April 30 – May 6

Welcome to week six of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. Again, we have had a number of individuals, some famous and some not-so-famous (including our “Do-Gooder of the Week”), step up and achieve great things for their local communities and sometimes for larger audiences. Organizations also had a presence, as Beyond Sport and SASF were in the news for their upcoming events, the NFL’s Raiders and Bucs tipped their helmets in acknowledgment of their fans and a special player, respectively, and Liberty Mutual and the Positive Coaching Alliance put a call out for their own top 10 occurrences in the “good” world of sports. And two of the biggest players in sports media, ESPN and Sports Illustrated, took time out to reflect on the legacy and ongoing impact of Title IX.

In the past week, we also had two popular cultural figures, one in sports and one in music pass away – Junior Seau, All-Pro NFL linebacker and Adam “MCA” Yauch of the Beastie Boys. Two guys from different coasts known for different things. But the feeling of loss was quite similar because what both men left were legacies of excellence. In their own ways they touched the lives of millions of individuals through the exhibition of their great talents on the world’s largest stages and also behind-the-scenes in their work in the community and around the world. While their passing hit us hard, we are buoyed by the knowledge that what they did and what they stood for will last forever. And that is good to know.

Please continue to send along your stories. You are both our audience and our best source of stories. 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.

So enjoy. And have a good week.

Fun Doing Good:

Hello Brooklyn!
A nod to our birthplace, literally and figuratively. http://www.nba.com/nets/brooklyn/hello_brooklyn.html

Rain Delay Shenanigans
Check out Yahoo!’s Sports Minute for a great look at guys acting like kids, just as they should.  http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/randy-moss-daughter-sweeps-every-major-kentucky-hoops-102306313.html;_ylc=X3oDMTNucmM1dm4xBF9TAzIxNDMzMzc0OTgEYWN0A21haWxfY2IEY3QDYQRpbnRsA3VzBGxhbmcDZW4tVVMEcGtnAzA2NTQ1MDJjLTFkNDctM2RkYi1hMGQyLTJkZTE0NjE4YWYyNQRzZWMDbWl0X3NoYXJlBHNsawNtYWlsBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Video: Brandon Weeden uses his rifle passing arm to hunt clay pigeons
From one of the most informative and interesting shows on TV. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/video-brandon-weeden-uses-rifle-passing-arm-hunt-180146210.html

Video: Messi tallies 4 more, gives thanks to Pep
It is a remarkable 72 goals for Lionel Messi and he sends his uber-successful coach off in style. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aYQE1PbacA

Athletes Doing Good:

Houston turning job with Knicks into charity platform
Allan Houston has spent his post-NBA career learning the ropes of the business side of the NBA as a member of the Knicks front office. But besides his title as the team’s assistant general manager, Houston has also spent plenty of time and energy devoted to off-court endeavors, with one of them helping to mentor and mold young men as they enter adulthood. Houston says that, as much as being part of building what he hopes will eventually be a championship-winning roster, is what he enjoys about his role with the Knicks. http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/knicksblog/houston_turning_job_with_knicks_K4RO3W1mHL11l7HEGXPn6H

Bo Jackson finishes 300-mile tornado relief ride
Bo Jackson‘s 300-mile bike ride across Alabama ended Saturday in Tuscaloosa, with the Heisman Trophy winner having raised more than $413,000 so far to help victims of last spring’s tornado outbreaks. http://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/Bo-Jackson-finishes-300-mile-tornado-relief-ride-3518594.php

Ex-Celtic Chris Herren using “Project Purple” to fight drug addiction
Chris Herren already knows how this is going to end when the Boston sky darkens Tuesday evening and one by one the downtown buildings – from the Prudential Tower to the state capitol to UMass-Boston – are bathed in a purple glow for his anti-drug project. He will feel the tears slide down his face. He will choke up. And he will wonder how so much has happened so fast. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–chris-herren-using–project-purple–to-fight-drug-addiction.html

RIP – Junior Seau
Junior Seau was the face of the Chargers, but more importantly, he was the face of a city, writes Bill Williamson. http://espn.go.com/blog/afcwest/post/_/id/43670/junior-seau-was-san-diego. Please also see http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7886162/report-boston-university-seeking-study-junior-seau-brain for more on Seau and the hope of many that his brain will be studied.

Additional Story
Bellamy books a ticket to Wembley, and Sierra Leone! http://www.craigbellamyfoundation.org/bellamy-books-ticket-wembley-sierra-leone/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=180d4ae343-CBF_News_April_20125_1_2012&utm_medium=email and for a first-person perspective from Craig, please click here. http://www.craigbellamyfoundation.org/media/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=180d4ae343-CBF_News_April_20125_1_2012&utm_medium=email

Events Doing Good:

The Power Forward Charity Concert: The WNBA, Black Thought & Childhood Obesity
The “Power Forward” concert… is a charity concert that will bring the New York Liberty together with New York and New Jersey business professionals, city officials, activists, philanthropists, and residents for a night of music and advocacy. What originally caught my eye about the event was the involvement of Black Thought, lead MC of The Roots, whose GrassROOTS Community Foundation (GCF) is a co-sponsor of the event. But what actually makes it significant is that 40% of the proceeds will go toward GCF’s H.E.A.L. Program, which is one of their many programs focused on “increasing physical activity, reducing obesity and enhancing mental and physical health” for young girls. http://www.swishappeal.com/2012/4/28/2983222/wnba-power-forward-charity-concert-black-thought-childhood-obesity

Sporting students at all-night lock-in
“Dozens of students – who would normally be eager for the opportunity to avoid school – agreed to stay in college for 24 hours and take part in an endless sporting session. The event…, was called the Lutterworth College Lock In, and aimed to raise money for Sport Relief – a charity which supports good causes at home and abroad.”  http://www.lutterworthmail.co.uk/community/sporting-students-at-all-night-lock-in-1-3777769#

Sports and Arts in Schools Foundation (SASF)* Champions Awards Gala, May 15
A Benefit Reception with Silent Auction honoring Lenny Wilkens, Cal Ramsey, Jay Fiedler, and others who have helped improve the lives of kids growing up and going to school in New York City.

* Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation (SASF), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is one of the  largest providers of school-based after-school programs in New York City and the metropolitan region. SASF serves more than 25,000 students in over 150 public schools.  These students typically live in low-income neighborhoods and attend academically struggling schools in grades K-12. http://www.sasfny.org/pdf/SASF%20Save%20the%20Date.pdf?utm_source=May+7%2C+2012&utm_campaign=Week+6&utm_medium=email

Media Doing Good:

SI.com Photos
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/?eref=sihp&sct=hp_bf4_a2
The world of sports delivered daily through the lenses of Sports Illustrated’s award-winning photographers. Snapshot from Sports Illustrated delivers the world in sports photos every day to your desktop. The free app offers Sports Illustrated’s exclusive photos from our award-winning photographers, photo essays from the biggest global sporting events, and rare images from our archives. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fhpknagfeicadegdhaipgklmnpekbgeb#detail/fhpknagfeicadegdhaipgklmnpekbgeb

Power Of IX: Top 40 female athlete countdown on SportsCenter, espnW
ESPN began unveiling the Top 40 Female Athletes of Past 40 Years as part of the company’s initiative The Power of IX. As part of the move to honor the 40th Anniversary of Title IX, SportsCenter, in conjunction with espnW, began a count down yesterday revealing on athlete a day, running through the Friday, June 22 where the top female athlete will be named. http://frontrow.espn.go.com/tag/espnw/  Sports Illustrated also covers this landmark legislation in this week’s issue. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/ann_killion/05/01/Title-IX-40-years/index.html

Organizations Doing Good:

Parker Sports and Youth to the Rescue Again!
When a local charity all about promoting youth sports opens its wallet, KIMA turns on the camera.
Another check from Parker Youth and Sports Foundation which donates money to local organizations to help out with sports programs for kids who don’t have the means. A five-thousand dollar check to the Southeast Community Center for girls soccer and T-ball.  http://www.kimatv.com/sports/Parker-Sports-and-Youth-to-the-Rescue-Again-148971785.html

MotivatEd’s innovative and inspirational e-learning materials and educational games
The company specialises in using the powerful appeal of professional sport to motivate curriculum learning in young people – using a combination of online primary games, e-learning activities, and lesson plans. Check out its educational web sites include the award-winning football games site Footee and the highly regarded cricket games site ICC Sportee Cricket. http://www.footee.com/ and http://sporteecricket.com/

BT sponsors Paralympic World Cup
London 2012 partner BT has signed a four year sponsorship to back the Paralympic World Cup – the largest annual international multi-sport competition in the elite disability calendar. http://www.london2012.com/news/articles/year=2009/month=01/article=bt-sponsors-paralympic-world-cup.html

Beyond Sport Announces Official Shortlist For Beyond Sport Awards 2012
Beyond Sport, the global organisation that promotes, develops and supports the use of sport as a tool for positive change across the world, is delighted to unveil the official shortlist for the Beyond Sport Awards 2012. 30 projects have been shortlisted that reach nearly 40 countries, and use more than 20 different sports. They were chosen from 322 entries from 135 countries that submitted applications to this year’s Beyond Sport Awards. http://www.beyondsport.org/mediacentre/press-release/view/1384

Liberty Mutual Insurance And Positive Coaching Alliance Launch Search For “Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments” Of 2012
Liberty Mutual Insurance and Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) announce the search for the “Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments” of 2012. In its second year, the program continues to spotlight and celebrate the positive values that sports instill in young people.
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5163972&access=EH

Additional Story
Glad’s House – From the Streets to the Greens. http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012720/news/newsid=156918.html and http://www.europeantour.com/videoaudio/video/videoid=157648.html

People Doing Good:

One World. One Team. One Ride (“Do-Gooder of the Week”)
Matt Stoltz is a highly motivated freshman currently enrolled at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In high school, Matt held two Global Gear Drives at local YMCA’s in the Wisconsin Rapids community. The locals graciously donated more than 30,000 dollars worth of sports equipment for underprivileged youth in third world countries. Upon arriving in Madison, Matt desired to continue his involvement with the International Alliance for Youth Sports but understood that college students do not have extra sports equipment laying around to donate. Therefore, Matt, on his own, came up with the idea to bike 1700 miles from Wisconsin Rapids, WI to the National Alliance for Youth Sports headquarters in West Palm Beach, FL to raise awareness and funds for this worthy cause. For more, please click here. http://www.oneworldoneteamoneride.com/?page_id=6

At 94, WWII veteran, former area ballplayer still has love for game
At 94, Marcantonio is one of the last old-time ballplayers from baseball’s heyday, a golden age when every town in the greater Glens Falls area had a semipro baseball team. In an era before every home had a television, crowds turned out from spring until summer faded into fall to watch their local boys on the diamond.  http://poststar.com/sports/at-wwii-veteran-former-area-ballplayer-still-has-love-for/article_7d18a1b6-91b1-11e1-98f4-001a4bcf887a.html

Marlins president David Samson runs 52.4 miles, raises 550 for charities
Miami Marlins president David Samson ran the equivalent of two marathons on Friday in his “Run to Honor the Workers,” raising over $550,000 for 10 different charities. Samson began the 52.4-mile run in Pompano Beach at 7 a.m. and concluded inside the stadium at 6:40 p.m. prior to the Marlins’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks to raise funds in honor of the construction workers who built Marlins Park. “I didn’t realize how long two marathons was, it’s just long,” Samson said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/marlins-president-david-samson-runs-524-miles-raises-550-for-charities/2012/04/27/gIQAYExPmT_story.html

Minor League president O’Conner honored
For his longstanding commitment to communities around the country, O’Conner was recognized with a lifetime achievement award on Friday afternoon at the New York Stock Exchange. The accolades came from the United Athletes Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve “the lives of both the athlete fraternity and society in its entirety.” “There are more than 100 professional athletes associated with the UA Foundation,” according to the group, “including members of the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA and professional boxing.”  http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120428&content_id=29818314&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

 Teams Doing Good:

 Oakland Raiders to donate 10 percent of season tickets to Oakland schools
Oakland Raiders fans have the reputation of being loud, well-costumed, and sometimes even obnoxious. Now, they will also be known as supporters of education. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/oakland-raiders-donate-10-percent-season-tickets-oakland-193147061.html

Tampa Bay Buccaneers sign LeGrand
Paralyzed defensive tackle Eric LeGrand has been signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. LeGrand broke two vertebrae and suffered a serious spinal cord injury on Oct. 16, 2010 during a kickoff return against Army. His coach at Rutgers then, Greg Schiano, now is coach of the Bucs.  http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/05/02/tampa-bay-buccaneers-sign-paralyzed-rutgers-dt-legrand/#ixzz1u8tfUGqo