Sports

As NBA Soars On and Off Floor, Trouble Could Be Looming

Published

9 years ago

February 18, 2015

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) hangs onto the basket after a dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

TOM WITHERS, AP Sports Writers
ANTONIO GONZALEZ, AP Sports Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA is soaring higher than ever.

With a growing global reach and international players dotting most rosters, a group of marketable rising young superstars led by Stephen Curry, more competitive balance, financial stability, and an upcoming infusion of $24 billion from a television deal, the league is bouncing beautifully.

The state of the game couldn’t be much better. However, everyone knows good times can fade fast.

There’s a pivotal play developing over the next few years that could threaten the thriving league again. As the movers and shakers in the pro basketball industry gathered this past weekend for All-Star festivities celebrating the league’s past and present, there were watchful eyes on an uncertain future.

With players and owners able to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement after the 2016-17 season, a labor battle looms — and players plan to be prepared.

The NBA Players Association unanimously elected LeBron James as vice president last week at its annual meeting. James’ presence on the executive committee — and perhaps at the bargaining table — is a sign the union means business.

“We had a lockout before when I was in the league and our game was really good at that time, too,” James, the four-time MVP and face of the sport told The Associated Press during the NBA’s mid-season showcase. “Hopefully, we don’t have to reach that point because both sides love where we’re at and what we’re doing.”

On the surface, it’s hard to find many flaws with the league’s current status.

Ratings are high, the value of franchises has exploded and Commissioner Adam Silver has taken the ball from David Stern and powered forward. Silver, who recently celebrated one year on the job, has skillfully navigated around some sticky issues, including the racial remarks made by former Clippers owner Donald Sterling that could’ve divided players and ended up uniting them.

Silver acted quickly in removing Sterling, and his swift punishment strengthened a relationship with players that will undoubtedly be tested in the years ahead. Those potentially crippling issues are out of sight now, and a widening international audience is tuning in to see NBA action.

“The game is bigger than ever,” said James, Cleveland’s star now in his 12th season. “The money that’s generated is bigger than ever and our athletes and our guys are doing what they need to do on the floor and off it to represent the game at a high level. So hopefully we don’t have to come to the point that we were in 2011-12, when we had the lockout. The process is going to get started and we don’t have to come to that.”

Following the 2010-11 season, owners were able to negotiate a CBA that was more in their favor, cutting the players’ share of basketball-related income from 57 percent to roughly 50, costing them millions in annual salaries. That contract runs through 2021, but with the economic boost — $2.6 billion per year — coming from the TV contract, players will fight harder for a larger portion of the pie.

“We want to negotiate a little better than we did last time,” said Hawks sharpshooter Kyle Korver. “We’re going to be well-equipped to stand toe-to-toe with the NBA and negotiate a fair deal. That’s what we want — just a fair deal.”

It’s not like Silver isn’t paying attention.

The commissioner has listened to the players on several fronts already, and he promised last weekend to take a harder look at scheduling and reducing the number of back-to-back games and the grueling, four-games-in-five-nights stretches to help keep players — “our partners,” he calls them — fresh and the product crisp. Silver, too, will consider a makeover of the playoff format so that the best teams qualify.

Silver is concerned with keeping the game relevant amid stiff competition from other sports. It’s vital to stay affordable and attractive to an aging population as well as the next generation of hoop fans. It’s entertainment, after all, and Silver wants to keep the NBA in the center of the spotlight.

“I realize we have to earn the fans’ support every day,” he told The AP. “Over the course of my business career I’ve seen a lot of great businesses seemingly disappear. We don’t take anything for granted and we realize that especially when it comes to the changing world of television that we have to focus on what’s happening on tablets and smartphones and how young people are consuming media.”

Silver sees other ways the NBA can increase profit margins.

He’s the first commissioner of a major professional sports league in the U.S. to publicly support legalizing sports betting outside of Nevada. He wants Congress to change the federal ban on sports gambling and craft a structure that allows states to legalize and regulate betting.

That could bring billions more in revenue to the league, though it also could create challenges to protect the game’s integrity, last tested by the scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghy in 2007.

On the court, the game has been pure basketball bliss.

There has been a return to team play with the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks — the conference leaders at the break — picking up where the San Antonio Spurs left off in last year’s Finals when their selfless style dismantled the Miami Heat.

Teams are breaking away from isolation play and trying to copy San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich’s pace-and-space system. Leading the way is a pair of Popovich’s coaching protégées, Golden State’s Steve Kerr and Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer, whose emphasis on ball movement is spreading rapidly.

“Five guys touching the ball and playing defense together,” Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins said. “It’s the way basketball was meant to be played.”

The hope, for now, is that the togetherness continues, but both sides sense a bigger game coming off the court in 2017.

“We’ll take care of that once we get there,” reigning MVP Kevin Durant said. “We’re preparing now for anything.”

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Rajah Caruth: Young Trailblazer of NASCAR

Imagine you’re only 22 years old and already making a name for yourself in NASCAR, one of the most thrilling sports in the US. That is the life of Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver.

Published

8 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver. (File Photo)

By Tamara Shiloh

Born June 11, 2002, in Washington, DC, he was drawn to the sport as a child after seeing the Disney Pixar film “Cars.”

Caruth dreamed of tooling around the track like the main character in “Cars,” Lightning McQueen. His enthusiasm grew when his parents surprised him with a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway when he was 12.

In 2018, while keeping busy with school, sports and a summer job, Caruth and his family held fundraisers so that he could buy an iRacing simulator. Then, at age 16, he traded a real driver’s license to race virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, which led to him being recruited by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

His first big opportunity came in 2019 when he competed in a “Legends” car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Bojangles’ Southern Shootout and recorded two top-third in the semi-pro points.

People began to recognize Caruth’s talents. In 2020, he stepped up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and became the first African American to win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a late model race. The next year, he won at Tri-County Motor Speedway and picked up his fourth overall late model victory.

Then, he became the first person of color to win at the South Carolina track.

In 2021, Caruth announced he would compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he finished third in the standings, including a series of top-five finishes. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on a bigger stage as well.

Then, in 2022, thing really took off. A new chapter found Caruth at NASCAR’s unofficial Triple A league with GMS Racing, where he drives full-time for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with a sponsorship from The Wendell Scott Foundation. After a few setbacks, he broke into the top 10 several times, finishing at a career-high 6th at Darlington Raceway.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Caruth’s took the third major step in his career. He is now driving full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports and has been making the news for putting on stellar performances. Oh, and he won at Las Vegas: his first career victory.

From an impressionable young racing fan to a professional NASCAR driver, Caruth is charting a new path, creating history, and inspiring people to always remember that if you have the talent, the drive, and most of all, the heart, anything can be achieved.

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Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

12 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com