EA NCAA Football 2012

In support of NCAA FOOTBALL 12′s release on July 12th, EA SPORTS hooked up an exclusive group of celebrities and athletes with some fresh EA VIP kits. Each EA VIP’s kit was made up of genuine football material and customized with their alma mater’s logo painted on the astro turf which included a custom IPAD 2, EA SPORTS Astro A40 Headsets, and of course the much coveted NCAA FOOTBALL 12 before it’s official release date on July 12th. Swag?

Recipients include Kevin Durant, Mike Vick, Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Rob Kardashian, Soulja Boy, Bow Wow, The Game, John Wall & Kevin Hart.

WIZARDS UNVEIL NEW COLORS. THERE'S STILL A CREEPY WIZARD

Reeling from criticism over the violent connotations behind the team's name, and the death of his friend and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin from an assassin's gun, the late Abe Pollin changed the name of his squad from the Washington Bullets to the Washington Wizards before the 1997-98 season.


It seemed like the fresh thing to do. Led by Chris Webber, Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard(notes), the then-Bullets had made their first playoff series in 11 years during 1996-97, they were set to be the Next Big Thing, and they even had a new arena to move into for '97-'98. But off-court troubles, even if they weren't deserved, got to Webber and Howard the next year. Gheorghe Mureşan was lost due to injury, and Strickland's motivation came and went. Webber was traded the following May, and the team didn't make the playoffs again until the 2004-05 season.

Also, everyone hated the team's new colors, logo and name.

Under new owner Ted Leonsis, the hate has been heard, and Washington has decided to change its colors back to a Bullet-y red, white, and blue pattern. They're keeping the team's name, and that weird-looking wizard in the Wizards' logo, but beyond that everything smacks of the old days. (Note: The road uniform is the red one above and the home jersey is the white one below)

JOHN WALL X REEBOK :: REACH $25 Million Dollar Deal

Kentucky guard John Wall, the projected No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, has reached an endorsement agreement with Reebok worth $25 million over five years, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

Reebok made an immense investment with the charismatic and explosive guard, believing that Wall can replace Allen Iverson(notes) as the brand’s superstar. Wall’s reps, Dan Fegan of Lagardere Unlimited and Brian Clifton of Pindar Enterprises, negotiated a rare two guaranteed signature shoes for Wall.

The deal exceeds what most industry insiders believed even Wall, a spectacular talent, could get in this marketplace. In the declining economy, shoe companies have become more judicious about handing out such big guaranteed deals to rookies. The No. 1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin(notes), was reported to have signed for $400,000 annually with Nike. Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings(notes) had a more lucrative deal with Under Armour that he signed out of high school, worth approximately $2 million over four years.

Reebok and Fegan were moving toward a signed agreement on Wednesday night, sources said.

Reebok’s bid for Wall beat overtures by Nike and Under Armour, sources said.

It didn’t hurt Wall’s marketability that the big market Washington Wizards won the draft lottery and have the No. 1 overall pick. He’s expected to be the centerpiece of the franchise’s rebuilding process.

LeBRON JAMES USES DRAKE TO SIGN JOHN WALL TO LRMR MARKETING

Drake x LRMR Marketing. LeBron might never be teammates with upcoming disputed #1 NBA pick John Wall of Kentucky, but LeBron will do his best to make sure Wall signs with his marketing company. LRMR Marketing, the sports marketing company owned by LeBron and run by his childhood friends, is utilizing some very interesting tactics in getting soon-to-be NBA stars to sign on with LRMR. Yahoo recently reported that LeBron has enlisted Drake of all people, to help convince college hoops stars like John Wall entering the draft to sign with LRMR. Yahoo states:

James befriended Wall at his All-American camp as a high school senior, traveled to campus to watch him play and even enlisted rapper Drake to woo Wall to LRMR, James’ fledgling marketing company.

James will go back again and again for Kentucky’s stars. Rival agents gasped when close associate, William Wesley, walked into a Wildcat game with rapper Drake. As one said, “How the hell can I compete with that?”

That’s right. Money, power, LeBron and Drake…that is some competition any other marketing firm is going to have a tough time competing with. So what does Drake get out of all of this? The chance to hang with some NBA stars of course and I’m sure some nice side cash. With Jay-Z running the Nets these days and The Dream seriously wanting a piece of the Atlanta Hawks we will continue to see more and more artists start to influence the game. Only time will tell if this is a good or bad thing.

http://www.lrmrmarketing.com/