The Brooklyn Nets released an updated video for "Something to Lean On," the team's official song written by Brooklyn resident John Forte, complete with more shots of Forte, people in Brooklyn, team highlights, and an awkwardly dated shot of now-former coach P.J. Carlesimo speaking to the team in the locker room.
(h/t Atlantic Yards Report)
Bruce Ratner (AP)
The Nets aren't the only thing that traveled from NY to NJ to Brooklyn. (AP)
In its inaugural year, Brooklyn's Barclays Center will host the 2013 NBA Draft, the NBA announced today. The draft will be held on June 27th at 7 P.M., with tickets going on sale on the 22nd.
The draft was held annually at Madison Square Garden from 2001 until 2011, when it moved to Newark's Prudential Center (then-home of the then-New Jersey Nets) for the 2011 and 2012 draft.
“Brooklyn has become a major NBA market and basketball fans throughout the borough will be excited to welcome the next class of outstanding talent into the league,” Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark said in a prepared statement. “Many of the borough’s greatest all-time players have been drafted into the NBA, making this night a perfect fit for Brooklyn. We are honored to host the 2013 NBA Draft as we continue to bring many of the most high-profile sports and entertainment events to Barclays Center.”
Barring a trade, the Brooklyn Nets will have the 22nd overall pick in the first round.
Per ABC Go:
The one local sports team scheduled Monday night was the Brooklyn Nets, playing the Washington Wizards at the Barclays Center.
"The safety and security of our guests and employees at Barclays Center are of paramount importance," said Brett Yormark, CEO of the Barclays Center and the Nets.
"Barclays Center staff works very closely with the NYPD and other New York City agencies to ensure our stringent safety and security policies are strictly enforced."
The official policy on how to handle a bomb threat was readily available at the public relations desk in the media section. I'm not sure if that's a regular occurrence, but I've never seen it. Police officers were also outside the arena before the game.
UPDATE: ESPN reports that the Nets would not say whether security had been tightened. Some fans reported that there were more security measures; others said they didn't see a difference.
Jay-Z, playing at Barclays Center (AP)
Amidst the information leaking that Jay-Z, AKA Shawn Carter, is divesting his shares in the Brooklyn Nets to begin the sports agency "Roc Nation Sports," Jay-Z recorded a pissed-off song titled "Open Letter" addressing the sale and the reaction to it, including attacking an unnamed person -- presumably a member of the Nets organization. Audio and lyrics after the jump.... MORE →
The Brooklyn Nets, in their tireless effort to get involved in the Brooklyn community, are dedicating a Brooklyn Nets-themed renovated gym Wednesday in Brooklyn. The project is spearheaded by Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark, and officially from the Yormark Family Foundation. The Nets will dedicate the gym to the Navy Yard Clubhouse at the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club at 240 Nassau Street in the Fort Greene Neighborhood.
Some info on the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, courtesy of... well, the Madison Square Boys & Girls Club:
Since 1884, Madison has been saving and enhancing the lives of youth by providing after-school and summer programs for children in New York City’s most disadvantaged communities. Programs are engineered to empower each member to achieve three priority outcomes: Academic Success, Good Character and Citizenship, and the adoption of a Healthy Lifestyle. Every day, Madison provides thousands of children with a safe and positive environment, one where fun is encouraged and positive role models are plentiful. A founding member of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Madison currently serves more than 5,000 youth, ages 6 to 18, at seven sites throughout Brooklyn and the Bronx as well as at Camp Madison in Kingston, New York.
According to the Nets, the Brooklynnettes will be in attendance, as well as the BrooklyKnight and 100 Madison Square Boys & Girls Club kids. Be careful, kids.
The former Nets and Knicks superstar -- 19,655 points lifetime -- attended Ft. Hamilton High School in Bay Ridge.
Barclays Center (AP)
Since opening in September 2012 with a series of Jay-Z concerts, Brooklyn's Barclays Center has hosted such music visionaries as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Israeli violinist Itzhak Perlman. In August, Barclays Center will continue its dedication to the aural arts when it hosts its first major cultural awards show.
M.T.V. announced today that The Black House will host the 30th installment of the MTV Video Music Awards (or VMAs) on August 25th, because Jay-Z. ... MORE →
UPDATE: Jewish comedian Jon Stewart led his satire news show "The Daily Show" with a bit on Don Hikind's blackface during Purim, then followed it with a segment with Jessica Williams about "The War on Purim." Watch:
Brooklyn Assemblyman Don Hikind (middle). Image via the New York Daily News
A report from the New York Daily News surfaced ugly pictures of Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind at a party celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim in blackface, additionally donning an oversized wig, dark sunglasses, and orange shirt, in an attempt to look like (in his words) a "black basketball star."
Hikind later apologized for the costume, but called the criticism "political correctness to the absurd" and later intimated that he might "be a gay person next year" at the next costume party.
Blackface has a deep-seated, intertwined history with racism in the United States. Hikind's decision to physically imitate a "black basketball star" becomes even more puzzling when you consider that this is the first year his borough welcomes a professional basketball team, the Brooklyn Nets, with a roster filled with young black men (one of whom who just won the Black Youth Empowerment Special Leadership Award in his hometown), a black general manager who was once named one of the 101 most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated, and a commitment to honoring black history in the borough.
Hikind contends that he was just trying to look like a "black basketball star," but, what star, exactly? The oversized wig, sunglasses, and orange shirt don't conjure images of any specific player or team. No, Hikind's costume was a lazy generalization of black stereotypes all mish-mashed into one awful mask, that served to dehumanize, rather than respect. It's similarly disheartening to see Hikind's brushing, excusatory comments, making it seem as if it were a prank that merely just went wrong or was misinterpreted, rather than acknowledging the social history that makes blackface -- particularly by a publicly elected official -- inappropriate.
“It is racist,” said firebrand Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn). Assemblyman Karim Camara (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, said, “The history of the blackface minstrel show is something deeply painful in the African-American community.”
From a press release on Shake Shack's official website:
Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG) is proud to announce it will open its second Brooklyn Shake Shack in Fall 2013. The new Shack will make its home at 170 Flatbush Avenue, just a three-pointer and slap shot away from Barclays Center—NYC’s exciting new entertainment destination and home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and NHL’s New York Islanders (2015).
“Our second Brooklyn location will be directly across from the Barclays Center and plant us firmly within walking distance of several neighborhoods from Park Slope to Fort Greene,” said Randy Garutti, Shake Shack CEO. “New York City is our hometown, and the Shack will be the place where New Yorkers can come together to celebrate the best of Brooklyn’s thriving culture, sports and entertainment.”
170 Flatbush Avenue is directly across the street from Barclays on Flatbush, just south of Pacific Street.
Today is a great day in Brooklyn history.
Who has more pressure: a pro goalie (hockey or soccer), a mlb pitcher, or an nfl kicker?
HAPPY G DAY ...to my babygirl .. my big homie ...my goonie goon .. she aggy but I love her to death… http://t.co/IJvwbqbkjb
Headed back to Vegas for the weekend. Lets Get It! #vegas #hardwork #grind #cali #detroit #nets #fly… http://t.co/UKy0z9Tifw
Tim Bontemps of the Post expects the #Nets to interview #Pacers Brian Shaw & #Grizzlies Lionel Hollins once their playoff runs are over
As Turkish League winds down, #Nets pick Bojan Bogdanovic becoming after-thought http://t.co/cjGNnZYxEd
Gotta pay for Fisher's $22,000 watch somehow. RT @KBergCBS: Billy Hunter sues NBPA, Derek Fisher for defamation, BoC. http://t.co/yTi1OvVxFz One question about Brian Shaw: he's been the "next assistant to get a HC job" guy for a half-decade now. Then why is he still an assistant?
