Gridiron Celebrity Hoops

By Richard Diaz
Love of Sports Correspondent

Did you ever wonder what NFL stars do with their time once the season is over?

Before their trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, some NFL greats will be making a pit stop in Arizona for the 10th Annual Gridiron Celebrity Hoops game. Taking place on February 2, it’s the only charity basketball game sanctioned by the National Football League and has become one of the most anticipated events to take place during the week leading up to the big game.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds will go to the Junior Achievers Motivated to Succeed USA (Junior Achievers). This group strives to improve the quality of life of the neglected, abandoned and abused youths that’ve been placed in the foster care system. They’ve been dedicated to helping all children that, for one reason or another, find themselves in a situation where parental figures can’t take care of them.

When it comes to Super Bowl time, Junior Achievers chooses one organization from the host city that serves a similar purpose. Over 100 of the groups special children will be able to attend and participate in the star-studded event; serving as ball boys and girls or water boys and girls, or even as youth ambassadors.

Over $500,000 has been raised for a multitude of organizations that share a common goal of helping children in need. That money’s gone to improve the children’s quality of life, and this event will be no different.

In addition to the games charitable purpose it also seems to be one heck of an event. There’s going to be a slam dunk contest before the game that’ll feature some famous streetballers. In addition to that, there’ll also be a pregame kickoff performance, a halftime show that’ll likely be better than the one taking place during the Super Bowl, interactive games and the possibility to win tickets to the Super Bowl.

If that’s not enough, you might be treated to another Terrell Owens’ crying show, as he’ll be honored with the Jam Sports Icon for his participation in all 10 Gridiron Celebrity Hoops challenges.

This year’s NFLers include the likes of Owens, Brian Westbrook, Larry Fitzgerald, Braylon Edwards, Shawn Springs and Antoine Bethea, to name a few. Also expected to join the festivities is recording artist Tank and actor Christian Keyes, with more names expected to be revealed in the coming days.

Recording artists Ne-Yo and Baby Bash are also scheduled to perform, and it’s too bad we won’t be getting similar talent during the Super Bowl halftime show.

So, if you happen to be in the area and are looking to do something different, I’d definitely suggest the Gridiron Celebrity Hoops Challenge.

Nowhere else are you going to see this amount of talent in one place, and nowhere else will you have this good a time with the proceeds going to such a charitable cause.

Any event that brings this much talent and entertainment to the table for a good cause deserves a major spotlight, and that’s why I love the Gridiron Celebrity Hoops Challenge.

For more information, check out www.footballhoops.com.