By David Jacoby on January 30, 2012 4:59 PM ET
Jalen and I decided that the Super Bowl is boring. Not, like, the game. We mean the lead-up to the game. Gronkowski is going to play, Eli is “elite,” and Bill Belichick is a great coach. Ho-freaking-hum. So instead of going over tired Super Bowl storylines, we dove right into the exciting NBA season. We talked about the Heat and how their depth is going to win them the East. We talked about how close the West was. We talked about Kobe and the Lakers’ trouble on the road. And we talked about Dwight Howard because you really can’t say anything about the NBA without talking about Dwight Howard. We tried.

Oh yeah, we also talked about the Souper Bowl, which I am way more excited about than the Super Bowl.

Listen to Monday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

By David Jacoby on January 25, 2012 5:58 PM ET
Jalen Rose stole Patrick Ewing’s television. For real. Patrick Ewing fouled Jalen, it wasn’t called, and then Jalen exacted his revenge by stealing the man’s television. Not just any old television, a television-VCR combination. These are the types of stories that Jalen drops week after week that make recording this podcast so much fun.

Aside from Jalen’s criminal history, we also discussed the Super Bowl, the hot topics around the NBA, and the recent photos of Rihanna that have been all over the Internet. Have a listen.

Listen to Wednesday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Monday, January 9, 2012 8:12 PM David Jacoby
Jalen came through this week and we couldn’t help but talk a bunch of football after the weekend we just had. We covered his Lions losing to the Saints, Tebow Tebowing the Steelers and New York’s domination of Atlanta. We would have talked about the Bengals and the Texans, but that game was so long ago and so boring, we just decided to skip over it.

We turned our attention to the NBA a few times, including the discussion featured above, in which Jalen detailed an NBA veteran’s pre-game preparation ritual. It rivals something a lady would go through on her wedding day. Who naps that much? Is there a nap room in Staples Center? Why don’t NBA players put bubbles in their bubble bath? Are they too tough for bubbles? Who is too tough for bubbles?

Oh yeah, and we both agree: Blue Ivy Carter is a silly name.

Listen to Monday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Monday, January 2, 2012 9:32 PM David Jacoby

We are giving the people what they want on a new day. Moving forward, you can find The Jalen Rose Show here on Mondays. This week, we said “What holiday?” and taped a podcast today. Jalen gave his impression of the start of the NBA season, his advice to the Indianapolis Colts franchise, and his picks for the wild card NFL weekend. His weekly mind-blowing story from his playing days was also fantastic, as always.

Enjoy, and remember we will be posting the Jalen Rose pod every Monday.

Listen to Monday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, December 16, 2011 3:46 PM David Jacoby

“Got to give the people / Give the people what they waaaaaaaaaaaant.”

Jalen was in the studio for the pod, which means we recorded it about 100 yards from Chris Paul’s new arena. We spent a ton of time breaking down what Paul’s arrival in Los Angeles means for the Clippers, the Lakers, and NBA fans. When we moved on to discuss Dwight Howard, Jalen did that thing he does where he casually drops inside information in the middle of a conversation. According to Jalen, a couple of weeks ago, Howard was saying his move to the Nets was a done deal.

Jalen was also really entertaining and informative when we discussed the rest of the major topics in the NBA, the current issues with his Lions and the rest of the NFL, and what it feels like to be a professional athlete heading into a new season. However, Jalen had nothing when I asked him to make a bold prediction for 2012. Nobody is perfect.

Enjoy.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, December 9, 2011 3:33 PM David Jacoby
Chaos, just chaos all over the NBA. Good thing we have Jalen Rose to make sense of it all. Not just the Chris Paul deal — pretty much everything.

According to Jalen, Chris Paul will, in fact, be on the Lakers on Christmas Day, the Heat will win the NBA championship, the Lions will get the wild card, the Packers and Patriots will meet in the Super Bowl, charter schools are the future of urban education and the insurance industry in America needs to change. Oh yeah, and the new Friday movie is going to be great. We covered a lot of ground, hope you enjoy the pod.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, December 2, 2011 2:30 PM David Jacoby
“Got to give the people / Give the people what they waaaaaaaaaaaant.”

Confession time: I have no idea what song that is from, or who sings it, or what it even sounds like. As far as I know, Jalen made it up when we taped our first podcast weeks ago. Here is what I do know: It makes me happy, because it marks the start of the weekly journey that is the Jalen Rose podcast.

This week we rocked out with our lockout. Now that it is over, we could really dig deep into free agency, rumors, and whether Jalen has a fresh crop of suits to wear on ESPN. Jalen also broke down why he thinks players should have the option to go directly from high school to the pros, why Ndamukong Suh stomped on people, and why Tim Tebow may not be the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL.

If nothing else, have listen to hear what Jalen would tell Kris Humphries if he were in the Nets locker room.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:
ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, November 18, 2011 3:26 PM David Jacoby
Jalen and I don’t agree a lot of the time. He isn’t convinced (as I am) that Timothy Richard Tebow is the greatest quarterback in the history of the National Football League. Weird. He also isn’t convinced that the Lions are a dirty team. Odd. We did agree that the saying “Nothing good happens after 2 a.m.” isn’t 100 percent correct.

As always, Jalen casually drops mind-blowing stories. This week, he detailed negotiating the sale of his Las Vegas home to none other than Iron Mike Tyson. It was easily the most fun we’ve had recording the pod. Enjoy.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:

ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, November 11, 2011 3:24 PM David Jacoby
Jalen joined the pod from Vegas where he is covering the Pacquiao-Marquez fight. We discuss his thoughts on the fight, what it’s like to go to a big fight in Vegas, and the surprisingly solid undercard. Jalen then discusses the current NBA lockout and reminds us that in the 1998-99 lockout, a deal wasn’t reached until mid-January and there was still a season. We then went on to hit the major (non-Penn State) topics of the day — Michael Jordan (Jalen compares him to God), Jets-Pats (Jalen says Jets), Shaq calling out Kareem (“blasphemy”), Albert Haynesworth (no good for the Bucs), and the recovery of Shaun Bradley’s bicycle (Jalen tells the tale of Webber dunking on Bradley in high school) and much more.

My favorite part of the pod was when Jalen tried to defend his draft day suit. As you can see above, it is a horrendous, red, double-breasted, pinstripe number that even Bishop Don Magic Juan couldn’t pull off. Check back every Friday for more of Jalen Rose, and throughout the week for new Grantland Network podcasts.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:

ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, November 4, 2011 4:25 PM David Jacoby
I knew Jalen before he asked me to do this pod with him but I did not know how much he knew. You can talk football, baseball, basketball, Kardashian, and Pacquiao with him and he is an expert on all aspects. Okay, maybe not Kardashian but I guess that is what I am there for.

One sport that I had no idea Jalen was so well versed on is boxing. He was very knowledgeable and interested in the Manny Pacquiao Juan Manuel Marquez fight. I was very knowledgeable and interested in the Lenny Dykstra/Jose Canseco “fight”. Jalen will also casually break out a story every podcast that will make your jaw drop. This week he recounts the time that Shaquille O’Neal mushed Kobe during a five on five game. He wasn’t there but he has “100,000 credible sources” that corroborate the story.

We also touched on Ndamukong Suh’s meeting with Goodell, pleaded for Peyton Manning to stay on the sideline, were dragged into talking Tim Tebow and Kim Kardashian (apologize in advance) and covered the cricket scandal, you won’t get in depth cricket coverage on Mike and Mike.

Enjoy the Jalen Rose pod, they honestly get better every week.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:

ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, October 28, 2011 3:55 PM David JacobyJalen Rose came back for Week 2 of the Jalen Rose Show. We would definitely have to retitle the podcast if he didn’t.

Athletes never realize how cool their stories are. In Friday’s podcast, Jalen nonchalantly talks about how NBA athletes don’t actually have tons of groupies at their hotels, mentions that Mike D’Antoni doesn’t coach defense, and describes Charles Oakley smacking Charles Barkley during the 1998–99 lockout. He thinks Charles Oakley open-hand smacking Charles Barkley is no big deal. He is very wrong.

We also argued over Tim “greatest quarterback in NFL history” Tebow, talked about why ladies with a love of the spotlight date NBA players, and determined that the Hawks get at least six or seven wins a season simply because Atlanta is a fun town. Over the course of the pod, we broke into song three or four times. I know that last one is weird, but so is the Jalen Rose Podcast. Good weird.

Enjoy.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:

ESPN.com Podcenter

Posted Friday, October 21, 2011 4:14 PM David Jacoby
So I get a call from an unfamiliar area code. “Hey, it’s Jalen,” says the caller. “I wanted to talk to you about doing a podcast.” Next thing you know, Jalen Rose is in the Grantland studio at L.A. Live, telling me what it is like playing for Larry Bird, how he slowed down Michael Jordan and that he has been benched on every team that he played for. It was shocking how much Jalen Rose knows NBA basketball, and how willing he was air it all out. I felt like my sole purpose for being across the table from him was to keep him from saying something that would get us both fired. It was not easy.

There are still some kinks to work out, but the foundation of chemistry, drastically different viewpoints and unforced enjoyment is already in place. Check back into the Grantland Network for more Jalen and other new projects as we continue to expand the roster.

Listen to Friday’s podcast here:

ESPN.com Podcenter

Jalen Rose is no slouch.

Last Saturday he was in California calling the Long Beach State-Santa Barbara college basketball game for ESPN.

He watched Sunday’s big NFL conference games and then caught a redeye flight back to Detroit, arriving in town at 6 a.m. Monday.

The day was packed with meetings at his fledgling Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a Detroit charter high school that provides free tuition to students.

And now, following in the footsteps of one of his mentors, Dave Bing, he is considering a new gig.

“Maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, ‘Mayor of Detroit’ might be a title I carry one day,” Rose, 38, said Tuesday.

A photo of Bing at the academy’s ribbon-cutting sits on a shelf in Rose’s office.

“I’ve known Jalen since birth,” said Bing, who played for the Detroit Pistons with Rose’s father, Jimmy Walker. “Not only was he an outstanding basketball player, but he’s an outstanding humanitarian who made it out of the ’hood, but never left.

“I support him wholeheartedly and wish him the best of luck,” Bing said, adding Rose has invested his own time and money in helping to improve the lives of those around him. “Those kids in his school are the recipients of his good nature.”

Rose didn’t elaborate about his political aspirations, but the idea of him being mayor doesn’t sound that far-fetched once you dig into his history.

A Detroit native, Rose was a star at an early age, an All-American basketball player from Southwestern High School, according to Rose’s website, www.jalenrose.com. At the University of Michigan he was part of the legendary “Fab Five,” where he and teammates Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson changed the sport on the court and off by wearing baggy uniform shorts, black socks and black shoes.

The only team in Final Four history to ever start five freshmen, they led the Wolverines to back-to-back NCAA Championship game appearances. In 1994, Rose was drafted in the first round by the Denver Nuggets. According to Rose’s website, his most memorable NBA moments during his 13-year career included winning the NBA’s “Most Improved Player” and “Player of the Week” awards in 2000 and “Eastern Conference Player of the Week” accolades in 2005. As a member of the Indiana Pacers, his team appeared in three straight Eastern Conference finals including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2000.

The 6-foot-8 Rose left the NBA for TV in 2001, becoming a reporter and on-air personality for Fox Sports Net’s famed “Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

A mass communications major at U of M who ultimately earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland University College, Rose is now an ESPN/ABC sports analyst.

In 2007 he started his own production and management company, and in 2011 served as executive producer on the memorable “The Fab Five,” ESPN’s highest rated documentary. He has two daughters who live in Georgia.

School open six months

But around this area, it’s the academy — a former elementary school in a neighborhood east of the Lodge Freeway and just south of 8 Mile in Detroit —that keeps him busy.

Right now the school has 120 ninth graders — 48 girls and 72 boys, including three students from Oakland County — who were chosen by lottery.

Rose plans to add another grade each year until the school has 480 students in ninth through twelfth grades.

Even with his frantic schedule, Rose says he has only missed one monthly board meeting since the academy opened its doors last September.

Rose, an Oakland County resident, raised $2 million to buy the school building and bring it up to code, and is working to raise another $5 million to expand the school so it can hold more students.

The school sits on a good-sized lot near a neighborhood. Inside, students work on laptops and attend school from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They will have a longer school year — 211 days.

“We’re trying to compete in an international global economy,” said Rose, noting children in Thailand and China attend school more than 230 days a year.

Only 6 percent of the students came to the academy ready for ninth grade math, teachers said. The majority are reading between a fifth and seventh grade level.

The academy keeps the student-to-teacher ratio in classes at 20-to-1. In math and English, it’s 10-to-1.

“They need that extra time and boost to help them catch up,” he said.

Ninth grader Brandon Lundy of Detroit — who wants one day to be a registered nurse, then a doctor — said he likes how staff “give you a chance. Some schools give you a grade and that’s it. Here you get a second chance. Some people learn at different paces. Teachers are really good at helping students.”

All the students wear blue blazers and white shirts. Boys wear ties.

“Uniforms are very important to create a culture where (students) can focus on learning, not on what kind of new gym shoes they have,” said Rose.

“You dress how you look, and the students look good.”

When administrators went out looking for teachers, Pam English, vice president of academics, said they wanted innovative instructors who would “think outside the box.”

Teaching, said Rose, means investing time, energy and caring.

If you are just coasting in the classroom, “kids will see right through it,” said Rose.

“It’s almost like being a coach. Some players need a kick in the butt and others need a pat on the back. It’s my job is to find which button to push with administrators and students.”

Barbara Smith, the academy’s school improvement director, said students earn As, Bs or “Incompletes.”

Smith and Rose shared how several students ran up to Rose this week showing off their report cards. Some of them had “Incompletes,” and Rose asked them what they were doing about it.

“They knew exactly what they had to do,” said Smith.

At the academy, they are not just being given a lower grade with no accountability.

“When charter kids get to college, that’s when many drop out because they look around and their confidence is low,” she said.

Jalen Rose Leadership students will have to do the work to get the higher grades, she said.

In March, students will take their first major tests to judge how they are doing.

“The goal is college,” said Rose.

Smith and Rose appear happy with the progress so far.

“The kids speak for themselves,” said Smith.

“I’m not Bill Gates”

Rose has to think for a minute if there is any photograph of him displayed at the school that bares his name.

“Yes, on the wall with the rest of the board members,” he said.

Rose sits at his desk in a small office. Over in a corner a cooler packed with bottled water hums.

Talking about his motivation for starting the school, he said, “I never wanted to be considered a dumb jock. In high school I made the honor roll, in college I made the dean’s list. I graduated from college.”

Rose speaks of wanting to give back to his hometown.

“Say Detroit when you’re out of town, unfortunately, and a lot of times the first thing that comes out of someone’s mouth, especially someone who has never been here, is negative,” he said.

“If we don’t educate our youth, how can we grow the fortunes of our great city?

“So many parents, educators, individuals are trying to turn around Detroit, I just want to be one of the people doing my part.”

Rose talks of people being able to send their children to great public and private schools.

“It all boils down to money,” he said.

“Adults know what I mean. If you have the means and responsibility, you move to a better school district.”

Besides keeping up on the academy’s operations, he spends much of his time raising money to keep the school going, he said.

“I have to build the brand,” he said, “using every resource to create donors, internships (for the students). I’m looking for mentors.”

Rose is dismayed that governments spend an average of $37,000 annually on prisoners but only $7,000 on students.

He praises his friends, former Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas, former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer and Dave Bing, for helping raise money for the school.

He said Jeep and Chrysler have offered to provide $100,000 in scholarships.

“I’m not Bill Gates, I don’t have a blank check, this is all pro bono,” Rose said.

“We have lot of legwork we are doing,” he said, “trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“I’m doing whatever I can to make this thing succeed.”

Contact Carol Hopkins at 248-745-4645 or carol.hopkins@oakpress.com. Follow her on Twitter @waterfordreport or on Facebook @OPcarolhopkins.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2012/01/25/news/local_news/doc4f2098bebeb60845375144.txt

Jalen interviews boxing great Mike Tyson after the Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez fight.

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

Jalen discusses his love for boxing, whether Manny Pacquiao is the greatest in the game, and why it’s important for professional athletes to give back to their community.

Jalen Rose discusses the innovative approach to education utilized by his charter school in the Detroit area -- the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy.