NBA All-Star Blake Griffin donates 2011 Kia Optima from Sprite Slam Dunk for auction
To benefit Stand Up To Cancer
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles Clippers forward and 2010-11 T-Mobile NBA Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin has donated the autographed 2011 Kia Optima midsize sedan used in his jaw-dropping dunk in the Sprite Slam Dunk at NBA All-Star 2011 for a public charity auction on AutoTrader.com to benefit Stand Up To Cancer.
Proceeds from the auction of the automobile will go directly to cancer research funded by Stand Up To Cancer in tribute to Griffin’s friend and former high school teammate, Wilson Holloway. A Tulsa native, Wilson passed away on February 16 after a three-year battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Griffin will work with Stand Up to Cancer to identify the best way to utilize the funds to target research done specifically for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
“I am honored to memorialize Wilson’s legacy by helping to raise funds for cancer research,” said Griffin. “Wilson was an inspiration to everybody who knew him, and a very dear friend and teammate. I dedicated my All-Star weekend to him.”
To further support Griffin’s commitment to raise funds for cancer research in honor of Holloway, Stand Up To Cancer has created a fundraising team called Team Blake: In Honor of My Friend, Wilson Holloway, through which the public can donate any amount of money at www.su2c.org/BlakeDunk.
“Wilson Holloway’s memory lives on through the generosity of his friend Blake Griffin,” said Laura Ziskin, a cancer survivor and co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer. “Basketball fans and all of us who have loved or lost someone in the fight against cancer can be a part of Blake’s tribute to Wilson, to help fund critical cancer research that can make a difference.”
AutoTrader.com doesn’t normally offer vehicle auctions, but was pleased to support an auction solution on this occasion to help raise the most money possible. “As the Ultimate Automotive Marketplace, what better place to showcase this unique car, help generate excitement behind this vehicle and raise the most money possible in the fight against cancer,” said AutoTrader.com chief marketing officer Clark Wood.
Griffin dedicated his NBA All-Star 2011 debut to Holloway, and said he plans to give Holloway’s family the Sprite Slam Dunk championship trophy he earned with his spectacular dunk over the hood of the Kia Optima.
The auction is now open on AutoTrader.com and will run through Sunday, May 15. To find out more information and to bid on the auction package, go to www.autotrader.com/BlakeDunk
Since it launched Choose You in May 2010, the American Cancer Society has motivated more than 75,000 women to put their health at the top of their to-do lists. Choose You raises awareness about the simple actions women can take that can significantly reduce their risk of cancer, and reminds people of the sobering statistic that one in three women will get cancer in her lifetime.
The Society urges women to join the movement at ChooseYou.com to help change the odds.
ANAHEIM, Calif.—The Sacramento Kings have dropped plans to ask the NBA for permission to move the team to Anaheim because of opposition from the league, the team announced today.
Officials from Anaheim Arena Management, which since September had been in negotiations with the Maloof family that owns the team, were told of the decision early today.
Today was the deadline for the Kings to request permission to move.
Oops!
Someone forgot to tell that to the Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling that Black History Month is celebrated in February.
The Los Angeles Clippers ran a half-page advertisement in the Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, edition of the Los Angeles Times, boldly proclaiming their celebration of Black History Month. A smiling Donald Sterling is shown in a tux next to the Clippers phenom Blake Griffin.
“In honor of Black History Month,” the ad read, “the Clippers will admit 1,000 underprivileged children free.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles Clippers will conduct the first lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender-themed night at an NBA game at Staples Center tonight.
"Equality Night with the Clippers'' began with a group ticket sales efforts aided by Equality California, a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, and Outsports.com, which bills itself as the premiere media outlet for gay sports fans and athletes.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles Lakers will receive their rings for winning the 2009-2010 NBA championship at Staples Center tonight and raise a banner emblematic of their 16th title, then begin their quest for a third consecutive championship by facing the Houston Rockets.
"This is the crowning moment of winning the championship,'' Laker forward Lamar Odom said.
