PITTSBURGH, April 29 /PRNewswire/ — GNC will host current Mr. Olympia title winner Jay Cutler and eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman for an autograph session from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday at its Sixth Avenue location (300 Sixth Avenue, downtown, at the corner of Sixth and Wood).

Both members of the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB), Cutler and Coleman are considered the world’s most esteemed bodybuilders: Winning the Mr. Olympia competition stands for the ultimate success and superiority in bodybuilding.

This autograph session is free and open to the public.

Additionally, Cutler and Coleman will guest-pose at the IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Figure Championships Saturday at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in the city’s Oakland neighborhood. This event features men’s and women’s fitness and figure competitions, categorized by height, weight and age groups. Judging begins at 9 a.m. and finals start at 6:30 p.m. For ticket information, visit http://www.ifbbpro.com/events/2008-pittsburgh-pro-figure-may-3/. Cost is $30; $25 if preordered.

Attendees at both events will have the opportunity to pick up health and wellness information, sports nutrition tips and free product samples. They can also enter the Incredible Hulk Road Muscle Sweepstakes for a chance to win a custom Hulk chopper valued at approximately $100,000.

About GNC:

GNC, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the largest global specialty retailer of nutritional products; including vitamin, mineral, herbal and other specialty supplements and sports nutrition, diet and energy products. GNC has more than 4,900 retail locations throughout the United States (including 978 franchise and 1,358 Rite Aid store-within-a-store locations) and franchise operations in 49 international markets. The company - which is dedicated to helping consumers Live Well - also offers products and product information online at http://www.gnc.com/.

Source: General Nutrition Centers, Inc.

Web site: http://www.gnc.com/

‘Dr J,’ Rick Barry, Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe, Dominique Wilkins in Unprecedented Visit to Bring Basketball Clinics to Underprivileged Youth in Israel

NEW YORK, April 29 /PRNewswire/ — Four of the greatest NBA players of all time — Rick Barry, Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, Dominique “The Human Highlight Film” Wilkins, and “Dr J,” Julius Irving — will embark on a week-long mission to hold clinics for the thousands of orphaned, abused and underprivileged boys and girls of Israel. It’s the first such trip ever to the Middle East.

This unprecedented NBA pilgrimage to the Holy Land will take place from May 25 - May 30, and is sponsored by Migdal Ohr, one of the most prominent and largest single charities in Israel. Robert Katz, executive vice president of the American Friends of Migdal Ohr, says it was Barry who convinced his fellow-NBA legends to join the mission.

“I spoke to Rick before the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans,” said Katz, “and he instantly agreed to be the voice of 6,500 children at risk and a spokesperson for a tiny country with hundreds of thousands of basketball-crazed fans.”

“How could I not?” asked Barry. “Migdal Ohr has put together a tremendous event, all to help kids in a country, which, by the way, already has Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of the great basketball teams in the world.”

Plans for the NBA Legends Mission include clinics and shoot-arounds in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, autograph sessions, tours of various holy sites, visits with Israeli dignitaries, and attendance at the Israeli Basketball League Championship Game.

Last October, the New York Knicks sold out Madison Square Garden in a special exhibition game against Maccabi Tel Aviv — to benefit Migdal Ohr — the first time the Knicks had ever hosted an international team.

Migdal Ohr, Hebrew for “Tower of Light,” operates Israel’s largest youth village, providing much-needed support to more than 6,500 orphaned, abused, underprivileged and new immigrant children in Israel. The organization runs a network of schools, providing academic and vocational studies while integrating new immigrant children into Israeli society through specialized curricula and after-school programs. The organization was founded in 1972 by Israel Prize Laureate Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman.

For more information about Migdal Ohr and the Legends Mission, please call 212-397-3700 and visit http://www.migdalohrusa.org/.