A Cuban American from Miami, Fla., Eddy Alvarez was a speedskating prodigy who realized his full potential when he took home silver at the Winter Olympics in 2014. Along the way, though, he never gave up on his life-long goal of playing baseball. After retiring from speedskating, Alvarez spent six years in the Minor Leagues and became the unlikeliest of prospects. As the Miami Marlins' roster was decimated by COVID infections this summer, Alvarez, 30, made his big-league debut. 

When REAL SPORTS first profiled former NFL player Steve Gleason eight years ago, he was a man in decline, suffering from the fatal condition known as ALS, but still able to control some of his body. Today, he can do virtually nothing on his own, and being highly susceptible to the effects of COVID, he has spent weeks on end separated from his own family and the greater society. But Gleason refuses to surrender to the isolation of the pandemic and has found a way to widen his own world using technology - as well as inspire others. He has launched a remote interview program where he and his guests share their struggles and triumphs. To date, he's had conversations with leading figures of the day, from actor Hugh Jackman to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.