Alex Ovechkin warmed up in a number 24 jersey prior to Wednesday night’s game against the Nashville Predators.
The jersey paid homage to the late NBA superstar, Kobe Bryant, who was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday night with his daughter, Gianna, and seven others. Ovechkin will sign and auction the jersey off at a later date to benefit the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation.
By Elyse Bailey 3 years ago
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin had a pretty awesome Tuesday night. With the Caps in Los Angeles a day ahead of their game against the Kings, Ovechkin took in a basketball game at the Staples Center. After the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107-94 win over the Orlando Magic, Ovechkin went back into the lockerroom, where he met up with future Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant and Novak Djokovic – the number one ranked tennis player in the world. You can’t make this stuff up.
The three athletes took several photos together.
Alex Ovechkin isn’t competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, but he’s been there the whole time anyway, cheering on his girlfriend Maria Kirilenko in women’s tennis. Despite his spectator status, he’s gotten into the Olympic spirit, attending Maria’s matches and making new connections with international athletes.
The sadly unengaged Ovechkin has always enjoyed meeting fellow celebrities and has never lost his enthusiasm for it — this summer, he’s tweeting these celebrity run-ins as they happen, thoughtfully giving us a clear timeline of his new friends.
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant greets John Carlson before the match. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)
As a member of the Washington Capitals, John Carlson is no stranger to lighthearted games of soccer, often playing along with his teammates to warmup before taking the ice.
But on Sunday, he joined in a pick-up match with meaning, participating in the Mia Hamm Foundation‘s annual Celebrity Soccer Challenge, held this year at Kastles Stadium in Southwest D.C.
The game, put on by Hamm and her husband, former MLB star Nomar Garciaparra, encourages people to join the bone marrow donor registry while raising money for Children’s National Medical Center. It was started in honor of Hamm’s late brother, Garrett, who passed away from aplastic anemia, a bone marrow condition, in 1997.
By Chris Gordon 11 years ago
