Maddox 'humbled'

[thedrifter]

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]

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]

last year pix's...

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



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

Ellie

[thedrifter]

June 9, 2007 - 12:00AM
Celebs set for 'real' MCCC

PAUL THOMPSON
SPORTS EDITOR
After two days of socializing, the celebrities get serious. Well, as serious as a fun-filled two-day golf tournament can get.

The Marine Corps Celebrity Classic tees off today, pitting dozens of celebrities in a two-day tournament at Paradise Point aboard Camp Lejeune.

The players will compete in two separate tournaments within one - an individual stroke play tournament and a two-person team best ball tournament. The individual tournament was absent last year, but returned at the request of the celebrities.

And if previous results are any indication, the quality of golf should be exciting.

The individual tournament's first two years saw each winner emerge in a playoff. In 2005 Pierre Larouche defeated Ivan Lendl after both players posted even-par 144 through 36 holes on the par-72 Gold Course. In 2004, Don Edwards edged Jack Marin in a playoff after the duo finished regulation at 3-over 147.

"We've got some good golfers in this field," event organizer Rosie Jones said earlier this week. "A couple of the guys who are coming are very good golfers.

"Mike Trombley is a very good golfer; he has won a number of high-profile celebrity events. He will be one to watch. And Brian Kinchen is just a heck of a golfer. If somebody really wants to come out and see some good golf they would want to follow Brian."

Tee times begin at 9 a.m. on the Gold Course and run through 11 a.m., meaning golfers will be on the course until at least 3 p.m. Many remain following their rounds to sign autographs and the public is invited; there is no admission charge.

"We try to make sure that everybody understands that the celebrities are very accessible for autographs and everything," Jones said in encouraging the public to attend.

Newcomers among the 49 slated to compete this weekend include Baseball Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter and Kinchen, who is a former player for the Carolina Panthers. Jones said organizers are pleased with the turnout and reiterated they are still reaching for the big names the public hopes to see. She noted that Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, who has previously attended and competed in the tournament, visited for two days before another engagement forced him to depart.

"It's a hard process and it's going to be an ongoing process," she said, adding that current Baltimore Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller was interested in attending this year and could be a candidate for next year. "When you get into some of the really mega-star names you have issues with time. These kinds of things happen.

"One of our ongoing problems is that our event is so long. We've got four full days of golf and evening events. So that's really taking five days out of someone's schedule, which is hard for them to do."

Jones did point out that event organizers are open to celebrities who are willing to come for a short period of time, much as former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann did last year.

"If they can come for just one day, we'll work them in. We're completely flexible," she said. "We came kind of close when we hit on Joe Theismann last year. ... I think as we go forward from here, with next year being a fifth anniversary and such, we can encourage these guys to come for whatever time they can.

"We're not going to give up. We'll hit it one of these days."


E-mail: pthompson@freedomenc.com

Phone: 353-1171, ext. 8474

Ellie

[thedrifter]

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