It's a scarce commodity over in the states. So i'm bringing you the best I can.
San Fran Pro Am.
And the first quarter of last nights game (as filmed by Tim) - I'll try and get the rest up tomorrow if I can find some Wi-Fi in Pompey:
Monday, 31 October 2011
Shaq uncut - November 15th
So I’m on edge because I don’t have I don’t have a new deal, and Kobe is on edge because he might be going to jail, so we’re taking it out on each other. Just before the start of the ’03-’04 season the coach staff called us in and said, “No more public sparring or you’ll get fined.” … Phil was tired of it. Karl Malone and Gary Payton were sick of it. … So what happens?
Immediately after that Kobe runs right out to Jim Gray and does this interview where he lets me have it. He said I was fat and out of shape. He said I was milking my toe injury for more time off, and the injury wasn’t even that serious. (Yeah, right. It only ended my damn career.) He said I was “lobbying for a contract extension when we have two Hall of Famers playing pretty much for free.” I’m sitting there watching this interview and I’m gonna explode. Hours earlier we had just promised our coach we’d stop. It was a truce broken. I let the guys know, “I’m going to kill him.”
——-
Kobe stands up and goes face-to-face with me and says, “You always said you’re my big brother, you’d do anything for me, and then this Colorado thing happens and you never even called me.” I did call him. … So here we are now, and we find out he really was hurt that we didn’t stand behind him. That was something new. I didn’t think he gave a rat’s ass about us either way. “Well, I thought you’d publicly support me, at least,” Kobe said. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”
Brian Shaw chimed in with “Kobe, why would you think that? Shaq had all these parties and you never showed up for any of them. We invited you to dinner on the road and you didn’t come. Shaq invited you to his wedding and you weren’t there. Then you got married and didn’t invite any of us. And now you are in the middle of this problem, this sensitive situation, and now you want all of us to step up for you. We don’t even know you.” …
Everyone was starting to calm down when I told Kobe, “If you ever say anything like what you said to Jim Gray ever again, I will kill you.”
Kobe shrugged and said, “Whatever.”
Immediately after that Kobe runs right out to Jim Gray and does this interview where he lets me have it. He said I was fat and out of shape. He said I was milking my toe injury for more time off, and the injury wasn’t even that serious. (Yeah, right. It only ended my damn career.) He said I was “lobbying for a contract extension when we have two Hall of Famers playing pretty much for free.” I’m sitting there watching this interview and I’m gonna explode. Hours earlier we had just promised our coach we’d stop. It was a truce broken. I let the guys know, “I’m going to kill him.”
——-
Kobe stands up and goes face-to-face with me and says, “You always said you’re my big brother, you’d do anything for me, and then this Colorado thing happens and you never even called me.” I did call him. … So here we are now, and we find out he really was hurt that we didn’t stand behind him. That was something new. I didn’t think he gave a rat’s ass about us either way. “Well, I thought you’d publicly support me, at least,” Kobe said. “You’re supposed to be my friend.”
Brian Shaw chimed in with “Kobe, why would you think that? Shaq had all these parties and you never showed up for any of them. We invited you to dinner on the road and you didn’t come. Shaq invited you to his wedding and you weren’t there. Then you got married and didn’t invite any of us. And now you are in the middle of this problem, this sensitive situation, and now you want all of us to step up for you. We don’t even know you.” …
Everyone was starting to calm down when I told Kobe, “If you ever say anything like what you said to Jim Gray ever again, I will kill you.”
Kobe shrugged and said, “Whatever.”
Schedule changes
So,
owing to travel and all the babies, we tried to reschedule some of our mid week games. This was all done apart from the Merthyr game.
I tried to reschedule it but my request was originally ignored.
Its all sorted now:
Both,
As per the email I sent you dated 11/10/2011 we are unable to fulfill the Wednesday 23rd November fixture @ Merthyr.
Please could this be re arranged for 2012?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Nick
***********
Nick
What are your reasons for not playing this fixture on the 27th?
Kevin
***********
Not enough players.
We struggle with mid week games right up until Christmas. I did include this in the list of re schedules each team was invited to make prior to the "final" schedule being issued, along with the reason for the requests.
I noticed that all other requests were honoured apart from this one??
Nick
***********
Hi Nick
That isn’t quite right, not all requests have been granted, each has been judged on its merit. A blanket “no play during week days” for the first three months of the season is not in the management committee’s opinion a reasonable request given that the league has traditionally held games mid week.
If you are saying that you cannot get 5 players to Merthyr on the 23rd November then the only other date I can offer you is Wednesday 4th April 2012?
Regards
Kevin
***********
Kevin,
If each request is indeed judged on it's merit I would suggest the management committee articulates this in its communication. The e mail containing the draft fixtures that invites changes implies that all changes will be actioned with no charge (see below).
In addition the request for details of changes issued by the management committee at no point implicitly asks for the reason behind the request - simply "details" which could easily be interpreted as just dates unable to play games. So how can you judge each request on merit if you have no idea why the request has been made?
"Please review and provide details of any changes required by Sunday 16th October to both me and Kevin Davies.
All changes provided by the above deadline will not incur a re-arrangement fee. However, any changes notified to the league after that date will incur a £25 re-arrangement fee."
Lastly I would consider a no mid week game before Christmas a reasonable request as there are another four months after Christmas where games could be played. Refusing mid week games altogether would be unreasonable.
Regardless, 4th April is fine.
Nick
********
Hi Nick
Your comments are noted.
Regards
Kevin
owing to travel and all the babies, we tried to reschedule some of our mid week games. This was all done apart from the Merthyr game.
I tried to reschedule it but my request was originally ignored.
Its all sorted now:
Both,
As per the email I sent you dated 11/10/2011 we are unable to fulfill the Wednesday 23rd November fixture @ Merthyr.
Please could this be re arranged for 2012?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Nick
***********
Nick
What are your reasons for not playing this fixture on the 27th?
Kevin
***********
Not enough players.
We struggle with mid week games right up until Christmas. I did include this in the list of re schedules each team was invited to make prior to the "final" schedule being issued, along with the reason for the requests.
I noticed that all other requests were honoured apart from this one??
Nick
***********
Hi Nick
That isn’t quite right, not all requests have been granted, each has been judged on its merit. A blanket “no play during week days” for the first three months of the season is not in the management committee’s opinion a reasonable request given that the league has traditionally held games mid week.
If you are saying that you cannot get 5 players to Merthyr on the 23rd November then the only other date I can offer you is Wednesday 4th April 2012?
Regards
Kevin
***********
Kevin,
If each request is indeed judged on it's merit I would suggest the management committee articulates this in its communication. The e mail containing the draft fixtures that invites changes implies that all changes will be actioned with no charge (see below).
In addition the request for details of changes issued by the management committee at no point implicitly asks for the reason behind the request - simply "details" which could easily be interpreted as just dates unable to play games. So how can you judge each request on merit if you have no idea why the request has been made?
"Please review and provide details of any changes required by Sunday 16th October to both me and Kevin Davies.
All changes provided by the above deadline will not incur a re-arrangement fee. However, any changes notified to the league after that date will incur a £25 re-arrangement fee."
Lastly I would consider a no mid week game before Christmas a reasonable request as there are another four months after Christmas where games could be played. Refusing mid week games altogether would be unreasonable.
Regardless, 4th April is fine.
Nick
********
Hi Nick
Your comments are noted.
Regards
Kevin
£££
Quick Fundraising update:
We have raised around £218 so far - just under £200 after ebay fees.
We still have 11 items under auction including some big items such as Weezys flightposites and Matthews Jordan 15.5's (if the auctions finished today we would get around £70 more - expect the final figures to be higher than this).
Right now David's auctions have raised £74.34 and counting, my own raised £55.04, Omar £21.75 and counting, Nas £21.99.
With the money raised so far we have bought 2 HD Flip Ultra 8MB cameras, along with two tripods.
With the next batch of money we are looking at getting a new match ball.
We will have a further surplus which we could use to subsidise new T's, or put towards a social event or meal. We'll throw that over to a poll once the final total is in.
Once again a massive thanks to everyone who donated unwanted items, and those who pledged money.
Thanks to Money Mike who donated a brand new fancy mother board this weekend (his house is like cribs).
We have raised around £218 so far - just under £200 after ebay fees.
We still have 11 items under auction including some big items such as Weezys flightposites and Matthews Jordan 15.5's (if the auctions finished today we would get around £70 more - expect the final figures to be higher than this).
Right now David's auctions have raised £74.34 and counting, my own raised £55.04, Omar £21.75 and counting, Nas £21.99.
With the money raised so far we have bought 2 HD Flip Ultra 8MB cameras, along with two tripods.
With the next batch of money we are looking at getting a new match ball.
We will have a further surplus which we could use to subsidise new T's, or put towards a social event or meal. We'll throw that over to a poll once the final total is in.
Once again a massive thanks to everyone who donated unwanted items, and those who pledged money.
Thanks to Money Mike who donated a brand new fancy mother board this weekend (his house is like cribs).
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Cougars 2 35 - 45 KB
I'll try and upload the videos tomorrow..
Cougars - KB
8-8
6-6
9-14
12-17
Antonio 1 turnover, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 0/2 2 pt
Matthew 1 turnover, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 6 points, 3/4 2 pt 75%, 0/2 ft
Fung 1 turnover, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 points, 1/2 2 pt 50%, 0/2 ft
Mitch 2 turnovers, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 10 points, 5/6 2 pt 83%, 0/1 3 pt, 0/2 ft
Gregg 14 rebounds, 2 points, 1/5 2 pt 20%
Lloyd 3 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 points, 2/4 ft 50%
Tim 2 assists, 1 steal, 9 points, 3/7 2 pt 43%, 1/4 3 pt 25%
David 1 turnover, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 points 1/7 2 pt 14%, 0/1 3 pt
Wes 2 turnovers, 5 rebounds, 6 points, 3/6 2 pt 50%, 2/4 ft 50%
Ross 2 turnovers, 7 rebounds, 8 points, 3/5 2 pt 60%, 2/4 ft 50%
Team 13 turnovers, 50 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 20/44 2 pt 45%, 1/7 3 pt 14%, 4/14 ft 29%
Man of the Match - Wes George
KB 1-0 SWVL Cup
Cougars - KB
8-8
6-6
9-14
12-17
Antonio 1 turnover, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 0/2 2 pt
Matthew 1 turnover, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 6 points, 3/4 2 pt 75%, 0/2 ft
Fung 1 turnover, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 points, 1/2 2 pt 50%, 0/2 ft
Mitch 2 turnovers, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 10 points, 5/6 2 pt 83%, 0/1 3 pt, 0/2 ft
Gregg 14 rebounds, 2 points, 1/5 2 pt 20%
Lloyd 3 turnovers, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 points, 2/4 ft 50%
Tim 2 assists, 1 steal, 9 points, 3/7 2 pt 43%, 1/4 3 pt 25%
David 1 turnover, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 3 steals, 2 points 1/7 2 pt 14%, 0/1 3 pt
Wes 2 turnovers, 5 rebounds, 6 points, 3/6 2 pt 50%, 2/4 ft 50%
Ross 2 turnovers, 7 rebounds, 8 points, 3/5 2 pt 60%, 2/4 ft 50%
Team 13 turnovers, 50 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 20/44 2 pt 45%, 1/7 3 pt 14%, 4/14 ft 29%
Man of the Match - Wes George
KB 1-0 SWVL Cup
Saturday, 29 October 2011
London off
So much for that “see how much money we can make without the NBA” tour.
After seemingly half the stars in the World All-Star Classic constellation pulled out in the past week, the first game — scheduled for Sunday in Puerto Rico — and the entire series now has been sucked into a black hole. Sadly just hours after the NBA labor talks blew up — apparently the basketball gods don’t want us to watch games.
Ric Bucher at ESPN has the report:
The six-game, four-continent World All-Star Classic exhibition tour featuring two squads of All-Star NBA players is on hold, with Sunday’s scheduled game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, postponed indefinitely, sources said.
The other five games on the tour, scheduled for London, Macau and Australia, already had been pushed back until late November, sources said. There was hope the game in San Juan could be salvaged and serve as proof to the other venues and investors that Atlanta businessman Cal Darden and his son, Cal, Jr., were capable of pulling off the event.
First it was Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook who pulled out before even the official announcement went out. That was followed by LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony backing out, then just in the last 24 hours it was Dwight Howard’s turn to get out. Kevin Durant was rumored to be on the fence — and he’s played anywhere and everywhere this summer. With the players being promised six figures and up to $1 million to do the tour (and giving them a platform to promote their brand internationally), for them to bail means something smelled fishy to them and their agents.
Some big names were still attached — Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Garnett — but that was not going to be enough.
Part of the players backing out seemed to be tied to optimism around the finalizing of an NBA labor deal. Now that has blown up again, at least for a little while, and it remains to be seen if that can breathe a little more life into it.
Probably not. It was a grandiose plan, but it has fallen like a Jenga tower. And all the king’s horses and all the king’s men….
After seemingly half the stars in the World All-Star Classic constellation pulled out in the past week, the first game — scheduled for Sunday in Puerto Rico — and the entire series now has been sucked into a black hole. Sadly just hours after the NBA labor talks blew up — apparently the basketball gods don’t want us to watch games.
Ric Bucher at ESPN has the report:
The six-game, four-continent World All-Star Classic exhibition tour featuring two squads of All-Star NBA players is on hold, with Sunday’s scheduled game in San Juan, Puerto Rico, postponed indefinitely, sources said.
The other five games on the tour, scheduled for London, Macau and Australia, already had been pushed back until late November, sources said. There was hope the game in San Juan could be salvaged and serve as proof to the other venues and investors that Atlanta businessman Cal Darden and his son, Cal, Jr., were capable of pulling off the event.
First it was Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook who pulled out before even the official announcement went out. That was followed by LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony backing out, then just in the last 24 hours it was Dwight Howard’s turn to get out. Kevin Durant was rumored to be on the fence — and he’s played anywhere and everywhere this summer. With the players being promised six figures and up to $1 million to do the tour (and giving them a platform to promote their brand internationally), for them to bail means something smelled fishy to them and their agents.
Some big names were still attached — Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin, Kevin Garnett — but that was not going to be enough.
Part of the players backing out seemed to be tied to optimism around the finalizing of an NBA labor deal. Now that has blown up again, at least for a little while, and it remains to be seen if that can breathe a little more life into it.
Probably not. It was a grandiose plan, but it has fallen like a Jenga tower. And all the king’s horses and all the king’s men….
Friday, 28 October 2011
Quick one.. There's alcohol to consume
1) London looks like its off. Dwight Howard has pulled out and all signs point to the NBA being back on by Monday
2) Matthew came THROUGH. Jordan 15.5's brand new. 2 kemp jerseys, a Jordan jersey, a car radio, 2 DVD box things and a stack of classic vinyl... Whattttttrtttrttt?!!!?
Crazy
Thanks so much.
Until Sunday...
2) Matthew came THROUGH. Jordan 15.5's brand new. 2 kemp jerseys, a Jordan jersey, a car radio, 2 DVD box things and a stack of classic vinyl... Whattttttrtttrttt?!!!?
Crazy
Thanks so much.
Until Sunday...
KB 2012
Heavy weekend in January!
Sunday 30th October @ Cougars 2
Friday 11th November vs Warriors 2
Wednesday 23rd November @ Merthyr **(likely to be rescheduled for 2012)
Friday 18th November @ Swansea 2
Friday 9th December vs West Wales
Friday 6th January vs Hunters
Sunday 8th January @ Crickhowell
Tuesday 17th Januarl @ RCT
Friday 27th January vs Cougars 2
Wednesday 1st February @ Warriors 2
Friday 10th February vs Merthyr
Friday 2nd March vs Swansea 2
Wednesday 14th March @ Hunters
Sunday 18th March @ West Wales
Friday 30th March vs Crickhowell
Friday 6th April vs RCT
Sunday 30th October @ Cougars 2
Friday 11th November vs Warriors 2
Wednesday 23rd November @ Merthyr **(likely to be rescheduled for 2012)
Friday 18th November @ Swansea 2
Friday 9th December vs West Wales
Friday 6th January vs Hunters
Sunday 8th January @ Crickhowell
Tuesday 17th Januarl @ RCT
Friday 27th January vs Cougars 2
Wednesday 1st February @ Warriors 2
Friday 10th February vs Merthyr
Friday 2nd March vs Swansea 2
Wednesday 14th March @ Hunters
Sunday 18th March @ West Wales
Friday 30th March vs Crickhowell
Friday 6th April vs RCT
NBA on London off
Friday could be the day.
But if not Friday it may be this weekend — the NBA season is close to being saved. Maybe not all of it, but most of it, enough to have an asterick-free, credible NBA season. Progress through two more days has everyone, even the participants, hopeful.
NBA Commissioner David Stern says it would be a failure if there is not a new NBA labor deal reached in the next few days.
“There’s no guarantee that we’re going to get a deal done but we’re going to give it a heck of a shot,” Stern said in a post-talks press conference (broadcast on NBA TV).
That statement was made after more than seven more hours of talks on Thursday. That followed a marathon 15-hour session Wednesday, and Friday morning the two sides will be back at it at 10:30 a.m.
There is a real sense of optimism that a deal is near, a framework that would start the clock toward the opening of training camps and the start of the NBA season around Dec. 1.
If you want a really good sign, Stern stood in the back of the players association press conference and laughed with union head Billy Hunter on issues. The two sides don’t go near each other’s press conferences when there is acrimony.
Reports are that progress was made on the luxury tax issue on Thursday, which had been one of the key sticking points of the talks so far. The owners had wanted a more punitive tax that kept big spending teams in line, the players wanted something more akin to the old system. We don’t know what that progress looks like but there are multiple reports of the gap on that issue being closed. We have heard that things such as the Bird rights (allowing teams to go over the cap to re-sign their own free agents) and allowing teams in the luxury tax to make trades will be part of the new deal, increasing player options on where to play and for how much.
“I think we’re within reach (on system issues), within striking distance of getting a deal,” Hunter said.
There are still big hurdles ahead, ones that could mean negotiations will need to go through the weekend or even into next week.
For one, the two sides have yet to talk about the split of basketball related income (BRI) — the revenue that comes into the league through ticket sales, television deals and just about everything else down to hot dog sales in the arenas. That has remained a key sticking point, the owners wanted a 50/50 split (which isn’t a true even divide, the owners take expenses off the top), while the players have not gone any lower than 52.5 percent. There had been a sense that if the “system” framework was in place BRI would be easier to divide, but that is not necessarily the case.
Stern said he expects everything to be discussed on Friday, and Hunter told Chris Sheridan BRI would be the first thing discussed Friday. (Which means a long meeting Friday is a good sign.)
One other challenge — once a deal is reached, Stern and Hunter need to sell the deal to their hardline constituencies. That has blown up previous progress in these talks (we’re looking at you, Kevin Garnett and Paul Allen).
But right now there is a real optimism around the league that a deal is close. Team general managers have cancelled scouting trips to be ready for a free agency period, team ticket sales offices have started making calls to renew seats and agents are starting to pitch teams about their clients (through back channels).
It feels like a deal is coming sooner rather than later. But after this long and bitter fight that has seen the first two weeks of the regular season cancelled, until Stern and Hunter are shaking hands on a podium nothing is certain.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
JR
The Chinese Basketball Association has an insanely high turnover rate for Western players who sign on. The basketball is different, but more so it’s the radical culture change that players struggle with, things like the food.
J.R. Smith is getting some of that, but he’s adjusting.
A fascinating post over at Sheridanhoops.com breaks down the good and the bad of being Smith, the most famous — and best — player in the Chinese league.
The good:
As the biggest name in team history, Smith also gets the best treatment. The team has hired a cook and two translators especially for him. For his relocation, Smith brought about 20 pieces of luggage, and the club arranged a room especially for those bags.
The bad:
Smith’s initial experience in China was not that good. The first problem was the time difference. On his first day in China, Smith woke up at 2 a.m. and found himself in such a strange environment, he didn’t know what to do.
He wanted to send a Twitter update, but encountered problems because Twitter is blocked in China. At last, he found a way to tweet through his Blackberry: “Dear China, the fact that u won’t let me work my Skype on my desktop or twitter is really pissing me off.” Then another one: “Not even YouTube wow this is ass!”
Smith is not going anywhere. His goal, he says, is to go Oscar Robertson and average a triple-double on the season. What’s more, when there is an NBA season Smith gets to come back as a free agent who could tip the balance of power. Well, let’s just hope there is a season to come back to.
J.R. Smith is getting some of that, but he’s adjusting.
A fascinating post over at Sheridanhoops.com breaks down the good and the bad of being Smith, the most famous — and best — player in the Chinese league.
The good:
As the biggest name in team history, Smith also gets the best treatment. The team has hired a cook and two translators especially for him. For his relocation, Smith brought about 20 pieces of luggage, and the club arranged a room especially for those bags.
The bad:
Smith’s initial experience in China was not that good. The first problem was the time difference. On his first day in China, Smith woke up at 2 a.m. and found himself in such a strange environment, he didn’t know what to do.
He wanted to send a Twitter update, but encountered problems because Twitter is blocked in China. At last, he found a way to tweet through his Blackberry: “Dear China, the fact that u won’t let me work my Skype on my desktop or twitter is really pissing me off.” Then another one: “Not even YouTube wow this is ass!”
Smith is not going anywhere. His goal, he says, is to go Oscar Robertson and average a triple-double on the season. What’s more, when there is an NBA season Smith gets to come back as a free agent who could tip the balance of power. Well, let’s just hope there is a season to come back to.
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Update 11:42
Word on the street is the owners have moved off a 50/50 BRI split, and Cubans luxury tax instead of cap suggestion is being considered.
What does this mean? Potential deal this week, NBA in December and...
****NO ALL STAR TOUR IN LONDON****
What does this mean? Potential deal this week, NBA in December and...
****NO ALL STAR TOUR IN LONDON****
11PM Update
You know that big planned international tour of players going all over the globe? The World All-Star Classic? The legs may have just come out from under it.
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul all have pulled out of it at the last minute, tweets ESPN’s Chris Broussard. This was on top of Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook having pulled out previously.
Darren Rovell of CNBC tweeted this on the same topic:
Reason LeBron not playing in NBA stars World Tour? Says he wants to train & spend time with family.
There are still other big names attached to the tour, including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, but it’s going to be hard to keep sponsors involved after some of the biggest names have pulled out.
You get the feeling the Jenga tower that was this tour is about to collapse.
Tickets — starting at $50 and going up to more than $450 — had already been on sale for the first game of the tour, Sunday in Puerto Rico. The tour is then scheduled to move on to London, Macau and Melbourne, Australia.
All these stars pulling out on the same day there is rumors of progress on the NBA labor front could lead one to be optimistic about the NBA getting its act together. Maybe. But it is also completely possible for this tour to collapse under its own weight.
LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul all have pulled out of it at the last minute, tweets ESPN’s Chris Broussard. This was on top of Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook having pulled out previously.
Darren Rovell of CNBC tweeted this on the same topic:
Reason LeBron not playing in NBA stars World Tour? Says he wants to train & spend time with family.
There are still other big names attached to the tour, including Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, but it’s going to be hard to keep sponsors involved after some of the biggest names have pulled out.
You get the feeling the Jenga tower that was this tour is about to collapse.
Tickets — starting at $50 and going up to more than $450 — had already been on sale for the first game of the tour, Sunday in Puerto Rico. The tour is then scheduled to move on to London, Macau and Melbourne, Australia.
All these stars pulling out on the same day there is rumors of progress on the NBA labor front could lead one to be optimistic about the NBA getting its act together. Maybe. But it is also completely possible for this tour to collapse under its own weight.
The O2 game
This is what the Mirror is reporting:
The scheduled London dates are November 1 and 3 at The O2, although as of 7.02am there's no sign of it on the arena's website. And this gives them (checks watch) a week to organise, promote and sell tickets - I'm not saying it can't be done, but there's not a lot of time, is there?
The O2 have said both the games are definitely ON and they are definitely NOT..
Keep locked right here and book some time off work in case :D
The scheduled London dates are November 1 and 3 at The O2, although as of 7.02am there's no sign of it on the arena's website. And this gives them (checks watch) a week to organise, promote and sell tickets - I'm not saying it can't be done, but there's not a lot of time, is there?
The O2 have said both the games are definitely ON and they are definitely NOT..
Keep locked right here and book some time off work in case :D
All Star Classic & More
The roster for the game happening in London the week after next (tickets on the O2 website):
Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant will headline the roster of 18 all-star players, sources said.
The remaining 14 players will be announced Wednesday. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Boozer, Tyson, Steve Nash, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Chris Kaman are among the candidates.
The Iverson Vegas Charity game list:
Confirmed players include: Amare Stoudemire (New York Knicks), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings), Lou Williams (Philadelphia 76ers), Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns), Chauncey Billups (New York Knicks), Al Harrington (Denver Nuggets), Stephen Jackson (Golden State Warriors), Monte Ellis (Golden State Warriors), Corey Maggette (Charlotte Bobcats), Matt Barnes (Los Angeles Lakers), David Lee (Golden State Warriors), James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder), Ryan Hollins (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets).
Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant will headline the roster of 18 all-star players, sources said.
The remaining 14 players will be announced Wednesday. LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Boozer, Tyson, Steve Nash, Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Chris Kaman are among the candidates.
The Iverson Vegas Charity game list:
Confirmed players include: Amare Stoudemire (New York Knicks), Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder), Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings), Lou Williams (Philadelphia 76ers), Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns), Chauncey Billups (New York Knicks), Al Harrington (Denver Nuggets), Stephen Jackson (Golden State Warriors), Monte Ellis (Golden State Warriors), Corey Maggette (Charlotte Bobcats), Matt Barnes (Los Angeles Lakers), David Lee (Golden State Warriors), James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder), Ryan Hollins (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets).
KG's pension
I once knew a dancer who blew out Shawn Marion. But that's a different story. For now.. KG's pension:
Kevin Garnett’s glare broke down the NBA negotiations a couple weeks ago.
Well, that’s not the truth. The owners spun that story, but do you think they fold just when KG stares? Right. KG is intimidating but not THAT intimidating
But it is fair to note that many of the hardliners from the players union are the most financially secure guys in the league. Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce for example. And that includes Garnett, according to Steve Aschburner at NBA.com.
In fact, Garnett’s self-funded pension (apart from his NBPA one) will be pretty plush. Two sources told NBA.com that the Celtics forward will still have $35 million coming after he retires. He’ll be due $5 million annually for seven years, the result of deferred salary Garnett and agent Andy Miller got in each of his last two contract extensions. Whatever portion is due from this season might be affected by games lost to the lockout, but it’s not as if Garnett’s financial spigot gets turned off next spring.
Garnett has made $270 million is salary alone during his career (prior to this season), so money is no object. Delay some of it. That actually is the smart thing to do.
But while KG is sitting pretty for years and playing the hardline, do other players feel that way? Maybe. Make no mistake the owners are trying to screw the players. But how long can those players put up with it?
Kevin Garnett’s glare broke down the NBA negotiations a couple weeks ago.
Well, that’s not the truth. The owners spun that story, but do you think they fold just when KG stares? Right. KG is intimidating but not THAT intimidating
But it is fair to note that many of the hardliners from the players union are the most financially secure guys in the league. Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce for example. And that includes Garnett, according to Steve Aschburner at NBA.com.
In fact, Garnett’s self-funded pension (apart from his NBPA one) will be pretty plush. Two sources told NBA.com that the Celtics forward will still have $35 million coming after he retires. He’ll be due $5 million annually for seven years, the result of deferred salary Garnett and agent Andy Miller got in each of his last two contract extensions. Whatever portion is due from this season might be affected by games lost to the lockout, but it’s not as if Garnett’s financial spigot gets turned off next spring.
Garnett has made $270 million is salary alone during his career (prior to this season), so money is no object. Delay some of it. That actually is the smart thing to do.
But while KG is sitting pretty for years and playing the hardline, do other players feel that way? Maybe. Make no mistake the owners are trying to screw the players. But how long can those players put up with it?
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Jus in time for Halloween
Forbes dead celebrity money list. No - its not a joke. Here goes.. And this is how much they earned in the last 12 months:
(Check page 2 for the OKC vid)
$170 million - Michael Jackson (died 2009)
$55 million - Elvis Presley (died 1977)
$27 million - Marilyn Monroe (died 1962)
$25 million - Charles Schulz (died 2000)
$12 million - John Lennon (died 1980)
$12 million - Elizabeth Taylor (died 2011)
$10 million - Albert Einstein (died 1955)
$9 million - Theodor Geisel (died 1991)
$7 million - Jimi Hendrix (died 1970)
$7 million - Stieg Larsson (died 2004)
$7 million - Steve McQueen (died 1980)
$7 million - Richard Rodgers (died 1979)
$6 million - George Harrison (died 2001)
$6 million - Bettie Page (died 2008)
$6 million - Andy Warhol (died 1987)
(Check page 2 for the OKC vid)
$170 million - Michael Jackson (died 2009)
$55 million - Elvis Presley (died 1977)
$27 million - Marilyn Monroe (died 1962)
$25 million - Charles Schulz (died 2000)
$12 million - John Lennon (died 1980)
$12 million - Elizabeth Taylor (died 2011)
$10 million - Albert Einstein (died 1955)
$9 million - Theodor Geisel (died 1991)
$7 million - Jimi Hendrix (died 1970)
$7 million - Stieg Larsson (died 2004)
$7 million - Steve McQueen (died 1980)
$7 million - Richard Rodgers (died 1979)
$6 million - George Harrison (died 2001)
$6 million - Bettie Page (died 2008)
$6 million - Andy Warhol (died 1987)
Some random musings
The funniest video Snoop had ever made about the 'diff. This farmer is a leg:
JMSN - Alone
Link on the youtube:
Kendrick on the Game track:
Pusha T new website with the soundcloud for his new track "What dreams are made of".
And something a little different,
You might like BADBADNOTGOOD, you should check em out:
While we on some other stuff, this my new fave website.
In other news Lohan goes playboy to fund that yayo habit:
Lindsay Lohan has lined up a new gig – as a Playboy girl. LiLo is posing for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine, a source told Access Hollywood. The source told Access Lohan is disrobing for the spread, which is being shot this week in LA. When contacted by Access, a rep for the actress said, “I cannot confirm at this time.” A spokesperson for Playboy also had no comment on the report.
JMSN - Alone
Link on the youtube:
Kendrick on the Game track:
Pusha T new website with the soundcloud for his new track "What dreams are made of".
And something a little different,
You might like BADBADNOTGOOD, you should check em out:
While we on some other stuff, this my new fave website.
In other news Lohan goes playboy to fund that yayo habit:
Lindsay Lohan has lined up a new gig – as a Playboy girl. LiLo is posing for Hugh Hefner’s Playboy magazine, a source told Access Hollywood. The source told Access Lohan is disrobing for the spread, which is being shot this week in LA. When contacted by Access, a rep for the actress said, “I cannot confirm at this time.” A spokesperson for Playboy also had no comment on the report.
The Takeover
So you cats think my life is just shoe boxes and shake and taste chicken?
Nope. Takeover?
Nope. Takeover?
Did I really get caught up in this?
Timmy Cowan.
Biggest phone snob who owned an iPhone 3g for most of 2011 there is.
Biggest phone snob who owned an iPhone 3g for most of 2011 there is.
Lets talk shoes..
B loves these:
Durant Nerf IV
They come with this
Greg finally sorted his life out and copped the Black/Red Lebron 9's (with black socks to match):
I like these:
Lebron 9 Miami Nights - Lebron James. Killing the shoe game while simultaneously killing his legacy.
Durant Nerf IV
They come with this
Greg finally sorted his life out and copped the Black/Red Lebron 9's (with black socks to match):
I like these:
Lebron 9 Miami Nights - Lebron James. Killing the shoe game while simultaneously killing his legacy.
David Moon
We all know David.
We know he has a Dope Website.
We all know he got the quick first step.
We know he can stroke Nylon better than most.
We know he lost last years shoe off by a landslide.
We know he holds the KB record for points in a season.
But did you know he hates being called Dai? He spent years in high school mollywhopping fellow kids north of the M4 for keeping the Dai moniker alive.
His chick calls him David. Or Dave. (Or Daddy Tallywhacker but that's another story). His fam calls him David. I'm tryna switch it up. It feels odd at first, but so did allot of things that I have now come to enjoy.
I'm sure we can do it.
We know he has a Dope Website.
We all know he got the quick first step.
We know he can stroke Nylon better than most.
We know he lost last years shoe off by a landslide.
We know he holds the KB record for points in a season.
But did you know he hates being called Dai? He spent years in high school mollywhopping fellow kids north of the M4 for keeping the Dai moniker alive.
His chick calls him David. Or Dave. (Or Daddy Tallywhacker but that's another story). His fam calls him David. I'm tryna switch it up. It feels odd at first, but so did allot of things that I have now come to enjoy.
I'm sure we can do it.
Ballllllllinnn
Rose is my favourite player (behind Durant, Jimmer, Tyreke, Wall, Westbrook and Scalabrine):
Top ten plays from OKC:
New Jordan Ad:
And an eBay auction that's much better than ours:
Why should you bid?
Because if you win, you get to play HORSE with Magic Johnson and James Worthy.
Not only that, you also get to watch a college basketball game — between Michigan State and North Carolina, who are both supposed to be good and are the alma maters of Magic and Worthy — on the USS Carl Vinson. That’s cool for a couple reasons. One, it’s the first game to be played on an aircraft carrier, so that’s neat. Two, the USS Carl Vinson is the boat that Osama Bin Laden’s body was dumped off after he was killed. So, double historic and not at all creepy.
Plus, President Obama is going to be in attendance, watching some basketball and brushing the dirt off his shoulder because of the Bin Laden stuff. That means you’ll be hooping in front of the President of the United States of America, and knowing him, he probably won’t be able to resist grabbing a ball and shooting around. That’s not a guarantee, but if he’s wearing his mom jeans and running shoes you know he’ll be looking to get some shots up.
The night’s capped off with “a major celebrity concert finale,” who will probably be the Black Eyed Peas, let’s be honest. Not a bad way to spend $250,000 or whatever the final bid ends up being. All the proceeds go to benefit the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, so not only are you having the night of your life, you’re also helping out the troops. It’s the best of both worlds.
Bidding ends in four days, so go grab your $250,000 and hop on eBay and put in a bid. Unless you have another way to play HORSE with two Hall of Famers, in which case, I’m all ears..
Top ten plays from OKC:
New Jordan Ad:
And an eBay auction that's much better than ours:
Why should you bid?
Because if you win, you get to play HORSE with Magic Johnson and James Worthy.
Not only that, you also get to watch a college basketball game — between Michigan State and North Carolina, who are both supposed to be good and are the alma maters of Magic and Worthy — on the USS Carl Vinson. That’s cool for a couple reasons. One, it’s the first game to be played on an aircraft carrier, so that’s neat. Two, the USS Carl Vinson is the boat that Osama Bin Laden’s body was dumped off after he was killed. So, double historic and not at all creepy.
Plus, President Obama is going to be in attendance, watching some basketball and brushing the dirt off his shoulder because of the Bin Laden stuff. That means you’ll be hooping in front of the President of the United States of America, and knowing him, he probably won’t be able to resist grabbing a ball and shooting around. That’s not a guarantee, but if he’s wearing his mom jeans and running shoes you know he’ll be looking to get some shots up.
The night’s capped off with “a major celebrity concert finale,” who will probably be the Black Eyed Peas, let’s be honest. Not a bad way to spend $250,000 or whatever the final bid ends up being. All the proceeds go to benefit the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, so not only are you having the night of your life, you’re also helping out the troops. It’s the best of both worlds.
Bidding ends in four days, so go grab your $250,000 and hop on eBay and put in a bid. Unless you have another way to play HORSE with two Hall of Famers, in which case, I’m all ears..
Lebron dunking in year 8
Reminds me of B & Money.
As coincidental as any encounter can be, James McDonald first met LeBron James while serving as his sixth, seventh and eighth grade gym teacher at Riedinger Middle School in Akron, Ohio. As the school’s annual student-faculty basketball game approached during James’ eighth grade year, little did McDonald know that he would be a witness to a special moment in history as LeBron James would go on to execute his first-ever dunk. With an almost prescient initiative, McDonald kept the rim to serve as a memento of the event. In Nike Presents: “First Dunk,” McDonald briefly discusses his observations of a young LeBron James and of the student-faculty athletic game that would eventually lead to James’ impressive first-ever dunk.
James Donald was a physical education teacher in the Akron public school system for 28 years, primarily at Riedinger Middle School where he became LeBron’s gym teacher for James’ sixth, seventh and eighth grade years. Mr. Donald witnessed history late in LeBron’s eighth grade year when, during the annual student-faculty basketball game, LBJ executed his first-ever dunk. Mr. Donald kept the rim, featured opposite, as a memento of the event.
“We have a student-faculty game at the end of every year. We use it as a fundraiser, and everybody pays a buck to get in. It’s right during the day—not after school—so everybody comes and the gym is packed.
That year the eighth grade team was unbeaten. So we played ‘We are the champions’ by Queen before the game. We were pumping it up and the kids were going crazy. Then we introduced the starting lineups. We introduced the teachers and we came out. And at that point the teachers we were undefeated. If I was there for 20 years, we were 19-1, that was the only game the teachers ever got beat. Some of the games were tough and some of the games were so easy that we let up so we wouldn’t win by thirty. But those guys were so good. They ran us to death. We were two steps behind them, if not more and they were probably up by twenty at the half.
He got a steal probably just on the other side of half court, took it all the way on the right hand side and, just took it home. It wasn’t one of his signature dunks but for an eighth-grader he was just long and lanky and went up and dunked it. The kids just went crazy. First dunk in a game.
I saw LeBron play basketball day after day after day, because he’d eat lunch and then come to the gym for lunch recess. But I never saw him even attempt to dunk before that. I don’t know if it was because the hype of the game, but I can’t say that he was saving it up because how would he know he’d get the chance? You can’t plan that ahead of time in a game like that.
It was like it was meant to be. He had the perfect steal. Got the break away. I was probably about 20 feet behind him, thinking there’s no way I’m going to catch him or even run after him. Then the last three steps he just elevated and took it home. It was a total surprise. And he could already get over the rim. He was probably over the rim ten inches. I think the game came to a stop for just a second and he jogged back to the other end of the court. That was the exclamation point, like, ‘Hey, we beat you guys.’”
As coincidental as any encounter can be, James McDonald first met LeBron James while serving as his sixth, seventh and eighth grade gym teacher at Riedinger Middle School in Akron, Ohio. As the school’s annual student-faculty basketball game approached during James’ eighth grade year, little did McDonald know that he would be a witness to a special moment in history as LeBron James would go on to execute his first-ever dunk. With an almost prescient initiative, McDonald kept the rim to serve as a memento of the event. In Nike Presents: “First Dunk,” McDonald briefly discusses his observations of a young LeBron James and of the student-faculty athletic game that would eventually lead to James’ impressive first-ever dunk.
James Donald was a physical education teacher in the Akron public school system for 28 years, primarily at Riedinger Middle School where he became LeBron’s gym teacher for James’ sixth, seventh and eighth grade years. Mr. Donald witnessed history late in LeBron’s eighth grade year when, during the annual student-faculty basketball game, LBJ executed his first-ever dunk. Mr. Donald kept the rim, featured opposite, as a memento of the event.
“We have a student-faculty game at the end of every year. We use it as a fundraiser, and everybody pays a buck to get in. It’s right during the day—not after school—so everybody comes and the gym is packed.
That year the eighth grade team was unbeaten. So we played ‘We are the champions’ by Queen before the game. We were pumping it up and the kids were going crazy. Then we introduced the starting lineups. We introduced the teachers and we came out. And at that point the teachers we were undefeated. If I was there for 20 years, we were 19-1, that was the only game the teachers ever got beat. Some of the games were tough and some of the games were so easy that we let up so we wouldn’t win by thirty. But those guys were so good. They ran us to death. We were two steps behind them, if not more and they were probably up by twenty at the half.
He got a steal probably just on the other side of half court, took it all the way on the right hand side and, just took it home. It wasn’t one of his signature dunks but for an eighth-grader he was just long and lanky and went up and dunked it. The kids just went crazy. First dunk in a game.
I saw LeBron play basketball day after day after day, because he’d eat lunch and then come to the gym for lunch recess. But I never saw him even attempt to dunk before that. I don’t know if it was because the hype of the game, but I can’t say that he was saving it up because how would he know he’d get the chance? You can’t plan that ahead of time in a game like that.
It was like it was meant to be. He had the perfect steal. Got the break away. I was probably about 20 feet behind him, thinking there’s no way I’m going to catch him or even run after him. Then the last three steps he just elevated and took it home. It was a total surprise. And he could already get over the rim. He was probably over the rim ten inches. I think the game came to a stop for just a second and he jogged back to the other end of the court. That was the exclamation point, like, ‘Hey, we beat you guys.’”
Monday, 24 October 2011
KB tee's for sale
From last years fundraiser we have 3 tee's left. All large, one red two dunkman green.
Reduced to £5 to add to the KB fund if anyone wants.
Hit me up.
Reduced to £5 to add to the KB fund if anyone wants.
Hit me up.
Oh Japan, you so silly
For two weeks (Nov. 1-15), you can walk into any Burger King in Japan, order a Whopper set meal (Whopper, fries and drink) and once you finish that first Whopper and fries, you can order and eat as many Whoppers as you want for the next 30 minutes.
The Jail breakers
Computer hackers rarely show their faces in public, allowing the stereotype of the socially awkward loner sitting in the dark in front of a computer screen to flourish.
But the reality is rather different - at least when it comes to jailbreaking - a specialist type of hacking which involves removing the restrictions that manufacturers place on their devices and then changing the way they work.
Many of the world's best known jailbreakers converged on London last month to talk about their activities at a conference called MyGreatFest.
The event was entirely dedicated to the jailbreaking "scene", many of the attendees turned out to be articulate and highly charismatic entrepreneurs who simply use hacking as a learning tool and stepping stone to careers in business.
Tinkering with toasters
One such hacker is James Whelton, a smooth-talking 20-year-old from Cork.
Mr Whelton started tinkering with computers at the age of nine, and began programming soon afterwards. "By the age of 12 I was wiring toasters to computer motherboards and learning about voltages the hard way, and more recently I have been developing iPhone apps," he said.
His introduction into the world of jailbreaking was accidental, and happened when he won a pink iPod Nano.
"Basically I was on a plane and I was bored, so I just started tinkering with it and found something interesting," he explained.
He discovered a vulnerability in the iPod's software that could possibly be exploited to jailbreak the device. It was unusual enough that he wrote about it on his blog, before going to bed.
"When I woke up I was stunned to discover that the blog had been viewed over a quarter of a million times around the world. I was absolutely gobsmacked," Mr Whelton said.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
I did my final exams on a Friday, and became a chief executive on Monday.”
James Whelton
Within a few days he was contacted by another hacker known as DarkMalloc - in reality a 16 year old from Wales called Joshua Tucker - who introduced Whelton to other hackers through internet chat rooms.
"There was me messing around with this iPod, and the next minute I had been brought in to the presence of some really clever guys: big names in the hacking scene like chronic and ih8sn0w," he said.
"It was pretty intimidating, but they are all extremely nice guys." Chronic - a teenager from the United States called Will Strafach - is the founder of a jailbreaking team called Chronic Dev while ih8sn0w, a 16 year old called Steven from Canada, is the developer of several well-known jailbreaking tools.
At this point Mr Whelton was spending seven to eight hours every night talking to other hackers on the internet while working on jailbreaking his iPod and doing school homework.
Inevitably, he said, something had to give. "I had final school exams coming up so I made sure our little community could continue without me, and then I left and hit the books."
Instead of taking up a place at university earlier this month, Whelton decided to use the exposure that his jailbreaking activities has earned him to help get investors for a software company called Disruptive Developments that he founded in June.
"I did my final exams on a Friday, and became a chief executive on Monday," he said. Mr Whelton has also set up a network of computer clubs called Coder Dojo, which runs free courses for children to introduce them to programming.
App boy
Aaron Ash is another hacker-turned-entrepreneur who appeared at MyGreatFest.
When Mr Ash was fourteen he got his hands on a calculator which he programmed to do his homework, and mowed people's lawns near his home in Peachtree City, Georgia, to earn money to buy the parts for a computer he built.
After teaching himself to program he worked on video games before getting an Apple iPhone and turning his attention to that.
The young Mr Ash wanted to write apps for his phone, but it turned out that at seventeen he was too young to sign up to Apple's official iPhone development program.
Aaron Ash paid for college with his homebrew applications.
That left him with no alternative but to become a hacker and write apps for jailbroken phones. "This was actually even cooler to my mind, because it let me write programs that change the way the iPhone works - something that you can't do if you are an official developer," he said.
"Although making money was in the back of my mind, having fun was all that I was really interested in."
This involved programming five to six hours a night after school and all day at weekends - something his parents tolerated so long as his school work didn't suffer, Ash recalled.
Mr Ash started selling his programs, called Barrel and Multiflow, but at this point he came face to face with the darker side of the jailbreaking scene: when a device has been jailbroken it can run pirated copies of apps that hackers like Ash produce.
"My Barrel app is being used by three and half million people, but the proportion of people who actually paid for it is now about one in a hundred," he said.
Despite the rampant piracy Ash has earned over $100,000 from his applications - easily enough, he said, to cover his computer science education so far at the University of Georgia.
The problem he faces now is that he knows more than most of the teachers. "I am not really learning much and I think the time would better be spent in self-education," he said.
"I'm actually considering leaving uni and starting a software contracting company with a friend I met in the jailbreaking scene."
Poached
"Going straight" at an early age certainly seems to be the pattern in the jailbreaking world, and the scene has lost several of its senior figures to the lure of business.
George Hotz, the twenty two year old hacker known as Geohot who was responsible for programs that jailbreak Apple's devices as well as Sony's PS3, left the jailbreaking scene earlier this year to take up a full-time job with Facebook.
And Nicholas Allegra - the nineteen year old jailbreaking guru better known in the hacking world as Comex - also found an alternative career.
Apple was apparently so impressed with has programming skills that last month it persuaded him to abandon his jailbreaking activities and take up an internship at the company instead.
It seems that the old notion of poacher turned gamekeeper still exists, even in our technology oriented world.
But the reality is rather different - at least when it comes to jailbreaking - a specialist type of hacking which involves removing the restrictions that manufacturers place on their devices and then changing the way they work.
Many of the world's best known jailbreakers converged on London last month to talk about their activities at a conference called MyGreatFest.
The event was entirely dedicated to the jailbreaking "scene", many of the attendees turned out to be articulate and highly charismatic entrepreneurs who simply use hacking as a learning tool and stepping stone to careers in business.
Tinkering with toasters
One such hacker is James Whelton, a smooth-talking 20-year-old from Cork.
Mr Whelton started tinkering with computers at the age of nine, and began programming soon afterwards. "By the age of 12 I was wiring toasters to computer motherboards and learning about voltages the hard way, and more recently I have been developing iPhone apps," he said.
His introduction into the world of jailbreaking was accidental, and happened when he won a pink iPod Nano.
"Basically I was on a plane and I was bored, so I just started tinkering with it and found something interesting," he explained.
He discovered a vulnerability in the iPod's software that could possibly be exploited to jailbreak the device. It was unusual enough that he wrote about it on his blog, before going to bed.
"When I woke up I was stunned to discover that the blog had been viewed over a quarter of a million times around the world. I was absolutely gobsmacked," Mr Whelton said.
Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
I did my final exams on a Friday, and became a chief executive on Monday.”
James Whelton
Within a few days he was contacted by another hacker known as DarkMalloc - in reality a 16 year old from Wales called Joshua Tucker - who introduced Whelton to other hackers through internet chat rooms.
"There was me messing around with this iPod, and the next minute I had been brought in to the presence of some really clever guys: big names in the hacking scene like chronic and ih8sn0w," he said.
"It was pretty intimidating, but they are all extremely nice guys." Chronic - a teenager from the United States called Will Strafach - is the founder of a jailbreaking team called Chronic Dev while ih8sn0w, a 16 year old called Steven from Canada, is the developer of several well-known jailbreaking tools.
At this point Mr Whelton was spending seven to eight hours every night talking to other hackers on the internet while working on jailbreaking his iPod and doing school homework.
Inevitably, he said, something had to give. "I had final school exams coming up so I made sure our little community could continue without me, and then I left and hit the books."
Instead of taking up a place at university earlier this month, Whelton decided to use the exposure that his jailbreaking activities has earned him to help get investors for a software company called Disruptive Developments that he founded in June.
"I did my final exams on a Friday, and became a chief executive on Monday," he said. Mr Whelton has also set up a network of computer clubs called Coder Dojo, which runs free courses for children to introduce them to programming.
App boy
Aaron Ash is another hacker-turned-entrepreneur who appeared at MyGreatFest.
When Mr Ash was fourteen he got his hands on a calculator which he programmed to do his homework, and mowed people's lawns near his home in Peachtree City, Georgia, to earn money to buy the parts for a computer he built.
After teaching himself to program he worked on video games before getting an Apple iPhone and turning his attention to that.
The young Mr Ash wanted to write apps for his phone, but it turned out that at seventeen he was too young to sign up to Apple's official iPhone development program.
Aaron Ash paid for college with his homebrew applications.
That left him with no alternative but to become a hacker and write apps for jailbroken phones. "This was actually even cooler to my mind, because it let me write programs that change the way the iPhone works - something that you can't do if you are an official developer," he said.
"Although making money was in the back of my mind, having fun was all that I was really interested in."
This involved programming five to six hours a night after school and all day at weekends - something his parents tolerated so long as his school work didn't suffer, Ash recalled.
Mr Ash started selling his programs, called Barrel and Multiflow, but at this point he came face to face with the darker side of the jailbreaking scene: when a device has been jailbroken it can run pirated copies of apps that hackers like Ash produce.
"My Barrel app is being used by three and half million people, but the proportion of people who actually paid for it is now about one in a hundred," he said.
Despite the rampant piracy Ash has earned over $100,000 from his applications - easily enough, he said, to cover his computer science education so far at the University of Georgia.
The problem he faces now is that he knows more than most of the teachers. "I am not really learning much and I think the time would better be spent in self-education," he said.
"I'm actually considering leaving uni and starting a software contracting company with a friend I met in the jailbreaking scene."
Poached
"Going straight" at an early age certainly seems to be the pattern in the jailbreaking world, and the scene has lost several of its senior figures to the lure of business.
George Hotz, the twenty two year old hacker known as Geohot who was responsible for programs that jailbreak Apple's devices as well as Sony's PS3, left the jailbreaking scene earlier this year to take up a full-time job with Facebook.
And Nicholas Allegra - the nineteen year old jailbreaking guru better known in the hacking world as Comex - also found an alternative career.
Apple was apparently so impressed with has programming skills that last month it persuaded him to abandon his jailbreaking activities and take up an internship at the company instead.
It seems that the old notion of poacher turned gamekeeper still exists, even in our technology oriented world.
Here's one we made earlier:
Hopes for the club during the upcoming season:
Getting some silverware would be nice, but beating teams like Warriors, RCT and Swansea will also be great.
In your opinion, what is the most important thing KB needs to do or improve to win?
1) PATIENCE and EXECUTION
We don't have any patience to create good well planned execution. Too many turnovers! We steal the ball and then lose it trying to make a fast bucket, or stupid inbound pass (usually to top of key rather than open guy stood next to in-bounder. or stupid no look pass, or shooting before even trying to swing the ball looking for inside options (I know u tell our shooters to shoot if open but they are always open at 3 point land and although we have good shooters we should be taking more high percentage shots, close to the basket than shooting 3's). We can always shoot a 3 when we have tested their inside game; we are never short of options in shooting 3's (Dai, Mike, Tim, and Omar). We don't even drive n kick.
It used to pith me right off running all the way down court for someone to brick a 3. It was also tiring and annoying for us all to have to run down court watch a shot then run back (this is not just 3's this includes shots that happen within the 1st 5-10 seconds of us having the ball in their court. Players want to touch the ball even if for a second to see how defenders react, feel part of a team, they might see something others don’t see. For example many times I would be on the break and the other person would have the ball and go alone rather than pass to me, wait for a defender to get on me then me give it back. All of this led to more frustration, if we could just keep ball and cool out and play our game we would do really well.......If we got the ball then they can’t score.
2) TEAMWORK
(Communication and comradery). Not enough talking, celebrating or constructive criticism. I feel if we are all in a good mood, chatting etc and high 5ing, we are good from the get go. I can’t usually tell in the warm up how people feel and there pre-game jitters/excitement levels. If there isn’t enough talk or enough smiling faces then it’s usually a negative start. And most would agree we almost always start bad. Swansea @home we didn’t and look what happened there!
3) BOXING OUT!
4) USING THE PICK.
Again this is a PRIME example of point number one. People not having the patience to wait for one and use it to properly to execute a play/defender.
Running before the play, going too wide, setting them in the wrong place on the court.
Who, in your opinion, is the player most important to KB's success?
No one individual is at all. No super stars on our team. Do you think Mike would have won as much without Pippen, Rodman etc?
I been watching the NBA classics and I was blind (at my younger age) to see how important Pippen and Rodman were. Not only did they have their own game but they knew where mike would be/when to get him the ball and when to get the fudge out of his way.
What would you like to get out of pre-season training?
Everyone on the same page.
Thought's on KB's off season pick-ups:
Greg will be one of the top 2 players leading in rebounds GUARANTEED.
Getting some silverware would be nice, but beating teams like Warriors, RCT and Swansea will also be great.
In your opinion, what is the most important thing KB needs to do or improve to win?
1) PATIENCE and EXECUTION
We don't have any patience to create good well planned execution. Too many turnovers! We steal the ball and then lose it trying to make a fast bucket, or stupid inbound pass (usually to top of key rather than open guy stood next to in-bounder. or stupid no look pass, or shooting before even trying to swing the ball looking for inside options (I know u tell our shooters to shoot if open but they are always open at 3 point land and although we have good shooters we should be taking more high percentage shots, close to the basket than shooting 3's). We can always shoot a 3 when we have tested their inside game; we are never short of options in shooting 3's (Dai, Mike, Tim, and Omar). We don't even drive n kick.
It used to pith me right off running all the way down court for someone to brick a 3. It was also tiring and annoying for us all to have to run down court watch a shot then run back (this is not just 3's this includes shots that happen within the 1st 5-10 seconds of us having the ball in their court. Players want to touch the ball even if for a second to see how defenders react, feel part of a team, they might see something others don’t see. For example many times I would be on the break and the other person would have the ball and go alone rather than pass to me, wait for a defender to get on me then me give it back. All of this led to more frustration, if we could just keep ball and cool out and play our game we would do really well.......If we got the ball then they can’t score.
2) TEAMWORK
(Communication and comradery). Not enough talking, celebrating or constructive criticism. I feel if we are all in a good mood, chatting etc and high 5ing, we are good from the get go. I can’t usually tell in the warm up how people feel and there pre-game jitters/excitement levels. If there isn’t enough talk or enough smiling faces then it’s usually a negative start. And most would agree we almost always start bad. Swansea @home we didn’t and look what happened there!
3) BOXING OUT!
4) USING THE PICK.
Again this is a PRIME example of point number one. People not having the patience to wait for one and use it to properly to execute a play/defender.
Running before the play, going too wide, setting them in the wrong place on the court.
Who, in your opinion, is the player most important to KB's success?
No one individual is at all. No super stars on our team. Do you think Mike would have won as much without Pippen, Rodman etc?
I been watching the NBA classics and I was blind (at my younger age) to see how important Pippen and Rodman were. Not only did they have their own game but they knew where mike would be/when to get him the ball and when to get the fudge out of his way.
What would you like to get out of pre-season training?
Everyone on the same page.
Thought's on KB's off season pick-ups:
Greg will be one of the top 2 players leading in rebounds GUARANTEED.
Sunday, 23 October 2011
KB on Ebay
So yeah I haven't had a chance to get on and link this but some of the donations have started making their way to ebay.
You can check the auctions HERE
If you have something to give please let me know and we'll get this thing moving..
Thanks for all the donations so far
You can check the auctions HERE
If you have something to give please let me know and we'll get this thing moving..
Thanks for all the donations so far
Locked out till 2012?
This is funny. Lebron goes to Liverpool. Gerrard gives Lebron a Liverpool James jersey. Lebron in return gives Gerrard a Heat James jersey. Tool:
The now infamous Rondo pass:
One for Greg.. Kevin McHale:
And Some Jokes:
The now infamous Rondo pass:
One for Greg.. Kevin McHale:
And Some Jokes:
Jérémie Périn Does a Music Video
If you watch this, you don't watch it for the music. Or the animation.
It is weird.
It is weird.
So then.. Settling..
Now I know some of you guys aren't as shallow as me.. but this is crazy.
Mark Zuckerberg. Legend. Net worth of $17 billion. Not Million. Billion.
With his chick.
Crazy. This is more me. Jessie Andrews.
jessieandrews.tumblr.com
Mark Zuckerberg. Legend. Net worth of $17 billion. Not Million. Billion.
With his chick.
Crazy. This is more me. Jessie Andrews.
jessieandrews.tumblr.com
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Iverson back on the scene
Ladies and gentlemen, open your hearts and prepare to let The Answer back into your lives. From Yahoo! Sports:
Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson is hosting the Las Vegas Superstar Challenge on Nov. 12-13, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The tournament includes four teams with captains, including Iverson, who will recruit players for their respective teams. NBA All-Stars who could participate include Kevin Durant, Amar’e Stoudemire and Paul Pierce, sources said. Iverson is expected to announce the participants for all four teams in Las Vegas next week. The winner of the Nov. 12 games at Thomas & Mack Center will play in a championship game the next day. The Nov. 12 games are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET to allow players to attend the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Marquez fight that evening.
via Iverson plans tourney with NBA players – NBA – Yahoo! Sports.
Iverson was last seen in a mini-feud with his team in Turkey, with his tenure only lasting a short time. It’s not clear whether Iverson’s just throwing the basketball bash to have some fun or if this is his way of trying to get back on the NBA radar.
Was anyone else stunned by the fact that Iverson’s only 36? Steve Nash is older than Iverson. If ever there was an example of how NBA mileage and not age is the determining factor in the loss of ability with time, it’s that. Iverson would be perfect in these exhibition settings, though. Even at this point, with no defense and the freewheeling style, it’s made for Iverson’s creativity. He won’t drop 40+ or anything, but the idea of him running next to Durant is enough to get me interested, and I’ve sworn off all the exhibitions.
Former NBA All-Star Allen Iverson is hosting the Las Vegas Superstar Challenge on Nov. 12-13, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The tournament includes four teams with captains, including Iverson, who will recruit players for their respective teams. NBA All-Stars who could participate include Kevin Durant, Amar’e Stoudemire and Paul Pierce, sources said. Iverson is expected to announce the participants for all four teams in Las Vegas next week. The winner of the Nov. 12 games at Thomas & Mack Center will play in a championship game the next day. The Nov. 12 games are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET to allow players to attend the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Marquez fight that evening.
via Iverson plans tourney with NBA players – NBA – Yahoo! Sports.
Iverson was last seen in a mini-feud with his team in Turkey, with his tenure only lasting a short time. It’s not clear whether Iverson’s just throwing the basketball bash to have some fun or if this is his way of trying to get back on the NBA radar.
Was anyone else stunned by the fact that Iverson’s only 36? Steve Nash is older than Iverson. If ever there was an example of how NBA mileage and not age is the determining factor in the loss of ability with time, it’s that. Iverson would be perfect in these exhibition settings, though. Even at this point, with no defense and the freewheeling style, it’s made for Iverson’s creativity. He won’t drop 40+ or anything, but the idea of him running next to Durant is enough to get me interested, and I’ve sworn off all the exhibitions.
Thursday, 20 October 2011
A Lockout update
The reviews of federal mediator George Cohen from both sides out of the 30 hours of NBA labor negotiations this week were positive. They said he was able to take the emotions out of the talks, made progress on smaller issues and tried to build momentum to big ones.
Then it all blew apart today, and Cohen basically threw up his hands and walked out of the room.
He was a lot more kind than that officially, but read his statement below and tell me that’s not what you take away from it.
“As a follow up to the NBA’s and NBA Players Association agreeing to my invitation to conduct negotiations under the auspices of the FMCS, three days of mediation have taken place. During this period, a wide variety of issues were addressed in a professional, thoughtful manner, consistent with what one would expect to take place in a constructive collective bargaining setting.
“Regrettably, however, the parties have not achieved an overall agreement, nor have they been able to resolve the strongly held, competing positions that separated them on core issues.
“In these circumstances, after carefully reviewing all of the events that have transpired, it is the considered judgment of myself and Deputy Director Scot Beckenbaugh, who has been engaged with me throughout this process, that no useful purpose would be served by requesting the parties to continue the mediation process at this time. For our part, the Agency has advised the parties that we will be willing and prepared to continue to facilitate any future discussions upon their mutual request.”
In other words: “We give up, you’re on your own.”
Which is bad, bad news for NBA fans.
No further talks scheduled :/
Then it all blew apart today, and Cohen basically threw up his hands and walked out of the room.
He was a lot more kind than that officially, but read his statement below and tell me that’s not what you take away from it.
“As a follow up to the NBA’s and NBA Players Association agreeing to my invitation to conduct negotiations under the auspices of the FMCS, three days of mediation have taken place. During this period, a wide variety of issues were addressed in a professional, thoughtful manner, consistent with what one would expect to take place in a constructive collective bargaining setting.
“Regrettably, however, the parties have not achieved an overall agreement, nor have they been able to resolve the strongly held, competing positions that separated them on core issues.
“In these circumstances, after carefully reviewing all of the events that have transpired, it is the considered judgment of myself and Deputy Director Scot Beckenbaugh, who has been engaged with me throughout this process, that no useful purpose would be served by requesting the parties to continue the mediation process at this time. For our part, the Agency has advised the parties that we will be willing and prepared to continue to facilitate any future discussions upon their mutual request.”
In other words: “We give up, you’re on your own.”
Which is bad, bad news for NBA fans.
No further talks scheduled :/
Deron Blogging
New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams is over in Turkey, playing pro basketball for Beskitas, and he’s blogging about the whole experience on his website. Here’s a quick excerpt:
This is my first year playing international ball, so I’m still just trying to figure everything out with regard to my role. Obviously I’ve played in the Olympics with the same style of play, but that was still different because all of my teammates were American. They’ve actually been playing me at the two guard a lot here. Whatever I can do to help the team, I’m willing. I don’t have any personal goals or stats I’m looking for over here; I just want to stay in shape, play basketball and have fun.
Williams is a big point guard, and he is a very good shooter, so him spending some time playing the two-guard position could be an interesting development — we’ll see if Williams comes back from his European sojurn with any new wrinkles to his game at the NBA level. For more on Williams’ thoughts on how his coach only occasionally yells in Turkish during practices, how Deron didn’t realize the importance of team colors when he came to Turkey, and Turkish life in general, google him!
This is my first year playing international ball, so I’m still just trying to figure everything out with regard to my role. Obviously I’ve played in the Olympics with the same style of play, but that was still different because all of my teammates were American. They’ve actually been playing me at the two guard a lot here. Whatever I can do to help the team, I’m willing. I don’t have any personal goals or stats I’m looking for over here; I just want to stay in shape, play basketball and have fun.
Williams is a big point guard, and he is a very good shooter, so him spending some time playing the two-guard position could be an interesting development — we’ll see if Williams comes back from his European sojurn with any new wrinkles to his game at the NBA level. For more on Williams’ thoughts on how his coach only occasionally yells in Turkish during practices, how Deron didn’t realize the importance of team colors when he came to Turkey, and Turkish life in general, google him!
Kevin in ESPN
KEVIN DURANT HAS SEEN THE YOUTUBE VIDEOS. The ones where he drains so many threes the crowd rushes the court to touch the hem of his garment. The ones where his step-backs and crossovers turn defenders into extras from The Walking Dead. The ones where, with his Bambi gait, he shuts down more crap than Congress. The ones where he out-LeBrons LeBron. On his extended summer vacation, Durant took his game to the playground courts of LA, DC and NYC. The highlights became the "Lazy Sunday" of the lockout. On them, freed from the formality of the NBA, Durant plays with frivolity. Nothing is at stake. The game is just the game. And he is just a kid, standing on the court, letting the crowd love him.
DURANT RAINED 48 POINTS at the CP3 Foundation All-Star Game in early October. Scored 50 a week later at the Drew vs. Goodman rematch. In one now-legendary August game at Harlem's Rucker Park, he dropped 66 points, his shots falling hard like a fat lady's pants. There were more than 150 clips of the game on YouTube.
By mid-October, the most popular one, Kevin Durant Catches Fire in Harlem, had 3.2 million views. To watch it is to witness a crowd growing incredulous, then delirious. To watch it is to see a man having a moment.
It's a month after the videos first began circulating, and Durant is eating wings at Hooters. He does not register the orange-and-tan waitresses or their tank tops. His eyes are fixed on flat screens and football. "This summer?" he asks, wrinkling his forehead. "All I was doing was hooping. I didn't feel any different. It wasn't anything I hadn't done before."
When told that the word going around the hoops world is that the games prove he's finally grown up, that baby Durant has at long last become a man, that he'll emerge from the lockout as the league's new alpha male and claim a fistful of rings for his long-suffering franchise, he scoffs. "I did it because I wanted to play," he says. "Simple."
At 23, Durant looks both older and younger than he is. His face still stubbornly holds on to its round-cheeked boyishness, a teenage Jamie Foxx. But his eyes seem from another, darker time -- wiser, more resigned. Durant insists that the player people swooned over on the playground is the same player who dons the royal-blue Thunder uniform. He figures that the lockout just left people hungry, that a saltine tastes like steak to a starving man.
"I felt like I was just being me," he says, swallowing a fried cheese stick. His pickup games were not, he stresses, about PR, nor were they about staying in the lockout limelight. "I was actually surprised by the attention it got," he says with some chagrin. "I wasn't doing it to get noticed."
He says "noticed" the way some people say "cancer." Notice is not something Durant enjoys much. This too is evident in the videos, where even at Rucker, after the fans erupt in a roar of gratitude, Durant doesn't smile. Or smirk. Or nod, hell yeah. His face remains impassive, Easter Island flat, as hysteria swells around him like a tidal wave. "I keep my feelings inside," he says. "I don't want people to see."
He's always been that way, as deep as still water. He never fussed as a baby, never acted out as a kid. He sucked his finger, but the doctor told his mother, "Children who do that are very self-sufficient," so she stopped worrying. When Durant and his older brother Tony battled, she forced them to hug it out until they made up, embrace for minutes if necessary, a remedy that ended only when they kissed each other on the cheek.
"Kevin is understated, a gentle spirit," says his mom, Wanda Pratt, 44. "And he views all people, no matter what they've done or how they've lived, as inherently good." She sighs. "It is a luxury to be able to look at people that way."
There's a Gumpian sweetness about Durant, a prevailing sentimentality. His Nike shoes feature the initials of his grandmother, mother, father, brother and childhood coaches -- including Big Chucky, a mentor who was killed six years ago outside Durant's hometown of Washington, D.C., shot dead on the street at age 35, after which there was a brief eclipse in the sunshine of Durant's outlook. He concluded that the nice way was maybe for wimps, that he should butch up, push back. He seethed on the court. His game, in turn, suffered. He was only 16, but he recognized that attitude "wasn't for me," that he was never meant to be hard. "I don't understand how people get joy out of hurting others," he says. He recommitted to hope and faith. Grew sweeter. Wrote "Keep Positive!" on every shoe. "I don't think I've met anyone who says, 'I don't like him,'" says Pratt. What, after all, is not to like?
"His image is so clean," says Thunder teammate Nick Collison, who at 31 qualifies as team elder statesman. "People think he's a choirboy." Isn't he? Collison mulls it over. Laughs. Says yes. "He's just a kid, a really good kid. I hope people don't put too much pressure on him."
Martin Schoeller for ESPN The Magazine
Durant has no interest in stepping into the spotlight. He just wants to win.
A DOZEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY don't know about Kevin Durant:
He has never been in love.
He has a music production studio in his house.
He has been known to rap.
His back tattoo took eight hours.
It isn't finished.
His inner voice is often "just a buzzing noise."
He used to sleep in church.
He has no regrets (not even missing the prom).
"My whole time at school, I went to one party," he says. "I was in basketball shorts and shoes. I didn't like it. It was out of my realm. I was very shy. I didn't have many friends. To this day, I still walk with my head down."
If he had 48 hours to live, he would spend it with his family ... in the gym.
The last time he cried was in 2010, when the Thunder lost to the Lakers in the playoffs.
The first time somebody wanted a picture with him was when he was a junior in high school. "I asked, 'Why?' And they said, 'Because you are going to be famous someday.'"
THE WORLD NEEDS ITS GREATS. Collectively we yearn for The One who will rise above the rest, showing us by his ascent that there is purpose in this life. For a while, this was LeBron, now tainted goods. Kobe, stitched together, a wunderkind turned sage, is not going gently, but going nonetheless. And D-Wade, like our country's infrastructure, isn't aging well. Which leaves Durant to fill the aspirational sneakers MJ left behind -- even if hand-me-downs don't always fit.
"I want to sit back and enjoy it all," says Durant. "But at the same time, I think about all the things I did to get here, and it overwhelms me. It seems so crazy, you know?"
He already has a $60 million Nike deal, among other endorsements. (True to form, Durant requested his shoes be sold at the lowest price possible so kids could actually afford them.) Since last season's NBA All-Star weekend, Durant all but seems to be the only player featured in league marketing. "There are so many articles about how Kevin is going to save the NBA," says Collison, "how he is a new kind of player, one of a kind."
Not all babies, however, are born to be The Man.
Durant is quiet. Decent. Upstanding. A mama's boy. Even his body seems a testament to his modesty. Long, lean and whittled tight -- Dr. J if Dr. J never went through puberty -- his is not the physique of a man who spends untold hours gazing at mirrors. He is embarrassed by ego. He feels unseemly boasting, so he never does. "Stay humble," he says. "That is the goal."
Fine for church, but humble doesn't sell McRibs. "Kevin never thinks about building his brand," says Collison. "It isn't in his nature to sell himself."
Durant's five-year contract extension, worth about $86 million, was announced via a simple tweet. "Talk gets you nowhere," Durant says, and so he stays mum, as he has since he was a child, when he never -- not once -- told anyone he was going to be a star. "It's really basic. All I have ever wanted is to play basketball."
He did not allow distractions to exist then. He would play in the dark. He would play on the sun. Offer him the choice now of being first and broke or runner-up with five mansions and eight cars and Durant doesn't hesitate: He'll take first and busted. And he knows just how that sounds.
"People think I'm boring," Durant says, his voice soft. "I hear, 'You don't have a personality.' Or I'm too nonchalant." He shrugs. "I can't focus on what people think."
He tried that once, in Seattle, after joining the NBA as the second overall pick of the 2007 draft. He was a baby among men, 18 years old, all bony legs and promise. "They moved out Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis," he says. "People were expecting me to be the guy. And everything I did, it wasn't enough." After shooting 40 percent in the first half of the season, he was tagged a bad investment. He was docked for being wimpy, for falling to the floor like a drunken sorority girl. Conventional wisdom says that champions are killers. MJ was an assassin. Magic and Bird were pathologically competitive. Isiah's engine ran on a fuel of petty grievances. But Durant was too nice. Nice holds no grudges. Nice steps on no throats in pursuit of a ring. Durant heard it all.
"Being in the spotlight, it overwhelmed me," he says. "It was nerve-racking, to be honest."
So he stopped paying attention to the noise. Worked harder. Asked coach Scott Brooks to let him play entire games. Came to practice 90 minutes early. Opted for 200 pushups instead of 100. "I kept doing what I had always done," he says. "I had to believe it was the best choice." He shot over 50 percent in March, got his scoring average over 20 points per game for the season. Rookie of the Year followed. Then two scoring titles. A trip to the Western Conference semifinals in 2011. But the Mr. Cellophane tag proved harder to remove. It takes banners in the rafters to do that.
"No matter what you do, some people aren't going to be happy," he says. He talks about LeBron, how he's "the most-hated player just because he left Cleveland." How "nobody cares" when a team cuts a player.
"I wish there were a little more loyalty," he says with genuine confusion. "But you can't escape the haters. I knew that coming in." Durant smiles, then clarifies. "Let's not call them haters. Let's just say there are people who are very opinionated about me," he says, laughing. Does he care? Durant shakes his head. "Not even a little."
THERE ARE ROACHES on the movie set in Baton Rouge. Durant is sweltering in the late summer Louisiana heat, blocking a scene for his Warner Premiere film, working title Switch. The movie follows the Space Jam model of hallmark players expanding off-court brands through family-friendly comedies. In the movie, Durant plays Kevin Durant, only this Kevin Durant loses his mojo to a young fan. Wacky high jinks ensue.
"You wanna see acting?" says director John Whitesell. "Watch Kevin look bad at basketball."
Durant did not want to do the film. "I caved to peer pressure," he jokes, kind of. Heat came from three sources -- the studio, the NBA and mom -- and all were insistent that he was the only player for the part. He's the first athlete since Jordan to star in a U.S. movie partnered by the NBA.
Still, Durant is grateful for the work. The 14-hour days have kept him busy, distracted him from the lockout and the uncertainty it brings. In between takes he's been known to sign autographs for extras. A security guard calls his daughter and hands the phone to Durant, who talks to her for five minutes. If ever a man might succumb to the urge to big-time, it's when his name's on the back of a movie-set chair. Durant seems not to know this. "I go with the flow," he says. "I wanted to make it to the pros for my mother, brother, godfather, grandmother. If it all ended tomorrow, I'd be okay. Because my life now? It's all bonus."
IT'S A MUGGY SATURDAY MORNING in late September, and Durant is practicing alone at the LSU gym. Kanye blasts over the speakers. Last week in Austin, the Texas alum hosted a team workout. All but five players came, assembling like a baller flash mob, logging hours on the court, a unit trying to stay nimble, connected. Durant knows the lockout won't last forever, and even if it does, he feels responsibility as the linchpin in the already tight-knit team. "A man holds himself accountable," Durant says. "For me, it goes from small to big. Something as simple as folding your clothes and putting them in a drawer."
Even though he worked on the movie until after midnight, Durant shoots for hours, his movements economical. Quiet. Unless he misses.
"F--, K!"
"S--, K!"
"Ah, bitch!"
Durant follows every ball until it meets nylon. His brow knit, he watches the way one would watch a toddler waddling toward the street. He drops his gaze only after makes, then lowers his chin to his chest, scratches his head with his middle finger, tugs down his shorts a quarter-inch. He does this every shot. There is no variation. Shot, track, drop, scratch, tug. If there is a pivot before, Durant adds a grunt.
"S--, K!"
Every now and then he dunks, after which he looks down, mildly discomfited by his extravagance. This is how he was taught, back at his boyhood rec center near DC. No playground games allowed. They dent form, introduce bad habits. Durant has no bad habits.
While he practices, the news comes that the NBA has canceled the first round of preseason games. Durant keeps shooting.
Outside, after his shower, Durant pulls his backpack over both shoulders, shuffles past the Shaquille O'Neal statue gleaming in the midday sun. "That is one of the greatest things I have ever seen," he says, walking around the perimeter, appreciating every angle. He then mentions the live tiger down the road, the LSU mascot. "It just paces back and forth in that cage," he says. "It's cool and all. But I feel bad for him just the same."
MEDIUM WINGS. LEMONADE. Durant is back at Hooters for supper. Tomorrow's a day off. He plans to watch the Saints game. Maybe some UFC. He's excited about his upcoming birthday. He's celebrating in Miami. There will be a party on a yacht, then later at a club. "It's going to be great," he says eagerly. "My mom is planning it!"
He tells a story about how, as a kid, he imagined that the life of an NBA player was "glitz and glamour. Every night going out to the club. Buying everything you wanted. Lots of girls." He chuckles. "That's not my life. I try to stick to being the same person I was as a kid."
Not that he hasn't made some big changes. Most of his chest and back were tattooed this summer. The photo of a shirtless Durant, inked neck to navel, blew up the web almost as much as his summer-league clips. Some speculated that body art + 66 points = a tougher, manlier Durant. Others noted that the tattoos all reside beneath his basketball jersey -- deliberate obfuscation? A ruffian hiding in plain sight? Perhaps the KD everyone thought they knew was in fact someone completely different.
"Are you kidding me?" Durant says, rolling his eyes. "I have always liked tattoos. I was just afraid of needles before."
Near Atlanta he found a shop, got over his fear. Durant says he just woke up one morning and decided that would be the day. "And I will get more. All the news about it is silly. Stereotyping. I was the same person two minutes before I got my tattoos that I am now." When asked who that person is, he answers quickly: "A hard worker. Loyal, caring, selfless. Too selfless sometimes. People take advantage." He pushes his napkin around the table, considers other changes he'd like to make. "I think sometimes I miss out on good things by being too detached. Like if Obama walked through the door, I'd be like, 'All right, so what?' and finish eating my food. I never get too excited about things."
He takes a quiet breath. "I think sometimes if I could change that about myself, maybe I'd be in love, or not as alone. Maybe my life would be fuller or something." Just then a girl comes over, sidles into his booth, sits with one thigh over his lap.
"You somebody, right?" she asks.
Durant smiles. "I guess so."
The girl has her friend snap a picture, looks over Durant top to bottom, then leaves, giggling.
Durant waves goodbye, picks up a chicken wing, takes a tiny bite. "I've met Jay-Z a bunch of times," he says. "And he is just so down-to-earth. You would never think he's a billionaire rapper. It spoke volumes to me." He wipes his mouth with his napkin. "Everyone in the world knows this guy, and he acts like he's nobody."
Allison Glock is a contributing writer for ESPN The Magazine.
DURANT RAINED 48 POINTS at the CP3 Foundation All-Star Game in early October. Scored 50 a week later at the Drew vs. Goodman rematch. In one now-legendary August game at Harlem's Rucker Park, he dropped 66 points, his shots falling hard like a fat lady's pants. There were more than 150 clips of the game on YouTube.
By mid-October, the most popular one, Kevin Durant Catches Fire in Harlem, had 3.2 million views. To watch it is to witness a crowd growing incredulous, then delirious. To watch it is to see a man having a moment.
It's a month after the videos first began circulating, and Durant is eating wings at Hooters. He does not register the orange-and-tan waitresses or their tank tops. His eyes are fixed on flat screens and football. "This summer?" he asks, wrinkling his forehead. "All I was doing was hooping. I didn't feel any different. It wasn't anything I hadn't done before."
When told that the word going around the hoops world is that the games prove he's finally grown up, that baby Durant has at long last become a man, that he'll emerge from the lockout as the league's new alpha male and claim a fistful of rings for his long-suffering franchise, he scoffs. "I did it because I wanted to play," he says. "Simple."
At 23, Durant looks both older and younger than he is. His face still stubbornly holds on to its round-cheeked boyishness, a teenage Jamie Foxx. But his eyes seem from another, darker time -- wiser, more resigned. Durant insists that the player people swooned over on the playground is the same player who dons the royal-blue Thunder uniform. He figures that the lockout just left people hungry, that a saltine tastes like steak to a starving man.
"I felt like I was just being me," he says, swallowing a fried cheese stick. His pickup games were not, he stresses, about PR, nor were they about staying in the lockout limelight. "I was actually surprised by the attention it got," he says with some chagrin. "I wasn't doing it to get noticed."
He says "noticed" the way some people say "cancer." Notice is not something Durant enjoys much. This too is evident in the videos, where even at Rucker, after the fans erupt in a roar of gratitude, Durant doesn't smile. Or smirk. Or nod, hell yeah. His face remains impassive, Easter Island flat, as hysteria swells around him like a tidal wave. "I keep my feelings inside," he says. "I don't want people to see."
He's always been that way, as deep as still water. He never fussed as a baby, never acted out as a kid. He sucked his finger, but the doctor told his mother, "Children who do that are very self-sufficient," so she stopped worrying. When Durant and his older brother Tony battled, she forced them to hug it out until they made up, embrace for minutes if necessary, a remedy that ended only when they kissed each other on the cheek.
"Kevin is understated, a gentle spirit," says his mom, Wanda Pratt, 44. "And he views all people, no matter what they've done or how they've lived, as inherently good." She sighs. "It is a luxury to be able to look at people that way."
There's a Gumpian sweetness about Durant, a prevailing sentimentality. His Nike shoes feature the initials of his grandmother, mother, father, brother and childhood coaches -- including Big Chucky, a mentor who was killed six years ago outside Durant's hometown of Washington, D.C., shot dead on the street at age 35, after which there was a brief eclipse in the sunshine of Durant's outlook. He concluded that the nice way was maybe for wimps, that he should butch up, push back. He seethed on the court. His game, in turn, suffered. He was only 16, but he recognized that attitude "wasn't for me," that he was never meant to be hard. "I don't understand how people get joy out of hurting others," he says. He recommitted to hope and faith. Grew sweeter. Wrote "Keep Positive!" on every shoe. "I don't think I've met anyone who says, 'I don't like him,'" says Pratt. What, after all, is not to like?
"His image is so clean," says Thunder teammate Nick Collison, who at 31 qualifies as team elder statesman. "People think he's a choirboy." Isn't he? Collison mulls it over. Laughs. Says yes. "He's just a kid, a really good kid. I hope people don't put too much pressure on him."
Martin Schoeller for ESPN The Magazine
Durant has no interest in stepping into the spotlight. He just wants to win.
A DOZEN THINGS YOU PROBABLY don't know about Kevin Durant:
He has never been in love.
He has a music production studio in his house.
He has been known to rap.
His back tattoo took eight hours.
It isn't finished.
His inner voice is often "just a buzzing noise."
He used to sleep in church.
He has no regrets (not even missing the prom).
"My whole time at school, I went to one party," he says. "I was in basketball shorts and shoes. I didn't like it. It was out of my realm. I was very shy. I didn't have many friends. To this day, I still walk with my head down."
If he had 48 hours to live, he would spend it with his family ... in the gym.
The last time he cried was in 2010, when the Thunder lost to the Lakers in the playoffs.
The first time somebody wanted a picture with him was when he was a junior in high school. "I asked, 'Why?' And they said, 'Because you are going to be famous someday.'"
THE WORLD NEEDS ITS GREATS. Collectively we yearn for The One who will rise above the rest, showing us by his ascent that there is purpose in this life. For a while, this was LeBron, now tainted goods. Kobe, stitched together, a wunderkind turned sage, is not going gently, but going nonetheless. And D-Wade, like our country's infrastructure, isn't aging well. Which leaves Durant to fill the aspirational sneakers MJ left behind -- even if hand-me-downs don't always fit.
"I want to sit back and enjoy it all," says Durant. "But at the same time, I think about all the things I did to get here, and it overwhelms me. It seems so crazy, you know?"
He already has a $60 million Nike deal, among other endorsements. (True to form, Durant requested his shoes be sold at the lowest price possible so kids could actually afford them.) Since last season's NBA All-Star weekend, Durant all but seems to be the only player featured in league marketing. "There are so many articles about how Kevin is going to save the NBA," says Collison, "how he is a new kind of player, one of a kind."
Not all babies, however, are born to be The Man.
Durant is quiet. Decent. Upstanding. A mama's boy. Even his body seems a testament to his modesty. Long, lean and whittled tight -- Dr. J if Dr. J never went through puberty -- his is not the physique of a man who spends untold hours gazing at mirrors. He is embarrassed by ego. He feels unseemly boasting, so he never does. "Stay humble," he says. "That is the goal."
Fine for church, but humble doesn't sell McRibs. "Kevin never thinks about building his brand," says Collison. "It isn't in his nature to sell himself."
Durant's five-year contract extension, worth about $86 million, was announced via a simple tweet. "Talk gets you nowhere," Durant says, and so he stays mum, as he has since he was a child, when he never -- not once -- told anyone he was going to be a star. "It's really basic. All I have ever wanted is to play basketball."
He did not allow distractions to exist then. He would play in the dark. He would play on the sun. Offer him the choice now of being first and broke or runner-up with five mansions and eight cars and Durant doesn't hesitate: He'll take first and busted. And he knows just how that sounds.
"People think I'm boring," Durant says, his voice soft. "I hear, 'You don't have a personality.' Or I'm too nonchalant." He shrugs. "I can't focus on what people think."
He tried that once, in Seattle, after joining the NBA as the second overall pick of the 2007 draft. He was a baby among men, 18 years old, all bony legs and promise. "They moved out Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis," he says. "People were expecting me to be the guy. And everything I did, it wasn't enough." After shooting 40 percent in the first half of the season, he was tagged a bad investment. He was docked for being wimpy, for falling to the floor like a drunken sorority girl. Conventional wisdom says that champions are killers. MJ was an assassin. Magic and Bird were pathologically competitive. Isiah's engine ran on a fuel of petty grievances. But Durant was too nice. Nice holds no grudges. Nice steps on no throats in pursuit of a ring. Durant heard it all.
"Being in the spotlight, it overwhelmed me," he says. "It was nerve-racking, to be honest."
So he stopped paying attention to the noise. Worked harder. Asked coach Scott Brooks to let him play entire games. Came to practice 90 minutes early. Opted for 200 pushups instead of 100. "I kept doing what I had always done," he says. "I had to believe it was the best choice." He shot over 50 percent in March, got his scoring average over 20 points per game for the season. Rookie of the Year followed. Then two scoring titles. A trip to the Western Conference semifinals in 2011. But the Mr. Cellophane tag proved harder to remove. It takes banners in the rafters to do that.
"No matter what you do, some people aren't going to be happy," he says. He talks about LeBron, how he's "the most-hated player just because he left Cleveland." How "nobody cares" when a team cuts a player.
"I wish there were a little more loyalty," he says with genuine confusion. "But you can't escape the haters. I knew that coming in." Durant smiles, then clarifies. "Let's not call them haters. Let's just say there are people who are very opinionated about me," he says, laughing. Does he care? Durant shakes his head. "Not even a little."
THERE ARE ROACHES on the movie set in Baton Rouge. Durant is sweltering in the late summer Louisiana heat, blocking a scene for his Warner Premiere film, working title Switch. The movie follows the Space Jam model of hallmark players expanding off-court brands through family-friendly comedies. In the movie, Durant plays Kevin Durant, only this Kevin Durant loses his mojo to a young fan. Wacky high jinks ensue.
"You wanna see acting?" says director John Whitesell. "Watch Kevin look bad at basketball."
Durant did not want to do the film. "I caved to peer pressure," he jokes, kind of. Heat came from three sources -- the studio, the NBA and mom -- and all were insistent that he was the only player for the part. He's the first athlete since Jordan to star in a U.S. movie partnered by the NBA.
Still, Durant is grateful for the work. The 14-hour days have kept him busy, distracted him from the lockout and the uncertainty it brings. In between takes he's been known to sign autographs for extras. A security guard calls his daughter and hands the phone to Durant, who talks to her for five minutes. If ever a man might succumb to the urge to big-time, it's when his name's on the back of a movie-set chair. Durant seems not to know this. "I go with the flow," he says. "I wanted to make it to the pros for my mother, brother, godfather, grandmother. If it all ended tomorrow, I'd be okay. Because my life now? It's all bonus."
IT'S A MUGGY SATURDAY MORNING in late September, and Durant is practicing alone at the LSU gym. Kanye blasts over the speakers. Last week in Austin, the Texas alum hosted a team workout. All but five players came, assembling like a baller flash mob, logging hours on the court, a unit trying to stay nimble, connected. Durant knows the lockout won't last forever, and even if it does, he feels responsibility as the linchpin in the already tight-knit team. "A man holds himself accountable," Durant says. "For me, it goes from small to big. Something as simple as folding your clothes and putting them in a drawer."
Even though he worked on the movie until after midnight, Durant shoots for hours, his movements economical. Quiet. Unless he misses.
"F--, K!"
"S--, K!"
"Ah, bitch!"
Durant follows every ball until it meets nylon. His brow knit, he watches the way one would watch a toddler waddling toward the street. He drops his gaze only after makes, then lowers his chin to his chest, scratches his head with his middle finger, tugs down his shorts a quarter-inch. He does this every shot. There is no variation. Shot, track, drop, scratch, tug. If there is a pivot before, Durant adds a grunt.
"S--, K!"
Every now and then he dunks, after which he looks down, mildly discomfited by his extravagance. This is how he was taught, back at his boyhood rec center near DC. No playground games allowed. They dent form, introduce bad habits. Durant has no bad habits.
While he practices, the news comes that the NBA has canceled the first round of preseason games. Durant keeps shooting.
Outside, after his shower, Durant pulls his backpack over both shoulders, shuffles past the Shaquille O'Neal statue gleaming in the midday sun. "That is one of the greatest things I have ever seen," he says, walking around the perimeter, appreciating every angle. He then mentions the live tiger down the road, the LSU mascot. "It just paces back and forth in that cage," he says. "It's cool and all. But I feel bad for him just the same."
MEDIUM WINGS. LEMONADE. Durant is back at Hooters for supper. Tomorrow's a day off. He plans to watch the Saints game. Maybe some UFC. He's excited about his upcoming birthday. He's celebrating in Miami. There will be a party on a yacht, then later at a club. "It's going to be great," he says eagerly. "My mom is planning it!"
He tells a story about how, as a kid, he imagined that the life of an NBA player was "glitz and glamour. Every night going out to the club. Buying everything you wanted. Lots of girls." He chuckles. "That's not my life. I try to stick to being the same person I was as a kid."
Not that he hasn't made some big changes. Most of his chest and back were tattooed this summer. The photo of a shirtless Durant, inked neck to navel, blew up the web almost as much as his summer-league clips. Some speculated that body art + 66 points = a tougher, manlier Durant. Others noted that the tattoos all reside beneath his basketball jersey -- deliberate obfuscation? A ruffian hiding in plain sight? Perhaps the KD everyone thought they knew was in fact someone completely different.
"Are you kidding me?" Durant says, rolling his eyes. "I have always liked tattoos. I was just afraid of needles before."
Near Atlanta he found a shop, got over his fear. Durant says he just woke up one morning and decided that would be the day. "And I will get more. All the news about it is silly. Stereotyping. I was the same person two minutes before I got my tattoos that I am now." When asked who that person is, he answers quickly: "A hard worker. Loyal, caring, selfless. Too selfless sometimes. People take advantage." He pushes his napkin around the table, considers other changes he'd like to make. "I think sometimes I miss out on good things by being too detached. Like if Obama walked through the door, I'd be like, 'All right, so what?' and finish eating my food. I never get too excited about things."
He takes a quiet breath. "I think sometimes if I could change that about myself, maybe I'd be in love, or not as alone. Maybe my life would be fuller or something." Just then a girl comes over, sidles into his booth, sits with one thigh over his lap.
"You somebody, right?" she asks.
Durant smiles. "I guess so."
The girl has her friend snap a picture, looks over Durant top to bottom, then leaves, giggling.
Durant waves goodbye, picks up a chicken wing, takes a tiny bite. "I've met Jay-Z a bunch of times," he says. "And he is just so down-to-earth. You would never think he's a billionaire rapper. It spoke volumes to me." He wipes his mouth with his napkin. "Everyone in the world knows this guy, and he acts like he's nobody."
Allison Glock is a contributing writer for ESPN The Magazine.
Weezy in GQ
The Survivors Q&A: Lil Wayne
The ornery, restless genius was at the
peak of his success before he got sent
to prison for eight months. Actually,
no, we take that back: Rap's most insanely
prolific artist is even more popular now
A hot Friday evening in San Antonio, and it feels like every car on the road is blasting Lil Wayne, his gravel pit of a voice croaking about how to love and live and how life is a bitch and death is her sister. But Wayne sure isn't bitching about life or worrying about death tonight. Tha Carter IV, his first studio album since he finished an eight-month jail stint for weapons possession, has sold a million copies, and it's only been out for a week. These Texas shows—San Antonio, then Dallas and Houston—mark the end of his I Am Still Music tour, and you get the feeling it's been a long summer. Actually, a long life. At only 29 years of age, Dwayne Michael Carter has already spent nearly two decades performing the lyrical, low-down reptilian strangeness that is his act. There have been a couple of bumps—2010's mostly reviled Rebirth, the jail thing—but it's hard to think of any man, in any line of work, who has so emphatically done whatever the fuck he wants and made it work so well.
For the past ten hours, I've been orbiting the world of Wayne, a bizarre realm of drivers, managers, assistants, skater buddies in knee socks, fellow rappers, and a terrifying horde of girls dressed like hookers. Amid all the chaos, Weezy himself is nowhere to be seen. Finally, at 1 a.m. at the Westin, where the hallways are thick with the smell of weed, I find Wayne relaxing in sweatpants in his penthouse suite. As usual, he's watching ESPN. In deference to me (I think), he mutes the sound.
GQ: Congratulations on selling a million records this week. Are you surprised at all?
Lil Wayne: Yeah. Hell yeah, I'm surprised.
GQ: I was sure you were going to be like, "Absolutely not."
Lil Wayne: No. I was very surprised. I did not think I was gonna do that. I mean, I already did that—I sold a million copies the first week [of Tha Carter III]. I never imagined it would happen again. I think we'd be some greedy motherfuckers to expect it to happen again, and I'm still shocked that it did.
GQ: I hear you plan to retire when you turn 35?
Lil Wayne: Basically, I have been doing this for eighteen years. That's reason number one. I have accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish and more. Also, I have a label, and I've only put out two artists [Drake and Nicki Minaj]. I have a lot more work to do, and it'd be selfish to not focus on being the boss and focus on their projects.
But the main reason is my kids, my children. Now, if I thought I'd be selfish to my artists, imagine what I think I would be doing to my kids. I have enough money that they don't have to ever do anything—which, they will do everything, 'cause they ain't getting shit. [cackles wildly] Six [more] years, I can do this Lil Wayne thing, and my boys will be about 7 and 8 years old. And man, it's all about them then. You know, whatever they're doing. Sports. Whatever they're into. That's where I am. I'm at every game. I'm the dad with the hat on. The jersey. That's me.
GQ: You'll still be you without music?
Lil Wayne: I feel like I'll be a new me, and how good is that? To actually be opening a brand-new door of life at 35? That'd be awesome. Totally awesome. I'm looking forward to it.
"I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it."
GQ: Did your time in jail slow you down or mellow you out a bit?
Lil Wayne: I don't think life is about a pace, living slow or fast. I think you just live, y'know what I mean? You're either living or you're dead. So it just helped me on my way, helped me with life. Cleared me up, cleaned me up, opened my eyes to things. I definitely thank God for that moment instead of looking at it as a problem or a bad situation. I needed it.
GQ: You're sober now? No more syrup?
Lil Wayne: I'm good. I ain't tripping. I'm used to it now. But I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it. That's how it fucking feels. [cracking himself up] "How does it feel to be sober?" I'll be like, "It feels fucked-up." What you want me to say? "It feels great"? No. I was on something that the doctor prescribed. I was ill, and that was helping me.
GQ: So you aren't going back on it?
Lil Wayne: I cannot wait until I get off probation, sweetheart. Not for syrup. No, not for syrup. I stopped syrup May 9 of 2009. But nobody knew. Because I still rapped about it. Because I respect the culture of where it came from. I still rep that shit.
GQ: What's up with all the skateboarding?
Lil Wayne: You know, I don't know. Everybody asks me that question, like, "What made you start skating?" Yeah, well, um...I don't know. I'm still like a kid, because unfortunately my childhood was raped away from me because I became a star, a rapper, or whatever you want to call it, and you can't be a kid and a rapper at the same time. So I watch television and I get real amped. Like, people watch commercials, and they're like, "Who's gonna buy that?" I'm the person they make the commercials for. I watch them, and I'm like, "Oh God, that's awesome." So I was just watching TV, and I was like, "Yeah. I want to do that!" And I called a guy and I said, "I want a ramp on my roof." I have a pretty big roof at home. So I put a ramp on the roof about five months ago, and man, I've been skating ever since.
GQ: Five months ago was the first time you got on a board?
Lil Wayne: First time I got on a board and was serious, yes. You know, of course, as a kid I have — you know, I had never owned my own skateboard. As a kid in the hood, people in the hood had boards.
I got on a board and saw what it does. But as far as taking it serious, nah, this is the first time. Shit, I had to be serious. I was on a ramp. I didn't want to go out there and be busting my ass. But in order to stop busting my ass, I had to get smart and control everything.
GQ: It's pretty hard, skating.
Lil Wayne: It's pretty difficult. But when you're having fun, and when you're doing anything and having fun with it, it almost takes the complication out of it. It takes the difficult out of it. That's what it is with my music. I have so much fun with it that I still do it every day, and people will be like, "What drives you? What makes him just...?" He's not working. He's having fun. So, why not have fun every day? I'm not tired of having fun yet, so that's what it is. It is hard, but it is fun.
GQ: Where did you hurt yourself when you fell?
Lil Wayne: Right over the scar. [points to head]. It's okay. It's pretty fine. Nine stitches.
GQ: That's a bad place to get hit, I would guess.
Lil Wayne: It wasn't that bad. It wasn't. It was real quick. Happened, and I was stitched up and went about my way. I told everybody. Everybody was like, "Oh, my God. You got nine stitches. You busted your head?" I was like, honestly, I fell so much harder in other places. Like, I wish you were there to see me really bust it. I busted my ass before, like, literally, this is nothing. These stitches are like—this is the first time I have seen blood shed, but I've fallen much harder than that.
GQ: Growing up, did you have an idea of what a skater was like?
Lil Wayne: No. Not one idea at all. Didn't know why that thing was created. You know. I didn't know. I thought it was something for the parents who didn't want to buy their kid a bike. "Give 'em a skateboard." Thought that's what it was. I wish there had been a skate culture, because I would be so much better. Now I'm into it. And I know I would have been interested in it then, just as interested as I am now, because I love it. I don't know why, but I love it. I don't like it a lot. I love it. So, I wish it was, man. I'm kinda mad that I had to wait 28 years to jump on a skateboard.
GQ: Is that culture something you're getting into now?
Lil Wayne: I would say yeah. To be serious about it, you have to respect everything about it. And to respect everything about it, you have to respect the culture. And to respect the culture, you have to know the culture. So, I've set out to do, and am doing, and I did and done those things.
I've researched, and I know everything about the culture. I know everything about who's who, what's what, who won what, and who's better than who, and who skates for what team, and I'm into it. I'm into it. And you know what, they respect me a whole lot. Everywhere we go, every city or state we go, we have a skate park booked for after the show. I go there, I skate till about sun-up, and seven times outta ten, there's usually a pro there. Or they're usually connected to some pro or on some pro team. And, you know, we take pictures, we skate, we session together. They respect me so much just musically, without skating, period. A guy told me the other day, he was like, "You know what's so crazy is like, a lot of artists say they skate, or a lotta artists say they pick a skateboard. But, you know, for the best to do it, it makes you a person that skates, it refreshes you, to remember why you picked up a skateboard."
And there's also been people who told me, "To see you skate and to see you serious and having so much fun, it's like, I've seen you on the Internet, and every time I see you on a clip, you're smiling. You're having the time of your life. Even when you fall. It makes us, the people that really skate, say, 'Stop taking it so serious and enjoy what you're doing, because there's people that already got the world in their hands and is picking up this skateboard and enjoying it.'"
So you already know what to do with a skateboard, why don't you enjoy it extra hard for them? And you know every time when I meet somebody that says that I feel good as a person for what I'm doing and they feel good—I mean, it feels good when they tell me that, you know. "You enlighten me on skateboarding, and I've been skating for 30 years, and to see you pick up a skateboard and be so happy and so motivated and dedicated to it, it makes me want to do it that much more." And I'm glad I could do that.
GQ: Do you get that from other young rappers, kids just starting out?
Lil Wayne: Of course I get that. Especially when I was locked up. Like, that was basically all the letters. "You're the reason why I started rapping" and "You're the reason why I started singing" or "You're the reason why I don't give up" or "I never gave up!" or you know, and, it's just, as people say, there's something about my confidence. There's something that [says], this is my thing and I'm gonna do it how I wanna do it, and the hell what you think.
And that draws them, especially when you mean it and you prove it and you do it, and you be successful. And I've done that. It's strong. It's strong when you stand for that and you make progress on that situation, meaning you go to jail, you get knocked down, and you come right out of jail, and you put out the number-one album, and you sell a million records in one weekend. And you know, you talk to Katie Couric and you tell Katie Couric, "I'm a gangsta." You know? And you're looking her in the eye, and you're saying, "I am a gangster, Miss"—you know?
And when you do those things, you show people that come from nothing, that, man—people that come from everything—you just show them that "I can be." You know. "And I can do." Because that kid, he isn't perfect. You know? But he is. He's doing what he does. And, I mean, that's what it is. That's what's the glory of it.
GQ: You have 31 million fans on Facebook. That's a lot of power.
Lil Wayne: I was told one time—crazy story—I was condo shopping one day. There was a guy doing the condo shopping, and we come downstairs. We walked through the lobby. And there's people in the lobby, there's security, or whatever. There's a female with a baby stroller. We walked to another condo building. It's like, a block away. We looked at two spots in there. Now mind you, that probably took every bit of an hour and a half. And as we're walking back, he's like, "Um, y'know, I wanted to tell you that your power that you have over kids is crazy." And I was like, "Excuse me?" Because he was appropriate and businesslike the whole time. I didn't even think he knew who I was. I thought he thought I was just some guy looking for a condo. He's like, "Your music, man. I believe if you had 3,500 people on the top of a building and you told them to jump," he said, "I believe that 3,000 of them would jump before you." He said, "I didn't say I believe all of them were going to jump, but I believe 3,000 of 'em would jump before you." He said, "Then the other five [hundred] would jump after." And he was like, "And you know what's crazy? My daughter would be one of those 3500 people." He's like, "If you don't mind, would you please say hi to her?" I was like, "Yeah. I don't mind." He's like, "Okay, well, when we get back to the building, she's the girl with the baby stroller." I'm like, "She been sitting there for two hours?" "Yeah. She just wanted to say hi. You mean that much to her." He was like, "And as a father, to look at your daughter and see that another human being means that much more to her than I actually do as her father, that is something." So he was like, "I want to tell you, young man: You have power, and I just want you to know of the power you have, and take heed to that."
GQ: What are you going to do with that power?
Lil Wayne: I do exactly what I should. I be me. And that's exactly what you're supposed to do. You're not supposed to say, "Okay. Now I got the power. Let me do things this way." No. Because obviously I got the power, doing what I do, and I ain't gonna stop doing what I do. I'm gonna be exactly who I am. So, if that dies one day, so be it.
GQ: That's pretty wise. Do you have some inner guidance that tells you that?
Lil Wayne: Yeah. My momma. My mom keeps me grounded, keeps me humble, and that's just the person I am, honestly. Thank God. I was just born to be who I am. I am very humble, and I am very gracious and very grateful for everything that happens to me and about me and around me. So with that said, I wouldn't be any other way anyways. So, whether this was music, sports, technician, electrician, whatever. This is me.
GQ: Your relationship with your biological father seems complicated.
Lil Wayne: He don't give a shit about me. And I don't give a shit about him. I know his friends be like, "Damn, nigga. That is not your son. Stop lying. Nigga, you could be living in a motherfucking ranch right now, nigga." You know, whatever your father's into, if you're rich, you're gonna get him that shit. I would've got that nigga all kinda harnesses, ranches—you know what I mean? I saw the nigga recently—I had a show in New Orleans. And I ain't afraid to put this out there, 'cause this is just how much I don't give a fuck about a nigga, and I want people to see how you're not supposed to be. I was parked at the hotel, and I saw him walking outside the hotel. Just walking back and forth. I'm like, "Look at this nigga! You gotta be looking for me." If Lil Wayne got a show in New Orleans, the whole of New Orleans knows. Basically, you're not there for nothing else but me. So I call my man on the bus. I'm like, "Nigga, that's my daddy." He's like, "Word? Oh shit. That nigga looks just like you!" So I tell my man, "Go see what's up." So my man goes to holla at him. He tells my man, "Oh. I didn't know y'all was here. I'm here waiting for this little ho to get off. Get off work from the hotel." For real? That's when I was like, "Typical Dwayne Carter." So that's what's up with me and my real father. I don't want to look like his ass, but I do.
GQ: Are the tattoos a way of not looking like your dad?
Lil Wayne: Tattoos are just a way of expressing myself. Me being me. I just went crazy. I don't know what happened. I think somebody slipped something in my drink, like a drug that'll make you get, like, a bunch of tattoos.
GQ: How does life look right now through Lil Wayne's glasses?
Lil Wayne: I can describe it like this: Today I was riding up to the venue. I had just woken up, and I looked out the window, and there was like a billion cars in the parking lot. I turned to my girl, and I said, "Isn't it crazy how all those cars and all those people are there to see me?" And the craziest part was I still could get that feeling. All this time, after all those albums, videos, all those awards and money and groupies and homeys and gangbanging and friends and no-longer friends. That I can still get that feeling, like, "Wow. This is amazing." That's what it is to be me. Yeah.
The ornery, restless genius was at the
peak of his success before he got sent
to prison for eight months. Actually,
no, we take that back: Rap's most insanely
prolific artist is even more popular now
A hot Friday evening in San Antonio, and it feels like every car on the road is blasting Lil Wayne, his gravel pit of a voice croaking about how to love and live and how life is a bitch and death is her sister. But Wayne sure isn't bitching about life or worrying about death tonight. Tha Carter IV, his first studio album since he finished an eight-month jail stint for weapons possession, has sold a million copies, and it's only been out for a week. These Texas shows—San Antonio, then Dallas and Houston—mark the end of his I Am Still Music tour, and you get the feeling it's been a long summer. Actually, a long life. At only 29 years of age, Dwayne Michael Carter has already spent nearly two decades performing the lyrical, low-down reptilian strangeness that is his act. There have been a couple of bumps—2010's mostly reviled Rebirth, the jail thing—but it's hard to think of any man, in any line of work, who has so emphatically done whatever the fuck he wants and made it work so well.
For the past ten hours, I've been orbiting the world of Wayne, a bizarre realm of drivers, managers, assistants, skater buddies in knee socks, fellow rappers, and a terrifying horde of girls dressed like hookers. Amid all the chaos, Weezy himself is nowhere to be seen. Finally, at 1 a.m. at the Westin, where the hallways are thick with the smell of weed, I find Wayne relaxing in sweatpants in his penthouse suite. As usual, he's watching ESPN. In deference to me (I think), he mutes the sound.
GQ: Congratulations on selling a million records this week. Are you surprised at all?
Lil Wayne: Yeah. Hell yeah, I'm surprised.
GQ: I was sure you were going to be like, "Absolutely not."
Lil Wayne: No. I was very surprised. I did not think I was gonna do that. I mean, I already did that—I sold a million copies the first week [of Tha Carter III]. I never imagined it would happen again. I think we'd be some greedy motherfuckers to expect it to happen again, and I'm still shocked that it did.
GQ: I hear you plan to retire when you turn 35?
Lil Wayne: Basically, I have been doing this for eighteen years. That's reason number one. I have accomplished all that I have set out to accomplish and more. Also, I have a label, and I've only put out two artists [Drake and Nicki Minaj]. I have a lot more work to do, and it'd be selfish to not focus on being the boss and focus on their projects.
But the main reason is my kids, my children. Now, if I thought I'd be selfish to my artists, imagine what I think I would be doing to my kids. I have enough money that they don't have to ever do anything—which, they will do everything, 'cause they ain't getting shit. [cackles wildly] Six [more] years, I can do this Lil Wayne thing, and my boys will be about 7 and 8 years old. And man, it's all about them then. You know, whatever they're doing. Sports. Whatever they're into. That's where I am. I'm at every game. I'm the dad with the hat on. The jersey. That's me.
GQ: You'll still be you without music?
Lil Wayne: I feel like I'll be a new me, and how good is that? To actually be opening a brand-new door of life at 35? That'd be awesome. Totally awesome. I'm looking forward to it.
"I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it."
GQ: Did your time in jail slow you down or mellow you out a bit?
Lil Wayne: I don't think life is about a pace, living slow or fast. I think you just live, y'know what I mean? You're either living or you're dead. So it just helped me on my way, helped me with life. Cleared me up, cleaned me up, opened my eyes to things. I definitely thank God for that moment instead of looking at it as a problem or a bad situation. I needed it.
GQ: You're sober now? No more syrup?
Lil Wayne: I'm good. I ain't tripping. I'm used to it now. But I was never on heroin or cocaine or Ecstasy or nothing like that. I drank syrup and smoked a lotta weed. I wish I could be back on it. That's how it fucking feels. [cracking himself up] "How does it feel to be sober?" I'll be like, "It feels fucked-up." What you want me to say? "It feels great"? No. I was on something that the doctor prescribed. I was ill, and that was helping me.
GQ: So you aren't going back on it?
Lil Wayne: I cannot wait until I get off probation, sweetheart. Not for syrup. No, not for syrup. I stopped syrup May 9 of 2009. But nobody knew. Because I still rapped about it. Because I respect the culture of where it came from. I still rep that shit.
GQ: What's up with all the skateboarding?
Lil Wayne: You know, I don't know. Everybody asks me that question, like, "What made you start skating?" Yeah, well, um...I don't know. I'm still like a kid, because unfortunately my childhood was raped away from me because I became a star, a rapper, or whatever you want to call it, and you can't be a kid and a rapper at the same time. So I watch television and I get real amped. Like, people watch commercials, and they're like, "Who's gonna buy that?" I'm the person they make the commercials for. I watch them, and I'm like, "Oh God, that's awesome." So I was just watching TV, and I was like, "Yeah. I want to do that!" And I called a guy and I said, "I want a ramp on my roof." I have a pretty big roof at home. So I put a ramp on the roof about five months ago, and man, I've been skating ever since.
GQ: Five months ago was the first time you got on a board?
Lil Wayne: First time I got on a board and was serious, yes. You know, of course, as a kid I have — you know, I had never owned my own skateboard. As a kid in the hood, people in the hood had boards.
I got on a board and saw what it does. But as far as taking it serious, nah, this is the first time. Shit, I had to be serious. I was on a ramp. I didn't want to go out there and be busting my ass. But in order to stop busting my ass, I had to get smart and control everything.
GQ: It's pretty hard, skating.
Lil Wayne: It's pretty difficult. But when you're having fun, and when you're doing anything and having fun with it, it almost takes the complication out of it. It takes the difficult out of it. That's what it is with my music. I have so much fun with it that I still do it every day, and people will be like, "What drives you? What makes him just...?" He's not working. He's having fun. So, why not have fun every day? I'm not tired of having fun yet, so that's what it is. It is hard, but it is fun.
GQ: Where did you hurt yourself when you fell?
Lil Wayne: Right over the scar. [points to head]. It's okay. It's pretty fine. Nine stitches.
GQ: That's a bad place to get hit, I would guess.
Lil Wayne: It wasn't that bad. It wasn't. It was real quick. Happened, and I was stitched up and went about my way. I told everybody. Everybody was like, "Oh, my God. You got nine stitches. You busted your head?" I was like, honestly, I fell so much harder in other places. Like, I wish you were there to see me really bust it. I busted my ass before, like, literally, this is nothing. These stitches are like—this is the first time I have seen blood shed, but I've fallen much harder than that.
GQ: Growing up, did you have an idea of what a skater was like?
Lil Wayne: No. Not one idea at all. Didn't know why that thing was created. You know. I didn't know. I thought it was something for the parents who didn't want to buy their kid a bike. "Give 'em a skateboard." Thought that's what it was. I wish there had been a skate culture, because I would be so much better. Now I'm into it. And I know I would have been interested in it then, just as interested as I am now, because I love it. I don't know why, but I love it. I don't like it a lot. I love it. So, I wish it was, man. I'm kinda mad that I had to wait 28 years to jump on a skateboard.
GQ: Is that culture something you're getting into now?
Lil Wayne: I would say yeah. To be serious about it, you have to respect everything about it. And to respect everything about it, you have to respect the culture. And to respect the culture, you have to know the culture. So, I've set out to do, and am doing, and I did and done those things.
I've researched, and I know everything about the culture. I know everything about who's who, what's what, who won what, and who's better than who, and who skates for what team, and I'm into it. I'm into it. And you know what, they respect me a whole lot. Everywhere we go, every city or state we go, we have a skate park booked for after the show. I go there, I skate till about sun-up, and seven times outta ten, there's usually a pro there. Or they're usually connected to some pro or on some pro team. And, you know, we take pictures, we skate, we session together. They respect me so much just musically, without skating, period. A guy told me the other day, he was like, "You know what's so crazy is like, a lot of artists say they skate, or a lotta artists say they pick a skateboard. But, you know, for the best to do it, it makes you a person that skates, it refreshes you, to remember why you picked up a skateboard."
And there's also been people who told me, "To see you skate and to see you serious and having so much fun, it's like, I've seen you on the Internet, and every time I see you on a clip, you're smiling. You're having the time of your life. Even when you fall. It makes us, the people that really skate, say, 'Stop taking it so serious and enjoy what you're doing, because there's people that already got the world in their hands and is picking up this skateboard and enjoying it.'"
So you already know what to do with a skateboard, why don't you enjoy it extra hard for them? And you know every time when I meet somebody that says that I feel good as a person for what I'm doing and they feel good—I mean, it feels good when they tell me that, you know. "You enlighten me on skateboarding, and I've been skating for 30 years, and to see you pick up a skateboard and be so happy and so motivated and dedicated to it, it makes me want to do it that much more." And I'm glad I could do that.
GQ: Do you get that from other young rappers, kids just starting out?
Lil Wayne: Of course I get that. Especially when I was locked up. Like, that was basically all the letters. "You're the reason why I started rapping" and "You're the reason why I started singing" or "You're the reason why I don't give up" or "I never gave up!" or you know, and, it's just, as people say, there's something about my confidence. There's something that [says], this is my thing and I'm gonna do it how I wanna do it, and the hell what you think.
And that draws them, especially when you mean it and you prove it and you do it, and you be successful. And I've done that. It's strong. It's strong when you stand for that and you make progress on that situation, meaning you go to jail, you get knocked down, and you come right out of jail, and you put out the number-one album, and you sell a million records in one weekend. And you know, you talk to Katie Couric and you tell Katie Couric, "I'm a gangsta." You know? And you're looking her in the eye, and you're saying, "I am a gangster, Miss"—you know?
And when you do those things, you show people that come from nothing, that, man—people that come from everything—you just show them that "I can be." You know. "And I can do." Because that kid, he isn't perfect. You know? But he is. He's doing what he does. And, I mean, that's what it is. That's what's the glory of it.
GQ: You have 31 million fans on Facebook. That's a lot of power.
Lil Wayne: I was told one time—crazy story—I was condo shopping one day. There was a guy doing the condo shopping, and we come downstairs. We walked through the lobby. And there's people in the lobby, there's security, or whatever. There's a female with a baby stroller. We walked to another condo building. It's like, a block away. We looked at two spots in there. Now mind you, that probably took every bit of an hour and a half. And as we're walking back, he's like, "Um, y'know, I wanted to tell you that your power that you have over kids is crazy." And I was like, "Excuse me?" Because he was appropriate and businesslike the whole time. I didn't even think he knew who I was. I thought he thought I was just some guy looking for a condo. He's like, "Your music, man. I believe if you had 3,500 people on the top of a building and you told them to jump," he said, "I believe that 3,000 of them would jump before you." He said, "I didn't say I believe all of them were going to jump, but I believe 3,000 of 'em would jump before you." He said, "Then the other five [hundred] would jump after." And he was like, "And you know what's crazy? My daughter would be one of those 3500 people." He's like, "If you don't mind, would you please say hi to her?" I was like, "Yeah. I don't mind." He's like, "Okay, well, when we get back to the building, she's the girl with the baby stroller." I'm like, "She been sitting there for two hours?" "Yeah. She just wanted to say hi. You mean that much to her." He was like, "And as a father, to look at your daughter and see that another human being means that much more to her than I actually do as her father, that is something." So he was like, "I want to tell you, young man: You have power, and I just want you to know of the power you have, and take heed to that."
GQ: What are you going to do with that power?
Lil Wayne: I do exactly what I should. I be me. And that's exactly what you're supposed to do. You're not supposed to say, "Okay. Now I got the power. Let me do things this way." No. Because obviously I got the power, doing what I do, and I ain't gonna stop doing what I do. I'm gonna be exactly who I am. So, if that dies one day, so be it.
GQ: That's pretty wise. Do you have some inner guidance that tells you that?
Lil Wayne: Yeah. My momma. My mom keeps me grounded, keeps me humble, and that's just the person I am, honestly. Thank God. I was just born to be who I am. I am very humble, and I am very gracious and very grateful for everything that happens to me and about me and around me. So with that said, I wouldn't be any other way anyways. So, whether this was music, sports, technician, electrician, whatever. This is me.
GQ: Your relationship with your biological father seems complicated.
Lil Wayne: He don't give a shit about me. And I don't give a shit about him. I know his friends be like, "Damn, nigga. That is not your son. Stop lying. Nigga, you could be living in a motherfucking ranch right now, nigga." You know, whatever your father's into, if you're rich, you're gonna get him that shit. I would've got that nigga all kinda harnesses, ranches—you know what I mean? I saw the nigga recently—I had a show in New Orleans. And I ain't afraid to put this out there, 'cause this is just how much I don't give a fuck about a nigga, and I want people to see how you're not supposed to be. I was parked at the hotel, and I saw him walking outside the hotel. Just walking back and forth. I'm like, "Look at this nigga! You gotta be looking for me." If Lil Wayne got a show in New Orleans, the whole of New Orleans knows. Basically, you're not there for nothing else but me. So I call my man on the bus. I'm like, "Nigga, that's my daddy." He's like, "Word? Oh shit. That nigga looks just like you!" So I tell my man, "Go see what's up." So my man goes to holla at him. He tells my man, "Oh. I didn't know y'all was here. I'm here waiting for this little ho to get off. Get off work from the hotel." For real? That's when I was like, "Typical Dwayne Carter." So that's what's up with me and my real father. I don't want to look like his ass, but I do.
GQ: Are the tattoos a way of not looking like your dad?
Lil Wayne: Tattoos are just a way of expressing myself. Me being me. I just went crazy. I don't know what happened. I think somebody slipped something in my drink, like a drug that'll make you get, like, a bunch of tattoos.
GQ: How does life look right now through Lil Wayne's glasses?
Lil Wayne: I can describe it like this: Today I was riding up to the venue. I had just woken up, and I looked out the window, and there was like a billion cars in the parking lot. I turned to my girl, and I said, "Isn't it crazy how all those cars and all those people are there to see me?" And the craziest part was I still could get that feeling. All this time, after all those albums, videos, all those awards and money and groupies and homeys and gangbanging and friends and no-longer friends. That I can still get that feeling, like, "Wow. This is amazing." That's what it is to be me. Yeah.
More Wall
John Wall has been one of the stars of the summer. The free flowing, showboat and no defense games from the pro-am circuit cater to his strengths, but there has been something special. He looks healthy and his explosive athleticism is back. He is lightning fast end-to-end.
And his jumpshot is falling. I’ve seen Wall play twice in person this summer and his shot looks much more steady, and he looks more confident with it.
You would too if you were making 2,000 shots a day. Which is what Wall told I am a GM he is doing.
John Wall: I didn’t have to shoot jumpshots when I was in high school; I just ran past everybody and just dunked and did whatever. So this whole summer that’s all I’m working on is my jumpshot. I wanna take the next step to being a superstar, to be an All-Star, that’s my goal this year, so I’m working on my jumpshot and everything else….
Question (Audience): So you’ve been working on your jumper. Do you try to hit a certain amount everyday?
John Wall: I have to make 2,000 a day.
Not that Wall is done dunking. Not by a long shot. He’s even thinking of trying to take Blake Griffin’s dunk contest crown.
Yea I’m thinking about it, maybe this year or next year I’ll probably enter the dunk contest.
Wall was solid last year. He was trying to figure out how to work his game into the NBA and he was playing through injuries. This season, look for him to break out.
And his jumpshot is falling. I’ve seen Wall play twice in person this summer and his shot looks much more steady, and he looks more confident with it.
You would too if you were making 2,000 shots a day. Which is what Wall told I am a GM he is doing.
John Wall: I didn’t have to shoot jumpshots when I was in high school; I just ran past everybody and just dunked and did whatever. So this whole summer that’s all I’m working on is my jumpshot. I wanna take the next step to being a superstar, to be an All-Star, that’s my goal this year, so I’m working on my jumpshot and everything else….
Question (Audience): So you’ve been working on your jumper. Do you try to hit a certain amount everyday?
John Wall: I have to make 2,000 a day.
Not that Wall is done dunking. Not by a long shot. He’s even thinking of trying to take Blake Griffin’s dunk contest crown.
Yea I’m thinking about it, maybe this year or next year I’ll probably enter the dunk contest.
Wall was solid last year. He was trying to figure out how to work his game into the NBA and he was playing through injuries. This season, look for him to break out.
There it go!!
Who remembers g.o.o.d Fridays? Some dope music. Well get hyped.
The Kanye x Pusha T x Common x Mos Def x Big Sean x Cyhi x John Legend x Charlie Wilson x Kid Cudi album IS COMING!
The Kanye x Pusha T x Common x Mos Def x Big Sean x Cyhi x John Legend x Charlie Wilson x Kid Cudi album IS COMING!
We all have routines but
REPORTER: Shaq, do you have a special routine before the playoffs?
SHAQ: Yeah, I let your mother rub my feet.
SHAQ: Yeah, I let your mother rub my feet.
Cup news
Merthyr beat west wales by 20
Swansea uni 2 beat caps 2 75-73
Cougars 2 advance due to tenby forfeit
Aberystwyth advance due to newbridge forfeit
Swansea uni 2 beat caps 2 75-73
Cougars 2 advance due to tenby forfeit
Aberystwyth advance due to newbridge forfeit
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
KD coming to London
We’ve been hearing rumblings and kind of waiting to see when a huge, star player barnstorming tour would gain some traction. One that features Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose and many others.
It has — and the fact it gets leaked on a key day of NBA labor negotiations is no coincidence either. This is a tour where players will make big bucks (at least six figures each, some up to $1 million), giving the players the “see, we can make money other ways” card to play.
Chris Broussard of ESPN broke the story of a two-week tour (while labor negotiations were still going on Wednesday).
In a trip that could resemble Team USA’s takeover of the world stage at the 2008 Beijing Games, Kobe, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierceand Kevin Love are among the players expected to participate. Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, among a few others, are also contemplating joining the tour….
Atlanta business mogul Calvin Darden has been putting the tour together with the players’ agents for nearly three months. He has already obtained signed contracts from Bryant, Wade, Bosh, Griffin, Rondo and Pierce.
Sources say he’s hoping to complete the rest of the agreements, along with insurance requirements, over the next few days.
The tour, scheduled to begin Oct. 30 and end Nov. 9, will make stops in Puerto Rico, London, Macau, and Australia. Each game will be staged in an arena that holds at least 15,000 fans. Two games each will be played at sites in London and Australia.
The tour would be a big hit with fans and well covered by media, but don’t or a second think it will impact the lockout negotiations.
These are 16 of the NBA’s elite players, and even if a few more jump in we are talking about the best compensated guys in the NBA, guys with shoe contracts and endorsements. These are the guys not feeling any pinch from the lockout.
The other 430 guys may feel differently. Role players who have a limited number of years to make as much money as they can are the ones who can’t miss a season on principle. And they are not the guys getting money to promote their brand around the globe. They do now or will soon start to feel differently about the lockout than the top guys.
It has — and the fact it gets leaked on a key day of NBA labor negotiations is no coincidence either. This is a tour where players will make big bucks (at least six figures each, some up to $1 million), giving the players the “see, we can make money other ways” card to play.
Chris Broussard of ESPN broke the story of a two-week tour (while labor negotiations were still going on Wednesday).
In a trip that could resemble Team USA’s takeover of the world stage at the 2008 Beijing Games, Kobe, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Rajon Rondo, Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Carlos Boozer, Paul Pierceand Kevin Love are among the players expected to participate. Kevin Durant and Kevin Garnett, among a few others, are also contemplating joining the tour….
Atlanta business mogul Calvin Darden has been putting the tour together with the players’ agents for nearly three months. He has already obtained signed contracts from Bryant, Wade, Bosh, Griffin, Rondo and Pierce.
Sources say he’s hoping to complete the rest of the agreements, along with insurance requirements, over the next few days.
The tour, scheduled to begin Oct. 30 and end Nov. 9, will make stops in Puerto Rico, London, Macau, and Australia. Each game will be staged in an arena that holds at least 15,000 fans. Two games each will be played at sites in London and Australia.
The tour would be a big hit with fans and well covered by media, but don’t or a second think it will impact the lockout negotiations.
These are 16 of the NBA’s elite players, and even if a few more jump in we are talking about the best compensated guys in the NBA, guys with shoe contracts and endorsements. These are the guys not feeling any pinch from the lockout.
The other 430 guys may feel differently. Role players who have a limited number of years to make as much money as they can are the ones who can’t miss a season on principle. And they are not the guys getting money to promote their brand around the globe. They do now or will soon start to feel differently about the lockout than the top guys.
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
An excerpt from "The Whore of Akron"
I pick up my ticket at will call and watch a thunderstorm roiling above Biscayne Bay. The sky blackens, the wind gusts, the lightning crackles. In a minute or two, a wall of fat raindrops sweeps the street alongside the arena, and then moves along, leaving the air thickened, sticky warm. My shirt is soaked with sweat and rain. Toxic, this weather. Fat men keel over, their lungs full of syrup, their aortas burst, in this sort of sauna.
Some whiskered lout waves me over as I approach the stairs to the entrance. Jesus, he looks like some version of me that never got sober or grew fat as a pregnant sow. His name is Jack Subwick. He left Cleveland for Florida years ago and settled in Boca Raton. He doesn't have a ticket, says he doesn't care about the game, but he has opening-night programs for the Heat's whole life span, and asks me to pick one up for him and bring it back out.
I tell Jack to give me his number and I'll grab him a program and call to arrange delivery. Jack mulls it over briefly, then scribbles his number on the back of a restaurant coupon he yanks from his pocket.
Two missions.
It turns out the Heat have printed three covers of tonight's program — one with Wade, one with Bosh, one with James. I take one of each.
On his cover, LeBron glares into the camera, head lowered, eyes hooded, tight-lipped, his thick white headband riding ever higher on his forehead as his hairline approaches oblivion. He stands with his hands on his hips, with his shoulders thrust forward, the visual embodiment of his summertime tweet:
"Don't think for one min that I haven't been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!"
He's ready to wreak havoc upon the NBA. No prisoners. Blood on the hardwood. Mano a mano. If your name's on Bron-Bron's list, you're going down hard as a motherfucker.
That's the pose. I think back to a game his rookie season, against the Indiana Pacers, when NBA tough guy Ron Artest was mugging James as he fought for position to take an inbounds pass. Artest had an arm across LeBron's upper chest and neck and a leg planted between James's knees bowing him forward. Paul Silas was coaching the Cavs, and Silas came up off the bench screaming — first at the nearest referee for not calling a foul on Artest, and then at LeBron for letting Artest unman him.
James has grown stronger and smarter over his seven seasons in the league, but he still tries to finesse defenders like Artest. His game has never hungered for a battle, much less marked him as the cruel-eyed enforcer who glares out from the program's cover.
Goddamn, it smells great in here. This has to be the best-smelling sports venue I've ever walked through. Bars everywhere, but the food grilling is what makes my nostrils twitch. Cuban chicken chop-chop. Arepas. Empanadas. It is a heavenly smell, and nearly enough to distract the brain from the women.
Nearly, I say, because damn, the women are fine. Dark hair, darker eyes, dark skin and plenty of it. Liquid they strut, supple brown legs and heart-shaped asses, teeth agleam, the peals of their laughter melding into the stew of aroma, wafting high a soft yielding cloud of spice and sizzle and samba and sunshine and everything that Cleveland, Ohio, is not.
This doesn't even feel like a sporting event — it feels like a party to which I have never been invited.
By God, it is a party: The arena itself is nearly vacant. I find my seat, an excellent seat, and study a two-page spread in the front of the program — FAN UP, MIAMI! — devoted to instructing Heat fans how to act like actual fans. Beginning with a Rileyesque us-versus-them taunting — " 'They' say that Heat fans are fickle fans," that "Heat fans don't deserve to have a team like this," and that "it's time to prove the naysayers wrong" — it promises freebies and discounts to fans who get to their seats for tip-off and stick around for the whole game.
Lord. This is where LeBron James wants to play basketball, in front of sun-dried cretins who must be bribed to act as if they care about the game and the team. Where another superstar already is the Man in the locker room and on the court; where nobody in the media will ever mention his collapse against Boston, his phantom elbow pain, and his steadfast refusal to hold himself accountable for his team's big-game failures.
For as long as I've been a fan, I've rooted hard against certain teams and players, but never have I hoped to see a career-ending injury — until tonight.
My seat has a face value of $165 and is one of four owned by Dr. Jeffrey Rosen, who had been hoping to get $2,500 for it, and then $1,500, and then $1,000. Jeff does a nice job of pretending not to be disappointed, and I stop myself from embarrassing him by shouting at LeBron during warm-ups. Five minutes before tip-off, the lower bowl is barely half full.
A dreadlocked old man walking with two canes makes his way to a stool at center court. The PA announcer says that this is Clarence Clemons, which I find hard to believe. Only a little while ago — August 8, 1975 — I saw Clarence Clemons for the first time, at the Akron Civic Theatre. I walked around the building afterward, snuck through the stage door, and thanked Bruce Springsteen for the greatest show I'd ever seen. Behind him stood the Big Man holding a fifth of Jack Daniel's, laughing as he drank — lit from within, he seemed like the coolest cat on the planet. I walked over and shook his huge, hot hand.
Thirty-five years later, from Rosen's seat, I watch the shrunken Big Man rest his back against the stool, pluck his sax from its stand, plant wide his feet, and blow a slow, shimmering anthem, each lush, lonely note a requiem.
Then the court is cleared for takeoff. LeBron is introduced first, Wade last. The choreography is painstaking; at one point, each of the three mega-super-duper stars stands alone in a separate spotlight, hulking at the crowd. It feels like a Friday-night opening of a Michael Bay movie, like a roller derby or pro-wrestling match, fiction based on a true story, with an all-star cast. ESPN has raised a canopied porch in a section above one of the tunnels. Magic Johnson sits there perched on Magic Johnson's ass, an igloo of flesh.
The game is a 96-70 walkover. Orlando played its home opener last night, and Dwight Howard seems to be the sole Magic player with any want-to tonight. By the time he fouls out, the Heat are coasting and half the fans are empty seats.
James plays a swell second-banana's game — 15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds — and at no point suffers a career-ending injury. With the game decided, he spends a good chunk of the second half on the bench biting his nails, an old habit he discarded in Cleveland. Only seventy-nine games to go until the playoffs, forty of them right here in Mojitoville, where the fans need an instructional manual to operate themselves, where the team fired its thirty-person season-ticket-sales staff after those tickets sold out in July, and where the owner's son takes a piss on his dead father's pant leg to make himself look like a macher.
Welcome to Pippenhood in the tropics, putz.
--
© Scott Raab. Excerpted from The Whore of Akron: One Man's Search for the Soul of LeBron James, on sale November 15 from HarperCollins.
Click here to pre-order now.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/whore-of-akron-book-excerpt-1111-2#ixzz1bALIIc7A
Some whiskered lout waves me over as I approach the stairs to the entrance. Jesus, he looks like some version of me that never got sober or grew fat as a pregnant sow. His name is Jack Subwick. He left Cleveland for Florida years ago and settled in Boca Raton. He doesn't have a ticket, says he doesn't care about the game, but he has opening-night programs for the Heat's whole life span, and asks me to pick one up for him and bring it back out.
I tell Jack to give me his number and I'll grab him a program and call to arrange delivery. Jack mulls it over briefly, then scribbles his number on the back of a restaurant coupon he yanks from his pocket.
Two missions.
It turns out the Heat have printed three covers of tonight's program — one with Wade, one with Bosh, one with James. I take one of each.
On his cover, LeBron glares into the camera, head lowered, eyes hooded, tight-lipped, his thick white headband riding ever higher on his forehead as his hairline approaches oblivion. He stands with his hands on his hips, with his shoulders thrust forward, the visual embodiment of his summertime tweet:
"Don't think for one min that I haven't been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!"
He's ready to wreak havoc upon the NBA. No prisoners. Blood on the hardwood. Mano a mano. If your name's on Bron-Bron's list, you're going down hard as a motherfucker.
That's the pose. I think back to a game his rookie season, against the Indiana Pacers, when NBA tough guy Ron Artest was mugging James as he fought for position to take an inbounds pass. Artest had an arm across LeBron's upper chest and neck and a leg planted between James's knees bowing him forward. Paul Silas was coaching the Cavs, and Silas came up off the bench screaming — first at the nearest referee for not calling a foul on Artest, and then at LeBron for letting Artest unman him.
James has grown stronger and smarter over his seven seasons in the league, but he still tries to finesse defenders like Artest. His game has never hungered for a battle, much less marked him as the cruel-eyed enforcer who glares out from the program's cover.
Goddamn, it smells great in here. This has to be the best-smelling sports venue I've ever walked through. Bars everywhere, but the food grilling is what makes my nostrils twitch. Cuban chicken chop-chop. Arepas. Empanadas. It is a heavenly smell, and nearly enough to distract the brain from the women.
Nearly, I say, because damn, the women are fine. Dark hair, darker eyes, dark skin and plenty of it. Liquid they strut, supple brown legs and heart-shaped asses, teeth agleam, the peals of their laughter melding into the stew of aroma, wafting high a soft yielding cloud of spice and sizzle and samba and sunshine and everything that Cleveland, Ohio, is not.
This doesn't even feel like a sporting event — it feels like a party to which I have never been invited.
By God, it is a party: The arena itself is nearly vacant. I find my seat, an excellent seat, and study a two-page spread in the front of the program — FAN UP, MIAMI! — devoted to instructing Heat fans how to act like actual fans. Beginning with a Rileyesque us-versus-them taunting — " 'They' say that Heat fans are fickle fans," that "Heat fans don't deserve to have a team like this," and that "it's time to prove the naysayers wrong" — it promises freebies and discounts to fans who get to their seats for tip-off and stick around for the whole game.
Lord. This is where LeBron James wants to play basketball, in front of sun-dried cretins who must be bribed to act as if they care about the game and the team. Where another superstar already is the Man in the locker room and on the court; where nobody in the media will ever mention his collapse against Boston, his phantom elbow pain, and his steadfast refusal to hold himself accountable for his team's big-game failures.
For as long as I've been a fan, I've rooted hard against certain teams and players, but never have I hoped to see a career-ending injury — until tonight.
My seat has a face value of $165 and is one of four owned by Dr. Jeffrey Rosen, who had been hoping to get $2,500 for it, and then $1,500, and then $1,000. Jeff does a nice job of pretending not to be disappointed, and I stop myself from embarrassing him by shouting at LeBron during warm-ups. Five minutes before tip-off, the lower bowl is barely half full.
A dreadlocked old man walking with two canes makes his way to a stool at center court. The PA announcer says that this is Clarence Clemons, which I find hard to believe. Only a little while ago — August 8, 1975 — I saw Clarence Clemons for the first time, at the Akron Civic Theatre. I walked around the building afterward, snuck through the stage door, and thanked Bruce Springsteen for the greatest show I'd ever seen. Behind him stood the Big Man holding a fifth of Jack Daniel's, laughing as he drank — lit from within, he seemed like the coolest cat on the planet. I walked over and shook his huge, hot hand.
Thirty-five years later, from Rosen's seat, I watch the shrunken Big Man rest his back against the stool, pluck his sax from its stand, plant wide his feet, and blow a slow, shimmering anthem, each lush, lonely note a requiem.
Then the court is cleared for takeoff. LeBron is introduced first, Wade last. The choreography is painstaking; at one point, each of the three mega-super-duper stars stands alone in a separate spotlight, hulking at the crowd. It feels like a Friday-night opening of a Michael Bay movie, like a roller derby or pro-wrestling match, fiction based on a true story, with an all-star cast. ESPN has raised a canopied porch in a section above one of the tunnels. Magic Johnson sits there perched on Magic Johnson's ass, an igloo of flesh.
The game is a 96-70 walkover. Orlando played its home opener last night, and Dwight Howard seems to be the sole Magic player with any want-to tonight. By the time he fouls out, the Heat are coasting and half the fans are empty seats.
James plays a swell second-banana's game — 15 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds — and at no point suffers a career-ending injury. With the game decided, he spends a good chunk of the second half on the bench biting his nails, an old habit he discarded in Cleveland. Only seventy-nine games to go until the playoffs, forty of them right here in Mojitoville, where the fans need an instructional manual to operate themselves, where the team fired its thirty-person season-ticket-sales staff after those tickets sold out in July, and where the owner's son takes a piss on his dead father's pant leg to make himself look like a macher.
Welcome to Pippenhood in the tropics, putz.
--
© Scott Raab. Excerpted from The Whore of Akron: One Man's Search for the Soul of LeBron James, on sale November 15 from HarperCollins.
Click here to pre-order now.
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/features/whore-of-akron-book-excerpt-1111-2#ixzz1bALIIc7A
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