Armchair Archaeologist

BruceLevenson
Ballboy
Joined: 20 Jun 2004
Posts: 5


PostPosted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:35 pm
Post subject: Dear Hawks Fans

Since I became an owner, I have from time to time checked RealGM and Hawksquawk to get a sense of the thoughts of our most dedicated fans. In the past several weeks, I have closely read your comments on the Joe Johnson trade and the conflict within our ownership group. I was struck by your passion for the Hawks. It's that passion that we desparately need as we build this young team. Over the past year, several of you have chatted about meeting at a game and I would love to assist in making this possibe. So I've arranged the following:

Between now and September 1st you can purchase lower level tickets to the Hawks game on November 10th vs. the LA Clippers -- for only $10 each! These seats are normally $55! Plus, I will choose two of you that purchase these tickets to sit with me in my floor seats and watch
the Hawks Rise Up and beat the Clippers!

Here is how to take advantage of this special offer. Click on the link below and type in the word owner in the "Enter Special Offer Code or Password" box and order your tickets to this game.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/0E003B10EA794692?artistid=805898&major
catid=10004&minorcatid=7

Look forward to meeting you at the game and an exciting season ahead.

Sincerely,
Bruce Levenson

No team has suffered more under the tech giant's tyranny than the Hawks. The acquisition of Glenn Robinson and the return to health of center Theo Ratliff, combined with incumbent scorers Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Jason Terry, had the franchise giddy with possibility. So much so that the team guaranteed a playoff appearance to their season-ticket holders, or else they would refund them $125. At the moment, the Hawks have the 11th best record in the East, and even that modest goal looks remote. Unless they improve, AOL will owe season-ticket holders close to $500,000.

The hype ignored the obvious—that there weren't enough balls to go around for the shot demands of Robinson, Abdur-Rahim, and Terry; that no one on the team, save the brittle, foul-prone Ratliff, had an inkling of ever playing defense; and that coach Lon Kruger was hopelessly overmatched. Kruger was finally dismissed in a day-after-Christmas twin killing with Thrasher coach Curt Fraser. Typical for AOL, Bloody Christmas came off not as a surgical strike but a Clouseau-esque shot in the dark. Fraser was dismissed in midmorning; Kruger in the late afternoon. Stan Kasten, president of both teams, told the media that the moves were unrelated. It's as though AOL honchos finally got up the courage to fire one, then sat around thinking, "You know, Kruger is no good either, let's get rid of him, too!" It's team management via sports talk radio.

The new coach, Terry Stotts, is a nice guy, which immediately separates him from Kruger, who had the surly demeanor of a Waffle House short-order cook. Stotts' job security will depend on how well he can multitask—with only Alex English and Steve Henson as assistants, the Hawks staff is simply undermanned. Stotts would prefer to install more zone defenses to keep his thin front line out of foul trouble, but that means hiring another hand or two, which AOL seems unlikely to finance.

Matching the on-court lassitude is AOL's dismal effort to revive the team's fan base. During last Wednesday's 34-point drubbing at the hands of the Miami Heat, the Philips Arena crowd was announced at 8,414, roughly double the number that was actually there. The marketing geniuses have all but ignored the city's huge black community, which includes celebrities like Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Whitney Houston, Evander Holyfield, and Chuck D. The Hawks spend far more time reaching out to the half-hearted fans in the suburban sprawl.

Kendall Gill can now focus on trying to play again in the NBA this fall, with two boxing victories under his belt and a chiseled torso above it.

Gill, 37, won a unanimous decision over tough but overmatched Jason Medina in a four-round bout on Saturday's undercard to the Fernando Vargas-Javier Castillejo main event at Allstate Arena.

"This guy was a lot tougher than my first fight," a first-round knockout of Trevor Biley, Gill said, admitting that Medina "stunned me with a right hand in the first round."

But Gill rallied throughout and rocked his opponent several times with shots to the head, using both hands, including a strong final round, when he switched from southpaw to right-handed and surprised Medina with good left jabs.

"I think I made adjustments better than in my first fight," said the 198-pound cruiserweight. "Last time, when I hit the guy with hard shots, I could see him going."

Gill, who fulfilled his aim to win twice this summer, rated his second bout "a B-minus," and said, "My right jab has to be a lot better.

"I can focus on the NBA now," said the veteran who followed a standout career at the University of Illinois with 141/2 pro seasons. "I'll see who wants a hungry, very capable, very motivated, very in-shape 37-year-old. The Lakers are my first choice. I love the triangle offense. I love [coach] Phil Jackson."

However, he added, "I'm a little scared that I like boxing so much."

A 195-pound cruiserweight, he has been training for nearly seven months at the JABB Boxing Gym on North Oakley Street. That has included sparring with Fres Oquendo, who has challenged twice, unsuccessfully, for a heavyweight title and doing roadwork with aspiring middleweight Freddie Cuevas, who is slated to face James Kitchens on Saturday's Aragon card.

At times, driving to a workout, "we've passed by the United Center as fans were coming there for a Bulls game, and I briefly thought I should be there," Gill recalled.

Instead, he was paying his dues running along the lakefront in the dead of winter to live his first dream.

"I wanted to be a boxer before I wanted to be a basketball player," he said of his childhood in Chicago. "Even as a kid, my real passion was boxing. But all my friends played basketball, and there was no one to feed my interest in boxing."

His list of sports idols includes boxers Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, and he has a print and videotape fight library.

He has dabbled in mixed martial arts, and since he has focused on boxing, he said, "I respect fighters more than any other athletes.

"The NBA lifestyle is more pampered. In boxing, I see these guys go through punishment in training just to have a life in this sport."

Working with trainer Mike Garcia, that regimen of pushups, pull-ups, sit-ups, roadwork and sparring has enabled Gill to lose 20 pounds from his NBA playing weight of 215.

"My conditioning is far beyond what I'd do for basketball, so I'm in the best shape of my life," Gill said. "When I get to the NBA, I'll be a monster."

He would like to reach his goal of 15 seasons by playing for coach Phil Jackson with the Lakers next season.

"I love the triangle offense," he said.

His goal as a boxer is less certain.

"It takes many years to be a champion," he said. "Maybe I'll have a handful of fights, maybe more. As long as my body says it's OK, I'll be there. I know it's a risky sport, and I don't intend to stay in it until I slur my words or anything like that."

...

"I talked to the doctor and he said, 'Just don't overdo it,' " said Newell, a Hall of Fame college coach and one-time general manager of the Lakers who had much of his right lung removed in March because of a cancerous tumor.

"What happened was, I had a cough that was hard to get rid of," Newell said.

The first day of his camp, he picked up a newspaper with the story of TV anchorman Peter Jennings' lung cancer death on the front page.

"I'm doing better than some," Newell said.

"The doctor told me, 'His was totally different from yours.' There's no sign of any kind of growth. But you never know."

A smoker during his years as a coach at San Francisco, Michigan State and California, where his Golden Bears won the 1959 NCAA title, Newell quit years ago, but cancer found him anyway.

His Big Man Camp — an annual affair that has drawn an astonishing list of NBA stars that includes Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, James Worthy, Scottie Pippen, Sam Perkins, Antawn Jamison and Jermaine O'Neal — helped give him a goal in his recovery.

"This camp has always rejuvenated his energy level and his passion for teaching basketball, probably even more so this year because of his health issues," said his son, Pete Newell Jr., a camp staffer who retired from coaching at 61 this year after guiding Santa Cruz High to the Division III state championship.

After the season ended, Pete Jr. went to his father's home in Rancho Santa Fe and urged him on in his rehabilitation, trying to get him ready for his already-scheduled camp.

"Pete came and really got me in the groove. He'd tell me to walk another 15, 20 yards," the elder Newell said. "I'd say, 'That's another 30 or 40 — up and back.' "

"I lost 40 pounds. People ask about the diet. I say, 'Don't do the one I did.' I've put maybe five pounds back on."

Pete Jr. wasn't sure his father would be able to handle the Big Man Camp until he saw him recover after conducting a coaching clinic at Newell's Tall Women's Camp in Monterey a couple of weeks earlier.

"What I told one of the coaches is, 'You guys ask him questions for about 15 minutes,' " Pete Jr. said. "That's the energy level I thought he had.

"And he went in there at five after seven in the evening, and we had to shut him down at five after nine. He went two straight hours."

It worked much the same after the Big Man Camp.

"I feel better than I did before I went," Newell said.

...

The camp got its start in the 1970s, with Newell working with Laker player Kermit Washington and then-UCLA player Kiki Vandeweghe, now general manager of the Denver Nuggets.

It has been held 28 of the last 29 years, with the exception of the NBA lockout year in 1998.

Once a pro-only affair — and previously held in Hawaii, among other sites — it is now based in Las Vegas and it is mostly a college camp, with Bynum and Laker teammates Brian Cook and Jumaine Jones among the few NBA players who also included Golden State first-round pick Ike Diogu and second-year Warrior Andris Biedrins.

The camp is unique in that there are no guards, no scrimmaging and no dunking.

"We don't allow the dunk. It's not a dunking contest," Newell said.

It is about instruction, and anyway, these guys already know how to dunk.

"That's a misnomer, Big Man Camp. It's a footwork camp," said Pete Gaudet, a onetime Duke assistant who works as a camp instructor.

"One of the truisms is, you play 40 minutes a game," Newell said. "You might play four minutes with the ball, a little less or a little more.

"Look at it another way. You play 100% with your feet."

Newell laments that a generation of players has been "over-coached but under-taught." Even among professional players, fundamentals are lacking.

...

For Bynum, it was part of a summer-long indoctrination into the game.

"I first heard about it about four years ago, from my AAU coach," Bynum said. "Ever since I was 13 or 14, I heard about it, but I didn't have the money to come. Now, it's free."

Newell liked what he saw in Bynum.

"He seems to have kind of an innate understanding of the game for someone as young as he is," Newell said. "I don't think it will be three years before he plays. I think [Laker Coach Phil Jackson] will like him."

The Lakers' Jones was attending his third camp.

"I called the team and asked if I could come," Jones said. "I had a couple of problems with my footwork in the triangle offense.

"I didn't know anything about Pete before I started coming to this camp. You've got to take your hat off to Pete, doing this for this long and still teaching. You can tell he has the passion for the game."

The connection with the players keeps Newell current as he follows their careers, from college through the NBA.

Old enough to be their great-grandfather, he is still relevant to their game — a remarkable accomplishment on its own.

"When he played, they had the center jump after every basket," Newell's son said. "That's how far back he goes. The width of the key was only six feet — and it really looked like a key. Now they don't even call it the key, they say 'the lane,' or 'the paint.' "

Perhaps most old-fashioned about Newell is that he doesn't take a profit from the camp, though some players once got together and gave him a sports car in appreciation.

"This is just helping kids. He's always been special," said Laker broadcaster Stu Lantz, a longtime Big Man Camp coach.

Like most of the staff, including organizer Merv Lopes, the former Chaminade coach whose team famously upset Ralph Sampson and Virginia, Lantz works for no more than airfare, hotel and per diem.

Many say they never doubted that Newell, who turns 90 Aug. 31, would make his 28th Big Man Camp, despite lung surgery.

Others worried, but he made it fine.

"We're just in the moment," Pete Jr. said. "We all feel blessed he's able to do what he does. I know Merv would like to see it go to 30 years. But one year at a time."

Bonzi Wells - Sacramento

Can do: Hit open shots. Score against any single defender. Run. Use left-shoulder turn for jumper in post. Spin out for lobs in post. Use down-screens to maximum advantage. Stop-and-pop going either way (prefers right). Run and finish. Rebound.

Can't do: Handle. Make sensible on-court decisions. Defend. Play a team game.

Must do: Learn how to play five-on-five basketball. Make shots on a consistent basis. Work and play well with others.

Jason Hart - Sacramento

Can do: Push the ball. Drive right. Hit wide-open mid-range jumpers. Drive and dish. Move quickly. Pressure the ball on defense.

Can't do: Create his own scoring opportunities, especially when going left. Shoot 3-balls. Make free throws.

Must do: Transport the ball safely into the attack zone. Initiate the offense. Make his open shots. Play adhesive defense.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim — Sacramento

Can do: Run the floor on defense-to-offense transitions. Shoot accurately up to 19-feet. Drive right. Climb the offensive glass. Execute a right-to-left crossover dribble, then come back between his legs left-to-right for a drive or a pull-up. Post on left block with turnaround jumper toward baseline and right-handed jump hook toward middle. Spin right-to-left in paint. Utilize a convincing array of head fakes. Gamble for steals with quick hands. Attack entry pass when defending a post player.

Can't do: Play with power. Pass. Play solid, position defense. Make quick decisions with the ball.

Must do: Prove that he's more than merely an outstanding numbers man on sad-sack teams. Demonstrate that he can score without being the beneficiary of undue space and time. Be stronger in the paint than he's ever been. Get the glue off his fingers.

Jamal Sampson — Sacramento

Can do: Run. Jump. Attack offensive boards. Compete. Show quick feet and good hands. Play with NBA-caliber athleticism.

Can't do: Bang. Pass. Handle. Hit free throws. Figure out a way to score and to avoid foul trouble on defense.

Must do: Take advantage of his latest (and quite possibly his last) opportunity. Develop a go-to move in the pivot. Get stronger.

Hainer on whether Reebok and adidas endorsers would ever switch brands: "Allen Iverson, for example, I think fits perfectly to Reebok, but might not fit as good to the adidas brand. I don't see a big switch when we come together in athletes because everybody has selected their athletes based on the brand positioning in the market … sometimes there are too many athletes in one category. A few years ago, we had 15 football [soccer] teams in Germany, which definitely was too much. So we'll talk to each other. But don't forget, we also have to talk to the athlete."

Fireman on whether adidas branding could replace the Reebok vector on NBA, NFL and NHL jerseys: "We haven't met with the leagues yet, so it would be presumptuous to assume that something could happen before we talk to three commissioners."

Fireman on whether the Reebok or adidas brand will ever get into sponsoring the ever-growing sport of NASCAR: "We were approached a couple of years ago by NASCAR because of everything we were doing in the NFL, NBA, NHL. It's a very complicated sport because the sport is not combined under one leadership. So there's a family that has a certain amount of tracks and runs NASCAR (the Frances), but each owner of each team runs their own thing and has their own contracts and each driver has their own entitlements and rights. So they asked to put it all together. We did a six-month process for them and we looked it over and we came to the conclusion that over 50 to 60 percent of the business was done at the Walmart level. We stay in contact with them a great deal, but it's a business that's much too complicated." Adidas has not invested in Formula One, either.

Fireman on how Reebok's strength in quickly turning around jerseys will help out adidas: "If it were announced that Wisconsin was going to the Rose Bowl, we would have adidas product out within 24-36 hours. That's what we do in the NBA and NFL. We deliver the product to the Super Bowl, West Coast or East Coast, we have product on the market at 6 a.m. the next morning in the stores. So if UCLA (an adidas team) is scheduled to win or get hot and win a championship, we have the ability to ship their goods with adidas on it."

8 August 2005, 10:00pm ET

PAUL KANGAS: Shares of German sporting goods maker Adidas Salomon fell almost 2.5 percent in Frankfurt today. Investors took profits after last week`s rally on news Adidas is buying rival Reebok. Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer and Reebok CEO Paul Fireman met with investors today in New York. The pair also sat down with New York bureau chief Scott Gurvey, who began by asking Hainer what benefits Reebok brings to Adidas.

HERBERT HAINER, CHAIRMAN & CEO, ADIDAS-SALOMON: I think Reebok brings a lot of values to Adidas and can help us in a lot of different areas. But when we look to the U.S. market, for example, we will get well established here, to know in and out, the business in the U.S. are very close together with the American sports like football, baseball, basketball. There is a lot of opportunities where they can help us.

SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Fireman, Reebok had been going along very well and had been a good story in the last couple of years, a lot of good effort on your part and your team, why, why a combination now?

PAUL FIREMAN, CHAIRMAN & CEO, REEBOK INTERNATIONAL: It`s just a moment in time when -- when the two of us met and we had a brief conversation that lead to another one. And you just realize this is a perfect opportunity to bring two companies together that will in fact, have great additional value to each other. We`re not completely aligned. We have overlaps. We are different in different ways but we compliment each other perfectly.

GURVEY: How will the structure work? I mean you are going to maintain separate marketing, separate brands. They are all going to, the lines are going to continue, correct?

HAINER: Yeah, we will definitely keep the brands separate because each and any brand has a lot of values. We have invested a long time as Paul said. Reebok is more than a hundred years old, though they have invested so much money into the brand, the consumer have a perception for the Reebok brand. It would be stupid in my opinion to bring them both together. So the brands will be separated. But of course, we`ll try to get the synergies from the back offices which is obvious.

GURVEY: What is actually going on in the shoe business in general? Because we -- a lot of people are saying this is the beginning of what we will see in terms of consolidation.

FIREMAN: Nike recently only in the last year consolidated Converse which is a strong basketball company, doing about $350 million. And they brought it into Nike. You have Stride Rite just took Socony`s (ph), a women`s running shoe business and consolidated. So consolidation has been going on. And there are still plenty of brands. There are over a hundred brands worldwide when you add up all the different sports. So this is a move that won`t be out of the ordinary. It`s pretty standard in our industry at this moment.

GURVEY: And this would put you as a solid number two, but you know, very close to Nike in the United States, correct?

HAINER: First and foremost, we should concentrate how to grow the two businesses. Integrate the two businesses, position them well, and then try for the two brands. And if we can do this, faster than our competitors that we grow faster, then yeah, one, we definitely will make the gap closer and will shrink the gap. But it is not our primary target just to focus on the competitor. Of course we have to look at them, but first and foremost the target of our company is to grow our own brand.

GURVEY: And are there differences between different geographical areas in the world in terms of, you know, how you view them? Do you market differently in Europe than you would in the United States or in Asia?

HAINER: It would be different sports which are popular in the individual areas of the world. And therefore you have different consumers and different fans. And you have to cater to their demands. For example, in the U.S. you have American football, baseball. These two are definitely not strong in Europe but in Europe we have soccer.

GURVEY: And will the increased size help you in terms of negotiations with, you know, the Footlockers of the world and the advertising agencies and things like that, if you can combine the, shall we say the heft of the combined company?

HAINER: I think we definitely can offer a better variety on (INAUDIBLE), on concepts, on marketing concepts and work closer together with the retailers to really exploit the market because this would be the target for all of us. Because our competitor is not only just the other sneaker brands. Our competitor also the iPods, the video games. They all take disposable money away from the young consumer. And this is where we have to make sure that they stay in the sporting good industry.

FIREMAN: Children in the United States, children and even into young adults, they don`t need more than two or three shoes in their closet. But they average something like 12. So there is a -- that is their Mercedes or their sports car or their motorcycle or their iPod. They are buying because they want to possibly be in the game of buying products. That is what makes it fun in the world. We trained them and they are good at it, the young kids.

GURVEY: Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you very much for joining us tonight.

FIREMAN: Thank you, it is a pleasure.

It all began on July 4th, 1939, when in honor of the dying LOU GEHRIG; the New York Yankees become the first team in sports history to “retire” a player’s uniform number. That day, Gehrig’s #4 jersey would become a fitting tribute to baseball’s lore, and a new way to celebrate our most beloved athletic heroes began.

Twenty-four years later, the NBA retired it’s first number. On October 16, 1963, the Boston Celtics retired ED MACAULEY’s #22 jersey. Apparently, it was so much fun, they did it again ten days later by retiring the #14 jersey of BOB COUSY. Since then, 156 more NBA players have had their number retired.

Most recently, the Utah Jazz retired JOHN STOCKTON’s #12 jersey. Stockton’s jersey should soon be joined by the jersey of KARL MALONE, and Indiana will likely retire the jersey worn by REGGIE MILLER as soon as next season. So, to fully appreciate the grandeur and the absurdity of this sports tradition, lets take a look at the history of retired jerseys in the NBA.

FAST FACTS:

- 158 jerseys have been retired.

- The #15, #22, and #32 jerseys have been retired the most. Each has been retired 7 times.

- The Boston Celtics have the most retired jerseys: 23.

- The Charlotte Bobcats, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Orlando Magic, and Toronto Raptors have never retired a jersey.

- The Boston Celtics JIM LOSCUTOFF refused to have his #18 retired. He wanted DAVE COWENS to have the number. The Celtics agreed to hang a banner that read “LOSCY” instead. The #18 was eventually retired for Cowens.

- The New York Knicks have twice retired jersey #15: for EARL MONROE and DICK MCGUIRE.

- The Miami Heat have retired 1 jersey, in honor of MICHAEL JORDAN, even though Jordan never played for the Heat.

- WILT CHAMBERLAIN is the only player to have had his jersey retired by three teams: The Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Philadelphia 76’ers.

- 9 players have had the jerseys retired by two different teams: PETE MARAVICH (Utah Jazz and New Orleans Hornets), MICHAEL JORDAN (Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat), KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR (Milwaukee Bucks and Lakers), CHARLES BARKLEY (Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns), CLYDE DREXLER (Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets), JULIUS ERVING (New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers), BOB LANIER (Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons), OSCAR ROBERTSON (Milwaukee Bucks and Sacramento Kings/Cincinnati Royals), and NATE THURMOND (Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers)

- Two players have had two different jersey numbers retired by two different teams: JULIUS ERVING - #32 by the Nets and #6 by the 76ers, and OSCAR ROBERTSON - #1 by the Bucks and #14 by the Kings/Cincinnati Royals.

- PETE MARAVICH has his #7 jersey retired by the New Orleans Hornets and the Utah Jazz. He played for the New Orleans Jazz.

- Four players that died during their careers have had their jersey numbers retired by the teams they were playing for at the time of their death: REGGIE LEWIS - Boston Celtics, MALIK SEALY - Minnesota Timberwolves, DRAZEN PETROVIC - New Jersey Nets, and BOBBY PHILLS - Charlotte (now New Orleans) Hornets.

- The highest jersey number to be retired is #613 for former New York Knicks coach RED HOLZMAN.

Here is a complete list of retired jerseys:

ATLANTA HAWKS
#9 Bob Pettit
#21 Dominique Wilkins
#23 Lou Hudson

BOSTON CELTICS
“Loscy” Jim Loscutoff
“Microphone” Johnny Most
#00 Robert Parish
#1 Walter Brown
#2 Red Auerbach
#3 Dennis Johnson
#6 Bill Russell
#10 Jo Jo White
#14 Bob Cousy
#15 Tom Heinsohn
#16 Satch Sanders
#17 John Havlicek
#18 Dave Cowens
#19 Don Nelson
#21 Bill Sharman
#22 Ed Macauley
#23 Frank Ramsey
#24 Sam Jones
#25 K.C. Jones
#31 Cedric Maxwell
#32 Kevin McHale
#33 Larry Bird
#35 Reggie Lewis

CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
None

CHICAGO BULLS
“Banner” Jerry Krause
"COACH" Phil Jackson
#4 Jerry Sloan
#10 Bob Love
#23 Michael Jordan
#33 Scottie Pippen [to be retired in 05-06]

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
#7 Bingo Smith
#22 Larry Nance
#25 Mark Price
#34 Austin Carr
#42 Nate Thurmond
#43 Brad Daugherty

DALLAS MAVERICKS
#15 Brad Davis
#22 Rolando Blackman

DENVER NUGGETS
#2 Alex English
#33 David Thompson
#40 Byron Beck
#44 Dan Issel
#432 Doug Moe

DETROIT PISTONS
#2 Chuck Daly
#4 Joe Dumars
#11 Isiah Thomas
#15 Vinnie Johnson
#16 Bob Lanier
#21 Dave Bing
#40 Bill Laimbeer

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
#13 Wilt Chamberlain
#14 Tom Meschery
#16 Alvin Attles
#24 Rick Barry
#42 Nate Thurmond

Houston Rockets
#22 Clyde Drexler
#23 Calvin Murphy
#24 Moses Malone
#34 Hakeem Olajuwon
#45 Rudy Tomjanovich

INDIANA PACERS
#30 George McGinnis
#34 Mel Daniels
#35 Roger Brown

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
None

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
" Banner" for Minneapolis Lakers: JOHN KUNDLA, GEORGE MIKAN, VERN MIKKELSEN, SLATER, MARTIN, CLYDE LOVELLETTE, and JIM POLLARD
“Microphone” Chick Hearn
#13 Wilt Chamberlain
#22 Elgin Baylor
#25 Gail Goodrich
#32 Magic Johnson
#33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
#42 James Worthy
#44 Jerry West

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
#None

MIAMI HEAT
#23 Michael Jordan (in honor)

MILWAUKEE BUCKS
#1 Oscar Robertson
#2 Junior Bridgeman
#4 Sidney Moncrief
#14 Jon McGlocklin
#16 Bob Lanier
#32 Brian Winters
#33 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
#2 Malik Sealy

NEW JERSEY NETS
#3 Drazen Petrovic
#4 Wendell Ladner
#23 John Williamson
#25 Bill Melchionni
#32 Julius Erving
#52 Buck Williams

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
#6 Sixth Man (dedicated to the fans)
#7 Pete Maravich (with New Orleans Jazz)
#13 Bobby Phills

NEW YORK KNICKS
#10 Walt Frazier
#12 Dick Barnett
#15 Earl Monroe
#15 Dick McGuire
#19 Willis Reed
#22 Dave DeBusschere
#24 Bill Bradley
#33 Patrick Ewing
#613 Red Holzman

ORLANDO MAGIC
None

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
“Microphone” Dave Zinkoff
#6 Julius Erving
#10 Maurice Cheeks
#13 Wilt Chamberlain
#15 Hal Greer
#24 Bobby Jones
#32 Billy Cunningham
#34 Charles Barkley

PHOENIX SUNS
“Coach” Cotton Fitzsimmons
“Trainer” Joe Proski
#5 Dick Van Arsdale
#6 Walter Davis
#7 Kevin Johnson
#9 Dan Majerle
#24 Tom Chambers
#33 Alvin Adams
#34 Charles Barkley
#42 Connie Hawkins
#44 Paul Westphal
* Phoenix no longer formally retires numbers, but inducts the player into their Ring of Honor. All numbers remain available for other players to use.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS
“Microphone” Bill Schonely
#1 Larry Weinberg
#13 Dave Twardzik
#15 Larry Steele
#20 Maurice Lucas
#22 Clyde Drexler
#32 Bill Walton
#36 Lloyd Neal
#45 Geoff Petrie
#77 Jack Ramsay

SACRAMENTO KINGS
#1 Nate Archibald
#2 Mitch Richmond
#6 Sixth Man (dedicated to the fans)
#11 Bobby Davies
#12 Maurice Stokes
#14 Oscar Robertson
#27 Jack Twyman
#44 Sam Lacey

SAN ANTONIO SPURS
#00 Johnny Moore
#13 James Silas
#32 Sean Elliott
#44 George Gervin
#50 David Robinson

SEATTLE SONICS
“Microphone” Bob Blackburn
#1 Gus Williams
#10 Nate McMillan
#19 Lenny Wilkens
#32 Fred Brown
#43 Jack Sikma

TORONTO RAPTORS
None

UTAH JAZZ
#1 Frank Layden
#7 Pete Maravich
#12 John Stockton
#14 Jeff Hornacek
#35 Darrell Griffith
#53 Mark Eaton

WASHINGTON WIZARDS
#11 Elvin Hayes
#25 Gus Johnson
#41 Wes Unseld

Centers Ha Seung Jin and Nedzad Sinanovic have been locked in a gym together since mid-June, competing. Ha, under contract for two more years, came back from his offseason visit to South Korea out of shape, then was hampered by tendinitis in his knee, and to compound matters, he's been getting schooled by the 7-foot-4 Sinanovic, a 22-year old rookie from Bosnia.

The two have been tussling and tangling on the court. There has been ribbing and verbal exchanges. And as the players usually do at the end of a workout, that particular Friday the two were shooting free throws together in silence.

Peaceful enough.

That is, until Sinanovic made his final free throw, then retrieved the basketball and held it. Ha walked over and snatched it back. Then, Sinanovic said something under his breath and two men -- 7-4 and 7-3 -- ended up on the ground in a pile of wildly swinging elbows and fists.

The fight was broken up by Blazers staffers, and insiders said Ha, who got punched, was left shouting, "I'll sue! I'll sue!"

The two were escorted to different areas of the practice facility, and normally the story would end here. Except Ha's neutral corner was the team weight room. And so he picked up one of those wooden poles that players use to stretch and went after Sinanovic, who blocked one swing with his forearm but took another in the ribs before someone ripped the pole (think: closet dowel) from Ha's hands and threw it across the courts.

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The Ha-Sinanovic bout was about good competition, and frustration, and boiling points. And (Blazers GM) Nash said the players were fine with each other and even hanging out 24 hours after one was trying to shish kebob the other.

Ha's agent, John Kim, said the Blazers haven't contacted him about the incident, so he figured it was "nothing that serious." And Nash declined to comment directly on the brawl, because you're "damned if you do, damned if you don't,"

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's sporting goods maker Adidas-Salomon has agreed to buy U.S. rival Reebok for $3.8 billion, closing the gap on Nike and promising a profit jump by expanding in the United States and entering new markets.

The world's second- and third-biggest sports goods companies said on Wednesday Adidas would buy the outstanding shares of Reebok for $59 per share in cash, a 34 percent premium to Reebok's closing share price on Tuesday.

The combination will create a more formidable competitor to battle Nike's dominance of the market for athletic gear, particularly in the United States, which accounts for 50 percent of the sports footwear market alone.

Reebok, based in the Boston suburb of Canton, Massachussets, brings along key equipment licensing contracts with major North American professional sports leagues, including the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.

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Reebok shares surged 32 percent to $58 on Instinet ahead of the 1330 GMT New York open, while Adidas was up 5.7 percent at 156 euros in much higher volumes than usual by 1153 GMT after it painted a bright outlook for the merged firm in a conference call.

Shares in Adidas had initially dropped 4 percent on the news, as some analysts questioned the deal's benefits and cost.

The takeover complements Adidas's strengths in Europe with Reebok's strong position in the United States.

"The deal makes sense. In one go, both brands are expanding significantly in Asia, North America and Europe," said HVB analyst Uwe Weinreich.

Puma, the world's fourth-biggest sporting goods company, last week also unveiled aggressive expansion plans through acquisitions and entry of new sportswear markets.

Adidas said it was confident Reebok's shareholders would approve the deal, which includes Reebok's net cash position of $84 million.

Adidas said the deal with Reebok, which it expects to close in the first half of next year pending antitrust and shareholder approval, would boost net income of the new Adidas Group by more than 10 percent per year in the medium term.


Sales are seen growing at a mid- to high-single-digit rate, and cost savings are expected to reach $150 million annually by the third year after the deal closes.

Adidas said it expected no significant restructuring costs and that they would quickly be outweighed by synergies.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein raised its investment view to "buy" from "add," saying Adidas' margins would grow.

In the key U.S. market -- where Adidas has repeatedly changed strategy to attack market leader Nike -- Adidas and Reebok said sales would double as Adidas gets access to Reebok's popular basketball, American football, hockey and womenswear products.

"North America is the market where you have to be," Adidas Chief Executive Herbert Hainer told a conference call.

In the second quarter, Adidas's sales grew in all regions except Europe, meeting expectations by rising 8.2 percent to 1.52 billion euros.

Net income rose 33 percent to 94 million euros ($116 million), when adjusted for the sale of Salomon -- beating the average estimate of 86 million euros forecast in a Reuters poll of 18 analysts.

For 2005, the Bavarian firm reiterated net income from continuing and discontinued operations would rise 20 percent.

LIFESTYLE VS SPORTS

Analysts said Adidas would also benefit from Reebok's strong lifestyle fashion business. Reebok Chairman and CEO Paul Fireman will continue to run the Reebok brand.

Adidas, best known for its trademark three-striped running shoes, has been trying to imitate the success of German rival Puma, whose trendy sportswear has spread far beyond the gym or running track.

But some investors were cautious about how successfully Adidas would integrate Reebok, and questioned the deal's timing ahead of next year's World Cup soccer tournament in Germany, of which Adidas is a major sponsor.

"I would watch the execution of the integration very carefully because it won't be easy to integrate the businesses -- Adidas's focus is on sport but Reebok's is on lifestyle," said Volker Riehm, fund manager at Activest.

"Apart from that, Adidas is creating a load of work for itself when the World Cup mega-event is just around the corner." (Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan and Natalia Matter)

The deal, which was being negotiated late last night and could be announced today, would give Nike its first formidable competitor in more than a decade. A combined Adidas-Reebok would control about 20 percent of the market, but would still remain behind Nike, which has about a third of the $145 billion worldwide market.

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Driving the deal, analysts said, is Adidas-Salomon's chief executive, Erich Stamminger, who has been vocal about the German company's effort to build market share in the United States. John Horan, publisher of Sporting Goods Intelligence magazine, sees the $9 billion branded-shoe market in the United States rising 8 percent this year.

The combined company would likely have increased clout among retailers and an ability to command shelf space. The company would also be better positioned to bid on endorsement contracts and to wring discounts from the multitude of media outlets from which it buys advertising.

"The remaining entity clearly is strengthened in terms of competitive position versus Nike," said Stephen A. Greyser, a professor of sports marketing at Harvard Business School. "The combined company will have more globally than either of the two alone, not just because of size but because of geographic strength. The same goes for distribution, too."

Still, the transaction may raise questions among some investors because it comes at a time when consumers are moving toward fashion-related footwear. Indeed, Nike demonstrated that trend last year when it acquired Converse sneakers for its Chuck Taylors, which have become a retro-fashion staple.

Under the terms of the deal being negotiated, Adidas would pay about $59 a share for Reebok, the executives said. That represents about a one-third premium over Reebok's shares yesterday, which closed at $43.95, up $1.19. Adidas would also assume about $550 million in debt from Reebok, which is based in Canton, Mass. Adidas is based in northern Bavaria in the town of Herzogenaurach.

While the deal is expected to face some scrutiny by regulators in the United States and Europe, antitrust lawyers suggested that it would likely be approved because the marketplace would probably be defined very widely.

The deal's biggest beneficiary would be Paul Fireman, who brought Reebok to the United States from Britain in 1979. Reebok, which is credited with inventing track spikes, capitalized more than any other company on the fitness boom of the mid-1980's, particularly by catering to women, and its fortunes soared in that period.

It moved ahead of Nike as the athletic shoe industry leader in 1987 for a brief time. In 1987, the Reebok board decided it was time to let somebody else run the company and Mr. Fireman was elevated to the new position of chairman, with no responsibility for the day-to-day running of Reebok. He came back as chief executive in 1999, with the stock hovering around $7.

Adidas has made China a particular focus for its expansion, signing on as a sponsor of the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing. Acquiring Reebok would bring Yao Ming, the popular Houston Rockets center from Shanghai, into Adidas's stable of high-profile athletes. According to a recent survey Nike released to analysts, 52 percent of Chinese currently rate Nike as the "coolest" athletic brand compared with 38 percent for Adidas and 15 percent for Reebok.

Adidas is offering $59 for each share of Canton, Massachusetts- based Reebok, 34 percent more than yesterday's closing price. The combined company will have about $11.1 billion in sales compared with Nike's $13.7 billion. Adidas's stock rose to the highest in more than seven years, while Reebok's jumped 23 percent in Europe.

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``It propels them up,'' said Mark Hargraves, who helps manage $7.1 billion, including Adidas Salomon shares, at Framlington Group Plc in London. ``The U.S. market is historically where they've been under represented and it's been difficult to gain share. So in one jump, it moves them up.''

Adidas shares rose 6.18 euros, or 4.2 percent, to 153.70 euros at 2:33 p.m. in Frankfurt, the highest since July 17, 1998. Shares of Reebok, whose endorsers include basketball player Yao Ming and rapper 50 Cent, climbed $13.46 to $57.41 in Germany.

The acquisition will boost earnings in the first year and save 120 million to 125 million euros the first three, Hainer, 51, said.

Second-quarter profit rose 34 percent to 94 million euros from 70 million euros a year earlier, Adidas said today in a statement. Analysts were expecting 82 million euros, according to the median of five estimates gathered by Bloomberg. Sales gained 8 percent to 1.52 billion euros.

Reebok traces its roots back to the 1890s, when English runner Joseph Foster invented a spiked running shoe and then started his own company, according to the Reebok Web site. Reebok remained a British business until 1979, when Paul Fireman noticed the shoes at a Chicago trade fair and bought the license to sell them in North America. Fireman is now the company's chief executive.

Adidas's U.S. market share will double with the purchase, according to Christian Schindler, an analyst at Landesbank Rheinland Pfalz in Mainz, Germany, who rates the company ``outperform.''

The company had an 8.9 percent share of the $8.9 billion wholesale U.S. athletic-shoe market last year, according to the industry newsletter Sporting Goods Intelligence. Reebok controlled 12 percent, and Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike had 36 percent.

Adidas has been expanding in the U.S. amid a slowdown in Western Europe. It signed tennis champion Andre Agassi to an endorsement contract last month after his 10-year, $120 million agreement with Nike expired this year.

The transaction will give Adidas 28 percent of the global $11.5 billion athletic-shoe market, rivaling Nike's 31 percent and widening the lead over its cross-town rival Puma AG.

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``Adidas on its own will probably never have a chance to pass Nike, but with Reebok now they can be a strong No. 2,'' said Andreas Inderst, an analyst with ABN Amro in London.

Adidas and Nike also are becoming fiercer rivals in soccer in the run-up 2006 World Cup, to be held in Germany. Adidas, which sold 6 million Roteiro soccer balls and 1 million pairs of PredatorPulse shoes last year, has formed a 100-member team to plan for the event. The company will unveil the tournament ball in September and roll out merchandise including World Cup jerseys later this year.

The company expects to complete the acquisition in the first half. Adidas plans to finance the transaction through capital increases and debt. Hainer said on a conference call that negotiations to buy Reebok began after he first met Fireman at last summer's Athens Olympics.

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Adidas is paying about 10.7 times Reebok's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and about 0.9 times revenue, according to Bloomberg data. It paid about 8.92 Ebidta and 1.1 times revenue for the ski-equipment business Salomon.

The company agreed to buy Salomon in 1997 for as much as 8 billion French francs, or $1.34 billion at the time. In May, it agreed to sell the business to Helsinki-based Amer Sports Oyj for 485 million euros to focus on more profitable lines such as T-Mac and ClimaCool sneakers and TaylorMade golf clubs.

``At first glance, the price looked demanding, but taking into account the potential synergies and benefits the deal looks more attractive,'' ABN Amro's Inderst said of the Reebok transaction.

Reebok, whose shares had risen 30 percent the past year, said last month that second-quarter profit rose 71 percent, helped by gains in countries such as India and China and new Pump basketball shoes.

Adidas expects the acquisition to get Reebok investor approval and doesn't foresee any regulatory obstacles, Chief Financial Officer Robin Stalker said on a conference call with analysts. Hainer said on the call that Fireman will continue as Reebok chief executive.

Merrill Lynch advised Adidas-Salomon and CSFB advised Reebok on the transaction, according to today's statement.

Reebok is based in Canton, Mass., and would continue to operate under that name with Fireman at the helm after the deal closes during the first half of 2006, the companies said. Adidas is headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

Recent Reebok ads from independent New York agency mcgarrybowen have generated some controversy, most notably a commercial featuring rapper 50 Cent, who discusses being shot. The company spent slightly more than $40 million on U.S. ads last year, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.

Adidas' marketing has focused somewhat more on performance, and its endorsers include soccer icon David Beckham. Omnicom Group's TBWA\Chiat\Day in San Francisco and 180 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, are Adidas' principal creative agencies. Adidas spent $80 million on domestic ads last year, according to Nielsen.

"Adidas just doesn't have the traction to go it alone in the US," said Gavin Finlayson, an analyst at Commerzbank Corporate and Markets in Frankfurt.

"It has been stuck on the sidelines in the US over the past few years as it doesn't have the clout of Nike."

Joining forces with Reebok will give Adidas more power to negotiate with retailers in the US and push for better positioning and promotion.

Outside of North America and picture is rosier, with analysts saying that the deal complements Adidas's strengths in Europe and Asia.

It would allow the company to develop Reebok's Asian business - the company also has been making inroads into India and China - and strike better deals with producers.

Following the takeover, Adidas will have a 28% share of the world's sporting goods market, not far off Nike's 31% slice.

In the tight-margin world of shoe retailing these can prove to be valuable weapons, analysts said.

However, they are not enough to top the tree and question marks have been raised over the amount of cost-cutting that can be achieved and plans to finance the bid by taking on large amounts of debt and issuing new shares.

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Key to any challenge on Nike - and just as important as pricing power and distribution networks - will be image.

Gonzalo Basilico is a 12-year-old who loves his trainers.

He has six pairs - one Reebok and the rest Nike - and uses them for football, basketball and going out.

Gonzalo has a very clear idea about which shoe brands he likes and why.

Adidas is seen as being good quality and comfortable, while Reebok is "cool".

Nike, however, manages to have a foot in both camps.

"I like Adidas, but I still prefer Nike for the fashion, colours, combinations," he said. "It's all Nike at school.

"Everyone talks about Nike, no one talks about the others."

Nick Liddell, a director of brand valuation at consultancy Interbrand, warned that merging with Reebok may only exacerbate Adidas's problems.

While Adidas has a strong performance sportswear brand - under the motto "Impossible is Nothing" - this is not carried through as powerfully into its Originals clothing range despite endorsements from stars such as Missy Elliot.

Reebok seems to have concentrated more on positioning itself as a hip clothing maker, Mr Liddell explained.

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Nike, on the other hand, has a very focused brand, which is based on sporting excellence and product innovation, Mr Liddell said.

That has a trickle down, or halo, effect on Nike's other sporting goods and helps it to sell products as lifestyle choices by linking up with people such as Lance Armstrong and tackling issues such as testicular cancer.

"Sportswear and urban life wear are closely linked," Mr Liddell said, adding that Adidas and Reebok are more "schizophrenic" in their approach.

"Focus will be absolutely crucial" in determining how Adidas and Reebok do in coming years, he explained.

"As long as they can take the two brands and drive them into two separate areas where they don't cannibalise each other, but compliment each other, then it could be a successful strategy," Mr Liddell said.

According to Interbrand's most recent report on the value of global brands, Nike was ranked at number 30, up one place from the year earlier.

Adidas came in at number 71, while Reebok did not feature in the top 100.

Should the Adidas bid get shareholder and regulatory approval, then the two firms will have to work hard to change many people's preconceptions.

Adidas boss Herbert Hainer said that the deal "represents a major strategic milestone for our group".

The takeover still needs to be approved by Reebok shareholders and competition authorities. If cleared, the deal should be completed in early 2006.

Reebok's shares had risen 16% in after-hours New York trade on Tuesday - reaching $51 - as reports of takeover talks appeared on the websites of financial papers.

Adidas' offer is worth $59 per share in cash.

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"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to combine two of the most respected and well-known companies in the worldwide sporting goods industry", said Mr Hainer.

The combined group will have worldwide athletic footwear sales of 9bn euros, Adidas said.

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It would have about 20% of the US sports shoe market, while Nike has 36%.