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Lakers owner Jerry Buss passed away at 80

Jerry Buss, the longtime owner of the Lakers whose penchant for showmanship helped turn the game of basketball into “Showtime” and who led the team to 10 NBA championships, died Monday. He was 80.

A self-made millionaire who built his fortune in real estate, Buss bought the Lakers in 1979. He charted his successful course with marquee players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, Hall of Fame coaches Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, celebrities sitting courtside and Laker Girls dancing during timeouts.

"I really tried to create a Laker image, a distinct identity," Buss said. "I mean, the Lakers are pretty damn Hollywood."

It was a remarkable winning streak for a man who dug his way out of a hardscrabble youth.

A Depression-era baby, Jerry Hatten Buss was born Jan. 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City. His parents divorced when he was an infant.

His mother struggled to make ends meet as a waitress in tiny Evanston, Wyo., and Buss remembered standing in food lines in the bitter cold.

Later, Buss earned a science scholarship to the University of Wyoming. At 19 he married a coed named JoAnn Mueller, and they would eventually have four children: John, Jim, Jeanie and Janie.

By the mid-1950s, the couple had moved to Southern California, where Buss earned a doctorate in chemistry at USC. He worked briefly in the aerospace industry, and in the late 1950s, he and a colleague, Frank Mariani, tried their hand at real estate.

They scraped together a few thousand dollars to buy a 14-unit apartment house in West Los Angeles and, to save money, did all the repairs themselves. Their real estate company kept growing as they invested in residential properties, hotels and office buildings.

In 1979, Buss and his partners bought the Lakers (along with the Forum in Inglewood), the NHL’s Kings and a 13,000-acre ranch in Kern County for $67 million from Jack Kent Cooke.

At the time, the NBA had fallen by the wayside and several teams stood on the brink of bankruptcy.

But to Buss, the Lakers looked like a gem in the coal bin. They had a dominant center in Abdul-Jabbar, and the team picked the effervescent Johnson out of Michigan State in the 1979 NBA draft.

Success came quickly. With former Lakers star Jerry West maturing into one of the most gifted general managers in the league, the team won an NBA championship in Buss’ first season. Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Cooper guided the Lakers to five titles.

The Lakers' next title era came with O’Neal; the precocious Bryant, whom they traded for after he was drafted out of high school; and Jackson as coach. The Lakers won three consecutive championships from 2000 through 2002.

The team then flamed out in the 2004 NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons and traded O’Neal to the Miami Heat. At the same time, Jackson walked away.

After a few more disappointing seasons, Bryant demanded a trade, but Buss stood firm.

The Lakers, with Jackson back as coach and with Pau Gasol added to the team, defeated Orlando for the 2008-09 title. The following season, they beat Boston for another championship. It was their 10th and final title under Buss.

"Jerry Buss helped set the league on the course it is on today," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "Remember, he showed us it was about 'Showtime,' the notion that an arena can become the focal point for not just basketball, but entertainment. He made it the place to see and be seen."

Former Times staff writer Mark Heisler contributed to this report.

Lil Wayne And The Thunder Don't Mix.

Lil Wayne just can't seem to catch a break in Oklahoma City.

The hip hop superstar and avid NBA fan made headlines two weeks ago when he claimed he was denied a courtside seat at a playoff game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Now, Weezy is mad again. Although, no one seems to understand exactly why he's upset this time.

But it sounds like he had another bad experience in OKC. The Thunder are currently battling the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

"Again I was treated like sh*t by the Thunder arena staff...dam..I hope da Heat beat da dog sh*t out em!!," he tweeted.

Jay-Z Named Arena Director

Jay-Z has been named the arena director for the Brooklyn Nets' Barclay Arena. The hip hop mogul's new title was published in papers that were filed by the arena's developer, Forest City Ratner Cos. as part of the company's bid to secure a liquor license for the facility.

Jay has been particularly hands-on in his contributions to the team since its relocation to Brooklyn. The minority owner has helped design the new logo, he gave input on the 11 luxury suites. Jay helped determine what champagne would be used in the $550,000 suites and even determined what cutlery would be used.

Forest City CEO Bruce Ratner, David Berliner, Mary Anne Gilmartin, Christophe Charlier, Irina Pavlova and David Carlock will also serve as directors of the operations of the facility.

Lil Wayne Denied By NBA Team

Lil Wayne is one of the biggest stars in music, but the rapper realized that in Oklahoma City, being a hip hop star can't get you into an NBA Playoff game for free. Wayne was reportedly denied entry into Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.

"Was going to go to the Thunder game tonight but was denied by the team to be in their arena. Wow. Smh. Go Spurs!," he tweeted. "Sesh!"

Dan Mahoney, a spokesman for the Thunder, told the Associated Press that Wayne did not reach out for a ticket and there were no courtside seats available.

"We'd love to have him at a game, but like anyone else, he needs a ticket," Mahoney said.

Rihanna Dating New York Knick?

Rihanna, while stirring up the gossip mill by appearing at Club Liv with ex-beau Drake, also found time to start another hot rumor. The leggy pop star has been reportedly spending time with New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith.

With the Knicks getting bounced in the first round, the wingman has had plenty of time for extracurricular activities.

Smith had a run-in with the police in Miami last week for driving without a license. But after he was out of jail, he was seen hanging with Rih-Rih at Urban Beach Week.

Jay-Z's Brooklyn Nets Logo Debuts

The new Brooklyn Nets' logo has been revealed. The NBA franchise, which is partly owned by hip hop mogul Jay-Z, will be moving from New Jersey. Beginning next season, the team will begin play at the state-of-the-art Barclay Center and the new logo is part of the team's reinvention.

Jay-Z reportedly designed the logo himself.

"Today, we launch the next chapter. Boy, this feels good. We've been waiting seven years to get to this point," said CEO of Nets Basketball Brett Yormark.

The new merchandise has already gone on sale.

Jay-Z Attends Final New Jersey Nets Game

Hip hop mogul Jay-Z attended the final game of the New Jersey Nets before they make their much-anticipated move to Brooklyn. The rapper, who is a part owner of the team, attended the Nets' game against the Philadelphia 76ers and sat alongside Russian business Mikhail Prokhorov.

Prokhorov is the team's majority owner.

With several video tributes to past members of the Nets and a montage of their 2002 and 2003 teams that both made it to the NBA Finals, the team paid tribute to its past. Next season, the Brooklyn Nets will begin to play in the state-of-the-art Barclay Center.

Tahiry: Too Hot For the NBA?

Sexy model and infamous video vixen Tahiry got an NBA player in hot water this weekend. New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith tweeted a picture of the buxom beauty and the NBA didn't seem to be aroused--um---amused.

Smith has been fined $25,000 by the league for posting "inappropriate pictures" on his Twitter account.

"I didn't know it was going to be as big a deal as it is now," Smith told reporters. "I definitely regret it. Anytime I do anything that takes away from our team, I'm definitely going to regret it."

Smith said he will not appeal the fine.

Magic Johnson Teaming With Rappers

Entrepreneur and NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson wants to create a coalition with prominent rappers, athletes and other entertainers to address homophobia and HIV/AIDS within the Hip-Hop community. Johnson wants the initiative to address misinformation and stereotypes regarding the disease.

“What we’re trying to do is reach out to the Hip-Hop community because they have power — power with their voice, power with that mic in their hand and power with the lyrics that they sing,” Magic told The Huffington Post.

Johnson says that several stars have already pledged their support, but refrained from naming names too early in the development stages.

“We’re going to come out next year with everybody and we’ll have a nice big press conference and what we’re going to do, what our plan is, because it’s so important that we rally — not just them, either,” Magic said. “I need the Hip-Hop community but I also need the basketball players and football players. We need a little bit of everybody, so that’s what we’re working on now.”

NBA Is Back Tentative Deal Reached

Sides reach tentative agreement on deal

Posted Nov 25 2011 7:03PM - Updated Nov 26 2011 4:14AM

NEW YORK (AP) -- NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement early Saturday to end the 149-day lockout.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides met for more than 15 hours Friday, working to try to save the season. This handshake deal, however, still must be ratified by both owners and players.

"We've reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals and very complex machinations, but we're optimistic that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin Dec. 25," Commissioner David Stern said.

The league plans a 66-game season and aims to open camps Dec. 9.

"We thought it was in both of our best interests to try to reach a resolution and save the game," union executive director Billy Hunter said.

The Christmas Day deadline created a sense of urgency because that schedule is traditionally a showcase for the league. This season's three-game slate was to include Miami at Dallas in an NBA finals rematch, plus MVP Derrick Rose leading Chicago into Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

A majority on each side is needed to approve the agreement. The NBA needs votes from 15 of 29 owners. (The league owns the New Orleans Hornets.) Stern said the labor committee plans to discuss the agreement later Saturday and expects them to endorse it and recommend to the full board.

The union needs a simple majority of its 430-plus members. That process is a bit more complicated after the players dissolved the union Nov. 14. Now, they must drop their antitrust lawsuit in Minnesota and reform the union before voting on the deal.

Because the union disbanded, a new collective bargaining agreement can only be completed once the union has reformed. Drug testing and other issues still must be negotiated between the league and the players.

The settlement first was reported by CBSSports.com.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labor relations committee, and attorneys Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

When last talks broke down, the sides were still divided over the division of revenues and certain changes sought by owners to curb spending by big-market teams that players felt would limit or restrict their options in free agency.

On Nov. 14, players rejected the owners' proposal, which included opening a 72-game schedule on Dec. 15, announcing instead they were disbanding the union, giving them a chance to win several billion dollars in triple damages in an antitrust lawsuit.

Two days later, players filed two separate antitrust lawsuits against the league in two different states. On Monday, a group of named plaintiffs including Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash and Kevin Durant filed an amended federal lawsuit against the league in Minnesota, hoping the courts there will be as favorable to them as they have been to NFL players in the past.

Now, players will dismiss that lawsuit and get back to the business of basketball.

The previous CBA expired at the end of the day June 30. Despite a series of meetings in June, there was never much hope of a deal before that deadline, with owners wanting significant changes after saying they lost $300 million last season and hundreds of millions more in each year of the old agreement, which was ratified in 2005.

Owners wanted to keep more of the league's nearly $4 billion in basketball revenues to themselves after guaranteeing 57 percent to the players under the old deal. And they sought a system where even the smallest-market clubs could compete, believing the current system would always favor the teams who could spend the most.

Initially, the salary cap emerged as the biggest obstacle. Owners first proposed a hard cap, but players fought hard to maintain the current system that allows teams to exceed the cap through the use of various exceptions.

The league was adamant the system needed some adjustment, because the old rules gave too many advantages to teams who could afford to keep adding to their payrolls. So the league's proposals targeted the highest-spending teams, seeking to eliminate the use of the midlevel exception by teams over the luxury tax and prevent them from participating in sign-and-trade deals.

Drake Featured In NBA 2K12 Commercial

Although the NBA lockout has set things back, that’s not stopping 2k Sports from releasing their annual title. In this ad, Drake along with Michael Jordan debate on the Greatest Team Ever. MJ’s right, those ’96 Bulls were a problem.

Carmelo Calls Out Athletes

With the NBA currently in the midst of a lockout, Carmelo Anthony was asked if his fellow superstars were 'afraid' to speak out publicly about the dispute between players and owners. Melo said that NBA stars and other athletes don't have the moxie to step up and speak out these days, unlike the heyday of a certain loud mouth heavyweight champion.

Carmelo says that ballers are scared.

““We’re not allowed. We’re not allowed. I mean everybody has their own opinion…you hear people talk here and there…but nobody don’t really come out and say what they really want to say. That’s just the society we live in," Melo says. "Athletes today are scared to make Muhammad Ali type statements.“"

Kobe Plans To Help Players Out During The Lockout

According to Billy Hunter, head of the Players Association, Kobe Bryant is among those ready to hand out loans to NBA players struggling financially in the event of a prolonged lockout. From an LA Times Q&A: “What role will NBA superstars like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James play as this moves forward? ‘They’ve been deeply involved in the meetings we’ve had. I know Kobe is intimately involved in interfacing with colleagues and sharing in a pool of revenue to help the others get through this. Kobe has volunteered to do that in the event others need, he and others are prepared to loan money if necessary.’”

NBA Re-designs a Few Teams Logos

Check out the new logos fans made for the Wizards, Clippers, Warriors Kings, Nets, and Hornets.

It’s official: Owners tell players there will be a lockout

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

This is a sad day for the NBA.
We all knew it was coming. Frankly, everyone has been expecting this for a couple of years now, you could see the storm clouds gathering for that long. It doesn’t make it feel any better.
And things are only going to get worse in the short term. Not better.
Owners informed the players during a bargaining session Thursday that they will lockout players starting at midnight, according to multiple reports.
No further bargaining sessions are scheduled. Here is what union director Billy Hunter told Ken Berger of CBSSports:

“I’ve been anticipating this lockout for the last two or three years, and now it’s here.”

Hunter also said that the NBPA — the player’s union — does not plan to file to decertify, as the NFL players union did.
Now that there is a lockout (well, technically starting at midnight eastern), expect both sides to start playing a little hardball — the owners may well take back some of the concessions given up in recent bargaining sessions. The players also will dig their heels in.
The only question becomes will the sides be able to reach a deal before games are lost. That would mean, roughly, reaching a deal by Oct. 1 (there could be wiggle room there, but they need a month to have an abbreviated free agency and training camps).
That’s a long time away, but these two sides have been talking for two years and a lockout is where we are now.

Source

Kobe Bryant Fined For Slur

The small firestorm that has brewed over Kobe Bryant calling a referee a "f**king F****t" during a televised Lakers/Spurs game has reached a conclusion. The star issued a statement apologizing for using the derogatory language and the NBA has fined him $100,000.

"Kobe Bryant's comment during last night’s game was offensive and inexcusable," NBA Commissioner David Stern said via statement. "While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."

Kobe's statement read:
"What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”

Several gay rights organizations blasted Bryant for the slur.

Wizards Sign Philly Mustafa Shakur

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld announced Friday that the team has signed guard Mustafa Shakur from the NBA Development League's Rio Grande Valley Vipers to a 10-day contract.
Shakur has averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds this season through 23 games with Rio Grande Valley.
He spent time in training camp with the New Orleans Hornets earlier this season and has previously had stints with Oklahoma City, Sacramento and the D-League's Tulsa Thunder (where he averaged 19.3 points, 6.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds during the 2009-10 season).

Via RealGM Staff Report

i happy for him + he's killing right now against boston on nba tv

Keyshia Cole - Long Way Down

Keyshia Cole is speaking about love and life on her new album and how she was threw with love and gave it another chance once she met her childs father who play's basketball for the Cavs. Mr Gibson change her broken heart in to happy times. Congrats and the song is dope

Four K's Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries + Gabriel Aubry

Kim Kardashian’s budding romance with model Gabriel Aubry has ended as suddenly as it began Life & Style can exclusively reveal. “Kim feels like Gabriel was just using her for her fame,” an insider close to Kim tells Life & Style. Plus, Gabriel, 34, “is older than Kim is looking for,” says the insider. “So she’s decided to stop seeing him.”

Kim’s not wasting any time on regrets she has already started dating Kris Humphries, a 25-year-old basketball player for the New Jersey Nets. “Kim likes him much more than Gabriel,” says the insider to Life & Style. “He’s normal, so much fun and cute. He’s perfect for what Kim wants right now, which is some fun dates and some fun times.” And of course he’s an athlete, continuing Kim’s pattern of falling for jocks.