Queen of Sports

Kerry Rhodes Hosting Fundraiser for CancerCare

Are you going to be in NYC on April 1st? Looking for a fun charity event to attend? Here’s the place you want to be.

NY Jets player Kerry Rhodes and Supermodel Hilary Rhoda will be hosting a benefit for CancerCare. The non-profit organization provides free, professional support services to anyone affected by cancer. Programs include counseling, education, financial assistance and practical help.

The festivities include a cocktail reception, fashion show and auction on April 1 at Go-Xchange in Manhattan. For more information and to purchase tickets click here.

For additional information on CancerCare, click here.

Mr. & Mrs. Odom on Lopez Tonight

Lamar Odom and his wife Khloe Kardashian stopped by George Lopez’s set today for an interview.

The couples chat with the comedian will air on Lopez Tonight this evening on TBS at 11pm.

And if you missed last night’s episode, you can watch it here. Former NBA player Alonzo Mourning sat down with George to discuss Zo’s foundation, Zo’s Fund for Life as well as bringing awareness to National Kidney Month.

Dakar to Host Basketball Without Borders 2010

NBA players and coaches will join NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo and travel to Dakar, Senegal Aug. 5-8 for the eighth edition of Basketball without Borders Africa.

The four-day camp that combines high level basketball instruction and extensive community outreach efforts, will unite the top 65 young basketball players (19 and under) from across Africa as selected by the NBA, FIBA and participating federations. Having previously taken place in Johannesburg since 2003, this will be the first time the event is held in Senegal.

For more information on this organization and event, click here.

NFL Athletes Lend Hand to Orangewood Children’s Foundation

Last Saturday, several NFL athletes came together to help raise funds for the Orangewood Children’s Foundation. The event, held at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach, consisted of a gala dinner and auction on Saturday night followed by a celebrity golf tournament on Sunday where foursome included an athlete or celebrity.

The Orangewood Children’s Foundation began 25 years ago with a vision to build a facility to shelter Orange County, California children who were the victims of abuse, neglect and abandonment.

The NFL players that came out to support Orangewood included Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), Brandon Jacobs (New York Giants), Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs), Mark Sanchez (New York Jets), Matt Schaub (Houston Texans), Reggie Wayne (Indianapolis Colts), Todd Heap (Baltimore Ravens) and Ray Lewis (Balitmore Raven).

“Growing up my whole life was pretty much like theirs,” said Super Bowl MVP and 11-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lewis. “I could have easily made the wrong turn. Now what’s important is having this football brotherhood come off the field to affect people’s lives positively.”

For more info on Orangewood Children’s Foundation, click here.

SGMA National Health Through Fitness Day

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association is holding their annual National Health Through Fitness Day in Washington D.C. today. The group brings well known athletes, sporting goods and fitness manufacturers, physical educators, and association leaders for a series of face-to-face discussions with U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators about the importance of federal funding to support quality physical education in schools and encourage more physical activity for families by making it more affordable.

Athletes scheduled to appear include: Heisman Trophy winners Herschel Walker, Tim Brown and Troy Smith, U.S. Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh, LPGA Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam, former MLB National League MVP Steve Garvey, U.S. Olympic gold medalist softball player Jennie Finch, nine-time UFC world champion Matt Hughes, boxer Paul “The Punisher” Williams, Iron Man triathlete Katya Meyers and former NFL players Ken Harvey and John Booty.

For more information on the days events, click here.

Keith Bulluck Awards Scholarships in Honor of Late Teammate

NFL player Keith Bulluck of the Tennessee Titans has awarded nine Middle Tennessee high school football players scholarships in honor of his late teammate, Steve McNair.

The $1,000 scholarships — which Bulluck named the Steve McNair Iron Will Scholarship — were awarded Monday night at the 44th annual National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame awards dinner, according to The Tennessean of Nashville. Bulluck chose nine recipients from a group of 54, honoring McNair’s jersey number.

“They all filled out applications and it really was a lot of work picking nine,” Bulluck said, according to the report. “I read through all of them, looked at their GPAs, looked at their extracurricular activities, looked at their coaches’ comments, saw how much they were involved in things and how many years they lettered on teams.”

Lance Armstrong Visits School in Cape Town

Lance Armstrong partnered with the JAG Foundation for their Discorvery Lance for Life event which kicks off today. Lance is in town for 3 days to promote the JAG Foundation and visit the youth in the area. This morning he took a tour of Spine Road Secondary School in South Africa.

The JAG Foundation looks to give young people the opportunity to achieve their potential and to contribute to peace and the upliftment of our nation’s social well being through sport and education.

For more info on Lance Armstrong’s Foundation Live Strong click here.

Kerri Walsh Hosting Fitness Fundraiser

Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh has teamed up with the Good Tidings Foundation for their Stadium Stampede fundraising event benefiting under-served youth. Good Tidings is partnering with Walsh’s foundation, Chase the Stars Foundation. The organizations plan to use the fund raised at this event to build their 3rd volleyball court for youth.

Stadium Stampede will take place at AT&T Park on March 21st. For event information click here and to sponsor Walsh, donate here.

Supergirl Cup hosted by Olympian Nastia Liukin

Nastia Liukin and USA Gymnastics have formed a partnership to provide a competitive opportunity for the country’s top Junior Olympic gymnasts in an event called the Supergirl Cup.

Proceeds from the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup go into the Nastia Liukin Fund, a charitable fund within the National Gymnastics Foundation. The funds will be utilized for scholarships for young gymnasts who show ability and have a financial hardship.

Universal Sports will air the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup live tonight, March 5 from 7:00PM -9:30PM. ET. Check your local listings.

Tennis Legends join “Hit For Haiti”

Steffi Graf and Lindsay Davenport will take on Martine Navratilova and Justine Henin at the BNP Paribas tennis tournament at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 12th. The event will be part of the “Hit for Haiti” fundraising efforts.

Roger Federer and Pete Sampras will face Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal will also play a doubles match to raise funds.

The first “Hit for Haiti” fundraiser in January which was started by Federer raised $185,000 for the earthquake stricken victims.Their fundraising goal for this event is $1 million through on-site, text messaging and private donations.

The event will be broadcast live in numerous countries around the world, and domestically on the Tennis Channel, beginning at 7:30 PM PST. In addition, live web streaming will be available on bnpparibasopen.org, TennisTV.com, atpworldtour.com, sonyericssonwtatour.com, usta.com, tennis.com, espn360.com, and others.

For ticket and donation information, click here.