Ron Artest: Dancing For a Cause
Ron Artest: Dancing For a Cause
“That’s the only reason I’m doing it, I’m doing it for a cause.” –Ron Artest in re: ‘Dancing With the Stars’
After much speculation, the rumor-mill is closed and it’s confirmed that Lakers forward Ron Artest has joined the cast of “Dancing With The Stars.” Granted, I’ve never watched an episode but between Ron-Ron and Nancy Grace it might suck me in this year-especially since Artest – one of the most entertaining ballers to hit the court- is gonna dance his way towards a huge donation for the Cancer Research Foundation.
“I’m doing the Cha-cha-cha my first week,” Artest said. “We’re going to get past [the first round]. I want to work hard and see where it takes me. I don’t know how far I’m going to go, but I’m going to try.”
According to the LA Times, Artest agreed to ‘dance for a cause’ after his daughter Diamond said “Daddy you can do it.” In 2007, Diamond was diagnosed with wilms tumor, a kidney cancer that affects children. She successfully fought the disease and Artest said he plans to donate the money he earns (allegedly a minimum of $125,000) on “Dancing with the Stars” to the Cancer Research Foundation.
As always, thanks for reading~
delinda@athlebrities.com
Poker Players Leading the Charity Craze
Poker Players Leading the Charity Craze
Yeah, I said it. Charity craze. As the economy continues to tank, celebrities are stepping up to donate big bucks in efforts to remind us that some of ‘em aren’t so bad. And I would say hands-down, ‘poker’ is going all-in with their players. This year alone, we’ve got Annie Duke on the Celebrity Apprentice 2; Phil Ivey and his Budding Ivey Foundation passing out books to kids; and Jennifer Harman is at it again with several charity poker events taking place. One of the most recent scores for ‘charity’ through poker comes from new Aced.com sponsored player Jamie Gold. Gold, who recently signed an insanely lucrative deal with Aced.com, is making sure we all know he’s for real…Gold recently hosted a $5k buy-in charity poker tournament at the Beverly Hilton Oscar party to support Children Uniting Nations. “I was called by Daphna Ziman, who runs Children Uniting Nations, and she said, ‘Listen, I know you’re playing in the LAPC, but I heard that you have a new sponsor that is very generous, Aced.com, and is there any way you would donate money and help us run a charity poker tournament?’ I said sure, we would do that, but I can’t be there, I have to play in the main event. And then, when I talked to Aced, they said, ‘No, screw it, you get a million chances to win a poker tournament, you have very few chances to connect.’”
One thing that’s hooked me on Gold is the fact they he’s genuinely interested in the causes he’s playing for, “This program is amazing; they’re lobbying congress successfully, and they are also donating a ton of money to foster children. I’m so proud to be a part of this, and so when the guys from Aced said they would donate all of this money, then I thought, let’s make this really special, I’ll donate a buy-in to the World Series. I’ll fly them out, I’ll put them up, and I’ll coach them. I don’t think anybody’s ever done that before; I’ll coach the winner through the World Series so they have the best shot at winning. I may not be the best player in the world, but I can definitely help them more than they can help themselves.
Something else exciting is coming from Gold…according to this interview Gold has created ‘a new TV show’ called ‘Jamie Gold’s Big Deal.’ Gold: “It’s poker, celebrities, and charity, it’s called Jamie Gold’s Big Deal. It’s going to be the new show after Real Time with Bill Maher…I hope my legacy is that I’ve raised as much money for charity as I possibly could; I hope other people do more than I can, and I hope that I really affect change in the world and help poker become more mainstream.”
Gotta also give a shout out to Freddy Deeb…Deeb just won $100k at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic Celebrity Invitational and donated $37,000 of that prize money to the event’s featured charity, The Vine Group USA. “This is huge,” said Mekhi Phifer, Chairman of The Vine Group USA. “The funds raised will allow us to complete the Mekhi Phifer Research Center we are currently building in Nigeria, which will service more than 100,000 students as well as neighboring universities. Our goal is to save millions of lives by providing the tools for education and the ability to build a future full of possibilities.” The event raised over $112,000 in less than three days of poker for charity.
As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com
Catching Up with Dikembe Mutombo
Catching Up with Dikembe Mutombo
Don’t get excited-when I write ‘catching up with Mutombo’ I don’t mean I was blessed to meet the big guy-trust me, when I get an interview with him you’ll be the first to know…for now, we’ll have to settle for a great piece from SI.com. (The photo is from Vanity Fair 2007)
Our finger wagging baller has been a very busy humanitarian-as I’ve said before, Deke is a humanitarian first and baller second…and once again, his efforts trump most. His Mutombo basketball kicks by Peak will be released soon-they include his No. 55 and a logo of his finger wagging back and forth. “By the time I retire, I want to see if I can have a shoe that can be sold in Africa that will allow every African child to have the shoes at the low cost of $15 to $20. So every parent can afford to put the shoes on the feet of their kids” he said. Dare I say ‘Yes You Can’? And with much better success than we’ve seen from other-ballers-and-their-low-cost-shoes-sold-at-places-that-go-out-of-business-and-you-don’t-back-it-up with-actions-anyway…but who am I to knock someone for trying…
Deke’s Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital has been open for just over a year. “We have celebrated the first year of the opening Dec. 7,’’ he says, “We celebrate the first year when the world is crashing. Economically the world is crashing, spiritually the world is crashing. There is war all over the places right now, in Africa, in the Middle East, in Southeast Asia. We have to stay strong, to continue to do God’s work. Otherwise all of these people will perish.’’ An American consulting firm has told Mutombo that the hospital may become self-sustaining within another three years. This year, he says, the hospital is in need of $2 million to remain open. “If 100,000 people will each donate $20 to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, we will have $2 million to give treatment to women and children and the oldest people who are dying every day from malaria. There is a child dying in Africa every 35 seconds. Last year alone more than 2.5 million children died in Africa because of malaria. It costs maybe $10 to treat each person. So imagine when somebody is donating $20, he is already saving the life of a child at the hospital.’’
This is really a simple request from Deke…just 20 bucks. Yeah, the economy sucks. Yeah twenty bucks is a lot of money to some people. But maybe next time you fork over $4.20 for a ‘no-whip grande cap with extra bullshit’ you’ll think about the fact the your spare change can save a life…if not, then your on the wrong blog.
Event Notice
This Sunday at the Saddle Ranch Chophouse on Sunset Boulevard (Los Angeles), LA’s hottest women are going to ride the mechanical bull for charity. Yes I will be there-and no-while I am the queen of (a-hem) bull rider, I will not be riding the bull…I will be interviewing the celebrities in attendance and taking lots of photos…Babes on the Bull…hope to see you kids there.
As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com
Usain Bolt: Juiced on Yams While Spreading ‘Joys’?
USAIN BOLT YAMS IT UP
After winning three gold medals in Beijing, Usain Bolt made a personal donation of $50,000 to the kids in the earthquake-stricken Sichuan Province. Bolt said he had seen reports of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the area on May 12, killing close to 70,000. “It makes me feel sorry for the victims, so I ask my management team to do something,” said Bolt after delivering the check to Liu Xuanguo, secretary-general of the Red Cross Foundation of China. “They are kids. They deserve a better future,” Bolt said, “I hope they can still enjoy themselves, because they are still kids. And, it’s great for kids to live in joys. I just want to help them. I’m looking forward (to) more people coming out and helping them,” Bolt said, as he stood next to several kids confined to wheelchairs due to ‘quake-inflicted injuries.’
Usain had me when he won the first gold, and sealed the deal when he said “its great for kids to live in joys.” We should all live in joys, no? And we should all take a hint from the Jamaican sprinters. The Caribbean country’s five gold medals at the Games all came from sprinters. Usain Bolt: double gold medals with two world records in the men’s 100m and 200m sprints…Veronica Campbell-Brown won the women’s 200m…Shelly-Ann Fraser and other two Jamaican women swept medals in over 100m…Melaine Walker kicked in another by breaking the Olympic record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles….
“We have a tradition, we have natural talents, We are the sprinter factory of the world,” said Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister of information, culture, sports and youth. “You know why? We eat healthy and good food, lots of yams. Lots of greens, lots of fishes, good Jamaican food and clean fresh air.”
Yams? Lots of yams? According to researchers at USPlabs in Denton Texas, the secret to a great sprinting juice is in the yams…an exotic yam called the Trelawny yam to be precise.
It wasn’t long ago that Usain’s father, Wellesly Bolt, claimed that the yam was partially responsible for Usain’s electrifying speed, and now researchers are backing him up…They say there is ‘enormous scientific credence’ to Wellesly Bolt’s claim about the Trelawny yam. “Scientists have known for years yams contain high amounts of steroidal glycosides, which are naturally occurring steroid alkaloids,” said Jacob Geissler of USPlabs.
In the early 1930’s, yams were used to first synthesize testosterone because the chemical structure of the yam is identical to human testosterone. This particular Jamaican yam could possibly contain the most potent steroidal glycosides on earth. (It’s no wonder they have a Trelawny yam festival in Jamaica.) Jacob Geissler of USPlabs: “The problem for scientists is that we could never liberate all those powerful steroid alkaloids and make them usable, until now…we just got finished with a clinical trial study on naturally occurring steroidal glycosides and the results were staggering. In just 30 days test subjects gained close to 7 pounds of lean mass and increased their strength by up to 30%. And these stunning results were achieved by very experienced lifters with past steroid use…what we were able to do is cleave the sugar molecule off the steroidal glycoside and liberate its enormous nitrogen-retaining effect, and as everybody knows, steroids dramatically increase nitrogen in the muscle cell making it bigger, stronger and faster.”
Yams, the new steroid? Are USPlabs the next BALCO? According to ‘expert trainer and conditioning coach’ to over 400 professional athletes, Jon Doyle: “I’m using it on some of my pro ball players and they’re getting huge steroid-like results with no steroid side effects. Some of them are getting so big and strong their agents have phoned me swearing up and down I’m giving them real juice. I had one young player who gained 13 pounds of muscle in 30 days and lowered his 60 yard dash time by .3 seconds!” (Prweb)
Yam it up kids…I’m taking a few days off…
Like what you read? Subscribe to my RSS feed for daily email updates! (link on top right)
As always, thanks for reading.
Delinda Lombardo
delinda@athlebrities.com