Originally appeared on Vype.com
A celebrity basketball game presented by Ikhor is an event you want to make sure you let your kids attend in the future.
Over the weekend, Ikhor hosted a free celebrity basketball game in the heart of 5th Ward at the legendary J Prince Gym.
In the celebrity game, you had neighborhood legends, collegiate players, and international superstars that all grew up from around the area representing Rap A Lot Records and 1501 Certified.
While Houston’s streetball legends like The Goat, Sir Isaac, and Konfuzion are names worthy to come out and see, the celebrity game was serving a deeper purpose than just watching superstars put on a show.
“This is all about getting the kids off the street,” William Fawell, founder of Ikhor said.
Being a Houston native, Fawell understands that if there are no free and positive activities in the community for kids to participate in, they can easily fall into trouble by hanging out in the streets.
The beauty in what the celebrity game was able to do is not just get younger kids to come in and watch the game, but it also gave high school athletes from around the city a chance to come in and compete against each other.
“It feels good to be a part of this,” Ronald Harleston, a guard from Madison High School said. “It’s nice for these superstars to come out and put on a free show for the kids.”
In addition to getting kids off the streets, the Ikhor celebrity game has an endless amount of career choices for the kids to be exposed to.
Once the kids enter the gym, they have a chance to take interest in everything that makes up the Ikhor brand such as photography, videography, fashion, and of course basketball.
While everyone may not be talented enough to play basketball in the future, getting kids to see a variety of career choices in their own community is something Fawell believes is extremely valuable to young minds.
“I believe the mind is a terrible thing to waste and it’s also the most powerful part of your body,” Fawell said. “It’s great for the kids to see the different things they can do because they’re the future.”
The word Ikhor (originally spelled Ichor) means the blood of the Greek gods which is something you can’t kill and as Fawell continues to grow Ikhor, he plans to not let anything kill his desire to inspire the minds of the future.
José Soriano and two relievers combined for a two-hitter and Oswald Peraza hit his first home run since a trade from the Yankees to lead the Los Angeles Angels to a 3-0 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Soriano (10-9) allowed one hit and struck out eight in seven innings. Luis García allowed one hit in a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen threw a perfect ninth for his 25th save.
There were two outs in the fifth when Peraza connected off Hunter Brown (10-7) into the bullpen in right-center field to put the Angels up 1-0. His homer comes after his two-run single in the ninth inning Saturday helped Los Angeles to a 4-1 victory that snapped a three-game skid.
Yoan Moncada walked to start the eighth and scored on Mike Trout’s double that bounced off the wall in center field to make it 2-0. Taylor Ward walked before Luis Rengifo reached and Trout scored on an error by Lance McCullers Jr. when the pitcher overthrew first base.
Yordan Alvarez singled with no outs in the first and Soriano walked a batter in the second and sixth innings. The Astros didn’t get another hit until Ramón Urías doubled with one out in the eighth inning. Los Angeles outfielder Taylor Ward was injured trying to make a catch on that hit when he crashed face-first into the metal scoreboard in left field.
He was carted off the field holding a towel to the right side of his face. He was taken to a hospital by ambulance where interim manager Ray Montgomery said he would receive stitches to close the cut and be evaluated.
Brown allowed three hits and a run with five strikeouts in six innings. McCullers Jr. allowed three hits and two runs in his first relief appearance since 2018.
Key moment
The home run by Peraza.
Key stat
It’s the fifth time the Astros have been shut out this month.
Up next
LHP Yusei Kikuchi (6-9, 3.68 ERA) will start for Los Angeles in the series finale Monday against RHP Luis Garcia, who’ll make his return after sitting out since May 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
