Oct. 20 – Nov. 2, 2024
Welcome to issue four hundred and fifty-one of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s 10 stories include:

1. Inside the Jaquez Mexican American dynasty at UCLA and Miami (ESPN)
2. Parkrun: The local jog that became a worldwide hit (BBC)
3. The Origins of Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake” (The Ringer)
4. How Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen became college football legends (ESPN)
5. A Bartender, a Firefighter and a Giuliani Walk Onto a Fairway (New York Times)
6. Remembering Fernando Valenzuela and Fernandomania (ESPN)
7. Champion, advocate, icon: Why Simone Biles is the most marketable athlete of 2024 (SportsPro)
8. Colin Farrell finishes Dublin Marathon while pushing friend in a wheelchair (CNN)
9. Borussia Dortmund Gives Kids Chance To Play Soccer In Times Square (Forbes)
10. World Rugby uses Prevent Biometrics mouth guards to collect data on head impacts (SBJ)


10+
The Future of Sports: Protecting Athletes Amid New Climate Realities (National Academies)
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/future-sports-protecting-athletes-amid-new-climate-realities-uberoi-qthne/
Trauma-Informed Training Could Change the Fitness Landscape For Good (Pop Sugar)
https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/trauma-informed-workouts-49400065
Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports (Project Play/Aspen Institute)
https://projectplay.org/childrens-rights-and-sports
From Players to Leaders: GSP Advocates for Women’s Coaching, Inclusion and Mentorship in PNGRFL (Grass Skirt Project)
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-players-leaders-gsp-advocates-womens-coaching-kjovc/?trackingId=z2EdxLEDgp9VCuxpJFvePQ%3D%3D
IOC President Thomas Bach visits Kenya (IOC)
https://olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-president-thomas-bach-visits-kenya


We present again our “Featured Video” offering(s). With the explosion of video content out there highlighting the good in sport, we want to showcase such content for your enjoyment and learning. This will be an ongoing effort. And now we add podcasts!

Watch: Pulisic explains why he loves being at Milan – “Just so enjoyable” (Yahoo)
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/watch-pulisic-explains-why-loves-145000097.html
LeBron and Bronny meet the Griffeys (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/41951526
Arshdeep Bains Scores First Career NHL Goal | Penguins @ Canucks | HNIC Punjabi |
https://youtu.be/QvypxBci1m4?si=5O0YpHpEeY-C6quN


Introduction
On what is a glorious day in New York City, the first Sunday of November which plays host to the eponymous marathon, I wanted to highlight a story that does not speak to the most elite athletes in the world, but instead to “the rest of us,” e.g. the 50,000 runners whose great goal is to finish the marathon, and maybe set a PB (personal best).

The story I feature this week, comes from the BBC, “Parkrun: The local jog that became a worldwide hit,” is about parkrun, a low-pressure, community-focused event that was born in a town in England and has moved to 23 more countries. According to founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt, “”It really affects people’s lives so that goodness that exists in a park on a Saturday morning extends to the whole week,” he says of an event with millions of weekly participants and volunteers.’

Many of the thousands of stories covered over the past 12 years in Sports Doing Good speak to the idea of sports bringing people together. While there are some things that divide us – those can go unsaid – we should be grateful that diversions such as sports, art, music, etc. are unifiers. One of my favorite fan things to do is cheer on thousands of people I don’t know as they persevere through 26.2 miles in my favorite city.

If you are interested in learning more, Google “parkrun” and have a wonderful outing. I don’t plan on joining – I hate running for running’s sake – but I will get on a soccer/football field because I agree with Paul that physical activity, especially in a group setting – has a positive impact that can last days, weeks, months, and years. Another example of sports doing good.

Please continue to send along your stories. You are both our audience and the best source of stories. Our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood, and you can find us at www.facebook.com/sportsdoinggood and on Instagram.

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 email).

So, enjoy. And have a good week.

Inside the Jaquez Mexican American dynasty at UCLA and Miami (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41740597/jaquez-family-mexican-american-dynasty-ucla-miami

Parkrun: The local jog that became a worldwide hit (BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80r3myl990o

The Origins of Hakeem Olajuwon’s “Dream Shake” (The Ringer)
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/10/15/24267059/hakeem-olajuwon-dream-shake-book-excerpt-the-life-and-legacy

How Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen became college football legends (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/41832586/how-notre-dame-four-horsemen-became-college-football-legends

A Bartender, a Firefighter and a Giuliani Walk Onto a Fairway (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/03/style/brooklyn-open-golf-tournament.html

Remembering Fernando Valenzuela and Fernandomania (ESPN)
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38168721/fernandomania-los-angeles-dodgers-fernando-valenzuela

Champion, advocate, icon: Why Simone Biles is the most marketable athlete of 2024 (SportsPro)
https://www.sportspromedia.com/insights/features/simone-biles-most-marketable-olympics-mental-health-powerade-netflix-50mm-2024/

Colin Farrell finishes Dublin Marathon while pushing friend in a wheelchair (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/28/entertainment/colin-farrell-marathon-wheelchair-scli-intl/index.html

Borussia Dortmund Gives Kids Chance To Play Soccer In Times Square (Forbes)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/vitascarosella/2024/10/24/borussia-dortmund-gives-kids-chance-to-play-soccer-in-times-square/

World Rugby uses Prevent Biometrics mouth guards to collect data on head impacts (SBJ)
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/10/28/mouth-guards-technology


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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.

Our mission is to have Sport Doing Good be a consistent, and significant, contributor to the areas of sports, social responsibility, and development. We look forward to partnering with other stakeholders in producing content, in creating and/or sponsoring athletic and service events, knowledge sharing, and conferences/seminars, and even having a commercial arm that could be the source of innovative social businesses.

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Contact Information
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Sarbjit “Sab” Singh
sab@sportsdoinggood.com
516-287-7141
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