July 16 – July 22

Welcome to week seventeen of the Sports Doing Good newsletter.

One of the main goals at Sports Doing Good is to each week feature content, whether articles or video or even audio, that captures that which makes us laugh, inspires us, motivates us, or informs us. The stories are a boost to our mood and to our senses. This week we are blessed with a major boost of compelling visual content (pictures and video) that convinces us there is no shortage of creative folks out there in and around sports. From a music video from a long-suffering Toronto Maple Leafs fan to a new ad from a certain multibillion-dollar sneaker and apparel company, to amateur video capturing one of the best in-game dunks you will ever see, to photos of some of the more exciting plays and players from the first half of the MLB season, to a new documentary series that is sure to impress, to a wonderfully moving photo exhibit of the best women tennis players in the world (“Do-Gooder of the Week”), you will have to reason and opportunity to escape to a world of good.

In addition to all the visual, we have for the first 3 books being featured. One, titled The Ball, analyzes the importance and significance of ball playing for individuals and communities around the world, another, the Most Expensive Game in Town, questions the approach undertaken by many parents in their kids’ involvement in sports, and finally we are provided in Look Who’s Coming to London a special look into the stewards of maybe our greatest sporting event, i.e. the Olympic Games, and forced to think about whether these are the right people in charge.

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So enjoy. And have a good week..

Fun Doing Good:

Behold the insanity of one Leafs fan’s Gotye parody, ‘A Franchise That I Used to Know’ (video)
Andrew Damelin’s done it better. The Toronto Maple Leafs fan touches on disillusionment with the way the Leafs are being run and ceaseless, crushing disappointment, so his video will likely stay topical for longer. As for the batcrap insanity, well, enjoy “A Franchise That I Used to Know”. http://tinyurl.com/cgvbyus

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dca_pS9bQE0]

USA Basketball-themed spot from Nike Sportswear (video)
“This USA Basketball-themed spot from Nike Sportswear features audio clips from Team USA stars past and present, as well as some stylized animation and spoken word from rapper Stalley.” For more,  please click here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MCs-68Hb9_k

Division II guard delivers easily the dunk of the summer so far (video)
Guard Angelo Sharpless of Division II Elizabeth City State University laid claim to that title with an incredible dunk straight out of NBA Jam during a Ben Wallace Summer Pro-Am game in Richmond this past weekend. Sharpless beat the lone man between him and the rim in transition by bouncing the ball high off the floor over the defender’s head, running around him and smoothly slamming it home with one hand. The move earned Sharpless a standing ovation from the stunned fans in the bleachers.  http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/division-ii-guard-delivers-easily-dunk-summer-far-184137260–ncaab.html

Oh the irony! Caltech, of all teams, faces major NCAA sanctions
The idea of Caltech fielding teams full of academically ineligible players is almost laughable considering the school’s course load and monumentally high academic standards are often the biggest reasons the athletic department struggles. The baseball team has lost 237 consecutive games. The water polo team snapped a nine-year losing streak last year. And the men’s basketball team went 310 conference games without a win, a 26-year streak that mercifully ended with a one-point win over Occidental College last February. http://tinyurl.com/84gsfxq

2012 MLB Highlights: Josh Hamilton, R.A. Dickey Shine During First Half Of Season (photos)
But before we find out the answers to those pressing questions, let’s take one last look back and the most thrilling, confounding and unexpected moments of the first half of the season. From Johan Santana’s historic night in Queens to Josh Hamilton’s four home-run performance, the game stars have certainly delivered. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/13/mlb-highlights-2012-first-half_n_1649730.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share#slide=1183035

Athletes Doing Good

Elkin Serna, Colombian Athlete Competes in London Paralympics
This is the story of, Elkin Serna, a Colombian IDP (internally displaced person) Paralympic athlete who will be competing in the 2012 London Paralympic Games and had already competed in Beijing in 2008, winning a first-ever silver medal for Colombia at the Paralympics. Elkin suffers a visual impairment. At the age of 12, together with his parents and his brother, he had to flee from home, leaving everything behind, because of the guerilla going on in their region at the time. Elkin’s story is one of courage, perseverance, excellence and hope. http://youtu.be/e017OPu-BAA

Jennifer Capriati inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame
Jennifer Capriati’s tennis career — and her teenage life — took a number of twists and turns. She started as a teenage prodigy, was later sidetracked with off-court troubles, rebounded to become a three-time Grand Slam champion and, now, her journey is complete with her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/id/8166358/jennifer-capriati-headlines-2012-tennis-hall-fame-class

Yao Ming again teams up with the NBA
Yao Ming and NBA China announced on Friday a broad and comprehensive partnership to further basketball participation, develop youth basketball, promote cultural exchange and conduct social responsibility programs in China. Yao will collaborate with the league to launch basketball and social development programs for Chinese youth through NBA Cares and the Yao Foundation for communities in need. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-07/16/content_15583311.htm

Events Doing Good:

Street Soccer USA National Cup 2012 – NYC
Street Soccer USA would like to invite YOU to the capstone event of our season: the Street Soccer USA National Cup, a three day event lasting from July 26th – 29th. Last year 112,000 New Yorkers were forced to stay in homeless shelters–a testament to the growing issue of homelessness in this city and this nation. This year, homeless shelter residents from 20 U.S. cities will come together in New York City to compete for the National Cup in various locations across New York City all leading up to the paramount matches in Times Square. https://www.facebook.com/events/309609212462578/

Sports and Sustainability Forum: A White House discussion with the Sports Industry
The White House will be holding this discussion to celebrate the sports industry’s innovative success in adopting more sustainable practices. This event will focus on the economic and environmental benefits of greening the sports industry, featuring senior Administration officials and three discussion panels, from league, team, and supply chain perspectives. http://www.councilforresponsiblesport.org/white-house-hosting-sports-and-sustainability-forum/. Note that the Green Sports Alliance Summit will be taking place September 5-7 in Seattle, WA. http://www.greensportssummit.org/

Beyond Sport Summit Delegates to Undertake a Blue Mile Clean Up on the Thames
The Blue Project has teamed up with Thames21, one of the UK’s leading waterway charities, to organise a special Blue Mile event for delegates attending the prestigious Beyond Sport Summit in London (23rd – 25th July 2012). The Thames21 Blue Mile will take place on Monday 23rd July, the opening day of the Beyond Sport Summit and will give delegates the opportunity to complete a Blue Mile as part of the Olympic Legacy Project “The Big Waterways Clean Up 2012”, by canoeing down the Lee Navigation Canal in the Olympic Borough of Hackney, cleaning up the waterway as they go. http://www.thebluemile.org/2012/07/18/beyond-sport-summit-delegates-to-undertake-a-blue-mile-clean-up-on-the-thames/

Leagues Doing Good

NASCAR launches new ‘classics’ line of apparel and die-casts
“NASCAR Classics is a callback to an era of unbreakable men, fast cars, and the guts, glory and go-for-broke attitude many of NASCAR’s classic drivers embodied,” said Blake Davidson, vice president licensing and consumer products at NASCAR. “We believe both NASCAR fans and non-fans will enjoy this great new line of vintage products that captures the spirit and flavor of NASCAR through the decades.” http://www.examiner.com/article/nascar-launches-new-classics-line-of-apparel-and-die-casts

Media Doing Good:

Dewey Nicks: Strong is Beautiful; The Photographer Serves Up a Slice of the Biggest Names in Women’s Tennis (video) (“Do-Gooder of the Week”)
Santa Barbara-based photographer and filmmaker Dewey Nicks today presents the culmination of his year-long project for the Women’s Tennis Association’s Strong is Beautiful campaign, a dazzling short featuring a split-screen rally between the likes of Serena Williams, Li Na and current world number one Caroline Wozniacki. In all, 40 of the biggest names in the women’s game were documented in Nicks’s dramatic smoke-hued film. http://tinyurl.com/8x6y8se

The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game (book)
Anthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to the farthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancient past to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: “Why do we play ball?” From Mexican jungles to the small-town gridirons of Ohio, from medieval villages and royal courts to modern soccer pitches and baseball parks, The Ball explores the little-known origins of our favorite sports across the centuries, and traces how a simple invention like the ball has come to stake an unrivaled claim on our passions, our money, and our lives. Equal parts history and travelogue, The Ball removes us from the scandals and commercialism of today’s sports world to uncover the true reasons we play ball, helping us reclaim our universal connection to the games we love.  http://www.amazon.com/The-Ball-Discovering-Object-Game/dp/0061881791

Fox Sports Media Group (FSMG) Introduces ‘Being’, An Original Documentary Franchise
FSMG’s new BEING franchise gives fans a deep, thoughtful look at the superstars and teams of today from their point-of-view at a critical juncture or telling moment that shows the viewer who or what they really are.  It is intended to be an all-access invitation into the personal and professional lives of some of the iconic people and institutions in today’s sports universe, always asking the question, “What is it like to be you?”
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/07/19/fox-sports-media-group-introduces-being-an-original-documentary-franchise/142090/

THE MOST EXPENSIVE GAME IN TOWN; The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today’s Families (book review)
Hyman’s previous book, “Until It Hurts,” called attention to the physical and psychological injuries that zealous sports parents can bring upon their children. Now, in “The Most Expensive Game in Town,” he examines the juggernaut of youth sports through the knothole of economics. How much are parents plunking down to send Jack to that hockey camp or to support Jill on the travel softball team she was so thrilled to make? The short answer is: a lot. He also asks who exactly is selling us these sports fantasies, and who is profiting from them? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/books/review/the-most-expensive-game-in-town-by-mark-hyman.html?_r=1

Look Who’s Coming to London: Meet the Real IOC (book)
Corruption, royalty and no experience in sport. Meet the Real IOC. Meet The Real IOC is a piece of citizen journalism put together by a group of athletes, journalists and activists from all over the world in a bid to seek the truth about the IOC. Our biographies of all 106 members can be downloaded in full as a resource for free from Transparency Books at www.transparencybooks.com. Meet the Real IOC is meant as a public resource, a compilation of the great reporting that has been done by a select few sports and journalism professionals around the world. It is not meant as a final work, but a constantly evolving handbook for those who seek the truth about the International Olympic Committee.

Organizations Doing Good:

EA and UCF Announce EA Sport Innovation Lab
Designed to create a priority pathway for FIEA graduates into the video game industry, the new EA SPORTS Innovation Lab at the UCF Center for Emerging Media in Downtown Orlando will allow EA SPORTS to create additional internship opportunities each year at the facility, where FIEA students will work side by side with industry-leading EA SPORTS game development professionals to create the latest products on the latest platforms, using the latest tools and technologies. http://www.fiea.ucf.edu/joomla/index.php/media/press-releases/item/489-ea-and-ucf-announce-ea-sport-innovation-lab#.UAhFAJ4s0Es.email

ESPN Radio’s “Don’t Give Up ESPYs V Foundation Auction” Raises More Than $766,000
The eighth annual “Don’t Give Up ESPYs V Foundation Auction” raised $766,606 for The V Foundation for Cancer Research. To date, the event has raised more than $5,700,000 in its eight years.  The annual event offered more than 250 items and experiences via auction either online from July 1-11 or as part of an ESPN Radio 16-hour, on-air radiothon Wednesday, July 11. http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-releases/2012/07/espn-radios-dont-give-up-espys-v-foundation-auction-raises-more-than-766000/

Inmet Mining partners with Right to Play
Inmet Mining has made a contribution of $1 million to Right To Play’s sustainable programs. Right To Play is a global organization that uses the transformative power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity. Part of the gift will be used to introduce Right To Play programming into Panama for the first time. Through comprehensive training workshops, Right To Play will begin working with Inmet’s subsidiary Minera Panama, its employees and their community stakeholders to implement sport and play based activities to complement and enhance the company’s existing development programs.  http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/news/social-responsibility-inmet-partners-with-right-to-play/1001549102/

U.S. Postal Service Honoring Four Baseball HOFers With Stamps
The U.S. Postal Service today will officially unveil its “Major League Baseball All-Stars Forever” series that features stamps for Baseball HOFers Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Willie Stargell and Ted Williams. The unveiling is being held in conjunction with Baseball HOF weekend activities in Cooperstown. http://articles.boston.com/2012-07-19/metro/32729529_1_postal-stamp-postage-stamps-stamp-series

People Doing Good:

‘I Got Next’: Exploring New York Through Pickup Basketball
I left Sarasota, Fla., my air-conditioned hometown, for a first-floor sublet in Bushwick, Brooklyn — I know, insert hipster joke here — to seek out the parks and playgrounds of New York City. Here is my report, a little stream of consciousness, a little underreported, full of a bunch of first names and first impressions. All of it, despite the bruises to my body and ego, is offered with true appreciation and a fast-developing affection. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/sports/basketball/a-new-arrival-explores-new-york-through-pickup-basketball.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

 Kona Shen Uses Soccer To Inspire Haiti’s Youth Leaders
As a teen, Kona Shen grew up wanting to make a difference in the world. Little did she know, however, that she would actually find the key to her humanitarian goals in one of her childhood pastimes: soccer. As founder and director of Global Outreach And Love Of Soccer (GOALS), Shen now uses soccer as a method of engaging children and teens in Leogane, Haiti, in community work that “improves their quality of life, the environment and local leadership.” And while her vision of fusing development with athletics seems unique, Shen tells The Huffington Post that it’s a natural combination. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/14/kona-shen-soccer-inspires-haiti-youth_n_899410.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share#s309105

The coolest baseball cards of the year
Everyone loves baseball cards, whether they’re made by Topps, Donruss or Fleer. But what if I told you that the coolest baseball cards of the past year weren’t made by any of those companies, but were instead produced by a 30-year-old European woman who’d never even seen a baseball game until five years ago? That’s the story behind Left Field Cards, the increasingly buzz-worthy project headed by Amelie Mancini, a pixie-ish artist who grew up in France and now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/6053/the-coolest-baseball-cards-of-the-year

UN Secretary-General issues message on the Olympic Truce
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a message calling for the observance of the Olympic Truce throughout the period beginning with the start of the Games of the XXX Olympiad, on 27 July, and ending with the close of the XIV Paralympic Games, on 9 September. Following is the text of the message: “The tradition of an Olympic Truce began in ancient times to allow safe passage for athletes travelling to the Games.  This resulted in an environment where the true spirit of the Olympic Games was on display: peaceful competition among nations, feats of individual excellence. http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/newsandevents/news/template/news_item.jsp?cid=36394

Teams Doing Good

The Yankees spotlight the military at the Stadium by welcoming members of The Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride
Nick Swisher welcomed seven Wounded Warriors on the field at Yankee Stadium yesterday, with the warriors riding their bikes onto the field as a kickoff to their 3-day Soldier Ride cycling challenge in New York. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=23143681&c_id=nyy&partnerId=aw-6318374496910771399-1038