Striking out Sickle Cell: Santonio Holmes hosted 'Strikes Against Sickle Cell' at Manor Lanes on Tuesday, an event that benefited the Santonio Holmes III & Long Foundation.
Holmes son T.J. suffers from sickle cell disease and is currently under treatment for the disease, which is a life-threatening blood disorder. Holmes' goal is to bring awareness and to help with treatment for the disease, as well as help families who are dealing with it.
"This is special to me because my son suffers from sickle cell," said Holmes. "To give these kids an opportunity to know somebody cares about them and their well-being and would love nothing more than to help cure this disease and research to be done so people dealing with it can have a broader understanding of what they are dealing with."
Holmes chose bowling as an event, because it's something kids that have the blood disorder can participate in, without feeling the effects other physical sports can bring with it.
"It's fun to bring families together to show kids who have sickle cell they can be active in everyday life and enjoy things in life they don't always experience," said Holmes. "I am an advocate for the sickle cell disease. I look forward to making a big mark on the kid's lives to help them in the future."
Time for a showdown: Charlie Batch will host his 13th annual In The Pocket on Thursday, Nov. 7, an event that benefits the Best of the Batch Foundation.
"This is our only fundraiser," said Batch. "This is really important. Everything that we bring in supports our STEAM programs and our reading and literacy programs at the foundation."
The STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) program is the main education program the Best of the Batch Foundation supports, an avenue to relate those subjects in real life. The foundation uses the program to nurture students' unique skills sets to allow them to learn in alternative ways, making it easier to understand and relate. Coupled with the reading literacy program, the foundation keeps growing, serving 3,800 kids annually in seven different counties.
For more information visit In The Pocket.
Weekend of Champions: Former Steelers linebacker Dennis 'Dirt' Winston will be inducted into the 2019 SEC Football Legends Class on Friday, Dec 6 as a part of the SEC Football 'Weekend of Champions' in Atlanta.
The class will be honored at a dinner on Dec. 6 and then recognized prior to the SEC Football Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Winston was selected by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 1977 NFL Draft and played 11 seasons in the NFL. He played in 143 games and was a part of the Steelers Super Bowl XIII and XIV teams. Winston played at Arkansas, where he is a member of the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame. He was also named to the school's All-Century Team in 1994.
His senior season he led the Razorbacks with 13 tackles for a loss and four fumble recoveries. In four years at Arkansas he recorded more than 200 tackles, including a team-high 97 in 1974. Winston helped lead the Razorbacks to the 1976 Cotton Bowl championship, where they defeated Georgia 31-10.
The final step: Chris Kemoeatu is a finalist for the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020. The Four inductees will be announced on Oct. 23 and the inductees will be honored during Enshrinement Weekend on Jan. 17-18 in Hawaii.
The finalists were selected from over 100 nominees and will be narrowed down by a committee made up of members of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
