and Comedian/Actor Bill Bellamy!

Sunday, November 6, 2011
MGM Grand Detroit
1777 Third Street, Detroit, MI 48226

Master of Ceremonies – Emmy Award-Winning Broadcaster Ed Gordon

Celebrity supporters of JRLA will be in attendance including: 
Bill Bellamy (Comedian/Actor) *Special Performance!
Lomas Brown (NFL All-Pro and Super Bowl Champion)
Rashied Davis (Detroit Lions WR)
Justin Durant (Detroit Lions OLB)
Howard Eisley (NBA Star and LA Clippers Assistant Coach)
Tommy Hearns (Hall of Fame Boxing Legend)
Jimmy King (Michigan Basketball “Fab Five” Legend)
Helen Phillips (NBC’s Season 7 Winner of Biggest Loser)
Stephen Tulloch (Detroit Lions Linebacker)
Ekpe Udoh (Golden State Warriors)
Perry Watson (Detroit Basketball Coaching Legend)
& more to TBA!

6:00pm – Cocktails & Silent Auction
7:00pm – Seated Dinner
7:10pm – Opening Remarks and Live Auction
8:15pm – Special Performance
8:30pm – Strolling Dessert and Dancing with Simone Vitale Band

In 2004, Jalen Rose gave a gift to the University of Michigan to endow a scholarship for an incoming freshman.  The scholarship is available to a first-year student with special consideration for students who come from the state of Michigan and reside in the inner-city.  The $10,000 scholarship completely covers the cost of in-state tuition as well as provides support for additional expenses. It is renewable for three additional years, provided the student recipient meets the eligibility requirements, which include maintaining a 3.0 GPA.

Jalen has said that his desire to establish the scholarship fund grew out of an appreciation for a University that set him on a path to succeed and his wish for other students to benefit from that same opportunity.

In order to be eligible for the Jalen Rose Endowed Scholarship in future years, students must apply for admission to the University of Michigan prior to the February 1 application deadline, and must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) no later than March 1. As noted above, this award is renewable for three years and may not be available again until the 2015-16 school year.

ESPN analyst discusses LeBron James’s playoff run and today’s  athlete’s obsession with championships over the game

by Andreas Hale Posted: June 20, 2011

Overnight, LeBron James went from hero to villain. Although the Ohio native’s decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach was met with much criticism by fans and sports critics, it was a calculated move to win a championship. James and the Miami Heat were able to make it to the NBA Finals in his first year with the team, but they still fell short of their goal.

In the wake of James’ failure to secure a championship, sports enthusiasts have begun to question the focus of today’s professional athlete. Gone are the days of teams slowly building up a competitive franchise. Now, in an effort to expedite the process, rosters are stacked with multiple All-Stars and the business of basketball seems to have trumped the sport itself.

BlackEnterprise.com sat down with former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose to discuss the League’s current “Big 3” syndrome and whether or not if LeBron James can repair his fractured image.

BlackEnterprise.com: Do you feel today’s professional athletes are more concerned with a championship as the defining moment of their career than generations past?

Jalen Rose: The NBA has become such a bottom line business where everybody is a critic…. Today, an NBA championship is how we judge our players and LeBron James is currently in the hot seat. If you don’t win a championship, people feel like your career is a failure. Players have decided to take that off the table and put themselves in a position to get a championship and silence the critics.

With Michael Jordon being regarded as arguably the best player to play the game because of his six championships, has that played a role in being the holy grail of achievement for players to achieve not just one championship but several?

Success is about realistic expectations in life. A lot of markets like the Yankees [in the MLB], and the Lakers and Celtics [in the NBA] have fans that expect them to win championships because their owners have created that expectation. But a lot of people and players feel like nobody will ever top Jordan’s six rings. He’s the only guy to have six championships and six NBA Finals MVPs in six tries. If the Heat win and Dwyane Wade gets MVP, that’s a knock against LeBron in his pursuit of Jordan. That’s how people analyze the game today and it’s unfortunate.

Do you believe that more teams will follow the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat formula and build their own “Big 3” as a way to get a ring?

This year’s Dallas Mavericks and the 2004 Detroit Pistons are the only two teams that have won without having multiple hall-of-famers playing at all-star levels. Larry Bird played with Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale. Magic Johnson never won a championship without Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Jordan didn’t win without Scottie Pippen. Shaq had Kobe and Dwyane Wade. If you want to be a dynasty, you need the parts to win multiple championships… Before Michael Jordan entered GOAT status, there used to be an argument about who was better out of him and Dominique Wilkins. Then the Bulls drafted Scottie Pippen, hired Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan’s career took off. He didn’t have to leave the Bulls, it was built in. On the other side, Shaq had to leave Orlando to get what he got in LA.

But does it soil a player’s legacy when he leaves his team to join someone else’s just to win a championship?

It doesn’t diminish it at all. LeBron could have stayed in Cleveland, put up big numbers, won another MVP and been a great Samaritan, but people would have said that he doesn’t have any championships. When you talk about the greatest players of all time, the only reason that Karl Malone and John Stockton’s name doesn’t come up is because they didn’t win a championship. Karl Malone has scored the second most points in NBA history but we’ll put Tim Duncan in front of him because he has four championships.

Do you think players are losing their patience in the game and are rushing to get a ring?

Yes, but losing patience starts with the players, the media and the organizations that don’t keep teams together. In the ’80s and ’90s you could groom a Scottie Pippen until he became a major player. You can groom a team until they had the type of chemistry and cohesion it takes to make a run. Today, your window of opportunity is smaller. They give a team two or three years and now they’re breaking them up. The Miami Heat lost this year and there are actually idiots out there saying that they need to get rid of one of the big three already. [The Chicago Bulls’] Derrick Rose won the MVP this year and in two years people are going to look at him and not care about any of his accomplishments if he has no rings. The same can be said about [The Oklahoma City Thunder’s] Kevin Durant. We’ll also have to see what happens with this collective bargaining agreement. If it starts to cost guys $15-20 million of their max deal to leave, they will be staying where they’re at.

Do you feel that we’re going to see the gap widen between the big market powerhouses like New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and the smaller markets like Minnesota, Sacramento and Golden State?

People hate when I tell the truth but the NBA has always been this way. The NBA has always been about dynasties. In the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s it was about Celtics and the Lakers. In the 90’s the Rockets and Pistons snuck a couple and the Bulls won six. Then Shaq [O’Neal] and Tim Duncan took four, Kobe Bryant was a part of five… That’s all of the rings.

In your opinion, what defines a champion?

A champion has zero to do with the score of the game and who wins at the end of the season. A champion is your love and passion for the game, your ability to sacrifice and be a good teammate, play for the right reasons and then look at the score and hope your team is ahead when it is all said and done. There are champions who don’t have rings and there are guys who really didn’t deserve the rings that they got. Look at some of the players that have rings. There are players walking around with two or three rings saying, “Hey, look at my rings!” Go pull up their stats; six points and one rebound? What that means is they were a vital part but somebody else could have filled that role.

What can LeBron James do repair his damaged image in the next NBA season?

He can’t change anyone who has a negative perception of him until he wins two championships. If [Miami] wins a championship next year, the first thing they’ll say is that he only has as many as Dirk [Nowitzki]. When we see him holding up a championship trophy in his left and in his right hand, a lot of people will bow down. But until then the sharks are going to be out. That’s unfortunate because since Michael Jordan, some of the best things to happen in the NBA are Tim Duncan, Shaq, Kobe, Allen Iverson and LeBron James. Two of them don’t have rings. Since he retired, we treat Allen Iverson like he never existed.

And he took a 76ers team that wasn’t much to the NBA Finals…

That’s what I’m trying to tell you about LeBron. He took the Cavs to the championship in his third year!

If LeBron doesn’t win a championship, does he suffer the same fate as Allen Iverson?

That’s why I gave you that example. Allen just retired two years ago. You haven’t heard his name since I just said it. When we talk about great players, his name doesn’t even come up and that’s sad. Without a ring, people will just look at his stats on a piece of paper and compare him to other players who averaged what he averaged.

The other thing that has people mad at LeBron is the fact that he decided to become more than a jock. By having a marketing firm that manages other athletes and trying to become a billion dollar athlete who can hang out with Warren Buffett and take pictures with Jay-Z, he has become a villain. People want him to shut up and play basketball. When people talk about him, what do they say? He needs to get in the gym, stop doing commercials and stop tweeting.

With all of the pressure of winning a ring and landing the biggest endorsement deal, what happens to the love of the game?

The love gets distorted when I’m LeBron James and I’m doing all of the right things. [The ESPN Special] “The Decision” was ill timed. If I’m from Ohio, I understand why people are upset with him. But everyone else takes it over the top. He’s a two time MVP, rookie of the year and has a gold medal. He’s arguably the best player in the game who took the Cavs to the finals. What does that mean to the public? Nothing! That’s what happens to the love. How can you love something that doesn’t love you back?

Full Article: http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/06/20/jalen-rose-a-ring-doesnt-make-a-champion/

What’s This?

This page, which updates daily, ranks 94 TV analysts, reporters, and hosts, defined as people who appear on highlight shows, pregame, and postgame shows to host the show, offer in-depth analysis, or report on a specific sport or topic. Metrics used include TV mentions, their show’s affiliated TV rating, online buzz, and number of twitter followers. Keep in mind that our algorithm weighs some metrics more than others. For more information on what metrics this category uses and how the rankings are calculated, see the FAQ.

JALEN ROSE – Overall Ranking #1

News Buzz #1 (984)

Blog Buzz #3 (114,000)

Twitter #3 (286,000)

Bing Search #1 (3,800,000)

To see who ranks #2 – #94, click here: http://www.sportsgrid.com/power-grid/tv-analysts-and-hosts/

6. Jalen Rose – His playing days peaked in college, but after his NBA career, Rose found a new calling as one of the best young analysts in any sport. His work with ESPN shows an insight and eloquence that one rarely sees from former players, as evidenced by his work as a contributor to the Huffington Post. Many players make the leap to announcing or analysis because they don’t know what else to do. Rose has done it because he has something to say. Strangely, I hope that he doesn’t end up anchoring a studio show, but continues his role as a participant. I like him against bigger personalities as he lets others take the spotlight as he’s content simply being right.

Others noted:

9. Steve Young – Any studio host that can get into it with Michael Irvin on the air is okay in my book. He’s eloquent, he’s smart, but he’s not that engaging. He’s extremely competent, which is high praise for a former athlete that’s foind their way into the studio, but he lacks an interactive quality that many of the goofier studio hosts have. That said, he holds down the fort well, and tempers a lot of the other personalities in the room. Case in point being Michael Irvin.

8. Charles Barkley – He’s not a “numbers guy.” Far from it, rather. But he’s smart, observant, and, above all, hilarious. He drinks a 12-pack of Heineken during the games, so if he seems a little loopier during the final segment than he did at halftime, that’s why. He says tons of inappropriate things during the program, but the rub of it is: he’s rarely wrong. EJ pulled the plug on him when he and Tracy Morgan went on a diatribe with Barkley eliciting from Morgan that Palin was “good ***censored*** material.” He drinks, he calls everyone out, he has a good sense of humor. He’s the lynchpin of the best studio team in sports.

7. Troy Aikman – When he first stepped into the booth, Aikman appeared to be something of a novelty act. To have called him “wooden” would have been an insult to trees. The guy took a long time to find his groove, his cadence, and his tone. But now that he has, he’s widely considered one of the best in the booth. He isn’t particularly funny, he sure isn’t wacky (thank God), but he is one of the most reliable guys out there. If San Diego has been running traps all day, you can count on Aikman to let you know why they’re working, and to call out when they run them later in the game. His professionalism is commensurate with many other players in the league, but his insight is far better.

5. Al Leiter – One of the smartest guys in the game, I only really see him during Fox’s playoff coverage, as I don’t watch the MLB Network’s studio show and sure as hell don’t watch YES. He walks the delicate lines between captivating and gimmicky, professional and dry, smart and condescending. There’s so much minutiae in baseball that will escape even serious fans. Leiter is able to draw on his experience and knowledge to pick it up and share it.

4. Steve Kerr – Steve Kerr went from being a situational player to an announcer to a front-office exec, back to an announcer. His time spent as President of the Suns didn’t go as planned, as he dismantled the team while failing to create a nucleus in its place. Although his stint as President didn’t work out, the Suns were able to see something in him from his time spent as an analyst. He knows the game forward and backwards. He can talk as easily about what happens off the court as what happens

3. John Kruk – While many argue that Kruk’s presence in the studio is largely that of an entertainer, I would respond by saying a) no it’s not, and b) so what if it was? Baseball, more than any other sport, is driven by statistics and situational analysis, yet the most iconic announcers, color guys, and analysts aren’t the ones that can spout off the most figures, but the ones that can tell a story and educate you in the process. Sure, Kruk comes across as more gruff than say, Peter Gammons, but he knows what he’s talking about, and his ability to bring some color to the conversation is virtually unmatched.

2. Mary Carillo – Rather than hold her to a standard of former players or female analysts, I will simply say that Mary Carillo was the best tennis analyst around and is now following the career arc of Bob Costas, participating in any sporting event where a network needs a knowledgeable, well-spoken analyst. Of course, tennis will always be her bread and butter, having been called the sport’s best analyst by no less than Sports Illustrated, but she’s gone on to anchor everything from the Olympics to the Westminster Dog Show on her talents.

1. Nick Faldo – To the untrained fan (me), it’s very hard to tell a good announcer or analyst from a bad one. Of course golf is a game of nuance, but the low whisper of the announcers and the relatively joyless delivery by so many involved leads many to believe that the characters are interchangeable. Well, Faldo differentiates himself not only with knowledge, and the credibility of actually having played, rather than just been a country club rat. He also brings *gasp* levity to golf.

totalprosports.com: http://bit.ly/lHSyRw

The way Jalen Rose (1992-94) sees it, you either ignore your roots or you do something to make those roots stronger.

Rose — the former Fab Fiver who helped the Wolverines to NCAA championship games in 1992 and 1993 — long ago chose the latter.

Headline, Nov. 18, 2010: “Ex-NBA star builds charter school”

The idea for the school — which will open this fall in a former elementary school, not far from where Rose starred at Detroit Southwestern two decades ago — came from other headlines, all of them describing the recent turmoil in the city’s educational system.

“Any time you talk about your hometown and the stories are all horror stories,” Rose says, “there definitely has to be some change. I’m just trying to be one person to help, influencing in a positive way.”

He’s been doing it a long time, even before his 13-year NBA career ended. His foundation, formed midway through his career, has made more than $1.2 million in donations since 2000, most of them focused on inner city youth.

There are the Jalen Rose college scholarships, which in eight years have helped more than 40 Detroit kids pay for college. There’s his endowed full-ride scholarship, which gives additional kids a full ride to Michigan.

There’s his “Rose Garden” — the seating section Rose sponsors at U-M home games — which has given more than 5,500 youth a chance to see big-time college basketball. There’s AAU Team Michigan, the youth tournament team he sponsors.

And then there’s the school, the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, one of four new public charter high schools in Detroit supported in part by Michigan Future, Inc.

That’s his dream, and it looks like this: top-notch facilities, including laptops for all students; a college-prep curriculum centered on themes and career opportunities in leadership, sports management and entertainment; an on-site health clinic; a student-operated credit union with financial seminars; legal support and entertainment opportunities for school families.

The expectation is that 100 percent of the academy’s students will graduate, with the vast majority going on to college.

“It’s going to be a break the mold education, man,” he says, his voice rising. “We’re going to go 232 days instead of 171. We’re going to get into life skills, urban issues, etiquette, leadership. We’re going to establish criteria of excellence and motivation. Nowadays these kids are faced with a lot. You gotta have that diploma.

“Detroit Southwestern, they did well by me,” he continues. “But at the same time, there are state-of-the-art schools in Michigan that have the best of everything that help kids enrich their lives, and I want to do that for the inner city kids.”

Asked what could possibly motivate a former athlete to get involved and stay involved with kids when so many others don’t bother, U-M men’s basketball head coach John Beilein says simply, “The word is gratitude.”

“He has a great appreciation of the opportunities that have been provided to him in high school and at U-M and he wants to give those same opportunities to others. To give back is one of the best things anyone can do when they leave the program. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen (as often as you’d like).”

Dr. Charles P. Muncatchy, the former Mount Clemens Community Schools superintendent who was chosen to develop and lead the academy, said Rose’s involvement with the project comes down to unfinished business.

“He had his wonderful career at U-M, a wonderful professional athletic career. And right now he has a wonderful career as an analyst (for ESPN). But in his heart of hearts, he wants to make a difference for kids in the heart of Detroit. He simply wants to do his part. He’s an atypical kind of man. A lot of people say this and say that, but Jalen Rose is a man of action, and he wants something very special to happen. I wish there were thousands of people who have done well in life who want to give back like he has.”

For Rose, the academy, which will begin with 120 students, and add a like number for the next three years, might be just the start.

“My dream is for the school to go to scale — more than one school, with feeder schools and eventually K-8 (kindergarten through eighth grade). We’re trying to influence as many as we can in a positive way. That’s the goal.”

As for the inevitable question about whether a high school named after a star athlete in a hoops-crazy city like Detroit will turn out to be nothing more than a basketball mill, well, there’s this.

“I was pretty shocked when I got it because I didn’t really know who he was,” says Chris Atkins, a 20-year-old University of Michigan computer science sophomore from Detroit who won a scholarship from Rose’s foundation in 2009.

“I got to take a picture with him and I posted it on Facebook and people went nuts. So that’s how I learned he’s kind of a big deal.”

Says Rose, an honor roll student in high school and a dean’s lister at U-M: “I’m more concerned about their GPA than their points per game.”

Jalen Rose, 38, played three seasons with the Wolverines, amassing 1,788 points, 478 rebounds, 401 assists and 119 steals. He was drafted 13th overall in the 1994 NBA draft and played for 13 seasons for six teams. He is currently a studio analyst for ESPN.

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022811aad.html

The two-hour film airs March 13 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN and depicts the story of Jalen Rose and his other Fab Five teammates, Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. Called by some “the greatest class ever recruited,” the five freshmen not only electrified the game, but also brought new style with their baggy shorts, black socks and brash talk.

“The Fab Five” relives the recruitment process that got all five of them to Ann Arbor, the cultural impact they made, the two runs to NCAA title game, the Webber “timeout” in the 1993 championship and the scandal that eventually tarnished their accomplishments.

Jalen Rose has always been ahead of the curve. After a brilliant college and solid professional career, Rose has succeeded in a variety of ventures, both professional and philanthropic. Currently a successful NBA analyst for ESPN, Rose reminisced about his college and pro careers, his transition into media, and a multitude of other topics.

Rose was a basketball prodigy at SouthWestern High School in Detroit and would eventually join the most singularly important recruiting class in the history of college basketball – the “Fab Five.” Rose, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson were all major recruits to Steve Fisher’s University of Michigan program. In fact, only Jackson was not a Top 10 recruit. Prior to joining Michigan, Rose was heavily recruited by UNLV. Interestingly, he watched the famous 1991 Duke-UNLV national semifinal in the basement of UNLV star shooting guard Anderson Hunt (a high school teammate). Led by Rose and Webber, Michigan would stunningly find itself in the final the following year against that same senior-laden Blue Devil team. Even Rose would admit, “Duke was just a better team, though after the UNLV game I have to admit that I was not a huge fan of the Blue Devils.” In 1993, the Wolverines would return to the national championship game against North Carolina. In a classic championship game, the Tarheels would prevail 73-71, due in part to Webber calling a timeout without any remaining. This would lead to the game-clinching technical. When asked about the game, Rose candidly admitted, “We were the better team but just weren’t hitting on all cylinders. Ray Jackson was hurt and we just weren’t hitting our open shots…but at the end of the day Donald Williams was hitting his shots and you just had to give them credit.” Without Webber, the Wolverines would make a valiant run to the Final 8 in 1994, losing to eventual championship Arkansas. Prior to the game, Rose remembered that “President Clinton (a huge Arkansas fan) was hanging out in our locker room while his team was warming up. We thought that we were the better team but these things happen.”

Though the Fab Five was only together fully for two years, its impact on college basketball has remained significant. The long, droopy shorts and black sneakers were revolutionary in their time and have remained popular ever since. In many ways, the success of the Fab Five was instrumental in the initial combination of the business and athletic sides of college sports. Rose took an immense pride in that team and it is evident to this very day. When asked whether there was a black mark for not winning a title, Rose adamantly replied “Absolutely not. Bo (Schembechler, the great Michigan football coach) never won a championship. To be perfectly honest, nobody remembers who won the national title ten years ago, but our team has a lasting legacy.” That loyalty was further reflected in his feelings about the professional careers of Jimmy King and Ray Jackson: “Both were dominant in the CBA and overseas and should have been able to play in the NBA,”; the Michigan booster allegations: “What allegedly happened with Chris (Webber) occurred in 1993 and yet it wasn’t revealed until 2002. Doesn’t that seem a bit bizarre?”; and the retirement of his #5: “I wouldn’t accept my number being retired by itself. We lived the Fab Five lifestyle but were truly unselfish. All five of our numbers should be retired on a single banner…no single player was bigger than the team. We were truly a unit.”

After foregoing his senior year at Michigan, Rose was selected with the 13th pick of the 1994 draft by the Denver Nuggets. After two years, he was traded to Indiana but would struggle until Larry Bird took over in 1998. Rose gives enormous credit to Bird, stating, “He was a visionary. The team didn’t make the playoffs under Larry Brown in his last year. In Bird’s first year, we made game 7 of the Eastern conference finals.” The Pacers, led by Rose and Reggie Miller, would also make the Eastern Conference finals in 1999 and the NBA finals in 2000. Rose won the Most Improved Player Award in 2000 and would average over 20 points for the next 4 seasons. After a solid 14-year career with 6 teams, he retired in 2007.

In summarizing his career, Rose explained that his proudest accomplishment was the opportunity to compete for a championship at every level. “Middle school, AAU, high school, college, pro…I got to compete against the best, which is what we all strive for. To me, that’s the ultimate.” On a more individual level, Rose and Reggie Miller each scored 40 points in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Philadelphia 76ers. “Larry Brown was the coach who gave me 15 DNP’s when I was first traded to Indianapolis. For all the great duo’s; Kobe and Shaq, Michael and Scottie, Magic and (James) Worthy…very rarely have two players scored 40 points in a playoff game. To accomplish this feat against a coach who benched me for much of my first season in Indiana, it meant a lot.” “I was also really proud of playing in the 2000 final and trying to defend against (Michael) Jordan in Game 7 of the 1998 Eastern Conference finals. Ironically, I played against Phil Jackson in his final Eastern Championship in Chicago and his first NBA Championship in Los Angeles…and he is still going.”

As opposed to many other college athletes, Rose valued his education at the University of Michigan. “While other people were not going to class, I was taking my classes seriously and wanted to use my education. Though I finished my degree in Business at University College at the University of Maryland, I had a minor in mass communications from Michigan and wanted to use it. When I was traded to Chicago in 2002, I left a team that had gone to 3 conference championships to a team with 9 wins in February. Phil Jackson had already left and Bill Cartwright had taken over. The rookies weren’t jelling and though I was working hard with the Bulls, I thought that I should try to get some media experience as well.“ This led to a long-term involvement with Fox’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period, a playoff analyst position at TNT, and currently a studio analyst position at ESPN. He has also made appearances on a variety of other ESPN flagship shows, including SportsCenter, First Take, and Mike and Mike in the Morning.

As an NBA analyst, Rose agreed with Lebron’s decision, though he admitted that the execution of the decision was a disaster. “Despite the fact that people said they didn’t care, over 10 million people watched. However, other than the viewership numbers, it was a debacle.” However, Rose thinks this proves that Lebron is the most unselfish superstar in professional sports. “It takes a lot to be a 2-time MVP but to play with (Dwayne) Wade who won a championship in 2006 and won the Finals MVP. Everyone is going to want to challenge his manhood. Oh…he is going from being Michael to Scottie, Batman to Robin and now he is just a sidekick. From a competitor and ego standpoint, you know you are going to have to take heat for the decision, and I applaud him for manning up to it.” When asked whether he thought that Lebron understood the ramifications of his decision, Rose replied, “He also knew the ramifications by staying in Cleveland that he would win 3 MVP’s but it still wouldn’t have mattered to the masses. You aren’t Kobe (Bryant), you aren’t MJ, your numbers are on that level but you don’t have the titles to back it up. By playing with Wade and (Chris) Bosh, you are taking the championships out of that equation. That’s what Magic did, Russell did, Isaiah did, Bird did…..play with hall of famers and that’s how you become a multiple champion.”

Rose has also ventured into the entertainment arena with appearances in movies such as Barbershop and Hoop Dreams, and music videos with such artists as Jamie Foxx, Nelly, Master P, and Ludacris. He is also a partner in Three Tier Entertainment, a multi-media production company committed to developing commercial projects for the Internet, film, and television.

In addition to all of this, Rose has won numerous awards from the NBA, The Sporting News, and BET for his philanthropic endeavors. To learn more about these charitable efforts and his newly formed charter school, please click on the following link www.jalenrose.com.

With his numerous ventures and philanthropic efforts, Jalen Rose sets a high standard for how professional athletes could best utilize their time and energies off the court. Whether you agree with his views or not, his candidness on all aspects of his career are enlightening in an era where athletes often shun such responsibility.

http://www.backsportspage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=78:seth-kamens&catid=43:beyond-athlete&Itemid=55