Displaying items by tag: basketball

You all know "that" sports parent and one California man is taking that to a whole new level in Chino Hills as it relates to his basketball-playing sons.

LaVar Ball has been in the headlines and features reporter Ryan Kartje spoke with Sam and Brad Wednesday to talk about the buzz surrounding the patriarch of the Ball family.

For Ryan's article, click here.

The Coventy Comets will be preparing for a tough Kenmore Cardinals team in the Sectional Finals tonight at 7 p.m.

First-year head coach for the Comets Mike DiFalco spoke with Sam and Brad on game day to talk about his team, their road to the tournament, and the challenge from Kenmore.

Cavs play-by-play TV voice Fred McLeod from FoxSports Ohio joined Brad Russell to talk about the passing of sports broadcaster Craig Sager due to cancer Thursday.

Sager was 65. He worked for various outlets, most notably Turner Sports, where he was seen as a sideline reporter during NBA games.

He got to cover an NBA Finals courtesy of ESPN as he was battling cancer.

One former STVM grad and University of Akron grad is giving back to his community and spreading his love of the game of basketball to the youngsters in the area with a three day basketball camp starting on Monday.

Dru Joyce III, former point guard for the Fighting Irish and current pro player in Europe took some time to come to the studio to talk about the Give N Go Basketball Camp going on at LeBron James Arena at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.

Dry says this camp is all about teaching the fundamentals and enjoying the game.

"I think right now it's important to at a young age to learn the skills because when you learn the skills and fundamentals, you can enjoy the game of basketball," he says.

The camp is open to 3rd-8th grade boys and girls and there is still a limited number of spots available for the camp, and registrations are accepted at the door Monday morning. For more information, click here.

Dru has played in Europe the last 8 years after completing a stellar career at the University of Akron and at STVM. He says that he's picked up a lot of his coaching style and love of the game from his dad, Dru II.

"I know I wouldn't be where I'm at at right now if it wasn't for those older adults and my dad who helped me along the way."

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue their winning ways with a 7 of 7 sweep at the annual ESPY Awards, courtesy of ESPN. 

Before any awards were handed out, however, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony took to the stage with a statement on violence in America and the racial divide; imploring athletes across the country to do their part in fighting injustice and violence in the country: 

(Video Courtesy of ESPN and ABC via YouTube) 

As for the awards the Cavaliers took home: 

- Best Team 

- Best Game, Game 7 of the NBA Finals

- Best Moment in Sports, Winning the NBA Championship 

- Best Coach, Tyronn Lue

- Best Finals Performance, LeBron James 

- Best NBA Player, LeBron James

- Best Male Athlete, LeBron James 

During a time when relationships between police and the communities they serve are tense, it is nice to see our local men and women in blue making efforts to connect with residents. 

Over the weekend, a video of two Akron Police Officers playing basketball with some kids in the area went viral. First posted by Smiggz McCormick on Facebook, the video has more than 110,000 plays and has been picked up by local and national media alike. 

WARNING: SOME GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

LeBron James is keeping busy on and off the court. The LeBron James Family Foundation just announced that the King has teamed up Little Tikes to make a line of sports toys, including a number of basketball hoops.

A donation will be made to the foundation with each product sold. It'll debut in Toys"R"Us stores nationwide in April.

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(LeBron James Family Foundation: News Release) MGA Entertainment, the world's leading private toy company and parent company of Little Tikes, has partnered with the LeBron James Family Foundation (LJFF) to offer a new line of co-branded licensed sports toys. The first items from the line, the Mini Hoop basketball set and the Dream Big basketball set, are now available for presale exclusively at Toysrus.com, and will debut in Toys"R"Us® stores nationwide in April. A donation will be made to the Foundation with each product sold.

"To this day, I still have a Little Tikes hoop sitting in my house just because of all the days I spent playing on it as a kid. It's one of the first gifts you get when you are old enough to do that," said LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers forward and founder of the LeBron James Family Foundation. "That's where I honed my skills. If it wasn't for that Little Tikes hoop, I wouldn't be who I am today."

The LeBron James Family Foundation, based in Akron, Ohio, encourages kids to stay in school, promise to graduate and to give back to their community. Last August, the Foundation announced a partnership with The University of Akron to provide qualifying students who graduate through the program a full four-year scholarship. Covering all students currently enrolled in the program, as well as the next four incoming classes, an estimated 2300 Akron inner-city students can potentially benefit. To encourage parent engagement in their child's education, the Foundation also offers a program called "I PROMISE, Too," to help the parents of LJFF students earn their GEDs.

"Our Little Tikes factory is right outside Akron, just a stone's throw from where LeBron learned to dunk on a Little Tikes hoop as a child," said Isaac Larian, CEO of MGA Entertainment. "When we heard about the amazing mission of LeBron and the Foundation, we knew right away we wanted to collaborate so that we too could give back to the families in the Akron community."

The Little Tikes team is dedicated to fostering active and imaginative play with values that align directly with those of the LeBron James Family Foundation.

"We are beyond excited to partner with MGA Entertainment's Little Tikes brand to offer the first ever LeBron James Family Foundation branded line of sports equipment for kids," said Michele Campbell, executive director, LeBron James Family Foundation. "We encourage the students in our program to dream big, to be active, and to have fun, and this partnership with Little Tikes exemplifies all of that."

Little Tikes LeBron James Family Foundation toys will be available exclusively at Toys"R"Us stores nationwide and online at Toysrus.com, as well as LittleTikes.com this spring, just in time for the NBA playoffs. Additionally, the assortment will become available at multiple retailers this fall.