3rd Annual Braylon Edwards Celebrity Basketball game April 13, 2012

Hello, sports fans! Mark your calendars for a night of hoops and hope as pro, college and celebrity amateurs hit the hardwood to benefit ALS research.
The 3rd Annual Braylon Edwards Celebrity Basketball Game is on for Friday, April13 at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor. Doors open at 7 p.m. and advance tickets ($20 adult, $15 student) are on sale now at www.BraylonEdwards.com. Special VIP courtside passes are available for $100.
Last year’s large turnout cheered on a player roster that included Steve Breaston (Kansas City Chiefs), Vernon Gholston (free agent), Marlin Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles), Mike Hart (now an EMU coach), Manny Harris (Cleveland Cavaliers), Charlie Villanueva and Austin Daye (Detroit Pistons), Zack Novak (U-M men’s basketball team), Darius Morris (Los Angeles D-Fenders),Rob Parker (ESPN), Dr. Darrius (WJLB) and Stoney of 97.1 The Ticket. We expect big stars again this year.
You’ll enjoy a fast-paced, one-of-a-kind game and you’ll benefit U-M researchers racing toward a treatment for ALS.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease – is a terrifying and fatal condition that currently has no cure. It progressively destroys the nerves that control voluntary muscle movement, leaving patients unable to move, speak and ultimately unable to breathe. Scientists are focusing their attention on the disproportionate number of athletes who have the disease -- like its most famous sufferer, baseball great Lou Gehrig – and have uncovered evidence that sports-related head injuries may be connected to onset.
Dr. Eva Feldman, director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute within the U-M Medical School, is leading research teams that are on the forefront of the search for treatments to prolong the life of ALS patients. Currently, her FDA-approved Phase 1 clinical trial is studying the effects of stem cell injections in the human spinal cord, in hopes that stem cells eventually will help preserve the nerve cells of ALS patients.
“I am so grateful to Braylon, his family and the Braylon Edwards Foundation for making ALS research the beneficiary of this wonderful event,” said Dr. Feldman. “Everyone who attends or participates should take pride in knowing they are helping us to bring hope to ALS patients and others with terrible diseases.”