Tag Archives: houston

NFL, College Teams Continue to Expand The Lineup For Third Annual Coach Knapp Stair Climb Campaign

The Coach Knapp Memorial Fund, named in honor of veteran NFL assistant coach Greg Knapp, dedicated to educating drivers on the dangers of distracted driving, reduce the number of distracted driving related deaths, and promote distracted driving awareness reform, today announced its expanded lineup of nearly half of the NFL and over a dozen NCAA teams participating in this fall’s “Coach Knapp Stair Climb.” This coming weekend, two new Universities, The University of Houston (October 12) and Syracuse University (October 14) will be the latest additions to the roster. The next NFL team to take to the stairs will be the L.A. Rams on October 20, prior to their game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

In honor of Coach Knapp, NFL coaches, players, executives and alumni will participate in raising funds and awareness at each NFL stadium prior to team warm ups. Teams confirmed to participate in the stair climb include: Packers, Colts, Titans, Rams, Jets, Browns, Texans, 49ers, Commanders, Falcons. Participating NCAA teams include: Oregon State University, Georgia State University, University of Oregon, University of Houston, Syracuse University, Sacramento State, Boston College, Butler University, East Carolina University, Ripon College, Rice University, University of Utah.

This fall marks the third annual Coach Knapp Stair Climb, with this year’s initiative starting even earlier with participation kicking off with Georgia State University and Oregon State University participating in the preseason this past August. Over 500 coaches, players and staff will be participating in various forms on game days, easily eclipsing the goal of 20+ participating teams.

The fund, which has raised over $250,000 to date already, was created by Greg’s wife, Charlotte, and close friend and agent, Jeff Sperbeck, to honor the legacy of Greg Knapp who tragically passed away in July 2021 after being hit by a distracted driver while he was bicycling. Coach Knapp was known for climbing the stadium stairs before every single NFL game he coached over his 25 season career. All will be tagged #knappstairclimb on social platforms.

“I was with Coach Knapp in Denver in 2013, and he was somebody that was really influential for me as a young coach,” said Colts Offensive Coordinator Jim Bob Cooter, who participated in the Knapp Stair Climb last month alongside the coaching staff of the Green Bay Packers. “He actually got me started running the stadium stairs before games, which is a habit that I have held onto. Coach Knapp was such a beloved figure in the coaching community, and I’m blessed to have the opportunity to help honor his legacy.”

At the time of his passing, Knapp was recently named Passing Game Coordinator of the New York Jets under head coach Robert Saleh, after serving as an assistant coach for over a quarter of a century with the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders, Houston Texans, Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. Known as a “quarterback whisperer,” Greg coached some of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history helping chart the careers of many young athletes with kindness, humor and trust.

Additional participants will be announced in the coming weeks.

Fans, athletes, and coaches at any level can also participate wherever is most convenient to them across the country, such as apartment building stairs or a high school sports stadium. Images will be shared on various social channels.

To learn more on how you can get involved, details can be found at https://www.knappmemorial.org/stairclimb

Ones Basketball League Crowns First-Ever Regional Champion at Dub Sports Zone in Houston

Ones Basketball League (OBL) — the first-ever elite competition that celebrates the most skilled one-on-one players on the planet and created by Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady – got off to a rousing start with its debut event at The Dub Sports Zone in Richmond, Texas, on Saturday and Sunday. A total of 32 top area and national-level basketball players squared off in spirited action, and it was Texas residents who took the top three places in a weekend filled with exciting and high-quality play across the board.

The OBL Houston Regional champion, and recipient of the $10,000 prize, is John Jordan, 29, of Houston. Jordan, the second seed, defeated runner-up Matt Kiatipis, 21, of Austin (by way of Canada and Simon Fraser University), 9-5, in the finals. Taking third was Myron Taylor, 29, of Killeen. All three now advance to the OBL Finals in Las Vegas this summer (dates and location TBD).

McGrady couldn’t have been happier with the league’s first action.

“The first weekend in Houston was what we expected when we envisioned OBL,” said the seven-time NBA All-Star. “The level and quality of play was outstanding, the facility was first rate, the production was world-class, and we have our first qualifiers for the road to Las Vegas.

“Now it’s on to Atlanta for Week Two,” he added.

John Jordan

“It’s Championship Sunday, this is where champions are made,” said Jordan, who played collegiately at TAMU-Corpus Christi. “I took a tough ‘L’ yesterday and I bounced back, because that’s what champions do.”

Jordan, who arrived back in the U.S. from overseas in Romania just in time to compete in the inaugural OBL event, was also effusive in his praise of the league.

“This is a really big-time league,” he added. “This is the first time they’ve had this league. I know from here on it’s gonna be tougher. Everyone sees (OBL) is real. The money is real. I’m just happy I won the first year.”

Kiatipis, one of the youngest competitors in the field, is also excited about qualifying for the OBL Finals.

“I’m excited to be going to Las Vegas,” said the sixth seed who started slowly but finished strong to earn the spot. “I expected to be going and it’s going to be a big show out there.”

Taylor, the eighth seed, rallied to beat Jamal North in the third-place game.

OBL’s next regional event is this coming week in Atlanta on May 7-8 at CORE4 Atlanta, in Chamblee, Georgia.

The rest of the regional schedule is as follows:

  • Chicago, May 21-22 (Chicago Hope Academy Athletic Center, Chicago, IL)
  • New York City, May 28-29 (Major R. Owens Community Center hosted by New Heights, Brooklyn, NY)
  • The DMV, June 4-5 (The St. James, Springfield, VA)
  • The Bay Area, June 11-12 (The Ultimate Fieldhouse, Walnut Creek, CA)
  • Los Angeles, TBD (TBD)

The winner of each regional tournament will take home a $10,000 cash prize along with an invitation to the Finals, which will see 21 players (the top three from each region) compete for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize and be crowned “Ruler of the Court.”

Media partners include SLAM Media, Playmaker, and Heart and Hustle Productions.

Follow Ones Basketball League at https://www.oblhoops.com/.

Ones Basketball Association Unveils Schedule and Venues for First Season of One-on-One Basketball

Seven-time NBA All-Star, Basketball Hall-of-Famer, and entrepreneur Tracy McGrady today unveiled the regional schedule and venues for the launch of the Ones Basketball Association, a first-ever elite competition that will celebrate the most skilled one-on-one players on the planet.

The first year of regional competition will take place in seven cities across the United States, beginning the weekend of April 30th in Houston and concluding in June. The 2022 Finals for the Ones Basketball Association will take place in July.

McGrady has also announced that media and sports industry veteran Jeffrey Pollack has signed on as a strategic advisor to help lead business planning and operations and create best-in-class events and experiences.

“Our goal this year is to test and preview how we should best spotlight and celebrate the competition, raw athletic talent, and extraordinary skills of these young rising stars,” McGrady said. “We are proud to partner with Jeffrey Pollack, who will help us develop our game plan on and off the court. His input is already invaluable to me, as we take our first steps as a startup league and set the foundation for a global basketball property that will create more opportunities for athletes and fans and tell new basketball stories.”

“In many ways this is the first-ever pop-up sports league,” said Pollack. “We are moving fast, tipping off quickly, and excited to publicly share our proof-of-concept with the basketball community and sports industry. Early feedback will be vital to our planning efforts, and we are ready to test, listen, and learn throughout this first season. Players, fans, and partners will have a rare opportunity to co-create the Ones Basketball Association with Tracy and our team, and it’s exciting to help launch a new celebration of basketball excellence.”

Elissa Grabow, McGrady’s long-time business manager, has also joined the leadership team to help turn McGrady’s vision into reality. “Working for Tracy McGrady for the past 25 years has been the ride of a lifetime and this journey is a true labor of love,” said Grabow. “Tracy is inspired and focused and it all comes from the purest place: his heart. It is an honor to be on this team and help develop the Ones Basketball Association into something special that we believe will build community, provide hope and opportunity, and create a new way to fall in love with the game of basketball.”

Beginning in April, seven cities across the United States will host a two-day, regional, 32-player round-robin knockout tournament with athletes aged 18 and up who are currently not under an NBA contract and have not been on an active NBA roster for more than 164 games (equivalent to two NBA regular seasons). The participants will come from a combination of open-sourced video submissions and the advice of basketball insiders. The aim is to welcome both best-in-class talent and players who may still be under the radar of most basketball fans. The inaugural events this year will feature only men, and women will be welcomed as equal participants as soon as 2023.

The regional tournament schedule for the first season of the Ones Basketball Association season is:
· Houston, April 30-May 1 (The Dub Sports Zone, Richmond, TX)
· Atlanta, May 7-8 (CORE4 Atlanta, Chamblee, GA)
· Chicago, May 21-22 (Chicago Hope Academy Athletic Center, Chicago, IL)
· New York City, May 28-29 (Major R. Owens Community Center hosted by New Heights, Brooklyn, NY)
· The DMV, June 4-5 (The St. James, Springfield, VA)
· The Bay Area, June 11-12 (The Ultimate Fieldhouse, Walnut Creek, CA)
· Los Angeles, TBD (TBD)

The winner of each regional tournament will take home a $10,000 cash prize along with an invitation to the Finals, which will see 21 players (the top three from each region) compete for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize and be crowned “Ruler of the Court.”

Venues this first year will have very limited public seating, in order to keep the current focus on the athletes, their stories, and the competitive format.
Jeffrey Pollack is a sports business executive and Emmy-Award winner with more than 25 years of leadership experience driving catalytic change, growth, and innovation for family-owned, private-equity-backed, and corporate-based ventures. He was most recently President and CEO of the XFL.

Pollack has been lauded for helping businesses and brands rethink, recalibrate, and evolve, and he has held both executive and advisory roles with the NBA, NASCAR, World Series of Poker, Professional Bull Riders, and Los Angeles Chargers. Pollack is founder of The Sports Business Daily, the original daily trade publication for the sports industry.

The field for each regional tournament, along with content and media partners, elite player ambassadors, and details about the 2022 Finals, will be announced in the coming weeks.

Follow Ones Basketball Association at https://www.obahoops.com/.