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Ball Don't Lie

Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:55 pm EDT

McGrady to wear new No. 3 to promote Darfur effort

By J.E. Skeets

Houtson guard Tracy McGrady(notes) is expected to change his Rockets uniform number to No. 3 to promote his "3 Points Darfur" initiative, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

McGrady put in the paperwork for the uniform change midway through last season and had received league approval. He was making the switch to his high school number to bring attention to his Darfur Dream Team campaign and 3 Points documentary.

Newly acquired Trevor Ariza(notes) will wear No. 1 [...]

The Darfur Dream Team enlists athletes to help raise funds for schools in Chad for Darfur refugees in a sister school program with schools in the United States. The documentary "3 Points" follows McGrady on his trip to Sudan and Chad in the summer of 2007.

Before some of you start firing the lame "what, is that the number of his games he'll play next season?" jokes, I'd like to take a 'graph or two to applaud McGrady on his Darfur efforts.

"Sometimes when we hear about war and famine in Africa, our instinct is to turn away," McGrady wrote on TrueHoop in February. Not T-Mac. McGrady is doing everything he can to help, including visiting the refugee camps, donating money to help build schools and, of course, helping to spread the word about the crisis in Darfur.

Sure, a simple number change isn't going to affect much, but at least it'll get an article in a newspaper, a blog post here and there, and maybe even a spot on ESPN's news ticker. There is no harm in that. It can and does make a difference.

Visit the official Darfur Dream Team website here.

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118 Comments

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  1. Walter E
    1. Posted by Walter E Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:16 pm EDT

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    It doeasnt matter he wont play anyway!!!
  2. Walter E
    2. Posted by Walter E Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    This dirtbag wont play anyway so it doesnt matter anyway if he changes his number to 100!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahaahhaahhahhhahahhahaahaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!! cant you guys notice? tracy mcgrady has retired already!! he just plays 1-3 games and then poof!! off to the yacht.. so if a certain blog deserves a "who cares" reaction,this should be on the number 1 list! ahahahaahahahahahahaahaaaaaaaa!!!!!
  3. JonathanC
    3. Posted by JonathanC Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:20 pm EDT

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    agreed.
  4. Walter E
    4. Posted by Walter E Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:20 pm EDT

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    By the way my first reaction was, why bother??
    lechoke shames the choken one is the next tracy mcgrady!!!! ahahaahahahahahahahahaahahhhahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!
  5. Travis
    5. Posted by Travis Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:27 pm EDT

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    Wow, these first four comments are the types of people who allow things like mass-rape and genocide to go on seemingly under the radar today. Sad. You're an idiot, Walter E.
    This is excellent. More pro athletes should be using the stages they have to really make a difference, to help people and call attention to issues of social justice. Get political. Show that you care about people -- not just Americans -- and let your fans know why and how humanitarian efforts are as important as ever. Here's hoping Kobe, LeBron, and so many others who failed to discuss these things at the Olympics wake up and learn what it means to be a leader. Basketball is really pretty unimportant until the players and fans make it important.
    Cheers, T-Mac. Stay healthy, stay active on and off the court.
  6. Phi D
    6. Posted by Phi D Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:28 pm EDT

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    dammit not first
  7. hans k
    7. Posted by hans k Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:29 pm EDT

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    Good for him!
  8. The Wiz
    8. Posted by The Wiz Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:41 pm EDT

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    Walter E has a stalkerish love for Lebron James apparently...I'm glad no one monitors all the tards like him who post in these blogs.
  9. QuAzY
    9. Posted by QuAzY Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:46 pm EDT

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    The All-Star that never past 1st round .... pathetic ... so sad!!! Retire already and help the Rockets out
    Lakers 2010 Fosho!
  10. Keith K
    10. Posted by Keith K Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:48 pm EDT

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    3? Is that the number of games he'll play next season? Hyuk, hyuk, hyuk.
  11. Travis
    11. Posted by Travis Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:08 pm EDT

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    You guys really don't get it. This has nothing to do with how many games he will play but how many people he is trying to help out.
  12. Jacob L
    12. Posted by Jacob L Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

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    ^^^^ word
  13. bill russell
    13. Posted by bill russell Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

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    over $20M per year puts him close to top 3 paid NBA players and he isn't even in the top 3 best players on his team.
  14. Valisun
    14. Posted by Valisun Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:36 pm EDT

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    I'm just glad how Kelly Dwyer didn't write about this article. Otherwise we'd be hearing about "strange, weird, and irrelevant" the Darfur effort is.
  15. TONG Q
    15. Posted by TONG Q Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:47 pm EDT

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    may be he can change his No. to9999
  16. Aki
    16. Posted by Aki Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:59 pm EDT

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    what, is that the number of his games he'll play next season?
  17. leisch
    17. Posted by leisch Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:15 pm EDT

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    atleast he is trying to help out a good cause and it shows that he cares stop hatin
  18. aznbaknbits
    18. Posted by aznbaknbits Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:18 pm EDT

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    Chico Boom, ur retarded, becuz the ppl in Darfur are definitely more important than the career of any nba player. Are you saying that a basketball game is more important than the lives of hundreds in Darfur? It's pretty sad how most of these ppl think its about tmac and his career wen its about saving lives in Darfur
    Jon Mac knows wuts up
  19. sportsnut888
    19. Posted by sportsnut888 Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:19 pm EDT

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    Good for T-Mac, to bring notice to something that's important to him, and a great humanitarian effort he's championing. It's something he believes in, not just lends his name to.
    Here's also hoping that a number change will enact a change in his fortune, and that he can stay healthy this year. HOU really needs him, with Yao gone.
  20. Joe S
    20. Posted by Joe S Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:20 pm EDT

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    he will just end up getting injured again so nobody will ever see him in the jersey
  21. Erock
    21. Posted by Erock Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:21 pm EDT

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    Wow, who cares about what he does on the court when it comes to something like this? Everyone turns a blind eye to Darfur because it can't lower our gas prices or topple a U.S. hating regime, but the fact is the crisis there is many times worse than Afghan or Iraq was, and yet we have spend a billion dollars and thousands of lives on those two causes. I guess innocent people getting butchered isn't our top priority after all...Someone tell Obama that Darfur has weapons of mass destruction.
  22. Gabriel G
    22. Posted by Gabriel G Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:31 pm EDT

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    look guys i think you should stop comenting on tmac injuries, sure hes lost some time a lot actually but at least he is trying to make a difference in the world by helping other nations, what are u doing huh? sitting in ur houses doing nothing but comenting and critizicing other people. you guys are just jealous of him at least he helps the world you dont you justsit in ur houses doing nothing all day get a life start playing basketball like he is doing and see if its easy cmo everybody has hard times in their careers so just shut up applaud him for what he is doing to help darfue and africa peace
  23. j
    23. Posted by j Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:34 pm EDT

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    Walter E... please shut the F up,
    the man is trying to raise awareness about the situation in Darfur
    maybe for uneducated kid like you it don't mean much
    Good for tmac
  24. youngjet
    24. Posted by youngjet Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:39 pm EDT

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    Wow.. Some of you guys need to get laid.. You guys are wound too tight.. Let T-Mac help his charity.. Root for your team and let it be.. Maybe we will see T-Mac play in more than ten games this year. Maybe we'll see Yao play again.. Maybe, just maybe this will be a fine season to look forward to.. I doubt it. I'll watch the Big East & ACC basketball instead. Yeah, that's the ticket..

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