Official Press Release

ST. LOUIS - May 11, 2005 - St. Louis Rams wide receiver Torry Holt, Olympic gold medalist Paul Hamm, New Orleans Hornets forward P.J. Brown, and St. Louis Blues center Doug Weight highlight an all-star lineup to be honored at the 2005 Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CTSA) Awards Dinner. The St. Louis Sports Commission has joined the CTSA to produce the national event and celebrate America's best sports June 4 at the Renaissance Grand Hotel in Downtown St. Louis.

The CTSA Awards Dinner honors outstanding athletes who promote the values of sportsmanship, ethical play in athletic competition, citizenship and community service. Each year, the alliance presents the awards to honorees from each of its 12 member organizations: Major League Baseball, the NCAA, NAIA, NFL, NHL, NBA, WNBA, U.S. Olympic Committee, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The CTSA is the largest coalition of professional and amateur athletics organizations in the United States focused on sportsmanship and building character through sport.

In all, 17 athletes and sports administrators will be recognized in St. Louis. The Awards Dinner is open to the public. To purchase tickets, call 314-992-0686 or visit www.stlsports.org.

The 2005 CTSA award recipients include:

• P.J. Brown, New Orleans Hornets (NBA)
• Teresa Edwards, Minnesota Lynx (WNBA)
• Danny Gathings, High Point (N.C.) University (NCAA)
• Dan Gould, Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Michigan State University (NASPE)
• Chanda Gunn, Northeastern University (NCAA)
• Paul Hamm, USA Gymnastics (USOC)
• Torry Holt, St. Louis Rams (NFL)
• Jim Kessler, Grace (Ind.) College basketball coach (NAIA)
• Amanda Larsen, Concordia (Ore.) University (NAIA)
• Shane Laurie, Springfield Kickapoo (Mo.) High School (NFHS)
• Edgar Martinez, Seattle Mariners (MLB - retired)
• Mesa State Football Team (NCAA)
• Wood Selig, Western Kentucky University Athletic Director (NACDA)
• Kayla Shaul, Daytona Beach (Fla.) Community College (NJCAA)
• Tim Van Alstine, Western Illinois University Athletic Director (NACDA)
• Jamie Vest, Stoutland (Mo.) High School (NFHS)
• Doug Weight, St. Louis Blues (NHL)

P.J. Brown was the winner of the NBA's sportsmanship award in 2004. He received the Joe Dumars Trophy, which honors the player who best exemplifies ethical behavior, fair play and integrity on the court. The 11-year veteran averaged 10.8 points and nine rebounds per game last season for the New Orleans Hornets.

Teresa Edwards received the 2004 WNBA Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award presented by Secret. The award honors the WNBA player who best represents the ideals of sportsmanship. Edwards, the oldest active player in the WNBA at 40 years of age, is the most decorated women's player in the history of USA Basketball. The Minnesota Lynx guard is the only American basketball player (male or female) to participate in five Olympics.

Danny Gathings, a junior at High Point University, was lauded for relinquishing his 2004 Big South Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player trophy to a player from Liberty University, who he felt was more deserving of the honor. Gathings' coaches regularly single him out for his unselfishness and his constant effort in practice and games, and note how he takes time to assist his teammates with their basketball skills.

Dan Gould is the director of the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports and a professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Michigan State University. During his career, he has focused equal attention on research, teaching and service activities in applied sport psychology. Gould has been heavily involved in coaching education, making over 600 clinic presentations.

Chanda Gunn, a hockey goaltender from Northeastern University, is recognized for her good character both on and off the ice. She is a three-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which is presented to the nation's top collegiate women's ice hockey player, and was awarded the Hockey Humanitarian Award in 2004, as college hockey's finest citizen. Gunn has been very active in the community as a volunteer coach and with local charities. Earlier this year, Gunn helped the United States women's national hockey team win its first World Championship. Gunn was named the tournament's top goaltender after a 3-1 upset of Canada in the championship game.

Paul Hamm was the first American male to win an Olympic all-around medal in gymnastics at a non-boycotted Games. At the Athens Summer Games, Hamm captured three medals, including the all-around gold, and headlines around the world. With spectacular performances on the parallel bars and the high bar, Hamm pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in Olympic gymnastics history, vaulting from fourth to first in the final rotation, and just edging past South Korea's Kim Dae Eun for the closest finish ever in the event. The 22-year-old is a two-time national champion and won his first World all-around title in 2003. Hamm was awarded the prestigious AAU Sullivan Award last month for his accomplishments in amateur athletics.

Torry Holt was the Rams' 2004 Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner. With four Pro Bowl invitations and five consecutive 1,300-yard receiving seasons, Holt is one of the team's most valuable performers on the field. But, it is off of the field and in the community where he makes his biggest impact. Holt's charitable foundation is involved with several community organizations, most notably Bear Essentials, a program that provides age-appropriate tools to help children cope with a parent's diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Holt provides families with tickets to Rams' home games and attends group functions associated with Bear Essentials. Each year, the Torry Holt Foundation pledges $2,000 for every touchdown he scores. Holt also established the Ojetta V. Holt-Shoffner Football Scholarship at North Carolina State University in memory of his mother, who passed away from cancer.

Jim Kessler received the NAIA's inaugural Coach of Character Award for the 2004-05 season. Kessler is the head coach at Grace College in Indiana. He won his 500th career game midway though last season, but is better known for serving others, living his faith and instilling those character traits in his players. During his 28-year tenure at Grace College, Kessler has taken his teams on more than a dozen international outreach basketball camps and has made extensive contributions in the local community by organizing annual tournaments that benefit numerous local and national charities.

Amanda Larsen was named a 2004 Daktronics-NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete and earned first-team all-Cascade Collegiate Conference honors in 2003 and 2004. She was a senior co-captain for the Concordia (Ore.) women's volleyball team and maintained a 3.97 GPA while majoring in secondary education. Larsen was named the 2004 Oregon Fellowship of Christian Athletes College Athlete of the Year. As an active member of the Cavaliers' Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter, Larsen served as an FCA Huddle Leader on campus and was a member of the FCA Summer Leadership Camp staff for the past two summers.

Shane Laurie helped lead Springfield Kickapoo (Mo.) High School to a 29-2 record and a third-place finish during this year's state tournament. The 6-1 guard averaged 20 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. According to Kickapoo head coach Roy Green, "He never complains and never makes excuses. Shane makes the rest of the guys on the team around him better." This year, Laurie was named first-team all-state by the Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

Edgar Martinez, who retired following the 2004 season after 18 seasons with the Seattle Mariners, was named the 2004 winner of the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock. The Clemente Award is presented each year to the Major League Baseball player who combines outstanding baseball skills with devoted work in the community. The most prolific designated hitter in the history of Major League Baseball, Martinez finished his playing career as the all-time leading designated hitter in batting average, home runs and RBI. Martinez, a seven-time All-Star, won the Designated Hitter of the Year Award five times during his career.

The Mesa State College football team exemplified the spirit of competition in its Division II playoff game against Central Oklahoma, which was conducted in the midst of a Colorado snowstorm in 2003. During the contest, Mesa State alerted game officials that Central Oklahoma was wearing illegal cleats, which immediately brought the game to a halt. After a long discussion (Central Oklahoma could have forfeited the game because of the illegal equipment) Mesa State elected to let Central Oklahoma change its cleats so the game could resume, thus allowing the winning team to advance to the next round by virtue of an on-field victory instead of forfeit. The game was won by Central Oklahoma, but Mesa State was recognized for its tremendous example of sportsmanship in the spirit of competition.

Wood Selig and Tim Van Alstine were instrumental in helping the Gateway Football Conference institute a full-team, pre-game handshake before all conference games. The athletic directors' football teams, Western Kentucky and Western Illinois, were involved in one of the ugliest brawls in the conference's history in 2002 following a Division I-AA playoff game. Before the teams met the next season, Van Alstine suggested to Selig that the teams shake hands before the game to show good sportsmanship. The idea proved to be an overwhelming success with the teams and fans. It was also well received by the league presidents, and in 2004, the Gateway became the first NCAA conference to implement a pre-game handshake before all league contests.

Kayla Shaul, from Dayton Beach (Fla.) Community College, won the National Junior College Athletic Association's 2004-2005 Lea Plarski Award. Shaul, captain of the women's golf team at DBCC, exemplifies the qualities represented by this award - sportsmanship, leadership, community service and academic excellence, coupled with athletic ability and achievement. A business and marketing major, Shaul has maintained a 3.41 grade-point average while taking part in numerous volunteer and leadership activities.

Jamie Vest, from Stoutland (Mo.) High School, became the first individual - male or female - to win four Missouri state cross country titles. Her commitment, determination, and perseverance was evident this year, as she came within two seconds of breaking the Class 1 state cross country record, which she established as a freshman. Vest is a three-sport athlete at Stoutland (cross country, basketball and track), and one of the most decorated high school runners in state history.

Doug Weight is a two-time U.S. Olympian and a 13-year National Hockey League veteran. The Michigan native has appeared in over 900 NHL games, amassing 828 points (224 goals and 604 assists). Upon his arrival in St. Louis, Doug and his wife, Allison, initiated "Weight's World," a suite purchased by the family that provides children and their families affected by cancer the opportunity to attend Blues home games. Weight has also received votes for the NHL's Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, an honor given annually "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."

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