WHAT:           Bob Costas hosts the 24th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner to benefit The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, a non-profit organization which is the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, the world’s most comprehensive spinal cord injury research center, based at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

WHO:        The 2009 Great Sports Legends and Honorees to date include:

o        Troy Aikman – Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback. Highlights include three-time Super Bowl Champion and 1993 MVP, six-times selected to the Pro Bowl, All-Pro, College Hall of Fame inductee; current sportscaster for the Fox network; co-owner of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing team.

o        Clyde Drexler –Ten-time NBA All-Star and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame and 50 Greatest NBA Players of all time; former shooting guard for the Portland Trailblazers and Houston Rockets; 1992 Olympic gold medal winner; current commentator for the Rockets.

o        Mike Piazza – Former catcher for the New York Mets, LA Dodgers considered the best hitting catcher of all time; twelve-time All-star; career record holder for home runs by a catcher; ten-time Silver Slugger Award winner and NL Rookie of the Year winner in 1993.

o        Ivan Lendl – Considered one of the greatest professional tennis players of all time with ten Grand Slam singles titles and 144 career tournament titles.

o        Rusty Wallace – Former NASCAR Premier Series champion, NASCAR Nationwide Series car owner; 55-time race winner (eighth best all-time career total, seventh best in NASCAR modern era); recently, ESPN and ABC Sports broadcaster.

o        Brett Hull – Known as “The Golden Brett”; a 2009 NHL Hall of Fame inductee; played 5 teams including the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars; current executive vice president of the Dallas Stars.

o        Dara Torres – Twelve-time Olympic medal winner (four gold, four silver, four bronze), five of which were in Sydney in 2000 and the First American swimmer to compete in 5 Olympics.

o        Pat Day – Hall of Fame American Jockey with 8803 career wins, four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey has ridden winners of U.S. Triple Crown races nine times.

o        Chris Waddell – Paralympian and five-time gold medalist; most decorated male skier in Paralympic history, winning twelve medals over four games.

o        Stewart Rahr – President, CEO and sole owner of Kinray, the largest privately held pharmaceutical distributorship in the world, will receive the 2009 Outstanding Philanthropist Award for his tireless contributions to those less fortunate.

o        Adrienne Arsht – Chairman Emerita of TotalBank, a respected national business leader and hands-on philanthropist for many worthy causes, will receive The 2009 Buoniconti Fund Award.

o        Jack Schneider – Managing Director, Allen & Company, Chairman of The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis will receive The Barth A. Green Spirit Award.

o        Dr. Maya Angelou - Writer, dancer, African-American activist and educator.

WHEN:           Tuesday, October 6, 2009 / Cocktails begin: 6:00PM / Dinner: 7:30PM

WHERE:         Waldorf=Astoria Hotel / Grand Ballroom

MISC:             In 1985, Barth A. Green, M.D. and NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti helped found The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis after Nick’s son, Marc, sustained a spinal cord injury during a college football game. Today, The Miami Project, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, is the world’s most comprehensive spinal cord injury research center and is housed in the Lois Pope LIFE Center.  The Miami Project’s international team of more than 200 scientists, researchers and clinicians take innovative approaches to the challenge of spinal cord injury. Committed to finding a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury and to seeing millions worldwide walk again, the Buoniconti family established The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis in 1992, a non-profit organization devoted to assisting The Miami Project achieve its national and international goals.