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• Peyton and Eli Manning, who grew up in New Orleans, will fly to Baton Rouge, La., Saturday on a plane carrying relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The brothers will leave from Indianapolis on a plane sponsored by the PeyBack Foundation. The flight will be carrying 31,000 pounds of nonperishable items including diapers, baby formula, pillows, water and Gatorade that will be delivered to the American Red Cross.
• Fats Domino and his family spent two days with LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell after being rescued from the floodwaters of the hurricane. The 77-year-old R&B singer and his family are friends with the family of Russell's girlfriend, sports information director Michael Bonnette said. Story
• Several of NASCAR's drivers and teams have set up programs and funds for contributions to the relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Jimmie Johnson and sponsor Lowe's will donate $480 to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts for each of the 250 laps Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet completes on Sunday at California Speedway. In addition, Lowe's will donate $4,800 and Johnson and his wife Chandra will donate $48,000, regardless of the race outcome.
Robby Gordon Motorsports will donate $7 for each lap his No. 7 Chevrolet completes for the remainder of the 2005 Cup season to the Harrah's Employee Recovery Fund, which sponsor Harrah's Entertainment established to assist its employees experiencing the after-affects of the tragedy. Additionally, the team will donate 10 percent to the fund from its merchandise sales for the rest of the season.
Penske Racing South also has started a hurricane relief fund within its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. The team will gather monetary donations throughout the next two weeks with all proceeds being sent to the American Red Cross. Penske Corp. headed by team owner Roger Penske, has said it will make a matching donation.
• The thoroughbred meet at Fair Grounds in New Orleans that had been set to begin in November was canceled while racing officials try to locate hundreds of displaced employees.
Churchill Downs, which bought the Fair Grounds in October, has been trying to account for 500 employees and survey the damage at the track near downtown New Orleans, Churchill president Thomas Meeker said.
The meet, scheduled to run from Thanksgiving Day through March, could be held at another track near Shreveport in northern Louisiana, Meeker said.
• The Sun Belt Conference is temporarily moving its offices from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
The conference's offices are located on the 23rd floor of the Pan American Life building, not far from the Superdome. Flooding in the area has made the building inaccessible, and it has also sustained some wind damage, commissioner Wright Waters said. The league office should be up and running by Wednesday.
• The sister of Central Florida's Javid James, who was out of contact with her family for several days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, was found safe in Tennessee.
Tahirah James, 18, had not been heard from since the storm made landfall Monday. The story received national exposure during Thursday night's UCF season opener at South Carolina, when James spoke to ESPN and pleaded for information on his sister's whereabouts.
• Jockeys at Del Mar will take a plunge to raise money for victims. Virtually the entire jockey colony volunteered to be dunk-tank targets Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the track near San Diego.
For $10, fans will get two baseballs and two chances to drop the jockeys into a tub of water, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club agreed to match whatever funds are raised.
• The U.S. Tennis Association canceled the $50,000 men's Challenger event scheduled in Covington, La., the week of Sept. 12. A new USTA men's Challenger event will be scheduled for the week of Oct. 24 at a site to be determined.
• The Houston Texans raised more than $2.5 million with a fund-raising drive during Houston's preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.
• Sheila Johnson, president and managing partner of the Washington Mystics, donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts.
Mystics guard Temeka Johnson hails from New Orleans and All-Star Alana Beard is from Shreveport, La.
Although Temeka Johnson's home suffered considerable damage, her family members were able to move to a safe location. The Alana Beard Foundation in Shreveport is collecting items for the victims.
• San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos will match all contributions up to $150,000 made by fans at the team's opener against Dallas on Sept. 11.
• Serena Williams, who has already said she'll donate $100 for every ace she hits the rest of the year, is also offering up her U.S. Open earrings. Williams is sporting a pair of $40,000 platinum chandelier earrings with 13 carats of diamonds, and said she and designer Erica Courtney will put them up for auction on the WTA Tour Web site after the Open. "That would be a lot more than the aces," Williams said.
• The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks announced plans Friday to donate $100,000 to the American Red Cross. Additional money will come from an in-arena action held at the Sparks' playoff game against Sacramento earlier this week and from in-arena auctions held at each Lakers home game during the month of November. Also, the Lakers Youth Foundation will make a $100,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
• The San Diego Padres will hold donation drives on Sept. 7 and 10 at Petco Park. The Padres, along with 14 other clubs hosting games on Sept. 7, will collect funds from fans for the American Red Cross relief effort. Major League Baseball will match what is collected in ballparks that day, up to $1 million.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks will donate all proceeds from tickets purchased for their series against the Milwaukee Brewers later this month to the American Red Cross relief efforts. The Diamondbacks will also conduct a "Pass the Hat" donation campaign that will start with the players and extend to the fans during their game against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 16.
• The Colorado Rockies said revenue from tickets sold on Sunday for their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers would be donated by the team's foundation to the McCormick Tribune Foundations Hurricane Katrina relief fund. The McCormick Tribune Foundation will match 50 percent of the first $2 million donated to the fund, the team said.
The brothers will leave from Indianapolis on a plane sponsored by the PeyBack Foundation. The flight will be carrying 31,000 pounds of nonperishable items including diapers, baby formula, pillows, water and Gatorade that will be delivered to the American Red Cross.
• Fats Domino and his family spent two days with LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell after being rescued from the floodwaters of the hurricane. The 77-year-old R&B singer and his family are friends with the family of Russell's girlfriend, sports information director Michael Bonnette said. Story
• Several of NASCAR's drivers and teams have set up programs and funds for contributions to the relief effort in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Jimmie Johnson and sponsor Lowe's will donate $480 to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts for each of the 250 laps Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet completes on Sunday at California Speedway. In addition, Lowe's will donate $4,800 and Johnson and his wife Chandra will donate $48,000, regardless of the race outcome.
Robby Gordon Motorsports will donate $7 for each lap his No. 7 Chevrolet completes for the remainder of the 2005 Cup season to the Harrah's Employee Recovery Fund, which sponsor Harrah's Entertainment established to assist its employees experiencing the after-affects of the tragedy. Additionally, the team will donate 10 percent to the fund from its merchandise sales for the rest of the season.
Penske Racing South also has started a hurricane relief fund within its headquarters in Mooresville, N.C. The team will gather monetary donations throughout the next two weeks with all proceeds being sent to the American Red Cross. Penske Corp. headed by team owner Roger Penske, has said it will make a matching donation.
• The thoroughbred meet at Fair Grounds in New Orleans that had been set to begin in November was canceled while racing officials try to locate hundreds of displaced employees.
Churchill Downs, which bought the Fair Grounds in October, has been trying to account for 500 employees and survey the damage at the track near downtown New Orleans, Churchill president Thomas Meeker said.
The meet, scheduled to run from Thanksgiving Day through March, could be held at another track near Shreveport in northern Louisiana, Meeker said.
• The Sun Belt Conference is temporarily moving its offices from hurricane-ravaged New Orleans to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
The conference's offices are located on the 23rd floor of the Pan American Life building, not far from the Superdome. Flooding in the area has made the building inaccessible, and it has also sustained some wind damage, commissioner Wright Waters said. The league office should be up and running by Wednesday.
• The sister of Central Florida's Javid James, who was out of contact with her family for several days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, was found safe in Tennessee.
Tahirah James, 18, had not been heard from since the storm made landfall Monday. The story received national exposure during Thursday night's UCF season opener at South Carolina, when James spoke to ESPN and pleaded for information on his sister's whereabouts.
• Jockeys at Del Mar will take a plunge to raise money for victims. Virtually the entire jockey colony volunteered to be dunk-tank targets Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the track near San Diego.
For $10, fans will get two baseballs and two chances to drop the jockeys into a tub of water, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club agreed to match whatever funds are raised.
• The U.S. Tennis Association canceled the $50,000 men's Challenger event scheduled in Covington, La., the week of Sept. 12. A new USTA men's Challenger event will be scheduled for the week of Oct. 24 at a site to be determined.
• The Houston Texans raised more than $2.5 million with a fund-raising drive during Houston's preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.
• Sheila Johnson, president and managing partner of the Washington Mystics, donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts.
Mystics guard Temeka Johnson hails from New Orleans and All-Star Alana Beard is from Shreveport, La.
Although Temeka Johnson's home suffered considerable damage, her family members were able to move to a safe location. The Alana Beard Foundation in Shreveport is collecting items for the victims.
• San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos will match all contributions up to $150,000 made by fans at the team's opener against Dallas on Sept. 11.
• Serena Williams, who has already said she'll donate $100 for every ace she hits the rest of the year, is also offering up her U.S. Open earrings. Williams is sporting a pair of $40,000 platinum chandelier earrings with 13 carats of diamonds, and said she and designer Erica Courtney will put them up for auction on the WTA Tour Web site after the Open. "That would be a lot more than the aces," Williams said.
• The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks announced plans Friday to donate $100,000 to the American Red Cross. Additional money will come from an in-arena action held at the Sparks' playoff game against Sacramento earlier this week and from in-arena auctions held at each Lakers home game during the month of November. Also, the Lakers Youth Foundation will make a $100,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
• The San Diego Padres will hold donation drives on Sept. 7 and 10 at Petco Park. The Padres, along with 14 other clubs hosting games on Sept. 7, will collect funds from fans for the American Red Cross relief effort. Major League Baseball will match what is collected in ballparks that day, up to $1 million.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks will donate all proceeds from tickets purchased for their series against the Milwaukee Brewers later this month to the American Red Cross relief efforts. The Diamondbacks will also conduct a "Pass the Hat" donation campaign that will start with the players and extend to the fans during their game against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 16.
• The Colorado Rockies said revenue from tickets sold on Sunday for their game against the Los Angeles Dodgers would be donated by the team's foundation to the McCormick Tribune Foundations Hurricane Katrina relief fund. The McCormick Tribune Foundation will match 50 percent of the first $2 million donated to the fund, the team said.