May 28 – June 3

Welcome to week ten of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. We had another week of good news emanating from all around the world, including stories involving athletes (Johann Olav Koss, Didier Drogba (our “Do-Gooder of the Week”), Warrick Dunn), teams (MLB’s Astros, NBA’s Hornets, NFL’s Giants), and organizations (MLS, Yingli Energy, Charity Partners), and announcements regarding events that are worth your attention (NextStep Fitness, Women in Sports and Events). We had a movie premiere (Crooked Arrows) and announcement about the latest iteration of the premier film festival dedicated to the global game (Kicking and Screening).

I just got back from my 20-year Georgetown University reunion. It was a great weekend (hence, the sending of the newsletter later on Monday than usual). The weekend was an opportunity to reconnect with the institution and the greatest takeaway from my time there, i.e. amazing friends. It is often said college is the best 4 years of our lives. I may agree with that but not only because of what takes place during those 4 years. The experiences during that time are certainly important. However, it is also each and every day thereafter when we can appreciate the memories shared with so many we did not know until we stepped onto that campus more than 20 years ago, and stepped off four years later smarter, more mature, better people and good friends. That appreciation is front and center during reunions.

Playing sports and being on a team gives us many of the same experiences and memories to which I am referring. It is often when we are young when we are involved in organized sports and it is then when we form friendships, like in college, that can last a lifetime. There are inevitably great memories, and tough times, that we share that help define who we are. Those memories should be cherished forever.

So if you can, please make sure to play organized sports, go to college, and then go to your reunions. You won’t regret it!

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. (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.

Fun Doing Good:

Catch for the ages: Derrick Salberg gains instant fame with one giant leap over an outfield fence
“Derrick Salberg made the greatest catch you’ll ever see, extending his coach’s career another day.” http://sports.yahoo.com/news/catch-for-the-ages–derrick-salberg-gains-instant-fame-with-one-giant-leap.html

Brandon Phillips Eats Some Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern
It’s gotta be the sea urchin. That’s what Andrew Zimmern suggests helped break Brandon Phillips’ 24-game streak without a home run. Last week, the Cincinnati Reds second baseman hit two out of the park in a win over the Braves. Zimmern, the host of Bizarre Foods America on the Travel Channel, replied to an MLB Network tweet about the accomplishment with, “Nice work…sea urchin and octopus works.”Baffled, I wrote to Zimmern through his Twitter account (@AndrewZimmern) to ask what the connection was. His response: “@DatDudeBP is now on the AZ diet and crushing fastballs at the same time… You do the math. http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/chompions/201205/brandon-phillips-eats-some-bizarre-foods-andrew-zimmern

BSU’s Doug Martin gets “Dougie Fresh” – again – this time for the NFL
Players attended Red Carpet events in Hollywood for their official coming out party and the rookies put on their uniforms for the first time. Martin spent time doing community work, playing in a flag football game and participated in a photo shoot for trading card companies. During the video sessions – players got to show off endzone dances and other moves. Watch the video to see Doug Martin get a little “Dougie Fresh…” at this year’s NFLPA Rookie Premier. http://www.kivitv.com/news/local/152245395.html

Athletes Doing Good

For skating champ Johann Olav Koss, it’s just the Right thing to doJohann Olav Koss, a four-time Olympic gold medalist in speedskating for Norway in the 1990s, is improving kids’ lives and making the world a better place through his Right To Play organization. http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-simers-20120527,0,3614601.column

In Praise Of Drogba (“Do-Gooder of the Week”)
Drogba is nearing the end of his playing career—Saturday’s game may have been his last with Chelsea after eight seasons—but he has no plans to slow down. When I asked him about his future after football, he said, “I want to help with a lot of things: my charity, the hospital. I hope to keep learning. For me it’s important to open my mind. I love to meet people and listen to their stories, their experiences.” http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1198741/index.htm

Dunn charity fills Habitat house
An NFL great known for his generosity surprised a single mother of three in Hall County Friday with a fully stocked home. Warrick Dunn’s Homes for the Holidays organization filled Heather Walls’ Ridgemont Trace house with everything needed to operate and more. http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=249017

Standing Out and Blending In
Every profile starts with the beard, and why not? It is striking — dense and complex and lush with possibility. It has inspired a movement, a song and a cake. It is a shaggy portal into James Harden’s soul. Harden, a 22-year-old guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, is delightfully unconventional: a shooter who loves to pass, a standout who prefers to blend in, a budding star whose skills are overshadowed by his furry shadow. The beard does not define Harden, but it provides a fitting frame for his portrait. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/sports/basketball/nba-playoffs-thunders-james-harden-stands-out-and-blends-in.html

Marlins Pitcher Mark Buehrle and Wife Jamie to Kick Off Dual Pet-Adoption Campaigns This Saturday
Miami Marlins pitcher Mark Buehrle and his wife, the noted companion-animal activist Jamie Buehrle, will launch two initiatives to help homeless pets–one local, one national–at Marlins Park this Saturday. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marlins-pitcher-mark-buehrle-and-wife-jamie-to-kick-off-dual-pet-adoption-campaigns-this-saturday-154080335.html

Additional Stories

Todd Frazier Performs Heimlich Manuever To Save Man’s Life After Reds-Pirates Game
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/30/todd-frazier-heimlich-manuever-reds-pirates_n_1555373.html?ref=sports&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

Baseball Hall Of Famer Johnny Bench Named 2012 Spokesperson For Play Sun Smart Program To Promote Skin Cancer Awareness
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5255735&access=EH

Mexican Soccer Star Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez Named UNICEF National Ambassador for Mexico
http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5256034&access=EH

NFL Legend Boomer Esiason Spreads Awareness About Cystic Fibrosis Via Twitter
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shira-lazar/nfl-legend-boomer-esiason_b_1557720.html

Events Doing Good:

NextStep’s 4th Annual “Help Make a Difference” New York City Benefit.
This event, being held on Thursday, June 7, 2012 will bring together community leaders, local businesses, those affected by paralysis and friends in support of a worthy charitable cause. Come learn about and be a part of NextStep’s current expansion efforts to your NY community. NextStep, a registered 501(c) (3), believes that all persons living with paralysis and other physical disabilities deserve the hope and opportunity to live long and healthy lives. Yet today most of these individuals are deprived of the resources they desperately need for survival because there are no options available to them or they cannot afford them. NextStep, http://www.nextstepfitness.org, provides the opportunity for health and recovery through affordable and progressive community fitness, health, and wellness facilities. http://fanfueled.com/Event/Details/2084-nextsteps-4th-annual-help-make-a-difference-benefit-new-york-ny

WISE NAMES 2012 WOMEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS; Top Executives From NBA, MLB & NFL To Be Honored
Women in Sports & Events (WISE), the leading voice and resource for professional women in the business of sports and events, will hold its 18th annual WISE Women of the Year Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. This year’s honorees are Gail Hunter, Senior Vice President of Events & Attractions, NBA; Marla Miller, Senior Vice President, Special Events, MLB, Kim Williams, Chief Operating Officer, NFL Network. http://wiseworks.org/handler.cfm?cat_id=21645&art_id=69821

Media Doing Good:

Crooked Arrows premieres
Directed by Steve Rash, the film stars Brandon Routh as a part-Native American businessman who returns to his Indian reservation to coach high school lacrosse, as he struggles to reconcile his past and his present. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/crooked-arrows-film-review-brandon-routh-332156

Kicking and Screening Coming Back to a Theater Near You (assuming you live in NYC!)
Kicking + Screening (K+S) Film Festival, the world’s premier international film event dedicated solely to football/soccer, is returning to New York City this summer. K+S New York 2012 runs from Wednesday, June 27, through Saturday, June 30. For the third year in a row, all films will screen at Tribeca Cinemas in downtown Manhattan. http://kickingandscreening.com/

Organizations Doing Good:

Major League Soccer Launches 3rd Annual Community MVP Contest
Major League Soccer announced today the launch of the 2012 MLS W.O.R.K.S. Community MVP contest. During the 4-week contest, fans throughout the League will have an opportunity to nominate themselves or other individuals who are committed to going above and beyond to make a difference in their communities. Winners will be selected based on their efforts in one of the following areas: general community service; youth programming; environmental sustainability; health and wellness; education; military or civic service. http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-192537.html

Yingli Green Energy and U.S Soccer Bring the Power of Solar and the Power of Soccer to Underserved Communities in America
2014 FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy & U.S. Men’s National Team Players at KIPP DC Charter School to Inaugurate Yingli Green Energy’s PASS Program: Powering Advancement with Solar and Soccer.  http://uspolitics.einnews.com/pr_news/98778961/yingli-green-energy-and-u-s-soccer-bring-the-power-of-solar-and-the-power-of-soccer-to-underserved-communities-in-america

Charity gives Boston youth a sporting chance: Support for athletics also pays off in the classroom
A teacher at Orchard Gardens K-8 School in Roxbury recently asked his eighth- graders to write about the disenfranchised. The topic hit home for Tomell Kelley, a refugee from the Liberian civil war who has spent much of his youth raising himself while his mother has struggled to make ends meet. Two years ago, Kelley was often absent or asleep in class, according to the staff at Orchard Gardens, one of the state’s lowest performing schools on standardized tests from 2003-10.Now he is a prized student, one of many in the Boston middle schools who have turned around their lives, thanks in part to a group of charitable young professionals who have committed more than $1 million over three years to create interscholastic sports programs for the city’s 11,500 students in grades 6 to 8. http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/06/02/charity-gives-boston-youth-sporting-chance/IkHWlozeDIXhj9sgNyGtsL/story.html

Charity Partners, Inc. and Tickets-for-Charity® Announce Jay Whitehead as CEO, Jord Poster as Chairman
Charity Partners, Inc., the company that turns fans into philanthropists, today announced that its founder Jord Poster was named Chairman and Jay Whitehead was newly-appointed as Chief Executive Officer. Charity Partners’ Tickets-for-Charity® is the world’s only Charitable Sale™ platform for NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS pro sports, concert and theater events. Its patented technologies power free ticket-based fundraising programs for more than 100 of the world’s most-admired charities. http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/05/31/charity-partners-inc-and-tickets-charity%C2%AE-announce-jay-whitehead-ceo-jord-poster-chairman

SEC, members to donate $100,000 to Summitt’s fund
The Southeastern Conference and its member schools are donating $100,000 to the Pat Summitt Foundation Fund to help fight Alzheimer’s disease.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/ncaa/05/31/Summitt.fund.ap/index.html

People Doing Good:

Klinsmann looking to boost US soccer
Jurgen Klinsmann has plenty of advice on how to American soccer can catch up with the world powers. Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard should join Champions League clubs. American players need to get ”nastier.” They need more training sessions and less vacation time, better nutrition and less respect for opponents. A World Cup and European champion as a player, and a coach who led his native Germany to a third-place finish in football’s showcase tournament, Klinsmann took charge of the U.S. team with a resume to back up his pronouncements. http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/usa/story/jurgen-klinsmann-looking-to-boost-us-soccer-060212

Rogier Meijer, De Graafschap Midfielder, Comforted By Daughter After Loss (VIDEO)
While most have witnessed the familiar scenes of unconstrained elation after a hard-fought team victory, witnessing the agony of defeat to its fullest extent can be just as powerful after a heartbreaking loss. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/15/rogier-meijer-daughter-de-graafschap-relegated_n_1518242.html?ref=sports&ncid=webmail23

Teams Doing Good

Astros Fans to Have Tailgating Option for June 2 Game vs. Cincinnati; Club Also Hosting “Kick-Off To Summer Party” For Teens On June 1
On Saturday, June 2, fans will have the option to tailgate outside an Astros game at Minute Maid Park for the first time ever prior to the 6:15 p.m. Astros-Reds game. During the offseason, the Astros made the decision to offer a tailgating option after listening to input from longtime fans. http://houston.astros.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120525&content_id=32211652&vkey=pr_hou&c_id=hou

Hornets Team Up with State Legislature at Charity Game
It was an exciting night of entertainment as the New Orleans Hornets teamed up with the Louisiana State Legislature to host the annual House vs. Senate basketball game on Wednesday, May 23. The game was part of the fourth annual Louisiana Seafood HoopLA Out of Bounds Bash, a fundraiser that featured gourmet food, cocktails and exclusive silent auction items to help raise money for the Legislators’ Non-Profit Charity Fund. http://www.nba.com/hornets/news/hornets_team_up_with_state_leg_2012_05_30.html

Giants raise money for youth charities
Giants players took part in the team’s charity golf foundation Tuesday at the Westchester Country Club. In addition to the vast majority of the current players, former C Shaun O’Hara and TE Howard Cross also took part. The event raises money for youth charities in the tri-state area. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/19193247