Mbah a Moute: From Africa to the NBA, Without Borders

“In Africa, we’re beginning to see new countries challenging the traditional powers like Angola — the Ivory Coast, Tunisia. I’ve said this before: Africa could be a continent as important to the development of players as Eastern and Western Europe combined.” David Stern, N.B.A. commissioner

Finally the NBA is getting IT. Some of the most gifted athletes in the world come from Africa. We need more of them. We need more humble athletes who don’t forget the struggles of everyday life. We need inspirational athletes for our kids to look up to, and we need more mighty-mighty-fine men who appreciate their stance in life…and now we’ve got one. His name is Mbah a Moute (pronounced BAH-ah-MOO-tay), and he hails from Cameroon.

His journey reads like a dream come true…he didn’t play basketball until he was 14 years old. By the time he was 16, the kid from Cameroon had been chosen to attend the inaugural Basketball without Borders event in Johannesburg…within two years he was the best youth player in his country, three weeks later, Mbah a Moute was on a plane heading to Florida to attend prep school at Montverde Academy…and now, the 6’8” rookie is playing hoops with the Milwaukee Bucks, “It all happened so fast, but it changed my life.”

Following the footsteps of other great NBA players, Mbah a Moute went back to Johannesburg last week for Basketball Without Borders, where he joined Dikembe Mutombo (above), Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki, Vladimir Radmanovic, and DJ Mbenga, among others.

As the first alumnus of the camp, Mbah a Moute is the ultimate rags-to-riches story, and a powerful inspiration for kids participating in the N.B.A.s Basketball Without Borders program. “Three weeks after this camp I left for the U.S. and started my dream,” he told the children, “That’s why I’m back here today to tell you this is a great experience, take advantage of it.”

But the Basketball Without Borders’ athletes do much more than just talk to the kids…along with Habitat for Humanity, they’ve built 9 homes since 2007…they’ve planted gardens, played soccer, learned traditional African dances, and they’ve spent endless hours interacting with students helping them learn the fundamentals of basketball as well as life…and as evidenced above by Dwight Howard, the hotties are doing it exceptionally well.

Basketball without Borders (BWB) is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development program that uses the sport to create positive social change in the areas of education, health and wellness. The camps have been held in Beijing, China, Mexico City, Mexico and Johannesburg, South Africa…to read more, visit the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders site…they’ve got a daily run down, including photos from a visit to the Apartheid Museum, as well as feedback from some of the players including Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh after they finished planting a peach tree for a Home Based Care Facility in Soweto.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com

The Best Thing About the Lakers Win?

I’ve been getting a lot of flack for not being a Lakers fan…as you all know, I cheer for character, so it was hard for me to watch Dwight Howard lose to Kobe Bryant and Gasol. My distaste for the Lakers also stems from the behavior of their fans. Sorry people, but I’d like to hear just ONE Lakers fan give props to an opposing team-any opposing team…but I have yet to see that happen. Instead I witnessed the ‘amazing’ destruction of police cars, burning trees, broken windows and looting in celebration of the Lakers 99-86 victory over the Magic…

But…there are some good guys on the Lakers and perhaps the non-violent and sane Lakers fans will use their passion productively and support Jordan Farmer and his foundation?

Farmar’s gearing up for two days of fundraising to benefit a variety of charities supported by his foundation including Mattel Children’s Hospital UCLA, Seeds of Peace Camp, Peres Peace Center Basketball Clinics, and others. The inaugural Jordan Farmar Celebrity Golf Classic and Gala will be held on July 19-20 In Los Angeles…the Gala will be Sunday evening at Ten-Ten Wilshire in L.A. and the Golf Classic will be held on Monday at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California.

At the Gala guests will get to mingle with Jordan and a plethora of invited hotties and celebrities while enjoying the usual party swag- awesome food, music, and auction items to include unique sports memorabilia and event packages…the following day, athletes and celebrities will golf for the greater good. For those interested in a night of fun I highly recommend you purchase a ticket to the Gala because they are only $100.00 and it will be a sell-out. You can’t even go to a Lakers game and get out of Staples Center for less than that, so why not cough up a few bucks to party with some Lakers and their celebrity fans? (For ticket information, call the Jordan Farmar Foundation at 310 473-5445 or visit the website.)

Partial list of hotties invited to Jordan Farmar’s “All White Affair” include: George Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, Earvin Magic Johnson, Rob Morrow, Mia Hamm, Flea, Kenny Lofton, Royce Clayton and Darryl Strawberry (Huh? He still around?), UCLA coach Ben Howland, and Lakers’ teammates Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, and others.

Hope to see ya there…

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com

Dwight Howard Takes Kids on Shopping Spree

The sexiest Superman in the NBA just got a little bit hotter. Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard spent time yesterday afternoon making 50 kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida ecstatic. First, Howard presented the B&G Club with a check for $20,000. And then, he took the kids on a shopping spree at Finish Line…each kid was given a $100 gift card to the store located at the Mall at Millenia in Orlando, Florida.

“I bought two pair of shoes, I bought a pair of Pumas and a pair of Chucks. Red Chucks. I really wanted the shoes,” said one kid.

“It was pretty fun, you know. We laughed around, made a couple of jokes. I’m very appreciative for what he did for us,” said another.

Each year, the Orlando Magic Youth Fund (OMYF) honors a player who has dedicated his efforts off the court for the purpose of enhancing others’ lives. So it’s no surprise that Howard has won the award three times. In addition to receiving the award, the player is granted $50,000 from the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation to donate to the charity of his choice.

Just a few things sexy D-How has done to enhance the lives of others:

Donated $25,000 to the Parramore Kidz Zone to refurbish the locker room area.

Donated $25,000 to “Blessings in a Backpack” to provide kids from Lake Como Elementary with a nutritious meal on the weekends.

Visited children over the holidays at Florida Children’s Hospital.

Gave 160 children per game a chance to see the Magic play through his ticket program ‘Friends of Superman.’

Gave away 100/$100 Publix gift cards and 100 emergency preparedness kits to 100 Central Florida families.

Donated gifts and met with families for the Magic holiday party with underprivileged children and their families…

I think you get the idea.  Dwight Howard is indeed a mighty-mighty-fine man…

Keep on keeping on D-How…I like what I see.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com

Nuggets Versus Clippers Game Auction

On April 4 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Los Angeles Clippers will hoop it up against the Denver Nuggets. I don’t know about you kids, but the idea of watching Carmelo Anthony dribble around Baron Davis sounds like a night to remember…aside from a Nuggets win or a squeeze from Melo, the night could only get better if I were with 20 of my friends partying it up in a private suite-for charity of course.

Thanks to the good peeps at Auction Cause, we’ve got another yummy auction on the block, this time benefiting the Starlight Children’s Foundation. The foundation helps seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities…so what better way to raise money for the kids than bid on this amazing package which includes: 20 tickets, 8 parking passes and a private suite filled with food and drink…Suite amenities include: Early access to the suite through the VIP entrance where you might see Melo frolicking around; comfortable seating in extra wide theater style seats in case Melo pops in and wants to sit on your lap; wet bar, refrigerator and ice maker (a-hem, a wet bar?); Cable television and internet access in case you wanna rub it in on Facebook; a personal suite attendant as hot as any Nuggets player; concierge services who will inform Melo when you’ve arrived; and access to the exclusive Club Level and its private restaurants and bars where one can only hope Melo would roll through.

The reason I tell you about these kinds of auctions are simple. Right now, the bidding is ONLY at $500. That may sound like a lot of money, but think about it this way- if you get a group of 20 friends together and go to the game, it comes out to $25 each! For a private suite? It’s a no brainer… if ya bid and win, let me know. Would love to hear if Carmelo Anthony really does stop by and say hello…you never know kids, you just never know, because after all, it is for charity.

On another note, I’d like to petition Auction Cause to add a Dwight Howard experience to the line-up…preferably one with a wet-bar.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com