Matt Forte dives to the left, and then on the next play he dives to the right. After a quick timeout by the Green Bay Packers to try and ice Robbie Gould, the Chicago Bears kicker calmly drills a 38-yard field goal to end sudden-death overtime of the final game of Week 16 of the 2008 NFL season. And with that boot, most fantasy football seasons across the county also come to a close.

While this season is not unlike any of the ones before it, thousands of fantasy football players around the country are suddenly now well aware of the name Chad Schroeder.

Schroeder, a 35-year-old professional sports gambler from Omaha, Neb. competed in 66 fantasy football leagues last year and didn’t just dip his toes in the pool of high-stakes fantasy football; he leapt in with a cannonball dive. Spending nearly $ 60,000 in entry fees wasn’t a big deal for Schroeder, especially since he ended up winning the inaugural Fantasy Football Players Championship Main Event this past December, which rewarded him with a cool $ 75,000 purse.

Yet Schroder could not have been more disappointed with how his season finished. You see, he also entered the Fantasy Football Open Championship which featured a $ 1 million prize. The FFOC included thousands of different teams, with no limit on how many teams any one contestant could buy–a fantasy footballer’s nirvana. Schroeder, being the conservative gambler that he is, only bought 23 teams at $ 125 each. For those of you reading this whose math skills are as bad as mine, let me save you the time of looking for a calculator. Schroeder spent a total of $ 2,875 to enter the FFOC, otherwise known as a half-year’s rent to people like you and me.

The FFOC is divided up into 10-team leagues. In order to advance to the rounds where the cash gets paid out, each team must win its individual league. After Week 9 of the NFL season, teams are “cut” each week until Week 16 when the owners of the top 15 teams are invited to the Bellagio in Las Vegas to see who will be crowned champion. And while Schroeder would have been as happy as a post-PAT Martin Gramatica to have just one of his 23 teams in the running, two of the “Vegas 15″ teams were his.

So despite coming into Vegas with a roar, Schroeder walked out Belichick-style after the Giants beat him the Super Bowl–bewildered that he didn’t come away with a championship. Still today Schroeder’s voice trails off when he talks of the FFOC, as if he is still shell-shocked at what happened.

“It’s just a one-week race at that point and I had a huge lead going into Sunday night, and it looked like I had the thing pretty much wrapped up,” he says. “And then–wow. That happened.”

Being a fantasy football player myself, I don’t need to ask what “that” is. I already know. “That” is DeAngelo Williams–a name that Schroeder audibly grits his teeth when uttering. The Carolina Panthers running back made fantasy dreams come true for a lot of players in Week 16 with his 108-yard, four touchdown performance. But he destroyed many teams as well including Schroeder’s FFOC team, which placed second (a mere 14.71 points behind the winner) and earned him $ 100,000. His other team finished 12th, which was good for $ 5,000. Not bad, but certainly not good for Schroeder

So while Schroeder didn’t win the FFOC, he was indeed lucky (and skilled) enough to win the FFPC–a bittersweet victory of sorts. In fact, for all intense and purposes, he had already chalked up the FFPC prize as money in the bank earlier that Sunday.

“I had my computer there, so I pretty much knew I had it won [at] about halftime of the afternoon games that day. Which I still had DeAngelo Williams left and I was already ahead. But I didn’t need him to do what he did,” Schroder says with a laugh. It’s unmistakably the laugh that comes from a man who knows unless he finds humor in the irony, he’ll never shake off the disappointment.

Being a pro sports gambler requires the guts of someone who can stand losing thousands of dollars on a ball caroming off an upright, a putt rimming out of a cup, a relay throw from the outfield being an inch off, or a 50-foot buzzer-beater swishing through a net. It wasn’t the first time Schroeder had lost, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“Well, I make quite a few high stakes wagers every day, so I guess it kind of goes hand-in-hand with that,” he says. “I mean you can win a lot of money too, without risking a tremendous amount of money.”

And how does one run a fantasy football empire like Schroeder’s? By pulling a page from the Beatles’ handbook and getting by with a little help from his friends. Schroeder owns about 60% of all the teams he runs, with a stable of eight investors sharing the remaining 40%. All investors have remained happy as Schroeder has come out well ahead in his high-stakes career. But in fantasy football, money isn’t the only thing to worry about.

For instance, imagine you own 66 fantasy teams and you have Eagles running back Brian Westbrook in the starting lineup in 60 of them. It’s 45 minutes before kickoff and he is declared out–what do you do? While most of us would probably soil ourselves and increase the bandwidth on our computers to quasi-nuclear levels trying to switch lineups, Schroeder takes a different approach.

It just so happens that he has indeed already run into this problem, but Kelly Schroeder–Chad’s uncle–is only a phone call away to lend support. Especially when a certain quarterback is vomiting up breakfast 20 minutes before kickoff.

“Matt Schaub was sick one time and we needed to get him out of a lot lineups, so I called him up and said, ‘Hey, you look over these 30 and I’ll look over these 30 and let’s get him out of there,’” Schroeder says as he takes me through his pre-game routine.

“Obviously I got a lot of time to do it, since I don’t do anything else really,” says Schroeder who has no additional income to support himself other than fantasy football and other sports wagering.

While Schroeder says he believes there are only handful of jobs better than his (i.e. NFL head coach or general manager), he loves what he does. But there are simple pleasures he does miss out on because of the increased time by himself or with his television.

“I can do whatever I want, whenever I want–I don’t have to answer to anybody. But kind of at the same time, there’s a negative there, too. It’s kind of fun to go out with co-workers for a beer after work sometimes and stuff like that.”

However, if he does not suffer through the chaos of always trying to please the boss at work, Schroeder says the hectic fourth quarter of Monday night games more than makes up for it. And while some of us might think that the fun of watching football on Sunday–especially with so much on the line–might be sucked out entirely, Schroeder doesn’t concern himself with every single yard from scrimmage or incomplete pass, either.

“I pretty much just worry about a couple of the bigger teams and focus on them while I’m watching the games on Sunday, and that makes it a lot easier,” he says. “If I was trying to watch all 66 of them, it wouldn’t be so fun to watch football.”

Something Schroeder says he always keeps in mind is that in high-stakes fantasy football, there’s not a lot you can do after you’re done drafting. Sure, a guy like Matt Cassel or Donnie Avery can be had on the waiver wire sometimes. But Schroeder says you need to be confident in your drafting skills if you want to win. And that’s why his job is more fun than being tortured in our 9-5 cubicle dungeons.

“It doesn’t seem like work really,” he says. “When I get done drafting, I’m pretty comfortable that I have a pretty good team in every league. It’s just a matter of playing itself out–it’s not worth really stressing out over.”

Also, if you are wondering if all his recent success has changed his lifestyle, it hasn’t. Schroeder only plans on making minor changes to his fantasy football career, like not entering any leagues with an entry fee of less than $ 1,000 this year. (He was in 15 $ 500 entry fee leagues last year.) He also doesn’t plan on adding any more fantasy teams, if for no other reason than the NFL would have to expand in order to give him a big enough player pool to choose from. Schroeder says he does not play in any local small-stakes fantasy football leagues with friends either, but does play in smaller leagues with no national prize. And while he’s not willing to give away too much strategy in the differences in his approach to the two formats, he does say there is one difference he has experimented with over the past two years.

“It’s not bad to try to get a combination wide receiver/quarterback that maybe gets hot during that three-week playoff run,” Schroeder says. “?if I’m torn between [Green Bay wide receiver Greg] Jennings or a similar receiver and I have [Green Bay quarterback] Aaron Rodgers, I might lean towards Jennings in the [league] where there’s a race for a big prize at the end. Whereas I might try to hedge it a little more in something that’s just ‘league only’ and take the other receiver.”

Schroeder says he would try to dissuade anyone from leading the same lifestyle as him because the government is making it increasingly difficult for gamblers to sustain profitability. However, if any fantasy football players–as in a fellow FFPC player like me–come to him for advice from an accomplished professional, Schroeder says that his experience has shown him sometimes the best outside-the-box thinking is staying inside the box during fantasy drafts.

“Don’t be your own worst enemy; don’t overanalyze things,” he says. “It’s OK if you like a guy higher than where he’s going, but?look over a bunch of experts’ ratings. That’s why they’re getting subscriptions–because they’re supposed to know more than I do about how these guys are supposed to be ordered. And if you try to get too creative, sometimes that is a detriment; you’re not getting the most value out of each pick.”

The 2009 NFL season is now bearing down upon us. Some leagues are drafting and fantasy footballers across the nation are chomping at the bit, trying to become champions in their own right. It won’t be too much longer until Chris Johnson and LenDale White will be trying to juke Troy Polamalu for extra yards and Ben Roethlisberger will be zipping passes to Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes on Opening Night. Many fantasy seasons will begin that Thursday evening in September and Chad Schroeder will be at it again, downing a fountain soda while studying his player personnel. He will be looking at hundreds of lineup decisions while trying to win every single league in which he enters one of his dozens of teams.

You’ll probably see “Cocktails and Dreams”–Schroeder’s fantasy team name of choice named after the bar Tom Cruise’s character wanted to open in “Cocktail”–in a lot of leagues this year, maybe even yours.

Chances are he probably will be playing you at some point during this year. But you know his name now, don’t you?

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Sports books allowed to show game.

The National Football League, in a recent letter to the casino industry’s largest trade group, stands by its position that the Las Vegas Super Bowl parties of years past won’t fly this season.

The letter, sent last month to the American Gaming Association, says Super Bowl parties that charge admission and events that show the game on a big screen or even on multiple television screens violate the NFL’s broadcast copyright. The hard line on parties is a continuation of the league’s uneasy relationship with gambling and Las Vegas, whose tourism bureau has been continually rebuffed in its efforts to broadcast advertising during the Super Bowl.

The NFL fired off cease and desist letters to several Las Vegas casinos in January that had planned to host Super Bowl parties, leading to a last minute scramble that involved canceling or modifying the events in time for last season’s faceoff between the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers.

According to the letter, the NFL hasn’t changed its position save for one concession of sorts. Casino sports books and other venues where television screens broadcast sports all year round, such as bars, can still show the Super Bowl, the league said.

American Gaming Association Chief Executive Frank Fahrenkopf said the result will be “detrimental” to Las Vegas because the parties were popular.

But casino bosses, who are just beginning to plan their Super Bowl promotions, say their properties will still show the game for fans even if big bashes are out of the picture. The change from years past won’t devastate Las Vegas, where people will continue to come in droves to place bets and watch the game in the sports book, they say.

“I think people still know that Vegas is still a great place to come to for the Super Bowl rather than watching it on a screen in your hometown bar,” MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said. “Las Vegas has a tremendous edge over literally any other city.”

“Whether (the NFL) chooses to recognize it, Las Vegas is going to be the second biggest city next to the host city on that particular weekend,” added Boyd Gaming Corp.’s Rob Stillwell. “A lot of that has to do with Las Vegas as a (resort) destination and the excitement that builds here. It’s probably as close to a holiday weekend as you can get without the holiday.”

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest single Sundays of the year for Las Vegas, where casinos for years have hosted hundreds of people in a room for big screen broadcasts featuring chow lines, cheerleaders and former NFL players.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported 286,000 visitors in town and a 95.8 percent occupancy rate during Super Bowl weekend last season. Those visitors generated an estimated $ 101.3 million in nongambling revenue for the city.

LVCVA Senior Vice President of Marketing Terry Jicinsky is upbeat on the Super Bowl.

“We don’t anticipate an impact on the number of people who come to Vegas that weekend,” he said. “The consumer will participate in whatever is available.”

During the last Super Bowl, casinos that didn’t cancel their parties attempted to get around the copyright rules by broadcasting the game on multiple television screens rather than one big screen or by charging specifically for food and drink rather than for admission.

The Palms, one of the first casinos last season to be threatened with legal action from the NFL, canceled a Super Bowl broadcast in its movie theater and instead showed the game in another room where several rented television screens had been set up for the game.

Palms General Manager Jim Hughes said the NFL has made it clear this time around that even multiple screens, outside of a sports book or other venue where sports are broadcast, are verboten.

“We do have the advantage of having television screens throughout the casino which show sports on a daily basis,” Hughes said. “We’re just going to play it by ear.”

The Imperial Palace, which hosted a giant Super Bowl party last season, will instead have a smaller VIP gathering that accommodates NFL rules, spokesman Jeremy Handel said.

Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor consumer newsletter, said the loss of NFL parties won’t be a big deal for Las Vegas, where casinos offer an abundance of television screens so customers can’t miss the action.

“They’re going to park themselves at blackjack tables,” he said. “If they have to pack people in the … sports book they will. I think the casinos will just shrug and say, ‘Who cares? Our doors will be open and we’ll be full anyway.’ “

Las Vegas’ monopoly on legal sports betting is still a top draw, Curtis said.

“(Tourists) still want to be where the action is,” he said. “They still want to make a bet or two.”

Members of the American Gaming Association, which represents most major casino companies, asked the group to approach the NFL about five months ago to clarify the league’s position on Super Bowl events.

“There’s no question that they have a copyright” on the Super Bowl but some casinos weren’t clear on what was allowed under the copyright, the association’s Fahrenkopf said. The NFL letter was forwarded to all association members, though casinos are free to negotiate with the league individually, he said.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the league isn’t allowing the negotiation of any side deals regarding the Super Bowl broadcast, such as allowing a business to pay a licensing fee to show the game at a party or event.

The league sent the letter to the Gaming Association as a way to efficiently reach the largest number of casinos as possible, McCarthy said. The letter was the only clarification sent by the NFL to a trade association or other representative group nationwide, he said.

The NFL began cracking down on Super Bowl parties this year after it became aware of big Super Bowl broadcasts in theaters, ballrooms and showrooms, McCarthy said.

Las Vegas pundits theorized that the NFL stopped the parties after the city ran a $ 1.5 million campaign in mid-January telling viewers that they were likely to have more fun in Las Vegas than in Houston, the Super Bowl host city.

The ads, which featured the Las Vegas Strip and the line, “If only it was this exciting at the game in Houston,” had followed yet another failed attempt by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to broadcast tourism ads during the game.

The league has flatly denied a connection between the ads and the Super Bowl party crackdown, saying it has longstanding policies that prevent gambling ads during the game. The NFL also sent out cease and desist letters to a few other venues showing big broadcasts nationwide, though it didn’t disclose how many of them were notified besides Las Vegas casinos.

Curtis said the NFL’s position will bring “more bad publicity” to the league and its aggressive protection tactics.

“I think this whole thing was very heavy handed,” he said.

But Feldman said the NFL has been up front since last season and that casinos could have been left with less wiggle room.

“Many sports books have large projection screens and they all have multiple screens,” he said. “This is an acknowledgement that they’re trying to accommodate the wishes of some of our customers.”

For additional discussion on this topic, please visit:

http://sportsgamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2980

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More Carolina Panthers Press Releases

As the New England Patriots celebrate their last gasp Super Bowl 2004 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Trade Exchange Network – operator of the TradebetX.com and TradeSports.com betting exchanges – is also in high spirits after punters staked more than $ 20.6m on the entire event.

Trading on yesterday’s Super Bowl XXXVIII had opened last April, and although positions were being taken even back then it wasn’t until the start of the season that the activity really picked up.

TradeSports and TradebetX saw a steady rise in the amounts traded between October and the semi-finals a few weeks back, but within hours of it becoming known who would be playing at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, it became clear it was going to be a case of the “Cats being the Dogs”.

John Delaney, CEO of TradebetX and TradeSports, says: “Throughout the Sunday and Monday after the semi-finals, the odds on the Patriots’ to win shortened from +150 to –230 (2.5 to 1.4 digital).

“By contrast the Panthers, who have so far had a shaky season, saw their post semi-final shares initially go from around +900 to +330.

TradeSports and TradebetX members were also able to trade ‘real time’ during the actual game with the money following the pattern of the game.

John Delaney adds: “Almost $ 1 million was traded during the event. Imagine how much more exciting the game is to watch when you are trading in and out of positions with every play”.

“We even offered our members the chance to trade on that enjoyable event, The Lingerie Bowl where traders correctly predicted a victory for Team Euphoria.”

With thousands of traders from over 125 countries trading in excess of $ 1 billion on TradeSports and TradebetX already, Super Bowl XXXIX odds and trading soon to commence will be even more action-packed on the exchange than Super Bowl XXXVIII.

Notes to Editors

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Southern Baptist Church in NC spreads the word via bikers.Dr.Ruffin E. Snow has pastored churches for 41 years and has also been a lifelong motorcyclist. Clad in his black leather jacket and boots, he is heaven on wheels this up coming week at Tri-City Baptist Church located about 60 miles north of Charlotte. The church started in 1989 with 42 members and has grown to over 1800. In 1999 Dr. Ruffin Snow from OK became the senior pastor. Tri-City Baptist Church, best known for its annual christmas play “The Promise” is building a reputation for something out of the ordinary among Baptist Churches: an annual Bike Week that starts May 1st.

In its fifth year, thousands of people will attend this five day event which will include a bike show, bike games, a three-hour ride to SC and back, air rides for kids, bicycle safety checks by the local fire department, and guest evaneglist Ken Freeman will bring the message from God’s word nightly. A local Harley-Davidson dealer has become the largest sponsor of the week, and the local Chamber of Commerce has set up a display for the event. This year a new 2004 Harley-Davidson Sportster has been donated to the event to be given away.

“There are people who look at the church and say to themselves, ‘I wouldn’t be welcomed there,’ ” Pastor Snow said. “We’re trying to say with this event, ‘Yes, you would be.’ “

Privately held Noble Investment Group (Noble), a leading investment management, operating and development organization in the lodging and hospitality industry, today announced the topping off milestone of the 400- room Raleigh Marriott City Center. Established in the epicenter of Raleigh and Wake County’s booming downtown, the $ 75 million hotel is adjacent to the 500,000 square foot Raleigh Convention Center. The Raleigh Marriott City Center and the Raleigh Convention Center are both scheduled to open in the summer of 2008.

The Raleigh Marriott City Center brings four star luxury accommodations to enhance the vibrant dining and entertainment district as part of the $ 1 billion dollar Raleigh downtown renaissance. The hotel’s inviting, plush lobby was designed and developed to be the living room of the Raleigh and Wake County community, where visitors will relax and unwind as they gather to enjoy a morning Starbucks coffee or evening drinks with colleagues around a warm, crackling fireplace.

Located twenty minutes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the 16-story hotel features 400 rooms, including 20 suites, more than 15,000 square feet of state of the art meeting space featuring a 9,000 square-foot Grand Ballroom and another 6,000 square feet of individual/breakout meeting rooms. The Raleigh Marriott City Center, located on Fayette Street, is the official headquarters of the new Raleigh Convention Center. Complete with a vast, 30,000 square-foot ballroom and more than 150,000 square feet of meeting space, the hotel and convention center provide abundant solutions for any group size.

Ending his college kicking career first in the nation for field goals made per game and in Mel Kiper’s top 5 by position for kickers, Hofstra University’s two time All American kicker Rob Zarrilli is anxious to see what his future holds in the indefinite world of the NFL. A University of Louisville transfer, his huge leg caught the attention of then coach Bobby Petrino. After a fierce battle for the kicking job, as a red shirt freshman walk-on, Zarrilli was a close second behind scholarship kicker Art Carmody, who later went on to win the Lou Groza award. Louisville Coach Tony Levine -now of the Carolina Panthers – often spoke very highly of Carrillo, in fact when speaking of Zarrilli, Levine said, “He may have one of the strongest legs I’ve ever seen.” However, realizing his playing time would be confined to kickoffs as Carmody would hold place kicking duties; Carrillo took the advice of family and coaches and transferred to Hofstra University to where he would eventually gain premier kicker status.

This decision quickly was realized as the right one as Carrillo’s college career began to skyrocket. In his second game for Hofstra, he kicked two over-time field goals including a 48-yard kick over rival Furman University. Finishing the season 17 for 19, Carrillo’s impact on the team’s success was felt heartily. It wasn’t long before such media outlets as Newsday were speaking highly of Rob Zarrilli and his value on the Hofstra squad. Holster’s Coach Cohen said of Rob,”[he] is probably the hardest worker I have ever coached.” In two seasons Carrillo was an amazing 10 for 10 from 45 yards and better including 52 yardarms at Main and Massachusetts.

It wasn’t but just over a year ago, prior to Carrillo’s senior year at Hofstra that this young man from Orlando, Fl was seen as one of the top kickers in the country and a sure bet for a spot on an NFL roster. However, after a less than stellar senior season hampered by an aggravated groin injury, Carrillo is hoping that his previous two all American seasons, two of which were All American stints, and his rebound to peak physical performance will entitle him to a spot on an NFL team. Standing just over six feet tall and weighing in at a powerful 200 pounds, as kickers go Zarrilli is prime merchandise with a booming leg and sturdy frame. All combined with a never say die attitude and desire to compete Zarrilli is hoping that teams take note of his accomplishments during his two great seasons. In fact the experts at NFL Draft Countdown have been quoted as saying that Zarrilli “…Has the talent to play at the next level [and] could be a steal…”

The position of kicker on any football team is often left as the unsung hero. With the spotlight typically only placed on these precision players for just a fraction of the game, it is widely unknown that close to a third of all football games won are done so by the kicker. Then there is the fact that most teams do not actively recruit a kicker in their draft picks. Leaving such talent as Adam Vinatieri, formerly of the Super Bowl XXXVI winning New England Patriots- or the New York Giant’s kicker Lawrence Tynes, who had the game winning kick over the Green Bay Packers putting the Giants into the Super Bowl- to find their own way of gaining a spot on a pro roster.

It seems as though all this talented kicker is looking for is the opportunity to prove he has the ability to play at the next level. The ability to take his fate into his own hands and be offered his chance to compete. Will a team take a hard look at this young man and offer him that chance? This is yet to be seen, but with this weekend’s NFL Draft insight, it is a question that will find its answer soon. With such stats as 4th in the nation in field goals made and 7th in the nation all time in field goal percentage at nearly 75 percent, is primed and more than ready to be a part of the NFL kicking elite. When you consider even with Zarrilli’s struggles in his senior year, he finished his college career with 49 field goals and a long list of honors. Included in these honors is the award of Special teams player of the year and the Walter Camp 1st team All American in 2006. Impressively, Zarrilli holds kicked an average 1.5 field goals per game throughout his three years at Hofstra, currently holds the top spot of most field goals made per game.

As those college players who are looking to play at the next level, and the teams around the country sort out priorities to match depth with strength, agility with intelligence and perseverance with pride, there is one undeniable aspect to this selection process. A facet of truth we all- as a fan of this titan sport- relish in, it is that talent is measurable and success defined but heart and fate are retrospective. For Rob Zarrilli, and his NFL future, he is betting on the fact that he’s in the top of all 5 kicking categories listed on NCAA Statistics to be his motif which delivers his chance to be a part of the NFL’s 2008-2009 season. As for Zarrilli’s physical condition and his ability to perform on any given Sunday, Rob simply states “I am healthy and ready, I’m confident in my ability, the only thing I can control now is how hard I work so I’ll be ready when someone calls.”

For additional information on the news that is the subject of article please contact Joshua Johnson at joshua @ xfusenews.com to 813-857-2189

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Find More Carolina Panthers Press Releases

Quoting Followill – “Regarding Jake Delhomme – he was ‘fantastic’ last season for the Carolina Panthers, but the true test is how he is judged over time”. He went on to mention that Delhomme could be nothing more than a one-year wonder and that the true test of a good quarterback is how he flourishes in a given system over the years. These comments are unprecedented and young children should be asked to leave the room before being repeated.

The Quincy L&A’s are a rabid bunch and would rather fight to the death defending their beloved quarterback than admit his mediocrity. Followill heads the inaugural group of Lovers and Apologists and has made mention about seceding from the United States in their support. In their eyes, Quincy is in Dallas to stay and has never gotten enough “respect” or “the chance”.

The Carolina Renaissance Festival has hired a Village Town Crier to be a sports announcer this Sunday, the final day of the festival’s fall season. Master Winmore, is now proclaimed to be the Festival’s official “Carolina Panthers Blowhard”, and will herald and regal festival visitors with ongoing announcements of Sunday’s tournament joust between the Panthers and the Washington Redskins.

You will find Master Winmore roaming the twenty acre medieval festival village announcing game plays, updates, scores and highlights. His game day pre-show will start with the festival’s opening cannon shot at 10:00am, and he will follow the game with flourish, fanfare, and a traditional town crier’s bell.

The Carolina Renaissance Festival is a medieval amusement park, an eight stage theater, an twenty acre circus, an arts and crafts fair, a jousting tournament and a feast – all rolled into one, non-stop day long adventure.

Dates: This is the FINAL weekend of the 10th anniversary Carolina Renaissance Festival, November 15 and 16.

Hours: 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. rain or shine.

Location: Just north of Charlotte between Concord and Huntersville on Highway 73 at Poplar Tent Road (between I-77 and I-85). Exit 25 on I-77 or exits 52 or 55 on I-85.

Parking: FREE courtesy of Harris Teeter.

Advance Discount Tickets: $ 14 for adults, $ 5 for kids ages 5-12, available at Harris Teeter Stores region wide. Children under 5 are always free. Tickets purchased at the gate are $ 1 more. Senior discount tickets (60 and over) are $ 13 at the gate.

More Information: Visitors should call (704) 896-5544 or toll free (877) 896-5544. Visit the Festival web site at http://www.renfestinfo.com.

Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc., a Dallas, TX area based, local non-profit organization will be having its first fund-raising event, “Celebrate Rising Stars” Community Achievement Awards Gala and Auction on Friday, June 4, 2004. The gala and auction is planned to celebrate and honor the thirty-five at-risk young men currently enrolled in the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother program, as well as honoring twenty-five African-American males who are making contributions to society through business, civic, community and religious affiliations or organizations from the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX metroplex area.

National Football League linebacker Jessie Armstead of the Carolina Panthers serves at the gala’s honorary chair and will also be honored during this event for his continued support to charitable and community organization across the country. Mr. Armstead, a Dallas Carter High School graduate and twelve-year NFL professional football veteran through his own foundation, The Jessie Armstead Foundation assists various charities across the United States, such as the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother program. Dallas, TX based Positively Oak Cliff founder and community leader Edna Pemberton, along with Dallas’ KRNB radio talk show host of, “Talk About It”, “Miss Community” dianne gibson are co-chairs for this event.

The event will be held at the Concord Missionary Baptist Church, 6808 Boulder Drive, Dallas, TX. The auction will start at 6pm. Tickets for the event are $ 25.00; and there are also under-writing and sponsorships opportunities available for this event. Proceeds from this event are designated for the on-going programs of community outreach, at-risk prevention, leadership development and community service projects for the thirty-five students currently involved in the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother programs.

About Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc.

The mission of the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother Program, Inc. is to provide positive role models that will develop leaders by instilling qualities such as: leadership, integrity, character, accountability, responsibility, discipline, and self-esteem to young men between the ages of six and eighteen. The Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, program was created five years ago to mobilize these young men through personal empowerment, community service and educational tutoring to direct their paths away from the streets, gangs and prison by energizing them to become productive and responsible citizens that can and will constructively contribute to society.

The founders of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc., Terrence Chase and Ray Schufford have strong community, professional and family ties to the Dallas area. Both have devoted much of their personal time and resources to mentor over 500 young men in the South Oak Cliff area in the past five years. Terrence Chase, President of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. is a native of Colorado has long been involved in community service and currently works as schoolteacher with the Duncanville ISD. Mr. Chase has a BA in Mathematics with emphasis in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Ray Schufford, Vice-President of the organization is co-owner of the eighteen-year-old, Nice Look Barber Shop in Dallas. Mr. Schufford has BA in Business Management from Central Missouri State University and is also a nine-year veteran fire-fighter/paramedic with the City of Dallas.

The Mentoring Brother 2 Brother organization, upcoming fund raising event and its founder Ray Schufford were highlighted in the Dallas Morning News April 27, 2004 issue of it Metro Plus section.

For more information regarding the gala or the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. organization, you may visit the website at http://www.MB2B.org or contact Tamara Johnson with Proverbs Consulting at info@MB2B.org.

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Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc., a Dallas TX area based local non-profit organization held its first annual fund raising event, “Celebrate Rising Stars” Community Achievement Awards Gala and Auction on Friday, June 4, 2004. The event was well attended with about 300 guests and honorees. The gala and auction was planned to celebrate and honor the thirty-five at-risk young men currently enrolled in the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother program; in addition to honoring twenty-five African-American males who are making contributions to society through business, civic, community and religious affiliations or organizations from the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex area. The honorees that were attendance included:

Bryan Carter-Concord Baptist Church

Clifford Shaw-City of Cedar Hill

Darryl Thornton-DFW Airport

Demarcus McGaughey-In House Media Group

Donald Hill-City of Dallas

Dr. Donald Blair, MD-OB/GYN

Dr. Philip Williams-Buckner Baptist Benevolences

Hansel Cunningham-Independent Insurance Agent

Maurice Ambler-Blockbuster

Metric Manning-spiritgroove

Rick Jordan-Spiritual Advisor/Counselor

S. Michael Greene-Concord Missionary Baptist Church

The event was held at the Concord Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas and the outstanding master of ceremony was Pastor Steven Brown, Youth Pastor at Concord. Program highlights included award presentations to Chris Jennings-Jessie Armstead Award, Avery Lomax-Academic Award, Joshua Carroll-Citizenship Award, Quentin Roberson-Leadership and Zack Jones-Most Improved by the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother founders, Terrence Chase and Ray Schufford. Entertainment was provided by gospel group Psalms, a duo from the platinum recording group God’s Property. Also entertainment was provided by Mentoring Brother 2 Brother participant, Christopher Moore who goes by the rap name lil Twist. Honoree and event co-chair Jesse Armstead of the Carolina Panthers provided a very inspirational talk to event participants to keep a positive attitude in all things even when encountering the obstacles life can present.

About Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc.

The mission of the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother Program, Inc. is to provide positive role models that will develop leaders by instilling qualities such as: leadership, integrity, character, accountability, responsibility, discipline, and self-esteem to young men between the ages of six and eighteen. The Mentoring Brother 2 Brother (MB2B), program was created five years ago to mobilize these young men through personal empowerment, community service and educational tutoring to direct their paths away from the streets, gangs and prison by energizing them to become productive and responsible citizens that can and will constructively contribute to society. The Mentoring Brother 2 Brother program recently received a Proclamation from the City of Dallas, Mayor Laura Miller and Mayor Pro-Tem Donald Hill; and the MB2B program was also highlighted in the April 27, 2004 Dallas Morning News Metro Plus section.

The founders of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc., Terrence Chase and Ray Schufford have strong community, professional and family ties to the Dallas area. Both have devoted much of their personal time and resources to mentor over 500 young men in the South Oak Cliff area in the past five years. Terrence Chase, President of Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. is a native of Colorado has long been involved in community service and currently works as schoolteacher with the Duncanville ISD. Mr. Chase has a BA in Mathematics with emphasis in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Ray Schufford, Vice-President of the organization is co-owner of the eighteen-year-old, Nice Look Barber Shop in Dallas. Mr. Schufford has BA in Business Management from Central Missouri State University and is also a nine-year veteran paramedic with the City of Dallas.

For more information regarding at the Mentoring Brother 2 Brother, Inc. organization contact Tamara Johnson with Proverbs Consulting at 817-466-1456 or info@MB2B.org.

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