Tyreke Evans drives to the hoop - Photo Credit: Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images

NBA star Tyreke Evans recently spoke about his return to the court following the NBA lockout, the current state of his Sacramento Kings and vision drills that help his game during his interview with Yahoo! Sports Radio on Sunday. Want to know what he thinks of his new teammate, former BYU phenom Jimmer Fredette, or his new head coach, Keith Smart? Curious about what his favorite sports vision drill is? Learn more by listening to Tyreke’s interview below.

If you catch the sports vision drill Tyreke used to do with his brother, email it to prteam@vsp.com and you’ll be entered to win an item autographed by Tyreke!

Click the gray arrow to play the interview:

About Tyreke Evans and VSP Vision Care:
VSP Vision Care is proud to be the exclusive eyecare and eyewear provider for Tyreke Evans. Tyreke plays professional basketball for the Sacramento Kings and was named 2010 Rookie of the Year. He’s the fourth rookie ever to average 20 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds per game. The only other players to accomplish this were Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Not only is good vision a critical component for being successful in sports, it’s also an important part of every day life. Be sure to follow VSP Vision Care on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with Tyreke’s Activities.

Manny Hernandez

Our friend Manny Hernandez from TuDiabetes.org attended the 2011 World Diabetes Congress in Dubai. He presented the importance of social media to the diabetes community and shared how his social network, TuDiabetes.org (and Español: EsTuDiabetes.org), has made a positive impact on his life as well as the lives of its 37,000 members.

One of the main benefits to a diabetes-focused social network is that you are able to gain and share knowledge on things like:

• Meaning of blood glucose numbers
• Pros and cons of pumps
• Personal experiences with a certain medication
• Disposing of sharps
• Complications with vision

The World Diabetes Congress is an international healthcare conference where thousands of people meet to discuss information, research, advocacy and issues related to diabetes. This was the largest Congress yet, with about 14,000 attendees.

To understand more about the link between eyecare and diabetes, visit our Diabetes Discovery Center or the Diabetes and Your Eyes resource on TuDiabetes.

If you shop for a teenager or an adult contact lens wearer, a gift of contact lens solution or a new case might be a welcome gift. They even make cases now that are fashionable and accommodate contact lens paraphernalia and glasses in one!

For those of us of a certain age who need reading glasses, they make some stylish chains and beaded necklaces that can hold your readers and keep you looking fabulous in between paragraphs. Microfiber cleaning cloths and repair kits for glasses fill a need for the nearsighted, and sunglasses make a strong fashion statement whether you need a prescription in them or not.

Other visionary gift ideas came to me quickly one I started brainstorming. Here is the list I came up with: reading lights, large print or art books, hypo-allergenic eye make up or eye cream, cold pack or warm gel eye masks, sports or safety goggles, optical illusion or art books, sports bands and visors, back pillow to support reading in bed, work lights and magnifiers for crafters, large eye needles or threaders for those who sew, cameras or cat’s eye jewelry… the list goes on. For those who have extreme vision impairment, an internet search for low vision aids will yield many more ideas.

Lastly, if you shop for someone who works in a vision-related job, here is my favorite idea: prepare them a CD with all “eye” songs. There are many out there, but I’ll leave you with my favorite – Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.”

On Saturday, June 18, the VSP Black Heritage ERG participated in the 10th annual “Juneteenth Celebration” at William Land Park in Sacramento. This is the tenth year in a row it’s been held at the park and the third year that VSP has participated.

Juneteenth is an annual observance to memorialize when Union soldiers enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and freed all remaining slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. This day is an opportunity for people to celebrate freedom and equal rights in the United States. Learn more about the holiday.

We hosted a number of visitors at the VSP Booth, with hourly sunglass drawings and a VSP bean bag toss for the kids. We took the opportunity to educate people about getting their eyes checked and to introduce people to VSP. Additionally, VSP donated 100 VSP gift certificates, valued at more than $38,000, to the event organizers to provide to qualified attendees. These are redeemable at a local VSP doctors office and provide a free comprehensive eye exam and glasses, if necessary.

It was a great way to reach out to the community, and make a difference in VSP’s home town. Check out these photos from the event:

Visitors at the VSP booth.

VSP employees who volunteered at the event.

VSP Sports Blogger, Alex Sigua

With the 2011 NBA Draft taking place tonight, I wanted to highlight some of the best players in NBA history when it comes to court vision. Court vision, as basketball aficionados would define it, is a player’s ability to see everything on the court during play, selecting the appropriate strategy and having the understanding and confidence to properly execute.

Jason Kidd

The current Dallas Mavericks point guard and new NBA Champion always comes up in conversations about players with the best court vision. Kidd ranks third all-time among NBA players in triple-doubles with 107, which is when a player records double figures in three statistical categories such as points, assists and rebounds. Many players say Jason has eyes in the back of his head.

Saying (Kidd) has eyes in the back of his head is true for him, because his vision is just … crazy,” said New Orleans Hornets center Emeka Okafor.

Steve Nash

The seven-time NBA All-Star has been lighting up basketball courts with his blazing speed and piercing court vision for 14 seasons. One of his most admirable qualities is the fact he continues to elevate his game the further he evolves in his career.

I admire what a great point guard he is and his longevity,” said New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul. “It’s tough going out there going against 20- and 21-year-olds night in and night out, and he’s still one of the toughest guys in the League to defend.

Larry Bird

While Bird may ultimately be recognized as one of the greatest shooters, if not THE greatest in NBA history, his legendary court vision is what helps set him apart as possibly the greatest small forward in NBA history.

Bird also had the uncanny ability to make his teammates better, as fellow Celtics players Kevin McHale and Robert Parish entered the Basketball Hall of Fame after teaming up with the player known as “Larry Legend” to win three NBA titles.

Larry Bird made every player on the court better and he made everybody believe they can win,” said Lakers great Magic Johnson.

Magic Johnson

When basketball fans think of the point guard position, it is arguable that Magic Johnson defined the position. He was a natural-born leader, floor general, scorer and one of the top distributors in NBA history. Magic revolutionized the position during his 13-year NBA career, as the tallest point guard in NBA history standing at 6’9”. His sublime talent and entertaining style of play elicited admiration from fans of any team.

There have been times when he has thrown passes and I wasn’t sure where he was going,” said former Lakers swingman Michael Cooper. “Then one of our guys catches the ball and scores, and I run back up the floor convinced that he must’ve thrown it through somebody.

Pete Maravich

Basketball Hall of Famer “Pistol Pete” Maravich was a one-of-a-kind player during his era who led the transformation of basketball as it evolved into a more open, free-flowing style of play in the 1970s. The five-time NBA All-Star played 10 memorable seasons in the league, and his playground moves, circus shots and hotdog passes were considered outrageous because he dared to try things that no other player even thought about.

Fellow Hall of Famer Bill Walton once said, “like a master chess player, Pete Maravich saw things that nobody else did.”

Check out the latest EyeFiles webisode focused on sports vision featuring NBA star Tyreke Evans here.

Doc Evans, Tyreke Evans’ brother, just had his annual eye exam by Dr. Ryan Nakamura at Natomas Optometry. Doc is a musician, and good vision is important to him. During his eye exam, he discovered he needed glasses for the first time ever and shared that experience with me after his exam.

Doc Evans ready for his eye exam

Doc, some people aren’t happy when they find out they need glasses for the first time. How did you feel and what advice would you offer someone in this position?
I think it’s natural for a person who has always had “perfect vision” to succumb to the fact their vision is getting worse. At least it was for me! Most of the time, as you age, your vision worsens. It’s just part of life. My advice would be to get an eye exam every year to be aware of your vision and eye health. If you do need glasses, you should definitely get them. If you avoid it, you’re limiting what you can see in life. There’s such a great variety of styles available now, that I was actually excited to hear I’d be able to pick out a really cool pair that fits my personality.

How will having glasses impact your work as a musician?
As an artist and producer, I need to be able to see the music from a digital standpoint, which includes placing each bar or verse within the song. Clear vision is important for me to be accurate in what I do.

How did the exam itself go?
My eye exam was fun! Dr. Nakamura was very knowledgeable and told me he was looking for signs of diabetes and high blood pressure — just by looking in my eye! I think that is amazing. It was fast and painless, and now I know my eyes are healthy. I love my new glasses and see so much better!

Doc Evans picking out glasses at Natomas Optometry

Damage at Fukushima power station; image by digitalglobe.com.

With the multi-layered disaster faced in Japan right now, it’s hard to look past the immediate needs and concerns to the future impacts of of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuculear reactor meltdowns.

There’s been much comparison of the dangers of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to the disaster at Chernobyl, which happened a quarter of a century ago. While the situation in Japan appears to be less dire (although much is still unknown), scientists were able to learn much from the longterm effects of the Chernobyl meltdown that may come into play as the recent crisis unfolds.

Listening to NPR as I commuted home Monday night, I learned that a number of the Chernobyl emergency workers that were exposed to high doses of radiation developed cataracts. This connection was unknown prior to the Russian meltdown. There are mitigating factors for the Japanese: the exposure to radiation has thus far been relatively light, and there are treatments available to limit or slow the growth of cataracts.

To put it in perspective, an increased probability of developing cataracts in the future may be a minor concern to those struggling to make it through the crisis. But once the dust settles, long-term impacts will begin to reveal themselves.

Cataracts are a leading cause of blindness—I encourage any reader to stay attuned to the common warning signs:

• Painless blurring of vision
• Frequent prescription changes for corrective lenses
• Glare and haloes
• Colors looking dull and brownish
• Poor night vision
• Both sensitivity to light and finding lighting too dim

My heart goes out to the people of Japan as they fight to stay safe and cope with the loss of loved ones. I’m making a donation to the American Red Cross to help in any small way that I can. And as part of our commitment to the global community, VSP is helping double those dollars by matching up to $10,000 in employee contributions to relief funds.

Click here to view the embedded video.

MaryBeth R. is a member of VSP's Marketing Team and is an avid sports fan

If you follow sports, especially the NFL, you know the topic of concussions is a hot one these days. Many players have had their careers cut short after suffering too many (remember Troy Aikman and Steve Young?), and active players are being affected at alarming rates (Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers fell prey twice this past season). Why is this such a serious issue? Increasing evidence shows that multiple concussions can lead to lingering neurological effects. Former NFL quarterback Jim McMahon says he knows he had five concussions during his career and today suffers from memory loss.

Unfortunately, diagnosing a concussion isn’t as easy as you might think. Coaches don’t always recognize the signs and players eager to get back into a game try to hide symptoms. A new vision test, called the King-Devick (K-D) test, is about to change that.

The K-D test involves the athlete reading single-digit numbers displayed on index-sized cards. A baseline test is given at the start of the season. Any increase (worsening) in the time needed to complete the test suggests a concussion has occurred, particularly if the delay is greater than five seconds compared to the individual’s baseline test time.

While other sideline exams test cognitive or memory skills and rely on the administrator to make subjective decisions, the K-D test is objective, researchers say. It reveals impairments of eye movement, attention, language and other symptoms of impaired brain function. It looks at rapid eye movements and other signs that are frequently abnormal following a concussion.

Are you an athlete or a parent of an athlete? Make sure you’re taking the necessary steps to protect your vision.