Feb. 9 – Feb. 15, 2014

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

1. Kings of the New City (Kickstarter campaign)
2. N.F.L. Prospect Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He’s Gay
3. Weinstein Carnegie Exclusive Interview: Eric Guthoff, Founding Partner, GlideSlope
4. Somalia to Siberia: An unlikely sporting fairytale story
5. NBA’s Indian Pacer Roy Hibbert reminds us to dream big
6. American luger Kate Hansen dances to Beyonce before every race and doesn’t care who watches
7. Ebony is worth meeting, LeBron; She goes to chemo and then plays basketball before returning to the hospital
8. Latvian ‘Terminator’ recovers from near-deadly crash to medal with brother in luge at Sochi
9. For Harlem skaters, it’s not about Olympic gold
10. The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In Sports

Introduction

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So enjoy. And have a good week.

Kings of the New City (Kickstarter campaign)
We are excited to make this film to offer a view of Afghanistan rarely seen by U.S. audiences.  Additionally, these characters’ poignant stories reveal the complex role of soccer and sports in our lives and the universal way we play out our dreams, disappointments, and tragedies on the field.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/898266551/kings-of-the-new-city
(Video, http://vimeo.com/85553947)

N.F.L. Prospect Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He’s Gay
Mr. Sam, a senior listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 260 pounds, went on to a stellar season as Missouri finished 12-2 and won the Cotton Bowl. He was a first-team all-American and was named the defensive player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, widely considered the top league in college football. Teammates voted him Missouri’s most valuable player.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?smid=fb-nytimes&WT.z_sma=SP_MSC_20140209&_r=0

As a senior, Michael Sam was a first-team all-American at defensive end. Chris Lee/Associated Press

Weinstein Carnegie Exclusive Interview: Eric Guthoff, Founding Partner, GlideSlope
GlideSlope is particularly interested in the emerging “Sport for Development” space and the opportunity to use sport as a tool to drive individual, economic and various social development initiatives.  There are many companies investing in global sport, and in most cases, there is a corporate social responsibility message woven into the sponsorship initiative.  As a company, we guide our clients to become leading global corporate citizens, driving both business and societal change as the foundation of a global sport platform.
http://weinsteincarnegie.tumblr.com/post/76567506638/weinstein-carnegie-exclusive-interview-eric-guthoff

Somalia to Siberia: An unlikely sporting fairytale story
Football is often credited with bringing people together, a unifying force — and indeed a game popular with the Somalis. But Andersson had a better idea. Why not get them to play the local game, Bandy — a close relative of ice hockey? “People on the street said I was crazy, the manager said I was crazy, the people of Somalia asked if I was crazy, the national Bandy organization too. But we are nearly there now,” Andersson told CNN.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/24/sport/somalia-bandy-world-championships/index.html?awesm=lfshare.me_SwedishSomalis

But midfielder Ahmed Hussain insists that win, lose or draw, it is a victory for Somalia to have got a team to the event in Siberia at all.

NBA’s Indian Pacer Roy Hibbert reminds us to dream big
Indiana Pacers 7’2″ Center Roy Hibbert decided to drop in on a REAL third grade class in Indianapolis to re-visit the dreams he had as a kid. The students had no idea that he was coming, but they did their best to help him fit in. No matter how old you are or where you come from, you too can DREAM BIG.
(Video, http://youtu.be/BY69NUNsF1Q)

American luger Kate Hansen dances to Beyonce before every race and doesn’t care who watches
Kate Hansen of the United States dances as she listens to music watched by security prior to the Women’s Luge Singles on Day 3 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Sliding Center Sanki on February 10, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/american-luger-kate-hansen-dances-to-beyonce-before-every-race-and-doesn-t-care-who-watches-030253572.html

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Ebony is worth meeting, LeBron; She goes to chemo and then plays basketball before returning to the hospital
Ebony has two goals. One, like you did at her age, she wants to play pro. That’s not going to be easy, either. Sometimes she goes to her Verona (Wis.) High School girls’ basketball games straight from the hospital. She barely gets the IVs out and she’s suiting up. And then she checks right back into the hospital afterward. Two is to meet … you.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10437227/sick-hs-basketball-star-wants-meet-lebron

Ebony Nettles-Bey hopes to play professional basketball one day. Darren Lee Photography.

Latvian ‘Terminator’ recovers from near-deadly crash to medal with brother in luge at Sochi
The entire Latvian luge team donated blood. Juris needed a five-hour operation to save his life. He had 18 screws inserted into his pelvis to hold it together. The screws remain there to this day. He was in the hospital for months, and the surgeon told the family to forget about sports. “The doctors said, ‘You’ll never walk normally,’ ” Juris said.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/latvian–terminator–recovers-from-near-deadly-crash-to-medal-with-brother-in-luge-at-sochi-games-203518006.html

For Harlem skaters, it’s not about Olympic gold
To hit the ice, students must attend tutoring sessions three times a week. Participants are required to maintain a B+ average; those struggling to do that receive extra help with their studies. The organization says more than one-third of the girls earn straight As. “We really make them understand that we want (them) to be smart and wise and intelligent young women. And the fact that you skate is the bonus,” Cohen said. “We’re creating a culture of success.”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/13/us/cnnheroes-cohen/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In Sports
Whether they’re redefining ticket sales or building a stadium worthy of Silicon Valley, when it comes to the business of athletic entertainment, these companies are true game-changers.
http://www.fastcompany.com/3026313/most-innovative-companies-2014/the-worlds-top-10-most-innovative-companies-in-sports

THE NEXT 10 STORIES

Peruvian cross-country skier finishes 40 minutes behind, greeted at finish line by gold medal winner
Dario Cologna of Switzerland won the gold with a time of 38 minutes, 29.7 seconds. Carcelen was nearly a half-hour behind at one hour, six minutes, 28.9 seconds. But as he crossed the finish line, 10 minutes after the closest finisher, he carried Peru’s flag, just as he’d done in the Opening Ceremony. Cologna, the gold medal winner, and others were there to congratulate him. What a great Olympic moment.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/olympian-finishes-dead-last-in-cross-country–carries-flag-across-finish-line-123759381.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

Roberto Carcelen of Peru competes in the Men’s 15 km Classic during day seven of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Laura Cross-country Ski & Biathlon Center on February 14, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

11 Amazing Skeleton Helmets That Almost Make It Seem Like A Good Idea To Slide Headfirst
With bobsledders going viral for their #SochiProblems and snowboarders using all the most “spoice” slang, the athletes competing in skeleton at the Sochi Olympics seem to feel like they need to do a little extra to get noticed. These helmets certainly will certainly do the trick. Here are 11 skeleton helmets so amazing that they almost make sliding headfirst seem like the only way to go.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/skeleton-helmets-sochi-olympics-photos_n_4769120.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share

Alex Livesey via Getty Images

Phoenix Suns Player Channing Frye Uses Personal Experience to Educate Others About Heart Disease
With his reason known, Frye has used the struggles he endured after his diagnosis not only to help others, but to improve himself. Ahead of the 2013-14 NBA season training camp, Frye was cleared to play. Going into the NBA All-Star break, he has played in every game for the Suns and has only missed one practice for personal reasons. “My yoga teacher told me that the biggest cause of stress is what happened in the past instead of looking at what is in the present. For me, this is an opportunity to learn about myself,” Frye remarked.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alicia-jessop/phoenix-suns-player-channing-frye_b_4788965.html?utm_hp_ref=sports&ir=Sports

Meet Brittany Bowe, an Olympic speedskater who only recently took up speedskating
Bowe’s extraordinary tale of transitioning from inline skating to a college basketball career at Florida Atlantic to being a world record holder on the ice manifests itself on Tuesday, when she takes part in the women’s 500-meter event at the Adler Arena Skating Center. “It has been one heck of a road,” said Bowe. “And it isn’t over yet.”
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/meet-brittany-bowe–an-olympic-speedskater-who-only-recently-took-up-speedskating-195851266.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory

Brittany Bowe competes in the women’s 1,000 meters during the U.S. Olympic speedskating trials. (AP)

Shaun White gives away his Sochi Games snowboards to Make-A-Wish fans
Meeting White wasn’t part of the Make-A-Wish deal. But thanks to a reporter and the Team USA snowboarding PR guy, White stopped mid-event to say hello and make their day. It was a pretty cool moment that got even better Thursday when White gave away the snowboards he used during the Sochi Games to the two fans he met Tuesday and another teen who had also been selected by the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/shaun-white-gives-away-his-sochi-games-snowboards-to-make-a-wish-fans-032809528.html

Jared Allen spends time building homes for wounded soldiers
Allen, along with his foundation called Jared Allen’s Homes For Wounded Warriors, is busy constructing custom houses for our fighting men and women once they come back to the States. On this day, a double amputee coming back from Iraq named Ken is getting the deed to his new crib in Arizona, which has specially designed features built to accommodate his wheelchair. “It’s always fun to complete the home . . . it’s even better the day we get to give them the home and hand the keys over,” Allen said in an interview with FOX10 News.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/laces-out/jared-allen-spending-time-buiding-homes-for-wounded-soldiers-021314?cmpid=tsmfb%3Afscom%3Afoxsports

Bruce Kluckhohn / USA TODAY Sports

Derek Jeter: Baseball’s humble hero
Derek Jeter, you see, does not have a Twitter account. He does not refer to himself in the third person or have his nickname tattooed across his back. (Come to think of it, he doesn’t really have a nickname.) He’s never gone out of his way to publicly humiliate an opponent or prop himself up with inane boasts of superiority. If the words “I’m the man” ever escaped his lips, they were surely followed by, “… who ordered the pizza about 20 minutes ago. I decided to pick it up instead. Can I also grab a bottle of water and some napkins?”
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/14/opinion/pearlman-jeter-retiring/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

These 30 Fearless Women Made Olympic History
There may have been just one gold medal awarded in the inaugural women’s ski jump event at the 2014 Winter Olympics but every competitor made history. The 30 ski jumpers who flew through the air at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center in Sochi on Tuesday were the first women to ever compete in the event at the Olympics. Men’s ski jumping was included in the program of the very first Winter Games of 1924 in Chamonix but women had been grounded until 2014.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/12/olympic-ski-jump-women0history_n_4771471.html?utm_hp_ref=sports

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Why the Beanpot is so special to Boston
The Beanpot remains part of what makes our sports town unique. The faces of the kids change, as do the pep bands and the chants from the stands, where Monday night the Boston College kids hollered back, “Jesus Loves Us!’’ after the Northeastern lot across the upper bowl chided them as a “Sunday School!’’ Where else, when else, could hockey, both the game and the religion as the Hub knows it, fit so comfortably under one hallowed roof?
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/02/11/beanpot-remains-part-what-makes-boston-unique/JRYXuzBX6nCx56LSawJNAM/story.html

NU’s Braden Pimm skates away as Patrick Brown (23) is mobbed after scoring the goal that ended up giving BC a school-record fifth straight Beanpot. JIM DAVIS/GLOBE STAFF

Arne Duncan Pulls off No-Look Pass During NBA Celebrity All-Star Game
United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is a very impressive basketball player, and during the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game on Friday, Feb. 14, he backed up the hype. In the fourth quarter, as he was about to get double-teamed, Duncan decided to get fancy with a pass to Tulsa Shock point guard Skylar Diggins, finding her for the score.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1961123-arne-duncan-pulls-off-no-look-pass-during-nba-celebrity-all-star-game

Bleacher Report