Magic Johnson is a popular speaker says PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency.  He was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers where he won a championship and the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season. He went on to win four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s.

“I love baseball,” Johnson told the paper. “I’ve been a Dodgers fan and gone to the park many, many times.”

“Stan Kasten is my man,” Johnson said. “He’s a winner. He’s built two incredible organizations and he’s well-respected. That is what was important to me. I had to get with a winner, a guy who understands baseball inside and out. … Both guys are about building a winner and making a difference in the LA community.”

MSN FoxSports reports:

Earlier this week, former talk show host Larry King said he was interested in joining a potential ownership group with White Sox executive Dennis Gilbert.

“It would be a thrill of a lifetime to be a part owner, partial owner, of a team I grew up rooting for as a child in Brooklyn,” said the 78-year-old King.

Former Dodgers Steve Garvey and Orel Hershiser have also expressed interest in forming an investment group to bid on the team.

Other potential bidders include Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, according to the Times.

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NBA Comissioner David Stern - PHOTO: TSN.ca

The deal to end the lockout was announced by commissioner David Stern and NBA players’ union executive director Billy Hunter after an intense 14 hour mediation that began last Tuesday came to a positive conclusion.

The Huffington Post reports:

After a 149-day lockout that ultimately will cost the league approximately a half-billion dollars in losses, a marathon bargaining session produced a handshake agreement earlier in the day – actually, just a few hours before daybreak.

Commissioner David Stern still must sell his owners on an agreement that could change the way they do business. And the players, looking beat and beaten, face a tougher healing process in approving a pact that significantly limits their earnings.

But considering everything owners sought when these negotiations opened with a contentious meeting at the All-Star break in February 2010, perhaps they will feel relieved they got as much as they did.

If the deal is ratified, then training camps and free agency would start on December 9 and a 66-game season would be played.

Derek Fisher, President of NBA Players Assn., speaks to media in NY. Photo: Reuters

This eliminates a total of 324 games or 26 percent of the season as the lockout lingers into its fifth month with no end in sight, according to ESPN.

ESPN.com reports:

Attorney David Boies, who represented the NFL during that sport’s work stoppage and now has been brought aboard by basketball’s players, said the NBA lockout violates antitrust laws by refusing to allow players to work.

Boies added that Stern’s ultimatum to the now-disbanded union to accept the owners’ last economic model or face a harsher proposal “turned out to be a mistake” that strengthens the players’ case because it proves that the collective bargaining process had ended.

“If you’re in a poker game, and you run a bluff, and the bluff works, you’re a hero. If someone calls your bluff, you lose. I think the owners overplayed their hand,” Boies said at the players’ association headquarters. “They did a terrific job of taking a very hard line and pushing the players to make concession after concession after concession, but greed is not only a terrible thing — it’s a dangerous thing.”

Dangerous enough to cost the league billions of dollars in damages if the players win.

The players are seeking “treble damages” — meaning triple the amount of the more than $2 billion they would have made under a full 2011-12 season — for what they argue is irreparable harm by preventing them from playing in their “very short” NBA careers.

“We haven’t seen Mr. Boies’ complaint yet, but it’s a shame that the players have chosen to litigate instead of negotiate,” NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in a statement. “They warned us from the early days of these negotiations that they would sue us if we didn’t satisfy them at the bargaining table, and they appear to have followed through on their threats.”

Boies acknowledged that the case could take months, but hoped there would be a settlement before too long.

“We’re prepared to file this antitrust action against the NBA,” union executive director Billy Hunter said. “That’s the best situation where players can get their due process.”

In an interview with ESPN, NBA commissioner David Stern said:

“It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy. “It’s just a big charade. To do it now, the union is ratcheting up I guess to see if they can scare the NBA owners or something. That’s not happening.”

“There will ultimately be a new collective bargaining agreement,” Stern said in a statement issued by the league, “but the 2011-12 season is now in jeopardy.”

“We understand the consequences of potentially missing the season; we understand the consequences that players could potentially face if things don’t go our way, but it’s a risk worth taking,” union vice president Maurice Evans said. “It’s the right move to do.”

Union president Derek Fisher said, “This is the best decision for the players. I want to reiterate that point, that a lot of individual players have a lot of things personally at stake in terms of their careers and where they stand. And right now they feel it’s important – we all feel it’s important to all our players, not just the ones in this room, but our entire group – that we not only try to get a deal done for today but for the body of NBA players that will come into this league over the next decade and beyond.”

The Washington Post reports:

By taking their interests to the courts rather than the negotiating table, the NBA players would be employing a strategy similar to that used earlier this year by the NFL players, who filed to disband their union shortly before the owners locked them out in March. That led to a series of court battles over the next several months — with the players challenging the legality of the lockout and the league objecting to the legitimacy of the union’s dissolution.

Those issues ended up not amounting to much, as a new labor agreement was reached in August while legal appeals were still pending.

The significant difference in the NBA’s case is one of timing. While the NFL was forced to cancel only one exhibition game, the NBA already has canceled the first four weeks of its regular season, and Stern has said the league will need 30 days from the time an agreement is reached before games can begin. If that’s the case, the league’s popular Christmas Day schedule appears to be threatened — and if the courts are to provide the resolution, the entire season is in question.

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Huffington Post reports:

NBA owners and players are meeting again, hoping to reach a deal to end the lockout but aware of the consequences if they fail.

The sides met for 12 hours Wednesday, passing Commissioner David Stern’s deadline for players to accept the league’s current proposal or face one that would be much worse. He says he “stopped the clock” while this round of negotiations continues but warns the harsher proposal will be put into play if talks break down.

The sides talked mostly Wednesday about the salary cap system issues that divide them but did not discuss the division of basketball-related income that is the other major obstacle.

Talks have stalled because owners want a 50-50 split.

Saunders says, “Before the dust settles, fans may split as well”

Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon are just a few of our more popular motivational sports speakers, says PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agent

Along with his teammate, Curly Neal, Meadowlark Lemon and The Harlem Globetrotters have performed to audiences all over the world.

Meadowlark Lemon, is set to present the 2nd annual “Drive for Hope,” charity golf classic in Salem, Oregon.

The kick off for the event is set to begin with a shot gun start at 1 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 22, Salem Golf Club, located at 2025 Golf Course Rd. S.

Statesman.com reports:

The fundraiser includes an award dinner and auction at 6 p.m., followed by a visiting session with Meadowlark Lemon at 7 p.m.

Proceeds will benefit the Salvation Army in Marion and Polk counties.

Golfers who would like to play a round of golf with the former Harlem Globetrotter can bid to do so.

Registration to participate in the charity event is required by Aug. 15. Golfers can pledge their bid on the enrollment/registration form.

To learn more, contact Tom Ferrin at (503) 798-4843 or by email to thomas.ferrin@usw.salvationarmy.org.

If you are looking for a motivational sports speaker for your next event, look no further than former NBA legend, Meadowlark Lemon. To hire Meadowlark Lemon for a personal appearance, endorsement or as a motivational sports speaker, for Meadowlark Lemon speaker and Meadowlark Lemon booking agent information, call 1.800.966.1380

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Dennis Rodman shares an emotional moment with Phil Jackson at Hall of Fame speech event.

Rodman, known for his colorful and flamboyant lifestyle, was so choked up that he was barely able to begin his speech as he fought back tears and pent up emotions, allowing the audience to see a window into his soul.

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As Rodman eventually began to speak, he apologized to his children for not being a better father during his playing days.

He went on to say, “I love to just be an individual who is very colorful.”

He also told the crowd that he didn’t play for the money or to be famous.

“I want to thank David Stern and all of the NBA community for even just having me in the building,” he said.

“I could have been dead; I could have been a drug dealer or could have been homeless, I was homeless,” he said.

As evidence from his speech, it is obvious that Rodman is basically a good man.

Magic Johson is a popular motivational sports speaker says booking agent, PFP Talent.

If you are looking for a motivational sports speaker for your next event, look no further than basketball legend Magic Johnson. To hire Magic Johnson for a personal appearance, speaking engagement or endorsement, call PFP Sports and Celebrity Talent Agency for Magic Johnson speaker and Magic Johnson  booking agent information at 1.800.966.1380.

Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, are well documented

Magic retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had contracted HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996, at age 37, to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time.

Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention, as well a motivational speaker, an entrepreneur and philanthropist.

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No one wanted the lockout, but after three hours of negotiations, a deal could not be reached, according to San Antonio’s Matt Bonner, vice president of the NBA Players Association.

ESPN reports:

Players, who previously offered to reduce their salaries by $500 million over five years, considered the owners’ proposal for a “flex” cap, where each team would be targeted to spend $62 million, a hard cap. Although the league said total player compensation would never dip below $2 billion over the life of its proposed 10-year deal, that would amount to a pay cut for the players, who were paid more than $2.1 billion this season in salaries and benefits.

Source: Huffington Post

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“We did it. 19 years baby. I want to thank you very much,” O’Neal said in a video posted on his Twitter account. “That’s why I’m telling you first. I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.”

O’Neal won three NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Miami Heat. He also played for the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.