[espn]Kenny Smith organizing hurricane relief all-star game

I think he'll be attending but not actually participating in the game.

 

Cuttino Mobley and Chris Wilcox were added to play in the game.

 

They said on 610am that Tracy said he will be there. I think he said play also but not 100% sure.

 

TMac, Shaq, Duncan and Yao should be there

 

BTW, a buddy listening to the radio in Dallas had Kenny Smith on the air. He was saying how all these players are calling him constantly trying to get into the game. He said he just got off the phone w/ Arenas right before the interview.

Kenny was joking around saying he might have to make it a double header. But he did say that there might be a problem of getting everyone a chance to play. But I'm sure that they'll work something out.

 

You sure that wasn't the Rome show? He was on there and said the same thing except the player was Derek Fisher.

 

They should do this every year and by pass the nba monopoly. Would love to see a one on one tournament. or three on three.

 

NBA Hurricane Relief Game

Hurricane Relief Game | Sept. 11, 2005

InsideHoops editor Jeff Lenchiner and some other media members were on TNT’s NBA Players Hurricane Relief Game Conference Call, which took place on September 9, 2005 and featured TNT’s Kenny Smith along with NBA Stars Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer.

TNT basketball analyst and former two-time NBA champion with the Houston Rockets Kenny Smith will host the NBA Players Hurricane Relief Game, to help aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The game will be held Sunday, September 11th at 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT) from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, and will be televised on TNT at 11pm ET, 11pm PT and 10pm CT. Players participating in the game will donate over $1 million to hurricane victims.

Kenny Smith on what motivated him to organize the hurricane relief game: “I think we all went through the same gathering of emotions: shock, then compassion, anger and a little bit of helplessness. I think when we get to that point we all try to figure out what can we do to help. I think overall the one thing I tried to express is I know I have a great phonebook and I know there are a lot of players, former and current, who probably wanted to do the same thing to help the victims of the hurricane and make an impact - they just didn’t have a vehicle to do it. So my main goal and emphasis was to figure out a way to do that.”

Kenny Smith on how so many different entities came together to produce the event: “Over a 30-hour period we were able to secure 29 of the best players in the world, get the game on national TV, secure the Toyota Center and have the NBA sanction it, all donated free of charge by everyone. Turner Sports will run the game commercial free; there will be no advertising dollars made by TNT. Every aspect and every dime that is made will go back to hurricane victims from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The second component, besides the basketball game, is that each player is donating a minimum of $10,000 in goods and services for food, water, clothing and medical supplies that they will personally hand out to the different shelters in Houston - to let them know that we care and to help those, who at the time, cannot help themselves.”

Carlos Boozer on his motivation for participating: “All the stories are very devastating, but the one that hit home with me was a few days ago was when the news did a story on a seven-year-old kid. They were trying to give him toys and he broke down crying and said, ‘these aren’t my toys, these aren’t my friends, those aren’t my parents, those aren’t my brothers;’ the kid had lost his mom and dad and both of his brothers and it hit home… imagine losing your whole family at the age of seven. When I got the call to do this event, I was more than motivated and wanted to be as involved as I could be.”

Kobe Bryant on his reasons for getting involved: “Just like everybody, I felt the need to contribute in some form or fashion. Given that we’ve been blessed to be able to play the game of basketball, this is a great opportunity to use our God-given potential for the benefit of mankind. When you see the tragedy and devastation that takes place out there, you have to almost not be human to not feel some type of compassion or warmth in your heart for these people. We’re just trying to contribute in any fashion that we can.”

Kenny Smith on the effort it took to organize the event: “It’s a big task but it wasn’t as hard as I thought (it would be). Most of the guys had things planned that they wanted to do, but all I did was give an avenue so it could be a collective effort. Amare (Stoudemire) already had $100,000 worth of trucks going down… most of these guys that I called had already planned things. I talked to Kobe’s agent and in three minutes he got back to me and said ‘he’s in’, so it wasn’t an effort at all. Carlos Boozer CALLED US. He called and said he wanted to play. The list speaks for itself in terms of the players and the magnitude of players that are in.”

Amare Stoudemire on what he hopes to accomplish through his efforts: “I think the main thing, this is just to raise their confidence. They are feeling real bad about themselves right now. They don’t really know what’s going on or where they are going to end up. My thing is that I just want to give them confidence so they stay focused and don’t give up – to give them hope so they can stay alive. It’s a hard time for them right now after what happened down there. A lot of families lost family members. We just want to show support so they can keep their heads up and stay focused….They have to realize how blessed they are to make it out of that situation. Even though they may have lost family members, they are the chosen ones that made it out of that situation so they just have to realize that and try to look at the positive things right now. The main thing is for them to stay focused and keep their heads up - especially the kids.”

Kobe Byrant on what he hopes to accomplish through his efforts: “What we are trying to do is to let them know that they are cared for. If you listen to the talk on TV, it seems that they have a feeling, on top of all of the emotional devastation, that they are on an island by themselves. We as Americans rally around our people. Us going down there is part of that. Letting them know that we care for them and we will be there to support them and pick them up whenever they fall. That’s what we do as Americans, and this is just a small part of what we are all doing to help.”

Kenny Smith on the personal connection he feels to those affected by the hurricane: “The one thing that I thought was that (the Gulf Coast) could be Anytown, USA. That didn’t have to be New Orleans or Mississippi or Alabama, it could have been Brooklyn or Queens, NY. It could have been any of us, 10 or 20 years ago. My dad said, ‘Kenny, you didn’t really want for anything growing up in terms of food or clothing, but if you had asked me to stay in a hotel while my job was gone, we would have been in that shelter.’ It hit home because those people look like us, they dress like us, it’s a reflection of what we are and I think that all the players understand that. That’s why you see Stephon Marbury crying when he’s not from New Orleans, he’s from Brooklyn, New York.”

Carlos Boozer on players that may have been affected by the hurricane, such as former Duke University teammate and current Chicago Bull Chris Duhon: “Chris Duhon’s family is from Sidell, Louisiana, right outside of New Orleans. All of his people are accounted for but he also has some cousins whose houses are mostly underwater. I called around the way and asked him if he was alright and he said that he was good. Everybody has a story like that. Everybody knows somebody that was directly affected…my teammate, Deron Williams, is from Houston and he is doing a lot of stuff to help out on his own back home. At some level, it reaches everybody.”

Amare Stoudemire on why he got involved: “What happened down in New Orleans really hit home. I feel very bad about the situation and I want to help out as much as I can. That’s the main reason why I want to donate money to the families and children.”

Amare Stoudemire on personally relating to the tragedy of the hurricane’s devastation: “It hit me personally because I’ve been in that type of situation when I was a kid, when I really didn’t have a household to go to. It’s not easy making that transition. When I see those families and kids down there, I see myself. That’s one of the main reasons I’m really trying to get a lot of companies involved to send some trucks down there and donate some money or products for these kids and families.”

Kenny Smith’s on the response time for the relief effort: “Personally, when I got a little angry, it wasn’t because of what the services were going to be – it was the response time. Everyone got angry at how long it took. I grew up in New York City and there is a consistency with those similar types of socio-economic areas. I know that if I stand on 125th street (in Harlem) and call 911, and I stand on Park Avenue and call 911, there is a different response time. I’m not saying that you’re going to get a different service when they come, but there is a different response time. For us former athletes or current athletes, who can respond quickly for people who can’t help themselves, it’s important that we show that we are here so when the aid comes from the government or the insurance companies, that is just the bonus because we’ve already helped you stay on your feet.”

 

yeah baby, i got tickets!

 

Unfortunately I can't go , otherwise I'd be the one starting the "TMac, TMac, TMac" chant if it didn't look like he was automatically going to play. I'd love to see him play, i think the crowd could coerce him into it, and it would drive the Houston crowd crazy. Even if it doesn't happen, it will definately be an awesome game, and definately serve its purpose and raise a very good amount of $$$ to help these ppl about.

 

man... sold out...

anyone with an extra ticket please email me.

Brockstapper@sbcglobal.net

 

Some new players participating.


-- Thanks to TNT, here's an updated list of the guys scheduled to participate:
LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers
Stephon Marbury, New York Knicks
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
Antonio McDyess, Detroit Pistons
Steve Francis, Orlando Magic
Sam Cassell, Los Angeles Clippers
Ron Artest, Indiana Pacers
Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
Al Harrington, Atlanta Hawks
Damon Jones, Cleveland Cavaliers
Tyronn Lue, Atlanta Hawks
J.R. Smith, New Orleans Hornets
Maurice Taylor, Houston Rockets
Cuttino Mobley, Los Angeles Clippers
Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks
Stromile Swift, Houston Rockets
Dahntay Jones, Memphis Grizzlies
Mike James, Houston Rockets
Lindsey Hunter, Detroit Pistons
Derek Anderson, Houston Rockets
Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz

 

Maurice Taylor, Houston Rockets? Did I miss something??

 

ohhhh im glad i got my tickets in the morning at the Randalls. Going Tomorrow see you guys.

 

I thought Tmac was still in China. I guess he came back early.

 

yeah... I knew it was going to be tight. Last night there were only 10 dollar tickets left behind the basket.

Was going to drive down to a Randalls or TC to pick up tix this morning. Luckily I called first. Sold out.

I only need one ticket if a spare pops up somewhere.

Thanks,
Brock

email above

I'll make up a story about being a displaced New Orleans native if that helps.

What really pissed me off is the guy from GA auctioning off a pair on Ebay today. b*stard.

 

I am not sturring anything, but the list contains no none-black players. Are they all busy, or not as good to play such a charity game, or just indifferent, because basically this is a black business?

 

If you recall the Kenny Smith pre-draft chatter before the 2002 draft when Yao was taken number 1, Kenny doesn't like foreigners.

 

He sure hated playing with that Nigerian guy.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=afp-usweatherbasketnba&prov=afp&type=lgns

I don't know why it's just African-Americans. That pisses me off.