What’s The 411TV announced its list of 25 Most Interesting People of 2015, and the 21-time tennis grand slam winner, Serena Williams, along with five other sports figures made the cut.
The list of 25 leads with a tie between singer, songwriter, actor, and social activist Harry Belafonte; and social relevant photographer Steven Somerstein, who documented the 1965 Selma to Montgomery Civil Rights March. Serena Williams sits at No. 2.
The legendary tennis player won the first three tennis majors in 2015 and lost in the U.S. Open semifinals, thereby missing a calendar-year Grand Slam. Serena Williams, the world’s number one female tennis player, has 26 consecutive wins in majors.
With a spectacular career that has spanned more than 20-years, Williams took tennis lovers and aficionados on an incredible ride this past year, and we're still rooting for her.
Los Angeles Clippers Head Coach Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers comes in at No. 6 on the list because he's a sage that helped to keep the NBA intact in a moment of serious crisis.
At No. 7 is Brooklyn Nets Head Coach Lionel Hollins; he made the list for the second time. We have learned a lot more about Coach Hollins in the past year: he's a straight-shooter, instructive, and he manages the New York media.
Golden State Warriors guard and NBA MVP Stephen Curry made the list at No. 8 because, as a fierce competitor, he understands his limitations and has developed strategies to overcome them; a lesson for us all.
Los Angeles Lakers small forward Metta World Peace is No. 13; he, too, is a fierce competitor and when he's in your presence, there's never a dull moment.
At No. 14 is New York Liberty forward Swintayla Marie “Swin” Cash; she has parlayed her prolific scoring and rebounding skills into a studio analyst gig for select New York Knicks games.
In the Honorable Mention category are former NBA player and Klay Thompson’s dad, Mychal Thompson; and Brooklyn Nets rookie small forward, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Although Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson is an NBA All-Star, the elder Thompson still has no problem giving his son fatherly advice. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is currently sidelined with a broken ankle, but he is a selfless millennial who, along with his brother, bought his mother a house as soon as he signed his NBA contract.
What's The 411TV's 25 Most Interesting People of 2015 is an eclectic list of people interviewed by What's The 411TV reporters primarily as exclusives, but this year, we included a couple of group press conferences attended by our reporters. The list consists of people who have spurred a movement; those who have made an impact in their respective fields globally; iconic figures; athletes; coaches; entrepreneurs; and those making it happen behind the scenes. Domestic Violence dominated headlines in 2015, and two people, Katrina Walker and Melissa Holmes, survivors of domestic abuse, are on the list for telling their compelling stories and helping others. Ms. Walker, a mother of four children, left her abusive husband, found a job and then created 24-hour daycare centers in two states.
The Golden State Warriors came into the Barclays Center undefeated and left the same way with a 114-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Stephen Curry scored 11 of his 28 points in the final 2:10 of the third quarter, capping his points tally with five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Draymond Green added 22 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists; while Klay Thompson chipped in 21 points and three rebounds and assists respectively.
For the Nets, Thaddeus Young scored 25 points and 14 rebounds; while Brook Lopez added 18 points and eight rebounds. The Warriors shot 51.2 percent from the field compared to the Nets 43.8 percent.
“We didn’t close the quarter very well,” head coach Lionel Hollins said. “We took a couple of untimely tough shots, they came down and made 3’s. We turned the ball over a couple of times during that stretch as well. They got some energy.”
This win over the Nets gives the Warriors its 26th consecutive regular-season game win dating to April 9 and they improved to 12-0 on the road.
And, to the victors go the spoils. In this case, throngs of people were following Curry’s every move. While Curry was doing his pregame warmup, people came out of the woodwork to capture photos of Curry. With security detail at his side, Curry signed autographs for fans.
And, of course, Curry received the raucous cheers that superstars receive from the time his name was called during the pregame announcements and when shots were made.
This game was the first sellout of the season, bringing in 17,732 people.
Although the Nets lost this game, they have two consolation prizes. Thus far, they are the only team to force the Warriors into overtime, which the Nets did on November 14.
Also, with a sellout crowd, Nets and Barclays Center management can hear ca-ching!
Congratulations to the owner of American Pharoah; jockey, Victor Espinosa; and of course American Pharoah for winning the Preakness on the heels of winning the Kentucky Derby. Triple Crown madness is starting already!
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The New York Rangers needed extra time to beat the Washington Capitals, 2-1, in game 7 of the 2nd of the NHL playoffs. The Rangers have advanced to play the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Eastern Conference Championship. How good are the Rangers chances to advance to the Stanley Cup Championship round?
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According to The New York Daily News, New York Knicks president, Phil Jackson, is not happy with Isiah Thomas being named president of the New York Liberty and given a stake in the women’s professional basketball team.
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has decided to hear New England Patriots QB-Tom Brady’s appeal regarding his four-game suspension associated with deflating footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. However, the NFL Players Association says no way to Goodell’s reigning over the arbitration proceedings. What does this mean for Brady?
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NY Mets Manager Terry Collins speaks out. After suffering a four-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs, the Mets received a passionate speech by manager Terry Collins revolving around the issues the ball-club’s struggles as of late.
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Jason, as a reporter for www.Brooklynfans.com, you know that soccer is drawing huge crowds in New York, but like hockey, it is not a media darling. Give us a synopsis of the soccer picture in New York and what will it take for soccer to be a breakout star?
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The WNBA suspended Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and her wife, Tulsa Shock Forward Glory Johnson for seven games for their roles in a domestic dispute last month. WNBA president Laurel J. Richie said in a statement on the league’s website:
"WITH CONSIDERATION OF ALL THE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS MATTER, WE ARE SUSPENDING BRITTNEY GRINER AND GLORY JOHNSON EACH WITHOUT PAY FOR A PERIOD OF SEVEN REGULAR-SEASON GAMES. BRITTNEY AND GLORY'S CONDUCT IS DETRIMENTAL TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE WNBA AND VIOLATES APPLICABLE LAW."
The Cleveland Cavaliers won game 6 against the Chicago Bulls to advance to the eastern conference finals round and J.R. Smith took to Instagram to take a jab at the New York Knicks. Smith posted side-by-side pics of him and Iman Shumpert in both Knicks and Cavs gear stating:
“ONE MAN’S TRASH…..IS ANOTHER MANS TREASURE”
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The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee announced that it would recommend shortening the shot clock from 35 seconds to 30, increase the restricted area arc in front of the basket from three feet to four feet, and three other changes aimed at reducing timeouts.
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File this one under sports meets pop culture. While the Washington Wizards John Wall was sitting on the sideline during Game 4 against the Atlanta Hawks, J.R. Smith, who won the NBA fashion show during the NBA All-Star Week, took to twitter to comment on John Wall’s suit.
#JWall your suit tho! #Turrrbile #WorstThenCrCharlesDraftSuit
John Wall retorted according to Adam Mcginnis from truth about it:
"I LOVED MY OUTFIT IN GAME 4," WALL TOLD MCGINNIS. "I DON’T CARE WHAT DECISION NOBODY MAKES, I AM GOING TO BE ME. I AM GOING TO WEAR WHAT JOHN WALL IS COMFORTABLE WITH. THE ONLY SOMEBODY WHO SAID SOMETHING BECAUSE HE WON A FASHION CONTEST, ONCE."
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Springfield Gardens High School, the high school that the late New York Knicks player Anthony Mason attended, named its gymnasium “MASE COURT”, in his honor.
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And in memoriam, just two days after the death of pro golfer Calvin Peete, winner of the 1985 Players Champion, we have lost yet another pioneering African-American golfer.
African-American Golfer's Digest reports that Pete Brown, first black golfer to win on PGA tour, died on May 1st at 80-years old.
Brown was among those who blazed the trail for Calvin Peete and Tiger Woods.
Greg Alcala stated: I picked the Cleveland Cavaliers to beat the Chicago Bulls in round 2 of the NBA playoffs, but I am putting the Chicago Bulls in the Dog House for not showing up in Game 6.
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Glenn Gilliam stated that he is putting the NFL in the Dog House. According To NJ.com, The National Guard has made deals with 14 NFL teams to honor the veterans of this country from 2011 To 2014.
According to federal contracts from the Department of Defense, the National Guard spent over $5 million to teams during that time span.
U.S. Senator Jeff Flake ripped the entire practice carried out by the National Guard.
“THOSE OF US GO TO SPORTING EVENTS AND SEE THEM HONORING THE HEROES,” SAID FLAKE. “YOU GET A GOOD FEELING IN YOUR HEART. THEN TO FIND OUT THEY’RE DOING IT BECAUSE THEY’RE COMPENSATED FOR IT, IT LEAVES YOU UNDERWHELMED. IT SEEMS A LITTLE UNSEEMLY…IT JUST LEAVES A BAD TASTE IN YOUR MOUTH.”
Come cheer on KEISHER “FIRE” MCLEOD-WELLS AKA KEISHER THE BOXING DIVA, as she goes for her second professional title championship belt on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Resorts World Casino in Queens brought to you by New Legend Promotions.
Tickets can be purchased through www.KeisherMcleodWells.com or call Gleason's Gym AT (718) 797-2872 or (646) 537-5059
The French Open, held in Paris, France, IS May 24-June 7, so if you’re not booked already, it may be too late!
The 2015 NBA Draft is on June 25th.
"Be Humble".
Those were the words of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who on Monday night was awarded the 2015 NBA MVP award. Curry finished with 100 first-place votes, followed by Houston Rockets own, James Harden with 25 and Lebron James with 5.
It honestly could have gone either way, but being the best player on the best team, posting a regular season stat line of: 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists, could not be ignored, and both James and Harden have better scoring averages of 25.3 and 27.4 respectively.
Curry becomes the second Warriors season MVP since the late great Wilt Chamberlain, who won the award in 1960. And with this award you could just imagine how saddened all of the New York Knicks fans, around the world are feeling, right about now.
Curry has never done anything to us (despite lighting up the garden for a career high 54 points, Feb. 27th, 2013), the city of New York, but he was one pick away from donning the orange and blue. In that 2009 NBA Draft, Curry was selected one slot ahead of the Knicks, going seventh overall to the Warriors while the Knicks had to settle for the likes of Jordan Hill, who suits up for the Los Angeles Lakers. And there's no comparison.
At this rate, Hill is destined to be a NBA journey-man who can help a winning team, while Curry is on pace to one day look up at his jersey in the rafters when it’s all said and done. We should have seen this coming. The word humble is important because, it defined Curry's MVP award acceptance speech in addition to how he's conducted himself on and off the court and it all started with his upbringing.
Curry is the son of Dell Curry, a respected former NBA sniper. Curry followed in his father's footsteps, pursuing a career in basketball. He wasn't heavily recruited coming out of Charlotte Christian high school, rated as a three-star recruit by Rivals, and chose to play his collegiate basketball in-state, at the small college of Davidson.
There, Curry became a star.
He averaged 25.3 points during his 3-year stay, leaving Davidson as the All-time Davidson leader in points with 2,635 and the rest is history and it seems like only yesterday, James was attending Davidson games just to see what Curry would do next.
Since his arrival in Golden State, Curry has performed. He's started from day one, and six years in, Curry is one of the many faces of the NBA. He's a 2-time NBA All-star in counting, with two Olympic Gold Medals and it just seems as though the awards will continue to over-flow Curry's shelves into the immediate future.
Like this one. It's the highest individual award in sports, and upon receiving it, Curry paid homage to his teammates, his family and most importantly, his old man.
Curry gave insight into what it was like being the son of an NBA player, saying that it wasn't easy, but he was proud of what he was able to do in his career and that following in his footsteps meant a lot to him.
In his honor, Curry wears No. 30; the number his dad wore during his career.
The word humble is important here because, with his achievements, Curry hasn't taken anything for granted and unlike pre-collegiate career, people are finally taking notice of, without a doubt the best shooter in the NBA.
He's a spokesperson for degree.
He's got his own shoe with Under Armour and he's the other half of the "Splash Brothers", along with teammate, Klay Thompson.
There's no more denying Curry's greatness and the best is yet to come for the former Wildcat who is expected to lead his team to the NBA Finals this year.
In closing his speech, Curry left the crowd with words that resonate.
"Make sure you live in the moment, and work your butt off every single day. I hope I inspire people all around the world to just be themselves, be humble and be grateful for all the blessings in your life, and I'm truly honored to be your MVP this year, thank you very much."