The ShoreBall Chronicles

So it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do – it has been over a month since the last post and a lot has happened since then.

From a local basketball standpoint, a new minor league basketball team has formed here in the local Hampton Roads area. The Hampton Roads Sharks will compete in the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the upcoming 2012-13 season. The team held their official tryouts on July 20th and 28th and then held a press conference on August 6th to announce the official team roster. The team will begin regular season play beginning in October 2012. Also, the eighth annual Hampton Roads 7 Cities Pro-Am began on June 23rd and the championship game was held on Sunday, August 5th. In the championship game, Team Red Bull defeated 757 Money, 113-110 to collect the 2012 title. Team Red Bull was led in the championship game by 6’3” guard Marcus Fisher, who finished with 38 points and captured his second league MVP award. In the women’s division of the pro-am, Academic Athletics won their second straight championship by defeating Slam City, 86-66, in the championship game.

From a personal and business standpoint, we are and will be undergoing some changes in the near future. Personally, I have received a volunteer writing position with the Hoop Doctors, a position that I hope to parlay into a paid writing position during the regular season. I also continue to maintain my writing positions with Examiner and Eurobasket as well, and will continue to explore other writing opportunities where available. On the business side of things, we will soon begin the process of reevaluating and updating our website. In addition, we will be utilizing our various media outlets to further establish and strengthen our web presence. That will include an increased presence on various social media outlets, mainly Facebook and Twitter. Also, after a short hiatus, I recently restarted the ShoreBall Podcast Show, although I am currently hosting the show solo. On the last two episodes of the ShoreBall Podcast Show, I have begun a discussion on the NBA Offseason, summarizing the draft, the summer league, the free agency period, and the blockbuster trades that have happened over the summer. On the last show, I listed my predictions on the top eight teams in each conference. Listen to the latest episode here and notice that my predictions in each conference are eerily similar to the ESPN predictions for both conferences (links provided here and here). Also, during the upcoming season, I am looking to periodically provide live internet broadcasts of NBA and NCAA basketball games via LetMeHearYa.com. If it is something that is feasible then I will move forward with the idea beginning during the 2012-13 season. We are also continuing to explore hosting a variety of events in the near future but we update as we finalize the plans for these events.

On a grander scale, everyone remembers the scoring showcases that Kevin Durant exhibited during last year’s offseason. Well, this offseason had been pretty quiet until recently. In an exhibition game in China, Kobe Bryant scored 68 pointsin only 15 minutes of play. That total was topped by Portland rookie Will Barton who dropped 72 points in a pro-am game in Baltimore. Kobe has proven his scoring ability throughout his career, but if Barton can score effectively at the NBA level, the Blazers may have found a steal with the 40th pick in the draft.

I will continue to keep everyone updated more frequently as we continue to move forward.

I’m out. Metta World . . .

The ShoreBall Chronicles

Friday, August 31, 2012

New Media Alert

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

New Media Alert

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

New Media Alert

Monday, August 27, 2012

New Media Alert

Friday, August 24, 2012

New Media Alert

Thursday, August 23, 2012

New Media Alert

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Catching Up, ShoreBall Update