Brooks & Dunn Golf Classic cancelled

Add another big Super Bowl party to the list of events cancelled due to the economy.

The Brooks & Dunn Inaugural Golf Classic, a celebrity party and golf tournament hosted by Bucs Warrick Dunn and Derrick Brooks and scheduled for Jan. 29-30 in Tampa, has been cancelled, officials with both players' charities said Monday.

Natalie Boe, executive director for the Warrick Dunn Foundation, said -- and stop us if you've heard this one before -- the dismal economy was a definite factor.

"We had been fortunate in securing just over $100,000 in sponsorships; however, we were still short of our goal of $200,000," Boe said. "Their concern was that with only six weeks to go before the event -- and two of those weeks being holiday weeks, with a lot of people not having their budgets reevaluated for January -- we were afraid we wouldn't get that commitment for the event."

Boe added that it had been difficult to line up celebrities to jump on board, which made it tough to justify the $10,000-per-foursome price tag for sponsors. She said sponsors and people who had signed up to play in the Brooks & Dunn tournament have already been notified about refunds.

Still, both Buccaneers will be visible around town at other fundraisers during Super Bowl week.

Dunn -- who famously builds homes for the underprivileged through his Warrick Dunn Foundation -- will be part of SuperBuild, an NFL-endorsed event designed to erect six Habitat for Humanity homes in the days leading up to the game. Get details on how to donate at habitatsuperbuild.com.

And Brooks will be part of the Ebony Fashion Fair, a fashion show at the Tampa Theatre that will benefit his Derrick Brooks Charities Youth Auxiliary Rites of Passage Program. Tickets to that event are $35; get more details at derrickbrookscharities.org. Brooks is also slated to attend the Athletes in Action Super Bowl Breakfast on Super Bowl Sunday at the USF Sun Dome. Tickets to that event are just $20 at superbowlbreakfast.com.

And both players are still moving ahead with their respective annual golf tournaments -- Dunn's will take place in April, and Brooks will hold his June 7-8 at Old Memorial Golf Course.

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