Stephanie Jordan will join Branford Marsalis this evening for what is sure to be one of the best renditions of the National Anthem that the sports world will ever see.
Here's to Life is one of her best jazz renditions and she is sure to benefit from the company of Branford.
At a Bruce Hornsby concert at Westbury, Long Island a few years back, Branford joined Bruce and his "Noisemakers" on stage. It was like adding Larry Bird to a team that had Greg Kite, Danny Ainge, Quinn Buckner and DJ. The other four players, all pretty good to almost great, all became SUPERSTARS.
Well, Branford can do that.
Here's to Branford Marsalis and his wife, my friend and longtime NBA cohort, Nicole.
***
Ian Thomsen broke an interesting story on the NBA earlier this week (posted here and on CNN SI.com). He followed up with a nice series of notes and some details on the views of many people associated with the NBA. He also posted a very nice comment on "yours truly." Much appreciated!
Here's the column in its entirety and you can get it on CNN/SI.com - a must read everyday for sports fans.
Explaining the NBA's interest in European expansion
Posted: Friday February 15, 2008 12:56PM; Updated: Friday February 15, 2008 2:00PM
The conditions seem ripe for David Stern to seriously explore putting teams in Europe.
Also in this column:
• How big trades changed landscape
• Upside for Celtics to KG's absence
• Different way of viewing standings
5 Reasons to expand the NBA to Europe
The NBA will investigate the possibility of expanding into Europe over the next decade, a league source told me this week. The preliminary idea would be to create a European division of five teams, but there is no working plan in place as the league considers all options.
I have a lot of questions about a possible move to Europe, especially when it comes to persuading local fans to buy tickets at NBA prices -- that's going to be a hard sell. And yet my impression is that commissioner David Stern is more serious than ever about placing NBA teams overseas. Here are a few potential reasons for his interest:
5. He can't afford to wait. In previous years when the idea of creating NBA franchises overseas would come up, it was always in a hazy futuristic sort of way, as if Stern was hoping that dialogue itself would lead to opportunity. Now there is a sense of purpose to the mission, for a couple of reasons.
The first is that NBA-ready arenas are starting to appear on the landscape in Europe in London and Berlin, with Rome and Madrid planning to build in the future. If the NBA doesn't move into those buildings, then what is to stop a rival group from creating a European league from scratch to compete against the NBA for audiences and players? The league needs to investigate whether European expansion is a legitimate option -- and if so, to exploit it.
Europe could provide the NBA with an opportunity to grow its business after hitting the ceiling domestically. More than a few team owners would like to see Stern find a way to make big money from his 20-year investment in international basketball. A move into Europe would open the door to new sources of revenue.
4. Stern doesn't need to create five European teams all at once. He could begin with three franchises, providing visiting clubs with enough European stops worthy of the long transatlantic flight. Those three teams could be married into the Eastern Conference, and when it's feasible to add two more teams, then a true European division could be formed.
The big issue is whether European customers will buy expensive tickets to 41 games per year -- especially to watch a losing team, as expansion franchises need years to develop. But TV revenue could be a major component: Imagine showing live NBA games on prime time in Western Europe several nights per week.
As hard as the league will work to get it right the first time, there are bound to be some failures. Say the NBA franchise in Rome can't find an audience; it may move to another market as more NBA-styled arenas are built in Europe. The story of the NBA is that franchises move from city to city, and it won't be any different in Europe than it's been in North America.
3. Nationalism isn't the millstone it used to be. Two decades ago, the league would have felt pressure to stock an NBA franchise in Berlin with a lot of German players and to provide the fans in Rome with a team of Italian stars. But no more: The opening of borders in Europe has created an open-mindedness among fans. The best soccer clubs in Europe field players from all over the world, and supporters are buying tickets in record numbers.
2. All-Star weekend will build interest. Over the next decade, the NBA could send the All-Star Game to Europe on two or even three occasions to help create emerging markets. Playing the All-Star Game in London or Berlin would also provide the tired exhibition with new relevance.
1. European basketball needs the NBA. The arcane federations that run basketball in Europe have been unable to find common ground and grow their sport. European basketball is strictly minor league with little hope of becoming profitable, much less of challenging the popularity of soccer. The presence of the NBA would create new interest in basketball and elevate interest in the local leagues and clubs
4 Ways that blockbuster trades have changed the landscape
4. The Celtics aren't so scary anymore. The win-now culture sweeping through the league was inspired by Boston director of basketball operations Danny Ainge when he dealt long-term assets last summer in exchange for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen while keeping Paul Pierce. But the Celtics' trio isn't so intimidating now that the Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom (with Andrew Bynum on his way back next month); the Suns will soon be starting Steve Nash, Amaré Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal (not to mention having Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa and others); and the Mavericks are hoping to team Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard with Jason Kidd, if their trade with the Nets can be salvaged.
Consider this a healthy development for Boston. Though Boston doesn't have to worry about any of those teams until the NBA Finals, the improvements will enable the Celtics -- despite their league-leading record -- to view themselves as underdogs, which should renew their motivation heading toward the playoffs.
3. More pressure on rivals. The Nuggets are on a 50-win pace -- and in danger of missing the playoffs in the West. The Cavaliers are Eastern Conference champs and have won 15 of their last 21 games, and yet that still doesn't seem quite good enough. Both teams are among those seeking ways to improve at point guard or in other areas in order to keep up with the trend of Boston, the Lakers, Phoenix and possibly Dallas.
2. The best playoff race in years. The Rockets have won eight in a row and are in a tie with the Nuggets and Warriors for the last two playoff spots. The Hornets have the best record in the West yet stand five games away from missing the playoffs entirely. The fight for the eight playoff spots in that conference -- never mind home-court advantage -- is going to be terrific, especially with so many teams trying to incorporate new stars on the fly. One bad week could doom a contender.
1. The importance of continuity. Could it be, after so much spectacular upheaval, that the two elder mainstays of each conference will meet in the NBA Finals? San Antonio and Detroit are the deepest contenders as well as the teams likely to play the best team basketball because they've been together so long. While others have traded for the newest thing, the Spurs and Pistons have been minding their own business.
3 Names in the news
3. Isiah Thomas. "Everybody thinks he's on his way out,'' said a rival GM who deals with the Knicks routinely. "I don't get that impression at all.'' This executive has the clear sense that Thomas remains empowered to make any deal he wishes and that his removal as president of the Knicks is not imminent. "I think that owner [James Dolan] is just digging his heels in.'' If Thomas' enemies want him out of New York, they ought to start a "Save Isiah'' campaign. I'm not joking: The only way Dolan is going to replace his team president/coach is if he's convinced the public wants him to stay.
2. Kevin Garnett. His extended absence is helping the Celtics on two counts, noted Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. It's enabling Garnett to freshen up for the crucial second half while bringing the best out of his teammates, who have gone 7-2 (losing by a combined four points) without him.
"He has a lot of mileage, obviously, and in the past his knee's bothered him a little bit,'' Popovich said. "So let these guys go on their own a little while. They're going to face some situations now on their own, be in a lot more close games than they would if Kevin was out on that court right now. It's good for Doc [Rivers] and the coaching staff to see who's going to step up in those situations, who they can depend upon, who's going to execute, who's going to make a decision. And if you're just kicking everybody's butt constantly, so the first time you might face those [questions] is the third game of the first round -- then you don't want that.
"Assuming that Kevin is going to be OK, and I think he will be, it's a good thing. Guys are in situations that maybe they wouldn't be in normally. And in a seven-game series you're doing all sorts of different things, and if those guys have that experience it really is a bonus.''
1. Terry Lyons. The former NBA VP of international communications has landed with Elevate Communications in Boston as senior VP and managing director of global communications. Frankly, I understand very little about the nuances of brand-building and sports marketing, but I know Terry will be very good at it.
2 Questions rescued from the spam
2. Do you think the Blazers actually have TOO much young talent and that they'll need to move some pieces before the deadline or in the offseason, especially with Greg Oden due to come back next season?
-- Drew T., Oregon
Everything is arranged beautifully for Portland. The Blazers have a winning record with the youngest team in the league, and they'll have major cap space in two summers -- leading to speculation of a run at Chris Paul. There is no need to trade anybody right now because they're waiting for LaMarcus Aldridge and Oden to mature together. Why trade for veterans until those two are ready to contend?
1. Is Stern crazy, or merely unwilling to learn from past mistakes? Only now is the league emerging from a 15-year funk caused by too little talent being spread over 30 teams. Further expansion would destroy that momentum and reestablish crummy teams as the norm and barely above average as championship caliber.
-- Aaron, Pittsburgh
That's a fair point. But if the NBA goes in this direction, the residual hope will be that moving to Europe will inspire a new generation of players, thus growing the pool of talent.
There would be a lot of problems, including a drain on the talent pool, as Aaron predicts. The American players would inevitably complain about having to play in Europe, and their demands to be traded back to the United States wouldn't be appreciated by the fans in Europe. All of the teams -- especially those based in Europe -- would complain about the travel, and local supporters would detest the ticket prices. But the bottom line is that Stern has been globalizing the NBA brand for two decades in hopes of pursuing this kind of expansion. If he believes he can ultimately create new revenues while growing his business and his sport by moving to Europe, then I would imagine he is going to give it a try.
1 New way of viewing the league
Most sports leagues outside the United States operate on a "promotion'' system in which teams are promoted to -- or relegated from -- the first division, with the second and third divisions featuring weaker franchises that dream of working their way up. That kind of approach would work quite nicely in today's lopsided NBA. Just exchange five teams from each conference and you'd have the makings of a first and second division, based on the records of teams entering the All-Star break.
(Eastern conference teams are in bold-face)
First Division
1. Boston .820
2. Detroit .750
3. New Orleans .706
4. Phoenix .698
5. L.A. Lakers .673
6. San Antonio .667
7. Dallas .660
8. Utah .642
T-9. Golden State .615
T-9. Houston .615
T-9. Denver .615
12. Orlando .611
13. Cleveland .558
14. Toronto .549
15. Portland .538
Second Division
1. Washington .481
2. Sacramento .451
T-3. New Jersey .434
T-3. Philadelphia .434
5. Atlanta .429
6. Chicago .404
7. Indiana .396
T-8. Charlotte .358
T-8. Milwaukee .358
10. L.A. Clippers .340
11. New York .288
12. Memphis .269
13. Seattle .255
14. Minnesota .196
15. Miami .176
***
This item, delving into the ad spending issues facing the Democratic party candidates was posted in the WSJ on Friday;
WSJ By AARON RUTKOFF
February 15, 2008; Page A6
The lopsided advertising battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is entering a critical, potentially final stretch.
After several months of trailing Mr. Obama in ad spending and in targeting new markets, Mrs. Clinton needs a victory on the ad front as she attempts to reverse a slide in her efforts to win the Democratic nomination. She is facing a costly three-week battle to woo voters in Texas and Ohio -- two states with diffuse, expensive media markets -- ahead of their March 4 primaries.
In recent weeks the Obama team has used its growing financial advantage to hit the airwaves in new states faster and more broadly than the Clinton campaign. Now the Clinton operation is attempting to shift the momentum, unleashing its first negative spot this week. But the fight ahead, which could rival advertising expenditures in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire, could test the campaign's limited finances.
For months, the ad contest fit a stable pattern. Both candidates remained largely positive and stuck with consistent messages -- Mr. Obama spent aggressively and highlighted endorsements in an effort to raise his name recognition, while Mrs. Clinton spent a little less and relied on her own prominence among voters.
But with the race seemingly on the line March 4, the Clinton campaign followed Mr. Obama onto the air by just a day with local TV spots in Texas and Ohio. Wednesday, in a tonal shift that may be a sign of things to come, the Clinton campaign released the first attack-oriented ad of the Democratic race.
The ad, airing in Wisconsin, questions why Mr. Obama declined to debate Mrs. Clinton before the Feb. 19 election in the state. He has agreed to two other debates before March 4.
The Clinton campaign is betting that going toe-to-toe with Mr. Obama on the airwaves in Texas and Ohio, where Mrs. Clinton enjoys wide leads in the polls, will deny him the sort of uncontested opening that helped him narrow similar deficits in previous states. But doing so will be expensive.
***
At the NBA Slam Dunk contest and many of the other events sponsored by the league, rival marketers are finding their niche and breaking ranks to reach NBA fans directly and without the cost of sponsorship dollars. The answer has been via YOUTUBE.
Check out the marketing video sponsored by Vitamin Water, a rival to NBA sponsor Gatorade:
1 comment:
MUST READ:
Harvey Araton's NYT column on Sunday;
Sports of The Times
Players on a Bus Ride to Sad Reality
By HARVEY ARATON
New Orleans
The bus rolled away from a well-fortified hotel amid anytown sights, filled with everyday N.B.A. sounds. Up near the front, Chris Paul picked at a cardboard tray of takeout fried chicken, sharing with Amare Stoudemire the way a good point guard should, when Kobe Bryant walked by, eyeing the midafternoon cuisine, shaking his head.
“I remember when I used to be able to eat that stuff and still play 48 minutes,” said Bryant, the specter of a 30th birthday six months away.
Traffic on Canal Street had slowed to a Vegas striplike crawl, announcing the start of another All-Star Weekend. Buildings all around were festooned with posters and the likenesses of players, at least until the bus picked up speed, the skyscrapers gave way to low-slung buildings and finally, in a parking lot alongside a ramp to Interstate 10, to a tent encampment of the homeless.
Paul, the sharp-eyed rising young star of the hometown Hornets, nudged Stoudemire to take a look at the real New Orleans, not far from downtown and the annual revelry of pro basketball’s rich and famous.
•
“This is the community we need to come back,” Paul said as the bus entered an even more sobering area, New Orleans East, past clusters of unsightly abandoned houses, on to the narrow Wilson Avenue, coming to a halt beside three postage-stamp-home construction sites.
Paul stepped off the bus and was welcomed back by Habitat for Humanity officials and volunteers. “I come to help out, do a little bit, just show up,” he said.
It rained on what the N.B.A. called its All-Star Day of Service, not a downpour, but enough to muddy sites, if not dampen spirits. Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns was along, and Paul Pierce of the Celtics, with his coach, Doc Rivers. Buses with other players, members of the news media and an estimated 2,500 volunteers fanned out around the city in a well-coordinated N.B.A. public-relations makeup call after last year’s Las Vegas debacle.
Handguns, not nail guns, were part of the overriding story at All-Star Weekend in 2007, and even if it was an N.F.L. player, Pacman Jones, who helped instigate the worst of the incidents, it was the N.B.A.’s party, and its choice of site became an alleged reflection of an unflattering hedonism. While hardly a no-risk environment, New Orleans presented the league with the chance to literally build up its image, fix up and feed with an I-Had-a-Hammer photo-op weekend.
“A better stage for people to see the positive things the players are doing,” said Bryant, who left the precision work to others to protect a torn pinkie ligament, hauled some wood and was the camera magnet one would expect the best player in the world to be.
In Los Angeles, the spotlight always follows Bryant, the Lakers and the N.B.A. Here, the Byron Scott-coached and Paul-led Hornets, returned from their post-Katrina two-year residency in Oklahoma City, have the best record in the Western Conference. But they are ranked 29th in attendance, out of 30 teams, in a city that was not exactly the Mecca of pro basketball before it became an American tragedy.
David Stern, the N.B.A.’s globally minded commissioner, mused on the long-range possibility of a division in Western Europe during his state of the league address Saturday night. But forget Paris, what about all those struggling domestic markets in Seattle, Memphis, Charlotte and elsewhere?
Nowhere, however, is there a moral quandary like the one the Hornets are facing. Can they wait for New Orleans to become whole, economically viable as an N.B.A. market? How much would abandonment undo the good will the league has established through its philanthropy wing, N.B.A. Cares, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and by bringing All-Star Weekend here?
A year after Vegas, you could say the N.B.A. needed New Orleans as much as New Orleans needed the economic benefits of the dunk-and-pony show. Image isn’t everything, but for a league often and sometimes unfairly put in the position of explaining itself, it’s a crucial thing. So the players performed their afternoon of community service, the cameras recorded almost every nail struck, and if there was any cynicism regarding the staged nature of it all, Doug Stephens asked that it not be expressed around him.
“Two and a half years after Katrina, this is not top of the mind and front-page news anymore,” said Stephens, the Northeast regional development director for Habitat for Humanity. “Besides the volunteers, the financial support, these players bring media attention.”
•
On the bus back to the city, Rivers said he had seen tears brought to the eyes of one of the future owners of the Wilson Avenue homes after the players arrived. He can understand the emotional devastation of property loss in a way most cannot, having had a home in San Antonio burn down 11 years ago. His family photo albums and videos were spared when R. C. Buford, now the Spurs’ general manager, happened to pass by the blaze and rushed in to save them.
“When it happens to you,” Rivers said, “one act of kindness can mean so much.”
E-mail: hjaraton@nytimes.com
Post a Comment