In late April I wrote a piece introducing the idea of the NBA embracing Multiple Sclerosis as one of their numerous charitable causes. My idea revolves around the National Multiple Sclerosis Society?s mid-March National MS Awareness Week. Full of fundraising opportunities, millions of people around the nation participate in MS Walks and Bike Rides ? with millions more pledging loved ones and friends who take part in the events.

Things picked up rather quickly when my column went live on RealGM four months ago. With the 2006-2007 season ending, I didn?t feel there was any way my campaign would take flight last spring, but I actually gained some support. I began speaking with Indiana Pacers? cheerleader Michelle Bowyer (she works for the NMSS in Indianapolis) rather often, and I even received responses from a handful of NBA teams.

Then, all of a sudden, the bottom fell out. I wasn?t getting any action from any other NBA teams, and with the league?s schedule yet to be released teams were requesting that we put our talks on hold until the 2007-2008 season was closer. That left me with a wealth of ideas, but nowhere to showcase them as most NBA employees were on their offseason break.

Now with the schedule having been released, there are no more excuses. I won?t rest until at least one NBA team hosts an ?MS Night? this season. I don?t care if the team simply announces their support of MS Advocacy; I want to see some progress. Ultimately, I?d like to see a team offer discounted tickets to fans, in exchange for a donation to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, or opt to give some of their gate revenue to the Society on a specific night (or during the annual MS Awareness Week in March).

My ultimate goal is to attend an ?MS Night? this season.

As I noted in my first NBA For MS piece, my goal could be considered a lofty one. However, I think I have a fair amount of support within the League. Grant Hill, the newest member of the Phoenix Suns, is obviously a huge supporter of my cause. Getting him to comment on my efforts a few months ago also brought some legitimacy to my piece, and I can?t thank him enough for that.

I also have to thank all of the people, whether you responded as a member of the NBA, a representative from a team or as a reader, who supported my cause with a flood of e-mails. Each one made my efforts more worth while in its own way.

Channing Frye, who was traded from the New York Knicks to the Portland Trail Blazers, was also very helpful last season when he told me about his personal relationship with MS (a pair of his family members suffer from the disease) in the Knicks? locker room.

Multiple Sclerosis is a very unpredictable disease that doesn?t get nearly as much attention as it should in the United States. The autoimmune disease primarily affects the central nervous system, which consists of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. There are four different clinical courses of the disease: relapsing remitting, primary-progressive, secondary-progressive and progressive-relapsing. Contrary to popular belief, MS is not contagious and is not directly inherited.

It is believed that nearly 2.5 million people are affected by MS throughout the world, with about 400,000 of those being Americans who have acknowledged having the disease. It?s not always the easiest disease to diagnosis, so it?s not hard to believe that those numbers are actually a bit greater.

Of those 400,000 people, one of them is an extremely important part of my life. Someone that is absolutely irreplaceable, which makes the cause all the more important to me.

I won?t give up on my goal of attending an ?MS Night? this season, and any help would be greatly appreciated. Please stay tuned for another installment in the ?NBA for MS? series in the near future.

If you?re interested in trying to help make this happen, or you know of any way that I can take a few steps forward, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated? [email protected]