Police officer who escorted LeBron James to concert violated policy

lebron james

En-route to Friday’s Justin Timberlake and Jay Z concert, Miami Heat superstar LeBron James was given a police escort to navigate the bumper-to-bumper traffic into Sun Life Stadium.

A grateful James posted the clip of the good deed on his Instagram account with the caption: “They treat us so well! Needed it cause traffic was nuts!!” James has a little under 3.5 million Instagram followers.

“Light police escort on the wrong side of the street,” James said. “Headed to the big homie concert, JT. Holla.”

On Monday, Miami-Dade police said the officer who gave James and his fiancée the wrong-way escort into the stadium “violated departmental policies.”

Reported by the Miami Herald staff

Amare Stoudemire to be a judge in Miss America pageant

Former ‘N Sync singer Lance Bass and New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire highlight the list of judges for next month’s Miss America pageant in Atlantic City.

Joining them will be Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell; comedian and performer Mario Cantone; and Barbara Corcoran, an investor from ABC’s entrepreneurial competition show ”Shark Tank.” Also on the panel are Carla Hall, co-host of ABC’s food-and-talk show ”The Chew,” and Deidre Downs Gunn, an obstetrician and gynecologist who was the last Miss America to be crowned in Atlantic City.

Reported by the Associated Press

Michelle Obama will release a music album that will include Iman Shumpert

Michelle Obama will release a hip-hop-inspired album. Although she probably won’t rhyme or sing on any songs, it will be the first time that a first lady has delved into hip-hop for a greater cause.

The album will promote Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign in an effort to fight childhood obesity. Obama enlisted DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Ashanti, Monifah and other artists to create songs on the 19-track album.

The project, sponsored by Partnership For A Healthier America and Hip Hop Public Health, will seek to raise awareness through entertainment.

Track no. 11: “Pass the Rock” f/ Iman Shumpert and Artie Green

Reported by Amir Shaw of RollingStone.com

The 19-track album with song titles like “U R What You Eat” and “Veggie Luv” is being released by the Partnership for a Healthier America, an independent group found in conjunction with Let’s Move.

Ten music videos released with the album are set to be distributed to schools in New York City before being circulated to other major cities.

Reported by Hadas Gold of Politico.com

LeBron James reports for jury duty

lebron james

LeBron James plays the part of superhero on a basketball court, seemingly from October through June.

But he is a regular human being in the offseason, as those in an Akron, Ohio, courthouse were reminded Thursday morning when the Heat star forward reported for jury duty — just like everybody else has to.

“Jury duty time. Time to serve my civic duty” James tweeted.

Reported by the Miami Herald

James drew a buzz at the county courthouse in downtown Akron but was not seated on a jury for trial and left the building at 10:30 a.m., according to the Akron Beacon Journal.

He has been spending time in his hometown and working out for the past several weeks since returning from a promotional tour to the Philippines and China. This weekend James is hosting several charity events in the city.

Reported by Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com

Stephen Curry finishes fourth in celebrity golf tournament

Stephen Curry finishes fourth in celebrity golf tournament

Warriors guard Stephen Curry hung in as the third-round leader for most of Sunday, but he faded down the stretch and watched Billy Joe Tolliver top Mark Rypien in a playoff for his fourth title at the American Century Championship at the Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

Tolliver made par on the third playoff hole, the par-5, 501-yard 18th hole to claim the title after  Rypien deposited a short pitch into a pond alongside the green.  Tolliver and Rypien, former NFL quarterbacks, tied at 67 points, and Curry ended up with 64 — good enough for a fourth-place finish.

“I think I showed I’ve got what it takes to win here,” said Curry, the 36-hole leader. “Obviously, it takes a lot to win. A lot has to go right. The more I play, the more comfortable I get. It’s a great environment to play golf.”

Reported by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Blog)

Heat owner Micky Arison to step down as CEO of Carnival Cruises

Miami-based Carnival Corp. & PLC announced Tuesday that longtime Chairman and CEO Micky Arison will step down as company CEO, but continue as chairman in a move to split the two roles.

Carnival said business leader and 12-year board member Arnold W. Donald will assume the CEO role effective July 3, Carnival said in a news release Tuesday.

Arison has held the role of CEO since 1979, and as chairman he’ll continue to provide board level oversight and will remain the company’s largest shareholder, Carnival said.

Donald in turn will lead the executive team, focusing initially on achieving the company’s long-term strategic goals.

Carnival said the move to split the roles has received unanimous approval from the company’s nominating and governance committee as well as the full board of directors.

Reported by Arlene Satchell of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jay-Z is now a licensed NBA agent

Will Jay-Z actually represent clients of his newly built sports agency Roc Nation Sports in contract negotiations?

Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Roc Nation Sports, confirmed to ESPN.com that, as of this week, Jay-Z is now licensed to work as an NBA agent. Juan Perez, president of Roc Nation Sports, also is now certified with the National Basketball Players Association.

The news was first reported by the Sports Business Journal.

What’s not clear is how soon Jay-Z actually can represent players. A source close to the situation said that, as of Wednesday, the hip-hop mogul had not sold his small share (less than 1 percent) of the Brooklyn Nets.

Reported by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com

Jason Collins marches in Boston gay pride parade

Jason Collins

NBA veteran Jason Collins has marched in Boston’s gay pride parade with Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III, his onetime roommate at Stanford University.

Collins wore a T-shirt that read #BeTrue when he joined thousands of marchers Saturday.

In April, Collins became the first active player in one of the four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay. He wrote in an article for Sports Illustrated that the decision to go public came when Kennedy marched in last year’s parade and Collins didn’t feel that he could join him.

Reported by the Associated Press

John Stockton autobiography out this fall

To catch you up to speed on Utah Jazz legends, Jerry Sloan is still mentioned in job-opening rumors, Jeff Hornacek is the Phoenix Suns head coach and Karl Malone has agreed to mentor his old team’s big men.

Oh yeah, and John Stockton is now … an author!?

Yes, really.

The Hall of Fame point guard’s autobiography “Assisted” — co-authored by Kerry L. Pickett — will be released this fall.

Deseret Book posted an Instagram photo of Stockton signing his Shadow Mountain-published book Thursday from the Book Expo America in New York City.

Reported by Jody Genessy of the Deseret News