newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALLISON RUPPINO

CELEBRITY MAGNET

The 26th Annual Great Sports Legends Gala raised more than 10 million dollars for the Miami Project/Marc Buoniconti Fund was held Monday night in the Grand Ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The Buoniconti Fund is committed to finding a cure for paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury and to seeing millions worldwide walk again. This is a non-profit organization devoted to assisting The Miami Project achieve its national and international goals.

Sportscaster Bob Costas was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening and many other familiar faces attended. Guests included: Miami’s Marc Buoniconti, retired American football wide receiver Jerry Rice, New York Giant David Diehl, American Olympic figure skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan, singer Wayne Newton, singing legend and actress Diana Ross, former New York Giant Harry Carson and wife Maribel Carson, former track and field star Carl Lewis, actor Richard Kind, Olympic boxer Eric Kelly, Jersey Shore’s Angelina Pivarnick, Food Network chef Chris Nirschel and of course NJ's 'Celebrity Magnet' Tom Murro.

Guests checked in at 5:30 that evening paying $850 a ticket to sit on the third floor balcony. Guests who wanted to enter the main level with the “notables” paid $1,500 per ticket. Of course, all proceeds went towards helping find a cure for paralysis and contributed to the 10 million dollars raised.

Murro received a wristband before heading to the room which showcased all of the amazing items being auctioned. One of the night’s honorees, Kerrigan, stopped by to chat with the Murro and his friend Kelly. As they made their way around the tables, she proved to be as smooth and sweet as her moves on the ice.

“She kept referring to how old she was and that her body had taken such a beating on the rink over the years, I thought she looked great, said Murro. “I asked what hurt the most, she said her hips took the worst of it.” He learned that she currently lives up in a Boston Suburb with her husband who works at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Over the years she has traded her skating blades for athletic shoes as she dedicates her time to running around with her kids. She now spends her days doing “mom stuff,” such as making lunches, driving her kids to school, and everything in between. Kerrigan is also in training for an upcoming charity woman's skating event.

Kelly thought it would be neat to phone up his good friend and Olympic Bronze medalist Allison Baver and have her speak with Kerrigan, the two chatted it up for 10 minutes – most likely about skating. Once off the phone, Kerrigan accepted an invitation to train with Kelly at his Church Street Boxing Gym next time she is in town. A workout such as this for free is quite the deal as Kelly donated a one hour personal training session at the event which sold for $300.

Murro and Kelly met up with Nirschel and Pivarnick on the red carpet where they ran into N.J. resident and former “fastest man on Earth,” Carl Lewis. “He was a nice guy,” said Murro. “I was sorry to see him drop out of the Senate Race here in New Jersey. When asked why he dropped out, Lewis said he was sick of all the ‘BS.’ Lewis said he would continue to be involved in Democratic campaigns and charity work.” A fun factoid, Murro noticed that Lewis doesn’t only run fast, but he walks, talks and eats fast as well. Really brings the phrase “fastest man on Earth” to a whole new meaning. “I’m sure at 50 he could still smoke just about anyone in a 100-yard dash,” added Murro.

Then there was the 6’5’’ 300 pound David Diehl standing with a big smile and wearing an ultra-expensive custom suit equipped with a fancy handkerchief in his pocket. They posed for a few pictures, and then Diehl showed Murro the very expensive Breitling Aerospace wristwatch he was sporting. This was a special numbered edition gift Eli Manning gave him and other teammates to celebrate winning Superbowl XLII against the New England Patriots. Murro asked him how he got involved in the charity and Diehl responded, “They called me up, I said yes, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.”

Murro and Kelly were pretty excited when they bumped into Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne Newton. Mr. Entertainment posed for some pictures with the two men. He was “cool and funny, diamond pinky ring and all,” said Murro. “He informed us he was leaving the singing to Diana Ross later in the evening.”

Buoniconti spoke for about twenty minutes, and in that time brought the crowds not only to tears but to their feet with his heartfelt speech about curing paralysis. Diana Ross entered the stage next belting out five or so of her big hits including, “You cant hurry love,'' ''Baby Love,'' and '' Where did our love go.'