Queen of Sports

Michelle Obama, Roger Goodell and Tony Dungy Heading To New Orleans

First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to join NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy in Louisiana next week to promote her “Let’s Move!” campaign against childhood obesity.

Michelle’s Sept. 8 visit to Brock Elementary School in Slidell will be held on the eve of the NFL’s first game of the regular season, when the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings at the Superdome.

The White House says the First Lady will highlight steps schools and communities can take to combat childhood obesity.

Grizzlies GM Meets With Israeli President

General Manager of the Memphis Grizzlies Chris Wallace presented the President of Israel Shimon Peres Wednesday with a personalized Grizzlies jersey at the 87-year-old’s residence in Jerusalem. Wallace was also joined by former NBA players Jerome Williams, David Wood, Allan Houston and Dwight Howard Sr., as well as Sacramento Kings forward and Israeli National Team member Omri Casspi.

The trip was planned by American pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, with the purpose of strengthening American-Israeli relations by introducing leading figures in American sports to Israel and its unique challenges.

The Grizzlies game jersey he was presented with was No. 18 which has great significance in Hebrew and Jewish numerology as the letters of the word life add up to number 18.

Photo: Grizzlies

Athlete Sighting: Dominique Dawes

Retired US Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes was spotted taking in the Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night. It was an exciting game with the Nationals breaking the tie in the 13th inning to win, 11 – 10.

Dominique was born in Silver Spring, Maryland and in June was appointed co-chair by President Barack Obama of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition along with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

Quarterback Donovan McNabb Aiming To Fight Childhood Obesity

The Washington Redskins and GlaxoSmithKline announced today a new partnership with Redskins quarterback and health advocate Donovan McNabb to help tackle the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic.  As the newly appointed 2010 Redskins Health Ambassador, McNabb will work side by side with Washington, D.C. youth to demonstrate fun and easy ways to make exercise part of their daily lives.

Beating childhood obesity is a top priority on the local and national agenda, gaining momentum through the Redskins’ commitment to the Play 60 movement for an active generation and first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign.  D.C. has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the nation, which has long-term implications since obesity is linked to chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and some forms of cancer.

“I’m so excited to teach kids and their parents how exercising for 60 minutes a day will keep them healthy and help prevent chronic diseases.  Football has always motivated me to stay active, fit and healthy, and I want to motivate kids to find an activity that will help them do the same,” said McNabb.  ”Seeing the effect chronic disease has had on my father’s life has pushed me to help kids take up healthy habits and provide them with the right tools for a healthier future.”

For more information on this charitable initiative, click here.

Dominique Dawes Honors Kids For Fitness

Former gymnastics gold medalist Dominique Dawes was at the Legg Mason Tennis Tournament in Washington, DC honoring children involved in the National Junior Tennis League who have exercised for an hour five days a week.

Dominique was nominated by Barack Obama as the co-chair for the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition.

Photos: United States Tennis Association

Isiah Thomas Poses For NOH8 Campaign

While Isiah Thomas is waiting to hear if the NBA will allow him to consult for the Knicks (he is currently the head coach for Florida International University), he did a photo shoot for the NOH8 campaign.

Isiah and his son, Joshua (below) posed for the organization that is opposed to Proposition 8. The prop is the voter initiative that banned same-sex marriage in California, which was overturned last week by a federal judge.

“We are Isiah and Joshua Thomas,” Isiah writes on the campaign’s website, NOH8Campaign.com. “We posed for the NOH8 Campaign because we believe that all hate and discrimination is wrong. It is time for full equality and equal rights for everyone, regardless of race, sexual orientation, religion, or gender.”

Nice to see Isiah doing something positive!

For more info about the campaign, click here.

Photo: www.NOH8campaign.com

Saints Visit The White House

The Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints visited the White House yesterday. The team walked into the celebration as the band played “When the Saints Go Marching In”, they were led by quarterback Drew Brees.

President Barack Obama congratulated the team, owner and coaches in an East Room ceremony. He said the team lifted up “the hopes and the dreams of a shattered city” in the wake of the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.

Brees presented the 44th president with a No. 44 Saints jersey. Obama, a Chicago Bears fan joked he couldn’t get away with wearing it in Chicago.

“You’ve got to be tough to be a Chicago guy. I make some tough decisions every day, but I never decided on an onside kick in the second half of the Super Bowl,” Obama said.

Photo: Carrie Devorah/WENN

Obama Invites Basketball All-Stars To Play In Washington

Some former and current NBA players as well as college player Maya Moore of the Connecticut Huskies women’s team came together after an invitation from President Obama to play in front of wounded warriors. Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Magic Johnson and Bill Russell played inside a gym at Fort NcNair which is a short drive from the White House. The President joined a group of troops injured at war, as well as participants of the White House’s mentoring program. No media coverage was allowed in the gym, and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama “just wanted to play.” After the game, the players joined Obama for a barbecue at the White House, part of a celebration for the President’s 49th birthday which was on the 4th.

Athlete Sighting: Larry Fitzgerald

Arizona Cardinals player Larry Fitzgerald attended the 10th Anniversary Gala of the Starkey Hearing Foundation at RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota yesterday evening.

Guests were treated to performances by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, The Doobie Brothers, Jordin Sparks, Canadian Tenors and more.

Along with Larry, several celebrities and athletes came out for the celebration including former president Bill Clinton (pictured above), Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Chace Crawford, Magic Johnson, Nick Lachey, Vannessa Minnillo, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, Lou Ferrigno and Erik Estrada.

The honorees for the evening were Sam Moore, Brad and Janet Anderson, Steve Martin, Muhammad Ali, and Harvey MacKay.

Check out some of the other work Larry has done with the foundation.

Photo: Twitter

Athlete Sighting: Kobe Bryant

After winning his 5th NBA Championship, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was spotted at the USA vs Ghana elimination match in Rustenburg, South Africa on Saturday night.

Kobe was in South Africa through his endorsement deal with Nike. The athletic gear company has been trying to get their athletes involved in the World Cup to help boost the company’s soccer reputation. Nike is not a sponsor of the World Cup, Adidas is their main athletic gear sponsor.

Kobe, who spent some of his childhood in Italy is very familiar with soccer and knows the sport well. His pick to win it all? Germany, who beat England 4 – 1 yesterday.

Also in the audience was former US President Bill Clinton who was seated next to Rolling Stones front man, Mick Jagger.