked and changed,” he said. “And I was just like, ‘I want to know more,’ and I started reading more and more, and then I started going to church.”
Pollack continued, “I accepted Christ and had the good fortune of having a coach in college who was living for Jesus.”
Ultimately, Pollack’s faith grew over the years. Like many, he has faced challenges, including a career-ending injury to his neck.
The former NFL player explained how he has handled these oftentimes faith-rocking experiences.
“There’s always the two options, you either run towards God or away from God,” he said. “But I quickly realized that it’s really, really awesome, because I thought I was on this path, and I was going to the NFL, and I was going to Pro Bowls — and this is the way I was gonna go. And then, quickly, it’s a detour and and I break my neck, which is not fun.”
Pollack said his injury put everything into perspective, expressing gratitude for getting to live out his dreams even if they didn’t conclude in the way he had hoped.
“I got to live out my dream — that was my dream since I was six years old … to play in the NFL,” he said. “And did it go the way I wanted to? Absolutely not. And I remember looking at my wife, I was like, ‘I can’t imagine what’s next, babe, because this has been amazing. … I just know that God’s going to provide something else that gets us excited.’”
It was a faith-defining moment that led Pollack deeper into his relationship with the Lord.
“God started to grow me, and I’m a better spouse, I’m a better dad … I wouldn’t have experienced so many of these things that I got to go through, and I’m excited, and I would not change it,” he said. “Those things made me exactly who I am, and I needed those things to wake me up and show me what real faith was, to show me what grace was, to show me what it’s like to deal with really, really hard things.”
Now he’s working to imbue these lessons on kids and families through “The Won’t Quit Kid.” Pollack is hoping to help build resilience and inspire kids to grow in their lives.
Please also take a moment to pray for Pollack and his wife, Lindsey, as she has been battling brain cancer and has been recovering from surgery.
“If you are the praying type please lift up my wife Lindsey,” he wrote on X back in March. “She has brain cancer and surgery is Wednesday at Duke. So thankful to serve a loving God that meets us in our struggles!”
We’ll leave you with video of Lindsey praising the Lord after her surgery:
Sources:faithwire
Sports
ലിവര്പ്പൂള് താരം കോഡി ഗാക്പോ യേശു ക്രിസ്തുവിലുള്ള തന്റെ വിശ്വാസം പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ച ടി ഷര്ട്ട് ധരിച്ച് ആഹ്ളാദ പ്രകടനം

ലണ്ടന്: ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് പ്രീമിയർ ലീഗ് കിരീടത്തിലേക്കുള്ള ഗോൾ നേടി ടീമിനെ വിജയത്തിലേക്ക് നയിച്ച ലിവർപൂളിന്റെ ഫോർവേഡ് താരം കോഡി ഗാക്പോ യേശു ക്രിസ്തുവിലുള്ള തന്റെ വിശ്വാസം പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ചു നടത്തിയ ആഹ്ളാദ പ്രകടനം ചര്ച്ചയായി. ആൻഫീൽഡിൽ ടോട്ടൻഹാമിനെതിരെ നിര്ണയകമായ ഗോള് നേടിയ ശേഷം, ഡച്ച് കളിക്കാരനായ കോഡി ഗാക്പോ ഉടൻ തന്നെ തന്റെ ലിവർപൂൾ ടി ഷർട്ട് ഊരിമാറ്റി “ഞാൻ യേശുവിന്റേതാണ്” എന്നെഴുതിയ വെളുത്ത വസ്ത്രം കാണികളെ കാണിക്കുകയായിരിന്നു.
2007-ലെ ചാമ്പ്യൻസ് ലീഗ് ഫൈനൽ ലിവർപൂളിനെതിരെ നേടിയ വിജയത്തിന് ശേഷം ബ്രസീലിയൻ ഫുട്ബോൾ കളിക്കാരൻ കക്ക എന്ന പേരിൽ കൂടുതലായി അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന റിക്കാർഡോ സെക്ക്സൺ ധരിച്ചിരുന്ന ടി ഷർട്ടിനു സമാനമായാണ് കോഡി ഗാക്പോയും ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസത്തിന് സാക്ഷ്യമേകിയത്. ഗാക്പോ തന്റെ ഷർട്ട് പുറത്തെടുത്ത് ക്രിസ്തുവിന് സാക്ഷ്യം വഹിച്ചു ആഘോഷം നടത്തിയതിന്, റഫറി ടോം ബ്രമാൽ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന് മഞ്ഞക്കാർഡ് നല്കിയിരിന്നു.
കളിക്കാരുടെ വസ്തുക്കളില് രാഷ്ട്രീയമോ മതപരമോ വ്യക്തിപരമോ ആയ മുദ്രാവാക്യങ്ങളോ പ്രസ്താവനകളോ ചിത്രങ്ങളോ ഉണ്ടാകരുതെന്ന ഫിഫ നിയമം ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടിയാണ് മഞ്ഞക്കാര്ഡ്. കിരീടനേട്ടം സ്വന്തമായ വിജയത്തിന് ശേഷം സ്റ്റേഡിയത്തിലെ കാണികളെ വലംവെച്ചു നടന്നു നീങ്ങിയപ്പോഴും “ഞാൻ യേശുവിന്റേതാണ്” ടി ഷര്ട്ട് അദ്ദേഹം ധരിച്ചിരിന്നു. ഇതിന്റെ ചിത്രങ്ങളും ദൃശ്യങ്ങളും സമൂഹ മാധ്യമങ്ങളില് ഏറെ ശ്രദ്ധ നേടിയിരിക്കുകയാണ്.
http://theendtimeradio.com
Cody Gakpo could face a sanction from the FA after removing his shirt to reveal a religious message after scoring a goal against Tottenham on Sunday.
The Dutchman scored a goal in the 34th minute to make it 3-1. While celebrating his goal, he revealed his shirt with the message “I belong to Jesus.”
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) rules, which the FA follows, prohibit players’ equipment from containing “any political, religious, or personal slogan, statement, or image.”
http://theendtimeradio.com
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