Sports Doing Good Newsletter, #8

May 14 – May 20

Welcome to week eight of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. It was another good week of highs and highs (no “lows” in this newsletter) Superstars Calvin Johnson (NFL) and Kyrie Irving (NBA) get us started with their fun exploits, and then we present stories involving tennis legends, long-distance running stars, potential Paralympians, and several basketball players, from youth players to NBA stars, to Dream Teamers to Hall of Famers.

We also feature rebirths, of a professional football league and a stadium and society in Haiti. Finally, we are introduced to a wonderful 92-year old coach and to young adults showing their stuff in a case study competition. No matter where we turned, we found stories that showcased the history of good in sports and those that gave us indication that we will be treated to many more stories in the future.

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:

Video: Calvin Johnson hits it out of the park during Tigers batting practice
“Friday was a pretty good day for the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Not only did Justin Verlander come within two outs of his third career no-hitter in a 6-0 shutout of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson provided some interesting fireworks for the home crowd before the game even started.”  http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/video-calvin-johnson-hits-park-during-tigers-batting-134345298.html

Kyrie Irving and Uncle Drew  
“The old man has skillz!! Looks like a clip from Betty White’s “Off Their Rockers” TV Show. For more, please click here. 

Athletes Doing Good

Former All-American Jeff Green to Earn Georgetown Degree this Weekend
Five years ago, former Georgetown University men’s basketball All-American Jeff Green walked across a stage and became an NBA Lottery Pick. This Saturday, Green will walk across another stage and will become a graduate of Georgetown University. http://www.guhoyas.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051612aaa.html

Marathon men count down to London
It would be hard to find a more congenial trio of competitors than Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman, who will represent the United States in the Olympic men’s marathon in London on Aug. 12. All three are Olympic veterans and their mutual respect and affection was evident when they sat down with us last week in Manhattan before running in Saturday’s Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park, organized by the New York Road Runners. http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/7942176/2012-london-olympics-team-usa-marathon-men-get-ready-games

Basketball HOFer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be honored
Basketball HOFer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will be feted during the Ford Freedom Awards at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. The event honors two recipients each year who have dedicated their lives to improving the African American community. http://www.thewright.org/fordfreedomaward

Maggie Meier always had a shot; Not even a deep coma could keep the basketball player from showing off her form (“Do-Gooder of the Week”)
The shot was perfect, featuring a form and touch that would have made James Naismith proud. But while Maggie Meier could still shoot with the best of them, she had lost control over the rest of her life. A rare brain infection had left Meier in a coma for more than two months during the fall of 2008. http://espn.go.com/high-school/features/rise-above/story/_/id/7934244/maggie-meier-overcomes-meningitis-leads-team-state-basketball-tournament

First Paralyzed Formula Race Car Driver’s “Road to Indy” Sponsored By Coloplast
Coloplast North America, a provider of products and services for people with intimate medical needs, has announced a corporate sponsorship of Michael Johnson, formula racing’s first paralyzed driver.  Johnson, 19, is competing this year in The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the first step on the Road to Indy, an open-wheeled development program for drivers seeking a professional racing career. Johnson’s goal is to be the first paralyzed driver to compete in the Indy500.  http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5205134&access=EH

Events Doing Good:

McEnroe and Agassi to square off in July in support of the Johnny Mac Tennis Project
Tennis Hall of Famers Andre Agassi and John McEnroe, along with Sportimes President Claude Okin, held a conference call this week to their July 19 match as part of the World TeamTennis between the New York Sportimes and Boston Lobsters. The July 19 WTT matchup will feature Agassi and McEnroe competing against each other in both men’s singles and in doubles in the five set WTT format.  http://longislandtennismagazine.com/article4193/agassi-mcenroe-and-hingis-play-wtt-match-benefit-johnny-mac-tennis-project

Twickenham Alive Blue Mile
World Oceans Day on 8th June will be the start of events across the UK when people will be raising funds to support the world’s oceans.  This year the Twickenham Alive Blue Mile on 9th June will support the work of the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) to protect rivers, seas and oceans. The title sponsor race, the Ecover Blue Mile, will follow a course along Twickenham Riverside, in front of Eel Pie Island and finish at Eel Pie Bridge.  This will follow a series of Kayak and Stand Up Paddle Board sprint events and the One Mile Walk for Water. http://www.twickenhamalive.com/index.php/regatta-22-22/regatta-22-22/

2012 Athleta Iron Girl Event Series to Benefit Young Survival Coalition
Iron Girl is proud to announce that Young Survival Coalition (YSC) will be the official charity of the 2012 Athleta Iron Girl Event Series. At 12 events nationwide, ranging from 5K to half-marathon, duathlon and triathlon, Iron Girl will help to not only raise funds for the organization but also awareness that there are more than 250,000 women living in the U.S. today who were diagnosed with breast cancer before their 41st birthday.  http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5204834&access=EH

2012 Feed The Children Prelude to the Dream
On Wednesday, June 6 in tiny Rossburg, Ohio, stars representing NASCAR, NHRA, INDYCAR and the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series align in a big way with the Prelude To The Dream. Eldora Speedway will once again play host to the all-star dirt Late Model race featuring more than 25 world renowned drivers as they battle for dirt supremacy on the half-mile clay oval where HBO Pay-Per-View will present the event LIVE in high-definition to the entire nation. Net proceeds from the telecast will support Feed The Children, a U.S.-based charity that domestically has helped more than 365,000 families since 2009 through its Americans Feeding Americans Caravan. http://www.jayski.com/pages/charities-prelude.htm

Media Doing Good:

SPORT IN AMERICA: Our Defining Stories
HBO© is partnering with Sports Illustrated and Endgame Entertainment, in association with Playground Entertainment, to produce SPORT IN AMERICA: Our Defining Stories. The show is a multipart series scheduled to air in 2013. This groundbreaking show is about how our nation’s most compelling sports moments have affected the lives of the people who watched them, and in turn shaped America’s character. We will use interviews with real fans (that’s you!) along with celebrities, historians, politicians, etc. about their most meaningful sports memories and how they influenced their lives to weave a tapestry about the meaning of sports and the values that make our American society great.  https://sportinamerica.com/About

NBA TV to celebrate 20th anniversary of Dream Team
NBA TV will celebrate the 20th anniversary of USA Basketball’s iconic team, which captured the attention of fans around the globe, when the network premieres NBA TV’s “The Dream Team” presented by Right Guard® on Wednesday, June 13, at 9 p.m. ET.  http://www.nba.com/2012/news/05/17/dream-team-release/

Documentary Channel Prepares For The Olympic Games With The Premiere Of “Warrior Champions”
Documentary Channel (DOC) is proud to announce the US television premiere of “Warrior Champions” on Sunday, June 10 (8p ET/PT).  An emotional and inspiring story of sacrifice and determination, “Warrior Champions” follows a group of wounded American soldiers as they fight to turn their nightmares of war into Olympic dreams. http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5207480&access=EH

Organizations Doing Good:

In Haiti, a New Stadium Will Rise
The entire project, which has an estimated cost of $5 million, will have the majority of its financing provided by Delos LLC as part of the Clinton Global Initiative. Additional financing will be secured from corporations and individual donors. The stadium is only the first component of a project that will result in the construction of a youth soccer academy, an elementary and middle school, and infrastructure projects that will include agriculture, composting and water treatment. http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/in-haiti-a-new-stadium-will-rise/?emc=eta1

New version of United States Football League aims to succeed where others have failed
Jaime Cuadra’s quest to bring a successful professional football team to Portland has been attempted four times before, failing each time. But his attempt to resurrect the United States Football League for play in 2013 with Portland on a short list of targeted cities comes with a twist: Cuadra doesn’t believe he or his league to be more than they are. http://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/index.ssf/2012/05/head_of_new_usfl_believes_it_c.html

International Alliance for Youth Sports Names Zimbabwe’s Takavarasha A Youth Sports Ambassador
The International Alliance for Youth Sports (IAYS) has officially selected Mercia Takavarasha of Zimbabwe as an International Youth Sports Ambassador. By becoming an Ambassador, Takavarasha joins a growing worldwide consortium comprised of dedicated individuals who are strong advocates of the power of sports in making a positive difference in the lives of children. http://www.iays.org/programs-and-services/iays-featured-ambassador/

The ITTF Dream Building Program
The International Table Tennis Federation aims to bring table tennis to everyone around the world, as we feel that everyone should have equal opportunities to play, to learn and to excel in table tennis. We do this through our 3 programs, the Development Program, Para Table Tennis and Junior Table Tennis. http://www.ittfdream.com/ITTF_Dream_Building/ITTF_Dream_Building.html . For the promotional video, please click here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nes94owQ99Y&feature=youtu.be

Hear the World and Special Olympics join forces with US Olympian, former Congressman Jim Ryun
Former US Olympian Jim Ryun set the record for the mile as a high school junior, competed in three US Olympics and held a seat in Congress from 1996-2007. Now he’s partnered with Hear the World and Special Olympics to set another record:  the overall number of people in the US who take care of their hearing health.  http://www.fox8live.com/story/18434607/hear-the-world-and-special-olympics-join-forces-with-us-olympian-former-congressman-jim-ryun

People Doing Good:

A Champion Of Judo
Tom Rinaldi profiles 92-year-old San Jose State judo coach Yoshihiro Uchida, whose team recently won its 45th National Collegiate Judo Championship. http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7946565&categoryid=2378529

Central Michigan University wins NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion case study
After competing among 18 colleges and universities from across the nation, Central Michigan University has won this semester’s NASCAR Kinetics: Marketing in Motion case study competition, earning it a grand prize trip to attend the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday night. http://www.nascar.com/news/120516/central-michigan-wins-nascar-kinetics/index.html

Adults Just Want to Play
When my sister-in-law sent me a video about a nine-year-old boy who built a make-shift arcade from cardboard boxes, I felt like I had struck gold. There are few things that delight me more than witnessing a child’s imagination at work. I expected a heart-warming few minutes that would float around my consciousness for the rest of the day, maybe longer. I did not expect a viral phenomenon that millions of people would be watching. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/evan-bailyn/caines-arcade_b_1432773.html?ref=email_share

Teams Doing Good

‘FinsWeekend,’ to benefit the Miami Dolphins Foundation, begins Thursday
Golf, fishing and the Miami Dolphins. To many, these are some of the vital ingredients of the South Florida scene. This weekend, all three elements converge in an annual effort to raise money for the Miami Dolphins Foundation during FinsWeekend. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-05-15/sports/fl-miami-dolphins-0516-20120514_1_fishing-awards-ceremony-finsweekend-miami-dolphins-foundation-fishing

AAA, Detroit Tigers, Michigan State Police and Office of Highway Safety Planning Team up for “Teen Driving Safety Night” at Comerica Park
Car crashes end more teen lives every day than cancer, suicide and homicide combined.  That’s why AAA Michigan,  the Detroit Tigers, Michigan State Police (MSP) and the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) joined together today (May 16) to encourage teens to be safe drivers this Memorial Day weekend, the start of the summer driving season. http://www.kuam.com/story/18435228/aaa-detroit-tigers-michigan-state-police-and-office-of-highway-safety-planning-team-up-for-teen-driving-safety-night-at-comerica-park

 

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Our goal is to have Sports Doing Good be a portal housing original content and excerpts from and links to the increasing number of articles, websites, video, and other media that showcase the good in sports and society. We aim to celebrate those concepts, activities, events, and individuals by highlighting them for a wider audience. Much of the news today, whether sports- related or not, is incredibly negative and increasingly polarizing, biased, and quite annoying. We are trying to refocus some of the discussion on the good, with a focus on sports.

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Contact Information~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Sarbjit “Sab” Singh
sab@sportsdoinggood.com
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