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Archive for the ‘Basketball’ Category

LeBron More Dislikened?

Posted By admin on September 16, 2010 50 Comments

For a long time, people loved LeBron James. Totally loved him in a non-platonic way (for the most part). At the same time, Kobe Bryant has been one of the most hated players in the NBA for the past few seasons. But it is funny how a summer can change things.

Now, after LeBron’s decision and “The Decision,” more and more people dislike LeBron James. Whether they think he’s a coward, a jerk or just has a bad beard, the LeBron James train has less and less people enjoying its complimentary peanuts. And while LeBron has been busy making people angry, Kobe has been enjoying a great run that has seen him win an Olympic gold medal and two straight titles while staying out of headlines for anything bad. The tables have turned.

It’s close, and actually Kobe is more well-liked — according to Steven Levitt at Q Scores, Kobe’s positive score of 16 and negative score of 40 are close to LeBron’s scores of 14 and 39 — but people still dislike Kobe more than LeBron. All is right with the world and nothing has changed. Well, except that a whole lot of people dislike LeBron James right now. That part has changed, for sure.

Not to mention, the extent to which people dislike LeBron James is kind of amazing. They dislike him so much that it’s affecting how much they like his new teammates. As Rovell notes, both Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have seen their positive scores fall and their negative scores rise. Makes sense, and it’s good to see that LeBron is already changing the culture of basketball in Miami.

On the other hand, after a great two year run, this proves that there’s really nothing Kobe Bryant can do that will make him well-liked to fans. It doesn’t seem like he minds that, at all, but it’s still interesting that changing teams like LeBron did kills his popularity while becoming one of the biggest winners in the NBA has had no effect on most people’s view of Kobe. I don’t think that’s a problem for the Mamba, but I do think that’s a problem for LeBron and it might be tough for him to realize that championships don’t equal adulation.

Michael Jordan saves middle-school sports in Charlotte

Posted By admin on August 31, 2010 25 Comments

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Dear Readers,

Just found this great article and i thought this is worth a share. So here it is. Enjoy!

Michael Jordan may not spend most of his time on the basketball court anymore, but he’s still answering prayers as the clock winds down. This time, His Airness is coming to the rescue of middle-school sports in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system, donating $250,000 to keep the county’s middle-school sports programs from being chopped out of existence in a single drastic budget cut.

michael-jordan-sportsniperAccording to the Associated Press and Charlotte Observer, the city cut $1.25 million — the entire budget for middle-school sports — in an effort to get the school district’s funding in line with budget projections. The public school district also instituted new rules that call for middle-school students to pay $50 to participate in each school sports and high school athletes to pay $100 to play. The Observer reported that those fees would be waived for students who participate in the free or reduced-cost lunch programs, a group that comprises more than half of the students attending Charlotte public schools. From The Observer:

“We investigated the situation. We looked for ways to help middle schools and this was one of the options presented to us. We took it because of the impact on middle schools and giving them the opportunity to play sports and as motivation for education as well,” Jordan said.

Jordan and his Charlotte Bobcats aren’t the only donor to step forward and help CMS middle-school sports, but he’s by far the largest. By comparison, the Charlotte Touchdown Club, an organization that included funding from the Carolina Panthers and the NFL Players Association in its pledge, donated $56,000.

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NBA News and Updates – August 2010

Posted By admin on August 10, 2010 41 Comments

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Red Wings-Tigers owner Ilitch wants to buy Pistons

Mike Modano, Mike Ilitch

Mike Modano, left, shakes hands with Detroit Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch

DETROIT – Mike Ilitch, the Little Caesars pizza mogul who already owns the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, said Monday that he wants to buy the Detroit Pistons in part to make sure another buyer doesn’t move the NBA franchise out of town.

The Pistons declined to comment on Ilitch’s interest in the team, which Forbes valued at $479 million last year.

Pistons owner Karen Davidson has said she’s considering a sale of the team by itself or as part of a package with Palace Sports and Entertainment, which includes The Palace of Auburn Hills, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival.

Her husband, Bill Davidson, died last year. The late owner known as “Mr. D” helped the Pistons win NBA titles in 1989, 1990 and 2004. Karen Davidson has said she expects the deal to be done by the opening game in late October.

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‘King James’ thanks Cleveland fans in homecoming

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LeBron James, pictured in July 2010, thanked his fans in Cleveland for their support on Saturday

LeBron James thanked his fans in Cleveland for their support on Saturday at a charity cycling event in his hometown, his first area visit since dumping the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.

Hundreds of people attended the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player’s “King for Kids” celebration, which came a week after James was criticized for a newspaper ad thanking Akron backers but not mentioning fans in Cleveland.

“To the city of Cleveland, my fans in Cleveland, my fans in northeast Ohio, I want to say thank you for the last seven years and the years that continue to go in the future,” James said.

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Former NBA Lorenzen Wright Found Dead

Posted By admin on July 29, 2010 34 Comments

Lorenzen Wright Found Dead After Long Search

‘Lorenzen Wright found dead’ reports first sprung up yesterday. With Lorenzen Wright found dead, it brings the worst end to the Wright search. Before being found dead, the former NBA veteran had been declared missing for 10 days. The search ended in southeast Memphis, when a body was found behind an apartment building. After his family came to see it, they officially declared that Lorenzen Wright was found dead, although there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

Wright first made a name for himself as a college star in Memphis, before playing nearly 800 games for five teams in the NBA. Despite average numbers, he still made millions and was very well-liked in the basketball community. But, with Lorenzen Wright found dead, it brings a tragic and bizarre end to his life.lorenz wright former nba player

The retired player was last seen on July 18 in Memphis, as word was he was going to head out soon. But when he left no word for four days, his family filed a missing persons report on July 22. Six days later, police finally found his body in southeast Memphis.

Not only was Wright found dead, he was found with several gunshot wounds. According to MyEyewitnessNewsin Memphis, local authorities have found a recording from Wright’s cell phone, on the night he may have been killed.

The call allegedly takes place at 1 a.m. on July 19, the day after Wright was last seen. The caller “sounded scared” and yelled out two curse words, then nothing but gunshots are heard. Why he was shot dead, and who would want to kill him, are the obvious unsolved questions from this story.

Having Lorenzen Wright found dead may be considered more of a big deal because he played basketball. He was never a big star, although he was the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Clippers. After three years, he got a substantial deal from the Hawks, but wound up spending most of his career in his home town of Memphis.

After playing five years with the Grizzles, he finished his career with the Hawks, Kings and Cavaliers before retiring in 2009. In his personal life, he had six kids, but lost a seventh at a young age, and had a father who was paralyzed by a gunshot wound. Source: associatedcontent.com