AC Green speaks to the youth of today to help them develop leadership skills and moral values.

Green went on to win three titles with the Lakers – two with the Magic Johnson-led teams (1987 and 1988) and one with the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal 2000 team.

Today AC Green is a sought after Christian Speaker and has developed The AC Green Youth Foundation. He uses his position as an NBA star as a platform from which he can be heard in order to help young people.

AC Green writes about his Youth Foundation:

The A.C. Green Youth Foundation is about building character, building strong bodies and strong minds, winning and losing with dignity, teamwork, and sacrifice. We provide programs that ignite dreams and an abstinence program that says it’s okay to wait until marriage. In short, we are building leaders. Leaders who, in their individual capacity, no matter what their station in life, will be able to stand up for what is right instead of wrong, and in fact, will be their brother’s keeper.

My passions go far beyond professional basketball. I ardently desire to influence the younger generation, both male and female, to fulfill their potential by tenaciously pursuing their dreams in accordance with their gifts and talents.

I feel many of our nation’s young people feel largely rejected and neglected, which breeds hopelessness and despair. Having twelve nieces and nephews, I am in touch with the youth of today on a personal level and feel a great deal of love and concern for them.

I firmly believe that my position as a NBA star is a platform from which to be heard, and a vehicle to help young people.

Butch Lumpkin’s disability was a result of his mother taking the drug Thalidomide while she was pregnant to combat morning sickness.

Lumpkin wasn’t a professional athlete and didn’t have the name recognition of Dorsett and Dawson, but he’s the one that left the biggest impression. You see, Lumpkin was born with virtually no arms, yet he’s a single-digit handicap golfer, plays tennis better than most and skis black diamonds. The word “can’t” isn’t in his vocabulary.

At the event, Lumpkin put on both a tennis and golf clinic and left everyone in awe of his ability. During the golf tournament, he also drove around the course hitting tee shots with the golfers. He out drove the vast majority of participants.

WATCH VIDEO

Lumpkin’s disability was a result of his mother taking the drug Thalidomide while she was pregnant to combat morning sickness. He is one of approximately 5,000 survivors world-wide. Born with what he calls “short arms,” Lumpkin really has what amounts to no functional arms at all. Yet he hasn’t let this stop him from excelling in athletics.

After college, tennis became his passion and he dreamed of someday turning pro. After earning his certification by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association, he became a full-time tennis pro at Horseshoe Bend Country Club. Soon after, he took up golf and succeeded at that sport as well. He even has a hole in one to his credit.

Thanks to a segment about him on the Golf Channel, Lumpkin is starting to make a name for himself. He is an accomplished motivational speaker and Christian speaker and conducts golf demonstrations at schools, businesses, churches, tournaments and men’s retreats. If you’re looking for someone to inspire and motivate your group, you should consider Lumpkin. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Tim Tebow says he feels future endorsement deals could be a distraction from football

In April alone, Tebow lead the entire NFL in jersey sales, and has landed deals with Nike and EA sports. Tebow is now saying he’s actually turned down several seven-figure deals because he thought they would be a distraction from football.

“I’m trying to work hard and not get my mind cluttered with all that,” Tebow told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “When it gets to the point when something needs to be presented to me, I see it. Right now, it’s all ball for me.”

Prior to being drafted, The Davie-Brown Index, an independent marketing research tool, found Tebow to be more appealing and more of a trendsetter than New England’s Tom Brady, Minnesota’s Brett Favre and Dallas’ Tony Romo despite concerns over whether he can be a successful as an NFL quarterback.

Related stories:

Denver Broncos Pick Tim Tebow in 1st Round Draft
Who is The Top Wide Receiver In the Upcoming NFL Draft?
Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad To Celebrate Christian Family Values

Original post at Huffington Post

Kurt Warner

People often ask me who my favorite athletes are to deal with. I always give them the same answer…there are a lot of great guys, far too many to mention. But definitely high on the list is Kurt Warner, the quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.

A lot of athletes change over the years due to their success and wealth. Not Warner. He’s the same guy today as he was 10 years ago. He’s a devout Christian, a big family guy and very philanthropic. In fact, a couple of weeks ago, he traveled to his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to assist Habitat For Humanity in rebuilding more than 20 homes for families that had been affected by the devastating floods of 2008. He wasn’t there for just a photo-op – he got his hands dirty and worked hard like everyone else.

Warner has enjoyed a rags-to-riches career that couldn’t have been scripted any better by a Hollywood director.

After finishing his college career at Northern Iowa, Warner attended the Green Bay Packers training camp in 1994 but was released before the regular season began. It was at this point that he famously stocked shelves at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa for $5.50 an hour. With no NFL teams calling, Warner played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League beginning in 1995. He was named to the AFL’s All-Arena first team in both 1996 and 1997 as he led the Barnstormers to Arena Bowl appearances in both seasons.

In 1998, Kurt Warner was signed by the St. Louis Rams and was allocated to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe, where he led the league in touchdowns and passing yards. Going into the 1999 season, Warner was the Rams backup quarterback but took over the starting job when Trent Green was sidelined with an injury. The rest, as they say, is history. Warner put together one of the greatest seasons by a quarterback in NFL history, throwing for 4,353 yards with 41 touchdown passes and a completion rate of 65.1%. He went onto lead the Rams to a Super Bowl victory over the Tennessee Titans and was named both the Super Bowl MVP and NFL MVP. He became the sixth player to win both awards in the same year, joining Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith and Steve Young.

In 2001, Kurt Warner enjoyed another career year when he led the Rams to the Super Bowl and won his second NFL MVP award. For the next several years, his career was up and down. However, last year, he returned to old form when he led the Cardinals to their first division title since 1975 and first-ever Super Bowl appearance. He recently re-signed with the Cardinals for two more years and will likely be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after he retires.

Away from the gridiron, he’s a much sought-after Christian speaker and sports motivational speaker.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Booking Agency is a speakers bureau and top booking agent for sports stars, football speakers, celebrity speakers, athlete appearances, endorsements and corporate entertainment. For more information call 800.966.1380

Americas Got Talent is America’s version of Simon Cowell’s popular Britains Got Talent. Last night we may have just witnessed one of the acts, Voices of Glory, that could be heading to the finals. The act is comprised of two brothers ages 16 and 13 and one sister age 9. When asked who their inspiration was they told the story about their mother who was in a head on collision with a drunk driver which rendered their mom in a coma. They sang to their mother and others in the hospital and today the mother is alive and well as witnessed on stage.

Listen to Voices of Glory moving performance of “God Bless America”

PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for American Idols , sports stars and celebrities,  corporate entertainment, inspirational speakers and talent.

“Information reported today by Andy Barr of Politico regarding Olive Garden’s advertising on the Late Show with David Letterman was erroneous. No authorized spokesperson for the company confirmed the information in his report,” said Olive Garden spokesman Rich Jeffers in an email to The Vote.

“The Olive Garden media schedule is planned months in advance. The schedule for the Late Show with David Letterman was completed earlier this month. We take all guest concerns seriously. And, as always, we will factor those concerns in as we plan our advertising schedule in the future,” he continued

In an email obtained by Politico, a spokeswoman for the chain told a Letterman-criticizing pasta fan that “there will be no more Olive Garden ads scheduled for ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in this year’s broadcast schedule.”

“We apologize that Mr. Letterman’s mistake, which was not consistent with our standards and values, left you with a bad impression of Olive Garden,” wrote Sherri Bruen, the company’s guest relations manager.

An official statement is coming soon, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency is a top celebrity booking agent for Christian speakers, celebrity speakers, sports stars and entertainers.

Deion Sanders

Professional athletes all have a special talent that very few people possess. Still others have a talent that can just be described as a freak of nature. A few athletes come to mind – two-sport stars Bo Jackson and Brian Jordan and baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who was drafted by all three major sports out of college. But one of the best was without a doubt Deion Sanders.

Nicknamed “Prime Time” during his All-America football days at Florida State, Deion  is the only athlete to have ever played in both a Super Bowl and World Series. He is considered one of the greatest cover cornerbacks ever. He played for the Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens, winning the Super Bowl with the 49ers and Cowboys. He was a nine-time All-Pro and was named to the 1990’s NFL All-Decade Team.

In Major League Baseball, he played a nine-year, part-time career, participating in 641 games with four teams – the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. During the 1989 season, he became the first player in history to hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same week.

Deion was considered a better football player than baseball player. His reputation was so great that opposing offensive coordinators almost always specifically accounted for him in their game plan.[He was widely known to shut down “his” half of the field, causing most quarterbacks to essentially ignore the receiver he was covering. He allegedly ran a 4.16 in the 40-yard dash, making him the second fastest in the NFL to Darrell Green.

Deion also occasionally played offense. He and Bill Dudley are the only players in NFL history to score a touchdown six different ways – interception return, punt return, kickoff return, receiving, rushing and a fumble recovery.

Deion will mostly be remembered by his “Prime Time” persona and for “high-stepping” it into the end zone followed by his touchdown dance celebrations. The interesting thing about “Prime Time” was that it was just a marketing ploy. He used it to become not only a fan favorite but also one of the highest-paid athletes of his time.

 Deion had some difficult times in the late 1990’s that led to him becoming born-again and an ordained minister. He also wrote an interesting book published in 1998  entitled “Power, Money & Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life.”

 Today, Deion is a analyst for the NFL Network. He’s also an a highly-acclaimed Christian Speaker and motivational sports speaker. I recently hired him to speak at a client’s sales meeting and he received higher ratings for his speech than any other speaker.

If you would like to find out how to hire Deion Sanders for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Deion Sanders booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top sports and celebrity booking agent for athletes, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.

Find more football speakers and nfl speakers.

Danny Gokey

There appears to be a scam brewing with FramesDirect.com, the company claiming to be affiliated with Danny Gokey Eyeglasses. In a previous post I made on June 12, 2009, FramesDirect.com uses Danny’s picture to promote a Danny Gokey eyewear line stating that 10% of their proceeds go to Sophia’s Heart, Danny’s foundation for his late wife.  This is false!

Here is the proof:

June 16, 2009 UPDATE: Danny just tweeted this:
Many companies r claiming 2 partner w/ Sophia’s Heart (clothes, eyewear, ect).They r all SCAMS. We have not seen 1 penny nor been contacted

According to Danny’s tweet, proceeds DO NOT go to Sophia’s Heart Foundation.

More proof came when fans contacted FramesDirect.com for more information and the company replied that they were partnered with a Danny Gokey FANSITE, NOT Danny Gokey himself. As of to date no proceeds or donations have been made to Danny or his foundation.

‘We’ve never contacted Danny about our site, but we feel that he would really want this,’ Joe Monaghan of DannyGokeyGear.com says.

DannyGokeyGear.com — and the accompanying DannyGokeyBlog.com — are actually the property of Colorado Web Builders, a company run by a Denver Web designer named Joe Monaghan, and are in no way affiliated with Gokey himself, or his charity, though you probably wouldn’t know it by glancing at the main page of either site and that has, rather understandably, led to some confusion.

“But at that point, we were having problems with some of the glasses places in Denver, because they didn’t carry a brand that Danny wore on the show — Luxotica,” Monaghan continued. “So I called FramesDirect, and they were interested in helping us out. So we came up with a game plan — TV Guide would direct the viewers to our site, and we would refer traffic to FramesDirect’s site, where they would sell the glasses and donate a portion of the proceeds to charity.”

It all sounds well and good, until the confusion started. That led many to notice that the Gokey Gear site was not endorsed by the singer in any way, which, in turn, led FramesDirect to pull any mention of the Gokey glasses from the main page of their Web site. And that’s when alarm bells started going off across the “Idol”-sphere. Was this all some gigantic scam?

“To be honest, there’s been a lot of misinformation out there. So to clear it up, we’re not affiliated with the foundation or Gokey. They didn’t ask us to sell the frames for them,” Jennifer Cameron, a spokesperson for FramesDirect, told MTV News. “We were contacted by Danny Gokey Gear, and we decided to help out the Sophia’s Heart Foundation. It’s as if we’re doing a fundraiser for them. We’re not doing this to make money, and we still intend to donate a part of the proceeds to the charity.”

If there is no contract signed with Gokey or Gokey’s management to promote the eyewear line in his name, then this would be trademark infringement.

If you would like to find out how to hire Danny Gokey for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Danny Gokey booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for American Idols, Christian speakers, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.

Danny confirmed that he is meeting with the 19 Record’s president to sit down soon with Sony National. Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta all have signed contracts. I am sure Danny will have no trouble getting a contract as well.

If you would like to find out how to hire Danny Gokey for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, request Danny Gokey booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top celebrity booking agent for American Idols, entertainers, sports stars and celebrities.

Gale Sayers

I recently hired Chicago Bears Hall of Famer Gale Sayers for a speaking engagement and was reminded of Brian’s Song, one of the most touching movies ever made and something that many people are reminded of when they think of Gale.

The 1971 made-for-television movie told the story of Sayers friendship with teammate Brian Piccolo, a relationship that shattered racial boundaries during a time of racial tension. Piccolo played four seasons with the Bears and, in 1969, began coughing early in the season. On November 16 in Atlanta, after scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown in a 48-31 loss to the Falcons, Piccolo removed himself from the plane, bothered by a persistent cough and chest pains.

 Two days later, a chest x-ray discovered a tumor in his lungs. He underwent surgery to remove the malignant tumor on November 28, at which time the doctor discovered the cancer had spread. Piccolo began chemotherapy treatments and spent Christmas at home. In April of 1970 his left lung and left breast were removed.

Six weeks later, Sayers was honored with the George Halas Award as the league’s most courageous player for the 1969 season. At the ceremony in New York, Sayers gave an emotional speech about Piccolo. Said Sayers, “He has the heart of a giant and that rare form of courage that allows him to kid himself and his opponent – cancer. He has the mental attitude that makes me proud to have a friend who spells out the word ‘courage’ 24 hours a day of his life. . . . I love Brian Piccolo and I’d like all of you to love him, too. Tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him.”

Piccolo, bothered by chest pain, was re-admitted to the hospital in early June and died on June 16, 1970. Each year, the Bears honor his memory by presenting the Brian Piccolo award to the rookie and veteran who best exemplify the courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor displayed by Piccolo.

Speaking of Sayers, he went onto become one of the greatest running backs in NFL history and is considered one of top two running backs along with Walter Payton in Chicago Bears history. In 1977, Sayers was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is still the youngest inductee in the Hall’s history. In 1994, the Bears retired his number 40 at Soldier Field along with the number 51 of his teammate, legendary linebacker Dick Butkus. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him #21 on its list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Today, he runs Sayers, an IT company that partners with top hardware and software companies to provide information technology consulting services and solutions. Sayers is also an accomplished motivational sports speaker as well as cancer speaker.

If you would like to find out how to hire inspirational speaker and cancer speaker Gale Sayers for a speaking engagement, appearance, endorsement, autograph signing or special event, you can request Gale Sayers booking agent information from PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency. PFP is a top celebrity and sports booking agent for athletes, sports stars, motivational speakers, entertainers and celebrities.