LeBron James May Be in Spike Lee Film

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by 9dstpm
I am so SICK of these spoiled HS and College ball players. I remember in HS I was one of the top 10 in my class and could not get a free ride to anybody's school. (I did get a partial scholarship, but I still had to take out loans to cover room, board, and books!!). Meanwhile, I had a boyfriend at the time who "rode the pine" (sitting on the bench) in football and he got a free ride to a HBCU. Today, I'll have a master's in two months while he dropped out of school and is digging ditches. Literally!

I'm not hating or anything b/c if God blessed you with the talent then you use it, but there is TOO MUCH emphasis on athleticisim in our schools today. Arts programs and after-school programs get cut everyday while football and basketball get more MORE funding and NEVER get cut.


One last thing about that LeBron kid; I read in the paper today that he declared himself eligible for the NBA Draft. I hope that he is in prayer that he gets picked up by a team b/c not only his HS career is over, his college one is over before it even started.

"BronBron" was NEVER headed to college, despite his 3.2 GPA. Not with that parasite mother and all those other hangers-on wanting a piece of him.

[Shani26]

I agree with what most of you are saying, if you are mentally not ready for the NBA then you should wait and go to college first. BUT college is not all that it is made out to be...as a matter of fact the only reason I'm here is because in order to accomplish my career goal I need this degree. If my goal was to be in the NBA...honestly that would be my first priority not college. Once I'm in the league I can ALWAYS go to college...but if I post pone the NBA for college I'm risking getting an injury or them losing interest in me because I'm gone for 4 years. I think that once you are in the league it is important for these players to get some education in whatever they could see themselves doing after the NBA, just in case their time in the NBa was cut short unexpectedly. But to risk getting a spot in the NBA to take philosophy 101 is crazy to me. Don't get me wrong I value education, but some of the wisest/smartest people I know never went to college...College will always be there for an NBA player...but the NBA may not always be there for a college student.

[Steeltrap]

[CrimsonTide4]

http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0205/1504308.html
What you think about this?

[Gina1201]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4
http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0205/1504308.html
What you think about this?

After he received the Hummer and was cleared of THOSE charges, I knew "they" (the high school b-ball officials) were going to try and find something to pin on LeBron.

However, there was one statement in the article that I did not understand: Williams said James would suffer "immediate and irreparable injury" without a court order. Maybe it's just me but what does this mean?

The article also states that LeBron received the jerseys "as congratulations for his academic achievements".

Umm. . . I've been on the Dean's List for the past three semesters and all I get is "Good Job Gina". So using that as an excuse does not fly right with me.

[9dstpm]

I just heard on the news that that BRAT will get to play after all. See this is what gets me about these HS and college athletes. See, administrators and judges and so forth will sit there and give out this punishment and then take it back. This is why these athletes have this "above the law" mentality so when they rape and kill folks or get hooked on drugs, they expect to get off every time because little things like what the BRAT has done and what other athletes have been doing all the time (accepting gifts, getting grades fixed, etc.) get overlooked so they figure that anything else they do wrong it will be overlooked too and that is when they get into all this trouble and then look crazy when they can't get out of it.

[CrimsonTide4]

James Joins Nike, Upper Deck on Eve of Draft Lottery

By TOM WITHERS
.c The Associated Press

CLEVELAND (May 22) -- LeBron James always idolized Michael Jordan, right down to his shoes. Now the high school star will begin his NBA career just like Mike.

Only with a lot more money.

James will go into the league with a swoosh after agreeing to a deal with Nike worth more than $90 million, the Associated Press learned Thursday.

James, the high school star expected to be the No. 1 pick in next month's draft, agreed to terms on the largest shoe endorsement deal ever, choosing Nike over Adidas and Reebok.

James was expected to sign the contract Thursday. A source close to James, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the AP the deal was worth more than $90 million.

Nike spokesman Mark Shapiro confirmed that an agreement had been reached with James. ESPN.com, citing unidentified sources, said it was a seven-year deal.

The James family publicist, Alexandria Boone, would not confirm the deal but said a formal announcement would be made Thursday.

Recent published reports predicted that the 18-year-old player from Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School star might get a $100 million deal, which would be unprecedented in the history of sneaker endorsements.

When Jordan signed his first contract with Nike in 1984, it was for $2.5 million over five years.

Last weekend, James, his mother, Gloria, and agent Aaron Goodwin spent two days at Nike's corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., where the company made its final presentation.

Adidas appeared to drop out of the running earlier this week, just days after it put up billboards and placed messages on buses in Akron directed at James.

James also signed an exclusive multiyear contract with Upper Deck trading cards Wednesday.

The 6-foot-8 James' selection of Nike over Reebok and Adidas ends a nearly two-year battle among the shoe companies to land the dynamic player, whose game has been compared to that of Jordan and Magic Johnson.

James has received unprecedented media coverage the past two years. He has appeared on the cover of national sports magazines and this past season two of his games were televised nationally by ESPN.

The shoe deal came less than a day before James was to learn where he'll be wearing his Nikes as a pro.

The NBA will hold its draft lottery Thursday night, and the winner gets the right to select James, a three-time Mr. Ohio in Basketball and the consensus national player of the year the past two years.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets, who tied for the league's worst record this season, have the best chance at getting the top pick.

Terms of the deal with Upper Deck were not immediately available, but company spokesman Jake Gonzales said James' contract is on a level with previous agreements signed by Jordan, Tiger Woods and soccer star David Beckham.

Boone said the trading card deal included a $1 million signing bonus.

"Every kid who plays sports aspires to be the best and be part of a winning team,'' James said in a statement. "Today's deal with Upper Deck not only means that I've joined a team that is the leader in the collectibles industry, but also allows me to be part of a team of world class athletes representing their products.''

Gonzales said James is the youngest person ever signed by Upper Deck, whose other spokesmen include Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui.

Upper Deck said James' trading card and memorabilia agreement prohibits any other company from using his autograph or his likeness on its packaging. It also stipulates that James can only promote for Upper Deck.

"Upper Deck is known for producing the most collectible and innovative trading cards and memorabilia in the world,'' vice president Tim Muret said in a statement. "It is fitting that LeBron James and Upper Deck join forces in an exclusive relationship that will bring exciting products to fans and collectors worldwide.''

James' first trading card will be available July 29, the company said.

05/22/03 11:20 EDT

[CrimsonTide4]

[Gina1201]

I like the color of the H2. But what is the reason for the hand sign?

[CrimsonTide4]

Maybe he wants to sign with Jay-Z's RocAFella Records.


Color of Hummer is off the hook. . .but he could have purchased an Expedition.

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by CrimsonTide4

Good Lawd. These kids. I hope that he is quoting Jigga.
But it reminds me of stories about Kobe supposedly throwing up the Omega "hooks" as a way of emulating Diesel Daddy.

[Steeltrap]

Report: Soccer Prodigy Signs Nike Deal
Mon May 26, 6:58 PM ET


WASHINGTON - Thirteen-year-old soccer prodigy Freddy Adu agreed to a $1 million contract with Nike, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Adu, already an offensive star on the U.S. under-17 national team, also has agreed to be represented by SportsNet, LLC.


Arnold Tarzay, a lawyer and family adviser, did not confirm the amount of the deal to the Post, which cited sources for the worth of the multiyear contract. The paper said Adu is not likely to sign a pro contract for at least a year.


Nike spokeswoman Celeste Alleyne did not comment to The Associated Press. A call to a representative of the U.S. under-17 team was not immediately returned.


The agreement comes less than a week after Nike signed high school phenom LeBron James, the expected No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, to an endorsement contract worth more than $90 million.


Adu would become ineligible for NCAA (news - web sites) soccer with this deal, but he does not plan to play in college.


A native of Ghana, Adu came to the United States when he was 8 and has been training with the national team in Bradenton, Fla. He became a citizen in February.


Adu played for the under-17 team that lost to Mexico 2-1 in Lancaster, Calif., on Sunday.

[9dstpm]

Well, it seems that yet another child is getting rich by just throwing a ball around. Only in America can teachers who teach the rich, spoiled athletes make less than $30K a year, but people like LeBron James and Freddy Adu can make millions. Our priorities are in the wrong place!!

[CrimsonTide4]

Posted on Wed, May. 28, 2003

Lil Mark too young to hype
By JASON WHITLOCK
Columnist




Jason Whitlock


Reebok is going to hype a 3-year-old Lee's Summit child as "the future of basketball." The child, "Lil" Mark Walker Jr., appeared on BET's "106 and Park" Tuesday night with singer Beyonce Knowles.

Lil Mark's mama, LaShawn, is just tickled pink, oops, I mean green. Her little boy, who was injected with a basketball jones while still in the crib (if not the womb), inked his first shoe contract at a record age, 15 years ahead of LeBron James.

We should give LaShawn credit. She saw this coming before any of us. When her precious little cash register, oops, I mean little boy first started throwing the ball in the hoop with some gentle prodding from dear old dad, Mark Sr., LaShawn did what any proud mama would do. She called every media outlet in Kansas City.

It's never too early to get the hype machine rolling and to send a young black boy the message that what's really most important is your ability to crossover dribble.

The local media, for the most part, ignored LaShawn. I called her and told her to quit bugging me or call me when the boy starts reading and writing. She'd called me repeatedly at The Star and at WHB-810.

I lampooned her on my radio show, which provoked a woman who claimed to be Lil Mark's aunt to call my show and announce that Lil Mark would someday be better than Michael Jordan.

I laughed and told the woman she was crazy.

LaShawn Walker must've been somewhere laughing, too, because the next day ESPN ran footage of Lil Mark throwing the ball over his head at a 10-foot rim and making the shot.

Either I have no instincts or ESPN's "SportsCenter" is no different than "The Late Show With David Letterman," which used to feature stupid pet tricks. I have excellent instincts. LaShawn Walker's just might be better, though.

She shipped tape of Lil Mark's exploits to Reebok and presumably every other shoe company looking for the "future of basketball" or the "next Air Jordan."

Reebok, according to a story in USA Today, plans to build a marketing campaign around Lil Mark, the 3-year-old sensation. Reebok will run a commercial showing Lil Mark knocking down a string of shots on an eight-foot rim, and Reebok hopes the campaign provokes other parents to contact the shoe company if they have a child sports prodigy.

LaShawn, perhaps wiser from my radio-show whipping, was quoted in the USA Today story saying that education was Lil Mark's first priority. To back it up, she pointed out that Reebok was paying Lil Mark by setting up a college fund for him.

Is LaShawn Walker any different than Earl Woods, Tiger's daddy? Earl believed from a very early age that Tiger would be better than Jack Nicklaus. Earl never shielded Tiger from the spotlight.

There are two differences between LaShawn and Earl: 1. I wasn't writing a column or hosting a radio show when Earl began hyping Tiger Woods; 2. I question whether Lil Mark has demonstrated a true basketball skill. He's been taught how to throw a basketball into a rim. Tiger had a golf swing. Lil Mark doesn't have a basketball "shot." If Lil Mark ever develops a jumpshot, it won't look anything like the one that landed him a Reebok contract.

What we're witnessing with Lil Mark is the final blending of the sports world with the entertainment world. Hollywood has long been home to child actors and their overzealous, manipulative parents.

The sports world has had them, too. It's just now the sports parents have TV networks in need of ratings and sponsors in need of commercial gimmicks ready and willing to exploit and market 3-year-old boys and girls.

LaShawn Walker, you win. Let's just hope Lil Mark defies the child-actor laws and isn't the big loser.

[Steeltrap]

His mother is But he's a cute kid.