Fantasy Football Time!

With NFL training camps in full swing, and my fantasy football draft behind me, it's impossible not to have football on the mind. Amidst my hours of draft preparation I came across one player that really stood out. As one of the biggest, most powerful fullbacks in the NFL he's every defensive line's worst nightmare. However, it was his work off the field that really caught my eye and secured him the title of Green Gladiator of the Week.

This week's Green Gladiator is Ovie Mughelli, the starting fullback for the Atlanta Falcons. Mughelli is passionate about the environment and wants to help preserve the earth for future generations. He's a force to be reckoned with both as a Falcon and an environmental activist!

In 2007, Mughelli started the Ovie Mughelli Foundation with a mission to improve the quality of life for underprivileged children in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina; in Baltimore Maryland, where he began his NFL career as a Raven; and in his current community, Atlanta, Georgia. The foundation seeks to, "empower the youth to take ownership and pride about their lives and the roles that they play in society."

Mughelli soon realized that the key to improving the quality of life in those neighborhoods was to teach the children how to go green. Mughelli believes that by educating the children, that the sustainable messages will touch households, neighborhoods and eventually the world!

Through programs like the Green Speaking Series and Football/Environmental Camps, the foundation teaches children the benefits of becoming more environmentally conscious and how they can make changes in their daily lives.

Although most of Mughelli's environmental efforts are made through his foundation, he recently joined a group of athletes on a tour through the devastated Gulf Coast. After the experience, Mughelli wrote a heartfelt article in which he describes what he saw and calls for change and clean energy. The article is extremely well written and shows how committed and authentic he is with his environmental causes.

Ovie Mughelli is a true "Green Gladiator" who realized his ability as an NFL player to bring about positive change for the environment. I can't wait to watch him both on and off the field this fall. I'm definitely going to be rooting for him even though he isn't on my fantasy football team!

A Gladiator for our Mountains!

While last week's Green Gladiator, Kelly Slater, spends his time surfing and protecting our oceans this week's Green Gladiator prefers fresh powdered snow and half-pipes.

This week's Green Gladiator is professional snowboarder, Jeremy Jones. The eight-time Big Mountain Snowboarder of the Year is a force to be reckoned with, both on and off the slopes.

As an avid snowboarder for the last 25 years, Jones has seen first-hand the impact of climate change on our mountains. The "definitive changes" like shorter winter seasons and less snow, motivated Jones to take action to protect his livelihood.

In 2007, Jones founded Protect our Winters with the hopes of uniting and engaging the global snow sports community to lead the fight against climate change. Through education, activism and supporting community-based initiatives, Protect Our Winters, aims to have a direct influence on climate change and ensure that winters are here for future generations.

Protect our Winters list of programs and initiatives is very impressive (and extensive!) and shows the power of many athletes working together towards a common goal. One of Protect Our Winter's 2010 Programs/Initiatives is, Athletes United Against Climate Change. The goal of the program is to, "unify all winter sports athletes to use their collective influence to change consumer behavior, speak with once voice and set examples in personal carbon reduction. We provide athletes with the tools to leverage their influence to effect change globally."

Here's a great example of how Protect Our Winters does just that!



Congratulations and thank you for all that you do Jeremy Jones!! Your Green Gladiator of the Week title is well deserved.

Going Green in the Great Big Blue!

It's Friday, so you know what that means...

Yep, it's time to announce the Green Gladiator of the Week!

Since it's summer and all I want to do right now is be at the beach, I feel it's appropriate for this week's athlete to be a true gladiator for our planet's beaches and oceans.

Congratulations to this week's Green Gladiator, Kelly Slater!!

Slater isn't just a 9x world champion surfer, he's also a champion advocate for beaches and oceans. In 2007, Slater founded the Kelly Slater Foundation to raise awareness and financial support for socially and environmentally conscious charities. Through his foundation, Slater has truly made a difference for beaches around the world!

Here are just a few of the things Slater has done in the last few years. It should come as know surprise how much he has already accomplished considering the competitiveness and unrivaled stamina he brings to the sport.

The video below is from the Kelly Slater Foundation's Inaugural Benefit in 2008. The Benefit raised over $350,00 for Surfrider Foundation's Save Trestles campaign. FYI - The Save Trestles campaign successfully kept the toll road from being built! Way to go guys!



Kelly recently did a PSA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "Please Care" campaign in which he asks for our help in protecting our oceans.



Slater hosts an annual "Kelly Slater Invitational" which raises funds for Reef Check and other related causes.

As you can see, Slater is truly a "Green Gladiator" and an amazing example of how athletes can make a difference. Thank you Kelly Slater!!!

And just for some Friday fun, here are two Kelly Slater videos worth watching! Enjoy!

Green at the end of the tunnel...

When I heard about the bombings in Kampala, Uganda my heart stopped. Mike Zuckerman, one of the most important people to me, has been there screening the World Cup games to a local village through the Kampala 2 Cape Town Project. The thought of anything happening to him was heartbreaking.

Even though I was able to speak to him and hear he was safe, I couldn't sleep that night. I was devastated. I'm still devastated. All I can think about is how thankful I am it wasn't at his screening but at the same time, how terrible I feel for those who lost loved ones. I'm still in shock about it. It's just hard for me to comprehend that a group could be filled with so much hate that they would bomb innocent people during the World Cup Finals; one of the most unifying and positive events in the world.

Through Mike, I've seen and heard how positive the World Cup has been for Kampala. Mike has been there providing the village of Kyebando with a safe, community friendly space to watch the World Cup.



Given the excitement throughout Kampala for the first World Cup played on African soil, the screenings were always packed! Mike soon realized the powerful and uniting platform the World Cup created and used the screenings to inspire positive change in the village.



He used halftime to educate the crowd on the environment and inspire them to be more environmentally conscious. Through a variety of community projects, Mike taught the village how to go green! He successfully organized four village cleanups, planted trees, set up recycling and composting programs, and even helped find a solution to the overwhelming plastic waste problem! Mike and Charles Nsawo came up with a way to turn all of the plastic waste (which is literally thrown along every street) into something useful....plastic soccer balls! Together, they developed the "Buvera Ball Project" which recycles the plastic waste, cleans up the streets, AND enables children to play soccer.





Here are some really great videos on the Buvera Ball Project! They've definitely helped me feel better today.









So as you can see, over the last five weeks I've only associated the World Cup with positive change for Kampala. Although I'm still overwhelmed with sadness, I know that Mike has brought so much joy to the village. Generations to come will have a cleaner and more sustainable environment because of his efforts. While the bombers chose to use the World Cup as a means to terrorize innocent soccer fans, Mike spent the last five weeks using it to spread peace, love and environmental sustainability.

Green Gladiator of the Week: Houston Rocket Yao Ming!

Since a big part of my blog is spreading the best green messages and practices of athletes, I've decided that every Friday I'm going to highlight one that has made a positive contribution to the planet. He or she will be the "Green Gladiator" of the week. Please feel free to make suggestions for future Fridays!

To start off the "Green Gladiator" tradition I decided to go with someone who has publicly stood up for something I feel VERY passionate about. For those of you who don't know me well, here's a little secret...I LOVE ELEPHANTS! I think they are the most adorable and lovable creatures out there. Nothing in the world would make me happier than a baby elephant, I'm serious.


Unfortunately, poachers around the world kill elephants for their valuable ivory. Not only are they depleting the elephant population, but they also leave baby elephants orphaned. Luckily there are places like The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust that rescues the orphans and takes care of them until they are ready to return to the wild.

Poaching is a serious problem and is impacting ecosystems around the world which is why it's so important for athletes to use their fame to help solve the problem. Fortunately, one athlete has and that's why Yao Ming is the "Green Gladiator" of the week. Yao Ming has denounced illegal poaching and did a PSA for WildAid. He also spoke out against the hunting of sharks for their fins which is a delicacy in his native China. He's a great example of how athletes can use their celeb status to help save our planet. Thank you Yao Ming!!

Here are two great videos of the Green Gladiator of the week Yao Ming that he made with WildAid.





I hope that Yao Ming inspires people around the world to stop buying ivory and shark fins. The "delicacies" simply aren't worth it and should be seen for what they really are, fragments of a murdered animal.

2 Points for the Environment!

It's a great time to be a sports fan. I seriously don't have enough time in my day to watch and read everything that's going on! There's the World Cup Semi-finals, the Tour de France, and not to mention the NBA free agency circus. Where is LeBron James going to end up?? The New York girl inside of me is hoping to see him in blue and orange this season. I haven't had a solid team to root for in the Garden since the Ewing, Starks and Oakley days! Please LeBron, New York needs you!

I'm sorry for the digression but the thought of LeBron James in a Knick's jersey is just too good to be true. Back to the green talk!

Two big stories to report on this week.

The first, Formula One Racing is committing to reducing the carbon emissions produced by the sport. The plan is to reduce total carbon emissions by 12.4% by 2012 and to require all cars to use technologies designed to enhance fuel efficiency by 2013.

The second, thanks to Dixon Golf, Golf is going green!



The Dixon Earth is a new golf ball that is 100% recyclable and doesn't pollute our water with metal like traditional golf balls! Dixon even has a recycling program intact so consumers can send in their old golf balls (Dixon and other brands) and get a discount on new Dixon Earth golf balls. Finally some products that take the golf greens into consideration!

Here's a great video of Marcus Edblad and Mikael Lindblom, both Longdrivers of Stockholm, both going green!