Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
I spent the day at the Sports Museum of America in lower Manhattan working on a few stories. Giants DE Justin Tuck was there for an event promoting literacy and my SNY story on him touches on everything fromDeSean Jackson’s blown TD last night to Leon Lett to Charlie Weis’ unfortunate weekend sideline accident.
After Tuck’s event, it was time for the allocation ceremony for the new women’s pro soccer league, Women’s Professional Soccer, of which two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is a part owner.This photo is compliments of my friend Ted Leshinski, who handles PR for the museum and does a great job promoting events there.
“Soccer was very important in my house growing up, so it’s a big part of my life,” said Nash, whose father played professionally and whose brother still does. “I’m an extremely passionate fan of the game. I still play in the summer in New York City on a couple teams. It’s an exciting part of my life outside of basketball.”
Among the players from the gold-medal winning U.S. National Team allocated on Tuesday were Heather Mitts (pictured above), who went to the Boston Breakers; former Rutger star Carli Lloyd, who kicked the game-winning goal in the gold medal game and will play for Chicago; and New Jersey natives Christie Rampone and Heather O’Reilly, both of whom will play for New Jersey/New York Sky Blue FC at Rutgers.
“We can luckily learn from the mistakes that happened last time (with the failed Women’s United Soccer Association), but the women’s game’s growing,” Nash said. “Ten or 20 years ago there would be two or three countries with a chance to win the World Cup or the Olympics. Now you see eight or nine are vying for a gold medal or a World Cup. The game’s growing, there’s women coming from all over the world that are extremely talented and exciting that are only going to make this league more and more viable.”
As for the hardwood, Nash had a few thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal, Baron Davis and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.ON SHAQ RETIRING IN TWO YEARS:
“I’m excited. He’s still got a lot to give. If we can get him in great shape and feeling good about himself, he can still be a huge factor.”
ON BARON DAVIS TO THE CLIPPERS
“I think Baron going to the Clippers is going to be great for that franchise. There’s always moves every summer, and sometimes an unheralded move can turn out to be the big one.”
ON MIKE D’ANTONI COACHING THE KNICKS
“He’s a great coach, very bright. I think as he did in Phoenix, he can turn it around here, so it should be exciting for Knicks fans.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
I spent the day at the Sports Museum of America in lower Manhattan working on a few stories. Giants DE Justin Tuck was there for an event promoting literacy and my SNY story on him touches on everything from DeSean Jackson’s blown TD last night to Leon Lett to Charlie Weis’ unfortunate weekend sideline accident.
After Tuck’s event, it was time for the allocation ceremony for the new women’s pro soccer league, Women’s Professional Soccer, of which two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash is a part owner.
This photo is compliments of my friend Ted Leshinski, who handles PR for the museum and does a great job promoting events there.
“Soccer was very important in my house growing up, so it’s a big part of my life,” said Nash, whose father played professionally and whose brother still does. “I’m an extremely passionate fan of the game. I still play in the summer in New York City on a couple teams. It’s an exciting part of my life outside of basketball.”
Among the players from the gold-medal winning U.S. National Team allocated on Tuesday were Heather Mitts (pictured above), who went to the Boston Breakers; former Rutger star Carli Lloyd, who kicked the game-winning goal in the gold medal game and will play for Chicago; and New Jersey natives Christie Rampone and Heather O’Reilly, both of whom will play for New Jersey/New York Sky Blue FC at Rutgers.
“We can luckily learn from the mistakes that happened last time (with the failed Women’s United Soccer Association), but the women’s game’s growing,” Nash said. “Ten or 20 years ago there would be two or three countries with a chance to win the World Cup or the Olympics. Now you see eight or nine are vying for a gold medal or a World Cup. The game’s growing, there’s women coming from all over the world that are extremely talented and exciting that are only going to make this league more and more viable.”
As for the hardwood, Nash had a few thoughts on Shaquille O’Neal, Baron Davis and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.
ON SHAQ RETIRING IN TWO YEARS:
“I’m excited. He’s still got a lot to give. If we can get him in great shape and feeling good about himself, he can still be a huge factor.”
ON BARON DAVIS TO THE CLIPPERS
“I think Baron going to the Clippers is going to be great for that franchise. There’s always moves every summer, and sometimes an unheralded move can turn out to be the big one.”
ON MIKE D’ANTONI COACHING THE KNICKS
“He’s a great coach, very bright. I think as he did in Phoenix, he can turn it around here, so it should be exciting for Knicks fans.”
