Titans respond: In addition to the news I blogged earlier about Steve McNair joining Brete Favre in sending a semi-truck full of supplies to their home state of Mississippi, it appears Titans and other NFL teams and players are gearing up for major fundraising efforts. At the pre-season game I attended tonight, there were jumbogtron PSAs of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue urging Red Cross contributions for Katrina relief. Also, the NFL announced it was contributing $1 million to the Red Cross hurricane-relief fund and Falcons running back and Louisiana native Warrick Dunn is putting together a drive to get all NFL players (except those on the Saints) to contribute $5,000 each for hurricane relief efforts (if all do, that’s over $8 million).

Titans Radio announced tonight that this weekend on its website, it will be conducting a hurricane relief fundraising auction that will include items like dinner with Jeff Fisher and the chance to travel to an away game with the radio team. Also, many country music stars are adding items to the auction. I’ll link to it when their website adds the auction page.

My daughter didn’t attend the game but watched some of it on TV. She said a fan was interviewed who brought to the game six Katrina evacuees who are staying in Nashville.

From the story “Regaining Control”: (Scroll down) “It appeared the city had finally hit rock bottom, setting the stage for humanitarian efforts that could soon begin to quell the mass suffering of thousands of New Orleanians.”

Also, in another story, news that the Times-Picayune will start printing again tomorrow.

tag: katrina

Two Mississippi natives respond: Brete Favre and Steve McNair (I’ll be seeing them both in a pre-season game in about 90 minutes) have arranged a tractor-trailer filled with supplies for hurricane victims in their homestate of Mississippi.

Quote:

“McNair is offering to swap an autographed photo in exchange for a minimum donation of $100 to his foundation. Those funds will be distributed to victims in rural Mississippi. Meanwhile, Favre’s foundation is shipping supplies to Mississippi via a prop jet donated by Wisconsin Aviation. The foundation’s Web site says Favre’s wife, Deanna, will disperse any money and items donated to the appropriate organizations helping hurricane victims in Mississippi.

Insurgency: (From Reuters) “New Orleans’ mayor issued an urgent plea for relief of his flooded city on Thursday as gunshots and looting hampered the evacuation of desperate crowds trying to escape Hurricane Katrina’s destruction.”

Observation: This sounds like those apocalyptic predictions of what would occur after Y2K. In reality, I feel certain the stories of selfless “pulling-together” are far more prevalent than looting. Yet to hear that evacuation and relief efforts can’t take place due to gunfire is beyond my understanding.