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A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against former NBA star and Detroit Piston Allen Iverson over a 2009 bar fight.
The Detroit News reports Tuesday that federal Judge Nancy Edmunds found no evidence that Iverson punched an Ohio man or that the man who struck him was linked to the player.
Lawyer Michael Cafferty said Iverson feels vindicated. Guy Walker plans to appeal.
— Reported by the Associated Press
The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that Jeff Capel has joined Doug Collins’ staff as an assistant coach. Capel was previously an assistant coach with the Charlotte Bobcats, a position he held since their inaugural season in 2004-05.
In his last full season with Charlotte in 2009-10, Capel was a member of Larry Brown’s staff and helped guide the Bobcats to a franchise-record 44 wins and their first playoff appearance. That season, Charlotte led the league in fewest points allowed and ranked sixth in opponent’s field goal percentage.
Prior to joining the Bobcats, Capel was head coach of the Fayetteville Patriots of the NBA Development League and guided the team to the D-League Finals in his first full season in 2002-03.
At the collegiate level, Capel spent 12 years as head coach of Fayetteville State, North Carolina A&T and Old Dominion, posting a combined mark of 201-162 (.554).
Capel’s son Jason is in his second season as the head men’s basketball coach at Appalachian State University while his older son, Jeff Capel III, serves as an assistant coach on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke. Doug Collins’ son Chris is the associate head coach at Duke.
In an article on the Atlanta Hawks website, Jon Newberry tells the story of how one of the greatest players in basketball history almost played for Atlanta.
In the summer of 1972, Dr. J was looking to make a move to the NBA from the Virginia Squires of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Hawks were looking to facilitate that move. This is where the problems begin.
In a nutshell, Dr. J secretly signed a contract with Atlanta but was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks that same summer. A legal battle ensued which eventually barred Dr. J from playing for any team but the Virginia Squires.
— Reported by CSN Philly. The full NBA.com report is here.
The Philadelphia 76ers new owner Josh Harris has entered and will run the 26.2 mile Philadelphia Marathon on November 20, 2011. Additionally, the Sixers – one of the event sponsors – will give away a complimentary ticket to an upcoming Sixers home game to every marathon participant.
“I am truly looking forward to running the Philadelphia Marathon and have been for quite some time,” Harris said. “To join the participants – particularly those from the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding areas – as a representative of the Sixers is something that I’m proud to do.”
More than 27,000 registered participants comprising the Philadelphia Marathon’s three races (the 8K, half marathon and full marathon) will receive a voucher good for one free ticket to an upcoming Sixers game at the Wells Fargo Center during either the 2011-12 or 2012-13 season.
The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they have hired Ed Stefanski as the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations. Stefanski joins the Raptors from upper management positions with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, where his teams qualified for the NBA playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons. In his position, Stefanski will report to Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.
“Ed Stefanski embodies everything I was hoping to attain when the search began for a top level basketball executive to join our staff,” said Colangelo. “Ed brings to the table experience, smarts and a great feel for the game and of people.”
“I am very excited to join Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors organization,” Stefanski said. “Toronto is a world class city and the Raptors fans are strong supporters.
“The team has a young nucleus of players that have a big upside. And with the addition of Head Coach Dwane Casey I am looking forward to witnessing their growth and improvement.”
Stefanski, who has earned a reputation throughout the NBA as an excellent evaluator of talent, spent the past four seasons in a president and general manager role with Philadelphia. With the 76ers, Stefanski returned the franchise to playoff status via trades, the re-signing of key performers and the acquisition of athletic, younger players in the NBA Draft. Despite having only mid-first round picks in three of his four drafts, Stefanski was able to add lottery-level talent to the team.
Prior to joining Philadelphia, Stefanski spent nine seasons with the Nets. He was promoted to general manager of the club in the summer of 2004 following a one-year stint as the team’s senior vice president of basketball operations and four seasons as the team’s director of scouting.
While with the Nets, Stefanski oversaw the team’s basketball operations and was heavily involved in the club’s roster development and player personnel matters. He helped to build New Jersey’s back-to-back Eastern Conference Championship teams in 2002 and 2003.
A 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business), Stefanski played three seasons for Penn, where he was coached by Hall-of-Famer Chuck Daley. Stefanski was a member of two Ivy League Champions (1974 and 1975), helping the Quakers reach the NCAA Tournament in both of those seasons.
In 1979, Stefanski also began a 20-year run as a colour analyst for Big Five basketball and ESPN’s Atlantic 10 basketball coverage.
The Toronto Raptors are finalizing an agreement with former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski to take over as the franchise’s executive vice president of basketball operations, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Stefanski, who was fired as the 76ers’ GM a week ago, will report to Raptors president-GM Bryan Colangelo, who will still have final say on basketball matters. Stefanski will ultimately replace Masai Ujiri, who left Toronto to become the Denver Nuggets GM last year.
Colangelo conducted a lengthy search and ultimately targeted Stefanski in recent weeks for the job. Former New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower was the runner-up. San Antonio Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey had been a strong candidate, too.
— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports
In What is sure to be a common occurrence among NBA teams as the lockout continues, the 76ers yesterday let go of two of their employees – NBA scouts John Nash and Chris Ford.
At a news conference last Tuesday when the new ownership of the team was introduced, it was announced that general manager Ed Stefanski had been released of his duties…
Nash was GM of the Sixers from 1986 to ’90. His latest stint with the team started after he left the GM job with Portland after the 2005-06 season.
Ford, an Atlantic City native who went on to become a high school legend at Holy Spirit in South Jersey and a star at Villanova, coached 30 games for the Sixers during the tumultuous 2003-04 season. He replaced Randy Ayers, and the team went just 33-49 that season.
— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News
Yesterday morning, not long before the sale of the 76ers was set to be announced at the Palestra, Stefanski, the Sixers’ general manager, was informed that he was being relieved of his duties. The new ownership group, headed by Josh Harris, had decided to give president Rod Thorn full charge of the duties he and Stefanski had shared last season. Instead of Stefanski going to the place where he played his college ball, he was left uncertain about his future.
Stefanski had 1 year remaining on his contract, while Thorn, who was brought in in August 2010, after a dismal 27-55 season, has several years remaining on a hefty contract.
Said Stefanski, who came to the team in December 2007: “This is the new ownership’s day. I wish them all the best. Having met with Josh and Adam [Aron, the new CEO], the Sixers are in capable hands.”
Among the more noteworthy moves Stefanski made in his four seasons were giving maximum contracts to Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand, firing fan-favorite Maurice Cheeks, hiring and firing Eddie Jordan after one season, and bringing in current coach Doug Collins. The team made the playoffs in all but one of Stefanski’s four seasons.
— Reported by Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News
Comcast-Spectacor today announced that the sale of the Philadelphia 76ers to a group led by Joshua Harris, Co-Founder of Apollo Management LP, was approved by the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors, signifying the completion of the sale. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.The acquisition does not include the Wells Fargo Center or the Philadelphia Flyers, which are owned by Comcast-Spectacor.
The 76ers sale price was reportedly $280 million.
The team will remain a long-term tenant of the Wells Fargo Center and will have a long-term cable broadcast agreement for its games with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia.
“We are delighted that the NBA’s Board of Governors has approved Josh Harris and David Blitzer’s purchase of the 76ers,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “Comcast-Spectacor, led by Ed Snider, has been an exceptional owner for the Sixers, continuing the team’s rich history and tradition. Josh and David bring vast business experience that will greatly benefit the team as it continues to grow both on and off the court.”
“On behalf of my partners, I genuinely want to thank Ed Snider and Comcast-Spectacor for choosing us to steward the Philadelphia 76ers, a storied NBA franchise. We are excited to be writing a new chapter in Sixers lore,” said Josh Harris, the new Managing Owner. “I also want to thank Comcast-Spectacor for their gracious assistance during the transition. Knowing that the 76ers will continue to play at Wells Fargo Center and that our game television broadcasts will continue on Comcast SportsNet, our new ownership group looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship with Comcast-Spectacor for many years to come.”
Harris’ investment is a personal one and Apollo Management LP is not involved in the transaction. The new Sixers ownership will hold a press conference in Philadelphia on Tuesday October 18 to meet the media, and further share its thinking on assuming leadership of the Sixers.
“This is one of the hardest business decisions I’ve ever had to make,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider. “The Sixers are family, and it is very difficult to say goodbye to an organization of great people with whom we have worked so closely over the last 15 years.
“I am very proud of the team and the progress that the organization has made, especially last season under Coach Collins,” Snider said. “I think the foundation is in place for the Sixers to make a great run in the years to come, and it has been a privilege to be involved with a team that is such an important part of Philadelphia’s outstanding basketball tradition.”
Snider said that the decision to sell the team was cemented only after learning about the new owners’ longtime ties to Philadelphia and their commitment to the Sixers’ future.
“Over the last 15 years, a number of different individuals or entities have inquired about purchasing the Sixers, and to be honest, I was not looking to sell the team,” Snider said. “But in discussions with Josh and his partners, it became clear that this was an offer that made sense for the franchise and for the future of Comcast-Spectacor.
With the sale of the Sixers, Comcast-Spectacor will continue to focus attention on growing its other assets, which include a public assembly facility management firm (Global Spectrum); a food and beverage concessionaire (Ovations Food Services); a full-service ticketing company (New Era Tickets); the leading developer of ticketing solution software (Paciolan); and a commercial rights group specializing in ancillary income for arenas and stadiums (Front Row Marketing Services). Comcast-Spectacor currently operates in 46 of the 50 United States and abroad in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Lyon, France.
“It’s important to remember that even though there will be an ownership change, the new ownership will still be our partners as tenants at the Wells Fargo Center and on our network, Comcast SportsNet,” said Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko. “So we are committed to helping them in any way possible.”
Comcast-Spectacor acquired the 76ers during the formation of the joint venture between Comcast Corporation and Spectacor which was established in March of 1996.
“My partners and I are thrilled to have become owners of the Sixers,” said Harris. “It is an honor to be a part of this storied franchise – we have a lot of work to do but we have a rich history, a strong foundation and a bright future. My partners and I want to thank Ed Snider and the Comcast-Spectacor team for all their efforts to make this outcome possible. As we move forward, we want to build on the team’s momentum and be world class and cutting edge in everything we do.”
The new owners have named Adam Aron, a native Philadelphian and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts, Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Adam is a superb executive with deep and broad experience, and we are very pleased he will be returning to Philadelphia as CEO of the Sixers and a member of our ownership group,” Harris said. “Adam and I both have strong ties to the Delaware Valley, and we are committed to providing an exciting, high-quality experience to the great fans in Philadelphia in the years ahead.”
“Being named CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers is truly a dream come true. Having grown up in Abington, I have always been a fan of this team,” said Aron. “I’m excited about celebrating and building on the extraordinary heritage of the 76ers, the third winningest team in NBA history. We will work tirelessly to make Philadelphia sports fans proud.”
The investor group is led by Harris, who will serve as Managing Owner of the 76ers and as the team’s Governor on the NBA Board of Governors. Other investors include David Blitzer, who will serve as Co-Managing Owner and an Alternate Governor of the NBA, CEO Adam Aron who will also serve as an Alternate Governor of the NBA, Martin Geller, David Heller, Travis Hennings, James Lassiter, Marc Leder, Jason Levien, Michael Rubin, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, Handy Soetedjo, Erick Thohir and Art Wrubel, all of whom have made personal investments in the team.
About Josh Harris
Joshua Harris, 46, is Managing Partner of Apollo Management, L.P. which he co-founded in 1990. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and received his MBA from the Harvard Business School where he was named a Baker and Loeb Scholar. Among other civic activities, Harris serves as a member of The Federal Reserve Bank of New York Investors Advisory Committee on Financial Markets and the Undergraduate Executive Board of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
About Adam Aron
Adam M. Aron, 57, is Chairman and CEO of World Leisure Partners, Inc., a consultancy he formed in 2006. From 1996 to 2006, Aron was Chairman and CEO of Vail Resorts, the world’s second largest ski resort operator, which under his direction became one of the nation’s premiere ski destinations. From 1993 to 1996, he was President and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, then the fourth-largest cruise company worldwide. He was previously Senior Vice President of Marketing for United Airlines. A graduate of Abington High School, Aron holds a Bachelor’s Degree cum laude from Harvard College and an M.B.A. with distinction from Harvard Business School.
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At the end of last week, the NBA approved Comcast-Spectacor’s sale of the Sixers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire Joshua Harris; at that time, the news conference was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday.
Tuesday’s news conference will be the first time the new ownership group – which includes Harris, David Blitzer, Art Wrubel, and Jason Levien – will speak publicly about their $280 million purchase of the Sixers.
The news conference is scheduled to commence at 11:30 a.m.
— Reported by Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer