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49 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend April 16, 2004 Big names highlight Cota’s celebrity tourney By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune For its first venture into celebrity golf, the Rogue Valley is off to a rousing start. Organizers of the Chad Cota Celebrity Shootout, a charitable tournament slated for June 7 at Eagle Point Golf Course, have lined up, among others: An NFL quarterback whose 4,614 season passing yards in 1984 are surpassed by only four others in history — including Dan Marino’s record 5,084 that same year. A major-league slugger who averaged 35 home runs over a five-year span and thrice topped 100 RBIs in a season. A former MVP of the Green Bay Packers. Advertisement Two of the best present-day NFL kickers. A two-time U.S. Open bowling champion. A star of a hit 1980s TV show. And numerous former NFL and University of Oregon football players, owing to Cota’s status as an All-American safety for the Ducks in 1994 who went on to an eight-year NFL career. Jim Winans, a longtime friend of Cota’s, came up with the idea a couple of years ago after becoming familiar with a celebrity golf tournament put on by Neil Lomax in Portland. "I knew Chad was looking for something to do with his time other than golf," joked Winans, "so I said, ‘Chad, what do you think?’" Cota was all for it, and planning for the tournament began in earnest about four months ago. "At first, we were just trying to get a few names," said Winans, the Southern Oregon director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). "Then all of a sudden, we had 10 or 15 names." And the list kept growing. Among the big names are former St. Louis quarterback Lomax, who passed for all those yards the same season Marino did with Miami. Only Dan Fouts, Warren Moon and Kurt Warner, in addition to Marino, have had bigger seasons than Lomax. Gorman Thomas, a former star of the Milwaukee Brewers, is the baseball slugger and the annual teammate of the bowling champion, Medford’s Marshall Holman, in Lomax’s tournament. The Packer MVP is offensive tackle Ken Ruettgers, who played 12 years, and the kickers are Indianapolis’ Mike Vanderjagt, with whom Cota — a former Colt — has played a lot of golf, and Ryan Longwell of the Packers. Gregory Harrison, a star of the TV show Trapper John, M.D., is also expected to play. Other celebrities who have given verbal commitments are Chris Miller, Mark Rypien, Cade McNown, Tracey Eaton, Dan Dickau, Alex Molden, Josh Bidwell, Josh Wilcox, Dino Philyaw and Peter Sirmon. The tournament will benefit FCA, area school athletics and the Bulldog Boxing Club. The format will be a five-man scramble — four-man teams plus a celebrity. The cost is $500 per four-man team, and there are expected to be 32 teams. One of the keys to the success of the tournament is its proximity, in form and date, to Lomax’s event, which is two days before. Some players will play in Portland, then come to Southern Oregon for Cota’s. "We’re feeding off some of his athletes and his ideas," said Cota, who plans to play in Lomax’s tournament for the first time this year, likely with Vanderjagt as his partner in the two-man format. "This is something the valley hasn’t had that I know of, and it’s a chance to raise money for local programs, something people can come out to and have fun with. "I’ve gotten so much from this community, it’s nice to be able to give something back." Winans and Cota hope the association with Lomax’s event, which also benefits Christian organizations, might lead to more and bigger names participating in the future, such as the likes of Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley and Marcus Allen. "We want to give the athletes a good time so they’ll want to come back," said Winans. "We want to make it something special that they’ll remember." For a registration form or more information, go to www.cotagolfshootout.com or call Eagle Point Golf Course at 826-8225. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times