Tuesday, July 19, 2011
#MYOL News: Boston’s City Hall Plaza Chosen As Site For Statue of Celtics Legend Bill Russell (July 10th-16th)
City Hall Plaza will serve as home to the Bill Russell statue, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca announced Monday in a brief ceremony on the expected location on the south side near State Street. While considering a handful of locations during the selection process, a site visit to City Hall Plaza with Russell confirmed to the legacy committee that it was the ideal spot.
“The mayor brought Bill here and, when they came to look at the site, literally hundreds of kids surrounded him and were taking pictures,” said Pagliuca. “It was as if he was a live statue here. It’s going to be very exciting.”
Menino suggested that Russell could be the first seed in making the area a place to celebrate all of Boston’s sports history. “It might be a plaza of champions in the future,” Menino said, “but we want to make sure that Bill Russell is the lead champion.” Russell led the Celtics to 11 league championships in 13 seasons.
President Barack Obama suggested Boston build a statue of Russell when he awarded him a Presidential Medal of Freedom in February. Obama said he hoped one day children would look up to a statue “built not only to Bill Russell the player but Bill Russell the man.” Three artists have been selected as finalists for the design of the statue and, after making their first official site visit Monday, will be asked to submit their visions to the legacy committee in October. Pagliuca suggested the actual statue could be unveiled next spring, noting he hoped it would coincide with the Celtics’ 2011-12 season, if the lockout allows for one.
The three artists are Fern Cunningham, creator of the Monument to Harriett Tubman in Boston’s South End; Antonio Mendez with Oudens Ello Architects, whose work includes the player statues outside Fenway Park; and Anne Hirsch, a local artist based in Somerville. The artists have the challenge of designing a statue that not only celebrates Russell’s accomplishments on the basketball court, but what he meant to the city off the court.
- Chris Forsberg covers the Celtics for ESPNBoston.com
#MYOL News: LeBron James Gets Deal To Sponsor Collegiate Teams (July 10th-16th)
LeBron James has struck sponsorship deals with Ohio State, Kentucky and Miami to wear his Nike-branded gear, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
The Buckeyes and Wildcats, two of the more visible college programs, are expected to be ranked among the country’s best basketball teams in 2011-12.
James’ publicist, Keith Estabrook, wouldn’t comment on the deals when approached by the Sun-Sentinel. He suggested the paper direct all questions to Nike. The company did not immediately return an email seeking comment, according to the newspaper.
As pointed out by the Sun-Sentinel, James will follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, whose Nike gear is associated with his alma mater, North Carolina. California and Cincinnati also sport the Jordan brand through sponsorship deals.
James has close ties to each of the programs he will sponsor. The Miami Heat forward is from the state of Ohio, openly roots for the school and frequently wears Buckeyes gear. He also maintains a close relationship with Kentucky coach John Calipari and has scrimmaged against players from the Miami Hurricanes program since joining the Heat in 2010.
- Staff report/Sporting News
Happy Birthday Bill Cosby! (July 10th-16th)
William Henry "Bill" Cosby Jr. (born July 12, 1937) is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the situation comedy The Bill Cosby Show. He was one of the major characters on the children's television series The Electric Company for its first two seasons, and created the educational cartoon comedy series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, about a group of young friends growing up in the city. Cosby has also acted in a number of films.
During the 1980s, Cosby produced and starred in what is considered to be one of the decade's defining sitcoms, The Cosby Show, which aired eight seasons from 1984 to 1992. The sitcom highlighted the experiences and growth of an affluent African-American family. He also produced the spin-off sitcom A Different World, which became second to The Cosby Show in ratings. He starred in the sitcom Cosby from 1996 to 2000 and hosted Kids Say the Darndest Things for two seasons.
He has been a sought-after spokesman, and has endorsed a number of products, including Jell-O, Kodak film, Ford, Texas Instruments, and Coca-Cola, including New Coke. In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete Asante included him in his book, the 100 Greatest African Americans.
In 1976, Cosby earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Massachusetts. For his doctoral research, he wrote a dissertation entitled, "An Integration of the Visual Media Via 'Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids' Into the Elementary School Curriculum as a Teaching Aid and Vehicle to Achieve Increased Learning".
Hip Hop: Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne Tracklisting (July 10th-16th) #Brooklyn #NYC #Chi-Town #Mid-West
1. No Church in The Wild (ft. Frank Ocean)
2. Lift Off (ft. Beyoncé)
3. Niggas in Paris
4. Otis (ft. Otis Redding)
5. Gotta Have It
6. New Day
7. Prime Time
8. Who Gon Stop Me
9. Murder to Excellence
10. Welcome to The Jungle
11. Sweet Baby Jesus (ft. Frank Ocean)
12. Love You So (ft. Mr Hudson)
Bonus
13. Illest Motherfucker Alive
14. H*A*M
15. That’s My Bitch
16. The Joy (ft. Curtis Mayfield)
Hip Hop: Lil Wayne - Carter IV Tracklisting (July 10th-16th) #N.O. #3rdCoast
1. It’s Weezy’s… (Intro)
2. 6 Foot 7 Foot (Feat. Cory Gunz)
3. Triple Exclusive
4. Nightmares Of The Bottom
5. My Wife Hate My Life (Feat. Cee-Lo Green)
6. How To Love
7. Block My Black Heart
8. Bad Stripin’ (Girl’s Bad)
9. Pray To Big Mason (Feat. Drake & Nicki Minaj)
10. Life Is A Goal
11. Fast Track (Feat. Tech N9ne & Busta Rhymes)
12. Destiny Is Over, You Got Real
13. Retire My Royal
14. I’m Ready For You (Feat. John Legend)
15. You & Me
16. My Ghost On It
17. Sometimes I Think About Her (Move) (Feat. Will I Am)
18. Wayne’s World
19. Big Power (Outro) (Feat. Nas, Shyne and Jadakiss)
Hip Hop: Swizz Beats - Monster Monday's Volume One (July 10th-16th)
Download Swizz Beats "Monster Monday's" Volume One Mixtape HERE!
AAU Basketball: 2011 Nike Peach Jam Top 5 Plays (VIDEO) (July 10-16th)
BABC 2011 18U Roster Shaquille Jones | SG | 2012 | 6-5 | 185 | Notre Dame Prep |
Nerlens Noel | PF/C | 2013 | 6-10 | 210 | Tilton School (N.H.) |
| LQuan Arnum | PG | 2013 | 5-5 | Dartmouth H.S. | |
| Georges Niang | SF/PF | 2012 | 6-6 | 230 | Tilton School |
| Goodluck Okonoboh | PF | 2013 | 6-8 | 190 | Tilton School |
| Andrew Chrabascz | PF | 2013 | 6-6 | 205 | Cushing Academy |
| Dominiq Bull | PG/SG | 2012 | 6-3 | 195 | Tilton School |
| Jake Layman | PF | 2012 | 6-8 | 190 | King Phillip Regional H.S. |
| Jared Johnson | PG | 2012 | 6-0 | 165 | Cushing Academy |
| Kamari Robinson | SF | 2013 | 6-5 | Springfield Central H.S. | |
| Kamili Bey | SG | 2013 | 6-3 | 205 | Wilbraham & Monson H.S. |
| Jaylen Brantley | PG | 2013 | 5-9 | 155 | Wilbraham & Monson H.S. |
| Rene Castro | PG/SG | 2013 | 6-2 | 165 | Beaver Country Day |
| Johnnie Vassar | G | 2014 | 5-8 | 160 | Lawrence Academy |
| Wayne Selden | SF | 2014 | 6-4 | 200 | Tilton School |
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