WHO's #1 In college basketball

After a crazy weekend of college hoops where you saw the top two teams upset, it leads me to the question who is the nations #1 team. The AP and Coaches Polls will be announced but the parity of this season makes for a great March, from conference tourneys to the BIG DANCE, get ready to enjoy some exciting basketball.

My early top four seeds:

Kentucky
Syracuse
Kansas
Villanova


Bring on March Madness

Jordan to buy controlling stake of Bobcats

Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- He has been called the NBA's greatest player and one of the country's top pitchmen.


Jordan
Now Michael Jordan is ready for a new title: NBA owner.

With minutes to go until his exclusive negotiating window was to expire, Jordan struck a deal late Friday night to buy controlling interest of the Charlotte Bobcats, putting the six-time NBA champion in charge of the money-losing team in his home state.

Owner Bob Johnson announced in a statement that he's agreed to sell the Bobcats to Jordan, who has been a part-owner of the team since 2006. Jordan has been running the team's basketball operations.

The purchase price and details of Jordan's ownership group -- called MJ Basketball Holdings LLC -- weren't immediately available. A spokeswoman for Johnson and a spokesman for Jordan said neither was available for comment early Saturday.

The league's owners must approve the purchase.

Jordan was in competition with former Houston Rockets executive George Postolos, who also had an ownership group together to buy the team. But Postolos said Jordan had the exclusive right to buy the club until just before midnight Friday night.

Jordan hit another last-second shot -- reaching a deal minutes before the deadline.

"I remain committed to becoming an NBA owner, and I'm glad that Michael will continue to bring his talent to the sport and the league," Postolos said in a phone interview with The Associated Press. "He's very, very committed."

It will end Johnson's stint as the first black majority owner of a major professional sports team. Jordan becomes another black owner in another milestone for the Hall of Famer, but one that comes with many challenges.

Jordan, a five-time NBA MVP and 14-time All-Star, has made millions selling sneakers, apparel and other items. Now he'll begin a completely different role trying to make the Bobcats a winner, and the franchise and Charlotte's downtown arena profitable.

After paying $300 million for the expansion team that began play in 2004-05, Johnson has accumulated about $150 million in debt and the team is expected to lose tens of millions this season as they struggle to draw fans and find sponsorships.

Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, shook up management several times before recruiting Jordan to be a minority investor while giving him the final say on all basketball decisions.

Jordan, who turned 47 this month, has had a unique role with the Bobcats. General manager Rod Higgins runs the day-to-day basketball operations and Jordan has rarely attended practices or games, or worked on the marketing side of the operation.

Jordan has had some missteps -- drafting the disappointing Adam Morrison No. 3 overall in 2006 -- but he was also able to lure Hall of Famer Larry Brown to become coach at the beginning of last season.

Jordan and Brown have made seven trades involving 21 players since the start of last season. The November acquisition of Stephen Jackson from Golden State has helped Charlotte get into playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.

But attendance has still lagged, and Jordan has been criticized in Charlotte for rarely being seen -- despite his iconic status in the state.

Jordan grew up in Wilmington, N.C., led North Carolina to the 1982 national championship with a last-second shot, then remained one of the state's favorite sons when he starred with the Bulls.

Jordan's first stint as an NBA executive came with the Washington Wizards, where he was roundly criticized for drafting Kwame Brown with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

He changed roles when he returned briefly as a player, then was fired by owner Abe Pollin in 2003 when he tried to return to his role running the basketball operations.

No one will be able to fire Jordan after he takes control of the Bobcats, and it's likely the team will not change much in the front office.

Jordan's close friend, Fred Whitfield, is team president, and Higgins was Jordan's hire.


Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Li-Ning Jose Calderon

With all the excitement around the Baron Davis campaign and rightfully so, Li-Ning has another basketball gem in the Jose Calderon PE. There is room for another creative athletic sneaker brand, and Li- Ning seems posed to attack the market with strong marketing and design. Photos courtesy of SOLECOLLECTOR.

Hasheem Thabeet sent to D-League

The number 2 pick in last years draft has been assigned to to the development league. It had been reported that Thabeet was being shopped around prior to the trade deadline, after no takers the make this move making Thabeet the highest draft pick ever to be relegated to the development league. Thabeet, 23, is averaging just 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game for the Grizzlies.

Antawn Jamison CAVS debut

With the world watching, and all the cameras flashing Adidas missed a great opportunity to highlight both one of it's athletes and the shoes, the shoes man. Media outlets both nationally and internationally got shots of Antawn Jamison during last night's game, his first since the trade bringing him to Cleveland. Why not make sure everyone seeing the pictures and video took notice of the shoes he wore? Jamison wore one of the most subdued pair of Adidas they could find, which was a huge missed opportunity for Adidas.

CP3.III "2010 All Star"

Baron Davis Li Ning interview

NBA Trade action

Rockets trade McGrady to Kings in seven-man deal
High-scoring guard Martin coming to Houston; Landry, Dorsey gone

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Bulls have "agreed in principle" to trade John Salmons, and his player option, to the Milwaukee Bucks for either Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander or Kurt Thomas and Francisco Elson.
This certainly strengthens the Bulls position to land one of the marquee free agents in 'The Summer of LeBron'.

Cleveland Cavaliers were involved in a three-team, six-player deal that sees them acquire Antawn Jamison from the Wizards.
Deal details:
Cleveland Cavaliers get: Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair
Washington Wizards get: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, rights to Emir Preldzic, Cleveland Cavaliers' 2010 first-round draft pick and Al Thornton
Los Angeles Clippers get: Drew Gooden

The New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves were involved in a straight player-for-player deal with the Knicks getting forward Brian Cardinal from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for center Darko Milicic.
Deal details:
New York Knicks get: Brian Cardinal
Minnesota Timberwolves get: Darko Milicic


4-year veteran Marcus Camby joined the Portland Trail Blazers from the Los Angeles Clippers that seesTravis Outlaw and Steve Blake head the other way.
Deal details:
Portland Trail Blazers get: Marcus Camby
Los Angeles Clippers get: Travis Outlaw and Steve Blake

In a seven-player deal, the Dallas Mavericks acquire two-time All-Star Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson from the troubled Washington Wizards, who receive Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross as compensation
Deal details:
Dallas Mavericks get: Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson
Washington Wizards get: Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross

NBA MID SEASON AWARDS

As the start of the second half of the NBA season begins tonight lets take a moment to reflect on was has taken place already with midseason awards.

MVP
Lebron James

Defensive Player of the Year
Dwight Howard

6th Man of the Year
Jamall Crawford

Rookie of the Year
Brandon Jennings

Sprite Dunk Contest

One group of dunkers actually went at it during all star weekend, check out the highlights.

Lebron James" King of the Court"

D. Wade takes home a well deserved MVP trophy from last nights all star game, but as I watched last night it was clear who the "King of the Court" was. In what Kobe accurately described as the worlds greatest pickup game LBJ slashed, diced and dished though the entire western conference squad, and there was little they could do to stop him.

Carmelo M6 Allstar

Carmelo was inches away from being the MVP of last night's all star game and he will probably be inched out in league MVP votes toward the end of the season, but he clearly made the claim that he is top billing in the western conference. Carmelo seemed to be one of the only western conference players that could match the size and athleticism of the east, and he looked good doing it in the all star edition M6's from Jordan brand.

D Wade poses for his new Jordan Brand poster

Jordan brand poster boy D Wade shows his chops here against Houston, the man is a beast.

U.S. national team

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant joined six others from the reigning Olympic champions who are among 27 players on the U.S. national team roster.

The players chosen Wednesday will be candidates for this summer's world championships and the 2012 Olympics in London.

Also returning from the team that ended the Americans' eight-year gold medal drought in major competitions are: Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

All of the returning players previously told USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo they are interested in coming back after spending all or parts of three years playing for the team that returned the United States to the top of international basketball.

James, Wade and Bosh are all questionable to actually play this summer, though. All three can become free agents and have said their contract situations are their first priority.

"I really think it's kind of early, but I think guys still want to play," Anthony said. "Of course we'll have that conversation in the near future, but they've got to take care of what they've got to take care of first, which is their contracts and things like that."

The only players not returning from the team that won gold in Beijing are Jason Kidd, who previously said he was retiring from international competition with a perfect record, and Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince, who have battled injuries this season.

"Special recognition and acknowledgment needs to go to the nine players returning from our 2008 Olympic team," Colangelo said in a statement. "They have demonstrated that they are the heart and soul of our program and their commitment to continue to represent their country should not be overlooked."

The remainder of the roster includes young stars like Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose. Also returning to the national team are Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire, who played on the U.S. team in the 2007 Olympic qualifier.

Stoudemire is perhaps the biggest surprise on the roster. The All-Star forward from Phoenix basically talked himself off the 2008 Olympic team by publicly waffling about his desire to play at the end of the NBA season.

Billups backed up Kidd on the 2007 team that went undefeated in Las Vegas, but he withdrew the next year for family reasons. He may not have made the final 12-man roster anyway, since Paul was back from an injury that sidelined him the previous summer.

Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who played on the 2004 Olympic team, also was chosen Wednesday. The rest of the players are almost entirely young players.

The roster includes: Minnesota's Al Jefferson and Kevin Love; Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo of Memphis; Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala; Boston's Kendrick Perkins; Indiana's Danny Granger; New York's David Lee; New Jersey center Brook Lopez; Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook; Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge; Charlotte's Gerald Wallace; and Clippers guard Eric Gordon.

The Americans will choose a group from the roster to take part in their minicamp in Las Vegas in July. They are expected to play an exhibition game in New York before heading to Turkey for the world championships.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistants Jim Boeheim, Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan already committed to returning last summer.


Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

Nike Lebron VII PS

Nike basketball will soon launch the Lebron VII PS, well ahead of the mid April start of the NBA playoffs, does this say something about the performance of the original LBJ VII, or is this a further example of Nike basketball's aggressive push to make Lebron the face of the brand. Personally I think the Lebron VII is a great performance shoe and aesthetically pleasing as well, the thing I would change is the overall weight of the shoe, without having exact specs just yet, I would guess replacing the air bag, with a more embedded unit similar to the air zoom we have seen in past signature shoes will lower the weight of the shoe. Light weight sneakers are the dominant trend for basketball shoes these days, even big fellas are leaning toward lightweight performance shoes. The Playoff edition looks good but will it reach icon status, I think that has more to do with what Lebron James does in the shoe, if Cleveland bring home the chip, I'll go out on the limb and say this shoe will soar to new height and be coveted for years to come.

Lebron James VII PS available March 27th

Steve Nash Hyperdunk

Hyperdunk had it's shine in '09, now the low version is making a splash with flashy PE versions for the likes of Lamar Odom and Steve Nash. This pair is the home version for Nash, I have played in a GR pair and I must say I like the performance a little better than the high top version.

Gilbert Arenas learning to be a better Role Model

Let me start first by saying that I'm a huge fan of Gilbert Arenas A.K.A Agent Zero, but his actions over the last couple of months have been disturbing to say the least. Bad decisions on top of more bad decisions helped to sideline one of the most prolific scorers in the game today. But lets hope maturity and remorse is taking over and next year we see Gilbert back on the hardwood entertaining NBA fans. Arenas wrote a public apology in today's Washington Post, is this enough, probably not but it is definitely a positive move in the right direction.

By Gilbert Arenas
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Post suggested on Dec. 31 that I send a message to young fans "about guns being neither glamorous nor desirable." I am grateful for the opportunity to do something good in the face of the very bad situation I created.


Learning to be a better role model
I have done a number of things wrong recently. I violated D.C. gun laws and the NBA's ban on firearms on league property, and I damaged the image of the NBA and its players. I reacted badly to the aftermath and made fun of inaccurate media reports, which looked as though I was making light of a serious situation. And I gave Commissioner David Stern good reason to suspend me from the game, which put my teammates in a tough position and let down our fans and Mrs. Irene Pollin, the widow of longtime Wizards owner Abe Pollin.

I understand the importance of teaching nonviolence to kids in today's world. Guns and violence are serious problems, not joking matters -- a lesson that's been brought home to me over the past few weeks. I thought about this when I pleaded guilty as charged in court and when I accepted my NBA suspension without challenge.

That message of nonviolence will be front and center as I try to rebuild my relationship with young people in the D.C. area. I know that won't happen overnight, and that it will happen only if I show through my actions that I am truly sorry and have learned from my mistakes. If I do that, then hopefully youngsters will learn from the serious mistakes I made with guns and not make any of their own.

I am trying hard to right my wrongs. The one that will be hardest to make right is the effect my actions have had on kids who see NBA players as role models. Professional athletes have a duty to act responsibly and to understand the influence we have on all those kids who look up to us. I failed to live up to that responsibility when I broke the law and set such a bad example. Washington's children, parents and fans all deserve better from me, especially after all the kindness they've shown me over the years.



While I regret a lot about this incident, letting the kids down is my biggest regret. I love the time I spend with the kids here in the District, and it means a lot to me whenever I can help lift their spirits or inspire them, especially kids who have difficult lives.

Last Tuesday, I wrote a letter to students in D.C. schools that was also about owning up to my mistakes. I said that I lost sight of the lesson I learned from Abe Pollin about how the responsibility to be a good role model comes along with the opportunity he gave me. I reiterate now the pledge I made to those students: that this is a responsibility I am not going to walk away from, that I will choose more wisely in the future and do my best to help guide children into brighter futures.

There have been few bright spots for me these past few weeks. But one came the night I played my last game this season at Verizon Center. I saw young fans were still showing up wearing my jersey. That meant more to me than I can say.

The relationship I have with young fans is very important to me. I realize now how easily I can damage it. I have to earn that respect and work to deserve it each and every day. I plan to do that work by partnering with public officials and community groups to teach kids to avoid trouble and learn from their mistakes, to strive for success by working hard and persevering, and to try to make the right choices.

Some people may not forgive me for what I've done. But if I help steer even just one young person away from violence and trouble, then I'll once again feel that I'm living up to Abe Pollin's legacy and to the responsibility I owe the kids of the District.

The writer, a guard for the Washington Wizards, was suspended last month without pay for the rest of the season.

Akron Zips LBJ VII Player Edition

It has been rumored that if Lebron James did attend college, he planned to literally put Akron on the map. As we all know LBJ bypassed college and became the number one pick in the 2003 draft. Lebron still has found a way to influence the Akron University program. Lebron has been supplying Akron with player edition sneakers for a few years now, but this lateset version of the LBJ VII is by far the best yet. It looks like this will soon be available to the public, but if you can't wait Marquee sole has limited sizes available now.