Sports Doing Good Newsletter, #85

Nov. 10 – Nov. 16, 2013

Welcome to week eighty-five of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s first 10 stories include:

  1. Mark Messier’s hockey rink grows in Kingsbridge; Former Rangers Stanley Cup hero skates head-on into Armory project that will serve as epicenter for hockey and revitalization in the Bronx
  2. How Letters From Their Parents Changed This High School Football Team
  3. Major League Baseball donates $200,000 to support disaster relief efforts in Philippines
  4. On Track and Off, Vettel Sets His Own Pace
  5. Weinstein Carnegie Exclusive Interview: Jazmine Fenlator, American Bobsledder
  6. NBA memo: Bullying not tolerated
  7. Mets to salute U.S. servicemen and women with Military Mondays in 2014
  8. Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter and outfielder Kevin Jordan prove to be a perfect match
  9. Back in the game; Walk-on college football player shares brotherhood in military and on the field
  10. A Lesson in Perseverance for Giants Running Back

Introduction
Resilience.
We see it a lot at Sports Doing Good. Each week there are stories of individuals, teams, organization, communities, etc. overcoming obstacles, some small, others quite large. The effort needed to deal with these obstacles successfully should not be underestimated. But neither should the ability of people to somehow summon that effort to help themselves and others in need.

We again have stories that in one way or another speak to the idea of resiliency. We have: NHL great Mark Messier leading a major effort to transform a section of New York City with a somewhat non-traditional activity; Major League Baseball being a major donor to the beginning efforts to support the people of the Philippines in the wake of the tremendous typhoon; an update on Tom Walter and Kevin Jordan, Wake Forest baseball coach and player, respectively, two years after Tom donated his kidney to Kevin; Maryland football player and former Army veteran Tehuti Miles; and a powerful father-son story involving Michael Cox, Sr. and NFL player, Michael Cox, Jr.

Our other stories this week include: high school football coach Masaki Matsumoto and his request of the parents and players on this team; superstar and super humble Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel; MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes goalie Jon Busch; Georgia Southern college football coach Jeff Monken; and the 1963 Army-Navy Game, which came at a time that changed the course of not only our sports history, but that of the United States as well.

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.

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So enjoy. And have a good week.

Mark Messier’s hockey rink grows in Kingsbridge; Former Rangers Stanley Cup hero skates head-on into Armory project that will serve as epicenter for hockey and revitalization in the Bronx
But while hockey drew Messier in initially, it’s the community aspect that fuels his passion and consumes his days. He walks through the Armory and rattles off statistics on the local economy, businesses, schools and transportation access, greeting neighborhood residents as they walk by.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hockey/rangers/messier-hockey-rink-grows-kingsbridge-article-1.1511703#ixzz2kLfQem6z

Since missing out on Rangers’ open coaching position last spring, Mark Messier has devoted himself full-time to keeping Kingsbridge National Ice Center (KNIC) project moving forward at old Kingsbridge Armory just below West 195th Street in the Bronx. Corey Sipkin/New York Daily News

How Letters From Their Parents Changed This High School Football Team
Matsumoto’s coaching style is inspired in part by his own experience as a young football player being raised by a single mom in Seattle. “I had a great high school coach and a great college coach who were basically my father figures,” he says. The letters are just part of the team bonding that Matsumoto does on a regular basis.
http://shine.yahoo.com/ellen-good-news/coach%E2%80%99s-unconventional-playbook-motivates-players-on-the-field%E2%80%94and-in-life-221645003.html

Coach Masaki Matsumoto motivates his team on the field.

Major League Baseball donates $200,000 to support disaster relief efforts in Philippines
Caryl Stern, President and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF said: “Major League Baseball has been a true friend to the world’s children in their time of need.   In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, some five million children have lost their homes, schools and communities. MLB not only asked fans to support UNICEF’s response, but today they have made a generous gift to help fuel the relief so desperately needed.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131114&content_id=63913314&vkey=pr_mlb&c_id=mlb

On Track and Off, Vettel Sets His Own Pace
“You don’t really change the person you are, but in a competition mode the priority is to do your maximum and try to win,” Vettel said. “Not at all costs, but if you see a gap you have to go for it. You have to be ruthless at times but I think you have to be fair and respect your competitors because you want them to respect you.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/sports/autoracing/on-track-and-off-sebastian-vettel-sets-his-own-pace.html?ref=sports

Sebastian Vettel, seeking a record eighth straight Formula One victory, will race in the United States Grand Prix on Sunday. Demetrius Freeman/The New York Times.

Weinstein Carnegie Exclusive Interview: Jazmine Fenlator, American Bobsledder
Jazmine Fenlator pilots the United States’ US-2 bobsled and is currently ranked 8th in the world after winning two silvers and bronze medals on last year’s World Cup circuit. She was recently selected to Team Liberty Mutual, a roster of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls that have all faced a setback to come back and “Rise,” reflecting the theme of Liberty Mutual’s campaign.
http://weinsteincarnegie.tumblr.com/post/65528609423/weinstein-carnegie-exclusive-interview-jazmine

NBA memo: Bullying not tolerated
All 30 NBA teams received a memo from the league office Friday reminding them that no form of bullying or hazing will be tolerated, according to league sources. The memo, sources said, references the Miami Dolphins’ ongoing bullying scandal and urges NBA players to report anything if they feel the need while also spelling out specific violations of the league’s policies.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9947939/nba-teams-receive-memo-reminding-bullying-not-tolerated

Mets to salute U.S. servicemen and women with Military Mondays in 2014
The New York Mets today announced the franchise will salute U.S. servicemen and women with Military Mondays during the 2014 season at Citi Field with complimentary tickets, retail discounts and community outreach events. On the field, Mets players will wear a new camouflage jersey for every Monday night home game at Citi Field starting April 21.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131111&content_id=63830206&vkey=pr_nym&c_id=nym&affiliateId=77W79Q1J-0

Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter and outfielder Kevin Jordan prove to be a perfect match
The selfless act by a college baseball coach who donated a kidney to an ailing player he had just met months before made national headlines in 2011. Now the coach and player have a special bond and can focus on the sport they both love.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/ultimate-sacrifice-proves-hit-wake-forest-baseball-article-1.1510756#ixzz2kpdpr3za

Kevin Jordan, who was once drafted by the Yankees out of high school, has now played two seasons for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons after receiving a kidney from his coach in 2011. Brian Westerholt/Sports on Film

Back in the game; Walk-on college football player shares brotherhood in military and on the field
But as you watch him laughing with his new teammates, and you think of his 10 teammates who didn’t come home, you know it’s not about playing on a Saturday or making it to NFL Sundays. It’s about the chance to try the everyday celebration of being joyously, happily alive.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/page/veterans/walk-maryland-football-player-survived-afghanistan

Maryland football player and former Army veteran Tehuti Miles finds refuge in football. Mark Goldman for ESPN.

A Lesson in Perseverance for Giants Running Back
“If my dad taught me anything, it’s that there are a lot of things in life not under your control,” Cox said. “But the things that matter are the things you do control. He focused on taking care of what mattered when something bad happened. I look at him and I see what he’s accomplished despite everything. And I want to be like him.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/sports/football/a-lesson-in-perseverance-for-giants-running-back.html?ref=sports&_r=0

Bryan Thomas for The New York Times; Illustration by The New York Times

THE NEXT 10 STORIES

Detroit Tigers Named 2013 Recipient of the Commissioner’s Award for Philanthropic Excellence in Recognition of the Club’s Anti-Bullying Program
“This award is an acknowledgement of the Tigers steadfast commitment as a social institution. The prevalence of bullying in the lives of today’s children is astonishing, and the resulting effect on its victims is frightening. We are especially proud to be part of the movement to prevent bullying and humbled to be recognized for our efforts.”
http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131112&content_id=63890568&vkey=pr_det&c_id=det

MLS’s San Jose Earthquakes Goalie Jon Busch raises $18,000 for Navy SEAL Foundation
“The Navy SEAL Foundation is a charity that means a lot to me,” Busch said. “With everything that these guys do for us to protect this country, this is my small way of giving back to them. I hope that this donation helps their organization continue their mission of lending a hand to the SEAL community and their families.”
http://www.sjearthquakes.com/news/2013/11/jon-busch-raises-18000-navy-seal-foundation

Verlander humbled by inaugural Feller Award; Tigers pitcher among trio lauded in honor of late Hall of Famer’s legacy
The former American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner became one of three recipients of the inaugural Bob Feller Act of Valor Award, along with U.S. Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman Garth Sinclair and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, who could not attend. More than 70 years after Feller interrupted his promising career with the Indians to fight in World War II, the award has been established to recognize those who honor the late Hall of Famer’s legacy with their service.
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/justin-verlander-humbled-by-inaugural-bob-feller-act-of-valor-award?ymd=20131106&content_id=63744258&vkey=news_mlb

Simple tips to get kids to eat better, exercise more
Encourage physical-activity breaks – When kids are doing their homework or on the computer, they need to get up regularly and move around or consider standing while they are working, she says. Every little bit of activity counts. Have them do at least 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity after school, such as shooting hoops, biking, playing soccer, jumping rope, dancing, walking or playing a fitness-related video game, Gordon-Larsen says.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/10/kids-eating-exercising-healthfully/3358229/?awesm=lfshare.me_FightObesityWithActivity

Top childhood nutrition and fitness experts offer tips for getting kids to eat healthier and be more active. (Photo: Joe Brier, AP)

Georgia Southern Players Return for Coach Monken
Monken drives his team to be better football players every day but when they can’t suit up anymore he wants his players to take one thing with them above all the x’s and o’s. I want my players to make sure that they “serve other people,” Monken said.
http://coachoftheyear.com/georgia-southern-players-return-coach-jeff-monken/

Trevor Bayne has multiple sclerosis (MS) but will continue to race in NASCAR
“There are a lot more people in our community and in our world that can relate to somebody who is going through hard times and somebody who is winning races, who is winning championships, who has won the Daytona 500, who looks like he has it all together,” said Bayne, who was married in June. “It looks like everything is going great, but how many people can relate to that? So, for me, going through something hard, that shows our true character.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2013/11/12/trevor-bayne-diagnosed-multiple-sclerosis-nascar/3504429/

CBS Sports Network Recalls JFK, 1963 Army-Navy Game
Marching On reminds that there was much debate as to whether the game, originally scheduled for Nov. 30, should be played at all, before Jacqueline Kennedy swayed opinion by saying her husband would have wanted it to kick off.  Hence, 15 days after the horror in Dallas, on Pearl Harbor Day, the service academies engaged without the usual pageantry and hijinks that historically preceded their annual gridiron encounter.
http://www.multichannel.com/blogs/reynolds-rap/cbs-sports-network-recalls-jfk-1963-army-navy-game

‘History of MMA’ captures sport’s 20-year journey in America
An encapsulation of Razak’s collection will be released in 2014 with History Of MMA, a 90-minute feature film that connects the dots between the rise, fall, and second rise of MMA, spanning the humble beginnings of the sport in America to its modern-day success worldwide.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mma/news/20131112/mma-ufc-20th-anniversary-bobby-razak/#ixzz2kq7aRn00

A Day in the Life of Nike CEO Mark Parker; The company’s top executive combines technical savvy with a sophisticated aesthetic eye
WERE YOU TO RUN into Mark Parker, Nike’s NKE +0.74% CEO, on the company’s pristine Beaverton, Oregon, campus, you might mistake him for one of the 21 PhDs who work in the athletic powerhouse’s top-secret research lab.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303376904579135802125126572

Parker’s explosively cluttered office—which includes items ranging from Jimi Hendrix’s Fender Stratocaster to Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson’s gold shoes—reflects the CEO’s eclectic design sensibility. Photography by Michael Friberg

KPMG’s “Reading Relay” to Battle Childhood Illiteracy Gets Major Donation From PGA Tour Champion Phil Mickelson
KPMG LLP today announced a significant donation of 15,000 new books from PGA Tour champion Phil Mickelson in support of its nationwide “Reading Relay.” The Reading Relay will provide more than 130,000 new books to children in need – all to commemorate the fifth anniversary of KPMG’s Family for Literacy (KFFL) program, which has already distributed more than 2 million new books in an effort to help eradicate childhood illiteracy.
http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2013/11/15/590217/10057933/en/KPMG-s-Reading-Relay-to-Battle-Childhood-Illiteracy-Gets-Major-Donation-From-PGA-Tour-Champion-Phil-Mickelson.html

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