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.
Here are Houston Astros glaring advantages to maximize success ahead of postseason
Sep 16, 2024, 4:31 pm
The Houston Astros are headed to San Diego to face the Padres, maintaining a 4.5-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West. With just 13 games remaining in the season, winning the division isn’t guaranteed yet. However, it would take a major surge from Seattle paired with a significant collapse from Houston for the standings to shift.
The Astros starting pitching has been leading the way, and with Spencer Arrighetti, Hunter Brown, and Framber Valdez slated to start against the Padres, you have to like Houston's chances even against a quality club like San Diego.
Speaking of pitching, should the Astros go on to win the division, it will be interesting to see who pitches Game 3 of the first playoff series. We know Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown will pitch Games 1 and 2.
The clock is ticking for JV
It appears the Astros will give Justin Verlander every chance to win that assignment, but at this point, it's hard to justify his place on the playoff roster. He's clearly the team's sixth-best starter as of today.
Remember me?
Ronel Blanco reminded everyone of what he's capable of against the Angels over the weekend. While Justin Verlander was only decent against the Halos.
The Astros 3rd postseason starter will likely be determined by the opponent. But if we're just listing the pitchers we have the most confidence in right now, Yusei Kikuchi is at the top of the list. Arrighetti oozes with upside, but there's significant downside with him as well. You typically know very early in the game which version of Arrighetti you're going to get.
To be fair, Kikuchi doesn't have much postseason experience. But he's certainly pitched in more high stakes games than Arrighetti at this point in his career. Blanco will be the wild card to watch here, as he was the club's best starting pitcher for the first half of the season.
King Tuck
Finally, we're starting to feel good about Kyle Tucker. He appears to be getting healthy just in the nick of time.
Don't miss the video above as we examine all the advantages the Astros hold over the final stretch of the season, and much more!
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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