| CONTACT: Mike Paul | ||
| May 29, 2008 | MGP & Associates PR | |
| 917-359-1431; mpaul@mgppr.com |
NEW YORK – Spokespersons for the charities picked as beneficiaries for the Pro Sports Team Challenge celebrity golf tournament were elated when legendary all-stars from baseball, hockey, basketball, and football chose to represent their organizations in competing for a total purse of more than $250,000.
“We are proud and thrilled to be chosen by NBA legend and USO entertainment tour veteran Charles Barkley as a beneficiary of Pro Sports Team Challenge,” said Tiane Harrison, media director for the USO. “As a nonprofit organization, we rely on the generosity of the American public to continue our work. Money received from the Challenge will help us continue to provide morale-boosting programs and services to service members and their families worldwide.”
USO, which has sent the stars of screen, stage, radio, and concerts to entertain United States servicemen and women around the globe for seven decades, was chosen by NBA superstar and Team Basketball captain Charles Barkley. Barkley, who also serves as Commissioner for the tournament, and Team Challenge founder and managing director Tom Belton organized the event, which will be contested June 7th and 8th at Eagle Falls Golf Club at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Palm Springs, California. An exciting Pro-Am event will also take place on June 6, 2008 as part of the tournament. The Pro Sports Team Challenge will also be broadcast nationwide on Fox Sports Net June 28th and 29th.
“Being chosen by NBA legend and USO entertainment tour veteran Charles Barkley demonstrates the impact our troops had on him,” continued Harrison. “Through the generosity of athletes like Charles and his Team Basketball players and the Pro Sports Team Challenge event, we have the vital opportunity for the USO message to reach a broad audience. It is now more important than ever that our men and women in uniform and their families know that America supports them. And that’s what the USO does everyday around the world.”
Team Hockey has found an equally altruistic partner in the Pro Sports Team Challenge: NHL superstar, two-time Stanley Cup winner, and Team Hockey captain Mario Lemieux selected Hockey Fights Cancer as his team’s beneficiary. “Hockey Fights Cancer is honored to be chosen as the beneficiary of Captain Mario Lemieux’s team at the 2008 Pro Sports Team Challenge,” said Bernadette Mansur, Executive Director of the NHL Foundation. “Mario continues to be a leader on and off the ice and the NHL is proud to have him lead in our fight against cancer.”
“As you know, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Disease,” explained Lemieux in a media conference call, “so this is an issue near and dear to my heart, and I’m only too happy to help others in the same fight.”
“Mario has been a strong supporter of Hockey Fights Cancer and a crusader in hockey’s most important fight,” echoed Devin Smith, NHLPA Director of Community Relations. “He is a true ambassador of the game of hockey and exemplifies the commitment all our players and alumni have in giving to the community.”
While all the players admit that Lemieux’s Team Hockey has the best golfers on paper, the Strat.e.golfTM Internet platform, where fans can log on and vote not only for their favorite team, but for which player’s match counts for double the points, creates an unpredictable “x factor” as one match can turn the tide of the entire competition. “I don’t know how the fan vote will turn out, but I know it will make things interesting,” said Team Baseball captain Ozzie Smith.
The Strat.e.golfTM Internet platform also provides another opportunity to put the four charities close to the minds of the fans. “This is not only a tremendous TV idea, but could be a significant driver online for building a sustained community of fans and donors,” explained Rick Larsen, the president of Operation Kids, a charity helping children and families displaced or harmed by Hurricane Katrina, and the beneficiary of captain Drew Brees’s Team Football.
“Their mission is to care for the well-being of children, their education and healthcare, and they’ve done some amazing things for kids over the years,” said Brees warmly as he praised his team’s partner charity.
“We have a great relationship with Drew,” continued Larsen. “OpKids actually created the New Orleans campaign for Drew. When he came to New Orleans from San Diego, the concept of “how to help” in a city as troubled s New Orleans was almost overwhelming. We did all the research and created the plan that you see today. Both we and Drew have been active in the fundraising and the public message of our results and progress.”
Finally, Ozzie Smith’s Team Baseball will play for the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), a charity which helps people in the baseball family have fallen on hard times. “B.A.T. provides assistance to members of the “baseball family” who are in need of financial grants, health care programs and rehabilitative counseling. We help take care of health care, medical, housing, burial, utilities, household expenses and prescriptions,” wrote Erik Nilsen of B.A.T. “B.A.T. is there to help fight an eviction notice, a doctor’s bill that needed to be paid, money for prescriptions, utility bills that were overdue, to put food on the table for a family and even to bury a loved one,” Nilsen explained. “It’s also an honor to be nominated by Ozzie Smith, a Hall of Famer who truly understands the history of our organization.”
The winning team of sports legends over the two-day golf tournament will present their charity with $100,000. Prizes for second, third, and fourth place are $75,000, $50, and $25,000. Fans also get involved in supporting the charities through registering as a VIP ProCoachTM strategist for one of the teams online at www.teamchallenge.com. For each paid VIP ProCoachTM registration, $1.00 is added to the charity’s purse, so register online today!
About Team Challenge, LLC
Team Challenge, LLC was founded in 2008 to develop and implement turnkey event planning, marketing, and technology solutions for all types of team competitions with a mission to enhance the online experience of sports and entertainment fans. These team competitions highlight friendly rivalries among celebrities, colleges, corporations, countries, nonprofit organizations and global affinity groups of all kinds. For more information, visit us online at www.teamchallenge.com.
