Dick Vitales fight against cancer is nearing a major milestone. Vitale expects to top the $10 million mark with his eighth annual celebrity gala in Sarasota, Fla., on Friday night. The event will honour former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden, former Connecticut basketball coach/cancer survivor Jim Calhoun, and Kansas basketball coach Bill Self. The gala raises money for the V Foundation in honour of the late Jim Valvano. Net proceeds go to pediatric cancer research. "It should be really, really special," Vitale said in a phone interview Thursday. "It has gone way beyond my dreams." More than 70 sports celebrities are scheduled to attend, including Florida coach Billy Donovan, Indiana coach Tom Crean, Kentucky coach John Calipari, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, Miami coach Jim Larranaga, Villanova coach Jay Wright and Florida State coaches Jimbo Fisher (football) and Leonard Hamilton (basketball). The guest list also includes former major leaguer Gary Sheffield, former NFL running back Ricky Watters and 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke. Vitale has a few special guests planned, too. He will have Michigan State junior forward Adreian Payne and his friend, 7-year-old Lacey Holsworth, in attendance. Holsworth has cancer and is scheduled to have a bone-marrow transplant soon. She has become close with Payne over the past year and met Vitale before the Indiana-Michigan State game in February. "She just got clearance to join us," Vitale said. "I guarantee there wont be a dry eye in the place." Vitale also is flying in the parents of Justin Miller, who died April 3, less than three weeks shy of his 21st birthday and after a five-year battle with epithelioid sarcoma. Miller continued playing the drums even after having his dominant arm amputated in 2011. Vitale will present Millers parents with a grant in Justins name for $250,000. "Nothing pleases me more now," Vitale said. "Im selfish. I have five grandchildren. Im about to go watch the kids play tennis. Thats what every kid should be doing. Instead, we have so many doing chemo and radiation. Its just not fair." In total, Vitale will have 11 families of cancer survivors, including eight of the survivors, on hand at the Ritz-Carlton. Everyone there should witness a record-breaking night for the event, topping the $1.8 million raised last year and reaching the $10 million milestone over eight years. "People have been great to me," Vitale said. "Ive got goose-bumps thinking about it." Cheap Oakland Athletics Jerseys .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Cheap Rollie Fingers Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. http://www.cheapathleticsjerseys.com/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Cheap Athletics Jerseys Authentic . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Cheap Dennis Eckersley Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. UMAG, Croatia -- Third-seeded Jeremy Chardy beat past Serbian qualifier Nikola Cacic 6-2, 6-0 on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Croatia Open.In his Croatia Open debut, Chardy needed just 44 minutes to complete the victory -- winning 94 percent of his first-serve points and facing no break points.Cacic had recorded his first tour-level victory on Monday when he defeated Britains Aljaz Bedene in the first round.Chardy will next face Carlos Berlocq of Argentina, who was leading 7-5, 3-0 in the second set aggainst eighth-seeded Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic when his opponent retired because of a shoulder injury.ddddddddddddLast years finalist, Fabio Fognini of Italy, advanced with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Renzo Olivo of Argentina. Fourth-seeded Fognini is playing in Umag for the ninth consecutive year.Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina rallied to defeat Thomas Fabbiano of Italy 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. ' ' '