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!

Mets top prospects

Official Mets logo used with permission

As a Mets fan, all I have been hearing for the longest time is wait for 2014 and look at our prospects. Well, it's now 2014 and for me, they haven't dissapointed. I came in to the off season very optimistic but excited! I first heard we signed Chris Young. That was a good start, but it's only the tip of the iceberg.  We then signed Curtis Granderson. To me Curtis is more then an A caliber outfielder, but rather someone who saw the true light and left the Yankees.

But who are these prospects they speak so highly about? Are they really the answer to out playoff drought? In a word, YES! I decided I will analyse  my favorite prospects.



Travis d'Arnaud:  Travis has proved himself to be an All Star caliber catcher behind the plate, but hasn't proved himself offensively in the Majors. What's amazing about him is we have seen him produce enormous amounts of offense in the farm system. So it's just a matter of time until he shows his skills. Travis has gained the respect of the entire pitching staff and Mike Piazza. To gain the respect of one of the best catchers ever isn't easy, but Travis managed to do it.
Mike was interviewed today about Travis on SNY. Mike  had allot to say. Here is a partial transcript of his interview:
“He’s respectful and he works hard. I know the pitching staff is in good hands with him. He’s got a little to be learn. I’m just trying to tell him how to get the most out of his ability over the course of a season.I love his tools. Generally, I like guys to be a little smoother back there, but I think he’ll learn that as he learns the staff and gets more comfortable with their strengths and weakness. He’s got great hands, a good arm, you can tell he can swing the bat. It’s just a question of putting it all together being consistent, stay off that roller coaster that the season can be.”

First Lady's-Let's Move in the NBA

NBA stars know how to eat healthy thanks to
the first lady's "Let's Move!" 

We all know that the winner of the NBA championship gets the privilege of hanging out in the White House for a day. It seems that the Miami Heat are  regular visitors and the Presidential family knows the team well already. Being they won back to back championships, the Heat and First Lady, Michelle Obama have decided to make a commercial to help support the first lady's Let's Move initiative. The initiative personally effected me and caused me to lose 30 pounds.

The white has issued the below statement ( copied from the Let's Move website):
Last week, the Miami Heat visited the White House to celebrate their 2013 Championship win. Rumor had it, during their visit, they teamed up with the First Lady in support of Let’s Move! to highlight the importance of eating healthy and drinking water to perform like a champion.

New York Knicks-Carmelo Anthony an ALL STAR!

Official Logo given to me with permission from the NYK

New York has been Sports crazy! This past July we had the MLB All Star game here, in Citi Field. The MLB all star game starred the home grown NY Mets 3rd baseman David Wright and the Mets ace Matt Harvey. Two weeks ago NYC hosted the Super Bowl,where our beloved, Eli Mannings brother,Peyton was playing. Today is the NBA all star game. Thankfully, the All Star game for the NBA is in NO. But New York hasn't stayed out of the national event. The New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony is starring in tonights game. On the bench is Brooklyn's own Joe Johnson. Melo has been doing very well this season and we are very proud to have him represent the big apple.

Melo has been the talk of the town. With the Nets doing amazing and the Knicks doing below expectation the pulse in Madison Square Garden is certainly Melo. I look forward to meeting Melo very soon!

Another star in the All Star festivities is their rookie, Tim Hardaway JR. He has had an amazing season and is expected to become New York's next big star. We look forward to cheering on all of the New York teams.

GOOD LUCK BROOKLYN AND NYK!

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!

Nets VS Knicks

 WOW! New York is in turmoil with our teams slumping and then arbitrarily shooting to the top! The Nets had the best month of January in the teams history and the Knicks with the second to best shooter in the NBA,Melo,has been doing above average as well. We went from being out of the playoff picture to being in contention. The Knicks have been a team which lately has been underrated. I am very excited for April 5th where the red hot Knicks will take on the hot Nets.

I am very happy to be following the Nets games and being happy after it. I am also looking forward to attending a Knicks game this season. I am hoping to attend the Nets game on Wednesday again.

See you all there!