You Don't Have to be Italian to Play...

Rediscover a game that is sweeping the nation and join us for the Detroit Lions Celebrity Bocce Ball Tournament. The fundraising event is being held in joint association between the Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame and Detroit Lions, and is presented by Foresters. Proceeds from the tournament will go to Detroit Lions Charities to benefit the Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame and various other charities in Michigan.

This year's tournament will be led by honorary chairmen Tony Battaglia, owner of Palazzo di Bocce; Tony Filippis, Founder of Wright & Filippis and Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame; Hoot McInerney, Detroit-area car dealer and philanthropist; and Mike Utley, former Detroit Lions offensive guard and founder of the Mike Utley Foundation. Members of Detroit football, baseball and hockey teams will serve as honorary captains – former Lion Ron Kramer and current Lions Terrence Holt and Cory Redding, former Red Wings' great and Pro Hockey Hall of Famer Ted Lindsay, and former Tigers Dave Rozema and Jim Northrup.

The chairmen and captains will be joined by several other celebrities including many current and former Lions in a tournament open to the public and fun for all ages and abilities.

The game of bocce is one of the oldest in the world, with its roots in Ancient Egypt. The purpose of the game is to roll the bocce – a grapefruit-sized resin ball weighing about three pounds – as close as possible to the pallino, a smaller metal ball, which is rolled down the alley first. The bocce coming closest to the pallino scores. Twelve points constitute a game.

The Detroit Lions Celebrity Bocce Tournament will be held on May 17, from 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Palazzo di Bocce (www.palazzodibocce.com) in Orion Township, Michigan. Sponsorships are available for the tournament, as well as individual tickets to the event. For more information, contact Detroit Lions Community Affairs at (313) 216-4171or visit the Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame website at www.adhof.org.