Sept. 21 – Sept. 27, 2014

Welcome to week one hundred thirty of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. High School Football Player Gives the Most Inspirational Post-Game Speech of All Time
2. Aaron Rodgers helps girl spread word about her pediatric cancer campaign
3. Former major leaguer Jeff Kent creates scholarship supporting California women’s athletics
4. Lesley Paterson’s Unique Idea For Coaching
5. If You Build A Crew Program For Overweight Kids, They Will Row — And Get Fitter
6. Sport has to “partner up with politicians running this world”, claims Bach
7. After 13 years in minor leagues, Guilder Rodriguez gets 1st hit, game-winning RBI for Rangers
8. New York Jets Receiver Nelson Helping To Raise Orphans In Haiti
9. Pastor Gets Rival Gang Members To Put Down Guns And Pick Up Basketballs, And The NBA Notices
10. NBA Superstar Derrick Rose donates $1 million dollars to After School Matters

Introduction
The power of sport celebrity has been on display for the past few months, and was ratcheted up in the past week, especially in New York, where media and fans were soaking in their last memories of Derek Jeter, active baseball player. Everyone young and old seemed to be saluting “The Captain” as he closed out his Hall of Fame career. There is much that Jeter has done right in life, and being an exemplary athlete and person, is right at the top of the list.

Like Jeter, who started the wonderful Turn 2 Foundation, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers understands that his fame brings great influence, influence over those young and old. In a moving video, we see Aaron team up with a young lady who lost her brother to cancer and is driven to do whatever she can to help others in the same predicament. As people in NY are starstruck when it comes to Derek Jeter, it is quite fun to witness that type of reaction to Aaron just walking around the neighborhood.

Other stories we are proud to feature this week include: two dealing with the city of Chicago and the direct and indirect impact of sports on young people and the community at-large; a great post-game interview with a high school football player who provides some true words of wisdom; Aaron Rodgers’s fellow Cal Golden Bear Jeff Kent, who made a significant donation to their alma mater in support of women’s sports; star triathlete Lesley Paterson and her special purpose in putting together her own team of triathletes; New York Jets wide receiver David Nelson and his commitment to the youth of Haiti; previously overlooked youngsters finding a way to compete and stay healthy by taking up rowing; and one shining a light on long-time minor league baseball player Guilder Rodriguez and his achievement of a dream his whole family could share; amongst others.

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.

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@sportsddoinggood.com. (If you do not want to receive the newsletter anymore you can use the Unsubscribe button at the end of the email)

So enjoy. And have a good week.

High School Football Player Gives the Most Inspirational Post-Game Speech of All Time
After East View High held on for a dramatic 42-41 come-from-behind win on Friday, senior Apollos Hester was interviewed by TWC News Austin, and the star wide receiver proceeded to give one of the most epic post-game interviews of all time, passionately preaching the virtues of never giving up, being positive, relying on your support system, and just about every other key to success in life. If football doesn’t work out for Hester, he at least has a bright future ahead of him as a motivational speaker… or president?
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/news/texas-high-school-football-inspirational-interview
(Video, http://youtu.be/X7ymriMhoj0)

Aaron Rodgers helps girl spread word about her pediatric cancer campaign
All of that attention is set to multiply now, though, given that Rodgers is lending a hand to the effort. Rodgers and Jack Bartosz became friends before the boy died in 2012 and he says Jack left a big impact on him. As such, he wanted to help Annie and surprised her just before she went door to door to let neighbors know about Gold In September. The video is part of Rodgers’ ongoing “It’s Aaron” series, which leverages his fame to draw attention to important causes.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/aaron-rodgers-helps-girl-spread-word-about-her-pediatric-cancer-campaign-153956758.html
(Video, http://youtu.be/NgVpnjev79Q)

Former major leaguer Jeff Kent creates scholarship supporting California women’s athletics
“It’s not every day you get a phone call from a former Golden Bear and professional athlete who says he wants to endow an athletic scholarship, let alone for a male athlete to be such an outspoken champion of women’s athletics,” interim Athletic Director Michael Williams said. “Supporting 30 sports programs at Cal is a challenge and he is making a significant difference for female student-athletes in five of those programs, differences that will have an impact throughout the rest of their lives.”
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2014/09/22/former-major-leaguer-jeff-kent-creates-scholarship-supporting-california-women/

Lesley Paterson’s Unique Idea For Coaching
Apparently Lesley Paterson doesn’t have enough to do. The decorated Scottish triathlete has a master’s degree in theater from San Diego State, and she dabbles in producing and screenwriting, in addition to dominating the XTERRA off-road triathlon tour. So — sarcasm alert — with that wide-open schedule, Paterson decided in 2011 to start her own triathlon team, Braveheart Racing, with her husband, Dr. Simon Marshall, a sports psychologist. They developed the Braveheart team with a twist, though: If you want to join Paterson and her husband’s world-class SoCal team, you have to also mentor an athlete from lesser means. That meant some of the best triathletes in the world had to pair up with impoverished city kids who had never done a triathlon.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/article/11555071/lesley-paterson-unique-idea-coaching

Lesley Paterson (center), shown here with her Braveheart Racing team, has a very innovative approach to coaching. To join Braveheart, you must first agree to mentor a kid from lesser means. breedfreakphoto.com

If You Build A Crew Program For Overweight Kids, They Will Row — And Get Fitter
But Alexus has found a sports home that is helping her bloom as an athlete: an innovative program called “OWL On The Water” that offers rowing on the Charles River specifically for kids with weight issues. She has lost more than 50 pounds over half a year, but more importantly, says her mother, “They’ve given me my daughter’s smile back.” “It’s given me a lot of good strength and it’s making me more outgoing,” Alexus says. “We’re all best friends and we’re all suffering with the same problem — weight loss — so we’re more inspiring each other than we are competing against each other.”
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2014/09/owl-rowing-for-overweight-kids

An OWL On The Water boat rows past the Community Rowing facility as daylight fades. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Sport has to “partner up with politicians running this world”, claims Bach
The German, who celebrated his first year anniversary at the helm of the IOC earlier this month, described this approach as “a theme” of his first year in office, as shown by the growing partnership with the United Nations. Bach cited South Korea’s UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon, who spoke to open the last IOC Session in Sochi, as a “great friend of the Olympic Movement with whom we enjoy and outstanding relations”. In his first year alone, the President has met 81 heads of State and Government, including South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who he has met here during his visit to Incheon 2014.
http://www.insidethegames.biz/olympics/1022695-sport-has-to-partner-up-with-politicians-running-this-world-claims-bach#.VB-68-0ZKlo.facebook

IOC President Thomas Bach with UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon at the opening of the Sport for Hope Centre in Haiti ©AFP/Getty Images

After 13 years in minor leagues, Guilder Rodriguez gets 1st hit, game-winning RBI for Rangers
Guilder Rodriguez is 31 — young for most people, and even younger than many major leaguers. But he’s ancient for a player who had never made his MLB debut. His 1,095 games in the minors were the most without an appearance in the majors and the most of any player in the minors. Rodriguez has been up in the big leagues for a few weeks, and Tuesday night, he finally got his first hit…The show didn’t end there — Rodriguez had a RBI single in the seventh that turned out to be the winning run in a 4-3 Rangers win. That explains why he got the Gatorade dump pictured at the top of the post.
http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2014/9/23/6831997/texas-rangers-guilder-rodriguez-minor-leaguerGuilder Rodriguez persevered for 13 years and 1,095 games waiting for a night like Monday. Tom Pennington

New York Jets Receiver Nelson Helping To Raise Orphans In Haiti
Nelson traveled to Haiti in 2012 as a volunteer to help with the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. He was so affected by what he saw that he and his brother started a foundation to help children orphaned by the earthquake. Nelson and his brother later rescued nine kids who were living in squalor in Haiti. They are currently helping to raise the kids in a safe home in Haiti and plan on adopting them. ESPN’s Rick Reilly met with Nelson to learn more about the amazing story, which was published yesterday. Click here to see the video and find out more about Nelson’s good deeds.
http://247sports.com/Bolt/Jets-Receiver-Nelson-Helping-To-Raise-Orphans-In-Haiti-31424717

(Photo credit: ESPN screen shot)

Pastor Gets Rival Gang Members To Put Down Guns And Pick Up Basketballs, And The NBA Notices
For each game during the two 12-week league sessions, Pfleger says there are speakers who talk to the young men about everything from conflict resolution to money management to self-esteem, and that players also share meals together. “In the past three years, hundreds [of participants] have gone through and got GEDs, about six are off to college. Others are going to city colleges,” Pfleger said. “A guy who got shot last year this fall went off to Alabama State.” Pfleger also said St. Sabina has even hired some of the players and has helped others find jobs. Members from the church find out what the young men need, be it jobs, social services or education.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/22/peace-basketball-tourname_n_5863762.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000019&ir=Sports

A midday basketball game on Chicago’s South Side brought together an unlikely group of people Saturday. Churchgoers, NBA stars, community leaders and gang members all gathered for the third annual Chicago Peace League Basketball Tournament.

NBA Superstar Derrick Rose donates $1 million dollars to After School Matters
“To have a strong community of people who believe in your potential can make all the difference in the world,” said Rose, a native of Englewood, who is a point guard for the Chicago Bulls. “So many people have invested in me and I want to do the same for Chicago’s teens.” The funds will be used to drive the growth of unique programming experiences for teenagers throughout the city in the arts, communications, science, sports and technology. Participants develop critical life skills to help them prepare for work, college and beyond.
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/nba-superstar-derrick-rose-donates-1-million-dollars-after-school-matters

Gift Provides for Continued Growth of Organization that Supports 15,000 Chicago Teens