It’s gotta be the shoes, right?

No other basketball shoe has changed the face of business, athletics and marketing like the Air Jordan. This month, Nike releases the 23rd edition, and it is expected to be just as venerated as its predecessors.

The sleek design and link to Michael Jordan’s jersey number make it a touchstone in the line. It’s also Nike’s first basketball shoe designed under its “Considered” ethos, which aims to reduce waste and use environmentally friendly materials wherever possible.

The Air Jordan XX3 will be released in three hyped-up rounds from January to February, starting with a limited edition to be sent to only 23 retailers to be sold for $230 and concluding with the national launch at $185.

There had been talk at Nike about retiring the shoe at No. 23, because of his iconic jersey number. But company officials won’t say whether this will be the last of the line. Neither will Jordan.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” said Jordan, who has been a part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats since 2006.

Before launching the first shoe in 1985, Nike had just signed Jordan for $2.5 million over five years. Nike won’t say what Jordan’s current contract with the company is worth. Continue reading »

For playwright David E. Talbert’s first time out on the big screen, actor Ice Cube is teamed with funnyman Tracy Morgan in the comedy “First Sunday.”

The film follows Durrell (Cube) and LeeJohn (Morgan) in an outlandish plan to steal from a neighborhood church in order to get money to pay off a debt.

But in order to get their hands on the cash, Durell and LeeJohn are forced to spend the night in the presence of God and a band of followers.

In addition to starring in the film, Cube also serves as a producer of the project and explained that after reading the script and talking with writer Talbert, “everything worked.”

“As far as an actor playing a role like this, doing something a little touchy like [being a character that's] robbing a church may not be the smartest thing to do in the world,” he said of taking on the role. “But you see his growth and how the church needs to reach out to brothers like that. And it was funny as hell, but it did make that point in the film.” Continue reading »

Golf Channel suspended anchor Kelly Tilghman for two weeks on Wednesday for saying last week that young players who wanted to challenge Tiger Woods should “lynch him in a back alley.”

Tilghman was laughing during the exchange Friday with analyst Nick Faldo at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, and Woods’ agent at IMG said he didn’t think there was any ill intent.

But the comments became prevalent on news shows Wednesday, and the Rev. **>Al Sharpton< ** joined the fray by demanding she be fired immediately. Golf Channel didn't know who would replace Tilghman in the booth this week at the Sony Open or next week at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Continue reading »

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions has penalized Prairie View A&M University for major violations in its women’s basketball program. The case involves violations of NCAA rules in the areas of institutional control, out-of-season practice and observation, extra benefits, and eligibility.

Penalties for the violations include
1. four years of probation,

2. a reduction in the number of women’s basketball scholarships for two academic years

3. and a decrease in the number of women’s basketball recruiting contact opportunities. Continue reading »

A total of four Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers scored in the double digits in a 68-28 rout of the Alcorn State Lady Braves. PVAMU applied constant defensive pressure during the contest forcing 30 ASU turnovers which turned into 33 Lady Panther points.

Prairie View A&M was also able to dominate inside the paint outscoring the Lady Braves in that area 36 to 16.

Overall it was a dominating performance by Prairie View A&M which improved its overall record to 7-7 and 2-0 in SWAC play. The Lady Panthers allowed Alcorn State to shoot just 18 percent from the floor (9-50) while nearly connecting on half of their shot attempts (31-65).

The Lady Panthers have now won six of their last seven ball games and currently hold a four-game winning streak.

Candice Thomas led all scorers with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. Chari Smith notched a double-double contributing 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Gaati Werema and Kandis Brown round out the list of Lady Panther double digit scorers, scoring 12 and 10 points respectively.

PVAMU will now look to make it five in a row as they travel to Houston on Saturday, January 12th to face cross town rival Texas Southern. Tip-off has been set for 5:30 p.m. at the HP&E Arena located on the campus of TSU.

Alcorn State (2-12, 1-1 SWAC) was able to notch its first conference victory of the season with a 77-62 victory over the Prairie View A&M Panthers (2-12, 0-2 SWAC).

The Braves placed five players in double figures and allowed PVAMU to shoot just 36 percent from the floor.

Troy Jackson led the Braves scoring attack with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor.

Derek Johnson had an impressive outing for PVAMU scoring 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with six rebounds and one steal.

Prairie View A&M will look to rebound as they travel to Houston to face Texas Southern. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 12th at the HP&E arena located on the campus of Texas Southern

The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers (6-7) have begun conference play at 1-0 after defeating the Southern Lady Jaguars (2-8) in convincing fashion.

Gatti Werema helped pace the Lady Panther’s attack recording a double-double. Werema scored 14 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.

Fellow teammate Candice Thomas chipped in with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor. Thomas also dished out a game high seven assists to go along with three rebounds and two steals.

Prairie View A&M never trailed in the contest as they held a double digit lead the entire second half of play.

PVAMU will now get set to host Alcorn State on Monday, January 7th. Tip-off time has been set for 5:30 p.m. at the Wiiliam Nicks Building.

The Prairie View A&M Panthers (2-11) lost a hard fought game to the Southern Jaguars (3-9) at the William Nicks Building on Saturday, January 5th.

Southern’s Steffon Wiley came off the bench and scored 17 points to help lead the Jags to victory. SU’s Jazz William chimed in with 13 points as well.

Prairie View A&M was never quite able to get on track offensively as they shot 44 percent from the field. PVAMU managed to out rebound the Jaguars 33 to 31 but committed several costly turnovers down the stretch.

The Panther’s Aaron Smith led all scorers with 22 points which included an impressive showing from three point range. Smith knocked down 6-of-12 three point attempts while going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.

The Panthers will look to rebound as they get set to take on the Alcorn State Braves on Monday, January 7th. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the William Nicks Building.

In their final non-conference game of the season, the Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers pulled off an upset of significant importance, knocking off the Rice Owls on Friday, December 28th. With the win the Lady Panthers beat Rice for the first time since 1979 which was the series inaugural meeting.

The game was a defensive tug-of-war in which Prairie View A&M was the beneficiary. The Lady Panthers forced the Owls into 30 turnovers which subsequently turned into 19 PVAMU points. Continue reading »

Lady Panther center Chari Smith has been named the Southwestern Athletic Conference?s Newcomer of the week for her stellar play against Nicholls State in a 56-51 PVAMU victory.

Smith pulled down a game high 14 points as well as a team leading nine rebounds. She was a key contributor in the Lady Panthers second non-conference win of the season. Continue reading »