Allen Iverson’s Wife For Divorce
Did Tawanna tell you that? That soundbite is so classic that me and my friends still use it to this day when we question one another at the bar. It’s a top 5.
Back to the story at hand and that’s Tawanna Iverson has filed for divorce from Allen Iverson in Fulton County Superior Court in Georgia. Court papers saying that the 8 1/2 year long marriage as irretrievably broken.
Ironically the petition was filed Tuesday the same day the Philadelphia 76ers cut ties with the All Star, she asked for temporary and permanent custody of their five children as well as child support and alimony. No dollar amount was listed.
The five children range in ages from 17 months to 15 years, including 4-year-old Messiah, who has been ill, leading to Iverson’s departure from the team at various points over the last month.
The family has lived in north Atlanta since August, but also has homes outside Detroit, two in Colorado and one in Villanova. The Iverson’s have a six bedroom, seven bathroom house in Villanova that has been on the market and dramatically fallen in the asking price from its first listing of at $6.3 million to $3.25 million.
The high school sweethearts from Virginia married in August 2001 in a celebrity-filled wedding at the Mansion in Voorhees.
In 2002, Iverson was alleged to have thrown Tawanna out of their Gladwyne home naked, and later was accused of threatening two men with a gun while looking for her.
Reggie Evans Named NBA’s Dirtiest Player
Why Your Hand Down There The Ball Is By His Face
In a recent poll conducted by Sports Illustrated they asked 173 NBA players who they thought was the dirtiest player in the league was. According to the players it was Reggie Evans. Los Angeles Clippers Chris Kaman and Philadelphia 76ers Samuel Dalembert could not agree more. Here’s the rest of the list:
- Reggie Evans, Toronto Raptors (21%)
- Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers (13%)
- Andres Nocioni, Sacramento Kings (6%)
- Anderson Varejao, Cleveland Cavaliers (5%)
- Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers (4%)
Interesting though that Washington Wizards Fabricio Oberto who leads the league in fouls per 48 minutes, averaging 9.1, did not receive a single vote.
Who do you think is the NBA’s dirtiest player?
New Jersey Nets Offer To Do Tax Returns, If You Just Go To Their Games
1,016 Fans
The New Jersey Nets have only won six games this season and are back at another gimmick to get people of New Jersey see them come play. This time, they’re giving fans a coupon to have their tax returns done for attending.
The Nets have combined with Roni Deutch Tax Center to offer a free New Jersey income tax return to state residents 18 years and older who attend their game against the Orlando Magic on Friday night at the Izod Center. Patrons won’t get their state taxes done on the spot. They’ll be given a coupon for a free state tax return. The cost is usually $29.
Some of the Nets other promotions have been the “Your Ticket to a Player” which offered fans the opportunity to have Devin Harris, Brook Lopez or any other player on the roster stop by at a family birthday party. All you had to do was pay $25,000 for four courtside tickets for 10 games. You got parking, food and drinks, too.
There also was a 10-game “Match-Up” ticket plan through which their fans got a collection of reversible jerseys with the uniforms of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Dwyane Wade and Howard on one side and a Nets player on the other.
But the bottom line is no matter how enticing this promotions are, you still going to watch the Nets.
Allen Iverson Parties With Jermaine Dupri While Daughter Is Ill
Not A Good Look
Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson has been on leave from the team to attend to his sick 4-year-old daughter Messiah. Over the weekend Iverson was in Charlotte to partner up with he Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association to establish the CIAA Allen Iverson Scholarship Endowment. The fund will provide scholarships to future CIAA students.
CIAA officials announced the partnership during the second half of Saturday’s men’s championship game between Elizabeth City State University Vikings and St. Augustine’s College Mighty Falcons.
However instead of returning home to be with Messiah he attended Club 935 with Jermaine Dupri, and no word if Dupri’s buddy Adam “Pacman” Jones was in attendance.
Being attendance is not a good look right now for Iverson but what makes it look worse and will definitely over shadow his work with CIAA in setting up a scholarship endowment is his face and image on the club flyer.
Seeing that 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan has said publicly that he doesn’t expect Iverson to return the rest of the season (23 games) and the difficulty it took for him to finally find a job after the Memphis debacle. I don’t think we will ever see him suit up again in the NBA.
Jodie Meeks & Franciso Elson Traded For Primoz Brezec & Royal Ivey
Moving Day
The Philadelphia 76ers have traded Primoz Brezec, Royal Ivey and a 2010 second round pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for Francisco Elson and Jodie Meeks.
The Sixers originally wanted to draft Meeks this past summer, finally get the player they coveted. Meeks, a big-time scorer at Kentucky, could fill the roster gap that the Sixers need.
Royal Ivey will be looking at his second go-around in Milwaukee, where he played a career-high 75 games with 20 starts during the 2007-08 seasons.
76ers: Winners/Bucks: Losers
WTF: Reggie Evans
Why Your Hand Down There The Ball Is By His Face
Seriously, Reggie Evans, you gay. This the second time you’ve tried to reach in and grab a pair of Spaldings.
First it was Los Angeles Clippers Chris Kaman when you where with the Denver Nuggets and now molesting Samuel Dalembert of the Philadelphia 76ers.
You gay.
New Jersey Nets Play In Front Of 1,016 Fans
Embarrassing
The New Jersey Nets at home to the Milwaukee Bucks 97-77 in front of 1,016 fans. Granted their is a huge snow storm effecting the east coast but these are still the same Nets that are running a promotion for a lucky fan to be head coach for a day and on record to match the leagues worst record, 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers 9-73.
The Nets where playing their final home game before the All-Star break and the loss dropped them to 4-48 on the season. Swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts whose name has been the subject of trade rumors and didn’t play at all in Tuesday 104-97 loss to Cleveland sat for the majority of the game with a towel wrapped over his head embarrassed for what he was seeing and not being a part of it. With 3:35 left in the game 12 people started the CDR chants once he final entered.
So sad.
NBA’s Best-Selling Jerseys
#1
Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant is once again the top selling jersey in the NBA like he did in 2008-09 season. Here is the complete list of top sellers compiled from the NBA Store in New York City and NBAStore.com,
Top 15 NBA Jerseys
1. Kobe Bryant – Los Angeles Lakers
2. LeBron James – Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Dwight Howard- Orlando Magic
4. Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls
5. Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat
6. Kevin Garnett – Boston Celtics
7. Chris Paul – New Orleans Hornets
8. Paul Pierce – Boston Celtics
9. Shaquille O’Neal – Cleveland Cavaliers
10. Pau Gasol – Los Angeles Lakers
11. Carmelo Anthony – Denver Nuggets
12. Steve Nash – Phoenix Suns
13. David Lee – New York Knicks
14. Allen Iverson – Philadelphia 76ers
15. Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
I understand the New York fan needing a jersey to represent their team but isn’t it shocking to see David Lee in the top 15 but not a single San Antonio Spur. I guess Tim Duncans time has passed but your telling me Tony Parker cant crack the United States 15?
A “How-To Video” On Holding Carmelo Anthony Under 20 Points
A nice breakdown of how the Philadelphia 76ers were able to hold the NBA’s scoring leader Carmelo Anthony under 20 points. It was his first sub-20 game this season.
Allen Iverson’s Return Gets Highest Rating Since 2005
Welcome Back
The return of Allen Iverson to the 76ers gave Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia strong numbers on Monday.
The game betwen the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson’s first game since returning to the 76ers, drew a 4.9 rating on CSN Philadelphia and saw a peak of 5.8. It was the highest rating for a regular season 76ers telecast on the network since 2005.
That is well above the 1.0 rating 76ers games averaged on CSN throughout November.
Allen Iverson Returns To Philadelphia 76ers
A sellout crowd of 20,664 stood and roared in approval when Allen Iverson was introduced and planted the kiss on the centercourt logo and saw him score 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting in 38 minutes in his first game since November 2 with the Memphis Grizzlies. He added six assists, five rebounds and only one turnover. His numbers where almost idenical to that night as he went 5-for-9 scoring 11 points but in 18 minutes.
Matt Harpring Done For The Season & Possibly Career
BYE
Matt Harpring NBA career might be over, although it’s not official, one thing is and that’s his season is. Harping has fought through a lot of injuries throughout his career and lingering ankle and knee problems makes it extremely difficulty to physically perform at an NBA level.
The Georgia Tech product anticipates some day needing total knee replacement surgery as well as total ankle replacement. Not filing official retirement paperwork with the league allows him to collect the $6.5 million owed to him this season, and keeps open the possibility of his expiring contract getting used in a cost-saving trade.
Harpring who also played for Orlando, Cleveland and Philadelphia during his NBA career has been with the Jazz since signing as a free agent in the summer of 2002.
During seven seasons with Utah, he averaged 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 25.8 minutes in 474 games. His best statistical season was his first with the Jazz, when he started 69 of 78 games and scored 17.6 points per game on 51.1 percent shooting and pulled down 6.6 rebounds per game.
Allen Iverson Signs With The Philadelphia 76ers
Through The Wire For Lou
So much for retirement Allen Iverson, yeah I know he never officially filed paperwork and I even made mention of that in my last Iverson post but I also made claim that he was trying to a create buzz around his name to get clubs intrested in him again. It’s seems to have worked as Iverson informed the Philadelphia 76ers morning that he will accept their one-year, non-guaranteed offer. The contract is for a pro-rated veteran’s minimum of $1.3 million.
“In light of the recent injury to Lou Williams, which will sideline him for close to eight weeks, we felt that Allen was the best available free agent guard to help us at this time,” team president Ed Stefanski said.
Full Circle
Philadelphia 76ers Seek The Help Of NHL To Help Sell Tickets
Charles Barkley Is Rolling Over In His Grave
This year the city of Phildelphia has seen some all time records for attendence of the Phillies, Eagles and even the Flyers but where is the 76ers? That’s because the 76ers are setting records for attendence but all time lows. The Sixers have the worst attendance mark in the NBA, drawing fewer fans (11,451 per home game), that even trails the winless New Jersey Nets and the often pathetic franchise of the Los Angeles Clippers.
The team is down almost 30 percent from last year, the largest year-over-year decrease in the league.
Comcast which owns the Sixers, the Flyers, the Wachovia Center and the cable network that televises both teams is using the Flyers to help spike the 76ers numbers. Going forward when a Flyer fan purchasestwo tickets to an upcoming game, a pair of Sixers tickets will be included. The Flyers rank No. 3 in NHL attendance and has sold more than 99 percent of its seats through 12 home games. Interestingly, the ad for the Flyers-Sixers combo deal is at the very bottom of the Flyers home page but is at the very top of Sixers.com.
Overall NBA attendance this season is down two percent, but that figure is a little misleading because many teams have slashed prices for less-desirable seats or are just handing out tickets for free. The Charlotte Bobcats gave away hundreds of tickets for the team’s season opener, and earlier this week, the Nets offered two free passes to all of the team’s existing customers for Tuesday’s night game against the Indiana Pacers and still played before a half empty arena.
The San Antonio Spurs are even down 8% from last years numbers at this point.
NBA Attendance Only Down 2% Despite Economy
Est. 1946
It’s fairly earlier so don’t shoot the messenger but the numbers are out for early attendance in the NBA and despite the economy and the earliness of the season they are only down 2% from this point last year. Also the statistic is skewed by two teams, the Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies, who are drawing less than 70 percent.
The 76ers averaged 15,802 in 2008-’09, in five home games this season they’ve averaged 11,377, and are down more than 20 percent of capacity from last year. The Memphis Grizzlies ranked 29th in attendance last year only filling 70 percent of their arena are now only filling 66 percent, only outdrawing the 76ers. The Detroit Pistons have cause for concern, dropping from first in average attendance to 16th, falling 19.6 percent. The Spurs, a team retooled and trying to avenge their first round playoff exit rank 12th but are down 8%
Not all is doom and gloom as the Chicago Bulls are up over 100 percent of capacity after filling 97.7 percent of the United Center last season. The Cleveland Cavilers are in a similar boat, selling out each home game so far after drawing 97.3 percent last season. The Atlanta Hawks have seen significant gains, rising from 89.4 to 95.4 percent. Even the Minnesota Timberwolves fans are showing support no that Kevin McHale is ruining their team by filling their stadium by 8% more than last season.
Source: SportsBusiness Journal
Average attendances and percentage for each team:
| Rank | Team | Average Attendance | % (+/-) from year prior |
| 1 | Chicago | 21,111 | +3.3% |
| 2 | Cleveland | 20,562 | +2.7% |
| 3 | Portland | 20,350 | -.8% |
| 4 | Dallas | 19,823 | -1.4% |
| 5 | New York | 19,625 | +1.7% |
| 6 | Utah | 19,611 | -1.5% |
| 7 | LA Lakers | 18,997 | (no chg) |
| 8 | Boston | 18,624 | (no chg) |
| 9 | Toronto | 18,131 | -3.2% |
| 10 | Denver | 18,039 | +4.3% |
| 11 | Washington | 17,975 | +6.7% |
| 12 | San Antonio | 17,957 | -.8% |
| 13 | Oklahoma City | 17,882 | +.5% |
| 14 | Atlanta | 17,862 | +6% |
| 15 | Golden State | 17,827 | -5.7% |
| 16 | Detroit | 17,541 | -19.6% |
| 17 | Orlando | 17,541 | +2.4% |
| 18 | Miami | 17,421 | -4.1% |
| 19 | Houston | 17,130 | -2% |
| 20 | Phoenix | 16,771 | -9% |
| 21 | Minnesota | 16,088 | +8.2% |
| 22 | New Orleans | 15,156 | -10.5% |
| 23 | New Jersey | 14,919 | -1.4% |
| 24 | LA Clippers | 14,748 | -7.4% |
| 25 | Milwaukee | 14,636 | -4% |
| 26 | Charlotte | 14,633 | +.4% |
| 27 | Indiana | 14,439 | +1.4% |
| 28 | Sacramento | 12,422 | -.9% |
| 29 | Memphis | 12,095 | -3.5% |
| 30 | Philadelphia | 11,377 | -23.7% |
San Antonio Spurs Iron Man Bruce Bowen Retires
Lock Down
The No. 12 should one day hang in the rafters of the AT&T Center for former San Antonio Spur small forward Bruce Bowen. Bowen was an integral part of the Spurs winning three NBA championships in his tenure with the team and established himself as the premier perimeter defenders of the decade,is retiring at 38.
After going undrafted Bowen set out on his journey to be an everyday player in the NBA. He first made stops overseas playing for French teams Le Havre and Evreux, then back to the United States for the Rockford Lighting of the CBA and back to France to play with Besancon. Bowens first taste of the NBA came with the Miami Heat in 1997 when he signed a 10-day contract and he was in the NBA to stay.
In the 1997-98 NBA season Bowen was playing for the Boston Celtics appearing in 61 games, he’d stay in Boston until the 1999-00 season.That year he signed with the Philadelphia 76erd,then was traded to the Chicago Bulls and immediately waived,once he cleared waivers he was reclaimed by the Heat. In that season, he wore jersey #12 instead of #30 and appeared in 69 games.
In the summer of the the 2001-02 NBA season Bowen found his home, with the San Antonio Spurs. Bowen established himself as a starter, an accomplishment he would hold onto for 500 consecutive games between February 28, 2002 and March 12, 2008. The Spurs won ballgames because Bowen frustrated, upset, hurt or angered the opponents top scorer every night. He just played tough, physical defense, that wasn’t afraid to get in someones grill.
Bowen made the NBA all-defensive first team five times, from 2003-04 through 2007-08, and was a three-time second-team selection from 2000-01 through 2002-03. Bowen ends his career with 5,290 points, 1,089 assists and 712 steals in 873 games. He was a career 39.3 percent 3-point shooter and led the league in 3-point field goal percentage in 2002-03.
On June 23, 2009, Bowen was traded along with Kurt Thomas to the Milwaukee Bucks for Richard Jefferson and was eventually released on July 31, 2009. But he will forever be a San Antonio Spur, a defensive stopper, and a smile on the sidelines.
