e got beaten in that area of discipline and mental toughness, and thats dis

Marcus Smart has a job that often requires him to take charges from players 4 inches taller and 40 pounds heavier. After his Celtics played six games in nine nights, he was tired and sore.But as he finished his shooting drills, he got himself in the right mood for a charity event he was hosting at the teams practice facility for Childrens Hospital patients and their families.The plan: a video game extravaganza for the patients, who arrived with delight to find Xbox and PlayStation consoles set up around the court. Soon Smart was feeding off the energy of the beaming kids, while the children reveled in a fun NBA respite from the needles, chemotherapy and drudgery of being chronically ill. For a few hours at least, things were a little fun.The afternoon was winding down, and Smart was satisfied his days work was complete -- until, while everyone was packing up, he was approached by the brother of a patient named Damone.Damone, the worlds biggest 16-year-old Marcus Smart fan, was hospitalized with lymphoma and was devastated he was missing this day because he was too ill to leave the hospital.Smart looked at his watch. It had been a long day, but what was one more hour? He drove to Childrens to meet Damone, who, his family explained, had been listless and despondent and hadnt left his bed for weeks. Damone had undergone a bone marrow transplant, and his prognosis was dire. He had lost hope, addressing his family in monosyllabic tones.He was really struggling, really depressed, Smart says. He wouldnt talk to anyone.But when Smart strode into his room, Damone came alive. For the first time in weeks, he sat up. He recited Smarts high school statistics from Flower Mound, Texas, and even rattled off the names and ages of Smarts brothers.One of those brothers, Todd Westbrook, a former all-district player from Lancaster, Texas, was diagnosed with cancer at age 15. He battled his illness for nearly two decades and died at the age of 33, leaving behind a heartbroken younger sibling. Smart says Todds resilience has remained a driving force in his own quest to become an NBA star.Maybe the death of Smarts own brother from cancer is what moved him to reach out to Damone. Maybe thats why the two of them were able to talk so easily and so frankly.I dont know how to describe it, Smart says. You know when you have a special connection with someone that you cant explain? This little guy did it for me.Smart visited with Damone for nearly half an hour. He chatted with him about basketball and about his illness. They talked about Todd Westbrook and his courage in facing his disease. Damone hung on every word.It was the first time the doctors and his parents had seen any positive reaction from him in a long time, Smart says.The following day, on Friday, Jan. 22, Smart and the Celtics played host to the Chicago Bulls. He arranged to have pizza sent to Damones hospital room while he watched the game with his parents. Smart wrote Damones name on his shoes and dedicated the game to him, which the Celtics won 110-101.After the game, Smart motioned to Heather Walker, senior director of public relations of the Celtics, and gave her his sneakers.Make sure Damone gets them, he told her.Walker called Childrens Hospital the next morning to arrange for the shoes to be delivered. What she discovered took her breath away: sometime during the night, after the pizza party and the Celtics victory, Damone had passed away.The news left Smart sobbing like a small child. Nearly a year later, the mention of Damones name still leaves him fighting back tears.I think about him a lot, Smart says. I wish I could have done more.Damones death has left Smart more resolute about understanding pediatric cancer and its unique challenges. The physicians at Childrens allowed him to visit their stem cell research center, where Smart learned neurologists have developed a low-cost test to detect tumors, a welcome alternative to the pricey CT scans that are often difficult for families to afford. Smart was fascinated to discover there is a 3-D model of the brain that physicians practice on before they actually operate on their young patients.None of it can bring back his brother Todd or his pal Damone, but there will be more kids just like them, and Smart promises to be there for them.The one thing I do take out of it, is for that one night, I could make Damone laugh and smile, Smart says. I think thats all he wanted -- to have one more kid moment. 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Essendon coach John Worsfold says he was left disappointed by the undisciplined acts that are set to result in suspensions to experienced duo Mark Jamar and David Zaharakis.Jamar was reported in Thursday nights 78-point loss to West Coast after striking Jeremy McGovern with a forearm to the face as the pair squared up off the ball.McGovern wasnt badly hurt by the hit, but the high nature of the contact and the fact it happened while the ball wasnt in play is set to cost Jamar.Zaharakis is also set to be scrutinised by the AFLs match review panel after punching Jackson Nelson in the guts.Nelson was heavily winded by the hit, and vomited as he was taken from the field.Worsfold has implored his players to play a hard but fair brand of football this season.He said the incidents involving Jamar and Zaharakis didnt fit into what values the team represented.I asked the players (Jamar and Zaharakis) if they felt better after those incidents, and giving a free kick away against their teammates, Worsfold said.And you can imagine the response I got..ddddddddddddWe got beaten in that area of discipline and mental toughness, and thats disappointing.Its a big learning curve and (it involves) more senior players, so thats disappointing.Jamar is set to spend several weeks on the sidelines anyway after injuring his hamstring in the third quarter.And Essendons ruck stocks are set to be further tested after Matthew Leuenberger struggled on with a knee injury against the Eagles.Worsfold says Leuenberger is unlikely to be fit to face St Kilda next week, leaving top-up player Sam Michael and Shaun McKernan as the likely players to fill the double ruck void.Essendon put up a good early fight against the Eagles, booting four of the first six goals of the match to take a three-point lead into quarter time.They trailed by just 19 points midway through the third term, before West Coast piled on nine goals in the final quarter to secure the 20.10 (130) to 7.10 (52) romp. 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