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Friday, 24 September 2010 |
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Both the Knicks and Nets have NBA approval to impose "variable" pricing
for tickets against premium teams with superstar athletes. The teams,
taking a page out of the Mets ticket plan, will allow ticket prices to
be 3 to 4 times the amount depending on who the Knicks or Nets are
hosting that night.
For example, for a 400-level ticket for the Knicks-Atlanta game at the
Garden in November the Ticketmaster ticket price is $34.50. For the
Dec. 27th game when the Knicks host the LeBron James/Dwayne Wade/Chris
Bosh Miami Heat the same tickets will cost $129.50. That's almost 4
times the cost. And this is without the scalpers getting involved.
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Powerhouse Being Built In Queens |
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Friday, 17 September 2010 |
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Don't look now but the best basketball team in New York in two years
won't reside in Madison Square Garden (though they will be tenants) or
the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. They will hail from Utopia Parkway in
Queens, NY.
St. John's Head Basketball Coach Steve Lavin is constructing a Big East
behemoth that hasn't been seen since Lou Carnesseca roamed the sidelines
with the likes of Chris Mullin, Walter Berry, and Mark Jackson. Since
Lavin replaced Norm Roberts as the head coach, he has expanded the reach
of the St. John's brand by reaching into California for top recruits
Dwayne Polee, Jr., added Maurice Harkless who decomitted to Big East and
perennial national championship contender UConn, and Davontay Grace has
just added Jakarr Sampson to the fold.
Lavin has upset the preconceptions of St. John's basketball by
reinventing the staid program. The reason he was hired was to do
exactly what he has done, breath new life in a program that has become
irrelevant nationally, in the Big East, and locally. The west coast
bred coach has defied all previous thoughts that St. John's requires a
head coach that is a New Yorker and understands the "New York"
basketball mentality. Now, if he can coach these recruits on the court
the Big East will be looking up at St. John's. And St. John's will not
be looking up to too many teams nationally. They will be playing deep
into March.
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Tuesday, 14 September 2010 |
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With two weeks to go to the opening of NBA training camps, All-Star
point guard Allen Iverson is having to look elsewhere to continue his
career. His agent reports that none of the NBA teams have contacted
Iverson about coming to play for them this season. Reports are that
there is strong interest by a Chinese team for Iverson to play this
season, viewing the 35 year old as a drawing card for a country hungry
for basketball.
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Monday, 13 September 2010 |
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Names like those of the recent NBA free agent class were missing. No
LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, or Chris Bosh. Nor any other of the NBA
superstars like Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett.
But for the first time in 16 years the USA men's basketball team won the
James Naismith Trophy as champions of the world. Oklahoma City's Kevin
Durant, if not already thought of in the same group as those listed
above, has just submitted his resume for inclusion. Following up games
of 33 and 38 points (a USA team record) with 28 in Sunday's 81-64
clinching game against Turkey.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski has now won an NCAA championship, Olympic Gold Medal, and a World Championship.
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USA Storms Into Title Game |
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Sunday, 12 September 2010 |
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The US Men's World Championship Team is on a roll. Yesterday they
beat-up on Lithuania 89-74 to now face a showdown with Turkey on Sunday
for the World Championship. Kevin Durant set a record for most points
in game by a member of a USA team with 38. The US team now has a chance
to capture its first World Championship since 1994.
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Teaching The World To Play |
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Tuesday, 31 August 2010 |
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When we were (and some of us still are) kids, we would take the new kids
to the neighborhood and teach them our games so we would have more kids
to play with, always assuring we would have enough, and make new
friends. What we didn't learn when we were kids was how to deal with
the fact
that the kids we taught would become better at our game than we were.
Talk about a blow to your confidence and collective ego.
That is what the United States is facing since the NBA spearheaded
basketball's global expansion when David Stern took over as
commander-in-chief. Take a look at NBA rosters and you will see a lot
of foreign nationals playing for your local team. Another showing of
how good the new kids on the block are is the fact that the US has not
won the World Championship in 16 years.
On Monday the US survived an opening round game against Brazil, 70-68.
This is with a team that boasts some of the best NBA talent not named
LeBron, Kobe, or Dwayne. Kevin Durant is continuing to demonstrate why
he is the best kept secret in Oklahoma City by hitting for 27 points.
Chauncey Billups, added 15 points,
What is now understood by the US delegation is that the rest of the
world has not just caught up to our skill and knowledge of the game, but
in some ways has surpassed us. Therefore they have knocked us of our
complacency and forced us to take our game to another level. If the US
wants to once again dominated the world in the game it created, it will
have to reinvest itself in the manner it teaches the game. No longer
will it be able to get by just on athleticism.
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Sunday, 29 August 2010 |
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Americans proudly thump their chests proclaiming they are the number one power in basketball. But it has been 16 years, 16 years!, since the USA has been able to back-up that proclamation with a world championship title.
Kevin Durant, with 14 points helped lead an assault on Croatia in the
opening round where every American player scored in a 106-78 rout.
There are no players on the roster from the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic
Gold Medal team. Instead, Coach Mike Krzyzewski's crew is made up of
young and undersized players. In their opening Group play, the USA will
play its three toughest opponents back-to-back-to-back. They continue
play Sunday against Slovenia and then Brazil on Monday.
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Finances Dictates Professional Player Movement |
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Wednesday, 25 August 2010 |
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Lost in the sauce, as far as all the other factors, in LeBron James's
decision to sign with the Miami Heat is the fact that Florida has no
state income tax. Whether making $30,000 or $100 million, that is a lot
of tax dollars that is lost to the individual. Player reps are
exceptionally savvy in understanding that its not just signing the
contract, assessing endorsement opportunities, its keeping the dollars.
And nothing assists that issue as not having to pay out more than
necessary.
It has been wildly reported in the New York media that Denver Nuggets
star forward Carmelo Anthony is forcing a trade to the Knicks the past
two weeks by refusing to sign an extension with the team. Now reports
are surfacing that he actually prefers the Houston Rockets. Why?
Texas, like Florida, has no state income tax. There are a lot of
reasons that a vast majority of professional athletes live in these
southern states, besides the warm weather and opportunity to train year
round, there is the fact that they can hold on to more of their
earnings.
This is a huge advantage to any professional team in any sport to entice
free agents to their team. In New York, an athlete is is not just
being assessed state taxes, but city taxes as well. And with a NBA
salary cap, their is no way to over pay the athlete to compensate what
they will lose in tax dollars.
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