Meeting Vinny Guadagnino

Yesterday I met Vinny Guadagnino. Vinny is one of the stars on Jersey Shore. I know you're all wondering how this came to light, so let me tell you.

I was at the event in Barclays Center (details on the previous article) and I saw on the guest list that Vinny will be there. Of course, I got excited, but as a journalist I was forced to keep my cool. As the celebrities started walking the carpet, I realised that Vinny's publicist was literally two feet away from me. Being as professional as possible, I decided to hand him my business card. We started to chat a bit, and eventually he told me he'll get me a one question interview with Vinny. I was super excited, especially that vinny was running late and was really done with the media. This interview was super special because of how nice Vinny was. He seemed really sincere with what he was saying and even though we only spoke for about a minute, he seemed genuine.

Big shout out to Vinny and his publicist, Mr. Roger!

CC Sabathia and Robinson Cano event

Although it's not basketball season, basketball hasn't stopped in Brooklyn. Last night the Barclays center hosted a Celebrity basketball game to raise funds for CC's PitCCh foundation and Robinson Cano's RC22 foundation. TSS was fortunate enough to gain access to the red carpet and the event. 

We arrived there two hours early and was shocked by a hello from Robinson Cano. He was super nice and made a couple jokes and told me that tonight will be a nigh to remember, he was so accurate! At about 6:10 the red carpet started. Celebrities like Tiki Barber, CC Sabathia, Robinson Cano, Melo, KD, Derek Jeter and even Rihanna where there. They walked out one by one, took pictures and did some interviews. We had the privilege to catch up with a few players and hear what they had to say about the event, here are some quotes.

Vinny from the Jersey Shore: "It feels amazing (to be here), I am here to support CC Sabathia"

NeYo "It feels fantastic, spend time for a good cause" when asked if he was playing tonight he reluctantly said "ya,ya"

Tiki Barber said "My job is to pass the ball to someone who can shoot"

CC Sabathia:"It means everything to be here" 

Derek Jeter also said he was excited to be here!

As you can see, this was no ordinary event. Celebrities from all walks of life came together to support a great cause! The event raised over 1 million dollars.

The publicist sent us the following summary of the event of last night: Thursday night, CC Sabathia and Robinson Cano joined forces along with Roc Nation Sports to present the Summer Classic Charity Basketball Game at Barclays Center. All proceeds from the event served to benefit Sabathia’s PitCCh In Foundation and Cano’s RC22 Foundation equally while aiming to increase opportunities for underserved youth in the areas of education, wellness and fitness – the night successfully raised $1,040,000! Team Sabathia took on Team Cano with a competitive celebrity match-up led by master of ceremony Angie Martinez. Sabathia and Cano had some help coaching on the sidelines from NBA and MLB pros including Derek Jeter, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, JR Smith, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Some stellar player performances included Chris Brown with 18 points (who was rarely seen without the ball in his hands running up and down the court) and Terrell Owens with 23. The real “star” of the game was DJ Khaled - fans chanted for his return to the court every time he was benched for an unfortunate play. Ultimately, Team Cano secured the win by 2 points. The 8,500 spectators included some familiar faces – Rihanna sat courtside alongside girlfriends Melissa Forde, Skylar Diggins and Cara Delevingne sipping on D’USSE cocktails throughout the entire game.

Michael Gruen

This article was created for TSS.

Ball boy in Brooklyn gets a run for his towel!

Hey sports fans! Last night I got to sit in a suite. The view and experience was great but one think stood out from last night. What stood out was the fact that their was 6 people from Brooklyn on the court, but the best part is only 5 of them are on the roster. What do I mean by this? Well you can see in the link below's video, is one of the Nets esteemed ball boys cleaning the floor, but it this mundane cleaning turned suspenseful when Tyler Hansbrough ran down the court at full speed and almost tripped over the ball boy! Yes, that's scary. I can now tell you that all of Brooklyn are great ball players! It's actually funny, if you look in the corner of the video you can see Ethan Gold (pictured with me above) running backwards as well.

Great win and great experience!

Video and official article can be viewed : Brooklyn ballboy shows good hustle « All Ball Blog with Lang Whitaker | NBA.com

Here is a direct quote from the website: 

ALL BALL NERVE CENTER — I just spent about ten minutes trying (in vain) to find a video clip of a play from 2001, when then-Hawks guard Jacque Vaughn made a steal during a game in Cleveland, and had to forearm shiver an unsuspecting ballboy out of the way while sinking a lay-up. (There is a written recap of it here, though.)  This happens from time to time in the NBA, when a ballboy runs onto the court to do his or her job, and then the run of play suddenly reverses and the ballboy finds themselves caught out there.

This is exactly what happened last night in Brooklyn, where a ballboy ventured onto the court to clean up the floor and found himself in crosshairs of a Tyler Hansbrough fastbreak. What do you do when Psycho T comes crashing down on you? You dive off the court as fast as you can, that’s what you do …

Meeting the Grizzlies at Barclays

Last night at Barclays the Nets hosted the Memphis Grizzlies. This game was clearly for pride. The Nets did walk away with a win, 103-94, it was a good fight. Marc Gasol did AMAZING! The Nets are now over .500 and have been on a MAJOR streak.

I had the opportunity to be at the game. Thanks to Jason Wallace, I also got to meet the players post game. I got to speak to Marx Gasole, Miller and many others.

The experience was great and this once again shows how class act the Grizzlies are. It was so nice to meet them and look forward to talking to them soon.

Thank You!

DAVID ROBINSON!-confirmed!!

NBA Information and Technology executive David Robinson,has agreed to be my Mentor! I have been looking for a mentor for a while and I can honestly say I found the perfect person to take that position.

David has done so much for me the short time I have known him. David has given me tremendous guidance as a journalist, as a professional, and as a person. He is great ethics which allowed us to meet. I didn't meet him any where special. I walked up to him at a Nets game and I saw someone who I will look up to.

He has taken me to meet: The Nets,Spurs (including Tim Duncan),Magic and the 76ers (Michael Carter Williams). My career in Basketball blogging was taken to a whole nother level.

David has not only been a class act NBA rep but has also been someone down to earth and someone you can talk to. He is an AMAZING Basketball player and would have seen some NBA playing time if it wasn't for an injury. Although he couldn't wind up playing in the NBA he took the next best thing by working for the NBA.

To inaugurate my new mentors achievements we will be hanging a banner on universalinterview.com. I know it's not like hanging a Jersey but it's the best I can offer at this time.

I am looking forward to talking to David and working with him in the future!

Sincerely,

Michael!

Is there more to the NBA then the teams themselves?

Is there more to the NBA then the teams themselves? 

I am happy to report that the answer is YES! The NBA consists of people of the highest caliber and people who like to be a class act. I personally have met three major NBA executives (David Robinson, Kiki Vandeweghe and Rod Thorn). I have stayed in touch with Kiki and David. The NBA is represented by people who are dignified and all have a story. I would like to fill you in on a short bio of the three executives I have met:

Rod Thorn: He drafted Michael Jordan when he was GM of the Bulls and he is responsible for the best trade in Nets history,trading for Jason Kidd. Besides for Jason's exceptional style on and off the court he is also the current Nets head coach.

Kiki: Kiki is an amazing person. He is a former player for the Trail Blazers and was also head coach for the Nets. He was drafted in the first round and had an amazing career as a GM,coach and player. He is now the NBA VP of Basketball operations.

R to L- Mirza Teletovic,Issac,me

David Robinson: David is someone who is friendly and caring. I have had a lot of contact with him over the last month and everything he does is because he cares. He personally has helped my friend Issac and I numerous times. He has recently become one of my inspirations and mentors. He has taught me to have confidence in what I do. 

He was telling me stories about himself and how he was supposed to be a player. Unfortunately due to an injury he is doing the second best thing by being an executive in the NBA. 

I am glad I am able to say I have met and know Mr. Robinson

Last nights Courtside Nets game

Me with NBA executive David Robinson

Hi!

Michael Here! Last night I had the opportunity to go to the Nets game,COURTSIDE! The experience was great and I would like to give a shout out to Sruly on getting me the tickets.

So I walk in to the awe inspiring Calvin Klein club and suddenly see the World renowned actor Michael J Fox! He didn't look in a good mood so I didn't bother him but he was there and next to me.

I walk to my seats relax and get ready for tipoff. The game was going well with a very close game.  It's the second quarter and my phone gets a buzz. So I open my phone and it's an email from one of my newest inspirations,NBA executive,David Robinson! The email says "If you get emails during the game please tell me your seat and section ASAP!" I immediately respond and enjoy the rest of the game. The buzzer  beeps and it's time to enjoy the club for half time. As I am walking there David pops out at me and says "What's up!?" He probably didn't realize how awesome timing it was. My classmates were sitting right there and they happen to see an NBA executive walk over to me and start to talk. We spoke for a few minutes and then he gave me tickets to the post game away team meet and greet VIP. I then asked him for a photograph and I see one of the esteemed ball boys and he offered to take the pic. I then took a picture with the Ball Boy and moved on to the place I embarked to go,the Calvin Klein club. I then meet someone I go way back with,exec VP of the Nets,Leo Ehrline! We spoke for a few seconds and moved on. Feeling on top of the world in that club I head straight to the Nets practice court. There they serve unlimited chocolate and you are able to play on the court.

Half time is over so we head to our seats and start to watch the game.

The game is now over and we need to head to our VIP section (Thanks to Mr. Robinson) and who walks out? None other than future Rookie of the year,Michael Carter Williams! He was extremely nice and thoughtful. I gave him my card and he told me he will get in touch with  me for an interview!

I then see Spencer Hawes chilling with a group of people. Everyone around him was cracking up! I went over there and he was hilarious. He kept joking about the Super Bowl and about the Seahawks.  I also gave him my card and he told me he will contact me as well. We walked away back to where we started from and Mirza Teletovic walked out! We spoke for a while,he was SUPER nice! Calm and very friendly. Very nice to see a guy like Mirza on the court with his kids. His kids where playing Basketball and actually scored! Do we have an up and coming Mirza?

Luis Collazo more then a fighter?

Recently I have interviewed the amazing Luis Collazo. I have learnt many things from that experience such as now learning how spiritual he is. If I had to guess, I'd say fighters aren't very spiritual as they feel they can bear anyone but apparently either the stereotype is completely false or Luiz Collazo is an exception! Look below for the proof!

1. LUIS COLLAZO ‏@RealLuisCollazo  Feb 1

   Ephesians 3:20 God can do ABUNDANTLY more than you can imagine! #Faith#Believe#spiritualLife

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2. Universalinterview ‏@InterviewKing1  Feb 1

   @RealLuisCollazo Amazing how spiritual and worldly you are!

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3. LUIS COLLAZO ‏@RealLuisCollazo  Feb 1

   @InterviewKing1 I learn acting out on flesh emotions dnt lead to anything good.

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4. Universalinterview ‏@InterviewKing1  Feb 1

   @RealLuisCollazo it's amazing! Most interesting person I followed in a while!!

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5. LUIS COLLAZO ‏@RealLuisCollazo  Feb 1

   @InterviewKing1 Thnk you bro.

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D-Will in Fridays starting line up?

ANDREW THEODORAKIS/ NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The Nets stand on the court stunned after blowing a 103-100 lead with 17.2 seconds remaining.

It has been reported that D-Will will most likely be in the starting lineup on Friday VS OKC. I asked Tim Capstraw about a player feels after the past loss and they said they do get down on themselves but putting him back in the lineup will allow him to gain confidence.

Luis Collazo Interview

Tomorrow night in Brooklyn will be a major fight for pride at the Barclays center. I have the privilege to attend and enjoy the match. This fight besides being a fight for pride will show Brooklyn once more how diverse we are. In the Barclays we have seen the top singers,Basketball and now boxing.


Tomorrows match  is Luis Collazo V.S Victor Ortiz. I will be tweeting live @Interviewking1 and I am hoping to have a lot of fun!

Today I had the opportunity to interview one of the stars of the match and world champion Luis Collazo. ( Interview is posted below) it is quote for quote and nothing has been changed.

1) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I'm a former world champion n current wba international champion. I think I been underrated all my career but I love it cause it makes me work harder to prove people wrong.

2)Tomorrow night you will be taking on Victor Ortiz,what are you looking forward to about the match?

ooo man I get to perform for the boxing fans. I love giving the fans a great outing n excitement cause that's my job as a fighter.

3)What is your regular routine on fight day?

well wake up eat breakfast go back home watch tv n stay off the legs as much as possible til fight time.

4)what was it like going in to the match on April 2, 2005?

a life changing moment you trained so hard for so many years n now that moment you been waiting for has presented itself.

5) What did winning on April 2, 2005 mean to you?

everything cause I had accomplished my dream as a fighter. It's the best feeling as a fighter 

6) What advice would you give to someone trying to pursue a career in some sort of fighting art?

.to give it there all don't worry what people say cause theirs always someone trying to bring your goals n dreams down. Stay focus n have faith in God n them selfs. Cause with God all things are possible.

7)Do you have a way fans can stay in touch? Twitter,Fanmail...

yes they can reach me @RealLuiscollazo on Twitter n instagram

Nets big WIN against Dallas

The Nets defeat Dallas to a 107-106 win. It was close but none the less a win. The game was exhilarating and again Coach Kidd was tieless. Is it really he tie? What ever it is it's working! The Brooklyn boys are RED HOT! I hope we can keep it up,maybe even win a championship?

Teletovic-33 had a career high of 34 points. WOW! That's awesome! I think we are seeing a new team. Let's go BROOKLYN!
Tune in Monday at 6:30 as the Nets take on Boston!