General Basketball Wiretap

Tellem Leaves SFX

Arn Tellem has left SFX and is selling his business to the Wasserman Media Group, taking with him clients that include baseball players Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui, Nomar Garciaparra and Frank Thomas, and basketball players Jermaine O'Neal and Tracy McGrady.

Tellem's is the second major agent group to depart SFX Baseball, following Randy and Alan Hendricks, who departed in November 2003. Pat Rooney and Fernando Cuza head the remaining baseball group with SFX, which is owned by Clear Channel.

Tellem said he exercised an option last September to leave SFX on Jan. 1.

"We were not part of their core business," he said Friday. "It's a huge behemoth public company. I needed to get my business back and recapture our entrepreneurial spirit."

Via ESPN


Isaiah Rider Arrested On Kidnapping Charges

Troubled former NBA player Isaiah Rider was arrested by Marin County sheriff's deputies Thursday on charges of kidnapping a female acquaintance, authorities said.

Rider, 34, was being held on $2 million bail at Marin County Jail on charges of kidnapping and battery, said Sgt. Bruce Baker of the Marin County Sheriff's office. Rider, who also faces an outstanding warrant for resisting arrest in Alameda County, was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

Rider allegedly got into an argument Wednesday night with the unidentified female acquaintance and drove off with her against her will, Baker said. The woman began to scream, attracting the attention of police. Authorities tracked Rider down early Thursday morning and arrested him, Baker said. The woman was not injured.

Via Sports Illustrated


Silver Viewed As A Lock To Replace Stern

David Stern said he intended to find a replacement for outgoing deputy commissioner Russ Granik by the new year, but there still hasn't been an announcement about the NBA's new No. 2 man. Despite that, Stern's No. 3 man, Adam Silver, is seen as having the job locked up, according to sources.

Among some owners, Silver, 43, is viewed as the perfect choice. He has overseen the league's explosive growth overseas and "has the same marketing genes as Stern," one league official said. Silver is already being mentioned as a potential successor to Stern. "He'll be a little Stern clone, in a lot of respects," said a person who has had extensive dealings with both men. "But he won't be as political."

Via NY Daily News


Jan 2006 Archive

  • Referee Injured By Cartwheeling Performer

    Veteran referee Jim Clark missed part of the third quarter of Friday's game between the Nets and Magic after he was apparently kicked in the head by a tumbling performer right before the second half was set to begin.

  • Google Taps NBA To Launch Video Marketplace

    Google has teamed with the NBA to make current season NBA games available online for the first time as part of the launch of its Google Video Store, the first open video marketplace where consumers can buy or rent a wide range of video content, it was announced today by Larry Page, Google’s Co-Founder and President, Products, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).