Starbury TV

Recently, I have found myself watching Starbury TV, where current NBA player Stephon Marbury has a live stream of himself for long periods of time throughout the day. For those who have not watched it, click here (http://www.justin.tv/starburytv). I, along with many others, have watched Marbury cry, eat vaseline out of a jar, get into a car accident, freestyle and sing lyrics while also finding time to promote his line of discount sneakers. As everyone laughs and ridicules Marbury, I am going to put it in writing and say that "Stephon Marbury is a creative genius!" Yes, I will admit, some of Marbury's behavior is awkward, but as he said on his stream "I am just doing me". My hunch says that Marbury has started a soon-to-be very popular trend where athletes live stream their life.

Currently, athletes are on Twitter updating their fans about what they are doing whether its eating breakfast or working out, what sneakers or clothing they are wearing, what places they plan to eat or party at, and some even find time to answer questions asked by their fans. It is a way for the athletes to engage with their fans as well as promote and market themselves to the masses. Charlie Villaneuva, an avid Twitter fanatic, was ridiculed for "tweeting" during halftime of a game last season. The NBA along with other sports properties, are always looking for more ways to engage fans with the action. With this in mind, maybe the NBA should strongly encourage Villaneuva and others to continue "tweeting" this upcoming season at halftime, during practice or even on the road between games. Villaneuva's new boss, Joe Dumars, is all for it.

With the live stream, Marbury has bypassed the need to follow him on Twitter and fans or followers can just watch him live. What is more real than a live stream? Since Terrell Owen's reality show is made for TV, I am sure it is scripted and he is limited on what he can say and not say. With a live stream, what you see with Marbury is what you get. With all the publicity Marbury is receiving about his live stream, I can see in the future where players stream themselves live from practice or from the bench during games. Imagine if Mark Cuban was on a live stream during a game? With Cuban's passion for the game and dislike towards questionable calls made by referees, I would definitely tune in to watch Cuban's live stream. If there is a way to engage more fans and make a profit, all the sports properties will be in full support of the concept of live streaming.

Back to Stephon Marbury. Remember when his Starbury line of sneakers came out? I am sure everyone was surprised that a NBA player would come out with a line of discount sneakers that sold for $14.98 at a discount retailer store like Steve & Barry's in an era where sneakers go for over $100 easily because every kid wants to wear the same sneakers that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have on their feet. The Starbury line, is not limited to just sneakers and includes shorts, t shirts and other apparel at discount prices. What has followed since Marbury came out with discount sneakers and apparel? Shaq and Al Harrington now have discount sneaker lines. Even entertainers and actresses like Miley Cyrus and Sarah Jessica have created affordable clothing lines that appear in discount stores.

Remember when Marbury said in 2007 that he would play overseas in Italy when his contract with the New York Knicks expires? Everyone was shocked and puzzled when Marbury made those comments. What happened next? High school standout Brandon Jennings bypassed college to play in Europe for a year, established NBA players like Josh Childress and Jannero Pargo decide to play overseas, and even to my surprise, high school player Jeremy Tyler decides to skip his senior year of HIGH SCHOOL to play in Europe to better prepare himself for the NBA.

History will tell you that Marbury has been a "trendsetter" in the past. In 1994, SLAM magazine was an up and coming magazine that combined basketball with hip-hip culture. SLAM used Marbury as their first high school diary (thanks to Russ Bengtson for that tip) and it gave the magazine "street cred". SLAM magazine will be publishing its 131th issue in September with Kobe Byrant gracing the cover. For most basketball fans, SLAM magazine is like a "bible" to them.

If you ask people at AND 1, they will tell you that Marbury is the one player who put the company on the map when he signed a sneaker deal with them after getting drafted in 1996. With everyone signing on with Nike and Adidas, Marbury decided to go in a non-traditional route and sign on with the lesser known AND 1. Once again, Marbury gave AND 1 "street cred". Today, AND 1 has evolved beyond just a sneaker company. AND 1 came up with the concept of "StreetBall" and it has evolved into a nationwide tour where thousands of fans attend the games and even more fans from around the world tune in to watch "StreetBall" on ESPN.

When more players start live streaming themselves and the NBA finds a way to make a profit off this concept, no one will be laughing at Marbury anymore. He will be seen as a "trendsetter" once again like he did in the past. As everyone continues to ridicule and laugh at Marbury, I am going to say to Marbury, keep "doing you" and make sure they never try to "keep you in the box".

Brett Favre, please stay home!

Dear Mr. Favre,

I remember last off season when you first made the announcement that you wanted to come back to the NFL and rumors swirled that you might become a New York Jet, my favorite football team.

At first, the thought of having a future Hall of Fame QB in a Jets jersey was really appealing and I could not contain my excitement as I texted all my friends that the J-E-T-S were going to make some serious noise in the upcoming season. Having you in a Jets uniform would be our best chance of going deep in the playoffs, and possibly winning the Super Bowl. You would help bring some excitement back to the Jets organization while stealing some headlines from the rival Giants. You would give us a counterpart to go up against Tom Brady and the "mighty" Patriots.

However, it struck me that you never mentioned the Jets as a team you wanted to play for, there were questions about the health of your arm, and I wasn't sure how you would be able to deal with the "bright lights" of playing in NY. I told my Jet fan friends that if you played one year and the team did not make the playoffs, it would be a bad decision. After starting 8-3, my friends were asking me "still want Chad as your starting QB?". Jet Nation was on a high and getting excited about going to the playoffs. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the 8-3 start.

All of a sudden, it all went down hill and the team collapsed and did not make the playoffs while Chad Pennington and the Dolphins were going to the playoffs. I was just getting over the disappointment of another NY Mets collapse in September and then I had to endure this collapse? It was too much for me to handle. Once the season ended, I knew you were not coming back and would hold yet another press conference for your retirement. So my initial prediction of you only playing one year and then retiring was correct. So the Jets organization traded a draft pick to get you, waived Pennington to sign you, and the team does not make the playoffs. This does not sound fair to me.

I am glad you told Minnesota that you will not return to the NFL stating that you were not "mentally or physically" ready to endure another season. I just wished that you would have told the Jets the same thing. So I ask of you, Mr. Favre, please stay retired and please do not "tease" teams months from now that you are "mentally and physically" ready to play. Just stay retired and enjoy the fact that you will be considered one of the best quarterbacks that ever played the game.

Regards,

Disappointed Jets Fan.

He said, He said

As we all know, there is always two sides to a story and then the TRUTH. I wonder if I, and anyone else will ever know the true details of exactly what went on that day between Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., and Cambridge police officer Sgt. James Crowley. Before I discuss my opinions and thoughts, I want to state that this was an unfortunate incident due to the sensitive issue of "race" being involved. Depending on what story to believe, I do not condemn the behavior of the officer arresting Gates. It is not a crime to yell at a police officer. When a individual starts questioning a police officer, his/her's ego and "power of authority" over the person is questioned. This is why sometimes police officers overreact and arrest people for no apparent reason. This is probably the case with Sgt. James Crowley. However, if you believe the officer's story, I just wish that the Professor would have cooperated with the officer instead of going off on a tirade and putting the officer in a awkward situation which led to his arrest. Instead of race being the central issue, I strongly believe this is a case where two men overreacted when their egos were challenged.

So I would be curious to know if this incident would be such an major issue if there was a black officer involved or vice versa if a white professor was involved. My feeling is that if a black police officer was involved, Professor Gates would have used the "Harvard Elitist" card and said, "Do you know who I am, I am a Professor at Harvard University. This house is paid for by the college." I just think that Professor Gates was opposed to any police officer (regardless of race) showing up at his front step and telling him to step out. Personally, I would wonder why a cop is asking me to step out of my own house without reason. Depending on if the cop explained the situation clearly or not, I would probably act hostile towards the cop also.

Since there was a white officer involved, Professor Gates used the "race" card and stated "Why because I am a black man in America?". If Sgt. Crowley is the same man that performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dying Reggie Lewis (black man) he should not be labeled a racist. Could it be possible that Professor Gates was so infuriated because someone was asking him to get out of his own house that he just lost his cool and starting going off on a tirade? I just think that Sgt. Crowley was put in a awkward situation so to diffuse the situation before it escalated, he decided to handcuff the Professor. Like I said this is all speculation on my part. No one will ever know what exactly happened that day except for Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley.

On another note, I think it is unfortunate that what many will take out of President Obama's press conference on healthcare is the reference towards Cambridge police as "acting stupidly." First, the reporter should not have even asked the question about an isolated situation when the President is discussing health care reforms for the entire nation. When the question was posed, the smart reply from President Obama would have been "Tonight's press conference is about healthcare" especially when President Obama clearly stated that he did not know all the facts about the incident. I am glad that President Obama called Sgt. Crowley to tell him that his direct remarks towards the Cambridge police was "an overreaction in pulling Professor Gates out of his home."

Hopefully the three individuals, President Obama, Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley can find a way to sit down in the same room, resolve their differences and allow this unfortunate incident to just pass over.

Who is Frank Ricci?

As Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor sits through daily hearings with everyone questioning her "Wise Latina" comment and her decision in the Ricci vs. DeStefano case, one might wonder who Frank Ricci is? After reading an article about Frank Ricci in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, a part of me understands why he sued the City of New Haven. Ricci, despite having a learning disability, scored high marks on an exam that would have earned him a promotion. However since a majority of Blacks and Hispanics did not fare well on the same exam, the city of New Haven decided to abandoned the results all together and not consider anyone for promotion. This does not seem fair as one should not be penalized for achieving the high scores necessary for consideration. The city of New Haven should not have abandoned the test results. Why have the exam in the first place if you are not going to secure the results?

The other part of me thinks about how this is just another situation where results of a qualification exam has produced a disparate impact among races. This is comparable to the SAT where many colleges are considering to exclude from their application process. Are qualification exams going to be a thing of the past? We will see in the near future.

Hmm....

A little more than a week after the murder/suicide involving former NFL QB Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi, boxer Arturo Gatti was found dead. Authorities have detained Amanda Rodrigues, the wife of Gatti, as the prime suspect. What is interesting about these tragic deaths, is the age difference in both situations. McNair was 36 and Kazemi was 2o years old. Gatti was 37 and Rodrigues is 23. Interesting...

Last week, WNBA star Diana Taurasi was arrested for DWI. Taurasi is one of the top 5 players in the WNBA and there was no report on this incident by either ESPN or the WNBA. If LeBron James or Shaq were pulled over for DUI, it would be reported in all major outlets. Isn't any publicity (good or bad) good publicity for a league that is struggling to attract viewers? I guess the WNBA does not want to expose the bad about their players which makes me wonder what kind of product the WNBA is trying to put out.

Alex Rodriguez hit two homeruns saturday to put him 10th on baseball's all time homerun list. Who did he pass? Rafael Palmeiro. My questions is how many people accused of using some kind of performance enhancing drug, will ARod pass with each homerun that he hits??

NBA Free Agency-What's in a Name?

Let the summer free agency market begin for the NBA. Who would of thought that names such as Gortat, Gordon, Turkoglu, Ariza, and Varejao would be the "winners" of this years NBA free agency so far. While established names like Marbury and Iverson are still looking for teams, and names like Wallace, Kidd, Marion and Artest have taken substantial pay cuts. Teams throughout the league are looking to get rid of big contracts in order to position themselves for names like LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Stoudemire in 2010.