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thedrifter
06-08-07, 05:40 AM
June 8, 2007 - 12:00AM
Maddox 'humbled'

CHRIS MILLER
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Like those who don the title "The Few and the Proud," Tommy Maddox knows a little something about moving due to a job.

Transferring from place to place just comes with territory for Marines as well as professional athletes.

Maddox's journeys now have taken him this week to Jacksonville Country Club and Paradise Point aboard Camp Lejeune for the Marine Corps Celebrity Classic.

Maddox, now 35 and retired after several years of playing quarterback for various NFL teams, is just one of several well-known names who are not only taking time to hit balls at two local golf courses, but also to give back to service men and women who defend our freedom.

After being drafted out of UCLA by the Denver Broncos in 1992, Maddox had tenures with the then-Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, New Jersey Red Dogs of the Arena League, Los Angeles Extreme of the XFL and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After leading the Xtreme to the first and only XFL title and emerging as the league's Most Valuable Player, Maddox was picked up by the Steelers. He started two seasons and earned the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award before relinquishing his starting position to up-and-comer Ben Roethlisberger, who led the club to a Super Bowl championship two seasons ago.

To Maddox, sacrificing playing time and time spent with family by traveling around the country to play football can't compare to that of the troops. And the two parties meeting gives each side an opportunity to understand what each has experienced for the better of their careers and even lives.

But to Maddox, there's no comparison. The Marines do so much more.

"I think our country sometimes gets it backwards," the father of two from the Dallas-Fort Worth area said Thursday during the celebrity-amateur at Jacksonville Country Club. "They look at movie stars or athletes and people who get paid a lot to do what they are doing, but you can't put a dollar figure what the troops do and you can't put a dollar figure on the freedom we enjoy."

Maddox arrived in town Wednesday and has had the chance to interact with Marines, as well as other celebrities. He has been impressed with how things have gone during his first trip to the Marine Corps Celebrity Classic.

"This is a great event and ran very well and it's for a great cause," he said. "Obviously supporting the people and trying to help is enough (of an incentive) ... but selfishly, being here we are able to see things they do and you get to play golf on top of that."

Experiencing what Marines and their families go through, not the golf, is something the former gridiron player would like everyone to see.

"I think if people had to serve for a couple of years they would have a different perspective," said Maddox. "It is very humbling to see the sacrifices people make to make sure we have the freedom to stand here and play golf and have fun."

Maddox, though, isn't just humbled by the troops, but also from the difficult path he followed on the way to a Super Bowl title.

Yes, he emerged a victor in the XFL, but it took his entire playing career to reach championship glory in the NFL. And he had to take a back seat to do it, giving way to Roethlisberger. He expressed that to his Marine playing partners on the course.

"We talked about that with the troops, I think sometimes we take things for granted," said Maddox, wearing his World Championship ring. "It took me 14 years to get there (Super Bowl) and to be able to experience that and have a ring.

"But my (most memorable moments) are smaller that that, it's the little things like friendship and getting the chance to do things like this."

If meeting the Marines excites Maddox, one could only imagine how the troops feel meeting the celebrities.

E-mail: cmiller@freedomenc.com

Phone: 353-1171, ext. 8472

Blog: cmiller.encblogs.com

Ellie

thedrifter
06-08-07, 06:38 AM
June 8, 2007 - 12:00AM
Sport legends meet our heroes

KELLEY CHAMBERS
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Some of America's most beloved sports legends met a few of Jacksonville's most popular heroes Thursday after wrapping up their rounds at the Marine Corps Celebrity Classic golf tournament.

After a hot afternoon on the greens, nearly a dozen players were taken to Camp Lejeune's Wounded Warrior Barracks and given a tour of the place where service members injured in combat recuperate.

"It was nice enough just to come and see us. We need to let people know the war's still going on and (that) we need support from the public," Cpl. Vincent Schneider said. "Freedom isn't free, anybody who walks through here knows that."

Many more celebs brought their families in tow this year to the tournament so they, too, could come face to face with the country's troops, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Dave Archer said.

Archer said he wanted to share his first trip to Jacksonville with his 12-year-old son, Jimmie. Having been born in Fayetteville, Archer knows what life in a military town is like. He wanted to incorporate the trip into his son's birthday present.

Who best to be among while entering into manhood than the Marines, Archer asked.

"There's a change in responsibility and a change in expectations that goes along with getting bigger," Archer said. "This is a great opportunity, going to a military base, and I want him to see people who put it on the line for real."

About 52 sports stars and entertainment personalities are calling Jacksonville and Camp Lejeune home for four days of golf and sight-seeing. In its fourth year, the classic is taking place on two venues for the first time. This year, golfers will rotate from the traditional holes at Paradise Point aboard Camp Lejeune and those at the Jacksonville Country Club.

Aside from the competition on the greens, the classic also offers an opportunity for the players and their families to enjoy the best of Jacksonville and eastern North Carolina, said event organizer Rosie Jones. Since transportation is provided for base tours and trips to the beach, as well as to evening and the weekend's upcoming public events, Jones said, kids never have to follow their dads on the golf course.

"We like to give them some exposure to the whole military way of life, which apparently a number of these parents want to do," Jones said. "I think that theme is growing; this is more of a family event than a lot of the other celebrity events they attend."

Avid golfer and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox brought along his wife and 8-year-old daughter, Kacy, this year to share in the festivities.

"I like for them to go with me as much as they can," said Maddox, who joined the tour of the Wounded Warriors Barracks. "I think that anytime you can let kids see what the men and women of our country are doing (is good), and being on a Marine base give them a glimpse of that."

With more celebs planning on paying another visit to the barracks today, the visits from this year's golf classic players will not be forgotten, Barracks Platoon Sgt. Jack Durgala said.

"A lot of the Marines here feel the American public has forgotten them. This plays a big part in the healing process and keeps their spirits high," Durgala said. "It's good for them to know people do care."

Contact Kelley Chambers at kchambers@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8462.

Ellie

thedrifter
06-08-07, 08:20 AM
last year pix's...

We hope to bump into a few this weekend....;)

http://www.fontman.smugmug.com/photos/70680016-M-1.jpg

http://www.fontman.smugmug.com/gallery/1477561#P-1-15

Ellie

thedrifter
06-09-07, 08:23 AM
June 9, 2007 - 12:00AM <br />
Celebs set for 'real' MCCC <br />
<br />
PAUL THOMPSON <br />
SPORTS EDITOR <br />
After two days of socializing, the celebrities get serious. Well, as serious as a fun-filled two-day golf...

thedrifter
06-09-07, 10:46 AM
PIX FROM THE MARINE CORPS CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNEY FOLKS AT SPANKY'S SPORTS BAR AND GRILL TAKEN ON JUNE 6, 2007

Thanks Frank!

http://fontman.smugmug.com/gallery/2975348#P-1-9

Ellie and Mark