Music Executive and impresario, Andre Harrell has died at the age of 59. His untimely death was announced by DJ D-Nice late Friday, during his Club Quarantine series on Instagram live. Harrell’s cause of death has not been revealed.
#BETRemembers the legendary music exec Andre Harrell. It is with sadness that we must confirm he has passed away. Sending love to his family and all his fans. #AndreHarrell pic.twitter.com/gth6wxQRGm
— BET (@BET) May 9, 2020
Harrell was born in Harlem and raised in The Bronx, New York. He began his music career as one half of the hip hop duo Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Alonzo Brown, in the early 1980s. The duo achieved a few minor hits on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart with their most successful hit, “Genius Rap” reaching number 31.
Why Andre 😢😢😢 My heart is breaking and I can't stop crying. He was an amazing friend and I will miss him forever. 😢
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) May 9, 2020
Harrell then met Def Jam records founder Russell Simmons and worked his way up the label. He eventually became vice president and general manager.
However, Harrell was best known for being one of the craftsmen of the sound of the late eighties and early nineties.
Ohhh noooo!
So sorry to hear this news.
André Harrell was a longtime friend and music legend responsible for artists like:
Jodeci
Mary J Blige
Diddy
Biggie
Al B Sure
Soul For Real
Guy
Lost Boyz
Father MC
Christopher WilliamsRest In Peace.
Mannnnnn…🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/GcXoH8PhQw— Holly Robinson Peete 💃🏾♍️ (@hollyrpeete) May 9, 2020
He founded one of the most popular hip-hop and R&B labels of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Uptown Records, in 1986. The label represented acts like Guy, Al B. Sure, Jodeci, Heavy D and the Boyz, and Father MC.
Harrell was also a king maker, credited with discovering Sean “Diddy” Combs in the early 1980s. Together, they signed a teenage Mary J. Blige in the late 1980s. With the help of of Harrell’s then intern, Combs, Blige’s career took off in the 1990s.
Andre Harrell always dressed like a mogul. Hip-Hop was in its infancy. I can only imagine the respectability politics at the time…
I think the optics of him, in the music industry, said something. To me it was — Just bcuz it’s “urban” doesn’t mean its not real business 👔💼💰 pic.twitter.com/LdS4MZhsgU
— Shelby Ivey Christie (@bronze_bombSHEL) May 9, 2020
In 1995, Harrell was promoted to CEO of Motown Records. Heavy D, who had been executive vice president of Uptown, then became president and CEO of the record label.
The world collectively mourns the passing of music industry icon, Andre Harrell.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley joined NFL this morning (May 8) to discuss the upcoming Sooners football season and he also addressed the comparisons being made between New Orleans Saints Swizz Army knife Taysom Hill — who has five times more rushing attempts than passing attempts in his NFL career — and Jalen Hurts who is an official throwing quarterback with dual-set skills.
“I think a little bit of those opinions are from some people who haven’t really studied Jalen,” said Riley, who coached two Heisman winning quarterbacks before Jalen came to him for his senior season.
”His production…if you really watched the tape… and when you see (the tape) you’re going to see a guy who had one of the most efficient passing seasons in the history of college football.”
Hurts, one of just three FBS players with 50+ offensive TDs in 2019, was selected by Philly with the 53rd pick of the second round after throwing for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions during his senior season at Oklahoma and lead the Sooners to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
“Taysom is a great football player,” Riley noted. “I think there are similarities in that these guys can do a lot of things but nothing against Taysom Hill but I do believe that Philadelphia and a lot of the other teams that were interested in Jalen are looking at him purely as a QB. Excited about his winning attitude and bringing a very versatile skill set in.”
Hurts’ selection ignited a firestorm of opinion from the sports Twittersphere. Carson Wentz is considered Philly’s franchise quarterback and one of the best gunslingers in the NFL — when he’s healthy. Unfortunately, Wentz has had trouble staying on the field (just say it…he’s injury prone) and once everyone put the emotions aside and really thought about it from a business and personnel perspective, drafting Hurts was a steal.
Riley feels like Hurts landed in a great situation, regardless of his initial role as a backup.
“I’m glad he’ll get to work with a guy like Doug Peterson… who will develop him and utilize him in creative ways,” said Riley. Hurts’ former college coach, Nick Saban agrees.
When the football season does get rolling, it’s going to be very interesting in Philly. If you’ve ever listened to a Jalen Hurts interview or are familiar with his triumphs and tragedies at Alabama and the way he handled those situations, then you know he’s going into Philly to try to win the job. Don’t understate the profound effect he will have on the locker room. If Wentz’ leadership is not on 100, the team will inevitably gravitate to Hurts.
In another situation that makes you think, “Would this happen if he was white?” ex-Lakers guard Shannon Brown has been charged with aggravated assault after witnesses say he fired a rifle at two people who entered his Georgia home.
The house hunting couple told police that they believed his property was on the market because they saw a ‘for sale’ sign and his front door was open The couple said they announced their presence and heard a voice say ‘come in’
Brown allegedly then emerged with a rifle, causing the couple to exit and return to their car while he fired off five or six shots in their direction.
Brown told local police he thought someone was breaking into his house, which is totally valid. It’s quarantine and the world is shut down and 33 million Americans are jobless.
Duh.
The alleged incident occurred around 6pm on May 2 when a man and woman stopped at Brown’s residence in Tyrone, Georgia believing that his home was for sale. There was a ‘for sale’ sign outside the house, the couple told police, adding that the gate and front door were both open.
Police did recover a shell casing at the scene. The investigation is ongoing and the house, which is worth over $1million dollars, is not currently on the market, according to local real estate websites.
So why did he get arrested for protecting his home in a pandemic crisis? He’s a former NBA player worth millions first of all. Secondly, his house WAS NOT FOR SALE!
You can’t take those kinds of chances these days.
Brown is a two-time NBA champion, who found a spot with the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers after bouncing around the NBA Developmental league. The 6-foot-4 guard was a major contributor to Kobe’s last two titles.
The 34-year-old made $17,482,774 in nine NBA seasons and once had a high profile relationship with superstar singer Monica. The property of his home is valued at $1 million as of 2018.
Brown will probably get off, but the fact that he was arrested for discharging a legal firearm after two strangers approached his home and then ran when he pulled out the shotty, is comical. The house hunters should have been arrested and then released after explaining their side of the story.
Black men have the right to protect their homes — same as anyone else. Black men are entitled to brandish legal firearms the same as anyone else. I mean, it took the McMichaels family two months, a sickening murder video and tremendous public pressure, including a tweet from LeBron James to even be arrested for hunting down Ahmaud Arbery.
Let’s see where this story leads us.
The Black quarterback’s NFL journey has always been filled with pitfalls, unfair criticisms, and racially-motivated goal-post moving that encourages white owners to deny a qualified brother the opportunity to be the face of the franchise.
There have been exceptions and after last season’s “Year of the Black Quarterback,” the racism that has prevented Black quarterbacks from thriving in the NFL seemed to be waning.
I even started writing stories about the quarterback position finally being post-racial. All of that sounds good and it definitely puts non-people of color more at ease when we choose to ignore the years of systemic racism that has hindered the success of Black quarterbacks in the NFL.
However, we wake up one day and 30-year-old Cam Newton, 27-year-old Jacoby Brissett, and 26-year-old Jameis Winston — three of the most talented signal-callers in the NFL — don’t have starting jobs.
In fact, Cam was released by the Panthers. Carolina brought in Teddy Bridgewater, a guy who hasn’t started a full season since 2015. And signed XFL MVP P.J. Walker as Teddy’s backup. Cam may not be missed now, but he will be.
Newton is a former MVP and Super Bowl QB and Winston is a Heisman winner and No. 1 overall pick who has posted some tremendous passing numbers since he came into the league (minus some picks) and is already the all-time leading passer in Tampa Bay Bucs history. You’d think the franchise would take the responsibility to work on things with Jameis, who has MVP potential and never threw more than 18 picks before last season’s dirty 30. In fact, he threw 25 in 2017 and 2018 combined.
How does Tampa Bay dead him after one high-pick season? Like he ain’t nothing.
Brissett took over for Andrew Luck who abruptly retired after getting massacred for years behind a terrible Indianapolis Colts O-line. The former Patriots backup showed that given the right pieces he can definitely win. It’s not like the Colts are bursting with talent either.
Tampa Bay and Carolina basically chose to throw the best quarterbacks in franchise history in the garbage can. I get that Cam’s era was over. He was banged up and his two biggest supporters — former owner Jerry Richardson and head coach Ron Rivera were gone.
The Colts abandoned Brissett after one season as a starter to bring in Phillip Rivers, a 38-year old QB with 16 years of tread on his tire, who could NEVER win ANYTHING with some formidable Chargers teams.
Brissett went 7-8 as a starter and threw 18 TD and 6 picks in his first full season. You’d think they would want to build on that.
It was just Week 7 of last season when everyone was talking about how well Brissett stepped into Luck’s huge shoes, throwing for 326 yards and four TDs in a win over Deshaun Watson’s Houston Texans.
Jacoby Brissett’s 4th TD of the day.
Zachary Pascal’s 2nd TD of the day.
What a day indeed.
(via @NFL)
— PFF (@PFF) October 20, 2019
Less than a year later and he’s finished.
Maybe the NFL isn’t as advanced as we thought when it comes to the treatment of Black quarterbacks. If these guys were white, would they be devalued so much?
A guy like Winston who throws 33 TDS and leads the league in passing on a sorry team is thrown aside at age 26 for a 43-year-old Tom Brady?
The sports world justified the move by harping on Winston’s 30 picks as if they were a direct indication of how bad he is. They conveniently leave out the fact that he became the 8th quarterback in league history to throw for over 5,000 yards. There’s a deeper explanation that goes into a quarterback throwing picks than he just sucks. Everybody has to do their part for a play to work.
LA Rams QB Jared Goff should have thrown more picks than Jameis. Fortunately, the guys he played against had hands of stone. Nobody released Goff or signed a QB twice his age and relegated him to a backup role. Why not?
Jared Goff had 16 interceptions last season. He had 20 more interceptions dropped: pic.twitter.com/bH1jQrtqlo
— QB Data Mine (@QBDataMine) March 24, 2020
On the other hand, the pundits totally ignore Winston’s ability to put the ball in the endzone more frequently than Goff. They ignore his gifted arm, his leadership ability and his willingness to put it all on his shoulders. Some analysts have clowned him and tried to ego shame him. Things they would never do to Brady or Rivers who both have Winston’s confidence.
Winston reminds me of Hall of Famer Brett Favre, who threw 19 TD and 23 picks in his third season and in 2005 he threw 20 TDs and 29 picks. His first team in Atlanta didn’t even want him.
But everyone accepted Favre and praised his gunslinging mentality. Despite some abominable picks, they described him as having “guts” and “heart” and being a leader. I see those same things in Jameis.
Say what you want the boy could get the ball where it need to be ‼️ https://t.co/LEa78LBG92
— §hãñë_Išræł (@Child_0f_Yahuah) March 24, 2020
By Favre’s 6th season, he was down to 13 picks and he had a Super Bowl contending team. It would all come together for Favre and he won the Super Bowl in 1997.
If the Bucs could ever get it together, I envisioned the same things for Jameis. It’s a travesty that he hasn’t gotten any calls yet. I think he would be a perfect challenge for Bill Belichick at this point in Yoda’s career. With Jameis, Bill sure doesn’t have to worry about someone gushing their pants in a big spot. You give him a few pieces and he’ll light it up. Give him that Hall of Fame guidance and sky is the limit. And what a way for Bill to stick it back to Brady by QB swapping and proving that he really is that dude.
This is logical thinking to me. Instead, these ESPN narratives and such are designed to convince fans that Jameis is garbage.
Imagine a white quarterback with Winston’s stats and Heisman pedigree? Or with Brissette’s obvious abilities. NFL teams would be making every excuse as to why he is the future. Hanging on hard, like the Bears with Mitch Trubisky. Instead, Winston and Brissett were told that they were valued less than two, white over the hill, non-mobile QBs.
Jameis has only played five seasons.
His teams have been mediocre at best and instead of bringing in another offensive mind that could better tailor the offense to Winston’s skills (Bruce Arians’ downfield style may not have been best) they basically blame their best player for the organization’s ineptitude.
Something just doesn’t sit right about a narrative that wants us to believe that these quarterbacks don’t fit as starters in the league. Their deficiencies have been highlighted rather than what they can offer a team. It’s sad.
It’s the same thing that happened to Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson coming out of college. We thought it was over when Kyler Murray went No. 1 last year and Patrick Mahomes became the third Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. And all of the Pro Bowl quarterbacks were Black.
But then, Jerry Jones tried to devalue Dak Prescott. And the Panthers acted as if Cam Newton never existed. With the NFL trends leaning towards young, athletic playmaking quarterbacks — and with viable starting quarterbacks still hard to come by — it’s odd that the Colts and Bucs would discard quarterbacks who aren’t even 30 yet, still have an upward trajectory and have proved they can ball.
The NFL is still trying to hold on to a past that is long gone. The game done changed, but they don’t want to fully commit to it.
On Wednesday evening, police officers fatally shot veteran, Sean Reed following a police chase. However, many were tuned in as the incident was caught on Facebook Live.
Investigators allegedly found a gun near the suspect, however, it is not clear if he had a permit.
“Maybe if they weren’t here, we could get some more information,” said Tiona Reed, the victim’s aunt to the Indianapolis Star.
https://youtu.be/bfoQYngp-dc
According to police, the chase began when first officers observed a vehicle driving recklessly on Interstate 65. Apparently, the victim had been driving at speeds close to 90 miles per hour.
Deputy Chief Kendale Adams was driving an unmarked police vehicle and began following after he allegedly saw a Toyota Corolla driving recklessly. He claims the Corolla almost hit another car and called for back-up.
Chief Randal Taylor then joined the pursuit.
When marked police vehicles arrived, Adams and Taylor left, which is allegedly standard procedure for unmarked vehicles. After about 10 minutes, an Indianapolis police sergeant ordered the pursuit to end.
Apparently, the car was driving too fast.
However, an officer saw Reed parked at a business, he left his vehicle, and they both started running until there was a confrontation.
What happened next is unclear but the officer’s taser was deployed at some point. Next the officer called in the shooting.
Both Reed and the officer are black.
A video circulating on social media seems to show Reed’s vantage point during a Facebook Live recording. A young, shirtless man is seen recording himself as he drives.
“You gotta look,” he says, as he positions his camera phone to show what’s behind the moving car. It appears to be a police car that’s tailing him. “It’s just one right now,” the man says to the camera.
“Almost lost him y’all!” the man says. “Almost got rid of his ass!”
Later, the man is laughing, thinking that he lost the chasing officer.
“I’m not going to jail today!” he says.
At some point our country must meaningfully acknowledge that the killings of
Ahmaud Arbery,
Sean Reed,
Sandra Bland,
Tamir Rice,
Trayvon Martin,
Eric Garner,
Rekia Boyd,
Tanisha Anderson,and countless others are not isolated incidents or “bad apples.”
It is systemic violence.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 7, 2020
Next the man is trying to figure out where he has driven. He then parks the car and leaves his vehicle. After being confused where he is at, the unforeseeable happens.
The sound of a cacophony of gunshots ring out. By this time, more than 4,000 people were watching the Facebook Live.
The is at least the fourth shooting involving an Indianapolis police officer this year.
More than 100 people gathered at the scene after the shooting. the chants were the same, “No justice, no peace.”
It is a scene that is seen way too often in communities of color.
On Tuesday, Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing revealed his two Olympic gold medals and NCAA national title ring were stolen from his home years ago.
Ewing appeared on the Dan Patrick Show to discuss publicly for the first time. Ewing was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1985 and played in the NBA for 17 seasons, earning 11 All-Star nods.
“My house got broken into in New York at one point and they stole my medals,” Ewing said on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “Sometimes it sucks to be well-known.”
Ewing is now the head coach of his famous alma mater, Georgetown. He won the gold medals as a member of the1992 Dream Team and the 1984 Olympics.
He also said his 1984 NCAA title ring he won with the Hoyas was stolen, but Ewing later retrieved it when it was put on eBay.
However, he was able to get replacement gold medals after he called USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo. The 57-year-old felt the burglary occurred because he was targeted for being famous.
If you didn’t know, Pat Ewing nostalgia is a hot commodity.
Reports say Marshawn Lynch’s agent has been in contact with the Seattle Seahawks, hinting at a possible return for Lynch. This would be Lynch’s third stint with Seattle
“As far as right now, What I do know — imma keep it solid — my agent has been in talks with Seattle,” Lynch told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt late Monday night. “We’ll see what happens. If it works out, and I get back up there, it is what it is. If not, s**t. I’m livin’ good. I ain’t really trippin’ too much.”
"Well, it's almost on that 'expect the unexpected.'"
Marshawn Lynch told @notthefakeSVP that his agent has been in discussions with the Seahawks about a potential return. pic.twitter.com/zy3zJtgL72
— ESPN (@espn) May 5, 2020
Beast Mode played six peak seasons the seven best years of his HOF NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks where he won a Super Bowl with Russell Wilson and accumulated 6,381 of his 10,413 career rushing yards — good for 29th all-time.
The Oakland native, who has been enjoying his chill time and recently appeared on an episode of the hit show Bar Rescue, started his career in Buffalo before joining Seattle in 2010. After leaving the Seahawks, Lynch joined the Oakland Raiders for 21 games, before rejoining the Seahawks before Week 17 last season to boost their running game for the playoffs.
His speech about riding into the sunset with his chicken, bread and mentals protected was thought to be his parting words of wisdom to the younger generation of ballers. From all accounts, he was hanging his cleats up and pursuing other interests.
https://twitter.com/carronJphillips/status/1216845924141608963
However, all of that downtime and this quarantine sports shutdown have given athletes plenty of time to analyze life, and apparently the game is still calling Marshawn.
I say, he retired at the right time and should continue to protect his mentals. He has enough chicken to do other things.
The story of Jimmy Henchman continues as his conviction for ordering the killing of a friend of 50 Cent was upheld last Friday.
However, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that James “Henchman” Rosemond was properly convicted of murder-for-hire charges.
Rosemond was accused of hiring a crew to kill an associate of the rap group G-Unit as payback for an assault on Rosemond’s son.
The associate, Lowell “Lodi Mack” Fletcher, was killed in the Bronx in 2009.
However, Rosemond’s lawyer argued that witnesses against him were only trying to reduce their own sentences.
The first ended in a mistrial with a hung jury. Rosemond was convicted at his second trial and sentenced to life in prison.
However, the judge was later found to have erred on one point, and a third trial was ordered. That also resulted in a conviction and life sentence, which Rosemond appealed.
He already was serving two life sentences for separate drug and gun convictions.
Rosemond was also accused by Tupac Shakur of the 1994 Quad Recording Studios shooting. Current inmate, Dexter Isaac, one of the self-confessed shooters involved came forward in 2018 claiming Henchman paid Tupac associate Stretch $2500 to orchestrate the attack.
Demetrius Andrade hopes to finally get to face bitter rival Billy Joe Saunders when boxing returns.
Andrade (29-0 18 KOs) was due to face Saunders in October 2018 for Saunders’ WBO crown. However, the Briton failed a drug test and subsequently relinquished the title.
Instead, Andrade would win the vacant belt against Walter Kautondokwa in Boston. Satisfying for the Rhode Island native. Since then he defended the title with imposing wins over Artur Akavov, Maciej Sulecki and Luke Keeler.
Still, he needs a blockbuster fight to stamp his name into the casual and hardcore boxing base as the authority in the 160lbs division.
“I was willing to fight Billy Joe after a 15 month lay-off but that didn’t happen and I am willing to fight him again,” said Andrade on the Matchroom Boxing podcast. “If I can’t get Canelo then it’s Billy Joe or Charlo at 160. At 168 we’ve got Callum Smith. I would bust Billy Joe Saunders up at 160 or 168, that’s not a problem.”
The undefeated middleweight earned a 9th-round stoppage victory over contender Luke Keeler (17-3-1, 5 KOs) back in January. Andrade defended his WBO World Middleweight title for the fourth time.
“I consider Danny Jacobs one of the best Middleweights out there, but would I fight him, yeah! If it came to the point where we were going to make X amount, then we could make it happen, but I grew up with him and we have a brothership and mutual connections. Fighting him isn’t something I’m looking to do.”
Andrade has been calling out WBO World Super Middleweight Champion Billy Joe Saunders and more, looking for a bigger stage.
“We know Jacobs, Canelo, GGG, Sergey Derevyenchenko and Billy Joe want to fight, who am I going to fight? Billy Joe or Liam Williams? Who do you want to see? I saw Billy Joe in the airport not too long ago. He said ‘what do you think about me and you?’ and I told him ‘he doesn’t want to fight me and for him to go and enjoy his life’.
“It might be Williams but I’m not fighting Canelo or Charlo or Billy Joe behind closed doors because I want to shut them up in front of people! And tell them ‘It’s me again’!”
Demetrius Andrade is ready to rock once boxing’s quarantine is over.
Director Jason Hehir‘s “The Last Dance” (10-part docuseries) continues to reach massive audiences, averaging 5.8 million viewers across premieres of its first six episodes, which is 62% more viewers than the next-closest documentary debut on ESPN (“You Don’t Know Bo” in 2012).
Quarantine has indeed propelled this doc to legendary status, with so many people forced to stay in the house and sports fans unable to watch any live action.
On Sunday, May 3rd, Episodes 5 and 6 averaged 5.5 million viewers across ESPN & ESPN2 from 9-11 p.m. ET, with episode 5 (9-10 p.m.) averaging 5.8 million viewers and episode 6 (10-11 p.m.) averaging 5.2 million viewers, based on initial Nielsen reporting.
As part of its overall audience, the documentary continues to be consumed by the 18-49 demo in a significant manner. Among adults 18-49, episodes 5 and 6 averaged 2.9 million viewers, with episode 5 averaging 3.1 million viewers and episode 6 averaging 2.8 million viewers.
The audiences for the premieres only tell part of the story; a larger overall audience continues to consume the documentary through re-airs and on-demand viewing. After a record-setting initial audience, including all viewing, Episodes 1 and 2 now have an average minute audience of 13 million and 13.1 million, respectively, figures which represent more than a 100% increase from initial Nielsen reporting.
In less than one week, Episodes 3 and 4 have seen their audiences increase by 84% and 94%, respectively, from initial Nielsen reporting, now coming in at 11.3 million (Episode 3) and 10.9 million (Episode 4) viewers, both of which are higher figures than Episodes 1 and 2 reported a week after their initial airings. Additional reporting for episodes 5 and 6 will be available this week.
The top five metered markets for episodes 5 and 6 included: Chicago (11.4 rating), Greensboro (5.7), Raleigh-Durham (5.5 rating), Charlotte (4.7 rating) and San Diego (4.5 rating).
As a result of content featuring the New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden and Kobe Bryant, the New York (+11%) and LA (+12%) markets were both up double digits compared to episodes 1 through 4.
“The Last Dance” was the #1 most social Primetime program on all of television for the week with 3.9M interactions across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Episodes 5 and 6 also drove more social video views than the prior four episodes in the linear window, with 8 million total views, per Nielson Social Intelligence.
Two-time WBC Super Middleweight Champ Anthony Dirrell has created “Flint Fight Night — Champions For Charity,” a live-streamed fundraising event during which celebrities challenge each other to play the game “UFC3” on PlayStation 4.
Dirrell’s Chance Foundation is staging the esports battle with other athletes, entertainers, gamers and influencers as a way to raise funds for food, water and educational materials for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Flint and local families battling the impact of coronavirus shut-down, as well as the Flint water crisis that has continued to plague the community for years.
Saturday, May 9th at 2 p.m. est. jump on @Twitch & go to https://t.co/iB6blgNh2A to watch celebrities and athletes battle it out LIVE against each other in an esports tournament playing UFC3 benefitting @BGClubFlint! #FlintFintNight #WhateverItTakesFlint#DirrellChanceFoundation pic.twitter.com/IsOJl15iAc
— Anthony Dirrell (@Anthonydirrell) May 4, 2020
“They’re telling you to wash your hands with clean water to avoid catching coronavirus, and Flint doesn’t have that,” Dirrell told the Shadow League via phone interview on Wednesday. “We are 80 percent done, but there’s still parts of Flint that don’t have clean water. I’m here just helping to make people happy and entertain some people in the comforts of their home.
Participants will play EA Sports Ultimate Fighter Champions 3 from their homes on Playstation 4 consoles. The event will air live on Twitch on May 9 from 2:00-6:00 PM and participants, viewers and esports lovers can donate to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Flint
DONATIONS LINK: https://www.bgclubflint.org/anthonydirrell
“We also have to find a cure for COVID-19 because our community is at higher risk,” Dirrell insisted. “I don’t think any city or state in the world shouldn’t have clean water. We’re trying to shine a light on the fact that the water crisis is still not fixed since April 6, 2014.”
Studies have shown that the children of Flint need extra support to account for the developmental challenges the water crisis had on them. Now with the shut-down, money and staffing for services the kids could access for free through the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Flint have largely diminished. The Dirrell’s Chance Foundation’s goal is to generate funds to make an immediate impact.
This will enable the Boys & Girls Club of Flint to rehire recently laid-off staff (COVID-related) to provide needed tutoring through mobile apps to help those kids who are unable to access computers for the distance-learning requirements mandated by school closures. Additionally, the Club provides food to families in need.
Last week, all they could afford to bring was water, beans, and six bread rolls. Water is still a critical need as all pipes have not been replaced – and replacement work has been halted due to COVID-19. Clean hands require clean water.
A host of celebrities have confirmed their participation.
That’s a nice roster of accomplished people.
“I just called them and asked them,” Dirrell told The Shadow League. “ Being the people that they are, they look after their community also, so they agreed to it and that’s a good thing because it’s people like that, that can change the world.”
In addition to coming up in Flint, Dirrell has experienced many setbacks and potential backbreakers throughout his boxing career. He’s beaten cancer and a life-threatening motorcycle accident, eventually merging out of the shadows of his brother Andre to capture World titles in 2014 and 2019.
https://youtu.be/4CgPbf0Jr_g
Dirrell says his resilience is a common trait that can be found in people from Flint.
“We don’t stop until we fight the war we want,” Dirrell proudly asserted. “And not just Flint, but the state of Michigan produces good athletes and people that are resilient, and that’s what it’s all about. Going in there and fighting until you get what you want.”
Jameis Winston said all of the right things about Drew Brees, Sean Payton and the Saints organization in an interview he did following the 1-year deal he signed with the team this week.
He definitely took the high road, referencing “faith” and learning from Hall of Famers.
Winston should be pissed off. I mean, it’s got to be unprecedented for a 26-year old former Heisman winner who is also his franchise’s all-time leading passer and threw for a league-leading 5,109 yards with 33 TD passes last season to not only get released but sign with a team as a backup — and a backup who might be splitting his backup reps with Taysom Hill (who just signed a two-year, $21 million extension to be a gadget guy.)
Saints expected to sign QB Jameis Winston to one-year deal. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/4nNKaMWqY3
— NFL (@NFL) April 26, 2020
This entire Winston situation just wreaks to me. There are plenty of people who harbor on the 30 picks he threw like that is an indication of his overall effectiveness as a QB.
The fact that he will only be making $1.1 million next season is egregious considering the bootylicious quarterbacks that will be making more.
If Ryan Tannehill is $29 million a year better than Winston than I’m a Russian guy from Mississippi with a Korean wife who runs a chicken and waffles spot in Alaska.
Nathan Peterman makes more money than Jameis for Christ’s sake. He’s God awful.
Here is Nathan Peterman throwing his fifth(!) interception of the day. All in the first half. #Billspic.twitter.com/OLWjQBLZYR
— The Shadow League (@ShadowLeague) November 19, 2017
I don’t know when the entire football community turned on this guy. I hate to always accuse the NFL of systemic racism towards Black quarterbacks, so I’ll let respected journalist @ChuckModi1 say it.
Winson has already proved that he’s a big-time baller. He has a Pro Bowl under his belt and just one season in the Bruce Arians system. The boy can flat out ball. You can’t tell me that if he was a white quarterback with his credentials he would be subjected to this embarrassing fate.
https://twitter.com/ForQuickNews/status/1255506770858053634
That was really Winston’s only parting shot at a team that drafted him with the No.1 overall picking 2015, watched him blossom into a Pro Bowler on a flawed team, and then pulled the rug out from under him after one inconsistent season.
There aren’t many quarterbacks on Jameis’ level when it comes to playing the game of football. Is it possible that his past transgressions linger over his legacy like vultures on a dead body? Is there a narrative about his locker room presence that we were missing?
From all accounts, he’s a tremendous leader in the huddle and on the field.
The guy has dominated at every level. I guess I can understand Tampa Bay parting ways and wanting a fresh start. Even if the QB they brought in is 17 years older. Quality quarterbacks switch teams all the time.
But I can’t find 10 quarterbacks with more potential than Winston and I was surprised when Bill Belichick and Anthony Lynn and some other coaches in need of a Grade A gunslinger never looked Winston’s way.
This situation is really bothering me. I know he can ball and any coach with a shred of confidence or belief in his title as “offensive guru” or “quarterback whisperer” or “ genius” would be salivating at the opportunity to tailor an offense that would reduce interceptions and maximize Winston’s his many skills. Skills that most quarterbacks in the NFL don’t possess on their best day.
So what he had 30 picks last season.
Let’s be fair. It’s not farfetched to think that he could regroup, scale it back, and return as a better quarterback. He hasn’t scratched the surface of his full potential. And with all due respect, Bruce Arians has a terrible record with first-year quarterbacks and turnovers, which should definitely tell you something.
As a backup to Brees on the Saints, Winston may not play at all in 2019 and that would be a travesty in itself. I respect him for saying all of the right things, but the NFL definitely did him dirty
This year (in September to be exact) marks the 20-year anniversary of one of the greatest football movies of all time, Remember The Titans.
Based upon the true story of the TC Williams Titans High School Football Team, the movie demonstrated how sports could help overcome social differences, stereotypes and racism and unite people in victory both on and off the field.
In honor of this inspirational movie — a movie so memorable that every scene expressed a poignant and impactful message about our human existence — we watched it over and over again to arrive at the Top 5 moments from “Remember The Titans.”
Manny Ramirez’s place in baseball history as one of the most feared right-handed hitters of all time is complicated. Regardless of what you have to say about a living legend of baseball, his passion for the sport is undeniable as he still has aspirations to play the game of baseball at a professional level at 48 years old and well past his prime.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_uwzbngQXh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Manny’s last appearance as a professional baseball player came in Taiwan in 2013 when he briefly joined the EDA Rhinos of the CPBL (the Rhinos are now the Fubon Guardians). He showed that he could still rake, but decided to return home to be with his family and retired from the road.
Ramirez, however, apparently still wants to play.
In this interview in the Taiwan Times, he expresses deep respect for the baseball culture in Taiwan. And then he said:
My goal for 2020, is to find a roster spot in the (5-team) CPBL. I have been itching to get back in the batter’s box and be able to compete again. I also miss being around teammates and team dinners post-game.
I know if I was given the opportunity to come in an organization as a player-coach, it would do great things for the organization and the league.
I saw Manny’s magnificence first hand, playing high school baseball against Manny back in the 90s when he was at George Washington High School putting on a show for students and local baseball lovers, who would assemble outside of the school’s baseball field, just socializing and checking out the diamond show.
It was not the typical public school baseball game crowd. It seemed like the entire school was out there. Usually, you only see that amount of kids for basketball and football games.
Baseball was different at the Washington Heights school and the varsity baseball team consisting of 25 Dominican players. The upper Manhattan neighborhood was bursting with immigrants, baseball culture was exploding in DR, and Ramirez was the prized import, an 18-year-old from Santo Domingo who had unprecedented bat speed according to his HS coach, Steve Mandl.
I saw the talent and superiority up close as a junior playing outfield for a Queens high school. We traveled to The Heights to play an exhibition against the legendary George Washington, where every kid had blinding speed, looked 20 years old, and had ridiculous athletic ability.
I only got to see him hit once. Manny came up in the first inning and hit the first pitch he saw into left centerfield. It was a grown man laser that rocketed into the outfield and bounced off the artificial turf and rolled to the fence faster than I could turn my head.
Manny hit the ball so hard that he couldn’t advance to second base (or maybe it was the beginning of “Manny being Manny”). I was too busy darting to get the ball that had already bounced off the outfield gate, to see how fast he was running.
Either way, he proved with one swing that he was on another level. It was clear we were witnessing something special. The massive crowd at the game and the girls just gawking over him in the stands told you that much.
As soon as he hit the rocket, they yanked Manny from the game for a pinch-runner and he chilled for the next six innings, while his team of Dominican All-Stars easily handled us like 11-4 or something like that
Manny played sparingly at George Washington as it became clear that he would be a high MLB Draft pick and staying healthy was top priority. A guy named Mel Zitter ran Manny’s elite travel baseball program called Youth Service — as well as the young star’s baseball life at the time.
Manny batted .650, walloped 14 home runs in 22 games that season before getting drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 1991 MLB draft, 13th overall. He made his MLB debut on September 2, 1993.
The rest is history. He was a 12-time All-Star, two-time World Series champion on some legendary curse-breaker Red Sox teams, a nine-time Silver Slugger, and was one of 27 players to hit 500 career home runs.
He was as clutch as they came. His 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 29 postseason home runs are the most in MLB history
The fact that he got caught taking PED’s several times towards the end of his career does mar his legacy a bit, but it also shows how badly Ramirez loves to play baseball and wanted to stay in the game.
Dude is thinking about coming back at 50! That respect and love for the game alone, along with everything he has contributed to the sport on a global scale and for the city fo Boston should compel us all to forgive him for his moments of weakness late in his career, We all know that Manny was the No. 1 killer on those Cleveland and Red Sox teams, not Roberto Alomar and not Papi Ortiz.
Hall of Fame or no Hall of Fame, Ramirez is the posterchild for a baseball addict and more importantly, a living example of the American Dream; something that seems like an unattainable myth to many struggling families these days. Even those born here.
We shouldn’t exclude or demonize success stories like Manny’s. They inspire too many people.
ESPN deaded Bomani Jones and Pablo Torre’s “High Noon” to the chagrin of many informed sports fans who recognize the show for its intellectual approach, genuine and witty delivery in a sports media world of shock jocks and clout chasers.
The news was reported by Andrew Marchand in the New York Post, and his sources say:
Jones and Torre will not be a tandem, but their roles will be similar with components that include contributing on video audio. They will contribute to shows like “Highly Questionable” “Around The Horn” and “Pardon The interruption,” as well as appear on “Sports Center.” They will have some radio opportunities as well as podcasts and writing
Sources also say that Jones’ contract will be a two-year deal. Torre’s is a multi-year contract but the length is unknown. The fact that popular right-wing sports personality Will Cain is moving onto Fox news opens up some radio and TV time for other guys.
It sounds like Torres and Bomani are hanging on by the skin of their teeth at ESPN, which only means that both still have an opportunity to move back up the food chain and recapture a chair on a featured show on the station.
People might ask why they would want to resign with a station that questions their star power? There’s honestly not many jobs that can measure up and push your brand and garner you an audience like the worldwide leader.
Once you go there and leave, it’s a rare occurrence that your star will shine as brightly elsewhere. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
As the college basketball landscape continues to change and 5-star recruits begin skipping college to play in the NBA’s G League Pathway Program potentially making hundreds of thousands of dollars, players like Prolific Prep Academy superstar Jalen Green — who will enter the G League out of high school — become pioneers of a changing culture.
The recent ruling by the NCAA that allows players to pursue monetary compensation for their likeness, image, and endorsements have given the top players coming out of high more options to get paid than ever before.
Players like18-year-old Green, who finished the season ranked No. 1 on ESPN’s Top 100 HS players list, Dashien Nix who recently decommitted from UCLA to sign a robust G League contract and Melo Ball, who skipped finishing high school altogether to go play overseas while continuing to work in the family celebrity business, are the beneficiaries of a seismic shift in the way the NBA, G League, and college hoops interact.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ppciZBzD_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Green has been already projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. His path to this standing can largely be accredited to his one year at the Napa Valley, California school after transferring from San Joaquin Memorial High School in Fresno.
Check out The Shadow League’s interview with Prolific Prep Academy Director Jeremy Russotti, a former basketball trainer and the man who drives the machine.
After graduating from Prolific Prep, 5-star prospect Jalen Green turned down college to sign a $500K contract with the NBA’s G-League. Today he was officially named the best player in the country coming out of high school.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_Dx_8ZjAx6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Russotti talks about Jalen Green’s arrival and how the mom of NBA player @josh_j11 came up with the original blueprint for the emerging Prolific Prep hoops powerhouse
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_Du52njd3V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_li
#ProlificPrep has a growing alumni of D-1 and pro players, but Russotti says it’s just the beginning,
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_Dxgcojj2z/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Russotti discusses why his academy translates to millions in the future for players who attend. He also says Gatorade HS Player of the Year Emoni Bates’ brand would skyrocket if he left Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and took his 6-foot-9, multi-talented game to Napa Valley.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_DwdmnjgBp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
“The Last Dance” has thus far proven to be as epic a documentary as we had hoped. The non-linear, deeply intimate and expansive docuseries is doing just as many had suspected, and as director Jason Hehir likely hoped, it would so; bring the remind a new generation of the spectacle that was the life of Michael Jordan during the height of his career with the Chicago Bulls, as well his precipitous exit from the game.
Recently, The Shadow League hopped on a call to discuss ESPN’s “The Last Dance” with director Jason Hehir, a noted sports documentarian who has worked with the network before on several projects.
As the documentary takes us back, so too did Hehir take us back to his sports roots in Boston while giving us some idea of how that translated into the creative process for making the film.
Jason Hehir: I’m from Boston. I was the ball boy for the B.C. basketball team when I was a little kid. And this is in the heyday of the Big East in the late 80s when Dana Barros was there. So, this was Derrick Coleman and Alonzo Mourning.
During a primetime game for the 10th anniversary of the Big East I was the ball boy at Madison Square Garden. The team took me down there with them when I was on road trips. I was a basketball fanatic. The ’86 Celtics was my era and, of course, B.C. too. But, like anyone my age who was a sports fan, I was also a Michael Jordan fan. My walls were covered with the Celtics, the Red Sox, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and Michael Jordan.
The Shadow League: The series is non-linear and jumps around to tell the story. Why did you believe this was the best way to tell this story?
Jason Hehir: Well we knew the 97-98 season was going to be the backbone of the documentary because, without that footage, and without the season that was called The Last Dance, there wouldn’t have been a documentary.
In order to contextualize it and tell all the deeper stories we had to go back in time. In order to show you just how much went into winning the final title, we had to show you what into winning the previous titles.
We quickly realized we were going to have to jump around in time a lot. So, we decided on the idea of converging timelines. Telling the story of the first title, second, third, fourth, fifth, and have those timelines converging all the way up until episode 10, in which there are no flashbacks. Because those two timelines have met, now we’re in Utah for the final series of Michael’s Bulls career.
The Shadow League: With such an expansive project, how did you keep track of all the moving parts and meld them together? Must have been difficult.
Jason Hehir: A lot of it is based on research and hiring. If you’ve done your work researching, and you’ve hired the right people and put them in a place to succeed, then everything’s going to go well. With a project this size, and with as many challenges that we had, everything was exponential about the production process.
Both good and bad. But we had an incredible team of producers, executive producers, associate producers and editors. The people with the Jordan Brand and the NBA were exceedingly generous with our access to the NBA library and with our access to Michael. They were generous with their time in watching rough cuts and giving us their opinion, and the people at ESPN, who I’ve worked with before, were just brilliant.
The Shadow League: What was it like getting so much access to a man who has learned to shy away from the media over the years?
Jason Hehir: His team had the foresight early on to get me in front of Michael a few times just so he could get to know me and feel comfortable with me so it wasn’t like he was meeting me for the first time when we started filming.
When he finally sat down in front of the camera, he was already familiar with who I was, he already knew my vision for the project and I also think he felt safe. That I had done all the research, that I was going to tell a responsible story and that we were going to tackle some difficult subjects, but we weren’t going to do so in a salacious or irresponsible way.
So, I think what you’re seeing there is comfort and safety. Frankly, that safety came with the ability to veto anything that he doesn’t like. But I’m proud and happy to say that he never used that veto power, even though there’s some stuff on here that he was reluctant to share.
I give him a lot of credit for showing some unvarnished truths in this and he certainly had the power to wield that sword and say ‘You can’t do this’ or ‘You can’t do that’ but he never did that once.
TSL: In what ways did you guard against possible pro-MJ bias seeping into the creative process?
Jason Hehir: I would be irresponsible if I tried to skewed this toward my favorite team or player. I’d never do something like that. It was enlightening to hear someone like Isiah point out that the Celtics walked off against Detroit in 88.
I have this vision in my head of McHale being this gracious loser in going over and wishing Isiah luck, but I have no recollection that the Celtics walked off. Now, it’s a little out of context because the Celtics were on a visiting court. That was in the days when people were throwing things at them when they walked off, the Celtics were so hated. They were like the New England Patriots of their day.
So, it’s a little bit different for Detroit to walk off their home floor purely out of pettiness and vindictiveness against the Bulls. Whereas the Celtics were doing it out of bitterness but also for their own safety.
TSL: What do you hope to achieve within the viewing audience with this piece of work?
Jason Hehir: You know you’re on to something good if you’ve studied a story for the better part of a couple years, have been hearing the story, in a lot of ways, for the better part of my entire life. But we’re still hearing details that are new to you.
That was my goal, as well as educating younger people on why this team and Michael were considered great, but also to enlighten some older viewers who think they know the whole story.
TSL: There are still some pretty intense moments to come in this series. Was there any resistance from Mike or his crew on some of the more sensitive subjects?
Jason Hehir: There was never any resistance to the gambling segment and I was surprised because that is a sensitive subject. But Michael is very much of the opinion that he doesn’t have regrets in life and that he behaved the way that he behaved.
It was not only an examination of that chapter in his life, but an examination of what it meant to be famous in those times. You’re seeing the rise of tabloid journalism on shows like hard copy and inside edition.
Then, all of a sudden, it becomes a sport to tear our heroes down and to poke holes in them. Michael was seen as Teflon.
Everyone wanted to be like Mike. But the guy smiling and playing basketball in the Gatorade commercial with the kids. What we do in our culture is try to poke holes in that. What can we do to humanize someone? What can we do to knock someone off that pedestal?
Michael learned that the hard way during that time of his career. I’m glad Michael was honest with us and really glad we got a firsthand account of what it’s like to go through that rise and fall.
TSL: What are some reactionary prompts that viewers of “The Last Dance” should look out for in the future?
Jason Hehir: I think anytime we give Michael that iPad it’s a ‘drop the remote and keep your eyes peeled’ moment. It’s like a portal back through time with MJ. And his reaction to Gary Payton’s reaction to the ‘96 Finals, his reaction to Reggie Miller on the ‘98 Eastern Conference Finals.
Whoever he sees as a rival, it’s so interesting seeing him react in the moment. To see the fire that still burns when he sees their face and hears their voice, those are the kinds of things that I look forward to seeing people react to.
In a significant shift for college sports, the NCAA’s top governing body said it supports a rule change allowing student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, so long as the college or university they attend does not pay them directly.
The plan includes players receiving compensation from social media and personal appearances, as well as through businesses they started.
This was widely reported as a blow to the NCAA’s billion dollar free labor network it has thrived off of. As well as the governing body’s suffocating lock on a student athlete’s ability to profit off of their success in a free market.
Prior to that bombshell being dropped, baller Dashien Nix decommitted from UCLA, becoming the third ESPN Top 100 player to spurn the one-and-done rule for immediate financial gain in the G League Pathway Program, making upwards of $500,000 plus endorsements.
https://twitter.com/_cxyoung/status/1063314529541636097
The Shadow League’s hoops insider Champ Guru cautions that this turn of events doesn’t hurt the NCAA. In fact, it puts college basketball in an even better position to compete for the top players with the NBA and the G League.
CHAMP GURU (@championshipuniversity):
The NBA has to sit down and rethink this thing because the G League becomes somewhat obsolete to many of the top players now.
If I’m the No. 1 player in the nation going to college for one year is way better than going to the G League. If I have the opportunity to go to the G League or the best hoops program in the country, and everyone knows who I am already, then I’m going to college. I’m getting the best of both worlds.
I’m getting a newly expanded fanbase. I own my likeness. I’m going to make money. I’m playing with my peers and I’m learning to play with a shot clock. I’m on the big stage, March Madness…I think it’s more of an advantage playing for a Power School (Michigan, UNC, Duke) and making money than playing for the G League with no fans.
The NBA, NCAA, and G League are like three interlocking bodies who work together but are also in competition to corner the market on big time, profit-generating basketball talent.
The O’Bannon Brothers played and starred on UCLA’s 1995 NCAA title squad. In 2009, Ed O’Bannon and 19 others sued the NCAA, claiming the organization violated United States antitrust laws by not allowing athletes to get a share of the profits generated from the use of their images in broadcasts and video games.
O’Bannon was able to get the NCAA to shut down EA Sports Football and Basketball because it was using players’ likeness and not paying them.
From a public standpoint, that really got the engine going and heightened the conversation we’ve been having for the past decade about paying college players and student-athlete exploitation by the NCAA.
Before the lawsuit, you had the straight out of high school rule that was in place for players who didn’t want to go to college and were gifted enough to play in the NBA. Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett were beneficiaries of that. But then the NBA came back with the one-and-done rule, to prohibit these kids from getting right to the bag and ensuring that they make some money for the colleges for at least one year.
So to combat that, you had guys like Brandon Jennings electing to go overseas for one year, but overall, the NCAA still ruled with an iron fist, refusing to adapt to the changing landscape in American sports.
When Lavar Ball, Mr. Chino Hills himself and Lonzo Ball went the nontraditional route and created their own Big Baller sneaker brand rather than get in bed with the big time shoe companies like Adidas, Under Armor and Nike — and Zo still went No. 2 overall in the Draft, that shifted perceptions even more.
Then he removed his younger kids (DiAngelo and Melo) from school and took them overseas to play basketball. Then he started his own JBL league where he wanted to pay guys $10,000 a month. Everybody in the media, including George Raveling, said: “he’s the worst thing to happen to college basketball in 100 years.”
You had news media outlets that were egging him on but also trying to make a mockery of him saying it was all about Lavar and not his kids.
Fast Forward to 2020.
19-year-old Melo Ball is a projected Top 5 NBA Draft pick and already a celebrity. He and his manager were in negotiations to purchase the NBL team that he played for (Illawarra Hawks).
Then the G League countered that with paying top high school prospects north of $300,000 to play basketball. They also provide training and allow the players to sign endorsement deals.
Then the NCAA makes this ruling and everybody thinks it’s game over for the NCAA. On the contrary.
Allowing players to be compensated enables the NCAA to counter the G League’s bank with a bigger power play, because the NCAA has one thing the G League doesn’t have; attraction… a fan base… a body of students and alumni, people who are going to get behind you. So if you can own your likeness and you can profit off that at any time of the day, whether it be modeling, or doing commercials for a local business or major companies like American Express, Pepsi, Kellog or Capital One — you name it — it’s a win-win.
Now, you have the college machine behind you and you can get paid off of what you bring to the table.
This is, of course, specifically for the big time universities and Top 100 players, The McDonald’s All-American’s and Jordan Brand players.
Christian Laettner
Can you imagine if Christain Laettner owned his likeness attending Dukes for four years, winning championships, and having the impact on college hoops that he had?
He would’ve come out of Duke a millionaire, easily.
Fab Five
Can you imagine the Fab Five owning their likeness? Those guys would have been multi-millionaires before they played in the NBA. And the supporting players like Ray Jackson and Jimmy King weren’t the stars Webber, Howard, and Rose was.
The Fab Five was a brand that brought incredible attention and money to the university. Jimmy and Ray never got paid the big time dollars in the NBA, but they were integral parts of the Fab Five brand. They should have left college millionaires. They generated that much and more for the school during their time there.
https://youtu.be/01lUanofdLg
Larry Johnson & UNLV Runnin Rebels
Look at Tarkanian’s Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV. Imagine if Larry Johnson and those guys could do commercials and personal endorsement deals in college?
Popularity equals money and those guys were as popular as it gets. The entire starting five would have been millionaires.
Steph Curry
Imagine Steph Curry, coming out of nowhere, playing three years of his exciting style of ball at Davidson, and owning his likeness. Every kid is coming to the game with a Curry jersey or hat or signature shoe — whatever he’s promoting, and he’s making a percentage of that.
https://youtu.be/4tyS7l2Gy3s
Cassius Winston
Winston is the one guy that stands out the most in terms of… he probably won’t be an NBA All-star but he’s a hell of a basketball player whose popularity and fan support probably peaked in college. That’s also when he was most dominant and marketable, especially to the college community and businesses.
The businesses and community groups in the modest towns where some athletes grew up, would also benefit from hiring local success stories to push their product.
I’m willing to put all the coins on the table that Winston’s jersey would have sold out at Michigan State every home game especially after he became a star in his junior and senior seasons.
So, I think if that is the case I think the NCAA is above the G League as far as opportunity for star players and the NBA will have to make a counter move and lift the high school rule and allow kids to come straight to the League. They’re also going to have to change the rookie contract because a top prospect like Jalen Green probably can make more money in college basketball now as a freshman than a rookie in the NBA if he profits off his brand correctly.
Let’s say Zion Williamson signs with Nike out of high school and can have his own signature shoe — AND still play at Duke — then what is the purpose of running to the NBA right away?
You can take online classes, get your degree, make millions of dollars, and go to college and create this huge marketing brand for yourself before going to the NBA.
On this day, 26 years ago, Charles Barkley cemented his legacy among NBA playoff immortals by scoring 56 points against Golden State to complete a first-round playoff sweep. Barkley shot 23-of-31 from the floor with 14 rebounds and 3 steals in a 140-133 Phoenix win.
It stands as the third-highest point total in an NBA playoff game.
It was some personal redemption and a much need consolation prize for a 1993 season that not only saw him and his Phoenix Suns squad become Jordan victim No 3, but Barkley also got punked by Chris Webber and Latrell Sprewell in a Nike commercial.
“Nike had made the Chris Webber commercial about him dunking on me,” Barkley said on ESPN this morning. “So they called me in the middle of the season and said, ‘Hey Charles, we want to do this commercial with you and Chris Webber.’ Hey, I love Chris Webber — who should have been in the Hall of Fame five years ago…But I didn’t know they were going to do a commercial of Chris Webber dunking on me. So when I saw the commercial I just started laughing and I said ‘I gotta get this dude back’. And that’s the one thing I remember. I gotta get this guy back.
That dope commercial was part of a 1993 Nike basketball campaign, directed by Joe Pytka, creative by Stacy Wall and Jelly Helm, featuring George Gervin, David Robinson, Artis Gilmore, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Webber, Latrell Sprewell, Chris Mullin, Vernon Maxwell, Mitch Richmond, David Banks and comedian Joe Torry.
When Chuck got a chance to get his sweet revenge the next season, he did so in emphatic fashion. That was Barkley. He was relentless.
One of the most satisfying aspects of The Last Dance — a 10-part docu-series about Michael Jordan and the dynasty Chicago Bulls’ final season together in 97-98 — is not so much the focus on Jordan’s greatness, but how the legacies of his teammates and fiercest rivals are being enhanced through this extensive doc.
Youngsters can get a better understanding of the dynamics of the league. The relationship between the players and the NBA stars who helped enhance the league and boost its visibility and viability globally. Barkley’s role on that 1992 Olympic Dream Team, which is considered the greatest mix of basketball talent ever assembled, was pivotal on the court and his personality quickly elevated his notoriety as a player and helped his post-career success
Magic Johnson raves about Barkley’s performance: ” Charles was our best player. He dominated all the opponents, he led us in scoring. He was amazing.”
Most of post-millennials see Barkley as the fat guy from TNT always clowning with Shaq. Some who are aware of his NBA pass have unfathomably compared him to Draymond Green.
The documentary offers insight and highlights and first-person accounts that hopefully enhances the understanding of how sensational the 6-foot-4 multi-faceted power forward was. And why he is considered amongst the greatest players of his era.
Which unfortunately happens to be “The Jordan Era.”
Charles Barkley was a beast on the court. We know this. That’s the basics. Not sure why we would entertain a conversation with anyone who would insinuate otherwise. Sure, he was another superstar that fell short against The GOAT Michael Jordan, but Chuck Wagon was at the height of his magnificence and undoubtedly, one of MJ’s competitive peers.
Episode 5 & 6 of The Last Dance reinforced that.
Barkley actually beat out Jordan for the League MVP in 93. After dipping from Philly, where his career began under the tutelage of Dr. J and Moses Malone, The “Mound Round of Rebound” had a career year with Phoenix, averaging 26 points and 12 rebounds per game, led Phoenix to a 62-20 record and then to the NBA Finals. It would be the closest he ever came to a championship.
“That year during the regular season I played better than he did, my team had the best record. Jordan was the best player but I deserved MVP,” Barkley said.
Jordan averaged 41 points per game, 8.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists in the 1993 Finals. Barkley was also formidable, averaging 27.3 points and 13 rebounds. He also said that his biggest regret is that he didn’t have his team ready for Game 1 against Chicago. Barkley says “the moment was too big” for his team, who lost the series in six games (4-2).
As the years passed, Barkley’s brand transcended the game of basketball and he’s become a leading character, sort of speak, in this media mosh pit. While his celebrity has grown, his legacy as an NBA player has unjustifiably taken a hit.
His Game 7 in the 1993 Western Conference Finals has also been somewhat forgotten, but it’s the stuff of legends.
People tend to credit Jordan with being the ultimate competitor because he would smack up an underperforming teammate, challenge guys aggressively, had an insatiable thirst for victory, and his team never lost in the Finals. As the Last Dance shows us, MJ took some lumps and lost some playoff series before all of the pieces fell into place. The Hall of Famers who went against Jordan and pushed him to his ultimate performance should also be acknowledged for their individual accomplishments. They had legendary moments too. Barkley certainly did.
The NBA continues the “NBA Together Virtual Roundtable Series” with its second discussion that features Founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative Bryan Stevenson, two-time WNBA Champion DeWanna Bonner, Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce and NBA Champion, Vera Institute of Justice board member and lifelong social justice and criminal justice reform advocate Caron Butler
As part of #NBATogether, the roundtable discussions examine and discuss the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on historically marginalized communities of color.
Hosted by Butler, the series features special guests, including leading voices from the NBA and WNBA family, public health experts and social justice leaders, and streams on the official NBA Twitter account at 7 p.m. ET every Tuesday.
This week’s discussion will focus on the urgent threat of COVID-19 to incarcerated communities as well as the pre-existing inequities surrounding criminal justice in America.
The conversation will cover topics such as the factors driving the spread of COVID-19 inside correctional facilities, the root causes of our system of mass incarceration, and its disproportionate impact on people of color, stories of redemption in the face of systemic injustice and more.
All four participants have unique perspectives and experiences with the criminal justice system:
Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative and has advocated for and provided representation to thousands who have been wrongfully convicted or lack access to fair representation as depicted in the 2019 film Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jaime Foxx.
Stevenson will discuss why COVID is spreading in the correctional system
Former NBA star Caron Butler was incarcerated at the age of 15 before going on to play in the NBA for 14 years and becoming a trustee of Vera Institute of Justice. He will speak on the challenges of growing up without a mentor.
Caron & Stevenson, both deeply believe that “We are all more than worst thing we’ve ever done.”
Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce is a partner of the Georgia Innocence Project working to correct and prevent wrongful convictions.
Bonner visited a women’s-only facility in Phoenix last year to learn more about women as the fastest-growing incarcerated population.
The virtual roundtable series tipped off last week with a discussion that featured WNBA legend and New Orleans Pelicans VP of Basketball Operations and Team Development Swin Cash, Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Korver and National Urban League President & CEO Marc Morial.
CHECK OUT EP 4 OF #NBATOGETHER WITH ERNIE JOHNSON AND KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
As announced in April, the NBA family is partnering with Magic Johnson and leading organizations like the National Urban League to bring awareness to these disparities and promote health, economic and social equity.
Using the league’s digital footprint, the league will amplify the work of leading organizations supporting Black, Hispanic, and other communities impacted by coronavirus through a series of public service messages, virtual content and community programs and partnerships.
