Lionel Messi | Celebrity Athletes Charity News & Entertainment

“They are a population that has lost everything, and even hope is starting to fade. Darfur United gives them a sense of being part of something greater than being what they are now labeled: a refugee.” ~i-ACT Founder/Director Gabriel Stauring

Since 2005, the Founder and Director of i-ACT, Gabriel Stauring has visited Darfur 11 times, namely-the refugee camps along the Chad/Sudan border. The non-profit’s volunteer arm, Stop Genocide Now, has garnered international attention and now, i-ACT is essentially creating a soccer team made up of the best players from the refugee camps along the border.

The team is called Darfur United.

In addition to his numerous visits to Darfur, Stauring has spearheaded campaigns such as the 100-Day Fast for Darfur, Darfur Freedom Summer Vigils, Camp Darfur, Darfur Fast for Life, and is featured in ‘The Enough Moment’ by John Prendergast and Don Cheadle.

Athlebrities was thrilled to interview this amazing man about issues related to Darfur, the refugees in that area, how the beautiful game can change lives, and what we can do to help. I opted to run the interview, unedited, in its entirety because, quite frankly, every word is important. Continue reading →

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

Not sure how many of you caught the ‘Costas Now’ special that’s being run ad nausea on the HBO, but if you get a chance, check it out. Costas held a sort-of roundtable discussion with industry ‘big-wigs’ and discussed, among other things: how negativity is fueling sports talk radio and seeping into other mediums; how the relationship between athletes and reporters is being breached by jealously and mistrust; and how the influx of blogs are making it harder to distinguish between real news and an ‘uneducated’ opinion. The program has ignited a short of shit-storm after author/blog hater Buzz Bissinger attacked Deadspin’s Will Leitch on-stage and said: “I feel very strongly about this. I really think you’re full of shit because I think blogs are dedicated to cruelty, they’re dedicated to journalistic dishonesty, they’re dedicated to speed. It is the complete dumbing-down of our society.” Thankfully, we got guys out there like Jason Whitlock standing up for blogsnot all of ‘em, but he does recognize the good ones…No doubt, if I were to open my vault, I’d have no trouble attaining DeadSpin status. But to categorize all blogs, as Bissinger has, as ‘dedicated to cruelty, journalistically dishonest and dumbing down society’ is ridiculous. In my opinion, blogs are a threat to mainstream media because we’re not bound by the usual restraints put on journalists, therefore allowing us to express our opinions freely. And those opinions aren’t necessarily ‘uneducated’, in fact, I’d say it’s quite the opposite. (After all, is it uneducated to write that Washington Redskins second round draft pick, wide receiver Malcolm Kelly has the sickest bodyin-the-draft? I think not)…

Im not going to sit here and attack DeadSpin either. While Im not a huge fan, I understand that people have a need to laugh at the absurd and normal behavior of ‘celebrities’ who’ve been put on a pedestal. Its human nature, and its kinda sad. I could spend hours ‘blogging’ about a hottie who reached into his own pocket to help a needy family-but no one seems to care. But if were to blog about, hmmm, lets-say- a well known basketball star who hangs out with a posse of weed-stealing punks-my hits would go through the roof…Maybe DeadSpin does spread cruelty, but more often than not, all ya gotta do is open up your morning paper and you’ll find shit equally as cruel but not nearly as accurate. So, in keeping with the theme, lets talk a little smack about a few troublemakers shall we?

Former NBA beast Dennis Rodman was arrested for allegedly hurting a woman at a Century City hotel. Apparently the ink-a-licious bad boy grabbed a woman’s arm ~~leaving a bruise~~ after the pair drank too much and argued…and this is news because? He’s the only athlete to get drunk and pull his girl outta da club because he didn’t like the way she was drinking all his Crystal? I think not. Its news because of the innate nature of people to hear about scandalous behavior. Rodman was jailed for investigation of “felony domestic violence” and freed on $50,000 bail. Now, if this were DeadSpin, I’d open my vault and issue a collective ‘Its-time-for- all-you-ballers-on-the-West-Coast-to-recheck-yourselves-because-it-looks-like-things-have-just-started-to-get-ugly-for-those-big-headed-playas-who-feel-they-can-just-get-what-they-want-without-paying-the-reeper.’ But Im not DeadSpin and I don’t spread cruelty but I do love to talk shit once in a while…like what’s up with Jose Canseco? Dude just walked away from his $2.5M pad in the Valley. “You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, ‘OK, let’s assume it is $35 million.’ People have to understand that $35 million, you’re paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you’re taking care of your whole family.” But wait, we got a book plug coming up…”What about other families that we’re hearing on TV, that they’re saying, `We have nowhere else to go,’” he said. “I mean, that is amazing. I’ve got books (he’s put out two expose-type books on drug use in baseball that I’m sure omit the sexual-assault-covers-ups-that-are-rampant-in-the-sport)…And now, former track star Tim Montgomery has been indicted on heroin distribution charges? No wonder DeadSpin is so popular…Montgomery was arrested Wednesday, accused of dealing more than 100 grams of heroin in Virginia over the past year. “You get caught up in the achievements,” he said. “You get blinded and make really bad mistakes.” But enough about the negative, lets get back to basics…

I’M PURRING

Our Columbian kitten is currently flexing those beautiful muscles at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte. It has been far too long since we’ve gotten some great shots of Villegas doing what he does best ~~missing the cut~~ getting down and dirty while he concentrates on getting it in the hole.

Another one of our treats is currently ruling the clay-court…Rafael Nadal defeated Lopez Thursday to reach the Barcelona Open quarterfinals, which also gave him his 100th win on clay in his last 101 matches. “That’s not bad,” Nadal said. Is not bad either, no, that Barca babe Lionel Messi and an unknown hot-hot-hottie watched our Rafa spank Lopez.