March 31 – April 6, 2013

Welcome to week fifty-three of the Sports Doing Good newsletter.

Since this is Sports Doing Good we normally focus just on the good stuff going on in the world of sports. Makes sense. However, this week, we lead off with a troubling story from that wonderful program from ESPN, Outside the Lines. The story has to do with athletes and their charities and how unfortunately, many of those charities do not come close to following industry standards and fail to fulfill their missions. While the story shines light on a problem in sports, we feel that it is more than appropriate to share via Sports Doing Good as this form of journalism often sparks reforms. We hope that such a reality happens with respect to this issue.

We, of course, have an array of stories highlighting the good in sports, including NFL player Ronnie Cameron, MLB and Autism Awareness Month, the NFL and social entrepreneurship, FC Barcelona and fitness, kids and sportsmanship, and a nod to the recently departed Roger Ebert.

Please continue to send along your stories. You are both our audience and our best source of stories. Our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood, and you can find us at www.facebook.com/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@sportsddoinggood.com. (If you do not want to receive the newsletter anymore you can use the Unsubscribe button at the end of the email)

So enjoy. And have a good week.

OTL: The Charity Conundrum (Do homework before giving)
That mystery was heightened by an eye-opening report on Sunday’s “Outside the Lines,” which found that 74 percent of 115 athlete charities investigated fell short of acceptable nonprofit standards used by the top three charity watchdogs. Odom’s charity, named for his mother, who died of cancer when Lamar was 12, was highlighted as one of the most egregious offenders.
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/9125446/rethink-giving-athlete-charities

Former ODU star and Bonfire Impact founder Ronnie Cameron taking strides in real world
“It’s a complete contrast to what the mainstream media offer,” Cameron said last week during a visit to ODU. “There are more people doing good things than the media would have you believe. People who are doing the right things are getting attention for it on this website.”
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/03/former-odu-star-cameron-taking-strides-real-world

Ronnie Cameron, 2011 Old Dominion football. ODU photo

Major League Baseball announces league-wide effort during Autism Awareness Month
Major League Baseball is teaming up with Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization, in a league-wide effort to recognize Autism Awareness Month in April. All 30 MLB Clubs will raise awareness for the disorder during one home game in April, or on another date during the regular season.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130401&content_id=43606790&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

NFL to hold seminar on social entrepreneurship for current, former players
The session April 18-21 is part of the NFL Player Engagement program aimed at helping players transition to life outside football. The “Investment for Impact” program was developed by quarterback Brady Quinn and center Jeff Faine, a pair of free agents who are former Fighting Irish players.
http://cbsprt.co/11ukj9L

FILA Announces May as World Wrestling Month; 177 Countries to Host Events, Competitions to Spotlight Sport
“World Wrestling Month will feature a variety of activities for our athletes and national federations,” said FILA’s Acting President Nenad Lalovic.  He added, “The month will celebrate our storied past as well as our strong future.  Many of the countries around the world will be announcing their celebrations and plans in the coming weeks. ”
http://www.fila-official.com/

NBA Green Week Presented by Sprint Tips Off Encouraging Fans to Go Green
The NBA today tips off NBA Green Week presented by Sprint, featuring community greening projects, recycling programs, green giveaways, special adidas on-court apparel, and auctions to encourage fans to “go green.” Continuing through April 12, this marks the fifth year of the league-wide Green Week hosted in collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2013/04/nba-green-week-presented-by-sprint-tips-off-encouraging-fans-to-go-green/

FC Barcelona Launches New Fitness App, FCB Fitness, to Change the Way You Get in Shape
FCB Fitness incorporates exercise into your daily life through various personalized challenges designed by experts in physical fitness and sports. As you complete the daily and weekly exercise objectives that the players of FC Barcelona set for you, you earn rewards and FCB Fitness tracks your progress so you can see how far you’ve come from the first day to the last.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fc-barcelona-launches-new-fitness-app-fcb-fitness-to-change-the-way-you-get-in-shape-201420351.html

Aimee Mullins – Athlete, Model, Actor, and Activist
A Paralympic Games record-breaker, Aimee Mullins is a model, actor and advocate for women, sports and the next generation of prosthetics. She joins to talk about the future of prosthetics, and cultural perceptions of disability and beauty.
http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/aimee-mullins/5155e26e2b8c2a10ee0002cb

12 Ways to Help Your Kid Learn to be a Good Sport
Participation in organized sports has a variety of benefits for kids, potentially boosting everything from their academic performance to their self-esteem…Helping your child learn the basics of being a good sport starts at home and extends to the playing field, and these 12 tips can help you to instill those qualities.
http://www.findananny.net/blog/12-ways-to-help-your-kid-learn-to-be-a-good-sport/

RIP: Roger Ebert’s most memorable sports movie reviews
On Thursday, legendary film critic Roger Ebert died at 70. USA TODAY Sports remembers Ebert by looking back at some of his most memorable sports film reviews.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/04/04/roger-ebert-sports-reviews-movies/2053997/

THE NEXT 10 STORIES

Solidarity in Sport Website is Live!; A Platform for Inclusion, Equality and Dignity in Sport
The Solidarity in Sport Pledge (SISP) is a global grassroots movement to promote equality in sport.  The pledge emphasizes inclusion, equality, and dignity for all athletes.  By joining forces we are using our collective voice to stamp out exclusion, inequality, and stigma. We seek to make this change now!
http://www.solidarityinsport.org

Global Hockey Legends Team Up For Hurricane Sandy Relief!
North American and Russian hockey legends will face-off April 13, 2013 at 1pm at Prudential Center for a charity game benefiting the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.
http://www.prucenter.com/default.asp?prucenter=107&objId=360

‘Dream Chasers’ series on NFL draft prospects
Produced by Yahoo!, the special six-part series followed these elite athletes for 10 weeks as they prepared for the NFL scouting combine in February. Players like Kenny Stills from Oklahoma and Kenjon Barner of Oregon bring viewers into their world by revealing their hopes and fears, triumphs and tragedies, memories from the past and visions of the future.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl–preview—dream-chasers–series-on-nfl-draft-prospects-211015263.html

White Sox to host 2013 Civil Rights Game; Seventh annual celebration set for Aug. 24 at U.S. Cellular Field
“I hope that people start to begin to recognize that civil rights is not something of the past. It is something that is continuous,” Williams said. “It is something that is evolving to the degree that there are still fights for civil rights in many different avenues of our life.”
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130402&content_id=43701314&vkey=news_cws&c_id=cws

New NFL measures hopefully adopted at youth level, too
The NFL’s recent rule changes to address safety concerns, specifically head injuries, have received outcry from traditionalists that they are changing the very nature of the game. But with the prevalent top down mentality in football, this blogger thinks that changes in professional play will have a lasting impact and improve the safety of how future youth players that will take to the field are coached.
https://nays.org/article/10777-New-NFL-measures-hopefully-adopted-at-youth-level,-too

Unequal Technologies Debuts the Latest Innovation in Supplemental Head Padding
Unequal® Technologies, the leading provider of customized, concealed sports protection, today unveiled a new suite of supplemental head padding (SHP) available for athletes and recreational use.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/03/5313076/unequal-technologies-debuts-the.html#storylink=cpy

NFL Players Association Joins Team Supporting National Kids to Parks Day
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) and National Park Trust (NPT) have joined forces to promote this year’s National Kids to Parks Day scheduled for Saturday, May 18th. The NFLPA will join 17 national collaborators supporting the Third Annual National Kids to Parks Day.
http://parktrust.org/news/press-release-and-media/643-nfl-players-association-joins-the-team

U.S. Soccer Takes over Times Square for Centennial Celebration
As part of its Centennial Week celebrations in New York, U.S. Soccer held an all-day event at Times Square today, entertaining thousands of fans at the iconic location on the last day of the Federation’s first 100 years.
http://youtu.be/u_GLNC1LZuk

MLB and ‘People’ Magazine Announce “Tribute for Heroes” Campaign Honoring the Nation’s Veterans and Military Service Members
Beginning today and running through May 17th, fans are encouraged to visit TributeforHeroes.com to nominate an active or former member of the Armed Forces of the United States or Canada for the chance to represent their favorite MLB team at the 2013 All-Star Game.
http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130404&content_id=43857410&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

Kevin Ware On Letterman: Injured Louisville Player Does Top 10 List
Ware underwent surgery Sunday night, and was released from the hospital two days later. On Wednesday, hours after being cleared by doctors, he accompanied top-seeded Louisville to the Final Four – being played in his hometown of Atlanta.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/kevin-ware-letterman-top-10-list-louisville-video_n_3019860.html

2013 Olympia Praxis Summer Programme – Open for Applications
The International Olympic Academy and Georgetown University join forces to launch a groundbreaking sport for peace and development professional training programme at the birthplace of the Olympic spirit.
http://www.sportanddev.org/en/newsnviews/news/?5491%2F1%2F2013-Olympia-Praxis-Summer-Programme

Light up “your torch” and build your Olympism4Humanity legacy at the birthplace of the Olympic spirit. The picture captures the “stoa”, the gate through which athletes used to enter the Ancient Olympia’s Stadium.

Red Sox and State of Connecticut Announce Charity License Plate Program
The Boston Red Sox, the Red Sox Foundation, and Connecticut Governor, Dannel P. Malloy, announced a new charity license plate program in Connecticut today. The plate’s design will feature the Red Sox logo and the proceeds from the sale of the plates will go to the  college scholarship program that will be established by the Red Sox Foundation for public high school students in Connecticut.
http://www.bonfireimpact.com/2013/03/26/red-sox-and-state-of-connecticut-announce-charity-license-plate-program/