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Last nights VIP Nets game

Joe Johnson signing autographs
for fans pre game.

Hi everyone!
So I went to a Nets game and that game changed my life! The experience was so surreal and I still can't wrap my mind around the experience:

So,I get to the game and like usual I start to hand out my business card. So I got to meet Ian Eagle-TV reporter from YES network,I got to speak to Billy King,Gary Susman,Brett Yormark and others.

After the game I started to talking to an executive from the NBA,Mr. Robison. He was super cool and gave me passes to meet the Magics VIP. After I was meeting all the Magics I see him running at me. He starts to tell me "Glad you didn't leave,here,take these passes and go to the VIP club to meet some of the Nets! My mouth dropped and I couldn't believe it! It was insane! A memory I will never forget

Me with Ian Eagle

Goals

Me with NBA legend Keke 

I received 4 emails this week asking me what's my plans for the 2014. So here is the answer:

1) Develop relationships with teams and organizations. I have been in contact with the Mets,Giants,Knicks and others... 

2) Develop relationships with actors on a personal level as opposed to through their PR staff. This will allow me to get advice when needed. I'd like to shout out to: Bill Curry,Gregory Jbara,Cardinal Robbins,Geno Segers,Keke Vandeweghe and many others.

3) Get involved in charity. I am in touch with the Jason Kidd foundation and in the middle of coordinating an event with them.

4) Get in touch with people who do this for a living.

5) Start my intern with TwinAmerica.com as a PR intern.

6) Interview sports figures for this blog.

7) Redo my website and preform SEO.

Thanks for the emails! Please feel free to contact me michael@universalinterview.com

Nets suiting up for epic game in London; facing jet-lag and overall fatigue

 

(Getty Images) Paul Pierce plans some sightseeing as Andrei Kirilenko & Co. try to get in gear for Thursday's game.

                               LONDON –- No sleep till Brooklyn? Try no sleep in London.

The Nets went straight into practice Tuesday morning after their trans-Atlantic trip, and more than a few members of the contingent confessed to fatigue as they prepare for Thursday’s game with the Atlanta Hawks in the British capital.

But, said Paul Pierce, shut-eye can wait.

The veteran has made this long-distance journey before, for a preseason matchup with the Boston Celtics in 2007. Although some might privately grumble about having to divert overseas in the middle of what has become a tougher than expected season, Pierce's sightseeing schedule is already mapped out.
“You cherish every time you get to be places you don’t know,” he said. “Even though I’ve been a couple of times, it’s been six, seven years since I was here. I probably will go to the London Eye, check out Big Ben, take a couple of pictures."

There is little opportunity to be idle. The NBA will use what has become an almost annual trip to press the flesh with sponsors and roll out the kind of offcourt activities normally reserved for the All-Star Game.

That means VIP receptions, a NBA Cares clinic and assorted events designed to promote the league to a British audience that still ranks basketball far below soccer on the popularity list.

Yet this game -- at the 19,000-capacity 02 Arena -- sold out within 24 hours, a quicker pace than on the Nets’ last visit to face the Toronto Raptors in 2011.

And there is still talk that, one day, there will be a European Division with franchises in cities like London, Paris, Madrid and Moscow.

“The growth of the international fans has come because of the international players,” Pierce said. “The more and more players you see from international parts of the world, the more the fan base of the NBA grows. That’s really the biggest part of it; you have players from China, from Germany, from all over the world.

“When you have that type of culture in the NBA, it spreads. I can’t even tell you how many players from different countries there are in the NBA. Just in this team alone, we have four, five, six. That says a lot about the way the game’s going.”

Still, some remain skeptical about the concept of fulfilling what was a long-term vision of outgoing NBA commissioner David Stern by adding teams outside North America.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has extensively promoted the Brooklyn brand in his native Russia, mirroring much of the outreach undertaken by the Houston Rockets when Yao Ming opened a door into China.

One-off regular-season contests, TV deals, jersey sales? Simple. But frequent flyer miles to Europe? Not so fast.

“I don’t think it’s realistic only because of the traveling,” Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko said. “Maybe if it’s going to be a whole division, like the Euroleague is a division for the NBA, like the West or Eastern Conference -- so once a year you go to another continent and play three games there and then come back and adjust, maybe it's going to work.

“But it’s definitely not going to work coming to London then coming back. It’s physically impossible.”

ALL BUSINESS: Rested or not, Jason Kidd put his team through a light practice Tuesday at London’s Imperial College at what was the equivalent of breakfast time in New York in a bid to get his team quickly acclimated to British time (five hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time).
Neither Brook Lopez nor Deron Williams have joined the traveling party with assistant coach John Welch (personal reasons) also remaining in the United States.

Williams will continue to get treatment on his injured ankle, but Kidd has yet to determine whether the All-Star will be available when Brooklyn returns to face the Knicks on Monday at Madison Square Garden.

“He’s going through his rehab, and we’ll see where he’s at when we get back,” the Nets head coach told reporters.

With five wins out of their past six, the one thing Kidd will hope his players have not lost en route is that momentum as they look to match their victory over Atlanta on Jan. 6.

Their loss Saturday to the Raptors apart, there is a feeling among the coaching staff that greater consistency in the rotation will be vital in making up lost ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

And, Joe Johnson added: “We’ve kind of figured out some minor things and to roll with what we’ve got. And we’ve been doing a pretty good job of guys helping one another on both ends of the floor. We’re just trying to develop some kind of cohesiveness, just trying to string some wins together.”

The role of Shaun Livingston in filling the void left by Williams’ latest injury could prove vital.

The eighth-year guard struggled against the Raptors, notching just eight points and three assists, but he has been a steady hand during Brooklyn’s resurgence, featuring alongside Johnson, Pierce and Kirilenko at various times as Kidd has shuffled his lineup.

“It’s been fun because he’s a different threat,” Johnson said. “He’s a different point guard, a big point guard who’s pass-first but who can really score the basketball.

“He has a mismatch every night, and he helps us all out with it because he draws so much attention by getting in the paint and making easy plays, making the guys around him better.” (credit ESPN)

Monday nights Nets game

Jason Kidd being awesome and making a plan
which with Garnett and the team which
ended up making a world of a difference in the fourth quarter

Hello Nets fans! Sorry for the delay in this post. I haven't been feeling great.

I arrive at around 6:00 excited to be going to a Nets game. I was also lucky to be able to have a planned "meeting" with Brett Yormark,CEO of Nets and Barclays. He is one of my entrepreneurial idles.  I also had many other surprises. Look at the schedule below to find out more.

6:20 Walk in Barclays.

6:25 I start to get food for FREE,thanks to our free food tickets.

6:45 meet radio broadcasters, speak to them and relax a bit.

6:55 Dominique Wilkins (one of the best dunkers ever) is talking to me from the court.

7:05 I am watching Joe Johnson shoot around and taking about 80 free throws in a row. He also slapped me five.

7:15 center is starting to get crowded and the players walk out. I try to get Jason Kidd's attention and I got him to look at me.

7:25 GM Billy King walks in and I, of course was in awe. I went over to him for an autograph and a picture.

7: 30 it's right before Tip Off and I thought" I guess Brett wasn't able to come". But I hear "Michael,Michael" being called. I turn around and there is Brett! He was super nice and a really good person. I was so excited to even ask the questions I wanted to. I gave him my business card and he told me he will try to work something out with me. WOW!

7:35 Tip off!!!!!!!

8:30 I see my seats on the screen with a woman and her friend. I then hear them playing-Monsters-IT'S RHIANA! I am sitting two seats away from Rhiana. I got to speak to her a bit and she smiled at me numerous times!


10:00 I got to meet Ian Eagle from SNY!


WOW! WHAT A NIGHT!

Welcome!

Welcome!

     My name is Chuck, and I am the new sports reporter and graphic consultant for Universal Interview Sports. I specialize in NBA and NCAA basketball. I will go under the code name of Brooklyn Beast. Please feel free to add any questions or ideas in the comment space below.

BIO:

Favorite Teams:

NY Knicks,Brooklyn Nets,NO Pelicans,NY Mets, Kentucky Wildcats

Favorite Players:

Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Anthony Davis, Andrew Wiggins

 

                                 Logging off, 

                                                                            THE BEAST

Melo-Blake: Are the rumors true?

Melo-Blake: Are the rumors true?

Anthony and Griffin in action. (photo ESPN)

ESPN's Chris Broussard reported late Friday night that the Knicks and Clippers have had internal discussions about trading Carmelo Anthony for Blake Griffin, according to sources. The teams, according to Broussard, have not yet had external discussions about a deal.

Even though New York and Los Angeles haven't started trading proposals here, there are plenty of aspects worth discussing.

Below, we unpack some of the issues surrounding a Melo-for-Blake swap:

1. Melo may leave? Before we get into any of the X's and O's of a potential trade, let's talk about the biggest takeaway here: The Knicks are apparently confronting the reality that Anthony may leave this summer.  We already know Anthony plans to test free agency. We also know the Knicks will have a significant financial advantage in the Melo sweepstakes.

With the Knicks, Anthony could ink a a five-year contract worth $129,135,806. If he signs with another team, the maximum he can earn is $95,897,372 over four years, according to calculations by ESPN salary-cap expert Larry Coon. Those numbers are based on the assumption Anthony, one of the top scorers in the NBA, will sign a max contract.

Of course, if Anthony is traded midseason to the Clippers, Donald Sterling's club could offer him the five-year, $130 million max contract because it would have his Bird rights.

For what it's worth, the Knicks have publicly expressed confidence they can re-sign Anthony.

While we're not into parsing someone's words too closely, Melo has been all over the map when talking about his future plans. Prior to the season, he said he'd like to be courted. Then, in November, Anthony stated he'd like to retire as a Knick. Since then, he's been hesitant to discuss anything about his pending free agency other than to say he'll think about his next move when the time comes.

So make of that what you will. Either way, the idea that the Knicks are at least discussing a potential trade of Anthony suggests they are less than 100 percent certain he'll re-sign.

2. Why the Clippers? As Broussard notes, Anthony will likely have to give the Knicks his blessing if the organization decides to trade him.

Why? Because no team will offer New York anything of value if they don't have assurances Anthony will sign with them as a free agent.

That brings us to the Clippers. Anthony and Paul have long expressed a desire to play with one another. This dates back to Anthony's wedding in 2010 when Paul suggested in a toast that he'd come to New York to form a "Big Three" with Paul, Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire.

According to sources, Anthony and Paul's desire to play with one another has never waned.

It also should be noted that Anthony has a home in Los Angeles and his wife, LaLa, reportedly spends a significant amount of time in Los Angeles due to her professional pursuits.

So in that sense, if you're thinking about teams/locations likely to draw Anthony's interest, it's not a stretch to call the Clippers the leader in the clubhouse. Still, plenty of things have to fall into place for this deal to make sense for either side.

3. Why would the Clippers do this? Or the Knicks? If the Clippers acquired Anthony in a trade, they'd still presumably have to pony up $130 million over the next five seasons to retain him. As discussed above, the Clippers would have Anthony's Bird Rights if they traded for him. So they'd be able to exceed the salary cap to sign him.

Carmelo Anthony is the Knicks' biggest star. He's also one of the all-time greats.

But they would also have to pay a significant luxury tax bill to keep him around. Is Sterling willing to stomach the tax hit to ink Anthony to a max deal?

What about Griffin and the Knicks? If New York lands Griffin, it would give them a player under contract for the next 3½ seasons (Griffin has an early-termination option in his contract for the 2017-18 season).

In the final year of his contract, Griffin is scheduled to make $21.3 million. The Knicks are paying Anthony $21.3 million this season. So a deal for Griffin could conceivably open up future cap space for the Knicks.

It's worth noting that a trade involving Griffin and Anthony would need to include other players to work financially. It's also worth noting that Griffin is just 24 years old. Pundits suggest Griffin has significant flaws in his game (namely, defense and rebounding) but he's young enough to improve in those areas. And he's not a bad player to build around if the Knicks, as expected, become major players in the 2015 free-agent market.

Anthony is 29 and in his 10th season in the NBA. If the Knicks signed him to a max deal, he'd be in his 15th season in the final year of the contract and 35 years old. There would be a lot of mileage on Anthony's tires by the end of that deal.

Another X factor here is Knicks owner James Dolan. Dolan, you may remember, moved heaven and earth to acquire Anthony prior to the 2011 trade deadline. So it's hard to see him moving Anthony in-season and admitting the Knicks' Anthony experiment was a failure. All indications are that the Knicks' No. 1 goal this summer is to retain Anthony.

But if Anthony gives you an indication he may leave, you have to at least discuss your options if you're Dolan. Losing him for nothing would be a colossal mistake, one the Knicks already made with Jeremy Lin. Love Lin or hate him, it's hard to argue that the Knicks' decision to let him walk for nothing wasn't simply bad business.

The Knicks would be foolish to make the same error with Anthony. And in the pantheon of players/assets you could receive in a trade for Anthony, Blake Griffin ain't that bad.


(Credits to ESPN)

 

Nets Beat Cavaliers

One of Williams's top shots this evening.
Picture taken from Nets official photos

Tonights Nets players (Deron Williams – 21,  Paul Pierce – 17, Andray Blatche – 12) scored in double figures.

The Nets had a solid first half where they built a 51-38 lead only to see it evaporate in the third quarter where the advantage diminished 27-16.

Nets regained the win against the Cavs 22-17 in the fourth quarter to close the win.

Reggie Evans scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Brooklyn.

This is the only second time this year the Nets have put a winning streak together with back-to-back wins. 

Jason Kidd has done it again!

Mondays' Nets game!

Nets official logo.

I will be attending the Nets VS Hawks game on Monday. I am so excited! I will be there early to try to meet Jason Kidd! He is by far my favorite player ever! I will most definitely post about  my experience. I will make my way around the court,meet executives and celebrities like usual. 

Mondays' prediction is a WIN! I have been rebirthed with new hope and pride after last nights win. Jason did a great job and so did all the players. Williams kept his head up high and Johnson scored final points to win the game with a buzzer beater. 

SEE YA ALL SOON!

Jets win and have a season of pride

WOW! It's over? Are you sure? NOO! I love to watch Sunday football. Oh well.

The last game of the season the Jets beat Miami in a game which was crucial for Miami. The Jets beat the Giants record this year and have shown a lot of progress.

Rex has been confirmed to be back next year. he also gave an emotional speech today: http://www.newyorkjets.com/videos/videos/EXCLUSIVE-Rexs-Postgame-Locker-Room-Speech/f1f63792-df6c-44f3-99d4-ea4f40b1aade

Giants Final Game

Tomorrow will be the end of the season for the NY Giants. Tomorrow will be a game of pride as it's impossible they will make any post season activities. Although the Super Bowl will be in NY the Giants will not be able to get that homeland advantage.

Tomorrows game is predicted to be a win by most news reports. I also do predict a win.

I hope the Giants have a successful off season and shape up to be the team they used to be and are capable of being.

Michael