Giving Back with Zack: Spring Training with the Detroit Tigers
Spring Training season opened in Florida at the end of February — the best time to watch your favorite baseball teams in beautiful weather and smaller stadiums reminiscent of baseball past. Giving Back with Zack is catching up with several of the players working out in the Tampa Bay area. On Thursday, we visited Lakeland’s Tiger […]
Giving Back with Zack: The McDonagh-Killorn Kancer Jam
Last week, on a chilly Friday afternoon at Tampa’s Sparkman Wharf, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Ryan McDonagh and Alex Killorn hosted the McDonagh-Killorn Kancer Jam, a fundraiser to help kids and young adults at Moffitt Cancer Center. Ryan created the Jam after attending a similar event put on by his old Rangers teammate, Kevin Shattenkirk, in the New […]
Giving Back with Zack: In Orlando with the Magic
NOTE: We visited with the Orlando Magic team on Friday, two days before the helicopter crash that killed the basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. One of the players we spoke with, forward Aaron Gordon, was interviewed after the accident by The Athletic and shared his memories of working with the […]
Giving Back with Zack: The day he got to hang out with the New Orleans Saints
Setting up interviews with NFL players when they’re in town for a game can be difficult. I’ve been told that every minute of their schedule is accounted for and there is no time available. But last November before the New Orleans Saints’ game against the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium, the Saints’ communications manager, Evan […]
My Cause, My Cleats: How the Bucs are giving back, and how you can help
The NFL launched a program called My Cause, My Cleats in 2016 as an opportunity for NFL players to bend the uniform guidelines and wear cleats highlighting a charity or cause they are passionate about. Starting out with only a few hundred players participating, the initiative has grown exponentially. Last year, over 800 players used this […]
Zack talks to the Bucs: Role model Lavonte David and Bradley Pinion, dog's best friend
For the latest edition of Giving Back with Zack — my 12-year-old son’s series of interviews with professional athletes about their favorite charities — he sat down with two of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ finest: standout linebacker Lavonte David and the team’s newly acquired punter, Bradley Pinion. While I knew about Lavonte from his eight […]
Giving Back with Zack: The kid reporter meets the Jacksonville Jaguars
On one recent Friday morning, my son Zack and I set off on an adventure to Jacksonville, an adventure that arose out of my love of football — and a program called Giving Back with Zack. I have long wanted to bring attention to players who were using their platform for good, especially in light of the controversies […]