The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, February 24, 2012 · 10 Special Olympian at NBA All-star weekend By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Marc Campbell loves basketball. He loves the Toronto Raptors and now he's getting a chance to show off his own skill on the hard-court during the festivities of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) All-Star weekend (Feb. 24-26). Campbell, who plays Special Olympic basketball in Oakville, is one of 12 North American players to be selected to the NBA Cares Special Olympics Unity Sports Basketball Game that will be played in Orlando, Florida this weekend. Not only will Campbell put his moves to the test against other Special Olympic players, he will also play alongside and against current NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Kemba Walker and legends, including Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin, Dikembe Mutombo and Sam Perkins. Further, there will be WNBA players and celebrities to boot. "The East is going to win, of course, because Perkins and I will probably light it up from downtown," Campbell told The Oakville Beaver this week. The game will be played Sunday afternoon, before the NBA All-Star game. Campbell is especially looking forward to playing in the Unity game, watching the AllStar game and playing against superstar player Durant, who will suit up for the West team. "I'm very excited because I'm playing against him. That's probably one of the best opportunities for any Special Olympian," he said. "It's very exciting to play against these great Hall of Famers and great players, (like) Kevin Durant and Kemba Walker." The entire trip is funded and organized by the NBA and event sponsor Coca-Cola as well as Special Olympics Canada. Campbell will travel with his basketball coach Stu Thomas and will be accompanied by a TSN (The Sports Network) cameraman and a representative from Special Olympics Canada. When Campbell will not be 1/2 Off Cakes & Novelties CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAY SUBMITTED PHOTO on the court: Marc Campbell will be putting his basketball skills to the test at the NBA All-Star weekend, which begins tonight. playing basketball, he will also take in all the action of the AllStar weekend, which includes some of the fan-favourite events like the slam dunk and 3-point contests. The Special Olympians were selected out of a pool of players from the 29 NBA cities. Because there was no interest for it in Toronto, the Oakville squad was called and Thomas nominated his star player, who is also the team's top fundraiser. "He lives and breathes basketball," Thomas said. Campbell said he was very excited when he found out he had been selected. It is his favourite sport, which he's been playing in the Special Olympics program for five years. "I just enjoy playing the sport. I've been playing it for a while," he said. On Wednesday night, Campbell also atteneded a basketball game at the Air Canada Centre where he met some of the Raptors. Saturday, February 25th 9am - 5pm DAIRY QUEEN Dorval Dairy QueenTM 215 North Service Road (1 block North of QEW) Oakville