I heard about this on a local talk radio station (sports radio 610) this morning and thought I would share it with you.

The Andre Johnson Charitable Foundation, founded by Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson, sponsored a special even where needy kids were allowed to shop for their favorite toys in a timed “race”. It was a really nice way to give back to the community.

You can read more about the story on Houston Chronicle.

This past Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings beat the San Diego Chargers 35-17, but the game wasn’t what everyone in Minnesota was talking about.

The Minnesota Viking’s Rooking Running Back, Adrian Peterson, is what everyone was talking about.

Adrian Peterson set a new NFL rushing record – 296 yards! With his amazing performance on Sunday, Adrian Peterson is on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s rookie rushing record and some people are predicting that he might break the all-time NFL single season rushing record (also set by Dickerson).

Simply amazing!

In case you missed it, here some highlights from the game last Sunday:

Justin Verlander pitched a no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers the other day. What a great performance.

For more information on the no-hitter, check out Dana Wakiji first hand account of the event on her blog.

This isn’t the first time Cooper Brannan has been recruited.  The last time was by the Marines.  He did a tour in Iraq where he lost his left pinky finger when a flash grenade went off in his hand, but now he’ll be pitching for the San Diego Padres.  You can read more about his story here.

Check out the ubelievably inspiring story of Team Hoyt by double-clicking the play button on the video below…

Martina Navratilova won the the $1.34 million Rogers Cup doubles title on Monday. It was her 176th WTA doubles title. Pretty amazing. Martina and her partner Nadia Petrova defeated Cara Black and Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-1, 6-2.

Pretty amazing for a 49 year old. Martina turns 50 on October 18th and has announced she will retiring after the US Open this year.

While doubles is a much easier game to play than singles, it is still pretty amazing that Martina is still one of the best womens doubles player in the world.

Wow. This is one of the best sports articles I have EVER read.

ESPN has an article about Tony Dungy that is so inspirational. With Father’s day coming this weekend, I suggest all you Fathers out there click here to read the article.

Actually, everyone should read the article. It really puts things in perspective.

I just finished reading a great story about a project that Linebacker Derrick Brooks runs called the “Brooks Bunch”. Go check out the story here. It’s a really nice read.

Check this out. A reader told us about this book that has positive stories from the world of sports. Kind of mirrors what inspired us to create this blog.

Pretty cool…

You might remember our previous article on Rachel Scdoris, the blind musher who was competing in the Iditarod. Rachel finished the 1151 mile race in 57th place. Congratulations, Rachel!

Hannah Teter has taken the fame the Olympics earned her and is using it for good. After she carried a bottle of syrup to Turin, her family received many calls and emails about where they could find the syrup. The Teters are creating a website, selling similar syrup. The proceeds from the site will go to World Vision, a favorite charity of Hannah’s.

You have probably heard about the amazing story of the autistic boy who scored a ton of points at the end of a high school basketball game a few days ago. Just in case you missed it…

17 year old Jason McElwain from Greece, New York scored 20 points in his High School’s final game of the year. Unfortunately, it is the only game he played in all year so he can’t play in the post season. Prodcution companies in Hollywood are hounding him trying to get rights to his story.

It is a wonderful story. You can read more about his story here.

My wife just mentioned this on our winter olympics blog. Entenmann’s has a very cool contest going on.

Adults can nominate any “mini hero” between the ages of six and seventeen doing charity work in their communities with a short essay. Celebrety judges that include Olympic sisters Emily and Sarah Hughes, Chicago Cubs Kerry Wood, along with others, will judge the essays.

Prizes include $2500 for the winner and $2500 for their favorite charity. For more information check out:
www.entenmannsminiheroes.com

This is a very nice way to give back to kids doing positive work in our communities!

This was not a story that made big headlines— at least not in the United States. But Canada is singing the praises of Norwegian coach Bjornar Haakensmoen.

Canadian Sara Renner broke a pole on the second lap of the women’s cross country team pursuit and fell from the lead to fourth place, 2.4 seconds behind the leader. But Norwegian coach Haakensmoen ran onto the course and gave Renner a new pole. Beckie Scott put Canada back in the lead on the ensuing lap and the duo raced with the leaders the rest of the way, finishing second, earning them the silver.

Norway, by the way, finished fourth. Haakensmoen was extremely humble about what he did, but we think this should be headline news.

We salute coach Haakensmoen for portraying true Olympic spirit.

Rachael Scdoris is a musher. She has been racing sled dogs since she was 12 years old. This March she plans to complete the 34th Annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,112-mile race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, enuring freezing temperatures, high speed winds, and many other dangers.

Oh, and did we forget to mention that Rachael is blind?

She is. Not only is she planning to race, but she’s hoping to use her experience to raise money for other blind and visually impaired athletes. Her corporate sponsor, Standard Insurance Company, has agreed to match the first $50,000 in donations and pledges dollar for dollar. All money raised will go to the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA).

If you’re interested in learning more about Rachael and her mission, visit her website.