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.

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)

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

Geno Smith and Rex Ryan

Geno: 

Geno has a lot of raw talent. As a Jets fan I think Geno is part of the solution. He needs to be coached better. To say Geno is the problem isn't true.

If Geno is to improve he needs to have better receivers and a better workout routine. Ultimately, this offseason will be a big decision maker for the Jets. They can change like the Mets are doing in baseball and make a few changes which will give big results.

Sad that the changes couldn't have been last year. If the Jets would have been in the superbowl in their own stadium would have been very memorable.

Rex: 

Rex should stay at least another year. He is a good person and has potential. No one knows for sure if he is above average because he hasn't been given a team which would be able to utilize their potential and Rex's skills.

I vote we keep him and upgrade the team and see how well he does then. Otherwise we have really no answers either way.