Any sudden urges to hack-a-Shaq this weekend can be squashed with a quick trip to N.C. State's Centennial Campus.
That's where former NBA superstar (and acclaimed genie rapper) Shaquille O'Neal will tee up Sunday with other celebrities for the 18th annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic. (Just note that any actual attempts to hack on Shaq could result in a very different type of squashing.)
The Big Shamrock will be joined on the links by former N'Sync member Joey Fatone, HGTV host Shane Tallant and actor Alfonso Ribeiro. That'd be Carlton from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Tip: Be sure to pop your collar and work up a Tom Jones dance move before approaching Ribeiro for an autograph.
Plenty of Carolina Hurricanes also should be on the course, as well as ESPN personalities and NBA Hall of Famer and TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley.
For the first time, the golf classic this year will have a Kids Zone, where youngsters can schmooze with Looney Tunes stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, get their faces painted and play video games.
Golfing kicks off Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (gates open at 8:30) at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on Centennial Campus. But official Jimmy V festivities begin tonight with a reverse raffle at the Raleigh Convention Center. The big prize at the raffle will be a new BMW 128i. That's open to the public and begins at 6:30 p.m.
There's also a pairings party tonight, but that's open only to golfers and their guests.
The Saturday night V Gala for Cancer Research at the Raleigh Convention Center and Ballroom is sold out.
The Jimmy V Golf Classic is a major fundraiser for the V Foundation for Cancer Research, created in 1993 to honor former N.C. State University basketball coach and ESPN analyst Jim Valvano. Valvano died in April 1993 after a yearlong battle with cancer.
Proceeds from this year's Classic will benefit UNC'sLineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in the form of a grant to fund research for Ewing's Sarcoma in the name of ESPN analyst and cancer survivor Stuart Scott, who has long been a supporter of the V Foundation.
For more information, visit www.golfclassic.org.
