Category: General NBA insight

The AP reports: Former NBA player Wayman Tisdale had part of his right leg amputated Monday because of bone cancer. Tisdale, 44, revealed on his Web site that the surgery was scheduled for Monday. His wife, Regina, told The Associated Press on Tuesday night the surgery had taken place as planned. “Everything went well,” she said. Tisdale, a 6-foot-9 Tulsa native who played for Oklahoma before spending 12 seasons in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns, first learned he had cancerous cyst below his right knee after he broke his leg in a fall at his home in Los Angeles on Feb. 8, 2007.

The Washington Post reports: Wearing an olive green suit, his voice cracking and trembling, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy apologized Tuesday before receiving a 15-month prison sentence for his involvement in a betting scandal that tarnished the reputation of the league and its game officials. “I’ve brought shame on myself, my family and the profession I love,” Donaghy told U.S. District Court Judge Carol Bagley Amon in a Brooklyn federal courthouse almost a year after he pleaded guilty to conspiring with gamblers and betting on NBA games. Donaghy, 41, could have received 33 months, but Amon said she considered his cooperation with the government when imposing a much shorter sentence. Donaghy’s cooperation was instrumental in the convictions of two former high school classmates, James Battista and Thomas Martino, for their roles in the gambling scheme. Amon sentenced Battista to 15 months and Martino to one year and a day in prison last week.

The NBA announced today that Chris Granger has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Team Marketing and Business Operations, reporting to NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Adam Silver.

Granger, who most recently served as NBA Senior Vice President, Team Business Development, will be responsible for advising the NBA, WNBA and D-League teams on all sales and marketing initiatives, including ticket sales, season ticket retention and sponsorship development.  Effective August 11, Granger will assume the responsibilities of Scott O’Neil, who earlier today was named President, Madison Square Garden Sports, where he will oversee all aspects of business operations for its three sports teams: the Knicks, the Rangers and the Liberty.

Chris Heck, NBA Senior Vice President, Team Business Operations, who oversees the development of best practices in team sponsorship, ticket sales and marketing functions, will also take on additional responsibilities including the oversight of NBA Canada. He will report to Granger.

“Chris Granger has extensive knowledge in league and team operations and provides a wealth of talent and expertise to the NBA,” said Silver.  “He will continue to build upon Scott’s success at serving our teams and helping to grow their businesses.”

Granger, 37, joined the NBA in June 1999 and has held management roles in Human Resources and Team Marketing and Business Operations. Prior to joining the NBA, he held multiple resort management positions within The Walt Disney Company. Granger received his MBA from Yale University and his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.

Heck joined the NBA in May 2004 managing the NBA’s Team Sponsorship Development group. Prior to joining the NBA, Heck worked with the Villanova Athletic Department as Vice President and General Manager for marketing rights holder, ISP. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University and serves as an adjunct professor at Columbia University.

The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports: More bad news on the referee front. Jess Kersey, one of the best, will retire, barring an unexpected change of plans, because of a serious hip injury that cost him all last season. An announcement is expected sometime in the summer, an unusual move for the league that reflects Kersey’s status after 31 years, 189 playoff games and 18 Finals games.

The AP reports: India, a relatively untapped territory, looms as the NBA’s next great challenge. But it could be a tough sell. The few public basketball courts attract little attention, and words like “slam-dunk” and “alley-oop” are met with blank stares. To help counter that, the NBA held its first-ever event in India last week, a “Basketball Without Borders” camp that featured charity events and basketball clinics in which NBA players instructed young Asians. League executives say they’re considering a wide range of plans to spread the game, including building courts in remote villages, seeking endorsements from Bollywood stars, and bringing NBA players to India for exhibitions. “We see tremendous growth potential for basketball in India,” said Heidi Ueberroth, the NBA’s chief of global marketing. “The interest in sports is by no means saturated.”

Business Journal of Milwaukee reports: The men’s and women’s clothing store chain Steve & Barry’s will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to a release from the company Wednesday. The Port Washington, N.Y.-based Steve & Barry’s has more than 270 stores across the nation, including nine in Massachusetts. It has one local store at Southridge Mall in Greendale. The company said a number of factors went into the decision, including a liquidity shortfall as a result of credit market volatility and general economic conditions, which, in turn, have impacted the company’s store opening plans and borrowing capacity.

InsideHoops.com editor says: In case you forgot, that’s the chain that sold the Starbury sneakers. Everything at Steve and Barry’s costs around $5-$20 or something like that.  I’ve only been in their stores once, for the Marbury launch party back a few years ago which was held in their midtown Manhattan location, pretty close to Madison Square Garden. Seemed like a good store. I guess the prices were too low.