FLY MONSTERS GUIDE
Thursday, April 7, 2011
LEBRON JAMES MOM GETS ARRESTED
LeBron James’ mother, Gloria James, was arrested on Thursday morning at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.
According to ABC affiliate WPLG, James got into a scuffle with a valet at the hotel and is charged with misdemeanor assault.
She was taken to Miami Beach police headquarters where she is being questioned. The station also reported that James was arrested but will not be booked. Instead, she will be released and have to appear in court at a later date.
This is not the first time James has been in trouble with the authorities.
In 2006, she was arrested by Akron police on charges of drunken driving and disorderly conduct. She was sentenced to three days in a state driving intervention program and fined in court after she pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charges.
Land Rover confirms first production hybrid coming in 2013
Land Rover Brand Director John Edwards tells Inside Line that the Tata Motors-owned automaker will start its production alt-fuel strategy with a gasoline hybrid under the hood of the Range Rover in 2013, followed by a range-extended hybrid in 2014. The Chevrolet Volt-like range extender will likely involve a larger battery pack and motor that do most of the work and a small gasoline engine that will charge the battery. This top-down approach means that bigger, more expensive Rovers will receive the hybrid tech first. The move will reportedly result in a greater impact on overall emissions, and lower-end models like the forthcoming Evoque may not receive battery assistance any time soon. Bigger models are typically more expensive, too, which means that the cost of the electric propulsion tech can be better hidden in the MSRP.
Also unlikely, according to IL, is a diesel-powered hybrid like the Range_e concept from the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. While very efficient with a theoretical 85 miles per gallon and a 20 mile electric-only mode, the diesel engine coupled with all that battery tech would make the utility vehicles far too expensive.
Keep in mind that Tata Motors also owns Jaguar, so you can bet that any gas-electric technology used by Land Rover will also be used by the Leaping Cat.
We’re pretty excited about the prospect of highly efficient Range Rovers, but this sort of technology has a way of taking longer to get to market than automakers initially forecast. Land Rover has a bit of time before 2013 happens, though, so we’ll just have to wait and see.NBA: LeBron James is Getting into Bed with Who?
LeBron James is getting into the soccer business, aligning with the owners of the Boston Red Sox.
Fenway Sports Marketing – the sister company of the Red Sox – said Wednesday it has signed James and the management company he helped create, LRMR, to a long-term deal to secure marketing and sponsorship opportunities.
As part of the deal, James obtained a piece of Liverpool FC, one of the world’s most famed soccer teams and a longtime marquee franchise in the English Premier League.
”I can’t even explain the level of excitement that we have right now,” James’ manager and LRMR CEO Maverick Carter told The Associated Press. ”As far as my business career goes, it’s one of the most exciting times. And the opportunity for growth for us is huge. The guys at FSM understand it too and they probably see it even more than we do.”
The deal came together quickly, but Carter and James have been familiar with FSM owners John Henry and Tom Werner for some time. Their relationship was born, in part, through mutual acquaintances with Berkshire Hathaway – billionaire Warren Buffett’s company.
And that relationship between James and the Red Sox owners presents a bit of irony – after all, James is a devout Yankees fan.
”It’s strictly business. … It’s very humbling,” James said.
FSM is owned by Fenway Sports Group, the parent company of the Red Sox and Liverpool FC and a co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing. James has had involvement with NASCAR previously, albeit on a somewhat limited basis.
FSM handles the marketing for the Red Sox, Liverpool and Roush Fenway Racing, and now it will handle James, too.
”That’s the great thing about sports: It brings people together,” Carter said. ”And this is about business.”
FSM president Sam Kennedy said Wednesday that the group is not looking to get into representing individual athletes, but the chance to work with a blue-chip brand such as James was too good to pass up.
”What FSM does for Roush Fenway, Liverpool and the Red Sox, we will now do for LeBron James,” Kennedy said. ”We will aggressively pursue business opportunities for him.”
James has pursued marketing opportunities across the globe before, especially in Asia and Europe – obviously, two key markets for Liverpool as well.
James stressed that the relationship is a partnership, one brand helping another, and that LRMR’s operations aren’t being essentially taken over by FSM.
”There are very few athletes who can match his global reach, appeal and iconic status,” said Werner, the Red Sox chairman. ”We are very excited that LeBron will be part of the Liverpool FC family. LeBron and Liverpool each has a powerful presence internationally.”
The deal being announced was part of a big day for James. Wednesday also marked the formal launch of his cartoon series on YouTube, ”The LeBrons.”
There was also a basketball game – James and the Heat hosted the Milwaukee Bucks. And that was the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP’s top priority, even with all the news happening around him.
”It just felt right,” Carter said. ”It just felt like a good day for it all to happen.”
TIP OF THE DAY
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
WATS GOING ON
YESTERDAY ME AND A FRIEND OF MINE HAD A CONVERSATION I THOUGHT ID SHARE WITH YOU. WHAT HAPPENED TO BLACK PEOPLE THESE DAYS ITS LIKE , WE USED TO BE LIKE THE ORIGINATORS OF STYLE, TRENDS, AND FASHIONS. ITS LIKE NOW A DAYS YOUNG BLACK MEN ARE DRESSING LIKE WHITE KIDS DID BACK IN THE DAY, AND ITS NOT LIKE A ROCK AND ROLL THING BECAUSE WE ORIGINATED THAT, BUT ITS LIKE WE CLOWNED, WHITE GUYS FOR NOT HAVING SWAG IN THE PAST AND NOW WERE DRESSING LIKE EM GETTING TATTED LIKE EM WEARING TIGHT PANTS LIKE EM, AND IT LOOKS CRAZY. YOU CANT TELL NOW A DAYS A STRAIGHT MAN FROM A HOMOSEXUAL MAN BY ON LOOKING AT THEM. AND ITS LIKE WE ARE BEING SUCH FOLLOWERS I MEAN SINCE LIL WAYNE GOT TATTOOS ON HIS FACE ALL KINDS OF DUDES GOT EM NOW, I MEAN LIL WAYNE HAS MONEY AND DOESN'T HAVE A REGULAR JOB U CANT GET NO JOB LIKE THAT. WIZ KHALIFA GOT TATS ON HIS NECK THAT DONT MEAN U HAVE TO GET NECK TATTS TO AND PUT A BLONDE STREAK IN YOUR HAIR, COMMON PEOPLE GET YOUR SWAG UP THIS IS JUST CRAZY. THEY TOOK THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN THE WORLD,THE BLACK MAN, THAT EVERY ONE WANTS TO BE LIKE AND THAT EVERY RACE OF WOMAN LOVE. AND MADE HIM DRESS GAY AND WEAR TIGHT PANTS LIKE A WOMAN AND LOSE SOME OF HIS SWAG AND MADE HIM WANT TO BE MORE LIKE A WHITE GUY. WOW WE GOT A BLACK PRESIDENT, AND NIGGAS IS RUNNING IN LEOTARDS. WE NEED HELP PEOPLE.