Battle for Ohio- July 7

[Buckskin86]

Battle for Ohio: A host of local and state basketball stars will take part The Battle for Ohio charity basketball game at noon on July 7 in St. John Arena in Columbus.

Although player participation is subject to change, Ohio State alum and NBA veteran Brad Sellers, who is the mayor of Warrensville Heights, and Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman will join Buckeye legends and Ohio State alums Clark Kellogg and Ron Stokes as honorary coaches of Team Cleveland and Team Columbus, respectively.

Former Buckeyes Brian Brown, Terence Dials, Jon Diebler, Ivan Harris, George Reese, Damon Stringer and J.J. Sullinger will join Scoonie Penn, Evan Turner and Columbus native Samaki Walker on Team Columbus. Former Buckeyes and Cleveland natives David Lighty, Dallas Lauderdale, Tony Stockman and Damon Stringer, as well as Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson and former Cav Jawad Williams will be joined by Sam Clancy, Julius Juby Johnson, Marcus Johnson, Dru Joyce, Chet Mason, Keith McLeod and Romeo Travis on Team Cleveland.

General admission tickets are $15, $10 for OSU alumni and all area college students with a valid student ID and groups of 10 or more and $5 for children 10 years or under. Tickets can be purchased ohiohomecoming.com/col200 and will be available at the St. Johns Arena box office the day of the game.

Proceeds will include a $5,000 charitable donation from Ohio Homecoming on the winning team's behalf. Team Columbus will play for the Ohio State Athletics' LiFE Sports Initiative and Team Cleveland represents the Greater Cleveland Fisher House Wounded Warriors program.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2012/06/anthony_parker_retires_after_9.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Friday, July 6th, 2012
Bragging Rights
Evan Turner and David Lighty check in before the Battle for Ohio Celebrity game.
by Brendan Bowers / @BowersCLE

Turner’s next challenge will be securing a win, and more importantly bragging rights, for Team Columbus. The Battle for Ohio Celebrity Game will pit a number of former Ohio State and Columbus area stars against some of the best ballers from Cleveland on Saturday at St. John’s Arena.

“I’m excited to be a part of it,” Turner said about participating in the event. “It’s going to be great for the city of Columbus, and I think it’s something cool. As a former Ohio State player, I think it’s a great opportunity to celebrate the tradition of Ohio State, as well as the tradition of a basketball-rich Ohio. I have a house in Columbus, so I go back at least once a month, for about a week or so at a time. I love being in Columbus, and if I’m not in my hometown of Chicago, or in Philly, I’m down in Columbus.”

Turner will square off against former Ohio State teammate David Lighty on Saturday, who will be putting on for his hometown Team Cleveland. Evan acknowledged there has been some back and forth between the two sides recently heading into the game.

“I’m just looking forward to having fun,” Turner said. “Pretty sure there’s always been talk about who’s better, Columbus or Cleveland, and that’s gonna be a fun thing to find out. I just want to win in general, and then to also make Lighty upset like I usually do.”

After spending this past season playing professionally overseas, Lighty’s return for the game in Ohio really is a true homecoming of sorts. A homecoming the former Ohio State standout is excited to make.

“Being able to represent Cleveland down in Columbus, where I played for the last four years, that’s something special for me. I love the city I grew up in, and then Columbus is also a big reason for where I am today. So it’s kinda like a home-and-home situation for me, with both places. Just being able to be around great people, and the Buckeye fans again, it’s going to be real special for me.”

Winning bragging rights over Turner and the Columbus side would be cool too.

“We do have some talking going on,” Lighty said with a laugh. “We’ve been on Twitter a little bit. Me and Evan, me and [Jon] Diebler, going back and forth, so we’re going to see what happens. But we’re just going to get Team 216, Team Cleveland, the victory and that’s all I want.”

Team Cleveland will be coached by one of the greatest players in Cleveland basketball history, CBS College Basketball Analyst Clark Kellogg. Kellogg starred at Lighty’s alma-mater, St. Joe’s, before moving on to Ohio State and then the Indiana Pacers. Catching up with Kellogg is also something that Lighty and everybody else is looking forward to.

“Going back to my high school years, he went to a couple of our games at St. Joe’s and talked to us in the locker room,” Lighty went on to say about Kellogg. “Then with me going down to Ohio State we kinda followed the same path. With him living down there now, I’ve been in contact with him ever since I’ve been to Ohio State. We’ve talked a lot, he’s done a couple of our games, and we have a text message type of friendship. It’s special, with him growing up in Cleveland, going to the same high school as me, then going to Ohio State, and it’s great that he’s going to be a part of the game.”

Team Columbus will tip-off against the visiting Team Cleveland at noon on Saturday. Another NBA player headlining the game will be Cavalier Tristan Thompson, repping for the Cleveland side. Team Cleveland also includes Dallas Lauderdale, Tony Stockman, Damon Stringer, Sam Clancy, Julius Juby Johnson, Marcus Johnson, Dru Joyce, Chet Mason, and Keith McLeod. Alongside Turner, Team Columbus will also include Brian Brown, Terence Dials, Jon Diebler, Ivan Harris, George Reese, JJ Sullinger, Scoonie Penn, Antonio Daniels and Samaki Walker.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/07/bragging-rights/

 

[Buckskin86]

ON THE BATTLE FOR OHIO?

* Team Columbus won a close game, 95-91, over Team Cleveland in a sweltering hot arena.

* Turner gave Team Columbus 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Lewis scored a team-high 18 points off the bench. Dials recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

* Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson kept Cleveland in the game with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Former Miami Redhawk Juby Johnson added 20 points.

* Diebler won an exciting three-point competition at half-time, defeating former St. Vincent-St. Mary guard Dru Joyce III. Diebler hit 13 of 15 shots in the final round.

http://www.the-ozone.net/hoops/12-13Men/twominutedrill_battleforohio.html