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Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team, based in San Francisco. The Warriors play within the National Basketball Association as part of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Warriors, founded in Philadelphia in 1946, moved in 1962 to the San Francisco Bay Area and took on the name of the city, before changing their geographic moniker to Golden State in 1971. They play their home games in the Chase Center. The Kings, a founding member of the American Basketball League, became the Philadelphia Kings in 1946. We were the owners of Peter A. Tyrrell who once owned the Philadelphia Rockets in the American Hockey League. Tyrrell employed Eddie Gottlieb, a longtime proponent of basketball in the Philadelphia area, as coach and general manager. Unlike the Philadelphia Eagles, an old baseball club that took part in the American Basketball League in 1925, the owners signed up the franchise. The Warriors captured their second championship during the 1955–56 season, crushing the four-to - one Fort Wayne Pistons, during Philadelphia. The Warrior stars of this time included future Hall of Famers Paul Arizin, Tom Gola and Neil Johnston. Driven by early scoring phenomena Joe Fulks, the team won the inaugural championship league season in 1946–47 by crushing the Chicago Stags, four to one games. The NBA, established in 1949 by a merger, officially acknowledges that as its own first championship. Gottlieb bought the team in 1951. The franchise folded in the 1980s but became staples in the playoffs with stars Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin at the turn of the decade nicknamed "Run TMC." The team returned to title glory in 2015, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green; they again won in 2017 and 2018, with the help of former MVP Kevin Durant. The Fighters have used several different logo and uniform designs throughout their history, with the most recent change taking place in 2010. On June 12, 2019, the Warriors have announced small improvements to their signature logo, including a new, personalised font. The squad unveiled six new uniform designs incorporating the newly refurbished logo on 17 September 2019. While the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers played together after the Cavs joined the NBA in 1970, the competition between the two teams started to evolve during the 2014–15 season when they met in the first of four consecutive NBA finals. A group of teams have never played each other in more than two consecutive Seasons. The Warriors have won against the Cavaliers three of the four NBA finals, winning in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Bob Fitzgerald's play-by-play on tv, and the colour commentary by former Warriors swingman Kelenna Azubuike on the NBC Sports Bay Area with the Warriors, where they broadcast more than 70 Warrior games a year. We are also hosting Roundtable Live, a half hour pre-game show that leads to the televisioning of numerous Golden State home games, and also offers postgame commentary. Fitzgerald is the Warriors 'play-by-play man in his 23rd season, and is Azubuike's first colour analyst. The retired Warrior guard Jim Barnett was the TV colour analyst from 1985 to 2019, and is now the full-time colour man on the network. Other telecast crew members include Greg Papa and Garry St. Jean, mid-pregame expert, mid-game, half-time and post-game reporting, while Kerith Burke serves as the sideline reporter. Tim Roye did the radio play-by-play for Warrior sports after 1995. Also for home games former warriors join Tom Tolbert in the pit. He will now be replaced by full-time Jim Barnett beginning in 2019, who will report on all road and home games in colour, and has also been in the booth for national coverage and post-season matchups. On August 25, 2016, the Warriors announced they were leaving long-term KNBR station and will air all their games on KGMZ's 95.7 The Game. Roye, Fitzgerald and Barnett sit down together for the post-game radio commentary following each game and a preview of next season.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers is an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete inside the National Basketball Association as a part of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were originally founded in 1967 as a member of the American Basketball Association, then became a member of the NBA as part of the 1976 ABA – NBA merger. They play their home games at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The team takes its name from Indiana's association of the pace cars of the Indianapolis 500 and the racing harness industry. In early 1967 a group of six investors pooled their resources in buying a team in the nascent American Basketball League. During their first 7 years, they played at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum. In 1974, they relocated to the new, luxurious Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis where they were performing for 25 years. New Indiana Hoosiers excelled Bob "Slick" Leonard became the franchise's head coach with the Pacers early in the second season, succeeding Larry Staverman. Leonard was soon to become a Pacers juggernaut. His squads have been buoyed by the good play of superstars such as Mel Daniels, George McGinnis, Bob Netolicky, Rick Climb, Freddie Lewis and Roger Brown The Pacers have become-and have been-the most successful franchise in ABA's history, winning three ABA Championships in four years. In total they played in the ABA Finals, which was an ABA record, five times in the league's nine-year history. By the 1993–94 season, Larry Brown was brought along as Pacers 'coordinator, and Pacers' general manager Donnie Walsh made a then highly contested deal when he sent Schrempf to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for a little known Derrick McKey and Gerald Paddio. Yet finishing off with an NBA-era franchise-high 47 wins the Pacers played their season's last eight games. They charged for winning their first NBA playoff series victory in a first-round sweep past Shaquille O'Neal and the Orlando Magic and pulled off an upset by upsetting the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in the semifinals of the tournament. In 2006, despite the absence of Reggie Miller, the Artest saga and other critical injuries, the Pacers made the playoffs for the 14th time in 15 years. We were also the first road team to win a playoff series for the first round in Game 1. However, New Jersey took Game 2 to bring Indiana back to the series at 1–1. In Game 3, Jermaine O'Neal tallied 37 points, as the Pacers took a 2–1 lead in the series. Nonetheless, the Nets took four and five games in the 3–2 series to take a lead. Anthony Johnson scored 40 points in Game 6 but with the Nets leading 96–90, the Pacers season ended. The Pacers finished the 2006–07 season as one of the worst seasons in franchise history. For the Pacers, who finished with a 35–47 record, nearly anything that could have gone wrong did. The tipping point of the season will be an 11-game losing streak that started round off the all-star break. The key reasons for the team's defeats were injuries to Jermaine O'Neal and Marquis Daniels, lack of a capable back-up point guard, divisive trade halfway through the season that threatened team morale, poor defensive efforts and becoming the NBA's worst offensive team. The April 15 loss to the New Jersey Nets put the Pacers out of the playoffs for the first time since the 1996–97 season. Following a good off season in 2019, the Pacers have named four new starters on the opening night. Holdover Myles Turner was joined by Domantas Sabonis, a reserve-turned starter, and recent arrivals including Malcolm Brogdon, T.J. Warren, and Jeremy Lamb who are expected to become a top backup as all-star guard Victor Oladipo returns from injury. Despite a 0–3 start to the season the Pacers had a 26–15 record halfway through the season and ranked them fifth in the Eastern League. Sabonis was later named All-Star of the NBA for the first time in his career.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a smaller US basketball team located in Los Angeles, as compared to the other larger team representing the city, Los Angeles Lakers. The Clippers play as a member of the Pacific Division of the National Basketball Association all over the nba Western Conference. The Clippers play their home games at the Staples Center, an arena that they share with NBA's Los Angeles Lakers sister team, Women's National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Sparks, and National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The franchise became known as the Buffalo Braves in 1970, and along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers, it was one of three expansion franchises to join the NBA that year. The Braves had some improvement and three times they made the postseason, led by Bob McAdoo, the Most Valuable Player Team. Conflicts over the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium and lease transactions with the Canisius Golden Griffins led to their relocation from Buffalo, New York, to San Diego, California. After the move to be known as the San Diego Clippers, in 1978 the franchise was rebranded in reference to the San Diego Bay sailing ships which can be found there. With the arrival in San Diego of the Bill Walton Star Center, who lost almost three complete seasons due to injuries since his retirement, the franchise has made no strides in the area in its six years. In 1981 Donald Sterling, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer, bought the franchise. In 1984, with no NBA consent, Sterling controversially moved the franchise to Los Angeles. Facing fines and a lawsuit brought against NBA league officials attempting to move the league to San Diego, the team eventually prevailed when they remained in Los Angeles where no major regular season or playoff results were made. In American professional athletics, we have also been seen as icons of a chronic disappointment, making false parallels with their previously successful city-rivals, the Lakers. The franchise expanded between 2008 and 2017 by adding stars such as Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul to it. This lineup has led the Clippers as a perennial playoff franchise nicknamed "Lob City." The club won its first Division title during the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons. They played seven times in the playoffs throughout 2012 and 2019, matching the total of franchise appearances from 1970 to 2011. The Los Angeles Clippers announced a new corporate identity on 18 June 2015. The club's signature logo features a compass-shaped basketball, with the "LAC" ring centre monogram. Below is the wordmark emblem of the club in black, with the two angled lines under the wordmark symbolising the ocean floor, which the club claims applies to its nautical patrimony. The squad revealed their new home and away uniforms that had the theme pattern from previous uniforms preserved. The home white jersey features a black wordmark pattern over the front of the shirt. The away red shirt features a monogram of "LAC" across the right breast of the club, with the player's jersey number across the left breast. On 6 November 2015, the Clippers unveiled a sleek black theme commemorating downtown Los Angeles. The uniform retains the pattern style of the previous uniform but without the wordmark incorporating the club's core logo. On 11 August 2017 the Clippers unveiled their latest branding designs and for the Adidas Project and the Branding. The designations for home and road were dropped, and the team replaced their road red uniform with a new blue "ring" uniform matching the uniform of the white "Association" which was not substituted. Also the mask had remained intact.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans is an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete as a part of the National Basketball Association's nba Western Conference Southwest Division. The band is practising for their home games at the Smoothie King Arena. During the 2002–03 season the Pelicans became branded as the New Orleans Hornets, after the then owner of Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, moved the club to New Orleans. The franchise relocated temporarily to Oklahoma City, where they played two seasons collectively known as the New Orleans / Oklahoma City Hornets prior to Hurricane Katrina's damage in 2005. The franchise returned to New Orleans fulltime for the 2007–08 season. On 24 January 2013, the team announced that it would rename itself the Pelicans shortly after the 2012–13 season had concluded. The Charlotte Hornets branding, history, and records from 1988 to 2002 were returned to their original city to be used by the then Charlotte Bobcats franchise, which finally became the Charlotte Hornets, starting on May 20, 2014. The Louisiana franchise posted a combined regular season record of 610–686 in 16 play seasons after the original team relocated from North Carolina, and qualified seven times for playoffs. The accomplishments include two championship series titles, and one division crown. However when the Charlotte Hornets put a good team on the field in the 1990s, the team's attendance continued to decrease dramatically. Many attributed the downturn in popularity to the team's owner, George Shinn, who was overwhelmingly disliked by people in the community. A Charlotte woman alleged she had been assaulted by Shinn in 1997, and his reputation in town was severely tarnished by the ensuing trial. The consensus was that while Charlotte was a place of play, at Shinn, backers on the squad let out their disappointment. Shinn was also dissatisfied with the Charlotte Coliseum, which was considered state-of - the-art when it opened but then became obsolete owing to a limited number of luxury suites. On March 26, 2001, both the Hornets and the Vancouver Grizzlies sued for relocation to Memphis, Tennessee, where ultimately the Grizzlies prevailed. Shinn then issued an ultimatum that the Hornets would leave town, unless the town constructed a new arena for him at no expense. The community originally refused, which led Shinn to consider either moving the team to Norfolk, Louisville or St. Louis. Of the rival cities, only St. Louis had an already operational NBA arena, the Savvis Arena, and a larger media footprint than Charlotte at the time; it was also the only one of the four that had previously hosted an NBA franchise — the St. Louis Hawks, who moved to Atlanta in 1968. During the 2011–12 season, the Hornets were exploring trading offers with Chris Paul when he requested an arrangement with the New York Knicks. The Hornets considered other franchises as bargaining allies, including the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors, but Paul had declared that he wished to be traded to New York or Los Angeles. A three-team contract was negotiated between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets, but the offer was denied by Commissioner David Stern.[20] On 14 December 2011, the Hornets signed an agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers to send Paul to Los Angeles in exchange for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round draught pick acquired by the Clippers from a Minn swap. In January 2019, Davis applied for a franchise contract and was fined for falsely revealing the bid. The Pelicans received the first overall pick at the 2019 NBA draught draught NBA lottery on May 14, 2019, with just a six percent chance of winning it. The Pelicans have decided on 15 June 2019 to trade Davis with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers agreed to send Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round picks, including the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NBA draught, to the Pelicans in exchange. The Pelicans have agreed to trade draught rights to the Atlanta Hawks for the fourth overall NBA draught option in 2019, winning the draught rights to the 8th, 17th and 35th NBA draught picks in 2019.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers is an American professional basketball franchise, based in Los Angeles. The Lakers play in the Pacific Division of the National Basketball Association as a member of the league's Western Conference. The Lakers play their home games at the Staples Center, an venue shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of history's most prolific NBA franchises, winning 16 NBA trophies, second behind the Boston Celtics. The franchise started in 1947 with the purchase of a disbanded team, the Detroit Diamonds of the National Basketball League. The new team started playing in Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis Lakers were renamed themselves. Initially an NBL team, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the Basketball Association of America, where they would win five of the next six titles, led by star George Mikan. They transferred to Los Angeles before the season of 1960–61, with Mikan's retirement in the late 1950s having struggled financially. Six times in the 1960s, led by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Hall of Famers, Los Angeles reached the NBA Finals, but lost each game to the Celtics, beginning a long, storied rivalry. In 1968, the Lakers drafted four-time NBA Most Valuable Player Wilt Chamberlain and won their sixth NBA title — the first in Los Angeles — in 1972, led by new head coach Bill Sharman. Upon West and Chamberlain's retirement, the team drafted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who also received multiple MVP awards but were unable to finalise in the late 1970s. The 1980s Lakers were dubbed "Showtime," due to their fast break-offense led by Magic Johnson. The team won five titles in a nine-year stretch, with Hall of Famers Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy, and was led by Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley. Since Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson retired, the franchise struggled in the early 1990's, before adding Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 1996. Around 2000 and 2002, the team won three consecutive championships with the duo, led by another Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, giving the franchise its second "three-peat," adding two more trophies in 2009 and 2010 while failing to regain its former dominance in the decade that followed. The Lakers hold record set for NBA's longest winning streak, 33 straight games, during the 1971–72 season. Twenty-six Hall of Famers, including four coaching the franchise, starred for Los Angeles. The eight-time NBA MVP Award is won by four Lakers — Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan, O'Neal and Bryant. The nickname Laker comes from Minnesota state being a country of 10,000 Lakes. The squad colours are lilac, purple, and white. The Lakers logo consists of the franchise name, "Los Angeles Lakers," which is written in purple on top of a gold hoop. The player usually wears white jersey for Sunday and Holiday home games. At Staples Center, in L.A., the Lakers play their home games. Function in centre in Los Angeles. The stadium opens in the fall of 1999, with seats increased to 18,997 for the Lakers play. Executed and owned by AEG and L.A. Stadium Management, the stadium now houses the NHL's Los Angeles Clippers, the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and Los Angeles Kings. The Lakers have been playing their home games for 32 seasons before moving to Staples Center at The Forum in Inglewood, California located about 10 miles southwest of the current site for the franchise. During the 1999 pre-season, the Lakers played their home games at the Forum before moving permanently to the Staples Center and staging a pre-season game against the Golden State Warriors on October 9, 2009, this time in Los Angeles to mark the team's 50th anniversary season. In the first seven years in Los Angeles, the franchise has played her home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, south of Downtown Los Angeles. The club played its home games at the Minneapolis Auditorium from 1947 to 1960 when the team played in Minneapolis.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are an American professional basketball team, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies play as a member of the National Basketball Association's Western Conference Southwest Division, the nba. The Grizzlies play their home games at FedExForum. The Department is led by Robert Pera. The Grizzlies are actually the only team in the Memphis Area's major North American professional sports leagues, and are the only professional basketball team in Tennessee County. The team was formed first as the Vancouver Grizzlies, an expansion team that joined the NBA for the 1995–96 season. After the 2000–01 season was over, the Grizzlies returned to Memphis. The Vancouver Grizzlies is a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They had been a member of the Western Conference Midwest Division of the National Basketball Association. The franchise, along with the Toronto Raptors, was established in 1995 as part of the NBA's expansion into Canada. After the 2000–01 season the team relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, United States and was named the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies have played their home games at the General Motors Arena all through their six seasons in Seattle. The season has unfolded with tremendous enthusiasm from the fan base in the Memphis area. Although the Grizzlies and their supporters were celebrating the tenth season, the Grizzlies were also rooting for eighth place in the Western Conference Playoffs. They finished with a 46–36 record. The Grizzlies made their way back to the post-season for the first time in five years in the 2010–11 season, after a 101–96 home victory over the Sacramento Kings on 8 April 2011. When the Grizzlies traded Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll and a stable first-round pick for Shane Battier and Ishmael Smith at the Houston Rockets in the February 2011 playoff chase. On 26 March 2001, the Vancouver Grizzlies applied to the NBA to relocate to Memphis, which had been accepted on 3 July. As a result they became the first major professional sports club from the "big four" major leagues to officially play their home games in Memphis, leaving the Toronto Raptors as the sole Canadian basketball team in the NBA. Memphis is the easternmost city on the Western Conference. The Grizzlies have played their home games at the Pyramid Arena during their first three seasons in Memphis. The Grizzlies celebrated the 10th year of Memphis basketball going into season 2010–11. By the end of the season Memphis finished with a best overall record of 56–26, second in the division and fourth in the playoffs. NBA Defensive Player of the Year has previously been Marc Gasol. Following trailing in series 0–2 Memphis in the opening round defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in six games. That avenged their defeat from the previous year at the hands of the Clippers. Memphis then went on to the Western Conference Finals, where they defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 4–1 in their semi-final series for the first time in franchise history. It was a rematch of their 2011 NBA Playoffs battle, where in seven rounds the Thunder prevailed. But, when the eventual quarter champions, San Antonio Spurs, swept them for yet another rematch / reversal from the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the Grizzlies 'season concluded in the quarter finals. Owner boss Robert Pera announced a restructuring of the Grizzly's basketball operations department at the conclusion of the 2018–19 season: "It was important to change our commitment to basketball operations and place our staff on the road to continued success." L. As head coach, B. Bickerstaff was relieved of his duties and general manager Chris Wallace was reassigned to the position of college management alone. Jason Wexler was elected Team Chairman, and Zachary Kleiman was promoted to General Manager as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. On 12 June 2019, The Grizzlies announced Taylor Jenkins as the franchise's new head coach. The Grizzlies drafted Ja Morant in the 2019 NBA draught, with the second pick. After being selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 21st option, we have got Brandon Clarke, and later played with the Grizzlies for the Grizzlies '23rd choice and second-round option in 2024.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves is a Minneapolis-based American professional Basketball franchise. The Timberwolves compete as members of the Western Conference Northwest Division of the nba within the National Basketball Association. The team was founded in 1989 and is owned by Glen Taylor who also owns the Minnesota Lynx of WNBA. The Timberwolves have been playing their home games at target arena since 1990. Unlike other expansion franchises, the Timberwolves had struggled in their early years but the team qualified for the playoffs in eight straight seasons from 1997 to 2004 after Kevin Garnett's selection at the 1995 NBA draught. The Timberwolves won their first division crown in 2004 and advanced the following season to the Western Conference Finals, having missed their first seven tries in the first round. In that season Garnett was also named the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Since reaching the finals in 2005 and in 2007 trading Garnett to the Boston Celtics, the franchise went into rebuilding mode for more than a decade at a time. In a contract agreed in February 2015, Garnett returned to the Timberwolves and ended his career there, retiring in the summer of 2016. The Timberwolves ended a 14-year drought in the postseason when they returned to the 2018 regular season. In 1989 NBA returned basketball to the Twin Cities for the first time since Minneapolis Lakers left for Los Angeles in 1960. On 22 April 1987, the NBA granted three of the four new expansion franchises to the original owners Harvey Ratner and Marv Wolfenson to continue playing for the 1989–90 season. There were two teams of the American Basketball Association, the Minnesota Muskies of 1967 and 1968, respectively, and the Minnesota Pipers in 1968 and 1969. In December 1986, the franchise held a contest called "name the band," and eventually selected two winners, "Timberwolves" and "Polars" The committee also challenged Minnesota's 842 city councils to sort out the winner, and "Timberwolves" won by nearly 2–1. On 23 January 1987, the team formally became known as "Minnesota Timberwolves." Among the 48 states below Minnesota has the highest number of timberwolfs. On 3 November 1989, the Timberwolves made their debut, losing to the Seattle SuperSonics on road 106–94. We made their home debut at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome five days later, and lost 96–84 to the Chicago Bulls. The Timberwolves claimed their first victory two nights later, on 10 November, crashing home the Philadelphia 76ers 125–118. The Timberwolves, led by 23.2 ppg from Tony Campbell, went on to a record of 22–60 and finished sixth in the Midwest Division. The relocation of the Timberwolves, played in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, set an NBA record drawing over 1 million fans to their home games. It includes an attendance of 49,551 on April 17, 1990, which saw the Timberwolves losing in the last home game of the season to the Denver Nuggets 99–88. A variety of stars arrived before the next season begins, including Gary Trent, Loren Woods and Maurice Evans and Joe Smith's return. The Timberwolves began the season by winning their first six games and managed to achieve a best 30–10 franchise record. The Timberwolves recorded the best win by a 53-point franchise over Chicago in November. We finished with a 50–32 record: their second ever 50-win season, marked by Garnett's first All-Star selection and the breakthrough season for Wally Szczerbiak, which won his first All-Star game. Minnesota again avoided the playoffs during the first round, where they were defeated in three consecutive rounds by the Dallas Mavericks. For the Timberwolves the 2002–03 season started to shape. Following a strong season of 23.0 points per game and 13.4 rebounds per night, Garnett took second place in MVP and the Timberwolves finished third with a record of 51–31. Consequently, when faced with three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, they were given the home court advantage for the first time. The Timberwolves had an opportunity to take a 3–1 series lead going into the 4th quarter of Game 4 in Los Angeles, despite being shut out at home in Game 1, but the Lakers fought back to win the game and finally took the series in six games. At the end the Timberwolves were defeated for the seventh consecutive year in the first round of the playoffs.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks is a club, American basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks play as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division, the National Basketball Association. The team was established as an expansion team in 1968, and is being played at the Fiserv Forum. Former U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was the team's former owner, but on April 16, 2014, a consortium headed by billionaire hedge fund investors Wes Edens and Marc Lasry agreed to buy a controlling stake in Kohl's franchise, an arrangement that was accepted by NBA owners and their board of governors a month later on May 16. The organisation is run by the former director of basketball operations Jon Horst who took over in May 2017 for John Hammond. The Official Mascot in Bucks is Bango. The Bucks 'famous play-by-play announcer, Eddie Doucette, first invented the term "Bango." Every time a Bucks player scored on a long-range basket, Doucette used the expression. Jon McGlocklin, even using it as a sharpshooter. Once it was time for the Bucks to choose a replacement for their new mascot, they won the search for the replacement "Bango." Since 18 October 1977, Bango has been the Bucks 'official mascot, which was Milwaukee's home opener of the 1977–78 season. The game itself pitted Milwaukee against the iconic Bucks centre Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his Los Angeles Lakers at the Milwaukee arena, in addition to the date being Bango's home debut. Throughout the years Bango has worked tirelessly to become famous with Bucks fans in the state of Wisconsin, serving as a neighbourhood goodwill ambassador at colleges, parades, and festivals. His high-flying acrobatic layups, bold steals and other entertaining tricks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center also play a significant role in Bucks 'energising fans. Bango appeared annually in the NBA All-Star Game since 2001. Bango suffered injuries during a mascot-participating skit at the All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Az 2009. The right leg of Bango went into the net, balancing on top of one basket before crashing down on top of another. He then stepped on and sunk into the water completely. Bango ripped his ACL due to the crash, and was unable to compete despite occasional appearances in a wheelchair at games for the rest of the 2008–09 season. A video of the 2009 Mascot Festival accident in Bango was posted to YouTube minutes after the incident happened. During game four of the first-round playoff series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks in 2009–10, Bango completed successfully a back-flip dunk from the top of a 16-foot pole, a feat close to the feat of Seattle SuperSonics mascot squatch during a game between the SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns on March 19, 2008. The first jerseys from the Bucks were based on the jerseys from the Boston Celtics, with the lines and numbers being lettered. The uniforms of the hunter green road featured the name of the town and the numbers in red trim gold. Unit logo and numbers in hunter green with red trim were used on the home white uniforms; the colour scheme was changed for the 1971–72 season. The road jerseys in the 1973–74 season featured a "Milwaukee" script and red numbers with white trim; they adopted the same pattern for their home jerseys two seasons later. The road uniforms modified in the 1975–76 season to the "Milwaukee" block lettering, though maintaining a homemade style. To the bottom, the shorts have the new Bucks branding to them. The Bucks also revamped their uniforms, which coincided with Robert Indiana's legendary MECCA court's 1976–77 season debut. Now it featured green side stripes of kelly, brown and hunter, influenced by Houston Astros "Rainbow Guts" uniforms. The green and white hunter uniforms all featured the streamlined lettering of "runners" on the team logo and the lettering of buttons. By the 1985–86 season they had dropped the colour purple. The Bucks overhauled their identity and jerseys for the season 1993–94. The black road uniforms featured a modernised "bucks" lettering with white side streaks and hunter green highlights from their badge and silver numbers. The handmade white uniforms in hunter green had the same lettering and numbers, with silver accented purple side stripes. For the 2001–02 season the marks were added to the Shirt.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is an American professional basketball club based in Florida. The club was playing as a member of the Southeast Division in the League's Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Heat plays their home games at American Airlines Arena and has won three NBA championships. During the 1988–89 NBA season the franchise started playing as an expansion team. The Heat would gain success in the 1990s after a period of mediocrity with the appointment of iconic head coach Pat Riley to Team President spot. Riley would create the high-profile trades of Alonzo Mourning in 1995, and the high-profile trades of Tim Hardaway in 1996, which soon propelled the franchise into playoff contention. In the end, Mourning and Hardaway will lead the Heat to four divisional wins, respectively, prior to their 2001 and 2002 exits. The squad struggled as a result, and a reconstruction started on schedule for the 2002–03 season. Joined by Dwyane Wade and after a trade with former NBA Most Valuable Player Shaquille O'Neal, Miami advanced to the 2006 NBA Finals where they clinched their first title along with Riley as the head coach. Two years on, following O'Neal's retirement, the franchise began another period of decline for the remainder of the 2000's. That meant the departure of Riley as head coach, going back to his position as team manager, and being replaced by Erik Spoelstra. In 2010 the Heat joined Wade to create the "Big Three" alongside future league MVP LeBron James and perennial NBA All-Star Chris Bosh, after creating significant cap space. Together during their four-year tenure, and under the names of Spoelstra, Johnson, Wade, and Bosh, they will lead the Heat to the NBA Finals every season, winning two back-to-back titles in both 2012 and 2013. The three will all leave by 2016 and the team started another period of rebuilding. Wade was eventually reacquired in 2018, though with the franchise he resigned. The Heat hold the record of 27 consecutive games for the NBA's third-longest winning streak set during the 2012–13 season. Four Hall of Famers have played for Miami while James won the NBA MVP Award while playing for the franchise. The first Miami Heat jerseys, unveiled during the season 1988–89, consist of plain striping, exclusive only on the right side of the shirt and trousers. Home uniforms were white with lettering in red, black and orange trim, while away uniforms were black with red, green, and orange trim; green numbers with red, black, and orange trim, using the same script as the new Los Angeles Lakers jerseys. The original 'flaming ball' logo appears on the left leg shorts and on the right side is the word 'Miami.' The new Heat uniforms have been in use since the 1999–2000 season. While similar, these uniforms have visible differences such as stripping on both sides, changing from orange to yellow piping, new lettering and block numbering, and a modified symbol for 'flaming ball' on the right hip. The regular numbers black away now fit the colours in the lettering. The rivalry between the New York Knicks and the expansion of the Miami Heat resulted from their four consecutive playoff series from 1997 through 2000. Every series went out to seven instalments. Pat Riley, both teams 'head coach, was central figure in the game. Jeff Van Gundy took over Riley's time as the Knicks 'head coach, while his older brother Stan Van Gundy was also an assistant coach with the Heat. Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Grieving, friends of their Georgetown career from Basketball time. One of the Knicks, Larry Johnson, holding bad blood with Grieving as far back as their days at the Charlotte Hornets. The Bulls broke the Heat's record-setting 27-game winning streak on March 27, 2013, with a 101–97 victory at the Chicago United Centre. Despite playing without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Richard "Rip" Hamilton and Marco Belinelli, the Bulls managed to snap the second longest win streak in nba history.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
Blazers Got a Blessing in Disguise
It’s been a rough month for sports lovers around the globe, including those of us that are fans of the United States NBA. Many major sports associations have suspended or canceled their seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is unknown how long these breaks will last. As a Portland Trail Blazer fan, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this season suspension; however, this team had been struggling all season long with a grueling list of injuries and unbalanced team chemistry as a result. While doing my best to be optimistic, I realized that this hiatus could truly be a blessing in disguise for the Blazers.
By Shaley Speaks6 years ago in Unbalanced
NFL Mock Draft
Following the first wave of free agency, I thought it would be a great time to do another mock draft. I did this draft with my brother JAC Conlu to have more fun with it. A lot of big moves were done so far in free agency making this time of the year always exciting as a fan. This mock draft was done following the additions through free agency and catered to what the remaining needs are for each team. No trades were done in this mock draft.
By Keoni Conlu6 years ago in Unbalanced
1964 Olympics
The 1964 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IX Olympic Winter Games, is a multi-sport winter event held from January 29th to February 9th, 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria. The Games featured 1091 athletes from 36 countries and carried the Olympic Torch to Joseph Rieder, a former alpine skier who had competed in the 1956 Winter Olympics. The Games were affected during training by the deaths of Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and British lugeracer Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypeski, and three years afterwards by the deaths of the entire U.S. hockey team and family members. Just Innsbruck applied for an invitation against Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and Lahti, Finland to host the 1964 Winter Olympics. This is the same tally of votes this took place on May 26, 1959, at the 55th IOC Session in Munich, West Germany: the games were opened by a concert conducted by the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm's baton. The first concert included 7th Symphony by Beethoven, and 40th Symphony by Mozart. Historically the warm Innsbruck had been influenced by a lack of snow. The Austrian army removed 20,000 ice cubes from the top of a mountain and sent them to tracks of bobsleigh and luge. They provided the alpine ski courses with 40,000 cubic metres of snow too. The Soldiers rushed down the slopes by hand and foot. All the women's speed skating events are headed by Lidia Skoblikova. Italian bobsleigh pilot Eugenio Monti has enriched himself by helping Britain's Tony Nash and Robin Dixon win the gold medals and sending them a cracked axle bolt to repair it. The Italians took bronze, but Monti was first elected recipient of the Pierre de Coubertin sportsmanship award. Austrian Egon Zimmermann took the gold medal in the alpine downhill skiing championship for men. Knut Johannesen from Norway hit fastest time at the Olympics in the men's 5,000 m speed skating event. Klavdiya Boyarskikh of the U.S.S.R. won three gold medals in cross-country skiing, and Finnish Eero Mäntyranta won two on the men's side and received the nickname "Mr. Seefeld" after his success in the position. The French sisters Christine and Marielle Goitschel finished first and second in slalom and giant slalom in alpine skiing, respectively. Ski jumping took on a second event, and the Olympic debut in the luge competition. The Games have been previously noteworthy as East and West Germany formed a combined squad the last time. The Closing Ceremonies first took place in a venue other than the opening ceremonies. In Innsbruck 36 Rivals had been allocated to play. China, Mongolia and North Korea took part in the Winter Games for the very first time. Players from West Germany and East Germany played together as the United Team from 1956 to 1964.Australian alpine skier Ross Milne and British luge slider KazimierzKay-Skrzypeski died while practising and exercising just before the Olympics. The planning commission previously said Ross fell into a tree during a hearing. The IOC also said inexperience may have been a factor in Ross's death. Boss John Wagner suggested that overcrowding played a role in beating a multitude of competitors, saying that Milne had been attempting to slow down "on a position you couldn't jump or run" His uncle Malcolm Milne competed at the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics. On the road to the Prague World Championships on 15 February 1961, when Sabena Flight 548 crashed in Brussels, Belgium, the entire United States Figure Skating team and other club members, coaches, and officials were killed. The event prompted the cancellation of the World Championships of1961 which demanded the creation of a new American skating programme. Gold won on 34 athletic competitions in six different disciplines.
By MB6 years ago in Unbalanced
