Nets get a new arena in Brooklyn, a city with a long history of basketball and across the river from the iconic MSG

Admit it. Most of you newly minted Brooklyn Nets fans were not shouting for Deron Williams and company in the Prudential Center when they ended their 2011-2012 NBA season, winning 22 of 66 games total.

But that's okay; new city, new team, new fans and oh... a new coach, right? You're entitled to jump on the bandwagon.

It may be too early to decide whether or not the city of Brooklyn has accepted the Nets as their home team. However, it's quite evident that the NBA has already made a rivalry between the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks. The Nets continue to prove themselves as a lead contender in the Eastern Conference, with an even 2-2 record with New York. But in my opinion, the rivalry is a bit over-hyped.

Don't get me wrong, Brooklyn has raw talent; Joe Johnson is probably one of the most underrated and under-appreciated guards in the league. Brook Lopez, a great scorer, averaging 18.6 points this season so far, is still justifying Shaq's thoughts on him being better than Dwight Howard. Hopefully, if Deron Williams doesn't whisk away another coach, maybe he can lead this team to a Division championship.

MAYBE.

But for a Brooklyn girl, like myself, the tale of these two teams is more than just a bridge between boroughs; it's about two iconic territories: The Garden and The Barclays Center. Brooklyn has history, but Madison Square Garden is historic.

Every kid in New York City aspired to play at The Garden. Since 1903, The Garden has hosted the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) basketball championships. In New York City, Brooklyn is legendary for basketball, producing an epic list of high school basketball players, such as Lenny Wilkins; Fly Williams; Bernard King; Albert King; Connie Hawkins; World B. Free; Chris Mullins; Mark Jackson; Billy Cunningham; Mike Dunleavy; Stephon Marbury; Sebastian Telfair; Gary Forbes; Lance Stephenson; and Epiphanny Prince.

In a recent interview, Telfair said regarding playing for the Brooklyn Nets one day, "I would love to if the opportunity comes, I think I would, I'm from here. I think before I get out of the league, I think I'd give it a shot."

I mean, who wouldn't want to play for Brooklyn? More than just an NBA team, it is home for many of us. Smack dead in the middle of Brooklyn, Barclays is surrounded by at least 10 high schools that are within walking distance:

Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn HS of the Arts
Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School
Pacific High School
ACORN Community High School
Metropolitan Corporate Academy High School
Berkeley Carroll School
Benjamin Banneker Academy
International High School at Prospect Heights
Brooklyn School for Global Studies

The Nets' new home has paved a path for a restructured city and bigger dreams for city kids. A dream for a city kid is right--you can even take in a view of the practice court by stopping into Starbucks at the Barclays Center.

Even "go-hard" Spike Lee, raised in Brooklyn thinks Barclays "is great for Brooklyn." (Don't count on him ever rooting for Brooklyn though.)

I'm actually looking forward to the future of Brooklyn and the Nets. Once the hype dies down between the Nets and the Knicks, hopefully, Brooklyn can re-establish a tone for basketball, and maybe even street ball.

Let's thank Jay-Z for that.

Miami Heat ends Lin-sanity and shows the New York Knicks who's "bigger, stronger, meaner and faster"

About 400 miles from where the NBA is setting up for the second biggest league event (the NBA Finals is the first), the New York Knicks were in Miami facing the Heat who were on a 7 game winning streak. The New York Knicks felt good about themselves coming into the game after demolishing the Atlanta Hawks the night before at Madison Square Garden. They were hoping that momentum would carry over and the combination of Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony in the offense would improve. The Heat had other thoughts as they came out in the immortal words of rapper Kanye West, "bigger, stronger, meaner and faster. In their 102-88 win over the Knicks, the Miami Heat 4 players score in double figures led by Chris Bosh with 25 points. It's what they did on the defensive end that suffocated the Knicks and in particular phenom Lin who was warned before the game that Miami would throw every defensive scheme his way every time he touched the ball.

Miami came out like a "pack of wild dogs" the term used by legendary linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants when he wanted to get his team fired up. The Knicks did not wilt from the first wave of the Heat's pressure. In fact, the Knicks only trailed by 4 points (24-20) after the first period despite Lin's 3 turnovers. Things would only get worse for Lin as he finished the night missing 10 of 11 shots and turning the ball over 8 times.

The third period is when it all began to unravel for New York. They began the period down by 4 points again (51-47) when the Heat took total control. After Lin and Anthony converted 4 straight free throws to get within 2 (53-51) Miami responded by scoring the next 6 points. Before you could say Lin-Sanity, the Heat then outscored New York 27-15 the rest of the way to take a 14 point (80-66) lead. The Heat defense only allowed the Knicks 19 points. Miami then put the game on cruise control as the Knicks could only get within 9 points (82-73) with a little over 9 minutes left in the game.

The bench play that was supposed be a big part of the Knicks since they got Baron Davis back from injury, and the signing of J.R. Smith, was a non-factor in the game. Although Smith did contribute 14 points Davis struggled mightily. He missed all 7 shot attempts finishing the game with zero points. Steve Novak continued his hot shooting nailing 4 of 5 three-pointers for 12 points. Anthony led all Knicks scorers with 19 points.

It wasn't the way the Knicks wanted to end the first half of the year, losing to a team that is expected to not only get to the NBA Finals but to win it all. For one night Lin was brought back to earth by a team who was hell-bent on not letting the Lin-Sanity continue. Said Heat's head coach Erik Spoelstra, "we wanted to treat him (Lin) with the adequate respect he deserves."

NBA All-Star weekend takes center stage tonight as the Celebrity All-Star game and Rising Stars Challenge takes place at the Amway Center. Jeremy Lin has been chosen to be on the team that will be coached by Shaquille O' Neal.

He's the reason why I started to watch basketball and became interested in the sport. He's the reason why at an undersized height of 5'8, I thought I had a chance at organized basketball, at least in my thoughts. The generations before mine grew up watching greats like Jerry West, Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.

I had Allen Iverson.

I still remember the day I purchased his #3 Jersey, the home all white Jersey representing the Philadelphia 76ers logo and uniforms from 1997-2009.

On Saturday night March 1, 2014, the 76ers organization during a home game hosting the Washington Wizards, honored its former franchise player by retiring his jersey during halftime.

His Jersey was hoisted up to the rafters joining the likes of other retired numbers of #6 Julius Erving, #34 Charles Barkley, and #13 Wilt Chamberlain. It was a heart-warming ceremony in which past 76ers greats and some of Iverson's teammates, including Dikembe Mutumbo and Julius Erving among others, were in attendance on the floor to celebrate with him.

It's actually not ludicrous to mention his name among those greats. He was that good.

Iverson received an MVP award in 200. He made 11 All-Star appearances (2000-2010); he's a 2-time All-Star game MVP awards winner (2001-2005), a 4-time scoring champ (1999, 2001-2001, 2005) and a 3-time All-NBA First team member (1999, 2001, 2005). But, wait, there's more!! Iverson was All-NBA Second Team for three years (2000, 2002-2003); an All-NBA Third Team member (2006); the NBA Rookie of the Year for 1997; All-Rookie NBA First Team also in 1997, and a 3-Time NBA Steals leader three years in a row from 2000-2003.

An Olympian, Iverson was selected to be a part of Team USA for the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament which was held in Puerto Rico. Iverson averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game while helping the USA Team finish with a perfect 10-0 record.

Other than never taking a night off from stepping foot on the hardwood, Iverson's retirement resonates with me because of the cultural and revolutionary impact he has made as a professional athlete. The NBA's dress code from dress-down to casual and formal is a result of Allen Iverson.

The cross-over dribble becoming as popular as it is today, was a torch passed down from Pearl Washington to Tim Hardaway and then to Iverson who modernized it and elevated its variations to his own style. He incorporated the moves of the pickup games of the playgrounds into NBA arenas which made him box office. His clothing choices off the court prompted the general public to question his character which in result compelled Iverson to attach the famed metaphorical phrase to himself of "don't judge a book by its cover".

He was also a trendsetter, making the cornrows hairstyle a global necessity as everyone had to have it. A hairstyle mostly sported by criminals became accepted by the general public as Iverson stated in one of the best interviews conducted by sports journalist Stephen A. Smith of ESPN once upon a time on his show, "Quite Frankly," "I made it Alright." Iverson inspired a generation of people, specifically targeting the children, to not just play basketball, but to be themselves.

In a post-retirement interview, Iverson, regarding his on-court attire and gear which included a headband and an arm sleeve throughout the better part of his playing days, stated that I wanted to look like a superhero. Sporting the arm sleeve began during the 2000-01 regular season. Iverson wore the right arm sleeve recovering from an injury that affected his right elbow. If that's the case who's to say that same attire and compilation of on-court gear hasn't inspired the likes of Miami Heat F Lebron James and New York Knicks F Carmelo Anthony, two players known for sporting the headband and arm sleeve combo. He tried his crossover on a Hall-Of-Famer in Michael Jordan successful in his attempt as Jordan bit on Iverson's change of direction as he drifted to his right off the hesitation crossover pulling up for a jump-shot which was all net.

One of my favorite Iverson moves was a sequence of events where Iverson was draped all over by then Kings Forward Peja Stojakovic at the corner of the three-point line in which Peja's defense was so compressing, that Iverson dribbled the ball from his right hand to the other behind Peja's back to free himself off the corner.

It was plays like that one that drew me to Iverson as a player. I marveled at the fact that someone of such a small stature could dominate a game single-handedly to his advantage causing numerous problems for the opposing team's defensive alignments and strategies. I remember how tough Iverson was, relentless in attacking the basket despite the punishment he received in return resulting in several injuries occurring throughout his career. It didn't matter who suited up for the other team assigned to protect the rim, Iverson penetrated and more times than not, you can count two in. Fans root for their teams with all their energy, but when Iverson came to town, it was hard to send negative resentment in the form of boos his way because we all knew we were in attendance to see what he would do next.

There was no answer for "The Answer", a name given to Iverson by Shaquille O'Neal, an All-Time great as a center acknowledging Iverson's greatness.

Iverson has totaled a career of 79, 40-point games for the regular season, behind Wilt Chamberlain's 271, Michael Jordan's 173, Kobe Bryant's 117, and Elgin Baylor's 88. Iverson also had 11, 50-point games following Wilts 118, Jordan's 31, Bryant's 24, Baylor's 14 and Rick Barry's 13.

Sounds like pretty good company to me.

Although Iverson's career has featured incredible highs, trouble was not too far behind as Iverson experienced his share of public controversy and legal problems.

Iverson made national headlines for feuding with coaches he has played for because he disagreed with their principles and methods. A disappointing season due to the team's overall success in the mid-2000s called for an ugly divorce, as management and A.I. had a falling out which led to Iverson's departure from the Sixers.

This then started an NBA tour as Iverson made short stints with the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, and Memphis Grizzlies from 2006-2010. Iverson played three games with the Grizzlies until his contract was terminated by both parties, Iverson and the Grizzlies management, came to an agreement to part ways.

With Iverson facing thoughts of retirement, an opportunity for one last stand to validate his value in the latter stages of his career arrived with the 76ers who offered Iverson a one-year deal for the duration of the 2009-10 NBA regular season on December 2.

Complications to his daughter's health halted Iverson's progress from completing the season as he attended to his daughter's aid.

After a brief stint in the Turkish Basketball League and declining an offer to play in the NBA's development league, Iverson's officially called it quits, retiring from professional basketball entirely on October 30, 2013.

The final chapters of an excellent career had finally closed which led us to the celebration of Iverson's career with his Jersey retirement ceremony on March 1.

Fans, basketball enthusiasts, and sports analysts would all agree that maybe if Iverson accepted a lesser role towards the tail end of his career, he could have achieved the most coveted award of being granted a chance at an NBA title.

But he didn't. He believed he was too great to come off the bench, a role that would hurt his pride in admitting along with the general public that he no longer was the player he once was. He had other ideas.

Because that alternate ending was not a reality let's just reflect on what was and is a Hall-of-Fame career.

Allen Iverson is one of the best little "big" men to ever play the game.

An all-time great.

".. I still feel in my heart and everything I believe that I'm the best Basketball Player in the World and the Best Basketball Player to Eva play this Game," Iverson once expressed.

Long live the Legend of "The Answer", Allen Iverson.

US Women’s Soccer Filed Suit Against US Soccer Federation; Warriors Lose to Celtics But Still Want 73 Wins, 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Class Named

In this episode, the What’s The 411Sports team of Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about and asking lots of question about recent sports news and events.

Congratulations to the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016:  Allen Iverson, Shaquille O’Neal, Sheryl Swoopes, John McClendon, Darell Garretson, Tom Izzo, Zelmo Beaty, Yao Ming, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Cumberland Posey.

Five members of the US women’s national soccer team including notable names like Hope Solo and Alex Morgan have filed a wage discrimination action against the US Soccer Federation. The action was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming that while the women’s team generated approximately $20 million more in revenue than the men’s team, the women were paid about 25% less than their male counterparts.

San Francisco 49er’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick met with John Elway, executive vice president of football operations and general manager of the Denver Broncos, signaling that Kaepernick could be headed to Denver. Would this be a good move for Colin Kaepernick?

After a 54-regular-home-game win streak, the bubble burst and Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors lost at home to the Boston Celtics 109-106 on Friday, April 1 (no April Fools joke).

NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament definitely put the “madness” in March Madness; at the buzzer, Villanova beat UNC 77-74.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin returns to lineup as the Clippers face the Washington Wizards at the Staples Center. It will be the first time that Griffin will play since Christmas after a tearing his quadriceps. His absence was further extended after a hand injury due to an altercation with the team’s assistant equipment manager which garnered a four-game suspension. And, Griffin’s quadriceps isn’t completely healed. Is this a good move for Griffin to play before complete healing?

Who on the current Brooklyn Nets team will be back next season? Both Keisha and Mike would like to see the return of Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. However, Keisha would also like to see newcomer Sean Kilpatrick in a Brooklyn Nets uniform next season.

The YES Network and Comcast are at war.

Can the New York Mets get back to the World Series, and do the New York Yankees have a chance to win the AL East?

New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey is on the bench for his childish behavior towards the New York sports media following the New York daily newspapers' reports on his urinary tract issues.

John McLendon the first African-American coach in a professional league and Cumberland Posey, a Baseball Hall of Famer also make the 2016 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class

Congratulations are in order, today, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the 10 members of the Class of 2016.

This year’s class includes eleven-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson; three-time NBA Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal; four-time WNBA Champion Sheryl Swoopes; 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson (posthumously); two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo; and the first African-American coach in a professional league, John McLendon.

McLendon was the first black coach of an integrated professional team in the modern era (post-World War II). That team was the Cleveland Pipers of the semi-pro National Industrial Basketball League, and, later, the professional American Basketball League. He coached the Pipers from 1959-62, winning the NIBL in 1961. When the Pipers joined the ABL later in 1961, McLendon became the first black coach of a pro league.

John McLendon named to the 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame

McLendon also coached college basketball at what was then called North Carolina College for Negroes (now N.C. Central University) from 1937 to 1952. The N.C. College Eagles played a high-scoring, fast-breaking style of basketball, wearing opponents down with the sheer pace of their game, a style years ahead of that era.

Distinguished committees focused on preserving all areas from the game also selected four directly elected members. They include Zelmo Beaty (posthumously) from the Veterans Committee, Yao Ming from the International Committee, Jerry Reinsdorf from the Contributor Committee and Baseball Hall of Fame member, Cumberland Posey from the Early African American Pioneers Committee.

Posey was an exceptional multisport athlete recognized as the greatest African American basketball player of his time, playing from the early 1900s to mid-1920s.

Cumberland Posey baseball hall of famer makes 2016 Basketball Hall of Fame class

Posey was also a college basketball standout at Duquesne University before helping lead the Homestead Grays baseball team to dominance in the Negro leagues as a player, a manager and an owner.

Swoopes is the first player signed to the WNBA. She helped Texas Tech to a national title, won four titles with the Houston Comets (WNBA), was a three-time WNBA MVP and won three Olympic gold medals.

"The impact the Class of 2016 has had on the game of basketball is gigantic," said John L. Doleva, president and CEO of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. "To have several icons of the game be recognized in the same year makes this class one of the most memorable to date. We look forward to honoring each of these inductees during Enshrinement in September."

To be elected, North American and Women's Committee finalists must receive 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Direct-elect committees are incorporated into the election process to maintain a strong focus on keeping history on the forefront of the voting procedures and to preserve a balance between two eras of basketball.

"The Class of 2016 is big in stature, personality and impact," said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board. "These ten inductees have each contributed to the game in their own meaningful way and we are very pleased to honor them in Springfield."

The Class of 2016 will be enshrined at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts on Friday, September 9.

Too Much Barea; and Dirk Makes History, passes Shaquille O’Neal to place 6th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list

For a moment, it almost looked like the Brooklyn Nets were going to give their fans an early Christmas gift. After battling for 48 mins, the Nets pushed the Mavericks to an extra five, but too much J.J. Barea and Dirk Nowitzki proved to be the secret sauce that allowed the Mavs to escape Brooklyn with an 119-118 OT win, two days before Christmas.

The Nets fell to 8-21, (6-9 at home) while the Mavericks improved to 16-13, the 4th seed in the Western Conference.

When it boils down to the nitty gritty, late game execution is the only thing that cost the Nets on Wednesday night. The Nets led 118-117 with 41.7 seconds left in the OT period when Brook Lopez scored on a hook shot assisted by Shane Larkin, who made his return to the court after missing the last four games with a concussion. Twenty seconds later, Dirk returned the favor, giving the Mavs the go-ahead score up 119-118 with 19.2 seconds left in OT. It was all up to Jarrett Jack to win the game for the Nets and unfortunately, he came up short.

Photo (left to right): Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez and guard Jarrett Jack 

Brooklyn Nets guard Shane Larkin

After draining back-to-back threes earlier in the OT period that put the Nets in a position to have a shot for the win, Jack missed a fade-away jump shot just inside the three-point line and the game was decided. The tit-for-tat, you score, I score of what transpired in OT mirrors what the first 48 minutes entailed. The Mavericks controlled the first half of this game, enjoying leads of up to 16 points, thanks in large part to Barea and Nowitzki. At the 9:51 mark in the 2nd quarter, Dirk drained a baseline jump-shot, assisted by Barea to give the Mavs a 40-28 lead at the time, and in doing so, made history. With those two points, Dirk passed Shaquille O’Neal to move into 6th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

‘That was a moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life,” Nowitzki said post-game. “It’s surreal passing Shaq; all-time great, legend. Was able to compete against him for a long, long time…..I’m really going to enjoy this one when my career is over.”

In addition to Dirk, Barea made his own history. He scored a team-high 32 (career-high) points in 41 mins, added 11 assists, and burned the Nets every chance he could, hitting big shot after big shot, filling in for Deron Williams who recorded a DNP due to a hamstring strain. With the game tied 105 all and 1:26 left in the 4th quarter, Barea penetrated the lane, beating Larkin on a high pick-and-roll, shot a floater and received the foul for the and-1, putting the Mavs up by three, 108-105 with 12 seconds left in the 4th.

“I was just trying to take good shots and take advantage of guys setting good screens for me, Coach giving me the ball in high pick and rolls and it was working,” Barea said.

It was something the Nets could not stop but head coach Lionel Hollins targeted free-throws as a significant problem in the Nets most recent loss.

“If you want to just analyze stats, I think going six-for-14 from the free throw line was the game changer when you look at it in simplistic terms,” Hollins said. “But they played, we played and somebody, unfortunately, had to lose and it was us.”

If the Nets had won, Thaddeus Young would’ve received the game ball. The forward scored 29 points on 14-20 shooting and like Barea-made big play after big play. Young drained the desperation three to send the game into OT and also blocked Barea on the other end, on his desperation fade-away to win the game as time expired in the 4th.

Brooklyn Nets forward Thaddeus Young

“Just a tremendous effort,” Hollins said regarding Young. “His numbers stand out over other people, but I thought that we got the efforts that we needed and the extra efforts and getting on the floor for loose balls. It was just a great basketball game.”

During Young’s post-game session with the media, he said that there are no moral victories, but there is something the Nets can take from this game and it was their intensity and ability to recover and fight back. There were plenty of times during this game where it looked like the Nets were going to pack it in, look forward to the Christmas holiday, and save their energy for Saturday’s game hosting the Washington Wizards, but they didn’t.

They hung in there and Jack, who scored 13 points follows Young’s sentiments.

“It felt good to fight, it felt like we left it all out there, but like you said we’re not into moral victories. When we put that type of effort on the court we have to come away with Ws.”

Lopez who also scored 13 points believes the Nets can build on their effort against the Mavs.

“The way we’ve played for six quarters, you know these last games, roughly is how we want to play out the rest of the season. We really feel like we’ve come together as of late.”

Like Jack said, hopefully the effort the Nets are displaying as of late turns into wins and Saturday evening will be their chance to walk-the-walk.