Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and dribbling phenom Noah Cutler. Photo Credit: NBA.com

Noah Cutler chats with Scoop B Radio’s Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about Steph Curry, Isiah Thomas and more on Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below to Listen! 

Remember Baby Birdman, Noah Cutler? A couple of years ago, the then-10 year old kid from Virginia showcased his crazy basketball dribbling skills via Instagram.

His crazy handles got the attention of Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry and as a result, Cutler was invited to a Warriors home game where he dribbled on the court pre-game aside the 2-time NBA Champion. 

“Meeting Steph Curry,  that’s a once in a lifetime thing,” Noah Cutler told me on Scoop B Radio.  “It was crazy and being able to go on the floor and dribble and warm up that was crazy.”

Cutler plays AAU basketball and is home schooled. When queried about some of the great guards that came before him, he’s hip and educated. He gushed about NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. He also added others to his list: “Muggsy Bogues with him being so small,” said Cutler.

“Watching old videos and the same thing with Steve Nash.” 

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Scoop B: Baby Birdman, Noah Cutler says meeting Warriors’ Steph Curry was a ‘once in a lifetime thing’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Sports and entertainment journalist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Photo Credit: Eric Salvary/Get Fit Radio

RESPECT Magazine columnist Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson chatted about the NBA on the Bud and The Manchild Show on Syracuse, New York’s The Score 1260 AM. Press Play Below To Listen!

Happy early-Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for during the early parts of the NBA season.

Despite losing Gordon Heyward to a season ending injury, the Boston Celtics are living their best life under the scoring machine of the masked man, Kyrie Irving.

Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics ditched his protective mask in the second half and led his team to a win over the Golden State Warriors. Credit Maddie Meyer/Getty Imageshe Boston Celtics living their best life under the scoring machine that is Kyrie Irving and winning 15 straight games.

The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs are playing inspired basketball in the NBA’s Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers are going through growing pains in their respective conferences.

They’re all just  trusting the process!

Check Out Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson disuss the Philadelphia 76ers on CNN.

Did you know that LeBron James is the King of New York?

You’re welcome.. ?of NY #myfavoriteplayground #striveforgreatness?

A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Nov 14, 2017 at 7:26am PST

For those tardy to the party, LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ train ride coupled with James’ declaration was inspired by a scene in the King of New York movie.

Hip hop artists have often used this movie as a muse in their music videos. Add Fat Joe’s “So Much More” and Fabolous “Lituation”to that list.

While on the show the crew and I also discussed Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as his former New York Knicks team.

Check out the recap of the chat from Inside The Loudhouse’s Paul A. Esden. 

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Scoop B: Kyrie’s Celtics & the Cavs’ LeBron James being the King of NY has given us a lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

OAKLAND, CA – OCTOBER 17: The Golden State Warriors display their 2017 NBA Championship rings prior to their NBA game against the Houston Rockets at ORACLE Arena on October 17, 2017 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Celebrity jeweler Jason Arasheben appeared on Scoop B Radio and checked in with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Arasheben discussed designing the Golden State Warriors’ championship rings. Press Play Below To Listen!

Golden State Warriors 2017 NBA Finals championship ring desgined by Jason of Beverly Hills. Photo Courtesy of: Jason of Beverly Hills

Last night at Oracle Arena, the Golden State Warriors were presented with their 2017 NBA Championship rings that were designed by celebrity jeweler Jason Arasheben, owner of Jason of Beverly Hills

The Los Angeles-based jeweler has worked with any and everyone from the late Michael Jackson, to music’s Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Lil Jon. He’s also worked Warriors arch rival and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and the Saudi Royal family.

Arasheben designed the Warriors’ rings after their first title win in 2015.He had the pleasure and pressure of designing this year’s rings too. “With the 2017 Warriors ring, the players and management have a lot input,” Jason of Beverly Hills’ Jason Arasheben told me on Scoop B Radio.

“Listen, I have a bunch of guys on the team that are personal friends and clients of mine like Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala  and Klay Thompson. So naturally, I reached out to the players and tried to get their ideas and their thoughts on what they would want in a ring. And you can imagine their opinions where all across the board and there was definitely a divide between management wants and what players want and it is kind of up to me to design a ring that is going to satisfy everyone.”

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. Photo Courtesy of: Sporting News

So how did that turn out?

“Not everyone is going to be happy obviously,” he said. “But I think all in all we definitely created a ring that everyone is going to love. Listen are some players more boisterous than others? Absolutely!”

According to Arasheben, Warriors forward Draymond Green was the loudest influencer in the room.

”Draymond Green voiced his opinion on more than one occasion and let me know what he wants in the ring and what he doesn’t want in the ring,” Jason Arasheben said on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.

“He wants me to build it, so we spent a couple of nights together with Draymond just going over design and stuff like that, so he was very very involved.”

Added Jason of Beverly Hills:  

“Other players like Klay [Thompson] and Steph [Curry] said: ‘You know what? We trust you guys, we know that you are going to come out with something spectacular.’”

Suggested Articles: 

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Scoop B: Celebrity Jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills says Warriors’ Draymond Green ‘voiced his opinion’ on Golden State’s Championship ring design appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson and Steph Curry posing with championship rings in 2015. Photo Credit: CSN

Celebrity jeweler Jason Arasheben appeared on Scoop B Radio and checked in with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson. Arasheben discussed designing the Golden State Warriors’ championship rings. Press Play Below To Listen!

The Golden State Warriors are champions of basketball after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals this past June.

Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr may not be visiting U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House to celebrate their momentous occasion, but the team will be honored by the NBA with championship rings before taking on the Houston Rockets during opening night on Tuesday October 17.

Los Angeles-based jeweler Jason Arasheben designed the Warriors’ rings after their first title win in 2015.

The celebrity jeweler and owner owner of Jason of Beverly Hills has worked with any and everyone from the late Michael Jackson, to music’s Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Lil Jon. He’s also worked Warriors arch rival and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and the Saudi Royal family. After the Warriors title win this year, Jason of Beverly Hills is at it again and charged with the task of replicating what he started in 2015. 

In a Q & A with me on Scoop B Radio, Jason Arasheben discussed the process of designing the team’s ring and the input he received from Warriors players Draymond Green, Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala.

Golden State Warriors’ 2015 championship ring designed by Jason Arasheben and Jason of Beverly Hills. Photo Courtesy of PR Newswire

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Jason the Warriors second championship in three years and you define something pretty stylish back in 2014 I thought it was a sleek look what was the inspiration for the first championship ring back in 2015?

Jason Arasheben: Well when we did the ring back in 2015, we really wanted to change the game. I wanted to come out with something that didn’t look like all the rings that came out by our predecessor. I mean, every ring has had that traditional look with lots of verbiage on the front and letters and it let like the industry as a whole got stale. Listen we have over two hundred NBA players that are currently playing, personal clients of ours and we know what the players want and we know what the players like and we wanted to find a ring for the players [that they] actually like. So we wanted to come out with something in 2015 that was sleek and minimalist and that is exactly what we did.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: So the Warriors weren’t the first championship ring that you designed.What other rings did you design?

Jason Arasheben: We did the 2009 Lakers championship ring, we did the 2010 Lakers Championship ring, we also did the World Series of Poker bracelets. We did the Chelsea soccer club in the UK, so we have had some success doing championship rings and this is the fourth NBA championship ring we have done in nine years.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: What hints can you give us about the ring that drops this season when the Golden State Warriors are crowned champions?

Luxury jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills celebrated the recent grand opening of its Miami store in the Design District. Photo Credit: World Red Eye

Jason Arasheben: Listen, I obviously because we have an embargo on details on the rings as far as the look and the design and everything, I can’t say a lot. You are going to have to leave it up to the imagination it will be released Tuesday night the 17th for the world to see. But let’s just put it this way: of all my rings I feel like we topped them all.  This is something that is truly spectacular this is something that will go down in the history books in more ways than one. This is by far the best sports championship ring ever created in history across all four major sports.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: And there is no similarity between the 2015 ring and the 2017 ring?

Jason Arasheben: Listen, you know every team has their own ideology on how they want to design the ring and the Warriors wanted to keep in line with the brand and the look of the 2015 ring. But they wanted to take it a step further and that is exactly what we did. The ring kind of has a similar look to that of 2015, but when you take a look at it, you will notice an immediate difference. There is a difference but it maintained a similar look and style of the 2015 ring just significantly upgraded.

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Here is a direct question: how much input did any of the players or management have in the design of the ring?

Jason Arasheben: With the 2017 Warriors ring, the players and management have a lot input. Listen, I have a bunch of guys on the team that are personal friends and clients of mine like Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala  and Klay Thompson. So naturally, I reached out to the players and tried to get their ideas and their thoughts on what they would want in a ring. And you can imagine their opinions where all across the board and there was definitely a divide between management wants and what players want and it is kind of up to me to design a ring that is going to satisfy everyone. Not everyone is going to be happy obviously, but I think all in all we definitely created a ring that everyone is going to love. Listen are some players more boisterous than others? Absolutely! Draymond Green voiced his opinion on more than one occasion and let me know what he wants in the ring and what he doesn’t want in the ring. He wants me to build it, so we spent a couple of nights together with Draymond just going over design and stuff like that, so he was very very involved. Other players like Klay and Steph [Curry] said: ‘You know what? We trust you guys, we know that you are going to come out with something spectacular.’

Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant accepting 2017 MVP award. Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson: Last question. 93 percent of NBA GMs predicted or picked that the Golden State Warriors will repeat as champions. This time next year, would you be excited to design another ring for the Golden State Warriors?

Jason Arasheben: Absolutely. I would be super pumped to do that. Listen, they are heavy, heavy favorites. Here the west is stacked. The Warriors are bringing back everybody and still added Swaggy P and a few other guys. I think right now, it is tough to think any team winning the championship outside the Warriors. Listen, I love what they are doing in Houston, but they aren’t the king. The Warriors are still the Kings. They are still sitting on top of the mountain and somebody needs to dethrone them in order for them to come down. I just don’t see it happening.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Warriors’ Championship Ring Designer, Jason Arasheben Says Golden State’s ’17 ring is ‘best sports championship ring ever created in history’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

NBA analyst Charles Barkley and U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo Credit: Bodybuilding.com

NBA player turned sports analysts and budding political pundit Charles Barkley has been pretty consistent when it comes to assessing the job of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Appearing as a guest at the desk of CBS’s NFL Today show, earlier on Sunday, the Round Mound of Rebound weighed in on President Trump’s criticism of NFL Players kneeling during the playing of the U.S. National Anthem and taking back the White House’s invitation to the NBA’s World Champion Golden State Warriors.

“The president of the United States should never use the word SOB,” Barkley said referencing President Trump’s subliminal reference to embattled NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick during a Friday rally in Alabama.

For the record, Alabama is Barkley’s home state.

“That’s just 100 percent inappropriate. I’m embarrassed because he said the speech in Alabama and got a rousing reception when he said those things. So it hurts me that those ignorant folks in Alabama would applaud something so stupid.”  

Video: On @NFLonCBS #CharlesBarkley: “Hurts me that those ignorant folks in Alabama would applaud something so stupid” #NationalAnthem #TTT pic.twitter.com/lKPd5L7hj4

— Brent Baker (@BrentHBaker) September 24, 2017

Barkley admittedly has been anti-Trump from the start dating back to the President’s ‘locker room talk’ controversy before winning last year’s election. A tape from 2005 emerged of Trump boasting to former NBC correspondent Billy Bush that being famous allowed him to ‘do anything’ to women, including grabbing “them by the pu**y.”

“It’s never appropriate to touch a woman, or grab a woman,” Barkley told me last fall.

“I have a daughter too. It’s never appropriate to sexually assault or harass a woman, ever!

Check Out Charles Barkley & Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson’s Discussion On President Trump on Scoop B Radio

“I’m gonna try to do everything in my power to support the President because he’s the President of The United States,” Barkley told me on Scoop B Radio in April.

“I mean we got to get behind him, he’s done some things already that I don’t like. I’m against the Muslim ban, I’m against the immigration deportation, he’s got to stop trying to paint everybody with a broad brush. I mean, it’s just wrong. Most of these Muslim people here are amazing, hard-working people same thing with these illegal immigrants, they’re here, they’re hard working people. I think most people don’t want gangsters here, people don’t want terrorists here we all understand that, but people have to be able to be treated with respect and dignity.”

Barkley’s thought process is pretty much aligned with the growing list of athletes who have been vocal about President Trump over the weekend. That list includes the Golden State Warriors Draymond Green, Houston Rockets’ Chris Paul, retired NBA player Kobe Bryant and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James who on Saturday called President Trump a ‘bum’ via twitter. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich have been vocal about President Trump as well.

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Scoop B: Charles Barkley’s Criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump Has Been Fair & Balanced appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry and U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo Credit: ABC7

During the Golden State Warriors’ media day Warriors point guard Steph Curry was asked whether he and his team would visit the White House to celebrate winning their 2017 NBA Championship with current U.S. President Donald Trump.

Curry was adamant in expressing his disinterest in visiting the White House:

“I don’t want to go,” said Curry . “That’s kind of the nucleus of my belief…(But) it’s not just me going to the White House. If it was, this would be a pretty short conversation.”

When pressed further the Warriors All Star stated:

“We don’t stand for basically what our President has – the things that he’s said and the things that he hasn’t said in the right times, that we won’t stand for it,” Curry said. “And by acting and not going, hopefully that will inspire some change when it comes to what we tolerate in this country and what is accepted and what we turn a blind eye to. It’s not just the act of not going there. There are things you have to do on the back end to actually push that message into motion.”

Well, this morning President Trump let Curry know via Twitter that he wasn’t invited:

 “Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!”

Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is hesitating,therefore invitation is withdrawn!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2017

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James ran to Curry’s aide stating: ‘U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain’t going! So therefore ain’t no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!’

LeBron James responds to President Donald Trump’s tweets about Steph Curry

ESPN Sports Center anchor Jemele Hill who recently faced ridicule for her stance via social media on the President weighed in herself in a series of tweets.

ESPN anchor Jemele Hill weighs in on Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Retired NBA player Craig Hodges weighed in on the Warriors’ decision on Scoop B Radio. Hodges was blackballed by the NBA after he handed a letter to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush during the Bulls’ championship visit to the White House. The contents of the letter, according to Hodges made President Bush aware of  the mistreatment of poor people and people of color in the United States.

“When I look at what the Warriors have decided to do, I guess not to go and because of Trump, I am somewhat dismayed,”  Craig Hodges told me on Scoop B Radio.     

“I feel like every American should get a chance to go to the White House. Because this is what you pay taxes for. You know, so you get a chance to see it and at the same time, I feel like it is a chance for you to go and air your grievances with the top man.”

Check out Craig Hodges Chat With Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson On The Warriors, Colin Kaepernick and more on Scoop B Radio.

 

Added Hodges:

“So I think there is a couple ways to be handling and you know, everyone has to do it their own personal way, but I feel like it is not an opportunity for every citizen of this country to get to do it and as a champion, it is something special to do. But at the same time I can understand the political slam as far as not going.”

Steph Curry is hardly the first member of the Warriors to voice his displeasure with President Trump and his administration. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has been vocal as is Curry’s teammate Kevin Durant. When asked whether he’d visit the White House, Durant stated his claim also.   “I don’t respect who’s in office right now,” Durant told the press over the summer.

“I don’t agree with what he agrees with, so my voice is going to be heard by not doing that. That’s just me personally, but if I know my guys well enough, they’ll all agree with me.”

Curry nor Durant are the first athletes to elect not to visit the White House.

Former New England Patriot Martellus Bennett and even Tom Brady were noticeably missing in D.C. when the Patriots stopped by the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win.

In the past, NBA Hall of Famer and current Charlotte Hornets owner, Michael Jordan skipped the ritual in 1991 when George H.W. Bush was president. It’s been said that after the Chicago Bulls won their first championship, Jordan said: ‘F*** Bush I didn’t vote for him.’

Craig Hodges and Michael Jordan. Photo Courtesy of The Odyssey Online

“See that’s the part that MJ understood,” said Craig Hodges, Jordan’s former teammate in Chicago.

“You know, MJ is not publicly political but he can handle his affairs where he can make a political statement and when he didn’t come to the White House, it was a statement. But once again, there was no push back from any of his sponsors or any of that because he is who he is and he is the golden goose for a lot of marketers and endorsement companies. So it’s not a surprise that it didn’t come back. But I understood where he was coming from and that Bush wasn’t his homie but when Clinton was in office he hung out with Clinton and golfed with him so that let them know.”

The post Craig Hodges on Warriors Visiting Trump White House: “I can understand the political slam as far as not going” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Golden State Warrors forward Matt Barnes joines Scoop B Radio and discussed feud with Derek Fisher. Photo Credit: NBA.com

Golden State Warriors forward and NBA Champion Matt Barnes dropped by Scoop B Radio with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson

Matt Barnes has had an enjoyable year. He won a championship this summer as a member of the Golden State Warriors.

He’s sitting on top of the world!

Always outspoken and larger than life, the Warriors’ defensive specialist was once heavily criticised a couple of years ago when word surfaced that he paid a visit to former NBA’er Derek Fisher. The two got into a heavily publicized fight.

“I’m a man and I’m gonna do what a man’s gonna do,” Matt Barnes told me on Scoop B Radio. “So that doesn’t make me a bad person.”

Barnes, then a member of the Memphis Grizzlies and Fisher, then the head coach of the Knicks got into a fist fight in  Los Angeles after Barnes was tipped off that Fisher was spending time in a romantic way with with Gloria Govan, Barnes’ ex wife and former Basketball Wives LA star.

“I think any real man would’ve done the same thing that I did,” said Barnes. “At the same time, I got a lot of respect for it from men, from the NFL, Major League baseball, rappers, every player that you can think of, referees, GMs, owners, all said the same thing. But the people who are not in that circle that just look at it as ‘oh Matt Barnes is fighting again, you know they kinda just added to every other negative thing that they think about me.”

Derek Fisher and Matt Barnes as members of the Los Angeles Lakers. Photo Credit: New York Post

Fisher and Barnes were teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers for two seasons. Cops were called, but according to all accounts, Fisher left before they arrived. “But at the end of the day, I knew what it was about,” said Barnes.

“I know why I did it. It was a bad situation and I did what I did. Like I said, I handled it like a man and it should have ended there, I shouldn’t have gotten told on and snitched on and all this other kind of stuff, but it is what it is and it’s in the past now. My ex and I have moved past it. Our goal is to raise our kids and make sure that they’re happy.”

Suggested Articles:

The Next Big Showcase’s Cliff Po & DJ Tarzan Making Dreams Reality in NYC & NJ

Scoop B Radio: Turner Sports’ Steve Smith Talks Career & More

The post Matt Barnes on Altercation With Derek Fisher: “I handled it like a man” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.