Nov. 25 – Dec. 1, 2012

Welcome to week thirty-six of the Sports Doing Good newsletter.

No matter the source or subject matter, we are open to featuring any and all stories that entertain, inspire, motivate, or enlighten. If the story happens to deal with a favorite team or athlete, all the better. This week I have the good fortune of featuring stories involving two elite athletes who happened to have attended the same schools as I did. (Yes, fellow alums get special treatment at Sports Doing Good!) So congratulations go out to Crystal Dunn (South Side High School) and Aimee Mullins (Georgetown University) for the latest accomplishments. We are sure there will be many more in the future.

Other stories this week feature: Olympic champ and HS senior Missy Franklin, cross country runner Sami Stoner, Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders, U.S. WNT player Lorrie Fair, legendary baseball figure Marvin Miller, New York Ranger Brad Richards, and a host of great teams, organizations, and associations.

Please continue to send along your stories. You are both our audience and our best source of stories. Our email address is sab@sportsddoinggood.com and our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood. Finally, if you think others would like to receive the newsletter, please feel free to forward it on or have them contact us directly at sab@sportsdoinggood.com. (If you do not want to receive the newsletter anymore you can use the Unsubscribe button at the end of the newsletter.)

So enjoy. And have a good week.

NCAA women’s college soccer — Crystal Dunn’s brilliance lifts North Carolina Tar Heels to College Cup semifinals
An All-American in her first two seasons with the Tar Heels, she was named the national freshman of the year for the 2010 season and the ACC’s top defender in the same campaign, the only freshman ever to earn that distinction. Now a junior, she got a late start on the current college season while helping the United States win the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/college-sports/8677113/ncaa-women-college-soccer-crystal-dunn-brilliance-lifts-north-carolina-tar-heels-college-cup-semifinals

Crystal Dunn filled in at center back earlier this year but has returned to attacking center midfielder for the postseason and scored five goals in four games.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin will swim her senior season of high school
Now, it’s important to note that what Franklin is doing is not only perfectly within the rules of her sport, it’s rather morally impressive as well, turning down money and fame in return for education and bonding with her friends and teammates. And her opponents will surely relish the chance to swim against an Olympic legend. Beat her? Well, that’d be a whole different story.
http://tinyurl.com/dxwarpz

Michael Sohn/AP Photo

First-ever guide dog cross country runner looks to join college cross country team
Sami Stoner has already broken through barriers, becoming the first sanctioned legally blind cross country runner to compete with a guide dog as a member of the Lexington (Ohio) High girls cross country team.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/first-ever-guide-dog-cross-country-runner-looks-194749079.html

Colts Cheerleaders Shave Heads: Megan M, Crystal Ann Go Bald For Chuck Pagano
Shortly after the players went hairless (or orange) to show support for their coach, who lost his hair while undergoing treatment, Blue tweeted at the team’s cheerleaders and asked if they were willing to do the same if he could raise $10,000 for leukemia research.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/25/colts-cheerleaders-shave-heads-video-chuck-pagano_n_2189183.html

Kicking butt doesn´t require two legs; How adaptive ski and snowboarding programs are giving athletes with disabilities an edge
“For people with disabilities, life slows down as mobility becomes a major issue,” Berman says. “But skiing is the one sport where the goal is oftentimes not to go faster, but to figure out how to slow down and stop. It’s great because it really does allow people with physical disabilities to participate on an equal level with their able-bodied peers.”
http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-10084-kicking-butt-doesnt-require-two-legs.html

Former U.S. WNT Midfielder Lorrie Fair Traveled to Kabul as Part of the U.S. Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative
The U.S. Department of State’s Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports initiative aims to increase the number of women and girls who participate in all aspects of sports. Fair also conducted sports clinics with Afghan women as part of the program.
http://www.ussoccer.com/News/Federation-Services/2012/11/Former-US-WNT-MF-Fair-Traveled-to-Kabul-as-Part-of-Empowering-Women-and-Girls-Initiative.aspx

Olympic Champion Jessica Ennis in conversation in aid of charity
Sheffield’s golden girl Jessica Ennis is to talk about her rise to fame and glory at a charity event in her home city. Proceeds from the evening will be shared between The Children’s Hospital Charity’s Make It Better Appeal, which aims to transform The Children’s Hospital in Sheffield; Christian charity Taste and Sheffield University’s Elite Sport Performance Scheme.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/features/star-in-conversation-in-aid-of-charity-1-5167381

Change Cycling Now to fight for clean and credible sport
A global pressure group comprising cycling industry stakeholders, anti-doping experts and campaigning international journalists has been formed in a bid to point the way forward for the under-fire sport.
http://www.sportbusiness.com/news/186718/change-cycling-now-to-fight-for-clean-and-credible-sport

A vision to encourage action on physical activity
Human beings are designed to move, but the opportunity and necessity to move in modern life has declined, leading to an epidemic of physical inactivity—a dangerous threat to everyone’s health, wellbeing, and quality of life.
http://www.sportanddev.org/en/newsnviews/news/?5094%2F1%2FA-vision-to-encourage-action-on-physical-activity

The book on raising two athletic daughters
In Robert Strauss’ memoir, “Daddy’s Little Goalie,” the former reporter for Sports Illustrated shares funny, heartfelt stories about raising his two athletically inclined daughters, Ella and Sylvia.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/more-sports/8687114/book-raising-two-athletic-daughters

Former MLBPA executive director Marvin Miller dies at age 95
Marvin Miller, the soft-spoken union head who led baseball players in a series of strikes and legal battles that won free agency, revolutionized sports and made athletes multimillionaires, died Tuesday. “All players — past, present and future — owe a debt of gratitude to Marvin, and his influence transcends baseball,” current union head Michael Weiner said.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8682184/marvin-miller-mlbpa-first-leader-dies-95

Good deeds nothing new to New York Ranger Brad Richards
Richards met Long, a former New York firefighter who suffered serious injuries after being struck by a bus in the transit strike of 2005, at Rangers’ team events and had previously offered to partner up. With the amount of devastation incurred from Sandy — not to mention the Nor’Easter that sucker-punched the area shortly after — Long took Richards up on his offer.
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nhl/story/_/id/8656768/new-york-rangers-brad-richards-makes-good-deeds-part-life

Brad Richards brought smiles to the faces of many who lost their homes because of Hurricane Sandy’s damage.

MLS W.O.R.K.S. LA Galaxy Foundation and AEG MLS Cup 2012 Service Project
The LA Galaxy announced today that AEG and the LA Galaxy Foundation have partnered with MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative, to donate a multiuse LA Galaxy branded Sport Court as well as donating sports equipment and creating year-long sports programs along with beautifying the Learning Center at the Boys and Girls Club of Carson.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/blog/mls-works-blog/2012/11/28/mls-works-la-galaxy-foundation-and-aeg-mls-cup-2012-service-project

Brentford Announce ‘Pay What You Can’ Ticket Scheme, Will Donate Half Of Every £5+ Ticket To Charity
League One side Brentford have announced a cockle-warmingly commendable plan to introduce a ‘Pay What You Can’ ticket pricing scheme for their final game before Christmas – the league fixture against Stevenage on Saturday 22nd December. Essentially, The Bees are inviting fans to pay as much or as little as they can afford for a match ticket (with a minimum price of £1) and for every ticket sold for over £5, half of the money will be donated to the Sport Relief charity. http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/football-league/148000/brentford-announce-pay-what-you-can-ticket-scheme-will-donate-50-of-every-5-ticket-to-charity.html

Prime Minister David Cameron launches 2013 Hero Ride with charity Help for Heroes
Prime Minister David Cameron has urged the country to get behind the 2013 Hero Ride which aims to raise at least £1 million for service personnel charity Help for Heroes.
http://road.cc/content/news/70887-prime-minister-david-cameron-launches-2013-hero-ride-charity-help-heroes

Zayed Sports City to host charity sports relay in January
Zayed Sports City, one of the region’s premier sporting venues, will host a 12 hour sports relay next year to help raise money for charity. Bringing together sports fanatics as well as with groups of friends and family members from around the capital, the 12-hour event will aim to raise more than Dhs200,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
http://www.ameinfo.com/zayed-sports-city-host-charity-sports-319710

N.C. State will honor Jim Valvano with special ‘Don’t ever give up’ jerseys
North Carolina State may be the first team to wear a jersey with an inspirational quote on the back where players’ last names typically would be. The Wolfpack will don special jerseys honoring former coach Jim Valvano next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden when they face UConn in this year’s Jimmy V Classic. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/n-c-state-honor-jim-valvano-special-don-164127045–ncaab.html

Orlando Magic Team Photographer Tops Sports Illustrated’s 100 Greatest Sports Photos of All Time
Longtime Orlando Magic team photographer, Fernando Medina, was recently recognized by Sports Illustrated in its 100 Greatest Sports Photos of All Time for his iconic image of Michael Jordan’s last shot of his Bulls’ career. Medina’s Jordan photo was tabbed number one by SI out of the 100 Greatest Sports Photos of All Time.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/specials/100greatestphotos/

MLB’s Oakland A’s designate one full playoff share to charity
Reliever Jerry Blevins, the team’s player representative, informed the front office that he and his teammates voted to donate one playoff share to charities – including Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. The other charities are the MLB Players Trust, UMPS CARE, Oakland A’s Community Fund, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area, United Way of the Bay Area, Donnie Moore Ministries and the ”Strike 3 Foundation.” http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/As-designate-one-full-playoff-share-to-charity-62824180

‘Three-Putt for the Cure’ Re-Focuses its Scope; CWGA initiative has raised more than $16,000 for cancer-related efforts
There are plenty of good causes worthy of donations, but it seems only natural for a golf association to focus on efforts that have direct connections to the game. http://www.cogolf.org/index.php?mod=NewsMedia_Read&ArticleID=905

ABC News’ Person of the Week: Aimee Mullins, Advocate for Women
The former model, actress and Paralympics athlete uses her medical condition to inspire others.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/person-week-aimee-mullins-advocate-women-17851688