Adena Andrews.com

Black Enterprise voted Yours Truly as one of the Top 10 Sports Business Professionals of Color to follow on Twitter. Finally all my Twittering has paid off! Thank you Black Enterprise.

 

 

• ADENA ANDREWS @Adena_Andrews

Writer for ESPNW.com and blogger, Andrews is one of the four Black female sports columnists in the nation. Leaving her marks at companies such as Nike and Sports Illustrated, and covering major events such as the NBA All-Star weekend, Andrews is well on her way to becoming a major force in sports media.

 

Nice

And the award for time best spent during the NBA lockout goes to… Deron Williams. When David Stern laid down the lockout law, D-Will was one of the first players to hop on a flight overseas. He didn’t wait around to see what might become of negotiations; he created his own destiny and in turn set a trend for the rest of the league. The decision also turned out to be a lucrative one for the former Utah Jazz point guard. Williams made approximately $3 million in just 15 games with his Besiktas team in Turkey. And to top off his great lockout season, Bestikas also retired Williams’ jersey. Not bad for a summer job.

Now that games are on the schedule and fans are in the stands, a conditioned Williams is on an improved New Jersey Nets squad with a bright future, as Dwight Howard has his sights set on the Garden State. With Jay-Z and Mikhail Prokhorov in the Nets’ front office, Williams also probably gets all the Rocawear gear and Russian vodka he can stand. For his forward thinking and hard work, Williams gets my “nice” award.

 

Naughty: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan, the first NBA player-turned-owner, deserves a lump of coal in his Air Jordans for turning his back on his NBA brethren during the lockout.

Throughout his playing career, Jordan stayed tight-lipped and shied away from sharing his opinions, so as to not offend anyone with buying power. His Airness was all about the Benjamins. Therefore it was no surprise, but still disappointing, when reports surfaced during the lockout that Jordan was leading the movement to negotiate an unfair deal for players while making owners richer. This is the same Jordan who, during the 1998-99 NBA lockout, fervently told then-Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin, “If you can’t make a profit, you should sell your team.”

That player-first mentality was nowhere to be found in Jordan’s recent actions. He wanted to bail out financially inept owners rather than have them suffer for their incompetence. Jordan also showed few reservations about locking out current players who market his brand. To him, they were just pawns in a master plan to fatten his wallet.

Jordan sat in his cushy front office, probably in some horrible dad jeans, dismissing the value of the sweat equity that goes into being an NBA player. For disregarding your roots and not assisting your brothers in need, I say, “Bah, humbug” to you, Jordan.

Naughty: NCAA Conference Realignment

This Christmas the NCAA deserves a lump of coal in its stocking for idiotic conference rearrangements. Any 1^st grader can tell you that San Diageo State does not belong in a conference called the Big East. Nor does Southern Methodist University or University of Houston.

Nonsensical realignments scream “we are in it for the money”. If you still can’t see it, conference commissioner John Marinatto clearly stated it, “We have five new marketplaces and will boost our television market up to six percent up to 28 million households.”

That statement reeks of commercialism, not competition: which college football should be about.

Who cares about the sleep schedule of student athletes (I use the title loosely) as they crisscross the nation for games? As long as players are marketed in millions of households across the country, it’s OK. Thanks to conference realignment parents in distance states, who can’t afford to support their kids in college, can watch their penniless children run yards for a conglomerate. All in the name of more viewership.

Two point guards dissect their head-to-head matchup in Vegas.

posted on SLAMONLINE

The blogosphere was set ablaze as a modern day Battle of the Sexes was born from video (above) of New York Liberty point guard Cappie Pondexter playing against NBA veteran Sebastian Telfair. Thousands of viewers saw Pondexter make it rain buckets in a head-to-head matchup with a bigger, stronger, taller NBA player. But what they didn’t see were the events that led up to the explosive matchup of two legendary point guards. SLAM recently caught up with the two ballers to discuss what happened in Vegas.

SLAM: How did you end up playing together at Impact basketball facilities in Las Vegas?

Cappie Pondexter: Al Harrington and Chauncey Billups actually dragged me into the game. I was visiting Las Vegas with my brother and cousin and I got a call from Chauncey and he said, “I’m picking you up in the morning you’re going to workout with me.” I got to the gym the next day and after two hours of working out with Billups I was resting up and about to ice my body. Then Al Harrington comes over to me and says, “Get a jersey. You’re in”. I’m like “Really? But, I’m tired”. I played anyway because those guys are like my brothers and we are all just trying to get better.

Sebastian Telfair: That day I was in there working out with about 15-20 NBA players and we started playing pickup games. Cappie got called in at point guard and I was the point guard. We played five games and Cappie’s team won the first two and we won the last three. The game you saw on YouTube was the fourth game.

SLAM: What were your thoughts when you saw you were going to be matched up against each other?

CP: I just remembered him being a playground legend in New York. He was the head of his class coming out. It was just cool to go up against him.

ST: I came into the gym and saw Chauncey and about 15-20 other NBA players and that’s normal. But when I saw Cappie was going to be in the game, knowing how successful she is, probably top 15 in the WNBA, I had to respect that right away.

SLAM: When did you decide to turn up the heat in the game and go shot for shot?

CP: The jumper was just what I was feeling. I was kind of nursing an injury at the time too so I thought hitting jumpers was the safer thing to do. Also, I just wanted to work on my shooting. He gave me some good buckets too.

ST: It seems in game four she got a little more aggressive. On the first shot in the video, she comes down the left side and puts up a jumper. She even called “off” but it went in and didn’t even touch the net. I was right in her face and standing on top of her. That’s when I knew she was trying to win this. Then I hit her with the jumper then she hits me with the hesitation. At that point I thought, “She got game, so if I don’t take her serious she is going to try and show me up in here”

SLAM: Were you holding back in the game?

CP: I don’t know if he was taking it easy on me. He’s a cool guy and he was in there just trying to get better.

ST: After she hit a few shots I was definitely guarding her hard. I was saying in my head “She’s not going to score anymore” but she proved me wrong on that. There were other things that she did that weren’t on the tape. She was on the court holding her own. She would come off pick and rolls, make a pass and do obvious stuff the fans wouldn’t be able to understand. It’s no secret she is one of the best point guards to play the game.

SLAM: How did the crowd reaction fuel the tempo of the game?

CP: I got excited. Probably like four or five days ago I had just finished my season in the WNBA. So it was cool to get that reaction and play with the guys after that loss. It was definitely a confidence booster.

ST: That made it fun. You know how she plays; she is one of those up-tempo point guards with handle. It brought it back to street ball in the middle of a game with 20 NBA players in the gym.

SLAM: What was your reaction to the video going viral?

CP: I figured it was going to happen. I have also heard a lot of negative things about it. People say, “It’s fake, it’s not real”. People have to understand that I grew up doing this. I have been playing basketball since I was 10. This is what I love to do. I mean who wants to fake a video. We were both trying to get better and we were having fun doing what we love and it happened to be a crowd there. There’s nothing fake about that.

ST: I didn’t think it was going to go viral. I don’t have Twitter and Facebook like everyone else. I just follow it. As long as the people recognize I was out there fighting with another boss, that’s all that matters.

posted on espnW.com

 

 

If I played fantasy sports with my man we would be the Jay-Z and Beyoncé of the game — owning and annihilating the competition. We would only play in money leagues because if it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense in our house. Each week we would work together to guarantee the success of our teams and our bank accounts.

If I notice my baby has an injured player active, I’ll let him know. If he sees a great kicker on the waivers, he’ll make sure I grab him. Our fantasy hustle would reign supreme in all leagues. That’s because if my baby wins, I win. After all, when he wins he could spend that money on a reality date for me, his lovely fantasy partner.

Call me naïve but I just don’t see us getting into arguments over fantasy sports. Division in your household due to a make-believe game is futile. You might as well fight over Monopoly money because it makes just as much sense as squabbling over fantasy sports.

Of course this is all hypothetical since I’m single. If you dig my fantasy sports domination idea, maybe we can do lunch. I’m 5-foot-7, enjoy long walks on the beach, can squat 150 pounds and bleed USC cardinal and gold. Call me!

posted on espnW.com

Anyone who has ever been laid off, fired or unemployed dreads one question: “What’s next?” The question seems to come whenever family members gather for the holidays. Who wants to be grilled about an uncertain future while eating the Christmas ham? Therefore, if I were a coach, I would rather be fired after the holiday season. That way, I’d be able to just casually pass the cranberry sauce and chat about Aunt Shelly’s new hip at dinner, while my job would be of no concern. Ignorance is bliss; therefore I’ll keep my holidays as blissfully oblivious as possible.

Of course, we can’t all be so lucky to be fired after the holiday season. UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, who was fired earlier this week, will coach the Pac-12 toilet bowl championship game against Oregon, where he may be humiliated in another blowout. Although I’m a Trojan, I feel bad for UCLA’s lame duck coach. Most folks don’t want to go to work, and they certainly don’t want to go when they know they’re already fired. To make the best of a bad situation, I suggest Neuheisel don a cardinal-and-gold USC sweatshirt and strip it off at game’s end.

Posted on espnW.com

Don’t believe the hype about Tim Tebow in the fourth quarter. He is not parting defenses like the Red Sea. Even Moses had help doing that. “Tebow Time” exists because of the work of a dogged offensive line and a kicker with a golden toe.

Denver Broncos kicker Matt Prater is one of only two kickers in NFL history to have a 50-plus-yard kick to force overtime and then another 50-plus-yarder to win it in overtime. Prater, who was recognized as the AFC special teams player of the week after his performance against the Bears on Sunday (a 59-yard field goal to tie the game, and then a 51-yarder for the overtime victory), has hit 28 of the 29 career field goals he has attempted in the fourth quarter or overtime. The win against the Bears gave the Broncos their third overtime victory of the season, and Prater had a hand (or, more accurately, a foot) in all of those victories.

After Prater, there’s the Denver offensive line, which is making the space for Tebow to run in the fourth quarter. The Broncos’ O-line works harder than most because of Tebow’s unpredictability in the pocket. The line is ranked first in the league in rushing, and it always has a little energy left in the fourth to clear the way for Tebow. ESPN’s hit show says “Numbers Never Lie,” but in the case of Tebow and the Broncos’ offensive line, it seems they fib a bit.

The intangible factor — Tebow’s ability to lead a team — shouldn’t be overlooked. Maybe it’s his faith or his darn good looks, but whatever it is, the man can motivate a team to march into hell wearing gasoline underwear (which is eerily similar to playing in Oakland).

“Tebow Time” is just a figment of our imagination and the brainchild of an alliteration-addicted journalist. The phenomenon is actually the product of a clutch kicker, an inspired offensive line, and Tebow’s leadership qualities. Denver’s Holy Son himself said it best: “It’s not Tebow Time, it’s Broncos Time.”