NBA Launched Sale of NBA All-Star 2012 Packages for Orlando
Fans, Groups, Businesses Can Get VIP Treatment through NBA Events
Special “experience” ticket and hospitality packages for February’s NBA All- Star 2012 in Orlando are available starting at www.NBA-Events.com and through QuintEvents, an Official Hospitality Provider for the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.
NBA All-Star 2012 is set for Friday, February 24 through Sunday, February 26 at The Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The weekend culminates with the 61st annual NBA All-Star Game and includes the Friday night NBA Rising Stars Challenge and NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm.
The VIP-type access was introduced successfully to the public last year at NBA All-Star 2011. The NBA Events program is unique because all tickets, hotel accommodations, hospitality, amenities and experiences (some packages include a post- All-Star game experience in which the fans get to go on the court after the All-Star Game) are purchased directly from and are available only through the NBA. This guarantees fans a secure transaction. Packages, available at several price levels, are customizable according to the needs of the buyer. Read more
Panini America New Roster of NBA-Licensed 2011-12 Trading Card Products
Panini America will celebrate the NBA’s return with a completely overhauled roster of products for the 2011-12 season engineered to appeal equally to casual fans and hardcore collectors alike.
Panini America will tip off the new NBA collecting season with a late-February hobby release of 2012 Preferred Basketball, a new high-end addition that will deliver three autographs and one six- or eight-swatch memorabilia booklet card in every pack and will retail for $200.
Preferred will be followed by the triumphant return of the venerable Hoops brand (March), a collecting landmark that ignited the basketball collecting craze with a history-making debut in 1989-90. With a $1 retail pack price, Hoops will appeal to a broad fan base and will also include autographed buybacks of original 1989-90 Hoops cards. Panini also will release a hobby-specific version of Hoops ($2 a pack and $72 a box) that will feature 29 inserts, autographed copies of original 1989-90 Hoops cards and two autographs per box. Read more
Shaquille O’Neal Announced Retirement
Real-Time Video Status Updates Turn iPhones into Media Outlets
Social media start-up Tout.com catapulted into the limelight when Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most celebrated players in the NBA, chose the company’s real-time video status update application to announce his decision to retire from the NBA to his millions of fans. Tout enables iPhone users to “in one click” capture quick 15-second video messages that are instantly pushed out to friends, family, followers — or the whole world — through Twitter, Facebook, SMS and email.
“In addition to being one of the greatest basketball players of our time, Shaquille O’Neal is one of the savviest social media influencers out there,” said Michael Downing, founder and CEO of Tout. “We were thrilled that he instantly understood the potential of Tout. Shaq now effectively has his own real-time media network through Tout, instantly updating his nearly four million Twitter followers and two million Facebook fans, determining the programming solely with his iPhone.”
O’Neal is using Tout to share real-time updates, from breaking his retirement news directly to his fans to the formal press conference scheduled for Friday, June 3. Shaq will be using Tout as his own personal media network, updating his Twitter followers and his Facebook fans directly with new and exciting developments in his life following his retirement from the NBA.
Available for free download in the Apple App Store, Tout makes it simple to capture life’s moments via an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS or iPad2 and instantly share 15-second video status updates to friends, family or the whole world through Facebook, Twitter, email, SMS and iPhone contacts. The Tout application also alerts users to new Touts, and allows them to watch real-time updates from people they “follow” and Touts that are popular that day. At Tout.com, anyone can browse the community of popular users and see their most recent updates as they Tout them. Tout will be available for Android in July.
NBA and Bacardi U.S.A. Announced Gold Standard Scholarship Program Regional Winners
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Bacardi U.S.A., Inc. announced the regional winners of the inaugural Gold Standard Scholarship Program. The twenty-four adult students (aged 21+) from culturally diverse communities will now vie for their chance to receive an additional $30,000 scholarship as four national winners will be selected by public voting beginning at www.nba.com/goldstandard.
Through the program, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) selected 24 minority students who are pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees to receive a $10,000 scholarship. Starting today, fans may go online to vote for the four students — one male and one female from each organization — to be selected as national scholarship recipients and receive an additional $30,000 in financial support. Voting will close on Monday, May 30 and the winners will be announced during a special event in Miami, Fla. in late June.
Information on the 24 Gold Standard Scholarship Program regional winners, 12 each selected by the TMCF and HSF, is available at www.nba.com/goldstandard. Read more
2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game A Social Sensation
The 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game that tipped off NBA All-Star 2011 last Friday proved to be an exciting event and is drawing rave reviews, not only by the sold-out crowd that packed the Los Angeles Convention Center, but by the record number of fans who watched on TV and fans who participated via Twitter. The viral nature of the social networking site was readily apparent as fans caught up with Bieber Fever voted musician Justin Bieber the Most Valuable Player of the BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game.
The ESPN telecast of the 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game was the most watched in the event’s history, drawing 2.3 million viewers, up 12 percent over last year’s game according to Nielsen Media Research. The game was also one of the top trending topics worldwide on Twitter leading up to and continuing throughout the game. At the conclusion of the game, the hashtag #bbvacelebgame was the #2 trending topic worldwide, trailing only “Twitter Mobile,” a promoted topic by Twitter.
Additionally, during the 2011 BBVA NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, participants including Justin Bieber, Mitch Richmond, Scottie Pippen, Nick Cannon, Jason Alexander and Jalen Rose were all top trending topics worldwide.
The East team, coached by Bill Walton (Basketball Hall of Famer), Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), and Bill Simmons (ESPN.com columnist) defeated the West team, coached by Magic Johnson (ESPN analyst, Basketball Hall of Famer), Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) and Ty Burrell (Modern Family), by a score of 54-49. Basketball Hall of Famer, Scottie Pippen, led the East team with 17 points. However, it was the 16-year old Bieber who excited the crowd with his deft dribbling abilities and solid performance including eight points, four assists and two rebounds. Following the game, Bieber was presented the MVP trophy by BBVA Compass Senior Executive Vice President and head of Retail Banking Shelaghmichael Brown. Read more