Celebrities will take to the court for Clay Johnson Foundation

Columbus Short is still taking his shot at big-time fame, but he’s taking a time-out for basketball.

Short, who starred in last year’s “Stomp the Yard,” is one of the players/stars participating in a celebrity basketball game Saturday at Municipal Auditorium. The game, the most public part of the Kansas City Magic All Star Weekend for the Clay Johnson Foundation (see box), features musicians, actors and other stars who play in or have some affiliation with the Los Angeles-based NBA Entertainment League.

And what can audiences expect to see from a court full of entertainers?

“Oh, they’re going to see a show,” Short said of the game.

In April the 16-team NBAE finished its 11th season with the Nuggets, led by Morris Chestnut (“Boyz N The Hood”), Drew Lachey (“Dancing With the Stars”) and Texas Battle (“Coach Carter”) besting the Cavaliers with James Lesure (“Las Vegas”), Donald Faison (“Scrubs”) and Will Ferrell (“Semi-Pro”).

Ice Cube, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg (who is at Sandstone tonight with 311), Sacha Baron Cohen, Shia LaBeouf, Taye Diggs, Adam Sandler and Boris Kodjoe are among the others who have put some time in for the league, which has the official nod from the NBA (look for a link for it at www.nba.com).

Some of the players make themselves available for special engagements like Saturday’s game. Besides Short, Kansas Citians should see Faison, Flex Alexander (“One on One”), James Lee (Hiro’s buddy on “Heroes”), Dean Cain of “Superman and Lois”, Joel Moore from “Dodgeball”; R&B singer Tank; James Lafferty and Steven Colletti from “One Tree Hill”; and Frankie Delgado and Brody Jenner from “The Hills.”

This is a bit of a homecoming for Short, who also played in last year’s game. He was born in Kansas City and spent his first five years here before the family moved. He still has family here and said he visits when he can.

But the actor/dancer/choreographer has been busy since “Stomp the Yard” lifted his profile (he also appeared in “Accepted” and had a recurring role in “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” before “Yard”). He appeared in the holiday season movie “This Christmas” and has four more waiting to be released.

They include the horror film “Quarantine,” with Jennifer Carpenter, due in October, and “Cadillac Records,” about the influential 1950s Chicago record label. He plays Little Walter in “Cadillac Records” and calls it “one of the most artistic films I’ve been a part of.”

At the moment, though, he’s just playing ball.

“Working on films takes up 100 percent of your time,” Short said. “I did a lot of work this year, so I’m kind of taking a break.”

Short and company will be helping out the Clay Johnson Foundation, which “started as an initiative to help young people like Clay who grew up without resources,” according to Lisa Pelofsky of Pelofsky and Associates, which is helping promote the event.

The debut event last fall focused on sexual health, and Johnson called in his friend from his Lakers days, Magic Johnson, to help. People who got an HIV test were offered free tickets to the game, and more than 700 took advantage of the test and the tickets.

This year’s event will focus on general health and includes a golf tournament and poker game Friday. Former Lakers James Worthy and Michael Cooper are expected to participate in both, with Cooper flying in between Los Angeles Sparks games. Cooper is the head coach of the WNBA team, which plays tonight in Sacramento, Calif., and Saturday in Seattle.
http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/story/698027.html

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